CAEB Part V - The Battle for Earth.
Chapter 12 - The World We Leave Behind
Steve stood facing the mirror, absent-mindedly smoothing out the wrinkles in the glossy, black material of his suit jacket. He almost never wore a suit; when it came time to dress smartly, he preferred the uniform, but this wasn't the occasion. He was pulled from his thoughts as a hand rested heavily on his shoulder. It was Clint's. The solider was relieved at the sight of the Archer, it reminded him he wasn't alone. He looked over to Bruce in the corner who was stood silently, staring at the floor, and looking as uncomfortable in that suit and this appallingly lavish room as Steve felt. Coulson looked the same as he always did, but with a little less sparkle in his eyes.
The door opened quietly, and Director Fury stepped awkwardly into the room. He took a regretful breath and tried to push his lips into a weak smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It's time." He nodded, and Steve sighed heavily, looking at the floor.
"You ok?" Clint asked sadly, knowing all too well the answer. Nobody was ok. They were just making do.
Steve gritted his teeth. "We shouldn't be here." He shook his head. This felt wrong, they shouldn't be here, not like this.
"Yes, we should Steve, it's just we don't want to have to be." Clint sighed.
"They're waiting." Bruce interrupted, pushing past the pair of them towards the door.
"Bruce…" Steve started. The man stopped in his tracks but didn't turn to face them.
"Let's just get it over with." The scientist sighed. He looked tired, pale - fragile even. Steve had never seen him quite like this, though he supposed neither he nor Clint looked any better. Steve took one last breath as he moved to follow Bruce and Clint. Coulson, positioned at Steve's shoulder, gave a nod of reassurance. Steve appreciated the gesture, but it didn't help.
Time seemed to move in slow motion as they moved slowly down the narrow hallway. It was dark and quiet and eerily solemn as the double doors swung open and the sudden size of the room in front of them took his breath away.
Suddenly all eyes were on them as the music began, soft and low. The weight on his shoulders seemed heavier today than it ever had been before as he walked down the aisle between the rows of faces in dark, black suits.
The number of people here was astonishing. The room was a sea of faces, some familiar - people he'd met or seen on TV - dignitaries, senators; the President himself was making a speech, apparently.
Steve wasn't sure how he would sit through this, nor was he sure how the Cathedral had survived both attacks in the last fourteen months. It certainly was the grandest place they could have picked, but it just didn't feel right. Steve sighed and gripped the wreath more tightly in his hand, though was careful not to crush the delicate white petals. He had to get through this, one way or another. He stared at the commemorative display at the altar ahead of him. Like everything else in this place, it was lavish and spectacular. He smiled softly. The arrangement was beautiful, as were the wreaths they all carried, designed by some apparently infamous and incredibly expensive florist. He'd forgotten their name. Well, it wasn't as if that sort of thing had ever mattered to him, least of all now.
He caught a glimpse of Pepper in the front rows as they passed. She was stoic. A figure of composure despite everything. How the woman pulled it off and held herself together at a time like this he had no idea, but now he had to focus.
As his turn came to lay his wreath a wave of sadness washed over him. He looked up to the ceiling for a moment and thought a silent prayer. He lay the wreath gently, exactly where he had been instructed and then took his seat on the front row with the others.
As the Bishop stepped up to begin proceedings he placed his hand gently over Pepper's and felt the way she was invisibly trembling. She returned him a grateful smile and wrapped her fingers in his as the service started.
…
"Before the conspiracy starts, before the blame starts being doled out by the press and the Government, before people who did not even see what happened start dictating to you the events of the past few days I will take the time to show you the reality, from someone who stayed behind, and let you make those decisions for yourselves. I am truly sorry if these images disturb you. They should. Tell your children to look away now, but the rest of you all need to know. You need to know the truth of New York."
Images flashed across the screen. Images of men and women fighting, struggling against unbeatable odds. Soldiers that were not of this Earth laying down their lives. Blood and Destruction, Fear and Pain, Bravery; and Death.
"It's easy to be lost in the destruction and despair of the past few days, but as we awake to a weekend where streets are littered with bodies you need to remember that the civilian casualties, although tragic, where minimal. While eighty human people lost their lives in New York this week, twelve million were saved. Less than a hundred humans died, yet those seven hundred thousand other bodies were not from Earth. They were soldiers from worlds away, who offered their help to us. They had no reason to lay down their lives for the people of Earth, but they did and without them we would have been lost."
