endgame
The blast destroyed the entire compound once more and scattered everyone inside. Clint woke up to a fuzzy feeling in his head and a sense of urgency that he couldn’t quite place. Something was wedged under his chest, and he slowly looked down to see a large glove made of gold and red.
“Oh shit,” he said, recognizing the tell-tale glitter of the infinity stones. “I got the gauntlet.” “I got the gauntlet.” Slowly he got onto his feet, the gauntlet tucked under his arm. He looked to be in a sewage pipe and had a feeling that, given the chaos around him, he had been quite lucky.
“This is Hawkeye, does anyone copy?” he asked into the coms.
“Hey Hawkeye, I copy,” said Tony’s voice.
“Any idea what that was?” Asked Natasha.
“Thanos,” Tony said. “I’d recognize the ship anywhere.” Clint looked around but could find no sign of Natasha.
“How? That’s impossible, Thanos is dead!” he exclaimed.
“Evidently not as dead as we’d hoped,” Steve said.
“That or it isn’t this Thanos,” Natasha offered. “I mean, if we can time travel, then why not him?” They all paused at that. Shit.
~
“Copy Does anyone copy!” Rhodey yelled into his coms. “I’m stuck I can’t- ah!” he was cut off as water splashed into his face. He was trapped underneath the rubble of the compound, the War Machine armor doing little to help his attempt to escape.
“Rhodes!” Bruce yelled. “I’m gonna lift this, and you crawl out!” he called. With that the hulk heaved a large stone pillar up above his shoulders, taking the weight of the rest of the rubble as well.
“Ironman, come in, Black Widow, do you read me?” Rhodey called as he clambered out from under the rubble. “Banner and I are trapped under the compound, we need help! We can’t hold on for much longer!” he called into the coms.
“I copy,” Scott Lang said, his voice disjointed and static. “I’m on my way.”
~
Clint stumbled forward through the large pipe, unsure where he was going or how he was going to get there. He sighed in annoyance before freezing, a soft rustling making the hairs on the back of his neck stick up. Slowly he turned towards the other direction of tunnel and knocked one of his explosive arrows, sending it firing into the darkness. At least fifty alien creatures were revealed by the light, all chittering in excitement.
“Oh damn,” Clint said before grabbing the gauntlet and sprinting down the tunnel, the sound of galloping feet not far behind him.
“It’s Thanos,” he called into the coms. “It’s definitely Thanos! He’s after the glove!”
“Then we’ve got to keep it moving,” Natasha said. “We can’t let him get it.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Clint snapped, launching an arrow upward and letting it pull him up and out of the sewer tunnel. He flopped onto the ground of the new level he found himself on and turned onto his back to find Nebula looking down at him.
“Oh hey, yeah, I know you,” he said. Wordlessly, she held out her hand for the gauntlet and Clint passed it to her.
“Father, I’ve retrieved the stones,” she said into a com that was most definitely not the one that Tony had taken the time to build into her head in such a way that it would cause her no discomfort, unlike the one Thanos had ruthlessly installed.
“Wait, what?” Clint asked as Nebula turned to leave.
“Nebula!” a voice called. They both turned to see a green woman with black and magenta hair and another Nebula standing in the doorway.
“What. Is. Happening,” Clint groaned, letting his head fall back against the ground. He was very much done with the past hour.
“Nebula, don’t do this. You’re better than this, we both are,” the woman said.
“Really, Gamora, you’d betray father?” The Nebula with the gauntlet asked. So this was the infamous Gamora, Clint realized.
“We are better than this,” the other Nebula said, and Clint realized that this one must be the one that they all knew. The Nebula holding the gauntlet was from the past. Past-Nebula only shook her head, grabbing one of her guns and aiming it at Gamora.
“Out of my way, sister, you know that I will fire,” Past-Nebula warned.
“Nebula, please-” Gamora implored only to be cut off by the sound of a gunshot. Both Clint and Gamora looked up startled to see their Nebula standing, gun still pointed at her past self.
