Chapter Text
Thanos was gone. Not like dead, but he kinda disappeared. All Peter saw was how he did one of those sparkly yellow things, though his was dark and depressing. To be honest, Peter was a little confused. He had been so busy saving everyone that he missed the whole ordeal with the Time Stone.
While helping Tony up, he sensed something. His spider-sense was going haywire. He looked around to see if there was any credible threat, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary, except, of course, the fact that he was in space on a planet named Titan, fighting a purple alien, which sadly had become his new normal.
“Something’s happening,” the egg-implanting alien said.
When Peter looked back, all he saw was a pile of ash where the alien had been standing. He guessed that the something she was talking about was happening.
One by one, his friends started disappearing. First Mr. Clean, then Gordon Flash.
“Tony. There was no other way,” said Mr. Strange. Uhm, sorry, Dr. Strange.
He disappeared too.
Now Peter’s tingle was literally exploding. Deep down, he knew he was next.
“Mr. Stark? I don’t feel so good. I don– I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t... I don’t wanna go. I don't wanna go, sir. Please. Please. I don’t wanna go. I don’t wanna go. It hurts.”
Peter was in agony. He could feel every atom separating itself from his body and fading away. When he fell down, he wasn’t scared, he wasn’t sad, he was angry. Angry that the world decided that he could be taken away from the people he loved. Angry that his loved ones had to go on without him.
Suddenly, he felt like he didn’t do enough to help the little guy, and that now there wouldn’t be a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man or a friendly neighbourhood. No, he wasn’t dying. Not today.
“No. I’m NOT going. I can hold it, Mr. Stark, I can, I will, I promise, Mr. Stark. I’ll stop myself from disintegrating and, and, help out the little guy. Like... like the lady that bought me the–”
Peter’s eyes started to close. He was right, he could slow down the process, but he couldn’t prevent it. And slowing it down was only making it more painful.
“Kid, kid. Hey, stay with me, come on. I believe you. Yes, I believe that your weird, mutated, arachnid body can stop this stupid shit, alright? And when we get back to Mother Earth, you will get back to looking out for the little guy, like that lady that bought you the churro, okay?”
Tony could see in Pete’s eyes that he was suffering. It was a horrifying thing to look at, actually. Most parts of Peter’s body were gone, and you could see everything on the inside. Though that was not what he was focused on.
“I’m sorry, sir. I let you down, I let everyone down. We lost, Mr. Stark, we lost. We couldn’t do it, sir. I’m sorry. Tony.”
“What, hey, no, listen, kid. This is no–”
Tony didn’t have time to finish that sentence. Peter was gone. Nothing but a pile of ash remained.
Tony was definitely in some deep, troubled shit. He was, for one, grieving, which was by far one of the worst ones mentally. Secondly, he was stuck on a planet called Titan with a crazy-looking blue robot that was once a human. Oh, and he had a stab wound.
On the plus side, the blue woman, who he found out was called Nebula, had a ship, so they could at least float in space to literally nowhere. Because sadly, they didn’t have a space map to figure out a route back to Earth.
Oxygen, food, and water were running out, and Tony didn’t know how much time he had left. But all he could think about were Peter’s last words.
Peter blamed himself for losing the battle against Thanos. He died thinking he had let everyone down. Tony didn’t even have the time to explain to the kid that he didn’t do anything wrong, that he impressed everyone, that he was the greatest, smartest, and strongest kid ever, and inspired Tony to be, uhm, well, better.
Once again, Tony sat in his chair in the front of the ship, thinking about everything. Tony was almost asleep when suddenly there was a bright light in front of him. It was like looking at the sun.
It turned out to be a woman. The old him would have put on his suit and questioned the flying woman, but the new, desperate him somehow trusted her. To his surprise, the woman flew under the ship and started transporting it. Tony knew that it was finally time to go home.
A little bit later, the ship landed. Tony was exhausted. The first person he saw was Cap.
Tony was thinking about two things. Peter and Pepper.
“I lost the kid,” he said.
“Tony, we lost,” Cap said, like he was right there with him, fighting next to him against Thanos.
Second thing.
“Is um… Is she?”
Then Pepper came running, and he received a much-needed hug, although he would never admit it.
Thank God, thought, Tony. At least 50% of his world was right again.
Bad joke.
1 year after the Snap.
Tony was sitting next to Pepper in the hospital, with his newborn baby in his hands. He was happy. Baby Morgan was beautiful, but something made his eyes tear up. And it wasn’t just his beautiful newborn baby girl.
