THE SHIP WAS still traveling through space toward its set destination. Y/N sat on the edge of a raised platform above the ground level of the Q-ship. His mask was retracted as he looked at his metal suit, running his fingers along the sleeves.

He heard footsteps on the platform with him. The teenager turned his head and saw Peter walking up to the edge where he was.

"You know, Tony was close to scrapping that thing." Peter remarked.

"Ain't that right?" Y/N replied. "He needed the material for more suits or what?"

"More so furniture. He thought of a self-forming desk and wanted to use the suit's nanotech for it."

That garnered a laugh out of Y/N. There was silence for a moment as the two looked down at the ground floor, then Y/N decided to speak again.

"What made him choose not to?"

Peter shrugged and scratched the back of his neck. He looked down at his gauntlet and tried wiping off a smudge that was on the silver.

"I said you might still need it one day." He finally answered.

Y/N looked back at his friend. He gave a soft smile before lowering his head, in which his smile disappeared.

"Peter..." He began. "I want you to know how—"

"I do know." Peter interjected, knowing what he was going to apologize for. "I also want you to know...that I don't hate you."

Y/N raised his head and looked at Peter. The teenager stood up from his sitting position and faced his friend as he continued.

"I didn't know what to think at first. The day I found out it felt like I was betrayed. Like a part of my family kept a huge secret from me. I was just so mad that I didn't want to see you anymore...or at least for a while. But I forgave you a long time ago, Y/N, it's just that every time I wanted to reconcile...there was a part of me that felt that it was too soon. Like if Ben was up there asking himself why would I let it go so easily..."

Y/N sighed and looked down. Peter stepped closer and kept speaking.

"But I know Ben wouldn't want me to think that way. I don't blame you for what happened...and I'm sure Ben doesn't either."

"I keep going back to that day and wondering what I could've done to stop it." Y/N said, voice breaking a little. "He was like a second father to me. What happened to my mom...I couldn't do anything about it....but Ben, I could've."

Peter exhaled. "That's in the past now. We're in the now...and now it's up to us to help the Avengers in stopping this guy from reigning hell on our planet." He placed a hand on his shoulder. "When I started working with Mr. Stark my goal was to help make a difference. When I first built this suit, I had the same goal. But that goal all originated from you, man. Because the world needs more people like you."

Y/N looked at Peter and smiled. He appreciated his best friend's words. He gave a nod and tried to hide his emotions with a quick quip.

"Aww, really? Never really saw myself as a symbol of hope. That's more of a Henry Cavill Superman type of deal."

"All right, man." Peter replied with an eye roll.

Y/N pat Peter's shoulder and gave another appreciative nod. He didn't want the moment to end that way though, and went in for a hug. The two friends, more so brothers, embraced.

"We need more people like you too, Pete. I wouldn't be the hero I am without you." Y/N said.

Peter pat his back, understanding that they make each other better people. "Same here, man."

• • •

THE PLANET OF Titan was nearing, but the four heroes didn't really know how to land the ship. They gathered at the platform where the steering mechanism was and tried to conjure up a plan.

"I don't think this rig has a self-park function." Tony said, then looked over at Y/N who was nearby. "Get your hand inside the steering gimbal. Close those around it."

The teenager did as told. "Okay...what now?"

"This was meant for one big guy, so we gotta move at the same time. Ready?"

The Q-ship flew into the atmosphere of the planet and closed in on the wrecked city on the surface.

"Turn! Turn!" Tony exclaimed.

They hit the sides of debris and the ship started to fall apart. Strange used his Eldritch Magic to conjure a protective barrier around the four of them. The ship crashed down onto the dirt but they were not harmed. They finally landed on Titan.

The impact had sent Peter to the floor but he was okay. Doctor Strange walked over to the teenager and helped him up.

"You all right?" He asked.

Peter nodded as he got on his feet. "That was a close one."

Suddenly, Y/N heard the familiar high-pitched sound in his head. He looked around and tried honing in on what his spider-sense picked up.

"Someone's coming." He told the group and quickly formed his mask.

