And the Grammy Goes To
Peter grabbed Tony's arm with one hand and threw off the massive rubble with his other, not looking back as he shot a web grenade to hold the rest of the collapsing ceiling.
There were screams from behind them, and Peter's eyes filled with tears as he pulled Tony out and shot a web, swinging them both towards the wall.
He crashed through it with his feet and they both fell into open air. Tony and Peter spiraled out of the building that promptly caved in on itself and fell to the ground, exploding with a massive fire ball.
Peter wrapped his arms tighter around Tony, who's suit was still down, and he slowed their fall, twisting so he would be the one to hit the ground. Tony and he got separated during the impact and they tumbled off, Peter smacking into a big section of rubble, the hit to his head almost knocking him out.
He gasped for breath, trying to pull himself up but not having the strength to. Pain coursed through his body and his eyesight grew fuzzy.
"KID! KID! Where-" Tony came limping from the other side of the pile of rocks. His eyes fell on Peter, his blue and red suit limp against the rubble. Peter groaned as Tony ran over as fast as he could, holding his side.
"Karen, call an extra suit," Tony said breathlessly as he dove to his knees. He looked at Peter in shock, not saying anything, instead processing what happened, what Peter had done. His hands were out, hovering next to Peter's sides, unsure of what to do.
"I've alerted FRIDAY," Peter's A.I. responded.
Tony stared at Peter who pulled off his mask, knowing no one was watching. Tears were streaming down his face and he sobbed, "I couldn't- I couldn't let you die-"
"Hey," Tony said shakily.
"It's all my fault- I-" Peter cried.
"No," Tony said, wrapping his arms around him tightly.
Peter shuddered and sobs, curling into the embrace, so small, so scared.
"I couldn't help it-" Peter sobbed, his whole body trembling.
"Hey, no, shhh, I know Pete-" Tony whispered, just holding him in shock. He ran a hand through his hair, leaning back to sit fully down and bring Peter closer, firm arms encircling him protectively.
"I killed them-" Peter's heartbroken voice was muffled. "I- I hate myself-"
"No Peter, no. I- you can't pin this on yourself. We helped a lot of people," Tony assured him quietly.
"You wanted me to let it fall. You wanted me to get them out," Peter sobbed quietly, squeezing his eyes shut and digging his nails through the suit's fabric and into his palms until Tony slapped his wrist.
"Yeah Pete, I did. But- I would have done the same for you," Tony said firmly.
"It's all my fault- I killed them-" Peter said in shock, realizing what he had just done. 10 people. Dead because of him.
"It wasn't...don't think like that, ok? Breathe kid. Just breathe," Tony said, rubbing his back and holding him tighter, putting a hand atop his head.
But Peter couldn't breathe. All he heard were the screams of the people he had abandoned.
It was 10 versus Tony.
He had chosen Tony.
He knew he would do it again. But the pain was worse than anything he had ever felt.
Peter gasped for breath, looking up from Tony's embrace before he scrambled backward on the floor.
"Interesting," Thanos said.
Peter snapped out of his trance, still feeling tears falling down his cheeks and he whipped his head around, looking as the setting he had been immersed in peeled away into red dust. Thanos was in front of him in the dark room and suddenly all of Peter's pain came back, slamming into him and he buckled, falling onto the floor.
Peter lifts his head, shaking, tears still freely streaming down his face. "Stop it," he seethed, choking on a sob as he tried to steady his breathing and focus on reality, his mind spinning.
"Your bond is strong," Thanos said, as the stone in the gauntlet died down. "You would kill for him."
"I didn't-" Peter started weakly.
"But you would. You would always chose to save him."
Peter glared at the titan, still breathing hard, adjusting to the familiar dark room and the pain level.
"I'll keep that in mind," Thanos said.
"Why are you keeping me here?" Peter said, leaning on his side, his elbow pressed against the cold rough floor. "Do you really think I'm gonna play along with your stupid plan?"
"Peter, I don't need you. You're more of a...bonus. Expendable, worthless, but useful," Thanos admitted. Peter curled his fists and flinched as the titan took a step closer. "Stark is the only thing stopping me from getting the stones," Thanos said darkly.
