Life will Breathe
Warning: Spoilers, grammar mistakes
Disclaimer: Do Not Own.
Tony felt his heart ache, desperately clinging to the teenager, to his child desperately pleading and clinging to him.
"Mr. Stark." Peter's voice was breathless, tears brimming at the corners of his eyes. "Mr. Stark I don't want to leave."
Tony clung tighter, screwing his eyes shut as he rocked Peter's numb body.
For once, for once in his goddamn life, he had no idea what to say. What could he tell his kid, the one who needed so much comfort?
"Mr. Stark please," Peter was sobbing, trying to curl stiff fingers around Tony's ruined jacket. "Please, Mr. Stark, I don't want to go."
He felt the tears fell, rushing down his face quickly. He hugged tighter, trying to make up for Peter's loss of strength.
Not his kid, for the love of all the gods he didn't believe in, not his kid.
"I don't want to go," Peter was beginning to fade, his body becoming light with every second that was passing. "I don't want to go."
Tony held onto him, finally having the strength to hold Peter's face in his palms. He was so small, so small and so scared. His eyes were rimmed with red, tears burning into Tony's hands. He tried to speak, but no noise came out.
Peter froze, hazel eyes glancing up at him as his entire face relaxed.
"I'm sorry."
Tony screwed his eyes shut along with Peter, trying to bring him as close as possible. Instead, Peter's form crumpled in his palms, turning into a fine ash before being blown away by the winds.
Tony sat on his knees, staring blankly at the red sand beneath him. He brought his hands up, screwing his eyes shut as tears cascaded down his face.
He felt his breathing stutter. It felt as if he still had the old reactor in his chest, taking up all the lung space he needed.
All he could picture now was his kids terrified face. He had only felt this horrible twice, during Yinsen's death and Peppers fall. He could remember his own fear but it was nothing compared to the anguish he felt between those two.
Peter's death had trumped them both.
Yinsen was willing to die, and Pepper knew she could die.
But Peter didn't want to die. He wanted to live and he wanted to thrive.
He just wanted to be the friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
Tony let out a scream, feeling his body shake as he tried to process what he was feeling.
Sadness, anguish, anger, hate, sorrow, hate, hate, hate.
He gritted his teeth in frustration, letting the nanobots overtake his body. They formed a protective suit around him, fixing each other as the suit came out clean once more. He flexed his palm, letting the sharp shrill of his repulsor's build up. He aimed it loosely, letting it destroy everything in its path.
Starlord, the fucking idiot.
If he had just listened to him-
Peter, his kid, would be right there with him, making stupid pop culture references he couldn't understand.
They'd go down to earth where Rhodey would tell Peter about the military. Where Peter would nag Happy, even though Hogan had found his fondness entirely amusing. Where Pepper could finally teach Peter how to make everyone crumble to his will with a few looks and well placed words. Peter, Harley, Ned, and Michelle were supposed to go to the movies in two days. Mary Parker was going to surprise Peter with a pet tarantula.
Tony screwed his eyes shut, letting out another scream as he let his repulsor's charge up, pointing it at the only other living being with him.
The woman-robot-thing tensed, ready to strike. He knew it wasn't her fault. He knew she had lost her sister much like he had lost his kid.
When had Peter been his kid?
Since the start of all this.
"Bring him back." Tony roared. "Bring him back!"
Tony knew through all logics of science and magic it was impossible.
Peter was gone.
The robot stood quiet, turning away towards the fallen ship and began to fix it. Tony kept his hands up, even as he manually let the nanobots scurry off his body to fix the damaged ship.
He needed to go home to tell everyone.
The robot stepped back in shock, turning to speak to him.
"I'm going home." Tony gritted out, ignoring the burning tears. "They had families and friends who need to be told what happened."
It was a half-lie. He could care less about the others, but Peter and Strange had someone.
It didn't help that he knew it was possible that his friends and his fiance could have disappeared as well.
She nodded, and didn't speak more.
It took about 3 hours for the ship to be repaired to his standards, they both sat in quietly as Tony gunned it for Earth.
It took about four days. Four days where all he ate was one shitty ration that he threw up two hours later. Four shitty days without anyone to talk to or something to mess with.
Four days thinking about their deaths.
Nebula, the robot lady, had been a good distraction for the last day. She talked to him about her sister, and he helped fix her leg. She wasn't much of a talker.
When they landed on earth, there weren't many people on the street, but they screamed at the sight of the ship. Some going as far as to try and run up to the ship with open arms.
Tony pretended to wonder why.
He saw some people walk up to the ship as it landed, fully armed and prepared. He let the suit build up around his body, leaving his head open as he stumbled out.
To his surprise it was the entire entourage of avengers, the original avengers sans Hawkeye.
He idly wondered if he fell to ash too.
"Tony?"
Tony raised his head up, watching as the war machine armor fell around Rhodey, as he stumble towards him.
Tony let his suit fall, keeping his head down and letting Rhodey slam into him with a hug.
"Tony," Rhodey whispered clutching his body tightly, probably even harder than Afghanistan. "Thank God, thank god you're okay."
Tony looked up at him, mouth running dry.
"Pepper, Happy." His words were hoarse, but Rhodey seemed to understand.
