Second Sphere

It's a trap

The next day I walk into the lab just as Banner is about to put on the glove.

"Friday, do me a favor and activate barn door protocol will ya?" Tony asks his AI.

Metal shutters surround the place.

"Everybody comes home." Bruce says softly and puts on the glove, the metal readjusting to fit him. He drops to his knees in pain as energy courses through him.

"Take it off! Take it off!" Thor yells.

"No wait. Bruce are you okay?" Steve interrupts.

"Talk to me, Banner." Tony says.

Through the groaning Bruce manages to talk, "I'm okay." He manages to snap before passing out, the glove falling off.

"Bruce!" Steve yells.

We all surround him.

"Don't move him." Tony says and sprays some kind of freezing agent over his arm.

"Did it work?" Banner asks panting heavily.

"We're not sure. It's okay." Thor reassures him.

The metal shutters open. Clint goes to pick up his phone and Scott who was staring out the window turns to us.

"I think it worked." Is all Scott says before a giant blast hits the building.

More follow and the building crumbled, sending us all falling down. I wrap my wings around myself protecting me from any real damage but before I can move I can feel a sharp pain in my head.

Thoughts and feelings rushing back, confusion and fear. Bucky. I can feel Bucky again. I'm not prepared for the onslaught of emotion all of a sudden, over the last five years I got used to having just my own feelings and thoughts in my head.

"Feathers, you okay?" I hear tony come up behind me.

I take some deep breathes before gritting my teeth, "I'll be fine." Im reality my head is pounding, but I muscle through it.

"Come on, buddy, wake up!" Tony calls to Steve who isn't too far from me. He kneels down as Steve gasps, "That's my man. You lose this again, I'm keeping it." Tony says gesturing to the shield he's holding.

Steve looks around, "What happened?"

"You mess with time, it tends to mess back. You'll see." Tony helps pull Steve to his feet.

We make our way out of the wreckage and see Thor. Thanos is sitting on the field.

"What's he been doing?" Tony asks.

Thor shakes his head, "Absolutely nothing."

"Where are the stones?" Steve asks.

"Somewhere under all this." Tony looks at us, "All I know is he doesn't have 'em."

"So we keep it that way." Steve replies.

"You know it's a trap, right?" Thor says.

"Yeah" Tony sighs. "I don't much care."

Thor nods, "Good. Just as long as we're all in agreement." Thunder cracks over head, a storm forming suddenly. Thor summons lighting which strikes him and both his hammer and axe go to his open hands. "Let's kill him properly this time."

I pull my spear out and we all start walking towards Thanos. When we get close enough he starts to talk.

"You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me. I thought by eliminating half of life the other half would thrive. But you've shown me that's impossible. And as long as there are those that remember what was there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist." Thanos doesn't move as he talks, content to sit as we circle him.

"Yep, we're all kinds of stubborn." Tony says.

"I'm thankful. Because now I know what I must do." Thanos gets up. "I will shred this universe down to its last atom. And then with the stones you've collected for me create a new one teeming with life that knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given." He picks up his weapon and faces us. "A grateful universe."

We stand ready.

"Born out of blood." Steve says.

"They'll never know it. Because you won't be alive to tell them." Thanos smirks.