Pull | Infinity War

Chapter 20: "We've got one shot to kick his ass and kick it right."

Now Playing: Revolution: The Score

All this doubt is creepin' in

Inside out, I shed my skin

Can you hear the drumming?

There's a revolution coming

Time to extend Iris' list of 'Weird-as-shit things I've seen.' It was growing rapidly.

They found Stephen, that was the easy part. The hard portion was getting him out of whatever trance he'd put himself in.

Iris and everyone turned at the antenna girl's words to find Stephen sitting cross-legged in the air (she did a double take when she noticed that aspect.) His hands, positioned above his knees, had green ruins wrapped around them. The necklace around his neck, a golden eye with a green stone set in the center, glowed just as bright, maybe more.

The thing that shook her the most was his head. It whipped from side to side faster than it should be possible. The movements were blurred, like pressing the fast-forward button on a video. His cape unfurled behind him, touching the ground.

Iris crept forward, Tony close behind, followed by Parker. "Stephen?" Iris called out softly, "Can you hear me?" No response, only more flickering of the head.

Then Iris noticed something else: Stephen's head position wasn't the only thing changing, his facial expressions flickered back and forth too. From pain, anguish, hurt, happiness, and everything else in between. Iris felt her heart pang, what was going on?

Better question: What is he on?

Oh for fuck's sake.

"Strange! You all right?" Tony jumped in, standing on his other side, facing Iris with just as much confusion as she knew was painted on her face. 

Out of the blue, Stephen jolted forward, crying out. He fell to the ground, and Iris rushed to grab his arm, steadying him. Stark muttered comfort under his breath while Iris, subconsciously, rubbed circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. It was a habit they got into while they dated years ago, to help quell his anxiety and her nervousness.

"You're back, you're all right," Stark muttered, letting go of Strange's arm. "Hey, what was that?" Stephen's breathe lept in his chest, it pumped up and down and Iris continued to draw circles and other random shapes on his hand.

"I went forward in time, to view alternate futures- To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict." A chill ran down Iris' spine. He could do that? Tony didn't even seem fazed at his words- like this was all part of the gig.

"How many did you see?" Strange paused, contemplating whether or not he should give Stark an answer.

"Fourteen million, six hundred and five," Damn.

"How many did we win?" Iris didn't know if Tony noticed, but Stephen's shoulders sagged. Maybe it was because she'd known him for a longer time? Began to notice all the little things he did that made her smile? Whatever the reason, Iris' eyes snapped to his, begging for an answer.

"One." She didn't think a single word could be so chilling, so final. Iris wondered it was like to view so many possibilities, to see so many outcomes. Did Stephen feel like it was his responsibility to get them all out alive because he knew how? She certainly would.

"So we've got one shot at this is what you're saying?" For some reason, Stephen wouldn't meet her eyes, he looked anywhere but directly at her face. She felt a sinking sensation deep in the pit of her stomach.