Notes
A Special thanks and Mention goes to Trixy, Noxxia, and Strai- you three have been a blast to talk to, and your help with the Notification Project we have going on is very much appreciated. (To those who don't know we're notifying people who have been reposted on Wattpad, so if they haven't given consent they can start working on getting the re-posts taken down)
Without further Ado... The next Chapter.
For Steve, watching Coulson and Clint leave the room while talking softly to each other was like a slap in the face with a bucket of ice water. Really it had been seeing the agent that had died and been resurrected go from cold and angry to willing to help Clint after the Archer acknowledged that he had been wrong and asked what he could do to fix his mistakes that had been shocking. He had been sure Coulson was going to be gone as fast as he arrived after his business was finished, because the other man's anger and disappointment in what they had done was palpable to everyone in the room. But Clint's words, his remorse had changed that. He had a chance to make things right with Coulson, and maybe Tony depending on how close the new Director was to him.
Steve had been on the slow road to realizing just how badly he had messed up before Coulson and Fury had come, he really had been. Even he couldn't pretend that he was right when so many things said otherwise after all. He hadn't wanted to admit that he had turned into a bully and an abuser that had hurt someone as badly as he had hurt Tony though and that had let him hold onto the hope that everything would blow over. Because if he did that then Erskine was wrong and he hadn't really been a good person before the serum- there had to have been something rotten lurking in him. He had always fought against those types- always, so he had been resisting the realization with everything in him until now. Now he could see Tony laying pale and broken on the ground, put there by his hands. He could see his team torn in two by his actions, fighting against each other in a way that never should have happened because they had been a family. And Steve was responsible for ruining that family because of his own hubris.
He had succeeded in destroying Earth defense against evil and enhanced people that were looking to hurt someone, unlike every Villain they had fought before. An actual god had failed, but he had managed to do it with a few pretty words and the trust people put in him. They had joined him in a fight against oppression, when his end goal was protecting someone who didn't want that protection. Someone who had been a part of hurting one of his team. And all the while Steve had kept the team mate most effected by his lies in the dark, so another villain was able to use what his friend had done against them all. And then he had almost killed Tony.
"What have I done?" He asked himself, forgetting that he wasn't alone for a moment as everything hit him. Nat snorted and he looked up to see she had been watching the doorway that Coulson and Barton had gone through. She was looking at him now, her eyes hard and glinting.
"You decided that one man was worth the world you were protecting burning, and not one of us thought any different. I… I stayed behind with Stark because it's in my nature to play all the angles I can until I can decide which one is the best for me. I never thought this would end with you and Barnes almost killing one of us though. I knew you wouldn't stop, so I assumed that you would come out on top when Tony eventually decided to bring us in from the cold and had smoothed everything over legally. But that's not going to be possible now. He has every right to leave you, and by extension whoever fought with you out in the cold because that's what you did to him. You beat him until he was on the brink of dying and left him to wait for help like he meant nothing to you. To your team. Even if by some miracle he does decide to forgive you, then Coulson sure as hell won't let it go." She said sharply. He flinched at her words, but he couldn't deny them. While Natasha could be evasive by nature she was shooting straight here and she was calling him out.
"This isn't what I wanted, what I meant to happen when I set out trying to find Bucky. All I wanted to do was to help him, to bring him in after what we saw in those files. I was so happy that he was alive, but he's been hurt so much that I didn't want him hurt more. By anyone. Even the child who lost his parents because of him and considering how I let Wanda spout off about Tony because it was his weapon... I'm a Hypocrite Nat." He said, feeling useless. She grunted, giving him a hard look.
"I know it's been said, but It doesn't matter what you meant to happen. Only what happened actually matters. What happened was you and your buddy beat a man who was working around the political and legal loopholes of 117 countries demands for accountability until he was almost dead because he had a bad reaction to finding out his parents had been murdered by said friend. That fight had nothing to do with the accords, nothing to do with protecting the rights of anyone other then Barnes and it could have been handled differently. Should have been handled differently, you told me that you would tell him for gods sake. Tony… Tony is smart enough to realize that it wasn't Barnes Fault but anyone would need time to process it without being blindsided like he was." She snapped, the anger in her voice rising as she spoke and drove home her points. Finally speaking her mind about what had happened. And she wasn't done yet, she took another breath before continuing though.