There were images from the ceremony they had just attended. The wreath of tributes to the lives laid down to protect the Earth was a stunning but sobering sight. Seven hundred thousand? So many lives lost.
"The Avengers, our protectors also paid a heavy toll." The voice continued.
An image of Natasha going down hard, flashed across the screen. It must have been from the first time she'd been injured. The sight of War Machine lying still in the rubble was harrowing. Then there was a picture of Steve, unconscious held by the Iron Legion solider and Thor being carried by his Mother to safety, blood streaming down his side.
"And there was one man who was protecting you before the battle even started and that man was Tony Stark. The evacuation of New York on Monday morning is the primary reason that so few civilian lives were lost and the only reason this battle was won at all, was his sacrifice."
The huge surge of energy that blasted through the city was shown momentarily before the screen went to static and to black. How they'd got the images in the first place, Steve didn't know, but the blackness of the screen reminded him of the soundless daze he'd awoken to.
"When the political storm comes, before you rush to condemn our heroes, remember. Remember where you would be without them, what they have given and suffered for you. And pray for him. Pray for Tony Stark regardless of your beliefs because he was your savior, not God, not fortune, and certainly not the government. This world will never be able to repay the debt it owes him."
In a sudden gush of sound and light, the screen burst back into life. The normal news channels babbling in surprise at the recording that had just illegally graced the networks.
Steve pushed open the door and quickly made his way to the elevator. "Did you see that?" He asked, as he marched into the room. They'd been back at the tower less than fifteen minutes when the usual TV coverage had been interrupted by a female voice that Steve thought sounded incredibly familiar.
It had been a full week since the battle. The memorial for the civilian and Asgardian casualties had finished a little over an hour ago and it had been painful to sit through. He had hated being away from the tower with everything they had to worry about, and it had been especially hard for Pepper. They'd spent the last half an hour being shepherded through the paparazzi by Tony's former driver and Bodyguard Happy Hogan. The guy was now head of security at Stark Enterprises, but he was still damn good at getting through a crowd.
"How could we have missed it? It was on every screen in the country." Clint chuckled bitterly. His face was scratched and covered in bruises that were refusing to fade and he looked much worse now than he had a few hours ago. Fury had insisted he cover them with makeup for appearances sake, but the chemicals had not been kind to the healing skin. "In fact, this TV wasn't even turned on. It turned on itself." He added.
The Archer was sat in a chair beside the hospital bed looking incredibly uncomfortable. The medics said he had four broken ribs. He shouldn't even be up and about, but this was Clint they were talking about and they couldn't have stopped him being by her side.
"Skye." Natasha smiled from the bed in question, her voice a rasping whisper. "She's one of Coulson's team. We met briefly on the rescue mission." She clarified and Steve nodded, remembering now where he'd heard her voice before. "She is an excellent hacker," Natasha continued, stifling a cough at speaking too much.
"That was good of her." Steve nodded. "We're going to take a huge amount of heat for this." He sighed, moving into the room, and perching on the end of Natasha's bed. She made no effort to sit up. She had come around twelve hours ago, and the pain had hit her immediately. Her leg was broken in three places, her ribs even more of a mess than Clint's. She had spent six hours in surgery to stop the bleed on her brain, but the red-headed Russian was as tough as they came. It would be a very, very long road ahead, but she would make a full recovery.
"You really should be resting Nat." Steve said softly.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" She protested, gesturing at the bed. She couldn't even shrug to demonstrate her annoyance, so she just let her eyes slip closed. "How are the others?" Natasha wheezed in question and Steve realized he didn't actually know. He hadn't even had time to change out of his suit yet before he did the rounds.
"Rhodey came round and hour ago." Clint said and Steve straightened in shock.
"He did?" Steve asked happily. "I thought they said they were keeping in a coma till the end of the week?"
"Yeah, they did, but I guess something changed. He was awake for a few seconds but clocked straight out again." Clint replied.
That was more than understandable. Rhodes had suffered a very nasty headwound and his internal injuries should have killed him, but by some miracle they hadn't.
