Whisper

A Little Nightmare

Tony stared at the Chitauri Leviathan. He had stumbled upon a creepy memorial of the battle of New York.

"Thor, I got eyes on the prize," he said.

Before he can move closer. The Leviathan moves, letting out a groan. Tony turns towards the space whale, his eyes following the creature's movements to what looks like the portal from New York. His chest aches, clenching in fear. Around him, his team laid, crumpled from mortal wounds. He hears a hiss from Steve and moves to him.

"You could have saved us," Steve said.

Tony watches the Captain take his last breath. He turns away to see Niobe, her lightsaber in hand, ignited at her side.

"Tony," she said.

Tony takes a step forward, wanting to explain. As he moves, a red light cuts through her chest. She gasps, her lightsaber falling to the ground.

"Obe!" Tony said.

Tony jerked back, watching the alien fall to her knees. A hooded figure removed the beam.

"You will all fall," the figure said.

The bodies of children dressed in similar garb as Niobe appeared around the hooded figure. The bodies flickered and faded away. A pain in his core knocked him over. He felt so small, so alone. He wondered if this was what Niobe had felt. The deaths of thousands weighing down on him. Tony knew the figure was responsible. 

Tony went down to grab Niobe, he needed to feel something. His body was overwhelmed with numbness. Before he could touch her, she faded away. He could feel once again. 

Tony looked behind him. He was back in the creepy memorial. Everything was normal again. Tony shook his head, attempting to return to an alert state. He reached out his hand, signaling for his Iron Man suit to send part of the arm. Tony grabbed the scepter. 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Tony returned to the jet, stepping out of the suit. The metal crept away, tucking itself into a container on the ship. He approached his team, handing the scepter to Thor. He ignored his team's effort to speak with him. Tony watched Niobe laughing with Steve. His eyes burned. 

Watching his friends die had been difficult, an unimaginable pain. Despite that, he had a plan in mind to save them. His friends would be okay. On the other hand, Niobe had died at the hands of someone he did not know. The pain he felt had been hers. He wasn't sure he could save her. 

Without too much thought, Tony walked to Niobe and wrapped her in a tight hug. His eyes were shut tight as he crushed her into him. Niobe was alive, his team was alive.

The space around them went silent. Niobe hugged Tony back. He was thankful for her kind soul.

"I'm here, Tony," she said.

Her voice was so soft Tony thought he imagined she spoke. He pulled away and her hand gripped his face. Tony could see in her eyes that she knew. If he wasn't fighting the knot in his throat he would have been angry she peeked in his head. The smiled at one another.

"Okay..." Natasha said. "Did we miss something?"

"I-i thought she had been hurt," Tony said.

Natasha scoffed at his weak excuse but shifted her attention back to Clint.

"Hey Banner, Dr. Cho is on her way in from Seoul. Is it okay if she sets up in your lab?" Tony said.

"Uh, yeah. she knows her way around," Bruce said.

"Thanks," Tony said. "JARVIS, tell her to prep everything. Barton is going to need the full treatment."

"Very good sir," JARVIS said.

"JARVIS, take the wheel," Tony said.

"Yes, sir. Approach vector is locked."

Tony looked back to the scepter, fighting the images that threatened to return.

"It feels good, yeah?" Tony asked. "I mean, you've been after this thing since SHIELD collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but..."

"No. But this...this brings it to a close," Thor said.

"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for. I don't just mean weapons," Steve said. "Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?"

"This sort of thing is quite common back home," Niobe said. "We can create humans from nothing and program them to age and learn at an accelerated rate."

The group looked to Niobe. Some wore faces of disgust and others of fascination.

"Banner and I'll give it the once over before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you?" Tony asked.

Thor nodded.

"I mean, just a few days before the farewell party," Tony said. "You're staying, right? One alien is just not enough."

Thor gave a laugh with Niobe. She was glad to see Tony smiling again. 

"Yes, yes, of course. A victory should be honored with revels," Thor said.

"Yeah, who doesn't love revels?" Tony asked. "Captain?"

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and Hydra so, yes, revels."