A few minutes passed from the Snap. The reddening skies of the Titan planet and thunder illuminated the remaining heroes there: Doctor Strange, Star Lord, Mantis, Drax and Spider-Man (who was slumped next to Tony Stark's ashes).
Suddenly, an alarm began to sound from Star Lord's pocket. Strange wondered what the sound was.
-A distress call," answered Drax.
-From whom? - asked Mantis. Star Lord looked at the communicator.
-From Groot," answered Quill, "Strange, we're going to Earth, to Wakanda.
Meanwhile, an absolute silence enveloped the great forest of Wakanda. T'Challa, Groot, Falcon, Bucky watched the sad landscape of the Wakandan village. While Wanda stood next to Vision's corpse.
Sam approaches Wanda, who was with a look of cold disdain.
-Thanos... - Wanda enunciated. Sam touched her shoulder to comfort her a little.
-If we find him, we'll solve this," answered Sam.
-I found him.
Through all the underbrush a large purple figure could be seen, just sitting on the ground. Thanos was gazing at the sun hidden in the mountains with a smile on his face.
Soon, all the heroes rose up to give revenge to the Genocidal One (especially Wanda).
Despite having the power of the six gems, Thanos barely managed to put up a fight against the guys as he was very tired. Although the battle was very close, Wanda manages to give him an accurate blow to his fist, sending him away, destroying trees and generating chaos.
Thanos is dragged almost fifty meters but tries to get up quickly. He tries to thunder his fingers again to remove the gems, but they have no effect. He tries one more time and nothing happens. Puzzled, he looks at the Glove and realizes that it was missing a gem: Space.
The valuable blue gem was several meters away from him. He had lost it during the fall. Without questioning the obstacles, Thanos gets up and heads for the gem as fast as he can.
As he was about to grab it, he encountered Groot, who was speeding furiously towards him. The little log didn't have much luck that time. Thanos grabbed the gem early and raised his fist at Groot. A blue portal opened behind Groot and he was teleported out.
Suddenly, the little tree appeared floating in the atmosphere of a vast, blue, glowing planet: Xandar. Unconscious, he was slowly entering the atmosphere at full speed. His body gave off flames. It was a colossal fall.
The last thing Groot remembered was watching a metal fan spinning above him and finding himself on a soft bed. There was a blanket over his legs and a pillow behind his neck. He felt sore.
Groot pulled off the sheets and realized he was missing a leg due to burns. He had a wooden stick functioning as a makeshift prosthetic.
Groot quickly got up and started looking for the exit of what appeared to be a ship. When he found the exit, it was nighttime. There was a boy standing by a campfire.
The young man was staring gloomily at a grave made of branches and sticks. A picture of Jenos next to it. The boy put a claw to his heart and scratched the air. The young man was SAM.
Due to nerves, Groot caught his attention. Sam tried to calm him down. He explained that it had been a couple of hours since he found him, damaged and badly burned. Although he was not a doctor, he tried to help as much as he could.
Despite their communication complications, the boys manage to understand each other. Sam explains to Groot that he is on a quest to kill Thanos. Groot communicates through drawings and signs that Thanos is on Earth, along with his family. Perhaps the two goals lead them to the same destination: to find out what happened after Groot disappeared. And the answer was to be found on Earth.
-Well done, Groot," said Sam, as he settled into the pilot's seat, "It's only been a few hours, maybe Thanos is still there. If we hurry, we can make it to Earth in just three hours!
TWO WEEKS LATER
The boys still didn't make it to Earth .
Sam's (Mordekaiser II) old ship didn't have enough power to make a trip to such a distant planet. They found a gas station of a planet vulgarly called "Magnatino's Tear": a dry and water-scarce world where white and orange clouds can be distinguished when one looks at them from afar.
The ship landed right in front of the abandoned gas station. The weather was desert-like and the atmosphere was desolate. Sam wore a worn-out look, with a torn and old cape, resembling a space pirate. He began to refuel and Groot came down to explore the place and stretch his legs, which were already healing, as were his burns.
-We're getting closer and closer, Groot. A couple more days and we'll be on Earth," said Sam, trying to cheer him up. Groot seemed indifferent. With no hope of seeing his family.
While Sam was upset because there was no gas in the tanks, Groot heard a peculiar sound. Metallic footsteps were coming from inside the gas station. The boys on the alert, Sam pointed his Blaster.
Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of them was a humanoid figure: an Android. It was an extremely damaged robot, missing an arm and had hundreds of wounds all over its mechanical body. It smelled of machine oil.
The robot continued on its way. It didn't even turn to look at the boys. They watched in astonishment. The robot slowed down and turned around to look at them. The metallic voice uttered words that lacked accent and intonation:
-I have 51% energy remaining... I must be quick- the robot turned around again and continued on its way. Groot and Sam shared a look of uncertainty. They decided to follow him.
-Wait! What's your name, android? You look very familiar," Sam asked. The robot came to a complete stop and approached the boys.
-My name is TAN1N, but you have to spell it with a 1 instead of an i." Sam already remembered it.
Sam already remembered. That line of robot was manufactured on his planet Xandar. He thought that this model of robot had become extinct as the technologies on his planet evolved.
-You have knowledge about the TAN1N line, traveler," answered the android.
-Yes, but how did you end up here, TAN1N?
-My name is TAN1N, but you have to spell it with a 1 instead of an i.
-Yep... You already said that. Sam frowned. -I'm Sam and he's Groot.
The android explained that his creator found his parts in a dump on Xandar. He rebuilt it and reprogrammed it to find a very powerful weapon.
-What is this weapon?
