//------------------------------// // Chapter 125 – Destiny Fulfilled // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 125 Upstate New York New Avengers Facility 2:50 p.m. Friendships were rekindled and the real war began. It began when the test run was a full-blown success. With Clint returning with a baseball glove in tow, it was undeniable that the time machine was fully functional. The finishing touches were being added to the Quantum Tunnel before they could even attempt a larger, longer journey, however. Each and every Quantum Suit, every team, and every member were given exact coordinates on where to go, when to go, and how to do it. The syncing with the suits took the majority of the effort. Rocket, Scott, Tony, and Twilight merely tinkered around with the Quantum Tunnel while nearly everyone else was crowding around Mack, May, Banner, and Starlight on getting their suits synced up and situated. Natasha and Steve watched the team move about like a healthy, functioning body, streaming along like blood through veins, keeping the machine fueled and alive. Keeping that hope alive. Both Avengers had the same thought in mind. The mission was set. All they needed to do was retrieve the Infinity Stones in the past—three exact moments in time, to be precise. 2012 for the Space, Time, and Mind Stones. 2013 for the Reality Stone. 2014 for the Power and Soul Stones. Bring those Stones back to their time, snap their fingers, and bring everybody back. Nothing else would change. The world would proceed as it did currently, but with everyone’s loved ones returned to them. Though the price that came with it was certainly high. What they were all willing to risk just by traveling to the past was considerably insurmountable. The limited Pym Particles they had only guaranteed a few or couple jumps each. They couldn’t make many mistakes, or any for that matter. Yet everyone who was present, who was working on the Quantum Tunnel, getting suited up with help from Nebula and Rarity, arming themselves to the teeth, and everyone who stood with them that day… they all knew the risk and took it anyway. That was all Steve could have asked for. He pondered that even as he and Natasha stood away from the work zone, gazing to the massive Quantum Tunnel in near-completion. He felt a shove on his left elbow, prompting his eyes in that direction to meet the Black Widow’s rising smirk. “Little nervous to make that leap?” she asked him. Steve took in a deep breath, shaking his head and gazing forward. “Nervous isn’t the exact word I would use,” he said. Natasha nodded, that smirk growing an inch. “Yeah… petrified would be more like it.” Steve breathed a chuckle. “That’s more like it.” “I’d be lying if I wasn’t a little more ‘nervous’ than you,” Natasha continued, eyes shifting back to Steve and studying him. Saw his hands deep in his pockets, his hardened gaze focused on the machine that would determine that fate of the universe. “And yet here you are, meeting the impossible with that… giddy optimism I wish I had.” Steve turned to her. Natasha seemed to struggle with the next few sentences that would proceed from her mouth, from her heart. It made it even more difficult to meet Steve’s eyes for such, but it was needed. It was something she needed to get off her chest for the sake of herself and the team. With a cautious shiver of her breath, she said, “Steve, I’ve been thinking… this mission… it’s gonna be the fight of our lives. You know me, I’m not cut out for that type of responsibility. I’m not strong enough for that weight.” “Natasha, don’t say that,” Steve said, turning fully to her. “Everyone here believes otherwise… including me.” He could see the sadness build in her gaze as she shook her head, lifting her burning eyes to Rogers. “And I appreciate that. Doesn’t mean it’s true. What they need…” she acknowledged, head nodding to the remainder of their team tinkering away at the machine and the suits, “… they need a leader who can lead them through that battlefield. Someone to keep every life safe. Someone to shield them. Something I can’t guarantee.” Steve pursed his lips as he observed the remaining Avengers. “You think I can?” She gripped his arm with her right palm, prompting Steve to turn back and meet her eyes. He saw that strength, that desperation, that pleading gaze that told Steve more than Natasha could ever admit. It told him everything he didn’t want to hear. “If you don’t do this for them… or the Avengers… then do it for me,” she whispered. Her palm weakened, rising up to caress his shoulder. Despite the warmth she offered, Steve just dropped his gaze, shaking his head weakly. “Nat, I don’t know. I’m not—” Natasha kissed his cheek, silencing him. Their