TO THE INFINITY AND BEYOND

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Disclaimer: Natsume Yuujinchou belongs to Yuki Midorikawa. Fukigen na Mononokean belongs to Kiri Wazawa. Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo. Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman. Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Infinity War belongs to Marvel

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Genre: Humor and Drama

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Warning: Typo is my most loyal fan. Spelling mistakes because English is not my mother language. Possibly OOC. Fluff. NOT BETA so beware of grammar mistakes

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Summary: A warning from an unknown 'wizard' prepared them for the incoming war.

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Are you ready, Harley?

I'm born ready

Spiderman and …umm...Harley? Would you please tell me what's going to happen—

No time, Ms. Everheart! We're going to miss the most intense, most badass fight you'll ever see!

And we're going to be the best commentator ever~

What are you talking ab—

Three, two, one, cameraaaaa…action!

"So…let me get this straight…" Tony swirled the ice cubes inside his glass of shining water (not alcohol. He's trying to be a responsible adult here), letting the melodic sounds of a lovely jingle calming his whirring head. One of his eyebrows shot up as he stared at a man with a majestic beard—of course, not as majestic as Tony himself—wearing a wizard-look-alike costume, complete with an elaborate necklace and a red cloak that reached his ankle. He was sitting at the opposite coach of him, putting the translator-earpiece Tony lent on his right ear, he straightened, expression completely calm, "you said a dangerous alien is searching for a stone and is going to destroy the earth along the way?"

"Yes."

"And you know about this because your other self…"

"From a different universe."

"From a different universe gave his knowledge to you. In your sleep?"

A nod.

Tony slumped forward and massage the bridge of his nose, deadpanned and weary, "what is my life?"

It happened in the next day after Danny's inauguration as a Ghost King and Peter's Homecoming debacle. FRIDAY informed each of the children in retrospect of the Halfa's order, being that he used his phone to record the mussy stuff between Tony and Peter, informing them of what had happened yesterday night. It didn't take long for the Japanese kids to visit the tower—it's Sunday for them anyway, so no skipping classes—to scolded the brown-haired teen (Takashi and Haruitsuki), fretted over him (Hanae), and smacked his head for a good measure (Ichigo). Clint reasoned, as he watched them squabble from the sideline, that it was partly their fault for contaminating the sweet Petey with their recklessness, especially Takeshi. And the platinum-blonde boy redirected that accusation to Tony, for being the prime example of bad decisions (in a tone full of jest, so the billionaire knew he didn't mean anything of it) he whistled in faux innocence. Bruce laughed at their antics.

It was here, when they were having a fun time chatting with each other in the lobby of the Stark Tower, accompanied by dozens and dozens of pizza boxes and cans full of diet cokes, that the oddity happened.

A portal appeared. It's not Haruitsuki's Mononokean. Nor it's Ichigo's or Kisuke's Senkaimon. It's not even Wulf's famous Ghost Portal. No. This portal is orange and sparkling, like a firework in the middle of a summer festival. The sight of it sent a loud, warning alarm through the back of their mind. A lot of things then occurred at once.

Hanae, who was in the middle of picking up a bottle of orange juice from the fridge, was startled into a shock so bad, he accidentally threw the box to the opening of the portal. Nailing the person who was ready to step inside the tower right on his head. Hanae hid behind Bruce's wide back with a small whimper.

Takeshi hurled Nyanko-sensei to the same portal, causing him to land on the same head also. The cat started nibbling him in aggression.

Ichigo shed his human form and dashed, stopped right in front of the intruder with his Zanpakuto glinted, ready to chop the neck clean if he had to.

Danny transformed into his ghostly form and thrust his hand forward, green aura enveloped the open palm.

Tony called for his armor and Clint unholster his guns, they stood in front of the non-combatant kids.

Haruitsuki went for the door and two fingers stay near his mouth, he was in the middle of calling his trusty youkai for a quick escape route.

