Chapter Text
Tony didn’t know how long they sat there, blankly staring at the pile of ashes that represented their friends. He thinks he should be screaming, should be raging at the world for being so damn unfair but as it is, Tony couldn’t muster up anything more than an ‘I should’ve done better’.
Tony wanted to scream at Strange – Strange who had claimed heartlessly that he would let them die if it meant saving the stone, and yet turned around and offered it for Tony’s life in the end. He wanted to scream at Peter – who should have gone back to earth when he had the chance, who Tony had dragged into this fight and who was now dead because of him. Most of all, he wanted to scream at Peter Quill because – because he knew okay? He knew how it felt like to know that the one you loved was dead, and that their murderer was standing right in front of you. He knew that, he knew exactly how that felt. But that didn’t stop him from feeling resentment build up because if Quill had stayed away for thirty more seconds, had waited until they had gotten the damn Gauntlet off (and they were so so close) they wouldn’t be in this position now. Peter – the kid – would still be alive, Strange would not have needed to sacrifice the stone and Thanos would be dead.
The rest of him was screaming at himself because he should have been faster, should have been stronger. It didn’t matter that he had been fighting Thanos alone, it should have been enough, his suit should have been more than enough. But even throwing everything he had at the alien, he couldn’t even stand up to Thanos when it mattered. Tony didn’t even want to consider the fact that, since Thanos had successfully crumbled half the universe’s population to dust, it meant that he had all the stones in hand.
Which meant that Vision was dead. And that the rest of the heroes on Earth had lost. Tony didn’t want to think about the complications of that because then he’d have to realize that their origin as a team of superheroes were a lie.
Facing Thanos, seeing his power first hand, Tony was left to wonder how much of the battle in New York was really meant for Loki to take over. He wondered if Loki knew that he’d lose and then he wondered if Loki lost on purpose. They had been celebrating their victory that day, had been too content with stopping the invasion and their supposed leader that they hadn’t even stopped to consider that Loki wasn’t working alone. Nobody believed him when he had shared his fears about what he saw beyond that portal and now they were paying the price.
Closing his eyes, Tony sighed deeply, feeling the wound in his side throb dully. It probably wasn’t a good thing that the injury was getting numb, and he decided that enough was enough. Thanos may have won this round, he may have taken out half the universe with him, but Tony wasn’t about to let him go just like that. Because he was an Avenger damn it, and what he said to Loki back then still held true: if they couldn’t save the world, they would damn well avenge it.
Drawing a fortifying breath, he opened his eyes and said, “We need to get out of here.”
The blue alien flicked her onyx eyes to him, assessing him quietly, “My pod is damaged.” She said flatly, her voice tinged with a robotic undertone.
“The others – Quill, they came in a ship didn’t they?” Tony asked, craning his neck around, trying to get a glimpse of the craft.
Nebula grunted, pushing herself to her feet as she too searched for the Milano. Tony gripped the jagged edges of – what was he holding? A moon? – something and levered himself up, gritting his teeth at the wave of pain that crashed against him. Breathing heavily, he opened his eyes to meet Nebula’s dark ones.
He waved off her unspoken question, choosing instead to hobble along the destruction left behind, his hand stretched out for balance. Tony started when he felt someone grab his arm and pull it around a bony shoulder, hissing immediately when the movement pulled at his wound.
He turned questioning eyes on Nebula, who shrugged and replied evenly, “We can make better time like this.”
They slowly made their way to where they could see the outline of the Milano, their path winded and laborious because of the multitude of debris blocking their way. Tony grit his teeth against the pain every time he had to climb over something, wishing fervently that it would stop throbbing, but also grateful for it because it kept him awake.
A sudden displacement of air behind them had the both of them turning in alarm, Nebula already unsheathing her sword and Tony calling upon whatever nanites he had left. But they were too slow to prevent a pair of hands coming down on each of their backs, tearing them apart from each other.
Nebula screamed as she was flung aside, her body smashing into rock and stone.
Tony found himself thrown to the side, his back colliding painfully with a rock. His vision whited out for several seconds as pain seared his entire body. Gasping, he clawed his way back to consciousness, desperately trying to push through the pain.
“Ne – Nebula –” he coughed, his body curling instinctively, trying to protect the gaping hole in his side.
A pair of boots entered his blurred vision.
“Admirable, this concern of yours,” a baritone voice intoned from above him, “but useless.”
Tony gasped as cold metal closed around his throat, dragging him to his feet. Icy fear pierced through him as the mad titan slowly came to focus.
“Thanos.” He hissed, choking as the grip on his neck tightened, a hand coming up to grasp at the han on his nec
An enraged snarl came from behind the titan as Nebula leapt at him, her sword crackling with electricity. But Thanos didn’t even turn around, the purple gem on his gauntlet pulsed once and she was flung backwards by a wave of power once again.
“I admire your strength.” Thanos murmured, eyes glinting coldly, “Not many can claim to have deterred me so successfully.”
