Hello fellow True Believers!
So after watching Avengers: Endgame. One of the best films I've ever watched. I was actually geeking out the whole movie. And I was literally shaking during the third act. It's definitely an experience I'll never forget. Hopefully.
Anyway, a thought had popped up on my head. What if the other half of life survived? And after giving it a lot more thought, I decided to make this story. Okay, so first off, this is my first full on Marvel story. I only really focused on Spidey because he's my absolute favorite. So forgive me if I get some characterizations wrong. I'm basing most of them from the movies so hopefully it won't be a problem. Second, this is just a weird what if story, so it won't have a lot off pay offs the original film had because of obvious reasons.
Now with that out of the way, let the story begin.
They had just watched the blue cyborg fade into dust. The wind blew all of the dust away, her remains were now scattered among the abandoned planet.
"Nebula?" Quill called out as he gazed at the spot where his friend had stood.
Tony Stark had seen all of this from a distance. He was confused, but most of all he was scared. There was this lingering feeling inside of him and he was sure that it wasn't from his stab wound.
"Tony..." He looked to the wizard, Dr. Strange he called himself, there was this remorseful look in his eyes. "There was no other way."
Tony panicked, his hand began to felt numb. Tony shakily raised his hand and stared at it.
Or at least what was left of it. He already knew what was going to happen, but he couldn't accept it. What would happen to Pepper? Happy? Rhodey?
... The kid?
"Mr. Stark." Peter said as he walked towards his mentor. "What's going on?" He was confused, he hadn't realized it yet.
They lost.
The older man turned to Peter, a fearful look on the teenager's face. "It's gonna be okay, Pete." And just like that he disappeared, wiped away from existance.
The remaining five just stood there. Shocked.
"Magic-man." Drax said, anger and confusion in his voice. "What happened?"
Strange stared at the alien before him.
"He won."
The remaining Avengers had taken shelter inside the facility, it had just been a few days since Thanos' attack.
Since his victory.
T'Challa had to stay in Wakanda in order to keep peace among his city. He was definitely not happy seeing his general disappear right before his eyes.
Among other things...
"That bastard did it." Barnes seethed. "He got what he wanted." He said. The soldier had watched his best friend disappear right before his own eyes.
It seemed like the world always tried it's best to keep them apart.
"How many are gone?" Sam said, staring at the computer's screen as it began to run the numbers. There were countless amounts of casualties, that was for certain.
"I am groot." The tree said. He sat across the room, his face sullen and in despair.
Sam stood up, flinching as his leg ached. He had taken one nasty fall back in Wakanda. "You already said that." He said, limping his way towards a counter and grabbing a cup.
"I think that's the only thing it can say." Wanda piped up. "What are we gonna do?" She asked to no one in particular.
"What can we do?" Sam blurted out, pouring himself a cup of water. "Steve's gone, so is Thor, Vision, Banner, Romanoff, and numerous Wakandans." He said, his mind flashing back to Wakanda.
One minute, Rhodey was calling out to him, the next he was gone.
It was haunting to say the least.
"Our heavy hitters are gone. It's just us." Sam said. There was no point in denying it. Their only hope at this point was Wanda, and even then, she wasn't at her best.
"An aircraft is approaching." F.R.I.D.A.Y. interrupted. Wanda and Bucky walked towards the window, staring at the ship outside.
"Is it a hostile?" Sam asked as he limped towards the window.
"Guess we'll have to find out." Bucky said as he picked up his rifle on a nearby table.
Groot stood up and stared outside the window, recognizing the familiar ship. "I am Groot!" He said as he ran out of the room.
"I can't tell if that's supposed to be a good thing." Wanda muttered, following the alien tree.
Sam limped towards the exit, groaning with almost every step.
His legs were shaking, it started getting more and more numb with every step he took, his feet gave out and he found himself falling. He would've smacked his face on the floor if it weren't for the beside him.
"What are you doing?" Barnes asked, raising Sam up. He led the injured man to the sofa inside the room.
"You need help." Sam muttered in between breaths.
"Not from you." Bucky set him down on the couch. "You're injured and you should accept that. The little birdie should stay here." He joked.
Sam glared at the man who started to walk away. "I'll show you a little birdie..." He muttered as he stared outside the window.
The three walked outside the field as the ship descended from the sky. The tree was waving his arms around. "I am Groot!" He shouted. It was the first time they had ever seen him smile.
The ship made contact with the ground. It's back faced towards them. The doors opened and Bucky readied his gun whilst Wanda got into a more aggressive stance, red lights dancing around her fingers.
