I Thought You Were Different: Part 5

Visions

When the brilliance faded around him, Wade forced his eyes open, only to find the sky a menacing, deep black, just as he had seen from miles away before Thanos had fallen. Only this time, he was in the middle of the fight, an unwilling participant in a war that he had successfully missed the first time. But now, he was the ringleader; the controller of this fate, and when faced with the challenge, he wanted to scream and run away without looking back. It was nothing more than the sight of you fighting for your life that held him in place.

"(Y/N)!" he called out to you, but you didn't react at all. It was as if he wasn't even there, and with each second, he began to realize that he really wasn't. He tried to talk to Tony next, only to get the same response. It was a twisted, evil dream that he was locked into, watching Avengers fall for the final time all around him. The sounds of the crumbled and burning compound were so real, and he could feel the heat emanating from it, but it wasn't true; it was a replay of past events that he was watching like a shitty horror film. He heard the sound of Anthony calling out to you, knowing that your last moment had come, and he was stupid enough to look. It was that vision, the ease with which Thanos snapped your neck, the lack of care in his eyes, that sent Wade over the edge, but maybe that was exactly what he needed to get this right.

"Wilson."

"What the fuck?" Wade spun around, panic setting in from hearing the voice that came from everywhere. "Who's there?"

"Wilson, you must focus for this to work. Now is not the time for impassioned disconnect."

"Okay? Not the answer to my question-"

"Close your eyes and focus on only the specific point in time that you wish to intervene upon," Loki's voice boomed over the grounds, "the Gauntlet needs precise direction. It is an all-powerful tool that must be controlled clearly, purposefully, or you will continue to miss your intentions."

"And how exactly do you know so much...Mr. Voice-Over? I thought that guys like you weren't added until post-production?"

"I know so much, because I once wanted the Gauntlet as Thanos did, before I realized the true nature of its hold. You must act quickly, Wade Wilson, or its power will consume you. I do not wish to destroy you when you seem of honest purpose."

Wade sighed heavily and dropped his arms to his sides, the weight of the Gauntlet pulling him off balance. He was just so tired of the fight, and the death around him at every turn was seeping into his mind like a parasite, eating away at his resolve to just stay standing. "Why the hell is everyone so bent on destroying each other? I really miss the days when you could just punch a fucker, ya know? Good 'ol fashioned smack down, not this mythical, hocus pocus bullshit that I don't have a fucking clue how to work. I don't know why I said that I'd do this in the first place. I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but maybe Stark was right-"

"Focus now, or you will lose everything."

"I've already lost everything!" Wade finally snapped. "Look at her! She's dead! What the hell else is there that could be any worse? What the shit do you think that I have left to lose?!"

"A chance," Loki answered softly, "and one that you shall not have again. I suggest that you remove your anger and focus on that...or who, you wish to have returned to you, because now is the time to act. When you are considering your course, I might afford the risk of asking a favor in repayment of my guidance here, if you will."

"Sure...why the hell not," Wade shrugged, his body and soul beaten by the task greater than he had ever imagined. "What can I fuck up for ya?"

From the far side of the lawn, just beyond the debris and loss of life, Loki emerged, though it appeared to be merely an image of him, wavering and transparent. Wade reluctantly approached to meet him, not allowing himself to look down at what and who he had to step over to get there. The false Loki stopped a few feet away, a hand up to stop Wade from getting any closer. "My brother, Thor," he began, "Thanos took his life as well, and I would ask that you consider him in your plans."