Yeah, I'm just really doing a few scenes/him getting the stones cause I'm not doing the entire movie.
For clarification, in this AU, Shinso got hurt really badly and Mei transferred his mind to an android body powered by the Mind Stone.
Enjoy.
High above in the outer atmosphere of Earth, in the long since untouched regions of space, the first astronaut in almost 100 years looked outside his ship towards an energy signature that had been documented by SpaceX.
"This is Rodriguez, Houston. I have a visual with the unusual energy signature, it seems to be some kind of satellite. Over"
#Copy that Rodriguez, how are you feeling? First quirked man to reach space, and the first man to reach space in almost 200 years?
#It feels amazing, oh if only you guys could see this with your own eyes.#
A young Jason Musk looked over at the holoscreen with pride and wonder as he and other scientists marveled at their achievement. Humanity was finally progressing, all thanks to their generous sponsor.
Another young man stood next to Jason, also with pride. Katsuma Mahoro, now 17 years old, stared at the beautiful image of the Earth as one.
Just as it should be.
#I'm exiting the ship, currently on route towards the signature, over.#
"Copy that, whatever's inside that satellite, remember not to touch it, even with your suit, over." One of the operators replied.
#Understood, over.#
"Truly Mr. Mahoro, this is absolutely amazing. We never would have achieved this on our own, without your support, we would have been forced to shut down years ago."
"Yes, unfortunately in this world of quirks, people are far too focused on what's here instead of what lies beyond. But I digress, besides, it's not me you should be thanking, but my father."
Both of them looked at the screen and saw Rodriguez getting closer to the satellite, which now looked to be simple wreckage oddly enough, it didn't have any of the panels or antennae normally associated with common satellites.
"Ah yes, you've mentioned your father multiple times, but I've yet to meet him."
"Fortunately that will soon change, he plans on visiting today to congratulate you on your success."
"Truly? Wonderful, you must tell me more about him Mr. Mahoro," Jason said, fully excited at finally being able to meet the man who reignited his ancestor's company.
"Please Jason, Katsuma."
"Katsuma."
"Well, you must understand that firstly, my father is not my father by birth. You see, I'm originally from Nabu Island."
"Nabu? Oh...I see, my apologies."
The entire world had heard of Nabu Island, how it had been the staging ground for a villain attack that decimated the southern tip of Japan, a third of Japan's hero agencies had scrambled in order to counterattack and retake the island.
"It's of no consequence, I've long since moved on. See, my birth father was one of the many casualties of that day, UA's Class 1-A proved to be no match for the villains, it was only by miracle that they all survived."
The astronaut had now reached the object, and was using tools to cut and pry it open in order to get inside.
"Fortunately, one of the hero students had the foresight to send out a signal drone."
"Yes, the heroes intercepted it and they were able to take down Nine and his cohorts."
The inner chamber was finally opened and the astronaut could enter the wreckage freely, it was an open space with a pillar in the middle, a small orb floating between a flickering energy field in its center.
"Yes...that is what the public was told."
"E-excuse me?" Jason asked, half-mesmerized by the odd technology.
"But you see Jason, the truth is that the heroes from the mainland never made it in time. In reality, it was my father that intercepted the signal first and it was he who saved me and my home. It was he who destroyed Nine."
Using his tools, Rodriguez cut open the orb, purple light seeped through the cut before the top half was popped open.
#Mission Control, any idea what this thing is?#
"K-katsuma?"
"I know him as my father, but the rest of the world knows him by another name."
A purple stone was revealed.
"Thanos."
The screen turned to static as the doors burst open. Soldiers flooded the room firing at scientists with energy bolt weapons. The room was soon cleared except for Katsuma and Jason.
Jason was frozen with fear, utterly petrified as it remained silent. The quiet was only pierced by large, thudding footsteps that caused his heart to beat through his ears and his skin turn clammy.
A large figure entered the doorway, saluted by the many soldiers now surrounding the fallen scientists.
"Clear the room, no need for such...distractions." A nod was given and the soldiers grabbed the bodies before taking them away leaving only the three of them in the room.
"W-what are you going to do to me? K-k-kill me?" Jason stuttered out as he took a deeper look at the man in front of him. He was great in stature, with golden armor covering his torso, shoulders, forearms and legs. A golden helmet rested on his head, but his face showed no expression while covered under a haunting mask that spoke only of death.
"Now..." He spoke. "Why would I want to do that?"
He rested his hand on Jason's shoulder whose body was so petrified with fear that he didn't even flinch.
"When you've done so much for me, Mr. Musk."
The screen returned to the astronaut's point of view, and he could be heard asking for a response.
Thanos nodded to Katsuma who went to the microphone.
#-Control! Are you there!#
"Apologies Rodriguez, we faced some interference once the Stone was revealed, Jason and the other scientists were working on it, and we've compensated for the signal."
#O-oh, Mr. Mahoro! Uh, um, well, it's good to know that everything's okay. What should I do next, sir...over.#
"Continue as planned, retrieve the Stone and bring it back to the ship with you. After which we'll begin reentry procedures. My father is most eager to meet with the First Astronaut in over a Century."
#Your father, the sponsor? Oh, great, uhm, right away Mr. Mahoro. Over!#
They all observed in complete silence as he retrieved the Stone with special tools and stored it before returning to the ship.
#Alright then, I'm back inside the ship, the energy source that oddly enough does look like a stone is stored and I'm engaging in reentry procedures. Over#
"Excellent Rodriguez, we eagerly await your return."
#Copy, this is Freebird-, reentry engaged. Over and Out.#
The feed then cut off before transitioning to the cameras on the ship itself as it left orbit and reentered the atmosphere.
