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NINETEEN | THE WORLD FIRST
BEFORE US

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THE NEXT THING the Guardian knew was that she was no longer in New York.

She was inside a spaceship, suspended in the air with her hands forcefully kept to her sides. Cassandra tried her best to free herself to no avail. There was an invisible force that was stopping her from moving. It was then that she was levitated higher and brought closer to a now conscious Stephen. 

"Stephen…" anxiously mumbled Cassandra, struggling to break free from her hold. The Sorcerer Supreme whipped up his head to her and then glanced at the pointed glass needles in front of them, swallowing.

"Protect the Stone."

"Stephen, I -- "

"That is an order."

A presence hovered in front of them and Cassandra's eyes narrowed into slits when she caught a glimpse of Ebony Maw's visage. "Guardian…" he mentioned, twisting his raised hand to draw the needles closer. The sorceress' eyes widened in slight fear as she gathered an idea of what he was going to do to her. "In all the time I’ve served Thanos, I’ve never failed him. If I were to reach our rendezvous on Titan with the Time Stone still attached to his vaguely irritating person, there would be…" he paused, leaning in. "judgement. Give me the Stone."

Her right eye twitched. "No."

Then, Ebony Maw slowly pierced the needles in her face and body, digging one of them deep into her cheek. Cassandra trembled. The pain she felt ramped up from stiffness all the way to searing, blinding agony faster than she could blink. It was like there were multiple knives being inserted in her flesh. A groan escaped her lips, but she managed to keep herself from screaming even three minutes later. This must've irritated the alien creature since he glowered.

"Kill me if you want," panted Cassandra, her voice cracking from the burning agony rising in her body. "but I will never ever remove that enchantment!" She bellowed, spitting on his face.

"You despicable, pathetic creature! How dare you?"

Cassandra then received a loud, vigorous slap on the face that the crack resounded across the whole spaceship. "You are a living emptiness, a meaningless void. You are deficient in all that lends character! You are nothing but a waste of flesh!"

The woman hung her mouth open, flexing her jaw. Her cheek stung so bad that she felt it for more than a minute, but it was nothing compared to the other difficulties she braved before. She had already stood tall against Dormammu, the lord of the Dark Dimension. Who is Ebony Maw compared to him?

"Please, if you're going to insult me, make it hurt." enunciated the sorceress, her voice cracking. "Like… you, Ebony Maw, are an epiphany of stupid. If you aren't an idiot, you made a world-class effort at simulating one. You failed Thanos." She winced. "You will meet him on Titan with us still alive and with the Stone... still attached to the Sorcerer Supreme's neck. Your father… will be so disappointed for believing in such a walking vomit like you! That is an insult."

He snarled, "I can kill you in an instant…"

"Then, why don't you?"

Death was something Cassandra never feared before Stephen came into her life. She always knew someday it would come to her, one way or another. It was already instilled in her ever since and she taught herself to not be afraid of it. But, when Stephen came… it all changed.

"You have great tolerance for pain, Guardian." retaliated the alien as Cassandra bit her tongue. She swore she tasted blood in her mouth from all the biting to keep herself quiet. "After all, you have been conditioned for this. But, tell me, were you ever taught to bear witness to his suffering?"

The woman's heart quickened its pace and her breathing started to shallow. "Get your filthy alien hands off of him!"

"Oh, fret not, I refuse to touch his disgusting being." sneered Maw. "But, I will let these do it."

And with that, he proceeded to inflict pain on the Sorcerer Supreme by puncturing him with the other set of glass pricks, making him writhe in pain.

"No, no!" screamed Cassandra, fighting against the telekinetic force that kept her bound. Her wrists burned from the magic that tried to escape from her palms. "Stephen!"

It was like the night when Dormammu manipulated her into murdering Stephen repeatedly again. It was hell for her. She couldn't do anything to save him. At that moment, she felt helpless, useless. What kind of Guardian was she if she couldn't even protect the Sorcerer Supreme? Black spots appearing like bruises marred Stephen's skin, lighting his flesh underneath. 

