Ch 91 Soul for a soul

"We're still in the ship." Tony said.

"That's what we're getting to." Logan told him.

Strange was suspended in midair, a thousand needles pointed inches from his face as Maw said he'd never failed Thanos and there would be judgment if he reached Titan with the Time Stone still attached to Strange's mildly irritating being.

"You're highly irritating, love child of Voldemort and Squidward." Tony said and all burst out laughing at his joke.

The needles moved towards Strange, one piercing his cheek as he struggled not to scream while the spell protected the Stone.

"He must be Thanos' favorite child." Steve said as all watched in horror and disgust, worried for Strange.

"And you're still there." May said as she held Peter tight.

Tony was hidden up when the Cloak of Levitation tapped his shoulder, startling him as he called it a seriously loyal piece of outerwear.

"You are mind-blown." Scott said as all chuckled.

"Which is a pretty hard thing these days." Pepper told him.

"Alternate universes would do it." Tony said as all chuckled.

"Not seen any of them till now." Benjamin said, though Reed had told him the theory some time ago.

"Hope it stays that way." Peter said, "Because that'd be too crazy."

"Don't get your hopes too high, kid." Logan told him.

Then Peter hung upside down, startling Tony who was furious as Peter tried to explain and he said the suit was ridiculously intuitive so it was his fault.

"What did you say?" Tony asked and Peter paled, "Maybe try listening sometimes! I made the suit fly you back. You webbed yourself back up."

"All of us are now taking responsibility for our actions." Bruce said to Peter, "You should too."

"Yeah, I shouldn't have said that. Sorry Mr. Stark." Benjamin apologized.

"Please don't do things like this." May said in a pleading tone as Peter held her hand.

Tony was furious as he stepped towards Peter as he took that back and sputtered he was in space while Tony said this wasn't where he was supposed to be. It wasn't Coney Island or a field trip but a one-way ticket. They argued until Peter said, "You can't be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there's no neighborhood." Tony stared at him.

"Does that make sense?" Wanda wondered.

"It kind of does." Hope said.

"What is it about you, kid?" Natasha asked and he blushed.

Peter admitted that didn't make sense as Tony grudgingly told him they had a situation.

"Better make yourself useful now that you're there." Clint said and all nodded.

Tony showed him Strange was in trouble and asked if he had a plan. Peter asked if he'd seen the really old movie called 'Aliens.'

"I have!" Scott piped up.

"A movie again? Really kid?" Fury asked.

"Actually, I have seen that movie and I have a feeling I know your plan." Steve said.

"You guessed it right." Benjamin said.

"I'm getting good." Peter muttered.

Strange was screaming as multiple pins impaled him and Maw said they had been made for microsurgery originally.

"Ironic." Vision said and all nodded in agreement.

Before he could continue, there was a bang behind him and turned to see Tony pointing his repulsors at him and in response to Maw's finished statement, he said Strange wasn't really his friend but saving his life was a professional courtesy.

"Good enough for him I'm sure." Bucky said.

Maw used his powers to lift up debris, saying Tony's powers were inconsequential compared to his but Tony retorted the kid had seen more movies and launched a missile from his shoulder, blowing a hole in the ship as Maw and the debris were sucked out. Strange was being sucked out too as the Cloak grabbed him but he slipped. Peter then grabbed him with a web and the suit produced four legs to help him hold Strange.

"WHOA!" Peter said while everyone's jaws dropped again, "How much did you put into my suit?"

"Everything." Tony said.

"Thanks a lot." Peter said.

"Yeah, thank you." Benjamin agreed, grateful for this suit.

Rhodes mumbled some curses under his breath and everyone chuckled.

Tony started, "Look buddy-"

Rhodes cut him off by muttering gibberish.

"I will-"

Rhodes spoke gibberish again.

"Getting ba-"

Rhodes again spoke gibberish so Tony shut up.

"Got back at ya!" Rhodes said as all laughed, remembering when Tony had muttered gibberish to cut off Rhodes during the first recording of the Guardians.

Peter used his legs to pull them both back while Tony fixed the hole with his suit's properties. Maw froze to death outside, the vacuum of space killing him.

"Let off some steam, Maw." Sam joked and all burst out in laughter at the reference.

"One down, three to go." Pepper said of the children.

"Kid's a genius." Hill said and Peter blushed again.

"Dangerous plan but worked." Loki shrugged.

