Dr. Strange was combing through the myriad of possible futures, or so that was his explanation of what was happening to him at that moment on Titan. His face was flickering through a thousand different expressions, his head jerking up and down in an unnatural staccato. Tony noticed the Guardians of the Galaxy standing nearby, their expressions a curious mix of intrigue and apprehension.
Peter Parker stood next to that younger version of Tony. Despite knowing that his meddling with time would ultimately save Peter, it took everything in him not to go up to him and hug the kid, never letting go. Tony has often regretted the moments of closeness that he had let slip through his fingers thinking they had time. Peter had carved his name onto Tony's heart, and yet he had kept the kid at arm's length. For what? Because Tony was afraid to be a negative role model. Because he didn't want to be like his own father. Why had he let his past mistakes and fears dictate his actions, pushing away the very person who had come to mean so much to him? He had been so stupid.
Peter looked so young but also visibly overwhelmed by their situation. Tony had tried to shield him, but Peter was a stubborn young man who just felt like he had to help. It was a familiar pattern. He saw a lot of himself in the kid. He could not bear the thought of Peter meeting the same end again, of being dusted away into nothingness. It was a cruel twist of fate that Peter's healing powers were attempting to protect him, fighting against the power of the Infinity Stones.
Tony walked slowly toward the group. Thanks to the time machine and spaceship at his disposal, he had managed to arrive ahead of the others, landing in a location not visible to his other self or to the Guardians. But now was the time to have a little conversation with Dr Strange.
"What the hell?" His other self exclaimed, surprised, when Tony emerged in the area where they were all standing.
"Mr Stark?" Peter shouted his head going from one Tony to the other almost comically.
"Hey guys!" Tony waved, always the showman. "And the other me. I'm simply here to talk to Dr. Wizard and then I'll leave. Don't worry, by the way, we won. I made sure of that."
Everyone, even the other version of himself, thought he was insane. It was written all over their faces. However, a Stark wouldn't be a Stark if they didn't begin considering every scenario that would enable such a miracle to occur. The doctor was coming out of his trance. If he was surprised to see two Tonys, his face didn't show any of it.
"So, Dumbledore? How many times do we really win against Thanos?" Tony asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Just once." Dr Strange answered, visibly tired and somewhat weary of everything.
"Are you sure about that? Don't you want to go back doing your little magic trick and check again?"
"That path you're on will cause more harm than good. Whatever improvement you believe you are doing, it will not end well."
"So you knew there was at least another way."
For a moment, they all looked at each other in silence. The implications were not good. Strange may have seen a thousand ways to kill Thanos, a thousand realities where things had changed other than half of their population turning to dust. That meant that Strange had decided the course they were all supposed to take without asking anyone.
"I had time to think. The world was a weird place after the snap. People were surviving but nobody was living. So many had lost everything that they chose to end it completely." Tony explained, shuddering at the dark memories.
"Past tense?" Peter Quill asked.
"Considering this is me slightly older, I'd venture to say that I will invent a time machine sometime in the future and fix our little Thanos' problem." Younger Tony stated.
