CARSON inhaled sharply and gripped hold of his shoulder with a slight wince as he noticed the multiple claw marks that had ripped through his suit and made contact with his skin.

"Great." Carson huffed in annoyance.

He quickly took in his surroundings to make sure everyone was safe and holding their own, but the low growling coming from behind him grabbed his attention. Carson slowly turned around, his brow raising when he saw another cluster of aliens slowly advancing towards him.

Carson with a sigh, he rolled his neck and shook out his hands to prepare himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath as he allowed his powers to surround his hands once more.

He opened his eyes and held his stare with the group ahead of him. Waiting for their next move. "Well, what are you waiting for?" He ushered them forwards with a grin. "Come on."

A small smirk formed on Carson's lips as the group of many aliens all charged towards him. He extended his arms out in front of him and watched as the red wisps weaved their way through the group like they had a life of their own, harshly wrapping themselves around each alien and lifting them up into the air.

Carson took note at how the aliens, which he found out were called outriders, all writhed in his grip, desperate to attack him. Some of them were even clawing at their own allies in attempt to get free. He almost felt sorry them actually, knowing that their fate wouldn't exactly be pretty.

Almost.

He curled his hands up into tight fists and then threw his arms out to the side, watching in amusement as the outriders were ripped in half and tossed to the side.

Due to the amount of damage that he caused, some blood from the outrider's bodies spurted onto Carson's face which instantly made let out a groan in disgust.

"Jesus." He wiped his hand over his face and shook out his hand. "That was disgusting."

"How much longer, Shuri?" T'Challa spoke into his earpiece.

"I've barely begun, brother." The girl replied.

Carson made eye contact with T'Challa. "You might want to tell your sister to pick up the pace—"

The sudden impact of something clinging onto Carson's back stopped him from finishing his sentence and he dropped to his knees, looking over his shoulder at an outrider that had jumped onto his back, his jaw clenching as the alien sunk it's teeth into his shoulder blade.

"Fuck!" He yelled, muffling his sounds of pain through gritted teeth. "You little shit!"

Carson reached over his shoulder and grabbed hold of the aliens head before throwing the outrider over his body. The alien skidded along the ground but quickly recovered and charged at him once again.

His back hit the ground with a thud and he moved his hands out in front of him, trying to push the alien away. Before he had chance to use his powers, more outriders joined the group and leaped on him. They all started tugging at the fabric of his suit around his arms and legs, ultimately rendering him stuck.

"There's too many of 'em!" Bruce yelled as he too started to get attacked by another cluster of aliens, them all piling on top of the suit he borrowed from Tony.

"You think?!" Carson yelled back as he tried to break free.

Carson's head was pushed back against the ground again and his eyes met with the sky. But to his surprise, that's not all he noticed. A huge ray of light was seen hurdling down towards the ground, a multitude of colours mixed in with it.

And once he realised what it was, who it was, he couldn't help but let out a laugh, excited to see what would come next.

The bifrost slammed down on the ground not far from Carson, destroying any attacking outriders that stood in it's way. A large axe flew from out of the beam and started to dart it's way between anymore surrounding aliens, including the ones that were attacking Carson, Steve and Banner.

Once it had freed them the axe hurdled it's way back towards the birfrost, revealing to have landed in Thor's hand as the light faded away. Rocket and Groot stood beside him ready to fight, the racoon hopping down from his spot on Thor's shoulder.

Carson stood up with a chuckle and looked towards Thor. "You and your grand entrances, huh?"

Thor smirked in response before turning his attention back towards the Black Order's army. He started to charge towards them with Groot and Rocket hot on his trail.

"Bring me Thanos!" He yelled as he launched himself up into the air.

The god summoned as much lighting as he could around him before making contact with the ground once more, slamming his axe down on the ground which created a blast that was big enough to obliterate all the aliens in the space around him.

Thor took a deep breath and looked around him, coming to a stop once he noticed Steve and Carson finishing off a few more aliens to the side of him. The two men turned their attention towards the god and gave him a nod.

"New hammer?" Carson asked.

"Carson!" Thor exclaimed with a large smile. "My you've grown! You're not... how old were you the last time I saw you again? Nine? Ten? No, no, fifteen?"

More like eighteen, but okay.

Carson laughed. "Sure sparkles, let's go with that."

Thor chuckled and turned his attention towards Steve, his head tilting to the side as he looked at the man. "I noticed you've copied my beard."