And Stephen Vincent Strange—or known as Doctor Strange—could only stand in bewilderment and dripping wet with an orange juice. Confused at the sudden killing intent that shrouded the jovial atmosphere in a mere second.

"It's not like this is your first time facing a world-wide crisis, Tony," Takeshi patted his shoulder in a faux pity, Nyanko-sensei was back on his usual perch.

"We're like…waiting for the other shoe to drop, actually," Danny snickered, still in his ghost form and now was flying by the ceiling, eating the leftover pizza while he swims by.

Stephen took one look at the white-haired Halfa and said, index finger pointed and expression slacked, rather amazed, "so it's true. He's really a ghost."

"Why are you surprised? You're a wizard yourself," Clint chimed in.

"First of all, I'm a sorcerer," he huffed indignantly, "second of all, I'm a doctor first and foremost. This side of mine was just newly discovered one month ago. Even after all the hocus-pocus, I'm still skeptical with any unscientific things," Tony agreed whole-heartedly at that sentiment. Stephen glanced at Ichigo, then swerved his gaze to the Mistress who was hanging around the ex-CEO's neck like a koala, "I need to see the evidence first before I can accept this as my reality. It was not that long ago that I was just a normal human being. Who cannot see a different creature that is invisible to the naked eyes. Bacteria not included."

"You get the Sight after you become a sorcerer, then?" Haruitsuki confirmed. Doctor sharply nodded.

"You're also the reason why I cannot see the future of this world yesterday night" The Mistress stated, in a matter of fact. No opening statement, no question mark at the end, the other shivered. It has been a long time since the skeleton lady used that tone—even to a new people Tony brought to his Inner Circle—and they didn't like how oppressing the mood was whenever she did use his Godly voice. Hanae gulped, trying not to look too frightened as her aura reminded him so much with the Executive but twice heavier and scarier.

Stephen bowed in his chair, low and respectful, "my apologize, Mistress. I want to say it's not wholly my fault as my other self is the one who sent his knowledge without my consent. But he's still me. So let me apologized on behalf of everyone involved."

It was silent for a few minutes; Mistress stared at him with an unreadable gaze and Stephen not moving from his position. Tony started to fidget and he moved to dissuade the situation. Before the Goddess smiled and spoke, cutting his intention away with a single wave, "as you yourself aware, it is not entirely your fault. And the other you know not to share anything regarding the secret of the world. The reason why he still did it even after knowing that, and the reason why you decided to tell us even though you should not, was a clear indication that you cannot regain any modicum of control any longer. The two of you needed to find another alternative. Needed to ask another opinion and give you another idea. So raise your head, Stephen Strange. You have done a great job."

He looked up and nodded once more. The tenseness on his shoulders—that Tony didn't even notice was there—were now gone. Glad that the God of the Universes didn't punish him after he broke the absolute law. Well, another Stephen did, but don't mind the detail.

"So…alien," Bruce piped in, now that the air around them turned back to normal and not choking their respiratory tight anymore, "are you sure about this? Regarding your knowledge from the alternate universe, are you sure you're not a time traveler yourself? And not just receiving a memory of the other self?"

What is this, Hermione from Harry Potter Prison of Azkaban? Tony almost snorted at the incredulity.

"No. Because my knowledge and his knowledge clashed with each other. The world from his point of view told me that Avenger was a law-breaker at some point too but they are back in action. A contrasting point from this Avenger in this world," everyone eyebrows furrowed in distaste at that, "Clint Barton is one of them," the archer jolted in surprise. Then it morphed into anger at his other self for even thinking of following that prick of a Captain, "the Tony Stark that he knew doesn't have this many children around him. Only Peter as his intern," the said brown-haired kid blinked, "and no power to see the invisible."

