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Peter woke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright as his eyes took in unfamiliar surroundings.
He’d been lying on coarse sand. Adrenaline pumped into his veins and he scrambled to his feet, turning in a full circle. There was nothing, no one around. Nothing but sand.
“Hello?” he called, beginning to panic. “Hello?” he called louder, upon getting no response. He would have kept calling, had something not caught his eye first. A flicker of red. So brief he almost missed it. He blinked, squinting.
A portal appeared, and a hand reached out to grab him, pulling him through. He cried out in surprise and stumbled onto a stone floor, finding himself standing in front of -
“Doctor Strange?” Peter couldn’t remember the guy’s real name, but it was him, alright. Relief flooded through him as he threw his arms around the ‘wizard’. Even though he didn’t know him at all, he was just glad to see a familiar face. His memories were foggy, but he felt very apprehensive about the situation.
“I was wondering when you would wake up,” Stephen replied stiffly, as Peter pulled away sheepishly. “Are you alright?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m okay,” he stuttered, clearing his throat as he looked down at himself. He still wore the suit Mr. Stark made for him - the one that he didn’t understand completely yet, but was still so incredibly awesome. He took a moment to look around. “Where are we?”
They stood in a temple of some kind. It was open; no walls, just a simple floor and roof built on four stone pillars. Beyond the temple was just sand. It seemed like the temple was the only thing for miles.
Out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw a few figures lying on the ground, beside the pillars. He could just barely make out that the first was Star Lord - that was his name, right? - and from the way he leaned against the pillar, Peter assumed he was asleep. The large man with the tattoos lay nearby, and beside him lay a...tree with a face. A young woman, who he recognized from the fight at the airport, lay on the ground a few feet closer. Another young woman with antenna of some kind lay near to her.
“The Temple of Ātman,” Stephen replied patiently, after making sure Peter really was okay, and turned and reached his hand out for his cloak, which flew to him. “I know you probably don’t remember very much,” he continued, taking a few steps toward the center of the temple and sitting cross-legged on the ground. In front of him was the necklace he usually wore; the one that kept the time stone. Peter’s eyes widened.
The Infinity Stones...Thanos managed to collect five, because Stephen had given him the time stone...only to save Tony’s life. Stephen had...faded. Thanos then disappeared to get the stone from Vision. Tony had told him not to worry, because the Avengers could fight him off. They’d never let Thanos get to Vision. But...But after a few minutes, Peter had started to feel sick. He was scared. He was crying and Tony was telling him he’d be alright. And...that was all he remembered.
Slowly, he took a few steps forward, swallowing, and got on the floor across from Stephen. He was quiet for a long time, watching the sorcerer as he sat with his eyes closed. “Are we dead?” he asked softly; so quietly, that when Stephen opened his eyes they were full of pity and slight guilt.
“No, kid,” he sighed, snapping his fingers quietly. The cloak removed itself from Stephen’s shoulders and wrapped itself around Peter protectively. It was oddly comforting. “We’re stuck inside of the soul stone. Thanos...he collected all of the stones. Like I said before, he could kill half the population with a single snap if he’d had all five.” He ran a hand through his hair, looking tired. Peter wondered how long he’d been working here, alone. “He snapped. But there’s something different about the soul stone...it sends the spirits it takes here, inside of it. In my visions, trying to figure out a way for us to win, I had to give up the time stone, but I’m still not quite sure why.”
Peter glanced at the others, thinking over the words. Instinctively, he pulled the cloak closer to him, and it complied. “Okay...um…” he cleared his throat, eyebrows furrowing as he thought. “How do we get out?”
Stephen opened his mouth to reply, then shut it, holding a hand up. It was silent. A small breeze blew part of his hair. Suddenly, he turned to the right and opened a portal, pressing his lips together. “Doc, we got nothing!” A voice exclaimed from the other side. Stephen sighed, leaving the portal open.
“Come take a break, then.”
The man with metal wings that Peter had fought at the airport stepped through, placing his goggles atop his head. Behind him, the man with the metal arm stepped through too. Peter stared up at them, wide-eyed.
“The king’s nowhere to be found,” Bucky sighed, tossing his gun on the ground.
“Yeah, and you think it’d be easy to find some kinda glowing podium,” Sam added, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. Simultaneously, the two men realized Peter was there. “Whoa, the kid’s here, too?” Peter managed a small wave, getting to his feet. The cloak pulled free and flew back to Stephen.
