Chapter 38: I'm prepared to sacrifice my life, I would gladly do it twice
Notes:
1) 8 months and 147k words later, I have done it! It was really fun writing the IW arc!
2) Unfortunately, it's highly likely updates will reduce from September. Life will become 10x more hectic and it'll be interesting to see what I can write around then.
3) Enjoy the chapter and leave a kudos and comment!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The warriors were in squadrons with T'Challa, Okoye and Shuri leading them into battle.
Several of the people from the previous battle were there like Bucky, Falcon, Quill, Groot, Drax and Mantis. Stephen was at the front, speaking to T'Challa about something that he couldn't hear.
His heart thumped in his chest as he psyched himself up for the final battle. The actual final battle that decided the fate of the universe before an irreversible had to be made.
It could be his final battle.
He forced himself to breathe steadily, making his heart beat at a normal pace as he quelled his anxieties. He didn't know how this battle would go. He couldn't be proactive like he and Stephen had been during 2016 and 2017. He had to go into this in a reactive mindset, keep himself alive and play hot potato with the Infinity Gauntlet.
If he remembered right, T'Challa would get the gauntlet from Hawkeye and would throw it to him just before he latched onto Thor's hammer and flew across the battlefield and joined Valkyrie on a Pegasus.
Yeah, that definitely wasn't a normal sentence.
"You were dusted?" He jolted at Quill's question, turning around to face the Guardian.
"Yeah," he replied. "I guess Rocket wasn't since, y'know, he's not here."
Quill frowned as he nodded. "I guess so. Do you know where we're going? She-" Quill gestured to Shuri, "-found us when we were looking around the palace and told us to meet here."
"I am Groot." The small tree-alien spoke, but whatever it -he?- said must have annoyed him.
"Yeah, but I didn't know what else to do! You tell me, what would you do if you found out you had been resurrected in a foreign land without a spaceship?"
"I am Groot. I am Groot. I…am Groot." Groot stared back at Quill, unimpressed.
Quill snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Sure, like that would work."
He shook his head, chuckling at the bickering before paying attention to T'Challa.
Stephen waved his hands, opening a portal in front of T'Challa, Okoye and Shuri. They stepped through as Sam activated his wings and took off, flying through the portal and disappearing from his sight.
"Ibombe!" T'Challa shouted.
The Wakandan troops shouted back, rallying their spirits before the battle they were going to enter, catching his troop's attention before they all slammed their spears into the ground. All their voices chanted back at their leader, their morale increasing with every shout.
"Ibombe!" The troops roared back.
"Ibombe!"
"Ibombe!"
Breathing in deeply, he walked towards the front alongside Bucky and the Guardians, the ruined battlefield stretching out in front of him. The Rescue Suit landed a few metres in front of him, the faceplate lifting up to reveal Pepper Potts.
The desecrated land stretched out before him, the debris of the Compound scattered around as ash covered the sky, turning it a musty brown instead of blue. The Chitauri amassed in their overwhelming numbers alongside Thanos's generals.
Looking around, his jaw dropped as he watched several portals open, all of them showing different locations in the backgrounds as different people streamed out of them. Many of them looked like sorcerers, a lot of them summoning their shields as they walked onto the battlefield in their formations.
Hovercraft entered through even bigger portals in the sky and to his right, he watched as a warrior on her Pegasus -Valkyrie?- marched alongside a man with skin made out of rock, an army of people who he guessed were Asgardians behind her. Wanda dropped next to her, her hands glowing with scarlet aura.
(Where was Vision?)
Crashing sounded to his left and his eyes widened as Ant Man expanded to a ridiculous height, the Chitauri hovercraft he was under being torn to pieces once he stopped growing. Squinting, he realised he held Hulk in the palm of his hand, except something was off – oh, he was 'Smart' Hulk. War Machine, Rocket and a blonde woman wearing a white suit stood next to Hulk after he was set down on the ground.
