XANDARIANS WERE AN interesting group of people that had certainly inflated a form of curiosity within the young woman. Her black boots, with odd stains of liquid and scruffs, softly padded along the concrete of Xandar's busy walkways. She skirted in and around the various groups of Xandarian's, and odd visitors from other planets, to carefully avoid bumping into anyone but the place was overpopulated. Her family were there to help with that problem.
Her eyes wandered over the groups of people, ranging from hues of pinks, blues, and greens — she was certain that she had glanced over a talking duck a moment ago. What a curious place Xandar was. In the young woman's defence, her curiosity was piqued because she had never truly seen anything beside the familiar stone walls of her home on Sanctuary II. Besides her tasks to forge alliances and ensue justice against those who fought against Thanos in his vision to save the universe. Along with the occasional trips to check in on an old friend.
Leena continued her advance to the one place she wanted to visit before it rained hellfire. She glanced at the watch on her hand, she had a few minutes. It was the home to a strange little man with a habit of collecting various of knickknacks across the galaxy. She had gained wind of the shop after listening in on a conversation between two Xandarian's. Apparently this shop had magical artefacts. Upon arriving at the Broker's shop, she was greeted with the presence of another customer who adorned a leather trouser and jacket combo.
He shot a wary look towards Leena whose attention was immediately drawn to the shelves holding treasured items. Her fingers carefully picked up a small, silver rectangle of an object that had a pair of long white wires in a small clear box beside it.
"May I help you?" A slightly high pitched voice inquired from beside her. Leena glanced down and noticed the small man with the extremely bushy eyebrows — the Broker. She noticed that the leather-clad man had left the store.
"What's this?" Leena asked, confusion clear in her voice as she showed the object.
Broker glanced at it, and then looked at Leena as if bewildered that she did not know what the object was, but answered her nonetheless. "It is a Zune, a traveller brought in a few of them from his travels on Terrain. This is the last one I have."
Leena furrowed her dark brows, "a Zune?"
Broker nodded his head, "it plays music. You listen with the headphones." He picked up the clear box which held the headphones.
"I'm taking it." Leena said, pocketing the Zune.
The Broker fumbled with his words but before he could reprimand her, a loud crash emanated from outside. His small, beady eyes had widened as far as they possibly could as his small feet stumbled to look at the destruction. Leena wordlessly walked out of the shop, moving around shocked Xandarians that watched with haunting eyes at the pit of fiery flames that had opened up in the middle of one of their walkways. A result of a spacecraft being shot down.
"Three... Two... One." Leena mumbled under her breath as she quickened her pace, more spacecrafts began to rain from the bright blue skies and fall onto unsuspecting Xandarian's, engulfing their city in orange and red flames. The screams were an incessant noise in the background.
Each and every Nova spacecraft fell limply from the sky, falling under the pressure of the shots being fired from the Sanctuary II. Spacecraft after spacecraft, nearly all with a Xandarian fleet member, fell one by one, just behind Leena as she advanced towards the Nova Corps Headquarters.
She noticed a Xandarian guard running in her direction with an armed weapon. He stopped just before her, "Ma'am you should find shelter!"
Leena tilted her head and looked at the blue-faced Xandarian, she glanced at the building behind him. Leena looked back at the Xandarian. "That's why I'm heading to the Headquarters."
She could feel the seconds ticking down, she needed to dispose of him. Leena grasped the handle on her belt, and with a flick of the wrist, her sword had extended. She cut him down in a few moments. She made sure to grant him a quick death with a small apology leaving her lips as she walked around his lifeless body. Her eyes flickered to her wrist — she needed to move.
The Headquarters came into view. It was heavily guarded by armed Xandarians. Leena could only admire their determination to fight against the people that sought to save them. She had to admire how terribly stupid they were, brave, but entirely stupid.
She decided to pocket her extension sword and get past them by using other means. Her eyes suddenly darkened as the sky above her blackened while black ink reached out of her fingertips, and circled around the Xandarian guards. Black lines creeped up her palms and forearms. It was as if her veins had turned black as she felt the energy coursing within her. Such energy was being drawn upon from those around her, she could feel their beating hearts, frantically trying to stay alive for their selfish cause. Leena channeled it through her own body, making what was theirs, her own.
Before they could realise what was happening, if they could even comprehend it, they were faltering helplessly. Their weapons had been dropped from their flopping arms, their legs gave way as they thudded to the ground with their strangled breaths ceasing immediately after they shut their eyes. They were at peace.
The black vines suddenly puffed into a faded smoke, clouding around her as she stepped over the lifeless bodies of the guards. "I'm sorry," Leena found herself murmuring. She made sure they hadn't felt too much pain but there was only so much she could do.
Once she reached the glass door of the Headquarters, she was greeted with at least fifteen more guards. Leena paused. They all stared at her with their guns aimed, ready to fire.
Leena felt an awkward smile tug on her lips, her brain racing through every possibility in a matter of milliseconds. He should be here soon.