"That ruled out the Time Travel theory then," Ichigo hummed. He was still in his Shinigami form, Zanbato rested on his laps. He won't take any chance with this stranger (pun not intended). Especially knowing how his cloak has a mind of his own—Nyanko grumbled incoherently because he was the victim of that cloth; who was trying to save his master from the tubby cat by snatching his tail and threw him away, he landed right at Takashi's embrace. Every single person had their jaws dropped after that little show—and him having information from the future time. Don't even start at how his other self had managed to block the Mistress' vision for a while, something that can only be done if the other God under her wings were stretching their power far enough, it reached the Goddesses realm; must be when the other Stephen transferred his knowledge to this Stephen, the doctor slash sorcerer concluded. So yes. Ichigo is keeping his eyes on him, "what's making the difference, then? I'm not into Sci-Fi movies, I don't know anything about the theory of the universes."

"The catalyst of those differences between his world and our world is the presence of The Mistress herself," Stephen answered, their gaze instantly went onto the beautiful skeleton, "she should not be in this realm. Or hanging around a normal human. Or even gave him a Sight to See. But you did. And you have a reason for it."

The Mistress didn't say anything, bony fingers played with the Genius's lock almost soothingly. That did not deter the orange-portal opener as he leaned forward and gaze narrowing.

"Your existence disrupted the balance. And you know that well," Stephen said. Tone was not accusing, but it was near there. His fear of this otherworldly being was stamped down by the anger and betrayal. Of what, Tony was not sure, "because of you, two people that should not be dead are dead. Are you sure what you're doing is worth the risk, Mistress?"

(Ah, now I understand. Tony crossed his arms in contemplation, watching the Doctor trying to contain his emotion inside but to no avail. It was shimmering down between his clenched fist and trembling grip, the tense shoulders were a clear giveaway also. He felt betrayed because he tried not to spoil anything, as a Sorcerer that protect the magic side of the world. Yet The Mistress did it anyway. And he felt his work—that he maintained so hard, he even abandoned his job as a Doctor—become nothing but a wasteful chore)

The Mistress knew that of course, she is. She is a God, for God's sake. And because of that, it was her who bowed this time, startling Stephen from his rant, "you have my sincerest apologies, Stephen Strange. But you will not have to bear this burden any longer," she stood with her gown flared majestically, "because after this, everything will end."

Everyone held their breath, a halting gasp escaped their thinned lips. They were not used to this side of the Mistress of the Death.

Although it didn't take too much time for it to popped like a deflated balloon when Hanae tilted his head sideways, garnering their attention back to the conversation, "U-Um…Strange-san," the blue-haired teen started with a stutter, "you said before that the Mistress' presence disrupted the balance and killed two people that should've not been dead. W-What do you mean by that?"

Stephen blinked then looked at the Goddess, who waved her hand, a silent gesture of 'go ahead and explain'. Go ahead and explained he did as he started talking, "in his memories, there's a blatant contradictory with what he knew and what I knew. We establish the difference already—the Avenger is still active. Barton is not retiring. And Parker is the only kid Tony 'adopted' ("What about Harley? I met him after Killian fiasco", "Unfortunately, I don't know anything that he doesn't know. Maybe that Stark met him, as the event of your disappearance after the bad guys bombed your house happened in that world too, but I'm not entirely sure.", "That me must've hidden their relationship just like I do, then…") But there's also a big difference besides that," the sorcerer took a sip of his cold tea, "when I said Avenger is still active, it doesn't end there. Wanda, or what you must know as the Scarlet Witch, is also a member of the Avenger."

"What?!" they exclaimed. Ichigo and Clint were very vocal about this.

"Not only that, the reason why that Barton is not retiring from the Avenger business was because he's trying to save the witch," Stephen elaborated, gaze flitted to the shocked SP, "he knew this information from the media, so it's not really clear. But that Clint was very fond of Wanda. The media always saw them together when they were shopping at a mall or taking a walk in the evening."

"What the hell, me? Are you stupid?" Clint fell to the couch with a thump, he messed his hair in frustration, "that bitch has a power to semi-brainwash people. How could you even consider her as a friend?"

