The Black Gauntlet

Chapter One: Consequences

"So what do we do now?" Shiri, arguably the smartest person in the world and the sister of the late T'challa, asked with a defeated sigh.

The girl herself sat to the side of her brothers throne. Technically, everyone knew she was now in line for it but…

Well, no one had the heart to bring it up just yet.

"We can't just give up can we? Someone has to have a plan!"

Her throat hitched and her lips pursed as she kept any emotion at bay.

No one answered right away.

After all, how could they?

Still, Steve Rodgers couldn't help but give her a sad smile, "I don't, at least not yet."

It wasn't that he'd given up- he never did- but, at the moment.. well even he really had no idea what to do.

Most likely it wasn't what she wanted to hear, and he knew that. But that was life.

However, one among them was less than satisfied with the outcome of Thanos's mad quest.

Bang!

Thor slammed his hand on the wall, cracking the metal from sheer force as he turned and faced the remaining Avengers.

"We can't just sit here and mourn while Thanos is out there!"

"What are we supposed to do Thor?" Banners meek voice entered the fray and, despite his desire not to be the center of attention, he suddenly was.

The scientist, his clothes slightly worse for wear, leaned forward in his chair and shook his head.

"I mean… he did it man, what can we do? We can't just… erase what he did. He literally erased half of everyone! And now he's the most powerful being in the universe!"

A few heads nodded but Steve knew well enough that Thor wasn't going to let it go.

"No." He pointed a finger and shape eyes at the man, "we haven't lost. I can kill him. You all saw I almost had him!"

This time it was Natasha who spoke up, the woman idly leaning on a wall near the doors of the throne room.

"Thor," despite everything, her words were still soft and calloused- though no one was really surprised- "even if you can kill him, we have no idea where he is."

The God, his face twisted in rage, turned to the girl genius and spoke loudly, "could you track using any of your… sciency equipment things?"

Shuri shook her head, "maybe if I knew what to look for but… this," she gestured to the hall, "this is something else entirely."

Thor shook his head, and Steve's eyes watched him warily. He knew the Asgardian meant well but he was a little hot headed.

The man slammed his foot down and threw his arms up, "of all people, I expected the Avengers to fight! Why in the world would we give up! We're supposed to avenge the world right?"

Steve finally sighed, "Thor, it's not that simple-"

But the God wasn't having any of it and interrupted with a booking voice, "it is that simple! I have the hammer, we have the bifrost and the Avengers, all we need to do is find him!"

"Thor," this time it was Rhodey, "we can't just… just, go planet to planet trying to find him. He could be anywhere."

Again the God growled, "that's why we use all the scenicy stuff you have here and track him down! Where's Stark I know he'd agree."

"God only knows," Bruce added, "he went into space after one Thanos's ships. Haven't heard from him since."

There was a somber silence as Thor sighed heavily.

Another ally gone.

Fantastic.

But it lasted only a moment and the man shook his head, "it's another man we have to Avenge. For my brother, for Stark, for Heimdall-"

"Oh would you just quit it!"

All eyes turned to the least known member of the group.

A simple Raccoon named Rocket.

The animal though was angry, his nose twitching and his eyes narrowed, "we lost. Get over it."

"We haven't-"

"Yeah we have buddy! Look around!" The Raccoon stood, "we just lost half the people we know and you wanna what? Go up to him all big and mean and try to take the gauntlet?"

Then he laughed, "all Thanos has to do now is snap, and no more Thor! You think he's gonna fall for that axe throw again?"

The God simply glowered at him and Rocket sneered, "well it ain't. He's won, best we accept that and move on."

With arms crossed the rodent sat and once more continued staring at the floor, Steve watching him with remorse.

Again silence managed to strangle the group, and even Thor, for all his gusto grumbled and looked away, heavy steps leading him to the windows beyond the throne.

Blue eyes glanced around, studying all those around him.

They were beaten.

Okoye and Shuri were holding back tears, the latter more so than the other.

Thor well…

Rockets outburst had been the first words the raccoon had said to any of them since the Snap. Whatever was going through his head Steve knew had to do with the Groot character that had aided them at the end.

