Hello everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas! I got sick again so I'm battling with a cold (yet again!) but I am off work until 8th January (on holiday leave, not sick leave) so I hope I get a lot of writing done... In this chapter, Tony learns something unexpected which worries him as to what his fate will be...
CHAPTER TWENTY
The Reality Stone
Saturday 8th April 2017
Enroute to Knowhere
It was going to take them a few days to reach Knowhere from Earth since the place was so far away from galactic civilisation. This meant it gave time for the Guardians to talk to and get to know their travelling companions from Earth.
It had been nearly a year since Tony had been sent back from the moment of his death and in that time not only had he been focusing on ensuring they could stop Thanos, but he had also spent a small amount of time tracing the family of Peter Quill. He didn't know why he did it, more that he was curious over the circumstances as to how Quill had ended up leaving Earth.
What he had found had been tragic. Quill had gone missing the same day his mother had died of brain cancer. He'd been eight years old. His mother had died in front of him, her last words asking her son to take her hand. He hadn't. Tony had learned those details from Quill's grandfather, who'd he had tracked down and spoken to, informing him he was following a potential lead which could bring them to Quill's location. He'd given the man a tiny bit of hope. He'd been broken by the loss of his daughter and grandson on the same day.
A part of him wondered why Quill had never returned to Earth. He recalled the first time he had met him: after they'd crashed landed on Titan and been attacked, Quill had not recognised the name 'Earth'. Was it possible he no longer recognised the name of the planet he was native too? If Quill had been out in space for such a long time, combined with the trauma of his mother's death and being abducted could have resulted in Quill wanting to forget all about his past and where he had originated from. His last memory of Earth had been the death of his beloved mother, no wonder Quill wanted to forget as much as he could about the place.
Quill's mother had been his whole world. They'd spent most of their time together, hardly spending it apart. And he'd lost her in the most brutal way possible.
He wondered if this was a good idea to talk to Quill about this sensitive matter but he wanted to understand how Quill could turn his back on everything. He had the means and the opportunity to return to Earth and help them. Why hadn't he?
Decision made, Tony made his way through the Benatar towards the cockpit where Quill was sitting, watching as the stars went past, his eyes focused on their next jump point. Gamora sat just behind him, passing him the distance he still had to travel to reach it.
"What is it, Stark?" Quill asked.
"I wondered if you and I could have a chat?"
"Alone?" Quill clarified.
"If possible."
"Sorry, I don't swing that way," Quill responded and then laughed.
Tony rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to dignify that with an answer. Instead, he folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the bulkhead, ignoring the streaks of light out the viewport in front of him as they streaked through space.
Gamora moved from her chair. "Here. If you can just tell him how far we've got till each jump point whenever he asks, you can have my spot and talk to him. Peter can be a bit of a jerk sometimes."
"I've noticed," quipped Tony, sitting down in Gamora's seat and looking at the familiar controls he knew from the twenty-two days he had spent in space before. He hated being back in space yet his options were limited in this case.
The ship suddenly jumped as the Benatar sailed through a jump point. Tony glanced at his instruments and saw the next jump point wouldn't be for a while yet. Gamora had left and Quill was piloting alone. At least he could have this awkward conversation in peace without any of the others overhearing.
"What do you want to know?" Quill lazed back in his chair, holding the controls loosely with his fingers.
"Why did you never come back to Earth?"
"Why are you asking me that?" Quill questioned a slight tinge of anger in his voice.
Oh boy, I've already hit a nerve. "I just wanted to know why you never did… You have your own ship, the means to do so…"
"My family was here," stated Quill. "There is no one back there for me."
Tony bit his lip. He wondered whether he should tell Quill about the grandfather he had left behind. He decided to risk it. "I know you went missing in Missouri in 1988. No trace of you was ever found. It was a huge news story all across the world for many months, years even. They never gave up hope of you coming home."
Quill remained silent, the atmosphere tense.
Tony glanced at his screen. They still had a while to go before the next jump point. He shouldn't have bought the subject up. It was clearly a sore subject for Quill.
"You spoke to my grandfather, didn't you?" Quill asked quietly.
Tony winced. "I did. I shouldn't have done…"
"No… it's fine," answered Quill. There was a long silence before he responded again. "How is he?"
