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TWENTY FOUR | FACE YOUR DESTINY

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THANOS TIGHTENED HIS fingers around her throat, cutting off her air supply. It was as if she was his sole target that it made her think just how much of a threat she was to him. Just as her lungs started to ache and her eyes bulged, she pulled out her dagger and with all her remaining strength, sliced his wrist open. A blast of blue cosmic energy slammed against the hissing Mad Titan, stumbling back from the double attack. This caused him to let go of Cassandra and Vesper dragged her behind a rock, using it as a shield. "You okay, woman?" She asked, panting hard.

Cassandra didn't answer, and only focused on catching her breath. She just almost died, she tried to register that again and again in her mind.

"I knew I should've just cut his hand off!" complained the blonde fighter, looking back at the ensuing brawl between Iron Man and Thanos. "This wouldn't have happened if you and your grey hair templed boyfriend let me do it! Now, do you have a plan b, Miss Morgan Le Fay? Because I have no desire to be murdered by this purple maniac!"

Cassandra released one last breath, and shifted her gaze to the fight occuring behind them. Tony utilized a sword forged from his armor to attempt and finally kill Thanos, but their enemy managed to block the blow and responded by headbutting Iron Man. Fueled by pure rage, the Mad Titan proceeded to use the Power Stone to pulverize an entire moon above Titan. This action spiked a fury that was enough to burn a whole forest, so all-consuming that one may think it can be used as an emotional bludgeon or honed into a sharp tool.

She felt her face flush, her hands becoming fists. Within seconds, her helplessness transformed into barely contained hatred. Never in her life did she want to kill someone with her bare hands.

Well, now she does.

Hurling hails of meteors at them with the use of the Space Stone, taking advantage of Titan's unusually high gravitational pull to make all these projectiles much more rapid, Cassandra rose from her position, the sides of her face streaked with purple lines like the magic inside of her was ready to burst out. As soon as she opened her eyes, they were no longer blue or green, they were purple.

"I do." She snarled, raising her hand. "Kill this son of a bitch."

And with that, wild, purple weaves of arcane magic shot up from the ground and enveloped around Thanos, strangling him like a snake wrapping itself on its victim. Slowly clenching her fist, she intended to crush his bones and bleed him dry. Cassandra's magic lifted her up in the air and bent to her command.

"That's not enough of a plan, but okay, sure!"

The alien retaliated by sending several of the rapidly descending meteors down upon her, but she only thrusted her hands forward, forming a shield that covered her entire being. Then, she sent a trail of blazing mauve fire towards Thanos, which he narrowly dodged. It was then that she was joined by Stephen, floating down with the Cloak of Levitation.

"Miss Lynn! Go and secure your companions' souls with the kid now!"

"Got it!"

Furrowing her eyebrows, Cassandra lifted her eyes to see Peter Quill, Drax, and Nebula's unconscious floating bodies in the air. The teenage superhero, Spider-Man, was accompanied by Vesper and Mantis who assisted him in gathering them all so their souls could re-enter their bodies. Thanos deliberately employed the Soul Stone in an attempt to kill them, and the Guardian can only hope that there was still time to save the group.

Sharing a quick glance with the Sorcerer Supreme, Cassandra nodded, beginning the fight by invoking the Storm of Vengeance, a three hundred sixty foot radius around a point within their sight that had howling winds, lightning, and deafening thunder while Stephen launched the Baleful Bolts Of Balthakk, harmful energy blasts that demolished the ground they were all standing on. The clouds that formed above Thanos conjured lightning bolts and hail storms with strong, freezing gusts of wind that all struck him.

Chunks of ice and lightnings struck him repeatedly, making him scream, but he quickly overcame this by leaping into the air to avoid the fiery beams Stephen casted.

The warlord wielded the Space Stone and retaliated with a beam of energy from the Infinity Gauntlet, completely obliterating a passing meteor and the clouds above him. Cassandra failed to see that this blast was heading also towards them, but Stephen did and managed to summon up the Mirror Dimension to absorb the blast.

