The universe has changed forever.
The Wakandan foliage rustled lightly in the breeze. The sound was quiet and peaceful to the ear.
There's no trace of them. They were gone. All of them wiped from the face of existence.
Steve Rogers stared at the brown leaves rustling forward, breezing over the machine gun where Bucky, his best friend and fellow soldier, had once stood. His handsome bearded face ached with pain and his baby blue eyes were glazed over, numb with shock.
"Oh God," Steve said. Natasha Romanov, a beautiful, slim woman with short blonde hair breathed heavily next to him clutching her stomach. They exchanged a glance but neither spoke. Her face was pale and perspired with sweat. Steve's head still throbbed with pain from the Titan's punch only a few minutes earlier. Only a few minutes ago when over seven billion people on Earth were still alive. Now, with the snap of Thanos' fingers, that number was split in two. No one spoke.
A pounding of footsteps came from beyond the bushes. Steve looked up his eyes sharp and alert. A woman's voice wailed. She shouted something foreign to Steve's ears, something in Xhosa, the native Wakandan language. The rustling intensified and a bald woman clad in an ornate red and gold armor burst through the foliage. She looked around at them her face in complete disarray.
"What is happening?" Okoye yelled, her voice quavering. Steve felt another pang of fear. Does this mean T'Challa was gone to? The words seemed to echo in Steve's mind. He stared at Okoye wanting to say something comforting, wishing there was something he could say to ease the pain. But what could be said. They had failed.
Okoye fell to her knees sobbing profusely. Natasha's face fell. Steve grimaced and looked up again turning to the companions he still had left. Bruce Banner with his graying curly hair in his giant "Hulk buster" suit bowed his head in resignation.
"Where is Sam?" Steve asked gravely, looking around at the others. James Rhodes (or "Rhodey" as they all called him) shook his head staring at the ground pitifully. He was still adorned with his custom "War Machine" suit which had been made for him by his longtime friend Tony Stark. Tony, Steve thought as tears welled in his eyes. Where in the galaxy or universe was he now?
After all the things that had transpired between each other over the past few years, he would be happy to see his face now.
Natasha walked over to Okoye and knelt down caressing her shoulder.
A portal ring of gold sparks appeared before them, catching everyone's attention. Visible inside the portal was a regal mahogony palace filled with bookshelves of ancient tomes. A plump, round faced man dressed in a red robe with mahogony trim stepped through the portal which vanished instantly.
"What is happening?" he said his face ashen. Steve would normally be surprised that someone had just walked through a portal in mid air, however, the shock of the recent events left him numb.
"He did it," said a voice. Bruce walked forward out of his Hulk Buster suit onto the dirt. "He killed off half of the universe."
Wong's face flushed white. He stared at Bruce as he shook his head again rubbing his forehead in anguish.
"Where is Steven?" Wong asked seriously. Bruce looked up and shook his head sadly.
Wong frowned looking to Okoye who was still sobbing into Natasha's shoulder.
"Can you find Thanos?" said a deep distinctly British sounding voice. Steve looked up again. Thor, a chiseled man with short blonde hair and a beard not unlike his own, walked forwards towards Wong.
"Can you make a portal to him?" Thor asked urgently. Wong looked at Thor and grimaced.
"Not unless I know where he is," Wong said uneasily. "And even then he is too far away to create a stable portal. I don't have that power."
"We have to find him," Thor said strongly, gripping his hammer Stormbreaker tightly. "I have to kill him!"
The words hung in the air for a few moments. Steve looked up to Wong. "Is there a way to reverse this?" Steve asked a glimmer of hope in his heart. Wong frowned. "He was able to reverse Vision's destruction...can we reverse all this?"
Wong turned to him and furrowed his brows. "With the power of the timestone..." Wong paused, frowning again, "...it may be possible, but...I don't know for sure."
Steve exhaled.