"Is that everyone?" Stephen asked Wong.
"What?" Wong asked, completely startled by his question. "You wanted more?"
Captain America stood at the front with Natasha -oh shit, she was still alive!- as Thor summoned his axe to his hand and made his way over at the same time Tony did.
Tony.
Blood strickled down the side of his face, but otherwise he didn't seem too injured. Now wasn't the time to go up to him, but he knew they would meet at some point during the battle.
Everyone had gathered in their troops, hearts pounding with anticipation as they waited for the most decisive battle in history to begin.
Lowering himself closer to the ground, he took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart as he waited for Captain America to begin the battle.
Thanos stood opposite them, his blade gleaming under the few rays of light that made it through the layer of dust floating in the sky.
"Avengers…" he yelled, summoning Thor's hammer to his hand.
"Assemble."
Everyone yelled, sprinting onto the battlefield.
Sprinting forwards, he shot a web at Ant Man's huge hand, pulling himself upwards as Scott ran forwards. Hulk jumped up, his eyes widening as he realised who was with him before nodding.
"Scott!" Hulk yelled -wait, did he need to call him Bruce since this was 'Smart' Hulk?- as he caught Scott's attention. "Throw me!"
Scott nodded, pulling his hand back as he readied himself to throw them across the battlefield.
"Jump on my palm, I'll throw you further." He nodded at Bruce's instructions, jumping onto Brue's outstretched palm. Wow, he was perching on Hulk's hand. How weird.
His blood thundered in his ears as Scott threw them forwards, the wind howling in his ears as a familiar weightlessness overtook him before Hulk launched him forwards. Flying across the battlefield, he flipped before the swooping feeling in his stomach increased.
Hovercraft rose above him, their engines adding to the din of the battlefield as they flew past him. The Avengers surged forwards, mixing with the Chitauri like two waves colliding.
He activated his Iron Arms as he landed on a Chitauri, his momentum knocking the alien flat on its back, he punched it a few times before dodging another Chitauri's blade and stabbing it with his Iron Arms.
A beast -Leviathan?- roared in the sky, prompting him to turn around only to see Scott punch the Leviathan again before throwing it to the ground, taking out a bunch of Chitauri.
Letting his Iron Arms take out some more Chitauri, he scanned the battlefield only to see a huge alien leaping over a mound of debris.
Well, at least he had a new target.
Dashing forwards, he leaped over a Chitauri to get to the mound of debris and used both his webshooters to shoot a web at the massive alien's huge blade, pulling it backwards and dragging it into the ground before stumbling backwards as Scott stepped forward, crushing the alien's head.
Cringing internally, he dropped down as he realised who was in front of him and offered a hand to help them up.
"Hey!" He exclaimed, pulling Tony onto his feet as the latter's faceplate retracted. "Holy shit, it's been a crazy half an hour."
Tony's eyes widened slightly as he stared at Peter with disbelief, as if he thought he was hallucinating which honestly wouldn't be out of the question if he had a concussion – wait, did he have a concussion after that attack? Did he need to check his vitals-
Tony's arms wrapped around him, drawing him into a much needed hug. The din of the battlefield faded into a blur for a few seconds as he hugged Tony back, his muscles relaxing despite the chaos surrounding them.
"Peter, you're here," he murmured, tightening his hold for a few seconds before letting go. "The videos – you knew what was going to happen. The Snap – how?"
His stomach plummeted. "Do I need to explain this now?"
"Realistically, no. A short answer would be nice."
His Spidey-sense buzzed and he turned around, shooting his webs at the Chitauri that had leaped over the debris to get to them before spinning around, gaining momentum until he released the alien and sent it flying across the battlefield.
He couldn't find it in himself to lie to Tony. The most important events had already passed and he would have to come clean about it.
