The Soulmate Initiative: Book 2

8. Space travel

LOCATION: SPACE

Doctor Strange groans in pain as he wakes up, he has been struck with sharp objects all over. Ebony Maw steps closer to him "In all the time I've served Thanos, I have never failed him. If I were to reach our rendezvous on Titian with the Time stone still attached to your vaguely irritating person... there would be judgement." He has been torturing Strange the entire ride, but he is resisting. Whilst Ashley has been thinking up a plan and Peter has just been keeping out of sight, whilst trying to find Ashley. The spikes slowly attack Strange "Give me the stone." But he continues resisting.

All of a sudden, Doctor Strange's red cape floats over to where Ashley is spying from, and taps her on the shoulder. She holds up a hand, powered and ready to attack, but relaxes when she notices what it is "Wow you're a seriously loyal piece of outerwear, aren't you?" Peter has finally found Ashley and takes this opportunity to tangle himself from the ceiling "Yeah, uh, speaking of loyalty." She drops from the ceiling "What the..." "I know what you're gonna say." "You should not be here." "I was gonna go home." "I don't wanna hear it." The cloak starts imitating Ashley's movements "But it was such a long way down and I just thought about you all the way-" "And now I gotta hear it." "-and kinda stuck to the side of the ship. And this suit is ridiculously intuitive, by the way." "God damn." "So, if anything, it's kinda your fault that I'm here." Both the cloak and Ashley look Peter's way, though the cloak has no face, they're both giving off the same energy of 'did you just blame me for your stupid?' "What did you just say?" Peter starts stuttering "I-I-I t-take that back. And now, I'm here in space." She steps towards Peter and takes his shoulders in his hand, speaking gentler "Yeah, right where I didn't want you to be. This isn't Coney Island. This isn't a field trip. This is a one-way ticket. You hear me?" She releases his shoulders "Don't pretend you thought this through." "No, I did think this through." "You could not have possibly thought this through." "You can't be a friendly neighbourhood Spiderman, if there's no neighbourhood. Okay, that didn't really make sense, but you know what I'm trying to say." Ashley breathes shakily, knowing it's too late now "Come on. We got a situation." She points over the edge, where Strange is being tortured far below "See him down there? He's in trouble. What's your plan? Go." "Um... Okay, okay... Uh... Okay. Did you ever see this really old movie, Aliens?"

Strange is screaming from the pain, but Ebony is still acting calm "Painful, aren't they? They were originally designed for microsurgery. And any one of them-" There's a thud behind him, so he turns around. Iron Woman is pointing her hands his way "-could end your friend's life in an instant." "I gotta tell you, he's not really my friend. Saving his life is more of a professional courtesy." Ebony starts summoning metal as he slowly walks towards Ashley "You've saved nothing. Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine." "Yeah, but the kid's seen more movies." She shoots a hole in the side of the ship and Ebony gets suvked through it, out into space. Doctor Strange starts getting sucked out, but his cloak grabs him. However, the pull is too strong and he gets dragged further, but Peter grabs him with his webs. Just before he too is sucked out, metal legs come out of the back of his new suit, to hover him over the hole in the wall "Yes! Wait, what are those?" He kicks himself away from the hole, dragging Strange back in with him as Ashley quickly seals the hole.

Peter drops Strange and lands, the cloak hovers over to Peter and he holds a hand out to it "Hey, we haven't officially met." The cloak flies away "Cool." Ashley walks past Strange, as he tries to catch his breath, he says "We gotta turn this ship around." "Yeah, now he wants to run. Great plan." The cloak attached itself to Strange "No, I want to protect the stone." "And I want you to thank me. Now, go ahead. I'm listening." "For what? Nearly blasting me into space?" "Who just saved your magical ass? Me." "I seriously don't know how you get your head into that helmet." "Admit it, you should have ducked out when I told you to. I tried to bench you, you refused." "Unlike everyone else in your life, I don't work for you." "And due to that fact, we're now in a flying donut billions of miles from Earth with no backup." Peter, who's just been silently watching, raises a hand "I'm backup." "No, you're a stowaway. The adults are talking." Strange looks between the pair "I'm sorry, I'm confused as to the relationship here. What is he, your ward?" Peter shakes his head "No. I'm Peter, by the way." He holds out a hand, but Strange doesn't shake it "Doctor Strange." Peter quickly puts his hand down "Oh, you're using our made up names. Um..
I'm Spiderman, then." Strange stares at Peter a moment, analysing him.

Ashley comments "This ship is self-correcting its course. Thing's on autopilot." Strange walks over to where Ashley is standing, looking out into space through a huge window "Can we control it? Fly us home?" Ashley doesn't say anything "Stark?" "Yeah?" "Can you get us home?" "Yeah, I heard you. I'm thinking I'm not so sure we should." "Under no circumstances can we bring the Time stone to Thanos. I don't think you quite understand what's at stake here." "What? No. It's you who doesn't understand that Thanos has been inside my head for six years. Since he sent an army to New York, and now he's back! And I don't know what to do. So I'm not so sure if it's a better plan to fight him on our turf or his, but you saw what they did, what they can do. At least on his turf, he's not expecting it. So I say we take the fight to him. Doctor, do you concur?" "Alright, Stark. We go to him. But you have to understand... if it comes to saving you or the kid or the Time stone... I will not hesitate to let either of you die. I can't, because the universe depends on it." "Nice. Good, moral compass. We're straight." Ashley walks over to Peter "Alright, kid." She taps his shoulders in turn "You're an Avenger now." Peter gives himself a proud smile.