What was it like to be obliterated with a single snap of fingers? At the moment it happened in Wakanda, he had been fighting Thanos with Steve and the rest. Phil had died already, brought back in the most painful and torturous way anyone could possibly imagine. He was dead for nearly a week, had his skull opened and layered, but was awake and begging to die. After being infused with Kree blood he nearly lost his mind, but he overcame that and was ready to live. But at the point of the snap, he had simply stared at Steve, muttered only his name. At first he couldn’t feel his legs, his entire body went numb. Then they simply turned to a fine ash, his Chitauri modified weaponry having fallen to the ground, along with the genetically coded hand. Phil had died a second death, which looked more brutal than the first.
Coming back had been more simple. He was simply willed into existence, and once they all figured out what was going on, those who had been left in Wakanda, Strange and others made an appearance. There wasn’t any time to process it. He had only attached his hand and plucked up his weapon. Five years for everyone else had been an instant and he was thrown back into fighting reality as they knew it, something far worse than just merely half of everyone gone.
When it looked like Steve was on his very last legs of the fight, it was Phil who spoke into the earpiece. He didn’t state on your left, anything of the kind. Just simply said his name. “ Steve? “ — and then. “ You’re not alone. “ He was the first to step through as every portal opened up, charging the Chitauri weapon on his hip. He ran out onto the field, his face still smeared with blood as before, that suit ripped up, the tie completely gone. He’d never glimpsed a more frightening sight in his life, staring down Thanos and an entire universal army, but he came out all the same, walking proudly as if he’d never died for a second time, ready to face a third death.
“ Looks like you could use some back up. “ A simple twist of his hand brought the holographic blue shield out to into the fray, followed by every other portal opening, every single person who could possibly fight or had the courage to face down Thanos and an alien army, making their way on the field.
Steve thought about that for a moment before he finished his food and leaned back in his chair, looking across at Phil. “I’d like to leave within the next day or two,” he admitted quietly.
He knew he hadn’t taken the opportunity to see everyone that had wanted to see him, but, honestly, he needed to get out and get away. He could visit with people by computer or something later. He didn’t want the pitying looks or the stunted conversations or the awkward hugs and handshakes or whatever. He just wanted to go.
It was only a few days later that the pair took a jet and left Wakanda. T’Challa opened them back whenever they wished, giving them plenty of supplies in case their new home lacked it. Several hours it took, until they flew over the vast property. Tony had assisted pushing the legal papers through and Phil set the jet down in a more open green field. There were barns, pens, rolling hills, and of course that enormous house. Hell it was more like an old mansion. “ If this ain’t the place to start again I don’t know what would be. “ He opened the flight deck, moving on outside to get a breath. “ Cleanestair I’ve ever inhaled.. and it’s all yours, honey. “