Nebula lay restrained on the floor, Clint's arrow humming faintly as it kept her pinned.
Elias stood still.
He was looking at the system's prompt, which sounded and looked more serious than all its earlier prompts.
[⚠ SYSTEM WARNING ⚠
The host has intentionally altered the task without fully adhering to the instructions.
The next offense will result in automatic punishment as assigned.
Thanos and his army will arrive as soon as the snap is done.
Please prepare to complete the task. ]
The prompt lingered longer than usual.
As if making sure he understood.
"…At least I tried."
This warning indicates that he can't take actions that might affect certain scenarios, especially if they are connected to a task given by the system.
Major deviations that doesn't affect a task? Acceptable.
Minor ones? Even the tiniest changes but changes his task?
Punishable.
And his system,
has never lied to him.
As much as he wants to defy his system, which is, by the way, a literal 'Villain' system, he also doesn't want to go to a Marvel universe with zombies, nor does he want to help the Yautja hunters in hunting xenomorphs where at the end of each movie, they all die.
And he definitely doesn't want to die fighting a xenomorph or birthing one through his chest.
Certain events were unchangeable.
But then,
A darker thought surfaced.
What if one day… he does find someone and settle down?
A wife.
Children.
A family.
And the system decided their deaths were necessary to "complete a task."
Elias' expression darkened instantly.
Cold.
Dangerous.
There would be no hesitation.
No debate.
The very thought of something important being taken from him,
Of being forced to watch it happen,
Sent a silent, violent emotion roaring beneath his calm exterior.
Across the room, several Avengers stiffened.
The air pressure shifted.
Steve looked over sharply.
"Is something wrong?"
Elias blinked once, the storm vanishing behind practiced composure.
"Yes," he answered plainly.
Before anyone could question further, he extended his hand.
The Space Stone and the Mind Stone emerged from his inventory and floated forward, suspended calmly before the group.
Even after everything, the sight of Infinity Stones appearing from nowhere made the room tense.
Steve stepped forward.
There was no suspicion in his voice this time.
Only sincerity.
"Thank you," Steve said firmly.
"For trusting us with them."
Elias looked at him for a moment.
"You're welcome."
Tony carefully transferred the stones into the containment housing.
Around the room, several Avengers clearly had questions.
Scott kept glancing at Elias like he wanted to ask about how he made the stones appear from nothing.
Rhodey studied him with military caution.
Thor's eyes lingered longer than necessary.
Bruce opened his mouth once—then closed it.
There would be time later.
Right now, half the universe mattered more.
Elias adjusted his sleeve slightly.
"Do you have a room where I can rest a bit?" he asked calmly.
Tony jerked his head toward the hallway.
"Come on. I'll show you to one of the guest rooms. Try not to redecorate it with… darkness."
Elias ignored the comment and followed.
As they walked, Tony spoke lower.
"After this? We're talking."
"Perhaps, can you listen to a few suggestions of mine?" Elias answered.
Meanwhile
Clint tightened his grip on his bow.
"Let's move," he said.
War Machine stepped forward, armor whirring into full readiness beside him.
The restrained Nebula glared at them both, defiant despite her position.
"You cannot stop him," she hissed.
Rhodey's voice was flat.
"He's already dead here."
They personally escorted her deeper into the compound—to a reinforced holding chamber designed for enhanced threats.
The door sealed shut with a heavy metallic thud.
.
.
.
Hours later
"It's done."
Tony stepped back from the worktable as the completed nano-gauntlet powered down to standby.
Six sockets.
Six stones.
Perfectly aligned.
"Let's get everybody back here now." Steve called out.
One by one, they gathered in the main hall.
Thor. Rhodey. Scott. Rocket. Clint. Tony and Bruce.
Elias emerged from the hallway Tony had shown him earlier, silent as ever.
Only one Avenger was missing.
The captured Nebula remained restrained in a secured holding chamber deep within the compound—monitored, locked, and unable to interfere.
The gauntlet sat on the table between them like a loaded god-weapon.
And then came the question.
"Alright." Tony said.
"Who's gonna do it?"
Thor stepped forward immediately.
"I will."
"I am the strongest Avenger." he said firmly.
"The burden should be mine."
"No." Almost everyone said without hesitation.
"You're not in the right headspace," Rhodey added.
Thor bristled. "You doubt me?"
Steve stepped in gently but firmly.
"You've been through too much."
Thor's jaw tightened.
Elias stood off to the side, watching.
Observing.
He didn't interfere.
This decision wasn't his to take.
Silence stretched.
Then Bruce stood up.
"It should be me. The stones' radiation output is mostly gamma," he said quietly.
"It's like… I was made for this."
