Five Minutes later the two of them stepped through a portal directly into the penthouse on top of Stark Tower. The big room was empty except for the bar. All technical equipment and furniture had been removed.
"What happened here? Why is it so empty here? Where did everything go?" Peter asked worried while looking around.
Stephen didn't answer.
"Technically, we sold the tower. The new owners will move in next month," explained a voice at the back of the room.
"Pepper!" Peter called happily, ran towards her to hug her. "Why would Tony sell Stark Tower?"
"He sold the Avengers Tower because he had no use for it since he built the new Avengers facilities upstate." Pepper Potts entangled herself awkwardly from the lanky teen and looked at Spider-Man. "Do we know each other? I mean Tony talks a lot about you, but we never met before, haven't we?"
"You planned his birthday party… last August. You told me how you're planning the one for this year already, even if it's three months away," Stephen asserted skeptical while he walked toward them.
Furiously, Pepper stared at him. "You?"
"Congratulations on the wedding, by the way," Stephen said, and it sounded far more sarcastic than he intended to.
At that, she slapped him in the face. "Do you think this is funny? This whole mess is your fault! What did you do to Tony?"
"Hey! Why did you do that?" Peter asked shocked.
Stephen rubbed his hurting cheek. "It's okay Peter." He turned to Pepper. "I assure you I didn't do anything to Tony."
"He had been perfectly happy before you turned up!"
"Listen, Miss Potts. Something here is very wrong! I'm trying to figure out what it is, but I need to talk to Tony!"
"No! You will stay away from him!"
"Who will stay away from whom?" Tony Stark asked suddenly behind them. Their argument had distracted them so much that they hadn't noticed him entering the room.
Stephen was shocked at the sight of the Avenger. Tony looked like a man whose worst nightmare had come true. He was covered in cuts and bruises, had dark shadows under red-rimmed eyes, his usually meticulously trimmed beard was unkempt, and his clothes were torn and dirty. Overall he looked more tired than Stephen had ever seen him, which was a notable achievement because he had seen the man work for four days straight without sleep.
"Tony!"
Finally, Tony looked at Stephen. For a brief moment there was a flicker of confusion on his face, but then his expression turned grim. With a scream, he jumped at Stephen.
"Why did you do that? Because of you, he's dead! They're all dead because of you!"
He hit the sorcerer with his bare fist hard enough to draw blood. Stephen didn't react. He didn't do anything to protect himself because he was shocked. What should he do? He could never harm Tony Stark, even if said Tony Stark attacked him without restraint.
And then the onslaught suddenly stopped.
"Leave him alone!" Peter yelled. He had caught Tony's fist with a string of his webbing.
At that moment, Tony noticed Peter's presence for the first time. Something at the appearance of the teenager shocked him so much that he activated his armor, but the fight against Thanos had damaged it so much that he had only the chest plate and one gauntlet left.
"What are you? " Tony looked like he had seen a ghost. "Some kind of alien shapeshifter?" He burned Peter's web from his hand and turned to him.
"Tony?" Peter said confused. "It's me! Peter."
"You are not Peter Parker! You can't be because Peter Parker died in my arms!" He activated his repulsor and aimed at Peter.
Before he could shoot, the engineer was swept off his feet by a wave of pure energy. Stephen stood there buzzing with ancient power, sparks in his eyes. "Enough with this charade! I don't care if you are Tony Stark or Agamotto himself, if you lay a finger on my son I will end you!"
"Your son?" Tony asked and sounded like a man on the threshold of insanity.
"Yes! My son."
"He's not your son! You met him yesterday for the first time!"
Peter and Stephen exchanged questioning looks.
"What do you mean? Stephen adopted me too when you two…" Peter started, but the doctor put his hand on his shoulder and silenced him with a shake of the head.
Cautiously Stephen approached the man on the ground, but Tony scrambled back, away from the sorcerer. When he hit the wall, he sat there and looked up at him. He reminded Stephen of some wounded and cornered animal. It hurt him to see so much fear directed at him in those big brown eyes.
