Sixteen

VISION

"I should have known it would be you two," Doctor Stephen Strange said, tracing his forefinger and his thumb over his eyebrows to the center.

"What is happening?" Vision asked.

"You broke reality," Strange said. "Can I see that?" The Mind Stone floated up and suspended itself just above Strange's hand. "Where did you get this?"

"Loki called it the Time Variance Authority, I believe," Vision said.

"Loki?" Strange asked. "You know what, never mind. You can explain later. First, we need to destroy this thing."

"No," Wanda said. She was clinging to Vision's arm like a child. Behind her, the cabin had turned a lovely shade of red and dozens of lizards were drifting out of the chimney at a speed unacceptable for smoke or reptiles.

"Yes," Strange said. "Unless you have five more Infinity Stones in your pocket. No? I didn't think so."

"Perhaps you could explain to us why you want to destroy that." Vision said.

"Fine," Strange said. "The SIX Infinity Stones created the flow of time – and matter – and space. If you remove one stone, you disrupt that property and the world destabilizes."

Wanda wobbled then sneezed out a butterfly.

"Case in point," Strange said.

"But Thanos destroyed the stones," Vision said.

"He destroyed all of them at once," Strange said. "All of the stones: fine. No stones: fine. Just one stone – sneezing butterflies won't be the worst of it. You've disrupted time, power, space, and reality."

"And spirit?" Wanda asked.

"We'll find out when the dead start popping back up," Strange said.

"Doesn't sound all bad," Wanda said.

"It isn't, but it isn't all good either, and it's definitely not safe."

"We need this stone," Wanda said. "Vision needs it. He's only half of himself without it."

Strange looked very seriously at Vision. "If that's the case, I am truly sorry, but your wellbeing can't come before the entire universe."

Vision understood, and he said as much.

"Vis," Wanda said. Her hair had turned the color of under-ripe watermelon. Strange shook a sixth finger off his left hand.

"We'll make it work without the stone," Vision said.

A tear rolled down Wanda's cheek, and Vision knew it was not a malfunction of reality. They could all guess what must come next. Wanda put her out her hand and the stone dropped into her palm. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and then opened them and looked at Vision. He remembered that look. Oh god, that look. The way she stared at him – right into him – when Thanos was coming and they were out of time. He asked her to destroy him. It was too much, he knew. If it had been the other way around, he couldn't have done the same.

This time, he said, "I'll be okay. Whatever I am, I am yours."

Wanda nodded. She said, "You two better step back – way back." She closed her hand around the stone and she screamed with what must have been every last shred of her grief and rage. Yellow light broke between her fingers like claws and then it ripped apart – everything and nothing and just the stone – in great explosion.