eyes met as she broke away, the Widow sending a firm and considerate nod to him. “You are… the right person for the job. Always were,” she told him. It took some convincing, but once he realized that she was adamant in her decision, her choice as the leader of the Avengers… Steve had no other choice but to comply. Steve nodded. Seemingly pleased with that, Natasha breathed a smile of relief, stepping back and telling him, “And just like that, the leader of the Avengers is back where he belongs. To be honest, that is a huge weight off my shoulders. Hell, you make the hard decisions for us anyway.” Chuckling to that, Steve joined her smile but ended up turning aside anyway. When it came to making the hard decisions, Steve was no stranger to that particular aspect of his job. It never came easier as the threats only grew more and more massive. Now, with the literal fate of trillions of lives back and hanging over his breathing space, Steve could only imagine what else was hanging on the line. He always came back to that horrifying aspect of what awaited them. He always came back to that lingering thought burning in his heart and soul. To the point where it was too much for him to keep it concealed. “I’ll be right back,” he whispered, Natasha turning to see Steve walk away and make his desired destination to be none other than that rainbow Pegasus testing out her Iron Mare suit’s capabilities and weapon systems. However, once she heard that cautious cough behind her, Rainbow Dash flinched her head upwards, spinning around as she and Derpy met the coarsened eyes from Captain America behind her. “Rainbow,” Steve began, beginning his next statement with a stuttering gulp. He held his ground, remaining strong. “Can I talk to you privately?” Though a tad apprehensive to Steve’s approach and visibly concerned with his current well-being, Rainbow still juggled the options and nodded slowly. “Y-yeah, sure,” she said, allowing her Iron Mare suit to materialize into her Arc Reactor as she followed Steve out of the hangar bar. Out into the halls and to Steve’s room. Tony watched them leave, cleaning his oil-stained hands with a rag he tossed mindlessly back to Rocket. He stepped away from the Quantum Tunnel while Twilight flew over it, doing one last sweep and checking off every detail on her lengthy scroll she carried in her aura of magic. Landing softly on Tony’s right, Twilight wiped her brow with her left foreleg, exhaling a pent-up release of tension and worry, smiling with growing satisfaction by the end of it. She checked off the last box, put her scroll away in a flash of magic. “And now… all we need to do is wait for the machine to charge for a couple hours and we should be good to go. In the meantime…” Twilight declared, her voice trailing away until her eyes spotted the miniature drone hovering past them. “Friday!” Twilight called out. The drone shifted in her direction, blinking once before zooming over and hovering before her. Twilight lifted up her hoof right underneath the machine. The drone practically fit in her hoof, its iris blinking to her in anticipation. “Send this message to Queen Novo in Canterlot. The Time Heist with the Avengers is underway. No matter what happens, I want her to be ready for absolutely anything that may occur. Whether that be if billions of lives return to both words… or we don’t come back at all. All of Equus… needs to be ready for what happens.” “Aye, Twilight,” the drone responded in Friday’s tone, then proceeded to fly off to deliver the message to one of Canterlot’s drones. Twilight watched Friday until she couldn’t anymore. Until Tony rested his hand on the back of her neck and earned her eyes. “What do you say? Quick celebratory drink in the kitchen as we make our way to find Mr. Rogers? Get everyone suited up?” Stark asked, the plethora of questions hitting Twilight in rapid-fire succession. She smiled either way, saying, “Now that sounds like a plan.” The two proceeded out of the hangar bay, entering the hallways until the familiar sight and smell of the kitchen filled their nostrils. While Tony opened the fridge and prepared the drinks, he couldn’t help but spark another conversation with the Princess of Friendship. “Gotta tell ya… I’m really glad you and the girls decided to stay. Otherwise who’d help finish this mimosa with me?” Stark asked, earning that wild giggle from Twilight. She flapped her wings to rest on the chair surrounding the dining table, watching Stark work from afar. “I’m sure Steve or Thor would have been more than willing,” Twilight exclaimed. Stark scoffed. “Don’t even get me started on Captain Lightweight, and Thor would take every last drop if he could. No… no, I’m glad it was you.” He