Requisite and Sensibility

Chapter 3 - Thanos' Bidding

Peter snuck in behind Tony from the top pipes of the ship, Rain and Edward behind him, sneakily moving closer. They heard that ugly alien talking, holding their uncle Strange hostage under hundreds of sharp 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." The alien caused the needles to touch Strange's face as he writhed slightly and closed his eyes in pure agony. "Ass." Rain mumbled.

"Give me... the stone." Ebony Maw spoke through clenched teeth in anger and frustration. Strange's cloak snuck in behind Tony and tapped him on his shoulder. Tony whipped around, his hand thrust outward as if about to shoot the cloak, but then he stood down once he saw it. "Wow you're a seriously loyal piece of outerwear, aren't you?" Peter coughed, jumping down from his hiding place, "Yeah, uh, speaking of loyalty...." Rain and Edward glanced at each other, scrambling down from their hiding place as well, "Don't say we aren't loyal." All three turned around to stare at the two children.

"What the-" Tony started, Peter looking equally as horrified, "we know what you guys are gonna say." "You shouldn't be here." Tony and Peter firmly stated together and then looked at each other, an eyebrow raised on each of their faces. The "cloak" went to stand beside Tony, seeming like it was crossing its "arms". "We were gonna go home-" Tony shook his head at the two kids, "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." The cloak shook its "head" in sympathy which was really it's collar and shrugged.

"...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 offered his own explanation and the kids gasped as Tony and the cloak took a step back, looking shocked. "What did you just say?" Peter blinked, "I take that back. And now I'm here in space." Tony shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Megan is gonna kill me, I have her kids in space, even Peter, who she thinks of as a child." Tony mumbled under his breath. The cloak sympathetically patted Tony's back.

"I am so dead. Two women back at home want my head on a spear. Fine. I just won't go home. Now how do I send these three home?" Tony looked over at the cloak who shrugged. "Great, now I'm losing my fucking mind." "Language." Edward mumbled. Tony sighed loudly, "You know what? I can't. Let's just fuck up this alien."

***

Peter pursed his lips as he saw the two men arguing loudly, "Are they always this childish?" "Pop-pop nearly had a heart attack when Uncle Strange suggested training us in the Sanctum Sanctorum so... yeah." Peter looked over at Rain, she was a good six years younger than him, yet he still felt himself attracted to her, he was comfortable and happy around her and that scared him to no ends. "We've gotta turn this ship around." Tony huffed, "Yeah. Now he wants to run. Great plan." "No, I want to protect the stone."

Tony sighed, "And I want you to thank me now. Go ahead, I'm listening." He spoke irritably. "For what? Nearly blasting me into space?" "Who just saved your magical ass? Me." "I seriously don't know how you fit your head into that helmet." "Admit it. You should have ducked out when I told you to. I tried to bench you. You refused." "Unlike everyone else in your life, I don't work for you." "And due to that fact, we're now in a flying doughnut billions of miles away from Earth with no backup." The kids watched their Uncle and Grandpa fight, their heads going back and forth as if watching an intense tennis game.

"Pete, do something." Rain whispered harshly, saying that to him in the nagging tone of a wife. "I'm back up." Peter spoke, his hand raised. Tony looked over at him, glaring daggers into the young man, "No. You're a stowaway." Tony wiggled a finger in between him and Strange, "The adults are talking." Strange raised an eyebrow, he hadn't met Peter before this day and was confused, "I'm sorry, I'm confused as to the relationship here. Wh-- what is he, your ward?" Rain stifled her laugh, "No. I'm Peter, by the way." Strange nodded towards him, "Dr. Strange."

"Oh, we're using our made-up names. Um... I'm Spider-Man, then." Rain let out a snort and Strange looked over at her, he realized she was on board when she used her mind powers to make Ebony Maw fall to his knees in extreme mental agony. "This ship is self-correcting its course. Thing's on autopilot." The doctor walked over to Tony, looking at the board panel, "Can we control it? Fly us home?" Tony remained quiet, his eyes glazed over as if he was thinking of past memories. "Stark?" "Yeah?" "Can you get us home?" "Yeah I heard you. I'm thinking... I'm not so sure we should."

Strange took a step back, protectively wrapping his hands around the stone, "Under no circumstance can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos. I don't think you quite understand what's at stake here." " No. It's you who doesn't understand, that Thanos has been inside my head for almost 20 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?"

Strange looked over at the kids, an eyebrow raised as if to indicate, What about them? Tony looked over at his two grandchildren and sighed, "Ready for your first fight as Avengers?" The two children looked at each other and grinned, "Fuck yeah." "Watch your language, young lady." Rain pouted, but then sat a little straighter in her seat. "Alright, Stark. We go to him. But you have to understand... if it comes to saving you or the kids 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." Rain and Edward stifled their smiles, they knew their Uncle Strange too well, he loved them and they knew his words were empty.

"Nice. Good. Moral compass. We're straight." Tony walked over to Peter and his grandchildren, knighting each of them, "Alright, kids. You're Avengers now."

***

The kids were at home, they were told to be. The triplets sleeping peacefully in their crib upstairs, a baby monitor in Brooklyn's hand. Brooklyn, James, Cooper, Cassie, Lila, Nathaniel, Vanessa and Magda sat calmly in front of the entertainment centre, watching Love Island on the television. "You think they're really doing it?" James asked and Brooklyn scrunched her nose, "It's reality T.V., they're all faker than Dad's replica shield that Uncle Rhodey tried to make." James snorted, "Besides, you know there's websites online for that kind of stuff." James looked over at his sister, "How could you possibly know that?" Lila swung her legs in front of her, "I hope you know that women watch porn as well." "No." James spoke in disbelief, shaking his head.

"This conversation has taken a weird turn." Cooper spoke out uncomfortably and Cassie chuckled from beside him. Suddenly, both Cassie and Lila stood up, looking straight ahead. "Thanos can't possibly get all the stones by himself." The two girls spoke in perfect synchrony. Brooklyn and James glanced uneasily at each other, "Yeah... I think we've established he's an idiot." "He needs help." The two girls spoke again. "He has a whole ass alien army, he doesn't need anymore help..." James spoke slowly. "He will need our help." Brooklyn slowly walked up to Lila as James walked over to Cassie, in an instant they both held down the older girls.

Brooklyn flipped Lila over and climbed on top of her, slapping her hard on her cheek, "OW! Brook, what the fuck?" Lila spoke, holding her bruised cheek. James looked into Cassie's eyes, a pool of black, no more of her wonderful blue was showing, "Hit her." Brooklyn spoke. "I can't, Mom raised me better than this." Brooklyn rolled her eyes at her brother and slapped Cassie painfully hard, "Ok- What?" Cassie held her cheek as Lila did, their eyes stinging with tears. "FRIDAY-" Brooklyn started and then remembered that Friday was now a person that wasn't home at the moment.

"Yes Ms. Brooklyn Rogers?" Brooklyn looked up at the ceiling, "Friday?" "No, I am Victoria-" "Vic who?" "Victoria, your grandfather installed me when Ms. Friday was no longer available for the job." Brooklyn blinked, "Ok... um... Victoria?" "Yes Ms. Brooklyn Rogers?" "Call mom and tell her that I think... Thanos is somehow trying to mind control us into doing his bidding." "Well, that's concerning. I will Call Mrs. Rogers right away. In the meantime can I do anything to assist you?" Brooklyn gulped, "Can you give me access to a quinjet?"