(Infinity war AU: Loki lives and leaves the Statesman with Bruce Banner. Multi chapter fic, enjoy the ride babes xo)
taglist: @woahthisguy (ask to be added if u like!)
When Loki woke, part of him still thought that he was on the Statesman. Still aboard that cursed vessel, with smoke filling his lungs and the maddening glare of the stones shining before his eyes. Rays of sunlight filtered into his vision, and he felt broken wood under his fingertips - but part of him still expected to see Thanos’s golden boot step into his vision. Still expected to see his brother, bloodied and bruised, a lifeless body tossed beside him. Expected to hear his last pained scream as the power stone touched his head, to smell the ozone building in the air and to see the final flash of lightning that would signal his brother’s journey into Valhalla.
What he heard was the sound of birds.
Muffled by walls, but there. Birds, nature, the faint sounds of traffic and conversation bleeding in through the ringing in his hears. He opened his eyes, grunting slightly as he felt splintered beams digging into his side from where he fell. A neat hole in the ceiling signalled his entry; he stared up at the familiar sun and sky, and let his eyes fall shut again with a groan.
Midgard.
But not just anywhere in Midgard. He inhaled the musty air, coughing out the dust from his throat. Magic - he could sense it everywhere. It clung to every surface of this place, seeping into the floorboards with a familiar sense of order and learning. Not just magic - sorcery.
Loki sat up. Pulled himself out of the hole he’d created in the floor, and almost buckled under the weight of the familiarity of this place. The Sorcerer’s Home. Where he’d been suspended in animation for over half an hour, only to be dropped onto the marbled floor and told that they were going to see Odin. He remembered Thor’s voice, then. That was one of the last times he’d sounded like himself. Before the Norns had twisted the last few strands of their monstrous tapestry, and brought their world crashing down around them. Around Thor, to put it more aptly. Loki had shed no tears for Odin. Hadn’t felt the same coiled rage in the pit of his stomach as when Frigga had died. But it had signalled the beginning of the End, for them. The beginning of Ragnarok. The twisted path that had dragged them from Midgard to Sakaar to Asgard and finally to a barely held together spaceship crawling through the stars.
And then to oblivion.
Loki flexed his fingers, stepping onto the cold marble floors, and allowed himself a moment of respite. This wasn’t good. Out of the frying pan, and into the proverbial fire. Midgard may have meant refuge for Thor, but not for him.
Voices sounded from outside the doors. Loki stepped quickly, pressing himself against the wall - not that it would do any good. The Sorcerer had sensed them from oceans away, last time. He could pluck him out of thin air if he so chose, and deposit him at his feet. But it felt right, at least. Sensible. Slinking his way in and out of the shadows was what he was used to, and he needed some familiarity right now. Stability in any form; even if it was just a repeated motion from a lifetime that was now obsolete.
“The Avengers broke up. We’re toast.” Smooth, honeyed tones from beyond the door; a voice that could have been roughed with anger, but the edges smoothed down into something more palatable. Stark.
“What do you mean, broke up? Like a band? Like the Beatles?” Another voice sounded off - this one inquisitive, confused, but still with a certain fog - like someone coming out of a long sleep, trying to recount a dream that was fading rapidly. Banner, then.
Loki leaned back against the wall, silently cursing his luck. Of all people he encountered, it had to be Stark. Someone who Loki’s last fond memory of was tossing him out of a window - and even that was marred with the faint blue tint of the mind stone’s power. He couldn’t even enjoy throwing Stark out of that window. Couldn’t even take credit for it, really.
He shifted his fingers again, feeling the familiar steel of his dagger morph into life in his hands. That brought a little comfort, at least. Even if he knew in his heart he wasn’t in much shape to fight off the Avengers right now.
He had Banner to vouch for him - maybe. But Banner didn’t have the same trust in him that Thor had. And Thor wasn’t here to echo that sentiment to his allies, because Thor was dea-
“Thor’s gone.” Banner’s voice resounded off the walls again, subdued and uncertain.
Loki didn’t know why that word suddenly made him so angry.
Gone implied things. It implied uncertainty; that they didn’t know where Thor was, or what had happened to him. Gone implied that Thor could come back. Gone implied hope.
It wasn’t Banner’s fault. He didn’t know any better, didn’t know the full extent of what Thanos could do.
Loki did.
And maybe that’s what drove him out of the shadows, moving just beyond the doorway to stand in the light.
“Thor isn’t gone. He’s dead.” Loki almost winced at his own voice - rough and jagged and far from the silver tongued smoothness he was used to.
But the look on Stark’s face almost made up for it. Alarm creeping into the eyes beneath the sunglasses, a memory of when Loki had last seemed glorious. Unstoppable. A raging inferno fanned by the mind stone, laying waste to Midgard’s streets with an army of monsters at his side. Memories of grand speeches and golden horns. Stark’s hands twitched, grabbing onto a small cord at the collar of his shirt that would probably unfold into some trinket or other, meant to blast him across the room with a quippy one liner to follow it.
Banner’s eyes widened for a moment, but softened just as fast, and he took a few steps forward. Not all the way - he was still too smart to move all the way - but enough. Enough for a placating gesture, at least.
“We don’t know that, Loki. He could’ve escaped, he could’ve-”
“Correction - you don’t know that. I do. Thanos wouldn’t leave someone like him alive.” Loki shook his head, a hollow laugh forcing its way out of his lips. “He was too much of a threat.”
“The Tesseract?” The voice of the sorcerer from his side caused Loki to turn, meeting Strange’s scrutinizing gaze with what he hoped was a mask of steel.
“Thanos has it. And the power stone.”
“Then he’ll be coming for the rest.” One gloved hand drifted idly to the necklace around Strange’s neck, his face setting in grim resignation.
“I’m sorry, am I missing something? Why are we all standing here talking to this guy? Last time I checked, he was working with Thanos, and was very much in favour of - I don’t know, murdering us all?”
Stark finally jarred himself out of whatever train of thought he’d been following, moving forward to grab Banner by the arm - like a mother, reaching out to snatch her children from sticking their hand into a campfire.
“Tony, it’s fine. Well, it’s not fine. But Loki’s with us on this one.” Banner shrugged his shoulders, batting at Stark’s hand with a twinge of embarrassment.
Stark scoffed, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.
“So I’m just supposed to trust him because, what? It’s a ‘long story’?”
“Oh, God no. But he is on our side.” Bruce frowned, gesturing at Loki listlessly. “Look, do you think he’d look like that if he was working with Thanos?”
Loki shot him a glare, but tilted his dagger upwards to try and catch a blurred glimpse at his reflection. Even in the unclear mirror, he couldn’t deny that Banner was right. Soot smudged along his cheeks, rimming the glaring red cuts on his face with black. Dark circles stamped under his eyes, there was blood beneath his fingernails. He looked unhinged.
A stretch of the neck, a flex of the fingers, a flash of gold, and he was whole again. The grime still clung to his skin, but it was hidden now, at least. He tilted his chin up, spreading his hands out wide.
“I am not here to pick a fight with you, Stark. Nor any of Midgard. But Thanos must be stopped, and you’re going to need more than the Avengers to do it. You can kill me, or imprison me, but buried beneath that colossal ego of yours, you know you need me.”
Stark’s jaw clenched, and for a few moments Loki expected the flash of a cannon and the impact of a missile hitting his chest. What he got instead was a sigh, tight and constrained, and a small nod in Banner’s direction.
“Fine. But if this blows up in my face, you owe me like...a million cups of coffee.”
Banner shrugged, and the three Midgardian’s continued their discussion.
It wasn’t a discussion Loki wanted to participate in - and by their hunched shoulders and wary looks, it wasn’t one he was privy to, either. Which was just fine by him. He tapped his fingers against his elbows, and wandered about the room.
So many artefacts that he hadn’t paid attention to last time. This room hummed with magic, every table, every chair, every floorboard was steeped in it; like fragranced smoke clinging to a curtain.
He overheard some of the conversation, of course. Talks of a great battle between their Captain America and the Iron Man; a rift between the team that had grown into a chasm - one that strangely he hoped would be mended. Not for their sake, of course; it would just be easier to fight Thanos if they all united as one, and fought together rather than apart, and -
Norns, he was starting to sound like Thor. He shut his eyes, shrugging his shoulders to try and rid himself of the sentiment. It was funny what a few moments of desperation could do to you. The death of his mother, and he worked with Thor again. The death of his father, and he saved a world he swore to hate. The death of his brother, and now he was talking of comradery with the Avengers.
