CHAPTER FIFTY ONE
need a big, big god
☀︎︎

The planet Titan was a great, angry mass of red. A desolate place, that spanned far and wide, barren for as far as Eddy's human eye could see. The wreck of the crash littered the dusty surface, broken metal structures protruding from the ground like tilted skyscrapers.

They were arguing- Tony and Quill, the rest of the group piping up when provoked- but Eddy paid them no mind as he looked toward the horizon, across Thanos' homeworld. The very air was clogged with dust, suffocating and foreboding, striking the confidence from his body, leaving him struggling both physically and mentally to breathe. Tony had prepared them for space, suits and all, but the day they'd venture into the stars had never thought to be so soon. It was bizarre- the very thought of it, when he stopped and had a moment to think, brought fear to his figure, leaving him sharp and rigid.

Somewhere far out, back on his own planet, Steve would be looking up to the stars, to the sun, to the moon, deep in hiding, never knowing that Eddy stood upon one of those same celestial bodies that stared back. Wanda would be waiting for a call, a visit. But here he was, a newly appointed member of the Avengers, preparing to fight a Titan who was threatening to rid the world of its population, and Eddy was scared.

Peter found him as Tony continued to argue with Quill. His hand wrapped around his arm, the touch of his fingers gentle and instantly comforting. It was as if he knew how Eddy was feeling as if his spidey senses told him so.

"Are you alright?" Peter asked, moving until he was all Eddy could see.

"Can I admit something?"

Peter nodded, eyebrows furrowing but lips pulling into the softest of smiles. "Yeah, you can tell me anything."

"I'm scared," he breathed, eyes closing until he felt Peter's hands lift higher, gripping his upper arms.

"You're supposed to be the brave one of us two," he said, but the joke fell flat. Eddy's eyes opened to Peter's worried face, and he could tell he was scared too. "Look, this is a whole new type of fight that we're gearing up towards, and we're bound to be scared. But we're partners with or without the masks, right?" His hand moved down again until they were holding Eddy's. "And we'll fight this problem together just as we did the rest."

Eddy could only nod, feeling the heavy onset of emotions rip through his chest. He held on tightly to Peter's hands, even as they turned to the green glow of the wizard as the rest did. He wanted to tell him everything, before the battle began, in a sudden move of sentiment. He wanted to tell him that the future would not have been the same without him. That in a past life, Eddy's feelings for him might've been condemned, but in this one, it was all he could feel sometimes, so strongly and perfectly. He wanted to tell him everything about them that he thought. But he didn't.

"Hey, what was that?" Peter shouted, landing beside Tony the same moment Eddy did.

"I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the outcomes of the coming conflict," the wizard explained, and Eddy didn't like the look that fell upon his face.

"How many did you see?" Tony asked, brows drawn tightly into a tense scowl.

"14,000,605."

"How many did we win?"

Strange's head rose, lips pulled tautly into a frown. "One."

*︎

The plan sat snugly at the back of Eddy's mind. Their chances seemed slim, and the knowledge of that seemed to consume him. One chance in 14,000,605. Once he might've thought it pointless to try, but he thought of all he'd come through, all the universe had to lose and concentrated on the space left in front of the wizard.

The Titan seemed to appear out of nowhere, emerging from a colourful blur. At the sight of him, Eddy stilled, leaning further into Peter's side, flat against the rock and rubble. The gauntlet on his arm was huge, already studded with the glistening gems he sought.

"Oh yeah." At the sound of Dr Strange's voice, Thanos looked over, dark eyes finding him upon faded steps. "You're much more of a Thanos."

"I take it the Maw is dead." Thanos' voice was deep and commanding as he strolled over, proud and vain in his size. "This day extracts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission."

"You may regret that," Strange said. From where Eddy was ducked behind the debris, the red of the cuts on his face seemed more vibrant, the wizard more torn and battle-worn, despite this only being the beginning. The Titan seemed to see the same thing. "He brought you face to face with the Master of the Mystic Arts."

"And where do you think he brought me?"

"Let me guess? Your home?"

"It was. And it was beautiful."

