Chapter Text
Peter goes to help Mr.Stark take off Thanos’ glove. He can’t fail, if he does half his world is gone. (And he’s just about to start his first year of college!) Pulling isn’t going to be enough; he has to stick his hands and yank with everything he has. This isn’t a time to hold back. Mantis can’t suede him forever. His head buzzes saying something is coming, but he can’t look he has to get the infinity gauntlet. Starlord (Quill) starts punches Thanos, it’s just another reason for him to work faster. “It's coming, it’s coming! I almost got it.” he says.
It’s too late by then. On the last pull it’s ripped from his hand and Peter’s flying through the air. (it’s a miracle his skin and suit didn’t rip away from him. He was holding on so hard.) Mantis gets thrown away as well and he races to break her fall using the iron legs. Everything hurts but he’s not down yet so he has to keep trying. Something is pulsing against his hand. When he catches a quick look he sees half of an orange stone and a quarter of a red one. These have to be part of the soul and reality stones. What does he do with these? Dr. Strange. He has to get to Dr. Strange. Mr. Stark and the others are still trying to hold Thanos off from getting the time stone. That doesn’t matter right now because he has something that can help them win. There’s still a chance. Peter never goes all out, because he doesn’t like hurting others and he’s never really had a reason. So when he breaks into the fastest sprint of his life, it feels liberating. A purple hand tries to grab him but he’s moving too fast. He’s so close to reaching Dr. Strange. Out of the 14,000,605 timelines Strange said they only win once. Maybe this is that chance. When he reaches Dr. Strange the man's eyes immediately snap towards him.
“Spider-man you got a piece of two stones.” Peter can hear the surprise in his voice but doesn’t focus on it.
“Yeah. I was wondering if they could help. I only got half of the soul stone and a quarter of the reality stone but, w-wha-” he pauses for a brief moment to heave in air. “What if this is the chance we need? What if we can win? Maybe everything isn’t lost”
“Give me the reality stone.” Peter hands it to him without question.
“I’m going to give Thanos the time stone, but I’ll need to do something first.” He starts moving his hands.
“What!? You can’t do that. It’s just giving up. We’ll be playing right into his hands. We still have a chance you can’t give up yet.”
“I’m sorry Peter, this is the only way.” He starts to feel a bit light headed, and sees magic sparkle beneath his feet. His spider sense is screaming but he doesn’t know if it’s because of Thanos approaching or the magic beneath him. Maybe it’s both. All he knows is he’s they’ve run out of time.
“I’m sending the stones with you. Thanos hasn’t realized you’ve gotten pieces of the stones yet so I'll make sure he doesn’t. They’ll be embedded in this necklace that can only be removed by you. Protect them at all costs.” Strange wonders if Tony is ever going to forgive him for doing this to a kid. More importantly Tony’s kid , because he knows how much Tony cares about Peter. How much the man would blame himself if the kid died. (Peter will always be a kid in all their eyes no matter if he would be turning 18 in two weeks) But he has to do this. Somehow Peter Parker managed to grab a piece of two infinity stones and wield them as if they were regular rocks. This could be their chance.
“What! Where are you sending me? I have to help! I can’t leave them.” Mj, Ned, May, Tony, Happy ... .everyone. If he leaves now he’s leaving them all to die. He would be giving up on them, and he can’t do that. When you do things I can do but don’t then bad things happen. They happen because of you. ‘Remember Peter with great power comes, great responsibility’. Words play in his head as he waits for an answer he’ll never get because before he knows it the magic dwelling under him made a portal and he’s falling. ( He’s falling but it screams like he's dying.) Peter hears Thanos’ boots running towards them and a shout saying “Peter!” before the portal closes. He thinks it was Tony. And he’s falling through a string of colour that hurts his eyes and everything instinct he has yells at him to leave, get out, leave, leave, leave. But all he can think besides the pain is will he ever see anyone again?
