Thanos was in no hurry to take the Stone from Stephen.
He gazed at this place, his former home.
His intelligence had set him apart from others, leaving him ostracized and alone.
He had once wanted to change Titan, too. Unfortunately, everyone had thought he was mad.
Kill half the population to balance their resources.
The facts had proved Thanos right. Sacrificing half the population could have brought all of Titan back from the brink.
But stubbornly refusing to see reason would only bring about this world's destruction.
The war on Titan had served as a warning to Thanos, and it had strengthened his resolve.
"All right, here's the plan."
"The Sorcerer draws his attention. We use that opening to restrain Thanos and take his gauntlet."
Tony told John, "You weren't here earlier, so let me fill you in. Our goal is to take Thanos's gauntlet. That way, he can't destroy the world."
"Wow, what a brilliant plan." John narrowed his eyes and looked over. "Why don't we just kill him?"
"John, listen to me. If I could, I would."
Tony lowered his voice. "This guy handled Thor with one hand."
"Fine."
John might or might not have taken that in, but his agreement still let Tony breathe a little easier.
After all, John always did things nobody expected.
He was even harder to control than Peter.
In fact, John really wasn't the obedient type.
He hadn't come all the way from Midgard to Titan just to take a gauntlet.
Over on the other side, Stephen had already struck up a conversation with Thanos.
"Where do you think you are?"
Seeing how relaxed Stephen looked, Thanos's expression turned dangerous.
Stephen feigned ease and said mildly, "No idea. Your old home?"
"It used to be." The Reality Stone on Thanos's left