Before anybody can question him, a grenade rolled onto the platform they were on. It detonated and sent the heroes flying back. The explosive was from the Guardians of the Galaxy. They ran in and Drax threw knives at Strange but the sorcerer blocked them with a shield he formed. His cloak came off and flew at Drax, wrapping itself around his head.

Starlord flew up and shot his blasters at Stark. The billionaire soared in the air to combat the Guardian, but Quill threw a magnet at Tony which stuck him to the wall. Peter quickly engaged Starlord and grabbed him from behind, the two flying in the air as the latter tried to get out of his grasp.

"Oh, God!" Y/N exclaimed as he looked at Mantis. She looked more alien-like compared to her colleagues. He ran backward as he shot webs at her feet. "Don't put your eggs in me!"

Starlord freed himself from Silver Centurion's hold and placed another magnet on his chest. It pulled Peter to a nearby beam and stuck him to the side. Starlord levitated near the teenager.

"You iron-suited losers are so easy to beat." He remarked.

He heard another person behind him. "How about another?"

Quill was kicked to the floor by a swinging Spider-Man. Starlord rolled over and got back on his feet, shooting his blasters at Y/N. The web-slinger dodged the shots and webbed his foot to the floor. He landed in front of Quill and roundhouse-kicked him.

"How about that, huh?" Y/N quipped with a laugh, but his revels were cut short after feeling fingers at the side of his temples. Mantis had gone behind him and started to manipulate his mind.

Starlord used his frozen state to grab Y/N and put him in a hold. He pressed his blaster to the side of his head. Tony flew over to a pinned-down Drax and held his gauntlet out at him. Strange stood near them brandishing a shield made of magic.

"Everybody stay where you are. Chill the eff out." Starlord exclaimed. "I'm gonna ask you this one time. Where is Gamora?"

"Yeah. I'll do you one better. Who's Gamora?" Tony asked.

Drax grunted on the floor as Tony held him down with his foot. "I'll do you one better. Why is Gamora?"

"You better tell me right now or I'll French fry this dude." Starlord threatened to shoot Y/N.

Peter landed behind Quill and held up his gauntlet, aiming at the back of his head. "You move that trigger finger just an inch and I'm burning that hairdo off your scalp."

"You wouldn't..." Quill replied.

Tony chimed in, forming a larger blaster from his gauntlet and aiming at Drax. "Let's do it. You shoot my guy and I'll blast him. Let's go!"

"It's okay, Quill. I can take it." Drax told him.

"No, he won't!" Mantis shouted.

Y/N grunted in the Guardian's hold. He looked at Tony.

"No need to fight over me, guys." He quipped, then put his foot behind Starlord's, tripping him and swiftly putting him in a fireman's carry. Y/N flipped him over his shoulder and pinned him to the ground, which wasn't what the galactic hero expected.

"This is fine." Starlord grunted. "Once I get out of this, I'll kill all four of you then beat it out of Thanos myself!"

"Wait, what? Thanos?" Strange asked. "All right, let me ask you this one time. What master do you serve?"

Starlord scoffed, still held down by Spider-Man. "What master do I serve? What am I supposed to say? Jesus?"

Tony shook his head. "So you're from Earth?"

"I'm not from Earth, I'm from Missouri."

"That's on Earth, dipshit. What are you hassling us for?"

"So you're not with Thanos?" Peter asked Quill.

"With Thanos? No, I'm here to kill Thanos. He took my girl. Who the hell are you guys?"

Y/N retracted his mask and looked at Quill. "We're the Avengers, man."

"You're the ones Thor told us about." Mantis said.

Tony snapped his head toward the alien. "You know Thor?"

"Yeah." Starlord answered for her. "Tall guy, not that good-looking, needed saving."

"Where is he now?" Strange asked.

"I'd be happy to tell you but..." Starlord tried to turn his head to look at Y/N, who was still pinning him down. "Can you please get off me, man?"

"Oh, right. Sorry." Y/N apologized.

• • •

THE EARTHLINGS AND the Guardians got out of the destroyed Q-ship and stood around the Benatar. They looked around, gazing at the debris and other wrecked objects on the surface of Titan.

"What the hell happened to this planet?" Starlord inquired as he walked around scanning the area. "It's eight degrees off its axis. Gravitation pull is all over the place."

