"I will kill him," Nebula snarled. Tony looked up at her. "I'm going to find a way to destroy him. Are you coming?"
"Where?"
"I'll search the galaxy until I find him. Then I'll slit his throat."
"Why don't we think smarter? He had to go to earth for the mind stone. That's a good spot to start," Tony said despite not really wanting to move. Why couldn't he have died instead? Peter was just a kid.
"Fine. I'm leaving in 5," Nebula said without waiting for an answer. Tony stood up and stared at the dust that was Peter Parker. There was no way to tell what was Peter and what was the dirt from this wasteland planet. Tony stumbled to the craft. Nebula was already turning everything on.
"I usually drive," he muttered.
"Oh, you can fly this ship?" Nebula asked sarcastically.
"No I can-"
"Damn! Someone needs to manually adjust the left horizontal stabilizers. Get out there and move it 5 degrees north or we aren't going anywhere," Nebula yelled as she worked. "You'll have to fly back in or I'm leaving you."
"Moving the flaps. Got it," Tony said as his helmet went on. He looked at the stabilizer and noticed an instant problem. The stabilizer was out of line. The engine strained as he pushed the part back in line and wiggled it up and down. Nebula almost instantly pulled the aircraft into the air. Tony flew in the back hatch before it closed.
"How long until we get to earth?" He asked looking at the alien language on the screen. Nebula pushed a few buttons.
"23 hours," She replied. "You should sleep and take the next shift. I'm sure you can't ruin a ship in autopilot."
"I'm a genius. I've invented many plane models. I'm just saying," Tony said slightly insulted. He sunk into the nearest chair and attempted to close his eyes. His adrenaline had finally ran out and he fell asleep quickly.
He dreamed of death. Peter dying in his arm, his child like eyes showing fear as he apologized. Tony yelled that Peter had nothing to apologize for as Peter turned to dust. His dream morphed to chitauri destroying New York. Steve lay dying as the other avengers were dead. "You couldn't save us," Steve gasped as he died. Tony tried to grab him before he disappeared as well. Rhodey crawled on the floor. His walking device missing. "Tony, where are you?"
Tony woke in a cold sweat. Nebula appeared to be eating as she flew. "How long was I asleep?"
"3 hours."
"Do you have food?" Tony asked. Nebula simply motioned to a panel on the wall. Tony found food inside. It wasn't anything he had ever tried but was edible. Tony tested his communication system. Not surprisingly, nothing came through. It was too far from earth. He watched as specs of light flew past them. The whole universe felt quieter.
"Steve, you're very quiet," Natasha asked. They sat in chairs in the back of a small court room. Wakanda was in turmoil and the tribes held a meeting to find a ruler. The argument was between Shuri and M'baku. Shuri sat silently with her hands clinched in her lap. Steve, Natasha, Rhodey, Bruce, and Thor were invited to observe.
"Not much to say," Steve said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "There is a lot to see."
"I can't help but think that this isn't something we have time to watch," Rhodey whispered.
"We need to catch Thanos. His gauntlet is broken but he still has the stones. He's injured from stormbreaker but not dead," Thor said. "We need to avenge the dead."
"We need to find a way to destroy the stones. He could snap his finger again and kill the other half of the universe," Bruce pointed out.
"He can't use the gauntlet because it's broken. But each stone alone is enough worry. I-" Steve was interrupted by silence on the floor as Shuri stood up.
"I do not want to rule Wakanda. I am needed in the lab. I need to help protect Wakanda. The world. Wakandan technology needs to be shared with the world so that we will be ready. T'challa would want Wakanda to help. M'baku can lead Wakanda in his absence," Shuri braved. The others on the floor began to talk over each other again.
"I accept. It would be an honor to rule Wakanda until our king is back," M'baku announced. An unnatural silence fell on the group. No one had considered regency.
"Lord M'baku," Shuri bowed. Others followed her and bowed. "May we leave for my lab?"
"Yes Princess."
Shuri and the avengers slipped out of the court room. She sighed softly to steady herself before walking to her lab.
Rocket sat in angry silence on a lab stool at being excluded from the meeting. Wakanda had a strict no animal policy and taking raccoons were not exempt. Apparently someone tried to bring a rhinoceros once and it trampled 3 people and destroyed priceless art.
Bruce walked into the room looking at everything. "What are we going to do in the lab to save the world?"
"We are going to repair vision."
