He appeared in New York, stepping through a gouge in space that closed behind him. The streets of the city were silent. It wouldn't have been much of a loss if there had been civilians present, the death toll of this battle would pale in comparison to what was required for his plan. Still, it made things… simpler.
The silence only lasted for moments. Thanos' eyes flicked to a nearby lamppost, where a small, red and blue clad figure had alighted "Hey! Who are you?" The boy asked, his body tensed in preparation to spring away at the slightest trigger.
"I am your salvation." Thanos said simply. Even if the Avengers, if no one acknowledged it, this was true. He knew what needed to be done, he was the only one who did.
"That's… not ominous at all." The boy quipped "Hey, some help here?"
A portal opened, one much different from the one he had arrived in, and out stepped a man he recognized- Stephen Strange. He had spent some time learning about Earth's heroes. He'd long known that he'd have to defeat them to claim the two Infinity Stones present on the planet. "I don't care who you are. You are trespassing on this planet. Leave now or face the consequences."
"I think not." Thanos grinned, eyeing the amulet that hung from the sorcerer's neck. The Time Stone was perhaps the most dangerous of the Infinity Stones, and it was held by a competent wielder. He needed to bring this fight to a quick, decisive end.
He didn't hesitate, with a twitch of his finger, the Power Stone burned, and a gout of purple fire burst towards the sorcerer. Strange ducked through a portal and stepped through a new one on the opposite side of him. Thanos, however, was prevented from following up his attack, because it wasn't merely a single portal that had opened, but a dozen. Within seconds he was surrounded. Some of his opponents he recognized, but a few he didn't.
He could admit, it was an impressive force.
Of particular note, he saw Wanda Maximoff, the wielder of the Mind Stone. He didn't want to fight against two stones at once, it was far too risky, but he had a plan to rectify that, and it was time to put it into action. He clenched his fist, activating two of the stones in his possession.
The Soul Stone, so dearly bought, was perhaps the most potent weapon in his arsenal, so much so that he didn't want to use it lightly. Overuse might render it predictable. He wasn't concerned about this at the moment- the onslaught he had planned would be so rapid and overwhelming the Avengers wouldn't be able to make sense of it. The Soul Stone held the ability to manipulate the spiritual essence of life itself- it could even resurrect the dead, if only in a pale, shadowed form. It hadn't taken him long to realize that there was no satisfaction to be gained from that. He'd expected the people of his home world to have felt chastened, to acknowledge that he'd been right all alone. Instead, he universally found utter horror at his actions and his plans. He'd even tried to bring back Gamora, just to see her one more time, but she was the only one who had been denied to him.
But the stone had other, far more immediately useful abilities. With a burst of power, he forced the spirits of his opponents to detach from their bodies. With only two exceptions, bodies of flesh went limp while spirits drifted upwards. The first of those exceptions he had expected- Stephen Strange was used to navigating the astral plane and had returned his spirit back to his body no sooner than it had left. The other was a surprise. The power of the Soul Stone merely washed over Harry Potter, doing no more than ruffle the silvery material cloak. The cloak in question was a curious artifact. It was draped over Potter's shoulders, and wherever the silvery fabric covered, it rendered fully invisible. Potter hadn't fully encased himself in the cloak, however, and even if he had, the Soul Stone would have allowed Thanos to see through it.
Hm, no matter. That was where the Reality Stone came in. Taking a step back, he slipped into invisibility, letting a construct of his likeness take his place. That would keep them occupied, while he waited for his opportunity. Potter had slowed his compatriots' falls. Simultaneously, Strange cast his hands forward, directing his disassociated allies back to their bodies. Potter went on the offensive, attacking with fire, with electricity, and by lobbing shards of rock and metal. Thanos observed him idly, and he got the distinct sense that he was holding back. Periodically, the wizard would furrow his brow in focus, as if attempting to see through reality he had woven. He must suspect that his senses were being deceived and was keeping his guard up.
"Strange." He said "Something's not right."
