I Am Iron-Man

Chapter 73

Ethan Smith's POV

I can't believe this. How could me of all people have been able to bond with one of the most powerful Infinity Stones in the entire universe? I knew that I gained my powers from two of them, but I never thought that one of them has bonded with me. To be honest, that has to be the most coolest thing that has ever happened to me.

Tony wanted to meet with Dr. Strange, The Vision, and me. Probably because he wanted to talk about the fact that we were the ones that four out of the six Infinity Stones bonded with. I walked into one of the conference rooms where I saw that Tony, Dr. Strange, and The Vision were already there.

"Hey, everyone. As all of you should know, we all have somehow bonded with one of the Infinity Stones. And in that case, we are the ones that Thanos is after, so we are in more danger than anyone else"

"So, what will we have to do? Thanos will not give up until he gets all of the Infinity Stones. And that will include murder, especially since he will have murder the two of us to receive two of the Infinity Stones"

"Exactly. So, we would have to be careful about the battle. I know that we are prepared to lose our lives once this battle is over, but now, we really have to be prepared to lose our lives over this battle because it is clear that as long as the Infinity Stones in our possession, we will be at most risk"

"Well, we have to be ready for them. At all costs, we have to protect the remaining Infinity Stones", Dr. Strange said.

"I know, Strange. And I know that you and Vision are more than willing to lose your lives over the protection of these Stones. But Ethan, about you--"

"What about me?". Is he going to want me to not be involved in this battle? No way, not in this lifetime or the next! "If you are trying to tell me to sit out of this fight, then that is never going to happen!"

"Ethan, you are a minor and you are at most risk, alongside with me. Thanos is going to be after you the most"

"So?! The majority of the people on the Young Avengers team are minors! But they are still going to fight against Thanos! If you think for one second that I am going to hide away while some giant, delusional, monstrosity of a grape threatens to destroy the very existence of everyone in the universe, including the people who I know and love, then you clearly don't know me at all!"

"... Are you sure that you want to do this? There will be no going back after this?"

"I have never been more sure about anything in my life"

"... Well, then I will see you on the battlefield. I will see you all on the battlefield. That will be all for today. Good luck, everyone and try not to die". Well, from here on out, it is do or die. Preferably do since the fate of the universe kind of rests on our shoulders. But we will see who will be the victor of the battle, but for the universe's sake, it has to be us.

Tony Stark's POV

If this might be the last time that everyone will see me alive, then I might as well fully explain to everyone what has happened to me after I was rescued from the Siberian bunker, and what that means right now.

"Everyone, seeing how we are now on the clock and this might one of the last few times that we might see each other alive, I thought that it would be nice to explain more specifically what happened after I was rescued from the Siberian bunker, especially to those who don't even know what happened. So, here it is"

First, I explained how the Infinity Stones sought me out in the bunker and the Mind Stone rescued me from there, more specifically rescued my astral body, and how they can communicate with me telepathically.

Then, I explained how the Stones warned me about Thanos and how they processed to bless me with their abilities, or in the Space Stone's case, bonded with me and helped me train my abilities and convinced me to make a team.

Then, I mentioned the fact that I found out the perfect formula to make the new iron suit accommodate with the Extremis and Infinity Stones powers and I found out about the Rogue Avengers' plan to manipulate and brainwash me because of them.

Then, I went into more detail about the bonding process and how four out of the six Infinity Stones bonded with some of the team members. Ethan with the Soul Stone. Dr. Strange with the Time Stone. Vision with the Mind Stone. And me with the Space Stone.

"So, that is about everything". Most of the team were shocked about that while the rest of them were not that surprised, but were impressed. "And the reason that I wanted to tell you all about this is because of the bonding process, we are at most risk since we have the Infinity Stones in our possessions. In Strange and Vision's case, they physically have the Stones in their possessions. In Ethan and my case, the Infinity Stones are inside us, meaning that Thanos would have to kill us in order to get the Stones". Everyone was shocked when they heard that. "So, in case that we don't come out of this alive, I just wanted to thank everyone for being the greatest friends and family that I ever had. I thought that I had one of those a long time ago, but then I had some sense knocked onto me and realized that I have never been so wrong in my life. It has been nice meeting all of you and getting to know all of you as much as I did. It was nice for once to be treated like I am a valuable team member and actually a part of the team, instead of just the financial and gear provider. I hope that it won't be the last time that I will see any of you, but if that is the case, then I just wanted to let all of you know that I appreciate everything that you have done for me and how you all have given me a new reason to live"

Most of the team had tears in their eyes after my speech, then Jessica, Pepper, Yelena, and Rhodey ran toward me and hugged me. Eventually, the rest of the team joined in on the hug. I can't believe that I never knew how good this felt. And now that I finally found out, it will probably be the last time that I will have it. I will miss this very much. I will miss everyone very much.