The dust settles.
leaving a man, kneeling on the rocky surface of Titan.
The man is broken.
The man is tired.
The man feels the need to close his eyes and sleep for an eternity.
What had happened that day?
Was it still morning?
Or had night arrived amid the chaos?
It was always night, wasn't it?
The crisp dark layer above him was proof.
Space was lonely.
But the feeling of loneliness was welcome, for it never bothered him.
The man was filled with regret, but what for?
His fingertips tingled with longing.
But what were they yearning for?
Warmth.
How long had he been kneeling here?
On the infertile land?
His thoughts swimming in a whirlpool of nothing.
"He did it".
Who?
Who is... He?
The man felt cold.
His body felt heavy.
But his head felt light.
He stared at the rocky land below him.
Why was his stomach hurting?
Almost as if...
He was about to be sick.
No...
It was the stab wound.
But who had created the wound?
Was it "he"?
When he thinks of "he", images of a glistening rock infiltrate his mind.
A shiny stone loved by all.
Emerald.
But when the man imagines the shimmering stone, all he can feel is hate.
Why is that?
The man glances up from the ground that had brought him such pain.
Was he alone?
He could hear a thump against the rocky planet.
The slight sound of machinery.
He vaguely remembers people...
A deep, deep burly voice.
A monotonous voice. A female. Not human
A normal man, the sound of his voice didn't ring a bell, but he remembered a plan being set in stone. He had been a leader
An artificial voice. It had been filled with betrayal and hurt.
The swishing of air. Light, and flowy. A normal voice, but a mysterious aura...
And...
No.
The pain is back.
He doesn't want it to come back.
He remembers youth.
A child.
Wait. Where was he again?
Why was he surrounded by metal machines?
A spaceship?
A spaceship.
A cool hand rests itself against the man's face, as he felt plastic touch his lips.
He felt a cool liquid seep down his dry throat. He felt refreshed.
The fuzziness was slowly fading, returning the man to reality.
Or was it always reality?
When he finally focused on his surroundings he was met with a blue face and black eyes.
Nebula.
Where was everyone else?
Then it hit him.
"He" had been Thanos.
And Thanos had taken everything from him.
He took away someone important.
Someone Special.
A.. Child.....
He had lost a child...
That child was like a son.
Not biological, but they needed each other.
So they were there for each other.
That child. That boy.
Had made the pessimistic man realize that optimism isn't just for the lucky.
Peter Parker.
That was the child's name.
The daze had completely dissipated.
"Tony, are you coherent?"
"I've patched your stomach wound up. But.."
"We're stuck floating through space. With no food. and no water."
Tony heard the child’s words resonate within him.
"Mr. Stark......."
nope... Just miserable.
But that child knew how to stay optimistic even in the bleakest of moments
Wouldn't hurt to give it a try.
"Maybe.. It'll be alright..."
-------------------------------
Three years later the man sits in his office holding a mahogany picture frame of the boy.
The boy is holding a certificate.
But he’s holding it upside down.