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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
vi. LOYALTY COMES IN ALL FORMS

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  RILEY COULD NOT MOVE. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She could if she wanted to, if she tried. All she had to do was... get up, really. It was a simple task. But something in her couldn't. She was frozen, glued to where she sat on the floor of the spaceship she infiltrated through means she didn't understand.

  She was alone, and she was in space. She had no backup, no way of communicating with her colleagues. She had no food, no water, no way of taking care of herself if she became stranded here for a while. She couldn't wrap her head around it. She was alone in freaking outer space.

   Her eyes scanned every detail about the ship. A low humming came from the machine, almost indicating that the engine was running smoothly without any interferences. It fascinated, yet terrified the teenager to think that this was actually happening. Fighting aliens on her planet was a little bit easier than fighting aliens in space. But this was their turf. Even Riley had no idea if she'd even make it home safely... never mind alive.

   It didn't matter if she was safe. She did what she did for the sake of billions of people living on Earth. She dedicated her life to fighting every and all forces of evil. If that meant she had to give her life, then so be it. This was what she trained for. This was her job. Nothing more, nothing less.

  Finally rising to her feet, Riley decided that her only objective was to locate and save Doctor Strange. There was a possibility that she wasn't alone, so there wasn't any room to slack off. Focus. If she couldn't save Strange and the Time Stone, all of this would be for nothing. No matter how terrified she was, she had to do this — unfortunately alone.

   "Holy shit."

  Balls of ultraviolet energy surged around Riley's fists. She spun around, no hesitation, throwing the energy at the source of the voice. Light streaked the ship, colliding with a person (not an alien, a person). His body smacked against the wall with a groan.

  Her eyes widened as she recognized the red-and-blue suit the person wore. This was Spider-Man's suit. Granted, it was a bit different, a little more robotic, much like Valor's new suit.

  "...Ow," Peter Parker groaned.

  "Oh my God," Riley gasped. She ran forward, the glow around her fists fading. She kneeled beside him, his helmet sliding off of his face. "Peter? Peter Benjamin Parker, what the hell!"

   "You really... You really didn't hesitate, huh," grumbled Peter. "Remind me to never get on your bad side." Rolling her eyes, Riley just grabbed Peter and hugged him tightly. "First you try to kill me, and now you're hugging me."

   Pulling away, Riley flicked his forehead. "You can't just creep up on me like that, you idiot! Not only are we in outer space, but we're in the enemy's lair!" Riley whisper-yelled, fearful that Ebony Maw and his henchmen were near. "How did you even get here!?"

   "Well," began Peter, sitting up, "I saw you start to fall to your death and then Tony called in our suits to come save us, but then I saw you materialize through the ship and I wanted to help. But then Tony said to go home, but I couldn't just leave you guys to save the magician by yourselves! I mean, you don't need my help, but it's the polite thing to do. So I snuck on here and I saw you and... here we are!"

   Taking this in, Riley just sighed. Peter quietly added, "I'm glad you're safe."

  She smiled, relieved she wasn't alone. That was one thing she could check off her list of current problems.

  "Me too," she said. "Alright, I don't know how much experience you have with stealth and infiltration, but—"

  "Do you know what you're doing?" Peter interrupted. "I mean, no offense, but we're kind of in outer space right now."

  "No, not really. Why? Do you?"

  "Not at all."

  "Okay, great," Riley muttered. She pressed her hand to her face, gathering her thoughts. "Focus, Riley. You've fought aliens, you've infiltrated HYDRA bases. You can do this."

  Peter watched her in a mixture of awe and worry. He trusted Valor, of course, but he had no idea how this was going to play out at all. He wasn't even sure what would happen to him. Would he die?

  No, he didn't need to think like that right now. Riley wouldn't let him die, and vice-versa. Right now, they needed to focus on the mission. Think about the present, worry about the future tomorrow.

  "You need to listen to me very carefully because I'm not holding your hand through this. I can't," Riley said. "I need to know you can handle yourself. Can you assure me of that?"

  "Absolutely," Peter nodded. "You can count on me. Promise. What's our first move, boss?"

  She nodded, finding her courage again. "We need to find Doctor Strange and make sure the Time Stone's protected—"

  "The what?"

