Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Seriously? You don’t have any money?” Y/N and Stephen were walking down the stairs in their normal clothes, heading to get something to eat.

“Attachment to the material is detachment from the spiritual.”

“I’ll tell that to the guys at the deli, maybe they’ll make you a metaphysical ham on rye.”

Y/N chuckles as Wong digs in his pockets. “Wait, wait, I think I have 200..”

“Dollars?”

“Rupees.”

“Which is?”

“A buck and a half.”

Stephen sighs. “What do you want?”

“I wouldn’t say no to a tuna melt.”

The three of them jumped as something fell through the ceiling behind you and crashed through the stairs. Y/N turned and ran towards the gaping hole in the stairs and looked down to see Bruce lying there.

“Bruce?”

“Thanos… He’s coming..”

Stephen and Wong exchanged a confused look.

“Who?”

~

Tony and Pepper were jogging in the park when Stephen comes through a portal.

“Tony, I need you to come with me,” he says.

“What’s going on, Doc?” Tony asks.

“We need your help. Look, it’s not overselling to say that the fate of the universe is at stake.”

“And who’s “we”?”

Bruce emerges from behind Stephen. “Hey, Tony.”

Tony and Pepper exchange shocked looks. “Bruce!”

“You okay?” Tony asks, pulling Bruce into a hug. Both of them follow Stephen back to the sanctum, where Y/N and Wong are waiting.

Wong begins to explain the infinity stones using magic. “From the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then, boom! The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals, hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence.Space. Reality. Power. Soul. Mind…”

“And Time,” Stephen says, opening the Eye of Agamotto.

“Tell me his name again,” Tony says.

“Thanos. He’s a plague, Tony,” Bruce says. “He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York. That’s him.”

“This is it…” Tony replies. “What’s our timeline?”

“No telling. He has the Power and Space Stones, that already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. If he gets his hands, on all six Stones, Tony…”

“He can destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamt of,” Stephen finishes.

Tony leans against the cauldron. “Did you seriously just say “hitherto undreamt of”?”

“Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?” Stephen retorts.

“Is that what this is…. ?” Tony asks.

“Guys!” Y/N says, trying to stop them before they start arguing. The cloak smacks Tony’s arm.

“I’m going to allow that. If Thanos needs all six, why don’t we just stick this one down the garbage disposal?” Tony asks.

“No can do,” Stephen replies.

“We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone. With our lives,” Y/N answers.

“And I swore off dairy, but then, Ben & Jerry’s named a flavor after me, so….” Tony says.

“Stark Raving Hazelnuts,” Stephen replies.

“It’s not bad,” Tony says.

“A bit chalky,” Stephen deadpans.

“A Hunka-Hulka Burning Fudge is our favorite,” Y/N says.

“That’s a thing?” Bruce asks. She nods.

“Whatever. Point is: things change,” Tony says.

“Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot change. This Stone may be the best chance we have against Thanos,” Stephen answers.

“And still conversely, it may also be his best chance against us,” Tony replies.

“Well, if we don’t do our jobs…” Stephen starts.

“What is your job exactly, besides making balloon animals?” Tony asks.

Stephen steps closer to Tony, getting in his face. “Protecting your reality, douchebag,” Stephen says.

Y/N is frustrated with the two of them now. “God, can the two of you argue later when the fate of the world is not at stake?!” she yells.

“Sorry, pumpkin,” Tony says.

“Sorry, babe,” Stephen says.

“Okay, guys,” Bruce starts. “The fact is that we have this Stone. We know where it is. Vision is out there somewhere with the Mind Stone, and we have to find him now.”

“Yeah, that’s the… thing,” Tony says.

“What do you mean?”

“Two weeks ago, Vision turned off his transponder. He’s offline.”

“What? Tony, you lost another super bot?” Bruce asks.

“I didn’t lose him. He’s more than that. He’s evolving,” Tony says.

“Who could find Vision, then?” Stephen asks.

“Probably Steve Rogers,” Tony says.

“Oh, great,” Stephen says with a hint of disgust.

“Maybe. But…” Tony says, exchanging a look with Y/N.

“Call him,” Bruce says.

“It’s not that easy. God, we haven’t caught up in a spell, have we?” Tony asks.

“No.”

“The Avengers broke up. We’re toast.” Tony explains.

“Broke up? Like a band? Like The Beatles?” Bruce asks.

“Y/N and I fell out hard with Cap and the rest of them. We’re not on speaking terms.” Tony says.

“Tony, listen to me. Thor’s gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn’t matter who you’re talking to or not,” Bruce says.

Tony sighs, pulling out the flip phone Steve gave him in case of emergencies. His finger hovers over the call button before they all look up as they hear a rumbling from outside.

“Say, Doc, you wouldn’t happen to be moving your hair, would you?” Tony asks.

Stephen looks up at his hair fluttering in the wind. “Not at the moment, no.”

The five of them rush outside to see utter chaos. A giant ship shaped like a doughnut flies towards Earth. People are running in the streets. Tony puts on his sunglasses.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., what am I looking at?” he asks.

“Not sure, I’m working on it,” she answers.

“Hey! You might wanna put that Time Stone in your back pocket, Doc!” Tony shouts at Stephen.

“Might wanna use it!” Stephen calls back, doing magic with his hands.

Y/N unsheathes her sword and readies her magic.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., evac anyone south of 43rd Street, notify first responders,” Tony says.

“Will do.”

Stephen throws the Winds of Watoomb over Bleecker Street, and winks at Y/N. The dust clears.

Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian exit the ship.

