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THIRTY FIVE | AVENGERS ASSEMBLE

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"CASS! WAKE UP!"

The Sorceress Supreme opened her eyes and blinked. Her vision was still slightly azy as her eyes darted around anxiously and the world slowly came back into focus, the disjointed haze receding to the point where he could make sense of the world around her. Though the edges of his vision flickered and danced, she raised her hand to slap the person who was rocking her quite violently.

"I'm not dead yet, you dumbass." remarked Cassandra to Tony, groaning. "Chill the fuck out."

"There you are. You alright?"

"No, I'm pissed off."

"Good."

Her feet wobbled as she rose up, but she got ahold of herself. Giving herself time to breathe, she checked if she had any injuries and thankfully, there were none. Tony moved forward to wake the unconscious captain across from her, picking up the shield in the process. "Come on, buddy. Wake up. That's my man." He handed over the blue and red shield to him. "You lose this again, I'm keeping it."

"What happened?"

"You messed with time. It tends to mess back. You'll see."

Cassandra carried herself to the opening of their tunnel, noticing Thor. His eyes were trained on something - someone from a distance. Thanos. She growled, "In other words, Barney is back."

"What's he been doing?"

Thor replied, calmly, "Absolutely nothing."

"Where are the stones?"

"He probably has his children searching for them." stated Cassandra, her eyes looking high and low for any signs of movements beneath all the rubble. She could only hope that the rest of their team was safe and their mission was a success as their biggest enemy was here in front of them and they surely needed all the help they could get to defeat him. She pressed the button on her intercom, releasing a sigh when she only heard static. "I can't contact the others."

"I'm certain those stones are somewhere under all this. We know he doesn't have them."

"So, we keep it that way."

Cassandra cracked her knuckles, preparing herself for the upcoming fight. "Obviously." Her hands shook and her heart beating against her chest with rage. "We're not letting those fucking stones fall into his hands again."

"You all know it's a trap, right?"

"Yeah." Tony nonchalantly shrugged at Thor's query. "And I don't care much."

"Good. Just as long we are all in agreement." Thunder cracked then as Thor stretched out both of his hands to summon his weapons, Stormbreaker and Mjolnir. His casual clothes transformed into his armor and cape, and his beard was braided. "Let's kill him properly this time."

"Need some backup?"

A blatant voice echoed from the tunnel behind them and walked out of the shadows was another member of their team, Vesper, clutching her side.

"You okay, Lynn?" asked Tony, drawing closer to take a look at her wound.

"I'm okay enough to kill that son of a bitch over there." she grunted, wincing. "Come on, let's finish this."

The six walked over to confront Thanos face to face. Cassandra felt the terror in her in every step she took. Will she live long enough to defeat Thanos? While her insides quivered, her face was set hard. She wasn't going to back away now. She had cried her tears, suffered her wounds, and walked her hardest roads.

Thanos began to taunt them as they circled him, "You could not live with your own failure. And where did that bring you? Back to me. I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive." Cassandra dropped her eyes to the gravel beneath her, breathing deeply, and then raised them to meet Thanos's stare. "But you've shown me that's impossible. And as long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist."

"Yep." Tony dismissed his grandiose speech like it was just cymbals creating unnecessary noise. "We're all kinds of stubborn."

"I'm thankful. Because now, I know what I must do." Cassandra started to siphon small amounts of eldritch magic using her right hand. "I will shred this universe down to its last atom." The genocidal maniac stood up and put on his helmet. "And then, with the stones you've collected for me, create a new one. Teeming with life, but knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given."

Vesper drew out her weapon, aiming it straight towards him. Bright blue flames ignited from the steel, lighting up the side of the blonde's face.

"A grateful universe."

Steve retorted, "Born out of blood."

"They'll never know it." Thanos remarked. "Because you won't be alive to tell them."

As soon as Thanos charged towards Steve Rogers, Cassandra lifted her hands to project her mandalas on his abdomen, causing him to stumble backwards from the force.

"Okay, Thor. Hit me!"

Thor slammed his two hammers together combined with his lightning just as Tony's suit sucked up the energy and shot it out using his hands and his body armor. Immediately, Thanos twirled his blade swiftly to divert the blast back to them. Cassandra was quick to deflect his attack by launching a shield in front of them all, absorbing the destructive energy. She winced at the seeping pain she was feeling, her body heating up.

