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Tony had prepared for their arrival, that much was immediately clear. Though the billionaire himself disappeared into the winding hallways of the complex after he didn't greet the team, they were each led to private living quarters by Happy Hogan. Natasha, Sam and Steve had all previously lived in the facility, however they were not shown their old rooms. Instead, Tony had planned to house all four companions in a cluster, two rooms on each side of a hallway. Natasha and Sam on one side, and Steve and Bucky on the other. It was also found that a door was inputted, connecting Steve and Bucky's rooms together, though Sam and Natasha's rooms didn't have the same dynamic. It was a thoughtful touch, one that surprised Steve thoroughly, and gave him hope for repairing his and Tony's friendship.

Everyone had been surprised that Tony had extended the invitation to Bucky, his reasons for doing so still clouded. The team could only anticipate what kind of battle was on the horizon if Tony felt the need to call in people that he probably would rather to never see again. Thus, the air was tense as the remainder of Team Cap gathered in a small meeting room, in a secluded wing of the complex. They had received the instructions to meet over an intercom in their rooms, and had seen the walk over quietly talking amongst themselves about what could be coming. They were alone in the room, unsure if Tony would be joining them. At the table, two chairs were empty, implying that he planned, or had planned, to bring someone else.

But what the four didn't expect was for a wizard to be the first to enter.

The man was tall, with a slim build and facial hair to rival Tony Stark's. However the most striking thing about him was his attire, as the man was dressed in blue cloth robes that hugged his frame, and a large pendant hung off a golden chain, suspended on the center of his chest. There was also the matter of the large, vibrant red cape that brushed the floor, its collar popped up.

"Who the hell is Harry Potter over here?" Sam whispered to Natasha, who just shrugged in return.

Though the man immediately startled the four, he seemed to be unbothered by them, and barely swept his eyes over the team as he entered the room, an aura of confidence and seriousness following him. Soon after the wizard, the familiar face of Tony Stark came into the room, his sunglasses from earlier gone, and his tired eyes exposed to the room's occupants. The pair took their seats, the wizard silently, and Tony with a great huff. Without a moments delay, the stranger began to speak.

"My name is Doctor Stephen Strange," he began, his voice clear and deep, "Sorcerer Supreme of the New York Sanctum. Today-"

"Hold up." Sam interrupted, crossing his arms and staring at Stephen disbelievingly. "You're actually a wizard?"

Even though his comment clearly annoyed the doctor, a small snort came from Tony, who appeared to be avoiding eye contact with everyone at the table except for Stephen. At the man's almost unnoticeable sign of happiness, everyone else dropped the matter, and sat in silence for a moment. Steve reminisced on the days when Tony would have said at least five sarcastic comments on the situation, instead of snorting under his breath. The thought sobered him.

Stephen cleared his throat, ready to move on. "You've all been brought here in the event of an emergency situation, i.e. an actual battle." He explained.

"So there isn't a fight?" Natasha asked, staring at Stephen with distrust. Every now and then her eyes flickered to Tony, but she never held them on him for long. Everyone shot glances at the man, except for Bucky. Bucky simply pushed himself back into his chair, and didn't dare look at the man.

"That is the goal." Stephen confirmed. "Currently we have people working on avoiding any conflict by all means necessary. However we also require means of defense for the facility, because we are safeguarding precious materials- the Infinity Stones. Your jobs will be to aid in protecting these stones, and preparing in case of an attack." Stephen finished, looking around at the four rogue superheroes. "Questions?"

Steve opened his mouth to ask something, but Sam inevitably beat him to it. "Can you be less vague Dumbledore?" He asked. Stephen rolled his eyes, but he did not answer due to a light pressure on his arm. Next to him, Tony pressed on his shoulder, indicating that he was ready to speak.

"It's Thanos." Tony sighed, finally meeting the staring eyes of Team Cap. He still refused to look at Bucky, however. "He's an intergalactic asshole who's trying to kill half of all life." Tony paused, his eyes fixing on a distant point. Steve, and everyone else at the table, save for Stephen sensed that there was a much deeper emotional connection that Tony had to this. "It's not just Earth. He's targeting everything."

