Warnings: Major spoilers for Endgame. Rating is only for a few f-bombs.
Note: So - it's safe to say that I'm totally heartbroken. I had truly convinced myself that Tony was safe in Endgame and now I'm in a state of denial. I'm sad, and this fic is probably sad, because I needed it.
Summary: Tony only had eyes for Thanos, but everyone else was looking at him. Essentially, a look at the perspectives of some of the core characters in the seconds before the Final Snap.
Last Chance
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BANNER
He was buried in rubble, his burned arm a mass of agony against his chest, pinned there by debris. Bruce growled in frustration, but no matter how he moved or flailed, he was unable to free himself. He could only watch as Tony was thrown away from Thanos, landing nearby in a crumpled heap.
He paid no attention to the gloating alien, he was close enough to see – to know what was coming a split second before anyone else realized what had just happened.
Bruce groaned, every muscle in his body straining, the whisper of the Hulks old unchecked rage turning his vision green. He was so close, close enough to see the dread, anger, horror and complete acceptance in Tony's pale face.
Roaring, Bruce exploded up and out of the rubble, desperate to stop his teammate from doing what needed to be done.
He wasn't fast enough.
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ROGERS
He could feel the broken bones in his arm shifting, the gash in his calf had completely soaked his leg and boot – there was blood between his toes. His entire body was screaming in pain, begging him to just stop. He wanted to, god he wanted to.
He tried to get back up anyways.
Steve could see Tony on his knees, his arm raised in front of him, crackling with the power of the Stones. Dark brown eyes were focused only on their enemy, and Steve could see his mouth forming words but he couldn't hear them over the blood pounding in his ears.
He saw the fingers shift, and Steve felt him heart fall to his feet. Lurching forward, broken arm outreached, shattered shield barely hanging on – Captain America knew he was screaming, even if he couldn't hear himself.
There was nothing he could do to stop it, too far away, too slow – out of time.
"TONY!"
The world went white.
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POTTS
She was in the air, flying alongside Rhodey and picking out targets at random. She was focused, unaware of what was happening on the ground – until FRIDAY's voice filled her helmet. The AI only spoke one short sentence, but it was enough to send the former PA into a rapid dive.
"Ma'am, he has the Gauntlet."
Pepper knew FRIDAY wasn't talking about Thanos. Switching her comm to a line connected only to her husband, she spoke frantically, "Tony! I love you; we love you so much." She didn't ask him not to do what she knew was coming – she couldn't do that, it would be hard enough for him already.
Tears blurring her vision, Pepper didn't slow down, relying on FRIDAY for help. She was close – so close, she could see his brown hair, flecked with silver – could see the gleam of his suit beneath the battle scars. Reaching out a desperate hand, Pepper called out to him once more.
And then, part of her world ended.
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RHODES
His only warning was a startled gasp through the comm link, his dark eyes immediately locked on to the owner of the voice. "Pepper?" He questioned sharply.
The redhead didn't answer, and Rhodey watched as she twisted the Suit into a steep dive that told him all that he needed to know.
Tony was in danger.
Despite the reckless speed, the Colonel didn't hesitate to follow her – he stayed hot on Pepper's heels, his heart pounding furiously against his ribs. Scanning the ground frantically, Rhodey caught only one quick glimpse of Captain Rogers struggling to his feet before a blast of power sent him flying backwards through the air.
Rhodey hit the ground hard, but the only pain he felt was a deep ache in heart.
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ODINSON
He was enraged, Thanos had the obtained the Stones once again and had batted him away like he was nothing. Arm lifted above his head; Thor roared as Storm Breaker let loose a crack of lightning that obliterated the beasts around him. Moving forward, he slammed his axe into any creature that dared cross his path, killing them instantly.
At first his eyes were only for Thanos, but his attention was quickly drawn towards Rogers, whose face showed nothing but utter devastation – evident even under his cowl. Thor immediately sought out the source of his agony.
He had only one brief glance of Iron Man, his name half formed on his lips, "STAR –" …and then the energy blast came.
It was over.
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BARTON
He saw it all happening – too far away to do anything about it. Clint supposed that was the curse about seeing better from afar. It didn't stop him from trying. He ran flat out, as fast as his legs would take him, dodging and twisting by faceless creatures, going for the quickest kill whenever he was forced to engage.
Even if the archer reached the clearing, he knew it wouldn't matter. There was nothing he could do, short of pry the Gauntlet away from the other Avenger and destroy the thing himself.
He would do that if possible – but he was still too far and he could see Tony convulsing on his knees with the Stone's power, he couldn't hear what Iron Man was saying to Thanos but Clint was an excellent lip reader.
"I…am…Iron Man."
Clint groaned out a denial as Tony snapped his fingers, and saw Natasha's face when the rest of the world went dark.
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PARKER
There was blood on his lips, Peter could taste the copper on his tongue. One gloved hand wiped at his nose carelessly, the other was wrapped around his ribs. Ouch. Yep, definitely a few broken. Attempting to shake it off, the teen scanned the area around him, trying to see where he could be of the most help.
He was about to swing off and help the scary blue alien lady, who was surrounded by a gang of mutant dog things, when there was a sudden hush on the battlefield. His spider-sense going haywire, Peter pivoted, his eyes immediately finding mister Stark.
It took his brain a second to catch up with his feet. All out sprinting, the pain in his ribs nothing but a distant memory, Peter screamed out for the man who had so drastically changed his life.
He had no idea what was coming, but he felt the grief crush him a second before he saw his mentor snap his fingers.
"MISTER STARK NO!"
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and…STARK.
His body convulsed with the energy of the Infinity Stones, Thanos was no more than a big ugly purple blur, but he kept his eyes locked on that blur for all that he was worth. Tony wanted to scream in agony, wanted to curl up and just make it stop.
He didn't, of course – because he was Tony fucking Stark and he wasn't done just yet.
"…and, I am…Iron Man." He snarled instead, swaying on his knees.
He bent his gloved hand with an enormous amount of will; and thought of his family.
Whatever it takes.
He snapped.
END.
Ugh I'm sorry – I just had to write out my emotions somehow. It's been 24hrs since I've seen the movie and I'm still so sad. Please send me your fix-it fic recommendations, because its gonna take a lot to get over this one.
I'll probably write my own fix-it once I've stopped being a puddle.
Thanks for reading.