"We're done for, we're done for! We've really done it this time, if we get caught, we are dead!"

George flew the broom at full tilt, nervously rambling to Fred the whole way.

Fred glanced back. Through the chaos, the furious silhouette of Proxima Midnight was still visible in the distance. Fred's head ducked down and the pace quickened.

"If I don't kill the two of you today, my name isn't Cull Obsidian!"

The Dungbomb had scored a direct hit, and now every single breath Cull Obsidian drew came thick with a nauseating, putrid stench.

Cull Obsidian gave chase with full fury, but the twins' brooms were fast, relentlessly fast, and after an entire stretch of pursuit, not so much as a single broom bristle had been touched.

Panting with rage and getting nowhere, Cull Obsidian glanced left and right, then leaped straight up, kicked a teammate clean off a speeder without a word, dropped onto the stolen craft, opened the throttle, and shot forward.

"Fred, that ugly thing is catching up!"

George happened to look back. Cull Obsidian's ferocious face nearly scared half the life out of George, and the voice cracked as the warning came out.

Fred looked back too, panic surging, and frantically dug through every pocket, flinging magical items backward in one big chaotic mess.

But Cull Obsidian had already been fooled once. There was no falling for it again. The speeder wove and twisted through the incoming barrage, dodging one bizarre magical item after another with sharp, fluid precision, and all the while, Cull Obsidian threw the brothers a mocking sneer.

The look said everything: That's it?

George watched Cull Obsidian slip past item after item, while enemies along the way caught the worst of it instead, some turning into birds, some swelling grotesquely, some suddenly gushing nosebleeds.

George anxiously licked dry lips.

"Can you hear me, twins?"

A low voice crackled through the earpiece. Like a lifeline dropping from nowhere, George jammed the button down immediately. "We hear you! There's something ugly chasing us and it won't quit, I think it's called Cull Obsidian or something!"

"Fly to your right. Speed up."

Whoever was on the other end didn't bother with clock positions, just plain, direct language. The twins didn't hesitate. They swung right and pushed harder.

The moment they accelerated, Cull Obsidian maxed out the speeder without a second thought. The roar of the engine swelled to a thunderous pitch, and the twins could almost feel the cold bearing down from behind.

"Hssss, is it not time yet?! I swear that thing is about to shave my head off!"

George pressed flat against the broom, clutching the gauntlet tight, shouting into the earpiece with undisguised panic. Fred flew right alongside, flinging spell after spell back at their pursuer.

One moment of distraction, and Fred's "Expelliarmus" knocked the weapon clean out of Cull Obsidian's grip. Cull Obsidian's expression turned darker than ever.

"Now. Split to the sides."

The low voice came again. The twins peeled apart in opposite directions, and right where they separated, a blazing golden ring burst open in the air, spreading fast, widening fast. Cull Obsidian couldn't brake in time and plowed straight into it on the speeder, disappearing without a trace.

Stephen Strange hovered in midair with the Cloak of Levitation, watching the danger pass. The twins circled back out of pure curiosity and craned forward to peer into the portal.

On the other side, Cull Obsidian had crashed through with zero control, slamming into the ground with the speeder and skidding forward on sheer momentum before finally grinding to a halt.

Cull Obsidian clambered upright in a fury, spitting twice to clear the dirt from the mouth. Before there was even a chance to turn back, a colossal shadow fell over everything. Cull Obsidian looked up.

An enormous foot was coming down, fast, right on top.

"Wait —!"

The word wasn't finished before the foot landed. A thick cloud of dust billowed outward in every direction.

Ant-Man Scott felt something solid underfoot, scratched the back of the head, and kept marching forward without another thought.

Cap had said the mission was simple: grow big, draw fire, and use the size to stomp enemies like ants. So... that was probably just an enemy stepped on by accident, right?

Fine. As long as it wasn't a teammate.

"..."

The twins stared, open-mouthed, as Stephen Strange closed the portal. They tried to speak. Nothing came out.

