p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"A short drabble of heartbreak I felt like writing. I kept wondering what Tony would be going through. My mind wandered and then …/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"Tony stared at his hands. He knew that Thanos had started it. It was the beginning of the end. All the people who fought with him were dying. As he watched them go, there was only one constant truth in his mind. Strange had bought his life. He had given the time stone to Thanos, and bargained for Tony's life in exchange. There was no mercy here. It was not a kindness. Strange had kept something from them all, and now all Tony could do was watch as everyone dusted away. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"Drax, Quill and Mantis and simply gone with the wind, the flecks of dust flying away like the pieces of a tattered flag. The cause they had fought for, shed blood for, crumbled away with them. There was nothing to be done, Tony knew that. They knew what they were getting into, and had fought for all the others who could do nothing to defend themselves./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"It seemed as though he had been stabbed once again, when he heard Peter call out to him in a soft voice. He felt it coming, the same as Mantis. His panicked voice brought Tony out of his shock, and he caught the boy as he stumbled towards him. His words, "I don't feel so good, " kept ringing in his head like a cruel joke. The boy, barely sixteen, had fought so bravely. He was too young for the war that had he had picked, a mere sapling of a man who fought against men, strong and powerful like unyielding oaks. He had bent this way and that, doing his best to weather the elements of the battle that seemed to besiege him, but all for naught. He had been pulled up and shredded and tossed out of the field./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"As he lay dying in Tony's arms, Tony could feel his mind collapsing. Peter started into is eyes, trying to act strong, but Tony could see the fear in his eyes. The boy had been told to go home! Why couldn't he just listen to him? All this could have avoided. He could have spent his last moments with friends or family. Instead, he was here, on a planet far from home, in the arms of the man who failed to protect him. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"After he was gone, Tony sat there and stared at his hand. He was waiting to turn to dust, but he knew he would not have that blessing. All his friends were gone, and was left to pick up the ashes. He had no idea if any of the others, were alive. Pepper, his rock, his wife, the future mother of his child, could be nothing but dust now. Happy, Bruce, Rhodey and all the others could be dust now. With all of them gone, what could he have to live for? What could possibly left to fight for? He was Earth's defender, yet here he was, defeated. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"He was lost, in spirit and in mind. With no way to tie him down, his mind started to collapse. The walls started to close in and his monsters came over those walls, charging him. Guilt tackled him into the arms of loneliness as he fell into the abyss of failure./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"It was then, on a far planet far from home, breathing in the air his fellows and dissipated into, that Tony Stark's mind snapped. This time, there was no one there to help him. This time, he was truly alone. This time, Tony gave in to the darkness he called home./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"Tony stared at his hands. He knew that Thanos had started it. It was the beginning of the end. All the people who fought with him were dying. As he watched them go, there was only one constant truth in his mind. Strange had bought his life. He had given the time stone to Thanos, and bargained for Tony's life in exchange. There was no mercy here. It was not a kindness. Strange had kept something from them all, and now all Tony could do was watch as everyone dusted away. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"Drax, Quill and Mantis and simply gone with the wind, the flecks of dust flying away like the pieces of a tattered flag. The cause they had fought for, shed blood for, crumbled away with them. There was nothing to be done, Tony knew that. They knew what they were getting into, and had fought for all the others who could do nothing to defend themselves./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"It seemed as though he had been stabbed once again, when he heard Peter call out to him in a soft voice. He felt it coming, the same as Mantis. His panicked voice brought Tony out of his shock, and he caught the boy as he stumbled towards him. His words, "I don't feel so good, " kept ringing in his head like a cruel joke. The boy, barely sixteen, had fought so bravely. He was too young for the war that had he had picked, a mere sapling of a man who fought against men, strong and powerful like unyielding oaks. He had bent this way and that, doing his best to weather the elements of the battle that seemed to besiege him, but all for naught. He had been pulled up and shredded and tossed out of the field./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"As he lay dying in Tony's arms, Tony could feel his mind collapsing. Peter started into is eyes, trying to act strong, but Tony could see the fear in his eyes. The boy had been told to go home! Why couldn't he just listen to him? All this could have avoided. He could have spent his last moments with friends or family. Instead, he was here, on a planet far from home, in the arms of the man who failed to protect him. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"After he was gone, Tony sat there and stared at his hand. He was waiting to turn to dust, but he knew he would not have that blessing. All his friends were gone, and was left to pick up the ashes. He had no idea if any of the others, were alive. Pepper, his rock, his wife, the future mother of his child, could be nothing but dust now. Happy, Bruce, Rhodey and all the others could be dust now. With all of them gone, what could he have to live for? What could possibly left to fight for? He was Earth's defender, yet here he was, defeated. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"He was lost, in spirit and in mind. With no way to tie him down, his mind started to collapse. The walls started to close in and his monsters came over those walls, charging him. Guilt tackled him into the arms of loneliness as he fell into the abyss of failure./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"It was then, on a far planet far from home, breathing in the air his fellows and dissipated into, that Tony Stark's mind snapped. This time, there was no one there to help him. This time, he was truly alone. This time, Tony gave in to the darkness he called home./span/p
