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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
xx. AVENGERS CHRISTMAS CARD

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   NOT A BAD IDEA. It wasn't a bad idea at all. As a matter of fact, it was a brilliant idea; however, was it plausible? Was it actually reasonable that the Avengers could steal the Gauntlet from Thanos? As expected, they were all skeptical until Riley made her argument.

   "Think about it!" Riley urged everyone after forcibly gathering the team into the conference room again. "Thanos and I were the only ones on Titan II, so that resolves any conflict involving having to interact with people and exposing ourselves as time travelers. We wouldn't have to worry about creating any alternate timelines that we can't control."

   Steve leaned to the side in his seat, his arm propped. "What about if we run into you from the past?" he interrogated.

   "Easy. I almost always kept myself distanced from Thanos's hut."

   "That's a good point," Bruce imparted. "How would we know what exact day to travel to though?"

   "Well, I know the exact time frame I was there because I made sure to keep track of the days," she explained. "I was unconscious my first day, then Thanos gave me two full days to make my decision on destroying the stones. If we arrive after the third day, we'd have from the fourth day through the sixth to choose from."

   Natasha looked up from where she was scribbling Riley's words in her notebook. She looked concerned. "How will we know where to go?"

   Rocket added in agreement, "Yeah. It's not like he gave you the grand tour or somethin'."

   "True," admitted Riley, "but I found his hut once before and so have you guys. I know the land well enough to point us in the direction we need to be in while keeping us away from the "me" of the past."

   Nebula nodded stiffly. "I have the coordinates documented from the last time we traveled there."

   "See? We're fully equipped to take the Gauntlet from Thanos!" Riley rallied.

   Tony seemed to disagree. "No. I don't like it. It's a bad plan. Too dangerous," he opinionated. Riley understood where he was coming from. "You saw what Thanos did with the stones last time he had them. He wiped the floor with the Avengers. He's invincible."

   "Not entirely true," Riley countered. "Sure, he was powerful and all, but using the stones together seriously wounded Thanos. When we fought, he hardly even used his left hand. He was basically handicapped. He also said he didn't want to use the stones together again because he feared abusing their power... or something like that. If we came at him with our full strength without killing him, we could get the Gauntlet, bring it back to 2023, bring everyone back, and then return the stones to that exact moment, we would achieve what we want without changing what we already have or creating timelines we can't keep track of! Guys, this is the plan we've been waiting for!"

   A drenched sheet of tension draped over the conference room. They contemplated what she was proposing to themselves, thinking it over quietly. It certainly was a better plan in contrast to some of the others they had composed, such as the idea of going back to the day of the Battle of Wakanda. The current plan was to travel back to a series of points in time in which Thanos hadn't achieved the stones quite yet.

   Steve was the first to break the silence. "It's not a bad idea."

   "Steve—" started Tony.

   "Let me finish," interrupted Steve with a calm voice. "If what she's saying is true, then if we all strike at Thanos with all of our strength, we have a solid shot of acquiring the Gauntlet."

   "Her plan is undoubtedly the best one we've come up with in terms of keeping the natural order of time secure," pointed out Bruce.

   "We've been going back and forth for hours," irritably said Clint. "Why don't we just go with her plan and follow through?" That might've been the first time he had acknowledged Riley's presence since they reunited.

   Natasha pointed her pen upward as she mentioned, "But last time we confronted Thanos, we had Danvers." Scott furrowed his eyebrows together, not knowing who Natasha was referencing.

   "She's just one person. We can take him without her," insisted Rocket, waving his paw.

   "But we didn't defeat Thanos until we had her," Natasha countered.

   Tony shook his head, his face skewered with distress. "We didn't defeat him," he cut in, a noticeable edge to his voice. "We killed him. He still won in the end, and he's going to again if we go through with this plan."

   Steve quarreled, "Riley's plan requires less of an effort, which means fewer chances for mistakes. The only people we'd be putting at risk is ourselves instead of the general public, and I don't mind that at all." He paused, looking around as he stood up and joined Riley's side. "Clint's right. We've been at this for hours. Instead of asking who opposes, let me suggest something else. If anyone has a better plan in mind, speak now."

