Retribution ★ Avengers

A Beautiful Catastrophe

"This is for her," Marlena assured him. "We gotta make it count, Clint."

"We will," Clint took a deep breath and armed his bow. "Be careful, Mar."

"I will."

Marlena gave Clint a soft smile before taking off through the air, her eyes scanning the battlefield for Thanos. She was determined, yet calm, especially given the circumstances, though she found the anger inside her simply would not disappear, and it was because of Thanos. He had an emotional hold on her, as well as the rest of the team, partly due in fact that the last five years had been spent grieving the lives he'd taken so suddenly. Marlena was furious he'd taken her family away, though she wasn't exactly sure how furious until she spotted him on the ground a few feet away from Bucky...who had the gauntlet.

In a single second, Marlena was overcome with the intense pain she endured after Bucky's death and after the death of her children. She remembered the horrid emptiness she felt without them, as well as the years spent wondering who she was without those that loved her most. They had each taken a piece of her when they left, and the pain of that was something Marlena felt Thanos deserved to experience.

Marlena landed on the ground in front of Bucky, her glowing eyes on Thanos's large frame.

"Not him," Marlena spoke firmly to the Mad Titan. He might not have been there to play games, but neither was she. "Not today."

"And who the hell are you?"

"You're about to find out."

Thanos glared and ran towards Marlena, raising his sword into the air. Marlena began throwing blast after blast. The sound of her power striking the metal of his sword was almost deafening, though it didn't last for long. Thanos was working on pinning the brunette down with the remnants of his sword, using his physical strength to overcome the power behind her energy, but he underestimated the Terran's ability and determination. He could see the anger in her glowing eyes, yet he could also sense the courage she held within her, and he found that to be one of humanity's deadliest attributes among their capability for love. As long as they were able to feel so deeply, they could not and would not be defeated.

The expression on Marlena's face challenged Thanos, and he pressed down with more power, but the integrity of his weapon grew weaker as the cosmic assault from the Terran continued. He couldn't believe there was anyone strong enough to bring damage to his indestructible weapon, especially not a Terran. While he admired her power, however, Thanos found himself angry because of it, and it didn't take but a split second for him to figure out how he wanted to handle it.

Marlena barely had the time to think. Thanos broke away from her, taking himself and his sword with him. Marlena refused to stop, though, and Thanos knew this, so he turned back towards her. He was more than ready for another chance to put the brunette in her place, but before he could, he was forced backward by a bright red blast. Thanos looked to see what had happened and was met with another angry, feminine face with glowing red eyes rather than blue. Wanda had finally found her way to Thanos, and while she was shocked, Marlena was also more than thrilled because of it.

"You took everything from me," Wanda spoke angrily, her glowing eyes never leaving Thanos. "I'm not gonna let you take her, too."

Thanos's grip tightened around the cold metal of his cracked sword, and his lip twitched with annoyance. "I don't even know who you are," he responded.

"Oh, but you will."

Without another word, Wanda rose into the air and fell back to the ground, releasing a wave of energy strong enough to throw the Titan off his game. Thanos quickly steadied himself and charged at Wanda. The deafening sound of Wanda's power striking the metal of his sword once again rang in Marlena's ears. The brunette jumped back into action just as Wanda threw away his now-broken sword, and with a smirk, Marlena raised her glowing blue hands.