The Girl Who Killed Half the Universe | marvel [3] ✔

FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR
' IT BELONGS TO NO
ONE, AND CERTAINLY
NOT TO YOU. '

Through the forest, she saw the red magic develop in Wanda's hand and shoot at Vision. She found him without even trying. He approached the duo, tearing through the others like it was nothing. Her eyes flickered to the gauntlet on his fist and counted the Stones.

He just needed the Mind and Death.

Ash let out a choppy breath and touched her forehead. Her whole body trembled, told her to run. But her eyes found Wanda, and she sucked in a piece of air. She squeezed her eyes shut and threw her hands down.

Landing between them, Ash kept her sight away from him as magic formed in her grip. She felt her magic ball in front of her as be combated the force with the gauntlet. Ash brought her other hand up, magic forming in it. She cried out as the muscles in her neck contracted and her jaw gritted.

She didn't open her eyes once. She knew that if she looked at his face and saw his expression, she would crumble. Everything would hit her, and she would cower at his feet.

Because after all those years of convincing herself that she'd healed from his torment, standing in front of him, being that close... she knew she hadn't lost a single bit of fear he'd implanted in her head.

"Stop fighting, Little One," Thanos managed out.

She lowered her head, shaking it and trying to rid his voice as it echoed around her mind. She needed to hold it for a moment longer - she could feel the energy cracking from the Mind Stone. Ash shouted, digging her feet into the ground.

A shockwave erupted throughout the clearing, propelling Ash and Wanda to the ground. They both gasped at the exhaustion which smashed through them. Their heavy breathing filled the eerie quietness.

Their gazes met across the clearing.

Thanos approached them, and Ash felt him stop beside her, but she didn't look up at him. She kept her eyes on Wanda. She shook, her arms quaking as she fought to keep their gaze locked, and she slumped when he continued his journey to the redhead.

Ash exhaled heavily.

She needed to get away.

"I understand, my child. Better than anyone."

"You could never," Wanda snarled, glaring harshly at him.

He reached down and stroked her hair in comfort. "Today, I lost more than you can know. But now is no time to mourn. Now is no time at all." He reached forward, clenching the gauntlet, the Time Stone's power encircling his arm.

Ash scrambled to her feet, just about to erupt in a sprint before her body stopped moving. Her toes scraped the ground, and she writhed in the air. Looking from her suspended trap, the Mind Stone gathered back into Vision's head.

"No!" Wanda cried, lunging for Vision, but Thanos swatted her away.

Teeth gritting, Ash desperately tried to free herself, kicking and punching the air to try and escape. Magic formed in her palms, but something cracked and ripped her limps outwards. Her mouth parted, desperate breaths escaping her as she looked at her severed limbs.

Part of her knew it was the Reality Stone, but her overriding thought was panic.

Vision reformed, and Thanos grabbed his neck, his other hand peeling the Stone from his forehead. He succeeded, and his head caved in, the artificial connectors still hanging to the Mind Stone. Discarding his body, Thanos turned to face Ash as he dropped it into his gauntlet.

Her body went limp, exhaustion finally taking hold of her muscles and brain. Her body was still recovering from the withdrawal and Hela's fight - she hadn't had a chance to. She hadn't slept restfully for what felt like years.

He let her drop to the floor, and she struck it hard. She shifted, hands pushing her up from either side of her head.

She needed to get away.

Stumbling to her feet, Ash continued to look away from him, gaze remaining locked on Wanda, who lay unconscious behind him. She drew up her magic. "You're not going to control me any more." She inhaled choppily. "You have no power over me."

"Then why won't you look at me, Little One?"

She knew he was mocking her. He knew that she was lying. He knew.

"I don't want to fight you, Astrid. But the Stone is mine," he continued, lifting his gauntlet and clenching his fist as if to prove it.

She swallowed thickly and shook her head. "It belongs to no one, and certainly not you."

"Astrid, enough." His voice was low, and anger laced it.

The sharpness of it was like a punch to the face. Every time he'd used that tone with her and her siblings crawled from the back of her head and manifested in front of her. She felt her knees buckle before she could realise she was on the ground. Her breathing stopped, and she finally did it. Her eyes flickered to his.

A sob slipped from her lips, and she bowed her head, hands covering her mouth to try and stifle them.

He didn't like it when she cried. Whatever punishment would last as long as she cried for.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as if it would stop him. "Please- I'm sorry." She went to continue, but the sobs caught all words in her throat and made her choke on them.

Thanos stared at her apathetically before he shook his head. "Nothing will stop this," he replied, beginning to approach her. "You know that."

She cowered when his shadow covered her form, and she didn't dare look up at him. She couldn't. Dread and fear had locked her in place.

She flinched - breaking the trance - her whole body jolted, and she went to scramble away, but her legs turned to jelly, and she hit the ground. Her eyes found her limbs, but they looked like liquid.

"Please," she whispered, trying to stop her lip from trembling.

"Oh, Astrid." Maybe it was a mocking phrase, or he was trying to comfort her.

He just wanted the best for her, didn't he? He was the one who trained her to be formidable. He owned the Stone, didn't he? He'd given her food and a bed and protection. He made her become something she would never have gotten the chance to be if she stayed with her mother. He freed her, didn't he?

And all she'd ever done was make it harder to achieve his goal. Unappreciative. Thanos owned that Stone, and she was trying to steal it from him.

The man cared for her as a child.

Her father.

Ash's body sagged, her eyes flickering up to his. He saw the resolution in her face, and he clenched the gauntlet.

Her body jolted, a gasp escaping her parted mouth. Black mist formed in her palms, and Thanos rose to his feet as she lifted into the air. Her eyes became the colour of night, and her back arched, the magic bursting from her palms and chest to manifest in a ball in front of her.

A scream ripped from her chest, black ribbons shooting from her eyes and mouth to join the energy between them.

Her eyes rolled backwards, and her head sagged - too heavy for her neck. The power collected and condensed, the wind picking up around them before an explosion of energy erupted from both the Stone and Ash. Blood dribbled from her eyes like tears, and her nose gushed red from the pressure.

She dropped to the ground like a ragdoll, and the Stone floated to Thanos' hand.

Ash breathed wetly, a short cough escaping her as blood spurted from her mouth. Her eyes drifted shut, and she collapsed into unconsciousness.