*SPOILERS FOR INFINITY WAR*

For some ridiculous reason, this pathetic Terran life is important. Somehow, this metal man is needed to destroy her father.

A story in which Tony Stark just doesn't care – and Nebula is forced to get him home to save his life and possibly the Universe.

Operation: Don't Kill Stark

Nebula appraised the man crumpled before her with an air of distaste. He hasn't moved since the rest of the group had turned to ash. She can see the tremble in his hands, can hear the slight hitch in his breath and the way he struggles not to cry.

Weak. Pathetic.

"Terran." She calls out sharply, stalking closer to get his attention.

He doesn't hear her or decides to ignore her.

Unacceptable.

It takes a great deal of self control to not wrap her hands around his throat and squeeze until he affords her the respect and fear she deserves. Instead, she drops down to the balls of her feet and peers into his face. "You will come with me." Nebula doesn't ask, it comes out as a command, an unspoken I will drag you with me if don't cooperate.

Brown eyes look up and the Terran looks straight at her. There is no trace of fear on his face, nothing but rage and despair. "Fuck off." It comes out as a rasp, but there is determination and stubbornness there.

Nebula shouldn't be surprised that she hasn't made him afraid. He faced her father, stood up to the mad Titan and somehow survived. Her hands still twitch, once again fighting down the burning desire to hurt this man and make him pay for his insolence.

She can practically see Gamora rolling her eyes.

He is needed. Don't be an idiot, sister.

Snarling, Nebula turns away, kicking violently at the first piece of debris her foot finds to tamp down her rage.

The brown-haired man chokes out a laugh, and makes a joke, a joke about her 'anger issues'.

"You may be the most annoying Terran I have ever met." She snaps at him, twisting back around to stare him in the face.

He snorts, pain lines bracket his mouth and his eyes are haunted, but he simply says, "Oh c'mon…Can't be more annoying than that what's his face Lord guy." He insists, "…and cut the big and scary alien act, lady. I work – well, worked with a guy who had astounding anger management issues. Seriously. You've got nothing on him."

Nebula grabs him by the front of his sweaty and dust stained clothes, the fabric bunching up between her fingers. "You are coming with me. Your wizard friend saved your life – you must be needed for something. I intend to find out for what."

Stark isn't phased, he carries on like she doesn't have the ability to snap his neck with a single sharp jerk.

She thinks it's more likely that he simply doesn't care.

"Yeah, I don't know what the fuck Strange was thinking when he pulled that move, but there is nothing I know that can help us now. Seriously, Thanos just turned half the universe into ash. I'm smart – like, the smartest…but what the fuck? This isn't something that can be fixed. It's over lady, we lost. It's too late." Stark rambles on.

There is blood on his teeth and staining his lips, Nebula notes, her eyes move to the wound on his side.

He catches her gaze and gives the grievous injury a look. "Ah, yeah. Then there's that." Stark shrugs, indifferent, "Doesn't make much sense, saving a dead man, does it? The nanotech sealed it shut, but everything on the inside is pretty messed up. Can't really get the full extent with my suit trashed to shit, and of course F.R.I.D.A.Y doesn't exactly get signal out here. Fucking boonies – amiright?"

Nebula ignores the meaningless chatter, carefully inspecting the injury from both sides. "You should be dead."

Stark rolls his eyes and gives her a dry look that plainly states no shit. "Like I said, nanotech. Doesn't heal, just buys me some time. I just didn't want to go out like that in front of…" He falters for second before finishing, "…of the kid. So much for that genius idea."

He goes silent after that, his gaze drifts off into the distance, seeing something that she cannot.

Sighing with frustration, Nebula turns away. The Molina was parked close by, a quick sprint for her. It is time to go. "You are not allowed to die Stark. Do you understand? I will be back with a ship. We will go to your planet so that you are able to heal – and then we will kill my bastard of a father. I will not allow a little thing like your death stop me from achieving my vengeance. Are we clear?"

There is no answer, Nebula glances over her shoulder and spits out an annoyed curse when she sees that the Terran is no longer conscious.

Pathetic beings.

Within two hours, the Guardians spaceship is well outside of Titans atmosphere. Nebula pilots the Molina with ease, setting a course for Earth before leaving the front of the ship to check on its other occupant.

Tony Stark is strapped into the cot next to the medical supplies, his glare is mutinous as he stares up at her. He curses, struggling against the bonds that have him strapped to the bed. "You gonna leave me like this for the whole flight? Kinky, but I'm really not interested."

