SO CLOSE

The anticipation was killing her. Sat hidden behind some debris, her knives clutched tightly in her hands, almost slipping out of her slick grip. Her heart was thudding so hard she could barely hear anything, and for that she was grateful. She wasn't sure she could handle what was about to come.

Strange had seen over fourteen billion realities. There was only one in which they won. It felt as if any misstep would lend them in favour of losing, and she was terrified that it would all be her fault. Thankfully Strange hadn't approached her since he saw the fallout of her reality and the relationship they all shared with their hero. She wasn't sure what she'd say.

She peeked around the corner, glimpsing Strange sat on fractured steps. His elbow was propped on his knee, and his head was leaning in his hand. It was as if he wasn't about to come face to face with a mass murderer.

Strange shifted, his hand moving calmly away from his face. His eyes connected with something, and that was when she knew her nightmares were reality.

She could just about hear Strange over her heart beating. "Oh, yeah. You're much more of a Thanos."

Her grip tightened on her knives. Her hands were itching to pounce now, to tackle the titan to the ground and pummel him until his eyes rolled into the back of his head. She wanted him to feel the pain he inflicted, to feel the raw grief and feel the anger. She wanted her knuckles to break against his skin, her skin bleed as she knocked him senseless.

She wanted to make him pay.

But she would have her chance soon.

"I take it the Maw is dead. This day exacts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission." The casual way Thanos spoke of his loyal disciple made her jaw tighten. He didn't even care about those closest to him. She wasn't sure why she was surprised - that's what she should've expected from the man responsible for the deaths of millions.

Strange didn't seem fazed about being in Thanos' presence. Messalina envied his acting skills - he didn't even look angry. Just calm. "You may regret that. He brought you face-to-face with the Master of the Mystic Arts."

She bit her lip, a tiny laugh crawling its way up her throat. Of course he was still as egotistical in dark times such as these. It reminded her of the Strange she knew; maybe the two weren't as different as she first thought. She wasn't entirely sure if the thought was reassuring or not.

"And where did you think he brought you?" God, every time he spoke chills were sent up her spine. He could have simply been reading from a poetry book and she'd still quake at the sound of his voice. His voice didn't sound like a madman, and that's what made it even worse.

"Let me guess. Your home?"

Messalina averted her gaze to the ground. She couldn't watch the interaction anymore, the sheer sight bringing her close to a heart attack. She pressed her back hard against the debris, squeezing her eyes closed, taking deep breaths. Images of the torment Thanos had inflicted flashed behind her closed lids, the darkness just making her sweat more.

She wasn't prepared to see him at all.

As much as she wanted to, she couldn't block out his voice. "It was. And it was beautiful."

That was the first time she'd ever heard emotion from the alien. His voice took on an airy tone, full to the brim of love and awe. It sickened her - monsters couldn't feel.

Messalina slowly peeled her eyes open, having to hold in her gasp at the sight. Long gone was the drab scenery, replaced with flourishing green lawns, buildings stand tall and proud against the vibrant blue sky. Ponds reflected this beauty, attracting citizens. It was a land that was alive.

"Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, and not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution."

Messalina felt bile rise in her throat. She finally was hearing the origin of Thanos, the killer of half the universe and the ones closest to her. The one who killed her parents and now had a chance of killing her brother and friends.

"Genocide."

The scenery slowly melted away, reverting the world back to it's devastated state. "But at random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike. They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass."

Messalina had half a mind to jump out and scream at him how it wasn't fair. How killing people as ruthlessly as he did in her reality was only cruel, the furthest thing from fair. She wanted to screech at him how it wasn't fair that there had been those immune to the lottery just so he could get the job done, and she wanted to bellow that no matter what and why, killing was never fair.

She guessed he was too deluded to understand that.

"Congratulations. You're a prophet."

"I'm a survivor."

And so was Messalina. A survivor of his very tyranny.

"Who wants to murder trillions."

