The Thanos Fight
Avengers: Reforged I: The Thanos Fight
Earth- 199 621, 2023
Endgame Spoilers Ahead
Laboratory- Snap Preparation
The Gauntlet sat on a pedestal, the six Stones- Space, Time, Soul, Mind, Power and Reality glowing innocently despite the immense amount of power each and every one of them held. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor Odinson, Loki Odinson, The Black Widow, Ant-Man, The War Machine, Rocket Raccoon and Nebula all stood behind the sheet of a glass-like display as if it would save them from the reality they were facing, which Rocket Raccoon callously yet necessarily brought up.
“So, we got ‘em all. But the question now is… Who’s gonna Snap their freaking’ fingers?” He spoke slowly, dreadfully almost. Thor breathed deeply, before answering, “Me. I will,” The cybernetical animal looked up to him to see tears within the corners of his eyes. Tony lowered the display, turning to the God as he took a step towards the Gauntlet.
“What? That thing will rip you apart,” His brother, the dark-dressed son of Odin spoke up as he put his hand in front of Thor. “You don’t have your previous strength, Brother,” Thor looked at him sadly, yet with the will of his true godliness. “I have all the power I need, brother, what is running through my veins right now?” Loki looked at Thor sadly and opened his mouth, about to answer legitimately when Rhodey cut in with,
“Mayonnaise?” Thor’s eyes never left Loki’s as he gave Rhodey the finger. “Lightning. I have lightning, flowing through me,” He clarified as he turned back to the group. “I’m the strongest Avenger, I should be the one to do it,” He said, his usually powerful voice breaking. “Please, just let me do at least one more right thing,” Loki looked down sadly as the merits of his speech returned to bite him.
As everyone fell silent, a step towards the Gauntlet cracked across the room as Bruce Banner entered wearing nothing but an almost black pair of dark purple sweatpants. The door shut behind him, locking automatically. He walked to the pedestal, never separating his gaze from the powerful glove. As he moved he spoke,
“As you know, when Thanos snapped five years ago, he eliminated half of all living things- plants, animals, people … But the Snap itself emitted a radiation wave that should have killed Thanos, Thor and Loki, had they been human. But, Thor and Loki are Gods, and Thanos was... “ He trailed off, allowing his comrades to fill in the rather shallow logical hole. They all knew how powerful he was, even without the Stones.
“The radiation causes major burns, as we saw with Thanos- the power shrivelled his arm and welded the Gauntlet to it, and that was after a single snap," He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "The second one basically made his left arm useless. But, he snapped only days apart. Theoretically, if only one occurred and the snapper had some ability to heal-” Tony cut Banner off.
“The medical foam in the suit-” However, Banner cut Stark off in return.
“No, Tony. Hulk can heal, faster than any medicine. And besides, the radiation the Snap is anywhere from eighty percent to ninety-five percent gamma radiation. It's like… We were made for this," He finished, looking up at his team with a brooding, dark grin like had hadn't slept in days. Natasha noticed the bags under his eyes as soon as she looked him in the face. She silently mouthed 'no' before moving her hand over the desk that lay just beneath the previous screen. She expected to approach Banner and bring him away, but she was actually met with Tony laying his hand on the surface of her shoulder. Natasha glared daggers before Stark commented,
"Gringo's right, Nat. Let him do it, and stay behind me," Her eyes met Bruce's as he held up his left hand, coaxing her to stay back where she would be safe.
Bruce laid his hands on the pedestal and stared at the magnetically levitating weapon. He swallowed his fear, before looking to Natasha and smiling. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. His eyes snapped open, now a lime green, glowing with radioactive power.
"Remember, Bruce, only bring back everyone that was taken, okay? Don't... change anything from the last five years. Just bring everyone back home," Tony commented, doing his best to defend his wife and daughter even despite the distance.
"Friday, do me a favour and activate Protocol Eight." Tony then asked after Bruce nodded solemnly. Friday gave a kind note of response before windows began enveloping themselves with metal sheets, as did skylights above Bruce. Tony's new suit began appearing from the triangular light on his chest, and he raised a blue, transparent shield that stood to shield the nervous Romanoff from any physical effect the Snap would have.
The helmet of Scott's suit clamped over his head, Rhodey's mask clanged shut, Rocket took cover behind Thor, and Thor put his arm in front of Loki defensively, earning an odd look from his brother. Cap took position nearby Tony and raised his circular shield defensively.
Bruce breathed deeply again before whispering to himself, "Everyone comes home," He looked to Natasha before looking back to the weapon. He closed his eyes and sighed before sitting down in a meditation-like stance. His skin slowly began turning green, and he began growing. He arched his back and rose from the stance before slamming his fists on the floor. A low growl emerged from him as his back thickened and cracked, the bones and veins thickening to support the Hulk. Banner's pants grew around his olive ankles but stayed whole, the seams broadening up to his jade calves. His arms grew in diameter, muscle emerging from the green flesh. Banner's hair darkened from a greying dark brown to a deep black.
Hulk looked up from his crouched position, casting an evil-looking glare towards the Gauntlet. He stood, his head only about a meter from the ceiling now. He towered over all that stood before him, and the glove of destruction was dwarfed by the Hulk's very finger. He looked up to his team, smiling through his evil-looking snarl.
"Everyone comes home," The Hulk growled, repeating Banner's words. He approached the glove before picking it up. The weapon formed of Tony's nanobots began expanding and reforming to fit the massive hand it was to descend upon. Hulk looked back up to Natasha as the glove reconfigured. Her lip quivered quickly before she rectified it with a fake cough. Hulk nodded to her as Stark's Gauntlet stopped moving. It was now large enough to fit on the arm of the moss-coloured monster. He rested the edge on the tips of his meaty fingers before allowing the glove to fall into place.
He roared in pain and fell to a knee as the colours of the stones- an unnerving blue from the Space Stone, a mystical green emerged from the Time Stone, an ominous orange emanated from the Soul Stone, a controlling yellow burned from the Mind Stone, an unsurprisingly powerful purple shot from the Power Stone and a burning red from the Reality Stone- shot through the Hulk's arm in beams, adhering to the curvature of his musculature as they burned. However, his incredible healing counteracted the singeing of his dark emerald-tinted skin.
He curled his hand into a fist and roared, causing Natasha and Rocket to cover their ears. Tony and Rhodey were protected thanks to their armour, and the Gods- alongside God's Righteous Man- were practically immune due to their enhancements or physiological differences. Thor suddenly began panicking.