"Maybe that's the reason why?" Nyanko interjected. At the sight of a cat talking, the cloak fluffed in surprise (But why? You're basically an anomaly in itself, you did not have a place to get surprised by a talking cat. Tony silently chided the cloth), "maybe that witch brainwashed the other Clint?"

"What the hell, man?"

"Not only that. You and Stark are not a good friend after the Civil War," Stephen added, "Ross caught you and jailed you for a day, but as always, media work fast."

"….fuck."

"And in that world, Agent Coulson did not die," another exclamation rang throughout the room. Again, Clint was very vocal with this, "instead, Pietro—the Witch's older brother—is the one who died. In an event of the siblings' attack, they managed to coax Ultron into joining their cause."

Tony straightened up, eyes wide open, "Ultron?!"

"You know him, Mr. Stark?" Peter blinked.

He nodded, palm started going clammy, "Ultron is one of the names I save for my backup A.I besides FRIDAY and Karen," Tony leveled a glare to Stephen, though it mostly looked like he was begging, "what happened to Ultron in that world? How could he join those two villains? Isn't he my A.I?"

"I'm not very sure. The media didn't cover any of this. What I know is, Ultron—with his metallic body, he was more of a robot than an A.I—was trying to destroy every single human being. Saying that the humans were the sole reason why the world is on the brink of its end. Wanda and Pietro, who was mostly trying to kill you, did not agree with that change of plan. That's why they had a truce with the Avenger and the reason why Pietro dies," doctor said, Tony's shoulders slumped.

"Tony," Takashi frowned, he slapped the back of the brunette's head without remorse. That strike jolted him back to reality and eliciting a childish whine from the billionaire. Takashi ignored it and just went on talking, "it's not your fault."

"But—"

"There must be a reason why Ultron turned evil, sir," JARVIS, who was mostly silent this entire time, finally piped in and consoled the distressed owner. He had been watching from his optic lens at the corner of the room, observing how Tony's heartbeat fluctuating erratically and stress going through the roof, "an A.I may have their own mind and decision. We may learn how to learn ourselves. Yet, the first step of being an A.I is the owner itself. Where you tell us which one is right and which one is wrong. I know you, sir. You're not a bad person. There's no way you created Ultron for the sake of destroying humanity when you yourself became a Hero to save that humanity."

"What he said." Takashi solemnly agreed. Tony's tense countenance relaxed slightly.

"Ah. Speaking about JARVIS," Stephen continued after a second of a silent lull. His hesitation was palpable, causing them to stiffened once more, "this is something I heard from Thor, who heard from Bruce, who heard from Tony ("that's too much in-between, wasn't it?" Danny playfully snarked) But apparently, the reason why Ultron was activated in the first place was that he overwhelmed JARVIS's program. In other words—"

"—he killed JARVIS"

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Tony's stomach churned.

Wh-What?

JARVIS….he—

He...died?

His heart started hammering, breath snagged away.

Does…does that mean I killed JARVIS?

With my own invention?

With my own hand?

Orbs widening, pupils slit.

No. No, that's not true. That's not—

JARVIS…JARVIS is here. JARVIS is not dead.

His lips trembling, teeth chattering.

He's here. JARVIS is here. He just talked to me. He—

The Mistress wrapped her bony hands on Tony's neck, he let out a silent gasp. The cold of her being startled him awake from the sudden panic attack (not again. My invention had almost killed me. My invention had killed Yinsen. Not again. Not again please not again—) making him realized that he almost missed the entire conversation. At least his kids didn't notice his behavior, too caught off over the fact that their friend's other self is gone (Haruitsuki had to give Hanae a box of tissue as he just burst into tears and showing no indication to stop at any moment). Except Ichigo, however. Of course, he was. His paranoid-self-because-of-those-accursed-wars taught him to keep a keen eye on his surroundings even when he was having a nice meal or fast asleep. Tony subtly shook his head and Ichigo's posture tensed before he harrumphed. Nevertheless, his blazing orange orbs told him this problem is not over yet, don't try to escape from the incoming lecture.