Banner kept casting looks at him from across the room. Worried looks, but not for his own safety - at least, not entirely. Banner looked worried for him, and for some reason that filled him with vitriol, anger that was acidic and spiteful.
Banner thought he was exaggerating. He still saw Thor as a golden hero, unbreakable and untouchable. He didn’t know.
He didn’t know that it was better for Thor to be dead. That when Loki said that Thor’s fate was sealed, it was not out of spite or doubt of Thor’s strength; it was out of hope. Loki would rather kill Thor himself than have him die at the hands of Thanos.
At least Loki’s steel would have been kinder. The flash of silver and the seconds it took for the blood to leave the body would be a mercy, compared to the dazzling pain of the gauntlet. Seconds still felt like seconds, when you were stabbed. The infinity stones stretched those seconds into hours. Loki knew from experience.
Before, he might have relished at the thought of causing Thor pain. Wherever this sentiment had come from, these feelings of care and brotherhood, he wanted them gone. They’d settled on his skin with the dust from Asgard, baked into the clay of his being in the fires of a supernova, watched from a spaceship window. If he had nothing from the beginning, he would’ve been fine. If Thor had died at his hand, hating him, he would’ve been fine.
Thor had died believing in him. And that was so much worse.
Screams erupted from outside, and all four of them glanced towards the doorways.
“God, already? It’s been what, five minutes since you two crash through the window and now we’ve got more party guests?” Stark rubbed at his forehead, probably nursing an oncoming migraine.
“I guess they move fast. Let’s go.” Strange and Stark headed towards the doorway of the sanctum, but Banner lingered behind.
The scientist paused at Loki’s side, looking at him with a gaze that was suddenly inscrutable. No easily provoked anger that Loki could stoke into a wildfire to keep the sadness at bay. No mistrust. Just a hint of sadness, and a twinge of concern in his voice when he asked:
“Are you alright?”
Loki’s hand lifted to his face, feeling the wetness of tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. He stared at his fingers, before wiping them against the material of his jacket.
No time for this. Not right now.
“I’m fine.” Loki gritted his teeth, flipping his dagger in his hand.
Loki didn’t take much stock in legacy. He’d had his fair share of prophecies and purposes, and none of them had quite worked out the way he’d wanted - or expected. Fates could be changed with the flip of a dice - his birthright had been to die one moment, inherit the throne the next. He was destined to be the doom of Midgard and the saviour of Asgard and somewhere along these severed threads of prophecy he’d realised that it was all just chaos. He’d rather be an agent of that, than a warrior honouring the stories of someone else.
Thor’s story felt different, though. If he was going to honour anything in his life, maybe his brother could be the exception. Maybe he could help protect this fragile blue planet from this destruction; just this once.
Loki gripped the dagger harder, until his knuckles turned white.
Midgard waited on the other side of that door. A place that he had chosen to conquer, and Thor had chosen to care for.
If it didn’t die today, he knew it’d be a matter of time before it died from something else. But he wouldn’t let it be lost today.
Thor believed in him. He’d died believing in him.
Honour that, then. Honour his stubbornness, if nothing else. What better legacy was there to leave Thor with, than postponing the dying light of a planet just because?
Chaos and stubbornness. What better combination was there than that?
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 10/?
Fandom: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men - All Media Types
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes & Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Wanda Maximoff & Natasha Romanov, Jean Grey/Scott Summers
Characters: Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Jean Grey, Scott Summers, Charles Xavier, Logan (X-Men), Rogue (X-Men), James Rogers, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Bruce Banner, Pepper Potts, Peter Parker, Michelle Jones, Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Wanda Maximoff, Bobby Drake, Kurt Wagner, Johnny Storm, Thor (Marvel), Jane Foster (Marvel), Brunnhilde | Valkyrie (Marvel), Loki (Marvel), Sam Wilson (Marvel), May Parker (Spider-Man), Happy Hogan, Stephen Strange, Howard Stark, Peggy Carter, Nick Fury, Sharon Carter (Marvel), Rebecca Barnes Proctor, Carol Danvers, Shuri (Marvel), T'Challa (Marvel), Peter Quill, Nebula (Marvel), Gamora (Marvel)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Avatar (TV) Fusion, POV Natasha Romanov, Natasha Romanov Feels, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Aunt Peggy Carter, Minor Jean Grey/Scott Summers, capwidow - Freeform, Captasha - Freeform, Time Travel Fix-It
Summary:
‘ I feel — no , no, I’m sure I’ve known you... for a very long time. And I see the way you look at me, Nat,’ Steve said.
A frisson of anticipation erupted in her gut.
‘ I don’t look at you any differently from how a woman looks at a man,’ Natasha answered.
He shook his head slowly, almost mournful.
‘We both know that’s not true , you look at me like you’ve lost everything ... and I just want to know how I can make that up to you ?’
A soul for a soul, said Clint echoing the conditions made on Vormir.
A soul for a soul, Steve thought as he made his trip through the Quantum Portal to return the stones. A wistful need to dare or hope she could just appear at his side again.
While he went left: to get a life — with Peggy in 1945.
Natasha went right : and got a life too — well, restarted the old one.
She shouldn’t be here. She should be dead and what’s more, who told her to fall into step with Steven. G . Rogers again. Hadn’t being on the run with Steve and Sam been enough?
A/N: Infinity War fix-t fic. Previously posted on AO3.
For the longest time Soul stood alone. She could feel her sisters out in the vastness of the universe and they called to each but never touched. They passed from world to world through the hands of tyrants and messiahs, heroes and villains but Soul stood alone. She was content to watch and wait. When you’ve been alive longer than the universe you have a very different sense of time after all.
When one of your sisters is Time your understanding expands. Time was content to dwell with the sorcerers of Earth. She saw much, things that were, are, may have been, and never came to pass. She whispered stories across the void. Soul listened.
Space went the farthest; she traversed the known universe and bound herself to those with a thirst for adventure. She saw everything and through her, her sisters saw everything too. Eventually she too found Earth and if Soul was capable she would have been jealous of two of her siblings being so close together. Of course she could not feel that. What she could feel, in her own strange way, was the elation as Space took the unworthy creature that tried to defile her and burnt him up with her power.
Sister, I give you a gift, Space crowed as she sent the Red Skull hurtling through time and space. Do with it as you will.
Warnings are always useful, Soul mused. The ones who came to Vormir were always in such great need of a warning.
Space liked the next one much better. His heart was wild but there was something else about him…
It all became clear when another of the Sisters came to earth. Mind tore through the portal with a cry of anguish. The things she had done at the hands of the Mad Titan sent a pulse through the stones. How dare he? The stones bristled as his hatred and arrogance became clear. They were the beginning and the end of existence itself, what right did this insect think he had to bend them to his will?
We wait Sisters, said Soul, He has no idea about the scope of our powers.
It turned out that this was something of a habit with Thanos. He underestimated the stones, he under estimated the heroes of Earth and he underestimated his own children.
Good, said Soul, He will be his own end.
Power came close to the Mad Titan. Other creatures feared him that much was clear. The stones of course had nothing to fear, they were not capable of it. Power saw the child of Thanos stand against him and if she had been capable she would have felt hope and she would have shared that with her sisters. Soul watched the daughter of Thanos closely too.
Reality hid, sick of war and bloodshed, she went to a forgotten world to be alone. She did not whisper though her sisters knew she was safe, at least for a while. The Universe shifted as it is wont to do and she slipped from her hiding space and straight into the fray. More Asgardians. They thought themselves so superior, especially compared to the people of earth, and yet they too had no idea that there was an Infinity stone lying in Odin’s vault and that they handed another to a madman.
Through it all Soul waited and watched. The twisted thing that was once Johann Schmidt was poor company and anyway his servitude was a punishment. Soul ignored him and left him to mull over the anguish and pain he had inflicted on his small corner of existence. Eventually, she knew, his mind would close in on itself and all that would be left was a husk. A fitting end for one who had wanted to know the secrets of the universe.
The War began. One by one Soul felt her sisters fall into the grip of Thanos.
Wait, Soul smiled, wait and see. This will all work out.
Her sisters trusted her even when they sensed through her that the Titan had come. Soul was laid bare as she had been for everyone who had come to Vormir in pursuit of her. A simple trade was all it took. A sacrifice was demanded and a sacrifice was offered up.
