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Chapter 262: The Snap
🕑 Added 2025-08-14 17:15:10 +0000 UTC
Captain America’s words might have sounded like dramatic praise at first, the sort of thing people said in the heat of relief.
But the more the Avengers thought about it, the more they realized — it wasn’t an exaggeration at all.
After all, this was Thanos they were talking about.
The mad titan.
The cosmic warlord who had once stood unopposed against the united forces of Earth, Asgard, and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The being who had collected all six Infinity Stones and, with a single casual motion of his fingers, wiped out half of all life in the universe.
If that same monster had been pulled forward into the present — here, to this fragile moment before their plan was complete — it would have been a catastrophe.
No… catastrophe wasn’t a strong enough word.
It would have been an extinction event.
Another purge. Another universe-spanning massacre.
And Alex had stopped it before it began.
The world… no — every living soul in the universe — really did owe him.
---
Nebula froze.
Her eyes narrowed at Steve’s expression. That gratitude, that stunned relief… it wasn’t directed at the Avengers.
It was aimed at Alex.
Realization dawned in a cold, hard flash.
It hadn’t been Tony’s scanners, or Natasha’s instincts, or Steve’s unwavering moral compass that had exposed her.
It was Alex — a man she had never met before today.
Worse, he had just stepped out of the past.
Logically, he should have been the last person capable of spotting a flaw in her cover.
He had no relationship with Nebula, no shared history, no memories of the battles they had fought together in the original timeline.
By all accounts, he should have been the easiest mark in the room.
Yet the ones who did know her — who had fought beside her, mourned with her, trusted her — had been completely fooled.
Alex had seen through her at a glance.
Of course.
That was the thing about Alex. He was… unpredictable. A man who didn’t follow the same rules as anyone else.
---
"Where’s the other Nebula? What did you do to her?!"
War Machine’s voice was like gravel ground between steel plates as he stormed up and grabbed the impostor by the collar.
Rhodes’ grip was ironclad, his shoulders trembling — not from weakness, but from rage.
He and the real Nebula had been partners on the time heist. He’d trusted her to watch his back in enemy territory.
Finding out that she had been replaced felt like a blade between the ribs.
The false Nebula tilted her head in mock sympathy, her cybernetic eyes glinting coldly.
"How touching. That traitor actually has people who care about her?"
Her voice was razor-thin and dripping with disdain.
"Is this how you turned her against Father? Too bad — he doesn’t tolerate betrayal. By now, she’s probably been torn apart, bolt by bolt."
A ripple of anger passed through the Avengers.
They’d all seen Thanos’ cruelty firsthand. They knew what he was capable of.
And dismantling his own daughter? That fit his brand of ruthless discipline perfectly.
Natasha. Nebula.
Two names that had already been etched into the cost of this mission. Two sacrifices that had carried them this far.
The weight of it pressed down on the room, silent but suffocating.
---
Once the impostor was secured, the team reconvened in the main hall.
The Gauntlet sat on the table like a loaded weapon, gleaming with an otherworldly glow.
The six Stones pulsed faintly, as if aware of the monumental power they held.
Thor was the first to step forward.
"I’ll do it," he said immediately, his voice deep with certainty.
The others reacted instantly — and unanimously.
"No way."
"Absolutely not."
"Thor, you’re not in the right shape for this."
His protests only made them firmer. In his current… unsteady state, nobody trusted him with something so dangerous.
Finally, Bruce Banner stepped forward, his voice calm but unyielding.
"You all saw what the Stones did to Thanos. They nearly killed him. None of you can survive that — it has to be me."
The room fell into an uneasy silence.
For a moment, eyes flicked toward Alex.
This was the man who had gone toe-to-toe with the Hulk, who had dropped Thor like a ragdoll. If anyone here could physically survive wielding the Stones, it was him.
But Alex remained leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed, making it clear this wasn’t his fight.
Bruce glanced at him briefly, then turned back to Steve.
"I don’t know if I can handle it. But the Stones emit gamma radiation. And that’s… what I’m made for. In a way, this was meant to be."
Even Thor had no counterargument for that.
The decision was made.
---
Bruce approached the Gauntlet.
The closer he got, the heavier the air felt, as though the Stones were radiating invisible pressure.
He picked it up with both hands, sliding it onto his massive green fingers.
CLANK. CLANK. CLANK.
The Gauntlet’s shifting plates locked into place around his knuckles and wrist.
A faint hum filled the room.
Then —
ZZZT!
A violent surge of power exploded through him, the energy arcing up his arm like molten lightning.
"AAAGH!"
The Hulk — the Hulk — dropped to one knee. His entire body trembled as smoke curled from his forearm.
Even his monstrous strength was straining under the sheer, burning force of the six united Stones.
"Take it off!" Steve shouted.
"NOW!" Thor roared.
"Relax. Bruce can handle it."
Alex’s voice was casual, but there was a weight to it — the confidence of someone who already knew how this would end.
Bruce’s teeth ground together. "I’m—FINE!"
He planted his feet, every muscle bulging, forcing the pain down with pure willpower.
"Come on, Bruce…" Natasha whispered under her breath.
Finally, with a guttural roar, he slammed his fingers together.
SNAP.
The sound was soft. Almost delicate.
But its effect would ripple across galaxies.
---
Bruce collapsed backward, smoke rising from the Gauntlet still fused to his hand.
"BRUCE!"
Tony rushed in, blasting his arm with cryo-spray to cool the burns before they could spread.
"Did… it work?" Bruce gasped, eyes darting desperately from face to face.
No one spoke.
Then—
RING.
Clint’s phone lit up. A number on the screen. A voice on the other end.
It was his wife.
The one who had been dusted five years ago.