Thanos took a step closer towards Strange. Her heart was in her mouth at the action, and yet Strange still hadn't broken into a sweat. "With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers, and they would all cease to exist. I call that... mercy."

Messalina wasn't sure how much longer she could bite her tongue. He hadn't enacted mercy when he slaughtered half of her planet, or been considerate in his methods. He just sliced his way through the population, desperate for the last stone.

Across from her, Peter gave her a thumbs up. She weakly smiled in response.

Strange clambered to his feet. "And then what?"

"I finally rest... and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe. The hardest of choices require the strongest of wills."

"I think you'll find our will -" Strange paused in his speaking, slapping his hands together and thrusting them to the side, producing two green hand-shields. Messalina took a deep breath, steadying herself on her feet and quickly wiping her hands.

This was the signal.

"Our?"

Thanos barely had time to look up as a large chunk of wreckage descended on him, too rapidly to react, with Tony in his Iron Man suit trailing behind it. It crushes the alien, and he disappears completely from sight. They all wait for a moment for something to happen.

Everything is still.

Tony flew past the wreckage, landing on the ground. "Piece of cake."

Peter moved out from behind the rubble, reaching up to his neck to trigger his mask to collapse around his face. "Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off."

The rock Thanos was trapped under began to quake. It slowly started turning a light shade of purple, erupting into tiny fragments. Messalina quickly ducked into cover, shielding her head from the flying rock.

Thanos emerged, immediately on the offensive. He used the Gauntlet to send the rock fragments in the direction of Tony, driving him through the ruins. Parker swings into the scene, shooting webs from his web shooters into Thanos' eyes. Thanos shook his head under the sudden blindness, rapidly getting kicked in the face as Parker swung by him. Thanos' head snapped to the side, and this was Messalina's cue.

Messalina climbed atop of the rock, flinging a rapid succession of knives at Thanos. Even blind, he deflected them easily with a swat of his hand, sending them back in the direction they came from. She reacted on impulse, bending as far back as she possibly could. She felt the daggers brush her skin, flying a mere centimetre over her body. They clattered to the ground, and Messalina scrambled to grab them as Drax slid beneath Thanos, a blade in each hand. He aimed the blades at the back of Thanos' knees, only for the titan to jerk out of the way.

Messalina didn't hesitate, jumping into the fray. She swung her daggers fiercely at Thanos, neatly deflecting any incoming blows, and coming close to grazing his skin. Each time her knives were close enough to hurt him he attacked, and this time her weary bones let her down. His hand swept her out of the way, and the next thing she knew she was flying through the air. She didn't have time to suck in breath as her back collided with a wall.

Messalina cried out.

She crumbled to the ground, her back feeling as though it had just been set on fire. Messalina didn't dare move, fearing that the fire would eat her entire body whole. She bit her lip so hard her mouth filled with a metallic taste, anything to keep her agonised screams to herself.

She merely watched as Strange jumped through a portal, a sword of golden energy conjured into his hands. He started duelling with Thanos as Drax attacked Thanos from the other side. Thanos punched Drax through a ruined wall, wrenching the blade out of his grip and snapping it in half, simultaneously tearing the webbing from his eyes. He advanced on Strange, kicking his heavy foot at the magician. Strange lifted his shields up just in time, the energy absorbing the impact.

She saw as everyone played their part, with Peter dodging all of the incoming attacks from Thanos and using Strange's magical platforms to boost him over Thanos' head. He flipped over him, slapping a mine to Thanos' back. He landed with ease, disengaging his helmet and swore at Thanos as he fell through backwards through a portal.

The mine went off immediately. The sheer force of the explosion knocked Thanos to his knees, and he blinks rapidly.

This was her chance.

Ignoring the way her back screamed at her, she threw herself into the fray. She ran at the titan, arms swinging swiftly as she built enough momentum to carry out her suicide mission. Her feet crashed against the surface, and in one smooth manoeuvre, she catapulted herself into the air, preparing herself mentally for what was about to happen.

