Please trust me, that's what he said to me before I grabbed his wrist and in the blink of an eye we were gone. Madison trusted Loki, even after she learned of what he did in this universe compared to the Loki she knew from her own. Bucky had only moments to remind himself of that before he took the leap of faith and went with him. He knew one of Loki's powers was the ability to transport himself from one location to another, Madison had absorbed that power as well and used it on him once before. So he was ready for the unusual after effect and slight disorientation he would feel. What he wasn't ready for was the site before him.

Madison couldn't believe what she was seeing. Dark, black smoke was beginning to roll into the sky over the fiery flames that licked at the skyline. Shuri, Wanda, Vision, that was the first thing that came to her mind as she felt the rumble of the explosion under her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, Madison could see Tony and Rhodey flying towards the smoking building as Peter swung from tree to tree not far behind them. As her eye line dropped from the fiery furnace in the background Bucky's concerned face came into view. His name was on Madison's lips as she felt two large, cold arms wrap around her and pull her off her feet. Suddenly she was shifting locations. Madison knew this feeling, knew what was happening but was thrown off-balance because it wasn't her that was shifting. She was being teleported.

It took less than a few seconds to move locations but when she stopped moving Madison realized she was still in Wakanda. The destruction could still be heard, just farther away. Looking around there were trees, the lake was close by as she could hear its movement over the rocks. Madison also realized she wasn't alone. Slowly turning she was faced with the source of her nightmares. The same that had destroyed her universe stood before her now.

"What is it about you that is so special that you are causing me so many problems?"

Thanos stood before Madison so close that she stumbled back a couple steps just to be able to look up into his face. All of the confidence Madison felt began to drain as she realized she was on her own against the mad titan.

"Stay the fuck away from me," Madison said as she regained her footing. Two large hands clamped down on her shoulders from behind stopping her from moving further away. The sensation was strange. She could feel powers beginning to absorb from whomever was holding her. What was different was that the feelings were making her angry, like whatever the new powers were also connected to feelings of anger and hate.

"My friends will kill you. You aren't going to win this time."

Thanos stopped short, noticing the fine details to young woman's sentence, but before he could say more one of his children called to him.

"My lord." Kneeling before Thanos was one of his most faithful children Ebony Maw. "My mission was a success."

In her hands she held up a glowing amber colored stone, a stone that Madison recognized all too well. It was the mind stone, the very same stone that had previously been safely encased in Vision.

"The Earthlings and the Android were easily dispatched with the explosion. They were no match for your forces," she said, holding the stone aloft for Thanos to take from her hand.

Madison watched as Thanos gently took the stone in between his large fingers. She noticed that the gauntlet he was wearing had still held two missing stones including the one he held in his hand. She watched as he slowly lowered it into place, the glove accepting the new piece like a jigsaw puzzle. Glowing and pulsing with new power Madison watched as the power of the stone ravaged Thanos' body.

Slowly his eyes opened and refocused on Madison's struggling form. "I won't win?" Thanos said, a smile forming on his face as he mocked Madison.

Bucky stumbled slightly after letting go of Loki's arm. He had transported them to within eye sight of Thanos and his legion, but still several yards away so as not to be detected. "Here's the plan," Loki began whispering to Bucky, "I need you to draw their attention. I'll transport in, grab the girl and pop back out just like she came in. I'll pop back here and get you both out."

"Sounds easy enough," Bucky muttered while casting a death glare Thanos' way. "So why do I feel like this is going to be harder than that."

"Because it won't work," came a voice from behind the two startled men. A circular sparkling portal appeared behind the two men's hiding place and out stepped Dr. Strange.

"Thanos now has all of the stones except mine. We have to save Madison at all costs." Strange turned to Bucky, looking at the young man for a few brief moments before continuing. "There is no way to stop what is about to happen," Strange said more so to Bucky. "The only thing we can do now is try to correct the path that occurs after all is said and done. I'm sorry, just know that this isn't the end."

Bucky didn't like the unsettling feeling that occurred in the pit of his stomach as he watched Strange open another portal and step through, disappearing from sight.

"What the hell," Loki said, drawing Bucky's attention back towards Thanos and his men.