pointed a finger at her as he finished that statement, pouring two glasses of the rich, yellow cocktail. Twilight stared at the swirling mixture for a second longer, looking away and saying, “For all that it’s worth… I’m hoping your plan works in the end. That, or what Bruce told us about time travel is actually true.” Tony paused momentarily, lifting his eyes to gaze onto the violet Alicorn as she uttered whatever came to her mind, speaking from the heart as she said, “I can’t even imagine a world where you and Pepper didn’t have a daughter.” Letting those words penetrate him where it mattered, Tony laid his palms on the kitchen table. He shook his head, sighing, “Kinda glad she did. Otherwise I’d have a son who’d probably just turn out like me.” Twilight furrowed her brow at that. “What’s so wrong with that?” Tony carried the glasses over to the dining table. “Let’s just say I’ve made a lot more mistakes in life that I never told you about and leave it at that,” he explained, sitting down in the seat next to her. He offered the mimosa, to which Twilight weakly accepted with her magic. Noting the look of despair upon her face, Tony tapped her chin upwards with his free finger. “Hey, don’t worry. Everything’s mapped out, triple-checked… Everything is going to turn out exactly how it’s supposed to.” He held out his glass to her. Smiling nonetheless, Twilight raised hers to join him. They clinked mimosa glasses, downing them both and placing the empty glasses on the dining table. She turned her eyes and met Tony’s, refusing to break or look anywhere else when she said it. Needing to know. “Is that a promise?” Twilight asked, letting the drink settle in and calm her waning nerves. Tony nodded wordlessly. And that was that. Considering she wouldn’t be given a better answer than that—at least anything more assuring—Twilight smiled nonetheless and hopped off her chair, Tony joining her. Together, Stark and Twilight proceeded to the hallways on Tony’s word, pausing just short outside Captain Steve Rogers’ room. The two exchanged a short glance before carefully pushing the door open. It wasn’t locked. It was barely open, prompting their interests to enter without knocking. But they stopped short, listening on the other side to hear the end of the seemingly lengthy conversation held between Rogers and Dash. They only heard the end, where Steve asked aloud, “You promise?” They slowly pushed open the door, near-silent in their approach and undetectable by either occupant. Both Tony and Twilight leaned outwards, peeking in to see Rainbow sitting upon Steve’s bed, Rogers on his knee and palms crossed over and resting just on that upwards knee. Only their attention wasn’t just on Steve for the prolonged confrontation. They turned slowly to Rainbow Dash, watching her nod with burning tears in her eyes. That alone caught Twilight’s heart in her throat, an inaudible gasp leaving the Alicorn. Tony watched silently, turned from Rogers and back to Rainbow, hearing her say it… “I never break a promise, Steve.” Some of the few words many tended to regret, Tony thought. Whatever form of conversation was shared between the First Avenger and the Element of Loyalty remained between them, the full context belonging only to their hearts and no one else’s. Not even Tony Stark could deduce what either had promised one another. Even Twilight was understandably concerned as to why Rainbow would promise something to Steve, something that required the upmost secrecy. However, they wanted it to be between themselves for a reason, and neither Tony nor Twilight found a reason to delve deeper. When the time came… they would know, but right then… they needed their team. They hugged passionately, Steve leaning forward and wrapping his powerful arms around the Pegasus. She leaned forward and practically collapsed into Steve’s embrace, burying her eyes and face into Steve’s neck and shoulder as she tried her hardest to burn the tears away, keep them concealed from the world. She couldn’t allow that weakness to escape. But for that moment, for him… she allowed it. She couldn’t fight against that. She couldn’t fight against what she promised. Through the tears, the two broke apart, turning to the knock on the door to see both Tony Stark and Twilight Sparkle enter the bedroom. Tony declared to them both that it was ready, and all they needed was to wait a couple hours to allow the time machine to charge. Then it was off to change the worlds. To save the universe. It was time. Steve nodded to that, wiping at his eyes as he rose back up to full height. Rainbow stared up at him, lingering tears remaining to hear Captain America declare it proudly, powerfully, with as much emphasis as he could