New Avengers: The New Initiative

CHAPTER II

TW: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, BLOOD, GORE(?)

TONY STARK'S POV

Cold. Dark. Lonely. Why did that sound so familiar? Oh, now Tony remembered; it was because of a little something called déjà vu, and now Tony had found a new concept he hated even more than nostalgia. Not that Tony cared about the distinction as déjà vu was too similar to nostalgia; honestly, the very idea of forcing yourself to remember unnecessary or upsetting memories made him extremely nauseous, and this time made no difference, especially when it made him recall his most vulnerable and sensitive condition. Siberia; Tony didn't know whether that near-death and traumatic experience was more of a blessing or a curse.

A blessing because, in an ironic and trauma-induced sort of way, if it weren't for Steve Rogers almost killing Tony and abandoning him to nearly die alone, then Tony would never have discovered a newfound sense of self-confidence, found new friends who appreciated and valued him as a human being rather than as a doormat and financial insurance, and creating an entirely functional team that ultimately left the old one, that was never a real team in the first place, to rot and crumble.

A curse because it continuously forced Tony to harrowingly remind himself that any moment of pure bliss and stability was only temporary, and the brutal and harsh reality of protecting Earth and the entire universe would slowly slither in before he expected it. And there was no one to blame but himself and only himself.

Blood was everywhere, staining the already rat-infested and trash-heaped streets of New York, almost saturating them with its crimson-burned and bitter metallic smell; the physical representation of the life essence that rapidly surged from the citizens he wasn't able to protect, cruelly reminding Tony that the carnage only occurred because he wasn't enough, wasn't strong enough. And as a consequence of that, he had been unsuccessful in his only lifetime commitment and had let the entire team and the whole world down.

No one even prepared for this new threat as it was highly unexpected. The Guardians Of The Galaxy had never seen it in space, and SWORD had never detected it on any of its databases; it had unexpectedly appeared, so no one learned of its danger scale. As far as anyone presumed, especially Tony, how could the new threat be any worse than Thanos? After all, Thanos was the most anticipated, destructive, and deadliest danger to the universe's existence, so what could have been more detrimental than him? Tony should have learned from multiple experiences: no matter how threatening a prior villain was, there was always someone out there who was more sinister and murderous.

It seemed that with every moment that passed, another building collapsed as its deteriorating foundation could no longer handle the scorching and fiery explosions that erupted from the inside, spewing crimson-burned and three-degreed melted and charred specks of steel, concrete, cement, and other structural material. Some of which entered Tony's system, either through his mouth, nose, or exposed chest, which formerly contained his arc reactor, therefore, speeding the process of slow and painful death by suffocation and chemical poisoning and forcing his body to fight even harder to stay alive with every painstakingly agonizing second it took for him to take a breath. However, even with Extremis' healing capabilities, without the arc reactor to prevent the shrapnel from slowly piercing his heart and shredding it into pieces, it was starting to become a challenge.

It was another way that Death taunted him and used him like some play toy; it constantly placed him in numerous scenarios where it should have been him who had died. But instead of granting the world a favor and putting him out of his misery by permanently removing him from the picture, it constantly ambushed all the people he ever cared about; it teased him with the harsh reality that he had the resources to protect them, but as usual, he couldn't do enough to save them from harm. As Tony examined the battlefield with his limited view, he looked around at all the friends he had lost within the close proximity.