"The Asgardian medical knowledge Steve, it's insane… Miraculously he's going to be fine. I mean, completely." Clint shook his head in disbelief.
"That's great news." Steve sighed in relief, barely believing what he was hearing. It was just the sort of news they'd all been hoping for over the past week. Two-hundred hours ago, they'd thought James Rhodes was dead. It wasn't until after the battle when Steve went to check on Natasha in the medical tent that he'd found the Colonel under the intensive care of Asgardian medics… with a pulse.
Rhodes had been in a grave condition for the past week, touch and go as to whether he would survive. Apparently, he'd landed very close to a cluster of medics retrieving some injured Vanaheimians. They'd got to him in seconds and he had been dead when they'd found him, but somehow, he had pulled through.
"And Thor…" Clint asked. "Have you heard anything?"
"Not awake yet." Steve shook his head. "The Asgardians have him in some sort of recovery pod. They seem confident he will recover, but it could take some time."
"That's all that matters." Clint smiled broadly. "I can't believe we all made it."
"Nearly all of us." Natasha reminded them and the room fell into a solemn silence. "You need to rest too Steve." She added.
"I will." He promised. "But I need to pull Pepper away from Rhodey's bedside for a while. She's not slept in nearly forty hours." The Captain shook his head.
"Speaking of everyone." Clint started. "What about…"
"Bruce is there." Steve reassured. "But nothing's changed."
"Will he ever wake up?" Clint asked. "Tell us honestly."
"They don't think so." Steve admitted. "They've never seen injuries like it. They say it's one miracle too far and we should be thankful for what we've got." Steve sighed.
The medics were right, they all knew that. Rhodes, Natasha, Thor… somehow, despite everything, they were going to be ok. It wasn't one miracle, but three. But would it be too much to ask for one more?
"But what do you think?" Natasha asked, bluntly, hope edging into her tone.
"I think he's Tony Stark. He's been through hell and always out the other side. Why should this time be any different!" Steve snapped a little, emotion whirling inside him. "I'm sorry." He sighed, apologizing for his outburst.
"It's ok Steve. We know." Natasha smiled sadly. "We want more than anything for him to wake up Cap, we all do, but I think we're out of luck with this one." She sighed. "We're not giving up though. There's always a chance." She added.
"Of course not." Clint said firmly. "Pepper's already said she'll keep him on life support till he's eighty if she has to." He finished with a smile and that rose a muted chuckle from Steve. God bless Pepper, that incredible woman.
"And is it gone, is it really gone?" Natasha asked.
"The Asgardians have confirmed it. The CAEB is most certainly gone." Steve nodded.
"He has to wake up." Natasha said with conviction. "Or he'll have two angry red-heads to answer to."
"And an angry Hulk." Bruce popped his head in the door, still looking tired, but in better spirits. "Glad to see you awake Nat." He smiled fondly.
"It's nice to be awake." She smiled softly, but as the conversation continued softly in the room around her, she found she was far too tired to fight sleep any longer and she let herself drift away.
…
The dust had continued to settle as Bruce cradled the form of his lifeless friend. He felt numb. For the first time in a long time he and the Hulk truly shared a common feeling and it made this all the more unbearable. He could hear Frigga and Steve, and Clint in the background, but it was nothing more than muffled noise to him. He took a deep breath as the voices got more heated, drawing him out of his trance. He gently lowered Tony's body back to the floor, treating it with all the care he would have a new-born before staggering to his feet. "This isn't fair!" Bruce growled, jaw tightly clenching as he locked eyes with Steve and Frigga's tear stained faces.
"I know Bruce." Steve sighed, approaching the pained physicist with an equally tortured heart.
Bruce allowed himself to be pulled forwards, until he felt Steve's arms wrapped around his back. It was too much. He'd held it together until now, but… he just couldn't do it anymore, any of it. Tony was gone.
"This isn't happening." Bruce sobbed, tears still refusing to fall.
"Bruce…" Steve started, softening his grip.
"No! you don't get it Steve!" Bruce tried to push the Captain away, but Steve wouldn't release his grip. "He can't be dead, he can't! I need him! I…" He collapsed forward into Steve, finally letting go.
"I'm sorry Bruce. It's not ok, none of this is ok, I know… I feel it too." Steve's voice cracked and Bruce knew that tears were rolling down the Captain's face even if he couldn't see it.