Peter held out his hand to the Cloak, saying they hadn't met but it drifted away.

"That thing is rude." May said as all glared at the Cloak.

"At least shake hands with the kid." Natasha agreed.

The suit retracted back into the chestpiece as Strange said they needed to turn around and Tony said he wanted to run but Strange said he wanted to protect the Stone. Tony wanted Strange to thank him and he asked for nearly blasting him into space. Tony said he had saved Strange's magical ass.

"You did." Pepper agreed, "I mean- he almost died but you did save him. He should be a little more grateful."

"Yeah he should." Tony agreed.

Strange said he had no idea how Tony fitted his head into that helmet while Tony said Strange should have ducked out but he had refused, unlike everyone else in Tony's life.

"Not everyone works for us, Mr. Stark." T'Challa said and he nodded.

Tony said now they were in a flying donut billions of miles from Earth with no backup and Peter said he was backup but Tony said he was a stowaway so he should zip it up while the adults were talking.

"What adults?" Thor asked and all laughed, "All of you are fighting like children."

"He's not wrong." Rhodes agreed.

Strange asked if Peter was his ward but Peter said he wasn't.

"Nope." May said firmly.

"I'm Peter by the way." Peter said as he held out his hand. "Doctor Strange." Strange said. "Oh, you're using our made-up names." Peter said, "Um…I'm Spider-Man then."

"But that's his real name." Scott said as all burst out laughing.

"How was I supposed to know?" Peter asked.

Tony said the ship was on auto-pilot and Strange asked if they could control it. He asked if Tony could get them home but Tony said he wasn't sure he should.

"Why?" Steve asked.

"I think I know what I'm planning." Tony realized.

"Under no circumstances can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos." Strange said, "I don't think you quite understand what's at stake here." Tony asked, "What? No. It's you who doesn't understand...that Thanos has been inside my head for six years. Since he sent an army to New York and now he's back. And I don't know what to do."

"He gave you nightmares, didn't he?" Steve asked.

"Yeah." Tony said.

"I'm sorry." Steve said and he nodded.

"So I'm not so sure if it's a better plan to fight him on our turf or his...but you saw what they did, what they can do." Tony said, "At least on his turf, he's not expecting it. So I say we take the fight to him." Strange actually agreed.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Fury asked as they all looked at him, "Thanos has 3 Infinity Stones by now, only 2 to your knowledge, but that is more than your one. And Strange doesn't look totally onboard. What if you try to stop him on Titan but he gets the Stone? What then?"

Tony sighed, realizing this plan was more flawed than they were all thinking, "You're right. Not the best idea."

"Yet you talked the Wizard into it." Peter muttered.

"Maybe he's a pushover too." Bruce muttered.

"Doesn't look like one." Thor said.

Strange then said if it came to saving him, Peter or the Time Stone, he wouldn't hesitate to let either of them die as the fate of the Universe depended on it.

"Really?" May asked as she grasped Peter tighter, "That's cold."

"I think this job has made him like that." Steve said.

Benjamin, Odinson and Logan knew what he was actually going to do though.

Tony said Strange had good moral compass before walking to Peter and doing the knighting gesture like in medieval times, "Alright kid. You're an Avenger now." He walked off as Peter looked shocked before looking satisfied.

"Oh my God!" Peter said, feeling awed, "You actually made me an Avenger."

"How do you feel?" Pepper asked.

"Huh." Peter said, "I thought I'd feel….happier."

"We let it get to our heads and now we realize it." Benjamin told him, "Perhaps that's the reason."

Peter nodded before saying, "Still, thanks a lot Mr. Stark. It means a lot to me."

Tony simply nodded, still unsure of his plan which was shaky.

Gamora sat in the Sanctuary II as Thanos brought her a bowl, saying he'd thought she might be hungry. She took it from him and angrily threw it at his chair, shattering it, saying she always hated that chair. He said he'd hoped she'd sit on it one day.

"In your dreams." Natasha sneered, once again remembering the Red Room and the madam and all the expectations they had had, to turn her into one of them.

Gamora said she'd hated all of her life and Thanos said she'd told him that every day for 20 years.

"Yet you didn't work on it. What a Grade A father." Scott said sarcastically, trying to control his anger.

"Not a father. A kidnapper." Clint corrected and the anger increased.

Gamora said she'd been a child when Thanos had taken her. He said he had saved her but she said she was happy. Thanos said her people used to go to bed hungry and search for scraps. Her planet had been on the brink of collapse but he had stopped that and now children there knew full bellies and clear skies.

