Hey guys. Finally, we're coming to the end of this story.

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Chapter 13: The Last Sacrifice

Shuri's lab hangar in Wakanda was buzzing with activity. The Quantum Tunnel had revived because the sixteen heroes were returning from mission. Each instantly regained its normal size, on the platform of the Quantum Tunnel, while the opening closed under them.

Sam, Bucky, Hope, Yelena, Strange, Barry, Alex, J'onn, Nora, Spider-Man, Wanda, Star-Lord, Drax, Mantis, Groot et Shuri.

The platform turned off gradually and the top panel retracted. Our heroes tapped their bracelets – their outfits and helmets disappeared.

Silence settled, and it was Star-Lord who broke the silence.

"Did we get them all? Did it work out?"

Almost everyone started talking at the same time.

"Have we the Stones?" asked Yelena incredulous to the other groups that had separated.

"We got the Power Stone," said Wanda.

"As she said, we have recovered the Power Stone." repeated Drax.

"I am Groot," said Groot.

"And we have get the Aether," replied XS, proud of her success.

"We went to Asgard!" exclaimed Spider-Man in ecstasy. "That was so amazing!"

Had they managed their time heist? Were they going to be able to bring everyone back?

"So have we got the six Stones?" added Alex. "We really did it. It's…" (She stopped by noticing the absence of one of their members.) "Wait a minute! Someone's missing!"

"Where is Black Panther?" asked J'onn.

Shuri, who was the only one in the group who did not utter a single word, collapsed on her knees, too upset by her brother's sacrifice to say anything. As soon as the Martian had pronounced the title of T'Challa, all had stopped speaking and had noticed that indeed a member was missing.

"Shuri, where's your brother?" asked Alex, fearing the answer she had guessed.

Shuri didn't answer. She had her head down. Mantis intervened at that time.

"Something happened on Vormir. But I don't know what it was."

"Shuri." called J'onn gently as he went towards Wakandan female.

When the young woman of Wakanda raised her head, tears of sadness flowed from her tearful eyes.

Very slowly, J'onn came to rest before her, holding her by the shoulders. Without saying a word, Shuri took the Martian's hands and put them on her skull, wanting him to see her thoughts. J'onn then understood what had happened to Black Panther on Vormir. He was forced to sacrifice himself to get the Soul Stone.

Shocked and saddened, J'onn looked up at the others.

"Black Panther's not coming back."

These words had the effect of a long silence. All were frozen like statues. Bucky and Sam lowered their heads without saying a word. Spider-Man removed his mask, revealing Peter's face, and kept his head down, completely devastated. Strange knelt down and stared at the ground in disarray. Even the Guardians of the Galaxy remained silent and had also bowed their heads. Alex, Yelena and Wanda looked at Shuri with deep sadness. All three had lost a loved one, and understood the young woman's grief.

Shuri burst into tears in the arms of J'onn who rocked her against him, giving her his support.

"I'm sorry, Shuri," he said in a calm voice tinged with sadness.

In her grief, Shuri opened the hollow of her hand revealing the Soul Stone.

"My brother sacrificed himself so that we could get this goddamned stone!" she exclaimed in her sobs. "I wanted to sacrifice myself. And he did it. My brother. My King. He's not coming back. We can't bury him in Wakanda. It should have been me!"

"It wasn't your fault," said J'onn, who was sad. "Your brother wouldn't have wanted you to sacrifice yourself. I know how you feel. But this anger won't help you."

"I hate Thanos!" she roared between her teeth with her sobs. "I hate him!"

"I know. I know." said the Martian, cradling the young woman against him.

Quill had gently approached her with dismay.

"Now I understand why he killed Gamorra on Vormir!"

Still upset, Shuri got up and passed the Soul Stone to J'onn.

"I know we still have a lot to do! We need a glove for the Stones… but first… I have to go tell my mother… that T'Challa will not return to Wakanda… I have to tell her what happened—"

"Do you want me to accompany you?" J'onn asked himself with sympathy and compassion.

"No, I have to do it alone," replied Shuri, wanting to dry her tears. "I need a moment with my family."

"Take all the time you need," said the Martian gently. "The rest can wait."

Shuri left the group of heroes, completely depressed.

After he left, Bucky and Sam joined J'onn.

