#the last 23 days. then to suddenly rocket up to smiling to myself all day. the world is so fucking beautiful

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

#it is truly so wild to go from feeling miserable and hopeless all the time for... lets look at my excel sheet #the last 23 days. then to suddenly rocket up to smiling to myself all day. the world is so fucking beautiful #for no rational reason aside from what i have to assume is a chemical shift in my body #like is this what happy ppl feel like all the time? its truely so crazy. have i always been like this? #did i not notice this was a thing? like ive definitely noticed it in the last year but like ??? #my suspicion is that it doesnt actually last long enough to b considered hypomania but like idk i should see a doctor probably lol #u would think being happy would make it easier to do things but i just keep forgetting to do them and just like spacing out lol bc rn i #feel chill. even tho i need to make a list of the shit i gotta do by Friday. bleh. but idk it makes being in thr lab so much nicer bc i #mean. i still dont give a fuck abt what im doing but im like fuck it this isnt gonna b my problem in like 2-3 months. even tho im sure ill #still have to write up everything. but idk. it also makes it easier to b like. ok so i kno what my problems r lets plan yo make things not #so horrible so u dont just live a miserable life and then like die having lived a life of fear. like its so crazy how much easier thst is #to do rn??? well see how long it lasts but yea v strange. wish i could control my fucking focus tho. like that would b great #its like the fucking painting of hypnose. my focus is like a lighthouse wildly swinging its light around until it sometimes blasts me in #the face. like not helpful. i need to b able to do things. #i guess the weird thing rn is thst while i feel happy. i also have this like simmering fear of irrational things. like when i used to live #in my parents basement and i was terrified of the dark rooms down there at night. like that kind of childish baseless fear #but like im in i tiny tiny apartment lol like bro what r u scared of??? silly silly silly #idk hopefully it holds out the whole rest of the week and then i can travel and see my parents like !!! yo !!! happy vibes :-D #that would b kinda unhinged lmao. i doubt itll last thst long. its already slipped from this morning so we shall see #unrelated

[quirkystoryteller01]

Log 4

October 23, 2021

 “~Oh Jessie~.” The tone in Paradox’s voice said it all. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to guess that they had something up their sleeve and I was going to get dragged into it.

 “Whatever it is. No,” I said. It was the weekend. I had two days off and I was planning on doing as little as possible. Currently, I was sprawled out on the couch, snuggled underneath a nice soft blanket and focused on playing a game of Tetriod on Cool Math games.

 In a blink of an eye Paradox plopped down on the coffee table across from me and switched the I-pad in my hands for one of the miniature sketchbooks I recently finished. “Dude! Seriously?”

 “Jessie. Sweetheart. My dearest creator. You know this was coming sooner or later,” Paradox replied cheerfully. The interdimensional trickster and literal manifestation of the universal law of paradox leered at me like a fiend waiting to unleash their devious plan on their next unsuspecting victim. The mischief shone brightly in their otherworldly harvest gold eyes. “I was practically made for this. You know it. I know it. So…. Tell me who you want me to teleport onto this plain of existence so you finally full fill that lifelong dream of yours.”

 Oh no. No. No. Nonono, the practical side of me screamed with rising panic to what Paradox was referring to. I looked from the inconspicuously sketchbook sitting harmlessly in my hands to the beaming face across from me. To the average set of eyes, Paradox took the form of a lanky twenty-something man of Indian heritage dressed in a cerulean long sleeve shirt underneath a navy-blue cardigan and ripped jeans. Their black hair was gelled into stylish haphazard spikes. The carefree smile on their face was disarming and friendly. Besides the strange gold eyes, most people would mistake Paradox as a normal albeit overly friendly human being.

 “Ah-Ah,” Paradox wagged at finger at me, stopping me from instinctively protesting to what they were suggesting. “You and I both know what it is you desire the most. Your deepest darkest most hidden desire that you want but are afraid to admit to because you think it will end in disaster.”

 “B-Because it will! Just because I have the means do something doesn’t mean I should,” I argued shakily. My head spung at what Paradox was suggesting. It was one thing to daydream and write about and draw something, but it was another thing to be bring it to life! “Paradox stop! You’re going to give me an essential meltdown and I really, really don’t need that right now!”

 Paradox titled their head and gave me a look. “That’s it. You leave me with no choice.”

 The sketchbook disappeared from my hands and reappeared in theirs.

 “Paradox?! Paradox! No! No!” I threw the blankets back and jumped to my feet, my hands flailing as I dove to snatch the sketchbook out of Paradox’s hands. Paradox teleported out of my reach. I cursed a blue streak as my clumsy attempt forced me to hit my knee on the sharp edge of the coffee table before falling onto all fours.

 Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

 “This is for your own good, my dear,” Paradox’s disembodied voice echoed around me. Suddenly my entire body felt like the energy had been drained out of it and made of lead. The living room around me titled and distorted as I found myself extremely dizzy. I struggled to keep my eyes open. My eyelids drooped as the feeling of needing to sleep flooded my body.

 The last coherent thought that entered my mind before I blacked out was “This can’t be good.”  

#writing example #writing wip #writing excerise #fantasy #fanfiction idea #original characters #personal log #self indulgence #adventure and fantasy #fanfiction #multifandomshipping #multifrandom

[chubbychasershortstories]

Early Lessons - Chapters 5, 6 & 7

Chapter 5: Linda, John and Butch

There was a sweet girl about my age working at BK at that time named Linda. She always seemed to smile through the grueling work and I had no idea how she managed it. I worked really hard, but I wasn’t particularly happy while doing it.

We ended a dinner shift together at 10pm and as we left, we headed down the same street. I offered to escort her home as we didn’t live in the safest of neighborhoods. She accepted, thanking me, and asked me in when we made it to her apartment.

We chatted and got to know each other better while sipping on sodas. She was a very warm and caring person. I suddenly had a strange urge and just blurted it out, “I’m gay.” I had never admitted this to anyone I wasn’t in love with. Her response was, “Wow, I’ve never had a gay friend before.” She called me a friend on our first meeting and it felt great. She seemed totally intrigued and asked me questions I hadn’t even considered and couldn’t really answer, given my limited experience.

She opened up to me too and told me she was almost 18 now and had been kicked out of her home for dating someone her parents disapproved of vehemently. The two were married in a civil ceremony 2 months later and shared this apartment. He worked construction on a 10 days out - 4 days in schedule. I really liked John when we met and the three of us would party together and shoot pool at a nearby hall.

Linda had already explained to John that she had a gay friend now and he took it in stride and never made any untoward comments about it. I really respected him for that. We were in Texas after all. The second time we met, John gave me a hug when he got home right after giving Linda a hug and a kiss. He thanked me for being a good friend to Linda. He said he felt better about leaving her alone knowing I would be there for her. It felt really good to have close friends from whom I didn’t need to hide anything about myself. It felt very liberating.

I soon met Linda’s ‘lover on the side’, Butch. He was a reform school kid about our age. He had a very lanky build, weighing barely more than I. He had reform school tattoos that looked horrible and a peculiar haircut with the straight bangs cut at an angle across his face, high to low. He was an exhibitionist as well and I ended up watching him plow Linda with his massive cock on the day we met. Massive didn’t cover it. His cock looked to be 14 inches in length and as thick as a can of beer. I’m not exaggerating. Linda had her head thrown back in a rapturous pose. Butch kept looking back at my awed expression and looked quite pleased with himself at my stunned reaction. Afterward, he would often come by my garage apartment on his own to chat and party and we had a decent friendship of our own going.

John’s current work project finished before the 10-day mark. He arrived home at mid-day unexpectedly and heard a huge commotion in the bedroom. Butch had barely scrambled out the 2nd story window leaving the screen in tatters. John pressed Linda for what was going on and why the window had no screen left.

I heard a knock on my door. It was John with Linda in tow. She was staring at the ground. “Did you just jump out of my bedroom window?” he asked, incredulously. Linda had fumbled for her explanation on his return and resorted to accusing me since John knew I would not have been screwing her behind his back. She really didn’t want to admit to the truth.

I answered, “No?” wondering where the question would have come from. Then the pieces fell into place in my mind. “You LIED to me!” he directed at Linda as she started to cry. “Who WAS it?!?”

