Chapter | Thirty-One
The last 24 hours were not anything Marinette thought she and Peter would ever go through. Yet here they were on a different planet with another group of people who called themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy. Apparently Thanos had taken one of their members and they hadn't heard back. Peter Quill, Mantis, Drax. Marinette still can feel the adrenaline rush she felt seeing Quill hold a blaster against Peter's head, and the fear.
Then they were at their destination, the planet called Titan- which was apparently Thanos's home planet. Another thing Marinette could add to her seemingly ever growing list of unexpected events was being on another planet.
Quill looked around the planet, eyebrows furrowed, "The heck happened to this planet It's eight degrees off its axis. Gravitational pull is all over the place."
"You can feel that?" Peter and Marinette both ask, but it falls on deaf ears.
"Yeah, we got one advantage. He's coming to us. We'll use it. All right, I have a plan. Or at least the beginnings of one. It's pretty simple. We draw him in, pin him down, get what we need. Definitely don't wanna dance with this guy. We just need the gauntlet." Tony said it like he had it all figured out, and he did. It was a pretty simple plan.
Simple enough that Drax yawned, causing Tony too swiftly look over at the bulky space man.
"Are you yawning? In the middle of this, while I'm breaking it down? Huh? Did you hear what I said?"
Drax shrugged his shoulders, "I stopped listening after you said, "We need a plan.""
Tony couldn't believe the audacity, especially the given situation going on. He turned back towards Quill, already over being stuck with a bunch of people who would probably get them all killed due to a lack of listening to a plan. Or following it, who even knows.
"Okay, Mr. Clean is on his own page over there." Tony muttered to Quill.
"Yeah, see, not wining it isn't really what they do." Quill retorts back, and it wasn't a lie. They've come out on top so far.
Peter eyebrows furrowed again towards Quill. "Uh, what exactly do they do?"
"Kick names, take ass." Mantis said it proudly, yet it was Marinette's turn to lift an eyebrow up.
"Uh, I don't think that's how it goes." Marinette watched as Drax shifted to stand taller next to Mantis.
"Yeah, that's right." Drax backed Mantis up.
Stephen almost felt the hopelessness that was showing on Tony's face as he stood there for several moments taking in this team they had. it wasn't the most promising team but better than no team for sure. Tony shakes his head, "Alright, just get over here, please. Mr. Lord can you get your folks to circle up?"
"Mr. Lord- Star Lord is fine." Quill quipped at Tony.
There wasn't time for this back and forth, "We gotta coalesce. 'Cause if all we come at him with is a plucky attitude.."
Quill cut him off, "Dude, don't call us plucky. We don't know what is means. Alright, we're optimistic, yes. I like your plan. Except it sucks, so let me do the plans, and that way it might be really good."
"Tell him about the dance-off to save the universe." Drax reminded Quill.
Marinette decided right then and there they may very well die, because there was no way these people saved the universe with a dance off. Maybe natural selection just truly needed to run it course. She shook that one out of her mind and refocused.
"What dance off?"
"it's nothing," Quill rejects.
"Like in Footloose, the movie?" Peter asks, question laced with unsureness.
Quill lit up with excitement, "Exactly like Footloose. Is it still the greatest movie in history?"
"It never was." Peter watched as Quill's excitement died instantaneously.
"Don't encourage this, Pete." Marinette hissed softly, earning an okay in response.
"Thank you Marinette. " Tony motioned towards Quill, "We're getting no help from Flash Gordon here."
Quill rolled his eyes, "Flash Gordon? By the way, that's a compliment. Don't forget, I'm half human." He points at Tony, Peter, and Marinette, "So that 50% of me that's stupid... That's 100% you."
"Seriously?" Marinette mouthed wow to herself.
"Your math is blowing my mind." Tony muttered, shaking his head again.
Mantis noticed a dull green glow from the corner of her eye, "Excuse me, but...Does your friend often do that?"
