Chapter 10 : The Mad Titan.

Sanctuary, Chitauri Space

Gamora walked into the throne room with uneasy steps, and Nebula followed after her with barely hidden fury. The throne room was a large conclave cut into the stone of the asteroid, dimly lit, the abundance of shadows creeping around the edges like slithering curtains of darkness as the starlight shimmered in, glistening off the twinkling bits or unprocessed gemstones that poked out here and there, dotting the walls like a pox. It gave the room an unearned feeling of imperiousness and dread that centered around the massive throne, cut out of the same stone but rid of all embellishment, save the raised podium it was steeped upon, a show of humility and will. All purposeful, she didn't doubt it. Her father was a man of cunning unmatched across the universe, a fact all too real for her to reckon with.

Even now she grappled with her conscience. That tiny voice inside her delighting in light of recent events. A hope. A chance at long last…But the grit of experience is a thing not quite easy to overshadow and the fear…she dared not even think of it, as if her father would read her thoughts. She knew he could not, and yet it always felt as if he could. He saw right through you, his cold, steely gaze stripping you naked, flesh and blood to reveal even the slightest kernels of your light, your most private truths hidden in your deepest recesses of your soul.

She rubbed her eyes, hesitating even to sigh; it would reveal too much. He would catch it, and she could not afford that…afford to…

Gamora looked back at Nebula, grumbling away at the indignation; ever the loyal soldier, her sister. How could she not see-No. She shut that thought down. Never here. Never where he could know. She gripped her sword tighter.

It will be fine, she assured herself. She knew he could never succeed. She just needed to wait. Wait and watch, see which way the tides turned. And if it came to it…she would do what was necessary.

She steeled herself, a stoic mask on her face, as they rounded the corner.

Voices chattered, echoing softly across the conclave.

Disdain flashed across her face.

The Sakaarans were already here, begging for more, the little pigs.

There were a dozen or so squads, their leaders and a handful of guards each, pressing their supposed advantage. They had surrounded Maw, only the presence of Obsidian preventing them from all but swarming him. The towering giant's presence kept them civil, as civil as their ilk could be considered to be, at least, and the irony of it wasn't lost on her.

To be frank, they wouldn't be able to take on Maw either, were he alone.

She heard Nebula scoff beside her.

"They have the balls to come here and test our patience? Scrap scavengers and bottom feeders like them?"

"You know why." Gamora said softly.

"Same reason we're here." Nebula hissed, "I still think we should have finished off the Shi'ar outpost."

"They outnumbered us 25 to 1." Gamora sighed. They had barely escaped with their lives.

"We could've taken them, if you weren't such a coward." She scowled at her and stomped over to a corner to sulk.

Gamora shook her head, turning to the conversation again, and walked over.

"…Xandar's talking about a joint operation, I hear." One Sakaaran said, his mandibles clicking condescendingly, as he slunked over Maw from side, one step on the stairs up the podium, "These are dangerous times."

"Mercenary work is always dangerous." Maw countered calmly, waving their concerns away.

"All I'm saying is, a bit of hazard pay wouldn't be too shabby right now." The man replied, putting a hand on Maw's shoulder as he leaned in, his slimy smile leering against Maw's dark, stone cold features, "Be a shame if we were to find employment elsewhere, given your little…Chitauri problem."

"And where would you go? Back to Sakaar, back to being slaves and toys, digging through the trash of the rest of the world to make ends meet?" Gamora couldn't help but cut in.

"The Kree are offering juicy contracts on wet work. Them's civil war is heating up. I bet we could make bank skirmishing the rims…" Another added, his tone stuttering by the end, as he sneaked nervous glances at Cull Obsidian, who had turned his attention his way, when the first Sakaaran shut him up with a firm gaze as he continued.

"Now I'm just making a suggestion, because my boys here…them's getting ideas, ones you ain't going to like." The sleazy leader offered again, "Just pass on a message to Lord Thanos for me, see if we can't come to an agreement-"

CLICK-CLACK, CLICK-CLACK!

The mercenary stopped mid-sentence as the crisp sound of boots echoed across the throne room, and the sheer presence of its source preceded their arrival, silencing the conspirators.

"If you have a message for me, speak it to my face." A voice boomed, as Thanos appeared from a passage behind the throne and walked around it, taking a seat upon it, his posture relaxed yet regal, one hand resting against the armrest, the other upon his chin. His navy vest, lined with gold framed his imposing figure in the simple yet powerful image of a warrior.

