So yeah. I did that. But don't fret. I have a confession to make. What was last chapter, chapter five, is in actuality an alternate ending. This here is the real ending, before I decided to dabble into the Endgame-verse. Basically there'll be two more fics that are both sequels (triquels?) to this fic. More information at the author's note at the bottom. Read on.
"Wanda it's time."
She glanced back at Vision before turning to see Sam get tossed aside and Rhodey take flight, unleashing his arsenal on Thanos. She had an idea, one thing that could possibly help but it wasn't a guarantee and it was a huge risk.
"Wanda, you must."
The young mother gritted her teeth at Vision's words. She knew what the android was implying and while she didn't want to, she knew she had too.
A quick look showed Rhodey getting crumpled and tossed aside, James taking his place and her heart leapt up into her throat. Her eyes were teary as she turned her back to the fight, flinching when hearing the cut off shout that belonged to her children's father, and she raised glowing red hands.
"I'm so sorry Viz."
She pushed and poured as much as she could, making the output steady and focused on the stone that cried out its betrayal to her. But she didn't stop, she had to see this to the end. She couldn't let Thanos win. Not with James and their children, her whole purpose for being, on the line.
Groot yelled angrily behind her and she pushed more, feeling the stone cracking, getting closer to being destroyed completely. Feeling the dark presence behind her Wanda gritted her teeth and pulled one arm away to blast a stream at Thanos, her scarlet fighting and pushing him back as the alien tried to use his glove to break through the energy barrier.
Almost. Almost. She could feel the gem cracking more and more. She brought up images of her children, playing and laughing as they chased each other around the garden. Thought of the nights when she had laid her head on James' chest, able to watch him sleep peacefully without a nightmare in sight, his arms cradling her to him.
With those visuals Wanda let out a forceful shout and the extra energy poured into the stone, only giving her a second to gasp before the blast sent her flying back.
Her back and head throbbed from the landing, her ears ringing painfully. She couldn't quite see, her eyes burning slightly from the bright explosion. Slowly she propped herself up, looking at the scorched area on the ground. That was where Vision had been kneeling. She'd just killed a friend of hers. She glanced down at her hands. She'd killed a friend with her bare hands.
A tear fell, the ringing clearing up just in time to hear leaves and twigs breaking next to her. Wanda felt another tear fall as she looked up, Thanos looming over her. She wanted to throw up from the expression on his face.
"I understand, my child. Better than anyone."
Her bloodied hands formed into fists and her lips curled into a snarl, her accent heavy with emotion. "You. Could. Never."
She felt his hand pet at her hair, as if trying to comfort her, and she shivered with disgust, her stomach rolling with the thought of being touched by this…thing.
He moved away, closer to where Vision had been. A flash of movement showed James lightly making his way over to her, keeping himself directly at Thanos' back. She perked up, eyes growing wide. "James…"
"Today, I lost more than you can know." The purple alien continued. "But now is no time to mourn. Now…is no time at all."
James cut his eyes to Thanos and Wanda looked back to see what the beast was doing. The gold gauntlet was lit up with green ruins and the young mother watched as the air vibrated and debris came into being, moving slowly and toward the center of the clearing where Vision had been.
Her eyes widened. Oh God. He was using the time stone, reversing the last few seconds. To bring Vision back. To bring the time stone back.
Wanda couldn't hold back anymore. She had only one shot to do this and while she had promised herself she'd never do this again, she could make this exception. Hands trembling with nerves, her scarlet shimmered around her hands and with a gentle flick it floated out into open air, vaporous and slithering toward Thanos.
She felt James come up behind her but she had to concentrate, one wrong move and he could end them both. Her hands twitched as she maneuvered the smoke closer. Almost. Almost there.
With a bright flash and shuddering of leaves Vision was complete, kneeling before Thanos, almost as an offering.
"No." Wanda bit out, finally in range and striking, gasping when the large alien spun to her and James, glove glowing threateningly.
She froze, afraid to breathe.
"Wanda?"
James tried speaking to her but she couldn't look away. Not at this moment. She watched as Thanos dropped his arm, his face slack and eyes a glowing red. She fed more scarlet, keeping him compliant.
