So here we are folks! The TMNT/Avengers crossover that I promised you! Enjoy the first chapter!

NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes that I will fix later.

"You're kidding, right?" Raph sighed as he rubbed his face. "We're really all that's left?"

Immediately after Leo and Donnie vanished, Mikey and Raph called for a gathering in the lair, and to their dismay, only April, Pigeon Pete, Mondo Gecko, and Mona Lisa were left. Above the surface, all of New York was in panic over the sudden disappearance of about four million people.

April nodded, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "I called Casey ten times," she croaked, "but he never answered. So I went to his house." She wiped away a tear that rolled down her cheek. "His Dad and sister were there but...he's gone."

"Well, w-what about Karai?" Mikey asked tearfully.

She sadly shook her head. "Gone. Half the Foot vanished, too."

Mondo sat down on the couch and cradled his head in his hands. "One minute, I'm having a Coke with Rockwell. The next, I'm staring at an empty seat."

Pigeon Pete nibbled on a loaf of bread. "Maybe they're just on vacation?" he suggested.

Everyone just stared at him. The mutant pigeon was never the sharpest tool in the shed.

"Yeah," Raph grumbled as he looked down at the floor. "A permanent vacation."

"Hey, we don't know if they're really dead, Raph!" Mikey snapped.

"Your brother is right, Raphael," Mona softly told her boyfriend as she walked over to him and touched his shoulder. "We shouldn't give up so easily. There might be a chance we could reverse all of this."

Raph sighed. "Mona, we don't even know what caused all of this. So how could we fix it?"

"You will find a way," she smiled gently at him. "You always do."

"But..."

"Hey, guys, are you seeing this right now?" Mondo called out from the entertainment center, prompting the others to look at the TV.

On Channel Six, the anchorwoman was announcing the worldwide crisis, her own face pale and grim. In every part of Europe, millions are reported missing with the number increasing every hour. The following video was recorded by a woman in Lyon, France. We warn viewers that the footage you are about to see is disturbing.

In the phone video, there was panic on the streets as people suddenly turned to dust and disappeared, just like Leo, Donnie, and Stockman. Even a little girl, probably no older than ten, vanished as she was being held by her mother.

Mikey and Raph couldn't believe what they were seeing. It wasn't just in New York; it was happening worldwide.

"Okay," Mondo's voice trembled, "what the heck is going on?"

"And why is this happening?" April asked. "An act of war?"

"Perhaps this is the Kraang's doing?" Mona said. "Or the Triceratons?"

Suddenly a monotone male voice spoke up. "I'm afraid it's much worse than that."

Everyone turned to see a tall dark-haired man in a black suit step into the room. He stared at them through his dark sunglasses and with an emotionless expression.

"Bishop?" April gasped.

"What do you mean, 'worse'?" Raph demanded. "Who did this?"

The Utrom pushed a button on his watch and a life-sized holographic projection of a burly man in armor appeared before them. He was very large and had purple skin and ridges on his chin. "The one responsible for this catastrophe is Thanos."

Mikey furrowed his brow. "Thanos," he mumbled. "Why does that name sound familiar...?"

Mona's golden eyes became large at the mention of that name. Raph noticed her shocked, fearful expression and gently touched her back. "Mona?" he spoke softly to her. "What is it?"

"Thanos of Titan," Mona whispered.

"Wait, who is this Thanos?" April asked the two aliens.

"A monster," Mona said, "Even Dregg is a saint compared to him. Long ago, there was a race of powerful beings called Titans. Their planet was crippled by overpopulation and there weren't enough resources to sustain their entire civilization. So one Titan named Thanos proposed a radical solution: genocide. He explained that if half of the planet's population were to be destroyed, their society would be saved from starvation and civil unrest."

Bishop finished the story for her. "The other Titans declared him to be a madman and banished him. Shortly after his departure, the whole race became extinct, and Titan was left a desolate planet. Thanos lost his world, but he still held onto his extremist beliefs and believed that it was his destiny to bring harmony and order to the universe by erasing half of the entire population."

"But...that's impossible!" Raph exclaimed. "No one's powerful enough to make half of the universe disappear!"

"No," Bishop said, "but with the Infinity Stones, one could be."