"What happened to T'Challa?" asked the Winter Soldier.

The Martian revealed to them what had happened on Vormir. The individual with the red skull who had demanded an everlasting exchange to get the Soul Stone. Only a sacrifice allowed to have the Stone.

"I can't believe it," said Sam, nodding.

"Collecting the Infinity Stones has a price," explained XS recalling the words of Frigga, Thor's mother.

"We can't keep them here forever," Strange warned. "Or we will endanger parallel realities."

"And all the timeline will remain forever destroyed," Flash added.

"We'll bring the Stones back when we're done with them," said J'onn. "Right now, Shuri needs to be with her family. Let's give her that."

Looking pained, Strange walked away from the group. He seemed more guilty than afflicted. He went in a direction of the Wakandan laboratory, but Yelena had noticed him.

"Guys, where is he going?"

Strange opened a golden circle when he had the visit of his companions.

"Are you going somewhere?" said Yelena.

He turned to see her, J'onn and Alex staring at him.

"Are you leaving Wakanda?" remarked the suspicious Martian.

"I just need time for myself," said Stephen.

"You don't seem surprised at what happened to Black Panther," said Alex, frowning. "I learned to analyze people by their bodily expressions. Is there anything you didn't tell us?

"Did you know what was going to happen on Vormir before our trip to the Quantum Realm?" said J'onn in an accusing tone. "Did you know about T'Challa and the Soul Stone?"

"How do you know that?" asked Yelena.

"I can't talk about it," Strange told them in an alarming tone. "If I tell you what happens, it won't happen."

"What is now to happen?" Alex wondered.

"Tell us how did you know about T'Challa and the Soul Stone?" asked J'onn.

"We won't leave you alone until you answer us!" said Yelena with a menacing look.

Strange then inspired and answer them in a calm voice:

"When we were fighting Thanos, I used the Stone of Time to discover the alternates futures possible outcomes of the coming conflict. I had seen 14,000,605. And in these future alternatives, there was only one where we won against Thanos. One future where we defeated him. A future that involved Thanos getting all the Infinity Stones to use and then we reuse them to fix what he destroyed."

The three heroes took the time to digest the news, and Alex replied firmly:

"You deliberately given the Time Stone to Thanos! He never took it from you! You liar!"

"I had to do it. I had no choice. It was either that or we lost forever with no way to undo what he did." replied Strange

"And you knew that Black Panther was going to sacrifice himself to get the Soul Stone on Vormir?" J'onn wondered with a cold look. "What about Westview? Wanda?"

"Yes. I knew all that!" said the sorcerer. "There was no other way. One future where we won."

"What can we expect in the future?" Alex replied fiercely.

"I can't tell you anything," said Strange. "If I told you the rest, it wouldn't happen. If I had spoken for Vormir, we would never have had the Soul Stone. And what I saw wouldn't have happened."

"So you know how it will end with the Stones?" asked J'onn.

"Yes, and again, I cannot tell you anything," repeated the Master of Mystical Arts. "Or it won't happen!"

A long heavy silence came for our heroes. Then J'onn sighed.

"Fine. If what you know about the future must remain secret, so be it. But Shuri must know nothing of what was said."

"Why not?" asked Yelena, intrigued.

"She is already mourning the loss of her brother," replied the Martian. "Learning the truth about the future will only cause her more suffering. We must preserve her from this, if we are to use the Infinity Stones."

"We've got the Stones, but we haven't won yet," Alex replied, looking at Strange in a hostile way. "For now."

"I'm so sorry," sighed Strange, lowering his head.

"Me too." replied J'onn before taking leave.

They joined Sam and Bucky who were still shocked by what had happened to T'Challa.

"T'Challa saved my life," Bucky confessed with a sad face. "Thanks to him, I found a purpose. A reason to exist. He made me feel human again. Thanks to him, I was able to free myself from Hydra's mental control. I should have gone to Vormir. I could have prevented T'Challa's sacrifice."

Alex sighed and added with sadness:

"When I lost Kara, it was T'Challa who encouraged me not to give up. He wanted me to keep living to honor my sister. I can't believe he's gone."

"None of us wanted him to die." Sam added.

"No one wanted him to sacrifice himself," J'onn explained with a serene gaze. "I know his death affects you as much as it does us."