“U-Uh, yeah, I am,” he said, glancing down at Stephen, who had his eyes closed again. “I’m Peter, by the way.”
“Perhaps he is the key to finding that podium,” the doctor murmured, though he didn’t open his eyes. Peter hoped he wasn’t talking about him. Bucky had gone to sit beside the nearest pillar, and Sam joined him. Peter glanced back at Stephen one more time, then jogged over to sit beside them.
“H-Hey, guys? Do you know what’s going on, exactly? Because I’m very confused and I’d really like to not be stuck in a tiny stone the rest of my life.”
The two exchanged a slightly amused look. “We’re in the stone,” Bucky replied, shaking his head as he stared out at the sand. “Stuck on that gauntlet that purple bastard had. Who knows what he’s using it for now.”
“Doc says there should be a podium somewhere here,” Sam continued, looking at Peter. “That’s our ticket out. Something about…” He shook his head lightly, obviously trying to remember. He waved a hand dismissively. “Well, anyhow, we know the least about the soul stone. But Doc’s convinced there’s something to get us out of here.”
“The doctor doesn’t even have all the answers,” Bucky added. “And if he doesn’t, then we’re definitely not going to.”
Peter stared down at his lap, mulling it over. How much time had passed since the spaceship took off? How long had it been since he’d seen May or Ned? They were no doubt worried about him by now. And here he was, stuck in some glowy stone on a Titan’s gauntlet that they didn’t really know how to escape.
“...Excuse me.” The young woman with the antenna was kneeling beside the unconscious, muscly man. Peter wracked his brain for her name, but couldn’t find it. She met Peter’s gaze, seemingly glad to see another familiar face, knowing for sure he was friendly.
“Don’t worry, miss, everything’s gonna be okay,” Bucky said carefully, shaking his head lightly, obviously trying to comfort her. “What’s your name?”
“Mantis,” she replied softly, blinking down at her friend. She hesitated for a moment, then placed her hand gently on his forehead. The tips of her antenna glowed, then he sat upright with a deep gasp. “Drax, it is okay, it is just me!”
Drax’ chest moved up and down quickly, but he calmed relatively quickly. His gaze shifted to Star-Lord, then to behind him, to see Stephen. He glanced at the three sitting a few feet away, and recognized Peter immediately. “What happened?” he groaned, rubbing his head.
Mantis had moved to the tree next, placing a hand on his forehead. Like Drax, he awoke abruptly and shouted, “I am Groot!” She gave him a smile, and he calmed down. Next she placed a hand on the forehead of the woman Peter had seen at the airport, but didn’t really know. The woman sat up quickly and red mist of some kind surrounded her. Mantis blanched but acted quickly, placing a hand on the woman’s arm to calm her down. She did, and the most disappeared.
“Are you alright, Wanda?” Sam asked quietly, and Peter glanced at him before looking back at her.
“Fine,” she replied, getting to her feet quickly and walking over to one of the pillars, back to them. She looked very upset. Sam and Bucky exchanged a look, and Bucky got up to talk to her. Peter shot a confused glance at Sam, who simply shook his head, while Mantis moved toward Star Lord.
It took even less time for him to awake. When he did, he was on his feet in seconds, confusion and anger already present in his expression. “Quill! It is okay!”
Quill turned in a slow circle, taking everyone in. His gaze lingered on Stephen for a long moment, then to Peter. They locked eyes, and the teenager was beginning to feel uncomfortable; he could see the grief plain in the other’s eyes.
“Gamora,” he croaked, finally looking away. Mantis helped him sit back down, choking down sobs. Peter still couldn’t get over how weird - but cool - her powers were.
Suddenly it was quiet. Stephen was twitching and fading in and out again, floating a few inches above the ground, like he had before. Everybody got to their feet in alarm, and Peter found his legs carrying him over to the center of the temple, reaching out to the doctor. “Doctor Strange-?”
As Peter touched his arm, Stephen gasped and fell back down, eyes open and seemingly very aware of all the eyes on him. Upon seeing Peter’s worried gaze, he sighed heavily and got to his feet. “I saw King T’Challa,” he said, addressing everyone. Peter blinked - wasn’t he the one who wore the cat suit? “He is...not alone.”