She went through the portal, easily falling through the exit with expertise. She tried not to shriek as she saw the ground far below her, and how she felt the way the wind rushed against her cheeks. She just propelled herself in Thanos' direction, tensing her muscles for impact.

It was worse than she expected. 

Her back was screeching at her now to stop; she had come too far. She fell onto Thanos' shoulders, her legs instinctively wrapping around his neck. She squeezed her thighs together, relishing the sharp intake of breath he released. At the same time, Strange's cloak wrapped tightly around Thanos' armoured hand, tugging at it harshly.

Messalina tightened her grip on Thanos, feeling herself being jerked around harshly. She brandished a knife, and not thinking twice about the action, she reached for a knife from her belt. The moment her hands wrapped around the handle, she felt sweet relief - it would all be over soon. They'll win.

Just as she brandished the knife, Thanos reached up with his free hand. Messalina didn't have time to process what was happening. One moment, she was gripping onto Thanos' body tightly, and the next his hand was around her neck.

Messalina choked.

He tugged at her body, as if she was a rag doll, and launched her body into the air. This time, Messalina allowed a scream to rip its way out of her throat, her stomach dropping as she got closer and closer to the ground. Her life flashed before her eyes, and she just wished she had more time. Wished she had one more time to hug her brother, or tease Curio, or teach Locusta how to play the piano. She wished she had more than a few mere seconds to ponder what a life she'd lived, and how sorrow was laced behind all of the happiness.

She had no reason to wish.

A portal appeared beneath her, and she fell through it clumsily. She tumbled to the ground recklessly, her body rolling on the rocky floor. Messalina could feel each and every rock jutting out to hurt her, and she didn't care.

She was alive.

Messalina laughed sardonically, pushing her body off of the floor. Her entire body was begging for her to stop; her mind encouraged her to continue. They were so close to the end.

She got to her feet wearily, watching as Parker's body crashed into Strange's, knocking them both down. Messalina's stomach dropped at the sight of seeing them on the floor like that - they looked like corpses.

She brushed this thought aside, pulling out another knife. From the light weight of her belt, there weren't many left. She was going to have to make every one count.

Thanos tore the cloak away from his hand. In a blink of an eye, he was showered with fiery explosions. Iron Man bombarded him with attacks, the fire pulsing around Thanos. Her heart stopped. She saw Thanos smirk, the gauntlet sucking up all of the flames.

She knew what was going to happen before it did.

"Tony look out!" Messalina shouted her warning frantically, flinging her throwing arm so hard her arm nearly popped out of socket. The knife was flung from her fingertips, and travelled in almost slow motion towards Thanos. It got closer and closer, and the gauntlet grew more and more powerful.

Thanos caught the knife.

Messalina's heart dropped.

She was going to watch her friend die again.

Messalina ran at the titan, fists clenched. He paid the girl no mind, firing a stream of fire at Iron Man. The attack hit him directly, and Tony stumbled in the air, ploughing through a long abandoned fallen machine.

Not someone else. Not again.

Messalina continued her sprint, a battle cry slipping past her lips. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, blurring all of the agony enslaving her body and making her the soldier she needed to be. She didn't think as she neared Thanos, reaching into her belt for a knife.

There were none.

She skidded to a stop, wide eyes looking up at Thanos.

He didn't even look at her as he thrust her own blade towards her.

Messalina jumped aside, the blade lodging itself in her thigh. She felt nothing, only pure frustration and anger and fear and vengeance. This man had so much blood on his hands for the sake of mercy and she wanted to show him just what his mercy looked like.

Yanking the knife out of her thigh, she launched herself forward and stabbed Thanos in the shoulder. He yowled, his arm lowering his fire away from Tony. Messalina stumbled back, Thanos pulling the knife out of his body and tossing it carelessly aside.

"You stabbed me."