"L-lord Thanos." The Sakaaran leader bowed, his surprise apparent in his stutter, as he pushed past Maw, who raised a hand to stop Obsidian from reacting to the disrespect, and allowed him to walk up the steps.

He stopped short of the top, one hand clasped across his chest in a salute, "I am honoured by your presence. You-"

"Speak your piece." Thanos interrupted, his patience wearing thin.

The Sakaaran gulped, and decided not to try his luck.

"Lord Thanos, I just had a suggestion, in light of recent developments…" He continued politely, "My soldiers- not me, I would never bear such traitorous thoughts- but my soldiers, them's shaken by the…uh, loss of the Chitauri forces. They feel the pay doesn't match the work, now that they have to cover for the Chitauri too. Some of them's talking…them's talking about leaving for richer pastures."

Thanos raised an eyebrow.

"I just think that a fair pay, to match-"

Thanos stood up.

The Sakaaran leader took a step back, shrinking into his coat.

"Just a little hazard pay-"

Thanos took another step and the man retreated further till he found his back against Maw. He scrambled to the side, as his guards surrounded him.

"It's just a suggestion, Lord Thanos. The boys' is just being stupid- I-" His mandibles clattering in fear.

"No." Thanos said, taking one final step as his towered over the poor man, putting a hand on his shoulder, his grip firm and digging into the Sakaaran's shoulder, "It was a good suggestion."

The man's eyes lit up and a chattering cheer seemed to break about within the Sakaaran group, when suddenly, and with a clean knife handed swipe, Thanos severed the leader's head, letting his body fall to floor, sputtering greyish-purple blood like a broken faucet, the light still in his eyes while he grabbed his head by the jaw.

Before the shock of the macabre scene could wear off, the Sakaaran guards, well trained and disciplined enough to react, quickly drew their weapons against Thanos.

A fatal mistake.

Cull Obsidian was already brandishing his weapon, Gamora reaching for her sword, when Maw smiled and stopped them.

"Let him have his fun."

Thanos looked down at the insectoid creatures beneath him, his eyes placid, and burst out into a flurry of strikes, slamming the skull of the leader into the nearest guard with one hand and palming another with the other, sending him flying.

In the next moment, he snapped the mandible off the jaw of the skull and twisting it free of the carapace in one smooth motion, faster than they could react, and shucked it through the eye of the third guard, and in the same reaction, elbowed another in the clavicle, shattering his neck, blood gurgling as he slopped onto the floor.

Finally, he turned to the last guard, only to be met with blaster to the face that he dodged effortlessly with a tilt of his head, the plasma bolt grazing his cheek as he let out a low, rumbling chuckle.

"All that for a drop of blood." He wiped his cheek, the wound disappearing near instantly as if it hadn't been there in the first place before his palm wrapped around the head of the guard with lightning speed.

He tightened his grip as the guard clawed helplessly at his arm, his carapace creaking like a mix of crinkled plastic and nails on chalkboard, till finally it cracked with a sickening squelch painting Thanos' hand with a shade of gooey grey. Thanos looked down at his hand dispassionately and sat down on the stairs, calmly cleaning his hand with the coat of one of the guards, before turning to the rest of the Sakaaran delegation.

"Any more suggestions?"

The silence was deafening as Thanos scanned the group.

"Prepare your troops." He ordered, and the rest of the leaders gulped, their hands, till now resting upon their weapons, loosened their grips.

"Prove to me that you deserve a raise."

"As you command, Lord Thanos." The rest of the leaders fell in line, the crumb of hope dangled before them sweeter than the promise of certain death.

They quickly left the conclave, eager to get as far away as possible before Thanos changed his mind. The Mad Titan wasn't known for his mercy, after all.

Once they had all left, Thanos turned to the Black Order who quickly knelt down upon one knee in veneration.

"What do you command of us Lord Thanos?" Maw asked, "Shall we prepare for another invasion of the planet Earth?"

"Let me lead the invasion, Father." Nebula volunteered with gusto, "I will see to it that the planet is cleansed down to its bedrock in your name."

"No." Thanos shook his head, "Leave them be. We have more pressing matters."

"Maw. What is the progress with the Chitauri?" He asked.

"The abandoned Chitauri Ships, bar one, are being corralled as we speak. Proxima and Corvus have reached the edge of Chitauri Space and will arrive here as soon as all the Commanders are dealt with." Maw reported, "Once they arrive, the Chitauri sent back to the homeworld will be liquidated for their equipment and used in the accelerated cloning programs to create new Chitauri. We are also encouraging the institution of breeding programs among the Chitauri warrior castes. Our forces should be back to their full operational capacity within five years."

