Pain Only Makes Us Stronger

It Should Have Been Me

Note: Please bear with me this is my first fan fiction. I also have my story out on AO3.

"See you in a minute." Natasha said to the group. They all knew the roles they had to play. They knew that one missed step and it all would be over for them. The risk was high, but they owed it to everyone that wasn't there right now to try. The past five years had been hell but the hope that Scott brought them was the light in the darkness. They needed something to believe in again.

She took a deep breath as the machine started up to settle her nerves. The machine winded up and they disappeared into the quantum realm with a bright flash. She flew with the others through the realm as they broke off into different directions towards different times. Nebula, Clint, Rhodey, and she finally made it to Morag. She and Clint helped Nebula and Rhodey guide down the pod from the Guardians of the Galaxy ship Milano as she kicked a small rodent-looking creature from her with her foot.

"Hey, can we hurry it up" Clint called.

"Guys, chop-chop. Come on. We're on the clock" Natasha teased.

"All that is really helpful," Rhodey said back as Natasha smirked.

When Rhodey and Nebula finished bringing the pod down and prepping the coordinates for themselves she hugged Rhodey. "Take care, okay." she said. "Yeah. Get that stone and no messing around." Rhodey replied as she smiled and walked off to the Milano. She watched as Clint spoke to Rhodey and wondered if this would all go as planned but nothing in their line of work ever did. "You guys watch each other's six out there" Rhodey called out pulling her from her thoughts. "Yeah" she replied as she and Clint boarded Milano. She walked to the cockpit setting the coordinated to Vormir as she sat down. After Clint took his seat, they strapped themselves into the seat and took off to Vormir. "This is a long way from Budapest" Clint replied gaining a smile from Natasha. After a while of warping breaking lightspeed and shouting past stars and galaxies alike, they finally arrived at Vormir breaking into its purple and orange atmosphere. Natasha landed and parked the ship on what appeared to be a desert wasteland with domes of sand with lakes of water pooling at the base of the domes. Mountains of rocks shaped the expanse of land that wasn't occupied by sand, but one mountain stood out. The tallest mountain had two pillars made of rock proportional to each other with a big gap in between.

"Well, I suppose we know where we're headed." Natasha said rhetorically as they stepped out of Milano Clint decided to comment "Yep" popping the p.

"We have a long journey ahead of us," he said. "It could have been worst than Budapest you know," she said. "You and I remember Budapest very differently" he replied ending the conversation as they began their long hike to the mountain.

2 hours later

"This mountain is kicking my ass" he complained as they closed in on the top of the mountain after their two-hour hike. "You're just getting old" she replied. As a figure came into view with red skin and a hollowed-out nose dressed in a black tattered robe that seemed to have a magic of its own as the ends of the robe faded into black dust but reformed as soon as it faded in an endless loop as they made it to the top of the mountain. "Welcome Natasha daughter of Ivan. Clint son of Edith." said Red Skull as they both immediately drew their weapons as he spoke. "Consider me a guide to you and to all who seek the soul stone" he continued unphased. "Uhh okay you tell us where it is, and we will be on our way" Natasha replied skeptically. He turned and guided them up a few steps carved into the mountain to the peak of the mountain where the two pillars reside. He walked them towards the edge of the mountain that the two saw was vertically cut all the way to the ground with a half circle cut in the middle of it all the way towards the bottom of the mountain like someone intentionally created it. "In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love," he said as they both looked over the edge of the mountain to the bottom that looked so far down. "An everlasting exchange" he continued as they looked at one another. "A soul for a soul" he ended. Natasha and Clint walked away from the ledge as she walked to him and looked up at him in the eyes and said, "If we don't get that stone billions of people stay dead not just from our world but everyone's." "He could be lying Nat," he said. "How could he? Thanos arrived here to get the soul stones with Gamora but didn't leave with her. That can't be a coincidence, Clint." She spoke. He wanted to be in denial but knew it had to be true, so he nodded with a solemn expression on his face accepting the truth. "I guess we both know who it has to be," he said turning to look toward the edge of the mountain. She nodded solemnly back and said, "I guess we do". "I'm starting to think we mean different people here." He spoke turning back to look at her. "The last five years I've been trying to get to one thing. Right here," she said. "Come on don't do this to me Nat" said walking closer to her. "What do you think I want to do it? I'm trying to save your life idiot." "I know" he replied turning to look at in the distance. He turned back to her and smiled saying "You'll just have to beat me to it" then quickly grabbed her arm with his left hand and kicked her feet from up under her using her momentum against her to slam her on her back as he used his right hand to hold her down. She groaned from the impact as he leaned down above her and said, "Come on". She grabbed the back of his neck with her left hand and pulled as she hooked her left leg between his to roll him over and threw him on his back. She jumped to her feet and shot him with a widow bite as groaned in pain. "Come on Clint you have a family to get back to it can't be you," she said fiercely as she began to sprint to the edge of the mountain. He groaned as he pulled the bite off him and got to his feet and reached back to grab his arrow and shot it with his bow a few centimeters away from her as it exploded propelling her to the side and stopping her mid-sprint. She hit the ground hard wheezing to get up and saw him sprinting past. "No, I've done too much to deserve seeing them again. Please Nat tell them I love them." he said jumping over the edge of the mountain. She quickly shook off the dizziness jumped off the edge and grabbed him and shot out her grappling hook hooking it to her waist. The grappling hook pierced the side of the mountain and jerked as their weight pulled on it making them slam into the mountain side temporarily releasing each other. She quickly gained her bearings and hurried and grabbed his arm as he dangled in the air. She looked down at her best friend with a look of trepidation on her face and said "Damn you. You always had to be so stubborn." "It's okay left me go Tasha. It's okay" he said we a look of sincerity and acceptance on his face. "No, you have to get back to Laura, Lila, Cooper, and Nathaniel. I wouldn't know what to tell Laura. Please Clint." She said with tears in her eyes. "You can tell her. I love her and the kids," he said with a heartbreakingly sad expression on his face as he swung using his momentum to push him towards the mountain and kicked off it with his legs forcefully breaking himself out of her grasp as he plummeted to the bottom of the mountain. "CLINT!" she screamed as she saw her best friend hurl towards the ground and quickly turned her head as she heard a sickening thud. She slowly turned her head and looked down to see his body splayed out with blood trickling from the back of his head as it painted the rocks a dark red at the bottom of the mountain. She cried and let out a gut-wrenching scream but paused as she heard noise from above and saw the clouds open up in a circle above the two pillars. She watched as the pillars turned a brilliant blue and then shot the blue light up into the clouds as they pulsed from the energy. As the pulsing decreased a flash of light suddenly blinded her. She slowly woke up and realized she must have been transported somewhere because she slowly looked around and saw that she was laying in a shallow pool of water that reflected the galaxies that she discovered were all around her as she looked up in the sky. She was trying to figure out how she got there in her head but as she got up and tried to use both hands to get up. She saw her right hand was clinching a glowing amber-colored stone. It dawned on her that she was holding the soul stone. Then it all came flashing back as she realized the sacrifice her friend made to get the stone. She clenched her eyes shut as heavy tears came streaming down her face. "It should have been me," she thought.