The titan bent down and grabbed Peter's chin, holding up his head forcefully and looking coldly into his eyes. "And I have one of the few things he cares about." Thanos' voice was cold and confident. Peter blanched, breathing in short bursts due to the grip pulling his chin up.
Thanos grinned, "You know what that is? It's you Peter."
"This is risky," Bruce warned, hunched over the computer, his fingers flying across the keyboard.
"I don't care," Tony snapped. "He has my kid."
"Ok guys, let's recap the plan-" Steve said, giving Tony a reassuring look as he walked over to where the group was gathered.
"No time," Clint called over his shoulder. "We just got a strong signal.."
"Ok team, show time," Tony said, shoving his shaking hand in his pocket. "Positions," he said firmly, taking a step forward as everyone took a step back behind the invisible wire they had set up.
"FRIDAY?" Tony asked nervously.
"All systems ready boss," she relayed.
"Connecting in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1-" Bruce clicked the ENTER key. Everyone held their breaths.
For a second nothing happened. The 3D screen Tony had positioned went to static and Tony's heart fell. All that work for nothing. That had been their only chance-
Suddenly Tony blinked, but it wasn't his imagination. There was a shimmer in the air in front of the screen and Thanos melted into view, red dust curling off of him and disappearing once it hit the ground. The red stone in the gauntlet was glowing and Tony sucked in a breath. The reality stone.
Everyone tensed and readied their weapon but Thanos spoke before any of them could attack.
"I'm not...here. Before you waste any of your bullets."
The Avengers were restless, unsure of what to do.
"I give you my word," Thanos smiled.
"Your word means jack to me," Tony snarled and clicked a button on his arm. His robot DUM-E moved his arm through the hologram. Thanos' form shimmered, as the arm passed through. The titan narrowed his eyes at the Avengers.
"I was telling the truth," the titan said simply.
"Yeah, well that's a first for you isn't it?" Tony snapped.
"If I was actually here I could have killed all of you," Thanos pointed out.
"Try us," Cap said firmly, tightening his strap on his sheild.
"Where's. My. Kid?" Tony said through gritted teeth, out of no where. He needed to see Peter. He needed to see his kid.
"Oh, Peter?" Thanos smiled.
Tony's lip curled into a snarl and he balled his fists, glaring daggers at the titan.
The titan closed his gauntlet and the purple stone pulsed. Thanos put out his other hand and out of no where Peter came into frame, caught by Thanos around the neck, his limp form hanging a foot off the ground, his head slumped to his chest. The boy seemed to be unconscious but his body was flinching, his hands curling and uncurling.
There were gasps around the room as they saw what the titan had done. There were clearly tearstains on the boy's cheeks, along with countless bruises and cuts that tore through his suit, covering his body. The only person unphased was Nebula, but she too was tense, anger in her eyes as if she was furious that the torture was done on someone other than herself.
"Peter-" Tony choked, looking at the boy he was supposed to protect. "What did you do to him?"
Thanos smiled and it was then all the Avengers noticed the red dust swirling around Peter's form. Thanos touched the boy's head with the gauntlet and suddenly the teenager's eyes shot open. They flashed bright red before they faded back to their normal brown and Peter gasped for breath- or tried to.
He choked, grabbing the hand that was wrapped around his throat, kicking his legs, his eyes wide with panic.
"Let him go!" Tony yelled.
Thanos dropped Peter who promptly crumpled to the floor gasping and coughing, his hand clutching his throat as he trembled on the ground.
All the Avengers flinched, some even looked away.
"Peter," Tony said quietly, not knowing what else to say.
The boy looked up from the floor and looked at Tony in disbelief. His face broke into a small smile, which faded as quickly as it had surfaced but it had still shown.
"Tony?" He murmured.
"Hey underoos," Tony said proudly, tears coming to his eyes. He almost breaks at the sound of Peter's voice...the look in his eyes, it's- it's full of pain, fear. There's a verge of hope and then the disregard of it like it's too late, or not worth believing in.