“Hear me, and rejoice. You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos. Be thankful, that your meaningless lives are now contributing to…”

“I’m sorry, Earth is closed today. You better pack it up and get outta here!” Tony exclaims.

“Stonekeeper… Does this chattering animal speak for you?” Ebony Maw asks.

“Certainly not. I speak for myself,” Stephen says, making magic shields with his fists. “But you’re trespassing in this city and on this planet.”

Wong also makes magic shields with his fists and Y/N makes one, holding her sword in the other hand.

“It means get lost, Squidward!” Tony exclaims.

“He exhausts me,” Ebony maw says. He turns to Cull Obsidian. “Bring me the Stone.”

Cull Obsidian drops his huge alien hammer and drags it along as he obeys.

“Banner, you want a piece?” Tony asks.

“No, not really, but when do I ever get what I want?” Bruce asks.

“That’s right.”

Bruce tries to hulk out. He turns green around his neck, but does not succeed.

“Been a while. Good to have you, buddy,” Tony says.

“I just… I need to concentrate here for one second. Come on, come on, man.”

“Where’s your guy?” Tony asks.

“I don’t know. We’ve sort been havin’ a thing,” Bruce says.

“There’s no time for a thing,” Tony says.

“I know.”

“That’s the thing right there. Let’s go.”

Bruce fails to release the Hulk and the rest of the group stares in disbelief.

“Dude, you’re embarrassing me in front of the wizards,” Tony says.

“Tony, I’m sorry. Either I can’t or he won’t–“ Bruce stammers.

“It’s okay. Hey, stand down. Keep an eye on him. Thank you,” Tony says.

“I have him,” Wong says.

As Cull Obsidian approaches the team, Tony dons his nano tech Iron Man suit in the space of three steps. He grows a shield on one arm to protect himself, then grows a set of blasters that easily throw the Dwarf back to Maw, who gestures and deflects his massive companion into some cars.

“Where’d that come from?” Bruce asks.

“It’s nano-tech. You like it? A little someth–“ Tony asks.

Ebony Maw creates a spike of earth that throws Iron Man far up, and attacks the rest of the team with debris. Wong summons a shield. Y/N hits the debris away with her sword.

“Dr. Banner, if the rest of your green friend won’t be joining us….” Stephen says before teleporting Bruce away to a nearby park.

Chapter Text

Tony pushes a car thrown by Maw back at him. Maw cuts it in half and lets the pieces fly past him, untouched.

“Gotta get that stone outta here, now,” Tony says to Stephen.

“It stays with me,” Stephen insists.

“Exactly. Bye,” Tony says.

Tony flies away but is hit by Cull Obsidian’s hammer, sending him through a building and into the park at high speed, plowing into the ground and fetching up against a tree. Bruce rushes over to him.

“Tony, you okay? How we doing? Good? Bad?” Bruce asks.

“Really, really good. Really good. Do you plan on helping out?” Tony asks.

“I’m trying. He won’t come out,” Bruce replies.

Cull Obsidian arrives at the park and throws his hammer at Bruce and Tony.

“Hammer!” Tony exclaims, pushing Bruce out of the way.

Tony’s energy beam deflects off Cull Obsidian’s shield, slicing down trees. Bruce barely evades one.

“Come on, Hulk. What are you doing to me?” Bruce asks before slapping himself a few times. “Come out! Come out! Come out!”

Half of Bruce’s face becomes the Hulk. “Nooooooo!” Hulk howls.

“What do you mean, “no”?!” Bruce asks.

Tony is knocked down by Obsidian, who is about to deliver a decisive blow, but the alien’s hammer is easily caught by Peter.

“Hey, man. What’s up, Mr. Stark?”

“Kid, where’d you come from?” Tony asks.

“Field trip to MoMA,” Peter answers.

Cull Obsidian grabs Peter and throws him away. “What is this guy’s problem, Mr. Stark?”

“He’s from space. He came here to steal a necklace from a wizard,” Tony answers.

Stephen, Y/N, and Wong fight Maw. Maw lifts several bricks from the ground and turns them into sharp points. He sends them towards the trio. The three make portals and boomerang them back towards Maw. Maw moves a car to protect himself, but one spike still hits his head, creating a cut. Angered, Maw uses a broken fire hydrant’s water stream to knock Wong back several meters, rendering him unconscious.

Y/N charges towards Maw with her sword in the air, but he throws her into the concrete.

Stephen snaps a whip of magical energy to bind Maw’s hands and yanks, but Maw flies forward with the pull and pins Stephen upside-down against a building, using the bricks to trap him.

“Your powers are quaint. You must be popular with children,” Maw says.

Maw tries to grab the Eye of Agamotto but jerks back when it burns his hand.

“It’s a simple spell but quite unbreakable,” Stephen says.

“Then I’ll take it off your corpse,” Maw replies.

“Maw pulls Doctor Strange away from the building and throws him to the ground.

Stephen looks over at Y/N, who was getting up off the ground. “You okay?” he calls. She nods, giving him a thumbs up before starting n over to him.

Stephen starts to use the Eye of Agamotto, but utility cables first pin his arms, interrupting the spell and closing the Eye, while another cable winds around his torso, then tightens around his throat.

“You’ll find… removing a dead man’s spell… troublesome,” Stephen says.

“You’ll only wish you were dead,” Maw says. Stephen falls unconscious and to the ground; Maw raises a portion of street pavement to use as a carrier, but the Cloak of Levitation works its master loose of the cable spiral and flies Stephen away.

