It was done. It had cost everything, but the universe had been balanced.
This wasn't the aftermath Thanos had dreamt of. He had dreamt of a quiet celebration in the Garden. Smiling at the sunrise, with Gamora standing beside him, proud of her father. Of course, that was before discovering the Soul Stone demanded a sacrifice.
After everything he had done, everything he had lost, Thanos believed he deserved a reward. The deed itself didn't count; it was merely his duty. What he wanted was to start anew, with a new family.
He had adopted the Terran princess and the half-Asgardian because he believed them to be useful. He hadn't thought anyone could replace Gamora, not until he had traveled to Earth and found it destroyed, by a Terran girl who was building a weapon to stop him. No, who was turning her closest friend into a weapon to stop him. The biggest resistance had come from the least expected of worlds.
So much potential… Wasted on this weakling, Stark. Thanos decided to take it as a sign that the universe had rewarded him with a new daughter.
"Back on Titan, I respected you," he told Stark. "I respected you, the Terran who destroyed my army, until I met your daughter. Now, you disgust me."
"Sounds more like jealousy than disgust," Stark wanted to say, but he was too afraid to say it. He didn't know Thanos was reading his mind.
"Why would I envy you, Stark? Ana has the willpower to destroy worlds, put arrogant leaders to their place, and what do you teach her? To be a coward!"
Thanos tore the man's shirt open, snatched the glowing device on his chest, the one that powered his armor, and crushed it in his palm. He deliberately didn't use the stones to destroy it, to show how easily the source of his power could be taken from him. He then ordered the Chitauri to prepare him for the torture. They removed his torn shirt completely, his shoes, too, and suspended him in the air above the platform. They were much more careful now, Thanos noticed, for they didn't want to share the same fate with the soldier Nebula had killed during her own escape.
"No!" Ana, who was being restrained by two other soldiers, cried. With his gesture, they released her. He wanted to see what she was going to do. But to his displeasure, she came to beg him on her knees. "I'll do anything. Just let him go."
"Asking for mercy? Now you disappoint me, child. Nevertheless, this is his test, not yours. He doesn't have to suffer at all. All he needs to do is to disown you. Give up on her, Stark, and you're free to go."
"Bite me," was the Terran's reply. Thanos was expecting this. Stark didn't know what pain, true pain, was like. He was about to find out.
Thanos closed his fists, and using all the six stones, he inflicted him with the ultimate agony. The Space Stone slowly pulled his body apart, the Power Stone burned his flesh, the Soul Stone drained his resilience, the Mind and Reality Stones amplified the physical pain with illusions, and the Time Stone froze his body in time so that he couldn't die. Wiping out half of the universe had taken a toll on Thanos' body, but torturing one man was easier. There was a slight ache in his arm, but that was nothing he couldn't handle.
For one minute, Stark screamed, Ana kept begging on her knees, and when Thanos stopped, the room went quiet.
On the surface, Iron Man was unharmed, but his eyes told a different story. They were the eyes of a broken man. "Well?" Thanos asked expectantly.
"S—screw you…"
"Dad, just tell him what he wants to hear," Ana pleaded.
"I can't… I can't leave you with doubt."
"I won't have any doubts, I promise. I know how much you love me. I always have. Please."
"No," he whispered hoarsely.
Thanos closed his fist again, and this time, he tortured him for 10 minutes. By the time it was finished, the response was similar: "Go to hell."
He kept torturing. 30 minutes, 1 hour, 5 hours straight. It made no difference. Ana had cried so much that she could now barely open her swollen eyes, and that seemed to be Stark's only regret. And Thanos was a patient man, but the ache in his arm was getting worse. He wanted his new daughter to see the man she had served all her life didn't deserve her, but this method was only proving Stark's strength. It was one of the rare times Thanos underestimated an opponent. He needed a new angle.
"It's okay, baby girl. It's fine, really. Don't cry." The Terran was actually even smiling.
It made Ana cry even harder.
Thanos gently wiped away her tears with his thumb. "I understand, Ana. We always want what's best for our favorite people. He is your favorite person in the universe. But are you his? Are you sure he wouldn't exchange you for the Earth?"
