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witcherislovewitcherislife · 5 years

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Steggy Week Day 1 - Endgame

Author’s Note: This is my fic for Day 1 of Steggy Week 2019 - Topic: Endgame

I was unsure of what to write for Endgame as a lot of it has already been covered. There have been plenty of reunion fics and quite a few character studies about Steve's decision to return to the past so I didn't want to do those. I was going to just write another reunion smut fic but I already wrote two of those so I decided to do something different.

This fic is basically what I expected to happen when Steve and Tony went to 1970 during Endgame. Before I saw the movie, I was 99% sure that they were going to go back to S.H.I.E.L.D at some point in the past, either the 60s, 70s, or 80s because of various casting listings that I saw. And I was very happy to be correct. And so happy that Peggy, Jarvis, Howard, and Hank Pym all showed up too.

I expected Peggy to bust Steve stealing the Pym Particles. So this is basically a what-if if that had happened.

I hope you all enjoy, thanks for reading! :D

{Read on AO3}

You Never Were Very Good at Stealth

The mission was simple. Grab the vials of Pym Particles and meet Tony back above ground. They had a close call in the elevator but Tony did a good job keeping Steve’s face out of sight. He had navigated his way down the halls quickly and after his expertly planted phone call distraction, Steve was able to slip into Dr. Pym’s office.

The particles were on display proudly which did surprise Steve a bit. This man had shrinking particles, the keys to time travel, just sitting in a display case for all to see. Steve couldn’t complain too much though, it certainly made his job much easier.

He grabbed four vials and shoved them in his pockets. But Steve froze when he heard the gun click behind him, he hadn’t heard anyone approaching. He just hoped that the person pointing the gun wasn’t her…

*******************************************************************************************

It was like any other day at S.H.I.E.L.D for Peggy. She got updates on mission reports and briefed on the latest scientific discoveries. There had been no disturbances. That was until two security guards, whom she couldn’t remember the names of, came and warned her that two suspicious individuals had been reported.

Normally, she would leave them to search for the suspects themselves. But for some reason, Peggy just had a feeling that she should handle this situation herself.

Peggy headed out of the meeting room she was in and scanned the halls. She peered into every room looking for something out of the ordinary. And when Dr. Pym zoomed past her, she had a good feeling where she should look next.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she snuck into Dr. Pym’s office and saw a man stealing the famous Pym Particles.

She snuck up as quietly as possible and pulled her pistol from the garter holster hidden under her skirt. Ana Jarvis’ amazing invention still suited her decades later.

Peggy stood at a safe distance so he could not disarm her, cocked the gun, and pointed it at the back of the man’s head.

“Put your hands in the air and identify yourself!”

*******************************************************************************************

“Shit,” Steve thought subconsciously. All the people that work in this facility and of course she would be the one to catch him.

He could try to escape but he knew Peggy was the best shot there was. He remembered her hitting that Hydra driver from a couple hundred feet away with a pistol that wasn't supposed to be accurate at more than a couple dozen feet.

It was time to face the music. It was time to face her.

Steve slowly put his hands above his head and turned to face her, his head hung low.

*******************************************************************************************

Peggy sucked in a sharp gasp and she caught herself shaking lightly....it wasn’t possible.

“Steve?”

He raised his head slowly and spoke softly to her, the same way he had when her dementia kicked in, “Yeah, Peggy. It’s me.”

She still looked the same. Still the same well fitting business attire though this wasn’t military issue like it had been during the war. Still the same luscious brunette curls falling past her shoulders. Still the same victory red lipstick coating her soft lips that he hadn’t felt in so long. Her hair had a few bits of gray but Steve thought it made her even more beautiful.

“Who are you, really!?” Peggy demanded.

“Peggy..” Steve spoke in that soft voice reserved only for the rarest of moments.

“No! You’re dead!” Peggy half cried out.

“I can explain, Peggy.”

“Prove it. Prove that you are who you say you are.” She was shouting at this point but she simply didn't care.

“Look in my pocket, Peggy.”

“Why?”

“So I can prove who I am.”

“Take your jacket off, set it on the table and slide it to me. Slowly!”

Steve did as he was instructed. Peggy reached into the pocket and pulled out a compass. She knew what was going to be on the inside when she opened it. Her hands shook but she managed to unclasp the latch and flip open the compass slowly. She was greeted with her younger face smiling back at her.

The gun fell from her hand and she looked back up towards Steve, her eyes welling with tears. Peggy let out a cry and rushed to him, throwing her arms around him as his wrapped around her body tight. The same way they had all those years ago.

It felt like years passed until she pulled back and her palms cupped his face as his hands held her sides. Peggy had tears openly streaming down her face now.

“You look older.”

That managed to get a chuckle out of Steve, “Yeah. I feel older too.”

“I don’t understand this, Steve. H-How?”

“It’s complicated, Peg.”

“I have time.”

“I don’t.”

Peggy’s face fell instantly, the words stung her like the freezing cold. Steve was crying now too. He wanted to spend eternity with this woman still. But he had a mission and he needed to get back to Tony as soon as possible.

“Steve. Please.”

“Would you believe me if I said time travel, Peggy?”

“Time travel? So, you’re what? From the past?”

“Future.”

“But you died, Steve. This doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know, Peggy. It all goes over my head too.”

“Please, Steve. Just tell me something, anything.”

Steve took in a deep breath, he owed her an explanation at least.

“I didn’t die, Peg. Back in 1945. The ice froze me and I stayed in a form of cryo-sleep. S.H.I.E.L.D found me in 2011 and unfroze me.”

Peggy almost fell off her feet, this was all too much to take in. Luckily Steve was holding her up and he guided her to a chair near the table in the center of the room.

“So, what, you’re from 2011?”

“No. 2023. Like I said, it’s complicated.”

“Wow…” was all Peggy could manage to say. This all sounded so ridiculous but she believed every word.

“I know it’s a lot Peggy. I’m really sorry. But I need to go. I came here for a reason.”

“To get those Pym Particles that you were stealing?”

“Yeah.”

"You never were very good at stealth."

"I actually got better than you would ever believe. Hard to sneak around you though."

“Back on topic, whatever do you need those particles for?”

“They’re the key. To time travel, I mean. To make a long story short, I need them to save the world.”

Peggy half laughed-half scoffed, “Of course you are.”

“Guess some things never change.”

They both grew quiet and Steve was about to apologize and make his exit until Peggy spoke up again.

“Can you tell me anything else, Steve? Please.”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Yes, Steve. I do.”

“You won’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

Steve took in a deep breath before he began, he knew he should get back to Tony but he couldn’t leave Peggy without giving her something more. She deserved answers. She deserved the world.

“In 2018, half of all life in the universe is disintegrated, reduced to ash by a Titan named Thanos.”

“And how exactly did this "Thanos" do this?” Peggy inquired, adding air quotes around the name Thanos. She clearly wasn't amused by his story. He didn't blame her. He probably wouldn't believe himself either.

“The infinity stones.”

“The what?”

“The infinity stones. There’s actually another reason why we’re here. The Tesseract, you have it here, and we need it.”

“The Tesseract? You mean that glowing blue cube that Howard fished out of the ocean years ago.”

“That’s the one. It contains one of the six infinity stones. I don’t know too much about them, I leave that for the scientists on my team. But basically, they were created at the dawn of time, each one contains unspeakable power. They were scattered all throughout the galaxy. Thanos got all six and used them to kill half the universe.”

Peggy considered his words carefully for many moments before looking him deep in the eye and speaking slowly.

“This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Time travel, aliens, jewelry that can destroy the universe. It all sounds like science fiction bullshit. And yet, I believe every word.”

“Believe me, Peggy. It’s true. I didn’t believe it either until I saw it. Trust me, there are even crazier things than that, that become normal in the future.”

Steve glanced up at the clock ticking on the wall. He had been here far too long and he needed to go. Tony was probably wondering where he was and if he had been compromised.

“I’m sorry, Peggy. I need to leave.”

Peggy stood again and approached him, “Always saving the world. The world truly doesn’t deserve you.”

“I’m tired, Peggy. I just want to rest. But I can’t until the world is safe---safe enough.”

“The world will never be safe. But I know what you mean. I’m tired too, Steve. I think we both deserve some rest.”

“That we do, Peg. That we do.”

“You’re sure you have to go? I only just got you back.”

“I have to, Peg. I’ve stayed too long as is.”

“Wait! How does this work? Is your body still in the ice or what?”

“I--I don’t know, actually. Don’t look for me, Pegs. Is isn’t worth it. And don’t tell Howard. I know how much time he’s already spent looking for me. Tell him….tell him to spend more time with his child and less time looking for me.”

“I don’t un-”

Steve cut her off before she could finish, “Just do that, Peggy. Please.”

Her breath shook but she managed to croak out an, “Okay, Steve.”

Steve pulled her close again, into a tight embrace. He took in the scent of her hair, still the same lovely scent of shampoo she managed to use all those years ago.

Both of them were crying when Steve pulled back, Peggy didn’t hesitate to cup his cheeks and plant her lips to his. Steve froze for a second before reciprocating the kiss, pulling Peggy impossibly closer and taking everything she would give him.

He ignored the cold silver ring he could feel against his right cheek. He knew she was married but he also knew that the love he and Peggy shared went far deeper. He was happy for Peggy, truly. That she was able to move forward and live on. Find another right partner to spend her life with. But he still saw the way she looked at him when she found out he was alive. And as selfish as it was, Steve liked that he had that effect on her. He hated himself at the same time. Hated to see her in pain. Hated to know that he was the cause of that pain. But knowing that she cared? Knowing that she loved him just as much as he loved her and that he didn’t just imagine it? He would only be lying to himself if he said he didn’t kind of like it.

He didn’t know how long they kissed for, all he knew was that when they pulled apart, they were both still crying and now breathless. They leaned their foreheads together and simply sat there breathing each other in for a long moment.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that,” Steve spoke up first.

“Done what? I kissed you. If anything, I should be apologizing. Not that I’m going to. I’ve wanted to do that again for 25 years.”

“I’ve missed you like crazy, Peggy. I’ll always miss you. I’ll---I’ll always love you.”

Peggy let out a soft loving sigh as another tear trickled down her cheek, “I love you too, Steve. I never stopped. I’m sorry things couldn’t be different.”

“You’ll always be my right partner, Peg.”

Steve planted one final chaste kiss to her lips before he sprinted out the door, not looking back. Because he knew if he did, he would never leave.

*******************************************************************************************

"Hey, you alright?” Tony asked when Steve met him at the rendezvous point. He could tell that Steve had been crying and it appeared that his lips were slightly reddened and swollen as well.

“Yeah, yeah. I will be. When we’re done with this. Then---then I will be.

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agentxthirteen · 5 years

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Okay but here’s the thing about Marvel & Emily VanCamp/Sharon Carter

By January of 2016, Markus & McFeely had the first draft for Infinity War. Civil War was still filming when they started talking about ideas.

Primary filming for Infinity War between November 2016 and June 2017.

In April 2017, Kevin Feige announced filming for Infinity War and A4 (later revealed to be Endgame) would be filming back to back, rather than simultaneously.

Primary filming for Endgame began August 2017 and wrapped in January 2018. Reshoots occurred all the way through March 2019 as the Russos continued to edit the film.

On October 7, 2017 Marvel Studios took a 10-year-anniversary photo. Emily VanCamp, who plays Sharon Carter, was there. So were Markus & McFeely, the Russos, H*yley Atwell, and Chris Evans.

Atwell posted photos in Atlanta the week after the photoshoot, confirming she was there and implying she was in town filming a cameo for Marvel. In August 2016, she said she had “absolutely not” ruled out the possibility of playing Peggy again, despite her character’s funeral in Civil War, released in May 2016.

In January 2018, Emily VanCamp talks about why not to expect her character to show up in Infinity War. She is supportive and cheerful and says that from everything she hears, the movies are going to be epic.

In April 2018, Infinity War is released.

In May 2018, Markus & McFeely talk about how they early drafts of the movie included Sharon & Steve sharing an apartment together.

In April 2019, Endgame is released. Along with that ending for Steve. According to the Russos and Markus & McFeely, the ending was planned before they even shot Endgame.

I’m not going to get into whether that ending suited Steve’s arc (okay, that’s a lie - Peggy told him she had a fully and happy life and a wonderful family and that they couldn’t go back).

But here’s the thing. They said in a magazine interview (that I should have bookmarked) after TWS came out that they cut an entire storyline of Sharon’s due to lack of time.

We have the deleted Steve/Sharon scene on the Civil War DVD. We have leaked storyboards indicating Sharon originally had a larger amount of screentime by at least a couple minutes. Speaking of Civil War, Emily VanCamp said in an interview with... I think Jimmy Kimmel? That she’d gotten the full script. She didn’t realize no one else had.

So over the course of years, the Russos trimmed Sharon’s screentime down to 7 1/2 minutes. A lot of that was Sharon & Steve. Steve asking Sharon out in TWS, him being upset that she lied to him. Them in the deleted scene/hallway scene in CW, working together to figure out part of Zemo’s plan and help Bucky, the kiss.

Emily VanCamp got death threats for that. An interviewer told her she was disrespectful to playing the role (echoing something Atwell said about Sharon). The whole time, no one else stands up for Emily or for Sharon. Atwell said at a convention after, when asked if Sharon should have an expanded role now that Peggy is dead, “Absolutely not.” That’s just some of what happened.

But what really gets me is that Marvel knew. Or says they knew.

That when Emily VanCamp was at the 10-year-anniversary photoshoot

Smiling and hopeful and supportive

After all the crap she’d been through

After she’d been so supportive of others and they’d almost never been supportive of her

They already knew that she wouldn’t be in Infinity War or Endgame

And they knew the whole time

That they’d had Steve cram his tongue down Sharon’s throat

Only to go into the past and live with Peggy instead.

What.

Fucking.

Asshole.

Dipshit.

Monsters.

I am LIVID.

#avengers: endgame #spoilers #sharon carter #emily vancamp

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ty-talks-comics · 5 years

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Best of Marvel: Week of August 21st, 2019

Best of this Week: Tony Stark: Iron Man #15 (Legacy #615) - Dan Slott, Jim Zub, Juanan Ramirez, Francesco Manna, Edgar Delgado and Joe Caramagna

Tony Stark may not be the man he says he is anymore.

Since the landmark 600th issue of Iron Man, Tony Stark hasn’t been entirely sure that he is actually himself and not just a strange collection of nanobots and machines strung together in the form of the billionaire tech wizard. After the horrible incident surrounding eScape, Tony Stark’s virtual reality world, leads to the deaths of a few people and millions or more in property damage, Tony has to take the stand and address what exactly happened.

He’s grilled pretty thoroughly on what an AI is and how much was his responsibility vs. how much can be blamed on Controller, the supervillain who hacked into the supposedly secure network and caused all of this damage. Overseeing the hearing is a surprising character from another mechanical superheroes past. Senator Miles Brickman, a character that originally appeared as something of an anti-machine/anti-AI character in the pages of Machine Man’s original series, it livid and irate at Tony Stark. Showing a bit of prejudice in his questioning, he asks has Tony Stark ever made any changes to his body using technology, then follows by asking “Can you prove that you’re not some form of artificial intelligence?”

Tony initially tries to dance around the question, but upon being reminded that he’s under oath, reveals that it is actually quite possible as his body was put back together cell by cell while he was in his coma. This shocks everyone, from Rhodey to Bethany Cabe, his head of security at Stark Unlimited, and even his brother Arno Stark who is watching the hearing from his office at Baintronics, the rival technology company.

AI Tony calls for a recess after a few snarky lines as we cut to Vision and Wonder Man arriving at Avengers mansion, thinking they’ve been called to assist in Tony’s hearing. Immediately some red flags might want to be set off with the characters involved, especially when Jarvis lets them in and soon after betrays them with a large piece of metal embedded in the back of his head with a familiar design.