Just as they readied their guns, the glass shattered around them as a hulking body of Leena's sibling smashed through. They began firing immediately. Leena quickly channelled the energy she had gathered, and formed a tinted shield, in the shape of a rectangle, to cover herself and repel the bullets being fired at her. Cull Obsidian roared and launched his large hammer through the air, he knocked out all the guards in one strike.
"I will give you seven out of ten for that," Leena commented, she shot a thumbs up in the direction of Cull Obsidian who merely grunted in response.
Leena stepped over the beaten and bloodied bodies of the guards to walk down a hallway. Cull Obsidian stayed guard while Leena hummed to herself, she could feel the Infinity Stone's presence within her. Perhaps one of the wonderful, yet daunting, things about her capabilities was that she could feel them. She could always feel the Infinity Stones because of their inexhaustible currents of energy.
Yet, as she approached the pounding energy, she couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to channel. Leena shook the thought from her head immediately. Firstly, her father would never want her to use the Stones that were rightfully his, and secondly, the stories she had heard of the inexperienced using them and dying a terrifying death had been seared into her memory from a young age. Her father said she would never be able to wield an Infinity Stone, even with her capabilities, only he could do so.
Upon reaching the room in which it was locked in, Leena could feel its power resonating within it. It scratched and clawed to be broken free from its confines and set loose. She knew the door was locked by a keypad, but she still placed her hand on doorknob to attempt to open it. It didn't open.
She glanced down at the watch on her left wrist, a tattoo which stained her inner forearm peaked out from under her jacket. He was late. She watched as the small hand ticked by, the seconds dragging on and on until she felt a cool breeze beside her.
There was a sudden whish and the door unsealed itself with the metal slicing up through the air, curtesy of the magical hands of Ebony Maw. He floated beside her, his skeleton-like face glowered down at her. "Well?" Ebony Maw hissed, "hurry up, child."
Leena shot him an irritated look, "you're the one that was late, thank you very much." She retorted before stepping over the threshold, and wandering inside the chamber.
Ebony Maw merely hissed behind her back as she walked towards the sealed safe in which the Infinity Stone was locked away. Leena slowly placed her hands on either side of the metal safe, the energy pounded between her hands as she closed her eyes. She cleared her thoughts, and felt the stone's power course towards her palms which she slowly lifted away from the safe, and placed them open next to each other, as if they were an opened book with her palms facing up. Her eyes fluttered slightly when she felt a weight being dropped inside her palms that had tinged a slight purple, the object was shaking.
Leena felt a sudden spasm which ran down her body before it stopped. The weight in her palms stopped its mindless shaking. She peeked one eye open, as if afraid that it hadn't worked, before opening the other eye and grinning proudly. She looked in awe at the strange silver circle which hid the purple Infinity Stone from view.
"Is that it? Do you have it?" Ebony Maw's chilling voice seeped towards her.
Leena nodded her head slowly, she grasped the ball in her hand before turning around and facing her brother. "What does it look like?" Leena lifted it up, her grin never leaving her face as she waved it for him to see.
"Stop it! What are you doing!" Ebony Maw shouted, Leena stopped her waving of the stone. "You insolent child, hand it to me before you ruin everything."
Perhaps she shouldn't be waving an Infinity Stone around.
"I believe father dearest asked me to get it for him, not you. Maybe you can get the next one?" Leena suggested with a shrug of her shoulders as she walked past his floating body. "I am the Saviour, after all." He hissed behind her once again before floating off in front of her, leaving her in his dust.
Leena continued to keep her eyes on the Stone as she headed back towards the entrance, and outside. She had stepped into the fires of hell. Screams continued to echo across the sky that had now turned grey from the fires below. Blood smeared across everything in the city, lifeless bodies were being built up, one on top of the other.
She tried to ignore the onslaught of destruction happening around her by the rest of her siblings. She noticed the distinct large body in the centre of the action. His large double-sided sword was slicing through the air, splatters of blood flying around as he cut down his enemies where they stood. Leena noticed a Xandarian guard, with blood soaked clothes, glaring at her. His anger clear on his face before he started to charge towards her with his sword.
"Come on, really?" Leena mumbled under her breath. She went to channel the guard's energy but halted, what if she accidentally channelled the Stone? Leena couldn't risk it. She would have to use her sword. It extended like lightning. She carefully kept ahold of the Infinity Stone in her other hand when her sword clashed with the Xandarian.
Their swords tore through the smokey air, his grunts of anger had him salivating as he spat out heated words. "You — murderer!"
Leena jumped out of the way quickly, accidentally stepping on a lifeless body after his sword sliced at her side, barely missing her skin.
"Sorry," Leena whispered hastily, towards the body, as she quickly stopped the sword from slicing her head.
Leena met his sword before twisting it round, causing him to lose his grip as she placed her boot on the tip of it as it touched the ground. It clattered between them before Leena shoved her own sword at his chest. He gasped loudly, blood spluttering out from his wound after she pulled it out. A trail of blood began streaking down from the corner of his chapped mouth. He flopped lifelessly in moments.