So the thing that had been hunting them the entire time, just got stomped to death like that?!

Cull Obsidian was going to die of pure rage all over again when the afterlife caught up on this one.

"Right. That's handled. You two go find something useful to do and leave the gauntlet."

Steve's face stayed blank, the aloof composure not slipping an inch. A wave of the hand, a turn to go, and then Fred grabbed the cloak.

"Hold on, what you just did — ow!"

The cloak flicked up one corner and slapped Fred sharply across the hand. Fred hissed through clenched teeth and rubbed the sting.

"We don't actually have a mission," George said, grinning at Stephen Strange and casually pressing the gauntlet into Strange's hands.

They'd snuck along uninvited, and they were young enough that Tony and Steve had simply never assigned them anything, just told them to read the situation, stay out of trouble, and keep themselves in one piece.

Strange took the gauntlet and regarded the twins in silence.

A bad feeling was forming.

It couldn't be what Strange was thinking... could it?

"So we'll just stay with you! We swear we won't cause any trouble!" George raised three solemn fingers. Fred, hand still a faint pink, hurriedly raised the same.

Done for.

Strange's head was already pounding. The only reason Strange had come over at all was because Peter Parker had mentioned over the earpiece that the two of them were fleeing this direction. Simple enough, go pull them out of trouble. Except now the boys were rescued and Strange had somehow acquired two walking disasters in the process.

Right now Strange would have given anything to still have the Time Stone. Reverse back to the exact moment Peter Parker's voice had first crackled through the comms. Tell Peter to chase the twins down personally. Have all three of them get as far away as physically possible.

But while Strange stood there in silence, the twins had apparently decided silence meant yes. They closed in with zero hesitation and started talking, one after the other, practically overlapping, chattering right into Strange's ear.

"What was that spinning gold ring? That was incredible — can we learn it?"

"No."

"Come on, we're all magic people here, just show us the basics."

"I am a sorcerer. And shut up."

"Sorcerer? Like Loki? Can he do what you just did? I remember him saying he's the greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms."

"Him?" A short, flat sound. "Heh."

"..."

---

Elsewhere.

"Hey! Nobody move, you have the right to remain silent!"

Peter Parker swung in on a web-line through the tangle of aerial craft crowding the sky and landed squarely in front of the four pursuers.

Proxima Midnight glanced over. One look. A cold sneer.

"You two stay and deal with this reckless little pest. Cull Obsidian and I will go after the twins."

The two of them turned and walked. Just like that. Corvus Glaive and Ebony Maw were left behind, and both sets of eyes swung to Peter Parker with cold, flat menace.

No words. They moved.

Corvus Glaive's Glaive came in like a thunderclap, a single slashing strike with zero warning. At the same moment, chunks of debris surged under Ebony Maw's control, rocketing in from every angle.

End it fast.

Peter Parker scrambled backward, but the hard truth was that before all of this, Peter was just a regular friendly neighborhood kid from New York. The toughest opponent before today had been a classmate's dad in a flying suit.

Two heavy hitters coming at once was a different world entirely. Peter was struggling, and there was no point pretending otherwise.

Barely clearing one wave of debris, then another, and then the Glaive filled Peter's vision, its edge flashing cold, the gap closing fast, almost there, almost through,

There was nowhere left to go. Peter squeezed both eyes shut.

Done for. If I actually get cut down here, I just hope Mr. Stark goes a little easier on me after Yang Luoluo brings me back...

He won't take the suit again, will he?

Okay. Even if he does, that's fair. Should've listened and not gotten this close to them in the first place.

BANG.

Was that the hit?

...Why doesn't it hurt?

Does Corvus Glaive's Glaive come with some kind of painkiller? That's surprisingly considerate.

Peter cracked both eyes open.

Corvus Glaive was slumped on the ground far away, face twisted, the Glaive lying in the dirt beside the hand that had held it. Ebony Maw stood frozen, expression shattered open in pure shock.

What just happened?