Raph raised an eye ridge. "The what Stones?"

Mikey's eyes widened in surprise. "Infinity Stones? Hey, I held one before! Well, technically, Quill held it, but we shared the energy and almost exploded but thankfully we didn't and..." He trailed off when he noticed everyone else's puzzled looks, then he cleared his throat. "They're pretty much these space rocks that can make you crazy-powerful. Some bad guy called Ronan tried to use one for his evil purposes, but me and the Guardians of the Galaxy stopped him. No 'thank you''s are necessary."

Mona turned to Raph confused. "The...Guardians of the Galaxy?"

"It's a long story," Raph mumbled.

"Yes," Bishop nodded. "Nova Corps informed the Utrom Council of your heroic actions, Michelangelo. But I regret to inform you that Thanos has annihilated Xandar and acquired the Power Stone."

Mikey's face became pale and his legs almost gave out at the news. Xandar, destroyed? "Wh-What? They...they're all gone?"

"I'm afraid so."

"But-But what about the Guardians? They would never have allowed that to happen!"

Bishop shook his head. "I don't know."

Fearing the worst for his space friends, Mikey released a trembling sigh and sat down on the couch next to Mondo.

"Wait," April spoke up, "you're saying that Thanos didn't just disintegrate half of the world, but half of the entire universe?"

"Yes," Bishop replied. "Not one inhabited planet in this dimension was spared."

The whole room became silent.

"Dude," Mondo said softly in awe. "That's seriously cool and seriously messed up."

"So all we have to do is find this Thanos and make him fix all of this, right?" Raph growled as he cracked his knuckles. "No problem."

"If the stories about him are true, and he does have the Infinity Stones, then it won't be easy," Mona warned her boyfriend.

Raph shrugged his shoulders. "Is it ever easy?"

"Yeah," Mikey stood up from the couch with a grin. "We'll make that purple freak pay for what he did, Ninja style!"

Bishop cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "While I admire your courage and determination, Turtles, Y'Gythgba is right: we mustn't underestimate Thanos' strength or his intelligence."

Raph rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Whatever. I'm not afraid of him."

"No, but millions across the universe are. You'll see."

Week 1

So Bishop, Mikey, and Raph began their search for Thanos and went back to some of the worlds that they explored during the quest with Fugitoid, starting with Varanon.

When they walked into the planet's most dangerous bar, they were met with bloodthirsty and angry eyes, but the moment Bishop pulled out the hologram of Thanos, some glanced away while others got up from their tables and rushed outside. The Utrom asked the customers and bartenders about the current whereabouts of Thanos, but not a single one of them would talk or even look at him.

Mikey was disturbed by the thugs' reactions. Bishop wasn't kidding: everyone was afraid of Thanos.

...

They revisited the cafe Zayford's Cantina where they ran into an old enemy, Vrax Belebome, or "Bellybomb" as Mikey would call him. The moment the one-eyed blob spotted the trio, he tried to make a run for it, but Bishop kicked him back into his booth.

Mikey stomped up to the table and slapped his palms down. "Okay, Bellybomb," he said in a serious tone, "start talking. Where is Thanos?"

"Uh," Bellybomb nervously blinked, "who?"

"Don't play dumb!" Raph snapped. "Where is he?!"

"Look, I know nothin' about Thanos! And even if I did-"

Raph suddenly pulled his sai out and pointed it inches from the alien's eyeball. Everyone in the restaurant gasped and Bellybomb became frozen with fear.

"I'm running out of patience, tubby," the Turtle snarled, his emerald eyes filled with rage. "We need to find Thanos now. My brothers' lives depend on it, and I'll dispose of anyone who gets in my way."

Bellybomb looked at Bishop and Mikey. They merely stood aside and let Raph threaten him like that, and he instantly realized how serious this was. He sighed in defeat and sat back in his booth. "Alright, fine," he said. "I'll tell you everything. About two weeks ago, I dropped by Knowhere to sell this rare artifact to the Collector."

"The Collector?" Mikey gasped, remembering the guy to whom the Guardians almost sold the Power Stone. "Did he have white hair and dressed like a pimp?"

