Tony frowned, tilting his head as he regarded the glowing blue hologram hovering in the air in front of him. It was another suit, one that he and Bruce had designed specifically as an emergency backup to help bring down Hulk in case he ever decided to go rogue. They had started on the initial design drafts way back when Bucky was first brought to the Tower after the Project Insight fiasco, but with his and Steve's wedding, then their honeymoon, then their kidnapping by Obadiah and Aldrich Killian and the months-long hospital stays that followed, that particular suit got pushed to the back of Tony's "must-have" list.

And then it got pushed back again after all of HYDRA's wanna-be super soldiers started coming out of the woodwork, forcing Tony to channel all of his attention into developing his nanites.

Unfortunately, now that the nanites were at least somewhat perfected, Tony felt that he'd fallen so far behind on building more of his regular suits—and relying far too heavily on the drones—that he needed to make up for lost time. Hence, turning his attention back to his Hulkbuster armour, the suit that Bruce had for some reason dubbed, Veronica.

"Okay, J," he said as he ran his fingers down his goatee. "Give me an estimate of how much force this thing would be able to block, yeah?"

"With the armour's current configuration, I would estimate an opposing force of up to fifty million Newtons, sir," answered JARVIS.

"Hmm…" Tony muttered as he walked slowly around the hologram, tweaking a few things here and there. Fifty million Newtons would probably be enough to withstand Hulk if he was just standing still, but since Tony could not actually imagine Hulk just standing still—and even less so if he was going bonkers—then it wasn't going to be enough.

"Bruce estimated that Hulk generates at least fifty-five million Newtons when he's just throwing out casual punches," Tony said. "So I think we're gonna need more."

"Yes, sir, I would agree," said JARVIS. "Increasing the thickness of both gauntlets by three millimetres would offer a fifteen percent increase in the suit's arm strength."

Tony nodded, tapping his chin. "All right. And if we did that, and I just happened to meet Hulk's fist with mine head-on, then—?"

"The resulting shockwave would likely shatter every single window within a five-block radius, sir," said JARVIS.

"Hmm," said Tony. "Well, I can't say I'm specifically looking for that, but if it keeps Hulk from punching other people, or cars, or buildings that are filled with other people, then I'd say it's a trade-off that's decent enough."

"I would agree, sir," said JARVIS. "Shall I commence with the rendering?"

"Eh, not just yet, J, yeah? Give me a couple minutes, I just wanna rerun some tests first."

"As you wish, sir."

"Yeah." Tony would have far preferred to have gone over the calculations with Bruce one final time before starting in on the render, but seeing as how Bruce was offworld with Thor and Loki, still, he couldn't actually do that.

And it wasn't that Tony didn't trust JARVIS's calculations. He was only trying to be extra careful. An out-of-control Hulk may not be quite as big of a threat as an invasion from space, but it still ranked up there near the top of things that Tony really didn't want to have to deal with. So if his caution just happened to tip the slightest way into paranoia, well, since he was currently the only person in the penthouse, then at least there were no witnesses present who could call him out on it.

Gulping down the rest of the lukewarm coffee in his cup, Tony ran through all of his calculations again, huffing out a sharp breath when he arrived at the same conclusion he'd come to an hour ago.

"All right, J, looks like we're good to go," he said as he trailed his finger along the outline of Steve's dog tags through his shirt. At Steve's request, or more like down-on-his-knees begging, Tony had stopped wearing his nanite case on his chest while inside the house, resorting instead to carrying it around in his pocket. He supposed that wearing it to bed had maybe—just maybe—gone just a teensy bit overboard, but in his mind, there was no such thing as overboard when it came to protecting his family.

After being forced to watch Peter literally get stolen right out from under his nose and then having Steve get literally torn right from his arms, Tony was taking no more chances.

"Very good, sir. Estimated time of completion for render and assembly is six hours."

"Yep. Got it."

"Oh, and I have just received an incoming text message from Master Peter," added JARVIS. "He is very politely requesting that you feed his fish for him."

Tony let out a half-amused groan, rolling his eyes. "What, did he forget again?"

"He did not specify, sir, but I do believe it is safe to assume as such."

"It's pretty much always safe to assume that that kid's forgotten something or other," Tony muttered. "Tell him I'll take care of it, yeah?"

"Very good, sir. I am sure Master Peter will be most grateful."

"Yeah, yeah." Still running calculations through his head—all the better to avoid thinking about the fact that in about an hour Peter was going to be riding to his field trip on a goddamn school bus, a vehicle that Tony absolutely despised—Tony picked up his stack of diagrams and notes and was just about to exit the lab when JARVIS spoke up again.

"There is an incoming call from Agent Romanoff, sir," he said. "Non-urgent."

Tony dropped his head, chuckling as he set his stuff back down on the counter. Of all the days for Steve to go running late…

"Go ahead and put her through, J."

"Hey, Tony," Natasha said as her face filled the viewscreen. "You got a minute?"

"For you, Agent Romanoff, I have three," Tony said with a grin. "What's up?"

"Well, you probably don't remember that the twins are graduating from high school in about three weeks—"

"Nope, I didn't," Tony cut in. "Nat, you know I can barely keep up with my own kid's activities, much less yours. Times two."

"Yeah, I can't say that I blame you," Natasha said with a smile. "Or, not too much. Anyway, Clint and I were talking about hosting a party for them the week after their graduation ceremony, and we wanted to make sure that you and Steve would be okay if we held it here at the Compound."

"Ahh…" Tony said slowly, grimacing. "Um, how many people are we thinking here?"

"Well… we thought we could keep it to five friends each for the twins, plus their families… I'm thinking it would be around sixty people total? So around seventy including the rest of us."

"Yeesh," grumbled Tony. "Seventy? Really?"

"Oh, come on, Tony," Natasha said, rather cheekily. "I know you've been to bigger parties than that."

"Oh, ha, ha, ha," Tony said with what he hoped was a playful frown. "I'm just—we don't happen to know the security clearance of any of these people, do we?"

"Tony, they're high school students, so I would hope that none of them would need security clearance," Natasha said slowly. "But if it helps I can run some quick inquiries on their parents, just to make sure."

"Eh, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it," Tony said as he scratched at the back of his head. "And I'm sure Steve won't mind it either."

"No, I don't mind. And we were thinking of just holding the party outside, in the front yard. We'll get some tents and tables and portable bathrooms so there won't be any need for people to be traipsing around inside the buildings."

"And plenty of security guards," Tony said. "I'd want 'em stationed at every building entrance, and down by the gates to the driveway."

"Yes, we can have those too," said Natasha. "I've already spoken to Happy about it."

"Well, all right then," Tony said. He'd run out of excuses. "Go ahead and plan your party."