Messalina didn't have chance to respond. Parker leapt from behind, covering the gauntlet in webbing and dropping down in front of Thanos. He pulled hard on the webbing, but Thanos anticipated the move. Thanos grabbed a hold of the line, dragging the boy towards him. His fist flew across Parker's face, knocking him into Messalina. The pair crumbled to the ground, a tangled mess.

Parker scrambled from under Messalina, stuttering an apology. If Messalina could see under his mask, she would bet that he was beet red. Even if she could, she wouldn't pay attention to it for too long.

A small ship was the focus of her attention. It seemed to appear from nowhere, knocking Thanos down and crushing him. It dragged him a long distance, burying him under debris Messalina hoped that would be his grave. Thanos just brushed the attack off, standing to his feet as the pilot climbed out of the ship.

Nebula.

"Well, well." Thanos taunted. Messalina wanted to wipe that smirk off of his face.

"You should have killed me."

"It would've been a waste of parts."

At the insult, Nebula rushed forward, swiping at him with her sword. He merely sidestepped the attack. "Where's Gamora?"

Thanos punched her, her body disappearing amidst the rubble. Strange immediately took her place, using energy taking the form of whips to pin the gauntlet, pulling Thanos' fingers open and trying to pry the gauntlet off of his hand. Thanos squirms under Stephen's hold, but Drax slid from the right and knocked his knee, knocking Thanos off balance and letting him stumble to the floor. Peter wasted no time shooting an electric trap on the ground to Thanos' unarmoured hand, the energy holding him hand down and rendering him defenceless. Parker followed with an attack of his own, shooting his webs at Thanos' chest and wrapping it behind him. Spider legs sprouted from the back of his suit, anchoring him to the ground and providing him with stability as he held Thanos in place.

A portal appeared directly above Thanos. Mantis fell through, landing on the titans shoulders and immediately placed her hands on his temples. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she tried to pull him under her sleep spell, with Thanos bellowing at her actions.

Tony flew back into the fight, rushing towards Thanos' outstretched armoured friend. His grip was tight on the gauntlet, and he groaned under the weight. Without a word, Messalina joined Tony's side, the dull throbbing in her thigh becoming insignificant as her knuckles turned white. Her muscles strained with the effort, her sculpted arms bulging.

Strange's cloak floated towards them, the fabric twisting around Thanos' right hand, aiding them in pulling.

With a strained voice, Tony spoke. "Is he under? Don't let up!"

"Be quick!" Mantis cried, her expression twisting in pain. "He is very strong."

Messalina huffed, arms trembling. She was pulling so hard her body was falling backwards, and the only thing supporting her was her grip on Thanos' weapon.

"Parker, help! Get over here." Tony commanded. Parker obliged, dropping his web line and rushing to Tony and Messalina's side. She acknowledged him with a nod of the head. "She can't hold him much longer. Let's go."

Messalina squeezed her eyes closed, tugging with all of the energy in her body. She could feel the gauntlet shift slightly under her grip; she buried her feet firmly into the ground and tugged harder.

They will win.

The sound of jets shutting off met her ears. Messalina's eyes opened to see Peter Quill smirking at Thanos tauntingly. "I thought you'd be harder to catch. For the record, this was my plan."

Messalina rolled her eyes, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

The end was in sight.

"Not so strong now, huh? Where is Gamora?"

A strained, sorrowful voice broke out of Thanos. Messalina nearly halted in her actions at the tone. "My... Gamora...?"

"No, bullshit. Where is she?"

Messalina felt her heart start racing. Something about this wasn't right.

Mantis gasped. "He is in anguish!"

"Good." Peter snapped, his face twisting. He looked nothing like the good man she had come to know. The sight made her want to take a step back - she couldn't. She just kept pulling.

"He... he... mourns!" Mantis cried, her hands shaking on Thanos' head. Messalina froze in her tracks her hands loosening on Thanos' arm.