Things start to heat up as Brickman produces the Tony Stark AI that was used by Riri Williams while Tony was in a coma and asks does this fully functioning, autonomous copy have legal rights and responsibilities. What makes me so uncomfortable about this scene is that it plays on the fear of the unknown.

Brickman has tried to have Machine Man destroyed in the past and even knowing that Tony Stark has saved the world in the past, he’s not willing to consider that he still has right once it’s admitted that he may not be fully human anymore. In a way it mirrors some of our own discussions as it pertains to AI and whether or not we’ll allow them autonomy once they become advanced enough for it. There’s a whole discussion for sex robots that no one is qute ready for just yet.

The Wasp, Janet van Dyne, flies through a robot protest on her way to meet Tony for lunch and catches him talking to Tony AI. Tony AI agrees to be loaded into the Iron Man suit and they all fly off when suddenly they’re met with a gross amalgamation of Vision and Wonder Man fused together. Ramirez’s art makes him look so horrifying with only half of Wonder Man’s luxurious hair and cracking skin that’s as red as Vision’s. He rushes at Tony in a rage and promises to rip the human and AI halves of him apart, displaying an anger that neither character has ever presented.

In the middle of their fight, Jarvis appears and zaps Janet, who was knocked out of the fight during the initial rush. He places her in his pocket and leaves thereafter. Tony and WonderVision continue their fight, destroying the robot protestors in the process. Tony realizes that they only way to stop them is to use a localized EMP which will also kill Tony AI. The technological Tony isn’t fazed and just tells Tony to kiss Jan a bunch and feel vaguely bad about it later.

Unfortunately, this leaves Tony in the middle of the carnage. He’s surrounded by broken robots, likely to take the blame for all of it and realizes that Jocasta was right, he only sees everything as data. He breathes a small sigh that he’s still alive and that WonderVision didn’t take Janet… until he can’t find her. We then cut to the surprising return of The Avengers greatest enemy as his new gambit to destroy Tony Stark and spark a new machine age is in full effect.

What I liked most about this issue is that Tony’s mistakes really catch up to him in a bad way. He’s always managed to skate by the skin of his teeth when his machines have gone haywire. While Brickman was being an asshole for the trial, he made a good point in that we don’t quite know if we can trust this Tony. Given what we as the audience know thus far, he’s falling hard. Almost going back to the drink, questioning his own existence, not even having the trust of the brother that’s been by his side since his appearance in the mid 2000s (in this universe).

And that ending, finally seeing the seeds of what’s been sewn for months now starting to take form, is always fun. I had wondered what happened to this character since Infinity Wars (2018) and I can’t wait to see where exactly this story is going to go and what the repercussions of that event will be. I also can’t wait to see how exactly he’ll scar Tony and his extended family now that he’s returned. High recommend!

---------------------------------------------------

Things were looking up for Otto Octavius. He had found a nice woman and was slowly falling in love, he had mended fences with Anna-Maria in a way. After the events of War of the Realms, he was a respected and loved hero in San Francisco and then it all came crashing down.

Runner Up: The Superior Spider-Man #10 (Legacy #43) - Christos Gage, Mike Hawthorne, Wade von Grawbadger, Jordie Bellaire and Clayton Cowles

After taking the lovely Emma on a swing through the city, The Spider-Man of San Francisco goes on to visit the child he saved all the way back in issue #4 and help his new adoptive parents get custody of him. These small moments of warmness are a far cry from the maniacal nature that we were once accustomed to from Octavius. Bellaire colors most these scenes in a nice, warm orange. Giving us this feeling of joy and some happiness for Otto… at least until he’s discussing having a child with Emma and she alerts him to the news report that asks if the SF Spider-Man is really Otto Octavius.

Things start to spiral even further as Spider-Man is interviewed and dances around the question and the Brothers Grimm acknowledge that he hired them for some temp work if they went straight, alluding to the first arc of the book. Otto is furious, Anna-Maria gives him snark and Emma tells him that he needs to face things head on, getting in front of it all. He can prove that he’s changed. Unfortunately, Anna-Maria brings up the kid as an example of someone who he’s helped and he swings to the apartment to find the foster parents angry and the child sad that he lied. Normally Otto wouldn't think twice about lying to someone or omitting information, but looking into that child's eyes as he began to cry, Otto reveals that he lied because he wanted the kid to like him and they hug.

Soon after, Otto is called back to Horizon University where he is known as Professor Tolliver. Max Modell is waiting for him as he's received an email telling him that Tolliver is actually Otto Octavius. Surprisingly to Otto, Max already knew. Max Modell may act like a goof, but he's not considered one of the brightest minds in Marvel for no reason. He ran a DNA test to confirm soon after his emergence and gave "Tolliver" a chance to prove himself a changed man and given that he has, he's been trying to help clear his name.

With Max's security footage and his own enhanced suit, Otto is able to determine that it was actually Spiders-Man that sent all of the incriminating data to everyone. Once Spiders-Man realizes he's caught, the thousands of spiders that make up his form reconstitute until Ock defeats him and compresses the former Peter Parker's consciousness into one Spider-Body. After some pushing, Spiders-Man reveals that it was Norman Osborn's idea. This Norman Osborn, however, is from another dimension where he's the Spider Totem and his main enemy was a Green Goblin Peter Parker, if I remember right.

Spiders-Man also tells Otto that Norman is in his own dimension, safe from harm. During the events of Spider-Geddon, the Web of Fate was destroyed, making dimensional travel much harder for Spider people. Octavius hits a wall until Anna-Maria comes out that she's saved a bit of Terrax's energy from the first arc in the Living Brain robot, in case Otto ever reverted. This makes him sink even lower, but ultimately he understands and tries to use the power to make a portal...only Norman planned for this and over loads the machine, causing it to destroy the building almost killing everyone inside if not for Otto.

Otto manages to save Max and Anna-Maria, but is swiftly defeated and left for dead by Norman who was there the entire time. When Otto asks why Norman is doing this, he responds in the most Norman Osborn way possible by saying, "You insulted me."

Just when Otto Octavius was finding his place in the world as a hero, forces mostly belong his control have made their move in an effort to derail him. Otto finally seems happy, even helping out a young child that he absolutely has no obligation to and starting a budding new relationship with an older woman that's just as smart as he. Things were going well, he even got a key to the city for crying out loud!

But, as fate befalls all Spiders, his terrible actions in the past are coming back to haunt him. Who's to say that Mephisto doesn't have a little bit of a hand in this as well? We can only hope things turn out well for Otto in the end, but not before Norman makes things much, much worse.

#comics #marvel #marvel comics #iron man #tony stark #janet van dyne #machine man #dan slott #jim zub #juanan ramirez #francesco manna #superior spider man #otto octavius #norman osborn #spiders man #christos gage #mike hawthorne

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katelynrushe26 · 6 years

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Looking Back on Loki - Part 2

SPOILER ALERT!!

THIS ESSAY WILL ALSO GIVE AWAY THE BEGINNING OF THE AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE YET AND YOU DON'T WANT ANYTHING IN IT TO BE RUINED, SEE IT BEFORE READING THIS.

IF NOT FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, THEN DO IT FOR LOKI'S.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

It's worth mentioning that during this film's post-production, actor Tom Hiddleston appeared in character as Loki at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con. He "interrupted" a sneak preview of Thor: The Dark World, scolded the crowd for not accepting him as their king the summer before, then vowed to show them the preview if they pledged their loyalty to him. Needless to say, the crowd got their preview and the God of Mischief gained a wildly supportive army that day.

I bring this up because it showed how aware Marvel was of Loki's popularity at the time, as well as how keen they were to play to it. I think that contributed a lot to his role in The Dark World.

The filmmakers knew we wanted to see him turn good and team up with Thor. They knew we debated if and how he would die in future films, and they knew how much we wanted to see him succeed for once. Because of this, there was a real sense that they toyed with our expectations for Loki in the second Thor film, and the end result was perfect for his character.

Loki hit rock bottom in The Dark World. Not only was he disgraced before all of Asgard, but Odin seemed to disown him and left him virtually powerless by imprisoning him. Then, when Loki thought things couldn't get worse, he caused the death of his adoptive mother Frigga. The dark elf Malekith invaded Asgard, and when a henchman named Kurse found Loki in the dungeon, Loki told him the way to the throne room. He did this for revenge on Odin, but it was Frigga that Kurse killed instead.

This made Loki snap again. Now there really was no salvaging his life, and with Thanos no doubt hunting him down after his failure on Earth, he knew his days were numbered. This and his rage over Frigga's death made him decide to cooperate when Thor asked him to help stop Malekith. This would only mean temporary freedom for Loki, but that was all he needed to carry out his new plan.

His chance came during a fight between him, Thor, and Kurse on the dark elves' home world. Loki killed Kurse, saving Thor and avenging Frigga, but he was wounded in the process. Thus we got the scene we were expecting where he died dramatically in Thor's arms after redeeming himself. The twist was that it wasn't real.

To my knowledge, it's never been confirmed if Kurse really stabbed Loki, since Loki's powers allowed him to cast illusions of such things. Either way, he wasn't fatally wounded, but he took advantage of Thor's emotional state and faked his own death. Thor was forced to leave him behind and pursue Malekith, one of Odin's guards found Loki, Loki killed the guard and assumed his appearance (possibly even disguising the guard's body as his own), and returned to Odin. After that, he used his powers to trap Odin on Earth, assumed his adoptive father's appearance, and took on a new life as the King of Asgard. At long last, the God of Mischief had succeeded.

What's interesting is that he never sought further revenge on Thor after his brother defeated Malekith and came home. Thor had broken Loki out of prison and committed treason by leaving Asgard, so no one would have questioned a steep punishment for the God of Thunder, but Loki allowed Thor to go free and live happily on Earth with his human friends. Maybe he had made some kind of peace with Thor during their time together, maybe he couldn't properly restrain Thor since he didn't have any of Odin's powers, or maybe he thought that letting Thor leave Asgard on good terms would minimize suspicion towards himself. Whatever the reason, fully pardoning his brother after everything they had put each other through showed growth on Loki's part.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

It would take four years for Loki to show up again in the MCU. He was supposed to make a cameo in 2015's The Avengers: Age of Ultron when Thor had a vision of Asgard's destruction, but like a lot of things in that film, he was cut for time. Between that and all the questions that The Dark World had left us with, there was still a good amount of excitement for Loki's comeback in Thor: Ragnarok.

To put it simply, this Thor movie turned out to be very different from the first two. It's said that director Taika Waititi, best known for comedies, was given free reign with Ragnarok, so there ended up being way more emphasis on humor than drama this time around. For Loki, this meant giving us a more cowardly, inept, and silly God of Mischief than we were used to seeing.

In terms of the narrative, this character inconsistency can actually be justified. Loki spent his whole life seeking admiration and eventually power, and once he gained both at the end of The Dark World, he had no goals left to work towards. This caused him to lose a lot of his drive and his edge over the four years he spent disguised as Odin, and not having to worry about Thanos finding him anymore allowed him to become oblivious to the world around him. It made sense that after Thor caught on and exposed him as an imposter at the start of Ragnarok, Loki had to spin his wheels a bit before finding a new direction in life.

He hit rock bottom again after Thor made him take them to the real Odin on Earth. The brothers found their father moments before he died, and although Odin forgave Loki, his death was one betrayal too many for Thor to do the same. The final nail in the coffin came when Thor's half-sister Hela sensed Odin's passing and seized control of Asgard.

The best Loki could think to do was give up on his home again and simply look out for himself. When he and Thor became stranded on the planet Sakaar, he quickly schmoozed his way into favor with its ruler, the Grandmaster. He made one half-hearted attempt to help Thor, mostly so he could brag about his new social status, but when Thor still wanted nothing to do with him, Loki tried to betray his brother for financial gain. Thor outwitted him though, saying that Loki's refusal to be more than the God of Mischief had made him predictable, and escaped back to Asgard without him.

This marked the ultimate turning point for Loki. All his schemes of the past seven years had been for nothing, and having Thor completely give up on him this time made him finally realize what he had ruined between them. What was more, he had no guarantee that he would be safely hidden from Thanos on Sakaar. There was a chance he might die soon anyway, so why not die doing something genuinely admirable?

After making his own escape from Sakaar, Loki took his brother's words to heart and returned to Asgard to help Thor defeat Hela. This involved destroying their home like Thor had foreseen, and it was Loki who set that destruction in motion. Curiously enough, he had to do it in Odin's vault—the same room where he had first learned of his Frost Giant lineage. The ship that he had arrived on allowed Asgard's people to evacuate in time, and Loki further proved his loyalty by joining them on their voyage to Earth. It was during this voyage that he made his peace with Thor and watched his brother assume the role of Asgard's new king.

It seemed like Loki was finally a real hero, but in the midst of it all, he had secretly made another huge mistake in another moment of weakness.

The Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

And that brings us to the grand finale. Infinity War is still less than two weeks old, and it's already broken the record as the fastest movie to ever gross $1 billion at the box office. It's well on its way to becoming the highest grossing film of all time, and I think that's largely because of how many upsetting character deaths occur throughout the plot. Fans want to figure out how the next Avengers film will resolve things, if it even can, and a good way to look for clues is by watching Infinity Wars again. And if that doesn't work, then at least they'll get the most out of what could be their favorite characters' final appearances on the big screen.

The film is shocking and bleak, and Loki's death in the opening scene sets that tone perfectly.

His huge mistake at the end of Ragnarok was stealing the Tesseract from Odin's vault before he escaped from Asgard. Loki did this on impulse as well, not because he wanted a peace offering for Thanos, but because he remembered how powerful the device was and couldn't resist the thought of possessing it again. Now that the Tesseract was away from Asgard though, Thanos could sense the Infinity Stone inside of it and was able to track down the Asgardians' ship in space. The Mad Titan boarded their ship, and in a horrible twist of irony, half the people that Loki had helped to rescue were slaughtered before his eyes.

Even then, he tried to deny having the Tesseract since he knew what his enemy meant to do with the stone it contained. It wasn't until Thanos started torturing Thor in front of him that Loki revealed the device, though he still didn't give up. He stalled for time so the Hulk could attack Thanos, and when the Hulk lost that fight, Loki attempted to finish the job himself.

Loki often defeated opponents by distracting them with illusions of himself and then striking from behind. However, he didn't do that this time; perhaps he decided he was through with hiding. Instead he faced Thanos himself, pretended to offer his services again, and tried to stab his former ally in the throat. Sadly, the God of Mischief really had become predictable, and after stopping the blow, Thanos lifted him into the air by his neck while Thor watched helplessly. Loki declared that the Mad Titan would never be a god, then Thanos killed him with one squeeze. The last we saw of Thor's little brother was his body lying on the floor while the God of Thunder grieved over him.

I've heard complaints that this sendoff for Loki was anticlimactic, but I disagree. The scene pretty much covered all the bases it needed to for his story arc: proving that he valued his brother's life more than his own ambition, having him team up with two of the Avengers to an extent, showing that he'd accepted his past by stating he was Odin's son but not an Asgardian, and letting him get in a few last tricks and interesting lines. I even kind of like that his death was so simple and blunt this time. He already had an epic sci-fi spectacle death in the first Thor film and a dramatic Shakespearean death in the second, so it was fitting that his third death had none of those theatrics. That sold the reality of it so much more.

As for killing him in the first scene, I understand why it was done. We needed a personal reason to hate Thanos, and the film needed to show us how high the stakes had grown. Also, I'm not sure what else the writers could've done with Loki in this film. What made him so interesting was his moral conflict, the question of whether or not he would become one of the heroes. When he did that at the end of Ragnarok, he completed his arc. If he'd survived and been just another good guy throughout Infinity War, I think he would've been a lot less interesting, and if he'd become a villain or a double agent again, I think it would've felt too contrived. Besides, his death became Thor's main motivation to destroy Thanos, and since this was brought up multiple times, it still felt like Loki had a presence throughout the film.