Natasha grinned. "Thanks, I think the twins are going to love it. I know it's only high school, but this is a pretty big deal for them."

"Of course it is," said Tony. "I'm not so dense as to not understand that. You and Barton should be proud of how well you've been able to steer those kids onto the right track."

"Well, they weren't exactly all that difficult, but I'll definitely take my share of the credit," said Natasha. "As will Clint."

"Long as he doesn't try and take your share," said Tony.

"Oh, you know him," Natasha said. "Still no word from Thor?"

Tony let out a frustrated groan. "No, nothing since they left. I mean, I know there's no such thing as warp speed, despite all of the television evidence to the contrary, but I would've thought we would've heard something by now. It's been almost two weeks."

"Well, I guess we just have to assume that no news is good news in this case," said Natasha.

"Mmm," grumbled Tony. "Or I can just make sure that I develop some kind of interspace communications system before anyone else decides to go caravanning between planets. 'Cause this whole waiting next to the phone thing really freaking sucks."

"Which is probably why it's good that you're surrounded by distractions," Natasha said, smirking. "Right?"

"Yeah… well… a little tinkering never hurt anyone," Tony said, his head bobbing his head back and forth. "Or at least not too much. Let me know once you're done with all of your inquiring, yeah?"

"I will," replied Natasha. "And say hi to my милая ошибка for me."

"Say hi to your little bug. Got it," Tony said. "You know, for all of my qualms about the Russian language, I have to say, it is almost scary how accurate your diminutive nicknames can be."

Natasha laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Well, you know it's not actually meant to be literal, but… hey. I didn't invent the language, I just grew up speaking it."

"Eh, better you than me," said Tony. "Did you need anything else? Your speedster got his new shoes, didn't he?"

"Yep, he did, so we're all good here," said Natasha. "We'll see all of you guys this weekend."

"'Kay. See ya."

Tony let out a groan once the screen went black, rubbing at his aching temples. While he couldn't be upset that Barton and Nat wanted to celebrate the twins' graduation, all it did was add to the stress he'd been carrying around ever since—

Since…

Actually, at the moment, Tony couldn't remember a time when he wasn't stressed.

But, he supposed, that was probably beside the point.

Picking up his stack of stuff, again, Tony dumped it off in the kitchen before continuing on into Peter's room. Peter had set up the five-gallon fish tank that Bucky had bought him for Christmas on his reading table next to the windows, thinking that Finley, the fish, would enjoy the occasional look out on the city while he was away at school. This all despite the fact that even though the fish's tank was massive for such a tiny fish, it also featured so many tank accessories that it closely resembled one of the flea circuses that had been so popular during Steve's boyhood years.

Which, come to think of it, was probably why Bucky had bought it all.

"All right, little fishy, let's see what we're supposed to be doing here," Tony muttered as he located the container of fish food in the mass of clutter that covered the table. He held it at arm's length, attempting to read the tiny print on the label and giving up after about three frustrating seconds. "JARVIS, do you know how many of these things I'm supposed to give him?"

"I believe that Master Peter gives Finley four pellets in the morning, and four again in the evening, sir," answered JARVIS.

"Gotcha," Tony said as he dropped four pellets into the tank, chuckling when the fish shot up so quickly up from the bottom that he ended up zooming right past them. The fish quickly turned, attacking the first pellet so voraciously that Tony heard an audible crunch. "Whoa there, fishy, slow down a bit! You don't wanna choke, right?"

God, I am such a dad, he thought. What's next, talking to plants?

Oh well. At least he hadn't been expecting a response.

The fish sufficiently fed, Tony recapped the container and exited the room, heading back to the kitchen to put on some more coffee. He leaned against the counter while it was brewing, fighting the urge to ask JARVIS if Peter's bus had left for the museum yet. He had offered to drive Peter and his friends there himself, but Peter had declined, giving Tony some excuse about the school's liability insurance stating that all of the students needed to arrive together, or something to that effect.

All of which was probably just a cover for Peter wanting to sit on a hard school bus bench seat and hold his girlfriend's hand, out from under the prying eyes of his father.

Which, all things considered, Tony couldn't really argue against. He had noticed Peter getting more and more down about the fact that Gwen was leaving soon, and knew he was trying to maximise the time he got to spend with her before she left. He and Steve had even discussed the possibility of making a trip out to London over the summer so Peter could visit her, but seeing as how they didn't have a house or apartment out there, Tony was uneasy about it. He just didn't feel comfortable having Peter anywhere that he couldn't adequately secure, and since he highly doubted that the British government would allow him to place some of his defence drones on top of one of their hotels, then the risk just wasn't worth it.

And that's even if Tony had wanted to declassify his defence drones to the British government in the first place. Which he didn't.

"JARVIS? Has Pete left for that field trip of his yet?" he asked, trying to sound casual, and failing miserably.

"I am still placing Master Peter's current location at the school, sir," replied JARVIS. "If I remember correctly, they are due to leave in approximately forty-five minutes."

"If you remember correctly," Tony muttered, chuckling as he poured a fresh cup of coffee. "Like you somehow wouldn't?"

"I am going to assume that question was rhetorical, sir," JARVIS said after a short pause.

"Yeah, that's a good one." Tony set his coffee and one of Steve's homemade bagels down on the kitchen table, smearing it with some cinnamon cream cheese as he spread out his work. In addition to promising that he would come to bed every night, Tony had also promised Steve that he'd do better about eating during the day, and so far he felt that he had done pretty well.

It didn't hurt that Steve had made sure to keep the kitchen stocked with plenty of easy-to-snack-on-but-still-healthy foods, mostly made by his—and Peter's—own hands.

Anything to help ease his husband's worry burden a little. Because despite Steve's ongoing discussions with Sam, his goofy time-merging nightmares hadn't eased up at all.

If anything, they had gotten even worse. And that worried Tony.

He could build all of the tech that he wanted, but not even his most advanced drones or suits or nanites could deal with anything having to do with time, and it was starting to make Tony feel like he was slowly being backed into a two-sided triangle, stuck in a corner while facing down an invisible army against which he had no defence.

And that was simply unacceptable.

"Now, look, Cap, I'm not saying that you'd have to make every single game. The Mets have all sorts of different season ticket packages, so there's plenty to choose from," Sam said as they rounded a corner on the main running trail that surrounded Central Park. It was a near picture-perfect spring day, with the air crisp but not too cool and the sun shining brightly off the Reservoir, but that also meant that it was absolutely packed with runners, joggers, and walkers, requiring Steve and Sam to dodge various groups and individuals as they completed their laps.

This is why I usually like to run early, Steve thought as he pivoted to avoid a flying elbow. There were always far fewer people out and about before the sun rose. Even in New York City.

