As Tony led Thor back through the twisting halls of the compound, he could hear broken strings of voices and arguments echoing and bouncing off the walls.

"-where did he-"

"-don't know-"

"-kid-"

"So nothing has changed." Thor mused quietly, hearing the arguments himself.

"I mean, we're still a group of stubborn motherfuckers, but quite a lot's changed, buddy. We've got some new people- we're gonna have to call new people in, too, anyone we know."

Thor was quiet for a couple of moments as they reached the room, arguments growing louder. Then, "Has Banner come back yet?"

Tony swallowed, remembering the visual of the jet carrying the Hulk speeding off into the sky, completely untraceable before disappearing. No trace of Banner- or the Hulk- since. "No." he admitted. "Have you?" it wasn't really a question, though; he already knew the answer before Thor shook his head. And then they were at the threshold of the door holding the rest of the Avengers and he couldn't say anything else.

With the arguing, not many people noticed him at first. Natasha was one of them- of course- along with Barnes, and she raised an eyebrow at the sight of Thor towering at Tony's side. Since the rest of the room had obviously not noticed them, she took it upon herself to take the gun stashed in her hip holster and fire it into the air. It grew quiet instantaneously. Everyone finally noticed Thor.

"I did say I was going to get Thor, didn't I?" Tony said, somewhat exasperated with the constant chaos he returned to every time he left the room.

"You also keep running out of the room like a headless chicken, man." Clint cut in. Tony shrugged.

"Yeah, I think I'll give up on running. Too exhausting. I'll take the suit next time, it's got more flair. Pizzazz. You know." Tony said, hearing the sighs in his head before they actually echoed around the room. He clapped once. "Back to business. Where the hell did Fury walk off to-"

"Right here." the man's voice said behind him, and Tony turned a full 180 to find him leaning against the door frame.

"Oh so now you show up. Gonna walk out the next time an argument starts up, Nicky Jon Jones?" Tony said, poking fun at him. Fury ignored the subtle dig to that stupid children's book with the weird cat that had too big of a head, like an airhead- oh. Dammit, Stark.

"Not my job to clear up your petty squabbles, Stark. I was getting in contact with T'Challa. Black Panther, King of Wakanda."

Tony tilted his head. "I know he had that ridiculous supersuit at the airport- and he didn't come back here with us when Peter popped up because he needed to go check on his people- but isn't Wakanda still a third world country?" the 'what does he have to offer us' was left unsaid, but heard nonetheless.

Fury shook his head. "It's... complicated. But you wouldn't believe me if I said they have more technological advancements than the rest of the world, even on the level of or surpassing you." Shock rippled through the room and Tony could hear murmurs. He shrugged.

"Not that surprising, actually, that supersuit was pretty advanced."

Fury barely registered him as he barreled on. "I sent him a copy of the videos from Spider-Man's suit so he could assess the threat like you all did and get his people ready. I also paged Captain Marvel."

"Well, you've been busy." Tony heard someone mutter.

"I'd ask how you got a copy of the video from Peter's suit, but honestly, I'm not surprised." Tony sighed. "What about the other group of people? The Guardians? How are we supposed to contact them?"

Thor stepped up. "I had Heimdall send out a little call for that specific reason. He sent it in their specific direction so hopefully, they caught it and not someone else. Time and space are tricky things. Their ship should have the power to jump through space fairly quickly, though, so we should be waiting, at most, a couple of days."

Tony nodded. "Let's hope they got it- and care enough to come. From those calculations, we should have everyone here within the week, and that should give us another week or two to prepare. Remember, we still have the element of surprise because Thanos doesn't know about our plans yet, but we can't wait too long because I'm sure word will be spreading that people like Thor and- hopefully, the Guardians- are all coming to Earth."

"Two to three weeks isn't a lot of time to prepare for the end of the world," Scott muttered from his corner.

