Endgame
"And... you've won. Congratulations." Tony says with a smile, reaching his hand out to Nebula. "Fair game. Good Sport. Have fun?" he asks as she shakes his hand. She nods once.
"It was fun." she says, her voice monotone as always, but he could see a hint of a smile on her face. He nods, and leans back.
"Good." he says, she looks at him for a moment, before continuing.
"This game. Are you the inventor of it?" she asks curiously. Tony lets out a small laugh.
"No. I don't know who invented it. But I learned it from my wife. We used to play it when we got bored at my parents' parties. Even played it at a debriefing once, really pissed Steve off, which was a bonus at the time." Tony mused, while Nebula listened patiently.
"You are married?" she asks, not commenting on the game. Tony nodded, rubbing his hand down his face before fiddling with his wedding ring. He had finally gotten to wear it in public after they announced their marriage. And now...
"Yeah. I am..or was. I don't know if she..." Tony trailed off, and Nebula nodded.
"You should eat. I'll get you something." she said, standing up and walking to the back of the ship. He let out a sigh and walked over to his helmet, that had been laying on the floor.
"I guess now's a good time as any to record my last message...geez." Tony muttered to himself as he messed with the communications in the helmet.
"This thing on?"
---
"You think this Carol Danvers will be able to help us undo what he did?" Clint asks, and Natasha looks up from her bowl of soup to look at him. He had shown up a couple days ago, and has now made it his personal mission to make sure she ate and as he put it "keep living". She shrugs her shoulders.
"I'm not so sure there is any way to reverse it." she says quietly, and she can see the pain in his eyes as she says it. She offers him an apologetic smile, and he just lets out a sigh.
"I know it all seems pretty hopeless now Nat. But...let's wait and see if there is any hope left before we completely give up?" Clint says, crouching to meet her eyes. She swallows the lump that appears in her throat and nods.
"Okay." she says, and he looks relived.
"Mrs. Stark. A transmission has just appeared on the Stark Secure Server." JARVIS' voice speaks up suddenly, and Natasha jumps out of her seat.
"What time was the transmission recorded, JARVIS?" she asked frantically, as Clint watched on in concern.
"I am unable to find that information, but the signal does indicate the transmission is not from Earth." JARVIS continued, and Natasha turned her head to look at Clint.
"You think that's Tony?" Clint asks softly. She shakes her head.
"It has to be, it's his secure server. Unless someone up there got access to his suit. In which case, we could have another threat on our hands." Natasha said, pulling up the server, and looking at the file.
"Should I get the team?" Clint asked, coming to stand next to her.
"Not yet." she says, before clicking on the file. A video feed pulls up and she lets out a strangled gasp at who is on the other end. Tears fill her eyes as she sees her husband, who is obviously very malnourished, settle into the frame.
"This thing on?" her husband's voice asks, and Natasha falls backward into her seat at the voice.
"Hey, Natasha...Nat. If you find this recording, don't post it on social media. It's gonna be a real tear-jerker." she huffs out a broken laugh, rolling her eyes. "I don't know if you're ever going to see these. I don't even know if you're...if you're still...Oh god, I hope so. Today is day 21, uh 22. You know, if it wasn't for the existential terror of staring into a void of space, I'd say I'm feeling better today. The infection's run its course, thanks to the blue meanie back there." Tony says, and Natasha's eyes roam over his figure, to see bandages on his left side. She runs her fingers through her hair, and tries to stop the flow of tears. She wasn't sure who this 'blue meanie' he was referring to was, but he still hadn't mentioned Peter, and that wasn't a good sign.
"You'd love her. Very practical. Only a tiny bit sadistic. Some fuel cells were cracked during battle, but we figured out a way to reverse the ion charge to buy ourselves about 48 hours of time. But it's now dead in the water. We're 1000 light years from the nearest 7-11. Oxygen will run out tomorrow. And that'll be it. And Tash, I...I was really hoping to pull off one last miracle and make it back. But it looks like...well you know what it looks like. Don't feel bad about this. I mean, if you grovel for a couple of weeks, and then move on with enormous guilt. God, why can't I ever be serious? I want you to move on Tash, don't...don't let this break you. You were always stronger than me...you'll be okay. I should probably lie down, before...Please know that... when I drift off, I will think about you. Because it's always you. I love you, Tasha...and just know that I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Tony finished, and the video cut out.
Natasha stares at the screen for a couple seconds, before her body was wracked with sobs. She felt Clint wrap his arms around her hurriedly, and she fisted his shirt in her hands, and sobbed.
"When was that transmission received?" a voice spoke up from behind them. Natasha let go of Clint and turned around to see Carol standing in the doorway, gaze fixed on the video. She took a moment to collect herself, before answering.
"Uh, JARVIS told me about it, just now. Just before I watched it. Probably about 10 minutes ago." she answered, and Carol nodded.
"There's a chance he's still alive, depending on how long ago that was recorded. I can trace the signal, and go look for him." she said, her voice solid and assured. Natasha gaped for a moment, before nodding.
"You can do that?" she asked, and Carol nodded, before coming forward and typing a few things on the screen.
"I'll go find him. I can't promise he'll be alive. But I'll get him back for you." Carol said, meeting Natasha's eyes with fervor.
"Please." she said, her voice faint. Carol nodded, and left quickly. Once she was gone, Natasha sat back down, and put her head in her hands.
"Nat. He could be okay." Clint said after a few moments of silence, his hand coming to rest on her back. She lifted her head up and looked at him, swallowing thickly.
"Yeah. But Peter's not." she replied, voice rough. Clint stared at her for a moment.
"How do you know?" he asked. She blinked the tears out of her eyes, before sighing.
"Because he didn't mention him once. And he said he was sorry at the end, and I know he wasn't apologizing for dying. I know him too well, he was apologizing...because Pe-Peter's...gone. And he blames himself." she finished, fresh tears making tracks down her face. Clint looked at her, his eyes showing the devastation he was feeling.