➤ Next: Endgame (3) — Steel and Blood

Chapter 116 - Endgame (3) — Steel and Blood

Peter looked down in confusion, scanning himself over several times. No trace of any fatal wound. The entire suit looked brand-new, as if it had just rolled off the assembly line.

...Huh?

A flash of golden light flickered before his eyes, then vanished just as quickly.

Peter blinked and ran a hand along the spider emblem on his chest. As if confirming the suspicion, the dark pattern flashed again right before his eyes.

It was the magic Loki had left on his suit.

Before Peter could even get excited about that, Corvus Glaive, launched away by that same enchantment, came charging back in a towering fury, blade already swinging.

"BOOM—!"

Two blasts of scarlet energy erupted from behind Peter. One slammed straight into Corvus Glaive and sent Corvus Glaive flying again. The other shot toward Ebony Maw, only to be stopped by a chunk of rubble Ebony Maw summoned with a casual flick.

Wanda floated down from midair and smiled at Peter.

At the same time, Natasha appeared from somewhere, flicking the longblade in hand. Peter figured Natasha had snatched it off an enemy.

Reinforcements. Finally.

Two quick buzzes, and Wasp materialized at Peter's side in the blink of an eye. Okoye, captain of the Dora Milaje, twirled a spear and strode forward with the kind of presence that made the air feel heavier. Pepper Potts, who had chosen to fight alongside Tony Stark, landed nearby in a matching suit of armor.

"He's not alone."

Natasha laughed softly. The words were barely out before the whole group surged forward, and the tide flipped in an instant, Corvus Glaive and Ebony Maw suddenly found themselves on the receiving end.

The onslaught drove both of them back, step by step. Peter watched the momentum shift and didn't waste a second.

"Two of them went after George and Fred! We need to help!"

"Don't worry, kid." Natasha drove a blade into Corvus Glaive without even looking up. "Stephen Strange will get to them — but safer if we send backup too."

"Wanda, go."

"Got it."

Wanda lifted Okoye into the air with a surge of magic, backing up a ferocious spear strike before peeling off and flying in the direction Peter had pointed.

Tracking the twins' sporadic comms updates, Wanda found Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian without much trouble, the two of them were hot on George and Fred's heels.

Wanda hit full speed and dropped straight into their path.

"Sorry. Road's closed."

A gentle smile. Soft eyes. Completely innocent, except for the dense, lethal orb of energy coiling between both hands, ready to fly.

Proxima Midnight clocked it immediately. The girl's power was no joke, and nothing about her was as harmless as she looked. Keeping that assessment quiet, Proxima Midnight kept the alert off the face and signaled behind the back, a subtle gesture, telling Cull Obsidian to break off now and keep chasing the boys.

The Infinity Gauntlet. That was the target.

Cull Obsidian read it, feinted a wide axe swing at Wanda. The moment Wanda shifted into a defensive stance, Cull Obsidian spun and ran.

Not the development Wanda had expected. But letting either of them go was not an option.

Wanda moved to hurl the energy after Cull Obsidian, and Proxima Midnight hit from the side, catching Wanda completely off guard. No choice. Wanda let Cull Obsidian go and turned to deal with what was right in front.

Proxima Midnight tightened a grip on the spear, gathering force for the strike, and then the world blurred. Dizziness crashed through like a wave, the inside of a head suddenly full of static. A hard shake, trying to force it out.

By the time the vertigo cleared, the spear had already thrust forward on pure instinct. Empty air. No one there.

A quick sweep of the surroundings. Proxima Midnight registered two things: an inexplicable displacement from the original position, and a silver-haired boy who had appeared out of nowhere beside the girl.

"Ugly freak — back off from my sister!"

Pietro didn't stop at trash talk. Pietro flipped Proxima Midnight off with a grin.

"Oh no..." Wanda pressed a hand to her forehead. Too late to stop the mouth. All Wanda could do was watch as Proxima Midnight's expression curdled, an already dark complexion going several shades darker.