"All I'm saying is that it might give you some more chances to unwind a bit," added Sam. "Which, no offence, you could definitely use."

"Yeah, I know," Steve said. "But hasn't the baseball season already started? I thought you and Bucky have already been to a few games."

"Yeah, we have," Sam said as they swerved around another walker. "But the stadium's pretty big, so there's plenty of room for you too."

Steve frowned, shaking his head as they rounded a curve in the trail. "Eh, I don't know, Sam. I'd feel bad crashing on yours and Bucky's dates all the time, and—"

"Jesus, Steve, you're not crashing a date if we invite you along," Sam retorted. He began to slow down his pace as they approached one of the park's entrances, which Steve reluctantly followed. He didn't feel done quite yet, or at least didn't feel like he'd run off enough of his stress yet, and had half a mind to ask Sam if he could take off for a couple more laps when Sam grabbed onto his arm, halting him.

"Steve, we've already done over ten miles," he said firmly. "That's enough for today."

Steve huffed, but nodded anyway. He had already clocked over a hundred miles that week alone, all while completely brushing off Tony's concerns about his stupid bum foot and the fact that he'd been up before four in the morning for the past three days, which was early even for him. But all that those logged miles had managed to do was force him into buying three new pairs of running shoes, none of which were helping him to sleep any better.

"Yeah, okay," he murmured as he followed Sam over to one of the public water fountains. He tried to stretch while they waited in line for their turn, shaking out his arms and stretching out his quads as he attempted to come up with yet another excuse for not wanting to buy season tickets to the Mets.

It's not that Steve didn't want to go, he just knew that since there was no way he'd be able to convince Tony to go with him—Tony had likened watching a baseball game to watching paint dry—he didn't feel comfortable leaving Tony alone in the penthouse more often than he already did. It also put way too much pressure on Peter's shoulders, and that wasn't fair to him either.

At least not until their current crisis had passed, which, despite all of his numerous attempts, Steve was still no closer to figuring out when something might happen than he had been before the team's trip to Wakanda.

"Let me think about the tickets a bit more, okay, Sam?" he asked once Sam was done with the water fountain. "I'll need to talk to Tony about it, and—"

"Steve, talking to your spouse about it is fine," said Sam. "Just let me know soon, okay? 'Cause as much as it pains me to admit it, the Mets are looking pretty good this year, and I'd hate for you to miss out."

That at least got Steve to chuckle. "Oh, really," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Is that how it is?"

Sam shot him a wide smile. "Well, I don't know, Cap. I guess you'll just have to come and watch the games so you can see for yourself."

Steve was just about to reply when he heard a sudden crackling noise off to his left, causing him to jump back. He immediately grabbed for Sam, shoving him behind him just as some kind of glowing golden circle of light appeared about a metre or so away. The circle was rotating counterclockwise, throwing off massive sparks as it grew wider and wider until it was large enough for a man to step through.

"Captain Rogers," the man said, standing in front of the sparkling circle as if it were something completely normal. "I need you to come with me right now."

For a moment, Steve was too stunned to even speak, his eyes wide in disbelief. Out of all of the odd things he'd seen in his lifetime—both lifetimes—this ranked right up there amongst the weirdest.

And besides that, the man looked oddly familiar.

"I'm sorry, but who the hell are you?" Sam asked as he stepped out from behind Steve, his arms crossed in front of him. "And how did you know where we'd be—?"

"You—you're Dr Strange!" Steve blurted out, pointing at the tall, dark-haired man who for some reason was wearing a long maroon cape that, aside from the collar, looked a lot like Thor's.

"Who?" asked Sam, obviously confused. "'Cause if you just said what I think you said, then that seems a bit too on the nose, if you know what I mean."

"His name is Doctor Stephen Strange," Steve said, glancing at Sam. His free hand curled into a fist, his jaw twitching as he tried to keep his temper in check. "This is the brain surgeon who refused to come and see Peter when he was sick down in Miami!"

Dr Strange pursed his lips, as if he was already impatient with the conversation. "Yes, Captain, I did," he said evenly. "And as I explained to both you and Mr Stark at the time, I did not routinely treat children, and therefore did not believe it was feasible to—"

"Not feasible!" Steve exclaimed through clenched teeth. "Our son was in a coma for months! One that we had no idea if he'd ever come out of, and now you're telling me that it wasn't feasible—!"

"Captain Rogers, I'm afraid that I must interrupt," Dr Strange cut in. "We need your help, you and the rest of your team, and there is no time to waste."

"Oh, and now you suddenly need our help? What the hell for?" demanded Sam. The golden circle was still spinning and throwing off sparks, and, as Steve looked past Dr Strange, he could've sworn that he saw the inside some kind of building behind him, as though he'd simply stepped through the circle from his home directly into the park.

But… that was impossible, wasn't it? Tony and Peter had both told Steve numerous times that despite everything that he'd seen in Star Trek, not even the greatest scientific minds in the world had managed to figure out how to safely teleport people yet.

So, how in the hell was this happening?

"We are currently in the midst of a developing crisis," said Dr Strange, sounding grim. "It's not overselling it to say that the fate of the universe is at stake."

"Oh, really?" Sam asked, frowning. "And who in the hell is 'we'?"

With a frustrated sigh, Dr Strange stepped to the side to reveal another man standing behind him, one who caused Steve's belly to drop to his knees.

"Hey, you guys," came the shaky voice of Bruce, looking more terrified than Steve had ever seen him. Steve knew that Bruce had spent years on the run in some of the most dangerous places on the planet, so there wasn't much that scared him. And, as far as Steve knew, Hulk wasn't scared of anything.

"Bruce!" Steve exclaimed as Bruce stumbled forward, practically collapsing into Steve's arms. "What—what're you doing here? Where's Thor? And—and Loki? And the ship?"

And the Tesseract?

But Bruce only shook his head. "Steve, it's—he's coming," he said, low and raspy. "Now. As we speak."

"Who?" Sam asked. "Bruce, who's coming?"

"Thanos," answered Bruce. He stepped back, clutching his arm. "Steve, he's coming, and we're—we're just not ready! We're nowhere near ready!"

"Okay, Bruce, I understand," Steve said in his Captain's voice. "But first I need you to tell me what happened. Where's Thor?"

Bruce made a weird, choked-off sound in the back of this throat. "Steve, I don't—I don't think—"

"Pardon me, gentlemen, but I must insist that we return to the Sanctum," Dr Strange said. "This will all be much easier to explain there."

Steve's heart was thudding as he met the physician's eyes, finally nodding once. "All right," he said. "But we need to call Tony first. He should—he should hear this first-hand too."

