Fill 17 Card 1: Curse

[innitmarvelous_og]

Thanos, the Mighty Titan who thought he had the right to murder half of the universe in order to achieve his perfect vision of it, was now dying. One or two more blows from the two Avengers working together in concert to finish him, would end his threat to the universe forever. 

Together, they moved in on Thanos. His eyes blazed as they came closer to him, and knowing his time was about to be ended, he used his last breath to utter a venomous curse that was heard throughout the entire battlefield.

"Stark, you may have defeated me, but my curse shall follow you till the end of your days," Thanos ranted, spitting his final breaths out before he was ended by them, his voice laced with malice. "You are going to die in unrelenting agony, and your death will not come swiftly. No power in the universe will be able to save you from this fate! Not even its greatest wielders of magic!"

With one final, decisive charge, Iron Man and Captain America lunged at Thanos, their combined might sealing his fate. When he fell where he had uttered his vile curse upon Tony, the battlefield became suddenly quiet except for the heaviness of Steve's breaths.

Tony turned to him, fear gripping him as he saw how Steve was barely staying on his feet. Tony's heart raced as he looked around, desperation evident in his eyes. He grabbed Steve's arm, his grip tight and urgent, "We need to get you to a doctor now!"

 When Steve mustered a weak smile, Tony couldn't help but notice the pallor that had overtaken his features. It was a smile tinged with resignation, "Too late, Tony. It's... it's too late."

"No, it can't be too late! We have a doctor who's become a wizard! Where's Strange? Does anyone know where to find him?"

"Tony, I—" 

With those two words, Steve lost his valiant battle to remain on his feet, his body collapsing to the ground, the weight of the moment heavy upon them all.

Tony knelt down beside Steve, his grip on his friend's arm tightening. The pain etched on Steve's face, tore at his heart. "We're not giving up, Steve. We've been through worse. We'll find a way to fix this."

Steve gave another weak smile, his voice weak. "I appreciate the sentiment, Tony. But you know as well as I do that... this... this is different this time. This fight... it's taken everything out of me."

Tony's eyes searched desperately for a solution, for a way to save the man who had been both his friend, and his antithesis. He looked to Doctor Strange again, pleading for his help. "Strange, you've seen things beyond our understanding. Can't you do something? Anything?"

Doctor Strange, his expression grim, shook his head. "Tony, I understand your desperation, but the injuries Steve has sustained... they're too severe. Even my magic can't solve everything, and has its limits. There's no easy fix for this."

Tony's frustration and his determination. "There has to be something we can do. We can't just let him di... fade away like this."

There was acceptance in Steve's voice, "Tony, we've been through battles that we thought we couldn't win, yet we always found a way. But this... this is where the long road ends for me. I'm proud of what we've accomplished together. But it's time for me to rest."

Tears welled up in Tony's eyes, and he started to protest, further urge Steve to hang on and keep fighting but he never got the chance. He never got the chance because before he could say another word, Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson appeared from elsewhere on the battlefield and when they did, Tony knew it was only right that they both get to talk to Steve in his final moments.

Comments

[pattrose]

How incredibly sad. I like sad sometimes. Tonight it worked for me. A fine read.

[innitmarvelous_og ( as admin)]

How incredibly sad. I like sad sometimes. Tonight it worked for me.

Oh if you want sad, you should read the series this is ficlet is a prequel/missing scene for. That series has sadness galore but also a lot of happiness. I wrote one of my all time favorite fics for it entitled Comes Softly.

And yes, I am glad it worked for you :-)

A fine read.

Thank you!