97. John VS Thanos 2

The battlefield trembled once again.

Thanos stood amidst the rubble, muscles bulging, and his chest heaving. The air around him distorted, shimmering as a wild surge of purple energy exploded from every inch of his body like a living flame. The ground beneath his feet cracked and caved in as if the very earth rejected his fury.

The Titan's eyes blazed with rage—not the cold, calculating kind, but raw, primal wrath.

Hovering above, John narrowed his eyes. "Well... someone's really pissed."

He raised an eyebrow as Thanos took a single step forward.

But in the blink of an eye, the Titan vanished.

John barely had time to react.

BOOM!

A massive punch landed directly onto John's crossed arms as he hovered midair. The force shattered the air with a sonic boom and sent John plummeting from the sky like a meteor. He crashed into the ground with such force that a crater formed around him, chunks of rock flying in every direction.

The impact shook the entire battlefield.

"John!" Tony shouted from the skies, eyes wide with alarm. His voice cracked through the comms, but he couldn't break away—too many Chitauri fighters had locked onto him, swarming like hornets.

"Dammit!" Captain America growled, slamming his shield into an enemy with a desperate ferocity. " We have to help him."

But no one could help. Everyone was fighting for their lives. The tide was shifting again—and not in their favor.

Thanos wasn't done.

With a snarl, he descended and began a brutal onslaught. Fist after fist pounded into John, the blows echoing like thunderclaps. Dust and debris flew up with each impact, hiding them both in a violent storm of rage.

John coughed blood, struggling to raise his arms. "Damn it... what the hell is this power?"

He tried to activate Slip. Nothing.

Spatial Twist? Thanos shattered through it like breaking glass.

Green vines sprouted from the earth, trying to hold him back—but the Titan tore through them with a grunt, ripping them like paper.

John was on the back foot. Completely overwhelmed.

"This… isn't good," he muttered through gritted teeth.

But it was like trying to stop a falling star with your bare hands.

Then—

A blinding beam of light streaked down from the sky like a spear of judgment.

Something—or someone—had pierced through the clouds, smashing into Thanos's massive warship above. The ship exploded in a chain reaction, lighting up the sky.

From the aftermath, glowing with raw cosmic power, Captain Marvel emerged.

Hair blazing, aura shimmering with cosmic radiation, she streaked toward the battlefield like a comet of vengeance.

She landed hard, just meters away from John and Thanos, cracking the ground beneath her.

"You're done hurting people," she said coldly.

Thanos turned slowly, his lips curling into a sneer. "Another one?"

BOOM!

She lunged.

Their fists collided in the air, sending out a shockwave so massive it cleared the dust across the field.

Everything slowed.

Carol's fists flared with raw stellar power. Every strike she threw sent out waves of heat and light. Thanos met each one with terrifying strength—no technique, just raw power.

Time bent around them as they fought, each movement sharp, exaggerated, every impact thunderous.

For a few brief seconds, Captain Marvel held her ground.

John, barely able to lift his head, watched in awe through the haze.

But Thanos was relentless.

A feint. A brutal uppercut. A spinning backfist that crunched into Carol's ribs. She was strong—unbelievably so—but Thanos was on another level.

He grabbed her by the arm mid-punch and slammed her into the ground.

Then again.

Then hurled her across the field.

CRASH!

She skidded and tumbled, a blazing trail of destruction in her wake, landing near John.

Carol groaned, blood at the corner of her mouth. Her breathing was ragged.

John turned his head with effort. "...Nice to... meet you, by the way?"

She coughed, forcing a weak grin.

And then—

Thanos began walking toward them again.

Seeing that Carol was in bad shape, John tried—he really tried—to raise a wall of earth between them.

But Thanos didn't even slow down.

CRACK!

The wall exploded, and John, along with it, was launched like a ragdoll across the battlefield. He crashed into a hill of debris and lay still, semi-conscious. He could barely keep his eyes open.

The ground beneath him trembled.

He could hear the battle raging, could feel the desperate shouts of his allies—but it all felt distant, like a dream fading into the background.

"I'm… done?" he whispered, eyes fluttering shut.

But then—

Inside his spiritual sea, something stirred.

In the silent, misty vastness of his Spiritual Sea, a vortex appeared. It spun faster and faster, drawing in every drop of origin energy that floated within. Normally, this transformation—from raw energy to liquid form—would take days. But now, it was happening in seconds.

Whoosh!

A surge of liquid origin energy flooded through his spiritual sea, and John's body responded.

Outside, his crumpled form began to glow.

His eyes snapped open.

Colourful sparks danced around him.

Power—real power—flooded his veins. His broken bones mended. His numb arms moved again. His aura began to rise, pulsing with unimaginable force. To the onlookers, it was as if a dragon had awakened.

The sky changed.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Even Thanos, caught in his frenzy, paused. His mad eyes narrowed, and for the first time in the battle—

He took a step back.

John slowly stood up, his body radiating waves of energy. He raised his head to look at the Titan. No smile. No joke. Just silent determination.