The White Phoenix 9: An Avengers: Infinity War Fanfiction

Chapter 7: The Last Stand

'Everyone, on my position. We have incoming,' Steve said. I came up next to him, as well as Falcon, Black Widow, Okoye, Black Panther, Bucky, Bruce and the rest of the heroes, for one last stand.

'What the hell?' I said softly. Just then, before us, in the clearing ahead, bluish-black clouds rolled back before Thanos himself stepped through. He was large and purple, with a giant-ish head and an ugly chin, too. His eyes were full of anger and yet, full of purpose... a purpose to destroy.

'Cap, that's him,' Banner confirmed. My heart filled with dread. Activating his Wakandan arm shields, Steve stepped forward.

'Eyes up. Stay sharp.' Bruce lunged for the titan first, but using the Space Stone, rendered him immobile, landing him in the side of a rock, gluing him to it. Steve ran forward, but was pounded back by the Power Stone. Then T'Challa was blown back as well. As we fell, one after the other, I charged him, but grabbing me around the throat, the titan used the Power Stone to immobilise me and render my legs useless. Throwing me against a tree, I fell, limp and injured. Feeling the back of my head, there was blood. I looked over to my sister Wanda and her android lover, Vision.

'Wanda. It's time,' he said, grabbing her arm.

'No,' she replied, her voice breaking.

'They can't stop him, Wanda. But we can. Look at me.' She faced him, tears running down her cheeks. 'You have the power to destroy the stone.'

'Don't.'

'You must do it. Wanda, please. We. Are. Out of time.'

'I can't.'

'Yes, you can. You can. If he gets the stone, half the universe dies.'

'It's not fair,' she wept.

'It shouldn't be you, but it is. It's all right. You could never hurt me. I... just feel you.' He raised her hand to his head and using her powers, she began to incinerate the gem inside his head. War Machine, Bucky, Okoye and many others continued to fight and fall before the titan. Wanda was watching and so was I. Bringing her left hand to bear on Vision's head, she returned to her painful task. Steve, sliding under one blow from the titan, attacked him bravely, slamming his arm guards into the titan. Then, grabbing the gauntlet, attempted to keep him at bay by trying to pull his fingers apart. Steve yelled, but soon he was beaten back by Thanos. Thanos began to approach Wanda and Vision, and using my telekinesis, I tried to manipulate Okoye's vibranium spear to throw it at Thanos, but he blocked it and sent it back my way, thrusting it into my ribs, just above my abdomen. Wanda attempted to block Thanos with her powers, and for a while he was mildly hindered by her strength. As Thanos approached me closer and closer to the two, her powers began to shatter the stone. Closing his eyes, the stone shattered inside Vision's head and splintered into a million pieces. Everything went a golden glow and the trees bent under the force of it. Wanda's and Thanos' powers subsided. While we were recovering, the unaffected titan walked closer to Wanda. He touched her head in a gesture of what seemed like compassion.

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

'You could never,' she snarled at him.

'Today, I lost more than you can know. But now is no time to mourn. Now... is no time at all.' He stepped forward and using the Time Stone that he had taken off of Doctor Strange, began to reverse time.

'NO!' Wanda and I screamed, but it was too late. He, picking up the android, dug his purple fingers into his head and pulled it out sharply. The once-living, vibrant android went a dull, dead grey colour, his eyes glassed over a milky white. Needing no more use of Vision, Thanos tossed him aside like trash. It was over. Moving the stone to the gauntlet, he dropped it in. He screamed from the energy that surged through him. When the surge of energy had faded mildly, Thanos examined the completed gauntlet. Before he could do anything with the gauntlet, a rainbow light shone and Thor's axe soared through the sky, finally embedding itself into Thanos' chest. The angry god landed in front of the injured titan, who was bent on one knee, growling in anger and pain.

'I told you. You'd die for that.' His brother was dead. His best friend was dead. All because of Thanos. Taking hold of Thanos' head, he pressed the axe deeper into his chest. The titan cried out in pain, but suddenly, amidst the pain, he spoke.

'You should have... you... You should have gone for the head.' Just then, lifting his gauntleted hand up, amidst Thor's screams, he snapped his fingers and everything went white.

He awoke in the realm of the Soul Stone. Moving through the shallow water, he saw a little girl standing beneath a pavilion. She turned. It was his young daughter, Gamora, whom he had murdered in pursuit of the Soul Stone.

'Daughter?' he asked softly.

'Did you do it?'

'Yes.' There was silence for a moment before the girl spoke with a solemn tone in her voice.

'What did it cost?'

'Everything.'

He snapped out of the Soul Stone's world and back into real time. The axe was still in his chest and the gauntlet was no longer of use.

'What'd you do?' Thor yelled, furious. 'What'd you do?!' Using the Space Stone, Thanos ignored him, disappearing from the scene, the axe on the ground now. I noticed Steve stumbling into the clearing, holding his side.

'Where'd he go? Thor... where'd he go?' I pulled myself to my feet, and removing the spear from my body, I started stumbling towards Bucky, barely walking. He pulled me into his arms.

'Don't go, Buck... don't go.' Just then he spoke.

'Steve...' I felt him fading beneath my arms. He dropped his gun and I fell just as he disappeared. I screamed in agony, the dust of what was once my Bucky disappearing for good. Putting my fingers to my temple, I searched telepathically and saw people disappearing everywhere... on the battlefield... in the forest... all over the world... all over the universe. Letting go of my telepathy, I screamed again in anger and pain.

On Titan, the same thing was happening.

'Something's... happening,' Mantis said before she disintegrated. Drax disintegrated as well.

'Quill?' Drax asked. Quill stared in horror at Stark.

'Steady, Quill,' Tony spoke.

'Oh, man...' He disintegrated as well.

'Tony, there was no other way,' Strange said softly before also disappearing. Peter Parker (Spider-Man), stumbled, realising he too was fading away into dust.

'Mr Stark... I don't feel so good.' Tony grabbed Peter, trying to reassure him. He lowered him to the ground and the kid whimpered for a few seconds before speaking one last time. 'I'm sorry...' he said before disappearing as well. Tony sat back, shocked and devastated. There was silence on the abandoned planet.

'He did it,' Nebula said, realising Thanos' victory.

Back on Wakanda, we were mourning over our failure.

'What is this? What the hell is happening?' James Rhodes appeared next to us saying.

'Oh, God,' Steve said. It was over. We had lost.