   No one spoke.

   "Great. Then this is the plan we're going with," resumed Steve. "Now, we need to talk strategy." He turned to the teenager beside him. "You're up."

   Riley's eyes widened. "Huh?" she responded. "You want me to lead this?"

   Although Riley had been apart of the Avengers her entire life, she had always been a follower of the plans. She'd help work out the logistics and specifics, even suggesting many plans the team had gone through with; however, Riley had never actually led one before.

   Steve nodded. "It's your plan. You know Titan II the best out of us all. You can tell us what to expect," he encouraged. He placed a supportive hand on her shoulder.

   "Alright," she started. She glanced around the room, purposely avoiding Tony's gaze. She cleared her throat. "Let's, uh, let's go over what we know."

   A comprehensive discussion erupted between the Avengers. Riley described her encounters amidst Thanos on Titan II with the utmost of detail. She despised revisiting the memories, but associating them with something else would help her. At least, that was what she was hoping for. They also discussed battle tactics and what would or wouldn't work.

   "Hey, what if we just got Scott to shrink down, crawl into Thanos's asshole, and then grow really fast? Thanos'd totally explode and die! Easy!"

   The entire room exploded with comments of cries like, "Ew!" and "Gross!" Scott made a face at Rocket's suggestion. "Okay, first of all, no," Scott repudiated. "Second of all, no."

   "We can't do that," expelled Bruce. "It'd produce a supplementary timeline we can't keep track of, furthermore killing Riley in said timeline." Riley's stomach dropped at the thought of dying a slow death on Titan II.

   Scott promptly added, "And because it's disgusting! That's the main reason why we can't do that, right?" Everyone seemed to ignore him.

   "Okay, but you haven't heard all the facts yet," insisted Rocket.

   Riley eyed him skeptically. "Which are?"

   "It'd be really funny."

   Riley snorted in response. This was the first time she had been (mostly) serious without making comments during mission planning. She was too focused on her desire to be victorious. She didn't have the energy to spare.

   The team ricocheted back and forth like this for a long time, but it didn't take them too much longer before conclusively composing a plan to take on Thanos again. The next step was to get everyone fitted for their Quantum Suits.

   Soon enough, adorned in her Quantum Suit, Riley sat near the Testing Chambers alone, taking it all in. Though it was her idea, she wasn't sure how she felt about going back to Titan II. That week changed everything for her. The worth of her own life, of everyone's lives, was put into perspective after that week.

   "I've got to say it. These suits are heinous." Riley glanced over as Tony sat down beside her on the bench. He wore a Quantum Suit similar to her's. "Maybe I should've come back sooner. It's like I paid millions for a clown training camp."

   A light laugh left her as she said, "I said the same thing."

   Tony's eyes were trained on her as she gazed out at the glass platform. He nudged her. "What are you thinking about?"

   Riley paused, taking a moment to discover a simple way to articulate her racing thoughts. But she didn't want to worry Tony—not when he was already seconds away from a heart attack.

   She decided to deflect and say, "I'm sorry. I know you don't like the plan and I know you don't want to see him again, but—"

   "Whatever it takes," interrupted Tony. "I know." He forced a smile onto his face. "You wouldn't have changed your mind. Always so stubborn..."

   She pressed her lips into a flat line as she peered back at him. She could see it written all over his face: the dread, the despair, the anxiety. Riley wished she could take it away. That was what he deserved. Tony deserved to rest.

   "You're going to see Pepper and Morgan again," insisted Riley. "We both are. Together."

   "I don't know how you're so optimistic," he admitted.

   Riley offered a lazy smile. "Well, someone's got to do it."

   Truthfully, Riley had never been the optimist or the pessimist of the group. She was simply a realist, a logical thinker. She was raised to seek facts over anything else. But things have changed, and hope goes a long way. At least, that was what Riley was forcing herself to believe.