“NO!” Y/N exclaims. The Cloak of Levitation flies to her and she follows Maw towards the ship.

“Kid, that’s the wizard. Get on it,” Tony says to Peter as he sees Stephen flying by.

“On it!” Peter shoots a web, trying to take the unconscious Stephen from Maw. Y/N reaches Peter as a blue light appears, sending the three of them to the ship.

“Uhhh, Mr. Stark? We’re being beamed up!”

“Hang on, kid!” He begins to fly towards the large ship “Give me a little juice, F.R.I.D.A.Y.”

Ebony Maw walks towards the controls of the ship, Stephen’s unconscious body floating face-down behind him, and prepares to leave Earth’s atmosphere.

Y/N enters the ship, hiding in the shadows, trying to come up with a plan to save Stephen while observing Maw.

“Unlock 17-A,” Tony says, still flying. “Pete you gotta let go. I’m gonna catch you.

“But you said save the wizard!” Peter exclaims gasping from lack of oxygen, before pulling off his mask. “I can’t breathe!”

“You’re too high up. You’re running out of air,” Tony explains.

“Yeah! That makes sense,” Peter says. He falls, but the Iron Spider suit reaches him. Peter lands on the bottom part of the ship now that he can breathe.

“Mr. Stark, it smells like a new car in here!”

“Happy trails, kid. F.R.I.D.A.Y, send him home,” Tony says.

A large parachute extends from the new suit, snatching Spider-Man free of the ship’s hull and him spiraling back to Earth.

“OH, COME ON!”

Tony latches onto the hull and cuts a hole to board the ship, looking for wherever Stephen and Ebony Maw went.

“Boss, incoming call from Miss Potts.”

“Tony? Oh, my God. Are you all right? What’s going on?” Pepper asks frantically.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just think we might have to push our 8:30 res,” Tony says.

“Why?”

“Just ‘cause I’ll… probably not make it back for a while,” Tony says.

“Tell me you’re not on that ship,” Pepper says.

“Yeah.”

“God, no. Please tell me you’re not on that ship!” Pepper exclaims.

“Honey, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, the alien got Stephen and Y/N,” Tony says.

“Come back here, Tony. I swear to God….” Pepper says.

“Pep….”

“Come back here right now! Come back!” Pepper exclaims.

“Boss, we’re losing her. I’m going, too….” FRIDAY says.

Ebony Maw interrogates Stephen, who is floating horizontally, face down, and is surrounded by dozens of glassy needles.

“In all the time I’ve served Thanos, I’ve never failed him. If I were to reach our rendezvous on Titan with the Time Stone still attached to your vaguely irritating person, there would be… judgement,” he says as the needles start to puncture Stephen’s skin, causing him to grit his teeth in pain. “Give me… the stone.”

Tony finally reaches Y/N who is watching, hidden, from above. The Cloak of Levitation taps Tony on the arm. He raises his hand to it, ready to shoot, but he sees what it is and stands down.

“Wow you’re a seriously loyal piece of outerwear, aren’t you?” Tony asks.

“Yeah, uh, speaking of loyalty….”

Tony, Y/N, and the Cloak turn to face Peter, who drops from above.

“What the–“

“I know what you’re gonna say,” Peter starts.

“You should not be here.”

“I was gonna go home–“ Peter continues.

“I don’t wanna hear it,” Tony says, using his “dad” voice.

“But it was such a long way down and I just thought about you on the way…”

“And now I gotta hear it,” Tony continues in his “dad” voice.

“..And I kinda stuck to the side of the ship. And this suit is ridiculously intuitive, by the way. So if anything, it’s kinda your fault that I’m here,” Peter finishes.

“Uh oh,” Y/N says.

“What did you just say?” Tony asks.

“I take that back. And now I’m here in space.” Peter says.

“Yeah. Right where I don’t want you to be. This isn’t Coney Island. This isn’t a field trip. It’s a one-way ticket. You hear me? Don’t pretend like you thought this through. You could not have possibly thought this through,” Tony scolds, still using his “dad” voice.

“Dad, save the scolding for later. We have to save Stephen,” Y/N says.

“Come on. We got a situation. See him down there? He’s in trouble. What’s your plan? Go,” Tony says.

“Um. Okay, okay… uh… Okay. Did you ever see this really old movie, Aliens?”

“Painful aren’t they?” Maw asks as the needles go even further into Stephen’s skin. “They were originally designed for microsurgery. And any one of them…”

Maw turns to see Y/N with her sword drawn and Tony standing there, hand repulsors ready to fire.

“…Could end your friend’s life in an instant.”

Maw looks over at Y/N. “Your woman has come to rescue you, magician,” he says.

Y/N takes out her sword. “Release him or I’ll gut you like a fish,” she demands.

“Your fate will be the same as his,” Maw states. “Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine.”

“Yeah, but the kid’s seen more movies,” Tony says, firing a rocket from his shoulder which pierces the side of the ship to Maw’s right and begins to suck everything out with depressurization, especially Maw and his large objects. Stephen is pulled loose of his pinnings, loses the needles, but also heads for the hole, helpless to resist. The Cape wraps around his arm and an anchor point, but Stephen’s arm slips loose and he keeps going.

Peter shoots a web strand at Stephen with one hand and holds onto a piece of the ship with the other. It breaks, sending them both towards space when his Iron-Spider suit’s metal arms brace him to keep him from being sucked out.

“Yes! Wait what are those?!” Peter asks, gesturing to his new Iron-Spider legs.

Y/N rushes over to Stephen, wrapping her arms around him. “Oh my god! I thought I lost you!”

