Worthy

Part 53 - You Will Not Disappoint Me

As you walk through the cavernous halls of Thanos' ship you start to shiver; not just from the cold, but from fear too. While certain it was the right thing to do to save your family, you still have no clue what Thanos could possibly want with you, or what he would do to you. Two of his so called children, you picked up on their names, Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight, are leading you down the hallway. While curiosity peaks, you keep your eyes on their back, not trusting them.

Nebula almost hobbles slightly behind you before both of you are pushed into an even larger room - you could probably fit the entire compound into it. Sitting upon a throne like chair is Thanos. "Come little one," he gestures to you. "We have a lot to talk about." You don't move. Stuck still by the sight of Thanos, arm rested on his sword; the image of Tony still imprinted on your mind. Corvus gives you a push, knocking you to your feet. "Glaive, is that anyway to treat our guest?" Thanos laughs.

"Guest?" You scoff, pulling yourself up and dusting off your knees. "I'm not your guest, I'm your prisoner."

"You came willingly." He smiles. As you take a step closer to him you finally notice Gamora, sitting on the steps leading up to his throne. Your eyes meet, hers full of rage and questioning, directed at both you and Nebula.

"You left me no choice," You look up at Thanos; his smug grin making you feel sick. Once again your eyes are drawn to the sword. He follows your eyeline.

"Stark?" He chuckles. "He'll survive." He runs a finger over the blade. "He fought with heart. Maybe once you find the treasure I seek, I'll send you back to him."

"What treasure could I possibly help you find?"

"My daughters," He gestures lovingly to Gamora before scowling at Nebula - instantly reminding you of how Odin had treated Thor and Loki. "Very rarely do they fail me. But sometimes a father could be disappointed."

"I wouldn't know."

"You will," his smug smile returns. "They promised to find the soul stone for me and they failed." His voice becomes stern. "Nebula, in her desperation to get back on my good side mentioned you were trying to do the same, with limited resources." He stands and walks towards an open door nearby. Once again Glaive pushes you to follow. The room is almost as immense in size as the last, but this one is filled with books, manuscripts, murals and monuments. A researcher's dream. Thanos stands behind you, placing his large hands on your shoulder. "I have plenty resources. You will not disappoint me."

"And if I refuse?" You try to be resolute and firm but your voice wavers slightly. Thanos crouches down to whisper in your ear.

"Then I'll turn this ship around and turn everything you've ever loved into dust. You help me, then at least you're giving them a fighting chance."

"And if I disappoint you?" Thanos laughs at your question, before walking over to a box sitting on a table. Opening it he pulls out a large gauntlet, as he slips it on his left hand, you can't help but notice the large purple gem placed in one of the settings as it shines brightly. The power stone. As he makes a fist, the stone glows and instantly Gamora and Nebula collapse in pain.

"You wouldn't want me to hurt them now, would you?" His smile almost meets his eyes as he delights in the torture. "Your brother's girlfriend and her sister? I know how much 'family' means to you." As he stops the two women gasp for air, glad to be free. Thanos marches out of the room, chuckling to himself. "You have one week." He slams the door shut behind him.

"I'm sorry Kate," Gamora finally speaks, before trying to help Nebula up, who simply pushes her away. As you look around the room, the sheer volume of books on one table could take you a week alone to get through.

"Me too," You sigh, knowing that this wasn't going to end well.

***

It had been 3 days. The first day you had badgered Nebula and Gamora to give you all the information they could - how far they had gotten. Within minutes you had realised it was going to take even longer as you couldn't understand the alien languages most of the books were written in. The girls did their best to translate what they could but it was frustrating not being able to read in your own mind, your own way.

On the second day progress sped up slightly. Proxima Midnight injected you with a translator chip - immediately everything you read was translated into English. Ebony Maw also made an appearance - moving books over to you constantly, reading over your shoulder, while the others simply watched Gamora and Nebula. Much like from your research at home, there was so much documented about the stones - from their origins to their last known locations, depending on the age of the scripts. The soul stone, however, was still clouded in mystery.

You felt like you were making some progress this third day, after finally finding a text referring to how the soul stone forever had a guardian watching over it - not too dissimilar to how Dr Strange watched over the time stone. While it wasn't enough, it was still a small step forward and the most information you had been able to find in a long time.

As you grab another book, a hand grabs your arm. "You need to rest Kate," Nebula surprises you; neither of you had talked since you'd been given the translator the day before. "You need to eat." She gestures to the pile of uneaten food sitting at the end of the table.

"I don't have time for that" You shrug her off. You were at a complete loss, stuck in researcher mode - not caring about time, food, sleep. Just working tirelessly to find out what you could. Despite knowing that whatever Thanos wanted the stones for was not good, you had almost become as obsessed as he was with finding them. It was like they pulled at your mind, and you were fixated with the soul stone - much like Loki had been with the tesseract.

"Peter would want you to..." Gamora starts.

"Peter isn't here." You snap, turning your attention away from the book for the first time in hours. "You wanna help so bad?" You look between the two of them. "Then shut the fuck up and let me work. I'm doing this for your benefit after all."

"No." Gamora strides over, knocking the book from your hand. "This stops here. You cannot find that stone for him."

"Listen I get that you're willing to die at the hands of your father," You push her away. "But I am not risking losing everyone I love just because you don't want him..."

"If you find that stone for him then you're killing them anyway." Nebula replies, montoned voice actually showing some feeling. "His great plan..." But you don't listen anymore, your eyes are drawn to the fallen book, sitting open at a random page. As you reach down to pick it up you notice its a map; the map to the soul stone.

Gamora and Nebula stand over you, looking at it over your shoulder. "You did it." Gamora let's out a gasp, before trying to grab the book from you, but you're quick and rip the page from the book and walking away. "You can't give him it Kate. I'm begging you."

But again you don't hear her. Too wrapped up in trying to decipher the map. "I can't understand it," You sigh, tapping the translator attached to your neck. "It's not working."

"Ancient text maybe?" Nebula walks over and looks at it with you, her interest clearly piqued while Gamora frets.

"Yeah, it is." You shake your head as your brain finally catches up, the lack of food and sleep finally catching up with you. "And I know what it is. But I still can't read it." The women both look at you questioningly. "It's Asgardian."

"Destroy it." Gamora walks over with purpose etched on her face. "Don't let him get it." You agree, suddenly envisioning this massive ship hovering over Asgard, ready to strike. But as you make to tear up the map, a hand grabs you; a giant purple hand.

"Well done little one," His arrogant voice rings out, as he plucks the map from your hand. "Maw, set a course for Asgard."