Second Sphere

Inevitable

The trip through space only take seconds and Carol heads down to do recon.

She flies back up. "No satellites. No ships. No armies. No ground defences of any kind. It's just him."

"And that's enough." Nebula says back.

Down on the ground Thanos has built a small house himself. Carol blasts in first. Leaving room for all of us to follow.

One by one we restrain him and Thor chops off his hand that had the gauntlet. Thanos grunts in pain as we continue to hold him.

Rocket turns the gauntlet over, "Oh, no."

Steve looks down, "Where are they?" Thanos just groans.

"Answer the question." Carol tightens her grip around his neck.

"The universe required correction. After that, the stones served no purpose beyond temptation." Thanos says almost smugly.

"You murdered trillions!" Banner shouts from inside the bulky suit. He pushes Thanos to the ground.

"You should be grateful." Thanos snap at him.

Banner punches him across the face as we all let the gravity of what he said sink in. There is no way to change this, there is no bringing anyone back. The finality of it sets in and I lean my hand against a wall for support. The blow feels like losing everyone all over again.

"Where are the stones?" Natasha shakily asks to confirm it.

"Gone. Reduced to atoms." Thanos says.

Banner still doesn't get it. "You used them two days ago!"

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

"We have to tear this place apart. He has to be lying." Rhodey stutters out.

Nebula responds quickly, "my father is many things. A liar is not one of them."

Thanos looks to her, "Ah. Thank you, daughter. Perhaps I treated you too harshly."

Before he can get another word out Thor chops off his head and the body topples over.

"What did you do?" Rocket asks.

"I went for the head." Thor stumbles out of the wrecked hut. While Nebula closes her fathers eyes.

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"For three years I kept it together." I tell Dr. Raynor.

"You're trying to skip ahead to the last two." Dr. Raynor stops me before I can continue. "We need to talk about those two years. The weeks and months that followed this. This is now the second time you've lost Bucky, but in a seemingly more permanent manner than the first time."

I nod. "When I thought Hydra still had him, at least I had a mission. I had hope to get him back. But then I didn't. I couldn't stay at the Avengers tower. Neither could Stark. He took me to Georgia with him. I had a place not far from them. Our cabins were a short walk from one another."

"Let's talk about that." Dr. Raynor flips to a new page. "Tell me how that was, readjusting."