"How can it be a paradise when you killed half of the people?" Pepper asked.

"He believes what he wants to." Tony said as all grew angrier, "People might live better lives, but what Thanos did won't ever go away."

Gamora said he'd murdered half the planet but Thanos said it was a small price to pay for salvation. "YOU'RE INSANE!" She screamed.

"Worse than insane. A total nutjob." Scott said.

"I know. What was I thinking working for him?" Loki wondered.

Thanos said life needed correction and Gamora screamed, "YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Thanos said, "I'm the only one who knows that. At least, I'm the only one with the will to act on it."

"Call it whatever you want, it is mass murder on a universal scale." Steve said in anger and disgust.

"Mad men say everything to justify themselves." Thor said angrily, remembering his peoples' slaughter again, "But there is no justification."

Thanos stood up and said she had the same will as him for a time, calling her daughter. "I'm not your daughter." She said, "Everything I hate about myself, you taught me." Thanos towered over her, "And in doing so, made you the fiercest woman in the galaxy."

Natasha was shaking with rage at this point, though her expression remained neutral as she managed to control it. Steve, Bucky and Clint all cast sympathetic glances at her. This was exactly what the madam and everyone else in the Red Room used to say to justify themselves, saying they had made her a fierce woman, when they had brainwashed her into a monster, like Thanos had to Gamora. She could sympathize with Gamora because of that.

She rested her head on Bucky's shoulder and he let her, knowing she needed it.

Thanos said he had trusted her to find the Soul Stone and she apologized for disappointing him but he said he wasn't disappointed at her not finding it.

"Oh no." Clint said as a pit formed in everyone's stomachs.

"Now he will ask about the Soul Stone." Fury said.

Thanos said she had found it and lied as a door opened behind them. Gamora walked into it and some metal bars opened to reveal two guards and in the center suspended in midair by a blue beam was…..Nebula!

"Nebula!" Steve gasped as all were horrified.

"He captured her. Now he will threaten her." Natasha realized as she had her head back up.

"And he calls himself a savior." T'Challa said in disgust, "Torturing the woman he claims is his daughter."

"He's a sicko." Tony said.

"Nebula." Gamora whispered as she touched her and begged Thanos not to do this. Thanos said she had snuck aboard the ship some time ago to kill him and almost succeeded so he had brought her here to talk.

"She almost succeeded?" Clint asked and Odinson nodded, "Must have been good. But not good enough."

He sighed sadly.

Thanos activated the Power and Space Stones, pulling Nebula's metal parts as she screamed.

Everyone watched with heavy breaths, saddened and horrified for Nebula while their hatred for Thanos reached a new peak.

"You're going to die for that." Thor sneered like his on-screen self had and hoped he had died brutally in the original timeline.

Gamora begged Thanos to stop, grabbing the Gauntlet and pulling it down, swearing she had never found the Soul Stone. Thanos nodded at a guard and he pressed a button, revealing holographic footage from Nebula's headpiece. Memory files were accessed.

"Damn it!" Sam said and all paled.

Nebula's voice said Thanos was going for all the Stones but Gamora said he could never get them all as she had found the map to the Soul Stone and burnt it to ash.

"Now he knows." Hope said and the mood plummeted even more.

The video paused as Gamora looked down in defeat and Thanos said she was strong and generous because of him.

"How is he generous?" Scott asked disgustedly.

Thanos said he'd never taught her to lie so she was bad at it. He asked where the Soul Stone was and on getting no response, he used the Power and Space Stones to torture Nebula again. She screamed louder than before as Gamora struggled not to cry.

Everyone tensed and paled, getting flashbacks to when Thor had been tortured in the first scene to get Loki to give up the Teserract.

"Vormir!" Gamora relented finally. Thanos stopped as Gamora stroked Nebula's cheek and said the Stone was on Vormir. "Show me." Thanos said.

"Just like me." Loki whispered as all stared at the screen sadly.

"He will do anything to get what he wants and still claim to be righteous." Odinson said angrily.

In the pod, Rocket and Groot were sitting as the former flew it while Thor was standing and looking the other way. Rocket and Groot were bickering when Thor interrupted, translating one of Groot's sentences and Rocket was shocked that he spoke Groot. Thor said they'd taught it on Asgard as an elective.

"Is it even true?" Steve asked as all struggled to contain their amusement.