"Oh, Nat." he whispered, before enveloping her in another hug.
---
Nebula helped him down the ramp of the ship, and he couldn't make out the figures on the lawn in the darkness. But as he reached the bottom, Steve came rushing over. Nebula looked to him and he nodded, letting her pass his weight off to the soldier. He looked at Steve, and swallowed.
"Couldn't stop him." he whispered, and Steve frowned, helping him down the rest of the ramp.
"Neither could I." he replied. Tony shook his head, tears stinging his eyes.
"I lost my kid." he said, and Steve looked at him with concern.
"Tony, we lost." he replied, and Tony just ignored him, straining to look at the others on the lawn.
"Is, uh...?" he starts, worried to ask if Natasha was still alive, when a small figure rushed up to him. He glimpsed a flash of red hair, before he was pulled into a hug.
"Thank God." his wife said into his shoulder, and he let out a shaky sigh in relief.
"It's okay." he whispers to her, pressing a kiss to her cheek. She pulls away and looks at him, her eyes shining with tears.
"He's gone, isn't he?" she asks quietly. He just nods, and she closes her eyes in pain before nodding too.
"Okay." she says. "Let's get you inside."
---
"It's been 23 days since Thanos came to Earth." Rhodey said, his arms crossed. Natasha was sitting next to Tony, who had been confined to a wheelchair while they treated his undernourishment. She was holding tight to his hand, as he stared blankly at the list of those who were dusted flashed on the screen. He averted his eyes once Peter's face showed up, and he returned his focus to their hands.
"World governments are in pieces. The parts that are still working are trying to take a census. And it looks like he did... he did exactly what he said he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out fifty percent, of all living creatures." Natasha spoke up, rubbing Tony's arm both in comfort, and to reassure herself that he was real.
"Where is he now?" Tony asked, looking up over the top of his glasses.
"We don't know. He just opened a portal and walked through." Steve said, his voice even. Tony let out a sigh, and looked around, his eyes landing on Thor, who was sitting on a bench staring blankly ahead.
"What's wrong with him?" Tony asked, turning back to the group. Natasha opened her mouth to answer before the raccoon beat her to it.
"Oh, he's pissed. He thinks he failed. Which of course he did, but you know there's a lot of that's going around, ain't there?" Rocket said bitterly, and Natasha rolled her eyes. Tony looked confused though, and raised a gaunt finger to point at the raccoon.
"Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear." he said, and Natasha snorted. She knew Tony was resorting to snark, because he wasn't ready to deal with the reality of what was happening.
"Maybe I am." Rocket defended, earning a snort from Rhodey. And Tony looked like he was going to reply when Steve spoke up, voice professional.
"We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep Space scans, and satellites, and we got nothing. Tony, you fought him." Steve said, playing tactician. Tony tensed beside her at being addressed. He pulled his hand out of hers and looked at Steve incredulously.
"Who told you that?" he asked, his eyes wide, before he shook his head. "I didn't fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street Magician gave away the stone. That's what happened. There was no fight." Tony said, on the verge of hysteria. She tried to comfort him, but he shrugged her hand off his shoulder.
"Okay." Steve said, plactatingly.
"He's unbeatable." Tony continued. Steve let out an impatient breath, and Natasha knew this wasn't going to end well. She sat back in her seat, ready to intervene if necessary, but she still felt fragile from learning about Peter.
"Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?" Steve asked again, and Tony let out a bitter laugh.
"Pfft! I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming." Tony said, waving his arms frantically, sounding crazy. Natasha wanted so badly to help him, but he seemed to be shying away from any assistance.
"Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus." Steve said, exasperatedly. Natasha looked over at Tony, and she could see something in his eyes shift, and there was only pure anger in them.
"And I needed you. As in past tense. That trumps what you need. It's too late buddy. Sorry. You know what I need?" Tony spits, suddenly standing up, knocking things off the table. Natasha stands up after him, and lets her hands hover behind him, ready to assist him.
"I need to shave. And I believe I remember telling all youse-" Tony says, making a move for Steve. Rhodey cuts between them quickly, with a hand on Tony's chest.
"Tony, Tony, Tony!" Rhodey says, trying to guide him back to his chair, but Tony kept pushing. Natasha felt frozen, unsure of what to do. She knew his grief was finally hitting him, and he was going to take it out on whoever was in his way.
"-Alive and otherwise what we needed was a suit of armor around the world! Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not- that's what we needed!" Tony continued, his voice raising into a shout. Steve just crossed his arms, not helping the situation.
"Well, that didn't work out, did it?" Steve said. And Tony started towards him with new fervor, Rhodey still trying to hold him back.
"I said, 'we'd lose'. You said, 'We'll do that together too.' And guess what, Cap? We lost. And you weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the Avengers, we're the Avengers. Not the Prevengers." Tony rambled, voice thick with emotion, as he started looking around the room hysterically.
"Okay." Natasha said gently, stepping forward, but he ignored her.
"Right?" Tony repeats, looking around at everyone.
"You made your point. Just sit down." Rhodey pleads softly, pushing Tony to his chair. Tony lets up for a second.
"Okay..." Tony huffs, looking at Rhodey, eyes wild.
"Okay?" Rhodey asks, pushing him closer to the chair, before Tony shakes his head again.
"Nah, nah. Here's my point. You know what?" Tony started again, fighting against Rhodey's hold more violently.
"Tony, you're sick." Natasha heard herself pleading, wishing he would just sit down. Tony's eyes flew around the room, landing on Carol.
"She's great, by the way." Tony said, pointing at her, while Rhodey tried to coax him into sitting down.
"We need you. You're new blood. Bunch of tired old mules!" Tony said, finally breaking away from Rhodey and marching right up to Steve.
