Pepper quickly changed out of her space clothes and into a clean Ravager uniform. It belonged to one of the Tatiana's crew members, who matched Pepper's height. It was a little loose for her, so she neatly rolled up her sleeves and tucked the pant cuffs into her boots. She checked her hair and then ran to the medical bay.

She was scared about Tony's health. After saving Mainframe from a metal frame falling from the ceiling, he had collapsed and couldn't stand up. The sight of him lying there so still, barely breathing, his eyes closed, had made her heart stop. Charlie had had to carry him onto their space craft.

As they had flown back to the Tatiana, he had regained consciousness but the lines of pain around his mouth and eyes had frightened her.

She knew he was on his last legs and too tired to argue, because when they reached the Tatiana, without making a sound, he had once again let Charlie carry him off the their space craft and on board.

Now he was in the medical bay, being taken care off by one of the ship's medics. They were all going to meet there because Tony wanted to talk about what had happened on Titan.

She had argued that he should get medical attention and rest but he had insisted on tell the Ravagers everything immediately and she realized then that he just wanted to get it off his chest.

He's seen too much on Titan. Suffered too much. The strain of being the only survivor and watching them all die in front of him, is eating at him. I have to help him get through this.

She had reached the medical bay but there was no one there. Pepper looked around in confusion. Then she heard Martinex's voice over the intercom.

"Attention Pepper, if you are looking for us, we are on the bridge."

She swore softly, knowing this was Tony's doing. So Pepper ran out of the bay and down the ship, towards the bridge. She climbed up the tiny staircase and was relieved to find Tony.

He was leaning against the navigational planning board in the center, looking around him like a kid in a candy store. She walked over to him. A short Ravager medic with a neat white uniform and a leafy fluffy head like a cauliflower, was fussing over him, scanning him with a small medical instrument.

Tony started to grumble, especially when the medic firmly strapped a large square packet on his neck.

"Keep that there." It growled menacingly to Tony, who nodded quickly.

As Pepper approached, the medic smiled and said, "Mr. Stark does not have any life-threatening injuries. But he does not want to rest yet. So I've given him an ION pack. It will slowly leak medicinal fluids into his body. Once your meeting is done, we will move him to the medical bay for advanced treatment."

"Thank you, Doctor." She said gratefully, taking its clammy hand.

It nodded gently at her and left. Pepper looked at Tony and then glared at him.

"Tony," she said chidingly as he absently scratched the pack, "do not disturb it. Leave it be."

Of course, he paid her no attention because he was busy admiring the space tech all around him.

"A hyper space drive! Wait, what's that? Thermo nuclear engine! Oh my and oooh! Is that a four chamber thruster! What weapons are built in? I saw at least two missile blasters, are those laser missiles or of something else... and a Furby!"

He picked up the purple Furby kept in one corner of the console. "I haven't seen one of these in years! So who is the McDonald junkie over here?"

"My husband, the studly Ravager captain who thinks the sun shines out of his ass. He loves to pick up these tiny toys from junk auctions and pawn shops."

Aleta strode onto the bridge, grinning slowly at them. She was wearing a neat black sling, that cradled her right arm.

Pepper rushed to her side, worried for her friend. "How's the arm? Are you in a lot of pain?"

She chuckled and said, "Red, this is nothing. Don't worry, it will be good in a day or two."

Then Aleta caught her hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. "I have to say that was a good fight. Somebody was kicking space rat ass left and right. And didn't receive a scratch."

Pepper was going to object but then Tony said admiringly, "And Pepper rescued me from one of those tall black cloaked things as well. Like a space Amazon. Two shots straight to the chest. It fell over before it could even reach for its gun."

She flushed at the nods of awe and admiration being directed at her. "Guys, it was just a fluke."

"A fluke!" exclaimed Martinex as he walked in. "Pepper, I can assure you, your shooting skills are not a fluke. For a beginner, you did an impressive job."

She was red to her ears now and Tony chuckled. "Well, she shoots people down with cold glares and government citations all the time, so she's a natural dead shot. This time, she just had a gun."

Aleta grinned at him. "So you are Tony Stark, huh? Red's special lump."

