WAKANDA

"You should have gone for the head…" Thanos said as he began to snap his fingers.

"NO!" Thor bellowed.

Metal clicked to metal…

And nothing happened.

Thanos looked at the stones on his hand. They seemed to shimmer in and out of existence. He could still feel their powers, but for some reason, something was in the way.

"What?" The Mad Titan was so confused as to why his plan had not worked; he didn't notice the Asgardian standing there suddenly stumble slightly.

Thor shook his head and looked at the would-be destroyer.

Taking the initiative, he swung Stormbreaker again.

And this time, he didn't miss

Thud.

Thanos's arm slammed to the ground, the gauntlet still attached to it, but nether were still attached to him.

"No… NO!" He bellowed as Thor stuck a third time, taking his head clean off.

Thanos' head rolled away. He'd been right at the precipice of everything he'd ever hoped and dreamed of. He'd sacrificed EVERYTHING for this…

Now his head lay in the grass, detached from his body. His face forever transfixed in a look of confusion and dismay.

Thor looked over his victory. He held up his mighty new weapon and looked at it hard.

"Why do I feel… Like I've done that before?" he asked aloud to no one and he looked back down at Thanos' body.

The others present at the battle ran over to him.

"Thor!" Rogers called out, stopping when he saw what was left of Thanos.

"Holy Crap!" Rocket said as ran up.

"Rabbit…" Thor said, turning to face him "I did it… I did it right this time."

"All these years and you're still calling me 'Rabbit." Rocket said, shaking his head

"Years?" Thor asked

"Years?" Rocket asked back. "I said years?"

"Yes, you did."

Rocket heard someone come up behind him.

"I am Groot!"

"Groot!" Rocket yelled. He turned and faced the Flora colossus "GROOT!"

"I am Groot."

"Oh, You have no idea kiddo… no idea at all."

The sapient plant just cocked his head sideways, confused at what his father figure was saying.

The group quickly surrounded the Gauntlet.

"I'll have someone bring a container to put that in." T'Challa said "we need to get these stones to safety."

"agreed." Rogers said as the Wakandan king called for some of his men.

Rogers looked over at Rocket. He'd felt this strange feeling like he knew him, to the point it didn't surprise him when he spoke.

"Hey, Red, White and Blue, quit staring at me, it's creepy."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it Steve…" Rocket said as he began to walk back towards the city. "How do I know his name is Steve?"

TITAN

"Mr. Stark?" A voice asked.

Stark just stood there. He was swearing he could hear things.

"Mr. Stark, you OK?"

Stark snapped his eyes and shook his head.

"Peter…" Stark said, before looking to his side to see the somewhat frightened young man.

"What?" his young protégée said before the older man suddenly bear hugged him.

"Oh My god… It worked… Oh it worked…"

"Oh.. Okay… this is nice…" Peter said in confusion.

Stark just stood there hugging him

"Ok, Mr. Stark, the aliens are starting to stare." Peter said, looking at Drax and Mantis.

"Oh, oh right, you guys… you guys are here." Stark said, letting go.

"Stark, are you ok?" Dr. Strange asked.

"I'm fine… fine…" he said, obviously flustered.

"You don't look fine." Peter Quill said

"Who asked you, Han Solo…" Stark said before turning to Strange "So, Doc, do you happen to be able to get us home?"

"I think I might…" Strange said. He began to spin his hand in place, but nothing happened. He felt himself over and swore under his breath.

"I dropped my sling ring in the fight." Strange said, patting his pockets and looking around "We're gonna need a ride back."

Strange, Stark and Peter all looked at the Guardians.

"I guess… Follow me" Quill said. "But we need to look for Gamora."

"Don't bother.' Nebula said as she began to walk alongside him "My father was many things… but one thing he wasn't was a liar. She's gone."

"You don't know that."

"I'm pretty sure. There was a reason she kept that from him. Part of me wants to believe two, Quill, but something tells me it's not going to make a difference."

"So… um… is this your one shot in fourteen million?" Peter Parker asked Strange as they began to follow.

"No… something's not right here." He said quietly as he looked at Stark with the stupid look on his face

"But we won, right? So, this is like fourteen million and two, right?"

"I don't know."

UPSTATE NEW YORK

The Wankandan airship touched down outside Avengers headquarters. Pepper Potts, along with Clint Barton, were waiting by the entrance.

"Something wrong, Nat?" Rocket asked as the group walked down the ramp towards the building "You were quiet the whole flight here."

"Yeah… Everyone is talking about memories, but I don't remember anything." She said "for example, why is there a talking Racoon who knows my name…"

The group stopped.

"You weren't there." Banner said. "You weren't there when it happened."

He turned and looked at her "You died."

"I died…" She asked, confused.

"Clint didn't go into full details before but… You didn't come back."

"Holy shit…"

Barton walked over.

"Nat?" He asked.