"Yes, I would agree," answered Dr Strange. He stepped to the side, indicating the spinning golden circle. "After you, Captain."

Glancing over at Sam, Steve sucked in a deep breath and stepped through the circle, directly into the entry area of what appeared to be a large, Victorian-type house. Debris consisting of broken and twisted pieces of wood and stone littered the wide steps of the large grand staircase, and there was a huge gaping hole in the vaulted ceiling, almost as if it had been attacked by something.

"What is this place?" Sam asked as he stepped through, eyeing the broken ceiling. "Is this where you live?"

"Yes," answered Dr Strange. "Wong and I are the guardians of this Sanctum."

"You're the what?" Sam asked. "Guardians? I swear you just sounded like you were straight out of one of Peter's movies."

"I am a Master of the Mystic Arts, Mr Wilson, someone that you might call a wizard," said Dr Strange. "And yes, Wong and I guard this Sanctum."

"Okay but, Sam, please!" pleaded Bruce. "We really don't have time for this!"

"All right, all right. Let's just get Tony here so we can start," Steve said as he pulled out his phone. "JARVIS?"

"At your service, Captain."

"Can you please have Tony meet us at this location?" Steve asked. "Tell him to fly, it's urgent."

"Ah, if I may, Captain," said Dr Strange. "It would be much faster for me to simply create another portal."

"You mean, one of those glowing circle things?" asked Sam. "You can do that right into the Tower?"

"What?" Steve yelped as he whirled on the doctor. "You mean you can open one of those portals directly into my home?"

"In an emergency, yes, Captain, I can," snapped Dr Strange. "But seeing as how I have had the ability to do so for the better part of a year now and have not made any such attempt, then suffice it to say that I only use these powers when absolutely necessary. Such as right now."

"Steve, I promise it's okay," Bruce said. "We need to trust him."

It was on the tip of Steve's tongue to ask why. Why they absolutely needed to trust some holier-than-thou doctor who hadn't even had the courtesy to consult on Peter when he and Tony had feared that their son's mind might've been lost for good.

But then again, Bruce had never been one for hyperbole, and so if he was willing to vouch for Dr Strange, and completely overlook the fact that producing glowing teleportation circles was part of any medical school curriculum that Steve had ever heard of, then Steve supposed he would just have to trust Bruce's judgement.

"All right," he said softly. "JARVIS, please tell Tony to step back, I'm coming to get him."

There was a three heartbeat or so pause while JARVIS processed Steve's words.

"Very well, Captain. Mr Stark has been warned."

Nodding at Dr Strange, Steve watched in awed trepidation as the doctor held out his arms, spinning his right in a circular motion as another of the glowing golden circles appeared. Steve quickly stepped forward, holding out his hand towards his obviously shocked husband, who was standing in the middle of their kitchen.

"Steve?" Tony said, his face etched in worry. "Honey, what in the goddamn hell—?"

"Tony, it's okay," Steve said. "Just… come on through, all right? Bruce is here."

"Bruce is there? Why?" Tony grabbed onto Steve's hand, gripping it tightly as he stepped through the portal, his eyes going wide as they landed on Bruce.

"Bruce? What're you doing here? What's going—?" He cut off as his gazed swerved over to Dr Strange, gasping as he recognised him. "You? What the hell are you doing here, you goddamn, no-good quack? Last I heard, you ran your car off a mountain or something!"

"Tony, we've already been through all of this," Steve said. "Let's just listen to Bruce, okay?"

Tony's brown eyes were so troubled as they locked with Steve's that his heart gave a painful lurch. "Yeah, honey, okay. Tell me what's going on."

"First, allow me to introduce Wong," Dr Strange said, indicating an Asian man standing over by the destroyed staircase's railing. "He and I work together here at the Sanctum."

"Okay, hold on. At the, whatchamacallit?" Tony asked. "What did you say this place was?"

"Tony, please, just listen, okay?" Bruce said. "We don't have that much time!"

Tony threw up his hands. "Fine! So what's so important that you have to—"

"Thanos is coming," Bruce interrupted, his voice practically squeaking in fear. "He's been out there, searching for the infinity gems over the past few years, and now he's coming here!"

"Who?" Tony sputtered, glancing at Steve. "Is… Thanos?"

"He's a plague," Bruce continued. "He invades planets, he takes what he wants, and he wipes out half their population. Guys, he's the one who sent Loki. The attack on New York? That was him. The Chitauri are his army, Tony. And he's their general."

"Okay, so… that whole bedtime story that Thor told us about these infinity gems, that was all actually true?" asked Sam.

"Every word of it," answered Bruce.

"Okay, so then where exactly is Thor?" Tony asked. "'Cause shouldn't he be here too?"

Bruce dropped his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Thor's… dead," he said, so softly that Steve barely heard him. "Thanos, he intercepted our ship. Somehow, he knew we were transporting the Tesseract, and so he disabled us and came aboard, and then he—he—"

"Oh my God," Steve whispered, his hand clutching Tony's to the point of pain. "This Thanos… he killed Thor?"

"He killed Loki first," Bruce choked out. "Strangled him with one hand. I—or should I say, the other guy—was barely conscious at the time."

"The other guy?" Steve asked, completely flabbergasted. "You mean, Hulk? But—but… how?"

"Thanos already had two of the stones, Steve!" Bruce exclaimed. "He had the Mind Stone and the purple one, the—the—"

"The purple stone is the Power Stone," said Wong. He stepped over Dr Strange, his hands clasped behind his back. "He must have retrieved it from somewhere offworld."

"Okay, so… hold on a second here," Tony said, holding up his hands. "You're telling me that Thanos… beat up Hulk?"

"More like beat the ever-lovin' snot out of him, Tony," Bruce said grimly. "It was like fighting Abomination times about a kajillion. We barely survived."

"Holy shit," Tony whispered as all the blood drained from his cheeks. "Steve, that's—that's—"

"He's already got three of the stones, guys, which makes him the most powerful creature in the universe," Bruce continued. "The Power Stone, the Mind Stone, and the Space Stone. The Space Stone was inside the Tesseract, just like Thor said. And Thanos just crushed it in his hand like it was nothing. Heimdall, Thor's guardian, was able to send me here just before the ship broke apart, but… guys, he's coming. Thanos knows there's another stone here, so he's on his way. And if we don't stop him, then—"

"All right, Bruce, we get it," Steve said. "What kind of timeline are we talking about here?"

"There's no telling," said Bruce. "But I'm guessing it'll be soon. Like, really soon. And if he manages to get his hands on all six stones, then—"

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

Tony scoffed, his hand still clutching Steve's. "Did you seriously just say 'hitherto undreamt of'? Who are you, some Shakespeare wannabe?"

