"Ok, are we ready for this trip?" Rocket asks the crew of the Benetar. "I know this planet is not like any of the usual planets we've visited, but have we managed to get everything from our usual supply list?"
"I don't know." Mantis replies. "Gamora usually does all the shopping."
"I am Groot." Groot adds.
"I don't know." Nebula responds. "I have hardly ever needed to eat. My father made sure of that." The others look at him, somewhat confused. It takes him a moment to process their confusion. "I've hardly ever experienced hunger before." He responds. "I don't really know how much food is appropriate."
"Didn't you eat all our yaro root, back when we got captured on Berhert? Rocket asks him.
"Yes," Nebula responds. "At the time, I hadn't eaten in nearly a month."
The others still take a moment to process this, while Drax hugs Nebula's arm in a comforting and understanding motion.
"Alright," Rocket continues, "Does anyone who wasn't a cyborg, prior to the changes, have any concerns that we should worry about. Particularly in the supplies department."
After a pause, Mantis responds. "I think we're good."
Rocket looks at Mantis for a moment, then looks toward Star-Lord, who is holding her abdomen. "Are you okay with that?"
Peter Quill looks lost in thought and worried. "I don't know." She says. "I feel like we're missing something"
"Missing something? Like what?" Rocket asks, with legitimate concern.
After a pause, Drax speaks up. "Perhaps it is her motherly instinct, concerned for her future child."
"I'm not carrying a child!" Star-Lord shouts. Despite her certainty, she grips her abdomen a little more tightly with concern.
"Are you sure?" Drax asks. "You have been eating a lot more, as of late."
"I'm not eating a lot more!" Peter Quill responds.
After her protests, she waits for the others to respond, but they all look at her with silent concern. "I'm a nervous eater! That's all!" Star-Lord shouts, contradicting her previous statement. "Stop staring at me!"
"Hey, Peter." Rocket interrupts her. She reaches out and grabs onto her fingers. "It's okay. We're here for you. No matter what happens." Peter looks at Rocket with sad eyes. "We're here, Peter." Rocket continues. "We're family."
Star-Lord, feeling touched by Rocket's sympathy, nods while she fights back a tear.
"Yes, captain." Drax responds, in her husky voice. "We are all family." She says. "Mantis, now, more than anyone else."
"Don't say stuff like that!" Star-Lord cries aloud, getting a confused look from Drax.
"Yes! I don't want a family with Peter!" Mantis protests.
Peter looks at Mantis in shock, but before she can say anything Rocket is already shouting at Mantis.
"You, don't say stuff like that, Mantis!' Rocket yells. "You're the reason we're in this mess!"
"We're not in a mess..." Peter says passively trying to wave off the subject.
"No, we're not in a mess," Mantis replies, "because I don't want to be in a mess!"
"You have to take responsibility!" Rocket shouts at Mantis.
"Yes, you have to help raise your child, with Peter." Drax adds. She looks at Nebula for support, and after a confused and unexpected look, Nebula responds with an equally confused nod.
"No!" Mantis shouts. "I don't want a baby! It's not happening!"
"You can't just say it's not happening, and expect it to be true, Mantis!" Rocket shouts at him.
"Guys, we don't really know what happened." Star-Lord tries to interject, but no one hears her.
"It's not happening because I say so!" Mantis shouts, as he begins to storm off toward the back of the ship.
"Mantis! Where are you going?" Rocket shouts.
"I don't want to be here!" Mantis shouts. "I want to adventure!"
"Mantis! You stay on this ship!" Rocket shouts.
"No!" He shouts back, as the back hatch to the Benatar begins to open.
"Mantis! You stay on the ship!" Rocket continues to shout. "You don't know what's out there!"
"It doesn't matter!" Mantis shouts back without turning around. He rushes out of the ship. "It's better than here!"
"Mantis! Get back here, young man!" Rocket continues to shout as she rushes out onto the ramp following Mantis.
The ship opens up to reveal they are inside the cargo hold of the much bigger drop ship. Rocket reaches the end of the ramp and sees several Wakandan warriors watching her. She contemplates chasing Mantis for a moment before she feels more concern for how Star-Lord is feeling. She lets Mantis go, realizing he can't go far.
Rocket turns back into the ship and sees the other watching her with a worried face.
"I am Groot." Groot responds.
"He'll come back." Rocket tells the others. She rushes toward Star-Lord with a very concerned look. "Are you going to be okay? I'll be here for you."