Production photos of the fourth Avengers movie have surfaced since Infinity War's release. Because they appear to take place during the events of the first film and feature the characters wearing mysterious wrist devices, fans have speculated that the story will involve time travel to undo the final moments of Infinity War. It's possible that Loki could "return" that way, with Thor encountering a past version of his brother. There's also hope that he might come back from the dead as a result of the Avengers meddling with the past.

Personally, I think the best way to bring him "back" would be in spirit, with Thor either using the Infinity Stones to connect with him or by dying as well. It'd be a fitting and poignant end for the God of Thunder to sacrifice himself for the universe and then have his brother lead him to Valhalla as a reward. We'll just have to wait and see.

If this is the last time we'll ever see Loki, I'll close with this: When he first saw himself as a Frost Giant, he wondered if he was cursed. He was right in a way. His curse was that for all the cunning and strategic thinking he possessed, his emotions were always what ended up dictating his choices. In this regard, he was more like Thor than he wanted to believe, and since he never had the same opportunity as Thor to learn self-control, his emotions continued to sabotage him at every turn. When he saved the Tesseract from destruction on a whim, the penalties of this curse became cataclysmic.

Still, there was a way Loki could have kept the Tesseract out of Thanos's hands. All he had to do was keep it cloaked in invisibility, continue denying that he had it, and let Thanos kill Thor. That would have been the more sensible choice in the grand scheme of things, since Thanos wanted the Infinity Stones to "save" the universe by committing genocide. However, Loki's emotions pushed him to reveal the device in exchange for his brother's life.

Several other characters, mostly the heroes, had to choose between someone's life and an Infinity Stone throughout the film. Most of them gave up the stone to spare the person's life. The only willing exception was Thanos, who tortured one of his own children and killed another to claim a stone. Loki may never have quite been a hero, but in the end, he had more in common with the heroes than he did with the villain. The son of Odin who had once tried to kill his brother and save Asgard by also committing genocide had replaced his hate with compassion, and his emotions made the better choice as a result.

In the end, Loki understood the value of life, and that's no curse.

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klimtandbencbatch · 6 years

Note

For an IronStrange prompt: Steve is making Tony feel like crap(cause mcu Steve dosent care about feelings) and Tony' s day is just getting worse and worse until strange makes him feel better. [Insert lenny face]

this is gonna be a two-parter!!! also I took some liberties w/ the prompt, I hope you don’t mind!!! next part is the fuckin’ and a wrap up of the divorce lmao

Other Words For “Splitting Up” Part 1

Tony Stark was hard at work in his lab, bobbing his head to Def Leppard as he worked on his suit’s thrusters, tweaking a few things here and there. It was a typical day for him, so far - wake up, have breakfast (coffee), read the paper, check stocks, head downstairs and get to work for God knew how many hours. He was just getting ready for the next step, lunch (coffee) when his music suddenly went quiet, and the doors slid open.

“Hey, what did I say about - “

He fell silent as a stack of papers fell to the nearby work table with a heavy, thick thud. A thud of finality, Tony reflected, as he looked up at none other than Steve Rogers standing before him, hands on his muscle-y, muscle-y hips.

“Uh, hey, Steve. Did you - ?”

“Just read the papers, Tony.”

Tony paused, blinking rapidly for a moment before nodding. “Uh, yeah. Okay.” He set his wrench aside, wiping his hands clean of grease before picking up the top paper off the stack. His eyes immediately snapped back to Steve, his jaw dropping.

“You’re - serving me?”

“Let’s just face facts, Tony. We haven’t been together in a long time. Hell, we haven’t slept in the same bed in years.”

“Uh, yeah, and whose fault is - “

“Stop,” Steve said at once, raising a hand. “This is why I - brought a lawyer into it. Because I’m sick of having these arguments with you.”

Tony scoffed, standing, fuming slightly as he still had to look up at Steve. “Yknow, you wanted to get married in the first place.”

“And now I wanna get divorced,” Steve answered tiredly. “Alright? Just - read the papers, Tony. Please.”

Tony deflated slightly, looking over at the stack on his desk. “I… um. Yeah. I will. Just - leave. Okay? Just get out.”

Steve hesitated for just a moment, looking as if he wanted to say something else. With those damn - puppy dog eyes of his. Tony shook his head firmly, turning away.

“I’m serious, Rogers. Bye.”

He closed his eyes as he heard the doors slide shut, pressing his fists firmly against his forehead. He aimed a kick at his tool box, sending wrenches and screwdrivers flying every which way all over his workshop.

“Fuck!”

He’d known he and Steve were over. He’d known it for a long time. But lawyers meant meetings, and meetings meant going places together, and doing that when they hadn’t been seen publicly together in so long meant press. Press meant stories, stories meant attention, and attention meant Tony being the villain. He could see the headlines already.

Stark Tosses Out All-American Hero!

Marriage Bed Gone Icier than Cap?

Star-Spangled Couple Calls it Quits! Stark’s Riches to Blame?

“Fuck,” he muttered again, folding his arms over his chest with a long sigh. He saw Dum-E and U starting to move towards the tools, and he snapped his fingers to get their attention.

“No, no. Stop. I’ll clean it up, you two - you two take a break. Okay? We’ve all earned a break.”

He bit his lip as he turned back to the papers. “Time for some light reading,“ he mumbled, hefting the stack and heading upstairs, leaving his workshop a dismantled mess.

They’d tried to be discreet.

With the whole - Infinity War thing getting in the way, they’d had to postpone their divorce proceedings for a bit. Tony saved the world - maybe the headlines wouldn’t be so harsh - and Steve helped, providing ground support and a somewhat-trusted ally and go-between for the Wakandans.

They’d tried to be discreet.

Everyone picked up on it. Bruce and Thor, freshly returned, immediately noticed Tony’s wedding band missing, once they’d all joined back together after the mess on Titan. Peter had it figured out minute one, smart kid. Tony wasn’t sure he’d be able to forget the looks of pity on everyone’s faces.

And all of that Thanos shit, on top of getting divorced?

When Happy pulled up to their “secret meeting place” and Tony could already see cameras flashing, he nearly punched his window out. “Are you fucking kidding me?” he muttered, peering out to try to see who was there.

“Captain Rogers must be here already,” Happy groused, equally as displeased.

“Fuck this,” Tony sighed, shoving himself out of the car. He ignored the questions hurled at him by the press, heading inside and meeting up with his lawyer in the lobby of the building.

“I was told there wouldn’t be press coverage? That this was just a - strategy meeting?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, it would appear - “

“Forget it,” Tony said, waving his hand. “Just - show me where the big guy is.”

————————————

“…and he’s suing me for alimony. Steve fuckin’ Rogers wants my money. What lifestyle did I get him used to? 2018 instead of 1942?”

Bruce offered a tight smile, not sure what to say. “I - dunno, Tones,” he tried, ducking behind the screen he was currently engrossed with. “Maybe he’s just - trying to rile you up.”

“He wants money for his fuckin’ Soviet boy toy is what it is,” Tony growled, swearing as he accidentally caught his finger in a tiny piece of machinery. “No, yknow what? Fuck these blasters. They’re fine the way they are. Fuck me, Brucey, I… What am I gonna do?“

Bruce poked his head back up, shrugging. “I… You’re gonna get through it, Tony. You’re - Tony Stark. You’ve been through worse than a divorce.”

Tony smiled a bit, getting up to stretch. “I’m gonna make a smoothie, and you just earned yourself one. Want one?”

“Sure. The - strawberry one you do. S’really good.”

Tony let his smile grow a bit more, heading over to the little bullet blender he kept in the workshop now.

“So,” Bruce started once the noise had died down and the requisite smoothies had been distributed, “what about that doctor?”

“Hm?”

“Strange. Stephen.”

“Oh. Oh, him,” Tony said, setting his cup aside. “I mean, well, yknow. We - hooked up. Once or twice.”

“Yeah?”

Tony nodded. “Uh huh.”

“And what’s he like, then?” Bruce asked.

“Are you a middle school girl?”

Bruce shrugged. “It’s taking your mind off of Divorcee in Chief.”

Tony sighed, fiddling with his smoothie straw. “He’s… really smart. Like, wickedly smart. And he’s funny! He makes me laugh every time I’m with him, like when we get coffee or whatever. And he’s a monster in bed. Present company excluded.”

“Har, har.”

“I dunno if this is TMI, but - Bruce, I nearly wept. That is how insanely good the sex was. It’s like he was in my head, but I wasn’t - afraid, yknow? He just paid attention to everything I wanted.”

“It’s a little TMI.”

Tony snorted, giving Bruce a look. “I had to hear about it from Thor the first time you guys slept together. I’ve earned this.”

Bruce flushed. “Sorry about that. Again.”

“Hey, yknow what? It’s all good. We’re just a couple of friends, shootin’ the shit.” He turned back to his blasters, poking at the metal a bit before sighing. “I just… I’m trying not to get too involved in anything, yknow? Until me and Steve are done, and - for a while after that. So I don’t fuck anything up.”

“Hey,” Bruce said, reaching out to pat Tony’s arm. “I get it. And I’m here. For - when you need to talk. Unless it’s about wizard sex, then I’ll have to pass…”

“Alright, Banner. I get it,” Tony laughed, getting back to work. “Thanks, pal.”

“Always, Tones.”

————————————

It all went downhill from there.

Meeting after meeting after meeting. And every time, Tony seemed to get there last, and the press was waiting to pounce. He refused to give Steve any kind of money - after the little stunt in Siberia? He was lucky that Tony hadn’t filed, that Tony had wanted to avoid publicity. And to what end did he owe Steve money? Sure, he’d had Stark Tower back then, sure, but he hadn’t spoiled Steve. By any stretch of the imagination.

And that’s why Steve was dragging this out. Tony just knew that it had to be the reason.

And it was starting to work. Tony was getting tired of fighting, and tired of being hounded by paparazzi and cameras everywhere he went.

He was having trouble sleeping, and he kept reading over the documents again and again, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to do. He was currently locked up in his workshop again, bent over his workbench with his fingers tangled tightly in his hair, his eyes scanning over sentences he’d read a thousand times already. How much longer could this go on for?

“Tony?”

He jumped up, scattering the papers over the floor. He turned quickly, sagging with relief when he saw who it was.

“Stephen. Thank God for you.”

He marched over to the sorcerer, planting his face in the middle of the other man’s chest. Stephen’s warm hands came to rest gently on the back of Tony’s neck, kneading at the muscles there.

“You’re so tense,” Stephen murmured.

“It’s my soon-to-be-ex husband,” Tony explained, nuzzling against Stephen’s robes. “Mm, you smell so good… Like a spice market…"

“Was in Nepal this morning,” Stephen said, smiling a bit. “Everything okay?”

“No,” Tony answered bluntly. “I get voicemails from Steve every twenty fucking seconds asking if I confirmed for the next meeting or not. He’s got this huge sum of money he wants hanging over my head, and - on top of all of that - he’s out parading around with that - monster, and no one seems to be risking their journalistic integrity to print the truth! At least I’m keeping us somewhat quiet.”

Stephen let Tony vent, settling down on a nearby work stool. He nodded as he listened, watching Tony pace back and forth, pushing down thoughts of how cute he was. So little.

“Sorry,” Tony sighed, noticing Stephen listening. “I just… I’m really strung out over this. Yknow?”

“Need a bit of… Stress relief?”

Tony stopped talking mid-sentence, turning to face Stephen. His pupils dilated almost instantly, and he was on the sorcerer in a second. “Please. God, please.”

“My place,” Stephen urged. “Quieter. Further away from the cameras.”

“Take me away, magic man.”

Stephen smiled, opening a portal and pushing Tony through, immediately pinning him to his bed.

“Oh, I intend to, Mr. Stark.”

#milkshake-sprinkels #Ironstrange #fic fill #stephen strange #tony stark #bruce banner #steve rogers #captain america #doctor strange #iron man #hulk #divorce #oooh what did I do #we’ll just have to see!!!#they gon fuck in the next part #good ol #fuckin #marvel #mcu

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itsmajel · 6 years

Text

Majel Reads - May 2018

Captain America / Marvel CMU - Stucky

[What is this?]

Something. Anything. by mambo ( @whtaft)

-- MAJOR INFINITY WAR SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. --

“Guess I can take his gun,” says the talking raccoon that came with Thor as he approaches Steve. Steve looks up; somehow, the raccoon looks sad. “Groot disappeared, too,” he explains, and doesn’t say anything else. He doesn’t have to.

[Teen And Up Audiences] [ 732 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

That Takes The Cake by mambo ( @whtaft)

“We have fifty boxes of cake mix and you needed to be here three hours ago.”

“What’s the address!” Steve manages, grabbing a pencil and paper from next to him. The voice rattles off an address, which Steve barely gets down, then hangs up abruptly.

Steve probably shouldn’t go.

Steve puts on some pants and goes anyway.

[Not Rated] [ 646 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

how am I supposed to pretend I never want to see you again? by mambo ( @whtaft)

Professor Steve Rogers sleeps with a guy he meets an airport bar and walks away regretting that he'll never see him again.

Until he sees him two nights later.

[Teen And Up Audiences] [ 1,548 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

Uncertainty of the Law by mambo ( @whtaft)

Steve didn't expect to fall in love with the lawyer looking at his painting.

But he did.

[Mature] [ 26,892 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

if only you could see me (for the pie that i am) by bitelikefire (theoleo) ( @deimosluna )

In which Steve is the proud owner of Frost; a semi famous local bakery in D.C. And despite the overwhelming insistence that it’s about time he start dating, Steve swears up and down he isn’t ready for that. Or as of recently, just doesn’t have the time because of Mr. Barnes. The highly demanding wedding planner on the phone who keeps asking for nearly impossible deliveries and maybe Steve would like to personally strangle him. Maybe.

(There is pie. And misunderstandings. But a lot more desserts and eye rolls.)

Part 1 of if only you could see me

[Teen And Up Audiences] [ 35,115 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

We Are Salmon in the Stream After Years At Sea by littleblackfox ( @thelittleblackfox)

Steve sighs. “This creepy looking hobo cornered me in the store, spouting some shit about congress with an abomination.”

Bucky bares his teeth. All of them. Even Steve finds it unsettling. “I will devour him.”

“No!” Steve waves a finger under Bucky’s nose. “No eating people, remember.”

“Rule number one,” Bucky grumbles. “No eating humans, or human-like things.” He gives Steve a sullen glare. “I will rend his foul tongue from his worthless form.”

“Well, so long as you don’t eat it afterwards.”

Part 2 of Lovecraft in Brooklyn

[Explicit] [ 18,218 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

War Paint by littleblackfox ( @thelittleblackfox)

“So what do they…” The ferret licks his thumb. “What do they do?” “Sleep, mostly, with the odd bit of mayhem.”

[General Audiences] [ 2,024 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

Salt by littleblackfox ( @thelittleblackfox)

The cinnamon roll is gone in four bites. Four indecent, jaw-unhinging bites, and Steve sucks the last traces of lemon and icing from his fingers with a low, throaty sound of satisfaction. He glances up at Bucky, who is leaning against the counter and watching him with avid fascination. “Um…” Steve says around his index finger. There’s still a little icing on the bed of his fingernail, and he stops trying to work it off with his tongue. “You know those movies where the girl eats an eclair or something, and it’s really, like, sexually charged?” Bucky asks. Steve pulls his finger out of his mouth. He’s never seen that kind of movie, but the thought of Bucky eating an eclair is certainly… well, it lingers. “Uh?” “Yeah, well that was the exact opposite.” Steve scowls, and Bucky cackles gleefully. “You are something else, Steve.”

[Mature] [12,059 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

Bleached Bones and Fallen Snow by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen) ( @leveragehunters)

When he chose to become Death he wasn't sure exactly what it would mean. He didn't realise he'd end up leaving humanity behind completely, forgetting all the ways he used to be human.

Forgetting, that was, until in the middle of a war, his power spreading itself like wings over the battlefields, he discovered one particular human it was impossible to stay away from. Brave, fascinating, irresistible: again and again, he kept coming back to Bucky. Bucky, who was never afraid of him, who seemed content to walk in Death's shadow.