Nebula rolls her eyes, releasing the bonds with a flick of her wrist. She watches as the man lurches upright, only for his face to turn white with pain. He sways and thumps back with a choked gasp, one hand drifting towards the bulk of bandages packed against his side. "Fuck." Is all he manages to get out before his eyes roll back up into his head and he promptly passes out again.

"Humans…" She mutters with a shake of her head. Using the instruments on the ship, Nebula attempts to assess the damage and slow down the mans decline. They won't reach his home planet for several days, and his dying would do nothing to help her in her mission to destroy Thanos.

Unfortunately, her understanding of the human body is severely limited.

This trip was already starting to feel very long.

Nebula is in the pilots' chair, navigating through an asteroid belt (dangerous, yes – but the fastest way to Terra by far and easily worth the risk). She doesn't react when Tony Stark stumbles into the chair beside her, his tired eyes look out at the vast expanse of space without the slightest interest.

"You should be resting." Nebula says bluntly.

Stark lifts a shoulder up in a half-hearted shrug. "Rested enough, can't sleep. Where are we?"

"Still two days away." She responds, noticing the slight sheen of sweat on his forehead. There is a flush to his cheeks and his eyes are sunken. Nebula knows what a dying man looks like.

It's clear that they are running out of time.

"Seriously? We got to that wasteland of planet in less than a day." Stark quips, "You get us lost or something? You know what they say about women drivers…"

The attitude is an attempt to disguise the pain he feels, Nebula knows, having much experience with this tactic herself. She doesn't give him the fight he wants, too focused on piloting through the dangerous chunks of rock and ice surrounding the ship. "This craft is not as advanced, it is limited in its capacity." Her answer is short, she feels a slight satisfaction when the man huffs in disappointment, slumping in his chair slightly.

Stark fidgets, hands trailing lightly on the various instruments spread out before him.

It's annoying. Very, very annoying.

"Stop acting like a restless child." She finally growls, "You are injured and likely dying. Go and rest or I'll strap you back into that bed myself."

"Anyone ever tell you that you have great bedside manner?" Stark responds, grunting a little as he straightens out in his seat. He doesn't return to the back of the ship, but he stops fidgeting.

There is silence, and Nebula is almost ready to count that as win.

And then…

"So, who the hell are you exactly? How did you end up on Titan? How did you know the Guardians?"

The questions come in rapid-fire succession, and it takes everything in Nebula not to knock the human out just to get him to shut the hell up. He's looking at her expectantly, clearly not ready to take no for an answer.

"Thanos destroyed half of my home world when I was a child. He took possession of me and trained me to kill – he made me this way." She holds up her robotic arm, makes a sweeping gesture to the modifications made to her body, before continuing shortly, "My sister Gamora rebelled and became one the Guardians of the Galaxy. Thanos murdered her to obtain the Soul Stone."

Another sacred moment of silence.

And then…

"Well shit, and I thought I had daddy issues."

Nebula closes her eyes and wonders how Gamora had the capability of dealing with a Terran for longer than five seconds.

This human is likely the only way to defeat her father and perhaps restore the Universe.

It's incredibly difficult not to kill him.

Terra is half a day away, but Stark has taken a turn for the worse. Feverish and babbling, the wound on his side – still sealed shut by his technology – is red and inflamed around the edges. Nebula has set the Molina to auto-pilot so that she can monitor the man closely.

"I did not spend three days listening to your incessant chatter and dealing with your human mood swings for you to die now." She speaks from above his head, forcing him to drink some of the water in her hand.

He stares up at her through half lidded eyes. "Tol' you to go. Wanted to stay. Not my fault…you kidnapped me when I was sleeping."

"You were not sleeping, imbecile. You were unconscious."

Stark closes his eyes, coughing weakly. "Same difference, lady."

Nebula crosses her arms, sitting across from him with a sigh. "I do not understand you, Stark. We have all lost much here – but I'm sure you have ones on your home planet still alive. Do you not want to see them? Do you not want to destroy the being that caused all of this and avenge those that you lost? That wizard and spider child…will you not fight for them?"

She can almost see Gamora smiling from behind her shoulder.

Ugh, what was she becoming?

Better, sister. Wiser and stronger. Strong enough to destroy the monster that we called father.

