HEYYYYYOOOO! I hope you're ready for this! Welcome to the Infinity War chapter. A whole lot's going to happen here so make sure you're paying attention to events that have already happened as well as events that take place in the movies but never happened here. *cough cough Thor 2 cough cough* So, is everyone ready? Let's get this party started! And get ready for a shit load of dialogue which isn't my forte but needs to happen. I'll see you at the end.
Also, there is a tiny bit of smut in the middle of the chapter. I'll block it off for those who don't want to read it.
A year and a half had passed since Peter and May joined in with the Avengers family and it was now late March of 2018. A surprising amount of stuff had happened in that short amount of time. After a long run of "will they won't they", Thor and Bruce finally got together. They were just as sickeningly cute together as Steve and Tony were. Tony was just happy that his science bro finally had a beefy blond sweetheart of his own.
Thor and Bruce weren't the only new couple in the tower. Bucky and Natasha had this very awkward thing going. Apparently they two knew each other from the Red Room and had decided to strike up a tentative relationship. Everyone was just sort of giving them some space while they figured things out.
And as for family life with the Stark-Rogers, things just continued on. Nicola continued to grow and thrive. They could tell that Nicola was smart, the kid had a knack for creating things. Nicola's favourite game at the moment was doctor. The kid wanted to learn anything and everything about the human body. He had all these books on anatomy for elementary school kids that he adored. At this rate, Tony and Steve could see their son becoming a doctor someday and saving lives. But whatever Nicola wanted to do they would be proud of their baby boy.
And as for changes with Tony, well, after much deliberation Tony had decided that it was high time that he regrow his facial hair. He was sick and tired of all the babyface comments. He was a grownup and he wanted to look the part. He may still be "young" but it was time to return to his roots. So, Tony regrew the hair and the media had a field day with it.
Not a whole lot had actually changed around the tower. The kids continued to grow and thrive, the Avengers worked hard in finally taking out the remains of HYDRA. Everyone was doing great. Therapy continued to happen for every Avengers to make sure everyone was healing and doing better. Things were great.
That was until Thor went home to Asgard in the middle of March.
Thor had been off-world visiting his parents for the past couple of weeks. His father was ill and his mother wanted him home to talk things over. Everything should have been cut and dry and Thor should have been home by now. So, it was a huge surprise when Thor returned home on the 28th of March not by the Bifrost, but on a spaceship accompanied by 7 other passengers. Laura and May got all the younger kids corralled while the Avengers went out to the landing pad to see what the fuck was going on.
"Thor. What's going on? Who are these people?" asked Steve as Thor and his companions stepped off of the ship.
"These are my new friends, the Guardians of the Galaxy. We come with grave news we must discuss. It is urgent." Implored Thor and the Avengers all nodded. Thor was a good judge of character. If he trusted these people then the Avengers would too.
Soon enough Everyone, including their new guests, were all seated in the living room. Some were sitting on the floor, some of the couches and chairs there, and some had brought in chairs from the dining room.
"Thor, what's going on?" asked Bruce as he sat next to his boyfriend. So, Thor started explaining what was going on.
"There's this being out there. He goes by the name Thanos. He is a destroyer of worlds who seeks the Infinity Stones in order to wipe out half of all life in the universe." Started Thor and everyone's eyes widened. Sure, they all knew that something big was coming, Tony had been warning them all for years. But the fact that this was finally happening… everything felt wrong.
From there Thor started giving as much information that he could, but he didn't have everything. For everything else, Thor deferred to the Guardians. Most of the explaining was done by Thanos' two "adopted" (re. stolen and abused) daughters, Gamora and Nebula. They gave the Avengers all the information they had including all the battle strategies they knew.
"What's our timeline?" asked Tony as he held Steve's hands in an attempt to keep them from shaking. It wasn't working.
"Maybe a month at the most." Spoke Thor solemnly. "We need to prepare. He's coming to Earth to look for stones.
"We need all hands on deck. Group training is going to have to increase. I'm calling in Scott and Hope and tomorrow I'm going to call Fury and T'Challa. This is big and we need everyone who can help." Commanded Steve. And soon enough everyone was beginning to work out a training plan after some calls and some much-needed introductions.
Tony thought the Guardians were an odd bunch, but they were a family in the same way they Avengers were. First off there was Peter Quill, or Star-Lord as he wanted to be called. He was born on Earth before he was abducted off to space where he grew up essentially being a space pirate. Gamora was next. She as just as badass as Natasha and her green hue reminded Tony of Hulk. Her sister Nebula didn't talk much and she seemed uneasy with all the new faces around. Tony had a strong urge to befriend her. After all, he knew first hand what it was like to have a shitty father and have your body modified against your will. The arc reactor that sat nestled in his chest was proof of that.
Next were the odd couple of Drax and Mantis. Mantis was an empath who could use her powers to tell what people were thinking. That would definitely be useful. Drax, on the other hand, was a bit of a brute who didn't get metaphors and thought the oddest things were funny. Lastly, there was Rocket the raccoon and Groot the… tree? Honestly, the first moment Tony saw Rocket he thought the guy was a Build-A-Bear. But, he was snarky and good with tech so he was cool. Groot, on the other hand, reminded Tony of Peter a bit.
And speaking of Peter.
