Wanda was standing, energy forming in her hands as they all turned towards the clouds of blue and black clouds that had formed a hundred yards away from them between the trees. Basil rose to his feet, knives at the ready as a figure stepped through and the clouds, a portal, vanished. Thanos was big. His stature was similar to that of what the hulk had been, easily ten feet in height and a broad as an old barn door. His skin was a pale purple and seemed to form wrinkled grooves over his face. Bronze gold armour covered his chest and legs, matching the gauntlet on his right hand where four stones gleamed. Green, purple, red, and blue. (Basil thought that the guy's face looked kinda like a grape). 

"Cap. That's him", Bruce muttered. His suit was partly destroyed, one arm missing and the metal dented. Steve was just as battered and bruised as Basil, the shields on his forearms stained with purple alien blood. 

"Eyes up", Steve instructed as Basil fell into step beside him, leaving Wanda standing over Vision. The position familiar and easy. "Stay sharp". 

Bruce attacked first. He hurled himself at Thanos head on but Basil watched as blue magic enveloped him and the iron hulk suit breezed through the Titan as if it was made of nothing but air. It was startling to see something so similar to his own abilities that for a second he just stared as the suit hit rock and turned tangible again, sealing itself into the rocks. Steve went next. Basil running up next to him as Steve charged. A wave of purple energy blasted the blonde back, passing through Basil as he turned intangible last minute. It felt like a wave of sickening heat, so sudden that it made him dizzy, went through him and for a second he stumbled at the power. Steve went flying. The blonde hitting the ground and rolling. 

Basil threw himself at the Titan. More magic passed through him, leaving another nauseating moment of dizziness, but it didn't slow him down.  Thanos raised a hand as he grew close and the fist, as big as Basil's whole torso, passed right through him. The knife glanced off the gauntlet with a screeching of metal but the second one sliced thick purple skin. Thanos grunted. "I have no time to waste on pests like you". 

Then the blue stone gleamed and Basil was falling through a portal. It reappeared high in the clouds above and he was plummeting through the air. Wind and clouds whipping by as he flailed, sudden panic infecting his chest. The portal journey disorientating him and messing with his sense of direction. For a second he feared that he was no longer on earth, somewhere far away from Wakanda. Then the city came into view between the clouds and he realised that he had only been transported high above the battlefield. The battle below him a waste of carnage from this altitude. He could see the ruins of the destroyed alien ships, Thor's lightning sparking around the last one as it exploded. The deep trenches in the earth left by the wheels, the bodies littering the ground. Alien and human alike. For a second, with the sun shining through the clouds and the earth suspended below him, it was calm. The wind pulled on him as he tumbled. Then the earth was rising up to meet him and he was phasing through. Blackness enveloping him. 

He rose to the surface and inhaled a great lungful of air just in time to see as Steve caught Thanos' gauntlet hand and held on. Basil's whole body hurt, chest heaving as he fought to breath. Hitting the ground had felt like everything had been knocked out of him. He had never fallen from such a height before and phasing through the earth, hundreds of metres down as the momentum kept him going, then rising back up had taken a lot out of him. He breathed, aching so much that he could barely move, as Thanos knocked his fist into Steve's head and the blonde crumpled. Through the trees he could see Nat pinned under earth, Okoye; T'Challa and Sam crumpled in various unconscious positions. Rhody's suit was not far and Bucky was just about visible a short distance away. Basil could tell if his lover was unconscious or dead. The man's rifle discarded in the grass. 

Wanda's magic lit up the clearing. One hand was keeping Thanos back as the other enveloped Vision in a soft cloud of red. The stone on the man's head cracking under the onslaught. She had tears on her face. Basil struggled to get himself to move. He had to move. He had to help. With a groan of pain and a gasp, he rolled onto his side and scrabbled to get his limbs working and his legs under him. Everything screamed in protest but he managed to stumble upright, using the trunk of a nearby tree as support. Just as he managed to stand a blast of yellow light flared and he flinched. When he opened his eyes again, Vision was dead. The stone in his head destroyed and the cyborg's body gone. Nothing more than fragments of an explosion.

For a second they all stated at the scene. Wanda collapsed in the dirt, chest heaving with sobs. Basil half slumped against a tree and Thanos towering over them. "I understand my child", the titan spoke and Basil loathed the gentle care in the alien's voice. "Better than anyone". 

"You could never", Wanda gritted out, hatred filling her eyes. She flinched, head hanging low as the Titan stroked his fingers over his hair. 

