Chapter 480: The Final Chapter (The End)
Carol Danvers stood to the side, rolling her eyes with growing impatience. From the moment they had entered the Mirror Dimension, Silas had been lost in a world of his own with his group of girlfriends.
"Sorry," Silas said, finally releasing Misty with an embarrassed smile. Who knew she would be quite so enthusiastic?
It was only then that Silas truly noticed Misty's attire. "Misty, those look like the Ancient One's robes," he noted, puzzled. Misty quickly brought him up to speed on everything that had happened during the five years he was gone.
"I see. But what made you think of bringing everyone into the Mirror Dimension?" Silas looked ahead, where the superheroes and Thanos's forces were still buried in their search for the real Nano-Gauntlet.
With the Infinity Stones already merged within his own body, Silas could sense the real ones effortlessly. In response to his resonance, the stones on one specific gauntlet in the center of the fray began to pulse with a faint, rhythmic light.
"You will never win!"
As fate would have it, the person closest to the true gauntlet was Thanos! He lunged for it, swiftly sliding it onto his hand. Thor and Loki tried to intervene, but both were sent flying by a casual backhand. With the gauntlet back in his possession, Thanos's power surged back to its peak.
Carol, who had been observing from the sidelines, finally made her move. Watching her streak toward him, Thanos clenched his fist, and the Power Stone erupted with a violent violet glow. Carol, apparently underestimating the stones, didn't bother to dodge. Like a stubborn bull, she raised her fist to meet Thanos's head-on.
BOOM!
The collision of the two forces sent a massive shockwave through the area, flattening the nearby heroes. Carol was sent hurtling backward, crashing into a pile of rubble.
"She's not just an LED girl; she's a total tank," Tony Stark quipped. He donned his mask, intent on reclaiming the gauntlet. Since his Mark 85 was made of the same nanotechnology as the gauntlet, he only needed to make physical contact to siphon the stones into his own suit.
Thanos prepared to meet Tony's charge, but a double-bladed sword intercepted the Iron Man. "You snap your fingers. I'll handle them," the younger Thanos growled, holding the line.
"This is it! The final stand! Charge!" Steve Rogers raised Mjolnir high as dark clouds swirled overhead, crackling with lightning.
"Kill!" The Avengers surged forward as one, desperate to stop the Snap.
"We are inevitable!" the younger Thanos roared, swinging his blades. T'Challa engaged him with his vibranium claws but was quickly overwhelmed by the Titan's peak-physicality. Steve rushed in to provide support.
"Silas, we have to stop him this time!" Misty said solemnly. She summoned two magical shields and charged toward the Thanos holding the gauntlet.
"What's the rush?" Silas muttered, watching her back.
"The lives of half the universe are at stake! Of course there's a rush!" Felicia yelled, trailing right behind Misty.
"Silas! Go for the gauntlet, we'll keep this Thanos busy!" Wanda nodded to him and joined the fray.
"Does nobody want to let me finish a sentence?" Silas's lip twitched. He had wanted to tell them not to worry because he was a walking set of Infinity Stones himself. "Whatever." He shrugged. Since everyone was so fired up, he couldn't exactly stand around looking cool.
"Ahem!" Silas cleared his throat and let out a war cry: "For the Horde! Charge!"
On the other side of the clearing, Thanos prepared to snap his fingers. Misty reached him just in time, grabbing his massive wrist. "Not while I'm standing!" she grunted, straining against his strength.
"You are but an ant, no matter how hard you try," Thanos sneered. Without even using the stones, he threw a punch. Misty conjured a magical barrier, but the sheer force shattered it instantly. She was sent tumbling across the ground. Sorcerers were truly not built for melee.
Before Thanos could raise his hand again, Scott Lang suddenly grew to the size of a skyscraper. "Thanks!" Giant-Man snatched the gauntlet right off Thanos's arm, sending the Titan sprawling with a kick.
"Damn you!" Thanos scrambled up, but Scott suddenly shrank back to ant-size. However, the gauntlet did not shrink with him.
"Uh oh..." Scott looked at the gauntlet sitting on the ground. He had forgotten that objects he held didn't always shrink unless he used a specific regulator.
Thump!
Thanos stepped on the gauntlet, pinning Scott beneath his foot, and slid it back on. In a panic, Scott reached into his belt and threw a disc at the gauntlet.
"Oh no!" Scott realized too late—the disc he threw was blue!
The blue Pym disc hit the gauntlet and activated. BOOM! A wave of energy erupted, and when the dust settled, the Nano-Gauntlet had grown to the size of a car—nearly as big as the Hulk. The Infinity Stones themselves were now the size of human heads.
"Sorry, I meant to throw a red one, but I was out!" Scott said awkwardly.
Thanos tried to put his hand back in, but it was impossible. The gauntlet's internal housing could adjust, but the massive stones were now physically blocking his entry. To snap, he needed someone big enough to wear the "new" size.
"Great, now nobody can use it," Rhodey remarked.
The situation was absurd. Even Thanos looked at the massive stones in confusion, unsure of his next move.
