Always and Forever

Chapter 13

I stumbled back onto the couch Tony was sitting on, my brain trying to process the new information. "Who was on that ship?" I asked.

"Thor, Loki, Heimdall, and I all stayed with those people while Valkyrie took the other half to safety," Banner said. "And everyone on the ship I was on died."

I couldn't find words for a while. "And Thanos did this?" I finally asked Banner.

"Yeah. Why, you know him?" Banner asked.

"I know of him. Loki and I talked about him." I paused. "How many stones does he have?"

"Two, we believe," Strange said. "Power and Space."

"Will someone please explain to me what the fuck is going on?" Tony asked.

"The guy who just killed half my people is trying to kill more by collecting Infinity Stones," I said. "And he'll kill anyone in his way. Including Vision, who currently has the Mind Stone in his head."

Tony was silent, suddenly attentive. "Tell me more about these stones," he said.

Wong used magic to show the universe and five colorful stones. "From the dawn of the universe, there was nothing," he said. "Then, boom! The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence."

"Space, reality, power, soul, mind," Strange said, each stone lighting up as he mentioned it. "And time." He opened the eye shaped necklace around his neck, revealing the Time Stone.

"Tell me his name again," Tony said.

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

Tony mumbled something to himself before asking, "What's our timeline?"

"No telling," Banner said. "He has the Power and Space stones. That already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. If he gets his hands on all six stones-"

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

Tony got up and started stretching, leaning on a nearby cauldron for balance. "Did you seriously just say 'hitherto undreamt of'?" Tony asked.

"Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?" Strange shot back.

"Is that what this is?" Tony asked sarcastically. Strange's magic cloak smacked Tony on the arm, surprising him and making him straighten up. "I'm going to allow that. Look, if Thanos needs all six, why don't we just stick this one down the garbage disposal?"

"No can do," Strange said.

"We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone with our lives," Wong said.

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

"Stark Raving Hazelnuts," I said.

"It's not bad," Tony said.

"A bit chalky," Strange said.

"A Hunka-Hulka Burning Fudge is our favorite," Wong said.

"That's a thing?" Banner asked.

"Whatever," Tony said. "Point is: things change."

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

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