A little too tired of just hanging on

Chapter 12

The heroes of Earth were coming together, fighting together. Apparently, Fury had known about that ultra powerful woman since the nineties and had finally thought the times were dire enough to call her for help. Better late than never, Tony supposed. The genius wasn't very fond of any tall blond with too much power. His past record, being with the captain or the god wasn't talking in their favour. Tony wasn't the kind to judge her only on that but he had to admit, this wasn't a good start. Friday was still showing him anything she thought was important. The lady seemed very sure of her powers. Maybe a little too much.

So magic was actually a thing. Friday seemed to have a soft spot for the newcomer. The doctor wasn't impressed by any of the Avengers and especially not with the witch and he wasn't afraid to show it. Wanda didn't really appreciate being told off. She wasn't the only magical being around, far from that and her lack of control was simply appalling. Steve Rogers could be all indignant on her behalf all he wanted, it wasn't changing the truth. The sorcerer was the protector of the time stone, the artifact resting in a strange necklace. With it, he had, among others, the power to see in all the possible futures.

"What do you think he's seeing, Baby Girl?" Tony asked curiously.

Friday didn't know but she had the feeling that those futures weren't all butterflies and rainbows. Strange didn't look happy with what he had seen. Tony would have a part to play in whatever disaster was ahead of them. The genius just hoped it wouldn't come to pass but who was he to fight the future? He had always tried to see the bigger picture and think ahead. It too rarely worked out for him.

The Chitauri were stationed just outside Earth's atmosphere, not paying attention to the moon. They had no reason to. Their ships were big enough to be their base of operation. Up close, the vision of that armada was even more frightening than the first time around above New York. Even with all the fire power he had built, Tony wasn't sure he would be able to destroy them all, especially in one go. The Chitauri would certainly not give him another chance.

The genius didn't mind dying that much but Thanos had to go down with him at the very least. His armies might not disappear completely but they could certainly lose their purpose without their master's directions. Everything had been building up to that moment. Thanos and Tony would have to face each other. How the genius knew that for a fact, he couldn't say. As Natasha would say, his ego was probably talking for him. Why would he bring that on himself?

He had no idea if Thanos was actually present and, if he was, in which ship among the many. Earth was losing men everyday. Too many. That was killing Tony a little bit more each time. He was trying to hold everything together by thinking it was the only way to win. The Guardians of the Galaxy had explained that the stones had incredible powers each alone but once brought together on a special glove, Thanos would be able to destroy half the galaxy in a snap of his fingers. If the stones could be used to bring that much destruction to the whole galaxy, they surely could bring back life. It was certainly worth a try.

Despite everything that happened between them, that had been wrongly said, Tony didn't want Clint's death. The man had lost a lot since the Civil War. He should have thought twice before following Captain America no question asked. Laura and the kids weren't dead but Clint didn't know that. That was enough of a punishment. His family should have been his priority before anything else or at least make sure that they would be safe whatever would be happening. Still, Tony hadn't wished for his death. Some decisions were out of his hands. He grieved for him anyway. Laura and his children wouldn't see him either again if they had wanted so. Tony lamented for a dead friendship, something that could have been but never was.

On the ground, the Avengers were fighting with all they had, Tony had to give them that. Thanos' army was simply too big for a handful of super heroes. The team was killing ten of them and a hundred was appearing to replace the fallen. Steve had said they would lose together, they were. The price was too high. Tony regretted how things had gone between them. He couldn't help but wonder if staying as a group would have changed anything. Probably not. The Avengers wouldn't have listened to anything he had to say. Ultron was still in everybody's mind. The fragile trust they had before was forever broken.