Veronica Barnes: Trained to Kill

XXXIV.

Date: 06/30/2018
Location: The Avengers Compound, Manhattan

The ground rumbled and shook, a loud growling sound coming from outside. Steve, Rhodes, Natasha, and Bruce jogged outside to see the sight. A large space ship coming towards the ground, a very bright light shining against the bottom of it, the shadow of a woman inside the light. The four stood behind Pepper as the ship landed, the woman bringing it down to the ground and looking over to them.

Steve ran forward as the ship stairs lowered, grabbing ahold of Tony's arm, helping him walk down from Nebula's grasp.

Tony panted, walking with the help of Steve, Nebula staying behind on the steps. "I couldn't stop him."

"Neither could I," Steve replied.

"Hang on," Tony muttered, stopping Steve. "I lost the kid."

Steve pursed his lips together. "We lost her, too." He paused. "Tony, we lost."

"Is uh..." he looked over, Pepper jogging forward. "Oh, good."

"Oh, my god," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his sickly body as she sobbed.

Tony pressed a kiss to her temple as she pulled away. "It's okay," he whispered to her, allowing Steve and Pepper to help him walk to the compound.

Rocket made his way up to Nebula, patting her leg, allowing the girl to take his paw in her hand, the two silent.

Date: 07/01/2018
Location: Planet 0259-S

Veronica groaned, arching her back against the ground as she bit her tongue so hard blood filled her mouth. Her ankles were tied together, her wrists tied over her head and attached to a pole on the wall. She looked up at Thanos with blurry vision, pain writhing through her body.

"Calm now, little one," he spoke to her. "It will only hurt for a while."

The syringe in his hand clattered to the side as he tossed it away, making his way over to the counter. The girl was undoubtedly malnourished, dehydrated, and endured days and days of Thanos's endless tortures. While it wasn't as bad as HYDRA's torture methods, a giant purple Titan hand hitting you in the jaw doesn't feel great.

"I don't understand..." she hissed as she looked up, her body stilling. "What did you inject in me?"

"The last life of the Infinity Stones," he replied, sipping water from an extremely small glass compared to him. "I drained the last of their powers into the syringe. I call it the Infinity Serum."

"Great, so I'm an ex-assassin who has the power of each Infinity Stone in me. That's great."

A large light blast flew through the wall, hitting Thanos, Veronica scooting back the fastest she could with her weak body, bruises glinting across her skin. A force flew through the wall, tackling him to the ground. She swung herself around Thanos's neck, her foot pushing against the gauntlet as she held his head back. A grunting came from below, the familiar suit of Bruce Banner popping through the floor boards. Rhodes flew in through the ceiling, grabbing Thanos's other arm as Bruce pulled on the gauntlet. Thor burst in, swinging his axe down on the Titan's arm, severing it as the man yelled in pain. Steve, Rocket, and Natasha walked in through the doorway, looking at the sight of Thanos's restrained body, not looking over to Veronica yet.

Rocket bent down, rolling the gauntlet over. Not a stone was left in the metal. "Oh, no."

"Where are they?" Steve asked, glaring at Thanos.

Carol tightened her arm around Thanos's neck, earning a groan from him. "Answer the question."

"The universe required correction," he spoke, panting. "After that, the stones only served one other purpose." He grinned wildly at Natasha. "To fulfill my next great invention. The Infinity Serum."