The battlefield above Earth had become a cage.
Soren's spatial barrier shimmered invisibly across the sky, warping every inch of the air. Countless Black Order warships tried to climb higher for safety, only to slam against an unseen wall.
No matter how they pushed, the sky refused to let them rise.
They were insects trapped in a glass bottle, only able to jump, only able to struggle, but never able to escape.
Black Dwarf roared like a maddened beast as the Hulk drove him back again and again.
The air shook with every collision, and more than once the brute attempted to hurl himself upward, smashing into the nearest warship for leverage.
But each time, Hulk was angrier and stronger.
Every explosion from a damaged battleship battered Black Dwarf further into chaos. Hulk only grew more ferocious, fueled by the potions and power-stimulating serums Soren had given him.
Cracks spread through Black Dwarf's armor and blood spilled across the groun,; fragments of organs tore loose from the force of the blasts.
Finally, with a sickening crack, Black Dwarf crumpled under Hulk's final, earth-shattering blow.
He would not rise again.
…
Elsewhere on the battlefield, the Avengers fought Proxima Midnight in a desperate, shifting formation.
After receiving a long-range artifact from Soren, Tony's attacks struck harder than ever… but even so, Proxima pressed them relentlessly.
Hawkeye's arrows, Natasha's strikes, Rhodey's artillery… they hit their marks, but they barely slowed her.
Proxima Midnight was a living weapon, and her trident, an artifact of cosmic craftsmanship, split into three pursuing beams that carved through the air and turned with predatory precision.
None of the Avengers dared block them. One wrong move meant instant death.
Sweat, blood, and exhaustion burned through the team, and yet they fought on… gulping down the restorative potions Soren had supplied.
The flight elixirs saved them again and again from ship-mounted lasers that would have vaporized them.
But even with all that, Proxima Midnight was pushing them to their limit.
High above, the Frost Thunder Python finally made a moved.
Evolved under Soren's guidance, the enormous serpent couldn't speak, but its intelligence was frighteningly clear.
Seeing the Avengers forced back again and again, Zilant coiled in the clouds, arcs of power gathering along its shimmering scales.
ZZztt
A streak of blinding white carved through the fleet.
Battleships exploded in waves, ripped apart before they even had time to fire. Warriors inside became charred silhouettes.
The lightning serpent dove and weaved through the sky, each flicker annihilating another cluster of enemy craft.
And without pausing, Zilant wheeled toward Proxima Midnight, unleashing a torrent of lightning so intense that even she refused to meet it head-on.
Forced to dodge rather than attack, her pressure on the Avengers evaporated instantly.
…
Ebony Maw, however, was in far graver trouble.
His strength was mental… insidious and devastating. But today, he faced an opponent he could not deceive.
Professor X had been a titan of psychic power even before Soren pushed him beyond his former limits. Now, Charles's mind was a vast, blazing sun capable of touching the thoughts of billions simultaneously.
His mental force was so sharp, it felt almost physical.
And he wasn't alone.
A squadron of Mutants from the Brotherhood, each one gifted in psychic combat, joined their power with his. Their minds fused into a storm of concentrated will.
Ebony Maw never stood a chance.
The psychic assault shattered his defenses, pouring ruthlessly into his spiritual core, the very essence of his mind.
Blood streamed from his nose, mouth, and eyes as he trembled violently. His thoughts dissolved into static.
He had once enslaved worlds with a single whisper.
Now, he couldn't even scream as his spiritual core cracked… then buckled.
For the first time in his life, Ebony Maw tasted the terror he had inflicted on so many others.
And his collapse was inevitable.
…
Supergiant faced the full force of Kamar-Taj… Her gift was not combat.
She was a psychic parasite, feeding on knowledge, plundering minds, stealing abilities from the shadows.
But today she confronted the Ancient One herself… Soren-empowered, at the height of her former Sorcerer Supreme strength.
Supergiant's attempts to invade the mages' minds shattered against a vast golden wall of enlightenment. Every spell she tried to siphon dissolved into nothing.
Every breach she attempted was sealed instantly.
Under the Ancient One's guidance, the magicians moved as one. A wave of spells identical in shape, identical in structure rose her.
Blades of condensed mana and explosive sigils all focused on Supergiant.
Forced to dodge, she slipped between the rapid-fire spells with fox-like agility, but for every spell she evaded, ten more struck the Black Order's warships in the sky.
One after another, they detonated falling debris.
Victory was near, everyone felt it. And the Black Order felt it most of all.
They were losing ground… losing hope. With Soren gone and Thanos in pursuit, they were abandoned, just pawns left on the board.
Only death remained.
Hulk slammed him into the ground with a blow so brutal the earth cracked.
Black Dwarf's skull struck the reinforced metal beneath, caving it inward. His massive frame twitched once… then sagged.
He died without a sound.
Blood splashed across Hulk's chest.
The green giant roared into the sky, pounding his own body like a war drum.
Battleships instinctively backed away, their pilots terrified of the berserk monster who had just beaten a cosmic warrior to death with his bare hands.
Proxima Midnight saw it all.
Her lungs tightened as there was no rescue coming… not from Thanos, not from anywhere. Even if Thanos returned victorious, he would never save them.
The moment Soren vanished with the gems, they became irrelevant.
Her eyes sharpened with cold finality. "Black Order… detonate the fleet. All of it. Take them with us!"
Across the sky, all pilots stopped. Shock rippled through their ranks.
But they were Thanos's soldiers, raised for war, conditioned for death. There was no path to survival.
The first warship broke formation, engines igniting into a suicidal overdrive. It plunged straight into Zilant's lightning-formed body, erupting into a supernova of sparks and violent energy.
The blast dispersed Zilant's electric form, forcing the python to recoil and regroup.
Dozens more ships followed, energy cores destabilizing as they dove. They streaked downward like burning meteors, aiming for the ground where the heroes stood.
If they hit, there would be no potion strong enough to bring anyone back.
The Earth defenders stiffened in horror.
Up until now, no casualties. But mass self-detonation could change everything. Even Kamar-Taj healing arts could not restore someone blown into fragments.
The battlefield trembled.
"RRRGHH!" A roar rolled across the world.
The sky went black.
Shadows spread across the battlefield like a devouring tide. A cold dread pierced the hearts of every being present.
The Ancient One's face drained of color. "Dormammu, He's here."