If he'd known where it would lead him, where it would lead both of them, he would have tried harder to resist.

(A First Avenger/ Winter Soldier AU where Steve is Death.)

[Teen And Up Audiences] [16,633 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

And the Greatest of These by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen) ( @leveragehunters)

*** INFINITY WAR SPOILERS ***

Even if someone seems dead, that doesn't mean they are. If it takes Death's intervention before that's believed, then that's what it takes, even if Death has to slip between worlds to do it.

(This is a sequel to Bleached Bones and Fallen Snow. I tried to keep the summary as vague as possible to avoid specific spoilers)

[Teen And Up Audiences] [1,823 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

Outfoxing Fate by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen) ( @leveragehunters)

Bucky falls, he always falls, Steve can’t save him, but before the enemy can find him, something else finds him first.

[Teen And Up Audiences] [1,495 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

Not Egg-sactly What You Wished For by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen) ( @leveragehunters)

"How did you end up with a dragon?" Bucky asked, but he was already kneeling beside Steve, touching gentle fingers to the dragon's side, the glow of golden magic washing over the red-tinted scales as it tried to fix what was broken. The dragon sighed with relief, lying less like an overcooked noodle in Steve's arms.

"It just appeared at the window."

"And you let her in?"

"Her?"

"Her," Bucky confirmed.

"Yeah, Bucky. She needed help. I wasn't gonna leave her out there."

Suddenly the dragon heaved herself over, long neck curved, sides rippling, red intensifying until it was almost glowing, there was a moment of strain, the dragon's body tense as steel cable, and then there was an egg in Steve's lap.

Part 5 of If Wishing Made It So

[Teen And Up Audiences] [2,879 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

Wakandan Interlude by Avaaricious ( @fannishflightsoffancy )

Each day had a different goal, but the same over-reaching purpose: To keep his routine, learn how to belong, how to give back. To live as best he could. To love as best he could.

Set in the space between Bucky's defrosting in Wakanda and his entrance in Infinity War.

[General Audiences] [1,946 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

Shore Leave by Brenda ( @brendaonao3 )

When Nat insists Team!Nomad needs a break from the road, Steve heads to Wakanda, and the only home that matters.

[Mature] [4,557 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

Targeting by queenmab_scherzo ( @queenmabscherzo )

Steve and Bucky end up playing for rival college football teams.

Part 1 of In the Deed the Glory

[Explicit] [149,144 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

tutorial by belovedmuerto ( @belovedmuerto)

“I’m pretty sure I’m a terrible kisser,” Steve mutters, mostly to his pencil and paper.

[Teen And Up Audiences] [2,362 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

The Devil's Acre by littleblackfox ( @thelittleblackfox)

“I’m sorry, you want me to what?” Steve sits back in his chair and tries not to glare at Hill across the conference table. “Track down a cryptid.” Agent Hill repeats, tossing a dossier onto the table. Steve has to stretch out an arm to reach across for it. “A cryptid,” Steve repeats doubtfully.

[Explicit] [40,636 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

I'll hold my breath by Little_Lottie (tfwatson) ( @little-lottie)

Sometimes Bucky’s hands flex in Steve's direction. Neither of them knows exactly why, but at least one of them has a hunch.

Bucky touches everything but Steve, even though Steve is all he really wants to touch.

[Mature] [8,794 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

The artist and his coffee shop muse by Little_Lottie (tfwatson) ( @little-lottie)

“Umm…” Steve glances up to find the waiter standing there with a smirk and a raised eyebrow looking expectant and arguably more delicious than the pastry. “I didn’t order this." “No,” the man says through a huff of laughter. “But technically, you didn’t order the coffee either.”

"Huh?"

Opposite him, the man slides into the booth, light bouncing off his shirt and drenching his eyes with even more blue.

Steve’s eyes dart left and right, looking for whatever it is he’s missed.

[Teen And Up Audiences] [3,622 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

Blame the fluffy wolf onesie by Little_Lottie (tfwatson) ( @little-lottie)

“Is that a…” Steve continues slowly, blinking as though he must be seeing things “…a onesie?”

The book’s covering half of Bucky’s face but it does nothing to muffle his amused snigger. Steve’s brow is furrowed in adorably intense confusion, and he actually sounds offended by the whole situation.

Bucky lets Steve see his smirk, because it is indeed, a onesie. And Bucky is positively wrapped up in the thing, fingers curling fondly around the cuffs to relish the softness.

For the prompt: Bucky in a onesie and fluffy fluff with a side of smut

[Mature] [1,846 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

Scars where all my sins bled by Little_Lottie (tfwatson) ( @little-lottie)

An Underworld movie AU

Two hundred and six years ago to the day, Bucky became a vampire. Fuelled by vengeance, he has become his coven’s greatest weapon in the immortal war against the lycans.

Following an anonymous tip, Bucky saves Steve Rogers for the sake of his coven, and maybe for reasons he refuses to examine too closely. But then Steve is bitten and now they stand on opposite sides of an unending blood feud.

There isn't a world for a lycan and a vampire, but somewhere between a subway station and a safe house, a Black Widow bite and the rising tide of lost memories, Bucky finds himself doubting everything he thought he knew - including that age-old rule about never falling in love with a werewolf.

[Explicit] [ 97,171 Words] [Read on AO3 here]

- - - - - - - - - -

( All summaries are the official summaries of the author. Stats and infos as according to hosting site or information given by the author. If any of the authors that have been tagged don’t want to be tagged, or if any of you know the tumblr names of the ones I haven’t tagged please let me know!)

Looking for more reading inspiration? Check out my fic rec tag here on tumblr, this month reading list masterpost for what I’ve read in other fandoms this month, my all-time reading list masterpost for more of this fandom or just check out my AO3 bookmarks.

#fic rec #rec list #stucky #marvel mcu #mcu #majel reads #reading list #may 2018 #captain america #james bucky barnes/steve rogers

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theprocrastinatingalien · 6 years

Text

Beyond Avengers 4 (looking ahead at Phase 4 of the MCU)

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

We currently know very little about what comes after AVENGERS 4. This makes sense, as we really don't (officially) know that much about the follow up to INFINITY WAR.

We DO know that head honcho Kevin Feige has stated that there will soon be a divide In the MCU... everything before AVENGERS 4, and everything after. The face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is changing... we don't even know if we'll get a 'Phase 4'. Personally, I hope we do. I think it's nice to have a group of films. It helps with marketing. It helps when charting character arcs. You don't end up with an endless mash of movie titles (I'm looking at you DCEU!). It helps gives direction.

For the moment, let's assume it IS called Phase 4. if only to keep me happy. What can we expect from it? Well, boss man Kevin has apparently plans for 20 more films after AVENGERS 4. That's basically as much as the first three phases put together. It will be a mixture of sequels and new titles.

Let's start with what we know.

SPIDER-MAN: THE NEXT AVENGER

Okay, so I've made up the title, but it's better that HOMECOMING 2 (and there's already been a SPIDER-MAN 2). Okay, so let's get this straight - yes Peter Parker crumbled to dust following Thanos' click, but we already know we have this movie coming. It'll be the first movie in Phase 4. Obviously Marvel co-runs Spideyflicks with Sony, so they'd want a follow up as soon as possible... and that's in mid 2019! What's more, it's been guaranteed that an Avenger will appear. Now, it won't be Iron Man again (and I doubt Happy Hogan will feature either)... and whilst it could easily be one of the newer characters, I predict (and have done before), that it'll be Mark Ruffalo's Dr Bruce Banner and the Hulk. He's sciency, and more importantly, Ruffalo is meant to have one more film on his contract following AVENGERS 4. I could be wrong about Ruffalo, but Tom Holland will definitely be back (there'll be no switch over to Miles Morales), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May), Zendaya (Michelle) and Jacob Batalon (Ned) will all surely return too.. It'll be interesting to see which villains they use. A VENOM movie is coming out, entirely Sony, starring Tom Hardy (which may or may not cameo Hollan), as well as BlackCat and Silver Sable movie coming too. Will the MCU decide to use more characters that Sony haven't used before, or now start reusing known characters such as Green Goblin or Dr Octopus? Filming will start later this year, so casting news will surely have to start hitting... giving away that Spider-Man isn't really dead...

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3

James Gunn confirmed this, and has apparently finished the script. It's definitely coming in 2020, and will likely be the first movie of three that year - probably around May time. Now, obviously, there's a small matter that all but one guardian have died. Will the film be entirely about Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper)? Of course not. Just as sure as I am that Spidey will be safe, I think all the others that disappeared from the click will be back. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) will all be back. The big question mark for me is Gamora (Zoe Saldana). She died a different way, and that could be a permanent. Whilst I'm sure Saldana's back in AVENGERS 4, that could just be a tie to the soul stone and Thanos. beyond that, I really don't know. It could be that, just how VOL 2 came right after the first movie, VOL 3 could follow that... it might all be set before INFINITY WAR, in which case Gamora will be as right as rain. If the movie truly follows on from AVENGERS 4, then we won't really know until that movie has come out... or VOL 3 starts filming before that movie comes out as we see Saldana on set. Karen Gillan's Nebula survived the most recent movie, but I personally believe she'll die in AVENGERS 4... so don't think she'll be in VOL 3. If I'm wrong though, she will be...depending on whether Gamora is. (I think Nebula's storyline is pretty tied to her 'sister'). Mid credits in VOL 2 told us that Ayesha had created Adam Warlock, so he could well be a main focus of the sequel - despite Gunn suggesting otherwise. Sly Stallone's Stakar Ogord assemble his older generation of guardians too... so they could play a part. And what happened to Sean Gunn's Kraglin? It's possibly, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) could join the team following AVENGERS 4, whilst she waits to be given her own sequel. Maybe Howard the Duck (voiced by Seth Green) could play a bigger part than a cameo. No, I didn't think so either. For me the biggest question here is the time placement... before INFINITY WAR or after AVENGERS 4. The more I think about it, the more I think it could be before...

BLACK WIDOW

Okay, so we don't know this is happening... officially. But it IS totally happening. Writers have been assigned and Chris Evans pretty much confirmed it. However, unlike the previous movies I've talked about so far, this film does NOT mean Scarlett Johansson survives AVENGERS 4. It's highly expected that the movie will be a prequel, going back into her history as a spy. There's a lot they can do with this, and it also means a lot of characters could pop up. There's already been speculation that Sebastian Stan could feature as The Winter Soldier (back when he was still under Hydra control). Obviously everyone expects (and will probably be disappointed if not) Clint Barton to appear. It sort of feels like Jeremy Renner has got a bum deal, so flashing out their friendship would work wonders. There's also the suspicion that Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) could appear... about what about fellow agents Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). Any of them could feature to some degree. After playing a supporting character since IRON MAN 2 (back in 2010), it'll be nice for Johansson to headline a film in the MCU, finally. In a year, Marvel like to have at least one sequel and one new film. I expect BLACK WIDOW will likely act as the 'new' movie that year, probably sandwiched between the two sequels GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3 and...

DOCTOR STRANGE 2

You see, this is the problem... another character who disappeared at the end of INFINITY WAR... back for a sequel. I suppose it's possible the sequel could be set between the first movie and INFINITY WAR, but I doubt it. Now all the sequels can be set before, and I feel Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) will a major force going forward in the MCU. Both Kevin Feige and James Gunn have stated the franchise will be a lot more 'cosmic' going forward, and Strange's magic, and use of different realms, will likely play a strong part in that. I think DOCTOR STRANGE 2 will round off 2020, with Benedict Wong returning as Wong, Rachel McAdams getting more screentime as Christine Palmer and Chiwetel Ejiofor playing a much bigger role as Mordo edged towards what could well be the 'new Loki'. I don't know much about the comics for this particular character, but word is Nightmare will be the primary villain this time around. No word on who might play him though... but with Cumberbatch and Ejiofor at the front line, it'll need to be someone impressive.

BLACK PANTHER 2

Obviously the first movie was a massive hit. Obviously there's going to be a sequel. Obviously there's a problem because the title character died at the fingerclick in INFINITY WAR. However, unlike with Strange or Spider-Man, the sequel doesn't necessarily need T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) to live to go ahead. In the comics, Shuri (Letitia Wright) becomes Black Panther, and Queen of Wakanda. Now, if T'Challa's death was 'real'... that should already have happened before/during AVENGERS 4. Wright could be the new BP! Shuri was certainly popular enough, and Boseman could still appear via a spirit walk-thing. You know, that thing they do. He apparently has 5 movies on his contract. Now that could work as CIVIL WAR , BLACK PANTHER, INFINITY WAR, AVENGERS 4 and... BLACK PANTHER 2. It could. Of course, I don't think that's the case. Well, actually, in the comics, both T'Challa and Shuri are Black Panthers... and I reckon that might be where they take it - but Chadwick Boseman's character will be the lead, and alive. I also expect Danai Gurira's Okoye, Luputa Nyong'O's Nakia, Angela Bassett's Ramonda all to return. Probably Winston Duke's M'Baku. Possibly Martin Freeman's Everett K Ross. I also predict Marvel will place the movie around the opening of May in 2021. That's where they put all the films they're confident in.

ANT-MAN 3 (aka ANT-MAN AND THE WASP 2)

We haven't seen ANT-MAN AND THE WASP yet, but you have to assume Marvel are working on the assumption there will be a sequel. When they announced their third phase slate, an ANT-MAN sequel wasn't included. They waited to see how the first would do . By the time they finally get around to announcing Phase 4, I expect they'll known whether ANT-MAN 3 will be on the table. My guess is, it will be. Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, with Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne will probably head-line again. Beyond that, with both ANT-MAN AND THE WASP and AVENGERS 4 to come, I wouldn't like to predict more than that. Other than I think it'll be released in 2021 - although it's worth pointing out that both ANT-MAN movies have been released AFTER an AVENGERS movie... so it could be held back until after...

AVENGERS 5

We know there'll be one... the question is, when. Typically AVENGERS movies are released at the start of may, three years apart. THE AVENGERS came out in 2012, AGE OF ULTRON in 2015 and now INFINITY WAR in 2018. Obviously, we're breaking that tradition with AVENGERS 4 in 2019. The earliest I expect AVENGERS 5 will be May 2022, but with an expanding slate of sequels, and the intention of including new titles, they might push it back a year to 2023. It will, in theory, be the first to not feature the likes of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Nor might it include Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) or Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). I mean, it might, but it's unlikely. So who will it include? Personally, I have no idea who the villain will be but as for heroes... I guarantee it'll feature Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and Black Panther (probably Chadwick Boseman, possibly Letitia Wright). It'll probably feature Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Wasp (Evangeline Lilly). There's also someone else it might feature. You'll notice I missed out Steve Rogers from the earlier list? Well, as far as Chris Evans goes, he'll not be back after AVENGERS 4, but I doubt that can be said for...

CAPTAIN AMERICA 4

In the comics, the mantle of 'Captain America' has been used by several people - most notably Bucky Barnes. Whilst Evans only had 6 films on his contract (extended to 7 to encompass AVENGERS 4), Sebastian Stan signed up for 12 movies. Right now, he's only spent four of those - the CAPTAIN AMERICA trilogy, and INFINITY WAR. AVENGERS 4 takes him to five and if the rumoured appearance in BLACK WIDOW happens, that's only half of his contract. That leaves (potentially) three more Cap movies, and three more Avenger movies. I've no idea who the villains will be in a fourth Cap movie, unless the movie itself is a 'Battle for the Shield', an idea I came up with that I'm taken with. Anthony Mackie is already Falcon in the franchise, and in the comics, Sam Wilson becomes Cap also. There's also the potential for Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) to take on the shield. There could be a three-way tussle for the mantle. Ultimately Stan will probably take the lead, as it seems to be the order of things. As a side note, Wilson's Cap is trained under an older Steve Rogers, his age caught up with him. It's possible, rather that outright killing Chris Evans' character, they swap him out for an older actor, to train the younger successor. Possibly not, but it's an option. The biggest question here is, when do they roll out this new Cap? Before or after AVENGERS 5? THE FIRST AVENGER lead into the first film to unite the characters, and a new character picking up the shield could do the same. We'll just ignore that both Bucky and Wilson turned to dust. They'll be back. Extra note - despite the title, with a new actor headlining, Marvel might treat the movie as a new franchise.

