"Wow, you are a seriously loyal piece of outerwear, aren't you?"
After Maw took Strange in New York, Tony managed to sneak on-board his ship without being detected. At least, he hoped without being detected. That would be ideal.
"Yeah, uh...speaking of loyalty."
And now it's less than ideal.
"What the-" Tony turns, watching Spider-Man drop from the ceiling, while his mask slides away to reveal the face of Peter Parker.
"I know what you're going to say," Peter holds up his hands.
"You should not be here."
"I was gonna go home."
"I don't want to hear it," Tony interrupts.
"But it was such a long way down, and I just thought about you on the way..."
He sighs, "And now I gotta hear it."
"...and kinda stuck to the side of the ship," Peter explains. "And this suit is ridiculously intuitive, by the way, so--"
Tony turns his head, "God damn it."
"If anything, it's kind of your fault that I'm here."
"What did you just say?" Tony lifts an eyebrow.
"I-I take that back," Peter backpedals. "And now I'm here in space."
Frowning, Tony steps toward him, "Yeah. Right where I didn't want you to be. This isn't Coney Island. This isn't a field trip. This is a one-way ticket. You hear me?" He shakes his head, "Don't pretend you thought this through."
"No, I did think this through."
"I know you didn't."
"I did th--"
"You could not have possibly thought this through."
"You can't be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there's no neighborhood," Peter replies, only to earn a blank stare from Tony. "Okay, that didn't really make sense but you know what I'm trying to say."
Biting back his frustration, Tony turns and sighs, "Come on, we got a situation." He walks over to the ledge and points to where Steven Strange is suspended in mid-air. "See him down there? He's in trouble, what's your plan? Go."
"Um...Okay, okay...uh..." Peter ruminates. "Okay, did you ever see this really old movie, Aliens?"
Below them, Strange lets out a cry of pain that draws both of their attention.
"Painful, aren't they," Maw's voice carries through the space. "They were originally designed for microsurgery. And any one of them..." a thud echoes behind the alien, who turns to find Iron Man at the ready, "...could end your friend's life in an instant."
"I gotta tell you, he's not really my friend," Tony deadpans from within the suit. "Saving his life is more of a professional courtesy."
Maw beckons objects toward him using his telekinesis, "You've saved nothing. Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine."
"Yeah, but the kid's seen more movies."
A tiny missile shoots from the shoulder of Tony's suit, blasting a hole in the side of the ship, and Maw is sucked into space. Strange follows him, the tiny shards surrounding his body no longer a threat, only to be caught by a jubilant Peter Parker.
"Yes!" Peter exclaims, managing to brace himself with mechanical spider legs over the gaping hole in the ship. "Wait, what are those?"
Peter pushes himself upward, propelling Strange back into the ship, allowing Tony to seal the hole behind them.
"Hey, we haven't officially met," Peter says breathlessly, extending his hand only to have the Cloak of Levitation walk away. "Cool."
"We've got to turn this ship around," Strange says, climbing back to his feet.
Tony laughs, his suit now tucked away, and shakes his head, "Yeah, now he wants to run. Great plan."
"No, I want to protect the stone."
"And I want you to thank me. Now, go ahead. I'm listening," Tony quips.
Strange frowns, "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."
Tony ignores his jab, "Admit it, you should've 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 from Earth, with no backup."
Peter raises his hand, "I'm backup."
"No," Tony shuts him down. "You're a stowaway. The adults are talking."
Dr. Strange looks at Peter, shaking his head, and turns back to Tony, "I'm sorry, I'm confused as to the relationship here. Wh-what is he, your ward?"
"No," Peter replies, stepping forward to extend his hand. "I'm Peter, by the way."
"Dr. Strange."
"Oh, you're using our made-up names. Um...I'm Spider-Man then," the kid replies awkwardly.
Tony interrupts them, "This ship is self-correcting its course. Thing's on auto-pilot."
Strange turns back to him, "Can we control it? Fly us home?" Tony doesn't answer, and Strange barks at him. "Stark."
"Yeah," Tony replies, clearly lost in thought.
"Can you get us home?"
"Yeah, I heard you. I'm thinking I'm not so sure we should."
Dr. Strange frowns, "Under no circumstances can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos. I don't think you quite understand what's at stake here."
"What?" Tony snaps, closing the distance between the two of them. "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?"
"Alright, Stark," Strange replies. "We go to him." Tony goes to step away, but Strange stops him to add, "But you have to understand. If it comes between saving you or the kid or the Time Stone, I will not hesitate to let either of you die. I can't, because the universe depends on it."
"Nice," Tony pats his arm. "Good, moral compass. We're straight." Walking over to Peter, he extends his hand and mocks the action of knighting Peter. "Alright kid, you're an Avenger now."
The older man walks away from the others, running a hand through his hair, and sighs. This was a mess he didn't want to deal with. Not with everything going on with Pepper, with their plans, with the future...but he knew the reality of the situation more than most. This was his mess. His responsibility. And he sure as hell wasn't going to give up. Tony planned on taking Thanos down. Or at least he was gonna die trying.
A loud bang against the metal of the ship's interior made him jump, and he jerked over his left shoulder at the sound. The ship was empty. At least, he thought it was empty, so he quickly tapped his chest to bring a single repulsor over his extended right hand.
"Who's there?"
Another clanging noise, this time softer. Glancing back over his shoulder, he could see Peter trying (re: failing) to strike up a conversation with Dr. Strange, so he turned his focus forward once more.
"I'm only gonna say this once," Tony warned. "I've had a seriously shitty day, and I'm not opposed to finding out how long it takes an alien brain to explode under pressure."
"...Tony?" A faint voice cries from down the corridor, followed by a series of loud, hacking coughs. "Is that you?"
The brown-eyed man rushes forward, slamming his fist against the panel outside what appears to be the correct door, and waits as it slides open.
"Anna?"