Rhodey was twitchy; his eyes flicking back and forth and foot tapping impatiently as the man tried to figure out what to do. Starks absence most likely didn't help.

Natasha… well, as expected she was the most composed, and Steve couldn't help but meet her eyes.

Sadness filled them, and the Captain could barely resist the urge to say something encouraging to her.

When he turned to Bruce, he saw utter devastation. The man did nothing to hide the utter exhaustion he felt. He wondered if the scientist would just fall unconscious any moment.

But with a shake of the head, Steve returned to his own thoughts.

They'd all lost, but…

Well, Bucky was gone.

Of course it didn't hurt as much as he expected, after all it's not like he and Bucky spent everyday together the past few years.

Still…

And then there was Sam. And Wanda.

Vision…

His hands came up to his face and he rubbed his temples and grit his teeth.

How had it come to this?

Had they really failed everyone?

The universe?

Earth?

His eyes suddenly widened.

Earth… god how had they forgot! They weren't the only ones affected, everyone had been, which meant the world was about to be in complete chaos!

What if half the governments disappeared? What if it just happened to be the entire police force that disappeared but not a single criminal went?

What if a newborn's parents disappeared?

He stood with such speed the others, aside from Natasha, openly flinched.

Their eyes locked onto him, and after a deep sigh he looked up at all of them with steel in his gaze.

"Thanos, may have won. But we still have a job."

A raised eyebrow or two is what he took as a question to continue, "half of everyone is gone. That means the police, the government's, some kids parents."

Realization dawned on the remaining Heroes.

He somberly smiled.

"We're the Avengers. The Earth needs protecting from itself right now, Shuri?"

The teenager perked up at her name and Steve added, "can Wakanda send out aid? With you and Okoye still alive Wakanda's still has a functioning leadership. I doubt many nations are going to be that lucky."

Shuri blinked and stammered, "I- uh-, of course! We'll have to perform damage control here but, we can try to stabilize Africa."

Steve nodded, "we can work with that. Thor, can you and Bruce go to Russia and stabilize it?"

Thor sighed then looked at him over his shoulder, "the Snap will have effects all across the universe not just earth. Countless planets are going to be crying for vengeance after this."

Steve blinked, understanding both the anger and logic of those words.

"Then who are the major powers in the Universe?"

A few confused eyes looked to him with concern.

Even the God cast him a curious gaze before he replied, "what do you wish to do?"

"Like you said, this happened everywhere. Which means just like earth, the universe is going to be out of whack."

Realization hit the rest of them like a ton of bricks.

"Steve," it was Natasha who spoke up, "you can't actually think we're gonna change anything. We couldn't even protect our own planet. What makes you think these people would want any of us helping?"

Steve smiled sadly, "they probably won't, but they're gonna want to rebuild and they're definitely gonna want vengeance."

The God of Thunder tensed.

But the super soldier continued, "if we can help to at least stabilize the large empires, and then the small planets, maybe we can unite them all."

Boom.

He felt the weight of his words hit and Natasha blinked twice, the reaction screaming of her reluctance and wish to speak after this little gathering.

The Racoon shook his head, the second reaction since the Snap, and before anyone could protest hopped on to his feet.

With tired eyes the animal looked up to him, "if that's the case, Xandar's our best bet. They're democratic and law abiding freedom fighters, plus Thanos smashed their home planet for the power stone. They're gonna need all the help they can get, and it's a plus I've got some sway with them."

Steve nodded, "think they'll fight alongside us?"

Rocket scoffed, "you kidding? They'll be lining up to blast that big scrotum sack to kingdom come."

"What about the rest of us?"

It was Rhodey who spoke up, and considering the fact everyone was sitting a little straighter, he knew they agreed.

It wasn't a plan.

But it was a step.

It was direction.

And that's what they needed.

"What do we do now?" Fitz asked, his hands clasped together and his eyes trained on the screens before him.

It had taken them less than an hour to evac the lighthouse after the vanishings, and now aboard the safety of Zephyr, Coulson had sat down the survivors and as usual, ran down the facts.

Unfortunately those facts were that people across the globe had disappeared instantly, like the Rapture in the Bible, but far less biblical and far more apocalyptic.