"Yeah," Bellybomb moved his eyeball up and down in a nod. "Nice guy. A bit eccentric. And I'm thinkin' he was a homo-"

"Focus!" Raph yelled. "You were meeting with this Collector guy when...?"

"I was in the middle of makin' a sweet deal when..." The cyclops shivered. "...when the big guy, himself, showed up. Oh, man. I'm telling ya, it was horrible. I was lucky to get out alive. But I don't know where he went after that, I swear."

"Did he ever state his business?" Bishop asked.

"Uh," Bellybomb scratched his chin in thought, "He said somethin' about...a Stone of Reality? My memory is kinda fuzzy."

Bishop immediately understood. "The Reality Stone."

Bellybomb looked at the Utrom shocked. "Wait. An Infinity Stone? Look, I know it ain't my business, but y'all ain't seriously thinkin' about goin' up against Thanos, are ya?"

"So what if we are?" Raph gruffed.

"I'm just sayin'," the cyclops warned, "if the big guy did get all of the Infinity Stones, then there's no point in even tryin', 'cause with one snap of his fingers..." He snapped his own fingers for emphasis. "...poof. Game over for y'all."

Mikey gulped. The more he learned about Thanos, the more nervous he became.

But Raph merely scoffed. "Yeah, we'll keep that in mind," he said sarcastically as he headed toward the exit.

Week 2

The trio traveled to a planet called Zen-Whoberi, one of the thousands of worlds that had been invaded by Thanos. They entered a small city and the citizens there seemed peaceful and greeted them with friendly smiles, though Mikey could sense a sad aurora around them. Bishop asked around for any information on Thanos, but no one had seen or heard from him in years. As he looked around, Mikey took note of physical features of the Zehoberei: green skin and dark hair with reddish tips, just like...

He jumped when he felt someone tap his shell and quickly turned around. A little girl with short wavy hair looked up at the Turtle with curious eyes. Mikey smiled at her gently and knelt down to be at her level.

"Hey, there, dudette," he said softly. "What's your name?"

"Leema," the girl said with a shy smile.

"Hey, Leema. I'm Mikey."

"What kind of a creature are you?" Leema asked as she touched the scaly skin on his hands.

"I'm a turtle."

"What's a 'turtle'?"

"Only the coolest reptiles ever. Here, watch this." Mikey pulled his head and limbs back into his shell.

Leema gasped and then giggled excitedly when Mikey popped back out.

"And that's not the only thing I can do." He did a couple of backflips and then did a spin on his shell.

The little girl clapped her hands as she laughed in amusement. Her laughter caught the attention of a woman who was buying fruit at a market stand. She quickly paid before she rushed over to Leema and grabbed her hand.

"Leema!" she scolded. "What have I told you about talking to strangers?"

"No, it's okay, ma'am," Mikey assured her. "I wouldn't hurt her." He then noticed something familiar about the woman. Something about her face. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know Gamora, would you?"

The woman looked surprised at the mention of that name. "Gamora? Well, yes. She was my cousin."

Mikey's eyes went big. "No way! Gamora's your cousin?! That's awesome!"

"I...I'm sorry, but how do you know her?" the woman asked.

"Gamora's like a big sister to me!" Mikey said with a big smile. "She and I saved the universe twice!"

The woman was amazed by this. "So she survived," she said in a quiet voice.

The smile on Mikey's face dropped. "Survived what?"

...

After Mikey introduced Raph and Bishop to the woman, whose name was Maiel, they followed her to a large field...

...with hundreds of tombstones, all decorated with memorial flowers.

Maiel bowed her head both in respect and sorrow. "This is the grave of the ones who were slaughtered by Thanos years ago. And there are even more across the entire planet."

Mikey looked at the graveyard in horror. "Why?" he whispered. "Why did he do this?"

"To bring balance, as he put it," Maiel said as she lifted her face. "He would travel from one city to the next, round up half of the population, and then execute them. I was only a child when it happened, but I remember it well..."

...

She and her parents held hands as they were being escorted by strange soldiers, the likes of which she had never seen before. Houses around her were burning and they had to step over a few bodies that were bleeding on the ground.

Suddenly, she felt her mother's hand being pulled out of her grasp and she looked up to see two soldiers dragging her away as she screamed. Her father tried to save her but was being pushed back by a soldier with a spear. Seeing that it was futile to resist and that he needed to focus on protecting his daughter, he picked Maiel up and held her in his arms as he followed the others.

Half of the city was forced to stand on one side of the main road while the other half was pushed away to the other side. Maiel cried and reached out to her mother but her father kept a strong hold on her. She glanced to the side and saw her cousin Gamora standing in front of a large purple-skinned man in armor. He knelt down and they exchanged a few words before she took his hand and followed him to a pavilion. He then pulled out a small knife and let her play with it.

Then Maiel heard a man loudly say, "Now go in peace...and meet your maker."

She turned her head back to the other half of the city when she heard guns being fired. Her father quickly shielded her eyes with his hand, but not before she saw her mother drop to the ground.

...

"My mother and hundreds of others were killed that day, and I never saw Gamora again," Maiel finished the story with tears in her eyes.

Mikey's heart broke for Maiel and the people of this planet, and for Gamora, who was taken from her home and forced to work for Thanos. He remembered her mentioning her adoptive father a few times, but they never really talked about him. He learned during his second adventure with the Guardians that it was Thanos who turned Nebula into a cyborg.

Raph released a heavy sigh and shook his head. "This guy is crazy," he muttered in disgust.

"Many to this day are still too afraid to have children," Maiel said somberly. "We don't want to rebuild our families, only to have them destroyed by Thanos once again. I still have nightmares of him returning and taking Leema from me. All mothers on this planet carry the same fear in their hearts."

Mikey walked over to her and touched her arm. "Well, we're going to make sure that never happens again, 'cause we're gonna find him and make him pay for all the terrible things he's ever done."

Maiel looked at Turtle with a sad smile. "Thank you, but it's impossible to defeat Thanos."

Mikey grinned confidently. "Hey, my bros and I have done the impossible before."

...

They spent the night at Maiel's house, where Mikey told Leema stories of his adventures with the Guardians. They left early the next morning to continue their search, and Mikey promised to come back and play with Leema again and maybe even teach her a few lessons in ninjutsu.

Week 3

Mikey sighed as he plopped himself down on the couch both exhausted and disheartened. Raph grumbled something under his breath before he punched the wall and stormed off into his room.

They had spent three weeks in space and visited dozens of worlds, but they never found Thanos. And everyone they talked to either didn't know anything or were too scared to talk. Of course, they're weren't about give up and would search forever for him if they had to, but it was extremely tiring and frustrating.

The youngest Hamato brother closed his eyes as drifted off to sleep...

...

He found himself standing in the middle of a wheat field. It seemed to stretch into infinity and he was all alone, but he swore that he heard small, distant voices as the wind gently blew. He looked up at the sky, which was oddly yellow and fluffy white clouds floated above his head, but the sun was missing, which was even more strange.

When he looked back to the field, he saw someone in the distance walking toward the horizon. He had to squint his eyes to see who it was.

"Gamora?" he gasped. He smiled big and started to run after his friend. "Gamora!" He ran as fast as he could and was getting closer to her. "Hey, Gamora! Wait up!"

Gamora stopped walking and turned around, then she raised her hand. "Stop!" she yelled.

Mikey stopped dead in his tracks, utterly confused. "W-What?"

"Don't come any closer, Mikey," she warned him.

"What's wrong?"

"Where I'm going, you can't follow."

"But...why not?"

There was a pause before Gamora said softly, "I'm sorry, Mikey." The young Turtle could see tears in her eyes, and before he could ask her any more questions, she turned and continued on her way.

He stood there for a moment, before he started to run after her again. "Gamora! Wait! Please! GAMORA!"

Suddenly at very quick pace, the sun arose from the horizon and shined so bright that Mikey had to shield his eyes, but he kept on running. When the glare went away and he could see again, he was suddenly heading straight toward the edge of a cliff and managed to stop himself before he could fall off. The bright yellow sky had turned dark as angry storm clouds formed and spat out lightening. He looked down into the deep abyss below and gulped as he slowly backed away...

...when his shell hit something hard.

He swiftly turned around and a large armored hand grabbed him by the throat. He let out a strangled gasp as Thanos lifted him off the ground.

The Titan sneered at him as he held him over the abyss. "It's no use," he said. "I am...inevitable."