Peter, still dressed in Spider-Man, came to propose a solution:

"We have the six Stones. We could bring Black Panther back with everyone else."

But J'onn sighed with a defeatist air.

"It's not that simple, Peter. It was an everlasting exchange. Which means we can't change T'Challa's sacrifice."

"This is unfair!" exclaimed Alex with dismay. "We're close and we can't get Black Panther back."

"We have to make it worth it. We have to." said Sam.

"We will." J'onn said with determination.

After a while with her mother, Shuri returned to her laboratory. She discovered Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, Alex and Eliza Danvers in the construction of the glove. Seeing that the young woman was still mourning, Cisco came to see her gently.

"Are you sure you want to join us?"

"We will understand if you do not feel able to do so." Eliza added with sympathy.

Shuri shook her head with a cold look.

"This is my lab and I have to do it. For my brother. So that his sacrifice would not be in vain. I want to participate."

She spoke in a tone where there was no discussion to be had.

She came to help make the glove to introduce the six Infinity Stones.

To say the least, the procedure was very delicate. Shuri, Cisco, Caitlin and Alex each handled a mechanical arm behind a protective glass. Each of the six Infinity Stones was assigned to one arm. Shuri focused on the Soul. Caitlin was in charge of the Power Stone. Alex was manipulating the arm that held the Space Stone, and Cisco was manipulating the Mind Stone.

Eliza was following operations side by side. She was doing calculations on a digital tablet. Shuri moved her arm slightly, paused and took a deep breath. After which she resumed the maneuver.

Facing the Stones was a metal gauntlet – a Gauntlet of Infinity designed by Shuri, capable of containing and channeling the power of the Stones. The six arms slowly advanced towards the locations provided for the Stones on the gauntlet.

Stones are inserted at the same time. The arms retreated. Immediately, the Gauntlet of Infinity began to glow.

"This is it!" laughed Cisco at the pressure.

But the four women did not laugh. They stared at Cisco with icy eyes.

"Not funny!" Caitlin replied firmly.

Soon after, Shuri grabs the gauntlet, taking tweezers for the fingers of the glove. And she put it delicately on a levitating support.

Finally, all the heroes were gathered in Shuri's laboratory. All had a view of the gauntlet.

"So this is it! We have the Glove with the Stones?" asked Sam.

"The Stones are on the glove." Drax stupidly announced.

"The glove's ready," said Eliza.

"Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers, dudes?" added Cisco, whose eyes clearly meant: I'm not doing that!

Indeed, the question arose: who would put on the glove and snap their fingers with the power of the six Infinity Stones? Thanos almost died using them. And none of them were powerful enough to survive the effects of the Infinity Stones.

"Seriously, one of us will have to sacrifice ourselves again?" wondered Spider-Man.

"Thanos almost died when he used them twice," J'onn reminded them. "If one of us wears that glove and uses the Stones, that person could die."

Behind him, Bucky advanced, raising his hands, his head bowed.

"I'll do it," he said, determined.

"Excuse me?" Sam wondered if his friend was serious.

"Wait..." said Shuri.

But Bucky had already advanced near the Gauntlet and was about to take it, but Alex, J'onn and Sam prevented him.

"Bucky ! Bucky ! Wait!" exclaimed Alex holding the Winter Soldier by the arm.

"Stand down, Bucky!" J'onn tried to reason him. "We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet."

The issue was all the more delicate because the designated person was in danger of dying.

"We're all going to sit here for hours deciding which one of us is going to sacrifice ourselves to bring everybody back?" Bucky said.

"No one is going to sacrifice themselves until we all decide," Barry firmly insisted. "We are all concerned in this room. We have to make this decision together."

"I'm volunteering," Bucky insisted, trying to get close to the glove.

"Bucky, what the hell are you doing?" wondered Sam.

"T'Challa saved my life and he died when I could have helped him. If anyone has to sacrifice, it has to be me!"

"T'Challa didn't save you so that you could play the sacrificial lamb!" Alex, overwhelmed, lost. "That's not how you honor his memory!"

"What if I use it?" said Barry. "With my super-speed, perhaps I am strong enough to contain the power of the Stones?"

"Barry, this is not Speed Force!" warned Caitlin. "This is about very powerful Stones with destructive powers."

"We cannot guarantee that you will get away with this huge thing!" added Cisco, in a panic.

