tainted dreams | chapter fourteen
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The fighting started and nothing could have prepared Rosalie for that moment. The exhaustion she had been feeling that day was taking a heavy toll on her.

They were facing Thanos for the third time, and she seriously hoped it would be their last. She started panicking when one of her protection shields started glitching, as if her powers decided to take a break right when she needed them the most.

"For fuck's sake!" Yelling out before springing away from Thanos, who tried stabbing her with one of his weapons, the blonde found herself by Thor and Tony.

The conversation she heard was incredibly unpredictable but strangely enough, it was something she imagined would only come out of her favourite hero's mouth.

"Okay, Thor. Hit me."

Thor banged his 2 hammers together combined with his lighting and Tony's suit sucked up all the energy they released. Using his hands and body, Tony shot out the energy towards Thanos.

"Wicked." Rosalie whistled.

She had been doing that quite a lot during that fight. Her friends had extremely impressive powers.

And so do I.

After Thor grabbed Stormbreaker and used Mjölnir to hit Thanos, purple man used Tony as a shield resulting in damage to his system.

All Rosalie could do was stay behind the trio and Thanos, staring desperately around her to check for possible enemies coming their way. Weirdly enough, Thanos was the only one there.

For now, she believed.

Steve tried his luck and attacked Thanos but was easily shielded away by the monster. Thor's next attack on Thanos was blocked by a sword. The God was beaten and choked by Thanos, as he punched him mercilessly. Thor tried to grab his weapon but Thanos grabbed it first and used it against him, as he tried to defend himself and failed.

The younger girl prepared to jump high in the air in order to land on Thanos' neck and choke him with her powers. But before she could do anything, Mjölnir was thrown at Thanos' head and flew back to the person who threw it.

The moment seemed to happen in slow motion, the hammer moving past Rosalie's head and towards a smug Steve, who smirked at his comrades' gleeful expressions.

"I knew it!" Thor yelled out as Thanos's proceeded to battle Steve, who wielded both his shield and Mjolnir.

"My Captain." Rosalie saluted him as he ran to charge at Thanos.

Everyone -meaning Thor and Rosalie- cringed as Steve hit Thanos in the face with the hammer, knocking him down.

"Nice move." Rosalie complimented as the two watched, prepared to intervene if needed.

"He could have flexed his arm a bit further out to create a smoother movement." Thor rubbed his beard and shrugged. "But it wasn't bad at all."

Steve threw his shield and Thanos deflected. He tried again and threw Mjolnir to his shield, creating a shockwave and knocking Thanos off his feet. Cheering, Rosalie raised her fist in the air and created a clear pathway for Steve to summon lighting directly on Thanos, while leaving everything around that specific path intact.

Thanos somehow got the upper hand after standing, removing his helmet, stabbing Steve on the leg and knocking Mjolnir out of his hand. Thanos then proceeded to destroy Steve's shield with his double-bladed sword and threw the man across the battlefield.

Steve staggeredly tried to get up. The girl couldn't stand the fact that one of the strongest people she knew was left defenceless. Thor moved forward but Rosalie paused him with a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Let me handle this." Sensing the darkness in her voice, the God of Thunder simply nodded and stood back.

As if remembering all that she had lost because of that idiotic dictator, Rosalie squared her shoulders and threw one of her infamous circles of darkness towards the purple creature. He stumbled back, but never fell.

She did it again. And again. And again. Until she yelled out with all of her strength, black mist enveloping her body and Thanos' in an impenetrable shield of pure, scary, black power. The creature finally fell to his knees, eyes frantic as he searched his surroundings.

"You ruined my life." Rosalie said with venom as she felt her eyes burn red, vision blurred by the deep desire of ending his miserably existence.

Not yet.

"I've never seen you in my entire life." Thanos laughed and stood with the help of his long weapon. "You don't exactly have a memorable face."

Twisting her arm, Rosalie mimicked his weapon using her own powers and smiled darkly. She hoped she looked as intimidating as she felt, her heart beating faster than ever before.