Steve panted and shrugged as a reply, being too worn out to come up with a response.

"By the way, this is a friend of mine, Tree." Thor pointed to his side towards Groot who was currently impaling multiple outriders.

Groot looked towards the two new acquaintances. "I am Groot."

The super-soldier placed a hand on his chest before talking. "I am Steve Rogers."

"Uh." Carson cleared his throat. "Carson Swan."

Groot nodded before running off further into the battle, Thor joining him.

Carson and Steve shared a look, both of them still bewildered as to what just happened. Steve opened his mouth to say something but closed it again, still confused at the fact they just greeted a tree.

A fucking tree.

Carson's brows came together. "Did we just talk to a tree?"

"I think we did."

A sudden rumbling in the distance caught everyone on the battlefields attention. They all looked around to see what it was but there was nothing that came into view.

That was until the trees outside the dome started to fall over.

One by one.

Carson stumbled slightly as the ground started to shake and he looked over at Steve who was starting to look more and more worried by the second.

That was when multiple vehicles burst from the ground. The threshers each broke off on their own path, splitting up from one another. Carson looked at the wheels that was used for the vehicles, his eyes widening when he saw their sharp blade-like figure.

"What the..."

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK, NOW!" T'Challa shouted.

"Focus fire on the left flank, Sam!" Rhodey ordered the man.

Sam flew alongside one of the thrashers and started to shoot at it. "I'm doing it!"

"Carson, I'm gonna need you to assist with that." Steve turned to him. "Don't hold back, alright? You blast the shit outta them."

Carson nodded and turned on his heel to make his way towards them but suddenly came to a stop, looking at Steve over his shoulder and giving him a questionable look.

"What?" Steve shrugged. "What is it?"

"Watch your language, Captain." Carson smirked.

Steve gave him a look and rolled his eyes.

"Right, right, sorry, I'm going."

Carson focused his firing on one particular thrasher that seemed to be getting too close. He extended his arms out in front of him and pushed his powers against the large wheel of the vehicle, letting out a grunt as he focused all of his energy on pushing it over.

The sound of Natasha struggling became prominent in his hearing and he instantly snapped his head to the side. His heart practically starting beating out of his chest once he saw that there were multiple thrashers heading straight towards her and Okoye.

With one final blast, he knocked the thrasher that was closest to him over and started to sprint towards the two women.

He charged his way through the battlefield, not daring to stop for a second. Any outriders that got in his way were instantly blasted back without him even sparing them a glance. He only had one priority in that moment. And that was Natasha.

Just as he was about to reach them, Wanda landed in front of the two women. She opened up her arms and encased the several thrashers within her red wisps, letting out a grunt and gritting her teeth as she focused.

Wanda inhaled sharply, along with her eyes slamming shut due to the amount of power she was using. But she wasn't going to let that stop her.

She threw her arms down to her sides and pulled the vehicles down to the ground which rendered them useless almost immediately. The thrashers skidded along the ground and killed all the other outriders that were in the way.

Once the coast was clear, Wanda took a moment to catch her breath before turning to look over her shoulder at the two women, giving them a small relieved smile.

Okoye looked at Wanda, her jaw slightly agape. She turned to Natasha. "Why was she up there all this time?"

Carson caught up to the group and placed his hands on his hips as he panted a little. Wanda's demeanour instantly relaxed once he appeared, now knowing that he was safe.

"It was going to... and then you... you threw it... and... god I love you." He said out of breath, a wide smile forming on his face.

Wanda chuckled at his state and moved to his side, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you too baby. You alright there?"

"I'm good, I'm good." He looked between Natasha and Okoye. "Are you alright?"

They both nodded in response.

"We're fine, don't worry." Natasha smiled at him.

"Guys, we got a vision situation here!" Sam spoke up on the comms.

"Somebody get to Vision!" Steve replied.

Carson gave Wanda a quick kiss before pulling back and smiling at Natasha and Okoye. He pressed a finger up to his ear. "I'm on it old man."

~~ ᗢ ~~

CARSON LANDED in the forest, instantly running towards the sounds of vision yelling out in pain. Once he caught a glimpse of the android and the black order member that was attacking him, he wasted no time in firing at the alien which sent him stumbling backwards.

He hurried over to Vision and stood in front of him, his head tilting to she side as he watch Cull Obsidian get back to his feet.

The alien let out a grunt and started to run towards him once more, raising his weapon up into the air.

Carson smirked. "Oh no you don't, big guy."

