Inside the circular ship's corridor, dense steel was covered with various grooves, and countless pipes were all over the top of the corridor. Grooves were everywhere, and a faint blue light, accompanied by the Tyndall effect, appeared in the corridor, bringing a rare light to the dark tunnel.
Gwen's black-and-white suit had a mask on it. It was a specially designed oxygen mask that Tony Stark had given her before they came.
"Wow, the view up here is beautiful!" Gwen looked at outer space through a tiny crack in the glass, her eyes wide with wonder. This was the first time she had seen such a sight, and she felt an indescribable sense of awe. She even saw the blue Earth.
"So this is what it looks like from up here. But why did I even come along?" Gwen murmured as she looked at the Earth getting farther and farther away. She hadn't planned on coming along, but in a moment of impulse, she had insisted that Tony take her on the ship.
"I wonder how these octopus guys go to the bathroom." Strange thoughts popped into Gwen's mind. She hadn't seen any restrooms or anything like that inside.
"Alright, Spider-Girl, this is an enemy ship. Be careful!" Tony was getting a headache from Gwen's constant chattering. He had read her file before. Although he knew she was a chatterbox, she had not stopped muttering to herself. He hadn't even had a chance to speak; Gwen was just going on and on.
"Mr. Stark, you can relax; my powers are pretty strong!" Gwen patted her skinny arm, saying proudly, "If you don't believe me, I can rip open one of the pipes up there and show you!"
With that, Gwen seemed eager to tear a pipe open. She was curious about the energy source inside and how it could emit light. And she hadn't even seen any wires or anything like that.
"No need. I believe you." Tony was already regretting his decision. He had been in a hurry to save Stephen. When Gwen asked to come, he had forgotten to say no, and now he felt like he was traveling with an excited child.
"Okay. What if I take one of these lights out? Will it still light up?" Gwen poked the glowing light with her finger, asking carefully. Everything in here was so new. She even wanted to take out her phone and take a few selfies.
"I trust you won't mess with anything, right?" Tony said patiently, looking at Gwen. "Just stay here and don't wander off!"
"Why?" Gwen turned her head to look at Tony, who was walking in front of her. Why did she have to stay here?
"I'm worried that other enemies might appear in the corridor, so I need you to stay here and help deal with them," Tony Stark said, making up a white lie. He didn't want the young Gwen to get involved in this. In his eyes, although Gwen was in college, she was still just a kid.
Plus, there was nothing Gwen could do about what was to come. Ebony Maw was clearly powerful, and he knew he had to face him alone.
"Okay, I'll listen to you!" Gwen leaped up and hung upside down from the top of the corridor, nodding nonchalantly.
She wanted to study the internal structure of the ship anyway. It wasn't every day you got to see alien technology. Although she regretted coming along a little, since she was already here, she might as well look around. Maybe she would get some inspiration.
After telling Gwen to stay, Tony felt a little more at ease and quickly walked to the front of the corridor. For some reason, there were no enemies in the corridor. Maybe they had entered in the wrong spot. He remembered that there were supposed to be a lot of Outriders on the ship. But this was also good, as it allowed him to look for Stephen's whereabouts.
When he came, he had noticed that Ebony Maw and the others' teleportation location was on the right side of the ship. He had entered from the back, breaking through the outer wall of the ship. Based on his current speed, he should be getting close to them.
Just then, he heard a rapid panting sound coming from nearby. He could vaguely see two figures.
"Offer up the stone freely, and you will be spared needless suffering. Resist… and I shall educate you in agonies the frail mind was never meant to endure." Ebony Maw opened his right hand, and countless crystal blades slowly approached various parts of Stephen's body.
"Don't delude yourself. So long as the Vishanti guide me, you will never lay hands on the Eye of Agamotto." Stephen gritted his teeth, his eyes fixed on Ebony Maw. This was a spell left by the Ancient One, so it was very difficult for Ebony Maw to get close.
