The Eternal Avenger

Chapter Forty-Nine: Whatever It Takes

(Claray's POV)
I strapped into the seat behind Tasha's my hands resting easily on her shoulders as she glanced eagerly between me and Clint. "Can you believe this?" Clint whispered, watching pieces of the universe fly by as we entered the jump point that was going to take us to our final destination – a planet called Vormir. While the rest of the team carried on their own part of the mission to retrieve one of the six infinity stones, our job was taking us to a planet that we knew little about besides Nebula's cryptic description, but between a hybrid and two skilled assassins, I was relatively certain we could handle it. Natasha and I were both so competitive that anything less than absolute success just simply wasn't an option. "This is a long way from Budapest," Clint said loudly as we watched literally galaxies zooming in front of our faces. Natasha couldn't do anything but smile. The look on her face was one of pure, childish glee. To be honest, the sight melted me a little bit.

As we approached the planet, we all stood and gathered at the windshield. Clint's words mirrored what we were all, no doubt, feeling.

"Wow. Under different circumstances..this would be totally awesome." Eyes wide, we looked at the strange landscape in front of us, taking stock of our options. We didn't exactly have a map with instructions to go by. Seeing nothing in the landscape of interest except for a high mountain rising in the purpose distance, we set off on foot, not wanting to disturb anything that may live here, however unlikely that was.

"Well, I bet the raccoon didn't have to climb a mountain," Natasha grumbled, less than a quarter of the way to the top.

"Technically, he's not a raccoon, you know?" Clint responded, both of them looking back down at how far we'd climbed before refocusing on the climb still to come.

"Oh, whatever. He easts garbage," Natasha grumbled again. The glee of traveling to an unknown planet had worn off somewhere – I was guessing around the time that climbing the mountain began. She was cranky, and I couldn't help but find it adorable.

"Welcome." All three of us spun instantly towards the voice behind us, crouching into defensive positions, weapons ready. "Natasha. Daughter of Ivan. Clint. Son of Edith. Claray. Daughter of Albin." We moved towards the creature cautiously.

"Who are you?" Natasha demanded. I bristled at the sight of the strange figure. It looked almost as if it were floating.

"Consider me a guide. To you...and to all who seek the Soul Stone."

"Oh good," Natasha snarked. "You tell us where it is, then we'll be on our way." I glanced at her, happy to see that her sarcasm at least had returned.

"Liebchen. If only it were that easy." I didn't know the German word he spoke, but the tone made it abundantly clear. I didn't enjoy the way he was speaking to her, and I growled slightly. We followed his figure up to the top of the peak – he really was floating. "What you seek lies in front of you. As does what you fear." He spoke as the three of us glanced over the edge of the high cliff where he gestured.

"The stone's down there," Natasha muttered softly, a little too close to the edge for my liking. Clint was pacing the ground behind the floating guy, watching our back.

"For one of you. For the other..." Clint moved forward, standing next to Natasha as if shielding her from the speaking figure as he glanced down again as well. "In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An ever-lasting exchange." The three of us glanced between each other as what he said began to sink in. "A soul for a soul." His words hit home with a finality that hit me like a punch in the gut.

The three of us backed away from the ledge, sitting between two large, stone, monuments, looking back and forth between each other anxiously. "How's it going?" Clint called over to the figure who was still standing (floating?) near the ledge. "Jesus." He began to pace back and forth. Natasha sank down onto an uprooted tree, clasping her hands in front of her chest. "Maybe he's making this shit up," Clint grumbled. I watched both of them silently.

"No," Natasha's voice was barely above a whisper. "I don't think so." I walked over to her, resting a hand gently on her shoulder.

"Why? 'Cause he knows your daddy's name?" Clint was facing away from us, but I glared daggers into the back of his neck with my eyes anyway.

"I didn't." My eyes snapped back to Natasha instantly. "Thanos left here with the stone," she continued, "without his daughter." She shook her head slowly. "That's not a coincidence." Clint approached us, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Whatever it takes." Natasha whispered softly. I bristled behind her, knowing instantly what she was thinking.

"Whatever it takes," Clint agreed. I took a deep breath.

"Both of you stop it," I cut between them. They look at me in surprise. "Neither of you are jumping off of that cliff." Natasha jumped to her feet, walking towards me, finger pointed into my chest.

"Neither are you!" She argued.

"I guess we all know who it's got to be," Clint approached, reaching for Natasha's hand.

"Stop it!" I raised my voice intentionally. The shock on both of their faces would have been humorous, if not for the circumstances. "Clint, you have a family to go back to. You can't tell me that you went through all of this, that you faced the biggest threat in the universe only to not get to see them again. That's bullshit and you know it!" The archer stared at me, mouth wide.

"And you!" I turned towards Natasha. "All of your life you've sacrificed. You've given up everything, over and over again. You've rebuilt the world from the ground up, and you've done it all in the most selfless and beautiful way possible." Her eyes welled over, and tears poured down her cheeks. I walked towards her, grabbing her hands in both of mine then holding them securely behind her back, nuzzling into her neck.

"You cleared your ledger a long time ago, Natasha," I whispered. She cleared her throat, pulling back just a bit.

"It's um...actually Natalia," she smirked up at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Of course, it is," I mutter. She smiles through the tears, resting her forehead against mine. "Talia," the variation of her special nickname rolled effortlessly off of my tongue, and her eyes went wide as she looked up at me. "I've got red in my ledger." She nodded, clearing her throat before allowing herself to speak.

"And you want to wipe it out," she whispered, her voice little more than a rasp at this point. I pressed my lips to her forehead.

"I love you, and I'm sorry." I pulled back slightly and she looked up me frowning, understanding crossing her face as I snapped the special Shield handcuffs around her wrists, still fastened behind her back.

"Claray, no!" She screamed, horror and betrayal moving across her face. I looked towards Clint just in time to see an arrow come shooting in my direction. It landed between me and Natasha, knocking us both backwards. She groaned in pain as I climbed slowly to my feet. The archer raced past me, tossing his bow to the side, but I was faster. I blocked his path and he hurtled into me full-speed, stopping dead in his tracks upon contact. I looked over his shoulder to see that Natasha had somehow managed to struggle back to her feet, and was inching closer to us and to the edge. I grabbed Clint's quiver strap with both hands, effortlessly lifting him off of his feet, throwing him backwards, knocking down Natasha again in the process. They both let out loud whooshing sounds on impact. I backed towards the ledge slowly, eyeing them, waiting for them to make a move. "No," Natasha whimpered. Clint struggled to his knees, wrapping his arms tightly around her shoulders. He turned his eyes towards me, and I could see the tears in them as well. He nodded at me slightly.

"I've got her," he mouthed. I felt my heel almost go off the edge of the ledge, and I stopped in my tracks, glancing back at the love of my life, and one of our closest friends. I knew they wouldn't look away. I stared once more into Natasha's forest-green eyes, flooded with tears and smiled at her.

"I love you, Natasha Romanoff," I smiled. She jutted her jaw out in an attempt to be brave and shook her head, unable to speak. I raised both arms out to my sides, taking a deep breath before letting go and falling backwards. I closed my eyes, remembering Natasha's face, and then everything went black.