“She was beyond saving,” was all she offered before grabbing the gauntlet out of her dead duplicates hands. “Come on.”
~
Tony watched in horror as Thanos’ ships landed on what was once the lawn of the Avengers compound. The woods where Peter had hidden in the tree after discovering Steve’s betrayal of his privacy was completely gone, and the clearing where Stephen had taken him for lunch only a few days before the start of the Infinity War was demolished.
“Oh my God,” Steve said, coming up beside him. He heard Thor approach on the other side, Mjolnir in one hand, and Stormbreaker in the other. With a strike of lightning,, Tony could sense he was at full power once more.
“I’ve got eyes on him,” came Natasha’s voice, and Tony looked up to see her on the opposite side of where the Mad Titan was exiting his ship. He had far more armor than Tony remembered him wearing, and rather than wielding the stone’s like his only weapon, this Thanos held a large sword-like object. He smirked when he saw them.
“I take it you are the Avengers I saw in my daughter's mind,” he stated. “I’ve seen how you fought me on Titan, and I’ve seen how you lost. You couldn’t deal with your failure, and look where it’s brought you. Back to me,” he said in the same monologuing voice that plagued Tony’s nightmares.
“It seems that even though I succeeded in my quest, there was no peace. I should have realized that as long as there were those who remembered what was, there never could be any. Thank you, Stark, for showing me the error in my plans. I will not free only half the population. I will destroy it all. Build a new universe where all will live in peace.”
“A universe built on the blood of trillions,” Tony said, walking forward to meet the titan.
“They won’t know it,” Thanos replied, uncaring.
“No they won’t, because they won’t be around to see it,” Natasha said, leaping onto Thanos’ back and digging an unfamiliar blade between his shoulder blades. “This is the sword of Emilia Corvell of Enexion, and you will pay for her death,” she hissed. Thanos roared in anger and threw her off. Tony’s armor closed around him and he flew straight at the titan, Peter and Riri’s scared faces reflecting in his mind. Stephen’s last words to him and his reassuring smile. The ring that still sat heavily in his pocket.
Lightning crackled as Thor flew forward with both weapons and Steve threw his shield as he charged. Tony knew that they wouldn't expect any backup from Scott as he had said something about needing to save Rhodey and Bruce, which took them out of the equation as well. Clint was somewhere with Nebula and the gauntlet, and Natasha, while having done the most damage so far, was currently unconscious. It was down to the three of them.
~
The soul realm cracked apart like an erupting volcano. It twisted and fell in on itself, crumbling away slowly to allow small things through, and then bigger and bigger beings back into the real world. As soon as they could, Jax and Silven escaped so that they had more time to get anyone who would go with them and return to Earth. Next, those in Wakanda went, Wanda giving Peter and Stephen quick hugs before hurrying through. Finally, it was there turn.
“Remember, the portal’s gotta be on his left,” Sam said. Stephen wanted to roll his eyes but was too nervous to do so. Instead, he did as the soldier requested and opened the portal beside the weakened Rogers.
“Cap, do you copy?” Wilson asked, not yet stepping through.
~
Steve felt nothing but pain as he stared out at Thanos and his army. His shield was in pieces around him, and he held on tightly to the last large half. He thought about Bucky and Sam, trapped in the void with Peter, Riri, and Oliver. About Tony and his daughter and about the fallen Emilia Corvell who had sacrificed her life so that they, a group of heroes she had known for only a few minutes, would have a chance to fight Thanos. He grit his teeth and took a shaky step forward. Then another.
Bucky, fading away with nothing but fear in his eyes.
Another step.
Frost’s anguished scream when Oliver faded away and he was left without a corporeal form or his best friend.
Two more.
The look in Tony’s eyes when he came back from space with Nebula and Carol.
One more step forward.
“Cap, do you copy?” a voice asked. Steve stopped walking, unable to believe what he was hearing.
“I copy,” he said, voice barely a whisper.