"No." Thor finally said.

"It's a joke we made up." Loki smirked.

"Then how?" Bruce asked.

"We have the All-speak and All-tongue which lets others understand us and us understand them." Thor revealed and they nodded.

"Yes, but I like messing with people." Odinson smirked.

"I've rubbed off on you badly." Loki said and all laughed.

Groot said his line again and Thor said they'd know when they were close, saying Nidavellir's forge harnessed the blazing power of a neutron star and was the birthplace of his hammer. It was truly awesome.

"I need to see this. I need to see this. I need to see this." Tony said and chuckled at his reaction.

"You will, very soon." Benjamin said, "And yeah, its awesome."

"I wanna see please!" Peter said and all laughed more.

Rocket said it was time to be captain and walking up to Thor asked, "So, dead brother, huh? Yeah, that could be annoying." Thor said, "Well, he's been dead before. But, no, this time I think it really might be true."

Thor looked down sadly as Loki put a hand on his shoulder while Odinson was saddened too at remembering his losses and this conversation.

"And you said your sister and your dad?" Rocket asked. "Both dead." Thor said. "But still got a mom, though?" Rocket then asked. "Killed by a dark elf." Thor sighed. "A best friend?" Rocket asked. "Stabbed through the heart." Thor replied.

Everyone could feel their hearts go out to Thor and Odinson. The God of Thunder had lost so much in so little time and was still pushing through, trying to defeat his enemy.

"I'm sorry." Steve said to them both softly.

"You sure you're up to this particular murder mission?" Rocket asked genuinely. "Absolutely." Thor said, "Rage and vengeance, anger, loss, regret...they're all tremendous motivators. They really clear the mind. So I'm good to go."

"They cloud it." Tony said, knowing from experience.

"I get it." Thor said.

"Yeah, but this Thanos we're talkin' about...he's the toughest there is." Rocket said. "Well, he's never fought me." Thor said confidently. "Yeah, he has." Rocket pointed out. "He's never fought me twice." Thor said, "And I'm getting a new hammer, don't forget."

"An ax actually." Odinson corrected.

"It better be some hammer." Rocket said. "You know, I'm 1,500 years old. I've killed twice as many enemies as that. And every one of them would've rather killed me, but none succeeded. I'm only alive because fate wants me alive. Thanos is just the latest in a long line of bastards...and he'll be the latest to feel my vengeance. Fate wills it so."

Now everyone could see Thor's growth even better than before. He was an arrogant warrior and now he believed fate will everything.

"Mmm-hmm." Rocket said, "And what if you're wrong?" Thor said sadly, "If I'm wrong, then...what more could I lose?" He wiped a tear from his eye and walked off.

"We will not let that happen." T'Challa assured and Thor nodded numbly while Logan put a hand on Odinson's shoulder.

"I could lose a lot. Me, personally, I could lose a lot." Rocket muttered.

"He wasn't scared of Thanos." Hill said as realization dawned upon them all, "He was trying to protect Groot from him."

Everyone could sympathize with Rocket as well. In spite of his sarcastic and rude personality, he cared a lot for his friends and it would hurt him to lose any of them. Just like Tony.

Thor then walked to the front as Rocket said if fate wanted him to kill Thanos, he'd need more than one eyeball and gave him a prosthetic one, saying a jerk in Contraxia had lost it in a bet with him. Thor was shocked he'd given him his eye but Rocket said he'd given him 100 units but he'd snuck into his room and stolen the eye at night. Thor thanked him.

"He still seems obsessed with prosthetics." Bucky muttered as he looked at his metal arm.

"So that's why you have two eyes." Thor said.

"Yeah." Odinson told him, "But please wash it before taking it."

Thor put it on as Rocket said he'd have washed it, having snuck it off Contraxia up his ass.

"EUGH!" Everyone in the room went.

"You put that in your socket?" A disgusted Thor asked.

"Yeah. Still feel like an idiot." Odinson said, "I had to take it off and wash it later before putting it back."

"I'm not taking any eyes from rabbits." Thor said.

"Wise choice, brother." Loki agreed.

Thor managed to get the eye to work as they reached Nidavellir but Thor said the eye didn't seem to work as all was dark. Rocket said it wasn't the eye. Nidavellir had gone dark. Thor said something was wrong as the star had gone out and the rings were frozen.

"Thanos?" Steve asked.

"Thanos." Logan said.

