He woke slowly, his mind and body feeling floaty from whatever drug their kidnappers had used to knock them out. He winced as pain made itself known in the pinch in his head and the ache in his gut. He groggily peeled his eyes open, taking in his current situation. He was in a warehouse (of course) and tied to some kind of post or pole, his arms were pulled taught and his hands were restrained with what he was sure were meta dampening cuffs.
He twisted his head at the sound of muffled curses to take in Daredevil who was tied tightly to a chair, rope covering almost every surface of his body.
Deadpool was well… dead from the looks of it and in a similar position as Matt but instead of rope, they had used chains. Weirdly enough, they hadn’t put any dampening cuffs on the immortal man.
Okay, so these guys definitely knew what they were doing and who they were taking. They’d restrained the trio in different ways, each meant to inhibit the person depending on their skills and powers.
Wade woke up with a crack of his neck and let out a loud sigh as he wiggled in his restraints. “I cannot believe these buttfuckers actually got all three of us.”
“Shut up.” Matt gritted out, also wiggling, looking for a weak point.
“What happened?” Peter mumbled warily, eyes flicking from corner to corner. So far, their kidnappers hadn’t made themselves known. His eyes caught on a… drawing? on the floor in… was that blood? Was this some sort of summoning circle? Oh god, Peter was going to vomit. He tugged fruitlessly at his cuffs, wincing at the pain that shot up his hands and through his arms. He felt a burn in his chest and almost wanted to cry. Stupid fucking asthma.
“Well, Spidey, the three of us were doing what we do, you know, kicking ass, taking names. And then all of the sudden BAM! Magic whammo! It was crazy! And I tried to get us out of there, because I’m like magic resistant because of Death but then the bitches killed me! Can you believe that?!”” Wade rambled, head twisting from side to side in an effort to gesture wildly.
“Shut up!” Matt growled even louder. Peter winced, hopelessness settling in. He didn’t have his powers and they’d been kidnapped by someone with magic. He didn’t see a way out of this one.
“Don’t worry, babypop! We got this!” Wade shouted, making obnoxious kissy sounds. “Fuck the king!”
Peter’s head jerked to the side as the door to the warehouse slammed open and a flood of people in cloaks entered. He couldn’t see any of their faces, or rather any part of their bodies at all. It was just a sea of deep purple cloaks. Fuck, his vision was blurry and he didn’t know whether it was from the drugs or the cuffs.
“You nasty ass bitches! You killed me, you fucktards! Just because I’m unputdownable doesn’t mean that shit doesn’t hurt, you know! Hey what are you doing! Put me down, you hotdog queef motherfuckers!” Wade started up again, moving onto shouting when two of the cloaked figures approached him and dragged him towards the circle.
“What are we going to do?” Peter whispered, knowing Matt would hear him. He felt the only sliver of hope he had dry up when Matt subtly shook his head. He didn’t know. “Fuck.” Peter practically whimpered.
“Shut it, mortal.” One of the cloaks spat, shoving Wade onto the floor.
“Im-mortal! Immortal!” Wade yelped.
Before Peter could even comprehend what was happening they had slit his throat and begun chanting. Whatever they were saying definitely wasn’t english. Peter choked on a breath as light flooded the space. Fuck, they were all going to die.
Suddenly a sickly green portal opened in the middle of the circle, a white boot stepping through slowly. The being in front of them was beyond comprehension, it was like looking into space. It- he? definitely had a shape though it seemed to change every time Peter looked away. It had the same colored eyes as the portal but somehow brighter and when its mouth opened a row of razor sharp teeth greeted them. A flaming crown sat proudly on its head, flickering in and out.
“Who dares summon the High King of The Infinite Realms?!” The creature boomed, the cultist immediately falling to their knees at his sharp words. Its voice echoed with the sound of thousands of others. Something within him sang.
Wait, Infinite Realms? No fucking way. He was never this lucky.
“It was us, Your Majesty! Lord Pariah, we have summoned you for a favor and we brought sacrifices that should satisfy you. We beg for your mercy, My Lord.” The lead cultist said, pressing her forehead to the ground and resting her arms on her chest. Peter’s thoughts raced. Last he remembered, Pariah was no King any longer.
A chilling laugh rang through the air, sending shivers down Peter’s spine even though he had a sneaking suspicion that he knew this… person.
Not that Peter had ever told anybody about his time spent in the Infinite Realms as a ghost after the first snap, nor how he spent what felt like decades there, but in reality had only been five years. Apparently. Time was weird when you were dead.
He didn’t speak of Phantom, Danny, the first ghost he’d met and, at the time, the Prince of the Infinite Realms, who’d showed him kindness when he’d been in desperate need of it.
Danny, who had taught Peter how to be a ghost and comforted him when he thought it would be forever.
It had hurt when Danny had told Peter that nobody from his universe that died in the snap was in the realms with him but eventually he had come to peace with it. The same way he had to come to peace with the fact that nobody knew how to get him back to his own universe, well someone probably had but Clockwork was vague as ever.
Peter had been a strange case for a ghost, not quite a full ghost but not a halfa either. More like a three quarter ghost, though he hadn’t been able to hold a human form for more than a few hours.
