𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 , shuri udaku - discontinued

IRON MAN

CITY OF STARS.
39. ❛ iron man. ❜

ARIA GROANED AS she harshly fell to the floor. She was so tired already and it seemed that the fight never finished.

"Are you alright?" T'Challa asked as he lifted the girl to her feet, inspecting her body for fatal injuries.

"Mhm." Aria nodded and leaned her head on the king's shoulder and closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. "We need to do something already. Those stones aren't going anywhere and Thanos is going to find a way to get them."

"I know." T'Challa nodded and picked up the princess' bow from the ground, "Look, just keep fighting, Aquaria. Don't give up yet. This will pass soon."

"Yeah." Aria nodded and tiredly hooked three vibranium arrows on the drawstring.

T'Challa laid a comforting hand on Aria's shoulder before running away and getting back to the fight.

Not too far away, Tony got punched by Thanos as both tried to get to the Gauntlet that lay in the dirt. Thor then jumped in and utilized a powered-up Stormbreaker and Mjölnir to fight off the Titan. Steve joined in and helped Thor push Stormbreaker into Thanos' chest but the Titan was stronger and he threw both Thor and Steve out of the way, rendering them unconscious.

He reached for the Gauntlet and moved to slip his hand inside, but he was stopped by Carol Danvers. She used her photon blasts to fend him off while also landing powered kicks and punches.

Thanos managed to get a hold of her arm and flung her side, putting on the Gauntlet. As he moved to snap his fingers again, he was stopped by Carol once more. She held the Gauntlet down and kept him from snapping his fingers, and even when Thanos head-butted her, she didn't flinch. All that was in her eyes was pure fury and rage.

She pushed him down and raised her burning fist, ready to fire, but he got to the Power Stone and with one simple blast, she was blown away.

Tony started to move, he blinked a few times before his eyes landed on the Gauntlet around Thanos' hand. Doctor Strange held up one finger to Stark.

Tony Stark breathed heavily and a certain emotion flashed through his eyes. He clasped his hands around the Gauntlet and tried to stop Thanos, but it was of little use. "I am..." breathed Thanos, "Inevitable."

And he snapped his fingers.

When nothing happened, Aria let an arrow hit an alien and watched as Tony stood in front of Thanos, down on his knees, with the bright and colorful stones embedded in his suit.

Tony's finger pressed against his thumb. "And I.." He breathed heavily, "Am..."

"Iron Man."

With Tony Stark's snap, the aliens attacking Earth all crumbled to dust, and one by one, they all disappeared. All of them gone.

Thanos sank down on a piece of rubble as he watched his forces vanish before his eyes. He was helpless. He was defeated for good this time. He was not coming back anymore and he knew it.

Aria clenched her jaw and aimed an arrow at the paralyzed titan. And just when she was satisfied with Thanos knowing he was defeated, she released her arrow and it impaled his right eye.

With a small smirk tugging at her lips, the archer walked forward, approaching the dead titan. If only they knew it was this easy to kill him.

Good riddance, Aria thought as she gazed down at the titan as his dead body started to cripple into ashes, and then, he too was gone.

Tony Stark stumbled to the ground, his right side completely scorched and butchered by the snap. The gauntlet was still on his hand but it was practically destroyed. His face had gone pale and he could barely keep his eyes open.

The metal clank of War Machine sounded as his mask fell and he stepped forward, placing his hand on the side of Tony's head.

Peter Parker arrived too, his heart sinking at the sight before him, "Mr. Stark?" he asked, his voice cracking.

Tony looked up, meeting the kid's eyes. "Hey, Mr. Stark? Can you hear me? It's Peter," he said with a shaky voice. "We won, Mr. Stark."

"We won, Sir. You did it," Peter said quietly. A gentle hand took his arm and pulled him back. "I'm sorry, Tony." He stood back, covering his mouth to mute his sobs.

Pepper arrived and her eyes were filled with tears, but she didn't allow them to fall. She knelt down before Tony and whispered a soft, "Hey."

Aria pursed her lips and stood a few feet away, her arms wrapping around her torso. Trying to give herself some comfort knowing that Tony snapping was the idea that she announced earlier.

Peter Parker stood alone, a few feet to Aria's right, his curly hair was in a mess and stuck out in all sorts of places, his lips trembled horribly, and his whole body shook with each sob that escaped his mouth.

Pepper placed a final kiss against Tony's cheek before her hand let go of his chest. His arc reactor slowly began to flicker before it lost its light. Slowly but surely, everyone took a knee for their fallen teammate.

a/n: I made a book exposing my drafts if you want to read that to keep you entertained.