"It's getting close to dinner. We should probably order up a whole bunch of pizza to feed everyone. I bet the kids will like that." Said Tony as he looked at everyone who had taken up residence in the living room.
"Wait… you guys have kids here?" asked Quill as he looked at the Avengers. Steve nodded and told JARVIS that it was safe for the kids and everyone to come up while he placed a massive order for pizza.
Minutes later the living room was swarmed by the Barton kids, Peter and his aunt, and Nicola who went running straight for Tony.
"Mamma! Mamma! Mamma! Zia Laura mi ha dato un nuovo libro tutto sulle ossa! Guarda!" (Mama! Mama! Mama! Aunt Laura gave me a new book all about bones! Look!) cheered Nicola as he waved the book in his hands. Tony picked up his baby with a smile and a small kiss to the cheek.
"Fantastico bambino! Ti sei divertito oggi?" (That's great baby boy! Did you have fun today?) asked Tony and Nicola nodded with a huge smile. "Ora Nicola, abbiamo alcuni ospiti qui oggi, quindi ricorda le tue buone maniere." (Now Nicola, we have some guests here today so remember your manners.)
At Tony's words, Nicola looked around the room and saw all the new people there. He squirmed in Tony's arms to be let down so he could go talk to all the new people. Nicola sure wasn't a shy kid that was for sure. Nicola marched right up to Nebula who was standing off to the side to avoid all the crowding in the room with everyone there. Tony chased after his son with Steve close behind and hoped that Nicola would be polite.
"You're blue." Spoke Nicola very matter of fact as he stared up at Nebula.
"Yes, I am." Said Nebula a little uncomfortably.
"I like blue. Blue is nice. Do you like blue?"
Nebula looked at Nicola for a moment before she responded. She didn't have any experience with small children. All she knew was that she had to be nice.
"Yes, I like blue."
Nicola smiled and Nebula felt some of the ice in her heart melt. This kid was cute for a Terran.
"Sorry about that." Sighed Tony as he scooped Nicola back up and brought him back to the group. Nebula just nodded in understanding. She had vague memories of being curious when she was little. There was no harm in innocent curiosity.
Dinner was… something. With so many people there was a lot of talking. Stories were shared about various battles each team had been in. The Avengers took it upon themselves to teach the Guardians about Earth's culture and customs. Just some basic stuff. Peter took it in stride with talking about all things pop culture with the Guardians. He had a lot of fun talking with Peter Quill who was thrilled to have the same first name as someone else.
That night though, once all the kids were in bed and all the adults had retired for the night, things were different. Steve was getting changed into his pyjama bottoms while Tony stood in the bathroom looking at himself in the mirror. It had nothing to do with vanity. Tony actually didn't really like looking at himself. It was still something he was working on in therapy. No, Tony was looking at himself and evaluating everything that was going on while trying not to panic because of everything that was going on.
"Anthony baby, you're thinking too hard. I know you're scared but we're lucky. We have time to prepare and train. We'll make it through this." Soothed Steve as he came up behind Tony and wrapped him in his arms.
"But what if we don't? What if I don't?" This all feels familiar. Like, in some other life I've done this all before and it didn't end well. "I just want to keep our family safe, Steve. I want to keep you and Nicola and everyone else safe. I don't want this to happen." Sighed Tony as he turned around to face Steve. Steve just kissed his forehead and lead the man back over to their bed.
"I know you want to keep us safe Sweetheart. I know you'll do everything in your power to keep us safe. You always do. We'll make it through this Tony. You have to believe that."
Neither slept very well that night.
Two days later Scott and Hope arrived with all their gear to start helping out. They quickly informed the duo of what was going on and everyone got straight to work. Tony called Pepper to let her know that he'd be taking a break from SI for the next little bit because of the upcoming global emergency. She understood and was glad that Tony always had a store of new inventions for times like this when he couldn't work. Now, all of his lab hours were devoted to upgrading the team with the help of Rhodey, Scott, Bruce, and Rocket.
Team training amped up considerably. They started off with everyone exhibiting their skills before Steve decided to incorporate them into a new training regimen. It was exhausting and taxing on everyone. But it had to be done.
A week after Thor arrived back at the tower with the Guardians, the Avengers were met with another surprise. And not the fun kind that made life easier.
"Sir, It would appear that two wizards at requesting entrance to the tower. They have Loki with them and wish to talk to the Avengers." Spoke JARVIS during an Avengers/Guardians training routine.
"I'm sorry… What?" sputtered Tony while everyone else continued to look confused.
"There are two wizards and Loki outside the tower and they wish to talk with you all."
"Yes, I know that JARVIS." Sighed Tony as everyone started to clean up their equipment. "Do they seem hostile?"
"They do not appear hostile Sir."
"Alright J, we'll all be down."
Once everything was put away everyone filed out of the gym and to the large conference room where JARVIS had sent the wizards and Loki. Nobody really had any clue what was going on. Once they all arrived in the room they were met with the sight of a slightly disgruntled Loki, A man with interesting facial hair and a red cape that seemed to be moving on its own, and another man dressed in elaborate robes.
"Hello there. I'm Dr. Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme." Spoke the man in the cape as he looked at all the others. "This is my associate Wong and I'm sure most of you already know who this is." He pointed at Wong and Loki individually.
"What do you want?" asked Steve a little crossly. He was tired from training and stressing over all of this.
"We're here because of the upcoming threat of Thanos. Mr. Loki here has information that may prove to be useful in the coming fight." Explained Wong, cool as a cucumber.
"Loki? Is this true? Do you have information that can help us?" asked Thor.
"Indeed I do brother. It's a long story. You'd all best sit down so I can explain." Spoke Loki, and soon after everyone sat down and listened with abject skepticism.
Loki started from the beginning when he fell off of the rainbow bridge. He spoke of falling and landing in the clutches of the Mad Titan Thanos. He spoke of torture and Thanos' plans to use Loki to steal the space stone which resided in the tesseract which was still in Loki's possession. He spoke of how Thanos gave him the mind stone to get it done but not before using it on Loki first.
Loki then got to talking about the invasion where he had enough presence of mind to build the fail-safes into the portal used. He talked about how Hulk slamming him around repeatedly managed to clear the last traces of control over his mind. Then things got a little weird. Loki talked about seeing a man who looked and sounded a whole lot like Tony call for a medic as Tony himself fell to a heart attack. That man was accompanied by a very little man with a suit identical to Scott's who pushed the tesseract towards them. But then, of course, the Hulk showed up and Loki was able to make his escape with the cube.
And then things got weirder. Loki spoke of receiving some visions from the Space Stone once he'd gotten so a safe location. One of which sounded eerily familiar. The first vision struck Tony was off. Loki explained how he was someone who looked exactly like Tony but maybe in his early 50's stealing the tesseract from on old SHIELD facility back in the fucking 1970s! That was odd because Tony would either have just been born or not even born yet at that time. The second vision struck a little too close to home. He described that same battle Tony had seen in his vision years ago. Every single detail matched up including the older Avengers and Tony sacrificing his life for the good of the universe. But that wasn't all.
Loki saw a team divided and knew he had to keep that decollate future from happening. What he's seen had shaken him and he had to fix it. SO, he set a very elaborate plan into motion. He started toying with the Avengers, causing minor problems to see where they all stood as a team. He hadn't liked what he saw so he cast his first spell on Tony in an attempt to bring the team closer to him. It was starting to work so he cast another spell. A spell that could pull Tony and Steve even closer together to avoid any fighting and separation of the team. To further solidify things, Loki had killed the other Winter Soldiers in Siberia himself to prevent them from being used against the team by the remains of HYDRA. Every last step was carefully calculated to ensure that Tony was alive and well to fight Thanos. He was the King in this entire game of chess.
"Which brought Loki to his current situation. Thanos was on his way and Loki knew how many stones he had. Thanos had recently taken the Power Stone from Xandar and the Mind Stone from some guy named the Collector. Thor had explained how Odin hadn't wanted the Mind Stone on Asgard when he brought it thereafter Sokovia it was given to the collector. And now he was dead. Not good.
"So, that's you've been up to all this time." Spoke Rhodey. "It explained a lot but what this doesn't explain is why you kept messing with my little brother. You put him through a lot of grief with all your tricks."
"Well, I knew that keeping you all as a tightknit group was the best way to do this. So, I did just that. I knew that love is a strong emotion that draws people together. I knew that giving you a baby would forge that bind tighter. I knew that keeping you from lying would forge a stronger connection of trust. Stark is the key to all of this. We need him in the best situation possible for this all to work. Giving him a support system full of trust was the best way to unify the team so keep things on track for victory." Explained Loki further
"But why the de-ageing?"
"That was mostly just for fun. Although it's easier to carry children when you're a bit younger. Plus it's fun to mess with you all. I am the God of Tricks after all."
"Thor, your brother's an asshole." Spoke Rhodey as the room silently contemplated everything that Loki had just told them.
But Tony wasn't really listening to the exchange. He was a bit hung up on the fact that he and Loki had had almost the exact same visions. Something about that just didn't sit right with Tony. And that got him thinking. From what Thor and the Guardians had explained when they arrived, these stones had a bit of a mind of their own. It wasn't that far of a stretch to think that these stones could have been out there in the multiverse and had seen some serious shit. With that as well as some other things about the Battle of New York, everything just fell into place.
"These stones have been in a different world…"
"Tony, what do you mean?"
"The things Loki saw are almost identical to the things I saw years ago. Someone took these stones somewhere else then returned them…" Tony had a look of clarity.
"Tony…" spoke Steve as he reached over and took his husband's hand.
"It was us! Or versions of us! Back during the Battle of New York, JARVIS picked up security footage of another me and another Steve in the tower during Loki's transportation just moments before I had a heart attack. Steve, that fight you had with who you thought was Loki on the catwalk wasn't Loki! It was another version of you! You said that it was the person you fought that had an identical vibranium shield, a locket with Peggy's picture, and he knew that Bucky was alive. Versions of our selves from some other reality came here to borrow the stones before returning them."
"That would actually explain a lot." Spoke up Bruce for the first time since everyone sat down. "It's possible that our future selves figures out time travel to get the stones to use against Thanos fought in that battle that both Tony and Loki have described, then returned the stones. But, in doing so they created a new branch timeline where Loki takes off with the tesseract. A timeline that we all now live in."
"But wouldn't that mess with a whole bunch of stuff pertaining to quantum mechanics?" asked Scott as he stared at Bruce.
"We live in a world where there are wizards and stones that can control time. This is the least of our worries."
"Well, that would explain a lot of things that happen but don't really make sense." Muttered Steve as he took everything in.
"Alright morons. This isn't the time for discussing where these stones have been. Right now we need to know where the other stones are and how we can keep them all safe from Thanos before he gets here and dooms us all." Snarked Rocket as he jumped up on the table, but not before confiscating Groot's handheld game so the teen could focus.
"Well, until recently the Power Stone was on Xandar and the Mind Stone was with the collector. As for the Reality Stone, nobody is sure. It hasn't been seen. Same goes for the Soul Stone." Stated Thor.
"I know where the Soul Stone is." Interrupted Gamora. "I found the map to it years ago and I burnt it to ash before Thanos could get his hands on it. I'm the only person alive who knows where it is. The less who know the better."
"So, Thanos is coming for the Space and Time Stones. Why don't we just destroy them?" asked Tony as he looked over at Strange and Wong.
"No can do. We swore an oath to protect this stone with our lives. We need to find another way to protect them." Snarked Strange as he glared at Tony.
"Fine then Sherlock. Deduce something else and be helpful."
"Everyone stop arguing!" shouted Steve and everyone fell silent. "This is bigger than anything we've faced before. We need all the backup we can get. We're going to call Fury, the UN, and T'Challa of Wakanda. The more help and resources we have the better. Can we all agree on that?" they all nodded. "The good. Meeting adjourned for now while Tony and I make the calls. Thor keep an eye on your brother. Clint, you and Nat can show Dr. Strange and Wong around. I have a feeling everyone's going to stick close by until we sort this all out."
And with that everyone began to disperse with Tony and Steve heading off to Steve's office to make the calls. But, they didn't start right away. The impact of their recent discovery with Loki and the stones was weighing heavily on Tony. His hands were shaking and his legs felt like stone bricks. Everything was just too much. The second they arrived in the office Tony collapsed to the ground as he lost his battle to hold back his tears and his panic.
Steve was at Tony's side the entire time, just holding Tony and offering comforting words. Although, Steve felt useless with his words. He was just as worried as Tony was. Tony was just the more sensitive of the two of them. But Steve did his best and after half an hour and lots of snuggles, it was finally time to call in the cavalry.
They called Fury first and he was given the job of alerting the UN about what was about to happen. The world needed to prepare for the worst just in case. And well, the Avengers needed to prepare for some new arrivals.
"I have a contact that will be able to help. Her name is Carol Danvers. She's powered and knows a lot about extraterrestrial threats. I'll give her a page." Stated Fury and Tony facepalmed.
"Give her a page! Fury please tell me you're not using a pager."
"Hey, if it works it works." Spoke Fury and Tony felt a little bit of himself die at his words.
"I'm also going to send you the Maximoff twins."
"WHAT!" shouted both Tony and Steve. Neither of them liked the twins after what they did to Tony.
"Listen, I know you guys don't like them but they've been training here at SHIELD. If this is as big a threat as you say it is then you need all the help you can get. I'm not saying you guys have to like this. I'm just saying to tolerate them until this is all over."
"Fine, but they're not staying anywhere near the kids." Conceded Tony.
After a little bit more planning and information sharing, they ended the call with Fury and switched to video calling Prince T'Challa. The young prince was quick to alert his father of the upcoming conflict and was given permission to fly out and join the Avengers. Once the king got news of just how massive this fight could possibly be, he promised to have his elite warriors ready to fight should they need the help. This was a battle to save half the universe, they needed all the help they could get. Tony and Steve sent their thanks and left to go let everyone know what was going to happen.
Two days and countless hours of training later, everyone was surprised when a buff glowing lady in a red, blue, and gold suit flew to the tower and landed on the landing pad, Most of the Avengers quickly left to go see what was going one. Their newest visitor didn't seem hostile. In fact, she seemed friendly and ready to make friends.
"Hi there. I'm Carol Danvers. You must be the Avengers. Nick Fury sent me." Smiled Carol as she went and shook everyone's hands. As she got to Rhodey Tony looked over and saw his brother trying his best to hold back a deep blush. Tony was totally getting him for the later.
They soon brought Carol inside and introductions were made. Yeah, Rhodey totally had a crush. He'd always had a thing for strong, powerful women. This doubled tenfold once Carol introduced herself as former Air Force. Tony had a feeling that Carol would fit in just fine with their merry band of misfits.
With the addition of Carol and the Maximoff twins, the training spaces, as well as common spaces, really became crowded. So crowded that they had to make meal schedules so that the kitchen didn't get so crowded. The kids, however, loved having all the new people around. Peter and Cooper were always full of questions. Lila liked talking to all the women and hearing their stories. Nicola and Nathaniel just loved having new people to play with.
And speaking of new people, the entire time the Guardians had been at the tower, Tony noticed that Nebula rarely talked with anyone outside of training. She kept to herself and didn't interact much. She reminded Tony a lot of himself before he'd gotten this family. He used to be the outsider, the one who was different. The one who had suffered at the hands of another and didn't know how to talk about it.
So, Tony decided he needed to show Nebula that she wasn't alone.
"Come with me." Smiled Tony one night when pretty much everyone was in the common room chatting and being general nuisances. He walked out of the room and into a small sitting room off to the side with Nebula following behind.
"Why have you brought me here?" asked Nebula as she sat down opposite Tony with a table between them.
"Well, you seemed uncomfortable with everyone crowding around and I thought you could use a break. I know what it's like to feel like the outsider." Replied Tony as he began folding a piece of paper into a triangle. Nebula just looked confused so Tony elaborated.
"My father wasn't the best either. He used to beat me, belittle me, burn me. It was bad. I know it wasn't as bad as you, but I know what it's like to have a shitty parent. And I also get the whole non-consensual body modification thing. You see this thing in my chest." Tony pointed at his arc reactor and Nebula nodded. "This was the first instance. I was kidnapped and had a bomb explode next to me. This keeps the shrapnel from reaching my heart and killing me. I got it while wide away in a cave in the middle of the desert. Then there's the whole thing with Loki." Sighed Tony as Nebula stared at him.
"What I'm trying to get at is I get it. I get why you don't socialize as much. I get why you fight so hard. I know exactly how you feel. I want you to know that you're not alone in this. Even if you can't trust the others then at least you can trust me."
Nebula looked over at Tony for a second as he continued to fold his piece of paper.
"Thank you." Was all she said, but the words held meaning.
From there Tony took great joy in teaching Nebula how to play paper football. It took a little while for Nebula to understand the point of the game but after actually winning something for once, she couldn't help but smile.
From there on Nebula considered Tony her friend. Her first-ever friend. She'd never had one before and she certainly didn't think they would be a squishy human, but she liked her squishy human. Plus his son was pretty cute too.
As the month slowly drew to an end, all the governments of the world came together to start protecting their citizens should they need while the heroes were off fighting. Contingency plans were put in place and medical personal were on stand by in case Thanos didn't go for the bate of the stones right away.
The UN had been in contact with pretty much every country in the world in order to find a place big enough for the fight to take place without wrecking the environment too much or putting civilians in danger. After conferring with the Wakandans they settled on a large swath of plains land an hour outside of the main city there. It was far enough that civilians weren't in immediate danger, the land wasn't protected by any party because it was land the King was considering for development, and it was close enough to help should anyone need it. The gear was already being sent out to the location so the Avengers and company could focus more on getting battle-ready then on worrying about food and water while out there.
The night before departure, Tony and Steve spent as much time as they could with Peter and Nicola. Peter was as good as their kid at this point and Nicola was their baby. Neither knew what the upcoming fight would bring so taking the time to just be together as a family was important.
UMTB
That night, after the kids had gone to bed, Tony and Steve went off to their own room for some time together. There wasn't much talking as they pealed each other out of their clothes while caressing each other's bodies. Steve took a moment to admire the delicate chain hanging from Tony's neck. It held both his wedding and engagement rings so that he wouldn't lose them while in the lab. Plus this way they always sat near his heart.
The two fell into bed together as they traded sweet kisses and gentle touches. Tony was laid on his back as Steve hovered above him and offered some friction for both of them. Steve reached over for the bedside table and pulled out the lube and a condom which he rolled on before he got to fingering his husband.
Tony had his legs spread and a fist in his mouth to keep from screaming too loud. Steve was doing amazing things to his body and each tender touch made his nerves light up. It wasn't long before Tony was sufficiently prepared and Steve was pressing in and kissing his husband senseless.
The two showered each other in love as they kissed and made love. It wasn't long before the pleasure began to mount and so did the emotions and fears shared between. Both were crying as they screamed each other's names and came within seconds of each other.
Tony and Steve just laid there in each other's arms for a while shedding tears, trading kisses, and whispering "I love you's". Neither knew what the next week or so would bring. Neither knew if they would even make it out alive. But they had this moment there in time. This moment where they were safe and loved. Where their kids were safe from danger. If only they could just live in this moment. This blink in time where they were all well. But they knew come morning that this was all about to change.
Neither slept well that night.
UMTB
The morning of departure was absolute chaos. There were last-minute gear checks, people were running all over the place, and kids were crying. Tony had a sobbing Nicola shared between him and Steve as he gave last-minute instructions to Happy and Pepper who had arrived to help May and Laura with the kids in everyone's absence. But Tony's priorities very quickly shifted when he saw Peter walking towards him and Steve wearing his Spider-Man suit.
"Peter, what do you think you're doing?" asked Tony as he surveyed the teenager.
"I'm coming with you. There's going to be a big fight and I know I can help."
"You're not going, Pete. This is going to be dangerous. I refuse to see you fight in the battle." Spoke Tony as he tried to keep his voice level. He really didn't want Peter in this fight. The thought alone was almost enough to send him into a panic attack.
"By not? I'm strong and capable. You guys need my help."
"Peter, please. You have to stay here. If the worst happens then you're the one here protecting everyone. I can't have you risking everything out on this battlefield. I can't bear to see you get hurt or killed in this." Pleaded Tony as he looked at his kid. He needed Peter to understand that this was too dangerous for him.
"But what if you don't come back? What if I don't see you again after this? I can't lose you too." Spoke Peter his voice barely a whisper.
"Pete…" sighed Tony as he handed Nicola off to Steve and Pulled Peter into a hug. "I can't promise that I won't die in this conflict. But I can promise that I will ALWAYS try my hardest to come home to you and Nicola. I can promise that I will always love both of you and I will do whatever it takes to come home to you. You got that Underoos?"
Peter nodded into Tony's shoulder and started crying. Steve saw this and joined in with Nicola in his arms as the family had a big group hug. They all needed that.
After about an hour of last-minute prep, it was time to go. With some last goodbyes Strange and Wong opened up some portals to get all their gear to their new destination. Tony looked back at his kids and family as he stepped through the portal. He didn't know what was going to happen in the future. All he knew was that he wanted to return home to the people he loved.
That was all he wanted.
The camp was already set up when they all arrived. There were tents, food and water stores, and places to keep extra weapons and ammunition. It didn't take long before everyone had stored what they needed and started to tour around their new battleground. The next couple of days were filled with drills to get used to fighting in the new surroundings. Everyone worked hard as well as rested hard. Everyone needed to be in top shape for the coming storm.
So, while the days and nights were filled with training, bedtime was filled with sorrow. Everyone was fighting their own demons when it came to the upcoming fight. Out of everyone, Tony had it the worst. He was so anxiety-ridden that his sleep was constantly disrupted by horrific nightmares of everyone dying and him being the only one left. Sure, he'd always know that something bigger was coming ever since Loki's invasion 6 years ago, but the fact that this was all happening now… It was too much.
His fellow Avengers, Guardians, and newfound allies did what they could to help out. Because of what Loki had said about Tony being the key to winning all of this they all felt protective of him. In this game, Tony was the important piece. They didn't know why at the time, but with Tony's ability to make split-second decisions from ever-changing data and the power of his newest suit he called the Bleeding Edge, they knew he would be an important player.
And, on April 27, 2018, they found out just how important Tony was.
It was mid-morning when Thanos and his troops arrived having taken the bait of having two stones so close to each other. Everyone had just finished eating breakfast and were getting all their gear together for the day when JARVIS detected possible hostile objects entering the atmosphere above where they were. Everyone scrambled to get armoured up and weapons ready as the first ship touched down followed by 8 more identical ones.
The ships were followed by dozens of Chitauri Leviathans that hung in the air in a foreboding manner. The last ship to arrive Gamora and Nebula instantly recognized. It was the Sanctuary 2. Thanos' personal ship. The team all started to get into their positions as Steve belted out orders. Everyone did a last-minute coms check and they were lucky because the second they finished Thanos had descended down from his ship in full armour ready to fight. The golden gauntlet on his left hand shone purple and yellow with the stones he'd already managed to collect.
"I guess you're the one called Thanos." Spoke Steve as Thanos got closer to the group of heroes.
"I am. I see you have my daughters here. Now, I'm going to give you all a choice. You can give the stones and save yourselves a bloodbath, or you can fight… and loose." Came Thanos' foreboding voice.
"We're not letting you get the stones." Shouted Gamora and Thanos frowned as he had actually been expecting the heroes to lay down and surrender the stones to him.
"Fine, I'll do this myself."
And with a wave of his hand hordes of dog-like creatures that looked like the demi-dogs from Stranger Things poured from the ships that had landed along with Chitauri soldiers, and four beings that stood near Thanos' side. As the horde got closer, Steve rallied his troops and with a final look over at his beloved husband, gave the order to charge.
"AVENGERS… assemble!" commanded Steve.
And with an almighty shout from Thor, Tony and Steve lead the Avenger and co into battle. The clash was horrible, bodies started to fly from both sides as everyone started to take down Thanos' minions. Scott had the great idea of turning into Gi-ant Man and crushing as many as he could under his feet. He had to take a few breaks to grab some orange slices to refuel but it actually worked really well.
Thanos stood back from the fray. Tony was assuming that he was waiting for the best opportunity to swoop in and get the stones. Nobody was exactly sure how much time was passing in the fight. Tony, Rhodey, Thor, Hope, Sam, and Quill were acting as areal support, taking down Leviathans and helping where they could while everyone else struggled on the ground fighting off the dog-like creatures.
Actually, everyone was holding their own alright until Loki thought he'd take his shot at going after Thanos. The god had walked up to Thanos and tried to buy into his good graces by offering up a fake tesseract as a trick. A trick Thanos didn't fall for. So, Loki did the next logical thing and pulled a knife on the titan. That didn't work either. Thanos, probably with the use of the stones he already had, was soon able to pry the Tesseract from Loki. And as the titan added the stone to his collection, he snapped Loki's neck.
"NOOOOOO!" shouted Thor as he saw his brother fall to the ground in a bloody heap. Tony and Hulk rushed forward to hold Thor back from going after Thanos. That was practically suicided with his army still this active.
"You'll pay for that!" shouted the god as he broke free and started killing as many Chitauri as he could with his lightning. He cleared quite the large area and that actually allowed Tony to get a very good view of what Thanos was doing.
And Tony didn't like what he saw.
Tony saw Thanos locked in a one on one fight with Dr. Strange. None of that was good. Strange was the one who currently held the last stone here on Earth. They couldn't let Thanos get it. So, Tony started shooting minions dead, clearing a path so that backup could get closer enough to help. But, even with Dr. Strange's powers and foresight, he wasn't a match for the power of three Infinity Stones. Strange went down hard and Tony knew what he had to do. He charged in hard and fast hitting Thanos hard enough in the face to knock him back from Strange enough so he could get away while also cutting the Titan's face.
"All that for a drop of blood?" snarled Thanos as he wiped the blood from his face. He turned to look at his attacker and soon the titan's face turned from anger to recognition.
"Stark…"
"You know me?" asked Tony all confused.
"You're not the only one cursed with knowledge." And Tony didn't like that at all. How did this mad man know of him? Was it from when he sent the nuke at the Chitauri ships? That had to be it. But Tony didn't have time to dwell on things. He had a fight to win.
"My only curse is you. Mantis! Now!" shouted Tony and with the help of Wong, Mantis was soon positioned on Thanos' shoulders and with all her strength, subdued the Mad Titan.
Tony jumped in quickly and started to pry the gauntlet off of Thanos' hand. He wished he had some help but everyone else was preoccupied in staying alive against the onslaught of Thanos' minions. It was a struggle. Even with Thanos subdued Tony had to manually move all his fingers out of the fist shape so he could pull the gauntlet off.
But oh boy when Tony succeeded in getting the gauntlet off he felt like celebrating. He smiled as he looked back over at the fight as he held the gauntlet in his hands and started to take off to get the stones far away. But, before he could do that he head a horrible scream as Mantis was thrown from Thanos' back and the titan reached for Tony's neck.
In a moment of overwhelming clarity, Tony knew what he had to do. He put the gauntlet on his own arm and felt pain and energy travel up the appendage and over the left side of his face as the armour burnt. Thanos quickly picked Tony up by the neck and started choking him. He chocked him enough that the helmet of Tony's armour shattered.
Tony struggled in his grasp as he fought for breath. He was scared but he knew what to do. He'd seen this all before. So with one last pleading look over at Steve across the battlefield, Tony clutched the gauntlet tighter to his chest and faced off against the titan.
"I am Inevitable." Spoke Thanos. The words haunting and hallow just like they were in Tony's vision years ago.
"And I… Am… Iron Man"
And Tony stared death in the face and closed his fist.
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"TONY! TONY! ANTHONY! OH GOD ANTHONY!" shouted Steve as he raced forward to gather the body of his husband into his arms. Tony was still breathing but it was very shallow. His left arm and the left side of his face were burnt badly and Steve's heart was plummeting. Steve was so worried that he wasn't even paying attention to the disintegrating bodies of their foes.
He was so worried that he wasn't even paying attention to his own wounds.
Steve's screams were loud enough to alert everyone else who all came running to see what was wrong. They'd all seen Tony go down but were unsure what had happened. Although, once they all got a look at Tony, they all understood why Steve was so panicked. Rhodey knelt down at Steve's side and helped him hold the injured man in his arms. Rhodey looked over at everyone, his eyes begging for help.
"We need to get him to the city. Our doctors there can help save him." Urged T'Challa as he watched Tony struggle to breathe.
Rhodey nodded and soon Wong was opening a portal to the palace so that everyone could get medical attention. Those less injured could return for their gear later. Right now was life or death.
Upon arriving T'Challa quickly called for medical help. A team of doctors was quick to arrive and despite wanting to remain at his husband's side, Steve set Tony down on the gurney and watched as the doctors scanned Tony over with devices he'd never seen before and quickly made the decision to cart Tony off to surgery.
Steve felt horrible as he watched to doctors take his husband away. He felt numb with grief, anger over Tony getting hurt. He just felt like throwing up. Steve collapsed down to his knees in the middle of the hallway and cried. His hands were shaking and Steve was almost in hysterics. Bucky was the one to get down next to Steve and pull him into a hug. He needed to support his friend. Steve needed it.
Steve lost all track of time after that. He had a vague recollection of Bucky leading him to a room and a doctor treating the gaping wound on his forearm. He knew plenty of other Avengers had gone in and out of the room to receive treatment for minor things and to talk to the others, but Steve wasn't paying attention. He just felt so lost.
At one point everyone was in that room after having received medical treatment. Everyone was relatively alright considering everything. Sure everyone had cuts and bruises here and there with a few concussions sprinkled into the mix. But other than Loki being dead and Tony in surgery, the worst injuries were Quill's broken leg and Sam's fractured ribs.
After what actually totalled to being almost 6 hours, a doctor came in and called Steve and Rhodey into a private room to give them Tony's prognosis.
"I'll jump right into it," began the doctor as she got all her files together. "Tony is a very lucky man. If his suit or arc reactor had been any different then he'd be dead. He's very lucky. As it is he has severe burns covering the total of his left arm, left pectoral and the left side of his face. With time and physical therapy here in Wakanda, we estimate that he'll regain about 85% functionality in his hand. As well, his optic nerves were damaged. He'll most likely need glasses moving forward. As well he has some major swelling around his neck so we'll have him sedated for a couple of days just to be safe. In addition to everything else he also had a ruptured spleen that we have repaired. Barring any unforeseen happening's Tony is expecting to make a full recovery."
Steve and Rhodey both let out sighs of relief. They both knew that Tony was a stubborn son of a bitch and he definitely proves himself that that day. As the doctor got up to lead them to Tony's room the two followed behind her like little ducklings eager to be reunited with their family. They were both happy to finally be able to see Tony.
But that sentiment changed when they actually saw him. Tony was hocked up to so many machines that were making all sorts of different noises. His left arm was covered in special bandages that Princess Shuri had developed years ago to help burn victims. The same bandages were all over the left side of his face as well and they completely covered his eye. Some of Tony's hair had been shaved away so the doctors could work. They'd also had to completely shave off his facial hair which was going to piss Tony off. He'd just grown that back! All in all, Tony looked horrible, but he was alive and that was what really mattered.
Steve and Rhodey took turns sitting at Tony's side for the next two days while Tony was sedated and healing. The doctors had added another bed to the room so the two exhausted Avengers could sleep without leaving Tony. After those two days, Tony was stable enough for the doctor to stop his sedation. Now all they needed was for Tony to wake up.
It took an hour for anything to happen and Steve was the one to notice the change. Tony's right hand had begun twitching in his. Steve gave it a small squeeze and was thrilled when Tony's eye began to open.
"Hey there Darlin'." Smiled Steve as Tony tried to focus on him.
"Stee?"
"How you feeling Tones?" asked Rhodey as he sat at Tony's other side.
"Thirs'y… hur's."
Rhodey was quick to grab some water and a straw so that Tony could have a drink. They made sure he took small sips so he couldn't overdo it. Tony coughed a few times while drinking but was otherwise fine.
"You gave us quite the scare there Sweetheart." Smiled Steve sadly but Tony was still quite out of it and wasn't really paying attention.
"Can' see." Slurred Tony as he slowly reached for his face with his right hand. Steve stopped him by gently taking his hand back in his. Tony looked slightly panicked but that was form pain more than anything.
Soon enough some doctors were in the room checking Tony over. They gave him some medication to help with the pain and soon enough Tony was back asleep. They'd told Rhodey and Steve that Tony would be a bit out of it for a little bit. That was to be expected.
Tony was in and out of consciousness for the next day before he got more coherent. But unfortunately with that came the pain. The doctors had to give him some pretty strong pain medication because Tony was in so much distress.
Once Tony was able to stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time the doctors gave him the rundown of his injuries. Tony was upset when he heard them. Any sane person would. But still, at the end of the day, Tony was just happy to be alive.
After a week total in the Wakandan hospital, Wong was kind enough to open up a few portals so that the Avenger's families could come and visit, with permission from the king of course. Cassie Lang was ecstatic to see her father. Same went for the Barton kids. But Peter and Nicola, they were just worried. When the arrived at the hospital Steve had taken both boys aside to explain what had happened in kid-friendly terms. He said that Mama was sick and had a lot of bandages so they had to be very careful about where they touched him. Both kids listened intently. They didn't want to hurt Tony.
When Tony finally saw his kids he cried. There was no shame. He cried and held them as best he could while only having one functioning arm and being bedridden. Peter had picked up Nicola and plopped him on the bed so he could snuggle up close to his Mama and Peter sat down next to him and rested his head on Tony's shoulder.
Steve just watched the whole affair. He was so scared that he'd never get to see Tony be with the kids again that this moment was a breath of fresh air. Tony was going to be alight and they could all be a family together.
The kids came in and out of the room for the next few days. Tony was still tired and needed rest and the kids got bored just sitting there. Shuri was kind enough to take all the Avenger's kids and show them all the fun stuff to do in Wakanda. Peter was right by her side the entire time and the two wreaked havoc upon the city and the stories the kids brought back to Tony were the highlight of his days filled with doctors and bandage changes.
Once the bandages were removed and physiotherapy began, Shuri actual came to pay Tony a visit herself. She'd brought him a gift in the form of some really cool new glasses that she'd hocked up to JARVIS with Rhodey's help. This way Tony could see with his new poorer eyesight as well as get incoming information from JARVIS. Plus they were red and gold so they were pretty darn cool.
Physiotherapy was excruciatingly hard work. Most sessions left Tony in pain and crying from frustration as the new scars hindered his movement. What made things bearable were the moments after when he'd get cuddles from Steve, Nicola, and Peter. Knowing his family was there for him allowed Tony something to focus on so he could move forward. He would get better. He would play games with his kids again. He would invent new things in the lab. He would thrive despite everything that had happened.
Finally, after weeks in the hospital and just a few days before his birthday, Tony was given the all-clear to go home with strict instructions on how to care for his new burn scars and exercises for his joints. Tony was ecstatic to be going home. He'd missed his own bed and being able to do stuff with the kids. He was more than ready to go home.
A few days prior everyone else had returned to the tower to clean things up and so that Rhodey could hold the official press conference to explain to the world what had happened with Thanos. Normally Tony and Steve would have done the press conference but for obvious reasons they didn't.
"You ready to finally go home?" asked Steve with a smile as they saw Dr. Strange open a portal for them to return back to the tower.
"More than ready. I'm ready for this to finally all be over."
"Well then let's go home." Smiled Steve as he took Tony's hand in his and they finally returned home.
Holy Fuck! That was a roller coaster. We had everyone coming together, Tony and Nebula becoming friends, the purple grape of doom is finally dead, and our boy is alive! I hope you all liked this chapter. It was fun to write.
Now I'm sure you all have some questions. I think I covered everything to do with Loki and why he did certain things. But there is the question of the Reality Stone and why I had the Collector have the Mind Stone instead. So, Thor 2 never happens in this. Jane never goes to Europe to search for anomalies that could lead her to Thor because Thor stayed on Earth with the Avengers looking for Loki. Boom! Now nobody knows where the stone is because it's never found. I hope that makes sense.
As for moving forward, I can promise you that this fic will be significantly fluffier from here on out. That's a promise. I'll be seeing you soon. Comments are appreciated. -Shadows