Still, Daisy Johnson, also known as Skye or Quake depending on who you asked, found herself frustrated and pissed.

She had been mad at Yo Yo, mad at Fitz and Simmons, but now…

Well, now it all seemed so petty.

"We get in contact with Avengers."

Daisy perked up, and she noticed Fitz's gaze grow sharp and Deke, one of the few who was left behind to her great annoyance, beamed with a smile, "the Avengers? They're real? I always thought they were a fairy tale! Heck, mom used to make them sound like one!"

Couldn't smiled softly, "oh they're very real."

"But," Daisy started with a shake of her head, "do we even know where they are? I mean, what if they disappeared like everyone else?"

"Which is why Fitz, I need you to find them. If they're around and had anything to do with this mess, I'm sure the news will be all over it."

Fitz simply whistled, "all right."

And with that the man stood up and headed out of Command Center of the Bus.

"He can I help?" Depends shot up, completely ignored any response from Fitz as he followed him.

Daisy couldn't help but shake her head, a grim paranoia filling her as she noticed how empty the plane really was.

"Coulson, even if we find the Avengers… what's to stop this Confederacy from moving on Earth? We literally detected them as we left, and from the way Hale them..."

The man chuckled, "considering their ship hasn't moved an inch, and we've seen nothing of demands I'm willing to bet whatever happened wasn't just to us…"

The Inhuman narrowed her eyes, "that's a dangerous bet Coulson. What it they're just planning their next move?"

"Then all the more reason we get to the Avengers. Who better to ward off another alien invasion?"

His smirk had the girl rolling her eyes but none the less, she relented.

Coulson sighed and sat back in his chair, eyes glued to screen in front of him.

She watched as his eyes studied and she wondered just what he was thinking.

SHIELD wasn't what it once was. There was only a ragtag group of them left, maybe forty member strong at most and yet Coulson was acting like they we're an army.

She grit her teeth.

They couldn't afford to act so recklessly.

Maybe the Avengers were around.

But this needed to be dealt with now. This Confederacy wasn't going to just wait for them to shore up their defenses and-

"Daisy."

She blinked and smiled, "sorry. Kinda zoned out there. What's up?"

As if he read her mind Coulson grimaced and stated, "I know it seems risky, but we know this happened all over the world. Best we get the worlds mightiest heroes on the case."

"If they're still around." She quipped.

He simply frowned "if."

There was a moment of comfortable silence, where they just sat and naught but the hum of the engines and the breathing of the few pilots they had left filled the bridge.

It was tranquil.

Well, aside from the feeling of utter doom Daisy felt in her gut.

That, now that made her feel...

Feel…

"So," Coulson clapped his hands on his knees and stood, crossing his arms as he faced her.

The ever infallible smirk of 'I'm about to tell you something I bet you don't know anything about' gracing his face.

She couldn't help but grin back and raise an eyebrow.

He took that as he que to continue, "when Fury gave me this gig he told me there were secrets even I didn't know."

Curiously, she kept her eyes on him as he waved his hand over the table before her.

Holograms appeared, tech provided by Stark Industries, and they flipped and stretched as Coulson continued.

"He spoke of secrets so tight that only level 9 agents, and the World Security council knew about. Well, aside from him of course."

His hands lowered, and above the table…

Well, above the table floated, a…

"A stick?" She raised an eyebrow, wondering if the recent disappearances had caused more than just people to disappear.

Coulson grinned.

"How much do you know about magic?"

With a sigh, Harry Potter ran a hand through his hair.

Muffled sobs, courtesy of Mrs. Wesley, echoed through the Burrow without any interruption.

His eyes turned to the woman next to him.

Hermione's eyes were red and puffy as well, though her tears were well spent, he couldn't help but feel the sorrow radiating from her.

It wasn't like he wasn't sad himself… hell, he was distraught and had half a mind to literally tear apart London till he found Ginny.

But he knew that was all irrational emotion.

He had to stay level headed.

So he forced his emotions down, and listened to the stories of their friends and family.

After all, it'd taken less than an hour for the elder Weasleys to start appearing at his home asking for Ron. It was only thanks to Hermione's foresight of reaching out to the others and explaining their own situations that they somehow found themselves gathered at the Burrow.

