Chapter 12
Thanos opens his eyes, not feeling any pain from being stabbed. He looks around and realizes where he is. The Soul Stone.
He feels a presence behind him and turns sharply, only for his eyes to widen in shock as behind him stood Gamora, but as a kid.
Thanos swallows hardly as she moves to stand directly in front of him with sad look on her face.
“Daughter…”
“Did you do it?” She asks, looking him straight in the eyes.
“Yes…” Thanos responds, not meeting her eyes.
“What did it cost?”
Thanos closes his eyes in regret. It cost him her life. He tried to bring her back with the snap, but the Stones didn’t allow it.
“Everything…” Thanos answers and little Gamora starts to slowly tear up.
Thanos jolts awake in real world, looking down on his damaged Gauntlet and burned arm. Thor is staring at him with horrified and furious look. “What did you do?!”
Thanos doesn’t answer. He just open a portal behind him and jumps in, leaving only bloodied Stormbreaker behind. Four other portals also open under remaining members of The Black Order.
“Thor?” Steve grunts out as he looks around them. “Where did he go? What did he do?”
Thor ignores his questions, his eyes stay fixated on his new weapon, now covered in Titan’s blood.
“Steve?”
Steve turns to see Bucky approaching him and slowly turning to dust. As Bucky vanishes his gun lands on the ground and Steve stares at it with shocked expression as tears start to gather in his eyes.
Groot is leaning against a destroyed tree as he starts to disintegrates. Rocket starts to run to him, shaking his head in denial. “No, no, Groot please don’t.”
“I am Groot” is Groot’s sad respond as Rocket falls to his knees and Thor has to look away. Groot just called Rocket “Dad”…
Okoye grunts in pain as she tries to stand up from Thanos’s punch. T’Challa quickly rushes to her, offering her a helping hand “Up, up General. This is no place to die.”
As Okoye takes his hand T’Challa also turns to dust and Okoye falls back down, looking at the dust with wide eyes. “My king?”
Rhodey and Bruce are walking together, thought the jungle looking for missing Falcon. Both of their armors are damaged, Rhodey’s probably beyond repair.
“Sam where you at?” Rhodey shouts, hoping for the other man to respond, but to no avail.
They stops as they see Wanda, holding Vision’s dead body close to her chest while crying. Bruce doesn’t know how to really react, but Rhodey’s eyes go wide as he walks closer to her.
“Wanda?” He calls out to her, making her turn at him with stained eyes from crying. To both Rhodey and Bruce’s horror, Wanda also starts to disintegrate to dust as she closes her eyes, accepting her fate.
Bruce is staring at Vision’s body, covered in Wanda’s dust, but Rhodey has something else on his mind. Or rather someone else. His hand immediately goes to his ear “Helen? Helen do you hear me?”
He gives Bruce a scared look as he flies up to air and rushes towards the Royal Palace. Bruce only watches his retreating figure with sadness, because he already knows, that if Helen didn’t respond, it means that she is probably gone to.
In San Francisco, Scott Lang is in his new apartment. He is still on house arrest after the “Avengers Civil War” and doesn’t even have any idea about what’s happening in Wakanda right now.
His life is mostly, uneventful now. Neither Hank or Hope called him after he went to Germany and Scott doesn’t blame them. He is aware that they were wanted for some time, thanks to his actions and for Pym Particles.
But they somehow got out of it, so at least something is good.
“You are an idiot. You know that, right?” Maggie asks him as she came to pick up Cassie from him.
“I know.” Scott responds while smiling sadly. Of course he knows. How could he not know? She does her best to remind him every single time they meet.
“Cassie? Don’t forget your books here like last time.” Scott calls out to his Daughter, who is packing her thing in her room at his apartment.
“Scott, you know…” Maggie starts, but doesn’t finish. Scott signs as he isn’t looking at her. “I know what?”
She doesn’t say anything and Scott turns around, seeing only pile of dust on the ground. “Maggie?”
In Malibu, Clint is still covered in bandages, putting his hearing aid back in his ear. He signs to himself as he watches Lile shoot from his bow and missing the target.
He and his family are still in Helen and Rhodey’s mansion. Helen insisted, that Clint stays for a few days, so she can keep an watchful eye on him.
Then she was called to join Rhodey, Vision and The Rogues in Wakanda, to help remove Vision’s stone from his forehead while Tony, Carol, Friday, Hope and Peter vanished on alien ship…
Clint wanted to help, but he is nowhere near fighting condition, so he had to see this one out. But that doesn’t prevent him from checking up with Jocasta every 2 hours.