"It's better than the day's notice we were given," Peter spoke up, causing a few people to look up in surprise, not remembering his presence, as he'd been mostly quiet from the start. Tony caught Natasha locking eyes with the kid and giving him a reassuring nod. Peter's shoulders relaxed at the reassurance and Tony caught Nat's eyes next, giving a little smirk as she rolled her eyes. Peter continued to speak. "So- what, we gather everyone here at the Tower, make them watch the video with Thanos, and just... train? That plan sounds like it's precariously balancing on a lot of unknown variables, like who will show up or if Thanos will figure us out."

"That's true." Fury mused. "But nobody has a better plan. It'll just have to be enough."

"So basically we're sitting ducks until the end of the week when we can get everyone here and work out a plan?" Sam asked. "What the hell are we supposed to do in the meantime?"

"Train with each other," Nat said. "The more time you spend training with someone, the more you'll be able to recognize each other's moves and work like parts of a well-oiled machine rather than a bunch of parts thrown haphazardly together."

There was a moment of awkward silence as nobody moved; everyone wanted to get Thanos defeated as quickly as possible, yet they all recognized the importance of a plan and as many players as possible. They couldn't afford to fuck this up; this was their second chance. They wouldn't get a third.

Then Steve pushed himself up. "Well if all we can do in the meantime is train, we might as well get to it. Who's coming to the gym with me?" The majority of the Avengers in the room pushed themselves up to follow him, left with nothing else better to do. Tony watched as they filed out after Cap; he trusted that the man would make up a training plan that would optimize their time and strengths. 

With the room mostly empty, Fury started to walk out as well. When Tony raised an eyebrow at him, he shrugged. "I still have an organization to run, Stark." Before waiting for a response he walked out the door, signature black trenchcoat flowing out behind him.

"Dramatic," Tony muttered to nobody in particular about Fury. He felt more than heard Peter come up behind him, and he turned around to face the kid.

"In any other case I would make a joke about you calling anybody else dramatic, Mr. Stark, but..." Peter hesitated. Tony looked at the kid quizzically.

"I'm gonna let that comment slide for now, but what's up, Spider-boy? Did the witch doctor tell you something else?" Tony asked, surveying Peter's hesitation.

Peter shook his head hurriedly. "No, no, Dr. Strange is still off trying to find his other self or something. I was actually wondering about something else." he hesitated again.

"Spit it out, kid. What's up?" Tony asked, a tad impatient.

"Aunt May." Peter blurted out. "I mean- in my time, she figured out who I was. So she'd know every time I went out as Spider-Man that there was... some risk I might not make it home." Tony's gut clenched at that statement, taking in Peter's serious face and tense stance and uncomfortably shifting on his feet at the fact that a teenager was so ready for his own death at any time. Peter barrelled on. "But this May, at this point in time, doesn't know I'm Spider-Man; she just thinks I'm at an internship. I can't- I can't just go on this mission, knowing very well it could kill me, and not tell her. We're all each other has left, Mr. Stark, I can't-" Tony cut him off by placing a hand on the kid's shoulder, causing him to take in a deep breath and blink away tears in his brown eyes. Peter's face set in determination. "I have to tell her the truth. Can I bring her here?"

Tony nodded wordlessly, realizing it was more a statement than a question- a declaration. "Yeah, kid. You need a phone?" he asked quietly. Peter nodded and Tony pulled his phone out of his pocket, unlocking it before pressing it into the kid's hand. Peter looked down at it before looking back up at his mentor, nodding his thanks. Tony nodded back before turning around and making his way out of the room. During their conversation, everyone had cleared out of the room except for the two of them, and as Tony started to close the door behind him, he heard the sound of a phone ringing, Peter's deep breath, and his aunt's cheery greeting.

"Hi Aunt May," Peter said. "I have something to tell you."

~ ~ ~

Days passed, and the Tower got more and more crowded. The news was going crazy, speculating as to why so many heroes were seen entering the Tower all at one time. Many speculated it was about the Sokovia Accords, which to be honest, Tony had almost completely forgotten about. But it was pointless to announce the end of the world and make everyone freak out, so no public statement was issued.

