Hundreds of light-blue screens floated around the Avengers, and on every single one the same scene repeated: Skrulls being taken down, defeated, knocked out, killed… losing without exception.
SHIELD, the Hand, Asgard, Wakanda, the Black Room, the Defenders, and even some groups that not even the Avengers themselves could recognize.
"The Defenders…"
"I already handled it", Leonardo interrupted before Gravik could finish, as if answering someone else's thought. Of course he knew the Defenders had been replaced long ago, starting with Matt Murdock.
"Why…?" Gravik muttered, a mixture of desperation and defeat.
"Why did I let you believe you had won? Why did I wait until now?" Leonardo leaned forward until he was at Gravik's eye level, looking at him directly.
"I am simply resentful", he said with a calm smile.
Gravik sighed with a surrendered smile.
"I thought that with Ulysses on my side I could beat you. I went after you first thinking I could get rid of the most troublesome one. Looks like my plan was already wrong from the beginning." He said it almost to himself. His voice had no sharpness left, no intention to fight; it was monotonous, muted. He had accepted defeat. There was no escape and he knew it. Even so, he smiled tiredly before continuing.
"You will blame the Skrulls for all the problems of the last months, right?" Leonardo did not answer, but the smile on his face was more than enough.
"Fine, the winner takes everything. But remember this: Earth is a cosmic treasure. We will not be the only ones looking at it."
Gravik did not give any names, but everyone understood exactly who he meant and why Earth was considered a treasure. Years ago, after the Battle of New York, they had first heard the name Thanos and the Infinity Stones, and they had kept him in mind ever since. But more than fearing Thanos, they trusted Leonardo, if he did not warn them then it meant Thanos was not coming yet and they still had time to prepare.
"Do you think Thanos can beat us?" Tony asked with pride.
Gravik let out a short laugh and threw the question back. "Do you think you can beat Thanos?"
"We know his objective. Thanos wants the Infinity Stones. Earth has two, and even if they are missing that almost certainly means they are with the same person who ruined all your plans this time." Tony gestured toward Leonardo as he spoke.
But Gravik was not shaken before speaking again.
"You are wrong about two things, Stark.
Earth does not have two, it has four Infinity Stones. We got that information from Thanos himself, so it is reliable.
And second, and what you should fear…" Gravik smiled, convinced Thanos would never be defeated.
"Thanos recently stole the Power Stone.
You may think having more stones makes you stronger, but that is not how it works. You must understand two things about them: the stones are not weapons and all of them are equally powerful.
Each one is the crystallization of a fundamental force of the universe and nothing else. The Space Stone does not let you 'fight' with space, it gives you absolute control over it. The same with the others. And all of them are equivalent: if the Mind Stone traps you in an illusion, if the Time Stone locks you in a loop, if the Space Stone seals you in another plane, none of the others can free you, because none surpasses another. Of course, if you cannot use their full potential, you will be defeated. But only an idiot would do that."
"We already know that. What are you trying to say, Gravik?" Steve asked.
"I am saying there is one stone that breaks both rules: the Power Stone.
Crystallized power is the only stone that is stronger than the others, because it is power itself in physical form. It is more destructive than anything else in the known or unknown universe, including the other stones. That is why it is also the most dangerous weapon in the universe.
So tell me… how do you plan to beat that?"
"As always: by preparing and acting accordingly", Steve answered without flinching at his explanation. "Anything else you want to say?"
Since Gravik remained silent, Tony finished him without wasting time.
"Leonardo…" Steve approached him, ready to ask something. Leonardo understood before hearing him. Before anyone could react, a stream of sky-blue energy like smoke wrapped around the Avengers and scattered them into different battle zones.
The only one left beside Leonardo was Tony, who was busy examining Gravik's corpse and the technology in the room.
"Tony, if you want something interesting, check the last room on the right once you exit the hallway."
Tony did not reply. He flew there and returned minutes later with a helmet in one hand and a man grabbed by the throat in the other.
"Hey, how dare y...?" The stranger fell unconscious before finishing the sentence, taken out by a simple stun needle hidden in one of Tony's gauntlet fingers.
"Does this guy really see the future?" Tony asked with genuine curiosity.
Leonardo nodded.
"Let him serve the country to atone for his sins", Tony said with a smile, though it was obvious he had no intention of handing him over to the government.
Leonardo looked at Ulysses with a second of pity. Even though Tony was not someone who experimented on humans nor had interest in biology, even he would want to study an ability like that, and even if he did not treat him as an experiment he would still treat him as a prisoner.
"I will study this thing later", Tony said, looking at the helmet.
"By the way, the screens… can you see everything whenever you want?"
"Whenever I want", Leonardo answered openly.
"So that is how you see the future…" Tony murmured while forming theories.
"Do you want me to take you home?" Leonardo asked, ignoring his muttering once he saw Tony was done there.
"Take me to Natasha's house. When your power disappears I will go back to being almost paralyzed." Tony paused and added, hesitant, "When do you plan to come back?"
Leonardo shook his head calmly. "I am already retired."
"Are you serious? Then… you will not paint again?"
"I will paint again. Before, I felt like there was nothing interesting worth painting. Now there are too many things, and I do not need them to be from the future", Leonardo answered.
"So you will not be an Avengers consultant anymore…"
"Not yet. Do you forget my last request? I will make one last painting."
Tony let out a tired laugh. "I stopped trying to understand your personality long ago, but still… what is the point of that last painting?"
"My goal is to amaze the world and become the greatest artist who has ever existed", Leonardo said proudly.
Tony laughed again, this time not incredulous but supportive. "You have already been the best artist on the planet for a long time. You should aim for the universe. Well… I guess if you are retired it does not matter anymore. But I admit, one last work that amazes the entire universe would be a perfect farewell."
Leonardo laughed as well. Even though the system showed him a ninety-nine percent mission progress, he seriously suspected it was lying to him for some reason.
"Does the entire universe not sound exaggerated to you? Although… half the universe would not be bad."
"Ha, who is the arrogant one no...?"
Leonardo transported him to Natasha's house before he could finish the sentence. He already knew that Natasha, Loki, and Jean had returned to Earth at the same time Thor did.
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