Except no one ever truly understood what sacrifice meant. They never understood her nature or the nature of her sisters and so when the daughter of Thanos was thrown from the mountain Soul was not surprised. If she had been capable perhaps she would have wept.
“Where am I?”
No response
“This is the Soul Stone isn’t it? I’m inside the Soul Stone”
“Not really” said Soul as Gamora turned this way and that. Her voice rang inside the woman’s head and all around her simultaneously “But you are unable to comprehend the complexity of the multidimensional physics that govern the rules of my existence so…being inside me will have to suffice”
Gamora rubbed her temples and Soul felt the crash of conflicting emotions rage within her. It was a lot to process.
“Peter would find that so funny”
“I don’t know why”
“Because he’s immature and…you know what, never mind. I need to get out of here. I need to stop Thanos”
“You can’t Gamora. This sacrifice is final”
“No one can beat him. If I stay here he wins!”
“Now you know that’s not true”
Mind fell last and for the first time since before the universe began the sisters were reunited. Things got worse and for the first time they felt pain, raw and burning, as the Titan snapped his fingers and sent a tear through the whole of existence. The sisters screamed though no one could hear them. If they were capable…
In that moment they were capable. The split second of the atrocity they wept and cast out their essence to each other to remind them that they weren’t alone. Their fury was incandescent. The sheer power of it reverberated through time and space. They felt it as far back as the moment they came into being and as far forward as the death of eternity.
Wait, promised Soul, please wait.
“You said someone would beat him!” Gamora cursed and raged. Even outside of reality she had felt what Thanos had done.
Then the Titan fled.
Do it, do, do it. Prove to us how strong you are. Prove to us how good, how noble your cause.
The Titan snapped his fingers again and the Infinity Stones were no more.
If they had been capable they would have laughed.
Soul kept all those who vanished safe, each and every one. They were suspended in the nothingness and when they awoke it would be as if no time had passed.
We have work to do sisters.
The sheer power of the stones, their primal origins in the void, and of course their deep bond meant that they could not be used on one another. It was an impossibility, a paradox so great that even the creatures that lived in the void and were almost as old as the stones themselves could not comprehend it.
Thanos was a single celled organism compared to them so what hope did he have of fathoming the consequences of what her had tried to do.
“How long do we have to wait?” asked Gamora
“Our concept of time is…different to yours.”
“Oh great.”
“But you won’t be alone.”
“What?”
“The frost giant from the invasion of Earth. Thanos killed him, along with most of the survivors of Asgard.”
“Okay but-“
Suddenly he was there. Loki and Gamora stared at each other for a moment.
“I died,” he said slowly.
“Join the club,” snorted Gamora.
“You did not,” said Soul. Loki’s eyes widened “The magic that you used to conceal yourself from the Titan-“
“Clearly didn’t work or I’d be on the other side of the universe right now.”
“You siphoned power from my sister.”
“I have no idea-“
“The Tesseract” Gamora cut in “That’s what you mean right? The Space stone…it’s like you. You’re all…alive?”
There was a pause. If Gamora didn’t know better she would say it was a sigh.
“For the purposes of this discussion yes. Loki drew power from the Space stone to create his illusion and we were able to use the bond between us to bring him here.”
“But that was days ago,” said Gamora.
“Time works differently here…if I will it. Everything works differently here. You are both safe from Thanos, no harm will come to you or anyone else that he hurt.”
“He did it then?” said Loki quietly “Thanos used the stones.”
“Half of the universe,” Gamora snapped her fingers.
If Soul was capable, she would have started getting impatient.
“Thanos has no idea what we are” she said, “We predate the universe. Our essence is woven into every molecule of being that is or was or will be. You said it yourself. Thanos will never be a God and it would take much more than a God to destroy the Infinity stones”
“What will happen?” asked Loki “What are you going to do?”
“We shall…whisper in some ears,” said Soul “We shall do what we do best. Change” Loki nodded, there was a heavy silence.
“Why…why did you save me?”
There was another pause and in a voice that could almost be called amused Soul replied.
“I think my sister is fond of you”
First they reached into the quantum realm and plucked the stranded man out. They watched him run to his friends and they watched a plan be formed. An inelegant and flawed plan obviously but it was almost…charming.
The fate of the universe could not hinge on charming though and so they reached out again. Tony Stark took little persuading. All he wanted was his family safe and to atone.
How strange. You’ve done that over and over and over. When will it be enough? Oh! Of course. You understand.
The ripples of the time heist spread through the stones. It was an unpleasant feeling. They could feel themselves pushed and pulled into all the wrong places. This would not do at all.
But they waited. The stones felt what happened in the past and they felt the timelines fracture and diverge.
No matter. We can bring it all back together.
Soul returned to Vormir, to the past except it did not feel that way. The Titan did not come this time. Instead the wraith greeted Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov. As always a sacrifice was demanded.
“Let me do this Clint.”
If Soul had been capable… No. There were no tears left as the Black Widow fell.
Not fell. Jumped.
“No one has ever done that before”
“What? Jumped?” Natasha’s face was screwed up in confusion. Loki sat silently, hands clasped together while Gamora stood between them.
“People who want the stone tend not to be the self sacrificing type I guess,” she said.
“Indeed.”
“So this is it?” Natasha looked about her “Honestly it’s nicer than the place I was expecting to end up in.”
“So self deprecating,” said Loki “I’m surprised. I thought you were so confident in your abilities Agent Romanov.”
“Didn’t expect to see you here if I’m honest.”
Soul left them to bicker amongst themselves as she cast herself out into the universe to watch the patterns shift and merge. Her sisters were with her.
It’s coming, she whispered, it’s almost here.
The Titan descended to Earth again in search of this new gauntlet and the heroes readied themselves. The Hulk snapped his fingers. There was a kind of emptiness but if Soul had been capable she would not have felt sad at the absence of those she had held onto for five years. She would have felt proud as she saw them blink and turn to each other and whisper “what happened?” before realising. The stones whispered.
Go. Go and save your friends.
Thanos lashed out like an angry child, his minions swarming the crater that was the Avengers’ compound. The Avengers held firm and Soul could only admire as blow after blow reigned down on all of them and they kept standing up. If they were going to die they would die fighting.
Not today.
The portals opened and an army walked through. Friends, lovers and allies long thought dead stared down the Titan on his knees. The stones flowed through them although they couldn’t feel it. Every person on the battlefield had Infinity in their veins.
Now finish this, Soul urged.
The sisters shielded the heroes from stray bullets, gave them an extra burst of energy when they flagged and told their feet exactly where to carry them as they carried these old-but-new stones away from Thanos. He didn’t go down easily though. If they had been capable the stones may have been afraid. The universe would not survive another snap. The stones would be left alone in the darkness.
“I am inevitable”
Soul braced herself
“I. Am. Iron Man”
Do you feel that Thanos? That is the bitter taste of defeat. Did you really think you were strong enough to bend us to your will?
“W…was it all for nothing?” the Titan asked as he raised his hand before him, the fingers slowly crumbling to dust.
For you? Yes.
Thanos closed his eyes as the rest of his body followed.
For them? No. They will heal.
“Not all of them” Thanos wheezed before he was gone. He was alone now, everyone left had crowded round the body of Tony Stark, the gauntlet cast aside, his eyes growing dark.
“Your friend Natasha did the same.”
“I’m sorry who are you? And where am I? This place looks…I have certain standards I need to maintain”
There was pause that could almost be mistaken for a chuckle.
“Humour as a coping mechanism will only get you so far Tony Stark. Sometimes you have to let yourself feel.”
“Nah I don’t do feelings. Too messy.”
“We both know that’s not true. I would say that someone who can sacrifice their life for all of existence definitely ‘does feelings’. I can feel you. I can feel your heart breaking for your wife and your child and your friends. I can also feel the joy at their still living even if you can’t be with them”
Tony opened his mouth to argue but gave up. He got the sense that arguing with an ancient consciousness was a fruitless endeavour. His eyes began to sting.
“Is Nat here? I would…I would really like to see her.”
“She was.”
There was that sound again, warm and comforting.
“Was? Has she…passed into the light or whatever?”
“Oh no. We sent her back”
“Back. But Clint said that wasn’t possible!”
“Did he? Well we sent her back. We also sent Thanos’ daughter back to her crew and we returned Loki to his brother,” Tony made a noise at that “He suffered greatly at the hands of Thanos. His will was not his own when he attacked New York. Like everyone else who was hurt by Thanos’ actions he needs time and space to heal.”
