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ilguna · 6 months

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Hi how about expired medicine number 83 with doctor strange? pls 💛

☼ when the dead rise pt1 (Stephen Strange) ☼

warnings; swearing, a lot of mention of death, actual death, ehh gore, injuries, use of weapons.

wc; 14.8k

prompt; 83. "Did you really have to be that honest?"

notes; the entire imagine is an infinity war spoiler. all of it. with some stephen sprinkled in, some angst, and very little tony slander (blink and you'll miss it). sorry not sorry.

—

“Seriously, you don’t have any money?” Stephen asks Wong, beginning to go down the steps.

“Attachment to the material is detachment from the spiritual.” Wong replies, following behind the two of you.

“I’ll tell the guys at the deli. Maybe they’ll make you a metaphysical ham on rye.” Stephen muses, you let out a light laugh.

“Oh, wait, wait wait. I think I have two-hundred.”

“Dollars?” You ask, as you stop on the step to look at him.

“Rupees.” He smiles.

“Which is?” Stephen asks, not bothering to turn around.

“Uh, buck and a half.”

Stephen sighs, “What do you want?”

Wong claps his hands together, you let him pass you on the steps, before starting down them again. “I wouldn’t say no to a tuna melt.”

A blinding light comes from the sunroof, shaking the whole building, and slamming straight through the ceiling. A flurry of wooden splinters and marble go flying through the air, as you’re taken with the mass. The debris creates a hazy smog, which coats your throat in a few breaths.

“(Y/n)?” Stephen’s tone is alarmed.

“I’m alive.” You cough, wiping the dusty film from your face.

When you turn your head to see what came crashing through the ceiling, you’re met with a green leg. It makes you jump slightly, as you jerk away from the person. It isn’t until you’ve made it to his face, do you realize there’s nothing to worry about.

It’s Bruce.

His skin is returning back to its regular pigment. He pants beside you, hand reaching out to grab your forearm. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Stephen and Wong peeking over the hole in the stairs, both on high alert.

“Thanos is coming.” Bruce’s voice is still mixed with Hulks. On his next breath, it sounds more like him. “He’s coming.”

Stephen and Wong share a look, “Who?”

You pull your arm from Bruce, pushing to get to your feet. There’s a few aches that sprout, caused from you landing so aggressively. Wong creates an opening for you to walk through so they don’t have to pull you out of the hole in the staircase. On the other side, standing in the middle of the foyer, you begin to brush the dust off. It seems to be never ending.

“I need clothes.” Bruce says, “Or pants, at the very least.”

You rake your fingers through your hair, watching the dirt rain down around your head like a thin curtain. Wong walks away briefly, coming back with a change of clothes. He drops it into the hole, backing away to allow him to change in privacy.

“The whole planet is in danger.” Bruce says, “Thanos—he’s collecting these crystals that allow him to manipulate different things.” He pauses, you can barely see him pull the shirt over his head. “We’re next, he’s coming here to get more. And when he’s done, he’ll wipe out half of the population.”

Your eyes snap to Stephen, and find that his eyes are already on you, watching. A ticklish feeling crosses over your palms, as a different creeping feeling crawls up your spine and to the base of your neck, goosebumps covering your arms. As if your body is excited by the idea of it.

You aren’t. The thought of billions on your planet dying sends a pain through your heart. With a closed fist, you rub your chest, shaking your head at your boyfriend. This is not the time to be gauging your reaction. You can’t control it, as much as you wish you could.

“We need Tony.” Bruce says, “Tony Stark?”

Stephen raises his eyebrows. “Can we trust him?”

You tilt your head at him. “It’s Bruce, of course we can.”

While Wong begins the process of locating where Tony is at the moment, you and Stephen leave to change. Coincidentally, the suit you have was made for you by Tony, back when you had initially agreed to be an Avenger.

At the time, it was funny, because all these stipulations came with having it. To him, you were still a stranger, but he knew you were trustworthy. As much as he didn’t want to admit it at the time, it was hard for him not to think that. Especially since you were just a bystander the day Loki came to earth to wreak havoc.

You’d spent your entire life running away from problems that you couldn’t overcome or get away from, no matter how hard you tried. But as you watched those ships come through the portal, for the first time, your body had the opposite reaction of what it was used to doing.

In street clothes, with barely any practice with the ability you’d recently discovered—you helped the heroes that were risking their lives to save yours. You threw yourself into that fight, despite knowing full well there was a chance you’d get killed for it.

When Tony finally noticed what you were doing, and got over the initial panic of thinking you were Loki’s accomplice, he gave you an area to protect. Which doubled in size when he saw the impact you were causing. And when it was all said and done, he offered to help you.

You turned him down, out of fear of what the public would actually think when they saw you in action. Of course, you and your ability to bring people back from the dead was smeared across national television, painting you in a good light. That was in connection with the Avengers, though. You couldn’t stand the idea of what they’d say when you were on your own.

You got over it a few months later. You thought Tony would hold your first choice over your head, but he hasn’t mentioned it after all these years. Even though Tony can be an ass at times, you appreciate what he’s done for you.

The suit fits like a glove, despite not wearing it as frequently as you used to. You stopped right around the time Steve and Tony had their fight. The Avengers team crumbled after that, and you didn’t see a need to wear it anymore. Not with how peaceful it is.

Or rather, was.

You join the others back in the foyer, where you find Tony sitting on a couch with his hand over his mouth. At the sound of your approach, he looks over, eyes locking on the suit for a long moment, seemingly surprised that you’re wearing it, before giving you a half-smile.

“(Y/n).”

“Hey, Tony.” You cross your arms. “How’s Pepper?”

“She’s good.”

Stephen clears his throat, you turn to see him standing with Wong and Bruce a few feet away. You tilt your head, wandering to stand next to the staircase railing. “Go ahead.”

“At the dawn of the universe, there was nothing.” Wong begins. “Then…” An explosion of stars appears in the air, creating a galaxy that surrounds you. “Boom. The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence.”

“Space.” Stephen says, as the floating blue crystal begins to glow, moving off to the side. “Reality.” This stone is a bright red “Power.” A purple stone shines. “Soul.” The orange one sizzles. “Mind.” As the yellow one reflects the light. “And Time.” Stephen finishes, adjusting the necklace that rests against his chest.

He touches it, bending his fingers as he pulls his hands away from each other. This unlocks the restrictions briefly, letting the shimmering green stone breathe.

“Tell me his name again.” Tony says.

“Thanos.” Bruce begins to walk toward him. “He’s a plague, Tony. He invades planets. He takes what he wants.” Tony has gotten to his feet, meeting Bruce in the middle. “He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York, that’s him.”

The same creeping feeling comes back, something bubbling beneath your skin. Your face twists, “What?”

“This is it.” Tony takes a step back to walk around the room. “What’s our timeline?”

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

“He could destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamt of.” Stephen says.

You walk to join the circle that’s formed on the other side of the staircase.

“Did you seriously just say ‘hitherto undreamt of’?” Tony asks.

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

“Is that what it is?” Tony asks, bending his leg back to stretch it, Stephen’s cloak slaps him. You cringe, because you know that wasn’t a move most people would make. “I’m going to allow that.” He stares at Stephen wordlessly, and then takes a breath. “If Thanos needs all six, why don’t we just stick this one down a garbage disposal?”

“No can do.” Stephen shakes his head.

“We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone with our lives.” Wong tells him.

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

“Stark Raving Hazelnuts.” You laugh, playing with a piece of wood with your shoe.

“It’s not bad.” Tony looks in your direction.

“A bit chalky.” Stephen says.

“A Hunk of Hulk of Burning Fudge is our favorite.” Wong says.

“That’s a thing?” Bruce’s face is twisted, looking between you.

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

“Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot change. And this stone may be the best chance we have against Thanos.” Stephen tells him.

“Yeah, so conversely, it may also be his best chance against us.”

“Well, if we don’t do our jobs.” Stephen doesn’t budge, and he’s not going to.

Tony turns to face him fully. “What is your job exactly? Besides making balloon animals.”

“Protecting your reality, douchebag.”

You press your lips together, rubbing your forehead. Bruce interjects. “Okay, guys. Could we table this discussion right now? The fact is we have this stone.” he holds his hand out in Stephen’s direction. “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 mutters, looking away.

“What do you mean?”

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

“What?”

“Yeah.” He begins to walk away again, you share a look with Stephen.

“These used to be your people?” He asks, “You followed him?”

You wave him off. “We work better in the moment.”

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

“I didn’t lose him. He’s more than that. He’s evolving.” Tony glances over his shoulder.

“Who could find Vision then?” Stephen asks.

Tony’s silent, you let out a sigh. “Probably Steve Rogers. Right, Tony?”

“Oh, great.” Stephen turns away.

“Maybe.” Tony agrees, sighing. “But…”

“Call him.” Bruce says.

“It’s not that easy.” Tony faces Bruce. “God, we haven’t caught up in a spell, have we? The Avengers broke up, we’re toast.”