"After today." She said, creating shackles around his arms and legs. "You'll have my face burned behind your lifeless eyes."

As she spoke, she tightened the hold on his body and watched as he yelled out in pain. What she didn't expect was the sudden wave of pain that travelled through her body when Thanos managed to release himself from the bonds.

Rosalie was thrown back, something hitting her straight on the stomach. Breathing heavily and trying to check where she had landed, the girl heard Thanos speak in a dangerously low tone.

"In all my years of conquest, violence, slaughter... It was never personal." He stood above her, a foot pushing her down to the ground. It hurt where he placed his foot, where she had been hit. "But I'll tell you now, what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet... I'm gonna enjoy it. Very, very much."

Rosalie and everyone around her looked as Thanos's entire army was summoned to the ground to fight. Upon seeing the army descending on Earth, Steve slowly got back to his feet.

All she could do was squirm under his weight, barely making it out from under him before he swung his weapon to cut her head off. She hid behind a huge pile of rocks from the compound and sighed heavily, hand pressing against her stomach area.

It hurt like crap. But she didn't have time to waste.

I'll worry about it later.

She watched as, with a fierce determination, Steve tightened his broken shield to his arm and stood against Thanos' giant army alone. Suddenly, a crackling came in on the team's communicator.

"Cap, you hear me?"

Rosalie stopped breathing. Steve stopped and looked around. She couldn't see Thor and Tony from where she sat, but she was sure they were as dumbfounded as she was.

It was Sam's voice they had heard on their ears. Clear as daylight, that characteristic voice of his could not be mistaken.

Tears sprung to her eyes as she covered her mouth. They were all coming back, finally. Her heart soared as she remembered that Peter would be coming back as well.

Her Peter.

Rosalie decided to stand, and she thanked herself for doing so. If she hadn't, she would have missed the beauty of thousands of shining portals opening up in the sky, bringing every dusted hero back to the land of the living.

"Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me?" The voice repeated in her ear as a yellow portal began to form behind Steve. "On your left."

Steve looked behind to see the portal on his left side. Three figures stepped through: Okoye, Shuri, and Black Panther, fully restored and ready to fight. The four shared a look when Sam zoomed in from above in his Falcon armor. As he did, Rosalie saw dozens more portals opening up all around the battlefield.

It was simply magical, a glimpse of hope for all of those desperate souls that felt like life was no longer worth living.

Rosalie wiped the tears away and stood where she had once been sitting, enjoying the moment. She observed and waited patiently for the arrival of the one person she had missed for what felt like eternity.

"Calm down, Rosalie. You're not a lovesick teenager anymore." Looking down at her own hands as she remembered her current situation, Rosalie shrugged. "Guess you are exactly that. Again."

Through one of the portals, she saw Doctor Strange descend in. He was joined by Drax, Mantis, Star Lord, and -him. Spider-Man. Peter Parker in his full armoured glory.

Her body didn't obey her mind. All she wanted to do was run to him, hug him and never let go. But they had to win that battle first in order to actually enjoy a proper reunion.

You'll have time for that later.

Everyone watched in confusion and awe as more and more heroes arrived from all corners of the universe, all backed up with forces of their own including Black Panther and his Wakandan army, Valkyrie and the Asgardians, Wong and the Masters of the Mystic Arts and several Ravager ships.

Amongst the throngs of heroes was Bucky, Groot and Wanda. What surprised Rosalie the most was the arrival of Pepper Potts, clad in her own iron suit. Nearly every hero had magically been transported to the battlefield to face Thanos' hordes.

And that brought a satisfied smile to Rosalie's face. They could do it, they would finish that battle once and for all.

Whatever it took.

"Is that everyone?" Doctor Strange asked and Rosalie felt a bubble of excitement in her heart.

"Not yet, buddies. I want a big entrance too."

She was interrupted by Scott, who emerged from the rubble of the Avengers facility with Hulk, Rhodey and Rocket.

