The Doctor was sitting on Strange's desk impatiently tapping his foot, it had been several minutes since the sorcerer had stepped through the orange lined portal and every minute wasted gave Thanos more time to secure the Infinity Stones. Bill looked over towards him and broke the intense silence,
"Doctor, I thought you said magic didn't exist?"
He looked towards her with a furrowed brow, "It's not magic, Bill. Sorcerers draw energy from other planes of existence to bend reality. It's just another type of science."
It was at that moment that the portal appeared again and Strange walked out of it with a spooked looking man. The Doctor recognized the man immediately and the fact that it was Tony Stark gave him a terrible headache, "Oh, you have got to me kidding me right now…"
Tony could only chuckle to himself, "It always brings me joy to meet another fan."
The Doctor simply rolled his eyes and addressed the bemused billionaire, "Has Strange filled you in about the situation?"
Tony leaned nonchalantly against a bookcase, "Just the usual, danger on a cosmic scale and what not."
Strange at last spoke up, "You don't know the half of it, Stark. Wong let's give Mr. Stark a history lesson, shall we?"
Wong ushered the four of them to follow him down a corridor. Bill was grinning like a giddy school girl, "So you're Tony Stark? I mean the Tony Stark?"
"I sure hope I am, I spent plenty of his money today."
"It is so epic to meet you, You have saved the world almost as much as The Doctor here."
Tony looked towards the Doctor who had a smug look on his face, "That is pretty interesting but the pleasure is mine."
"Oh Stark, keep it in your pants."
"I don't mind, Doctor. Besides, he doesn't have the right equipment."
"I'm Tony Stark, I always have the right equipment."
They at last came to a stop in a circular room, ornate paintings adorned the walls and several artifacts hummed with an energy from their display cases. They gathered around a small black orb sitting on a pedestal. Wong snapped his fingers and they were surrounded by a projection of space with six different colored stones floating above them. Wong began speaking in a hushed tone,
"When the universe sprang forth from the cosmic explosion, six stones appeared each governing a different force that the universe needed to exist."
The Doctor interrupted shaking his head, "They didn't just appear, they were created by the Celestials but that is a story for another day."
Wong shot him a look before continuing, "Power, Space, Reality, Soul, Time, and Mind. If any one person holds all six, they would have the power of the gods."
Stark took it all in while he was rubbing his chin, "Ok, how about we destroy them and then we don't have to worry about it."
The Doctor shook his head, "No force in this universe can destroy an Infinity Stone, even if we found a way it would have catastrophic consequences. Destroy all six and all of creation would cease to exist."
"So this guy, tell me his name again?"
The Doctor sighed, "Thanos...his name is Thanos."
Stark nodded, "So what does this Thanos plan to do if he obtains all six Infinity Stones?"
The Doctor cleared his throat nervously, "Thanos believes the universe is overcrowded and its resources are dwindling. His solution is to wipe out half of all life in the universe."
For a few moments, no one said a word, the gravity of their situation hung heavy in the air. The idea of death on that scale was not comprehensible to any of them. It was Strange who finally broke the silence.
"There is one problem with Thanos' plan though, Doctor. To be able to wield just one Infinity Stone, it's power must be contained in something."
The Doctor nodded, "That is correct, unfortunately for us, Thanos is in possession of an artifact known as the Infinity Gauntlet. It can hold all six Infinity Stones without the power destroying him."
Tony ran his fingers through his hair, "That certainly makes things more difficult, what's our next move?"
The Doctor paced muttering to himself for a few moments, "More than likely he is going after the Space Stone next, last I knew it was on Asgard."
"We need to warn Thor, Doctor."
The Doctor nodded, "They are going to need help, the Asgardians are mighty warriors but Thanos has an army of his own. Tony, you're going to need to call the rest of the Avengers in. We are going to need them."
"There might be an issue on that one.."
Strange and Wong looked away suddenly fascinated by a vase behind them. The Doctor looked at them quizzically and then turned back to Stark, "What's the issue? This is definitely a job for the Avengers!"