Outstretching her arms, the Guardian rotated her palms and pushed them forward, hoping to trap the genocidal warlord within the Dimension so that he could not be any harm to the outside world. However, the Titan responded by crushing the entire Mirror Dimension with a strike from the Power Stone, and employed the blue infinity stone to crush whatever was remaining of the Dimension, launching these remnants back at her and Stephen in the form of a destructive black hole.

At this, the Sorcerer Supreme transmuted the incoming attack into a myriad of blue butterflies, the sight which made Thanos briefly pause to look at them. From her peripheral view, she watched as Strange lifted himself into the air and invoked the Images of Ikonn, creating visible duplicates of himself to obscure and confound enemies, all of whom had then used the eldritch whips to entrap Thanos, covering him in their whips which held him in place.

Cassandra used the opportunity to launch another attack.

This time, by summoning a demon's tentacles from the Dark Dimension. She wrapped four of them around his neck, strangling him while the remaining tentacles struggled to remove the Gauntlet. But, Thanos was too strong to handle, and eventually won against them as he dispelled the many replicas of Stephen with a blast of the Infinity Stones, the power of which had caused the Sorcerer's astral form to be briefly pulled out from his body. Cassandra as well was dragged until she was able to regain control of the demon she summoned, returning him to the Dark Dimension.

Ending the duel, Thanos pulled Stephen to his hands before Cassandra could react, tightening his grip around his throat. The Guardian gasped and leapt forward, casting a powerful shockwave of pure, dark magic, but the warlord only dispelled her by firing a beam from his Infinity Gauntlet, pushing her away.

"You're full of tricks, wizard." remarked Thanos, smirking. "Yet you never once used your greatest weapon." He stopped his fight against the Guardian to momentarily yank the Eye of Agamotto relic from Stephen's neck, crumbling it into dust. "A fake."

Growling, he narrowed his eyes at Cassandra as if realizing that it was in their plan to remove and hide the Time Stone, causing him to cast Stephen aside, incapacitating him. She and Stephen were the only ones who knew where the infinity stone was and she knew the enemy would prefer torturing her to death just to know its location.

Oh, hell, if she would even tell where it was.

She'd rather die.

The brunette hurried over to check his well-being, relief coursing through her when she felt his pulse and his steady breathing. Stephen only had a gash in his head.

"He doesn't have the heart to kill, Guardian. Have you noticed?"

"Yeah, but I do."

"Where is the stone?"

She snarled. "You're gonna have to kill me first, Chowder."

Thanos thrusted his hand, firing powerful surges of energy beams towards Cassandra, but suddenly, Tony Stark restrained Thanos' gauntlet using a nanotech clamp.

"Oh, no, no, you're not killing Merlin and Morgana today, Grimace." remarked Tony, standing in front of Cassandra and Stephen in defense. "And if you throw another moon at me I'm gonna lose it."

"Stark."

"You know me?"

"I do." spat the menace as if the knowledge of Tony's existence was venom in his tongue. "You're not the only one cursed with knowledge."

"My only curse is you."

And with that, the Avenger charged first, blasting him with missiles from his nanotech suit, kicking the Titan with his enhanced boosters before he could recover. "Go, get your wizard out of here, planner!" commanded the hero, utilizing all his invented technology to fight against their common opponent. It was as if this was the battle he had been preparing for all his life.

Not even a second later, Vesper arrived on the scene, backing Tony up. Her eyes were glowing blue and searing energy enveloped her sword. "We got you covered! Get the fuck out of here!"

Stomping her feet, a shockwave of cosmic energy bursted out of her body and she struck the ground with her sword, creating a massive earthquake. Thanos dropped to his feet as rocks split apart and exploded. Then, Vesper raised her hand and the rocks collected themselves in front of her, forming a rock giant. Its eyes glowed blue as well and Cassandra caught on that it was under the blonde's control.

The Guardian returned to her senses after seeing Vesper assault Thanos with the rock monster she forged. Yet, because he had the stones, he was able to transform the giant into a puddle of water, forcing Vesper and Tony to confront him with the physical weapons they had on hand.

"You go left, I go right!" yelled the blonde haired woman, clipping their enemy square in the face. Thanos staggered backwards from the impact, and Iron Man didn't let him get up on his feet since he relentlessly struck the alien again with repulsor-powered battering rams, beating him back into a wall.