   This time, Riley didn't only want to be an optimist, but she needed to. If everyone was going to continue doubting themselves, then they would fail. But Riley was leading the mission this time, and this time, they were going to win... right?

   There it was again—the sudden rush of anxiety. Riley knew they would win. They had to. The thing that scared her most was the loss. Riley was anticipating loss. Even when they won, they always lost something: Roman, Sokovia, Nebula's sister, Vision, thousands of innocent lives. What would they lose this time?

   The team soon gathered on the glass platform, everyone dressed in their Quantum Suits. "Five years ago, we lost. All of us," Steve started. "We lost friends. We lost family. We lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You all know your mission. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs. Some of us have been to Titan II before. That doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're gonna win." Steve peered back at Riley, who nodded.

   "Everyone in this room has their strengths and their weaknesses. Utilize them both," she added. "You might not like or care about the people in this room, but I do. The Avengers is the closest I've ever gotten to a family. I was lucky some of you survived. But for a lot of people out there," Riley nodded to the outside world, "they weren't so lucky. This battle isn't just for us. It isn't to get revenge on what Thanos has done to us all. It's for them, too. It's for everyone who survived and everyone who didn't. And so help me God, if there's one thing we can do to make things right, it's avenging them all. Whatever it takes."

   Taking in their words, Rocket hummed. "Huh. Those guys are pretty good at that."

   "Right?" Scott agreed excitedly as everyone scattered into place.

   Tony clapped his hands as Bruce hovered over a nearby machine that would activate the time machine. "All right. You heard them," Tony called. "Stroke those keys, jolly green."

   "Tractors engaged," announced Bruce.

   Riley shut her eyes tight. "We're gonna be okay, right?"

   "Hey, calm down. You don't have time to doubt yourself," Natasha instructed from beside her. Riley glanced back at the redhead. "Remember what you've been trained for. Focus."

   Riley shook her head, lightly laughing. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I might have to ask you to be mean to me again when this is all over."

   "Will you just accept the kindness?" Natasha requested with levity. "It's long overdue."

   The machinery whirred beneath them. Natasha surprisingly looked excited, hopeful. The sight brought a smile to Riley. "I'll accept it as soon as you agree to the Avengers Christmas card," returned Riley. Natasha scoffed. "Hey, you're the only person that said no."

   "That's because I still have functioning brain cells, shortie," taunted Natasha. She looked up as everyone secured their helmets. It was time to go. She nodded at Riley. "See you in a minute."

   Riley returned the nod, feeling a little better. That was until her helmet latched over her head, snapping into place. With it, her worries became locked inside with her. It sucked the oxygen from her lungs, leaving frantic butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't sit still. It was hitting her that she was returning to her prison. 

   She was compressed into a size smaller than an atom, her head jerking around as she was pushed into another dimension. An almost unmanageable pressure squeezed her with an iron grip.

   She tried to take in the rare sights of the Quantum Realm as they shot through the dimension, but they were moving too fast. Riley's head spun to the point where it was weightless. The air whistling in her ears was so extreme to the point where she wasn't even sure if she was screaming or not.

   When Riley was human-sized again, she floundered forward. She clutched onto the most adjacent thing — a tree — to steady herself. She pressed her palm against its trunk as her stomach did flips. She thought she might throw up, but she didn't know if it was because of the adrenaline, the shock, or the mere experience of time traveling. Probably all three.

   Riley didn't give herself much time to recover. She was on a mission, after all. She had more things to worry about than her wellbeing. She whipped her head back as her helmet was dismissed. Her eyes landed on Nebula, who appeared unfazed by time traveling. Riley wondered how the others were taking it. Wait. Where the hell was everyone else?

   "Where... Where are...?" trailed off Riley breathlessly. Nebula nodded back wordlessly, motioning to the people behind her. Riley released a sigh of mitigation upon realizing that they were fine and merely concealed by the plurality of trees.