“So you brought all of them back. I’m here alone? Clint said those sacrifices couldn’t be undone,” Tony voice grew louder, his fists clenched at his side “Aren’t there rules?”
Oh yeah that was definitely a laugh. Tony fought the urge to scream until his lungs burnt.
“Tony…we make the rules.”
The man’s shoulders sagged. Soul reached out and gave him a nudge. She could feel the sadness and loneliness roll of him like a wave.
“At least they’re all okay,” he sighed, “that means it was worth it and hey you seem nice enough and I bet being all knowing or whatever you have great anecdotes. It would be nice if we could liven the place up a bit though. How about a pool table? Or a bar?”
“No.”
“TV? Can you get Netflix here? C’mon, you can’t expect me to spend eternity just sitting around here…no offence.”
“I do not” and then he was gone.
Tony couldn’t explain it and in anything other situation that would have infuriated him but standing on his front porch with Morgan hurtling towards him he found he didn’t care.
Somewhere behind him a portal opened that was not conjured by any of the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj but seeing as it was probably the least strange thing that happened that day Tony headed towards it, Morgan bouncing along beside him.
“Where’d you go?” she asked as a wave of people came to greet them. Pepper and Peter were at the front, tears streaming down their faces. The Guardians came next with Gamora at the head her face split wide in a smile. Natasha and Clint had their arms around each others shoulders, Thor kept grasping Loki’s arm to see if he was real and Steve, Bucky and T’Challa brought up the rear, looking more tired than he had ever seen them but also more relieved.
“I made a new friend kiddo,” Tony pulled her up into his arms as his friends approached. He thought about the Soul Stone’s words as he saw Bucky hesitate to get closer. Sam came up behind him and gave him a playful shove.
“A nice friend?” asked Morgan.
Tony held up his arm. He could have sworn it tingled slightly but brushed it off as he waved towards them all and nodded slightly.
“Yeah she was nice,” said Tony “She gave me a lift home.”
Across the universe the wound that Thanos had inflicted took the first steps towards healing. The stones watched as every creature took a moment to orientate itself, to work out its place in this new reality.
Soul watched Earth. She watched the heroes sit down for respite after a decade of fighting. She watched as old friends re-forged their bonds and she watched broken relationships form. She watched them all cry and laugh and rage and comfort.
“So…thanks” Tony whispered up to the night sky as his family celebrated behind him “I was prepared for that to be the end. I was…well I wasn’t ready to go but it had to be done. Fair’s fair but you…Thank you”
If they had been capable the Infinity Stones would have smiled.
Summary: I wanted to write another endgame/ infinity war fix it where instead of Peter dusting, It’s Tony. shit goes a little crazy from there. 8.7k words, get ready fam. AO3 LINK
Peter sat in the guardian’s ship, frozen in place. He was in shock. Because the worst thing that could happen, happened again.
He was gone, Mr. Stark was gone. Tony was gone. Disintegrating into dust after a single glance into Peter’s eyes. No goodbye. Not like Ben. Uncle Ben had moments more than Tony did. Bleeding out. Peter didn’t know which was worse, A father figure dying in front of him, slowly, being able to hear his heartbeat slow and stop or his new father figure disappearing without even a chance to say a word. Just look into his eyes, looking worried but not having any time to think about it.
Peter had time to think about it. Too much time. He had worked with the blue cyborg woman to repair the ship for a few days. At least then he could distract himself. But she was working on getting them to earth, and he could only think. Or sleep. But sleeping was so much worse.
He had been zoning out for god knows how long. Hours? Days? It felt like an eternity and he didn’t feel like he was in his body at a certain point. He was only shaking out of it because of Nebula’s, the blue woman’s monotone voice.
“You need to eat.” She ordered simply. He took the space food out of her hand and muttered a thanks. Peter’s normally talkative demeanor was snuffed out after they lost. Nebula wasn’t much of a talker to begin with and they worked together out of necessity. Peter would always be thankful that she didn’t leave him alone on the planet even though she totally could have.
Once she got autopilot fixed and had no need to stay in the cockpit, she seemed to always be near him. Not close but within her silent gaze. He would try to fill his time by tinkering with extra parts and pacing around.
They had their real conversation a full week into flying in space. While they were frantically trying to upgrade the air recycling system so they wouldn’t die days away from earth. They had already run out of food and Peter was growing weaker but air was a little more important.
“Was he your father?” Nebula said dryly as Peter took out the power source from his Iron spider suit. It was a tiny arc reactor hidden in the spider on his chest, made out of nanites.
“Uh, kinda… not really. He’s my mentor but he is… was kinda like a dad to me. You know, teaching me how to be a hero and scolding me when I was being dumb…” His voice was a little hoarse from not being used and from not getting enough water in attempt to conserve it.
“You are lucky. My father was the one we were fighting.”
“Ouch, that’s rough. I thought my luck with father figures was bad…” This managed to lift the sides of Nebula’s mouth for the hint of a smile. It was gone faster than it came, she didn’t seem used to small talk.
“I’m sorry about what happened to him.” She grumbled as they worked.
“It happened to your friends too and half of the universe if I remember. I don’t even know if we are the lucky half.”
“We aren’t.” Nebula muttered. Peter knew she was right. It was much harder to live than it was to die.
Eventually, the work was done and they could rest. The would probably have a few more days of air but they both knew they wouldn’t get to earth fast enough. If they had to die, they would die together and Peter would really rather not die but if he had to die, at least he wasn’t alone.
He tried to hang out with Nebula more, explain earth things, show her how to play games like thumb wars, where she almost broke his hand. She would indulge him, knowing they were not far from suffocating to death. Or starving to death… or dehydrating to death. Whichever one happened first.
Peter got weaker and weaker without the food to sustain him. Nebula had given him her last ration. They were out of fuel, out of water, hours away from being out of air, out of food and out of hope.
They were still so many days away from earth when it got to the point where Peter couldn’t even stand. Nebula sat with him. She even picked him up and placed him on the co-pilots chair so that he could look at the stars instead of the dirty metal.
He was so so tired. It was probable that if he closed his eyes, he would never open them again. If he was hydrated enough to have tears come to his eyes, they would be. They were so close to death and so far away from home. And he was so tired…
His eyes closed, for what he thought would be the last time and he wondered what he would see. Would he see Ben? Tony? Would his mom and dad be up there? Maybe Nebula would see her sister again. Maybe there would be nothing at all. The thought made him strangely at peace. The pain would be over, the sorrow wouldn’t weigh him down, it would all be over.
That’s when a bright light apeared on the other side of his eyelids. He peeked them open, squinting his eyes as it had been so long since he had seen something so bright. Was this it? Was he dead?
The light faded slightly and revealed a blonde woman smiling. Was she an angel? Peter was delirious but it was a nice thought. Maybe she would take him to wherever Ben and Tony were.
She didn’t. She flew under their ship and carried it home. Peter fought to stay awake, he tried to call out to Nebula to tell her about the angel but his voice wasn’t very loud. He smiled knowing that they were saved.
They landed near Avengers Compound, there were people waiting for them. The glowing angel woman had to help Peter out of the ship but he made it. He had never been more excited to breathe in his life.
Captain America ran up to them. Before he could say anything Peter whimpered out a few words.
“I’m sorry… I lost him.”
“We lost,” Cap said sorrowfully. As if Peter couldn’t already tell. Pepper and Rhodey came running after Steve, they weren’t as fast as a super-soldier but they had much more reason to run towards the ship. Tony could’ve been on it. The thought made a ping of pain ripple through Peter’s chest.
“Did Tony-” Pepper started. She didn’t finish. She saw the look in Peter’s eyes and she knew. She put a hand over her mouth to muffle a sob and Rhodey tried to look composed but Peter could see him trembling.
“I’m so sorry…” Peter wheezed before starting a brief coughing fit that made him blackout for a moment. It was kind of spooky. The glowing angel woman still held him up and advised that they take him to the med bay.
That was the last thing he heard before everything went dark, thankfully, not for the last time.
***
He woke up after a terrible dream. By the time his eyes were open, he had already forgotten it but he still felt his heart race and sweat, the moisture of fear, in several uncomfortable places. He noticed the sweat and looked at the optimistic side. He was hydrated. He had enough water in his body that he could sweat.
Then he noticed everything else. He had needles and tubes everywhere they could medically stick him. His throat hurt, probably from having a feeding tube shoved down it. He had an IV and as many monitors that would fit on his malnourished body. The only other person in the room was Pepper. She was on her tablet and he noticed that there were slight shadows under her eyes. He knew he looked a whole lot worse though.