"I…" She licked her lips, slowly rising to her feet, hands twitching. "I need Rhodey. Now."
"What?"
"Wanda?" Steve was here, panting and at their side. "What's–what's going on?"
She chanced a glance at him. "I have him trapped in his mind. With his fears."
Grim understanding crossed Steve's face and he nodded at her. "You okay?"
She shook her head, hands twitching as she kept feeding the scarlet. "I need Rhodey. Thanos is very strong and someone has already manipulated him. He's fighting back. I need Rhodey so he can cut off his arm."
"Colonel Rhodes!" James wasted no time, yelling off into the distance. She knew the others were getting closer but she couldn't look away, sending another blast of scarlet into Thanos' mind, his eyes shining red every time.
Wanda almost lost it when a crack of lighting boomed and Thor landed somewhere to her left, body and axe burning with power.
"Wait, Thor!"
James stood at her side like a shield and from the corner of her eye she watched as the Asgardian stalked forward, Steve and Banner trying to placate him.
There was too much going on, she needed to focus. She sent another burst at the alien. "James, please hurry."
"Colonel Rhodes! Move it!"
"He must feel pain. The same pain I felt!"
"Wanda's got him for now but we can't waste time on revenge Thor."
"Wanda! I'm on my way."
"I don't care! He killed my family!"
"Wanda?" This was from Okoye, her voice calm amongst the arguing. "He is completely under your control? Defenseless?"
She sent another burst of wispy scarlet, this one more powerful than the others. He was fighting back. "Yes. For now. But I need Rhode–"
The abrupt cut off was painful and Wanda let out a yelp, her eyes slamming shut against the pain in her mind. She felt arms immediately wrap around her waist in a protective gesture and she held onto James as she tried to center herself. Amazingly, it was dead silent.
Panting from the continuous energy output, Wanda slowly opened her eyes and looked up. Another gasp fell from her lips and she held onto James tighter.
Thanos was standing, free from her influence, but he wobbled at bit, unsteady. It was all morbidly enchanting to Wanda as she watched the giant beast slowly look up himself, his left eye focusing on the vibranium spear that was embedded into his other eye and, consequentially, his entire head where it had no doubt pierced his brain.
Thanos tried lifting his gauntlet and Wanda summoned her scarlet but she didn't need to act as his arm went limp and he crashed to his knees, toppling over on his side with a loud thump. No one breathed and Wanda slowly looked around to see everyone's reactions but they were all turned in one direction. She followed their eyes and found Okoye standing tall, her face grim with a hint of triumph. The General finally noticed everyone's stares, raising an eyebrow.
"What?" She sneered. "You were all wasting time arguing."
Wanda glanced behind her shoulder at James, sharing a smirk. Rocket and Groot stepped forward, eyes trained on Thanos' body before they both looked up at everyone.
Rocket spoke for the pair. "That it? We…we won?"
Steve turned to James and herself before glancing to the others gathered. He nodded, letting out a sigh and his lips slowly curled into a relieved smile. "Yeah. I...I think we did."
All around smiles replaced grim expressions and Wanda leaned back against James, turning to Rhodey. "We should probably cut off his hand anyway. Just in case."
The other man nodded at her, stepping forward to do the deed. "Good idea."
It was quiet for a moment.
"So can I get that arm now?"
Rocket's question was random and set off a chain, everyone starting to laugh or chuckle. Wanda turned around in James' hold and reached up to wrap her arms around her neck in a tight hug, smiling and sniffling into his neck.
They had won. She would be going home tonight to her children. They both would.
And there you go. A happy ending. In all honesty, this was my original ending, when I first thought of continuing my Mirage series for Infinity War. And then Welcome Wagon started and I wasn't sure if I would retell Endgame from Carol's point of view but then I had a great idea on how to do a continuation with my WinterWitch pair. So what's going to happen is there will be two different fics that will branch off according to both endings. A happily ever after ending(kinda) and an Endgame version. Welcome Wagon will be a part of the Mirage series but it can also be read as a stand alone. I'll hopefully be able to finish that before I watch Endgame this Friday. Also NO SPOILERS! So there you have it. Gravity is complete. Till next time! Peace out. -Mez