"Tony," Steve said quietly, turning to his husband. "Sweetheart, we need to get Peter back to the Tower. Right now. We can call George Stacy to look after him, but I don't want him out there in the city while—while—"

"No, no, you're right," Tony said as he pulled out his phone. "JARVIS? Has Pete left the school yet?"

"Yes, sir. Master Peter's bus is currently en route to the Museum of Modern Art."

"Damnit," Tony muttered. "All right, then I need you to get a hold of George Stacy right now and ask him to pick up both Pete and Gwen inside the entrance to the museum. Give him the Cliff's Notes, just enough so that he knows what's going on. Then let Pete know that Stacy's on his way, and tell him to wait there at the museum with Gwen until he picks them up. Tell Stacy to take the kids back to the penthouse and wait there until they hear from us."

"Very good, sir."

"And please let us know as soon as they arrive at the Tower, JARVIS," added Steve.

"I shall, Captain."

"All right," said Steve. "Then as soon as that's done, please call Bucky, Clint, and Nat and tell them what's going on. Tell them we'll let them know as soon as we figure out our next step."

"Very good, Captain."

"And, what do you suggest we should do as our next step, Captain?" asked Dr Strange.

Steve's eyebrows knitted together as he pondered a couple different options in his mind, finally turning to Tony.

"I think we need to head down to Wakanda," he said. "We need to warn King T'Challa and his people of what's coming."

"Wakanda?" Wong asked, obviously confused. "What's in Wakanda?"

"The next one of these stones," answered Tony. "Wakanda is the home of the Soul Stone, so if Thanos is coming here to Earth, it makes sense that that's where he'll head."

Steve watched as Wong and Dr Strange exchanged loaded glances. "What? Is there something else you need to tell us?"

"The Soul Stone is not the only infinity gem currently on Earth," Wong said after a short pause.

"What?" Tony shrieked. "Are you telling me there's another one here?"

"Yes, I am, Stark," said Dr Strange. He looked down at the rather odd, oval-shaped pendant that was hanging around his neck, pressing a button at the top. Then he crossed his arms in front of it, contorting his fingers as he drew them slowly apart to reveal a glowing green stone hidden inside the pendant.

"This is the Time Stone," he said. "And I am its protector."

For a moment, Steve was again too stunned to speak. Their team had been talking for months about removing the Tesseract from Earth because Thor had believed it too dangerous to have that many of the infinity gems on Earth, when all along there was another one located only a few miles away from their home.

"Are you saying you've had this here the whole time?" demanded Sam.

"Yes," said Dr Strange, far too calmly for Steve's taste. "As I told you, I am its protector."

"We have sworn an oath to protect the Time Stone with our lives," added Wong.

"Goddamnit, I don't give a damn about your oath! My son is in danger!" yelled Tony. "And the Avengers have made no such oath, so how dare you stand here and tell us that—!"

"Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot change, Stark, no matter the circumstances," said Dr Strange.

"Yeah, but you just said it yourself!" exclaimed Sam. "We're talking hitherto undreamt of destruction here!"

"And if Thanos does indeed make his way to Earth, then this stone may be the best chance that we have against him," said Dr Strange.

"Yeah, so conversely it may also be his best chance against us!" snapped Tony. "Because if I'm assuming correctly, you can use that thing to tinker with time, yeah?"

"I'm not sure I would use the term, 'tinker'," said Dr Strange. "But yes. I can manipulate time to my advantage when necessary."

"Okay, that may be," said Steve. "But if Thanos happened to get his hands on the Time Stone, couldn't he then do the same? Couldn't he rewind things to the Battle of New York, for example? Change things so that the missile hits the city instead of his fleet." Steve's heart swooped as soon as the words left his mouth, remembering his horror as he watched Tony fly through the portal carrying that missile on his back.

"Stephen and I would not allow that to happen, Captain," said Wong.

"Oh, sure you wouldn't, until he just kills the both of you and takes the stone anyway," retorted Tony. "Or didn't you wizard-types think of that?"

"I have become rather adept at using this stone, Stark," Dr Strange said, rather arrogantly. "I highly doubt that would happen."

"Well, pardon me if I don't feel like taking your word for it," muttered Tony. "Especially after you wouldn't even come down and take a peek at Pete when we asked."

"Mr Stark," Dr Strange said with a sigh. "As I'm sure you are already aware, I would not have been able to help your son anyway, so this is really a moot point. However, this impending crisis with the stones is not, and therefore absolutely must take precedence at the moment."

"Tony, now's not the time for petty disagreements," added Bruce. "We need to come up with a plan right now. And then a backup plan or three, 'cause I'm not sure one's gonna be enough."

"Which brings us back to Wakanda," said Steve. "If we all assemble down there, then we'll have the full fighting force of King T'Challa's warriors to back us up, and we'll be able to better defend both stones if they're in the same place."

"Okay, but what if we can't defend them?" asked Wong. "Bringing both stones together might just make it easier for Thanos to get his hands on them."

"Then we'll have to figure out a way to get the stones Thanos already does have away from him," said Tony. "And once we've got 'em, we can stick 'em down a garbage disposal or something."

"Yeah, 'cause I don't think we'd be able to convince T'Challa to destroy the Soul Stone anymore than these guys wanna destroy the Time Stone," said Sam. "Not that I blame him, of course."

"But Tony, I don't think destroying any one of the stones is gonna do any good," said Bruce. "Thanos doesn't even have them all yet, and he's still the most powerful being in the universe. The stones will just make it easier for him to do what he wants to do."

"Then we'll just have to make sure that he doesn't get them," Steve said in his Captain's voice. He glanced down at Tony, quirking an eyebrow. "Tony?"

Tony gave a stuttered nod. "We should get down to Wakanda as soon as possible," he said. "Soon as we make sure Pete's okay."

"I agree," Steve said as he gave Tony's hand a squeeze. "Let's go."

He had just turned back to face the others when a sharp breeze suddenly blew through the hole in the ceiling, accompanied by flying papers and leaves and a loud, groaning noise that reminded Steve way too much of the Valkyrie as it sank into the icy Arctic water. Tony's head immediately snapped up, his brown eyes wide with fear as the street outside the Sanctum suddenly filled with the screams and shouts of terrified people, and the honking and crashing of cars.

They were already too late.

Earth was being invaded.

"So, my mom was asking if I thought I needed to buy a new shirt to wear to The Lion King?" Ned asked. "What do you guys think?"

Peter frowned, trying really hard to not roll his eyes as he felt Gwen squeeze his hand. It was at least the third time in as many minutes that Ned had turned around to ask them some silly question, making it impossible for Peter and Gwen to hold any kind of meaningful conversation.

Or simply stare at each other and sheepishly grin, which was what they had been doing before Ned's latest silly question."