Tony shrugged. "Missing you. Looked for you for years. He lost his daughter and grandson in the same day, within minutes of one another. Every year on the day you went missing they remember you and your mother. He never gave up hope of you coming home one day."
Quill twisted in his seat to look at Tony. "When did you do this? You couldn't have tracked him down in the last two days."
Tony hesitated. That was the only problem of asking these questions – it had roused Quill's suspicions of how Tony had known who he was.
"Did the communications you receive via your satellites tell you our identities?" probed Quill. "I'm known as Star-Lord."
Now he was in dangerous territory. He hated fibbing but in this case, he'd had no choice. He was trying to sustain the lie.
"That's a lie. You were Quill on the transmissions from Xandar!"
Tony whirled and saw Drax standing behind them, having somehow crept up on them without either of them noticing.
Drax puffed out his chest. "And I was Drax, the saviour!" The grey-skinned humanoid stared proudly at Tony and Quill before noticing their lack of response and grumpily walked off. "No one appreciates the saviour."
Tony blinked, struggling not to laugh at the ridiculous pronouncement. He could take a guess now. "It was Quill from Terra. Thor had told us the different names Earth went by, Terra was one of them. I decided to do a bit of investigating and found out about you."
Quill frowned. "I guess that makes sense. As to why I never came back to Terra… I didn't want to return to the place where my mother died…"
"You could have helped your planet." Tony pointed out.
"How?" Quill shook his head. "Terra isn't ready for space."
"Despite the fact, we've had aliens attack us?" retorted Tony. Earth may not have discovered the resources for space-travel just yet but they were well on their way to doing so. "Who gets to decide when we're ready? You?"
"Do you speak for your planet?" accused Quill. "I doubt it."
Tony's voice darkened. "Technically I do with the position I'm in." Being part of the Accords Committee helped with the amount of influence he had on Earth. Quill wasn't partial to that, however. "Sooner than you think, we'll be out there. Wouldn't it be more beneficial if you could help your homeworld with defence?"
"If you were me," Quill began, "would you?"
Tony hesitated. "I like to believe I would." If he'd had the same upbringing as Quill had than he assumed he may have cultivated the same type of attitude. He may not have cared enough to return.
Quill laughed. "You think you would but in reality, you wouldn't. I was taken at eight, Stark. I was forced into situations where I had to learn how to survive. I had to adapt quickly or, as Yondu would say, he'd feed me to his men. Little human runt I was… only useful to get into small spaces. Help them steal. Didn't occur to me he didn't mean it, only used it as a way to control me."
"Sorry…" Tony admitted. "I can't imagine what it must have been like for you." The conversation wasn't going the way he had intended it to go. "But you made it out and made a name for yourself."
"It wasn't that easy," mentioned Quill quietly. "I'm not sure what I can do to help Terra. Even if I wanted to – which I don't – seeing the people I left behind and being reminded of my mother? I can't do it. She's gone and she's not coming back."
Tony fell silent, glanced at the radar screens in front of him and saw it wasn't much further until the next jump point. "Next jump ahead."
"Thanks." Quill sat in his pilot seat, directing the Benatar towards the next location. "You can tell them if you want."
Tony was certain he knew who Quill meant. "Who?" He had to check though.
"My grandfather… and the rest of the family I left behind. Tell him I'm still alive and I'm living the best life possible. Maybe I'll see him one day. Maybe I won't." Quill shrugged. "If I'm ever on Terra for a longer period maybe I will pop by. I can make no promises though."
Tony pursed his lips. "Ok." He wasn't too sure on what else to say. The conversation was clearly over. Quill had made it known he wasn't interested in returning to Earth and seeing the family he had left behind or try to assist the planet that had birthed him. Tony couldn't blame him. Despite believing he would return to Earth, Tony had no way of knowing how he'd react in the situation Quill had found himself in when he'd been abducted.
All he could do whilst waiting patiently for Gamora to return before he could leave his station was focus on how far away the next jump point was. Settling back more comfortably in the chair, he hoped it wouldn't be too long before he was relieved.
