Stars Are In Shock
"Something's happening." The bug lady had whispered as a tingly feeling started at the base of Payton's neck, before she exploded in to dust.
A whine escaped her, fear lodging itself in her throat, like it was going to suffocate her. Payton stumbled back, closer to Mr. Stark.
It's going to be ok. She told herself, swallowing hard. Mr. Stark's here. It's going to be ok.
"Quill." The gray man with the tattoos said fearfully, before quickly turning into a pile of dust himself.
"Steady Quill." Mr. Stark said calmly as Quill's edges began to peel off him.
"Oh man." Quill whispered before exploding into dust.
Is it your turn now? A voice inside her taunted. Are you going to go now?
No. I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go.
"Stark." She and Mr. Stark looked over to Doctor Strange. Regret clouded his eyes. "There was no other way." He too exploded into a cloud of dust.
No other way? What did that mean? Did he knew they would lose? Why wouldn't he change it?
"Kid?" She turned to her mentor seeing little pieces of dust start to peel off him. No. NO!
"Mr. Stark?" She whimpered softly, tears cascading down her face as she stood frozen in place, unable to move to him.
His eyes glazed over, she doubted he saw her anymore. "Pepper..." He disappeared in a cloud of dust.
"NO!" She screeched as she pounced forward desperately trying to grab onto the dust. Onto any piece of him. She fell to her knees as the dust slipped between her fingers, the rough ground scratching her hands as she landed. Later she would swear she heard faint screaming coming from the stars.
"He did it." She looked over to the blue cyborg woman standing emotionlessly to the side, staring into seemingly nothing.
"Did what?" Payton asked, moving to sit up on her knees, her voice rising in pitch with every syllable, even as she knew the answer. "What's happening? What's happening?!"
That was a little less than a month ago. She and the blue cyborg woman, Nebula, had managed to fix up Quill's spacecraft just enough to get them off the red planet, Titan Nebula had called it. Unfortunately the fuel had run dry pretty quickly. Meaning they were floating aimlessly in space.
Nebula hadn't changed out of her outfit the entire time. As if wearing clothes with blood splatters on it was normal. Payton had collapsed the Iron Spider Suit back into it's capsule. She folded up her normal Spider Girl suit too, leaving her in the black leggings and a white tank top she always wore under her suit.
Payton tried to hide how crappy she felt from Nebula by playing games with her. I Spy sucked when all there was to see was stars, so she showed Nebula how to play paper football and Twenty Questions. Very interesting playing Twenty Questions with someone from an entirely different culture than you. The only good thing from all this was seeing Nebula's face light up every time she beat Payton. It was as if she'd never won anything before. Which she later learned wasn't that far from the truth. Thanos was truly the biggest dick in the universe.
Right now, Nebula went to go look over the quickly dwindling supplies. The ones that Payton had looked at nearly everyday. Payton tried to eat the normal amount for a non enhanced. Nebula saw through that though. She still doesn't know how. And despite her insistence, Nebula tried her best to make sure she's eating. But it still wasn't enough.
Payton splashed water on her face in the restroom. She had just finished throwing up what little she had in her stomach. Her stomach had shrunken so much she could barley hold anything in anymore.
Payton tensed seeing her hands in the mirror but refused to look any further up. Her hands were so pale they were near translucent. The sleeves of Quill's jacket made her wrist seem impossible small.
She turned off the water probably harsher than necessary, refusing to look up.
If her hands looked that bad, she didn't want to see what would be looking at her. A shell of the eager girl who fought alongside her mentor, her hero. The man who was now a pile of dust on an alien planet.
With a shuddering breath, Payton stepped out of the rest room to find Nebula looking over supplies.
"Hey." Payton looked back to see Nebula staring back at her. "There's still a chance for us."
I'm not so sure anymore. "Alright." She paused looking back to Nebula. "How are you doing?"
"I'm alright." Nebula assured. "I don't require as much as others."
She let out a humorless laugh. "I wish I was that lucky."
"No you don't."
Payton sighed. "You should get some rest."
"Soon." Nebula assured looking back over the supplies.
Payton walked back to the seating area. She looked at the last piece of her mentor, a helmet that was barely functioning. She didn't know if she would make it home. Hopefully this would. She turned on the camera feature like Mr. Stark had taught her. She had already done this a handful of times.