***Back outside the ship***
Mantis is angry, but he is not used to it. He makes a continuous effort to show it, but he can only imitate the few gestures he has seen. As he passes a small group of Wakandan warriors who are fascinated by him, he does his best effort to growl, and fails at it. "Ooooh!" He says flexing his arms downward.
The Wakandans are confused.
Mantis realizes quickly he is not used to emotional outburst and it becomes very apparent he does not know what to do. Once he is out of sight from the Benatar, he pauses trying to think of what to do next. It doesn't help that there are now nearly a dozen humans watching from every direction.
Mantis chooses to wander the ship for somewhere to brood. Despite trying to express anger, Mantis's curiosity gets the best of him and he starts excitedly looking around.
"Okay everyone, I need your attention!" Tony announces loudly from one of the rooms Mantis is passing. He follows the voice to the ship's control room.
"It looks like everyone is here." Bruce answers, taking a peak around. She is sitting cross legged on a tall stool and wearing black and red plaid slacks and a White Rolling Stone's T-Shirt that she borrowed from Tony.
Almost the entirety of the Avengers and a few others such as Maria Hill are in the same room all watching Tony. Captain America is in the back, and Bucky isn't present. Mantis who's made his way to the front waves at Bruce giddily, which gets a look of confusion from Tony Stark.
"I have an announcement to make." Tony says aloud, choosing to ignore Mantis. The room gets a little more quiet. "First off, I'd like to welcome back a close friend, from the seemingly great beyond." Tony raises his hand and Vision comes walking in, in a gaudy sweater, from just out of the room. He is being followed by a male Wanda Maximoff who looks ecstatic to be by his side.
Everyone in the room claps as Vision walks up and grabs Wanda's hand. "Thank you, everyone. It's good to be back in action." Vision tells the crowd. "I want to give a special thanks to Tony, the lovely Bruce Banner, and Shuri, who unfortunately will not be joining our flight." The group claps to the comments.
"I would also like to thank the love of my life," Vision continues, "Wanda Maximoff. Without her love and support, I don't believe I could have truly been whole again." Vision grips Wanda's hand and pulls him closer. They both hug and share a momentary but passionate kiss. Neither Vision, nor Wanda notice the awkward looks they are getting from the crowd, by people who were not prepared to see two men kissing.
"Who are those guys?" Mantis asks the nearest person. Dr. Strange just shrugs her shoulders in confusion.
"Next," Tony shouts to get everyone's attention again, "I would like to announce that this ship will be taking off in roughly two hours. We have enough food to last for several months, and hopefully this mission will take nowhere near that long." A few of the crowd members clap, but it does not get the same reception Vision got.
"Now," Tony continues to address the crowd. "I don't want to be the guy that pairs people up with an accountability buddy, but I need you all to make sure no one is missing when we take off." There is a light chuckle from the crowd, except from Captain America who peers down and away. Tony Stark actually notices this, and feels a little guilty, knowing why.
"Lastly," Tony gets their attention again. "If you have any personal items, like soaps, tooth pastes, deodorant. For the love of God, please bring deodorant... And use it." The other's laugh a little harder at this, before Tony continues. "I know we're all generally in peak physical condition, but if you have any medical conditions: anxiety, depression, diabetes, or such. Please, for the sake of your health and safety, bring extra medication and resources. Aside from a few experienced individuals and a master of magic, we will not have a doctor readily available.
Dr. Strange raises one of her eyebrows and coughs in protest. This actually catches Tony's attention. "Excuse me for interrupting." She says. Her voice seems to project a little louder than expected. "You do realize, I am an actual doctor, right?"
Several pairs of eyes widen and jump back and forth between Tony and Dr. Strange. Even Tony seems completely shocked by this. "I'm sorry, what?" Tony asks. "You're an actual doctor? Since when?"
"Yes, I am, and I have been for quite some time." Dr. Strange responds.
"Wait..." Tony interrupts her. He looks her up and down for a moment but realizes it's pointless now due to the changes. He decides to ask his question aloud. "Are you actually Dr. Steven Strange, the surgeon from Columbia University?" Tony looks at Dr. Strange's hands, knowing full well about her accident. He notices they seem normal and uninjured.
"That I am." Dr. Strange responds.
"Wow!" Tony Stark responds. "What kind of electives does CU have? I'm starting to think MIT wasn't the best choice for me." Dr. Strange smiles and chuckles at the comment.
"Tony," Bruce interrupts. "You know her?"