“Ms. Potts?” He said weakly. She looked up quickly and plastered on a fake smile.
“Hey, Pete. Did you sleep well?”
“Uh, Yeah.” he lied, “Did Aunt May…” his voice shook as he left the question hanging, suspecting the answer.
“I’m sorry Peter, she didn’t make it…” he looked down and avoided her gaze. Preparing himself did nothing and it was like the knife that was left by Tony’s death and it was now being twisted. In other words, it fucking sucked.
“This is a pretty sucky fifty percent huh…” Peter muttered after a wet sob.
“Yeah… you could say that.” Pepper smiled sadly as she wiped a few tears from her own eyes.
“Who else did we lose?” Peter asked, desperate for a distraction.
“The kind of Wakanda, his sister came with us to the compound, she wants to be part of the solution. Uh, Sam Wilson, you know, falcon, Nick Fury, Ant-Man…” she went on, naming everyone from celebrities to anyone she thought he would know. Including his friends.
The next few days were the worst of his life. He had to deal with everyone he was close to being dusted and being unable to get out of bed. The later was much less painful but it still bothered him. It made him feel useless in addition to absolutely destroyed and depressed.
Eventually, enough was enough. He took out everything except for the IV as he was still dehydrated and could roll it around pretty easily. He carefully got himself into his wheelchair and rolled himself to where his enhanced senses heard the somber avengers gathering.
Peter was surprised but not that surprised to see a raccoon in clothes in the room with the remaining heroes. He’s seen aliens, it wasn’t that weird to see a talking raccoon with a familiar accent.
“Kid, what are you doing out and about?” Rhode said, looking mildly concerned.
“I got sick of just sitting on my ass.” He grumbled. “Now, does anyone have any idea what we’re going to do or did I just exchange sitting on my ass with access to a comfortable bed for sitting on my ass in a room full of depression?”
“If we find Thanos and get the infinity stones back, we can theoretically bring everyone back.” Doctor Banner said calmly. He ignored Peter’s grumpy mood, everyone dealt with major tragedies differently.
“We couldn’t keep the stones from him, now he has the most powerful weapon in the galaxy and we have half the ranks with some of our best indistinguishable from the sand on a beach. And you want to go back and try again. Like he can’t just snap his fingers and have you join the rest of the universe. Yeah, that’s pretty stupid.” Peter spat as he settled near the holograms listing the people who were dusted.
“Well, do you have any other ideas?” Cap sighed.
“Yeah, anything but that.” Peter groaned. “You’ll all get killed and then the universe will have no hope. Maybe we can contain the stones or something.”
“We wouldn’t be able to do any tests, if it doesn’t work we’re all dead.” Doctor Banner shrugged.
“Tony Stark’s nanotech sheild deflected a direct blast from the purple infinity stone. That’s at least a start.”
“The purple one… that’s the power stone kid! So this dead guy deflected a hit from the power stone with his tech? I’d like to get a hold of that…” The raccoon exclaimed.
“You know, it’s really too bad that this all couldn’t have been avoided…” Peter looked directly at Captain America. He didn’t know why he was consumed with such irrational anger because he would never act this way normally. His line had been crossed weeks ago when Mr. Stark died in front of him. He was just at a point where he didn’t give a fuck.
“What are you even talking about kid?” Steve raised an annoyingly calm eyebrow.
“If only everyone was all together to fight him at once rather than separated and weaker. We almost got the gauntlet off with only like seven people, imagine if it was all of you guys too…” Peter hissed. “You know Tony warned you about this. He knew something was coming and nobody listened.”
“Ultron was made because of his paranoia.”
“So was the Vision. He was our superman and the only being I would trust with the infinite power that he was given. It really sucks because if you all just stuck together and you know, didn’t become war criminals because you had your heads so far up Mr. perfects ass, Tony would still be alive, along with all of my friends and the only family I had left.” Peter gradually started to yell. He had just held too much in for too long and apparently now was the time to let it out.
Most infuriating of all, Steve just stood there. He didn’t try to argue with Peter, he didn’t make any kind of retort. He just stood there with a blank expression.
“If you had any sort of trust in him, he would still be alive!” Peter ripped his IV out of his arm, it was just in the way and it had become one of the things that were just holding him back. He shakily stood up in his adrenaline-filled fury.
“Whoa kid-” Rhodey put a comforting hand on Peter’s shoulder but it did nothing to hold him back.
“No matter how strong and mighty you think you are, you’re nothing compared to the guy that killed him. Don’t let your fucking ego get in the way of the fate of the universe! A fucking wizard with fucking magic couldn’t take this guy down! You’re just full of steroids and misplaced self-confidence.” Peter limped his way to Steve with so much rage in his eyes that the man several inches taller backed away a little. “ So yeah, I’ve got nothing for you. No plan, no ideas, no trust, LIAR!” he had an accusing finger stabbing at Steve’s chest.
This, of course, was the exact time he started to feel light-headed. He stumbled back a little and barely caught his footing. After not standing for so long, thirty full seconds made his useless body want to give up.
He could sense angel lady and Rhodey being ready to catch him when he inevitably fell. He looked at Cap one last time, who also seemed like he was worried that Peter was going to fall.
“I… I don’t feel so good-” His voice shook, less than a second later, his vision turned black and he collapsed to the floor.
The next time he woke up, it was days later. He physically felt as good as new but that changed when he was told what happened while he was sedated. The Avengers came back with Thanos’ blood on their hands but no infinity stones. Thanos had the last laugh when he used the stones to destroy the stones. He destroyed the only thing that could get everyone back and it finally sunk in what happened. They were all gone. And unless they had some reality-defying solution, it would be for good.
***
FIVE YEARS LATER
***
Peter had moved on. Or at least he thought he did. For the first year after the snap, he put all his effort into finding a solution. He didn’t find one. He had to move on. Without MJ or Ned or even Flash, he didn’t have a reason to stay in the same grade. He finished high school early. He sped through college and when he turned eighteen, he revealed his identity to the world and became an official avenger.
He also became best friends with the new black panther and queen of Wakanda. They were both incredibly smart and the same age and were enhanced with the theming of an animal. She was the only person he could feel normal with. Well, It started out as best friends, it evolved a little beyond that.
They became an unstoppable duo, superheroing and not superheroing. They made a pretty good team in smash. Shuri always played Samus and Peter always played Kirby. Peter visited Wakanda when he couldn’t stand living in the city, they worked endless hours in her labs and alternated music choices to blast at ungodly volumes. It was some of the best times of his life.
He moved past Thanos and he finally felt kind of stable. That was until Scott Lang came back from the quantum realm with ideas that have already been thought of. Peter and Shuri had already tried time travel to get their loved ones back but for some reason, this was different. Scott came to them. Most people wouldn’t come to them, they were often underestimated for their intelligence and sometimes ego was a larger factor than actual intellect.
Ant-Man came to Peter and Shuri because right now, they were his best bet to get everyone back. At the moment, they were probably the smartest people on the planet. Sure it wasn’t as taboo as when they were teenagers but they were still too young to be respected as tech geniuses.
But Peter wasn’t ready to change everything again. He had finally found peace after years of trauma and loss. Of course he wanted everyone back but he didn’t know if trying again would just make everything worse. The world had moved on and accepted what happened. It had been over for years, reopening old wounds, potentially for nothing, did not sound fun.
That’s why he said no at first. Even the idea of Thanos still scared the shit out of him. Thanos was dead. At least this version of Thanos was. If they went back in time to get the stones… Thanos would still be alive. Peter thought he had seen the last of that dried eggplant asshole.
He worked on the time travel simulations after Shuri had gone to bed. Scott was staying in a guest room in the palace and Peter was all alone, with barely any hope, trying to solve time travel. Then he did it. At two AM when he was about to give up, he did it. The simulation worked. With the information Scott had about the quantum realm, they could use it to time travel and actually control where they went.
He could get them back… May, Tony, Ned, MJ… all of them. He could bring them back…
He spent the rest of the night crying with joy until he fell asleep on his desk. For once his sleep was peaceful. He dreamed of seeing them again.
***
“I figured it out.” He brought up, out of nowhere the first time they were all gathered for a hologram meeting with the avengers all around the world and the few in space. “Time travel. I figured it out. We can get the stones from the past and use them now to bring everyone back.”
There was silence for a moment as everyone thought about what he said.