“Broke up?” Bruce repeats. “Like a band. Like—like the Beatles?”

“Cap and I fell out hard.” Tony shakes his head. “We’re not on speaking terms.”

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

Tony looks away, sighing. He walks a few feet away, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. After he flips it open, he scrolls through to find Steve’s number, staring at it.

He then lifts his head, staring at the wall in front of him. At the same time, you can feel the ground rumbling through your shoes. You reach to grab Stephen, hand closing around the sleeve of his suit. The vases and lamps begin to shake, clinking against the surface they’re resting on.

The five of you stand quietly, listening to the distant noise, until Tony turns around. “Say, Doc, you wouldn’t happen to be moving your hair, would you?”

You look at Stephen to see what Tony means, finding one of the strands that refuses to stay put, wiggling against his forehead. As if a breeze is constantly moving through his hair.

“Not at the moment, no.”

The sound is getting louder, Tony looks up through the hole in the ceiling where Bruce had come from. Your attention is turned to the door, where one person runs by, then two. And they don’t look like they’re jogging.

A dreadful feeling washes over your body as you follow Tony to the door. The closer you get, the louder the screaming is. He swings it open, stepping out onto the sidewalk. You follow him with crossed arms, looking in the direction of where everyone is running away from.

There’s traffic down the street, people are getting out of cars to abandon their vehicles to run away from the danger. A strong gust of air blows through, pulling abandoned papers and leaves with them. You dodge several people to keep up with Tony’s speed.

The police sirens are getting louder, but they’re likely not coming in this direction. You watch as a silver car drives straight into a light pole. Tony points at it, “Help him!”

“Banner!” Wong calls.

“Wong, look alive!”

“Go, go! We got it!” Bruce waves you on.

Tony reaches into his shirt to pull out his tech glasses. “Friday, what am I looking at?”

You stop for a second, allowing Stephen to catch up. He reaches to touch your back, guiding you forward with him.

“I don’t want you to worry about me out here.” You tell him.

“I’ll keep you safe.” He says.

“No, I can do that myself.” You press your finger into his chest. “You worry about you.”

Tony turns around. “Hey! You might wanna put that Time Stone in your back pocket, Doc!”

“Might wanna use it.” He says, magic surrounding his forearm.

Tony peeks around the corner, pulling his head back when a red blanket whips through the air, being blown away. He begins to walk out into the open, and when it’s your turn to see what’s causing the chaos, you swallow.

A giant spaceship in the shape of a ring is down the street to the left. It’s hovering in the air, giving off an electrical buzz. From what you can see, there’s no alien life near it, meaning they must be inside, or they’ve left it behind.

“Friday, evac anyone south of 43rd Street. Notify first responders.”

Stephen moves his hands, working up the magic before he shoves his palms out, sending a blast of air back at the ship. In the silence that settles, you can hear the sirens in the distance. It’s much easier to walk through the street without the wind resistance.

As you grow closer to the ship, a beam of blue light shines down onto the street, two alien beings appearing at the bottom. The one on the left being about the same size as Hulk, dressed in armor with a giant scythe, you believe. While the creature on the right is half the others’ size, fingers pressed together.

Tony’s pace slows the closer you get, leaving four car distances between you and the aliens.

“Hear me and rejoice.” The one on the right begins. Tony crosses his arms. “You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos.”

The giant one says something, lifting his weapon to hold with both hands, revealing that it’s a pickaxe.

“Be thankful that your meaningless lives are now contributing—”

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

“Stonekeeper.” The creature says, eyes on Stephen. “Does this chattering animal speak for you?”

“Certainly not. I speak for myself.” He says, walking forward, moving his hands to show off his magic. “You’re trespassing in this city and on this planet.” Wong does the same behind you.

“He means get lost, Squidward.” Tony says.

“He exhausts me.” The noseless creature says. The tall one responds in the same foreign language. “Bring me the stone.”

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

Bruce hums, “No, not really. But when do I ever get what I want?” He claps his hands together, rubbing.

“That’s right.”

“Okay. Push!” He grunts, his skin turning green up until his neck.

“It’s been a while.” Tony says. “It’s gonna be good to have you, buddy.”

“Okay, shh.” He hushes him. “Let me just… I need to concentrate here for a second. Come on, come on, man.”

The tall alien slams its weapon into one of the cars that’re parked on the side of the street.

“Where’s your guy?” Tony asks.

Bruce sighs, “I don’t know. We’ve sorta been having a thing.”

“It’s no time for a thing.” Tony touches his shoulder.

“I know.”

Tony points to the creature. “That’s the thing right there. Let’s go.”

It’s drawing closer with each step. Bruce begins to grunt, his voice changing, green spreading up to his lips. Stephen turns to look between you and Tony, you close your eyes.

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

“Tony, I’m sorry.” Bruce whispers. “Either I can’t or he won’t.”

“It’s okay.” He pushes Bruce away to stand with Wong. “Hey, stand down.” He looks at Wong. “Keep an eye on him. Thank you.”

“I have him.”

“Damn it.” Bruce mutters.

The creature jogs toward you, letting out a deep roar. Tony pulls on the strings of his track jacket, tapping the arc reactor in his chest twice. Almost out of thin air, his suit begins to crawl over his body efficiently. By the time the creature and him are face to face, he’s in his suit completely.

Tony uses a shield, falling into a kneeling position when he takes the hit. He then stands, swinging at the creature’s face, landing the punch.

As the alien recovers, you watch as the nanotech springs out of his back when he holds his arms out straight, creating four extra blasters that aid him in sending the alien down the street. The shorter one waves his hand, directing his friend to slam into several cars, instead of hitting him.

The blasters merge back into the suit.

“Where’d that come from?” Bruce asks.

“It’s nanotech. You like it? It’s a little something I—”

Tony skyrockets, leaving a trail of dirt behind him as he flies into the air. The alien raises his other hand, uprooting two trees on either side of the street, flicking his hand forward. Wong jumps in front of you, Stephen and Bruce to create a shield.

“Doctor Banner, if the rest of your green friend won’t be joining us—” He creates a portal, Bruce falls through it. The alien throws half of a taxi in your direction, which makes it through the portal before it’s sealed.

Stephen and Wong move in sync, preparing another cast to stop the car that’s coming in your direction. Tony flies through the middle, forcing it back in the direction of the alien. He simply lifts his hand, unbothered, and it’s sliced in half, narrowly missing him, crashing onto the street behind.

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

“It stays with me.” Stephen emphasizes.

“Exactly. Bye.” Tony says, before turning to the alien and beginning to fly at him. At first, it’s slow, as he dodges several pillars that the alien knocks down to squish him.

He then picks up speed, but the large alien has recovered, throwing a new weapon, a hammer. The handle extends like a chain, plowing Tony down the street, through a building, and into the park where Stephen had gotten him from.

The alien retracts the chain, and begins to chase after where Tony had gone, running straight into the building without slowing down. You press your lips together, eyes landing on the shorter creature. He raises his hands, palms up, pulling out a dozen bricks that line the streets.

When he twists his hands, the bricks crumble into spikes, which he sends flying in your direction. Stephen creates another portal, allowing the brick to go in. While Wong creates another, sending it out, back in the alien’s direction. He lifts a car to block his own creation, but he’s still nicked.

He breaks a fire hydrant, knocking Wong away. Stephen uses a lasso, getting it around the alien, and pulling him in your guys’ direction. You twist out of the way, right as they slam into each other, flying into a building.

You stumble over to Wong, kneeling next to him. He’s breathing, there’s blood trickling from his temple, where he hit his head. When you look up at Stephen, you can see that the alien has him trapped against the wall using bricks to hold him still.

The alien reaches to grab the Time Stone, but jerks away suddenly. He then throws Stephen onto the street, several feet away from you. You jump to your feet to help him when you see rope sprout from the ground to restrict his hands.

“(Y/n), don’t—!” He shouts.

A car sideswipes you, hard. It slams into the left of your body, knocking you into the car on your right. You can feel the pain blossoming in your ribs from the impact, as you shakily press a hand over the area.

The rope is constricting around Stephen, growing tighter by the second as it wraps around his legs, his torso, and around his neck. The alien makes a fist, the rope stiffens, Stephen lets out a grunt.

“Stop!” You shout.

“You’ll find removing a dead man’s spell troublesome.” Stephen manages to get out.

“You’ll only wish you were dead.”

The coil around Stephen’s neck tightens for the final time, you watch as his eyes roll back. He falls, unconscious, bouncing off the cop car and landing on the asphalt. You jerk forward, but the alien flattens you against the car.

He takes a small chunk of the road out using one hand, turning his back to float away with your boyfriend. It doesn’t work longer for a second, the Cloak of Levitation wraps around Stephen’s body, rocketing off and down the street.

“No!” The alien shouts, and then his eyes land on you.

