The Weight of the Universe | Avengers

33. Under Attack

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Bruce, Tony, Rocket and Aurora have been working on the Infinity Stones for a few hours now, building something that can withstand the power of all Stones combined. The solution is simpler than the four thought: Nanotech. They adjust themselves to the powerful Stones and in this way, it's possible for Tony to put them all together.

"Tony, Bruce... I'm sorry for your loss. We will always honor her sacrifice." Aurora expresses her condolences, aware how hard Natasha's death hit them. The two nod, sending sad and silent smiles before returning to the Stones. They have to make it work.

The six Infinity Stones are placed carefully into the gauntlet and they all wait out the converting with racing hearts in silence. The glove could explode any minute, the whole procedure could fail and Natasha's sacrifice only increases the burden.

"Boom!" Rocket suddenly exclaims and Tony and Bruce are startled, their hearts dropping to their toes. As Aurora is not frightened, already used to his pranks, Tony turns to him and it looks like he wants to kill the raccoon.

"Okay, you can punch Rocket later, now let's just try to undo everything." Aurora stops them and tilts her head. "Let's move the glove to the common room. Everyone's waiting."

Rocket chuckles in amusement while Tony just grunts unpleasantly, yet agreeing to the plan. He and Bruce then take the mighty weapon and transport it as Rocket and Aurora watch out that everything's alright. They have fought so hard to retrieve all Stones, nothing could go wrong. The whole team looks up when they enter the room and Aurora notices Nebula's absence.

"Where's Nebula??" She questions Rhodey and he shrugs.

"Said she wanted to fix her hand that got burnt on Morag."

Eve steps forward, this time wearing her usual Voltricity combat suit, and her voice is extremely anxious. "So, it worked?"

"Yes." Aurora nods confirming and the black-haired soldier releases a relieved sigh. In the meantime, Rocket and Tony lie down the gauntlet on the table, everyone surrounding them.

"Alright, the glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?" Rocket asks with a serious voice, they are all aware how powerful the Infinity Stones are and that the gauntlet can kill its user.

"I'll do it." Thor volunteers without hesitation, walking steadily towards the glove. "It's okay."

Tony, Eve, Scott and Steve immediately stop him from getting any closer to the Infinity gauntlet, the latter speaking up firmly. "Thor, just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that one yet."

"I'm sorry. What, were you just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor asks provokingly with impatience and Scott pipes up.

"We should at least discuss it."

"Look, us sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back. I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So, this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty, it's not that it's... " He claims and tries to push Tony away when the brunet gets in his way, but his voice is breaking. "Stop it! Just let me– just let me do it. Just let me do something good, something great."

"Look, it's not just the fact that the glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you you're in no condition." Tony reminds him gently, his eyes locked with Thor's as he recognizes the pain Thor is going through.

"You want to do something good?" Eve is standing next to Thor, her hand placed on his arm and her gaze is firm. "Stay alive, and let someone else do this. You've been through a lot, Thor."