He lands somewhere with a thud and hears voices but he’s too delirious to make anything out. (He thinks someone asked if he was ok) Also he’s wearing the iron spider which luckily sustained minimal damage, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s full of blood from when he put down his mask because the blood was going into his eyes. He probably looks insane and beat up but nothing matters as he scrambles up and does what his spider sense says and runs with everything. (Peter’s already been sent here so he has to protect the stones. No matter how much he’s hurting.)
He’s running through corridors and hallways of some sort of location he can’t tell. Webbing figures up as they get too close and make his head ring harder. (he can't tell who he’s shooting his webs at) Something touches his mind but retracks just as quickly when his spider sense makes a shrieking noise. He keeps going until he finds a vent, when he thinks he’s lost most of them with his webbing and speed. Ripping off the cover he sees the vent goes upward. So he crawls up it and keeps going until he finds a small space where the vents connect. As soon as he does the ringing turns into a dull buzz and he gives into black.
Clark enters the watchtower to attend their monthly meeting. Discussing current, future or past threats in order to see if anything needs current action taken or something needs to be more thoroughly investigated before they take action. He walks in to see Wonder Woman (Diana), Batman (Bruce), Martian Manhunter (J’onn) and Aquaman (Arthur). Hal was currently off-world, Oliver and Dinah were busting a drug ring and Barry was attending a charity event he promised to attend a couple months back.
“Hello Kal-el how are you?”
“I’m doing just fine, thank you Diana.”
“Take a seat so we can begin the meeting.” Batman’s growly voice cuts in.
“Of course, what are we discussing today?.”
“As you all know Hal is off-world investigating a potential disruption in space because of some energy Constantine said could potentially be linked to magic.” A hologram of a faint energy signature located in the middle of space comes up.
“So far this energy hasn’t moved nor increased or decreased in power. So far it doesn’t seem to be causing any problems, but we can’t be sure it won’t be one in the future.”
“And how do we know this isn’t some sort of trap?” Arthur asks
“There have been no signs of movement or other energy reading since this pulse appeared 3 days ago. I’m certain it’s not a trap. If it was, they would have changed the energy readings as soon as they noticed we sent Hal.”
“So what do you propose we do Batman?”
“As of right now we do nothing but monitor it and wait for Hal to return and report any findings. If we move out right now we have no idea what we are getting into. Especially if this is magic like Constantine says, we don’t have him or Zantana available at the moment to deal with it if anything were to happen to us.”
“I understand.” Diana gives a small nod as she responds.
“So all we can do is wait?”
“Yes, that is all we can do for now Superman.”
J’onn pinches his head and the air in the room gets heavier. “Someone is approaching. Their mental presence is weak but I can still sense them.”
“Can you tell anything about them?”
“No, I can only tell they’re approaching.” Another energy reading appears on the hologram, expect this time it’s right above them, and Clark can see the portal forming
“Be ready and get away from the portal now. We don’t know what’s coming through.” Batman growls. Everyone steps back from the opening portal and gets ready in defense positions. What no one expects is someone in some sort of metal suit falling through and breaking the table. When Clark steps forward to take a closer look he realizes someone is in the suit. (that table is made out of metal so the fact this person just broke it without shattering their bones is pretty impressive)
“Hey are you ok?”
“Superman, don't engage, we don't know who this is.”
Looking closer he sees some sort of spider symbol on the suit. But what stands out more is the blood splatter across the suit. Whoever this person was just came out of some sort of battle or fight for sure.
“They’re hurt Batman, look the suit is dripping with blood.”
“That doesn’t give us any information about whether they’ll attack once we approach.” Batman retorts
“I agree with Superman and believe we should check for injuries. They do not seem well.”
“Thank you Diana.”
He’s just about to use his x-ray vision to see what kind of injuries they have, when this person scrambles upward and makes a run for it. Clark is startled on how fast they run, because he’s out of the room running miles faster than a regular human. While it takes him a second to get over the shock Batman is in action straight away. With the rest of them following suit. He doesn’t want to use excess force since he doesn’t want to harm them to the point of death considering they’re already injured.
When they’re back in Clark’s sight he uses his x-ray vision and voices his findings while they make chase.
“Male with 2 fractured ribs, a sprained foot, dislocated finger, multiple lacerations and bruises, and fractured arm.”