He didn’t speak of it. Not to May, not Ned or MJ, none of the members of Team Red or the Avengers, no. He kept those memories selfishly close to his chest. It was his. And he didn’t want to deal with anyone else’s reactions if he were to tell them. It was bad enough that they thought he’d ceased to exist for five years like everyone else but to tell them that he’d been a ghost, moved on, fell in love? He couldn’t do that. Not when it was firmly rooted in the past, in a realm he couldn’t go back to. Even if he’d died again, there was no guarantee he would become a ghost again.
He only barely caught the next words the King of the Infinite Realms spat out, too caught up in his own thoughts.
“Foolish mortals. I am not Pariah Dark. I care not for your measly offerings.” The being rumbled and Peter felt a bubbling hope build up inside him. He noticed offhandedly that Wade had already come to life but was lying completely still, staring at the King.
The cultists began to beg pitifully, whimpering, but the being seemed entirely unimpressed, a hiss leaving his lips.
Coming back to life had been equal parts alarming and exciting. He had been sitting in the keep with Danny, Ellie, and Jazz when he’d felt this pulling sensation in his gut. He’d been scared and he’d seen the same fear written across his friad’s faces. And then he was gone, and back. Back home, back where he belonged, back alive.
And straight into a battle that he couldn’t have ever prepared himself for. A battle where he lost more than he could ever imagine. He thought of Danny, of his life in the realms, thought of it often. It had been downright blissful at times and in the weeks before being brought back, he’d been working up the courage to ask Danny out. He had missed his life there, even missed being dead sometimes though he would never admit it out loud, lest someone try to send him to a psych ward.
He’d tried to move on, forget his afterlife but it was more difficult than he would have thought. He cursed himself for not getting Danny’s summoning spell when he had the chance.
He’d even tried dating MJ after he came back to life but quickly broke it off due to the fact that there was almost always someone else on his mind. MJ had been fine, agreeable, and they’d remained friends ever since.
It had been hard for a long time. But now he felt hope built up in his chest and he found himself mesmerized as he stared ahead, barely noticing Matt still struggling out of the corner of his eye.
“Silence.” The King said, waving an arm and knocking all of the cultists unconscious. Then he turned and surveyed the three supposed ‘sacrifices’. There was a flash of light that Peter had to shield his eyes against and then there he was. Phantom. Floating in the air in front of them with a sheepish look on his face and cheeks tinted green was Danny. White hair that defies the laws of physics and beautiful glowing green eyes. His Danny.
“Sorry about all that.” Danny said with a small smile, scratching the back of his neck nervously and Peter all but melted on the spot. He couldn’t even feel the pain in his arms anymore with the utter euphoria that was filling his chest. His cheeks ached from the smile that was splitting his cheeks. “Have to make an impression, ya know?” Danny continued, walking over and undoing the restraints on all three of them.
“Don’t worry, sugar. I got you all figured out.” Wade said from his spot on the floor. The ghost ignored him in favor of approaching DD.
Matt braced himself defensively as Danny floated closer, the lack of sound making him wary, but the ghost didn’t pay him any mind, only waving a hand and undoing the ropes.
Once he had done the same with Peter, the ex ghost couldn’t help but rip off his mask as he stared at Danny and caught his eye.
Danny’s mouth fell open as he took in Peter’s appearance, his green blush going even darker and his eyes flashing with excitement.
“Oh thank the Ancients!” Danny crowed, speeding towards Peter and enveloping him in a chilly hug.
Peter happily returned the embrace, giving a small shout when Danny suddenly turned human. Peter braced himself against the weight and continued to hold the halfa closely. When Danny finally pulled back, Peter couldn’t stop himself from staring dreamily.
“I never thought I’d see you again!” They both blurted, giving matching nervous laughter when they did.
“Ancients, Pete! You just disappeared and Clockwork would only tell me that you were ‘where you were supposed to be’.” Danny rambled, imitating Clockwork eerily well. “We were all so worried!”
“I missed you so much Danny.” Peter mumbled a bit shyly, running his fingers through his hair. God, he wanted to kiss those freckles.
“I missed you too!” Danny said promptly, smiling so brightly that it made Peter grin stupidly back. Danny leaned back and looked him up and down, squinting, before he began bouncing excitedly. “And you’re like me now! Cool!”
“Wait- I’m what?” Peter blurted, eyes wide with surprise.
Danny’s brows flew up. “You didn’t know?”
“I- I-“ Peter stuttered, gut squirming.
“You literally have a core! You can’t feel that?” Danny cackled, shaking his head as Peter grew more and more flustered.
“I wasn’t exactly looking!” Peter defended, struggling to withhold a hysterical giggle.
Danny looked disappointed but his blue eyes were twinkling with mirth. “You were literally a ghost. You know what a core feels like.”
Peter swatted at the ghost boy who yelped in response. “Look, I didn’t know, okay?”
Danny rolled his eyes and then gave a too wide grin laced with familiar mischief. “You’re a baby ghost again.” He hummed with amusement, voice lightly teasing.
“Oh shut up.” Peter blustered, face heating up.
Danny lit up even more. “I have to call Ellie!”
“Oh my Ancients!” Peter groaned out, flushing even more. He fought against the urge to put his mask back on if only to hide his fluster.
“What is happening?” He caught Matt asking, voice dry.
“When two boy ghosts love each other very much-“
“Wade!”