"Where. Is. The soul stone?"
Gamora didn't answer right away, so Thanos made a point by clenching his fist, the purple and blue orbs on his golden gauntlet glowing. Each second went by, and Gamora heard her sister Nebula's screams increase in pitch, as the robotic pieces of her body were slowly ripped apart. A few more minutes of Nebula's wailing, and the Mad Titan's favorite daughter finally cracked.
"It's Earth!" Gamora blurted out. Thanos opened his fist, stopping the torture, and Gamora walked over to her sister, comforting her. "The stone is on Earth."
"Show me." Thanos commanded. Gamora slowly nodded, and the two exited Nebula's chamber.
Thanos entered the throne room on Sanctuary II, shortly followed by Gamora and a Chitauri soldier, who activated a holographic map of the planet Earth.
"It's found in this area." Gamora placed her finger on a certain place. "Before I burned the map, this was the last place the stone was."
"The stone had better be there." Thanos harshly threatened. "Thank you, daughter. I have what I need." Without warning, the Mad Titan closed his fist, the space stone glowing, and he and Gamora teleported to Earth.
Chicago
Andy Barclay had just about had enough of supernaturally possessed dolls. To say that the famous killer doll, Chucky, had ruined his life was an understatement, as Andy has been forced to live a life of paranoia. After nineteen long years of fearing Chucky would come back, the doll finally resurfaced, attacking Harrogate Institute. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the doll was after Nica Pierce, the only survivor of Chucky massacring her family four years prior. Sadly, Andy couldn't save her in time, and Chucky succeeded in possessing Pierce, before escaping the asylum with Charles Lee Ray's lover, Tiffany Valentine.
That's where Andy was brought back to the present, ducking under Charles' voodoo altar just in time from Chucky throwing a knife at him with deadly accuracy.
"Dammit, Andy, why don't you just leave me alone?!" Chucky yelled, speaking in Nica's voice.
"Never!" Andy shouted. "I'll never stop! Not until you release Nica!"
"Aw, you in love with Pierce?" Chucky snickered. "Now that's a hoot! Right Tiff?"
"Always." Tiffany called back, engaging in a brawl with Andy's former foster sister, Kyle. Barclay supposed he should thank her, she was the one who broke him out of Harrogate in the first place. Not only that, she tortured the Chucky head he kept in his cabin, and helped Andy in killing the one armed doll still at the asylum.
As much as he wanted to, Andy kept his mouth shut. Now wasn't the time, he had to focus on fighting Chucky, while also protecting Nica.
"Just die already!" Chucky screamed, beginning to slash wildly with his knife. Andy dodged and jumped back from the swipes, before grabbing Chucky's arm and painfully twisting it behind his back, forcing the former killer doll to drop the weapon.
"It's over." Andy gritted his teeth. "You're done."
"Do you even know how to save her, you dumbass?" Chucky cackled.
"I'll bet this'll help." Andy guessed, reaching into Chucky's pocket and pulling out an amulet. After reading up on voodoo spells and artifacts, he came across the Heart of Damballa, and he quickly made the connection to Charles Lee Ray. "You're not the only one who knows voodoo, Charles." Chucky began struggling, but Andy held on, raising the Heart. Before he said anything else, the crimson stone began glowing a bright aura, confusing everyone in the room. Seconds later, a strange blue portal opened in the middle of the hideout basement, and a large, purple skinned man and green skinned woman appeared. Andy quickly sized the two up. The purple man was well over six foot easily, with a bald head and lined grooves in his chin. He appeared to wear some type of golden armor, and on his left hand was a gauntlet made of gold, with three glowing stones, purple, blue, and red, embedded into the fingers. The woman on the other hand was of average height, with red-pink highlights in her hair, and brandished an odd sword.
"Give me the stone." the man ordered.
"The what?" Andy asked out loud.
"The gem in that amulet." the woman explained, pointing to the Heart. "Don't do it!" The purple man closed his fist, and the blue and red orbs glowed. Soon after, the woman froze on the spot, with her mouth moving, but no words came out. Andy looked back at the tall man, who wore a pained expression on his face.