You adjust to sit on your knees, lacing your fingers, and then slamming your hands into the asphalt, refusing to break eye contact with the alien. A tremor goes through the ground, a blast of hot air following. Car alarms begin to go off in response.

“Rise!” You demand.

The ground begins to shake, rocking you back and forth. You have to place your palms on the ground to keep from getting knocked over. One by one, a collection of species of the dead begin to rise out of the ground, breaking the street into pieces. Usually, you try not to do this in cities because of the construction it takes to repair the damage you made.

Right now, you have no choice.

Humans and aliens alike get to their feet, in varying stages of decay. Some are missing limbs, others have jaws barely holding on, with skin sagging so bad that you can see the muscle underneath. It starts with a simple dozen, but the numbers multiply, until every last dead person in the area is out of the ground.

You get to your feet, leaning against the car. “Kill him.”

At once, they rush forward to attack. You turn around, running in the opposite direction, where the cloak is taking Stephen. You can hear the undead army roaring behind you, as they work together to reach the alien that’s hovering over the ground.

You take a shortcut through the thin, white building that Tony and the larger alien had gone through. From what you can see, Tony is still in the park, fighting him. There’s a blur of red and a hint of blue swinging away.

“You brought the kid into this?” You shout, crossing the street.

“I didn’t call him here!” Tony defends.

Already, you can feel your army growing weaker, meaning that the dead you’d conjured aren’t the strongest. You suck in a breath, and release, feeling the dark energy leave you to allow the bodies to fall. They were more of a distraction to allow you to leave without getting hurt.

You watch as Tony shoots at the alien haphazardly, flying away to dodge his attacks with the hammer. Tony disappears behind the statue in the park, causing the alien to swing at the concrete, destroying it. When Tony gets in too close, the alien secures an electric robotic hand around Tony, throwing him to the ground.

He leaves a path in the grass, trapped and unable to move.

“Are you going to help or not?” Tony’s voice is strained.

“I’m no help, here!” You tell him.

The alien charges in Tony’s direction, a large blade flinging out from his armor. As he jumps, going to stab Tony through the chest, a portal appears. The alien lands on the other side, you jog up behind Wong and Bruce to see that it’s the arctic, lots of snow. He turns around suddenly, jumping in your direction to come back through.

Only his hand makes it out, as Wong closes the portal. The severed hand rolls to a stop at Bruce’s feet, skin sizzling. Bruce kicks it, “Ugh.”

“Wong, you’re invited to my wedding.” Tony says, prying the bars off of his suit. “(Y/n), do you have your mask?”

You nod, reaching through the front of your suit, where the mask is tucked into a pocket on the inside. You pull it out, yanking it over your face. Tony bends his knees, allowing you to line up behind him, wrapping your arm around his neck. The stickiness of your gloves comes into contact with his suit, securing you there.

“Ready?” He asks.

“Let’s go.” You tell him.

He places his hands at his sides, and the two of you shoot off, up into the sky. You can feel the tough wind through your suit, but it’s not bad enough to complain about. You tilt your head back slightly to see the alien ship, presumably where Peter and Stephen had been sucked in to.

“I think it’s time for you to get a new suit.” Tony says, you can hear him in your ear.

“It’s a shame I didn’t keep in contact.”

“That doesn’t matter.” He says. “Friday, unlock 19-C. And give me a little juice.”

You press your face against the back of his neck, and you fly through the air faster to get to the spaceship. If it weren’t for your gloves, you’d be falling to the ground right now, thinking about how you’d be dead in a few seconds.

“Unlock 17-A.” Tony says.

The ship is flying out of the atmosphere, straight into space.

“Pete, you gotta let go. I’m gonna catch you.” Tony says, talking to Peter. You suck in short breaths through your nose, “We’re too high up. You’re running out of air.” He then turns his head slightly. “(Y/n), let go.”

“I want to get on that ship.” You gasp.

“You’ll be right behind me.” Tony says.

You pull your hand off of his chest, anxiety rising in your stomach. You have to tell yourself that Tony would never kill you. He wouldn’t send a suit up here if he knew there was a chance it’d malfunction and get you killed.

You take another breath, and let go, watching as Tony flies away. A scream rises in your throat as you begin to kick your legs and wave your arms, desperate for something to hold on to.

There’s a sudden impact in the middle of your back, as you feel a cool sensation begin to cover your body. The moment the nanotech covers your face, you take a breath, finally able to breathe real air.

“Are you with me?” Tony asks.

The new suit covers the last spot on your thigh. “I’m in.”

“Friday, keep Gloom with me!”

You fly forward, the suit following after Tony on its own. Just by looking around on the inside, there’s a lot of technology that was put into the suit. He must’ve really evolved his engineering, because this is impressive.

“Mr. Stark, it smells like a new car in here!” You can hear Peter.

“Happy trails, kid.” Tony says. “Friday, send him home.”

A parachute springs out of Peter’s back, pulling him back. A little bit of relief goes through you, because there’s no reason why he should be up here. Your suit whizzes past him, coming to idle by Tony as he cuts a hole through the metal of the ship. When he gets it open, he allows you to crawl in first before following.

You take a few steps in, the nanotech disappearing from your face, stopping at your neck. You watch as the ship's machines extend and flex, blue electricity moving off a giant disk above you.

Tony sighs. “Yeah.”

You glance over to see his head is turned away.

“Honey, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say.” He says, glancing at you. “Pep?” The connection must be lost, because he shakes his head.

“So, what’s the plan?” You ask, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Let’s find your boyfriend then we’ll work from there.” Tony says, walking away. “Speaking of which—an interesting choice. How did the two of you meet?”

You smile, and then laugh slightly. “He almost hit me with his car, twice in the same day.”

“And you thought dating him was a good idea?” Tony looks back at you.

You shrug. “He made it up to me. And since, all he ever does is protect me. I owe him my life.”

He stops briefly, “What happened to the kickass (Y/n)?”

You place a hand on his shoulder. “She’s been hibernating, but with all this talk about death…” You trail off. “Trust me, Tony, she’s still here.”

“You’re sick.”

“And so are you.” You tell him.

The two of you go through the long hallway and through a door. With the ship being shaped like a large donut, it’s a confusing walk that Tony has to lead. He manages to bring you to a platform, four stories above where the alien is holding Stephen captive.

You lean over the side, hands drawing into fists when you hear Stephen grunt in pain. The alien seems to be manipulating clear shards to press into his skin, to force him to give up the Time Stone.

The Cloak suddenly appears, tapping Tony’s arm. He jerks, hand ready to blast the fabric. “Wow, you’re a seriously loyal piece of outerwear, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, uh, speaking of loyalty…”

You jump at the sound of Peter’s voice, turning in time to see him land on the platform.

“What the—”

“I know what you’re gonna say.” He puts his hands out.

“You should not be here.” Tony says.

“I was gonna go home.” Peter tries.

“I don’t wanna hear it.”

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

“And now I gotta hear it.” Tony sighs, shaking his head.

Peter raises his shoulders, “And I kinda stuck to the side of the ship. And this suit is ridiculously intuitive, by the way.”

Tony looks at you. “God damn it.”

You make a face at him. “You were the one that told him to chase after Stephen.”

“So, if anything, it’s kinda your fault that I’m here.” Peter says with a smile.

Tony glares at him. “What did you just say?”

Peter realizes his mistake, stuttering, “I-I take that back. And now, I’m here in space.”

Tony steps forward. “Yeah, right where I didn’t want you to be.” He stops in front of Peter. “This isn’t Coney Island. This isn’t a field trip. This is a one-way ticket. You hear me? Don’t pretend you thought this through.”

“No, I did think this through.”

“You could not have possibly thought this through.”

Peter motions, “You can’t be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there is no neighborhood.” Peter tells him, Tony stares blankly. “Okay, that didn’t really make sense, but you know what I’m trying to say.”

Tony takes in a breath, letting it out shakily. “Come on. We got a situation.”

Peter nods, glancing at you, “Hi, Miss (L/n).”

“Hey, Peter.” You smile, following Tony to stand on the edge of the platform.

“See him down there?” Tony asks, Peter peers over the side. “He’s trouble. What’s your plan? Go.”

Peter crouches, “Um…” there’s a brief pause. “Okay, okay, uh…” He stands up. “Okay. Did you ever see this really old movie, Aliens?”

You let out a snort, but when Tony looks at you, you cover your mouth. You try to swallow the laughter that wants to escape you, it doesn’t work. “So what does that make you, Tony, a dinosaur?”

He glares at you. “Not funny.”

“What’s the matter?” Peter asks, glancing between you two.

“Nothing, kid. Good work.” Tony tells him. “I’ll go down there and blast a hole in the ship. (Y/n), the suit will keep you from flying out, Peter I want you to grab the wizard. Assume position.”

