Chapter Text
Tony woke up with a headache--he didn’t know where he was at first. Then everything came back to his mind--almost dying in space, returning to Earth, venting at Cap…then it hit him: he lost . Yes, he had a vision all those years ago, back in 2015--but no one believed him. His terror of another space war only led him to Ultron, his biggest failure. Ultron cost him JARVIS, and possibly the Avengers…his guilt took over him and made him sign the Accords. Tony sat up, and covered his face with his hands. He failed . He should’ve been more careful. He should’ve thought things through. He should’ve…..
It was too late. Thanos already wiped half of the universe, and Peter...his--his kid was gone. Tony could still hear his voice... Mr. Stark, I don’t wanna go ...God, that kid didn’t deserve death. He deserved to be happy, live as a 16 years old kid. But he couldn’t have any of that.
“...Tony?”
Pepper’s voice echoed in his ear. Tony looked up, and Pepper was standing there with a cup of water, looking worried.
“Hey...Pep,” Tony said, trying to sound normal.
“You don’t look alright,” Pepper said, handing the water to him. Tony took a sip, then set it down at the table next to his bed.
“I’m fine,” Tony said. Of course, he wasn’t fine at all. But he’s been telling himself the exact opposite from what was actually happening or what he actually felt all these years. Denying and hiding his feelings were a few of his expertise. “Just...tired. Where are the others? It’s awfully quiet.”
“They…” Pepper hesitated. “They...went to the space, to...um...well, to kill Thanos and get the stones back.”
Tony stared at Pepper for a minute. Did he just hear what he thinks he heard?
At that moment, the Avengers walked in, looking distraught and disappointed. Natasha had tear marks around her eyes, and Thor’s face was still grim, possibly grimmer than before Tony saw him. Before Steve opened his mouth, Tony knew they lost . The Avengers--Earth’s mightiest heroes--lost for the first time.
“Tony,” Steve said.
“I know,” Tony said quietly. “ We lost .”
“I’m sorry for not being there when you needed me,” Steve said. “I’m sorry for leaving you alone two years ago in Siberia. I’m sorry--”
Tony stood up. He simply walked up to him and hugged him tightly.
“You’re here, aren’t you? You said it yourself, Cap. We lost... together .”
Steve hugged back. It was their first hug in two years.
“One minute you two were fighting and now you are all hugging? I don’t understand humans,” Rocket said.
Tony let go of Steve and looked at well...Raccoon.
“Shut up, Furface. We’re having a moment here.”
“I don’t have time for your emotional--”
Something--or someone, in this case, fell on top of Rocket. There were several groans and grunts.
“What the--” Tony started.
“Fuck,” a man--who exactly looks like Tony, finished.
“Where are we?” a man who looks like Steve asked.
“I don’t know, I closed my eyes when it happened,” a man who looks like Thor, answered.
“That’s a good question, what happened?” a woman who looks like Natasha asked.
“Something bad ,” a man who looks like Bruce answered. “Like really, really bad.”
“You don’t mean…” a man who looks like Clint said, looking up.
“Can you people get off of me? I. CAN’T. BREATHE!” Rocket shouted.
Six of them got up, and Tony and the rest of the Avengers were staring at them in shock. In front of them, six people--six original Avengers--were standing, confused.
“Who are you?” Tony asked.
“I’ll do you one better,” his counterpart said. “Where are we?”
“Upstate New York,” Steve answered. “Now, your turn to answer our question.”
“Robert Downey Jr.,” the man answered. “And we are the Avengers.”
It has been a wonderful day for the Avengers cast, especially for the original six. It was the day of Avengers: Endgame premiere, and it was an opportunity for them to reunite with other cast members, and more importantly, this was the day to show the film to the public for the very first time. Right before the film started, the six original members of the Avengers were chatting in a room.
“Today’s the day, huh?” Chris Evans said to the cast.
“Yep. God, I was getting tired of keeping secrets,” Robert said.
“You think you got tired of secrets? How do you think I’d feel?” Mark asked.
The cast laughed--it was sure a tough month for Mark, since every interview had been trying to get spoilers out of him.
“You did good, mate,” Chris Hemsworth said, patting him on the shoulders.
“Well, this film is the end for most of us,” Scarlett said.
“It’s been fun--” Jeremy said.
Then, there was a glow from the ground, then within seconds, it sucked six of them into some kind of hole.