The very first day, after Peter called May, Tony sent Happy to collect her and bring her to the Tower so that she could talk to Peter and wait for him when they ultimately went to fight Thanos. When Happy pulled the car into the garage, Tony and Peter were waiting. The first thing May did was throw open the car door and run to Peter, pulling him into a tight hug and subconsciously rocking side to side. Peter completely melted into her embrace, burying his face in her neck and taking comfort in the presence of the woman who raised him. Tony slightly turned away, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment. When the two finally pulled apart, both had tears glimmering in their eyes, but in true Parker fashion, neither allowed them to fall.

"Peter Benjamin Parker, you are so grounded after all this," May said, voice slightly wavering. Peter laughed weakly. 

"I'll be glad to, if it means all of this is over," he admitted, and May's face twisted before she pulled him into another, shorter, but still just as ferocious hug. When she let go of him again and turned to face Tony, the tears were gone from her eyes, and she surveyed him critically. After a moment of tense silence, she spoke.

"I would punch you in the face, but something tells me you'll be getting your fair share of being beaten up in the following weeks, so I'll abstain," she said. Tony blinked and he heard Happy let out a muffled chuckle while Peter let out a half groan, half sigh.

"I appreciate it, Ms. Parker," Tony said. May sighed wearily.

"Just call me May, Ms. Parker reminds me a tad too much of my late husband," she said. Tony nodded, understanding the sentiment; he hated being called Mr. Stark because of his father. 

"Call me Tony," he said simply. She nodded silently before looking sharply at him again. Her eyes glimmered with a ferocity and fire he'd only seen in a few people through his life. 

"That does not mean you're off the hook, though," she warned, and Tony gave an unexpected, short laugh.

"Understood."

~ ~ ~

Days and weeks passed, and their slot of time to surprise Thanos was rapidly running out. A plan was slowly coming together; it still had gaps and holes that they couldn't quite figure out how to fill, but it was the best shot they had. 

In one of the last meetings before the plan was to be carried out, everyone was gathered in the common room; including newcomers like T'Challa, Carol Danvers, and the Guardians. Strange had appeared to Peter a few more times, and eventually, the Stephen Strange from this point in time showed up to the Tower; albeit a weaker version than the one years in the future, still useful. 

Quill had seemed more subdued than he did in the clips from the suit, perhaps shaken at seeing his role in the whole debacle, but every time someone asked he insisted he was fine.

They were discussing the plan when FRIDAY interrupted Steve, who was speaking. "Boss," she said, addressing Tony, who looked up. "an unidentified spaceship has just landed in the front courtyard."

The entire room froze, and the fear mounted. Tony thought he heard someone whisper "Is it Thanos?" at the same time he heard Peter whisper "oh my god a UFO" but before he could be sure, his suit was forming around him and he blasted down the hallway and out towards the courtyard. He heard footsteps thrumming after him and felt a swell of gratitude in his chest; even though most of them weren't fully armed, they were all following and not leaving him to face whoever it was alone. It showed how far they'd come, even in these past couple of weeks; Nat was right in that the training helped.

Yet when he got to the courtyard and saw the lone figure standing outside the ship, he almost dropped out of the sky in shock. He landed his suit and stumbled forward a bit, mask retracting. 

"Bruce?"

He heard the footsteps skid to a halt behind him, but he was still staring at the scientist.

"Hey Tony," Bruce smiled tiredly. "Word travels fast out there; I heard- or, well, Hulk heard- that a group of people called the Avengers were assembling a team for some big threat. Apparently, that was enough to shake Hulk out of the weird funky mood he's been in and I fixed the spaceship I'd recently crashed in and flew back here."

The team was silent behind Tony as he shed the armor fully and tugged Bruce into a quick sort-of-hug, patting him a few times on the back before letting go. "Well, Hulk had the right idea," he said, completely ignoring that he'd just hugged someone (well, a hug as classified by Tony Stark. More of a pat, really). "We need all the help we can get. Welcome back, buddy."