God, he missed Peter so much.
He may have been 15, but he had this babyface that could fool anyone into thinking he was 9 years old. Having Morgan brought up more memories than he may have hoped.
It might have been 5 years since the Blip, but Cap was standing on Tony’s front porch like nothing had changed. Like he could just roll the dice on this whole life that he had built.
No. It’s not happening. Too risky.
God, he had become way too safe since having Megan. Kind of embarrassing, really. The great Iron Man, not even trying to get 50% of the population back.
Tony still hadn’t gotten the hang of washing dishes. At the compound, usually his robots did it for him. He accidentally wet some stuff. He went out to dry them out, and it turned out one of them was a picture of him and Peter with the Stark internship certificate.
Peter died thinking he let everyone down. Tony found it hard to live with that. He felt like he would be letting Peter down if he hadn't even tried to bring him back. Maybe if it did work, he could tell Peter how he was the greatest kid and hadn’t let anyone down.
Fine, Tony decided. I’ll try, for Peter.
That evening, he figured it out.
Time travel.
Next thing he knew, the Avengers, or at least what was left of them, were standing together in one room. Cap’s speech was okay. But Tony was focused on what he had to do.
Get everyone back.
The plan was a mess, they screwed up, but miraculously, it worked. They got all the stones. Bruce snapped his fingers, but nothing really had happened. Sure, the radiation almost burned Bruce’s arm off, but there was no sight of the people that were lost.
Suddenly, everything went kaboom.
When Tony got out of the rubble, he saw it. His face went pale. He couldn't believe it. Thanos was back.
Though he may have been from the past, the bastard was just as evil and maniacal.
Great, he thought. Now he had to fight the ugly alien again.
Thanos had already put down Tony and Thor, and even with Mjolnir, Cap was also getting thrown around. They were losing. At first, it was them three against just Thanos. But now, with a whole alien army?
No way they were gonna win this fight.
Then it happened.
Suddenly, from all over, heroes started coming in. Everyone that was lost had come to help them fight.
Tony wondered whether Strange brought Peter to the fight as well. He hadn't seen him yet, but he couldn’t lose hope. All this he did for Peter. Now that he knew the Snap worked, he was almost sure the kid was somewhere here too.
Tony was fighting all kinds of aliens at once. Suddenly, this big, ugly rock knocked him down. It managed to get on top of him, but something pulled him away.
Then he saw it.
Webs.
Finally, Tony felt at peace. His kid was here. He was back.
As always, Peter started babbling about what happened. Tony missed that voice. He wasn’t really listening to what Peter was saying. All he wanted to do was hug him, so he did.
“This feels nice.”
Of course, in this very emotional moment, Peter still couldn’t stop talking.
Peter and Tony were fighting Thanos together. Peter had the gauntlet, and Thanos was pretty obsessed with getting it. Wanda definitely did a number on the guy, but Thanos was still too strong.
Peter webbed Thanos’ hands together and pulled him back, while Tony blasted as many repulsors at him as he could. Thanos got hit a few times, but it did nothing. He managed to get out of Peter’s webs and threw him back.
Peter flew and was knocked out.
“KID! Kid, you alright?”
It seemed that Peter was knocked out because he wasn’t answering. Peter was still holding on to the gauntlet, so Thanos was constantly trying to get to him.
Tony wanted to check on Peter, but first he had to get Thanos away from him. Tony finally managed to knock Thanos off his feet. He knew it wouldn’t last long, so he tried to get to Peter.
Peter woke up.
“I’m alright, Mr. Stark! I’ll be back in a sec. Just, uhm, let me catch my breath!”
Peter felt strange. He was lying on something. He looked down, and he didn’t know what to think.
He saw a metal pipe going right through his stomach.
Suddenly, Peter could feel everything. Searing-hot pain shot through his body. He wanted to scream but didn’t want to worry Mr. Stark or, even worse, distract him from the fight, so he kept it in.
Peter knew he had to stay strong, so he pushed himself off the pipe, which made the bleeding only worse. He could see the crimson blood flowing out of the hole in his stomach.
He saw Tony struggling to fight Thanos alone, and Peter knew he had to get back into the fight.
Tony glanced over to Peter. He saw him already running back to the fight. He was glad that Peter was okay.
While looking at Peter, Thanos pounced on Tony. Tony tried to fight him off, but Thanos started throwing punches.
