Chapter 36: Time Breaks

The pitch-black expanse of the spotted dimension trembled violently, as if reality itself was trying to tear free from the oppressive weight of Ethan's power. The white glitching portals flickered uncontrollably, like a broken machine threatening to overload at any moment. The cosmic Dimensional Whales drifted silently above, massive and indifferent to the chaos below.

On the battlefield, Doctor Strange hovered in the air, his hands glowing with mystic energy as he summoned the Time Stone's power. His eyes were locked on Ethan, who, despite Doom's device restricting his abilities, was still a terrifying force. Strange's hands trembled, the strain of controlling the Time Stone evident as a green aura surrounded Ethan, slowly locking him into temporal stasis.

"Now!" Strange called, his voice echoing through the void. "I've stopped him, but I can't hold it for long!"

The Time Stone's power rippled across the battlefield, freezing Ethan in mid-air. The green aura around him shimmered like glass, threatening to crack at any second. Ethan's glitching body flickered, his form distorting as he tried to break free from the time lock.

Tony Stark, Doom, and Thanos wasted no time. They knew the window of opportunity was small, and they had to act before Ethan regained control.

"Start charging!" Tony shouted, his suit shifting and reforming. His arc reactors flared with light as he directed all of his remaining energy into his repulsors. Nanobots surged to the surface, forming twin cannons on each arm, their barrels merging once more forming a single plasma cannon, barely touching the threshold of conceptual energy. "We hit him with everything!"

Doom, ever calculating, raised his gauntlet and unleashed a wave of arcane energy that began gathering around his hand, the pulse of eldritch power growing stronger with each second. The device on his wrist continued to destabilize Ethan's abilities, but Doom knew it wasn't enough. He poured more of his own power into the spell, shaping it into a single, focused point.

Thanos, the Mad Titan, took a step forward. His gauntlet, already glowing with the combined might of the Power and Reality Stones, began to hum with overwhelming energy. The stones pulsed in tandem, amplifying the force that was now being concentrated into his massive blade.

"Prepare yourselves," Thanos growled. "We finish this."

As the three titans charged their final attack, the tension in the air was palpable. They could feel the power building around them, the very atmosphere vibrating as they readied to strike Ethan with everything they had. But Strange was struggling. His hands shook as the green aura surrounding Ethan flickered, cracks spreading across the temporal lock like glass under pressure.

"I can't hold him!" Strange shouted, beads of sweat forming on his brow as the strain of keeping Ethan frozen in time began to overwhelm him.

Ethan's form twitched, his glitching body fighting against the Time Stone's power. The green aura began to crack louder, fractures spreading rapidly across the stasis field. The white lines of Ethan's glitching body pulsed more violently, warping the temporal energy around him.

"Time…" Ethan muttered, his voice distorted and echoing through the dimension, "…means nothing to me."

....

Across the battlefield, the remaining Vanguards struggled against the chaotic onslaught of portals that Ethan had left behind before Strange froze him in time. The portals were randomized, opening and closing in a frantic, unpredictable pattern that tore through the landscape. Debris and chunks of the crumbling dimension floated ominously, threatening to fall into the glitching void at any moment.

Peter Parker swung desperately between the unstable structures, narrowly dodging the stray debris and energy blasts that emerged from Ethan's randomized portals. His heart pounded in his chest as he barely avoided another portal that flickered open beneath him. "This is insane! I can't keep up with this!" he muttered, firing a web to pull himself out of danger.

Thor, still reeling from the intensity of the earlier battle, swung Mjölnir with all his might, trying to shield the remaining Wakandan soldiers who had joined them. "Hold the line!" Thor commanded, his voice booming as lightning surged through the air, striking at the portals. But even the God of Thunder was beginning to feel the weight of the battle.

Captain America, battered and bloodied, stood among the wreckage, his shield cracked but still held high. He had been fighting alongside the others, but the portals were relentless. As he moved to defend a fallen soldier, a portal opened behind him.