"You were as much as fault for what happened in Siberia as Zemo was. If you had told Tony the truth, in some other situation, he probably would have brushed that news off as old news and this would have been over. Hell, this whole disagreement probably wouldn't have happened if you didn't have a huge secret hanging over you. If you would have trusted that Tony would help with getting Barnes cleared of any charges he may face because he was a P.O.W. for 70 years and forced to kill then we may have been home right now instead of where we are. And you better realize that fact because we're not getting home anytime soon because of the events you set into motion and out inability to call you out on them." She finished, the sarcasm in her voice as strong as the anger now. His stomach twisted unpleasantly as he imagined how things would have gone if he had just told Tony when he and Nat had found out. And this time he didn't see Tony killing Bucky. No he could imagine what Nat has said happening, and the end result was they would be home right now, not hiding.
"Somewhere along the lines I stopped seeing him as someone that was capable of being descent Natasha. I saw everything he's done as something that he did for himself- his image and not a thing of it as something he had done for the sake of others. I fell back on the videos and that first report I saw on him time and time again. The one that spoke of his narcissism, his addictions, and the fact that while Iron Man had been recommended for the Avengers Tony Stark had not been." He replied gruffly. She sighed and rubbed a hand down her face.
"Coulson told me that report was going to come back and bite me in my ass as soon as he read it and like always he was right. He wasn't too happy with it when he saw it you know? But he had already been compromised by Tony in my opinion. I may have been a little more harsher then I should have been because my best friend told me his husband had asked to bring Stark into their relationship and I didn't like it. I know I went into it ready to paint him in a bad light because Fury asked me to make sure that he had a reason not to bring Stark on right away- he had a plan. Truth is, the man was dying when I made that evaluation and he didn't see a way out of it so he was self destructing. And I encouraged some of the behaviors so the videos reinforced my assessment. The only help he ended up getting from shield was a diorama and video that belonged to Tony's father. Both things that he should have had access to in the first place. And of course he also got me jabbing him with a shot to keep him stable while he was on house arrest with Phil while he worked the clues out himself. It wasn't a true representation of him by any means, but it was a report that could be tossed at him and others to keep him on the track Fury wanted. He's always had to save himself, defend himself and even I'm sick of it at this point. He's not a bad man." She said tiredly, the words exploding out of her before into resignation.
Steve stared at her, anger growing in his chest as he realized that the report that he had based his initial interaction on- the report that Fury had given him was inaccurate. He should have been able to trust information his allies, superiors gave him damn report had colored many of his interactions and choices regarding the man afterwards. He leaned back into the couch stared at the ceiling blankly. He had made the wrong call about the other man since the beginning of their working relationship it seemed, and there was nothing he could do to change that. He had justified his actions with the knowledge that Tony Stark wasn't really chosen for his team, even if he was their sponsor that kept them afloat. Hell even the money the other man had used to sponsor them had seemed like a pay off to stay on the team in the end, at least to Steve.
"I never gave Tony a chance to make his own first impression on me, or to really correct the one I had because of that file Natasha. I met him on that carrier prepared for this selfish asshole who went against everything I knew his father to be, even though he should have been honoring the mans memory in my opinion. Every single time I made a judgement call after I remembered that file- who the true Tony Stark was, and every time I made the call that he wouldn't support because the type of man it took to support the call he would like wasn't a man I wanted to be." He breathed out heavily, feeling empty and disappointed in himself. He had been given the access and chances to change those first opinions he had made, but he hadn't wanted to. It was easier to see him as the one in the wrong. It was easier to justify keeping things from him when he had a track record that proved he wasn't to be trusted. Nat laughed at his words, but it was a pleasant sound and then he felt her weight settle on the couch next to him.
"Howard Stark was an obsessed asshole who ignored his wife and beat his son down mentally, an occasionally physically. Tony only stopped trying to get his approval once he got the message that he never would because he wasn't you. And he only got that message after he met Rhodes and the other man took up a role of protector and taught him that he was worth something even if his father couldn't see that. When I was doing the work up before going under as his P.A. I read the police reports though. Tony's private schools felt the need to report his father a couple times. Each time money would exchange hands and Tony would be transferred to another school that didn't care so much about the home life of their students until he tested out suddenly and began MIT at 14." She spoke heavily, making Steve stiffen and bite his lip as he listened to her. She took a breath before going on, not content with destroying his ideal of his friend. She had more to say of course.