"Fine." he looked downcast. "Tony...we can't find Peter, or Harley."
Tony choked back the tears. Not his other kid, not again.
He leaned into Rhodey, curling his head to his chest and balling up his hands on the thin fabric Rhodey wore.
"Peter's gone." he sobbed. "Stupid kid went to space. He disintegrated, Rhodey." another sob racked his body. "He was begging, he didn't, i couldn't...i couldn't save him."
Rhodey curled his body around Tony tighter, as the two mourned Tony's kids, his little followers.
Tony was absently aware of the other people there, he was aware that he looked worse than shit. Nanobots could only fix so much.
Where were they when Thanos was taking the mind stone? Why didn't they destroy it?
Why did they let Thanos kill his children?
His sobs turned into familiar growls of anger and spit. Rhodey's hold had tightened.
"Please don't do it Tony, not now, not for this." Rhodey held onto him. "There has to be another way."
But there wasn't.
He had gone through so many possibilities in his head the past four days.
There were only two ways, and both of them weren't a warrant for success.
Either everyone died or he died trying.
"There isn't." His voice was hoarse. "I checked."
Rhodey stood quiet, finally stepping back to look at Tony. His eyes were showing obvious sadness, before he let in a breathe.
"Down goes Thanos." Tony smirked, gripping Rhodey's arms. "Life will breathe."
Rhodey stared at him, a similar scary grin touching his lips.
"Down goes Thanos." And Rhodey's voice was calm, but that made it all the more scarier. "Life will breathe."
It was a stupid chant they made back in college. Whenever a particular bully just kept nailing on them. They'd bring them down till they had the breathing room they so craved.
They had used it for the ten rings, for Obadiah, for Vanko and Hammer.
They had used it on Steve.
"I'll call Pepper, get her suit ready." Rhodey rolled his shoulders with a nod. "You need to tell everyone who gives a shit about what I want them to do."
Rhodey walked off, cold stare boring into the remaining avengers. Tony swiped at his suit, letting the phone ring as Pepper answered.
Her voice was frantic, and she was worried. About as worried as Friday was when he hit the proper electric atmosphere she gave off.
"Down goes Thanos." He cut her off quietly. "Life will Breathe."
Her voice quieted down, at a point in time, Tony would have been afraid she would reject the saying. Leave him alone.
But he knew Pepper.
"Down goes Thanos." She repeated, "Life will Breathe."
"Your suits up and ready, we're making a game plan for when Thanos returns." Tony announced that last bit loudly.
"How are you so sure he'll return?" It was a raccoon, tho its features were much more similar to a kicked puppy.
"He'll want to finish off what he started." Nebula piped up quietly. "Earth is not yet in the conditions he desires." she closed her robotic eyes. "He will be back."
"And I will make him absolutely regret being born." Tony snarled.
"Stark." Tony swirled, glaring holes into Captain America. "You need to calm down, he's not here."
Tony twitched, growling as he raised an arm, repulsor squealing into life. Steve stepped back, just as the others stepped forward, Thor and Bruce looking confused at the turn of events. Tony didn't have time to ponder on what happened to the other four.
"I will not rest, I won't fucking calm down till that bastard is down on his knees groveling for my forgiveness. I won't calm down till I'm pummeling his face into a bloody pulp." The squealing of the repulsor turned louder, the ray of energy building up more. "He'll regret taking them. He took my fucking son. He was begging not to go and i could do nothing. Thanos will pay and if you don't agree then you can fucking go down with him."
Tony let the ray fly, twisting his arm as they all dived down to dodge. He shot again, this one to close to Steve and knocking the soldier off his feet. Tony flew up to him, ignoring how Steve tried to scramble up. He slammed a foot into his chest, letting the repulsor light up once more, forcing Steve and the others to still.
"He took my son, my sons, my kids!" Tony roared. "He doesn't deserve to live and i won't calm down till He's burning in hell."
Steve raised his hands up, trying to block the repulsor.
"He took Bucky too." Steve breathed too quick and too desperate to think through his choice of words. "He took Wanda, Sam, T'Challa. He killed Vision and-"
Logically, Tony knew he had to have killed Vision. He could have made them all disappear when they were fighting him on Titan. But to hear it.
To hear it out loud hurt more.
"He took Jarvis from me too." Tony's voice was pitched cold. "I have no sympathy no remorse for the thing that took my kids. Anyone who tries to stop me-" his repulsor built up once more- "won't know what hit them."
He let the beam die down, stepping back.
"Down goes Thanos," he turned away, glare darkening at the sight of the other avengers stepping back. "Life will Breathe."
A/N: As you can see Infinity War fucked me up, legit cried during peter disappearing. I fucking hate this and my Tony had to suffer so much! ARGH! So I'm making a fix-it fic cause fuck you, my Tony and Peter Deserve better. Officially ship IronDoctor so fucking bad, but i'm also still a hardcore Pepperony shipper as well so blegh.
Am i going to finish this?! So long as i have angst from the movie you can be damn well fucking sure i will.
Strap yourselves in mother fuckers because i will not allow this angst to go on any further! :(
As always Review and favorite, so i can get motivation to fucking finish this XD, anyways now that that's done
-Maiden Out.