"Dr. Steven Vincent Strange," Nick Fury says aloud, catching everyone off guard. She was standing just out of sight, so no one knew she was even in the room. "Medical doctorate degree, and once the world's most renowned neurosurgeon. That is, until disappearing off the radar nearly two years ago."
"A neurosurgeon?" Bruce asks, intrigued.
Tony is looking at Nick Fury with concern. "You know, I don't know what's creepier, the sneaking up on people all the time, or how you seem to keep tabs on absolutely everybody."
"I make it a point to stay well informed of anybody and everybody of interest." Nick Fury responds.
"I can see that." Tony responds. "Is there anybody you don't know? I wouldn't be surprised if you knew everything about this one." Tony says as he points at Mantis jokingly.
Nick Fury looks at Mantis for a moment before responding. "Mantis. Species unknown. He is a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, a group of scrappers and bounty hunters. Prior to that he was raised by his captain's father, Ego, a celestial being known as the living planet. He possesses low level psychic powers which are activated by touch, and he used to be female."
Mantis starts laughing excitedly and clapping. "That was cool. I like that trick. She's cool."
Bruce, Tony, and several of the others are now staring at Nick Fury in a mixture of shock, surprise, and awe.
Tony is now seriously scrutinizing Nick Fury. He makes a mental note to look into her extra terrestrial sources when he gets a chance. It's starting to surprise him that he hasn't seen any aliens other than the guardians. He peaks at Maria Hill and a couple of the shield agents accompanying her. Nothing stands out as inhuman.
"Seeing as take off is being handled by your guys," Tony tells Nick Fury. "I think I'll let you take over the announcements from here."
"It'll be my pleasure." Nick Fury responds in a mock joyous voice.
***A few minutes later*
Several of the Avengers are leaving the room, when Tony catches Bruce and asks her to wait. "Do you think you can grab Steve and ask her to come here?" He asks Bruce, who has a momentary look of concern. "I have to talk to her and a few of the others."
Bruce feels a little safer that it's not just the two, so she nods and rushes off after the Captain. As soon as she is away, Tony approaches Natasha and Clint who're having a friendly conversation. He does not notice how close they seem to be now.
"Sam!" Tony shouts to Sam as he approaches the other two. "Can you come over here? I need to talk to you about something."
"Alright, I'll be right there" Sam responds as he finishes talking with Vision and Wanda.
"What's up, Tony?" Natasha asks as Stark approaches them.
"One second," Tony responds. "We're waiting on one more." Sam joins them as Tony turns to watch the door. Bruce comes in, leading Steve Rogers. Tony pretends he does not notice the air of concern that suddenly fills the room. Steve doesn't say anything but avoids eye contact as she and Bruce approach the group.
"Ok, we're here." Bruce says as they join the others.
Tony takes a moment to process his thoughts before speaking. "Alright everyone. The reason I have called you here is because I want to give each of you something." The others look at Tony with instant, peaked curiosity. "It's not something I have to give you, but I think you and I would all feel a lot better if I did."
They all keep watching Tony, and a couple of them look at Bruce, wondering if she knew what Tony was planning. She doesn't.
"Come this way guys." Tony tells them as he walks toward the exit. It does not take them long to reach their destination. It is a little cargo hold area near the ship's main exit. Tony leads them to a specific corner to a huge black box sitting just beside the Hulk Buster armor.
Tony reaches the box and places his hand on a touch panel. The box verifies it is him and the top opens with a hiss.
"Wait, don't tell me you're going to give us..." Hawkeye starts to say, but can't finish because he is overwhelmed with curiosity.
"That's right." Tony says as he turns to look back at the others. Even Steve Rogers is watching with a look of surprise. "After going toe to toe with Thanos," Tony Stark tells them, "and after hearing that even the Hulk was having a hard time, I decided, you guys are long overdue for an upgrade."
"What?!" Natasha asks excitedly. Even Sam can't contain a look of joy.
"I've got one for each of you." Tony says as he turns around and pulls out something that looks like a black suitcase. He looks at a cheap label placed near the handle and reads it out like a Christmas present. "Natasha." He reaches back in and pulls out another. "Clint."
Tony reaches in and pulls out two more. One of them is a little small, and the other is similar to the other two. He hands the small one to Sam. "Yours required the most modification, because they were not originally meant to have wings."
"Cool." Sam says, looking at the case.
"Are these your old suits?" Natasha asks.
