Sign of the Times

08

"Yeah, but the kid's seen more movies."

Iron Man fired a rocket from his shoulder which pierced the side of the ship to Maw's right and began to suck everything out with depressurization, especially Maw and his large objects. Doctor Strange was pulled loose of his pinnings, lost the needles, but also headed for the hole, helpless to resist. The Cloak wrapped around his arm and an anchor point, but Doctor Strange's arm slipped loose and he kept going. Spider-Man shot a web strand at Doctor Strange with one hand and held onto a piece of the ship with the other. It broke, sending them both towards space when his Iron-Spider suit's metal arms braced him to keep him from being sucked out. Fortunately, Doctor Strange was still surrounded by the ship's atmosphere making haste to leave.

"Yes!" Peter cried. "Wait what are those?!"

Spider-Man crouched with his new spider-legs, and made a mighty leap to pull them both back inside. Iron Man quickly sprayed nanites onto the hole to plug it up. Doctor Strange safely, if emphatically, hit the floor. Maw was floating in space, quite dead, ice from the escaped atmosphere frosting over his grimace. Spider-Man landed on his new legs, retracted them, and found the Cloak "standing" next to him.

"Hey, we haven't officially met," Peter said, offering the Cloak his hand to shake. It ignored his offer and continued to Doctor Strange. "Cool."

Iron Man walked past Doctor Strange, shaking his head and with his armor retreating into its containment as Doctor Strange got to his feet and became en-Cloaked.

"We've gotta turn this ship around," Doctor Strange said.

"Yeah. Now he wants to run. Great plan," Tony retorted.

"No, I want to protect the Stone."

Tony walked towards the expansive front view-port, showing a hyper speed/warp effect before saying irritably, "And I want you to thank me now. Go ahead, I'm listening."

"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."

Peter raised his hand. "I'm backup."

"No. You're a stowaway." He waggled a finger between himself and Doctor Strange. "The adults are talking."

"I'm sorry, I'm confused as to the relationship here," Doctor Strange said. "Wh -- what is he, your ward?"

"No," Peter replied. "I'm Peter, by the way."

"Doctor Strange."

"Oh, we're using our made-up names. Um... I'm Spider-Man, then."

"This ship is self-correcting its course," Tony informed. "Thing's on autopilot."

Doctor Strange walked closer to Tony and asked, "Can we control it? Fly us home?" Tony was lost in bad memories and didn't respond right away. "Stark?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you get us home?"

"Yeah I heard you. I'm thinking... I'm not so sure we should."

"Under no circumstance can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos. I don't think you quite understand what's at stake here."

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

Doctor Strange paused. "All right, Stark. We go to him. But you have to understand... if it comes to saving you or the kid or the Time Stone... I will not hesitate to let either of you die. I can't, because the fate of the universe depends on it."

"Nice. Good. Moral compass. We're straight." Stepping over to Peter, he formally tapped both of Peter's shoulders with the edge of his hand, dubbing him as was done at a knighting. "All right, kid. You're an Avenger now." He didn't look at him as he said those words, knowing well what he was signing him up for.

Peter looked at Tony in disbelief, then cycled through delight, satisfaction, pride and determination, and braced himself for what was to come.