"Um, I don't know, Ned," Peter finally said. "Do you need a new shirt?"

"Well, it's a Broadway musical, isn't it?" said Ned. "Aren't you supposed to dress up for those?"

"I'm just gonna wear something that I'd wear to one of our Decathlon competitions," said Gwen. "We're only going to a matinee, so there'll be people there in jeans and stuff."

"Oh," said Ned. "Well, I'll probably still get a new shirt."

"Sounds good, Ned," Gwen said. "I can't wait to see it."

"Aww, thanks, Gwen!" Ned said with a wide smile. "I'm so glad you guys are looking as forward to this as I am."

"Ah, yep," said Peter. "Can't wait." Now, please turn around.

But Ned had barely made a turning-like move before he whipped back around, resting his chin on the back of his seat.

"So, did you hear about the guy in Japan who took DNA from luminous jellyfish and inserted it into other animals?"

Peter blinked, his eyebrows knitting together. "Um… no? Ned, what're you even talking about?"

"Well, I was just thinking, I know you're scared of the dark—"

"Hey—!" Peter exclaimed.

But Ned continued on as if he hadn't heard him. "—so I was just thinking, you have Finley in your room with you, right? So, if you could figure out how this guy managed to do it, you could turn him into a fish night light."

"A fish… night light?" Gwen said, confused. "Um… Ned, I'm not sure that—"

"I'm not gonna be injecting Finley with anything, Ned, okay?" Peter said. "And especially not some other animal's DNA. I'm not gonna create some mutant, glowing fish in my bedroom."

My bedroom's already got one mutant. It doesn't need two.

Ned shrugged. "Okay, whatever. I just thought it seemed kinda interesting."

Peter sighed in relief as Ned finally turned to face the front of the bus, sticking in his AirPods. He did feel bad that Ned didn't have a special someone like he did, but at the same time, his third-wheeling was getting really annoying.

Peter was going to be available pretty much the entire summer while Gwen was gone, so all he was asking was to spend as much time with her as possible before she left.

That wasn't too much to ask, was it?

Leaning closer to Gwen, Peter reached for his phone in his back pocket. "How 'bout I take a picture of us, hmm?"

"On the bus?" Gwen asked, giggling. "Oh, Peter, that's so romantic."

"Well, yeah, I know it's not perfect or anything," Peter said, rather sheepishly. "But we probably won't be allowed to take pictures once we get there, so—"

"No, it's okay," Gwen said as she snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm ready."

"Say chess," Peter said as he snapped the picture, smiling widely as he lowered the phone. "Aww, it's actually not a bad picture."

"Of course it isn't, you're a good photographer," said Gwen. She reached for her backpack, pulling out her own phone. "Can you take one with mine now?"

"Oh, sure," Peter said. But before he could take it, his own buzzed in his hand with an incoming text.

Master Peter, at the direction of Captain Rogers and Mr Stark, you and Ms Stacy are required to maintain presence at the entrance to the museum to wait for Chief Stacy. He will then transport you both back to the Tower to await further instructions.

"Who's that?" Gwen asked. "JARVIS?"

"Um… yeah, it's—it's JARVIS, but—" Peter cut off as he suddenly felt that odd sensation of ice cubes behind dumped down his shirt, causing him to shiver. He quickly turned to face the window, gasping as another freezing-cold bolt raced down his spine.

"Oh my God!" he rasped as he saw what appeared to be a massive circular-shaped spaceship hovering in the air over some buildings, about twenty or so blocks away.

It was the invasion. It had to be.

The Chitauri had finally returned.

And since the Tower's defence drones hadn't yet taken it out, hadn't even fired on it, from what Peter could tell, then they had obviously come prepared for the Avengers' defences.

"Oh my God!" Gwen said, thankfully not too loudly. "Peter, do you see that?"

"Yeah, I see it," said Peter. Oh God, oh God, oh God.

We're not ready. We're not ready for this.

Taking a quick glance around the bus, Peter noted that all of the other students seemed to be engrossed in whatever they were doing and hadn't yet noticed the spaceship. Since he'd worn one of his Spider-Man suits under his clothes in anticipation of the museum being freezing—what was it about museums and their overactive air conditioners anyway?—all he would need to do is create some kind of distraction inside the bus and he should be able to slip away unnoticed.

"Peter, what're you doing?" Gwen hissed as he pulled up the sleeves of his hoodie, activating his web shooters. "We're supposed to be meeting my dad at the museum!"

"Yeah, I know, but—" He huffed out a sharp breath, taking hold of Gwen's hands. "Look, this—this is gonna be huge, Gwen, okay? Bigger than the Battle of New York, so… my dads, they're gonna need my help. I need to go help them."

But Gwen only shook her head, gripping his hands. "Peter, I'm sure your dads already know exactly what to do, so—"

"No, they don't," Peter said grimly. And he wasn't just making that up. As far as he knew, none of Papa's plans included having to defend New York City from an intra-atmospheric spaceship.

Because, who would've thought?

"Peter, please!" Gwen begged, her beautiful green eyes filling with tears. "Please, don't do this!"

Peter's heart clenched as he reached for Gwen's face, brushing a tear from her cheek. "I'm sorry, Gwen, but I have to go. Once you find your dad, you guys head straight to the Tower, okay? Tell your mom to bring your brothers there too. You'll be much safer there."

Gwen sniffed, covering Peter's hand as she nodded. "Okay. But what about you?"

"I'm gonna be okay," Peter said firmly. "You don't need to worry about me."

"You say it like it's just that easy!" Gwen said on a gasp. "But, Peter, it's just not!"

"No, I know it's not," he whispered. He leaned forward, pressing a firm kiss to her lips. "Gwen, I—I love you. I always have, I was just too afraid to say it out loud. But right now I need to go and help my dads, okay?"

Her lower lip shaking, Gwen finally nodded, pecking Peter's lips again. "I love you too," she whispered. "Please, be careful!"

"I will," Peter said, attempting a smile. Then he reached for the open bus window, trying to calculate if it was wide enough for him to slip through when Ned's head suddenly whipped around, his eyes going so wide that they nearly popped out of his head.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed as he leapt to his feet, faster than Peter had ever seen him move before. "There's a spaceship! We're all gonna die!"

Chaos erupted on the bus, with all of the students scrambling from their seats to crowd in the back, clamoring to get a better look at the spaceship. Peter quickly seized the opportunity, launching a web at the emergency exit window across the aisle. With a final glance back at Gwen, he slipped out to cling to the side of the bus as he dug around behind his neck for his mask, pulling it up and over his head.

"Oh, Dad and Papa are gonna be so mad at me," he muttered as he pushed off from the bus, shooting his web towards the top of a passing bridge, his feet brushing through the water as he swung towards the spinning ship.