"Yeah Clint…"

"Thank you…" He said, which confused her.

She was about to say something when she interrupted by the crack of a sonic boom. A spaceship entering the atmosphere above them, coming in to land nearby.

The entrance ramp opened, and Stark stepped out, followed by Peter and Strange.

Pepper ran over and quickly embraced him.

"Where is she?" Stark asked her. "Is she ok?"

"Where's who?" Pepper asked.

"Morgan? Where is she?" He asked in a panic.

Pepper looked at Stark like he had two heads

"Who's Morgan? My uncle?"

Stark's heart stopped for a second.

"No… our…"

"The kid you mentioned, the one in the dream?"

"Dream?" He looked her over. He looked at her hand. She didn't have a wedding ring and neither did he. It finally dawned on him what had happened.

"YOU!" Stark yelled upon seeing Banner.

He ran straight for the man and tackled him to the ground.

"YOU DID THIS! YOU TOOK HER FROM ME!"

"Tony! Stop!" Rogers yelled, grabbing the man buy the collar and pulling him off Bruce.

"Tony that wasn't me, I swear." Banner said "I didn't ask for this."

"So you remember two?" Stark asked. "Remember the five years you stole? Remember the little girl you TOOK FROM ME!"

"Yeah." Banner said.

Stark tried to lunge at him again, forcing T'Challa to grab his other arm.

"Tony… take a deep breath. Calm…" Banner began to say.

"Who in God's name are you to tell someone to calm down? You erased my daughter from existence. What did I say? I said Bring them back, I didn't tell you to send US back."

"Tony… I didn't send us back." Banner begged his old friend to understand "You're remembering things that didn't happen."

"Didn't happen… Didn't happen? I saw them happen. You're telling me five years of my life NEVER happened?"

"No Tony, it didn't."

"Bullshit!" Stark yelled as he lunged at Banner yet again.

"Tony…" Rhodes pleaded with his friend "Don't do this… don't."

"Shut up. I've had it. I'm out of here."

"Tony…" Pepper called after him.

He stomped outside to the waiting car, almost leaving without Pepper.

"Tony…" She began to say as she got in.

"I don't want to hear it." He said.

"Tony I…"

"I said I don't want to hear…"

"I'm pregnant."

"I…" he began to say before falling silent.

"Tony what happened to you?" She asked.

THE MEETING ROOM

"So… I just heard from Lang. He remembers two." Barton said as he sat down at the table.

"So that's everyone who was there when Banner snapped his fingers." Rocket said before looking at Nebula. "except for you…"

"Maybe I wasn't close enough?" She suggested.

"Maybe…"

"Rocket, why do you act like you know these people?" Drax asked.

"Cause for the most part… I do." He admitted. "I have five extra years' worth of memories, just like them."

Mantis stepped forward and placed her hand on his forehead.

"He is telling the truth." She said "he's changed."

"Rocket? What happened?" Quill asked

"I'll explain in a minute…"

"Feels good to be back in form." Thor said as he walked past. "Hello again Morons! So good to see you."

"Yeah… hi…" Quill said. "Look, we need to get a move on and find Gamora."

"Quill… She's gone, man." Rocket said with a sigh.

"You don't know that."

"I always knew you were thick headed." Rocket said shaking his head. 'I don't know why… but I have five years of memories crammed inside my had I didn't have this morning. Five years where you guys were all piles of ash on Titan. Everything I saw tells me she's gone, man… But I'll tell you what, we'll still try."

"Wow…" Quill said "who are you and what have you done with Rocket?"

"I guess I'm just mellower than I once was."

"So, now that this is all settled, what should we do with the stones?" T'Challa asked.

WOODBURY PLAZA

"So are you going to talk to me or what?" Pepper asked. "You've been quiet since we left, you left peter behind…"

"He's a big boy, he can take Metro-North."

"wrong side of the river."

"whatever. Suffice to say, I no longer care… about him, about any of them. My… guilt over losing him cost me someone else. Someone even more precious to me."

"Tony…"

"Don't say it wasn't real! Don't! Just don't!" He snapped "I… I agreed to help them on the condition that we just brought them back."

"Tony… I still have no idea what you're talking about."

"Convenient for you." He said. "Friday… Take over."

"Yes, boss." The AI said as it took control of the car.

"We failed." He said to her bluntly. "Thanos won."

"What?"

"Thanos snapped his fingers." Tony continued, snapping his own "and half the population of the universe disappeared into dust. Thankfully, you were fine and we settled down and had Morgan and…"

"What was she like?" Pepper asked, putting her hand on his.

"She was…" He started crying as he described their daughter to her.

VORMIR

The remaining Avengers and their allies came to an agreement to split the stones up. Strange kept the Time Stone, Rogers given the Space Stone, Thor would take the Reality Stone, Wanda was given the Mind Stone, Star Lord and the Gaurdians would take the Power Stone with them in their travels and would return the Soul Stone to where it came from.

