Previous in Out Of Time:
"Tony-"
"I know, getting ahead of myself again. You know what there should be no more surprises. Let's have a nice dinner tonight and we should have no more surprises. I should promise you."
"Actually, Tony, I really need to talk to you about something. I made-"
"Tony Stark," a man with a red cloak appeared a few feet away. There was an orange portal behind him. "Y/N Rogers, I'm Doctor Stephen Strange. And I need you both to come with me."
The necklace around the man's neck immediately caught Y/N's eye as Tony moved to stand protectively in front of her. It was the same necklace that the Ancient One wore, it housed the Time Stone.
"I'm sorry, what are you doing here?" Tony asked. "You giving out tickets or something?"
"We need your help," Dr. Strange responded, glancing at Y/N, which made Tony tense. "Look, it's not overselling to say that the fate of the universe is at stake."
"No," Y/N gasped softly.
"And who's 'we'?" Tony questioned.
"Hey, Tony," Bruce Banner greeted, nervously emerging from behind Dr. Strange.
"Bruce?"
"Y/N."
"Hi," she responded quietly.
"You okay?" Tony asked.
Bruce came up to Tony, giving him a desperate hug, not answering the question. Dr. Strange was focused on Y/N. Slowly, she walked up to him.
"It's time," he told her.
"I know," she responded quietly.
Tony guided Bruce over and through the portal, grabbing Y/N's hand as he passed. Dr. Strange was the last one through, closing the portal after them. Another man, Wong, was waiting in the building on the other side of the portal. Tony sat down while Y/N stayed standing, nervously biting at her nail. Bruce told them of what had happened to him and why he was back. Wong used his magic to show the universe and five of the six Infinity Stones.
"From the dawn of the universe, there was nothing," Wong began, "Then, boom! The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals, hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence."
"Space. Reality," Strange named the Stones, each one lighting up as he did. "Power. Soul. Mind. And," he opened his necklace, "Time."
"Tell me his name again," Tony ordered, very attentive.
"Thanos. He's a plague, Tony," Bruce answered. "He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York. That's him."
Tony stood up and looked at Y/N. It was obvious that Y/N knew about the Infinity Stones. Honestly, he wasn't all that surprised but he was a little hurt. Things were falling into place now, the headaches, the connection with the Tesseract, her powers. She was connected to all six Stones.
"This is it..." He said quietly to her. She nodded. He turned to face the other men. "What's our timeline?"
"No telling," Bruce replied. "He has the Power and Space Stones, that already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. If he gets his hands, on all six Stones, Tony-"
"He can destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamt of," Dr. Strange interrupted.
Tony leaned against the cauldron near the stairs, stretching like he was about to go for a run. "Did you seriously just say 'hitherto undreamt of'?"
"Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?"
"Is that what this is...?"
The cloak on Dr. Strange's back suddenly smacked Tony's arm, surprising him and Y/N. Tony looked at the thing, slightly offended before straightening himself up.
"I'm going to allow that," Tony continued. "If Thanos needs all six, why don't we just stick this one down the garbage disposal?"
"That's not how it works, Tony," Y/N sighed.
"No can do," Strange said.
"We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone," Wong added. "With our lives."
"And I swore off dairy, but then, Ben and Jerry's named a flavor after me, so..."
"Stark Raving Hazelnuts," Strange stated.
"It's not bad."
"A bit chalky."
"A Hunka-Hulka Burning Fudge is our favorite," Wong said.
"That's a thing?" Bruce questioned.
"Whatever," Tony said. "Point is: things change."
"Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot change," Strange said. "This Stone, and Y/N, may be the best chance we have against Thanos."
"Y/N?" Bruce repeated. "Why Y/N?"
"My... My abilities," she nervously answered. "They're from the Stones. I can control them."
"Not gonna happen," Tony quickly stated. "That Stone needs to go because it may also be his best chance against us."
"Well, if we don't do our jobs," Strange said.