She looked at him incredulously, almost with hope. She must have understood what he was going to offer. Yes, she would sacrifice herself for her home planet, but would Stark sacrifice her? Thanos turned to him.
"I can use the Time Stone to undo the accident. I can bring everybody back. Your friends, your woman, your unborn child… I'll even make an exception for that insect boy on Titan. The one the stones chose to erase from existence. He won't remember what it was like, dying in your arms." Thanos had seen it in his memories, how hard it had been for him to lose that boy.
"Spiders are not insects, you idiot," he spoke with great difficulty. "They're arachnids."
"Once your world is restored, I'll leave it untouched. I won't wipe out half of the population. You can keep suffering while other planets thrive." He intended to keep even this promise. What was one planet, in the whole universe?
For the first time, he saw a hint of temptation on Stark's face, and decided to use the Mind Stone to see his thought process. The man was pondering if that was why the wizard had given up the Time Stone to save his life. He had looked into the future before Thanos' arrival, and seen only one in which they would triumph. Thanos was now angry with himself. He should have known.
"Do it, Dad. You have a chance to save everyone. I'll be okay. Thanos won't hurt me."
"It's your destiny, Stark. Your duty. Strange saved your life so that you can save your planet."
Thanos was now hopeful. After all, he had given up on his beloved Gamora for a similar reason. Stark was going to have to make the same choice. And Ana didn't even have to die. On the contrary, she was going to have a better life. "I give you my word, Stark. I'll never lay a finger on her. I'll give her a life you never can."
He looked at her. "No, kid. We will save the world. Together."
Stark's obduracy was intriguing at first, but now, it was getting annoying. "How, Stark? You're going to die here."
"Maybe. Maybe not. But I'm not giving up on her."
Using the Mind Stone, Thanos decided to look deeper. He wanted to understand why he was wrong about this human. He saw his first grief; the death of his parents. He had thought he had nothing, no one, just like Thanos had after Titan's destruction. Then he had found Ana, just like Thanos had found Gamora.
Then he saw a man. Not Stark's father, no. But Stark still loved and respected him like a father. Edwin Jarvis was his name. "If you give up on her, one day you'll regret it, Mr. Stark. I know you will." These words had been echoing in his head during the torture.
Stark had lost Edwin Jarvis, too. He saw him at his funeral, with a much younger Ana in his arms. He was weeping for his loss. Ana wiped those tears away with her hands. "Dadda, no."
He saw Stark half-asleep in his garage, one of his most favorite places in the world, with memories of the previous night's revels, but they had left them sick now, and for some reason, he was sad. Very sad. But then, Ana approached him (she was six years old then), with a glass of water and an Alka-Seltzer tablet (a cure for his sickness). He was the happiest man in the world again.
He saw him travel around Terra as the Merchant of Death, being worshiped by his admirers and hated by his enemies. He enjoyed the fame, the power, the attention, the respect, and the fear. Not those things themselves, but the way they dulled the pain his father had caused. But his favorite part was returning from these travels to his abode in Malibu, and being greeted by his little girl, with a beautiful smile and warm hug every time. Only then, the pain would truly go away. Thanos understood. That was how he would feel every time he returned to Gamora after a battle, until Gamora was old enough to be sent off to fight those battles for him.
And then one day, Gamora had left him for good. She had abandoned his family for the Guardians of the Galaxy. He looked into Stark's mind to find such pain, but there was none. Ana had never left him for anyone. Even when she was away, it was to fight his battles.
"Get the hell out of my head, asshole!"
Thanos smirked. Stark guarded these memories jealously. "She was there for you when no one else was. She never abandoned you. That's why you love her so much."
"I love her because she's my daughter. MY daughter, you got it?"
"Your daughter, you say, but what did you give her in return?"
He saw Stark sending Ana to a school far away from Malibu when she was 12. He had hated it, regretted it, but he had done it anyway, and he had broken Ana's trust. But Ana hadn't stopped trying to please him. She had applied to MIT, and become the most successful student of her time, just like he had. But they had grown apart from each other in those five years. Five years wasn't a short period of time for Terrans.
"She never let you down. But you let her down."
"I did," he admitted his shame. Apparently, his biggest regret was enough to break his spirit.
