Sorry for taking such a long break from this fic.
This is a long chapter to make up for being absent for two weeks. It also has Tony and Rhodey catching up, so it has to be long.
One more chapter tomorrow.
"First things first. Tony, how the hell did T'Challa show up in that phone call, when he is dead?"
Pepper gasped. "Oh my! Tony, is this true?"
Tony said slowly, "Erm... well... Princess Shuri used a combination of archive videos of T'Challa giving speeches, to come up with a suitable holographic image and then she used a voice modulator to speak for him."
He flushed at the way Rhodey and Pepper were looking at him.
"Tony, that was perjury!"
"No, Rhodey, it wasn't because the Princess never swore an oath. I was under oath and I placed the call and then she spoke. She was never under oath directly, so it wasn't that the Princess lied to the court about her identity."
Pepper shook her head at him and Rhodes said, "I knew you'd find some way to wrangle out of this, Stark."
"Well, what was I supposed to do? Ross was baying for your blood! I knew if T'Challa spoke, it would impress the court! But Bruce told me that he had died. I didn't want to reveal that the monarch of Wakanda was dead and force the Princess to deal with the U.S government converging on her, for their own selfish purposes. I was just trying to save you, Rhodey!"
"I know, Tony." His friend said quietly. "I know and I'm sorry if I sound ungrateful. It's just..." he sighed. "So much has happened and I came back here, thinking I had made my peace with it and hoping to find you guys but..."
"You can't help but think over and over again, how you lost the fight, what you should have done differently. You keep trying to make sense of it all."
"Exactly, Tony! It haunts me!"
He placed his hand on Rhodey's shoulder. "Believe me, Rhodes. I get it. I was so destroyed after the fight with Thanos and so damn guilty! Why the hell did I survive? Imagine, I was willing to languish in an alien prison because I felt that I deserved it, that I shouldn't have lived."
Pepper stroked his hair and he looked at her, smiling. "Until my faithful CEO decided to save me."
Rhodes looked at her. "Pepper, when I heard that in court, I was dying of curiosity. Please tell me everything!"
With some coaxing from Tony, Pepper began to relate how she rescued him from prison with the help of the Ravagers. At the end of her tale, Rhodes whistled low with appreciation.
"Holy shit, Pepper!"
"You should have seen her, Platypus..." Tony added proudly. "She strode in, guns blazing with this sexy leather outfit and helmet! And pow! Pow! Head shot here, chest shot there! Aliens falling down like bowling pins! She was so damn quick on her feet!"
"Tony..." murmured Pepper, turning pink at the ears. "It wasn't that exciting."
"Beg to differ, Potts! You even remembered the Stark transponders and tracked my signal! And you adapted to their alien technology so quickly! And the gunfights! They were straight out of a pulp space science novel! Except this time, the woman saves the spaceman."
"Which never happens, Pep." Said Rhodes dryly.
Tony leaned towards her and kissed the side of her temple softly.
"You were amazing, sweetheart. Space kicked my ass so many times but you owned it in your first trip!"
She turned her face towards him and pressed her lips to his lightly.
Tony growled, deepening the kiss as Pepper wound her arms around his neck. Then they heard a throat being cleared loudly and separated sheepishly.
"You two and your PDA." Said Rhodey wryly but he had a wide grin on his face.
"Platypus, we got to find you a woman."
"All the good ones are taken, Tony. Besides, I don't have time for a woman."
"Nonsense, James. You have to make time for yourself."
Rhodes shook his head dismissively and Tony caught Pepper's eye.
We have got to set Rhodey up with someone! He needs some good loving care!
He tried to telegraph his thoughts to her and she seemed to understand, smiling quickly at him before looking back at James, who was regarding them both suspiciously.
"I do not like the way you are looking at each other but I have more pressing questions. Tony, I heard you resigned from the government Avengers initiative."
"Yes, I did. I was tired of listening to Ross and his idiotic threats. Plus, he pissed me off with the needless shoot-to-kill order against Steve and the others. That was not necessary! And to top it all, he's determined to imprison Banner!"
Rhodey nodded and said quietly, "I heard about it from my commanding officer. But Steve and I predicted as much. Public opinion about the government has gone downhill, seeing how they were unable to handle the alien threat. So Ross is looking for any easy targets to publicly destroy, in order to prove that the military is on top of things. He sees threats where there aren't. After the trial, I told Rogers, Natasha and others of the situation and they won't be coming to the States for sometime. They should be safe in Wakanda. Ross has no reach there."
"How do you talk to them? Through Morse Code?"
James laughed loudly. "No way, Stark! I know that's how you and your Science Bro, Banner, talk to each other But the others and I..."
He pulled out something from his jeans and placed it on the table. Tony saw with a jolt that it was a simple Nokia flip phone, just like the one Steve had given him.