“Hn.”
“Stop running, we do not wish to harm you.” Diana says while she’s reaching to grab him, but before her arm reaches over she’s glued to the wall with some white spider web looking substance. With Batman joining her seconds later when he tries to throw his batarangs. He’s going to go help them when Batman tells him and J’onn to pursue the intruder while Arthur tries to cut them free.
Aquaman brings out his trident to cut the webbing. When a simple swipe doesn’t work he attempts with more force but to no avail.
“Why won’t this cut?” He grunts.
“It’s pointless Arthur. It seems sharp objects won’t cut through, it’s too strong and flexible.” If he wasn’t stuck in this web he could analyze what this is made of and make a solution to dissolve it. Diana doesn’t seem to have much luck either with trying to brute force her way out of it. It’s most likely due to them both covered chest down with this web, if it had just caught Diana’s arm Batman thinks she could’ve gotten out fairly easily.
Which leaves him with the question on how this is such a strong yet flexible material. If he can figure out the main compound he could utilize it to make stronger ropes and bindings. The person who ‘webbed’ them here came through a portal, so there’s a potential that they can be from another earth or universe. Unless they work for some secret organization and that’s what the spider symbol on their suit represents. The suit looked highly advanced as well with no noticeable gaps even if it’s made of metal. Bruce hasn’t come across anything like that even off-world. Making it more likely that whoever this is, is from another universe. The energy reading in space and the portals were quite similar albeit some minor differences. Meaning he’s almost 100% sure magic is involved now. Hopefully Clark and J’onn managed to capture the intruder.
Clark wonders how this guy hasn’t run out of steam yet with how fast he’s been running. (They’ve been running for 10 minutes straight with the stranger scaling walls, shooting webs and doing freaky acrobatics to evade them. Like does this guy have bones, he bent in half mid air just to avoid him.) Clark could probably catch them easy but something tells him the stranger mean no harm.
“Martian Manhunter, can you calm him down somehow? I don’t want to engage in physical combat unless necessary”
“Very well, I will attempt to reach his mind. I will see if I can calm him down.”
“Ok I’ll make sure he doesn’t shoot anymore of those web things.” It’s seconds later that he sees J’onn fall to his knees and hold his head.
“J’onn are you ok?”
“Yes I will be fine.”
“Ok. This has gone on long enough I’ll get him.” He got ready to fly into the vent that he heard open across the hall.”
“Kal-el stop.” Clark pauses and goes beside his friends.
“Why?”
“He is a child and he is scared.”
“What?”
“I only got to touch his mind briefly but I could tell he is young, he cannot be older than 19 and he felt so frightened and confused. I believe he did not mean to come here at all.” The thought disturbs Clark, making him wonder where the hell this kid just came from. Why was he so fast? (Also why can he climb walls?) And why was he so beaten up? Also, how did he kick J’onn out of his mind?
“How did he kick you out of his mind? Did he have strong mental defenses.”
“Something part of his subconscious began to panic and immediately activated a defense mechanism. I do not think it was a mental defense as it just started shrieking and since I was in his mind it hurt me as well. Which was why I could not maintain the connection.”
“So something in his subconscious just kicked you out?”
“Yes.”
“We should tell this to Batman.” He uses his x-ray vision to check up on the kid in the vent to see a limp figure. He debates going up there to check on him but decides otherwise once he hears that the kid has a steady heart beat and going up there might just freak him out more. What he does find interesting is the small orange and the even smaller red light glowing on some necklace around his neck.
“We should go now, I think he’ll be unconscious for a while, it will give us time to figure out what we want to do.” J’onn nods his head as he and Superman go to regroup with the others.
They find Batman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman exactly where they first left them with Batman donning his a classic scowl and Wonder Woman still stuck to the wall. Clark is definitely going to get a photo from the cameras to show Lois later, maybe Dick would want one too. His plans are cut short by a gruff voice “Did you capture or at least subdue the intruder?”
”No.” he sees Batman ready to speak again but cuts him off before he can start.