The woman held her partner's body close to her, trying to think of a way to get them both away from Thanos.

Open the gates of the multiverse.

Cassandra's lips hung open at her idea. Should she do it? She knew she shouldn't, but what choice did she have? Thanos had control over the Mirror Dimension and the risk of breaking the multiverse and having anyone enter their reality was very high, but this was their best option to escape. They could just hide in a different dimension or in a reality where they don't exist.

"I'm sorry, Ancient One, but I must do this."

She knew her mentor will forbid her actions if she was still alive, yet the safety of their universe depends on them right now. If Thanos gets his hands on the Time Stone, then the Mind Stone would be the only one left to collect and he would win the war.

The thought of ending their lives so the knowledge of its location would die with them emerged as well in her mind, but the enchantment she and Stephen casted on the Stone will cease if they pass away. That cannot happen.

Cassandra closed her fists and when she opened them, she sent multiple energy spheres on the ground and on the rocks around her and Stephen. She felt a sense of intoxication as the first rune appeared on the sky and next on the rock in front of her. Channeling all the magic from that deep well in her, she twirled her fingers in the air, forming the runic symbol for protection as Thanos tried to attack her with the reality stone. She swiped the dust beneath her to the right and another rune appeared, illuminating gold.

Veins surged on her forehead and for a moment, her vision blurred and her mind drifted into the void as she kept on raising her hands and steadying them. Actually, drawing immense power from the Dark Dimension was dangerous for her as it will drain her energy to the point of near death and it may corrupt her, turning her into a slave of darkness once again. But, she had no choice. The Runes of Thurisa will grant her a gateway to any dimension or reality she desires, but it requires a lot of Dark magic. Around her, the air burst into flames and the runes she forged on the rocks rose, swirling around to open a wormhole between spaces.

As the magic poured in and out of her body, her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably like she had taken a dip in a near frozen lake. Her vision began to tunnel, lights dancing erratically. She felt exhaustion crash on her like a tidal wave that she had fallen to her knees, but she didn't care. She kept her hands sturdy, and curled her fingers. Cassandra breathed, she could feel her life force leaving her body that she lifted her head and prayed.

Gods help me accomplish my task.

The portal finally materialized itself and the Guardian crawled over to the Sorcerer Supreme, tugging him to her. She didn't care anymore if she didn't get to the other side, so long as Stephen was safe and away from Thanos. This was her duty after all, to put his life above hers.

So, if today's her time to die, then so be it.

The woman watched as Thanos tore off Iron Man's helmet with his bare hand and smacked him to the ground. As the Avenger reformed his helmet just in time, Thanos quickly ripped the clamp from the Gauntlet, and blasted him with a concentrated beam from the Power Stone, but Vesper was able to block the blow by using herself as a shield.

Using this to boost towards Thanos, Iron Man swiftly pinned the gauntlet to the ground using a foot clamp before pummeling the Titan's face with a repulsor-boosted hammer, with enough force to make him bleed.

"Come on!" simultaneously bellowed Tony and Vesper. "Seriously? What is your skin made of, you fucker? Calluses?" The blonde added, twirling her sword. They did so much labor and struggled only for their enemy to have a scratch.

"All that for a drop of blood." mocked Thanos, flicking his gaze to Cassandra. "She fights better than you two."

The powerful warlord then effortlessly ripped the Gauntlet free from Tony's hold, flipping him onto his back and began brutally beating the Avenger with his fists, breaking off more and more of his armor with each strike to the point of which he can not defend himself any longer.

With Iron Man helpless to resist, Thanos followed with a powerful punch with the Power Stone into the Avenger's abdomen, sending him flying across the area and damaging his armor. Desperate and missing much of the upper half of his armor, Iron Man attempted to hold off Thanos with his repulsors, relocating the nanites on his leg to form new repulsors. Closing in, Thanos began beating the Avenger once again, destroying his helmet.

