First Light | Steve Rogers (Book Two)

Chapter Forty: The Garden

"Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me," Nebula spoke in a raspy voice as she blankly stared into the distance, "And when he worked, he talked about his Great Plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him. I'd ask... where would we go once his plan was complete? And his answer was always the same: 'To the Garden'"

There was a pause as everyone processed the information. Rhodey nodded slowly, "That's cute. Thanos has a retirement plan"

Steve had begun to pace, "So, where is he?"

Nebula pulled up a hologram of Earth in the middle of the table and I studied it curious. She set Rocket a quick nod and he cleared his throat. "When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions. No one's ever seen anything like it," a wave of light rippled away from the hologram and it suddenly skipped over to a planet in a different part of space, "Until two days ago... on this planet"

"Thanos is there"

I leant over the hologram to get a better look. My eyes filled with fear, "He used the stones again"

"Hey," Banner chuckled nervously as he glanced around at the rest of us for help, "We'd be going in shorthanded, you know"

"Look, he's still got the stones, so-"

"So, let's get 'em," Carol shrugged quietly, "Use them to bring everyone back"

The doctor frowned, "J-Just like that?"

There was a pause as Steve nodded slowly, "Yeah. Just like that"

"Even if there's a small chance that we can undo this. I mean, we owe it to everyone who's not in this room to try" Nat's voice shook slightly and I gave her a reassuring smile.

"If we do this, how do we know it's gonna end any differently than it did before"

Carol turned to look at Bruce with narrow eyes as she placed her hands on her hips, "Because before you didn't have me"

Rhodey scoffed quietly, "Hey, new girl. Everybody in this room is about that superhero life. And if you don't mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?"

"There are a lot of other planets in the universe. And unfortunately, they didn't have you guys"

Thor got to his feet, striding towards her. He reached a hand out to the side and she kept eye contact with him, not even flinching when his axe flew right past her head and into his hand. He crossed his arms, and nodded approvingly "I like this one"

I glanced over at Steve, who was still glaring at the hologram.

"Let's go get that son of a bitch"

——————

"You okay?" Nat asked as I clung onto the sides of my seat with a death grip. I turned my head, looking her right in the eyes with a pleading stare.

Rocket leant over his shoulder to speak to us, "Who here hasn't been to space?"

Everyone apart from him, Thor, Carol, Nebula and I raised their hands. Steve gave me a questioning glance and I shook my head wildly, "I'm not letting go of this damn chair until we're on solid ground"

"You better not throw up in my ship"

Nebula began to flick various switches on the control panel in front of her, "Approaching jump in three... two... one"

There was a roaring sound and I held my breath.

My fear was soon forgotten as I looked out of the windows, watching as brilliant streaks of colour rushed past us, dancing in and out of each other as we sped by. A planet suddenly appeared before us, its brick red and sea blue surface glowing slightly.

Carol appeared on the outside of the ship, a fiery light shining around her. "I'll head down for recon" she spoke through the comms before soaring down towards the surface of the planet.

There was a tense silence as we all sat in the dark, admiring the gentle glow of the universe outside. I turned my head slightly to see the anxious look on Steve's face. Reaching across the gap, I took his hand in mine and gently squeezed it. "This is gonna work, Steve" I murmured gently.

He nodded slowly before letting our eyes meet. I smiled slightly at the way the stars reflected in his eyes. "I know," he sighed in defeat, "'Cause I don't know what I'm gonna do if it doesn't"

"Hey, it will. Whatever it takes, we're gonna stop him"

Carol flew back towards the ship with frown of confusion, "No satellites, no ships, no armies, no ground defence of any kind. It's just him"

Nebula stared unblinkingly at the planet, "And that's enough"

We all stormed towards the small hut, which stood on its own in a large valley. I pulled my blaster out of its holster and checked it over, wanting things to run smoothly. Nat and I followed Steve inside, watching as the others restrained Thanos.

His gauntlet was lying on the ground, a hand still bleeding inside of it. Rocket rolled it over, his eyes widening in horror when he saw that the stones weren't there, "Oh, no"

"Where are they?" Steve asked, his voice dangerously low as he glared at the large figure.

I took in Thanos' appearance, his purple skin, the indentations across his chin, the burns on the left side of his face that still looked blistered and raw. He wheezed, trying to struggle against the arm wrapped around his neck. 

"Answer the question" Carol growled, her grip tightening as she glared at him.

"The universe required correction," he croaked, "After that, the stones served no purpose beyond temptation"

Banner let out an angry shout from inside his scarlet and gold suit, "You murdered trillions!"

The fist of his metal suit connected with the man's face, knocking him to the ground. "You should be grateful" he growled.

Before I knew what I was doing, I had aimed my blaster at him, turning it to the highest setting. "Where are the stones?" my voice was unwavering, completely steady as I glared at him with a look of hatred.

"Gone. Reduced to atoms"

"Bullshit! You used them two days ago!" I yelled angrily, disbelief and hope shining through my initial fury. My blaster was still aimed at his face.

"I used the stones to destroy the stones. It nearly killed me. But the work is done. It always will be. I am inevitable"

Steve gently placed his hand on my shoulder but I shrugged him off, still glaring at the man. I flexed my finger against the trigger, growling in frustration when I couln't do it. Rhodey sighed heavily, "We have to tear this place apart. He has to be lying"

There was a pause and the other looked to Nebula. She slowly shook her head and stayed in the shadows, "My father is many things. A liar is not one of them"

"Ah," Thanos' lips tugged into a slight smirk, "Thank you, daughter. Perhaps I treated you too harshly-"

Thor suddenly let out an angry yell. I felt Steve yank me backwards, watching in shock as the god cut off the titan's head in one fell swoop.

Rocket stared up at his friend with a despairing look, "What did you do?"

"I went for the head"