I got a lot of great ideas for this story.

I hope you enjoy it.

Dear Mr Fantasy

1 of ?

Legacy

Taking a nuke through a wormhole...feeling the crushing, absolute zero of space. Staring into the void as the conquest of Earth reigned was something Tony never wanted to face again; darkness; death. After New York, it became only a nightmare, but the paranoia nailed itself into the billionaire's everyday life, and it soon grew into his focus and drive. The future was what the Avengers were to protect, but that future fell between their fingers as ash. How was this their legacy? Tony was able to ponder this as he sat at a table and watched the abyss of space engulf the Benetar. That was all he could really do to pass the time; drowned in his failure.

Having Nebula with him made it a bit easier. If had been alone, it would have been a whole other level of hell. Getting to know each other brought conversation, and it was over childhood games like paper football. Being stuck in one place was a prison, and being plagued with horrendous pain didn't help better the situation at all. Tony had laid around most of the time due to stab wound Thanos treated the Avenger with. It fatigued Tony.

When he could, he found his way to a small table in the quarters he had borrowed. All Nebula said was, "Mantis and the fox...their rooms are the cleanest." She had left out her sister's room for obvious, personal reasons.

Tony rested his chin in his propped palm on the tabletop. He gazed at the Ironman helmet and hardly recognized the colorful streaks of light which passed the ship as the Benatar traveled at an incomprehensible speed. There was only one person that was on his mind and that was Pepper...however, occasionally he wondered if Rhodey was still alive or how the remaining Avengers bid against Thanos. That was another way to occupy his time, in addition to the recordings that he started.

"Pepper..." Tony breathed, hoping to gain control of his pain. The binding agent he had used to temporarily seal the wound was doing its job of holding the damage together, but the pain reliever was beginning to take a back seat. "It's day two since...he happened. I'm not really sure what to say...this isn't the first time I've gone missing, so I'm sure I'll figure something out." A big maybe considering the fuel tank had been damaged during the fight with Thanos. Nebula and Tony managed to temporarily fix it, but it was not holding. What was worse, they were running out of food and water. It was in Nebula's hands, though. She was doing her best to find a dock to make repairs and get fuel.

Tony pressed his palm against his forehead upon feeling his body shake from sitting for too long. He really needed to lay down... "If we get lucky, it'll be another couple of days before I come home..." If he was alive by the time he reached home. "Listen, Pepper...I..." The thought of telling Pepper about his injury crept on Tony, but he didn't know if he could bring himself to tell his fiancee that he was dying. "I've been messing around with the ship's transmitter, hoping at some point it'll reach Earth, but nothing yet...I hope I hear from you soon, though...I love you," he finished before turning off the recording with a sigh.

When the helmet ceased of light, Tony examined it briefly, wondering how it all went wrong. Gripping the table, Tony painfully staggered to his feet, but he didn't make it too far; he yelped as he settled himself on the bed. Breathing heavily, Tony stared out the window at the darkness. Specks of light illuminated, outlining galaxies that remained billions of miles away. He felt as if this was his punishment for failure, frozen in this misery for all eternity.

THE QUINJET

The Earth was tainted quiet. Silently, it wept in accord with the tragedy that struck. Any speck of hope had been sucked into a realm unreachable to the haunted souls that survived. The Avengers were mournfully gathered in the Quinjet as it soared over the beautiful, yet suffering planet Earth, which now laid under both spilled blood and dust. Unbearable anguish flooded the aircraft as they achingly left Wakanda behind to return home to America. For about seventy-two hours, the Avengers stayed to help the Wakandans clear the battlefield of those who were killed before the Snap and whatever debris there was. Okoye was trying to figure out how to lead her country forward as the entire royal family had fallen from the Snap.

In fact, the entire world was trying to make sense of what happened and how to pick up the pieces. How were they to keep the planet going? Whoever was left in the United Nations were scrambling to get a count of those that remained once the world was informed about Thanos. The world was an overwhelming mess now and the best anybody could do was return home and do what they could to help with clean up and get aid to those who needed it. They needed to figure out who was left in society, even animals...everything on the Earth relied on each other for life and now half of all living things were gone...

Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Rhodey, Rocket, and Thor, in their moments of despair, didn't speak any words. They sat there together, feeling nothing but death in their grasp. It didn't matter how strong they were or how strong they pretended to be; tears welled in their eyes. A hole rested in their hearts, and it was something far more significant than they'd ever felt. Not even the worst of the past could level the catastrophe and misery that had disintegrated all happiness, laughter, and light. Never had they lost, not on this level, and it was a living hell. Sam, Bucky, Wanda, and Vision were gone... and the only thing they had was Vision's cold and colorless corpse lying under a sheet. When it was over, they'd spent a long time trying to call everyone they knew, in a frenzy to see what more people they lost. But the phones were quiet now, and there was nothing more to do...it was over, everybody was gone...they were all gone.

Rocket sat on the floor, near the right side of the cockpit as Rhodey piloted the Quinjet. Being in an aircraft was something Rocket was familiar with, but he felt quite alone as he gazed at his reflection in the glass as the sun disappeared. The feeling of sorrow and alienation rolled over in his head and he tried remembering the last time he felt like this. Perhaps being experimented on, but...not knowing whether his friends were alive or not; that cut deep. However, so far, he was getting along with the humans, nevertheless, everybody was still trying to stomach what had happened three days ago. Rocket gazed around at each person, all of them keeping silent and to themselves. Briefly, Rocket made eye contact with Thor who sat in the left-wing, but the Asgardian shamefully looked elsewhere. Rocket knew the guilt that sat on the Avenger's shoulders, it rested on everyone's shoulders...they failed.

Bruce sat in one of the seats against the Quinjet's center table, while Steve and Natasha sat next to each other on the opposite side. They had finally heard from Clint who sounded as if his emotions were spiraling. After Natasha had calmed him the best she could over the phone, she had told him to meet the team back at the Compound. He had nowhere else to go and in such a grim state, he had made it to the eerie and empty halls of the Avengers' Compound. They traveled as fast as they could to their teammate, who waited alone.

"We've got about an hour and a half before we land," Rhodey murmured, breaking the dark quiet. He was still incredibly tense, considering contact with Pepper and Happy had failed, leaving the Avengers with the presumption that they were dead as well, and Tony...Tony was still nowhere to be found if he was still alive.

"Will you let Clint know, please," Natasha meekly said from where she sat, giving it her all to keep her fear and sadness pulled together.

"Yeah, I notified him not too long ago, but I don't know if he got the message..." the colonel responded and just in the next second, the Quinjet's comm systems started blinking from an incoming call. When Rhodey opened up the line, he answered, "Clint?"

"Rhodey, hey," Clint's demeanor was still empty, but he sounded a little better than when they first spoke with him. "I got some good news, I found Pepper. She's with me now." That sentence was like a wave, washing relief among Rhodey, Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and Thor. It was the best thing they had heard all day. Truth be told, what had happened between Tony and the Avengers regarding the Accords, it diminished entirely because in the end both Tony and Pepper were still part of this family. Hearing she was on the other end of the line with Clint was everything at the moment.

"We copy..." Rhodey sighed, almost pulled to tears. "Is...Pepper, are you okay?" Steve got to his feet, grabbing a handle to hold onto as he stood left of the cockpit next to Rhodey.

"Yeah...we've uh...we've been in New York City a lot," Pepper reprieved and all Rhodey could do was dip his head at the heavy sullen of her voice. "There's quite some damage after people started disappearing...cars, boats, and subways were crashing, planes were falling, people became stranded or trapped...whoever was left with Stark Industries...we're doing everything we can with whatever government, military officials, and first responders are left..."

"I think...that's the best any of us can do right now," Steve meant to reassure, encouraging Pepper's efforts, knowing that some people who didn't vanish probably died from the accident injuries.

