The Connection They Share

Chapter 2

"Alright. Bring it down low. Right on that line. That's it. Down, down." Rhodey directs Nebula as she lowers the small ship they would be travelling in.
"Hey, can we hurry it up?" Pietro fidgets getting impatient.
"Guys, chop-chop. Come on. We're on a clock." I joke and Rhodey sends me a look as Nebula walks off the ship.
"All that, is really helpful." he gives me a hug "Take care, okay?" I just gave him a weak smile. "Take that stone and come back. No messing around."
"Hey. You got this." Pietro says to Rhodey confidently. "See you back." We walk onto the ship.
"You guys watch each other's six." Rhodey calls out with a grim face.
"Yeah." I sigh before we entered the ship and sit down in the seats. "It's a long way from your tiny little house by the sea" Pietro jokes trying to make light of the situation "We'll get back there again" he says grasping my hand. I try to smile but it comes out as a grimace so I gaze out at the whirl of stars, is this to be my last trip? Will I finally see Loki again?
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We arrive on Vormir and it looks exactly as it did in my dream, "This would be totally awesome under different circumstances." I stay quiet and begin climbing the mountain not paying attention to Pietro who wouldn't stop talking. I reach the top and look over the edge, this is where Thanos threw Gamora off the ledge for the soul stone, "What do we do now?" Pietro asks as he joins me on the edge, I open my mouth to tell him when a voice stops me, "Welcome"
We spin around, I draw my swords at the hooded figure that had snuck up behind us. "Avery, daughter of James. Pietro, son of Iryna" the figure states as he comes towards us "Who are you?" I question as I hadn't seen him in the vision. "Consider me a guide. To you, and to all who seek the Soul Stone."
"Oh, good. You tell us where it is. Then we'll be on our way." Pietro orders, starting to become impatient. I glance up at him but cloak guy moved passed us and stood by the edge "Ah if only it were that easy. What you seek lies in front of you...as does what you fear."
"The stone is down there?" Pietro asks confused with the creatures riddles, I hung my head realising this must have been the guy to tell Thanos that he had to sacrifice his daughter. "For one of you. For the other...In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange. A soul for a soul."
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I sat on a log as Pietro paced back and forth occasionally using his super speed leaving a blue blur. I hold my head in my hands, how do I tell him that I should be the one to go off the edge. "Maybe he's making this shit up."
I shake my head "He's not"
"How do you know? Is it because he knew your daddy's name?" he asks doubtfully.
"No it's because I saw Thanos here as he threw the one thing he loved over the edge, his daughter" I pause and fixate my gaze on a small rock on the floor by my feet. "Why do you think I didn't let Nat come with Clint, why I tried to convince you not to come with me? I knew and I didn't want to lose any of you" I whisper and finally look up at him. He sits next to me "You should have told us but I know why you didn't" Pietro states and I sigh in relief that he isn't angry.
"You know what this means then" I say standing up and looking at the ledge. "Yeah" Pietro stands next to me "Tell Wanda I love her" My head whips to the left as I look at him, he grins then uses his super speed. I thrust out my hand and hold him as he hovers over the drop, I bring him back then tackle him to the ground. "Tell her yourself" I spit then run but he grabs my arm and pulls me back. I throw him off me and into a rock wall "Stay. Put" I order. I run off the edge of the cliff but a hand grasps my own and I crash into the cliff side. I look up at Pietro "You're like a sister to me and Wanda, Ava, and I know you feel like you have no one left but a lot of people will miss you if you die. Please hold my hand" he begs.
"I can't, you know I can't. I have to do this." I say and try to wiggle my hand free but Pietro just tightens his grip. "I'm sorry" Pietro says before clipping a device onto my wrist then lets go of me. I cry out in pain as the device was connected to a wire that was anchored to the cliff, I had to grasp the wire or it would break my wrist. I let out a scream as Pietro jumps off the cliff but I use my right hand to hold him in place with my powers. "Let me go, Avery"
"Please, I don't want to lose you too. How am I to face Wanda knowing I let you die?" a sob escapes me as I look into his eyes, I slowly pull him toward me. "Tell Wanda I did it for her, that I'm with our parents and...and that I love her" Pietro smiles a look of peace falling over his face. He pulls out a remote and turns it on, the device on my wrist sends electric shocks through my body. I lose my grip on Pietro and for a second he hovers "I love you" he chokes out before he plummets to the ground before. I scream as I see his once blonde hair stained red, not seeing the white light shooting into the sky signalling the sacrifice is complete, I look away before looking back down. Why?
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I wake in a small pool of water and I feel something in my hand, I pull my hand out of the water to see the soul stone. I clench my hand and slam it down on the water, "I love you too, you idiot" I whisper as tears fall rapidly down my cheeks. I stagger upright with stone secured in my hand, I hope the others have got their stones so that we can save the rest of the Universe. I sync up and travel forward in time back to the compound. "Did we get them all?" Bruce's voice is the first thing I hear.
"You telling me this'll actually work?" Rhodey asks with a bit of excitement, I collapse to my knees unable to stay standing. "Where's Pietro?" Clint asks as they notice the speedster was not with us. "Ava, where is he?" Nat asks as she crouches down in front of me, "I couldn't-I couldn't save him, it had to be done to-to get the..." I dissolve into tears and Nat brings me into a hug. Tony takes the stone before I crushed it and I couldn't stop the tears. "He's dead, Nat. He's dead" I look up and she smooths my hair. "Come on" Nat picks me up off the ground and guides me outside so I could get some fresh air.
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"Did he have any other family?" Tony asks, sadness on all of the teams' faces. I shake my head, the tears have now stopped and I was just gazing out onto the lake in a sort of daze "Just Wanda and us"
"You're acting like he's dead. Why are we acting like he's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, we can bring him back, isn't that right?" Thor says and I just snap.
"WE CAN'T!!" I shout at him, he goes silent but still had that stupid look on his face "It's different, he can't be brought back not this time. And if you don't believe me maybe you want to talk to the red floating guy? GO GRAB YOUR HAMMER, AND YOU GO FLY AND TALK TO HIM!" I collapse on the bench and my anger quickly turns to sadness "It was supposed to be me, so that he could come back and reunite with his sister. He sacrificed himself for that goddamn stone." I then continue to look out at the lake. "His sacrifice won't be in vain, we will make this work" Bruce places a hand on my shoulder before walking back to the compound, the others following "Come in when you're ready" Nat says then she too leaves.