"I got nothing for you, Cap! I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust. Liar." Tony spat, voice a harsh whisper, while Steve's eyes flashed with emotion. They stare at each other for a moment, before Tony rips the housing unit off his chest, and shoves it into Steve's hand.
"Here, take this. You find him, and you put that on. You hide." he continues, voice rough and cracking with emotion. Natasha sees him falter, rushing to his side as he falls to the ground.
"Tony!" she shouts, kneeling down next to him. He tries to wave her off, but fails.
"I'm fine. I..." he struggles out, before his eyes roll to the back of his head, and he falls unconscious against her chest.
"Oh, Tony." she sighs, looking up to Rhodey for help. They get him set up in a hospital bed in the next room, Bruce helping to evaluate any damage he might have done ripping out his IV. Clint walks in as she watches Bruce reinsert a new IV.
"I'll watch him." he says, and she nods, stepping forward and gently taking the glasses off his face and setting them on the table beside the bed.
"Thanks, Clint. I'm going to go...do damage control I guess." she replies, gesturing to the group gathered outside the room. He nods softly, and sits down next to the bed. She looks at her husband one last time, before rejoining the group.
"Bruce gave him a sedative. He's gonna probably be out for the rest of the day." she said, mainly to Rhodey, as she approached.
"You guys take care of him. And I'll bring him a Xorrian Elixir when I come back." Carol speaks up, turning and walking away quickly. They all exchange looks and follow her.
"Where are you going?" Natasha demands, when they catch up. The woman turns impatiently.
"To kill Thanos." she says simply, and Natasha glances at Steve.
"Hey, you know, we usually work as a team here, and between you and I, morale's a little fragile." she says gently, giving Carol a small smile.
"We realize up there is more your territory, but this is our fight too." Steve adds, voice grim.
"You even know where he is?" Rhodey asks, crossing his arms. Carol looks around at them.
"I know people who might." she says with a shrug, when Nebula speaks up behind her.
"Don't bother. I can tell you where Thanos is. Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me. And when he worked, he talked about his great plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him. I'd ask where would we go once his plan was complete? His answer was always the same: 'To the Garden.'" she says, voice flat and deep.
"That's cute, Thanos has a retirement plan." Rhodey scoffs, earning a fond look from Natasha.
"So where is he?" Steve asks, as they all gather around a holotable.
"When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions. No one's ever seen anything like it... Until two days ago. On this planet." Rocket says, bringing it up on the hologram.
"Thanos is there." Nebula confirms, and Natasha stares at the holograms.
"He used the stones again." she says, and Bruce speaks up behind her.
"Hey, hey, hey. We'd be going in short-handed, you know." Bruce warns, always the voice of reason.
"Look, he's still got the stones, so..." Rhodey trails off, looking around at everyone.
"So let's get him... Use them to bring everyone back." Carol says, looking at them with wide eyes.
"Just like that?" Rhodey asks.
"Yeah, just like that." Steve answers, as he looks to Carol.
"Even if there's a small chance that we can undo this... I mean we owe it to everyone who's not in this room to try." Natasha agrees, her mind on Peter.
"If we do this, how do we know it's gonna end any differently than it did before?" Bruce asks.
"Because before, you didn't have me." Carol responds, and Rhodey holds up his hands.
"Hey, new girl, everyone here is about that superhero life. And if you don't mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?" he demands. Carol just looks at him, face devoid of emotion.
"There are a lot of other planets in the universe. And unfortunately, they didn't have you guys." she replies, and Rhodey just nods in acceptance. Then they all hear a chair being scrapped across the floor, and they all turn to see Thor standing up, heading over to stand in front of Carol. He sticks his hand out, waiting, until his ax flies into his hand. Carol just stands there, unflinching.
"I like this one." he states, with a smile. Natasha lets out a nervous laugh before Steve speaks up.
"Let's go get this son of a bitch."
---
"The stones were gone?" Tony asks, later that night after Natasha had returned from their Thanos killing mission. Natasha nods her head weakly, her gaze fixed on their entwined hands.
"He had already destroyed them...and without them..." she trails off when her voice cracks with emotion. Tony just rubs his thumb across her knuckles, in some semblance of a comforting gesture. They sit silently together for a moment, before he looks at her.
"Tash." he whispers, and she looks up at him, her eyes glittering with unshed tears.
"Give me six months. I will try and figure out if there is any other way to get him back." Tony says, trying to sound confident, but knowing he failed. She arches her eyebrow at him.
"And after six months?" she asks quietly. He averts his gaze to the ceiling above his hospital bed.
"Tony." she prompts after he doesn't answer.
"You remember that conversation we had...like two or three years after we got married?" Tony asks, looking down at her as her eyes widen in realization.
"You don't mean?" she asks. And he nods.
"Yeah. If I can't figure out how to bring him back...Tash." his voice breaks, and he takes a couple deep breaths, before he can continue.
"He was my whole world. And if he's gone for good. I don't...I don't know if I can keep going...unless I have a reason to. Unless I have something to live for. Like I lived for him." he finishes, looking at the tears filling her eyes. She blinks quickly, a few tears falling down her cheeks, before she nods.
"Okay. Six months, and then we'll talk about it." she says, squeezing his hand tightly. He nods, squeezing her hand back just as tightly, both of them shedding silent tears.
---
ONE YEAR LATER
---
"Carol, are we seeing you here next month?" she asks, looking over to the woman's hologram. She was at the compound for the week, checking in on things, while Steve took a few days off.
"Not likely." the woman replied, looking apologetic.
"What, you gonna get another haircut?" Rocket pipes in from his hologram, referring to the woman's new hairstyle. Carol rolls her eyes in annoyance.
"Listen fur-face, I'm covering a lot of territory. The things that are happening on Earth, are happening everywhere, on thousands of planets." Carol defends, glaring at the animal until he hold his hands up in surrender.
"All right, all right, that's a good point. That's a good point." Rocket murmurs in defeat.