"By the time you met Tony? If he was still trying to get approval from a dead man I would have been truly concerned about him Steve. Before Carter's mind started going she and Fury spoke a couple times about recruiting Stark, she wanted him far away from all of this because Shield was spearheading the search for you funded by Stark Sr even in death. And she didn't want him brought into an organization that was as obsessed with you as his father was. She had seen what that had done to him when he was growing up and how much he started rebelling the moment he was out of his father's home. She wanted her godson to have a chance to finish his rebellion and to settle down into the man she knew he could be. Fury just wanted his brains, and the moment she was retired Stark fell into his lap because of Afghanistan." She explained tiredly, revealing some hard truths that Steve wasn't ready for as she continued on her vein of being brutally honest.
Steve felt sick as he listened to the description of his dead friend that she painted, but he swallowed back any words of defense or protest as he mulled over everything. Suddenly things made a lot more sense to him and he wondered how the other man had ever taken him into his home. Steve felt even worse as he realized why Tony had been more upset at seeing his mother murdered then he had with Howard's death as it played out. Howard Stark had been the type of man at home that had kept Steve's mother from ever dating after his father was out of the picture. She had always told Steve that he was frail enough without her making the wrong decision by bringing in a man who would mistreat them.
"Why didn't anyone ever tell me any of this? And Tony knew Peggy. God, why didn't he say anything?" He asked, turning his head to look at her. She snorted, and raised an eyebrow at him.
"You wouldn't have listened. Any person who met you could see just how hard you were holding onto the people from your past. They knew much you put them on a pedestal and knocking them down would change nothing. You'd find excuses or reasons for them to act the way that they had. And yes. Tony knew Peggy, I can only assume that he didn't say anything because just maybe he didn't want you to know his connection to her. I'd say it backfired on him since you threw her in his face when it came to the Accords though. You do realize since he knew her all his life, he knew her longer then you had. He knows better then anyone what she would have said about them." She replied simply, without any shred of regret for not cluing him in sooner. He had made mistakes, but they were not only his to shoulder. He had acted on the information he had been given, and obviously his teammates had been in possession of knowledge that would have made him rethink actions.
Steve opted to stare at the ceiling again, wondering how in the world he could make any of this right. He had been making the wrong calls since he woke up, including trusting Fury it seemed, and he didn't see a path that would get his team back together. Not after he had almost killed Tony. There may have been a way out before that. Because looking back at what he had done before, Tony had a tendency to forgive the wrongs done to him.
"How do I even start to fix any of this?" he asked out loud, feeling disgusted with his own actions. Natasha was silent this time, so after a few moments he looked at her and she looked about as lost as he felt.
"I have no idea where we start. It's never going to be the same as it was, even if Tony pulls an 'It's all in the past' thing when it comes to the fight. The people gathering around him won't just let us into his circle again, and they shouldn't if I make the assessment thinking about his continued well being physically and mentally. We betrayed him, you killed him. That leaves scars that will never heal." She admitted, her voice hesitant as she voiced what he already knew. "He's been betrayed so many times in his life, that I'm not sure he could forgive this one."
Steve rubbed his palms roughly against his face, agreeing with her mentally. The people who had ended up following him in this were not good for the other man, as they had proven with this 'Civil War'. And boy wasn't that a punch in the gut. He was responsible for this hurt, this betrayal.
"Bucky's going to be going to help Tony as soon as T'Challa clears him. And I don't think he'll ever look back. I don't blame him, I brought him to that bunker knowing that there were things that needed to be addressed. Both with Tony and in his own head- the trigger words. And I knew that he was fresh out of a bad place, but never considered what would happen if we got into a fight and he lost control. I should have. The moment I stopped attacking he came back to himself and actually joined my alternate in protecting Tony- he would have fought me if I attacked again." He admitted softly, almost ashamed that he. She hummed, or made a noise close to a hum.
"Do you blame him for wanting to protect Tony now?" She asked after a moment. He shook his head without needing to think. He remembered seeing Tony so small and broken looking after the red had left his vision and he had really looked at what he had done. Bucky was always protective of the abused, the ones who needed some heft to make the bullies back off.
"No. Tony… He needs people to have his back now more them ever, though he's needed it for a while now. Bucky is good at protecting the little guy, and helping heal from being beat down if he's still anything like he was back in the 40's. If Tony will have him, he'll be good for him. Though thinking of Tony letting him in when we won't have the chance to make things right hurts." He replied, verbalizing his thoughts. There was another hum from the woman.
