Lost Our Minds |5| The Ascension

Chapter Forty-Eight: Endgame-The Final Sacrifice

Clint risked a glance back to see the Outriders were hot on his tail. Thinking fast, he threw an explosive arrow into their midst, escaping through a trapdoor to the surface. He slammed the door shut, then sighed, sitting back.

A pair of legs walked into view, and he followed them up to see a familiar face. "Oh, hey... I know you." He let her take the gauntlet.

2014's Nebula smiled. "Father. I have the stones."

Clint's eyes widened. "What?!"

Suddenly, Gamora rounded the corner, 2029's Nebula at her side. "Stop," she ordered, raising her sword.

2014 Nebula blinked. "You're betraying us?"

"You don't have to do this," 2029 Nebula implored.

"I am this," 2014 Nebula insisted.

"No, you're not!" Gamora assured her.

Nebula stepped closer to her younger self. "You've seen what we become."

"Nebula, listen to her," Gamora tried.

"You can change," Nebula continued.

2014's Nebula snarled. "He won't let me." She raised a gun, pointing it at her sister.

"No!" Gamora cried.

A shot was fired. 2014's Nebula gasped and collapsed to the floor, dying. 2029's Nebula holstered her gun. After a long moment, Clint took the gauntlet back from her. "Man, I'm really startin' to hate this time travel crap."

***

Out on the battlefield, things weren't going much better. Despite the four warriors' prowess, Thanos was proving to be a more than formidable opponent. The only edge they had was their experience fighting together, their knowledge of how to use each others' abilities to the max. They'd first fought together fourteen years previously, and even though they'd spent a lot of time apart, they still remembered the old routines. Some things really were just like riding a bike.

"Okay, Thor," Tony called. "Hit me."

Thor roared, clashing together Mjölnir and Stormbreaker to create a surge of lightning. The Iron Man suit harvested that energy, shooting it out of the repulsors towards Thanos. Sensing the attack, the Titan spun his sword, refracting the energy away to make the warriors scatter. Zosia raced at Thanos on all fours, snarling, and pounced, only to be knocked away by the flat of his sword. Then Thor used Stormbreaker as a bat, Mjölnir as the ball, smashing his hammer at the Titan. Thanos grabbed Tony to use as a shield, knocking the man out.

McKenzie leapt into the fray, using her superspeed to slip around Thanos and strike where he wasn't expecting. She had no weapon—her sword had long since shattered against his—but her bones were not human and could produce a far greater impact. Even so, she was still weak from the ordeals of Vormir, and her stamina was flagging. She paused for a second, panting, and Thanos' fist caught her in the stomach, sending her flying.

Thanos advanced on his last remaining foe. Thor met him halfway, striking savagely with Stormbreaker, but Thanos blocked the blow with his sword. He forced Stormbreaker out of Thor's grip and beating him down into the ground relentlessly. Thor reached for Stormbreaker, but Thanos grabbed it first, slamming it into the breastplate of Thor's armour. The man screamed out in pain, and behind them, Mjölnir began to tremble. Suddenly, Thanos was thrown back, landing in a crater yards away from them all. Mjölnir flew through the air, returning to its wielder's hand.

Thor's eyes widened, and he grinned. "I knew it!"

Across the field, Zosia sat up in her humanoid form, staring. "She can lift the hammer?"