Departure on the Benetar took less than an hour. It required everyone to change into their battle gear, it required Bruce to bring the Hulkbuster armor on the ship.
Steve carried me into our bedroom. He set me on the edge of the bed and folded my hands together to keep pressure on my wound. He then drug through the bottom drawer of the dresser, retrieving my old Avengers uniform.
We didn't speak. I couldn't look at him. My eyes remained on the floor as he took my clothes off and replaced them with my padded uniform. I could have cared less whether or not I had protective gear. I had no power to do anything if Thanos had decided to kill me when we arrived.
After he changed, he held out his hand for me and we walked together through the Compound to the front lawn. We hiked up the ramp of the Benetar and brought up the rear of our team.
I disregarded Steve's hand. I sat in the first open seat I saw, buckled in, and let my eyes rest on my kneecaps.
Steve sat beside me. As he buckled in, the ship started to shake as it roared to life.
"All right," said Rocket. He and Carol were sitting at the forefront to pilot. I heard the ramp behind us close. "Who here hasn't been to space?"
Rhodey, Natasha, and Steve raised their hands.
"Better not throw up on my ship," he said.
Steve gripped the sides of his chair. I saw him spare a glance to me.
Carol smirked. "Approaching jump in three... Two... One."
The Benetar lurched into hyperspeed. I watched everyone who sat in front of my eyes smush against their seats. I watched the knuckles of Steve and Natasha turn white. Rhodey accidentally dented the chair handles with how hard he gripped.
But it was beautiful. To go from the blue sky I had been staring up at since I was a child to the cosmic entity that was space was a drastic change. Sparkling hues of blue, purple, and yellow flew past our ship as we jumped through space.
It didn't last long. Piloting at hyperspeed decreased the time it took to travel from place to place. I had been mesmerized by the colors of space for a mere few minutes before it was replaced by the twinkling blackness of space. In the distance, a yellow planet floated. Thanos.
Carol and Rocket set the ship to its park function. Those of us who had been in space unbuckled, casting our eyes to those who hadn't. The three looked queasy, but refrained from throwing up.
"Are you all right?" I said softly to Steve, bending over in front of him to unbuckle his restraints.
Steve nodded, although his eyes seemed glossy.
He moved slower than he anticipated as he stood. He and Natasha caught each other's eye and chuckled softly. They shared the common thought of who would have thought they would have made it to space in their lifetime?
Carol announced she would head down for recon. She entered into the hatch where the Guardians formerly had their Escape Pod, Rhodey hit the release button, and she dropped into the void of space. I turned to the front window to watch her, encapsulated in a streak of light, fly through the atmosphere.
I watched her with envy. I never knew if I was able to manipulate my powers to fly, but to watch her love her abilities, to have faith in herself, and absolute power by that of just existing. It used to be me. I was blessed to have my powers— I loved them, I loved myself when I had them. Now, without them... I didn't know what I could say for myself.
"This is gonna work, Steve," I heard Natasha say softly behind me.
"I know it will," he said softly. His voice became clearer as he turned in my direction. "Because I don't know what I'm gonna do if it doesn't."
I was going to turn and face him, but a bright light flying at our still ship distracted my attention.
Carol dimmed her brightness to make herself available to see; her brow was scrunched in confusion. Through our earpieces, she announced, "No satellites. No ships. No armies. No defenses of any kind— it's just him."
"And that's enough," said Nebula immediately.
"Back in your seats," called Rocket. "We're goin' to him."
With Carol flying lead, Rocket piloted the Benetar after her. She led us to the base of a mountain, where we lowered to the ground, and Rocket landed the ship.
We were silent as we walked. Despite the planet only holding Thanos, we were still wary, thinking a trap may be in our near future.
The walking lasted a mere ten minutes before we came upon the high stalks of a garden. We came to a stop and circled.
"Once we get through this, he has a little house at the end of it," said Carol. "I'll go in first, subdue him."
"All right. Bruce, Carol, Rhodey, Thor, you're on his restraint," ordered Steve. He received nods from all, except Thor, who was looking into the distance, unimpressed by the planet, uninterested in the conversation at hand. He sighed. "Okay. Let's go."