“He’s passed out in the vents, likely due to exhaustion.” Clark takes a pause before continuing “And J’onn found out he’s just a kid. He can’t be older than 19 and he was confused and scared. He’s just trying to make himself safe and I can’t take comfort in just grabbing and questioning him, knowing he’s just a scared kid.”
“19 is just over a kid and how do we know he’s not a threat?”
”We don’t but if we approach him like he is one when he isn’t it won’t make anything better and you as well as I do he probably is still one, even if he didn’t grow up like one.”
”I do not believe he had any intention of doing harm, Batman. When I reached into his mind there was a desire to get away. Meaning he wasn’t fully aware of his surroundings.”
“I do not know this person but. if he is a scared child, I think we should aid him.”
”I agree with the rest. If we do manage to befriend the child perhaps he can tell us how to remove this…substance.”
”I could probably burn it off with my heat vision but I don’t think that’s a good idea since Wonder Woman and Batman are directly under.”
”I’m afraid if I attempt to lift it off it could be too sticky and rip off the wall as well.”
”We have also already determined my trident does not work either.”
”Looks like the only choice we have right now is to try to get the kid to free you guys. Sorry B” Batman knows Superman isn’t sorry one bit especially with the small grin on his face.
“Hn.” Bruce isn’t completely sure if this is a good idea since they have no idea what threat level this kid could be, but what if this really is just some kid who needs help. (He’s made so many mistakes already with his kids because of his paranoia and lack of emotional intelligence. Bruce can’t repeat that.)
“Fine. You, give me all the information you have on the kid based on observations and I’ll make up a contingency plan in case things go south.”
”How are you going to do that while stuck to a wall?” Clarks asks.
”Simple. Oracle, sent Nightwing and Red Hood down, make sure the others cover their patrol routes and run an analysis on features of that suit.”
Clark hears the comm buzz to life. “Already on it. I started downloading videos from the watchtower cameras once the alarm went off, and there’s nothing in any database about that suit or the spider logo. Red Hood’s ETA from the nearest zeta tube is 2 minutes while Nightwing’s is 5. And you’ll see that your profile picture on the Batcomputer was updated”
”I don’t even have one.”
”You do now.”
”Hn.”
“Isn’t Red Hood on the most wanted list?” Arthur asks and Clark resists the urge to laugh because Red Hood had been removed off the list more than a year ago and is one of Bruce’s children. Of course only him and Diana know (J’onn probably knows as well since, well…he’s J’onn) but it’s going to make Arthur’s reaction even better. (He’s Too bad Hal and Oliver aren’t here, they would freak out the most. (He would say Barry as well but since Dick is best friends with Kid Flash he doubts he doesn’t know.)
“If you had checked the list often enough you would have seen he’d been removed from it more than a year ago.” Batman bluntly states as the zeta tube starts up meaning their first guest is here.
“Red Hood B-07”
“Barbie said you got stuck to the wall by some meta kid that just spawned out of nowhere and now you need help making a contingency plan because you’re a paranoid ass.” Red Hood walks into the room, his smell heavy with gun powder. His eyes stop right at Batman, before he starts cackling.
”Oh my gosh, Barbie wasn’t lying.” He grabs onto the nearest wall to keep himself upright. Before pulling out a phone. “I’m so showing Roy this.”
Once his laughing calms down he seems to also see Wonder Woman.
“Oh shit this kid really managed to catch Wonder Woman as well. Don’t worry you’re still awesome.”
”Thank you little warrior.”
“Nightwing B-02”
“Hey guys!” Nightwing chirps.
”Hello Nightwing.”
”Hey Uncle Clark.”
”It is a pleasure to meet you, Nightwing.” Nightwing seems amused by the lack of recognition from Arthur.
”It’s great to meet you again.”
”Again?”
”You don’t recognize Big Bird here? Let’s see a short kid, who didn't wear pants and was probably just annoying.”
”You literally wore my same suit.” He deadpans.
”At least I wore it with style, and I added pants to it like 3 months later.” A spark of recognition flashes through Aquaman.
”You were Robin.”