"So you might not see me for a while." she says apologetically. Natasha waves her off and shrugs.
"Alright. Uh, well. This channel is always active. So, if anything goes sideways... anyone's making trouble where they shouldn't... comes through me or Steve." she says. Okoye, Rocket, and Carol all nod their agreement and cut off their calls, leaving Rhodey and her alone.
"Where are you?" she asks, trying to sound casual. He just looks at her for a moment before answering.
"Mexico. That's where the satellites last picked up on him. But there's no sign of him now. Sorry." he answers and she nods. Clint has disappeared about six months previously, and hadn't checked in since. She was worried about him, and what he could be doing.
"Whatever he's doing, he's staying out of sight, but he isn't hurting anyone. It seems like he's just wandering." Rhodey continues with a shrug. Natasha nods, swallowing a lump in her throat.
"Will you let me know if you find where he's heading?" she asks, voice quiet. Rhodey nods, and hesitates for a moment.
"He's doing okay. He...he's throwing everything into taking care of Pepper. It's driving her up the wall, I think." she says, and he looks grateful for the update.
"When's the baby due? How's Pepper?" he asks.
"She's doing good, her and Happy are engaged now, they moved into the cabin with Tony. The baby's due in three months...in August." she says, her voice cracking. August was Peter's birthday, and she didn't know how this year's reminder was going to go with the baby due so close to it. Rhodey nods in understanding.
"He's got something to focus on...so it should be okay." Rhodey says, and Natasha shrugs, tears in her eyes.
"I don't know. Last year...I thought he was going to give up, I can only hope this year will be better, considering everything." she said, a single tear falling down her face. Rhodey gives her a sympathetic smile.
"I know. He's strong. You both are. You'll get through it. Call me if you need me okay?" Rhodey says softly, and she nods, unable to speak around the lump in her throat. He gives her one last smile before ending the call.
She closes her eyes, and lets the few tears fall down her face with a deep breath, before she hears footsteps approaching.
"You know I'd offer to cook you dinner but you seem pretty miserable already." Steve says, and she opens her eyes to look over at him where he was leaning against the bookcase.
"You back for good?" she asks. He shrugs.
"And to check on a friend." he says, looking at her with concern.
"Clearly, your friend is fine." she replies, sending him an annoyed look. He smirks at her before walking over and setting his jacket on a chair and sitting down.
"You know I saw a pod of whales when I was coming up the bridge." he states, changing the subject. She raises her eyebrow.
"In the Hudson?" she asks, playing along. He nods.
"There's fewer ships, cleaner water." he confirms, and she lets out a tired sigh.
"You know, if you're about to tell me to look on the bright side. Um... I'm about you to hit you in the head with a peanut butter sandwich." she says with a lazy smirk. He lets out a stiff laugh, before nodding.
"Sorry. Force of habit." he says, and she nods, handing the plate with the peanut butter sandwich to him.
"You know, I keep telling everybody they should move on and... grow. Some do. But not us." Steve starts, and Natasha eyes him carefully.
"If I move on, who does this?" she asks, looking over at him.
"Maybe it doesn't need to be done." Steve says with a shrug, and she watches him silently for a minute.
"I used to have nothing. And then I got this. This job...my family. And I was... I was better because of it. And even though...they're gone...even though he's gone, I'm still trying to be better. Trying to keep everyone safe." she says slowly, looking away from him to the opposite wall.
"I think we both need to get back to our lives." he says then, and she looks over to him with a joking smile.
"You first." she jokes, before an alarm blares from the front gate. She pulls up the camera footage, and sees a guy standing there in front of a van.
"Oh! Hi. Hi! Is anyone home? This is Scott Lang. I tried to break into your facility a few years ago. I get really small sometimes? I fought the Falcon on the roof? You probably wouldn't recognize me." the man rambles. Steve stands up at the mention of Sam.
"Is this an old message?" he asks, furrowing his eyebrows. She shakes her head, looking over at him, and standing up too.
"It's the front gate." she replies. Steve looks at her.
"Sam mentioned him once...called him Tic-Tac. He goes by Ant-man I think. But he was on the list of the snapped." Steve said confused. She looked at him in surprise before the man spoke up again.
"Ant-Man? Ant-Man, maybe you know that. I need to talk to you guys." he says urgently. Steve clicks the button to let him in and they rush to meet him, bringing him back to the common room.
"Scott. Sam mentioned fighting you before...Are you okay?" Steve asked, as they watched the man pace back and forth in front of them.
"Yeah. I'm fine." he says, still pacing and muttering to himself, before he stops and looks at them, hands in his hair.
"Have you ever studied Quantum Physics?" he asks, and Steve looks at her confused, so she answers.
"Only to make conversation." she replies, and Steve looks at her dryly so she shrugs. Scott nods, accepting the answer, before continuing.
"Alright. So... last year, right before Thanos, I was in a place called the Quantum Realm. The Quantum Realm is like its own microscopic universe. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small. Hope, she's my...She was my...She was supposed to pull me out. And then Thanos happened, and I got stuck in there." Scott explained, and Natasha winced in sympathy.
"I'm sorry. That must've been a very long year." she replies, and he shakes his head frantically.
"Yeah, but that's just it. It wasn't. For me, it was an hour." he says, and Natasha looks over at Steve in shock.
"See, the rules of the Quantum Realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. Is that anybody's sandwich? I'm starving." Scott says, walking over to her sandwich and taking a bite.
"Scott, what are you talking about?" Steve asks, bringing the man back to the conversation.
"What I'm saying is, time works differently in the Quantum Realm. The only problem is right now, we don't have a way to navigate it. But what if we did? I can't stop thinking about it. What if, we could somehow control the chaos, and we could navigate it? What if there was a way to enter the Quantum Realm at a certain point in time but then exit at another point in time? Like... Like before Thanos." Scott says, waving his hands around, and Natasha freezes.