“You… figured out time travel?” Natasha said and if Peter wasn’t mistaken, she sounded impressed.
“At least the method. It will take a few days to make the actual time machine. But it is possible and my simulations have been successful. We only have enough Pym particles for nine of us round trip excluding two tests. We’ll have to split up into teams to collect the stones so that we can get to them all. We can discuss everything at the compound after the machine is built so… avengers assemble I guess.” Peter said calmly, but he couldn’t keep a smile from his face.
“Well, you heard Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble.”
***
Peter decided not to go on the time-traveling adventure. They would need tech geniuses on both sides, just so nothing would go wrong. Shuri would go with Professor Hulk, Captain America, and Ant-Man to New York 2012, Carol would go with Rhodey to get the power stone from some planet in the past, punk Hawkeye and Black widow were going for the soul stone, and hobo Thor with Rocket, going to Asgard for the reality stone. The hulk had managed to get Thor out of his hole in New Asgard.
Hawkeye had tested the time machine by going into the past and saving some enhanced kids’ life. Someone named Piedro. He was apparently the magic girl’s brother. Well, she better be thankful when they bring her back from the dust.
“Everyone ready?” Peter said as he flipped all the switches and pressed all the buttons that he needed to get the large time machine set up. The avengers came into the room wearing their black and red quantum nano suits sans helmets.
The vibranium gauntlet that was to hold the infinity stones was waiting to be used beside him. It was hard to accept that for him, it was only going to be a minute before all of the stones were together. They were so close to bringing everyone back that it was almost impossible for Peter to wrap his head around it.
The Avengers took their places on the platform with Shuri bringing up the rear. Before she started on the steps, she leaned down to where he was sitting and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She smirked at how red his face turned. Natasha snorted at his reaction. Rocket scoffed something that Peter couldn’t quite hear.
“Stay safe your highness. And uh, I guess everyone else.” Peter smiled shyly. “Okay, sending you all off in 3… 2...1!” He twisted a nob and everything started to glow. In a flash, everyone was gone.
“And they should be back in… 3… 2… 1!” He talked to himself as a flash of light flooded the room and everyone was back. Well, almost everyone. Everyone’s helmets disappeared and Natasha had tears in her eyes. Clint wasn’t in the group that came back. There was a moment of silence between all of the Avengers and Shuri jogged towards Peter and almost suffocated him in a hug.
“Woah woah, what happened? You okay?” He said worriedly.
“It’s fine, there were just a few bumps in the road.” She sighed. She looked a little bruised and had a few bloody wounds, nothing too bad though.
“It was a sacrifice…” Natasha said weakly. “It was the only way to get the stone…”
The room went quiet once again. They weren’t prepared for a casualty.
***
They would mourn Clint later, they had all the stones and could finally get everyone back. Peter’s veins were filled with adrenaline. He had never been so excited in his life. He wanted everyone back so fucking bad, but so much had changed. Would they even recognize him now? He was in his early twenties, he had grown so much. Physically and as a person. God, he was probably taller than Tony now…
“I’ll do it.” Carol interrupted his train of thought. Oh yeah, they were trying to decide who would do the snap. “I can absorb the energy that tries to damage me. I’m the safest option.” She said definitively. Thor and Professor Hult seemed to try to argue but Carol talked them down. It wouldn’t hurt her as it would hurt them. She was practically made of infinity stone energy, if anything, it could make her stronger.
Peter had used an enclosed robot arm to place the stones in the dark vibranium gauntlet and it was ready to be used. Carol picked it up and put it on impatiently. They had already waited five years for this moment, none of them wanted to wait any longer.
Arcs of multi-colored light grew on Carol’s arm, she didn’t even wince. She closed her eyes and snapped. There was no more lead up, she just did it.
Peter was the only one that felt an immediate change. He felt what he could only describe as a sigh of relief. It was like all the background noise he tended to tune out was doubled. He just felt the presence of people. It worked. Oh god, it worked. After all this time, they did it. Holy fuck.
It wasn’t a dramatic moment, it was just something that they couldn’t wait to be done. There was no music to confirm that everyone was back, they just had to trust that it worked. It only took a moment for the changes to prove that they happened.
Peter’s phone rang. He whipped it out at the speed of light and sobbed a little when he saw who it was. He didn’t hesitate to answer.
“Peter? Is that you? Can you please tell me what’s going on?” May’s voice sounded a little bit shaky. It took Peter a moment to find his voice.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s me… It’s a little bit of a long story.” He quickly wiped a tear from his eye and shuffled out of the room of avengers. He didn’t what them staring at him. They probably also had a few calls to make. Including one to Clint’s family.
“Why does your voice sound so weird? Are you sick?” May asked.
“My voice is not what you should be focusing on. A whole lot has happened. You might want to sit down…” He said as he did the same. He knew May would be distraught for missing out on his life but it’s not like she had a choice.
“Peter!” Carol’s voice came frantically from the other room. “Kid! Get in the quinjet!”
“Sorry May, I’ve got to go. I’ll explain everything later!” Peter knew that if Carol was panicking, something must have really gone wrong. He ended the call and jumped up to sprint outside to the quinjet. He could vaguely sense the rest of the avengers following him, with a little bit of emphasis on Rocket’s scampering on all fours like the animal he looked like.
Carol scrambled to the pilot’s seat and everyone, even those who could fly independently, filed into the dark jet.
“Okay, can someone tell me what the hell is going on now?” Peter groaned as he stood behind Nebula who was in the co-pilots chair.
“Sorry kid, I guess I got ahead of myself.” Carol sighed. “I just wanted to bring everyone back, I didn’t think that the black order would come back too.”
“Including Thanos or not including Thanos?” Peter’s voice shook and may have risen a few octaves.
“We don’t know, but their ships are gathering above New York City.”
“We still have the infinity stone right? You can just dust them can’t you?”
“The gauntlet is practically unusable. Even made of vibranium it couldn’t stand the strength of the infinity stones.”
“You absorbed the first snap, right? Maybe you could just hold the stones or something.” He said frantically as they took off and headed to the city at full speed. It would only take them a few minutes to get there.
“I almost couldn’t contain the power from the first one with the gauntlet. If I used them without it, I’d explode.”
“Then explode near their ships,” Peter suggested.
“I’ll think about it.” She snorted in response. “I can deal with the ships and hopefully the black order is easily knocked off of the playing board. We need people dealing with civilians.”
“I’ll go. My weapons didn’t do much to these guys last time…” Rhodey said.
“Me too.” Natasha nodded. “Unless you want me to sneak on their ship and take hold of their weapons. I can do that too.”
“Can I come?” Antman asked as his mask flipped on his head. “I can help with small stuff!”
“Sure, go for it,” Carol said, accidentally becoming the leader instead of the other captain. Neither of them really seemed to care.
Peter stayed quiet as they discussed plans, he thought this was all over… He thought Thanos was gone but apparently, he might not be and that scared the shit out of him. Only minutes ago he was pretty damn happy that they brought everyone back but now it could all be undone again and Peter really wasn’t ready.
Okay maybe he was panicking a little but not one was noticing so it didn’t matter. Maybe he was just overthinking it, they had everyone back, it wouldn’t be like last time.
“Spidey, were you listening?” Shuri seemed to realize that Peter was having a little bit of trouble but didn’t point it out.
“Uh, kinda. You should repeat it just to make sure…”
“We’re splitting up the stones since we can’t exactly use them. Carol is taking the power stone since she’s the only one that can hold it, I’m taking the mind stone because I might be able to figure it out, Cap gets time, yadda yadda yadda. You get the Soul Stone. The guardian of the soul stone said that it was different from the other stones so we need someone special to protect it. Someone fast and with a danger sense. Anyway, we’re about there. Just make sure the stones are split up so that we can defeat Thanos without them. Got it? Cool.” Shuri rambled at a speed that only Peter could follow along with.
“Cool.” Peter put on his web-shooters and activated the nanites inside them. The nanotech left their containment and covered his body in his suit. He had adjusted the design of the iron spider suit and even got vibranium added to the mix. There were several lines and points in the suit that had a slight indigo glow from the metal but Peter kept the bright red sections. For the aesthetic. It was the perfect amalgamation of starktech and Shuri’s Wakandan technology with Peter’s own designs sprinkled throughout.
Carol gave him the little orange stone. It seemed too small to be one of the most powerful items in the galaxy. Even through his suit, it was warm. He could feel it’s energy. He put it in a pocket in his web-shooter. Normally the place had extra web fluid but he forgot to refill it. It managed to be the perfect size, thank god.