”Yep the first one. The original one. Anyway, what's going on here exactly? O didn’t have time to update me since I had to make sure Robin and RR didn’t kill each other”
“Some kid appeared through a portal apparently webbed up B and Wonder Woman and is currently hiding the vents passed out. Also B is still a paranoid Motherfucker so we have to make a contingency plan for ‘em.”
“Did you take a picture?”
”Of course I did, I already sent it to Roy. Thought I’d let you do the honors of sending it to the others.” Nightwing takes out a phone, snaps a photo and gets straight into business.
“Has anyone attempted to reason with the kid before we make a plan to take him down?”
”We are going to try to calm him down once he wakes up. Batman has agreed only to use the plan if he is uncontrollable.”
”Ok, Superman and I will go up and talk to him. Little wing, take the info O gave you and make restraints in case we need them. Martian Manhuter and Aquaman are on standby.”
”I will not let you confront a meta we know nothing about.”
Nightwing narrows his eyes “I’m the best option, we don’t know if this kid knows who we are so sending J’onn and Arthur could freak him out. Also if he sees Red Hood’s guns he may feel under attack. Plus I have Superman with me and you’re in no position to stop me right now.”
Systems online, reboot completed and satellite connection established…connecting to speakers.
“Something’s talking.”
Hello Justice League.
Silence envelops them all before Nightwing reaches for his com “Oracle who is this.”
”I don’t know, they’ve managed to get into the database and access watchtower controls but have yet to do anything.”
Batman’s voice cuts into the silence “who are you” he gravels.
I am Karen. A.I built by Tony Stark in order to assist Spider-man, who is currently in need of assistance. As I have been unable to wake him I require your help.
“Why have you only made yourself known now, if you needed help earlier? And Spider-man is the one who landed here correct? Batman narrows his eyes
You are correct, Batman and apologies. I have only now completed my reboot and connected to satellites as my previous connection was no longer valid. I also had to do research to ensure you all pose no threat to the safety of my owner. His safety is my number one priority.
“And who is Spider-man?”
I cannot disclose that information.
“Why can’t you tell us anything?”
My creator made sure I understood the risk if his identity got out, and I do not believe you require that knowledge. All I can disclose is that he is no threat to you. If he attempted to attack earlier it was because he was confused.
“And why would you consider us a threat?”
You were unknown beings and humans in my database Clark Kent. Clark holds back a flinch hearing his name, and doesn’t miss the way Bruce’s frown grows deeper along with the unsettled looks around the room.
“Oh well do you know how to get Batman and Wonder Woman out of the webs Spider-man shot?” He asks to turn the conversation.
They should be dissolving soon. These are the short term webs as he is currently out of his original webbing, so it only lasts an hour. By calculation I estimate it should dissolve in 7 minutes and 32 seconds.
“Pft, you’re stuck like that for a while B.” Red hood says while cackling.
Batman ignores him in favor of growling our his question “What do you plan on doing with the information you’ve gotten”
I plan on doing nothing if you ensure the safety of Spider-man, Bruce Wayne. Batman isn’t sure how this AI ‘Karen’ got that information. He keeps his identity records only in the batcave along with his children. Which means she has access to the batcave database, and based on his son's reactions they’ve come to the same conclusion. Batman stores that information for later waiting to bring up the question when the time is right, their first priority is seeing if the AI’s intentions are true.
“How do we ensure his safety?” Diana asks
As Superman most likely informed you all prior, Spider-man currently is suffering from multi lacerations, bruises, and broken bones which have reduced to simple fractures. He requires rest, nutrition and warmth as his body temperature is currently dropping.
“Why is his temperature dropping?” Nightwing asks
Pervious blood loss before his arrival here
“What was he doing before?”
He was battling on the planet Titan. He was battling with Starlord, Iron man, Mantis and others, before he fell through a portal made by Dr. Strange.
“Who is Dr. Strange?”
Doctor Stephen Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme and a Master of the Mystic Arts. You could say he is like Zanata with his abilities to use magic.
“If he’s some “Sorcerer Supreme” how come ‘ve never heard of some magic guy like that. Not even in my time in the league.”
