Tony groaned, opening his eyes to find himself in a movie theatre? How did he get here? He was at the Compound with the kid. Where was Peter?
He quickly got to his feet and realized that Peter was nearby, slowly waking up, along with Pepper and Rhodey. He quickly moved to help all of them up.
"Tony? How what are we doing here?" said a voice that made Tony's blood boil. Tony angrily turned around to find Rogers, Barnes, Natasha, Vision, Maximoff, Wilson, Barton, and the shrinking guy.
"What the hell are you doing here?" yelled Tony, glaring at him and Barnes.
"Tony, please, just calm down!" said Natasha. "Let's figure out why we're here and who brought us here."
"You don't even know what he's done! What Rogers hid from me!"
By this point, everyone was awake. Steve was standing protectively in front of Bucky, which made Tony scowl even more.
"I'm sorry, Tony! I never meant to hurt you. I was just trying to protect Bucky," said Steve.
"You should have told me!"
"You're right, I should have, and I'm sorry I didn't."
Tony glared at Steve. "I read the files after Siberia, Rogers. I know what they did to Barnes. I know he didn't have a choice, but all I see when I look at Barnes is him bashing my father's face in and strangling my mother!"
Steve and Bucky paled. Several people gasped.
"Wait, is this why the Avengers broke up?" asked Peter.
"Uh guys, why is there a child here?" said Sam, looking curiously at Peter. Peter shrunk back slightly, which Tony caught and moved in front of him to shield him from everyone but Pepper and Rhodey.
"This is Peter, my intern."
"I didn't know you have interns," said Natasha curiously.
Tony sniffed. "You were gone a while; things change."
Natasha nodded. "Looks like they did."
Clint snorted quietly. There was no way that the kid was Tony's intern. He was a father; he knew fatherly behaviour when he saw it.
Peter was looking at all the other Avengers with wide eyes.
"Uh guys, how did we even here?" said Clint.
"Perhaps this may provide an answer," Vision spoke up, revealing a note.
"Where'd that come from?" Rhodey asked.
"It was attached to the chair I woke up in," he replied.
"Well, what does it say?" asked Wanda.
Vision looked at the note and read, "Thanos is coming. You need to join forces with yourselves and new allies."
"Who the hell is Than—" exclaimed Rhodey before he was interrupted by Thor, Bruce, Loki, an unfamiliar woman, an unfamiliar man, and the strangest group of people he'd ever seen. A human, a grey man, a blue woman, a green woman, another woman with antennae, a tree, and a raccoon?
Peter's jaw dropped. Thor was right in front of him!
Loki's appearance brought the Avengers to tense, which in turn made the other group tense.
"Friends, don't worry! Loki is good now!" said Thor with the biggest grin. "He helped us save Asgard." Thor nudged Banner, "Go on, tell them."
"Um, yeah. He did help us save Asgard."
The Avengers looked at him dubiously.
"You were on another planet this entire time?" asked Natasha, shocked.
Bruce looked sheepish. "Uh, yeah."
The Avengers looked at Bruce in shock before looking at the other group.
"Who are you guys?" asked Sam.
"We're the Guardians of Galaxy; who the hell are you guys?" said the human man.
Tony started to say that they were the Avengers before he was interrupted by Loki.
"Thor, they're daughters of Thanos!"
"Whoa, as in the same Thanos the note said?" said Peter.
"We're not his daughters, Asgardian!" growled the blue lady, bringing out a knife. "You were the one working for him before."
"Loki, what did you do?" growled Clint.
Loki scoffed. "I did what I had to do!"
"Let's all calm down," said Steve. "We got a note saying that Thanos is coming, and we need to join forces with ourselves and new allies."
Nebula and Gamora looked at each other.
"Alright, we'll listen." Said Gamora.
"Well, this isn't the weirdest thing that has happened today," said the raccoon.
The Avengers looked at the raccoon, baffled. "Did the raccoon just speak?" asked Pepper, taken aback.
Rocket growled, "I'm not a raccoon!" Quill snickered.
The Avengers were speechless. Aliens were real; magic was real, sure; a talking raccoon wasn't the strangest thing that was possible.
Quill was carefully looking at Steve. "You look like Captain America."