Tony had his mask retracted as he surveyed the area as well. Peter and Y/N stood behind him, their masks also deactivated with their suits still on.

"We got one advantage. Thanos is coming to us." Tony said. "We use it. All right, I have a plan. Or at least the beginnings of one."

Tony walked back to Peter and Y/N. Quill joined in as well as the billionaire continued.

"It's pretty simple. We draw him in, pin him down, get what we need. Definitely don't want to dance with this guy. We just want the gauntlet."

He heard a yawn and looked to his left, seeing Drax and Mantis to the side seemingly not paying attention to what he had to say.

"Are you yawning?" He asked Drax. "In the middle of this, while I'm breaking it down? Did you hear what I said?"

"I stopped listening after you said, we need a plan." Drax replied.

"Okay, Mr. Clean is on his own page." Tony told Quill.

"See, not winging it isn't really what they do."

"Uh, what exactly is it that they do?" Peter asked.

"Kick names, take ass." Mantis answered.

Drax agreed. "Yeah, that's right."

Tony sighed and stayed quiet for a moment. He couldn't believe that these people were his backup in taking down the incoming Titan. It was during these moments he wished the Avengers weren't broken up and that he had Steve with him.

"All right, just get over here please." Tony said rather dejectedly. "Mr. Lord, can you get your folks to circle up?"

"Mr. Lord, Starlord is fine." Quill replied and motioned his colleagues to come over. Drax and Mantis listened and walked over to the group.

Tony continued. "We gotta coalesce. 'Cause if all we come at him with is a plucky attitude—"

"Dude, don't call us plucky." Starlord interrupted. "We don't know what it means."

Tony stopped talking for a moment to shake his head at the absurdity. Even Y/N looked down and rested his hands on his waist. Starlord took the silence as a chance for him to speak up.

"All right, we're optimistic, yes, I like your plan. Except it sucks, so let me do the plan, and that way it might be really good."

Drax looked at Quill. "Tell him about the dance-off to save the universe."

"What dance-off?" Tony asked.

Starlord stammered. "It's nothing."

"Like in Footloose, the movie?" Y/N asked Quill.

His eyes lit up at the teenager's question.

"Exactly like Footloose." He answered. "Is it still the greatest movie in history?"

Y/N shook his head. "It never was."

"It's no Empire Strikes Back." Peter chimed.

"Of course, you'd think that." Y/N replied.

Tony looked at the boys. "Don't encourage this. We're getting no help from Flash Gordon here."

"Flash Gordon?" Quill asked. "By the way, that's a compliment. Don't forget I'm half-human. So that 50% percent of me that's stupid...that's 100% you."

"Your math is blowing my mind." Tony retorted.

"Excuse me?" Mantis called out to them after looking off to the side. "But does your friend often do that?"

They looked at what she was seeing. Stephen Strange was in a meditating pose, floating above the ground as his amulet glowed bright green. His head seemed like a blur as it twitched around as he was using the Time Stone.

"Strange, we all right?" Tony called out.

The Avenger walked up to him and the sorcerer stopped once he got close. Strange gasped as he landed on the floor and kept panting to catch his breath. Tony knelt beside him.

"You're back. You're all right."

"Hi." Strange said weakly.

"Hey, what was that?" Y/N asked him.

Strange finally caught his breath and answered. "I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict."

"How many did you see?" Quill asked.

"14,000,605." Strange replied.

Tony sighed. "How many did we win?"

Strange looked at Stark and swallowed. "One."

• • •

THE MAD TITAN walked through a portal and looked around. He remembered how nice his home plant once looked.

"Oh, yeah." A voice called out from ahead.

Thanos turned around and saw Stephen Strange sitting on a rock on the set of dilapidated stairs.

Strange continued. "You're much more of a Thanos."

Thanos understood that Strange being alive meant that his Black Order children failed in dealing with him.

"I take it that Maw is dead." He stated, to which Strange simply nodded. Thanos continued. "This day extracts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission."

"You may regret that. He brought you face-to-face with the Master of the Mystic Arts."

The Titan treaded toward him. "And where do you think he brought you?"

Strange looked around. "Let me guess. Your home?"