Marinette turned to look at what Mantis was talked about, finding Stephen sitting cross-legged in the air. His hands were poised in a mystic gesture with the Time Stone suspended between them, concentration furrowing with his eyebrows. She knew that look, the determination that was there when she looked close enough. Then his head started to jerk rapidly side to side, and she held her breath.
Tony was looking at him with some concern, "Strange, we alright?"
Stephen suddenly snaps out of it, starting forward as he let out a low cry. His mind was still racing, so he took deep breaths to calm both mind and body.
"You're back. You're alright. Hi." Tony waved, where as Peter fixed a worried look.
"What was all that?" Peter questions, glancing at Marinette who seemed unfazed.
Stephen spoke breathlessly, "I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict."
Marinette closed her eyes and turned her head away, her stomach twisting.
"How many did you see?" Quill asks.
"14,000,605."
"How many did we win?"
"One."
Chloe has come to accept that she will never live a semi normal life as she sat on the Quinjet that was on the way to Wakanda. Sure she has heard about Wakanda, and as great as it is to experience that all she could think about was how she was missing her finals and would probably have to retake some classes. What a waste of time. While she knew that this was a great threat, she also knew there wasn't too much she could do to help without giving up the miraculous.
Her blue eyes watched the others in the Quinjet, watched as the kwami's swarmed around what apparently the mind stone. Duusu was the one the mind stone was formed by, but with Duusu having been used for the bad it was unsure choice to bring her with them in the event there was a fight and the fact that she needed the rest after being misused. Plagg was confident they could get the stone out safely though, as well as Wayzz.
"Are you sure these people can be trusted with the kwami secret?" Adrien asked Steve, his eyebrows scrunched in a way that just told Steve how much the young man was uneasy.
Steve didn't blame the kid, he had been through it and his partner was currently in outer space and now they were taking care of this ancient secret. Steve has come to accept that he hasn't seen it all, and there will be ever more outlandish things besides pocket sized gods and magic to come.
"If anyone will keep this secret, it would be the people of Wakanda. Only select few outsiders can find their way to Wakanda."
Adrien has never once heard of Wakanda before, and glancing at Plagg- neither had he. Maybe these people could keep the secret, and maybe it would be a good location for the miraculous secret some time in the future. The future was all that Plagg seemed to worry about, and Adrien honestly believed it was Plagg who took the sacrifice of Tikki the hardest. Tikki had been by Plagg's side for many centuries, and suddenly she was gone in a way that was too abrupt. It rattled Plagg in a way that Adrien wasn't sure how to help sooth.
"Drop to 2600, heading 0-3-0. I hope you're right about this, Cap. Or we're gonna land a lot faster than you want to. " Sam was another one on the Quinjet that had never heard of Wakanda and was almost as suspicious as Chloe looked, then again the blonde was naturally untrusting.
Natasha could tell that all this was moving faster than the three younger adults could process. Yet this was exactly what they had signed up for, maybe not exactly since they needed the kwami's help with the mind stone. Sacrifice was something she never thought they would ask for, never less of Wanda to be the one to make the sacrifice. The trauma that would leave any person was enough to make anyone go mad.
Chloe's eyes watched out the window at the hidden location they were in, and she would admit it was beautiful. There was a lot of things in this world that they didn't know, so many things to learn. Her eyes glanced up into the sky, and Chloe couldn't help the worry she felt. There was this twist in her stomach, a feeling she couldn't shake. Marinette being somewhere in space, it was an unknown. What happens if something were to happen?
Her phone went off as soon as they touched the ground, which confused her as to who was calling. Her father was in prison, her mother didn't want to speak, and Marinette was in space. Adrien was right here with her, so she fished her phone out of her pocket, lips twitching into a small frown.
"Hello Couffaine." Chloe answered, earning two matching questioning looks from Nino and Adrien.
It had been months since anyone of them have spoken to Kagami or Luka. Luka had been spending time with his father, Jagged Stone. Kagami was somewhere off where her mom sent her for training reasons. Yet not once had the two reached out, and in return they were given their space. She never admitted it, but Chloe knew the loss of Luka in their lives took a toll on Marinette. It was almost like self pity or guilt.