It was simply magical, there were no other words in Rosalie's vocabulary to describe that glorious moment. The Avengers, Guardians, Wakandans, Asgardians, and Ravagers took up battle positions. The heroes were standing there across Thanos' forces. Ready for battle.

"Avengers!" Steve's yell was heard all over the battlefield.

Thanos' creatures were quiet, as if in a transe after what they had witnessed. It was then Rosalie's turn to make her big entrance. Following Thor's lead, the girl flew up in the sky and landed by Steve's right side as he summoned Mjolnir.

Looking back at Peter -who looked at her in surprise and awe- Rosalie winked and faced the battle once more, her arms gathering as much power as they could and dark wings forming on her back.

"Assemble."

Thor yelled and Rosalie flew up once again, spreading her darkness all over their opponents and leaving them disoriented without their eyesight. If only for a few seconds, her strategy allowed her teammates to take down a nice amount of monsters.

"Well played." Sam yelled just above her head as both used their wings to move around. "You don't look a day over temperamental teenager."

"Thanks. But I'm technically five years older than I was last time we saw each other."

His confused face was enough to make Rosalie laugh as she flew away from him to find Peter. As clumsy as she knew he was, Rosalie was sure he could handle himself in a fight.

It was just her instinct that called out for her to find and help him. Not distract him from the fight with sentimental words and actions.

Which was exactly what ended up happening.

"Peter!"

The boy was fighting some of Thanos' army but he was punched to the ground after being distracted by her voice. Rosalie used her powers to throw the creatures far away from Peter and landed, running to him.

She didn't stop until she had her arms around his shoulders, literally throwing herself to him in hopes that he would steady them both. The pair fell back laughing, tears once again fighting their way to Rosalie's light eyes.

"I can't believe you're back."

The two simply stared at each other lovingly, Peter's arms still around her waist bringing her closer to him. Oh, how she had missed him. Her heart couldn't stop beating faster than a car on the highway.

"You look the same." Peter was clearly confused. "How did that happen if you didn't dust like the rest of us?"

"I'll explain later." She caressed his cheek. "You're here."

"I'm here." Peter lowered his head to meet hers halfway.

But before they could express their love and affection for each other after years of being separated, they realised where they were at as someone yelled somewhere near them. Both stood with the help of the other and looked at the shield Rosalie had -involuntarily- placed around the pair.

"That's my girl." Peter held his fist in the air and Rosalie bumped it with hers. "I missed you."

"I missed you more." The girl smiled, eyes still not believing her luck.

Her shield was then broken by dozens of creatures crawling their way towards the two teenagers, making them jump in surprise.

"I got it! Activate instant kill!" Peter's suit eyes turned red and spider legs sprung from his back, stabbing three monsters at once.

Rosalie danced around her opponents like a carefree ballerina, tossing bodies in the air and stabbing some with dangerously sharp knives she had hidden inside her secret compartments.

Suddenly, missiles coming from the space ships shot in the air away from the battle. Looking back, Peter was no longer by her side but riding on a Pegasus with Valkyrie. Rosalie shook her head and laughed lowly as she continued fighting whoever decided to cross her path.

Until she felt a indescribable pain on her stomach.

"Not now!" Her hand flew to the area and she placed a small protection shield on her skin. It would have to work for the moment.

"What the hell is this?" She heard someone ask by her left and looked up where they were all pointing at the missiles.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., what are they firing at?" Tony asked, waiting for a reply.

"It's Carol!" Rosalie yelled in surprise.

"Oh, yeah!" She believed it was Rocket who joined her.

Captain Marvel herself flew through the ship closest to the ground and it resulted in an explosion. The ship crash-landed in a lake nearby, earning a cheer from everyone on their team.

Moving backwards to where Carol had landed, she saw poor Peter lying there, tightly clutching the gauntlet in his arms. When his eyes met hers, his once scared face was transformed into a confident one.

"Hi. I'm Peter Parker." He waved once he noticed the glowing woman by his girlfriend's side.

"Hey, Peter Parker. Got something for me?"

