//------------------------------// // Chapter 172 – 14,000,604 // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 172 The Battle of Earth 6:16 p.m. The face of utter destruction was just that: the face. The entirety of it all was incomprehensible, miles of withered and scorched landscapes filled with swarming bodies killing one another. Like an ocean caught in a hurricane, with the storm high above and the destruction raining fire and desolation upon the earth. War and madness filled the air with blood-curdling screams, war cries, explosions, gunfire, blades connecting and killing, and bodies colliding and crashing to the ground. No matter how many Chitauri fell, more would constantly flow from the eight Command Centers hanging miles above the battlefield. Their blue lights shimmered across their slick, black surfaces, a constant wave of Chitauri flying down from each warship and entering the battle. Though they were stronger together, the Avengers found their odds quickly shifting in a dark and gruesome direction if they did not take care of the Command Centers. Unfortunately for them, the Equestrian Grand Fleet and the War Horse were occupied with the starships and Necrocrafts constantly swarming around them, the fleet unable to engage with the larger warships. So, the battle raged. Within the skies and upon the earth. And upon the shattered earth, a cluster of S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers followed behind Bucky Barnes, assault rifles constantly flaring at the tips of their barrels as they pushed on through the battlefield. The White Wolf himself fell to his knee, gaining that much more leverage as he unloaded his magazine onto the group of enemy Sakaarans and Chitauri in the distance. The sand storm from the vicious winds swarmed his and the S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers’ legs, but they kept up the fire. The enemy returned it. The stream of constant laser and gunfire finally found its end when that tremoring wave of energy shot forth and decimated the cover the Chitauri and Sakaarans hid behind, killing all of them behind it. Lowering his LMG, Bucky turned to his right to see Daisy Johnson standing beside him, fist held forward, her breathing feral. She cast her eyes down to Barnes on her left. Bucky didn’t say a word, that voiceless thanks felt in his stare. Both, instead, flinched to the gust of wind that slipped between them, their eyes latching to the flowing cape joining the galloping mare entering the fray head-on. That mare slid forward to an exuberant halt, her blue hoof rising to push her hat away from her eyes. Beneath it, the glowing tenacity in Trixie’s eyes were almost as bright as her magnificent and victorious smirk. “The Great and Powerful Trrrixie the Avenger is here to save you!” Trixie proudly declared, rolling her tongue and sticking her hoof high to the heavens. Every title she held for herself were inconsequential to the grander power she wielded, or so she believed. The S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers behind her slowly lowered their rifles, turning to one another confusedly. Bucky and Daisy cast each other one last uncertain glance. Their eyes trained back to Trixie. She stood alone several yards ahead of them, narrowing her eyes and growing her smirk to the approaching crowd of Chitauri zeroing in on her position. Rising up to her hind legs, Trixie kept her smirk big and bright as she closed her eyes. Her hooves were slowly but surely pressed together, Trixie’s horn lighting up and nothing coming of it. She peeked with her right eye. The Chitauri were still coming, growing closer, and yet there was no magic. “Come on… Come on!” Trixie stated, her stoic confidence replaced with rising panic. She smacked her hooves together, flailing them like wet noodles towards her targets. “Magic… work! Fly! Do something! Ugh, this totally worked before!” Her hisses surely faded once their rifles began to charge up, Trixie’s anger dissipating and her eyes rising from her hooves. Mere feet ahead of her, the Chitauri foot soldiers surrounded the unicorn, aiming their rifles right for her. There was no possible way they could miss with their distance. They knew it. Trixie knew it. “Uh, oh…” she whimpered. Yet before they could fire on her, before Bucky or Daisy or any of the S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers decided to take action and raise their rifles to help the unicorn, they all realized they couldn’t. The foot soldiers in front of Trixie froze as that yellow bolt of lightning struck their backs, the creatures writhing and screeching their final breaths before dropping to the dirt, dead. The remaining Chitauri that turned to their fallen comrades were unable to react to the rocks flung their way at killing speed. Each stone struck the remaining Chitauri’s heads, killing them instantly and leaving nothing standing before Trixie. Curiosity plagued Trixie’s mind. It was soon vanquished and