"Master Peter," JARVIS suddenly said as he swung towards the next building. "May I inquire as to what you are doing?"

"Dad and Papa are gonna need my help, JARVIS," Peter answered, grunting as he shot out another web. The cool thwipping noise that his webs made as they shot out was such a satisfying sound. "I'm pretty sure this is an all-hands-on-deck type of situation."

"That may be, but I highly doubt that Mr Stark and Captain Rogers would include you in such a category," said JARVIS. "In fact—"

"Override Hufflepuff sixteen," Peter said firmly, hmphing as he heard the telltale blip that indicated his override had taken hold. "Now, please, when Mrs Stacy arrives at the Tower with Gwen's brothers, please allow them access to the penthouse, okay? Tell the boys that they can play with my Legos while they're waiting."

"Very good, Master Peter," replied JARVIS. "And please, be careful."

"I will."

As he swung closer to the ship, which was hovering over a street littered with destroyed cars and small fires, the HUD in Peter's mask started to focus in on what appeared to be two aliens facing off against both of Peter's dads and three other men, two of which were holding something that looked like glowing golden shields in their hands.

"Uncle Bruce?" Peter said. "JARVIS, is that Uncle Bruce down there?"

"It is indeed, Master Peter," said JARVIS.

"But what's he doing here?" Peter asked as he swung even closer, squinting as he focused in on the street. "And where's Uncle Thor?"

"I am currently unaware of Thor's whereabouts," replied JARVIS.

"Okay, but, why isn't Uncle Bruce hulking out? And who're those guys with the glowy circle things on their hands?"

"Facial recognition confirms one of the men to be Dr Stephen Strange, former head of neurosurgery at New York Hospital."

"Um… but isn't he that one doctor that drove his car off a mountain?" Peter asked. He was only about a block away now, and still trying to wiggle out of his jeans after sending his hoodie and t-shirt flying a couple blocks back. "Oh my God, JARVIS, that one alien carrying the pickaxe thingy is humongous!"

"He is indeed, Master Peter," JARVIS said. "Please be advised, Captain Rogers has asked me to remind you that you are supposed to be returning to the Tower. Mr Wilson and Sergeant Barnes are currently in the process of coordinating with the rest of the team."

"Yeah, of course he did," grumbled Peter. "Can you patch me into the Avengers' comms, please?"

Peter heard another blip inside his mask just as Dad got suddenly launched across the destroyed street, bouncing inside a roundabout over a block away. Peter cried out as he slammed to a stop against a clump of trees, only for the massive alien to launch his hammer and grab onto him, hurling him back across the circle right at Uncle Bruce.

"Peter!" Papa cried as he grabbed hold of Dad's leg at the last second, preventing him from crashing into Uncle Bruce. "Peter, what're you doing here? You need to get back to the Tower!"

"No, Papa, I'm not gonna!" Peter stated, cringing as Dad flew back up, hitting the alien repeatedly with his repulsor blasts as Papa jumped forward, trying to take out the alien's hammer with his nanite shield. Peter knew that Papa had to be already off-kilter since his regular shield was probably in its usual spot back at the Tower. He could create a shield with the nanites in his suit, but he couldn't use it to attack since he couldn't throw it at anything.

"You guys need my help," he added, just as the alien smacked Papa square in the chin, sending him flying into the side of a building. Then he picked up Dad in his hand, tossing him off to the side as he wound up, preparing to throw his hammer.

"Dad!" Peter yelled as he dove down, landing in front of his father just in time to catch the alien's hammer before it would've pummelled him into the grass. His heart thudding, Peter poked his head around the hammerhead, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the alien. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size, ya big bully?"

"Goddamnit, Pete, what the hell are you doing here?" Dad shrieked as the alien growled, his clawed hand curling around Peter's body and sending him flying across the street into a fountain. "You're supposed to be back at the Tower!"

"Pretty sure we've got bigger things to worry about at the moment!" Peter said as he swung back across the street. "What's this guy's problem?"

"Ah, he's from space," Dad sputtered. "He came here to steal a necklace from a wizard."

"A wizard?" Peter exclaimed. "Did you and Papa actually meet a wizard today? Like, a real-life wizard?"

"Peter, I really don't think that's—" Papa started, just as the alien's hammer closed around Peter's body. Grimacing, Peter wiggled his arms down to his sides and pushed outwards, breaking the hammer's hold just in time to web onto half of a taxicab and send it hurtling down on top of the alien.

"Papa, are you okay?" Peter called as he landed on the debris-filled street. But he'd barely taken three steps towards his papa when the man JARVIS had identified as Dr Strange—who was for some reason wearing what looked like one of Uncle Thor's capes—went flying by, strapped to a large hunk of asphalt.

"And there goes the wizard," Dad said, like it was something he saw on a regular basis. "Steve?"

"We can't let them get that stone onto the ship, Tony!" Papa cried. "We have to keep it here!"

"I'll get him, Papa!" yelled Peter, taking off towards the second alien, who was flying through the air completely vertical. "That is such a not cool way to fly," he muttered under his breath, veering to dodge a billboard that came careening towards him. "The aerodynamics have to be horrible!"

"Oh God, Pete, be careful!" Dad yelled as the wizard passed underneath the spinning, circular ship. Peter quickly shot another web, managed to latch it onto his back just as a wide, bright blue beam shot down from the ship, pulling the unconscious wizard up towards it.

"Um… Dad?" Peter said, grabbing onto a crooked lamppost as he strained to hold onto the web. A second later the lamppost tore away from the ground, carrying Peter up towards the blue light. "Dad, I'm being beamed up!"

"Peter!" yelled Papa. "Oh God, Tony, you've gotta—!"

"It's okay, honey, I'll get him!" Dad said as the beam deposited Peter onto the side of the ship. "Pete, just hold on!"

"Uh, I don't think I have a choice," Peter said as the ship took off towards the sky, with the alien and the wizard both disappearing inside. "Oh, crap, this can't be good."

"Peter!" Papa shrieked, more panicked than Peter had ever heard him. There was nothing that Papa hated more than feeling helpless during a battle. "Hold on, little guy! Dad's coming!"

"Uh huh!" Peter said as he continued his climb up the side of the spinning ship, desperately searching for another door to get inside. His head was already starting to swim, his lungs contracting as they struggled to breathe in the rapidly thinning air. Hypoxia was only seconds away, and if he fell…

"Pete, you gotta let go!" Dad's terrified voice cried into his ear. "Buddy, I promise I'm gonna catch you!"

Does Dad's nanite suit really have a rocket booster? Peter thought. That's so awesome!

