Tony Stark was forged of iron.
Right now, Tony Stark was made of glass. Cracks in every place, staying together but shattered the moment something brushes against him.
He was made of blood and dust – ash of a boy that wanted to save the world, nearly succeeded, and failed only because of human emotion that even Tony could find no fault too. Peter Quill was human to the core, and Tony couldn't fault his humanity.
Tony Stark had failed.
"Human,"
A purplish, blue robot looked at him, but Tony didn't have enough energy to care. He wanted to stay on this earth and rot and die and waste away just as his kid did.
"I will take you to Terra."
Tony's hands rest on his thighs, rocking slightly.
Home. He just wanted to go home.
He nodded at her, and – with the ash still on his hands – he walked slowly and unsteadily to where a small alien ship was.
The robot led him up the ramp and, when he finally sat down, he collapsed.
He was cracked glass…
And the shards were sharp enough to draw blood.
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When he opened his eyes once again, the pain was immediately shoved to the forefront of his brain, reminding him of the grievous injury he received for -
A drop of blood.
"I am Nebula, Thanos' daughter."
Tony said nothing. He curled into a ball and began to rock, willing the pain away.
"I want revenge for my sister, and you want revenge for your child."
Tony stopped breathing. "Your child." Even an alien stranger knew how important one Peter Parker was. Not just to Tony, but to the world.
Peter Parker died in his arms, and Tony couldn't do a damn thing.
"We will arrive in less than an hour."
Who was still alive? Rhodey? Pepper? Happy?
The team. The teams? Who survived the mistake that Tony made?
"Tony Stark."
It sounds like a curse word rather than a name when he told her. There's a dangerous monster lurking behind his mind, ready to leak out. Shock had set in, but soon his emotions would destroy him.
Tony Stark was a brand name. Iron Man was soldier that had died a long time ago – before the Accords, before the Ultron, before the Battle of New York.
Tony Stark: Iron Man. Both of them were lost between the stars they were flying by.
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When they hit the Earth's atmosphere, the ships comm unit burst into life.
"Unidentified vessel, state your business or be shot out of the mother fucking sky."
Rhodey. That was his best friend's voice over the speakers.
Tony shoved past his new robot friend and grabbed what he could only assume was the ship's microphone.
"Rhodey?"
There was a shocked silence.
Nebula landed their ship in Wakanda, and Tony collapsed in his brother's arms, not hearing anything but feeling strong arms around his chest.
"I thought you were dead," Rhodey didn't move. He whispered the words in Tony's ear.
But Tony didn't have his strength anymore. Instead, he squeezed Rhodey tighter and collapsed in his arms, sobbing and sobbing and feeling nothing but agony as he remembered the weight of Peter's body as he faded away.
Rhodey's arms were stronger, but Tony could still feel Peter's lanky arms around him.
"I should be dead. It should be me – it should be me. God Rhodey he's dead. He's gone and Strange, and Peter, and the green alien, and the big one. They just faded in front of my eyes."
Tony opened his eyes, catching a glimpse of the rest of the survivors behind Rhodey.
Steve, Natasha, Thor, and Bruce. Barely a team.
Tony didn't put on a brave face. Instead, tears still on his cheeks, he slowly let go of Rhodey and walked up to the rest of them.
No words were exchange. They walked into the Wakandan throne room and sat on the floor, silently grieving, and dying all at once.
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Pepper didn't make it. Neither did Happy.
He stared at his team, beyond words.
And he saw red.
Fire ignited in his bones, he ripped off the arc reactor on his chest and watched with sick satisfaction as the nanobots disappeared into his creation. With another scream, he tossed it as far as he could, hearing a satisfying clank of metal as it hit the vibranium wall.
"The fucking asshole looked me in the eye as my own technology was shoved in my gut and said: 'I hope the people of Earth remember you.'"
Tony laughed, something as dark and disgusting as himself. "The failure of the world, all thanks to Tony Stark."
"God-Man could one up you, I bet,"
Tony didn't even look at the voice he didn't recognize. In fact, he was positive it was said by a raccoon. He saw no reason to deal with that.
"He lost his entire race, parents, brother, and aneye. And me?"
Tony recognized the pain in the raccoon's voice: true angst.
"My whole team is gone. That bunch of douchebags were the only ones I had left."
Tony looked up.
Not one person was whole in the Wakanda throne room; even Thor was destroyed. No one was hiding their grief. Instead, they revealed in it; let the pain wash over them and prayed that it went away.
"Bucky's dead."
The room went quiet. Tony, honest to God, felt bad for Steve Rogers. No one deserved to feel the way Tony felt, especially Captain America.
Bucky Barnes didn't deserve to die.
"He called my name," Steve went quiet. "And then…Ash."
Tony looked at his hands, still covered in the remains of Peter. He didn't dare wipe it away; didn't dare think about the blood on his hands.
Natasha never wore her heart on her sleeve, yet here she was, surround by tears and sweat and dirt and with tears rolling down her face. She didn't say a word, but she didn't need to.
"You were stabbed?"
Tony waved away Bruce's concern. "Held together with Spider-Man's webs."
Rhodey moved over to him, clearly looking at his stomach wound. For once in his life, Tony didn't put up a fight on the concern.
He felt…Tired. In fact, everything in the room was slightly fuzzy.
Maybe this was what Peter felt before he died.
"Shit, Bruce, he needs-"
"Lemme die," Tony slurred, letting Rhodey lower him to the ground. "Shou'of been me."
Tony thought about the lives that had been lost across the universe.
And Tony lost himself in black.
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Tony Stark woke up.
Iron Man died that day, but Tony designed more weapons than ever before. He still wore the suit, perfected down to the last thought, but he did so to protect his team.
He had failed, but he sure as hell wouldn't give up.
Thanos was going to die by his weapons if it was the last thing Tony Stark did.