The glow of crimson illuminated the already red surroundings- the reality stone. Eddy glued his eyes shut, feeling for the unwavering presence by his side. As they waited for the moment to hit, Peter held him tightly, firmly.

"Titan was like many planets. Too many mouths, not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction I offered a solution."

"Genocide."

"But random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike," Thanos said. Eddy finally opened his eyes and leaned forward against the rubble, finding the hulking purple figure that took up the space around him easily. "They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass."

"Congratulations, you're a prophet."

"I'm a survivor."

To call himself a survivor was to insult the very word itself. Eddy was a survivor- living through the war, travelling to the future, and losing his sister.

"Who wants to murder trillions."

"With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers and they would cease to exist. I call that mercy."

He would think himself a God, but what right did he have to choose to massacre trillions?

"And then what?"

"I'd finally rest... and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe," Thanos said, speaking as if he was the saviour, a divined being, blessed. "The hardest choices require the strongest will."

"I think you'll find our will equal to yours."

Orange patterns formed around the wizard's hands at his command. The swirling magic was enough of a sign for the Avengers to jump into action. For a moment, the fear engulfed Eddy whole, making him feel as if he was drowning, being pulled back into a pit of crippling anxiety. But then he saw Mr Stark, powering forward to bury the Titan with a great hulk of rock, he saw Peter, swinging forward to help, and he felt the invisible hand of his sister, of Steve, pushing him forward, whispering that he could do this.

"Piece of cake, Quill," Tony's voice was loud through the earpiece in his mask.

"Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off."

The Titan took hit after hit as if they were only minor inconveniences. The red of the reality stone buzzed around the golden gauntlet around his fist, the glow erupting into a mass of movement, which became discernable only at the last minute as a swirling flock of bird-like shapes flew forward, sweeping Mr Stark away with their wings.

Thanos was a large, monstrous figure, purple and with large, swelling arms as forceful as hammers. Any hit, no matter how much energy he generated from teleporting, would make a mark. Eddy felt powerless in the way of force, and so his tactic moved to distraction.

As Quill fell backwards into a portal, middle fingers up, Eddy sprinted forward, zipping through space swiftly and easily, landing on the Titan's back. He was slipping from his grip the moment he touched him. As soon as he teleported, he reappeared again, landing in the sky, dropping just as quickly as Thanos did. A mass of debris flew through the air, hitting him on the head, knocking the Titan sideways so he landed sprawled against his front. Yet the fall seemed to do him no damage.

"Don't let him close his fist."

Landing against the bulk of the broken spaceship, Eddy looked out across the scene, feeling hopeless. Peter was flying through the air, hopping from portal to portal, the shine of his metallic, red suit glinting in the low light. He moved almost too quickly to see, but his excited voice came through the air.

"Magic! More Magic!" Peter shouted, stopping only when Thanos's hands found his neck, pushing him into the ground, throwing him away like a rag.

An angry shout left Eddy's lips, taking Thanos' attention for a moment. But he lost it as quickly as he'd gained it, and Thanos was moving on to his other attackers, deeming him no threat. A frustrated agitation had him sleeping from the side of the ledge, zipping through the churning space of black and neon, landing with his legs surrounding the Titan's neck. He held on with all his might, the force behind his landing toppling him slightly before Thanos' hands found his limbs and began to rip.

Before he could pull him off, Eddy teleported again, landing in the sky once again, feeling the weight of gravity pulling them down. The Titan's hands held onto him, refusing to let him go, and Eddy fell down and down, feeling as if it was in slow motion. A web found his face, blocking his eyes, and Strange's cape tangled with his legs, and finally, Eddy could pull himself away, tumbling from Thanos' back, teleporting and leaving him to fall.

Nebula met him on the ground.

"You should've killed me," her hiss came.

"It would have been a waste of parts."

A rope-like lasso sprouted from Strange's hands, wrapping around Thanos' arm, embedding deep into his purple skin. One of Quill's gadgets was thrown to the floor, erupting in blue, electric fizzles, connecting with the Titan's other arm, pulling him downwards. Avengers and Guardians alike flocked to him, tugging on every limb they could, prying the gauntlet from his body.

