CLINT SPRINTED DOWN the watery corridor as Chitauri outriders chased after him. Nikolai held onto him as the archer started to toss explosive arrows that stuck to the wall.

He made some distance from them until they ultimately exploded, taking down several outriders. Clint dove away from the flames, still holding his nephew and the gauntlet. He stood back up and saw surviving Chitauri scrambling through the flames.

"Don't let go, buddy." Clint breathed out and raised his arm above his head. He shot a grappling hook from his wrist through the hole above him. He clipped to his waist and it pulled them both upward.

As they were being pulled up, Clint unsheathed his sword. He slashed at the incoming outriders and ran up the wall where he leaped through the opening. He killed one last outrider in midair before landing on his back.

"Argh!" Clint screamed as he looked through the opening. Most of the outriders were either burned or cut in half.

Nikolai still held onto him as they lay on the floor. Clint put down his sword and panted as he looked over at the boy.

"We're okay...we're okay."

Suddenly, Nebula appeared over the two. Clint was relieved to finally see a colleague.

"Oh, hey." He greeted her and started to hand over the gauntlet. "I know you."

Nebula didn't reply, simply holding the gauntlet as she put her hand to her ear. She started speaking into her comms.

"Father...I have the stones."

"What?" Clint's head shot up at the statement, but Nebula stepped on his chest and pinned him down. She took out her blaster and aimed it at him.

The archer still held Nikolai, the boy's face nestled by his neck. He held out his hand.

"Keep that aimed at me...don't hurt the kid." He pleaded.

Then, a voice echoed into the room.

"Stop."

Gamora from 2014 walked in holding her blaster. She aimed it at the also time-displaced Nebula. She moved back and looked at her sister, still aiming at Clint.

"You're betraying us?" She asked.

Suddenly, present-day Nebula walked in with her hands up. 2014 Nebula aimed her gun at her, giving Clint the chance to roll away with Nikolai and keep some distance.

"You don't have to do this." Present-day Nebula told her doppelgänger.

"I am this."

"No, you're not." Gamora replied.

"You've seen what we become." Present-day Nebula said.

Gamora looked at her sister. "Nebula, listen to her."

"You can change."

2014 Nebula paused for a moment before replying. "He won't let me."

She quickly aimed at Gamora, but present-day Nebula drew her blaster and shot her doppelgänger down. They looked on as she slid down the column and took her last breath.

Clint, currently in awe at what he witnessed, walked over to the gauntlet on the ground and grabbed it. Still holding Nikolai, he planted a kiss at the top of his head.

Thor shouted as he ran toward Thanos with his weapons. Iron Man jumped up and formed a blade with his arm, bringing it down at the Titan. He blocked the attack, and Captain America threw his shield but was hit away as well. The warlord also dodged Thor's attacks, parrying hits from Stormbreaker.

Thanos kicked Thor aside and hit his blade at Steve's shield, the sheer force also throwing him away. Taskmaster aimed his bow and shot explosive arrows at Thanos, with one successfully hitting him but the others being deflected by his double-edged sword. Y/N ran in and slid under one of the Titan's swipes, then cut his leg the same way he did back in Wakanda five years ago.

Y/N got to his feet and attacked, but Thanos locked his oversized blade with his and pushed forward. The super-soldier grunted as he tried to keep him at bay, but the warlord ended up push-kicking him away.

He towered over the Avenger, but Iron Man landed behind Thanos and got his attention.

"Okay, Thor. Hit me." Tony commanded.

The demigod bellowed as lightning from the clouds above shot down toward him and charged his weapons. Thor shot the energy into Tony's back which charged the many blasters his suit had activated. Several unibeams shot at Thanos, but the Titan spun his sword and deflected the attack.

Thor tossed Mjölnir at Thanos, but the warlord grabbed the nearby Iron Man and used his body to block the incoming hammer. Tony took the impact and heaved him hundreds of feet away, rendering him unconscious.

Thor flew at Thanos and engaged him. He blocked Stormbreaker with his double-edged sword, but Thor got leverage and disarmed the warlord by throwing the blade away. Thanos fought Thor hand to hand, ultimately grabbing him by the neck and headbutting him a couple of times. He also punched him three more times, causing Thor to drop Stormbreaker. Thanos threw him back near a boulder and continued pummeling him.

Suddenly, a shield hit the side of his face and disoriented him. Thanos groaned and turned around, seeing Y/N brandishing his sword and shield. The warlord glared.

