And the Snap Echoes

The Reunion

Tony Stark was not ready.

Nebula and he were currently on their way to Wakanda, as directed by the onboard computer, the reason of which was still unknown to him. Apparently, that was where the last of the Guardians, which Nebula referred to as "Racoon", was. Tony had been intent on going to New York first to check up on Pepper, but the ship had a mind of its own and was dragging them along to Wakanda. The trip to New York also meant that he could refill on his nanobot armor particles, and have his armor back in working condition once again.

The computer beeped, signaling that they were close to landing, and Tony braced himself for the meeting. His intuition told him that Steve Rogers was somewhere below him, along with Sam and Natasha, and god knows who else. Then he remembered the snap and wondered who all had been dusted away and whether anyone was left at all.

In a few minutes, the ship landed, and Nebula opened the door for him. He stepped out of the ship and walked straight into Steve Rogers. Around him stood Natasha, with her hair blonde, Thor, with short cropped hair and a bad-ass looking ax, Banner, using his Hulkbuster for some reason, Rhodes, and a raccoon of some kind.

"Great, at least Rhodey's alive," he thought.

Behind Tony, Nebula walked out and made straight for the raccoon. He saw her giving it a subtle shake of her head, and the raccoon broke down. She tried to console it as much as she could, but it was clear that it wasn't her forte. To his surprise, Thor bent down and tried to console him they muttered something amongst themselves, and the raccoon calmed down a bit, occasionally sniveling.

"You look great," Tony quipped, almost immediately regretting it taking recent events into consideration.

Steve's eyes hardened, and he made a sudden hand movement as if bringing his wrist up in front of him. Then, his eyes softened once again and his arm went back down.

"And you look like you've been through hell"

"Judging on what I've been through, it could very well be hell."

"Well, I guess the same can be said for me."

"I still got beaten up more, so my hell was worse." They had had this running gag ever since New York, competing in who had faced worse conditions.

"This is no time for jokes Tony. We need to regroup. We need to form an attack plan. We need to fight back. We need to get those people back. Because if we cannot, I don't think that anyone will be able to."

"Okay, okay, calm down Steve. We will do it. We will get those guys back. We will... we will... we will..."

Tony broke off, a sudden feeling of nausea hitting him. Flashes of New York passed in front of his eyes, followed by the visions Wanda had shown him in Sokovia with all his team members, and finally, Peter fading away in his arms. His knees buckled, and he sunk to the ground. Lights danced in front of his eyes, and he lost all sense of reality for a second. His breathing became uneven, and he felt faint as if he would collapse any second. His entire visage was sheened with sweat, and his clothes clung it his body.

Nebula was at his side in no time, as was Steve and Rhodey. The others crowded around them. Nebula eased him into a sleeping position.

"Breathe, Tony. Just breathe," Nebula instructed.

Tony heaved in air, and after a few minutes, he was back to normal, though his forehead was still covered in sweat.

"Sorry about that. It's just that it's been a long week."

"He's been having these panic attacks ever since... ever since he...ever since he faced Thanos."

Steve noticed that when Nebula said these words, Tony flinched a bit. Making a mental note to question him about this, he helped Tony up after the latter asserted that he was feeling well enough to stand up again.

"So how many of us are still alive?" Tony asked.

"Just about the ones you see right now. We have no clue about Clint and Scott, or any unknown people who may be able to help us."

"God, this is just like New York. No outside help, just the six of us, except this time we have Rhodey, Ms. Blue here and... a raccoon?"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I'M NOT A RACOON!!"

"Well, you sure look like one... are you sure you aren't one?"

"MY NAME'S ROCKET!!"

"I think it's time you saw a picture of a raccoon, and then we'll see what you have to say about this."

And with that, Tony brought out a picture of a raccoon kept in his pocket.

"Have a look at this. You sure this isn't you?"

Rocket stared at the picture. "But... but that's me... this thing... this thing has copied me... this is outrageous. This is a scandal. I will not tolerate this."

"Ohh calm down, rabbit. We have more pressing matters at heart."

Natasha meanwhile had a valid question.

"Why do you have a picture of a raccoon in your pocket?"

Tony was silent. Truth be told, he had kept that picture of the raccoon in his pocket because Peter had always loved raccoons. For what reason, he had no idea. He knew that Peter had a raccoon soft toy back at home, and for that very reason, he had always carried the picture around in his pocket.

"Umm... it's a long story."

Steve recognized the look in his eyes. It was the exact one which he had – the sign that he had lost someone and was mourning for their loss. Another thing which he would have to question him about later.

Tony made a sudden movement and flung himself onto Steve.

"I'm sorry!! I was an idiot to sign the Accords! I was an idiot to go into war! I was an idiot that I hunted down you and Bucky just because something he did 27 years ago, that too when he was being controlled by someone. I'm sorry for everything, Cap," he broke down in Steve's arms. "None of this would have happened if I hadn't been such an idiot. All this is my fault!"

Steve, initially surprised by Tony's sudden breakdown, just held on. "Calm down, Tony. It isn't your fault. Thanos would've attacked no matter whether we would have been divided or not. And technically, it's my fault as well. I withheld the information that Bucky had killed your parents. I fought against you in that stupid airport. I let Zemo manipulate me."

"It's not just that, Steve. I chose to take the battle to Titan yesterday. I let Peter fight in the battle, and now, he's dead. His blood is on my hands. I'll never be able to forgive myself for that. Strange and Peter! Both of their blood is on my hands. I don't know what I'm going to say to May."

"You're not saying that, Tony. It's not your fault at all. After the Snap, people randomly dusted away. You didn't bring about their deaths. In fact, I'm sure that Peter would be happy that he was with you in the last moments of his life. I'm sure that he will forever remember that, and he will be honored that he got to fight alongside his idol."

Soon enough, Tony was able to calm down, and he let go.

"Thanks, Steve, I really needed that. As I said before, it's been a hectic week, and I guess I just need some rest. I think I'll sleep for some time now, and then report for duty. Is that okay?"

"Take your time, Tony. I think we all need some rest. We'll have a few hours of sleep, and then go for duty."