Better safe than sorry.
Lights spilled out of the ship's entrance and the walkway lowered. The first thing they saw were a figure with two blue lights for eyes. Another man was behind him. He was wearing a weird robe and a red cape that billowed around them.
The two figures stepped forward and their forms became more clear to the two Avengers.
"Spider-Man?" Wanda muttered, recognizing the suit's eye pieces. Though it looked more metallic than she remembered.
Peter and Strange trekked down the walkway. "Is this the place?" Strange asked, turning to the teen
"Yeah... Yeah this is the one." Spider-Man said. His mask suddenly retracting.
Bucky lowered his gun at the sight of the youthful face.
Three more figures stepped down and Groot instantly came running to them. Surprising the others.
He tackled a tall man with a hug. "Groot!" Quill hugged back, relief written all over his face. It was comforting to see another familiar face. Though Rocket's absence, didn't go unnoticed from the team. "I'm so glad you're here buddy..." Peter said, hugging the tree even tighter
"Weren't you with Stark?" Bucky asked, turning away from the strangers.
Peter's looked at the man with a face filled with remorse and guilt.
It shook Bucky to the care seeing a kid with a face that carried so much misery and despair. It wasn't just about Stark, there was much more to it.
"He's gone."
"So you're telling me he killed half of all humanity?" Sam muttered in disbelief. He knew it was huge amount, but he never would have thought for it to be that much.
"Not just humans. He killed half of all life." Peter Quill corrected. "I'm talking aliens, animals, even plants. You name it. He killed it. All because of the Infinity Stones."
Bucky swore under his breath. Alien monsters were enough as it is, but magical stones were a bit out of his expertise.
"We have to fix this." Wanda said. "We need to get the stones and undo all of this." And maybe, hopefully, they could bring Vision back as well...
"How are we going to do that?" Drax asked. "We don't know where Thanos is." Drax said, a venomous tone in his voice.
"Maybe we could use your magic?" Peter said, turning to Strange. "You could do that can't you?"
Strange shook his head, "No, I'm sorry, but my magic doesn't exactly work like that." He retorted.
Peter hung his head. It was worth a shot...
"Well can't we track the stones or something?" Sam spoke up. "They're the most powerful objects in the universe aren't they? Wouldn't they leave out any kind of trail or something?" He suggested.
"I don't think they work like that." Wanda responded, "If it did, Thanos would have them found long before."
Quill snapped his fingers. "Wait, wait, wait, he might be onto something." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a device and dropped it onto the table. A hologram of Earth appeared before them.
He pointed at the planet. "Right there. See that?" The planet began to glow and a ring of light bursted from it's core. The ring expanded and travelled the depths of the universe. "When Thanos snapped his finger, he created this ridonkulous amount of energy." Quill explained.
Parker moved closer to the hologram. "That's amazing..." He muttered. The teen would've been more excited if it weren't for their current situation. "I've never seen anything like that."
"Exactly." Quill said. "No one has ever seen anything as powerful as this."
"Until Thanos of course." Sam piped in. "So what do we do with this information exactly?"
"Thanos used the stones and this happened." Quill gestured to the hologram. "We just have to find this exact energy signature when he uses the stones again. Then we'll know where he is."
"'When he uses the stones again'? What makes you so sure that he's gonna use them again?" Sam questioned.
Quill chuckled. "He has the most powerful glove in the universe. You really think he won't use it again?"
Sam nodded. He had a fair point.
Wanda looked at the man, "And what do we do before that?"
Everyone in the room stared at Quill.
He shrugged.
"We wait."
And wait they did.
For weeks on end they waited for something, anything to happen. Most of them had opted to stay in the compound sans Spider-Man and Strange who went back to New York.
Peter Parker had immediately went to check up on his Aunt May who had fortunately survived along with most of his friends.
Strange focused on protecting their realm from any mystical demons who were willing to take the chance while Earth's Mightiest Heroes were gone. It was a lot harder without Wong.
Around the fourth week, they had picked up on something.
Whilst Quill was sat on the couch catching up on Earth's music, the hologram in the room had pinged. He pulled his earphones off and stood up. "Guys! Guys!" He walked towards the hologram, searching for the source of the energy. "I think I found something!" The signal was from two days ago, but it was still strong.
Several people had walked into the room.
One of which was Peter Parker. "Did you find where he is?" He asked, approaching the hologram in the room.
"A little late, but yes I did." Quill stated proudly.
"Where is he?" Wanda asked, staring at the unknown planet.
