AN: I wrote this immediately after seeing the movie. Currently uploading to FFNET at 2:57 am. So, 1) sorry about no emphasis with italics and such and 2) sorry for any grammar mistakes and 3) probably continuity errors but eh idc. i wrote this during my mourning for the characters. Typically I"m a stickler for mcu timeline but I was so sad I decided not to follow it i guess. Some ships are subtle but not at the forefront of this fic. this is mainly gen.
Whoever was left sat in the Compound, still feeling exhausted from the events of the week prior. Rhodes walked in from another room, sighing.
"Princess Shuri says that M'Baku is the temporary leader of Wakanda, until we either fix everything, or find a permanent solution," he said, his shoulders were slumped as he pocketed his phone.
Steve nodded, having already guessed that M'Baku would be entrusted with Wakanda's throne. Last he heard, M'Baku would soon have the throne through marriage anyway. He looked to the ground, a sudden sadness washed over him. Marriage . Tony and Pepper were supposed to get married soon too. Just announce it, about a month ago. Now Tony was missing, and even if he turned up, Pepper was a pile of ash. His heart broke for Tony.
Steve snapped his head up, startling the others. He heard someone, possibly two, walking down the hallway. The others tensed, ready for a fight, whether is was Thanos coming to finish the job, or Ross to throw them back into the Raft.
They saw a blue alien slowly walking into the room first. Steve was ready to strike when he saw the person hanging off of the alien.
"Tony?" Rhodes asked, disbelief in his voice and he ran to his friend, every step making a noise.
"Watch the side," the blue alien said, her voice sounded robotic. She passed Tony onto Rhodes, who lead him towards their makeshift sickbay. The blue alien huffed as she sat down on one of the couches across from them.
"And you are?" Natasha asked, jutting her chin at the alien.
"Nebula." Was all she said before her eye popped out, making everyone flinch. "Sorry," she said, pushing it back in. "Got loose fighting Thanos."
"I didn't see you in the fight," Thor accused, his fingers still wrapped around the handle of his axe.
"We were on Titan," Tony said, limping over to Nebula, holding his side. He sighed as he flopped down. "His homeworld." He groaned, shoulders slumping as he leaned back on the couch. He rubbed his hands down his face and he leaned forward.
"So," Tony began, lifting his head from his hands, "We need a game plan. We need to know who we have left." He took a breath, "Who turned to dust here?" Steve could see unshed tears in Tony's eyes.
"Bucky," he said, flinching at his own broken voice, "Sam, T'Challa, Wanda, Vision,"
"Groot," a raccoon said.
"Half of the goddamn world," Rhodes spit out with half a sneer.
"I lost contact with Fury and Hill," Natasha cut in, "My best guess is that they're gone too. Agent 13 said they didn't make their rendezvous."
Tony nodded and turned to Rhodes.
"How's," Tony paused to collect air, "How's M'Baku and Princess Shuri holding up?"
"They're stomping down their emotions to take care of Wakanda first," Rhodes said, "They also have closed Wakanda back off until further notice."
"What," The raccoon interjected, looking desperately back and forth between Tony and Nebula, "What happened to my team?"
"They," Nebula stopped before she could say it, looking to the floor, not wanting to see the look on his face. "They didn't make it."
Tony rested his hand on Nebula's shoulder and she reached up and put her hand on his and squeezed.
The raccoon thumped to the floor, closing in on himself. Thor reached out and started to scratch his head. The raccoon jumped but didn't reject the hand.
"We lost Strange and," Tony couldn't blink back the tears anymore, "Spider-man." Nebula squeezed his hand again. He looked to Rhodes, a small dash of hope in his eyes. Rhodes gave a silent shake of his head, causing Tony's dam to break. Tony's helpless sobs cracked the others' resolves. Rhodes sat on the other side of Tony, pulling him into a hug. Tony cried into his shoulder.
It took awhile for Tony to calm down, but Steve could still see the tears he held back in his red eyes.
"We had him," Tony's voice was small, "We had him pinned. We, we could of-"
Nebula choked on a sob, her and Tony squeezing each other's hands in support.
"What do you mean you had him pinned?" Thor asked, his voice was level but Steve could hear the accusation in it. The raccoon, still being scratched by the god, looked up at the two on the couch.
"We were able to subdue him, had him held down," Tony said, wiping the tear tracks from his face, "Parker and I almost had the gauntlet off his hand."
"What happened?" The raccoon asked, his voice cracking.
"Peter," Nebula said, "He found out that Thanos," she sniffed, "That Thanos killed Gamora for the Soul Stone and tried to take him on himself." Tony squeezed her hand again.
The raccoon scoffed, "Typical."
Everyone who knew or met Quill burst out laughing through their tears.