A light blue light settled over her, flickering as it did. Payton taped the eye piece until the light held steady. "Is this working?" It had to. "Whatever." She took a deep breath. "Captain's log- Yeah that got old a while ago huh?"
She coughed hoarsely, looking up to see Mr. Stark laughing gently at her. He appeared a couple of days ago. Coming and going as he pleased, much like he had in life. Although like now, he's appeared more often towards the end.
"Sorry. Hi May. Or whoever's found this. Please let it be May. Either way it is Day twenty..." Which day was it? "...One? Yeah that sounds right. Day twenty one of our voyage. Nebula is officially the champion of paper football. And..." She sighed tiredly.
"Food ran out three days ago. Water two. Oxygen?" She tried not to cry. "Any hour now." She took another shaky breath. "It's not the worst way to go. I've read stories, people say that it'd be like falling asleep. May if you find this you need to know that I love you. That you owed me nothing and yet you still took care of me, raised me and I can never repay you for that. Ned. MJ both of y'all have been my best friends, my only friends really. And my greatest support. From school. From Ben. Even with Spider Girl. And I wouldn't have survived without y'all.
"Miss Potts..." She sniffed. "The last thing he said was your name. He whispered your name before fading. He loved you. There was no way to ever deny that. If nothing else, maybe you can take some comfort in that. I wanted a love as strong as that, as strong as May and Ben..." She wiped her eyes as Mr. Stark nodded at her encouragingly. "I wish I could've saved him. But as I die, I will cling onto the memories of the ones I loved like he did. This is Payton Parker, signing out."
She reached over and turned off the camera feed as her eyes grew heavy. She had to stay awake. She didn't want to go. She looked up as Mr. Stark put a hand under her chin, gently forcing her to look up at him. 'Looks like it's time for Spider- Baby to take a nap.'
"I'm not a baby." She slurred, shivering slightly. "And I'm not even tired."
'Maybe, but you still need to rest.'
"I don't want to leave Nebula alone."
'Don't worry." He said rubbing her arms, not creating any warmth. "She'll be fine.'
"Promise?"
He smiled warmly at her, kissing her forehead softly before easing her onto her side to lay down. She wasn't sure when she took off the jacket, but it was now draped over her like a blanket. 'I'll wake you when we get home.'
She smiled at him before her eyes slipped shut. A few minutes wouldn't hurt.
It only felt like a blink when she felt herself being lowered. She blinked up with heavy eyes as Nebula laid the red jacket on her.
"Neb?" She croaked, Mr. Stark was nowhere to be found, and realized she was in one of the pilot chairs.
"Yes?" She looked down at her with caring eyes.
"Thank you for being with me through all this."
Her gaze softened. "It was a pleasure." Nebula said before leaving her to rest. Payton shivered taking a shaky breath before closing her eyes again.
She didn't know how long she sat there, not asleep, yet not awake. Almost like she was floating. Before she could slip away, a bright light pierced through her closed eyes.
'Looks like you're saved kid.' Mr. Stark said uncharacteristically cheerful.
"Is it an angel?" She asked blinking her eyes open into slits. There she could barley make out an outline of a woman with long hair.
'Yeah.' He said as her eyes slipped shut again. 'You're going home.'
*******
Payton awoke to Nebula placing a hand on her shoulder.
"We've arrived."
"What?"
"We just passed through your planet's atmosphere. Come on." Nebula helped Payton put the jacket on properly, before helping her up.
As soon as she stood, she felt her knees threatening to buckle. Nebula wordlessly moved Payton's right arm over her shoulders as the two shuffled out of the ship. Was it just her or was the ship starting to spin?
Payton blinked against the Compound lights as they stepped down the stairs, the world righting itself. She looked out to see a small group approaching. Most of the original Avengers. Under different circumstances this would've been amazing. As she got to ground level, Rhodey ran forward, grabbing her other arm.
"We got you kid." He assured, moving her arm around his shoulder, sliding away from Nebula's grip.
"He's gone." She croaked out, shaking with each step. "Mr. Stark's gone. I couldn't save him."
"It's alright." Rhodey assured as he walked her to the Compound. The others moving out of their way, just watching.
"I almost had it off." She continued.
He paused. "What?"
"I-Miss Potts." Payton suddenly remembered. "I have to tell-"
"Payton." She blinked, looking up to the woman in question who seemed to have materialize from seemingly nowhere.
"I couldn't- He didn't-" How was she supposed to word it?
