THE QUANTUM TUNNEL opened once more, and the team coming back right to their spots like they never left, the Infinity Stones held tightly in their hands. Gasps and sighs of relief were heard all around, checking to see if they had done it.
"Did we get 'em all?" Bruce asked first.
"Are you telling me this actually worked?" Rhodey followed, holding the Orb in one hand.
Natasha wasn't focused on what they were saying, her eyes were searching for any sign of her sister among the group, a frown in her face.
Clint dropped to his knees and the loud noise made everyone's eyes to look at him, his face being solemn and regretful. When Steve's attention turned to him, he noticed that (Y/N) wasn't standing beside him.
Bruce asked the question they were all fearing to ask. "Clint, where's (Y/N)?"
Clint's silence confirmed their theory and he could only look down at the ground, not meeting anyone's eyes. Bruce gasped softly when he understood, and Tony felt like the world had stopped.
Natasha shook her head frantically, not believing what was happening. Thousands of thoughts ran through her head in order to not believe the truth, wanting to calm down and hope for a different outcome, but she knew it wasn't going to change what happened. She's gone, and you weren't there, she repeated herself.
But no one was ready for the loud cry that escaped from Steve's lips, crumbling to his knees as he murmured his lovers name, like he was trying to bring her back with words. He buried his head in his hands, not caring if anyone watched.
≫ ──── ««•◦ ✪ ◦•»» ──── ≪
THE REMAINING SIX stood in the outsides of the compound, staring out at the lake in front of them as they all mourned for their friend in their own way. Steve was still crying, his sobs being quieted down while Natasha sat down in silence, sniffing every now and then.
"Do we know if she had family, Nat?" Tony asked first, staring at the ground.
Natasha lifted her head but didn't answer the question, tears falling once again as she thought of the family they'd both shared. She wasn't prepared to tell them, she couldn't do it.
"Yeah," Steve answered with a cracked voice, when the thought of telling the children about the news ran to his mind. "Us."
"What?" Thor questioned, walking up to Tony.
"Huh?" Tony frowned.
"What are you doing?"
"I just asked him a question."
"Yeah, no, you're acting like she's dead," Thor said with frustration in his voice. "Why are we acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones. . .Cap, we can bring her back. Isn't that right?"
Steve lowered his head and stared down at his hands, pulling an object out of his pocket. It was the old compass that he's held all this years, opening it to have a picture of (Y/N) smiling up at him. A sob escaped his lips when he realized that he'd never see that smile again.
"So, stop this shit. We're the Avengers. Get it together," Thor hissed.
"Can't get her back," Clint spoke up after being quiet the whole time.
"What's he. . .? What?"
"It can't be undone," Clint continued. "It can't."
Thor laughed in disbelief. "Look, I'm sorry, no offense, but you're a very earthly being, okay? And we're talking about space magic. And 'can't' seems very definitive. Don't you think?"
"Yeah, look, I know that I'm way outside my pay grade here. But she still isn't here, is she?"
"No, that's my point."
"It can't be undone," Clint repeated. "Or that's at least what the red, floating guy had to say. Maybe you wanna talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer and you go fly and you talk to him!"
His voice grew louder at the end of his sentence, all the frustration he felt in that moment coming out for the first time.
"It was supposed to be me," Clint said. "She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it."
"Clint," Natasha spoke up for the first time ever since she heard of the news, and everyone's attention drifted to her.
Natasha was never one to show her emotions in front of people, especially when it came to her family, but she didn't care. Her younger sister was gone, she had failed her mission to protect her.
"You can't say things like that. I should've convinced her in staying with me," she said.
Bruce grunted and grabbed a spare bench on the edge of the lake, using his strength to throw it as fast as he could to let out his frustration.
"She's not coming back," he said. "We have to make it worth it. We have to."
"We'll continue," Natasha nodded with a sniff.
Steve stood up from the bench and played the compass back in his pocket. "We will. For (Y/N)."
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