   The group noiselessly huddled up. Riley furrowed her eyebrows when she did a headcount, ending with the number of eight including herself. "Who's missing?" she mumbled. It only took her seconds to realize who had been missing from the group. "Where the hell is Thor?"

   "Wasn't here when we arrived," Steve quietly revealed. "We have to move without him."

   He was right. They needed to focus on the Gauntlet, even if part of her was suddenly incredibly worried for the walking disaster that was the God of Thunder. She wondered what could have happened to him.

   Riley scanned their surroundings in an attempt to figure out their exact location. She surprisingly recognized this area. It wasn't too far off from the stream she had tried to drink clean water from during her hell week. Thanos had dried it up entirely to cater to his guest. Riley remembered stalking around it back in 2018 hoping that the water would magically return. It never did.

   "Alright," whispered Riley, "we're not too far from Th—" Riley paused, remembering how she fretted uttering his name on this planet. She always felt like he was listening, "his hut. If we follow this dried stream east, we'll hit a field just by the garden. We need to move fast or we'll run into me. Stay close to the trees, they'll hide your appearance. Got it?"

  No one replied. Silence subdued the team. All that could be heard were their footsteps and unsteady breaths. What should have been a peaceful, scenic passage was actually something straight out of a horror film.

   A quaint hut eventually came into Riley's view. It was still several yards away, but she wasn't going to risk getting too close in a large group. She turned to the others, nodding to her left and her right. Two groups broke off from the crowd, leaving the third group with Riley. The first group went to the left, the others to the right. The third remained with a direct pathway to the hut. Riley inhaled slowly and nodded, indicating that she was going to separate herself from them. Riley, then, turned invisible. Showtime.

  The breeze skimmed past them, escaping into the trees where the team was scattered. They took their places, silent. All that was left was to wait for Riley's signal.

  Thanos stood tall in the garden, his gauntlet stuck to his left arm as it always was. Near him was a scarecrow made with his armor. It was scorched and scratched just as she remembered it. Her stomach tightened at the sight of Thanos and his garden. She never thought she'd come back here, never mind willingly. 

   Riley cleared her throat, causing Thanos to tense. He looked up, but she was invisible. "Who's—?"

   "Who else?" she interrupted. "I'm the only other person on this stupid planet, aren't I?"

  "Hm, you make a good point. Why don't you reveal yourself?" Thanos remarked. "Aren't you tired of hiding?"

   "No offense, but I think you know why."

   He wasn't completely stupid, surprisingly, and didn't require much time to consider her reasoning. "I see. Very well. What can I do for you, child of the sun? Here to change your mind?"

  "I've been doing some thinking about what you said."

   "We've had many conversations," reminded Thanos. "You'll have to be more specific." He looked around blindly, trying to track her by the sound of her voice.

   "When we first met," Riley clarified, "you said you were impressed by my powers. You were curious about the full extent of them. Well, I think I've unlocked my fullest potential. What do you think?"

   Thanos hummed as he went back to tending his garden. "I suppose so, yes. But you still have much to learn."

   Ignoring this, Riley continued to interrogate him. "You also said my fate would be decided by the snap. Do you remember, Thanos?" She tried not to move too much, for she'd create a trail of her footprints behind herself.

   "I do."

   "Then you remember what you... requested from me, as well?"

   Thanos sighed, impatient. "Get to the point."

   "I've decided my fate extends further than just surviving the... the snap," Riley revealed. "I think my fate wasn't to survive but to... to do something more... something I thought I wasn't ready for. But I understand it's my destiny. I want to destroy the stones."

  She watched as he stood straight, interest piqued. He leaned away from his garden. Silence weighed down on them as she anticipated his response. Just as he was about to speak again, however, a scream in the distance disrupted their peace. 

   But it wasn't a scream that came from Thanos or Riley—well, at least, not this version of Riley.

  Shit.

   Something had happened to the 2018 version of Riley. In a matter of seconds, their plan crumbled.