"What is your job exactly, besides making balloon animals?"
"Protecting your reality, douchebag."
"Okay, guys, could we table this discussion right now?" Bruce requested. "The fact is that we have this Stone. We know where it is. Vision is out there somewhere with the Mind Stone, and we have to find him now."
"Yeah, that's the... thing," Tony muttered, awkwardly.
"What do you mean?" Y/N asked.
"Two weeks ago, Vision turned off his transponder. His offline."
"What?" Bruce exclaimed. "Tony, you lost another super bot?"
"I didn't lose him. He's more than that. He's evolving."
"He's with Wanda," Y/N whispered. "They've been sneaking around like we have, haven't they?"
"That's been my guess."
"Who could find Vision, then?" Dr. Strange asked.
"Shit," Tony quietly muttered to himself. He looked around at the others. "Probably Steve Rogers."
"Oh, great," Strange sighed in exasperation.
"Maybe. But..." Tony sighed.
Looking over at Y/N, he was met with her scared gaze. Everything was going to suddenly change, he knew it. It just hoped this didn't change where they stood.
"Call him," Bruce pressed.
"It's not that easy Bruce," Y/N responded. "Things happened. Technically, it's illegal for me to be here right now. Everyone in this room should be calling the police."
"The Avengers broke up," Tony clarified. "We're toast."
"Broke up?" Bruce repeated. "Like a band? Like The Beatles?"
"Cap and I feel out hard. We're not on speaking terms."
"Then Y/N. Call your brother."
"I have no way to get a hold of him," she shook her head. "I haven't spoken to him in two years."
"Tony, Y/N, listen to me. Thor's gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn't matter who you're talking to or not."
"I know what's at stake here, Bruce... I've known for a while now."
Y/N could feel everyone's gazes on her. Bruce was questioning what she meant, but the others knew and they looked at her with pity. With a sigh, Tony pulled out a flip phone. The one Steve had mailed him. He flipped it open, hovering over the call button to the only number on the phone.
"What's that?" Y/N asked. Tony met her gaze and went to explain, but it was too late. She already knew. "He sent that to you," a statement, not a question. "You've been able to contact him the whole time.... Have you ever...?"
"No," Tony shook his head. "I almost did once. When I found you at the cemetery that first time. But then-"
"The Soul Stone took me. And you were worried... don't worry. I don't blame you." She let out a shaky breath as she walked over and grabbed Tony's free hand. "Call him."
Looking back down at the phone, Tony hovered his thumb over the call button once again. Y/N gave his hand a slight squeeze as she watched. But before he could press call, an unusual rumbling could be heard from outside. Tony looked up and around, noticing that something was off.
"Say, Doc, you wouldn't happen to be moving your hair, would you?" Tony wondered, pointing the phone at Strange, whose hair was slightly moving.
Strange looked up. "Not at the moment, no," Strange answered.
Looking up through the whole in the ceiling, Tony and Y/N saw debris flying by outside. All of them looked towards the doors, able to see things flying by and people running.
"I'm not ready," Y/N whispered. "I-I can't..." Her heart was pounding. "I... I can't-"
"Woah, woah, woah," Tony was in front of her, hands rubbing her shoulders. "No one's asking you to do anything right now. We don't know what's going on out there."
"I won't be able to save them all..." She shook her head, tearing up. "I already know that... And I'm not ready for that..."
"But you don't know that, Y/N. We don't know what's out there or what's about to happen. But we will do our best to figure it out and prevent what's coming. Together, alright?" Y/N nodded. "Alright." Tony ran a hand down her arm and intertwined his fingers with her. "Let's go see what we're up against."
Holding hands, Tony and Y/N walked up to the front doors, glancing back at the men behind them before going through them. Outside was chaotic. People running and screaming in alarm, traffic tangled, a litter-filled wind. As the two make their way towards where people are running from, a woman fell at Tony's feet. He quickly helped her up.
"You okay?" He asked, concerned.
