"whatever comes next, we're in this together."
The battlefield was eerily quiet as Peter Parker slowly got to his feet, still in shock over what had just happened. Where moments before the field had been filled with the sounds of battle - war cries, explosions, the clash of weapons - now there was nothing but a suffocating silence. Peter frantically looked around, trying to comprehend how everything could have gone so horribly wrong.
They had been so close to getting the Infinity Gauntlet away from Thanos. If only Thor's ax had struck the Mad Titan's head just a few inches higher...But instead, Thanos had managed to snap his fingers. Peter heard the sickening crack echo across the battlefield before a blinding flash of light overtook everything. And when the light faded, people started disintegrating into ash before his eyes.
His allies...his friends...all gone in an instant. Peter fell to his knees beside a pile of ash that he knew contained the remains of King T'Challa. He still couldn't believe it. After everything they had survived together on Titan and their desperate fight here on Wakanda, it had all been for nothing. Thanos had won.
"Peter..." a shaky voice caught his attention. He looked up to see Black Widow slowly staggering towards him, one hand clutching her side.
"Nat!" Peter jumped up and ran over to support her. She leaned heavily against him, wincing in pain. Her usually flawless red hair was matted with dirt and blood.
"Are you hurt? What happened?" Peter asked worriedly.
Natasha shook her head, fighting to stay conscious. "It doesn't matter now. We failed."
Peter had no response to that. They helped each other limp across the battlefield, the only sound being their own labored breathing and footsteps. All around them lay scattered piles of ash and abandoned weapons. Peter spotted a Wakandan soldier leaning against a tree, a haunted look in his eyes. Farther away, Groot stood with Mantis and Drax, the remaining Guardians staring silently at the ground. But there was no sign of Steve, Thor, or any of the others who had been fighting by their side just moments before. They were all gone.
At the edge of the tree line, Peter and Natasha came across Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, and Bucky Barnes speaking in hushed tones. They stopped when they caught sight of Natasha and Peter.
"Romanoff! Parker! Are you two okay?" Bucky called out as he quickly walked over to them.
Natasha nodded weakly. "I'll live. But we have a lot more missing than just us."
Wanda's stoic facade faded at that, her breath hitching. "How bad is it?"
"Thanos got all the stones," Peter said bleakly. "He snapped his fingers and people just started...turning into ash."
"Steve?" Sam asked urgently. "Bruce, Thor, the others...are they...?"
Peter just shook his head, unable to get the words out. Sam's face fell as he turned away.
Bucky sighed heavily. "So the son of a bitch actually did it. I was really hoping we could stop him."
"What do we do now?" Natasha asked, her voice thin with pain and exhaustion.
The three looked at each other hopelessly. This was far beyond anything they had ever faced before. Half of all life in the universe, gone in an instant. Where did they even begin to pick up the pieces?
Finally Sam said, "For now, we need to regroup and assess who and what we have left. Let's get out of here."
They slowly made their way towards the landing site at the edge of the forest. Peter supported Natasha while keeping a worried eye on her. She was clearly struggling to remain conscious.
"Just hold on, Mom. We're almost there," he said gently.
She gave him a pained smile. "I'll be fine, Peter. Don't worry about me." But even as she spoke, she stumbled slightly.
Peter easily caught her, then made a snap decision. "That's it, no more walking for you." Before she could protest, he scooped her up in his arms.
Nat raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"Carrying you the rest of the way. Can't have you passing out on us," Peter said lightly, though his eyes shone with concern.
Natasha started to argue but then thought better of it. She relented and leaned her head against his shoulder as he continued towards the ships.
When they arrived, Sam, Wanda, and Bucky were already there with the rest of the Guardians that survived. Bruce Banner was also there, having reverted to his human form after the Hulk refused to re-emerge following their defeat. The mood was downcast as everyone processed their devastating losses.
Peter carefully set Natasha down on a seat inside the jet. "Just try to take it easy," he said, squeezing her hand.