The children, well… those who remained, were sent upstairs to sleep.

The adults; himself, Hermione, Mr. And Mrs Weasley, Bill and Fleur, George, and Percy's wife Audrey Weasley, and Luna Lovegood who had apparated there with nowhere else to go, were all there.

Percy was gone, along with all of Fluers children. Ginny, Ron, Hermione's eldest and his own. Luna's father, along both her husband and children had also gone.

Honestly, Harry worried about Neville, but he simply hadn't had a chance to send out a letter.

Maybe when everyone else went to bed…

"There's just…" Molly's voice cracked as she choked back a second sob, "how c-ca-can we not f-find them?"

No one answered.

They'd tried every spell in the book, and Hermione even tried a few potions but… nothing.

They had vanished.

"Harry,"

His eyes turned to Bill.

"Do you think he's back?"

For a moment everyone tensed.

But his scar had felt no pain.

He shook his head, and though a content sigh came from Bill, the rest of them seemed to fall even further.

If it had been Voldemort, then they would know who to blame, and who to go after.

But this?

What were they supposed to do?

"What about the ministry?" Hermione perked up.

Arthur Weasley, his hair somehow grayer than just last week, met her gaze before replying, "half of the ministries gone. Kingsley was re-elected as acting Minister of Magic-"

Some good news.

"-but they're just as lost as we are."

Hermione frowned, and though she was an ex minister of magic herself, she hadn't responded to the summons when they sent a letter for her to be placed as acting Minister in the absence of Korvin Netley- a young minister, but one they had respected.

"What about the old order? Has anyone responded?" Audrey, the poor woman, asked with half a heart.

At least Harry and Hermione had one child left.

Poor woman lost them all.

Harry shook his head, "aside from Aberforth and Mrs. Fig, everything's been silent."

He had been a step ahead on that regard, and had sent out letters the moment it happened to the Order in fear of Voldemort or another Dark Lord returning.

"Draco?" It was Fleur who spoke next, puffy eyes and cracked lips meeting Harry's eyes.

He blinked, before responding, "I'll send him a letter too."

At the very least, Draco would have an easier time confirming if there was dark magic at play.

Heck maybe if-

Crack!

Harry jumped, his wand instantly in his hand as he spun and faced the front door.

He wasn't the only one as literally everyone asides from Audrey had also risen and aimed their wands. Well, except Luna, who was silent and held her wand at her side rather than threateningly aiming it at the door.

Thunk, thunk!

"Arthur, are you here?"

They all knew the voice and Hermione was already at the door by the time Harry even thought of opening it.

They were greeted by the sight of a aged and worried Kingsley, though the man still smiled warmly to them all.

"Evening everyone," he nodded as Hermione let him pass, of course only after enveloping her once mentor in a hug.

He looked around, obviously studying to see who was around and who was not before sighing when his eyes hit Harry.

Harry swallowed hard and readied himself for whatever was to come.

But Kingsley eyes moved to Hermione when he spoke, "the ministry needs you two."

"Kingsley, how could you-" Molly started only for the man to gently hold a hand to stop her from talking.

He cleared his throat as he turned back to them and continued, "we need you both because it seems it's not just the magical world was affected."

Harry's eyes widened and his thoughts went to Dudley.

"Kingsley, you don't mean…" Arthur asked stepping forward.

The man nodded solemnly.

"The muggles…. They lost millions. It's absolute chaos out there."

To that, Harry couldn't reply.

He knew of the machines of war, and the prejudices muggles held against one another.

If important people, say London's Prime Minister up and vanished… who only knew what kind of trouble that would land them in.

Still, it didn't explain why Kingsley needed them.

Harry's questioning eyes met Kingsley and the elder wizard continued, "seeing as both you and Miss Granger were raised in the muggle world, I figured it'd best to have come and negotiate on our behalf."

"Our behalf?" Hermione asked.

Kingsley nodded solemnly.

"Have you ever heard of a muggle group called Shield?"

Jaune couldn't help the silence.

Maybe… maybe if Ozpin were here he could've come up with some sort of explanation.

Instead…

Instead it was just him, Ren, and Weiss.

