Marvel 242

"The Stone does not demand death," he said softly. "It demands meaning. It demands loss. The pain must be real."

Clint gritted his teeth. "So you're saying if we throw him… and we don't care enough… it won't work?"

Red Skull was silent for a beat, then gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. "Correct."

Natasha cursed under her breath. Clint looked at her, guilt in his eyes.

"We're back to square one."

The criminal, finally realizing what was happening, began to struggle—spitting curses in three languages, fighting the restraints.

Natasha sighed and pulled out her knife, calmly pressing the hilt to his neck to shut him up. "Quiet. You're not dying yet."

Clint stared out across the chasm. "Then it's the same choice all over again…"

Natasha turned to him. "It's not. This time, we know the price. But maybe—just maybe—Max was right about one thing."

Clint blinked. "What's that?"

Natasha slowly approached the edge of the cliff, dragging the prisoner behind her.

She didn't push him—yet. But she turned back to Red Skull.

"You said the loss had to be real. What if… we use him, but we make ourselves believe it's real? What if the intent matters more than the truth?"

Red Skull said nothing.

Clint's eyes widened. "You're going to fake loving this guy?"

Natasha shrugged. "I've faked worse."

Clint stared. "You're insane."

She looked at him, her eyes darker than usual. "I'm desperate."

She stepped up to the cliff's edge, closed her eyes, and whispered just loud enough for the Stone to hear.

"He was my redemption. I came here to sacrifice my past… to kill what I was… for what I want to become."

Then she shoved the prisoner.

For a moment—nothing.

Then a surge of golden light burst from the chasm.

Clint shielded his eyes.

When he looked again, the Soul Stone rested on the altar.

His breath caught in his throat.

"…It worked."

Natasha exhaled sharply, barely believing it herself.

Behind them, Red Skull slowly disappeared.

No judgment. No praise.

Just silence.

"Haha—it worked! Max was right!" Clint laughed, holding the glowing Soul Stone in his hand.

But something was off.

Behind him, Natasha's expression changed. Her eyes widened just as she shoved Clint to the side.

Too late.

A shadow moved at the edge of the cliff—Red Skull, watching them closely. Before Clint could react, the wraith-like figure raised a ghostly hand. A surge of invisible force threw Clint back as Red Skull stepped forward, eyes locked on Natasha.

Clint scrambled to his feet, just in time to see it happen.

Red Skull didn't speak. He merely gestured—and Natasha, already standing near the ledge, staggered backward and fell.

"No!" Clint screamed, running to the edge. "NAT!"

Her form vanished into the abyss, just like before. Only this time… it was real.

Clint dropped to his knees, clutching his head in agony. Tears streamed down his face as he pounded the cold stone with his fists. "DAMN IT!"

Red Skull turned away, walking toward the Soul Stone's altar.

"The Stone has spoken. Foolish mortals, always thinking they can cheat fate," he muttered coldly as he reached out to claim it.

But Clint's hand moved fast.

Wiping his eyes, he drew an arrow from his quiver. "I'm not just a fool."

With expert precision, he loosed the arrow—but Red Skull anticipated the move. With a ghostly wave of his hand, he sent the arrow off course.

Clint smirked.

"You really think I'd aim for you?"

The redirected arrow curved midair—its tip flaring with magnetic energy—and struck the altar instead.

A pulse erupted as the containment seal broke. The Soul Stone was dislodged—and launched straight into Clint's waiting hand.

Red Skull's hollow scream echoed across the cliffs.

Clint didn't wait.

Slamming his fist onto the quantum device strapped to his wrist, he activated the recall sequence.

In a flash of light, he vanished—leaving Red Skull screaming in fury as Vormir's winds howled louder than ever.

**

Everyone stared in stunned silence as Clint finished recounting what had happened on Vormir.

"She… she saved me," he whispered, his voice strained. "She pushed me out of the way… and Red Skull—he—he made his move. I couldn't stop her."

The Soul Stone lay in his palm, glowing with an eerie, cold light.

Tony looked away, jaw tight. Thor dropped his gaze to the floor. Bruce clenched his fists but said nothing. The weight of her absence hit harder now than ever before.

Then Rhodey spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Let's do the snap," he said. "Once we bring everyone back… we can bring her back too."

There were nods around the room—some hesitant, some hopeful.

"Then let's make the gauntlet," Tony said, his voice steady.

One by one, the team members stepped forward and placed their Infinity Stones on the table. Each one glowed with its own unique, pulsing energy—the Soul Stone a deep, haunted orange… the others humming with the power of time, space, reality, mind, and power.

Tony turned to Bruce. "You ready to help me build it?"

Bruce nodded. "We'll need the nanotech shell reinforced with vibranium layers. It has to channel cosmic-scale energy."

"Good thing I'm a genius," Tony muttered, already pulling up schematics with a flick of his wrist.

Rocket leaned in, whistling low. "You sure this thing's gonna work? Not turn you into space confetti?"

"Only one way to find out," Tony replied dryly. "Let's just hope we don't blow a hole in the planet."

The others gave them space as Tony and Bruce worked at the central lab console. With E.D.I.T.H. and Friday assisting, the gauntlet began to form—nanometal weaving itself like living wire, latticework pulsing as each Infinity Stone locked into place, one by one.

The room quieted as the final stone—the Soul Stone—slid into its slot.

A tremor shook the base. Energy flared for a moment.

Everyone stood back.

"It's done," Bruce said, exhaling. "But this thing… it's radiating more power than anything I've ever felt."

Tony looked around the room, gaze lingering on each face—Clint, Steve, Thor, Rocket, Rhodey… even Max, who stood back, silent and watching.

"We only get one shot at this," Tony said. "Once we reverse the Snap, there's no guarantee what happens next. Be ready."

Bruce stepped forward, his large green hand reaching out toward the gauntlet.

"I'll do it," he said. "The radiation's mostly gamma. It's like… I was made for this."

Clint looked at him solemnly. "Just bring everyone back. And if you can… bring her back too."

Bruce nodded slowly, then braced himself as he slipped his hand into the gauntlet.

The metal warped and groaned, locking around his arm like it had found its chosen wielder.

The stones lit up—burning bright, pulsing with time and fate.

Bruce clenched his jaw.

"Here we go."

SNAP.

A blinding light.

Then silence.

And the world… began to change.

***

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