"He was my best friend." Bruce sobbed into Steve's chest.
"I know." It was all Steve could think to say as he gently pushed Bruce away. "Go sit with him." Steve said. "Until medical arrives. He'd want you there Bruce, he wouldn't want to be alone."
Bruce nodded with a sniffle and a grimace, moving away slowly. Steve turned his attention to the ruckus behind him. Clint was grieving Tony's loss in a very different way, kicking, throwing, and otherwise trying to destroy anything that was scattered about the barren remains of what he supposed was once a street. If he didn't put a stop to this soon, the Archer would only cause himself more harm.
"Clint, you have to stop, please." Steve begged.
"This isn't how it was supposed to end!" Clint yelled, not stopping on his war path. "He said everything would be ok, he promised!"
"Clint, this was exactly how it was always going to end." Steve squeezed his eyes together and trying to choke down a sob.
"Then how could he lie to use, lie to our faces!" Clint stopped throwing and turned to Steve in anger.
"He didn't lie Clint." Steve reminded him. "He said he'd try everything, and he did." He swallowed hard and took a breath, trying to numb the tearing pain in the center of his chest. "It's not ok, I agree. But we have to be honest with ourselves Clint, it was never going to be ok for him. He knew that. We knew that, deep down. But he did it anyway and he succeeded. The world is safe."
"I don't care about the world!" Clint yelled, pain filling his voice, a single tear tracking down his cheek. "I care about him!" He sobbed, collapsing to his knees in pain and exhaustion. Steve didn't waste a moment, kneeling beside him and putting a gentle hand on the Archer's shoulder. "They didn't deserve him." Clint sighed, his voice weak and quiet.
"You're right." Steve admitted. "We didn't deserve him, but there is someone else who does deserve you and needs you right now." Clint looked up through teary eyes, staring at Steve in confusion. "Natasha is in the medical tent." Steve clarified. "She's still alive and she needs you. Go and find her." He urged gently. Helping the Archer to his feet.
As Clint limped off in the direction, they had come Steve was aware of another presence still close by. The Queen was standing close to him now, slipping a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Frigga is Thor..." Steve couldn't finish the sentence.
"I saw what happened to my Son. He is already in the hands of our healers. I will go and see him when I can be of more use than a hinderance." She swallowed.
"Will he be ok?" Steve asked hesitantly.
"I know no more than you I am afraid." She said sadly, the pain and worry in her voice sent a shiver through Steve. It was bad.
"I'm sorry Frigga." Steve shook his head. This was their fault. The Asgardians should never have had to fight for them. Thor should never have put himself in danger for their stupid, insignificant planet and Frigga shouldn't have to worry about losing her Son.
"It is a Mother's worst nightmare, but one I have lived in fear of every time Thor had gone into battle." Frigga sighed. "My Son is strong, and he is stubborn. I have faith."
"Steve!" Bruce practically screamed and suddenly all eyes were on him. The Doctor was scanning frantically over the fallen Engineer, finger pressed to his pulse point and Steve almost sighed in sadness as he trudged his way back over to Tony's corpse.
"Bruce… he's gone, Bruce." Steve breathed.
"No, no he isn't!" The man looked manic and desperate; his hands were trembling with grief.
"Bruce please…" Steve started desperately.
"No, I am being utterly serious, he was dead I checked but he has a damn pulse now, it's weak but it's there!" Bruce exclaimed, beckoning the solider closer. Steve frowned skeptically. "If you don't believe me come and see for yourself! I need you to tell me, I need to make sure I'm not just wishing this!" Bruce begged.
Steve did as he was asked and for a moment all he felt was cold skin… though it wasn't as cold as before. Maybe it was just the heat, it had warmed up a lot in the last ten minutes - he shouldn't hope. He heard it before he felt it, a very weak, slow, and muffled thudding deep inside Tony's chest, coupled with the sound of hissing air through his slightly parted lips. It was unmistakable. "Holy shit!" Steve breathed.
"Steve, I swear if you are messing with me…" Bruce threatened.
The Captain shook his head. "He has a heartbeat and he's breathing; I would never joke about this."
"How?" Bruce gasped in disbelief. "You know what, who cares! How long has it been?"
