𝗕𝟮 | There are only bad decisions beyond us. With the vulture gone, it was time to work on bonding. However, a threat out of their hands attacks once again, causing their actions to have until the last consequence of their will.
(𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻�...
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T'Challa—missing.
Stephen Strange—missing.
Wanda Maximoff—missing.
Peter Parker—missing.
Each name felt like a weight that threatened to crush him. He looked to the side, unable to bear the sight of the holographic displaying the faces of the fallen heroes. Nikolas stood at a distance, physically present but emotionally detached, his long blue blouse hanging off his body, hiding the scabs and scars that marred his arms. His eyes heavy with the knowledge that he was powerless to change any of it. He felt like a ghost himself, inside a place where he didn't belong.
He couldn't stop his eyes from drifting toward Tony. The man who once seemed invincible now looked almost unrecognizable. Nikolas hadn't gotten a good look at him since he stepped off the ship, the darkness of the night concealing the true extent of his condition. Now, in the harsh light of the facility, the sight was devastating. Tony was gaunt, his body frail, skin stretched tight over bones that seemed ready to break. He sat slumped in a wheelchair, an IV line snaking from his arm to a bag of fluids meant to keep him alive, but barely.
Pepper never left his side, her hand on his shoulder as if willing him to hold on just a little longer. She had been the one to help him into the facility, a task Nikolas had stubbornly refused to assist with. Instead, he had turned his back, walking in alone, too ashamed, too overwhelmed to face Tony directly. Seeing Tony in such a broken state, Nikolas couldn't help but question himself, Was he being fair? .
"We don't know where he's gone then," Tony said, his voice rough as he glanced at Steve. He pressed a hand to his forehead and made a humorless noise that seemed out of place with his lips. "Nothing. Zero. Adios. He opened a portal and walked right through it. I tried to warn everyone—I had a vision!"
"Tony, we need you to focus," Steve urged. "If there's any signal, any clue, anything at all—now is the time to remember it. Our satellites haven't picked up a trace."
"I have absolutely no idea about anything!" Tony shot back. "All I know is that Thanos dragged my face across an entire planet for nothing! The wizard granted the stone when I was stabbed with my own suit—did I mention that part before? Stabbed with my own suit!"
In a sudden burst of anger, Tony stood up from his wheelchair. The movement was awkward and painful, and when the IV connector tugged at his arm, he fought against it with increasing desperation. After several attempts, he yanked the connector free, the metallic clinking echoing through the room. Nikolas flinched as Tony, with an almost childlike rage, reached out and pried off his metal heart. Sparks flew as it disconnected, the heart crashing to the floor with a violent clatter. It skidded across the room, finally coming to a stop against the wall near Thor.