only the overwhelming feeling of joy filled her when she was tackled from behind in a crushing, warming hug. Derpy Hooves was the culprit, hovering back and holding Trixie above ground in her spine-cracking hug. “You’re back! Oh, I’m so happy! You’re back, you’re back, you’re back!” Derpy cried. Trixie, despite the pain in the hug, managed a weakened grin, returning the hug with almost as much strength. The two hovered back to the earth, breaking their hug and turning appropriately to see none other than Maud Pie make her approach. The Earth pony gave Trixie a once-over, from top to bottom and back up again. “I’ve never been happier to see you alive,” Maud told her. Her expression did not express such a statement, the blank stare added with the monotone voice offering little. But to Trixie, it meant the entire world. She smiled warmly to Maud, a smirk quickly replacing it and the mare holding her hoof once more to the skies. “Nothing is impossible with the Great and Powerful Trixie!” She leaned closer to the two, whispering sharply, “And her friends, of course!” She finished with a wink, stating clearly afterward, “Wink!” As if it wasn’t obvious enough. “So, does this mean we’re getting the old band back together?!” Derpy exclaimed frantically. She once more hovered upon the dirt, wings flapping with rising excitement as her hooves squished her cheeks together. Maud blinked. Her excitement was through the roof. Trixie scoffed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, her hoof once more flapping her hat back to reveal that jubilant grin. “One last triumphant team-up from the band of fearless space ponies? Now that sounds like a plan worth—h-holy CRAAAP!” Derpy was slightly hurt by Trixie’s statement, her ears falling and her expression breaking. But after following Trixie’s eyes directly behind her, seeing the terror lace every wrinkle on her expression, and feeling the earth tremble from its roar alone, Derpy finally understood. Maud turned around with her, staring blankly to the shadow falling over them and slowly lifting her eyes skywards to where it originated. Armies scattered from its presence alone. Dozens more were trampled and crushed beneath its titanic feet, unable to flee in time. It rose higher and higher, several hundred feet tall and scraping the clouds. With the sun to its back, the shadows it created cascaded for hundreds of meters across the vast battlegrounds. It had pale white skin beneath the shimmering golden armor plating its tail, legs, forearms, back, and head. Its jaws were unveiled with several jagged teeth hanging in its open maw. Its arms hung low by its sides, claws long and sharp and turning to the small group of insignificant equine lives before it. A reunion cut short, interrupted by a Chitauri Titan. It roared and shook the world. Daisy quickly backed away, arms out wide to warn the S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers around her to retreat. Bucky followed them, but nonetheless unloaded his magazine in the direction of the Titan. The soldiers in black behind him did the same. Their bullets were meaningless, the Chitauri Titan lifting its head to them before falling back to the three mares. Three lives left abandoned. It growled, stomping forward and reaching out with its right claw for them. Derpy shrieked alongside Trixie, both mares quickly backpedaling while Maud stood her ground, glared ahead, and slammed her Asteroid Gloves to the earth. They ignited, cracks surrounding the Earth pony and boulders rising forth around her. The beast’s enormous claw hovered over her. Its shadow fell over Maud Pie. That was as far as it got. The resounding tremors behind them only grew more ferocious, only until Giant-Man leaped in front of the band of ponies and caught the Titan’s claw by his hands. Maud’s glare faded, as did the energy from her Asteroid Gloves. The boulders fell and left just the three mares gazing in awe to Scott Lang in silence. His strained grunts and groans filled the atmosphere already consumed in war, the Titan roaring and pushing downward onto Lang. Twisting his mask back, Scott’s eyes were large and panic-filled once he eyed the ponies still standing frozen. He groaned against the pressuring weight, yelling, “Don’t just stand there! Scatter!” S.H.I.E.L.D. took his advice, making a hasty retreat to regroup with other allies. Bucky and Daisy were with them, vanishing in the smoke and dust. The mares were also separated, taking off in different directions amongst the chaos. Trixie, however, stayed a moment longer, gazing in mixtures of shock and awe to Scott Lang holding his own against the Chitauri Titan. With hands gripping two of its super-sized fingers and somehow holding it back, Lang eventually came to the conclusion that he wouldn’t be able to hold it back forever. His feet were already skidding several meters backwards. Thinking quickly, he turned his attention to his left hand, to the finger he had it pressed against. Abandoning