"Please tell me that you lot are all safely locked away in someones living room and not out fighting aliens." Luka's voice was laced with concern, almost pleading.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Marinette is somewhere in outer space with Tony, Peter, and Stephen. While we are on a top secret mission to help get the mind stone out of Vision's head and keep it away from the aliens." Chloe quipped back.
"You're lying right?"
"I have no reason to lie." Chloe huffed, eyebrow twitching in annoyance. " You stepped away from this life style, we knew what we were getting into."
"I didn't call to argue Chloe, but be careful please. This fight isn't the same without lucky charm or second chance. I just had this weird feeling, and please- just be careful."
There was a soft desperation in his voice that Chloe knew exactly what he meant. Her eyes meet Adrien's, then Nino's as she nodded in response like Luka could see her. This wasn't the time to snap or fight with Luka about his lack of being around, she didn't want to leave on that note. "We'll be careful, I promise. And when Marinette gets her feet back on Earth soil, we are in serious need of regrouping and hanging out. I miss watching everyone get their ass kicked in video games."
Luka chuckled softly, almost like he was recalling a memory, "You're on Bourgeois. Good luck."
The line clicked, ending the call. Slowly she met the eyes of Adrien and Nino, shaking her head. The conversation didn't matter, what mattered right now was getting the mind stone off Vision safely. Which was how the three of them stood in a lab with with Shuri, who had been fascinated with the kwamis.
Vision was laying down on a table, Shuri snapping into action for the situation at hand and working with the kwamis. Bruce was there as well, helping Shuri as she scanned the mind stone and studied the hologram. Plagg knew that the chances of getting the stone out and leaving Vision in tact were slim.
"Whoa. The structure is polymorphic." Shuri muttered, moving her hands to look at the hologram in different angles.
"Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially."
Shuri looked over towards Bruce, "Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?"
Bruce, in return, stared for a moment before deciding to be honest. "Because, we didn't think of it."
Shuri offered a smile, as if that statement was something cute to her. "I'm sure you did your best."
Wanda was getting impatient, almost relentless with this feeling of impending doom. There was no time to make mistakes or debate anything. Vision was in danger and the mind stone was something he would be a means to and end for.
"Can you do it?" The question spilt out her mouth before she really thought about it.
Shuri gave a confident nod, "Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures." She glances over at her brother, "It will take time, brother."
"How long?" Steve asks, then looks over to the kwamis. "Can you help remove the stone?"
"As long as you can give me." Was all Shuri could offer in response.
Wayzz shook his head, "It was man made technology that implanted the stone in Vision, us removing it would no nothing different to Thanos taking it. Technology is what needs to remove it."
Chloe forced herself to look away from Wanda as a quick flash of disappointment fleeted through the redhead's facial expression. How could there be nothing they could do to help vision besides offering a good luck and buying time? This is what being useless felt like, and god she hated it.
"Something's entered the atmosphere." Adrien says, watching the sky line with a grim face. He wanted to be out there where everyone else would be fighting, but he couldn't transform with Plagg and he wasn't skilled enough yet to go fight with the little training he did have.
"Hey, Cap, we got a situation here." Sam's voice came through over the ear piece.
Just as he said that, a defensive shield went over Wakanda to protect itself, and in the process took down an alien vessel. Plagg would never admit it to anyone, but he was just a bit (only a tad bit) impressed.
"It's too late" Vision mutters, watching the vessels following in pursuit. " We need to destroy the stone now."
Natasha sharply looked at Vision, "Vision, get your ass back on the table."
"We will hold them off." T'Challa gives a nod at Steve, being the first to head out to battle. "Evacuate the city. Engage all defense procedures. And get this man a shield."
Steve looked at Wanda, "Wanda, as soon as the stone's out of his head...you blow it to hell."
"I will." Wanda wouldn't hesitate, she just needed to know Vision was safe first.
