I know what it feels like to be completely weightless. How it feels when it seems gravity has no effect on you. When it feels like you're flying but you have no wings.

But this time it feels different.

I feel weightless, but not free. I can feel gravity pushing down on me, but I can tell I'm not falling. I feel... stiff. Like Darth Vader is using the force to keep my body immobile. It feels like my arms are bound to my body and my legs are tied together.

Seems like Darth Vader decided to mess with my head too because it feels like it's stuffed with cotton balls. I can feel my forehead throbbing, right where my head hit the street. The bothersome ringing in my ears doesn't help either, only making me queasy.

Yet, I do my best to think through the pain and do that trick Auntie Nat taught me; you have to pretend to still be unconscious so you can get an idea of where you are and who you are with without anyone noticing. I mean, I don't want my captors to know I'm awake yet (*ahem* unlike movie characters).

I let all my muscles relax, and even my breathing. I try to feel my surroundings, which is... absolutely nothing.

I can feel nothing but thin air, and I'm not touching the ground either. But dam, those force ropes are really strong. I feel like I'm some sort of Egyptian mummy with my legs and arms bound together and all.

The ringing in my ears starts to subside a bit and I can start to hear tidbits of the conversation that has been going on whilst I've been unconscious.

"In all-... time-... I've never-... him. If I-..." I concentrate harder and push past the pain. Then finally, my hearing clears up a bit. "... on Titan with the Time Stone still attached to your vaguely irritating person, there would be... judgment."

I realize that this might be a good time to step in, so I slowly start to "wake up". Seems like Squidward is completely fooled. "Ah, at last, your fellow sorcerer has finally decided to join us. He seems smart, for a demigod at least, maybe he can persuade you to give me what I demand."

I slowly open my eyes and painfully raise my head just an inch. The blinding blue light in front of me makes me squint, and all I can see is Squidward's ugly silhouette. I'm looking down at him for some reason, which confirms my suspicions of floating.

The only good news is the ugly slash across his face where I hit him with Riptide and the nasty bruise where my uncle's shield hit him. That brings a smile to my face.

"You're right, he is smart. That is why he knows not to surrender the Time Stone," I hear Déjà vu Dude say on my right.

I can't turn my head left or right, but I'm imagining he's in the same position as I am. In the edges of my vision are what seem to be glass spikes floating around Déjà vu Dude and me.

"You bet," I croak, sending Squidward a Persassy Smirk™. "I was a straight-A student back in my school days."

This made Squidward sneer. "Whatever your title means it is of no importance to me. You will give me the Stone, it's just a question of when."

Then, with a flick of his hand, the crystals start to slowly float towards us, and they start excruciatingly digging into our skin. They start to make contact with every single place where there is exposed skin.

I'm telling you, I know what pain is.

In my time as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent and an Avenger, I've been unfortunate enough to be taken captive and, umm... tortured for information, that combined with my experiences as a demigod has given me a very clear idea of how much pain the human body can take.

Or at least I thought I did.

Because this is a whole new level of agony.

It seems like my skin is melting off everywhere the crystals touch. With just a stroke you know what it's like to be stabbed by a thousand razor-sharp, double edge knives. This was way worse than any other form of torture I've ever had to undergo.

Déjà vu Dude and I gasp at first, our brains still not fully processing the pain. But then it washed over us like a tsunami. We try to hold back our cries of pain, groaning, and twitching.

But soon enough we're screaming in agony, something that seems to be music to Squidward's ears (does he even have ears?). The worst part was that we couldn't even move. We couldn't even flail or whither around in pain.

Squidward smirks triumphantly, looking completely at ease despite the howls of pain echoing in the... ship? (I honestly don't know where I am. Probably that donut spaceship). "Painful aren't they? They were originally designed for microsurgery. And any one of them..."

Squidward was interrupted by a "thump" behind him. He whips around, revealing Tony in his suit, ready to fire his repulsors. Squidward however, doesn't miss a beat and finishes his sentence, "...could end your friends' life in an instant."

Tony casually shrugs and replies, "I gotta tell you, they're not really my friends. Saving their lives is more a professional courtesy."

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you something. One rule that all agents of S.H.I.E.L.D or Avenger follow is: On a mission, no one is your friend. You can never let your enemy know who you care about, or else they will be used against you. Hence why Mechy suddenly seemed so heartless.