The three entered the Realm, Groot still playing his game as Rocket said he hoped they were better at forging than cleaning and had probably realized they lived in a junk pile in the middle of space. Thor said the forge hadn't gone dark in centuries. Rocket noticed something and asked Thor if Thanos had a gauntlet. He pointed at a model of an Infinity Gauntlet, unnerving all three as Thor told them to get back to the pod but was knocked away by a huge figure along with Rocket and Groot. Thor stopped the figure before it could attack again. It was Eitri.

"That's a dwarf?!" Tony asked and all agreed. While this wasn't the time, it did seem like a valid question.

"Yes, why?" Thor asked.

"I was expecting Gimli. Instead we're seeing Tyrion before he walked into a brothel with a jackass and a honeycomb." Tony said and most ended up laughing at the joke. [1]

"Yes, the misconception has gone on for ages." Loki said.

"Dwarves aren't short." Odinson said, "At least not the ones in Nidavellir. But they do not have supernatural powers like other mythical beings. So in a sense, they're shorter in power. And that makes them Dwarves."

Everyone had thoughtful expressions as Fury said, "Does make sense to me."

"Let's roll with it." Hill shrugged and all agreed.

"Thanos has taken everything from him too." Thor said and the atmosphere was tense once more.

Eitri recognized Thor as he asked what had happened here and he roared Asgard was supposed to protect them. Thor said Asgard was destroyed and Eitri relented in that moment, looking shocked. Thor asked what he had done and Eitri collapsed, revealing the metal casings on his hands, "300 Dwarves lived on this ring. I thought if I did what he asked, they'd be safe. I made what he wanted. A device capable of harnessing the power of the stones. Then he killed everyone anyway. All except me. "Your life is yours," he said. "But your hands are mine alone."" And then he revealed the metal casings.

"Goddamn it!" Scott said angrily, with everyone's anger and disgust at Thanos increasing.

"He killed the Dwarves and encased his hands so that another weapon won't be made by him." Odinson said as Thor and Loki looked sadly and even guiltily, "Yet he thinks he is a savior."

"He is an insane lunatic is what he is." Loki said, "And coming from me, that says a lot.

Thor gently said, "Eitri, this isn't about your hands. Every weapon you've ever designed, every axe, hammer, sword... it's all inside your head. Now, I know it feels like all hope is lost. Trust me, I know. But together, you and I, we can kill Thanos." Eitri looked at him.

"That is exactly how I'm supposed to speak to him when we meet, right?" Thor asked.

"Yes." Odinson said, "Word to word."

"I will." Thor said, feeling saddened for his old friend's loss.

At Sanctuary II, a guard was putting Nebula's pieces back together when she woke up and her headpiece loosened. He fixed it but then she snapped his neck.

"Shouldn't have messed with her." Natasha said as everyone smirked now.

Nebula dragged her body to a console and contacting the Guardians, asked them to meet her on Titan.

"They're going where we're going." Peter realized.

"Which means we're about to meet them." Tony said.

"Yeah." Odinson said, sharing amusing smiles with Benjamin and Logan.

In the Benatar, New York Groove was playing until it was shut off and Quill asked Drax to turn it back on but he refused, saying it was the same song again and again. Quill said he needed to get back into New York Groove and asked Drax to give the Zune back which he refused.

"A team member is taken, the universe is at stake, and they're fighting over a song?" Bruce asked as all looked incredulous.

"That's Guardians of the Galaxy for you." Benjamin said.

Quill made to charge at Drax across the table as he ran.

"How old are they, 8?" Tony asked while all were shocked.

Drax said this wasn't helping as they weren't far from Knowhere and Quill blamed him for mission's failure. Drax said he hadn't seized the moment and had tried to kill Gamora. Quill said it'd have saved the Universe as Mantis said she'd kill them both if they didn't stop the blinking yellow light. They turned to see the coded message channel on and asked how long it had been that way.

"Someone's about to be yelled at." Pepper said.

Quill was about to scold Mantis before they remembered it was Drax' job and scolded him. Drax tried to argue but Quill read the messages from Nebula which said Gamora was alive and Thanos was taking her to Titan, followed by several 'Why aren't you responding?' messages and then the coordinates. Quill quickly put them on.

"Now we'll meet." Tony realized.

"Pretty soon." Logan said.

