[The Q-Ship. Torture Chamber.]
Doctor Strange screamed.
Hundreds of translucent, glass-like needles were burrowing into his skin, agonizingly slow. Ebony Maw hovered over him, his long fingers conducting the torture like a symphony.
"In all the time I have served Thanos," Maw whispered, "I have never failed him. If I were to reach our rendezvous on Titan with the Time Stone still attached to your vaguely irritating person... there would be judgment."
"Give... him... a break," Strange gasped.
Maw raised a hand. "Pain is an old friend."
"It is also," a metallic voice echoed from the upper deck, "a very poor conversationalist."
Maw turned. Iron Man stood on the gantry.
"And you," Maw sneered. "The chattering animal. You survived the ascent."
"I did," Tony walked forward. "And I brought the rest of the circus."
[The Rafters]
Spider-Man hung upside down in the shadows. Sebastian Michaelis crouched next to him, perfectly balanced on a narrow beam.
"Okay," Peter whispered. "You saw Aliens, right? The movie?"
Sebastian looked at the boy. "I generally prefer literature, Master Parker. But do proceed."
"Okay, so, there's a hole in the ship, and the Alien queen gets sucked out. It's awesome. We just need to blow a hole."
Sebastian looked at the hull. He calculated the pressure differential.
"Crude," Sebastian smiled. "But effective. I shall secure the Wizard."
[The Action]
"I take it the Stone is safe?" Tony asked Maw.
"The Stone stays with me," Maw said. He lifted debris with his mind to crush Tony.
"Yeah," Tony's helmet snapped shut. "We're actually gonna take the wizard. Pete! Seb! Now!"
Tony fired a missile at the curved wall of the ship.
BOOM.
The hull shattered. The vacuum of space roared in instantly. Everything not bolted down was violently sucked toward the void.
Ebony Maw was pulled off his feet. He flew toward the hole.
Doctor Strange—still bound to the torture rack—was ripped loose. He tumbled toward deep space.
"I got him!" Peter yelled, shooting a web to catch Strange.
But the suction was too strong. Peter was dragged along with him. "Mr. Stark! Help!"
Iron Man fired his thrusters, grabbing Peter's web, trying to anchor them.
Then, there was Sebastian.
He didn't hold onto anything. He moved with unnatural weight, his boots magnetizing (or perhaps just defying physics) to the floor. He walked through the hurricane of escaping air.
He reached the hole.
Ebony Maw was clinging to the jagged edge of the metal, fighting the pull. He looked up and saw the butler standing over him.
"You," Maw hissed, his eyes freezing over. "What are you?"
Sebastian looked down at the alien zealot. The vacuum pulled at his tailcoat, whipping it violently, but Sebastian's hair remained perfectly styled.
"I am simply one hell of a butler," Sebastian said.
He raised a black boot.
"And you are loitering on the doorstep."
Sebastian stomped on Maw's fingers.
CRUNCH.
Maw screamed silently in the vacuum as he lost his grip. He drifted away, freezing instantly into a statue of ice, floating forever into the dark.
Sebastian turned. He saw Peter and Strange flailing near the breach.
Sebastian grabbed Strange's cape with one hand and Peter's leg with the other. He threw them back into the ship effortlessly.
"Sir! Close it up!" Sebastian yelled calmly.
Tony sprayed nanites over the hole, sealing the breach. The roaring wind stopped. Silence returned.
[The Aftermath]
Peter dropped to the floor, panting. "We did it! We totally did it!"
Strange struggled out of the torture restraints. He looked at Tony, then at Sebastian.
"You saved me," Strange said, sounding disgusted.
"Don't mention it," Tony landed. "Actually, mention it. A thank you would be nice."
"I'm not talking to you," Strange pointed at Sebastian. "I'm talking to the demon. You saved the Time Stone."
"I saved the Wizard," Sebastian corrected, dusting off his coat. "The stone is merely an accessory."
"We have to turn this ship around," Tony walked to the viewscreen. "We have to go back to Earth."
"No," Strange stood up. "We can't. The Stone has to be far away from Earth. We have to go to Titan. Fight him on his turf."
"Fight him?" Tony laughed bitterly. "Did you see what one of his minions did? We barely survived the squid guy. You want to go fight the boss?"
"It's the only way," Strange insisted. "We have the element of surprise."
Tony looked at Peter. "I can't take the kid to Titan. He's a liability."
"I'm not a liability!" Peter argued. "I came to space! I saved the wizard! Well, I helped!"
Tony sighed. He walked over to Peter. He tapped the Iron Spider shoulders.
"Alright, kid. You're an Avenger now."
Peter beamed. "For real?"
"Yeah. Don't make me regret it."
Tony looked at Sebastian.
"And you?"
Sebastian looked out the window at the streaks of hyperspace.
"I go where you go, Sir. Besides," Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "I am curious about this Titan. A man who wishes to court Death so boldly... he sounds like an interesting host."
[Titan. The Ruins.]
Hours later. The ship crash-landed on the orange, dusty ruins of Titan.
They stepped out. The gravity was weird. The air was stale.
"He's not here," Tony scanned the horizon.
Suddenly, a grenade rolled to their feet.
BOOM.
"Positions!" Tony yelled.
A group of aliens attacked. Star-Lord, Drax, and Mantis.
It was a chaotic, confusing skirmish.
Spider-Man fought Star-Lord. Iron Man fought Drax.
Sebastian stood in the middle, watching with mild amusement as Mantis tried to put him to sleep.
"Sleep," Mantis touched his forehead. "Sleeeeep."
Sebastian blinked. "I do not require sleep, mademoiselle. But your hands are quite cold."
Mantis recoiled. "He is... empty! There is no mind! Only hunger!"
"Everybody stay where you are!" Star-Lord yelled, holding a blaster to Spider-Man's head. "Or I blow the kid's head off!"
"You shoot my guy, I blast him!" Tony aimed his cannon at Drax.
"Do it, Quill! I can take it!" Drax yelled.
"No he can't!" Mantis cried.
"Wait," Peter said. "Quill? You're from Earth?"
"I'm from Missouri," Quill snapped.
"Yeah, that's on Earth, dipshit," Tony lowered his weapon. "So you're not with Thanos?"
"With Thanos?" Quill scoffed. "I'm here to kill Thanos. He took my girl. Wait, who are you?"
"We're the Avengers," Peter said proudly.
Quill looked at the group. A wizard, a robot-man, a kid, and... a butler.
"You're the Avengers?" Quill pointed at Sebastian. "Who's the caterer?"
Sebastian bowed. "I am the one who will be cleaning up your remains if you do not lower that weapon."
Quill lowered the gun slowly. "Okay. Weird vibe. But I like it."
[The Plan]
They gathered in a circle. Tony, Quill, Strange, Peter, Drax, Mantis, Nebula (who arrived shortly after), and Sebastian.
"He has the Reality Stone and the Soul Stone," Nebula revealed. "He sacrificed Gamora."
The mood plummeted.
"Okay," Tony said. "We have one shot. We have to pin him down. Get the gauntlet off. Mantis puts him under. Quill, Drax, you hit him. Strange, you do magic. Sebastian..."
Tony looked at the demon.
"You're the wildcard. When he's down... you hold him. I don't care how strong he is. You hold him."
Strange sat down. He began to twitch. The Time Stone glowed green. He was looking into the future.
He saw 14,000,605 outcomes.
He stopped. He looked pale.
"How many did we win?" Tony asked.
Strange looked at Tony. Then, for a lingering second, he looked at Sebastian.
"One."
[End of Chapter 42]
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