Earth Is Closed Today

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Peter Quill wasn't one for surprises.

Wait, that's not true.

Peter loved surprises. He loved getting gifts and compliments — which was rare given the company he keeps. He liked knowing what going to happen and pretending to be overwhelmed by the outcome. He only liked surprises when they gave him a positive feeling. Happiness. Joy. Excitement.

Not dread.

So when he and his team made it to the coordinates Ana had sent them that was twenty or so jump points out of Asgard, he couldn't believe his eyes. His heart seized in his throat. There were bodies everywhere. Dead bodies. Floating around. Some of them disappearing into the dark depths below. The Statesman vessel was nothing but scrap metal. Space junk. It had been blown apart by something undeniably powerful. Pieces as small as dust hit the windshield of the Benatar, leaving traces of graphite-like streaks along the glass. Peter leaned forward in his seat, hands gripping the controls as he slowed the ship down to assess the damage.

Mantis gasped at the surroundings. "What happened?" She questioned.

Rather than answering the question the entire team had on their minds, Peter breathed out a soft, "Oh, my God." His face fell when he remembered Ana's distress call, and a bad feeling made it's way to his gut. Gamora's thought process shifted as she studied the bodies, searching for their on-again, off-again team member. She could see mainly men and women among the dead and forgotten. But no Ana.

Rocket hit his fists on his armrest. "Looks like we're not getting paid." He said.

Before Gamora could respond with a snarky comment about Rocket's lack of sympathy towards the dead, a loud thump got her attention focused on the body that suddenly collided with the cockpit window. It was a man. One of his eyes was covered in a metal patch while the other one snapped open, revealing a lightning blue iris. Everyone inside exclaimed at the sight.

"Whoa!" Drax shouted.

Groot looked up from his video-game if only for a second.

Rocket waved his hand around, yelling out, "Wipers! Wipers! Get it off!"

Peter looked beyond the male who was still alive on their windshield to a flickering light. Dull blue bursts of energy in the midst of the bodies urged him to advance forward carefully as Drax proceeded to ready himself to retrieve the man on their ship.

Gamora faced Peter, "What is it, Quill?" She questioned quietly. Peter turned to look back at Gamora, lips parting slightly.

"There's another one."

"That's gonna leave a mark..."

Ana grimaced at her reflection. The fresh wound was large and ragged. She had lifted the clean gauze Stephen had taped on to observe the injury. He hadn't recommended any stitching considering it was healing at a rapid pace. Cells were regenerating just as fast as the Hulk's. Ana didn't have to worry about getting an infection either. Perks of being half cosmic, she figured. Never had the flu or chickenpox as a kid. Her Hydra parents always told her she was too young to remember having it whenever she asked. Ana was kept in the dark about a lot of things before she went off on her own. A tiny part of her was grateful. She didn't know how she would handle being different at such a young age. She assumed therapy and homeschooling would've taken up a large chunk of her childhood.

Ana couldn't help the chuckle that left her lips as she walked out of her room in fresh clothes. Even as a grown up she needed someone to talk to about the things she did and saw every single day. She supposed late night talks with Natasha and Clint was her version of sitting on a couch and droning on about feelings to someone doodling on their notepad.

Ugh, feelings. Ana stopped in her tracks when Bucky's recent declaration popped back into her mind. As if on cue, her heart decided to beat ten times faster. She had tried to call him when she got back inside, but he wouldn't answer his phone. She supposed it was his way of letting her think on it for a cool minute or two. Ana really needed to talk to him. To say it back. To show him he meant the world to her. She couldn't believe it had taken her this long to tell the man she loved how she felt. And the fact that Bucky had the guts to whisper it in her ear, fly to the other side of the world and not return her calls made Ana's cheeks burn.

"Stupid, James." She muttered under her breath as she resumed moving.

She adjusted the blue hoodie on her shoulders as she approached the main entrance, feeling the water from her damp hair tickle the side of her hand. Ana walked into the double doors backwards, using her shoulder to push one of them open while she tried to zip up the dark leather jacket on top of all her layers with one hand. Space was cold, and she was freezing. It was going to take a while for the Manhattan heat to warm her up.

"Ana."

Ana pivoted on her feet to see Tony, Bruce, Wong and Stephen all standing in the middle of the foyer, staring at her. Ana reached up to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear and sent them all a weary glance. She assumed Tony was all caught up judging by the look of uneasiness in his eyes. Nobody wanted to say anything yet. Stephen met with Ana halfway and he zipped her jacket up for her, before resting his hands on her shoulders. He frowned. Ana's eyes were bloodshot. She had a halo of a dull grey surrounding her optic sockets. He didn't realise he was standing in front of her for that long until she placed her hand on his left elbow, coaxing him to part away.

Tony watched their interaction, sensing their father-daughter connection right of the bat. Ana stepped forward and sent a nod in his direction, "Tony."

Tony lifted his shoulders. "Wanna start me off from the beginning?" He asked.