CAPTAIN MARVEL 2

The trickiest one on the list really... as the first CAPTAIN MARVEL comes out next year, certainly less than two months before AVENGERS 4. That will probably be enough time for Marvel to figure out if the movie deserves a sequel. So far, only THE INCREDIBLE HULK has stood alone, with no sequels to speak of. I'll lay money on it staying that way, and CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 will be in the Phase 4 slate. If the first is set in the 90s, then a sequel could be set in the 00s. More likely though it'll be present, so she can lead the Avengers. As I mentioned earlier though, it's possible (rather than shoehorning a sequel into the slate) Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) could find herself back in space, now with GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3... possibly filling the void left by Gamora.

NEWBIES

This is where we get really sketchy. There's been rumbles of a film for THE ETERNALS, it might be time NAMOR gets some underwater adventures, or if the day-walking vampire BLADE comes in on the actions. Let's also not forget that the deal with Fox will mean the X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR and DEADPOOL can crossover into the MCU. It won't be yet... but look how quickly Spider-Man entered the area.

If I had to predict Phase 4, I'd go with the following:

July 2019 - SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 2 (confirmed) - May 2020 - GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3 (basically confirmed) July 2020 - BLACK WIDOW (sort of new) November 2020 - DOCTOR STRANGE 2 - May 2021 - BLACK PANTHER 2 July 2021 - CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 November 2021 - NEW FRANCHISE (example BLADE or NAMOR) - February 2022 - CAPTAIN AMERICA 4 (sort of new) May 2022 - AVENGERS 5 July 2022 - ANT-MAN 3 / ANT-MAN & THE WASP 2 So there we are, those are my predictions for Phase 4. How wrong am I? I expect we'll have an idea come Comic Con 2019!

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andrewmoocow · 6 years

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Steven Universe Secret Wars chapter 5: Enter Thanos (originally posted on February 5, 2018)

AN: And so, here we are everybody. The final chapter of the first part of what might be considered one of my magnum opuses. I’ve certainly had a blast writing this so here we go. Let the end of the cosmos begin.

“Anything yet guys?” Connie asked her fellow Crystal Avengers keeping an eye out for their friends. “Nothing yet Connie!” Wasp called from high above as she searched the skies with Lapis and Vision. “I can confirm, our companions haven’t returned yet.” the synthezoid added. “Way to state the obvious Vis.” Lapis replied.

“You were right girl, this town’s food is amazing!” Wolverine exclaimed holding a few fry bits on one of his claws like a kebab. “Never really expected you of all people to act like this Wolvie. But then again, I’m a guy who was bitten by a radioactive spider hanging out in a town protected by magical rock people.” Spider-Man said. “Hey guys, I think we can see something!” Peridot shouted pointing at a strange dark shape in the sky. “You think it could be?”

“Steven!” they all cried out as the shape came into view, revealing itself to be the spaceship belonging to the Guardians of the Galaxy. Landing on the sand, the Crystal Gems, Avengers and Guardians emerged looking very damaged from their fight with Mephisto, both physically and emotionally. The moment Steven’s foot touched the grainy surface below him for the first time in a long while, he was greeted by Connie, Lapis and Peridot all hugging him. “Oh, hey guys.” he said rather flatly. “Steven, are you all right?” Peridot worried. “Pink boy not feeling good.” Hulk stated. “Pink boy’s friends should leave pink boy alone for a bit.”

“WHOA! Are you that Hulk creature the mutant talked about?!” the little green Gem gasped in amazement. “I totally won that fight!” Logan shouted hotly. “Yes, yes I am.” the strongest there is confirmed with a cocky grin before regressing himself back to Bruce Banner. “And I’m also a genius scientist to boot.”

“He-hey, P-dot, Tidal!” Rocket shouted fistbumping Peridot before Groot came in and hugged the three incredibly tight. “I am Groot!” the flora colossus cried shaking them in his wooden arms. The mood suddenly lightened up and everyone was cheerfully meeting each other once again. All except Thor. He was still mulling over their recent fight with the demon prince, about how he was now working for Thanos and had known about the Mind Stone. The stress proved far too great on the thunder god before he interrupted the camaraderie with a loud yell of “THANOS IS COMING!”

The scene went deadly quiet once more as they all turned to the prince of Asgard. “I-is something wrong Thor?” Spidey wondered. “Didn’t you hear me, Thanos has five Infinity Stones and is coming here to Earth for the Mind Stone!” Thor explained pointing his hammer to the ground for added emphasis. The group were stunned at the god’s explanation, Lapis especially as she simply mumbled under her breath, “Thanos.”

“What shall we do?” Doctor Strange wondered. “I say we all stay here and take him on ourselves!” Nebula declared. “That madman has gone on far enough and mark my words, he will pay!” she snarled. “Hey, chill out Nebula! We can’t go too far ahead!” Steven exclaimed trying to calm her down. “Steven’s right, we must evacuate this town so that Thanos can’t hurt any of its people.” Cap stated. “I’m going to need someone to warn the mayor of the invasion and organize an escape route somewhere far away from here.”

“I’ll go. I came here before all of you on some business of my own, so it makes sense that I tell ‘em.” Iron Man stated flying off toward Beach City. “Right. Peter, Hank Janet, you lead the townspeople out of here. Carol, T'Challa, Strange, you’re staying with us. And the rest of you return to base.” Steve commanded. “Wait, we have to leave?! But why?” Wolverine complained. “Because we won’t be important to the story from here on out.” She-Hulk answered. “Okay then.”

Flying above the small town, the Armored Avenger landed in front of city hall and shed his metallic suit to keep up appearances. “I’m here to see the mayor of this town!” he announced shoving open the doors. “Mister, we know you have important business but can you not open the doors like that?!” one of the secret service agents present said cornering him. “Stand down boys, he obviously wants to see me.” a short, elderly woman in a green suit stated making herself known. “Mayor Nanefua Pizza Mr. Stark, at your service.”

“Tony Stark madame mayor.” Stark greeted the mayor. “Listen, my teammates and I compel you to organize an evacuation plan for a giant purple spaceman with a golden baseball glove is coming down to kill us all!” he urged. “Wow, that is certainly pretty crazy Mr. Stark, but I’ll be sure to get on it!”

Within a few hours, Beach City was nearly empty, its civilians already preparing to leave. “Keep it going everyone, Thanos should be arriving soon so you should all try not to die!” Hawkeye said leading them all away. “So let me guess this straight, some moonman is coming for Earth because he wants some priceless jewels to conquer the galaxy?” Lars Barriga exclaimed as his parents tried to insert the Off Colors into a large moving truck. “Basically, yes!” Steven reiterated the pink teen’s statement. “And if we don’t stop him-”

“Then the universe is seriously janked.” Garnet finished for him. “Seriously Garnet, we need to make you eat soap at this point!” Amethyst said. “Y'know, when I came back to Earth after you & Connie had that space adventure, I did not expect this!” Lars said. “But then again, I died and came back to life on an alien planet, so what do I have to say?”

“Yeah speaking of which, are you sure you’re that donut boy Groot met when we first came here?” Rocket said. “Y'know, come to think of it you do seem familiar.” the former donut boy stated looking at Groot. “I am Groot.” the tree alien said. “I am Lars.”

“Okay, let’s stop this before it gets too far again.” Rocket said breaking the two up. “Now then, since everybody’s leaving, I think you and Connie should come with them.” he said to Steven. “What, but why?!” the boy cried.

“It’s for your own safety Steven.” Pearl stated. “We know you and Connie are both fairly powerful on your own, but Thanos is another five levels once he gets all the Infinity Stones!” she fretted. “They’re all right Steven, who knows what this Thanos guy can do.” Connie affirmed. “Indeed, he could wipe out half of all life in the universe with just a snap of his fingers!” Thor added. “And the same goes for you Lapis and Peridot.”

“Us too? But we can fight!” Peridot protested. “I’ve been watching a few old kung-fu movies and actually picked up some moves along the way!” She then began demonstrating said moves to the heroes, despite being rather clumsy in doing so and capping off with a crane stance.

“I admire both your spirit, and your budding martial arts skills, but I fear whatever powers you have won’t be enough against a cosmic warlord bent on dominating all creation.” Cap stated. “The captain is right guys, Thanos is not one to be messed with.” Lapis stated putting a hand on her barn mate’s shoulder. “I should know because I-” She immediately stopped herself from speaking any longer. “Goodbye.” Picking up Peridot and Pumpkin, Lapis sprouted her wings and soared away from Beach City.

“What’s her problem? She looked like she was gonna say she knows Thanos or something.” Star-Lord quipped. “That doesn’t matter, we should get you two to your parents post-haste kids.” Iron Man finally stated. “We are truly sorry Steven, but it’s for your own good.” Pearl said before hugging her young ward and the other Crystal Gems joined in. “We’ll stop Thanos and bring everyone home.” Garnet stated. “Yeah, we’re gonna kick his ass!” Amethyst exclaimed.

“Well, guess this is goodbye everyone. Good luck.” Connie said before finally being led away by Stark.

“Okay gang, everybody’s not present and accounted for.” Yondu confirmed gazing upon the deserted town. “In fact, why do they call it Beach City when the number of people living here doesn’t make it a city?!”

“Same reason why evil threatens the universe.” Clint answered. “Now come on, we gotta prep for Thanos.” He led the space pirate back to the temple where the others would be waiting for them. “How’s everything?” Natasha asked. “All cleared out babe, not a soul in sight.” her archer partner stated. “I sincerely hope Steven is all right. This reminds me of when Jasper invaded and he fled with the rest of the citizens.” Pearl said. “At least he has one of your own to watch over him.”

“Uh guys, I hate to break up the ambiance,” Rocket stuttered in fear. “but I think that giant spaceship about to land in front of us may belong to a certain someone.” The heroes all raced outside to discover a titanic aircraft easily dwarfing Beach City in size right over their heads. They immediately knew who this ship belonged to as they all prepared for battle. “It is time.” Black Panther declared.

Meanwhile in a highway far from town, the citizens of the coastline village were busy making their escape from the wrath of the Mad Titan. All it took was one look at his warship from the rear-view mirror for Greg to get a good idea of what his late wife’s companions were up against this time. “Sheesh, whoever this Thanos guy is sure doesn’t mess around!”

His son however was relatively quiet the entire drive. He was too busy musing over their encounter with Mephisto during their space adventure. According to him, he had been involved in the Rebellion as well. But who did he fight for? He most certainly wouldn’t side with Rose but he’s not sure if the Diamonds would be that comfortable with him. Would that mean Thanos had his part to play in it. After a few minutes of contemplation, Greg broke the silence. “Anything all right Schtu-ball?”

“I’m fine Dad, I’ve just been thinking lately.” Steven replied. “Did Mom ever tell you about anything related to the Infinity Stones?” he asked his father. “No, as usual. In fact, unlike all the other messy stuff of that war, she must really want to keep that under wraps.” Greg answered. “But whatever happened, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” he assured his son. “Yeah but I’ve heard Thanos can destroy anyone given the chance, the Gems have a good reason for making me flee again! Hopefully there’s someone that can help me out here.”

“Did someone call for some emotional support?!” Spider-Man suddenly exclaimed peeping into the front window of Greg’s van. The two were immediately startled and nearly swerved into another car before regaining their composure. “Oh, you must be that spider guy.” Greg stated. “What was your name again? Scarlet Arachnid, Spinneret, Silk, Web Boy…”

“Spider-Man, thank you very much.” the spectacular webslinger corrected the former rock star. “Now as I was saying, did someone call for some emotional support?” he asked cheerfully. “I did!” Steven shouted raising his hand. “I can stop so you can get in if you want sir.” Greg offered. “Sure thing, but I prefer to web-swing.”

Latching onto the roof of another car, Peter used his web-shooters to pull open the back door and jumped right in, closing behind him. “And he sticks the landing!” he shouted before imitating a crowd cheering for him. “Yeah, whoo, go Spider-Man, do a flip!” Greg just chuckled still keeping his eyes on the road. “Wow Spidey, that was really cool!” Steven exclaimed. “Makes me wish I was as cool as you.”

“Aw don’t say that. You’re pretty cool the way you are.” Peter said taking off his mask to wipe himself off after the earlier landing. “I mean c'mon, you’re the son of an alien warrior lady who helped protect the Earth thousands of years ago! You still got a lot to learn kid. After all, with great power comes great responsibility.”

“Where did you learn that?” the boy wondered. “Someone important to me that I lost too, just like the Gems.” Spidey answered thinking back to his beloved late Uncle Ben. “So what do you say kid, wanna save the world?” he offered reaching his hand out. “Sure!”

“Now hold on just a second!” Ant-Man suddenly appeared in front of the two young men. “Steven, I know you have a legacy to uphold, but Thanos is just an absolute beast! With all six Infinity Stones, he could practically become God!” the scientist cautioned Steven.

“Oh lighten up Hank, he just wants to help.” Wasp stated growing into view as well. “How many more unexpected passengers can I get! Who’s next, Ghost Rider?” Greg joked. He then finally stopped the van and got out with the three heroes & his son, whom he hugged goodbye. “Be careful out there little guy, we’re all counting on you.”

“I’ll be okay Dad. I love you.” Steven said his farewells before jumping up on the arachnid Avenger’s back. “You ready kid?” he asked his young fan. “Wait, we should make a quick stop first. I know a few others who need a pep talk.” He turned on a GPS on his phone and began scoping the countryside scene before pointing to a building in this distance. “Let’s swing thataway!” he ordered. “Roger roger squirt!”

The two swung off into the distance leaving the winsomely astonishing duo and the car wash owner behind. “Steven is right, those Gems aren’t going to last long without a leader.” Pym declared shrinking down and hopping on the back of a winged ant. “Right, let’s fly!” Jan replied miniaturizing as well and chasing her husband.

The hour has finally come.

Thanos has arrived.

The Avengers, Crystal Gems and Guardians of the Galaxy stood their ground before the spaceship, preparing for whatever threat would come their way. The bay door opened revealing not the Mad Titan, but instead his minions the Black Order.

At the very center was their leader Corvus Glaive, a grey-skinned alien dressed in all black and carrying his namesake weapon. By his side was Proxima Midnight, a beautiful blue-tinted woman bearing a golden trident.

Behind them were Ebony Maw, a rather wormy looking fellow with a silver tongue, Black Dwarf, the brute of the team who’s size & strength could compare with the Hulk’s and finally Supergiant, a deranged wraith who can control gravity. The five aliens looked down upon their opponents with cocky grins decorating their features until Corvus finally spoke. “Well, it seems these Avengers have made some new allies.” he declared. “Quite familiar looking ones in fact.”

“Yes indeed, it’s been quite a while since we heard from the Crystal Gems. I was convinced they were all shattered or corrupted.” Ebony added. “Can’t wait to finish what the Diamonds tried to start.” Dwarf threatened bearing both his axe and his mace.

The heroes simply glared furiously at the Order, giving no answer to their boasting. “What is the matter? No words, just going to skip straight to the action?” Proxima wondered. Just then, Garnet finally spoke up. “Leave this planet immediately Black Order, and tell Thanos we’re waiting for him!”

“About time, all this abuse of the silent treatment was getting me bored!” Supergiant exclaimed with a sadistic grin. “Now then, let us get started!” She telekinetically summoned a legion of four-armed reptilian beasts that towered over the group, snarling at them. “Outriders!” Captain America exclaimed. “Get ready everyone, we’re in for the fight of our lives.”

The ultimate battle for the fate of Earth has finally begun. If the alliance between the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Crystal Gems and the lovable a-holes claimed victory, peace would return and the Infinity Stones would be left untouched by evil once more. But if Thanos won, it would mean the end of the universe.

