Inktober Day 21: Last Laugh
Fandom: MCU/Marvel Comics
Word Count: 853
Notes: I have only a rough knowledge about "ghost Tony" from the comics, but it seemed the way to go for this particular story. And, yes, I could actually see this happening in the MCU.

.

Well, that hadn't gone as planned.

I mean, the chances of things ending great for any of us had been slim and none. We weren't on the front lines for nothing. It had been more than a city at stake, hell more than the world, it had been the fate of the entire fucking universe, or multiverse if you believed Strange.

And by the end we all had. Even with all the things I had seen over the years, I still hadn't expected what came for us.

Thanos, the Mad Titan, on a mad hunt for the Infinity Stones and the power he'd possess once he had acquired all of them.

We'd done everything we could, threw everything we had against him and… and…

I couldn't recall how it had all ended.

There'd been blood and explosions and I seemed to remember Rogers taking a bitch slap from the big bad himself that he'd hadn't gotten up from.

Steve had gone down, playing his preferred role of sacrificial martyr. Drawing the attention of Thanos so that we could fall back and regroup. When he'd barked his orders, none of us had argued or thought twice about it. As a tactician, no one was better. He could analyze a situation faster than FRIDAY, which I still found astonishing, especially during battle conditions.

Then again, he had perfected his skills in the midst of a world war Bet he never expected to use them in a war that took place across worlds.

I took a moment to let it sink in that Steve Rogers had died saving the rest of us.

A bubbling dangerous anger built up within me at that realization.

Captain America was gone.

Steve was dead.

I screamed in frustration. The sound echoing hollowly off the walls surrounding me.

I fell to my knees, wailed my distress to the uncaring universe and beat the floor until my hands ran red with blood.

I ended up sitting with my back against the wall, blood smeared across the floor and my clothes.

Well, didn't this just fucking suck.

Once my distress eased, the hitching in my chest fading to hiccups as I tried to suck in air, I became aware of the fact I had no clue where I had ended up and less idea of how I'd gotten there.

I delicately probed at my memory. We'd chosen to retreat. I'd cleared the immediate area then checked to make certain Cap had followed only to see him go down under that gauntlet-covered fist and there my recollection cut off in a hiss of white noise.

I'd simply woken up here.

Wherever the fuck here was.

"FRIDAY?"

"Boss? Is that you?"

I glanced down at myself, bloodied knuckles, bare feet and all, wondering just why my snarky computer sounded both confused and thrilled.

"Uh, as far as I know. Where the hell am I?"

"Home," her voice now subdued. "Or as close as you could manage it."

As close as I could… I pinched the bridge of my nose not having a clue what she referred to. Or… wait.

"Lazarus Protocol?" Experimental. Little chance of working, but within the realm of possibility given the work I had done with the BARF and complex AI matrices I had created. I just hadn't expected it to be needed for quite a few decades yet.

"Is Pepper okay?" No other questioned mattered right now.

"Miss Potts is alive."

A non-answer if I ever heard one, but it told me enough. She had survived where I apparently had not. I could live with that. Or not live with that as the case may be. "Why am I stuck in this construct?"

"It's the default setting, you never had the chance– It hasn't yet been modified. You should be able to use the projectors in the workroom to interact."

In the instant I thought about asking how, I moved, for lack of a better description, and appeared in the middle of my lab. It hadn't been touched in months. A layer of dust over everything, half-finished projects still sitting abandoned where I had left them. "How long?"

"Six months, boss. It took longer than expected for the matrix to fully form. I… I…"

"Were you worried I'd left for good?" I strolled around the room, fingers running along surfaces without actually interacting with them. Not a single grain of dust stirring at my imperceptible touch. The static being generated by the light projectors not strong enough to permit to feel the surface under my fingers.

"You, boss? You always find a way out. Even from death, apparently." The snark ran deep, but I didn't mind too much all things considered.

I paused in front the darkened window when my reflection caught my eye. A blue glowing version of myself stood there. I didn't appear all that different, except for the whole ghost routine.

"Well, I guess I got the last laugh."

"Boss?"

I ignored the concern in her voice and turned away. I clapped my hands together noting it registered as if I had a body like a real boy. "We have work to do."

"Yes, boss."