Everyone from Earth looked at Quill, baffled. "How do you know who Captain America is?" asked Sam incredulously.
"I'm from Earth. My grandmother said she met him once."
Steve blinked in surprise. "What?"
"Yeah, at one of your dancing things. She told us all about it." Steve turned a funny shade of pink as Bucky snickered. He knew exactly where Steve met Quill's grandmother.
Tony turned to the unfamiliar man and started to ask him who he was before Loki interrupted Tony again.
"Second-rate sorcerer!" growled Loki, angrily glaring at Strange.
Strange rolled his eyes. "Let's just watch this."
Everyone took their seats, preparing themselves for what they were about to see. Tony firmly put Peter into the seat next to him, putting himself between Peter and everyone else. He also made sure they, along with Pepper and Rhodey, were far away from Rogers and Barnes.
Voices were heard calling out, saying the Asgardian refugee vessel called the Statesman was under assault. They requested aid from any vessel in range as their crew was made up of Asgardian families with very few soldiers.
Thor and Loki tensed at the Sanctuary II attacking the Statesman.
"Asgardian refugee vessel?" asked Steve, confused. "Thor, what happened to Asgard?"
"My sister destroyed it."
"Your sister?!" exclaimed several voices.
"So, you have an evil sister and an evil brother?" said Clint, giving Loki a dirty look.
Loki rolled his eyes.
"Before my father died, he told me he imprisoned Hela and would be released when he died. Then Hela arrived, destroyed my hammer—,"
"Destroyed your hammer?!"
"Yes, then Loki and I ended up on Sakaar where we found Banner," Thor clapped Bruce on the back.
"Sakaar is a real shithole," said Rocket.
"Then Bruce, Valkyrie, Loki, and I had to unleash Surtur to destroy Asgard to defeat Hela because her powers come from Asgard," said Thor, casually. "Oh, and she also cut my eye out."
There was a deafening silence.
"That sounds rough."
The Sanctuary II fired blue bolts at The Statesman.
Thor angrily stood up, his body pulsing with lightning.
Everyone's eyes were wide. "Since when could you do that?!" asked Tony.
In the burning wreckage of the Statesman, a wounded Heimdall lay on the ground as someone walked around, passing several dead Asgardians.
"No! Not Heimdall!" yelled Thor. Loki's eyes were wide.
The figure walked around and said, "Hear me and rejoice. You have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan. You may think this is suffering. No. It is salvation."
"Salvation?" Steve exploded, "You're killing them!"
Gamora and Loki stiffened at the voice, while Nebula looked like she was about to murder someone.
"Universal scales tip toward balance because of your sacrifice. Smile. For even in death, you have become Children of Thanos," said Ebony Maw.
"Bastard!" Nebula threw one of her knives at the screen.
Loki felt like throwing a knife at the screen too. Ebony Maw was the one to torture him all those years ago.
Loki was standing, tense as Proxima Midnight had her spear on him while Corvus Glaive and Cull Obsidian stood there.
Loki paled.
"They don't look happy with you, Reindeer Games," said Tony, "What did you do?"
"Failed to deliver Thanos the Tesseract."
"Thanos was the one who sent you?" yelped Tony.
Loki nodded. Everyone else paled.
Then a huge armoured figure was shown looking the other way.
Everyone held their breaths and narrowed their eyes.
"I know what it's like to lose." Thanos said as he turned around to look at a wounded figure at his feet, "To feel so desperately that you're right... yet to fail, nonetheless."
Seeing the large figure, everybody held their breath and narrowed their eyes.
Everyone was horrified when they realized the wounded figure was Thor.
"THANOS!" yelled Drax. "He will pay for the deaths of my wife and daughter!"
Thanos lifted Thor and walked towards Loki, "It's frightening. Turns the legs to jelly. But I ask you, to what end? Dread it, run from it... destiny arrives all the same. And now, it's here. Or should I say... I am." He revealed the Infinity Gauntlet in his left hand, the Power Stone glowing in its slot.
The Guardians' jaws dropped.
"How did he get the Power Stone?" Quill yelled.
"You idiots, Xandar can't hold off Thanos." Nebula growled.
"You know what that is?" Scott asked, voicing the question the Avengers had.