"It was." Thanos stopped and used the reality stone on his gauntlet to change their surroundings. It was a much nicer and jovial environment, showing how Titan once looked. "And it was beautiful."

Thanos continued. "Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, not enough to go around. And when we almost faced extinction, I offered a solution."

"Genocide?" Strange asked.

"But random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike. They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass."

Thanos dissipated the illusion and reverted the environment to the way it was.

"Congratulations, you're a prophet." Strange said sarcastically.

"I'm a survivor."

"Who wants to murder trillions."

"With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers. They would all cease to exist. I call that mercy."

Stephen got up from the rock. "And then what?"

"I'd finally rest...and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe." Thanos answered. "The hardest choices require the strongest wills."

Strange bumped his wrists together and brandished his Eldritch Magic, conjuring shields on both his hands.

"I think you'll find our will equal to yours."

Thanos raised his head. "Our?"

Suddenly, a large chunk of debris that was carried by Iron Man crashed down onto Thanos. The Titan tried to use the Power Stone but was too late.

"Piece of cake, Quill." Stark remarked as he flew away.

Starlord came out of his hiding spot and activated his mask. "Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off."

Thanos erupted out of the debris and let out a bellow. He lifted the chunks of metal into the sky and used the Reality Stone to change the pieces into bats. They flew at Tony and pummeled him through the inside of an abandoned ship.

Spider-Man swung in and shot a web at Thanos's face. He peeled the goop off but Y/N kicked him afterward. Drax ran in and slashed his legs with his large knife. Strange portaled into the area and quickly formed a sword with his magic, then fought the Titan with Drax.

Starlord flew in right when Thanos threw Drax aside. He shot Thanos in the back with his blasters as Strange helped Quill by placing well-timed discs under his feet. Starlord flipped over the Titan and planted an explosive on his back.

"Boom!" Quill shouted and flipped him off, then jumped into the portal behind him.

The bomb blew up and shocked Thanos. He grunted in pain, and he didn't react fast enough to avoid Silver Centurion's rocket. It hurt the Titan but he raised his gauntlet and tried to ward off the incoming barrage.

Before Thanos could close his fist to use the stones on Peter, Strange's cloak flew over and wrapped around the gauntlet. The sorcerer started to open portals for Spider-Man to jump through.

"Magic!" Y/N exclaimed as he dove through and punched Thanos in the face.

He went through another portal but came out of the next one. He grabbed Thanos and kicked him in the stomach. "More magic!"

He back-flipped into another portal but came out of another. He kicked the Titan in the face. "Magic with a kick!"

Y/N dove through the portal and came out of the next one. "Magic with a—"

Thanos grabbed Spider-Man by the neck before he can attack and slammed him to the ground. Y/N grunted in the warlord's grasp.

"Insect!" Thanos gritted his teeth.

"That's...the wrong classification!" Y/N breathed out.

Peter flew at Thanos, but the Titan lifted Y/N and threw him at the armored hero. He crashed into Peter and the two started to fall. Strange tried to use magic to catch them but was too late as they then crashed into him too.

Thanos ripped the cloak off of the gauntlet. Iron Man flew in and shot at the warlord. Thanos gathered the kinetic energy from the rocket blasts and hurled it out at Tony, causing him to be heaved back into the sky.

Y/N swung in and show a web-line at the gauntlet. He landed and tried to pull it off, but Thanos tugged at the line and clotheslined the teenager with his large forearm. Suddenly, a small ship from above crashed into Thanos. The Titan recovered from the hit and rolled over to see his daughter, Nebula, coming out of the wreckage.

"Well, well." Thanos said.

She brandished her knives. "You should've killed me."

"It would've been a waste of parts!" He shouted.

Thanos and Nebula fought until he gained the upper hand and threw her aside. Strange had the high ground and conjured the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, which shot down and wrapped around Thanos's gauntlet. He tried to pull it off but it wouldn't budge.

Drax slid in and kicked Thanos in the pit of his knee, bringing him down and holding his leg in place. Starlord shot a magnet that stuck to the floor and forced Thanos's right hand to join it. Thanos tried to get up using his other leg, but Peter landed beside him and locked it in place with a mechanism that came out of his foot.

