Dijon Dirt and Earth
They fought Thanos. They fought the mad titan with all odds stacked against the crew. Peter called the little formation team "Anti-Thanos squad" simply because they mostly had a vendetta against the titan.
Quill and Nebula with a woman named Gamora.
Doctor Strange over the time stone.
Drax with his wife and child.
Tony with the 2012 attack on New York and Ultron.
Peter and Mantis were there just because.
It was during getting the gauntlet that it became tough. Mantis was on his shoulders, putting him into a deep slumber as Peter helps Tony with the gauntlet. Drax and Doctor Strange holding the titan down as heavy as possible.
And then came Star-Lord/Quill.
He was bragging already and Peter only ignored as he tries to pull the tight gauntlet out of Thanos's hand. It was difficult but they almost had it.
As he was pulling, He could hear Quill ask for Gamora.
Peter could hear Mantis being shocked as she said that he was in anguish.
Why was the mad titan in pain?
Peter didn't ask. He didn't want to. Whatever made him feel that way, it must've been hard and knowing from little bits, Thanos doesn't have much empathy. Peter just resumes to the gauntlet.
But Mantis was crying.
And then she said the words, "He... He... HE MOURNS!"
It was with the information the blue woman gave the team that made both Peter and Tony realize the stakes were now heightened.
Thanos killed Gamora.
Tony removes his helmet, "Okay, Quill, you gotta cool it right now, you understand?" He asks, his voice sounding desperate.
Peter could see Quill turning slowly to Thanos. His face said it all. His eyebags appeared darker, his eyes tearing up, his lip trembling ever so slightly. "Quill, don't," Peter says softly.
But Quill didn't listen.
Peter could hear Tony's heart rate pick up. Peter pulls quicker, as he hears Tony pleading to not engage, that they almost have it off and if he loses it, then half the universe loses on his mistake.
They couldn't have that. They really couldn't. But from Quill's reaction, Peter thinks Quill didn't care enough.
He hits Thanos with his space gun as both Tony and Drax yell his name as he did the most fatal mistake. Tony leaves his position to pull Quill away and yelling at him. And as that happened, a glimmer of hope appears as Peter sees a thumb.
"It's coming! It's coming! It's coming!" God, Peter was so excited he let a grin show on his face.
But unhappily, it didn't last.
Thanos woke up and took the gauntlet back, making Peter stumble. He still managed to stand but as he sees Mantis flying, he whispers an oh god and jumps to catch her before making his extended legs get out and assuring a safe landing.
And as Thanos swings a moon towards Tony's direction, Peter knew this was going to be a tougher fight than the last.
-
Peter puts the Guardians somewhere safe before he web slings to his mentor to rejoin the fight.
However, he was too slow.
Peter could see Thanos stabbing Tony with his piece of technology and he decides to use anti-gravity to his advantage and flies faster by interrupting his slinging.
Yet, he was too slow.
Peter was almost there when he saw Doctor Strange. The same man who said he would save the stone without hesitation if it came to either of them. The same man who bitterly said Tony's last name and gave judgmental stares towards Spider-Man.
The same man who said he would protect the stone is giving away the stone.
"Stop!" Doctor Strange orders which made all of them halt, "Spare his life..."
Peter manages to get in front of the injured Iron Man. He was met with the gauntlet powering up to kill Tony Stark completely but Peter would at least stop it. He hoped. He looks at Strange. As injured as the man was, he wasn't stupid as Peter knows.
He saw the gentle but pained look Strange gave to both Tony and Peter. He saw the not-so judgmental stares but more of concerned stares. He noticed the change from Stark to Tony. As if he knew him now.
What did Strange see?
"And I... will give you the stone."
"STOP!" Tony yells.
And it was all too quick for Peter.
Strange holds his two scarred, trembling fingers and in disguise as a star, the time stone appeared. He lets the time stone float to Thanos and in a few seconds, Thanos almost acquired all the stones.
It was horrifying.
Quill, up and running, hits Thanos but Thanos didn't even spare a glance. Whatever hit him now must've been similar to a fly. Thanos just left.
Peter bites his lip as he turns to Tony, his mask seeping away. "Are you okay?" He asks Tony.
Tony didn't respond. He just looked... hopeless.
"Did we just lose?" A frightened Quill asks.
Peter nods.
Tony with his sad and disappointed look combined with blood dripping from his mouth and stitching himself, looks at Strange, "Why did you do that?" He asks painfully, his head tilting to the side.
But Strange looks at Tony with the same gentleness. As if Tony could break from one poke. But Strange breathily states, "We're in the endgame now."
-
After the battle with Thanos, Peter felt queasy.
It wasn't like for Peter to feel that way. He's superhuman.
But here he was. Feeling sick.
He watched as everyone came together. Doctor Strange sitting on the rock, the guardians standing around and Tony laying down on the dijon dirt.
He remembers Strange's words.
"How many did we win?" Tony asks, afraid of the answer.
"One."
He looked between Tony and Peter the way Natasha looked when he woke up in medbay when he fought Adrian Toomes: Regretful. Scared. Wise. It almost scared Peter at that moment.
With only the mind stone left to obtain, It'll be easy since he acquired five of the six needed infinity stones.
Shoving the thoughts down, he goes and helps Tony, wrapping his arms around the man's waist to keep him steady. After all, he was stabbed and nearly given everything from Thanos's gauntlet. Tony gives him his repulsor, "You might need it with the injuries, kid."
