Till the End of the Line Vol. 4

Chapter 9 - It's Starting

Sometime later, down by the river, Smart Hulk, eyes red, stands beside a bench on the dock. Behind him, Steve, Tony, Thor, and Clint stare out, grieving. "Did Sofia say why Becca did it?" asks Tony.

"Yeah, because we were her family, and she wanted to amend her mistakes," Steve replied.

Tony takes a deep breath. "What about Loki? Her brother? Your daughter?"

Steve doesn't look at Tony; instead, he sheds a tear for his friend and the woman he loved. "I don't know. Becca must have known something that we didn't."

Thor turns and asks, "What? Why are you doing that?"

"Thor -" said Tony.

"Why are we talking as if she's dead? We have the stones right. Bring her back. C'mon, stop this shit. We're the Avengers! Get it together!"

Clint interrupted, "We can't get her back."

Flabbergasted, Thor stares at Clint in disbelief. "What's he talking about?"

"It can't be undone. It can't."

"Look, I'm sorry. No offense, but you're...a very earthly being. We're talking about space magic. "Can't" seems a little definitive, don't you think?"

"Well, I know I'm a little outside my pay grade here, but she still isn't here, is she?"

"No, that's my point-"

"It can't be undone." Clint snaps. "Or at least that's what the red, floating guy had to say. But why don't you go talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer, and you go fly and talk to him." Everyone stood still in silence. "It was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it."

Then Smart Hulk hurls the bench into the water. It skips across the surface like a stone. He says broken, heartedly, "She's not coming back. We have to make it worth it. We have to."

Steve stands up and replies, "We will. For my daughter's sake, we will."

Meanwhile, Sofia enters the medical room and sees Natasha sitting up and waking up. Natasha looks at Sofia and asks, "Did you know she was going to do it?"

"Yes, but I didn't think she would go through it," Sofia replied.

Natasha quickly sits up and is shocked. "What? Sofia why? Why did you two do this?"

"Nat, you know why."

Natasha sees the tears in Sofia's eyes and realizes why. She then stands up and walks to Sofia to hug her. "Oh, come here. It's going to be okay."

Sofia wipes the tears from her eyes. "She was like my sister. The only part of Bucky I had left."

Natasha pulls Sofia back and has her look at her. "We will get her back." They hug once more.

Sometime later, Tony, Smart Hulk, and Rocket complete the Gauntlet and sits in a cradle. Then they place six infinity stones in the Gauntlet. "Boo!" says Rocket as he scares Tony and Smart Hulk. They look at him, pissed, as he stands there laughing.

An hour later, Scott, Sofia, Thor, Clint, Rhodes, Natasha, and Steve watch Tony and Rocket fine-tune the glove. Rocket turns to the team and says, "All right. The glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?"

Everyone stares at the Gauntlet, wondering the same question themselves. Then, Thor walks to the Gauntlet and says, "I'll do it."

"Excuse me?" Says Tony. They all see Thor approaching the Gauntlet and stop him. "Whoa, whoa, what are you doing-"