The Spring Soldier | Bucky Barnes

Chapter 20 - Endgame

"What the hell is going on?" Aleks asks as the ground shakes. Nat looks at her and they rush outside, joining Bruce, Rhodey, Pepper, and Steve.

A woman sets down a large ship. A set of stairs lower and two women help Tony down them. Steve rushes forward to help him, taking him from the two aliens. The sisters sit on the steps, taking each other's hand.

"I don't know who the two aliens are, but that's Tony Stark." Nat whispers to her sister as she watches the two men reunite.

"Couldn't stop him." Tony tells him.

"Neither could I." Steve replies.

"Hang on." He says, making Steve stop and face him. "I lost the kid."

"Tony, we lost." He corrects.

"Is, uh...?" He whispers. Pepper rushes up to them before he can ask, and she pulls him into a hug as she sobs.

The group moves inside as Rocket heads up the stairs. He squeezes between the sisters, placing his hand on top of theirs.

***

"It's been 23 days since Thanos came to Earth." Rhodey says.

"World governments are in pieces. The parts that are still working are trying to take a census and it looks like he did...He did exactly what he said he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out...50% of all living creatures." Nat explains. Aleks stands next to her sister, glaring at the floor and doing her best to ignore the faces of the missing.

"Where is he now? Where?" Tony asks.

"We don't know. He just opened a portal and walked through." Steve answers.

"What's wrong with him? Why isn't Dahlia with him, I know she's here." He asks, pointing to Thor.

"Oh, he's pissed. He thinks he failed. Which, of course, he did but, you know, there's a lot of that going around, ain't there?" Rocket tells him.

"Honestly, until this exact second I thought you were a Build-A-Bear." He says.

"Maybe I am." He replies.

"What about Dahlia? Where is she?" Tony asks. Bruce clears his throat.

"She was sedated." He answers.

"What? Why?" He scoffs.

"She got some news and wasn't handling it well. It wasn't safe-" He explains.

"We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now." Steve interrupts, knowing Bruce would have accidentally said too much. "Deep space scans and satellites, and we got nothing. Tony, you fought him."

"Who told you that?" He asks. "I didn't fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street magician gave away the store. That's what happened. There was no fight, 'cause he's not beatable."

"Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?" He asks.

"I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming." He replies.

"Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus." Steve tells him.

"And I needed you. As in, past tense. That trumps what you need. It's too late, buddy. Sorry." He says. He sniffs and shoves the food on the table in front of him. "You know what I need? I need a shave." He stands and begins trying to remove his IV. "And I believe I remember telling all youse"

"Tony, Tony!" Rhodey scolds.

"...alive and otherwise, that what we needed was a suit of armor around the world. Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not. That's what we needed." He continues.