They were sitting at the back of the Benatar, away from the other crew members. Natasha leaned back against the wall, her knees up to her chest as she glanced at Steve who sat beside her on the floor, legs stretched out and his hands in his lap.
"Was the future that bad?" Steve asked quietly.
Surprised by the question, Natasha looked at Steve, studying his expression carefully. There was curiosity there, a sense of wonderment of how bad the future could be. She wasn't sure how much she should tell him. "It could have been better," she stated.
"How many died?"
Natasha paused, unsure of whether to confirm anything. She felt a tiny prod in her mind, the voice coming to life once again. The voice that rarely said anything now, choosing to let her and Tony make their own decisions without any outside interference.
Tell him everything.
The indication that Steve needed to know everything was startling at best. Why was it necessary for him to know?
Because he has a role to play. The voice didn't reveal much but the hint was enough for Natasha to realise Steve was important to the endgame.
"Nat?" Steve asked quietly, noticing how reluctant she was to answer.
"Steve… What I'm about to tell you cannot get back to anyone. Not even Tony." She had the feeling Tony wasn't supposed to know the extent of Steve's knowledge of what their future had been like. At least not yet anyway. "Promise me you will not speak a word to anyone about what I'm about to tell you."
"I promise," replied Steve sincerely.
Natasha breathed in and out slowly. "Thank you." Shuffling on her knees, she turned to face Steve. "Half the universe died, Steve."
He jerked back in shock. "What? How?"
"The stones, Steve," she explained. "They are integral to Thanos' plan. If he gets them he can simply snap his fingers and erase half of all life which is exactly what he did in our future. To reverse it the cost was high, so very high."
Steve swallowed. "What was the cost?"
She lowered her gaze. Something was telling her that Steve knowing that she and Tony had died wouldn't be a bad thing. He needed to know. "Our lives."
Steve blinked several times. "Yours and Tony's?"
Natasha nodded, confirming his guess. "Yes. Thanos destroyed the Stones after he used them against us… Five years passed before we could do anything to bring everyone back…" She turned away, leaning her head back against the bulkhead. "Tony invented time-travel. We picked out years where we could access all the Stones, retrieve them and bring them back to our time."
"What year was it?" asked Steve.
"2023," she answered. "The world had moved on as best it could. The Avengers was pretty much disbanded. I still lead them… You ran a support group for people who had lost loved ones and were trying to move on…" Natasha bowed her head, sadness welling up inside her as she remembered those dreary years. "Half of the Avengers were taken when Thanos snapped his fingers… Our numbers were greatly reduced… Clint lost his whole family and he disappeared for years… Thor lost over half of his people… Huh… if you knew what he had become in those five years, you wouldn't believe it."
"I'm almost afraid to ask," winced Steve.
"Don't then. It shouldn't happen this time." Though Natasha wasn't sure they'd be able to prevent the loss of Asgard. They were not sure if they could reach Asgard easily. They were saving the Space Stone until last in the hope that they'd still have a chance at preventing Asgard's destruction and the loss of Thor's people from Thanos' rage when he'd attacked them afterward. "Bruce returned too… He changed in those five years… I won't say how… Spoilers…"
"And Tony?" probed Steve quietly.
"He retired." A slight smile tugged at her face. Though Tony had cut himself off from the Avengers, he had kept up a bit of contact with Natasha over the years. Pepper had also sent her the occasional photo of Morgan as she grew up. "Morgan…" she whispered. Now there was a little girl who adored her father.
"Morgan?" Steve asked. "Nat, who is Morgan?"
Natasha bit her lower lip. "I shouldn't…" She'd made a small error in thinking of Tony's daughter and saying her name in Steve's perceptive hearing.
He needs to know… The voice in her head urged her to continue.
She wondered why he did need to know but the voice remained silent, unwilling to give any further clues.
But Steve already knew. He could guess on the limited clues Natasha had already given. "Morgan is Tony's child…"
Natasha nodded, affirming the information. "Yeah. His daughter. She was only four when he died. He and Pepper married and had Morgan. They chose to try to move on with their lives… And we dragged Tony back in. He didn't want to but… equally, he couldn't stay away. I gave my life to get one of the Stones, and Tony… He sacrificed his life to save the whole universe. It was the only way."
Steve reached for Natasha's hand. "I'm sorry for what happened."