Ignoring him, she quickly keeps running. A car suddenly crashed into a pole behind Tony and Y/N. They flinch, turning to see a man inside.
"Help him!" Tony shouted. "Wong, Doc."
"Go! Got it!" Bruce replied, rushing to the car.
Slipping his hand into his pocket, Tony retrieved a pair of sunglasses. He put them on, keeping him and Y/N going towards the issue.
"FRIDAY, what am I looking at?" He asked his AI.
"Not sure," FRIDAY responded. "I'm working on it."
"Hey! You might wanna put that Time Stone in your back pocket, Doc!"
Dr. Strange moved his arms, golden bands appearing around his forearms. "Might want use it," he responded.
"Don't leave my side," Tony told Y/N.
"Okay," she replied with a nod.
Approaching an intersection, the two turned the corner together. Floating over the street, was a huge circular ship.
"FRIDAY, evac anyone south of 43rd Street," Tony directed. "Notify first responders."
"Will do," the AI replied.
From behind them, a large gust of wind came, clearing the dust and debris from the air. Both Y/N and Tony turned to see Dr. Strange behind them. He threw a wink at Tony. For a split second, Tony is begrudgingly amused. Close together, they walk closer to the ship, stopping when two beings appear in front of them.
"Hear me, and rejoice," the skinny one exclaimed. "You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos. Be thankful, that your meaningless lives are now contributing to-"
"I'm sorry," Tony interrupted, folding his arms over his chest as he stepped up, "Earth is closed today. You better pack it up and get outta here."
"Stonekeeper," the alien called, looking at Strange, "does this chattering animal speak for you?"
"Certainly not. I speak from myself," Strange responded. Magical shields are readied at his fists as he stepped forward, Wong emulating him. "But you're trespassing in this city and on this planet."
"It means get lost, Squidward!" Tony shouted.
"He exhausts me," the skinny being commented to its larger, bulkier being. "Bring me the Stone."
The larger being dropped its huge hammer, dragging it along as it obeyed the ordered. From slightly behind Tony, Y/N's hands began to glow purple.
"Banner you want a piece?" Tony asked.
"No, not really," Bruce responded. "But when do I ever get what I want?"
"That's right."
Channeling his anger, Bruce attempted to release the Hulk. But instead of Hulk coming out easily, green shows up on Bruce's neck and then quickly disappeared.
"Been a while," Tony continued. "Good to have you, buddy."
"I just... I need to concentrate here for one second," Bruce said. "Come on, come on, man."
"Where's your guy?"
"I don't know. We've sorta been havin' a thing."
"There's no time for a thing."
"I know."
Tony pointed forward and the approaching being. "That's the thing right there. Let's go."
Bruce gave out a loud grunt, but still failed to release the Hulk. Dr. Strange stared at Tony and Bruce in disbelief, while Y/N slowly had her powers snake their way to the two beings.
"Dude," Tony muttered to Bruce, "you're embarrassing me in front of the wizards."
"Tony, I'm sorry," Bruce apologized. "Either I can't or he won't-"
"It's okay. Hey," Tony set his hands on Bruce's shoulders, "stand down." He turned to Wong, guiding Bruce back. "Keep an eye on him. Thank you."
"I have him," Wong replied with a nod.
"Damn it," Bruce murmured.
Tony then noticed Y/N's hands. "No," he quickly said, rushing in front of her. "You need to safe your strength."
"If I can stop them, I want to before it's too late," Y/N retorted.
"Really no time for this," Strange cut in.
Tony turned to see the being coming closer. Stepping up, Tony taps his new arc reactor, revealing his nanotech Iron Man suit that quickly forms to him. He forms a shield on one arm, protecting him from a hit from the being. Then Tony forms a set of blasters that easily throw the being back to the skinny one, who gestured and deflected his massive companion into some cars.
"Where'd that come from?" Bruce wondered, in awe.