He saw their reunion after Stark's captivity. He saw the earlier suits he had built (they wouldn't have stood a chance against Thanos and his forces). Stark was proud of himself, but Ana was afraid. She was always afraid.
"You scared her so much, just to be worshiped as a hero… Was it worth it?"
"It wasn't."
Then he saw JARVIS. A formless minion who had fancied Ana. "Really, Stark? You believed a SERVANT was worthy of your daughter's heart? You gave them your blessing instead of punishing him for his insolence?"
"JARVIS was no servant. He fought Ultron. He was more of a hero than I could ever be. And he made her happy."
Now, Ultron was interesting. Stark had taken the consciousness Thanos had put into the Scepter as a safeguard, and turned it into something else. Ultron had killed Ana's beloved. And then, Ana had wielded the Scepter… That alone was proof of her mental resilience. If she had been weak of mind, the Mind Stone would have destroyed her. Once again, Stark was oblivious to Ana's potential.
"That he did," Thanos had to agree. "And when your friends murdered him in front of her eyes, you did nothing. You were too scared to start a war… Until you discovered the soldier's secret."
"True."
"You're weak."
"I am."
"And a hypocrite."
"Yes."
"Did she not suffer because of you?"
"She suffered too much."
"You admit she deserves a better father."
"She deserves the best of everything."
"Then you know what to do."
"No."
"Damn you, Stark!"
At that moment, Thanos had to withdraw from his mind. The pain had become too much. He had been using the Mind Stone for too long. He didn't want them to see his weakness.
"Attempt to free him, and he dies," he warned Ana, and stormed out of the torture chamber. It was time to visit another one of his new daughters.
Sigyn had been locked in her quarters since the destruction of the Asgardian refugee ship. He knew her healing skills were legendary. And he had spared her sister, so her gratitude was expected. But when he entered her quarters, she gave him a resentful look.
"Daughter, you forget Sif is alive by my mercy."
"I did as you asked. I chose her life over my husband's. I killed Loki with my own hands, and agreed to be your daughter. I never promised to be a loving one. That wasn't a part of our agreement. So, don't expect me to hide my true feelings from you."
Her wit made Thanos smirk. "Loki was a disappointment from the start. You, on the other hand… I expect a lot more from you."
"What do you want?"
"Right now, I want you to heal my hand."
He sat down next to her, removed the gauntlet, and showed her his charred hand.
"Keep using the stones recklessly, and you'll die." It sounded both like a warning and a wish at the same time, but she cast her healing spell nevertheless. The golden glow wasn't improving the scorched look, but it was easing the pain. Not that Thanos complained. This was a scar he was hoping to wear proudly for the rest of his life. A reminder of the terrible sacrifices he had made for the universe.
"Thank you, daughter," he said once she was finished.
"If you use the gauntlet again, I might not be able to help you."
"Noted. Now, I want you to go meet one of your sisters."
"My sisters?"
"I adopted Shuri and Ana as well. Though Ana and her former father turned out to be more challenging than I'd thought. You know them well… Can you tell me how to break them apart?"
Her blue eyes widened in panic. "What did you do to the Starks?"
"I just want Ana to see the truth," he said patiently. "That with the right guidance, she will be much more powerful than she can ever imagine."
Sigyn quickly composed herself. "You're right, I know them well. Ana will never serve you, no matter what you do. If you're not going to spare them, at least give them a dignified death. After everything they've done for Midgard, they deserve that much."
"There's no Midgard. Ana destroyed it."
She blinked in confusion. "What?"
"Shuri can tell you how it happened… And you're lying. You're not telling me to give them a dignified death because Ana is intractable. It is because you hope to send them to Valhalla with your prayers. I don't need the Mind Stone to see that. But your lie might prove quite useful. We shall see…"
"What are you going to do?" she asked, aghast.
Thanos didn't reply. He put the gauntlet back on, walked out of the chamber, and told the Chitauri guards at the door to take her to Shuri's room. Thanos himself returned to the torture chamber. Stark was still suspended in the air, Ana was trying to comfort him by stroking his cheek.
He had finally come to realize there was only one way to break the bond between these two. To humiliate Stark. Completely strip him of any dignity. Reduce him to nothing.
