chasing waterfalls [Peter Parker]

~23~

We were all hiding while Strange confronted Thanos. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a blue cloud of smoke. Out of the smoke walked a purple giant. I assumed it was Thanos. I grabbed Peter's hand. "You ready for this?" He shrugged. "I hope."

Thanos looked around, and saw Strange. Strange sighed. "Oh yeah. You're much more of a Thanos." Thanos looked at him. "I take it the Maw is dead." Strange nodded. "This day extracts a heavy toll." He looked at the stone Strange wore around his neck. "Still, he accomplished his mission."

"You may regret that. He brought you face-to-face with a master of the mystic arts." Thanos scoffed. "And where do you think he brought you." Strange shrugged. "Let me guess. Your home?" Thanos nodded, smiling. "It was. And it was beautiful." He clenched his fists and the landscape changed. What was a dry, empty planet was now a lot greener.

"Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, and not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution." Strange sighed. "Genocide." Thanos nodded. "But at random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike. They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass." The landscape returned to deserted.

Strange rolled his eyes. "Congratulations. You're a prophet." Thanos shook his head. "I'm a survivor."

"Who wants to murder trillions." Strange continued. Thanos nodded. "With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers, and they would all cease to exist. I call that mercy." I gulped. Strange stood up. "And then what?" Thanos looked around. "I finally rest... and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe." He looked down at the ground. "The hardest choices require the strongest wills."

Strange held his fists out, and orange rings glowed. "I think you'll find our will equal to yours." Thanos looked up. "Ours?" A big rock fell on him. Tony hovered in the air. "Piece of cake, Quill." Quill shook his head, running towards the rock. "Yeah, if your goal was to him off." He flew over.

All of a sudden, a purple light glowed, and the rock shattered. The light turned red, and the bits of rock turned to bats. I jumped down from the place and shot out water towards Thanos. I moved the water towards his head and it covered his head. He moved his head, but everywhere it moved, I moved the water to follow.

Peter swung over and kicked Thanos in the face while the bald dude sliced Thanos' knee. Strange came in through a portal and was now holding a glowing sword. Thanos clenched his fists, and the water exploded, knocking me back. I quickly got back up. Thanos kicked Strange back.

Quill started shooting Thanos, and Thanos used the purple stone to fire purple blasts at him. Quill flipped over Thanos, placing a mine on his back. He grinned. "Boom." He fell back into one of Strange's portals. Thanos fell to his knees.

Strange's cloak covered Thanos's gauntlet. Peter jumped through a portal and punched Thanos before jumping through another portal. "Magic." He appeared through another portal and tugged Thanos's head towards the ground. "More magic." He then kicked Thanos in the face. "Magic with a kick." He jumped through another portal, preparing to attack, but Thanos grabbed him and threw him on the ground. "Insect." He then threw Peter at Strange. I moved the water to wrap around his ankle. I then yanked him back so he fell on the ground.

Tony fired explosion after explosion at Thanos. Thanos's gauntlet absorbed the blast, and fired at Tony, sending him flying. Peter covered Thanos's gauntlet in webbing, and started to pull. Thanos pulled with more strength, and punched him. I ran over to help him up and out of the way before a ship crash landed on Thanos. Peter sighed. "Thanks." I nodded. "No problem."