"It's nano-tech," Tony responded, turning around. "You like it? A little someth-"
Suddenly, a pike fo earth shots up and threw Iron Man far up. Using uprooted trees and other debris, the skinny being began attacking the rest of them. But before the attack can even do anything to the small team, Y/N steps forward motioning her hands in front of her and dissolving all the objects in one swift movement.
"Interesting," the skinny one observed. "You are a strong one. I sense a great power in you."
"And I sense a great deal of annoyance," Y/N responded.
"Dr. Banner," Dr. Strange said as Y/N and the being were having a stand off, "if the rest of your green friend won't be joining us..."
Strange teleported Bruce away, along with half a taxi. Iron Man then returned to the fight, pushing a car thrown by the skinny being back at it. The car get cuts in half, and the being was untouched. Y/N put her hands in front of her, blasting the being with a purple beam. It flew back, crashing into the building behind it.
"Gotta get that Stone out of here, now," Tony ordered, blocking a blast meant for Y/N.
"It stays with me," Strange responded.
"Exactly. Bye. Y/N, get out of here!"
"No way in hell!" Y/N replied as Tony flew through the forming obstacle course.
As Tony made his way through, Y/N began to destroy the obstacles in his way. Before he could get to the end of the course, Tony was cut short my the big guy's hammer, sending him through a building at high speed.
"Tony!" Y/N screamed.
Her emotional scream caused power to be released from her whole body, destroying everything the alien had put in their way. She was panting and angry when the dust settled again.
"Well, well," the alien chuckled, "I guess I was right."
"Leave here," Y/N demanded. "Before I end you."
"I can't wait to see you try."
"Y/N, go!" Strange ordered, him and Wong being to fight off the being.
"What?!" She exclaimed, helping them. "You know what I'm capable of, what I'm meant to do. Why order me away?"
"Just listen to me!"
"Not without the Stone! You and I both know that I can protect it better than you!"
"And why is that?" The being asked, having heard the conversation while using the surroundings to attack.
He shot bricks turned into sharp points at them. Channeling the Time Stone, Y/N turned back time so that the bricks were dust. The Time Stone glowed in the necklace and Y/N's hands were glowing green.
"Impossible," the being whispered. "You... You're channeling the Stones."
Y/N blasted him with a powerful beam, sending the alien back and scraping agains the road. It stood back up, cuts littering its body. Angry, the aline used a broke fire hydrant's water steam to knock Wong back several meters, rending him unconscious. Dr. Strange then snaps a whip of magical energy to bind the alien's hands and yanked. The alien flew forward with the pull and pins Strange upside-down against a building, using the bricks to trap him.
"Get to Stark!" Y/N heard Dr. Strange say in his head. "Listen to me! Get to Stark! Now!"
Y/N hesitated slightly before deciding to not listen to Strange and attack the skinny alien from behind. The bricks continued to pile on Strange as the skinny alien turned around to face Y/N. Debris began flying at Y/N in all directions. Using her powers, Y/N blocked them, set them away, and dusted them. But she couldn't see everything that was coming. From behind, the alien launched at car at her. It hit her, hard, shooting her forward and skidding her across the road, knocking her out. The alien turned its attention back to Strange.
"Your powers are quaint," it taunted. "Especially compared to the girl over there. You must be popular with children."
The alien reached out and tried to grab the necklace holding the Time Stone. It quickly jerked back when the necklace burnt its hand.
"It's a simple spell but quite unbreakable," Strange stated.
"Then I'll take it off your corpse."
The alien pulled Strange away from the building and threw him to the ground. Strange began to gesture to use the Time Stone, but utility cables pin down his arms, wind around his torso, then tighten around his throat.
"You'll find... removing a dead man's spell... troublesome..." Strange choked out.
"You'll only wish you were dead."
Knocking out Strange, the alien raised a portion of street pavement to use as a carrier. With a smirk, went over to Y/N.
"Thanos will be eager to meet you," it said, using its powers to pick her up and tie her next to Strange. "Or kill you. Guess we'll just have to see."