Where did it all go wrong? Thanos himself did not know.
He had planned it out perfectly. He had waited until Odin Burson and Surtur were gone. He had waited until Gorr the God Butcher had forced the gods to go into hiding at their so-called Omnipotence City.
He had waited until he had enough forces to fend off the Avengers and their groups while he and his Children gathered the Infinity Stones from the shadows.
Everything had worked out as he intended, so once again, he asked himself.
'Where did it all go wrong?' A punch brought him from his thought process, the source of it being a silver-blue blur that darted around his counter attack and delivered another blow to his side.
It was not enough to bring him to his knees, but they still hurt, each leaving a mild bruise as the gnat that causes them raced around him with a distorted chuckle.
"Come on. They said not to kill you, but no one said anything about not being able to taunt you," Darting around his grab, he could feel his leg buckle as a kick was thrown to the back of his knee.
The blur darted in front of him and he felt his head snap back as something hard hit his nose. Reaching up, he felt no break and there was no blood, but still, he couldn't do anything as another blow punched against his neck.
The sheer humiliation of the assault was beginning to push him to his limits. He was a conqueror, a saviour of the cosmos and yet, here on the bleak rocks of Vormir, he was no more than a punching bag for the silver-haired Terran.
"You...are a pest that cannot hurt me!" Thanos growled as he lunged forward, his massive fist swinging wildly through empty air as Pietro stopped behind him with a smirk.
"And you're the guy missing a left arm, butt-chin," A heavy kick cracked straight into the small of his back, the impact sending him stumbling forward.
He spun around with his recovering, but was left to stare at nothing but a distorted figure that stared at him with a smirk.
Oh, if only he had the Aether at his call. It would have been child's play to reduce this gnat to no more than a bumbling fool.
"You thinking about how you'd win if you had this?" Pietro asked, tossing the Infinity Gauntlet he had in hand before Thanos' eyes widened as the fool tossed it to him.
His arm reached for it and he could feel the cold golden Uru on his fingertips, but the very second his skin touched it, the world paused as gold dyed the area around him.
The vibration of the speedster's right arm sped up as he lunged forward, throwing a vicious uppercut that passed through Thanos' chin and tapped against his brain.
Pulling his fist back out, he grabbed the Infinity Gauntlet and took off, racing around the planet in the blink of an eye before throwing a heavy kick to the Titan's chin.
Pulling back just enough so that he didn't kick his skull clean from his body, Pietro slid to a stop and let his Super Mode fade away, turning his head as he watched Thanos' body flop down like a puppet without strings.
His eyes were wide as his jaw hung loosely, drool pooling under his head while soft babbling noises came from his mouth.
"Well, that should be enough," the speedster murmured, grabbing onto the leg of the mighty Titan that had been reduced to a twitching, drooling mess.
With a step, he shot forward and raced back up the tall mountain of Vormir, coming to a sudden stop next to the others. The sight of people jumping in shock as he appeared from thin air will never not be funny to Pietro, chuckling while dropping Thanos onto the ground.
"One unconscious Titan, delivered as ordered," Pietro spoke with a grin and Captain Marvel snorted, tossing the body onto her shoulder before staring at the gauntlet the speedster held. "What are you going to do with him?"
"Xandar should still have a functional prison built inside this super-cryogenic planet where the highest temperature is -120 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm going to toss him into one of the cells there and let his body stay frozen. What are you going to do with those?"
"Hide them as well the Mind Stone and Space Stone in a place where no one will ever find them. The Time Stone is safe with Strange and since we know where the Soul Stone is, Strange and the other Masters can just check up here now and again to make sure that it's here."
"Agreed. Well, that's a good day on the job for us. Now, who wants to party?" I just rolled my eyes at Tony's words, stepping through the portal and turning to Strange as he stood waiting with his arms crossed.
"Took your sweet time."
"Took longer than we expected, but don't sweat it. We finished everything. Now, I have a hot date with a certain spicy lady so I will see you all tomorrow," With a pulse of his thrusters, we watched as Tony flew out the hangar doors of the Avengers' Compound and into the sky, a sigh escaping Strange as he looked to the rest of us.