   Without another moment to spare, Thanos blindly swung his arm in the general direction he believed Riley had been standing in. His forearm collided with her body, causing her to fly back with a grunt. Her head slammed against the ground as she crushed an entire row crop. "Goddammit," she hissed, turning visible again.

   "Christ, are you okay?"

   "Now?"

   "Not... Not yet," she mumbled into her comms.

   "What do you mean "not yet"?"

   "Not... yet," she firmly repeated, coughing. She ignored the panicked whispers that filled her ears through her comms. Riley boosted herself by leaning on one of her arms. A shadow hovered above, inducing Riley to tense. She unwillingly glimpsed up to see Thanos attaining over her.

   Thanos was genuinely baffled. "I don't understand... What is this?" Riley struggled to gather her thoughts, distracted by the sharp pain in her side. He didn't appreciate her silence. "ANSWER ME!"

   She rolled back as he brought down his fist. She was struck with fear staring up at him again. So he swung again. She released a burst of energy, temporarily blinding her. He stumbled back, yelling indignantly with his hands over his eyes.

   "NOW!" Riley barked. Within milliseconds, two robotic arms reached out and latched onto Thanos's biceps. This caused his arms to stretch outward in opposing directions.

   One by one, the team emerged from the trees. Steve burst forward, prepared to enact the next part of the plan. As she staggered onto her feet, Riley gasped when Steve was kicked further into the forest, taking Scott down in the process. Riley cursed, for she hadn't even considered the fact that he could fend them off with his legs alone.

   Tony and Bruce headed for Thanos's left arm, working together to slip the Gauntlet off. Thanos furiously howled as Rocket shot his guns at him. The ammo paralyzed the Titan's lower body within seconds.

   Riley held her side with wide eyes as watched the two's endeavors in the Gauntlet's removal. It looked like it wasn't budging whatsoever. Her eyes flickered back up to where the robotic arms were secured to the trees. It looked as though they were becoming loosened the more Thanos moved his arms. Forcefields formed around them just before they could go flying elsewhere and released the Titan.

   "Knock him out!" Riley throatily screamed. She searched for the closest person in his proximity.

   Rather abruptly, Thanos stopped moving altogether. His body fell limp. The only reason he was still remotely standing upright was because of the robotic arms clamped around his arms. Standing behind him was Clint, who had knocked Thanos out. Rhodey was by his side, the two being in charge of long-distance combat and acting as backup. Nebula ripped her gaze away from the man she still considered her father while Steve and Scott rejoined the group. Thanos must've thrown them further than anticipated.

   "Got it!" Bruce exclaimed, causing Riley to wave away her forcefields. It seemed that the duo was able to pull off the glove now that Thanos wasn't resisting and twitching.

   The teenager leaned forward with her hand on her side. She glimpsed around as Bruce studied the Gauntlet in awe. Panting, Tony went to Riley's side. "Hey, wise guy," Tony greeted, his helmet moving to reveal his concerned face. He wrapped an arm around her, supporting her. "Are you okay? You froze."

   "Only for a second. I'm okay. I, uh, forgot my ribs aren't totally healed." She sheepishly smiled at Tony, who shot her one of his fatherly looks. "Don't worry. You can lecture me later."

   She turned back to the others, doing a quick headcount. Riley paused when she only counted seven people including herself. "Who's missing?" Without skipping a beat, Riley added, "Where's Nat?"

   Almost as if on cue, Natasha went walking out of the trees. "Sorry, I got turned around on my way back," she announced. Riley sighed, relieved.

   Rhodey looked around in shock. "What happened back there?"

   "Yeah, what was that scream?" Scott wondered.

   Natasha was quick to explain. "Riley from... you know, 2018 found me and Nebula. She was so shocked that she screamed. Nebula knocked her out."

   "She'll wake up in a few hours," assured Nebula.

   Natasha nodded, continuing, "I dragged her off somewhere else for when she wakes up. I think we can play it off. It happened so fast, she might as well have thought it was a dream." Her eyes fell on Bruce. "The Gauntlet's secure? It still works?"

