Accidents Happen
Rocket hummed to himself as he walked, Thor and Nebula trailing behind and discussing something in hushed tones. They moved through the cavernous space of the Vibranium mine which housed Shuri’s lab, with the raccoonoid stopping just outside the entrance and pressing an ear against the door.
“Hey Nebula! Thor! Hold up. Sounds like someone’s—“
“—even if we had a way to get off-world, that plan is just—. We can’t, Tony! Especially not since we’re down another Avenger since you ran Rocket off!”
“Oh, give me a break about that, Rogers! We wouldn’t even need the raccoon—and I don’t see you coming up with any ideas on how to fix this!”
Thor frowned and brought a hand to his brow, shaking his head as he opened the doors to the lab and walked in. The Asgardian said nothing as Rocket scampered up his back to perch on his shoulder before clearing his throat.
“Ahem. Firstly, I ain’t an Avenger, though I appreciate the sentiment. Secondly, he didn’t run me off, Rogers. Just…needed some time alone. Third…the next humie that calls me a raccoon is gettin’ tased.”
“You’re all wrong, anyway. He’s a fox.” Nebula added, surveying the lab with a bored look. Thor turned to her and cocked a brow.
“No. He’s a rabbit, actually—“
“—Ugh. No he—we don’t even have time for... What do you want, Rocket? Can’t you see I’m working here?”
Stark narrowed his eyes as Rocket deftly leapt from Thor’s shoulder and onto the lab table, meeting the man’s gaze with lips drawn back in a snarl.
“What I want, Avenger, is to help you humies live up to that title. You really think you’ll be able to avenge your fallen if you can’t even get off-world? I have a ship. It’s in pieces, yeah—that ain’t your fault, Neb, don’t give me that look—but it’s a ship. We salvage what we can, rebuild what we can’t, and make room for all your little Avengin’ buddies. Then we can track Thanos down so y’all can go and do the whole ‘vengeance’ thing that Drax has…had been caught up in for the past…well, for as long as I’ve known him.”
“What, you—you’re offering to help us now? You seemed pretty determined to clear house after—”
“—after you acted like a total douchebag, I know. I wasn’t ‘clearing house’, Stark. I was just getting some fresh air, and I’m done with that, so…yeah. I’m offerin’ to help you. Take it or leave it—either way, I can’t afford to stay on this planet for much longer, so you may as well take it.”
Steve gave the raccoonoid a questioning look as he sat down. “Why don’t you stay on Earth for a while longer, Rocket? We sure could use your help with things outside of Wakanda.”
“If it were—Listen, y’all Avengers may be Earth’s mightiest heroes, and I get that you want to make sure your planet isn’t tearin’ itself apart after what happened—but me and my family weren’t called Guardians of the Galaxy for nothing, you know? I don’t even know what’s happening outside the Terran system right now, much less back in my own galaxy. The longer we take gettin’ back, the more likely it is that the whole place has gone to sh’t…which, at the end of the day, will only make both our jobs harder. Hell, if what Thor said about Nova Corps bein’ gone is true, we may already have a hard time getting out of this system. Nova were the ones who maintained the jump points. No tellin’ if whoever took over for ‘em is friendly or not. What I’m getting at is this: If you want to have a shot at undoing this whole mess, you want to do it sooner, so that literally everyone else in the universe doesn’t get in your way trying to do the same damn thing.”
Tony put a hand on his chin, stroking it as if he was deep in thought before waggling a finger at the raccoonoid. “I still don’t see why we need your help getting off-world. I designed our quinjets to accept modifications for spaceflight. I can have them rolled out and tested within a month.”
“Really? So you have the latest model of jump drive, plus two back-ups and enough Chitauri plating to shield the interior from radiation leaks? You’re saying you have an intact onboard computer containing not just up-to-date nav charts for every galaxy in the Local Group, but the entirety of Nova’s access codes for every jump point and supply depot from here to Sakaar and back? And you’ve got a pilot skilled enough to get you past any quantum asteroid fields, Kree Imperial or Sovereign blockades, to say nothing of all the Ravagers you might run into? You’ve got all of that, ready to go in less than a month?”
When the human said nothing in response, Rocket bared his teeth again.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought. Listen, Stark. I know you don’t like me. Hell, I don’t like me, most days. But that don’t mean we can’t work together while it benefits the both of us, right? I’m offerin’ you all a way off this dirtball so you can find the asshole that you really don’t like. All I’m askin’ in return is your help puttin’ it together. If you can’t see past the four-foot freak making the proposal to see the merit in it, well… You’re dumber than I took you for.”
With that, the alien hopped off the lab table and started to walk towards the doors, ears swivelling behind him. “How about this... I’ll come find you later. For now, sleep on it. If you do wanna help, God knows I don’t need you passing out in the middle of restarting the engine.”
“Mr. Stark? I don’t feel so good… I don’t know—I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna go. Sir, please. Please. I don’t wanna go—“
It was as vivid as the first time it happened. He watched, helpless, as his protégé’s body crumbled to ash—which covered his hands—choked his lungs. Then—.
“—don’t…so good—what’s happening?”
He felt light headed and dizzy. A strange calmness washed over him, a fuzzy sensation crawling across his face. Peter was grabbing him now, practically sobbing into his chest.
“Sir, please—don’t go. Don’t go.“
He didn’t respond. He couldn’t, because his own body was dissolving, scattering across the ruined battlefield.
“—ey!”
The fuzziness was there again. Only this time there was weight behind it, and on his chest—.
He couldn’t breathe.
“Stark!”
Something struck him hard across the face—a bare hand. There was a gauntlet on the other.
It was on instinct that he brought his arms up. His nanites were failing, but he had enough to form a set of repulsors. The beams were blinding, and Thanos threw his hands in front of his face in a too-late attempt at blocking them. He roared and staggered backwards, and Tony took a much needed opportunity to catch his breath.
From a distance, he thought he heard someone calling his name once more. He didn’t have time to listen, however—the Mad Titan was bearing down upon him once more. If he couldn’t stop him here, it would only be a matter of time before Thanos completed the Gauntlet.
He had to act. There weren’t enough nanites left in his armour to maintain his helmet, and his chestplate was failing. He was barely able to keep the repulsors out, much less fire them again. He would have to settle for something a bit cruder. As the Titan drew near, Tony rose to meet him and struck out with a bladed fist. When he felt the blade meet its target, he drew back and lashed out again.
Then again.
And again.
And—.
It wasn’t just the choked cries of pain that woke him up. It wasn’t just the feeling of arms wrapping around him, trying to hold him back from his continued attack on the Mad Titan. It was the colour of the blood on his blade—bright red, with a strange oily shine to it.
Not purple.
NotThanos.
Tony blinked and shook his head as the nightmare faded. He could hear more clearly now the voice calling his name—Rhodey, yelling at him to stop—stop what?
He looked down at his hand, which was drawn back to stab again—and then to the blood dripping onto his sheets, forming a trail to the foot of his bed. Finally, he brought his confused gaze up to meet a fearful pair of copper eyes, the fur around them streaked with tears. Tony watched in horror as Rocket took two wobbly steps and fell off of the bed, body smacking hard into the polished floor. The raccoonoid’s claws scrabbled uselessly at his front in an effort to staunch the bleeding, and he looked at Stark—tried to say something, but the only sound that came out was a wet gurgle. The meaning was clear, however.
Help.