Becoming his (Bucky x yn x Steve)

26. A work of art

Their conversation didn't last very long. Only moments after Stephen's heart lifting statistics did Thanos come to Titan himself by creating a portal with his space stone. As soon as he came to sight, all avengers got in a defensive stance.

Thanos looked around them rather sadly. "I take it the Maw is dead." He said, taking their silence as a yes. He signed. "This day extracts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission."

"You may regret that." Stephen replied, orange discs threatening to strike in his hands. "He brought you face-to-face with the Master of the Mystic Arts."

"And where do you think he brought you? Thanos asked back, looking around the wreckage and ruin.

"Let me guess." Stephen replied mockingly before throwing out an even more sarcastic answer. "Your home?"

Thanos looked at him and smiled reminiscently" It was. And it was beautiful." He raised his hand and in on,y a second reality reshaped itself before the eyes. The red skies turned blue and the fallen buildings were back up. The dead planet looked so alive and thriving, everything and everywhere screamed peace and prosperity. "Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, and not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution." Thanos explained as he shook his head.

"Genocide." Yn said with a nod of her head.

"But at random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike." He turned to face yn with an excitement as he retold his solution. But then he shook his head again in disappointment, "They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass." The illusion fades into the true state of Titan, broken and ruined like when the avengers had first landed. It was a painful sight to see, especially after the comparison to what it once was.

"Congratulations. You're a prophet." Stephen said as he rolled his eyes slightly.

"I'm a survivor." Thanos said back.

"Who wants to murder trillions." Yn said as she gave him a look that resembled a teacher telling off a student.

"With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers, and they would all cease to exist. I call that...Mercy."

Yn blinked and looked down, her mind going elsewhere. "Gotta say he's got a point." Yn mutter quietly under her breath. A painless, unacknowledged death. Many would pay thousands to embrace that rather than face the brutality, the pain, and the suffering a regular or accidental death may bring. She would have rather had that then stay in Hydra, and she doubt that any other subjects to their abuse would differ. Her whispers were not heard by her peers, and she didn't notice Thanos throwing her a look.

"And then what?" Stephen asked as he looked at yn, not sure why Thanos stared at her.

Thanos removed his gaze and faced Strange once again. "I finally rest...And watch the sun rise on a grateful universe." His eyes looked dreamy as he imagine life without burden, without decisions. "The hardest choices require the strongest wills."

"I think you'll find our will," Stephen replied as he moved his hands into complicated motions, "equal to yours."

Thanks looks up in time to a see a chunk of wreckage coming down on him and tries to use the Power to stop, but is too late. The wreckage falls onto him, causing an eruption of dust and dirt into the air.

"Piece of cake, Quill." Tony laughed as he flew by.

Quill rolled his eyes. "Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off."

Suddenly, the pile of wreckage on top of Thanos erupts, the pieces glowing with purple. He shouts angrily as he uses the Power Stone to force the pieces at Tony in rage. Peter webs his eyes quickly, and swings in the kick him in the face. Then Strange summons a blade, but Thanos stops it with his hand, and tears the web from his eyes. He advances on Strange, and kicks him just as Stephen summons a shield, absorbing the unrealistic force of his blow, but it knocks him back. Quill attempts to shoots Thanos from behind, and Thanos uses the Power Stone to shoot balls on energy at his while he advances by the steps Strange formed in the air, and places a electric mine on his back.