"We can save the reunion for later," Thanos said, grabbing the back of Peter's neck, pulling him roughly to his feet. The teenager lets out a cry of pain, gritting his teeth as he struggles underneath the titan's grip, letting out strangled sounds of agony through his pursed lips.
"Stop!" Tony roars, his voice shattering, "Stop."
Peter locks eyes with him, on the verge of crying, his face screwed up in pain and he lets out a choked gasp, turning it into a snarl clearly directed at the titan holding him.
Tony feels like he's going to throw up. He's shaking with anger, not knowing what to do but to stare at Peter. Wanda bites her lip and moves closer to Vision. Even Cap is tense, trying to steady his breathing. Hearing the kid's cry of pain had rattled all the Avengers, Tony the most.
"We're here to ask why you took the kid," Cap says simply.
"You want the stones, why bring a 16 year old into this?" Natasha follows up, trying not to show emotion but Tony sees the pain in even her eyes, trying not to look at Peter.
"Peter's been asking me the same thing," Thanos says, looking down at Peter who flinches and then steels himself. Tony knows there's a snappy retort coming.
"Yeah, and you won't give me a straight answer Grimace. I just think you like my jokes," Peter snarls.
Tony feels a surge of pride at Peter's smart alec quip.
Thanos frowns and then tightens his grip, making Peter wince with pain but then laugh it off, turning his head as much as he can. "Hey, usually you don't mind my commentary. What's up man? Wanna show off for your guests?"
Everyone readies their weapons, knowing the kid pushed too far, but knowing they can't stop whatever's going to happen next.
Peter, for the love of God, Tony thinks, wincing.
Thanos's gauntlet glows with purple light and he brings it against Peter's head despite the boy's desperate struggles to get away from it. He presses it against Peter's temple and the boy's knees buckle as his whole body contorts into pain. Peter lets out a scream and then Thanos moves the gauntlet away, satisfied.
"I'm gonna kill you, you son of a-" Tony swears, his voice trembling with anger.
"You're sick," Wanda says quietly.
"Oh he's more than-" Peter starts, still wincing in pain.
"Peter," Tony says sharply and the kid glances at him guiltily. "Shut up," Tony says lightly, giving him a small smile.
"Yea," Peter says, giving a small smile in return and keeping his mouth shut.
"You still haven't answered our question," Vision says, moving forward slightly. "This stone in my head is a beautiful thing. Complex, but beautiful. I am on the side of life. Yet you wish to use it's power for darkness and destruction. Why?"
"Because he's a muderer," Quill hissed. "You killed Gamora!" His eyes filled with tears and his hand went to his blaster.
"It was the hardest choice I've ever had to make. But it had to be done," Thanos said quietly.
"You come down here and I'll make an easy choice and kill you myself," Quill snarled.
Thanos simply smiled at his threat, disregarding it without a second thought.
"Why?" Nebula said lowly from the back of the room where he was leaning against the wall.
"Hello daughter," Thanos smiled.
"Why did you do it?" Nebula demanded, straightening and taking a step forward, murder in her stare. "Answer me!"
"Because in the long run, everything will pay off," Thanos promised. "I will save the universe from a fate that is inevitable. Unavoidable."
"Thank you, walking thesaurus. It can be avoided. Everything can be avoided," Tony snapped.
"That's the problem. Humanity, life across this universe, you are all convinced that the end of the world, the destruction ahead...you think of it as just a myth. Maybe in your time, but tell me Tony, when you die, who will be there to save the world from caving in on itself?" Thanos asked.
The Avengers shifted. That was a problem that they had all thought about. When they passed on, who would carry on their legacy? Who could be there to protect Earth when they couldn't?
"In every instance, civilizations, no matter how advanced, will plunge into a world of chaos and death all the same," Thanos said. "There will come a time when there is nothing to rebound from. Where the universe tears itself apart and is nothing but dust and blood."
"Well aren't you a glass half full," Tony snarled.
"That's your play?" Rhodey asked, crossing his arms, "Going off of something that could or could not happen?"
"You call yourself the Avengers. It's in your blood. It's in your name. This act must happen," Thanos urged.
