The Winter Warrior // Captain America

«Chapter 48»

T H I R D   P E R S O N   P O V

"Cap," said Bruce Banner through the comms. "That's him." 

"Eyes up," Steve replied. "Stay sharp." 

Even though Anna's insides felt like they were put in a blender, she pulled out the final dagger from her holster and twisted it in her hand. It wasn't much, but if she threw it in the right spot, she could end this nightmare. 

Thanos walked slowly and ominously and his step held a certain amount of confidence as if he thought he had already won. This was far from the truth because the people in front of him weren't going to give up. Not when he was so close to reaching his goal.

The five stones he had already collected gave him more strength than humanly possible. He could make atoms shift, as he did to Bruce Banner and his suit, trapping him and the Hulkbuster armour in a boulder. He could shoot energy blasts no creature could withstand, not even Captain America. He was blasted through the air and landed many feet away from the purple Titan. 

But he didn't need the Stones. Not really. He could easily fight off Black Panther and Falcon without breaking a sweat, never once showing signs of slowing down. 

Thanos knew he could kill all of them, but he didn't. He just knocked them out, trapped them, or made it impossible for them to fight him. He came for one thing, and nothing would stand in his way.

As Anna tossed her dagger at the Titan's neck, right where his veins were, the dagger stopped midair, falling to the ground like it never meant anything. Anna's feet were trapped by the roots of the trees around her that erupted from the ground and she fell to the floor. The roots squeezed her lungs, but not enough for her to pass out. 

Bucky was thrown against a tree and dropped to the ground right next to where his wife was trapped. He was knocked out cold and didn't respond as Anna pleaded for him to wake up. She fought to escape the roots, but they wouldn't budge.

Steve ran to stop Thanos, landing punches and kicks where he could just to buy Wanda the time she needed to destroy the Stone, and Vision with it.

Thanos' hand thrust forward and Steve caught it, holding it up with all his might. Thanos seemed surprised by the strength the supersoldier held in him, but nothing could last forever. Steve let out a troubled scream before he too was knocked unconscious. 

Wanda sent a red blast toward Thanos to hold him off just a little longer while her other hand continued tearing apart the Stone that had given her her powers. 

The Stone in Vision's head cracked and the next second, everyone was blown off their feet by a powerful explosion. Wanda's heart tore in half knowing her love was gone. 

Thanos' eyes were wide when he looked around, but realisation dawned on him. He walked up to Wanda, slightly out of breath. "I understand, my child," he said to her. "Better than anyone." 

"You could never..." Wanda said through gritted teeth, hot anger flaring up in her chest.

Thanos placed his hand on the back of her head and she flinched. "Today I lost more than you could know," the Titan continued. "But now is no time to mourn. Now is no time at all." 

He twisted his balled fist and green energy appeared. With that, Vision was brought back as if he had never left at all.

Anna felt something tugging at the roots near her thigh and she turned her head, finding America doing her best to cut through the roots trapping Anna down. "Mer," Anna breathed and the crimson-haired girl quickly held a finger to her lips, continuing to rip through the roots. 

"We have to get out of here while we still can," America told her. 

"What do you mean? We can't outrun that guy," Anna said, using her left arm to help her break free. The roots ripped, releasing their tight hold on Anna's body and she wiggled free. America pulled her up. 

"We have to try. Come on," she said. "Wake up Bucky, I'll get Steve." She ran off without another word and Anna knelt down by her husband's side, shaking his arm. 

"Buck, wake up. Please," she said and his baby blue eyes fluttered open. He instantly groaned at the throbbing pain surging through his body. 

The sudden trembling of the ground made everyone look up just in time to see Thor shooting a lightning blast at Thanos, followed by his axe. It landed perfectly in Thanos' chest and the Titan stumbled.

Anna tightly held onto Bucky while America struggled to keep Steve on his feet. They watched how Thor pressed his axe deeper into Thanos' chest and hope ignited in their hearts, thinking that, maybe, they weren't lost yet.

But all that hope vanished when Thanos raised his hand and snapped his gloved fingers. A blinding white light appeared and Thanos disappeared through a portal, leaving behind nothing but Thor's stained axe.

Steve pried America off of him to approach his friend. "Where'd he go?" he asked Thor. 

Anna stepped forward, desperate to find an answer. Bucky's hand slipped from hers as she slowly walked up to Steve. "Where did he go?" she repeated her brother's question.

"Steve?" they heard a voice behind them and Anna turned around, just in time to see America withering to dust and falling apart. 

"Mer?" Steve called. "Mer?! America!" He ran to where she had disappeared, kneeling down and running his hand through the ashes. 

"Anna!" Bucky shouted, running over to his wife and wrapping her in his arms. Anna watched in horror as all around her, people turned into ashes and disappeared as the wind took them away. She awaited the moment where she herself would vanish, or Bucky, or Steve. But none of them did. They stayed right where they were, surrounded by nothing but dust, despair and disintegration. 

"What is this? What the hell is happening?" Rhodey asked.

Anna clasped a hand over her mouth, feeling nausea wash over her at the realisation of what had happened. Steve sank down next to Vision's ash-grey corpse. His shoulders shook as his head hung low. Never before had she seen her brother so defeated, so heartbroken.

"Oh, God..."