-Broadcast-
Captain America knelt beside Vision's body, carefully turning it over. The hole in the synthezoid's forehead—where the Mind Stone had been torn free—was still smoking slightly. Vision's entire body had turned gray, the vibranium losing its luster, the synthetic skin dull and lifeless. There was no coming back from this.
Natasha Romanoff rushed over, her boots skidding to a stop as she saw Vision's corpse. She froze, one hand coming up to cover her mouth. Her eyes were wide with shock and grief. They'd lost. They'd actually lost.
Steve slumped to the ground beside Vision, his body finally giving in to the injuries and exhaustion. He stared at nothing, forced to accept the impossible reality: Earth's mightiest heroes had been defeated.
War Machine landed nearby, his armor's systems still scanning for threats that were no longer there. "What is this? What the hell is this?" His voice rose with each word, demanding answers no one could give.
He turned toward Thor, who stood like a statue near where Thanos had disappeared. "What happened? Thor—you were there at the end! What did he do?"
But Thor couldn't answer. His remaining eye was distant, unfocused, as he replayed the moment over and over. He'd had Thanos. The axe was in his chest. Victory had been in his grasp. And he'd hesitated. That single moment of wanting Thanos to suffer rather than simply die had cost them everything.
Captain America's breathing was labored, each breath painful through cracked ribs. Realization was dawning on his face, horror spreading across his features. "Oh, God." His voice was barely a whisper.
-Broadcast-
The scene shifted abruptly, moving light-years away to a remote planet bathed in warm sunlight. Mountains rose in the distance, pristine and untouched by civilization. A simple house—more of a hut, really—stood alone among cultivated fields.
Thanos walked unsteadily toward the dwelling, his body bearing the physical toll of channeling the Infinity Stones' combined power. The gauntlet on his left hand was blackened and ruined, smoking gently. His right arm hung limp at his side. Every step clearly caused him pain.
He reached the house's front steps and slowly, carefully, lowered himself to sit. The motion was that of an old man, weary beyond measure.
Before him, the sun was setting. Red and orange light painted the sky in brilliant colors, reflecting off the clouds. Thanos watched the sunset with an expression of profound peace. A smile—genuine and sad and satisfied—crossed his face.
He'd done it. His great work was complete. Half the universe, gone in an instant. Resources preserved. The survivors given a chance to thrive without the specter of overpopulation and starvation hanging over them.
In Thanos's mind, he'd saved the universe. And now, finally, he could rest.
-Real World-
Tony Stark leaned forward, studying the landscape on the screen. "Where is that? Anyone recognize those mountains? That planet?"
He turned to Gamora. "Is this his retirement home? Did he ever mention where he'd go after... after all this?"
Gamora's brow furrowed in concentration. "He spoke many times about retiring once his mission was complete. He'd describe this perfect place—quiet, isolated, beautiful. But he never told me the location. Never gave coordinates." She paused, studying the screen. "It has to be somewhere incredibly remote. A planet far from major space lanes."
Rocket threw up his hands in exasperation. "Great. So we're looking for one planet among trillions in a universe we can barely map. That's like finding a specific grain of sand on every beach on Earth combined. Perfect."
Doctor Strange raised his head, his expression thoughtful. "The more important question: what do you think Thanos will do now? In our timeline, after seeing his plan succeed here?"
"Accelerate his collection," Steve said immediately. His tactical mind was already working through the implications. "He'll move faster, strike harder. After attacking Xandar, every civilization in the universe is living in fear that he'll come for their Infinity Stone next."
Steve turned to Gamora. "Can you take us to Vormir? We need to secure the Soul Stone before Thanos can reach it."
Gamora's eyes widened in alarm. "Why would you want to go there? That place—" She shuddered. "The fewer people who know about it, the better. Some knowledge is too dangerous."
War Machine explained patiently, "Because we're worried Thanos might find it anyway. You found the map to Vormir through research and investigation. He can do the same. We need to get there first."
Thor nodded emphatically. "If my father could locate Vormir, others can too. We can't assume we're the only ones with access to that information."
Gamora took a deep breath, visibly steeling herself. "Alright. I'll take you. But you need to be prepared for what you'll face there. The Soul Stone... it demands a price."
Tony stood up decisively. "Agreed. But we can't all go—we need to maintain Earth's defenses. Same protocol as before: skeleton crew stays behind. I'll bring the Cosmic Orb as our ace in the hole."
He saw the questioning looks and explained, "I don't keep the Power Stone mounted in the armor constantly. The Mark 17 can only handle the stone's energy for limited periods before Wanda's enchantments start degrading. To prevent the suit from burning out prematurely, I return the Power Stone to its orb containment between deployments."
"The Mark 18 will have better capacity," Tony continued. "Longer carry time, higher power threshold. But even that has limits we're still testing."
-Broadcast-
"Still no contact with Stark?" Nick Fury's voice was tense as he drove through New York City streets, Agent Maria Hill in the passenger seat.