"You knew about all those events, you said so in the videos, but what about this?" He faced Tony, his thoughts conflicting as he saw the confused expression on his face. "Did you know?" He nodded. "What about time travel?" He nodded again, his voice choking at the worst time. Except…
"Wait, did the time heist video not send?" He asked, fighting to keep his voice steady.
"What?" Tony's brow furrowed before his faceplate slid down and he blasted another Chitauri heading towards them.
"The one explaining how you found time travel and how you could do it again."
"No?"
It clicked.
The most important video never sent.
Shit! No wonder it took five years to come back! Tony never received the video explaining how he time travelled in the other timeline. He had made that video a couple of days before his birthday in 2017 and had made sure no one could access it unless he sent a specific order.
Tony would have been given access to all the other videos from the 10th of August 2018 since Peter wouldn't have been able to cancel the order since he had been dusted, but he had kept the time travel videos locked unless he specifically unlocked them. He had unlocked them while they were waiting for Thanos in the Vault, so why hadn't they sent? He frowned as both their comms came to life.
"Cap!" Clint exclaimed over comms. "What do you want me to do with this damn thing?" Oh god, he meant the gauntlet.
Captain America grunted before replying. "Get those stones as far away as possible!"
"No!" Hulk said. "We need to get 'em back to where they came from."
"No way to get 'em back. Thanos destroyed the Quantum Tunnel," Tony replied.
"Hold on!" Was that Scott? "That wasn't our only time machine."
The faint jingle of a Mexican song blared in the distance, but he barely caught it over the screams of the Chitauri. No way…
"Anyone seen an ugly brown van out there?" Captain America asked.
"Yes!" Valkyrie called out over comms. "But you're not gonna like where it's parked."
"Scott, how long do you need to get that thing working?" Tony asked, firing up his repulsors before flying upwards to survey the battlefield.
"Uh, maybe ten minutes."
"Get it started," Captain America ordered. "We'll get the stones to you."
Oh no, they were going to play hot potato with the Infinity Gauntlet again.
"We're on it, Cap."
His Spidey-sense buzzed suddenly, prompting him to turn around and shoot whichever alien was trying to kill him, yanking it towards him before skewering it with his Iron Arms. Cringing as the alien slid off the metal, he shot a web at one of the lower flying hovercraft and pulled himself up, swinging to a new area of the battlefield.
Dropping down to the ground, he watched as Stephen summoned purple electricity to decimate the Chitauri around him before he noticed Peter was there, levitating towards him.
"Are we still at fourteen million chances?" He asked, frowning when the sorcerer shook his head. "How many?"
"Thirteen million," Stephen replied.
"Well that's not a nice number," he mumbled. "How many do we win? Please, it's now or never."
Stephen hesitated before pressing his lips together. "Three."
He couldn't work out whether he was upset or relieved. On the one hand, how was it only three? They had done so much to improve their chances…
"I'm one of those chances, aren't I?" He asked, watching as Stephen's eyes hardened. "I sacrifice my life to let everyone else live."
"I told you to not do anything reckless."
"I'll do whatever's necessary to keep Tony alive," Peter said with such pure determination it almost rid Strange of any doubt he had. "It's me or the universe. If there's no other way, I will do it."
He wouldn't let their second chance be wasted by his cowardice. They had done everything they could to move the Infinity Stones to safer places to slow down Thanos only for it to fail. They had gathered everyone they could to face against Thanos only for that to fail. They had gathered the strongest Avengers to make a final stand against Thanos only for him to be the liability that made Stephen give away the Time Stone.
He would make sure they won even if it cost him his life.
"If there was one thing I learned in the previous timeline," Stephen rebutted, "it was that there's always another way."
"In the grand calculus of the multiverse, my sacrifice means infinitely more than my life. It did then and it will now."
"Peter don't-"
He didn't catch the rest of Stephen's sentence, flashes of purple blasts catching his attention. His heart thundered in his chest. Did Thanos have the gauntlet already?
Another purple blast flashed in the distance and adrenaline surged through him as he realised T'Challa had the gauntlet. He had to get there!