Then Pepper realized she hadn't made any introductions. "Tony, this is Aleta Osgord, Ravager Captain and co-captain of the Tatiana."

Tony said musingly, "Lady Bruce Lee, you were scary out there. When I first saw you, I nearly walked back out of the auction room."

"Stark, you weren't so bad yourself. Especially since you were injured."

A shadow passed over Tony's face and he lowered his head. Both Aleta and Martinex looked at Pepper questioningly and she just shook her head, trying to make them understand.

Charlie entered the room and came bounding towards them, smiling widely.

Pepper was going to ask about his health but then Tony beat her to it. He asked, "Big guy, are you alright? Did the meds check you over?"

Charlie placed his large hand gently on Tony's head, patting him like a dog. "I am all good, Tiny."

Pepper giggled and Aleta snorted looking away as Tony said quietly, "Charlie, buddy, we discussed this. I am TONY, not Tiny!"

"But you is tiny as compared to me." reasoned Charlie.

"Pepper is also shorter than you! Why don't you call her Tiny?" objected Tony.

"Because she is Red. Look at her pretty hair..." he said and gently touched Pepper's hair. She smiled and caught his hand.

He shuffled his feet, looking down at them and Aleta said gently, "Charlie, didn't you say you had something for Pepper?"

Charlie nodded his head shyly and Pepper said excitedly, "Oh! What is it, Charlie? Please show me!"

He pulled out a small velvet pouch and offered it to Pepper. She opened it to reveal a thin chain with a grey colored cylindrical capsule on it.

"What is it?" She asked curiously.

"Shake it slightly, Red." He said.

Pepper gently moved it and then gasped with pleasure as the grey capsule was quickly filled with a bright orange fiery liquid that sparkled.

Charlie said softly, "It is a sliver of liquid starfire straight from a comet. It is a light that never fades, no matter how much time passes."

"How did you get this?" She whispered in awe.

Aleta spoke wryly, "A grateful prisoner wanted to thank Charlie for saving him from the space rats. This was all he had on him."

"Oh Charlie! It is beautiful! How thoughtful of you!" she exclaimed, touched by his kind gesture.

"Yes, Charlie, how thoughtful of you to get a gift. For Pepper." Said Tony pointedly and she bit her lip to hide her smile.

Tony is a such dork! He's the playboy, the man with a hundred lovers, the billionaire with a bed mate in every state. But for some

reason, he always gets so jealous if some other man pays me attention!

Tony had narrowed his eyes at Charlie, who was looking at him bashfully. "And for you, Tiny..."

"Tony..."

"I found this."

From his coat, he pulled out a medium-sized bright blue titanium donut-shaped object, which was enclosed in a circular glass container. The donut was crackling and sparkling with energy, white flecks and sparks flying from its hollow center.

Tony held out his hands with joy. "What is it?! Give me!"

"Now Tiny," Charlie held the object at safe distance, "This is not a toy. It is a nanobyte accelerator that helps strengthen nanites in living organisms. It is meant to ... how should I put this... oh yes, increase power, speed and strength of contained nanites."

"So basically," said Aleta dryly, "it helps juice up nanites stored in someone's body. Like steroids for nanites, if you will."Tony's eyes had gone wide with wonder. He looked down at the Arc in his chest and then at the donut.

Pepper realized what he was thinking and said "NO!" so loudly that Charlie nearly dropped the donut in shock.

Aleta and Martinex burst into laughter. Tony said sheepishly, "Pep, I was just going through the possibilities in my mind. And granted, souping up the nanobytes isn't very safe but... hey Charlie, by any chance, do you know the percentage of increase in efficiency that the accelerator would provide?"

Charlie scratched his head with confusion. "I don't... know... sorry."

He shrugged. "I just picked it up from the processing unit that we broke into and showed it to Mainframe. She was explaining the details to me. Sorry, Tiny."

Tony took the donut reverently but Pepper snatched it out of his hands and tucked it into her uniform. "This stays with me until you are alright, Anthony Edward Stark."

Aleta and Charlie whistled at her tone while Tony grinned boyishly at her. "Of course, Miss Potts, I wouldn't dream of doing anything without your permission."