You crouch on the platform, hand locking around the pillar to act as support. Peter crawls away to get on the ceiling, while the Cloak stays near you, waiting for Tony. It’s a shame you’re not able to do more, your abilities limit you in situations like these. Even if people have died on this spaceship, you wouldn’t be able to resurrect them the same way. And even if you could, there’s no dark pull. You have to have a connection, first.

Stephen lets out a scream, as the shards press further into his skin when the alien moves his hand. You grit your teeth.

Tony jumps down a second later, landing behind the alien on the strip, powering up his suit.

“Could end your friend’s life in an instant.” The alien says, loud enough for you to hear.

“I gotta tell you, he’s not really my friend. Saving his life is more of a professional courtesy.”

The alien lifts a hand, a chunk of metal sliding out of the spaceship, as he walks in Tony’s direction. “You’ve saved nothing.” He lifts his other hand, beckoning another piece of metal. “Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine.”

“Yeah, but the kid’s seen more movies.” Tony says.

You watch as Tony blasts a hole open on the far side of the ship. Immediately, the metal and the alien is sucked out into space, creating a blackhole for everything else that’s free-standing in the ship, including Stephen.

“No!” You shout.

The Cloak secures around one of his hands, but the pull is too strong. Stephen slips out, getting closer. Peter jumps from where he’s been sitting, a web shooting at Stephen to grab him. It secures, and when he tries to grab a metal pole inside of the ship, it snaps off.

You watch in horror as Stephen leaves the inside of the ship. Peter’s about to fly out behind him, when mechanical legs pop out from his back, stretching the length of the hole. The legs dip momentarily, before jumping back, pulling Peter and Stephen inside.

Tony works fast to block up the hole with metal, you jump from the top of the platform, landing harshly next to Stephen. He’s on his side, letting out a groan.

“Stephen,” You murmur, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Hey.”

He looks up at you, letting out a breath of relief. He grabs your hand, squeezing tightly. “You’re okay?”

Your eyebrows draw in, “I’m fine.”

He nods, twisting to sit up. You turn his head so that you can get a better look at his face, fingertips brushing against where the shards had touched his skin. You can’t even tell they were inside. The blood that is on his face is from being thrown away a few seconds ago.

“You have to be more careful, especially since they’re after you.”

Tony walks by, his suit disappearing.

“That’s why we gotta turn this ship around.” Stephen agrees, pushing to stand. You help him up.

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

The Cloak of Levitation drapes itself over Stephen’s shoulders. You straighten it, walking behind him to follow after Tony. “No, I want to protect the stone.”

“And I want you to thank me.” Tony stops at the front of the ship, presumably. Except, there is no control panel, just a giant warped mess that allows you to see into the stars. And two giant mechanical arms with a singular place on both sides where you can stick your arm inside of to navigate it. “No, go ahead. I’m listening.”

“For what? Nearly blasting me into space?”

“Stephen.” You warn, “We can’t really fight in here.”

“Who just saved your magical ass? Me.” Tony turns around.

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

“Admit it, you should’ve ducked out when I told you to. I tried to bench you. You refused.” Tony says.

Stephen’s face twists. “Unlike everyone else in your life, I don’t work for you.” He glances at you, you turn your head to look at him, eyebrows raised.

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

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

“No, you’re a stowaway. The adults are talking.” He motions between the three of you.

“I’m sorry, I’m confused as to the relationship here.” He motions at Peter. “What is he, your ward?”

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

“Doctor Strange.” Stephen says.

Peter drops his hand. “Oh, you’re using our made-up names. Um… I’m Spider-Man, then.”

Stephen looks at you, completely unamused. “(Y/n), we should go back to Earth.”

“I’m not arguing with you.” You tell him. “In fact, if Thanos is going to go to Earth to kill half of our population, I say our best bet is to be down there.”

Tony scoffs. “You mean your best bet?” Stephen’s head snaps in his direction, your eyes narrow. “So you’ll be able to use the dead for your own personal army? By then it’ll be too late.”

“I don’t want billions of people to die, Tony.” You hiss. “For you to suggest that is a little offensive, don’t you think? I gain nothing from that.”

Tony tilts his head.

That’s enough for you, jaw tightening, body feeling as if it’s been submerged in hot, bubbling oil. You start toward him, hands in fists at your sides. You could take deep breaths to calm down, but you think hitting him might make you feel better instead.

He doesn’t have to say anything, you know exactly what he’s thinking. While Tony has never questioned your sudden decision to switch from being a civilian to an Avenger, he has never let you forget that your abilities are far from heroic. He thinks they’re downright villainy.

In times like these, you wonder whether or not he thinks you’re actually trustworthy, or if he’s just keeping you close, waiting for the day you finally turn on them. He’ll be the first one in line to take you down.

“I really hate it when you suggest otherwise.” You tell him lowly.

“(Y/n).” Stephen says behind you, trying to call you back.

Tony doesn’t move from where he stands. “(Y/n), we both know that you get tingly when it’s mentioned that people are dying.” He says, not caring that Stephen and Peter are standing feet away. You press your lips together. “Half of the population could die by Thanos’s hands today. You’re telling me you’re not the least bit excited by that?”

The creeping feeling begins. You grit your teeth, hard, trying to resist it. “No, because I’m human.” You tell him, unsure if you’re trying to convince yourself or him. It’s tickling the back of your neck, goosebumps starting to form. You won’t let him be right. “And even if my body reacts, my mind knows better. I’ll never stand by when I know I can help.”

“That’s where I don’t believe you.”

You stop in front of him. “What’s your brilliant plan, then?”

Tony crosses his arms. “This ship is self-correcting its course. Thing’s on autopilot.”

Stephen comes to join you two at the front of the ship. He stops behind you, hand appearing on your lower back, rubbing slightly. You grind your teeth, tilting your head to the side to subtly let the shiver run through your body.

“Can we control it?” Stephen asks. “Fly us home?” There’s a pause where Tony doesn’t respond. “Stark.”

“Yeah?”

“Can you get us home?” He repeats.

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

“Tony.” You snap.

“It has nothing to do with you.” He says.

Stephen’s hand falls, moving to get closer to Tony. “Under no circumstances can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos. I don’t think you quite understand what’s at stake here.”

“What? No. It’s you who doesn’t understand,” Tony moves to stop less than a foot away from Stephen. “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?” Tony finishes.

“All right, Stark. We go to him.” Stephen says. You throw your hands up, shaking your head. “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.” He pauses. “I can’t, because the universe depends on it.”

“Nice.” Tony pats Stephen’s arm. “Good, moral compass. We’re straight.” He turns to walk away, in Peter’s direction. He lets out a sigh. “All right, kid.” He knights Peter. “You’re an Avenger now.”

A smile slowly spreads over Peter’s face, he nods.

You lace your fingers together in front of you, walking closer to the warp to see the stars better. You’re not entirely sure if you’ll have the element of surprise on Thanos’s home planet, or if it’ll even matter. Either way, the team you have gathered on this spaceship is far from the one you’re used to.

You can’t believe that Tony pulled that argument on you again, especially in front of Stephen. He’s already suspicious that you’re not the only entity in your body, because the reactions you have at the mention of death are unnatural. You seem uncomfortable, but the involuntary shivers say otherwise—but they’re exactly that, involuntary.

The last thing you want is to confirm that you’re unstable, because you’re not.

“(Y/n).” Stephen murmurs, coming up beside you. You close your eyes, tilting your head back, taking in a breath. He wraps his arm around your body, hand pulling you into him. “You know I don’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t.” You tell him, opening your eyes. “I’m tired of having that conversation with Tony. And I do think it would be a better fight on Earth, where the rest of the Avengers are. Our crew doesn’t mean much.”

“Well, I would say we could hijack the system, but we don’t know how to steer it, or get back to our planet.” Stephen says, looking down at you.

You meet his eyes, before resting your head on his shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He presses a kiss against your temple.

—

“Hey, what’s going on?” Peter asks, coming up behind you three.

“I think we’re here.” Stephen says.

You watch through the warp as the alien planet gets closer. From what you can tell, it’s a desolate place, not a single living being seems to be inhabiting it. Your eyebrows draw in, thinking that this could make the fight against Thanos easier, if he’s got no other people to help him.

That’s assuming he’ll come alone.

“I don’t think this rig has a self-park function.” Tony says, walking away from the warp. He stops in front of one of the mechanical arms, pulling it open to stick his hand inside. “Get your hand inside the steering gimbal.” He pulls the clasp down. “Close those around it.”

Peter follows Tony’s directions. “Okay.”

“You understand?” Tony asks, glancing over.

“Yes, got it.”

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

“Okay, okay.” Peter says, readjusting his stance. “Ready.”

You watch as the planet gets closer, the spaceship beginning to rumble. You share an unsure look with Stephen, before moving to find a pillar to hang on to.

“We might wanna turn.” Peter says, and then his eyes widen. “Turn! Turn! Turn!”

Tony has to change into his suit to be able to properly steer. From the force of them turning, you’re thrown a step off to the side. The brand new suit begins to cover your body, possibly reacting to your heart rate when you realize this thing could explode on impact if they’re not careful.

