Converto - Marvel Studios [8]

twenty-three.

We were all piled into one of the biggest meeting rooms, everyone sitting in different positions around the room. I sat on one of the couches pushed up against the wall, Natasha sitting next to me with her legs resting over mines as I stared ahead of me. Scott, Rocket, Tony and Rhodey sat around the table, all of them looking very serious as if they were having a meeting. Steve stood up at the front of the room, the screens hanging from the ceilings lined up behind him showing the pictures of the six colourful stones. Under any other circumstance I would have enjoyed sitting here with all of my friends, talking mate into the night before we all fell exhausted and drifted off one by one to call it a night. Except we were staring at the pictures of the six Infinity Stones, and while no one wanted to mention it, there was a distinct mournful feeling in the air.

"Okay, so the how works, so now we gotta figure out the when and the where" Steve started, pointing at the screens as he turned to look at all of us, crossing his arms over his chest seriously. His expression was unreadable, his jaw clenched as we all stared at him, the tension in the room thick and impenetrable. "Almost all of us has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones" Steve added as Tony stood up from his chair abruptly, clearly already bored on this conversation. "Well I'd substitute the word encounter for damn well near been killed by one of the six Infinity Stones" Tony said, pointing a finger at Steve who nodded his head in reply, knowing that Tony was right. I wouldn't mind if I never had to see another Infinity Stone for the rest of my life.

"I haven't, I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about" Scott countered as he leaned back in the chair he was in, craning his neck as he looked at both Steve and Tony. Scott wasn't wrong, out of everyone in this room he was the newest to this lifestyle, however he was having to deal with just as much as the rest of us. "Regardless, we only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each" Bruce started, all of our eyes turning to look at him as he stood up, motioing to the screens as Scott looked down at the table, still feeling relatively gilty about wasting one of the test rounds. "These stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history" Bruce continued as Tony clapped his hands in front of him, interlocking them as all of our eyes shifted back to him.

"Our history, so there's not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in" Tony said, Nat lifting her legs off of my knees, sitting up straightly as if she had decided that the conversation just got importnant. "Which means we have to pick our targets" Clint muttered, Tony nodding his head at him as he stood next to Steve, putting his hands out on either side of him. "Let's start with the Aether" Steve said, turning to Thor who was sitting slouched in the corner, sunglasses pulled over his eyes and his lips in a straight line. "Thor, what do you know?" Steve asked, waiting for a reply from the god that didn't come after a few silent beats.

It was impossible to tell whether he was awake or asleep, his head was tilted back slightly as he sat there silently, barely moving an inch. "Is he asleep?" Natasha asked, Rhodey leaning a bit closer to him and waving his hand in front of his face. "No, I'm pretty sure he's dead" Rhodey replied, causing Thor to jostle awake on cue. Rhodey jumped, pulling back his hand quickly as Thor let out a heavy sigh and pushed himself out of his chair. "Where to start" he mumbled, dragging his feet along the floor as he motioned to the picture of the red stone that was on the screen.