"Looks like I'm the savior then!" Scott took a deep breath, preparing to turn giant again to wear the massive glove.
"Scott! Here!" Hope van Dyne (Wasp) suddenly flew over and threw a red disc. It hit the gauntlet, and it shrunk back to its original size.
Thanos stood right next to it. He let out a triumphant laugh, his white teeth gleaming. "I am... inevitable!" He didn't waste another second. He recited his motto and snapped his fingers.
Snap!
Everyone's bodies began to turn to ash.
"We lost," was the collective thought. The one chance to turn the tide had slipped away. The Avengers stared blankly at Thanos, many reaching out to hold their friends and loved ones in their final moments.
"Silas!" Four voices cried out: Peter, Misty, Felicia, and Wanda.
"Don't be so sentimental," a voice rang out.
Silas stood in the center of the battlefield, his body erupting in a kaleidoscope of five-colored light.
"What?! The Infinity Stones?!" Thanos stared in horror. Why did Silas have the stones? Were the ones on his hand fake?
Snap!
Without a glove, Silas simply snapped his fingers in the air. The people who were turning to ash suddenly solidified, their bodies restored to normal.
"No!" Thanos growled and snapped again. Snap!
Everyone felt their lives slipping away again, but before they could even process the grief—Snap!
Silas smiled and snapped back, saving everyone again.
"Argh!" Thanos clutched his arm in agony. The feedback from using the stones was excruciating.
"Let me!" The younger Thanos shoved his future self aside and grabbed the gauntlet. Snap!
The Avengers had stopped being sad. They just looked at Silas. Silas didn't disappoint. Snap!
The crisp sound that Thanos now feared echoed through the air again.
"Why?!" The younger Thanos tried to snap again, but the older Thanos grabbed his hand. He closed his eyes and shook his head, whispering, "We lost..."
"I don't believe it! I am the destiny!"
Snap!
Snap!
Snap!
Snap!
The Avengers and the enemies alike watched as the two sides literally toggled the "End of the World" switch back and forth.
Avengers: "..."
Thanos's Army: "..."
Older Thanos: "..."
Younger Thanos: "..."
Finally, the younger Thanos's body collapsed under the weight of the cosmic radiation. He hit the ground, but his right hand remained raised.
"Okay, are we sure they aren't just playing with fireworks at this point?" Rhodey asked Tony.
"Who knows. I just want to go home and sleep," Tony replied, hugging Pepper.
On the other side, Misty walked up to Silas, her hands wandering over his chest and arms to make sure he was really there.
"Hey, everyone's watching. Let's save that for when we get home," Silas said, catching her hands.
Misty looked at him in awe. "How... how do you have the stones?"
"It's a long story. It was a very strange journey. I'll tell you all about it later." Silas kissed her forehead. He then turned his gaze to Thanos. "Anything else you want to say?"
Thanos didn't answer. He sat down on a large rock, seemingly lost in thought.
"I thought so." Silas raised his right hand, his expression turning serious. "I am... inevitable."
Snap!
One Week Later
It had been a week since the death of Thanos's army. Everyone attended a memorial for Natasha Romanoff. She was a hero, and no one would ever forget her sacrifice. As the crowd left the cemetery, a single black widow spider crawled out from behind her tombstone.
One Month Later
Everyone gathered for Tony and Pepper's wedding. It was a joyous occasion. Officiated by Professor Hulk, Tony and Pepper finally had the wedding that was five years overdue.
Five Years Later
In a stone house nestled deep within a forest...
"Jana! If Daddy is telling a story, you should listen!" Silas said, picking up a little girl from near the fireplace. The girl had a chubby, fair face and sparkling blue eyes like sapphires. Her name was Jana Parker—the daughter of Silas and Misty—and she had inherited her mother's beautiful eyes.
"I know, Daddy," Jana said, puffing out her cheeks.
"She never listens. You should really discipline her more, Dad," a little boy sitting on the sofa joked, making a face at Jana. This was Silin Parker, the son of Silas and Felicia. He had Felicia's mischievous personality and was always bickering with Jana.
"Give it a rest, Silin. Neither of you is any better. And Dad, your Infinity Stone story is so cliché," a slightly older-looking girl said quietly, flipping through a book. This was Kiana Parker. Due to a genetic mutation, she had silver hair, which inspired Silas to give her that name. Kiana was more like Silas's later personality—calm and cool-headed. She preferred hiding in the attic reading storybooks to playing outside. She longed for the life of a fairy tale kingdom, carefree and peaceful.
Jana was the eldest, Silin the middle brother, and Kiana the youngest. In reality, they were each only a minute apart.
"Sigh... just go play," Silas said, heading toward the bedroom to find Misty and the others.
Once Silas was gone, Jana beckoned her siblings over with a mysterious look.
"What now?" Silin asked, keeping his distance.
"Just spit it out," Kiana said, closing her book.
"No, look!" Jana checked the stairs cautiously, then pulled a hidden switch on the fireplace. A gauntlet embedded with glowing jewels slid out from a secret compartment.
"It's... it's the gauntlet from Daddy's story!" The three children's eyes reflected the multi-colored light of the stones.
The End
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