Judging by the confused glances all around, Peter was glad to know he wasn’t the only one who had no idea what that meant. Stephen swallowed and created another portal, concentrating. Peter peered through it, everyone else not far behind. Sure enough, the man in the cat suit - minus the mask, for now - was standing at some sort of altar. Lying on a raised platform was a pretty woman with fiery hair and green skin, unconscious. T’Challa, confusion plainly etched onto his face, was checking her vitals.
“Gamora,” Quill whispered incredulously. Drax, Mantis, and Groot all stared on with shocked looks on their faces.
Peter exchanged a look with Stephen. T’Challa glanced up and saw them through the portal, surprised but not startled. “Come on,” Stephen ushered them through; there was no use in staying at the temple now. This was where they needed to go. Quill was first, and everyone trailed warily behind, Stephen being the last and closing the portal behind them.
“Are you okay?” Peter asked carefully, glancing at the woman as T’Challa stared at them, obviously surprised to see he wasn’t the only one here.
“I am fine,” he assured them, getting up and moving out of the way respectfully as a shocked Quill approached her. “She is breathing, but it is shallow. She is cold. I don’t know how long she has been here.” Quill sat on the edge of the platform, taking her hand. The cloak flew off of Stephen’s shoulders and draped itself around Gamora.
Bucky took T’Challa’s hand, shaking it. “I’m glad to see you here,” he sighed, as Stephen approached the altar. Sam wasn’t far behind, and Wanda even smiled briefly at him. Peter glanced back at Drax, who was arguing with Groot, while Mantis tried to break it up, and slowly moved up the steps to stand on the opposite side of the platform.
“This is Gamora?” he guessed softly, looking over at the other with as neutral an expression he could make, but he was sure Quill could see the pity in his eyes.
“Y-Yeah, that’s her,” he replied, wiping one of his eyes hastily. “Sorry, kid. I…I put us all here. It was my fault. Your dad was telling me otherwise but I attacked the purple bastard anyway.”
Peter blinked. Wait, his dad? “What?” he asked, obviously confused, then felt heat rush to his cheeks.Tony. “N-No, he’s...he’s not my dad, he’s…” But who was he kidding? Weren’t they pretty close by now? They’d certainly surpassed a simple internship. He sighed, deciding to just let it go for now. “It’s okay,” he promised, shaking his head. “You were upset. You’re human and you were grieving, you know?”
“Actually, I’m only half human,” Quill pointed out, but shook his head anyway. “Thanks, but it’s still my fault. I should have listened.”
“It is difficult for you to do that,” Drax pointed out, leaning against one of the pillars.
“Yes. Even though you should be the best at listening, because you are captain,” Mantis added.
“I am Groot!”
“Okay, okay, I get it!” Quill snapped, then pointed a finger at Groot. “And watch your mouth, young man, or so help me I will find soap in this goddamn wasteland!” Groot smirked. Peter blinked.
“Whoa, wait, you can understand him?”
Quill nodded, shrugging a shoulder. Peter mouthed a silent “whoa” and decided to leave them to it. He headed up the stairs, where Stephen was standing alone. There was a podium, like he’d said before. There was some kind of message inscribed on it, in a language that Peter didn’t recognize, scribbled rather hastily from the looks of it. Stephen had one hand on the podium gently, eyes closed. He sensed Peter coming, however, and opened his eyes to look at him.
“I don’t recognize this language, or what it says,” he sighed frustratedly. “It seems to be an incantation of some kind. But it...seems too easy.” He seemed apprehensive about the words and scribbles, and Peter ran his eyes over it. It did look pretty...ominous. And he couldn’t help but agree.
“So, you think we need to speak these words and it’ll teleport us out of here, or something? Like...Like Harry Potter?”
Stephen gave him a hard look, then looked back at the scribbles. “I suppose it’s similar. I believe they may be directions of some kind.”
“Excuse me.” The two turned around to see Wanda, standing a few feet behind them. She had a stony expression on her face, hands tucked into dress pockets. “May I look at the message? Perhaps I can make it out.”
Peter glanced at Stephen, who nodded and stepped out of the way. The boy did the same, watching Wanda with a sort of fascination. She approached the podium, eyes scanning over the words. It was quiet for a long moment. Then, “Most of it is in Latin.”
“What does it say?” T’Challa asked quietly.
