Steve's POV

"No!" Thanos bellowed, his fists clenched in rage as he watched his army being obliterated by a single god. But even he was in no position to do anything to them, if he valued his life. I finally felt life flow back into my veins, and could slowly get a grasp on my arms and legs.

The scene dissolved as the Space Stone began to flicker. I gripped my sword tightly and slowly stood up, facing the giant Titan in front of me.

"Your powers will not save you now, human," Thanos said."I admire your courage, your perseverance, but resistance is futile against a Titan-"

"You talk too much!" I snapped as I lunged at him. He dodged,and my blade sliced the air.

Thanos smirked, motioning at the pandemonium behind him. "Time to end this dance." The Reality Stone glowed brightly, and he conjured a gigantic double-edged sword out of thin air. Things just got more complicated.

Gripping the hilt tightly, he swung the blades, so fast that they seemed to hiss as they cut through the air. Only with my enhanced reflexes could I dodge at the last moment, the air above my hair sizzled.

"Stay still." He grumbled.

Yeah as if. I have no intention to be skewered. I thought as I dodged his blade. A game of cat and mouse ensued, he would swing and try to strike me down, and I'll just keep out of range while trying to attack.

After a few more dodges, I saw an opening and grabbed it, swinging my sword down on his arm. But he proved to be smarter, intercepting my sword with his blade. Dammit!

"You cannot understand the glory of my mission," Thanos growled as he swept at me."The nobelty. The grandeur. I am a Titan, and I will not let the universe fall into darkness again."

"The only darkness in this universe is you,".I snapped back at him, retreating a bit. "And Titan or not, you will fall!"

I lunged at him, but he deflected the blade with his own.

"The hardest sacrifices require the strongest wills," He replied. "And if I don't bring balance to the universe, it will fall, and all life in it."

"You're wrong," I gesture all around us."Humanity will never submit to a tyrant like you. All life out there are rebelling. You can't subjugate everyone. With the desire to control everything, you will ultimately control nothing."

"You have no idea!" Thanos suddenly bellowed in anger, embedding his blade in the floor. The whole tower shuddered, and I feared he had shaken the very foundation of the building itself. I tumbled down to my feet, my sword clattering away from my hand.

"You think I desire an empire. Control over the universe. You cannot be more wrong," He held up the Gauntlet. "With this i can omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent. Yet I am not, for that is not my desire." He motioned over to where Max was fighting, struggling against the steady reinforcements of Chitauri pouring in through the door."I already explained it to your friend. But he, like you, never understood."

"I think we understand enough." I replied, getting up to my feet." No matter whatever your desire may be, it is not enough to understand that you crave subjugation. Total obedience. You won't stop anywhere to achieve your goal. I'm  living proof of that." I gritted my teeth."As long as there is life in us, we will never yield. If you are a Titan, Thanos," I stood tall, looking him in the eye. "Then I am a God."

He smirked as he raised his blade slowly. "I hope you are aware that according to your ancient Greek mythology, the Titans were immensely more powerful than their children, the gods. They were so powerful that even the gods couldn't kill them, even together."

I smirked as I withdrew a long dagger from beneath my armour. "And I hope you are aware that the gods banished the Titans, forever so that they could never walk the Earth again. Power isn't everything, but loyalty is. The gods were loyal to us, the humans, and they banished and locked the Titans away forever. The same will happen now. Only this time," I pointed the blade at him. "You will die."

His smug expression was replaced by a furious one. "Then you will die!"

Our blades met with a sharp Clang! I ducked and tried to hack at his legs, but he blocked it. With a kick, he pushed me back. Sharp pain flared up on my side. I bit my lip so hard that I could taste the metallic taste of blood.

With inhuman speed, he charged towards me. I ducked again, rolled between his legs, and slashed at his right leg. Using his own momentum, I aimed a sharp kick at his back, making him lose his balance. A trickle of blood flowed from Thanos's wound, and I thought I had never seen anything more sweeter.

Thanos regained his balance, looked at the cut and smirked. "All that for a drop of blood?"

Before I could answer, he swung his blade in an arc, cutting through the air. I met his stride with my dagger, both the metals clashing violently. It was a whirlwind, the weapons flashing so quickly that to others it was simply a blur. Punches, kicks, slashes, stabs, cuts - we fought with inhuman endurance and brutality. He had raw strength, but I was faster and more agile. But still, it was tiring me out, and I was slowly getting out of breath.

One simple mistake. That was all it took. A sharp cry from Jim Kirk from the other side of the room distracted me for just one second, as I turned my head to see him getting stabbed in the shoulder. That small opening was all that Thanos needed. He brought the blade down on me with all his strength.

"AAAAGGGHHH!" A sharp cry escapes my lips as raw, sharp pain flared through my left arm. Thanos's blade sliced clean through my wrist like it was butter. I fall to my knees, dropping the dagger, staring at the blood spurting from where my arm used to be.

A strong fist slams into the side of my head, sending me reeling.

I cough up blood, clutching the stump where my arm used to be. Thanos stood in front of me, with a disappointed expression. "I'm disappointed in you. I gave you new life, new purpose, yet you could try to rebel. You're flawed, and you'll never gain by that. I'd hoped you would come around."

He pulled me up by my hair and sneered. "Now, you will know what it is like to lose."

