This Can't Be It
Peter's spidey sense was going haywire. Everyone was disappearing, turning to dust in front of his eyes. Something was wrong, and Peter couldn't do anything about it because they lost. Thanos got the time stone and had left, but he won. Peter looked around, watching the others disappear until he felt off. Pain started to spread through his body like wildfire. He didn't understand.
Peter looked down at himself, trying to figure out where he was injured. He could feel his healing factor kick in immediately, but whatever was going on was fast, faster than his enhanced healing. "Mr. Stark?" He held the tears back, not wanting to cry in front of Mr. Stark. Peter stumbled, trying to get to Mr. Stark. "I don't feel so good."
"You're all right," Tony said, but his voice was tight like he wasn't so sure.
Peter looked back down at his hands. "I don't-I don't know what's happening." His words tumbled out of him as he stumbled over to Mr. Stark. "I don't know-" his words got choked up in his throat as he lost all feeling in his legs and fell into Mr. Stark's arms. Him dying was not how Peter imagined he would get his mentor's arms around him.
It dawned on him as he clutched at Mr. Stark's hoodie, and the numbness spread to his arms. He was going to disappear, too, and his healing factor was trying to stop it. Small sobs escaped him, but he willed the tears to stay in his eyes. He would not cry.
"I don't want to go. I don't want to go. Sir," his voice broke, the urge to cry getting the better of him. He lost all feeling in his arms as Mr. Stark lowered them to the ground. "Please," Peter begged, digging his fingers into Mr. Stark's shoulder blades. Maybe if he held onto him as strong as he could, he wouldn't leave. "Please, I don't want to go. I don't want to go." Maybe if he said it enough times, he would stay.
They dropped to the dirt, and when Peter couldn't feel the hard, dry ground under him, he knew. He was going to die, and as he stared at the dark, cloudy orange sky above him, Mr. Stark's words repeated in his mind.
"And if you die, I feel like that's on me."
The ferry incident felt like centuries ago, not two years ago. Peter didn't even get to turn 17. He didn't get to build that new Star Wars lego set with Ned. He didn't even get to say goodbye to May.
Peter looked back at Mr. Stark, wanting his face to be the last thing he saw as he felt the last bit of his healing factor quit working. "I'm sorry."
And Peter felt his heart stop as he breathed for the last time, the rest of his body crumbling.
But he felt solid ground under him. What the hell? When he opened his, Peter saw an orange sky, and for a second, he thought he was still on that horrid planet, but it was different. For one, there weren't any clouds, and the orange was a softer shade. Also, he wasn't breathing.
That's not good; not breathing is definitely on the list of Not Good Things, Peter thought, pushing himself into a sitting position.
"Hey, you okay, kid?"
Peter looked to his right, but his eyes were busy trying to adjust to the orange glow around him. Through his blurry vision, he saw a white man with brown shoulder-length hair, and the first words Peter uttered were,
"Jesus?"
Then his eyes adjusted and fell on the metal arm, and things started clicking in his head.
"Wait. No. You're that guy with the cool metal arm."
The man chuckled softly and offered his flesh hand to Peter. "It's actually a vibranium arm now."
Peter reached over to accept the man's arm, but his hand went through the man. "Uh, did my hand just go through you?"
The man looked down at his arm in confusion. "Uh, I guess so."
"Are we ghosts?" Peter asked, pushing himself to stand.
"No."
Peter whirled around to see Dr. Strange.
"We're souls."
"Where are we?" The man behind Peter asked.
Dr. Strange stepped closer. "We're in the Soul World. Thanos snapped, and our bodies disintegrated, and without a body, we're just souls." He paused, and Peter took in what he said.
So, he really died.
"I'm, uh, I'm Bucky," The man, Bucky, introduced himself.
Peter turned back around and tried for a smile. "I'm Peter. I would shake your hand, but..." He trailed off, and another memory resurfaced. "Oh, I'm sorry about the fight at the airport all that time ago."
Bucky huffed out a small laugh. "Don't worry about it, kid."
"So, how do we get out of here?" Peter asked Dr. Strange. He seemed to have all the answers, and Peter wanted to go back to Mr. Stark. He wanted a proper hug without feeling like he was going to die or actually dying.
Dr. Strange swallowed and inhaled deeply. "There is no way out of here, Peter. Thanos won."
Peter's shoulder drooped, and he blinked at the doctor. "W-what? No, this can't be it. Mr. Stark, he's not here, which means he's out there. He'll save us like he always does. He has to. He-" Peter's stopped to suck in a breath, but he couldn't because he was dead. He didn't have a body, a heart, or lungs. He was dead. "I'm only 16. I was only 16. I can't-"
Peter dropped to a squat and leaned his head against his joined hands. God, he couldn't even cry either. He never thought he would miss weeping.
"Hey," A soft voice spoke next to him. Peter couldn't recognize the accent.
Peter turned and saw a girl in bright orange clothing, the color popping off in contrast to her dark complexion. She was pretty.
"Hi," Peter mumbled back.
"I'm Shuri."
"Peter."
"I'm a fan of your work," Shuri said, a smile pulling at her lips.
Peter furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"
"By the suit, I'm guessing you're Spider-Man," Shuri explained. "Since my brother opened up Wakanda to the rest of the world, I've looked learned more, and I've watched many Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man YouTube videos."
Peter's first thought was that some girl knew his identity, but he was dead. There was no use of secret identity anymore. Then his brain processed the rest.
"Wait. Brother? Wakanda? You're Princess Shuri of Wakanda! Oh my gosh! It's an honor to meet you."
Shuri laughed. "Please, it's just Shuri."
"I've read up on some of your work on medical vibranium implants," Peter started, momentarily forgetting about his situation. "I've always wondered how you took into consideration the risks of planting a rare and new metal into the human body like autoimmune diseases and allergic reactions."
Shuri was beaming with pride. "I've actually tried to recreate your suit's stickiness, but I had difficulty acquiring a substance that could stick to all surfaces."
Peter rubbed the back of his neck, an awkward chuckle escaping him. "Oh, uh, that's all me."
"What?"
"Um, I got bit by a radioactive spider," Peter explained, "and I got these cool powers like enhanced senses, super strength, and I'm really fast, but the bite also turned me sticky. It took me a while to learn how to control my stickiness."
Shuri's eyes were wide. "Woah! No wonder I was struggling! I assumed that it was your tech, but it's a biological change in your DNA! Amazing!"
Peter laughed, amused by Shuri's amazement with his super adhesiveness. "Yeah, the stickiness is all me, but Mr. Stark made the tech."
At the mention of his mentor, the smile slipped from Peter's face.
"Hey," Shuri's voice was soft again. "We're going to get out of here."
"How do you know?"
Shuri shrugged. "I don't know. I was trying to be all inspiring and cheer you up."
"Thanks." Peter gave her a tight smile. "But we are going to get out of here. Mr. Stark will come up with something."
She gave a short nod, pursing her lips into a thin line. They both knew that Peter had no idea of knowing that. "I hope you're right, Peter."