Rhodey continued, "These operate with SIMS that are on this fake GSM network set up by Princess Shuri."
"That girl is damn smart."
"Oh hell yes! You should see their armory! The weapons, Tony! And the body-dynamic skeletal suits infused with Vibranium and something else, I can't explain it but you should try one on! Somehow they fit the wearer immediately and the suit connects to all the electronic devices you have on you! Wakanda really surprised me! The advancement in technology, the friendly happy people who are blessed in industry and natural wealth..."
"Bruce said it was a utopia, a land like no other..." Tony murmured softly.
James nodded. "Yes it is... and it was a safe haven for Steve and all, these past two years. A peaceful haven. They have been sneaking into Europe and Asia from time to time, doing some mercenary missions undercover, just to keep themselves active. So how much did Banner tell you about the fight in Wakanda?"
Tony repeated whatever Bruce had told him. At the end of it, Rhodey just quietly stared into the distance while Pepper looked at him in horror.
"The young girl, the one from Sokovia, whose brother died, the one whom the Vision was in love with... she had to kill him? With her own hands? In order to destroy the Stone?"
"Yeah, Pepper." Rhodey said grimly. "The extraction couldn't take place in time, so the Vision... he pleaded with Wanda to kill him then and there. It was horrible to witness... the poor brave soul..."
Pepper looked away and Rhodey asked, "Tony, did Bruce tell you about Thor?"
"He didn't but I knew that Thor was travelling to Earth and I am glad that he reached... even if his plan didn't work out..."
"What!" Rhodey seemed confused. "How'd you know about Thor's plan?"
"When we... Peter, Strange and I were on Titan... we met up with three members of the Guardians of the Galaxy..."
"Oh!"
"Their leader, a human, a man from Missouri... named Quill... he was mighty irritated that two of his teammates weren't helping him find Gamora, instead they were off with some damn handsome god from Asgard, to build a weapon that would kill Thanos."
"You met Peter Quill... but you were the only survivor from Titan."
Tony heard those words echo in his head and shook it slowly to clear it. He nodded and Rhodey continued sadly, "So the Racoon's dark prediction was correct."
"What prediction, James?" asked Pepper, placing her hand on Rhodey's shoulder.
Rhodes sighed loudly. "Well, there were 6 members of the Guardians. Tony says three died on Titan..."
"Gamora... Thanos' daughter... he kidnapped her to find an Infinity Stone. The Soul Stone. And then he killed her."
"So four died in space. And two came to Earth with Thor. And after the snap, one of them, a weird living tree-like being died. So all that's left of the Guardians is the Raccoon... shit... it kept saying that all its friends were dead. That they wouldn't leave him alone for so long on Earth, that they would have come for him, if they were still alive."
Pepper said softly, "When you say Raccoon... that's its nickname? Is it a... human? An alien?"
Rhodey chuckled loudly. "I am afraid not, Pepper. It is an actual talking raccoon. It walks upright like a man, has one of the foulest mouths I've ever heard and has a real mean streak! But it is a demolition and weapons expert! It can build a killing instrument out of thin air! And it bites!"
Pepper opened her mouth and then shut it promptly.
Tony smiled.
"Hey Pepper, you shouldn't be so shocked. Your space pirates were also weird beings. I distinctly remember seeing a red lobster among them, that scared the living heck out of me!"
"You mean Krugarr..." She smiled. "Yeah, he was a real smartass."
"Not to mention your disco ball-head friend."
"Tony." She said pointedly.
"Sorry. Was his name Martinex?"
"Yes. He is the first officer of the Starkar Ravager clan. But James, did this Racoon... bite someone?"
"Yes." said Rhodey evasively. "It did. It is a real stickler for personal space and someone got a little too close for its liking."
Tony said worriedly, "I hope Banner stays far away from it. I shudder to think what would happen if he got bitten... you know he has problems with his temper."
Rhodey looked at him and said quietly, "Tony, unfortunately or fortunately, Bruce does not have any more problems with his temper. His 'green friend' hasn't come out since he was in space. The worst thing is that Bruce has no mental peace. He doesn't want the Hulk to come back but he's feeling guilty for being useless that he couldn't help with fighting Thanos."
"Oh no, Bruce... shit... I need to talk to him! I want to help him with this!"
"Actually Tony, that's what I wanted to talk about." He looked at him directly. "Just hear me out, alright? Then you can let me know what you think."
He smiled, aware of what Rhodey was going to say.
"So Tony... I know what Steve did to you in Siberia. I know that it was hard on you, you were let down by him and... even Natasha and Clint took his side and fought you. Hell, things have been strained for a long time. But... the truth is, Tony... they need you. We need you, buddy. We need to stand together. Coz we are all the Earth has left."
"Okay."