It was a quiet night at the barn that Lapis Lazuli and Peridot had called their home away from Homeworld. It was originally the Crystal Gems’ base of operations while dealing with the Cluster and since became a new living space for the two Gems.

However, ever since Lapis had returned to Earth after fleeing to avoid another Gem war, things had become a bit different. Like for example, Peridot currently laid on a hay bale reminiscing about the Crystal Temps’ battle with the leader of AIM known as MODOK, his speech about she was there to provide comic relief instead of being useful to the Crystal Gems continuing to echo through her head.

“Well it’s because despite being a member of the Crystal Gems, you are pretty much useless to them! Only being there to provide comic relief. Join me and I shall help you learn your true potential!” he spoke in her thoughts. Looking once again at her miniscule form in a mirror, she sighed miserably and grumbled to herself. “Guess he was right. I really am useless to them.”

“Is something wrong Peri?” Lapis wondered flying to her side with Pumpkin in her arms. “It’s just that that Mo-whatever guy told me about how useless I was to Steven and the Gems. Now that we’ve been ordered to stay at the barn while they fight that Thanos guy, it makes me think that we really are there to provide comic relief.” the little green technician moped before her blue roommate got down on her knees and hugged her. “It’s okay Peridot, you aren’t useless. I mean, you helped save the Earth and got me adjusted to it! What matters now is that we should just wait until the time is right for us to become full on Crystal Gems.”

“And I seriously can’t wait for that day!” Steven called as Spider-Man touched down in front of the barn with Ant-Man and Wasp following behind. “Hey girls, how’s it hanging?” the web-slinger greeted them. “Is this really your home because I kind of expected something a bit more futuristic.”

“Oh it is alright spider-friend. This barn may have termites and a large crack in the ground, but it’s the best we can get!” Peridot beamed at the young man. “We usually spend our days here making meep morps, or what you humans might call art, and watching Camp Pining Hearts.” Lapis added. “Camp Pining Hearts? My Aunt May and I love that show!” Peter exclaimed. “Except for season 5.”

“I know, right!” Steven & Peridot exclaimed in unison before laughing. “I know all of us here are fans of that show, but let’s get to the important topic here: saving the world.” Hank stated. “Yeah, if we don’t race to Beach City soon, Thanos could kill us all!” Jan added, much to the barn Gems’ shock. “Wait, we’re actually going to fight him?!” Lapis yelled. “But that could lead to another war, and I don’t want to get involved in one.”

“C'mon Lapis, we have to do this together! Steven and the Gems need us!” Peridot tried to convince her to change her mind about battling the conqueror. “Earth is our home now. Isn’t it worth fighting for?” It took some time for the ocean Gem to think about this. On one hand, Thanos is indeed a force to be reckoned with and could certainly annihilate them if they’re not careful. But on the other hand, he could destroy the planet that they’ve decided to call home. She finally turned around and made her decision. “I’ll fight.”

“Great, now let’s head back to the town and help the others!” Hank declared mounting his winged ant again. “Wait, first I gotta make a call.” Steven decided pulling out his phone to talk to Connie.

“Hey Steven, are you somewhere safe yet?” she asked. “That’s why I called you Con. I’m gonna fight Thanos.” he declared. “What? Hold on, maybe I can get my parents to drive me to your location! Where are you?” Connie cried. “No, I don’t want you getting involved. You may be pretty powerful on your own, but deep down you’re just a human. I’m so sorry.” Steven began to cry as he hanged up on his best friend.

“It’s okay Steven, you’re doing the right thing just like what your mom would’ve done.” Peter dried his tears. “Thanks Spidey, let’s go.” Steven got up on the teen hero’s back again and left the barn, this time with Lapis and Peridot by their side. Pumpkin was left behind, but little did the vegetable canine know its home was in serious peril as a portal opened behind the barn.

“It seems you’ve gotten weaker since we’ve last met Garnet.” Corvus declared pinning the fusion to the ground with his glaive while the Outriders outmatched the others. “Guess without your beloved savior to guide you, you’ve also become more foolish.”

“We may not have Rose Quartz around, but we’re still capable of defending Earth!” Garnet declared gripping the blade and tossing Glaive into the sand. “Nice going there Garnet, keep him down!” Rocket cheered dismembering a few Outrider arms. “At this rate, we shall emerge victorious!” T'Challa boasted. “Is that so king of Wakanda?”

A new individual has shown himself, this time being the man himself. The Mad Titan, the nihilistic would-be significant other of Death. His purple skin, furrowed chin, blue & gold armor and his piercing red eyes looking down upon them as he sat in his throne were unmistakably recognizable.

Thanos.

“Well well well, what do we have here?” he wondered in a mocking tone raising his left hand to reveal none other than the infamous Infinity Gauntlet, containing five of the Infinity Stones. “Thanos!” Pearl cried readying her spear.

“The Crystal Gems. We meet again at last.” Thanos stated descending from his throne with both his arms out, almost like some holy figure. Touching down on the sand beneath them, he took a moment to examine the carnage that once was his army of Outriders. “And it seems not much has changed about you since the Rebellion. Now who do I destroy first?”

He prepared an energy blast from his left hand and aimed it at each of the heroes, deciding on which one of them to eliminate. “How about you be the first to die my dear Garnet?” Thanos threatened before suddenly, his face was suddenly covered in spider webs. “WHAT?!” he shouted tearing the silk off his face. “Ain’t nobody going to die here Thanos!” Steven cried as he, Spider-Man, Lapis, Peridot, Ant-Man and the Wasp charged into battle. “Ah, the cannon fodder has arrived.” the Mad Titan smirked. “I do love a moving target.”

“Wait milord!” Ebony Maw halted his master before he could do any more harm. “I must ask you, does that terraformer with them seem familiar to you?” he asked. “Now that you think about it, she does look like the one deployed during the Rebellion.” Thanos stated, much to the shock of the other heroes. “Greetings wayward Lazuli of Blue Diamond.”

“Wait, you know Thanos?!” Steven gasped as the ragtag group touched down next to their compatriots. “Yes indeed small child, my minions remember her quite fondly, Ebony and Dwarf especially.” Thanos answered. “It’s true, I have met them when I was sent to Earth.” Lapis began to reminisce on that fateful day.

The Rebellion was in full swing when Lapis Lazuli, a terraformer sent by Blue Diamond to form new Kindergartens on Earth, was thrust in the middle of it. She tried her best to avoid the carnage, the Gem shards raining everywhere and the soldiers fighting for their lives until she found a safe spot behind a lone tree.

She figured she would stay there until most of the fighting stopped until she bumped into a monster that towered over her. A monster with orange reptilian skin, empty yellow eyes, a mouth full of sharp fangs and dual-wielding both a stone mace & an axe.

“Where are you going puny water witch?” he snarled, causing her to back away into another being with grey skin, chalk white hair, ornate black & white robes with gold trim and devilish blue eyes that had a faint glow in them. “Are you lost little one, afraid perhaps?” this other creature purred. “I’m not lost, I was only supposed to make a quick visit before all this happened!” Lapis cried not being able to comprehend her current situation. “Who even are you two anyway?!”

“Ah yes, apologies for being so uncouth.” the grey alien bowed gracefully toward the ocean Gem. “I am Ebony Maw of the Black Order, and this is my companion Black Dwarf.” he, now calling himself Ebony Maw, introduced himself and the larger alien. “We are fighting in this war for our lord and master Thanos, who wishes to destroy both the Great Diamond Authority & the rebels led by Rose Quartz to conquer all that lives in this universe.” Black Dwarf stated. “See that shadow over there, that is he.”

He pointed toward their master in the distance, laughing maniacally as he ended the lives of all Gems, Crystal and Homeworld alike, that dared challenge him. The only one that was able to match the Mad Titan were a Rose Quartz and her terrifying Pearl. “Is that really your master?!” Lapis gasped as she watched the pink warrior face Thanos in battle. “Indeed he is terraformer.” Ebony commented silently rooting for his boss. “Speaking of which, do you ever feel like you feel dissatisfied with your current position?”

“What?! No, as a high-ranking member of Blue Diamond’s court I’m basically treated like royalty! I’m like my Diamond’s princess!” Lapis shouted trying to escape from the two.

“But that’s the thing, when all Gems are born they are ordered to do one meaningless task for the rest of their days. Does that seem boring to you?” Maw wondered getting uncomfortably close to her. “Yes, when working under Thanos we get to murder who we want, how we want and when we want!” Dwarf added with a bloodthirsty grin. “So what do you say little Lazuli, are you ready to earn your freedom?”

Lapis was now faced with a rather hefty offer. If she joined this Thanos they spoke so highly of, she could live her own free life and do whatever she should, but if she didn’t she would be as good as dead. But looking at Thanos, she would rather be shattered than join such a psychopath. Finally, with her eyes darkened, she made her decision. “I choose…” she began. “TO DIE!”

“I thought you would say that.” Ebony Maw stated motioning his bodyguard to his side with a snap of his fingers. “Black Dwarf, shatter her.” he commanded. “With pleasure.” Black Dwarf accepted preparing his weapons. He barreled toward the terraformer preparing to strike before she smacked him silly with a pair of water fists around her arms. “Leave me alone!” she screamed fighting back.

The two proceeded to duke it out while Ebony calmly spectated. Black Dwarf nearly came close to shattering Lapis and vice versa with Lapis against Dwarf. Eventually she dealt the finishing blow with a tsunami that washed the alien away as he vowed revenge. “Very well then. We shall meet again someday Lapis Lazuli, and then you will join us.” the minion of Thanos gave one last warning before retreating into a portal.

Lapis took a deep breath of relief after the fact. With that, she could be able to fly away from this planet as fast as she can before she felt a sudden sharp pain in her back as a Bismuth punched her in the gemstone. She had no time to react before her physical form fell apart and retreated back into her gem.

“So that’s why you shut your trap when talking about him.” Rocket said. “Guess I was right!” Star-Lord replied. “Looking back on the old days is fine and all, but we still got Thanos to deal with!” Captain Marvel exclaimed. “Exactly Captain, I am just eager to finally settle the score!” Ebony shouted giddily. “Dwarf, finish her off.”

“With pleasure Maw.” Dwarf snarled before charging at the alliance. They all prepared for an awesome showdown before charging into battle. Thanos just stood there and watched as his Black Order took on the accursed rebels and their allies. Captain America & Garnet teamed up against Corvus and Proxima while Pearl & Thor handled Ebony & Supergiant and Lapis contended with Black Dwarf. The rest all took on more Outriders summoned to fight.

“For Beach City, for Midgard!” Thor roared tossing his mighty hammer at Supergiant, who swiftly dodged it. “You missed Thor!” Pearl shouted. “Did I?” the future king of Asgard grinned reaching out for his trusted weapon. When it finally returned to him, it smacked the wraith square in the back of her head in its path. “You may be a god Odinson, but can you compare to a servant of Thanos?” Maw bragged summoning a large boulder over him with telekinesis. He chucked it at the duo but then with the combined might of Asgard’s finest warrior and the Crystal Gem, it was reduced to gravel.

“I have always wanted to fight such a stable fusion.” Proxima said clashing with Garnet. “Reminds me of the love between my dear Corvus and I.” she added gazing lovingly at her husband as he jabbed at Cap’s shield. “Wait, you two are in love?!” the fusion exclaimed trying to punch her in the face. “No you fool, we are married!”

“I would say congratulations, but you need to leave!” Garnet shouted landing a punch on Midnight’s midsection. “You wouldn’t understand fusion!” the female minion of Thanos shouted stabbing her opponent in the face with her trident, which caused her to defuse into Ruby and Sapphire. “What?!”

“We’re not just a fusion Proxima.” Sapphire declared creating a spear out of ice. “We are a conversation!” Ruby finished for her lover summoning her gauntlet. The two small Gems charged at the taller blue woman while Corvus continued fighting Cap.

“Why do you keep resisting fool? Don’t you see our master will destroy you once he obtains all six Infinity Stones again?!” he cried managing to produce a few dents in his shield. “Because we’ve beat him before and we’ll beat him again!” Steve declared tossing his shield and knocking out a few Outriders for Amethyst & Mantis before returning to his side.

Black Dwarf meanwhile was evenly matched with Lapis. Normally, he would’ve fought evenly with a Gem like Garnet, Rose, Bismuth or Jasper but Lapis was different. They were on a planet that was mostly water, her main element. She was basically on par with him here, but maybe if he could throw her off somehow. “The offer still stands terraformer, join us or face oblivion!” he boomed trying in vain to hit her with his mace. “No, I’ve chosen to defend Earth from the likes of you! You can shatter me all you want, but you’ll never take my freedom!” Lapis declared.

“That’s my girl!” Peridot cried as she rode on Hulk’s back while he plowed through Outriders. “Thanks Peri.” Lapis wistfully said turning to her best friend before being knocked face-first on the ground. “Well then, oblivion it is girl.” Dwarf snarled as he slammed his axe on her gem, cracking it. This in turn turned Lapis’s colors a darker shade of blue and her eyes glassy, almost mirror-like. “Oh no, not again!”

“Lapis!” Steven cried trying to save his friend. “Do not cry for her boy, she will perish just like all the Gems in the rebellion before her!” the brute shouted driving his weapon deeper, making her scream in pain. “That’s right! LOUDER!” he exclaimed, finding joy in her struggling. If his axe were to go any deeper, Lapis would be shattered right then and there. She couldn’t take this. She was powerless once more, facing the possibility of death and began to sob as he continued striking at the crack.

“You leave her alone you giant clod!” Peridot screamed using her ferrokinesis to grab Dwarf by his axe and toss him into a group of Outriders.

“Whoo, that’s my Kindergartener!” Amethyst cheered for her fellow shorty. “Yes, she is quite powerful!” Mantis added clapping before she was suddenly cornered by a very angry Black Dwarf. “Hey, leave my homegirls alone you big lizard!” the defective Quartz exclaimed grabbing him by the neck with her whips and tossing him around. “And I thought Thanos trained you better than that.”

“You ignorant worm! I shall grind you into dust!” Black Dwarf was at his breaking point, ready to destroy anything that dared cross him until his comrade Corvus stopped him. “Savor your strength brother, they are not worth our time anymore.” he stated. “Right, maybe we should let Master Thanos obliterate them.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Thanos added preparing for battle. He raised his gauntlet-clad hand once again with an air of superiority surrounding him. “You leave them alone!” Steven shouted summoning his shield before he was punched aside. “No boy, this is between me and the rebels.” the Titan stated marching towards the Gems. Pearl was the first to stand up to him as she clashed her spear with his finger. “I remember fighting you in the Rebellion Thanos! Destroying thousands of Gems all for the sake of Lady Death was just utterly heartless!”

“That reminds me Pearl, how’s Rose doing?” the conqueror asked her with a manic smirk. “Well she uh, uh.” the lost defective Pearl began to stutter before she finally gave her answer. “She died to give birth to a child, whom was the one you punched.” she said gazing at Steven as he healed Lapis off to the side. “And are you still in love with her?” Thanos added. “Yes, but I’m trying to move on from-”

“I’ve heard enough. To be a great defender, you must let go of past mistakes and look to the future, but I believe you prefer to stay in the past with your beloved.” the destroyer insulted her. “Well you shouldn’t be saying that Mr. 'In Love with a Cosmic Deity That Isn’t Interested’!” Pearl shouted before she was grabbed by the torso and thrown away. “That is where you belong Pearl, thrown away like a forgotten toy! Perhaps that’s why you abandoned your Diamond.”

Then Amethyst attempted to fight him, strangling him with her weapon. “My my, is that an Amethyst I see?” he wondered. “Excuse me little one, I want to see Amethyst.” Amethyst was understandably enraged by his insult and pulled him down to the ground with a scream. “Don’t call me little like that ever! Ya hear me?!” she shouted turning into her Purple Puma form, jumping into the air and smacking him with an elbow attack before he grabbed her arm and tossed her to his feet. “I expected better from a Kindergarten.”