Hill shook her head, her phone pressed to her ear. "Nothing. We've bounced signals off every satellite in the network. No response from Tony, no response from anyone on the team."
Her phone suddenly buzzed with an incoming alert. She read it quickly, her face paling. "Nick... multiple warships just appeared over Wakanda."
Fury's jaw tightened. "Same signature as the New York attack?"
"Bigger. Much bigger." Hill's voice was tight. "I'm reading ten times the mass. Maybe more."
Fury's knuckles were white on the steering wheel. "Get me Clinton. We need to coordinate—"
"NICK!" Hill's scream made him look up.
A car traveling in the opposite direction had suddenly swerved wildly, the driver clearly no longer in control. It crashed into a parked vehicle with a tremendous bang, then flipped, sliding to a stop upside down.
Fury slammed on the brakes, the motorcycle skidding to a halt inches from the wreckage. Both agents dismounted quickly, training taking over despite the shock.
The streets around them had descended into chaos. Cars were crashing everywhere as drivers simply vanished. People on the sidewalks were screaming, pointing, as pedestrians turned to dust before their eyes.
Hill ran to the first crashed car, yanked open the driver's door—
The seat was empty. Just an empty seatbelt, still buckled, hanging over nothing.
"What the hell?" Hill's voice shook.
"Check for survivors!" Fury called, moving toward the overturned motorcycle nearby.
The sound of rotor blades made him look up. A helicopter was spiraling out of control overhead, black smoke pouring from its engine. Fury's eyes widened in horror as he tracked its trajectory—
The helicopter crashed into a skyscraper with a massive explosion. Glass and debris rained down. Flames erupted from the impact point.
People were running now, fleeing in every direction, screaming about the end of the world.
Fury turned back to Hill, his voice cutting through the chaos with absolute authority. "Call Control! I want a red alert across all channels! Code Black! We need—"
"Nick!" Hill's voice was wrong. Too quiet. Too frightened.
Fury spun to look at her—and watched as her hand began to dissolve into gray ash. Maria Hill looked down at her disintegrating fingers with an expression of dawning horror and disbelief.
"Hill?!" Fury lunged toward her, but there was nothing he could do. In seconds, she was gone. Just ash scattering on the New York wind.
For a moment, Fury stood frozen. Then his training kicked back in. He ran to the motorcycle's saddlebags and pulled out a compact device—the modified pager, his emergency contact system for Carol Danvers. The one he'd been saving for the absolute worst-case scenario.
His fingers flew over the controls, activating the distress signal—
Pain lanced through his left hand. Fury looked down and saw his fingers turning to ash, the dissolution spreading up his wrist toward his arm.
"Oh, hell—" He managed to hit the final activation sequence, saw the screen flash "SENDING," before his entire hand crumbled away.
"Motherfu—"
Nick Fury vanished mid-curse, leaving only the pager lying on the ground. Its screen glowed softly, displaying a single word:
SENDING
-Real World-
"So Fury got the distress call out to Carol at the last second," Bruce Banner said slowly, working through the implications. "She must have received it in space, turned around immediately, and came back to help with whatever plan we eventually developed."
Captain America nodded, but his expression remained troubled. "Even with Carol, defeating Thanos with all six Infinity Stones isn't going to be easy. With the Space Stone, he can teleport anywhere in the universe instantly. Finding him will be nearly impossible."
Tony clapped his hands together sharply, bringing everyone's attention back to the present. "Alright, everyone. Episode viewing is over. Time to gear up for real. Our mission objective is simple: secure the Soul Stone before Thanos can reach it."
Natasha, who would be remaining on Earth this time, tilted her head slightly. "Try not to die out there."
Captain Marvel gave her a confident nod. "We'll be back before you know it. But if anything happens here—anything at all—contact us immediately."
War Machine stretched, his joints popping. "Just... try not to run into Thanos out there, okay? I'd really prefer we avoid the guy with ultimate cosmic power."
Sam Wilson rolled his eyes. "Thanks for jinxing it, Rhodes. Appreciate that."
Thor turned to Natasha one last time. "Keep an eye on my sister while I'm gone."
Natasha's expression was serious. "I'll be here. And I'm having May bring Peter to stay with me for a while—his school's on break anyway. We'll keep each other company."
Thor nodded his approval, then raised his hand. "Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!"
Rainbow light erupted around the departing team—Thor, Tony, Steve, Carol, Bruce, Gamora, and several others. The Bifrost would take them first to Asgard, where they could use the realm's advanced navigation systems to plot a course to Vormir's hidden location.
The light faded, and they were gone.
Natasha stood in the empty room, the silence suddenly oppressive. On the screen, the broadcast showed Nick Fury's pager still lying on the ground, its distress signal reaching across the stars toward their last, best hope.
Half the universe had just died in the vision they'd witnessed.
Now it was their job to make sure it never happened in reality.