↳ already loosing the battle

evi looked around frantically, the shock hitting her like a wave. what was she supposed to do? where was she supposed to go.

she felt more like in back to the future than ever.

but this time it was scarier, she actually knew the future, the only problem was that she did not know enough, not enough to be helpful now atleast.

she wandered around the park, a sign revealing it to be central park - evi had never been here in her life but she of course heard about it.

she was just about to ask a passing woman about the way to the avengers compound, or something like that - she hadn't finally decided yet - when she heard a familiar voice.

"stark, of fucking course" she muttered

evi turned around swiftly. a few meters behind her stood tony stark, talking to a strawberry blonde woman, both wearing workout clothing.

they were just kissing, probably the reason why they hadn't noticed her yet, when she came to a halt next to them.

"hello" she said, not awfully friendly, but at least not in her normal demeanour.

the pair shrieked apart. both their heads turning in her direction.

the woman kept quiet, while stark started screaming

"the demon creature" he bellowed

evi crossed her arms. "you said that before"

"what?" stark asked confused

"doesn't matter. i need your help"

"what is happening" stark turned his head away, eyes growing big, like he questioned his own sanity

before evi could help her case, a portal opened and a strange looking man stepped out of it. he was quite literally looking like you would imagine the wizard of oz.

"tony stark" he said "i'm doctor stephen strange, i need you to come with me"

stark looked to evi, as if she had anything to do with that, while she just raised her hands in defend.

"oh uh, congratulations on the wedding, by the way" strange said

"i'm sorry" stark began "you giving out tickets to something? am i on tv? is this a joke you both are in on?" he asked looking between strange and evi.

"what no!" evi said

"i don't know who she is, but we need your help. it's not overselling it to say that the fate of the universe is at stake"

"and who's 'we'?"

doctor banner stepped up behind strange.
"hey, tony"

"bruce"

evi stepped up from behind stark. "hello doctor banner"

"evina?" banner looked to stark in confusion

"i don't know either" he shrugged

"how are you alive?" banner turned back towards evina, stepping closer as if to inspect her.

"you okay?" asked stark as he noticed how agitated banner seemed to be. without giving an answer, banner just hugged him.

"shit" said evi "it's already happening, isn't it?"

a few minutes later, evi found herself sitting on a satin couch next to tony stark. they sat in silence, until stark coughed and started to speak.

"will you ever tell me how you did that?"

"did what?"

"i don't know, maybe how you uno-reversed your own death?"

"i don't know, it just happened"

"it just happened?"

"yes, but another thing happened too. stark, i came back before"

"aha and when was that?"

"no wait, for me it was before, for you it will be later i guess. it was 2023"

now all colour had left starks face.

"i have to tell you something, it's important"

"that will have to wait i fear" said a man, who walked out of a door next to them.

"my name is wong" he declared "at the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. then.. boom" a hologram was whirling in the air, following his every word with descriptions.

"the big bang sent six elemental crystals hurtling across the virgin universe. these infinity stones each control an essential aspect of existence"

six stones flew down on their eye level.

"space" said strange while the blue one shone brighter,

"reality" - red
"power" - purple
"soul" - orange
"mind" - yellow

"and time" he ended, reaching for the amulet around his neck, opening it to reveal a green stone.

"tell me his name again" said stark

"thanos" said banner and evi at the same time

"he's a plague, tony" continued banner "he invades planets, he takes what he wants. he wipes out half the population. he sent loki. the attack on new york, that's him"

"how do you know him?" asked strange looking back at evi

"because this already happened" she said

"don't listen to her, she tends to lie to get what she wants" stark said, absentmindedly, walking around the room

"this is it" he muttered "what's our timeline?"

"no telling, he had the power and space stones. that already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. if he gets his hands on a six stones, tony.."

"...he could destroy life" ended strange

"he already did" said evina, now standing up as well

still, it seemed the only one listening to her was banner.

"on a scale hitherto undreamt of"

"did you seriously just say 'hitherto undreamt of'?"

"are you seriously leaning on the cauldron of the cosmos"

stranges' cape slapped stark away from it

"i'm going to allow that" he said

"hello guys?" evi tried to make her way back into the conversation, but the other were too concentrated on their own, so she decided to lean back and just to listen.

"if thanos needs all six, why don't we just stick this one down a garbage disposal?" stark asked, pointing to stranges' chain with the green stone

"no can do" strange grumbled

"we swore and oath to protect the time stone with our lives" wong said

"and i swore off dairy, but then ben and jerry's named a flavour after me" stark voiced

"stark raving hazelnut"

"not bad"

"a bit chalky"

"a hunk of hulk of burning fudge is our favourite" remarked wong

"that's a thing?"

"whatever, point it things change"

"our oath to protect the time stone cannot change and this stone may be the best chance we have against thanos" strange explained

"yeah, so conversely, it may also be his best chance against us"

"well, if we don't do our jobs."

"what is your job exactly? besides making balloon animals" asked stark

"protecting your reality, douchebag"

"does this actually lead to anything?" evi walked up next to strange and stark.
"hello, you should really listen to me"

"what?!" snapped stark, finally breaking the staring contest with strange

"i'm not lying, i promise" evi said, she looked down, trying to collect herself, but her eyes still filled with tears

"he already won, tony"

stark now really looked at her. she had never used his first name, and she had never spoken so sincere, so friendly when addressing him, she had never looked up at him, with that blue eyes of her and the tears slipping down her cheeks. something in tony wanted to protect this girl, he didn't know why, he had never even liked her, but somehow he felt responsible for her.

he sighed and patted her shoulder "tell us now what happened"

and that's exactly what she did

*