“On your left,” the voice said. He turned slowly and saw a familiar golden portal begin to open up on his left while a scarlet one opened upon his right. Three figures began to appear through the portal he knew to be Wanda’s, and soon he found himself looking at T’Challa, Shuri, and Okoye. The King of Wakanda gave him a nod right as Sam came swooping through the gold portal, and hundreds of others opened up around him. Sorcerer's swarmed around Thanos’ army, Clea and Wong standing at its head.
Riri landed beside Harley along with Pepper, all of whom walked forward to stand with Tony. A portal opened to Titan, and Steve saw Strange, who he took to be the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Peter walk through it. A dark portal that looked almost to be made of shadows opened beside Wanda and a man in an orange cloak like Mestin’s stepped through along with a dark-haired woman with angry, green eyes, two soldiers wearing armor made from a golden material Steve didn’t recognize, and a woman encased in shadows who seemed to be the one keeping the portal open. He looked up to see Scott grow to be the size to two empire state buildings, Rhodey and Hulk sitting on his outstretched hand, and smirked. Steve heard T’Challa start up the Wakandan chant that he had heard before the Battle of Wakanda, and he felt a final rush of strength fill him.
“Avengers,” he called as the last of their troops joined them. “Assemble.” With that, a cry went up, and they charged forward.
~
Tony shot into the air and dove down into the heat of the battle. He could see Stephen and Wong leading half the sorcerer's while Wanda and Clea lead the rest. Steve, Bucky, and Sam are running with T’Challa, Shuri, and Okoye as they pave the way to Thanos.
“Well I see someone likes her new armor,” he said to Pepper.
“Really? Now?” Pepper asked as she threw back a wave of Thanos’ minions. Tony smiled to himself and flew lower to help the newly returned Riri keep back Corvus Glaive.
“Tony!” she said. “I don’t remember much, only Strange’s plan… what happened?” she questioned. Tony’s mind flashed back to Titan. To the look of fear as she slowly disintegrated away to nothing, and the horror on Peter’s face as he watched one of his best friends fade away. He had yet to realize that he would be suffering the same fate.
“I’ll explain later, Ironheart, right now we’ve just gotta get through this,” Tony said. He felt a stab of gratefulness when Bucky ran over and leap onto Corvus, using his metal arm to break his staff.
“Where’s Frost?” Riri asked. “Oliver isn’t going to be able to survive on his own,” she said.
“He should be here. We haven't exactly been able to see him as he refused to take another host. We’re just gonna have to hope he finds Oliver,” he grit out as he blasted Corvus backward and allowed Bucky to take an opening to kill the child of Thanos.
“Good job Winter Boo-Bear, ten outta ten,” Tony said before shooting off to join the fighting elsewhere.
“Mr. Stark!” A voice called, making him freeze. “Mr. Stark! Woah!” it said. He turned slowly to see Peter skidding to a halt behind him. “This is crazy! I remember we were on Titian and then Riri was suddenly just gone, and then we were all in the glowy orange place and I don’t remember much, but Dr. Strange was saying something about a plan and-” Peter was cut off when Tony pulled him into a hug. “Oh- this is nice,” he said.
“Come on, kid, we’ve got work to do,” Tony said. He flew up and Peter used his webbing to follow suit only for them both to suddenly be shot down.
Tony’s ears rung as he slowly sat up and saw Peter doing the same. When the dust cleared he felt fear seize him as he realized that it was Thanos standing over them.
“Insect,” the titan growled as he pushed the hilt of his blade against Peter’s chest, forcing the air to leave his lung. Tony lunged forward, but one large, purple hand, kept him back. He struggled desperately against Thanos as the titan crushed Peter into the ground, but not even the full strength of the ironman armor could best Thanos.
“RAUGH!” a shriek filled the air followed by a blast of scarlet energy hitting Thanos and sending him flying backward. Wanda landed in front of the two fallen heroes, scarlet magic pooling around her.
“You took everything from me…” she whispered as Thanos rose again. The Titan only smirked.
