Once Upon a December

17

Thanos was snapped back to reality, and noticed the damage inflicted on the Gauntlet -- the metal scorched and distorted from the heat, the Stones no longer glowing.

"What'd you do?" Thor asked as his tone grew angrier. "What did you do?!"

Thanos nearly seemed to not notice Thor before using the Space Stone and teleported away, leaving Stormbreaker behind on Wakandan ground.

Steve, stumbling into the clearing, holding his left side, asked, "Where'd he go? Thor... where'd he go?"

"Steve? Ness?" Bucky called, suddenly stumbling over as he dropped his gun.

Nessa lunged for Bucky, desperate not to lose him, but she couldn't quite reach him in time.

"Doll, I-" Bucky collapsed into ashes, much to Steve and Nessa's shock. He walked over and touched the ground where Bucky's ashes had evaporated.

Nessa touched the ground as a tear fell down her cheek and she whispered, "Oh, James."

On the battlefield, Wakandan soldiers disintegrated into ashes, much to M'Baku's horror.

While reaching for a fallen Okoye, T'Challa said, "Up, General. Up! This is no place to die." He held out his hand for Okoye. He suddenly disintegrated into ashes and, in anguish, Okoye fell back to the ground. A few seconds later, she got up herself.

"Kumkani?" Okoye called.

Groot, slowly corroding into ashes as well by Rocket said, "I am Groot..."

(Dad?)

Okoye repeated herself.

"No... no," Rocket said. "No. No. No! Groot, no..."

Wanda mourned over Vision before turning into ashes. An injured Sam turned to ashes, hidden in the undergrowth.

Rhodey, searching for Sam, missing him by only a few feet, called, "Sam?" Okoye was whimpering for her disintegrated king. "Sam, where you at?"

In the lab, Shuri turned to ash; as did others.

TITAN

The remaining members of the Guardians and Avengers collected themselves -- Mantis propped up Star-Lord, Spider-Man helped Tony to his feet, and Drax and Nebula managed to limp over on their own.

"Something's happening," Mantis said before disintegrating into ashes.

Quill looked behind him and saw Drax as he disintegrated.

"Quill?" Drax called before dissolving.

Quill stared in horror as he turned back to Stark.

Tony, staring panicked at the slowly fading Quill, said, "Steady, Quill."

"Aw, man," Quill muttered, disintegrating into ashes.

Doctor Strange calmly turned to Stark and said, "Tony, there was no other way." He finally got erased.

Peter, realizing he was fading away, called, "Mr. Stark?" Tony stared horrified at Peter. "I don't feel so good..."

Tony, trying to be calm, his voice shaking as he looked at Peter in terror and asked, "You're all right?"

Peter, stumbling and terrified, replied, "I don't know what's -- I don't know what's happening. I don't-" He fell into Tony's arms, clutching him tight while beginning to cry. "I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go, Mr. Stark, please. Please, I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go..." There was a short silence before Peter spoke again. "I'm sorry." He disintegrated into ashes in Tony's arms.

Tony fell forward from the lack of weight in his arms before staring at his hands in disbelief.

Nebula said to Tony, seeing Thanos' victory, "He did it."

Tony mourned silently at their failure.

WAKANDA

The remaining team members, Captain America, Thor, War Machine, Black Widow, Bruce, Nessa and Rocket were left mourning near Vision's dead body. Captain America turned over Vision's bleached corpse as Black Widow ran up to the other survivors.

"What is this?" Rhodey asked. "What the hell is happening?"

Steve paused and said, "Oh, God."

Nessa pursed her lips, already trying to figure out how to get everyone back. She glanced to Natasha and smiled softly, earning one back.

ANOTHER PLACE

In a rustic house on a terraced slope with a scarecrow made of discarded armor, Thanos sat and watched the sun rise.

EARTH

"Still no word from Stark?" Fury asked.

"No, not yet," Hill replied. "We're watching every satellite in both hemispheres, there's still nothing." She received three beeps from her device.

The two were driving in a car.

"What is it?" Fury questioned.

"Multiple bogeys over Wakanda," Hill replied.

"Same energy signatures as New York?"

"Ten times bigger."

"Tell Klein. We'll meet him at-"

"Nick, Nick!" A car spiraled out of control in front of them. They got out and Hill checked on the passengers.

"They okay?" Fury inquired.

Behind their vehicle, a motorcycle laid in the middle of the street with a concerned citizen approaching it.

"There's no one here," Hill told him.

They heard helicopter rotor sounds from the direction they'd come from, but it sounded wrong -- a Leonardo executive helicopter, tail rotor smoking from damage already, appeared and crashed nose-first into a building. Screaming intensified. The two witnessed civilians around them suddenly disintegrating.

"Call control," Fury ordered. "Code Red."

As Hill looked at her hands, she called, "Nick?"

Fury turned to see Hill disintegrating and said, "Hill?"

Fury raced back to their car and got an old pager with extra gear attached from the bag on his backseat. He sent out an emergency alert, mere seconds before his hand turned to ashes.

"Oh, no..." Fury muttered. "Motherf..."

Before he could finish the line, Fury corroded to dust. The pager fell to the ground, red lights blinking on the additions. The device display said SENDING... then showed a red-blue-and-gold star insignia -- the symbol of Captain Marvel.