"I don't know, but I think he called it The Garden or something." At least that's what Gamora told him.
"We should go after him now." Drax stated. "We must not waste time."
No one disagreed with that. "But how exactly are we gonna stop him? How do we know it won't end up with us... dying?" Bucky asked.
"Because you didn't have us." Quill said as he gestured to his teammates. Everyone but them raised a brow. "Okay, and maybe he won't see us coming. We have the element of surprise."
"So what, we just take the gauntlet and undo the snap?" Sam questioned.
Quill nodded. "That's exactly what we're gonna do."
"Shouldn't we have a plan?" Bucky asked. This man singlehandedly beat them without even breaking a sweat. They weren't gonna beat them on the fly.
"I'll think of one on the way." Quill said, waving his hand at the assassin.
Bucky sighed. Sam looked at the group before him. "I'd hate to ruin the moment, but we are seriously underhanded."
"You're not the only heroes left right?" Quill said, picking up his jacket.
Bucky looked at his fellow teammates, "Call everyone you know, we need as much people as we can get."
Star-Lord turned to Drax just as he was about to leave the room. "You might wanna bring that too, bud." He said, pointing at the weapon by the corner of the room.
The makeshift team left Earth's atmosphere and began to travel the deep blue space.
The team consisted of the remaining Guardians, Bucky, Falcon, Spider-Man, the Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Shuri, and Doctor Strange.
Shuri turned to her brother, who was seated beside her. "Brother, can you believe it?" She said, her voice filled with excitement. "We're actually travelling in space!"
T'Challa smiled back at his younger sister. "Indeed we are, but I wouldn't doubt you making a spaceship like this in a few years."
Shuri scoffed. "Few? Try next year." She chuckled.
Sam Wilson sat by the front beside Quill. Falcon looked at man beside him, confused. "You seem a little too happy for someone who is about to face the man who killed trillions."
Peter turned to the man. "That's because we're gonna win. We're gonna be the heroes of this story and get everybody back."
"How are you so sure?" Falcon asked.
"Because we're the heroes, man. We always win in the end." Quill chuckled, "And I'm kind of trying to get my girl back."
Sam chuckled. "Must be some girl if she's willing to put up with you." He quipped, earning a chuckle from Quill.
"She is... that's why I gotta get her back." He said, whispering the last few words to himself.
Peter Parker was not a confident kid. No, he was not. Ever since he was a kid, he'd been bullied, lost his parents, was mostly a loner if it weren't for a few friends.
And not too long ago, he had lost his greatest inspiration. The man who had changed his life.
He couldn't fail him again. He had to be brave.
But sometimes, he just couldn't help but be scared.
"Are you okay, Peter?" Strange asked, pulling the teen out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm good. Just a little scared." Peter admitted. "This whole thing is... a little too much. I'm just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." He joked. "I'm not really cut out for space"
"I fought Thanos alongside you, and you couldn't be any braver." Strange said, "What are you so scared of?"
"I didn't think we could lose back then." Peter retorted. "And losing again doesn't seem so impossible now."
"We're going to get them back, Peter." Strange said. "I promise."
Peter nodded.
"All right, people! We're here..." Quill said.
"Is it safe?" Bucky questioned as he loaded his gun. "Any ships, armies, satellites?"
"I can't tell." Quill said, trying to scan the planet for any possible threats.
"We're good." Spider-Man chimed in, surprising everyone.
"How do you know that?" Asked Drax, confused as to how a boy could figure it out without any prior knowledge.
"It's... it's one of my super powers." He said meekly. It was a little wonky at times, but he knew he could trust it. "I can tell if there's danger or not. It's like precognition."
"That's a real nifty super power." Shuri said, interested in the fellow teen's biology. Maybe another time.
"If you say so, Pete." Quill said. He turned his seat around to face his new crew members. "Everybody remember their jobs?"
The remaining heroes nodded in unison.
"Now let's go get this a-hole."
He won.
He did it. His life goal achieved.
Of course it wasn't without a sacrifice. He had sacrificed his daughter, the only thing he ever truly loved, but he can rest easy knowing that his daughter died for the greater good...
Thanos limped inside his little hut. The Titan had gotten used to his more laid back life. He took up farming and harvesting. And he wasn't ashamed to admit that he wouldn't mind doing this for the rest of his life, not at all.
All the wars and murders he's commited, this was easier. Better
For once, everything was peaceful.
And it truly was until the space between him and the ceiling began to spark. The light turned into a ring which soon expanded. Almost immediately after, a familiar woman had dropped down from the ceiling and onto his shoulders, her tiny hands grabbing onto his head.
