A SHORT TIME LATER, RAEVANNA STOOD BY THE LAKE WITH THE OTHERS OUTSIDE OF HEADQUARTERS, MOURNING THE LOSS OF THEIR FALLEN TEAMMATE AND FRIEND. She stood a little ways back with Diana, her head bowed as Diana rubbed her arm comfortingly, and Steve, Tony, Thor, Clint, and Bruce stood closest to the water, watching the water as it was blown by the gentle wind. 

Raevanna just felt... numb, all over. Natasha was gone. She was gone, and she wasn't coming back. And it hurt, knowing that fact. Now, Raevanna had lost all her friends. The three people she was closest to were now gone. And even though there was a chance that she could bring two of them back, the fact that one was gone forever, and couldn't come back, was what hurt more than anything. Why? she thought to herself. Why is it that whenever things start to go well, something like this happens? Why do I always have to lose the people I love?  

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

"Yeah," Steve replied. "Us."

Thor looked at the others, seemingly confused by their behavior. "What?"

Tony faced him. "I just asked him a question–"

"Yeah, you're acting like she's dead," Thor said, cutting Tony off. "Why are we acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right?" Now addressing Steve, he went on, "As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back, isn't that right?" Then, his voice lowered to an irritated growl as he snapped, "So stop this shit. We're the Avengers, get it together."

"We can't get her back," Clint said, his eyes still downcast.

Thor glanced at him. "Wha–what?"

"It can't be undone," Clint told him. "It can't."

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

Clint faced Thor. "Yeah, look, I know that I'm way outside my paygrade here. But she still isn't here, is she?"

Thor huffed. "No, that's my point–"

"It can't – be undone," Clint snapped. "Or that's at least what the red floating guy had to say." Raising his voice in sadness, he shouted, "Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay?! GO GRAB YOUR HAMMER, AND YOU GO FLY AND TALK TO HIM!" Then, his s anger was quickly replaced with grief, his voice lowering as he said, "It was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it."

Suddenly, in a burst of anger, Bruce grabbed a bench and hurled it clear across the lake. Everyone watched him as the bench landed in the water with a loud splash, and after a moment of silence, Bruce turned to the others, his anger spent and a resigned look on his face.

"She's not coming back," Bruce said. "We have to make it worth it. We have to."

Steve nodded at him. "We will."

The others left the dock, walking off and entering the base. Only Raevanna and Diana remained, continuing to watch the water in silence.

"She taught me everything, you know," Raevanna said after a moment. Diana looked at her, so Raevanna explained, "Natasha. After Steve went into the ice, I went back to Elyon thinking he was dead. When I came back and found out he was alive, Nat was the one who helped me. She set me up in a nice place, recruited me to SHIELD... She taught me how to drive, how to use technology, how to understand modern slang... She taught me how to win a fight, how to get in and out of places without being seen, how to properly go undercover..." Raevanna sighed. "All that I am today is because of her. I... I owe her so much. But now she's gone, and she's never coming back. I don't... I don't know how I can go on now, knowing that she's not here."

Diana wrapped her arm around Raevanna's shoulders. "She cared about you a lot, you know. I could see that within her. And I know you cared for her as well." Diana sighed, falling silent for a moment. "Losing someone you love is hard," she said. "But if you loved them, and they loved you just as much, it would be an insult to their memory if you were to give up just because they were gone." Diana paused again. "Over a century ago, I lost someone I loved. And it broke my heart. I shut myself off from everyone, from the world... and I didn't think I could ever move on. And the truth is, I'm still working on it, especially after I lost T'Challa. But I'm doing my best to keep going because I know that is what they would've wanted. If you want to honor Natasha, live your life to the fullest. Make every moment count. And make sure you do things every day to remember her."

Raevanna nodded, wiping her eyes as she looked at Diana. "Yeah. Alright."

Diana smiled gently, rubbing Raevanna's shoulder. "Come on. Let's go inside." 

Raevanna smiled back, walking with Diana back to the compound. She was very thankful for the Amazon's presence, and she reminded Raevanna of the three friends she'd lost - Blake's compassion, Natasha's intelligence, and Alaneo's wisdom. And it gave her some peace, seeing the little bits of her old friends in her new one. 

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Raevanna stood inside one of the rooms, watching along with the others as they gathered around the gauntlet Tony had made for the stones. All six stones were set into it, and the tension in the room was obvious as they stared at it.

"All right," Rocket said. "The glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?"

"I'll do it," Thor said immediately.

Scott gave him a shocked look. "Excuse me?"

Thor shook his head. "It's okay," he said, moving towards the gauntlet.