“I don’t even know who you are,” he stated cruelty.
“You will,” Wanda replied. Her eyes began to glow, and all the surrounding rocks glowed with energy as they rose into the air. Magic crackled around them, and scarlet jets of power shot out and wrapped around the mad titan. She gave another furious yell, and Thanos’ armor began peeling apart. She ripped metal away from him, leaving the titan completely undefended. Suddenly a stream of what looks to be pure darkness joined Wanda’s red, and another woman stepped out from behind Thanos’ hulking form. She looked to be the same age as Wanda and was wearing dark armor that writhed around her like a living thing. In her hand was a deadly looking scythe.
“Woah, Hey Jax!” Peter said, still trying to regain his breath.
Thanos struggled to rip himself free of the two women's holds, but their combined power was quickly becoming too much for him.
“Drop the firebombs!” he yelled at Corvus Glaive.
“But sir, our troops-”
“Just do it!” Thanos yelled the order was passed up to the ships, and soon firebombs were raining down on them, successfully blasting Wanda back. Jax growled and tightened her hold on Thanos, the darkness spiraling out of her hands and wrapping itself around the Mad Titan. Jax gave a cry as she was throw away, Ebony Maw gliding slowly forward, pointed rocks flying at the Shadow Wielder on his command. Thanos, already recovered from their attack, turned to Wanda. He grabbed his blade and began bearing down on the Scarlet Witch. It looked for a moment like he was winning until with an impressive blast of red, both parties were thrown backward.
Over the comms, Clint and Nebula were saying something about Gamora, and a second Nebula. All that really registered though was that the gauntlet was moving, and it needed to be protected.
“Kid, you alright?” Tony asked, pulling Peter to his feet and letting him lean against his shoulder while he struggled to breathe.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve got this, I’m good,” he said. His breath was mostly back and that would have to be good enough for now.
“Good. Then go watch the gauntlet,” Tony ordered. Peter gave a nod and ran off to do as he was ordered. Tony watched him go and turned back to the newcomer to ask who she was when a bang shook the ground, and both looked up to see an explosion of ice racing towards Thanos’ army.
“Frost,” Tony said right as the shadow woman whispered ‘Orûk’. So he had been right… this was one of Frost’s friends from his life before coming to Earth.
“Tony Stark… who are you?” he asks, holding a hand out.
“You probably won’t get an answer, she can’t talk much when she’s actively using her power. It takes to much concentration to keep them reigned in,” Frost & Oliver said as they appeared from the cloud of ice. The woman nodded at Frost before vanishing in a cloud of shadows only to reappear several yards away in the heat of the battle.
“Good to have you two back in the game,” Tony said.
“Oliver is glad to have returned,” Frost responded.
Peter jumped through the battle trailing after Wanda as she carried the gauntlet. His vision was blurred from Thanos’ attack, but he forced himself onward as the battle raged around him. This was all part of Dr. Strange’s plan, he told himself. Shadow Wielder and Wanda had pulled their attack off flawlessly, and now it was his turn to help protect the gauntlet until more help could arrive.
“Peter!” Wanda yelled, throwing the gauntlet to him as she was swarmed by Thanos’ army. Peter’s instincts screamed at him to go back and help her fight as she became overwhelmed by creatures, but he knew he couldn’t. Dr. Strange had made it very clear that the gauntlet was the most important thing.
“Karen, activate instant kill!” he instructed as he became surrounded by Thanos’ creatures. The spider legs attached to his suit sprang into action and he grinned as the monsters surrounding him were ripped apart. He half ran and half swung across the battlefield, very narrowly dodging multiple, would-be-fatal attacks. He was mid-leap when suddenly an explosion blasted him sideways into the rocky ground. Peter clutched the gauntlet tightly to his chest and curled around it, hoping against hope that this blast had not been caused by Thanos. When the dust cleared, however, it was not the Mad Titan standing before him.
“Hello, Peter Parker,” Carol said with a slight smirk.