  "There's a sparkly green rock in his necklace," Riley quickly explained. "There's six of 'em. I don't know where the others are, but right now, the Time Stone's the only one we can ensure is safe. We can't let anyone get ahold of it or the universe could, like, implode."

  He grimaced. "Right. Got it. Keep our eyes peeled for the fancy rock and find the magician."

  "Exactly," she affirmed. "I don't know what we're gonna face while we're here and I have no idea how long we'll be stuck here, so save your energy and stay sharp. Follow my step very carefully. Consider this your first Avengers mission. Do you understand?"

  Peter nodded eagerly. He couldn't lie, he was feeling a little nervous. He'd never seen her so serious. It made him wonder if this was who she really was when she was on the clock. Was this how she acted back in the day, too? Because if that was the case, Valor might be a little more intimidating than he realized.

  Valor and Spider-Man moved through the spaceship practically blind. Every corner they turned, she was prepared to throw herself into a fight. Every muscle in her body was tense, jaw set with so much focus that her head was beginning to ache. They had no idea what they were doing or where they were going. The only thing they were actually confident about was the fact that they had a higher chance of saving the day now that they were together again.

  "So, do you know what we're up against?" Peter lowly asked.

  Riley flinched, like she was reaching into the back of her brain and pulling forth old memories. "Not exactly, but... if this is the work of the same guy that was responsible for the 2012 invasion..."

  "Wait, we're dealing with the same dude who did that?" Peter frowned.

  "Looks like it. I didn't realize this would happen so soon. Thought maybe we had a few more years," she mumbled. "Uh, an old friend of mine... sort of predicted that all of this would happen, that aliens would come back to take Earth and the rest of the universe. His name was R—"

  A loud Creeeak! interrupted her, the two teen heroes immediately getting into a fighting stance. One... Two... Three... They waited for an entire minute, the seconds ticking by slowly. Nothing came. It was just the ship making unnerving noises.

  Riley sighed, shaking her head. "Anyway, all I know is some hotshot alien wants to control the universe, and his groupies will do anything to see that he succeeds. He needs the Infinity Stones to do it. The Time Stone's one of 'em," she reported. "His name's Thanos."

   "Thanos..." repeated Peter, mostly to himself. He tried to picture what this Thanos character could look like, but all he could envision was a cheesy alien from an old movie.

   "Wait," she whispered. She held her hand back, stopping Peter from walking any further. "Look."

   Down below, the ship opened up into a larger room. At the center was Doctor Strange, floating horizontally, face down. Dozens of glassy needles surrounded his body, each about two feet long. Ebony Maw was confronting him. It looked like he was trying to get Strange to seize the Time Stone, but he wasn't giving it up. That was the good thing about all geniuses. They were as stubborn as they were arrogant.

   Riley jumped backward into Peter's arms when a flash of red overcame her focus. She nearly smacked whatever was in front of her with her fists, only to realize it was Doctor Strange's cloak floating in front of her.

   "Holy—Geez, can't you give a girl a warning?" Riley whispered to the cloak. She spoke so casually to it that it surprised Peter. It was a flying piece of fabric, after all. "What are you doing up here?"

   The cloak just motioned toward another direction before flying off. The teenagers followed the cloak with their eyes, spotting Tony Stark on a lower level. It looked like he was trying to devise a plan of some sort. Riley had been so caught up in her thoughts and some kind of plan that she hadn't noticed Peter crawling away on the walls.

  The cloak approached Tony. Shocked, Tony nearly blasted it to smithereens, only to yield when he recognized it.

   "Wow," he mumbled, lowering his weapon. "You're a seriously loyal piece of outerwear, aren't you?"

   "Yeah, uh, speaking of loyalty..." Peter greeted, hanging from the ceiling. He dropped down from above him. Riley's eyes widened. She really hadn't noticed him wander off.

  "What the—" started Tony.

   "I know what you're gonna say," Peter interrupted, his mask removing itself.

   "You should not be here."

   "I was gonna go home—"

   "I don't wanna hear it."

   "—But it was such a long way down and I just thought about you on the way—"

   "And now I gotta hear it."

   "And I kinda stuck to the side of the ship. And this suit is ridiculously intuitive, by the way," continued Peter Parker. "So if anything, it's kinda your fault that I'm here."

   The cloak floated beside Tony as he paused, then demanded, "What did you just say?"