Just as she was about to push her partner to the portal, a ball of energy hit the gateway she conjured and it exploded upon impact. Cassandra, stunned, immediately shielded Stephen and let herself get struck by a rock. She yelled in pain, doubling over before gritting her teeth to absorb the trauma. The fierce woman shut her eyes, fatigued from all the channeling. She felt that she could no longer cast a spell because of the exhaustion. She was drifting in and out of consciousness when she saw Thanos grab and trap the Avenger's left hand. Her gaze shifted to the motionless Vesper on the ground, a few feet away from them. Groaning, she set Stephen between the rocks and forced herself to get up on her feet so she could help the blonde woman.

Yet, just as she was about to move, she immediately caught a glimpse of Thanos blocking the sword Tony formed with his nanites.

And it was as if everything stopped moving.

Cassandra looked back at Vesper then to Tony. She was certain he was going to die by the hands of Thanos if no one will help him. It was then that she felt conflicted and she couldn't understand why.

What should she do? Should she help him? Or should she just stay where she was and let him die?

Why the fuck are you even hesitating?

Looking back at the struggling Avenger whose sword was now torn from his hand, the Guardian made a decision.

She was going to save Tony Stark.

Feeling powerless because she had channeled all her magic to open the wormhole earlier, she twirled her dagger and transmuted it back into a sword.

One. Cassandra's throat burned and tasted like blood as she started to run. Her feet slapping the ground sending her jetting past the various figures that blurred in her speed. Time slowed down then, every detail around her was as clear and sharp as glass, but incomprehensible. The enormity of her action hadn't registered in her mind. Reality had yet to set in. Her legs soared over the rocky path, using them as stepping stones.

Two. Cassandra was filled with trepidation. Her heart thumped so loud that she heard it in her ears. A drumbeat sounded. She was not sure if it was the blood in her ears or the pounding of her legs, but it was a unified, persistent beat. And it kept her moving.

That's when she caught sight of Stephen finally gaining consciousness.

Three. The sweat was slick on the nape of the woman's neck. Breathing heavily, she tried to ignore the loud beating of her heart and pushed herself to go faster. Her legs screamed and her left side jarred with pain, but she ran even faster, knowing everything counted on her speed.

Fingers wrapped around the worn hilt of her weapon, she drew it, cutting upwards at the sword that the Titan held in a fast, reflexive attack. Her opponent was caught off-guard by the unnatural speed of her attack, but was nonetheless prepared, the cut glancing off of his gauntlet. The nanite blade was flung to the side along with Stark since he was kicked by Thanos in the abdomen.

As if startled but also challenged by her interference, the purple skinned alien stepped back, slapping her blade aside. At this, the weary Cassandra reacted, brought her sword around in a tight circle and leapt forward, her blade tearing a slice from her enemy's shoulder down to his elbow.

Thanos hissed in pain, and his demeanor changed. He swung a roundhouse punch. She bent backward and felt his knuckles swish past her nose. With this, she transformed her sword into a staff and lashed out blindly, blasting the menace away from her with arcane magic.

Cassandra Mason may be outmatched when it comes to raw strength, but she was smart.

She stretched her staff as balls of blazing energies began to form within the top of his staff. With one swift motion, she flung the spheres into Thanos' direction. A second of silence passed before a massive explosion echoed throughout and magenta colored flames bursted out from within it, all but licking her face as it reached out as if trying to desperately hold onto something before being pulled back into the darkness from which it came.

"If you aren't going to tell me where the Stone is, then the sorcerer dies!" roared her enemy, a beam of light erupting from his gauntlet. Countering the attack, she modified her weapon again back into a sword and carved open another wound at his neck.

Furious, he grabbed her sword, tore it and with his main strength, spun her around. Cassandra struggled in vain, but could not beat the larger man in a grapple.

"Face your destiny, Guardian."

Then, he drove the broken piece of her sword into her gut.

so, tell me what do you think about this chapter? what do y'all think is going to happen next? what do you think will be the ending of this act?

if you've watched mr. sunshine, then you know how this feels-

actually, the last chapter of this act (infinity war) is already written and i kind of know there are like about a hundred of you who reads this sooo, idk if this chapter gets more than seventy-five votes and seventy-five comments, i promise i will publish that even today! it's just that idk if i'm writing this act properly bc of the lack of interaction so yeah, thank you!

also thank you to my dearest loml, Raichia for that beautiful gif