If Tony was shocked to see me, I couldn't tell, and we didn't have time to fight, if it would come to that, or speak, if things were okay. I wasn't sure at all what terms we were on. Frankly, I didn't want to find out if I didn't have Steve, Bucky, or Sam by my side.
Tony shot a tiny rocket at the webbing stuck on my hand. He hesitated, but was forced to leave, when the shop began to creak.
I turned my head away when it began to tick, faster until it exploded. I ripped my hand from the webbing, shaking it off entirely. I stood up and held onto the railing as the ship was pushed back together by Tony.
I don't know why I waited. I could have hopped through a portal and been halfway across the world in the time he pushed the ship together, but I waited, for reasons unknown, for Tony.
He did return. Faster than I had expected, he came back to the stern of the ship and lingered, as if he was shocked to see me. He then landed and came out of the suit.
"Clara," he said, fixing the collar of his suit. "Uh, hi. Hi."
"Hi, Tony," I whispered.
He fiddled with his sunglasses. I stared at him. We were awkward and unsure because it had been so long, for both of us, to see someone we had wronged.
He gained confidence before I did. "You escaped. From the cell."
"As you told me," I told him softly. "I did it. I went back in time."
Tony raised his eyebrow. "I figured. How did it go? Okay?"
I chuckled, shaking out my hands. "It went okay... It was a whirlwind. Scary. I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm terrified."
"Clara..." said Tony softly, stepping forward. "How can I help?"
"We've done enough to each other. I'll figure it out. I always do," I scoffed.
"This isn't something you can learn by yourself, Smiles--"
"Infinity Stones aren't known by anyone. There is no one who knows anything about this. I know nothing. I'm alone here," I told him.
"You're not and you know that."
I shook my head. He didn't understand. This, this Stone in my heart and soul, was something the great Tony Stark couldn't conquer. It wasn't a machine. It was a live specimen, attached to my living being, simultaneously feeding off my life force and powering me to continue. It couldn't just be fixed with some simple time and effort. It couldn't be fixed with money.
"There's no one I know that can help me," I told him softly, closing my eyes. "Whatever's wrong with me, it'll settle by itself or I'll do something about it. If it gets bad."
Tony raised his chin. "Clara, you don't mean..?"
"I know how I'll do it," I interrupted him. "If it comes to that, I know how I'll do it. They'd understand."
"No, they wouldn't, because you have all of our help and you didn't reach out or accept any of it! You can't give up on yourself, you can't give up on us!" snapped Tony.
I shrugged. "There's not an 'us' anymore. I don't know where anyone is. I don't know how I got here, how I get anywhere. I don't have control of my body until I'm taken somewhere. I'm under The Stone's control and I'm losing my mind."
Tony didn't understand. I couldn't blame him. What was happening with me was out of this world, it was something not of Earth, and as many people we knew that didn't call Earth their home, I doubted Thor, or even Loki, would know much. Stephen Strange barely knew anything, and the Stone was in his care.
I refused to talk about it anymore. I opened my mouth to ask about the reason I was here, the kid, but Tony interrupted with a quiet, timid, "You haven't seen him?"
"Not since he broke everyone out."
"You left him."
"I couldn't let him watch me lose my mind. Him or Sam or Bucky-- they don't deserve that."
"He loves you. He would rather watch you lose your mind than be away from you."
I shook my head. "I'm not talking about him. I don't want to."
"Why?" challenged Tony.
"Because it hurts!" I snapped. "Despite all the pain that's happening in my body, there is no type of ache that compares to what's happening in my heart. I left him, Tony. I left the man who loved me, I left the man I loved, because I couldn't let him watch this happen to me. I would give anything to be with him again. But that damn Stone won't let me! I've asked for him repeatedly, I've asked for Sam, and it brought me here to you and to that kid."
"Why?"
I stared at him; I used that as my nonverbal answer of, 'I have no idea.'
"But I'll bite. What are you doing with him, Tony? Why bring the kid back?" I asked.
"I'm trying to make him better."
"Better than us or better than you?"
He paused. "Both."
"You're trying to pass the torch? Teach a new generation of heroes to not get into a war with each other?" I wondered.
"Since I debuted the suit, since Thor, since Cap, other people have come to the call. In cities across America, I've been monitoring hero activity, even the littlest. I've been trying to prepare the best to take over, to be better than us. Maybe to save the world with less destruction than we can," explained Tony. "It starts with the kid. Peter."
"It's gone a little rogue," I teased.
"He's got a will, and he does find a way..." sighed Tony.
"All the good ones do," I told him. I felt my hands start to tremble with a new transportation. I looked up at Tony. "I don't know that apologies are something to be swapped. Not for some things. There's things I did I don't regret. I am sorry for the team pulling apart. We needed each other. But, because of this feeling inside of me, I know that isn't the end. We're going to be together soon, Tony, all of us. But I'm not sure it'll be worth the reunion."
"What does that mean?" asked Tony. "Clara? Clara, don't leave, c'mon... Clara!"
He shouted and he yelled, he tried to grab my transparent hand, and I could only offer a small smile, as I disappeared into a green shade of wisps and vapor and was off to my next stop, thanks to the Stone stuck to my soul.