"I-I know who you are, you're the same guy that wiped out the Titan Agency at LA. You've killed hundreds of heroes and villains alike. Why sponsor us, what do you have to gain? Just that energy source?" Jason spoke out, his nerves somewhat returning to him but immediately leaving when Thanos turned to him.
"I needed you, because you were capable of doing what nobody else could do. You were willing to do what others had written off, and as such, would be able to get me something that I sorely need, and something that belonged to me in the first place."
His grip then left Jason's shoulder as he went to the front of the screen and stared closely at the images shown from the ship's perspective.
"Sit, Mr. Musk. You have my word, no harm will come to you. Nor to your people." He spoke out reassuringly.
"Tell that to the scientists you gunned down," Jason spat out before gulping in fear.
"Don't worry Jason, my father is a man of his word, he never lies. Sit." Jason stared at him in pure betrayal which was a sharp contrast to the peace that was Katsuma's expression. He gulped before begrudgingly sitting down. They watch as in merely an hour, the shuttle already was touching down on SpaceX's port.
"This stone, this project, the sponsorship, what are you even planning to do? Why support us? It doesn't make sense." Jason asked as the shuttle final shutdown.
Thanos barely even turned, but responded. "You of all people know how much humanity has stagnated. For so long they've been fixated on quirks alongside heroes and villains. How society has deteriorated and how people have been blind to everything around them. What I'm going to do is fix all that. And you'll find yourself in a much different world Mr. Musk."
Jason could only shiver in fear before Thanos walked out the room, he and Kasuma soon followed.
"Come, destiny awaits."
Once they reached the inner bay where Rodriguez was with his hands up, one hand holding the container and surrounded by armed guards pointing at him.
"Now...there's no need for this, after all, we are among very important people." Thanos said as he waved his hand. The soldiers then left, leaving the four alone.
"Jason, what's happening?"
"Mr. Rodriguez, you've done the world a great favor." Katsuma interjected before walking forward. "I'd like for you to meet my father. The sponsor of SpaceX," Gripping the container he took it towards Thanos and opened it.
"W-what is that thing? What did you make me get?"
"Hahaha, my apologies, you two are still uninformed," Kasuma said as it was fully opened and the light of the Stone leaked.
"This…is an Infinity Stone."
A piercing silence as the container was fully opened, revealing it in all its glory.
"T-those are a myth."
Both Thanos and Katsuma looked at Jason, and Katsuma merely smirked.
"Yes...that's what they've been declared as. A mere myth. But I assure you Jason, after today, you will never doubt their existence."
Katsuma then turned to Thanos and kneeled. "I present to you, my father. The first of the Infinity Stones, the Power Stone."
Thanos lowered his head and stared before reaching out and grabbing it with his bare hand.
The power surged, and Thanos groaned in pain. Light purple veins traveled across his arm before he raised his left hand which Jason now noticed had a gauntlet. Bringing the stone to a hole at the first knuckle, it was sealed to the gauntlet and the power surged through him.
As everything settled. Thanos chuckled and removed his mask, the act surprising even Katsuma.
"F-father!" He exclaimed in shock, he had not seen his father unmasked since the day he'd been saved.
"You've done well my son, I am very much proud," Thanos said while Jason still couldn't believe his eyes.
"Y-you, you're supposed to be dead!"
Thanos chuckled again. "I assure you, I am very much alive. And again I thank you for your work Jason Musk. Believe me, the world will be changed in the near future, and you'll find that many more will appreciate your work."
"And in earlier news, an unfortunate accident occurred at the SpaceX tower, the shuttle that they'd been using unfortunately exploded and caused a chain reaction that led to the destruction of the entire tower."
Of the noted unaccounted for are Jason Musk, CEO, Katsuma Mahoro, sponsor and-"
The TV was cut off as Thanos looked over the skyline. His loyal son, standing behind him.
"I'd never thought I'd see your face again, father."
"Gaining the Power Stone marks the beginning of the end. I thought it...symbolic. Besides, it is my desire that the world knows that the end is near. That I am its herald."
"Yes, the end is near."
A comfortable silence stayed between them before Thanos sighed and rested his hand on Katsuma's shoulder.
"You've made me proud, my son, but I'm afraid I have another task for you." Thanos said as they faced another screen. "Your sister has betrayed our cause, she has been seduced by the glories of hero society. She pities them, and wishes to help them in an attempt to prevent what is to come."
"I see, she was always enamored with the heroes that tried to protect us when we were younger. The undercover mission she had most likely didn't help," Katsuma mourned.
"I wish for you to find out exactly where she is, contact her if you wish, but do not interfere. I have my own plans."
"Of course father. Is there anything else?"
"Continue your search for the last Stone, whatever the heroes have done to it, has hidden it from our view."
"Of course father. I will depart post-haste."
"My son...go with my love..."
Katsuma smiled. "Of course father, and stay with mine."
It was a peaceful day at UA, and one Mahoro Shimano stared out at the horizon on top of the roof of Class 1-A's dorms. The rumble and bustle of the city below them as she took a moment's peace. An admittedly rare occasion, ever since she'd deserted.
Was it wrong though? To try and see the good in people? In heroes? Was she truly in the wrong to betray her adoptive father?
"Is everything alright?" Someone asked from behind her.
"Huh? Lemillion?" She asked after turning and finding the current Number 1 behind her. "What are you doing here?
"I'm here to check up on you. What else?" After all, he'd been the one to inspire her to believe in heroes. That not all of them were as corrupt as her father had stated.
"I'm fine...just thinking."
"About your dad?"
"My brother too..."
"You never really told us about them ya know? Only that your dad's a villain that hates heroes and your brother's well, excuse me for saying this, but his lapdog."
Mahoro chuckled, but shook her head.