"I tried calling sooner, but some of the power grids were down," Pepper said, "are you all okay?"

"Physically, yes," Rhodey uttered frankly, "Mentally, I'm not so sure." The assumption was well accurate as Natasha, Bruce, and Thor sat defeated, listening to the conversation while Steve and Rocket held their positions beside Rhodey. There was a sickening moment lingering as Rhodey waited for Pepper to bring up Tony, but she was edging around that subject until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Rhodey, Happy is gone..." The CEO's voice cracked, struggling to get the words out, and Rhodey wished he could be there for her sooner because in no way was this going to turn out okay. "And Tony...I told him..." Their hearts sank further as the emotion kept creeping, in a denying yet realizing stance that Tony was probably gone, either killed or dusted. "Rhodey, I told him to get off that ship."

Wiping the water from his eyes, Rhodey tried to honor what he said next, "...He was doing what he thought was right...he was trying to stop this." He paused for a moment, overwhelmed with grief. "Where are you now?" He mumbled, returning his attention to the water below and the skies above.

"We're both at the Compound," Clint affirmed.

"You should both stay there, we're less than an hour and a half away," Natasha chipped in, not wanting to lose anybody else, even if it was just for a second. "We'll be there soon."

"Alright, stay safe," the Archer replied worryingly.

"Same to you," Steve said before Rhodey ended the call.

Avengers' Compound

Whenever Pepper wasn't trying to help with the chaos, she hardly ate or slept. Most of the time she sat on the steps of the Compound's outdoor lounge, watching the skies and hoping she'd see an Earth-bound ship with Tony safely in tow. When Clint saw Pepper sitting alone, he gradually joined her, sitting beside her on the steps. As the sun dipped, the trees imprinted dark shadows against the sky. The air chilled in the late April evening, but it didn't phase Pepper as she kept vigil. Clint looked her way and from her eyes, he knew it all too well from his own determination. They didn't know if Tony was dead or alive, but that fire was still in Pepper's eyes. "I hope he's alive," Clint said, meaning it, and Pepper sympathetically looked at him. Unfortunately, his light had finally died.

While Clint was at the Compound alone, he mulled in the dread of losing his family, neighbors, friends...For some time, he didn't care where the others were or what they were doing, all that clouded his mind was Laura, Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel. Then at some point, as he wandered the barren facility, he saw several photos of his teammates. All of them just being people, and after what happened between them, there was still a group photo in the study. He hadn't thought Tony would've actually kept it, but the billionaire did.

Then his eyes found a picture of Tony and Pepper, and he remembered the many times the kids came to visit the Compound. Laura and Pepper got along really well together and when the memories ate at his soul, the Avenger decided to go find Pepper. Of course, she was in the heart of everything, trying to run Stark Industries' disaster relief. Seeing the good she was doing, he couldn't turn his back and spent the day helping. The work distracted him until they were both told to get some rest, so they returned to the Compound.

"Thank you," she spoke graciously, appreciating his concern.

"What I feel now...I wish nobody would ever have to feel this way," he mustered with tears in his eyes, and it was followed by Pepper putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Even as the night prevailed and they were reunited with the remaining Avengers, she didn't move. Clint had gone inside, but her precision bribed Rhodey to bring a blanket out to her, and he sat with her for some time. At midnight, she and Rhodey both went inside where they ran into Rocket. "How's it coming, Rocket?" Rhodey asked.

"Well, we finally finished it. The transmitter is up and running in the Quinjet Hanger, so it's not up to us anymore, but hopefully, we can find my crew, Thor's missing Asgardians, and your missing man," Rocket explained more or less optimistically, handing Pepper a small device. "Here, if anything gets in the range of the transmitters, these little devices will let us know."

"Thank you," Pepper replied, accepting the device from the Guardian.

As he walked away, Pepper gave Rhodey an 'I just spoke to a raccoon' look. "You'll get used to it, he kinda grows on you after a bit," is what Rhodey said as they finally went to their quarters to call it a night. No matter how hard she tried, sleep didn't come to her, and Pepper simply watched the device's light blue glow that made her think of Tony. But the device stayed hush. All night, and all day, until twenty-four hours later, when it finally sounded through the sleeping Compound.

