Summary: Tony gives himself to the count of ten to get his shit together, because there is no time for self pity and shock. He's the mechanic- time to fix what Thanos broke. Or, a short interaction between Nebula and Tony that could take place at the beginning of the next movie.

Please enjoy!

Ten Seconds

Tony gives himself ten seconds. Ten quick seconds to put himself back together.

One.

The invasive feeling of his own weapon tearing through his flesh.

Two.

The look of disbelief on Peter Quills face as he crumbled into nothing, his strange teammates already gone before him.

Three.

"Tony, there is no other way." Strange looking at him with all that wisdom of the future, firmly placing the fate of the Universe on his shoulders.

Four.

Peppers fading, pleading voice. Begging him to get off the ship and come back to her.

Five.

"Mr. Stark! Please, I…I don't want to go!"

Six.

Thanos. Thanos with his self-satisfied grin, flicking every attack away like they were no more than pesky flies.

Seven.

The crushing feeling, knowing that he could have prevented this. That he had known all along what was coming and hadn't done enough.

Eight.

The proud look on the kids face when he had been dubbed an Avenger. Now he was nothing but ash.

Nine.

Trying to stop the mad Titan, throwing everything at the bastard only to win a tiny scratch.

Ten.

"I hope they remember you."

Tony opens his eyes and takes a deep breath, forcing his rapidly beating heart to slow down. He stands up, wiping at the ash that clings to him palms, forcing himself not to think of Peter as he brushes it away. Looking around, he instantly spots the blue alien that had attempted to take Thanos down with the rest of them.

"You got a name?" He asks calmly, looking away to inspect the remnants of his severely damaged armor.

"Nebula." She growls, but Tony still hears the grief hidden under the aggressive tone.

The engineer nods, "I'm Tony Stark – you about ready to get the hell off of this shithole?"

Nebula shrugs, indifferent. "I have no purpose now, where would I go, Terran? Thanos just turned half of the universe into ash. The mission is lost."

Tony takes a moment to inspect the wound on his side, noting with satisfaction that the seal is holding. It won't last for long though, he needs to get back to Earth and get it fixed up properly before he can figure out how to reverse this mess. "I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet. The wizard that was with me? He traded the Time Stone to save my life – he looked into the future before Thanos showed, so I'm guessing that there was a damn good reason why he did that."

"My sister gave Thanos the location of the Soul Stone to get him to stop torturing me," Nebula scoffs, "How do you know that your wizard friend didn't also act out of…of love?" She spits out the last word like its something dirty, folding her arms against her body.

Tony laughs at the outrageous suggestion, "There was no love lost between Strange and I, we barely even knew each other. Too much ego in too small a space. No, I'm sure that it had nothing to do with friendship and more to do with strategy. I'm going to Earth – you can come with if you want. Or don't, I'm not your babysitter."

"And how do you plan on getting there, Terran?"

"Star Lord and his crew flew here. I took a quick look at the ship while we were waiting for Thanos, pretty sure I can figure out how to pilot it." He answers easily, already moving in the direction of the Molina, noting when she follows him.

"Perhaps I will take it for myself and leave you here to rot. Your weapons appear to be broken and you are wounded, you would not stand a chance." Nebula suggests flatly.

The injured billionaire doesn't break stride or even look back at her. "I'm sure you could, but why would you?"

"It might make me feel better." She snaps, annoyed at the lack of fear from the Terran.

"It might – but then you won't be able to hear about the shitstorm I'm planning on bringing down on that ugly purple fuck." Tony says lightly, but the rage in his eyes betrays the façade. "There are powerful people on Earth, I'm sure not all of them were taken out by Thanos' stupid gauntlet. I already have some ideas." He thinks of the Avengers, wonders which ones survived, and who will be willing to stand up and try again.

All of them.

Nebula is silent for a moment, her liquid black eyes appraising the Terran intently. "You are strangely optimistic."

Tony turns, his lips pressed into a grim smile, "I'm going to make that sonuvabitch regret pissing me off. You in? Sounds like you could use a good fight."

"He ripped me away from my family and forced me to call him father. He tore me apart piece by piece and made me into this monstrosity," Nebula responds without a hint of emotion, "I will help you."

"Great. Awesome stuff. Let's get this show on the road." Tony gives her the thumbs up, already back in motion.

He has a lot of work to do.

I would love to hear what you thought : ) I know it's just a short little piece!