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Chapter Two: Joining Forces

"So, Thor… what have you been doing these last few years?" Stark asked, looking over at the large man from across the fire. Thor gave a quiet sigh and replied in a low voice, "Well… I searched for the Infinity Stones for two years, without any success. It was then brought to my attention that my brother was alive."

He stopped as Stark spat out the mouthful of water he was drinking, a fit of coughs overwhelming him for many minutes. He finally forced himself to stop coughing long enough to wheeze, "Loki is alive?"

Thor gave a soft nod, turning his gaze to the flames before him, continuing quietly, "Indeed, he… was. He was posing as Odin on Asgard. I exposed him and forced him to show me where he had imprisoned Father. We went to Earth, met a wizard who led us to my father. We watched him die, which followed in the release of my sister."

Again, Thor paused as Stark raised a hand and asked, "Hang on a second. You have a sister?"

"Yes, she was the first born and rightful ruler of Asgard." Thor answered quietly, his eyes dark. Stark noticed that one of his eyes was a different colour from the last time they had seen one another. But, feeling that the explanation to this would come up later, Stark kept quiet and listened to the rest of Thor's tale, "We tried to return to Asgard, but my sister followed and knocked Loki and myself out of the Bifrost. I landed in a place called Sakaar. That is where I met the last of the Valkyrie.

"She captured me and took me to this strange… creepy man, who called himself the 'GrandMaster'." Thor's top lip curled slightly, but he continued slowly, "I was made to fight in a contest of some sorts. That's where I found Banner."

He glanced over at Banner, who gave a small nod before muttering to Stark, "We had a fight, but I don't remember anything about it. In fact I don't remember anything that happened in those two years."

Thor's face once again split into a grin, while continuing, "I tried to escape using the Quinjet. But the Hulk destroyed it before I could. So we had to come up with another plan to get back to Asgard. The Valkyrie helped us, and Loki allowed us to get to one of the ships. We got back to Asgard and fought my sister. I lost my eye in the process."

Stark gave a small nod as Thor waved a hand towards his right eyes, which was brown while his left was it's normal blue. Sighing heavily, the big man continued, "We won the battle, though it ended in the destruction of Asgard, but many of my people survived. We were headed to Earth when we were… stopped by Thanos. He killed half of my people while the rest escaped."

"Let me guess," Stark interrupted, rolling his eyes slightly, "Your brother was one of the few that survived?"

He waited as Thor's eyes darkened even more as he shook his head softly, replying in a low whisper, "No. He wasn't. Loki was… killed by Thanos' hand. My people were scattered across the cosmos, while I was picked up by a ship piloted by these people who called themselves 'Guardians of the Galaxy."

Rocket, the raccoon Stark had met before, gave a sour chuckle and added, "Yeah. I was one of them."

"We know." The robotic voice sounded, making everyone turn to the woman who had many robotic limbs and black eyes. This was Stark's companion and was called Nebula. She was glaring at Rocket through the flames, while Stark cleared his throat and told his former team members, "Yeah, I worked with the others of that team… and watched them die as well."

Thor gave a small nod, concluding his story, "The rabbit and this tree creature travelled with me to Nidavellir where I fashioned StormBreaker and returned to Earth to kill Thanos. Unfortunately, he did the Snap before I could kill him. I've spent the last year searching for my people… but we haven't found any of them yet."

Stark lowered his eyes and watched the flames while Thor took breath and said, "Well… that is my tale. How about you, Stark? Why are you here?"

"Oh, pretty the same reason as you." Stark took a deep breath and downed his cup of water, adding, "Of course, I'm not looking for groups of people. Like I said before, Nebula and I are going after Thanos. There's not much else to it."

They all fell silent, the crackling of the flames the only sound until Banner took breath and asked, "If you haven't been to Earth for a year, how is your suit charged?"

Giving a slight smile, Stark answered quietly, "I've been using the power from our ship to charge my suit. It's not quite the same as the power I'd get back home, but… it suffices. How are the others?"

He looked over at Banner, who sighed and answered, "Well… Steve and Natasha are still on Earth. We contact them every now and then, check how they are. But they were quite shaken up by the deaths of the others."