"No...not lapdog, that implies that my father would just throw him away as soon as needed. Out of all the things my father taught me and my brother, and as much as he indoctrinated us. We never doubted his love for us."
Mahoro lifted up her hand and showed the bracelet that adorned her wrist.
"He made this for me, called me his precious Gem. My brother unfortunately was so small that he was stuck with Little One."
"Precious Gem?"
She snorted, "Yeah, his precious gem, cut and ground to perfection."
Lemillion stayed silent as she relayed her story.
"He would train us into the dirt, break us beyond our limits, and leave us with broken bones and bruises that lasted for days." She snarled...before her expression softened. "But after he would set every bone, treat every wound." She sniffled.
"And would tell us how proud of us he was for being stronger than yesterday. We never wanted, and we had birthdays and anniversaries.
She frowned with profound sorrow. "But still behind all that he did, there was so much rage, so much pain, so much hatred, and pretty much all of it was directed towards heroes."
Lemillion just stared in silence before moving up and sitting next to her.
"You know, you've told us that he hates heroes and even villains, but you've never told me his goal. What does he even want to do?"
The unspoken question was, what was his name?
Mahoro swallowed, before releasing a shaky breath.
"He wants to-"
She was cut off as a bright light came from the sky and a rainbow of colors impacted the gate in front of the main building, inside, of UA.
Alarms immediately blared out and the heroes immediately assembled.
Lemillion jumped forward, lightning coursing through his body as he and other heroes of UA reached the crater that was now in the lawn.
Hearing grunts and groans, they saw a man in rubble, breathing heavily. Nezu was the first to recognize him.
"The Hulk?"
"The American Pro Hero? What's he doing here?"
"I heard he was doing a collaboration in Norway."
Finally the man gasped out a few words. "He's coming...Thanos is coming."
Lemillion's heart broke as he heard the sharp gasp and turned to see the pure fear that adorned Mahoro's face.
"No..." She whispered.
30 Minutes Ago
There was utter destruction at Oslo, the capital of Norway. It happened in an instant, a large ship appeared over a part of the city and suddenly they had been bombarded. More specifically, the Asgard Hero Agency.
Completely caught unawares, hundreds of Asgardians died with many more in civilian casualties.
Below, in the rubble of Asgard, reformed villain Loki looked out at the fire burning the city from the gaping hole in Asgard's side. He was struck with complete fear, he knew this man, the power he wielded, and he'd never been able to discover his quirk, he could only stare as the man and his top lieutenants stood next to them.
Even the Mighty Thor, was no match for whatever had happened to Asgard and he laid on the ground broken.
Finally, Thanos spoke.
"I know what it's like to lose."
He said as he stared at the burning city.
He turned and faced them all.
"To feel so desperately that you're right. Only to fail nonetheless."
He then picked up Thor by his chestpiece, causing him to groan before dragging him.
"It's frightening."
Thor weakly grasped at his hand, in vain trying to wrench himself free.
"Turns the legs to jelly."
He reached the only group standing within a mountain of corpses.
"But I ask you to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same."
He finally stopped.
"And now it's here."
And lifted his gauntlet where a purple gem glowed.
"Or should I say...I am here."
Having moved his grip to Thor's head, forcing him on his knees as he whispered out. "You talk too much."
Thanos stated his ultimatum.
"The Tessaract, or your brother's head. I assume you have a preference?" Pointing the Power Stone towards Thor's temple.
"Oh I do...kill away." Loki replied, as Thanos raised his brow before complying. Thor's torturing screams rang out for nearly a minute before Loki called him to stop.
"We don't have the Tessaract...it was destroyed...in the battle...between Hela and Surtur," Thor groaned.
Thanos merely chuckled. "You don't even know what you have boy, an Infinity Stone is not so easily destroyed. Hopkins knew what he was doing when he brought it here."
"My father, Odin..."
"So they do exist," Loki whispered and both stared at him. Loki gulped before raising his hand and revealing the hidden Tessaract.
"You are, really the worst, brother..." Thor groaned out in a combination of disappointment and anger.
"I assure you brother..." Loki said as he walked forward. " The sun will shine on us again."
Thanos merely hummed before responding. "Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian."
Loki chuckled, "Well for one thing, I'm not Asgardian, and for another..."
A rumble from the side.
"We have a Hulk."
Thanos turned just in time to face the full might of the visiting American hero who barreled into him and threw him backwards. Loki took the opportunity to tackle his brother out of the way as the Tessaract fell to the ground.
Hulk leveled many punches to Thanos' armored body before body checking him into the wall and digging his hands around Thanos' neck making him cry out.
One of the lieutenants, a heavily armored man with an axe, took a step forward but was stopped by another, smaller man with an odd device around his head.
"Let him have his fun."
Thanos grabbed Hulk's wrists and the Power Stone glowed, filling him with power. He forced apart Hulk's arms and then proceeded to destroy him with well placed blows, his opponent not even landing another hit.
Finally, Thanos lifted Hulk's battered body and slammed him into the ground, unconscious.
Panting in slight exertion, Thanos wasn't even fazed when Thor hit him with a pipe. Turning just slightly as Thor readied another attack, he merely kicked him towards the back wall.
The lieutenant with the headband then waved his hand and metal soon trapped Thor.
Thor could only look helplessly at his friend Heimdall, who strained with his power.
"One last time...let me save him. To warn the others."
With his power, he used his quirk, Bifrost, and sent Hulk away.
All of them stared at the rainbow light that went beyond the horizon, and Thanos stared menacingly at Heimdall.
"You're going to regret that Idris Elba," Thanos said before stabbing Heimdall in the chest, meeting his eyes, Heimdall stared defiantly until the light left them.
"NO!" Thor cried out in anger and sadness as he saw his friend die.
"You'll pay for that." Thor growled out before being forcefully silenced with metal.