Everything went numb and he was suddenly paralyzed. Two figures broke the walls by his left, one of them threw a device onto his open palm, turning it into a contraption that kept his hand open whilst the other webbed his feet to the floor.
Another two broke into the roof and held his right arm in place, one of them used the Bands of Cyotorrak and the other used it's tree like appendages to hold him down. Finally, a red haired woman dropped down in front of him and red lights flew between them, enclosing on him to make sure he wouldn't move a muscle.
A man appeared by the door and screamed. He brought a familiar axe up and charged towards him before bringing it down on his left arm. The gauntlet fell onto the floor and Thanos screamed.
Star-Lord flew down from the sky along with Falcon, while Bucky walked behind him, his gun loaded. Quill stalked towards Thanos, his steps giddy and cocky. "Wanna guess who came up with this plan?" He boasted.
Thanos continued to groan in pain as the heroes held him down. Quill walked towards the gauntlet and flipped it over. "You really thought you won didn't-"
The stones weren't there.
They all looked at it in shock, but they refused to waver. Bucky continued to stare at the empty glove, until his dark eyes met Thanos'. "Where are they?" Barnes asked pointing his rifle at Thanos, who refused to say anything.
"Speak." Mantis commanded.
Thanos couldn't stop himself, he couldn't regain control. "The universe required correction, after that the stone's served no purpose beyond temptation." He spat out.
T'Challa's fist struck Thanos in the face, purple energy spewing out of his hand. The blow knocked nearly everybody back. Mantis fell off Thanos as the Mad Titan himself fell onto the ground. "You killed my people!"
"You should be grateful!" Thanos said. Another fist collided with Thanos's face, this time it came from Sam.
"Where are the stones?" He demanded. "We know you hid it somewhere."
Thanos chuckled, "I destroyed them."
"Stop lying. You used the stones two days ago!" Spider-Man seethed.
"I used the stones to destroy the stones." Thanos said.
"You're lying!" Quill said. "You had to have used them for something else!" He refused to believe it. Maybe... Maybe he- "You used it to bring back Gamora didn't you?" Peter said desperately.
"Fool! You can't bring anyone back from the soul stone. Those are the rules. She's gone forever." The Titan said.
"Cut the crap. You lost." Star-Lord brought his guns up, pointing them at Thanos. "Where. Are. They?"
Thanos just smiled at them.
"He's... he's not lying." Wanda spoke up after peeking through his mind. "They're gone."
Silence filled the room as the realization sinked in. The realization that they have truly failed, there was no going back. Their hopes were raised only for it to fall even lower than before.
They were dead...
Nobody moved. Nobody reacted.
All but Drax.
With an angered scream he swung Stormbreaker against Thanos's neck. Separating his head from his body.
Blood splattered on anyone and anything nearby as his head rolled on the floor.
"That was for Hovat and Kamaria." Drax muttered as he dropped the axe.
"What do we do now?" Shuri said, turning towards her brother, "What about mother?"
T'Challa just stood there, taking heavy breaths as the harsh reality continued to dawn on him.
Several of them stood there, motionless.
"No, no. This can't be it, can it?" Parker turned to face Strange. "Please tell me there's something else we can do." He begged. Strange promised him that they'd all come back.
Strange just stared at Peter, his face sullen and regretful, it was the same way he looked at Tony before he died. "Peter, I'm sorry."
"Sorry? My friends are dead. Tony is dead. Countless others who probably meant nothing to you!" It wasn't fair to him, to anyone who had suffered. "You said there was no other way." Strange continued to stay silent. "You meant no other way for you to survive didn't you?" He said with bitterness.
"Some hero." Peter scoffed as he walked out of the hut.
All this trouble for nothing. The fallen heroes would remain fallen, only merely avenged. Countless of families and friends, gone.
It was their job to bring them back, they're responsibility.
Peter Parker failed.
They all failed...
For now.
And that's a wrap for the first chapter. I'm not yet sure how many chapters this might take, but expect about 15 or less.
So the first chapter is just before the time jump. I skipped ahead most of the heroes getting dusted because I thought that it wouldn't add too much that we didn't already know.
This story will mainly focus on certain characters and how they would deal with Endgame if they were given the chance. I will be adding more characters so this isn't the final team.
How was the story so far? Did you like it? Did you not? Feel free to share your thoughts. I'm very open minded towards constructive criticism.
Tune in next time to see how the heroes are doing after five years!