"He wants to kill innocent people just so he can prove to a bunch of dead people that he was right," Peter pipes up. "This happened to his planet."
Tony shot Peter a warning look but luckily someone else stepped in to fill the gap before Thanos could hurt the kid again.
"Titan," Doctor Strange nods. "I remember you told me."
"Yes doctor, I did," Thanos smiles. He turns, forcing Peter to turn with him with a wince. "You of all people should understand that all the paths lead to either me or to the end. Unless I put a stop to it."
"To you? Yes. To the end? No. There are versions of the future where in executing your plan, you provoke the end of the world anyway," Strange says calmly.
Thanos nods sadly, "That I cannot control. Life will have every opportunity to evolve, to move on. I they don't, this plan will fail. They must learn to accept the truth."
"Truth is a relative term," Cap said harshly.
"It is to those who are blind of it's true meaning," Thanos retaliates.
"You're saying if people can't move on?" Wanda questions. "Do you expect us to just accept the fact that our friends and family have died around us and we just have to start over? It does not work that way."
"It has to work that way," Thanos hisses.
"Why?" Cap said firmly.
"Because it's the only way," Thanos said simply. There was silence for a second, some of the Avengers exchanging looks.
"We won't stand by and let you murder innocent people," Cap finally said.
Thanos looked dissapointed and Peter grinned, "Tough luck buddy-" The titan punched Peter in the side and there was an unmistakable sound of at least one rib cracking.
There were shouts echoed across the room as everyone gasped and Tony let out a strangled yell that was far from words and more desperation. Shock rippled among the Avengers because Peter was somehow not in screaming pain, almost as if he was...used to it.
"Let the kid go," Tony snarls and Peter shoots him a nervous look, Tony shooting him one of heartbreak and guilt.
"And why should I do that?" Thanos asks, tightening his grip and lifting Peter so that he could barely touch the ground with his scrambling feet. Peter pressed his lips together to stop from screaming, his body trembling in effort.
Tony spreads his hands and forces himself to remain calm while his kid is in pain right in front of him, "Like Cap said, we're not agreeing to your genocidal plan. You want to fight?" he asks, "We will fight you fair and square. You can try to get the stones, and we'll kill you. Simple as that."
Thanos smiles. "And this is where the tables turn. I took Peter for a reason, Stark. The minute he stepped in to protect you on Titan, I knew." Tony balled his fists, he and Peter tense as the titan looked between them, ignoring the watching Avengers in the room.
Thanos smiled at Tony, "You know he told me he thinks of you as a father. Well, he didn't tell me. I've been in his head."
"Shut up," Peter seethed, breathing harshly through his nose and gritting his teeth, suddenly struggling in the titan's grip.
Tony exchanged glances with Nebula. She had been right. Everything she had said, all the horrors...Peter had gone through them all. And he still hadn't been persuaded. Tony felt a guilty pride in his kid, despite knowing what that meant he went through.
"I've seen his worst fear. Do you want to know what it is?" Thanos asked.
"Shut UP," Peter seethed, only for Thanos to tighten his grip and Peter to tense, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Stop," Tony whispered, looking at Peter, who now had hot tears sliding down his cheeks as he tried to jerk away despite the pain, and then to Thanos who was watching them both carefully.
"It was watching you die," Thanos said, looking up at Tony. "I let him experience it a couple times."
"Peter, it's ok. I'm here, it's ok," Tony said as calmly as he could. He was shaking in rage and Peter let out a strangled sob, looking at Tony almost...guiltily.
"That is why I took Peter, Stark. I tried to convince him to join me, yes. I even tried to force him. But you and Peter have a special bond. And I'm not going to waste my time breaking it, when I can just use it," Thanos said slowly. Tony eyes widened and he balled his fists.
"No," Tony said softly, shaking his head.
"You have 2 infinity stones. I need both of them, and a location of where you are." Thanos shrugs, "You have something I want, I have something you want." Thanos walked Peter forward just to prove his point.
"No," Cap said firmly before Tony even had a chance to speak. "We're not going to give up the stones."