Tony, Strange and Peter were near Titan as Tony realized the ship didn't have a self-park function and asked Peter to put his hand in a steering wheel while he put his in the other and his suit appeared too. They needed to move it at the same time. They did, trying to prevent it from crashing but it hit a building and started breaking as Strange used a huge barrier to protect them all. The broken ship crashed on Titan's surface.

"Now we're there." Peter paled as May grasped his hand tightly.

"Been a few hours since the Guardians got the message actually." Benjamin revealed.

Strange then helped Tony up as Peter hung upside down on a strand of web and said, "Let me just say, if aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something... and I eat one of you, I'm sorry." Tony said, "I do not want another single pop culture reference out of you for the rest of the trip. You understand?"

Everyone laughed as Steve said, "You both know a lot about pop culture."

"Yeah, that's why we're connected." Tony joked and all laughed.

Peter jerked his thumb backwards, "I'm trying to say that something is coming."

"Couldn't you have said that as it was?" Hope asked incredulously and Peter looked sheepish.

"Who is it?" Tony asked.

"Just watch." Odinson said.

A space grenade fell near them, sending them flying off with a blast. Quill, Drax and Mantis entered as Drax roared for Thanos. He threw daggers at Strange but he defended himself with his Tao Mandala before his Cloak of Levitation wrapped on Drax's face while Quill and Tony flew and fired at each other.

"This is going well." May said sarcastically as all watched.

Tony fired a missile at Quill which he dodged but the blast threw him back as Tony threw him down but Quill had attached a gravity mine to him which trapped him.

"Smart vs. selectively smart." Pepper muttered.

Peter crawled back on seeing Mantis, asking her not to put her eggs in him before webbing her up.

Everyone laughed as Steve said, "Nice one."

Then Quill kicked him away and tried to fire but he jumped away. Quill then restrained him with a bola just as Tony freed himself and flew at Drax while the Cloak of Levitation left him. Quill had Peter on gunpoint, asking them to chill the eff out and said, "I'm gonna ask you this one time. Where is Gamora?" "Yeah. I'll do you one better." Tony said as his visor retracted, "Who's Gamora?" "I'll do you one better." Drax said, "Why is Gamora?"

Everyone burst out into hysterical, uncontrolled laughter as Peter said, "No one's asking how is Gamora."

The laughter increased as Loki said, "Or when is Gamora."

The laughter only increased.

Quill said to tell them where she was or he'd kill Peter.

"No!" May said with a glare.

"Peter, let Peter go." Wanda said.

Tony said if he shot Peter, he'd shoot Drax and aimed the Cluster Cannon at him.

"Now talk." May said.

Drax said he could take it but Mantis said he couldn't as Quill said he'd kill all 3 of them and beat it out of Thanos himself, shocking Strange who asked, "All right, let me ask you this one time. What master do you serve?" Quill asked, "What master do I serve? What am I supposed to say, "Jesus"?" "You're from Earth." Tony realized. "I'm not from Earth, I'm from Missouri." Quill said. "Yeah, that's on Earth, dipshit." Tony said.

"Finally!" Clint said, "Misunderstanding cleared."

"He doesn't know Missouri is on Earth?" Wanda asked incredulously.

"Everyone called it Terra in space so he forgot." Logan said.

Peter realized they weren't with Thanos as Quill said he was here to kill him. He asked who they were. "We're the Avengers, man." Peter said as his mask retracted and Mantis remembered Thor mentioning them. Tony was shocked she knew Thor as Quill said he was a tall guy, not that good looking and needed saving.

"Not that good looking? You kidding?" May asked and all rolled with it this time.

Eitri led Thor, Rocket and Groot to a mold as Rocket joked if they were gonna hit Thanos with a brick.

Everyone laughed as Tony said, "I love this place."

"You're not the only one." Peter said.

They were drooling while the others snickered.

Eitri said it was a mold, a King's weapon and meant to be the greatest in Asgard, summoning even the Bifrost in theory.

"It can do that?" T'Challa asked and Odinson nodded.

"Damn!" Tony said.

"Did it have a name?" Thor asked. "Stormbreaker." Eitri revealed.

"To defeat Thanos." Thor smirked.

Eitri said they'd have to restart the forge and awaken the heart of a dying star as Thor told Rocket to fire up the pod.

"Something big is about to happen." Scott said as all smiled.

"Oh it is." Odinson agreed.

At Titan, Quill noted it was 8 degrees of its axis with bad gravitational pull as Mantis hopped high behind them.

"She's having fun." Peter said and all laughed.

