The Man My Father Always Talked About • A CAPTAIN AMERICA STORY

52

~52~

     Clara had finished hooking Tony up with an IV while the others stayed away and allowed Tony to get settled before they bombarded him with questions. "I thought I told you not to do anything stupid?" She said, checking the bandages area of Tony's injury that she had stitched up. There wasn't much to do other than giving it a proper bandage and disinfectants. Tony chuckled weakly as Clara set a glass of water in front of him. "How're you feeling?" She asked. Tony didn't answer, he only put his head in his hands.

"We all thought you were dead Tony." Her voice was still laced with worry at her brother's new appearance. "How are you..." She started, but was cut off as Tony snapped his head up from his hands.

"Alive?" Tony asked, harshly putting his hand back on the table. "I shouldn't be." He shrugged before pinching his fingers close together. "We were this close, this close to almost saving the universe until that magician..." he paused as he rubbed his forehead with his thumb. Clara noticed tears form around his eyes, something she barely saw when it came to her brother. She rested a hand on his shoulder, noticing his body become less tense at her touch.

"This isn't your fault." Her voice was soft as she tried to be calm and collected for the sake of Tony's metal state at the moment. Footsteps echoed through the halls before everyone joined them, Steve being the last of them.

"You're right." Tony said, his defeated expression suddenly turning to annoyance.

"It's been twenty three days since Thanos came to Earth. World governments are in pieces. The parts that are still working are trying to take a census. And it looks like he did...exactly what he said he was going to do. Thanos wiped out fifty percent, of all living creatures." Natasha explained.

"Where is he now? Where?" Tony asked, eager to know the unknown answer.

"We don't know." Steve answered.

"He just opened a portal and walked through." Rhodey added. All of them seemed to glance at Thor, the Avenger who had spoken the least since the snap.

"What's wrong with him?" Tony asked, nodding in the direction of the god.

"He's pissed. He thinks he failed. Which of course he did, but there's a lot of that's goin' around, ain't there?" Rocket answered as he leaned on a bench.

"Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear." Tony said, not as shocked as he should have been by a talking raccoon.

"Maybe I am," Rocket shrugged.

"We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep Space scans and satellites, and we got nothing." Natasha explained, her voice, like everyone's, laced with sorrow.

"Tony, you fought him." Steve started as he crossed his arms and approached his old friend.

"Who told you that?" Tony asked, his head shooting up at the man he thought betrayed him. Unlike Clara, Tony hadn't come to terms with how Steve left them, and now he blamed him for their defeat. "I didn't fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street Magician gave away the stone. That's what happened. There was no fight." Tony became more tense before Clara placed her hand on his arm in hopes to calm him down.

"Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?" Steve asked.

"Steve, maybe now's not the time." Clara said, looking up at him with a worried look.

"No Clar, it is the time," Tony replied. "I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming."

"Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus." Steve pushed.