Inevitable

Thanos looked out over the peaceful farm. His mission, his goal he had strove for, had fought so many for, had killed for, was finally done. Balance, total balance. It had only cost him everything. He looked at his left hand, the gauntlet fused into flesh; the power of the stones had been great, searing themselves onto him permanently. He could not remove the gauntlet easily, but he could remove the stones.

What to do with the stones now? It wasn't like he needed their power anymore now that he had fulfilled his destiny. But it was impossible to just leave them somewhere out in the universe. If he could use them, then if he left them others could use their power too. And their power would affect the balance the universe now enjoyed.

Could he simply keep them in his gauntlet for the rest of his life? Well yes he could. But he didn't need them anymore. His snap had worked. Nothing else he knew of had the power to undo what he had done. It had been inevitable. So what course should he take now?

He thought back to when the mind stone had been destroyed. Destroyed! Of course he had turned back time and taken the stone, but it remained that it had been destroyed once before. That could the be perfect solution to his dilemma. A cleansing fire to any possible way to undo the balance the universe needed.

Getting up to walk outside, he made his mind up. Another simple snap and balance was not only secured but ensured. He rose his hand to finish the motion.

"It won't work you know."

Thanos whirled around to find a black haired youth sitting aside him staring into the horizon with appreciation for the beautiful sight.

"You really did pick such a beautiful world to 'retire' to, I'll give you that." said the youth, making strange motions with his fingers at the word retire.

Thanos flexed his gauntleted fist and the reality and power stones glowed, reducing the youth to non-existence.

Except the youth existed still. It had not worked.

Eyes widening at a sight he thought impossible, Thanos flexed again and a blue glow flair this time, intent on teleporting this stranger into space to die a cold death. The portal formed on the youth.

But he just continued to sit and admire the world.

Gritting his teeth, an orange flair enveloped the gauntlet; Thanos intended to rip the soul from this frustrating intruder. He expected his body to fall limp as the strings were severed. But nothing happened. His soul refused to leave his body.

"Please don't do that, it feels weird." the black haired stranger asked, shivering in discomfort.

"How?" Thanos asked, confusion evident in his voice. "No one can deny the infinity stones! How are you able to endure cosmic power?"

"The name's Harry, since I doubt you're going to ask." the newly identified stranger responded. "And as for your stones, well, I can just choose to ignore their call."

Silence.

Thanos wasn't sure what he was looking at, but if this being could just ignore the power of the stones so easily, then he, Thanos, was in so much trouble.

"Like I said already, it won't work, your plan."

Thanos bristled at the thought. His plan had already worked! But as if reading his mind; without having the mind stone, this 'Harry' responded to the line of thought.

"Not your plan for balance, no, but that's a whole other issue. No I mean your plan to destroy the stones." said Harry, sweeping some hair away from his eyes, and turning to face Thanos for the first time. "It won't work."

Slightly incensed at this statement, Thanos asked, "Why can I not destroy the stones? They have no more use in this universe."

Harry suddenly rose, while still facing Thanos, an action that had the Titan flex his fist in defense, before he remembered that the gauntlet did not work on the young man in front of him.

"Because they are part of the universe, you unthinking simpleton. You think that you could just destroy part of the universe just like that and nothing would happen from your actions? For one who claims to act in the best interest of the universe you sure don't consider your actions before you plow on ahead!"

Harry returned to his rock, the brief explosion of emotion over as soon as it began. Thanos looked at him with an interested look.

"If the stones are part of the universe, as you claim, then how could one be destroyed before? That is contrary to what you say to deter me."

Harry sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "If you destroy an Infinity Stone, and that is no easy feat, another will come into existence the moment the former one is destroyed. There must always be six stones. That is a condition of the existence of the universe. That is why your plan will not work."

Thanos stared at him. Was he telling the truth? Why would he try to deter him from destroying the stones? It just didn't make any logical sense. He was just delaying what needed to happen.

The young man did nothing as Thanos raised his left hand to snap his fingers again. All that could be heard was a small sigh.

A snap was heard and a flash was seen.

Panting, and in great pain, Thanos wondered how long time seemed and he slowly turned to look at his left hand. It wasn't pretty, but there was no signs of and infinity stones. Relief overtook his pain, it had worked! That strange being had lied! Thanos fell to the ground, spent from the effort.

"It won't work you know."

Thanos tiredly looked to his right, where Harry still sat on his rock, seemingly unaffected by what had just happened.

"You're wrong. It worked. The infinity stones are gone for good." rasped Thanos, finally smiling despite the pain. "I have ensured the balance of the universe."

