One chapter a week because I have another fic to manage.

Location : Avengers Towers, New York

Day: A day after half of Earth's population turned to ash.

Pepper clenched her fists in anger at the holographic form of General Thaddeus Ross.

The General drawled in that smug, annoying tone of his, "I am afraid, Miss Potts, that finding Iron Man isn't a priority right now. We have other things on our plate."

She argued, "He is an Avenger and he risked his life to go into space to save Dr Strange. Don't you thi-"

"Exactly, Miss Potts." the General drawled. "Why didn't Mr Stark call in this ... this alien attack, when it happened? Not only did he engage the enemy, he took an unidentified human with him. The something called a..." he clicked his fingers, "What is his, hers name, now?"

She filled in, "Spiderman?"

"Yes! Another renegade superhero. This time, one who is aided and abetted by Iron Man. Woo hoo... you know..." he moved towards her, "Mr Stark thinks he's good at hiding. Well... he ain't. I know this here Spiderman, was connected to those incidents in Queens. The ones with that idiot man trying to steal alien tech... he had another silly name... the Vulture! And Iron Man was helping this Spiderthing deal with those events! Off the grid, I want to highlight!"

She gritted her teeth. "With all due respect, General, Spiderman was doing the best he could, to stop a dangerous criminal. And anyways, now isn't the time to discuss Spiderman!"

"Look, Miss Potts, I frankly don't give a damn for any of these superheroes. Mr Stark included."

"They were trying to save us!"

"Well, they didn't succeed, did they! What good was going up into space? How do you know, they all aren't dead anyways? What do you hope to find, up in space? To find a body in a tin can?"

Ross knows my deep, dark fear... Tears filled Pepper's eyes at the thought of Tony's mangled body lying on some distant planet.

Then she steeled herself. "I thought in the Army, no soldier is left behind. Especially those who risk their lives to save innocent beings. Can't you see? They tried, General? Even if they are dead, we need to get them home!"

Ross clenched his jaw. "No soldier is left behind, Miss Potts, but your rich-ass boyfriend isn't a soldier. Neither is that Spiderman or the weird so-called doctor, who was hiding one of the Infinity Stones on his person! And so they deserve no due from me or Earth's people!"

A cold anger filled her. "Fine, General. If Mr Stark does not deserve your due, then you do not deserve his. I shall terminate all ongoing research contracts between Stark Industries and the United Nations, including the ones on biochemical fuels as a replacement for fossil fuels."

The General started to sputter and she shouted into the mike. "AND he was my fiance! Damn you!"

Then Pepper slammed her fist down hard on the hologram transmitter, ending the call. She sat down on the table and began to cry bitterly, anger and sadness filling her being.

"He's not worth their due! Tony! Today when you need help, no one is willing to go into space for you... yet you went up there to save a man you didn't even know... and I know you did it, to take the fight away from Earth..."

Pepper raised her head, taking a deep breath. "What about Fury? Friday?" She yelled at the AI. "Can you contact Nick Fury?"

She heard the AI place a call, which disconnected. I am sorry, Miss Potts, the call cannot be made.

"Try Maria Hill."

Again the AI tried. Again with no luck.

Pepper nibbled on her lip in frustration. "I have to find Tony. Dead or alive. I have the resources to go into space but ... I do not know where or what to do. But in my heart, I know he is alive, I just need to ... I have to find him and bring him back. Somehow."

Miss Potts, there is a man who is a monk at the door, asking to see you. Shall I let him in?

She shook her head in confusion at Friday's statement. "A monk!"

Yes maam.

"No! No, Friday, I do not have the time or the patience to entertain strange monks."

Miss Potts, he says it is urgent. And that he is Dr Strange's colleague and that he knows where they are. He wishes to speak with you about getting them back.

She sat up quickly, rubbing her tear-stained cheeks. "He said what!" Her heart began to race with faint hope.

Pepper patted her hair down. "Friday, show him into the living room. I'm going to set a pot of tea to boil. Oh..." she suddenly remembered. "Also, send every ongoing and future research contract we have with the United Nations and the American Government, to my assistant Macy. And tell her to start sending termination notices. Apparently Earth's people do not owe Tony Stark any due. So we should honor this."

Pepper looked up at the clear blue skies. She and Wong were on the flat helipad atop the Avengers Tower, awaiting the people from the stars.

She looked sideways at the dignified rotund monk, clad in simple robes of dark brown, his eyes closed lightly, face serene. She hoped she looked so calm but knew she didn't.

I hope they come with some news. I hope they can help us. I hope-

"Ma'am, I can hear your thoughts of worry in my head. You have every right to worry, but worry does not solve anything. Let us see what these space people have to say. Take a deep breath please."

The monk smiled gently at her and Pepper decided to obey. After all, the quiet man had already astonished her for the past hour, with his story.