Take it off! Get it off!" He tried to approach but Tony stopped him with a whir of his repulsor. But, when Hulk saw Thor throw himself into a dangerous path he roared vehemently, keeping him at bay. In a pure show of power, Hulk readily stood and shoved his chest to the sky with a godlike roar, deafeningly loud. Thor slowly raised two thumbs in sheer amazement and Loki stared with an immense impression of the power he had sought out forever- the Tesseract, which was unknowingly an Infinity Stone- while Natasha had to be held back by Rhodey to keep her safe.
The spikes of light began fading, leaving The Hulk- one of the most powerful creatures in the known universe- equipped with the most powerful cosmic weapon in the universe. He admired his feat as his breathing once again began normalizing, smiling at the dormant stones dully glowing in the nanotech glove. He raised it to the team with an open palm facing himself. He then closed his fist, and the stones began humming pleasantly yet ominously. He raised his thumb, index finger and middle finger, his thumb and middle meeting with his index hovering just above. Hulk smiled as he brought his fist up into the air, and then-
SNAP.
A flash of white light took over Hulk's vision, and he felt himself leave his body, much like it did when The Ancient One pushed him and Banner out of himself. Hulk and Banner awoke within an odd, unrecognizable realm. They were separate entities, yet they shared the same mind, the same thoughts. The realm was unfamiliar, unrecognizable.
Unrecognizable, except…
The Harvard University stood before both of them amongst a foreboding orange sky, with a woman standing on the steps that were actually very close. Banner stepped towards her, as did Hulk, alongside a growl to attract the woman's attention. She was wearing black heels, a cream overcoat and she had dark brown hair looming over her small shoulders. At the sound of Hulk's growl, the woman turned to meet both of them. Both Hulk and Banner stepped back as they met her face…
Betty Ross, the love Banner had to leave behind due to the government hunting the Hulk. Her face was emotionless and plain, yet contained immense dread and a foreboding mood looming in the shadows of her cheeks.
"Betty?" Hulk asked, raising his hand in her direction. Betty smiled to Hulk, before turning to Banner.
"Did you do it?" She asked, created immense confusion in both Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde. "Um, yeah? I mean, he- we snapped our fingers," Banner clarified. Betty smiled, before continuing, "What did it cost?" Hulk and Banner met eyes, before nodding to each other. In unison, they replied, "Trust," Betty flashed a toothy smile before both of the snappers' visions went white again.
---
Hulk's hand, still dressed in the now blackened and cracked Tech Gauntlet, was lightly pluming grey smoke. His arm, much like Thanos' had been, was cooked, shrivelled and cracked, with evergreen fresh flesh showing from within the crevices of the blackened skin.
Hulk fell to his right knee, the same fist against the cement of the facility. He was holding the charred weapon over his head, the six Stones absolutely unfazed by the power of the Snap, glowing through the melted microbots. Hulk opened his eyes, looking to the rest of his team through his fleet-faring vision. Tony, Steve and Thor rushed over to Hulk's fading form as he collapsed, the Gauntlet sliding off in the fall. A faint hissing emanated from Tony's suit as his medical foam sprayed onto his arm. The coolness soothed the light burning the Hulk felt, but his healing was already taking hold, slowly closing the gaps and cracks of his increasingly re-greening flesh.
"Friday, disengage Protocol Eight!" The windows opened again, and sunlight flooded in through the skylight once more as well. Nebula had since disappeared, Rocket was still from shock, as was Loki, while Natasha rushed over and angrily kicked the charcoal-like power glove.
"Don't touch it!" Thor warned her as she kneeled next to Hulk panickedly. His faintly glowing eyes fuzzily looked to her as he slowly, weakly groaned, "Natasha…" She nodded as tears stained the corners of her eyes. Her mouth quivered uncontrollably as she whispered,
"You did it, Big Guy, you did it," She was fully crying now, her voice cracking and breaking constantly. She rubbed his cheek calmingly and the Hulk breathed a sigh of contentedness. However, be groaned as he rose to his knees, the other Avengers supporting him as he lumbered up. He smiled at the Black Widow before his expression hardened again. He growled before grabbing his left arm with his right. He clenched his left fist, the ashen flesh crumbling off. He stood and roared, heaving his left arm into the sky. The shrivelled limb began shaking with tension, and the slim, shallow cracks began glowing a slight;y green hue ever so mystically. The green light slowly intensified, so much so that Natasha had to shield her eyes from the emerald essence of light. Smaller cracks splintered from the larger healing ones, allowing more of the lime light to pass. More and more cracks emerged, growing thicker and thicker until the remaining crisped flesh evaporated into dark dust, revealing a completely healed arm.
It was fully sized for The Hulk, and the green light was fading quickly. Hulk flexed his fingers, making a tense fist then releasing it repeatedly. Natasha ran her hands over Hulk's arm, feeling that it was hot to the touch, though it was also fading quickly. She looked up at him with a tearful smile, which he returned proudly.
"Better healing, Stark," Hulk commented. Stark- as well as everyone else in the room- was shocked, and even Friday's silence told that her processing capabilities were struggling.
Scott slowly approached the open window, hearing birds chirp from an outside tree. He scoffed to himself joyfully before he suddenly opened his phone and dialled a contact almost so fast he couldn't comprehend the numbers.
He brought the phone to his ear, waiting for any other response than a monotone dial. The phone rung. He nervously clung the phone to his face as he waited, bouncing from one foot to the other waiting for a response.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Four.
"Scott?!"
It was Hope. The Snap worked. It actually worked!
Scott was beyond relieved to hear a voice he thought was never to be heard again. He was silent from shock until Hope spoke again. "Scott? Is that you?" She sounded scared, desperate, like when you have a brooding feeling that you're being followed but can't confirm anything. He quickly came back from bis shock and slowly answered her.
"Y-yeah, it's Scott. Hey, um, didn't think you actually, uh… Y'know…" He was still recovering from the shock. In the background, he heard Hope's parents Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne reuniting confusedly. Hope spoke again, still sounding scared.
"Scott, what just happened? Where are you, where's the van, where's our equipment? I-I don't know what's…" Hope was panicking, and rightfully so. Scott sighed in frustration, realizing how complicated the real story would be, especially over the phone.
"Okay, Hope look. It's a lot more complicated… than… it…" His words slowly came to a stop as a humongous shadow blotted out the sun from above as he spoke. He looked up through the window to see a giant black ship, wide and segmented, with the thick "wings" of the ship turning to navigate. Scott's helmet slammed down regardless of Hope's cries as he gasped,
"Thanos." A blue flare-like missile was jetting directly for him and he was preparing to shrink down to save himself.
