Invisible | Tony Stark (o.h)

Chapter Thirteen

Keira Ross breathed in deeply her eyes slipping shut, enjoying the wind as it wove through her hair. Central Park had truly put on a beautiful day for them, and Keira was immensely grateful. 

"Okay, slow down, slow down. I'm totally not kidding." Tony said, catching up to Keira.

"You're totally rambling," Keira replied, opening one of her eyes to see Tony in front of her. 

"No, I'm not."

"You've lost me," Keira said, holding her hands open in defeat. 

"Ok, listen." Tony began.

"I'm listening." Keira joked. 

"Look, you know how you're having a dream, and in the dream you gotta pee?"

"Yeah?"

"Okay, and then you're like, 'Oh my god, there's no bathroom, what am I gonna do? Oh, someone's watching, I'm gonna go in my pants.'"

"Right," Keira said, still unsure of where this was going. "And then you wake up, and in real life, you actually have to pee."

"Yes."

"Yeah," Keira replied. "Everybody has that."

"Right! That's the point I'm trying to make. Apropos of that, last night, I dreamt, we had a kid. So real. We named her after your mother, Isabelle."

"So you woke up, and thought that we were. . ."

"Expecting." Tony finished for her. 

"Yeah." 

"Yes?" Tony asked, excited. 

"No," Keira replied shaking her head. "We could always just get a dog, you know?"

"Oh, not you too!" Tony complained. "I can't count the number of times, Bea has asked me for a dog anymore." 

"Well, there's your proof," Keira said.

"What?"

"Great minds, think alike," Keira said. "It runs in the family."

"Yeah, well we still aren't getting a dog. But we can have a nice dinner tonight, show off this ring, huh?"

"Maybe," Keira said.

A loud crackling sound echoed through the air to Keira's left, prompting her to turn only to see a man dressed in quite unusual clothing, appear out of a portal.

"Tony Stark, Keira Ross, I'm Doctor Stephen Strange. I need you both to come with me."

Keira and Tony both shared stunned looks with each other, both completely unsure what was happening, and between the two of them, they had seen some pretty weird stuff. 

"I'm sorry," Tony asked in a state of confusion. "You giving out tickets or something?"

"We need your help. Look, it's not overselling to say that the fate of the universe is at stake."

"We?" Keira asked.

Another figure appeared through the portal, almost like they were on cue. Keira's eyes widened as she realized who it was. 

"Hey, Tony. . .Hey Keira."

"Bruce?" The two of them exclaimed loudly in unison. 

"Are you okay?" Keira asked, looking at the man's ragged appearance. Whatever had happened in the last few years had clearly taken a toll on the man. 

Bruce didn't answer Keira's question instead pulling the two of them into a tight hug, almost like he never wanted to let go. 

"From the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then, boom! The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals, hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence." The man introduced as Wong said. 

"Space. Reality. Power. Soul. Mind. And Time." Stephen Strange said, revealing the Time Stone that hung on a necklace around his neck. 

"Tell me his name again," Tony asked. 

"Thanos. He's a plague, Tony, Keira. He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York. That's him."

"What is our timeline?" Keira asked. 

"No telling. He had the Power and Space Stones, that already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. If he gets his hand, on all six Stones."

"He can destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamt of."

Tony leaned against a large cauldron-looking thing. "Did you seriously just say 'hitherto undreamt of.'"

"Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?" Stephen Strange replied, his cloak reaching out to smack Tony's arm. 

"If Thanos need all six, why don't we just stick this one down the garbage disposal?" 

"No can do."

"We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone. With our lives." 

"And I swore off dairy, but then, Ben & Jerry's named a flavor after me, so. . ."

"Stark Raving Hazelnuts."

"It's not bad." 

"A Hunka-Hulka Burning Fudge is our favorite."

"That's a thing?" Bruce asked.

"Whatever. Point is: things change."

"Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot change. This Stone may be the best chance we have against Thanos."

"And still conversely, it may also be his best chance against us."

"Well, if we don't do our jobs."

"He does have a point." Keira chimed in. 

Tony shot her a look. "What is your job exactly, besides making balloon animals?"

"Protecting your reality, douchebag." Dr. Strange retorted. 

"Okay, guys, could we table this discussion right now? The fact is that we have this Stone. We know where it is. Vision is out there somewhere with the Mind Stone, and we have to find him now."  Bruce said. 

"Yeah, that's the thing," Tony replied. 

"Well, this is awkward." Keira sighed as she shared an uncomfortable glance between them. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Two weeks ago, Vision turned off his transponder. He's offline."

"What?" Bruce asked. "Tony, you lost another super bot?"

"I didn't lose him. He's more than that. He's evolving.

"Who could find Vision, then?" Dr. Strange spoke up. 

"Shit," Keira muttered under her breath. 

"Probably Steve Rogers."

"Oh, great," Strange said, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"So, call him," Bruce said, oblivious to everything that had happened over the last few years. 

"It's not that simple. . .God, we haven't caught up in a while have we?" Tony grimaced. 

"The Avengers broke up, Bruce," Keira said, just getting telling Bruce about the uncomfortable situation over and done with. "There is no more team."

"Broke up?" Bruce repeated, completely stunned. "Like a band? Like the Beatles?" 

"Cap and I fell out hard," Tony said. 

"They're not on speaking terms." Keira continued. 

"Tony, Keira, listen to me. Thor's gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn't matter who you're talking to or not."