Just a short one today. It's a bit slow but I should be picking up the pace after this
No
This was-
They can't-
Fuck
Tony stumbled back from the console almost drunkenly. His body felt like it had gone into a state of shock and had stopped processing information. All he knew now was that there was no future to return to. Time hadn't stopped like he had tried to convince Bruce, it had just vanished. Dissipated into ash just like his counterpart had.
Though technically it wasn't even a counterpart it was him.
We've destroyed our whole future. All those people, just...gone.
It was like the decimation. Only this was worse because it was him that had caused it. They hadn't even had the chance to scream and cry and seek out their loved ones. Just one second there was a 2023 and the next there was not.
All those countless lives, even more than Thanos himself had destroyed, had just been wiped out with one fell swoop.
"What have I done?" He could barely speak above a shaky whisper.
His heart clenched painfully in his chest. The feeling heightened and tightened until the point of pain. Until it felt like he could barely gasp around it.
There must have been voices calling out to him but he couldn't hear them. His surroundings became a blur of colour and white noise. Tony backed up until he hit a wall. The sudden jolt knocked the air out of him with a pained grunt. Then he slid down the wall into an undignified pile.
"What have I done?" he kept repeating until no sound escaped him and he was just mouthing the words.
"Tony," the voice sounded so far away. His mind barely registered it.
Tony felt his body forcefully shaken but he didn't connect it with anything. He was too deeply embroiled in his panic attack to notice the strong hands on his shoulders.
"Tony!"
He heard something that time. Along with the almost painful squeeze to his shoulders it was enough to cut through the haze. Tony blinked rapidly, finally acknowledging the face of his friend. His hands found their way onto Bruce's forearms and he held on firmly.
"Tony," Bruce softened his voice once he knew that Tony was listening. "It's okay,"
"Okay?" The word came out half strangled. "How is any of this okay?"
His grip tightened on Bruce's arms. Bruce, to his credit, barely flinched under the increased pressure.
"We killed everyone. I killed everyone." Tony's breathing began to hitch up again.
Bruce determinedly shook Tony once more. "Tony no one is dead. Don't you see?"
Tony stared at Bruce in a daze, uncomprehending. "But the future…"
Bruce sighed deeply "Look, the future may be gone but all of the people that were there are still here right now."
Wait, yeah, that...that made sense. It was currently 2012. If they had been alive in 2023 then they would have been alive now too. (Well unless they were babies but that's not really what he was worrying about).
"They're all alive," he muttered to himself.
"Not only that. Anyone that died between now and 2023 is still alive." Bruce's eyes were pleading. There was a hint of an astonished smile on his lips. "Everyone that Thanos killed. Everyone that was caught up in the snap. Hell, all the people who died because of our own stupid mistakes they're all still here."
Oh.
Oh fuck he was right.
This meant no Ultron, no Sokovia, no Civil fucking war. All the people that he had inadvertently hurt because he was too slow or he made the wrong decision. All those deaths he had felt sickeningly responsible for-even if they hadn't been entirely his fault-they were alive and unharmed. Living their lives like they had always done.
And they knew what was to come. They knew what awful mistakes they would make along the way. Tony could stop them before they even happened.
Tony let out a breathless laugh. "Shit, Bruce you're right." Tony's hands were shaking on Bruce's arms. But it was no longer from panic. It was more like a frenzied exhilaration. "We can save everyone."
The rush from moving from despaired to relieved to euphoric was enough to make him dizzy.
Bruce laughed breathlessly too. Then he dragged Tony closer and crushed him to his chest. Tony did not hesitate to wrap his arms around Bruce. None of them cared that they were both filthy and lying on the floor. They just held on.
oOo
They both separated after a decent amount of time. Not that any of them were embarrassed by their display of emotion to each other. They had been friends for too long for that. Both of them understood the need to cling onto something in these crazy circumstances.
Tony was the first to stand up. He straightened his mud covered shirt and wiped the end of his nose. "Right I think after that mush-fest we could both do with a drink."
Bruce climbed to his feet, rather alarmed by the statement. Tony had been sober for quite a few years now. He didn't want this situation to knock his friend back.
"The bar on your floor of residence is fully stocked, Sir," JARVIS replied dutifully.
Bruce was about to voice his objection but shut his mouth when he saw the look on Tony's face. His nose had scrunched up and his lips were pursed.