   "I take that back. And now I'm here in space," Peter finished. "Hey, at least I'm not alone!"

  Riley took this as her moment to step in. She leaped off of the higher level she stood upon, gracefully landing before the two. Tony's eyes only widened, even more, when he saw her, but she wasn't sure if it was because he was angry or relieved that she was okay. Maybe a mixture of both.

  "This is... a very strange reunion we're having," Riley greeted.

  "Are you out of your mind?!" Tony hissed, trying to keep his voice low. The last thing they needed right now was Ebony noticing them. "Seriously, the lack of conscience is astonishing."

  "I'm sorry, we're both standing here, are we not?"

  "You realize how dangerous this is?" Tony shot back.

  "No, old man, I didn't. I came here because I thought it'd be funny," she remarked. "Obviously, I realize this is dangerous! I've been shitting bricks since I got here!"

  "Riley—"

  "What the hell is the point of arguing when we're both already here?" Riley interjected. "Listen to me. Before I'm anything, I'm an Avenger. You know this. You knew I'd end up here. This is my fight just as much as it is yours. I'm here for the long run, so zip it."

   Tony sighed. "You're grounded when this is all over," Tony declared.

   Riley's jaw dropped. "But—!"

   "For a month."

   "Dad!"

   "Don't make me make it for eternity," Tony argued. Riley jutted out her lower lip, annoyed. She understood where he was coming from, but what sane teenager enjoyed being grounded? He looked back at Peter. "This isn't Coney Island. This isn't a field trip. It's a one-way ticket. You hear me? Don't pretend like you thought this through. I know you haven't been trained like Riley has, so don't tell me you did. You could not have possibly thought this through."

   "No," argued Peter. "I did think this through."

   "You could not have possibly thought this through," Tony repeated.

   "It's just..." trailed off Peter. "You can't be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there's no neighborhood." Riley and Tony exchanged glances at his statement. "Okay. That didn't really make any sense, but you know what I'm trying to say."

   Tony looked between Riley and Peter. He really needed to swear off of hanging out with rebellious teenagers that do nothing but raise his blood pressure. Iron Man just sighed. "Come on. We've got a situation," he said before leading them over to the viewpoint where they could see Ebony and Doctor Strange more clearly. Peter crouched down while the cloak hovered by Riley. By now, Ebony had begun to torture Doctor Strange. "See him down there? He's in trouble. What's your plan? Go."

   "Um. Okay, okay... uh..." trailed off Peter. He stood up properly to face his childhood heroes. "Okay, I got it. Okay. Did you ever see that movie Aliens?"

   Riley furrowed her eyebrows. "Do you realize how many movies have aliens in them?"

  "No, no, the movie's called Aliens. Just... Ah, listen," Peter said. "Here's my plan..."

   Meanwhile, a pained scream left Doctor Strange. The needles had come in contact with Doctor Strange's face, causing a whitish, subcutaneous glow at each touch.

   "Painful, aren't they?" queried Ebony. "They were originally designed for microsurgery. And any one of them..." Hearing a thump, Ebony turned to see Iron Man and Valor standing side-by-side. Tony's hand repulsors were prepared to fire while UV energy surged out of Riley's body. "...could end your friend's life in an instant."

   "I gotta tell you, he's not really my friend," Tony nonchalantly revealed. "Saving his life is more of a professional courtesy."

   "Has anyone ever told you that you look a lot like a Walmart version of Voldemort?" Valor wondered aloud. "But... more with a receding hairline. I gotta say, no amount of alien technology is gonna fix that."

   Ebony slowly walked toward the two, beckoning a pair of large, metal objects to float behind him. "You've saved nothing. Your incessant banter will not distract me from my true mission. Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine."

   "Yeah, but the kid's seen more movies."

   With that, Tony fired a rocket from his shoulder. This pierced the side of the ship and created a large opening to the right of them. Due to depressurization, Maw and all of his large weapons were sucked directly out of the spaceship. Limp, Doctor Strange was pulled toward the hole, helpless to resist it. His cloak was quick to grab onto him, but his arm slipped loose. He soared toward the opening.

   Once Riley noticed Peter's failed attempt at grabbing Doctor Strange, she rushed to create a forcefield around them. She managed to stay put inside of the spaceship by creating another forcefield, this time around herself. This allowed her to stay planted to the floor.