"Who the fuck are you?" Chucky asked. "Ah, what the Hell. Tiff, kill this bastard, then give me a hand here!" Tiffany, who seemed frozen on the spot, suddenly snapped out of her trance and charged the man, but he clenched his fist. The purple orb glowed, and Tiffany was thrown back into a wall by a purple energy. When she slid down, blood coated the place where her head was, revealing the telekinetic push killed her.
"Dammit!" Chucky yelled, glaring at the man.
"For once, I'm with him." Andy agreed. "Who are you?"
"My name is Thanos." The man replied. "And you have something I want."
"This?" Andy asked, holding up the amulet. "The Heart of Damballa?"
"The soul stone is in the crystal." Thanos explained, and he held out his hand. "Give it to me." Andy slowly began stretching his arm outward, about to give the mysterious purple man the amulet, but suddenly pulled back, getting an idea.
"Wait a minute." Andy said, holding the amulet up. "This… 'soul stone'. It can manipulate someone's soul, right?"
"Yes. It can." Thanos confirmed.
"Wait, don't-" Andy had enough of hearing Chucky speak, and he had Kyle come over and covered the former Charles Lee Ray's mouth.
"How about a trade." Andy negotiated. "I give you the soul stone, and in turn, you'll use it to take out an extra soul from that woman's body." Upon finishing his sentence, Barclay pointed to Chucky, who Thanos only saw as a woman.
"You want me to remove the soul of Charles Lee Ray from Pierce's body, Barclay?" Thanos asked. Andy blinked in surprise, he never told the Mad Titan his name.
"You know me?" Andy asked.
"I do." Thanos said as much. "I have looked into you and that pathetic doll before I came here. But neither of you know the full power of the soul stone."
"Do we have a deal?" Andy asked, holding up the Heart. "The stone, for Nica's life back?" Thanos said nothing, and instead clenched his fist. The blue orb glowed, and Andy felt himself being lifted a few inches off the ground, meeting Thanos at eye level.
"I could kill you with a flick of my wrist." Thanos told Barclay, but looked back at his daughter in sadness. "But I fear I have made too many enemies today." With that, Thanos released Andy, who gingerly gave the purple alien the Heart of Damballa. All the while, it seemed the green skinned woman was trying to scream no, but no one paid her any mind. Thanos stared at the golden amulet for a moment, before crushing it with his hand.
"What the Hell are you doing?" Andy asked angrily. Thanos didn't answer, and instead sifted through the golden shards, finding the red crystal. The Mad Titan then pointed his gauntlet at the small stone, and the purple orb glowed, shooting out a tiny stream of energy. The beam connected with the crystal, and heated it up to the point the outer shell shattered, revealing a bright orange colored stone. Thanos smirked, placing the soul stone in the gauntlet, and visibly shuddered, as a shockwave was released.
"Thank you, Barclay." Thanos said in a tone of gratitude. "You have my respects."
"I'm really honored and all…" Andy said, rolling his eyes a bit, "but you'll keep your end, right?"
"I intend to." Thanos pointed his fist towards Chucky, who began screaming obscenities in fear and anger, and the soul stone glowed. Seconds later, an orange light exited the body of Nica Pierce, and for the briefest of moments, it appeared to take the form of Charles Lee Ray. The light disappeared, while Nica fell to the ground, temporarily unconscious.
"You got the right soul, right?" Andy asked, looking down at Nica's body.
"Of course." Thanos replied. "Finding Ray's soul was child's play. I am only surprised the stone didn't collect him." A moment later, Nica's eyes opened, looking up at Andy.
"Barclay?" Nica asked in confusion. Pierce looked around, resting her eyes on Thanos. "Who are you?"
"The one who freed you." The purple alien told her. "Charles Lee Ray know longer inhabits your body." Nica smiled, but then frowned.
"I can't move my legs anymore…" Nica said sadly. Thanos looked down on her in pity, before making another decision. The Mad Titan reached his hand outwards, the red stone glowing, and in an instant, Nica stood back up.
"Wha- how?" Andy asked, looking back at the purple alien.
"The soul stone isn't the only infinity stone I possess." Thanos told him cryptically. Before Barclay, Nica, or Kyle could say anything, the blue orb glowed, and a portal enveloped Thanos and the green woman. Andy blinked from the light, and once his vision became clearer, the aliens were gone.
