Chapter Text
Peter opened his eyes and found himself in the imitated lab at the table with The Stones. He bowed his head and breathed out a huge sigh of relief, “Thank God.”
“Yeah, sounds about right to me,” Power said. “Though maybe you should be thanking us.”
“Power,” Mind chided. “Not now.”
“I’m kidding,” Power said. “And the kid knows it.”
“I do,” Peter said, raising his face. “Thank you all, though. You kept me alive, even when I didn’t want to be alive, and I’m grateful.”
“We are so, so sorry that happened to you, Peter,” Mind said. “If we could have saved you from that pain, we would, at any cost.”
Peter forced a smile. “I know. What happened was my fault. I just didn’t recognise what it was. I am so attuned to Bucky that I didn’t think about the fact I was in a different world and that Bucky there—James—was a threat.” He shook his head, marvelling at his own stupidity. “I was just happy to see him.”
“Which is stupid all by itself,” Power muttered. “He’s an—”
“No!” Soul said, pointing a finger at him and looking far more intimidating than her small stature and apparent youth should allow. “Bucky is a good man that has done everything he could for Peter. He willingly tied his soul to Peter’s, even though it could kill him.”
Power opened his mouth but she jabbed a finger and he fell silent again.
“Soul is right,” Time said. “We owe Sergeant Barnes more than we can ever repay for all he’s done for Peter, and you know it.”
Power looked to Peter who nodded and said, “You know they’re right. None of my family are assholes. I know they’ve made mistakes and that really bothers you, but they have also saved my life in all ways that count. I love them.”
Power grimaced. “Fine, fine, I’ll keep my mouth shut in future.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Peter said, though he could clearly imagine the celebration from his family if they knew Power was going to take a vow of silence.
Power imitated zipping his lips and throwing away the key.
Peter scoffed. “Real mature, Power.”
“It’s not, but let’s enjoy the quiet while it lasts,” Reality said, and Peter laughed. “How are you, Peter?” she asked.
Peter blew out a huge breath. “Honestly, I’m exhausted, but I am so, so glad I’m not in that kind of pain anymore. Because that was… I’ve never felt anything like it.”
“Understandably,” Time said. “It was a pain you never should have been in a position to experience. No one should. No one else could survive the damage done to you by that bullet.”
“They are treating you now,” Mind said. “They have given you Captain Rogers painkillers while they synthesize some for your particular needs.”
“So you are still in some pain,” Soul said softly.
Peter ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, it hurts, but, man, it’s so much better than it was. That was… Wow.”
“We know,” Soul said, her eyes sad.
“Okay, so what else is happening out there?” he asked. “What’s happened to James? He was locked down when I lost the connection.”
“He’s still locked down, as far as we know,” Mind said. “And Ms Maximoff is restrained, or her body is, and Pietro is also in a cell.”
“Is it weird they have cells here?” Peter asked. “I mean, we don’t have them at home, and I don’t think we did in the old compound.”
“Actually you did, and you do,” Mind said. “You’ve just never been shown them.”
Peter blinked. “Seriously? But why?”
Power made a sound of annoyance but looked away when Peter gestured him to speak.
“Because of situations like this,” Mind said. “The Avengers have all faced various enemies and therefore have facilities to lock them up should it happen again.”
“Oh. Okay. I mean… yeah, that makes sense. And it’s definitely useful. I guess it’s just weird our home has a dungeon.”
Mind chuckled. “Do you really think it’s weird or perhaps is it a little… cool?”
Peter laughed. “Cool? Wow, Mind, you’ve gone native. But yeah, it is a little cool when you think super-villain instead of freedom fighter.”
“I agree,” Mind said. “Though… Power, do you have something to say?”
Power had been shifting around in his seat, grimacing as if he was being forced to speak to Bucky.
He made a show up unzipping his lips and said, “Okay, I thought I could get this done under the radar, save you needing to get involved, kid, but this guy is… well, damaged.”
“What guy?” Peter asked and then narrowed his eyes. “What have you done, Power?”
“Me? I’ve done nothing but… You’ve got to remember, kid, we’ve technically been yours for less than a year of chronological time, so I had irons in the fire before you, things I was doing. He was one of those things. I thought I could help him and keep this world safe, so I told him to run and I’ve been keeping him company while green and blue chased him.”
“Green and blue?” Soul asked, eyes narrowed.
“Thanos’ daughters. They’ve been chasing the poor guy for a while.”
“Gamora and Nebula?” Peter asked. “And Star Lord? You mean they’ve been chasing him all this time?”
Power nodded. “Yep, because he’s got my gem, and obviously their Daddy wants it.”
“God,” Peter breathed. “Poor Star Lord. That’s got to be hell.”