She narrowed her eyes at him, leaned closer and whispered, "I am watching you, Mr. Stark. If I do not see any positive change in your health stats, I am going to strap you to a bed until you recover completely."

He whispered back, "If that means you and I get to play 'Doctor Doctor', then by all means, Potts, strap away."

Pepper rolled her eyes at him and he laughed but inside, she was vastly relieved.

He's recovered enough to flirt. That's a good sign.

Then from below, they heard three voices coming towards the bridge, arguing with each other loudly.

"We agreed on setting off the bombs only after a common signal was given."

"No way! we said twenty minutes into the mission, the timer starts."

"No, Krugarr! We agreed that only when I say go, do you set the timer off! You set them off 10 minutes early!"

Aleta sighed loudly. "No Ravager mission is complete without a post-mission argument. And here comes a long argument."

Starkar, Mainframe and Krugarr climbed up the staircase from the other side of the bridge, still shouting at each other.

Starkar tossed his head angrily. "And another thing! You put the bombs in all the wrong places!"

"Yes! It was supposed to be a systematic structural destruction of the building, one part at a time." yelled Mainframe. "Not the whole damn building all at once!"

"Structural destruction, my ass!" Said Krugarr rudely.

"Hey soldier! You do not talk to me and Mainframe that way!" Yelled Starkar, who had gone red in the face.

"Oh yeah!" Krugarr made a rude gesture with his finger while Mainframe gasped loudly. "Krugarr! How rude!"

By now, Pepper was used to their shenanigans and glanced at Tony, who was watching the Captains fight with rapt attention.

"They really are space pirates!" He said with glee.

Aleta was tapping her foot and muttering angrily to herself. She finally lost patience and yelled threateningly, "Alright, you three clowns! Cut It Out! We have guests on deck!"

They stopped arguing and finally noticed, that there were others on board the bridge. Mainframe quickly came over to Tony, with a loud beep of delight.

"Mr. Stark, I'm so glad that you are awake. How are you feeling?"

"I am... I am good. Good. Thanks..." stammered out Tony because Mainframe was beeping and booping rapidly.

She took his hand and shook it fervently. "Mr. Stark, you saved my life back there. I can't thank you enough."

Pepper knew that Tony got embarrassed when confronted with his good deeds. Sure enough, he flushed cutely and stammered out, "That's okay. You helped me too. I'm sure at some point." He looked at Pepper. "And you helped Pepper so... oh! Look at them."

Tony nicely diverted attention to Aleta and Starkar who were smooching passionately. The other Ravagers started to hoot and whistle wildly, while Charlie clapped his hands together and went "Awww."

Mainframe didn't fall for his trick and turned back to Tony. She put her arms around him so gently, as if he was made of glass. He held himself stiff as she said softly, "Thank you, Mr Stark."

"Sure. Call me Tony please."

She pulled back and said, "Tony."

Starkar and Aleta finally separated and the burly Ravager Captain came over to Tony.

"So this is the brave Iron Man from Earth, who survived a fight with Thanos. The only survivor, I should say."

Pepper flinched, knowing Tony was sensitive about his surviving the fight but before Tony could react, Starkar slapped him hard on the back, nearly pushing him off the navigational board.

"That was mighty impressive of you, Iron Man."

Aleta smacked Starkar hard on the arm. "Stop being so physical, can't you see the man is injured!?"

Tony had gone slightly pale and Starkar said with worry, "Hey, Iron Man, I am sorry, buddy, you should be resting. What are you doing up here anyway?"

He took a deep breath. "I want to talk. To explain about the Guardians. I understand you were close to them."

Deep sorrow passed over Starkar's ruddy face. He lowered his head and said, "Yes, Iron Man, please... we saw there were no survivors but I would like to know about... Peter Quill."

Tony said grimly, "I am going to start right at the beginning."

The Ravagers moved closer. Pepper gently placed her arm around Tony and he leaned back against her, looking up at her gratefully.

"So... you must know of Thanos?"

Krugarr snarled, "Who doesn't? That violent maniac has wreaked a path of destruction amongst the cosmos."

