Chapter Fifteen - Battle of Earth: I Am...

                                    

                                          
Thanos was dead. But there was no relief felt by anyone. Maria felt absolutely torn, she didn't know what to do in that moment. Thanos' words echoed around her head as her gaze fell upon the two armies battling each other. The Titan was gone and the universe was safe but that did not mean that Earth was.
                          
"Thanos is dead" Tony said in shock. He, Steve and Thor had all gathered around Thanos and Maria. The men studied the Titan and the Stark uncertain of what to do or what this exactly meant. It seemed so anti-climactic, so ominous. It felt as if something was still to come, something that would destroy everything in a beat.
                          
"Maria you did it" Steve stated as he turned his attention completely upon the young girl. As he studied her, he tightened his broken shield upon his torn arm once more hoping to keep it tight enough.
                          
"Well done Tiny Stark" Thor agreed grabbing Maria's attention. She stared at them all from her place beside Thanos with great sorrow in her brown eyes. She looked at them all and studied the heroes of a generation. The last five years had taken their toll on all of them. Thor had put on some weight yet could still swing his axe and hammer better than anyone, Steve seemed more beaten down than ever and her father was older and looked as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders - which she guessed he always had, always having to have been the brains behind the Avengers along with Bruce. 
                          
"This is far from over" Maria told them as she pushed herself up onto her feet and closed the distance with them. "Did you ever think of why Thanos chose these creatures as his army? The Chitauri, the Outriders, the Saakarans, the Leviathans ... they were all bred for war. It's all they know. The only way that that army is stopping is if they are defeated or their commanders say so ... and their commanders are dead..." Her words trailed off as the truth settled in. Her words were of great consequence and horror. "We may have saved the universe from being snapped away but Earth is still very much in danger. We are all that stand between that monstrous army and our world." Maria emphasized her point by pointing towards the battlefield, pointing towards the endless hordes Thanos had left behind. "If they get through us, they will destroy everything and anyone they meet."
                          
They all turned to look at the battle. The four of them were all battered and bruised just the same as everyone. The dust and grime covering every each of them showing the toll this battle was taking. No one was leaving this battle unscarred though in that moment it seemed no one was going to be surviving this war at all. 
                          
However, they all shared the same thought. They would fight until they were dead. After all, if they couldn't save the world they were damn well going to avenge it and take as many bastards with them as they could.
                          
~8~
                          
The battle was endless and brutal. Heroes against the villains, people dying on all sides. Maria had managed to find Peter in the chaos and was fighting beside him. Neither one straying too far from each other. They were fighting their own fight whilst keeping an eye out for each other, protecting each other's backs as much as they could. All around them was explosions and fire and attacks all over the place. Soon enough explosions were happening at their feet.
                          
The two teenagers darted toward a mound of earth, throwing themselves over it as the explosion echoed behind them sending bits of earth everywhere. Maria and Peter slammed themselves against the mound, using the earth as protection whilst they tried to catch their breath. The hard earth dug into their suits and the smell of gunpowder and blood filled their nostrils. They both were panting, their chest struggling to grab the much-needed oxygen as they stared at one another. They didn't have to say a word. 
                          
They were tired. They were injured. They were bruised. They were beaten. And they weren't the only ones.
                          
"We are being slaughtered out here" an Avenger's voice echoed over the communications channel, a sound of despair tearing out of their voice.