She gave him a small, grateful smile in return. "I'll be alright. But Peter...if you need to talk or anything...I'm here, baby."
Peter ducked his head, trying to hide the sheen of tears in his eyes. Natasha had become like a surrogate mom to him ever since the airport battle in Germany. Even when he messed up, she was always there to lift him up and help him be better. And now she was the one checking on him, when she was clearly the one injured and in need of support.
"Thanks, Mom. I..." Peter's voice caught in his throat. "I should go check on the others."
He stepped back outside where Bucky was addressing the remaining heroes. "The way I see it, we have two priorities right now. First, we need to get in touch with our allies across the galaxy and figure out the extent of this decimation. If it's as bad as it seems, we're going to need all hands on deck just to maintain some semblance of order."
Bucky glanced around at the assembled faces. "Second, and I know this sounds impossible, but we need to find Thanos and somehow get our hands on those Infinity Stones to try and reverse this. I don't care what it takes. We find him, we get the stones, we bring everyone back. No matter what. Are you with me?"
Everyone voiced their support, desperate to find some way to repair the damage Thanos had done. They began discussing strategies to track him down, drawing on the knowledge of anything that the Guardians know.
Peter stood on the outskirts, only half listening. He knew going after Thanos again made sense, but it seemed a hopeless cause. The Titan had the power of the universe at his fingertips now. What chance did they have of stopping him a second time?
After a few minutes, Natasha quietly came up beside Peter. She touched his arm gently. "Hey. You doing okay, baby?"
Peter shrugged, not meeting her eyes. "I guess."
Nat nodded in understanding. She leaned against the side of the jet, gazing out at the others. "It's a lot to process. I can't even imagine what you must be feeling after...after Tony..." she trailed off sorrowfully.
At the mention of Tony's name, Peter squeezed his eyes shut against a fresh wave of grief. The image of Tony vanishing into ash right in front of him was seared into his mind.
"I couldn't save him," Peter whispered. "I couldn't do anything. I just had to watch him die."
"Oh Peter." Natasha's heart broke for the young man she had come to care so deeply for. She pulled him into a hug, holding him as he finally let the tears fall.
"It's not your fault," she soothed. "None of us could stop it. But Tony...he made his choice to be there, to try and protect us. As hard as it is, we have to honor that choice."
She stroked his hair gently as Peter clung to her, letting out all the pain and guilt he had been carrying since Titan.
After a few minutes, he stepped back and scrubbed at his eyes. "I'm sorry, Mom, I just..."
"Don't apologize," Nat said firmly. "Not for grieving. You have nothing to be sorry for."
Peter gave her a shaky smile. Natasha had a gift for knowing exactly what to say. With her, he didn't have to pretend to be strong or keep up a brave face. He could just be himself.
Natasha cocked her head thoughtfully. "You know, I was meaning to ask if you'd be up for some one-on-one training sessions when we get back. I think I could teach you a few moves to incorporate into your fighting style. Might help take your mind off things too."
Peter perked up a bit at that. "Yeah, that would be great actually. I know I still have a lot to learn."
"That you do," Nat said wryly. "But you've got potential, Spider-Man. I see a lot of myself in you - though with slightly less childhood trauma," she added.
Peter chuckled softly. "Only slightly less."
They exchanged a look of understanding. Both had lost so much, so young. But they had found a family now amongst the Avengers, people who understood and supported them. Peter knew he couldn't have asked for a better mentor or a mother figure than Natasha.
Any further conversation was cut off by Fury calling for them all to head out. They had a lead on a spaceship that Thanos had been using as his base. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
As they boarded the jet, Peter saw Natasha wince slightly as she sat back down. "I should really take a look at that injury," he said with concern.
Natasha started to wave him off but then sighed. "I guess it couldn't hurt. Not like we have a lot of medical staff on hand at the moment."
She lifted her shirt to reveal a nasty gash on her ribs. Peter knelt beside her and gently examined the area. "Looks like it just missed puncturing anything vital. I can clean and dress it for now, but you'll need real medical treatment soon."