"Dad, don't do that!" exclaimed XS.

J'onn turned to the gauntlet.

"I can do that."

But Alex was determined to stop her friend from sacrificing himself.

"J'onn, don't! There's no way you can survive this! And Kara wouldn't approve of you sacrificing yourself to bring her back. She wouldn't get over it! And I don't want to lose you, J'onn!"

That was true. The Martian was like a father to Alex and Kara. She refused to see him die.

"Then who will do it?" asked Rene. "Are we really gonna sit around for hours?"

"Seriously, are we superheroes or kids?" said sarcastic Barry.

"Shut up, Flash!" said Yelena. "So who's gonna put the damn glove on?"

"I'll do it!" said Shuri.

"Don't even think about it, Shuri!" replied J'onn. "Your brother didn't sacrifice himself to make you do the same!"

"Then did my brother deserve to die rather than me?" angered the young Wakandan woman.

"I didn't say that! I said that your brother would have wanted you to stay alive. For him! And for the Wakanda!"

"Geez, it does not change anything for us!" said Rene.

"Hey, Team Arrow, if you have a better idea, you're welcome to expose it!" Bucky got carried away. "I want do it. And it doesn't matter if I die, I'm okay with that."

"Steve would have wanted you to live," Sam said firmly.

While the heroes were arguing over who would use the Gauntlet, no one noticed that the Gauntlet began to float in the air. Wanda used her powers to levitate the Gauntlet. Once it was near her, she flew in the air, levitating the glove of Wakanda.

"I'll do it," she said in marble.

All raised their heads to see Wanda levitate in the air with the Gauntlet floating in the air with her.

"Wanda ! What are you doing?" exclaimed J'onn, stunned.

"Wanda!" added Sam.

"It's gotta be me." said Wanda. "I've done terrible things at Westview. I've hurt a lot of people. Physically and mentally. And I brought back people who were just fictional beings. Now I'm really gonna bring everybody back. And it's better this way."

"What do you mean? " wondered Barry, as shocked as the others.

"Vision's gone. All those I loved are dead. This world has nothing left to offer me. So if I have to die, so be it!"

And she left the lab flying to the sky over Wakanda.

"WANDA ! WAIT!" exclaimed J'onn dazed.

Immediately, he took his Martian form and flew to join the young woman. He floated close to her.

"Wanda, can we discuss this first?"

"There is nothing to discuss, J'onn," she said with a resolute gaze. "Don't try to stop me. You know what I can do. Let me do it!"

She levitated the Gauntlet of Infinity near her wrist.

"Everybody comes home." she said, both as a wish and a promise.

Once the Glove was on her arm, the Infinity Stones began to glow. The energy diffused between them and through the Gauntlet. Wanda shuddered as a stream of raw energy flooded her body. She seemed to be falling into a void… A scream of pain escaped her when the energy pulsated in her arm, in her shoulders, in her neck…

She wobbled in the sky screaming in pain. Her pain was beyond anything she could endure.

"WANDA ! CAN YOU HEAR ME!" J'onn intervened near her. "TALK TO ME!"

Should her be prevented or continued?

Wanda seemed to fall, but managed to remain motionless in the air. J'onn noticed that Wanda's arm started to burn, along with her clothes.

She nodded her head, clenched her jaw, and said:

"I'm okay! I have to!"

She strove to take the power of the Infinity Stones which consumed her entirely. If she was still resisting, it might have been because of her Scarlet Witch powers. With her left hand, she held her right wrist with all her strength to try to brandish the Gauntlet of Infinity.

The energy was flowing in and around her. Wanda did everything she could to keep her right arm up. She screamed again. With a monumental effort, she managed to approach her right middle finger with her right thumb. So she snapped her fingers.

A powerful detonation erupted and crossed the entire Wakanda.

The inhabitants of Wakanda, including all the heroes, had felt this detonation.

"Oh my Gosh, did she really do it?" exclaimed Hope.

"Damn, it was big!" exclaimed Rene.

"So Schway!" added XS ecstatic.

"What now?" asked Yelena, intrigued.

In the air, the Gauntlet escaped Wanda's arm. The latter stopped floating and fell into the void. J'onn flew straight to her and grabbed her in his arms.

"Wanda!"

The young woman seemed barely conscious.