"Wait, are you talking about a time machine?" Steve asks, and Natasha flicks her eyes between the two of them, mind racing.
"No. No, of course not. No, not a time machine. It's more like a... Yeah, a time machine. I know it's crazy. But I can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be some way... There's gotta be...some w... it's crazy." Scott says, backtracking with a shake of his head. She holds up her hand to stop him.
"Scott, I get e-mails from a raccoon, so nothing sounds crazy anymore." she reassures him. He nods, looking between both of them.
"So who do we talk to about this?" he asks, and Natasha shares a look with Steve.
"We need to talk to my husband." she says.
---
"Tony would you just sit down? I'm fine." Pepper said, swatting his hands away as he tried to tuck a blanket around her swollen stomach.
"It's chilly out here, I don't want you to catch a cold. Crap, I forgot your water. Be right back." he says, and she just rolls her eyes fondly before waving him away.
"Tony! You have visitors." he hears Pepper call from the porch, and he furrows his eyebrows and walks outside. He eyes Natasha suspiciously when she walks up with Steve and another man who looked familiar.
"Hey Hap!" he calls, and the man appears behind him in the doorway.
"Yeah?" the man asks, also eyeing the newcomers.
"Take Pep inside would you? Keep an eye on her?" he asks, and Happy rolls his eyes but complies, walking over and helping Pepper to her feet.
"You do know she's my fiance right?" he asks as they pass him again. Tony waves him away with a grumble, before walking to meet his wife at the steps.
"Hi, love. Didn't know you were going to bring some friends over." he says casually, pressing a kiss to her cheek when he reaches her. She rolls her eyes and winds her arm around his back and motions to the others.
"This is Scott Lang, or Ant-Man." she says, and Tony furrows his eyebrows as he looks down at her.
"Lang. I've heard of you. I thought you were...uh you know." Tony said awkwardly, and the other man just stands there gaping at him. Steve shakes his head softly before turning to him.
"That's just it Tony, he wasn't. He was somewhere else. Look, can we go somewhere and discuss this?" Steve asked him. Tony looks down at Natasha who nods quickly, and he agrees, leading them to the porch. He sits and pulls Natasha onto his lap as he listens to their plans.
"Now, we know what it sounds like..." Scott trails off after they explained everything.
"Tony, after everything you've seen, is anything really impossible?" Steve cuts in, his voice desperate. Tony sighs, running his hand over his wife's arm and looks at them.
"Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck Scale, which then triggers the Deutsch Proposition. Can we agree on that?" Tony says then, receiving blank stares from the two men and an exasperated one from his wife. He rolls his eyes, pressing a kiss to her forehead, before continuing.
"In Layman's terms, it means you're not coming home." Tony says, and he can feel Natasha tense up a bit in his arms.
"I did." Scott argues, and Tony shakes his head.
"No, you accidentally survived. It's a billion to one cosmic fluke. And now you wanna pull off a...What do you call it?" Tony asks, shifting Natasha to the chair and standing up, resting his hand on her shoulder.
"A time heist?" Scott replied hesitantly, causing Tony to let out a small huff of laughter.
"Yeah, a time heist. Of course, why didn't we think of this before? Oh, because it's laughable? Because it's a pipe-dream?" Tony spits, feeling frustrated. He knew that speaking to Scott probably gave Natasha some kind of hope, and he didn't want to have to be the one to crush that.
"The Stones are in the past. We can go back and get them." Scott says, looking between Natasha and Steve for help.
"We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everyone back." Natasha speaks up finally, and he turns to look at her, but she's avoiding his gaze.
"Or screw it up worse than he already has, right?" Tony replies, trying to get them to see reason. Steve shakes his head, crossing his arms defiantly.
"I don't believe we would." he says confidently. Tony smiles.
"Gotta say, sometimes I miss that giddy optimism. However, high hopes won't help if there's no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said time heist. I believe the most likely outcome would be our collective demise." Tony says, trying to make his voice gentle.
"Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel. That means no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events-" Scott continues, and Tony stops him.
"I'm gonna stop you right there, Scott. Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on Back To The Future?" Tony asks curiously, watching as Scott shook his head in embarrassment.
"No." he says awkwardly, and Tony lets out a sigh, rubbing his nose.
"Good. You had me worried there. 'Cause that'd be horse shit. That's not how quantum physics works." Tony replies, sitting back down beside Natasha. She grabs his hand softly and looks at him, hope in her eyes. He swallows down the guilt of having to go against it.
"Tony... We have to take a stand." she whispers, and he looks at her desperately.
"We did stand. And yet, here we are." he replies, pain in his voice, as he looks at her. She lets out a shaky breath and looks away from him, as Scott speaks up again.
"I know you got a lot on the line. You got a wife, a...pregnant friend? But I lost someone very important to me. A lot of people did. And now, now we have a chance to bring her back. To bring everyone back. And you're telling me that you won't even...?" Scott says, and Tony shakes his head, squeezing Natasha's hand.
"That's right, Scott, I won't even. I lost my kid. Okay? I lost him. And that pregnant friend in there, is caring our child. I have to make sure the world is safe, for my kid. The kid that's here. I can't get stuck in the past." Tony says sadly, blinking back tears. He could hear Natasha breathing shakily beside him as Steve looked at him in confusion.
"Pepper's carrying your baby? As in yours and Nat's?" Steve asks softly. Natasha looks up with a sad smile.
"Yes. I can't get pregnant. Pepper offered to be our surrogate years ago...so we finally took her up on it." she replies, and Steve looks at her with both pain and happiness in his eyes.
"I wish you'd come here to ask me something else. Anything else. Honestly." Tony piped up then, rubbing Natasha's back in comfort as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Tony, I get it. And I'm happy for you guys, I really am. But this is a second chance." Steve says, trying again.
"I got my second chance right here, Cap. I can't roll the dice again. Not again." he says, with a pained smile. And Steve nods, standing up.