“You’re right little wing, never heard the name before. Not even Raven’s brought it up.” Nightwing moves his hand to grab his chin “Could you tell us why he was battling?”
Of course, Nightwing, he and others were attempting to stop a titan named Thanos from attaining all 6 infinity which he would use in order to ‘snap’ half of earth from existence.
“Why didn’t you call Nightwing by his real name?” Clark asks while running a hand through his hair.
According to my database Mr Wayne has yet to state that information himself and as said before I mean to do no harm. Therefore you may see it as an act of trust.
“So are we going to ignore how six stones can kill half an entire world? That seems like bullshit to me, but then again shit happens all the time so I won’t be surprised if it’s true”
“Language little wing.” Nightwing chides
The Infinity stones are some of the most powerful artifacts in the Universe. Each one allows the bearer extreme control over one aspect of the universe. When all six are directly wield together, nothing is impossible for their bearer. However it takes a tremendous amount of power to hold one stone directly. Making only the strongest able to wield all six and survive. In order to succeed Thanos has to collect all six to reach his goal: time in order to take all life at once, space gives him the power to reach the whole universe, reality erases the physical body, mind discerns life, power to execute the task, and soul to take life itself.
“If there are objects so powerful how come we’ve never heard of them before?”
Well I believe this is protocol 48, Multiversal travel
“What the fuc-”
“Language!.”
“And how are you certain this is the case?” Diana questions
Intel from the Justice League and Batcave database show no records of Spider-man existence nor anyone I am familiar with or have records of. It seems your world has also had some encounters with universal travel so I imagine Multiversal travel is not out of the scenario and is the most likely conclusion.
“Wait, how did you even access the information in the Batcave? It’s not linked to the Justice league computers at all.” Nightwing asks.
You can thank your friend Oracle for giving me an entry. And please do ask her to stop her attempts in hacking my code. There are many firewalls installed throughout along with trap doors that happen to release a virus if she happens to land on the wrong part. I do not wish for information to accidentally be deleted because of this.
Another voice comes out from the speakers. “Sorry guys. I didn’t even realize she got through the system. Whatever code she was made by is way more advanced than anything I’ve seen before.” Her voice is laced with bits of panic as she speaks.
“Don’t worry about it O we probably wouldn’t have fared any better.”
“Yeah don’t sweat it Barbie, just make sure you get the footage of B getting stuck to the wall. It’s probably gold if he already looks hilarious like this.”
“Don’t worry I already got you guys covered in that regard.”
Batman’s protesting ‘hn’ is largely ignored by them.
I apologize for interrupting but I believe Spider-man requires immediate medical attention. Temperature levels have dropped to 32 degrees celsius.
“Ok as stated before Superman and I will go retrieve him. Red Hood you’ll prepare medbay now with Aquaman. Martian Manhunter stays on standby in case we need to calm him down.
Aruthur simply nods and makes his way down.
“Sure big bird but I’m not responsible he dies, I'm no doctor.” Dick knows he’s joking (they’ve all had first aid taught to them by Alfred himself) but that doesn’t stop the small sigh that escapes his mouth.
“I’m afraid I cannot access his mind. He is able to resist my presence once I enter.”
Nightwing pauses for a moment before saying “That’s fine you have many other abilities that can benefit us in the unlikely case he attacks.” Superman can see the slight tensing of Nightwing’s jaw that barely lasts a millisecond. Clark knows he’s stressed about having so many secrets into unknown hands and he’s choosing his words wisely, they’re being watched after all. One wrong move could lead to a lot of information leaked or worse. They have no clue what this A.I ‘Karen’ as she calls herself is capable of.
“What’s Spider-man’s location?”
“You and Superman should be able to find him in the main vent in the gymnasium” Oracle chimes in.
“Thanks O. You ready supes?”
“Let’s go.” Superman can see the classic grin appear on Nightwing’s face as he runs to the location, and Clark follows suit.