Then Peter jumped on top of Thanos. He webbed his eyes and pulled him back, making him lose his balance.
“You’re a goddamn hypocrite!”
Peter threw a hard punch.
“You claim that wiping out half of all life in the universe would save civilization, but how come YOU weren’t one of that 50%? Hm? How is that fair?”
Peter was now kicking and punching Thanos with all his might.
“Do you know how much it hurts to feel your own body disintegrate?! To feel every molecule detach and fade away?! Well, let me show you!”
Tony finally came to consciousness, and he saw Peter absolutely destroying Thanos.
Peter deployed his metal arms and started cutting microscopic wounds on the monster. That seemed to really piss Thanos off, so he started fighting back.
He managed to get Peter off of him and immediately went towards the gauntlet that was still lying somewhere from when he threw Peter earlier.
Tony immediately flew after Thanos, but noticed that Peter wasn’t following him. Peter was just sitting there with his hand over his stomach, out of breath.
Tony wanted to check on the kid, but he couldn’t just leave Thanos to get the gauntlet.
“Strange, I need your help. Can you fight the purple guy for a sec? I gotta check on Peter.”
“Got it. Thor, you’re with me.”
“Coming, wizard!”
“Hey, Pete, you alright?”
The kid seemed exhausted, but he guessed beating up the Mad Titan was a valid reason.
That’s when he noticed Peter's lower torso was covered with blood.
“Yeah, I’m fine, Mr. Stark. Just a little beat up, I guess.”
“Can I take a look?”
Peter didn’t really want Tony seeing him like this, but he knew Tony would force him to show it anyway.
“Sure.”
Tony was shocked. Peter had a full-blown hole in his stomach. It looked even more horrible with all the dirt that covered it, definitely infected.
How the hell did the kid fight Thanos in this condition?!
“Peter. How did this happen? Did Thanos stab you?”
“Nooo. When Thanos threw me, I may have landed on a pipe, which made me look like a shish-kebab?”
Peter didn’t like being weak.
“But I’m fine, Mr. Stark. I just needed to rest for a second. Now I can get back into the fight!”
“No, no, no, and one more time no. You need a doctor, not another hit from the giant alien.”
“But I can help, sir! Plus, what is a doctor gonna do for me? Find out I’m Spider-Man when the painkillers don’t work on me? It is better if I just help finish this fight so we all can go home. Please?”
Tony thought about it. He never wanted Peter to be in danger, but it was too late for that. Peter was an asset to the team, and the faster they won the fight, the faster Peter could get home to heal.
“Fine, but you are fighting by my side at all times, understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
Peter stood up.
It hurt. Like, a lot.
But he tried not to show it.
They went back to Strange and Thor, where they were fighting Thanos. They had to do something about the gauntlet. They couldn’t just play this game forever.
Strange, Thor, Peter, and Tony were now all fighting Thanos. Thor had the gauntlet, which was probably the safest place for it to be, considering Peter had a hole in his stomach and Tony definitely wasn’t letting him anywhere near the fight alone.
“That is mine!” Thanos yelled, going straight for Thor.
Thor moved just in time and swung Stormbreaker at him. Thanos blocked it, but the force still made him take a few steps back.
“Now!” Strange yelled.
A portal suddenly opened underneath Thanos, and he fell through it. A second later, he came flying out of another portal and landed on the ground.
“Nice!” Peter yelled.
“Thanks, Spider.”
Peter shot a web at Thanos and pulled as hard as he could. Thanos stumbled backwards, and Tony immediately flew towards him, hitting him with one of his repulsor blasts.
“Don’t let him near the gauntlet!” Tony yelled.
Thor threw the gauntlet towards Peter.
Peter caught it.
Thanos immediately looked at him.
“Oh, crap.”
Peter barely had time to react before Thanos charged at him. Peter jumped out of the way, and Thanos' fist hit the ground instead.
Peter quickly shot a web at his arm.
“Mr. Stark!”
“I got him!”
Tony flew towards Thanos and hit him again, while Strange opened another portal behind him.
“Thor, now!”
Thor swung Stormbreaker at Thanos, forcing him backwards.
For a moment, it actually looked like they were winning.
Then Thanos grabbed Tony out of the air and threw him across the battlefield.
“MR. STARK!”
Peter's spider-sense went crazy.
He turned around.
Thanos was already running towards him.
Peter looked down at the gauntlet in his hands.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”
Thanos reached for him. Peter jumped.