Now that just wouldn't do. Unfortunately, enough Avengers had been resuscitated and returned to action that his doppelganger had become occupied. It didn't matter if it was destroyed, but he wanted the scene he created to be believable for as long as possible. His time was up. Activating the Space Stone, he lifted Wanda Maximoff. The witch was just awakening, and only had time to widen her eyes in panic as a portal opened around them. The Reality Stone would keep them hidden while he took this witch away, allowing his Black Order the time and space to dispose of her without interference.
But then, something happened that he hadn't anticipated. Harry Potter whipped his head towards them, seeing them with clear eyes. Somehow the illusion had shattered, if only for him. Thanos pushed the witch into the portal, and as she disappeared from view he raised his gauntlet and activated the Power Stone. A beam of purple energy ripped through the air.
He didn't aim it at Potter, though. No doubt, he could use his magic to ward off or dodge a simple attack. No, Potter would be put under far more pressure if his teammates were threatened. In particular, he knew that the wizard had an affinity for the assassin- Romanoff, and that was where he aimed. She was rebounding from a parried blow from his doppleganger, completely unaware of his presence or his intentions- a perfect target.
That was how he was going to beat these heroes. They had weak points, their compassion and their love for their friends. None of them would have been able to make the sacrifice Thanos had made to get the Soul Stone, that is why they would lose. He would push and press at those weaknesses, rub them raw until cracks spread, until they fell apart completely.
He couldn't wait to see what Potter would look like when he did.
-----
Harry had only a fraction of a second to respond, to understand his dilemma and act. In moments the Power Stone's beam would strike Nat, mere seconds later the portal would close behind Wanda. He had been lucky up to this point. He was lucky that he'd worn the invisibility cloak, just in case he needed to become hidden in a pinch, and that it had protected him from whatever had knocked everyone else out. He was lucky that Wanda had been able to get his attention while she was being abducted, and that he even had the chance to help her. He wasn't going to throw that away, but he also wasn't going to let Natasha die. Neither was an acceptable outcome.
He couldn't summon Wanda back, he quickly decided. He didn't want to get into a tug of war with an Infinity Stone with so little time to spare, and he didn't want to risk what that battle might do to Wanda. No, there was only one thing for it. He slapped his hand to the ground, reaching out with his magic in a radius around him. He had just enough time to extend his magic to Natasha, Shuri, and Skye, and then he apparated them through the collapsing portal. He knew that this was possibly a one-way trip, but leaving Wanda- and an Infinity Stone- completely alone and vulnerable wasn't an option.
They reappeared in the burning wreckage of a city. Wanda was still tumbling to the ground. Natasha, Skye, and Shuri were taken their abrupt relocation poorly- after being knocked unconscious like that, he was sure this had to be very disorienting. Both Natasha and Shuri looked dizzy and stumbled as the regained their bearings, but Skye had it worse "What just happened." Skye muttered, sounding like she was fighting nausea. "Where are we?"
"I just saved your lives." Harry said "That alien, whoever he was, used the Reality Stone to create an illusion. He distracted you with a construct while hiding his true location. He kidnapped Wanda and was going to take you out without you even knowing. I just killed two birds with one stone by taking you lot with me."
"Fuck." Skye, now on her knees, heaved "Never apparate me again. Please."
"Noted." Harry smiled wryly. He kneeled down to Wanda, helping her off the ground. "Are you alright?"
"My hero." Wanda smiled faintly. "Thank you."
"Guys." Natasha interrupted the tender moment "I think I know where we are."
Harry turned, and he saw it. It was unmistakably Loki's body, and it was impaled on a stake. "Oh, fuck."
This was Asgard. Was Thor even alive? Dread bubbled up in his gut, and Harry was struck by a terrifying sense of déjà vu. Somehow, this felt like the third task all over again. Being whisked away to parts unknown, to what was undoubtedly a trap, while taking along people who weren't intended to be a part of this. And by the look of it, the city – Asgard – might as well be a graveyard.
He half expected some pathetic servant to crawl out of the ruins and attack them.
"Well, well, well. This is unexpected, but certainly not unwelcomed." As if on cue, said pathetic looking servant alighted atop one of the many slabs of burnt-out rubble. "Do not despair. Your deaths won't be without meaning, they are all a part of the great plan, the great rebalancing of the universe."