"Perhaps what we should do, is take responsibility what we've done and have his back from the distance. Coulson mentioned something is coming, he didn't explain but if he assumes we'll be pardoned to help then it's something big. Tony won't back down just because he was almost killed, we've seen this before. So he's going to need help eventually." She suggested. Even before he really thought it through he could feel that it was the right thing to do. He nodded after a moment and she chuckled, drawing his attention to her again. She looked more exhausted then he had ever seen her in that moment. But the actions they had all taken had come calling for re-payment and she wasn't the only one feeling the strain of it. They all were. Still the sight of her showing the strain worried him.
"You doing okay?" He asked, because he hadn't really checked in with her yet. Things had gone from celebrating the rescue from raft to Bucky chewing them out over comments about Tony quickly. Steve had been uncomfortable with the hostility shown to the man he had hurt, but he hadn't known how to address it without explaining Siberia. Bucky hadn't held back though, and then everyone's focus had been on Tony, and if he was going to recover. She looked at him with a half hearted glare.
"No. I'm not doing okay. I knew I made the wrong call the moment I heard the crap coming out of your so called team. I didn't realize just how wrong I was until Bucky told us about what really happened in Siberia. And I can't change that call. I spent so long trying to keep myself on the right path that I lost sight of that path. I justified lives lost because I didn't trust the team mate that could have helped. I let you go and you almost killed said team mate. I'm about as far from okay as possible. And before you spoke, I was half way out the door- I intended to run and hide. You don't know Coulson the way that I do. Clint… he has a chance at the man's forgiveness because they are married- Clint's little disaster with their former surrogate aside. They have children together and Coulson won't give up on him when there is a chance to work things out. I'm a stray Clint brought in from the cold instead of killing. I used to be a friend, but I could see the writing on the wall with Shield and I fell back on the mindset I had when Clint found me. I'm not sure I'll ever be a friend again." She confessed. He frowned a little, not sure how to reassure her that things would work out.
She was right though, he didn't know Coulson other then the agent turned Director used to be a fan of his. He had barely met the guy before he was killed, as sad as that was considering the importance that he had held to two members of his team. So he had no idea how he was going to treat her after this. He had no idea of what to expect from the new Director of Shield at all, and god wasn't that scary. He had thought that the Organization had been destroyed with the data dump. But no, it was still up and running. Still operating from the shadows. Part of him wondered if they could be sure that there wasn't Hydra operatives still lurking around in it.
"We can only take it one day at a time, and make amends to those we can. Running won't change what happened." He finally murmured, hoping she was planning on staying and seeing this recovery through. Sam and Scott had distanced themselves from everyone else once the details of Siberia were out and he selfishly wanted someone with him as he worked to atone for his mistakes. She laughed dryly at his statement.
"I understand that Steve. And If I ran… Clint would never forgive me. And I really wouldn't have a chance to be their friend again." She replied shortly, before leaning back herself and looking at the ceiling. "This is a mess Steve. A horrible fucking mess." She muttered. He nodded, wondering not for the first time how this was his life. How he had become the villain instead of the hero, and as he had since Bucky told everyone about Siberia he only found that he had himself to blame.
Settling Tony down for a movie after the meeting in front of his lab was surprisingly easy, proving just how fragile the genius was at the moment. Clint's urge to get him home and away from this mess was stronger then ever. Tony was trying to bounce back like he did after every major incident, but his family knew him to well, and he wasn't used to not being able to hide his trauma's away and make believe they didn't happen anymore. It was a stark reminder of how much ground they had lost with Tony after he had been sent here. And there was no doubt in his mind that this was there Tony. He knew the man he had seduced into his bed inside and out, and this was that man. Though he hadn't gotten inside him yet. Clint snickered at the random perverted though, jostling Tony slightly as he slept and making the other man burrow into him. Tony hadn't lasted to far into the movie before he fell asleep, another point in proving the other man was in desperate need of recovery.
"He's not going to break, you do know that right? Our Tony, he's hurting right now but he knows he has his family, people he can trust to see him at anything less then his best around him right now so he's going to seem like he's falling apart because we know how strong he can be, but he's healing." Phil murmured from by Tony's feet. Said feet were in his hands because their husband had been massaging them. Clint grumbled a little bit but nodded as he brushed a piece of hair that had fallen across the genius' eyes up and tucked it behind his ear.
"I know, but I'm angry Phil. I'm so fucking angry that it isn't funny. We lost him, thought he was dead and while we were mourning him people with our faces were breaking him down. This isn't just all because of Rogers almost killing him. This is a direct result of having remembered us- having dreamed about us, and then being forced to realize time and time again that the people he knew in the waking world were nothing like his dreams when they let him down or hurt him" Clint muttered. He felt Phil's hand cover his, and he looked at him- feeling the angry tears building in his eyes.