"Who was that?" Nica asked, once she finally found her voice. Andy had no idea what to say, having never heard of a Thanos until that day, so he settled on, "A friend."
"Must be, if he wanted to help us out that much." Kyle pointed out, staring at the broken pieces of the amulet. "What do we do now?
"Now… I suppose we rest." Andy suggested.
"Wait. Chucky told me my niece is dead." Nica said, holding back tears. "Is she-"
"No." Andy told her. "Her grandmother fought Chucky off. He only lied to you."
"Can we see her?" Nica asked.
"Tomorrow." Andy promised. "They're still in Rhode Island." Nica nodded, understanding Barclay's decision.
"Let's go." Andy continued, making his way up the stairs of the hideout. "You can stay with us for the night." Nica and Kyle followed Andy out of the basement and into a black truck, and Barclay began driving away from Chicago.
After a few hours of driving, Andy pulled up to a remote cabin in the middle of nowhere, with the entire place covered with snow.
"Good thing we left Chicago when we did." Andy said, turning off the radio and exiting the vehicle, soon followed by Kyle and Nica. "We just missed that earthquake in the middle of the city."
"Yeah, I'm wondering why SHIELD and Quake were there." Kyle added, as the three of them went inside. Once they were in the house, Nica looked around, mildly shocked that a disembodied head of Chucky was waiting on a table.
"Jesus, you kept that?" Nica asked, pointing her finger at the grinning doll.
"Yeah. He didn't die, so I might as well have fun with him." Andy replied nonchalantly, picking up a pair of pliers that were left discarded, and pulled out a tooth from Chucky's head.
"Go to Hell!" Chucky snarled, spitting out blood "My connection to all the other versions of me are severed! What have you done?"
"Let's just say a good samaritan helped us." Nica smirked, thinking back to the purple alien that granted her the ability to walk. Andy was about to continue torturing the doll head, when he heard Kyle cry out.
"Uh, Andy…" Andy and Nica turned around, and their mouths hung open in horror. Before their very eyes, Kyle's body began fading away, as if being disintegrated.
Her hands went first, fading into colorless ash onto the ground. Kyle stared numbly, apparently not feeling anything, as she looked up, tears threatening to spill out.
"What's happening?" Kyle asked, as her legs turned to ash. Andy quickly walked over to catch his foster sister from falling, but she fell right through his hands, her back fading away. As Andy tried desperately to grab hold of Kyle, the last of her body became dust, settling on the floor, undisturbed. Andy knelt down, pawing at the ashes that were once his best friend, but nothing would- nothing could- bring her back.
"Jesus Andy, what did you do?" Andy heard Chucky cruelly laugh behind him. Slowly, Barclay stood up and turned around, seeing that the doll head was clearly enjoying his misery. "Did you have a laser in that drawer?"
"Go to Hell." Andy growled, walking over and picking up the pliers. Before he could torture Chucky further, he noticed the doll's hair was beginning to disintegrate. Andy stared at the doll, confused, while Chucky frowned, seemingly oblivious to what was going on.
"What?" Chucky demanded, as his head began turning to ash. "What the Hell is going-" Chucky never finished his sentence, as his mouth became ashes, and the rest of his head faded away, settling into a dust pile in the middle of the table.
"What the fuck is going one?" Andy murmured, more to himself. Nevertheless, Nica heard him anyway.
"Maybe it's some type of outbreak." Nica suggested. Although unlikely, it was the only thing that made a lick of sense in that moment. After all, Andy just watched his foster sister and his childhood tormentor crumble to ashes in front of him, how could he rationalize that? Sure, he had heard of when Tony Stark told the world he was Iron Man, watched the news about the alien invasion of New York, read about Sokovia becoming a crater, but this… this was something else entirely.
Nica picked up a remote, her hands shaking like leaves, and she fumbled around for the power button. Once she finally managed to get the television running, Pierce began flipping through the channels, but no matter which one she turned to, it was always a multicolored background with the exact same message:
This is not a test. In the state of emergency, please stand by for further instructions. This is not a test.