"Not really my scene anymore buddy. Is there anything softer?" Tony asked.
"The younger Sir did not see it fit to stock anything softer than whiskey I'm afraid Sir." JARVIS replied.
"Typical," Tony said with a shake of his head. "Nevermind I'm sure I'll think of something."
Tony led the way towards his personal floor with Bruce in tow. Once they made it to the penthouse Tony swiped a bottle of scotch from the bar and immediately upended it into the sink. The liquid flowed out of the bottle and swirled its way down the plughole like some kind of amber waterfall.
Bruce did not want to guess at how much that bottle had cost.
Tony then methodically rinsed out the bottle until any flavour of scotch had been eradicated from the bottle. He then filled it to the brim with fresh, cold water and took a big gulp.
"I think the act of just drinking something straight from a bottle still helps. You know?" Tony explained. "Even if it is just water."
"No, no, I get it," Bruce said, readily accepting the bottle when Tony offered it up.
Tony leaned back against the bar and crossed one foot over the other. "Only we could get ourselves into a mess like this."
Bruce took a large gulp of water and handed it back to Tony. "I think we're the only ones bold enough and irresponsible enough."
Tony grabbed for the bottle and laughed. "Ain't that the truth." Tony took a sip and swallowed loudly.
"You know, this is probably one of the best outcomes we could have actually had." Bruce said "I mean we could have ended up dead or destroying life as we know it. But we didn't."
"I admit I did lose it a little bit when I first heard it but now I realise that you're right. This is our chance."
"See our original plan was to go back and get the stones before Thanos does and bring everyone back." Tony said, moving his hands for emphasis. "But now we don't need to bring anyone back. We have a six year head start on the bastard and we have the benefit of actually knowing where the stones are."
"You thinking that we should gather all the stones before Thanos has the chance too?" Bruce asked.
Tony stood up straighter "You're damn right. I'm not letting him get a single purple sausage finger on any of those stones."
"And then we, what? Destroy them, like Thanos did before.?"
"Yes," Tony said with rigid finality. "But not before decimating him and his entire fucking army."
Bruce nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. "It's a lot of work. We'll probably need more help."
Tony waved the idea away "I've got help. I've got you, FRIDAY and JARV."
"You know what I mean, Tony," They would undoubtedly have to draw more people into their plan. They would have to put different grudges to rest so that they could work together. Though technically none of them had any grudges because all of it was yet to happen. None of them had even met.
A wave of sadness crashed over Bruce when he realised that this Thor had never met him either. He didn't know how he was going to cope when Thor looked him in the eyes without a hint of recognition. No warmth or affection, just one stranger staring at another. Something inside him would break.
They would be acquaintances. Though perhaps they could work up to being good friends. But he doubted they would ever be as close as they were in the lost future. This was something Bruce would have to grieve in his own time.
At least this Thor hadn't lost everything. He still had his home and his people, his parents and even Loki. This Thor had known none of that loss and Bruce would make sure it stayed that way.
Tony frowned at Bruce, clearly not liking the idea of letting more people in on the secret. "The more people that know, the more dangerous it is," Tony sighed "But I'll think about it. If I ruin this chance because I refused to hold hands and share my toys I will never forgive myself."
Tony drained the last of the water and thumped the bottle back on the counter. He wiped at his mouth but immediately regretted it when he smeared mud onto his lips. "Ugh" he spat "That can all wait. First things first we need showers and then I'm going to sleep for 14 hours."
Bruce agreed emphatically when he looked down and remembered that he was still filthy and wearing only a large shirt. Does this count as naked and afraid?
Tony suddenly made a dash for the door. "I shotgun the first shower," he called over his shoulder.
"Hey, I'm the one with his balls literally hanging out. I should get the first one." Bruce bolted after him.
But Tony's head start was too great and he got there first. The disheartening sound of the lock clicking into made Bruce groan in frustration. Tony's responding laugh didn't help matters either.
When Bruce asked if there were any other bathrooms JARVIS mournfully responded that this was the only functioning one for five floors. None of the others had been plumbed in yet so he would have to wait diligently for his turn.
Though it didn't help his mood when the asshole started to sing loudly as if he had all the time in the world. Bruce then banged on the door and shouted "Either you hurry up or I am going to lie in your bed."
The threat of mud on his sheets was enough for him to quicken the pace. When he opened the door he had one towel wrapped around his waist and another one scrubbing at his hair. Steam curled around his head and wafted through the open door.