"It's the Power Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones," Gamora answered. "We found it a few years ago and left it on Xandar." She felt guilty as she knew the Xandarians couldn't hold off Thanos and they had left the Stone there anyway.
"Oh! You're the group who held an Infinity Stone," said Thor. "I've heard of you!"
Thor groaned how Thanos talked a lot as Thanos asked Loki for the Teserract or he'd kill Thor. Loki coldly told him to kill away.
Clint and Tony angrily cursed Loki while Wanda brought a hand to her mouth in shock.
Loki and Thor didn't respond, just staring at the screen.
Thanos moved the Power Stone to Thor's head, and it glowed, striking energy into his head as he screamed in pain.
Everyone watched in horror. Some were unable to watch and looked away. Wanda shuddered.
"Come on, not Thor," muttered Bruce.
Loki was unable to watch and shouted at Thanos to stop, which he did.
Clint and Tony apologized to Loki, but he was too busy staring at the future version of his brother to respond.
Thor said they didn't have the Tesseract as it had been destroyed on Asgard. Loki then lifted his hand, and the Tesseract appeared in it as Thor groaned how he was the worst brother ever.
"You had it this whole time?!" Thor groaned as everyone else looked at the two.
"Where is it now?" Strange demanded.
Loki frowned at Strange. "It's in an interdimensional pocket. It's safe there for now."
"I assure you, brother....the sun will shine on us again," Loki assured Thor as he moved to Thanos. "Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian," Thanos told him. "Well, for one thing, I'm not Asgardian." Loki said as he stopped near Thanos, "And for another... we have a Hulk." Then Hulk leapt out with a roar and tackled Thanos away as Loki dropped the Tesseract, and pushed Thor out of the way.
"Did Loki just call you his brother?!" Steve asked.
"The Hulk is here!" Peter cheered, and the Avengers felt relieved. There was no way Thanos could be stronger than the Hulk...right?
"You copied me, Reindeer Games!"
Hulk bellowed angrily.
"Hell yeah! Smash him, Hulk!" Scott yelled.
Hulk punched Thanos and slammed him into the wall. He then held Thanos in a chokehold.
"Glad we have the Hulk on our side," Rhodey said, to which everyone nodded in agreement, feeling hopeful.
Nebula and Gamora were doubtful, though.
"He is a worthy warrior! Why is he not here with us?" asked Drax.
Bruce hesitantly raised his hand.
"Uh, I'm the Hulk."
Drax, Rocket, and Quill eyed Bruce and then eyed Hulk on the screen. They did not look similar.
"No offence, man, you don't look anything like him," Quill pointed to the screen.
Cull Obsidian moved to help Thanos, but Ebony Maw raised his hand, "Let him have his fun."
Hearing Ebony Maw say this, everyone lost their excitement. Let him have his fun?
"Damn it," Bucky muttered.
Thanos grabbed Hulk's hands and slowly pushed them back before striking his shoulder, staggering him back.
"What the hell?!"
"How is this even possible?!"
"What the fuck?"
"Thanos is too strong," Sam muttered.
Thanos blocked Hulk's punch and struck him, staggering him again. Thanos kept blocking Hulk's punches and punched him back several times, smashing him into a pillar. He then kneed Hulk's face before lifting him and throwing him down.
Tony watched the fight with wide eyes, shocked by how easy it seemed for Thanos.
The Avengers were speechless and horrified. Hulk was supposed to be an unstoppable rage monster, capable of tearing apart anything. But Thanos easily beat the Hulk.
"We're so screwed," muttered Sam. "How're we supposed to stop this guy?"
Thor struck Thanos' helmet with a pipe, but he was barely affected while the pipe shattered. Thor made to strike again but was kicked away. Ebony Maw telekinetically trapped Thor with several pieces of broken metal.
"Are you kidding me?" Peter exclaimed in disbelief.
"Another nearly impossible person to fight, fantastic," Clint said sarcastically.
Heimdall then looked at Thor, and as his eyes changed colour, he said, "Allfathers... let the dark magic flow through me one last... time." The Bifrost appeared, lifted Hulk, and transported him away.
The Avengers sighed in relief as Bruce was out of reach for now.
"Thank you," Bruce whispered with gratitude.
