"I never thought I'd one day leave Earth and fight in space."
Aboard a spaceship built by S.H.I.E.L.D., Steve Rogers gazed out into the pitch-black expanse of space and couldn't help marveling.
As a relic from seventy years ago, Steve had lived in an age when humanity hadn't even ventured into space, and its understanding of the universe had been extremely limited.
Yet now, he had actually traveled aboard a spaceship, leaving Earth to arrive near Saturn, tens of millions of kilometers away.
So even with Earth facing a crisis, Steve still felt a stirring sense of wonder.
"If you really like space that much, once we beat Thanos, I can build you a ship of your own. Then you can take your time exploring the universe."
Worried about the coming battle, Tony Stark joked with Steve, half serious and half teasing, to ease his own nerves.
"I appreciate the offer," Steve said, smiling and waving a hand. "I still haven't figured out how to use a smartphone. Give me a spaceship, and I wouldn't know what to do with it."
"Don't worry. I'll design the ship's operating system so even a monkey could understand it."
"Then remember to throw in a monkey pilot."
Steve also understood that Stark was relieving stress in his own way, so he played along and traded a few jokes with him.
In fact, it wasn't just the two of them. The other superheroes were much the same, making conversation about anything they could think of to ease their nerves.
Time flew by amid the superheroes' idle chatter, until the reconnaissance craft ahead detected Thanos's fleet.
"Enemy spotted! All units, prepare for battle! Repeat, enemy spotted! All units, prepare for battle!"
Alarms sounded throughout every ship. The superheroes checked their equipment one last time and