Starkar said, "Pepper told us that he came to Earth looking for two Infinity Stones, the Time Stone and the Mind Stone. What happened then? How did you end up with the Guardians on Titan?"

Tony sighed. "Well, the Time Stone was in the custody of Dr. Stephen Strange, a Master of the Mystic Arts. He had sworn an oath to protect the Stone at all costs and never let it fall into the wrong hands. Two of Thanos' ugliest minions came to take the Stone from Strange. One was this huge giant with a big axe, what was his name... some type of crystal?"

"The Obsidian Dwarf." said Aleta wryly.

Tony widened his eyes incredulously, "Really? A dwarf? If you say so. And the other was this pug ugly skinny thing with a scrunched up face and the stringiest hair ever. He spoke in a cultured, Shakespearean sort of, snarky British voice."

"The Maw..." whispered Mainframe, "Thanos' right-hand man and interrogation expert. The most devious, cunning and cruel being under Thanos' command."

Tony said softly, "Well, the Maw is dead. So at least one thing is done right."

The entire group gasped and Krugarr said with shock, "You puny humans killed the Maw!"

"Yup. On his own spaceship. Wait, I am getting ahead of myself. So the Maw and the... you said, Dwarf. Well, we fought then in New York. Me, Wong, Strange and Banner, all together."

He looked at Pep. "By the way, Banner's ugly green friend let him down, so Banner wasn't of any help. I do hope he's safe. I told Wong to take him away."

Pepper said "Yes, Tony, Wong told me that he took Bruce back to the New York Sanctum and that Bruce had your phone. Steve's phone. He must have gone to meet the others."

Tony nodded tiredly. "I hope he did and at least he's safe... and not disintegrated..." he murmured to himself. "Anyways, the Dwarf kept us busy and the Maw sneakily kidnapped Strange and took him aboard his ship, heading for deep space. I knew we had to get Strange back, we couldn't let Thanos get that Stone. So we snuck aboard the space ship and saw the Maw torturing Strange. And we had to stop him."

Starkar interrupted, "Who is 'we'? I thought you said Banner and Wong stayed on Earth."

Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "A fellow... junior Avenger... he... he saw me fighting the Dwarf, so he came over to help and... he managed to sneak on board the spaceship with me. He had the bright idea of stopping the Maw and saving Strange. His name was... Peter Parker. Spiderman."

His voice lowered and he blinked hard, shaking his head slightly. She rubbed his back, understanding his grief and he looked at her.

Then he nodded and continued, "So there we were, Strange, me and Peter. I knew it was no use running, Thanos would find us wherever we went. And we didn't want any more people to get hurt, so we decided to take the fight to Titan, so there would be less casualties. I mean, we thought we could fight Thanos face to face."

"So you decided on a suicide mission..." said Krugarr wryly.

Tony grinned. "You could say that."

Pepper swallowed, thinking over his words and how they hurt her.

He went willingly to Titan, knowing that he was going to his death. Even after the talk we just had in the park, about... no more surprises. But of course he would. He's Iron Man, one of Earth's mightiest heroes. He doesn't care for his own life. I am the one who cares.

She brought herself back to the present, because Tony was talking about Titan.

He spoke, "When we reached that desolate planet, we met up with the Guardians."

"Hold on," said Charlie, "so you are the ones that crash landed the Maw's ship?"

"Yup, I had no idea how to control it. We landed badly, jumping from the ship in time and had a tense stand-off with the Guardians."

"A stand-off?" asked Starkar. "Why? You were all on the same side."

Tony chuckled. "I know but we didn't know that about each other. But it settled itself out pretty quick. There were three of them..."

"Only three?" asked Aleta. "Where were the rest?"

Tony shook his head. "The one called Star-Lord, who claimed he was from Missouri, he said that they had split up to help some... pirate angel prince or something like that. And then Gamora, his girlfriend, she had been kidnapped by Thanos, that's why they had come to Titan, they wanted to rescue her."

The Ravagers reacted with shock to that, all of them talking at once and Starkar raised his hands to try and quieten them down.

"Hold on, hold on, Gamora was kidnapped! Whatever for! What the fuck? So aside from Peter Quill, who were with you? Groot?"