"I should have been better. I knew this was coming – known for so long but I couldn't stop it." Stark mumbles in reply, oblivious to her thoughts. "Peter…he was just a kid. He was scared, so scared. Dying away from his family, he didn't deserve that. I…need to fix it. Gotta...gotta be a way. Pep…"

The moment of coherence is gone, Stark groans, body going lax as the fever dreams take over once again.

Nebula lines his body with cool compresses, muttering under her breath about the frailty of the Terran body.

How did they survive at all?

Stark is calling out in his sleep now, his body glistening with sweat. Nebula snarls in frustration, replacing the now warm compresses with fresh ones. She doesn't stop to wonder why the Guardians had so many of the gel packs on board. Stark is calling out for something, a Pepper? She doesn't know what that means, but she almost misses the static laden transmission coming from the front speakers because of it.

"Shut up!" She growls harshly, leaving him twisting in a tangle of sheets and sweat. Away from Stark, she hears the next burst of static and the voice within it.

"….Quill? Ga- …this is…Rock…fucking…"

Nebula adjust the dials, checking the position of the Molina as the voice becomes clearer through the speakers.

"You MORONS. It's Rocket. Answer me now god damnit."

"Rodent," She speaks calmly, "This is Nebula."

There is a moment of silence before the rodent speaks again. "Where is my team? Nebula, where the fuck are they?"

She wants to say she's sorry, because that is what you're supposed to say – but she isn't, not really. The only being she had ever truly cared for was Gamora. The others…they were no more to her than the ash that they had become.

"Gone, turned to dust when Thanos retrieved the last stone." Nebula is blunt.

There is a moment of quiet, and then another voice replaces Rockets. This one sounds old and tired, like he's seen too much in a short amount of time. He sounds like the human currently dying behind her, but without the annoying moans and whimpers.

"This is Steve Rogers. Who are you and what do you want here?"

"Nebula," She answers without emotion, watching as the blue planet grows larger before her. "I have one of your kind currently dying on this ship. Send me coordinates so that I can land, before I decide to just kill him and get it over with. Now, human."

"Who? Who do you have?" Rogers demands.

"He calls himself Tony Stark."

There is an explosion of sound in response to that, none of it understandable. Nebulas lips turn up slightly in a ghost of smile as co-ordinates are immediately transferred to the ship.

The demanding voice has turned almost frantic, its cuts through the rest of the chatter, "Confirm, Nebula. Please confirm that you have Tony Stark on board. How do we know that you aren't lying?"

"Dark hair, red and gold metal suit. Extremely annoying, to the point where I considered tossing him out into the vacuum of space." Nebula answers smoothly, adding dryly, "Also, he may be the only way to defeat Thanos and possibly restore the Universe."

"Holy shit!" The man exclaims loudly, a string of what Nebula assumes to be human curse words follow, tinged with excitement and disbelief. There is a cacophony of noise again, many different voices speaking together but Nebula ignores them, instead glimpsing back to check on Stark.

"You seem to be very popular on your planet, Terran. Interesting that they know who you are, the odds seem…unlikely."

Stark is having another lucid moment, his head lifted slightly so that he can squint at her. A bead of sweat drips from his temple, but his cracked lips lift into a slight smile. She theorizes that the familiar voices have given him strength, ignoring him when he mentions being rich, famous and a superhero. It's only when he makes a grabby motion with his fingers that she turns her attention back to him.

"What?" She snaps.

"Radio. Gimme."

Ripping the portable device from its charging dock, Nebula storms over and hands it out to him. Stark stares at her with a raised brow, looking ridiculous with his flushed face, scruffy beard and tangled hair. "Child." She growls, slamming the radio down beside him, having learned on their first day travelling that he had a problem with being, as he called it, 'handed things'.

Flinging herself back into the pilots' chair, Nebula begins to initiate the landing sequence, but her sharp ears pick up the conversation behind her.

"Hey guys."

"Tony? Jesus Christ! Thank god, we thought you were a goner. Fuck, it's good to hear from you."

A moment of silence, and then…

"Hey…Steve?" Stark starts, trailing off for a moment before continuing with an air of smugness, "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Nebula closes her eyes and breathes through her nose slowly.

We are doomed.

I hope you enjoyed this! It's only my second attempt in this fandom – so I'm still trying to capture the characters (I can't decide how these two will react after what happened! Will Tony be stoic / angry / depressed / act like nothing is wrong? Ahhhh!)