Peter’s cold. Why is he so cold? Where is he? Oh yeah he somehow ripped off a piece of the soul and reality stone, got them made into a necklace only he can take off. (he’s not sure how that works) Thrown into a portal by Dr. Strange. (He knew from the moment he gave Strange that stone something was wrong. Everything hurt because it was trying to save him from falling into that hole) He crashed into something then got surrounded by random people…? (His spider-sense didn’t agree) Ran for his life because his spider-sense told him to. Then he got chased. Went up the vent and passed out. Seems about right.
Parker luck strikes again because now he’s stuck in what seems to be some sort of ship base location? His hearing picks up the subtle rumble of engines and power generators. And the multiple heartbeats around the place. With the two rapidly approaching him. He should run but his body is cold and he’s still bleeding from the slice on his shoulder? He must have gotten that in his panic. It doesn’t matter, he has to get up, he can’t get caught. Stephen said this was the only way so he has to trust that and fight. (He’ll put down his life to keep the stones safe if that means May would be safe, his friends would be safe, Tony would be safe. So that everyone would be safe) But what if he fails? That would mean everyone’s gone because of him. He wasn’t strong enough to get the glove off Thanos. What chance does he have here?
Peter, your heart rate levels are rising and you are getting less oxygen than necessary. I recommend you calm down before you have a panic attack. Also my scans show that the laceration on your shoulder is already healing but your body temperature has yet to adjust. Immediate medical attention is required to prevent your temperatures from dropping any further. As the suit's heaters have been damaged by the fall.
“K-Karen?” Peter chokes out.
Yes Peter?
“I thought I lost you when I dropped my mask.”
It was a surprise but I was able to start downloading my systems into the new suit before my connection was lost. It simply took me longer than expected to complete the upload.
He would cry from the relief of not being completely alone if not for the heartbeats pounding right under him.
“Karen, run visuals on who these people are.”
Do not worry I have run all visuals and scans while you were unconscious. Below us are Superman and Nightwing. They will help give you medical attention.
“How do you know they’re trustworthy? I’ve never heard those names before.” eyes squinting in suspicion.
I spoke with them earlier and made them promise they will ensure your safety. However I did not reveal any details about your secret identity to them. Nightwing is 15 seconds towards your location.
Well he'll give them a shot if Karen gave her ok. He’ll worry about him never hearing those names later. When his brain isn’t half dead and he’s not inching closer to hibernation with how cold he’s getting. And wow that guy climbed up the vents real quick. “Thanks Karen.” Low and behold a couple seconds later he sees someone else. His Spider-sense finally falls into a dull humming. The adrenaline that once possessed him, retreating from his body. Knowing this Peter knows he has mere moments before he passes out.
Using the last of his energy he speaks in a rush of words “Hi you must be Nightwing. Karen already told me about you and that Superman guy. So I’m just going to trust you because I'm on the verge of passing out, so sorry if that makes it harder to help me. Pleasedon’tkillme.”
A thud echoes through the vent “Hey!” Nightwing touches the kid to see if he’s awake only to be meet with no response and a cold metal suit. He’s still breathing so he has to be alive but he can’t guarantee for how long, that A.I Karen said his body temperature was already at 32 degrees. He sounds young. Definitely not younger than Damian who’s 17 now but he’s definitely younger than 22 year old Tim. (Gosh he feels so old compared to his siblings who are all growing up. Like he's 32 and already has a 3 year old! (he loves Mar'i and his wife, Kori, to the ends of the earth and would kill for them 100%) And Jason is already 28, with Bruce just being under 45. Time really flies because everyone is growing up, except Alfred because he’s immortal.)
He shakes his head because it doesn’t matter right now because Dick’s main priority is helping first. For not the first time he’s thankful Bruce made the vents fairly wide. Mostly because his sibling and him would sneak around in them to play pranks on some of the league members. And Jason got stuck in one once because he’s the bulkiest out of all of them. (He threatened to rat them out to Alfred after they kept bringing it up. No one ever mentioned anything again.) They have yet to be discovered by the league. Well if you exclude Clark and Diana. (Jason refused to prank Diana) Also Clark got too used to their pranks thanks to his and Jason’s earlier years as Robin. Hefting on his back Spider-man to carry him he heads down the vent to meet Clark and go into the medbay.