"You want to take your anger out on somebody?" Taskmaster spoke. "Take it out on me, you ugly piece of shit."

Annoyed at the human, Thanos kicked Thor into the boulder and started walking toward Y/N. He kicked up his sword before picking up the pace and rushing at the super-soldier.

Thanos brought his sword down, but Y/N rolled away and dodged the attack. He cut the side of his thigh, but it didn't deter the warlord as he quickly swiped at Y/N. The sword cut into his arm, the material of his vibranium armor being no match for whatever his double-edged weapon was made of.

Y/N slashed Thanos's side, which only brought out a groan before he swiped down at him again. Taskmaster raised his shield, saving him from the impact but damaging the cylinder. Thanos brought his sword down again and broke another chunk off of his shield.

The super-soldier rolled away again and thrust his forward, stabbing into a crevice of Thanos's armor.

"Argh!" Thanos exclaimed.

He quickly grabbed Y/N's face and used his sheer strength to rip off the man's visor and mask, exposing his face.

The initial shock gave Thanos a chance to bring down his sword again. He cut Y/N's torso, damaging his chest plate and ripping it off. His suit would be scrapped sooner than he realized.

They continued fighting. Unfortunately, the replications of moves from his fellow friends weren't enough to deter the Titan. All he could was attempt to counter the attacks coming to him, but the bloodthirsty warlord wasn't going to give up until he was dead.

Y/N brought his shield up and blocked another hit, which broke off another chunk of his shield. He swiped it down again, this time cutting it in half completely. Thanos grabbed the exhausted Y/N by the collar and threw him to the floor.

"Unruly wretch." Thanos said with a glare as he towered over him. He raised his sword, ready to stab the man.

Suddenly, Mjölnir flew at Thanos, hitting him in the face. It kept its course, flying backward until it reached its summoner.

Steve Rogers.

Steve stared at Thanos as he held both the hammer and his shield. Y/N let out a breathy chuckle as he looked at his father.

"I guess it runs in the family." He remarked.

Thanos kicked Y/N back down and charged at Captain America. He used both the shield and hammer in combat, even summoning lightning from the clouds to injure the Titan.

Steve leaped at him and brought the hammer down, but Thanos rolled away. He grabbed Steve's torso and threw him aside.

The warlord rushed toward the downed Rogers, but he quickly threw Mjölnir the sky. Thanos didn't have to them to react before the hammer was grabbed by a leaping Y/N and was hit with it.

Now the younger super-soldier held the hammer, and he swung it around before uppercutting Thanos with it, causing him to stumble back.

Steve gave a nod to Y/N as he held up his shield. He knew what to do, and before Thanos could engage him, Y/N charged Mjölnir with lighting and shot it at the shield. It ricocheted off of it and hit Thanos's back.

The tandem of the worthy super-soldiers seemed to be working against the Titan. But the sheer rage and will of the genocidal combatant were starting to prevail. Y/N attacked with Mjölnir, but Thanos grabbed his wrist and hit him, causing the hammer to drop hundreds of feet away. He then headbutted him and tossed him through a weakened column.

Steve bellowed and charged at Thanos. Before he could call the hammer again, the warlord angrily swung his sword and cut the Captain's thigh.

With only his shield, Steve went into defensive mode and blocked Thanos's attacks. The sheer strength of the Titan combined with his double-edged sword started to damage his shield just like it did to Y/N's.

Steve kept blocking hits as the disc started to chip away. He blocked the final hit with his broken shield and was heaved away, crashing through a pillar. Rogers panted as he laid on his back, but still got up despite the pain and exhaustion.

Thanos simply looked around at the destruction he caused. The smoke rose from the rubble of the Avengers's Compound. Fires were still ablaze.

"In all my years of conquest...violence...slaughter...it was never personal." Thanos said. "But I'll tell you now...what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet...I'm gonna enjoy it...very, very much."

His ship started to beam down hundreds upon thousands of his Chitauri army. Thousands upon thousands. Leviathans, Chitauri gorillas, and his Black Order children had also arrived, prepared to aid their leader in his conquest.

Steve looked ahead at the army and took a breath. He simply tightened the strap of his shield around his injured arm and started walking up to them.

He wasn't going to give up...even if it meant taking them on alone. He would die protecting what he loved.

"Hey, Cap, do you read me?"

Rogers stopped. He felt as if he's heard the voice of a spirit...a voice he thought he'd never hear again.

"Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me?"

Steve reached for his earpiece...speechless. All he was able to muster were breaths of exhaustion.

