The entire air in Wakanda changed. It was strange and...eerie. The wind picked up and blew through the trees, ruffling the branches almost aggressively. Wanda knelt by Vision, confusion and fear evident on her face at his words. Claire stood by looking in all directions, trying to pin down her enemy. Thanks to her enhanced senses that she got from her wolf, she could sense that they were near, but she couldn't pinpoint where they were. It was like they were playing with the blind spots of her senses. She let out a low growl as the eerie air unnerved her and she stepped closer to Wanda, ready to protect her at a moment's notice. Steve reached up and touched his comm as he extended his shields.

"Everyone, on my position. We have incoming." The rest of the Avengers and Okoye and T'Challa soon moved in, standing ready.

"What the hell?" Natasha asked as blue and black clouds appear out of nowhere a few yards from where they're standing. The clouds multiply and grow until they open, revealing a portal, and a hulking purple figure stepped through, a slight victorious smile on his face.

"Cap. That's him," Bruce said from behind him. Thanos looked at the small group of heroes that banded together to stop him, his smile not going away. He was dressed in minimal armor with a gold gauntlet on his left hand. In the gauntlet sat five multicolored stones, a sixth empty hole glared at them; he just needed one more stone.

"Eyes up. Stay sharp," Steve said to his team as they charged at him. Bruce was the first to reach him, but Thanos raised his left fist, igniting the power of the Space Stone to send him phasing into a rock wall, freezing him in place. Steve is blasted away by a mass of purple energy. T'Challa, dressed in his Black Panther suit charged with kinetic energy, leaped into the air, claws extended, but is easily grabbed by the throat by Thanos and slammed into the ground by a punch, violently releasing the energy he had stored. Sam swooped in, firing at Thanos, but soon fell to the ground as Thanos rendered his wings to rubber.

Vision grabbed Wanda's hand, pulling her attention to him. His eyes held sorrow and fear and Claire's heart broke for him and for Wanda.

"Wanda, it's time," he said.

"No."

"They can't stop him, Wanda, but we can. You have the power to destroy the stone."

"Don't."

"You must do it, Wanda, please. If he gets this stone, half the universe dies." Wanda looked at Vision with sadness in her eyes and she turned back around towards the advancing Thanos. Wanda, not seeing any other way, finally gave in. She held out she hand took a deep breath, conjuring her magic, and let the growing scarlet beam flow from her hand and into the Mind Stone. Vision gasped a little at the aggressive nature of her magic but tried to relax for Wanda's sake. He didn't want her to think she was hurting him.

Rhodey had now joined the fight and began firing at Thanos, though he created a shield around him, and used the Space Stone to crush Rhodey's armor and send him hurtling to the ground. Bucky came running from the tree-line, firing his machine gun and giving a battle cry. Thanos used the Power Stone to punch him away. Okoye threw her spear at him, but Thanos stopped it inches from his face with the Power Stone and knocked her down and wrapped Natasha in inescapable bounds of earth. Groot yelled and shoved his hands into the ground, forcing roots to grow and circle around Thanos, but he easily broke through.

Claire watched as Thanos decimated their team, the strongest the planet earth had to offer, and she let out a little whine. She turned towards Wanda, nuzzled her nose into her neck and gave her one last kiss before she turned to face off Thanos. She stood tall, letting the rage that Thanos made her feel envelope her until she saw red. She charged at the Mad Titan, her paws beating hard against the ground furiously. She roared at him as her anger built, fueling her strength.

She leaped in the air above Thanos' head, swiping her claws at him as she descended. He dodged her and used the Power Stone to hold her in the air, and as he raised his gauntlet fist, he slammed her into the ground hard. He chuckled at her as he turned back around, facing Wanda and Vision, but Claire stood back up and bit his left leg. The Titan yelled and knelt down in pain as he swung around, trying to hit her, but she quickly sidestepped, and snapped her jaw around his arm.

Claire let go of his arm, and jumped at him, knocking his to the ground. She swung her claws at him, trying to either claw his malicious face off or tear the gauntlet off his hand; they both worked for her so much that she didn't have a preference. Claire's flailing managed to scratch Thanos a couple of times, giving him a few deep cuts that would surly become an issue later if left untreated, and though neither noticed, it also resulted in the Time Stone dislodging from the gauntlet and falling into the grass.