“'Ut nunc autem hic estis omnium carorum post tergum reliquit: In order to be present here, you have all left behind loved ones.’” She looked like she had been about to continue, when a brilliant beam of light shot out of the podium. It showed a glitching picture of Steve sitting in the dirt, and as Peter looked back, Bucky’s face hardened. Wanda shook her head lightly. The picture changed to a warrior woman he didn’t recognize, looking shocked, but T’Challa looked away quickly.
It kept changing. Next, it was Rhodey, looking confused. Sam clenched his jaw. Then it was a raccoon, sitting on a log with his head in his hands. Quill, Drax, and Mantis swallowed. Groot looked like he was going to cry. And last…
“Mr. Stark…” Peter moved closer to the image, feeling Stephen’s eyes on him as he did so. Tony sat on a rock, shaking hand covering his mouth. Peter had never seen him look so...broken. His breathing quickened and he opened his mouth to say something when the image disappeared completely. “No!”
“It’s alright, kid. It’s not real,” Stephen assured him warily, glancing at Wanda. Peter blinked and stepped back, running a hand through his hair as he took a shaky breath. “What’s the rest of it?”
Wanda approached the podium again, this time apprehensively. “Ut discedere te necesse est accipere virtutem lapis.” She paused. “In order to leave, you must disable the stone’s power.” She turned to Stephen. “What powers the stone?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted, addressing everyone. “I know the time stone like the back of my hand, but...nobody knows much about the soul stone, except for the fact that it takes souls.”
Takes souls? Something turned in Peter’s mind, and he frowned, thinking.
“Well, it’s gotta be around here somewhere, right?” Bucky guessed, glancing around the altar. “I mean, there’s nothing besides this place and that temple we were at.”
“Maybe it’s another stone,” Sam scoffed sarcastically, “buried underneath some of that sand somewhere. It’ll take years to find it, but then the great ancient podium will congratulate us, so whoopie.”
“Or…” Peter interrupted, staring at Quill and Gamora. “Or it’s a soul.” He blinked, then turned to face Stephen. “Don’t you remember? The blue lady...she said Thanos killed Gamora, right? But if she died regularly, she wouldn’t be here.” He could see realization seeping into Stephen’s eyes, but he kept going. “He didn’t want to kill her. He didn’t! But whoever was guarding the soul stone…”
“Made him sacrifice someone he loved,” Stephen finished, watching realization on everyone else’s, including Quill’s. “That was the only way to obtain the soul stone. To make sure that he was worthy to wield it.”
There was quiet for a few moments. “Well, he’s definitely not worthy,” T’Challa murmured softly, shaking his head.
“And,” Wanda added quietly, “if we can take Gamora with us, then that destroys the use of the soul stone. It cannot function without Thanos’ sacrifice.”
Quill blinked in surprise. Obviously, none of them had been thinking of leaving her behind, but they also hadn’t thought she was the key to their escape. “Mantis,” he asked, gesturing to Gamora with a nod. He got to his feet as Mantis approached her. She looked up at Peter, who gave an encouraging nod. She exhaled slowly and looked down, placing a gentle and hesitant hand on the other woman’s forehead.
“Wake,” she whispered, antenna glowing. There were a few moments of quiet. A few moments of fear that she may not stir, everyone holding their breath. And then her hand twitched.
“Gamora! Come on, you can do it!” Quill urged, but resisted going any closer to let Mantis concentrate. She had her eyes closed. Obviously, this was much more difficult for her to do than waking anyone else from before.
Her eyes shot open, gasping deeply. Mantis stumbled back, Drax catching her before she hit the ground. Obviously, it had taken a lot out of her to bring Gamora back. Peter frowned, hoping she was okay - but it was still cool.
Quill was beside her quickly. “How do you feel? Do you think you can walk?”
Gamora frowned, blinking hard, and slowly pushed herself up, crying out in pain and surprise. She grasped her ribs, then shook her head. “Ribs. I think they’re bruised. Legs don’t feel too great, either.” Quill frowned, about to reply, when the altar - no, everything - began shaking.
“We have to get out of here!” T’Challa exclaimed, walking briskly over to Gamora, who was just now realizing how many strangers were around her. Quill gently picked her up, bridal-style. Drax threw Mantis over his shoulder, holding her protectively.