"On your left."

Steve looked back at the glowing circle forming behind him. Three figures came out of it, and he immediately realized who they were.

Okoye.

T'Challa.

Shuri.

The Wakandan king gave a nod at Rogers as the Falcon flew out of the portal and into the field.

Steve was in awe. He looked around to see hundreds of other portals starting to form.

Drax, Mantis, and Doctor Strange came out of one. Starlord joined the trio and was soon accompanied by Spider-Man. Peter retracted his mask and looked ahead at the battlefield.

Y/N got up and gazed at his surroundings, also in awe at the incoming reinforcements. He stumbled closer to his father and stood beside him.

The Wakandans chanted in Xhosa as the Dora Milaje, Border Tribe, Jabari, and Kingsguard marched out of the portal behind them.

Other portals had Wakandan and Ravager ships come out of them. Sorcerers from the Masters of the Mystic Arts and Asgardian warriors joined the fight as well. Bucky Barnes gripped his assault rifle and walked beside Groot. Hope Van Dyne, the Wasp, flew in and grew back to her normal size.

Thor summoned Stormbreaker and smiled at the sight of his revived friends. Tony sat up and was also in awe.

Wanda Maximoff descended into the area, red wisps surrounding her hands. Pepper Potts also dropped down in the area in her Rescue armor, retracting her faceplate as she looked out.

"Is that everyone?" Doctor Strange asked Wong as he stood beside him.

He gave a flabbergasted look. "What? You wanted more?"

Nearby, Scott as Giant-Man broke out of the destroyed remains of the Avengers Compound. He opened up his palm to let out the Hulk, War Machine, Natasha, Maggie, and Rocket, having just saved them moments ago.

Y/N turned to Steve, who let out an elated sigh and smiled back at his son. The two super-soldiers turned around to face Thanos, who was infuriated at the sight of the newly-arrived heroes.

Everyone lined up beside one another, ready to battle the warlord and his army. Y/N, still in his damaged Taskmaster armor, unsheathed his sword and held it. Thor, Iron Man, War Machine, and Hulk stood behind him and Steve.

"Avengers..." Captain America called out. He held out his arm as Mjölnir summoned back into his hand. He then stared at Thanos's forces.

"...assemble."

They let out a collective yell and charged toward the opposing side. Iron Man, Falcon, and War Machine flew alongside Wakandan ships as Giant-Man stomped toward an incoming leviathan. Spider-Man used Scott's arms to swing into the field.

Both sides clashed. Wakandan warriors fought the Chitauri with their swords and spears. Scott landed a hard left hook across the face of a leviathan, bringing the large serpent down.

Okoye joined T'Challa in fighting off incoming aliens with Shuri shooting her blasters beside them. Drax jumped onto a large alien gorilla and jabbed his knives into its back.

Tony soared in the air alongside Pepper, shooting down incoming Chitauri ships with their beams.

Thor and Steve fought the alien soldiers on the ground. The Captain still used Mjölnir along with his broken shield while the demigod used Stormbreaker. After a slight mix-up, the two realized they had switched weapons.

"No, no. Give me that." Thor took back the axe and tossed the hammer to Rogers. "You have the little one."

Rocket and Bucky used their respective guns to shoot down the incoming attackers.

Two were flanking them from the side and were about to attack Bucky, but a baton flew into the alien's head and took it down.

Maggie ran up to the second Chitauri soldier and slid under its feet before it could attack. She swept its legs and brought it down before retrieving the baton she threw and stabbing it into its head.

Bucky looked at the teenager, giving a nod of thanks as he still fired his rifle.

"Thanks for covering our six, kid." He said.

Maggie knew who he was, but had no time for a proper greeting. She gave a nod back.

"No problem, great-uncle Buck." She replied with a smirk before running off.

Bucky arched a brow, still shooting at the incoming Chitauri.

"Huh?" He muttered to himself, but Rocket was able to overhear their exchange.

"Oh, right..." Rocket stopped shooting for a moment and turned to Bucky. "She's your great-niece...grandniece or whatever."

Bucky glanced at the Guardian. "She's what?"

Tony continued fighting off the Chitauri. Suddenly, Cull Obsidian stormed in and threw Tony into a pile of rubble. He was about to stab Stark, but Spider-Man swung in and shot a web at Obsidian. He pulled him down, giving Scott the chance to step on the alien and crush it with his oversized foot.

"Holy cow!" Peter exclaimed as he leaped over to Tony. He helped him up. "You will not believe what's been going on. Do you remember when we were in space?"