"Silence, Christopher."
Thor growled behind the muzzle, but couldn't do anything.
"For so long, we've waited for this moment," The lieutenant said. "And now it has arrived, I have the pleasure and honor to present and see you, Lord Thanos, with the second Infinity Stone.
Presenting the Tessaract to him, Thanos removed his helmet and his armor, now finding no more need for it.
Grabbing the Tessaract, he crushed it completely, leaving only a glowing blue stone.
Grabbing it with his hands, he admired its beauty before placing it in his Gauntlet, the power of both surging through him.
"There are two more stones in Japan, find them my brethren. And bring them to me on Coruscant."
"We will not fail you Lord Thanos."
"If I might...interject," Loki called out as he walked forward.
"If you're going to Japan, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena."
"If you consider failure, experience," Thanos chuckled out.
"I consider experience, experience," Loki riposted.
Loki walked forward.
"Almighty Thanos, I, Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinsson," Loki said as he looked at Thor.
"Leader of Jotunheim, God of Mischief, hereby pledge to you," He secretly manifested his dagger. "My, undying...fidelity," He breathed out before stabbing forward.
The dagger's tip rested an inch from Thanos' throat as the Gauntlet glowed blue alongside Loki's arm.
Thanos merely looked down.
"Undying..."
He grabbed Loki's arm and twisted it painfully until he released the dagger.
"You should choose your words more carefully...Thomas," Thanos declared as he mocked him with his birth name. Reaching out, the gauntleted hand was soon wrapped around Loki's throat, choking the life out of him when he was lifted up.
Loki fruitlessly struggled as Thor looked on in despair.
"You...will never be...a god..." Loki choked out.
Thanos merely smirked.
"When I'm done, there won't be any need for them anymore," And with a crack, Loki died.
Thor's muffled screams wrung forth from the metal as Thanos unceremoniously dropped Loki's body to the ground after staring straight into his eyes.
"No resurrections this time."
Using the Power Stone, Thanos caused a chain reaction that caused Asgard to break apart and fall down before using the Space Stone to teleport himself with the others.
Thor could only crawl forward and weep as he held his brother's body.
"Loki..." He whispered in grief before the world exploded around him.
"Among the confirmed casualties of the Asgard Hero Agency are Heimdall, Loki, reformed villain, and Norway's #1 Hero, Thor, who is now in critical condition. This unprecedented attack has caused utter chaos in Norwa-" The TV was turned off and the UA staff alongside the TopTen stared at a trembling Mahoro.
"Mahoro...I know you don't like to talk about your father...but now we need to know, before any more loss of life occurs," Lemillion sternly said.
Mahoro shuddered again before nodding her head and raising her arm.
"Before we begin...there's one thing you need to know about me."
Mahoro uttered as she looked at all the heroes in the room.
"I'm a survivor of Nabu Island."
An utter complete silence cut through the room as the heroes took in her words.
"So that means you know the truth..." Aizawa stated.
"Yes, the heroes never made it time to save us."
All of them looked down, especially Dynamight who considered that day his greatest failure. All of his class was tossed around like toys.
It was only later that they discovered that somebody else had come and managed to kill the villain, through whatever means was unknown. But Nine's body was soon found along with his cohorts.
Heroes had only arrived hours later.
After the island had practically been torn apart.
"Is your brother?"
"Yes...he is as well..."
"I know who you are now..." Bakugo ground out. "You're that girl that made the fake villain with your illusions...brother had that cell activation quirk," He said as he stared straight at her.
Mahoro chuckled grimly, her eyes going dark with hatred.
"Had is the keyword...it was because my brother's quirk was taken by Nine that he was able to grow so powerful."
Powerful enough to shatter an island was left unsaid, all of them saw the damage.
"So what happened?"
"I don't know..."
"You don't know?"
"I was ten, okay, it was ten years ago, plus I was knocked out after Nine used me to get my brother." She snapped back
"All I know is that when I woke up, we were safe, and in his arms."
"The man who saved you, your adopted father."
"Yes..." She said as she waved her arm and her illusions manifested.
All of them stared at the massive figure of the man who defeated Nine.
Unfortunately due to his mask and helmet, they could gain no defining features from him.
"Can't you show us his face?"
"He never showed it to us...always hid behind the mask, only my brother saw a glimpse of him, but he was six, and doesn't even remember."
"That makes things harder."
"Okay, so what's his quirk? What can he do?
"He's...quirkless."
Immediately shouts of denial rang out, the loudest being from Bakugo who vehemently denied that a quirkless freak could defeat somebody he couldn't. Aizawa soon put everybody back to order before having Nezu speak.
"It is more than likely that his quirk was stolen by Nine, considering that he had one slot left before being defeated."
The answer satisfied yet puzzled the heroes.
"No..." attention was brought back to Mahoro who shook her head, "That's not it...he was born quirkless, I know it."
"And how is that Ms. Mahoro?" Nezu asked.
Mahoro sighed before looking at them all. "Because he's a survivor of Coruscant."
The room chilled.
"They all are." She said as with her illusions she projected four more figures.
The first was a hulking man even taller than her father. It was obvious however that most of that build was from the sheer amount of armor that he wore. With a large chain hammer.
"Cull Obsidian. Strong, unbelievably so thanks to his armor and a master of using his chain hammer along with a hidden blade."
A lanky man with form fitting armor and a hood carrying a glaive.
"Corvus Glaive, a master infiltrator and as it implies, a glaive is a death assured in his hands."
Another thin man in robes with an odd device around his head.
"Ebony Maw, loyal to a fault, and with that device he can manipulate things like a telekinetic. He's precise and surgical with his movements and extremely dangerous."
A woman, with two weapons at her side, skin painted with black marks and decorative armor stood next to Glaive.