“I’m fine, babe,” Stephen says, holding her for a moment.

Peter stares at the pair, puzzled. Tony leans over to him. “That’s her fiancé,” he says, and the teenager nods.

Stephen stands, pulling on his cloak.

Tony walks past Stephen, shaking his head while his armor returns to its containment.

“We’ve gotta turn this ship around,” Stephen says.

“Yeah. Now he wants to run. Great plan,” Tony says sarcastically.

“No, I want to protect the stone.”

“And I want you to thank me now. Go ahead, I’m listening,” Tony says.

“For what? Nearly blasting me into space?” Stephen asks.

“Who just saved your magical ass? Me.”

Y/N rolls her eyes as the two begin arguing again.

“Are they always like that?” Peter asks.

“You don’t even know the half of it,” Y/N says.

“I seriously don’t know how you fit your head into that helmet,” Stephen says.

“Admit it. You should have ducked out when I told you to. I tried to bench you. You refused,” Tony replies.

“Unlike everyone else in your life, I don’t work for you,” Stephen says angrily.

“And due to that fact, we’re now in a flying doughnut billions of miles away from Earth with no backup,” Tony yells.

“Guys!” Y/N yells.

“I’m backup,” Peter says, raising his hand.

“No. You’re a stowaway. The adults are talking,” Tony says.

“I’m sorry, I’m confused as to the relationship here. Wh– what is he, your ward?” Stephen asks.

“No. I’m Peter, by the way,” Peter says.

“Doctor Strange,” Stephen replies.

“Oh, we’re using our made-up names. Um… I’m Spider-Man, then,” Peter says. Y/N busts out laughing and Stephen glares at her.

“This ship is self-correcting its course. Thing’s on autopilot,” Tony says.

“Can we control it? Fly us home? Tony?” Stephen asks.

“Yeah?”

“Can you get us home?” Stephen asks.

“Yeah I heard you. I’m thinking… I’m not so sure we should,” Tony answers.

“Under no circumstance can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos. I don’t think you quite understand what’s at stake here,” Stephen says.

Tony walks over to Stephen, getting in his face. “No. It’s you who doesn’t understand, that Thanos has been inside my head for six years since he sent an army to New York and now he’s back! And I don’t know what to do. So I’m not so sure if it’s a better plan to fight him on our turf or his but you saw what they did, what they can do. At least on his turf, he’s not expecting it. So I say we take the fight to him. Doctor. Do you concur?”

“Alright, Tony. We go to him. But you have to understand… if it comes to saving you or the kid or the Time Stone… I will not hesitate to let either of you die. I can’t, because the fate of the universe depends on it,” Stephen says.

“STEPHEN!” Y/N yells angrily. “What about me, would you not hesitate to let me die if it came down to me or the time stone?”

“No time for marital discourse, guys,” Tony says. Tony walks over to Peter, and Y/N hands him her sword. Tony uses the sword to knight him. “Alright, kid. You’re an Avenger now.”

Chapter Text

The ship begins to approach the surface of a planet.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Peter asks.

“I think we’re here,” Stephen answers.

“I don’t think this rig has a self-park function,” Tony says, putting his hand in it. “Get your hand into this steering gimbal. Close those around it. You understand?”

Peter follows his lead. “Yep, got it.”

“This was meant for one big guy, so we gotta to move at the same time,” Tony says.

“Okay. Okay. Ready.”

Stephen and Y/N use magic to try and keep the ship from crashing.

“We might wanna turn. Turn! Turn! Turn!!” Peter exclaims.

Tony armors up as the ringship clips something obliquely, but still losing a good third of its hull in the collision. Peter throws up his helmet at the same time. Stephen and Y/N step between them and create the Shield of the Seraphim around them all.

Stephen helps Tony to his feet; they’re both panting a little from the exertion of arrival.

“You alright? That was close. I owe you one,” Tony says while Stephen helps Y/N up.

Peter descends from above in classically spider-like fashion, and all three of them look up at him.

“Let me just say, if aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something, and I eat one of you, I’m sorry,” Peter says.

Tony points to Peter. “I don’t wanna hear another single pop culture out of you for the rest of the trip. You understand?”

“I’m trying to say that… something is coming,” Peter says.

A grenade rolls into view, and Peter, Stephen, Y/N, and Tony get thrown back when it fires its energy pulse. Star-Lord, Drax, and Mantis appear in the doorway.

“THANOS!!!!” Drax yells, flinging a blade at Stephen, who deflects it with a mystical shield, and in return sends the Cloak of Levitation at Drax’s face, half-smothering him and throwing him to the floor. Star-Lord and Tony have a brief dogfight until a magnetic disc pins Tony face-first to a structure.

Peter crawls backwards away from Mantis. “AH! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! PLEASE DON’T PUT YOUR EGGS IN ME!”

Peter shoots web at Mantis in a panic, pinning arms to her body just before Star-Lord flies at him feet-first, kicking him away.

Mantis breaks free of the webs and and starts fighting with Y/N, who deflects each hit with her sword.

“Stay down, clown!” Starlord yells at Peter.

He fires at Peter, who extends his spider legs and leaps away, but an electric-like cord wraps around Peter and his six new legs when he tries to attack, sending him rolling across the deck.

“Die, blanket of death!” Drax yells at the cloak.

Tony pulls free of the magnet; the Cloak pulls free of Drax as soon as Tony has a lead on his opponent and a foot on his torso.

Star-lord has Peter in a head-lock, gun pointed at the smaller man’s head.