"I am sorry. I shouldn't have attacked you. That was an overreaction. I didn't mean to hurt you," the doctor said and wiped the blood from his own lower lip.
"Leave him alone! Haven't you done enough?" Pepper shouted and held him back when he tried to draw nearer to Tony.
Stephen looked at her. He seemed to consider the whole situation, then he took off his sling ring and handed it to Peter.
"Pete, please can you get us some drinks?"
"What?" the teen asked confused.
"Tea would be nice," Stephen answered and sat on the floor. He leaned with his back to the wall, cautious to keep his distance to Tony.
"Tea?"
Everyone looked at him as if he'd gone mad.
"Yes, Tea. With a little honey, please. You know how we like to drink it."
"Are you okay, Stephen?" Peter asked cautiously.
"I'm just trying to lighten the mood… so… tea," Stephen retorted cheerfully.
"Okay. Tea… I'll be right back." Still confused, he turned away, opened a portal to the sanctum and disappeared.
"Why does he know how to do that?" Tony asked, his voice still shaky.
"He is my son. I taught him how to do it," Stephen explained in a soothing tone of voice.
"Is 'tea' code for something?"
"Oh yes. It's code for a hot beverage that you prepare with boiling water and dried leaves."
"That's not what I meant."
"I know what you meant, Tony. But I think a good cup of tea will help to calm the nerves here a bit." With a crooked smile, he looked up to Pepper. "Why don't you sit down, too? We need to talk, and that might take a while."
She gave him an angry look but sat down beside Tony. Possessively, she took a hand of her fiancé.
After a couple of minutes filled with awkward silence, Peter finally returned. He carried a tray with a teapot and some cups. He gave everyone a cup and poured the tea.
"Thank you, Peter. Come and sit down."
Pepper and Tony eyed their cups suspiciously.
"It's honestly just tea," Peter explained to them and took a gulp. "Arrgh! So hot!"
Stephen smiled fondly and shook his head. He too sipped from his cup, but more cautiously.
"Tony, I want you to tell me what happened yesterday. From the moment on when Bruce crashed into the sanctum to what happened on Titan."
"Why do you want me to tell you? You were there!"
The sorcerer inclined his head. "Yes maybe. But I want to hear it from you – as if I hadn't been there."
"Why?"
"Trust me."
Tony scoffed, " Trust you?"
"Yes. I know. I'm asking a lot, but I promise you, I will explain it."
And so Tony told them everything that happened the day before. He summarised how he was out with Pepper, how Strange interrupted a meaningful conversation and how he followed the sorcerer to the sanctum, where they explained to him everything they knew about Thanos and the infinity stones. He reported them about the arrival of the Children of Thanos and the subsequent fight, how they ended up on the spaceship with a set course to Titan.
Finally, he told them about the Guardians of the Galaxy and the fight against Thanos – and how they lost it.
Obviously, Peter wanted to say something, but Stephen held him back.
"Let him finish." He turned to Tony. "Please go on."
"There is not much more to say. Everyone suddenly started to dissolve. One by one. First the Guardians, then you and at last… Peter. After that Nebula and I took the Benatar and came here." A slight tremble in the voice of the billionaire was the only indicator of how agitated he was.
"Thank you, Tony. I know this wasn't easy for you. Please let me ask you another question: When did we meet for the first time?"
"…Yesterday morning, in the Park."
"We never met before? Not even on some stupid high society gala or something?"
"No. Not that I'm aware. Why?"
Strange didn't answer. He reached under his tunic and pulled out a ring on a plain silver chain. For a moment he ran a finger over the narrow red stripe on the polished golden metal. Then he handed it to Tony.
"What do you think this is?" the sorcerer asked.
"Looks like a wedding ring…"
"And you know what it is made of, don't you?"
Tony inspected the trinket closer. When he saw the engraving, he shot Stephen a shocked look.
"Is this…?"
The sorcerer nodded. "It is a piece of the ring finger from the remains of your Mark 46 armor… Well, technically not your Mark 46."
"What does that mean? Whose Mark 46? Who made it?"
