Chapter 372: Battlefield

Chapter 372: Battlefield

If you want to support me check out my patron at /athassprkr

I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.

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

Chapter 372: Battlefield

26th April 2015, Wakanda

(Tony Stark POV)

So, that's what she wanted. She needed Thanos to be on the ground for some reason, and he wouldn't do that as long as the force field was up. And now, the Mad Titan's forces were stuck between an almost impenetrable forcefield and an army of powerful warriors that had stood the test of time for thousands of years, and without any air support since the ships were destroyed.

The only issue is that Thanos was supposedly powerful enough to be a threat on his own, especially if the power of the Infinity Stones were as strong as they should be. Maximoff seemed to answer his unasked question immediately and spoke up, "Fire the Etherion Cannon."

A portal shimmered above Thanos and a giant beam of energy fell down on him. All of this happened in less than twenty seconds in total. Seriously, it was a pretty good plan. He only hoped that the Etherion cannon would be enough to defeat the monstrous being in front of them.

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

(Wanda Maximoff POV)

As Wanda watched the giant beam of energy land on Thanos, she had to admit that things were going well. Too well, really. It was surprising that a commander as experienced, and as feared as the Mad Titan fell to her trap so very easily. Well, firstly, he only came in a single battleship instead of the armada that Wanda knew he had at his disposal. The man was a galactic warlord for god's sake.

Well, the only reason that hadn't happened was because of Jasmine's foresight. Seriously, that woman thought of everything. Thanos didn't come to Earth to conquer a planet, mostly because of how underdeveloped it was.

There was a reason why Jasmine didn't involve herself in the technological sector, and focused on the media, and that was the fact that humanity would develop too quickly. Stark and Richards did the same because they knew that the imbalance could cause a lot of casualties in the long run, but the biggest reason why Jasmine never jumped on the bandwagon was the fact that she needed Earth to look weak for this exact purpose.

She needed Earth to look unthreatening, a backwards planet, instead of the hub of mystical energy, the source of Elder gods, and a Celestial experiment. Thanos was always going to attack, she knew that, since the Time Stone had to remain on Earth to protect the universe from dimensional threats, but what did matter was whether Thanos was going to attack with his full might, or if he decided not to mobilize his entire army to conquer a useless rock.

Jasmine's control over the media almost made mutants look harmless, and the lack of recent news made it look like a dwindling species. Any invader monitoring the planet would tap into the media sector to look for active threats. The magical world, Genosha's might, Wakanda's technology, were hidden from the world. And even during Loki's invasion, it was Jasmine that was visibly doing the most damage and she was considered to be dead to the rest of the world. Hell, even if Entropy had told Thanos about her existence, he must have told him that the cosmic entity would handle her and the most powerful beings on the planet himself.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

As far as he knew, Earth had nothing that could overwhelm the energy shielding on Thanos' main ship so easily. The smaller ones sure, but since Stark and Richards didn't design weapons and actively stopped Victor Von Doom from building weapons of mass destruction in Latveria, there wasn't time to build any.

The Ancient One seemed to have resisted to attack as well, probably using an obscure spell that she had learned in her long life.

Instead of retaliating immediately, Wanda sent a large telepathic signal to Emma Frost, 'Emma, he's using a telepathic attack, shield them all.'

"I am sorry, Thanos, but my will is my own," Wanda replied.

"It may be, but is it the same for your allies," he responded with his eyes slightly widened in surprise.

'It's too strong, Wanda!' she heard Frost respond.

'Put them to sleep, then. Thanos was always going to be my opponent.'

'Sure, but that Stone is very strong. I don't know how long I can keep them that way.' Emma responded.

Immediately, all of the residents of Wakanda slumped down to sleep, and Wanda smirked at her opponent.

"They don't have to be strong, Thanos. I can be strong for them. But why involve them? It was always going to be a fight between Stone Wielders. A battle for the Infinity Stones does not require the presence of lesser beings after all," Wanda responded.

She could tell, then, that she had him. Gamora had told them everything she knew about her father, and it gave Wanda a clear advantage since she knew her enemy so well. The truth was that for all his crimes, to his mind, Thanos was doing it all for a good purpose. In a sick way, he admired the resilience of Earth's defenders against his might. He thinks that he is going to succeed because it is his destiny, but losing all those brave souls that actually managed to defeat him is not a good thing. After all, it was enough that half of them would probably die when he completes his mission.

His pride would push him to accept the offer, but his rational mind would argue against it. It was a moment of indecision, and that was all they needed. With a quick nod, the Ancient One seemed to understand what she was getting at, and in a fraction of a second, the world shattered into reflective shards behind him, Thanos seemed to sense it and readjusted reality using his Infinity Stone.

Thanos started to use the Soul Stone, and Wanda started to feel weaker and weaker, like something was leaving her. It was like she was suffocating, even if there was air around. The Ancient One seemed to be having the same issue, but she touched Wanda, and the Scarlet Witch felt the world slow down.

Ah, time dilatation using the Time Stone. Wanda was still in agony, but she used the Space Stone to create a portal that surrounded the three of them, as well as a burst of Gravity to push Thanos away.

The attack seemed to disorient him, since Wanda started to regain her clarity. She slowly stood up, being helped by the Ancient One, who seemed to have recovered spontaneously.

She prepared to be ready to fight Thanos, but he was too busy staring around him, "You brought me to Titan. You brought me to my home."

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

If you want to support me check out my patron at /athassprkr

I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.