Tony had been picturing this war, he had committed years of his life to preparing for it., threatened his relationship with Pepper, and his mental stability to make sure that he was prepared when it came.

That all seemed hauntingly redundant now because nothing would or could have prepared him for this scenario. He was essentially a stowaway on a flying donut, attempting to save a rip-off arrogant Harry Potter from the evil clutches of Squidward.

When your life comes where you can say that sentence and not sound crazy, you know you did something wrong.

Tony watched, horrified by what he was seeing. Strange was being tortured and Tony didn't have long to formulate a plan. He couldn't let Strange die, no matter how arrogant he was and he couldn't let the stone fall into enemy hands.

Tony did not have the time to unpack everything wrong with that, aliens were one thing, cloaks that could think for themselves were another.

The universe was vast, complicated, and full of crazy things he had not seen yet. He couldn't draw the line at a sentient piece of cloth, actually, he couldn't cross the line anywhere. Not his line of work.

"Wow you're a seriously loyal piece of outerwear, aren't you?" Tony teased, even when he didn't expect an answer didn't get one from the cloak, but a voice did follow, one Tony did not want to hear.

"Yeah, uh..." Peter. That was Peter's bubbly and frantic voice that he used when he knew he was in trouble, but he was trying to escape it, he was hung upside down, he was concealed behind the Iron Spider mask, "Speaking of loyalty..." He flipped down, and his mask retracted, revealing his face underneath.

Peter held his hands up, "I know what you're gonna say. I was gonna go home--" Peter was defending.

Tony shook his head. "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." Tony sees.

" ...And I kinda stuck to the side of the ship. And this suit is ridiculously intuitive, by the way." Peter pointed out, he gestured forward with a sly smile on his face. "So if anything, it's kinda your fault that I'm here." Peter states.

Tony stared at him, not sure what route he should take next. In the short run, it was not his fault, because he sent Peter home. In the long run, it felt like it was, because he made the suit and he should have realised Peter wouldn't leave him behind.

"What did you just say?" Tony asks

"I take that back." Peter says after realizing what he said. "And now I'm here in space."

"Yeah, 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 you thought this through." Tony warns him.

"Yeah, I did think this--" Peter tries telling him. In S.H.I.E.L.D., split second decisions were his main points.

"I know you didn't--" Tony tells him.

"No." Peter half-shouted, "I did think this through."

"You could not have possibly thought this through." Tony states, knowing Peter would have had about five seconds to choose to go home or stay with Tony, so, no, he did not think this through. But even he doesn't know what he's been through with HYDRA, S.H.I.E.L.D. And everything else.

"This isn't just about you, Tony. I took an oath." Peter tells him and Tony decides to wait for him to explain it. "When I became Agent S, I swore an oath. Shield humanity, shield the world as best I can. This, this is a job for S.H.I.E.L.D. as much as it is yours. And I'm all you've got for the whole organization. It's greatest Agent, so you can lecture all you want, but I'm gonna do whatever it takes to protect my home, my world."

Tony had to be honest, this kid had a point. He was born into a world like this, his main reason for existing was to help those in need.

Tony let out a shaky breath before reaching forward and tapping Peter's arm, "Come on. We got a situation." He guided Peter over to the viewpoint that overlooked Strange and Squidward. Peter crouched down to get a better look, the Cloak followed behind him, "See him down there? He's in trouble. What's your plan? Go."

"Um. Okay, okay... uh..." Peter stuttered, he jumped up, too excited for Tony's liking, "Do you know a really old movie that Uncle Coulson made me watch, titled Aliens?" He asks Tony.

Tony frowned, but he knew what Peter was getting at and it was the only plan they had.

Peter stayed on the platform, awaiting his signal, while Tony carefully flew down to confront Squidward, he tried his best not to alert him to his presence on the way down. He wanted to make sure he kept the element of surprise because this was a rather messy plan.

He landed down at the end of the deck, and straight away the alien turned to face him, "I could end your friend's life in an instant." He hissed as Tony held up his hands, and activated his repulsers.

"I gotta tell you, he's not really my friend." Tony mocked, "Saving his life is more a professional courtesy."

Tony just started to internally call this guy Squidward, it was all he had.

Squidward held up his arms as he walked toward him, metal objects floated with him, ready to be used in defence, "You've saved nothing. Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine."

"Yeah, but the kid's seen more movies." Tony fired a rocket from his shoulder, tearing open the side of the ship.

Squidward was sucked out straight away. Strange was freed from the torture but he started hurtling towards the breach. The Cloak wrapped around his arm, trying to pull him back, but it failed. Tony watched as Peter leapt into action, webbing up Strange's hand and attempting to pull him to safety.

Tony took one deep breath before flying up, losing visual on Strange and Peter for a second as he got ready to seal the hole.

"Yes!" Peter said but then realized what's happening, "Wait what are those?!" He looked down to see that the Iron Spider had activated its legs, saving Peter from being dragged out into space along with Strange. He has a gauge memory of one or few of his doppelgängers had things similar. Hell, the suit was quite similar.

Peter was quick on his feet and able to leap back, propelling Strange to safety. Tony quickly used his nanotech to plug up the hole, so that all three of them were safe inside.

Tony flew back down to the ramp, he deactivated his armour as walked toward the main hull of the ship. Strange got up onto his feet, "We've gotta turn this ship around."

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

"No, I want to protect the stone." Strange tells him.