Bruce smiled softly.

~ ~ ~

The final day, the day they were all prepared to fly out, was the busiest day of Tony's life.

There were three spaceships; one was the Quinjet (modified, of course), the Guardians' ship, and the ship Bruce brought back (which also happened to be an old Quinjet modified for space with weird alien parts). Each ship had the location of Thanos' base programmed into it, info given by Nebula, who had apparently just recently switched sides to be with her sister, so she had the most recent information about Thanos and his plans.

Avengers were milling around, running through last-minute training exercises, talking through the plan; for those who had family members, they were calling them... just in case.

Tony had been up all week, along with Shuri, modifying Avengers weapons, ensuring everybody had the best tech possible to protect them. He was walking around now, doing last-minute tweaks and fixes.

In short: the Tower was chaos.

Supplies and weapons and medical kits were being packed on the three ships, and people were starting to file in as well. Slowly the number of superheroes in the Tower was diminished, and Tony, making the last rounds, caught sight of Peter talking to May. He was dressed in his Iron Spider suit, mask dematerialized, and was holding both of May's hands. Tony walked up to them, catching May's words.

"He'd be so proud of you, you know that, right?" she whispered. Peter's back was to Tony, but the man could hear his sniff.

"I wish he were here." the teenager murmured, and oh- they were talking about his Uncle.

May noticed Tony's approach, eyes flicking to him shortly before turning back on her nephew.

"Remember," she whispered, eyes alight with a fierce love. Her hands let go of his and traveled up to cup his face. "Remember. Be yourself. Stay strong. But no matter what happens, remember that I will always love you. And I am proud of you." Peter grabbed her hands and squeezed them.

Tony- and Peter- could hear the hidden message there- she couldn't make Peter promise to be safe or stay alive. No, she can't make him promise that, since everyone very much knows that there is no guarantee for that. But she can ensure that no matter the result, her love for him is never in question.

"I know, May," he said, sounding choked up. "I larb you." At May's confused glance, he let out a slightly strangled laugh. "Sorry, I- uh, something we say in the future." May nods once in understanding, eyes glowing with something akin to grief. Grief in that she missed that moment, and hundreds more, with him.

"Thai food, huh?" she whispered, and Peter laughed, nodding. May's face split into a grin. "Well, I larb you too, sweetie."

Tony reached the duo, stopping a foot behind Peter. May dropped her hands from her nephew's face as he turned to face his mentor. May stepped up and looked Tony in the eye, lowering her voice.

"Watch his back, because I damn well know that Peter will be watching yours." Tony nodded, eyes staring back at May, hoping she sees the promise held in the depths- that he would protect Peter with everything he had. Even at the cost of his own life. Pepper had said the same thing when he had told her about Thanos, and what they had to do. She knew that he would be the first to sacrifice himself. So she merely kissed him and told him she loved him, all previous arguments and "breaks" forgotten. May could see the same thing in his eyes, and she nodded, taking a step back.

Peter wrapped her in one last, long hug before he broke away and faced Tony. You ready? Tony asked him with his eyes. Peter's face twisted in a not really, but what more can we do? look. Tony nodded and wrapped his arm around Peter's shoulder, patting it a couple of times before leading him to the ships, which were preparing for take-off.

With one last glance at May, Peter faced the ship, face set in determination. The message was clear:

We're ready.

~ ~ ~

And that's Chapter 9! Yeah sorry for the long-ass hiatus... again. 3 more chapters of this sucker and then we're done!! School for me ends in 3 days so hopefully I can finish this up soon, but you know me- my writer's block pops up at the most inconvenient of times. To be honest I don't think this chapter is my best because I had to push myself to write it because I felt bad that I hadn't updated in more than a month, yikes. But I hope you enjoyed nonetheless!

And if you see any plot holes, please tell me and I'll address it when I go back after I'm done with the book to neaten some things up.

3300 words.