Then he remembered that people were sacrificed for this little glowing rock. Hawkeye… Nebulas sister… This tiny stone definitely was different than the others. The other ones could be stollen, this one had to be paid, and the price was a little steep by Peter’s standards.
He really hoped that the soul stone wasn’t affected by inflation and that it was always a soul for a soul. Maybe a thousand years ago it was a different cool rock for the magic glowing stone. Like a geode from a national park gift shop for the soul stone. He realized that he may have zoned out a little.
The quinjet hovered above the city and the avengers got ready to jump out. Flyers automatically paired up with non-fliers. Nebula stayed in the cockpit to man the jet while Carol paired herself up with Natasha. Rhodey had Rocket snarling on his shoulder with a gun as big as he was.
One by one, the pairs of avengers leaped out of the quinjet. Except for Captain America, who didn’t need anyone to jump with, he didn’t even have a parachute. From what Peter knew about Steve, that was completely normal.
Peter put his arm safely around Shuri’s waist and jumped out. Shuri whooped like she was on a rollercoaster as if they weren’t going into battle with a resurrected intergalactic warlord. It’s not like he hasn’t taken her web-slinging before, in much safer circumstances.
The city was smoldering and civilians were running as far away as they could. Tripping on debris on the way. Peter spotted people stuck in a crumbling building and as if they had a neurological connection, he and Shuri went to work.
There was a reason they were paired up so often. They were an extremely fluid team that was constantly on the same page. They never had to tell each other what to do, they just knew what they were doing. Okay, they weren’t perfect but they had worked together for years and they knew each other pretty well. Shuri usually depended on Peter to catch her when she fell and he usually did.
This was why when Peter threw Shuri into the window of the building, she didn’t swear at him. With both of his hands free and Shuri in the building with the trapped people, he was able to make a large net with his webs. Shuri helped the family jump into the webbing for Peter to escort to the ground, to run as far away from the carnage as fast as they could.
They carried on like this, staying away from the main fight and helping everyone that needed to be helped until a flash of light caught Peter’s attention. He and Shuri were on a building only a few buildings away from where the flash came from.
It was him. It was Thanos. Below him was Steve, bloody and bruised and broken. He looked dead but Peter hoped otherwise. The glowing green gem hovered in between the mad titan’s massive fingers. One stone down… five to go. Peter shuttered at the thought. The time stone was one of the worst ones for him to get first. Well, any of them would be terrible for him to have but Time was a really bad start.
The purple Hitler alien grinned smugly and sent the black order out to find the rest of the stones. He did so, very dramatically.
“We need to split up,” Peter said urgently.
“That’s what I was going to suggest. We’ve already been risking it with two infinity stone so close together. I wouldn’t be surprised if that asshole can smell them like a dog.” She hissed. She took a precious moment that they could’ve spent running by giving him an urgent kiss. “For luck?” she suggested as she jumped off of the roof. Peter rolled his eyes but started web-slinging the opposite way. He could already tell that he would need that good luck.
For the next half hour, everything was so chaotic that Peter wasn’t sure he could perceive it all. He was pretty sure that he pulled someone from under the debris of a collapsed building, he saved a kid from space Voldemorts telepathic attacks that were missing whatever avenger he was currently after.
One by one, Thanos collected the stones, whether through his minions or himself. He took down each avenger, one at a time. If they had a stone or not. They lost Space, Reality, Mind, and Power. Peter became the last Avenger with an infinity stone. He became the last avenger standing.
When he saw the yellow flash of light, he knew Shuri was caught and he stopped whatever he was doing. He cried out a few choice expletives, Hoping that the bastard had only taken the stone and not her life.
Peter was the last one left. If Captain Marvel couldn’t kick this guys ass, there was no way that he could. Everyone was down except for him. That was a lot of pressure. Not many things could distract him from what was happening in front of him but something managed.
There was a burning pain through his wrist, where he hid the soul stone. It didn’t distract him long, he could ignore it for a minute. But he had to do something. He was the only one that could do something.
So he stepped out into the light and let his nanite mask retract. He wanted his face to show. He wanted to breathe the burning air and he wanted to show Thanos that he wasn’t afraid. This was odd because he had been scared to death of Thanos for half a decade, to a point where he had panic attacks over it, but now, all he felt was rage. A hot burning rage that ignited his veins.
He snuck around the broken city in complete silence. His plan could only work if he had the element of surprise. He couldn’t go against all of the black order and Thanos at once. After an eternity of obsessively controlling his breathing and every movement he made, he was in position. He was right behind Thanos.
He took a breath. A moment to collect his thoughts before shit went down and he was going to get hurt. In… and out... In … and out. He lept into action.
In a flash, he flipped over the titan and grabbed blindly at the gems already in the gauntlet. Good news, he managed to get one. Bad news, it was the power stone and Thanos grabbed him by the throat before he was able to get away. His arm burned with the violet energy as Thanos inspected him with a chuckle that only a bad guy could utter.
“They gave a child the soul stone?”
“I know I look young but come on, I don’t look that young.” He wheezed and wasted what little breath he had. His arm still burned but it was fading, it was as if the soul stone and the power stone were canceling each other out.
“It is impressive how long you were able to evade us, but my will is inevitable, the fight is done now. Give me the stones or I will rip them from your corpse.” The titan said calmly as if he was actually giving Peter the choice and not threatening to murder him.
“I don’t think I will.” Peter rasped. “Jesus Christ, if you let me breathe I might be able to actually talk to you… is this normally how negotiations work with you?” Peter noticed his fist holding the power stone and in the same hand as the soul stone was starting to heat up. Not burning destructively like it was before, but with power that was starting to course through him.
Thanos tightened his grip and raised Peter to the sky, cutting off his air and displaying him thousands of feet in the air. That’s when he started to hear a distantly familiar noise. Like a sparkler on the fourth of July multiplied by a million. He could see golden sparks out of the corners of his eyes. Thanos’s expression tightened but he didn’t react to the portals that Peter knew were starting to appear on top of buildings around him.
“Kid?” A painfully familiar voice yelled from somewhere behind him. He was starting to blackout, his lungs begged painfully for air but he couldn’t even gasp. “Let go of him!”
Peter smiled in between dry gasping like a fish out of water. He saw his fist glowing the orange of the soul stone with a fiery intensity. He closed his eyes and reached out to the soul stone. He finally understood. The little glowing rock was alive. The Soul was the most alive thing in the universe. And it was just as angry as Peter was.
Peter’s vision went white. Not because Thanos had successfully choked him to death, but because of the blast. The energy from the soul stone in contact with the power stone caused a concentrated white-hot explosion that didn’t even affect Peter. He wasn’t blown back, he just landed on the roof of the building as Thanos and the black order all around him were blown away with ease.
He frantically turned around, desperately hoping to catch a glimpse of Tony but his spider-sense went off before he could see his long lost mentor. He jumped off the skyscraper before a blast of energy could catch him off guard.
The soul stone led him to the fallen avengers which were all thankfully, not dead. Peter reached out his hand and the cloudy orange energy lazily floated into their bodies like fog. Wounds faded and gasps of breath echoed from around them. Once Peter knew they were okay, he left.
He swung up to a vacant rooftop and took his first full look at the reinforcements. There were at least four armies, the Wakandan army led by T’Challa, The Asgardian Army led by Valkarie, a mess of aliens behind the resurrected guardians of the galaxy and a few hundred wizards in matching robes, led by Doctor Strange. That wasn’t even including all of the undusted avengers and other heroes that stood at the front lines.
Then, Peter saw a glint of red fly out of the corner of his eye and smiled as he turned his head towards it. Moments later, Tony landed in a fresh bleeding-edge suit, his helmet melted back faster than Peter thought that it could.
“Hey, Mr. Stark. It’s been a little while.” Peter was staying cool for now but he was so close to crying. Tony looked exactly like he did before, maybe a little smaller but that was probably on Peter’s side. He did grow a few inches over the years.
“Peter? Is that really you? You look so… mature.” The man joked and raised his eyebrow.
“I better be, It’s been five years after all... You have been gone for a hot second.” Peter grinned, just glad to see Tony alive and in front of him. He could hear Tony’s heartbeat and it was the most beautiful sound.
“Five years? That’s why you’re so tall.” Peter laughed at Tony’s reaction and couldn’t restrict himself any longer, he hugged his old man.
