“in which the world needs saving (and tony has zero shits to give)” pt. 1
1719 words
ships: implied pepperony
tw/cw: death, blood, multiple major character deaths, war/battle
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prologue — earth X
"Mr. Stark? Mr. Stark, come in! This is Peter Parker, I'm on Fifth Avenue. We just— we just lost Cap, and I can't find anyone else. Please, Mr. Stark, just tell me where you are!"
Peter Parker groaned as his comms once again garnered no responses. He was swinging from building to building on Fifth Avenue, looking for any civilians who were still alive under the rubble. His body hummed with nervousness and adrenaline. He'd seen the light leave Captain America's eyes, and he was terrified.
He willed himself not to cry. There was still a chance that Nat, Clint, Bruce, or Thor were out there, battling the Destroyer, however slim that chance was. He'd seen how even Thor struggled to hold his own against the machine, and Peter barely had any hope left. His only hope lay in Tony Stark.
Peter had barely seen Tony during the battle, and instead of presuming the worst, he assumed that Tony was just helping civilians escape while formulating a plan that would, once again, save New York.
That was two and a half hours ago.
"Mr. Stark, come in," Peter tried again, clear desperation coating his voice "Please, just give me a sign that you're still there."
But maybe the universe was working in Peter's favour, because just as he felt the hopelessness start to rush in, he heard a crackle over the comms. Peter immediately swung over to a nearby Barnes & Noble and perched himself on the edge of the rooftop.
"M- Mr. Stark? Is that you?" Peter asked nervously, not trusting himself to say anything more.
"—eter! Peter, can you — me?" A weak voice asked over the comms, static cutting in and out of their communications. Peter could recognize that voice anywhere.
He let out an exhale of relief, letting hope fill him up again. Because if Tony was alive, they could face the Destroyer, and win. If Tony was alive, everything would be okay.
"Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark, I'm here, I can hear you! Where are you?" Peter asked frantically.
"By the— the Flatiron — side," Tony replied, the static cutting into the response.
"The Flatiron Building?" Peter confirmed, his eyes scanning the immediate area for the touristic destination. His eyes snagged on the building almost instantly, and he couldn't help looking for the billionaire. "Found it. I'm swinging there now."
Peter sprang off the ledge, shooting strand after strand of webs, trying to get there faster than possible. He swung over the destroyed buildings, not wanting to look at the decimated rubble and smoke that filled the air. His breathing was heavy as his lungs struggled to keep up with his movements, but Peter had to keep going. He had to.
Finally, Peter arrived at the Flatiron and hung off the side of it.
"I'm here, Mr. Stark. Where are you?" Peter asked once he had a solid grip on the building. "Mr. Stark?" He asked again when he was met with silence.
"Look— look down, Pete," Tony's voice rasped through the communication device. His voice was clearer now that the range was closer, and Peter could hear his gasps for air and how he struggled with stringing together a sentence without wheezing.
Peter looked down immediately, hanging off of the building with only his feet, planted firmly against the glass window, keeping him from falling. He caught sight of the recognizable red and gold suit, glinting in the sun. Peter shot a web at a lamp post and swung down, landing sloppily as he rushed over to Tony.
Tony's legs were trapped under a large piece of rubble, and while he'd had the foresight to remove his helmet, it left little to the imagination when it came to Tony's physical health. His face was littered with wounds, dirt, and dried blood caked on his face. There was a gash along Tony's left cheekbone that bled relentlessly, the crimson red a bright standout against his unsettlingly pale face. Now that Peter was closer, he could hear Tony's small gasps for air, and how he struggled to inhale without breaking into a coughing fit.
"Mr. Stark! What happened to you?" Peter questioned anxiously as he tore off his mask, his eyes flitting from wound to wound, surveying his injuries.
"Nothing much, kiddo. Just—" Tony broke off into a coughing fit, his eyes filling with tears that he quickly blinked away as he regained control of his breathing. "Just got thrown around by the Destroyer a bit. Don't worry about me." He smiled weakly.
"Well, here," Peter said, trying to keep the anxious tremors out of his voice. He pressed his mask to the gash on Tony's face. "This should stop the blood flow, at least a little bit, if I keep pressure on it."
"No, kid, that's not necessary," Tony protested, trying to grab Peter's mask, but he was unable to raise his arm far enough.
"It is necessary, and when we're done here, we'll find the others and defeat the Destroyer," Peter said. "Everyone in New York will be grateful that they have such great people to protect them."
"Kid—"
"And you'll go back to Stark Tower and throw a big party that Pepper totally didn't approve—"
"Kid—"
"And Nat will hang out in the corner with Pepper and make sure you don't do anything stupid—"
"Peter!" Tony said, getting Peter's attention. "Nat— she's dead."