Natasha squeezed his hand. "It's alright. We got given a chance to stop it from happening. I don't know why we were chosen or how it happened but somehow after I died… I can't really explain it… I still had consciousness. I was given a choice to come back and I arrived back in 2014… I couldn't change anything… Not until Tony arrived two years later."
"You were here for two years?"
She nodded. "I was. I died in 2014. I died in the past collecting the Stones. I guess I had to remain in the year I died. Tony ended the war in 2023 but came back to 2016. I don't know why it was different for him but I guess 2016 was the year when things started to really go wrong for the Avengers."
"The Accords," whispered Steve. "That's why you two fought so hard to get the changes made."
"It was. I shouldn't tell you this but nothing is telling me not to." Natasha shifted position so she was facing him. "The Avengers broke apart and that was why we failed last time. The Accords split us and that was where everything started to go wrong. We had to stay together and the only way to do that was to keep us together… There were more advantages to us working with the Accords than not at all. We had the advantage of knowing what had happened before…" She could see the curiosity across Steve's face. "No, I'm not telling you what happened."
"I wasn't going to ask," replied Steve.
"Good," she smiled.
"If you've already got two Stones and destroyed them, do we really need to go after the others? You've already stopped him from collecting them all," observed Steve.
Natasha shrugged. She couldn't exactly reveal that Tony was absorbing them. "Better to be safer than sorry." Tony had been given powers for a reason and he was clearly meant to access them. As far they could tell all he had to do was simply touch one and it would absorb into his skin. No, it didn't matter they had taken two out of Thanos' reach, what mattered was that Tony needed to get his hands on them all.
"I won't ask," said Steve quietly.
She smiled up at him. "Thank you. When we're ready to tell you more, we will. All we need now is your support and aid in getting what we need. Just… Promise me something, Steve."
"Anything," he agreed.
"Promise me you'll support Tony. I know you two haven't had the best of starts with a friendship. But he needs you to follow him. Tony and I… we're both important to what is coming. I'll be standing beside Tony when Thanos comes. I need you to be on his side too. Not just on mine." Natasha squeezed his hand.
Steve nodded. "I will. Tony can trust me to do the right thing."
She smiled sadly. "More than anything he wants Morgan back. He's fighting for the future he lost. She deserves a life with her father and her mother. Please, be there for him when he needs it."
Steve leaned back, his gaze turning to curiosity. "Why are you making it sound like you are going to die, Nat?"
"Because I might. I might not be there at the end. We could face Thanos before the end battle comes. It doesn't mean I will be here for all of it. Tony has to be. He's the most important piece and he needs to be protected. Make sure he survives. Please!" Natasha squeezed his hands again.
"I promise. But if you think –"
She cut him off. "Hush. Say no more." The look she gave Steve was enough to keep him silent. She leaned into his shoulder.
It had been on her mind for a while.
The Soul Stone and how they were supposed to retrieve it without a sacrifice.
It couldn't be Pepper. Tony would never be able to do it.
She'd never let him try anyway.
It has to be me. I have to die for Tony to get the Soul Stone. It's the only way.
It was not a comforting thought.
Tuesday 11th April 2017
Knowhere
When they arrived at Knowhere, Natasha was surprised to learn it was a mining colony within the decapitated head of an ancient Celestial. The mining colony's primary goal was to harvest the valuable and rare materials from the bone, brain tissue and spinal fluid, most of which remained to this day. The colony had become a safe place for outlaws since it had been established centuries ago.
They docked the Benatar as close to the location of where the Reality Stone was stored. The Guardians informed them that it would be held within the Collector's Museum and they needed to contact him. It might take them a while for him to agree to see them but Natasha hoped they wouldn't have to wait too long.
They received a notification to visit the Collector's Museum a few hours later and were led there by his messenger, a humanoid with grey skin and no hair. They didn't all go to the Collector's Museum, there was no need to. Steve and Pepper stayed on the Benatar with Groot, Drax, and Rocket whilst Wanda, Gamora and Quill accompanied Tony and Natasha to the Museum.
When they arrived they were escorted into a large room filled with glass cages that held different specimens and objects. Some were alive, others inanimate and in some cases dead. The Collector approached them, his hands held up in front of his chest.