Y/N swung in and wrapped Thanos's torso in webbing, then got behind him and tried to pull him down. Tony landed beside Thanos and grabbed onto the gauntlet. Strange opened a portal over Thanos, where Mantis came out and landed on the warlord's shoulders.

Everybody did their part in subduing Thanos. The Titan screamed in anger but quieted down as Mantis placed her hands on his head and put him under.

"Is he under?" Tony asked. "Don't let up."

"Be quick. He is very strong." She replied.

"Y/N, help! Get over here!" Tony called out, and he listened and let go of his web to assist.

Tony and Y/N worked together to try and take the gauntlet from the warlord's large hand.

"She can't hold him much longer. Let's go."

Y/N grunted. "We gotta open his fingers to get it off."

Starlord flew in and landed in front of Thanos. He chuckled at the sight of his helplessness and defeat.

"I thought you'd be hard to catch." Quill remarked and glanced at his partners. "For the record, this was my plan."

As the other heroes held Thanos down, Quill got closer to the Titan's face. "You're not so strong now, huh? Where is Gamora?"

"My...Gamora." The put-under Thanos groaned.

"No, bullshit! Where is she?"

Mantis spoke. "He is in anguish."

"Good." Starlord said.

"He..." She panted. "He mourns."

Drax chimed in as he held down one of his legs. "What does this monster have to mourn?"

"Gamora." Nebula suddenly said, which Quill turned around and gave a confused look. She continued. "He took her to Vormir. He came back with the Soul Stone. But she didn't."

Tony looked over at Starlord, understanding what Nebula was inferring. He knew it would garner a reaction from Quill so he retracted his mask to speak.

"Okay, Quill, you gotta cool it right now. You understand?"

Quill slowly turned to Thanos, his eyes filled with rage. Tony kept pleading.

"Don't, don't. Don't engage. We almost got this off!"

Starlord wasn't listening to Tony and kept staring at Thanos. "Tell me she's lying."

Thanos didn't say a word. Quill got angrier.

"Asshole! Tell me you didn't do it!"

"I...had to." Thanos finally admitted.

"No...no, you didn't." Quill shook his head and feared up. "No, you didn't."

He suddenly let out a yell and hit Thanos in the face with his blaster. The sudden impact severed the connection Mantis had with Thanos's mind.

"Quill!" Drax yelled.

"Hey, stop!" Tony ran over and held Starlord back. "Stop! Stop!"

Y/N was close to pulling the gauntlet off. "It's coming! I got it! I got it!"

The Titan's eyes reverted to their normal color. He grabbed Mantis and threw her off before pulling back the gauntlet. Y/N fell to the floor but looked up to see Mantis in the air.

"Oh, God." He breathed out before leaping up to catch the Guardian.

He held onto her and activated his Iron-Spider arms to cocoon themselves upon impact.

Thanos kicked Drax and flung Strange away. Peter aimed his repulsor at Thanos but the warlord grabbed his arm and tossed him through a wall. Tony shot at him, but he punched Iron Man and sent him flying. Starlord, Drax, and Nebula got up and ran at him, but Thanos knocked them out with a blast from his gauntlet.

Tony engaged Thanos again, but Thanos got the upper hand and head-butted him. He then used the Power Stone to destroy a nearby moon, using its chunks to rain asteroids down onto Titan. One of them hit Tony and the rest of them make contact with the surface, causing the unconscious heroes to float up.

Y/N already had the unconscious Mantis with him as he swung on floating chunks of debris. He dove through the wreckage and stuck Mantis to an idle piece with a web. He turned around and noticed Drax, Nebula, Starlord, and Peter floating up as well.

"I got you." He webbed Drax. "And you!" He caught Nebula then Starlord. "You too. Sorry, I don't know anyone's name!" He finally webbed Peter. "You're an exception!"

On the ground, Doctor Strange started to battle Thanos. The sorcerer used many forms of his Eldritch Magic to combat the warlord, with Thanos using the stones he had in his gauntlet to counter it. Strange blocked an attack with a mystical mirror he formed and threw it back at Thanos, who ended up shattering it. He gathered the shards of glass and shot the projectile at Strange, but the sorcerer used his magic to turn them into moths.