"You truly believe I lack the power to end you? How quaint." Ebony Maw looked at Stephen with a distorted expression. If he didn't bring the Time Stone back, Thanos would be furious. So before he went back, he had to find a way to take the Time Stone from Stephen.
"Even if you kill me, you will never be able to remove the spell from the Eye of Agamotto!" Stephen knew that the only reason he was still alive was that they couldn't take the Eye of Agamotto from him. If he handed it over, Ebony Maw would definitely kill him without hesitation.
Besides, he absolutely could not hand over the Eye of Agamotto to them. He knew that the enemy wanted to collect all the Infinity Stones. No matter what their purpose was, he could not hand over the Eye of Agamotto.
"It seems you are beyond saving." Ebony Maw's facial muscles were twitching. He hadn't expected someone to put a spell like that on the Eye of Agamotto. He had already thought about how to remove it, but he couldn't find a solution. So his only option was to make Stephen hand over the Time Stone himself.
"Heh." Stephen sneered. "You grotesque squid. If you really have the nerve, then finish it."
"Don't worry. I won't kill you. I will make you feel endless pain." Ebony Maw looked at Stephen with a cold smile. "These are the crystal blades we use for microsurgery. You won't die; you'll only feel endless pain."
He had already guessed that a normal method wouldn't make Stephen compromise. So he didn't mind using this method. No one had ever been able to withstand this kind of pain.
After saying that, he slightly hooked his right hand, and the crystal blades slowly approached Stephen. Stephen looked at the sharp crystal blades, his scalp tingling, and his pupils instantly shrank. He could already feel how sharp these crystal blades were even before they touched him. As they got closer, the sharp tips slowly pierced his skin.
"…" Intense pain instantly spread throughout his body. He could clearly feel that these tips were not only piercing his skin but also destroying the cells inside his body. Although it was only a single needle, the pain was like being shot by a bullet.
Tony stood above, carefully looking at Ebony Maw below. 'How do I save this magician?' he thought. Tony had a headache just thinking about it. The enemy was holding Stephen hostage. If he just jumped down, he would startle them. And the enemy was too powerful; he had to defeat him in a single blow.
"Mr. Stark!" Just as Tony was thinking, a voice suddenly appeared and startled him. He turned his head and saw Gwen hanging upside down next to him.
"Shh!" Tony made a shushing gesture. "I told you to stay there, didn't I?" He hadn't wanted Gwen to get involved, but she had followed him anyway!
"I checked, and there were no enemies there," Gwen said, landing on the ground on tiptoe, her hands spread out. She had gotten bored of waiting, so she just came along.
"You scared me." Tony shook his head helplessly. It was too late to tell Gwen to leave now.
POOF.
Just then, Gwen felt a pat on her shoulder. She quickly turned around and saw a Cloak of Levitation next to her.
"What is that?!" Gwen was startled and shocked. In the next second, she realized it was Doctor Strange's cloak! She hadn't expected Doctor Strange's cloak to be able to move on its own.
"You guys don't care about your friend's life at all!" Ebony Maw slowly turned around and looked at the two people and a cloak above.
"Oh, to be precise, he's not my friend. I'm only saving him because it's my responsibility," Tony said, spreading his hands helplessly.
"No matter what, what's the point of you coming here?" Ebony Maw slowly raised his hands, and the iron parts piled next to him slowly floated up. "You are no match for me. You are nothing but weak bugs!" He didn't even see them as a threat. This was his territory. Dealing with them would be a piece of cake.
"You can't be so sure. That guy has seen a lot of movies," Tony said. A cannon shot from his shoulder, flying at the wall of the ship!
BOOM!
With the wall gone, the pressure inside and outside the ship changed drastically. Countless things were sucked out by the huge pressure.
"Damn it!" Ebony Maw's face changed. He was about to raise his right hand when he was sucked out of the ship by the air current. Because of the temperature in space, ice quickly froze on his body the moment he was sucked out. In an instant, he became a block of ice.
Stephen and the surrounding spikes were also sucked out.