Cassandra winced, shutting her eyes close as Stephen's blood curdling screams pierced her ears. She had a duty, a responsibility to fulfill. Stephen ordered her to protect the Stone more than him and that's what she was going to follow. She had to endure seeing him getting tortured. Will this be their life forever? Always seeing each other either suffer or almost die?

"Painful aren’t they?" taunted Maw, callously. "They were originally designed for microsurgery. And any one of them…"

A loud clamor interrupted him and he turned around, immediately scowling when he saw Tony standing meters away from him, his repulsors raised and ready to fire.

"… could end your friends' life in an instant."

"I gotta tell you, he’s not really my friend. But, his girlfriend is my wedding planner." quipped the genius billionaire. "So, saving their lives is more of a professional courtesy."

Ebony Maw moved towards him, dangerously. Lifting several metal scraps and bricks, he uttered, "You’ve saved nothing. Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine."

But, Tony only shrugged. "Yeah, but the kid’s seen more movies."

And with that, Iron Man fired a rocket from his shoulder which pierced the side of the ship and began to suck everything out. Since Cassandra and Stephen were near the breach, they were vacuumed along by the strong winds. The sentient Cloak of Levitation was able to wrap itself around Stephen's arm and pull him, but Cassandra continued to glide across the ship. Her emerald cloak then got stuck at one of the sharp metals and it ceased her movements. The woman attempted to draw herself to the metal for a tighter grasp, but she felt a hand on her leg.

Glancing down, she saw it was Maw, almost desperately clawing at her thigh. Cassandra tried to remove him from her by kicking his face repeatedly. She screamed as she flung an orb of dark magic at him. This sudden movement of her then caused her Invisibility Cloak to be ripped in half and she, together with Maw, almost got sucked out of the ship, but a web strand caught her right wrist.

Then, just as she thought she was saved, it broke, sending both her and whoever was pulling her in towards space when eight robotic spider-like legs bursted out from the back of his suit. They braced her savior, keeping them from being dragged into space.

"Yes!" cried the person inside the suit in joy. "Wait, what are those?"

Her savior then pulled them both back inside just as Tony sprayed nanites onto the breach to plug it up. That was when they both safely hit the floor and Stephen almost crawled up to her. He grabbed her hand and shook her shoulder. "Cassie? Cassie? Are you alright?"

Cassandra didn't respond and just breathed slowly. Her mind just registered that she almost died back there, in the void of space and her relic, her Invisibility Cloak, has been shredded into two. The other half was brought outside with Ebony Maw and there was no way she could put it back together since it was now floating somewhere in space.

"Can you hear me?"

"I hear you perfectly fine." She finally spoke. "Just give me a minute to fucking catch my breath because I just almost died."

He nodded and just slightly leaned his head against her shoulder. Meters away from them, she heard a young teenager talk to Stephen's cloak, introducing himself. "Hey, we haven’t officially met." Yet, it looked like the sentient garment paid him no attention since he said, "Cool."

Once the woman was able to gather her wits again, Cassandra stood up from her lying position. She clenched her fist and refocused herself back on the moment. Actually, it didn't have to take while for her to do that because it already felt so natural, so intuitive. It was like her mind had a built-in automatic switch that would snap her back into what she was supposed to do. Seizing hold of Stephen's arm, she emphasized, "We have to get you away from Thanos as far as possible."

Stephen was about to protest against her, but she narrowed her eyes, directing them at him. "Now."

At once, he nodded and made his way to the front, clasping back his Cloak on his shoulders in a swift move. "We’ve gotta turn this ship around."

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

"No, we want to protect the Stone."

This did nothing to the genius billionaire since he only quipped, "And I want you to thank me. Go ahead. I’m listening."

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Oh, for Vishanti's sake."

She was already tired and here was Tony, boasting how he saved them, instead of coming up with a plan on how to keep the Time Stone away from Thanos' hands. Was he always this egotistical?

"For what?" Stephen snapped, his voice raising. "For nearly blasting me and Cassandra into space?"