Wong was a Master of the Mystic Arts of a group of magicians or holy beings, calling themselves the Kamar-Taj. He met Doctor Strange, when the doctor first joined the order and assisted him in his studies. Now Wong and Doctor Strange protected the New York Sanctum which was based within New York City.

He had helpfully explained to Pepper, the entire story of how he and Strange met Dr. Banner, about Thanos and the Stones, the fight in Queens with two of Thanos' Children and how one of the minions had kidnapped Dr. Strange.

Tony and Peter (she knew everything about the boy who was Spiderman, Tony would just not stop talking about him) had followed the minion, apparently called "Maw" onto a spacecraft bound for Thanos' home planet. She had seen the spacecraft and had called Tony but their connection had gotten cut off when it entered deep space.

Somehow, Strange had telepathically sent a message to Wong, from the stars, which Wong relayed to her. The message had filled her with hope and dread simultaneously.

It seemed Strange, Tony and Peter had teamed up with some space people, apparently called the Guardians of the Galaxy. And they made a plan to fight Thanos head-on, hoping to defeat him. Strange however, was openly skeptical of their plan. According to Wong, Strange could see into the future using the Time Stone and had seen that their plan would fail.

It had been on the tip of Pepper's tongue, to ask why they had gone through with the plan, if they had known it would fail but she knew it was pointless to think about that now. She just had to accept, that at that time, that was all they could have done.

Anyhow, Strange had messaged Wong to provide him instructions on how to proceed if they did not return. They were to contact a group of space merchants using a specially encoded signal. Friday had transmitted the signal into space and had received a response. The A.I had informed them that the merchants would arrive on Earth, any moment now.

Pepper had noticed she and Wong had a lot in common. He was just as worried about Strange as she was about Tony. He, like her, was feeling helpless, especially since he had not been able to follow Strange into outer space. And like her, he was trying to put a brave face and not really show how close he was to losing his tight control on his emotions. He was also trying to negate his own fear by focusing on helping someone else with their fear.

She gently squeezed his hand as he looked up at the sky and he glanced sideways at her, surprise on his stoic face.

"Thank you, Wong, for helping me and Tony. Thank you."

He smiled widely, his eyes crinkling and said in his soft voice, "We need to get Mr. Stark back. He has invited me to your wedding and I look forward to it with great anticipation."

Pepper couldn't help but laugh with joy at his statement. "Tony nicely avoided any planning duties for said wedding but I am so relieved he has decided to take on invitations as a task!"

They both grinned at each other and then suddenly Friday intoned, Unidentified flying spaceship approaching.

Pepper looked up to see a large black spaceship break into the sky and descend rapidly towards them. She and Wong moved backwards to make way as the spaceship hovered on its thrusters and lowered itself to the helipad.

Thanks to being Tony's assistant, I have met world dignitaries, army officials, scientists and celebrities alike. But... as a door opened on the spaceship and a ramp descended, she felt excitement course through her. This is the first time, I am meeting actual beings from outer space! Oh Tony... I hope they can help us!

She watched with bated breath as five beings, dressed in black, descended the ramp. Pepper walked towards them, a welcoming smile on her face, Wong slightly behind her.

A tall, dignified, seemingly human man with neat salt and pepper hair and a broad physique, stepped away from the group and smiled back at her. He held out his hand and she took it.

In a crisp, surprisingly American accent, he said, "Greetings, Earthlings! I am Stakar Ogord, leader of the Stakar Ravager Clan."

She said clearly, "I am Virginia Potts, CEO of Stark Industries."

She gestured at Wong, who bowed from the waist. "This is Wong, Master of the Mystic Arts of Kamar-Taj and current Keeper of the New York Sanctum."

Starkar bowed back and said, "Let me introduce my fellow clan members."

Pepper tried not to stare as a being with a head like a quartz rock, shimmering with white flecks, stepped forward and placed his hand on his heart.

Starkar said, "My first officer, Martinex."

She adopted a neutral face at the large, bright red lobster-like being with red frills on the side of its head, that bowed to her.

"Fellow Ravager captain, Krugarr."

A large android chirped in a friendly tone, "I am Mainframe, Ravager captain. And this gentle giant," a 7-foot black man with a sweet, child-like face, smiled broadly at her, "is Charlie-27, another Ravager captain. Too many captains, I know, such a problem to navigate, I tell you, one wants to go here, the other wants..."

The android prattled on while the giant waved shyly at her.

She waved back and Starkar interrupted belligerently, "Mainframe, I thought I am giving the introductions!"

The only female in the group, a petite, slim and finely boned woman, said sultrily, "Starkar, sweetheart, let's not fight in front of the nice lady."