Destroyed Laboratory
Tony Stark, Thor Odinson and Steve Rogers slowly approached the Mad Titan Thanos, who sat rather leisurely on an isolated piece of the ruined facility.
Tony was equipped in his most recent suit- the near-perfect Mark LXXXV (Eighty-five), the suit almost skin-tight against him, crafted entirely from far more advanced and diverse nanotech than five years ago. The main light of the suit was still over his heart, glowing light blue. Like his Mark L (Fifty) suit, there were several miniature arc reactors in the suit; Two parallel to and slightly below either shoulder, two below the pectorals, two above the hip, along the arms and legs and at the bottom of the neck, as well as a few along the back. The suit was the typical red and gold, but it was more segmented, colour-wise. The shoulders and arms were gold, but the forearms and hands were red with a blue-lit repulsor in either palm. The legs were similar, gold from the thigh to the knee and what were essentially knee pads, but the knees down to the boots were red, with thrusters in the boots. The main body was red, with gold trimming along the abdominals. The helmet was red with a golden mask, two slim lights across his eyes glowing blue. They followed the slight curvature of what was almost like an eyebrow, giving the mask an angry appearance. Two rounded points ascended from the plane of the ‘eyebrow’ from either side of the top mask with a red point came down, almost like the jaws of a beast along the top plane of his mask.
Next to him was Captain of the Avengers, dressed in one of his typical patriotic uniforms. The main colour was a deep dark blue, the gloves brown with small hard plastic pieces on the back of the palms, guarding the exterior of his fingers and on his knuckles. His boots were a near black brown, with three leather straps leading to the top, ending just under the knees. The midsection of his suit had blocky red and white stripes, forming well with the giant hard plastic star over Rogers' heart. His head was unguarded, allowing his hair to blow ever gently in the wind caused by the destruction. His beard was somewhat messy, but it still retained its regality and utter respectability. He had foregone the usual cowl he wore with the suit, instead keeping his proud nomad look from the Accords catastrophe. His fantastically blue eyes were sharp and callous, yet they held an odd warmth and humble pride mirrored by his indestructible circular shield. The white star in the center gallantly glittered against the flamelight.
Next to him was Thor Odinson, dressed in his usual scalemail attire, however, his depression over his failure to kill Thanos before he snapped his fingers had led to an unfortunately prominent belly, as well as the loss of his musculature. He still kept his kingliness, however, as both Mjolnir- his loyal bulky-headed hammer of legend from times past- and his new axe, Stormbreaker were held rightfully in his hands. The God's usually unkempt beard was in a powerful Nordic braid and his hair was flowing majestically. His eyes threw off blue electricity and sparks as lightning lit his being.
Thanos had his giant right hand between two equally massive blades, united by one hilt in the middle. The blades were tapered into angled points at either end, but the points were tilted opposite directions from each other. Covering the Titan’s body was worn, scratched golden-coloured armour, undercut by shiny blue metal highlights and vacuous black fabric.
Thanos’ head was bare, but beside him on the shrapnel surfaced soil was a matching helmet- gold-sheening metal with navy blue highlights. His exposed skin was a sun-bleached purple, reflecting flamelight with the thin layer of sweat the heat had garnered. His left arm was across his knee, with his titanic hand limp. A dark, abhorrent look of grim hatred dressed his face like a moonless night. The madman steeled his jaw before a sneering smile blinked across Thanos’ purple, ridged face.
“You could not live with your own failure,” Thanos begun, recalling their epic loss back in 2018 as Tony and Thor weaved between debris to meet the Titan, Steve walking directly to meet him, his powerful gaze never leaving Thanos'. “And where did that bring you?” He asked, slyly raising an eyebrow, rhetorically asking them as if it were an enigma.
“Back to me,” He spoke with such a tone that sounded like he was reprimanding the three Avengers for not answering- or choosing not to. The three finally met in front of the gigantic Warlord. He smiled egotistically, but that smile faded quickly, similarly to his first. His face reverted back to the grim mask he wore at the beginning before he continued his speech.
“I thought by eliminating half of all life, the other half would thrive,” He sighed before a sigh-like laugh echoed out of his throat as his head bowed down. He ran his left thumb over his index finger knuckle in thought, before looking back up to the trio before him. A scowl came across his face as he looked Thor specifically in the eyes.
“But you’ve shown me that’s impossible. That as long as there are those who remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be,” He ranted, a tone of anger rising in his voice as his cold gaze shifted to Captain America. Thanos’ icy eyes pierced through Steve’s, leaving a subtle feeling of discomfort lodged in the spine of the Super-Soldier. The Mad Titan smiled seeing his gaze unsettle the man, before finishing his rant with the spine-chilling,
“They will resist,” Tony suddenly felt his snarky instincts kick in- almost painfully so- before retorting the madman with,
“Yep. We’re all kinds of stubborn when it comes to preventable mass genocide there, Grimace,” Thor and Steve smiled at Tony’s quip, but Thanos quickly replied with a low growl, cutting the old-fashioned joy short. The giant smiled before continuing,
“I’m thankful for that,” Thanos sighed, bringing well-masked confusion to all three Avengers. “Because now, I know what I must do,” With that, he stood, brandishing the gigantic sword easily in his right hand. In his left was the helmet that was on the ground. He stood incredibly taller than any of the three, with Thor- easily the tallest of any of these three- only coming up to the bottom ridges of the giant’s pectoral muscles.
“I must shred this universe down to its last atom,” Thanos put the helmet on his head, completing his armour. His left hand curled into a fist with audible cracks, and his right tightened further upon the hilt of his blade. He looked towards the trio with a glare.
“And then… With the stones you’ve gathered for me,” He said with a slight smirk, “Create a new one. Teeming with life, but knows not what it has lost, only what it has been given… A truly grateful universe, with no possibility of mutiny,” He finished, leaving Steve Rogers- the ultimate good man- to point out the obvious dilemma with the Titan’s new plan.
“A world born out of blood,” He raised his shield instinctively, preparing for the inevitable fight. Thor readied the two weapons in his hands- the legendary Mjolnir in his right, and the humongous Stormbreaker in his left- while Stark’s nanobot mask formed around his face.
“They’ll never know it. Because you will not live to tell them,” Thanos set his right foot back and sneered, as if challenging the Avengers to reciprocate- to challenge him as well.
