I don't own anything except any original character and/or any original plot

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Chapter Thirty-Two: A Drop of Blood

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"You're the ones Thor told us about!" The woman exclaimed.

"You know Thor?" Tony questioned suspiciously.

"Yeah, tall guy, not that good looking, needed saving."

Peter and I shared a look when Quill said Thor wasn't that good looking. We could easily acknowledge that wasn't true.

"Where is he now?"

"He went to Nida- Nidev- he went somewhere to get a magic weapon to defeat Thanos," Quill gave up after two attempts of saying the place's name. Most likely Norse.

"Great, so he's out of the fight for us," Tony walked towards the hole the Guardians blew in the ship's side, "Let's get off this ship and see what this place looks like on the ground."

The rest of the group followed Tony outside. Now that we were on the ground, everything was so much bigger. The way the planet was dry, with no signs of life, made me wonder what happened to it.

"The hell happened to this planet?" Quill questioned, a small device out and scanning, "It's eight degrees off its axis. Gravitational pull is all over the place."

"It's bouncy over here," Mantis beamed, jumping up and down in a spot with questionable gravity.

"They're adults acting like kids," Peter mumbled in disbelief.

"Oh come on Pete," I nudged him, "Just because you're an Avenger doesn't mean you have to be all Batman serious now."

Peter smiled slightly, turning back to Tony and Quill as they formulated a game plan for our attack.

"Alright, I think I have a plan. Or at least the beginnings of one. It's pretty simple. We draw him in, pin him down, get what we need, and get out. Definitely don't want to dance with this guy," Tony looked at Drax, "Are you yawning? In the middle of this while I'm breaking it down? Huh? Did you hear what I said?"

"I stopped listening after you said 'We need a plan'," Drax stated boredly.

"Mr. Clean is on his own page," Tony sighed, turning to Quill for an explanation.

"See, not winging it isn't really what these guys do," Quill explained.

"What exactly is it that they do?" Peter asked.

"Kick names, take ass," Mantis said confidently.

I grinned under my mask, holding back a laugh. This team reminded me of the X-Men, a disaster, but still functional and close. I'm sure they somehow always saved the day too. Either way, they were a nice break from the seriousness of hero work on Earth. I looked to Tony, who sighed, staring off into the distance, likely wishing he could be anywhere but on Titan with all of us.

"Just get over here please," Tony broke out of his trance, "Mr. Lord can you get your folks to circle up."

"Mr. Lord, Star Lord is fine," Quill assured with a chuckle. He motioned for Mantis and Drax to walk over.

"We need to coalesce, cause if all we come at him with is a plucky attitude-"

"Dude, don't call us plucky, we don't know what it means," Quill scoffed, "We're optimistic, okay? I like your plan, except, it sucks, so, let me do the plans and that way it might be really good."

Chuckling, I shrugged when Tony sent me an annoyed look.

"Tell them about the dance off to save the universe," Drax prompted proudly.

"It's not a dance-off," Quill assured, though from the way he stuttered it was an obvious lie.

"Like in Footloose?" I questioned, intrigued.

"Exactly like Footloose!" Quill exclaimed in excitement, "Tell me, is it still the best movie in history?"

"It never was," Peter deadpanned.

"Don't encourage this, alright? We obviously aren't getting any help from Flash Gordon here."

"Flash Gordon? By the way, that's a compliment. Remember, I'm half human. So the fifty percent of me that's stupid, that's one hundred percent you."

"I'm mutant so I feel like that dis-includes me from whatever weird math equation this is turning into," I motioned to the diverse group.

"Excuse me," Mantis cut in, "Does your friend usually do that?"

The group looked to Strange, who was floating with his legs crossed. His head was twisting in several directions at once, multiple versions overlapping and joining each other.

"Doctor strange?' I took a tentative step towards the sorcerer, ready to heal him if he needed it.

Strange suddenly snapped out his state, falling to the ground with a pained gasp.

"You're back, you're alright," Tony hurried to his side.

"What was that?"

"I moved forward in time to view all possible futures for the outcome of the coming conflict," Strange explained briefly.

"How many were there?"

"Fourteen million six hundred and five."

"How many did we win?" I asked the million dollar question.

"One."

"Well crap," I pulled down my mask, tired of the new feelings over the lower half of my face instead of my eyes, "One out of fourteen million? This sucks."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. Strange's statement had raised the tension in the air tenfold. So many possible outcomes and we only had the chance to win one?

"Well, let's make sure we beat the odds," Tony clapped his hands together, "Strange, you're gonna be out in the open when Thanos gets here, draw his attention. The rest of us are gonna be hiding while his guard is down. Peter, you and I will handle the skies, everyone else cover the ground."

"Got it," everyone nodded.

"How soon do you think he'll be here?" Tony asked Quill.

"He took Gamora a few hours ago, he'll be here soon. Nebula should be right behind him too, knowing her."

"Alright then. Let's get to our places."

~*~

I wiggled my fingers anxiously as I heard a movement behind my hiding place. Taking a small risk, I peeked over to sneak a peek of Thanos. My stomach dropped, and I ducked down again.

Thanos was the same guy I met when my astral form left my body. I had suspected it when Quill mentioned Gamora, but this confirmed it. That genocidal maniac wanted to take me from my family and keep me as his own daughter.

"Oh, yeah, you're much more of a Thanos," Strange stated dryly.

"I take it Maw is dead," there was a small pause, "This day extracts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission."

"You may regret that. He brought you face-to-face with a Master of the Mystic Arts."

"And where do you think he brought you?"

"Let me guess. Your home?"

"It was, and it was beautiful," the ground beneath me changed. Green grass, a blue sky, and people, Titans, "Titan was like most 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. They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass."

"Congratulations, you're a prophet," Strange said sarcastically.

"I'm a survivor," Thanos corrected.

"Who wants to murder trillions."

"With all six stone I could simply snap my fingers. They would all cease to exist I call that mercy."

"And then what?"

"I'd finally rest and watch the sunrise over a grateful universe. The hardest choices require the strongest wills."

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

"Our?"

That was as good a cue as any. Tony pushed a pillar of wreckage on top of Thanos. Everyone jumped from their hiding places. The Guardians were still on high alert while we were more relaxed.

"See? Piece of cake."

"Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off," Quill activated his boot rockets and flew towards the scene.

The wreckage glowed purple and broke into pieces. The pieces then glowed red and turned into a swarm of birds that targeted Tony.

Peter webbed Thanos' eyes while Drax slashed his leg. I lagged behind more than I normally would. The last thing I needed was for Thanos to recognize me.

"Come on (Y/n), get your hands dirty," Tony prompted.

"I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation," I grunted, running towards the fight to appease Tony.

Swinging my hands, I hit Thanos in the chest. Thanos swung his hand and Drax away from the scene. He grabbed the sword Strange swung at him and snapped it in half, kicking him backward. He blasted Quill and turned to me.

The stones on his fist glowed before he paused. Instead of the purple stone glowing, the red one did. Stone rose from the ground around my feet, stopping my movement. I pulled my mask farther up my face, but it was too late.

"It's you," Thanos stared down at me, "I can see behind the mask, I see your soul. It's you."

Screaming, I slammed my hands down. A large chunk of ice formed in the air and smashed the rock encasing my feet. Stumbling out, I raised my hands, glaring at Thanos.

"You're on the wrong side," Thanos stated as water formed from the air around me.

"Am I?" I swiped my hand downwards, "You want to take me from everyone I love. Would the good side do that?"

"I want to take you in so you can become strong. So you can make this galaxy one of peace and prosperity."

"I am strong," I growled.

Quill jumped on floating rocks and stuck an explosive to Thanos' back. I moved back as Quill jumped through a portal courtesy of Strange, flipping him off in the process.

"Boom!"

Strange's cloak wrapped around Thanos' fist, preventing him from closing it and fighting back efficiently. A portal opened and Peter leaped out, kicking Thanos.

"Magic!" Another portal, "More magic! Magic with a kick! Magic with a-"

Thanos grabbed Peter by the throat, slamming him into the ground. I sprinted forward, my only goal to save Peter.

"Insect," Thanos chucked Peter at an approaching Strange, knocking them both over.

I raised my hand to attack before I noticed Tony hovering over Thanos. Turning, and running the other way, I stopped at a safe distance Heat flared against my back, and a deafening explosion rang through my ears.

Then, suddenly, it was gone. Like something had sucked the explosion from the air. Turning around, Thanos shot the fire from the attack back at Tony. Throwing my hands up, I doused the water from the attack, protecting Tony.

Whoom!

My body flew back as a ship crashed into Thanos. Groaning, I pressed my head against the hard ground in an attempt to gather myself before I got up again.

"(Y/n), are you okay?" Peter knelt down next to me, helping me up, "You're bleeding!"

"I'm fine, I just," I ran a hand over my cheek. When I pulled it back, it was smeared red, "Who was flying that ship?"

"A blue lady," Peter reported, head frantically turning back and forth to watch the fight, "Half robot, I think?"

Strange held out his hands and bands wrapped themselves around Thanos' left hand, preventing him from closing his fist. Drax kicked Thanos in the back of his knee, causing him to fall. Peter webbed Thanos' chest and swung behind him to hold him in place while Quill trapped his other hand with a device.

Bracing myself, I pushed off the ground and ran to Thanos' gauntleted hand, tugging on the armor to remove it. Tony dropped down next to me and joined in. Pushing water inside the gauntlet, I pulled it back towards me to help pull it off.

Strange opened a portal above Thanos' head. Mantis dropped down, a handle on either side of the Titan's temple as Thanos screamed.

"Be quick, he is very strong," Mantis grit out.

"I thought you'd be hard to catch," Quill landed in front of Thanos, "For the record, this was my plan. You're not so strong now, huh? Where's Gamora?"

"My Gamora," Thanos growled.

"Oh, bullshit. Where is she?"

"He is in anguish," Mantis yelled, "He mourns!"

Letting out a shocked breath, I looked up at Thanos with wide eyes. Was this why he was so determined to have a new daughter? Because his other one was dead?

"What does this monster have to mourn?" Drax asked, not putting the pieces together.

"Gamora," the blue lady- Nebula, I heard someone say, "He took her to Vormir, he came back with the Soul Stone. But she didn't."

"Quill, you gotta cool it right now, you understand?" Tony's mask moved away from his face so he could speak more clearly, "Don't, don't engage. We almost got this off!"

I increased my effort when I saw Quill's face contorted with rage. From the way he spoke about Gamora I understood he loved her. If something happened to Peter, I would be furious too.

"Tell me she's lying," Quill waited for a response, and when he didn't get one, he had his answer, "Asshole! Tell me you didn't do it!"

"I had to."

"No, you didn't, no you didn't," Quill took in a deep breath before telling out in anger. He hit Thanos in the face with the front of his gun again and again before Tony ran towards him and pulled him away.

"Stop, stop!" He yelled.

"I got it! It's coming off," I spotted the base of Thanos' palm.

The gauntlet was ripped from my grasp and I was thrown back from a hit to my torso. Thanos grabbed Mantis off his head and threw her. Peter jumped up and grabbed her, rolling to keep her safe.

Strange was thrown some distance away by his bands snapping. Thanos clenched his fist and hit the Guardians with a blast from the purple stone, knocking them to the ground unconscious.

Stumbling to my feet, I held a hand to my head as my world spun. Something cracked just above me, and large objects rained down. Blinking rapidly, I looked up at the sky. The moon was breaking apart and flying towards us.

"Shit," I looked around for cover.

A smaller meteor was flying towards me. Before I could even raise my hand to protect myself, a purple glow broke the rock from the inside out. A few of the now tiny pebbles hit my shoulder, but they didn't matter.

I turned to the source of my defense. Thanos has his fist clenched, the purple stone losing its former glow. Opening my mouth to say something, I instead gasped when I was swept away by Peter.

Thanos was more than willing to fight me, but when I was put in danger by something like a boulder he protected me?

"Where are the others?" I raised my voice to a yell to be heard over everything else that was going on.

"I stuck them over there!" With his free hand, Peter pointed out a structure in which the Guardians were nestled safely under.

"You're amazing," I sighed in relief, "So where are you taking me?"

"I'm not sure," Peter swung sharply to the side to avoid a meteor, "Somewhere safe hopefully."

"Forget safe we have names to kick and ass to take," I quoted Mantis' earlier butchering of the popular saying.

By that point, everything that had been thrown at us had stopped. An eerie silence settled over the planet. Peter set me down so he could get the Guardians down from their structure.

I spotted the fight between Thanos and Tony easily, the bright flares of their weapons drawing my attention. Jumping and ducking under the obstacles in my way, I made my way over to them.

"When I'm done, half of humanity will still be alive," my brows furrowed when Tony stumbled back against a rock. It wasn't until I saw a weapon from his own suit impaling him that I panicked, "I hope they remember you."

"Stop!" Strange and I yelled at the same time.

Thanos turned to Strange after giving me a brief glance. Stepping away from Tony, he walked towards Strange.

"Spare his life, and I'll give you the stone," Strange bargained.

Taking the chance I rushed over to Tony, pressing my dispersal button so I could heal him.

"No, don't," Tony grit out, groaning in pain.

"Stark, this is a dangerous wound. I can heal it."

"No, you take these injuries into yourself. I have something in my suit to help," Tony averted his attention to Strange and Thanos, "Don't."

Strange lifted his hand and made a motion with his thumb and pointer finger. The green Time Stone appeared, shining against the plain background of the planet. Strange opened his hand, and he sent the stone towards Thanos.

The Titan plucked the stone from the air. He held it towards the gauntlet and it was sucked into the thumb placement. Thanos grunted as a new wave of power washed over his body.

There was a battle-cry, and a few blaster shots landed around and on Thanos. Quill was flying towards Thanos, ready to kill.

Thanos looked to me, his eyes penetrating my soul. For all I knew, with the Soul Stone, he had the ability to do so. I gave the alien the harshest glare I could muster. He nodded. As Quill neared a blue portal formed behind him and he stepped through.

Quill flew right through the space Thanos was formerly. He jumped up; his mask moving away from his face. Without the mask, I could see how scared he was. A pit formed in my stomach. All of this fighting, all this pain, for a drop of blood.

"Did we just loose?"