Quill stepped out onto the desolate planet. He walked toward the towering structure, the temple that Barton had described to him.

"Greetings Peter, Son of Meredith." A voice said.

"Who are you?" He asked with a stutter as a black robbed figure approached him.

"I am the new keeper of the stone." The voice said with a raspy wispher

"The new keeper? What happened to the old one?" Quill asked as he stepped forward.

"He completed his task… now I must take his place. A soul for a soul…"

The cloaked figure pulled down their hood…

"Gamora…" Quill said in shock.

"Hello Peter." She said.

"What are…" He asked, confused "What's going on."

"Give me the stone, Peter."

"If I put it back, does that mean you can leave?"

"I can only leave if someone takes my place." She said.

"What if I don't put the stone back?"

"Then I can never leave, ever… Maybe… If I'm lucky, someday, someone like my father will come for the stone. But, until that happens, I am bound to this place. Give me the stone."

Quill handed her the stone.

"You know you can't stay here." She said as he wasn't moving. "There's no food, no water… nothing. The power of this temple is the only reason I'm still here. You need to go, live your life. Forget about me."

'I can't… I can't" he began to cry.

"Then, I'll make this easy for the both of us." She said before vanishing.

"Come on Quill…" Rocket said, pulling his friend back to the ship in silence.

They lifted off, Quill staring out the window the entire time until they reached the jump point.

"So, where two?" Rocket asked

"I am Groot."

"While I admit it might be nice to pay the guy a visit and tell him Thor's new toy works great, there's nothing useful for us there… But I think I know someplace that might…"

Quill took one last look out window as the ship entered the jump gate.

"Goodbye, Gamora…" he said, before dropping to the floor, crying.

DAYTON, OHIO

"I strive to get myself back. I claw my way across the cosmos… and what do I find… THIS?" the man said as he paced through the apartment. Its occupant had opened the door, expecting a pizza, only to find a strange man with a familiar looking mask on.

"Look, dude, I don't know you, I don't owe you anything. I only joined because I had a proverbial and literal gun to my head… and the dental plan…"

"Dental? Herr Dobalina, we are HYDRA. We are destined to rule the world, and all you care about is your teeth?"

"Look, man, great Red Skull cosplay, I'm amazed no one shot you on your way here, but if you don't get out of my house this instant, I'm calling the cops."

"Your family have been members of our organization for generations. You are going to carry on that tradition…"

"I already did and look where it got me. HYDRA is gone, man. Kaput, finito, adios.'

"No… Cut off the head, two more shall take its place."

"Let's say I go along with this and they cut us off, who's gonna replace us."

"Herr Dobalina, there are always those who crave power. All we need do is find them."

"Right now, all I crave is a Rolling Rock and the Reds game."

"I had respect for your family, now, not so much."

The doorbell rang.

"Hold that thought" Dobalina said as he got up and answered the door. He reentered with his pizza, sat down and flipped on the baseball game.

"For someone without a job, you seem to be well taken care of…"

"I get $1500 a month in alimony. My ex-wife didn't read the fine print in the pre-nup, didn't realize it was a two-way street when she cheated on me and ran off."

"Taking advantage of someone else… there might just be hope for you yet…"

"want a slice?" he offered.

The man in red looked at the food, puzzled.

"I haven't eaten in over seventy years… Herr Dobalina. I'd almost forgotten what food tastes like." He said, as he sat down an picked up a slice.

"For the love of…. Just call me Bob, please…"

Avengers HQ

A few weeks later...

"What's the matter Nat?" Rogers asked as she stood over his bunk.

"It's a message, from Fury." She said

"What's it say?"

"You remember a Kent Riley?"

"Sure, lived down the street from him. Used to go into his dad's store all the time. I think he went into the Air Force."

"Made two star general." She said, "His grandson is a SHIELD agent… and he's got a very… interesting case, you might want to look at."

Romanov handed him the message.

"Wow…" Rogers said.

"Interested?"

He got up and reached for the chain around his neck.

"Let's take this for a test ride." He said as he held tight to the stone's container and disappeared.

The blue glow faded, and Rogers found himself in a large, empty building. There were only two other people there, with one, a young man, yelling at the other.

"Billions dead. Half the planet uninhabitable. Society locked in a state where you're all comfy cozy, everything the way YOU want it, fuck everyone else. Yeah, I think that's pretty damn descriptive."

"You're wrong!" the older man cried "I didn't…. I didn't…"

The man sank to his knees and started sobbing.

"You never really grieved her, did you?" The young man in the SHIELD jacket asked "Holding on to your emotions like that is not something we consider healthy."

"No, I need to be a man. To be a leader..."

"Do you want to really be a man?" Rogers asked. "Well? Do you want to be a man or do you just want to be that kid from Brooklyn?"

"Who the fuck are you?" the old man asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Rogers said as he sat down.