Tony rolled his eyes, "And I want you to thank me now. Go ahead, I'm listening."

"For what?" Strange questioned, "Nearly blasting me into space?"

Tony turned to face him, "Who just saved your magical ass? Me."

Strange shook his head, "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."

Strange smirked as he narrowed his eyes, "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." He states since he's basically the equivalent to a small army.

"No." Tony shook his hand out in front of him, "You're a stowaway." He pointed over to Strange, "The adults are talking."

"I'm sorry," Strange blurted, he turned to Peter, "I'm confused as to the relationship here, what is he your ward?"

"No..." Peter states stepped closer, holding out his hand, "I'm Peter. Peter Parker of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Dr. Strange."

"Wait, you're serious, that's you're actual name?" Peter asks, "Um...okay."

Strange rolled his eyes, as he turned back to face Tony, "So, this ship is self-correcting its course. Thing's on autopilot."

"Can we control it? Fly us home?" Strange asked him.

Tony elected to ignore him because the thoughts of New York came flooding back. He wanted to send Peter home, but he knew that would be pointless because if Thanos won than they were screwed wherever they were, "Stark?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you get us home?"

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

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

"No." Tony snapped as he stormed over until they stood, nose-to-nose, "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." Tony admitted, "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. We go to him." Strange agreed, but Tony could sense a 'but' coming from the sheer arrogance in the man's voice. Dear God, is this what he sound like? "But you have to understand if it comes to saving you or the kid or the Time Stone..." He paused, "I will not hesitate to let either of you die. I can't because the fate of the universe depends on it."

"Nice. Good." Tony said while tapping Strange's arm, "Moral compass. We're straight."

He stepped away, not wanting to look him in the eye again. His mind turned to Peter, and how terrified he was of what could happen but knows Peter can handle himself. There was only one thing Tony could do now, even though it was the last thing he wanted to do because he knew what it was like. Still, it was all he had.

He strode over, "Alright, Kid." He tapped both of Peter's shoulders with the side of his hand, like a knighting ceremony, of sorts, "You're an Avenger now."

Tony walks away and leaves Peter who's shocked that it finally happened. After all of these years, he was made an official Avenger.

He just wished it happened under better terms.

Then he's left to wonder how everyone on earth is doing.

-

Ava and Bruce rounded up the Next Avengers and made it to the Avengers Compound, which Kamala almost had a heart attack as they see the original Avengers have got their message and are all here.

"Hey, yeah. I'm back." Bruce greets the Avengers for the first time in two years.

"Hey, Bruce." Natasha greets.

"Nat." Bruce greets back.

"Ava, it's great to see you again." Natasha says and sees the rest of the teens.

"Hey." Luke greets the heroes. "Luke Cage, Power Man. Ms. Marvel, Kamala. That's X-23, or Laura. And Squirrel Girl, Doreen." He introduces them to the others.

"This is weird." Sam states, never meeting these guys before.

-

They filled everyone in on what happened and learnt that Vision's head contains one of the stones they're after.

"So we have to assume they're coming back, right?" Rhodey guesses.

"And they can clearly find us." Wanda, a newcomer who the younger group have only met now, says.

"We need all hands on deck. Where's Clint?" Bruce asks not seeing Hawkeye.

"I was wondering the same." Laura states from the couch.

"After the whole accords situation, Peter was able to get him and Scott a house arrest deal." Natasha explains to him.

"Who's Scott?" Bruce asks.

"Ant Man." Steve, who's grown a beard in the last two years, informs Bruce.

"There's an Ant Man, a Squirrel Girl, a White Tiger, and a Spider-Man?" Bruce clarifies.

"Yeah, earth got strange the last two years." Ava admits to him.

"Seriously, you should meet Madame Web." Doreen says.

"Who's Madame Web?" Rhodey asks.

"Long story." Ava says and doesn't wanna get into her right now.

"Okay, look, Thanos has the biggest army in the universe and he is not gonna stop until he gets...Vision's stone." Bruce says, getting back on track.

"Then we have to protect it." Natasha tells them.

"No, we have to destroy it." Vision says and they all turn to face him. "I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head. About it's nature. But also it's composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something very similar to its own signature, perhaps...it's molecular integrity could fail." He explains while looking towards Wanda.

"You along with it." Wanda states. "We're not having this conversation."

"Eliminating The stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it." Vision tells her.

"That's too high a price." Wanda says, not wanting to kill him.

"Only you have the power to pay it." Vision says to her while holding her face.

"Are they a thing?" Doreen whispery asks Luke.

"I have no idea, but now I have questions I don't want answered." Luke guesses.

"Thanos threatens half the universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him." Vision states.

"But it should. We don't trade lives, Vision." Steve informs the android.

"Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people? Tell me, who is this any different?" Vision asks him.

"Because you might have a choice." Bruce tells Vision. "Your kind 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."

"Your saying his mind isn't just the mind stone?" Ava asks Bruce, thinking she's following.

"I'm saying that if we take out the stone...there's still a whole lot of vision left. Perhaps the bets parts." Bruce explains.

"Can we do that?" Natasha asks.

"Not me, not here." Bruce admits.

"I wish Peter was here. He'd know what to do." Laura states when Ava gets an idea and unknowingly Steve had the same idea.

They're going back to Wakanda, and are gonna need a ride.

"I'll get Coulson on the phone." Ava says and walks off.

But as soon as she said that, it confused about half of the Avengers who last heard he's dead. "Wait, Coulson?"