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This battle. This battle took everything. Took a little piece of everyone with the snap. And now it took away one person Steve could not function without. The one person who grounded him.
The dust of the battle was settling, and Steve didn’t hesitate as he walked up to body of Thanos. They knew what needed to be done. He barely glanced down at the Titan as he tapped his chest twice. A special armor that Tony had made for him, wrapped around his beaten body.
“It should handle the amount of power of the Infinity Stones. Shuri and I worked hard on this suit.” Tony had told him.
He took hold of the gauntlet and pulled it off. He quietly turned it in his hands, saw as the cracked stones shimmered. Shattered stones.
“You’ll only have one chance, Steve. They’re severely damaged. Their power being used at once, they should’ve shattered when Thanos used them the first time. The gauntlet stopped it from causing too much damage.” Shuri’s voice echoed in his head.
One chance to bring them all back. Bring him back.
“If I die-“
“Tony don’t-“
“No, listen Steve. If I die, don’t bring me back. Promise me. Cause if you die and I come back... I would never live with myself. Promise me.”
“... I promise.”
No. They made a promise.
Steve glanced around to his teammates, they all quietly stared at him. Their facial expressions ranging from sadness to nervousness. They had already said their goodbyes before they went to battle. They knew they wouldn’t had the time to do it after.
“Steve?” Natasha’s soft voice broke him out of his trance.
“It’s time.” Steve smiled sadly at them.
“You’ve all placed your letters in the safe right?” Natasha asked, walking over to place her’s in it too.
“Yes.” Steve nodded, gently folding his last one and sliding it in the envelope.
Tony walked in, Thor and Bruce not far behind, “We should leave a recording. So they can see us one more time.”
Carol nodded, her hand gripping some dog tags. Maria, she had told them.
“Make sure our letters get sent to them. And our recordings.” Steve reminded her, as he walked over to a cleared spot of the battle field.
“I will.” Natasha nodded, her eyes glistening.
Steve glanced around one more time. His friends. His family. He didn’t know who the gauntlet might take again. But they had all agreed to be here. They hoped at least one of them would make it back alive.
He carefully slid on the gauntlet, its weight surprising him. Extremely light, he noted. Then with a deep breath, he closed his eyes.
“The suit will help maintain the power flowing. But what you feel, what you think, will be the jump start to this.”
Feel. Feel. Think.
He felt the power. The electricity. The pain. Oh god it hurt. Like he was being burned alive. His skin felt hot and itchy. A flash of purple and white.
Then darkness.
”We will see each other again.”