Ruby was still out cold, but damn was he glad her skin color was returning. Qrow had basically vanished after ensuring his niece was alive, and it'd been hours since then.

Right now though, he was alone in the living room, his eyes cautiously watching Ruby as he warmed up a hot pot of soup for the others.

Ren had been even quieter than usual and had simply vanished upstairs.

He couldn't blame him, after all Nora had simply vanished in his arms.

Then Weiss had exclaimed interest in trying to find Blake and Sun, so off she had gone.

The girl had fire in her eyes, and Juane was woefully afraid of anyone getting in her way.

Of course the screams and cries from outside hadn't helped any of them.

It hadn't taken a genius to figure out that what had happened had happened to everyone in Mistral.

God only knows if it happened across the whole world…

He sighed and as the soup bubbled, he ran a hand through his hair.

What was going on?

"Ugh…"

His eyes widened and he spun, blue orbs instantly landing on the form of the waking reaper.

The girl was sitting uo, eyes shut and hands rubbing her forehead as if to abate some sort of headache.

With a gulp he grinned weakly.

"Hey, Ruby."

Eyes burst open and two grey orbs looked straight into his.

"Nora!"

Ruby was on her feet faster than Juane could even blinked, cape fluttering as she ran up stairs with a burst of unparalleled speed.

"Crap!" Jaune hissed, untying the apron he wore and tossing it aside.

He started towards the stairs, and-

Wham!

He flew back, a bundle of red and black slamming in his chest and flopping backwards to the floor just as he fell on his rear.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow…." Ruby muttered, rubbing her nose as she glared friendly daggers at Jaune.

"Sorry…" he chuckled darkly, standing before he offered a hand to the girl.

She took it in stride and elegantly pulled herself up before releasing her nose and looking up at him.

She gulped.

"Juane where's Nora? Last I remember she…. She…"

Her eyes grew bright, and tears puddled on the very edges.

"Ruby, you… you should probably sit down." He tried to give her a smile, but it was weak and his heart honestly wasn't in it.

She frowned, "Juane, what's going going on? You can tell me."

He grit his teeth and shook his head.

"Please?"

He stepped aside and motioned to the couch.

It wasn't so much for her, but for him.

God, now he had to tell her Nora was gone too? Yang? Ozpin?

Who was next?

He looked back to her with a sad smile.

She kept her eyes on his as she started forward, but as her feet patterned against the wooden floor she was forced to look away for Jaune and continue on the couches.

He sighed.

Man, I need to sleep…

"Jaune where's Yang?"

He blinked and confusion crossed his face as he turned dto answer.

But the words died in his throat.

His eyes landed on Ember Cilicia.

Weiss had brought it down after Yang had vanished too.

He forgot to put it up.

They had wanted to break it to her slowly.

He met silver eyes.

Ruby's chest shuddered.

"Juane…"

She looked at him and it was obvious to him she was biting her lip to control herself.

She huffed and a single sob escaped her throat.

He sighed again, for a moment contemplating on how he should stop sighing so much, before looking at her.

"Yang-"

Crack!

The front door flew open, slamming against the wall and cracking it with a vicious show of speed.

Both spun on their heels, emotions high as they took in the forms of Blake and Weiss entering their makeshift home.

Weiss was panting, leaning against the wall with her Rapier in hand.

It was then Juane heard it.

The screams.

They had gotten worse.

A lot worse.

Blake stepped forward.

"Blake."

It was Ruby speaking this time and he couldn't help but look at her, admiring the sheer strength she showed even after having learned…

Learned about Yang.

"Grim."

Blake's words came out clean and harsh, her Amber eyes boring in each of theirs.

"Sun and my Dad gathered a dozen fanus and are holding them, but… when, mom disappeared…"

The fanus swallowed hard and steadied herself with a breath.

"They're everywhere. Half the guards is gone and the perimeter was left open."

Weiss then took over, "and with all these people just vanishing…"

Jaunes eyes widened.

"Oh no…"

"There's an army of Grimm on the outskirts of town." Blake finished.

Ruby looked to him, her eyes wide and utterly flabbergasted.

It was exactly how he felt.

What were they supposed to do?

"Blake," Ruby stepped forward, her previous gloom seemingly forgotten, "get Sun, and evacuate people to Haven academy. It still has mamable defense and perimeter that fewer people can manage."

