Life:1

The day had started like any other. Peter had grabbed breakfast on his way out the door, waving to Aunt May with a half-eaten piece of toast in his mouth.

As usual, he web-slung to school, the wind rushing past him as he flipped and twisted in the air. Peter couldn't help but smile, it was incredible being Spider-Man. Sure, some days he wished he could have a normal life, but he really couldn't imagine himself without his abilities. It was a major part of who he was, and he wouldn't change a single thing about it.

Even if he really missed his Uncle Ben.

Peter really wished that his uncle could all the good he has done for New York. The smiles on the faces of all the people he helped gave Peter a warm feeling in his heart that could never be extinguished. As long as being Spider-Man made an impact in others lives, Peter would continue helping others. Even if it was just a small deed, rescuing cats, helping old ladies across the street, or even stopping a petty bike robbery.

It made all the difference in Peter's eyes.

He let out an exhilarated laugh as he spun yet again in the air between releasing one web and shooting another. Smile growing wider, he attempted a particularly complicated flip that drew him cheers from the pedestrians below when he completed it. It was a beautiful day to be web-slinging around the city and Peter was enjoying every second of it. Unfortunately, he had school to go to. Sighing, he swung down into an alleyway and changed into his school clothes.

Cautiously looking around to make sure no one saw him changing, he left the alleyway and walked the short distance to school. Today, they were supposed to be going on a field trip. Peter normally liked going on field trips, he loved being able to see new things and learn from each trip. The only problem was that this field trip was that it was to Stark Industries. The place where he interns everyday.

Sure, the other kids in his class knew that he interned for SI, but that didn't mean that they believed him. The competition for an internship at Stark Industries was absolutely crazy, people fought each other like rabid animals just for the opportunity to get an interview for the position. So, the fact that Peter, a 'regular' high school teen got a internship there, was a completely laughable and ridiculous idea in the eyes of his peers. This in turn led to a lot of mocking and jeers from his classmates. Flash bullied him incessantly over his 'fake' internship. Although, for once, Flash wasn't the only one making fun of Peter's internship.

The whole school did.

Not only did his classmates mock him, with the exception of Ned and MJ(Although MJ still continued to call him a loser and make fun of his failures, she mocked him to a lesser extent than everyone else), Peter's teachers didn't believe that he actually had an internship at SI.

So, it was with that fact in mind that Peter sullenly walked into his classroom.

"Well, look who it is, it's our resident intern." Flash really couldn't leave him alone for one second, could he?

Peter pointedly ignored Flash and stiffly walked to his seat next to Ned, who was practically bursting from excitement.

"I can't believe we're actually going on a trip to Stark Industries! Can you believe it? Think of all the cool tech we're going to see there! Like Iron Man's suits! And maybe Tony Stark kept all the Avenger's gear! I mean I know they're kind of all broken up now but maybe Stark still has all of their old stuff around. I mean he has to right? That stuff is way too valuable and dangerous not to keep. And—" Ned gasped melodramatically and leaned over to whisper to Peter. "What if they have your suit?!"

Peter resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. He did not want to be dealing with this today. He was dreading this trip, and Ned's excited rambling was only making the dread sink deeper in his stomach. "What do you mean have my suit?"

"Well, Tony Stark made your suit right? So what if he has a prototype or something on display at headquarters?"

Peter held himself back from banging his head against the wall. His patience had been growing thin ever since he had arrived at school. He blamed the upcoming field trip. "Ned, I have a secret identity remember? The suit has a biometric scan specifically made for me so no one other than me has the ability to wear it. I doubt Mr. Stark would leave my suit, even if its just a prototype, out for anyone to steal it. If anyone gets their hands on that suit, they could use those scans to find out my identity, which is kept secret for a reason."

Ned started to protest. "But—"

"Alright class, it's time to get a move on! Everyone get on the bus for our highly anticipated trip to Stark Industries!" Whatever Ned was going to say was cut off by their teacher, who was accompanying them to supervise the teens on the trip.

Peter dejectedly made his way to the bus, a few of his classmates leering at him when he walked the aisle to find a seat to sit in. Trying to ignore the comments, Peter looked down at his feet to distract himself from the unsettling feeling growing in his stomach. He amounted it to be dread over the trip.

He was wrong.

If only he had known what exactly would happen that day.

A tingling sensation shocked Peter out of his stupor. Glancing out the bus window, he noticed a giant floating alien spaceship. Well, that was new. He tapped Ned's back, who was sitting in front of him deeply immersed in watching Star Wars on his phone.

"Ned, hey. I need you to cause a distraction." Peter looked around the bus to see if anyone was paying attention to him. Everyone else seemed to be on their phones, similarly to Ned. Good, no one would notice him jumping out the window.

"Holy shit." Ned didn't hear anything Peter had just said to him. Ned was too caught up in his panic of seeing the alien warship just out the window. "We're all gonna die! There's a spaceship! Oh, my god!"

Oh, well that worked better than Peter thought it would.

Slipping on his mask, he jumped out the bus window and straight into the danger of battle.

This was going to be way better than a field trip.

Once again, he was so wrong.

…..

Okay, this was officially the craziest day of Peter's entire life. He just traveled through space. He didn't know whether to call that cool or scary.