Stephen has a mystical shield of golden energy up, and stands ready with Y/N, who is still holding up her sword. Mantis pulls herself off the ground where Y/N had knocked her down.

“Alright, everybody, stay where you are… chill the F out,” Starlord says, taking off his helmet. “I’m gonna ask you this one time. Where’s Gamora?”

“Yeah, I’ll do you one better. Who’s Gamora?” Tony asks, also taking off his helmet.

“I’ll do you one better! Why is Gamora?!” Drax asks from the ground.

“Tell me where the girl is, or I swear to you, I’m gonna French-fry this little freak!” Starlord exclaims.

“Let’s do it! You shoot my guy, I blast him. Let’s go!” Tony extends his nano-tech cannon, pointing it towards Drax.

“Do it, Quill! I can take it.”

“No, he can’t take it!” Mantis exclaims.

“She’s right. You can’t,” Stephen deadpans.

“Oh yeah? You don’t wanna tell me where she is? That’s fine. I’ll kill all four of you and beat it out of Thanos myself,” he points his gun at Peter. “Starting with you.”

“Wait, what. Thanos? Alright, let me ask you this one time: What master do you serve?” Stephen asks.

“What master do I serve? What am I supposed to say? “Jesus”?” Starlord says sarcastically.

“You’re from Earth?” Y/N asks.

“I’m not from Earth. I’m from Missouri!” Starlord exclaims.

“Yeah, that’s on EARTH, dip-shit. What are you hassling us for?” Tony asks.

“So, you’re not with Thanos?” Peter asks.

“WITH Thanos?! No, I’m here to kill Thanos! He took my girl. Wait… who are you?” Starlord asks.

Peter takes off his helmet. “We’re the Avengers, man.”

“Oh,” Starlord says.

“You’re the ones Thor told us about!” Mantis exclaims.

“You know Thor!?” Tony asks.

“Yeah. Tall guy, not that good-looking..” Starlord says.

Peter and Y/N give him a strange look.

“He needed saving,” Starlord finishes.

“Where is he now?” Stephen asks.

“Some place called Nivadellir,” Starlord says. “Said he needed a new hammer.”

Y/N looks down at her hand. “Shit, Stephen, I lost my ring!”

“Is that really important right now?” Stephen asks.

“No, Stephen, my sling ring!” Y/N exclaims.

“Fuck, well there’s not like there’s anything we can do about it now,” he says.

“Come, on, let’s come up with a plan,” Tony says. All of them come together to decide the best way for them to defeat Thanos.

Chapter Text

On Titan, the remaining Avengers and the Guardians are starting to work together. Quill is measuring the planet’s tilt.

“The heck happened to this planet? It’s eight degrees off its axis. Gravitational pull is all over the place,” he asks.

In the background, Mantis is jumping joyfully in a low gravity spot.

“Yeah, we got one advantage. He’s coming to us. We’ll use it. All right, I have a plan. Or at least the beginnings of one. It’s pretty simple. We draw him in, pin him down, get what we need. Definitely don’t wanna dance with this guy. We just want the gauntlet,” Tony explains.

“Sound good to me, Dad,” Y/N agreed.

Drax yawns.

“Are you yawning? In the middle of this, while I’m breaking it down? Huh? Did you hear what I said?” Tony asks.

“I stopped listening after you said, “We need a plan."” he says.

“Okay, Mr. Clean is on his own page,” Tony says to Quill.

“See, "not winging it” isn’t really what they do,” Quill says.

“Uh, what exactly is it that they do?” Y/N asks.

“Kick names, take ass!” Mantis says.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Drax agrees. Y/N laughs and Tony makes a face of complete doneness.

“Alright, just get over here, please. Mr. Lord, can you get your folks to circle up?” Tony asks.

“"Mr. Lord.“ Star-Lord is fine,” Quill says.

“We gotta coalesce. ‘Cause if all we come at him with is a plucky attitude….” Tony says.

“Dude, don’t call us plucky. We don’t know what it means. Alright, we’re optimistic, yes. I like your plan. Except it sucks, so let me do the plan, and that way it might be really good,” Quill says.

“Tell him about the dance-off to save the universe,” Drax says.

“What dance-off?” Tony asks.

“It’s not a… it’s not… it’s nothing,” Quill says.

“Like in Footloose, the movie?” Peter asks.

“Exactly like Footloose. Is it still the greatest movie in history?” Quill asks.

“It never was,” Peter laughs.

“Hey, I liked Footloose!” Y/N says.

Quill smiles flirtatiously and winks at her.

“Don’t encourage this, alright?” Tony asks Y/N and Peter.

“Okay,” they say in unison.

“We’re getting no help from Flash Gordon here,” Tony says.

“Flash Gordon? By the way, that’s a compliment. Don’t forget, I’m half human,” Quill says, pointing at Tony and Peter. “So that 50% of me that’s stupid? That’s 100% you.”

He turns to Y/N. “Except you, you’re 100% cuteness,” he says, smile turning into a frown when he sees the ring on her finger.

“Your math is blowing my mind,” Tony says.

“Excuse me, but… does your friend often do that?” Mantis asks, pointing to Stephen.

Stephen is sitting cross-legged, floating slightly above the ground, his hands poised in a mystic gesture with the Time Stone glowing brightly in the Eye of Agamotto setting. Green vapor-like energy flows from the stone, and more intricate magical energy patterns circle Dr. Strange’s forearms. The Cloak of Levitation flows behind him as if the Stone is creating a strong breeze. His eyes are closed, and his head is jerking rapidly from side to side, the motion blurring, but resembling looking for something.