The boy blinked.

"Weiss, find any students that're still in the area and have them reinforce Blake's Dad and the others. Find a way to force the grim away from the people!"

The two nodded and ran back out the front door.

She turned to Jaune.

Suddenly her heroic persona vanished and her cheeks flushed.

She smiled sadly, "sorry, shouldn't have stole your thunder… you're the-"

"No it's fine!" Jaune chuckled darkly.

She smiled.

And though there was pain, and though there were tears threatening to spill over…

Well, she was still staying strong.

He nodded.

"Where do you want me?"

Tony Stark.

Billionaire. Playboy. Philanthropist.

The Iron Man.

An Avengers.

And… and a failure.

He grit his teeth and crushed the dust in his hand.

He had told him not to come! Why couldn't the kid just listen! And…

Damn it all! Why didn't Quill listen?

They could've had it! They had it damn it!

He kicked the ground and stood with a heavy breath, heart racing and eyes watering.

His side ached, the muscles throbbing as his body tried it's best to heal the damage done to him by the Mad Titan.

"We should leave."

The voice of a woman filled his ears.

He dared a glance and saw the blue woman standing near him.

But she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were downcast.

He scoffed, "and go where? Not like we have a ship."

She didn't reply and he crossed his arms, rolling his eyes not in sarcasm or irritation, but to relieve the pressure building behind his eyes.

He stepped forward, limping as he looked around him.

Nothing was left of any of them.

His armor was shot.

His noud exhausted.

Heh. If Pepper saw him she would…

His eyes went wide.

Pepper.

Dear God was she still alive? Did she go too?

No.

He shook his head and looked to the woman.

"What about your ship?"

She shook her head, "I tried to run him over with it remember?"

He nodded, suddenly remembering how her entrance have given them another edge in the fight.

He looked around.

Maybe they could repair the one he, Strange and… and the boy came in.

It would take time, but there was a lot of spare parts all around. If he sealed of the open compartments, coupled with a few new pressurisation systems maybe…

And if they used the fuel from some of the down Craft, and added in-

"Have you seen Quills ship?"

He blinked and turned.

The woman's eyes were on him now.

His eyes widened, well barely widened, as the realization struck him.

Quill and the others of the Brady bunch jumped them when they arrived.

Of course they had to have a ship!

He nodded, "no, no but there's no way it's gonna be hard to find in this pile of junk."

He focused, and the remainder of his armor formed around his calves and feet.

His body groaned and ached from the shift of metal, but he ignored the pain.

He boosted himself up, using hardly any thirst at all to haohardadly lift himself a few feet into the air.

He could feel himself tipping forward and he cut the power.

With a clunk, his armor hit the hard round and he stumbled forward.

"Damn it. Guess we're gonna have to do this the hard way."

He frowned and looked to eh sky.

He gazed at the the planet barely visible through the atmosphere.

It looked like Earth.

He frowned as he turned his eyes forward and started towards the top of a hill.

He wondered if there were people there…

Well, aliens, but the thought stayed the same.

Hopefully they fared better than the rest of the universe.

Somehow though…

He doubted it.

A/N

So here's the second chapter!

Now normally, I try not to diverge at all from Canon events in any universe. However I will make a small change here…

Titan, in this fic will be across the universe rather than Saturn's moon.

That should be it.

Also I'm unsure if I should add in Fate Stay Night as another universe. Moremagical stuff, and servants who can fight on the level of Thor.

Eh who knows.

Now there's small foreshadowing here, and next chapter obviously SHIELD and the Wizarding world are going to collide.

I'll explain there how on Earth shield knew about them, and why Shield was contacted over any other organization on Earth.

I'm also sort of conflicted on who I should make the stories main POV's from.

I've already decided on Stark, but I'm conflicted between Captain America, Ruby, Jaune, Harry and Hermione. Eh.

I'll probably just go with the flow.

I wonder what planet Starks looking at…

Then there are the earthbound Avengers going into space and trying to find peace.

Eventually Thanos will have a POV but that won't be for a few chapters.

Any questions, leave them in the reviews.

God bless!

-Metal4k