The Séance • Marvel

Endgame: Chapter 01

Vanessa struggled to make her way to wherever the rest of the team is at. "Do you need help?" Asked Jason. "I'm fine, just a bit weak from not walking in over a week" answered Vanessa. "Maybe you shouldn't have pulled out the IV from your arm." Vanessa only rolled her eyes as a response. She hated needles because they reminded her of the past, of things she was ashamed of.

"Your awake, thank goodness. We weren't sure you were going to wake up" said a voice behind Vanessa. She turned and found Natasha standing there. "I'm alright. I just drained myself of energy, that's all" she said. Natasha moved forward to help the young woman who was leaning on the wall in order to stay standing, "Here let me help you." "I'm fine Nat, I can walk on my own." Natasha didn't listen to the girl and put her arm around her waist and lead them both into the living room.

Vanessa promptly took a seat in one of the chairs, feeling her legs tremble. "Sleeping beauty finally awakes from her sleep?" Asked Rhodey. "Yeah and still without a prince" responded. Rhodey moved over to take a seat next to the young woman, "You alright" he asked seriously. Vanessa nodded her head, "Any news?" "Nothing. Countries are in shambles, Governments are failing. We still haven't found Thanos. He's won, he killed half of every living creature." Vanessa shook her head, "He didn't kill them. They aren't dead."

At this those who were in the living room turned to look at her. "They are not dead," she repeated, "If they were dead I would be able to see them or at least a few of them. But there is nothing." "What do you mean?" Asked Rhodey. "When someone dies they either go one of two places" she explained. "Heaven or Hell?" He asked. Vanessa shook her head, "No, or I don't know. I call it The Void or The Unknown. I don't know what happens to a soul once it moves into the unknown. But usually, when someone has a very sudden death or rather violent death, they leave behind 'unfinished business.' Billions of people died so suddenly, I would imagine many of them would have things they didn't get to finish. I should be able to see a good few of them, but there's nothing. They didn't die, they were erased from existence. As if they never existed, the only thing left of them is memories."

Everyone carefully listened to Vanessa and her explanation. They had all assumed that everyone who had been dusted was dead, but now they were learning that they weren't. But, was it really a good thing to learn that they weren't dead rather just erased. "So that means we can bring them back?" Asked Rocket, who was sitting in a corner. Vanessa shrugged her shoulder. She was used to dealing with the dead and she knew death was dead no bringing them back. But, what about someone who was only gone, not dead. "How do you bring back someone who technically doesn't exist?" She asked. "Some way they were taken out," said Steve, "We need to get those stones back. We need to find Thanos."

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A few days later they still had found nothing. It was hard to keep any hope when they had nothing to go on. Suddenly the ground began to rumble. Vanessa looked at the glass of water that was on her nightstand is was shaking, slowly at first, and then severely. Vanessa runs to the yard, where she finds Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and Rhodey already walking out looking at something. A ship is being carried by an entity, it lands the spacecraft as the landing gears deploy. Once the hatch opens, Tony Stark and Nebula walkout, Nebula supporting Tony. Steve runs to them to help Tony. Tony grabs Steve's arm with desperation, "Couldn't stop him" he says. "Neither could I," Steve said. "I lost the kid." "Tony, we lost." Tony suddenly looks in anguish, "Is, uh..." he can't bring himself to ask about Pepper. Vanessa looks away as Pepper runs up to him.

Vanessa and everyone else sits in the living room once again. Tony is sat at one of the tables, with an IV drip. A hologram shows all the casualty reports, the names, and the faces of those lost to the decimation. "It's been 23 days since Thanos came to Earth" Rhodey starts. "World governments are in pieces. The parts that are still working are trying to take a census. And it looks like he did... he did exactly what he said he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out fifty percent, of all living creatures" explained Natasha.

"Where is he now? Where?" Asks Tony. "We don't know. He opened a portal and walked through" says Steve. "What's wrong with him?" Asks Tony. Vanessa turned to where he is looking to find a sullen-looking Thor, sitting on a bench. "Oh, he's pissed. He thinks he failed. Which of course he did, but you know there's a lot of that's going around, ain't there?" Explained Rocket. Tony looks to where Rocket was sitting, "Honestly, until this exact second, I literally thought you were a Build-A-Bear." "Maybe I am."

Steve breaks off the conversation and directs the attention back to the subject at hand. "We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep Space scans, and satellites, and we got nothing. Tony, you fought him" he says. "Who told you that?" Tony asks surprised, "I didn't fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street Magician gave away the store. That's what happened. There was no fight." "Okay." "He's unbeatable," says Tony. "Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?" Asks Steve. Vanessa still sitting at the dinner table, but slightly shakes her head knowing that this conversation was not going to end well for the once friends.

Tony looks directly at Steve, dressing him, "Pfft! I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming." "Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus," says Steve. Vanessa sees the anger in Tony's face, "And I needed you. As in past tense. That trumps what you need. It's too late buddy. Sorry. You know what I need?" Tony begins to stand up and pushes things off the table, landing with a clatter. Everyone winces at the loud noise. "I need to shave. And I believe I remember telling all youse -" he says as he walks towards Steve. "Tony, Tony, Tony!" Calls Rhodey trying to stop him.

Vanessa moves to help Rhodey with the man but stops once she sees that Rhodey's got him. "Alive and otherwise what we needed was a suit of armor around the world! Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not- that's what we needed!" Tony continues. "Well, that didn't work out, did it?" Steve questions. "I said, 'we'd lose.' You said, 'We'll do that together too.' And guess what, Cap? We lost. And you weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the Avengers, we're the Avengers. Not the Pre-vengers." Rhodey tries to tell Tony that he's made his point and get him to sit down, but the man won't listen.  "Nah, Nah. Here's my point. You know what?" Tony says. "Tony, you're sick" Rhodey tries.

Tony doesn't listen and points to Carol. "She's great, by the way." "Sit down. Sit" says Rhodey. He then looks over to Vanessa, "We need you. You're both new blood. Bunch of tired old mules!" Tony then walks right up to Steve's face, his voice low as if letting out a venomous whisper, "I got nothing for you, Cap! I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust. Liar." The once friends look at each other, Steve looking affected at Tony's words. Tony then rips his Arc Reactor from his chest and shoves it into Steve's hand, "Here, take this. You find him and you put that on. You hide." Tony then falls to the ground. Steve is at his side almost instantly, "Tony!" "I'm fine, I..." he says as he falls unconscious.