his right side, Lang latched onto the Titan’s finger and twisted it fiercely. A sickening snap broke out, the Titan screeching in response to its broken finger. It pulled away, Lang able to gain some much-needed breathing room. Sprinting forward, Scott rammed his shoulder into the Chitauri at full speed. Despite Giant-Man’s greatest height achieved, he only reached to the Titan’s sternum. He only managed to knock the beast back a few meters. The Chitauri Titan screeched and swiped low, striking Lang’s left side and sending Giant-Man clear across the battlegrounds. Crashing back-first, Lang managed to roll and skid on his hands and knees. He raised his attention back to the beast. The Titan turned in his direction, roaring as it made its slow and steady approach, each stomp closer sending tremors across the battlefield. Scott breathed. He was helplessly outclassed. In his comms and out into the open for any and all to hear, Lang shouted, “I need some backup here!” The Titan slammed its fist into the earth where Lang once stood. Scott dodged to the side, noting how low the beast’s head was to earth upon the impact. Rearing back, he struck his fist against the Titan’s face and earned a painful cry from it. It recovered quickly, continuing to swipe and slash and grab at the elusive Giant-Man. Within the clouds and scattered across the grounds, those who managed to catch Lang’s cry for help through their shared comms link turned at attention to the source of the trembling earth. Those who had merely heard Scott’s plea out in the open turned appropriately to it. They all watched the two massive competitors clash in the heart of the battlefield. They all saw Lang losing ground. They all answered his call. From the skies, the God of Thunder and Allfather, Thor, flew forward with Stormbreaker leading him. He reared back once he caught the Chitauri Titan in his line of sight, flinging the axe with resounding strength and speed. It spun with lightning striking downwards and coiling around it like various serpents. Once the axe made its impact across the Titan’s head, the beast lurched to the side with an agonizing cry. It nearly fell, Scott watching it as it did so. Tilting its gaze up, it growled when that axe flew into the awaiting hands of Thor. It roared to him. A roar cut short. A pair of photon blasts fell from the clouds and struck its back. The Titan hunched forward at that, twisting around to see not one, but two Avengers slip through the clouds. Captain Marvel was the first, her eyes a heavenly gold with her body illuminating that same hue. She hovered in mid-air, glaring alongside Doctor Strange flying and hovering next to her. Stephen shot out his palms, his fingers twisting and dancing and Eldritch Magic flowing through him to control the earth below. From that earth, several strands of Eldritch Whips emerged and coiled around the Titan’s limbs, keeping it constrained to the ground and unable to break free. It roared. The airborne Avengers charged. From down below, Wanda Maximoff, Yondu, and Glenn Talbot emerged. They watched as Carol, Thor, and Strange assaulted the beast with mixtures of lightning, energy blasts and magic. The Titan writhed and squirmed, screamed and thrashed. Until the world cracked beneath it. Noting that the Titan was breaking free, Wanda took action and sprinted forward. She slid, jamming her left palm ahead of her and letting a stream of psionic energy flow from her fingertips. The red haze wrapped around the entirety of the Titan’s right leg, the beast howling when it noticed it could not move the limb. Obviously straining against the pressure, Wanda grunted but nonetheless held her ground. She shot her free hand out to her right, ripping chunks of earth from the rest of the rock and raising it. She created a crude staircase of pure stone, just as Yondu sprinted past her. He caught what she was intending, making his way up the rocks with a leaping vault at each stone. Yondu whistled as he climbed. In the distance and tearing through crowds of Outriders and Chitauri, the Yaka Arrow changed direction and shot clear across the skies. The stream of red found its target, zipping past Yondu as he reached the peak of the rocks Wanda crafted for him. He shot out his left hand and whistled, eyes set dead ahead. Right for the Titan. The Yaka Arrow made its impact, stabbing through the beast and breaking through the plated armor on its back. The Chitauri howled. The arrow howled louder. Accurately and deadly, Yondu directed the arrow across the Titan’s body while he teetered and leaned back atop the mound of rock Wanda was struggling with. The arrow flushed in and out across the Titan’s back and body, destroying its armor and tearing at its flesh in the meantime. The Titan thrashed at the sky, at the Avengers, at the arrow, but was unsuccessful at hitting any of them. In the meantime, Talbot took to the skies to join the others. He hovered a hundred feet before the Titan, glaring to