Before Steve could react, the portal flickered and a blast of energy erupted from it, slamming into his back. The force sent him crashing to the ground, his shield slipping from his grasp. Blood pooled beneath him as he struggled to rise, but his body wouldn't respond. His breath came in ragged gasps as the darkness closed in.

"Steve!" Peter cried out, swinging toward him, but another portal forced him to veer off course. There was nothing he could do.

Captain America lay still, his final breath escaping him as his shield lay cracked at his side.

On his open eyes crystalline tears slowly descended, tears of...

Hope....

....

Back at the heart of the battlefield, the dimension was collapsing.

Cracks spread across the ground, and the sky above twisted unnaturally. The black void surrounding them rippled as the portals began to tear apart the very fabric of the spotted dimension.

Strange's grip on the Time Stone faltered as Ethan's power surged against the temporal lock. The green aura surrounding Ethan was fracturing, splintering with each passing second. It wouldn't hold much longer.

"Now!" Doom barked, his gauntlet glowing with arcane energy. "We strike now!"

Tony gritted his teeth as he focused all the remaining power in his suit into a single, devastating shot. "Jarvis, overcharge the repulsors."

"Overcharging," Friday replied, the suit's systems straining as the cannon reached maximum capacity.

Thanos, his blade crackling with the combined force of the Power and Reality Stones, raised his weapon, preparing to deliver the final blow.

Ethan's glitching form shuddered violently as the temporal lock finally shattered. The green aura around him exploded in a shower of sparks, and Ethan broke free.

But it was too late.

Doom, Tony, and Thanos unleashed their attacks in unison, a torrent of arcane energy, plasma beam, and cosmic power converging on Ethan. The combined assault struck him directly, the force of the attack ripping through his glitching form.

Ethan screamed, a sound of pure agony that echoed through the collapsing dimension. His body, once a mass of glitching black and white, began to disintegrate, his form unraveling as the power tore him apart.

The white lines flickered and faded, his glitching portals collapsing one by one as his body disintegrated into nothingness. Ethan's screams grew weaker, his voice fading into the void as his existence unraveled.

And then, silence.

Ethan was gone.

....

The battlefield fell eerily quiet as the remaining heroes regrouped. Tony landed beside Thanos, his suit sparking and damaged from the battle. Strange descended to the ground, exhausted from the effort of maintaining the Time Stone's power. Doom, though ever the picture of composure, stood still for a moment, his eyes surveying the wreckage around them.

They had won. Ethan was defeated, his disintegrated form scattered to the winds of the collapsing dimension.

But the cost had been high.

Steve Rogers lay dead, his shield cracked at his side. The others, Thor, Peter, and the remaining soldiers, gathered around him in silence, their faces grim as they mourned the fallen.

Tony stared at Steve's body, his mind numb from the loss. "We lost too many," he muttered, his voice barely audible through the damaged suit. "This… wasn't worth it."

Thanos, still holding his blade, turned to Doom. "He is gone. We should leave before this dimension collapses entirely."

Doom nodded, his face emotionless as always. "Agreed."

But before they could make their move, the ground beneath them trembled.

A faint, familiar sound echoed through the void, a glitching hum that made the remaining heroes freeze in place.

"N-No.." Tony whispered, his eyes widening in disbelief.

From the center of the battlefield, the spot where Ethan had disintegrated, the air began to ripple. The void twisted, and a familiar shape began to form, flickering in and out of existence.

Ethan's body reformed before their eyes, the glitching white lines once again coursing across his pitch-black skin. His form, though unstable, was unmistakably whole. He stood before them, his face calm, serene, as if nothing had happened.

He was alive again, his body bare and unscathed.

"Oh yeah," Ethan said softly, his voice almost casual. "I forgot…"

...Hope you say?...

He looked directly at them, his expression eerily calm.

....Sadly...

"I'm immortal here."

The heroes stared at him in horror, their minds racing as they realized what had just happened. Ethan had returned, fully reformed, and stronger than ever.

...Heroes, don't always win..