"What?" Peter said softly, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
"Yeah," Tony replied, swallowing thickly. "So are Banner, Thor, and Clint."
Peter's heart sank as a singular tear rolled down his face. He didn't believe it. He couldn't, he refused to believe that the Avengers were gone, save for Tony. His shoulders slumped as he sank to his knees, not caring about the shards of glass and rubble that cut through his suit. It didn't matter if he was injured, he couldn't feel it.
"I don't— Pete, I don't think I have much time either."
"No." Peter shook his head, abundantly denying it. "No, that's not true."
"Peter, look at me," Tony rasped. Peter reluctantly met his eyes, wishing his eyes weren't so glassy, like he could burst into tears at any moment. "Listen to me. You— you are the best hope for this Earth. You have a chance, a true chance, to defeat the Destroyer."
Peter shook his head. "I can't. Not without you."
Tony grabbed Peter's wrist and removed Peter's mask from his face. "You can, kid. You are the best one out of all of us. Remember that."
"Mr. Stark, please," Peter begged, his voice breaking as his tears began to fall. "Please don't go."
Peter felt like a helpless kid again, the way he was when he lost his parents, the way he beat himself up when Uncle Ben was killed in front of his eyes, the unbearable pain he felt when Aunt May was murdered by the Vulture. He wanted to scream, to break something, to burn the whole world because it was so unfair. Peter had lost so much, and now he was losing Tony too.
"I'm sorry, Peter," Tony breathed shakily. "I wish the circumstances were different."
Peter clutched Tony's hand like it was a lifeline, as if Peter was the one who was dying rather than Tony.
"I need you," Peter whispered plaintively, like a small child. "Please, I don't know what I'll do without you."
"I know, kiddo, I know," Tony murmured soothingly. "But I need you to— to listen to me."
Peter nodded, wiping his tears away with his free hand. "Of— of course, Mr. Stark."
"I need you to get to a safe place and lie low for a few days. I hear upstate New York is nice during the fall, so go there. I've transferred all that information to Karen, she'll lead you there. Got it?" Tony explained, sharp gasps of air scattered throughout his speech. Peter nodded. "Good. After three days or so, I need you to come back to Stark Tower. I've given you full access to all my labs. I need you to go into Lab 13, on the fifty-first floor, and tell F.R.I.D.A.Y. to pull up the AD/U files, alright?"
"Okay," Peter agreed. "I'll do that, of course, I'll do that."
"Good," Tony wheezed, his breathing reaching a scarily slow rate. "You have to do this, Peter. The world depends on it. Promise— promise me you'll do this."
Peter nodded furiously. "I promise, Mr. Stark," He said, biting back a sob that threatened to surface.
Tony gave a weak smile in response, his eyes fluttering shut. Every bone in Peter's body felt the need to keep Tony awake, to have him keep breathing, to have any signs of life. But he didn't. He restrained himself from crying, from screaming and begging Tony to just open his eyes, but he didn't want Tony's final moments to be spent comforting Peter.
"K— Karen? Can you, um, can you read Mr. Stark's vitals?" Peter whispered, tears threatening to make yet another appearance.
"Life functions critical," The AI responded in a cool voice. "Should I call an ambulance?"
"No, no," Peter sniffed. "It— it's going to be okay."
"It's going to be okay, Peter," Tony agreed in a whisper, taking a deep shaky breath. Peter heard the finality in that final breath, but he refused to believe it.
"I have been given a location to take you to, Peter. Should I start the route?" Karen asked.
That was all it took. That was all it took for Peter to notice the limp hand that he was still clutching, and he leaned his head against Tony's suit-clad chest, sobbing uncontrollably. His entire body shook, wracked with pain. It wasn't fair.
None of it was fair.
"It should've been me," Peter muttered through sobs. "Why wasn't it me?"
"Peter? I'm afraid I must insist on taking you to this location immediately," Karen stated, her cool tone having an ounce of sympathy.
Peter sniffed and let go of Tony's hand, almost ready to fall into another bout of sobs when he saw how it fell limply against the cracked pavement. Wiping away his tears, he gave the command for Karen to lead him to the safe house.
"I'll be back, Tony. I won't let you down."
a/n: so, this one-shot (the one you just read the prologue for) that i've been working on is taking much longer than anticipated, and i'm truly sorry for that. in order to keep you all happy, i've decided to release this one in parts, partly because i don't want to rush this (quality over quantity), and partly because i don't want to keep you guys waiting. i'm aiming to keep this under 5 parts, but who knows.
let me know what you guys think of it so far, and what you think is going to happen next! some updates are gonna be quicker than others (like, you'll get one tomorrow, probably), because i have a lot of it written. it's almost done, i swear.
make sure you take care of yourself and stay safe. eat enough food and drink enough water!
until next time,
~cleo xx