Follow You

13

AVENGERS HQ - QUANTUM PLATFORM

Everyone looked around to see all the recovered Stones.

"Did we get them all?" Bruce asked.

"You telling me this'll actually work?" Rhodey questioned.

There was a pause as everyone started to realize someone was missing.

"Clint, Elliot, where's Nat?" Bruce wondered.

The silence from Clint and Elliot told them all they needed to know. The mission was completed but at a dire cost. Sadness overtook everyone. Bruce fell to his knees and pounded the floor in grief.

Elliot left the room and pounded a fist on a wall in an empty room and began crying. He wiped his eyes and sniffled, trying to keep from breaking down. He feared if he cried, he might never stop.

A hand settled on his shoulder and he turned to see Clint.

"First Elise and now Nat," Elliot said with a shaky voice.

Clint hugged his brother who tried to keep his tears in once again.

OUTSIDE HQ - LAKESIDE

Tony, Steve, Thor, Clint, Elliot and Bruce were mourning their fallen teammate, wife, and friend.

"Do we know if she had family?" Tony asked.

Elliot shot Tony a look.

"Yeah. Us," Steve replied. "And Elliot and Sasha."

Thor, confused, questioned, "What?"

"I just asked him a question–" Tony was cut off.

"Yeah, you're acting like she's dead. 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?" He growled. "So stop this shit. We're the Avengers, get it together."

"We can't get her back," Clint said.

"Wha– what?" Thor asked.

"It can't be undone," Elliot said grimly. "It can't. You think I don't want to save the woman I love? I can't! And that breaks my heart!"

Thor dryly laughed. "I'm sorry. No offense, but you're two are very earthly beings. Okay? We're talking about space magic. And "can't" seems very definitive don't you think?"

Clint said to Thor, "Yeah, look, Elliot and I know that we're way outside our paygrade here. But she still isn't here, is she?"

"No, that's my point–" Thor was cut off.

"It can't– be undone," Elliot interrupted. Or that's at least what the red floating guy had to say." He shouted. "Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer, and you go fly and talk to him!" Elliot's anger was quickly replaced with grief. "It was supposed to be me or Clint. She sacrificed her life for that goddamn Stone. She bet her life on it."

In a burst of anger, Bruce grabbed a bench and hurled it clear across the lake. His anger spent, he turned to the others with a resigned look on his face and said, "She's not coming back. We have to make it worth it. We have to."

"We will," Steve reassured.

AVENGER'S LAB

Tony carefully placed the Stones in the gauntlet he made while Bruce and Rocket watched. With nervous precision, Tony manipulated the machine and carefully placed all six Stones into the gauntlet.

"Boom!" Rocket cried.

Tony and Bruce jumped a bit, and quickly groaned at Rocket's joke.

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