What Peter wasn’t saying, but he was pretty sure Power would know anyway, was that it had to be tough for Peter Quill to be on the run for all that time with Power for company. He loved Power, but he was aware he wasn’t the easiest person to get along with for everyone else. His love language, if it could be called that, was tough love: which often translated to antagonism and insults. If he had been treating Peter Quill to that for years…
“Poor Star Lord…” he said again and then shook his head. “So, he’s here?”
Power nodded. “And your family have rolled out the welcome wagon. I think maybe if you could talk to him, too, it’d help.”
“Okay, sure,” Peter said. In truth, he was exhausted and still in considerable pain, but he wasn’t about to cry off when someone needed him as much as Peter Quill did.
With no more effort than combing his hair, Peter withdrew from their presence and into his body and then rose his consciousness up and away. He didn’t stop to look closely at what was happening to his body in the midst of the surgery, but he did note May sitting at his side and holding his hand.
He passed out of the med bay, moving through walls and rooms, following the sense of his father until he found him outside on the paved area they’d spent evenings in his own world.
The Benatar was parked beside the Quinjet, and Tony and Steve were a few inches ahead of the others that flanked him, and Peter Quill stood opposite him, shifting from foot to foot with nervous energy, hands tapping a beat on his legs.
Power was right… Peter Quill was damaged.
Peter wondered how much of the damage was down to Power.
He stood over the scene, wondering how exactly to help. Power had said he should talk to him, which he was capable of doing with Mind, even without a soul connection, but he wasn’t sure adding a new voice to Quill’s mind was going to help. But if he wasn’t talking, how was he going to help?
However, Steve’s drew his attention as something fell into place for him and his eyes bugged. “No! Is he talking to you?”
“Who’s he?” Quill asked.
“Power…” Tony breathed. “God, he’s got him in his head.”
“Huh, not as dumb as I—”
“Power!” Peter snapped. “We literally just talked about this!”
“I zipped my lips for you, kid, out of respect, but you’re not silencing me when I am face to face with them.”
Peter rolled his eyes. “You know, I think you actually enjoy insulting them.”
“Well, duh.”
“You could try to respect them.”
Power scoffed but didn’t otherwise acknowledge what Peter was saying. Instead, he addressed Peter Quill again, leaving Peter to roll his eyes at the stubborn ass.
“He says, yeah, it’s him,” Quill said. “And… really? Okay… And he says you’re all stupid assholes for letting it happen. And…” He nodded. “Yeah, and you were supposed to protect him. And do you have any idea how much he suffered because of you?”
“Seriously?” Peter said. “You don’t think they feel bad enough already? And they know how much I suffered because they were suffering with me, just in a different way. They do not need your ragging on them more.”
Peter looked between his father and Steve, who both looked pale with anger or shock, but it was Sam that spoke up, though it was actually a shout, which caught Peter completely off guard. “Yeah? Because we were the infinite sources of power that live inside him and stood by while he was shot in the head, right? Oh, wait, no! That was you, asshole.”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me…” Power snarled.
Quill shuddered and said, “Now you made him mad.”
“Good,” Tony said. “Because he’s made us mad a dozen times before with the crap he’s pulled.
“He says it wasn’t his fault.”
“Of course he does,” Sam said. “It’s never been their fault.”
“I swear, Pete, if they try to pin this on us again, I am going to lose my cool.”
“Yeah, because you’re so calm right now,” Peter snapped. “You pin it on them and they pin in on you. What you’re all forgetting is that it was me that let it happen because I was too dumb to see a threat.”
“Don’t start that shit,” Power said. “You were fooled because you’ve got that bond of souls thing with Barnes, but Rhodes was right beside you. And now that jumped up paraglider.…”
“Enough!” Peter shouted.
Quill flinched. “He’s really angry.”
Peter wondered whether he was talking about Power or him. They were both pretty furious.
“Me too!” Sam shouted, the cords of his neck standing out with the strain of it. “Because I know a lot about minds and trauma and I have a good idea of what that kid is going to be left with after what happened thanks to that chatty asshole in your head.”
“He’s not actually in my head,” Quill said.
“Then—”
He held up a hand and then started speaking, though it was technically Power using Quill as a vessel. Peter winced with every word. “Listen up, assholes, Peter got shot on your watch. You can blame us if you want but it’s actually Rhodes you need to be speaking to. Anyway, I did not bring this idiot here—Hey!” Quill’s eyes cleared and anger flushed his face and then he nodded and his voice became the cutting tones of Power again. “The kid got shot. That happened. As horrible as you think it was for you, I can promise it was a whole lot worse for us having a front seat to the aftermath. And… what we suffered is nothing compared to Peter. But that is not why I’m here. I am here because this idiot has me, my gem, and I need you to get it back to Prime before that purple asshole with a nut sack for a chin arrives.”