“Woah, oh hey Carol,” Peter said. “M-mr. Stark told me to protect the gauntlet,” he said.
“I’ve got it, kid, don’t worry. Scott and Hope need it at the van,” Carol said. Peter let her take the large glove and watched as her signature golden glow surrounded her.
“I don’t know how you’re gonna make it through all that,” he said as he stared at the uncrossable path in front of them.
“Don’t worry, she has helped,” Okoye said from behind him, Riri by her side. They were soon joined by Pepper and a woman that Peter didn’t recognize who was riding a winged horse. Shuri and Kamala quickly blocked an array of blaster shots for hitting the group, and Peter watched in amazement as they paved a way through the battlefield. A green woman who Peter guessed from Nebula’s description was Gamora along with Mantis, and Wanda soon joined them.
“That’s bad-ass,” Peter stated.
“Spider-man, we could use some back-up over here,” Harley’s voice said over the com. Peter looks around to see the Iron Savior fighting alongside Black Panther and Falcon.
“On it,” Peter replied. His part in the plan so far was complete, and so he supposed he just got to do whatever until he was needed again. With that thought, he swung over to where the others were fighting.
“Karen, instant kill!” he yelled.
~
Stephen worked with Wong and the other sorcerers to fight Thanos’ army while keeping an eye on the events unfolding around them. So far all was going according to the plan. Jax was switching between fighting of Thanos’ army with her darkness, and portaling other Enexion heros over to help. So far she had brought back who Silven called the Golden Pair, the two greatest soldiers in Mirval, Mineu, Queen of Ferwan, a being he referred to only as ‘The Trickster’ and Maxen and Amira Capriol. From the sounds of it, their mother was on her way as well.
“Strange! Spider-man has passed on the gauntlet to Carol!” Bucky called through the coms channel that Stephen had created solely for those who knew the plan.
“Good, all’s good over here. Where’s the Shadow Wielder?” he asked. While she was an aly, her powers were volatile, and he didn’t fully trust her ability to remain in control of the darkness that possessed her in such a stressful environment.
“She’s doing fine,” Frost’s voice cut in. “I’m not sure how you and Silven did it, but it seems that she has control.”
“Good,” said Silven said into the com. I’d rather not have a repeat experience of The Dria incident,” he said. Strange sent a blastwave through the oncoming wave of creatures and looked around nervously for Tony. He had not gotten a proper chance to see the man before the fighting had started.
“He’s to your left,” Wong said as if sensing what Stephen was doing.
“Tony!” he called. The Iron Man was currently fighting alone, swarms of Thanos’ monsters overrunning him. “Do you have it handled here?” Stephen asked Wong. The other sorcerer nodded and made a shooing motion as if telling Stephen to hurry up and leave.
There was a flash from the arc reactor and an explosion of light through back the oncoming enemies.
“Tony!” Stephen called again, the cloak flying him forward and depositing him beside the Avengers. His face was hidden, but Stephen could practically see the grin behind the other man’s faceplate.
“Stephen! I’ve missed you!” he yelled over the noise. Stephen wanted to say more, but just then Oliver’s voice came over the coms.
“That’s romantic and all, but in case you hadn’t noticed, we’re kind of fighting for the survival of the universe at the moment. So could you do us all a favor and get your heads into it!” the assassin snapped.
“Oh, go hide in the mind palace,” Tony snapped back. It was probably no use, for Frost would have been just as sharp if not a bit blunter had he been in control. “Where’s Thanos?” Tony asked Stephen. The sorcerer only shook his head.
“No one’s had eyes on him since he blasted back Wanda and Jax,” Stephen said. Tony took ‘Jax’ to be the woman with the shadows.
“Well guess you just jinxed it,” Came Carol’s voice, though she sounded strained. “Cause guess who just popped up?” Every head jerked in Carol’s direction to see that indeed, Thanos had re-appeared.