Side note: I'm still being tortured. :)

Squidward starts to slowly walk towards Tony and uses his telekinesis to summon huge pieces of metal (because aliens have giant metal scraps just lying around). Squidward scoffs and says, "You've saved nothing, you will all perish. Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine."

Tony shrugs again and swiftly replies, "Maybe, but the kid's seen more movies."

Before Squidward can reply, Tony launches a shoulder rocket at the side of the ship, leaving a gaping hole that gives us a five-star view of space. Squidward's look of shock is suddenly replaced by horror as he's being sucked into space due to the depressurization, along with his giant scrap metal pieces and crystals of torture.

Unfortunately, it means Déjà vu Dude and I are getting ejected into space too.

Sidecape wraps himself around Déjà vu Dude and tries to fly away but to no avail. Déjà vu Dude slips out again and he desperately tries to hold onto something but he's just moving too fast.

I quickly shift into a wolf and dig my claws into the floor. It helps, but the force is too great. The depressurization slowly starts to drag me to space, making me (accidentally) leave giant claw marks on the floor.

I growl and tighten my grip. That's when I feel something tug on the fur on my back and I feel the familiar tug of Peter's webs. Peter webs Déjà vu Dude too and uses his spider-legs to keep us all from flying into space.

Tony quickly covers the hole and Déjà vu Dude falls flat on his face. He groans and rolls over on his back. I release my grip and shift into my 'human form'. I don't make a move to lift myself up from the floor. I could still feel the Needles of Death burning into my skin, and my fingers ached from digging my claws into the metal floor.

"Give us a warning next time, will you?" I groan as I shakily stand back up.

"That kinda defeats the purpose of a 'surprise' kid," Tony replies.

Peter drops down from the ceiling, his nanotech mask pulled back. "I've said this before and I will say it again: We need to have a secret code for these kinds of situations. It would really make this a whole lot easier."

Déjà vu Dude whips Sidecape back on his shoulders and says, "Well then please make it somewhere else because we have more pressing matters on our hands."

"I'm guessing it has to do with aliens, Thanos and that 'Time Stone' that Squidward was so determined to get," I say. "But you still owe us an explanation, Dumbledore."

Tony backs me up. "The kid's gotta point. I mean, last time I saw you, you were dressed as a wizard. Now you are one?"

Déjà vu Dude sighs and begins to answer but I cut him off before he can say anything. "Wait, wait, wait. So we do know this guy? We've actually met him before?" I ask Tony, pointing an accusing finger and the mechanic and the wizard.

Tony raises an eyebrow. "You really don't remember, huh? You weren't that little, Percy."

Déjà vu Dude chuckles and says, "I mean, I knew I changed a bit but I didn't realize how much-"

"Wait so you guys have met before?" Peter asks, clearly confused.

"Yeah, about ten years ago on Halloween, if my memory serves me right," Déjà vu Dude answers. "We went through a haunted house together, along with some of your friends."

Tony chuckles and adds, "Yeah, we were kinda on the run at the moment. We had an unhappy team of pranked Avengers on our tail." Déjà vu Dude snickers a bit at Tony's comment but quickly hides it with a cough.

Everyone looks at me expectantly as I rack my brain for any memory of Déjà vu Dude. Tony said we had pranked the Avengers, but when did we prank the Avengers on Halloween?

My eyes widen as I finally remember. How could I have been so stupid? That Halloween was probably one of the best ones of my life!

*~*~*~*

Pranking the Avengers was a dangerous task.

My nine-year-old self thought of it as a cool, dangerous quest. Tony and I had completed that quest, but we had to lay low for a while. We decided that the best course of action was to blend into the sea of trick-or-treaters, no one would know it was us.

Or so we thought because a group of kids had recognized my godfather. But they were cool, they even let us trick-or-treat with them. Everything was going great until one of them had to chase their little brother.

"They're going to take a while, you guys wanna go in?" Justin asked after the two had taken off. He pointed to the haunted house in front of us. I for one was never a fan of the "horror" genre, but I thought: why the hades not? It's Halloween.

"Sure!" was everyone's answer.

We waited in line for a few minutes before we were finally allowed inside. That was when two more joined us. Little did we know our meeting was "foretold by the ancients" as I would later find out.

It was a boy and a girl. They were eleven at the time, still innocent to the cruelty of the world. (Gods, I'm making us sound so old. And what is up with my narrating?!)