Sprinting forwards, he jumped over a pile of wreckage before shooting a web at one of the Leviathans, using it to swing over the Chitauri on the ground-
His Spidey-sense screamed in his head as something shot towards him, slicing through his web line. His stomach swooped as he plummeted towards the ground, landing on his shoulder. Groaning, he pushed himself up and dodged the Chitauri careening towards him, stabbing it with his Iron Arms before turning towards where he had last seen T'Challa.
Scarlet aura covered the debris a few metres in front of him and fear shot through his heart as he realised Wanda was doing that. She had to be pissed off. Scarlet aura covered her as she threw the wreckage at Thanos, forcing him on the defensive as she threw scarlet blasts at the titan.
Scanning the battlefield for something to swing from, he jumped up and shot a web at one of the lower flying hovercraft, swinging over the battlefield to find the gauntlet.
The gauntlet gleamed in the distance, the stones glowing as T'Challa kept it close to him as he tried to keep it away from Ebony Maw.
How the fuck? Oh wait, time travelling 2014 Thanos. Right, his generals would still be alive.
Swooping towards T'Challa, he kept one hand free as the king threw it in the air, leaving him free to shoot a web at the gauntlet and pulled it towards him.
In his peripheral vision, he caught Wanda's scarlet aura surrounding Thanos, the titan's pained grunts caused by Wanda ripping his armour off of him before he yelled something that Peter couldn't make out.
Dropping to the ground, adrenaline flowed through him as Chitauri surged towards him, their eyes on the prize of the Infinity Gauntlet. It acted like a magnet as he activated Instant Kill mode, desperate to keep himself alive.
All he needed was a few seconds to pull the stones off of the gauntlet and try and find Scott.
Gripping the gauntlet as the Chitauri tried to overwhelm him, he yelped as one cut his thigh, his suit fabric tearing as blood instantly trickled out of the wound.
Blasts shot out of the massive spaceship in the sky, each hit causing chaos across the battlefield. A group of Chitauri to his right were caught in the explosions, their screams deafening him as dirt and limbs flew across the ground.
Nausea churned in his stomach as blood splattered across the limbs, the dirt becoming darker as blood soaked into it.
"I'm fine, I can do this," he muttered, forcing himself to get through his dire situation. His jaw dropped as he watched a torrent of water on the other side of the battlefield swirl into the sky like a tornado.
The Chitauri clambered over him, slowly but surely overwhelming him with their numbers as he clutched the gauntlet closer to his chest.
Pain sharply cut his nose as one of the aliens punched him, causing something wet to dribble down his face. Great, a nosebleed.
"Hey, somebody help!" He cried out, praying his comm was on so someone would respond.
"Hey, Queens, heads up!" Captain America's voice sounded in his ears. He blinked, looking up to the sky as Mjolnir soared over the battlefield.
His limbs ached from the strain they had been put under, but he shot a web at Mjolnir as it neared him and pulled him away from the group of Chitauri trying to kill him.
His heart hammered in his chest as he flew across the battlefield, barely dodging the blast that would have cut his web. He yelped as he tensed his arm, yanking himself up before he slammed into a Leviathan.
Sprinting along its back, he let Mjolnir pull him along before his eyes widened as it descended, letting go of it before it met the ground.
Tumbling on the dirt, he rolled over with the gauntlet clutched to his chest before he realised what had happened.
Thor twisted around, using his axe -he still had no clue what it was called- to slice through the Chitauri with ease before using Mjolnir as a shield, swinging it around so quickly that it would kill anything that touched it.
Another blast from Thanos's spaceship hit the ground near them, throwing him off his feet as Thor dropped Mjolnir to use shoot lightning at the Chitauri that remained.
His Spidey-sense screamed at the back of his head-
Boom!
Blasts rained down on them as his ears started to ring, dirt exploding around him as he curled into himself to try and protect his head. The last thing he wanted was a concussion!