"What?" Steve asked, confused.
"Since the blast? How long has it been?" Bruce demanded, urgently.
"Maybe, five minutes, ten, I don't know how long I was out?"
"You were down mere seconds Captain." Frigga confirmed.
"If it's more than six minutes, we could be looking at brain damage," Bruce hissed. "I need oxygen and medics here now!"
"Bruce we should take him to them, everything is in chaos right now…"
"Steve I can't risk moving him, I don't care how you get them here, but you damn well get them here! And someone call Pepper, we need a reactor like yesterday."
"I can use my magic… try and repair the damage, or at least sustain him." Frigga moved in and crouched down with Bruce.
"Do it!" Bruce ordered; her hands already hovered over Tony's chest. "What are you waiting for, GO!" He barked at the Captain who was yet to move from their side.
And then Steve was running as fast as his legs would carry him, hoping and praying and filled with a sense of joy that carried him, despite the pain and fatigue and injuries. Now he had hope. He had a mission. They had to save Tony Stark.
…
"They may try taking him off the ventilator tomorrow." Bruce said to Rhodes quietly.
"That's good I suppose." Rhodey said dispassionately. His bed had been moved into Tony's room a few days after he'd woken up. The Colonel was still on bed rest, his injuries were extensive and debilitating, it would be a long time before he was back on his feet and Tony's condition was not helping his morale.
"Rhodey, he'll get through this." Bruce reassured.
"Will he?" Rhodes sighed. "It's been three weeks since I woke up and there's been little change." And it was true.
The test with the ventilator was a long shot. Sometimes removing the life support briefly pushed the body to make some sort of progress, but Bruce knew the chances were slim.
They were interrupted by a soft knock on the door.
"Hey." Clint greeted.
"Hey Barton, how are you holding up?" Rhodes asked, forcing a smile.
"Healing." He winced as he sat down. "Slowly." He grunted. "Dare I ask?"
"No change." Rhodes sighed.
"You can't lose hope Rhodey." Natasha's arrival was signaled by the soft clink of crutches on the linoleum floor.
"I thought I heard you say you were going to take him off the ventilator?" Clint scowled. "Don't you dare tell me you are giving up on him."
"No," Bruce said firmly. "It's not like that Clint, it's… it's unconventional, but we just wanted to see if he can breathe on his own and how he would cope." The Doctor explained.
"Giving up isn't an option Clint." Steve confirmed, appearing behind them.
"I'll keep him on life support till he's old and grey if that's what it takes." Rhodes growled.
"That's what Pepper said." Natasha smiled.
"And I don't doubt it." Steve chuckled. "Did you see Thor today?" He asked the room in general.
"Yeah, he's still in bed resting… looks awful peaky, but is insisting on coming and seeing Tony today." Clint confirmed.
"Is that a good idea?" Natasha frowned.
"Well I ain't going to argue with him." Clint scoffed. "I suggested he come now while we're all here to keep an eye on him, just in case."
"Of course." Rhodes smiled. "And to be fair, half of us shouldn't really be out of bed anyway, so it would be a bit hypocritical to try and stop him."
"How is Pepper holding up?" Steve asked Rhodes.
"That woman is something else." Rhodes shook his head fondly. "But she's definitely working to distract herself, that's for sure. There is so much mess to clear up from last month and she's trying to take it on all by herself."
"I'm guessing there's no persuading her to slow down." Steve said knowingly.
"No, but Coulson and Fury have her back with the press and the paperwork. Turns out Tony had set up a fair amount of protocol for the clean-up and rebuild of the city, even set aside funds and hired a goddamn task force months ago."
"Of course he did." Steve scoffed.
"Always three steps ahead." Clint looked and the fragile engineer fondly.
"He's looking after us." Natasha smiled. "Even though he isn't here, he is still looking after us."
Bruce had been withdrawn from the latter end of the conversation, focused instead on the face on his best friend, Tony's hand wrapped in his, he had felt something so unexpected he nearly jumped out of his seat. Every head snapped towards the bed and Rhodes had locked on to Bruce's reaction long before he spoke. The Colonel was on his feet and by the bed in a flash, injuries forgotten.
"Forget tomorrow, we need to get the ventilator out now!" Bruce exclaimed.
