Bound By Purpose

Made For This

We've all gathered in Tony's lab. The gauntlet sits in front of us, waiting for someone to put it on. We've all suited back up because frankly we have no idea what will happen when we wield this thing. 

Rocket steps back after he and Tony put on the final touches. "All right. The glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?" We all stare at it each personally thinking about who would be the best fit. I look over at Tony, surely his suit could take the majority of the power generated... then again what do I know it could kill us all if we play this wrong.

"I'll do it." Thor steps forward to a chorus of no's. 

"Excuse me?" Scott asks 

"It's okay." Thor says with a smile.

As he continues everyone holds him up saying, "No, no, no, whoa. Stop. Stop. Wait a sec. Hey, hey..." 

Steve is the one to be heard above all the rest. Thor finally stops when he hears him, "Wait, wait, wait, Thor, just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet.

Thor stands up straighter, "Oh, I'm sorry. What, were you just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?"

"We should at least discuss it." Scott says. I nod my head in agreement.

Thor rolls his eyes and stamps his foot as he crosses his arms. "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..." Tony has come forward and in a very empathetic way.

Thor hushes us all. "It's... stop it! Just let me." I can see that he's tearing up. I know he's hurting and that the effects of his visit home are still present. Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something right." I wish with my whole heart that I could endorse him in this but I just can't.

"Look...It's not just the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you you're in no condition." I respect Tony for speaking so plainly. The first step to getting over what he's going through is admitting the pain.

Thor looks at him as if he's an idiot, "What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?"

"Cheez Whiz?" Rhodes asked annoyed that the discussion is still happening.

Thor smirks, "Lightning."

"Yeah." Tony says patting him on the back sympathetically. 

"Lightning won't help you, pal." The room's attention is directed to Bruce who's spoken for the first time. "It's gotta be me." He says looking up at us. Thor steps away from Tony and I think that deep down he knows it's the route that we need to take. "You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive."

"How do we know you will?" Steve asks, still studying the stones.

"We don't. But the radiation's mostly gamma." He takes a good long look at the gauntlet. "It's like..." He shrugs his shoulders. "Uh... I was made for this." He looks determined. Right now I don't see the what he is now, I see the doctor I'd met years ago, a man who was scared of what he could become. Now he seems completely at peace with who he is, and he knows how he can give his sacrifice.

No one protests so Bruce moves forward. Tony meets him at the table to support him. "You're sure you can handle this?"

There's no hesitation in Bruce's answer, "Let's do it." I look around the room as Bruce prepares himself. This was actually happening. Five years later and we'd all come together to accomplish this, to bring everyone back.

"You remember... everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything from the last five years." Tony is clear and concise as he taps away at a screen.

Bruce nods, "Got it." Tony steps away from the table and taps his reactor causing his suit to encase him. I reach down to Rocket at my side and let him climb onto my shoulder as he had done in Asgard. There's a few moments where everyone is coming to terms with what is about to happen. Cap grabs his shield and Scott's helmet envelops his face. I let my own suit do it's thing. It creates a shield in front of me mimicking Tony's across from me. I make sure it's held up in a way that protects me and my passenger. I'd become way too fond of the little rodent on my shoulder. I think in a way he reminds me of Bucky. He didn't ask to be made the way he was, he had to find a way to fight his programming and find a family. Rocket had never spoken to me about who he lost, but the way he had handled Thor's melt down had shown me that he cared an awful lot about them. With my free hand I reach up across my chest and find his little hand. He wraps it around two fingers and waits for Banner to act.

"FRIDAY, do me a favor and activate Protocol 8." Tony says from beside me.

"Yes, boss." I hear her voice reverberate through my own suit and then the facility goes into lock down. Metal comes down over the lab's glass windows and the emergency lights come on.

"Everybody comes home." Banner states as he slowly reaches for the glove. He slides his hand in and lifts up as a power surge instantly overwhelms him. Rocket squeezes my fingers as Bruce grunts in pain from the floor where he's fallen.

"Take it off! Take it off!" Thor yells. He lunges forward but Steve stops him.

He lowers his shield, "Bruce, are you okay?" I can see in his eyes that he is remembering his own time in pain. Many people had called for Howard to shut it down, but Steve had insisted on pushing through it.

My attention is brought back to Bruce as Tony speaks, "Talk to me, Banner."

It takes him a moment but he finally answers, "I'm okay. I'm okay." He pushes himself to his knees as the those that had step forward slowly go back behind their shields. Bruce screams, fighting through the intense pain coursing through his body courtesy of the gauntlet. We're all helpless, watching him suffer through his pain alone. He finally manages to overcome the pain, he raises his hand and snaps his fingers. I blink as a wave washes over the room, penetrating everything in its wake. Bruce faints and the gauntlet slides off his arm, Clint runs forward and kicks it across the room.

Rocket hops from my arm as Steve, Tony and I drop to Bruce's side. My hands hover over him, unsure of what to do.

"Don't move him." Tony says as he positions himself over the injured arm. He sprays a coolant over him which causes Bruce to come to. 

Bruce's good arm reaches up and grabs my hand. "Did it work?" I really don't know what to say, in shock of what I just witnessed. I look around for the answer but it doesn't reside here.

With no one really knowing Thor kneels down and tries to calm him, "It's over. It's okay."

I leave the boys as the metal slides up revealing the sunlight from outside. Scott goes towards it. Turning I see that Clint has found his phone and is urgently speaking to someone. "Honey? Honey..." He says. I let out a huge sigh of relief and smile.

I close my eyes and take in the moment of peace. "Guys...I think it worked!" I turn to Scott right as the first explosion hits. It shakes the foundations and sends me backwards to the floor near Clint. Everyone's yelling, someone's calling my name, but it's all gone dark. The only source of light is Tony's suit. I reach out for someone, anyone. The only one within reach is Clint. With one look we've both reached out. I latch onto his wrist just as another missle hits sending me flying away.

I feel a sense of falling, but it comes to an end quickly. I feel my lower back hit something solid and then I'm thrown into a spiral until I finally come to a stop as my whole body lands on something solid. I let out a groan as my back pops in protest of my sudden movement. Something lands on me and then another thing and then another. There's nothing for me to do but cover my head as the debris rain down over me. I can't see or hear anything, there is nothing except the pain of the constant rock and metal debris building itself over me. I precariously curl myself up and wait for the end of the destruction. I cry out once for Bucky. Not because there's any possibility he might hear me but because my thoughts have wandered to him once again, and because this time they're spirited with the knowledge that he is alive and well somewhere in Wakanda.