"What does this monster have to mourn?" Messalina found herself agreeing with Drax - he didn't care, he couldn't have any feelings.

One word shattered the triumph.

"Gamora."

Peter froze, his face dropping. His eyes slowly raised to meet Thanos', a sinister maliciousness hidden beneath them. "What?"

"He took her to Vormir. He came back with the Soul Stone... but she didn't." Messalina's heart dropped. This wasn't meant to happen. The whole reason she was here was to stop things like this from happening.

Messalina bit her lip harshly, a sharp metallic taste filling in her mouth. She tightened her grip on the gauntlet, tugging with everything she had. No one else was going to be a victim of Thanos, not on her watch.

Tony removed his helmet, addressing Peter as he carried on pulling. "Okay Quill, you gotta cool it right now, you understand?"

Quill's hand reached for his blaster.

"Don't, don't engage! We've almost got this off!" Tony shouted, eyes darting between the gauntlet and Peter.

"Peter please, this isn't going to bring her back." Messalina pleaded, voice strained as she kept on tugging. "Doing this will stop it happening to anyone else!"

Peter was deaf to their words. "Tell me she' lying."

Tony and Messalina exchanged a look.

"I... had... to." There was emotion there that she never expected to hear from the monster. Grief.

He really did do it.

Peter's eyes dampened, his voice quietly repeating one phrase. "No, you didn't."

His voice raise in volume, and the blaster in his hand twitched. Messalina yelled out for Peter to stop, for him to think about what he was doing - it was hopeless. Peter thrashed his weapon against Thanos's face twice, Mantis letting go in pain.

Tony leaped for Peter' arm, putting his helmet back on. He trembled under Tony's grip, uncaring to the struggle Messalina and Parker were having with the gauntlet.

"Stop!" Tony warned in a desperate attempt to calm him down. Just like before, his warning was ignored.

Messalina tuned out the argument, feeling the gauntlet loosen under their grip. Her and Parker exchanged a triumphant look, using the last of their strength to try to wrench it off.

"It's coming!" Parker announced. They could feel the gauntlet sliding off of Thanos' hand, and her eyes widened at the sight of the fingers slipping free. "We got it!"

It was too late.

Thanos woke from his daze, headbutting Mantis and snatching at the cuff of the gauntlet just as it was about to be completely free. Messalina and Parker stumbled back, a distraught cry passing her lips at the sight.

They were so close.

Thanos shrugged Mantis off of his shoulders, her body flying far off into the air. Messalina heard Parker curse under his breath before he sprung into action, using the legs of his suit to create a cage around the falling alien.

Thanos kicked Drax off of his right leg, flinging him into Nebula and Peter. They quickly fell to the ground.

He slowly turned to Messalina. Her breath caught in her throat at he snatched at her, launching her body against the wall.

She barely had time to register the pain before her eyes drifted closed, barely picking up on the moon being pulled towards them.

-

hey guys! so if you made it this far, congrats! it was originally a lot longer but i ended up cutting loads out. 

so i'm having a bit of a problem at the minute. i want to keep writing, but the thing is, i'm not sure i want to keep writing fanfic. i am so, so bloody proud of the ones i've managed to finish whilst being on this site, and i can not put into words how grateful i am for all of the support you all give me. but i think its time i move on. i've been toying with some original ideas of mine - which i've found has been equally as difficult to write, but when i do write, i am so immensely proud of it - and i'm thinking maybe if i focus on these original ideas it might be easier. i dont know. these stories have been part of my life for so long that i'm not sure, and i have so many more fanfics i want to write. i'll let you know if a decision does become definite, but if i do move to original works i'll be moving accounts too. this account will stay up along with its stories, but i wont be active on it much. again, if that does happen i'll let you all know and give you the new user so you guys can contact me if you want. 

i'm sorry. i thought i could stick this out for longer, but i have been writing fanfic for six years, and damn have they been good. 

hope you guys enjoyed reading, 

-thirdwheelchurchill