His powers flowed through his veins and started to charge up around his hand as he brought it up into a fist, his hand now showing nothing but a red glow.

Once he came close enough, Carson collided his first with the aliens chest and allowed his energy to be released from his hand. The impact was enough to knock Cull Obsidian back intoa small stream that was behind them, the aliens weapon being flung from his hand.

Carson looked over his shoulder at Vision. "Excuse me for a moment."

Cull Obsidian rose to his feet once more and started walking closer, Carson walking towards the alien too. Carson's eyes darted to the side of the creature, only to see Steve coming up from behind.

The super-soldier slid on his knees, skidding along the dirt. He activated his arm shields and cut through the aliens legs on the way past, making Cull drop down to his knees and groan in pain.

Carson chuckled and knew it was his turn. He clasped his hands together, allowing them to slowly break apart as he felt a ball of energy building up between his palms. Once he deemed it strong enough, Carson fired the ball of energy towards the black order member and it shot straight through his chest, leaving a large hole.

"Jesus christ." Carson breathed out as he leant against a nearby tree to take a moment.

He looked up at Steve who was walking towards him, his eyes flicking between him and Vision. Carson gave him a thumbs up while he caught his breath to let him know that he was fine and that he should go to Vision.

Wanda suddenly landed down on the ground, her eyes instantly locking onto Carson. She rushed to his side and traced her hands along his body to check for any injuries.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Carson nodded and he leant up from his spot. "Just used a lot a power today, that's all. I'm good to go now."

Carson took Wanda's hand and the two joined Steve in checking up on Vision, who was sat down on the ground with his back leaning against a log.

"How you doing Vis?" Carson asked. "Can you stand?"

Vision panted and kept his hand pressed tightly against his wound that had opened up again. Before the android had the time to answer, he let out a grunt and keeled over as the stone started to speak to him once more.

Carson groaned and dropped to his knees as his head started to pound again, far more worse than all the other times. He gripped his head as he let out a yell in pain, trying his best to block out the high-pitched ringing that was echoing in his ears.

Steve and Wanda both gave each other a nod and each tended to the other. Wanda crouching down next to Carson while Steve crouched down next to Vision.

"Carson, w-what is it?" Wanda asked as she ran her hand up and down on his arm in order to try and soothe him.

"Vision, hey, can you hear me?" Steve placed his hand on Vision's shoulder.

After a few more seconds, the pain seemed to simultaneously stop for the both of them and they each broke out of their own trance, their eyes darting around the area.

Steve looked between the two. "What just happened?"

Carson inhaled sharply and gripped the bridge of his nose, shaking his head as his ears adapted to the normal sounds again. "I... I don't know. I—"

"He's here." Vision interrupted, his eyes trained on a certain spot of the forest.

Steve got to his feet and took in his surroundings. "Everyone, on my position." The man said into his earpiece. "We have incoming."

Everyone was quick to re-group and gather around in the forest. But they could tell something was off as soon as they arrived. Something was different.

The wind suddenly started to pick up, leaves getting blown around everywhere. The birds in the area went dead silent and flew away, as if they knew something was coming.

And that's when Carson felt it.

The same feeling he'd been having in his dreams.

The rage.

The grief.

The death.

Carson got to his feet. "No, no, no, no." He mumbled under his breath.

Wanda noticed his demeanour and inhaled shakily. "Carson..."

"Wanda it's... it's happening." Carson grabbed Wanda's arm and moved her behind him.

Everyone's attention was pulled towards a large portal forming out of thin air, black and blue clouds coating around it. A large purple titan walked out, looking around at them all, studying them with an emotionless expression.

"Cap." Bruce gestured towards the titan. "That's him."

Steve activated his shields once more and started to advance towards Thanos. "Eyes up. Stay sharp."

Bruce was the first to make a play for the purple titan. He leaped up into the air getting ready to punch him, but Thanos clenched his first and used the stones on the scientist, making him phase through his body before he could make contact then proceeding to trap him in a stone wall.

Thanos made his way through the rest of the team with ease. He threw Steve to the ground, picked T'Challa up by the neck before knocking him clean out with a punch, destroyed Sam's wings, crushed Rhodey's suit, trapped Natasha between some sharp rocks that he pulled from the ground.

Carson's jaw clenched tightly at the sight and he stepped forwards but Wanda pulled him back by his arm.

"Carson, wait, wait!" Wanda said frantically.

