36

Chapter 36Summary:

Not the Battle that Thanos thought he was going get.

Chapter Text

The disappointment on the face of Ebony Maw when Tony cut Cull Obsidian off at the neck was amusing to most who were watching, but it also signalled the start of Thanos' offensive against Xandar.

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August 6th 2013 (maybe… approximately)

The next hour was a blur of sights, sounds and smells to the allied forces. And a pleasant surprise to Denarian Saal. The polite tones of Tony Stark's JARVIS kept everyone informed of the invaders' movements and directed troops against them. To Saal, it was almost like a live version of an electronic wargame. He was also quite surprised at how well the allied forces worked, both together and alone. Their ground fighters were a sight to behold and the aerial force that Terra put up might have been small but, by the stars, they were effective.

It wasn't until that hour had past, that Thanos deigned enter the battle personally.

To say it didn't go the way he expected, was an understatement. And quietly? Saal had been just about as surprised as Thanos, as the Titan's loss and more surprised about who was involved in his defeat.

Two seemingly normal Terran males held the Titan's arms, while two females, also seemingly normal Terrans, held his legs. Tony Stark held the Titan's head immobile, with both metal encased hands, digging into the purple jaws. As soon as the Titan was semi-stationary, a group of young Terrans, six-strong, swarmed the Titan. Gauntlets went over his hands and were snapped together, the fingers linking together, as though in prayer. A muzzle/mask went over the Titan's head, sealing his jaws closed. Shackles were placed around his ankles and with a crackle of bright blue electricity, dragged the invader's legs together and finally, a chain of highly polished uru was fixed from the shackles to the gauntlets, dragging his hands down and restraining him. All it took then was a push from one of the Terran females, to knock the Titan from his feet.

"Interesting…" Rael spoke quietly.

"Ma'am?" Saal asked.

"Killing a Titan is a difficult thing," Rael answered. "But they've taken that into consideration. They mean to imprison him. I wonder where they plan to do that?"

"If I May, Madam?" The disembodied voice of JARVIS entered the conversation.

"You are JARVIS, are you not?" Rael asked. "The electronic sentience?"

"I am, Madam." JARVIS replied.

"Ah." Rael nodded. "And you have something to add in regard to a location for Thanos' imprisonment?"

"I do, Madam." JARVIS agreed. "Those that created the… portals… that allowed us to bring… people, fighters… to Xandar? They also have the ability to create, what they call 'mirror dimensions'. They are predominantly used by practitioners to enable them to train without outside observation. However, they can also be used as a prison, as it requires particular equipment to remove oneself from the dimensions. Equipment that Thanos will not have. We are also taking the additional security measure of having the dimension that Thanos will be held within, created by a user that has reached the end of their natural life. The only access to that dimension will die with them."

"So Thanos will die with them?"

"No, Madam, he will not." JARVIS corrected. "He will live, as when a mirror dimension is occupied, it will remain after the creator's death, as it is created using their magical ability… whilst they were alive. It will remain as a small spherical item that will remain under the care of the Mystic Masters' Librarians. To date, they tend to nearly a hundred of these 'spheres'. Within that 'sphere', Thanos will have all that is necessary for his survival. The space is the equivalent of a small planetoid. It will have a living area, with ground that he can make a garden sufficiently large enough for him to grow crops for food and materials. Basic supplies have already been allocated and transferred to the dimension, which the creator is currently holding a thread-access to."

"Thread-access?" Rael asked.

"Thread-access allows the creator to leave things in the dimension without having to physically hold open an access portal." JARVIS answered. "Thanos will be able to travel from place to place on the planetoid but as it is within a wholly created space, escape is only possible with the assistance of the creator. And as I stated, the creator is at the end of their lifespan."

"A just sentence." Rael nodded. "Isolated from contact, with space for physical freedom but with no hope of release. Yes, a just sentence for one with no chance of rehabilitation."

"Indeed, Madam." JARVIS agreed. "The knowledge alone will infuriate him. He will never see another living being, nor will he ever speak to one again. It will be his decision if he lives or dies… and when… He will be his own jailor."

"Oh, yes, very fitting." Rael smiled.

"How long until he's placed in it?" Saal asked.