I asked them to come inside and talk about it. I don’t know where I found the “wisdom” having no experience, but I sat them down and walked through having them explain what their needs and expectations were. I told them I could feel that they belonged together and that they should work on accommodating each other’s needs to make their marriage work. Otherwise, one or both of them would be suffering until they would inevitably have to break it off. They agreed and worked out a new set of boundaries that they could both accept so that they could remain together in a more honest arrangement. They both hugged me hard and thanked me before leaving for home, hand in hand. Who would have thought that an inexperienced, gay 16-year-old could be a successful marriage counselor?

Chapter 6: The Descent

At work, I continued to outpace every other worker with at least twice the production. I learned my work ethic with my first job at age 5 reclaiming salvaged bricks from demolitions with a hand hatchet and huge screwdriver for a penny a brick.

I had been closing on the weekends for 3 years now. I always hustled while others plodded overnight. I was a smoker and really needed at least a drag or two but wasn’t going to ask for a break. So, I had my smoke in my mouth and lighter in hand as I hustled out the back door with another full trash bin on wheels, headed towards the dumpster in the back of the parking lot. Without missing a beat, I lit the cigarette and enjoyed a partial smoke while quickly dumping the trash and bouncing back. I stomped the smoke out in stride as I hit the back door buzzer.

The closing manager was a tall, skinny Hispanic guy who really didn’t like me for some reason. I think it was straight up racism, but I had tolerated his “white boy” comments and extra assignments without protest. He called me into the tiny back office as soon as I cleared the door. “There was a District Manager parked down the block and he saw you smoking and told me I needed to fire you right now.”

It was 3:30am and I knew he was lying and that he had seen me go out prepped for my partial smoke and was just using the situation to harass me again.

“I know you’re a fucking liar, but here, let me save you the trouble.” I spit my words and pulled my dorky BK uniform off in one motion and threw it into his chest and left. I had another kitchen job in 2 days. Unfortunately, they failed to let me know it was only seasonal and would end with the University’s home-game football season. To my complete surprise, I was laid off in mid-December. This time the job market sucked and no one was hiring. I was set to lose my lease on New Year’s Day.

Chapter 7: Rock Bottom with Butch and Richard

When I let Butch know I was unemployed and about to be homeless, he talked with his roommate and benefactor Richard. Richard decided to take me in, as he had Butch, although neither of us had any resources. He said it would be fine. He laughed and told me I could ‘sing for my supper’ and sleep on the couch. He liked my jokes and loved to hear me play and sing. Richard was very average looking and about 23 years old, I believe.

I was wondering how he could be so generous on his meager salary as an electronics assembler at the Texas Instruments plant. He arrived home on the afternoon of our first Friday as a household grinning like the Cheshire Cat holding his $120.00 weekly paycheck. How could he be so pumped to be holding a weekly check that only covered a third of the rent on his 2-bedroom apartment? I soon found out.

“Come on!” he shouted on the way to his old beater of a car. We piled in and drove by the bank to cash his check then on to his “connection’s” place. With $100.00, he purchased 20 ¼ gram packets of what I later learned was some of the purest crystal meth to hit the city in ages. They called it ‘Crank’. I was clueless but didn’t let on. We sped over to Party A and quickly unloaded the stash for $200.00. We repeated the process, doubling up leaving Party A with $400.00. Back we went to purchase twice the volume then and headed to Party B. $800.00, then $1600.00. I couldn’t believe what I was a part of. I had seen the stuff being snorted at Party A, but at Party B the product seemed to disappear into a back room where the door was always kept closed. I found out later that the users in the backroom at Party B were injecting the stuff. 7 of the IV users migrated to Richard’s apartment to continue the action. I had been given lots to drink and smoke at these parties and was fairly well lit when we got home around 1am.

There was a guy that I was attracted to among the 7 tagalongs. Feeling very uninhibited, I was deep in conversation with him when Butch moved into my side with his back to me while grabbing my right arm off the back of the couch securing it out of my sight in front of him. I tried to finish a thought I was expressing to the cute chubby guy when I felt a sting at the crease of my elbow. Butch held my arm tightly so I couldn’t move. Without my knowledge or consent, Butch and Richard had just mainlined me with 5 of the individual user packets worth of the stuff prepped for a syringe, 1.25 grams. This was apparently my “cut” of the action, along with $50.00 cash.

Before I could get an explanation, the solution pumped through my heart and up to my brain. It felt like being strapped to a rocket. I could feel my rapid, pounding pulse at my temples, ears and neck. After maybe 15 minutes, the initial rush was replaced by a complete sense of euphoria that lasted the majority of 2 days before subsiding. Day 3 was HELL. Every cell in my body ached and yearned. I was grateful that the supply was exhausted or I would have begged, borrowed or stolen for another dose to regain the euphoric effect.

Butch and I were home alone having not slept or eaten yet on Monday, Day 3. That’s when I found out that Butch was Bi. He asked if I would have sex with him. He told me he had wanted to ever since his exhibition show with Linda. He had helped me out of a tight jam and I felt obligated but uninspired as I agreed to try. I warned him there was no way I could take it like Linda had. He assured me he didn’t expect that. Surprisingly, he wanted me to screw him. Try as I might, I couldn’t get my equipment to function for him in my compromised and unenthused state and he settled for a combination BJ and two-handed jerk. I could barely get the head of it in my mouth while guarding my teeth. The experience made me feel hollow inside. I vowed to never have that sort of sex again. Neither Butch nor Richard were my type and I figured they’d expect me to pay for my room and board by having sex with at least one if not both of them. I knew I couldn’t continue down this road. Staying with Butch and Richard would turn me into a meth addicted sex toy.

Stay tuned. More to come.

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Secret Wars chapter 10: Forever Fight as One (originally posted on September 23, 2018)

AN: At last the final battle against Thanos has come! It certainly has been a pleasure writing this for all of you to enjoy, and it also warms my heart to see so much love for it. Still waiting for it to be on TV Tropes though. But regardless, I hope you enjoy this and any more stories, Earth-2013 or not, to come! Until then, toodle-oo!

"Did you see how I annihilated Jasper there my love?" Thanos asked Death finally returning to his shrine on Battleworld's moon. "She put up quite a fight, but in the end she had to be put down. It's a shame as well, her gemstone would've looked marvelous on you. In fact, why don't I grant you the shattered remains of the other Gems as a present?" Lady Death gave no answer other than just a roll of her eyes, but the titan took it as a sign. "It may not be spoken, but I still count it as attention." he stated before he heard the rattling of chains and turned to discover Nebula, now free from her restraints and looking absolutely furious. "YOU!" "Nebula, I see you have managed to escape. Exquisite work, but not as much as when I would pit you against your sister." Thanos commended his daughter but he was met with a hateful laugh from his daughter. "You fool! Do you truly think Death will ever love you?! Besides, she's not the only one you should be concerned with right now!" "Let me guess, are you referring to the Crystal Gems?" Thanos wondered preparing to pummel her with the Gauntlet. "Not just those Gems," Nebula answered before looking upward. "them." Thanos had no idea what she was talking about before he turned around to discover a gigantic humanoid man dressed in purple & blue armor with a distinctive horned helmet. This titan was none other than the dreaded devourer of worlds himself, Galactus. "Thanos of Titan, we have come to punish you for your crimes against the universe!" Galactus boomed as several more beings of equal power stood alongside him. There was Kronos the god of time, the embodiment of the very universe itself known as Eternity, the physical forms of life, death, love & hate, the mysterious Uatu the Watcher, a pair of Celestials and the Living Tribunal. "Your abuse of the Infinity Gauntlet's power has gone too far Thanos." Uatu scolded the titan. "If this keeps going on, then the whole universe will become beyond saving! And all for to satisfy both your twisted delusions of balance and your love for Death." "Do you realize who I am? I have made the Diamonds my slaves, made a fool out of Mephisto, reduced one of Gemkind's strongest warriors to gravel and I also have a secret weapon hidden inside my moon!" Thanos bragged preparing to send them all off with a snap of his fingers. "Yet it seems your efforts were all for nothing." the Stranger declared bringing attention to a certain alliance of champions. "Look." The Stranger then produced a holographic image of the Crystal Gems, the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Starfox, Silver Surfer, Loki and the Diamonds all marching toward Thanos's statue, ready for a final fight. "I never thought I would see the day the Crystal Gems would ally themselves with their former superiors, and I'm the god of time." Kronos commented. "It cannot be! This shall not stand!" Thanos boomed furiously, on the verge of snapping even. "I shall have to do it myself, and I refuse to let you interfere." With one finger click, the cosmic hierarchy found themselves fading into dust. "How is this even possible?!" Uatu exclaimed before he finally disappeared. "You can make us fade into dust all you want titan, but mark my words you shall receive justice!" Galactus shouted as he, along with the rest of the deities, finally disappeared. Nebula gaped in horror at the sight of such powerful beings falling to the power of her father before her shock turned to frothing rage and she charged at the titan with her arms as the only available weapon she had. Suddenly, the Luphomoid found herself grabbed by the neck and met with the furious glare of Thanos. He gave no word before carelessly tossing her as far as he can off the moon. "These fools dare take up arms against their savior, rushing head-on into their destiny." Thanos began monologuing to himself. "So I shall provide them with death only deserving of a true warrior. There will be nothing but dust and blood but in the end, balance shall stand triumphant." With a single gesture, Thanos's throne zoomed out of the temple and he sat down, with Death still by his side. Clenching his fist, the Space Stone created a portal that led Thanos down to Battleworld, where he hoped to settle things once and for all.