"Proxima Midnight, Glaive's wife, but no less fearsome."
"What do they have in common? They're all quirkless, they're all from Coruscant, and they all want revenge."
Bakugo snorted derisively. "What can they do?"
Mahoro glared. "Ask Asgard."
"Enough, what are they after Mahoro? And why wait till now?" Lemillion asked her and the conversation was refocused.
"The entire time I knew him, he only ever had one goal...the destruction of quirks."
More snorts and scoffs of disbelief, yet a few, such as Lemillion and Aizawa knew exactly how feasible that was.
"How? More bullets? It's impossible now…" Lemillion commented as an old regret came up in the back of his mind.
"No...the Infinity Stones." This time it was Nezu whose entire back arched in shock, his fur stood up on end as he stared in disbelief.
"How do you know about them?" He demanded to know.
"What's she talking about Nezu?" The other heroes asked.
"Tell them Nezu...tell them." Aizawa said, as he too stared in shock.
Mahoro could only stare in expectation and disapproval.
"Most of you were not there for when Coruscant fell, the established reason was that it was a targeted attack from a villain on the Core that kept it in the air. It wasn't..."
Mahoro then cut in. "In reality, it was a coordinated attack by the Hero Commission alongside other governments."
Immediate shouts of denial from the younger heroes, but they were tempered by the grim expressions of the older heroes at UA.
"Nezu...did that really happen?"
"Yes...unfortunately the matter had already occurred before we even realized what happened. Originally we were there to deal with the Yakuza who had developed bullets that could erase quirks, at the time the League of Villains also attacked with their own grudge and during the chaos the Commission attempted to capture the power source of Coruscant," Nezu said before Mahoro made another illusion.
"The Infinity Orb."
A glowing orb that seemed to be made of glass shone with a rainbow of colors.
"A source of unlimited power, discovered and harnessed by Dr. David Shield, and Drs. Izuku and Melissa Midoriya. All three died, trying to keep it safe.
Many stared at the picture of the trio with a certain sadness, bright minds taken far too soon.
Two especially looked at them in regret.
"Dr. Shield himself shattered the Orb and the resulting chain reaction shattered it into five main pieces that..."
"Six." Mahoro cut off.
"Excuse me?" Nezu asked, now very worried.
"There are six stones...not five."
"How? The five that we know of were detectable up until 5 years ago when one disappeared from the world."
"Because my father knew that one was with Asgard."
"And he said that he would only attack Asgard and look for the others once he found the first.
"Where was the last one then? To be hidden from all known ways of detecting them," Nezu asked, he knew better than to deny the truth, still...trust, but verify.
"Tell me, has there been any news of SpaceX?"
"SpaceX? What's that?"
"A major company from before the Dawn of Quirks, after the shift of focus and funding, it became a minor company that focuses on space exploration, they've been well under the radar but are known for their focus on space, usually with some derision due to the world's focus on quirks," Nezu answered as he searched, almost immediately a holographic screen popped up.
SPACEX ROCKET EXPLODES, LAUNCH STATION DESTROYED. CEO AND SPONSOR STILL MISSING!
From the headline they saw multiple photos of destruction and even the pictures of the presumed deceased.
Mahoro sagged into her seat.
"He did find it...I admit, I hoped that it didn't exist anymore, or that he wouldn't be able to get it, that it would be all for nothing, but if he was there."
"If who was there, Mahoro?"
She pointed at the picture of a young man who easily resembled her.
"My brother."
A grim silence.
"Then that means..."
"No...my father caused the explosion, but they most certainly left the scene beforehand.
"Okay, hold up...what is even the point of all this? What's so great about a bunch of glowing rocks?" Dynamight angrily growled out.
Mahoro quickly snarled back in disgust.
"You're an idiot. You have no idea what the Infinity Orb was even capable of huh?"
"What'd you just say pipsqueak?
"You heard me Bakugo, you know, I may believe in heroes now, but you are certainly one of the reasons why I see my father was right about them!"
"Oh yeah!" Sparks were crackling across his gloves.
"Yeah, arrogant, prideful, greedy people who care nothing except themselves, government-approved villains!"
"Why you LITTLE-!"
"ENOUGH!" Lemillion yelled out, One for All sparking from his body as he got between them.
"Both of you, enough! Dynamighight, you're a pro, the number 2, so act like it! And Mahoro, he doesn't know, almost none of us know anything about the Orb other than it was apparently a source of power. What else can it do."
Bakugo and Mahoro both humphed but sat back down.
Mahoro ground her teeth before continuing.
"My father said that the Infinity Orb could manipulate reality, and change the entire world. The Yakuza found out it could even remove quirks. Once the Commission found out, they accused Drs. Shield and Midoriya of collaboration with the Yakuza and of intention of global terrorism by using the Orb. They ordered them to turn over the Orb but were refused."
Red Riot, the #10 hero, was completely in shock at the entire ordeal but couldn't help but ask.
"But, can the stones even do that? I mean, the Orb was broken, so individually they can't do that stuff right?"
"Not alone, no, but if he gets all six Infinity Stones, he can destroy the world as we know it with a snap of his fingers."
All of them gulped, truthfully their world depended on quirks. If quirks were destroyed the amount of chaos that would happen after, society would practically collapse.
Again.
Bakugo became incensed. "So let's find them before he does and beat him down!"
He was mostly ignored for his usual aggressiveness but Lemillion had to ask one more time.
"Tell me his name again."
Mahoro smiled sadly...they were all going to die.
"Thanos."
The Reality Stone, if Thanos had yet to find it…
Mahoro closed her eyes, knowing what she had to do…
With a scream she burst out of her cover, sword in hand she slashed downwards, Thanos dodging, before she managed a small cut with another swing.
