Frostbite

Still Divided

I sighed dramatically, eyeing Steve from my perch on the counter. He paused, the razor inches from his face.

"How many times are you going to do that?" he chuckled.

I narrowed my eyes and sniffed, "Until you change your mind."

"You're being dramatic."

"Me? Never," I drawled, "I love the beard. It's hot. I don't see why it has to go."

"I think it's time; I'm not on the run anymore. Besides, you let your hair grow out," he pointed out. It had grown fairly quickly since I'd chopped it off two years ago; it now hung past my shoulder blades.

"If that's your argument then I can cut it again," I suggested sweetly, kicking my feet through the air.

He laughed and performed the first stroke with the razor, "That's not necessary."

"Fine," I huffed, watching him sullenly as he shaved. I opened my mouth to make another smart remark when I sensed the air shift.

My body tensed and Steve glanced at me as he grabbed the towel to dry his face.

"What is it?"

I hopped off the counter and jammed the sling ring on my fingers. A portal appeared, and I rushed through it, not bothering to wait for Steve.

The sky was dark as I ran into the open space outside the compound. Pepper joined me seconds later as we watched a ship float over the building. Carol was underneath, carrying it to the ground steadily. I grasped onto Pepper as we waited for her to land.

Finally, the landing gears deployed, and the entry hatch opened, a ramp extending down. The others had come out to see what the commotion was. I slowly approached, waiting for a sign of anyone.

Tony and a blue, robotic looking woman appeared at the top just as I was about to impatiently run inside. She was supporting him as they walked. He was skinny and frail. As if he'd been starving. I dashed to my brother, a sob escaping as I flung myself at him. We embraced briefly, and I pulled back to look him over.

"Oh my god. I thought you were dead," I told him.

"Yeah, same here. You're stuck with me," he mumbled. Steve appeared by our sides, helping support him as we walked forward.

"Couldn't stop him," Tony said to him wide-eyed.

"Neither could I."

"I lost the kid," Tony announced, his voice dripping with pain at the words. I stopped and met his eyes, tears pooling in mine.

"Peter- Peter and Stephen are both gone?" I stuttered. He nodded gravely.

"Is, uh...?"

Pepper ran up, her expression colored with relief at the sight of her fiancé, "Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" They embraced for a moment and then we continued into the compound where Tony could get the medical attention he desperately needed. The others all followed.

Bruce got him hooked up to an IV immediately to start getting some fluids in him. He was seriously dehydrated. It had to have been horrible knowing you were slowly starving to death and there was nothing you could do. Tony had been through enough already.

Carol, Rocket and the unknown woman who he introduced as Nebula, entered the room as Tony was seated in a chair. I approached Carol and clasped her arm graciously.

"Thank you so much. I owe you."

"Don't mention it," she nodded.

The reports from the last few weeks were pulled up and displayed in the center of the room, the vanished rotating through.