On the patchwork planet itself, the Ultimate Alliance charged across Battleworld toward the statue of their despised shared enemy. Led by Steven Universe, Captain America, Yellow Diamond, Star-Lord, Gamora and Starfox, this uneasy team-up sought to end the Mad Titan's reign of terror and keep the universe from falling apart under his gold-plated fist.

"Come out wherever you are big guy! You ready for a rematch?!" Amethyst challenged readying her whip. "Hold on there Amethyst, we still gotta hold the line til Tony and the others get there!" Cap explained before contacting his iron teammate through an earpiece. "Stark, how are you, Pearl, Bismuth, Lapis, Peridot, Thor, Rocket and Groot holding up?" "Doing okay Rogers. Still having a few difficulties though." Iron Man replied on the other end in the beach house before an explosion sounded. "I am Groot!" Groot exclaimed trying to put on the fire on his body. "Don't worry, I got you!" Lapis exclaimed putting out the flames. "So what are they building again?" Hawkeye wondered. "A god killer, Tony said." Steve replied ending the call. "Hopefully they get here soon. Thanos doesn't like it when a challenge is kept waiting." "Why are you so insistent that we shall win against Thanos? He's an all-powerful being with the Infinity Gauntlet for your information!" Yellow Diamond wondered showing concern for the outcome. "I've heard that you've defeated him time and again, but how?" With a small smile, Cap sat down at the foot of the statue. "That kind of reminds me of a story from my day. I was only a boy in a library where I learned what it truly meant to be a patriot." he stated. "I was reading a classic by Mark Twain when I discovered a sentence that struck a chord in me. It was so powerful that I memorized it for years to come." "What was that sentence?" Garnet wondered. "That sentence was, 'In a republic, who is the country?'." Cap answered. "'Is it the government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the government is merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its functions is to obey orders, not originate them.'" "What is he even saying? Who is this Mark Twain?" Blue Diamond wondered quietly. "'Who then, is the country? Is it the newspaper, is it the pulpit? Why, these are mere parts of the country, not the whole of it." "How is going on about some Midgardian scribe going to help us here?" Loki asked as the captain continued on. "'They have not command. They only have their little share of their command.'" Steve continued his story while standing up. "'In a monarchy, the king and his family are the country. In a republic, it is the common voice of the people. Each of you, for himself, by himself, and on his own responsibility must speak." Steven looked on eagerly as his hero proceeded. "'It is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government or the empty catchphrases of politicians.'" Rogers kept speaking. "'Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong & which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man." "Yeesh, Thanos sure is taking pretty long." Star-Lord remarked. "Yes, but what he's saying is true." Gamora responded. "'To decide it against your convictions is to an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, to both yourself and to your country." Steve stated almost at the end of his speech. "'Let men label you if they may." "He got all of this from Twain? Wow." Connie gasped in amazement sitting down next to her best friend. "'If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have done your duty by yourself and by your country. Hold up your head. You have nothing to be ashamed of.'" "So what are you trying to say Rogers?" Amethyst wondered. "What I'm trying to say is that it doesn't matter what anyone says, whether it be the politicians, the press, the mob or the whole world, when they say something wrong is something right." the captain declared. "Our fair country was founded on one principle, to have the right to stand up for what we believe in, no matter the cost. And when everyone tells you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree and tell them, 'No. You move.'" "And when that tree is planted, there will be someone to cut it down." the booming voice of Thanos suddenly sounded as he appeared from a portal on his throne with Death by his side. "By the way, you should be expecting company." he smugly added just as Nebula landed at the champions' feet, mangled and terrified. "Run everybody! Thanos is refusing to just sit around anymore!" she cried out. "He will purge you all no matter what!" "Enough is enough." the Mad Titan declared summoning his alien armies to his side. "Now we play this game my way." Thanos got up from his throne and descended to the ground preparing for the final battle. "Kill them all." The Chitauri, Sakaarans and Deviants readied their weapons and charged, beginning to clash with the Alliance. Although the champions had the strength of two super-soldiers, multiple powerful Gems, a gamma giant and many more to give them an advantage, the sheer number of the extraterrestrials proved to be just as strong. "Dammit, Stark and the midget should've been done ages ago!" Wolverine cried cutting down multiple Sakaarans with his claws while Vision disintegrated even more of them with a blast from the gem on his head. Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch combined their mutant powers to plow through an entire squadron of Chitauri and the rest tried to fight them off, but for the most part it seemed hopeless. "Someone, help me!" Falcon shouted before one of his wings was caught in a Chitauri glider. Just as quickly, he was freed when Drax tackled the Chitauri and stabbed it in the face, causing the glider to crash. "Dang, they're everywhere!" Ms. Marvel said standing back to back with She-Hulk, War Machine and Ant-Man. "Just hold the line until help arrives!" Hank exclaimed growing giant size and stomping on a few Deviants. Meanwhile, Steven, Garnet, Doctor Strange, Captain America and Yellow Diamond managed to find shelter from the attack. "I can't tell if you're insane or love risking it, but that speech from earlier was fairly powerful." the monarch commented. "But how are we going to succeed when there's so many of them?" "I've actually narrowed down multiple outcomes of this war and most of them end with us dying." Garnet explained adjusting her visor. "Only one has everyone alive and victorious." "Only one? How many other possibilities were there?" Steven wondered. "I calculate approximately fourteen million." the fusion stated. "This is only one of them." She kissed Steven on the forehead granting him a vision of one of those futures. He saw every last terrifying detail, from the deaths of Cap & Strange, to Thanos shattering Yellow & snapping his fingers, to his idols like Captain Marvel, Ant-Man, Hulk & Quicksilver and even friends like Amethyst, Lapis, Bismuth and Connie fading into dust. "We've got to make sure that good future is this one." the boy resolved after the end of the vision. "But that still leaves the question of what happens in the now?" "I know, because I can hear it." Steve stated gazing up at the sky as clouds began to form. "Hear what?" Yellow wondered and the captain only said one word. "Thunder." A bolt of lightning struck down on the battlefield, incinerating all of Thanos's minions who dared near it and Mjolnir came flying out of it, taking down the rest before it returned to the grasp of Thor himself, along with Iron Man, Pearl, Rocket, Bismuth, Groot, Lapis and Peridot, who was piloting their self-proclaimed godkiller using her ferrokinesis. The godkiller in question was built out of the Red King's warsuit for the main body and both a repulsor gauntlet & a copy of the Breaking Point as its weapons. Thanos stood in awe but was still sadistically eager to find a new foe as Peridot took the first step. "Hey Thanos, come and fight us you clod!" the little Gem screamed charging into battle with the others following suit, requesting that they have words with him. With a mighty yell, Peridot stabbed multiple of the titan's armies with the Breaking Point and blasting the rest with the repulsor gauntlet. Meanwhile Rocket rode on Bismuth's back shooting all that would try to cross their path. "Y'know, maybe Peridot ain't as bad as I thought!" the blacksmith commented doing most of the physical fighting for Rocket. "Yeah yeah, great big guy! Now throw me, I always wanted to try this!" Rocket shouted and she obliged, tossing the furry mercenary into the air as he fired at will before landing on the ground. "You gotta make me one of those Breaking Points sometime! There's some scores I need to settle." "Uh, how about no?" Bismuth nervously answered before smacking an Outrider in the face from behind. "Haha, oh you're gonna get me one someday!" Rocket declared as he went off on his own. "So I take it that's our cue to lead them all?" Yellow asked stepping out of hiding. "You bet it is! Ready Cap?" Steven boldly proclaimed turning to his hero. "Right Steven. On my mark!" Rogers stated and they both raised their shields to the air with a mighty battle cry of "Ultimate Alliance, assemble!" "So this is where our final bout begins?" Thanos wondered preparing to use one of the Infinity Stones. "Very well then!" With a clench of his fist, all time around him screeched to a halt and everybody frozen in place. Thanos took these precious moments to examine the uneasy collaboration that had assembled to eliminate him and began contemplating. "Who would've guessed the Crystal Gems would ally themselves with their former homeworld to stop me?" he muttered in deep thought. "It's like Kronos said, even he didn't see this coming despite being the god of time. Still, it seems most of them weren't as insignificant as I thought." Stepping toward the frozen Peridot and Lapis, the dark lord continued monologuing. "Despite her small stature, the Peridot is much more intelligent than I gave her credit for. And her terraforming comrade is unbelievably strong to compliment her." Then he stepped forward to find Connie fighting alongside Ms. Marvel, War Machine, Black Panther & Falcon. "This human on the other hand I'm quite surprised by. I didn't realize she'd be worthy to wield that sword." After some silence, Thanos clenched his fist and restored time to normal, to the confusion of the Alliance. "I'm sorry, what just happened?!" Connie exclaimed. "It must be the Time Stone! He's using all six of them against us, we have to stop him before he tries another one!" Doctor Strange exclaimed but he was too late, as Thanos made another clench and a wave of red washed over them, changing them into more unusual appearances. "Good Lord, what's with all this gold?!" Tony asked examining the current state of his armor. "At least you look somewhat normal, look at me!" Pearl exclaimed gesturing to her much more drastically different appearance. "I mean, my skin is all blue, my nose isn't