Lost Our Minds |5| The Ascension

Chapter Thirty-Six: The End of the Beginning

Soon, Wanda was with them, rushing to Vision's side. "Are you okay?" He cringed in pain. "What? What is it?"

Vision's eyes were wide. "He's here."

Pietro lifted a hand to his comms unit. "Everyone, on my position. We have incoming."

The others joined him, panting. There was a strange feeling in the air, a trepidation, and an anticipation of what was to come. Like the calm before a storm.

"What is that?" Zoë asked, her eyes wide as she saw Thanos coming through the blue-black portal of the space stone.

McKenzie turned to look and, despite her exhaustion, her face twisted with hatred, a low growl escaping her lips. "That's him." Before anyone could stop her, she leapt at him. Her lasers were still out of action, but she had two fists and she was damned if she wasn't going to use them. Thanos looked almost too pleased to engage with her once more, a sickening smirk spreading across his face as they traded blows. Just as she seemed to be getting the upper hand, Thanos activated the power stone and punched her right in the face with it. The blow sent her flying, and when she crashed into the rocks at the bottom of Mount Bashenga, she slumped to the ground, unmoving.

Steve set his jaw. "Eyes up. Stay sharp."

Bruce and Zosia charged towards Thanos, hoping that a two-pronged attack would give them a better chance of survival. As they leapt at him, Thanos activated the space stone, and sent them crashing to the ground near McKenzie, their bodies fused into the rock. Steve was next, but one punch from Thanos crumpled him on the ground. T'Challa leapt into the fray, and Thanos promptly threw him out of the air, his armour discharging against him. Sam swooped low, firing with his pistols, but he crashed to the ground as his wings lost their substance.

Vision's eyes widened, watching each and every one of their friends be felled easily by Thanos. "Wanda, it's time."

Her eyes widened. "No!"

"They can't stop him, Wanda, but we can," Vision tried. "Look at me. You have the power to destroy the stone."

Wanda looked away again, swallowing back tears. "Don't."

"You must do it," Vision implored. "Wanda, please. We're out of time."

"I can't," she protested.

He met her gaze, his own steady and accepting. "Yes, you can. You can. If he gets the stone, half the universe dies."

Wanda sniffled. "It's not fair."

"It shouldn't be you, but it is," Vision said. He took her trembling hand, aiming her palm at the mind stone. "It's alright. You could never hurt me. I just feel you."

Wanda gasped, tears flowing. With all the strength she had left, she beamed her energy at the stone, starting to destroy it. All around her, the Avengers fell, defeated, hopeless. Some were so still she thought they might be dead; others were so badly injured she wished they were. She added a second hand to her assault, her memories of the man she was killing flickering across the backs of her eyelids like a swansong. She heard another scream and whipped around to see Daisy and Izaiah stood alone, the only ones left standing against Thanos. Instinctively, she thrust a hand towards the Titan, fending him off with half her energy.

"It's alright," Vision whispered, feeling her hands shaking. "It's alright. I love you." On his forehead, the mind stone started to glow. Then it shattered, and a shockwave exploded from him, shuddering the trees for miles around. Wanda collapsed, sobbing.

"I understand, my child," Thanos said softly, reaching down to cradle her head in his hand. "Better than anyone."

She glared up at him with a vicious snarl. "You could never."

"Today, I lost more than you can know. But now is no time to mourn. Now..." He sighed. "Now is no time at all." He activated the time stone, rolling the minutes back to before they had attacked. As the Avengers stood again behind him, Vision gasped, coming back to life.

"No!" Wanda lunged for him, but Thanos swatted her away with one fist. She watched helplessly as he grabbed Vision by the throat, holding him steady so he could gouge the mind stone from his head. Vision went limp, the colour draining out of his body, and Thanos chucked his lifeless corpse aside.

He placed the mind stone into the final setting of the gauntlet, and power surged all around him. It receded, and he looked down at the completed gauntlet in satisfaction. Before he could do anything, a bolt of lightning struck him, sending him flying back. Thor landed in front of him, eyes blazing with electricity, and slammed Stormbreaker into Thanos' chest. "I told you you'd die for that."

Thanos wheezed, crying out in pain as Thor pushed the blade deeper. "You should have... you..." Suddenly, his eyes sharpened. "You should have gone for the head." He raised the gauntlet and snapped his fingers.

Thor's eyes widened. "NO!"

Thanos stumbled back, checking the gauntlet to see it scorched and blackened, the stones no longer glowing.

"What'd you do?" Thor demanded. "What'd you do?!"

Thanos ignored him, activating the space stone and teleporting away. Stormbreaker fell to the ground, and the world went silent.

"Where'd he go?" Thor turned to see Steve, holding his side in pain. "Where'd he go?"

"Steve?" On the other side of the clearing, Bucky collapsed to the ground, his body dissolving into dust. Steve edged closer, touching the ground where his friend had stood mere moments ago.

"Daisy?!"

He shot to his feet and ran through the trees to his wife, who was weeping over ashes.

"Mom?" Izaiah stumbled towards them, his eyes wide and scared. "Mom!" He tripped, and by the time he hit the ground, he was dust.

"No!" Zosia cried, her voice hoarse, "No!" She reached for her husband's hand, but he wasn't there. She turned, seeing only ashes falling to the floor. "No!"

In the next clearing, McKenzie embraced Wanda, turning her face away from Vision's corpse. "Does it hurt?" Wanda was asking, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Does dying hurt?"

McKenzie swallowed. "No," she lied. "It's painless." In her arms, Wanda's body gave way to dust.

"Piet!"

She whipped around to see her daughter cradling what was left of Pietro as he turned to dust. Then Zoë started to dissolve too. "Mum, help me!"

"I..." McKenzie could only watch in horror as her daughter turned to ashes. "This—this isn't real, it's not—it's not real," she stammered, backing away.

"Kez..."

She turned, her eyes wide. "No," she begged. "No, please no. Not you, God, please, not you!"

He collapsed to his knees, and she fell with him, clinging onto him with everything she had. "I love you," he managed, meeting her eyes one last time, and then he was gone. She choked on her breath, sobbing, gasping, screaming, but there was nothing to be done. She curled in on herself on the floor and shook. Part of her wanted to let go, to destroy the whole forest with the force of her grief, but she couldn't even do that. Her energy had failed her when she needed it most.

"What is this?" Rhodey demanded as the survivors gathered in the clearing. Too many of them were missing, too many dead. "What the hell is happening?!"

Natasha staggered, sinking to the ground beside Vision's lifeless body. "Oh God," she managed. She wanted to cry, to scream, to mourn, but there was no strength left in her. All she could muster was shock, numb horror, and a terrible feeling of dread. "Oh God..."

~~~