The girl was dressed in a Hufflepuff robe, and the boy was dressed in a Ravenclaw one. Both were clutching bags filled with candy. The girl's eyes sparkled with excitement, while the boy had a more serious aura.

"Hi!" the girl exclaimed. "I'm Christine!"

She held out her hand for us to shake. Everyone was a bit taken back by her sudden kindness. I mean, these days if a person even looks at you you're lucky. We all kinda just stared at her for a second, until I finally came to my senses and snapped out of it.

"Hi, nice to meet you," I replied while shaking her hand, "My name's Percy. This is Justin, Jack Will, Summer, and my godfather Tony."

Everyone snapped out of their daze and shook her hand after I did the honors of introducing them. Her smile never wavered and she greeted us all with the same cheerful sparkle in her eye.

"It's nice to meet you guys too. This is my friend, Stephen," Christine said, as she gestured to the boy who was accompanying her.

He didn't greet us, didn't give us a warm smile. His expression remained stoic as he stared right through me. My nine-year-old self (who was actually pretty smart, thank you very much) thought that he had simply dazed off.

But little did I know that behind those serious eyes he was actually thinking, analyzing, deducing, taking in every detail about the group. Little did everyone know that there was another genius in the room, it's just that the world didn't know him yet.

Christine however didn't care if her friend was a genius or not; he needed to learn some manners. She elbowed him in the stomach to get him out of his mind palace. At first, it looked like he was going to yell at her, but then he realized what her reason was.

He awkwardly held out his hand and said, "Oh sorry about that. Yeah, I'm Stephen. Nice to meet you."

*~*~*~*

"Stephen," I whisper. "You're Stephen."

I look at Déjà vu Dude, Stephen, who gives me a small bow and a smile. "Stephen Strange, neurosurgeon and Sorcerer Supreme extraordinaire."

Peter's eyes widen. "Wait, so like Doctor Stephen Strange?! You're the guy who became a surgeon before turning twenty, aren't you? And didn't you get into a car accident and like, destroy your hands?"

Stephen slightly winces at the "destroy your hands" part but he replies in the same calm manner, "Yeah, that's me."

Sidecape gently slaps Stephen's face as if to get his attention. "Oh right sorry, and this is the Cloak of Levitation. But he likes to be called 'Levi' for short," he adds, gesturing at Sidecape.

Tony raises an eyebrow. "'He'?"

"'Levi'?" I add.

Stephen's ears turn a bit red and he indignantly replies, "Yes, 'he', don't ask me how I know, I just do. And there was no way I was going to say 'Cloak of Levitation' every time I needed him."

I was about to add a snarky comment when Tony asked a question. "So, you're the 'Sorcerer Supreme'. What does that mean? Does it make you in charge of all the wizards in the world or something?"

"Something like that," Stephen answers. "I'm in charge of protecting the Earth from mystical threats and overseeing the three Sanctums, or temples if you will."

"Does being the Sorcerer Supreme include having that Time Stone necklace of yours?" I asked. "Because it seems to be a very trendy piece of jewelry these days."

"Correct, us sorcerers have vowed to protect it with our lives. Ever since the first-ever sorcerer, Agamotto, created this eye in which to keep it." Stephen answered, gesturing to the eye. "As the Sorcerer Supreme, I am its wielder and primary protector. This means that if it ever comes to saving you or the Stone, as hard as it may be I will choose the Stone without hesitation. I hope you as Avengers will understand."

Us three Avengers nodded in understanding. I personally don't think I would have that kind of strength (stupid fatal flaw), but I knew it was crucial that someone did have the courage to do what it takes.

Thanos went as far as decimating an entire race just to get a stone. Anyone who does that means trouble. And there can only be one troublemaker in town.

"Well then, let's hope you never have to do that," Peter said, not only scared for his own life, but the danger there would be for others if it ever did reach that point.

Nobody replied but we all silently agreed. Then as silence enveloped the room the true gravity of the situation started to sink in. We were in space, heading towards to gods-know-where, trying to stop an enemy we haven't even seen before.

A heavy feeling of dread settled at the bottom of my stomach. It was like a brick that rooted me in place, but it somehow started to spread all over my body. I could feel my heart start to race and my hands were getting clammy.

Something bad was going to happen, I just knew it; we all did. Somehow, we all knew that one of us wouldn't make it out alive.

Dad, if you can hear me, I desperately prayed, give me strength.

EXTRA