Chapter 29: Clash of Titans

The battlefield on Xandar was chaotic beyond comprehension. Buildings lay in ruin, civilians either evacuated or caught in the crossfire, and debris from shattered structures floated mid-air as black portals warped reality itself. Ethan, now fully The Spot, stood at the center of the maelstrom, black circles pulsating across his body as he bent the spotted dimension to his will.

The Vanguards, battered and bloodied, had suffered losses already. Black Panther had fallen, Clint Barton lay dead, and the others, Thor, Hulk, Captain America, and Iron Man, struggled to regroup.

But now, Thanos had arrived, standing imposingly with the Power and Reality Stones already embedded in his gauntlet. His ship, the Sanctuary II, hovered ominously above the city, and his Black Order soldiers descended from the sky to engage the remaining heroes.

....

Thanos, his eyes glowing with cold determination, regarded Ethan like a problem to be solved. "You've caused enough chaos. Your time is up."

Ethan's black circles rippled with cosmic energy. "You think your stones will stop me? I control reality itself."

The Reality Stone in Thanos' gauntlet flared, and the city around them twisted, reshaping at Thanos' will. Debris and wreckage floated back into place, momentarily restoring a fractured part of Xandar before collapsing once again under the strain of Ethan's portals.

"You misunderstand," Thanos growled. "I control reality. You merely play with fragments of it."

With a thought, Thanos activated the Power Stone. A beam of raw energy erupted from the stone, tearing through the battlefield. Ethan swiftly opened a portal to absorb the energy, redirecting it back toward Thanos. But Thanos anticipated the move, using the Reality Stone to warp the redirected blast into harmless particles of light.

Their fight was a brutal exchange of power and intellect. Thanos, wielding the might of the Infinity Stones, unleashed devastating attacks, each blow strong enough to level a planet. Ethan countered with his mastery of the spotted dimension, bending space to his will, redirecting and avoiding Thanos' every move.

....

Tony Stark flew overhead, his armor barely holding together. "We need to help that Thanos... as much as it pains me to say it," he muttered through the comms.

"Agreed," Captain America responded, his voice steady despite the cracks in his shield and the exhaustion in his body. "If Ethan isn't stopped, he'll destroy this planet, and likely more."

Thor, battered but resolute, raised Mjölnir. "Together, we fight. For Xandar. For our fallen comrades!"

Hulk charged toward Ethan, roaring as he leaped across the battlefield. His massive fists crashed down where Ethan once stood, only for a portal to open beneath him. Hulk fell through, only to reappear mid-air, slamming into the ruins of a skyscraper.

"Enough games!" Hulk bellowed as he recovered, charging again.

....

For a moment, Ethan focused his energy on close combat. He darted between the heroes using his portals, engaging them directly with a speed and agility that belied his calm demeanor. Black circles rippled across his fists as he landed devastating blows, each strike sending shockwaves through the planet.

Thor swung Mjölnir with all his might, but Ethan vanished before the hammer could connect, reappearing behind him to land a bone-crushing punch that sent the god of thunder crashing through a nearby building. As Captain America threw his shield, Ethan opened another portal, sending the shield back at Steve with deadly force. Steve barely dodged in time, but the strain was showing on all of them.

Meanwhile, Reed Richards, still recovering from the loss of his arm, stretched his body to protect the injured. "His power… it's increasing!" Reed shouted, his voice filled with a mix of disbelief and frustration. "We need to stop him, now!"

....

As the battle raged, more lives were lost.

Natasha Romanoff, still grieving for Clint, fought with reckless abandon, but her speed and agility weren't enough. Ethan, growing tired of her attacks, opened a portal directly in her path. She vanished into the void, only to reappear high above the battlefield. Before she could react, a barrage of debris and energy blasts from Ethan's portals overwhelmed her. Her body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

Tony, seeing her fall, clenched his fists in anger. "No more!"

He unleashed a salvo of repulsor blasts, missiles, and energy beams, each one more powerful than the last. But Ethan absorbed them all, redirecting the energy back toward Tony, sending him crashing into the remains of a building. His HUD flickered, the suit barely holding together.

"We can't keep this up!" Tony gasped, his voice strained through the comms. "He's too strong."

....

Thanos, enraged by Ethan's dominance, unleashed the full power of the Power Stone. He punched the ground, causing shockwaves that split the earth beneath Xandar, tearing the ground apart. Even Ethan staggered under the force of the attack.

But the Mad Titan wasn't finished. With a growl of determination, he used the Reality Stone to warp the very space around Ethan, trapping him in a shifting maze of reality-warped structures. For a moment, Ethan seemed trapped.

But Ethan's control over his powers had grown beyond expectations. He manipulated the portals within the maze, twisting reality further until Thanos' trap shattered.

"You cannot contain me, Titan," Ethan sneered, his eyes glowing with power.

He opened a series of portals around Thanos, each one bombarding the Mad Titan with energy. Even Thanos, with his immense power and durability, struggled under the relentless assault. Blood seeped from cuts on his face as he staggered back, clutching the gauntlet.

Then, in an instant, Ethan struck. With brutal efficiency, he opened a portal directly in front of Thanos and landed a punch amplified by cosmic energy. The blow sent Thanos hurtling through the sky, crashing miles away from the battlefield. For a moment, it seemed the Mad Titan had fallen.

....

As the heroes struggled to regroup, Ethan hovered above the broken city, his black circles swirling with power. He had collected the energy he needed from Xandar, gathering materials and information through his twisted experiments.

"You've all fought well," Ethan said, his voice echoing across the battlefield. "But I've achieved what I came here for."

The remaining Vanguards, bloodied and exhausted, watched helplessly as Ethan prepared to leave. But before he vanished into his portals, he spoke once more.

"My work here is done. Next… the heart of the galaxy."

With that, Ethan disappeared into a swirling black vortex, leaving Xandar in ruins and the heroes to mourn their fallen comrades.

....

As silence fell over the battlefield, the ground trembled once more. From the ruins, Thanos emerged, battered but still alive. His gauntlet, though cracked, still held the stones. His face twisted in anger as he surveyed the devastation.

"This… is not over," Thanos growled. "He will pay."

The remaining heroes looked up, their bodies broken but their resolve unshaken. They knew the battle against Ethan was far from over, and now, with Thanos' wrath added to the equation, the universe was in even greater danger than before.