Thor was the first to accept, with a cry of power he summoned down lightning from the dark sky and electrified his two weapons, before spinning Mjolnir and using her to fly past Thanos and swing at the monster's head, though the blow was blocked. Cap followed quickly after with a backflip and Tony ascended, with two new clamp-like weapons forming from the wrists of his Mark LXXXV nanobot suit. Tony rapidly dove at the blade-wielding Mad Titan, who easily deflected him to the dirt, while at the same time Cap threw his shield from his backflip. It also ricocheted off of the blade of Thanos- who had slashed it with a fury- and returned to the Captain as he hit the ground before Thanos turned to face Thor. Thanos’ face was immediately met with the head of Mjolnir, which struck the monster just on the chin and flew behind Cap.
All the strike did, however, was turn Thanos back to the Captain, who the Titan slashed at with his heavy blade. The impact sent Rogers flying back, leaving only Thor for Thanos to face again. He delivered a hefty kick to the Aesir king, sending him smashing through fragments of the destroyed facility. Tony descended onto Thanos, firing a beam from his right-hand repulsor. The initial beam missed the Titan before a stronger beam was fired more accurately. Thor summoned Mjolnir, which weaved through the reflected laser beams that were Tony’s single beam being deflected by Thanos’ sword. Thor flew overhead as Tony settled back onto the ground he had started on, with Thanos not suffering even a scratch.
The back of the Mark LXXXV flowered open with six petal-like mechanical tendrils, all following the same colour scheme like the rest of the suit- blood-red, shiny gold and glowing blue lights on the surfaces facing the Titan.
“Okay, Thor, hit me!” Tony commented to the God of Thunder. Thor roared, before slamming together his weapons. A huge bolt of lightning shot down with a deafening crack before brutally crashing into the hole created by the flowering arms. Tony quickly pointed the hand repulsors towards the Mad Titan before him, before blinding beams burst forth from not only the hand repulsors but from a repulsor on the tip of each arm as well. Nine beams in total- including Tony's powerful Unibeam- flew towards Thanos, but it was all in vain, as Thanos- almost impossibly- twirled the sword by the hilt- almost like the blades of a helicopter- circling so hard it could create a black hole. The beams crashing into the blender-like blades were unrelenting, leaving Thanos fully occupied.
Thor took that opportunity at its fullest. He threw Mjolnir up, before adjusting his hold on Stormbreaker, holding it almost like a golf club. Thor shouted as he whacked his hammer with his full strength, sending it hurtling towards Stark and Thanos.
Thanos growled before digging his blade into the ground and lunging towards Stark, bearing the heat of the beams for a split second. As his meaty palms gripped Stark’s suit, the arms retracted back into the main body, ready to be recycled into other weaponry. Thanos held the struggling, helpless Tony like an elastic band as Mjolnir crashed into him, sending him hurtling into debris.
F.R.I.D.A.Y. spoke to him in a worried voice, “C’mon boss, wake up. They need yer fightin’,” Her light Irish accent subconsciously soothed the unconscious Tony.
Thanos smirked as the Mark LXXXV sparked with blue electricity- both Thor’s and not- before Captain America flipped into a kick in his face. Thanos cried out, before retaliating with a heavy punch, sending Steve flying onto his back. With a tangible, palpable fury, Thanos threw his dual-blade in a spinning whirlwind at Thor, who did a baseball-like slide under the flying, spinning blade. He ran at Thanos as his blade careened right past his left ear. Thanos caught the sword in his right hand before Thor leapt at the madman. Lightning sparked off him, bouncing between the six points on his chestplate, the ground and his glowing, electrified eyes.
Thor slammed Stormbreaker against the dual blade, pressing the heavy axe onto the blade. With a quick whip, Thor sent the blade to the side out of Thanos’ hand, much to the Titan’s surprise. The God of Thunder then threw an electrified swing of the axe at the godlike being before him, but Thanos caught the swing and threw the axe away, He dove at Thor, and grabbed him by the collar.
He heaved the heavy man over his head before tossing him away like trash. He lumbered over to Thor’s limp form, before throwing a few meaty punches in an unrelenting flurry of quick attacks. He picked the weakened god up again, before tossing him in the direction he had sent Stark. Thor slid into debris before the Titan dashed over a delivered a hefty kick to Thor’s gut. He threw punch after punch at Thor, who despite the attacking managed to summon Stormbreaker to his hand.
Thor’s hand widened as the electrified hammer-axe flew towards him. Suddenly, however, the weapon stopped dead in the air as Thanos caught the weapon mid-flight. He sneered evilly, before bringing the axe down and pushing it towards Thor’s chest- mirroring his suffering in Wakanda five years ago- or so he had collected from Nebula’s memories. The God of Thunder did his best to resist the Titan’s pushing, but his muscles had faded drastically since 2018, and he wasn’t able to fully resist Thanos’ strength lime he most likely would have been able to back then.
He felt his weapon’s blade poke his chest before suddenly Thanos recoiled back, Stormbreaker subsequently collapsing to the ground, Mjolnir flying back from Thanos’ ridged chin. It slowed in mid-air, before suddenly flying the other direction- the direction from which it came. The hammer accelerated, humming greatly with the pitch rising as it gained speed, before slamming rightfully into Captain America’s right hand. He recoiled from the force but turned to face Thanos with a look of steeled determination in his righteously blue eyes. He held his battered, scratched shield in his left hand and the shiny, legendary Mjolnir clenched within his right.
Thor couldn’t help but smile widely and shout, “I knew it!” He had suspected Steve’s worthiness ever since Tony had created Ultron- when he had budged the hammer during the after-party in 2015. Whether it was partial worthiness or Steve being kind back then, the hammer had moved more with him than anyone- even Hulk back on the Helicarrier in 2012- who Thor knew was physically stronger than anyone on the team, even him- now more than ever.
Thanos looked down to the smiling Thor, before kicking him opposite from the hammer-wielding Captain. He then brandished his dual-edged sword defensively as Cap began twirling the hammer by the strap, as he had seen Thor do countless times. He began dashing toward the giant, as did Thanos to him. Steve struck first, throwing the momentous hammer into Thanos’ chin yet again, throwing him back and knocking the blade out of his giant hand. The monster recovered quickly, using the blade he caught mid-air as a brake.