Tony said their plan was to draw him in, pin him down and get what they need. He noticed Drax yawning and was angered, asking if he had heard him. Drax said he'd stopped listening after Tony had said "We need a plan." Tony said he was on his own page as Quill said this was exactly what they did and Tony asked what they did. "Kick names. Take ass." Mantis said and Tony's expression looked like he was going to kill himself before facing Thanos.

Tony had the same expression as his on-screen self.

"Are these guys serious?" Fury asked incredulously, "This is no time to joke."

"There is a time for everything." Bruce agreed.

"Take ass." Hope said, "Did she realize how dirty that sounds?"

Everyone burst into laughter at that moment.

Tony and Quill argued a bit as Quill told him not to call them plucky and said, "All right, we're optimistic, yes. I like your plan. Except it sucks, so let me do the plan... and that way it might be really good."

"Wow." Tony said.

"I'd throw Quill away if I could go back to that moment." Benjamin said.

"Don't blame you." Logan told him.

Drax reminded Quill off the dance-off to save the Universe as Peter asked like Footloose and Quill said exactly like that before asking if it was still the greatest movie and Peter said it never was. Tony told him not to encourage this, saying they weren't getting help from Flash Gordon. Quill took that as a compliment and said he was half-human so the 50% of him that was stupid was a 100% of them. Tony said his math was blowing his mind.

"Well, his Celestial dad was an idiot, telling him he killed his mom and still thought he'd help him." Logan said, "That explains why he is 100% idiot."

Everyone laughed as Tony said, "That was an awesome roast. Wish I could have said it to him."

Mantis pointed at Strange and asked if he often did that. Strange was hovering in the air in a meditation pose with the Time Stone glowing in his hands as his head jerked wildly. He then fell down as Tony caught him and they asked what he was doing. "I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict." Strange said. "How many did you see?" Quill asked. "14,000,605."

"WHOA!" Peter said while everyone's jaws dropped.

"We got to win a few chunks of those." Tony said.

No one noticed the grimaces on the faces of Benjamin, Odinson and Logan.

"How many did we win?" Tony asked. After several moments of silence, Strange said, "One."

A tense silence settled over the past viewers as they felt a sense of helplessness.

"Just one?!" Natasha snapped, "But why?"

"There were several minute factors to consider." Logan said, "Even the minutest change could lead to disaster."

"And it did in several other timelines when we asked Strange about them." Odinson told them.

They all just felt silent again, feeling helpless.

A portal opened in Vormir as Gamora and Thanos stepped out and he said the Stone better be there on the mountain in the front for Nebula's sake.

"He's here." Bucky said and all tensed.

They hiked up the mountain as a cloaked flying figure appeared, "Welcome, Thanos, Son of A'Lars. Gamora, Daughter of Thanos."

"Who's this clown?" Tony wondered.

"That voice. I know it." Steve said.

"You remember it too?" Bucky asked and he nodded, "I think I've heard it too."

Benjamin, Odinson and Logan exchanged looks.

The figure said it was his curse to know all that journeyed there and Thanos asked where the Soul Stone was. He said it extracted a terrible price. "I am prepared." Thanos said confidently. "We all think that at first." The figure said as it flew out, revealing his red face, "We are all wrong."

Steve's and Bucky's jaws dropped in horror and disbelief as everyone looked between them and the screen.

"SON-OF-A-BITCH!" Steve actually cursed as Bucky's clenched his fists angrily. Because of the situation, no one could make fun of Cap for cursing.

"How is he alive? How is he still alive?" Bucky asked.

"We saw him die in an earlier recording." Scott remembered.

"The Teserract didn't kill him." Odinson revealed, "It teleported him to Vormir where he became Guardian of the Soul Stone."

"Guardian?" Steve asked, finally recovering slightly as Natasha tried to comfort both him and Bucky, "But he wanted to rule the Universe with power."

"He had no way to take the Soul Stone as he couldn't sacrifice anything." Benjamin said, "So he was forced to become its guardian. And now he can only advice others about it. He is tantalizingly close to what he wanted."

"But he can never get it." Logan said.

After a few seconds of silence, Steve said, "A fitting punishment."

"And he doesn't care about his old plans or Hydra anymore." Benjamin said.

"Good to know." Natasha sighed.

"We don't want him coming back." Fury agreed.

"Current Hydra was enough." Hill said.

"More than enough." Clint added.