Tony said hesitatingly, "I never caught their actual names. Erm... one was a muscular, no-neck, bodybuilder sort, covered in scars, who took everything said, very literally. Too literally."

The Ravagers said in tandem, "Drax the Destroyer."

"A very primitive being." said Mainframe drolly. "And I use the word 'being' in the highest sense of exaggeration."

"Okay... and the other was this girl... with... eh... antennae sticking out of the top of her head and two beady black eyes with a soft voice. She had some sort of empathy power, I mean, she could touch anyone and know what they were feeling and then even calm them down."

The Ravagers looked at each other and Starkar scratched his head, exclaiming, "Heck! I know whom you mean but even I have forgotten her name!"

Mainframe snapped her fingers. "I have it! The emphatic humanoid Mantis! She was a former companion to Ego. Do you remember now, Starkar?"

"Yes." he said with a smile. "So gentle and calm. I remember now."

Tony added, "Even I was amazed at her ability. And also terrified. She could actually say what emotions a person was going through. Very embarrassing. That's why I avoided getting too close to her."

Aleta said firmly, "So there were three of you, Avengers? And the three Guardians? Peter Quill, Drax and Mantis. Gamora was kidnapped by Thanos and Groot and Rocket were off somewhere else. Have I understood it correctly?"

Tony nodded. "You have. And the six of us hatched a plan. I mean, Star Lord had a lot of plans. And his plan was to separate the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos, thus weakening him. Then we could smack the shit out of him."

Aleta said gently, "It sounds like a good plan. What happened?"

Tony tightened his jaw and looked out of the ship's window. Pepper could see his eyes darken with emotion, emotion that he was trying to control.

"Too many things, actually." He said softly. "For one, Thanos was too damn strong. I mean, Strange used his portals and this and that to shoot me and Star Lord and Peter through them, all of us trying to get that damn glove off. But he was... he was so powerful."

He shifted slightly and looked at Starkar. "It seemed impossible to defeat him until Nebula showed up. Right from the sky in the spaceship."

Aleta exclaimed, "How and why did she come there?"

Tony said wryly, "Apparently she had been trying to kill Thanos from some time. But he had caught her and had used her as bait to draw Gamora to him. Once he had Gamora, he and her had disappeared and Nebula somehow had escaped from his spaceship. Now she had followed him, intending to find out what had happened to Gamora."

He smiled grimly. "My god, when Nebula started to fight, I had gotten so happy. Her android strength and sheer rage was actually working against Thanos. Thanks to her, we had managed to hold him still with spiderwebs and Doctor Strange's portals. Mantis was on his shoulders, using her empathy power to calm him down, to put him into a near trance-like state. And again, it was working. Me and Peter, Spiderman we nearly had the glove off, but it seemed to be stuck to him. But we were getting it off, we were so damn close."

Tony took a deep breath and looked down at his hands. "And then Peter Quill suddenly had to ask the restrained Thanos where Gamora was. And Nebula mentioned that Gamora and Thanos had disappeared together, to get the Soul Stone. And there on the Gauntlet was the Soul Stone. So Thanos had it. And Thanos ... well, there had been tears in his eyes as he mentioned that Gamora had been his favorite daughter and even he had suffered by losing her."

A sudden hush fell over the Ravagers. Starkar said slowly, "Losing her? He killed Gamora?"

Tony nodded sadly.

Aleta whispered slowly, "He killed his favorite daughter... Poor Peter... oh no... I know what happened next. Peter Quill lost his control."

"Yes," continued Tony, "Quill went ballistic, he started punching Thanos wildly, trying to hurt him and that broke Mantis's trance spell over Thanos."

Starkar sighed heavily and Mainframe covered her face with her hands. Pepper whispered, "Then what happened, Tony?"

He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Then Thanos broke his restraints and beat the crap out of us, pure and simple. We were really no match for him, even Nebula. I tried my best as well but it was just no good."

He ended on a whisper, "Thanos simply was too powerful. And I think the loss of Gamora made him just a little more mad as well. Whatever we did, he just beat us down."

He stood up, Pepper helping him and walked over slowly to the large space window, turning away from them.