Vesper then swung her sword at their enemy and he dodged, raising his foot to disarm her. But she was quick to retaliate by slamming her own fist against his limb, causing a vibration so strong that it made the ground shake.

Vesper barked, "You messed with the wrong people and the wrong planet, asshole."

Thanos lunged at her, attempting to grab her but she spun to her left. As regained her footing, a bright aura built around her, engulfing her in its light. The plume of light which erupted from him now was unlike anything she had seen up to this point. She drew on her celestial power, and was able to form a blue shield in front of her.

"A Celestial." claimed Thanos, sneering. "You're wasting your potential! You could've had a better purpose, a better calling but you choose to protect this worthless planet!

"This planet that you call worthless is Earth. It is my home and I'm defending it!"

Almost instantly, she leapt on a large boulder and landed on his shoulders. She was about to bury her sword deep in his head when he snatched her shirt and hurled her far away from the fight.

Grabbing Stormbreaker, Thor used it together with Mjölnir to hit Thanos with his lightning power. Thanos uses Tony as a shield resulting in damage to his system. Captain America tried to attack Thanos, but was easily shielded away by the Mad Titan. A burst of sickly green flames erupted from her hands in a flash, and she hurled it in his direction. The Mad Titan narrowly managed to dodge, and the stone floor instantly withered at the point of impact, as if it had aged a thousand years in an instance. He then heaved a huge rubble and flung it towards her direction. She successfully evaded the chunk of stone, but she hit her head quite strong against the ground that her ears rang, incapacitating her.

The Norse god then attacked Thanos and was blocked by his sword. Thor was beaten and choked by Thanos, as he punched him. One of his weapons, Mjölnir, was flicked away as Thanos relentlessly beat up Thor, tossing him into a tree and socking him before throwing him over a rubble and pummeling him again. Thor tried to grab his Stormbreaker, but their rival seized it, using it against Thor as he defended himself.

Cassandra watched as Steve stood up, and picked Mjölnir off the ground while Thanos continuously battered Thor. She only heard from one of Thor's drunken rambles that Steve may be able to lift his hammer one day. Suddenly, Mjölnir zoomed past Thanos, stopped, and flew back, both looking on in amazement as Steve caught the hammer with ease.

"I knew it!" yelled the god of thunder in glee and astonishment and Thanos kicked him to the ground and proceeded to battle Steve who wielded both his shield and Mjölnir. Swinging his new weapon, Steve proceeded to charge and hit Thanos in the face, knocking him down.

Steve threw his vibranium shield and Thanos deflected. Standing up, albeit wobbling, Cassandra assisted Steve as he went on the offensive, launching Mjölnir to his shield, by digging her hand deep into the dirt and with all her might, casted the Seven Suns of Cinnibus. Simultaneously, red and yellow ribbons of scalding heat that intertwined then shot out near Thanos's position, creating a shockwave so strong it knocked Thanos off his feet.

Steve attacked the enemy first, gaining the upper hand. He pitched his shield at Thanos and quickly hit it back at him again with Mjölnir. He lined his arm back up and under-armed a channel of lightning on Thanos who eventually got the upper hand as he removed his helmet, stabbed Steve on the leg and knocked Mjölnir out of his hand. Relentlessly, the genocidal warlord proceeded to destroy the captain's shield with his double-bladed sword and casted him across the battlefield.

"Steve!" Cassandra yelled his name, heaving. They cannot lose again this time, no, not again.

Flicking her hand to the right, the Sorceress Supreme's magic slammed into Thanos before he could raise his head. Lightning arced around his body, the pain akin to a hundred swords stabbing him in rapid succession. With her eyes stone-cold, robbed of any hint of mercy, she approached her prey.

Cassandra spat, "Wanna know how you died in the future, Thanos?" She held her gaze, her eyes every bit as hard as one who harbors only hatred. The brunette felt a shockwave pass through her like it always did, yet this time she stood firm regardless with dry eyes and still hands. "I killed you. I made your heart implode. My very own hands crushed your heart without even ripping it out of your chest. Believe me when I say I will turn you into ashes today."

"You have a strong will, human. I will give you that."