Mantis fell from a portal, hands connecting with his head. With eyes clouding over, Thanos let out a scream, a deep, rumbling sound that was much like thunder.

"Be quick! He is very strong."

The antennae on her head were glowing, her face scrunched into an expression of pain. Eddy didn't understand what she was doing, but the plan had been simple enough. Mantis could distract him somehow, and they would remove the gauntlet. They continued to pull.

"I thought you'd be hard to catch. For the record, this was my plan. You're not so strong now, huh?" Quill landed in front of him, visor pulling back to reveal a rage-filled face. "Where is Gamora?"

"My Gamora," Thanos groaned, eyes still glazed over and hazy.

"No, bullshit. Where is she?"

"He is in anguish," Mantis said, her voice almost a cry, tell gritted and eyes glossy. "He... He mourns. "

"What does this monster have to mourn?"

"Gamora," Nebula said, dark eyes seeming to glare at the Titan. "He took her to Vormir. He came back with the Soul Stone. But she didn't."

"Okay, Quill. You've got to cool it, you understand?" Mr Stark shouted, the words falling on deaf ears.

But Quill turned to him, eyes ablaze with fury.

"Don't, don't. Don't engage. We almost got this off," Tony continued to shout but he didn't listen.

"Tell me she's lying. Asshole, tell me you didn't do it!"

Their faces were so close, yet both held the same feeling. Grief, anger, mourning. The truth was set alight by such strong emotion.

"I had to."

"No, you didn't," Quill shouted, and then his fist connected with the Titan's face, hitting and hitting, until Mantis flew from his back, losing her link.

As Tony dove to pull Quill back, Eddy and Peter continued to tug on the gauntlet, feeling it slip from his grasp. It was on the tip of his fingers, falling looser and looser.

"We've got it! We've got it!" They shouted in unison.

But then the Titan's eyes flew open, wide and aware, and his grip found the gauntlet again, smacking them from his arm. Eddy flew backwards, his back crashing into Peter's side as they fell back against the stone. The stones shone powerfully in their place, seeming to mock their failure. For a moment, stuck in the gaze of the hit, Eddy could only watch. Watch as he delivered hit after hit, flicking them away like ants beneath his feet, until even Mr Stark was down on his knees.

The purple glow of a stone swarmed the golden gauntlet, its power extending far and wide, reaching toward the moon that was large and faint in the sky. The surface seemed to ripple and break, spreading with magma, and then with the pull of his fist, Thanos directed the moon's surface toward them.

Eddy found Mantis toppling from the cliff-like edges of the ruined ground, her eyes closed and limbs limp. He caught her mid-fall, arms wrapping around her waist as he teleported them from the air and onto stable ground. Somewhere, in the distance, Peter was slinging his webs, gathering Quill into his hold. Landing again atop the field of debris, far from the target ground, Eddy set Mantis with the other Guardians, finding Peter doing the same.  Tony was lost amongst the fiery rain of rocks, Strange too.

They found Drax last, stuck beneath a small rock, in conscious. Eddy teleported him back to the others and just a swiftly wrapped his arms around Peter's side, taking them back to the battlefield.  They finished in time to see Mr Stark being driven into the ground with punch after punch. Eddy could hear him through his broken earpiece and winced at the sound of his grunts and groans.

And when he finally found his way to his feet again, face bare and unprotected, his helmet ripped away and discarded, Thanos almost seemed to smile with victory. Eddy heard the pained grunt before he saw the damage. A blade stuck out sorely from Mr Stark's back, sleek with crimson. Eddy let out a scream, dropping from the ledge and landing beside Strange with a haggard grunt.

"Stop," the wizard said. "Spare his life and I will give you the stone."

"No tricks."

Strange nodded and lifted his hand slowly. From between fingers, a green flow appeared and the time stone materialised, and after a moment, it began to drift away.

"Stop. No! No! What are you doing?"

But Eddy's voice fell to the air weakly, hopelessly. The stone slotted easily onto its place on Thanos' gauntlet. Mr Stark let his head fall backwards in defeat. The whole planet seemed to still.

"One to go," Thanos said, and then he disappeared into a swirl of colour.