   Steve nodded. "Let's clean up and head back," he insisted. "We want this place looking the same as it did before. We can't give Thanos any clue we were here." Riley's gaze fell on the row crop she crushed.

   Her eyes widened, however, when their surroundings began to move. It was like the world around them was moving magically, like time was moving backward. Slowly but surely, the environment was reverted back to what it had looked like prior to the team's arrival. Riley looked around before she spotted Bruce as he held the Gauntlet in his hands.

   "There," Bruce announced once the environment looked as it had 10 minutes earlier. The Time Stone glowed before its vibrancy faded back to its usual luminance. "Now, Thanos'll wake up thinking he just fell asleep doing... whatever it is that he does nowadays."

   Riley tuned out the rest of the conversation as she looked around. She couldn't quite comprehend what had just happened. That was much easier than she had been anticipating, even if she nearly shit herself in the process. The only people who had been hit, really, were Riley and Steve, with the exception of Scott being dragged into the line of fire.

   Was it supposed to be this easy, or was Riley missing something? Then again, this was only the beginning. They still had to figure out how to bring back the others. There was no telling what or how long that would take.

   "Gardening?" Rocket sneered while looking around. "What a freak."

   "You say this after he commits mass genocide?" Rhodey retorted. "What, was that not freaky enough for you?" Rhodey looked around at the others. "Now, can we get the hell out of here?"

  "Yeah, let's get out of here," Riley said. "We still have to figure out how to bring everyone back, and I'd rather do that somewhere other than here." 

   Everyone seemed to agree, for they all proceeded to suit up again. Riley had a bad feeling. If this was the easiest part, surely something else was coming. That was how it worked in Riley's world. You always had to expect the unexpected.

   And as of right now, Riley was expecting the worst.

○ ○ ○

   Something else Riley had anticipated was the constant feuds between the team members. As luck would have it, no one could agree on what to do next.

   The year was 2023 once again, and all the Avengers were congregated in the compound. Riley held an ice pack to her side, listening to everyone bicker over how they were going to save the universe. She had fallen silent for quite some time after they returned to their proper timeline, ultimately reuniting with the rogue Avenger otherwise known as Thor.

   Everyone had been wondering where Thor had vanished to, and it turned out that he had fiddled with the technology on his Quantum Suit to take him to 2013 Asgard. His reasoning was just barely excusable, which was that he needed to feel a reason to keep fighting. He needed to feel like he was still worthy.

   Worthy of what? Riley couldn't tell you. She was too busy yelling at him for 10 minutes straight over how reckless he had been, even if she was just a little excited to see that he had brought back his original hammer, Mjolnir with him. The sight of it reminded Thor that he was still worthy of wielding it after everything. Sure, Riley was happy for him, but that didn't excuse the fact that he had pulled such a stupid trick in the middle of a mission.

   The team had been expecting Steve to be the one to yell at Thor, but they were surprised when Riley stepped up to the task. Perhaps all of the lectures Captain America used to give Valor, all of the life lessons she always made fun of, had paid off in the end.

  When Riley eventually lectured him enough, their attention finally went back to the actual problem at hand: 

   "Come on, I mean, we have the glove. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?" Rocket demanded.

   Thor marched forward. "I'll do it." He waved his hands. "It's okay. Excuse me." He tried to burst through the group crowding Thanos's Gauntlet. Tony and Steve held him back from getting any closer.

   "Thor, just wait," Steve argued. "We haven't decided who's gonna put it on yet."

   Thor made a face of disproval. "Oh, I'm sorry. What, were you just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?"

  "We need to discuss it before we do anything rash," Riley argued. 

   "Look, us sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back," Thor disagreed. "I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty."

   Riley rolled her eyes at the excuse.

   "It's not that—" Tony tried to clarify.

   "No, no, no, no, no," Thor interrupted desperately, pushing against them to try and reach the gauntlet. No one would let him through. "It's... Stop it! Just let me." Tears welled up in his eyes as he begged, "Just let me do it. Just let me do something good, something great. Let me make up for my foolishness. Let me prove myself again."