“The stone’s power is disabled!” Wanda yelled as they all began running, at least away from the altar. As soon as Peter and Stephen stepped foot onto the sand, the whole thing collapsed, sinking into the sand.
“Look out!” Bucky yelled, pointing up at the sky. Little fragments of some kind were falling like shooting stars. They looked like glass.
“The sky is falling!” Sam yelled back, holding his arms up to protect his head, and Peter made a note to remember how cool that reference was, because it was true. The fragments were leaving parts of the sky, and bits and pieces of the sky were simply missing.
“I am Groot!” Groot shouted, stopping in his tracks. He reached forward, grabbing all of his companions and pulling them closer to him. Once they were all huddled together, he created a dome out of...himself to protect them.
Peter stared up at the branches around him. “Whoa,” he whispered, looking over at Quill. “Can I hang out with you guys more often?”
T’Challa, Sam, and Quill cracked grins. After a few moments, it was almost silent. “I am Groot,” Groot said softly, slowly but surely retracting the dome and returning to himself. When Peter opened his eyes, he noticed no sand. Instead, there was grass, and dirt.
Everyone slowly, and warily, got to their feet, looking around. A branch broke. “Who’s there?” A familiar voice called, stepping out from the trees.
“Steve!” Bucky exclaimed, relief plain on his face. Steve looked like he’d seen a ghost, going paler than a sheet.
“You’re okay…” he replied incredulously, eyes roving over each of them, lingering on Peter for a brief moment. The teenager swallowed. “You...You all turned into dust.”
“Actually, we were simply transported to the soul stone,” Stephen interjected, nodding. Peter sighed quietly; this guy was seriously worried about technicalities. “We’re alright. The soul stone should be out of commission for a little while.” Stephen gestured to Gamora and Mantis. “These two need medical attention. I suppose you’ve been in hiding?”
Steve blanched, then nodded, composing himself quickly. “You’ve been gone for about a week. Thanos hasn’t made another move quite yet, but we’ve all been camping out here trying to figure out a plan.” He turned, gesturing for them all to follow, which they did.
Things were quiet as they walked, Sam and Bucky beside Steve. Peter almost asked Steve about Tony, but didn’t want to start anything. As they approached a clearing, they found a little camp, drawings in the dirt. The raccoon was the first to see them, complete surprise on his face.
“You bastards,” he whispered, like he couldn’t believe it.
“I am Groot!”
“Good to see you, too.” Quill walked forward, laying Gamora down, resting her head on a log. She winced, and although it seemed the raccoon couldn’t wrap his mind around it, he glanced over his shoulder.
“Banner, get your ass over here!” A man with curly hair emerged from one of the tents, confusion on his face as his eyes scanned the heroes, lastly ending on Gamora. He blinked, whispering “alright then” under his breath, that Peter could just barely hear. He knelt beside her, as Drax placed Mantis on the other side, telling Bruce - Peter was pretty sure that was his name; he’d heard it from Tony before - that Mantis just needed to rest. Groot sat on the edge of the log.
Next to emerge from one of the tents was the warrior woman Peter saw in the image the podium showed them. She wore the same expression that she had in that image - shock. “Okoye,” T’Challa muttered, a relieved smile making its way onto his face. She approached him slowly, as if she didn’t believe he was really there.
“My king,” she said finally, looking at him for a moment before he pulled her into a hug.
Rhodey came out of the tent next. Upon seeing Sam, he stopped in surprise. Sam spread his hands, as if to say, “What can you do?” Rhodey grinned widely and went to shake his hand firmly.
“Good to have ya back, Sam.” He did a double take, then looked at Peter, smile fading. “Peter...Tony is in there. Hasn’t come out in a few days.” His expression looked pained. Peter swallowed.
“Th-Thank you.” Peter slowly made his way toward the tent, stopping just outside of it. “M-Mr. Stark?” There was silence. “Mr. Stark, it’s me. Please.”
After a few seconds, the cloth moved. Peter stepped back, watching wide-eyed, and Tony stepped out. He looked awful. Hair matted and dusty, dark shadows under and around his eyes. Peter couldn’t tell if they were bruises or just natural. Tony stared at him like he were a ghost.
“Mr. Stark, I can explain - oof!” He’d been about to speak when Tony had his arms around him, holding him to his chest tightly and protectively. Peter shut his eyes, hugging him back. This was familiar. This was home.
Maybe Quill wasn’t too far off with his assumption.