The Doctor glared at Stark, not understanding what his deal with. Did the fool not understand how dire the situation was? Tony sighed and turned towards the Doctor,
"The Avengers broke up, Doctor."
It was Bill who spoke up, "What do you mean, broke up? Like a band? Like the Beatles!?"
"Cap and I had a major falling out over the Accords, among other things…"
The Doctor grabbed Tony by his collar and pushed him against a wall holding him there,
"Do you not realize all of creation is at stake, you spoiled buffoon!"
Bill took a step towards them, "Doctor! Calm down."
The Doctor ignored his companion and continued his tirade, "You need to swallow your damn pride and get Rogers on the phone!"
The Doctor released him and walked to the other side of the room, crossing his arms. Tony sighed and then pulled a small phone out of his pocket, his finger hovered over the send button for what seemed like ages before it started to ring. Tony looked around at everyone before he answered it,
"Hello? What!? No, I appreciate you calling me? No, that would raise too many questions. Well, it's time for y'all to come home Steve."
Tony pocketed his phone and looked at his new companions, "Ok, we are going to meet Cap and his people at Avengers HQ. It's not that far, just upstate."
The Doctor and Strange nodded, "I'll have Wong stay and protect the Sanctum. I will see you there."
Strange disappeared through one of his portals leaving the others dumbstruck for a few moments, The Doctor put a hand on Stark's shoulder,
"Come on Stark, my transportation is going to be faster than anything you have."
Stark raised his eyebrow but decided not to push the matter and followed after them down a corridor. They finally came to a stop and when Tony saw the blue box he started laughing, "Is that your transportation? I bet it moves real well."
The Doctor grinned and snapped his fingers, the TARDIS doors swung open. The Doctor and Bill grinned at Tony's bewildered expression as he walked in. They followed him inside as he was taking everything in.
"The inside exists in different space than the outside. This is fearsome technology, it's not of Earth and neither are you, are you?"
The Doctor shook his head as understanding dawned on Stark's face, he steadied himself on the TARDIS console. Bill walked over to him,
"What happened between you and Cap?"
Tony didn't look up, "It's complicated, and I try not to dwell on it."
"Mr. Stark, we're not promised tomorrow. Whatever happened, fix it. Good friends are rare."
The Doctor pressed a button on the console and the TARDIS landed with a thud.
"We're here, Tony."
Stark walked out of the TARDIS, with The Doctor and Bill quickly following him out. Strange was talking to a young woman with long dark hair rather excitedly. Another woman with blonde hair was standing in the corner looking bored. Stark rushed over to a green and red figure holding his stomach sitting next to Strange.
"Vis! What happened?"
The blonde walked over to Tony, "They were attacked by an alien warrior, Tony he tried to take the Mind Stone."
The brunette left Strange and walked over to Tony, "Not that you care though, Stark. You gonna lock us up again?"
"Wanda, your teenage angst is always a breath of fresh air."
The Doctor walked over to them, "Hello, I'm the Doctor. Describe the alien that attacked you."
She looked at him for a moment before answering, "He was clad in black armor and wielded a spear."
The Doctor nodded, "I was afraid of this, it was Corvus Glaive. He's a member of the Black Order."
Wanda smirked, "He was a member of the Black Order. Natasha killed him."
"Oh I doubt it, The Black Order is Thanos' top lieutenants, they always have a pesky habit of not staying dead."
At this moment, Sam Wilson entered the room in his trademark jacket and sunglasses and took a moment to glare at Stark, "Black Order? Sounds like a really bad heavy metal band."
Tony looked him over, "Bird Boy! Something ruffle your feathers?"
"Stark." Sam retorted, crossing his arms.
The door slid open and Steve Rogers walked in. His eyes quickly surveyed the scene the room as he approached the group.
"Playing nice, guys?"
Natasha grinned, "You know us, Steve."
Steve's and Tony's eyes met but neither spoke a word, the room fell silent as they simply stared at each other, it was The Doctor who broke the silence.
"Hey, Bill? They're having a moment, aren't they?"
"Shh, Doctor. Don't be rude."
Sam walked up to them looking between them before laughing, "No Natasha, you were right. This isn't awkward at all."