The Captain then followed by throwing the shield towards Thanos, who easily deflected it. The shield flew upwards, followed quickly by Mjolnir. The hammer struck the shield, sending reverberations onto the Titan. He dropped his massive blade, leaving Cap a perfect opportunity. He summoned the shield back with the electromagnets on his left arm and called the hammer back with his right. He once against dashed at Thanos, jumping up and cracking his shield against Thanos’ armoured face. He then slammed the hammer against the giant’s gut, following up with a shield bash to the chin. He then used Mjolnir to propel the shield into Thanos, sending him skidding back several meters.
He threw the summoned shield, bashing Thanos in the face yet again. When the shield returned, Cap then smashed the edge with Mjolnir, sending a far more powerful bash toward the Titan. The impact fractured Thanos’ helmet, sending shards of golden metal and navy fragments in a spew, accentuated with a satisfying crack.
Cap then valiantly raised the hammer to the skies, creating a clap of roaring thunder. A fat bolt of white-hot electricity shot from the sky and struck the hammer before the Captain threw an equally hefty blade at Thanos. The lightning threw Thanos back, landing on his back as the lightning surged through him.
Cap then leapt upward, summoning another surge of power from the heavens. The lightning struck him, though no ill effects were to be had. He absorbed the bolt, lighting up similarly to Thor. His eyes sparked vivaciously and particles and streams of lightning surged across his patriotic uniform. He let out a cry of strength, before using both his shield and his new hammer to strike Thanos’ chest with all of his might. Thanos, however, was ready.
He grabbed Cap’s collar, the electricity evaporating. He then threw the human to the ground, before kicking his sword into his right hand. Cap used his weight to flip back up onto his feet, before furiously throwing Mjolnir at Thanos’ face. The Titan failed to react, and the hammer struck him square in the forehead.
The weakened helmet could not bear any more battle damage and fractured in two down the center, cracking and separating before falling to the ground. Thanos shook his head, relieving the dizziness caused by the impact. He gazed down at the broken helm before he shouted and slashed in fury at the Captain, who ducked under the blade, mere centimetres from his nose. Thanos swung the blade down, and again Cap dodged the brutal attack. Thanos then delivered a heavy downward swing.
It caught the very edge of Cap’s shield, causing him to stumble.
Thanos wasted no time capitalizing on the opening and shoved his blade at the Captain, throwing him back. Cap recovered quickly, before dashing to strike the Titan with Mjolnir. Thanos threw his sword to the ground, guarding against the attack with his resilient left forearm guard. He swung a deadly right hook towards Cap’s face, only for it to be ducked under. Thanos quickly followed up with a left-handed uppercut, sending Cap flying. He lost his grip on Mjolnir, leaving it crashing to the ground in a dense puff of dust and debris.
Cap rapidly stood as Thanos rushed him, holding up his shield defensively. Thanos swung his recovered blade downwards…
Slicing clean through the shield, much to Cap’s surprise and despair. Thanos swung again, slicing off a piece of the shield. A red, roughly triangular fragment rounded on one edge and jagged on the other two was sent to the ground. Thanos struck again, now sending a white-and-red piece off of the once-thought-indestructible shield. Again and again, Thanos struck, sending more and more of the shield away, reducing the disk to almost half its original size. With a final, devastating blow, Thanos struck the shield again, this time sending Captain America skidding into the shrapnel and dirt around him.
Steve couldn't open his eyes at first. His head was unstable, blood was racing through his ears and he felt the taste of blood welling in his mouth. The sky was spinning, and the battlefield was blurry, the crackling of the fire piercing his ears dully.
It was then that all the memories of his rather extensive life began coming back to him- memories of his father, his immigrant mother, his best friend through thick and thin, his army brethren, the woman he loved, the plane crash, odd dream-like fragments from the ice, his awakening, fighting alongside a man of metal, a giant rage monster, a bow-and-arrow wielding assassin, a super-spy, fighting aliens, meeting gods, rediscovering his dead friend as an assassin, losing him again, finding him, finding out his secrets, losing him again, before getting him back a final time, then finally losing him for the last time.
‘ Bucky… ’ Steve thought. Bucky. Bucky was the reason he fought. Bucky was the reason he needed to recover. Bucky was the reason he still fought; he fought to protect his best friend. He slowly stumbled to bis feet, staring Thanos down with a vengeance. He tightened the straps of his broken, craggy, patriotic shield around his arm as he thought of avenging his friend, staring valiantly at what descended in front of him.
Thanos' humongous ship, the ' Sanctuary II ' floated down from space, and behind the monstrous Mad Titan four beings of varying size were beamed from the ship, some he recognized from the Wakandan fight back in 2018, some entirely new to him. Hordes of both Chitauri aliens- which he recognized from the New York Attack all the way back in 2012- and the hideous Outriders from the Wakanda battle were racing towards him, foaming at the mouths from hatred. Thanos spoke up as his army came to a halt behind him.
"In all my years of conquest… Violence… Slaughter… It was never personal. But I'll tell you now… What I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet… I will enjoy it. Very much." With that, he brandished his sword with a sneering grin.
As Steve felt the swell in his chest to fight, a crackling voice came over his in-helmet radio. A voice that wasn't Tony's, nor Thor's, nor any voice he'd expected to hear ever again…
Sam Wilson's voice crackled, " Cap, you hear me?" Steve looked around, bewildered, as Sam's voice flooded his brain. Back in 2018, Sam had been part of the fifty percent unlucky enough to be eliminated by Thanos' snap. But, was this really Sam, or was Cap hallucinating in his final moments?
Once again, Sam's voice echoed over his racing mind,
" Cap, it's Falcon. Can you hear me? " Steve once again looked around, but nothing was there until he spotted something behind him from a glint on his broken shield. He turned, only to be met by fizzling orange sparks crackling in midair. They were small, faint and minute, but they existed.
" On… Your left… " With those words, the sparks began expanding and brightening, revealing themselves to be some sort of portal. Out of the portal stepped King T'Challa- the king of Wakanda- Princess Shuri, T'Challa's sister and Okoye, the most loyal member and the general of the Wakandan Kingsguard, the Dora Milaje. T'Challa and Shuri had their arms crossed over their chests in an 'X', while Okoye had a sharp, brutal spear at the ready. Steve returned the smile that was dressed on the face of the King when suddenly Sam flew overhead the four, dressed in his usual Falcon armour- a thin camouflage chestplate with a bulky jetpack and two long, thin wings. He circled overhead, revealing to Cap a myriad of other portals leading to places across the universe.
