The Final Initiative

4.

Doctor Strange pulled my father through the orange portal, and into the open room where Bruce and I were sitting. I sat on the stairs with my fingers laced together in my lap. Time seemed to barely be creeping along in that intense moment. Dad stumbled after appearing through the portal. He was clearly disoriented as I was previously. I stood up from the stairs and waited for him to collect himself.

"We need your help" Strange started once the orange portal was closed and the room was quiet again. I crossed my arms over my chest. One of Strange's friends named Wong was with us as well. He was a slightly chubby man with shaved dark hair and he wore a maroon outfit similar to Strange. He was a sorcerer himself.

"Look, it's not overselling it to say that the fate of the universe is at stake" Strange continued.

      Dad still wasn't understanding just exactly was going on. Stephen's tone of voice clearly wasn't frightening him. Dad was wearing a grey running outfit that showed his ARC reactor. He must have been going on one of his jogs with Pepper. "And who's "we"?" He asked with his eyes sharp as nails.

  "Hey, Tony" Bruce said slowly, getting up from the stair and coming to stand by me. Dad's eyes widened when he noticed his Scientist buddy for the first time, they got even wider when he saw me with him. I see my Dad everyday, but at this moment I must have looked so out of context. An eighteen year old high school student standing with two sorcerers and a hulk.

"Bruce" My Dad said his name, as if not believing that he was actually here with him. His voice was quiet "It's good to see you" he walked over and shook Bruce's hand. I waited off to the side. He then looked over to me "So this is where you sneak off to, huh?"

"At least for today" I replied "We're all here for a reason"

From there, Doctor Strange and Banner went over the whole ordeal again with my Dad who sat quietly and listened. I could see the subtle distraught expression on his face with each word that was being said. He went to sit on one of the couches in Strange's home. I sat next to him.

        "From the dawn of the Universe"  Wong explained, using his sorcery powers to create a universe type illusion around us with the different six stones floating in the air "There was nothing. Then, boom!" He made an explosion motion with his hands "The Big Bang sends six elemental crystals, hurdling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence". I watched the illusion play out before me, my eyes taking in every detail.

"Space. Reality" Strange counted off the elements, every time he mentioned a specific stone, it would glow momentarily in the air "Power. Soul. Mind..." he glanced down to the necklace that hung around his neck "and Time"

"Tell me his name again" Dad demanded in a monotone.

"Thanos" Bruce answered quickly.

Thanos, I finally have a name for the thing that has been causing my distress for two years. My dreams, flashes, visions, it wasn't just my mine playing tricks on me. It was him.

       Why me? Why are these dreams targeting me? Is this Thanos and his work, or is some other divine being intervening in my mind?

"He's a plague, Tony. He invades planets.
He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population" Bruce explained in desperation, Dad stood up from the couch and slowly started to pace around the room "He sent Loki.
The attack on New York. That's him"

I looked up from my hands to Bruce, remembering the portal and the aliens that poured out from it and into our city. Back to when Loki was our biggest threat. I remember closing the portal, thinking that I'd never be able to see my father again. A silent explosion rang out from above. The blue portal sealed up, cutting us off from the abyss of space.