INFERNO │ Marvel

6 - Up In Flames

It came when the entire compound was blown to smithereens. Amelia covered herself with a protective shield as rubble began to fall down upon her. She quickly lost sight of her friends and they fell down into the darkness below. With all her strength, she pushed her shield upwards to force the rubble away.

Tony was the first person she found on the surface, only a few scuffs on his suit. Their home was now up in smoke around them. Across the way, a presumably time-travelled Thanos was sitting alone on a rock. The siblings began searching for their friends.

"Come on, buddy. Wake up," Tony said as he kicked Steve's leg. The man laid in front of them awoke with a gasp. "That's my man. You lose this again, I'm keeping it."

"What happened?" he asked, sitting up and taking back his shield.

"You mess with time, it tends to mess back," Amelia sighed. "You'll see."

The three of them wandered through the ruins until they joined Thor, who was looking down at Thanos. The Titan was still just sat there, his sword stuck on the ground and his helmet perched atop it.

"What's he been doing?" Tony asked.

"Absolutely nothing," Thor responded.

"Where are the stones?" Steve questioned next.

"Lost somewhere under all this," Tony answered. "All I know is he doesn't have them."

"So we keep it that way."

"You know it's a trap, right?" Thor pointed out.

"It's always a trap," Amelia spoke up. She smirked at her brother. "Not that we much care."

"Good. Just as long as we're all in agreement."

With that, Thor held out both his hands, summoning both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker. Lightning crackled through the air as his appearance changed, shifting to armour more suited for the God of Thunder. His long hair and beard became braided while his eyes glowed a brilliant blue.

"Let's kill him properly this time."

The four advanced on Thanos slowly. He was not showing himself as any threat at that moment. In fact, he looked amused. He was biding his time while his lackeys retrieved the stones. He couldn't use them if he would already be dead. Amelia summoned a sword and flared her fiery wings as she took a final step forward to be in line with her brother. This time, they were in it together.

"You could not live with your own failure," Thanos observed. "Where did that bring you? Back to me. I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you've shown me, that's impossible. And as long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist."

"Yep, we're all kinds of stubborn," Tony agreed. Amelia could see the nervousness on his face, but there was also steely determination.

I'm thankful. Because now, I know what I must do," the Titan replied. He stood, putting on his helmet and pinking up his double-ended sword. "I will shred this universe down to its last atom. And then... With the stones you've collected for me, create a new one. Teeming with life, but knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given."

Thor readied his lightning with Amelia set herself alight. Thanos simply smiled at them.

"A grateful universe."

"Born out of blood," Steve pointed out.

"They'll never know it," he responded. "Because you won't be alive to tell them."