Harry simply sat, playing with something in his hand. Then he grinned, as if he knew better than Thanos. "You mean these Infinity Stones?" he asked, opening his hand to show the six stones that rested in his cupped palm.

Silence.

Thanos simply stared at the stones he had just destroyed, so easily retrieved from destruction. He also noticed this stranger was holding all six stones in his bare hand, and suffering no ill effects at all. Who was he? No living thing could hold two stones in their bare hand without dying, let alone six! Just what had come to his planet?

He couldn't do anything, even with the stones. Now he was without and severely injured. He had no hope of preventing this Harry of undoing all his work.

"I won't undo your work, if that's what you are worried about." Harry said, putting all the stones in his pocket except for the green one. "I rather like how this one looks, don't you? Green is my favorite color."

Around the stone sprang a necklace, forming from nothing, and Harry put in around his neck. The soft green glow could be seen easily.

"I can't use them." He said softly, eyes softening a bit as he looked at the form of the mad titan. "That is the price for being able to ignore their effects; I essentially can never wield them in any way. I am the only being in the universe that the stones cannot control."

He stood up, dusting himself off of some imaginary grit, and bent over and touched the time stone to Thanos' hand. "Use this to heal yourself. You will not be able to leave this planet again and no one else is here to heal you."

Thanos gripped the necklace, and the pain faded in mere moments. As soon as it did Harry stood back up again, taking the necklace back up with him. Suddenly Thanos wished he had the stones again, to make sure that he had never gotten them. Then a better idea struck him. If he had the stones, but could not use them, then neither could anyone else, and they would have no idea what had happened to the stones.

Standing once again he spoke, "Take them with you so that no one can use them again."

Harry, still staring at Thanos, frowned at his request, because he was going where no one would be able to find him or the stones, and thus the balance could never be undone. "I know why you want me to take them, since I can't use them I cannot undo your deed, but then no one else could either."

He paced back and forth for a bit, before stating, "I will take them regardless, but know this. Your work will still be undone, and you will not live to see how. I will take the stones, but you must let the ones who will come for them kill you. That is your balance."

With that he turned to leave, though Thanos did not know how, too stunned at his words to even try to stop him. His last parting words chilled and comforted him however, "Do not run from death or hide from death or seek death Mad Titan. Greet death as an old friend."

Harry vanished from his garden, leaving Thanos to think on his words.

Thanos stared at his arm on the ground; severed. It had happened only two days after Harry had taken the stones away. Hardly any time to make peace. But he wouldn't tell them what had happened to the stones, they needed their hope crushed so they could accept the balance was inevitable.

"Oh no." said Rocket, as he flipped over the severed gauntlet. It was empty.

"Where are they?" said Steve.

"Answer the question!" said Captain Marvel, from her position holding Thanos by the neck.

Thanos sighed. They really thought he was hiding the stones somewhere. Time to destroy the glimmer they had.

"The universe required correction, balance. After that, the stones served no purpose save that of temptation." He said, waiting for them to connect the dots.

"You murdered trillions!" Bruce cried, incensed at how casually Thanos spoke.

Thanos simply said, "You should be grateful."

"Where are the stones?" Natasha said, finally asking the question they all wanted to know the answer to.

Finally it was time. "I used the stones to destroy the stones. Gone. Reduced to atoms. The work is done. It always will be. Balance is ensured, it is inevitable.

Rhodey couldn't handle it. "We have to tear this place apart. He-he-he has to be lying."

Thanos knew this was going to be their response, and was preparing to refute it when a quiet voice interrupted.

"My father is many things. A liar is not one of them."

He looked over at Nebula, realizing for the first time that she was the only one there who wasn't looking at him with anger or contempt. He didn't know what she was thinking.

"Thank you daughter. Perhaps I treated you too harshly." He said, looking her in the face.

Thor, filled with rage, raised Stormbreaker and swung, and the last thing Thanos ever saw was his daughter looking back at him.

Thor had went for the head, just like he had told him to.

The Department of Mysteries. Azkaban. Hogwarts. Dumbledore. Voldemort. He remembered exactly where they had been, where he had found them when he was younger. It made sense to him now; what he was meant to do.

Harry was weary from everything. But he had one last journey to take before he could rest peacefully. You cannot change time. But you can do what you know already happened. He looked at his necklace, dug the blue stone out of his pocket, and handed both to the person next to him.

"We will do these two last." He said, seemingly waiting for the other person to agree. "Let's do what we already did."

He didn't want to dwell on memories, he knew every place they were going to go. How could he not, he had lived through all of the events once already!