"Who just saved your magical asses?" Tony remarked. "Me."

Stephen shook his head as he confronted the hero in red and gold armor. "I seriously don’t know how you fit your head into that helmet."

"Oh, please." vocalized Cassandra, stepping forward. She was tired and just witnessed Stephen getting tortured by Ebony Maw. Her vexation was accumulating that she feared she was going to explode soon. "I don't think it was actually you who planned it. No offense, Tony, but I don't think you would be able to come up with a plan like that earlier."

"No offense, but that was offensive."

"I'm assuming it's this kid's idea? You mentioned earlier how he has seen more movies."

Cassandra spun around to face the blue and red suited teenager behind them. It was like there was suddenly an imaginary spotlight shone on him since he swallowed and replied, "Uh, yes?"

"The idea was from that movie Alien, correct?"

He nodded, eagerly. The brunette swore his eyes lit up like Christmas lights. "Yes! Correct."

Cassandra arched her eyebrow at Tony. "Give credit where credit is due, Mr. Stark." 

Tony rolled his eyes and instead, anchored his attention to Stephen. "Just admit it. You should have ducked out when I told you to." he insisted. "I tried to bench you. You refused. She even tried to reason with you earlier."

Stephen shot back, "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."

The young man raised his hand. "I’m back up."

Tony dismissed him by waving his hand. "No. You’re a stowaway. The adults are talking."

Stephen narrowed his eyes at the teenager, baffled. "I’m sorry, I’m confused as to the relationship here. What is he, your ward?"

The kid shook his head. "No." He answered immediately then offered his hand for a shake. "I’m Peter, by the way."

The Sorcerer Supreme ignored his handshake. "Doctor Strange."

Peter stepped back, lowering his hand. "Oh, we’re using our made-up names." He paused, swallowing. "Um… I’m Spider-Man, then."

Stephen stared at him with judgement then walked away.

The Guardian sighed and introduced herself. She let her hand out for a shake. "Name's Cassandra Mason, kid. Peter, right?"

He nodded. "Yes! I'm-I'm Peter Parker. Are you Dr. Strange's colleague?"

"Let's just say I'm like his bodyguard of Master Strange." She casually explained to the kid. From the corner of her vision, she watched Stephen roam around the ship, trying to understand how it works.

"So, you're like Happy Hogan? But, with magic powers?" The boy asked innocently.

Cassandra's face scrunched up. "Who?"

"Oh, uh, he's Mr. Stark's bodyguard."

The woman then recalled seeing a stout man who always followed Tony wherever he was. She never actually knew his first name since she always addressed him as Mr. Hogan. He had even once driven her to her office, but they didn't converse much. She squinted her eyes, looking up. She doubted his real name was Happy, but why would he be given that nickname? He rarely even smiled. "Oh, so that's his name. I never knew that was his name."

"This ship is self-correcting its course." informed Tony, crossing his arms. "Thing’s on autopilot."

Stephen stepped up. "Can we control it? Fly us home?" Tony didn't answer him, avoiding eye contact. "Stark?"

The genius snapped out of his trance. "Yeah."

"Can you get us home?"

"Yeah, I heard you. I’m thinking… I’m not so sure we should."

Cassandra furrowed her eyebrows, immediately leaving the kid behind to confront Tony. "Under no circumstance can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos, Stark! Didn't you hear what Bruce said earlier? Thanos already has two Infinity Stones! He's now the strongest creature in the whole universe!"

"I don’t think you quite understand what’s at stake here." Stephen added, agreeing with what she said. "

"No. It’s you two who don't understand." Tony argued, moving up to her and the Sorcerer Supreme. As if running on instinct, Cassandra took a step forward, glaring at him. "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 he can do." Tony attempted to convince them. "At least on his turf, he’s not expecting it. So, I say we take the fight to him, Doctor, Planner. Now, do you both concur?"

"I don't." Cassandra shook her head, certain. It was such a gamble and she didn't want to risk it. "You do realize the flaw in your plan right? You want all of us to fight Thanos on a planet only god knows where exactly?"

