Snakebite | Avengers: Endgame [8]

Chapter 3

"Oh, yeah. You're much more of a Thanos," Strange's voice floated up from the ground. I was hovering, invisible, near support, watching carefully. "I take it the Maw is dead. This day extracts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission," Thanos said. "You may regret that. He brought you face to face with the master of the mystic arts," Strange said. "Where do you think he brought you?" Thanos asked.

"Let me guess. Your home?" Strange said. "It was. And it was beautiful. Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution," Thanos said. "Genocide," Strange inferred. "At random. Dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike. They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass," Thanos said. "Congratulations, you're a prophet," Strange said dryly.

"I'm a survivor," Thanos said. "Who wants to murder trillions," Strange said. "With all 6 stones, I could do it with the snap of my fingers. They would all cease to exist. I call that...mercy," Thanos said. "And then what?" Strange asked. "I finally rest. And watch the sunrise on a grateful universe. The hardest choices require the strongest wills," I found truth in that sentence.

It took a lot of willpower to make the choices that would benefit the most people. When the Chitauri invaded, I wanted to turn and run the other way like everyone else. But I knew that people would suffer if I did. When we had a shot to stop Ultron from killing millions, I made the choice to have the chunk drop, with me still on it. I could watch and make sure nothing would interfere, and it almost cost me my life.

This time was no different. "I think you'll find our will equal to yours," Strange summoned hand shields. "Our?" Thanos looked up as Stark dropped a chunk of space something on him. I let myself reappear, soaring down next to Strange and landing. "Piece of cake, Quill," Stark said over the coms.

 "Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off," Quill responded. The chunk burst into pieces with a purple glow, then vanished with a red light. We all started attacking him, but he used our attacks against us. He gathered the fire from explosions set off by Stark, the gauntlet like a dragon breathing fire. Eventually, after a new player joined the fight, we managed to restrain him.

"Is he under? Don't let up," Stark said. "Be quick! He is very strong," Anntenae said. "Scotch! Parker! Help," Stark said, and we went over to help him tug the gauntlet off. "I thought you would be hard to catch. For the record, this is my plan. Not so strong now, huh? Where is Gamora?" Quill asked Thanos. "My Gamora," Thanos grunted.

 "No, bullshit! Where is she?" Quill asked. "He is in anguish! He--he mourns!" Anntenae said. "What does this monster have to mourn?" Drax asked. "Gamora...He took her to Vormir. He came back with the Soul Stone. But she didn't," the girl said. "Quill, cool it! We can deal with this later! We've almost got it off!" I exclaimed, pulling harder on the gauntlet.

"Tell me she's lying. Asshole! Tell me you didn't do it!" Quill shouted. "I had to," Thanos groaned. "No, you didn't. No, you didn't," I moved to grab Quill's hand, but I was too slow. He started smashing his gun against Thanos' head. I grabbed his arm, stopping him from doing any more damage.

"I got it! I got it! I don't got it!" Peter was flung away, and Antennae went flying. Thanos broke out of our restraints, using the stones against us and sending us all flying. I managed to right myself in midair, but he used the Power Stone to knock me to the ground. He raised his fist, flinging a whole goshdarn moon at us. I heard fighting as I struggled underneath the huge chunk of moon on me, my mind sending me back to the airport fight.

Let's see, how to escape this situation. Luckily, I didn't have to think long because Tony appeared and lifted the chunk off of me. I squirmed out, snapping my leg back into place again. "If you throw another moon at us, I'm gonna lose it," Tony said, landing in front of Thanos. "Stark and Barton," Thanos sneered.

"You know us?" I asked. "I do. You're not the only ones cursed with knowledge," Thanos said. "Our only curse is you," I said, firing a shot of acid at him while Tony launched a bunch of rockets. He quickly formed his boots into a rocket and flew into his chest, followed by punching him with two rockets. Thanos ripped off his helmet, but it formed back just before he got hit in the face.

I went invisible, soaring up to him and sinking my teeth into his neck, pumping as much venom as I could into his bloodstream. He grabbed me by the neck, flinging me away but I quickly righted myself. He used the Power Stone, sending a massive purple beam towards me, which got my leg and sent it to hell knows where. Tony swung a foot at him, catching his hand and pinning it down with a clamp. He slammed his rocket-powered fist into his head, forming a small cut.

"All that for a drop of blood," Thanos said, knocking Tony back. "Well, people stop believing in God if you could make him bleed," I sneered, shooting venom at the wound. Ignoring me, he pummeled Tony, knocking away pieces of his suit. Tony fired at him with his repulsors, but Thanos simply held his gauntlet out and blocked the attack. Tony formed a knife, trying to stab him, but Thanos snapped it off and stabbed Tony in the side.

I flew up behind him, wrapping my arms around his neck and flying backward to pull him away from Tony. I let go as he reached behind him, flying up and slamming my foot into his head. I ricocheted off, then aimed a kick at his chest. He grabbed me by the ankle and flung me away, but I stabilized myself. "I'll go all day," I said.

"I'm sure you would," He said, firing the Power Stone at me. It hit me in the chest, and I landed on the ground with a harsh thud, him punching me in the head and chest, drawing blood. "You have my respect, Stark and Barton. When I'm done, half of humanity will still be alive. I hope they remember you," He powered up his gauntlet and all four stones, aiming them at us.

"Stop!"