The Collector appeared very eccentric, his white hair brushed up, and his bottom lip and onto his chin had a black ink mark down it. He wore thick gloves and a fur coat trailed from his shoulders. A plaid jacket could be seen underneath and black trousers completed his look. His intense eyes studied them all in turn and yet Natasha couldn't help but notice his lingering look upon Tony as he swept his gaze across his visitors.
"Welcome!" he bowed, making a point of taking Natasha's hand and kissing it on the top.
She didn't want to tug it away for fear of causing a diplomatic incident. They needed this man on their side.
He bowed to Gamora too before inclining his head to the others.
"What can I do to assist you?" he asked, putting his hands together in front of him.
They had all agreed for Natasha to take the lead on this one, despite the Guardian's previous history with the Collector.
"You have something that we require," began Natasha cautiously. "One of the six Infinity Stones. It was delivered to you by the Asgardians who gave it into your keeping for safe care. We ask for it now for the sake of the universe."
"The universe…?" The Collector strolled away, his back to them, running a hand down one of the glass cages which held a living creature.
"Yes," she reaffirmed. "The Stones need to be destroyed before they can be used by the wrong people." She didn't want to be explicit to say Thanos' name. The little information they had on the Collector seemed to indicate he had been around for millions of years and was one of the older beings of the universe. Gamora had filled that portion of his history in for them on their way to Knowhere.
"They don't need to be destroyed…" the Collector said, his robes sweeping around him as he turned back to face them. "You know this surely." He said it as a statement of fact, not hiding the fact he was staring at Tony intently before sweeping his gaze around the room once again.
Natasha didn't like his interest in Tony but if the Collector was an ancient being, who was as old as the universe, he could probably sense the power residing within Tony and knew it had to be absorbed rather than destroyed. "The containers themselves need to be destroyed," she continued, "so that the Stones cannot be collected and used by anyone. They may still exist but it means they become harder to collect if they are just atoms spread across the universe. That is our goal."
The Collector stepped forward again towards her, his gaze was intense. "What do you know of the Infinity Stones?"
Natasha swallowed. "Probably not as much as you might do…"
"You told us before when we came here with one of the other Stones," began Gamora, moving forward to stand beside Natasha, "that before creation itself, there were six singularities and that when the universe exploded into existence, the remnants of these systems were forged into Infinity Stones. Only beings of extraordinary strength could wield them and survive." She glanced at Quill before returning her attention to the Collector.
"There is more to the Infinity Stones than I have revealed…" the Collector said. "I will reveal more… but at a price." His eyes flickered to Tony.
Even he noticed it but Tony didn't flinch.
"Depends on the price," Natasha bargained. If he was going to ask for Tony…
"Something unique has been happening in the universe. The Stones are not simply disintegrating into atoms. They are merging with a new carrier, finding a new container to be protected by. My price is simple. I wish to talk to the carrier of the Infinity Stones and find out what makes them worthy to protect them than older beings."
He could sense the power within Tony, could potentially even see it. It worried Natasha that Tony's powers and what his potential role was could already be known by older beings.
"We can do that," said Tony, stepping forward and standing next to Natasha, "if we ever find such a person."
"But we do need the stone, Tivan," added Gamora quietly, using the Collector's first name to address him. "Finding such a person who could be merging to become a new carrier could take years."
"It won't," the Collector replied, his eyes focused solely upon Tony. "They're right here after all, in this very room. I'm looking at him right now."
Quill shook his head, surprise running across his features. "Wait. What? Him?" He pointed to Tony. "Really? The Universe has to be having a laugh!"
Wanda moved in front of Tony who had stepped back slightly, her hands glowing red as she stared at the Collector. "You will not touch him!"
"I do not wish to collect him, dear girl, I simply wish to determine why he is worthy. Why was he chosen out of everyone else in the entire universe? Why was he chosen?" The Collector didn't edge forward but kept his gaze completely on Tony.
Natasha could see the weary and surprised gazes of Quill and Gamora and she knew the game was up. They wouldn't be able to hide the fact that they were not destroying the Stones.
"The other two were not destroyed were they?" Gamora asked quietly.
Natasha swallowed and reluctantly nodded. "They weren't. There is more about us than you know but we are all on the same side here. I promise to tell you when we get back to the ship."
The Collector spread his arms out. "I mean him no harm. I just wish to talk to him privately."
"Tony?" Natasha asked. She couldn't make this decision for him.
"I'll talk if Nat is there too," stated Tony, folding his arms across his chest. "But you have to show us the Reality Stone first."
The Collector paused, considering the offer Tony had made.
Natasha held her breath waiting patiently for his response.
The Collector moved quickly, reaching out his hand towards Tony. "Shake and we have a deal."
Trading a quick glance with her, Tony took the Collector's hand and made the deal.
"Follow me…" The Collector bowed, indicating for Tony and Natasha to follow him.
Glancing over her shoulder, Natasha looked at Wanda, Quill, and Gamora. "You will get your answers. We just need to sort this out before we can."
"Gamora tells me I have to wait," replied Quill, absentmindedly kicking the floor, "but don't be too long!"
"We won't," she smiled and hurried after Tony's retreating back.
The Collector leaned back in a chair in the office he'd led them to, just a short walk from his collection. His eyes remained focused upon Tony. "You are an interesting specimen…"
Tony didn't sit down in the offered chair. "I would prefer not to be called 'specimen' when addressed, thank you very much."
"Then what shall I call you?"
"I think you already know who I am," replied Tony curtly. "You look middle-aged but I doubt you are."
The Collector smirked. "Correct, Tony Stark. I am an elder of the universe. I have been around for a very long time…"
"Which is how come you know a lot about the Stones," noted Natasha. "Now, show us the Reality Stone as you promised you would or we will walk out of here right now."
"Walking out of here wouldn't be so easy," said the Collector, amused his eyes once again on Tony.
Tony had a feeling something was going to happen. He didn't feel safe and there was warmth in his chest which hadn't been there before.
The Collector turned to the wall, pressed a few buttons on a control pad, imprinted his hand upon a scanner and had his eyes looked at before the wall slid partially open revealing a small, lantern-shaped container. In the centre it was glowing slightly red and a buzzing sound could be heard. "Your proof."
"We want to see it properly," emphasised Nat. "Open it."
Tony moved closer to Natasha. "I don't think that is wise."
"Why not?"
"Not sure… But let's wait. I know it is in there," he whispered. "My chest feels warm again like it was for the other two."
The Collector was watching them beadily. "If you want this, you promised to talk. Tell me why you are worthy, Tony Stark?"
Tony shrugged. "I would consider myself not worthy and yet here I am. I can't answer your questions because I do not have the answers myself."
"You are something… new…" the Collector murmured. "Something… dangerous. And yet this Stone is responding to you. It wants to get out."
The noise from the container was increasing and they could hear it bashing itself against the sides of the container, trying everything to break free from its prison.
"What would happen if I let it out?" The Collector moved his hand to the latch at the top of the container and pulled it up.
"Don't!" Natasha reached forward. "Don't let it out."
"Why not? I want to know what makes him so special? What did you do to be given the ability to protect them all? What makes you a god, Tony Stark?" The Collector's eyes were dark and dangerous and suddenly his hand was moving. He pressed something on his desk and Tony and Natasha went flying back against the wall, their backs impacting hard against it, and they were unable to move as if an invisible force was holding them back.
"I'm not a god," hissed out Tony, struggling against the invisible force.
"You can't escape," said the Collector. "Tell me what you are and I'll let you go."
"He's human!" shouted Natasha. "That's all he is!" She struggled but couldn't get loose. "Let us go!"
"If he was human, he would not be able to contain the Infinity Stones." The Collector raised the container again. "If you will not talk then I shall act."
Tony's eyes widened. The last thing he wanted was for this to happen. Deep down he knew he had to be something more than human for him to be able to absorb the Infinity Stones. The question was: what was he? He was afraid and his chest was feeling hot. Not like this… not like this!
And then the Collector opened the container and a red sludge stormed out, magnifying in size. The red sludge's appearance caused the Collector to stumble and then fall back, his own eyes widening at the sight of what the Reality Stone could become.