Tony could only widen his eyes as Thanos smiled, the azure light of the tesseract shining brightly as the titan stepped into a portal, dragging him along. Nebula’s scream of denial rang in his ears until the portal snapped shut.
The sudden silence jarred him almost as much as when Thanos dropped him on a cold, hard floor. Wheezing, Tony braced himself on his forearms, sweat dripping from his forehead. Placing a palm on the cold stone beneath him, he lifted his head and glared, “Killing half the universe wasn’t enough?” He sniped, “You wanna take revenge too?”
Thanos chuckled, looking down at Tony, who despised his vulnerable position. The mad titan merely shook his head in amusement when the genius stubbornly clambered to his feet. Even with pain and exhaustion settling into his bones, Tony mustered up enough energy to look the titan straight in the eye. If he was going to die, he would damn well do so knowing he didn’t bow to the madman.
The titan just grinned, as though entertained by Tony’s antics. “I do not seek revenge, not against you. It is understandable that you would seek to defend yourself, misguided though the attempt may be.”
“Misguided?” Tony snarled, straightening his posture unconsciously, the adrenaline washing away the pain, “How in the world is trying to save half the fucking universe misguided?”
Thanos just smiled, as though a father being patient with his son, “What I did was mercy, you will come to understand it one day.”
“Why?” Tony sneered, hazelnut eyes flashing with anger, “Not going to kill me?”
“No.” The titan said shortly, stunning Tony into silence.
The genius recovered himself quickly, “I guarantee you, if you don’t kill me, if you let me go, I will find a way to remove that head of yours from where it sits on your ugly neck.” He hissed.
Thanos laughed, “I do so admire your fighting spirit. It reminds me of my daughter Gamora. Alas,” the titan looked away, a shadow cast over his features, “To be strong enough to do what is necessary for the universe, one has to be strong enough for the sacrifices the universe demands.”
“What the fuck?” Tony muttered.
“I have done the universe a favour, and in return, have lost much today. My children are all dead, and I have no one left by my side.” Thanos rumbled, pressing a palm to his face.
Tony was a genius, and it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together to get what Thanos was hinting. “What the fuck?” He spat, stumbling backwards, “What the actual fuck? No, no way in hell!”
He scrambled back, the nanites forming his gauntlet with a thought. He launched a blast at Thanos but he blue gem just glowed, the blast eaten up by a portal. Thanos clenched his fist, the reality stone flashing brightly. Tony cursed as vines wrapped around his body, tightening their hold across his legs, hands and torso. The vines slowly squeezed, and Tony howled when the stab wound flared up in agony. Fire licked his side and spread across his entire body, the agony running through his veins until it suddenly vanished.
Exhausted, he panted, hanging limply in the hold of the vines like a rag doll. He lifted his head wearily, eyeing Thanos. The titan flexed his hand, smiling, “The wonders of reality isn’t it? How easy it is to make things real and to unmake them.”
“Go..to..hell.” Tony rasped.
Thanos just smiled and stepped closer, the vines lifting Tony up to the titan’s eye level. The purple alien ran a finger over his head gently, causing a shudder to escape the genius. “I told you before that I respect you. I was not lying.” Thanos smiled, and Tony thought it was terrifying.
“Not many can claim to have been able to draw blood from me. Thor is one, but he is a god, and it was expected. You however,” the titan trailed off, placing a finger under Tony’s chin, tilting his head up, “You are human, and yet, you have created something that could withstand the power of the stones, that could hurt me while I possessed four infinity stones. Not even your wizard could hurt me and yet you could.”
“Your friends,” Tony jerked, his eyes widening at the mention of the others on earth, “ah yes, your friends, they could barely touch me. There were so many of them coming at me all at once and yet, they fell easily, even without the help of the stones. What the group of them did came nowhere close to what you accomplished. What then,” Thanos grinned, drawing closer, “separates you from the rest?”
Tony smirked tiredly, “I’m a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”
Thanos threw his head back and roared. Then he turned back to Tony, his eyes glittering with malice and amusement, “Ah yes, you would do perfectly. A power such as your mind, it is a gift from Fate that I have received today, and I intend to take it.”
Hearing those words sent a jolt of panic through him. Tony renewed his struggles, despite knowing it was futile. The titan just laughed and commanded the vines to crush him even harder, a red pulse his only warning before pain overtook his senses once again.
He howled in agony, thrashing within his bonds as Thanos kept him still. Finally, the titan took pity and took the pain away, leaving him trembling and weak.
“I told you,” Thanos purred, “I know you Stark, I recognize you. All that you have done for your world, and they were never appreciative. I, on the other hand, acknowledge your power, your intelligence. I have seen first-hand how resourceful you are. You will be made to see the truth, and you will be mine.”
He raised the gauntlet, pressing a knuckle to Tony’s temple gently, the gem on the back of his hand glowing brightly.
Tony struggled, “No - nonono” he chanted, trying to get away from the stone.
The light blinded him, and he felt claws digging into his scalp, sharp blades digging further, piercing skin and bone, the claws diving straight into his brain. It was going deeper, deeper –
Tony screamed.