against time.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE || a great return

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE, a great return

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

THE TEAM HAD gone outside of the compound, everyone changed out of their suits and just sat there. They all felt the absence of Natasha, greatly. Steve was sitting on a bench, hunched over himself as he watched the ground. Silent tears ran down his cheeks. When he suddenly heard Tony speak up.

"Ivanna was her family, right?"

Steve looked up at Tony in disbelief and annoyance, "Yeah. Vanna and us."

Tony looked like he wanted to say more, but then closed his mouth and stared at the ground with a sad look. Steve dropped his head into his hands, having lost one of his closest friends now as well.

"What?" Thor suddenly asked.

"I just asked him a question-" Tony was cut off by Thor.

"Yeah, you're acting like she's dead. Why are we acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back, isn't that right?" Thor was growing angry and distressed, "So stop this shit. We're the Avengers, get it together."

"We can't get her back," Clint blurted out.

"Wha-" Thor stumbled over his wording, "what?"

"It can't be undone. It can't," Clint shook his head with a shaky voice.

Thor released a dry laugh, "I'm sorry. No offense, but you're a very earthly being. Okay? We're talking about space magic. And "can't" seems very definitive don't you think?"

Clint's current bubbling anger was directed at Thor, "Yeah, look, I know that I'm way outside my paygrade here. But she still isn't here, is she?"

"No, that's my point-"

"It can't-" Clint interrupted Thor, "be undone. Or that's at least what the red floating guy had to say," Clint started shouting now, "Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer, and you go fly and talk to him!"

Clint's anger suddenly disappeared, being replaced with grief immediately, "It was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it."

Steve watched suddenly as Bruce grabbed a bench, hurling it across the lake. He turned back to the group with a resigned look on his face. Steve completely understood how Bruce was feeling and sent him a look before Bruce spoke up.

"She's not coming back. We have to make it worth it. We have to,"

Steve nodded, standing up and looking amongst the team, "We will."

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Steve had waited patiently while Tony and Bruce had made a new gauntlet and place the stones on it. With Natasha gone, their team was still grieving in their ways. Eventually, the group working on the gauntlet had called everyone back in, explaining that they were ready.

"All right. The glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?" Rocket asked the group.

"I'll do it," Thor stepped forward, ready to take and use the gauntlet.

"Excuse me?" Scott was in disbelief.

"It's okay," Thor brushed off Scott's concern.

"No, no, no, whoa. Stop. Stop. Wait a sec. Hey, hey-" everyone rushed to stop Thor from grabbing the gauntlet, Tony stepping in front of him. Steve held his hand out and took a step toward Thor as well.