Tony is used to the dark, sticky feeling that clings to his every move and has for as long as he can remember. He doesn’t remember a time before this, though he’s been reliably informed that time has always existed in some form or another. Tony sees him as a man, tall, tawny skin and a sharp smile that matches his wit. Stephen tells him he looks different to different people, or at least he thinks he does given that people always seem to describe him differently. Time period tends to be a factor but he has no idea why people perceive him in the ways they do. There’s no pattern to it.
Tony knows what his true of his form looks like even if Stephen is a shapeshifter, moving with the time and place he’s in. He’s pale, with dark hair and eyes that he supposes are fitting for the personification of death. He thinks he looks like a corpse but Stephen says he’s pretty, striking even. Tony thinks he’s only flattering him. Still, he’s used to the feeling in the pit of his stomach when something is about to happen and he’s been feeling it for years. In this life he tried to blend in with people though he should have known it wouldn’t go well. Last time he tried he killed most of Europe and chose to stick around and make friends, and then the rats started carrying disease. Poor things, they haven’t recovered from the backlash to that. But its not like humans know he’s the cause.
Still, he tries to warn people but they don’t listen. And why would they? They have no idea who he is, minus Stephen. He’d recognized Tony right away the same way he’d recognized Stephen. Its not often they run into powerful beings like themselves- even Thor doesn't really measure up though it’d been Loki who knew something was off when his scepter didn’t work on him. The stones don’t hold the kind of power over him that they do over a mortal. Its why Stephen has such an easy time with the time stone, aside from being the personification of the concept. Ideally Tony would have the power stone, it would work best with his innate abilities, but that has been lost for some time. Though the soul stone remains even more lost than that.
“What is it that you sense?” Stephen asks, curling an arm around him from behind. Tony leans into him relaxing in a way he rarely can with anyone else. Typically, he’ll keep his power close, held deep in his body in a controlled way that’s more to save other people than himself. If he wanted, he could kill someone with a simple touch. Sometimes he does, if the person is suffering greatly. He doesn’t enjoy it but people deserve dignity in their last moments and he tries to give that to them the best way he can.
He sighs, fingers curling into Stephen’s. “Death,” he murmurs and Stephen sighs.
“Don’t be edgy Tony, and tell me what’s got you so on edge. You’ve sensed it for some time, but in the last few months you’ve been restless,” Stephen tells him.
Interesting, considering he’s felt no difference. “I’m not being edgy, I’m telling you what I can feel. Something is coming, and whatever it is there will be destruction like we’ve never seen before.”
“We’ve seen extinction,” Stephen says, “it can’t be worse than that.”
“Of one planet,” Tony says. “This... this will be everything.” He risks a look up to Stephen, has expecting his reaction to be similar to the Avengers. But they don’t know who he is and what he can do. Stephen does, and the fear in his expression reflects his knowledge of Tony’s predictions. He holds on to Tony a little tighter but he doesn't need to. There aren’t many things that last forever, except Time and Death. Things don’t stop because planets do, and there’s always something that is ready to die, even if its just the stars. They’ll always be together, but that isn’t a comfort when that’s all they have.
*
When Nebula lands Tony senses her presence, perhaps because death clings to her almost as tight as it does to him. She finds him surprisingly fast, or maybe its Stephen’s ability to portal around that helped them find each other as fast as they did. Nebula looks him over, head tilted to the side for a moment. “Thanos is coming,” she tells him and the hair on the back of his neck stands straight up.
He looks to Stephen and he nods. “We’re in the endgame now,” he murmurs.
“Come with me,” Tony says, “and tell me about this Thanos.” Its no coincidence, Tony thinks, that he’s named after the Greek god of death.
*
Nebula watches the two of them talk, Tony and Stephen, but she senses more about them. Tony is more receptive to her, more willing to listen. Stephen mostly asks irritating questions and swats that tacky cape of his aside. When they separate Tony comes to her. “How much time do we have?” he asks.
She shrugs, “three days, if you’re lucky,” she tells him. Tony turns and nods to Stephen, who takes off presumably to die because no one will survive what’s coming. Not really. Thanos thinks his plan will save people, that Gamora’s home planet is a utopia. Bastard hasn’t even been back to it in ages. Its no utopia, its chaos, destruction. People fight each other for scraps and sometimes they simply use each other as food. If that’s utopian she’ll pass on it.
“What did he do to you?” Tony asks, drawing her attention outward again. When she turns to face him he looks sympathetic. “I can feel the way pain clings to you like a shroud. The way death seems to have become you.”
Nebula can’t help but let out a sharp laugh. “I’m barely even alive anymore,” she says, shaking her head. “If I lost a fight, he’d take a piece of me and replace it with machine. I almost always lost.”
Tony reaches out, settling a hand on her shoulder. He does nothing else, just lets the touch linger and its so foreign she almost expects attack. It doesn’t come, but its hard to let herself relax. “That sounds awful,” he murmurs but she shakes her head.
“Child’s play compared to the genocides,” she says and Tony’s eyebrows shoot up.