muster. “Let’s suit up.” One last time. And away did the leader of the Avengers march, Captain America and his group of four entering the hangar bay. Their destination lied within the armory, their suits, weapons, and tools needed to accomplish the Time Heist ready and awaiting their proper owners. As they walked, they only managed to attain more Avengers as they went, from Natasha, Thor, Sunset, Tempest, Maud, Derpy, Clint, Carol, Daisy, Murdock, and various others. Everyone who needed something to gather. Everyone who had a special toy to bring with them. Nebula and Starlight were the last two to join the massive crowd, the two nodding to one another just as the team entered the armory. All except for the Luphomoid. All except for Nebula when she froze in place. She paused, her body shivering and flinching to the point where she appeared like she was short-circuiting. Clutching her head, Nebula gasped out and stumbled across the hangar bay floor, no one near or present to pay her any heed. No one nearby to notice her left eye flickering. She smacked her head at that, grunted in pain as the short moment of agony left her. Just like it did before. Though somewhat hesitant on that, Nebula looked about to the time machine and analyzed her surroundings, her eye zooming in and readjusting itself to regular status. Everything was fine. Just a malfunction. Easily fixable. Nebula convinced herself of that and moved on. Andromeda Galaxy Sanctuary II The lone image of the Quantum Tunnel was zoomed in before zooming out, readjusting itself to regular status as Nebula turned around and joined her fellow Avengers. The unruly wretches. The traitorous daughter. All turned against him in a final, fatal act of resistance. He watched cautiously upon his throne, the Chitauri drone displaying the mental images of what Nebula saw before him. Every last second, from the moment she and her Guardians received the distress call from Captain Rogers, to stepping foot on Earth and helping to construct the tunnel, to designing the Quantum Suits of which would allow them to survive the harsh environment of the Quantum Realm, and finally to gaze upon the complete time machine one last time. One last time and then Thanos cut off the mental feed. The essence of Sanctuary II practically dripped malice and breathed wretchedness. Towering rock structures covered the walls and painted the floors of his throne room, reaching a scale and size nearly mind-boggling. All was appropriate for the Mad Titan, Thanos truly understanding his role and title now more than ever before. Ever since he snapped his fingers and brought salvation upon the universe, all he ever witnessed from his daughter’s travels have been unrest. Chaos spread as far as the eye could see, across various planets throughout his solar system and the other. Those too feeble-minded to grasp what Thanos had given them had turned to fear as their only hope, using violence to acquire the necessary resources to survive. With that brought conflict, brought pain, slaughter… and violence. Everything Thanos wished to rid the universe of, just like the various planets he had saved in his youth. But over time, over the past five years, Thanos had seen the complete opposite unfold before his very eyes. The universe had no order within the chaos. They had no proper ruler to guide them to a safe and secured future. For their children. For their children’s children. All that would remain of the legacy of various worlds would be but a memory of what once was, of what each species fought for in order to survive. Only to lead to their own extinction. Even when Thanos brought balance to every world, hundreds simply died. Thousands starved. Trillions of the spared suffered. All Thanos could do was watch it all upon his throne, sneering to the suffering, the violence… everything he tried to have rid the universe of. Wished, tried, accomplished… and failed. They were all too weak to understand. None could have fathomed what was needed to save the universe but Thanos. And even after the great Cleansing had passed, there were still those who believed otherwise, those who couldn’t believe like he had. They continued to resist, to purge their own worlds for their own selfish desires. More unruly wretches that cannot be ruled. Or so he once thought… Thanos could only imagine what the universe would be like under his guidance. After his personal experiences with his own world burning because he refused to follow his destiny, perhaps he could become that voice amongst the hopelessness, the shining beacon to the masses that could not live within the fire they created for themselves. Thanos offered them peace, and they chose war. He offered them a fresh start, and