"He's a talker." Natasha muttered, and that bit of levity was enough to shake Harry from his spiral. She continued, louder "So your boss' plan was to abduct Wanda and ambush her while she was alone and disoriented. Smart plan." She smirked "For a coward."
Harry admired her way of being able to get under anyone's skin. He wasn't sure how, but she always effortlessly identified their opponents' buttons. "How dare you! The great Titan is beyond such petty accusations! You will regret the day you insulted Thanos' name!"
Well, at least they got a name.
"Forgive me." Natasha said, in a tone that wasn't at all contrite "I can only go off of what I've seen. And what I've seen so far is that this 'great Titan' of yours hid from us- like a coward- and is now having his underlings do his dirty work for him." She shrugged, appearing completely nonchalant "But I'll take your word for it."
He snarled, and launched a twisted chunk of metal towards her. Wanda stepped in to deflect it.
Ah, so he was telekinetic. That would make most traditional spells fairly useless, it would be easy to block those spells with physical barriers. Harry vanished the concrete (or whatever Asgardian equivalent they used for their construction) slab beneath their opponent, but he merely floated himself into the air. "We've got company." Shuri announced, "Looks like they've surrounded us. One thinks he's clever, trying to sneak up on us."
A HUD appeared on his glasses, including a minimap that showed the locations of their opponents.
"I've got alpha, you guys take the rest." Harry decided. It was standard practice the designate unfamiliar combatants as such.
"The big guy is beta." Shuri called "I'll take him."
"I'll be reserve." Wanda said. She would be protecting the others, intervening when needed or when she saw an opportunity. Often, that duty would fall to Harry or Pietro, due to their intrinsic mobility. But Pietro wasn't here, and Harry had other fish to fry.
Harry held his wand up, transforming a hail of spike into a gentle shower of flower petals- one of his personal favorite moves. He returned fire, hurling three chunks of dismantled wall towards him and following their trajectories with blasting curses. Predictably, the telekinetic stopped the projectiles in mid-air, but then they exploded, sending shrapnel in all directions.
Alpha flinched, holding his hand up to deflect the shrapnel, and was only mostly successful, one shard rent a nasty gouge in his side. Harry looked back quickly and surmised that the others had their own fights in hand. While their opponents had attempted to use cover to their advantage, Skye was simply levelling the rubble around them. She and Nat were in close quarters combat with two opponents. Nat was engaging Gamma, a woman who wielded a three-pronged spear. While Skye had taken on Delta, a glaive wielder who seemed to prefer stealth, but had been forced into direct confrontation by Skye. With Wanda backing them up and blunting any dangerous blows, Harry wasn't worried for either of them. Shuri had launched herself at Beta, but quickly found that she couldn't overpower him in a pure slugfest. Forced back but unharmed, she'd gone with a more tactical approach of wearing him down from a distance until she found an opening.
Satisfied, he kept his focus on Alpha, who attempted to cover his sudden weakness by attacking, sending projectiles at him from multiple directions. Harry simply apparated behind him, and shot a beam of white energy from his wand. Alpha was able to dodge, letting the searing beam whiz by his head, but with a flick of his wand, Harry reversed the beam's course. This time, it caught alpha completely unprepared, and it struck his shoulder dead on. He hissed in pain and dropped himself to the ground. With another flick of his wand, the beam of energy followed, now constantly harassing its target, weaving through debris and obstructions, unerring in its pursuit. Alpha raised a column of rubble to intercept the beam, but Harry countered by vanishing it. While with enough power from him, he could have bored through Alpha's makeshift shield, it was a waste of time and effort. The beam plunged through his chest, leaving a cauterized hole in its wake.
Alpha's only recourse was to flee, and to fling projectiles at Harry in hopes that it would distract him (it didn't). Harry was impressed, frankly, with his resilience. Harry was tougher than the average human, but he would be struggling with two holes burned into him. He was surprisingly nimble, as well, aided by his ability to propel his own body at speed with his telekinesis. Nevertheless, there was little Alpha could do to change the dynamic of the fight, and Harry found the perfect opportunity to end it as Alpha landed heavily along the edges of Asgard's wrecked palace. Harry was sure it must have once been an extravagant scene, but now the gold had been melted down, rubble strewn the floors, the frescos had been blasted apart, and the souring buildings had been demolished. There, still standing despite everything, was statue of Loki.