However, everyone quickly jumped in front of him, halting him from going close to it.

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

"I'm sorry," Thor said, giving Steve a poignant look. "What, we're just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?"

"We should at least discuss it," Scott said.

"No, no, sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back," Thor told him. "I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty."

Tony shook his head. "It's not about that–"

"It's not that–" Thor began, then shouted as everyone tried to talk him out of it, "Stop it! Just let me!" He suddenly began to tear up. "Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something right."

"Look," Tony said to Thor, who was still holding onto him. "It's not just the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you, you're in no condition."

Thor snorted. "What do you– What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?"

"Cheez Whiz?" Rhodey joked.

Thor cut him a look. "Lightning."

Tony rolled his eyes, muttering, "Yeah." as Bruce stepped forward.

"Lightning won't help you, pal," Bruce said. "It's gotta be me." Thor let go of Tony, but didn't make a move to come forward, so Bruce went on, "You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive." 

Raevanna's eyes widened. Didn't Bruce know that what happened to Thanos could happen to him too?

"How do we know you will?" Diana asked, voicing Raevanna's thoughts.

"We don't," Bruce replied. "But the radiation's mostly gamma." He took a good look at the gauntlet. "It's like... I was made for this." No one argued, so he braced himself and picked up the gauntlet.

"Good to go, yeah?" Tony asked.

Bruce nodded. "Let's do it."

"You remember– everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bringing them back to now, today," Tony said to him. "Don't change anything from the last five years."

Bruce nodded again. "Got it."

Suddenly Diana left the room, walking off without a word. But then she returned wearing her armor, which surprised Raevanna since she had no idea Diana had even brought it with her. Still, everyone quickly followed Diana's lead, changing into their own suits and armor to prepare for what could happen if things went south. Then they returned to the room with the gauntlet, staring at it in apprehension.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y.," Tony said once everyone was ready, "do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol. Will you?"

"Yes, boss," F.R.I.D.A.Y. replied.

Raevanna looked up, watching as the Avengers facility went on lockdown. Steel shutters slid over all the windows and doors, locking them inside and protecting the outside world from what could happen as a result of the gauntlet.

Bruce looked at the gauntlet in his hand. "Everybody comes home."

Then, Bruce put on the gauntlet, which nanobotically expanded to fit his hand. Instantly the stones began to glow, and power surged from the stones and wreathed around Bruce's arm. But the power quickly overwhelmed him, and he began to grunt in pain.

"Take it off!" Thor shouted. "Take it off!"

Steve held out his hand. "No, wait." Looking at Bruce, he asked, "Bruce, are you okay?"

"Talk to me, Banner," Tony added.

Bruce nodded his head despite his pain. "I'm okay. I'm okay."

Thor gave a double thumbs up, and Bruce raised his hand. Then he began to scream, fighting through the intense pain coursing through his body courtesy of the power of the gauntlet. Raevanna's heart flew to her throat upon seeing her friend's pain, and her hands balled into fists as she prayed that she wouldn't lose him, too.

Finally, Bruce managed to snap his fingers. The power surge faded, and Bruce fainted, the gauntlet sliding off his arm as he collapsed. Raevanna gasped, seeing that the arm that had worn the gauntlet was now burned and shriveled up, and she rushed over to him. 

"Bruce!" Raevanna cried.

"Don't move him," Tony warned her, causing her to stop.

That was when Bruce woke up. Though his eyes were still closed, he grasped onto Raevanna's arm as he looked up at her and asked, "Did it work?" 

Raevanna gave him a sad smile. "No. Sorry, buddy."

"Worth a shot," Thor told him, then sighed in defeat. "It's over. It's okay." 

That was when Raevanna heard it. Birdsong. Her heart soared; had they actually succeeded?

"Guys," Scott said, turning to the others. "I think it worked!"

Raevanna started to answer. But then she turned to Diana, seeing the worry on the Amazon's face. Then, Diana spun around to face the group. 

"Get down!" Diana shouted, raising her shield and rushing towards Raevanna.

Seconds later a missle struck the base, blasting the others away from the force of the power. Then, a continuous array of missiles destroyed the base completely, and everyone sank below to the underground. 

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A/N: YOU GUYS. first of all, i saw studio 2054 tonight and oh my god??? dua killed it, 100%. she was like, "here's some looks, here's some vocals, here's some talent, SHOVED IN YOUR FACE" lol. and the amount of full ass shots that were in it... my gay ass appreciated that lmao 

also, we're three chapters away from the epilogue, which means this book is finally coming to an end. can y'all believe it?