The Final Battle – Part 1
For several seconds, no one moved.
Thousands of heroes continued pouring through the golden portals, forming lines around the city as Thanos's army descended from the sky.
The massive ships began to open.
Thousands of black pods rained down toward Earth like a meteor shower.
The moment they hit the ground, they exploded.
And from each one, dozens of roaring Outriders poured out.
Leviathans descended between the buildings.
Chitauri ships swept across the sky.
It was an army unlike anything humanity had ever seen.
But no one stepped back.
Because this wasn't the humanity of a few years ago anymore.
Owen watched everything with cold eyes for only a second before bringing a hand up to the communicator in his ear.
"Class A and B. Contain the army."
His voice came through every communicator.
"Class C and below. Absolute priority: civilians."
"Class S, you already know your positions. I only need a couple of you..."
Then he slowly raised his eyes toward Thanos and the Gauntlet he wore, whose energy felt genuinely dangerous.
"...With me."
At that very instant, several flashes streaked across the sky.
Blue Marvel appeared first, taking position on Owen's left. There were still several wounds across his body, but he clearly had no intention of resting any longer.
Tony descended slowly in front of them as his armor began deploying dozens of floating drones around his armor.
Doctor Strange stepped forward as multiple magical circles formed around his hands.
And on the other side...
Hercules grinned as he rested his enormous mace on one shoulder before looking toward Hulk.
"Go have fun with the little ones! Finally, an enemy that actually looks entertaining!" he said, genuinely excited for the battle.
That made Hulk glance toward Thanos for a moment, because he also seemed eager to fight him.
But he quickly let out a snort and didn't complain, launching himself straight toward one of the Leviathans that had gotten too close.
"AAAAAH!!"
The other heroes shouted before charging toward the Outriders as well, finally beginning their own battle.
Wanda gave Owen a worried look, but then turned and followed his orders, joining the battle to lead the heroes and minimize allied casualties. That left only five Class S heroes standing before Thanos.
Thanos looked at the five of them.
He didn't seem worried.
Only...
Interested.
"It's interesting how you've prepared all of this for my arrival. Perhaps I should feel honored that you think so highly of me. Even so..." His voice remained as calm as ever. "Do you truly believe you'll be enough?"
"I think there's been a misunderstanding here," Tony interrupted. "We weren't waiting for you. They're just responding because our home's under attack. Sorry, we didn't prepare anything just for you," he added sarcastically.
Thanos raised an eyebrow, amused.
"Home... I once had one as well, just like yours. It was a beautiful world, full of life and highly advanced. But not advanced enough to stop its own decline. Even so, they chose extinction rather than listen to me. The same future awaits all of you... even if I play no part in it," Thanos said calmly.
"Wow, a prophet. Are you one of those guys standing in subway stations saying the apocalypse is tomorrow?" Tony replied, keeping the same sarcastic tone.
Thanos let out a faint sigh before fixing his gaze on Owen.
"You should understand, Owen Colt. Aren't you a warrior as well? A soldier who has watched his own species slaughter itself over territory... over greed?"
Owen looked at Thanos for a moment, somewhat surprised that the Mad Titan knew who he was.
But none of it showed on his face.
"And all of that happened even while you still had enough resources to keep destroying one another."
His eyes swept across the city for a moment as explosions and bursts of energy erupted everywhere around the heroes fighting his army.
Even so, he didn't seem interested in it.
"Tell me... what do you think will happen once there isn't enough left for everyone?"
"Yes..." Owen replied calmly, seeming to agree with Thanos's words.
But what he said next made it clear that he didn't.
"All terrorists, criminals, and villains find an excuse to convince themselves that what they're doing is right. You're no different from them."
Thanos stared at him silently for several seconds before letting out a sigh.
"I believed we might understand each other. After all, I know the strength of your will. I know the path you've walked. I know where you came from... and where you belong," Thanos said as he looked at the Gauntlet for a moment.
Those words made Owen's eyes widen for an instant, but he quickly suppressed the reaction. Even so, his gaze remained fixed on Thanos... or more precisely, on the Gauntlet.
"It doesn't matter where I came from. I know exactly where I belong."
Thanos didn't seem to have anything more to say.
He simply gave Owen one last look...
And clenched his fist.
"Then defend it with your life," Thanos said as, without moving from where he stood, he suddenly drove his fist forward, as though striking the air itself.
But at the very last second...
There were no explosions.
No beams of energy.
He simply disappeared.
Tony's eyes flew open as the nearly four-meter-tall giant vanished, while his suit's systems warned him that something was moving toward them at an absurd speed. So fast that Tony couldn't even follow it with his eyes...
Only with his radar.
"Owen!" Tony managed to shout.
But Owen had already moved.
A massive amount of crimson energy surged through his body before he too vanished in a red flash.
The two fists collided in the middle of the street.
"BOOOOM!!"
The shockwave split the asphalt apart for hundreds of meters in every direction.
The nearby buildings shook violently.
Owen's arm became engulfed in that crimson energy flowing through every muscle, as though it were absorbing the full force of the punch. At the same time, he twisted the fist locked against Thanos's, and the crimson energy flowed into his other arm, passing through his shoulders.
And without waiting even a second...
He sent it back.
"BOOM!!"
The repulsion blast erupted from his other fist with twice the energy of their initial clash. The resulting shockwave ripped the outer layers from several buildings and sent every nearby Outrider flying.
Even some of the heroes had to retreat to avoid being caught in the blast radius.
Despite that overwhelming force...
Thanos took only two steps back.
Like a mountain.
Immovable.
The Titan slowly lowered his gaze toward Owen.
"...Interesting."
Owen casually shook out his arm.
"Oh, if that surprised you... there's still more."
Then a roar shook the city, making Thanos turn toward it.
There he saw Hercules, who, as if it were nothing, had lifted an enormous nearby building. Still wearing that excited grin, he hurled it at Thanos without giving it a second thought.
At an absurd speed.
At the same time, Strange moved both hands effortlessly, forming mystical seals.
Before Thanos could use his speed to dodge, golden chains suddenly appeared, wrapping tightly around his legs.
Yet, judging by his expression...
Thanos didn't seem interested in dodging at all.
He simply watched the building hurtle toward him.
Thanos clenched the hand wearing the Gauntlet and pointed it at the building.
Instantly, the structure came apart into concrete, steel, glass, and dust, its countless fragments left floating gently in midair.
"You'll need more than brute force to stop me," Thanos said calmly as he raised the Gauntlet, its four Infinity Stones shining brightly.
"Oh yeah? Then how about a little energy?" Tony's voice suddenly echoed from the sky as the drones he'd deployed earlier spun at incredible speed behind his back after accumulating an enormous amount of power.
Beside him, Adam stood with both hands aimed at Thanos, his body also gathering an immense quantity of antimatter.
"Whenever you're ready, Stark."
Tony smiled faintly.
"All right... let's try not to destroy too much of the city."