What if... (1/?)
What if… Tony didn’t immediately wake up after falling from the sky in the battle of Manhattan?
‘Call failed.’ JARVIS’ voice came over the suit, as Tony’s eyes teared up. He let go of the nuke he was flying up, and fell. His eyes closed as his head became dizzy. His armour wasn’t made for space and right now, there was no oxygen anywhere. His arc reactor was complaining loudly, but all Tony could feel was sadness. He had just wanted to hear Pepper’s voice… one...last...time.
His eyes closed as JARVIS’ shot of parts of his armour, making him fall faster so that he could escape the collapsing wormhole. He fell out just in time. But Tony didn’t notice. Tony didn’t notice anything any more.
‘He’s not slowing down.’ Natasha noted in alarm, seeing his teammate fall from the wormhole. His suit was not powering up, he was just falling, falling, falling.
Hulk roared and and jumped in the air, as Thor spun his hammer around, about to ascend into the air to catch their teammate. Hulk, however, beat him to it, scooping Tony into his arms and skidding down the wall of the skyscraper, until he touched down on the deserted road.
Immediately the avengers were around Tony, and Steve ripped off the face-guard. Tony wasn’t breathing. His chest wasn’t moving. His eyes weren’t opening.
Hulk decided to do what was deemed medically the smartest: scare the person into tomorrow by roaring loudly in his face. Nothing happened. Tony’s chest stayed still, his eyes stayed shut and his body stayed limp.
Within seconds, Steve ripped off the body suit, mentally noting to run away from Tony the second he came back to life: he would not like to find out that his suit had been torn by the super-soldier.
Hulk started shrinking and Bruce Banner appeared, earning a confused look from Clint. Bruce rushed over to Tony, as he pulled on a shirt and some pants. ‘Hulk let me take over again so I could save Tony.’ he explained, pressing his fingers to Tony’s neck. ‘No pulse,’ he noted.
He looked over to Clint: ‘Start mouth-to-mouth, I’ll do the chest-compressions.’ he ordered, as Clint whined about having to kiss a guy, noting that he had a wife and kids. He still did as Bruce told him to.
Meanwhile, Nat had placed a phone call to shield, and a helicopter with medical personnel was about to land. The Avengers stood back as doctors and nurses swarmed the scene, taking their teammate with them. Then, they were gone again, and all that was left was the ruined buildings of New York and 5 tired and dirty Avengers, all hoping beyond all hope that their teammate would be okay.
Tony’s Coma Day 1: I can hear everything and nothing at the same time. At some point, when I woke up, I thought I did. I tried to talk. I can’t talk. I can’t move. I can’t even open my eyes. Around me there are so many voices, speaking and talking. It’s all really dim and I can’t discern what they are saying. All I know is that I can’t move, can’t speak, can’t open my eyes. I can’t do anything. And that’s the scariest thing that has ever happened to me.
Tony’s Coma Day 2: I can finally understand what they are saying. They’re argueing. They’re angry. At me.
‘Self Sacrificial Piece of crap!’ Clint complains. This would be the time where Natasha would normally roll her eyes at him. Judging by Clint’s huff, she did.
They leave again after an hour and someone walks in with Pepper. ‘How is he?’ she asks, taking my hand. I want to squeeze hers, I want her to know I’m here, that I’m listening, that I’ll never leave her like I did with so many others. That I love her. I want to tell her that I love her, but I can’t.
‘Well, his body is recovering and in a coma, but I am fairly certain that he will wake up eventually.’ Bruce. The voice belongs to Bruce Banner. What is he doing here?
‘Mhh.’ Pepper hums, ‘How is the Avengers Team taking it.’
‘Let’s just say each represents a diffent stage of grief. Clint, Anger. Natasha, self-blame. Thor, revenge: but I think you gathered that already from all the thunderbolts he has been shooting a the sky. Steve, acceptance.’ Bruce didn’t bother to mention himself. I knew: sadness. Also, it was very Steve-like to accept stuff. Typical boy scout. Give him a uniform and some badges and he’d fit right in.
‘You love him a lot, don’t you?’ Bruce asks softly.
‘I do, I just wish he loved me too.’ Pepper answers softly. I want to shout out that I do. I have, for very long now. But I can’t. I can’t talk. And now, I have to listen to Pepper complaining about all the hints she has dropped throughout the months, which I didn’t catch up on. She’s right: I didn’t. I didn’t even see the hints she was dropping this whole time.
‘You know, the worst part is that he called me, up in space. I heard my phone but I let it ring: I was watching the Avengers on screen, hoping to see if he was alright. In the end I would have just known if I had looked at who called.’
‘It’s not your fault. But hey: he called you. That’s gotta mean something.’
‘Yeah, that he was about to ask me to order in for him and the team. Probably American Cheeseburgers or something.’ Pepper replies with a disdainful sniff. What was it with her and not liking American Cheeseburgers?
Coma Day 3: ‘It’s time, Tony. Time to wake up.’ Steve says, sitting next to me, holding my hand uncomfortably.
‘Please come back to us.’ Natasha says softly from another side.
‘Team Avengers is nothing without its narcissist pal, you need to come back.’ Clint states from beside his best friend.
Thor grumbles: ‘I thought you hated sleeping.’
My mouth twitches at that, but I know they can’t see it. A gasp escapes Nat’s lips: ‘Did you guys see that? His mouth moved. Clint, call Pepper and Bruce.’ she adds aside to Clint.
To say I’m surprised is understating it: I didn’t expect I would be able to move, let alone smile. ‘Hey Tony,’ Bruce says, walking in hurriedly, ‘Hey, squeeze my hand if you can hear me.’ I concentrate. I really do. I squeeze his hand. My hand squeezes like its supposed to.
Pepper gasps next to me, taking Steve’s seat which he courteously offers her. She grabs my other hand. ‘Okay Tony.’ Bruce states, ‘Can you try to open your eyes for me?’ I concentrate hard. They feel like lead. They can’t open. I give up.
‘Please Tony?’ Pepper begs next to me. I can’t stand it: she shouldn’t be begging, her voice laced with hope and sadness. I concentrate again, and finally, my eyes open. I blink several times, surveying the room: Nat is standing next to Bruce, staring at me like I’m some science exhibition, Clint is idly eating a granola bar, Bruce is standing over me, his hand still in mine, smiling down at me, Steve is leaning against the wall uncomfortably and Thor is just straight up staring at me. Pepper is still holding my hand, and her eyes are wet.
I let go of Bruce’s hand and turn to Pepper. I try to speak but can’t. There’s some dumb thing over my face which stops me from speaking. ‘Here, let me remove that.’ Bruce offers, and he does. I turn to Pepper again, and speak, my voice sounding weird in my own head:
‘Okay, you know I picked up on those hints and even sent some of my own as well right?’
Pepper chuckled: ‘Liar, and you were awake the whole time?’
‘Yep, caught Clint having a mental breakdown.’
‘Did not!’
‘Did too!’
‘Tony, stop harrassing Clint!’
‘Sorry, Pep.’
‘Mhh.’
‘Oh and Pep?’
‘Mhh?’
‘I love you. I love you 3000.’
‘Love you more.’
‘And I’d love to not be in this room right now!’ Clint cries out dramatically, ‘Goodbye. You’re never seeing me again!’
Steve clears his throat and all but runs out of the room, Thor likes to stay, but is kicked out by Nat and Bruce. I stare up at Pep:
‘Hey, Pep?’
‘Mhh?’
‘Ever tried Schwarma?’