"It's alright to be angry for him Clint, it's normal when someone you love has been hurt. I know Bruce is having a hard time not going to their little retreat and letting the Hulk out. But being here and supporting him? That's what Tony needs. Not for us to let our anger rule us. At the end of all this? Tony is coming home with us, not staying here. Plain and simple. They may end up regretting what they have done, but it won't matter because we are going to be bringing him home." Phil assured him, squeezing his hand. Clint rubbed at the tears, feeling like he had cried more in the last couple days then he had since they thought Tony had died. He couldn't take out the people who had caused the damage even, because this world would need them after the mess with Thanos was over and his family had brought their lover home. He had to remember that because Phil was right. They would reap what they had sown when they didn't have Tony around to clean up their messes and make their tech and that was a worse punishment then hurting them now would be.
"You two are going to wake him up if you keep talking like that and you know it- he'll feel you tense up. I thought the point of us keeping him home bound during the agreement is recovery. He isn't going to be sleeping much once his time limit up and you know it. That man doesn't know how to rest without his arm being twisted after all." Nat warned them, coming in with the blankets that they had asked for. Clint stuck his tongue out at her and Bruce caught it.
"You should probably keep that in your mouth unless you plan on using it. And while Nat might appreciate the lashing I could think of a couple people who like you sharing it outside of the dance card." the sometimes Green scientist teased, letting his tongue go after a moment. Clint stared at the other man for a moment- he never got used to the random moments of perverseness that the other man had. He was startled by a sleepy chuckle from the man laying on his lap.
"You got him Brucie Bear. That was a good one and nope, not sharing unless their name's already on the card." Tony mumbled, and of course the recovering genius would be awake to hear that tease. Tony and sexual innuendos went hand in hand after all and he had corrupted the other scientist in the first place. Bruce leaned down and kissed the top of Tony's head softly.
"Of course we're not sharing it Tones, that's why I had to remind him before it went wandering since he let it out." He murmured, a peaceful smile on his face. Tony turned his head and gave him a short kiss in response, Bruce hummed and smoothed his hair down as he settled back into Clint who was shaking with silent laughter. Tony caught his hand and held it so he settled down on the floor.
"We need bigger couches for better cuddling purposes because this people on the floor thing is just stupid. Jarvis, can you find me some to look at? I want to be able to have everyone on one. No more Brucie Bear on the ground. It's a travesty!" Tony demanded suddenly. As the AI agreed to Clint stopped laughing and looked down at the man in his arms with an approving smile. The easy coming request of the AI to prepare something was a victory in his opinion, but the genius was ignorant of it as he continued to grumble about his current cuddle couch being too small for his needs. Phil squeezed his hand again before declaring that the couch couldn't be in any outrageous print, which set Tony off on another tangent. It felt familiar… normal and it was something Clint had sorely missed.
"Jay can let us know when he's come up with a list. How about we find a way to squeeze all of us onto this thing and finish that movie before the two giants come home and find themselves on the floor?" He asked, after the argument dissolved into Tony suggesting Avenger themed print. Tony pouted at him at having his fun taken away, but he nodded all the same and then they were arranging who sat where, and arguing about who the genius would lay on to make them all fit. The answer was all of them, with Nat claiming his feet from Phil. As the movie started Tony hummed, pleased by the solution. The genius had been tactile the first time around, but it felt more like touch starved now- and Clint wasn't ever going to let him be denied that again if he could help it.
Stephen looked at the Android, intrigued by the news he had in regards to his teams location, and the events of the last 3 days. Tony Stark lived, or he may based on the fact that Steven Rogers had been transported another version of their world in time to rescue the man after being involved in a failed experiment with the artifact that had held all of the stones and had been worn by the man when he made his exchange. The other Original Avengers had gone with another version of Strange himself, to give aid to that world since it was Pre-Thanos. And to see Tony themselves of course. Beside the artificial being, James Rhodes was shifting impatiently. The android had let the other man know that he would be leaving, and why and had gained a companion on his trip.
"Are you going to help us get to Tones or do we have to find another way over there?" The man finally demanded, the words bursting out of his mouth. Stephen chuckled, knowing from his search across time lines how loyal Rhodes was to Tony, and how upsetting and tense this new development must be to him. They had thought the genius was dead after his sacrifice- even a hint that may not be the case sparked a fierce hope. The supreme sorcerers own irrational attachment to the other man, that had happened because of his search had him nodding in agreement. If JARVIS was correct, and their friend was alive in a pre-thanos world there was no way that he would deny their request. Tony Stark had given enough to this fight, but he knew the other man would never just leave an Earth defenseless. So before they could bring him home- if this was his home- the alien needed to be dealt with. But it couldn't happen like it had here- if it did Tony would be gone again.
