surge | loki laufeyson ¹

sixty-nine

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THAT FAMILIAR TWISTY FEELING ENGULFED ALEX AS THEY SHOT BACK THROUGH THE QUANTUM REALM AND INTO THE COMPOUND. SHE TOOK a deep breath and looked around, everyone sharing the same kind of exhaustion. Their suits dissolved and they were each back in their regular clothes, and excitement quickly ignited her.

"Did we get 'em all?" She asked.

"Are you telling me this actually worked?" Rhodey grinned.

A step was heard, and all eyes looked to Clint, whose face displayed a somber gaze. Alex quickly realized, and her head began to slowly shake.

"Clint, where's Nat?" Bruce asked cautiously.

Clint said nothing, he didn't need to. Everyone knew the answer to Bruce's question. His eyes beginning to well up, and Steve silently lowered his head. Bruce fell to his knees, punching the glass of the time travel device in despair.

A couple of them gathered down at the dock outside of HQ. Alex stayed behind, standing on the porch on the waterfront side of HQ. She stood with her arms crossed, watching Thor get animated about something to Clint and Tony.

"What are you thinking?" Steve came over beside her.

"I'm thinking I barely knew Nat." She admitted, her eyes fixed on the group.

"She admired you. A lot."

"Couldn't have any more than I admired her."

"She was strong. She was dealt a bad hand, and look how she turned out. A hero." Steve shook his head.

Alex turned her head toward him. "Did you love her?"

"In a way, yes."

Alex nodded. She didn't know too much about Steve's personal life, at least not as much as he knew about hers. He was private, and more willing to listen. She was glad she still had Steve through all this.

"They're coming back over. We should head inside." Alex spoke, earning a nod from him.

Tony, Bruce, Clint, and Thor walked over to HQ, joining the rest inside. There, in the lab, Tony began to construct all six retrieved stones into a crafted gauntlet. It was red and gold, and looked like a typical Stark design.

After it was finished, they placed it onto a stand, where the group stood around it.

"Alright, the glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freakin' fingers?" Rocket spoke.

"I'll do it." Thor came over.

"Excuse me?"

He approached the glove fast, and moved to put his hand in it before Tony and Steve held him back.

"Stop, slow down."

"Thor, just wait." Steve said. "We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet."

"I'm sorry--what, we're just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor scoffed.

Alex rolled her eyes. "We should at least discuss it."

"No, no, sitting here staring at it is not gonna bring everybody back. I'm the strongest, okay? So this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty."

"I'm sorry, when did we decide that, exactly?" Alex looked around. "Did I miss the competition or--"

"It's not about that." Tony deadpanned, trying to push Thor away from the stand. "Alright, buddy--"

"Stop it! Just let me!" Thor started slapping him away, getting hysterical. "Just let me do it. Let me do something good. Something right."