"Heimdall sent Bruce to Earth to warn us," realized Steve.
"Thank god."
"No, no. Thank Heimdall," said Thor.
Thanos then moved menacingly towards Heimdall.
"No, no, no, no." Thor repeatedly muttered.
Everyone paled as they realized what Thanos was going to do.
Thanos glared at Heimdall and took Corvus Glaive's glaive. Heimdall looked sadly at Thor, whose eyes widened in fear. "That was a mistake," Thanos said and stabbed Heimdall with the glaive, killing him brutally. "NO!" Thor screamed in agony.
Thor screamed in anger and Loki closed his eyes in respect while everyone else stared in horror.
"You're going to die, for that!" Thor yelled in grief, but Ebony Maw gagged him with a piece of metal and silenced him.
"Bastard."
Corvus took back his glaive as Ebony May picked up the Tesseract and bowed before Thanos. Thanos took off his helmet and his armour. "No other being has ever had the might... nay, the nobility... to wield not one, but two Infinity Stones." Thanos took the Tesseract and shattered it in his hands.
Everyone watched with wide eyes while some jaws dropped.
The Space Stone was revealed.
Everyone gaped at the screen in disbelief. Steve closed his eyes and sighed.
Clint yelled, "The Tesseract... is an Infinity Stone?!"
"SHIELD was experimenting on an Infinity Stone the whole time? No wonder Loki invaded Earth," Bruce said, exasperated. "We had a big sign on our foreheads that said 'Invade us, please'."
Tony was speechless for another reason. "That's why the Scepter didn't work on the Arc Reactor," he realized.
"What?" said Rhodey.
"When Loki tried to use the Scepter on me in New York—"
"He did what?" Rhodey and Pepper sent Loki a dirty look.
Tony waved their concerns away. "It didn't work."
Natasha furrowed her eyebrows. "How did the Scepter not work?"
"The Arc Reactor is based on Tesseract energy," he added, "Space Stone energy. So, the Scepter wouldn't work against energy from another Infinity Stone." Tony sent Loki a smug look.
Loki blinked in surprise. So that's why it didn't work.
Thanos blew away the glass and slowly fit the Space Stone to the Infinity Gauntlet as power surged through him.
Peter groaned. "Now he has two Infinity Stones."
Thanos told his children there were two more Infinity Stones on Earth and to find them. They bowed and said they wouldn't fail him.
"He'll be coming after Vision," said Bruce. "We have to get the Mind Stone out before he does."
Wanda looked at Vision in fear. "He's going to kill you," she whispered.
"We need to find Thanos before he gets any of the Stones," said Rhodey.
"This is it..." Tony whispered to himself, haphazardly running a hand through his air.
"Wait, two stones?" asked Pepper. "Where's the other one?"
Strange wondered if he should tell everyone that he had the Time Stone. He swore an oath to protect it, but if Thanos was after it, then he should probably tell them. Strange sighed. "I have the Time Stone."
"What?!"
"You have the Time Stone? How did SHIELD not know about the other Infinity Stone on Earth?" asked Natasha.
"We know how to protect the stone."
"Terra has two Infinity Stones?! Do you know how stupid it is to keep Infinity Stones near each other?" exclaimed Rocket. "How has Thanos not destroyed your planet yet?"
"Midgard comes under Asgard's protection," said Thor. "If Thanos invaded Midgard, we would protect the planet. But Asgard is now destroyed—"
"So Thanos is coming," finished Steve.
Thor nodded.
"Wait, Thanos sent you to Earth in 2012, right?" Tony asked Loki, who nodded. "Why didn't Asgard protect us then?"
"The Bifrost was destroyed. My father had to conjure dark magic to bring me to Earth," answered Thor.
"Thanos is smart," said Natasha. "He chose the perfect time to attack both times."
Loki then arrived and said they might need a guide for Earth. He had some experience in that area. Thanos asked if he considered failure experience, and he said he considered experience as experience.
"Are you serious, man?" Clint asked. "You're sucking up to Thanos?"
Loki rolled his eyes. "I think I have a plan, Barton."
Thor paled. "What plan? He just beat the shit out of the Hulk, Loki!"