"You would at least get a chance to fight me for them. I will get the stones either way Captain Rogers," Thanos said darkly. "It's a matter of if you want Peter Parker back alive." He looked down at the teenager.
Peter's eyes shot wide and he tried to swallow his fear.
"No!" Tony said quickly. "We'll-"
"That doesn't change anything," Cap said firmly. "We can't let you get the stones."
Peter's face crumpled and his eyes flicked back and forth nervously.
"Rogers-" Tony snapped.
"Tony!" Cap yelled, forcing Tony to turn around. "We can't risk the lives of billions of people for one kid. I'm sorry."
"If you won't accept the terms then I have no use for him," Thanos shrugged. He let go of Peter and the teenager immediately tried to sprint but fell, his leg giving out. Peter screamed in pain, grabbing his knee before he was suddenly sliding back across the floor to Thanos and forced onto his knees. The power stone glowed and Peter cried out, an invisible grip keeping his arms at his sides and his back straight.
"Tony-" Peter gasped quietly, his eyes wide with fear.
"Tony," Steve said harshly, putting a hand on his shoulder firmly. "There's no contest here. One life versus trillions if he gets these stones."
Peter looked at Cap in pain, but then he swallowed and spoke, trying not to have his voice shake, "It's- it's ok. You heard him Tony. He's right."
"No Pete," Tony snapped, shoving Steve's arm off him in distaste.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked Cap angrily. "That's my kid!"
"If he gets those stones Tony?" Cap warned. "Snap out of it!" He turns to the screen, "The answer is still no. You aren't getting the stones without a fight. Even- even if you kill the kid. And we aren't giving you any locations."
Thanos watches the Avengers carefully, Tony spinning around, begging someone to take his side. Slowly everyone backs up toward Cap and Tony can't believe it.
"No," he says weakly, looking at the stone faces of his friends who suddenly have eyes for the ground.
"I thought wrong," Thanos says simply.
"Guys-" Tony gasps, turning. "We can't let-"
He's cut off suddenly by Peter's weak, pleading voice, "Wait- no, no, no-" His scream pierces the room and Tony whirls. Peter's face is scrunched up in pain as the power stone is pressed against his temple harshly, Thanos grinding the stone in.
"Stop! PETER!" Tony yells. "STOP IT!"
Peter's awful screams continue and Tony yells, "NO! STOP!"
"Tony-" Steve starts forward and Tony whirls with his repulsor, blasting him straight in the chest. He flies backward and Tony slams his hand on a button on his arm. A lab wall used for shielding experiments comes down from the ceiling, separating him from the rest of the team who start banging on the bulletproof wall.
"I said STOP!" Tony roars fiercely.
Thanos, amused by the current circumstance, obliges and removes the stone. Peter lets out one final scream and starts gasping, tears streaming down his face before Thanos let's him drop. Peter's seemingly unconscious, his body flinching from the last bit of the energy.
Tony breaths a sigh of relief that he wasn't dead.
"I'll give you what you want," Tony says breathlessly, one tear dropping down his cheek as he looks at what Thanos had done to Peter, the kid curled on his side in pain.
Thanos waits for him to continue.
"I'm only gonna say this once. They may not care about the kid," Tony motions to the Avengers behind him trying to get past the barrier. Cap hits it with his retrieved shield and it bounces off but Tony knows it won't hold forever. He turns back angrily, "but I do. And I have a big enough ego and enough stupidity to guarantee that we will end you the minute you step on Earth. You bring the kid. We have the stones. I'll lock down all transportation around the compound. They'll all stay in one place because they know they're stronger in numbers."
Cap's shield made a dent in the wall and the barrier shuddered. Tony sped up his talking, typing and swiping on his arm. "I'm sending you coordinates now of where our base is located. You come here tomorrow at 5 sharp, the base will be cleared out except us. I will fight you to protect Earth, but I will not lay my life down to protect those stones as long as you can guarantee me by kid is safe."
Thanos watched him carefully, rather impressed, "And how do I know you're bluffing?"
"I gave you my word," Tony quotes his cockily. "And that's my kid. I'd do anything for him. This is my fault anyway," Tony says. He isn't lying.