Strange multiplied himself and the many Stranges tied Thanos up with glowing bands. He strained in its hold but used a combination of the Soul Stone and Power Stone to dissipate the clones and disorient Stephen. He then used the gauntlet to pull Strange toward him and grabbed him by the neck.

"You're full of tricks, Wizard." Thanos pulled the Eye of Aggamotto off of him. "Yet, you never once used your greatest weapon."

He crushed it, revealing that Strange never had the Time Stone in the amulet.

"A fake." Thanos said.

He threw him aside and the exhausted Strange fell on his stomach. Thanos was ready to eliminate the sorcerer, but an iron mechanism clasped in between the gauntlet. Iron Man dropped down in front of the Titan.

"You throw another moon at me, and I'm gonna lose it." Tony said.

"Stark." Thanos said as he stared at him.

"You know me?"

"I do. You're not the only one cursed with knowledge."

"My only curse is you."

Tony shot rockets from his back at Thanos. The warlord blocked it with his gauntlet. Tony flew at him and kicked Thanos before landing, where he punched the Titan with enlarged fists. Thanos grabbed Tony's helmet and ripped it off, but the nanobots reformed it as the warlord landed a haymaker on Tony's face.

Tony fell to the ground and Thanos ripped the mechanism out of his gauntlet. He shot a beam from his Power Stone at Tony, who formed a shield with nanotech to block it.

He waited for the right moment and flew at Thanos, where he stepped onto the gauntlet and punched Thanos across the face with an enlarged fist.

Thanos groaned, blood coming out of the single cut on his cheek. He chuckled.

"All that for a drop of blood?" He asked.

Thanos flipped Tony onto his back and punched down at him several times. He picked Tony up and shot him with an energy beam, hurling the Avenger back several yards. Now with damaged armor, Stark got back up and fired repulsor beams at Thanos, but the warlord effortlessly deflected them with his gauntlet. Thanos got closer and slapped the rest of his mask off of Tony, then dropped a forearm which Stark was able to block.

Tony used the remainder of his nanobots to form a blade on his right hand. He thrust his hand at Thanos, but he countered by grabbing Tony's wrist. He ripped off the blade and stabbed Tony in the abdomen. The Avenger groaned in pain and fell to his knees.

Thanos grabbed the top of Tony's head and looked at him. He was impressed at the billionaire's will and dedication.

"You have my respect, Stark. When I'm done, half of humanity will still be alive." He stood tall and stared at Tony. "I hope they remember you."

Thanos raised his gauntlet, the four stones glowing simultaneously as he was prepared to kill Stark. Suddenly, Doctor Strange let out a shout.

"Stop."

Thanos looked over at the weakened sorcerer, who laid against debris.

"Spare his life..." He began. "And I will give you the stone."

Tony didn't understand what Strange was doing. Thanos was also confused but intrigued.

"No tricks." The Titan said.

Tony groaned. "Don't!"

Strange summoned the Time Stone from thin air and held it between his fingers. He floated it over to Thanos's hand and the warlord placed it in its slot on the gauntlet. He felt the brief surge of power course through his veins.

"One to go." Thanos said.

Starlord suddenly flew in and shot at Thanos. He shook his head and opened a portal using the Space Stone, leaving Titan and the heroes. Quill fell to the floor trying to dive through the portal before it closed. He stood up and retracted his mask.

"Where is he?" He exclaimed as he aimed his gun.

Y/N walked up to where the defeated heroes were. He helped Peter walk as the Guardians were following close behind. Peter left Y/N once he saw the battered and bruised Tony and knelt beside him.

"I got you, Mr. Stark." He said as he started applying a healing solution that came out of his gauntlet. He grimaced upon seeing the stab wound. "Jesus..."

Starlord looked around. Their current circumstances began to dawn on him.

"Did we just lose?" He asked.

Y/N glanced at Quill, then let out a sigh and ran his hands along his face.

Tony gave a nod of thanks to Peter for the first aid, then looked at Doctor Strange who sat nearby. Stark was still in awe at how he gave Thanos the stone.

"Why would you do that?" He asked.

Stephen looked directly at Tony.

"We're in the endgame now."