"Why?" Steve stood sharply.
Rhodes was now crouched over Tony, hand on his shoulder comfortingly and Bruce stared intently at the monitors.
Bruce only conclusively knew he wasn't imagining it when Tony's eyelids started to flicker. He had squeezed his hand. Tony had squeezed his hand! "I think he's waking up!" He exclaimed, working quickly to remove the ventilator whilst hitting the call button which sounded silently.
Tony's first solo breaths in a month were shaky and uneven, his eyes flickered open, struggling against the pull of his body willing him to sleep.
"That's it Tony, breathe." Rhodey willed him and slowly but surely the billionaire's breathing evened out, but a little panic began to creep in as he struggled against his friend. "Relax, you're ok it's me, its Rhodey, you're safe."
Tony calmed and grew still, blinking, eyes straining under the harsh lighting.
"Turn the lights down." Bruce instructed and Clint, nearest the door, reached over and dimmed them.
It took a few more minutes of fighting in and out of consciousness, with confusion and panic cycling on his face before Tony seemed to fall back into reality. His eyes met Rhodey's and he offered his best friend a weak smile which had the room sighing in relief.
"God man you had us worried." Rhodes gripped his shoulder fondly. "Pepper is really pissed at you."
"Pepper's always pissed with me." Tony rasped, coughing a little before regaining his composure. "What did I do this time? Not turn up to a meeting, or forget to sign something?"
The Avengers looked between each other, not sure what to say or what Tony's words meant.
Rhodes frowned in concern. "Tony what is the last thing you remember?"
"Ermmm." Tony considered. "I was in the lab…" Rhodes' frown deepened, the atmosphere in the room darkened. "Oh yeah I was working on the Stark Phone mark 2, trying out ultrafast charging and… oh crap!" Tony sat up sharply with a cough.
"Woah man! Take it easy." Clint called out as Rhodes got it back under control.
"It exploded! While I was holding the damn thing to my ear it just went boom!" Tony shook his head, clutching his temples and rubbing them.
Rhodes' eyes widened in horror and everyone looked to the airman in confusion. Rhodes gulped. That was nearly ten years ago. This… surely this wouldn't be permanent - it was probably just a small setback. stay calm, he urged himself, please stay calm. Don't freak out and upset Tony.
"Please tell me I didn't burn my face." Tony had noticed the horrified look on Rhodey's face and was returning it in a way that made Rhodes' stomach churn and threaten to empty itself of in contents.
"Tony…" Rhodes said, hands trembling. He didn't know what to say, how to break this to him.
"Oh God, is it bad?" Tony raised a tentative hand to his face, tapping it gently in search of damage.
"No Tony your face is fine…"
"What's going on?" Clint asked anxiously.
"The Stark Phone model 2 came out in 2003." Natasha explained to Clint, her voice a quiet whisper.
"Rhodey, who are these people?" Tony tried to sit up a little and grimaced, looking suspiciously at Clint, Steve, Natasha, and Bruce. Everyone sat in a stunned silence that seemed to stretch into eternity.
"Oh my God." Natasha breathed.
"That's really all you remember?" Rhodes asked a little shakily.
"Hang on…" Tony pointed at Bruce. "I know you from somewhere I'm sure."
"You recognize me?" Bruce asked hopefully.
"Bruce Banner, right? Gamma incident turned you into a massive green rage monster!" Tony said enthusiastically and winced. "I'm a massive fan of your work." He grinned weakly. "Your physics stuff I mean - not just your, you know… And Jesus Christ you look like the spitting image of Steve Rogers." Tony huffed. "Now wouldn't that be a turn up, Captain America back from the dead and in my hospital room."
"Oh my God." Clint whispered.
"This can't be happening." Rhodey shook his head. "This isn't happening." He started to hyperventilate.
"Rhodey, just relax." Steve soothed him calmly.
"Will someone get a Doctor in here please?" Natasha said pointing at the call button.
Then Tony started chuckling lowly.
"What?" Rhodes asked in concern and Tony just started laughing harder.
"Oh, you Bastard." Natasha broke into a relieved smile.
"Your faces." Tony wheezed, tears of laughter welling in his eyes.
"Tony!" Rhodes scolded, looking incredibly annoyed. In fact, hospitalized or not he slapped Tony sharply across his face, making everyone jump.