I sat in silence for a minute but couldn't relax due to a lingering presence "What do you want, Thor?" I finally acknowledge him. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for everything I've done" I turn in surprise and look at Thor's guilty face. "What?" I breathe not believing what he is saying, "I'm sorry for not helping the people and...for shouting at you" he takes a breathe "I know that Loki loved you dearly, you weren't just a fling. I was just angry, drunk and in a very dark place, please forgive me"
"I forgive you Thor, I know it wasn't you. I also want to apologise for almost killing you after the snap, I was upset and needed someone to blame, I was a hypocrite. You got that right." I say before Thor pulls me into a hug. "I'm glad we're okay again" I nod then pull back "After this is over, you need a shower though, you stink" he agrees and we both go inside, my heart feeling significantly lighter.
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We walked into an empty room where everyone is standing around a new infinity gauntlet, all the stones glowing glad to be reunited once again. "All right. The glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?" Rhodey questions.
"I'll do it." Thor speaks up and I look up at him, what?
"Excuse me?" I say with raised eyebrows.
"It's okay." Thor confirms as he walks up to the gauntlet, everyone protests and Steve places a hand on his chest. "Wait, wait, Thor, just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet."
"I'm sorry. What, we're just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor asks getting frustrated.
"We should at least discuss it." Nat states and I agree, we don't want someone to snap their fingers and die from it.
"No, no, 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." Thor protests, Tony tries to combat his stubbornness but Thor hushes him "It's not that– Stop it! Just let me! Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something right." He starts to tear up and hits Tony on the chest.
"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." Tony reasons but Thor was having none of it.
"What do you– What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?"
"Cheez Whiz?" Rhodey states and Thor acknowledges that but then says "Lightning."
"Lightning won't help you, pal. It's gotta be me." Bruce says from the side and Thor shakes his head in anguish, I pull him away from Tony, you'll get your time just not right this moment.
"You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive." Bruce walks over to the gauntlet.
"How do we know you will?" I ask not ready to lose another friend so soon after Pietro's death.
"We don't. But the radiation's mostly gamma. It's like...I was made for this." Bruce picks up the gauntlet, it looked tiny in his giant hands.
"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 instructs
"Got it." Bruce nods. I throw up my shield to protect Nat who is next to me and extend it slightly to cover Clint but he was mostly covered by Tony. The facility goes into lockdown as steel doors block out all the natural light and keep the gems' energy contained. Bruce puts on the gauntlet and the energy consumes him causing him to cry in pain. The team start shouting but Bruce says he's okay and musters up enough power to snap his fingers. There is a flash then Bruce collapses to the floor and the gauntlet is kicked away by Clint. I lower my shield and watch over the gauntlet as Tony tends to Bruce's charred arm. I look at a phone ringing and see it's Laura, I glance at Nat and she smiles "It worked" I grin but then a shadow falls over the compound. I cover the gauntlet as missiles are aimed at the compound and I feel myself falling downwards. I hit my head on a pipe and is immediately knocked out cold, I fall a few more meters before coming to a stop still clutching the stones.