Returning for a third, he grabbed the blade with a smirk and snapped it.
Moving forward to take her down, Mahoro was too quick and managed to stab the broken blade into his throat, making him choke with pain and blood.
And with her double-bladed knife, the very gift he gave her from the beginning, she stabbed his heart.
"HARGh!"
She then pushed him off, panting in exertion as she saw him begin to bleed more profusely.
Thanos looked down to his chest and grabbed the knife.
He grunted before looking at her.
"Why…?"
Mahoro gasped out a sob as he fell to his knees before falling back against the case.
"Why you? Daughter?" He choked out as she began to cry and let go of her weapon.
He extended his gauntleted hand towards her and she fell to a crouch and sobbed.
Thanos went limp, the gauntlet hitting the ground with a thud.
"That was quick…" Kota said, surprised at how everything went by so smoothly. His classmates however, were quick to shush him.
Giran, still imprisoned in his glass cage, began to clap.
"Magnificent! Magnificent! MAGNIFICENT!"
"Is that sadness I sense in you, daughter?"
Mahoro stopped crying and looked up, just to see Thanos' corpse begin to fade to red mist as well as the room, revealing destruction, carnage, and fire.
"In my heart I knew you still cared, but one never knows for sure."
Even Giran began to wave goodbye at her mockingly before disappearing, long dead.
"Reality is often disappointing," Thanos said as he appeared in the broken room from the red mist, completely alive and healthy. "That is, it was."
"Now," He raised his gauntlet, showing off the glowing red gem of the Reality Stone. "Reality can be whatever I want."
"You knew I'd come," Mahoro stated.
"I counted on it."
"THANOS!" One of their classmates roared as he charged, only to get transformed into cubes, meanwhile, the others were also manipulated by the powers of the Reality Stone, become living spaghetti, strings, and more.
"LET HER GO!" Kota roared as he approached them, water cannons at the ready.
"Ah…the boyfriend," Thanos smirked.
"Kota…"
"You let her go or so help me I'll blow those clown freckles straight off!" Kota yelled as he pointed his cannons at the both of them.
"Kota!" Mahoro interrupted before giving him a pleading look. "Not him…"
Kota grimaced, refusing to look her in the eyes.
"You promised!"
Kota trembled before pointing his cannon at her face.
"Oh daughter…you expect too much from him," Thanos mocked. "This little hero would never kill."
Kota continued to hesitate.
"She's asked, hasn't she? Do it."
Still, he hesitated.
With a roll of his eyes and a hum, Thanos then pushed her forward so that the cannon was closer to her face.
"Do it!" He yelled.
"Mahoro…"
"I love you, more than anything…" She whispered.
"I love you, too," Kota said as he closed his eyes and pressed the trigger.
Bubbles came out.
Kota, not hearing the highly pressurized water, opened his eyes in surprise and gasped as he saw the bubbles before his cannons disappeared into bubbles as well.
Thanos smirked.
"I like you."
With a grunt, Mahoro crashed into Kota and the two were knocked to the ground.
"What?" Mahoro gasped before turning to her father.
"But I thought…"
"It's true that you were the only one who knew where the Soul Stone was, but your brother's always been so resourceful."
She gasped as Katsuma suddenly appeared from red mist as well.
"Katsuma…"
"Hello, dear sister…and goodbye."
"Wait, you can't-"
But it was too late, the two already disappearing into the portal of the Space Stone.
Soul Stone
"Here we are, father, Mt. Thor," Katsuma said as they headed up to the cliff face.
"I do not doubt you, my son…but I cannot sense it…"
Katsuma gave a sad smile that was unseen by his father.
"That is because a price must be paid, father."
Thanos paused as they reached the edge.
"What price?"
"The Soul Stone is the most…alive of all the Infinity Stones. In an effort to protect itself, it set a requirement. One must sacrifice someone they love to receive the Soul Stone. A soul for a soul."
"What-ugh!" Thanos cried out as he was suddenly tied up with energy whips, his hand especially held still.
"Katsuma! What are you doing!?"
"I am sorry, father. But for your dream to be achieved, I will be that soul."
"NO!" Izuku roared as he pulled, but whatever Katsuma had done had been planned to every detail.
"I love you, father…thank you, for everything. Tell Mahoro that I love her too," Katsuma said as he leaned back and fell.
"NOOO!" Izuku cried as he fell to his knees, the winds roaring around him as something began to energize in the air, a storm brewing thanks to the sacrifice.
Izuku would then find himself waking up in a lake, the sun setting on the horizon.
And in his hand, the Soul Stone.
Time
Thanos walked out of the portal a broken man, with not much more to lose.
He found himself in a floating city, although city would not be the appropriate word.
It was more of a graveyard than anything else.
Seeing the destroyed ship, he had a feeling that he was not alone.
"Oh yeah, you're much more of a Thanos."
Thanos sighed.
"I take it that maw is dead."
His enemy nodded.
"This day extracts…a heavy toll…"Thanos said as he took a few steps forward. "Still, he accomplished his mission."
"Well, you may regret that…"
"Where do you think he brought you?"
"Let me guess…your home?"
"It was…" Thanos said with a grim smile. "And it was beautiful."
The world shifted with the power of the reality stone, and they found themselves on top of a city, floating in the sky. Hundreds, no, thousands of people living freely and without fear.
"Coruscant was meant to be a haven. A home for the quirkless, the downtrodden, those rejected by society."
Thanos smiled as he saw the memories play out, especially those of his wife and adopted daughter.
"But the world was jealous and spiteful…they couldn't leave well enough alone."
The city turned into a warzone, quirks and weapons discharging everywhere.
"And my people paid the price for it."
The city began to fall as a bright light erupted from the center, streaking across the sky before breaking off into multiple pieces that scattered across the directions.
