The Destruction of the Gauntlet [Part II] (Patreon)

This is a sequel to The Power of the Gauntlet, posted previously, and was a story commission for one of the top tier patrons - hope you all enjoy!

Thanos the Titan looked around at the destruction his arrival had caused to the great nation of Wakanda and felt nothing but joy. His life as Thor, the Norse God of Thunder and a loyal Avenger, had all but vanished from his mind, replaced the power-hungry desire of Thanos. 

With the Infinity Gauntlet in his possession, he could achieve absolutely anything he wanted. The entire galaxy could be reshaped in his image, ready to serve him without any chance of betrayal. Yes, that would be good. Soon all would bow down and see Thanos as their one true god. He would be a merciful one, but not one to toy with for his wrath would be great enough for legends to be told of it even light years away.

There was only one thing he had to take care of before he could truly embrace the power of the Infinity Gauntlet and that was deal with the so-called heroes who stood before him. Anger burned bright in their eyes as they knew Thanos had taken their ally from them, the mighty Thor succumbing to the great power that the gauntlet provided. 

Chief among the heroes was Captain America, standing tall and proud with his chest puffed out and lips drawn into a thin line. “I know you’re in there, Thor,” he declared, prompting a deep rumbling laugh from Thanos. “I’ve never given up on a teammate and I’m not about to now.” The new Thanos disregarded the man’s words as folly. Who did he think he was trying to appeal to? Thor was dead and gone, replaced by a power much greater than him. His former teammates were foolish to think they could ever bring him back.

“You will die on this battlefield, Captain,” Thanos warned the mortal, his lips twisting into a smile. “I have much better purposes for you in mind than death, but if you push me… I will push back.” The Captain would make such a great soldier for him and yet he was willing to risk his life for a battle that he simply couldn’t win. Thanos simply would never understand Midgardians and their foolishness. Did they have no self-preservation skills? Surely they must have known that surrender was their only option but no, here they still were acting as defiant as ever! They were nothing but ants to him and he was more than happy to stamp down on their defiance to show their insignificance to him.

Seemingly undeterred by his warning, Midgard’s bravest warriors saw fit to do battle with Thanos and almost caught him by surprise. Apparently the transformation of Thor from a heroic god to a power-hungry Titan was quite the motivator for the group as they fought fiercely but soon fell one by one to his overwhelming might until only one remained standing…

Steve Rogers meant every word he’d said. He’d never given up on a man before - not Bucky, nor Tony - and he wasn’t about to give up on Thor either. The Infinity Gauntlet had tainted his friend’s mind and poisoned him with a transformation into the very villain Thor had risked his life to stop and the Avengers owed it to him to make sure Thor didn’t have to suffer through his unsettling new existence. 

Even as his teammates fell, Steve continued to fight as if his own life depended on it. In many ways it did but Steve’s life had never been the most important to him. It was the lives of Thor and the millions of innocents that Thanos’ reign of terror would affect that drove him to keep fighting even when his body was crying out for him to stop.

As Steve staggered back to his feet, the deep rumbling of thunder began overhead. Then, with a single crack of lightning, something rocketed out of the sky and crashed several feet ahead of him. Once the smoke cleared, Steve was stunned to recognize Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer, before him.

For a moment neither him nor Thanos moved - before the Titan began to laugh. “What are you going to do with a hammer you can’t lift, Captain?” Thanos asked, his lips twisted into a dark smile. Still Steve remained undeterred and marching forward, wrapped his hand around Mjolnir’s handle and pulled. Much to his relief and Thanos’ surprise, the hammer rose from the ground in his grip and another crack of lightning appeared overhead.

Raising Mjolnir high in the sky, Steve felt the power of the legendary weapon course through his very veins. His eyes shone a bright white as electricity began to crackle between his fingertips. His body began to swell, his already powerful muscles only growing larger, to the extent of bursting out of the already damaged uniform he wore. His darkened hair became a lighter blond and as he spoke, his voice rang out deeper and sounded akin to Thor’s. “I can lift it just fine.”