"How?" Steve asked, leaning forward onto the table, his eyes searching Tony's. Tony held his gaze for a moment, his lips parting slightly to say something, but he shut them quickly and broke his eyes away.

"Infinity Stones. Tiny pebbles of infinite power that he's gonna shove into a mitten and kill everyone with." He explained, a bit of energy seeming to come back into him. As simply as he was explaining it, whoever Thanos was seemed to be putting a great deal of stress on Tony. Everyone noticed it, and so they kept most of their questions to themselves, to save him the effort.

"Where are these stones?" Natasha questioned, her eyes perfectly trained onto Tony's shifting figure.

"Scattered." He shrugged. "But we have, uh, three- right doc?" Tony turned to Stephen for confirmation.

"That's right," Stephen nodded, his face grave. "We have in our possession the Space and Time stones, and we recently received word that the Mind stone has been destroyed in Wakanda. There are six in total, but we cannot be sure of victory until we have all six neutralized." He fell silent, as did the rest of them, thinking quietly to themselves.

"Who's Naomi?" Steve broke the silence, and Tony's head whipped up to meet his gaze. Again, Tony's eyes seemed to fix on a distant point, as though he was looking through Steve instead of at him.

Stephen answered instead, "She's the one who informed us of Thanos."

"Without her," Tony added. "We wouldn't have a chance." Steve fell silent, sensing that she was a sensitive subject to Tony. Clearly, he had formed some sort of bond with the woman. However others had doubts.

"Is she trustworthy?" Natasha asked, her tone skeptical. Tony looked at her, and his eyes were offended, which took her aback.

"She knows things I couldn't have dreamt of, and still she knows more than me."

Team Cap exchanged looks, surprised by his praise of this woman that they had never heard of before. Clearly, he held a great deal of respect for her.

"So where is she?" Steve asked, curious to meet her, and why she wasn't with them in the meeting.

"She's in the sky, right?" Sam joked, attempting to lighten the mood. It worked marginally, but Tony and Stephen seemed unchanged. Tony even took the comment seriously.

"Yes, technically. She's in space somewhere, collecting the rest of the stones, and the rest of us." He said. The group frowned, confused by his words. Confusion seemed to have been a common theme that day, because most of what Tony and Stephen were saying wasn't making a great deal of sense.

"Us?" Bucky spoke, his voice rumbling in the air for the first time. After the word tumbled out of his mouth, he froze, his eyes glued to his lap. Everyone tensed as Tony finally looked at Bucky, and acknowledged his presence. He was silent, and the metal-armed soldier refused to meet his eyes. Eventually, Tony moved on, and looked away from the man.

"Currently, she's traveling with Thor," some eyes perked up around the room at the mention of the beloved god's name. "And Loki." Tony shrugged nonchalantly.

"What?!" Sputtered Steve and Natasha, each leaning forward with comical disbelief on their faces. It was enough to make Tony smile, and for a moment things felt right again. But then it was gone, and everything was tense and awkward once more.

"Yeah." Tony coughed. "Thor trusts him, and Naomi trusts him, so..." He gestured with his hands weakly, clearly implying that the billionaire had given up caring about the trickster. "Also," he added, forcing them to fix their incredulous stares onto him again. Tony gave a small, but happy, smile. "She's bringing Bruce back."

Silence stunned the room, and Natasha froze in spot as she continuously peered at Tony, her face guarded. Eventually she pulled away, and composed herself.

"Right." Tony said. "So are we good here? Stephen?" The doctor gave him a small nod, and the two began to rise from their chairs. Team Cap followed, still confused on several matters but also resigned to the fact that they would most likely stay that way.

"Wait," Steve called out, unwilling to let a final question go. Tony met his eyes, and it was easier for them both to look at each other that time. "How does she know so much?" He asked, his tone puzzled, and almost helpless.

Tony smirked, for the first time since they had seen him again.

"She's a prophet."