"Almighty Thanos... I, Loki, prince of Asgard..." Loki looked at Thor and said, "Odinson..."
Thor and Loki exchanged a look and then turned back to the screen. Thor had a slight smile on his face and threw his arms around Loki for a hug.
Loki patted him on the back twice before trying and failing to get out. "Get off me, you oaf!"
Loki continued, "The rightful king of Jotunheim... God of mischief... "A dagger materialized in Loki's hand suddenly, hidden from all while Thor watched in concern.
"What are you doing?! Why are you using a tiny knife?! You're one of Asgard's best sorcerers, and you're using a knife!" Thor yelled in concern.
Everyone watched in anticipation, wanting Loki to kill Thanos.
Loki continued, "Do hereby pledge to you... my undying fidelity." He kneeled and bowed before Thanos, taking a deep breath. Then, Loki lunged with his dagger, only for Thanos to stop Loki's hand using the Space Stone.
A few people gasped.
"Shit!" Peter said, and everyone paled.
"No, no, no," muttered Thor, while he and Loki watched, pale.
"Undying?" Thanos mocked before grabbing Loki's hand and making him drop the dagger, "You should choose your words more carefully." He lifted Loki by the throat, slowly choking him as Thor watched.
"Let him go," begged Thor.
The Avengers felt bad for Loki, even Clint.
"You... will never be... a God!" Loki wheezed out as his skin colour returned to blue. Thanos squeezed his neck, and a crack was heard as Loki went limp, his eyes wide and mouth open, blood running down his nose and mouth. "NO!" Thor screamed, but the gag muffled him.
Thor exploded in anger, and lightning pulsed across his body.
Loki was still pale, shocked at how brutally he'd been killed. Loki put a hand on Thor's shoulder, "Brother, I'm still here. We can change this. This won't happen this time."
Thor hugged Loki more tightly, never wanting to let go. Loki hugged back just as tightly.
Thanos dropped a dead Loki in front of Thor, who stared heartbrokenly. "No resurrections this time," Thanos said.
"I'm going to kill you!" Thor yelled.
Everyone felt bad for Thor. He had lost everyone — his mother, father, brother, home, and half of his people in a short period.
Thanos activated the Power Stone, and the ship started breaking apart as purple flames, explosions, and energy covered it. Thanos then activated the Space Stone, and a portal appeared behind them as he walked into it with the Black Order, transporting them away instantly.
"How do we fight him?" Scott asked fearfully.
Steve looked at Tony, sharing a slight glance with him, who returned it reluctantly. Tony still felt hurt by Steve, but this was bigger than that. He knew something was out there for years, and it was finally happening. Tony sighed. "Together."
Steve couldn't help but give Tony a wide smile.
The metal restraints broke as Thor crawled towards Loki. He put a hand on Loki's chest and sobbed while the Statesman exploded due to the Power Stone.
"No!" several people cried.
"Thor's gone..." Steve said sadly, shutting his eyes tightly.
"I'm not dead yet," said Thor.
"What do you mean? Your ship just exploded!" asked Tony incredulously.
"Asgardians can survive in space for some time. But I'll die soon unless someone rescues me."
"Hopefully, we got your distress signal," said Gamora.
The Bifrost passed the sun and the moon and shot towards the Earth, reaching right above New York.
"Is that me?" asked Bruce.
"I think it is, Dr Banner," said Strange.
In the New York Sanctum, Strange asked Wong if he really didn't have any money, and he said attachment to the physical was detachment from the spiritual.
Everyone turned to Strange, who ignored all of them.
Strange and Wong bickered about tuna melts before the Bifrost shattered the stairs behind them. They turned as Strange called the Cloak of Levitation while his uniform appeared and Wong summoned Tao Mandalas.
"Ugh, please don't tell me you're a wizard," said Tony.
"We're not," replied Strange.
"Good."
"We're sorcerers."
"Same thing!"
The two peered into the hole as Hulk was seen reverting to Banner. "Thanos is coming. He's coming...." Bruce breathed out in terror. "Who?" asked Strange.
"Good thing Heimdall sent me back," Bruce said.
"He won't be dying this time," growled Thor.
"At least you're on Earth now, Bruce. You can let the rest of us know, and maybe we can stop him," said Natasha.