In one, countless Wakandan soldiers flooded out, along with the Jabari tribe and their leader M'Baku- who was chanting something of his own. Both forces were rallied together and prepared to fight Thanos' forces. King T'Challa began reciting some sort of Wakandan war cry- one he recognized from 2018- in a valiant attempt to rile up his army. Out of another floated Doctor Stephen Strange, levitating with his wine-red cloak billowing behind him. He moved his hands in a violent yet fluid manner which ended with them together. He separated them, creating orange, spinning shields made of magic. They had mysterious otherworldly symbols on the outward-facing edges. Drax the Destroyer- wielding his deadly dual curved blades- Mantis, even Star-Lord with his manic mask and his two guns hovered next to Strange. Peter Parker, dressed in his Iron-Spider suit slung to Drax's side before his mask disappeared, revealing his young, boyish face.
Out another portal emerged a group of Ravagers and Ravager ships, all led by a blue-skinned man in a brown trenchcoat and a large dinosaur-like metal fin glowing red atop his head. He whistled before a small supersonic dart came shooting into his hand, leaving a bright red trail of light behind it. Near them was the group of Aesir warriors wielding gracious shields and sharp spears, led by Valkyrie atop her majestic winged pegasus and Thor's brother Loki, dressed in his dark green outfit and royal golden helmet, two curved horns ascending to sharp points appeared beside her. He carried two thin, sharp daggers, walking with the purposeful step of a God with a tremendous grudge. The humongous, intimidating Korg was beside him, wielding a massive shotgun-like weapon and Meik, who was pointing one of his sharpened blades at Thanos' army. The Scarlet Witch dropped down beside them, wearing the same red trench coat, red corset, black jeans and high heels she wore when she faded from reality, her hands aglow with red light and her eyes glowing with the same intimidating energy. Behind her, countless Masters of the Mystic Arts- led by the imposing Wong- ignited orange swirling shields from their hands, identical to those of the Sorcerer Supreme.
Out of another portal, a young woman suddenly appeared- almost as if she had been microscopic- wearing a suit similar to Scott's- part a dark-blue and light silver colour scheme as opposed to the red and gun-metal of Lang's, with the addition of two silver breastplates and four giant insectoid wings emerging from the back of the suit. The suit was smaller and thinner than Scott's to fit the woman's thin, athletic frame. Steve knew this woman as Hope Van Dyne, the girlfriend Lang had called a few minutes after the Hulk's snap.
Beside her emerged Hope's parents, the quantum-powered Janet Van Dyne and the genius Hank Pym- the creators of the Pym Particles and original suits. They wore upgraded versions, but they still differed from Scott and Hope's suits. They themselves matched, coloured a jet black with yellow highlights. Janet wore a version of The Wasp's suit and Hank wore an Ant-Man suit.
Beside the recovering Tony landed a thin purple metal suit, similar to his armour. The colours were different, a dark purple replacing the red and a refreshing silver replaced the gold of Tony's suit. The blue repulsors and arc reactors of Tony's suit were mirrored on the thinner one, but they glowed a simple white. The finely shaped silver pieces of armour glittered in the flamelight. The mask retracted revealing Pepper Potts, Tony's wife. She helped him to his feet before the couple flew behind Steve. Thor stepped up as well behind their patriotic leader. Doctor Strange approached Wong, orange shields emerging from both of them.
"Is that everyone?" Strange asked. Wong looked at him bewildered before he asked, "What, you wanted more?"
As if on cue, the remnants of the lab rumbled before Scott- who Hope smiled relievedly at- burst through the wreckage at a size far larger than any other he had taken on before- bigger than the airport, bigger than the San Francisco bay. From his hand- which was the size of a spaceship- emerged Hulk, War Machine and Rocket Raccoon. Hulk landed on the ground hard, roaring at the army. Rhodey's upgraded War Machine suit had opened mortar compartments and guns pointed at the army before him, not to mention that it was painted a subtle but beautiful red and blue. Rocket Raccoon was perched on Rhodey's shoulder, a huge gun in his hand.
Out of one of the portals emerged someone Steve thought dead once again. Alongside Groot and the rest of the Dora Milaje emerged Bucky Barnes, carrying his deadly machine gun in his robotic left arm. He scanned the battlefield before locking eyes with Steve. He began walking, slowly speeding up until he was moving at his fastest speed- faster than a normal human thanks to his super-soldier serum. He slowed as he reached Steve, his breath normal and even, almost as if he hadn’t moved at all. Steve's breath was shallow and broken as he looked at Bucky, unable to believe the fact he was looking his best friend in the eyes once again. Bucky had been believed dead so many times, but the Captain had thought that Thanos had finally ended him.
Clearly, he had been mistaken.
“Bucky?” Steve asked slowly, patting Bucky’s right shoulder. Bucky smiled, nodding. He embraced the still-shocked Rogers before he separated. Bucky looked forward, his grin fading to a scowl as he cocked his gun. It crunched as the lever flew back.
The entirety of the Avengers came to rest behind Steve, waiting upon his command. He held his broken shield surely, staring into the face of Thanos ahead of him. His right hand was up, ready to cast his army to fight the one in front of him. Steve raised his hand parallel, looking to Bucky, who nodded surely to him. He looked back to Thanos before raising his voice, "Avengers…" He opened his right hand and Mjolnir came to his hand readily. His hands were steady and prepared for the oncoming fight. The tension dividing his sentence was physical, a tangible object that took up the space between his army and that of the universe-slaughtering Titan. The air forcibly thickened as Steve held his word. The building pressure finally cracked as Captain America shouted,
"ASSEMBLE!" With those words, all Hell officially broke loose. The entire army charged forwards as Thanos threw his hand down, signalling the Chitauri, the Outriders and his own Children to charge as well. The 0utriders clambered rabidly towards the charging Aesir warriors. The ground shook as Giant-Man charged at his humongous size, Chitauri Leviathans roaring as they moved gracefully to combat Scott. The ape-like beasts beat their chests and charged, Hulk reciprocating the challenge as he leapt forward humongously.
Steve began spinning Mjolnir, running directly towards Thanos. Thanos sneered as he charged towards the patriotic Captain of the Avengers, the blade of the Titan slashing through the air with every step.
---
Thanos lumbered clumsily in a large circle as his army evaporated into grey dust around him. His remaining children, Proxima Midnight and Ebony Maw- Corvus Glaive and Cull Obsidian had been killed by Okoye and Spider-Man respectively- staggered onto their knees as they faded. The titanic Leviathans crashed into the Earth, however, no force was delivered as they disintegrated upon impact. The Titan slowly sat on the same platform he had when he destroyed the facility as grey dust crumbled off of him. He sighed before succumbing to the dust and faded away into the breeze indifferently.