"It shall be done momentarily." JARVIS replied. "Master Littah is the eldest living Master, now that the Ancient One is no longer alive, and she has decided that it is time for her to join the souls of those that have gone before her."

"Oh, dear." Rael sighed.

"Master Littrah is tired, Madam, she has lived for many hundreds of years and now that her latest apprentice is fully trained, she wished to hand over control of her section of the library and rest." JARVIS explained.

"Ah." Rael made an understanding noise.

"Nova Prime?" Saal pointed to a trio of small females that were approaching the restrained Titan, one was an Insectoid and the other two seemed to be Terran. Once the group reached the Titan, the smaller the Terran female began to waved her hands in front of her, at one point she faltered and her legs wobbled, but the other Terran wrapped her arms around the smaller female, from behind and literally held her upright.

"What are they doing?" Rael asked JARVIS.

"Master Littah is opening access to the mirror dimension." JARVIS replied. "I understand that creating the dimension and holding it at thread-access is magically draining. It is the work of a lifetime, the pinnacle of her skill, to create an entire planetoid, one with a liveable environment and ecosystem. Holding it at thread-access for as long as she has and then closing off all access to it, will drain her to the point of no-recovery."

"Thanos' prison." Rael said.

"Indeed." JARVIS agreed. "Now she is asking Mantis to put Thanos into a deep sleep. It won't hold him for long, but it doesn't need to. They simply need to transport him into the mirror dimension, remove his restraints and exit. A matter of less than a minute."

"I see." Rael leant forward to watch, as the two males that had held Thanos' arms, retook their places, while Stark and another person in a similar suit of armour lifted his legs. The little Insectoid placed her hand on the struggling Titan's head and when he slumped into unconsciousness, she led them into the portal that was filled with a fractured image of a garden.

It seemed like each second was an eon, as they waited for their allies to emerge from the fractured image, but it could only have been a minute or two, at most.

Stark and the man with the shield, walked side by side as they emerged, the others in a row behind them, clearly walking backwards, watching the sleeping form of the Titan. A bare second after they emerged the mirror dimension portal closed, shrinking and forming into a sphere that could easily be held in the palm of one hand. The one that must be Master Littah, held out her hand and the sphere settled into it, just as her legs gave out, completely.

The man with the shield… hadn't someone told Saal that he was a Captain of something(?)… jerked forward and reached the master, snatching up at the sphere as it fell from her grasp. Another male, the one with a metal arm, crouched down and after speaking to the master, lifted her into his arms and carried her away, the first man following him, trying to avoid looking at the sphere in his hands.

"It is done, Madam." JARVIS said. "Thanos the Mad Titan is imprisoned."

It seemed like Thanos' Army knew it, too. The chitauri and the leviathans were returning to their ships, even the outriders were retreating. Within minutes there were no invaders left on the surface and their ships were retreating just as fast.

"Do we go after them, Prime?"

"There's no point, Denarian." Rael answered. "Look. There is not cohesion to their troops, anymore. The chitauri are headed towards Sanctuary but the leviathans are headed elsewhere and the few outriders that have reached a leviathan are going with them. Their leadership is gone. And once it is known that Thanos is defeated by an alliance. An alliance, moreover, dominated by what most of the known universe thinks is a planet that barely reaches level three? I doubt anyone is stupid enough to try and take his place."

"I hope that you're right, Prime." Saal sighed.

"If not, we know who to call." Rael smiled.

"True."

Another surprise for Saal was the length of time it took Xandar's allies to document their actions during the battle. Apparently, debriefings were common across all worlds. Each being was given a communications console and asked to provide their report and were informed that if they left contact details, then a copy of the entire compiled report would be forwarded to them.

The injury count was significantly less than Saal or his wife expected and Xandarian medical personnel worked alongside Asgardian healers while Terrans flitted about ensuring that everyone had whatever fluids and sustenance they needed for recovery.

"Miss Rushmanov, Dr Stark, Captain Rogers." Rael smiled at the three Terrans. "You have the thanks of Xandar and quite probably, most of the known universe, for your assistance in dealing with the threat of Thanos, the Mad Titan." A cheer rose from the tired fighters as they slumped on whatever patch of flat surface they could find. "There is nothing that we can give that will adequately show our gratitude. So, we will simply say… thank you…" The white-haired woman bow her head to them and stepped back from the podium.

The cheer rose again.

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