Chapter 343: Thanos — "OPEN FIRE!"
"What are you all doing just standing there? Came here for a show, did you? Get moving!" Strange's voice rolled across the battlefield like a thunderclap, snapping the newly arrived Avengers out of their stunned daze. Every one of them shook off the shock, and their eyes hardened with resolve.
The situation didn't really allow for standing around gawking anyway. Sure, they were all dying to know exactly what was going on — who was actually fighting Thanos, and who was this second Strange floating in the sky — but with the alien horde pouring down at them, everyone snapped into action and engaged.
Spider-Man moved immediately to help Tony, still locked in combat with Proxima Midnight. The rest of the group found their own opponents to deal with.
Only Doctor Strange stood frozen, brow furrowed, studying the two strangers who very much shouldn't have been on this battlefield at all.
Where exactly did this go wrong — why are there people from a parallel universe here? What's actually happening? Doctor Strange was certain the two of them had come from a parallel timeline; he could sense a familiar signature radiating off the other Strange — the unmistakable power of the Time Stone.
Understanding that part was easy enough. What baffled him was how absurdly strong these particular visitors from another universe were — never mind the man capable of trading blows one-on-one with Thanos, that alone defied comprehension.
And that other Strange's magic — spell after spell, half of it nothing Doctor Strange had ever even seen before. Worst of all, the version currently on the battlefield was apparently a mere duplicate. Not even the actual body.
Not that Doctor Strange had never used the Form of Ikonn himself.
But it had genuinely never occurred to him that a Form-of-Ikonn duplicate could cast its own Form-of-Ikonn duplicates on top of that.
Why did it feel like that duplicate alone was stronger than Doctor Strange, the actual Sorcerer Supreme?
Was the magical tradition of that other universe really that far ahead of his own?
Doctor Strange glanced off toward the horizon.
There, tucked away, sat a Mirror Dimension.
"Well, well — turns out this universe's version of me isn't quite as weak as I assumed." Strange realized Doctor Strange had already worked out exactly where his real body was hiding.
Which was true. Strange had left a duplicate on the field early on, safely tucking his actual physical body away inside the Mirror Dimension. Not that he'd fled far — he had plenty of confidence in Ethan.
But just in case Ethan somehow ended up losing, Strange wanted to be positioned to grab him and vanish in an instant.
So there he sat, tucked out of sight nearby, quietly monitoring the fight.
"Looks like your odds just got a lot worse, Thanos." Ethan watched the assembled heroes each finding their footing.
Ant-Man had grown to enormous size, standing over the battlefield like a mountain, each swing of his fist crushing multiple enemy warships at once.
Iron Man fought shoulder-to-shoulder with his wife, Pepper, both encased in gleaming armor, moving in perfect coordination against the alien horde.
Even Captain America and Thor had joined forces, swinging hammers side by side against Thanos's army.
"No, no, no — I'll take the big one, you take the little one," Thor said, swapping Mjolnir for his own Stormbreaker and handing it over to Steve.
The tide of the battle now seemed to be tilting decisively in the Avengers' favor. Ethan didn't even need to say anything — Thanos could see it plainly for himself, and his usual composure was starting to crack.
Before reinforcements had arrived, the only reason he hadn't already finished off this group and taken the Gauntlet was this man in front of him — and that Sorcerer Supreme over there.
The Sorcerer Supreme wasn't much different from the version he'd already encountered before — if anything, the only real difference was that this one's spellwork was more elaborate, flashier, more cautious, more openly terrified of dying.
Against a Sorcerer Supreme, Thanos was still confident he could win. But this man — Ethan.
Thanos genuinely couldn't understand how a mere mortal could possibly reach a strength like this.
This mortal had somehow, instinctively, made him feel danger — a sensation Thanos wasn't used to at all.
But he was Thanos. He would not lose.
His most urgent priority now was finding the Gauntlet. Even a handful of the Stones back in his grip would be more than enough to put him leagues beyond anyone currently on this field.
Ethan couldn't read Thanos's exact thoughts off his face, but he could feel it in every blow — each strike landing harder, more desperate than the last. Thanos was rattled.
Meanwhile, across the battlefield, the Avengers were working out how to get the remaining Infinity Stones back to their proper points in time.
Ant-Man and the Wasp were combing the battlefield for a brown van housing another Quantum Tunnel.
Thanos moved with deliberate agility, putting distance between himself and Ethan before launching a sudden, brutal strike — a surge of raw force sent Ethan flying.
Ethan tumbled through the air several times before slamming hard into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Thanos needed the Gauntlet, fast. He grabbed Ebony Maw by the collar. "Have we found the Gauntlet yet?"
"Not yet, my lord," Ebony Maw answered, a note of frustration in his voice.
That was when Ebony Maw's gaze snapped elegantly forward. "My lord — over there!"
Thanos followed the direction of his gaze and spotted Black Panther, sprinting across the battlefield with the Gauntlet in hand, racing toward the brown van as fast as he could.
Thanos's eyes went sharp instantly. This was his best chance yet to reclaim the Gauntlet.
Without hesitation, he hurled his massive blade straight at Black Panther.
Black Panther, focused entirely on covering ground, never saw it coming. The blade struck him hard, slamming him to the ground, the damaged Gauntlet tumbling loose beside him.
Thanos immediately sprinted toward the Gauntlet.
He'd barely covered a few steps before a woman in red plummeted from the sky, blocking his path entirely.
Crimson light blazed from both her hands, her eyes burning with pure hatred as she stared Thanos down.
It was this universe's own Scarlet Witch — Wanda.
"You took everything from me," Wanda spat through gritted teeth.
"I don't know you. Who are you?" Thanos genuinely didn't recognize her — had no idea what this timeline's own Wanda had gone through, and honestly didn't care. But he wasn't about to let anyone stand in his way.
"You will." Wanda ripped two massive boulders from the ground with her Chaos Magic and hurled them straight at him.
Thanos batted them aside with a casual swing, shattering both instantly.
Wanda didn't stop there. She charged straight at him, both hands blazing with a relentless barrage of Chaos Magic.
Powerful as he was, Thanos found himself genuinely struggling to keep up against her assault. His blade trembled under the onslaught of chaos energy, his own form beginning to blur and waver.
Watching him falter only fueled the fire burning inside Wanda.
She went all in — not only shattering his weapon outright, but wrapping him completely in a binding cage of Chaos Magic.
Thanos struggled against the restraint with everything he had. It didn't budge.
He could feel his own strength being stripped away, piece by piece, and for the first time in longer than he could remember, genuine fear crept into his chest.
"OPEN FIRE!" Thanos bellowed.
Ebony Maw voiced his concern immediately. "My lord — our own soldiers are still down there on the ground!"
But Thanos had stopped caring about that entirely. If he didn't open fire now, there was a real chance Wanda would beat him outright.
"OPEN FIRE! FIRE, NOW!"
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