The battle was renewed and Steve quickly got the upper hand over Thanos, playing upon the Titan’s surprise. He hadn’t expected Mjolnir to come into play and it was truly a game changer, providing Steve with the power he needed to keep going. Every blow he landed crackled with electricity and he was even able to shoot a lightning bolt from the end of the hammer that impacted the Titan right in the middle of his chest, sending him crashing down to the floor.

Chest rising and falling with each heavy breath, Steve began to approach the fallen villain. “Give up, Thor. I don’t want to keep hurting you,” he warned, spinning Mjolnir as he had once seen his teammate too. In many ways he felt like he was now more connected to the other man than ever, as if a part of Thor now lived in him.

“I’ll never go back,” Thanos spat in response, beginning to lift the Infinity Gauntlet. Even if he couldn’t beat this new Captain America/Thor hybrid in battle, he still had the power to remove him from existence. It would be no more difficult than squishing a bug under his boot.

As the Infinity Stones began to glow with power, Steve charged forward, bringing Mjolnir high above his head and then crashing down against the Infinity Gauntlet. A blinding light was cast out from the point of impact, temporarily blinding everyone on the battlefield. Nobody dared move nor make a sound.

When the light finally cleared, Steve remained on his feet with Mjolnir in hand. Below him was Thanos, fist raised up - and the remains of the broken Infinity Gauntlet falling away from his hand. As each Infinity Stone dropped to the ground they vanished into thin air, sent back across the galaxy to a new hiding place so that nobody might attempt to repeat Thanos’ crimes.

The fallen Titan looked up at his former comrade with wide eyes and a slack jaw. He couldn’t believe that after everything, after all of his hard work, he had been bested by a Midgardian imbued with powers that were once his. Worse still, Steve made no move to end him or put him out of his misery. Instead he looked down at him with pity.

“I believe this belongs to you,” the man said, flipping the hammer over in his hand and holding the handle out to his former ally. There was something genuine about the look in his eye and it only made Thanos angrier. He saw the opportunity for revenge and he was going to take it!

Grabbing Mjolnir’s handle, Thanos had every intention of using the weapon to bludgeon the man who had thwarted everything, but was caught off guard by the familiar rush of power he felt once he made contact. 

A scream escaped the great Titan’s lips as he felt his body shifting and changing once again, the purple tone of his skin fading back to its original golden tan. His grip on the handle grew only tighter as electricity began to crackle from it and moved all across his body. The pain of it soon died out as his eyes started to glow a brilliant white and his facial features shifted to their original visage - his nose thinning out while dark stubble grew across his jawline and blond hair sprouted from his bald head.

The overblown muscularity of the Titan dwindled away, although Thor was no slouch in that department either. He was left naked as a result of his transformation and desperately panting for breath as his mind was cleared of the corruption of Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet. Dropping his hammer to the ground, Thor closed his eyes and thanked the heavens that Mjolnir had returned to save him when he’d needed it most.

“You alright, bud?” A familiar voice asked. “Scared us real good there.” Thor glanced up to see his closest ally, Captain America, in the shredded remains of his iconic costume. The power of Mjolnir had left him too but he was only slightly sad to see it go, even if that level of power had been a most exciting experience and had easily given him the edge in the battle. Mjolnir belonged with Thor and he was just thankful that it had allowed him to free his comrade from the villainous corruption he had fallen under. 

As Steve offered a hand, Thor accepted it and rose to his feet with the other’s assistance. He stared out at the Wakandan battlefield, taking in the destruction surrounding them. Despite the chaos, it was clear that they were winning. Thanos had lost and the last minute gambit of the Infinity Gauntlet had lasted mere minutes before order was restored.

Finally allowing a smile to settle on his face, Thor turned back to his companion and nodded. “Never better.” After all of the chaos and transformation he’d gone through in the fight against Thanos, he truly meant it too. He was more than content just being Thor, the Avenger. Now he could only hope that Steve hadn’t enjoyed the power of Mjolnir too much...