Harry, to be honest, was a little relieved. It wasn't a surprise that Loki would put a statue of himself up, but if Thor had returned to Asgard he probably would have torn it down. The fact that this monument to Loki's glory still stood gave Harry hope that his friend was still alive. The statue would also prove useful. Alpha had dodged the latest pass by Harry's energy beam, giving him a small opening to send a hail of rubble whizzing towards Harry as he backed up. Harry deflected the pellets without trouble, unable to suppress a grin at the trick he was about to pull.
Dumbledore had been many things, and Harry couldn't agree with all of his choices, but one thing that no one- not even Voldemort- could deny was that he was an incredibly talented wizard. He'd long wanted to copy this trick of his.
The statue of Loki came to life, and Alpha whirled around to face it, shock and even a little terror evident on his face. Hemmed in on all sides, Alpha blasted apart the statue's arm, but Harry willed his magic to repair it and reinforce its materials. The statue's hand thrust forward even as it reformed from rubble and wrapped around Alpha's neck, who wheezed for breath. Then Harry's energy bolt returned, and Harry held his fist up to stop it right in front of his adversary's forehead. "You'll never win." Alpha rasped "My death doesn't matter. Thanos will return. He is unstoppable. You'll never win." He repeated.
"Keep telling yourself that." Harry muttered "And who say's I'm going to kill you? You're way more useful to us alive." With that, he stunned him. Harry lifted himself into the air and returned to the battle, letting the body trail behind him. Skye was locked in a death grip with Delta, but he could see the glint of her gauntlet at the alien's head and knew that this was a fight was going to win. It wasn't apparent at a distance, but Harry knew she must be pumping prodigious amounts of vibrational power into his skull. Sure enough, her opponent slumped over, his brains no doubt liquified.
Natasha however, no matter how talented she may be, had been bested by Gamma, who was just too strong and agile. Wanda had been on hand though, and had simply crushed her beneath a gratuitously large mountain of rubble. Finally, there was Beta. Shuri, finally finding her opening, had launched a rocket propelled vibranium device that had pinned his wrist to a stone slab. Runes along the side of the device had lit up as it bored into the stone with screws to further anchor itself. Harry remembered helping her design the runes they used for it- they acted as an extremely powerful sticking charm. Altogether, it had proved enough to restrain even the Hulk.
Shuri hovered in the air, readying the unibeam as it charged from the arc reactor in her suit's chest. However, any restrain was only as strong as what it was anchored to, and Beta was well on his way to breaking through the slab he had been pinned to. Harry quickly repaired the slab and strengthened it for good measure. The unibeam essentially disintegrated Beta on the spot.
"Thanks for the assist." Shuri said "Honestly, I thought they'd be a little tougher, considering what their boss is like. And… you know." She gestured to the ruins around them.
"I bet he has a lot more than just those four at his disposal." Natasha speculated.
"Well, lets find out." Harry landed, waving Alpha's unconscious, levitatingbody ahead. "Would you do the honors, Wanda?"
"Not exactly looking forward to this." Wanda said with the tone of someone having to clean up something disgusting "But sure."
Wanda would have no trouble in picking apart the brains of what may well be their enemies – Thanos' – most trusted lieutenant. The fact that he possessed the other four Infinity Stones was a pretty good indication that he was after theirs, but beyond that he was a complete unknown. They needed to know why he wanted the stones, they didn't know what resources he had, his temperament, his abilities, what he was capable of.
He thought of the people he'd left behind on Earth. He didn't regret going to save Wanda. Even if he'd been willing to let Wanda die 'for the greater good', letting the Mind Stone fall into the enemy's hands would have been a disaster. At the same time, he felt a distinct sense of unease. Three out of the four of the strongest members of their team were out of the fight, and while at least Thor wasn't dead, he was missing at the worst possible time. He didn't doubt Strange's ability to pull off his one in a million plan, nor the strength their team- but having them fight someone who wielded so much power, who they knew so little about, with some of their strongest members missing…
He didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit.