As the alien started guiding the piece of pavement towards the giant circular ship, the cloak that was around Strange tore itself free and flew the piece of pavement away.
"No!" The alien yelled, following after it.
Iron Man and Spider-Man were both fighting off the large alien in the nearby park Tony had crashed into, when the pavement piece flew passed. All Tony could see was the cloak and the alien following, so he knew it was Strange and that he was in trouble.
"Kid, that's wizard," Tony told Peter, blocking an attack. "Get on it."
"On it!" Peter replied, quickly swinging in that direction.
Spider-Man chased after the skinny alien, who was floating speedily and upright on a small platform of burbling debris. Swinging in between the pavement and the alien, Peter tried to tie up the alien. The alien attacked back, throwing a billboard at Spider-Man.
"Not cool!" Peter responded.
The alien bent all the utility poles in the path of the feeing clock, finally snagging the garment and ripping it loose of the pavement. Spider-Man re-arrived on the scene, finally noticing something.
"Uh, Mr. Stark? We have a problem," Peter's nervous voice rang over the comms.
"What is is kid?" Tony replied, still fighting off the larger alien. "I'm kinda in the middle-"
"Both the wizard and Miss Rogers are unconscious on the floating piece of road."
"What?! I'll be right there!"
Peter swung down to the pavement and stood on it, careful to not step on Strange or Y/N. Bending down, he went to break Y/N free when a cone of blue light began to pull the group upwards. Spider-Man jumped off, grabbing onto the nearest light post while using his webbing to try and keep the piece of pavement in place. The alien quickly uprooted the light post, sending Dr. Strange, the cloak, Y/N, and Peter on their way to the circular ship.
"Uhhh, Mr. Stark?" Peter called again. "I'm being beamed up!"
"Hang on, kid!" Tony responded.
Before Tony could fly over there, the giant alien he was fighting pinned Tony to the ground by his hammer that doubled as a claw. As the giant jumped towards Iron Man, blades ready to end the fight, he was sent through a portal instead. The alien turned and leaped to return back through the portal, but Wong rapidly closed it and only the giant's severed hand made its way back to the park. Bruce kicked the hand way with a noise of disgust. Iron Man then shook himself free of the weapon.
"Wong, you're invited to my future wedding!" Tony exclaimed before beginning to fly towards the large ship. "Give me a little juice, FRIDAY."
Iron Man's foot thrusters suddenly morphed together into a single larger thruster, increasing his speed considerably. Peter, not being able to keep hold of the pavement piece, was hanging onto the ship as it flew up into space. The alien and the piece of pavement with Strange and Y/N on it, had disappeared into the ship. Tony knew that Peter wasn't going to be able to hold on or breathe for much longer.
"Unlock 17-A," Tony ordered FRIDAY. "Pete, you gotta let go. I'm gonna catch you."
"But you said save the wizard!" Peter responded. Gasping from lack of oxygen, Peter ripped off his mask. "I can't breathe!"
"You're too high up. You're running out of air."
"Yeah! That makes sense."
Quickly, Peter passed out, free-falling, but not before the pod Tony had set out reached him. It attached itself to him, becoming a new suit. Now being able to breathe, Spider-Man landed on the bottom part of the ship.
"Mr. Stark, it smells like a new car in here!" Peter commented.
"Happy trails, kid," Tony replied. "FRIDAY, send him home."
"Yep," FRIDAY answered.
A large parachute extended from the new Spider-Man suit, spending him back towards earth.
"Oh, come on!" Peter shouted.
Iron Man latched onto the hull and cut a hole to board the ship, looking for wherever Strange and Y/N were taken.
"Boss, I have lifeforms detected in the ship," FRIDAY informed. "One of them is most likely Agent Rogers."
"Can you tell me if she's breathing?"
A pause. "It appears she is."
"Okay... I need you to-"
"I'm sorry, Boss, but we seem to be losing connection. We're too far away from-" Then FRIDAY"s line cut.
~~~
"Still no word from Vision?" The holographic image of Secretary Ross asked Rhodey. Rhodey was at the compound, dealing with the red tape.
"Satellites lost him somewhere over Edinburgh," Rhodey replied.
"On a stolen Quinjet with four of the world's most wanted criminals."
"You know they're only criminals because you've chosen to call them that, right, sir?"
"My God, Rhodes, your talent for horseshit rivals my own."
"If it weren't for those Accords, Vision would've been right here."
"I remember your signature on those papers, Colonel."
"That's right. And I'm pretty sure I've paid for that."
"You have second thoughts?"
"Not anymore."
Suddenly, the fugitive Avengers (Sam, Wanda, Nat, and Steve) entered the room. Vision was being supported by Sam.
"Mr. Secretary," Steve greeted, firmly.
"You got some nerve," Ross said, hologram walking up to the Captain. "I'll give you that."
"You could use some of that right now," Natasha replied.
"The world's on fire. And you think, all is forgiven?"
"I'm not looking for forgiveness. And I'm way past asking for permission," Steve stated. "Earth just lost her best defender. So we're here to fight." He took a step towards the hologram. "And if you wanna stand in our way... we'll fight you too."
Ross turned to Rhodes. "Arrest them."
"All over it," Rhodey responded before swiping off the hologram. "That's a court-martial. It's great to see you, Cap."
The two men hugged. "You too, Rhodey," Steve responded before Natasha went to hug Rhodey.
"Well. You guys really look like crap. Must've been a rough couple of years."
"Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five star," Sam commented.
"Uh, I think you look great," Bruce nervously walked in from the opposite end of the room. "Uh... heh... Yeah. I'm back."
"Hi, Bruce," Nat greeted softly.
"Nat."
"This is awkward," Sam whispered.
Steve looked around. "Has anyone heard from Y/N?" He asked. "She'd want to know-"
"She's missing too, Steve," Bruce interrupted. "When I found Tony to get his help, Y/N was with him."
"She was... she was with him? But Y/N's a fugitive as well. How-"
"Mr. Stark and Miss Rogers have been sneaking around," Vision cut Steve off.
"What?!" Steve and Rhodey exclaimed.
"It's been happening for about a year now."
"Miss Rogers has been seeing Boss and Sargent Barnes," FRIDAY clarified. "Trying to work through her feelings."
"Thats... and she never..." Steve was at a loss for words.
"You didn't try to reach out to her either, Cap," Sam said. "You even knew she was staying in Wakanda. T'Challa told you. And you refused to reach out."
"What happened?" Steve asked, looking at Bruce.
"She got captured," Bruce explained. "Tony went after the ship to protect her and the Time Stone."
"Why don't we take this into the other room?" Rhodey suggested. "Perhaps get you guys something to drink."
They went into the next room over, each standing or sitting around the room. Bruce explained more of what happened and the other group explained what happened to them.
"So we gotta assume they're coming back, right?" Rhodey questioned.
"And they can clearly find us," Wanda added.
"We need all hands on deck," Bruce stated. "Where's Clint?"
"After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal," Nat answered. "It was too tough on their families, they're on house arrest."
"Who's Scott?"
"Ant-Man," Steve replied.
"There's an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man? Okay, look... Thanos has the biggest army in the universe. And he is not gonna stop until he... he gets... Vision's Stone."
"Well then, we have to protect it," Nat stated.
"No, we have to destroy it," Vision said. "I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature. But also, its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something, very similar to its own signature, perhaps... its molecular integrity could fail."
"And you, with it," Wanda said. "We're not having this conversation."
"Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it."
"That's too high a price."
Vision took Wanda's face gently with both hands. "With Y/N off world, only you have the power to pay it." Wanda walked away, distressed. "Thanos threatens half the Universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him."
"But it should," Steve said, looking at Vision. "We don't trade lives, Vision."
"Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people. Tell me, why is this any different?"
"Because you might have a choice," Bruce suggested. "Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. JARVIS, Ultron, Tony, me, the Stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another."
"You're saying Vision isn't just the Stone?" Wanda asked.
"I'm saying that if we take out the Stone, there's still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts."
"Can we do that?" Nat wondered.
"Not me. Not here."
"You better find someone, and somewhere fast," Rhodey said. "Ross isn't exactly just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back."
"I know somewhere," Steve stated. "Wakanda. But someone first has to explain how Y/N has anything to do with the Stone."
"70 years ago, the Tesseract chose her to be the protector of the Stones," Vision explained, knowing the story due to housing the Mind Stone in his head. "That's how she survived the fall. The Tesseract holds the Space Stone. Her powers come for each of the Stones, so she has the power to destroy the Stones, by channeling them. Y/N is able to wield and control the all the Stones."
"What I showed her..." Wanda said quietly. "It was the Stone... Y/N's the key to stopping Thanos."
~~~
T'Challa already knew Y/N was missing before Steve had contacted him. With Okoye and two other guards, he made his way to Bucky's place. Bucky was throwing bags onto a partly-filled car, being watched by two village children.
"You'll have the Kingsgaurd, and the Dora Milaje have been alerted," Okoye told T'Challa as they made their way towards Bucky's small hut.
"And the Border Tribe?" T'Challa wondered.
"Those that are left."
"Send word to the Jabari as well. M'Baku likes a good fight."
"And what of this one?" Okoye looked at Bucky, just down the hill.
"This one may be tired of war. But the White Wolf has rested long enough."
They made their way to Bucky. The guards set an elaborate and high-tech looking case down on the cart. They opened the lid to reveal the black and gold vibranium arm that Bucky had worn on Valentine's Day.
Bucky sighed. "Where's the fight?" He asked.
"On its way," T'Challa answered. "And, Barnes..." The King glanced over at Okoye. "There's something else. It's about Y/N."
Bucky was immediately alert. "What is it?"
"She's missing."
~~~
Dr. Strange was floating horizontally, face down, surrounded by dozens of long, glassy needles, as the alien interrogated him. Y/N was still unconscious, tied to the pavement off to the side.
"In all the time I've served Thanos, I've never failed him," the alien told Dr. Strange. "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 needles began to contact Dr. Strange's face, causing pain. "Give me... the Stone."
Tony was watching, hiding from above. After receiving a tap on the arm, Tony turned around, hand up and ready to shoot. Tony stood stand after seeing that it was the cloak.
"Wow, you're a seriously loyal piece of outerwear, aren't you?" Tony commented.
"Yeah, un speaking of loyalty..."
Tony and the cloak turn, completely shocked, to see Peter dropping down from above.
"What the-"
"I know what you're gonna say," Peter interrupted, holding his hands out.
"You should not be here," Tony stated.
"I was gonna go home-"
"I don't wanna hear it."
"But it was such a long way down and I just thought about you and Y/N on the way-"
"And now I gotta hear it."
"-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."
Both the cloak and Tony looked shocked, again. "What did you just say?"
"I take that back. And now I'm here in space."
"Yeah." Tony went to stand right in front of Peter. "Right where I don't want you to be. This isn't Coney Island. This isn't a field trip. It's a one-way ticket. You hear me? Don't pretend like you thought this through. You could not have possibly thought this through."
"No. I did think this through."
"You could not have possibly thought this through."
"It's just .. you can't be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there's no neighborhood." Peter waited to get something from Tony, but nothing. "Okay. That didn't really make any sense, but you know what I'm trying to say."
Tony let out a shaky breath. "Come on. We got a situation."
Tony led Peter over to where they could see Dr. Strange, Y/N, and the alien. Peter crouched down to study the situation and the cloak leaned over his shoulder.
"See him down there?" Tony pointed to Dr. Strange. "He's in trouble. And Y/N laying over there as well. What's your plan? Go."
"Um. Okay, okay... uh..." Peter stuttered, trying to think. He and the cloak popped back upright. "Okay. Did you ever see this really old movie, Aliens?"
~~~
Meanwhile, the Stones were talking to an unconscious Y/N.
"You can't stop what's coming... it will come, no matter what. You are being saved for the final battle... we will stop you from doing anything to prevent what needs to happen. What's suppose to happen... someday, you will understand. There are things meant to be learned, things meant to happen, that we will not let you stop... use your powers wisely."
She gasped quietly, waking up. Y/N quickly studied her surroundings. She could feel the Time Stone close before she noticed the predicament Dr. Strange was in. The glass spikes were pressing into Strange's skin, causing him to let out a groan.
"Painful, aren't they?" The alien taunted. Ebony Maw, the name was, Y/N finally getting inside his head. "They were originally designed for microsurgery. And any one of them-"
There was a thump behind Maw, he turned to see Iron Man standing there. Tony's hand repulsers were ready to fire. Y/N closed her eyes and focused on getting out of the utility ropes without making a big scene.