"Did no one else survive?" Stark inquired, staring at Thor and Banner beseechingly. They glanced at one another, Banner replying, "Well, I think your friend Rhodes survived. But… everyone else died in the snap."

Stark swallowed down the lump that had risen in his throat, trying to steady his breath as he asked quietly, "What about Pepper? Is she alive?"

Thor gave a soft smile, and told him, "Do not worry, Stark. She is safe and well, though she is wondering where you are. The Captain checks up on her every week."

A soft sigh of relief escaped Stark's lungs, for he had been wondering for so long whether his fiancé was still alive or had died along with others in the snap. Briefly closing his eyes, Stark looked back up at Thor and asked, "So, where are you headed now?"

"We'll be going to a different planet tomorrow." Thor asked, poking the fire with a stick, "Rocket says that it is called Trilia. It's a peaceful planet, and not quite advanced as Earth, but there have been rumours of strangers there. We've decided to check it out, see if there is any substance to these rumours."

Stark gave a small nod, before glancing over at Nebula and saying, "Maybe we could join you on your journey."

The others also looking over at Nebula, Banner turned back to Stark and asked, "Are you sure, Tony? What about your search for Thanos?""

Giving a soft sigh, Stark shrugged slightly and replied, "We've been looking for a year, and found nothing of him. Maybe we'll have better luck travelling with you guys. Who knows, maybe he's the source of these rumours."

"I agree." Nebula spoke in that robotic voice, making the others turn to her in surprise. She watched them for a second, adding, "It couldn't hurt to try and search other planets."

All giving small nods, Thor looked back to Stark, telling him, "We would be glad of your company. You may even get the chance to talk with the Captain. But if you wish to travel with us, you'll need to get some rest. We leave early in the morning."

He stood up, throwing away the remaining water in his cup and walking over to the large ship that lay beyond the line of trees, and just out of sight of the fire's light. Soon, the others followed Thor's example and left only Stark and Nebula by the fire.

Taking a deep breath, Stark turned to the robotic woman as she stood and said to him, "I'll move our ship closer so that we're ready to follow them in the morning."

Nodding agreement, Stark waited as she walked out of view of the light being spread by the fire, leaving him alone with his thoughts as he wondered how Pepper Pots was fairing, and what they would come across the next day. Taking a deep breath, Stark lay back on the log he was sitting on and stared up at the stars. Before long, his eyes closed and he fell asleep.

"Welcome to Trilia." Banner spoke over the intercom as they entered the atmosphere of the planet in front of them. Stark glanced over at his comrade that sat beside him, asking quietly, "Have you been here before?"

Nebula gave a short nod, flicking switches to prepare for landing while answering, "A few times. I hid out on this planet while Thanos was searching for me."

Stark nodded, turning his attention back to the landing of the ship next to Thor and Banner's own space craft, noticing that a small village lay not so far away. When the ship gave a small shudder as it landed on the ground, Stark hopped out of his seat and walked over to the door, grabbing a jacket along the way.

A cool wind blew as he stepped outside, making Stark give a shudder while walking over to his friends who were standing outside their own space craft. Thor walked over to him and told him, "Rocket says that he'll watch over the ships while we ask around in the village."

Giving nods of agreement, they began walking towards the village, talking to one another. Within the hour, the three men were to be found standing in the middle of the main square, exchanging what they'd learnt from the locals.

"Five men said that a group of strangers stayed in this village for a few months, before moving on. They didn't know where." Banner told his companions, glancing over at the stall owners that he had been talking to.

Stark gave a quiet grunt of agreement, saying, "The guys I talked to said the same. Except one of them said that they'd been asking about another stranger in one of the other villages."

They both turned to Thor as he looked around, telling them, "One of the men I spoke to told me the same. He said that there had been rumours of another stranger that arrived in another village about a year ago."

All exchanging wide eyed glances, Stark looked around before hissing, "You think it might be Thanos?"

"It's a possibility." Banner gave a soft nod, before turning to Thor and asked quietly, "Did this man say which village?"

Thor gave a small smile, replying quietly, "Yes, he did."