"I noticed you all didn't seem to be in a great mood when I got here. What's wrong?" Alex Ray asked the Avengers.
The question instantly chilled what had previously been a cheerful atmosphere.
Alex already knew the answer. After all, Hawkeye had looked out of it from the start—like he'd lost someone close.
And to Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff might have meant even more than his own family.
Doctor Strange, standing off to the side, frowned in confusion. He found the so-called Avengers' mental state rather fragile. They looked like they could break down at the slightest touch. He even began wondering if they were mourning someone.
"In our world, you were pretty close to a woman. What was her name… Natasha? Yeah, Natasha Romanoff. Why haven't I seen her here?" Strange asked casually.
The name dropped like a bomb. The once-peaceful room cracked apart.
The Avengers lowered their heads. Some had tears in their eyes.
They were remembering the woman who had given her life to save the universe. Each of them had once accepted the idea of sacrificing themselves for the greater good—but when the moment actually came, grief still overwhelmed them.
In a single minute, they'd lost her.
They were supposed to reunite in one minute—but she never came back.
"It's all my fault!" Hawkeye cried out, pounding his forehead repeatedly, like he was trying to punish himself for still being alive.
"Well… looks like you died," Strange muttered, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry about that." His words were an apology, but his tone lacked even a sliver of regret.
But beneath his sarcasm, Strange's instincts flared. Being a superhero really was a high-risk job. One moment, you were fighting beside your teammates—blink, and someone's dead. Compared to this, Hell's Kitchen, with all its bloodshed and chaos, suddenly seemed safer.
Were other universes just that fragile? Or was Hell's Kitchen that invincible?
Maybe the most dangerous place really was the safest. As soon as he got back, he was moving out of Kamar-Taj.
"Can I ask how she died?" Strange pressed. "Also… there's no way to bring her back?"
Alex watched Strange curiously. He wanted to see where this was going.
The blunt question made Steve Rogers frown. No matter what universe this version of Stephen Strange came from, his arrogance was consistent.
Not that Steve knew all the details either—he'd only just learned of Alex's unexpected arrival. He hadn't had time to catch up. Still, he didn't want to revisit the subject.
He turned to Barton. Only Clint knew the full truth. They'd been together on that mission.
The room fell silent as every eye turned to Barton. He had his face buried in his hands, as if trying to suppress a memory. When he spoke, his voice trembled with pain.
"She… she died in my hands."
Everyone froze.
Even knowing Clint's loyalty, even trusting his bond with Natasha, the idea that he'd caused her death shook them.
Still, none of them lashed out. If Barton had done it, he must've had a reason.
They waited.
Barton took a breath like it weighed a thousand pounds. "To get the Soul Stone… you have to sacrifice someone you love. It… it should've been me…" His voice broke. Tears slid down his face.
The room was silent.
No one had expected the cost of obtaining that Infinity Stone to be so cruel.
Except Alex. He already knew the story, had seen this outcome in a different universe. Still, even he felt the heaviness settle over the room.
Strange raised an eyebrow. Of course he knew the Infinity Stones existed. After all, Alex had casually pulled two of them from thin air. That had made them seem… easy to collect.
But this? This was different.
He made a mental note to avoid the Soul Stone altogether. He would never trade someone he loved for it. But what if someone else decided he was the loved one?
He glanced sideways at Alex.
Yeah. He meant him.
Strange shivered. Thank the gods Alex hadn't gone after the Soul Stone. Who knew what—or who—he'd have sacrificed?
Strange was well-versed in magic, but even he couldn't fully grasp the mysteries of the soul. The Soul Stone was unlike anything else.
Still, part of him burned with curiosity.
"Can I see the Soul Stone?" Alex finally spoke. "What does 'sacrificing a soul' even mean? Is it really given to the stone? Or to something else?"
"What does it matter?" Thor blurted out. "Can't we just use the Infinity Stones to bring her back?"
He didn't care about cosmic laws or soul sacrifices. He just wanted Natasha back.
Thor turned to Tony and Steve. "We've got the damn stones. Let's fix this. Let's go back in time to when she was alive and get her out of there."
"Come on! We're the Avengers—have a little faith!"
"She's not dead! Stop acting like she's dead!"
His voice rose with each word. Just as he was about to shout at Tony, Barton cut in quietly.
"She's not coming back."
"...What did you say?" Thor asked.
"I can't reverse it."
Fat Thor stepped up beside him. "How do you know that?"
"Because… she really can't come back, Thor."
Alex watched all of this in silence. He understood Thor's grief, but the guy was just making too much noise.
He raised his hand—and with a small flick of chaos magic, muted Thor's voice.
"I said, if the Soul Stone receives the sacrifice first, then…" Alex raised his hand again. Instantly, the orange-glowing Soul Stone, which Barton had been carrying, floated through the air and landed in Alex's palm.
"What are you doing?" Steve demanded, instantly on guard. The Avengers watched him warily, ready to strike.
"Relax," Alex said coolly. "If I wanted to steal it, I could've wiped you all out the second I arrived."
"I just want to run a little experiment. There's a chance Natasha can be brought back."
"You're mocking the dead!" Steve snapped.
"That's not funny at all," Barton said, eyes narrowing.
Only Banner stayed quiet. He'd seen Alex's strength—he knew what this man was capable of.
He didn't just believe Alex had a chance.
He was hoping he did.
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Bonus Chapter - 150 Power Stones
2nd Bonus Chapter - 300 Power Stones
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