“Genocides?” he asks and she nods.
“Smaller planets first, they were easier targets. Less military force, smaller populations, usually lower species,” she says, rattling off the reasons easily now. She’s seen so many people die, killed so many herself, that she’s simply desensitized to the violence of it.
“He started doing more, the last ten years,” Tony murmurs.
“I don’t know how earth years work, but in the last seven years he’s moved on to medium sized planets. Gamora’s planet, mine. We were war prized, I think, because Thanos liked to fancy himself a father. He has a lot of us, all from the planets of the people he’s massacred,” she tells him.
Tony looks sick and he should. She should, but she can’t bring herself to feel that way. “Why here, why now?” he asks.
“He has the infinity stones now, two of them. Maybe three if Gamora leads him to the soul stone. Two more are here. Then he’ll take out half of all life, can do it with the snap of his fingers with power like that,” she murmurs. No one was ever meant to wield that kind of power.
Tony shakes his head, “he’s not going to get away with that,” he tells her but he’s a fool if he thinks this is a battle he can win.
**
Thanos lands two days later than what Nebula predicted and the Avengers are all shocked nonetheless. Ten years of warnings weren’t enough, apparently. Tony doesn’t know if he’s angry at them or if he’s angry at Thanos, if he’s mad at himself for not realizing sooner. All the gut feelings he had, the destruction he felt- must have been Thanos on those planets decimating them. He’ll pay for that too.
Stephen remains behind him, and the Avengers don’t know anything of his power either, but that’s for the best. Thanos thinks to address him first, eyes training on him fast but Nebula had warned him of his obsession with Death.
Pity they had to meet right before his funeral.
“I sense power in you,” he says. “Tony Stark.”
Behind him he can hear Stephen suck in a surprised breath but he hadn’t had the conversation with Nebula about Loki. She’d held a wealth of information and he thinks its helped her to talk about things out loud. “I heard you had an obsession with death, Thanos. What exactly is it that you want out of me?”
The Avengers shuffle around, confused, but Tony can sense that T’Challa understands him right away. But Tony is sure T’Challa is more than a man too and it wouldn’t be the first time a concept lost their memory. If Tony were to guess he’d say soul, or that’s what humans call it. The essence of all life doesn’t have a name between the rest of them but he suspects that’s what T’Challa is. Terrible way to find out what kind of power you hold, but he will have had to learn somehow at some point.
“This is for you,” Thanos says, lifting the gauntlet on his hand. “To show you my devotion.”
Tony lifts his nose in disgust, “if you wanted to show me devotion you would have left the natural order alone,” he snaps. “That isn’t for you to tamper with.”
Thanos looks confused for a moment, but seems to lose it fast. “This is my purpose, I know it is,” he says. “I ignored it once, and...” he trails off, surprising Tony with a look of pain not that Tony pities him any. Not after what he’s done. “I’m going to do this whether or not you want it,” he tells Tony.
“Then your purpose is to die trying to kill the thing you chose to worship. You can’t kill Death,” he says calmly.
**
Nebula knows when the blast is coming and her first instinct, surprisingly, is to jump to Tony’s defense. She’s surprised when the man in the panther-like suit holds her back. “He will be fine,” he tells her in a light, accented voice.
When the blast hits Tony she expects death, that’s the only thing that makes sense. But instead the purple from the power stone engulf him, swirling around him like an energy field and everyone, including the ridiculously dressed Avengers whoever they were, stares. The only ones who don’t look surprised are Stephen and the panther man. Thanos, shocked, stops trying to blast Tony and the purple lingers around him for a moment before its clear he’s simply absorbing the power from the stone.
Licks of purple flame or mist, she’s not sure, lick at Tony’s sides, swirling around his hands as he stands totally unaffected by the full force of an infinity stone. After a long moment he turns to her, eyes glowing the deep purple of the stone. “Come here, Nebula,” he tells her and she shakes her head, stumbling back a couple steps.
“Its alright,” the panther man tells her. “You’ll find what you want with him.”
Cryptic shit, she doesn’t know what that means. “Nebula,” Tony says to her. “You’ve earned this.” He nods to Thanos, who remains frozen and Nebula suspects there’s some magic happening even if she can’t see it, and then she understands.
“You’ll find what you need,” the panther man adds.
Yes, she will find what she needs. She steps forward, walking over to Tony with determination and only pausing when he holds out his hand. “Its okay. It won’t hurt you,” he tells her. Faith, she thinks, is a stupid reason to hold out her hand but she does. When the power of the stone fills her she gasps, Tony’s hand still tight on hers. “You earned this Nebula, for all he’s done to you,” Tony murmurs. “You have the power of an infinity stone in your blood. Make him pay for what he’s done,” he tells her.
All the being torn apart and put back together wrong with new parts, the fights, the favoritism, the torture, the genocides, Gamora. She can’t think of any one reason in particular as the power from the stone fills her body and mind. When she finally extends her hand she lets out a scream of pain and anger, but mostly its a scream of retribution.