I glared at him through blood-red eyes. "Go to hell!"

He tossed me aside like a rag doll. I crashed against the floor hard, cracking my skull.

"Now, it's my time to play."

Through the rivulet of blood that flowed through my head and the flaring pain from my side, I could barely make out Thanos slaughtering the Rebels. Even without the Gauntlet, he was a strong force to be reckoned with. Although the Chitauri coming in could be handled, Thanos couldn't be. He, to put it simply, had become a wave of destruction.

"Captain!" I heard a distant shout. Painfully raising my head, I saw Max running towards me, his weapon discarded, unaware of Thanos standing behind him. I tried to shout, but no words left me."Max..."

He turned around sharply to meet an armoured fist straight at his face. With a sickening crunch, he dropped down on the ground.

"No!" I croaked, slowly and painfully getting up. My vision was becoming blurry, and I knew I had to act fast. As I stood up shakily, blood still flowing freely from my left arm, my gaze fell on my sword, which lay among the rubble. The blade was broken in half, but it would have to do. I picked it up.

"You didn't heed my warning,human," I heard Thanos tell Max as he raised his massive weapon." I warned you, yet you ignored it. Know this that you've stopped nothing,your forces have fallen, and in that knowledge, despair and die!"

"NO!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, as I lunged forward with all my might. Just as he was about to bring his weapon down on my former comrade, my sword found its mark, as I dug the blade deep into his heart.

It wasn't a fatal injury, but Thanos bellowed in pain. He dropped his weapon and staggered back, trying to remove the blade. I didn't give in, instead pushed on it harder till it sank up to the hilt.

Thanos's face crumpled in pain." You fool! My life force is connected to the gauntlet. Killing me will release its force as well!"

Mustering all my remaining strength, I forced his chin up, looking him dead in the eye. "In that case, we go down together. You fail again, Thanos!" And I twisted the blade in his heart.

He howled in pain again, as he started to radiate a bright white light. The Gauntlet glowed a bright gold. His entire body began vibrating intensely, and then in a sudden rush of thunder, he exploded, into a thousand splintering shards of light.

Max's POV

Before all this mess, I always used to wander what happened to people after they would die. Was there really an afterlife? Were people truly judged on their actions in this life, to determine their entry to hell or heaven? I'd always wanted to know the answer.

Who knew that i could have the chance to experience that myself at such a young age?

Let's face it, I've faced many life-or-death situations before. I survived when we crashed into an alien planet. I survived when I was shot down in the air while fighting. I survived a clash with my brainwashed Captain. My friend's betrayal. Surely I could survive a punch to the face by an oversized purple grape?

"You didn't heed my warning,human,"
I heard the tyrant, that bastard tell me as he raised his blade. I was still seeing stars after that punch."I warned you, yet you ignored it. Know this that you've stopped nothing, your forces have fallen, and in that knowledge, despair and die!"

"NO!" I heard a guttural scream,almost inhuman. Before I could react, a flash of black whipped past me and lunged at Thanos, the blade in his hand plunging into the tyrants heart.

I tried to slowly sit up, my head still reeling. Coughing up blood, I raised myself on my elbows, just as a sudden explosion shook the whole room, sending the black-clad figure flying across the room straight towards the foot of the golden throne with a sickening CRUNCH!

I looked back at where Thanos had been. There was no one there, the floor charred, and the stench of burnt flesh attacked my nostrils.

His life force was connected to the Gauntlet. I remembered Stephen's words. With Thanos's death, it ceased to exist as well.

The floor was full of corpses, human and Chitauri both. Blood splattered the walls. The Rebels who had survived were few in number, trying to gather the wounded.

It was over. Finally. We had won.

A sudden realization dawned on me, which sent me panicking. As fast as I could, I dragged myself towards the throne, the thought of only one person in my mind. "Captain...."

He was lying limp on the floor, bleeding profusely from multiple wounds. His head had cracked, blood flowing steadily from it. I was shocked to see the entirety of his left arm missing. I crouched down next to him, cradling his head in my lap. "Captain, it's me."

His eyes opened slightly, and I smiled sadly on seeing those familiar irises once more.

"Max?" He whispered. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, feeling a tear escaping my eye. "It's over, Captain. He's gone. We won."

A faint smile appeared on his lips and he chuckled slightly, before coughing up blood. "No Max. Because of your planning and backup, the universe is finally free. And now, it's time for me to go."

"No!" I exclaimed. "You're going to be fine. We need to stop the bleeding. Once we get you out, we're taking you to the nearest hospital-"

"Max," he cut me off, coughing again. "I've killed a lot of people. Innocents. Losing my will, I worked for a tyrant. To redeem myself, I did the only thing I could do. Retribution has been served."

"But you can't die yet." I was definitely tearing up, my hands shaking. " Without you, I can't-"

"Max, you've grown stronger than I'd ever hoped. You've grown into a strong, mature leader. This is an era of change. Show them the way, become the leader you were born to be." His voice was getting fainter now, but his eyes twinkled brightly, a sense of peace in them. "Lead them well." He sighed with one last breath,and his eyes closed, forever.

I heard footsteps behind me, and Jim Kirk's shocked voice. "Max, what is this?"

I looked up, my jaw set firm, emotions tearing me from the inside. "We need a shroud. A shroud for Captain Steve Fleming."

The next chapter is the epilogue!