Endgame (Charlotte Stark)

Ch. 1 23 Days After

Steve and I are in a bathroom in the Avengers compound. He's holding a blade, having just shaved off his beard. I splash water on my face, trying to wash off the pain and sadness I've felt the last 22 days. We sigh and look into a side mirror. The mirror suddenly starts shaking, slowly at first, and then severely.

We run to the yard with Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, and James Rhodes walking out looking at something, the Benatar carried by Carol Danvers as she lands the spacecraft. The landing gears deploy as they touch down. The entry hatch opens, and Tony and Nebula walk out, Tony being supported by Nebula. Steve and I run to Tony to help him stand up. Tony grips our arms as he joins us.

"Couldn't stop him." Tony mutters out.

"Neither could we." I say to him, helping him towards the compound. He looks sickly, underweight, weak.

"I lost the kid." Tony stood and looks at us. My head goes down as I think about the 16 year old from Queens.

"Tony, we lost." Steve tells him.

"Is, uh...?" Tony struggles to ask about Pepper. I know what he's trying to say, so I step out of the way for her to run up to him.

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" She and Tony embrace.

"It's okay."

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In the Avengers Compound. We are sitting in a living room area. Tony is sitting at a table, getting blood for healing.

"It's been 23 days since Thanos came to Earth." Rhodes starts us off.

"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 fifty percent, of all living creatures." Nat adds.

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

"We don't know. He just opened a portal and walked through." Steve tells him. I look over to Thor. He's sitting on a bench, seemingly deep in thought. Tony follows my gaze.

"What's wrong with him?" Tony asks, pointing in his direction.

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

"Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear." Tony looks confused towards Rocket.

"Maybe I am."

"We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep Space scans, and satellites, and we got nothing." I tell everyone.

"Tony, you fought him." Steve says.

"So did we Steve." I mutter out.

"Who told you that?" Tony looks surprised. "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."

"Okay." Steve tells him.

"He's unbeatable."

"Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?"

"Pfft! I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming." Tony brings his hand to his chin.

"Tony, we're gonna need you to focus." I say to him.

"And I needed you two. As in past tense. That trumps what you both need. It's too late guys. Sorry. You know what I need?" Tony stands, pushing things off the table with a clatter. Everyone winces at the noise. "I need to shave. And I believe I remember telling all of you-" Tony goes for Steve and I. Rhodey quickly comes in front of him, trying to stop him.

"Tony, Tony, Tony!"

"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!"

"Well, that didn't work out, did it?" I tell him.

"I said, "we'd lose". You both said, "We'll do that together too." And guess what, Cap, Char? We lost. And you two weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the Avengers, we're the Avengers. Not the Prevengers." Rhodes holds Tony back as he continues to try and advance towards us.

"Okay."

"Right?" Tony addresses Rhodes.

"You made your point. Just sit down."

"Okay..." he trails off for a second.

"Okay?" Rhodes looks puzzled, wondering why he's giving up so easily.

"Nah, nah. Here's my point. You know what?" Tony tries to come forward again.

"Tony, you're sick."

"She's great, by the way." He points to Carol.

"Sit down. Sit."

"We need you. You're new blood. Bunch of tired old mules!" Tony pushes himself out of Rhodes grasp. "I got nothing for you two! I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust. Liars."

I'm affected by Tony's words. We just gaze at each other. I thought we worked out some of our issues before, but I guess not. He's still got a lot of pent up anger. After a moment, Tony rips his Arc Reactor from his chest and shoves it into my hand.

"Here, take this. You find him, and you put that on. You hide." Tony falls to the ground. Steve and I are by his side and everyone is starting to gather.

"Tony!" I exclaim.

"I'm fine. I..." Tony falls into a heap, unconscious.