Chapter Text
“Is he gonna be okay?”
That was the first thing Peter had asked when he found Doctor Strange in the aftermath of the Battle of Earth. He watched as Wong was portalling Tony to Wakanda, and Peter caught the barest glimpse of his scorched, ruined body. He’d nearly rushed to his mentor right then and there, but the Cloak of Levitation reached out and grabbed his arm, holding him back.
“Honestly, I’m not completely sure.” Strange admitted, which only made Peter’s stomach sink more. “He has a much better chance in Wakanda. Their medical tech is far beyond anything else in the world.”
Peter watched the last of Tony vanish into the portal, and saw other sorcerers opening portals to various spots on Earth, most of which he was willing to bet were hospitals. Strange looked at him a little closer, and Peter could have sworn he sounded genuinely concerned when he asked, “Are you all right?”
He was lucky enough to have less injuries than most of the other people on the battlefield. His nose had stopped bleeding a while ago, and though a few of his ribs were probably broken, he could already feel them starting to heal.
“I’m fine.” Peter said. “They aren’t going to let me go with Tony, are they?”
Strange shook his head. “I doubt it. They only have so much space for the injured in Wakanda, and you’ve seen how many people were in this battle.”
Peter nodded sadly. His fear for Tony’s life was like a 1000 pound weight on his chest, but he kept it hidden. He didn’t want to embarrass himself by losing it in front of Strange.
Then, his thoughts drifted to his other parental figure. The other parental figure that had to be worried sick about him.
“Hey,” Peter asked. “Do you think you might be able to portal me back to my apartment?”
Strange sighed. “I hate to break it to you, but there’s a good chance it isn’t even your apartment anymore.”
“I-I know. I just...need to see if I can find my aunt.”
Understanding dawned on Strange’s face, and he gave Peter a small smile before beginning to do the yellow sparkly thing.
---
Peter was saddened, but not surprised, when he saw that his aunt wasn’t in their old apartment. Strange had portalled him to the roof of his old building, so he could get back into his regular clothes that were underneath the two suits he’d been wearing. He’d get some new ones later since his wallet was thankfully still tucked in his pocket. There was only about thirty dollars in it, but it would be enough to get him a t-shirt and some sweatpants probably.
He wasn’t able to completely hide his disappointment when a young woman that clearly wasn’t May opened the door to his old apartment. She was probably in her mid to late twenties, and though May looked younger than she was, it 100% wasn’t her.
“Did you just...come back?” She asked hesitantly.
Peter nodded quickly. “I’m really sorry ma’am, but I’m trying to find my aunt. She lived here about five years ago, and her name was May Parker. Do you know where she is?”
The woman sighed. “I’m sorry, kid. My husband and I bought this place from a guy named Wyatt Matthews. Does that name mean anything to you?”
Peter shook his head, the fear he’d been repressing growing larger. But before it could overtake him, a tiny voice screamed, “MAMA!”
A little baby girl toddled forward, grabbing onto the woman’s pants. She couldn’t have been much older than one, and her curious and bright smile was infectious. It gave Peter the sense of happiness that he so desperately needed.
“Luna!” The woman exclaimed, picking the baby up. She turned back to Peter, an exasperated grin on her face. “Come on in. My husband and I might be able to help you out.”
“Oh, no.” Peter said, taking a step back. “Sorry, today is just...insane. I don’t want to put anything on you or-”
“I’m not turning away a teenager who just came back from the dead.” She said as Luna babbled something unintelligible. “Come on, before another maniac snaps his fingers.”
---
Tony had woken up a total of three times in the last month.
The first time, he’d been coherent for a good two minutes. He’d seen Pepper beside his bed, still looking as radiant as ever, even in sleep. A moment later, she yawned, her eyelids fluttering at first before shooting open when she saw Tony was awake.
Tony managed a brief smile at her, and she rushed over, smothering his face with kisses. He completely ignored the pain, just basking in the love from his wife.
“We did it, Pep.” He croaked. “We did, right?”
Pepper gave him a teary chuckle. “Yeah, honey. We did.”
That was the last thing he heard before he drifted back into a painless sleep.
---
“ Mr-sorry- Dr Strange?”
“Hey, kid. How are you doing?”
“Fine, I guess. How’s Mr. Stark?”
“Well, he woke up a couple days ago, if that’s-”
“He did?! Is he okay? Is he there right now? Can I talk to him?”
“Slow down, Parker. He’s out again now, which is to be expected given how severe his injuries were.”
“But-he is okay, right?”
“He’s fine. He only woke up for a few minutes, but I don’t think he got a chance to see that he’s missing an arm.”
“He’s WHAT?!”
“Jesus, I didn’t even know teenage male voices could go that high. Don’t worry, all right? He’s getting a prosthetic installed in a couple days.”
“Oh. O-okay. That’s good. Great.”
“What about you? I think that if he wakes up for long enough next time, he’ll be wanting to know where you are. If you’re safe, and all that.”
“I’m fine. I went back to my apartment, and there was this couple and their baby living there. They let me stay there for a night, then I looked for the guy they bought the place from. He was in Boston, so I went up there on a refugee bus and found the guy. He told me that May survived the first snap and thinks she’s somewhere in Michigan, which makes sense because she has some really good friends up there. So I’ve been going through all the displacement shelters for the last couple weeks and-”
“Woah, Peter, remember to breathe.”
“S-sorry. Are you sure you can’t use your magic to find her?”
“Not without any of her DNA. I’m sorry, kid.”
“It-it’s okay. I-Oh, shit, I have to go. I’m on a pay phone in this displacement shelter in Ann Arbor, and there’s a huge line. I’ll try to get a cell phone, but it’s kind of hard to get one of the donated ones.”
“All right. Good luck, kid.”
---
The second time Tony woke up, he was overcome with revelations. He was awake for 15 minutes, and his right side felt...lighter.
Then, as Pepper stood up and looked at him, he turned his head, and he sucked in a breath.
It was gone. His right arm was completely, utterly, irrevocably gone.
“Tony.” Pepper said slowly. “They didn’t have a choice. I’m so sorry.”
“It-” He rasped. “It’s fine. I’ve been worse.”
It was a blatant lie, but Tony didn’t care. Pepper gave him a small smile. “I see teetering on the edge of death hasn’t changed you.”
Pepper then explained to him that he was having a procedure the next day to install a prosthetic. He was relieved to hear that Morgan was safe, and that Happy was watching over her. She adored him, and though he’d never admit it, Happy had a soft spot for the little girl.
But as exhaustion started to take him, he remembered something. Someone.
His lips moved, but no sound came out of them. The last thought he had before going back to sleep swirled around in his head.
Where the hell is Peter?
---
Ann Arbor
Westland
Detroit
Sterling Heights
Flint
Lansing
Jackson
Bay City
Midland
Mt. Pleasant
Where the hell are you, May?
---