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He shrugged. "Yeah. A bit. We're the last line of defence. The two of us. I don't want to be. But I know whatever bought us back is lining us up to be just that. Wanda also implied I'm in danger. That Thanos will come for the Stones… and for me."
Natasha swallowed. "But not me?"
"Apparently not."
"I'm not the one who threw a missile at his army and destroyed it, am I?" she quipped, grinning slightly despite the seriousness of the conversation.
"Kinda wish I hadn't done it now." Tony winced and sighed.
"Can't change the past, can we?"
Tony threw her a glare. "Not funny. Especially considering that is what we are doing."
"One could argue this is now our present…"
Tony groaned, leaning back in his chair. "How did I get stuck with you?"
"Believe me, I wish I knew." Natasha continued to tease.
Running a hand through his hair, Tony slumped forward. "Wanda also believes I am incredibly powerful…"
"You are. When I was in your mind, I saw it."
"I don't want powers!" he grated out.
Natasha leaned forward, resting a hand on Tony's shoulder. "We cannot help what we are, Tony, only do what we can with the gifts we have been given. I've accepted I have these powers. I think you need to decide whether to embrace it or not. But these powers we've come back with? They wouldn't have come back with us if we didn't need them. I saw the potential in you, but it is in chains. Whether it is because you don't want them or it is not time yet… You need to embrace them."
"I know. But at the moment I can't. Nat… I just can't." He leaned back in his chair.
"Believe me, Tony, this is the last thing I wanted for any of us." Natasha rubbed his shoulder. "I'm embracing mine because I know I have to."
Tony remained silent.
"You might need them one day," she pointed out.
"Maybe," admitted Tony. He stood from his chair. "I'm going to go back to Pepper. I'll come by when we're coming into land."
Natasha smiled, watching as he began to walk away. "Tony?"
"Yeah?" He glanced over his shoulder.
"If Wanda is right and Thanos does come for you… I'm going to be there. I'm not going to let him take you. Or hurt you."
Tony smirked. "Romanoff, it's appreciated but there are people here who need you. If Thanos is going to come after me, I don't want you getting in the way."
"Tough, Stark. I'm ignoring everything you say. I'm there whether you like it or not because there are people who need you too. Not just Pepper, but Morgan too."
Tony chuckled, shaking his head. "I knew you were gonna say that."
"Don't underestimate me, Stark."
Tony laughed again and walked away leaving Natasha to bring them to Wakanda, where he hoped they could destroy the Mind Stone.
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Wakanda
Friday 26th August 2016
"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Shuri.
Vision lay on the table in Shuri's lab. "I am."
Tony stood to the side, arms across his chest, watching intently with Natasha standing next to Wanda. He understood what Shuri was trying to do to save Vision's life.
It was something he could potentially have done himself but he knew Shuri's technology was better equipped with dealing with removing such a powerful object without harming what made Vision, Vision.
She was in the process of duplicating Vision's cell activity and data. Shuri had noted the structure was polymorphic.
Tony had explained they'd had to attach each neuron non-sequentially, but to save Vision's life Shuri had to reprogram the synapses to work collectively.
There were more than two trillion neurons in Vision and even a small misalignment could cause circuit failures, a situation they needed to avoid.
Thankfully, Shuri had time to work on ensuring the correct alignment, a luxury she hadn't had before.
Thanos wasn't breathing down their necks this time either, allowing the work to proceed at a more leisurely pace.
Shuri had estimated the work separating Vision from the stone could take at least a few hours, potentially more. She was barely ten percent through the work.
Tony wasn't sure he should be observing but he wanted to be here to witness the Stone's destruction. Wanda had been practising using her powers and he believed she had the capability to destroy it.
She just needed the focus to do so and the will to carry it out, two things Wanda was capable of having.
If they could destroy this Stone today they would be one small step closer to stopping Thanos for good. Even destroying one would prevent him from winning but they couldn't take any chances.
They needed to destroy all of them to ensure complete victory. If Tony could work out time travel, it wasn't beyond the realms of possibility that Thanos could as well.
Especially since Thanos had.
Tony shuddered. Bringing everyone back and the Compound getting blown apart in a series of missiles strikes had been horrific.
The Avengers had been lucky to survive to fight back and marshal the last defence of Earth. That Thanos had time travelled.
Still, he had still been an overwhelming threat that needed to be fought back against.
Noticing movement to the right, Tony saw Pepper nodding gently towards him from the doorway.
Catching Natasha's eyes, Tony motioned with his head that he'd be back shortly.
Walking across the room, Tony smiled and then embraced Pepper in a warm hug. "Hey. How are the contracts going?"
"We're done," answered Pepper quietly. "All the contracts are signed and Stark Industries and Wakanda are now partners. I'm glad I came on this trip. They've even agreed to allow our top researchers and scientists a chance to come here and spend a month learning about Vibranium and how technology can advance with it, providing, of course, they sign contracts preventing them from spilling the true nature of Wakanda's advancement. I think that's something we can agree upon. How are things going here?" She indicated Vision on the table behind Tony.
"Slowly, but she'll get there," answered Tony. "If all goes according to plan, Shuri should remove the Stone later today. We'll be able to take a flight home tomorrow."
"Good news," Pepper pulled slightly away from Tony. "Do you mind if I take a look around the market? There isn't much more I can do here…"
"Wanting to spend more of my money, Potts?" teased Tony, gently brushing his lips against hers.
"Always, Mr. Stark," responded Pepper, wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening the kiss, their bodies pressing close together.
Tony grinned, nipping her bottom lip before pulling back. "Tonight?" Now was not the time to engage in any other sort of activity, no matter how much Tony wanted to take her back to their room and ravish her.
Pepper's cheeks went pink. "I look forward to it, Mr. Stark." She leaned in and kissed him again before pulling out of his reach and turning to walk away.
Tony couldn't stop looking until she was out of his eyesight.
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(A/N:Please drop some power stones.and add this fanfic to your library if you are new or you haven't.🐱)