"Yes, look, the level of casualty and collateral damage will be very -- "

"We don't even know the first thing about our destination!" She snapped, her voice raising higher. Anger and frustration flared across her face. She and Stephen were just tortured by one of Thanos' children and now, this man in front of her wants them to fight the Titan somewhere far from Earth? 

"We'll figure it out when we're there!"

Cassandra exasperated, "We have no backup, Stark! There are only four of us! And he's got two Stones already! Tell me, do you already have a plan on how to defeat him?"

"Not yet, but -- "

"We need a concrete plan, Stark."

"We'll have one when we get there! But, I need you two to get on board."

Cassandra clenched her fist, feeling a surge of her magic shoot up to her palm. She rarely did something without a plan and it was only when she ran out of options or if it was necessary. It was only normal for her to react this way since she wasn't used to not being prepared. What if they immediately encounter Thanos when they land? What, then?

Stephen paused beside her then nodded. "Alright, Stark. We go to him."

"This is going to end badly." Cassandra gave up, turning away and throwing her hands up. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach, in her bones that something terrible was going to happen.

"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." Stephen emphasized, looking straight at Tony. "I can’t, because the fate of the universe depends on it."

"Even her?"

Stephen exchanged a glance with her. She understood what Tony meant and was reminded of the words she said when she confessed her love for him. The world first before us. It was always going to be like that. She knew it herself. They were always going to make sacrifices that may hurt one of them and that scared her a bit. She didn't know which moment would be her last with Stephen. 

Without breaking eye contact, he firmly responded, "Even her."

Cassandra sucked in a small breath. She was supposed to expect this answer already, but why did she still feel a bit hurt about it? 

"You really want to face Thanos on a planet we have no idea what the climate even is. Fine." She crossed her arms. "But, if something goes wrong, I'll bring you to a different dimension because all I care about is you and this Stone. Nothing more, nothing less." She then gazed at Tony. "I don't care if you're my boss. My duty as the Sorcerer Supreme's Guardian will come first and foremost."

Tony nodded. "Good. Nice. Moral compass. We’re straight." Turning to Peter, Cassandra watched as his outstretched arm briefly landed on either shoulder. He then proclaimed, "Alright, kid. You’re an Avenger now."

Peter's lips fell open in disbelief and then he smiled and nodded in satisfaction. It was like he had just received the biggest honor of his life.

Cassandra, at this point, just left the group for a while. She needed to release the tension she was feeling since earlier. She needed time to process that happened just earlier. She was just tortured with glass needles that were created for microsurgery, witnessed Stephen suffer the same torture method, then was almost sucked out of this spaceship, her Invisibility Cloak was ripped apart. All she had now in possession was her dagger. In frustration, she summoned a purple orb of dark dimension magic and hurled it at one of the metal pieces lying around, making it melt into liquid.

"Cassie?"

She spun around to lock eyes with Stephen. He approached her within two long strides, taking her forearms in his. "Hey, hey," he soothed her as if he already knew the burden that was in her heart. "What's going on? Talk to me."

She kept her lips shut, choosing once again to keep the feeling to herself.

He pressed on, "Cassie?"

"I'm… scared." she softly confessed, swallowing. She felt like her younger self again when she first encountered Dormammu. "I have a feeling something bad is going to happen."

He sighed, his hands slowly cupping her face. Cassandra placed her own hands above his, her fingers absentmindedly tracing his scars. His fingers no longer trembled very much like before, but there was still this small tremor. She was so proud of him. Of the changed man he was now, his growth. He was so different from the man she met again two years ago. Sure, he was still his witty, idiotic self, but his experiences have humbled him so much.

"It's going to be okay, sweetheart." he assured, leaning against her forehead. "We're going to get through this."

If Cassandra had the ability to freeze time, she would choose to stay in this moment with him forever for she felt safe and secured in his arms. She smiled, "Together?"

"As always. Together."

Unfortunately, that wasn't fate's plan right now for them.