The Avengers: A Change of Fate

Chapter 31

The explosion echoed through the square. The Avengers couldn't afford to look, no matter how much they wanted to. Up to this point, they had all fought hard. Hulk, Thor, Giant-Man, and even Nashira were big players- they would've had no hope in winning if it weren't for Nashira, but no matter how strong they were, they would've died if they had to keep fighting any longer.

Tony held an Ultron droid by the throat as it tried to grab him. He watched its eyes flash white before dropping to the ground. It was happening all around them. Droids were dropping by the number. They watched them fall, then looked upward.

Tony dropped to his knees with the rest of the Ultron droids. They all watched in shock as the explosion expanded in a giant sphere, a shockwave spreading out from it. The sound of the explosion had come off like a loud ringing noise, the explosion itself was a pure white, as white as the flash in the droids' eyes. When the shockwave hit them, it brought a sense of peace, but Tony didn't feel peace at all. He stared upward, frozen.

He wanted her to be alive. She had to be. -But his reasoning told him that there was no way she could survive that. It was impossible. She was dead, but Tony couldn't accept that. If there was any chance... He got up and shot off to the building.

"Tony, wait!" Steve called after him.

His suit strained to carry him to the top. He didn't even bother to hear what Steve had said. He landed on the rooftop and examined the remains. There was nothing left. Stella was gone. Ultron was gone.

All that was left was a shadow. A shadow of a dragon that stretched out across the building. Ultron was nothing but an outline in the darkness. An eerie reminder that he even existed. Tony clenched his fists.

"Nashira," he growled.

"How could you?!" he shouted.

He opened his mask and stared at the only thing that was his daughter. A sob escaped his lips and he fell to his knees. He tried to keep it together. He looked out across the roof, going numb. Then another sob escaped and he broke. A tear fell from his eye, then another. He heard the sound of the Quinjet, and closed his mask. He managed to stop crying. He just looked out at the devastation. Steve came up behind him and grabbed his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Tony."

Tony didn't answer. He sensed the rest of the team behind him, "She dines in Valhalla tonight," Thor assured.

"How did this even happen?" Hawkeye asked after a moment of silence.

Tony took a breath, "Her heart. Her heartbeat is what made her turn. The acceleration heated the acid in the blood and made it turn. Only this time, she didn't go through with the transformation. Nashira stopped half way. She literally turned herself into a bomb."

They were silent, "Tony, we can't stay here. We have work to do still," Captain America said.

"You expect me to work after this??"

"Stella is the one who came up with that policy, Iron Man. Don't you think we should respect it?" T'challa asked.

"I want to go home," Tony's voice broke.

"I know, Stark. We're all grieving. We can go home and freshen up, get you a new suit, but we have to come back. It's what Stella would've wanted," Steve said.

Tony looked at Steve. He wasn't grieving. He was used to losing people. He was a soldier. As for the rest of them- maybe they were, but not nearly as bad as he was. Oh, Stella... He should've been nicer, should've told her how much he loved her, should've never let her forget-

"Tony," Cap called to him.

Tony stood, "Okay. I'll need a new suit. I need to see Pepper, and then we can come back, but before we leave I have to get something."