“That is enough Thanos!” Doctor Strange unleashed a barrier around the hybrid alien. “Doctor Strange, how good to see you again. For the last time.” Thanos boasted. “Garnet, now!” the Sorcerer Supreme commanded the newly refused Garnet as she charged toward the Titanian and kicked him right in the jaw.

“Leave my comrades alone Thanos or face my wrath!” she declared preparing to launch her gauntlets like rockets at him. “And what would your "wrath” be? Just standing around and doing nothing while your teammates get up to nonsense chicanery?“

Garnet immediately ceased fire to comprehend Thanos’s words, when suddenly Hulk, Thor, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Ant-Man, Wasp, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Drax and Groot attacked the Titan all at once. "PURPLE MAN HURT PINK BOY AND FRIENDS! HULK RIP OFF PURPLE MAN’S HEAD!” Hulk screamed. “Your days end here monster!” Hank shouted about to perform a flying kick before the Titan just mock-yawned and blasted them all away.

Then both Gamora & Nebula tried to fight him. “We’ve lived with your abuse for far too long!” Nebula screamed trying to stab her adoptive father before she was grabbed by the head and knocked out cold. “Take her away.” he simply commanded a lone Outrider who grabbed the Luphomoid’s unconscious form and scampered away, leaving the others crying her name.

“Get a load of this big guy!” Rocket roared while he and Yondu fired multiple arrows that simply failed to hit him not even once. “Are you all done yet?” was the flattest response Thanos could muster with a seriously bored expression on his face.

“We’re not done!” Peridot & Lapis cried out in unison preparing to stop him. “Oh look, the comic relief has arrived.” Thanos said turning to the barn mates. “You too Thanos?!” Lapis exclaimed incredulously preparing a tidal wave to wash him away. “Yeah, we’re Crystal Gems too!” Peridot added snatching Corvus Glaive’s weapon from his hands and took up arms. “If you claim to be Crystal Gems, then where are your stars?” He pointed straight at Peridot’s chest where that diamond symbol still hanged. “I-I’ll get mine soon, I’m just really hard to poof!”

“If these failures refuse to give you one, then maybe I can bestow it myself.” Thanos stated gesturing towards their fellow Gems as they struggled to get up before raising his left hand, preparing to destroy her and Lapis. Pretty much every one of the heroes was down for the count all except for two people: Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. “There’s only one way out of this.” Stark glowered at the Mad Titan behind his back before calling for Jarvis. “Jarvis?”

“Yes Mr. Stark?” Jarvis asked, ready to accept whatever command he was given. “Bring in Veronica.” Tony ordered. “Are you truly sure sir? After the last time you used it, it’s still in need of repairs.” the AI tried to advise against it. “I don’t care, we need to stop him!” Tony shouted. “All right then. Sending in Veronica.”

High above the battleground, a jet launched a crate with the Stark Industries name on it and crashed down right on top of Tony. The crate broke apart to reveal a large Iron Man armor as tall as Dr. Banner’s mutated half. This was Mark XLIV, the Hulkbuster.

“This is where we finish this Thanos.” Iron Man declared as Cap and the Hulkbuster charged toward him, ready to just end it all. “No, this is where I finish you.” Thanos heartlessly tore the Hulkbuster armor apart and pushed Tony away while Steve stumbled back.

It was over.

Thanos had won.

“Now all I need is the Mind Stone to become omnipotent.” he stated. That was when he heard the Captain begin to chuckle, followed by a light snicker and then finally a loud laugh for everyone to hear. “Cap!” Steven cheered rushing to his idol’s side.

“Why are you laughing?! You’ve lost!” Thanos wondered out loud. “It’s because we may have lost against you many times before Thanos, but we’ll always come out on top no matter what.” Rogers declared smirking. “And as long as one man stands against you, you will never claim victory.”

“My mom saw the beauty in everything. But I’m sure she didn’t see it in you.” Steven added with a determined glare. “Such noble sentiments from two mortals who are about to die.” Thanos declared preparing once more for battle. This was it, the final epic battle for the Infinity Stones and the fate of all that lives within the universe. The half-human son of Rose Quartz and the First Avenger against the almost all-powerful Mad Titan.

Thanos made his first move, pounding the sand beneath them with his fist to blind the two and firing an energy blast from his hands. “Out of the way!” Steven cried and the two dodged it. “Good maneuvers there kid!” the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan commended his young fan’s brilliance. The boy had no time to geek out over this as Thanos prepared to fire from a large rifle.

“Stasis gun!” Rogers exclaimed before Steven pulled out his shield to block the blast. “The shield of that accursed Rose Quartz! Then that must mean-” Thanos realized. “You must be her son.”

“I know, but I’m not like her! My mom may have done some bad things in the past, but I’m gonna make up for them!” Steven proclaimed. “Typical Rose Quartz, always using others to further her own goals like the fool she is.” the Mad Titan sarcastically lamented. “No, you’re the fool here for claiming you can just win all over again!” Cap declared fiercely. Thanos felt something snap in him, as if a small string finally gave way. He did not like how this puny human had just insulted him and gotten off scott free.

Without even the slightest of hesitation, Thanos ripped Captain America’s shield from his hands, broke it in two, stabbed him with both halves and shoved him into the cliffside, knocking him unconscious.

“STEVE!” they all cried out for their friend, terrified at what Thanos has done. “That could happen to the rest of you if I am disrespected any further.” the Titan declared. “Now hand over the Mind Stone or this planet shall become a forgotten memory.”

“Just let him have it Steven, we just can’t take it anymore.” Pearl finally resigned as the Crystal Gems felt utterly defeated despite their efforts. “You can take the Mind Stone, just please don’t hurt any of my friends or this planet.” Steven begged Thanos. “Hm, I shall give you this. You know how to put the needs of others before yours.” the villain complimented him. “Go, retrieve your stone. And I solemnly swear your planet shall remain living.”

“Come on everyone. For Earth.” Garnet declared getting up and leading the other Gems to the Burning Room. Opening the door, they walked inside and Steven jumped up to retrieve the Infinity Stone in its bubble. The rebels took one long last look at the artifact, still glimmering within its bubble before taking back outside where Thanos was waiting, eagerly anticipating the final stone.

“Here it is Thanos, the Mind Stone.” Steven popped the bubble and held out the stone for Thanos to take. “Thank you very much boy.” he thanked the child taking it out of his mitts and finally inserting it into the Gauntlet.

It was all over, the Gauntlet was complete and Thanos has now become a god. With just a wave of his hand, entire galaxies could tremble at his feet or he could destroy the entire universe and remake it in his image. But as for now, he will just relish in this victory over the incompetent rebels Rose left behind.

“I shall have you know son of Rose, or Steven Universe as they refer to you, that from now on my reign of terror shall be blamed on you and your planet. What’s left of the universe shall desire to carve out your heart and sacrifice it to me as their new god.” Thanos boomed one last time. “Even centuries from now when your pitiful Crystal Gems fade into the wind, they will tell stories of how one little boy has doomed them all.”

“I don’t care, you promise that Earth will live, right?” Steven wept before sobbing in Garnet’s arms. “Indeed child, Earth will be spared from my wrath. For now.” He then turned back to his intimidating vessel. “My Black Order, return to my side! It is time to lay siege to a certain empire.” His loyal minions did as they were told as they wearily stood up and returned to their lord’s aide before entering the ship.

Thanos simply looked back at the Gems with an arrogant sneer before the spaceship’s entrance finally closed and it took off, leaving Earth behind. “Now then, let’s see how Rogers is doing.” Pearl stated blankly walking over to the others, in which Tony, Hank and Strange checking his vitals. “Anything Tony?” she asked. “He’s all right, just knocked unconscious and in critical condition. But we don’t know if he’s going to make it out okay.”

“I-it’s okay guys! Superheroes die and come back a lot! He’s gonna come back eventually, right guys?!” Spider-Man tried to lighten their spirits in his usual manner, but to no avail. There was an air of dead silence in the area.

To the Avengers, they had lost a dear friend and a leader. To Lapis and Peridot, though they hadn’t known him long, they felt their pain. To the Guardians, they lost a trusted ally. But the Crystal Gems took it the hardest.

Garnet lost someone whom she could call an equal. Amethyst lost someone she could aspire to be like. Pearl lost the man whom she bonded with and was the closest to him out of all the Avengers. But to Steven, he lost his hero, his idol, the very super he looked up to. He had learned from him to stand up for what is right no matter the odds, to be with the ones you love til the end of the line, but most importantly to bring hope to even the darkest of times.

This time of mourning lasted throughout the night until the sun finally rose. Normally, the sun rising would mean new beginnings but for this despairing crew, it meant the beginning of the end.

“Guys?”

The Gem Homeworld. A sprawling utopia that has been the home of Gemkind for thousands of years, Ruled by the Great Diamond Authority, this planet has been at relative peace until they started running low on resources, in which they tried to resolve it by harvesting other planets to create new Gems.

But now, a certain tyrant has invaded with a score to settle with Homeworld’s monarchs and has decided to attract them by shattering every single Gem within his sights. All except one that managed to flee his rampage and make it her mission to warn her Diamond of his arrival.

A lone Citrine raced to a nearby communication port and punched in a special code to contact her Diamond, only to be met with her Pearl. “Welcome to the Diamond Line, what do you want?” Yellow Pearl snarked in a snooty tone of voice. “Listen, you have to connect me to Yellow Diamond! He’s finally come for us!” the Citrine warned much to the Pearl’s shock.

“Pearl, what is this about 'he’ returning?” a deep feminine voice wondered picking up the projector to reveal none other than Yellow Diamond. “My Diamond, I have terrible news! Thanos has returned, and he has all the Infinity Stones! You must contact the others and assemble every Gem you got to stop him! We need-”

Before Citrine could finish, the communicator was totaled by an energy blast from none other than Ebony Maw. “Well well, aren’t we a bit tenacious here?” he chided the soldier backing her into a corner and preparing an energy blast. “Savor your energy Ebony.” Thanos declared gently pushing his minion out of the way and forcing Citrine to the ground, aiming his foot at her hand where her gemstone was placed. “When you perish by my heel, tell your comrades in the next world I said hello.” And with that, he stomped Citrine’s gem, instantly shattering her.

“Thanos has returned?!” Blue Diamond screamed in horror as she and her sister raced to confront Thanos. “Yes, a Citrine soldier of mine warned me he would return someday.” Yellow commented. “Now where is White?!”

“Still can’t find her.” Blue moaned before they finally reached the Mad Titan, having already reduced their united army into five Rubies, an Aquamarine, a pair of Topazes and an Emerald fearing for their lives.

“This is all you have to offer now? I expected better from intergalactic warlords!” Thanos exclaimed crushing an inactive gemstone in his hand. “Thanos! What brings you back here you mongrel?!” Yellow Diamond roared preparing to strike him down. “Don’t do it my Diamond, Thanos is not to be messed with!” one of the Rubies begged her Diamond. “This Ruby is right Yellow, stand down or face my wrath.”

“Maybe we should just listen to his demands and maybe he’ll leave.” Blue Diamond suggested, to which her Pearl readily agreed. “Never! This Titan has disgraced us for far too long, and it’s time I get revenge for Pink!” Yellow screamed preparing to face off against Thanos before he raised the Gauntlet and said a single word. “KNEEL!”

Almost instantaneously, the two monarchs and their Pearls dropped to their knees before the Mad Titan. Just then, Mephisto materialized behind him. “Master, your new planet is almost ready. Your fleets have already prepared several worlds for you to terrorize.” the demon announced bowing.

“Excellent Mephisto.” Thanos thanked his servant before turning back to the Diamonds. “Perhaps if you hadn’t done nothing but sit around and mourn the demise of that brat rather than do as you were meant to do, then maybe things would’ve been different.”

“What is he implying?” Blue Pearl mumbled. “I am trying to say-” Thanos began before he stopped himself. “I shall work out the details later. But right now…” He turned away and stepped forward, gazing upon the sky of Homeworld and thinking about the various planets that he could conquer, all for his beloved. “He’s really going to do it.” Mephisto muttered almost fearfully as the others looked at Thanos gazing at something that clearly isn’t there.

But to Thanos, this was the form of his beloved Lady Death, standing there in front of him, her black robes hiding her wistful, neutral expression. Thanos grinned as he raised his hand skyward. Now that he was a god, what was his first act?

A single fingersnap.

To be continued in Steven Universe: Secret Wars

Part 2: Battleworld

Well that’s it everyone. The day has finally come. Let the universe howl in despair for Thanos has risen. Can the Crystal Gems and the Avengers find a way to stop him? Find out next time, coming soon.

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melodymishahiddlestan · 7 years