Everything passes in a blur. One second he’s watching his kid fall into some portal by Stephen and the next he’s now watching the wizard give up the time stone and apologize saying it’s the only way minutes after Thanos had vanished.
“The hell did you do to my kid Strange!”
“It’s the only way Stark. I did what I had to.”
“Don’t bullshit me with that! You knew what you were doing. This couldn’t have been the only way. You just sent a kid – Wait no MY kid, to who knows where. While he’s injured and probably has no clue where you put him. His words hang heavy in the air and heavier on his tongue. "And if that wasn’t enough you gave up the time stone sealing our fate. So don’t say you did what you had to.” As Tony's anger boils over, he can feel the weight of the situation pressing down on him. Every step he takes feels heavier than the last, but his fury is fueling him, feeding him . It’s what’s keeping him from mourning and feeling the anguish of loss.
“You may never forgive me but it’s what needs to be done.”
“Oh and why is that?”
“If I tell you it will not happen.”
“Too late for that, it already did! So cut it out an–” he snaps.
“Something is happening.” The sudden disintegration of Mantis interrupts their conversation. Tony's head snaps towards her only to see dust take over her. Allowing a gut-wrenching realization dawning on him as he continues to watch her body turn to dust and drift away as if she was mere wind. When seconds prior she was right there. Panic grips Tony's chest like a lech as he frantically scans his surroundings, watching helplessly as the others meet the same fate before his eyes. And then, with a “I’m sorry” hanging in the air, Strange too begins to fade away, leaving Tony alone with the swirling chaos, raising his hand to watch himself when he fades too. Only to meet the silence that follows, it’s deafening, crushing, agonizing with his thoughts wondering why didn’t he go too? The pin drop silence is only filled by the hollow echo of Tony's anguished cries into the void. As he comes to the realization that they’ve lost, and with it his kid too. The words ‘ I lost my kid’ never leaving his head. (How will he tell his 3 year old Morgan her brother isn't coming back. How would he deal with it if he lost her and Pepper too?)
Miles Morales sat at the dinner table with his family, a rare moment of togetherness in the chaotic work (and school) schedules of their lives. The warmth of the room enveloped everyone like a comforting blanket, the clinking of utensils against plates forming a feeling of comforting familiarity around his mind For him, these moments were precious, away from the pressures of school.
As he cheerfully recounted his tales of school adventures, his mami's gentle laughter echoed in the room, her eyes sparkling with pride at her son's achievements. His papi listened intently, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he reached out to ruffle Miles's hair in affection. And Uncle Aaron, ever the cool and supportive mentor, leaned back in his chair with a grin, nodding along to Miles's storytelling.
But then, in the blink of an eye, everything shattered.
Miles's joy turned to horror as he watched his parents begin to fade away before his very eyes. His mami's voice, so full of love and encouragement just moments ago, now trembled in desperation as she reached out towards him, her form dissipating like smoke in the wind. "MAMI, PAPI!" he cried out, his voice cracking with fear and anguish, but his pleas fell on empty air.
Uncle Aaron's reassuring presence wavered before him. "Uncle Aaron, what's happening?" Miles choked out, his voice barely above a whisper as tears blurred his vision.
Uncle Aaron's face, usually a pillar of strength, betrayed a flicker of uncertainty before he gathered himself. "I don't know, Miles," he said, his voice strained with emotion, "but you've gotta stay strong." His words hung heavy in the air, a final testament to the bond they shared, before he dissolved into nothingness.
Left alone in the now-silent room, Miles could only stare at the empty seats that once held his family, the half eaten plates of their interrupted meal being a cruel reminder of what he had just lost. The weight of his grief threatened to crush him as he struggled to understand the incomprehensible. (On why his family suddenly left his house a void and emptied his soul) His heart breaking and shattering with each passing moment. And in the silence that followed, the emptiness of the room mirrored the hollowing ache in his heart. With a trembling hand, he reached out for the police badge on the table. The only remnants of his family, yearning for a touch that would never come.