Y/N calls out to him. “Honey! You alright?”

Stephen snaps out of his trance and falls forward, letting out a cry. Y/N runs over to him, pulling him into a comforting hug.

“You’re back. You’re alright. You’re with me, honey,” she says.

“Hey, what was that?” Peter asks.

Y/N helps Stephen to his feet. “I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict.”

“How many did you see?” Quill asks.

“14,000,605.”

“How many did we win?” Tony asks.

Stephen pauses for a moment. “One.”

Chapter Text

On Titan, Thanos arrives, finding only fresh debris from Ebony Maw’s ship, and Stephen sitting on what may have once been steps while the rest of the group is hiding.

“Oh, yeah, you’re much more of a “Thanos."” Stephem says sarcastically.

“I take it the Maw is dead. This day extracts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission,” Thanos says.

“You may regret that. He brought you face-to-face with the Master of the Mystic Arts,” Stephen replies.

“And where do you think he brought you?” Thanos asks.

“Let me guess. Your home?” Stephen asks.

“It was. And it was beautiful.” Thanos curls his gauntleted fist and activates the Reality Stone to show Stephen Titan before it was destroyed – green lawns, intact buildings, water-filled ponds, strolling citizens, the jack-like structures hovering and connected to the ground-based buildings with beams of energy. “Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, and not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution.”

“Genocide,” Stephen answers.

“But at random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike. They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass.” The stone stops glowing and the illusion fades.

“Congratulations. You’re a prophet,” Stephen says sarcastically.

“I’m a survivor.”

“Who wants to murder trillions,” Stephen replies.

“With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers, and they would all cease to exist. I call that… mercy.” Thanos says.

Stephen stands. “And then what?”

“I finally rest… and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe. The hardest choices require the strongest wills,” Thanos answers.

Stephen summons his Mandalas. “I think… you’ll find… our will… equal to yours.”

“Ours?” Thanos looks up to a see a chunk of wreckage descending rapidly on him. He is subsequently crushed by it.

“Piece of cake, Quill,” Tony says.

“Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off!” Quill exclaims.

The wreckage on top of Thanos erupts in purple. He turns the hovering fragments into a flock of bats with the Reality Stone and swarms Tony with them, sending him back through the ruins.

Peter swings in to kick him in the face at the same time that Drax leaps from cover, blades in both hands, to knee-slide behind Thanos and try for a tendon slide across the back of the Titan’s knee.

Stephen jumps through a portal and summons a sword of golden energy, dueling with Thanos while Drax attacks similarly on his other side. Thanos punches Drax through a ruined wall, then shatters the blade with one hand and tears the web from his eyes. He advances on Stephen and kicks at him, but Stephen’s shield absorbs the damage – the Cloak lifts him off the ground.

Quill has makes his way back on the ground, and shoots Thanos from behind. Thanos uses the Power Stone to shoot balls of energy at Quill while Quill leaps towards Thanos using magical platforms thrown in his path by Stephen, the last one placed above Thanos’ head so Quill can flip over him and slap a mine on Thanos’ back. Quill sticks his landing, he disengages his helmet, flips Thanos a bird and falls backward into a portal.

“Boom!” Quill exclaims.

The explosion knocks Thanos to his knees briefly.

Stephen whispers to the Cloak of Levitation and Y/N. “Do not let him close his fist.” The Cloak flies off Stephen’s shoulders and wraps itself tightly around Thanos’ armored hand, who starts tugging at this unexpected wrapping.

Stephen and Y/N start throwing portals everywhere. Peter leaps through one on Thanos’ left.

“Magic!” He exclaimed, punching Thanos in the head and vanishing through a portal to the lower right before reappearing above Thanos. “More magic!” He yanks Thanos’ head down hard, then leaps into a portal in front of him. He leaps through another portal high and behind Thanos. “Magic with a kick!” He kicks and falls feet-first into a portal, then appears on his right. “Magic with a–“

Thanos turns, grabbing him from the air, and throwing him to the ground, with his hand around his neck.

“Insect!” He yells at Peter.

He then throws him at Stephen, knocking them both down. Thanos finally tears the Cloak away and is then promptly surrounded by fiery explosions as Tony hits him. He sucks all the flame into the gauntlet with the Power Stone and fires it at Tony, hitting him dead on and sending him flying, plowing through a massive fallen machine.

Peter leaps from behind, more conventionally this time, while Thanos is distracted firing at Tony, webs the gauntlet and drops down in front of him, pulling hard. Thanos yanks on the web, pulling the much lighter teenager towards him, and punching him on his way past. He tears the webbing free of the gauntlet just in time for a small spaceship to attempt to crash-land on him.

The ship drags Thanos along for a distance, burying him under debris. He stands just as the pilot leaps in a great arc to punch him, landing in front of him with an energy-blade at the ready. It is Nebula.

“Well, well,” he says.

“You should have killed me,” she says.

“Would’ve been a waste of parts!”

“Where’s Gamora?!” she asks, attacking him with her sword.

Thanos punches her away. Stephen uses the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak to pin the gauntlet, pulling Thanos’ fingers open and trying to take the gauntlet off his hand.

Thanos tries to get free, as Drax slides in from his right, kicking his knee and knocking him to his knees, then wrapping himself around Thanos’ kneeling leg.

Quill shoots a electric trap onto the ground to Thanos’ right, the tangle-field holding down his unarmored hand.

Peter swings in, webs Thanos’ chest then wraps it around behind him, digging his Iron Spider legs into the ground to anchor himself. Y/N tries to pry off the guantlet.

