Letting Go
Ow.
Ow. Ow. Ow.
Tony didn't know how it could feel like his entire body hurt when he actually hadn't hurt his entire body, but, well, there you go.
As he slowly climbed back to consciousness he began to remember what had happened - and then all the "ow" made sense.
Tony was eternally grateful he'd joined up with the Mystic Master gang because he knew he'd be dead otherwise, or at minimum a broken, empty husk.
He was kind of shocked there wasn't MORE "ow" , because holy crap, he never wanted to go through that again.
He could hear voices - murmuring around him that he couldn't distinguish but found comforting nonetheless. He could feel his body - and surprisingly the pain was receding. He could feel people holding his hands - small and soft on one side - had to be Pepper; larger and calloused on the other - maybe Rhodey or Loki? It didn't matter. He felt safe. He was with family and friends.
Tony tried to smile and squeeze their hands to let them know he knew they were there; then the pull of sleep was too great and he drifted away.
Loki stood and made room for Rhodey to take his place at Tony's side. He'd been using his magic to support the work the Masters had done to heal Tony, and felt the spark of his consciousness surface and drift into a healing sleep. Tony must have given some outward sign that Loki missed because everyone in the room looked MUCH more relaxed than they had been only an hour before.
"It's a healing sleep", he announced to the room. Everyone relaxed even further as he walked to the door, letting JARVIS know he would be resting but available if he was needed.
***
Once the initial shock wore off, Tony recovered quickly and he and Loki spent a lot of time with the Masters, teaching and learning magic and science. Despite the seriousness of the reason for their collaboration, everyone was energized by what they were learning... so much so that the Masters were considering becoming a little more "present" in the world.
One thing they discovered that they found surprising was how the Infinity stones resonated with each other. Considering the horrifying goal of the one who sought them, and the damage that had been wrought by the Mind stone under the Scepter's influence, it was rather shocking to feel ... settled ... in their presence. Tony could swear there was a wordless conversation going on between them. When he worked up the courage to bring it up to Loki and Yao, they nodded in pleased agreement, as if they'd been looking for the words to describe something similar.
It didn't really change anything for them. Loki's Allspeak wasn't picking up language and trying to translate "stone-speak" was rather far beyond Tony's pay grade - and that was saying something. They all put it in the back of their minds for the meantime and let their subconscious "simmer" with the information.
*****
Wanda considered herself luck to be able to spend her time at Kamar Taj. She missed her brother - Pietro spent most of his time with the X-men, learning and honing his powers. The Masters would portal him in for visits every month, and she was very thankful for their thoughtfulness.
She could never have predicted the outcome of that day at the Hydra base and how much her life had changed since then. Once the scepter was gone and its influence was cleansed from her psyche, she committed to serious work on herself and to make the most of the psychological help and support from the Masters who had experience with such trauma. She even REALLY apologized to Tony Stark. And, though she didn't expect it or feel like she deserved it, Tony apologized to her. Even though his actions weren't directly responsible for what had happened to her family, he felt his irresponsibility contributed to circumstances. They didn't become friends, but they professionally respect each other.
And the Mind stone, for some reason, had chosen to form a similar relationship with her as Time had formed the Masters and Sorcerer Supreme. She was immensely indebted to it and committed herself to becoming a strong, positive force on its behalf.
*****
Tony knew there was other life in the universe - proof lived in the Tower with him. But that still didn't lessen his surprise when the self proclaimed Guardians of the Galaxy arrived on earth, pretty much at his doorstep, with the Power stone.
Apparently, the stones on Earth had become aware of and responded to the situation around them. They called to Power. Peter was able to convince Xandar to give it to him to take to Earth - Power had been giving a nudge to Nova Prime so it wasn't difficult. The Guardians were calling what they considered their Earth counterparts (Tony, Loki, Rhodey, Thor, Yao and the Masters, and the X-Men) "the Protectors". Supposedly this was the vibe the Power stone had been giving the Guardians... again, Tony had to ask himself "what was his life?!?"
He had to admit, they really meshed well together. Peter was like a brother in snark. Tony & Rocket insulted each other constantly and loved it. The sparring happening between Rhodey, Thor, Drax, and Gamora was a blast to watch. Thor had to hold back a bit, but not too much when they all ganged up on him - it was hilarious! Nebula and Gamora started off with a pretty uncomfortable relationship with Loki. It got better over time; thankfully they didn't torture him during his time with Thanos, but they knew of his existence and what he had experienced. It was an incredibly awkward and uncomfortable situation. Weirdly, but unsurprisingly, they eventually got past the discomfort through a massive bitch-fest involving stories of paternal abuse and torture. Tony found himself participating; it was surprisingly... cleansing.
Everybody seemed surprised that he and Nebula hit it off. She was angry, literal, and blunt, and VERY self-conscious and protective about her augmentations. She'd been stand-offish at first when Tony invited her to the lab, but when she met his bot-kids and found she could communicate with them, she began to relax. They showered her with attention and affection, and Tony treated her like a person - more easily even than the Guardians had. And he treated any issues she had with her augmentations like medical problems to take care of - so she let him.
It was nice.