Instead Miss Potts hugged her. "If you couldn't save him, no one could."
They both knew it was a lie.
"Where's May?" She had to know. Miss Potts held her tighter. "Where's May?"
"Honey, I'm so sorry."
A noise akin to a dying animal escaped Payton as she sobbed, her knees giving in again. Miss Potts slid with her to the ground, a hand cupping the back of her head, as she sobbed. Sobbed for May. For Mr. Stark. For everyone else gone. But most of all for everyone left alive.
"Let's get her inside." Captain America said placing a hand on her shoulder. She couldn't help but flinch away.
*******
Payton pushed the oatmeal in her bowl as the others talked, in her other hand was her phone. She had been messing with it trying to find any information, Ned and MJ were gone too. She already had an IV in but Miss Potts thought she should try eating too. She was trying to get through to Dr. Cho, a doctor who was already familiar with her and her enhancements.
"World governments are in pieces." Natasha explained to her gently. "The remaining are trying to take census. And it looks like he did exactly what he said, he wiped out fifty percent of all living creatures."
Then I'll retire. And watch the sunrise on a grateful universe.
She looked around spotting a short haired and bearded man in a thick sweater. "What's his story?"
"Thinks he failed." The raccoon said. She blinked again. She had to be seeing things again. "Which of course he did, but eh there's a lot of that going around, ain't there?"
Payton blinked at the creature. "Honestly I started hallucinating a couple of days ago, are you real or just a Build- A- Bear?"
The raccoon shrugged. "Maybe I am."
"So Payton..." Steve said grabbing her attention. "What can you tell us about Thanos?"
"He's a bigger dick than you." Tony never knew she knew what happened at Siberia. From the video tape to the fight.
'Kid, be nice.' Ghost Tony gently reprimanded.
"Payton." Rhodey reprimanded gently.
"Kid." Steve said urgently as Payton pulled up a couple of files on her phone. "Surely you must've heard Thanos say something. Coordinates, scans, satellites. Anything?"
"Steve." Rhodey reprimanded harshly.
'Capsule's never exactly had tact, but don't take it out on him.'
"Rhodey." Steve said desperately. "We need to find him and-"
"Mr. Stark once told me that he thought the Avengers were the best thing he was a part of." She looked up to Steve. "Was it worth it? Destroying the Avengers?"
Steve took a deep breathe. "It's more complicated than-"
She held up her phone, letting a projection play of archive footage she had found of the Avengers as she worked with Mr. Stark.
"-That's... that's the endgame." Mr. Stark had said. "How were you guys planning on beating that?"
"Together." Steve had said.
"We'd lose."
"Then we'll do that together too."
'Kid' Ghost Tony almost sounded heartbroken.
She lowered her phone staring straight at him, her voice rising with each sentence. "I was with him. Nebula was with him. A magician was with him! Freaking aliens were with him! So where were you? Where were any of you?! Hiding behind Wakanda's army?!"
"We fought with Wakanda-"
"You should've been fighting with Mr. Stark like you said you would!" She cried standing up from her seat, the IV being ripped out of her.
'Underoos this is enough.' Ghost Tony said in a stronger voice. 'You need to calm down, and rest. I told you that situation was a lot more complicated and-'
"Payton." Rhodey said gently, moving towards her. "You need to sit-"
"Shut up!" She screeched, tears streaming down her face as she looked straight at Steve. "Tell me why. Why did you break up the Avengers?"
"I didn't-"
"Why?!" She demanded stalking closer to him, ignoring Rhodey's protest. "Were you that desperate to relive the past with your World War II buddy? Or were you just tired of being a soldier without a war to fight in you created your own?" She almost felt bad seeing him flinch. Yet the anger she didn't even know she had continued to spew out of her. "Well?!" She grabbed him by the front of the shirt. "Why?! Why did I have to lose everything again?!"
Mr. Stark. May. Ned. MJ. She couldn't be alone. She had to find... There had to be someone, anyone left. She couldn't be alone.
She pushed him away, not even realizing she lifted the man off his feet until he fell onto his butt. She staggered grabbing onto the nearby table.
"Payton." Rhodey said rushing to her side.
"I'm ok." She said turning to the door even as the room spun. "I have to find... I can't be..."
The floor rushed up to her.
"Payton!"
Vaguely she felt arms wrapped around her. She tried to stand up, tried to speak. But was quickly consumed by darkness.