"Do I need to worry about that?"
"No need. I'll handle it," I replied, to which he nodded as everyone else walked through the portal.
"Well, it was fun being the peanut-gallery and getting to relax for once instead of fighting, but we have to be going now. Pietro, would you mind?"
"No problem," Pietro replied with a grin before T'Challa and Shuri vanished, sparks dancing along the speedster's body as he looked to those who remained. "Hulk, Thor, you two need a lift?"
"No, the Hulk and I shall have a race to our new home."
"Blondie's going to lose!" With a roar, the Hulk leapt through the roof and far into the sky, a sigh escaping Steve's lips as Thor used Stormbreaker to fly after him.
"Well, it's nice to see that everyone has plans for the day. Speaking of plans-"
"Don't worry, I got us a place," Pietro spoke with a smirk, ignoring Wanda's groan as Natasha hummed with a pleased smile.
"Good. What time?"
"Just make sure to be ready by 11 and have a bathing suit too."
"While I love that my brother finally has a love life, I have to ask that you keep it out of sight for me," Wanda spoke up, looking at Steve as the Super Soldier turned and walked away.
"I myself have a date so I will see you all another day. Romanoff, Maximoff, good luck on your date."
"I'll see you tomorrow. Steve, tell your closest friend who you have a date with," Watching as Natasha walked away, Wanda let out a sigh as she saw her brother ogling the woman's ass with a smirk.
"Would you have a bit of decorum?"
"Sorry, sis. Do you want me to drop you off with Vision so that you two could get started on the wedding plans?" the speedster asked with a teasing smirk, eyeing the vibranium ring that was on her left ring finger.
"Yes, actually," she replied, a faint blush staining her cheeks as he smiled. He just chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, the other holding the Infinity Gauntlet as the two shot forward.
Coming to a stop in Wakanda at Wanda and Vision's new home, he placed his sister down on Vision's lap before taking off once more, rushing back to the Avengers' Compound to pick up both the Space and Mind Stones.
"Hello, Pietro," F.R.I.D.A.Y. greeted as the speedster stopped in Tony's lab, making him pause before he smiled.
"Hey, F.R.I.D.A.Y. Are the containment units ready?"
"Mr. Stark and Ms. Shuri made sure that they were," the A.I. replied and Pietro smiled as he held up the gauntlet, allowing a pair of robotic hands to pull the Power and Reality Stones free from the gauntlet.
They then slowly placed them into spherical objects, ones that snapped shut before their vibranium lining and the Nordic runes that Heimdall had grafted into their forms activated.
'Well, that's four Infinity Stones sealed in Uru-vibranium containment units that were further enhanced by Asgardian enchantments to hide their cosmic radiation,' Pietro thought with a sigh as he picked up the four orbs, dropping them into the bag on the table.
His eyes then travelled to the Uru gauntlet he still had in hand as he picked up the bag, slinging it over his shoulder before giving a shrug as he put it in the bag as well.
Who knows? He might find a use for it while travelling.
Now with all four stones and the gauntlet ready, Pietro took a deep breath as he crouched and hopped up into the air. His Super Mode sparked to life around his body as he pierced through the atmosphere, flying into space.
It took him no more than a dozen strides before he came to a stop atop his destination, vibrating his body to pass through the far side of the Moon and sink into its depths.
Instead of going all the way inside, he stopped a few paces beyond the core, taking out the Space Stone and letting it meld with the rest of its surroundings.
Then, he pushed off and travelled a few dozen kilometers, taking the Reality Stone and doing the same thing with it. Repeating the process two more times for the Power and Mind Stones, he finally pushed back out the Moon's crust and moved.
Running along to the front of the Moon, he ran in a circle a few times before leaping towards Earth, passing through the atmosphere a few moments later and taking a deep breath as he skated to a stop atop Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Taking out his phone, he dialled the first number, smiling as it was answered just a second later. "Hey, it's me. The stones are in place. You can proceed with the spell."