Stephen looked down, his face pale. Just then, the Cloak of Levitation quickly appeared and tried to wrap its corner around Stephen. But the terrifying suction force made it impossible for the Cloak of Levitation to grab Stephen. After a brief pause, it was also sucked downward.
Just in the nick of time, a few webs wrapped around him! At the same time, Gwen firmly held on to the webs, her legs kicking hard against the collapsing steel outer wall.
"Hey, you, cloak, help me pull!" Gwen shouted, gritting her teeth. The cloak quickly grabbed the webs and pulled back.
Tony also took this opportunity to use freezing liquid to seal the hole in the ship. The moment the hole was sealed, the powerful suction disappeared. Gwen then pulled Stephen to the wall.
BAM!
"Oh, my back hurts so much!" Stephen said, gritting his teeth as he got up from the ground. The powerful force had almost broken his spine!
"Wait, I think we're very far from Earth." Gwen quickly went to the side, her eyes fixed on the radar system on the control panel. "We're almost out of the solar system!" She screamed.
They had left the solar system without even noticing it. How long had it been? And they had traveled so far! And this landing craft was about to land.
"What is this place?" Gwen asked, looking at the view outside. It was clearly a planet, but it looked incredibly desolate. Although she could see some alien buildings she had never seen before, they looked very dilapidated. It was as if they had gone through a long period of time.
"Probably their damned planet," Tony said, frowning as he looked at the planet below.
"Titan. I heard him say it. This is their planet," Stephen said, gritting his teeth, his eyes seemingly hiding something. But he didn't tell them. His expression was grave as he looked at the planet below.
As they got closer to the surface, the landing craft landed on Titan. After it landed, a ramp slowly opened up, connecting to the ground.
"Be careful, everyone. I'll go out and check first," Tony said, looking at the two people behind him, his expression grave. He walked out. He had his armor on, so he could handle anything that happened. When they walked out of the landing craft, a barren land greeted them.
BAM!
Suddenly, a figure with rocket boots flew toward them from a small hill.
SWOOSH!
The figure flew directly into Gwen.
"What the hell!" Gwen's spider-sense instantly reacted, and she leaped to the side, narrowly dodging the figure.
Stephen had just heard the sound and was about to turn around when he was hit. The figure then used a backhand to grab Stephen by the neck.
"Stephen!" Tony was about to chase after him when he was blocked by a muscular figure. The muscular figure quickly slashed at him with a knife.
Tony could only use his nanotech shield, gritting his teeth as he took all the attacks. In the next second, his hand turned into a hammer, and he slammed it into the person on the ground. His hand then turned into a cannon, aiming at the figure on the ground.
"Nobody move!" Star-Lord yelled, holding Stephen hostage and pointing a gun at his head.
"Put the gun down!" Tony said, gritting his teeth and pointing his cannon.
"You first!" Nebula and Mantis walked out from the side, aiming their guns at Tony and Gwen. In an instant, the atmosphere became extremely tense. The two sides were facing each other.
"You guys are Thanos's lackeys! Let him go!" Star-Lord yelled at Tony, gritting his teeth. Ever since his girlfriend Gamora had been taken by Thanos, he had been trying to find a way to deal with Thanos. So when he saw Thanos's landing craft, he had rushed over.
"Who says we're with Thanos?!" Tony quickly realized that they weren't Thanos's subordinates.
Star-Lord was also stunned. He looked at their clothes. They really didn't look like they were with Thanos. Tony then told them everything that had happened. After he finished, Star-Lord and the others finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Let's go get some fresh air and see if we can come up with a plan to deal with Thanos together!" After both sides had released their hostages, Tony was the first to speak.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the space on a small hill in front of them trembled. A blue light tore a large hole in the air. A tall purple figure walked out. The moment he appeared, everyone's heart skipped a beat. Tony's hair stood on end. He could feel how powerful the person was!
"Thanos!" Star-Lord gritted his teeth, his eyes full of hatred.
——————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are 50+ advance chapters available for you to read!