"I'll walk you to the car." Natasha says, walking away and sharing a brief hug with Steve, before they left. She watched them go for a minute, before heading back over to him.
"I'm sorry." he says as soon as she reaches him. She looks at him curiously, before settling in his lap once again, head tucked under his chin, fingers tracing an absent pattern on his chest.
"For what?" she asks after a bit. He lets out a shaky breath, his throat tight.
"For having to kill your hope like that. I-if there was any way it could...you know that I...for him..." Tony chokes out and Natasha shushes him, pressing a kiss to his neck.
"I know, baby. I know. It's okay." she whispers, tucking herself closer to his chest. He wraps his arms tightly around her as they sit there in silence.
---
"What are you two fine ladies up to?" Tony asks, walking into the room where she and Pepper were discussing the garden.
"Discussing Gerald's tendency to eat our fruit before we can." Natasha states with a laugh, before taking in Tony's stance. He was staring over at his work table, only half paying attention to the conversation.
"Yeah? Well that's Gerald for you." he states absently, and Natasha shares a concerned look with Pepper. She pulls him down to sit next to her on the couch, when he suddenly turns to her eyes wild.
"I figured it out, by the way." he blurts, and she raises her eyebrows. Pepper looks between the two of them.
"You know, just so we're talking about the same thing-" Pepper asks, watching Tony. He lets out a stuttered breath.
"Time travel." he says with a jerky nod. Looking between the two of them.
"What? Wow... That's amazing, and..." Pepper starts, amazement in her voice, but trailing off.
"Terrifying." Natasha finishes with a nod. Tony looks down at her, grabbing her hand.
"That's right." he agrees.
"Does this mean you could help everybody?" Pepper asks gently, looking at them. Tony nods, but then shrugs.
"Not if I stop. I can put a pin in it right now, and stop." he says, as if he was begging them to stop him. Natasha furrows her eyebrows, looking over at Pepper.
"Tony, trying to get you to stop has been one of the few failures of my life." Pepper replies, with a laugh. Natasha smiles at her, before turning back to Tony, who is also smiling.
"Something tells me I should put it in a locked box and drop it at the bottom of a lake...go to bed." Tony says, eyes becoming unfocused in thought. Natasha rubs his arm softly until he meets her eyes.
"But would you be able to rest?" she asks gently, and he lets out a defeated sigh, dropping his forehead against hers.
"We're going to have to go to the compound." he says, lifting his head back up and looking at Pepper apologetically. She smiles at him encouragingly.
"I'll be fine. I have Happy, remember?" she says, giving him permission. "Besides. The baby isn't due for another three months, you have time to save the world one more time." she says with a smirk, causing Tony to let out a startled laugh.
---
They were driving quickly down the driveway of the compound a couple days later, when they spotted Steve standing outside.
"Be nice." Natasha reminded him, before they came to a stop next to him. He scoffed, rolling down the window.
"Why the long face? Let me guess: He turned into a baby." he asks, and Steve shakes his head in defeat, before looking at Tony with a flat look.
"Among other things, yeah. What are you doing here?" Steve asks, and Tony gets out of the car. He hurries around to the other side, opening the door for Natasha, talking as he did so.
"That's the EPR Paradox. Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might've wound up pushing time through Lang. It's tricky. Dangerous. Somebody should've cautioned you against it." Tony said, coming back around to stop at the back of the car with Natasha, who playfully hit his shoulder. Steve shook his head.
"You did." Steve admitted with a sigh. And Tony smirked, ignoring Natasha's glare.
"Oh, did I?" he asks smugly. "Thank God I'm here. Regardless, I fixed it." he says, holding up his right hand, brandishing the device he built. He turned to the trunk, opening it up.
"A fully functioning Time-Space GPS. I just want peace." he says, flashing Steve a peace sign before rummaging around in the back for his supplies. "Turns out, resentment is corrosive, and I hate it." he says, closing the trunk and standing in front of Steve.
"Me too." Steve admits, with a small grateful smile.
"We got a shot at getting these stones, but I gotta tell you my priorities: Bring back what we lost? I hope, yes. Keep what I got? I have to, at all costs. And... maybe not die trying will be nice." he says, watching Steve carefully.
"Sounds like a deal." he replies, holding out his hand, which Tony shakes.
"Are are getting the whole team?" he asks, as they head inside.
"We're working on that right now. Rhodey thinks he's found Clint." Steve replies, and Natasha looks to him.
"I'll go get him. He'll come if he sees me." she says, and Steve nods.
"I'll get the coordinates." he says.
---
"Okay, so the 'how' works. Now we gotta figure out the when and the where. Almost all of us has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones." Steve says, as they all gather around in the common room. Clint seemed pretty shaken from his test ride, and Tony had to assume he went back and saw his family, if the baseball glove he was staring at was any indication.
"Well I'd substitute the word encounter for damn well near been killed by one of the six Infinity Stones." Tony cuts in, looking away from Clint to the rest of the group.
"I haven't, I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about." Scott says, his hand raised. Tony rolled his eyes, and glances at Natasha, who is watching Clint worriedly.
"Regardless, we only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each, and these stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history." Bruce says, taking off his glasses and running his hands through his hair. Tony nods, clapping the scientist on the shoulder.
"Our history. So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in." he reminds everyone.
"Which means we have to pick our targets." Clint speaks up, voice quiet, and Tony nods.
"Correct." Tony says, and Natasha looks up at him.
"So where could we go, where all the stones were, with the smallest chance we run into our past selves?" she mused, and everyone sat there silent for a minute thinking.
"What if we get them right after Thanos snapped the first time?" Steve speaks up, and Tony sits up a bit straighter.
"That could work. We know he went right to that planet you guys found him at right? So we go there, we grab the gauntlet while he's weak, and we get out of there." Tony says, standing up and beginning to pace.