Then, the Martian noticed the Wakanda in effervescence. He saw people rematerializing in different parts of the country. Everyone was confused and the others there were stunned.

In the distance, he saw the Avengers return from their ashes. Captain America. Natasha Romanoff. Iron-Man. Bruce Banner. Rhodey. And even Rocket.

And finally, Supergirl and Diggle.

"What happened?" asked Steve, confused.

Barton Farm

Clint rematerialized in his yard, completely confused and disoriented.

"What just happened?"

Titan

Oliver Queen and Nebula came back alive. They were both confused.

"What happened?" asked the dazed archer.

Wakanda

The population came together. As the surviving heroes made their way to their loved ones.

"Mr. Stark!" said Spider-Man joyfully. "We won!"

"Kara!" cried Alex, rejoicing at the sight of her sister's return.

"Alex, what happened?" asked Supergirl with confusion.

"Yelena?" exclaimed Natasha at the sight of her sister in Wakanda.

"You're all back, guys!" said Sam happily.

"Diggle!" exclaimed Dinah as he joined the former soldier.

"Someone has to explain to me what has just happened!" wondered Diggle, dazed.

"Does that mean Oliver came back too?" asked Felicity.

"And so did Scott," exclaimed Hope, ecstatic.

Strange opened a golden circle where Oliver and Nebula entered Wakanda.

"We won as I had seen."

Elsewhere, J'onn always carried Wanda half-conscious in his arms in the air. He gently landed on the ground, and came to lay Wanda's body in a field in Wakanda. Her right arm was badly burned. And her face was all pale. J'onn didn't need to be a doctor to understand that Wanda was in critical condition. She brought everyone back. But at what cost? First T'Challa, and now Wanda.

"Did it work?" she asked in a weak but determined voice.

"You did it." J'onn softly told her, holding her against him. "You brought everyone back. You are a hero. And you will always be."

"I did… what I had to do…" replied Wanda weakly, striving to fight. "I made mistakes at Westview…it was my chance to catch up and I had to take it."

"Everyone will know what you sacrificed. And they will be grateful."

"J'onn, can you do something for me?"

The Martian nodded, and Wanda asked her in a feeble voice:

"Can you turn into Vision? I want to see his face one last time."

J'onn nodded and took the form of Vision. Wanda seemed to forget that she was talking to J'onn and put her hand on the face of «Vision».

"Vis! I'm glad to see you, even if it's the end for me…" said Wanda in a voice broken with sadness. "I'm sorry. I abandoned you. I couldn't save you."

"Vision" gently took her hand and spoke to her with a sympathetic look:

"You haven't abandoned me. You've honored me. You did what I couldn't do. And I will always love you for it."

"Kiss me," begged Wanda, feeling her death coming.

And J'onn came to lay his lips upon Wanda's with the form of Vision. Then the dying woman gave him one last glance.

"I love you…"

"I love you too, Wanda…"

And Wanda's hand fell, inert, against her side. Wanda Maximoff died in the arms of J'onn who took his usual human form. His eyes were full of tears. He squeezed Wanda's inert body against him crying. Without paying attention to his entourage, the Martian mourned the loss of Wanda.

Everyone was coming to them. The Wakandans and all the superheroes of the different Earths had their eyes fixed on them. Without saying a word, they could only look with emotion, the Martian holding Wanda's body against him and crying.

Suddenly, Wanda's corpse began to shine like a sun and disappeared in a thousand sparks.

"Thank you, Wanda," said Barry in a sad voice.

As in many universes, hope never dies. The battle was won. But at the cost of two sacrifices. Black Panther and Wanda Maximoff, the heroes of this universe who sacrificed their lives to save their world. Humans will unite and fight to save their universe…

The Watcher Uatu contemplated the upsetting outcome of this universe. He observed Black Panther's funeral in Wakanda. The assembly was huge. A headstone of Wanda was placed next to that of Vision. The heroes of Team Flash, Arrow and Supergirl paid them a final tribute. Before they leave to bring the Stones back to their respective eras. To then return to their own Earths.

Did this story really stop there?

That's all folks!

And that was the end of this story. Thank you for all those who followed me and commented. I'm glad I was able to finish this story I started in February 2022. There will be a post credit scene after that as for my previous story which provide a preview for my future stories.