Avengers: Legacy

T W O

The Quicksilver, Falcon, and War Machine arrived at their destination and found a burnt pod in the middle of the road, looking wrecked. The road it dragged itself on was destroyed and the pod hit the top of a building, causing more damage to the city. There were some hit civilians lying on the pavement, bloody and bruised, while the others who witnessed the scene looked completely distressed.

"Maximoff, get these people to safety," Sam ordered, his eyes trained on the ship in front of them.

The lad gave him a nod, "On it," he said before dashing away.

"Is this what I think it is?" Rhodey asked under his breath and Sam nodded at him, letting his team mate know he was thinking the same thing.

Sam and Rhodey made a move to get closer to the ship but before they can, the doors opened and it revealed bloody, weak, and beaten up Guardians of the Galaxy. They looked like their life force was taken away from them but enough was left to leave them alive. Drax the Destroyer was carrying an unconscious Nebula on his arms while Peter Quill did his best to help Gamora stay up. Groot was doing the same to Mantis but pain was clearly written all over his face while Rocket limped his way out of their ship.

"Hill, I need medic, now!" Sam yelled to Maria over the earpiece as he and Rhodey rushed to help their friends.

"Already on its way," Maria replied hastily.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Rhodey asked as he took Mantis from Groot who was immediately brought down to his knees. All of the little leaves and branches that were stuck on him fell to the ground and they noticed Drax lacking color, too. All of them looked like they were gonna collapse any second now.

Gamora was fighting hard to stay awake but she knew she wasn't going to win this fight. But before she completely succumb to the darkness pulling her in, she whispered, "Abaddon. Abaddon happened."

Sam and Rhodey immediately looked at each other, alarmed and worried more than ever. But before they could react further, the quinjet Maria sent arrived. They all entered the auto-piloted mode of transportation and the medical team rushed to the Guardians who all instantaneously lost all consciousness. Pietro entered the quinjet, too, and examined the scene in front of them with creased eyebrows.

"What the hell?" was the only thing he can think of.

Rhodey nodded, air stuck in his throat, "What the hell indeed."

It wasn't long until they arrived at the Avengers Mansion and everyone quickly rushed the Guardians to the infirmary. All of them were still unresponsive and Bucky and Peter went out to check on them, too. Questions were next basing from the looks on their faces and no one knew how to answer any of them in all honesty.

"What's going on?" Peter asked hesitantly as he stared at his team. "I-I've never seen them like this."

"We know, kid," Rhodey gravely answered back as he crossed his arms and looked down.

Bucky creased his eyebrows, "Who did this to them?"

"Abaddon did," Sam responded as he looked at him straight in the eyes.

Bucky rolled his eyes as he put a hand on his aching head, "That guy is becoming more and more of a pain in the ass the more we hear about him."

Maria glanced at him before her gaze went back to the Guardians, "You're damn right."

"Hill, have you contacted the wizards yet?" Sam asked.

As if on cue, a portal opened up and Doctor Strange stepped out of it. His face wears an expression of displeasure and upon seeing the state of the Guardians, he immediately motioned for all of them to join him in the Meeting Room. It was where they all planned their next steps or the place where they study their enemies. Tony insisted of having such a room so the next time he visits, the Common Area wouldn't have such a dark aura hovering over it. Said it was good for the soul.

"Strange, do you know anything about this Abaddon we keep hearing about?" Sam asked immediately when they entered the room. Peter, Rhodey, and Pietro sat down on the seats found in the room but he and Bucky remained rooted to the floor, just like Doctor Strange. "He's becoming a pain in our ass and we don't like it."

"Oh, yes, I know a lot about him," the Doctor confirmed as he faced them all. The look on his couldn't be understood by the team but the ones his eyes held was crystal clear. It was fear. "I've read about him in the Book of Mystics. He's known as a myth to the oldest species that exist in the universe. A myth known as a nightmare in every story, in each version. One you'd wish never to come true."

"Well, he's not much of a myth, now is he?" Sam deadpanned as he raised an eyebrow at the Doctor's direction.

Bucky ignored his friend's snide remark, "What else is there to know about Abaddon?"

"Abaddon is a creature that exists to rule over all the galaxies. He doesn't kill half of the universe, no—his goal is to enslave each living being. And for him, that is the best form of destruction and peace. One ruler, one reality—that's his purpose," Strange explained as he conjured images of a cloaked figure. "He is the known nemesis of the Cosmic Entities: Death, Entropy, Infinity, and Eternity. He absorbs powers and that gives him immortality. He has telekinesis as one of his abilities as well and your whole life projects in front of you when he touches you to obtain your life source."

Peter scratched his nape as he lowered his eyes, "And I thought Thanos was the worst."

"How come we've never heard about this guy before?" Rhodey asked as he sinks further into his seat.

"In the books, they say he's been asleep since the Cosmic Beings condemned him to a deep, deep slumber—one he can only awaken from once an enemy arise who is deemed to be a worthy opponent against him," Strange replied as the conjured visuals disappear.

"Wait, that doesn't make any sense," Sam told everyone with creased eyebrows. "Thanos has become the most powerful being when he got his hands on all the infinity stones but he was never on our radar. He didn't wake up from his sleep. Why is he only appearing now?"

"Maybe he was part of the beings Thanos snapped out of existence. I have no way to confirm any of this unless we come in contact with him," Strange told them the truth. "After all, the snap followed quickly after the moment Thanos retrieved all the infinity stones."

"So it's her then," Pietro said as he crossed his arms. "Romanova's the one who woke him up from his sleep."

"So he's after her?" Peter asked anxiously.

Strange nodded solemnly, "I'm afraid he is."

"But-But why?"

"Because the only thing he's ever been after is the Soul Stone," Strange said gravely. "He never needed the rest of the stones—he never wanted to kill half the population. It's control he wants and that is exactly what the Soul Stone gives you power to do. He may be able to absorb powers and take your life force the way the stone can but he can't control your soul. He can't manipulate people and make them completely surrender to him. If he gets his hand on the soul stone..."

"He'll be unstoppable," Sam finished with a sigh.

Strange nodded stiffly, "And he won't stop there. Like you said, Thanos became the most powerful being the moment he got all the infinity stones. After having control over anywhere and anyone, he'll come next for the remaining stones just to make sure he'll stay the way is," he told them as he eyed them one by one. "That's what he's meant to do. And that's what he's doing right now."

None of them spoke after they realized the gravity of the situation they were all in now. They all knew Abaddon was a threat but none of them knew he was such a huge potential danger. As an individual hero or as a team—each foe they've faced were horrifying, vile, and yet so different from one another. There was one who wanted to rule everyone; one wanted to change the world through the introduction of artificial life to the human race causing deaths to those who flaw the system; then there was one who wanted balance at the cost of half the population. Together, they defeated them and so much more, but they're facing a new enemy that was all so novel to them yet so similar to everyone they'd fought before this time around. Abaddon is the most dangerous threat they had yet to face for he wanted everything those who had fallen never attained. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain and that alone is terrifying.

"Call everyone in," Sam ordered his team after moments of silence. His look was unreadable to the rest of the world; all of them wore expressions no one could paint. "We need them here. Now."