Peter hadn’t really considered how hard it would have been for The Stones to witness what had happened to him and the aftermath; how had they felt when Peter remembered nothing of his life, of them, of the things they’d done together? Now he understood a little more of Powers anger when face to face with the people he held responsible, even though it was entirely out of their hands.
“I’m sorry, Power,” Peter said quietly.
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll hug it out when we get my gem out of Thanos’ reach.”
“Wait, what! He has The Power Stone?” Tony asked.
“Yep, it’s a whole sorry tale about how he’s been on the run for years while Gamora and her nutso sister chased him down for their dad. I’ve been keeping him company, and yeah, he’s a little damaged because of it. But he does have my gem and you do need to get it to Prime. Got it?”
“We’ve got it,” Tony breathed. “Damn… We’ve got it.”
Steve shook his head, evidently trying to gather himself after the onslaught from Power and the shock of what he had been told, “Okay, Star Lord, did you actually process what he was saying, I mean what you were saying?”
Quill nodded. “You’re going to take it away, right? Please, you’re going to take it away? Because they will find me and get it and it talks about… Please, take it away.
“We are,” Tony said. “We’re going to take it far, far away from you.”
Peter breathed a sigh of relief. With Power out of Tony’s World, Thanos couldn’t Snap and therefore half the universe could not be murdered. However, he could still do a lot of damage with Mind and Space, which he already had, and if he got his hands on Soul and Time…
“Time’s gone,” Power said. “Barton dropped it off at home while you were incapacitated. But you’re right that he can still do a lot of damage with Mind and Space. He’d be wrong, obviously, but Mind would tell you he was the greatest threat of us all.”
“And that’s really you?” Peter asked, a smile of fondness in his voice.
“Damn right, kid.”
Peter laughed, more relaxed now that Power had stopped venting his rage at Peter’s family and now that they had a plan to get the Power gem out of there. Peter wondered who would take it, privately hoping it would be his father and that he would stay there with Morgan, Pepper, and Bucky. He didn’t know if Pepper had been told what happened to him, but he knew for a fact Bucky did because he had been there in the aftermath—Peter remembered his voice. That must have been hell for him; if the situations were reversed, Peter would have lost his mind with the horror of it. And for Bucky, there had been no guarantees Peter would recover.
When Peter got home, he was going to hug Bucky damn tight and apologize for what he had put him through.
He was going to apologize to them all, all of his family. He had put them through hell before, he knew, but this was a whole new level of horror for them to live with.
“Yeah, it’s all about them,” Power said. “I wonder how much pain they were in when the bullet hit… Oh, wait, that was you, not them. Really, kid, they had the easiest time for it. You want to be throwing apologies around, start with us.”
“I am sorry,” Peter said fervently. “I know it was as bad for you as it was for Bucky. I don’t underestimate what I did to you all.” He smiled. “I’ll hug you, too, if you’d like.”
Power scoffed. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not a hugger. But the apology is appreciated. If you really want to make it up to me, you can—”
He cut off with what Peter could only describe as a pulse of negative energy. Peter was on the point of asking what was happening when he saw it for himself. A portal opened and Thanos himself stepped through.
In that moment, Peter forgot that his family had been superheroes since before he’d even heard of The Infinity Stones, before the spider bite even. All he saw was the people he loved and the monster that had murdered half a universe and created five years of misery and pain for those that remained.
He forgot they were as strong as him in other ways than raw power.
And then they showed him what he’d missed.
Tony slapped his hand down on his suit’s housing and the moment it coalesced, he shot four blasts of energy at Thanos’ chest, right over his heart; at the same moment Clint loosed an arrow on a trajectory to Thanos’ right eye, and Natasha followed the arrow with her Widow Bites. Steve threw his shield at Thanos’ neck in a move which would have decapitated a lesser man.
But Thanos blocked each and every attack. He lifted the gauntlet and the Space and Reality gem colors glowed and a shield of their light flew out in front of him. The weapons ricocheted back at Peter’s family and then, thankfully, his protection flew up from them and they dropped to the ground, their forward propulsion dispersed in an instant.
Steve grabbed up his shield and Natasha her widow bites, but Clint left the arrow, instead notching another and sending it flying at Thanos again, at the same moment Tony blasted him with four more pulses of energy. Peter knew they were hoping that the Titan would be distracted by the previous attack, and their attacks would slip past his defences, but it didn’t happen. Thanos was ready and blocked the attacks with ease and a smug smile on that hated face.
“You should know better,” he said, angling the gauntlet so it glowed in the sunlight.
At least that was what Peter thought he was doing, and then a portal appeared behind him and Peter cried out in shock.
Nemesis had come back.