Finally, Thanos had enough of her, and clenched his fist, the Power Stone illuminating a light purple, and he brought his fist back far, before bringing it forward with such speed that the force of the punch knocked Claire clear off him and into a large rock. Claire let out a loud yelp as she crumpled to the ground, unconscious. At that moment, the Mind Stone was obliterated, and the force knocked Wanda back. She breathed heavily as she turned around at the spot where Vision's body was last sitting. She sighed as she turned around and closed her eyes and lowered her head. She heard the heavy footsteps of Thanos as he walked closer to her.

"I understand, my child. Better than anyone," Thanos' deep voice said as he tried to comfort her. Wanda picked her head up, looked at him, and before she could respond, Claire's unmoving black fur-clad body caught her eyes. Wanda stared at her and her heart shattered as Claire didn't move; not one bit. Angry tears fell formed in her eyes and she stood up from the ground and stood tall, facing Thanos.

"You couldn't possibly understand. But you will," Wanda said, the scarlet mist wrapping around her hands again. Her eyes burned a bright scarlet as she raised her hand, sending the red energy around Thanos' gauntlet. He stared at her in confusion, but it quickly contorted into anger when Wanda flicked her wrist and the gauntlet flew of Thanos' beefy hand, flying past her. He growled at her in anger and charged at her, but she was ready for him. She walked forward, her hands still glowing and she shot fast and powerful balls of energy at him, making him stumble. She flailed her arms around as she gather more power and momentum, and brought the energy crashing into Thanos, knocking him to the ground with a loud and rumbling thud.

The rest of the Avengers watched her as she bared her teeth and sent her scarlet magic to wrap around Thanos' massive body. Lifting her arms, she raised him from the ground and guided her magic into his body through the open wounds that Claire left him. She wiggled her fingers and Thanos let out a loud pain filled scream as her magic tore in apart, from the inside. With each scream that he let out, Wanda grew angrier and increased the pressure she had on her magic.

Thanos' muscles ripped inside him as the magic grabbed hold of them and pulled one way, while the magic on the outside pulled him another way. Wanda was seething as he cried for what sounded to her like mercy. He didn't deserve mercy. Wanda blinked a few times, before she let got and retracted her magic. Thanos fell to the ground, groaning in pain, blood seeping from his wounds. He tried to get up but collapsed from the pain. Wanda stalked over to him and knelt down beside his face and chest. He shook and breathed heavily in pain and glared at her, hoping to mask his fear.

"Well..." he said, his voice coming out weak. "What are you waiting for? Finish it." She didn't say anything, just stared at him, her eyes still glowing red. Thanos grabbed her by her jacket and pulled her down more. "Finish it!"

"Oh, I will," she said, her voice and eerie calm. "I'm just...taking a minute."

"For what?"

"For me to witness what true terror looks like. For you to witness what defeat looks like; what true power looks like. Even with all the stones, you wouldn't be any different than you are now."

"I would've been a god. Free to create life and take it at my whim. Make reality what I want it to be. That's true power." He sneered at her. Her expression never faltered and she lifted her hand, her magic circling around her wrist and fingers.

"You're not a god. You're a coward that hides behind powerful objects and claims it for his own."

"And what are you?" he asked, the venom dripped words spitting at her. She sends him a villainous smile as she contorts her fingers, sending her magic back inside him. He groaned and yelled in pain as the scarlet tendrils of her magic spread through his body, searching for his heart.

"I'm the Scarlet Witch," she said as she found what she was looking for and gave a sharp tug, sending the organ flying out of his chest and into her open hand. Thanos gasped and collapsed onto the ground as he choked on his own blood, dying in seconds. Wanda dropped his heart, her eyes returning to her normal green, and whatever force that kept her going—whether adrenaline or anger—dissipated and she collapsed onto the ground next to Thanos' body and sobbed.

Steve stood up and walked over to her and patted her shoulder in a comforting manner. Wanda reached up and pulled him down to her level and sobbed into his chest. Steve wrapped his arms around her gently and held her while she cried, whispering soothing and calming things to her. She soon pulled away and looked back over at Claire's unmoving body. On shaky legs, and with the help of Steve she made her way over to her side, kneeling against her giant wolf head.