Tendrils of explosive purple lightning licked the nearby rubble around her ripping away chips of stone as they formed into an arc above the enraged sorceress. With a raspy bellow and a heaving effort, she swung his arms down towards Thanos severing the circuit as the tendrils hungrily sought out their target. Her dark magic was already mixing with her eldritch magic since her emotions were amplified. Charging forward, another beam of gold cackling energy burst forth from Cassandra and towards him. His double bladed weapon deflected her attack somewhere else as she drew closer, pushing Thanos slightly backwards.

Now, just meters away from him, she snarled, her body vibrating with pure, scathing fury. "I will kill you."

Thanos declared, "Then, by all means, try."

Casting the Comet of Azur, a bright blue beam exploded from her hands, the deadly canon aimed straight at him. Thanos moved out of her path, the bright beam of light narrowly missing him. Leaping into the air, he raised his blade above his head, preparing to strike her. Cassandra somersaulted, feeling the Titan's attack flash in front of her.

Catching sight of Vesper's blade not far away from her, she rolled forward and captured it, slashing at Thanos first. Her enemy received the blow with the flat of his blade. In that instant, he spun around and swung at her head. She then countered by raising her own sword high and striking horizontally. His blow offset his and the tip of her flaming sword sliced cleanly across Thanos' face.

"All that for a drop of blood."

She raised the sword, its blade bursting into blue flames, illuminating the side of her face "Don't fret. The next cut will be on your neck."

Roaring angrily, their blades bound together again and the woman turned the edge toward Thanos's, leveraging around his blade and thrusting at the gaps in his armor. Her opponent's armor gave him extra weight and power in their struggles and she has to find a weakness in them. Thanos broke free from their agonizing clash and lunged in, in ferocious silence, raining blow on blow so furiously that Cassandra had no opportunity to counter. Finally, he drove his fist deep into her gut, managing only to mash his knuckles on a magical defense that automatically protected her though she still felt its impact which made her stagger backwards.

Steve stumbled beside her, having regained his strength after his fight with Thanos.

"In all my years of conquest, violence slaughter..." Thanos proclaimed, like a god. "It was never personal. 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."

The wind screamed and slashed at her face when she looked at the sea of monsters that surrounded them. Their bodies glinted wickedly that Cassandra could already smell their deaths from afar. Thanos' entire army swarmed and swayed like corn in a field, yet it seemed there were more of them than a thousand bushels could hold. His children, the Chitauri, and some other alien civilizations she wasn't familiar with finally descended on Earth, ready to lay waste on their land.

Swallowing, she dug her nails deeper into her palm. Even if her own magic would not be able to keep her safe and alive after this, at least, she will die knowing she gave them hell. Her cold hand gripped the cold, steel sword she had with her before sharing a knowing glance with Steve Rogers.

They weren't going down without a fight.

With a fierce determination, the soldier tightened his broken shield to his arm and Cassandra conjured a glimmering mandala while raising her weapon. Both of them stood against Thanos' giant army, welcoming the fight and their possible deaths.

"You okay with this, Cassandra?"

"Captain," she began, releasing a breath. "It's an honor to fight beside you."

He nodded, gazing back at the army when suddenly, a crackling came in on his communicator. The hero of his time stopped in his tracks and looked around as if searching for something. He and Cassandra then glanced behind them to see a gash of radiant light ripping open through the open air.

A portal.

Stepping out of it were three figures who the sorceress recognized were among the casualties of the Decimation five years ago, Okoye, Shuri, and Black Panther, fully restored. The fatigued pair shared a look Steve with the revived Wakandans when a man with a wingsuit zoomed past them from above in his Falcon armor.

Sam Wilson.

Dozens more portals opened up all around the battlefield and Cassandra couldn't help but release a sigh of relief, yet she had to see the one person she had been waiting for.

Finally, through one of them, she caught a glimpse of a very familiar red cloak. Her eyes lit up and a gentle wind blew past her. The lofty weightlessness of Stephen Strange as he descended from the portal. The sight of him alive whipped out all her anxiety and exhaustion. Instinctively, she closed her eyes and without even knowing it, drew closer to her beloved. Her eyes blurred from the outpouring of emotions within her, but this didn't hinder her from reaching him. She went on further until she was face to face with the one person she prayed to the gods to see again.