Rhodey said in anguish, "The Guardians are all gone with the exception of the Raccoon. Who does nothing but wander around the palace, drinking and swearing. The newer Avengers, the Falcon, Wanda, the Vision..."
"Peter..." Tony whispered.
Rhodey looked at him and he said softly, "I made the Kid, an Avenger, before we stepped on Titan. He always wanted to be one."
Tony felt Pepper's hand clutch his in comfort and he took a deep breath. "Please continue, Platypus."
"Well... the newer Avengers, they are all gone too."
"Dr. Strange as well."
"The magician? Crap... Tony, do you remember the skinny, scruffy guy who was with Steve in Berlin? The man who could change size? He grew into this giant and the Spider Kid -"
"Took him down with his webbing like in the Return of The Jedi... yeah... what was his name? Sean, Seamus..."
"Scott. Scott Lang. A former burglar. Also known as the Ant Man because of his ability to manipulate space and size. Well, he was on house arrest after Berlin, so Ross' team went to check on him after the snap. They think he survived the snap because we didn't find any... physical evidence to the contrary, if you catch my drift. And he's still got his tracking bracelet on. But it's weird, he... he's just disappeared off the face of the Earth."
"If his bracelet is on, then why can't you find out where he is?"
Rhodey shrugged. "We cant pinpoint the geographical location that he's at. All we know is that the bracelet is active... somewhere off the map."
Pepper said thoughtfully, "Could he have escaped into deep space? Tony, Strange and Peter, they all had Stark transponders. When I tried to track them from Earth, I couldn't find their location. But when I was in space, the Ravagers used their tracking program and could trace the signal because they were doing so from within deep space itself."
Tony was dumbstruck on her logic, then he took one look at Rhodey and burst into laughter at his friend's expression of awe.
"Pepper.. that's a great point." He said in wonder. "Scott could have done just that and it does explain why he seems untraceable. Thank you!"
Tony grinned at her. "Honey, if you ever get mad at me, please don't go and join Ross' team... with someone like you on his side, he would be unstoppable."
Pepper said heatedly, "I would never help someone like Ross out. His bloodthirsty attitude disgusts me. Plus, he was willing to let you die in space! I'll never forgive him for that!"
Tony lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles softly.
"I am so grateful to have someone like you on my side, to come after me, to rescue me, kick space alien butt for me..." Then he whispered in her ear, "Tend to my wounds afterwards and make love to me oh so carefully..."
She blushed deeply and he kissed her cheek, cradling her hand in his.
"Yeah..." said Rhodey. "You guys... you still have each other... you are lucky... not to lose one another. Clint... what happened to him is rough."
"What happened to Clint?" asked Pepper with concern but cold dread filled Tony.
Rhodey said grimly, "He lost his entire family in the snap, in front of his own eyes, his wife and three kids."
Pepper exclaimed in sadness. Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"Fuck... Barton lost his Laura and his rugrats... oh my god..." then he asked, "Is Clint still under house arrest? How is he holding up? Can I go see him?"
"That's the thing, Tony. He... he beat up the military security team who were in charge of guarding him and escaped. Somehow Barton managed to take off his tracking bracelet and stick it on a passing truck. Ross's team traveled over half of America, following the false trail. And by the time they realized the truth, Barton had disappeared. A man matching his description, was sighted in London airport, taking a flight to Japan. But the Japanese authrorities couldn't find him."
"Shit! Clint must have just wanted to get away!"
"Yeah. According to his security detail, he was a model prisoner, happy as long as his wife and kids were with him. But after they were gone, Barton just snapped... and he was a highly trained S.H.I.E.L.D operative, with numerous covert mission experience under his belt, so it would be easy for him to go underground and disappear. Banner and Natasha are trying to find him using all their pooled resources, but they have had no luck so far."
Tony asked quietly, "How is Natasha?"
Rhodey shrugged. "Hey man, can you ever tell with her? You know Romanoff is a very closed book. She hides her grief very well but when we learnt about Barton, her control on her emotions have slipped a bit. She seems to be saddened that he hasn't tried to contact her. It is a pity because she was the most together before she learnt about Barton and was trying to pull Rogers out of his depression."
"Depression? Steve? What?!"
"Yeah... the Captain tried to pretend that he was alright but... he's shaken, Tony... he doesn't sleep, he doesn't eat properly, avoids all company... thank god, he's not a drinker. But he keeps to himself, rebuilding defenses and land destroyed in the battle. He barely speaks and... he's clearly mourning Barnes and Wilson. Rogers has the look of a soldier who has lost too many people from one too many wars. He needs you to remind him how to get back on his feet, to remind him of his sense of purpose."
"Me?" Tony was shocked. "What can I do?"
Rhodes smiled wryly at him.