as prominent, and look at my outfit!" "You're right Pearl, you look terrible!" Rocket cackled rolling on the ground, now wearing a green outfit while Groot looked more monstrous than normal. "Behold, I am Groot the invincible! Who dares to defy me!" the tree monster declared speaking more than just 'I am Groot' this time around. "I preferred you more when you only said three words." Gamora snarked. "Gamora, can you please cover up? There are children here." Garnet asked remarking on the warrior's now more revealing outfit while stroking her now longer, less square hair. "Would anyone be so kind as to stop Thanos from doing this to us? I seriously would prefer not lookin' like a male stripper!" Yondu exclaimed bringing attention to his equally revealing get-up. "HULK SMASH STUPID COSTUME MAKER!" a grayer Hulk roared charging toward Thanos and tackling him, ending the illusion and returning everyone to normal. "Oh finally, I thought I was going live with those awful boots forever!" Thor let out a sigh of relief as he was restored to his regular appearance. "Seriously, why the tiger pattern?" Lapis wondered to which her Asgardian friend replied with "I was going through a phase." "We can discuss questionable fashion choices later, look!" Yellow Diamond shouted pointing at Thanos, who had now freed himself from the Hulk's grasp and slowly marched toward the champions with a stoic expression and prepared to try the Gauntlet again. "With our combined strength, we can stop him!" Yellow then fired an energy blast at Thanos, followed by Blue Diamond, Doctor Strange, Vision, Starfox, Iron Man, Lapis, Silver Surfer, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel and War Machine joining her in trying to push the titan back. But he remained unaffected, using the Power Stone to project an energy barrier and continued stepping forth closer to the thirteen before smashing his golden fist to the ground and creating shockwaves that knocked every last one of them down. "You thought more would be merrier, but allow me to provide a counterargument." Thanos declared making the Soul & Mind Stones glow before he suddenly vanished into thin air. "W-where did he go?" Connie wondered confused at what Thanos had just done. Suddenly, she dodged an attack by what seemed to be the Mad Titan himself, but he looked much different. He was now more skinny and had the Mind Stone in his forehead, not unlike Pearl. Then more Thanos lookalikes spawned and attacked. One had a physique similar to Garnet and had the Space Stone in his left hand. Another was as tall as Amethyst and had the Power Stone adorning his chest. A third was as slender as Lapis complete with the Reality Stone on his back forming a pair of wings. Fourthly was a smaller Thanos clone around Peridot's height who had an Infinity Stone in his forehead as well, this one being the Time Stone. And finally was a Thanos double who had a shield just like Steven's and wore armor on his torso that exposed the Soul Stone on his stomach. "You say the people of your world believe in you Crystal Gems, but will they remember you?" he questioned as the other stone clones made their move. "Insolent coward, you aren't fighting for that blasted Earth or your fellow Gems, you're simply fighting to live!" the Thanos that embodied the Reality Stone scolded Lapis turning much of her water into insects that began crawling all over her. "I can run away sometimes, but this time I'm not running away from you!" the terraformer declared forming her water into ice and stabbing her opponent through his chest, poofing him as if he were an actual gem. Meanwhile, Peridot faced the personification of the Time Stone who had now formed limb enhancers of his own to gain an edge. "You can run from your past all you want, but at the end of the road your destiny shall come!" he declared blasting her out of the godkiller & sending her flying until she grabbed her mech at the last moment, making it tip over and crush the Thanos clone. "Well you can kiss my gravity connector big boy!" Peridot boasted before pulling down an eyelid with a taunting "Nyeh!" "Love can sometimes be your greatest weakness my dear fusion!" the Space Stone claimed catching a punch from Garnet. "Nobody had ever given me that, so no one else shall-" He was quickly silenced by Garnet who squeezed his head with her free hand and took the poofed Infinity Stone. "And you thought you were stronger than me." Amethyst & Pearl fought their respective counterparts, that being the Power & Mind Stones. Unlike their usually clashing personalities, the Infinity Stones fought and spoke in literal perfect harmony. "True harmony is the key to success." they declared in unison. "If you do nothing but argue, then your fate is as good as sealed." "Y'know speaking of harmony, I think it's time we brought a certain someone back into the fold." Amethyst remarked with a knowing wink toward Pearl. "What do you mean? Oh right, Opal!" Pearl suddenly realized. "It's just been so long since we last formed her, I've almost forgotten what it feels like." "What are they doing?!" Power & Mind exclaimed before they paid witness to the return of the archer fusion Opal, her steely gaze piercing straight through their forms and her bow at the ready. "Any last words guys?" she chuckled readying her arrows. They didn't even get a chance to speak before being put down by the tall fusion who then defused back into Pearl & Amethyst. "My comrades may have been eliminated, but the same shall happen to yours." the embodiment of the Soul Stone declared summoning the other stones to his side and fusing them all with himself, restoring Thanos to his whole self. "What else can you throw at me boy?" he challenged Steven. Then suddenly, he felt his arms being tied down by two sets of ropes. Turning his head from left to right, he found his bare right hand restrained by Amethyst's whips & Doctor Strange's Crimson Chains of Cyttorak and the other covered in his Gauntlet by water chains and web lines. "We're holding him down guys, now!" Spider-Man exclaimed before Garnet pounced Thanos, locking his head between her legs. Meanwhile Pearl & Bismuth gravely injured his bottom half with their respective weapons making him wince in anguish. "You got nowhere to run now Thanos. Either drop the stones & come quietly or face much bloodier consequences." Thor announced. "Like that one for example." Peridot, now back in her godkiller, leaped high into the air ready to stab him with the Breaking Point and finish him once and for all. With a mighty jab, the weapon's silver point wedged itself deep into Thanos's torso. "Who's the comic relief now Thanos?!" the little Gem snarled driving the weapon deeper, making the titan scream in pain. However in the midst of his crippling pain, Thanos clenched his fist and used the Power Stone to send everyone flying, freeing him from their grasp and his death. "Peridot." Thanos groaned using the Time Stone to heal all his wounds. "You are indeed correct, you're aren't as much of a buffoon as I believed you were." Stomping toward the damaged godkiller, he ripped Peridot out of its remains, leaving her legs scrambling around trying to flee. The technician thought this could be the end of her, but instead of being shattered, she was instead gently seated on the ground with a tousle of her tetrahedral hair. "When I am done, only half of your comrades shall remain." the titan assured her. "I hope they remember you." With that, Thanos turned his gaze toward the Diamonds. "But first, I have a score to settle with the both of you!" he declared. "I have tried to make peace all those thousands of years ago with Pink Diamond, yet your kind has refused to answer my pleas. For both that and your betrayal, I have no choice but to execute you." "What gave you the right to think you're strong enough to destroy us?!" Yellow cried preparing to strike Thanos down where he stood with her lightning. "This is for Pink you monster!" She stuck out her hand and zapped him, hoping to at least knock him unconscious but instead, Thanos condensed the energy into a sphere in his hand. "Is that the best you got?" With that, Thanos tossed the sphere at Yellow Diamond and electrocuted her, knocking the dictator to the ground barely clinging on to her physical form while she still could. "Oh my stars my Diamond!" her Pearl shouted rushing to her superior's side. "Please tell me you'll be all right!" "I'll be fine Pearl," Yellow groaned. "it's just that fighting Thanos took quite a lot out of me. I think I'm just going to lay down here for a while." she stated. "Two Diamonds down, two more to go." Thanos declared showing Yellow Pearl out of the way to step on Yellow's torso and preparing to smash her gem. "Even Diamonds should beware when bargaining with Thanos of Titan." Suddenly a wave of blue washed over Battleworld, bringing most of the Gems present to tears to the confusion of the superheroes. "Hulk don't get it? Why everybody crying?" Hulk wondered just as confused as his fellow Avengers. "I believe this is called pathokinesis Dr. Banner, aka the ability to control one's emotions." Silver Surfer explained to the goliath. "And it seems to be coming from a mourning, yet absolutely furious source." Thanos was quietly confused for a few moments, wondering why his crystalline opponents had dropped down in tears before immediately realizing what was happening. A positively livid Blue Diamond standing right behind him, and all Thanos felt was pure, unadulterated fear as the Diamond cast a gigantic shadow. "Your reign of terror has come to an end Thanos!" she yelled, her voice much more menacing than her usual soft tone. "Come, answer for your crimes against all Gems!" "I expected Yellow to be my first victim, but you shall provide a worthy substitute!" Thanos challenged her making the Stones glow. "Come and get me!" he shouted. Blue complied by spawning an orb of light that blasted him at full force with a hail of lasers, but the titan remained unharmed as he charged at full speed before propelling himself to meet the Diamond's gaze. The two of them clashed fists, sending shockwaves all across the patchwork planet and kept on brawling. "Is that how strong a Diamond is?! Have to say, I'm impressed." Captain America stated with a grin. "We gotta get outta here, this hunk 'a rock could go all Alderaan on us any moment now!" Star-Lord panicked just as they saw Thanos being tossed across the warzone right into his statue, making it fall over backwards. Miraculously, Thanos survived long enough to find Blue Diamond on the ground still righteously mad. "I am not done yet." Blue coughed barely getting up. "You will pay for everything you have done to us, our home and our people!" she cried. "Then what are you waiting for? Go on and finish me so that I can be with Death." Thanos beckoned her to land the final blow, eager to be united with his lover for all eternity. But instead, he punched her square in her gem, cracking it and knocking her back as