Avengers' Adventures

The Sacrifice Play (Major Character Death)

What if Tony hadn't made it?

What if he had stayed there, in the wormhole?

What if he had never woken up from that eternal sleep?

They all held their breath as they watched. They all waited for that moment where they could just let out a sigh of relief, that Tony would come falling out and they could all go home and celebrate. But that moment never came.

 The wormhole closed up, the sky went back to peacefulness.

 "No," Steve breathed, and he could hear a crash behind him, and he knew the Hulk had fallen to his knees in disbelief. "No, he's out, he had to have made it out!" Thor shouted, not wanting to believe what had just happened. "Stark, come in Stark!" Steve tried the headset, calling for Tony, but no answer.

 Just static.

 "No! Tony! Come in!" the soldier screamed, and his shouts were quickly drowned out by the sound of Bruce screaming in anger, anger and fear, the only person who had seemed to understand him, was gone.

 "Damn it Tony, if you don't answer me I swear," Steve whimpered, falling to his knees as well.

 Natasha looked up at the sky, disbelieving what she had just done. It was her fault. She had been the one to do it, she had been the one to close the wormhole.

 It was her fault.

 She leaned on Loki's staff, needing some support, fearing that she would breakdown. Sure, they had had their differences, but now that he was gone...Come on Stark, if this is a joke, it's not funny.

 Seconds felt like hours, as they waited for him to come out. To suddenly drop from the sky, or even better, start doing tricks, pulling cocky stunts that they had all become so accustomed to him doing.

 But nothing.

 No flash of light, no puff of smoke.

 Nothing. He was gone. Just like that.

 "You're not one to make the sacrifice play, to lay your life down on the line and let the other guy  crawl over you."  Steve couldn't ever take those words back now. A silence passed over all of them, and no one said a word.

 They simply all remained where they were, too afraid to move.

 Too afraid to take their eyes off the sky, because maybe, just maybe, Tony would come falling out.

  But he never did.