The Valiant (The Seventh Avenger)

Chapter 100

My body ascends into the air and I open my eyes to find myself back at the battlefield. Everything and everyone was frozen. My heart thuds against my chest and power courses its way through my veins, charging the green to burn brighter and brighter as I lift my arms up.

I twist and spin them counterclockwise as ripples of green burst from my body and surround everything as they begin to force time to undo itself. My chest pinches and throbs but I push through and add more energy into it. I watch as Tony flies back and relatches himself onto the gauntlet as Thanos unwhacks him. I release the flames and the rewind slows down before returning to normal.

Tony bolts up to Thanos and grabs onto the gauntlet, I drop to the ground and run towards Tony as he gets whacked away once again. I stumble over my feet at my overworking heart bringing waves of dizziness unto me. I push myself up and half run half crawl towards Tony.

"I am Inevitable," the words pound in my head and I latch onto Tony as the stones begin to take place on the back of his hand.

Energy courses its way through me and I yelp as my pounding heart skips a beat. A blurred Tony looks over at me and I nodded my head, showing he is not alone. Steve tumbles over and his own hand rests on Tony's other shoulder, he groans from the surge.

A hand grasps onto mine and I look up at the emerald eyes I had fallen in love with all those years ago. He squeezes my hand as Thor latches onto him. More and more heroes grab hands with each other, they all groan as the power surges through them and I begin to absorb more of it into my system.

My heart pounds against my ribs, begging to be released of this power but I don't let go. I can't let Tony die for the sake of Morgan. I made a promise to her all those years ago and now is the time to keep it.

My vision begins to clear up and I glance at Thanos, dread fills his eyes as he glances at all of us. I look around at everyone who brought us to be where we are today and my gaze lands on the man who started it all. I nod my head at Tony and he takes a deep breath. I brace myself for the power that's about to burst within me and begin to absorb all of the stones' energy into myself.

"And we are the Avengers." Tony snaps his fingers and I gasp. Colors burst to life in the veins under my skin and my body goes numb as I glance up at what we did.

One by one Thanos' army begins to turn to dust and everything that remained of it. His ships flake into nonexistence and a grin forms on my lips. We actually did it this time. We defeated Thanos.

My gaze finishes on Thanos. He watches in dismay as everything he created turns to dust around him; Ebony Maw reaches out for his father, Proxima Midnight holds onto her love, and the body of the alien creature disappear into a cloud of dust.

He tumbles back, his expression showing defeat as he falls to the ground. His eyes connect with mine and he nods his head before dust consumes him. I watch as it drifts off in the wind and a smile courses on my lips and I fall.

Hands reach out towards me and the air squeezes its way out of my lungs when I hit the ground. My heart pounds in my chest, begging to be given the relief that I cannot provide.

My ears ring, my body shakes, and I can't focus on anything. The world is spinning and frozen, my head is pounding yet silent. I thought it was supposed to be peaceful, I thought it was going to be quick. I claw at the ground, trying to redirect the pain somewhere else but it doesn't work. I gasp for breath, my natural instinct kicking in trying to fight what has yet to come.

Someone collapses onto their knees beside me, and I look up to find Tony staring at me, pain cloaks his face and I latch onto his good hand.

"I love you, Dad," I say looking at him in the eyes, "but I had a promise to keep." There it is, a memory that should have been erased flicked to life behind his eyes and he shakes his head. Before he could say anything, I muster the strength to pull him down into a hug. "Take care of Morgan for me," I whisper and kiss him on the cheek.

A sob escapes Tony's throat and Pepper walks up to comfort him as another figure steps up to me. Peter tilts his head and a spark flicks in his eyes as if he recognizes me. I open my arms to embrace him and he accepts it, my hand lands on the back of his head and gold flames appear in my palm and flow into his mind. Memories of us return to their suiter and relief of the finality of letting him go circulates to life within me, calming my nerves for a millisecond before the pain starts up again.

"Watch out for each other," I whisper into Peter's ear, referring to Michelle and Ned, I feel his head nod and he pulls away from me. I offer a smile up to him as he backs away from me, tears streaming down his face and not sure of where to go. Valkyrie steps up to him and takes him into her arms.

A sob escapes my lips from the punch in my chest and someone latches onto my face, focusing my attention bright green eyes. I wheeze out his name, "Loki" and tears streak down his face. I reach out and slowly wipe them away as his lips connect with mine.

For a moment, everything was calm. There was nothing wrong with the world and I find my muscles relaxing, the earthquake within my body settles and lean into the kiss because this will be my last.

"I found you in the stars," I whisper between breaths. With each beat in my chest, a spark of pain follows and tears stream down my face from everything. The pain, the goodbyes, the stones' energy still clawing its way throughout my body.

I glance up at Loki and another one takes my hand, he smiles softly at the other and I follow his gaze to find Evan kneeling down beside my body. His hand grasps onto mine and the coolness of his fingertips causes a flow of calm to make its way through me.

"Please don't go, Grace," he croaks, he shakes and his breaths become more rapid. "You can't go. You can't, remember we were going to go on these adventures and be able to grow up together, remember that?"

My chest throbs and I groan out in pain, there's nothing I can do about it.

"Don't worry I'll be with you," I whisper and he begins to erupt into an abundance of reasons I can't leave. I gently shush him and squeezed his hand, "I will be with you and if you ever don't feel me there with you then look up at the stars. I'll be with our ancestors, watching and waiting for your destiny to arrive."

He leans back, his gaze going blank and looking everywhere besides me and finally nodded his head. A tear streaks down his cheek, clearing the dirt from his face and I squeeze his hand one last time before returning my attention back to Loki.

The thread of life twirls and twists around in my grasp, threatening to slip away. I stare up at his eyes, trying to take in every last detail of the man I fell in love with. I can feel it beginning to slip away and my eyes begin to grow heavy.

Thump-thump

"I love you, Grace," Loki says taking my hand, his cold fingers shaking as they grasp mine. "It's okay, love." His words echoed around me and I nod my head. "It's okay... it's okay to let go. We'll be okay."

Thump-thump

My muscles relax and I find myself sinking into the ground. The sobs begin to fade into beats and the sky seems brighter than usual.

Thump-thump

My eyelids begin to grow heavy and I flutter them open a few times and allow myself to get one last glance at my family. The sun shines down through the clouds and creates an aura over everyone, making them all be so beautiful. My grasp weakens in Loki's hands and the light glistens brighter as the thread slips between my fingertips.

Thump----thump-----