Summary:

Tony Stark must travel to the past in search of the soul stone with the help of Dr. Stephen Strange. He's adamant at first but soon discovers his choice to go was maybe pre-written by fate all along.

Tony Stark had been summoned to a place referred to as "The Sanctum Sanctorum" in Manhattan on Bleecker St. He was surprised to hear Bruce Banner on the other end of the phone call but was confused as to who this Dr. Strange was and why Banner was there.

Tony parked his car and exited hurrying to the front door of this mansion. Before raising his hand to knock on the tall oak door he double checked the address he jotted down, "177A Bleecker St…."

Before he announced his presence the door swung open.

"Mr Stark," said a tall man on a long red cape.

Tony looked him over, "Beautiful drapes but I think you're supposed to hang them on the windows…"

"Tony!" he heard from within.

Bruce was wearing clothes that looked to be from someone else's closet.

Tony pushed passed the tall brooding man and made his way to Bruce who stood from his seat on the bottom step of the mostly crushed stair case. Tony clapped his hands on Banners shoulders concerned, "Banner, what happened? Are you ok?"

Bruce sighed, "Yea, it's kind of a long story and unfortunately… it's not good."

Tony stepped back looking him over, "Where have you been?"

"Look… I'm sorry I left, I just…. I just thought it was the best course of action considering how little control I have over the other guy. And he apparently agreed when he took off in that quinjet."

"We didn't know if you were even alive Banner…."

Bruce sighed again trying to look anywhere but into Tony's eyes, "I know and again I'm sorry but listen. I ended up with Thor on Asgard, long story short, Asgard has been destroyed. As we escaped with all the Asgardians and Loki, we were intercepted by a… a space tyrant named Thanos."

"I have so many questions I honestly don't know which to ask first. I'm actually afraid that I'm about to make an inaudible noise trying to ask them all at once…"

"Tony, what you need to know is that this guy Thanos is on his way here to Earth, and he's taking no prisoners. This galaxy is very much in peril."

The man from before decided to finally intervene after not getting answers from Banner before, "Excuse me but, what exactly does this Thanos want from us?"

Tony rebutted, "I'm sorry, you are?"

"Strange, Dr. Stephen Strange. I actually consulted your Cardiologists on whether the palladium would affect your mental stimulus. I said no, but apparently I was wrong. Anyway, Dr. Banner…"

Tony shoved his hands into his pockets looking elsewhere, "Well then…"

Strange continued, "Can you provide any more information?"

"Barely, but I'm pretty sure he hunting down these gems called Infinity Stones. Like the one in Visions head. I know he has the tesseract… once again thanks to Loki… which is how I'm assuming I crash landed here."

Strange lightly grasped the Eye of Agamotto that hung from his neck. "If two are already here on Earth, how many more might be here as well?"

Wong spoke up for the first time from his background spot, "I might actually be able to help with that." Wong positioned his fingers precisely and moved them in a circular motion. His fingers rounded the air space beside him as fiery sparks emitted from seemingly out of nowhere. Tony wasn't sure what he was seeing but stood silent none the less. Wong reached into this atmospheric hole and pulled out a leather bound book.

Strange eyed the booked, "This is the Ancient One's private writings?"

"Yes," Wong replied, "I have not read this thoroughly but I believe it has the answers you're looking for about the stones."

Strange gently grabbed the book from Wong and opened it leafing through.

Tony pointed towards Wong asking, "What was that?"

Wong smiled, "Have you ever heard of magic Mr. Stark?"

Tony dropped his hand and looked on deadpanned, "I honestly don't even know why I'm questioning this, I literally had alien lizards funnel out of portal above my tower a few years ago."

Bruce laughed lightly and sarcastically, "Yea good times…"

"Here we go," Strange announced, "The Ancient One writes here that the Time and Soul stone were brought to Earth as a pair a few hundred years ago. She mentions a Xandarian being of the name Goliath brought them to her for safe keeping. This being apparently thought very highly of the Ancient One and the stories of her conquests."

Bruce asked, "Does she say where they are?"

"Yes, she does. One is in the Eye of Agamotto," he said gesturing to his amulet around his neck, "and the soul stone has been hidden elsewhere."

Tony stepped forward, "You're just casually wearing an infinity stone as a fashion statement right now?"

"Wrong again Mr. Stark, this amulet holds the power of time. To be traveled, forwarded, and even reversed."