"And just leave him there?" Scott asks incredulously. Tony shrugs.
"Our priority is the stones. We flash to that time, grab them, leave. We don't have time to fight him, we won't win." Tony explains, but Natasha holds up her hands.
"Wait, if we leave him alive, won't he just come after us again?" she asks, her eyebrows raised. Tony nods.
"Yeah. No doubt he will. But if we use the stones to undo what he did, and everything that happened as a result of that...there was a chance it would bring him back too anyway. Restore the balance and all that shit he was always ranting about. But this time...hopefully...we'll all be together. And we'll have the stones." Tony says, looking over at Steve who is watching him carefully. Everyone stays silent, thinking over his words, before Rhodey speaks up.
"It makes sense. It's the only shot we have. If he comes, he comes." Rhodey says, before Thor stands up.
"And if he comes, I'll aim for the head this time." he agrees.
"We're in agreement then? Flash to the planet, grab it and go. Then if we undo everything...we should be able to beat him when he comes calling?" Tony asks, looking around at the people that had slowly become part of his family throughout the years.
"This will be the fight of our lives. But we're gonna win. Whatever it takes." Steve says, looking at him with a determined nod.
---
"Come on, buddy. Wake up. That's my man." he says, shaking Steve's shoulder until he opens his eyes. He helps the man up and hands him his shield. "You lose this again, I'm keeping it." he snarks, and Steve looks around.
"What happened?" Steve asks. Tony shrugs.
"You messed with time. It tends to mess back. You'll see." he says, pointing over to where Thor was standing. They walk over to see him staring down at a lone Thanos sitting in the distance.
"What's he been doing?" Tony asks, watching the titan warily.
"Absolutely nothing." Thor answers, voice rumbling with suspicion.
"Where are the stones?" Steve asks. Tony gestures around the compounds remains. Hulk had just finished snapping, starting to shrink back down into Bruce, when something entered the atmosphere and blew the compound to shreds. He could only hope Natasha was okay, and that the snap actually worked.
"Somewhere under all this. All I know is he doesn't have them." Tony says, pointing out the one bright side.
"So we keep it that way." Steve says, and Tony nods.
"You know it's a trap, right?" Thor asks them both. Tony lets out a sarcastic breath.
"Yeah. And I don't much care." he says coldly.
"Good. Just as long we are all in agreement." Thor says, calling Storm-breaker to his hand, his clothes suddenly transforming to his armor. "Let's kill him properly this time." he says, before he begins walking towards the Titan. Tony and Steve follow, walking slowly.
"You could not live with your own failure. And where did that bring you? Back to me." Thanos starts speaking as they get closer. "I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you’ve shown me that’s impossible. And as long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist." he continues, looking into the distance. Tony rolls his eyes.
"Yep. We're all kinds of stubborn." Tony snarks, and the Titan finally turns to look at them.
"I'm thankful. Because now, I know what I must do." he continues, standing up. "I will shred this universe down to its last atom." he threatens, putting on his helmet. "And then– With the stones you've collected for me, create a new one. Teeming with life, but knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given. A grateful universe." he finishes, facing them. Thor grumbles as lightning surrounds his form.
"Born out of blood." Steve spits out angrily. And Thanos nods, brandishing his sword.
"They'll never know it. Because you won't be alive to tell them."
---
Tony hit the ground hard. He let out a curse as he turned around and saw the creature he was fighting advancing on him. Then suddenly white webs, webs he never thought he would see again, shot out and pulled the creature away. In a split second giant Scott stepped on the creature, and soon he was face to face with his son. The son he never thought he would see again. He felt his breath hitch in his chest, as Peter rushed over to him, and wildly excited look on his face.
"Hey! Holy cow! You will not believe what's been going on. Do you remember when we were in space? And I got all dusty? I must've passed out, Because I woke up, and you were gone. But Doctor Strange was there, right? He was like, 'It's been a year. Come on, they need us.' And then he started doing the yellow sparkly thing that he does all the time–" Peter rambled, and Tony felt something in him break, and he rushed forward with a stifled sob.
"My baby." he felt himself sob against Peter's shoulder.
"Dad?" Peter asked, his arms gripping Tony tighter at the sound of his sobs, but sounding a bit confused. A crash from their left broke him out of his trance and he pulled away, whipping his head around checking for danger. But all he saw was Natasha, standing on a pile of dead aliens, staring at them with a broken expression. Peter followed his gaze and made a wounded noise in the back of his throat.
"What's going on?" he asked, turning to Tony, his eyes pained. Tony shook his head a few times, and he watched as Natasha broke into a run and almost knock Peter over with the force of her hug.
"Hey, bug." she whispered, pulling away, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Peter gave her a confused but broken smile.
"Hey, Mama." he whispered, and Tony felt his world realign, watching his family be reunited.
"As good as it is to see you guys...maybe we should...get back to the fight?" Peter said finally, looking between them. Natasha winced but nodded.
"Yes. We should. Peter Parker Stark, you be careful or I will find you and kill you myself. Understand?" she asked, not waiting for a response before pressing a kiss to Tony's cheek and running back to the battle. Peter looked at him in bewilderment.
"That didn't even make sense. What is going on?" he asked, and Tony felt a laugh bubble out of him.
"We'll explain later kiddo. But as your mother said, be careful. Okay?" he said, pulling Peter into one more hug. Peter nodded, and they both launched back into the fight.
Everything in him screamed at him to keep Peter in his sights, but he knew his kid could take care of himself, and he forced himself to look away.
---
Tony gets launched away from Thanos, and he dawns the gauntlet. But he knew his plan had worked, and he positioned himself to face the Titan.
"I am inevitable." the dumb purple space grape said, lifting his gloved hand and snapping. When nothing happened he looked down at the now empty gauntlet in anger. Tony lifts his hand, watching as the stones click in place in his armored gauntlet. He kept his face blank as he stared at the Titan, despite the excruciating pain filling his body.
