𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 , shuri udaku - discontinued

THE SNAP

CITY OF STARS.
34. ❛ the snap. ❜

"ALL RIGHT, THE GLOVE'S ready." Rocket announced as the gauntlet hovered in their holding machine. It was the next day and everyone was gathered together in a room. "Question is, who's gonna snap their frickin fingers?"

"I'll do it." Thor nodded surely, making his way towards the glove. He raised his hand as everyone's heads snapped toward the god.

"Excuse me?" Rhodey mumbled. When Thor neared the glove, everyone put their hands up, distancing him from it.

Aquaria shook her head, speaking softly with her bow and arrows in her hand, "That might not be such a good idea."

"Thor, just... wait," Steve said sternly. "We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry. We're just all sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" He remarked, looking around at everyone.

"We should at least discuss it." Scott looked up at him.

"Look, sitting here staring at that thing isn't going to bring everyone back," Thor logically said. "I'm the strongest Avenger so this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty. It's not that- It's-"

Tony started to object and held Thor back with his palm against the god's chest. "Thor, wait a second, just-"

"Shh! Just let me," Thor mustered out, taking Tony's hand between his own. "Let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something great."

"Look," started Tony. "It's not just the fact that that glove's channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you, you're in no condition."

"What do you think is coursing through my veins, right now?" Thor questioned.

"Cheese Whiz?" Rhodey guessed.

"Blood?" Aquaria smiled up proudly, not getting the tone of the question.

"Uh, yes." Thor nodded before he waved his hand at Aquaria and disregarded Rhodey. "But it's lightning."

"Lightning won't help you, pal," Bruce spoke up. "It's gotta be me. You saw what those Stones did to Thanos, it almost killed him. None of you could survive."

"How do we know you will?" asked Steve.

"We don't," Bruce said in a low, solemn voice. "But the radiation is mostly Gamma. It's like..." His voice faltered at the end of his sentence, "It's like I was made for this."

"Are you sure?" Tony questioned.

Bruce sighed. "Yeah, I am." He reached forward, carefully taking the gauntlet out of its holding. He let it sit between his fingers; the device much smaller than his large hands.

"Good to go?" Bruce asked, looking at Tony as he walked by. Tony nodded back. "Let's do it."

"Okay, remember, everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago; we're just bringing them back to now. Today. Don't change anything from the last five years."

"If you kill my father, I'll kill you slowly." Aquaria smiled, fully serious in following through with her threat. "And painfully."

Bruce chuckled nervously and nodded, the pressure was unbearable. Everyone stood around him, each in their uniform to protect themselves from any sudden harm.

Steve slowly lifted his shield and Aquaria held up a barrier of water in front of Thor and herself as her suit formed around her body in seconds. She strapped her bow over her back and rolled her shoulders anxiously.

Scott's mask flipped on just as Rhodey's mask flipped over his head as well and they both got into a fighting stance.

Tony tapped his chest twice, and the nano suit quickly formed over his body. Raising his fist, a holographic shield flashed, covering himself and Clint.

"FRIDAY, do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol," Tony said inside his suit, looking around the room.

"Yes, Boss," FRIDAY replied. The next second, heavy metal doors sealed every exit in the Compound. All windows, doors, entryways, and even the roof were transformed into solid steel.

"Everybody comes home," Bruce muttered to himself before slowly slipping his arm into the Gauntlet. The mouth of the glove opened as his hand neared, and it slowly formed around his hand. When the glove finally snapped into place around his hand and wrist, it flashed brightly with a rainbow of colors.

Bruce sunk to one knee and cried out in pain. Thor went to move around Aquaria's wall of water but she pulled him back into place, shaking her head slowly.

"Let me go, Aquaria. Take it off him, take it off!" Thor shouted as Bruce continued to cry out.

Steve shook his head, "No, wait! Bruce, are you okay?!"

"Talk to me, Banner," Tony commented.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Bruce panted. With agonizing screams, he rose his hand into the air using the support of his other arm and he snapped his fingers.

A blinding white light illuminated the room before Bruce's eyes rolled back and he fell to the floor. The Gauntlet slipped off his hand and Clint kicked it away from him.

Tony and Steve rushed forward, noticing Bruce was non-responsive. They all talked over one another to ask if Bruce was okay.

"Bruce! You all right?!"

"Don't move him," Tony activated his suit, spraying a cool and repairing mist over Bruce's severed arm as Steve put his shield down.

Bruce reached for Steve's arm and gripped it tightly as his teeth were gritted in distress. "Did it work?" he asked.

Tony ordered FRIDAY to deactivate the steel reinforcement around the Compound and Aquaria let out a sigh of relief, releasing the wall of water.

Scott stepped through the doors into the next room and walked up to the window, staring outside in disbelief. For the first time in five years, birds were singing in the courtyard garden.

A faint buzzing sounded and Clint's head shot up. With shaking hands, he walked up to his phone that lay on the desk. 'Laura', the ID read, and Clint let out a breath, tears filling his eyes.

He picked it up and pressed the green button. "Honey?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"Clint?"

Tears brimmed in his eyes at a voice he hadn't heard in five years. "Honey..." he repeated, trying to keep his composure.

"Guys," Scott spoke, gaining the team's attention. A smile spread across his face like wildfire. "I think it worked."

Aquaria laughed with disbelief, a true smile on her face for the first time in two years but then suddenly a dark shadow cast over the Compound and the next second, the ground disappeared from under Aquaria's feet.

From above, Thanos' ship rained fire on the Avenger's Compound, destroying the entire property and building.

Rhodey, Rocket, Clint, and Aquaria slipped as the ground split in two beneath them. Clawing at the smooth surface, they all fell multiple floors down to the ground.