Peter passed her the gauntlet and Rosalie helped him back to his feet with a tiny smile on her face. It seemed like she couldn't stop smiling.

"I don't know how you're gonna get through all that." He pointed at the running hoard of monsters coming their way.

The two women shared a glance before being joined by the female members of their team. Every single one of them walked with confidence in their step, not an ounce of fear in their features. Only strength, determination and exhilarating girl power.

"Don't worry." Wanda landed by the blonde's side.

"They've got help."

The women helped Captain Marvel through the sea of Thanos' army. Wanda and Rosalie teamed up, the older girl covering the ground while the other flew over the crowd and spread darkness around in order to incapacitate them.

"Go, go, go!" She gave them a heads up before returning back to the ground and falling perfectly on her feet.

Then, Carol flew through all of them easily and reached the creature himself, Rosalie standing close by fighting off as many creatures as she could.

She had faith in Carol. She was strong and -despite her arrogance when they first met- the right person for the job.

Carol kept punching Thanos as Rosalie kept throwing his army around, but he knocked her to the ground, wearing the gauntlet and trying to snap. Noticing that alarming situation, Rosalie threw a force field around her opponents and commanded it to slowly shrink down and crush them under its weight.

The blonde stopped his fingers from snapping as she grunted with the amount of strength she was using. Thanos tried to headbutt her, yet she dodged it like it was nothing. Thanos then pulled the Power Stone out of the gauntlet and used it in his free hand to hit Rosalie away, then put it back into the gauntlet.

In her trembling and weakened state, Rosalie saw Tony and Strange sharing a look, while Strange simply raised one finger, reminding Tony that their one win over Thanos he foresaw was now at risk.

Or is it?

Tony nodded and attacked Thanos, pulling on the gauntlet before Thanos punched him away. It was then that Rosalie understood the feeling of dread that had been lingering in the back of her mind every since she saw that man coming from one of the portals.

Tony was going to do it.

"I am inevitable."

Thanos snapped his fingers, but nothing happened except a metallic 'clink'. He saw the Infinity Stones were missing.

Instead, Tony had the stones on his own gauntlet, incorporated in his Iron Man suit, to Thanos' shock. And to Rosalie's dismay.

"And I am...... Iron Man."

Tony snapped his fingers with a loud echoing sound and a blinding flash of white overcomes the crowd. Rosalie just stood and watched the different scenes happening around her with an awed expression on her wounded face.

Rocket fired at a giant monster and before it had to chance to devour him, it crumbled into ash. Thanos' huge army started crumbling to ash.

T'Challa and Quill looked around in surprise; Steve looked on in exhaustion, sharing the feeling that was bursting inside of Rosalie: they had won.

But at what cost?

Thanos, in horror, looked around and saw his entire army disintegrate. He looked at Steve, who just stared at him. Then he looked at Rosalie and before disappearing before their eyes, smirked at her.

Thanos sat down and mourned before slowly being erased from existence himself. What Rosalie couldn't wipe from her mind was that last devious smirk she saw on Thanos' face.

And as she looked down at herself, she finally realised why he had looked at her that way.

Crumbling to her knees, her hands trembled as she placed them near the deep open wound on her stomach. But it wasn't healing as nothing came out of her hands. Not even a speck of the black dust she had become so familiar with over the years.

The wound she had been ignoring since the beginning of their fight. The wound that gave her multiple signals that it was bad, that it was hurting her, slowly killing her.

Yet she had ignored every sign.

The cut was deep, that much she could tell from the blood rapidly gushing out of it. She knew it was bad and that she wouldn't be able to stay conscious for long if no one helped her stop the bleeding.

But everyone else was busy trying to grasp what had just happened. Busy celebrating their victory.

Rosalie was, indeed, screwed. And Thanos died knowing he had lost but that his enemies would not stay behind laughing in joy.

Thanos knew exactly what he had done. The avengers won the war but they lost an important battle. They couldn't keep all of their members alive. 

They would lose a team member.

Rosalie.

And possibly Tony as well.

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pls don't kill me :/