Saving Grace

Seventy Six

Thor is outside the force field, destroying the crafts. Grace can see them exploding as she follows Wanda, both heading for Vision, who's now in the middle of the forest, unable to follow directions, even for his own good. Sam is next to Grace, carrying Nat, as she can't fly.

The air is eerily quiet when they land, and Steve says into comms. "Everyone, on my position. We have incoming."

Okoye and T'Challa stand near Grace, looking around with everyone else, waiting anxiously for something to happen.

And then something does.

A cloud of grey, laced with blue, materializes in the middle of the forest, growing bigger and bigger until someone steps out.

He's bigger than the Hulk, purple and commanding, armored in gold and dark, dark purple. Grace inhales sharply, slowly readying her blasters.

"Cap. That's him," Bruce says.

Thanos.

Steve speaks into comms again. "Eyes up. Stay sharp."

Thanos steps forward slowly, while everyone else runs at him, Bruce in the lead. He moves to punch him, but Thanos holds up a hand — he's wearing a gauntlet — and Bruce is surrounded in blue light. He passes through Thanos, who lets him go halfway into a cliff before making him solid again.

He turns to Steve, lifting him in purple, tossing him to the ground. T'Challa lunges, and he catches him by his neck and punches him into the ground. Sam flies forward, shooting, but it doesn't nothing. Thanos fells him.

Grace, shaking in every limb, steps forward, launching a rocket at him. He catches it in purple before it can hit him, then throws it away. It explodes when it hits the ground.

Thanos looks at her. "Oh, what's this?" He changes direction slightly, walking toward her. "Could it possibly be-? No, no. My mistake. Stark doesn't wear purple." He crouches in front of her. "You must be his daughter."

Grace looks up at him, her voice shaking as she tries to speak with confidence. "How do you know my dad?"

"I just left him," he replies. "With a wound in his side."

And just like that, a storm of rage replaces Grace's fear and she blasts Thanos with everything she has — every rocket, every blaster, every missile. And he deflects it. With the gauntlet, he blocks the blasts, sends them away, and then wraps Grace in purple light, holding her down, preventing her from moving. Sai tries to fly her away but can't.

Nat starts to run forward, Rhodey, Steve, Sam, Vision, Wanda, Okoye, and even T'Challa following suit. Thanos squeezes his fist, and the purple light squeezes Grace at the same time. She cries out as Thanos says, "One more step, and she dies!" Everyone stops immediately, not willing to risk it. He observes them and chuckles, releasing some of the pressure on Grace. "Huh. Look at that." He looks at Grace. "You're very important to a lot of people."

Grace ignores this. "What did you do to my dad?!"

"Child, child," Thanos chides. "There's no need for that. He isn't dead. Only wounded and stranded. But he's proved himself quite resourceful before, hasn't he?"

"Where is he?!" Grace shouts.

"And what will you do?" Thanos asks. "Go and save him? How?"

"Where is he?!" she insists.

Thanos shakes his head, still refusing to answer her. "What you have... I don't know if I would call it bravery, but it certainly has potential."

"Potential to what?" Grace spits. "Destroy you?"