Stephen opens a portal straight above Thanos’ out of which drops Mantis, landing on the Titan’s shoulders, her hands on his temples, trying to make him sleep.

Tony helps Y/N pull on the gauntlet. Stephen reapplies the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak to reinforce the trap’s hold on Thanos’ right hand, and the Cloak helps him pull. Thanos is finally subdued enough to try and take the guantlet.

“Is he under? Don’t let up,” Tony says.

“Be quick. He is very strong,” Mantis says.

“I say we just cut it off,” Y/N says.

“Parker, help! Get over here. She can’t hold him much longer. Let’s go.” Peter joins the two of them in trying to pull the guantlet off.

Quill flies over to join the others and stands in front of Thanos to taunt him. “I thought you’d be harder to catch. For the record, this was my plan. Not so strong now, huh? Where is Gamora?” He asks.

“My… Gamora…?” Thanos asks.

“No, bullshit. Where is she?” Quill asks.

“He is in anguish,” Mantis says.

“Good,” Quill replies.

“He… he… mourns,” Mantis says, crying.

“What does this monster have to mourn?!” Drax asks.

“Gamora,” Nebula says.

“What?” Quill asks.

“He took her to Vormir. He came back with the Soul Stone… but she didn’t,” Nebula explains.

“Okay, Quill, you gotta cool it right now, you understand?” Tony asks. He, Y/N, and Peter nearly have the gauntlet off while Stephen is trying to hold his right arm.

Quill turns back to Thanos with a look of hatred on his face.

“Don’t, don’t, don’t engage, we’ve almost got this off!” Tony yells at him.

“Tell me she’s lying. ASSHOLE! Tell me you didn’t do it!” he yells at Thanos.

“I… had… to.” Thanos says slowly.

“No, you didn't… ! No, you didn't… ! NO, YOU DIDN’T!” He yells angrily, hitting Thanos in the face and causing Mantis to let go.

“Quill!”

Tony leaps for Quill’s arm, leaving Peter and Y/N to pull off the gauntlet.

“Hey, stop! Hey, stop! Stop! Hey, stop! Stop!” Tony says to Quill.

“It’s coming! It’s coming! It’s coming! We got it! We got it…. !” Peter and Y/N exclaim.

Thanos wakes up completely. He head-butts Mantis, grabbing the gauntlet just as it is sliding off his hand, hitting Y/N in the face with his fist, making Peter stumble back, and then throwing Mantis off his shoulders.

“Oh, God,” Peter exclaims, grabbing Mantis before she can hit the ground.

Thanos kicks Drax off his leg right into Nebula and Quill, knocking them down. He yanks on the Crimson Bands holding his right hand, sending Stephen flying , and swats away Tony and his repulsor shots. The remaining Guardians jump up and charge him again, but he fires a pulse of indigo energy at them that knocks the three of them completely unconscious.

Y/N stands up, her nose, which is now broken, pours blood. Tony zooms back in, his nanite arm cannon manifested, and is head-butted to the ground. Thanos looks at him, then raises the gauntlet towards Titan’s moon. Tony stares, aghast. Thanos uses a combination of the Power and Space Stones to shatter the moon’s surface, then bring the debris down on the field of battle at speed. Tony powers out of the way and is almost caught by a chunk of moon about the size of a baseball field, though Y/N pushes him out of the way, being slammed to the ground by the debris.

Chapter Text

Y/N pulls herself out from under the chunk of moon and Tony helps her off the ground. The unconscious Guardians are flying upwards uncontrollably, moon-chunks are still making fiery ballistic in-bounds, and random debris and massive rocks are floating in any possible direction. Peter starts grabbing the unconscious Guardians.

“I got you! I got you! I’m sorry I can’t remember anybody’s names!”

The Cloak of Levitation sets Stephen down on a relatively stable outcrop to face Thanos. He makes a few passes with his hands, producing golden magic shields, and slams his hands down on the rock before him, invoking the Seven Suns of Cinnibus as a lightning-like effect of heat jumping from rock to rock until it reaches Thanos, sending him flying, but he makes use of the erratic gravity to keep control and fire back at Stephen with a blast from the Power Stone.

Stephen blocks the hit with a wall of Mirror Dimension, which he then pushes back at Thanos. It shatters around the Titan, who suctions the magic into a miniature black hole with the Space Stone, sending it back at Stephen. Just in time, Doctor Strange raises a shield and changes the dark energy into a swarm of blue butterflies.

Before Thanos can counterattack again, Stephen levitates and invokes the Images of Ikonn, giving him arms like a Hindu deity before dozens of Stephen replications appear, forming a circular wall around a snarling Thanos. They cast magical cords, wrapping around Thanos’ torso, arms and hands; he struggles to close his gauntleted fist, and uses the Soul and Power Stones to discover the real Stephen among the many copies, blowing the duplicates away and sending the singular Stephen flying. He pulls Stephen forward, grasping him by the throat once in range. Stephen tries to grab at Thanos’ hand.

“You’re full of tricks, wizard,” Thanos says.

Thanos reaches for the Eye of Agamotto. “Yet you never once used your greatest weapon.A fake.” He crushes the Eye in his hand and throws Stephen hard enough that he hits his head and passes out.

Y/N appears, her sword drawn, the Cloak around her shoulders.

“You throw another moon at me, and I’m gonna to lose it,” she says.

“Stark,” he says to Y/N and Tony, who appears in his armor.

“You know us?” Y/N asks.

“I do. You’re not the only ones cursed with knowledge,” Thanos says.