Wong moved towards the middle of the group, delicately raising his hands into the air, creating a trio of golden mystical rings. "At the dawn of the universe there was nothing. Then, boom." Wong waved his hands upwards, forming an explosive image of five Infinity Stones out of thin air. Ana shuffled backwards, settling herself at Stephen's side. Tony sat down on a sofa that had been positioned in front of the wall, watching the illusion intently. "The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals hurtling across the virgin universe." The Stones spread out, glowing in their individual colours vividly. "These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence."

Ana pointed at each Stone as Wong rotated his hand to bring them closer to her. "Space. Reality. Power. Soul. Mind."

Stephen faced Tony, revealing the Eye of Agamotto. He crossed his arms over his chest, flexing his twitching fingers to unlock the Eye, and revealed the shining green Time Stone. "And Time."

Tony's eyes lowered. He could feel it again. The gnawing sensation at the back of his mind. It was there at the Battle of New York. It was there when he had witnessed Wanda's vision. And it's been with him ever since. "Tell me his name again." He said.

Bruce stepped forward, his deep brown eyes showing Tony just how horrific the things he had witnessed were. " He's a plague, Tony. He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population."

Ana sat down at the foot of the staircase, catching Tony's gaze as he moved towards them. "He was the one who sent Loki. The attack on New York all those years ago, that was him, Tone. Loki and I had recently spent some time together on another planet. And he told me everything." She elaborated. Ana stayed silent after those words, cautious of divulging into anymore details. Loki had been tortured by Thanos. She knew that wherever he was, if he was even still alive, that he wouldn't want Ana to spill his little secret to anyone.

"This is it." Tony whispered. He looked up at everyone. "What's out timeline?"

"No telling." Bruce answered as he followed Tony around while he paced. "He has the Power and Space Stones. That already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. If he gets his hands on all six Stones, Tony..."

Ana stood up abruptly. "Which isn't gonna happen." She interjected, eyes narrowing defiantly.

Tony stopped at a large vase by the end of the staircase and leaned against it. Stephen placed a hand on Ana's back. "If Thanos gets the Stones..." He continued for Bruce, sending Ana a look. "He could destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamed of."

Tony sent Stephen an incredulous glance. He stretched out his hamstrings as he steadied himself against the vase, "Did you seriously just say 'hitherto undreamed of'?"

"Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?" Stephen retorted.

Ana jumped when the Cloak of Levitation around Stephen's shoulders reached out and slapped Tony's arm to get him to stop touching the Cauldron. Tony had just narrowly missed seeing the red mystical material be the cause for his lack of balance and he looked up at Stephen, surprised.

"I'm going to allow that." Tony drawled. He then pointed at the Eye of Agamotto. "If Thanos needs all six, why don't we just stick this one down a garbage disposal?"

Ana scoffed at the genius of their generation.

"No can do." Strange shook his head.

Ana went to cross her arms but realised she couldn't and huffed, deciding to rest her good hand on her opposite shoulder. "We're tethered to it's survival." She added.

Wong motioned to all three of them. "We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone with our lives." He explained for Tony.

Tony disregarded Wong's words. "And I swore off dairy, but then Ben and Jerry's named a flavour after me, so..."

"Stark Raving Hazelnuts." Stephen recalled.

"Not bad." Tony commented.

"A bit chalky." Stephen stated.

"A Hunk of Hulk of Burning Fudge is our favourite." Wong added, standing next to Bruce.

"That's a thing?" Bruce asked.

Ana frowned. "I thought Rockin' Warrior Road was." She mumbled.

Wong shrugged at her in response.

"Whatever." Tony spoke up, "Point is, things change."

Stephen wouldn't be that easily dismissed. "Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot change. And this Stone may be the best chance we have against Thanos."

"Yeah, so conversely, it may also be his best chance against us." Tony countered.

"Well, if we don't do our jobs..." Ana could tell Stephen was getting fed up with Tony, and she sighed when his tone deepened. He was annoyed at Iron Man.

"What is your job exactly? Besides making balloon animals?" Tony questioned innocently.

Ana took some offence to that. She, like Stephen and Wong, were devoted to safeguarding their universe from otherworldly threats. She hoped Tony would understand that, since he was an Avenger and did the same. Stephen looked Tony over when it became silent. He knew how valuable Tony had been ever since he forged the Iron Man armour and used it to change the world. From what Ana would tell him about Tony, he supposed they would get along seeing as they were intelligent men with similar values. But egos that were alike don't seem to mesh well, and Tony's was bigger than the city of New York.

A slight smirk highlighted Stephen's face as he replied with an ego-stinging, "Protecting your reality, douchebag."

"Okay, guys," Bruce said, stepping in between them. "Could we table this discussion right now? The fact is, we have this Stone. We know where it is. Vision is out there somewhere with the Mind Stone and we have to find him now."

Ana felt a wave of... she didn't know, something, wash over her, leaving the top of her skull chilled and the hairs on the back of her neck all tingly. She tilted her head upwards when dust from the hole in the ceiling trickled down. She shrugged it off and looked back at Tony, tightening her hand that was stuffed in her jacket pocket into a clenched fist.