The ship comes into contact with one of the structures on the planet, jerking you from side to side. The rest of the suit covers your body, allowing you to lock your hand in place. You watch as Peter goes from his street clothes to the Spider-Man outfit.

Stephen quickly casts a shield to encase the four of you, the spaceship breaking into pieces. A second later, it slams into the planet, throwing you forward. You shouldn’t have moved more than a foot because of your grip, but your fingers unlock. You slam into the metal flooring, landing on your knees next to Stephen.

He glances down at you. The ship proceeds to slide until it hits a dip, forcing it to stop. As soon as you’re no longer in motion, Stephen drops the cast, turning to help you to your feet. The mask falls away from your face as you shake your head.

“You all right?” Stephen touches your face, moving your hair back.

“Fine.” You breathe.

Tony pushes to his feet. “That was close.” Electricity from severed wires crackles above you. “I owe you one.”

Peter hangs upside down from the ceiling using his web. “Let me just say, if aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something and I eat one of you, I’m sorry.”

Your face twists, “Peter—”

“I do not want another single pop culture reference out of you for the rest of the trip.” Tony says, pointing at him. “You understand?”

Peter holds his hand out. “I’m trying to say that something is coming.”

A small, metallic ball rolls into the middle of your group, and before any of you can react, it explodes. You’re thrown several feet into the air, slamming into the wall, and landing harshly on an uneven surface. You take quick breaths to keep from triggering the pain that’s taking over your ribs.

You close your eyes, feeling the nanotech spread from beneath your chin and over your face to conceal your identity from the intruders. When you prod your fingers into sensitive skin, you let out a hiss. You really hope nothing is broken.

“Thanos!” You can hear a man yell.

The sound of Stephen’s magic makes you turn your head to see where he is. He’s got a shield up, two knives sticking out of it. The man who’s just thrown the knives begins to yell, but he’s silenced when the Cloak wraps around his head.

Another man rockets into the air, Tony jumping to fight him. You push yourself into a sitting position, wincing at the smallest movements. You use the wall as support, watching Tony and the enemy send beams back and forth, until Tony launches a rocket that explodes at the perfect time, sending him back.

Tony grabs a hold of the man, throwing back onto the ground. He lets out a laugh though, pressing a button. Blue lightning appears out of a triangular disc, which magnetizes Tony to the steering gimbal that Peter had used.

Peter lets out a scream, backing away from a woman with antennas that glow at the sight of him. As he scoots back, he shoots his web at her, trapping her where she is. The man that Tony had been fighting comes over, kicking Peter across the room.

“Stay down, clown.” He says, trying to shoot Peter.

Peter’s fast, the spider legs shoot out from his back, carrying him into the scaffolding above. Every time the man fires, he misses, but when Peter comes down to attack him, the man throws a gadget that opens like a net, securing around Peter, electrocuting him.

“Die, blanket of death!” The first man shouts, trying to pull the Cloak from his face.

Tony finally pushes himself off of the steering gimbal, immediately flying over the man fighting with the Cloak. He hovers his hand over his head, powering it up. The Cloak of Levitation then disappears, going back to Stephen.

You take a step down from where you’re standing, making your way toward Stephen. The man that’d taken down Peter, pulls him into his arms, holding a futuristic gun against his head. “Everybody stay where you are. Chill the eff out.”

He reaches to touch a button on the metal mask he’s wearing, making it disappear. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he’s human. He’s got the complexion, nothing out of the ordinary. Unlike Tony, who’s got the man with grey skin and red accents.

“I’m gonna ask you this one time.” He points the gun out in Tony’s direction. “Where is Gamora?”

Tony holds his other hand out to the man in retaliation. “Yeah. I’ll do you one better. Who’s Gamora?” The helmet falls away from his face.

“I’ll do you one better.” The grey man on the floor says. “Why is Gamora?”

You stop next to Stephen, hand wrapped around your ribs. He notices this immediately, eyebrows drawing in.

“Tell me where the girl is or I swear to you I’m gonna french fry this little freak.” He presses the gun to Peter’s head.

Peter’s eyes narrow, and then return back to normal. Tony doesn’t like this. “Let’s do it. You shoot my guy and I’ll blast him. Let’s go!” His hand turns into a large blaster, mere inches away from the grey man’s face.

“Do it, Quill! I can take it.” He says, staring into the barrel.

“No, he can’t take it!” The alien girl says.

“She’s right. You can’t.” Stephen says.

“Oh, yeah? You don’t wanna tell me where she is? That’s fine. I’ll kill all three of you and I’ll beat it out of Thanos myself.” Quill says, pressing the gun further against Peter’s head. “Starting with you.”

Your face twists, Stephen squints. “Wait, what, Thanos? All right, let me ask you this one time. What master do you serve?”

“What master do I serve?” Quill repeats. “What am I supposed to say, ‘Jesus’?”

Tony deadpans, looking over at you and Stephen. He then looks at Quill again. “You’re from Earth.”

“I’m not from Earth, I’m from Missouri.” Quill says.

“Yeah, that’s on Earth, dipshit.” Tony shoots back. “What are you hassling us for?”

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

“With Thanos?” Quill’s face is twisted. “No, I’m here to kill Thanos. He took my girl. Wait, who are you?” He pulls the gun away from Peter’s head.

Peter’s mask falls away. “We’re the Avengers, man.”

“Oh.” Quill takes his arm off of Peter.

You allow the mask to fall from your face, too.

“You’re the ones Thor told us about.” The girl says.

Tony looks over. “You know Thor?”

“Yeah.” Quill says. “Tall guy, not that good-looking, needed saving.”

“Where is he now?” Stephen asks.

“He’s going to Nidavellir to get some weapon.” Quill says.

Tony removes his hand from the grey man’s face, allowing him to get up. “What kind of weapon?”

“He said it would be able to kill Thanos.” Quill shrugs, “That’s all.”

“Maybe another hammer.” You suggest, the suit begins to fade away, taking the original with it too. It leaves you in the clothes you’d been in before Bruce fell through the ceiling. “I’m (Y/n).”

“Star Lord, but my real name is Peter Quill.” Quill says.

“Oh, hey. I’m Peter too.” Peter backs away, “But I’m Peter Parker.”

“Enough, kid.” Tony points at him. “Tony Stark.”

“Doctor Strange.” Stephen says from beside you.

The alien girl wrapped in web hops forward. “I am Mantis.”

“That’s Drax.” Quill says, motioning to the grey man.

Tony nods, starting for the door, “We should step out, get a feel for the planet.”

“There’s not much out there.” Quill says, but he doesn’t argue.

Peter walks over to Mantis to free her from the webbing. Stephen goes to follow, but you place a hand on his chest to stop him, he looks down at you. You give him a pained smile, waiting for the others to leave the ship first.

“Are you coming?” Peter asks, stopping at the exit, looking back at you and Stephen.

“We’ll be out there in a minute.” You tell him.

He nods, going to join the group. Your hand falls from Stephen’s chest, going to take a deep breath, and wincing when a sharp pain stabs through your ribs. He doesn’t miss this, grabbing your elbow to keep it up.

“What happened?”

“It’s my ribs.” You tell him.

His fingers reach for the hem of your shirt, he meets your eyes. “Can I?”

“Yeah.”

“Put your hand on my shoulder.” He tells you. You follow his direction, looking down to watch what he does.

He pulls your shirt all the way up to your chest, where you bunch it up to make it easier to see. He tilts his head, face smoothing briefly, before his eyebrows draw in. Stephen’s fingers brush against the skin over your right side.

You press your lips together, letting out a noise.

“When did this happen?” He asks, applying more pressure.

You suck in a shaky breath. “When the alien had sideswiped me, I hit the car that was parked on the side of the street.” You tell him. “And when Quill threw that bomb—”

“You landed on the same side.” Stephen says. He pulls away, you let go of your shirt. It falls back into place, wrinkled. “I think they’re just bruised, but you’ve got to take it easy.”

“I figured as much.” You tell him, turning to start at the door.

He walks by your side. “I thought you said you could take care of yourself.”

“I can.” You say, “I know when to ask for help.”

“That’s not what I had in mind.”

“Well, that’s a shame.” You glance at him, going down the ramp.

He doesn’t look very amused. “(Y/n), if you think you’re unable to fight Thanos—”

“I’ll let you know.” You say, stepping onto the dirt.

A shock goes through your body, as you freeze where you stand.

Death. The word echoes in your mind loudly. You can’t help the way your body reacts, goosebumps covering every inch of your body, until you’re shivering as if you’re freezing.

“(Y/n)?” Stephen grabs your shoulder.

“I’m fine.” You chatter out, hugging yourself. “We’re just walking on a graveyard, is all.”

You force your legs to work, moving forward. The coldness leaves your body the further you travel, warmth returning. No matter where you step, the dark feeling clings on.