And then he dropped the Turtle, who screamed as he fell into the pit of darkness and death.

...

"...id! Kid! Wake up!"

Mikey woke up panting and drenched in cold sweat, and it took him a couple of seconds to realize that his old friend Rocket was standing next to the couch.

The raccoon looked at him with worried brown eyes. "You okay, kid?"

Mikey blinked. "Rocket...?"

Rocket smiled a little. "Hey, Mike. How ya been?"

"...ROCKET!" the Turtle cried out joyously as he picked up the raccoon and hugged him tight. "Dude, I'm so happy to see you!"

Rocket chuckled softly and patted his friend's arm. "Me, too, kid. I'm glad Thanos didn't get you."

At the mention of that name, Mikey's joy turned to dread and he put Rocket down. "You...you mean the others...?"

Rocket lowered his gaze to the floor and his ears flattened. "Yeah," he said in a low, sad voice. "You and I are the only Guardians left."

"Even...Groot?" Mikey choked.

Rocket simply nodded.

Mikey covered his face with his hand and let out a trembling sigh. He had been holding onto the hope that the Guardians somehow survived and would come to help him fix all of this, but his already broken heart shattered upon learning that they had vanished, as well.

"Leo and Donnie are gone, too," he said. "So are most of my friends." He lowered his hand and looked at Rocket with eyes full of tears. "Why did this happen, Rocket?"

Rocket shook his head. "I don't know. But it should never have happened."

Mikey sniffled and cleared his throat. "Anyway, what are you doing here in New York? And how did you find me?"

"Well..."

"Hey, Mikey," Raph yawned as he walked into the room. "Am I hearing things or is someone in-?" He froze and his eyes went big when he spotted Rocket, obviously surprised to see him in the lair.

Rocket greeted him with a nod and grin. "Hey. Raph, right?"

Raph stared at him for a moment before he angrily narrowed his eyes. "Oh, great," he said in an irritated tone. "What are you doing here?"

The raccoon frowned. "Yeah, nice to see you, too," he grumbled.

"Look, if you're here to take Mikey on another stupid space trip, it's gonna have to wait. We just lost our family."

"Yeah, well, I lost my family, too," Rocket snapped. "As did everyone else thanks to Thanos."

Raph crossed his arms and scoffed. "Tell me something I don't know," he said bitterly.

Rocket cleared his throat and turned back to Mikey. "Anyway, I told the Avengers that I needed your help so they tracked you here."

Mikey's jaw dropped. Did he hear the raccoon right? "The Avengers? You-You mean...as in the Avengers?"

"Well, sure," Rocket shrugged. "I mean, are there any other Avengers I don't know about?"

Raph couldn't believe what he was hearing either and walked up to the raccoon. "You're serious? Earth's greatest heroes sent you to recruit us?"

"No," Rocket nodded to Mikey. "Just him. I only need your brother."

Of course, Raph instantly became angry. He had dreamt of meeting Iron Man, Captain America, and the Hulk for years. He wasn't going to let an opportunity as momentous as this just pass by. And he wanted to save Leo and Donnie as much as Mikey did. "Well, I'm coming, too," he declared.

Rocket snorted and shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

The enraged Turtle reached for the raccoon's throat. "Listen here, you-!"

"Raph!" Mikey grabbed him before he could touch Rocket and held him back. "Bro, calm down! Let me talk to him, okay?!"

With a frustrated sigh, Raph relented and waited impatiently as Mikey led Rocket into the kitchen.

"Well, he's a charmer," Rocket muttered sarcastically.

"You get used to it," Mikey said. "Rocket, have a heart and let him come with us."

"Why should I? I just met him and I already hate him. You sure you two are even related?"

"Well, when we first met, you weren't exactly nice to me, either. But I tolerated your attitude and worked with you, didn't I?"

Rocket rolled his eyes and sighed, remembering how poorly he treated the Turtle on their first adventure together. "Yeah, you did," he reluctantly agreed.

"So can you tolerate Raph for a little while?" Mikey pleaded. "For me?"

"Yeah, fine," Rocket grumbled as he crossed his arms. "But I can't promise you that I won't blast him before all of this is over."

Mikey chuckled and nodded. "Sure, dude."