"Let's just see what they do." Bucky finally said.

The three walked to the top of the mountain where a rocky plateau with 3 stone pillars stood as Thanos asked how he knew the place so well and he said he had sought the Stones a lifetime ago but when he had held one it had banished him here and now he had to guide others to a treasure he couldn't possess.

"No more than you deserve." Steve sneered and all nodded.

"But now he's guiding the wrong guy to the treasure." Fury pointed out and they tensed.

They stopped in front of a cliff as Schmidt said what they sought lay in front of them along with what they feared. Gamora asked what this was and Schmidt said, "The price. Soul holds a special place among the Infinity Stones. You might say it has a certain wisdom."

"It is sentient." Vision realized and all were even more shocked.

"Yes." Odinson said, "It is. To an extent."

"This is just getting worse." Pepper said as she held a tense Tony's hand.

Thanos asked what it needed and Schmidt said it demanded a sacrifice so its bearer understood its power. "In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. A soul... for a soul."

A pit formed in everyone's stomachs.

"It wants to eat a soul to give itself away." Odinson said.

"To prevent wrong-doers from getting their hands on it I reckon." Scott said.

"That might not always be the case." A tense Steve said, "And this is Thanos."

Everyone watched in anticipation while Benjamin, Logan and Odinson were already prepared for what was coming, though it was still heart-breaking to watch.

Gamora laughed, "All my life, I dreamed of a day... a moment... when you got what you deserved. And I was always so disappointed. But now... You kill and torture... and you call it mercy. The universe has judged you. You asked it for a prize, and it told you no. You failed. And do you wanna know why? Because you love nothing. No one." Thanos turned to her with tears in his eyes.

"Why is he crying?" Peter asked.

"He is gonna do it." Fury said and all were horrified as it hit them.

"NO!" Hope said as Scott held her hand, trying to comfort both himself and her.

"You monster!" T'Challa sneered angrily.

"Really? Tears?" She asked. "They are not for him." Schmidt said and her smile faded as she backed off, "No. This isn't love."

"His definition of love is askew." Clint said, shaking with rage.

"I ignored my destiny once. I cannot do it again. Even for you." Thanos said. Realization dawned on Gamora's face as she managed to take the old knife Thanos had given her from his belt and was about to stab herself when he used the Reality Stone to turn it into bubbles.

"It's not going to work." Benjamin said sadly about her failed suicide attempt, shocking the already horrified viewers.

"I'm sorry, little one." Thanos said as he grabbed her and dragged her to the cliff. She screamed and tried to hit him but to no avail.

"No, no, no, stop, please." Wanda was begging. In spite of only having seen the Guardians in the recordings and having been annoyed by them, the past viewers still liked them all a lot and could relate to them.

"HIS OWN DAUGHTER!" Scott exploded.

"He doesn't know the true meaning of love." Clint said, shaking with rage.

"He would sacrifice even his daughter for his version of a better world." Tony said, clutching his fists angrily, thinking of ways to kill Thanos.

Peter, Wanda, Pepper, May, Hope, Scott and even Clint had tears in their eyes while Natasha had a hand on her mouth and Bucky was holding her hand, breathing loudly. The others just watched, trying not to show emotion though they had lumps in their throats.

Thanos threw Gamora off the cliff and she screamed as she fell down. Thanos stood there sadly as her bloodied and broken body lay down there.

"I'm going to kill you in ways that will hurt." Thor sneered angrily as tears streamed down the cheeks of Peter, Wanda, Pepper, May, Hope, Scott and Clint.

"I-I don't even have words to describe this madness." Loki said.

Natasha had a hand on her mouth. She could feel for Gamora as they both had the exact same background. It wasn't fair to Gamora.

"This guy needs to DIE!" Clint roared, "In the worst ways imaginable."

"Calm down, Agent Barton." T'Challa said but he was still fuming.

A light shone up as Thanos closed his eyes. Sometime later, Thanos woke up in a pool and saw the Soul Stone in his other hand. He looked at it sorrowfully as well as in anticipiation.

"Thanos must be dealt with quickly and efficiently." Tony said, "Before he gets any of these Stones."

"He is a strong, fast, skilled and cunning warrior even without those." Odinson said, "But you will have a far better chance of defeating him that way."

"We have to stop him from killing anyone. Loki, Gamora, Vision, all of them must be saved." Steve said firmly, "And he must be put down."

"To the core of the Earth." Scott said and all nodded.