Carson pulled his arm from Wanda's grip and cupped her face, placing a soft kiss against her forehead. "Wanda I have to. I'll buy you some time alright?"

Wanda watched as Carson joined the fight with the others that were remaining, closing her eyes and slowing turning back towards Vision who was looking up at her with a sad smile.

The android knew it was his time.

If they wanted to stand any chance at defeating him, she had to destroy the stone.

And she had to do it now.

"Wanda... it's time."

"No." Wanda told him.

"They can't stop him, Wanda, but we can." Vision grabbed her hand. "You have the power to destroy the stone—"

"Vision, don't."

"You must do it. Wanda, please." He pleaded. "We are out of time."

"I can't." Wanda's lip started to quiver.

Vision moved Wanda's hand and aimed it towards his head. "Yes, you can. If he gets the stone, half the universe dies. It's not fair... It shouldn't be you, but it is."

Wanda's hand started shaking as she took a few steps back, starting to prepare herself. Although they had been apart for some time, Wanda and Vision had always had a close friendship. Sometimes in the compound, it just seemed to be her Vision and Carson that truly understood each other.

Linked by the stone or not, they all shared a close bond.

And now it was starting to break.

"It's alright." Vision assured her. "You could never hurt me. We're friends right?"

Her red energy slowly starts to emerge from the palm of her hands, tears starting to stream down her face. She took a deep breath and pushed her hand forwards, allowing her powers to make contact with the stone.

Meanwhile, Carson locked eyes with Thanos. He looked around at all of his friends that were on the ground, his jaw locking tightly at the sight.

He started to charge towards Thanos but was raised into the air as Thanos used one of the stones on him, his body now being encased in blue mist.

Thanos kept Carson in the air and took a few steps closer, looking up at him curiously. Carson's teeth gritted as he tried to move, to break free, to do anything. But he couldn't. He was helpless.

"Ah, Mr. Swan." Thanos looked at his state with a smirk. "You're not looking too well."

Carson continued to writhe in the titan's hold. "How... how do you know my name?"

Thanos ignored his question and looked around at the fallen Avengers before turning his attention back towards Carson. "Look at them, Carson. All of your friends. It's too bad really, I was expecting more of a fight. But with you, my, my... that's where I'm really disappointed. I was excited, you see, I was expecting a real challenge." Thanos chuckled to himself. "Even Stark put up more of a fight than you. Shame I had to end it though."

Carson's head shot up. "What did you just say?"

Thanos hummed in response. "I didn't hit a nerve did I?"

"What did you do to him?!" Carson shouted. "I swear I'll kill you, you hear me!"

Thanos gave him a tight lipped smile and shook his head at Carson's attempt to get free once more. "And to think... I was told you were powerful."

The thing is, Thanos may of been enjoying shooting his many remarks at Carson, but was he didn't realise, was that his actions would have consequences.

Everything thing he was saying was just adding fuel to the fire, riling him up. Carson's powers were surging through his body, coursing through his veins.

All they needed was an out.

And that's exactly what Thanos was giving him.

Unbeknownst to the Titan, of course. He was too caught up in his own ego to think about what would come from his actions.

"You know..." Carson spoke up, his eyes trained on the ground. "I have a feeling, you're going to regret that."

"Oh really?" Thanos raised a brow. "And what makes you think that, little one?"

Carson let out a light chuckle and lifted up his head, his now blazing red eyes glaring at Thanos. The titan blinked a few times and was clearly taken back by the sudden change. But that didn't stop Carson from continuing with his next move.

In fact, it only urged him on more.

Carson let out a yell as he started to free himself from the blue mist that was wrapped around his body, the colours starting to morph to match his own powers. Thanos took a few steps back and aimed his gauntlet at Carson once more in order to regain control. The titan's eyes widened as his attempt seemed to have no effect on the man.

The now red mist disappeared from around Carson's body and he was lowered to the ground as his body was freed, landing on his feet.

"Impossible!" Thanos shouted.

Carson smirked and looked down at his hands that were practically bursting with power. "Clearly not."

Thanos let out an annoyed grunt and swing his fist towards Carson, but he managed to catch it before it made contact with his body.

[A/N: do me a favour and pretend this is Carson, cheers bbys]

Thanos looked down at Carson in disbelief of what he was seeing. Never in his life had he faced an opponent like this. Especially not a human one. The titan pushed his hand further but that only caused Carson to push back too, making him clench his jaw as he used all of his strength to stop Thanos from getting the upper hand.

"How?" Thanos scowled at him.

