Chapter 479: The Final Battle - Part 2
Boom!
Countless shards of mirror-glass flew toward the younger Thanos. These were fragments of shattered space; no matter how strong a physical body might be, it could not withstand the literal tearing of space-time.
The younger Thanos was not foolish enough to take the hit head-on. He grabbed a massive boulder nearby and hurled it at the incoming shards.
Crash!!!
The boulder exploded in mid-air, disintegrating into fine powder that obscured the vision ahead. Seeing no further movement, Thanos prepared to turn and draw his blade.
"Stay right there!"
Misty lunged at him, a blade made of mirror-shards in one hand and a magical shield in the other. Thanos immediately drew his own weapon to meet her in a fierce exchange.
Another Sector of the Battlefield
"No, no, no! This is just a one-time-use glove!" Peter Quill was running for his life.
He had been fighting fine a moment ago, but then the gauntlet had literally fallen from the sky right into his lap. Instantly, every enemy in the vicinity redirected their focus toward him.
"Throw it to me!" Rhodey called out from above. Quill didn't hesitate, tossing the gauntlet up. These monsters were getting insane.
Rhodey caught the glove and prepared to accelerate, but a golden spear materialized in front of him. In a panic, he used the Nano-Gauntlet to parry the strike.
Clang!
The spear happened to strike the Space Stone. In an instant, the stone's energy erupted. A wave of cerulean light swept across the field, and the already unstable Mirror Dimension began to shatter under the pressure of the stone's wild fluctuations.
Boom!
Rhodey was blasted back by the kinetic wave, and the Nano-Gauntlet slipped from his grasp, tumbling toward the ground.
"Get it!" Proxima Midnight recalled her spear and led her troops toward the drop site.
"Get the gauntlet back!" Silas's general, John, was the first to charge. Currently, the Shadow Generals were only slightly stronger than peak humans. Without Silas, they had lost their connection to the source of dark power and could no longer summon Shadow Ninjas.
"Sorry, this is mine now." Ebony Maw used his telekinesis to snag the gauntlet.
"Give it back!" Giant-Man (Scott Lang) suddenly grew to massive size, kicking Maw away and catching the flying glove. Scott began to sprint, shouting, "Listen, friends! I have a plan! We send this back into the Quantum Realm!"
Thud!
Before he could finish, Scott slammed face-first into a ceiling. "Why... why is there a ceiling here?" he groaned, rubbing his head.
The gauntlet fell by his feet. But when he reached down to grab it, his hand passed right through it. "Guys! I can't touch the gauntlet!"
"The gauntlet is up here!" Tony and Pepper flew toward the sky.
Scott looked up and saw another gauntlet floating above him. Then what's the one at my feet? An illusion?
As Tony and Pepper reached for the floating gauntlet, they found it was ethereal as well. "What's happening?" Tony muttered, confused. The stones were right there, yet unreachable.
"Everyone! Look!" Peter Parker pointed ahead in disbelief.
Every combatant stopped to look. Thousands of Nano-Gauntlets were now floating in the air, drifting across the battlefield.
In the Center:
Misty and the younger Thanos backed away from each other. Seeing the phenomenon, she said, "The Mirror Dimension shattered. The mirrors are reflecting the image of the gauntlet."
"But why only the gauntlet?" Strange asked, bewildered.
"I don't know. Maybe the stones are protecting themselves," Misty replied. Even she couldn't tell which one was real.
The two versions of Thanos both stopped. Things had just become significantly more complicated.
The Outside World
"Where is everyone?" Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, stood alone in the ruins, looking incredibly awkward.
She had received a distress signal from the Avengers saying there were two versions of Thanos. She had rushed over from a neighboring star system, only to find the place empty. The battlefield was filled with smoke and burning ruins, but not a soul was in sight.
Vrummm~
A ripple appeared in the sky. A figure encased in a shimmering, multi-colored radiance descended.
"Silas?!" Carol recognized him instantly.
"Hmm?" High above, Silas looked down and saw Carol. He landed beside her. "Is the fight over?" Looking at the ruins, he wondered if he had arrived too late.
"I don't know. It was like this when I got here," Carol replied.
Suddenly, a flicker of blue light flashed within Silas's body.
"What was that?" Carol felt a familiar power.
"I see." Silas ignored her, processing the information from the stones. The stones were connected; the Space Stone was telling him that the local Infinity Stones were currently in another layer of reality.
"What's wrong?" Carol thought Silas looked a bit dazed.
Silas rolled his eyes. "Just wait." He waved his hands, and the environment began to fold. Carol braced herself, thinking Silas was about to drag her into another "sparring session."
Inside the Mirror Dimension
"What are they... what are they doing?" Carol stared, dumbfounded.
"No idea..." Silas was equally stunned.
The two warring factions had called an unspoken truce. Heroes and villains alike were squatting on the ground or hovering in the air, poking at the thousands of gauntlets to find the real one.
Peter Parker, searching nearby, heard a familiar voice. He looked up and saw the person he had been mourning. "Silas!" Peter sprinted over and tackled him in a hug. "This... this isn't a dream, is it?"
"Relax, it's not," Silas smiled, patting Peter's back. This kid must have been worried sick when he didn't return after the snap. Silas broke the embrace and pointed at the crowd. "Seriously, what happened here?"
Peter quickly brought Silas and Carol up to speed.
"Silas!"
Three melodic voices called out at once. Three young women lunged at Silas simultaneously.
"Long time... no see, Misty, Wanda, Felicia," Silas stammered. He felt a bit awkward being tackled in front of everyone, especially with Carol giving him a look of pure judgment.
"I thought you were never coming back," Wanda whispered, tears tracking down her face.
"I'm here, aren't I?" Silas smiled, wiping her tears. Felicia clung to his arm. "You jerk! You never told me you and Wanda knew each other."
"I meant to, but things got busy," Silas laughed nervously.
Misty looked at Silas with eyes like shining stars, as if she were trying to memorize every detail of him. They didn't need words; everything was understood in that gaze. They stepped toward each other and shared a deep kiss.
While the two were lost in their reunion—
On the other side:
The older Thanos knelt and picked up a gauntlet. He slid it onto his hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap!
Nothing happened.
"Hmph." He tossed it aside with annoyance and picked up another.
Just a few moments ago, the "untouchable" fake gauntlets had started to become solid. Tony had already tried to snap his fingers with one, only to realize it was a dud—and Pepper had proceeded to scold him in front of the entire battlefield for taking such a risk.
They realized the Reality Stone was likely malfunctioning or acting on its own to protect the set.
"Are you two done kissing yet?" a voice interrupted.
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