"I was among the few survivors…having been cursed by the Infinity Orb before it shattered…it is how I stand before you today."
The city returned to its desolate landscape, and Thanos faced his opponent.
"So now…you want revenge?"
"I want justice and balance. Quirks are a disease that have caused nothing but endless strife. By eliminating them, I will restore the natural balance of the world, and ensure that humanity progresses once more."
"By destabilizing our society?"
"With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers and they would all cease to exist…I call that…mercy."
"And then what?"
"I finally rest," Thanos said with a soft voice. "And watch the sun rise on a grateful world."
He then looked down in solemn contemplation. "The hardest choices require the strongest wills."
"I think you'll find our will equal to yours," His enemy declared as he prepared to attack.
"Our?"
And then rubble crashed on top of him.
The ensuing fight was brutal and chaotic, and with Thanos now fueled by grief, he showed no mercy in his attacks, heroes and students working together were battering him down, but the power of the stones was proving too much.
A strike to the face caught his attention and he looked to his wayward daughter.
"Well, well…"
"You should have killed me when you had the chance!" Mahoro roared.
"It would have been a waste of parts!" He retorted, finally done with her little rebellion.
"Where's Katsuma!"
Thanos snarled as he batted her away before being attacked on multiple fronts as they tried to separate the gauntlet from his body, finally, one of the heroes got on top of him and used her power to subdue his mind, though his will was still strong.
"Hold on, Mantis!"
"Hurry! He's too strong!"
Mahoro growled as she got up to his face.
"Not getting out of it this time…now where's Katsuma!" She demanded.
"Agh…my…Katsuma…"
"He…he's in anguish!" Mantis cried out as tears began to fall from her eyes.
"What…?"
"He mourns!"
"What could that monster possibly mourn about?"Kota said from the side as he helped Lemillion pull the gauntlet off. Even with the strength of One For All, Thanos' grip on the gauntlet was immovable.
"You have the Soul Stone…" Mahoro whispered in horror. "You did it, didn't you?"
"Hrrrghhh…"
"ANSWER ME!"
"He…chose…to…sacrifice himself…" Thanos grunted out.
"Sacrifice himself?" SACRIFICE HIMSELF!?" Mahoro screamed.
"Mahoro don't we've almost got this off!"
"AND YOU JUST LED HIM LIKE A LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER!" She screeched, striking him in the face multiple times, knocking Mantis off.
Lemillion tackled her away.
Thanos' eyes refocused.
With a roar he grabbed the gauntlet that had just been pried off of his hand by Kota before smacking him away as well as the others and restarting the fight, this time using the Power and Space stones to destroy satellites and sending them crashing into his enemies.
Lemillion barely managed to deflect the debris with his strength but was still caught by a satellite piece.
Thanos was then occupied by the other heroes, before going for the Sorcerer who had the last stone, only to find that it was a fake and tossing him away brutally.
Lemillion crashed to the ground in front of him, rightfully pissed off.
"You throw another satellite at me, and I'm gonna lose it."
"Togata…"
"You know my name?"
"You're not the only one cursed with knowledge and power that breaks you."
"My only curse is you."
The two roared as they charged, power cascading off of them as they gave crushing blows, Lemillion proved to be a great challenge for Thanos, but even with his mighty strength, it was too much.
"All that for a drop of blood?" Thanos asked with an amused hum after Lemillion delivered a brutal haymaker.
The two continued to fight, but it was quickly seen how Lemillion was starting to falter, One For All hurting him even more the longer he used it.
Finally, he had to stop using it and relied on Permeation, letting Thanos' blows go through him before he tried to attack him with a spike of debris.
Thanos grabbed his hand, before wrenching the spike out of his grip.
Lemillion permeated.
But the spike went through him.
And not in the way he intended.
"Agh!" Lemillion cried out in pain before noticing how his body was glowing blue.
Thanos walked forward, pushing Lemillion back as he grunted and tried to grab his breath from the shock.
Finally, he forced Lemillion to sit down against some debris before grabbing his head and making him look at him.
"You have my respect, Togata," Thanos said.
"When I'm done, there won't be anymore heroes or villains," He said as he let go of his body and stepped back.
"But I hope they remember you, Lemillion."
Raising his gauntlet to finish him off, he was stopped by Sorcerer.
"Spare him, and I will give you the stone…"
"No tricks." Thanos demanded with Sorcerer only nodding.
"...don't…" Lemillion gasped out.
Sorcerer shakily raised his hand and revealed the Time Stone, before sending it to Thanos' grip, the latter placing it into the thumb slot of his gauntlet and reveling in its power.
He saw Kota roaring and charging at him with his water cannons but he merely through another portal.
"Where did he go!?...Did we just lose?"
"Why would you do that?" Lemillion asked Sorcerer who could only shake his head.
"We're in the Endgame now."
"I wondered…if you would come here, Izuku," An aging Toshinori Yagi said, leaning on his cane.
"I have not come to kill you, old man."
"Then why?"
"I admit, this part is personal. I wanted to show you, what I could do…it irked me, the fact that you didn't recognize me when we met for the second time at I-Island, all those years ago."
'The second time?'
"But I held it in, for Melissa, I did not wish to stoke conflict…"
"What do you mean?" Yagi asked before gasping as the world changed around him and he found himself on a rooftop from a decade ago.
"You…you were that boy?"
"I was."
"Then all this…is this revenge for my words?"
"No…only…confirmation. You were right, without power, I could do nothing," Izuku said as he approached the weakened man.
"But with this, power won't matter anymore. No more villains, no more heroes, no more needless sacrifices for something as trivial as a rivalry between brothers. Humanity, can finally progress."
"At the cost of how many lives? What would Melissa say? What would Eri?"