"Tony, you may have suffered the most out of all the Avengers, in this battle with Thanos. But yet believe me, you seem to have recovered the most. I was scared I'd come back and find you in your basement-cave, depressed and drinking heavily."
Tony flushed. He thought hard for a moment and realized that he couldn't lie to his oldest friend.
"Actually Rhodes, I... I was depressed and drinking... as early as today morning, to be precise. And I have been drinking... since last week... since Pepper and I returned from space."
He noticed Pepper's mouth tighten with sadness as Rhodes widened his eyes in shock.
"Tony! What the hell, man! Drinking! Oh no, buddy, no!"
"I know, Rhodes. But I felt so damn guilty! We had a good plan which should have worked! Yet Thanos won! He got the stones and he... he killed them all... I had to... I had to watch them fade away, the Guardians, Strange, Peter..."
Tony swallowed hard, trying to control his emotions. His friend clasped his shoulder tightly.
"I couldn't understand why I was still alive when all the rest, who deserved to live, who had their whole lives ahead of them... they died... and Peter... I tried to stop him from coming, I told him it wasn't dangerous but..."
Oddly enough, he smiled as he remembered Peter's words to him on the Staten Island expressway bridge after the infamous Ferry incident.
You just wouldn't listen to me, Mr. Stark.
"He just didn't listen to me..."
"There was nothing you could have done, Tony." said Rhodes wearily. "Wanda, the Vision, T'Challa... I keep seeing their faces in my dreams and wondering how I have saved them... I should have tried harder, fought harder, done something differently!"
He sighed heavily.
"But in the end, we lost and the weight of this loss hangs upon us all heavily and equally. Everyone has lost someone in one way or the other, Steve lost Barnes... Wakanda has lost their King and their Dowager Queen..."
"The Princess' mother?" asked Pepper.
"Yes, Pep. She's gone too, Princess Shuri is all that remains of the Wakandan monarchy. Clint lost his family, Bruce lost himself in space... and Thor..."
Rhodey rubbed his head slowly, a habit of his that Tony remembered from their days in MIT together. Then he remembered what Bruce told him in New York, after he had stepped out of Strange's warp hole.
"Thor lost all his people, didn't he?" he said softly.
Rhodes just nodded at him quietly, his brown eyes staring soulfully into his. Pepper asked, "Whatever do you mean?"
Tony looked at her. "Pep, Bruce told me that Thor's home planet, Asgard was destroyed. So Thor, his brother Loki and the Asgardian people were coming to Earth as refugees on a transport ship. But their ship was intercepted by Thanos."
She clasped her mouth in shock and he continued bleakly, "Thanos had everyone on board killed, leaving only Bruce, Thor and Loki alive. The Hulk and Thor tried facing him but both were defeated miserably. Thanos was going to finish Bruce off when an Asgardian, one of Thor's loyal servants, teleported him to Earth at the cost of his own life."
"Then..." continued Rhodes. "Loki tried to assassinate Thanos with a hidden dagger but he... he failed... and Thanos killed him too. He left Thor there to die. And in truth, Thor has lost the most of us all. He has lost all of his family, his home and his people. There is nothing left of Asgard but him. But yet... he is determined to bring Thanos to justice. He insists that we can find this Mad Titan and make him pay for what he has done."
Tony lifted his head and looked at him in surprise.
"How does Thor think we can do this?"
Rhodes said firmly, "The Norse God has something up his sleeve, he has been arguing back and forth with the Raccoon for the last two or three days and has been secretly working on something. But... he insists it can be done only if we work together and for that, he wants the Avengers to reunite and that means... Tony, you got to come with me to Wakanda."
Tony smiled and Rhodes continued firmly, "I know you are hurting, I know you want time to heal and I don't blame you for not wanting to reunite with the very people who broke away from you. And Steve... I know facing him again is not going to be easy. I saw what he did to you and I am not condoning his actions."
"Rhodey... buddy, I know you aren't... you were also hurt by what happened after the Sokovia Accords."
"Yes... When Steve and Natasha came with The Vision, I went with them to Wakanda only because I realized that Thanos was bigger than anything we had ever faced before. And I had to put aside my anger and my fear and go with them. And I realize that asking you to do the same is a lot, Tony but..."
"But there is nothing to ask, my old friend." said Tony softly, placing his hand on Rhodey's shoulder. "My physical wounds are healed and though I will never stop mourning the people lost, I will not let despair ruin me."
He looked at Pepper.
"The dead may be gone but the living are still here and we need to ensure that Thanos will never destroy another planet like he has Earth, with those Infinity Stones. We will put a stop to him, together. I will come with you to Wakanda, at the earliest."
Rhodes smiled widely at him, clasping his shoulder in return. "I knew you wouldn't let that purple ass break you, Tony. Thank you, man."