She shook Pepper's hand firmly, with a wide grin. "Aleta Ogord, Ravager captain at your service. And the only captain with sense amongst these idiots."

She looked down at Pepper's engagement ring and whistled, "That's a nice rock you got there. Looks like it cost some space bits. At least you got a ring. I am still waiting for mine and I have been married this hard lump," she pointed her thumb at Starkar, who chuckled, "for 10 years. So where is your lump?"

Pepper felt her control on her emotions slip at the mention of marriage and Tony.

She remembered the romantic and charmingly sappy way, Tony had proposed to her:

Dummy with a package containing his original Arc and a smaller box.

The scribbled note: "you already have my heart, why not take a ring as well and make it official?".

His attempt at nonchalance when she did not respond to his note, she was teasing him

And finally, Tony's patience gave way and he got down on one knee in the middle of the kitchen and pleaded with her to marry him.

She had said yes, he had cried, she had cried and then they made love right there on the kitchen counter. Later, she had gotten Tony a matching ring, because she wanted to stake her claim on the most eligible member of the Avengers. The look of wonder on his face when she gave it to him, had made her fall even more in love with him.

Something must have shown on her face because the Ravager captain, Aleta, squeezed her arm comfortingly and said, "Hey Red, its okay, is he in trouble, is that why you called us? We will get it sorted out."

She gently turned Pepper. The other Ravagers were busy arguing with each other and Wong was staring between them with fascination. Aleta said in a commanding voice, "Alright you idiots, get inside, we need to talk to Red here. Come on!"

Pepper couldn't help but smile as all the men immediately shut up and single-file, marched into the Tower, to gather in the main living room.

Friday had arranged for some beverages and refreshments and the space beings or Ravagers as they kept calling themselves, settled down quickly, to wolf down food, hungry from their journey. She moved towards the counter, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

Pepper was amused to see that Wong was instructing them on the finer points of Twinkies versus Milk Duds and that the Ravagers were listening to him as if he was instructing them on the secrets of the universe.

Then she heard the soft snarky tones of the female Ravager Captain.

"Men... bring them half away around the universe to a new galaxy but they don't care for any of its wonders. Instead, they are fascinated by a new snack... am I right or am I right?"

Pepper turned to see Aleta at her elbow, shaking her head wryly as the discussion on the softness of Twinkies grew louder.

She smiled and said, "My fiance is the same. To get him to listen to me about any contracts or business, I had to bring him a box of donuts or pizza or something fried and junk. Take him jogging and after that, he wants to eat ice cream."

She bit her lip at the memory of Tony's antics in the park and Aleta shook her gently.

"Red, I cannot bear to see this look of sadness on such a pretty face. I need to know what's happening now! Boys!" She barked out, ending the loud chatter, "Front and center! Red is going to explain why we are here!"

Wong stood up and came to Pepper's side as she began to explain, "It is a little complicated. I do not where to begin."

The monk interjected, "Have you heard of a space being called Thanos?"

There was a loud collective gasp amongst the Ravagers. Starkar slammed his fist down hard on the coffee table. "That purple giant dildo! He claims to be a merciful conqueror but all he does is wander from planet to planet taking lives!"

Aleta said firmly, "We stay far away from the Mad Titan's trajectory in space. He is unpredictable in his form of justice. Why do you bring him up?" Then she gasped. "Has Thanos come to Earth?"

Wong said sadly, "He did in pursuit of two Infinity Stones, the Mind Stone and the Time Stone. And he seems to have disintegrated half the population of earth."

Pepper added, "People are missing. The stones are gone. Where we need your help is..." she swallowed hard. "Three of Earth's Mightiest Defenders traveled to Thanos' home planet."

"Titan..." whispered Starkar tensely. "A dense burning shell of a planet. Full of broken buildings and dust."

"They went there and met members of this group called the Guardians of the Galaxy. Together they hatched a plan to fight Thanos and get the stones."

Starkar raised his eyebrows and Aleta said, "Yondu's boy? The human boy... what was his name?"

Pepper was confused and looked from one to the other. "I'm sorry, I do not understand."

Aleta explained, "One of our former members, his ward was a terran, a human, Peter Quill or as he liked to call himself, Star Lord. He is a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. They are defenders of the cosmos and have fought and defeated one of Thanos allies Ronan."

Starkar muttered, "So Peter Quill and his band of rag tag warriors decided to face Thanos. Right on, Star Lord, right on."

The first mate, the sparkly headed one asked, "Taking on Thanos is no easy feat. What happened to them?"

Pepper said slowly, "That's what we do not know. We lost all contact with them. It's been a day and there's been no word of what happened."

Wong spoke, "One of my friends went up there. He sent a telepathic message saying we should transmit this signal into space if they..." he paused and Pepper knew he was looking at her, trying to shield her. "If they didn't come back."