Tony, Steve and Natasha all reeled from the Snap, Tony taking the brutal brunt that felt more like a train hitting him than Hulk made it appear. His right arm was shrivelled and burnt much as Hulk's had been, and his thin face was cracked and blackened near the right side of his neck. He backed up slowly against some shrapnel. He slid down into a sitting position, looking at the destroyed arm of his suit. He could tell that the huge team line-up had certainly saved his life, but that wouldn't matter if he didn't do anything to save himself.
"Friday, what's happening," He jaggedly muttered to his AI. Friday ran diagnostics on her bosses' injured body. He was in a fragile condition, but he would live if action was taken immediately.
"Boss, if we act now you'll live. Unfortunately, your right arm isn't salvageable, but if we hurry the rest of ya' might be," The voice responded, confirming Stark's fear. He knew he wouldn't be able to save his arm, but he would follow Friday's advice. He quickly ejected the Stones onto the ground before painfully mumbling,
"Friday… Put everything into the thrusters…" His words were growing slurred, and his actions were almost like he was drunk. He was clearly running on soft fumes. Friday checked the thrusters and calculated the closest emergency room. If she distributed the energy correctly, he would make it.
"Yes sir," She activated the thrusters, and Stark's unconscious body began flying, now piloted by Friday. Pepper, clad in her own purple armour, rose and grabbed her husband's suit. She spoke to Friday through the in-helmet radio.
"Friday, I'll take over and fly him, I have more juice. Where's the hospital?" She asked the AI. Friday took over her suit as well and the couple took off with a supersonic sound burst. The twin suits quickly became specks on the dark sky. Steve Rogers looked over the battlefield and took note of wounded and dead.
Carol Danvers was dead, Rhodey was sulking over her body without a suit, Hope Van Dyne was unconscious but alive, her body recovering from her fight with two Chitauri beasts. She was being watched over by her parents and Scott, who was holding her hand. Hulk was lying on the ground weakly with Natasha comforting him and King T'Challa was checking up on his largely wounded army. Bucky walked up to the Captain of the Avengers and hugged him tightly.
"We won Steve, we did it," He separated with a smile before he looked out on the field. His smile dropped somewhat, but he kept high hopes. "We won," He repeated. Steve smiled at Bucky before he began trudging towards the King. T'Challa met his gaze, before looking to the physically and muscularly massive Jabari tribe leader, M'Baku.
"And how have you done, M'Baku?" T'Challa asked, his voice filled with regal spirit and warrior-like stoicism. M'Baku looked out to his force, before returning his gaze back to Wakanda's King.
"We have suffered some losses and injuries but we will recover," The Great Gorilla responded. T'Challa nodded as he followed M'Baku's gaze over the soldiers, dead, wounded and living. All things considered, they fared very well against the forces of Thanos. T'Challa turned as Wanda Maximoff descended beside him, her energy passing over the ground lightly as she slowed her fall. She turned to Captain Rogers.
"Has Vision been brought here?" Her voice was lightly accented with Sokovian as it had always been, but it was also hinted with desperateness and anxiety.
Steve's face fell as he also realized that the Android Avenger hadn't returned from his brutal slaughter in Wakanda five years ago. Wanda's breath hitched as her eyes filled with tears and she shuddered to her knees, Steve's silent realization was more than enough to bring her horrors to fruition. Her hands were brought to her face as she sobbed. Steve sunk to his knee, looking to Wanda at eye level. He grimaced, before bringing her into a gentle, empathetic embrace. She collapsed against him, sobbing against his shoulder. He suddenly sensed something land behind him- something aggressive. Within a second, Steve rose and delivered a punch to the being behind him.
His hand was met with a stiff material, hard and unmoving, even against his punch. He looked at the being in mild shock, only to be met with the calm face of…
"VISION!" Wanda cried, rising to her feet. Steve lowered his fist slowly and moved aside, never looking away. Wanda jumped up and wrapped her arms tightly around The Vision's neck. He embraced her equally, closing his eyes as he nuzzled into her neck. He opened his eyes and looked to Steve whispering, "Captain Rogers," He nodded in response, still processing Vision's return. From her place, Wanda tearfully confirmed, "You’re alive! You’re back!” Wanda was weeping with sorrow and joy equally for Vision, both his death and his return. “What did you dream?" She wanted to know what Vision had imagined, but she wanted to hear his own voice define and create his quite human affections, not just her mind accepting the facts.
Vision separated but kept Wanda within his arms. "Over the last five years, I've dreamt of nothing but having you back, I've created scenarios in my head, but they're not logical… They were emotional," He ran his artificial hands through her hair, leaving them on her cheeks. "And now, those dreams have come true… Five years of patience..."
Wanda's face slowly became coated with desperate confusion before she asked, very slowly, "F… Five years?" Her voice was now quiet and meek as if her feelings had plummeted again as if rocks were suddenly tied to her stomach. "I've been gone for… Five years?" She asked, her face quivering with realization. Vision's face constricted itself with confusion, turning to Steve.
"She doesn't know?" Vision turned back to Wanda, this time his expression turning to one of panic and worry. "Wanda, what do you remember?" He asked, now anxious she had forgotten more critical information. She looked back to him, her face twisting with a similar mild panic.
"Vision, I remember everything, just not five years!" Vision sighed lightly with relief, but the worry returned as he considered this. Was it just Wanda that couldn’t recall the last five years? Had Thanos’ snap caused incurable damage? It was as Vision silently worried that Doctor Strange approached Wanda, moving his hands in odd manners and throwing off golden sparks occasionally.
"Miss Maximoff-" He began, but was interrupted by Wanda.
"Did I know you?" She asked, her voice ingrained with worry.
Strange stopped for a moment, giving Wanda an odd look, before continuing, "No. But you did know the Infinity Stones- more specifically…" He trailed off as an entity formed from his magic appeared in his hand. It was the orange Soul Stone, round and smooth. "The Soul Stone, is known to work in an odd nature when taking a life. It retains all those who are "killed" by its power- or it's magnified power when combined with the other Stones- in a certain realm, keeping them in a comatose-like state. That's why you- nor anyone brought back from this realm- have no recollection of the time passed, yet recall fragments of dreams- because you did- in the 'Soul Realm'," With that, the false Stone evaporated from reality, with Strange wearing a very proud expression from his explanation.