"We were defeated. I was bleeding out, everyone else was on the ground. And Strange... he had the Time Stone. Thanos was going to squish me like a grape, when Strange..."

He paused here and leaned his head tiredly against the glass. Pepper wanted to stop this discussion. But she controlled herself.

This is too painful for him. He seen too much, he's still broken and wounded. He's just gone through it... I have to get him to rest. But I have to let him finish.

She caught Aleta's eye and gestured meaningfully at her. Aleta nodded and whispered to Mainframe, to get the medical bay ready for Tony.

"What did Strange do, Iron Man?" asked Starkar harshly.

Tony whispered in anguish, "Strange told Thanos he would give up the Time Stone, if Thanos spared me."

"Why?" asked Mainframe curiously.

He turned to face them and swallowed. "I do not know. Strange had used the Time Stone, before we had started fighting Thanos and had seen that there was only one way to defeat Thanos. He..." Tony paused, "He wanted me to stay alive."

Then he shrugged. "And luckily for me, Thanos agreed. Strange handed over the Time Stone, Thanos placed it in his gauntlet and opened a portal with it. And disappeared to Earth. We were all helpless to stop him."

"And then the Guardians ... then they faded?" whispered Charlie sadly, startling Pepper because he had been listening quietly for so long.

Pepper's heart clenched with pain at the expression on Tony's face. Suddenly he seemed 10 years older, with deep lines of sorrow around his mouth and eyes. But the emotion in his eyes as he silently relived his memories. That's what hit her the hardest.

She took one step towards him but he raised his hand slightly and shook his head.

"Ten minutes later or perhaps even 5, a slow wind began to blow on that dusty planet," he whispered so softly, she had to strain to hear him.

"Mantis sensed it first and was the first to go. Just standing there, the wind blew across her and she blew away as ash with its passing. Drax called out to her and then he started to fade as well. I thought I was imagining things but Strange and Peter could see it too. Quill rushed to Drax and mid-way turned to ash, shouting Gamora's name."

A low groan was heard from Starkar, who lowered his face to his hands.

"Even though I know they died... hearing him say it... seems so... so fatalistic."

"Strange too?" whispered Charlie.

"Yes..." said Tony, looking up at the ceiling, "He just... he just looked at me. And disappeared. And then Peter... my Peter, Spiderman... I caught him in my arms and he just lay down saying..." he swallowed hard, "he said he didn't feel so good and then he just turned to ash in my arms."

Tony crouched down to his knees and she rushed to his side, holding him, suddenly frightened by his pale face and bleak eyes.

He just looked at her mutely and whispered, "I couldn't stop it, Pep, I couldn't do anything. The Spiderling just disappeared into the wind."

Tony clenched his fist. "All that was left was me and Nebula. I do not know how long after the space rats came. I did not care. I couldn't do anything."

She placed her arm around his shoulder and he buried his head in her neck, whispering softly, "I couldn't do anything, Pepper. Not a thing."

Pepper looked up at Starkar, who was murderously glaring at the blackness of space visible from the spaceship's giant visor. Aleta told him gently, "Starkar, baby, take it easy."

He spat out angrily, "That purple dildo is going to pay for this! Yondu's kid is dead! The Guardians are dead! All of them!"

She whispered soothingly, "I know baby, I know, we will make him pay, that is a promise. But first.. Starkar... we must ... pay our respects to the dead. We must see Pepper and Tony back to Earth. Then we go after Thanos."

He nodded with a jerk and then turned to Charlie, "Where the hell is Nebula? Wasn't she imprisoned on Loce Carcis?"

Charlie nodded, scared and Mainframe said quickly, "She was. We freed her and she... she..."

"Well?" exclaimed Starkar, "Where is she? She has to know where Thanos is!"

Tony shifted and Pepper helped him to his feet. Leaning on her, he said quietly, "Ravager Captain, Nebula took down a lot of space rats and escaped Loce Carcis on her own. We met her on the way."

Pepper was alarmed at how quickly Stakar's face turned red with anger. "What! She left! How!"

"She must have taken the Milano..." said Tony softly. "The space rats took it from Titan when they captured us. But I didn't see it in the hangar, when we left. Did anyone see the Milano?"