   Tony pushed him away from the Gauntlet. "Look... 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 jeered, "What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?"

   "Cheez Whiz," deadpanned Rhodey.

  "Lightning," Thor corrected. 

   "Lightning won't help you, pal," Bruce argued, slowly walking toward where the Gauntlet sat. "It's gotta be me. You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive."

   "Bruce, none of us know how the stones work," debated Natasha. "We have no idea if you'll survive."

   "How do we know you will?" Steve countered evenly.

   "We don't," admitted Bruce. "But the radiation's mostly gamma." He leered at the Gauntlet like he was preparing himself for what was about to come. "It's like... uh... I was made for this."

   Riley eyed the man apprehensively. "Bruce, are you sure?"

  Bruce nodded, but everyone knew he wasn't really sure. No one was. Blind optimism was all they had left.

   The facility went on lockdown. The team suited up, gathering in their proper uniforms. A semicircle formed around Bruce and the Gauntlet.

   Riley stood in the new and improved Valor suit, produced by Tony Stark, of course. The design was somewhat different, but it was still a fully white uniform with purple and silver accents. Her old, damaged cuffs had been replaced by new ones. Multiple weapons that were powered by solar energy were strapped across her figure in varying places, making it easy for Riley to grab and use them in a pinch.

   The Avengers prepared for Bruce's synergies with the Gauntlet by filing behind a shield, or in Rocket's case, standing behind Thor. Riley shaped a forcefield around Bruce. She formed a dome that encased him and the Gauntlet inside, barring any kind of explosion from harming the others should something go wrong.

   "FRIDAY, do me a favor and activate Protocol B," Tony ordered. Metallic coverings descended across the building, inside and out. The windows and doors were sheathed, stripping the rooms of natural lighting. Dim fluorescents illuminated the space.

   "Everyone comes home," Bruce murmured to himself. All he had to do was bring everyone back. Piece of cake. He could do this.

   No one knew what to expect from this experiment. They could surely imagine, though. Bruce could die or maybe even the whole compound could go up in flames. Anything could happen, and that seemed to be the most nerve-wracking part. Hell, Riley wouldn't even be all that surprised if—Wait.

   As Bruce reached out to pick up the Gauntlet, Riley yelled, "Wait! Wait, stop!" Bruce halted, his attention fluttering towards her. Riley lowered the forcefield around him. "We need to think this through."

   Rocket was annoyed. "We have."

   Riley shook her head. "We don't even know how the stones work. We don't even know if this will do anything. Like, what if when Bruce snaps his fingers, he kills the other 50% of the universe? And then what?"

   Thor peered around the room, suddenly neurotic. "That won't happen, right? That isn't a possibility, right?" Her anxiety was contagious.

   "What if the Gauntlet kills Bruce before he can even do anything? Wielding that much power's got to hurt, right?" Riley added, panicking.

   Bruce tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "If the Gamma Radiation couldn't kill me, then maybe this won't either," he hypothesized.

   "Well with that logic, I could do it, too," Riley riposted.

   Tony diminished his shield. "Like hell, you will," he cut in protectively. "You're more human than he is. You'd die."

   "I'm not saying I want to. I'm saying I could," Riley corrected. "I like to think I'm human, but the majority of my body is made up of radiation, right? This shit is oozing out of me, just like Bruce with gamma. It just affected us differently."

   "What's your point?" asked Bruce.

   "My point..." trailed off Riley. "My point is that we didn't even begin to understand the radiation in us until we started to break it all down and research it. Instead of doing something we don't even know will work, we need to take another approach."

  "Why wouldn't it work?" Rocket scoffed. "Thanos snapped and everyone disappeared. If we snap, we can make everyone reappear."

   Natasha stepped forth. "She's right," agreed the spy. "This isn't some shitty magic trick. These are... fucking space rocks that nearly killed Thanos of all things. If it only handicapped him in the long run, what will the Gauntlet do to Bruce?"