Tony looked at the young man, tuning out his rambling, and just smiled. Being able to see Peter again gave him a sense of elation and relief he never thought he'd feel again.

Peter continued. "...and he did the whole sparkly thing he does all the time—"

"He did? Oh." Tony interjected, then embraced Peter. It surprised the teenager.

"What are you doing? Oh." Peter reciprocated the embrace and held him tighter. "Oh, this is nice."

Several sorcerers formed a circle around Nikolai. Using their magic, they also kept a barrier around the area he was in to protect the child as the Chitauri kept coming.

Wong formed a spear out of Eldritch Magic and stabbed into an incoming alien. Then quickly dodged the attack of another one and jabbed the blade into its head.

One soldier ran up to a sorcerer in the circle, but an Eldritch Whip wrapped around its neck and kept him back. Doctor Strange pulled the alien down and used his Sling Ring to transport him away.

"We got to keep them away from here." Strange told Wong.

Wong nodded and turned to one of the sorcerers. "Keep the child safe! We will try and draw them away."

"Yes, Sorcerer Supreme!" She replied.

Strange and Wong started making their way out of the area. He then turned to his friend.

"You're Sorcerer Supreme now?" Strange asked.

"You were gone for five years. Somebody had to pay the bills."

Natasha and Y/N were in a trench fighting alongside each other. Black Widow shot several soldiers down with her dual-wield pistols while Taskmaster got more up close and sliced at incoming attackers.

Y/N put his sword back and took out his bow, shooting them down with both normal and explosive arrows. He started to run out and more were coming in, so he called out to his wife.

"Clips loaded?" He asked.

"Yup."

"Switch?"

"Sounds fun."

Natasha dropped her guns as Y/N bent over, letting the redhead vault over him while also grabbing his sword. She got to her feet and started slashing at the aliens while Y/N quickly rolled over and picked up her guns. He held them up and started shooting down the soldiers.

The tandem of husband and wife tried to keep them at bay, but sooner or later they knew they'd be overwhelmed. More started to pour in but Y/N had an idea. He looked up and saw Giant-Man still fighting the larger leviathans.

"Scott?" He spoke into his comms. "You see that trench at your 9 o'clock?"

"Yes, I do." He replied.

"I'm gonna need you to stomp on it like an ant-hill."

"Poor choice of words...since I'm Ant-Man. But why?"

"Just trust me."

"Okay."

Scott finished taking down a leviathan and stomped toward them. Natasha looked up at the incoming Giant-Man.

"Please tell me you have a plan." She said.

"You know I always do honey." He replied, then extended out his arm.

Mjölnir immediately flew into his hand. Y/N grabbed Natasha and held her close, mirroring their moment years ago back in Sokovia.

"Deja vu, much?" She asked.

Y/N chuckled and used the hammer to fly out of the trench. Immediately afterward, Scott stepped on the many Chitauri soldiers in the trench, crushing them.

The couple distanced themselves from where they were and landed in another spot. Y/N flipped the hammer and caught it as he nodded, impressed with himself.

"Well..." Natasha breathed out. "That was fun."

"I thought you said we'd never do it again." Y/N replied with a smirk.

"Depends on the stakes."

Y/N chuckled and tossed Mjölnir in the air, where it started flying back to its previous user, which was likely Steve.

"You sure you're not going to need that?" Natasha asked as they started running together.

"Please, that's for emergencies." He replied. "My wife fighting by my side is all I need."

Clint ran as he carried the nano-gauntlet, evading attacks from Thanos's army and trying to get as far away as possible. A Chitauri gorilla ran toward him, but Falcon flew in and stabbed it before it could attack Barton.

"Cap?" Clint exclaimed into his earpiece. "What do you want me to do with this damn thing?"

"Get those stones as far away as possible!" Steve reported back.

"No!" Banner chimed in. "We need to get 'em back where they came from."

"No way to get 'em back. Thanos destroyed the quantum tunnel." Tony communicated back.

Scott shrunk himself back to normal size and took out a set of keys. "Hold on! That wasn't our only time machine."

He pressed the button and they heard a loud horn playing the tune of "La Cucaracha". Steve ran up a pile of rubble and looked out onto the field.

"Anyone see an ugly brown van out there?" He called out.

Valkyrie, on her Pegasus, looked down and saw the van in the middle of the battle.

"Yes! But you're not gonna like where it's parked!"

"Scott, how long you need to get that thing working?" Tony asked.