“The hell happened to this planet?” You hear Quill ask, he’s holding up a glowing yellow pod. “It’s eight degrees off its axis. Gravitational pull is all over the place.”

“Must’ve been a massacre.” You say, Tony turns to see you and Stephen joining. “I can feel it.”

He makes a face. “Feeling dark?”

“It’s hard not to.” You come to a stop, crossing your arms.

“We’ve got one advantage. He’s coming to us.” He says, moving around. “We’ll use it. All right, I have a plan. Or at least the beginnings of one.” You gather in with Quill. “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.”

Drax yawns loudly.

“Are you yawning?”

You glance away, eyes landing on Stephen, floating in the air in a sitting position. He must be using the Time Stone, because there’s a ring of green around his forearms.

“In the middle of this, while I’m breaking it down? Huh?” Tony says, Drax and Mantis look over. “Did you hear what I said?”

Drax briefly looks at Mantis before he looks back at Tony. “I stopped listening after you said, ‘We need a plan’.”

“Okay, Mr. Clean is on his own page.”

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

Peter raises his hand. “Uh, what exactly is it that they do?”

“Kick names, take ass.” Mantis says proudly.

Drax nods. “Yeah, that’s right.”

Your face twists, you let out a loud sigh. “There goes my hope that we had a working team.”

Tony stares at them blankly. “All right, just get over here, please.” When they don’t move, he addresses Quill. “Mr. Lord, can you get your folks to circle up?”

Quill nods. “‘Mr. Lord’,” he lets out a laugh. “Star-Lord is fine.” He cocks his head to the side, Drax and Mantis come closer.

“We gotta coalesce. Cause if all we come at him with is a plucky attitude—”

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

Tony closes his eyes.

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

“What dance-off?” Tony asks.

Quill makes a face, stuttering, “It’s not a—it’s nothing.”

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

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

“It never was.” Peter says.

Quill squints at him, smile dropping.

“Don’t encourage this, all right?” Tony says, placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “We’re getting no help from Flash Gordon here.”

“Flash Gordon?” Quill takes a step after him. “By the way, that’s a compliment. Don’t forget, I’m half human.”

Your attention has diverted back to Stephen, who’s snapping his neck from side to side, still floating. “Honey?”

“So that fifty-perfect of me that’s stupid,” He pauses, “That’s one hundred percent you.”

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

You step up to Stephen, “Hey, Tony!”

You glance over your shoulder to see Tony coming in your direction, seeing the problem. “Strange, we all right?”

You want to touch him, but you’re afraid of what’ll happen if you do. His head is still moving from side to side, eyes closed, as if he’s seeking something. “Stephen.” The Time Stone is glowing, a green haze is encircling his upper torso.

His head begins to move faster, letting out a grunt. A shout then leaves him, gasping as he falls to the rock below, eyes open and looking around. You crouch in front of Stephen, hands on his knees. He grabs one of them immediately, squeezing.

“You’re back.” You murmur.

“Hi.” he breathes.

“Hey, what was that?” Peter asks.

“I went forward in time to view alternate futures.” He says, looking between you and Tony, who stands behind you now. He’s breathing heavily as he talks. The Time Stone glows brightly against his chest. “To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict.”

“How many did you see?” Quill asks.

“Fourteen million, six hundred and five.”

“How many did we win?” Tony asks.

Stephen presses his lips together for a second. “One.”

You push to get to your feet, “How soon will he be here?”

He shakes his head, “Thirty minutes.”

You look at Tony, “We need to flesh that plan out.”

Tony nods, “Will my initial one work?”

Stephen takes in a breath. “Yes, actually.”

—

A storm cloud of grey and blue appears in the rubble, a boot being the first thing to come out of it. You adjust your footing, keeping your eyes on the giant, purple man that comes through it. The cloud is gone, and the air returns to normal.

Your eyes find the gauntlet, which takes up the entirety of Thanos’s forearm, stopping at the elbow. When he turns his wrist the right way, you can see the stones he has, glint in the setting sun. He stops to look at the spaceship you’d come out of.

“Oh, yeah.” Stephen says, he’s sitting at the top of the steps on a rock. He’d volunteered to be the distraction, so the rest of you could prepare to fight. Thanos looks over at him, not worried. “You’re much more of a Thanos.”

Thanos looks away. “I take it the Maw is dead.” Stephen leans forward on his knees, nodding. “This day extracts a heavy toll.” He begins to walk. “Still, he accomplished his mission.”

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

“And where do you think he brought you?”

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

Thanos stops, foot resting on top of a rock, gauntlet on his thigh. The Space, Reality and Power Stones displayed. You can’t tell if he has the Soul Stone or not.

“It was.” Thanos says. He lifts the gauntlet, and the Reality Stone begins to glow brightly when he closes his fist. “It was beautiful.”

The world around you begins to change, as he manipulates the area around you to make it look like it had before. A bright blue sky, green grass, a fountain in the middle of the plaza. There are people just like him, conversing around the park. And the giant building that’s falling apart, stands sturdy and clean.

“Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution.”

“Genocide.” Stephen says.

You duck behind the spacecraft, slapping a hand over your mouth, eyes squeezed shut as your body shakes.

“But random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike.” Thanos continues. “They called me a madman.” You sigh, not bothering to move from where you are. “And what I predicted came to pass.”

The scene fades away, bringing you back to reality. No wonder you can’t stay in control, here. You are literally on top of a graveyard, with so many undead beneath you that haven't risen since the day they died. They must be eager to get out, breathe the air above again.

What they don’t know is that it won’t taste the same as it did before.

“Congratulations, you’re a prophet.” Stephen says.

The good news is that if the dead haven’t been brought back before, there’ll be more power to it. They’re going to be decayed, sure. But they’re going to be stronger than the ones in New York, because these are new toys to play with. Besides, you can’t wait to see the look on Thanos’s face when he realizes that his own people are fighting against him.

“I’m a survivor.” Thanos says.

“Who wants to murder trillions.”

“With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers.” He says, the noise filling the air. “They would all cease to exist. I call that mercy.”

You lift your head to see Stephen, finding him on his feet. “And then what?” He takes a step down.

Thanos looks away. “I’d finally rest and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe. The hardest choices require the strongest wills.”

Your lip twitches.

“I think you’ll find our will equal to yours.” Stephen says, clapping his hands together, and pulling them apart to show his magic.

“Our?” Thanos asks, lifting his head, tilting it all the way back.

Tony’s coming down with a piece of the spaceship, aimed directly over Thanos. As the purple stone begins to glow, he’s crushed by the mass, sending out a cloud of dirt and dust on impact.

The mask crawls up your face, blocking it just in time to swarm you.

“Piece of cake, Quill.” Tony says, doing a lap through a structure.

Quill begins to run, pressing the button on his mask again, which covers his face. “Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off.” He jumps, flying to where Thanos is.

An explosion of purple sets off, chunks of metal flying out, revealing Thanos underneath. He lets out a war cry, the Reality Stone glowing as he swings his gauntlet arm, creating a mass of alien birds that swarm Tony, carrying him away.

Peter takes the opportunity to shoot his web, covering Thanos’s eyes, flying by to kick him in the face. Drax slices across the back of his knee. Stephen comes through a portal, Drax swings at Thanos, only to be blocked. Stephen pulls out his own weapon, a sword made from the orange magic.

They take turns, going back and forth swinging at Thanos. He’ll dodge, switch sides, taking another hit from the back. He then punches Drax’s chest, throwing him into a rock that crumbles.

Stephen swings, Thanos catches the sword. Quill jumps through the air, using the rocks as stepping stones. Thanos finally pulls the webbing from his face, Stephen makes the sword disappear, opting for a shield, which Thanos kicks in to.

Quill shoots at Thanos’s back, Stephen casts a spell to create more platforms for Quill to use, hopping from one to the next. He flips over Thanos, planting a bomb on his back, which beeps loudly. He backs away, middle finger raised. “Boom!” And then he falls through a portal.

The bomb explodes, Thanos stumbles forward, landing on his hands. Just as he’s straightening, the Cloak wraps itself around his hand tightly. Stephen casts another portal, one which Peter jumps out.

He slams his fist across Thanos’s face. “Magic.” Disappears through the portal on the other side, which spits him out a foot above. Peter swings down on Thanos’s head. “More magic.” And pops out on the other side, Thanos turns at the wrong moment, “Magic with a kick.” He says, foot right across his face. The next portal opens up, “Magic with a—!”

Thanos grabs Peter by the throat, slamming him down into the dirt, choking him. “Insect!” He shouts, before lifting the teenager and throwing him into Stephen.

The two of them disappear in the rubble, you rise from where you’re hiding, beginning to creep around to find a better place to be when you raise this army. Thanos rips off the Cloak, which flies away to get back to Stephen.

Another explosion is set off, a wave of heat hits you like a truck, warming you up on the inside and out. This is Tony’s doing, as he repeatedly sends his rockets down where Thanos is standing.