well. "Oh no, Blue Diamond!" Steven exclaimed trying to rush to the Diamond's side before Lapis grabbed onto the back of his shirt. "Steven, I know you're a really nice guy, but can you leave Blue Diamond like this? I'm sure she's suffered worse." the water Gem tried to convince him, not even realizing he was gone before it was too late. "There you go, now find Yellow Diamond and a place to hide." Steven ordered Blue healing her gem with his spit. "W-why thank you little one." the Diamond said graciously. "You know, you kind of remind me of Pink Diamond in a way." Steven knew this was a good time to reveal the truth, but simply decided not to as Blue ran off to search for her sister. "If I cannot shatter any Diamond today, then I guess all that I have killed throughout our battles will have to suffice." Thanos mused before Steven stepped up in front of him. "But why?! What do you want to gain from killing so many people across the universe?" "Simple Steven, to save the universe and win the affections of Lady Death." the Mad Titan answered. "She told me that this universe was growing far too big. Too much of everyone, not enough to supply them." As evil as Thanos was, he did indeed have a point. "You mortals pride yourself on your resources to survive, yet time and again you waste them either for your own selfish gain or to destroy all who stand in your way." "So basically you're planning on 'saving the environment' in your own twisted way? Yeah, that sounds pretty accurate." Amethyst chimed in. "And then when the dust settles and all is well, I plan on perhaps taking up agriculture." Thanos continued. "But you can do that right now. Just take off the Gauntlet and we can take you back to Earth to start your own farm." Steven said. "I'm pretty sure that with time, Peridot & Lapis would love to have you as a roommate!" The boy's words fell on deaf ears as Thanos simply didn't pay attention to him, instead turning to Lady Death. "What do you say my bride? Will the carnage witnessed here in this war be enough to suffice our shared philosophy?" he asked the deity, grasping her hand and his knee on the ground. However, just when it seemed like Death was finally going to answer him after so long, it instead turned out to be one word that ensured that from here on out, everything was on a dangerous roller coaster ride to Hell. "No." This was something Thanos had never heard her say to him before, which made something inside him snap before roaring at the top of his lungs. "SO AFTER ALL THIS TIME, ALL YOU SAY IS NO?!" he screamed. "WELL IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU, THEN NO ONE ELSE IN THIS BLASTED UNIVERSE CAN!" The Infinity Stones then began to tear the universe apart in his fury as he used the Space and Power Stones to pulverize the surface of Battleworld's moon, revealing none other than the Cluster underneath. "Now you hideous geoweapon, kill them all!" He tossed the ball of Gem shards down to Battleworld in an effort to destroy the Alliance, but was stopped by Starfox who struggled to keep it from crashing. "Listen bro, she's never going to love you!" the Eternal groaned continuing to keep it above the ground. "Just stand down or there's gonna be big-" Before Eros could finish, Thanos instantly turned him into a stone statue before turning to the rest of the champions and charged toward them. "Steven, watch out!" Bismuth shouted trying to save the son of her former leader and put herself in Thanos's path, poofing her. In a blind fury, the Titan fired a gigantic energy blast at Nebula that nearly disintegrated her before she made one last effort to kill her abusive adoptive father by throwing a dagger at him. Thanos tore the dagger out of his torso & tossed it at Loki, stabbing him in the head and the god fell to the ground dead. "NOOOOO!" Thor and Gamora cried for their adopted siblings and tried to get revenge on Thanos. But his rage made him too powerful for just two beings to take on and within moments, they were on the ground horrendously injured. "What do we do now?!" Hawkeye exclaimed ducking for cover. "Simple, we try fusion!" Garnet commanded. "Steven, Amethyst, you try and stop Thanos! Pearl, you and me form Sardonyx to calm the Cluster!" "You got it!" the two short Gems saluted before they held hands and formed the portly fusion known as Smokey Quartz. "A human and a Gem?! How?" Natasha wondered. "We'll explain later, just let me take care of the grape for a while." Smokey answered before they charged at Thanos. "Hey wrinkle-chin, you feeling a little grounded?" Thanos turned to Smokey Quartz with a loud snarl. "Looks like you need some fresh air!" they joked tying him up with their yo-yos and tossing him around. "Hopefully you don't get dizzy!" However, their puns ended when Thanos shouted "Silence you brats!" and grabbed the yo-yos, the power of the Space Stone pulsing down the ropes before reaching Smokey Quartz, defusing them back into Steven & Amethyst. As Steven fell to the ground and raced to heal Thor & Gamora, he could hear the Cluster crying for help in his mind. "Please...help...us!" the shards all begged. "Thanos...making us...his slaves!" "I know what you are saying Cluster, but frankly you are too late." Thanos declared popping the bubble the Cluster was held in and unleashing the beast within. However, the forced fusion could barely recognize Steven and gave what he could make out as a thumbs up before it plucked Thanos off the ground. "What are you doing?!" the Mad Titan shouted being dragged & tossed around by the superweapon. "You are supposed to be my secret weapon!" "S-Steven...saved us! A-a-and we're returning the f-favor!" the Cluster exclaimed before it threw him in Sardonyx's path, in which she hit him with his hammer. "Thanks for the lift there big boy!" the eccentric showman fusion thanked it before she pounded Thanos to the ground. "You shall all pay for this!" the titan declared and he snapped his fingers, causing the Cluster to start glowing. "Someone...s-save us!" they cried out before exploding, making Gem shards rain all over Battleworld. "Did he really do that?!" Amethyst wondered as the shards fell from the sky. "And this is mine! This is mine too! Y'know what, all of these are mine! Gonna make me a fortune." she heard Rocket mutter while he caught whatever shards he could grab. "Y'know what, the Diamonds can take those Rose Quartzes back because I got's me a new venture!" "Rocket." Steven said glaring at the raccoon. "Okay okay, sheesh. Excuse me for wanting to make money." Rocket groaned dropping an entire armful of shards to the ground, but not before sneakily scooping a small amount of them up with his tail. "How's the view from down there big guy?!" Sardonyx called to Thanos with a hearty laugh, but the titan roared and fired another blast, ending her & turning her back into Garnet & Pearl. "Don't worry, Hulk got you two!" Hulk cried holding out his arms to save the two Gems before they landed in his giant green hands. "Thanks for the lift Banner." Pearl thanked. "No problem bird lady." Bruce replied. "But what can Gems do now?" With a snap of her fingers, Garnet knew what to do now. "Sugillite." she stated with a grin before leaping out of Hulk's grasp and standing next to Amethyst. "Sugillite?" the defective Quartz said before they danced and became Sugillite. "Hey Thanos, you want some of me creep?!" "We should help out too!" Connie suggested grabbing Steven's hand. "Right, come on out Stevonnie!" Steven exclaimed and they formed the fusion in question with Steven's shield & Connie's sword in hand. "Everybody behind me!" they commanded charging toward Thanos alongside the other champions, including a now out of hiding Yellow & Blue Diamond. Unfortunately, they proved to be too weak for Thanos who knocked most of them all down before moving onto Stevonnie. "You won't stop us when we're fused Thanos!" they declared, but they were wrong. Thanos grabbed both of them by the arms and slowly tore them apart, forcing them back into Steven & Connie. "As a matter of fact, I can." "Kids, let's try Stevoter!" Star-Lord cried and the two children agreed, racing into the space captain's arms & forming the part-Gem, part-human & part-Spartaxian fusion. "Ah sweet, laser sword is back baby!" Stevoter cheered charging toward Thanos in a bid to stop him while firing from their laser sword. "Need a lift?" Garnet suggested running alongside Stevoter. "You bet your ass we do!" they replied. "You try and get the Gauntlet offa Thanos and we'll handle the rest!" With that, Stevoter stabbed Thanos in the torso while Garnet tried to remove the Infinity Gauntlet off his hand. "How do you like me now?!" they shouted bashing the titan in the face with their Walkman shield, making it play various songs to further annoy him. "Boast all you want mortal, you're simply just pestering me!" Thanos boomed grabbing the sword by its blade and slowly removing it from his chest. "I know what game you're playing Steven. This is just a distraction while one of your lackeys takes away my gauntlet." "Wait, how did you know?!" Stevoter exclaimed in fear. "This has happened to me before, and I shall not let it happen again." Thanos declared, and with one last blast from the almost-removed Gauntlet, defused Stevoter & Garnet down to their base beings. Tumbling down on the ground, a now scruffled-up Steven found a barely conscious Captain America struggling to get up. "Cap! Don't worry, I got you!" he cried licking his hand to heal his idol. "Thank you very much Steven, but I feel like your mom's powers won't be enough for us here." Rogers stated getting up on one knee. "I've heard from the Gems about how you often feel inferior to Rose because of how much she's done for the Earth. I feel you on that one. Sometimes I feel that I'm just lost in a world that I'm no longer apart of, yearning for a good fight to keep myself away from living a normal life." "Why is that? You seem pretty fine now." Steven said before the captain stopped him. "You only don't understand because you're still a kid. Me, I've lost almost everyone while I was in the Arctic." he continued. "And as for parents, I'm pretty sure most of us can relate. Like for example, there's all the stories that Thor can tell us about his old man. But you, you're different. Rose may have done some questionable things in the past but you can change that by being your own Gem, whether it be a quartz or a diamond." Steve then held out his hand with a smile. "So then, are you ready honorary Avenger?" With tears filling the stars in his eyes, Steven took his hero's hand. "I'm ready Captain." the boy accepted before he hugged the captain, and he returned it causing them both to glow. Everyone else still present watched in awe as the shining mass grew larger and formed into a heroic, stalwart figure with a gaze of solid steel directed straight at Thanos. "Steven..." Pearl gasped in sheer wonder. "Steve..." Bucky added just as stunned. Thanos simply frowned at the sight