The room was still. Everyone stared at Bruce, smoke rising from his arm where the Nano Gauntlet had seared his skin. He groaned, falling to one knee—but he was alive.
"Did it work?" Steve asked quietly.
Before Bruce could answer, Clint's communicator buzzed.
He fumbled to grab it, still breathless. "Hello?"
A familiar voice came through—soft, emotional, and alive.
"Clint? It's me… Laura. Are you okay?"
Clint froze. His hands trembled.
"Laura…" he whispered, tears already welling in his eyes. "You're back… it worked…"
He looked up at the others, his face breaking into a tearful smile. "It worked!"
Cheers, sighs of relief, and overwhelmed laughter rippled through the room. The Snap had succeeded. Families restored. Lives brought back.
But Bruce suddenly turned away, his gaze fixed on a quiet corner of the room—near the platform of the quantum tunnel.
"Wait…" he whispered.
A flicker of movement caught his eye.
From the shadows… a figure stepped forward.
Clint turned slowly, then gasped.
It was Natasha.
Wearing the same outfit she'd died in, though a tear ran down the side of her suit. She looked confused… dazed… but alive.
"Nat…" Clint choked out, stumbling toward her.
She blinked, eyes adjusting to the light. "Clint…?"
He fell to his knees and wrapped her in a hug, holding her like he'd never let go again. "You came back… you really came back…"
Max spoke seeing her. "The Soul Stone didn't took her soul as she wasn't the sacrifice as she was killed not sacrificed so it was normal if Bruce also brought her back using the infinity stone along with others."
Steve, Tony, Thor, and the rest came rushing in, stopping dead in their tracks as they saw her. Their expressions shifted from shock to disbelief, then joy.
Natasha looked around at them, confused but smiling faintly. "Did it work?"
But before anyone could answer—
BOOM.
A thunderous rumble shook the compound.
Everyone turned as debris rained from the ceiling.
Ant-Man, who had gone outside to check the weather change, came sprinting back, shouting.
"Guys! GUYS! We've got incoming! Big incoming!"
Outside, the sky had darkened. Clouds twisted unnaturally above them.
Then… it emerged.
Thanos' ship.
Massive. Menacing. Hovering above Earth.
And from its hull… hundreds—thousands—of drop pods began to fall.
Inside the ruined base, Nebula was gone.
What no one had noticed was that this wasn't their Nebula.
Down below, in the war-torn remains of the Avengers compound, the real Nebula—bloodied, bound, and fighting her restraints—watched helplessly as alternate Nebula, loyal to Thanos, activated the beacon.
The mad titan's full army had arrived.
Clint instinctively pulled Natasha behind cover. Thor summoned Stormbreaker. Tony's suit flared to life. Steve gripped his shield tight.
"Looks like we're not done yet," Tony muttered.
From the horizon, explosions lit the sky as the first wave of Thanos' troops descended onto Earth.
Outside the ruined shell of the Avengers compound, smoke coiled into the sky as silence pressed down over the battlefield.
Max walked out alone from the dust and rubble, brushing ash off his jacket. His eyes scanned the sky, then narrowed as he spotted a lone figure in the distance—Thanos.
The Mad Titan sat calmly on a broken slab of debris, his massive double-bladed sword planted beside him. His armor was gleaming, untouched. He wasn't pacing. He wasn't shouting.
He was waiting.
And then… footsteps behind Max.
Thor emerged, eyes blazing with crackling lightning. Stormbreaker spun to his hand as he moved into formation.
Captain America came next, adjusting the straps on his shield with quiet determination, his expression grim.
Iron Man touched down beside them, his armor gleaming despite the soot and smoke, helmet folding back.
They joined Max, standing shoulder-to-shoulder as they faced Thanos.
The warlord looked up.
"I see it now," Thanos said, voice calm and low. "You used the Stones… brought them back." He stood slowly, every movement deliberate. "Admirable. But predictable."
"You've lost," Tony said. "Turn around, and we don't have to do this."
Thanos tilted his head slightly. "You're wrong. I've never been more certain."
He reached for his sword.
"The first time, I thought I was being merciful," he said. "Half of life, spared. Random. Dispassionate. I believed it would bring balance."
He paced now, slowly—measured steps in the cracked earth.
"But you... you showed me the flaw in that mercy. As long as there are those who remember what was lost, they will never stop fighting to undo it."
He paused and looked directly at them.
"So this time… I won't make that mistake," Thanos growled. "I won't spare half. I will burn it all down to ash. Every. Living. Thing."
"And how do you plan to do that," Max said coolly, "without the Infinity Stones?"
The Mad Titan turned his gaze toward Max, calm and menacing. "I'll take them now."
"Don't bother," Max said calmly, snapping his fingers.
From beneath the rubble near Thanos' feet, the Nano Infinity Gauntlet emerged, sliding across the broken ground and stopping just inches from the Mad Titan.
"Go on," Max said with a smirk. "Put it on. Show them how petty you really are."
Behind him, Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man stepped forward quickly, tension rising in their stances.
"Max… what are you doing?" Steve asked, his voice cautious.
Thor's eyes crackled with electricity as he added, "You're not seriously suggesting he wields the Gauntlet?"
Iron Man glanced sharply at Max, brows furrowed as realization dawned. "Wait… this is your plan, isn't it? All of it?"
Max chuckled, not denying it. "You catch on fast, Tony."
"You want Thanos to get the Gauntlet?" Tony said, stepping forward threateningly.
Max's grin widened. "Yes. Because when he does, and he thinks he's won… that's when I'll break him."
Steve's jaw tightened. "This is madness."
"No," Tony said sharply, his voice cutting through the tension. "For him… it's just *entertainment."
He glared at Max, who only responded with a calm, amused grin, as if this was all just a game. A game he was winning.
Meanwhile, the Mad Titan—Thanos—slowly reached down and picked up the Nano Infinity Gauntlet.
The metal clicked and whirred as it locked onto his arm, adjusting to his immense size.
The stones shimmered, pulsing with untamed cosmic energy.
"You've just made the last mistake of your life," Thanos growled, power surging through his body.
He raised his arm, eyes burning with grim determination.
SNAP!
***
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