The ground tremored underneath the blasts as the gruelling smell of iron and burnt flesh became prominent, explosions continuing to render his hearing useless as his head pounded. He couldn't think, let alone try and stand up and fight. He imagined everyone on the battlefield was in a similar situation, unable to move or fight.
He wheezed as dust floated everywhere, stirred up by devastation caused by Thanos's spaceship. They wouldn't be able to take much more of this.
The blasts stopped.
He uncurled himself and looked up, wondering what the hell had stopped the attack – except the attack was aimed elsewhere.
"What the hell is this?" Sam asked over comms.
"FRIDAY, what are they firing at?" Tony asked. He didn't hear the AI's response, instead scrambling to his feet as he realised they could get the upper hand.
He used one hand to keep the gauntlet close to him as he shot a web at the nearest object to him, spinning around to gain momentum.
Chitauri cried out as he hit them, flying backwards with the pure force he had generated.
In his peripheral vision he noticed something akin to a missile had entered the atmosphere, golden light streaming behind it as it pummelled thought the front of Thanos's spaceship, fire exploding throughout it.
The spaceship broke down, metal tearing away from it and falling into the water behind the battlefield, massive waves crashing over it.
He let go of the object he was swinging at the Chitauri near Thor, sending all of them flying backwards as he stumbled slightly. Fatigue plagued him, weighing down his body even though his brain continued to run at full speed. For him, it still felt like the battle at Wakanda was a few hours ago even though it had actually been five years ago.
"You're worthy?!" He turned to face Thor, panting as he kept the gauntlet close to him.
"What?" He asked, confusion running through him -maybe it was the fatigue getting to his head after all- as he watched the god pick up Mjolnir and offer it to Peter.
"Try and hold it," he told him. His brow furrowed but he did as the god said, grabbing the handle of Mjolnir as Thor let it go.
His hand dropped slightly as he struggled to accommodate the weight, but he could definitely hold it.
Thor grinned as he took the hammer back. "First Steve, now you! Except…" The puzzled tone in his voice didn't reassure him. "There's something different. Perhaps you're not completely like Steve after all."
"I have no clue what that's meant to mean," he confessed.
"Underoos, new plan." He flinched as Tony's voice sounded over the comms, caught off guard by the sudden announcement. "You need to get the gauntlet to Danvers."
"Who?" He asked, looking up to the sky to see if he could swing from anything. There weren't as many Leviathan in the sky and a lot of the hovercraft had been destroyed by Thanos's ship.
"The glowing lady in the sky from earlier."
"Ooooh, her. Yep, will do. Can she take the stones out of the gauntlet and use it as a decoy?" He asked.
"If it comes down to that," a female voice replied, "then yes." Ah, that must be Captain Marvel then.
"Thor," he said, catching the god's attention. "Could you throw me across the battlefield?" He wasn't sure if he could handle traversing the battlefield as a massive target again. Losing the Infinity Gauntlet would kill him internally.
He nodded, picking up Mjolnir and swinging it around like he had before. As soon as he released it, Peter shot a web at it and flew like he had a few minutes before, keeping the gauntlet close to him.
Anxiety swirled in his chest as Chitauri looked up at him, seemingly attracted to the gauntlet like it was a magnet. Wakandan warriors mixed with sorcerers as they beat the distracted Chitauri, reducing their overwhelming numbers as much as they could.
His Spidey-sense rang out as a Chitauri leapt up, snagging his ankle before it fell back down. Yelping, he yanked his legs towards him as more Chitauri tried to reach him and drag him down with them.
Cursing as a Chitauri jumped high enough to deepen the wound on his thigh, he prayed Mjolnir would go faster until-
"Fuck!" He yelled as a Chitauri tore through his web line, dragging him down with him as he saw a repulsor blast in his peripheral vision.
"I've got you!" Pepper's voice sounded from the rescue Suit as she swooped in to catch him, saving him from his freefall before flying upwards to avoid the Chitauri from trying to take her down.