   As Tony hurriedly sealed the hole, it was clear that Ebony Maw would have no way to get back inside. He was dead and certainly not their problem anymore. Valor glanced at each person in the room, making sure they were all safe. She released a sigh of relief and nearly cheered, only to be distracted by Tony and Doctor Strange immediately bickering with each other.

   "We've gotta turn this ship around," Doctor Strange declared.

   "Yeah. Now, he wants to run," Tony bitterly grumbled. "Great plan."

   "No, I want to protect the stone," Doctor Strange argued. He followed behind as Tony walked toward the expansive front viewport.

   Riley glanced to her left as Peter joined her side once again. The two kids observed as the adults argued. "And I want you to thank me now. Go ahead, I'm listening," irritably insisted Tony.

   "For what? Nearly blasting me into space? I should be thanking your kid!"

   "Who just saved your magical ass? Me."

   "I seriously don't know how you fit your head into that helmet."

   Riley released an annoyed shout. "Can you guys just shut up!?" she exclaimed, gaining their attention. "We've all almost died twice in one day. ET and his boyfriend are dead! I think we can relax now!"

   Silence. It lasted for maybe half a second before they began to argue again. "Admit it. You should have ducked out when I told you to. I tried to bench you. You refused," Tony snapped.

   "Unlike everyone else in your life, I don't work for you," Strange hissed.

   "Why I oughta—!" Riley started to say, only to find that Peter was holding her back.

   "And due to that fact, we're now in a flying donut billions of miles away from Earth with no backup," Tony fired back.

   Releasing his grip on Riley, Peter raised his hand. "I'm backup."

   "No," Tony shut down, finally giving the teenagers attention. "You're a stowaway." He gestured between himself and Doctor Strange. "The adults are talking."

   "I'm sorry. I'm confused as to the relationship here," Doctor Strange said, motioning toward Peter and Tony. "What is he, you and your daughter's ward?"

   Peter shook his head. "No. I'm—I'm Peter, by the way."

   The magician just glanced back at Peter. "Doctor Strange."

   "Oh, we're using our made-ups names. Um... I'm Spider-Man, then."

   Riley sighed.

   "This ship is self-correcting its course. Thing's on autopilot," verbally noted Tony.

   Riley walked forward, looking around curiously. "Where the hell is the joystick on this thing...?" she almost humorously wondered. "Maybe we can turn this thing around or something."

   "Is that even possible? Can we control it? Fly us home?" Strange wondered. He looked back at Tony, who was unresponsive. "Stark?"

   "Yeah?"

   "Can you get us home?"

   "Yeah I heard you," revealed Tony. "I'm thinking... I'm not so sure we should."

   Stephen's eyes widened. "Under no circumstances can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos," he stated sharply. "I don't think you quite understand what's at stake here."

   Tony marched toward Strange almost immediately. "No. It's you who doesn't understand. Thanos has been inside my head for six years since he sent an army to New York and now he's back! And I don't know what to do," Tony began. "So I'm not so sure if it's a better plan to fight him on our turf or his, but you saw what they did, what they can do. At least on his turf, he's not expecting it. So I say we take the fight to him, Doctor. Do you concur?"

   Riley studied her father carefully as Doctor Strange contemplated it. Memories of him flying into space with a missile on his shoulders flashed in her mind. She grimaced, pondering for just a moment if being here any longer was a good idea.

   "Alright, Stark, we go to him," decided Doctor Strange. "But you have to understand... if it comes to saving you, the kids, or the Time Stone... I will not hesitate to let you three die. I can't... because the fate of the universe depends on it."

   Nodding, Tony said, "Nice. Good. Moral compass. We're straight." He strolled toward Peter, formally tapping each of his shoulders with the edge of his hand, dubbing him as is done at a knighting. Riley furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Alright, kid. You're an Avenger."

   Peter's eyes widened with disbelief. Riley smiled at her friend, observing as cycles of delight, satisfaction, and pride flickered through his brown eyes. Once Tony walked away, Peter turned to Riley, "I'm an Avenger!"

   "You're an Avenger!" she cheered supportively. "If we don't die, I'll take you out to celebrate."

   Peter grinned at her. "I'll hold you to it."

   As she laughed, she looked out at the porthole of the spaceship. Her smile soon faded.

   After all, who could be so sure they'd make it out of this alive?