She felt her heart clench at his words. But Pepper swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat. "Your signal must have been given for a reason. Do you know how to find them? Can you take us to Titan?"

Starkar spoke, "We are connected to the Star Lord, through our dead friend Yondu, may his soul rest in peace. I had given our signal to Peter Quill, to be used if he ever needed our aid."

Aleta continued, "This sounds like such a situation."

The lobster guy, Pepper couldn't remember his name, interjected in a clickety rackety voice, "There is no telling what's up there on Titan. Are we sure we want to do this?"

The android said, "The chances of any of them surviving a fight with Thanos are one to a million. Thanos is no ordinary foe."

"So basically we are going up there to retrieve a couple of bodies." Said the lobster with a snort.

This bald statement broke Pepper's control on her emotions and she felt tears pour from her eyes.

In a voice weak to her own ears, she spoke, "I understand, this may be a waste of your time. But I need to find my fiance. I need to..." she couldn't complete her sentence because visions of Tony lying perfectly still on a dusty dead planet, filled her mind.

She muttered, "Excuse me" and turned, running away to the next room, desperately needing to compose herself.

She could hear Wong say something and the Ravagers arguing back as she stood shaking.

She felt Aleta and the gentle giant Charlie come in behind her and she turned, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for crying but I just want to find Tony."

Aleta placed her hand on Peppers shoulder and gently clasped it. "There there Red. Don't worry, we will find your... Tony, is it?"

At Pepper's nod, she continued, "I know what is it is like to wait for news about someone you love... the waiting kills you inside. So we are going to help you out."

Charlie 27 offered Pepper a twinky, who took it with a smile. He said with a deep voice, that was at odds with his child-like face, "Sugar helps make life a little sweeter."

Pepper let herself be led back to the living room, from which raucous sounds of cheering could be heard. As she entered the room, she saw to her amusement that Wong and the Red Lobster were having some sort of eating competition.

Aleta smacked her forehead in exasperation as the two opponents stuffed their mouths with Milk Duds, while Starkar, Crystal head and the android cheered them on.

Pepper giggled and Aleta whistled loudly to catch the group's attention. They turned to her guiltily, Wong quickly spitting out a few duds.

"Listen up Dud heads! We have a mission! We need to get to Titan as soon as possible. Deep space. Rescue mission." She winked at Pepper.

The lobster or Kurgarr as Pepper finally remembered his name, said, "And what do we get for it?"

Pepper was now determined to be strong. "Help me find Tony Stark and I am prepared to be generous."

Aleta shook her head sternly and said, "Yondu's boy needs our help. This is a freebie, Red. Is that understood, Ravagers?"

The Ravagers groaned but kept their grumblings to themselves. The first mate, Martinex said, "We just need to refuel on Quasar to make the jump to deep space. It should take us 4 hours to reach Titan after we fuel up."

Pepper smiled and Starkar came forward to shake her hand. "We will contact you, Miss Potts, once we reach Titan."

She shook his hand and said firmly, "There is no need for that, Ravager Captain. I'm coming with you."

The room erupted into loud murmurings, grumbles and exclamations. Pepper firmed her lips and straightened herself, bracing for an argument.

Wong shook his head. "This is deep space! Miss Potts!"

Starkar shook his head. "Little lady, I'm afraid he's right. We don't have the time to take care of a space newbie on board, the Tatiana."

At Pepper's confused look, he said, "My beautiful ship and the love of my life."

Aleta shoved her elbow into his gut and Starkar wheezed out quickly, "The second love of my life. Second. But it stands that you shouldn't come with us."

She stated simply, "I can handle myself on a ship. Am willing to board and bunk as needed. Besides, gentlemen and Aleta, as the one requesting the trip, I need to be there."

Aleta raised her hands with a smile. "Hey Red, no arguments from me. It will be nice to have another woman on board, the sausage fest, that is the Tatiana."

She turned to Starkar, "Come on, S, it will be fun, you can give Red here, a tour of your ship and engage her with tales of your brave captaincy."

Starker lit up with that and Krugarr objected, "Hey! He's not the only Ravager captain! Miss Potts, you can come on my ship if you'd like!" They all started to argue with each other, on who should take Pepper.

Pepper turned to Wong and said softly, "Wong, you can come too if you'd like. I know you must be anxious to learn of Dr Strange."

The monk's face was filled with indecision. But he sighed heavily and said, "I cannot, Miss Potts. No matter how much I want to. I must go back to the Sanctum. I'm the only guardian left." He clasped Pepper's hand in his soft giant one. "Bring them back, Miss Potts. Please."

She nodded and Aleta said, "Okay Red, you get 1 hour to pack. Then we take off."

I've depicted the Ravagers as I see them in my mind's eye: Loud, good-natured team of space cowboys and one smart lady.