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Summers in Scotland

Authors Notes: I became inspired to write this after I had finished reading a marvellous Tom Hiddleston AU fic. I just had a thought what if you met your soulmate but they were too old for you? Say they were over 18 when you were under 16, how would both react and how would you both cope? Would you even like the fact you were soul-marked to each other? How would your family and your soul-marks react to this news… Set first in 2001 then jumps ahead few years every so often and then ends up in 2018 during the filming for infinity wars (Soul-Mark AU) Summary: 15 year old Abigail Matthews visits her father and step family in Scotland and get roped into helping out at the local amateur dramatics group where she meets her soul mark ‘Tom’ Pairing: OFC x Tom Hiddleston Word Count: 2,162 NO WARNING ~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 1 It is universally known that soul-marks appear on the body when a child comes into their 12th year. Now it doesn't always happen but that may come down the fact the other words have yet to be born/turn 12, in which case the older individual would have to wait. Now should you turn 12 and your words appear that means your mate is older... this happened to me… My Name is Abi Matthews. As soon as I turned 12 the words "Hello, I'm Tom, nice to you meet you, so Shannen said you can Draw?" appeared on the inside of my right lower arm, in what I can only assume was 'Tom' very neat handwriting. Now the only person I showed these words too were my mum and she instantly recommended I cover them up to avoid jealousy from others as not everyone gets their soul mark straight away and not everyone knows their name. She gave me a Holo-Sleeve and I’ve worn it ever since, occasionally taking off during my baths to admire the beauty of my Soul-marks handwriting and wondering if he was doing the same to mine and hoping he can read it… Now just before my 12th Birthday my parents, David and Maria (who weren't soul-marked together), Split-up after my dad had met his words and had moved to Scotland to be with Rowena and her two kids, Gavin & Susan, my step siblings, (Gavin is 2 years older than me and Susan who is 2 years younger) their father had died when Susan was just a baby. Now I didn't get to meet my 'Tom' as I referred to him as for another 3 years after the initial appearance on my 12th Birthday, and in the summer of 2001 I did and this is the story. Now every year after my parents split up I would go visit him and my new family in Edinburgh in the summers and half terms, it was lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, Rowena was a lovely lady, she didn’t treat me any differently to her own children and even suggested to my dad they find a bigger house so I had my own room instead of having to share with Susan whenever I visited. Now my dad worked as a Eduactional advisor, helping to improve schools, and because of this he was asked if he would be willing to go to another School somewhere else in Scotland and work his magic there, he accepted and that’s why they moved to Greenock from Edinburgh. Now on the fateful summer I met my soul-mark after just arriving to Greenock, Rowana announced she was getting involved in helping out the local Junior amateur dramatics group her friend Morag ran and as it was a Junior that Gavin, Susan and I must join in as it would be a great way for us to meet other kids our age, now Gavin and Susan had already met the kids in the area having already been living in Greenock for a term, this I suspected was a ploy on Rowena’s part to include me more, now I didn’t mind as much cause it beat me staying in all the time but it would mean I would not get to spend as much time with my dad while I was up in Scotland. Rowena assured me it would not take up too much of my time and knowing I was a shy thing assured me I wouldn’t have to be on stage, instead I could maybe work backstage, but said I could go for the first meeting and that if it wasn't my cup-of-tea I didn't have to go again. I said I would think about it. I did and I was kind of curious to see what they would do at this ‘amateur dramatics group’ and three days later, I’m walking into the hall where the production would eventually take place was daunting, it was huge and there were a lot of kids around my age, some younger like Susan, some older like Gavin and I didn't know anyone. As soon as we arrived Gavin and Susan went off to hang out with their friends whilst I stood with Rowena, she informed me she was just going to have ‘a wee chat’ with her friend and I was to wait here, I said that was fine. I sat on my own, I was sitting at the window and looked out at the view which was beautiful and not realising I was even doing it, got out my art book (that I carry everywhere) and the pencil that was always stuck behind my ear, and started sketching away at the landscape, I must have only been at it for a few minutes when a voice came up behind me and shocked me out of my daze, “Bloody hell you’re good” I looked up to see a small red headed girl with glasses wearing an oversized zipped coat which was fastened up to her neck, which I though was odd for the warm weather Greenock was currently having. She was looking down at me smiling, “you gonna help with the scenery?” she asked in her Scottish accent, but she continued before she gives me a chance to respond, “oooh I do hope so, we need your kinda talent, the last guy, Robbie, he upped and disappeared half way the post production last year, left me and Morag in a sticky situation I tell you,” “I don’t know, I’m not sure my mum, I mean Step-mum said I could think about it,” I replied quietly, the red headed girl sat down next to me, “Ah you’re English, I do love your accents, their so quaint,” she smiled at me again, and she looked like she was hiding something a small bit of desperation and I knew I couldn’t leave this girl alone, “please say you will, I don’t think I can do it all on my own,” she looked over at Morag who was still busy chatting away with Rowena, “keep this on the down low okay? but Morag? she told me we’re doing a Shakespeare production of a Midsummer Night Dream, and I can’t draw for shit, I’m more a painter, and well im sure you’ll be able to draw a fairy world,” “I think I could, Midsummer is actually one of my favourite of Shakespeare plays,” I admit to my new friend, “'Set your heart at rest, The fairy land buys not the child of me'” “Ya wha?” asks my Red headed acquaintance looking lost, “Sorry, it’s a quote from the play? The Fairy Queen Titania says it in Act II, scene 1, I told you it was my favourite,” I shy apologise after exposing my geekiness, “She’s my favourite character” “oh” she says looking more interested, “You should audition, if you know the part so well,” “Oh no, I tend to stay out of the limelight, that’s more suited to my sister Susan,” “Susan?” my bespectacled friend asks, “Yes, Susan MacLeod” I confirm as I point over to my blond haired step sister who was busy chattering away with her friends, “Susan MacLeod? Is your sister? So that makes Gavin…?” “Yup, my older brother, well step-brother, he’s cool, their mum, Rowena, is my dad’s soul-mark, she’s alright too, she’s making a real effort, so is Gavin to include me, Susan not so much, if ya ask me she’s a bit stuck up,” “Aye, you can say that again,” smirks my new friend, “Oh by the way, I’m Shannen,” I raise my eyebrows, surely not… she puts her hand out for me to take of which I politely accept, “Shannen McManon, but you can call me Ginge,” she winks, “Ooh, hello… I’m Abigail Matthews… but please call me Abi, only my dad gets to call me Abigail,” I awkwardly laugh, grinning at our new budding friendship, “So you’ll help me? With the scenery? I could really do with the help this year,” she pleads “You know what? I will, I’ll help you, I already have some sketch ideas we can use,” I show her my art book, “I have more back home,” her eyes widen at them, “Their brilliant Abi!” she asks to look closer, I nod and she takes the book looing through, “These are beautiful Abi, you’re amazing,” “Thanks, I’m going to get into art school when I finish school next year,” I inform her “Same here, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that now,” “How come?” I ask but Shannen, sorry Ginge, doesn’t answer, instead she passes my art book back and looks me in the eye, “I’m gonna tell Morag you’re on board,” she gets up slowly and walks over to where Morag was talking to Rowena, not before she gives me a Hug, “Thank you,” I sit back and watch as Ginge, walks off, and I ponder, rubbing my arm where my soul-mark is hidden under my holo-sleeve, surely the ‘Shannen’ my Tom mentions in his words isn’t the one I’ve just met… surely not, that’s too much of a coincidence. I look up again at where Ginge had gone and noticed another woman had joined Morag and Rowena, and there was a young man standing with them aswell, the trio were talking animatly, the young man stood silently by the woman’s side, I assume she’s his mother due to similarities in their facial features and the blond hair. Ginge approaches Morag, politely interrupting the three ladies conversation, Morag turns towards her with a smile which opens out to a bigger smile, Ginge continues to talk to the ladies and I’m drawn to the young man. I was instantly knocked back by just how handsome and cute the young man was, and how tall he was too, he had blond curly hair which looked like he had attempted to brush it but lost and he was wearing a green short sleeve shirt over a white sleeve top and jeans, he turned to look towards me and It was then I got to see he had really nice eyes, like two sapphires, how I’d love to get hold of him and ask if he’ll let me draw him, he obviously noticed me staring and smiles, I blush having been caught and its then his face snaps towards something Ginge says and then he looks back at me in surprise, I smile at him, that’s when I see Morag and Rowena walking over towards me, Ginge looking from me to the young blond and grinning, I snap out of it when I hear my name, “Abi, Shannen tells me you’re on board with helping out backstage with the set design and back drops, is that correct?” asks Morag, a large Scottish lady with a jet black hair and a happy face, I slowly nod, “That’s fantastic news, so glad to have you on board, now if you’ll excuse me I shall rally the troops and introduce everyone,” Rowena gives me a huge smile and brief hug and winks at me and follows Morag on stage, along with the woman who was talking to them earlier, the young man now having disappeared. I get up out my seat and start to walk over to Ginge, but like the cute blond she too has disappeared, I decide to sit on the window sill high up so to find Shannen’s Ginger hair in the crowd only to discover most of the people here had red hair, I sit back and ponder, but not for long. Morag is on the stage and I vaguely hear her talk about how this year’s production was going to be more professional and that they had go more funding and that the lady; a Diana Hiddleston, who was an arts administrator and stage manager would be assisting in this year’s production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and that her son would be helping due to him currently studying the classics at Cambridge and was here on an advisory capacity due to his vast knowledge of Shakespeare. So the cutie knew his Bill eh? I bet he don’t know as much as me about this play, I laugh at my obnoxious thought, he goes to Cambridge Abi, of course he’ll knows more than me! And I shake my head of that silly thought. I don’t notice the unruling blond head of hair in front of me, lean against the window ledge I was sitting on till Morag finished her introduction, he turns around and looks at me, we’re about face to face now I’m higher up, he smiles at me and I’m almost knocked out by the beauty of it, he is really rather handsome, he places his hand out in front of himself, I instantly take it, "Hello, I'm Tom, nice to you meet you, so Shannen said you can Draw?" TO BE CONTINUED -------------- Please tell me if you wish me to remove you from the tag list and if you want me to add you. Please be kind. Tag List: @srj1990 @this-ginger-has-no-soul @thatawkwardtinyperson @mar-gega @wayward-mirage @faith-in-dean @rowdyhooliganism @thewhiterabbit42 @emilyevanston @stephkfay @angryschnauzer @bovaria @nuggsmum @rosereidgibbshotch @deannathegeek @vampiechelle @peaceloveancolor @sammy-moo @m1sund3rst0od @memoirsofamessybitch @mummabro @deezyd19 @phoenixfire2912

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jonathanbelloblog · 5 years

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The New-Car and Concept Hits, Misses, and Revelations from 2018

As usual, the 2018 auto shows in Detroit, Chicago, Geneva, New York, and Los Angeles got the staff to arguing about which new cars, trucks, SUVs, and concepts were hits, which were misses, and which had us scratching our heads. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights and lowlights of the past year, with prospects for those models and concepts in 2019 and beyond.

HIT: Genesis Essentia Concept And the winner of the “Wait, that’s a Hyundai?” award goes to this breathtakingly beautiful concept car. What a work of art.—Aaron Gold

Star of the New York show, and probably the auto show season. It’s exactly the sports grand touring (electric vehicle) design that Genesis needs in order to build up its luxury brand credibility.—Todd Lassa

OUTLOOK: Production by 2021 confirmed. Genesis’s limited production halo will be a purely electric sports car—not an SUV.

HIT: Infiniti Q Inspiration Concept It features Infiniti’s interesting VC-Turbo variable-compression engine technology, and if the next production Q70 ends up looking like the Q Inspiration, I won’t complain.—Mac Morrison

Beautiful, even if it does look like it cribbed a bit off the Porsche Mission E’s sheet. The only thing I don’t like about this car’s sleek, relatively understated styling is the unlikelihood that it will make it to production without a dozen added ungainly flourishes.—Nelson Ireson

Too bad it’s not the actual car, because with its mean, chunky mug, massive panoramic glass feature that extends down the back, its wide, sweeping rear end, and floating four-place seating and console, this is a package that shouts luxury and exudes future cool.—Mike Floyd

After generations of uninspired flagship sedans, the Q Inspiration’s cues promise a return to the spirit of the original Q45.—TL

OUTLOOK: An Infiniti flagship that looks something like this will come. And without the distinctive C-pillar “Nakamura kink” curlicue featured on all current models.

HIT: Lamborghini Urus I came into the Motor City prepared to write a half-dozen jokes at the Urus’s expense, but after seeing it in person, I’m smitten.—A.G.

MISS: Lamborghini Urus I can give the Urus a pass because Lamborghini has done an SUV before, but I can’t forgive its uninspired, Aventador nose on a Q7 body.—TL

OUTLOOK: Will outsell the LM002 by far. And a multitude of forthcoming variants and special editions will keep it at the top of Lambo’s charts for a long time.

REVELATION: Toyota Supra achieves the perfect balance Chief engineer Tetsuya Tada says a key goal of the new Supra was that it must achieve a perfect 50:50 front-to-rear weight balance. From the sound of it, the team has nailed the brief. The Supra will not come with a manual transmission, which is a surprise to virtually no one.—MF

OUTLOOK: The production Supra finally bows at the ’19 Detroit show. With Akio Toyoda in attendance.

HIT: Mercedes-Benz G-class Like Jeep’s Wrangler, it’s a serious throwback that now doesn’t always have to make you feel as though you just bought a used car from the mid-’90s. Expect to smile more than ever when you drive one, or see one coming your way.—MM

The ever-so-massaged styling keeps the former-generation’s rugged looks with some considerations given for new technology. Plus, the doors still have that military-grade sound when they shut.—Billy Rehbock

You might not be able to tell the new G Class is new at all if you only see it from the outside. The interior, on the other hand, is now much better executed, from ergonomics to materials to design. Too bad its starting price is more than a good annual salary.—NI

REVELATION: Dr. Z still likes Detroit Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche has a real fondness for The Motor City. He revealed the new Geländewagen at the historic Michigan Theater with erstwhile Hummer enthusiast/Governator/failed The Apprentice host Arnold Schwarzenegger.—TL

OUTLOOK: Mercedes will not attend the 2019 Detroit auto show. No Dieter Zetsche this year. But at least we have Akio Toyoda.

HIT: BMW X2 The slick new X2 is a refreshing break from the cookie-cutter SUVs—sorry, SAVs—we’re used to seeing under the Bimmer badge. Here, finally, is a BMW ute that manages to avoid both the frumpiness of the X3 and X5 and the silliness (and uselessness) of the X4 and X6.—AG

MISS: BMW X2 It looks like the designers were bored. So am I.—NI

OUTLOOK: Another Bimmer destined to cut into 3 Series sales. It’s a crossover. Of course it will cut into 3 Series sales.

HIT: Hyundai Veloster Hyundai’s next-generation Veloster is an evolutionary step in design and promises to be a genuine hot hatch. The N Performance model is particularly attractive with 275 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque sent through a six-speed manual.—BR

The Mark II Hyundai Veloster reminds me of the Mark II Honda CRX.—TL

HIT: Hyundai Veloster N Give us a simple car with a big engine and a buttoned-down suspension and chances are we’ll rave about it, because chances are it’ll be pretty darn good. If it doesn’t torque-steer like a lubed weasel, the Veloster N should be a gem.—AG

OUTLOOK: The Veloster N is a gem. After all these years, Hyundai has learned how to tune a chassis.

REVELATION: A Trumpchi by any other name GAC has committed to importing its first model, the three-row GS8 sport/utility, to the U.S. market by the fourth quarter of 2019.—TL

OUTLOOK: 50/50. Depends on whether President Trump or President Xi wins the trade war.

HIT: Volvo V60 station wagon The second car on Volvo’s “60” platform is the largest, widest, and important to this pick, the lowest wagon in its class by overall height, which at this point includes very little that is sold in the U.S. Volvo isn’t expecting the crossover- and sport/utility craze to turn soon – after all, the automaker makes bags of money on the XC90 and XC60 – but if anything on the road draws modern customers back to the station wagon, this will be the car.—TL

REVELATION: Will wagons make a comeback with non-enthusiasts? Judging from the number of them on the show floors, it certainly looks like the station wagon is staging a comeback. There’s the Buick Regal TourX, Mercedes-Benz E400 4Matic Wagon, and the Volvo V90 that all look good and give us fans some hope.—Ed Tahaney

OUTLOOK: Probably not. Buick insists on calling its Regal TourX wagon a “crossover/utility,” and it’s still not selling.

HIT: Lagonda Vision Concept Laser projection taillights, completely feasible for production. Lift up roof over rear seats. Electric vehicle possibilities emphasized. Car is length of Rolls-Royce Ghost, but with more interior space than the Phantom.—Robert Cumberford

MISS: Lagonda Vision Concept My first impression was, “nice lines, nice proportions.” But when the car spun on its turntable to where I could see two grownups lounging in the back seat, I couldn’t get it out of my head that this is a cartoonishly large car, especially for an Aston Martin.—TL

OUTLOOK: Some version of this must be headed to production . . . . . . as long as Aston Martin calls it an “SUV.”

HIT: Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo Concept It looks like an electric concept that Porsche might have drawn back in the days of the original 901-model 911, with none of the bulky body heft of virtually every modern car. In that regard, it’s the opposite of both the Tesla Model X and the S.—TL

MISS: Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo Concept Huge knobby tires. It’s really a strange beast. Hard to grasp its place in the world.—RC

OUTLOOK: To be produced as a variant of the Porsche Taycan. Watch out, Tesla Model S and X.

MISS: Volkswagen I.D. Vizzion Concept Suicide doors and ultra-flush cabins are cool, but those features have also become a de rigueur part of self-driving concepts. The disappointing part is the adherence to three-box design and this concept’s more-than-striking resemblance to a Tesla Model S.—Basem Wasef

OUTLOOK: The I.D. Buzz deserves more buzz. The modern Microbus makes for a better VW EV.

HIT: Subaru Viziv Concept Subaru has been working up some really solid concepts of late, and the Viziv is the best yet, with angles in all the right places up front, chunky fender flares and a take on Subaru’s trademark hood scoop. It’s an aggressive, yet modern looking design that Subaru would be well advised to push out basically as-is.—MF

It used to be that Subaru would show a nicely designed concept predicting a future model, and then the realities of production would result in something less than handsome. But the latest Impreza and Crosstrek are reasonably attractive, and now it looks like the next WRX/STI might benefit from those compact models’ looks. Better news is that the Viziv Concept hints that the WRX/STI could be offered in wagon form again.—TL

MISS: Subaru VIZIV Concept Six-sided grille frame, five-sided wheel openings front and rear, three-side headlamp openings. Decent looking, but excessively complex surfaces, retro hood scoop, really convoluted lift gate shape.—RC

OUTLOOK: A WRX/STI worth waiting for, if they do end up looking similar. Yes, but do enthusiasts buy Subies for the looks?—MF

HIT: Cadillac XT4 Has there ever been a good small Cadillac? The former Standard of the World has been trying and failing for the better part of four decades, but it looks like they finally got it right. The XT4 is cute and playful, a little cheeky even, and yet it still has the dignity and stateliness of a proper Cadillac. The XT4 may prove to be t from Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4 http://bit.ly/2Ayuwdp via IFTTT

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eddiejpoplar · 5 years