"You're an unruly nuisance, Stark, I'll give you that," Thanos said, and released the invisible strings that had been holding him. Stark dropped to the floor face down, hard, despite Ana's efforts to catch him. As he gasped in pain, she helped him sit up.
"I've finally decided what to do with you. The Chitauri have been serving me loyally for a long time. Six years ago, when Loki was given the Scepter, they were promised a taste of human flesh. Now, the survivors shall be rewarded with the flesh of the human who annihilated their kin."
Ana sprang to her feet, and walked up to Thanos. "No! You want a destroyer? Fine, I'll be the destroyer you want. But if you do this, I swear you'll be the next thing I destroy!"
He smiled. Finally, she had stopped that pathetic mewling and revealed her true nature. "There she is. Death."
On his mark, every Chitauri soldier who wasn't on guard duty gathered in the torture chamber. Ana was preparing to fight them—with her bare hands, which was quite impressive—so Thanos had to pull her away from the platform himself and keep one arm locked around her. She was kicking, punching, scratching, even biting him relentlessly.
"Ana, look at me," Stark said, and only then, her frantic struggling ceased. "It's okay. I'm grateful for everything, too."
The Terran was smiling bravely, but it wasn't going to make his fate any less gruesome. The Chitauri was waiting for their master's permission to start. He gave it to them with a single nod, and their feast began.
Ana screamed, of course, and the man who had sired her screamed even louder as his flesh was consumed. Thanos knew most humans would pass out at the mere sight. They had sensitive, feeble natures. But Ana didn't. Thanos ordered her to watch, so she did, until the very end, without even blinking, until the Chitauri retreated and there was nothing but a pile of bloody bones left on the platform. She wasn't crying anymore. She was still.
"Look," Thanos said, pointing at the bones. "This was the man you worshiped like a god… Do you still think he was a god?"
"No."
Sigyn had advised him against using the Infinity Stones, but Thanos took a risk and used the Mind Stone to see if Ana was telling the truth. She was. She felt no connection to Stark anymore, even though she didn't understand how it was possible. However, he had one more trial for her. He took her to another torture chamber, where Thor was being kept.
The Asgardian wasn't suspended in the air, but was on his knees. An even more humiliating position for a former king, Thanos thought. His weapon, the Stormbreaker, was lying in the corner behind him. Thanos had made a mental note to kill Eitri for this betrayal.
Thor, and the Terran named Carol Danvers were the ones who had attacked the ship while Thanos was dealing with Stark. He had killed the latter himself, but left Thor alive for Ana.
"Ana?" Thor gasped, struggling against his chains. Interesting. Even though he had killed her beloved, he cared about her. Considered her family.
Thanos smirked. "I believe you two have unfinished business…"
Thor ignored him. "Ana, where's your father? Where's Tony?"
"I killed him," Thanos gloated.
"You bastard…"
"He deserved it," Ana said. "He was weak."
Thor looked at her with incredulity. "What the… What did you do to her?"
"He showed me the truth."
"Ana, listen to me. This isn't you. This isn't you, okay? Thanos could throw you into the fires of Muspelheim, you still wouldn't say that about Tony! Not with your own free will! He's using the Mind Stone on you, snap out of it!"
Thanos went to pick up the Stormbreaker, and placed it into Ana's hands. If she could wield the Scepter, she could wield this weapon, too, without going mad. "I'm offering you something Stark never could: Justice. Avenge your beloved as you see fit, daughter."
Ana smiled at him with gratitude. Then she approached Thor.
"Ana," he said. "I'm not going to beg you for my life. I'm not afraid of death. Why would I be? I lost my mother, my father, my brother, my friends… My sister massacred my people. And the survivors? Thanos killed half of them. I couldn't save them. I know I deserve to die. But I'm begging you, don't lose your chance to avenge your dad. Set me free, and let's kill this son of a bitch together… or die trying. If we succeed, kill me anyway. I won't fight you. And if we fail, we'll go to Valhalla. I'm sure Tony is waiting for you there."
Ana remained unswayed. "When you killed JARVIS, I told you I'd never stop looking for a way to become more powerful than you, and when I found it, I wouldn't hold back. I don't make empty promises."
And she cut the Asgardian in half with his own weapon.
Finally, they could go to the Garden now.