Tony could see the sludge glowing red, his own body beginning to shine red and the sludge drifted towards him, solidifying itself into a smaller shape until it was a Stone. Floating in mid-air the Stone hovered right in front of his chest.
Intense warmth spread across his whole body and he felt so hot… So unnaturally hot…
His vision went dark briefly and the next thing he knew he was on the floor of the Collector's office and the Reality Stone was on the floor next to him. Shaking his head, he saw Gamora in front of the Collector, blaster aimed at his face, with Quill and Wanda standing guard. Twisted beads of magic drifted from the tips of Wanda's fingers.
He felt thin fingers hold him by the shoulders as he took in deep breaths.
"Tony," Natasha whispered. "Take it. You know you have to."
Tony nodded, reached out for the Reality Stone with his right arm but as soon as his fingers touched the smooth surface of the Stone, it turned into sludge again, attaching itself to his fingers. He jerked back but was unable to release himself from the grip of the sludge. Turning his hand over, the sludge covered his whole hand before it began to melt into his hand.
"What the –"
Tony drowned out Quill's voice as his chest warmed and his right arm glowed the same shade of red as the Stone, and then the last tendrils of the sludge vanished into his palm and the warmth feeling disappeared as the glow around his arm dissipated.
Three down, three to go.
He glanced up at Natasha who offered him her hand and got to his feet. The Collector was still surrounded by the others but Wanda was lowering her hands now, the tendrils of power from her fingers vanishing into thin air and Gamora was lowering her own blaster before stepping back.
The Collector brushed down his clothes and resumed looking at Tony. "You are definitely something new, Tony Stark, perhaps even more powerful than the ancients themselves."
"You'll let us go?" asked Tony, trying to mask the croakiness in his throat.
The Collector bowed rather emphatically, brushing his arms out behind him in a wide arc. "Of course. I… always keep… to my… word." He almost seemed afraid.
Tony ran out of the room.
"Ok, can someone explain what the hell is going on?" Quill shouted as they walked back to the Benatar, with Tony a little way in front of him.
Natasha couldn't blame Tony for wanting to keep his distance. Two people had witnessed what their true purpose was in finding the Stones. Quill and Gamora were never supposed to find out, but then everyone they had tried to keep it from had discovered it one way or another.
Perhaps they were not meant to hide Tony's unique abilities.
"You won't believe us even if we tried to explain it to you," said Natasha.
"Try us," stated Gamora, one hand on the hilt of the sword she carried with her.
They had to go for the simplest explanation possible. "We cannot explain why Tony can do what he can. All we know is that we had an Infinity Stone in our possession and Tony absorbed it. We found a second on Earth and the same thing happened. We realised that was what we had to do. We need to find them and get Tony to touch them. I can't explain why he is capable of absorbing them. He just is. We need your help to get the rest." She locked eyes with Gamora. "If you know of anyone who could possibly know where the Soul Stone rests, the exact galactic coordinates, we need to know. Otherwise, there is still a chance Thanos would win. If Tony can absorb them, then they could, potentially, be forcibly removed from him. We need your help to stop him together."
"No one knows where the Soul Stone resides," said Gamora quietly.
"Tony needs it," said Natasha quietly. "Otherwise…" She trailed off. They knew the Soul Stone was on Vormir but the exact galactic co-ordinates she didn't know. Nebula had pre-programmed the co-ordinates into the Benatar back when they'd arrived in 2014 on Morag. She needed Gamora to tell them the co-ordinates.
Gamora stayed silent but her eyes were watchful.
"Please don't tell the others what happened there," said Natasha quietly. "We'll talk to them when the time is right." Though she knew the time was rapidly coming when everything would have to be revealed to everyone who was a part of the Avengers.
"I'm not so keen on keeping secrets from my crew," stated Quill, lifting his chin and folding his arms across his chest, creasing the jacket he wore.
"You keep secrets from them all the time." Gamora swatted him on the arm. "We'll keep it quiet on the condition you say something soon."
Natasha nodded. "Thank you. We will." She glanced ahead and saw Tony at the bottom of the Benatar's ramp being embraced by Pepper. Picking up the pace she jogged over to them, gently tapping Tony on the shoulder.
He turned to face her, one arm still wrapped around Pepper.
"We need to talk," she said quietly.