of this new fighter, wearing a pink version of Captain America's costume with a yellow star on the chest, blue trousers, red sandal boots and carrying Steven's shield. "W-what? Did we just fuse?" the new fusion gasped in astonishment. "Well, no time to contemplate now!" "W-who are you?!" Thanos shouted as the fusion stepped forward while picking up a discarded Mjolnir from the ground. He then took a battle stance with the shield and hammer at the ready with a confident smirk on his face. "Call me the Captain." With a cry of "CHARGING STAR!", the Captain bolted toward Thanos at hypersonic speeds, bashing him in the face with his shield. "STARS AND STRIPES!" he added uppercutting the titan, sending him flying long enough to give orders to the others. "Fallback company, I can handle things from here!" "Wait, we can help!" Peridot exclaimed. "I SAID FALLBACK COMPANY!" the Captain reiterated yelling. The rest of the Alliance nodded and retreated, leaving the Captain alone with Thanos, who was busy recovering from the earlier uppercut. "Is that truly the best you can do? I'd like to see you try harder!" he shouted gesturing the fusion to bring it on. The Captain simply responded by putting up his fists and declaring "I could do this all day." With a single bound, the Captain rocketed high into the air and zoomed downwards with Mjolnir ready to pummel Thanos. When the Asgardian hammer connected to the Mad Titan's face, the result was a quick but massive thunderstorm that erupted all across Battleworld. Storm clouds began to form over the two before it began raining. Meanwhile far off in the distance, the rest of the Ultimate Alliance watched in awe of the final struggle between life & death. "Wait, Cap's just a human! How is he able to hold Mjolnir?" Amethyst asked Thor. "It's very simple Amethyst, he possesses a pure heart, noble mind and the spirit of a warrior. Forever courageous and with a sense of humility." Thor explained. "And it's possible Steven himself might be worthy as well." The two continued going at it like a furious pair of rival wrestlers or predators fighting over their prey, the Captain continuing to whale on Thanos with Mjolnir & both of his fusees' shields. Suddenly Thanos grabbed the Captain by the arm and flung him into the ground, losing his grasp on the hammer. "You're getting closer to the edge, yet you still refuse to yield." the titan muttered towering over his fallen opponent before walking away. "Wait here, allow me to retrieve the Gauntlet so that I can properly execute you." "NEVER!" the Captain screamed immediately getting up like he wasn't even hurt at all. "I won't let you hurt anyone else, whether they be my friends or anyone in our universe!" he shouted clenching his fist. "I'm giving everything I've got into this one last punch, so you better watch yourself!" Thanos said no words, instead pulling out his stasis gun in response to the fusion's last stand. The Captain charged at him with full force, teeth gritted and his fist preparing to attack. The spirit of all his comrades flowed through him, giving him even greater strength than before as their attacks collided. "FINAL...UNYIELDING...JUSTICE!" As a result of the Captain's punch going inside the stasis gun's barrel as Thanos fired, a gigantic explosion erupted dispersing the storm and attracting the attention of the Alliance. "I think that was Thanos's stasis gun!" Gamora exclaimed before Pearl shoved her out of the way. "Steven!" she cried as the champions all rushed to the duo's side. When the dust finally settled, all that was left were Steven, Captain America and Thanos all lying down on the ground. "H-h-he's dead! Thanos is finally dead!" Thor exclaimed taking back Mjolnir. "Let's just check to be sure." Natasha suggested just as their leaders awakened. "What happened? Am I dead?" Steven asked before Connie hugged him. "I guess I'm not, because you're here!" "So it's finally over, huh? A bit anti-climatic if I say so myself." Bucky remarked helping his best friend up. "Let's not speak so soon. Look!" Steve stated, bringing attention to Thanos slowly rising from the ground, his stasis gun now reduced to hunks of metal and face enraged beyond recognition. "I've had enough of all this! Once I regain my gauntlet, you will all pay for disgracing me!" However, where Thanos expected to find the Infinity Gauntlet, he instead touched nothing. "Where is it?! Where's the Gauntlet?!" he screamed desperately searching for it. That was when he heard someone slip it on and turned to realize who that was. It was none other than Steven. Steven felt himself surging with power over the entire universe, literally obtaining the ability to do as he pleased with the Infinity Gauntlet. Everybody gazed in shock and awe at the very sight of this one mortal boy carrying the single most powerful weapon in all of the universe, most notably Thanos who's astonishment turned to glee. "Yes, yes! This is just what I wanted!" he cheered in malicious joy. "A young apprentice to turn into my successor! What are you waiting for Steven, erase them all and we can ravage the universe as father & son!" Steven was put in a moral dilemma for a moment. On one hand, he couldn't bring himself to kill Thanos for that would betray his principles. On the other, he can't allow the titan to run free and wreak havoc across the cosmos. There had to be another way to keep Thanos in check without having to hurt him. Then with a bold, stern look on his face, he made his decision. "No." With a click of his fingers, things felt like they were being set right. Back on Earth, Lapis & Peridot's barn and Pink Diamond's palanquin were restored to their former states. All the planets Thanos had destroyed were pieced back together, including Homeworld, and the villains he had made join him resurrected. The cosmic deities were also brought back as well. A few bits of orange dust scattered about were brought together and formed into Jasper's gemstone, which was then immediately bubbled and sent back to Earth. Loki woke up to find he was now alive once more and the knife in his head gone. "What just happened?" he wondered before spying Nebula and even the Black Order revived as well. "D-did he really do it?" All of the Gem shards that made up the Cluster were reassembled and returned to their place within the Earth. Starfox let out a loud gasp as he felt himself rebuilt and un-petrified. "That's some kid." he remarked with a grin. Finally, Thanos felt himself turning to stone from the feet up and grinned at Steven. "So this is how it must end child. I must say, you made the right choice." he stated. "I hope we shall meet again someday Steven Universe. I hope they remember you." With one last satisfied grin, Thanos accepted his fate and let out a bright flash of light. The explosive flash blinded everyone momentarily. But even when their vision cleared, none are quite sure they should believe what their eyes see. Before them had stood Thanos, proud, powerful, ruthless and near heartbeats from victory. Now in that exact same thought moments later, stood the massive titan transformed into solid granite. With one last thought, Steven also spawned a black hole to get rid of Battleworld, sucking in the petrified Thanos as well potentially sending him drifting through parts unknown. Then the boy felt himself getting dizzy. "Oh, I don't feel so good. I think I'm gonna need to sit down." "We can rest later, we gotta vamoose!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Indeed, but what of the Infinity Stones?" Loki asked. "I suggest we divide them amongst ourselves so that they never fall into evil hands again." Thor suggested. "The Crystal Gems shall keep the Mind Stone while Lapis & Peridot shall take the Reality Stone." The Gems carefully removed their chosen stones from the Gauntlet, giving them to Steven & Peridot to bubble. "Meanwhile, the Avengers shall keep watch over the Space Stone, the Guardians get the Power Stone, Homeworld takes the Soul Stone and finally, Starfox shall keep the Time Stone." "Pearl, please remove the Soul Stone from the Gauntlet for me." Blue Diamond ordered her Pearl. "Yes my Diamond." Blue Pearl complied walking up to the intergalactic weapon to collect the Soul Stone and the others soon followed, also making sure to bubble Bismuth’s gem and the Gauntlet itself back to Earth. "So that's it then, we're some kind of Infinity Watch." Starfox commented. "I can roll with that." "Well what are we waiting for, let's move!" Spider-Man exclaimed racing to the Milano. "Apologies everyone, but I feel your ship may be way too small for us." Yellow Diamond stated. "We shall be returning with our own ships." With a single stretch of her arm, a much larger yellow arm appeared alongside a blue one. "I believe this is where we must say farewell." "Bye guys!" Steven exclaimed waving goodbye before Peridot shushed him and dragged him back to the Milano. "Farewell Crystal Gems." Blue Diamond said her goodbyes. "But next time we shall meet, it will be as enemies." Garnet and Lapis shivered at their former Diamond's threat before the Black Order appeared behind them. "Pardon us for the intrusion, but could we perhaps hitch a ride with you?" Ebony Maw asked politely, much to their chagrin. But they still had to be alive for them to eventually be put away. "One side maggot, I gotta fly this thing!" Rocket shouted shoving Peridot out of the way as everybody still present clambered into the Milano. "Okay, you don't have to be so rude about it!" Peridot exclaimed letting Rocket sit down. "All right, everyone hold on!" With that, the spaceship finally took off leaving Battleworld behind as it was fully devoured by the black hole, and started coming close to sucking them in as well. "You got anything that can make us go faster?!" Star-Lord exclaimed. "Makes me really wish this piece of junk came with ludicrous speed!" "Well, I guess this is the end." Pearl stated accepting their fate. "Any final words before we're all sucked in?" she asked the others. "I got just one." Amethyst answered. "Look!" She pointed at a certain red figure that had appeared in front of the Milano's large window. "Well, I see you're all fine and dandy after defeating Thanos like that." Mephisto commented. "Here, let me repay you for doing so." The demon started waving his hands in a pattern that caused a hellish portal to appear around the Milano, spooking the Crystal Gems. "What's going on, what's he gonna do to us?!" Steven cried. "Fear not, I recognize those hand motions from anywhere." Doctor Strange stated. "He is perhaps creating a portal for us to return to Earth safely." "But why? He's freaking Mephisto!" Parker shouted. "It's like he said, this must be his way of thanking us for taking care of Thanos for him." Kamala chimed in when they all felt the craft rumble. "Oh no, brace yourselves!" Steven and Connie closed their eyes tight and held each other close, fearing the worst as the starry background of space was replaced by pure red.