Andy and Nica stood rooted in the cabin, horrified at what was transpiring. Two people just became dust, and the media wasn't providing answers. If either of them were religious, they would have guessed Judgement Day was finally here, or the Rapture. Then again, why on Earth did Chucky go with them?
"Andy, can I borrow your phone?" Nica asked, choking back a sob. "I have to know… if Alice-"
"She's fine." Andy told her, but in reality, he was trying to convince himself. Nevertheless, he handed Nica his cellphone, and she quickly dialed Alice's grandmother.
"C'mon, pickup. Please." Nica begged. Luckily, someone did answer the call, and she felt a small relief.
"Hello?" a child's voice asked, and it almost sounded like the kid was sobbing.
"Alice?" Nica asked, hoping against hope it was her niece speaking.
"Aunty Nica?" Alice replied. "Why are you calling?"
"You're alright?" Nica's voice cracked. "Are you okay?"
"I am." Alice cried. "Grandma's not. She just… disappeared."
"Oh God." Nica gasped, realizing that her niece was all alone.
"What's happening, Aunty Nica?" Alice sobbed. "I'm looking outside, and people are disappearing too."
"I- I don't know." Nica couldn't have known, she had no idea why this was happening. "Listen, just stay there. I'm coming to get you."
"Okay, Aunty Nica." Alice told her aunt, before Nica hung up. Without hesitation, Nica handed the phone back to Andy.
"C'mon, we have to get my niece." Nica announced. Despite being obviously torn apart from the recent deaths, Andy nodded, picking up the keys to his truck and left the cabin.
"The airport's not far from here." Andy muttered, as they got into the the truck. Andy turned the key, and the engine roared to life, and he began driving. "Hey. Are you okay?"
"Far from it." Nica snorted in a humorless laugh. "I just got my body back from a psycho doll, then being granted the ability to walk by a seven foot tall purple alien. And now we just watched a friend of yours get turned into a dust pile."
"I suppose that's fair." Andy muttered bitterly. Andy concentrated on the road, before Nica spoke up again.
"It will be a step in the right direction once Alice is with me." Nica added, looking at Andy with hope. Andy stared back at her, cracking a small smile, before turning back to driving. After a few more minutes, something in his mind clicked.
"That 'purple alien'." Andy said, beginning to get a nagging feeling. "Thanos. Do you remember seeing that glove made of gold?"
"Yes…" Nica answered, not entirely getting the point.
"Remember the blue stone he had?" Andy asked. "How when it glowed, it opened a portal?"
"Like that wormhole above New York." Nica continued, beginning to put two and two together. "When aliens dropped from the sky. Do you think-"
"What if all this has something to do with him?" Andy suggested, as the weight of his decision earlier that day began to dawn on him. "There were six holes in that glove. The Heart of Damballa- the soul stone- filled the fourth. If he could do extraordinary things with just four of those stones, what could he do with six of them?"
"What have we done?" Nica whispered, staring out her window in horror.
On a planet far from Earth, the Mad Titan Thanos stepped out of his small home. It wasn't his home world of Titan, but with the vegetation and peaceful nature, it would do. Thanos sat on the porch, watching the sun rise on what he perceived would be a grateful universe. At the mere thought that he had potentially saved the universe from collapsing in poverty and starvation, the Mad Titan cracked a smile to himself, continuing to watch the sun peek out over the trees. In his mind, he performed a selfless act and brought balance. More so, he recalled, he freed a friend of Barclay's from another soul's control, and gave her legs to walk with. Even now, as he looked on, he could hear what his adoptive daughter said to him within the soul stone's tiny world.
"Did you do it?" A pause, before Thanos spoke. He remembered the details of the battle on his homeworld clearly. The ones called the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy tried to stop him, but they were all no match for the Mad Titan. Even when the alien woman Mantis tried to persuade him to sleep, the reality stone kept him focused.
"Yes." His voice was breaking. Moments ago, he was forced to kill her when she put herself in front of a sword that was meant for Stark, and it pained him that he took her life. Thanos looked down in shame, before the younger version of his daughter spoke again.
"What did it cost?" the girl asked timidly. Thanos looked back up, staring her in the face, tears forming in his eyes but not coming out, before the Mad Titan told the truth.
"Everything."