Peter nods. But he didn't care about his injuries. He knew that they lost a battle. A battle that was so imperative that now Thanos is unstoppable. He stands with Tony, staring up at the golden skies. It was beautiful. Despite it being a dead planet. It had little rings that Peter could see. If it weren't for the reason of why Peter was here, maybe he would've taken a picture and said he survived his trip to space.
His spidey sense started to ring.
Peter looks around frantically. They weren't in danger anymore. They shouldn't be. Thanos was away going to earth, no one knows that they're here. No one.
What was the danger his spidey sense alerted him too?
As the dijon dirt flies around, Peter realizes it.
The eerie silence, the howls of the wind, the sudden atmosphere of solemn being replaced with fearful tension.
Thanos has the mind stone.
The only lingering question is if Thanos snapped. Did he accomplish his sickening evil goal to wipe out half the universe?
Peter got his answer within nanoseconds.
"Something... is happening." Is all Mantis had said before turning to dust.
Horrified at the moment, Peter looks around, gulping. His spidey sense giving him hell as the area around him beats. He could hear everyone's quickened heartbeats, he could see everyone's pupils widen as they saw Mantis joining the dijon dirt.
Any word for how frightened Peter felt was a low word as he has seen Drax look to Quill as if he was his anchor.
"Quill?" Drax asks, only to turn to dust himself.
Peter looks at Quill. And so does Tony.
"Steady, Quill." His mentor says, hoping his words can save Star-Lord.
"Aw, man." Quill proceeded to join Drax and Mantis.
Peter felt like a child. Watching these people... die. It was uncanny to how similar it was to watch Uncle Ben die. He had his powers but didn't stop the perpetrator from murdering his uncle as he just let him go.
He had his powers. He had his powers with an upgraded suit but that didn't stop Thanos from murdering half of the universe.
"Hey." Both himself and Tony turn to Doctor Stephen Stange. The one man who told them out of fourteen million and six hundred and five futures he saw, they only won one.
He too is fading to dust.
"It was the only way." He says both heartbreakingly but calmy as he accepts his terrible fate and finally becoming nothing but ash mixed into the dijon dirt on Titan.
The only people left was the angry blue woman, Tony, and Peter.
Tony and Peter look at each other.
His spidey sense went silent.
Peter thought that maybe the three of them weren't in danger. That in this random and cruel game of heads and tales of getting disintegrated, the three of them would win.
"Peter." Tony starts.
His spidey sense skyrocketed.
No.
No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
Please god, no.
Anyone but him and mom, please.
Let it be me.
LET IT BE ME.
Peter hurries over to Tony, clutching him as if he was hugging someone for the last time. And he was.
"I love you, Peter. you were like a son to me."
"Mr. Stark-"
"I love you s-"
Peter and Tony fall to the ground, Peter over Tony but leaning to the right of him. He looks at Peter. He looks at Peter like he was his universe. With his glossy eyes, and sloppy smile with his eyes crinkling almost allowing a tear to slip out.
"Don't leave. Please don't leave like Uncle Ben or my dad. PLEASE." Peter pleads to Tony.
But all Tony did was give him another smile. As to say don't worry about me, kiddo. He looks at Peter and Peter looks at him. Peter realized Tony can't do anything about it. Nothing.
Peter hated it. But he flashes him a smile. He cups Tony's bruised cheek gently and Tony leans into his touch.
Tony faded away in Peter Parker's arms.
Peter silently clutches Tony's ashes as tears shimmered in his eyes. He sits next to where Tony laid in agony as now Peter was left alone with the angry blue woman.
"He did it." She whispers solemnly.
All Peter could do at that moment was to only look up to the beautiful golden skies as he wishes Tony could rejoin him.
-
Natasha was under the earth when she felt a glimmer of hope shine through. She had seen Thor throw his new ax right in Thano's chest.
Natasha thought Thor had saved them.
And as Thor pushes his ax deeper into Thano's chest, she could hear the guts squishing together and see a speck of indigo blood on his purple armor.
Natasha thought Thor had saved them.
She could hear nothing Thano's ragged breath as he says something and soon enough:
Natasha hears the deafening snap.
"NO!"
After Thanos snapped his fingers, Natasha closed her eyes as white light consumed the skies.
She wondered if Peter was okay.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Natasha could hear Thor roar, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Natasha could smell burnt metal mixed in with a burnt corpse before Thanos swiftly leaves. leaving a rising genocide and the ax now colored with burning, Titan blood.
As the earth retreats, Natasha immediately stands and runs.
Through the trees and pinecones, Natasha sees Wakandan warriors turn into ash.
No other word could amount into how scared Natasha felt. How her heart leaped from her ribs to her throat or how her legs slightly wobbled.
Nothing.
Everything was silent.
Warriors were falling and so were some of the avengers.
She could see T'challa turn into dust as he ironically tells his best general that this was no place to die. Okoye's eyes widened as when she reached for her king, the king wasn't there. It was as if he wasn't existing. The General only whimpers as she looks around Wakanda- her home- in panic.
Natasha sees Groot laying on the wood as he says his final words and the talking Raccoon denying the snap getting his companion.
She could only hope that the snap couldn't get her kid.
And that's when she heard Steve Rogers letting out a pained noise. Similar to a kicked puppy.
Why did Steve snivel?
"Nat?"
And Natasha takes a quick look at herself.
She, too, was turning into meaningless dirt.
"Steve?" She asks, trying to reach out and she successfully does. She grips her best friend's forearm with all the strength she had, the dirt coming up to her shoulders quickly, "Tell Peter I love h-!"
And as she fades to dust, her eyes roll back and she doesn't feel herself or the bracelet fall as she goes into slumber.
-
All that was left was Steve Rogers sitting on the floor next to what should've his best friends, "Oh god."