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Hawk had always taken Thanos's dying words with a grain of salt.
Now, Death's explanation cleared everything up.
The Cosmic Entities silently approved of the Celestials using inhabited planets to reproduce.
Keep the resources in the family. Don't give them to outsiders.
And the ultimate outsider? Galactus. The Devourer of Worlds.
Galactus was different from the other four Cosmic Entities in this universe. He came from an earlier version of the cosmos. Thanks to that version update, he was always hungry, traveling the multiverse and consuming planets just to survive.
So, if you were a Cosmic God, who would you rather give a planet to? Your own subordinates, or a starving remnant of a dead universe?
The answer was obvious....
As for why Hawk's universe had a rumor about the Celestials exiling Eternity and Death?
Rumors happen. It was no weirder than the rumor that Thanos wiped out half the universe just to impress Death.
It almost made sense. Death likes souls, right? But if you think about it, it doesn't add up. Death is the embodiment of every soul in the multiverse. She doesn't need people to die to get stronger. As long as life and death are around, so are souls. And as long as there are souls, Death sticks around too.
So, Seeing is believing. The person involved is always the ultimate source.
Between Thanos's dying breath and Death's own words, Hawk believed Death. "You want Celestial souls. I'll give them to you. Hand over the Soul Stone."
"Deal," Death said lazily.
The next second, the glowing orange Soul Stone materialized.
"..." Sitting nearby, Natasha's eyes lit up. But before she could even react, the stone vanished from Death's palm.
After handing over the stone, Death looked at Hawk. "You bought me a drink. How about I invite you back to my palace for one?"
Hawk met her empty gaze. "You're afraid I'll break my promise."
"Yes." Death nodded freely. A flash of cunning sparked in her hollow eye sockets. She stood up from the stool, leaned across the bar, and whispered right by his ear. "If you run, I won't be able to find you. Besides... your soul fascinates me."
Hawk smirked. He turned to Natasha. "Time for you to go back."
"Wha—"
Boom!
Clang!
A Phoenix cry resounded throughout Vormir, right after a heartbroken Clint Barton, clutching the Soul Stone, activated his time GPS and vanished.
On the sacrificial altar.
The Earthbound Red Skull stared in disbelief. Bizarre flames danced in his empty eye sockets.
A Fire Phoenix appeared out of nowhere. It burned brightly, bringing about a true rebirth. From the fading embers of the Phoenix fire, Natasha, who had just traded her soul for the stone, stepped out completely unharmed.
The Red Skull was stunned. "How did you..."
"Hello. We meet again." Natasha checked her arms and legs. She glanced at the wraith and waved. "Sorry. That's above your paygrade."
With that, she tapped her wrist device.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
——————————
Back on the quantum platform at the Avengers compound.
Scott, Steve, Tony, Rocket, Nebula, and Bruce all materialized one after another.
It felt like they had been gone for ages. In reality, less than a second had passed in this timeline.
Clint returned too. His eyes were hollow, drowning in grief. He hadn't even begun to process Natasha's death.
Then he noticed a blur out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and stared in complete shock.
Natasha was standing right next to him. Alive and breathing.
Clint gasped. His grief vanished, replaced by shock. "How are you..."
Natasha pulled her best friend into a tight hug. She pulled back and whispered, "Long story. Don't tell the others."
Clint looked at her, his eyes locking onto hers. In a split second, he made a choice. He didn't understand what happened, but he trusted her implicitly. He gave a subtle nod.
Under the expectant gazes of the team, Clint opened his hand, revealing the glowing orange Soul Stone.
Instantly—
The silent atmosphere evaporated. The room erupted into deafening cheers.
They had all six stones. They could finally bring everyone back.
The team dove straight into the next phase. Well, mostly Tony and Bruce. Building a gauntlet to harness infinite power was highly technical work. The rest of them just had to manage their racing hearts and wait.
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Three days later. Early morning.
By the lake near the main compound building.
Clint found Natasha sitting in a pavilion, staring out at the water.
"Hey."
"...Hey!" Natasha turned, smiled, and moved her legs off the stone bench to make room.
Clint sat down beside her. He looked out at the lake and finally asked the question eating at him. "What happened down there? I watched you fall."
"I did." Natasha pressed her lips together. She didn't hide it from him. "Hawk was down there."
"Hawk?" Clint frowned, then realized. "The multiversal Hawk?"
Natasha nodded.
Clint's frown deepened. "He saved you?"
"Yeah."
Clint took a deep breath. "How?"
"Apparently, this Hawk is a lot more powerful than Bruce described."
She had been right there while Hawk talked with Death, the being who embodied all cosmic souls and created the 'soul for a soul' rule. But Hawk had made her change the rules without much effort. That could only mean one thing: Hawk was just as powerful, maybe even more.
As for why he did it?
"Because you're my friend."
Natasha smiled at the memory of his answer. She looked at Clint. "Keep this between us. Don't tell the others."
Clint frowned. "They should know what you sacrificed."
"But I'm fine." Natasha smiled warmly. "Right? So don't tell them."
Clint met her gaze. After a long silence, he nodded.
"Alright."
"Thank you."
Just then.
An excited voice buzzed over their earpieces. "Natasha. Clint. Get to the lab. Now."
They exchanged a look, bolted from the bench, and sprinted toward the main building.
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Inside the lab.
Liquid metal nanoparticles came together and formed a smooth, cold Nano Gauntlet. This wasn't Eitri's Uru metal magic. It was the best of human technology.
A mechanical arm moved with precision, slotting all six Infinity Stones into the gauntlet simultaneously.
The true Infinity Gauntlet was born!
Now came the real problem. Who was going to use it?
Snapping a regular gauntlet was dangerous. Snapping this one was suicide. It nearly killed Thanos, and he was a Titan.
Natasha and Clint were ruled out right away, and so were Rocket and Nebula. Thor really wanted to do it, but Tony convinced him not to. Thor was strong enough, but his mind was a mess. If he snapped his fingers while thinking about beer, who knew what would happen to the universe.
Through process of elimination, Bruce Banner—now permanently fused with the Hulk—was the only viable candidate.
Under everyone's tense, expectant eyes, Bruce slipped the Nano Gauntlet onto his right hand.
Bruce scanned the nervous faces around the room. He raised his arm.
And then—
Snap!
Boom!
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