"Please refrain from putting your dirty asshole on my pillow. Some of us like clean sheets." Tony said.
Bruce didn't pay attention to what Tony was saying and surged toward the shower. Tony just managed to jump out of the way before Bruce could barrel into him.
The hot water on his skin was nothing short of bliss. His sigh echoed off the tiles around him. The dirt that was clinging to his skin began to flake away beneath the spray. It mingled with the clear water until it was a murky brown. Bruce took his time and used up quite a lot of soap. Thankfully his hair wasn't as long as it used to be so it wasn't an unmanageable tangle.
He stayed under the water until it had been running clear for a significant amount of time. Only then did he step out of the shower and wrap a soft towel around him.
"And you were nagging at me about taking too long," Tony said when he came into the room. "Damn double standards."
"I have no regrets," Bruce said with a smile.
Tony handed him some pajamas for him to borrow. It consisted of a pair of sweatpants and a Motley Crue shirt. The shirt was a little snug because Bruce was bigger than Tony was. But it was still miles ahead of the hulk sized shirt in terms of comfort.
Considering that this room was the only fully furnished one it meant that they would have to share a bed. None of them minded too much because it was a California king and they were both bone tired.
Also, it's not as if they hadn't slept next to each other before. Many missions that had taken more than a day found them bunking next to each other, in close quarters. They were used to it by now.
So neither of them mentioned it when they both climbed into the bed and relaxed into the mattress. Bruce sighed contentedly against the pillows. He could already feel the pull of sleep.
"How do you think this even happened?" Tony said with a yawn. The sound of it drew Bruce back into the room. "I mean we did all of the calculations. This shouldn't have been possible."
Bruce stared at the ceiling and pondered it for a second. Then he turned towards Tony, resting his head on his hand. "I think our scientific biases may have worked against us. None of us considered this a possibility because the theories always pointed in the other direction. So we didn't research it as closely as we should have. We just skipped over it and concentrated on the other theories."
"How very unprofessional and unscientific of us not to outline all of the possibilities," Tony laughed "Maybe they should take away all your PhD's for this."
Bruce responded by kicking Tony in the shin. Tony made a pained noise and laughed it off.
"I think you're right though. I was blind to what the data was telling me. This explains why the machine kept defaulting back to our universe's signature." Tony said.
"Well that's one mystery solved at least."
They both lapsed into silence and they rolled onto their backs. The lull of sleep was once again tugging at Bruce's limbs. He probably wouldn't be able to move now if he tried. It had been a looong day.
I wonder what happened to the other Bruce. Was his last thought before he finally drifted off.
oOo
Meanwhile in Kolkata…
"...Say that one more time Agent Benson. Real slowly this time so that I know exactly what you are insinuating." The voice of Director Fury on the other end of the line could send chills through the most war-hardened soldier, nevermind him!
Agent Benson was so dead. He was beyond dead. After this, he would never see the light of day again. They would find his body at the bottom of the ocean beaten until his own mother wouldn't recognise him.
He had one job. One!
Track Dr Banner's movements and relay them back to SHIELD.
"Uh...We appear to have lost Dr Banner, sir." Agent Benson somehow managed not to stutter but it was a close one.
"How the fuck do you lose one of the most dangerous people in the world Agent? He is supposed to have 24 hour surveillance. There should have been eyes on him at all times." Agent Benson shrank back against the assault to his ear drums. He had to move the phone away from his ear.
He honestly had no idea how Dr Banner had slipped through their fingers. There had been no indication that he even knew they were there. Banner had been playing doctor in the nearby village and made his way back to the apartment he was staying in.
Nothing about his demeanor had changed. He was the same as he ever was. So when he stepped into his house at midday to retrieve something. Benson never expected that he would never step out again.
One second he was there and then poof He was gone. They had the place surrounded at all times. They would know if Banner had left through any means.
But he was just gone. There was no heat signature, no sound, no shifted floorboards or hidden tunnel. All that was left was a dusty house and a panicked SHIELD team.
"I..I don't know sir. We had the place surrounded; he shouldn't have been able to slip passed us." He said.
"But. He. Did." Director Fury's voice was ice. "You had better find him Agent or it's on your head."
The line went dead with a devastating finality and he could almost hear the ominous beep of a flatline.
He was so dead.