Her eyes were closed and she could faintly see the patches of fur that was caked in blood. Wanda's sobs grew louder as she reached a shaky hand out to touch Claire's body. It wasn't true, it couldn't be, she was still warm. The rest of the Avengers bowed their heads for their friend and teammate. Natasha's eyes filled with tears as she refused to believe that she lost another teammate, friend, and sister.

Sam sighed and looked at her and mumbled, "Come on, Stowell. Don't do this."

Bucky swallowed the lump in his throat and breathed deeply, turning away to punch a tree behind him with his metal arm.

Wanda laid her head down on Claire's soft fur and grabbed large fistfuls, hoping that that would bring her back. Her sobs where the only noise that filled the area. Steve walked over to her and gently tried to pull her away, but she fought against him. A quiet groan vibrated through Claire's body, and though it was drowned out by the sound of Wanda's sobbing, she stopped instantly.at hearing the sound and listened.

"Did you hear that?" her cracked voice asked, looking at Steve. He gave her a sad look and placed his hand on top of hers.

"No."

"I thought I heard something," Wanda mumbled and listened again. Steve sighed and reached his hand out to turn Wanda's face towards his own.

"Wanda, she's gone. You didn't hear anything. It's all in your mind."

"I swear I heard something, Steve," Wanda said, her voice so low it almost didn't come out at all. She turned back to look at Claire and waited for another sound or sign that she was alive.

After a few minutes, when Steve was about to give up, Claire let out another groan and her body began to shift back to her human form. She laid in the grass, gazing up at Wanda's worried and relieved face, blinking several times to bring it back into focus. She groaned again, louder as pain spread through her body.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Claire exclaimed as she sat up, wincing a little bit. "That guy really packs a punch." Claire rolled her shoulder, stretching her sore muscles. Wanda sat stunned in front of her, completely and utterly frozen as Claire shook off the pain. Before Claire could say another word, she tackled Claire in a hug, squeezing her tight and burying her face into her fiery red hair. "Woah, there Little Red! You don't want to kill me do you?" Claire asked chuckling at Wanda's eagerness.

"I thought I lost you," Wanda said, crying into Claire's hair. Claire wrapped her arms around Wanda and rubbed her back, calming her down.

"I'm alright, love. Just a little banged up, but I'll be fine." Wanda pulled away and gently grabbed her face in her hands, forcing Claire's eyes to stare into her own.

"I swear to God, don't you ever do that to me again. Do you hear me?" Wanda asked seriously though she giggled in relief. Claire smiled at her and brought her hands up and circled around the back of Wanda's neck.

"I hear you, love," the redhead whispered as she pulled her girlfriend closer to her, pressing her lips to hers.

"I love you," Wanda hummed into the kiss, not wanting to pull away.

"I love you too."

When the two pulled away, they were bombarded with hugs from the rest of the Avengers. Natasha crashed into Claire first, barely beating Bucky who was second, and Steve and Sam were tied.

"You had me worried half to death," Natasha mumbled in their hug. Claire chuckled, the vibrations reverberating throughout everyone.

"Only half, Nat?" Natasha bumped her hard, causing her to groan a bit as the rest of the team laughed.

"Claire, if you ever fucking pull some shit like this again, I will fucking follow you to the underworld, drag your fucking soul back, fucking revive you, only to fucking kill you myself, you fucking dumbass asshat," Bucky said as his metal arm crushed Claire.

Oh, Bicky, I think you need to work on your anger management," she groaned at the pressure. "It's not healthy for you to be speaking like this. It makes you sound much more aggressive than you actually are."

"He's right, Stowell; you're a fucking asshat," Sam said as he wiped a tear away from his eye.

"Aww. I love you too, Sap," Claire said finding his back in the mass of bodies around her and giving it a pat. They all hung on for a little while longer, but eventually let her go. Claire sighed, enjoying the feeling of being loved and smiled at them. "Listen guys, on a serious note, I didn't mean to scare you; especially you Wanda. But I need you all to do me one favor."

"What's that Claire Bear?" Bucky asked as he rolled his eyes and shook his head at her. Claire looked at each and every one of them.

"Nobody...fucking...tells...Jemma."