He carefully began disinfecting and bandaging the wound while Natasha studied him pensively.
"You really stepped up today, Peter. Facing down Thanos like that, on an alien planet...not many people would be that brave, especially at your age."
Peter kept his eyes focused on his work. "Didn't exactly feel very brave at the time," he mumbled.
"True courage isn't about not being afraid," Nat said. "It's being terrified but doing what needs to be done anyway. That's what you did today, baby."
Peter tied off the bandage and met her gaze, seeing the pride and care shining there. "Thanks, Mom. That...that really means a lot to me."
She squeezed his hand. "You're gonna be okay, Peter. Whatever comes next, we're in this together."
Peter helped her settle back against the seat as the ship lifted off. Within minutes, she had drifted off to sleep, clearly exhausted. Peter pulled a blanket over her and then went to join the others. His head was still spinning from everything that had happened, but talking with Natasha had steadied him. They would keep fighting, keep trying to make things right. They had to.
One Month Later
Peter made his way through the busy halls of the New Avengers facility, waving hello to various agents and support staff. It had been nonstop at the base ever since the decimation, with rescue and aid efforts happening worldwide alongside their ongoing mission to reverse Thanos' snap. It was controlled chaos, but Peter welcomed it. It kept his mind occupied so he didn't have to think about...well, about everything they had lost.
As he neared the training rooms, Peter could hear the thwack of someone pummeling a punching bag. He poked his head in to find Natasha going at it relentlessly, pounding out her frustrations on the bag. She was fully healed now, though Peter knew the internal wounds went much deeper.
"Hey Mom!" he called. "Still up for that training session?"
She paused, brushing back a few loose strands of hair. "You know it. Let me just wrap up here."
Natasha landed a final crushing kick to the bag before stepping back. She grabbed a towel and took a long drink of water. "So, been working on those moves I showed you last time?"
"Absolutely!" Peter said. "Though uh, without you here to correct me I'm not sure I have the form quite right yet."
"Well let's see what you've got then." Natasha tossed him a staff and slipped into a fighting stance.
Peter came at her, trying to remember the proper footwork she had demonstrated. He managed to block a few of Nat's strikes but soon found himself flat on his back after an artful leg sweep from the Widow herself.
"Not terrible but your stance is still too narrow," Nat critiqued, pulling him to his feet.
They spent the next hour sparring back and forth, with Natasha offering pointers as she bested him again and again. Though bruised and out of breath by the end, Peter's admiration for her skills only grew.
"You really need to show me that throw sometime," he said ruefully, rotating his shoulder.
"All in good time," Nat smirked, tossing him a water bottle. They both paused to rehydrate.
"Seriously though, I appreciate you taking the time to work with me," Peter said sincerely after a moment. "I know you've already got a ton on your plate right now leading the intelligence team."
The smirk left Nat's face. "Of course. Training the next generation has always been important to me. I just wish..." She trailed off, looking down.
Peter knew she was thinking about Clint, whose absence was felt deeply by his mother figure. He stepped over and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"I miss him too. All of them. But we'll get them back, Mom. I know it doesn't seem like we've made much progress yet, but we can't give up hope."
She placed her hand over his, meeting his earnest gaze. "You're right. And I haven't given up, not really. Having you around actually helps more than you know, Peter. Working with you, seeing how far you've come in such a short time...it gives me hope for the future. That's why I don't mind the extra training sessions."
Peter blushed faintly at the praise. "Well I definitely owe a lot of my progress to your mentoring. You're the best teacher and mother figure I could ask for."
Natasha bumped his shoulder affectionately. "Flatterer. Now come on, let's go a few more rounds. I want to see those improved reflexes in action."
They sparred late into the evening, the sounds of combat mingling with playful banter and teasing. When they finally parted ways for the night, both felt a renewed sense of purpose. The road ahead was long, but they had each other. And someday, somehow, their family would be whole again.