Winners Collection - Anthology

MARVEL: WWYD? - The Silent Aftermath - @VinSkaro

The air of paralyzing doom never lifted one bit since they lost their friends. No one spoke, no one shed any tears. It was just silent.

When the Avengers returned to the battle field, there were still wounded on the ground or being assisted to the high tech transports that were being dispatched from the infirmary. There was still grief to come, much pain that would kick in later. But for now they needed to let their training take over and help their fellow warriors. Everyone looked to each other briefly before dispersing to aid the wounded. Amongst the aftermath, Rocket saw a Wakandan soldier pinned at his legs by a pile of metal debris. He looked for a person nearby.

"Hey! Help me get this guy out, will ya?" The furry experiment disappeared into a crawl space in the heap.

Seconds later the large pile of debris slowly lifted enough for the soldier to pull his comrade out from underneath. As soon as they were clear, Rocket let the metal go with a crash and crawled back out. He looked to the side to find others who needed assistance. Instead, he found a huge sigil burned into the grass, where he, Thor, and Groot made their badass entrance. His steps were heavy as he walked to the center of the circular design.

Groot. He's lost him twice now. Except this time there wasn't even a twig left of him to nourish into a new sapling again. He was just...gone.

The raccoon dropped to his knees. A single tear rolled off his eyelid and sunk into his dark fur. This was the day that he'd been running from before he met the other guardians. Things were different then. Back then he dreaded to think he'd die at the hands of Thanos in his genocidal rampage. Now, it seemed survival was just as cruel a fate as death if not crueler. He could only hope now that Quill and the others were alright.

"Hey, uh..." The guy with the metal suit approached him. Rocket could tell he wasn't accustomed to speaking with beings like him. Though, all things considered, it was the least bizarre thing. "Everyone's meeting up inside. You wanna hitch a ride?"

Rocket wiped his cheek on his arm before turning with a voice that sounded less bothered than he felt. "Sure. Thanks."

The suit whirred as he climbed atop the man's shoulders. The jets fired up and propelled them into the air toward the building. "Name's James Rhodes, by the way."

"Rocket."

"That was one hell of an entrance you guys made, Rocket. Saved our asses."

Rocket wasn't sure if James was trying to lighten the mood or fill the silence but they both sensed his words were meaningless at this point. Still, he respected the effort.

Everyone gathered in the council room. The throne at the end of the aisle remained empty at the request of Shuri, the King's sister. Some sat in the other chairs and some stood, their bodies still vigilant. Or perhaps it was grief and disbelief that made rest too trivial to consider. When all were present, Rocket realized the only person he was familiar with was Thor and his newest acquaintance, James Rhodes, who he learned was more commonly called Rhodes. Seriously, why do humans have so many names? He thought. Heh, reckon any name is still better than Taserface.

An amused sniff came from the raccoon's little nose. Instinctively, he turned to his side to retell his inner joke to Groot. Rocket's smirk faded before he sunk back into his chair. The reminder left a heavy stone in his chest that made him feel sick. The silence in the room made the stone heavier with every second that passed without a distraction. So Rocket did what came naturally.

"So...anybody got any bright ideas about how we're gonna crush that purple jackass to jelly?" Rocket looked around, but no one answered. "Wait...we are plannin' on hitting him back right?"

"And what do you expect us to do against him when he has the power of all the infinity stones at his disposal?" Said the Wakandan woman who stood at Shuri's side, her accent thick. "Besides, if he completed his mission how is he still relevant?"

"We must strike him back, Okoye." Shuri pushed. "That monster took my brother from me, your King." General Okoye gave a tempered look.

The bearded guy, Rogers, spoke. "She's right. And as long as Thanos has the stones, the universe isn't safe."

"Well not to be Mr. Negative but as long as he has those stones, he's undefeatable." Rhodes intervened, who was now in regular clothes sitting across from Rocket.

Another silence fell. Rocket sensed everyone had strongly agreed with the idea of taking another stand but were just as equally challenged with the prospect of fighting against the most powerful being in the universe at the moment.

"The glove." Thor contemplated, his hand to his chin. Everyone looked to him at the back of the room. "Something happened to the glove when he snapped his fingers. It looked damaged, like whatever he did was almost too much for it."

"Without the glove he can't harness the stones' energy. Well, not all of them at once anyway, right?" Said the red head.

Thor nodded. "Yes, but destroying the glove won't be that simple. It was made from the same forgery as my axe."

"And let's not forget that getting near that glove ain't gonna be a stroll in the park neither." Rocket added.

"Agreed, but we have to try. We should meet back at headquarters, get in touch with SHIELD, see who else is still out there." The red head spoke again. This made everyone quiet again. Everyone was eager to find the others but was also afraid to discover more losses than they had already suffered.

The meeting eventually came to a close and the Avengers along with Rocket made their way to New York.

*

Congratulations, and thank you for a great read, VinSkaro.