"Will do," Strange replied before the call was ended, Pietro looking up towards the direction of the moon and smiling as he saw a flash of orange in the sky. "There we go. One Mystical Boundary set in place. Now, all people will see even if they manage to track down the stones will be nothing but empty space."
"And if they try to dig them up, the seals will alert you and I'll have transferred them to an entirely different planet or moon. Great work, Dr. Strange. I'll leave you to go back to your future seeing now."
"It is not just peering into the future. It's peering into multiple timelines."
"Sure. See ya," Ending the call before Strange could go off on another rant, Pietro let out a soft and pleased sigh as he looked up at the sky with a soft smile.
'And just like that, all is well for us.'
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The Next Day, Near-Midday:
I hummed softly under my breath as I waited with my arms crossed, tapping my foot against the ground to the sound of Luther Vandross' Never Too Much.
"Oh, my love...A thousand kisses from you is never too much...I just don't wanna stop, Oh, my love."
"You like Luther?" I turned as I heard Natasha's voice, but as the doors of the Avengers' Compound, I swallowed a bit hard as I caught sight of the woman.
A pair of dark sunglasses sat perched on her nose and a vibrant beach towel was draped over her shoulder. She wore a light beige, unbuttoned summer shirt, sowing off the sleek black swimsuit underneath that hugged her slender yet curvaceous form.
Finishing it off with a wide-brimmed sun hat made out of a beige fabric and simple white sandals, she smiled as I gave a slow gulp and nodded.
"Well, you look even better than I expected."
"I could say the same to you," she replied, to which I gave a bow. I had decided to go with a simple outfit for the day: a short-sleeved white shirt that I left unbuttoned, revealing my bare upper body with a pair of tailored navy blue swim shorts with silver streaks that stopped just above the knee and some casual slides.
"Well, I wanted to wear sneakers, but I don't want sandy shoes."
"Agreed. Now, where is this uncharted paradise you spoke so happily about?"
"Just hold on tight and you'll see," I responded with a wink as I held out my hand, which she took before blinking as I spun her and wrapped my arm around her waist.
"Really?"
"Really. Now, watch," Super Mode sparked to life around my body before extending to hers. With a step, I moved us through the frozen world, smiling as she enjoyed the places we passed.
Then, with a sudden stop, the sounds of paused time was replaced by the rhythmic roar of cascading ocean waves.
"And voila. A private island about 1600 miles from the coast of Dakar and 1200 miles from the coast of Barbados," I announced with a grin, stepping back as I let her enjoy the vibrant sun and cool ocean air.
The island was a bit of a stormy one, but with some help from Strange, we turned it into a summer island all year round with a cabin that was more like a manor.
Natasha turned to the cabin in question, turning to me as I shrugged. "Okay, this one I actually bought after our first date and Tony sent over a few of his drones to help build it. It's got the Stark seal of approval."
"And you checked for-"
"Surveillance gadgets? I found, destroyed and burned every single one along with leaving a note that I would tell Pepper he likes pegging if he leaves another one."
"Ah, a man after my own heart."
"I aim to please," I spoke with a bow, making her smile before my eyes as she took off her hat. Curly waves of auburn-red hair fell around her shoulders and to her lower back, my gaze moving from her hair to the bottle of sun-screen she took out as she looked over her shoulder at me with a teasing smile.
"So, you mind?"
"Not in the slightest. Let me just get everything set up," With a step, I had the beach umbrella and towels that I left in the house all placed out on the sand along with a chair should she want to lie on that.
She didn't say anything other than give a hum as she walked over, placing the bag down while I followed after and took the bottle she handed me.
As she adjusted it to be flat and laid down, my eyes widened as she pulled the string on the back of her top and let the strings fall off to the side, doing the same for her bottom.
"No tanlines. Now, give me the best massage you can and perhaps we could move your rating to a ten."
'It is good to be me.'
A/N: And we end it here!! A bit of a short one with some fighting and next chapter is gonna be a bit of a smutty one (Not full-on) before we jump into the next arc.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one...
Ba-Bye~!!