He was then joined by the other heroes who died in Titan and more and more heroes arrived from all corners of the universe, all backed up with forces of their own including the army of Wakanda, Valkyrie and the Asgardians, Wong and the Masters of the Mystic Arts and several alien ships. Even Pepper Potts, clad in her own iron suit, the twins, Jae-Hyuk and Moon-Young, arrived. Nearly every hero was transported to the battlefield to face Thanos's hordes together.

Cassandra wasn't able to utter any word even when Stephen already stood in front of her. All the pain, the tears, the suffering have been washed with the sight of him. Even after five years, the feelings she harbored for him were still there, never gone, just dormant. This time, the feeling got deeper, more complete, more bewitching. There wasn't a thing she wouldn't do to keep him safe.

Stephen Strange, of course, the person that he was, just had to say something at that moment. "A wizard is never late. Nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to."

Cassandra, for a moment, forgot they were about to wage war with an intergalactic army and emitted a short bark of laughter. "Are you seriously quoting Gandalf right now?"

He smiled.

And it was damn infectious. It started as a tingle in her fingers and toes, much like the feeling she had when she felt anxious, but instead of worrisome, it's warm. She felt it pass through her like a warm ocean wave, washing away to leave her refreshed.

The world may have perhaps stopped still on its axis at that time. No time, no wind, no sun existed.

Because finally, he was home.

And no one will take him away from her again.

Well, until Wong surged between them, shattering their moment. "Sorceress Supreme," he bowed his head in respect as he summoned his magic for his defense. "The Masters of the Mystic Arts is here to help in the battle against Thanos."

Stephen inquired, "Is that everyone?"

Wong, baffled, countered that with, "What, you wanted more?"

Just as he finished his remark, Scott emerged from the rubble of the Avengers facility, enlarged in size, tall enough to topple the tallest tower in the world. With him were Hulk, War Machine, Rocket, and Alona. The Avengers, along with the Wakandans and the Asgardians took up battle positions, the heroes standing across Thanos' forces. It was then that the twins she missed the most came into her view, Moon-Young and Jae-Hyuk. The young male was still holding a small piece of peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of orange juice as the two trudged towards them. His mouth was still hanging open from the sight of the swarm of aliens.

"Somebody better explain to me what the hell is going on!" demanded Moon-Young, a sense of urgency clear in her voice. "Jae-Hyuk and I were just in the kitchen earlier and now... a portal opened and we heard that five years have passed and we have to fight here? What the fuck?"

Jae-Hyuk examined his glass, looking dazed. "Are you sure our juice wasn't spiked, Moon-Young? Because I sure as hell think we are tripping."

"Just..." Cassandra placed her hands both on their shoulders, reassuring them that things will be fine. "Remember everything we have taught you both and as much as possible, stay behind Wong and the other sorcerers. Don't attract too much attention, okay?"

"As if we would like to attract the attention of those." retorted Jae-Hyuk, flinching when he glimpsed ahead of them. "They don't bite, do they?"

The mindless aliens opened their mouths, snarling, and revealing several rows of large pincers of teeth.

"Oh, they do bite. We're going to die."

Paul and Vesper had now obscured their view and Cassandra tossed the sword she used back to its respective owner. The blonde caught it with ease, slashing around twice. "I never thought I would see you swing my blade, Sorceress Supreme. You were awesome earlier."

Paul, on the other hand, just pulled his arms up and created a bow and arrow out of an energy that was unrecognizable to Cassandra. His weaponry was unlike theirs; it shimmered like it was made of pure golden light and nothing else. His eyes, his eyes were murderous as he kept his aim and stance steady.

"Sorceress Supreme, huh?" Stephen teased, his hand hovering over her resting right hand. The brunette could feeI its heat and she shivered lightly. "I like that. Suits you very well."

She sighed. "I just got it because you died, Stephen."

"Hey, I'm not leaving again. That's a promise." His fingers entwined slowly with her, and life made sense again at that moment.

"You better keep that or I will send your arse over to the deepest depths of the multiverse."

Perhaps, there was a drum beating somewhere, just unheard of, but her heart pounded against her rib cage and her neck hairs felt like pins with the terror of it all as more heroes entered from the portals. Soon, their side was equal to the opposite army and Cassandra could already see a glint of hope that they would win.

Her attention was caught when Steve Rogers cried out, "AVENGERS!" He summoned Mjölnir over, catching it. "assemble."