Wong asked, "Does she mentioned where the other stone is hidden?"

"More like when… seems as though she covered the… Soul Stone in a barrier and hid it in the year 1916...At the time she hid this stone, it was then her future, now our past it seems."

Bruce interjected, "How does the stone stay in a specific year? Doesn't it live through time like literally everything else?"

"No, the barrier she casted onto the stone is what's keeping it there. Almost like hitting repeat on a song. It remains in 1916… June 10th to be exact…"

Wong eyed the sorcerer supreme, "So what do we do with this information?"

Tony suggested, "I say we keep it there. It seems like the safest place."

"I have to disagree," Strange told him, "We need to collect this stone. With all three stones in our possession we will be able to hold off this Thanos character."

"But then he'll have all three in one place," Tony argued.

"The safest hands are still our own," Tony cringed having heard that line from someone he used to call his friend, "If what Dr. Banner says is true, Thanos is coming here regardless. If he is able to obtain the time stone from me he will surely be able to find the soul stone with the combined efforts of the stone or stones he already has. If he is as threatening as he seems, we need to fight fire with fire. We need the most stones in our possession so this potential war wages in our favor."

Tony sighed in defeat. The magician wasn't wrong, not that he would admit that out loud. So many brilliant minds in one room was beginning to feel like a crowd.

Bruce moving on from Tony's odd silence and prompted, "So what's next, what's our plan of action here?"

Strange closed the book, "Someone needs to retrieve the soul stone. I think I'll be the one to go get it…"

"No," Tony said.

'Never mind, that was short lived,' Bruce thought silently to himself.

His genius billionaire friend continued, "I'll go. If you are as powerful as you say you are then you should be the one to hold down the fort if Thanos decides to bring the party here sooner than later. You, too Banner."

"Are you sure this is wise Mr. Stark?" Wong asked.

"Well, I'm not exactly the one with an infinity stone in my necklace right now so, yea I think so… And no offense Banner but I don't think chancing the Hulk in 1916 is very wise."

"No worries, I'm not dsagreeing."

Strange eyed Wong who only looked back for confirmation. "Well then Mr. Stark, we will prepare for your journey."

Bruce pulled Tony aside in a whispered hush, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I don't think we have a choice. This Strange guy is going to get that stone no matter what. And in all honesty, after witnessing whatever that is," he gestured towards Wong opening a portal and Strange conjuring a barrier over a small and sleek metal container, "I do think they will be better able to stand up to this Supreme Stalwart Darth Vader."

"Ok… just be careful."

"Stark," Steven Strange called, "are you ready?"

"As ever I guess…"

"First, your appearance. You need to blend into the time period. Wong?"

Wong repositioned his hands summoning energy to his palms. He released this energy like rain over Tony. His custom made Burberry suit was replaced with a loose fitting Edwardian styled sack suit and cap toe Spat boots.

Tony looked himself over as Strange spoke to him, "Now listen here, you cannot interfere within the past-"

"Yea, yea, the butterfly effect I know…"

"Yes, very well. Here, this containment box will break the current barrier on the soul stone once its place inside. It will also lead you to its exact location. Take this too, I call it the Iris. This will be your tether back to our time as it is connected through an astral force to the Eye of Agamotto."

Tony held onto the items looking them over.

Strange grabbed onto Tony's shoulders and sternly looked him in the eye, "Do not disrupt the past. The effects it will cause will be unnoticed by us, but you will see the differences and they could catastrophic. Understood?"

Tony placed the items in his pockets and brushed the sorcerer's hands from his shoulders.

"Yea I got it, now please open the door to 1916 so we can get this over with?"

Strange stepped back, "So be it."

Stephen Strange clasped a hand onto the Eye of Agamotto summoning the great force within. Wong stood by his side prepared with barrier force shields to help aid the opening of this powerful doorway into the past. Strange concentrated on one spot before him and started to move his other hand in a circular motion. The fiery sparks of magic returned spinning rapidly. The portal opened its ominous mouth wider and wider until it was big enough for one to walk through.

"Remember Stark," Strange began, "The stone goes in the box then move the Iris in a circular motion to come back, understood?"

Tony saluted him as confirmation before heading towards to the portal.

"Tony!" Bruce shouted. He looked back at Banner as he said, "Good luck…"

"Thanks…"

Tony Stark then finally took that valiant step through the portal into June 10th, 1916.