“If I tell you what happens, It won’t happen”
Peter woke up with a gasp, inhaling in nothing but dirt and it made his lungs burn. But all the pain he’d been feeling just moments ago was otherwise gone. All that was left was a weird tingling throughout his body - so weird- and he felt a presence standing over him, could see their shadow filtering through his eyelids against the light of the red sky.
“Mr. Stark.”
He flashed his eyes open, but instead of Mr. Stark’s gaze he was met with Dr. Strange’s who was holding out a hand to help him stand, his expression determined and serious. There was something else there too. Something Peter couldn't put his finger on it immediately put him on edge.
“Where’s Mr. Stark? What happened? We died, right? That was a thing that happened? I remember watching everyone —“ He stood up, ignoring Strange’s hand and scanned the area around him through narrowed eyes. Everyone was there- making the whole thing feel like a bad dream. Mr. Stark was dying. Dr. Strange had given up the stone to spare his life. Then they all started vanishing one by one. That happened. Like five minutes ago. Every part of him still tingled and it almost tickled, like a thousand spiders were crawling across his skin, and he really wished it would stop. It was making it hard to think straight.
Wait - not everyone was there. Mr. Stark was notably missing. And so was that blue lady who showed up after Thanos.
“Where is he? Where’s Mr. Stark?” He asked again, more urgently, his voice verging on the edge of panic as he gave Dr. Strange an accusing stare.
“He’s back on earth. It’s been five years since we were here with him and Thanos snapped.”
“Five years!?” Peter felt the all the air rush out of him, those words hitting him with the same force as a blow to the gut. It felt like seconds had passed for him. Like he’d merely passed out from the unbearable pain and then came to a moment later. He turned his gaze to the others, and they didn't look quite as surprised as Peter. Had they woken up before him and already recieved this news from Strange, just as Peter had ... disappeared... after all of them?
“He needs our help. I’m going to take us back. But there’s something you should know first.” Strange straightened, his hands tucked neatly into his pockets as he stared at him and the others intently. He seemed to exude calmness and anxiety all at once, and the anxiety seemed to pass onto Peter in waves.
“Thanos is there. And he has an army. One like you have probably never seen before. With Wong’s help, we are going to bring the assistance they need. Give them our own army. But this Thanos doesn't have the stones yet. We need to help keep it that way.”
“Is that what you saw happening? That one win? Do we beat them? We’ll all be okay, right? Is this it? You saw us disappearing for five years and then we just... come back and help save the day?” There was something in Strange’s expression... almost grave as Peter rambled. His eyes almost sad. Peter wanted to question him more, but Strange was already turning around, making a portal and the view on the other side was enough to silence him. His jaw set with new determination. The time for questions would be later. He couldn't let Strange's refusal to answer bother him. He needed to be Spider-Man now.
———
“Is this it? Is this how we win? Is this the one?” Peter overhears Tony ask Dr. Strange almost the same exact question Peter had asked. How long ago was that now? Minutes ago? Hours? Peter honestly couldn't tell how long they'd been fighting.
Peter had been trying to stick close to Mr. Stark, but it hadn’t always been possible. It wasn’t until he heard his voice that he realized he was back within hearing vicinity of him. He paused after webbing another alien and yanked him down into another one, causing a quick domino affect of aliens crashing into one another. It only gave him a second to spare. He barely heard Strange’s answer before he was being pulled away again.
“If I tell you what happens. It won’t happen.”
Weird. He hadn't completely avoided answering when Mr. Stark had asked the question.
——
Keep the stones away from Thanos. That was the objective. Peter had the glove, he was even managing to get it close to the van. That was the target. It was a time machine apparently, and there was too much happening for Peter to truly freak out about that. Maybe later.
The chitauri still somehow outnumbered all of them, and then their ship was raining literal fire on all of them. It was too much all at once. He felt like a little kid again, balled up on the ground, shielding himself the best he could from the fire. He was pretty sure it was the most scared he’d ever been in his life.
Until the nice glowing, blonde lady showed up and single handedly took out the ship. Who was she, and where has she been this whole time?
“Hi, I’m Peter Parker.” Why did he keep introducing himself to everyone!? It’s not the time Peter.
She smiled. “Hi Peter Parker. You got something for me?”
——-
Mr. Stark.
He needed to get back to Mr. Stark, and it needed to be immediately. He couldn’t say why for sure, but his sixth sense was screaming at him to get back to his mentor. So he followed instinct, and webbed up as many aliens on the way as possible as he swung across the rubble to find Tony.
When he found him, he felt his stomach drop and his heart twist and clench tightly in his chest. He was fighting Thanos again, fighting over the glove and the whole thing was incredibly, and sickeningly reminiscent to their fight on Titan. Peter felt the air rush out of him as Thanos took the glove, and there was an odd glint to Tony’s hand as he was violently shoved aside by Thanos - and a notably missing glint from the glove Thanos was trying to put on.
And suddenly it all clicked. Like a switch just went off in Peter’s brain, and he was moving before he even made the conscious decision to do so. A plan in place the second he realized what was happening. He was wrong before; this was definitely the most scared he had ever been in his entire life. Mr. Stark was the winning play - that was why Strange had given up the stone to spare his life. It was all leading up to this moment, for Tony to snap - to sacrifice himself to save the world.
Peter couldn't - wouldn't - let that happen.
In two simultaneously swift movements, Peter shot a web at Thanos’s face to give him the minute of distraction he needed and one at Tony’s hand - webbing it to the ground.
“Pete-“ Tony froze, his eyes wide with panic when they met Peter’s gaze. Peter came to a halting stop, his feet sliding against the ground as he grabbed hold of the hand with the stones with both of his. His suit was incredibly intuitive. Mr. Stark had designed it to be. This needed to work. It would work. Peter wasn’t going to stand idly by again and watch someone he cared about die. Not when there was something he could do to stop it.
“Don’t-“ Tony tugged, attempting to pull away from him. But Peter was stronger. Even through his determination, he hated using his strength against Mr. Stark this way. But he didn't have time to dwell on it in that moment.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark.”
It was working. He could feel the stones calibrating with own suit, he’d caught them before they were fully integrated into Mr. Stark’s.
“You’re too late, Spider. I am inevita—“Came Thanos' voice behind him along with the sound of clinking metal. And Peter didn’t need to be looking at him to know he’d attempted to snap his fingers and then - his knees buckled under the weight of the stones, their full power fully integrated into the Iron Spider suit.
His eyes were blown wide as nothing but pain - pain - pain drowned everything else out. Tony’s mouth was moving, he could still see him, but he couldn’t hear him. Could only see desperation, shock, and pain.
Electricity shot through every fiber of his body, and it took every ounce of his will power to remember what he was doing. What he needed to do.
Gritting his teeth in full determination, and another muttered, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” He snapped his fingers. The pain somehow worsened, he didn't think that was possible, something burning and tearing at him from the inside out and he desperately tried to hold onto a good memory to keep him grounded. Mr. Stark hugging him soon after joined the battle vaguely came to mind, but the memory was tainted with pain - distantly, through the pain, he thought he could see him hugging him now but then --
Then everything went white.