it as it continued to swipe at the Avengers flying around its head. Sneering at that, Talbot shot out his hands—and with the power of pure Gravitonium flowing through his veins—captured the beast’s armor-plated forearms in mid-air. The Titan froze, looking to its arms and then slowly forward to Talbot. Graviton crushed his hands into fists. The Chitauri’s arms crumbled like tinfoil. With bones snapping and cracking inwards, the Titan screeched in unhinged agony to the assault. It tried to break free, but the red haze consuming its right leg and Doctor Strange’s magical coils constricting its left leg to the ground kept it immobilized and frozen where it stood. It had lost all motor control and movement within its limbs once its broken arms swung limply down to its sides. It was utterly trapped. Thor called down an earth-shattering lightning strike from his axe, directing the bolt straight below and onto the Titan’s unsuspecting back. It impacted the Titan, the electricity coursing across its body as another piercing screech left the Titan’s maw. It quivered and arched its chest outward against the lightning, ultimately bringing the beast to its knees. Scott ran forward and punched it across the face once more, sending metal fragments, teeth, and blood scattering across the ground and the armies caught underneath it. The Chitauri gave a weakened cry, slowly rising back up to meet Lang with its jaws. Its last act of relentless resilience. It never had the chance to meet Giant-Man with its remaining teeth. Carol and Glenn shot forward in unison, driving their own fists into the Titan’s chest at top speed. Directly through its heart. The two exploded outwards on the opposite side, black gunk and lifeblood spewing outwards alongside the remaining armor fragments and bones of its spine. The grime and bile that covered their bodies evaporated, the heat from Carol’s Binary form being more than enough to wash her clean. Talbot’s Gravitonium removed the sickness from his body, the two of them hovering in mid-air and glaring pitifully to the titanic beast one last time. The Chitauri Titan fell for the last time. It gave its last echoing cry as it fell forward, striking the ground and sending a powerful shock wave and earthquake across all the battlefield. The dust cleared momentarily, the dead Titan joining the many other fallen. Its carcass rested and molded in with the rest of the battle surrounding it. With that dealt with, Scott Lang sent a thankful salute to all of those involved before he made his escape elsewhere in the battle. Carol and Glenn parted ways and resumed their fighting in the skies. Thor, instead, fell to the earth and joined the battle alongside his Asgardian brothers and sisters, leading them with Stormbreaker in hand and the Allfather’s war cry. The psionic energy consuming the rocks fell, allowing Yondu to safely land on his own two feet before he, too, fled somewhere else. Wanda gave a heaving breath of relief, her chest rising and falling rather rapidly after exuding such a great deal of energy. To her surprise, she watched as Stephen Strange floated down next to her, casting the Witch a glance to which she returned. In that short moment of simply catching their breaths, Strange and Wanda were already surrounded. Outriders of various sizes and strengths clawed at the earth as they neared the two Avengers, both Wanda and Stephen turning rapidly in every direction around them. They readied themselves, Strange forming a pair of Tao Mandalas on his fists and Wanda curling her fingers as a red haze consumed each palm. Her eyes glowed a bright crimson. They were back to back. Standing tall and at the ready as the first Outrider leaped at them. It was instantly blown aside by a burst of magic. Both Avengers froze at that, twisting their gazes towards the source and spotting the unicorn atop the hill of rock. His hoof pushed his glasses back, Sunburst offering a short but victorious smirk to the two magic-users. His horn shimmered and he vanished. The Outriders struck. In a seemingly overwhelming wave of shrieks, claws, and teeth, the Outriders crashed against the two. They repelled them, both Stephen and Wanda launching various different magic and energy blasts onto the Outriders nearing one another. A flash of light emerged beside them, Sunburst appearing in the light and sending his defensive spells onto the charging alien hounds. Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, and Sunburst fought as one force of otherworldly power. Outriders were incinerated, blown to pieces, or launched backwards before they even got the chance to even near the trio. Together, they dealt with the Outriders in their immediate line of sight. However, they only noticed the swarm of a dozen or less of the creatures charging behind them when they heard their yelps of pain. All three turned around rapidly, spotting the Outriders just feet away from them practically frozen in mid-air. Their bodies, limbs, and jaws twitched as that unknown force consumed them. Strange was the first to hear the voice, his eyes rising and Wanda and Sunburst following him. There, directly to their left and hovering atop her own mound of rock and rubble, Trixie had arrived and saved them just in the nick of time. Sunburst almost smiled at that, a smile that quickly dissipated when he finally heard the words that left Trixie’s lips. Strange only narrowed his eyes to that. With her hooves pressed together, cape and hat flowing majestically beside her, Trixie uttered an ancient and almost unspeakable tongue. It wasn’t her voice that came out of her lips, rather a mixture of hers with some form of demonic influence. It deepened her voice, made it wet and raspy. Unnatural. Evil. It was only until she opened her eyes did Sunburst take a step back in shock, seeing each of her eyes illuminating a bright yellow. She shot out her hooves, and with a resounding, ancient cry, the black magic flowed from her horn, her hooves, and captured the Outriders in various tendrils of inky darkness and black sickness. The alien hounds were raised high above the ground before being sucked straight downwards to the earth, disappearing into various portals of an unknown and dark dimension. The area was clear of alien insurrection. All three Avengers cast Trixie their worrisome glances as she glided down to them. Rubbing her forehead and shaking away the stars, Trixie blinked numerous times before glancing up to Strange, Wanda, and over to Sunburst. Utterly speechless. Not a single breath leaving them. Trixie furrowed her brow at that. Until Strange finally told her, “We’ll have a talk about your dark magic once we’re finished here.” Trixie raised her brow curiously at that, wondering what he meant by “dark magic”. She merely had just accomplished the spell she was trying earlier, dipping down and using the magic she knew existed within her great and powerful self. Regardless, Trixie just shrugged and galloped off, searching for Maud, Derpy, or any other familiar faces that needed saving. It was then where the rest dispersed, starting with Sunburst. The unicorn kept his stare latched with Trixie a moment longer, that growing apprehension in his eyes loosing at that moment so he could focus on the battle and hopefully find Starlight. He galloped off. Stephen sent a firm nod to the Maximoff to which she gratefully returned, Wanda slamming her hands to the earth and flying off to help where she could. All that was left was Stephen Strange, the lone Master of the Mystic Arts watching her vanish through the smoke and fire. He turned around to face Stark before he even landed. Almost like he anticipated it. Rising up in his Mark 85, the armor’s mask retracted and materialized into the rest of Tony’s suit, unveiling his shaken expression to the Sorcerer Supreme. Strange met his eyes, remained silent, and let Tony ask the question he knew was burning in the man’s mind. “Bruce told me you were lying about not seeing the right outcome,” Tony stated aloud, the sounds of conflict and war reverberating around him and bodies killing each other in the background. Strange didn’t focus on what existed outside of his narrowed path, his attention solely to Stark. Tony pointed at him. “Time to spill it. How many times do we win with what you really saw?” There seemed to be some apprehension in Stephen’s response. The truth had come clean. They had learned of his deceit as he had seen, and with obvious hostility. Regardless of their disgruntled nature towards him, what mattered was the reality currently unfolding around them. What mattered now was Strange following Stark’s word, giving him the truth to a certain degree. It was as if it pained him to formulate the single word, even more so to utter it. “One.” Tony took that as harshly as reality allowed it to be, punching straight through his Arc Reactor and striking him dead in the heart. Only one time where they win. Only one outcome where everything works in the end. Just one win out of the millions of losses. Stark shook his head at that, facing the sorcerer again and asking, “What do we have to do?” “If I tell you… it won’t happen,” Strange replied. Pursing his lips at that response he somewhat expected, Stark shook his head. “How am I supposed to know this is it?” he asked, moving carefully around each word. He turned back to face Stephen, seeing the doctor’s expression grow unnaturally pale. A forced nod, maybe, and Strange answered, “Just do what comes natural.” Tony kind of nodded in return. He somewhat understood, keeping the wizard’s words of advice close for safe keeping. After all, Strange was the only one among them who knew what was needed. He would steer them in the right direction. He would ensure their victory was achieved. Even as Tony turned away, Strange stared solely to him, almost longingly—like he wanted to say something more. But he didn’t. He forced his eyes away and fought aimlessly like he was supposed to.