“My team, with me!” Tony shouted into the coms. Sam, T’Challa, and Rhodey gave similar orders. Carol was a bit too pre-occupied to order her team to converge, but they got the message. All the Delta teams, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Warriors of Enexion charged at Thanos. Okoye called the Dora through her vibranium bead, and they all leaped over rubbled and dodged numerous attacks to join her as they fought against Thanos.
Steve leaped at Thanos with Bucky by his side as Sam dived at him from above along with Ironheart and Iron Savior, Spider-man swinging behind them. He saw Wanda’s magic wrap itself around his large sword, and with a yell, she snapped the blade in half. With a scream of rage, the titan threw them all back and grabbed the gauntlet from Carol. The galactic warrior growled and held the gauntlet tighter. Thanos’ head smashed forward in an attempt to knock the woman out, but Carol just glared harder, the Titan's attack bouncing harmlessly off of her.
Steve pushed himself up just in time to see Thanos rip the space stone from the gauntlet, and blast Carol backward. Not even she was strong enough to black the full power of an infinity stone. The titan grinned as he slipped the gauntlet onto his hand and Steve felt dread fill him. This was the end.
Suddenly a figure in black jumped forward, Emilia’s sword swinging downward to slice at Thanos’ arm. Natasha snarled as she dodged Thanos’ other hand and continued to cut at the arm that held the gauntlet. She was thrown back once more, the sword being thrown from her hands. She leaped back to her feet only to see Pepper Potts land in front of her.
“Yes!” Drax yelled as Pepper blasted Thanos’ gauntlet with the arc reactor in her suit. Riri Williams landed beside her along with Tony, all three focusing all their power on the stones. With a bang, both the iron heroes and Thanos all being thrown backward.
Stephen’s ears rang as he scrambled to his feet and watched as Thanos did the same. Pepper was back on her feet already, and Riri and Tony were beginning to rise as well. Thanos’ raised his hand and smirked up at Stephen, fingers preparing to close in a snap… and then they weren’t.
A wall of red slammed into Thanos, and Stephen looked up to see Wanda floating at last ten feet above the rest of them. He could feel her putting all of her energy into keeping Thanos down, her power trying to dislodge the stone and take out the mad Titan all at once.
“Silven, Mestin, new plan,” Stephen said. “I need you two get up there and help Wanda. Wong, Clea, you take the left, I’ve got the right,” he said.
“On it,” Clea replied, landing beside him.
Silver and orange beams of energy shot forward to join Wanda’s magic as Silven and Mestin did as Stephen instructed, and the sorcerer supreme began sending out his own blasts of power at the titan.
Thanos was forced to his knees, the energy surrounding him requires the power of all the stones to keep back.
Suddenly Wanda gave a cry and was falling, Ebony Maw, floating behind her. The child of Thanos grinned as she fell, and Clea screamed in anger, her own energy being turned against the opposing sorcerer. With Wanda’s magic gone along with Clea’s, Thanos broke free with an angry yell, throwing everyone backward.
“Stephen! What do we do!” Tony asked. Stephen turned slowly to face him, trying as hard as he could to keep his expression neutral, though he knew he was failing.
“There’s only one way,” he said quietly. He could almost see the exact moment that Tony realized what he had to do. Could see the way his expression crumbled. Slowly he turned towards Thanos and lunged forward, putting all of his strength into the suit to stop Thanos from snapping. Stephen’s eyes widened when another form leaped at Thanos too. He watched as Nebula leaped forward, and grabbed at the gauntlet along with Tony. She screamed in rage as they fought, all of her hatred for her father boiling over. Natasha ran to them as well, Emilia’s sword back in her hands. They fought for only thirty seconds, all three of them being thrown back by the enraged titan. Tony grabbed Nebula’s shoulder allowing some of the nanotech from his own suit crawl over the destroyed metal of her mechanical arm. He took Emilia's sword which now had a large crack in the hilt from Thanos’ and gripped the hilt tightly before allowing Natasha to grab it as well.