Before any of them knew it, they could hear the calm ocean waves and seagulls squawking over them. This had to be it. They were finally home. There was no doubt, only Earth could have a combination of those calming sounds. There was dead silence between the heroes as they departed the Milano with the Black Order still onboard. It only took a few days to struggle against Thanos, but it felt like years. Suddenly, all the people of Beach City came stampeding toward them, happy that their beloved Gems were in one piece. There were reunions all around. Connie's parents were ecstatic that their daughter was alive, Pumpkin raced into Peridot's arms and Greg brought Steven in for the first hug he had received from his dad in days. The townsfolk were also excited to meet the Guardians again and even more joyous to see the Avengers with selfies & autographs aplenty. "So little guy, how do you feel about your first Avengers mission?" Iron Man asked Steven. "It was awesome! I really hope we can do something like this again soon!" the boy answered excitedly. "I have to agree. It was nice seeing Rogers & Barnes again." Pearl added. "And it was also nice to meet all of you too." "Oh speaking of which, still have to ask." the captain remarked. "Do you still want to become Avengers?" he asked. "No, I think we're fine here in Beach City." Connie answered. "That reminds me," Amethyst declared pulling out her Avengers ID and breaking it in two. "I quit." "I suppose it's because the Crystal Gems are still your home?" Black Widow wondered. "Yeah, that's exactly what I was gonna say!" the small quartz replied. "It was fun being one of Earth's mightiest heroes, but the real heroes to me are my family." "So be it then." Thor said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to bring Loki back to Asgard." he announced pointing to his brother, now rolling his eyes with a scoff. "As much as I hate to say this boy, thank you for bringing me back to life." "And if you'll excuse us, we also gotta go fork the Black Order over to Xandar." Star-Lord added. "I hope one day we can all meet again!" Mantis replied excitedly. "What about you Eros?" "Well, I've got nowhere else to go right about now. Mind if I tag along with you a-holes?" Starfox asked. "Sure, the more the merrier!" Yondu accepted the offer. "Though I think at this rate we might need a bigger ship." "Hey, mind dropping me off at Westchester on the way back? I think Chuck might want me for something." Wolverine asked his fellow Avengers. "We'll make a note of it Logan." Clint answered before they all turned to the Gems. "And we'll make a note to-" "See us again! We get it!" Peridot interrupted with a goofy grin. "All right then, Avengers back to base." Steve commanded, then he turned to his crystal comrades. "And here's an Avengers ID. Just in case, if you need us, we promise we'll be there." "Thank you Cap." Steven said gratefully. As everybody parted ways, Thor & Loki to Asgard, the Guardians to Xandar, Silver Surfer to parts unknown & the Avengers back to their home city, Steven looked at the ID he was given and smiled, knowing that this was an opportunity for more marvelous adventures to come.

