Cosmic Mix Up

chapter four

Billy's POV

My eyes snapped open, only to immediately be bombarded by a soft scarlet glow emitting from the glass like water I was somehow floating on top of. I blinked my eyes again to make sure what I was seeing was real because last I checked I was in Mount Justice, not some weird fever dream.

"Ah, Billy, it is nice to finally meet you." My head jerked to the side and I sat up to a seated position at the sound of the accented voice, my eyes bulging slightly when I saw the Wanda Maximoff sitting cross legged a few yards away from me with a soft smile on her face. "I was beginning to wonder if this was ever going to happen."

"Y-you're her. The Scarlet Witch." I mentally cursed myself for stuttering.

"Actually, she is Wanda, I'm the Scarlet Witch. Just Scarlet for short." My head snapped to my other side and I saw another Wanda sitting there with a smirk. "Hi, I'm her clone. Trapped here as well because someone wanted to save the universe."

"Hey, you were the crazy one!" Wanda chuckled and I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing double. "You're not, there really are two of us. Billy, we called you here because the universe is in danger."

"Oh, the raisin dude?" I asked, remembering the force of his punch with a wince. "Yeah, somehow I teleported him away? How did I do that? Was that one of you?"

"Woah, what's with the fifty questions?" Scarlet snorted. "We give you powers and you freak out? Amateur."

"So it was the stone. I mean, that is where we are, right?" I asked, taking in the surroundings once more.

"Correct. We are in what is called the reality stone. It was created to hold our powers at bay because so much power cannot simply cease to exist, it has to go somewhere. So...it went here." Wanda explained simply, standing up with a big stretch. "But Billy, you must warn the others about Thanos. He is not to be taken lightly."

"How do you know about Thanos? Can you see what is happening outside the stone?"

"No, but the other stones can...communicate, sort of. There has been an upset with the balance of the universe. Thanos cannot get the other stones. You must prevent it." Scarlet glared at me, pointing an accusing finger. I raised my hands in surrender.

"Billy, you must go now. But tell me one thing, how are they?" Wanda asked hesitantly.

I paused, thinking of how to answer. "Well, I barely know them. But they seem to be holding it together." I smiled tightly. Wanda breathed a sigh of relief before hugging me tightly and when she let go, the scarlet water engulfed me once more.

The first thing I notice when I come back to consciousness was the burning sensation in my left hand. Yelping, I release the stone and notice the 'M' brand looks a like the head piece Scarlet wore. I stare at it for a moment before I feel a smack to the back of my head. Glaring, I turn to face my brother. "What was that for?"

"You pass out for five minutes after catching the stone, what do you mean what's that for?" Tommy glared right back. "What happened? Why'd you faint?"

"I was brought into the stone." I whispered, not fully believing my experience myself. "I met Wanda and she said -"

"What?! Do you think this is all some joke?!" Quicksilver was in my face in an instant, his face contorted with rage.

"N-no! I really met her and her clone, Scarlet! They warned me about Thanos!" I put my hands in front of my face in case Quicksilver decided he wanted to punch me. Not that I would blame him.

It was eerily silent for a few moments before Nightwing spoke up. "What did you say?" I repeated myself, slower this time as I lowered my hands and looked over at the pale hero. He sat down in a chair, looking over at Batman. "He met her clone...that wasn't public knowledge. He isn't lying."

"Or he is working with the Light or Thanos." Quicksilver growled, raising his fist.

"He's not lying." Megan insisted, her eyes glowing a soft yellow. I was so right, she is Miss Martian. "What else did she say, Billy?"

"Not to let Thanos get the other stones, that the balance of the universe is at stake." I shrugged as best I could, my shirt still tangled in Pietro's fist.

"Did she say how many there are?" Batman asked. I shook my head and he looked deep in thought. "Okay, I think that is enough testing for today."

"Now what?" Tommy asked. "Now we go back to our field trip and our boring day to day lives? No way!"

"Tommy-"

"Billy, you are the only one in two years that has been able to communicate with Wanda! We can help them!" Tommy practically yelled. I shrank back a little, knowing he was right. Tommy turned his fiery gaze on the heroes, daring them to say something. "Well?"

Batman seemed to consider it. "You'll need training. And we will need to do more tests to see what your abilities actually are."

I practically fainted right there. Here I was, a sophomore fanboy being offered a spot on a superhero team after accidentally teleporting a raisin away from the Hall of Justice.

Does it get any better than this?

Thanos' POV

Deep Space

I slammed my fist onto the arm of my chair, glaring down at Ebony Maw, my loyal servant. He shrunk back at my outburst.

"I was bested by a Terran child." I spat clenching my fists once more. I looked down at my left hand, at the two sparkling gemstones that rested in their rightful place. "But no matter, two down, four to go."

"Sire, shall I retrieve Gamora?" Ebony Maw asked, reminding me of his presence.

"Yes, she knows the location of the soul stone. And one way or another, I will get that information." I gazed at Nebula, a plan formulating in my head. I already had the power stone from Xandar and the space stone from the Tesseract, with the soul stone surely the Terrans will no longer be a match for me, even if they harbor the remaining three stones.

And when I rip them from their cold, dead clutches, I will remember how they fought so valiantly to protect their reality. Even if it was hopeless. I am inevitable, after all.

A humorless laugh escapes my lips as Gamora enters the room. "You wanted to see me?"

I grin larger, looking at my favorite daughter. "Yes, we are going to take a little trip. But first, I wanted to ask you a question..."