It doesn’t work. Thanos sucks the fire up through the Power Stone, shooting it back at Tony, which blasts him into one of the structures up in the air. He hits the floating middle piece, causing a different explosion.

“(Y/n), now's a good time!” Tony shouts through static.

You come out into the open, Thanos’s attention turning to you. You fall to your knees in front of him, intertwining your fingers, staring directly at him. “Ready to see your people?” You laugh coldly, raising your locked hands up in the air, before slamming them into the dirt. “Rise!”

The ground begins to tremble, a shiver runs through your body, feeling the cold, dark energy building in your body. The dirt breaks apart, purple hands sprouting out in claw positions. You watch in amazement as the bodies pull themselves out of the planet, in almost perfect condition.

You push to get on your feet, watching as Thanos takes several steps back, as his own people come to stand around you. All of them stand around the same height, taking away his advantage.

“You…” He trails off, voice accusatory.

With a finger pointed out in his direction, you tilt your head to the side. “Pin the survivor down.”

The undead move at him, coming in every direction. They’re strong, energy coursing through your body. You retreat the best you can while keeping your eyes on him. The confliction in his face is everything you were hoping for, as he looks between the people that he once knew.

When he realizes that they’re not going to stop for him, he lets out a scream, swinging at them. They take the hits, springing back to life mere seconds later. You watch from the top of the stairs in amazement. You’ve never had an army act like this before, with such violence.

Maybe it’s their will to come back. Or maybe, some of their spirits are still here, unable to move on. His face brings bad memories, from when they were starving and beginning to fall from the inside out. Maybe they know about his slaughtering activities on other planets, carrying out his ideas on poor, unsuspecting people that can’t defend themselves against his power.

Maybe this is their way of getting revenge for you.

You let out a laugh.

Thanos throws his hand out, a sharp and warm pain explodes across your left shoulder, twisting you to the ground. You land on your hands and knees, coming face to face with the chunk of flesh that Thanos has just taken from your body. The blood spurts out of the wound.

Your breaths pick up at the sight of the amount of blood leaving your body, stars coming to the corners of your vision. You let out a scream through gritted teeth as the feeling hits you full-force, tears appearing in your eyes.

“(Y/n)!” Stephen shouts.

When you look over your shoulder, you see that Peter has webbed Thanos’s hand with the gauntlet, pulling it away from him. Thanos still fights with his open hand, knocking away the dead effortlessly. He pulls Peter toward him when there’s an opening, punching him across the face, and ripping the webbing from the gauntlet.

Suddenly, a spaceship comes out of the brown haze, belonging to none of you. It hits the planet, as well as Thanos, and the entire army of the dead. You struggle to your feet, stumbling down the steps.

Stephen is floating through the air, toward Thanos, when he sees that you’re alive. You follow after him the best you can, a burning sensation spreading over your missing shoulder when you see the nanotech forms over it. At least then, it’ll be covered.

A girl springs out of the rock to fight Thanos, one that you don’t recognize. Stephen uses his magic to lasso Thanos’s gauntlet, trying to pull it off of him. Drax comes up behind him, kicking the back of his knee to force him down. Quill shoots a triangular disc—the same one he’d used against Tony—underneath Thanos’s free hand to keep him from pulling at the gauntlet.

Peter uses his web, swinging around to pull Thanos with Quill. While Tony comes around, grabbing at the gauntlet. Thanos is strong, though, pulling at Peter’s web. The spider legs come out, digging into the rock to keep him from moving. Stephen retracts his spell, casting a new one for a portal, where Mantis falls onto Thanos’s shoulders.

She places her hands on both sides of his head, leaning over him. Stephen works with Quill and Peter to pull on the other hand. Thanos is screaming, eyes a milky white as he turns his head to the side.

You come to a stop a few feet away, the sound of dragging footsteps behind you. It’s a few of the dead that hadn’t died with the ship. “Get the gauntlet off of him.” You demand.

They move to help Tony, fingers digging underneath it to get better leverage. Thanos stops resisting so hard, as Mantis’s antennas begin to glow white.

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

“Be quick. He is very strong.” She says.

“Parker, help! Get over here.” Tony orders. “She can’t hold him much longer. Let’s go.”

They all pull at the gauntlet, seemingly making no progress. Quill flies over, landing a few feet away, tucking his gun back onto the hollister.

“We gotta open his fingers to get it off.” Peter says.

You move closer, “Do as he says.” The dead begin to work on his fingers, struggling against his strength.

“I thought you’d be hard to catch.” Quill taunts. “For the record, this was my plan.” Thanos doesn’t respond, mouth hanging open. “You’re not so strong now, huh?” He stops in front of him. “Where is Gamora?”

Thanos groans, “My Gamora.”

“No, bullshit!” Quill says, “Where is she?”

“He is in anguish.” Mantis says, Thanos’s face twists.

“Good.”

“He… he mourns.” Mantis pants, eyebrows drawn in, tears in her eyes.

You look over to see the same girl as earlier has now joined you. She doesn’t seem to be human, though. She’s robotic, and blue.

“What does this monster have to mourn?” Drax manages to get out.

“Gamora.” The girl says.

Quill turns to look at her. “What?”

“He took her to Vormir.” She says. “He came back with the Soul Stone. But she didn’t.”

The helmet disappears from Tony’s head. “Okay, Quill, you gotta cool it right now. You understand?” Quill is turning to look at Thanos. “Don’t, don’t—don’t engage. We almost got this off!” He shouts.

“Tell me she’s lying.” Quill begins to shout. “Asshole, tell me you didn’t do it!”

“I had to.” Thanos hisses out.

“No, you didn’t.” Quill shakes his head, Thanos groans. “No, you didn’t.”

Quill draws back, gun in hand. You reach with your good arm to catch him before he ruins this, but it’s too late. He hits Thanos with the side of the gun, Mantis loses her grip on him. She tries to regain her grip, but he hits Thanos again.

“No, you didn’t!”

“Quill!” Tony shouts, abandoning the gauntlet to grab Quill. “Hey, stop! Hey, stop! Stop!”

Peter pulls, it begins to slip. You jump over, grabbing the bottom. The suit explodes over your body, heels digging into the ground. “Pull!” You shout.

“Hey, stop! Stop!”

“It’s coming, it’s coming.” Peter adjusts to get a better grip on it. “We got it, we got it!”

Thanos comes back at this moment, headbutting Mantis. The gauntlet is just slipping off his last finger, when he throws you, Peter and the few undead you have left. You land harshly, rolling once or twice before forcing yourself to get back on your feet. He then reaches up, grabbing Mantis by her foot, and flinging her off.

“Oh, god.” Peter says, jumping in the air to grab her. The spider legs come out, creating a case for them to roll in without touching the ground.

Thanos kicks Drax off his leg, straight into Quill and the blue robot. He grabs the lasso that Stephen has been holding onto him, whipping it forward and letting go. You watch your boyfriend come closer to you, and continue to fly over your head.

Tony tries to blast Thanos, but he’s pissed now. All he does is swing his arm, batting Tony away. Drax, Quill and the robot get to their feet to run at him, then Thanos uses the Power Stone to stop them where they are, forcing them back on the cement.

Tony comes back, swinging at him with a nanotech blade. Thanos grabs his arm, headbutting him too. Thanos hits the staircase on the other side, doing backwards somersaults until he lands on his knees.

Thanos reaches up in the direction of a nearby planet that you can see. His gauntlet glowing purple as he presumably breaks off parts of the surface. With a closed fist, he throws it down, bringing the pieces to you. You duck against a rock, covering your head as brown fiery smoke leaves a path.

Tony tries to fly away, but he’s caught by one of the giant pieces of rock, crushing him beneath. The impact fucks up the gravity, as Drax, the robot and Quill take off into the air.

“Peter!” You shout, “Grab them!”

“Got it, Miss (L/n)!” He calls back, slinging to his feet.

The ground quakes each time a chunk lands on the surface. You throw your head back, searching to find Stephen, on a floating rock, not too far from Thanos. He moves his arms, bands of orange appearing, hitting his hands against the ground. The orange electricity jumps from each rock, until it reaches Thanos, exploding the surface.

Thanos jumps off, using the Power stone to send purple lightning back at Stephen. He’s prepared for this, it hits a shield, flying back at Thanos. Who shatters it into pieces with one punch from the gauntlet. He sucks it all up with the Space Stone, creating a vortex, spiraling in Stephen’s direction.

Stephen casts another shield, the vortex becoming a flurry of green butterflies, which is merely a distraction, as the next trick comes. Multiple arms come from him, spreading out, until they move in sync to become one, bursting apart as replicas of him take over the air, surrounding Thanos.

They move together, hundreds of lassos wrapping around Thanos’s arms, which he quickly breaks with the Power Stone. Static electricity takes over the air, until it’s just your boyfriend.