"Thanos!" Strange called as he stepped through the portal he had opened just feet away from where they held Madison captive. "Let the girl go."

Thanos turned to the wizard, his attention focused on the amulet that hung around his neck that held the glowing green time stone. "Now why would I want to do that," Thanos said as he slowly reached down and wrapped his massive hand around Madison's neck, lifting her off the ground.

Bucky nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Madison's feet leave the ground as Thanos held her aloft. It took great strength for Loki to hold him back and not give away their location. "Wait, WAIT," Loki pleaded, "he's not going to kill her. He wants to toy with the wizard a little longer."

Bucky struggled against the trickster. He heard the words, but everything inside of him screamed out for him to save the woman he loved.

"Look at her," Loki demanded, trying his best to break through Bucky's cloud of panic that was filling his mind. "Look at where her hands are."

Bucky's eyes shifted focus just slightly to realize that Madison's hands were firmly clamped around the gauntlet. Looking closer he could see that Madison's eyes were closed and her hands were glowing a warm amber color. She was absorbing the stone's powers.

"Stone keeper," Thanos bellowed, "I want that stone," he said, pointing to the time stone hanging around Strange's neck. "You want the girl. Let's make a trade."

Everything seemed to happen at one perfectly coordinated time. Bucky watched as Strange held up one shaking finger to Thanos as he used a spell to allow the time stone to float freely from his amulet into the air. Madison's eyes flew open as she delivered a blast of energy causing Thanos to lose his grip from around her neck causing her to fall to the ground. Before she could hit the ground however a portal opened below her allowing her to fall through. Seconds later she appeared only feet away from Bucky, landing hard on the ground.

Rushing to her side Bucky wrapped his arms around Madison, thanking God that she was alright. Her own arms wrapped tightly around her man, feeling safe for the first time in what was beginning to feel like forever.

Bucky looked up just in time to see Steve, T'Challa, Natasha and several others rushing the group. What they didn't see was where the time stone had fallen among the chaos. One-by-one Thanos' children were cut down by the Avengers. Natasha finished off Ebony Maw by taking her head off with her blade. Steve threw blow after blow at Thanos, none of them seeming to do as much damage as they would have done on a lesser being. But at least it did keep him distracted. The next blow should have been fatal as Loki appeared in a whiff of smoke behind Thanos, blade in hand as he impaled Thanos from behind through the chest. The blow drove Thanos to his knees as Loki stood over him making sure to twist the blade for maximum damage.

"Don't touch my family," Loki whispered to the titan as he watched Thanos' eyes grow large with pain.

Thanos turned slightly to look Loki in the eyes as he felt his heart trying to beat around the large blade that currently divided it into. "You really should," he gasped around the pain, "you really should remember to go for the head."

Loki watched in horror as Thanos' gloved hand rose into the air, fingers poised to snap away half of all existence. Had the next moment happened just a second sooner there would have been triumph for everyone trying to save the universe from Thanos.

"My thoughts exactly!" Came the deep voice of Thor moments before his axe sliced into the throat of Thanos…just a second after Thanos completed the snap.

Thor pressed harder down onto his axe as it sliced further into the neck of Thanos causing him to fall completely to the ground. Loki still behind the titan, his sword buried deep into the chest of the madman and Thor at the front.

"I win," were Thanos' last gurgled words before Thor finished pushing the axe clean through his neck.

There seemed to be a shift in the wind as everyone slowly began to realize the truth. They may have defeated the mad titan, but he had completed his mission.

"This isn't the end," Dr. Strange called to Captain Rogers as Steve watched his body crumple into a pile of dust and ash that seemed to blow in the wind.

One-by-one people began to crumple and disappear like burnt up paper in the breeze. Steve watched as people he knew slowly disappeared from view, some turning to him for help, others just falling into nothingness. Sam, T'Challa, Clint, all disappearing into ash before they could say anything. Steve felt lost, a hollowness growing inside of him as he realized they failed.

"I'm sorry brother," were Loki's last words as he too faded away, Thor reaching for his brother.

"No! NO!," Came the desperate pleas of Bucky as he clung to Madison's body. Steve turned just in time to watch in horror as his daughter, the person who had come to warn them all, to try to stop this horrible event from happening again, disappear into ash.