They locked themselves in one of the smaller quarters of the Benatar.
Tony sat beside Pepper, head bowed whilst Natasha leaned back against the wall. The dim light cast shadows around the room.
"What happened?" asked Pepper. "Tony wouldn't say."
"The Collector," grated out Nat. "He knew more about Tony than we considered possible. He held us against our will and released the Reality Stone, wanting to know why Tony is capable of absorbing them. As a result Quill and Gamora now know that we not just simply destroying the Stones."
"It's not that…" whispered Tony. "I don't know how I got on the floor."
"What do you mean?" Natasha seemed startled.
"Between the Reality Stone hovering in front of my chest to it and me being on the floor!" he retorted. "What happened?"
Natasha gasped. "You don't know what happened? What you did?"
Tony shook his head. "No!"
"Nat, what happened?" pressed Pepper.
Natasha paced up and down the room before turning and getting to her knees so she was in front of Tony and he was forced to look at her. "Tony, nothing bad happened. We were held against the wall. The Stone was in front of you. Then your whole body sort of glowed yellow and green… And then you spoke. It was with your voice."
"What did I say?" breathed Tony.
"'You will let us go'," she repeated. "It was quite forceful but I thought it was you speaking…"
He shook his head, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. "It wasn't. I don't remember doing it. I blacked out."
Natasha swallowed, processing the new information. "Oh. The Collector let us go and we both fell to the floor. I did land on my feet but you completely crumpled. Then Gamora, Quill, and Wanda appeared. They said they had heard strange noises and decided they had to investigate and then I rushed over to you…"
"And you told me to take it," said Tony. "Whatever spoke with my voice wasn't me." He pulled Pepper into a hug. "Nat, what if at the end of this, when I've absorbed all the Stones, what if I'm no longer me?" He tapped his chest. "There is something in here that can take control of my body and I don't remember it. What if my fate is to die, to be a vessel but lose myself along the way?"
Natasha shook her head vigorously. "No, I refuse to believe that is what will happen to you, Tony." She reached for one of his hands. "Listen to me, I know you may find it hard to believe this, but I am sure you will not lose yourself. Maybe because you cannot use your powers yet, they are still separate entities within you and when they feel threatened they take over? If you are supposed to protect them, once you are all fully merged together, you will remember."
Tony nervously laughed. "It's nice you are so optimistic, Romanoff, but I don't share it."
Pepper pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Tony… Everything is going to be fine." There was worry in her eyes, Natasha could see, keeping strong for Tony. "As long as you have me, you'll be fine. I won't let you lose yourself."
Tony swallowed. "We might not have a choice, Pep."
"There is always a choice," she returned.
Natasha nodded emphatically. "Tony, trust me when I say this; those that love and care for you will be with you every step of the way. We will not let you lose yourself."
To be continued...
Please let me know what you think!
Just a few notes:
1) Steve has an important role to play. Natasha did give him too much information but he was always meant to know more than the others. The only thing he doesn't know yet is that instead of destroying the Stones, Tony is absorbing them.
2) The Collector is an ancient being. According to the MCU wiki, he came into being just after the creation of the universe so he would definitely have a lot of knowledge regarding the Infinity Stones. I also think, because of Tony's uniqueness, he'd be curious and intrigued by Tony himself.
3) Nat's revelation about potentially having to sacrifice herself for the Soul Stone again... Tony needs to absorb it. Someone has to make that sacrifice for him to get it. It may not play out that way... The Soul Stone chapter is coming soon so answers will be given on that specific conundrum soon...
4) What held Tony and Nat in place was a forcefield pressing them against the wall. I didn't explicitly say what was holding them against the wall so just wanted to clarify in my notes.
5) The relationship between the Stones and Tony and how it involves Natasha as well will become clearer. We're getting quite a bit of information now but not everything... There is still a lot to be revealed! :D
Happy new year everyone! This will be the last update of 2019... with the next one coming on Sunday 5th January 2020!
And, as a little tease, here are the chapter titles for the four chapters I'd like to post in January on the 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th...
Chapter Twenty-One: The Power Stone
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Soul Stone
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Wedding
Chapter Twenty-Four: Bruce Returns
See you all in 2020!
the-writer1988