Natasha, Rocket, and I walked behind Steve, as he held his shield at his forefront, blocking his way through the stalks of produce.
Carol, Bruce, Thor, and Rhodey split as they walked ahead of us to enter the house from different directions. Since they walked ahead of us, they saw the house that contained Thanos and ambushed. We heard distant sounds of breakage, groans, and when we exited the garden mere minutes later, we ran for the house.
I kicked open the door. I saw Carol had wrapped Thanos in a chokehold and Rhodey had his right arm extended. Bruce and Thor were standing off to the side, blue streaks of lightning flickering and dimming from Stormbreaker.
I saw Thanos's severed hand on the floor, Gauntlet still burned into it. I nudged it over with my foot. It was free of the Stones.
"Oh, no," mumbled Rocket.
I looked to Thanos. He was grunting, in clear pain from losing his arm, but he was subduing it to avoid appearing weak. He looked at me with recognition. But he was not angry. He was pleased. The plan he had, the 'destiny' he had chosen had been complete. I had fought him relentlessly in Wakanda, he had stabbed me out of pure annoyance, and I faced him, weak, my cheeks tear-stained, my body trembling with the sudden change in body chemistry. He knew exactly I had not only known, but felt, what he did when he saw me.
"Where?" I seethed.
"The Universe required correction. After that, the Stones serve no purpose but temption," he spat.
"You murdered trillions!" yelled Bruce, punching him with the massive fists of the Hulkbuster armor.
Thanos fell to the floor. Cradling his severed hand to his chest and raised only his head to survey us, claiming, "You should be grateful!"
I shook with rage. I took a step for him, but Steve grabbed my hand. I didn't look back at him.
"I used the Stones to destroy the Stones. It nearly killed me. But the work is done. It always will be," he explained. He paused to look each of us in the eye. "I am inevitable."
Rhodey shook his head. "We have to tear this place apart. He has to be lying."
"My father is many things," said Nebula. Her blank expression hadn't changed with anything Thanos said. "A liar is not one of them."
"Thank you, daughter. Perhaps I treated you too harshly—" His words ceased abruptly, and then, Thanos's head was on the floor.
Nobody moved. There was absolute silence for a few beats as we surveyed our greatest foe, crumpled on the floor.
"What did you do?" whispered Rocket in utter, confused awe of Thor's actions.
"I went for the head."
The floorboards creaked as my heavy footsteps pressed into them. I departed from the house, walking down the steps of the house, and into the garden for a few minutes until my knees gave out and I dropped. As I fell to my knees, I let out a scream. I dropped my head into my hands, scratching my fingers over my face and into my hair. I clenched the ends of my hair. Tears fell freely from my eyes, discharge ran from my nose, I took quick inhales to breathe as I let out every ounce of heartbreak built into my being.
The Mighty Thanos was dead. But it changed absolutely nothing. We still lost our families and half the universe. The Infinity Stones had been destroyed. Any fraction of hope there was for us to save everyone was gone. All hope that I would become Agamotto again ceased to exist.
By his footsteps alone I knew it was him. All he could say was a soft, "I'm sorry."
I had the reflex to respond with, "It's not your fault," but I didn't. I knew it would send us into an argument over how it wasn't my fault either. But it was. He would never understand my position in all of this. It was my fault for not doing more to protect the Stone, for taking so long to get the grasp of navigating Time and Space. It was my fault for not doing more, for not uniting the battlefront; it was Thor's fault for not going for the head; it was Quill's fault for reacting brashly. Everyone was blaming themselves for not doing more. I inhaled to speak with him but all that exited my mouth was another sob.
Steve knelt beside me. He tucked my head to his chest, his head on the crown of my head. I slammed my eyes shut. I tried to just exist for a minute. I tried to feel the breeze across my face, to take slow breaths, and find peace for a moment to pull myself together.
I felt his hot breath against my head. His voice was unsure, scared, as he asked me, "Can I ask you to stay with me?"
"Yes."