"Don't touch her!"  Basil shouted, pushing himself from the tree and stumbling over to stand before Thanos next to where Wanda lay. "You have no right". His legs trembled as he stood, looking up at the titan. Basil had always been shorter than average, no taller than five seven. He had always been smaller and slighter than Steve and Bucky, even with super soldier serum. But in front of Thanos, he looked like nothing more than a child. 

Thanos stared down at him with an unreadable expression. "I have lost more today than you will know", he spoke with a deep voice that should not have sounded as sad as it did. A villain like that was only made more evil through his human emotions. "But now is no time to mourn. Now is no time at all". 

He grabbed Basil, picking him up in one hand. He was too tired, too exhausted to react properly as he was lifted off his feet and into the air. "Basil!" Someone cried out, his pounding brain through it might have been Bucky. Then Thanos was tightening his grip. Basil felt a rib crack and pain flared out, he screamed. Energy surging at the sudden pain and he fell through the hand before turning tangible just in time to hit the floor. His head hit the earth and he blacked out. It must have only been a few seconds but when he opened his eyes again, Vision was being reformed in the air. 

"No!" Wanda screamed as she realised what the titan was doing. She surged up but a backhand sent her flying. Basil grunted as he fought to get up again. If his body hurt before, it felt like triple that now. He barely managed to roll over, one hand out and reaching for Vision as it he could do anything to stop Thanos from picking the man up by the throat. Then a knife sunk into the back of the titan's knee. Thanos' leg crumpled, the blade having sunk right down to the hilt. Basil was only annoyed that it wasn't one of the long hunting knives, those having been lost when he fell through the portal. 

Thanos snarled and pulled the knife out as it it was nothing but a tooth pick. He dropped it too the ground before turning back to vision. When he pulled the stone from his head, Vision's whole body seemed to loose it's colour. Thanos tossed it aside as if it was nothing more than a doll and placed the yellow stone in the last empty space in his gauntlet. The surge of power caused the titan to roar. Basil pressed his hands over his ears as he struggled up onto his knees, chest heaving at the effort. He didn't see Thor appear, only the massive axe as it buried itself into Thanos' chest. 

The titan sank to his knees as Thor leaned over him. "I told you", the god's voice was vengeful. "You's die for that". He gripped the axe with one hand and pushed it in deeper. Basil heard the titan cry out in pain but gave it no mind as he struggled to stand up. He swayed as he rose to his feet. 

"Sarge?" His voice came out weak. Eyes searching the trees. He couldn't see Bucky. Everything hurt, he just wanted to see Bucky. Thanos groaned and he turned his gaze back onto the scene. 

"You should have gone for the head". 

"No!" Thor yelled as the titan lifted his gauntlet and clicked his fingers. 

Energy seemed to flow out like a tidal wave. Basil felt it wash over him, that same nauseating feeling. But this time it didn't pass, it just left him feeling hollow. He felt desperation fill his chest. "What did you do?" Thor demanded desperately. "What did you do?" Then Thanos was gone in a cloud of blue and black. 

"Basil?" Steve was pushing through the trees. There was blood on his forehead. "Where did he go?" He asked. 

Basil couldn't feel his hands. He looked down to see the tips of his fingers were disappearing. Tears welled in his eyes as his fingers faded out of existence. When he lifted his head, he caught sight of T'Challa disappearing in a cloud of dust. "Bucky!" He screamed out, voice cracking. "Sarge!" He couldn't feel anything. His hands were gone and it was spreading up his arms. Something was happening. "Sarge!"

"Basil!" Bucky came half stumbling, half running through the trees towards him. He reached out his hands but they passed through Basil as if he was nothing but air. "Parrish. What's happening. Stay with me Parrish. Basil. Stay with me". Bucky's long hair was in disarray around his face as he started desperately into Basil's eyes, voice soft and almost pleading. 

Basil's whole form was fading now, fading out like a bad photo. Invisible tears were dripping from green eyes as he reached out with a half visible arm. He wanted to tuck Bucky's hair out of his face. "I'm sorry Sarge. I guess I'm going first this time. I wish we had more time". Then his form faded out and it was like he was never there. 

Bucky inhaled deeply, face pale and blue eyes wide. He turned to Steve as his hands held nothing but air. "Steve". The blonde watching with horror as Bucky collapsed to his knees, hitting the ground and exploding into dust. Leaving nothing behind but his rifle lying in the dirt. 

unedited. 

Who cried? I almost teared up just writing this.