"Thanos, I'll be your opponent."
On Titan, Doctor Strange was injured, and everyone else had fallen unconscious.
The only one still standing before Thanos was Iron Man.
Hearing Iron Man's voice, Thanos said, "Stark?"
Iron Man looked surprised, "You know me?"
"Of course," Thanos replied calmly, "You're not the only one cursed with knowledge."
"You've been my only nightmare."
As he spoke, six miniature missiles rose from Iron Man's back.
They launched from his armor and screamed toward Thanos.
"Come on!"
"I'll crush every one of you, then go to Earth and reclaim what's mine!"
Thanos shouted as he raised the Infinity Gauntlet. The Space Stone blazed with light.
A mass of black-blue energy appeared and swallowed Iron Man's missiles.
At the same time, black-blue energy appeared behind Iron Man, and the six missiles flew back out, exploding all around him.
But before the flames had even faded, Iron Man had already burst through them.
He rushed up to Thanos. His legs locked together, his armor merged into a pile-driver-like structure, and slammed hard into Thanos' chest.
Thanos staggered from the impact.
Iron Man flipped through the air and landed. Components unfolded from his feet and gripped the ground, anchoring him in place.
Then his arms transformed. Flames burst from his elbows, creating tremendous thrust as he smashed into Thanos again.
But Thanos only took a single step back before reaching out, grabbing Stark's helmet and tearing it off.
Then he threw another punch.
Stark quickly regenerated a new helmet and raised both arms to block.
Clang!
It was as if Iron Man had been struck by a giant hammer. He was hurled away and crashed to the ground.
Thanos casually picked up a piece of wreckage from the nearby spaceship and hurled it like a cannonball at Stark.
Iron Man quickly took flight, dodged the attack, and charged back in.
Thanos threw a punch. Stark stomped down, pinning Thanos' arm to the ground. At the same time, the armor on his foot transformed, locking Thanos' hand firmly in place.
Then he lashed out with a kick, snapping Thanos' head to one side and cutting his cheek.
Thanos touched the wound and smiled, "All that for a drop of blood?"
With a wave of his hand, the armor around Iron Man's foot shattered, and Stark spun several times before hitting the ground.
Before he could get back up, Thanos leaped over and smashed down with a punch.
Stark hurriedly raised his arms to block.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Thanos rained down blow after blow, smashing Iron Man's helmet to pieces until it could no longer regenerate.
Taking advantage of the brief moment when Thanos lifted his fist, flames burst from Stark's feet and he flew away.
Landing on the ground, he fired beams from both hands, but Thanos simply raised the Infinity Gauntlet and blocked them.
He advanced straight through the beams until he reached Iron Man, then blasted him back with a punch.
Iron Man flew back again, fists raised.
Thanos caught his punch and slammed his forehead into him, completely shattering Stark's helmet.
A blade extended from Iron Man's other hand and thrust toward Thanos.
Thanos sidestepped, casually grabbed the blade, twisted it, and snapped it off.
Then he reversed the blade and drove it into Stark's abdomen, forcing him back until he pinned him against a boulder.
After suffering such a heavy blow, no matter how unwilling he was, Iron Man could no longer continue fighting.
"I admire you, Stark."
Pressing a hand against Iron Man's shoulder, Thanos said, "After I gather all six Infinity Stones and accomplish what I set out to do, half of humanity will still survive."
"I hope they remember you."
Thanos raised the Infinity Gauntlet. The Soul Stone lit up as he prepared to destroy Stark's soul.
"Stop!"
A voice rang out.
Doctor Strange.
Catching his breath, he said, "Spare him, and I'll give you the Stone."
"Have you lost your mind?"
Blood trickled from the corner of Stark's mouth. His mouth was filled with the taste of iron, but he still said, "Don't forget what you told me!"
Thanos covered Iron Man's mouth with one hand and looked at Doctor Strange.
"Don't try any tricks."
Doctor Strange shook his head. He raised a hand as though grasping something in empty space.
A flash of green and the Time Stone appeared between his fingers.
Thanos held out his hand.
Doctor Strange gave it a gentle push, and the Time Stone flew toward Thanos.
But before Thanos could catch it, another hand seized the Time Stone first.
A red cape swept into everyone's view, while black vibranium armor reflected Titan's sunlight.
Alex smiled and nodded at Doctor Strange.
"So you finally decided to bring out the Time Stone."
"Conqueror?"
Doctor Strange gasped softly, "What are you doing here?"
Back when Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian had arrived on Earth, Doctor Strange had watched Alex leave the Sanctum first. But by the time he and Iron Man reached the street, Alex had already boarded that doughnut-shaped spaceship.
From Earth all the way to Titan, Alex had never appeared. Both Doctor Strange and Iron Man had long since forgotten about him.
But unexpectedly, at this critical moment, the Conqueror had appeared.
Thanos held out a hand, "Conqueror, give me that Stone, or I'll kill him."
"Him?"
"You mean Iron Man?"
As soon as Alex finished speaking, his eyes lit up. Scorching golden beams roared out, blasting Stark away. [T/N: That hurt me, as a Tony Stank fan, personally.]
"No!"
Thanos watched helplessly as Stark was blown to death. With no leverage left to threaten his opponent, he let out a furious roar and raised the Infinity Gauntlet toward Alex.
Alex suddenly vanished.
The next second, he appeared behind Thanos and knocked him to the ground with a punch. Heat vision rained down immediately afterward, but Thanos used the Space Stone in time to escape, causing Alex's attack to miss.
Thanos reappeared some distance away and looked at Alex.
The master strategist's eyes shifted.
He quickly made his decision.
He would leave this place, head to Earth, obtain the Mind Stone, then use the power of three Stones together to settle things with Alex.
Thanos raised the Infinity Gauntlet and clenched his fist. Black-blue energy engulfed him.
But when he stepped back out of the energy, what greeted him was a fist.
BANG!
Only as Thanos was sent flying did he see the hateful smiling face behind that fist.
"How is this possible?"
Thanos couldn't understand what had just happened.
The corners of Alex's mouth curled up.
On the Bracers of Hercules on his wrists, the Reality Stone glowed with crimson light.
Just now, he had altered reality, changing Thanos' destination from Earth to a location near the battlefield.
As long as Alex wished it, even with the Space Stone, Thanos wasn't going anywhere.
Spreading his hands, Alex said, "Looks like we can play for quite a while."
Thanos' expression darkened.