Chapter 445: Avengers Assemble
"This is getting endless," Silas said, shaking his head in exasperation. Thanos's army was starting to feel like the Shadow Khan Corps—no matter how many he killed, they just kept coming.
What Silas didn't realize was that Thanos already knew of his existence through the power of the Mind Stone. Consequently, the forces currently descending upon Antarctica represented Thanos's entire military might, all filtering through wormholes. Right now, the fleet was simply calculating the precise spatial coordinates of the South Pole; once they finished, the next warp jump would put them directly over the battlefield.
"Dark Lord... ahem, I mean, what should we do, my Lord?" Rei asked, stepping up to Silas's side.
Originally, the Generals called Silas the "Dark Lord," but Silas found the title a bit too cringey. He had never officially asked them to call him that; as it turned out, it was Little Black's idea. After some thought, Silas decided "Destiny" was more like an alias, while "Lord" felt more like a proper title.
"Kill them as they come. What else is there to do?" Silas shrugged. He didn't have a better plan at the moment—not unless he could find the source of the fleet and strike at the root.
"Master," Little Black said, walking over from the other side.
"Everything set?" Silas turned to ask.
Little Black nodded. "Yes."
"Who's coming?" Silas asked. Just moments ago, he had tasked Little Black with a mission: travel the world and bring all the superheroes here. The situation had escalated beyond what the Shadow Khan could handle alone. More importantly, if Thanos showed up, Silas didn't want to waste time gathering everyone for a final stand later. Bringing them together now was the safer bet.
"Everyone's here, Masked Boy," Tony Stark was the first to step out of a shadow portal.
He was followed closely by the rest of the Avengers, and even T'Challa, the Black Panther, had arrived from Wakanda.
"Couldn't you have picked a better battlefield, Silas?" Natasha said, shivering slightly and rubbing her arms.
"Seriously, Masked Boy. Watch out or you'll turn our Captain into a Capsicle again," Tony joked.
Steve Rogers simply rolled his eyes. However, the fact that Tony was willing to joke about it suggested their relationship had thawed considerably.
"It really is freezing here," Okoye, the General of the Dora Milaje, said with a shudder. T'Challa was wearing a nano-suit and felt fine, but she was dressed in her standard, much lighter attire. Having lived in the warmth of Wakanda her whole life, this climate was a shock.
"I told you we were going to the South Pole. I told you to bring a coat," T'Challa said, exasperated. He had warned her, but she had insisted it wouldn't be cold once the fighting started.
"Is everyone here?" Steve asked, looking around.
Of the original Avengers, only Banner, Clint, and Thor were missing. Everyone else—including the newer members like Wanda and Pietro—had arrived. There was one other notable absence: the chatty Scott Lang. Steve remembered the Ant-Man well; the man's mouth was like a gatling gun that never stopped firing.
"Phew~ it's chilly." Suddenly, Bruce Banner stepped out, wearing somewhat tattered clothes with a thick scarf wrapped around his neck, holding a steaming cup of hot tea.
"Oh, old friend! You finally showed up. Why are you dressed like that?" Tony asked, looking him up and down. Banner honestly looked like a retired old man.
"I heard we were going to Antarctica, so I made sure to bring a scarf," Banner explained, taking a sip of tea.
"...Buddy, the Hulk doesn't get cold," Tony reminded him.
Natasha walked over to Banner. "Hi. It's been a long time. How have you been?"
"Not bad. It was very quiet. I learned a lot of things," Banner smiled gently, lifting his tea. "Want a sip to warm up?"
"See? I told you they'd start chatting," Tony said, leaning on Steve's shoulder.
Steve laughed helplessly, pulled a ten-dollar bill from his wallet, and handed it over. "Here you go." Tony took the money with a grin. They had placed a bet on whether Natasha and Banner would start catching up the moment they saw each other.
"Alright guys, before we keep chatting, maybe we should consider the army in front of us," Sam Wilson interjected. They were facing an endless horde; this wasn't a game where they could just respawn.
"By the way, Silas, about Underoos..." Tony started.
Silas waved him off. "I know. For now, let's focus on the invaders."
"Silas, what's going on here? Why are the enemies all gathering in this one spot?" Wanda asked.
"The Mind Stone is here," Genji said, arriving on the battlefield from the African base.
"You?" The group looked at Genji—the AI who claimed to be created by a "Great Being."
"Wait, didn't you say last time the Mind Stone was in your forehead?" Tony asked immediately. If the stone was in Antarctica, it contradicted what Genji had said previously.
"The one in my head isn't the Stone itself; it's just a manifestation of its energy," Genji admitted freely. His sole purpose now was to be the scapegoat for Silas, taking the blame for any "misunderstandings."
"How many more things have you lied to us about?" Tony's expression turned cold. The others looked at Genji warily as well. Only Banner, who had been isolated, looked confused. Who was this new guy?
"Before we discuss that, we have a common enemy: Thanos," Genji said.
Hearing that name, everyone swallowed their questions. He was right; the only thing that mattered now was the invasion. They all looked up at the starships entering the atmosphere. Beams of light descended, depositing dense clusters of enemies.
"I'm starting to develop a bit of trypophobia," Rhodey remarked.
"Since when?" Tony asked.
Rhodey took a breath. "Since about five seconds ago."
"CHARGE!" At that moment, the Thanos army finished gathering and lunged forward. Like a violent tide, they covered the Antarctic surface—an unstoppable legion of calamity.
T'Challa crossed his arms, his Black Panther suit materializing. "WAKANDA FOREVER!"
"WAKANDA FOREVER!" the tribal warriors behind him roared in unison as they crashed into the enemy line.
Tony and Rhodey snapped their masks shut and took to the sky with Sam to secure aerial dominance. Steve raised his shield and led the charge, the other Avengers right behind him. Only Banner remained in place for a second, blowing on his tea.
"Aren't you going in?" Silas asked, looking back.
Banner quickly set down the empty cup. "I felt it shouldn't go to waste."
His body began to swell, muscles rippling like forged steel as his skin turned a deep green.
"HULK!" The long-awaited roar erupted from his throat as he bounded across the shivering ice toward the front lines.
"Woohoo! Our big green buddy is back!" Tony laughed, watching Hulk wreak havoc below. With Hulk's entry, the stalemate began to shift in their favor.
Silas used the chaos to slip away. He opened a shadow portal to the base beneath the ice and grasped the Mind Stone.
Meanwhile, as war raged on Earth, a very different battle was taking place on Titan.
A group of strange individuals was fighting a massive purple man, but the battle was entirely one-sided.
"Quick! Get the Gauntlet off him!"
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