"Tony no-" Peter says weakly, but Thanos slams the gauntlet into the side of Peter's head as he tries to stand up, and Peter crumples to the floor unconscious.
Tony snarls, "For that I'm going to kill you. Slowly." He then bites his tongue, worried he had just ruined the deal he had made but Thanos just smiles, obviously not threatened in the slightest.
"You can try. I see I've underestimated you Stark. You betrayed your friends, your family, for one boy," Thanos said, amused.
"He's my family," Tony snarled, the barrier giving way behind him. He narrows his eyes at the titan. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Cap broke down the barrier and both Rhodey and Natasha lunged forward. Tony took one more longing look at Peter who was stirring on the ground before his 2 friends grabbed him and wrestled him away from the screen.
Peter woke up for a brief second, locking eyes with Tony as he was forced to the ground.
"No-" he said weakly. "Tony- no!"
Cap threw his shield into the power box and the connection was lost, the teenager and the titan disappearing. Everyone was breathing hard and they turned to Tony who was on the floor.
He looked up weakly, "They gone?"
Cap grabbed his shield from where it was wedged in the power box, "Yeah."
Rhodey and Nat helped Tony up and he took a deep breath.
"I think he bought it."
Peter threw himself at Thanos, punching and kicking him as hard as he could. The titan backhanded him across the room and Peter sank to the floor, coughing up blood against the wall.
"I hate you," he seethed. "Do you know what they'll do to him?"
"You wanted me to kill you," Thanos infers.
"Rather me than the universe," Peter hisses.
"You are brave Peter, I will admit. Never have I seen resilience like I see in you."
"Yeah well, when I have to deal with you big ugly grape everyday, it tends to build up," Peter coughed out.
Thanos smiled away the insult, looking down at the gauntlet. Peter couldn't help but flinch.
Thanos had turned his back, undoubtedly putting in Earth's coordinates and Peter couldn't hold back a groan as he sat himself up against the wall.
"Did you call them?" he asked, attempting some small talk with the mad titan, since he didn't have anything else better to do.
Thanos shakes his head, still turned to the screen, "No. I knew they would contact me eventually. Worried if I had killed you."
"Yeah well turns out you didn't have the balls to," Peter mutters. Thank God he had said that quietly. Tony had been right, he needed to shut up. He had been only causing himself more pain with every quip that flew out of his mouth before his mind even processed what it was. It's what had gotten him into and out of so many fights in high school. It was his signature trait as Spiderman. His mouth.
Whether it was to distract, intimidate, or bore, Peter could do it. Tony would always say it was a blessing and a curse, but until now, he didn't have a reason to believe it could ever be the latter.
He remembered Tony's expression when he had first seen him. Peter didn't exactly have a mirror to fix his hair in, so he figured he looked pretty bad. The pain was almost numb now, which probably wasn't good. Even with his high pain tolerance from his abilities his nerves had been overloaded more than a day ago.
It hurt to see Tony. To see him, but know he wasn't actually there. To see the pain in the man's eyes whenever he looked at him, and to hear his voice crack when he had said his name.
For the first day he had been in this awful place he hoped Tony would find him and save him. But lately that was the last thing he wanted. All this place was was fear and pain and torture. He didn't want Tony anywhere near that. And now, because of him, Tony had snapped and agreed to welcome Thanos onto Earth, and fight the Avengers, which had the last 2 infinity stones in their posession. All this was was one step closer to the snap, as Thanos called it.
"Can you even snap?" Peter asked. "I mean it's gonna be really stupid if you get all this way and then are one of those people that physically can't snap their fingers?"
"The innocent mind is a wonderful thing," Thanos said, looking down on him like he was a five year old.
Peter screwed up his face and asked a more pressing question.
"What- what happens to the people that get snapped?"
"I don't know," Thanos says simply. "I have always wondered."
"Always?" Peter scoffs, “What, when you were little did you say to your mom, 'hey when I grow up, I'm going to murder half the universe'!"
"I did not know my mother. I don't even know if I had one," Thanos ponders that.
Peter makes a face, "That's disturbing."