they chose to crumble. No more. If the universe could not appreciate the gift he bestowed upon it, then perhaps they could not live to tell the tale of what once was. There could not be a universe of unruly lives who only choose to kill after the war, slaughter after the peace, and wage violence after Thanos' crusade and against him. Against everything he stood for, sacrificed for, and nearly died for. Lived for… In that perpetual state of life he had entrapped himself in, Thanos knew there could be none other than him who could truly understand what must be accomplished now that the universe had failed to accept his blessings. Since they failed to understand the prosperity he offered them, he would do what he must to ensure a healthier, safer, more secure foundation for the universe. Begin again… with a grateful universe. And with his plans, once more the Mad Titan was gifted with opposers, those who believed otherwise and would continue to stand against him and what he believed would bring true peace. The Avengers had one last plan to undo all that he had done, using the power of the Quantum Realm to escape to the past and steal the Infinity Stones before Thanos could ever get his hands on them. His worst fears were becoming realized, those fears that plagued him for over fives years. But after a moment of recollection, Thanos realized… that it was inevitable. They would resist. They would fight. They would accomplish what they started. Just like him. Perhaps his work was not finished after all. Perhaps the Avengers just gave him the final means to truly save the universe in the end. Because of what they would do… Thanos would see to it that a grateful universe would welcome him by the time the sun rose the next morning. Only he was not prepared. Not yet. He rose from his throne, dressed in his ceremonial cloaks as he proceeded towards the exit. Greeting him were a pair of Chitauri fodder, removing the clothing from his shoulders and bowing before the Great Titan, refusing to lift their eyes until the sun greeted them and their ship. There, Thanos stood, only a pair of armored pants and boots on his person as he stood in the heart of Sanctuary II’s bridge, the massive eyes of the ship gazing down onto the planet’s surface. There, the Garden remained. And it was there that Thanos walked upon the earth once more. For the first time in five years, Thanos breathed in an old but familiar breath of air. Sanctuary II entered the atmosphere and shot down a beam of blue energy of which Thanos was teleported to the planet’s surface, the Mad Titan stomping about and observing his surroundings. His old home. It was all nearly destroyed, a forsaken wasteland of torn mountain peaks and a cluster of dark canyons. Though the vegetation managed to grow back and consume his old hut, devour his once organized fields of crops, and heal the wounds wrought upon it by the wretches of Earth, Thanos could still feel a lack of life filling the once lush and bountiful Garden. The sun shone heavy over his head, not a cloud in the sky to shield him from the brightness and the heat. It was not what Thanos cared to notice. He approached his old harvest and paused just on the outskirts. Paused just in front of his old house. Amongst the devastation, the carnage, and the destruction of his Titan II… the scarecrow stood tall. Untouched, as if even the universe itself knew he would need it for what would come. The armor, helmet, and blade all remained where they were stationed so long ago. Dented, bruised, scratched and worn… but still there nonetheless. Still awaiting its rightful ruler. Just as the universe awaited. Thanos reached forward and acquired that armor, donned his helmet, pried his blade from the earth and twirled the double-edged sword in his hand. The golden and black armor graced his body and shimmered under the sun, filling Thanos with a renewed sense of vigor and purpose the likes of which he hadn’t felt in many years. He gazed down to his blade, breathless in his reflection as his eyes stared into his own, saw the madness overcome the rational. Saw the Titan truly become mad. Thanos closed his mouth, closed his eyes, and breathed. When he opened his eyes, Sanctuary II and the eight Chitauri Command Centers had blocked out the sun directly over him, blocked out any hope of light every reaching the darkness Thanos was trapped in. In his expression, there was nothing. No emotion. No sense of feeling or understanding. His face was raw, emotionless, and unwavering in his final choice. The colossal ship glared down upon him, shot down a beam of light to devour him, raising him to begin the hunt for the fate of the universe. For both the old and the new. For destiny.