“My only curse is you,” Tony says. Small rockets pop out of his back and launch at Thanos.

“Come on!” Thanos exclaims.

The rockets all explode on target, momentarily shrouding Thanos in smoke. Before it clears, Y/N charges towards Thanos, aiming her sword for his head.

Thanos punches back hard, sending Y/N sliding yards away. He immediately uses the Power Stone to stream furiously lambent energy at her, she forms a magical shield to kneel behind just as instantly, getting pushed back even further by the incredible force.

Y/N charges towards Thanos again with her sword, this time cutting his cheek.

“All that for a drop of blood.”

He smiles briefly before punching Y/N, sending her pinwheeling, then starts beating her with his fists. Y/N attempts to block the blows with her magic, but Thanos is relentless, blasting her with the Power Stone. She manages to block it with a magical shield. Thanos throws her and she lands hard, struggles to one knee as Tony stands behind Thanos, aiming his right hand repulsor at Thanos; the beam is easily deflected by the gauntlet.

Thanos sends a beam of energy Tony’s way from the Power stone. The blast knocks him off his feet, creating more holes in his nano tech suit. As Tony waits for the suit to repair itself, Thanos turns back to Y/N.

Thanos walks right up to her. She conjures another shield to block a blow from Thanos’s gauntlet, though in her weakened state, cannot sustain the magic for more than a few seconds. She takes her sword to strike Thanos, and he easily catches it, snapping it clean in half and driving the shard towards her side, but she quickly moves and it hits her leg.

Thanos takes the half of the sword out and turns around, stabbing Tony, who had been sneaking up behind him, on the side. He turns and starts towards her again.

“You have my respect, girl. When I’m done, half of humanity will still be alive. I hope they remember you.”

Y/N looks over at Stephen, mouthing the words I love you to him as he sits up, finally coming to.

Thanos raises the gauntlet, closing his fist, all four Stones glowing.

“Stop! Spare her life… and I will give you the stone!” Stephen exclaims.

Thanos turns to him. “No tricks?” Thanos asks.

Stephen shakes his head quickly.

Tony kneels down to help Y/N up. “Don’t… !” Y/N exclaims.

Stephen reaches up and plucks the Time Stone out of its hiding place. He opens his hand, and the Stone floats to Thanos’ bare hand. Stephen watches him intently, as he takes the Stone and drops it into the thumb setting, the energy pulse making the Titan wince.

“One to go,” Thanos says.

Quill screams in rage, helmet up, firing with both hands and flying straight for Thanos.

Thanos leaves. Quill flies through where Thanos had been and crashes, rolling several times.

Quill stands and takes off his helmet. “Where is he?! Did we just lose?”

Stephen gets to his feet and hurries over to Y/N to treat her wounds. Tony uses the tech in his suit to stitch up the wound in his side before following.

“Stephen?” she asks. “Why did you give up the time stone?”

“Did you think I was going to let you die?” he replies. “It doesn’t matter anyway, we’re in the endgame now.”

He takes a look at the stab wound in her leg, which is still bleeding. “I need a tourniquet,” he says.

He rips a piece of his tunic off and wraps it around her leg.

“Stephen,” Y/N says as he is wrapping the tourniquet tightly around her leg. He looks up and meets her gaze.

“What?” he asks.

“Before we die, I have something to tell you,” she says.

“I know, I love you too,” Stephen says, finishing her tourniquet with his shaky hands.

“I love you too, but that is not what I meant,” Y/N says.

Stephen stares at her with his blue, waiting for an answer. “I’m pregnant,” she finally says.

The group silences and Stephen pulls Y/N into his arms. “I know,” he says softly.

Tony looks down sadly at his daughter. He hated to see her in pain. Peter, who is standing beside Tony, remains quiet and the Guardians share awkward glances in the background.

“Something’s… happening!” Mantis exclaims before disintegrating into dust.

Quill looks behind him as he sees Drax start to disintegrate.

“Quill?” Drax asks.

Quill stares in horror as he turns back to the others.

“Steady, Quill,” Tony says as Quill starts to disintegrate.

“Oh, man.”

Y/N turns to Stephen, who smiles to keep her from panicking, and strokes her hair one last time. He looks up at Tony and Peter before looking back at Y/N.

“There was no other way,” he says.”I lo-“ Stephen disintegrates in Y/N’s arms.

Y/N and Tony look up at Peter. “Mr. Stark? I don’t feel so good…” He collapses in Tony’s arms as he starts to disintegrate.

“You’re all right?” Tony asks, trying to remain calm.

Peter cries. “I don’t know what’s – I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t–I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna go, Mr. Stark, please. Please, I don’t wanna go. I don’t wanna go… I’m sorry..” Peter disintegrates in Tony’s arms and Tony tries to hold back tears, picking his daughter up off the ground as she sobs into his shoulder, afraid that she, too, would fade away.

Nebula approaches the pair. “He did it,” she says.

Tony looks around for a way out. He wasn’t going to let his daughter die on this desolate planet. Nebula points towards the Milano, the Guardians ship, and leads Tony to it.

Tony strokes his daughter’s hair as she continues to sob into his shoulder. He sets Y/N down in a chair, taking a seat himself as he is still in shock.

Y/N begins to shiver and Nebula comes into the room, bringing them both blankets, draping them over their shoulders.

“Thank you,” Y/N chokes out.

Nebula nods as she heads to the cockpit to start the ship up and get the hell off that planet.

Now, they just needed to get back to Earth so they could see who was left, regroup, and kill Thanos.