Hope grew into her normal size and stood beside Scott. He replied. "Uh, maybe ten minutes."

"Get it started. We'll get the stones to you." Steve spoke into his comms.

"We're on it, Cap." Hope said as she turned to Scott. They both smiled before shrinking down, with the Wasp carrying Ant-Man into the field.

Doctor Strange used an Earth Swallowing Spell to pull several of Thanos's soldiers into the ground. Iron Man landed behind him and retracted his mask to speak to the sorcerer.

"Hey, you said 1 out of 14 million, we win, yeah? Tell me this is it."

Strange looked back at Tony. "If I tell you what happens...it won't happen."

Tony didn't like that answer, but it was better than nothing. "You better be right."

He nodded and Stark formed his mask again before flying away.

Black Panther flipped over an incoming soldier and landed on another. He planted their face to the floor and took it down before spinning back around and slashing the neck of another alien with his claws.

Nearby, Shuri blasted away at the soldiers with her gauntlets. One of them deflected a blast with their spear and knocked one of her gauntlets off. Shuri stumbled back and fell. T'Challa noticed this.

"Shuri!" He shouted but was quickly blindsided by a Chitauri soldier and tackled.

The alien raised his spear and was about to attack Shuri, but an arrow pierced its neck and caused it to stumble back. Y/N leaped in and stabbed its chest with its sword, killing it.

T'Challa expelled his kinetic energy and threw the aliens that piled on him off. He ran toward the two and kicked away an incoming soldier before they could attack them.

Taskmaster helped the princess up and smiled.

"In the knick of time." Shuri remarked, then noticed his damaged suit. "Man...what caused all this?"

Y/N didn't say anything and just hugged her. Seeing the young lady alive again was a blessing.

"It's great to see you too." She added.

T'Challa walked up to the two, also deactivating the mask of his Black Panther suit. The super-soldier turned to the king.

"Y/N." T'Challa greeted.

He clasped the Wakandan's hand and brought him in for a hug as well. T'Challa understood what the man was feeling, having been given a brief explanation by Okoye before they went into battle.

"T'Challa." Y/N finally spoke.

He pat the young man's back. "Ubhuti wam (My brother)."

The battle continued. Thanos saw Black Panther running with the nano-gauntlet, and he tossed his sword at him. It missed and boomeranged back into his hands, but before he could chase after him...Wanda dropped down in front of him.

Her eyes glowed a burning red as the aura around her also had a crimson hue. She was filled with rage. The man in front of her killed Vision, and for some reason, she couldn't feel the connection with her brother anymore...she didn't know why...but it made her angrier. She supposed the Titan had something to do with it.

"You took everything from me." She spoke.

"I don't even know who you are." Thanos replied.

"You will."

She floated and used her powers to lift large chunks of rock from the earth. She threw them at Thanos, but the warlord blocked most of them with his sword. Wanda grounded herself and shot psionic blasts at Thanos. The sheer power of it caused the Titan to get on a knee.

He picked his weapon back up and tried deflecting the blasts. Thanos brought his blade down at Wanda but she held it back with her psionics. He gritted his teeth as he tried to push the sword further down, but the witch's eyes brightened more red as he tossed the blade away.

Thanos was now disarmed. Wanda wrapped crimson energy around his body and lifted him in the air. He grunted in pain as the witch began to pull away parts of his armor.

She was going to kill him.

Thanos knew this. In a few seconds, he was going to die at the hands of Wanda Maximoff. He needed to do something to stop her...and although it was a drastic measure...he needed to do it.

"Rain fire!" He called out.

"But, sire, our troops!" Corvus shouted back in.

"Just do it!"

Corvus obeyed and called for their ship to begin their barrage. The guns activated and started raining down laser blasts into the field below.

Wanda was blasted away which freed Thanos. Fighters from both sides were falling victim to the barrage and took cover. Sorcerers started to form a barrier above to protect themselves and other heroes.

Maggie had finished off a Chitauri soldier when the attack began. She looked up to see a laser blast shooting toward her, but was suddenly grabbed by Spider-Man who swung into the area. They rolled on the floor as the blast hit the ground.

Doctor Strange landed beside the two teenagers and formed a shield above, protecting himself and them from the incoming gunfire.

Suddenly, the ship above switched its target and started shooting at something else in the sky.

"What the hell is this?" Sam spoke through the comms.

"Friday, what are they firing at?" Tony asked.

"Something just entered the upper atmosphere."