Thanos reaches forward, beckoning Stephen to him. His gauntlet hand secures around his throat. “You’re full of tricks, wizard.” He reaches to grab the necklace, Stephen struggles to pull away. “Yet you never once used your greatest weapon.” He crushes the necklace in his hand. “A fake.”

He throws Stephen, and he rolls a few feet before stopping. When he doesn’t get up, you begin to move through the rock to get to him.

Tony sends nanotech to the gauntlet, keeping it from closing. He lands, breathing hard. “You throw another moon at me, and I’m gonna lose it.”

“Stark.” Thanos says.

“You know me?”

“I do. Just like how I know that necromancer is (Y/n).” He says, you stop in your tracks, head snapping in his direction. “You’re not the only one cursed with knowledge.”

“My only curse is you.” Tony says, more explosives coming out of his back.

“Come on!” Thanos growls, letting the gauntlet take the hit.

You begin to move faster, making it to Stephen. You land on your knees, ignoring the blossoming pain from doing it so many times today. You reach for his face with your only hand, moving his hair back.

“Stephen, babe.” You murmur, wincing when you use your other arm to rest on his chest. The technology in your ear tells you that he’s still breathing. You let out a breath.

You brush some of the debris from his face, forcing him on his back.

Tony’s feet slam into Thanos, he does a backflip, landing on his feet, arms turning into giant hammers with blasters on the bottom. He hits Thanos into a rock, and when Thanos gets back on his feet, he tears the helmet right from Tony’s head.

Another one forms in an instant, as he tries to block Thanos’s punch. It doesn’t work, Tony flattens on the rock.

“Stephen.” You whisper, “Come on.”

Thanos breaks the nanotech off of the gauntlet, using the Power stone to hit Tony with a powerful force, which Tony blocks in time with a shield. It comes around, like flames licking at a closed door. It forces Tony back, despite the pressure he’s putting to stay in place.

He throws the shield back when Thanos stops, nanotech transferring from a small space on his back, to his foot, which locks down Thanos’s gauntlet hand. Tony throws a powerful punch, landing it right across his face.

Thanos reaches up, brushing a part on his upper cheek, looking at his fingertips. “All that for a drop of blood.”

“(Y/n).” Stephen mutters.

You look back down at him, finding his eyes open, on you. You nod, cupping his face with both hands. “I’m here. Are you okay?”

“Your shoulder…” He trails off, reaching to touch it, but he knows better than to make contact.

“I know.”

Thanos gets out of the trap, throwing Tony onto the ground, and laying in with the punches, slowly destroying the nanotech with each one landed. He picks him up, throwing him away.

Tony focuses the tech to his hands, taking away from a part on his thigh and hip, but Thanos blocks the rays with the purple glowing gauntlet. He swings at Tony’s face, taking the rest of the helmet off. Tony tries to throw a punch, it’s grabbed. With his only free arm, the nanotech forms a blade, Tony tries to stab, but Thanos breaks it off.

You watch in horror as he stabs it through the missing armor in Tony’s abdomen.

“No!” You let out, Stephen moves to sit up, you don’t stop him.

You clasp your hands together, raising them above your head, going to hit the ground, when a hand grabs them before they do. You make eye contact with Stephen, who shakes his head at you.

“It won’t help.”

“We should kill him.” You tell him. “We need to kill him.”

Tony lets out a grunt, Thanos walks him back until he sits on a rock.

Stephen’s grip tightens. “This is how we win. This is the plan.”

“You have my respect, Stark.” Thanos says. “When I’m done, half of humanity will still be alive.”

You grit your teeth, “This isn’t right.”

“I hope they remember you.” Thanos holds his hand out, each stone glowing on his knuckles.

Stephen lets go of you, eyes on Thanos, “Stop.” He pants. “Spare his life and I will give you the stone.”

“Stephen.” You snap, “No!”

“No tricks.” Thanos says.

Stephen shakes his head, Thanos points the gauntlet at you two, instead.

“Don’t.” Tony groans, blood dripping out the corner of his mouth.

Stephen slowly lifts his hand, a green haze showing before the Time Stone appears out of thin air, between his forefinger and thumb. Thanos hold out his other hand, palm up.

“Don’t do this.” You tell him, pressure behind your eyes. “Don’t, Stephen, I don’t want those people to die.”

He looks at you for a long second, before releasing the stone. It floats through the air, straight to Thanos. He lowers the gauntlet, taking the green gem in his hand. Your head falls, you let out a sob between gritted teeth.

When you look, Thanos is dropping the Time Stone into the slot on the knuckle of his thumb. “One to go.”

A beam hits the gauntlet, as Quill comes out of the rock and rubble, flying straight at Thanos, repeatedly firing. The same storm cloud that brought Thanos here has now materialized to take him back. He takes one step backwards, and it swallows him whole.

Quill flies right through where he should have made contact with Thanos. He gets to his feet, waving his gun. “Where is he?”

Tony uses the nanotech to heal where he’d been stabbed, letting out a sigh.

“Did we just lose?” Quill asks.

You let out a sob, hand covering your mouth. Stephen reaches to touch you, but you jerk away, “Don’t, don’t do that.”

“(Y/n)---”

You stumble down the rock, putting a few feet between you two.

Tony looks over at him. “Why would you do that?”

“We’re in the endgame now.” He says.

You lace your fingers, resting your hands on the top of your head, ignoring the pain that stabs through your shoulder and ribs. You take several deep breaths in through your nose, letting it out through your mouth. Your throat is tightening, making it harder to breathe.

“Miss (L/n), I’ve got them!” Peter shouts, you glance over to see Mantis, Drax and the robot coming your way. “Oh no, Mr. Stark?”

“(Y/n), come here, please.” Stephen says, “I don’t want you to regret this moment.” Your bottom lip juts out as you turn around to face him, finding him on his feet. He’s got a hand out in your direction. “I’m sorry, honey.”

The suit falls away from your body at the same time Tony dismisses his. You shake your head at him, refusing to go toward him. “All those people…” You lower your arms to wipe the tears. “I can’t.”

“We haven’t lost yet.” He tells you.

Peter pulls Tony to his feet. Mantis stops walking with Quill, looking up. “Something’s happening.”

Mantis’s feet begin to disintegrate, eating up the rest of her legs, turning into flakes of dust that get blown away in the wind. Your face drops. At once, the rest of her is gone.

Drax’s left half of his body begins to follow suit, he looks up, “Quill?”

He’s gone too, Tony starts forward, “Steady, Quill.”

It works faster this time, “Oh, man.”

You turn with an open mouth to look at Stephen, “No, no, no!”

His legs are turning into dust, you rush through the rocks to get to him in time. Maybe if you touch him, he’ll stay. Maybe your abilities will work in reverse.

“There was no other way, my love.” He whispers, breathing shallow.

“No!” You scream, arms swiping through the dust where he had been a second ago. “Stephen, no!”

“Mr. Stark?” Peter’s voice is trembling.

“God damn it!” You cry, face pressing into the rock. “Bring him back!”

“I don’t feel so good.” Peter says.

“You’re all right.” Tony says.

“I don’t—I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t know…” He falls into Tony’s arms. “I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go, sir. Please. Please, I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go.” Tony carefully lowers him to the ground. “I’m sorry.”

You bury your face in your hands, silently sobbing as you struggle to breathe. “Stephen…” You whisper. “Come back to me.”

It dawns on you.

You scoot away from the rock, sitting up on your knees. You blink through blurry eyes, fingers laced, hands above your head. “Please, work.” You whisper, and then slam your hands into concrete, pressing hard. “Stephen, rise!”

The ground is still, not reacting to your words.

“I said,” You raise your hands, bringing them down again. “Rise! Bring me Stephen Strange!”

Finally, the rock begins to shake violently, you sit impatiently, waiting for him to sprout out of the ground where he’d turned to dust over. Instead, the planet settles, and you’re left with nothing.

“He did it.” The robot says.

Your labored breaths quickly turn into deep breaths that begin to even out, the more you think about her. You push to your feet, attentioning turning to her. This wouldn’t have happened if she didn’t come here.

“You.” You snarl out, Tony looks up at you. “This is your fault.”

She looks at you, eyes widening slightly, “Me?”

“Did you really have to be that honest?” You snap, going down the dirt. “You had to tell Quill that she was dead?”

Her face twists. “He was going to beat it out of Thanos whether or not I—”

“You don’t know that!” You shout, “Now they’re dead, and it’s your fault!” You stop a foot away from her. “This wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t here. We had him pinned down, we were right there! Peter had just gotten the gauntlet off of his arm!”

“(Y/n), this was always going to happen.” Tony interjects, “Stephen said it himself, this was the only way.”

“I don’t believe that.” You look down at him. “Stephen would never leave me on purpose. He’d never do that.”

“He would if it meant you’d be safe.”

this was part of my 3k celebration!! i am no longer accepting requests.

once again, i'm sorry it's long. i got carried away hehe. and i was determined to write the entire movie so i did.