"Yeah!" Tony responds. "The ones that didn't get destroyed by Killian. I was able to put them back together and modify them a bit. If they don't fit, I can help make the adjustments."
Tony turns to Captain America and holds the last suitcase out. "Here Cap', This ones for you."
Captain America looks at it, wondering if she should take it. A flashback of her trying to hold back Thanos's hand rushes through her head. She realizes it's probably for the best, and takes the suitcase.
"Can these fly?" Natasha asks excitedly as he sets down the suitcase and opens it, revealing a black and silver looking suit.
"Yeah, I just recommend taking it slow," Tony remembers face planting into the roof of his garage back when he was learning to fly, and becomes a little worried. "or not using it at all until you've gotten a lot of practice in."
"What about Bruce?" Hawkeye asks, looking into the large chest.
"Bruce has the big guy!" Tony says pointing at the Hulk Buster. "Seeing as she has experience running it, and seems to be a natural at it."
"Thanks Tony." Bruce says with a big smile.
"I reinforced the joints for you." Tony replies with a wink. "The limbs should hold a lot better next time."
Clint and Sam are opening their cases. Clint's suit looks similar to Natasha's but has a brownish chrome color to it. Falcon's suit does not have a helmet when it opens.
"I removed the head piece for yours to avoid restricting your vision, but there is an emergency helmet that will deploy, should the need arise." Tony tells Sam.
"That's perfect." Sam responds, looking at the armor.
"What about you Steve?" Natasha asks. Captain America has a look of confusion on her face as she peers into the suitcase. "What's wrong?" Natasha asks. Sam peers over, raises his eyebrows and makes a questioning look. Tony is now looking down quietly and seemingly embarrassed. Natasha and Clint, noticing this, approach Steve and look into her suitcase.
"Why's it pink?" Natasha asks, looking back toward Tony.
Tony raises his hand to his mouth and chews a nail for a second, before answering. "Because it was the only female suit I had, and it was not originally meant for her."
They all look up toward Tony a little confused, but now Steve seems a little more relieved.
"I made it for Pepper, okay." Tony answers their look. "It was supposed to be a surprise, and I really didn't expect anyone else to use it."
Sam starts chuckling, which becomes contagious, causing Natasha and Clint to chuckle as well.
Steve can't help, but chuckle at the randomness of it also. "It's okay, Tony." She says. "I really appreciate it." They lock eyes for a moment, and try to fight the feeling of annoyed tension they still seem to feel toward one another.
"What about this suit?" Bruce is so short she is hanging off the side of the large chest as she tries to reach for fabric of her slacks is pulling tight, giving a good view of how shapely her butt is. Sam looks away, but Natasha and Clint can't help but get distracted by how cute she looks dangling there.
Bruce manages to get ahold of the suit and as she jumps down, her shirt lifts revealing a lot of skin before falling back into place. She does not seem to notice and smiles happily. The others look at the suit, then back toward Tony curiously.
Tony stands there quietly and awkwardly for a moment, trying to think of what to say, but decides on the truth. "That was... umm.." He picks his ear and fidgets a bit worried about their reaction. "That was for..." Tony's eyes dart back and forth between everybody for a few moments before he turns and looks toward Steve.
"It's for your friend..." He says, not knowing what else he can say.
Steve Roger's eyes begin to open wide with emotion and even her mouth opens slightly at the revelation. Her and Tony stand there watching each other silently and awkwardly for a long moment.
"Listen," Tony starts to say, eager to break the tension. "I know what happened wasn't his fault, and he was brainwashed..."
Before Tony can finish what he is saying, Steve drops her suit, runs up and hugs him tightly. "Oooh!" Tony grunts loudly. He can't see her face, but he is certain there are tears in the Captain's eyes. "Alright, alright." He barely manages to say as he pats her back.
Steve loosens her grip lightly, but continues to hug Tony a little longer. "It's okay, Captain." Tony tells her before taking a deep breath.
"Woo... Between you and Bruce super hugging me all the time, I'm starting to think I'm not gonna survive until we get to Thanos."
Steve actually laughs heartily at this, and Bruce blushes guiltily. After another few seconds Steve lets Tony go, and tells him, "Thank you."
For the first time in what seems like forever, they can look into each other's eyes without tension. Steve smiles. Tony smiles back as genuine as he can muster and places his hand on Steve's shoulder. "Now, go get your friend."
"Yes sir." Captain America answers, before rushing toward the ship's exit excitedly.