Steve's Diary

September 19, 2023

Tony, Bruce and Rocket started making a new gauntlet immediately, and, after it was done, we reconvened to discuss the nitty gritty- like, who was gonna wield those stones?

"All right, the glove's ready," Rocket said as they all stood around it away from the rest of us. "Question is, who's gonna snap their freakin' fingers?"

"I'll do it," Thor volunteered.

"Excuse me?" Tony made sure he had heard correctly.

"It's ok," Thor assured him, as he went for it. We all had to stop him in his tracks.

"Stop, stop. Slow down," Tony put a hand in front of him.

"Thor, just- wait," I tried to calm him down. "We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet."

"I'm sorry. What, we're all just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" he wondered sarcastically.

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

"Look," Thor wound up. "Sitting here staring at the thing is not gonna bring everybody back... I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So, this responsibility falls on me. It's my duty."

"Normally, you're right," Tony told him. "It's not about that. Hey, buddy-"

"It's not that," Thor shushed him. "Stop it! Just let me!... Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something right."

"Look," Tony started. "It's not just the fact that the glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent. I'm telling you. You're in no condition."

"What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?" Thor asked rhetorically.

"Cheez Whiz?" Rhodes jumped in.

"Lighting," Thor said excitedly. "Lightning."

"Yea," Tony acknowledged.

"Lightning won't help you, pal," Banner joined the conversation. "It's gotta be me. You saw what those Stones did to Thanos. They almost killed him... None of you could survive."

"How do we know you will?" I questioned.

"We don't," he responded calmly. "But, the radiation's mostly gamma. It's like, uh..... I was made for this."

He picked up the gauntlet. "Good to go, yea?" Tony made sure.

"Let's do it," he answered.

"Okay, remember, everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago- you're just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything from the last five years."

"Got it," he relayed.

"Friday, do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol, will ya?" Tony spoke to himself.

I listened and looked around as I was surrounded by a boom of large metal protections surrounding all the doors and windows around us. The room was immediately dark, and this felt like all the protection we were about to get.

"Everybody comes home," Banner announced, putting the gauntlet on.

He fell to one knee as the colors of the stones ran up his arm and around his body like lightning. He started groaning like it was incredibly painful, but held through and grasped his hand with the other.

"Take it off! Take it off!" Thor yelled to him.

"No, wait!" I told Thor. "Bruce, are you okay?"

"Talk to me, Banner," Tony joined in, too after no response.

"I'm okay," he whispered after a second. "I'm okay."