TAN1N opened his bag. A small crimson red object lit up their faces: The REALITY gem. The boys couldn't believe it. The last time they had seen it, Thanos had it in his hand. How could it have ended up in the hands of a robot in the middle of nowhere? Groot and Sam decided to follow him.
-What do you want the gem for?" asked Sam as they walked with him through the orange desert lands.
-To kill the Hel-Vulker. Hellwalker and devourer of souls," exclaimed the robot.
-"Hel-Vulker? That thing did this to you?" asked Sam, pointing to all his wounds and destroyed parts.
-It wasn't that. To get the gem I had to fight a large purple Troll with formidable strength.
The android explained that his people, for several years, were threatened by a great beast hiding underground: the Hel-Vulker. A couple of weeks ago, a wave of energy spread throughout the cosmos (The Snap). Its creator designed a radar device capable of tracking that same energy: the energy of the Infinity gems. That's how he found the Reality gem several kilometers away, in the troll's hut.
-A single Infinity gem could put an end to the Hel-Vulker and bring peace back to my people," said the robot.
-So you want the gem just to exterminate the Hel-Vulker," Sam had an idea... "Let's help you!
-Why would I need your help, travelers?" asked the robot.
-Well, I think you're a little..." Sam sees the robot's terrible condition.
Sam and TAN1N made a deal: Sam and Groot will offer to help TAN1N in his mission and in exchange he will give them the gem so they can return to Earth.
-All right. Then we should start moving..." said the android with initiative. -I have 32% of useful battery left.
Finally, they arrived and beheld the entrance to a large dark cave. The hills began to shake and the ground began to crack. Sam and Groot share a look of concern and Sam did that claw in his heart again. Something is approaching beneath their feet.
A large beast the size of a blue whale made its presence known and emerges from the ground. It had three pairs of large, bulging eyes that never closed. It had eight limbs in the form of sharp, hairy legs. Its skin was impenetrable and its strength was enormous. It will definitely be necessary to use all the possibilities of the Reality gem.
The Hel-Vulker has a pouch in its throat from which it vomits venom. Yes, it's disgusting. The venom is deadly on contact: even if you manage to dodge the attacks, you still have to be careful not to step on it.
Groot lashed out with his legs, while Sam used the Jetpack for the aerial attack. TAN1N used the potential of the Reality gem to create illusions, confuse and deeply attack the Hel-Vulker.
Groot noticed that from the darkness of the cave, dozens of Hel-Vulker hatchlings emerge, coming at full speed to defend their progenitor. TAN1N (with the Reality gem) countered the waves of insects with icy blasts, freezing them instantly.
With his branches, Groot tethered the beast to the ground. With what little strength he had left, TAN1N used the gem to create a stone shield around Nova. The latter, readied his laser beam and went inside the Hel-Vulker, destroying its internal system and slicing it into a thousand pieces.
Sam emerged from the creature's lifeless body, covered in purple blood. The android turned the blood to dust and Sam simply shook it off.
The heroes celebrate the victory but quickly notice that TAN1N was lying on the floor. Sam notices that one of his fuel lines was getting empty.
-Ba-Ba-Ba-Battery at 04%... Imminent-Inmin...- Said the robot while one of the tubes in his chest was squirting at full speed.
Sam and Groot did not know what to do. Quickly, Sam took the gem from the android's cold hand and pointed it at him.
Suddenly, the wounds, cuts and scratches on his body were healing. The lights in his eyes are turning on. His robotic hand begins to move his fingers.
TAN1N woke up! The boys rejoice.
-TAN1N! Are you all right? Do you remember your name?" asked the young man, trying to get the android to regain consciousness.
-My name is..." The android stared at them for several seconds. Perhaps Sam's reset had erased its memory and it was a different android than the one they had known.
-My name is..." The boys looked with uncertainty "My name is TAN1N, but you must write it with a 1 instead of an i...".
The boys are happy, smile and hug the robot. They quickly leave, each one going their own way. The boys got the gem and TANN the peace of their village.
-It was a pleasure to team up with you, travelers." They took each other's hands, making the deal.
The robot was leaving over the horizon of the desert planet and the boys returned to the Mordekaiser II. TANN turned around and asked them:
-Where are you going, by the way?
Sam replied, "We're going to Earth. We have a score to settle there." The robot's face quickly changed, even though he had no facial features. As if the fate that awaited Sam and Groot was not what they expected.
-Earth? I hear there's an invasion going on there?
-Invasion from what?
-Outriders. Creatures that belong to the army of...
-...Thanos," said Sam melancholy. The young man looked at Groot, determined, "Thanos is not waiting on Earth with his army," Sam put the red gem in his pocket and the two got into the ship.
Mordekaiser II starts up and the boys are out of the planet's atmosphere in seconds. The arrival to Earth is imminent.
As they traversed entire Galaxies, Sam wrote down this entire adventure in his journal, excited. "I'm Sam Alexand'r and we don't have much time for long introductions..."
Finally, they entered the Terran atmosphere. According to the ship's radar, they were approaching New York City. The Mordekaiser II landed on a rooftop of a building in New York's HELL'S KITCHEN neighborhood.
The full moon was shining a dim light. Sam and Groot climbed down happy to reach their destination, but disoriented because they didn't know where to find the heroes.
Two silhouettes could be distinguished in the thick fog of the place. They were in human form and were slowly approaching. Finally, they distinguished the shape of the subjects. One had a dark red suit with horns on his helmet and a sharp sword in the sheath on his back. The other had a full arsenal of firearms and short-range weapons, his black military suit had a large white skull superimposed on the chest: DAREDEVIL AND PUNISHER.
-Who the fuck are you guys?" exclaimed Punisher.