"Ouch!" Tony exclaimed, indignantly, without breaking his laughter.
"You deserve that, for nearly giving me a damn heart attack!" The Colonel growled.
"Oh, come on Rhodey." Tony chuckled. "It was funny."
Rhodes was leant back in his own chair, recovering from the shock and worry and shook his head. "You're a dick, you know that?" He threw a small cushion at the fallen Avenger as recompense, which hit him squarely in the chest.
"Ow!" Tony gasped and promptly started coughing violently.
Bruce stood up and put a steadying hand on his chest, coaxing him to lie back down, sending a small annoyed glare at Rhodes for causing the situation.
"Quit hitting…" Tony coughed, "… The injured person."
"Quit trying to speak and focus on breathing you moron." Bruce huffed.
"What's going on…" Pepper stopped at the door, frozen in surprise and the room fell into silence. Blue eyes locked with hazel and a slow smile crept across Tony's face. Pepper gaped, open-mouthed, finally taking a breath as reality sunk in. Her eyes brightened up instantly. The whole room broke into smiles at the sight. "Tony!" Pepper beamed and ran forward.
"Hey Pep." He smiled and breathed in her scent as she wrapped him gently in his arms. "Gentle." He winced as she hugged him a little tighter.
"Sorry." She said tearfully and pulled away to sit on the edge of his bed, stroking a hand through his hair constantly as if she was afraid he would vanish the moment she stopped touching him.
"Is it over?" Tony breathed.
"It's over. It's really over." Pepper said sincerely.
"Well thank fuck for that." Tony blurted out in relief.
"Tony!" Pepper chuckled. "Way to ruin the moment."
"That is my specialty." He gave a wry smile and then looked at them all. "You're all alive then? You had me worried there, some of you."
"We had you worried?" Rhodes chuckled.
"Hang on where's Pointbreak?" A pale sheen suddenly spread across Tony's face as he noticed the very large missing elephant in the room. "Please no…"
"Relax Tony…" Bruce started.
"I am fine Man of Iron." A very rough and sickly, looking blond Asgardian stood clutching the door frame for balance. He was quickly guided to a seat by Steve and Clint, where he took a moment to get his breath back. "Your talking ceiling informed me that you had regained consciousness. It is joyous to see you awake." The Prince beamed and Tony relaxed back into the pillows, his smile matching the Asgardian's.
"The sentiment's appreciated goldilocks, but I think I'd rather have stayed asleep, because now I'm awake everything hurts." Tony grunted, and Pepper swiftly moved to rearrange his pillow. "You look like shit by the way, the lot of you. Especially you Clint."
"We look like shit? You need to take a look in the mirror." Rhodes scoffed.
"I wouldn't want my handsomeness to shatter it." Tony smirked, and Clint rolled his eyes. Tony held out an arm to Pepper, who understanding took it and helped Tony shuffle a little more upright. "How am I alive by the way? Pretty sure I died. I mean… I felt it, the pain, the life leaving me. Is this heaven or something because I absolutely a hundred percent definitely died!"
"You did Tony." Bruce said solemnly. "You had no pulse for over five minutes, but then your heart just started up again and you've been in a coma for the last thirty-two days."
"It was debatable whether you were brain dead for some time. Last week the doctors were convinced you'd never wake up." Pepper remembered sadly.
"But here you are, stubborn as ever." Steve smiled.
"Huh." Tony shrugged in acceptance and then a frown melted onto his face. "The CAEB is gone. I can't feel it." He said slowly.
"It died with you Stark." Thor confirmed. "Yet you lived on."
"It must have done enough to kickstart your healing, no human could have survived your injuries, but there's not sign of it now." Bruce explained.
"Are you ok Tony?" Pepper asked softly as the contemplative look didn't leave his face.
"Yes." Tony said firmly after a moment's scrutiny, blinking away his serious expression. "Just, a bit sore is all." Pepper leaned down and gave him a peck on the lips. "Suddenly feeling better." Tony chuckled lowly.
"Eww, I'm out of here." Clint protested.
"Come on." Steve beckoned. "Seven guests in a hospital room is too many even by our standards."
"We'll pop in again later." Bruce smiled and patted him gently on the shoulder.