"We will be going, both to confirm the theory that JARVIS has, and to help that world in it's fight." He confirmed, ignoring the dramatic 'Thank God' the other human let out as he watched the Android's shoulders slump in relief at his agreement. JARVIS was a complex being, something that in all technicality shouldn't exist even given his advancement and autonomy, but his creator had never been one to follow the rules- any type of them. So it shouldn't be surprising that he had manage to create a life form out of wires and servers. The android was truly worried for the Tony that his team had left to help though, and with what they knew that worry wasn't misplaced.
"Thank you Doctor. If this is Sir, then I would like to be there to support him and to make sure that he does not find the need to sacrifice himself once more… Even if it is not the Tony that we lost I will not sit by in this world and wait by when he is in need." the Android murmured, sounding vulnerable and tired in that moment. Stephen smiled at him.
"It should be easy enough to locate the gathering of displaced entities within the multi-verse. You two should pack if you wish, while I look. Will Mr. Or Mrs. Hogan be joining us?" He assured the other being, before asking about the former Ms. Potts and her husband Happy. If he remembered his search for a way to win correctly the two had once been close to Stark. Or was that another world? It got confusing trying to keep things he had seen straight at times, if he was completely honest. Rhodes shook his head, indicating that they wouldn't be coming.
"Pepper's too far pregnant to chance having the baby in the other world with Thanos looming over it, and Happy isn't going to leave her side even if he wants to be there for Tones. They did tell me that they want me to drag Tony home as soon as I can if the others were right and he's our version though. Pep is working on what will be needed to declare him back in the land of living in either case though. If that world is half as bad as what the tablet suggests it is, there's no way in hell we are leaving any version of Tones there." He explained. Stephen hummed, understanding both the hopes expressed, and the fact that Tony Stark would be among the living in this world one way or another when this trip was concluded.
"I don't think your team mates would leave the any version of him behind either. If he's willing to come, I have no doubt there is a place for him here." He replied, Rhodes snorted.
"Fuck being willing to come. He was almost killed by a damn team mate. There is no way in hell that place is any good to him, whatever version he is. I'll knock him out myself if I have to in order to get him here. Won't be the first time I've had to do something along the lines of it to get him out of a bad situation." Rhodes declared, his voice firm and just a tad dangerous. Stephen raised an eyebrow at the declaration, wondering just how many times the other man had knocked his friend out for his own good, and how the Tony they were going to see would take it if his friend decided to do that to get him here. In other versions of this world their connection was something that never really changed. Rhodes would always be there to defend his chosen brother and best friend. In any form- there were even world where the other man had been injured enough to undergo becoming an A.I of sorts. And those were the worlds that tended to be darker if he was honest. A Rhodes who had the ability to destroy a person's life with a single thought if they hurt his friend wasn't anything to laugh at after all. And the worlds that were kind to Tony Stark were surprisingly few in number so he had plenty of data to go by in regards to that.
"Somehow I do not doubt that." The Sorcerer murmured, trying to feel for the displaced energies of their absent friends, stretching out his senses as far as they would go in his search. Rhodes snorted at his response, but Stephen didn't acknowledge it as he found the bright concentration. Seven life forms that originated here, in this world, were in that world. Not just the five who had left to join Captain America in protecting that world and safeguarding the man that he had saved from his double. There was no doubt that the man Steve had saved was their friend.
"I've located the alternate world." He announced, keeping his discovery to himself for now. He had a feeling that if they knew for sure that the injured man was their friend that it would cause tension then the situation would allow, given the fact the Tony he had known wouldn't abandon a world that he had called his own to Thanos. However, if Stephan happened to meet any of the people who had hurt their friend, he would not be kind in his revenge. They wouldn't get away with almost killing Tony just because he was keeping this to himself for now.
"Then let's get a move on. There's no telling what mess that Tony will get himself into, even with the others there looking out for him." Rhodes grunted, impatient to get there and see the Tony that Steve had saved. He really didn't care if the man was the version he had known it seemed.
"Brace yourselves. I'm not sure what this trip will feel like." Strange warned the two men, before opening a portal. It took much of his strength, more then he had estimated, but once it was open he and the other two men didn't hesitate in stepping through.