Infinity War (Part Four)

Thanos landed.

The battlefield fell silent.

Not the silence of fear, but a physical stillness. Sound, light, even the wind slowed around him. He did nothing but stand there, yet the ripples of law radiating from four Infinity Stones made the space around him groan under the strain.

"Banner!" Steve shouted.

Doctor Banner moved first, piloting the Hulkbuster Armor. He roared and charged at Thanos like a runaway train.

Thanos did not even look at him.

He merely raised his gauntleted left hand. The Space Stone flashed blue.

The charging Hulkbuster Armor and a hundred meters of ground around it were instantly sliced apart, folded, then crumpled like wastepaper and embedded in a distant mountain. All that remained was a huge, motionless lump of metal.

"Fire!" Tony's voice rang over the comms.

He pushed his chest reactor to its limit, firing his repulsors and shoulder-mounted micro-missiles at once. Rhodey, in the War Machine armor, joined him and unloaded every round he had.

The resulting firepower could have leveled a small city.

Thanos gave a casual wave of his hand.

The Reality Stone flashed red.

Every shell, laser beam, and missile turned into a rainbow-colored soap bubble in midair. They floated upward, then burst silently in the sunlight.

It was more crushing than if he had simply blocked the attack.

Steve charged.

He knew how small he was, but he had to charge.

Thanos finally gave him a proper look. There was the faintest trace of approval in his eyes, but mostly indifference.

He raised his hand, and the Power Stone glowed purple.

He did not throw a punch. He simply pressed his hand toward the ground from afar.

Boom!

A purple shock wave exploded outward from him, and the ground rolled like ocean waves. Steve, Tony, Rhodey, and every Wakandan