"Yeah, that's the thing." Tony scratched his head, trailing off as he was unsure of how to break the news to Bruce.

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked.

"Two weeks ago Vision turned off his transponder. He's offline." Tony revealed.

"He's probably with someone who doesn't want to be found." Ana mumbled to herself, rubbing her eyes. Stephen heard her and sent her a quizzical look. He then comprehended her words, knowing she meant the Avengers in hiding.

"Tony, you lost another super-bot?" Bruce questioned, eyes wide. He did not want another Ultron Incident.

"I didn't lose him. He's more than that. He's evolving" Tony reasoned.

"It's true. Sometimes I think Vis is more human than... well, humans." Ana said, lifting a hand to her chin.

"Who could find Vision then?" Stephen asked as Tony walked away from the group. Ana frowned when she could hear Tony curse under his breath.

"Probably Steve Rogers." He muttered, somewhat bitterly.

"Oh, great." Strange sighed out. This was gonna be good.

"Maybe." Tony continued, still having his back towards the group, "But..."

"Call him." Bruce urged, saying it like it was one of the simplest things to do. But for Tony, it wasn't. Not by a long shot.

"It's not that easy." Tony admitted, spinning around to face Bruce's clueless expression. "God, we haven't caught up in a spell, have we?"

"No." Bruce answered.

Tony shook his head, sending Ana a glance. She held his gaze, silently telling she hadn't told Bruce the truth either. She couldn't. A small, dismal scoff left Tony's lips before he finally said, "The Avengers broke up. We're toast."

"Broke up?" Bruce's mind raced at Tony's words. His focus shifted between the two Avengers in the room. Neither of them would look him in the eye. "Like a band? Like- like the Beatles?" He stuttered, unsure if he heard Tony right.

"Cap and I fell out hard. We're not on speaking terms." Tony stated, jaw clenching. For some reason, he stopped himself from looking in Ana's direction, and that's when she lowered her eyes to the floor, shame and regret filling her chest.

Bruce shuffled closer to Ana. "Ana? Why didn't you say anything?"

Ana brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, shoulders sagging forward. "I didn't know how. You were recovering from being a full-time Hulk, and I thought the news would do you serious harm. For Thor too. Besides, the timing wasn't right. We were caught up in an Asgardian feud." She tried to explain.

At the mention of Thor, Bruce straightened up with a sharp intake of breath. Ana wordlessly begged him to get rid of the look of anguish from his face, knowing he only thought of their Asgardian friend as a dead King. She couldn't let him think that. Because that would have to force her into believing the same of her father. And the idea of losing him only days from having met him would crumble her to pieces.

"Dammit, Bruce. Stop it." Ana whispered with a clenched jaw, feeling tears prick at her eyes.

Bruce shook his head and turned to Tony. "Tony, listen to me. Thor's gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn't matter who you're talking to or not."

Tony stood there, trying to process what Bruce had just said. Thor's demise hit hard, and yet a part of Tony believed it to be untrue. He saw the god take missiles to the chest and blasts to the face. He always came out swinging with his hammer, shouting out 'For Asgard!' continuously until it drove Tony mad. If Thanos really had managed to put the God of Thunder and Lightning down, Tony had to respond. He had to act. He had to reconnect. Breaking the news to Steve was going to be one of the hardest things he would have to do. But he had to trust that it would bring them closer. They had to avenge their friend, together.

Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out the mobile he kept on him at all times. Did he plan on calling Steve or was he always waiting for a call from the Captain? Tony didn't know. "Flip phone." He scoffed at the ancient model of telephone communication, and brought up the contacts listings, where just one number sat, waiting to be dialled.

Ana watched as Tony's thumb hovered over the dial button. Her attention was then drawn to the rumbling underneath her feet. She glanced down at her hiker boots and caught the ends of her shoelaces wobble. She squinted, relaxing her fist and reaching down to place her palm flat against the wooden floors.

Wong took a quick glimpse at Ana as she kneeled. "What are you doing?"

Before Ana could offer an explanation, Tony pointed at Stephen and asked, "Say, Doc, you wouldn't happen to be moving your hair, would ya?"

Stephen was confused by his question, and let his eyes wander up to the loose strand of hair over his forehead. "Not at the moment, no."

Ana stood up and stepped forward, moving past the four men when she could hear the air outside chopping. She concentrated, or at least tried to, and picked out the sound of an engine. Too loud to be a car. Too quiet to be a plane. Which only meant one thing. Then, screams. Ana's eyes snapped open, revealing a shining blue hue.

"Oh, no..."

When Tony walked to the front doors, brushing shoulders with Ana, the blue in her eyes vanished and she followed after him as he opened the doors. They blew wide open from the unpredictable gust of wind, revealing the chaos in the streets. People were screaming, running in the opposite direction, away from the unidentified flying object in the middle of the road a few blocks away. It was towering. Larger than the buildings of Bleecker Street. Enough to send anyone who looked at it fleeing in terror.