A streak of light shot down from the sky and crashed through the Sanctuary II ship, disabling their guns and engine.

It was Captain Marvel.

"Oh, yeah!" Rocket shouted from below. Captain America also watched as the super-powered heroine did the job.

Carol flew back up and crashed through the ship, destroying it further. It started to descend and fall into the water.

Peter laid in a crater, with Maggie and the gauntlet beside him as well. He reached over for the object and brushed off the dirt.

"Phew." He breathed out. "Not broken."

He heard groaning beside him and saw Maggie sitting up. The sixteen-year-old remembered he had just saved her moments ago.

"Oh, man. Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah..." She replied. "Thanks."

Suddenly, Carol landed near them and looked at the teens. She saw Maggie and gave a nod.

"Maggie." She greeted.

"Hey, Carol."

The woman looked at the other teenager who held the gauntlet. He lifted his head.

"Hi." He also greeted. "I'm Peter Parker."

Carol smiled. "Hey, Peter Parker. You got something for me?"

He let out a grunt as he got back onto his feet. He also looked out at the incoming army.

"I don't know how you're going to get through all of that." Peter said.

Wanda dropped down beside Carol. "Don't worry."

"She's got help." Okoye chimed in, walking up to them holding her spear.

They were joined by Hope, Mantis, Shuri, Natasha, Pepper, Valkyrie, Gamora from 2014, and Nebula. The tandem of the women kept the Black Order at bay as Carol took the gauntlet and flew toward Scott's van. The quantum tunnel within would help get the stones away from Thanos.

The warlord noticed this and started running at Danvers. Fortunately, Pepper, Shuri, and Nebula shot their blasters and distracted Thanos.

Still, the Titan quickly got back up and saw the van nearby. Before Captain Marvel could fly into it, he threw his double-edged sword at the van which stabbed into the tunnel. A shockwave of energy pushed everybody back as the van blew up.

Everybody in the vicinity of the explosion lay on the floor. Y/N lifted his head and saw the gauntlet on the ground...along with Thanos stumbling toward it.

Tony shot up and tried to tackle him, but the warlord simply threw the man aside. Thor recovered and tried to attack as well, but Thanos evaded each of his swings.

Ultimately, Thanos grabbed onto the axe and kicked Thor away. Before he could pick up the gauntlet, Taskmaster ran up to Thanos and slashed his arm. The warlord let out a pained yell and backhanded the super-soldier. He was in a daze from the impact but still tried to attack. He grabbed Y/N by the neck and slammed him on the floor.

Thor gritted his teeth and yelled as he sprang back up, charging at Thanos with Stormbreaker. Thanos left the weakened Y/N on the floor and engaged the demigod again. Steve joined in and jumped onto his back, but the Titan still overpowered them. He push-kicked Thor away and flipped Rogers onto his back, punching him in the face and rendering him unconscious.

Thanos acquired the gauntlet. The power surged and ran up his arm as he lifted it. He was about to snap his fingers, but Carol flew in and stopped him. A struggle ensued and Thanos tried to headbutt her, but the forcefield surrounding her deflected the impact. Thanos looked at the glowing Power Stone in his gauntlet and quickly conjured an idea. He pulled it out of the gauntlet and punched her again with his powered-up fist. Captain Marvel was thrown back and taken down.

The Titan smirked and raised his hand once again. Suddenly, Tony ran in to try and pry the gauntlet off. Thanos hit him in the abdomen with his knee and whacked Stark across the face with his arm to get him away.

"I am...inevitable." Thanos breathed out.

Thanos snapped his fingers...

...and nothing happened.

Thanos looked at the back of the glove in confusion and realized that the stones weren't there. He looked back at Tony, who was on his knees and holding up his right arm.

He had the stones now.

They fused into his gauntlet and power surged through his veins. He started to remember his time in the cave all those years ago, how he came out a different man, how ended up leading a team of extraordinary individuals to protect the world.

Together...they made a difference.

He looked back at the last five years, thinking of how much they lost and how much they struggled. He also thought of Pietro, the young man who lost his parents because of the weapons he manufactured. The speedster traded his life for the chance to resurrect the dead...which they did. But now he had to keep it that way...and there was only one thing he needed to do to keep what they saved.

All of this had to amount to a win. He had to eliminate Thanos and his army even if it killed him. Tony had to make sure Morgan and Pepper would be okay. He had to make it a sure thing that the planet and the universe would be safe.

"And I...am...Iron Man."

Tony snapped his fingers, and bright light engulfed his surroundings.