“You should know by now, Stark, I am inevitable,” he said, a sickening smile on his face as he brought his hand up and snapped his fingers. The world froze as the snap rang out, everyone waiting for the inevitable blast wave that never came. Thanos looked down in confusion to see the gauntlet void of all stones.
“Well I. Am. Ironman,” Tony said, raising his hand to show the power, space, and time stones. Nebula’s metal hand, which was gripped tightly in his own carried the soul and mind stones, and the reality stone glittered from where Tony had welded it into the crack in Emilia’s sword which was held by both Natasha and himself. He glanced at Natasha and Nebula who both nodded, and he squeezed their hands tightly, his mind focused on exactly what he wanted to happen.
A blast of energy shook the Earth, and all the fighting froze. Slowly, Thanos’ armies began to stagger, every last being fading away to dust. Stephen watched in satisfaction as Ebony Maw faded away, and Wanda grinned as the Black Dwarf was dissolved. Thanos said nothing as he slowly removed his helmet and sat down, his expression not changing as he began to fade away. Suddenly though, he was wrapped in darkness. Stephen’s head snapped up to see Jax Simone standing a few yards away, her lips curled in a snarl.
“I have a better plan for you,” she hissed, all of her energy aimed solely at his heart. Stephen watched in fascination horror as the darkness encircled Thanos, dragging him deeper and deeper within it until he was completely gone.
“Is he…?” Stephen began
“Banished to the nox,” Silven replied. The remains of Thanos’ forces floated through the air like ash and Stephen slowly turned to see Tony sitting between Nebula and Natasha, head leaning back against a large chunk of the compound and breath coming in shallow gasps. Natasha didn’t look much better, the arm that was holding Emilia’s sword covered in horrible burns and her chest rising and falling at uneven intervals. Nebula was curled against Tony’s side, her arm melted away almost completely and her body burned just as bad as Tony and Natasha. All of their hands were still intertwined.
“Tony!” Stephen yelled, running over to check on the other man, his mind slipping into doctor mode. “Tony, can you hear me?” he asked desperately. A small smile graced Tony’s features and he nodded, eyes settling on Stephen.
“When we get back, you’ve got to meet Morgan,” he whispered, voice hoarse. “Y-you’d love her,” he forced out. Stephen nodded eyes filling with tears.
“I know, I can’t wait to meet her, but you’re going to need to be there to introduce us,” he said. Rhodey was the next to appear, reaching out to rest his hand under Tony’s jaw. They seemed to communicate silently before Rhodey nodded once and stepped back only for Peter to take his place immediately after, Harley Riri and Kamala hot on his trail.
“Mr. Stark, we won,” Peter said, tears already falling freely down his face. “We won tony, we did it… lLease don't’ go, Please Mr. Stark, don’t leave,” he whispered.
“It’s okay, kid,” he whispered, allowing Peter to hug him before Pepper came over. She flipped back her face mask and crouched in front of the three, her eyes roaming over Natasha, Tony, and Nebula.
“We won,” she finally said, her voice choked with emotion. “We’re going to be okay. You can rest now,” she whispered, leaning in and pressing a kiss to Tony’s cheek. Tony smiled at her, but slowly shook his head.
“Stephen…” he whispered. “I found another way,” he said. “But if you keep on just sitting there crying rather than portaling me to a hospital, then the results are not gonna be any different than what you saw,” Tony said. Stephen gave a choked laugh and felt a gentle hand rest on his shoulder.
“I can bring Natasha,” Wanda offered, looking down at her mentor. Stephen nodded up at her, and she removed her hand from his shoulder and opened her own scarlet portal, gently maneuver the barely conscious Natasha through it and into the ER on the other side.
Stephen opened a portal for Tony and was prepared to get Wong to open one for Nebula only for Tony to refuse t let go of her hand.
“My scary blue space daughter is staying with me,” he murmured, still half asleep. Stephen didn’t need to think hard to figure out who inspired the wording.
“Parker, I swear to God,” he grumbled, supporting both Tony and Nebula through the portal. They were okay. They were going to be okay.