And that, after many months of waiting, is the conclusion of Secret Wars! Thank you all so much so sticking by me and stick around til the end of the author's notes for a few special Marvel-style surprises. I've already got a whole 'nother trilogy in the works and hopefully you love it as much as Clod on the Run & this one, which I officially dub the Guardians Trilogy. Until we meet again true believers, adios!

"CRYSTAL GEMS RETURN!" the headlines of the Daily Bugle read, much to the chagrin of the Absorbing Man and his partner Titania as they were imprisoned on Ryker's Island. Carl tore the newspaper into paper scraps in a blind fury while Mary nonchalantly filed her nails. "Oh I'd love to get some payback against those crystal chumps, especially their brat!" "Oh chill out Creel. It's not like someone is going to just waltz in and offer us a chance at that." Titania responded before they heard a guard step in. "Creel, MacPherran, you got a visitor!" he shouted motioning for a silver-haired man to enter. When he met the gaze of the two criminals, he smiled and handed them a case file with a lightning bolt symbol on the tab. "I am Truman Marsh. I have a proposition for you."

Far across the country back in Beach City, Steven slept peacefully in his bed for the first time in ages with the Avengers ID given to him kept on his nightstand. He thought he was going to sleep easy tonight when he opened his eyes to find himself in the same black void that he had met Thanos in in his dreams. Fortunately, the Mad Titan wasn't there to greet him. "Greetings son of Pink Diamond." the voice of Lady Death said, much to the boy's surprise. "How did you know?" he asked. "Didn't Thanos tell you child? I know the name of every soul who has lived, died and ever will be. Yet when Pink Diamond was 'shattered', I didn't see her move into the afterlife." Suddenly a toilet started flushing and out of a door came a man in a red-and-black suit clutching his stomach in pain. "Oh God, definitely not eating 372,844 chimichangas in under an hour ever again!" he moaned collapsing on the ground. "Still better than those forty cakes. That is as many as four tens, and that's terrible." "Uh, who are you?" Steven asked squinting his right eye in confusion. "Aw goddammit! If I'm gonna cross over with Steven Universe, does that mean I have to resist the fanbase as well?!" the man shouted in disgust before looking at you, the audience. "And what are you still doing here? It's over, click away! Go find some Amedot or Stony fic to read!"

The Crystal Gems will return.        

#steven universe #the avengers #fanfiction #crossover #steven universe secret wars #steven quartz universe #garnet #amethyst #pearl #captain america #iron man #thor odinson #incredible hulk #hawkeye #black widow #connie maheswaran #lapis lazuli #peridot #bismuth #captain marvel #black panther #doctor strange #spiderman #guardians of the galaxy #thanos #and tons of others that would take up too many tags

[jacewilliams1]

Flying for Air America—where the cargo was always interesting

I was in college when I dropped one too many classes and received the pre-induction notice during the Vietnam conflict. I was convinced I was going to Vietnam as a ground grunt.. and going to die. I was too much of a chicken to flee to Canada or go “underground,” and I really did not have an anti-war or pro-war position.

My dad graduated Luke Field class 41-I on December 12, 1941, and by March of 1942 he was in the South Pacific (Christmas Island and later Guadalcanal), flying P-39s. I only add that because until a couple of years of his passing he would only talk briefly of some of the incidents and humor flying the P-39 and later the P-38 but I will never forget one night when I was contemplating my induction, he said, “ You don’t want to go in to a war son, but you make your own choices in life.”

I always carried a lot of pride in what he did. So, having been a pilot for some time with a commercial certificate and multi-engine/instrument ratings, I found an ad for pilots needed: good pay, exciting flying, tropical climates, etc. So I signed up with Air America.

The PC-6 is a rugged airplane that was well-suited to the remote strips in Laos.

I primarily flew the Pilatus PC-6 Porter in Laos. Of course it would be Laos. The PC-6 is noted for its STOL performance on almost any type of terrain—it can take off within a distance of 640 feet and land within a distance of 427 feet while carrying a payload of 2,646 lbs. We usually had only a by gosh by guess estimate of load weight. During the 1960s and 1970s, Air America, while secretly CIA-controlled, was an actual airline in Vietnam with regular passenger routes. It operated up to 23 PC-6s at a time.

I flew rice drops and refugee evacuations, plus the occasional “hard rice drop,” which was our term for ammunition resupply. Most of these were flown in Laos—mostly. Laos has varied terrain and two “seasons.” There are very tall karst ridges/mountains and plains and valleys. The two seasons are the rainy season (and I mean real rain!) and the smoky season. This is when the local farmers practice their after-harvest burns. Smoke can reach thousands of feet and is quite unpleasant to fly through.

My in-country check ride was… quite interesting. My “instructor” was called Laughing Larry, and I never knew his real name. We took off and all I could see was occasional, obviously very steep, karst ridges towering into the clouds. After my heart rate and breathing calmed slightly, I had to ask (maybe more like whine like a baby), “We can’t see anything! How are you going to get to where we are going?”

He briefly glanced over at me, smile on his face of course, and said, “Standard Air America procedure, set your climb power, rate of climb and punch your stopwatch. Today after 10 minutes and 15 seconds, we’ll take a heading of 45 degrees then 180 for another 15 minutes and 32 seconds exactly, then power back, descent about 500 feet per minute—and bingo you’re there! Piece of cake youngster.” I detected a touch of sarcasm in that last statement.

We did break out of the clouds in time to “land” on a 30-degree upslope short patch on top of a karst. I amazed myself (Larry gave me an excellent stopwatch), as after 3 weeks I was fairly comfortable flying into these Lima sites.

So one day I was running between mountain peaks in the rainy season in Laos trying to stay VFR as navaids were virtually nonexistent there. My load was bags of rice and one baby goat for some long range patrol guys to BBQ. The PC-6 was loaded by the Laotians hired by Air America ( great people!) and I briefly checked that the goat was tied up.

Know your cargo, especially your live cargo.

While flying along dodging clouds, rain, and mountains, I suddenly felt a whack against the back of my seat. My first thought was that I had been hit with a rocket-propelled grenade, but I was still flying. Then came another whack and the scream of a baby goat. About that time I hit a downdraft/updraft which launched the 100 lb. rice sacks and the now mostly-untied baby goat up and back down. The baby goat had seen outside the front windscreen, an escape from this death trap (I am guessing here). That goat was determined to depart the aircraft, and I knew if he ever got close to the windscreen he would break out and it would likely not turn out well for me or him.

So what would you do?

I started high-G pull-ups and push-overs until I did not hear him anymore. Peeking in back, I saw he was unconscious and lying quite peacefully on some now half-full rice sacks. And I noticed it was raining rice, dirt, grease pencils, an old Rand-McNally map of Laos, and food particles inside the aircraft. I continued on to deliver the baby goat to his date with death. I did not stay for the feast. I wanted to get back “home” for a beer or three.

Lesson learned: always check your cargo loads! About a year later, I actually did get hit by an RPG, filling my knees with aluminum and hitting the ground hard, but that’s not quite as humorous a story as “Baby Goat.”

The post Flying for Air America—where the cargo was always interesting appeared first on Air Facts Journal.

from Engineering Blog https://airfactsjournal.com/2020/03/flying-for-air-america-where-the-cargo-was-always-interesting/