"And you should not be using crutches when your ribs are still healing." Steve confiscated the crutches from Nat, who didn't complain, instead helping her into a wheelchair.
…
Tony lay in the bed, shell shocked. Pepper had stayed behind for a few minutes after the others left, then had departed herself demanding he and Rhodey got some rest. Rhodey it turned out was staying in the room with him and had needed help getting back into bed from the chair beside Tony.
"You ok Tony?" Rhodes asked concernedly after a few minutes of silence.
"I guess I owe you an apology." Tony said darkly.
"What for?" Rhodes asked, incredulous. "Tony if you're blaming yourself…"
"I know this isn't real." Tony said, stunning Rhodes into silence. "I know you died. I felt it. And I know I died. And I know Thor was dying, maybe he made it, maybe he didn't – I hope to hell he did… but I know I am dead."
"Tony…"
"So, I guess I owe you an apology, because this is better than anything, I could have hoped for… so this must be heaven. Which means I suppose that there must be a God and all my adamant atheism was completely misplaced. Mind blown by the way."
"Tony, you're not dead. This is real." Rhodes sat up sharply.
"Please don't, I'm not stupid." Tony scoffed. "I know Rhodey, the real Rhodey, I know he died, I know I failed. And all of this," he gestured, "everyone being magically alive and ok, its all way too convenient. What I don't understand is why I'm here and not in hell…"
"Tony stop please. Listen to me!" Rhodes demanded, brushing aside the covers, and hobbling over to Tony's bed. "This is real." He said firmly, placing a hand in the center of Tony's chest, forcing Tony to hold it there. "I'm real and I'm alive. You're alive. Everything that just happened, it's all real, I promise you."
"I don't understand." Tony said quietly as Rhodes settled himself on the bed, body protesting the amount of movement it had been forced to make after weeks of being idle.
"I did die Tony." Rhodes insisted. "When I hit the ground, I was dead. When the medics found me, I was dead. I was still dead when they got me back to the medical tent. It was more than six minutes, the Asgardians tried everything, but they couldn't save me…"
"Then how?" Tony asked, still looking skeptical, but refusing to release hold of his best friend's hand regardless.
"The others don't know this…" Rhodes started. "They think it was the medics, but it wasn't. I started breathing by myself, no prompting, well, no prompting but the energy signature they recorded on me when I 'miraculously' came back to life..."
"I… I brought you back." Tony said shakily.
"I think so." Rhodes nodded. "I think you started the healing process as well; you don't remember doing that?"
"I felt something… something strange at one point..." Tony thought back.
His mind flashed back. "It's the kill box, Tony, okay? This is where you go to die." Rhodey… For a second, as he was hit with a wave of dark emotions, he felt something strange, something different yet familiar…
That something familiar - it was Rhodey. He was sure of it now. He did this - he had saved his friend. Thoughts and feelings cascading through his head in a dizzying blur as he tried to process; he hadn't even realized he'd been sat there for minutes without saying a word and Rhodey was looking at him concernedly.
"This is real?" Tony finally spoke tearfully.
"Yes Tony." Rhodes smiled, pulling him into a hug he felt Tony's hands fist weekly into the back of his dressing gown.
"It's over?" Tony breathed, but it soon turned into a sob.
"Shhh… its ok, it's over. It's all over. You did it Tony." Rhodes soothed, but he couldn't help the tears that slid from his own eyes. He'd woken up from his coma and been told his best friend was brain dead and never going to wake up and now, he was here, in his arms and he'd be damned if he was ever going to let him go.
They sat there in each other's embrace for what seemed like hours, until they'd let out so much of their bottled-up emotion, they were both exhausted.
"You going to get back in your own bed, or we going to have some explaining to do in the morning?" Tony chuckled as Rhodey settled on his side, right up next to Tony.
"Nope, I'm too tired to haul my ass up, you're stuck with me."
"I can live with that." Tony smiled, but Rhodey was already asleep.
Tony was exhausted: mentally, physically, and emotionally. He could still barely believe it. Half of him expected to wake up in the morning and realize this had all been some weird dream, but the heavy, warm weight of his oldest friend beside him told him differently. He stared at the ceiling, waiting for it all to sink in.
It was over; they had won, and they all lived to fight another day.
…