Pepper did not know what the spaceship looked like but the others nodded in the negative and Aleta said, "Then that's how she left. She must have flown away in it."

Starkar clenched his fists and reopened them. "Charlie! Mainframe! Why the fuck did you let that humanoid escape?! With the Milano, that too!"

Charlie jumped and Mainframe said, "Starkar, you know how powerful Nebula is. She is a force to be reckoned with! It was better to have her on our side than fight us!"

Tony said quietly, "She has suffered too, Starkar. You should let her go. She is not to blame for this."

Starkar turned and strode right at Tony, nearly touching his face. "Oh yeah, Iron Man... how do you know that? And why should I care for her suffering?"

Pepper protectively tried to pull Tony back but in a surprising show of strength, he stood straight and tall, looking the angry Starkar straight in the eye.

He said in a calm tone, "I know you are hurting and right now, you are looking for anything to lash out at, to replace that hurt with anger BUT... Nebula has lost the only thing that she loved and that loved her back. Her sister, who was a war orphan, just like her. So she's suffering just as much as any of us. And I know you were attached to Peter Quill. I know what you are going through. But getting angry isn't going to bring him back."

For a minute, the room stood still as Starkar huffed and stared into Tony's eyes unblinking. But Tony stared right back, calm and controlled.

Then Starkar lowered his gaze and in a very surprising move, shook Tony's hand tightly. "You are right, Iron Man. It is no use getting angry at Nebula. It is just..."

Starkar swallowed and said gruffly, "The Milano was Quill's ship. It was all we had left of him. And us Ravagers, we have a tradition for seeing the dead off. We place them in their ship, in their uniform and let the ship drift away. Then we fire onto the ship, setting it ablaze in a glory of flames."

He lowered his head. "That's why I wanted the Milano. To see off Yondu's kid, in the way of the Ravagers. Because he was one of us. But it doesn't matter."

Starkar moved away, emotion overcoming him. Pepper watched as he stood before the visor, looking away from them, while Aleta stood next to him, holding him tightly.

Then she realized that Tony was weaving slightly where he stood and she called out, "Mainframe! Medical bay now!"

Mainframe sprang into action, stepping to her side and beeping urgently into her com. The medic appeared from out of nowhere with a gurney and Tony was made to lie down on it. The fact that he did so quietly and with none of his typical snark, scared Pepper and she watched as his calm tired face drifted out of view.

She wanted to follow him but then Charlie told her softly, "Red, let him rest. Come stay with us a while. You need to rest too."

"Yes Pepper, please do." pleaded Aleta. "Stay and eat dinner. Then let us all sleep. It has been an exhausting day."

She nodded, realizing they were right.

They all turned to go towards the barracks, to eat. Mainframe held her back and said, "Pepper, I thought you might want this."

She handed Pepper a small tin can with a peeling label that said, "Molten Boron". It was filled with something and Pepper looked at the android questioningly.

"Mainframe, what is this..." Then the weight of the can made sense to her. "Oh.. it is the ashes... from Titan."

"Yes... the soil. I read somewhere once, that humans cremate their loved ones when they die and let the ashes flow freely, so the soul can go wherever it wants."

Pepper was going to mention that the custom of cremation was chosen by a few and humans also buried their dead. But as she held the tin can in her hand, she realized this was all that was left of the Guardians, of Dr. Strange and of young Peter Parker. And how even they needed to pay their respects to the dead.

She clasped Mainframe's cold metal hand and squeezed it. "Thank you, Mainframe. Tony will be happy."

The android squeezed her hand back and turned her gently, leading her towards the barracks. "It has been a long sad day. I will be glad when I rest my head on my pillow and sleep."

Pepper nodded but inside, she still worried about Tony and knew that she wouldn't feel at peace, until he was alright. And not just physically.

I am so sorry that I had to rehash the tragedy that was Infinity War but Tony had to tell his story to someone and the Ravagers and Pepper have a right to know.

I'm sure I must have written some facts or events wrong, so please let me know.

One more chapter tomorrow, where Pepper gives Tony some TLC (which he deserves).