"-could end your friend's life in an instant," Maw continued.
"I gotta tell you, he's not really my friend," Tony responded. "Saving his life is more a professional courtesy."
"Ah, yes. It's the girl you're really after." Maw walked slowly towards Iron Man, beckoning very large metal objects to float behind him. "Too bad you've saved nothing. Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine."
"Yeah, but the kid's seen more movies."
Iron Man fired a rocket from his shoulder which pierces the side of the ship to Maw's right and began to suck everything out with depressurization, including Y/N. She quickly portaled herself to behind Tony, relieving herself from the binds. Maw was sucked out into space quickly. Dr. Strange was pulled loose of his bindings and the needles, also heading for the hole. The cloak quickly wrapped around Dr. Strange, trying to keep him inside. Strange and the cloak lost their grip, but Spider-Man shot a web strand, holding him in place. Or trying to.
The web broke, sending both Strange and Peter towards space. Suddenly, Peter's suit releases metal spider-like arms, keeping him from being sucked out. Y/N quickly portaled Strange behind her.
"Yes!" Peter shouted, looking at the metal arms. "Wait, what are those?!"
Using the metal arms, Peter leaped to get to a safer place. Tony quickly sprayed nano-particles onto the hole to plug it. Spider-Man landed on his new legs, quickly retracted them. He found the cloak hovering next to him.
"Hey, we haven't officially met," Peter said, offering the cloak his hand. It ignored it, going straight to Strange. "Cool."
Tony's suit quickly disappeared back into the arc reactor as he rushed to Y/N. He grabbed onto her arms, examining her body for any injuries.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" He asked. Tony's hands found a place on her cheeks. "Tell me you're-"
"I'm fine, Tony," she responded. "I'm fine."
He gave her a kiss before pulling her in for a hug. "I was so worried."
"I'm fine." She hugged him back, breathing him in. "I'm fine."
"We've gotta turn this ship around," Strange stated.
"Yeah. Now he wants to run," Tony replied. "Great plan."
"No, I want to protect the Stone."
Tony walked towards the front window, showing that they were speeding. "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."
"Technically it was me," Y/N added.
"I seriously don't know how you fit your head into that helmet," Strange scoffed.
"Admit it. You should have ducked out when I told you to," Tony continued. "I tried to bench you. You refused."
"I tried to bench your girlfriend, yet she refused as well. And, 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."
"I'm backup," Peter said, raising his hand.
"No. You're a stowaway." Tony pointed his finger between himself and Strange. "The adults are talking."
"I'm sorry, I'm confused as to the relationship here," Strange said. "Wh-what is he, your ward?"
"No," Peter responded. "I'm Peter, by the way."
"Dr. Strange."
"Oh, we're using our made-up names. Um... I'm Spider-Man, then."
"Peter," Y/N muttered, rolling her eyes.
"This ship is self-correcting its course," Tony stated. "Thing's on autopilot."
"Can we control it?" Strange asked, walking closer to Tony. "Fly us home."
Tony, looking out in space, was lost in bad memories. Of going through the portal, of what Wanda showed him.
"Tony?" Y/N called softly, stepping towards him. She was concerned.
"Yeah?" He responded. He met her gaze briefly, quickly looking away cause it was not the time for him to be freaking out or for her to be reading him.
"Can you get us home?" Strange asked.
"Yeah. I heard you. I'm thinking... I'm not so sure we should."
"What?" Y/N questioned. "Why?"
"Under no circumstance can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos," Strange stated. "I don't think you quite understand what's at stake here."
Tony talked over to 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. Because I am not sacrificing Y/N for the sake of the universe, for whatever the Stones have told her is her destiny. 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 was silent for a moment. "Alright, 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." Tony stepped over to Peter, formally tapping each of Peter's shoulders. "Alright kid. You're an Avenger now."
"You skipped me," Y/N said, walking up to Strange.
"Excuse me?" He questioned.
"You said that if it came between saving Tony, Peter, or the Time Stone, that you'd choose the Time Stone... but what about me?"
"You and I both know, Y/N, that the Stones will not let you die until you have completed what they need you for. No matter what that may be."