"We got a ship!" Rocket bellowed through the halls, which roused everyone, because, in all honesty, they didn't yet know if this was one of Thanos' or a friendly.

Bruce was already in the Compound's Hanger with the raccoon as Pepper and Rhodey fleetly approached. "Pepper!" The sound of the scientist's voice and the look on his face said it all and Pepper didn't need to ask.

She felt her heart stop and all the air left her lungs as she halted beside Rocket's makeshift transmitter. "Tony?" She called gently, and as Natasha and Steve entered the hanger there was no answer. Pepper glanced concerningly at Bruce before asking again, "Tony?"

When he did speak, they realized it took him so long to respond, because he had actually choked up on tears of joy. "I hear you loud and clear, Pep," Tony finally said with a controlled voice, and it was enough to make Pepper cry.

A crispness held in the air as Pepper, Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and Rhodey walked out onto the field when the building's structure began to shake. The silhouette of the enormous spaceship circled the property from the night sky to survey a place to land. Thor, Clint, and Rocket remained in the distance, just outside the Hanger doors and watched from afar, but it peaked Rocket's attention when he started to recognize the Benatar. His facial expressions slackened at the forbidding thought of the knowledge he was about to receive...the only person they had heard from was Tony, but even he was vague on all matters. It had taken about thirty minutes from first hearing Tony's voice to the actual occurrence of the Benatar finally landing on the damp grass.

When the ramp opened, the Avengers waited not far from the base, but upon seeing the woman helping Tony down the ramp, it was clear something was wrong. Steve started to feel his feet move, and he approached Tony in the notion to help. The last time they had seen each other, it ended in an extremely emotional, and tragic fight, but without a doubt, Steve still viewed Tony as a friend. He wasn't sure if Tony saw it the same way, but it didn't matter with how damaged Tony looked. Under the moonlight, some blood still clotted on the engineer's cuts or streaked along his jawline. It seemed most of the team came out unscathed compared to Tony.

"Hey," Tony muttered quietly, hardly able to look at Steve as the super-soldier offered himself as a crutch.

"Hey," Steve responded crucially, seeing the exhaustion and possible pain that rendered Tony. Nebula released Tony's arm when Steve came to escort the injured man from the base of the ramp. Observing Tony for a second, Steve was about to ask what had happened, because from what the Captain gathered, the Ironman was struggling just to stand.

"He was impaled by Thanos," Nebula spoke, which made Steve look over his shoulder at her before snapping his attention back to Tony in growing horror because the genius wasn't denying the statement.

"Can you make it to the Compound?" Steve asked. He could feel Tony's muscles trembling, and he could hear his shallow breaths.

"I think so," Tony murmured, but that was before he realized he hadn't walked a distance from the field to the hanger in four days. In fact, he had hardly gotten up at all while on the Benatar. It required too much energy; energy he did not have after what Thanos put him through. In addition, he may or may not have been seeing black patches in his vision, but he couldn't differentiate with it being night, but he also had refused to eat due to the pain.

There was at least some relief when Pepper came up to Tony, but she looked petrified at his condition. "Pepper," Tony grimaced when she gently hugged him. Tony felt his heart racing painfully as it tried keeping him stable, but his body continued to grow heavier. He thought he'd be able to do it, to walk into the Compound, but he had only taken three more steps until he hit his brick wall. Natasha, Rhodey, and Bruce sauntered over when Tony purposely sat down on the blades of grass, incapacitated with exhaustion.

"Tony, Tony," Pepper urgently conveyed when Tony let go of her hand and laid on his side without a word. The flashlight from a phone turned on as Tony's wound was quickly looked at, which was followed by some dreadful reactions to the enlightenment that Tony might be the next friend they wouldn't be able to save.

to be continued...

Thank you for reading!

-Learlorde