Suddenly, something had sliced against the back of her leg causing Leena to hiss in pain. She turned on her feet and was greeted by another Xandarian. Their swords met in the middle. Leena blocked his sword from coming down from above before twisting his sword around. She lifted one leg up and promptly landed a kick in his chest. He stumbled back and fell onto rubble.
His bloodied face stared up at her, tears had streaked down his cheeks. Leena titled her head in thought, glanced around the destruction before looking back down at the Xandarian. She shoved the sword inside his chest.
"Why did you allow him to strike you?" A voice boomed from behind her.
Leena stiffened slightly. "Did he?"
"You know he did."
Leena could feel the sticky blood trickling down her leg, her trousers were sticking to her in an uncomfortable way.
"It was a mistake."
"A mistake?" He queried. "Look at me."
Leena turned towards him, gulping slightly as she peered through her eyelashes up towards the Mad Titan. His dark eyes were narrowed down at her, blood dripped off his armour but he cared little for the stains.
Leena suddenly knelt before him. "Sorry, father."
"Sorry. You are sorry?" He questioned again. Leena said nothing. His voice was weighing down on her, smothering her in shame and embarrassment for being cut by the Xandarian. "It was embarrassing to watch."
Leena nodded her head in agreement. She needed to practice more, she had to always be on her guard.
"But I shall look past it, only this one time, as you have retrieved the Stone." Thanos said with his large purple hand outstretched towards her. Leena glanced at the object in her left hand before reaching up and placing it within his. "You did well in that respect, daughter."
"Thank you, father." She bowed her head down in respect. Her heart was beating quickly within her ribcage.
"You will practice with weaponry as soon as we are aboard the Sanctuary. Do I make myself clear?" His tone left little room for compromise. He wasn't the type of man to make any compromises.
Leena felt exhausted already at the thought of having to practice with weapons, no doubt it was last well into the night as punishment for what he saw. "Of course, father."
Thanos turned away from her to walk towards the Sanctuary II which had landed in the middle of the destruction. Leena looked around once again, releasing a deep breath as the smoke from the fires washed over her. Finally the screams had stopped. She wondered where the other half of those that were kept alive had been placed but didn't question it any further before standing up, and stumbling over to her father and siblings.
Her eyes were immediately drawn towards the golden gauntlet which Ebony Maw handed towards Thanos. She couldn't pull her eyes away from it as Thanos broke the confines of the ball hiding the Infinity Stone. The purple glowed brightly in his palm, his eyes softening in awe at finally holding onto a Stone.
They all stilled their breaths in anticipation, that was when Leena heard the shouts and screams of the other half of Xandarians who had been left alive to restore the balance. She cast her eyes away for a few moments, and noticed them to the right of her over a hundred feet away. She felt an elbow in her side from Proxima Midnight, so she returned her attention to the Stone as Thanos allowed the gauntlet to pull it towards a slot perfectly made for its power.
A purple shimmer ran over Thanos, and a jagged line creeped up his neck as the power coursed through him. The power ricocheted over the rubble on Xandar while the people cried out in the distance.
"Finally," Thanos murmured in admiration towards the Stone. He glanced beside him to look at his children, his eyes lingering on Leena while his lips twitched up into a smile.
Ebony Maw was the first to kneel before him. Cull Obsidian and Corvus Glaive followed suit. Leena knelt beside Proxima Midnight, the broken rubble of stone beneath her dug into her knee.
She looked around at the rubble once again before noticing a familiar man just a few feet to the side of her. The Broker.
"The Xandarian's have always been troubled people. They will always disrupt the balance." Thanos said with a heavy sigh as he cast his gaze towards them. He turned his gauntlet hand, as if contemplating what to do. "We cannot allow for anyone to disrupt the balance, my children."
"Of course, my liege." Ebony Maw agreed.
Leena was frowning slightly, he wasn't about to do what she thought he was going to do? That would go against his philosophy. The one which had been instilled in her from a babe. To restore the balance. How would decimating an entire civilisation restore the balance if they were no longer apart of it?
It was as if Thanos could hear the questions whizzing around his youngest child. His dark eyes immediately locked onto hers as he lifted his gauntlet out, facing the large group of crying people that were circled by Chitauri. His disposable army.
Leena's eyes widened infinitesimally but she held his gaze with her own hardened look as he clenched his gauntlet. A shudder ran over them as a purple beam shot out towards the Chitauri and the Xandarians. Screams lasted for a couple seconds before they were engulfed in purple flames. Not for a moment did Leena and Thanos break eye contact as the purple licks of fire destroyed everything it came into contact with.
Thanos had wiped out Xandar.
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so i was re-reading over my work and it felt off so i rewrote it, so sorry for anyone that has read it and it slightly confused! (if anyone has read it that is). but if anyone has, constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated! i hope you enjoyed it.