Avengers: Endgame

Chapter 24: Out of Their Mind

--Avengers Tower--

Danny, Steve and Matt were fighting off some Outriders on the balcony of Avengers Tower while Bill was circling it. They were getting surrounded by a lot of Outriders.

"How the hell do we get rid of these bastards?" Steve asked, as he helped Matt take down some Outriders, "I'm getting tired of these guys."

"I bet these are the last ones that Thanos will send us." Pietro said, passing by them.

"For now." Matt continued to fight along with Danny and Steve. He was easily one of the weakest there because he didn't have a super power but he is one of the most skilled fighters.

Wanda used her powers to drag cars up and smash it against the Outriders. This method cleared them out easier and they were cleaning the Outriders faster. Suddenly Thor appeared with Reed, Quill and Rocket. He used the Bifrost to travel there along with Stormbreaker. He called down thunder from the skies and rained it down on the Outriders. After a few moments, the skies were raining down dead Outriders.

"Glad you made it back, Thor..." Steve wanted to shake his hands but he saw two Infinity Stones, "How did you get two Infinity Stones?"

"Three of them actually. One's in my new hammer." Thor smiled and pointed at Stormbreaker, "We stole it from Thanos while he was making a new gauntlet."

"Well, we're fucked." Jessica announced, taking a seat on the couch.

"Um... did I send anybody to get you or did you tag along?"

"I'm almost as strong as Hulk, goldilocks. So I guess I'm essential to your team." Jessica did a fake smile and continued to drink booze.

"That's not the point right now, the point is that we have three Infinity Stones and we could use it against Thanos," Steve looked through it and grabbed the Mind Stone, "We'll keep this."

"And Quill will keep the Soul Stone." Thor offered Quill the Stone.

"Why, because it's Gamora. Very funny." Quill quickly grabbed the Soul Stone out of Thor's hands. "You should have just told me."

"Who the hell is Gamora?" Danny asked

Rocket leaned over to Steve who was listening to the conversation, "I bet if Drax was here, he would have asked why is Gamora."

The elevator opened and none other than Phil Coulson appeared along with some S.H.I.E.L.D. officers and a some sort of capsule. There was something inside that Coulson didn't want to share yet.

"Coulson. Glad to see you during the end of the world." Steve smiled

"Don't, Captain. Because the next thing I'm going to show you may be unpleasant to the eyes." Coulson warned as he removed the blanket over the capsule. It was Tony Stark and it was clean. There was just a hole in his chest but it looked like it got covered up with some ice, "We had to dig him out."

"Elektra, and now Stark. This keeps on getting better, doesn't it?" Matt sarcastically whispered to Knight.

"Are you asking us to resurrect him like we did to Thanos?" Thor asked, now shaking his head, "No. We needed Strange for that one but now he's gone."

Steve told the Defenders to go down to the lobby and think of what they were going to do next. It was best to keep them out of the fight since it was theirs and not the Defenders. Quill, Rocket and Reed left because their groups were decimated by Thanos.

"Yeah, you can't resurrect with Doctor Strange but you can resurrect one life with that," Coulson pointed at the Soul Stone, "I heard that you can resurrect one life with the Soul Stone but you need to give up another."

"We need everyone in this room, Coulson. Everyone is important for the war against Thanos. We don't need anyone dying." Steve said

"That's why I'm here. It's about time I gave up my life to save the universe." Coulson smiled, walking towards the ledge, "How do we do this?"

Thor knew how it worked from Captain Marvel but he didn't want to say it because people might use it for power. Basically, the person had to hold the Soul Stone and give it to the dead person. After that, the person who is alive must sacrifice their life. That's how it worked.

Thor explained all of that and Coulson listened attentively. He did the ritual and walked towards the ledge of the tower. He took a last look at the Avengers.

"It's been great knowing you, Coulson. You were one of the best people we have at S.H.I.E.L.D. and you will be remembered." Natasha said with a tear flowing out of her eye.

"You don't have to do this, Coulson. There's always another way." Steve said

"There are other ways, Rogers, but you guys are running out of time and Tony will be helpful in your battle." Coulson looked down, "Goodbye, and send my regards to Maria Hill, will ya?"

Coulson jumped off the building and all the Avengers could do was watch. Reed, Quill, Rocket, Natasha, Steve, Thor, Pietro, Wanda, Sam and Peter all witnessed a sacrifice for another man's life. After a few seconds of staring at the window that Coulson jumped off, Peter quickly rushed to the capsule when he heard someone shout.

"He's alive, guys!" Peter said, as he broke the glass that Tony was encased in.

"What the hell just happened?! I was in a grave." Tony said, trying to breath, "I thought I'm dead?"

"You aren't now, Tony." Steve chuckled, as he helped him try to walk.

"What is going on? Did we win? Did we lose? I have so many goddamn questions." Tony said, taking a seat on the couch. Peter was about to speak but Tony stopped him, "Let the adults speak, kid. I rather hear it from them."

"I hope you're ready to hear this, Stark." Thor said, as he started explaining.