"…sacrifice" Tony heard the end of Mistress' explanation, "was needed for the sake of maintaining the balance."

"That's why both Vision (who, Tony didn't recognize that name. The orange-haired teen, knowing full well the billionaire had gone to the darkest pit of his head for a split second just now, whispered. Vision was the name his other self gave to the remain of JARVIS; in which the A.I itself managed to salvage by separating his consciousness to the internet. The other Tony then uploaded that remains to a new body, for the sake of adding a new member in defeating the evil robot) and Coulson are dead. Or in Vision's case, never been born in this world at all," Stephen clarifies, "because in this world, JARVIS and Pietro are still alive. The world decided to take another person's life as compensation. It was just an unlucky coincidence that Coulson was chosen."

Clint let out a long, exhausted sigh.

"Clint," Tony started, "I—"

"If you blame yourself one more time, Tony. I'm going to use you as my target practice," that harsh reminder clicked his mouth shut, the archer gave him a sad, crooked grin, "I'm not going to get mad at you for saving other people. Besides, as SHIELD, we know we're not going to live that long, the danger came pre-packaged with the boring paperwork and all. Just because you work on the table and inside the safety of a bunker, doesn't mean the danger is less than the field agents. You know how that SHIELD slash HYDRA debacle went," Tony and Haruitsuki winced, "maintaining the balance or not, we're going to die young anyway. So no. It's not—and I repeat, never—your fault. Just drop that self-sacrificing ego of yours already. It's really not healthy. Actually…" he swept his gaze to the children available, they backed away, "that goes for you too, kids. My job right now is as a bodyguard, of course, we're going to offer our body as long as our boss is safe. But you guys are still a kid. I don't care if you're semi-superhero or a kid who fought wars back to back, that doesn't mean you have to sacrifices your childhood. Live a little!"

They laughed sheepishly, not wanting to deny it outright yet not easily accepting the suggestion either. Tony could not blame them. Their self-sacrificing habit was too hard to break. It'll be like calling the pot kettle black if he did. Irony within irony.

"So then…what's wrong with it?" Bruce stirred the discussion back. He held his palms to the air while he spoke, "okay, this may sound callous of me—I'm trying to see it from a scientist point of view. You know, for the sake of a greater good and all—but…what's wrong with sacrificing those two people to save the other? Are they an important component in this upcoming war? At least, in your other self's world war?"

"Yes. At least, one of them is important in fighting alongside the heroes in a front line," Strange confirmed, "Vision is not just a mere robot. He is equipped with an otherworldly artifact called Mind Stone. Or the stone in Loki's scepter, to be exact. Mind Stone power, as you all know, has an ability to control the mind of someone. In Vision's hand, however, he mostly used it as…a ray gun kind of thing. But that stone gave him unimaginable power. He may be just as powerful as Loki when the God himself was mind-controlled by the said Alien."

"He was mind-controlled?" Tony blinked, Clint's eyebrows rose.

"Yes. Although he tried to resist it. Have you ever wonder why Loki's attack seems…wishy-washy? Why would he escaped from the tower and attack the Avenger one by one? Instead of destroying the whole tower, crumbling it to pieces and buried you alive?" he asked, "there were also some inconsistencies of him opening a portal right at the roof of this tower. And yes, he justified his action by saying that the Arc Reactor on this tower had enough power to back up the opening of the portal. But with his magical skill of teleporting to other places within a blink, he could at least dump the Avenger to somewhere far away as he proceeded with his backup plan. Or at least try to escape when Ichigo here held him captive—Thor told me, by the way, when he visited me to help him in tracking his step-brother. He doesn't have a magic repressor on him at that time. Just because his plan failed, doesn't mean he should've surrendered to a people he swore to kill."