"Peter, please, little guy, just hold on, okay?" Papa yelled again. "Dad's gonna get you!"

"But—but, you guys told me to get the wizard!" Peter wheezed, blinking as the ship flew through a huge, puffy cloud. His lungs felt like two massive blocks of ice in his chest, his throat so tight he could barely speak. "Daddy, I can't—I can't breathe!"

"JARVIS, launch Pete's nanite suit from the Compound!" he heard Dad say, sounding like he was under water.

How thick are these clouds?

"Dad, I really don't think that now's the time to be going swimming…" Peter muttered. His frozen fingers were still clutching the ship, his arm shaking as he tried to rip the mask from his face. "I can't—I can't—I need to breathe!"

"You're too high up, buddy!" Dad said. "You're running out of air!"

"Oh," Peter whispered. "Yeah, that makes sense." I'm too… high… up… so… there's...not… enough… air…

But, where'm I gonna find air all the way up here?

"Peter!" Papa screamed as Peter felt his eyes roll back into his head, his frozen hands slipping from their hold on the ship as all the remaining air in his lungs dissipated in one fell swoop, and everything went dark.

"Ow!" Peter yelped as he came to, bouncing hard onto the edge of the ship as the sensation of being immersed in warm water flooded his body. He looked down at his chest, blinking as he recognised the cool Spider-Man emblem from his nanite suit.

"Goddamnit, buddy, you're not supposed to be here!" Dad exclaimed as he flew up next to Peter. "You just scared the hell outta both of us!"

Peter scowled. "I was just trying to help," he said, far too petulantly. "Seemed like you guys needed it."

"Yeah, we can talk more about that later," Dad cut in. "JARVIS, get him the hell home!"

"With pleasure, sir," answered JARVIS. And before Peter realised what was happening, a parachute suddenly deployed from his back, yanking him clear from the ship.

"Oh, come on!" he cried. Throwing out his arm, Peter blindly shot out his web, barely managing to catch the very edge of the spaceship. Grunting, he pulled himself back up to the ship, managing to find what appeared to be a panel that led into an inner level. Dad was nowhere to be seen, and neither were the wizard or alien.

"JARVIS?" he asked. "Did Dad already go inside the ship?"

"He did indeed, Master Peter. However, I must protest at this course of action. Captain Rogers and Mr Stark's instructions were clear that you were to—"

"Oh no!" Peter yelped as the panel began to close behind him. "Um, I don't think I have a choice anymore."

And he didn't. Because no sooner had he climbed inside, the ship hit the edge of Earth's atmosphere. He had reached the point of no return.

Like it or not, Peter was going to space.

Maybe I should've stayed on the bus.

"Tony!" Steve screamed, his throat raw from all the dust and debris and yelling after his husband and son. His heart was thudding so hard it felt like it was going to shatter as he scanned the sky, clutching his chest.

If he hadn't had his suit with him… if Tony hadn't had his suit with him…

"No!" he said sharply. He couldn't do that. Not now, not while—

"Tony, are you there?" he pleaded as his nanite cowl disappeared, pressing his fingers over his ear. "Tony, please come in!"

"I'm here, honey!" Tony finally said. "But… I'm afraid you're not gonna like where I'm headed."

Steve gasped as his belly gave a violent swoop. "Are you—oh God, Tony, are you on the ship?"

"Ah, yep," answered Tony, his voice shaking ever-so-slightly. "And unless I manage to find the steering wheel in the next six seconds or so, I'm thinking I'm gonna be here awhile."

A choked noise escaped Steve's throat, and he looked over at Bruce, who simply shrugged.

"And—and Peter?" Steve asked as tears welled in his eyes. "Were you able to—"

"Pete should be on his way back to the Tower, honey," Tony said. "But I—I think—"

"Tony?" Steve cried as the transmission began to skip. "Sweetheart, please, be careful! I love—!"

But his final word was lost in a burst of static, one so loud that Steve flinched. He squeezed his eyes closed, breathing in deeply through his nose. He couldn't afford to lose control now.

Tony was brilliant, one of the smartest people in the world. If anyone could figure out how to fly an alien spaceship, it was him. Especially since he'd already figured out how to fix one.

And the battle wasn't over yet. It had only been paused.

Raising his head, he pressed his fingers to his ear again. "Peter? Little guy, are you there?"

When no response came, he tried again. "Peter? Little guy, if you can hear me, please respond!"

There was nothing but silence.

"JARVIS!" Steve said, his heart in his throat. "JARVIS, where's Peter?"

"I'm afraid I am no longer registering Master Peter's location, Captain," JARVIS said softly.

"What? You—you mean, he's not at the Tower?"

"No, Captain," answered JARVIS. "Master Peter's parachute deployed, but it was then released only two point four-five seconds later. It is my understanding that he went aboard the ship as it exited Earth's atmosphere."

"Oh my God," Steve whispered, dropping his head. "No, no, no, this can't be happening. This can't be happening!"

Both his husband and son gone in one fell swoop… and he was just standing there helpless. Again.

Just like he'd been in Miami.

But Peter's with Tony, he tried to tell himself. He'll be safe if he's with Tony.

Oh God, please, keep them safe! Bring them back to me!

"Steve," Bruce suddenly said, startling him. "Steve, I'm really sorry, I know you're upset right now, but we've gotta get moving. This isn't over, and we—"

"What happened out there?" Steve yelped as he grabbed onto Bruce's shoulders, gritting his teeth. "This was a Code Green if I ever saw one, so where was Hulk? We needed him, Bruce! So where was he?"

"I don't know, Steve," Bruce said, his voice shaking. "I tried, but… he just… wouldn't come out."

Steve scoffed, releasing Bruce so harshly that he stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over a piece of a fender that had broken off a car. He bent over, his palms on his knees as he tried to force his muddled brain to work.

None of his provisional battle plans had ever included the possibility of Tony—or Peter—going off into space. Not a single one.

And now, he literally had no idea what to do.

"Cap," Sam said as he came over the comms. "Cap, do you read?"

"Yeah," Steve croaked. "Go—go ahead, Sam."

"Colonel Rhodes is on standby in D.C., and Nat, Clint, and the twins just arrived at the Tower, along with Gwen Stacy and her family. What should I tell them?"

"Um… um…" he stuttered, giving his head a quick shake. Even with Tony gone, he was still Captain America, still the leader of the Avengers.

Which meant that he had to get a hold of himself, and lead.

"Put the Stacys up in one of the spare apartments," he finally said. "Have JARVIS order in some food and other amenities for them, they might be there awhile."

"All right," said Sam. "And the rest of us?"

Steve swallowed hard as he glanced over at Bruce, who gave him a nod.

"Suit up," he said. "We're heading to Wakanda."