"And I-" he starts, but is cut off by a scream of terror.
"NOOOO!" he turns to his left and sees Peter running full force at him, grabbing onto the arm that held the gauntlet, his face twisting in pain. Tony felt some of his own pain lessen, but he tried to push Peter off.
"Kid-" he tried, but Peter glared at him.
"No. You're not doing this alone. Cap!" he said, looking over Tony's head to where the Super Soldier was watching. Steve looked at him for a moment, before nodding, heading towards them a hand on his comm.
"Avengers! Assemble!" he called, and soon people were appearing out of nowhere, grabbing hands with Peter or touching Tony in some way, sharing the power of the stones. Tony felt the pain dissipating as his family helped take the power. He looked to his left, seeing Peter with his determined jaw, and to his right where Natasha was stood, a smug smirk on her face as she looked at Thanos. Tony smirked as well, turning back to the purple figure.
"As I've said before, if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it." Tony said, sneering, before he snapped his fingers. There was a big flash of colorful lights, before everything settled.
"Did we win?" Peter asked, clutching the hand that had been on Tony's arm. Tony looked around at everyone, who all seemed to be battered but alive, watching as Thanos and his army faded to dust.
"Yeah kid. We won." he said, a smile crossing his face. Peter let out a delirious laugh, before falling to the ground dramatically.
"Yay. Go team. Does anyone have any orange slices?" he asked, causing the rest of the group to let out a string of laughs.
---
Tony walked out onto the porch, finding Steve standing on the steps looking out at the people spread out across the lawn. He walked over and leaned up against the post next to him.
"Earth's mightiest heroes, everyone." he joked, motioning to the yard. He saw Steve smile out of the corner of his eye as he watched the scene in front of him.
There were several picnic tables set up around the yard, people milling about waiting for the party to start. Bucky was being tackled by Clint's kids, while Clint and Sam heckled him from a distance, Laura looking on with a fond smile.
Scott and Hope were kneeling down next to Cassie, as she played with an unusually large ant. Tony shook his head at that one, but chose to ignore it.
Thor was waving his arms around as he told a story, Loki smiling reverently beside him, while Bruce, Pepper, and Happy listened on with tears of laughter in their eyes.
Rhodey was playing paper football with Nebula, and he was losing, if the glare on his face was any indication. The Guardians were all huddled at the next table, watching over the tree's shoulder as he played one of Peter's video games.
Dr. Strange and Wong were sitting calmly watching the rest of the chaos. The king and his little sister were arguing over something, as Okoye and their mother watched on with exasperated smiles. Wanda and Vision were huddled under a tree, laughing over some personal joke.
And to Tony's greatest surprise he watched as Nick Fury let out a loud laugh at something Carol said, as they sat at another picnic table. Steve let out a sigh of contentment.
"Yeah. Hard to believe that they are all here." he said, and Tony turned to look at the soldier with a smile.
"Well they are. And making a mess of my lawn. We won, Cap. Time to relax. The stones are gone, everyone's back. If that doesn't call for a random backyard cookout celebration, then I don't know what does." he said with a smirk, and Steve let out a small laugh, when they both heard a set of footsteps coming from behind them.
"And here I thought it was my birthday party." Peter said, walking out in front of Natasha. Tony let out a laugh.
"We'll have to multi-task then. Cause I know someone else who's worth celebrating." Natasha spoke, looking down at the bundle in her arms. Tony felt love swell in his chest at the glow on his wife's face as she looked at their daughter.
"Right. Cap, you can be one of the first to meet my newest spawn. Maria Natalia Stark." Tony said with a grin, pulling Peter to his side.
"She's beautiful, Tony." Steve said, his big hand gently holding one of Maria's small ones, smiling once more before excusing himself and joining the rest of the group. Tony looked down and pressed a kiss onto his daughter's head.
"What do you think, Pete?" he asked softly, watching his son's eyes travel over the baby's form. Natasha looked up with a curious expression, but he could see the hint of apprehension in her eyes. Peter looked up after a few moments, and gave them a cheeky smile.
"If I had known this was an option, I would have begged you for a sibling years ago." he said, and Natasha rolled her eyes, while Tony laughed. He watched his little family for a minute, before looking over at Peter, a serious look on his face.
"You know we weren't trying to replace you or anything...right bug?" Tony asked, and Peter looked up at him with wide eyes. He studied Tony for a moment before shaking his head.
"Dad...I was...I was dead. For all you guys knew, I wasn't coming back." Tony winced at the reminder, but Peter squeezed his hand. "To me, if that had been true, I would have wanted you to move on. In anyway you could. I'm just glad I get to be here to see her grow up. I'm going to be the greatest big brother." Peter said, with a serious nod. Tony let out a wet laugh.
"You sure will, bug." he said, pressing a kiss to his forehead, before Peter wrinkled his nose.
"You guys better be careful with her nickname though. You call me bug...and I turned into one." Peter said, giving them a wink, before taking his sister gently out of Natasha's arms and walking over to the rest of the heroes. Natasha let out a snort as he walked away.
"I sometimes can't believe he's back." she whispered. "It doesn't feel real sometimes." Tony wrapped her up in his arms.
"I know. But it's over. Part of the journey is the end. But...if you're lucky, in that end, you can find a new beginning." Tony said, rocking them back and forth as they both watched the heroes fawn over their daughter. They watched silently, before Natasha elbowed him gently, extracting herself from his arms.
"You're such a sap." she said, grabbing his hand and leading him down the steps. He shrugged, but followed her.
"Hey you think peanut is a safe nickname...or do you think that will doom her into fighting crime while dressed like a peanut?" Tony asked hypothetically, earning a playful glare from Natasha, as they reached the rest of his family.
"Let's get this party started!" he announces, winding his arms around Peter and Natasha, who is now holding Maria.
And Tony smiles, his world finally safe in his arms.