They fell into a thoughtful silence after that. It made sense, when Stephen explained it like that. Just because the Mistress protected him from the wrath of the God, doesn't mean he could be easily defeated. Sure, Tony believed that Ichigo and Danny are strong. But for a magician that lived for millennia? A magician who learned a lot of powerful spells and tricks that even Heimdall, the All-Seeing and the All-Hearing—the God of Thunder proudly boasted—could not locate Loki's existence at all? That sounded fishy.

"Well, let's put the God of Trick's trickery aside. You should know that there are other stones in these universes. They called them the 'Infinity Stones'. Including the Mind Stone, there's six of them; Soul Stone, Space Stone, Reality Stone, Power Stone," he pulled up his necklace for the other to see. With one hand waving, the eye-compartment opened by itself and a green, pretty stone clasped inside shines with ethereal light, "and this, is a Time Stone. As you can guess from the name alone, this stone controls the time. I used it before to 'bargained' with a certain God of destruction so he will not merge the Earth with his world and possibly kill us all."

"…what?"

"Yes. It happened in the middle of the Meteorite incident, where the identity of the Halfa here was discovered? Actually, I think that 'natural occurrence' happened because of that God too. He just 'accidentally' forget to erase that one attack because he was feeling a bit petty with my method of handling him. 'Can't converge my world with your world? Sure. But that doesn't mean I can't destroy yours just because'"

Danny groaned.

"But, Mr. Strange," Peter started, "losing one fighter doesn't mean we can't fill in the blank. We may not be as strong as Mr. Vision, but surely. Ichigo, Danny, and I can handle them as well."

"Uuh...nope. Nu-uh, Petey, no," Tony immediately interrupted, wiping the smug smile from the kid genius's face, "of course you can definitely handle them, but I'll not allow you to join. You're grounded."

"Wha…. , why?"

"You know why," he folded his arms in front of his chest, gazes stern, "I'll not give you any permission in joining the front line soldier, nope. That's your punishment for almost giving me a heart attack yesterday night."

"That's not fair!"

"Deal with it."

"Is this the reason why you're meddling with us humans, Mistress?" Stephen asked, ignoring the bickering on the background—Peter was negotiating with Tony, trying to include himself in helping whatever thing he could, even if he doesn't have to be the main attacker. Tony looked like he was considering the bargain, as the brown-haired boy's puppy eyes were too much to handle yet the billionaire was still trying to hold onto his decision no matter what—staring questioningly and a bit of disbelief leaking out of his widening orbs, "because you are hoping for these kids to handle it? To handle the killer who had destroyed planets after planets without mercy? Or even remorse? Mistress, you know just because they're children, he won't pull any punches. Especially how Vision is not here and there's no safe-keeper available for the Mind Stone."

The Goddess hummed.

"You may be arrogant. But you do have a soft spot for children, hm?" the man recoiled, his eyebrows instantly wrinkled. Although there's an indistinct blush on his cheeks that showed them that he was not upset. Just embarrassed. Mistress giggled, "Stephen Strange, you should also know that just because they're children, doesn't mean they're powerless. It may be cruel of me, to involve them in this dangerous mission. Yet they'll not stay silent when they know their precious people are going to be destroyed," she tilted, silently asking him to broaden his sight and take a look at the children around. Except for Peter who was still trying to sweet-talk Tony Stark, the other has a glint of determination coming off of their very being; Danny stopped flying midway, Ichigo has a very sadistic smirk. Haruitsuki's eyes closed and Hanae bobbed his head almost vehemently. Takashi's expression was stoic, yet managed to look the scariest of them all, "they will fight. They will struggle. Any enemy who dare threatened the safety of this world should never underestimate them. Because—"

The breeze whispered and the birds whistled. The Mistress smiled serenely, her dark-like-abyss eyes-sockets gleamed with a promise of pain and justice.

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"These children are a force to be reckoned with."