"But yes, it has been my plan for as long as I remember," the titan says, almost happily, which Peter finds really messed up.
"Great. You know most kids want to be a vet or something," Peter mumbles, still leaning against the wall. He didn't feel like moving. He wasn't being tortured but at the same time, having small talk with the titan that wants to end the world isn't exactly soothing. It wasn't like he could just ask, 'hey Thanos, what’s your favorite color?'
Probably purple.
Peter blinked, shaking out his dizziness. He had hit his head to hard. Correction- Thanos had hit him in the head to hard.
Peter flinched, seeing Tony so desperately agreeing to anything just to save his life, locking eyes with him seconds before he was tackled to the ground by Rhodey and Nat, people he had thought were his friends. Peter had a stab of sudden hate for the Avengers. He knew, in that moment, he agreed with them, that his life was nothing compared to the trillions, but looking back and making it simple: they were going to let him die.
Human nature forbade him to have any kind of love for someone who would do that. Peter frowned and tried to think of something else.
He suddenly had a question and of course his curiousness took over and Peter just blurted out. "The snap is by chance, right? 50%, no specifics. It's at random?"
"That is correct," Thanos nodded, still typing and adjusting things at the screen. Peter couldn't see the details; his eyesight was blurry, which he was not used to. Usually it was 20/20. He had even thrown away his glasses the minute he got his powers. But now it was just like old times, since his healing ability was failing. That couldn’t be good. Peter hopes that isn’t permanent.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and asked his question. "Doesn't that mean that you could die?"
Thanos paused, then turned around to look at Peter, then stared at the wall in contemplation. He finally came to the conclusion and nodded slowly, "Yes. Yes it does."
"Then why risk it? Why go on a possible suicide mission?" Peter spluttered. "It just doesn't make sense."
"Because it's the right thing to do," Thanos said simply. “This universe must be fixed. And I will do whatever it takes to correct it.”
”Even if you kill innocent people?” Peter asked.
Thanks turned around for a second and smiled, “No one is innocent.”
Peter pressed himself against the wall, not daring to speak or move. He just stared at the back of the titan who was out of his mind. Peter held back all the nasty retorts he could have hurled at the titan, knowing Thanks could make him scream in pain with a flick of his finger. Peter, for once in his life, was truly scared.
"And the Grammy goes to," Tony joked, Cap walking in to grab coffee.
Steve smirked and reached into the cabinet, grabbing a mug and filling it up from the steaming pot Tony offered him.
"How's the team?" Tony asked. "I went back to the lab to fix the part- well the whole machine you decided to throw your shield at," Tony waved off Cap's attempted apology with a small smile. "It’s fine, I fixed it. But I know you stuck around. They ok?"
"A little shaken," Cap admitted.
"Shaken how?" Tony asked.
"Thanos' plan...he's- he's off his rocker Tony, you know that. We've both seen crazy...some people haven't. And seeing what he did to-" Cap looked down. "Seeing what he did to Peter...He's a strong kid."
"Darn right," Tony said quickly.
"You convinced Thanos pretty well. I have to say, for how many plans we've thought up in the past? That one worked out pretty well," Cap said happily.
Tony's gaze dropped to the ground, "Yeah? Well, it's not that hard to fake it when your kid's being tortured in front of you, you know?"
He still heard Peter's screams, still saw him staring at him in fear, the titan holding him from behind so hardly that the kid couldn't move with out pain... the way he said his name- the way his voice sounded- the way Thanos slammed his gauntlet into the side of his head without a care that this was just a kid, a 16 year old kid who had done nothing wrong but meet Tony-
"I'm sorry Tony," Cap said sadly, snapping Tony out of his spiraling and jumbled thoughts. "I know he's like a son to you-"
"He is my son," Tony said firmly, sipping from his mug. Then quieter, as if telling himself again, realizing he had said his thoughts out loud, "He is my son."
Steve nodded, not knowing exactly what to say.
They sat there in silence.
"This better work or I'm blowing that purple grape off the side of the milky way," Tony swore.
Cap grinned, and they clinked their cups. "Agreed."