EYLIS ※ Tony Stark [3]

15 - A SECOND TOO LONG

A MUFFLED THUD echoed across the silent ruins of Titan, making seven pairs of eyes turn to where the sound came from.

A flying pod had landed brutally a few meters away, making a dent in the dirt. Tony, Angie, Peter and Strange got immediately into a fighting stance but the three Guardians walked casually towards the aircraft.

A door shuffled open and out came a blue-skinned woman. She marched resolutely towards the guardians and the closer she came; the clearer Angie could decipher the stern expression on her face.

"Hello Nebula," Quill threw at the newcomer.

She barely acknowledged his presence and glanced at the four Earthlings before turning back to the Guardians.

"Who are they?" she asked, her expression not budging a millimeter.

"We're the Avengers, lady, who are you?" Peter let out, trying to sound far more poised than he actually felt.

"They're from Earth," Quill explained to the blue-skinned alien before turning to Strange, Tony, Angie and Peter "This is Nebula, Thanos' daughter."

Angie cocked an eyebrow "Excuse me, did you just say Thanos' daughter?"

"Adopted daughter," Nebula corrected icily.

"And you're on our side?" Tony asked.

"Oof buddy," Quill piped in holding back a laugh "No one has grounds to want Thanos dead more than she does."

"That's debatable," Angie let out under her breath.

"Thanos is on his way," Nebula dropped before the conversation could continue further "He could be here any minute. We need a plan."

"Grand idea!" Quill exclaimed "We were just talking about how winging it might be a good plan."

"And I was just about to tell you how completely idiotic that is," Tony retorted.

"I have a plan," Drax let out without a hitch "You all create a diversion and I chop his head off."

"With what? That pocket knife of yours wouldn't give him a papercut," Angie snarled.

Mantis raised a finger excitedly "Or..."

"Actually," Doctor Strange cut her off "I think Drax might be on to something."

All seven of them turned to Strange with a quizzical look.

"Our best chance is to take him by surprise. He thinks he's here to meet Ebony Maw so he won't be expecting us. We need to use that to our advantage."

"Alright..." Nebula trailed off "So what do you propose?

Instead of answering, Strange moved his hand in a circular motion, producing an oval halo out of thin air. A portal.

Strange then turned to Angie with a tilt of his head "Jump in."

Angie blinked a few times "Excuse me...?"

Strange rolled his eyes with a sigh "Come on, you've done this before. It's just a portal."

"Which is kind of the concern here. Where is this thing taking me now?"

Strange motioned to the wreckage of what was once a garden square, about ten meters away "Over there."

Angie's brows furrowed but her curiosity got the best of her. She stepped through the portal and barely had time to blink, finding herself in the middle of the garden square, ten meters away from where she had been standing a second ago.