Thanos nodded, and pulled out a remote, pressing a button on it. A projection appeared between them on the podium.

"…I, TONY STARK, DEFENDER OF EARTH AND THE LEADER OF THE AVENGERS, SHALL SUFFER NO RETRIBUTION. I WILL COME FOR YOU…"

"You have all seen this." Thanos said, turning to Gamora, "Tell me daughter, what have you learnt of this Tony Stark?"

Gamora looked up and thought for a moment.

"He is an insect, Father. He is not worth consideration. Let me go alone, I will crush him-" Nebula spoke.

"Nebula." Thanos cut her off with a glare as she shrunk back in fear, "I did not ask you."

"Father, I-" Nebula tried to apologize, only to be ignored and this time she had the good sense to stop.

Thanos turned back to Gamora who was finally ready to answer.

"He is arrogant, and self-confident." Gamora said, thoughtful, "Intelligent enough to incapacitate our forces with one blow yet ignorant enough to send the Chitauri right back to us. He even left the motherships intact. He does not know of outer space and the Chitauri, and I doubt he knows of much else when it comes to the territories and empires that make up the universe outside of his homeworld. His arrogance is either hubris or a façade to deter us."

Thanos nodded.

"He is naïve. He could have killed the Chitauri or destroyed the motherships but he left them with a warning. A poor job, done in haste. He does not have the stomach for bloodshed. It is his weakness- compassion." She spat.

"Compassion is not a weakness, daughter. I do what I do, out of compassion." Thanos chided, "His weakness is merely the lack of the strength of will to do what is necessary in the pursuit of his goals."

Gamora bit her tongue and swallowed her words as she nodded.

"Yes, Father."

"Continue."

"He insisted that he would come to us, and that he would bring the Infinity Stones with him and yet, he could have done so immediately. He is buying time. The Stones extract a toll. He isn't ready to face us yet and he is fool enough to think he can gather his forces to face ours." Gamora explained, "Father, are we truly not striking back at Earth?"

"No." Thanos reiterated, before prodding Gamora, "You are missing one crucial point yet. Think, daughter, think."

Gamora furrowed her brows. What had she missed?

Was it the return of the Chitauri? Did he mean to strike fear into our hearts? But then it would serve him better to kill them.

Any hope he inspired in their opposition would be fleeting. They were too busy with civil wars and territorial disputes to put up any effective resistance, not that he knew of it. Only the Nova Empire could possibly muster a response and they would never leave themselves so open to the Kree, staggering their forces enough to give us an even chance.

But then what?

Did he trap the motherships? No, they had already been salvaged.

Wait, they hadn't all been salvaged. There was one-

Then-

"Ah, I see you have found it." Thanos smiled proudly, like he always did when she did something he approved of. At times he even looked fatherly, sprouting a feeling of affection within her and yet she knew what he was. And she smothered that feeling no sooner than it appeared.

"He isn't fool enough to think he can match our forces." Gamora spoke with realization and dawning horror, "He plans on collecting the Infinity Stones! You mean to-"

"Yes. It is why we will not strike back against Earth." Thanos replied as he stood back up.

"But we cannot lead our forces to him and risk losing even more-"

"We will not." Thanos said, his tone certain, his response ready as if he had already seen through this conversation before it had even started.

"I will take our forces to the Nova Empire." He turned and climbed back up the steps, a cruel smile blossoming upon his lips, "It is time Xandar was reminded why the Mad Titan is to be feared."

He looked back at the Black Order and then upon Gamora.

"I have a different mission for you."

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Heyo!

Thanos reacts to mc's actions and the wings of a butterfly flap across the universe. 

Will Xandar survive?

Will the Guardians form up here? 

Find out, next time on dragon ball z!

Sorry guys. 

I got distracted by Vox Machina season 3 and then I was sidetracked because I got two new dnd fic ideas and they just burrowed into my skull till I researched out their plots. So yeah. Sorry. 

No, I'm not planning on writing them. They are shit plots. Some great ideas I can use in other fics, but not worth their own fics at all.

Anyways, here is the Thanos interlude. Tell me if I did something wrong. I tried to keep Thanos in character as much as possible. 

I also wrote and rewrote this chappy five times till I got it to here. Writer's block is a bitch.

See you tomorrow. Donate them powerstones. Bye~