Memories of a Broken Timeline

Random One Shot

Note- This is not related to the rest of the story. It's just a one-off Madoka/Marvel idea I didn't know what else to do with. There is absolutely no relation to the previous chapters, other than being grouped together.

Homura stood in the red dust of Titan. She'd agreed to follow Peter off of the bus to prevent Madoka from attempting to do the same. Now she was waiting, hoping, uniform stained with clay and soul gem tinged with black. Peter and Tony Stark were talking, the man clearly trying to comfort him as he struggled to process their failure. The group calling themselves the "Guardians of the Galaxy" sat on the rocks around them. The hostility among them was almost tangible. They all blamed Quill for the current circumstances. While she understood their anger, she could likewise empathize with him. His consuming passion for this person, this being, this Gamora, was achingly familiar.

Peter looked up. "Hey, Homura, have you ever seen this weird old show, Sailor Moon?"

"I said no more pop culture references, Parker."

"Yes, Peter, I have."

"Yeah, I was thinking, are you like, one of those? Like the characters in that show?"

"In a way. It's not nearly that great, though."

"Really? That show always seemed really cool. So do you have like a magic cat? Can you do a transformation sequence?"

"No. There is no mascot, and I've never really had need or time to do a drawn-out transformation."

"So, what can you-" Homura collapsed as a ripple of energy shot through the universe.

"Something is happening," Mantis murmured. A look of horror spread across her face as she raised her hand to eye level and watched it crumble to dust. Thanos had won. Half of the universe was dying, a half that could include Madoka. It was a chance she couldn't take.

"Akemi..." Strange warned. Perhaps he knew what would come next. She reached into her shield and spun the hourglass. A flurry of light blasted around her. She felt time racing back around her. The light around her began to turn green. Within an instant, the entire thing was green, rather than its natural monochrome. A whiplash sensation and she was on the surface of Titan again.

"Homura..." Peter stepped forward, concerned. "What happened?"

"I can't... I have to... Madoka!" She shoved her shield back again. Her vortex reformed, only to once again be consumed by green light. She collapsed into the dust, tears streaming down her face. "Madoka!" Another spin, another flash. Again and again, Homura spun her hourglass, trying to reset the timeline, only to be yanked back by that green glow. She screamed, a bitter howl of agony.

"Homura..." Peter knelt down beside her. "It's okay." She looked around. The three of them were alone, the others carried away by the bitter Titan wind.

"No, it's not. None of this is okay. I'm here and Madoka might die and I can't stop it and I can't go back in time and I don't know what to do." Homura ducked away from him. She flicked the timer one more time. The green light returned, ripping her away from her chance to do something.

A wave of raw anguish ripped through her body. All sound was sucked from the world as her soul gem exploded; a grief seed, marked with an hourglass, emerged as the noise came rushing back. It was loud, too loud. Peter reached out to try to comfort her. He needed to leave her alone. She screamed and howled as the world warped around her, becoming a ghostly, broken parody of Mitakihara. Stark grabbed Peter and ran away. Good. They both needed to be gone, to leave her alone. She lashed and thrashed.

"Homura!" Peter needed to leave. An army of figures charged him, girls formed in complete monochrome. "Mister Stark," Peter wheezed, "I don't feel so good." She hissed and howled. A wave of her bound hands and a rock came crashing down. Stark pulled him out of the way. Homura raged, embracing the truth. This was her wrath, her despair, her terror, given form; this was the witch, Homulilly.

"You're alright," Stark soothed. Who was he talking to, her, Peter, or himself?

"I don't- I don't know what's happening..." Peter too began to turn to ash, dust in the wind. "I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go..." Stark wrapped his arms around him as though he could hold Peter together. She laughed. Peter finally disappeared, becoming dust in the winds of her empty city. Stark screamed and looked up at her, activating his blasters and firing at her. She laughed, familiars spinning to protect her. Stark fought valiantly but was so wildly out of his depth that he had to give up. When he did, she laughed and thrashed. He turned and ran, darting between jagged and twisted buildings of Homulilly's city. She watched him go, chased by her dolls. He kicked and struck and blasted, blazing a hole through the barrier and eventually through the boundaries of her labyrinth. Finally, she was free. Homura Akemi was alone.