Pietro had genuinely, successfully enraged Proxima Midnight.

"Yikes, " Pietro watched the thick fury radiating off Proxima Midnight and shrank back, shooting Wanda a desperate look. "She's... not actually mad, right?"

Wanda sighed.

"When this is over, Steve Rogers is sitting you and Peter down for a lesson. Topic one: stop running your mouth mid-fight."

The words were barely out before an enraged Proxima Midnight came in swinging. Pietro's little performance had practically buffed the enemy, the attack coming now was significantly harder than anything from before.

Pietro had the decency to look guilty. Wanda and Proxima Midnight were already locked together; Pietro scrambled in to help.

What saved them was the twins' chemistry. Neither could beat Proxima Midnight outright, but they didn't need to. When things got too hot, Pietro's speed yanked them both clear. When Proxima Midnight tried to break away, Wanda's energy cut off every exit.

A strangled knot of frustration lodged in Proxima Midnight's throat, couldn't go up, couldn't go down. Just suffocating fury with nowhere to go.

...

Mid-strike, Loki felt a disturbance in the enchantment left on Peter. The rhythm of attack stuttered, just for a moment.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Yang Luoluo caught the change immediately and turned to ask, hands never stopping their work, still channeling healing into Banner.

Even the Hulkbuster's formidable armor could only take so much. Under relentless sustained assault, Banner, piloting from inside, had taken considerable damage. The call for backup had already gone out over comms. Meanwhile, Hulk was now tearing across the battlefield, running down everyone who had hit Banner.

Harry and the rest formed a loose perimeter, keeping a safe pocket of space clear for Yang Luoluo. That was their assignment: stay close, protect her, roam as needed, and keep treatment flowing to injured allies.

Plenty of wounded were already sheltering inside that perimeter. Hermione knelt on the far side, methodically spraying Essence of Dittany across injury after injury. The wizards had spent days and nights brewing it without rest, all for exactly this.

"Something must have happened with the Spider-kid. I'll go check. Leaving a clone here, call me if you need anything."

His form flickered. Split in two. One figure disappeared instantly. The other kept fighting like nothing had changed.

"That is so cool." Ron watched with naked envy, not missing a beat as a "Petrificus Totalus" sailed into the distance. "I wonder if I could learn that."

"Depends on your performance."

The Loki clone spoke in a flat, indifferent tone. Ron jolted so hard the wand nearly hit the ground.

"A-A clone can actually... talk?"

The Loki clone rolled both eyes with absolutely zero grace.

...

Loki moved fast, teleporting across the battlefield and homing in on the enchantment's signal until Peter was right there. The sudden appearance startled Peter mid-throw, a web line meant for Ebony Maw's legs ended up plastered across the mouth instead. Ebony Maw's expression went flat. The webbing disintegrated.

"Loki? What are you doing here? Oh, right, thank you for the magic on my suit! If it weren't for that, I'd probably have had to drag Luoluo into it!"

Peter lit up and started talking, and didn't stop. Loki was this close to covering both ears. Still, seeing the kid alive and bouncing with energy settled something.

"Since you're not dead, I'm leaving." Loki turned to go.

He did find himself wondering whether the clone was managing things properly back there.

Peter's hand shot out and grabbed the cape. The moment Loki's look sharpened, Peter let go immediately, then sheepishly smoothed the wrinkles left in the fabric.

"Ahem... Fred and George took the gauntlet with them. Could you go check on things? I just, I have a really bad feeling."

The heart had been hammering for a while now. Thinking it through, Peter couldn't pin it to anything else, it had to be the Infinity Gauntlet. Loki was the only option.

Loki stared for a long moment. The puppy-dog eyes won. Loki flickered out of sight and left Peter exactly one parting line.

"Protect yourself. Don't die."

Peter, long since used to the thorns in every word, just stood there grinning. Natasha watched and let out an exasperated breath.

Silly kid.

➤ Next: Endgame (4) — Clash