Quill fell to the floor where the Titan once had been. "Where is he?" He shouted, visor and helmet discarded to the ground. "Did we just lose?"

Eddy was crawling now, body tired and sore, to where Mr Stark was slumped over. He placed a hand around his wound, applying pressure so he could lace it up, covering it with his tech, hiding the licks of crimson blood.

"Why would you do that?" Tony spluttered, eyes heavy with fatigue as he found the wizard.

"We're in the endgame now," was all that Dr Strange said.

Silence took over them as they regrouped. A heavy sort of silence that spoke of their defeat.

Eddy found Peter again, his mask unfurled to finally reveal his face. His arms wrapped around his neck, using him for complete support. But Peter was just as affected, his knees almost buckling under the pressure.

"We're okay, we're okay," Eddy whispered, breathing him in.

They found the group again: Mr Stark still hunched against a rock, Strange leaning against the debris, eyes closed, and the Guardians helping each other to the centre. Peter helped Mr Stark to his feet, holding onto his back, the man still in shock.

"Something's happening," Mantis said.

Her face crumpled with confusion, brows furrowing and lips turning downwards. She stumbled away from Quill, her arms raising so she could look at her hands. Her skin began to decay, turning black and dropping into the air before disappearing completely. She let out a scared shout as her skin fell away, losing limb after limb until she was gone altogether.

"Quill?"

Drax was next. He let out a yelp as he fell to the floor, his legs disappearing from beneath him, his face last to fall away into nothingness, a pained smile on his lips.

Thanos. He'd succeeded. They'd lost completely.

"Steady Quill," Tony said, and that was when Eddy saw him. He too was fading away, his existence being ripped from the universe.

"Tony. There was no other way," Dr Strange said, his face solemn but sure.

Maybe this was always supposed to happen. One in 14,000,605. The wizard would know, and would have seen it. Eddy could only hope, as he watched the skin flutter from his bones, drifting from the air and fading into nothingness as well.

Then Eddy felt his grip on Peter loosening and his world seemed to freeze. When he turned, he was looking at his hands, his face pale and scared. Eddy caught him, holding him upright.

"Mr Stark!" Eddy cried out, but when the man turned and found him, it was Peter who stuttered, "I don't feel so good."

They lowered them to the floor, leaning him down against his knee.

"I don't know what's happening," Peter cried and all Eddy could do was hold him, wishing he could fit the pieces together again.

"It's alright," he whispered, over and over again, trying to hold back a violent sob. "It's alright, it's alright."

He was dissolving into the air, flickering in and out of existence, slower than the others had. Eddy held his face, eyes like magnets to his, fingers stroking the sides of his face while he still could.

"No, no, Peter, look at me, you'll be okay," Eddy murmured, his eyes glassy when he glanced to Mr Stark, who held him by the arms. "No, Peter, no."

He couldn't speak. The only sounds that left Peter's mouth were harsh gurgles. Eddy held him tightly as if that would keep him together, but soon his skin began to feel like ash beneath his fingers, and Eddy knew. Knew that he was fading into nothing just as the others had.

"No, Peter, no, please," Eddy sobbed, and Tony was holding him just as tightly as he still held Peter, his own eyes glassy and fearful. "Please, I love you, I love you, I love you.

He shouted it, needing him to hear, to know before they were all gone and nothing but memories. I love you. But then Peter's head fell limply, his skin fading away and scattering into the wind.

Tony didn't give him a moment to comprehend it. He turned on him, tears slipping secretly down his face.

"Go, teleport out of here while you still can,"

He didn't know if he could, didn't know if it would even change anything if he did. Eddy's body was beaten and broken, his heart shattered and dissolving as quickly as his mind. But Tony pushed him backwards when he tried to argue. "What about you-"

"Go. Get as far away from here as you can," Tony shouted, and then Eddy was falling, his shoulders pushed again, and his teleportation then felt involuntary.

But as he slipped from his place on the planet, Mr Stark dissapearing, the similar swirls of that other world didn't meet him. Eddy felt as if he was falling with no control, down and down into the underworld. The pitch blackness- darker than night, with a silver sheen like ink- enveloped him. That darkness was loud, deep and dangerous, and swallowed him whole.

*