Carson ignored his question and allowed his powers to start emerging once again, his red energy swirling around his hand. "Leave... my family... alone."

He pushed the titan back, shooting a beam of energy at him before he could start to walk towards him again. Thanos grimaced and covered his face with his hands, the gauntlet being in front to shield him from any damage.

Carson looked back over his shoulder to find none other than Wanda already looking at him, shaking her head as she tried to bite back her sobs. She had one arm still extended out in front of her body, her powers still working on destroying Vision's stone. She was close. She had almost done it.

And by the sound that left Thanos' mouth, the titan knew it too.

Carson knew that Wanda was debating on whether to leave so she could help him. Never in his life had he used this much power before. And it was draining him. She could tell.

"Don't you dare." Carson warned her. "I need you to stay there Wanda, you gotta do that for me okay?"

"I-I can't..." Wanda cried.

"Yes, you can!" He shouted over to her. "You can."

"No I... Carson you've never used your powers like this before!" Wanda yelled. "We don't know what could happen and I— I'm not going to lose you! I can't!"

"You aren't going to lose me Wanda, I swear to you!" Carson gave her a sad smile. "We have all the time in the world, remember?"

"Carson, please!"

Carson was pushed back a little due to the titan starting to advance forward, he dug his feet into the ground to make sure he didn't lose his footing.

He looked back over at her. "WANDA GO!"

Wanda held her stare with him for a few more seconds, another cry escaping her lips. She inhaled sharply and turned back around reluctantly.

"Wanda, listen to me..." Vision tried to calm her down, cracks in his face starting to form as she got closer to destroying the stone.

Wanda sobbed. "I'm sorry Vision... I'm so sorry. It wasn't supposed to end this way—"

"It's a-alright..." Vision managed to get out, his eyes starting to close as he felt the stone breaking. "For w-what it's worth... I just wanted to thank you, all of you. For s-showing me what it's truly like to have a f-family."

And with that, the stone in Vision's head was destroyed before the redhead had a chance to respond. The impact of the blast flew through the trees and sent Wanda flying back, along with Carson. As Carson made contact with the ground, his head collided harshly with a large rock and he fell on his back with a thud.

Thanos panted and looked down at Carson, punching him hard in the stomach to keep him down as he tried to get up again. He looked over at Wanda and made his way over to her.

Wanda lifted up her head, letting out a yell as she saw Carson's body on the floor. But Thanos soon blocked her view, looking down at her with the tilt of his head.

"I understand, my child." Thanos told her. "Better than anyone."

Wanda glared at him. "You could never."

The titan sighed and ran his hand over the top of Wanda's head. "Today, I lost more than you can know. But now is no time to mourn. Now is no time at all."

Thanos walked past Wanda and raised his hand towards Vision's lifeless body, clenching his fist as he activated the time stone. He turned his hand and rewound the time to when Vision was alive, moments before his death.

Wanda's eyes widened once she realised what he was doing and she got to her feet. "NO!"

Thanos hit Wanda away and she hurdled through the air, lading further away.

Once Vision was alive again, Thanos stepped forwards and grabbed Vision by the neck, lifting him up into the air. Vision struggled in the titans grip and desperately tried to pry himself away. But it was no use.

Thanos lifted up his hand and gripped the stone with his fingers, prying it out of Vision's head himself. He payed no attention to Vision's once again, now lifeless, grey body and tossed him to the ground like he was nothing.

He turned his attention back to the gauntlet and let the stone gravitate towards it's allocated space, his head rolling back as he felt the power running through his body.

However, the titan's moment was quickly interrupted by him getting blasted backwards by a strike of lightning. He managed to recover and fired a beam from the gauntlet back at Thor, but the god vaulted his axe towards him and the weapon collided with his chest.

Thor dropped down to the ground in front of the titan and walked up to him, placing his hand on the side of Thanos' face as he glared at him with nothing but pure hatred in his eyes.

"I told you..." Thor began. "You'd die for that."

Thanos screamed out in pain as Thor pushed Stormbreaker further into his chest.

"You should've...." Thanos said weakly. "You should..."

Thor's brows stitched together in confusion, not knowing what he was trying to say. Although, when he saw a small smirk making it's way onto the titan's mouth, his face instantly dropped.

"You should've gone for the head."

With a grin, Thanos lifted his hand and Thor's eyes widened in realisation.

"NO!"

~~ ᗢ ~~

heh.. lovely weather we're having right???

[Not edited]