✔ᵉⁿᵍˡⁱˢʰ a.k.a. Part II - Endgame✔

30

I. Am. Inevitable.

Unfortunately, there was one thing that Thanos didn't realize in his direct dealings with Tony. And he only became painfully aware of this when his flicking had no effect and Tony, his stone occupied metal hand raised. The greatest power in the universe flowed through his arm, destroyed it and did not stop at the rest of his body.

And I... am... Iron Man.

Snip. A bright white light illuminated the surroundings; the bombardment, by Thano's army, died and all his followers, disintegrated into dust and were carried away by the wind, as it once happened to half the universe.

The Titan watched in horror as his army was scattered to the winds and his defeat was made clear to him. This was not the outcome Thanos had hoped for.

Silence. As once upon Titan. All fell silent, but the events continued. A hand was placed on Thanos' arm, while he watched his defeat.

"Everything you ever wanted, you have achieved", Jyn said to Thanos who looked down at her and sat down slowly where she put her hands in his palms, crouched down in front of him and looked up at him, "You sat on the veranda in your garden and watched the sunset over a grateful universe. The peace of the universe that you always wanted, you achieved."

And more. For so much in her life Jyn was grateful to the Titan and would continue to be so in the future. Without him, many things would never have happened. It was not the Thanos, which made no difference, because this one was responsible for just as much in their lives. Both have prepared their way for her.

Unlike on Titan five years ago, Jyn knew what was about to happen. Slowly her eyes became wet, the first tears ran down her cheeks and without a last word, the last Titan crumbled to dust and was blown away. There was no last, desperate attempt to win, even though it was hopeless. The end of a warrior who saw his defeat, accepted and silently accepted it.

I thank you.

༺═────────────═༻

The battle was fought. Whether it was the last was doubtful. Of some years it had been their last and all those who were yet to come would have to be led by others. The end of an era.

Like an uninvolved person who only learned about the battle afterwards, Jyn wandered across the field and looked around with a depressed expression. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. While her gaze wandered over the destruction, she was suddenly grabbed tightly by the arm and called back into the here and now.

"Help him", Parker pleaded with red eyes, took a hand from her arm and pointed to the spot where Tony had settled with his last ounce of strength, "Somehow.... please do something."

"I can't", Jyn replied mattly, causing Parker to grip her arm even tighter and take a step forward, but she did not move, "I'm sorry. No one can."

"They were dead as well", which didn't immediately mean what Parker thought Jyn could change, "There must be something you can do. I'm begging you, anything..."

"Come here", contrary to what Jyn had meant, Parker put her arms around her, whereby she looked up and wanted to push the boy a little bit of herself, but a little later she stroked the back of his head and put her chin on his head, "It hurts. For a long time. A very long time, but eventually it will get less. It will never stop, though. No one, nothing and no one, will be able to take that pain away from you and should not, for it is what will make you what you are. To live is to bear the pain, to go on and grow in it."

And with that Jyn had told young Parker a lie and a half. She could have taken away the pain. Half the lie was to take the pain and not break it. People, against everyone else's belief in such a situation, possess the remarkable ability to overcome fatigue, to endure pain and to move forward. But even then, only when the person wanted to.

༺═────────────═༻

When you look at history and reflect on the achievements of the people of that time, many things are put into a different perspective. The courage they showed and the sacrifices they had to make. We are all rather insignificant in the great course of events. To assume that the best you can hope for is to change something, but what has been changed in the big picture? What in the world is better because one of us is there? In not too much time, everyone will die. Maybe in ten years, maybe tomorrow, it doesn't matter. When one of us has died, and gradually everyone who knew that person will die, it will be as if he or she never existed. So what meaning did a life have for anyone

Gently Jyn Pepper put his hands on her shoulders and knelt down after the redhead gave her a sad smile.

"A man's true destiny only reveals itself at the end of his journey. "At the very end. Where everyone gets what they deserve. Everyone gets what they deserve. You finally get your peace, Tony. And the peace you always wished for", with these last words Jyn put his hand on Tony's eyes to close them, "I wish you had been right about me.

We create our own demons, as Tony had always said. Sometimes this demon, not a second party, but simply ourselves.

༺═────────────═༻

It didn't make things much easier, even though Jyn had heard it more often that she could handle a corpse better than a living human being and now she took Tony's burned arm to remove the metal hand.

Who Jyn finally gave the glove to should be obvious. Added to this was the great enthusiasm that she, of all people, took the stones and stomped over the destroyed Avenger property with them. The power of the universe, in the hands of someone who wanted to see Thanos win. A cause for concern? Certainly.

"No more crying baby. It was never your fault", never in her life would Jyn Rogers have given the stones and so, she held the red metal hand with the stones towards Thor, "It was human not to aim at the head."

Though Jyn gave the glove to the god, at the same moment Jyn removed the red stone and turned to the battlefield, where she locked her fingers tightly around the reality stone. At the same time Rogers wanted to object, but Thor raised his hand to let it do its work. Many things could be done with it but nothing that was dangerous.

The present environment disappeared bit by bit until there was no trace left of the destruction and the flames. A bright blue sky appeared above their heads and a completely strange, new world appeared. One that looked nothing like the Earth. A planet full of life and plenty. But then the whole landscape disintegrated, like in a time lapse of several decades, and what remained was a dusty desert.

"Titan was like most planets. A home. A place full of life with a problem. Too many inhabitants for what the planet gave. A solution was offered. Passionless, random, just for rich and poor, but it was labeled insane and what was predicted, came true", the whole story of Titan, not only the part Thanos had told before the battle, made Jyn vanish in front of all eyes, "Today Titan is just a desert without life. There's nothing left of the once beautiful planet.

Not a nice story that Titan had told Jyn in the garden. This event changed his life like many others. From Nyx to Ebony Maw to Gamora, and all the races Thanos wiped out. There is no way to emulate it.

"As I said", in a cold voice, Jyn gave Thor the reality stone, causing the devastation to return in one fell swoop, "You have never tried to understand him. Even to some extent."

This was never about good or evil.

Not everything in life is black and white. Good and evil. Right and wrong are only there for the average person because they need those moral concepts. It's tempting to think of your enemies as evil, but good and evil are on both sides of every war that's ever been fought. Therefore, neither exists. There is only power and those who are too weak to pursue it. Sometimes you just have to go into the grey areas and do what you think is right.