"My husband, Tony Stark," answered Stephen calmly.
"I am Tony Stark! I am not married! And you would be the last person I would marry."
"Yes, thank you. I got that!" Stephen rolled the eyes. "But I'm sure you're familiar with the concept of the multiverse and parallel universes?"
The billionaire looked dumbfounded at the sorcerer.
"You saw me die yesterday. And I saw you die. But here we are – Alive and relatively well. So, my only conclusion is that Peter and I crossed from our universe into this one. That explanation fits – We won against Thanos. It was a victory that came with a high price, but a victory, nonetheless. The gauntlet and four of the stones are destroyed, and yet half the population of the universe has turned into dust. How is this possible?" He looked around and answered his own question. "It isn't. The only assumption that seems logical to me is: We ended up in a universe where Thanos won."
"But wait… How did we get here?" Peter asked confused.
"I think your father was a much more powerful sorcerer than each one of us expected. He accidentally opened a portal to another universe, when he just wanted to send us home," Stephen explained.
"You mean your Tony Stark is a sorcerer like you?" Pepper asked.
"No, he just knows a couple of tricks I taught him but..."
Suddenly Peter screamed, "There's a ghost!"
Behind them floated a golden glowing phantom that looked like Stephen Strange.
"Peter, you should know by now what an astral projection looks like!" the sorcerer berated his son.
"But how can this be an astral projection of you when you stand beside me and are conscious?"
"That is a good point, actually," the 'ghost' said.
Tony addressed the floating figure, "Who are you?"
"I am Doctor Stephen Strange. From this universe. Please, I don't have much time, my energy runs out fast. I have no idea how long I can hold the connection."
"Where are you?" Stephen demanded to know.
"I don't know where exactly 'here' is. Some of us think this is a pocket dimension where everyone killed by the Soul Stone is bought. We are all here. Half the population of the universe."
"Peter?" Tony whispered.
"He is here with me. I promise you I'll take care of him," Ghost Stephen assured the Avenger. "I have to go… I'm so sorry Tony for all the responsibility I'm putting on your shoulders. But I know Stephen will help you… please… you need all six stones to reverse…"
With that, he was gone.
"Was that real?" Peter looked around. "What now? He could have been more precise about his plan."
"You believe some random apparition?" Pepper asked.
"Yes," Stephen and Tony murmured unisonous.
"Really? That is all it takes to convince you? A light-show and half-assed promises that maybe you could bring them back possibly?"
"Pep, we can bring them back!" Tony said thrilled.
"And no one is going to question that? I mean, you trust some strange wizard, who tells you he's married to you…"
"Not to him!" Stephen interjected.
"…and what seems to be a clone of Spider-Man…" She didn't let them interrupt her.
"Hey! I am Spider-Man!" Peter complained.
"…and then a ghost tells you that you can bring back all the dead! Even you must see that this sounds just a bit too crazy!"
Tony looked from Pepper to Stephen and back. His expression was pained, but when his gaze found the puppy eyes of Peter, he made up his mind.
"I'll take my chances with the weird guys." He folded his hands in front of his chest. "Sorry, Pep. If there's anything I can do to make this right, I have to try at least!"
"Fine. Suit yourself. I'll go home!" She got up and walked towards the exit.
Tony followed her and tried to persuade her to stay, but she left him standing.
"Don't take it to heart. You know her. She'll come around," Peter said and put his hand on Tony's shoulder.
But Tony just stood there and stared into the empty room after her. "Thanks, Kid."
"Maybe she isn't wrong. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data," Stephen mused. "Before we make a plan, I have to do some research. Peter, come, we go to Kamar-Taj. We need to look up something in the library." He turned to Tony. "Stark, can you contact the Avengers?"
"I can try."
"Get them together! We meet you tomorrow morning, ten A.M. sharp, conference room of the Avengers compound."
Before Tony could answer, Stephen had opened a portal, and they were gone.
Notes:
Fun fact: The Mark 46 armor is the one Tony wore in Captain America: Civil War.
-–-
...and bonus points if you can spot the Sherlock Holmes reference ^_^