   Everyone fell mute thinking it over. "Guys, we have to think this through," Riley emphasized. "This isn't a game. There are no do-overs. We don't have time for errors. This is our only shot."

   "You're right. It's our only shot, which means we need to be taking chances," Bruce proclaimed. "If I die to bring back 50% of the universe, then I'm okay with that." Without another word, Bruce reached out and picked up the Gauntlet, sliding it onto his hand.

  An earsplitted shout escaped Bruce as a surge of power rushed through him. His green skin paled, the energies of the stones climbing up his body. Streams of light dragged up his arm. There was nothing more they could do other than brace themselves. Riley created a forcefield around him again. 

   Everyone watched Bruce, filled with terror and petrification. "Take it off," Thor initiated, fearful for his friend's life. Maybe Riley and Natasha were right. Maybe they should have thought it through some more. Maybe they were being too reckless, too eager, too impulsive. "Take it off!"

  "No, wait," called Steve, shield in hand. "Bruce, are you okay?" 

   "Bruce?" chimed Riley, her nerves magnified. She wasn't ready to lose Bruce.

   Tony, with a shield before him and Clint, called, "Talk to me, Banner!"

  Finally, Bruce managed to spit out, "I'm okay! I'm okay!" Thor loudly sighed, supplying the green man with a double thumbs-up. 

  Bruce's pained screams brought goosebumps to Riley's skin, the hairs on her arms standing upright. He reached up with a trembling hand, and then... Snap!

   He collapsed onto the ground, the gauntlet sliding off of him. Steam sauntered toward the ceiling. 

   "Bruce!" Steve worriedly called while Bruce laid on the ground and Riley removed her forcefield. Clint kicked the Gauntlet away as everyone approached him.

   "Don't move him," directed Tony. He sprayed a crystallized stream of coolant onto the man's injured arm in hopes of saving it.

   Bruce extended his unharmed limb, grappling onto Steve's. His heavy pants filled the frigid room. "Did it work?" he breathlessly asked.

   "It was worth a shot," Thor dismissed. He didn't care about the Gauntlet. All he cared about was Bruce. "It's over. It's okay."

   "Oh my God," Natasha susurrated. She squatted beside him with her small hand on his face. As she did so, FRIDAY reversed the protocol Tony had called upon. The metal covers slipped away from the windows. "You're okay. You're gonna be fine."

  But did it work? Riley was paralyzed, split between concern and curiosity. What if it worked? What if she was making a big fuss over nothing? Was she second-guessing everything for no reason? 

   "How... How exactly are we supposed to know if it worked?" Riley asked aloud. Meanwhile, Scott approached the exposed windows. He gasped, shocked at the sudden fluctuation of plants and birds outside. It was as though all the life in the world had suddenly returned.

   Her gaze snapped toward the phone that had proceeded to loudly ring. It buzzed against the countertop it resided upon, the Caller I.D. flashing across it. Her attention shifted to Clint as he approached it. With shaky hands, he lifted the device, allowing Riley to read the name of his wife. His wife and his kids had fallen victims to the Decimation. They were the reason why Clint became a vigilante.

   Clint held his breath, pressing the device to his ear. "Honey? Honey?" he stammered. The words were tangled in his throat. He could hardly speak. A woman's voice came through the other end. "Laura..."

   "Guys..." called Scott from where he stood. "I think it worked!"

  Riley's eyes went wide. "It worked?" she asked, the words sounding more like a question than a fact. "I don't understand. We all survived. Thor's still deemed worthy. Bruce didn't die trying to bring everyone back. Thanos is still dead." 

   "You sound upset that things actually went according to plan," Natasha joked.

   "For once," added Steve.

   Riley shrugged. "I guess I was just waiting for something bad to happen," she admitted. She rubbed the back of her head. "Well, now what?"

   Almost as if on cue, a series of explosions shook the entirety of the Avengers Headquarters. A storm of fire and smoke overpowered the clear skies, and as expected, Riley had spoken too soon.