He looked at the gauntlet.
"For once in my life… I might have found the reason why I'm this way."
No one had a counterargument.
Steve nodded slowly.
Outside, security protocols activated.
Metal shutters sealed.
Defensive systems powered up.
Elias subtly signals Tony.
Tony glanced at him.
Elias gave a small nod.
Tony nodded back.
The Wakanda-style forcefield—Elias' earlier suggestion—locked into place, humming quietly but powerfully around them.
Bruce stepped forward.
He slid his massive hand into the gauntlet.
The stones ignited instantly.
Energy surged up his arm.
Bruce screamed.
It wasn't the Hulk's roar.
It was pain.
Raw.
Unfiltered.
"Bruce!" Steve shouted.
"I'm okay!" he forced out, teeth gritted.
He wasn't okay.
Even in Professor Hulk form, his skin crackled with contained cosmic fury.
His arm began to burn.
Steve stepped closer.
"Just bring them back. Everyone Thanos snapped."
"That's it." Tony added.
"No extras."
Bruce nodded, sweat beading on his green skin.
He closed his eyes.
Focused.
Then—
SNAP!
A shockwave rippled through the room.
The lights flickered.
Energy blasted outward from the gauntlet.
Bruce collapsed instantly, the gauntlet smoking as he with his back to the ground.
"Bruce!" Tony and Steve rushed forward.
The others followed.
His arm was badly damaged, charred from the wrist upward.
But he was breathing.
Then—
A ringtone cut through the chaos.
Clint froze. He recognized that sound.
Slowly, almost afraid to move, he walked near the table where his phone was.
The caller ID made his breath hitch.
Laura.
He answered with shaking hands.
"…Honey?"
Silence.
Then a voice.
Alive.
Confused.
Home.
Clint's knees nearly gave out.
A broken laugh escaped him as tears filled his eyes.
"They're back," he whispered.
Scott's face split into a wide grin.
"It worked."
Around them, hope returned like oxygen flooding starved lungs.
Elias, however, wasn't looking at them.
He was looking at his mini-map.
Multiple red indicators had appeared at the edge of Earth's atmosphere.
And then—
A new prompt surfaced.
[Task #1:
Help defeat Thanos
Without sacrificing Iron Man!
Good luck.]
Elias' eyes darkened slightly beneath his hood.
.
.
.
Outside the Avengers Compound
Just a few feet beyond the shimmering forcefield dome,
Space distorted.
Twisted.
Then violently split open.
A massive warship forced its way through the breach, metal hull groaning against the fabric of reality itself.
The Sanctuary II had arrived.
Cold.
Silent.
Dominating the sky like an omen carved in steel.
There was no speech.
No warning.
No theatrics.
The ship's underbelly glowed.
And then it unleashed hell.
An orbital bombardment rained down toward the Avengers Compound.
Explosions erupted across the surface of the forcefield.
Energy rippled violently across its structure, each impact sending tremors through the ground below.
Inside
The entire compound shook.
Glass cracked.
Metal groaned.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
"Contact!" Rhodey shouted.
Another volley struck.
The forcefield flared bright blue under the strain.
It was a spur of the moment setup and wasn't nearly as strong as Wakanda's defense.
FRIDAY's voice echoed through the facility.
"We are under attack. Scan shows the familiar figure of Thanos and his men which invaded Earth 5 years ago."
A beat.
"They're on an enormous spacecraft hovering near our position and is engaging with sustained bombardment."
Another impact.
The ground lurched violently.
"Forcefield integrity declining rapidly. Currently at seventy percent and decreasing, fas!."
Tony's head snapped toward Elias for half a second. As if asking how? We killed him!
Elias' expression didn't change.
"Don't look at me, you guys are the ones who messed with time. It is simply messing back with you." Elias said calmly.
Steve stepped forward immediately, command settling over.
"Status on Bruce?"
"He's stable!" Rocket barked, still scanning Hulk's burnt arm.
"But he ain't fightin' with that arm right now."
Clint remained beside Bruce, bow already in hand.
Steve made the call.
"Rocket. Clint. Stay with Bruce."
Another explosion rocked the compound. Lights flickered again.
"The rest of us," Steve continued, lifting his shield, "we take the fight to them."
Thor's eyes ignited with lightning.
Rhodey's armor sealed into full combat mode.
Scott activated his helmet.
Tony's nanotech flowed over him in a flash of red and gold.
Elias stepped forward last.
The forcefield above them cracked under another devastating blast. Energy fractures spiderwebbed across its surface.
"Forcefield integrity at sixty-two percent," FRIDAY warned.
Steve turned toward the exit.
"Move!"
End of Chapter