The ground blurred below him as his Spidey-sense rang out in his head, prompting him to turn around as a metal glinted in his vision-
His breath was knocked from his lungs as a chunk of debris from Thanos's ship knocked him out of Pepper's grasp, sending him flying towards the ground as the world spun-
He slammed into the ground.
Everything burned.
Lifting his head up, his blurry vision didn't do much to help him. Coughing as he forced himself to breathe, he used his forearms to prop himself up before spots swam in front of his vision and he fell forwards, struggling to stay conscious.
'Come on, you have to do this," he told himself as everything around him became brighter, a glowing lady entering his vision.
Tensing his muscles, he forced himself to sit up, relaxing slightly when he realised he still had the gauntlet in his hands. He wouldn't have been able to forgive himself if he had lost it when being shot down.
"H-hi," he said, his voice hoarse as he realised he was talking to Captain Marvel. "You need this?"
"Yep," she replied, offering a hand to help him stand up. He took it, finally getting to his feet before handing her the gauntlet. He wasn't in any state to take it any further across the battlefield.
"I have no clue how you're gonna get through that," he murmured before realising who else was near him.
Red hair, green skin, a dagger in her hand.
Gamora.
He swallowed down the guilt that forced itself up, internally apologising for failing to save her. This had to be her 2014 variant because those who were sacrificed for the Soul Stone could never come back.
Nebula joined her as repulsor beams flashed in his peripheral vision before the Rescue Suit landed next to Captain Marvel. Wanda's scarlet aura helped her land next to Gamora before the Wasp appeared seemingly from nowhere – oh wait, she could shrink and grow just like Scott!
Okoye and Shuri leaped over some debris before standing next to Wanda, Shuri nodding at Peter before facing Captain Marvel. Mantis jogged towards them from behind a massive piece of debris, a sharp blade in her hand.
Valkyrie landed a few metres behind her on her Pegasus, the blonde lady in the white suit from earlier jumping off the Pegasus with Natasha beside her.
"Valkyrie, Pepper, keep an eye out for the remaining Leviathans. They'll be a bitch to destroy if they catch us. Everyone else, keep the Chitauri busy on the ground so they can't jump. Yelena, Natasha, your batons can paralyse them easily so take the lead and leave any stragglers to everyone else."
Oh, so the blonde lady was called Yelena. He could have sworn he heard Natasha mention her name at one point during training…
He watched as all of them sprinted towards the battlefield, following Captain Marvel's orders as they tore through the Chitauri. Stepping forwards, he hissed as all his injuries screamed at him for attention.
His thigh was a bloody mess even though it wasn't bleeding anymore. Thankfully, the blood had clotted and would be healing, but he the world swayed beneath his feet until he staggered, falling onto his knees as he struggled to keep the nausea from getting to him.
His breath wheezed in his chest as he swallowed, gritting his teeth to stop himself from focusing on throwing up. Quickly pulling his mask up in case he did puke, he wiped away the drying blood on his upper lip from his nosebleed earlier.
He would not throw up on the battlefield. He would power through. He didn't have time to rest, not yet.
Clenching his jaw, he forced himself to stand up, his hands trembling once he managed to stay on his feet. The pain from his thigh grounded and sickened him simultaneously, screwing his head over. Thank fuck most of the Chitauri were attracted to the gauntlet because he wasn't able to fight them just yet.
Leaning against some wreckage, he gave himself a brief reprieve before pulling down his mask and sprinting towards the battlefield, Captain Marvel's light acting as a beacon.
Using one of the hovercraft as a way to swing, he made his way across the battlefield as quickly as he could. Squinting, he could make out Captain Marvel holding Thanos's hand, forcing his hand to remain splayed open as he realised Thanos had the gauntlet.
