Thanos has to know that Thor is here, standing in plain sight amidst the ruins of the Avengers complex, but the Mad Titan doesn't move. Doesn't speak. Doesn't do anything but sit there as if he expects the stones to come to him of their own accord. At this distance, Thor can't see the smirk on his face that must surely be there, but he's seen it in his nightmares often enough that he doesn't have to.
And yet by the time Thor hears the scraping of rock and metal behind him, his hands seem steady, his focus as gathered as it's been in months, even as his heart thuds heavily in his chest. There's a spark of genuine anger in his belly, such as he has not felt since the day he buried his axe in Thanos' chest, outraged defiance that they would come this far, get this close, only to fall at the finish line. He tamps down that anger with the reminder of what happened last time, waiting for the others to join him, so that they may face this threat together. Together.
Whether it is for the last time, or not.
He doesn't turn when Stark and Steve arrive at his side, keeping his gaze fixed on the source of the greatest waking nightmare Thor has ever known, cold numbness keeping his voice steady as he speaks in turn. "You know this is a trap, right?"
"Yeah," Stark answers, sounding just as quietly furious. "I don't much care."
Thor doesn't need to hear Steve's answer to know what he would do. Get up and keep fighting. So he simply nods. "Just so we're all in agreement." He reaches deep down for the well of power at his core, the wild storm that he has commanded for over a thousand years, and stretches out his hands to call to his weapons. The clouds overhead darken further, a thunderclap ringing out over the ruin, and rubble shifts and clatters away as Mjolnir and Stormbreaker burst forth from the wreckage and leap to his hands. Lightning strikes as he summons the armor he has not worn since the Garden, still a flawless fit, his hair gathered back beneath his black-winged helmet, his beard braided and fastened neatly at his chin.
He is as prepared as he will ever be.
The three of them descend into the crater, the last defense of Earth. They may not be enough. But there is no path but forward, into the abyss, side by side once more.
Thanos does not stand as they approach, only lifting his head to watch them in calm certainty, a satisfied smile on that monstrous face. "You could not live with your own failure," he sneers. "And where did that bring you? Back to me."
Never in his life has Thor hated someone more than he hates the Titan in front of him now. One last burst of rage, pent up underneath months of despair and grief and guilt, held in check by the agonizing teacher that is experience. Here is the true source of Thor's destruction, no matter how deeply his self-blame runs; if not for Thanos, none of it would have happened at all. As Stark moves left, Thor goes right, leaving the center for Steve as the three of them maneuver around mountains of debris to encircle their most dangerous adversary.
"I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive," the Titan continues, "but you've shown me that's impossible. And as long as there are those that remembered what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be."
"Yep, we're all kinds of stubborn," Stark says from across what is bound to become their last battlefield, the engineer's eyes fixed on Thanos.
"I'm thankful. Because now, I know what I must do. I will shred this universe down to its last atom," Thanos answers, casually pulling himself to his feet, and reaching for the helmet sitting atop his blade like a skull on a pike. "And then, with the stones you have collected for me, create a new one of my own making. There is nothing you can do to stop me, for if you kill me now, you will unravel the universe yourselves. Either I will fulfill my mission, or you will." He smiles wickedly, drawing his sword forth from the earth. "But I have no reason to stay my hand against you."
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Thanos has to know that Thor is here, standing in plain sight amidst the ruins of the Avengers complex, but the Mad Titan doesn't move. Doesn't speak. Doesn't do anything but sit there as if he expects the stones to come to him of their own accord. At this distance, Thor can't see the smirk on his face that must surely be there, but he's seen it in his nightmares often enough that he doesn't have to.
And yet by the time Thor hears the scraping of rock and metal behind him, his hands seem steady, his focus as gathered as it's been in months, even as his heart thuds heavily in his chest. There's a spark of genuine anger in his belly, such as he has not felt since the day he buried his axe in Thanos' chest, outraged defiance that they would come this far, get this close, only to fall at the finish line. He tamps down that anger with the reminder of what happened last time, waiting for the others to join him, so that they may face this threat together. Together.
Whether it is for the last time, or not.
He doesn't turn when Stark and Steve arrive at his side, keeping his gaze fixed on the source of the greatest waking nightmare Thor has ever known, cold numbness keeping his voice steady as he speaks in turn. "You know this is a trap, right?"
"Yeah," Stark answers, sounding just as quietly furious. "I don't much care."
Thor doesn't need to hear Steve's answer to know what he would do. Get up and keep fighting. So he simply nods. "Just so we're all in agreement." He reaches deep down for the well of power at his core, the wild storm that he has commanded for over a thousand years, and stretches out his hands to call to his weapons. The clouds overhead darken further, a thunderclap ringing out over the ruin, and rubble shifts and clatters away as Mjolnir and Stormbreaker burst forth from the wreckage and leap to his hands. Lightning strikes as he summons the armor he has not worn since the Garden, still a flawless fit, his hair gathered back beneath his black-winged helmet, his beard braided and fastened neatly at his chin.
He is as prepared as he will ever be.
The three of them descend into the crater, the last defense of Earth. They may not be enough. But there is no path but forward, into the abyss, side by side once more.
Thanos does not stand as they approach, only lifting his head to watch them in calm certainty, a satisfied smile on that monstrous face. "You could not live with your own failure," he sneers. "And where did that bring you? Back to me."
Never in his life has Thor hated someone more than he hates the Titan in front of him now. One last burst of rage, pent up underneath months of despair and grief and guilt, held in check by the agonizing teacher that is experience. Here is the true source of Thor's destruction, no matter how deeply his self-blame runs; if not for Thanos, none of it would have happened at all. As Stark moves left, Thor goes right, leaving the center for Steve as the three of them maneuver around mountains of debris to encircle their most dangerous adversary.
"I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive," the Titan continues, "but you've shown me that's impossible. And as long as there are those that remembered what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be."
"Yep, we're all kinds of stubborn," Stark says from across what is bound to become their last battlefield, the engineer's eyes fixed on Thanos.
"I'm thankful. Because now, I know what I must do. I will shred this universe down to its last atom," Thanos answers, casually pulling himself to his feet, and reaching for the helmet sitting atop his blade like a skull on a pike. "And then, with the stones you have collected for me, create a new one of my own making. There is nothing you can do to stop me, for if you kill me now, you will unravel the universe yourselves. Either I will fulfill my mission, or you will." He smiles wickedly, drawing his sword forth from the earth. "But I have no reason to stay my hand against you."