Peter watched as Tony and the others got into position for their plan that took almost too long for Tony and Quill to hash up. His eyes glanced over to his left, looking at Marinette who looked back over at him. Silently he placed his hand over Marinette, earning a gentle smile that spoke louder than any words to him. That gentle smile lasted for a few moments before she turned eye eyes back towards Stephen, who sat and waited for Thanos to appear.
Stephen this look in his eyes that just showed her that he knew what was to happen. It seemed like a blessing and curse all in one, to be the one to know what was to happen but do nothing to change it. Reality of it all was that there was no second chances here or miraculous ladybug to undone what was to happen, it was set in stone.
It was one thing she once remembered reading in the book Master Fu had given her. That the one thing the miraculous could not truly change was time or reality. There was apparently a mass mystery out there on the multiverse, but it was noted that one reality in one universe was set to happen. That it was the literal meaning of everything happens for a reason. Yet there were multiple different universe on how a single choice could have a different outcome that affects the rest of one's life. There no way Stephen could change that singular outcome he'd seen, and that everything that was about to happen and was too happen was happening as it was meant too.
On their left, a portal opened up that was purple and grey smoke. All eyes watched as a tall purple giant walked out of the portal. His eyes looked around the dry and dusty planet that was slowly decaying even more. Then he caught eyes of Stephen Strange, who just watched his patiently.
"Oh, you're much more of a Thanos." Stephen says, being the first to break the silence.
"I take it that Maw is dead. This day extracts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission." Thanos made a motion towards where the reality stone was kept.
"You may regret that. He brought you face-to-face with the Master of the Mystic Arts." Stephen eyes Thanos as he approaches, the others getting into place.
"And where do you think he brought you?"
Stephen almost quirked an eyebrow, "Let me guess, your home?"
Marinette was almost in awe when the red skies turned a brilliant blue, all the dryness of the planet rejuvenating to life with a brand new vitality. Life was a sudden burst, and it was something spectacularly pretty.
"It was, and it was beautiful." Thanos's lips twitched into a small reminiscing smile. "Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, and not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution."
Stephen frowned, "Genocide."
"But at random, dispassionate, fair too rich and poor alike." Thanos wished they had understood, that more people understood. "They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass."
"Congratulations." Stephen's voice dripped with sarcasm. "You're a prophet."
"I'm a survivor." Thanos corrected
"Who wants to murder trillions."
Thanos glances at his gauntlet, "With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers, and they would all cease to exist. I call that...Mercy."
Stephen presses on, trying to buy more time. "And then what?"
"I finally rest...And watch the sun rise on a grateful universe. The hardest choices require the strongest wills."
Marinette almost rolled her eyes at that statement, because in never mattered who it was really. All villains had the same mindset that these hard choices were due to their wills being so strong. Realistically it was because they were entitled and think they deserved more for whatever reason.
"I think you'll find our will is equal to yours." Stephen used his hands, moving them into a position to defend himself when Thanos moved to strike.
"Ours?" Thanos repeated that one word, looking up in time to see a chunk of wreckage coming down on him from where Tony was flying it town to smash him. Thanos tried to be quick and use the Power stone to stop the incoming impact, but it was too late.
"Piece of cake, Quill." Tony says, almost giving the other man a smug look under his mask.
Quill flew in from the other side, "Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off."
The wreckage that was on top of Thanos erupted after that, the pieces glowing with purple. Using the Power Stone with a battle cry, Thanos's eyes snapped up to look at Tony and forced the pieces to fly at the Iron Man suit. Tony was forced to fly away as the pieces followed him.
Without hesitation, Spiderman covered Thanos's eyes with webbing, swinging in to kick the titian in the face. Drax was the next one to charge with blades, his body nearly trembling with contained anger for the man who took everything from him. Thanos tossed him aside with ease.
Then Stephen reenters with a portal, summoning a blade. Thanos stops it with his hand, tearing the web from his eyes. He advances on Strange, and kicks him just as Strange summons a shield, absorbing the force of his blow, but knocking him back. Star-Lord shoots Thanos from behind, and Thanos uses the Power Stone to shoot balls on energy at Star-Lord while he advances by the steps Strange formed in the air, and places a electric mine on his back.
Thanos turns to Quill, as he disengages his helmet, dives backward into a portal, flipping him off. "Boom!"
Thanos tried to use the Space Stone to pull Quill back, but Marinette knew she couldn't let him use the stones. Reaching her hand out, she closed her fist and focused on Thanos's hand and not letting it close. Thanos's eyes snapped up, feeling an energy all too similar to the stones. These people wouldn't be stupid to bring two stones here, would they? No, he found a small human girl who possessed an ability.
"Do not let him close his fist." Strange muttered lowly to his Cloak of Levitation.
The Cloak listens, flying to hold his fist as the mine on his back goes off. It only causes Thanos to groan in pain. Marinette saw another portal open, and this time Spiderman comes from the portal on Thanos's right.
"Magic." Spiderman says simply, kicking Thanos in the head. "More magic."
He leaped back into another portal, away from Thanos- who was trying to recover when Spiderman appeared through another portal behind him. "Magic with a kick!" Spiderman aims again for the head with his right leg. Then the portal opened on the right of Thanos, and Marinette saw it before it happened, before she could react.
"Magic with a-" Thanos turned quick, plucking Spiderman from the air and throwing him to the ground, hand around his neck.
"Insect!" Thanos hissed, and Marinette saw red as Peter got thrown.
Marinette's eyes glowed gold as she cut off his air, eyes burning into Thanos and stopping him from using the gauntlet. Tony still shot a missile or two at Thanos, but nothing too strong to knock Marinette off her game. Spiderman came back around, glancing at a pissed off Marinette. He didn't have much time, so he attached a web to Thanos (who was temporarily blinded by the flames) and pulled to strain against Thanos. Yet Thanos pulls Spiderman towards him, and Marinette clenched her fist tighter. Thanos felt his throat close, eyes darting at the next solid threat that wasn't the Sorcerer Supreme.
Of course that was when a ship crashed landed, but it kept going striaight for Thanos and knocked him off his feet. Marinette's blue eyes widen seeing a blue skinned woman jump out of the crashed ship. The woman landed a solid punch on Thanos before he caught her hand. "Well, well, well."
"You should have killed me." She spat at him.
"It would've been a waste of parts!" Thanos taunted her back, just like he had been when she was younger.
Nebula never gave a response, not when the anger was burning through her veins so firecly. She, instead, ran at Thanos with her sword ready to attack, a burning gaze staring him down. "Where's Gamora!?"
That name, Marinette recognized it fromQuill when they infiltrated the ship they had been on thanks to the Maw. This woman was important to these people, almost as important as Peter and Stephen were to her. Without the two of them, she wasn't sure she would have ever survived being guardian or half of what she experienced leaving Paris. Yet she would never change it for the world, not even what lead up to this moment. Without everything she experienced, she wouldn't be here or maybe she would have never met Peter.
Stephen had used the Space Stone to cast Nebula aside, damn near flailing her in the air. Using the mystic arts, he formed energy ropes that grappled onto the gauntlet and pulled. Thanos's natural response was to pull try, but Quill had already shot an electric magnet onto the ground behind him to hold down Thanos's other hand. Peter played his part by swinging in, making a string of web around Thanos and enabling his spider legs of his suit to anchor himself to the ground.
Stephen opened another portal above Thanos as Tony grabbed onto the gauntlet, Mantis dropping down onto Thanos's shoulders with her hands on his temples. She pushed her abilities, causing Thanos to yell out as she put him under. Her concentration was soley that, keeping Thanos out on conscience long enough to remove the gauntlet.
Tony pulled at the gauntlet harder, almost desperately. "Is he under? Don't let up."
Mantis started to cry as emotions that weren't her's washed over her, "Be quick, he is very strong!"
"Parker, Dupain-Cheng, help! Get over here!" Tony called for the two youngsters. Marinette was quick to help Tony pull at the gauntlet, carefully of not using her powers in the event the somehow cancelled Mantis's. Peter with drawed his webs, hurrying to help Tony and his girlfriend.
Marinette glanced up at Mantis, "She can't hold him much longer. Let's go. We gotta open his fingers to get it off!"
Quill landed with the others, watching Thanos go under that easily, "I thought you'd be harder to catch. For the record, this was my plan. Not so strong now, huh? Where's Gamora?"
Thanos groans, "...My...Gamora...?"
Quill made a face, shaking his head, "Oh, bull–shit. Where is she?"
The greif that washed over Mantis right then and there was almost too much too bare. It had her own heart twisting at what that meant as he groaned louder, "He is in anguish!"
"Good." Quill stated it simply, smuggly.
Tears rolled down Mantis's cheeks, " He..he...he mourns!"
Drax nearly lost his cool at that statement, thinking of his wife and daughter who were taken too early. "What does this monster have to mourn?!"
It clicked all too quickly for Nebula, the realization and understanding mixed with horror of what Thanos has done. Even her heart twisted knowing the truth she never thought he would actually do. "Gamora"
"What?" Quill looked at Nebula.
Nebula looked back at him, "He took her to Vormir. He came back with the Soul Stone...but she didn't." Her eyes glanced down at the gauntlet were the stone seemed to be mocking them with the truth. She heard stories of how to obtain the stone, but to think Gamora had been the soul traded...
Tony already saw how this was going to go sideways. In fact, he may not have known Quill that long, but long enough to know said man didn't think things through all the way. "Okay, Quill, you gotta cool it right now, understand?"
He didn't understand, nope, not all all as he turned slowly to face Thanos. Marinette and Peter only tugged harder to get this damn gauntlet off.
Tony's voice turned urgent, "Don't, don't, don't engage, we've almost got this off!"
"Tell me she's lying." Quill almost sounded in disbelief, and Marinette remembered that moment before the anger. It didn't last a second for Quill to become enraged. "ASSHOLE! Tell me you didn't do it!"
"I... had... to." Thanos muttered, almost sounding sad.
Quill's eyes started to tear up, the next part coming out of his lips almost quietly, "No, you didn't... No, you didn't..." Once again the anger washed over him, and he was too close not to take the pistol in his hand and pistol whip Thanos right in the face. "NO, YOU DIDN'T!"
"QUILL!" Drax yelled, but it was too late. Quill uses his gun to pound Thanos in the face twice more, leaving Tony to make the choice to go stop and hold him back while Peter and Marinette are left to the gauntlet.
"Hey, stop! Hey, stop! Stop! Hey, stop! Stop!" Tony is yelling at Quill too now, desperate to get him to stop and not ruin this chance for them to get ahead of the situation.
"It's coming! It's coming! I got it! I got it...!" Peter was yelling victorious as he and Marinette finally made way in pulling this damn thing off.
Yet at the same moment Thanos wakes up, head butting Mantis off from his shoulders and grabbing the cuff of the gauntlet that was sliding off his hand. It caused both Peter and Marinette to stumble back and Mantis to go flying
"Oh god!" Peter was quick to go after Mantis, seeing her flying through the air. He jumped up, hugging her as he extending his spider legs again. It gave them a safe landing.
It was an all out battle between Thanos and the other, and Marinette felt useless watching them lose. She wanted to help, but she saw Thanos earlier, saw how he zeroed in on her when she used her abilities. It was something she and Stephen discussed, how there was a possibility it may distract him enough or make him curious enough, neither a good reason to expose herself to him.
Yet he was more powerful, having multiple stones and even brining a moon down on Tony. Yet it came down to morals, and she couldn't not do anything. Moving, Marinette focused on another one of the moons, eyes glowing as she copied Thanos. It erupted in gold instead of purple, and this time he focused on her.
"You." Thanos frowned, eyeing her.
"Me." She ignored Peter calling her name, pulling the stones at Thanos. They would have hit him had he not reflected them, had he not use the stones to pull her closer.
"Marinette!" Peter yelled, but she could only look Thanos in the eyes.
"Marinette..." Thanos tested the name, it was unfamiliar to him. He knew about the witch that protected the other remaining stone. But this girl, she was no witch. She was something else, something more.
Stephen wrapped energy ropes around Thanos's wrist, pulling away from Marinette. Tony landing on the opposite side. Yet Thanos grabbed the en energy rope, throwing Stephen head first into some rocks.
"You throw another moon at me and I'm going to be pissed." Tony tells Thanos, annoyance loud and clear.
"Stark." Thanos greeted, and it hit a nerve.
"You know me."
"Of course. You aren't the only one cursed with knowledge." Thanos didn't really have time to say anything else. Not when Tony decided to attack one Peter nabbed and swung Marinette away. Their fight ended with Thanos stabbing Tony with shrapnel.
"You have my respect Stark. When I'm done, half of humanity will still be alive." Thanos let Tony lean back with his new wound. "I hope they remember you."
Marinette was holding Peter back from running to Tony, who was in the shooting range of Thanos lifting up the gauntlet. They lost, and they wouldn't win. Not against all the stones, or majority of them anyways. It was heart wrenching seeing Tony groaning and grunting in pain, but they couldn't do anything.
"Stop." Stephen groaned out, coming back into conscience as he processed what was happening now. It was enough for Thanos to look at the wizard. "Spare his life, and I will give you the stone."
Tony was surprised to hear that, since Stephen said he'd let them all die for the stone. Not that he was complaining.
"No tricks." Thanos was serious, and so was Stephen as he shook his head.
"Don't." Tony cut in, watching Thanos move the gauntlet to aim at Stephen.
Stephen ignored hi, lifting his hand up and summoning the Time Stone from the pocket dimension he hid it in. Tony let out a painful sigh as Stephen flicked the stone in the air towards Thanos, who put it in the gauntlet with the other stones in his possession. AS the power surged through Thanos, Quill came out shooting again.
Thanos opened a portal, escaping and leaving them all there. Marinette didn't hesitate to let Peter go, following to rush towards Tony and started to inspect the wound as Quill yelled about where Thanos just went.
"Did we just lose?" Quill asked the obvious question, taking in the defeated looks.
"Why would you do that?" Tony asks Stephen, hissing she Marinette placed a hand on his wound.
"I can heal you." Marinette muttered before he could ask, a lingering gift she still had from Tikki. God she wished she had Tikki here now.
"We're in the endgame now." Stephen says, and no one else said a thing. No one could.
Thirty Minutes Later
Marinette didn't know how to sit still knowing that people she loved were in danger, and she wasn't even on the same planet. Her duty was to protect the kwamis, and here she was messing that up. She left her friends, the last of her family to do what? Play hero and lose? What did she even think she could do? Make a real difference? if anything, she made things worse by lacking in the fight.
Peter slipped his hand into Marinette's, giving a reassuring squeeze. He could see her mind spinning, trying to make sense of everything they just endured. The loss of the Time Stone because Quill couldn't control his emotions of finding out Gamora was dead. Peter couldn't imagine that type of pain. He knew she was anxious, hell even Mantis had called Marinette out on her anxiety by asking if she was okay when Marinette healed minor cuts. Yet he couldn't blame her. Which brought him to the realization he hadn't said a thing too May. Just up and left planet Earth.
"Hey, can I ask you a favor?" Peter softly asked Marinette, causing her to nod her head slightly.
"Okay." Marinette whispered back, eyes glancing down when Peter squeezed her hand again, this time for his own nerves.
"In the event something happens... can you please let May know that I love her-"
"Stop that." Marinette cut him off, giving a shake of her head. She didn't like that tone, the one he was using accepting they loss. She never wanted to hear it again. "You're coming home with me. I'm going to take a break in my training and be normal with you. We're going to the prom together, I'll design your suit to match my dress. Then we are going to graduate and figure it out from there. We are going to make it home, together."
Peter grabbed her hands with both of his, turning to fulling look at her in those blue eyes he loved. The eyes that shined with anxiety and determination. Reaching up, he pushed some hair gently behind her ear, cupping her cheek to earnestly look into her eyes. "Please, Mari. If something were to happen to me, tell her I love her and I'm always watching out for you two."
She prayed that would never happen, but she nodded to pacify him. "I promise, but only if you promise to tell Chloe and Adrien and Nino the same if something happens to me. And Plagg that I love him too."
Peter nodded, leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead. He took her in that very moment, because somewhere deep in his spidey senses he knew something was going to happen that would change everything. He wanted to take in whatever innocence they had left, hold onto it just for that fleeting moment. She was okay, everything was okay in this moment.
Yet that was the funny thing about moments in life, they were forever changing and fleeting. Mantis felt something in her very core shift, eyes looking up as she senses change sweeping over them and through them like Peter was . A frown appeared on her face, then a feeling that was...funny. A weird tingle sensation.
"Something... is happening." Was all Mantis was able to say before the tingle turned into tsunami washing over her and turning her into ashes in the air. Into dust.
At the very same instance right next to Quill, Drax's right arm and lower half of his body slowly turned into the same dust as the tingle sensation ate away at him. The confusion clear as day, "Quill?"
Quill could only stare in horror as he watched his friend turn into a literal nothingness. The horror didn't last long as a weird sensation swept through him. It caused a slight stumble to the side, but it was enough to catch Tony's attention.
"Steady, Quill" Tony took a step forward, Quill looking head on at him.
"Aw, man." Where Quill's last words as he disintegrated into ashes with the rest of his comrades.
Stephen calmly turns to look at Marinette and Tony who are watching in disbelief around them. His eyes lingered on Marinette, his cold heart aching just a little bit knowing what was to come. He saw it, but this was the only way. And so that's what he tells them too, "Tony, there was no other way."
Marinette heard Stephen yet didn't say anything, not when she noticed Peter sway and then stumbled to the side just like Quill had moments ago. Her stomach churned when their eyes met, realization hitting him first. Peter, in that single moment, took her in again. The tears that began to pull in her blue eyes mirrored the feelings he was suddenly getting hit with, with this weird floating sensation. He felt light. Like he was flying almost with a numbness in his veins.
"I.. I don't feel so good, Mari." Peter muttered out, staggering to the side a little more.
"Hey, hey you're gonna be okay Pete." Marinette stumbled with him to catch him before he could fall to his knees, lowering slowly with him. "I got you Peter. I will have you."
"I don't wanna go, I don't want to leave you." His words were pleading in her ear as Marinette hugged him closer to her body. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin, his lips brushing against her ear. She felt the tears well in her eyes and slip down her cheek, at one last whisper of "I'm sorry".
Marinette's throat tightened, and there was a grip on her heart before she felt a numbness washed over her as the weight she held in her arms floated away into nothingness. The world around her became muffle and far away from her reality, and that reality was that she just lost the most important person to her. It was like the air being kicked out of her lungs, but this time she couldn't grasp for more no matter how hard she tried. She didn't even notice the tears rolling down her face faster until someone touched her shoulder after god knows how long she was sitting in that spot.
"Hey kid." Tony says softly, watching as she fell apart all over again. She had been zoning out and needed to be anchored back down.
"Wh..where did he go?" Marinette whispered, not wanting to accept that he was just gone like that, within a snap, to be out of existence just like that. He was just here, in her arms and warm with life. Yet her eyes never moved from the spot he had been in, never once daring to look away towards Tony.
Tony could see the small tremors in her body twitch with the urge to just let it all out. Movement from his peripherals showed that Nebula was the only other person besides himself and Marinette to have not turned to dust. She also looked like she was processing everything that just happened, but was doing far better than the youngest in their now group of three.
"He did it." Nebula couldn't hid the disbelief that her father did exactly like he has planned. Looking back at the other two, she didn't feel all too confident that they would ever survive getting somewhere safer.
HIIIII I'M ALIVE!
Gosh, this chapter has been being worked on for weeks! I finally made it to the end after back and forth with scenes! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I'm excited to finally post and share it!
I hope everyone is doing well, and like always I appreciate the support and love this story gets! Thank you for the support!
I hope you all enjoy the chapter! Stay safe please!