His heart cracked as fear swelled in his chest, adrenaline fuelling him as he dropped from the hovercraft and sprinted forwards as Captain Marvel kept Thanos at bay until he used his hand to reach the gauntlet and pull out a stone-
Shit!
Purple exploded across the battlefield as Thanos used the Power Stone, the wave sending Captain Marvel flying backwards into some debris.
They couldn't lose.
Jumping up, he shot a web at Thanos's head and yanked himself forwards, punching Thanos before he crawled onto the titan's back, wrapped his legs around Thanos's neck just like Natasha had taught himself and used his momentum to go backwards.
"Insect!" Thanos grunted as he activated the Power Stone-
The familiar scream of repulsor beams sounded as Tony shot blasts at Thanos, keeping him preoccupied as Peter flipped forwards and grappled at the Infinity Gauntlet-
His fingers brushed one of the glowing stones, energy sparking in his fingers-
He clenched his fist as Thanos activated the Power Stone, his Spidey-sense screaming in his head as energy exploded and he flew away from Thanos.
His head banged against the ground, his vision blurring again as his body went limp. Darkness consumed his vision for a few seconds as Tony's repulsors clashed against the shrill cry of the Power Stone.
His eyes fluttered open, the weight in his hand unmistakable.
The Space Stone lay in his palm. The inside pulsed as its power retracted inside the stone, the lack of will controlling it leaving it briefly inactive.
He clenched his fist again, wanting to keep Thanos in the dark as long as possible.
Mustering the strength to raise his head, he flinched as he watched Thanos blast Tony with the combined power of the Power and Mind Stones, sending him flying backwards just like he had with Captain Marvel.
Captain America leaped over a pile of debris, dodging another blast from the Power Stone before throwing his shield at Thanos's neck.
Thanos raised his left hand to catch the shield as Steve sprinted forwards and grabbed the gauntlet, glaring at the titan before he discarded the shield to the side like it was a toy and smacked Steve to the side. Grunting, he raised his hand with the gauntlet, raising his thumb and middle finger to snap them together.
Dread mixed with fear as Thanos spoke. "I am inevitable."
He snapped his fingers.
Nothing happened.
He looked at his fingers incredulously before turning his hand around to see an empty gauntlet, his jaw dropping as he realised what had happened.
Steve kneeled on the ground, the four Infinity Stones glowing in his hands.
It clicked.
"How many do we win?"
"Three."
He knew what he needed to do.
Sitting up, he willed the nanobots in his suit's forearm to separate from the rest of it, he quickly wrapped the newly formed glove around the Space Stone and yelled.
"Cap!"
He threw the glove at Steve, watching as he caught it with his left hand. The nanobots wrapped around his palm before covering his knuckles and fingers, the Space Stone pulsing as he placed the Infinity Stones into the newly formed knuckle sockets.
"This…" Steve said as all the stones glowed, power coursing through his veins as he gritted his teeth, "…is the end of the line."
He snapped his fingers.
Light burst around them, the sky rumbling as the will of the Infinity Stones exacted itself upon the universe.
The light faded as soon as it had appeared, leaving them all to watch as Thanos's army turned to dust in seconds. The Chitauri, Leviathans and every part of Thanos's army disintegrated into dust like they had five years ago.
The Mad Titan stood in the centre of it all, slowly turning around as he watched his army crumble to pieces. Shock turned into grim acceptance as everything he had turned into nothing and he knew his time would come within the next few seconds.
He walked heavily to a piece of debris, sitting down after he had watched Ebony Maw turn to dust.
Particles came off of him, swirling into the air until there was nothing left.
They had won.
Notes:
If someone had told me I would write over 200k words within 2022, I wouldn't have believed them. This fanfic has pushed me a lot further and I've explored quite a few possibilities that I didn't think I would ver get to do!
Thanks for all the support I've been given on this! It's honestly made my day whenever I see comments and I'll do my best to keep providing chapters over the coming year!
Thank you all for reading <3
What was your favourite chapter/arc from the first half of this fanfic?