God.. he truly hopes that everything is going okay. His eyes snap towards Lila as she releases an arrow and it lands directly in the middle of the target.
She is grinning at him from ear to ear as Clint laughs and gives her hive five “Nice job, Hawkeye.”
Lila’s grin only widens as Clint turns to pull the arrow out and watch her fire it again. He stops as he suddenly hear his bow land on the ground and Lila is nowhere to be seen.
“Lila?” He calls out, with confused and narrowed eyes. “Lila where are you?”
Nothing. Lila doesn’t show herself or respond and Clint starts to freak out as he sees the pile of dust on the ground. He quickly rushes upstairs, calling to his family “Laura? Coop? Nate?”
On Titan, Tony’s eyes glow electric blue as Extremis finally heals his injury. Friday is sitting next to him with her helmet in her lap, leaning into his shoulder.
Peter Parker suddenly grimaces in discomfort. “Mr. Stark? I don’t feel so good.”
Tony’s eyes narrow in confusion as he quickly scans Peter for any sign of injury, only to find nothing, just scratches. “You are fine, Kid.”
Peter shakes his head and Mantis looks at them with strange expression “Something is happenin….”
She doesn’t finish her sentence as she turns to dust, leaving them all staring at the place she stood with wide eyes.
“Quill ?” Drax says, making the Star Lord look away from Gamora’s dead body to look at his friend. Drax is also turning to dust as he gives Quill one last grateful smile. “Thank you for being my family.”
As Drax disappears, Tony notices that the same is happening towards Quill himself. “Easy Quill…”
Quill looks at his arm with sad expression and shakes his head in defeat “Aw man…”
“Tony.”
They all turn to look at Strange who is also disintegrating. He gives them all sad look before he says “There was no other way…”
Strange also turns to dust, leaving Tony with more questions then answers when suddenly, Peter starts to fall forward, only for Hope to catch him.
“Pete…” Hope says with tears in her eyes as she slowly places him down and Tony rushes up to them.
“I don’t know what’s happening…” Peter starts frantically and in that moment, Tony realizes that Peter can feel what’s happening to him, because of his Spider-Sense and accelerated healing.
His body is trying to fight it, but eventually looses. Peter looks at Tony with rumors as he whispers “I’m sorry.”
He then also turns to dust and tears drop from Hope’s eyes as Tony looks at his own hands, silently expecting to be next.
“Dad?”
No. Not her…
Tony turns towards Friday who is looking at her own eyes which are slowly turning to dust. She steps forward and stumbles back, only for Carol to catch her and sit with her in her lap.
Tony runs up to them, taking a hold of Friday’s arm. Thinking to himself, that this can’t be happening. It should be happening. She isn’t normal human being…
“It’s okay…” Friday breaths out, trying to reassure them. “I’m proud to be your Daughter. And I love you both.”
Tony and Carol are both, openly crying as Friday also disappears, leaving only pile of dust in their hands.
Nebula is still holding Gamora’s dead body as she whispers to herself “He did it..”
A portal opens before the survivors and Obsidian walks through, without his hammer. They immediately prepare for an attack, but he holds his hands up in surrender.
“I didn’t come here to fight.” He says, looking mostly at Nebula, who frowns. “Then why are you here?”
Cull Obsidian points a finger at Gamora’s dead body. “He send me to collect her so he can properly burry her. “
Nebula nods in understatement as Obsidian picks up Gamora’s body. He turns to leave, but stops before he steps through the portal and turns to look directly at Tony. “He is sorry for your lose. You are all free to leave Titan in Guardian’s ship and return to Earth. The ship is parked 2 miles to East.”
He doesn’t wait for them to answers and disappears through blue portal that closes behind him.
Carol’s hand travels to her stomach as she hisses out in pain and Tony’s eyes widen when he sees blood...
Back in Wakanda, Steve kneels before Vision’s dead body and closes, his still opened eyes. Natasha runs up to him, finally managing to free herself from the trap Thanos made for her and stops dead in her tracks as she sees her Godson’s corpse.
Her hand instantly travels to her jacket as she thinks of her sister and fake parents. God, she hopes that they are still alive.
Nobody says a word until Steve sits and whispers a horrified “Oh god…”
Back on Titan, Thanos watches as The Benetar leaves Titan with neutral expression.. He sit down and smiles, sadly, as he watches the sun rise with a smile on his face.
It’s done.
He finally won.