At the same moment, Strange opened a portal beneath Thanos, sending him crashing into Thor instead.
The gauntlet slipped from Peter's hand as he landed.
It hit the ground.
Peter and Thanos both looked at it.
“Oh, come on, this is totally unfair,” Peter whispered.
They both started running towards the gauntlet, pouncing at it.
Peter shot a web and pulled it towards himself. Thanos jumped and grabbed hold of it.
Peter wasn’t strong enough. He was losing his grip.
Just when he thought he had lost it, Tony flew from Peter’s side and blasted his repulsors. Thanos let go, and Peter had the gauntlet in his hands.
Peter looked at Tony.
“No,” Tony said. “Not you. That is NOT an option!”
“Mr. Stark, we have to get rid of it, and I got healing powers! This is the only option!”
“No, let me think about it for just a second, okay? I’ll give you an answer in 2 minutes. Meanwhile, Strange, please send him somewhere safe, together with the gauntlet.”
Dr. Strange did the yellow sparkly thing, and next he knew, Peter was somewhere in an Indian restaurant.
Tony knew Peter was right, partially. The gauntlet needed to be destroyed, but not by him. He needed someone who could absorb a bunch of power, someone who was basically made from power.
But who?
Suddenly, it clicked.
Captain Marvel.
She was made from the power of the Tesseract and could absorb immense amounts of power.
That had to be it.
“Captain Marvel! I need you here now!”
Carol flew towards them just as Thanos got back on his feet.
Tony pointed at the gauntlet.
“You can absorb energy, which means you have the best chance of snapping your fricking fingers and surviving the radiation.”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Thanos yelled.
“Saving everyone.”
Tony looked at Carol. She had doubt in her eyes, but she also had this look of determination. Tony knew Carol would do anything to save the world.
“I can try,” she said.
“Good enough for me. Strange!”
Strange opened the portal again, and Peter came stumbling through. He was still holding the gauntlet while looking a tad confused.
“Oh my god, I’m back! Hi, Mr. Stark!”
Carol grabbed the gauntlet, and immediately the radiation started flowing. Carol was struggling, but Tony thought she was doing way better than Bruce.
Thanos noticed what was happening and went for Carol.
“Nope, not happening!”
Tony flew straight into him. Thanos stumbled backwards and fell into a portal that Strange opened.
Peter just stood there watching, not really knowing how to help. Everything was happening so fast.
Carol was still holding the gauntlet, while Strange and Thor were fighting Thanos, trying to keep him away from Carol.
And Peter…
Peter suddenly felt really dizzy.
He looked down and saw that everything was covered in blood. He hadn't really thought about his injury for a while. He had been too busy fighting, running and trying to keep the gauntlet away from Thanos.
Apparently his body decided it was enough. He put a hand over his stomach.
“Oh. That’s probably not so good. Heh.”
He took a step back. His legs felt weak. He had been ignoring it for a while now, so why stop?
“Peter?”
Peter looked up and saw Tony looking at him.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Tony clearly didn’t believe him. Before he could say anything else, Thanos broke through Strange's spell and charged towards Carol again.
“CAROL!”
She looked up. Thanos was almost there.
She tightened her grip on the gauntlet.
“I'm ending this.”
She snapped her fingers.
There was a bright flash.
Everything went silent.
Thanos froze.
Then his armor started turning to dust. He looked down at his hands in confusion before the rest of him disappeared.
Peter stared at the empty space where Thanos had been.
Tony looked at Peter. He wanted to tell him how much he had missed him. But most importantly, he wanted to let him know it wasn’t his fault that they lost the first time.
Tony started walking up to Peter. He noticed Peter looked uncomfortable, maybe sick even.
“Kid, what’s wrong?”
“I think I’m gonna–”
Peter’s legs gave out. Tony caught him before he hit the ground.
“Hey, hey, Pete!”
Peter didn't answer.
Tony looked down at him and immediately noticed how pale he was.
“Oh, crap.”
He pressed a hand against Peter's stomach.
“Someone get me a medic!”
Peter's eyes opened slightly.
“Mr... Stark?”
“I'm here.”
“Did... did we win?”
Tony looked at him.
“Yeah, kid. We won.”
Peter gave him a tiny smile.
“Cool.”
His eyes closed.
Tony tightened his grip around him.
“Peter? Hey, Pete?”
Nothing.
“Come on, kid. Don't do this to me.”