Summers' Purpose

Chapter 71 (part 2)

Tony and Y/n looked at each other, briefly locking eyes together. They shared the same look and once Y/n formed a bridge between they began to feel the same thing. Fear—in knowing what most likely awaits them from this decision they made. Sadness, which was tinged with a little regret, considering everything, especially the people, they had to leave behind. But their hope and love for them triumphed over those feelings and that was more than enough to make them resolute and brave through their action.

"For Morgan," Y/n smiled bravely, taking a deep breath before pulling as much of the power from the Infinity Stones toward her. Y/n gasped as the energy from the stones traveled through her, watching as the lines of energy traced their way from her clasped hand with Tony's down the length of her arm. The pain was unimaginable, something Y/n almost couldn't process as it reverberated through her. The next thing she knew, the pain slowly subsided, leaving her body feeling limp and empty.

Perhaps it was her brain shutting down that part of her to make it more manageable as some last act of self-compassion. Or maybe it was just her nerves being fried—rendered dead, and useless as her body finally gave up on her after everything it was put through. Not surprising as this was, by far, the largest source of energy she ever came in contact with. Y/n tried to wield it, to see if she could somehow make more sense of what she was dealing with, but she learned that it was a mistake right away.

Her body was still desperately repairing itself, using the Stones as a source of energy to do so. The result was that Y/n could feel everything again. She stopped trying to wrangle the energy to do her bidding but it was too late. It felt like she was trying to swim against a heavy current in frigid waters made of a million sharp blades. The intensity of the Stone's powers eventually weighed down on her, latching on to every bit of her being and filling up every crevice until she couldn't breathe anymore.

Y/n wanted to scream, but she was afraid that that would be the equivalent of her letting go of whatever self-control she had left. The last time she felt this way and relinquished control, she took down everything in her immediate surroundings, destroying more than she intended to. And to think that happened with way less energy than what she's currently experiencing, she didn't even dare to consider what would happen if she let go this time. And so, she held on with a soundless scream, feeling her body shut down and repair itself over and over again until it was over.

The heroes were still battling when the aliens all turned to dust and an eerie silence enveloped them. They looked around, wondering if they had succeeded, smiling in relief when they realized they had won. Thanos watched as his army disappeared. He sat in a speechless daze, wondering what had gone wrong as he slowly turned to dust, joining his army. He faded away quietly, a juxtaposition to his arrival earlier.

Wanda looked around, beyond relief that the fight was over. She quickly scanned around, searching the grounds for Y/n but couldn't find her. She called out to her with her mind but was getting increasingly upset when she couldn't sense her. "Y/n?" She called out. "Did anyone see Y/n?"

"She's alive?" Wanda heard someone ask, which didn't help the way she felt at all. She continued asking around but still received the same answer.

"Wanda!" Natasha called out when she saw her.

"Nat!" Wanda replied, and they exchanged a quick hug, both relieved to see that the other was okay. Wanda decided to ask Natasha about Y/n's whereabouts. "Did you see Y/n?"

"Yes! She's still alive!" Natasha replied, smiling slightly with relief. "We split up earlier. Why? Where is she?" Natasha asked, not liking the look on Wanda's face. Her smile slowly disappeared as Wanda spoke.

"She's alive, but... But I can't find her. I can't feel her, Nat..." Wanda panicked as Natasha tried to calm her down despite her own worries.

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere. We'll find her." Natasha quickly replied to reassure Wanda.