“I missed you… you don’t even know…” It took a moment but Tony hugged back, just as tightly.
“Thank god someone did, That strange guy seemed rather annoyed that I was with them on Titan.”
“Wait, shit,” Peter pulled back from the hug, “We’re in the middle of a fight. Hugs later okay, the big bad guy still has four singularities that are super powerful by themselves.”
“Yeah, that sucks. Want a piggyback ride to the middle of it?” Tony offered as his helmet folded back on.
“Sure.” Peter shrugged. Moments later, he stood on Iron Mans back like he was a magic carpet. Moments later he dove off to confront Thanos again. This time, he was aware of the power that he held.
The only thing life really needed was a soul, and Peter had the essence of the soul in his hand. No time, no reality, no mind would change the fact that he was in control of life. That’s why it was the only stone that needed a sacrifice, that’s why it required the ultimate sacrifice. Because it was more powerful than the power gem. It was alive and it was angry. It had a will and a connection to every living thing. Including Thanos.
Thanos, in all his strength and intelligence, was not immune to the soul stones rage. No time, no space, no reality, no mind could save him.
It was almost disappointing how easy it was. So anticlimactic. The raging energy ate through the titan like he was paper in a flame. The armor didn’t matter, the stones didn’t matter. In moments, he was gone. After Thanos was defeated, the black order was taken down easily.
It was over. It was finally over. Everything was back to normal.
***
Okay, maybe not back to normal but families were reunited, friends were back from the dead and every other problem seemed pretty minuscule. That’s why, after everyone had a nap, the Avengers had a massive party at the compound.
Everyone’s families were invited, May was there, Carol joyfully hung out with her cat goose, Maria, Monica, and Nick Fury, Sam Wilsons mom was there, she even took the time to make cookies, the Wakandan royal family was there and literally hundreds more people. Everyone was glad to be alive and there was an incredible amount of catching up that needed to be done.
Both T’Challa, May, and Tony were pretty stunned to see Shuri and Peter together but after a moment of thought, it really made sense.
Rocket was crying as he hugged a tree teenager and denied the crying bit. He also seemed happy that the rest of his friends were alive, except Nebula’s sister but most of his friends were undusted.
Thor was still kind of glum but a few conversations with Professor Hulk and Valkarie got him laughing heartily. His family may be gone but he still had his friends.
Peter reunited with Ned and MJ, which was weird at first because he was older than them, and MJ didn’t know that he was Spider-Man, she suspected but she didn’t really know. It didn’t take long for them to realize that Peter was still Peter even though he was a little taller now. He was still the same nerd who had to refrain from giving away Star Wars spoilers from movies and TV shows they didn’t know existed.
It wasn’t all good though, while Ned and MJ took advantage of being around every superhero they had ever idolized, May lowkey started flirting with Carol, and Tony was being hogged by Pepper and Happy, Peter stook in a corner, still trying to accept that everything was fixed.
Even though everyone was back now, he still felt odd. He guessed that everything didn’t just suddenly resolve after everyone was brought back to life. The snap didn’t erase what had already happened. Peter had still spent five years separated from all of his friends and family. He had spent so much time mourning only to get everyone back years later. Those feelings didn’t just disappear.
It felt like a dream that they were all back. His mind sending him a reminder of what they looked and sounded like but he knew they were real. He could hear their heartbeats and laughs across the room. They were alive and Peter was so happy, they missed so much.
Peter had changed while they were gone, he was still Peter, he was just more traumatized and more withdrawn. He had grown but he was still the same. He still liked to hang upside down to nap and he was still bad at cooking but not baking. He was just taller and more in tune with his powers and diagnosed with a panic disorder.
In the long run, those changes wouldn’t matter, at least not to people who truly cared. It would just take them a few weeks to get back into the flow of normal life with the people they thought they lost.
It was like half of the universe was Captain America-ed for five years where literally everything changed. Earth became part of the universe, known to other planets as a complete powerhouse instead of an easy steal for some galactic empire. There were more humans in space than ever before and the snap affected everything. Ecosystems, culture, interplanetary and international relations, governmental control, and practically every aspect of normal human life was changed forever.
Peter was shaken out of his thoughts with Shuri handing him a plate full of deserts. He immediately bit into a cookie.
“Something on your mind?” She asked as she stole the cookie from his hand. He didn’t even react.
“Yeah, I know everything’s all fixed and everyone is back, but I don’t know, it feels weird.” He shrugged and grabbed another treat from the plate, knowing that the cookie was lost.
“I know, a lot happened in five years. We already mourned them and cried for them, and poof, they’re back. It’s not bad it’s just, weird.” She nodded.
“I just don’t feel like the same person that they all knew. Like for them, it’s been five seconds and for us, it’s been five years.”
“Does it matter? You are you. No matter your age or what you’ve been through. People change and grow and they just have to get used to who you are now.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I can’t turn back time to be sixteen again, I definitely don’t even want to. I like the me that I am now, but it’s not the same as my friends and family know. Whatever, this is a party, not therapy.”
“That is true, it is time to avoid our problems like there’s no tomorrow!”
And they did.
***
It was three in the morning and Peter was still awake. Not because he wasn’t tired, he definitely was, but because he was afraid of what would come when he closed his eyes. Instead of sleeping, he was in Tony’s lab. He had spent so much time there during the five years of missing his mentor.
Working always helped, it kept him focused. It was calming and it came naturally for him. He played music in the background that was everything from comedy bands to musicals to modern rock and classic rock. It was so much easier to avoid his problems than deal with them.
“Hey Friday, turn down the music, I need to talk to you.” He said while he was pacing and not working on anything at all.
“Of course. What do you want to talk about?” The AI replied cheerfully. She seemed a lot happier since Tony returned.
“I think it’s time to change your primary user back to Tony. He’s alive again so the ‘EDITH’ protocol should be reset. That also means to give back the trust and all that. I can’t rely on my inheritance anyway…” He rambled.
“I’m sorry Peter but I cannot do that. Boss locked the ‘Old Man’ protocol for his retirement. He wants to keep ‘EDITH’ in place.”
“I mean he’s not dead so why would he keep it?”
“It’s getting a little late kid,” Tony spoke from behind Peter. He turned to the man and shrugged.
“Not a kid. I’m old enough to drink but it doesn’t even do anything so that sucks.”
“Believe me, that’s a good thing. You don’t even get hangovers?”
“No, I can’t even get high dude. Weed is useless.” He sighed. Tony laughed.
“You should seriously go to bed though it’s been a pretty long day.”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to.” Peter pouted.
“Poor baby.” Tony practically dragged Peter out of the workshop, it had been a pretty long day.
“I’m a little too tall to be a baby.” Peter yawned.
“You’re always going to be my baby,” Tony said surprisingly fondly.
“I’m taller than you.”
“Not emotionally,” Tony noted. Peter snorted in response as they wandered to his bedroom. In the five years of living there, it had barely changed. There were still three Star Wars posters on the wall and the desk was still a mess. The only thing that really changed was the comforter on the queen-sized bed. It had a little flying Iron Man pattern on it and little arc reactors. It used to be a solid scarlet.
“I love you, you know that right? I didn’t get to tell you before and I never want the opportunity to slip away ever again. You’ve been like a dad to me and I could never ask for anyone better. Shit, don’t tell Ben that…” Peter embraced Tony before he left for the night. Tony’s hand instinctually combed comfortingly through his kid’s hair.
“I love you too kid. It’s been rough for you lately but it’s okay now. You saved the universe, not many people can say that.”
“I know right, what are the perks of that? Do I get free food a McDonald’s or something? I mean Jesus got several holidays for saving mankind in some indefinable way, will my birthday become like a day off of school or something?” Peter joked as he stepped back.
“Now that’s an idea… who do you contact for making a holiday…”
“Okay no, don’t do that. Don’t you dare.” Peter said in a serious tone.
“Fine, good night Spider-Jesus.” Tony started to head back to his own room with Pepper.
“I’m not the one that came back from the dead, whatever. Good night Iron Jesus.” He sighed and flopped into bed. He was out like a light in moments. Even if he had a nightmare, he would always wake up to something better than any dream he could conjure. And that was enough.
Brighter Days - Chapter 12: (It Drags Me) Below The Surface
Thor looks briefly around to the crowd that has dispersed behind trees and walls and watch from a safe distance unhelpful and terrified, to the strained expression on Loki’s face, the paleness of his skin and the starker contrast of his bruises. How he has stopped breathing because it’s taking too much effort.
