The Snap That Erased Half of All Life, Something That Might Happen in the Future

"Is this Thanos really that strong?" Aaron raised an eyebrow and asked tentatively, "Did the Avengers all lose to him?"

"All of us." Tony pursed his lips, his mood heavy. "He threw a planet in my face. We were completely crushed.

He won and took half the life in the universe."

"Wow!" Aaron sucked in a breath and calmed himself slightly. "That really is... brutal!

So the three of you traveled through time to find a way to defeat him, or to try and undo all this?"

"Thanos is already dead. What we need to do is take everything back," Steve said seriously.

As expected, Aaron nodded. Then he looked at the Mind Scepter in Steve's hand and said meaningfully, "With the Mind Scepter and the Cosmic Cube?"

"More precisely, with the Mind Stone and the Space Stone," Tony said. "At the birth of the universe, six Infinity Stones came into being: Space, Reality, Power, Soul, Mind, and Time.

The one on the Mind Scepter is the Mind Stone, while the Space Stone is inside the Cosmic Cube.

Thanos gathered all six Infinity Stones, then snapped his fingers, and half the life in the universe turned to ash and vanished.

That kid was right in front of me... I couldn't save him."

"My condolences." Aaron patted his shoulder. "But was this Thanos so bored he had nothing better to do? What was the point of wiping out half the life in the universe?"

"Balance. Reducing the burden on the universe.

He believed the universe lacked the resources to sustain so much life. By erasing half of it, the other half could live better, and the pressure on the universe would drop sharply."

"He's a lunatic. And a powerful, determined one at that."

"But this lunatic succeeded. Still, we have a