Thanos merely turned around and opened a portal.
"The dead have no say in this."
He walked through.
"Goodbye, All Might."
Mind
With the armies fighting at UA, Thanos went forward unimpeded, none of the heroes able to stand up to him.
Mei sobbed, having used her greatest invention to commit her cruelest deed.
By destroying the Mind Stone, she had saved the world but in turn she'd killed Shinso.
"I understand, my child," Thanos soothed as he stood next to her. "Better than anyone."
"You could never…"She growled, staring up at him in hatred.
Thanos sighed before bowing down and caressing her hair.
"Today, I lost more than you could know," He said before walking forward. "But now is no time to mourn…now, there's no time at all."
With the time stone in hand, he twisted his wrist, time reversing around the scene of the explosion, restoring the Mind Stone and in turn Shinso's android body.
"No!" Mei cried out before being backhanded away into unconsciousness.
Meanwhile Shinso couldn't do anything as he was grabbed by the throat, Thanos' fingers digging into his forehead and prying the Mind Stone out, his body turning gray as he was callously tossed aside.
With a sigh of satisfaction he placed the Mind Stone into his gauntlet before screaming as the energy of all 6 stones surged through his body.
'Now…for the end.'
Raising his gauntlet, the thought formed in his mind.
'Remove all quirks safe-'
KABOOM!
Thanos grunted in pain as he was flung back by lighting, before looking up and noticing Bakugou using an ax of all things before throwing it at him.
Thanos unleashed the energy of the stones to counter it, but it seemed to have been forged specifically to combat their power.
Thanos' eyes widened in horror as the world exploded around him.
The ax was now embedded in his chest and he fell to one knee.
Bakugo landed in front of him, snarling in anger. Forced to use that ax after Thor was caught up in the battle, he was just glad that he could finally end this monster.
"You should have just stayed dead, instead you became a worthless villain, Deku!" He growled as he grabbed the back of Thanos' head and pushed the ax deeper.
Thanos screamed in agony and began to pant in exertion, wheezing with every breath.
His head bowed from the pain, he planted his hand to the chest of his greatest enemy and forced himself to meet Bakugo's eyes.
"You…you…" He whispered out before taking a breath.
"You should have gone for the head," He smirked as he raised his hand.
'Erase quirks.'
And snapped.
"NO!"
Thanos gasped as he found himself in an odd world, in a lake of water barely an inch deep. He saw that the gauntlet was gone from his hand and upon turning around, in the distance, an arch.
Walking forward, he saw a girl with silver hair, facing the other way.
"Daughter?" He asked in confusion.
She turned around, ruby eyes meeting exhausted emerald.
"Did you do it?" She asked.
"Yes."
From her back, a young Katsuma walked into view as well.
"Son?"
"What did it cost?" He asked in return.
"Everything," Thanos answered before a third figure faded to view behind the children, hugging them close to her.
"Wife…"
"And was it worth it?" Melissa asked, her eyes not judging, but questioning.
"...Only time will tell…"
Thanos returned to the real world with a shudder, the smoking remains of the gauntlet still attached to his hand as he shakily stared at it in confusion.
"What did you do?" Dynamight demanded to know. "WHAT DID YOU DO!?"
Thanos merely used the Space Stone to summon a portal and disappear, the ax falling to the ground.
Kirishima shakily walked up to him in fear and confusion.
"Where'd he go?" He asked, looking around for their shared enemy.
"Where'd he go!?"
"Eijiro?"
Eijiro turned to see Mina staring at her hand in horror as it turned black and faded to ash, taking another step, she collapsed and disappeared to dust.
"Mina?" He said as he ran forward and fell to his knees, picking up the dust.
Katsuki raised his hand, sparks appearing before they began to fade out completely.
All across the battlefield, those with emitter quirks found that they couldn't use them anymore, but those with mutant quirks started to fade to dust.
"Come on, Momo!" Tsuyu said as she helped her friend up. "This is no place to die."
She turned to ash and Momo fell to the ground in shock before getting back up by herself, unwilling to believe what she'd just seen.
"Fumi…" Dark Shadow whispered as he began to fade away.
"No, no, no, no…Dark Shadow…" Fumikage whispered as he held onto her before he too faded away. "...no…"
Mei held onto Shinso's body until the end, when she too turned to dust with a sigh.
Toru could only grunt as she tried to get up, before turning to dust.
"Toru! Toru!" Momo cried out as she searched for her friend.
Back on Coruscant, the heroes who tried to defeat Thanos could only look on in horror as one by one they couldn't use their quirks anymore or faded into dust.
"Mirio…"
Mirio turned to see Sorcerer look at him sadly.
"There was no other way," He said before fading away.
"MIRIO! COME QUICK!" Kota cried out, and Mirio hobbled over to where they were, only to see Tamaki panicking, his senses going haywire.
"Mirio…I don't feel so good," Tamaki said as he stumbled.
"You're alright…"
"I don't…my instincts, I don't know what's happening…I.." Tamaki then stumbled into Mirio's arms as he began to panic more.
"I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go, Mirio, please, I don't wanna go," He whimpered as the two fell to the ground.
"I'm sorry," He said as he looked his closest friend in the eyes before turning to dust.
Mahoro could only stare at the dust floating around them in resignation.
"He did it."
Back with the others, they could only look around in horror and confusion.
"What is this? What the hell is happening?" Red Riot demanded to know.
"We lost…" Dynamight responded.
And somewhere else, a garden hidden from the world with a cabin on a hill, overseeing the sunrise.
Thanos hobbled out of said cabin and sat down on the porch, still weak but mostly healed, scars trailing across his left side.
Thanos sighed as he looked over to the horizon.
The work was done.
His task was complete.
He smiled.