Wanda sighed tediously in contemplation of her absence, as did Vision but in a soothing manner as he brought her head to his chest. He put his face to the top of her head a placed a quiet kiss.
“What did you dream, Wanda?” Vision asked in an attempt to distract Wanda from the fact she had just learned, looking up to the smoky sky as Wanda replied slowly a few moments later. Her voice was sad, broken and pitiful as she slowly answered his question.
“It was Hell, Vision. All I saw as you dying, again and again, your body lying on the ground dead,” She was beginning to tear up again as her horrible memories returned. Her memories of Thanos brutally tearing out Vision’s stone with no remorse as she watched helplessly, of Vision’s broken body grey and faded with his forehead caved in, and of fading away gratefully having nothing else to live for. Vision quickly apologized by bringing Wanda close to him, hearing her try to sniff the tears back. Steve smiled sadly at the affection before turning to Doctor Strange, leaving the witch and the robot to their own.
"How is everyone?" It was a simple question, yet carried a surprising answer from the wizard.
"I don't know." Steve turned to him, before clarifying with a somewhat joking tone.
"Tony told me you could see the future. Guess this isn't the future," Strange hummed dismissively, before adding to the Captain's joke seriously.
"Not the future I saw," Strange said mysteriously. "I saw over fourteen million futures, and in only one were we victorious against Thanos. But this… This seems like a victory, and I didn't foresee this," He sighed. Steve looked away in contemplation.
"What happened in the one you saw?" He asked. Strange breathed a laugh of dry bitterness, before wryly replying, "Victory, but at horrible costs…"
Steve's face distorted in morbid curiosity at the- debatably- older man's vaguity. "What costs could be worse? Danvers is dead, as is Barton, Tony's horribly wounded-" Strange cut him off.
"He died in the future I saw. As did Romanoff- in place of Barton- the Vision wasn't reconstructed, which I still have to inquire about that and- oh, you shaved your beard, among other oddities," Steve scoffed at the notion of his beard being shaven, appreciating it too much to remove it. It was a silent moment before he asked,
"Wait, so how is Vision back, since he knows it's been five years?" Strange shook his head dismissively, the knowledge being beyond the wizard. Steve then left the man to contemplate the realities he was within as he trudged towards Ant-Man and the recovering Wasp. Scott looked to him, nodding as Hope’s eyes opened and she gasped. Hank and Janet breathed sighs of relief, as did Scott.
“Hope, that was an impressive fight,” Steve commended, crouching down to her laying form. She smiled at him, before turning to Scott with a weak smirk. “Thanks, Cap,” Scott scoffed lightly as his girlfriend used the nickname of the legendary Captain America for a second time now, despite mocking it five years ago- for him and Hope, it had been almost a day ago, maybe, but for everyone else, it had been back in 2018. She smiled, before closing her eyes and sighing in minute pain. She then used Scott’s steady arm to sit up.
The wings on the back of her suit were ragged, torn and broken, only one still functional enough to twitch sadly. She sighed, realizing she needed to reconstruct them when she was healthy enough.
“Dammit,” It was then that Vision slowly descended from above with Wanda in his arms. She had since fallen asleep, most likely due to the exertion of her powers and her high-running emotions.
"Captain, where are we to stay now that the Facility is gone?" It was a simple question with an answer more complicated than a twenty-sided Rubix cube. Steve looked down, rubbing his left hand through his beard in thought. Vision looked at the broken shield in shock. "Captain, your shield…" Steve looked to the broken disc, the white star in the center just barely managing to remain whole. As Steve stared at the shield, an idea bubbled up, but one he couldn't exactly confirm yet.
"I don't know, Vision, but we'll find something… I promise," He finished, looking to the Android Avenger as he looked to the sleeping Maximoff woman in his strong arms. She looked comfortable, safe… Alive, not threatened any further by the Mad Titan Thanos. None of them were. For the first time in five years, they could finally sit and reel to terms with all of those they lost to the monster and find peace.
They would recover.
Benetar
Thor walked into the spaceship, meeting with Mantis' huge space-like eyes. She was fidgeting with her hands as she looked at the other Guardians. Drax seemed to have her attention more than the others, even though he was standing still and eating a bag of some sort of chip incredibly slowly behind Rocket and Groot. Mantis turned her head and her antennae began glowing white as she stared at Thor.
"Hello, Thor. You did decide to join us?" She smiled as Thor nodded. Rocket and Groot turned to Thor, Groot waving to Thor, who returned the gesture. Quill was occupied heavily with a screen, paying close attention to numbers- numbers that appeared to be coordinates- and locations, most likely he was searching for his absent green-skinned girlfriend. Thor moved to lay his bag on the table nearby but instead placed it on the floor underneath when he realized there was some of Rocket's equipment on the face. He waved to Rocket, who nodded to him as he tinkered with something. He came up to Quill and began to speak.
"Asgardians of the Galaxy, back together again, eh?" He asked. Quill gave a distracted note of confirmation as he searched for Gamora. Thor asked him, "Can I talk to you, Quill?" He was quiet, almost as if he was embarrassed. Quill turned to him, distracted by his unusual tone.
"Yeah sure, what's up Thor?" He was quick and anxious, Thor could tell, so he tried to extend his point quickly. "Um, look. I didn't mean to be such a dick back in 2018. I… I was still just really mad at Thanos and I wanted to kill him. I didn't mean to steal your crew, or become their captain… Okay, look. I used to want to be king at everything, but recently, I've realized that I..." He paused and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I don't want to be king," He paused, looking down as Quill nodded slowly. He cleared his throat before continuing.
"I want to join your crew, but not as a leader. I'm done leading. So, if you'll have me…" Thor trailed off, looking back up to Quill. He looked confused but contemplational. As Quill met eyes with Thor, he smiled and stuck out his right hand. Thor laughed quietly and shook Quill's hand happily.
It was then that Thor felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned, and he met eyes with his brother, Loki. He looked solemn, but happy at the same time. "Hello, brother," He said scratchily. Thor looked at him before he turned back to Peter.
"Is he coming as well?" Thor asked. Quill nodded with a smirk before Thor turned back. He smiled as he pulled Loki into an embrace. Loki laughed as he embraced his brother in turn. “I knew you’d come around, Loki.”
“As did I, brother, "Loki legitimately and honestly at Thor's genuine happiness.
"As did I.”
To Be Continued…