He had almost died.

Peter was only seventeen, and had just crashed a giant alien spaceship. Well, Tony had helped, but still an alien spaceship.

Whew, I think I need to sit down for a minute. Peter was feeling kind of overwhelmed right now. Just a few minutes ago he had been sure he was living out the sci-fi movie Alien. But, so far he was good. No aliens impregnating him or anything. No one could ever be too sure, just think about the possibilities! Scientifically, there is so much life out in the universe. Peter is certain that somewhere the creatures in the Alien movie exist somewhere. Peter just hoped that he would never encounter them. He wasn't sure his poor heart could take that much stress, he was already dealing with so much right now.

And then there was that tingling sensation again.

"Let me just say, if aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something and I eat one of you I'm sorry." What could Peter say? It was a genuine concern he had for his safety.

"I do not want another single pop culture reference out of you for the rest of the trip. You understand?" Aww. Peter really loved watching movies, even if they sometimes gave his imagination way too many ideas. Sometimes his imagination scared him.

"I'm trying to say something is coming." Peter could barely get the warning out before an explosion sent him flying into the rubble of the ship.

The impact with the ground made him black out for a couple of seconds. Blinking rapidly, Peter tried to dispel any lingering haziness creeping in at the corner of his vision. Vision clearing, his eyes focused on what was directly in front of him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" There was a creepy alien with glowing antennas. It was his worst nightmare. Alien eggs.

"Please don't put your eggs in me!" Peter scrambled backwards, desperately trying to get himself away from the alien chasing him.

He shot out his webs briskly one after another, pinning the alien's arms stuck to her body. Suddenly, feet knocked him to the ground. Peter rolled backwards with the impact in order to land on his feet, but as soon as his feet gained purchase, there was an alien weapon shooting at him. Adrenaline pumping, he jumped to the collapsed structures that has once held up the ceiling of the ship. Using his spider legs, he leapt at the masked man shooting at him only to be hit with an electrified rope.

Electricity coursed through his body, making Peter scream as he hit the ground. He grit his teeth as the impact with the metal ground aggravated his sore muscles. Ouch, that was going to leave a mark in the morning. The masked alien man walked over to him, picking him up roughly with one arm, the other aimed at his head with his gun. Peter squirmed in his grip, trying to escape, but it was difficult with his arms wrapped to his side.

"Everybody stay where you are. Chill the eff out." Peter huffed in frustration, it's kind of hard to chill out when you're being held hostage.

"I'm going to ask you this one time. Where is Gamora?"

Peter blinked.

What?

Who's that?

"Yeah. I'll do you one better. Who's Gamora?" Mr. Stark voiced Peter's thoughts exactly.

"I'll do you one better. Why is Gamora?" That just made Peter even more confused, isn't that other alien on the same team as the man holding him hostage? That question wasn't even correct grammar! Peter would know, his English teacher always got onto him about his grammar in his essays.

"Tell me where the girl is or I swear to you I'm gonna French fry this little freak." Peter started to panic a little.

Please don't. Peter silently begged.

"Let's do it. You shoot my guy and I'll blast him. Let's go!" Peter was fairly sure that was a bluff. He could hear a hint of worry in Mr. Stark's voice.

"Do it, Quill! I can take it!" The alien Mr. Stark had pinned was either really brave or really stupid. Iron Man's weapons were completely and utterly dangerous. Anyone could see that just by looking at the flickering electricity coming off the gun. And Quill? Was that his captor's name? As in a feather or writing utensil? That's an odd name.

"No, he can't take it!" That was the alien girl with the antennas. Peter struggled some more in the grip of Quill to spare a glance at her. At least she was smarter than the other alien. She seemed to be completely aware of the danger her friend was in.

"She's right. You can't." Peter shot another glance around the room to see that was the wizard man.

"Oh, yeah? You don't wanna tell me where she is? That's fine."

No, no, no no no. Peter's breathing frantically increased. Please don't shoot me. I swear I've almost died like three times on this trip.

"I'll kill all three of you—"

I'm too young to die. Peter wailed in his head.

"—and I'll beat it out of Thanos myself."

Wait, wasn't that the dude that they were fighting?

"Starting with you."

Any thoughts about Thanos completely dissipated from his mind. Ok, now I'm really going to die. Peter shut his eyes, he didn't want to see the look on Tony's face when the trigger was pulled.

"Wait, what, Thanos? All right let me ask you this one time. What master do you serve?" Peter almost laughed, despite the circumstances he was currently facing. 'What master do you serve?' That sounds like a quote from a movie.

"What master do I serve?" His captor held back a scoff. "What am I supposed to say, 'Jesus'?"

"You're from Earth." It was more of a statement rather than question.

"I'm not from Earth, I'm from Missouri." Peter snorted indignantly, someone really knew their fifth grade geography.

"Yeah, that's on Earth, dipshit. What are you hassling us for?" Peter just wanted to stop being held hostage now.

Peter decided to finally step up and say something. He was really confused on where this weird alien group's allegiance laid. "So you're not with Thanos?"

"With Thanos? No, I'm here to kill Thanos." Well, that was comforting. But, could he please remove the gun from his face now? That would make Peter feel much better.

"He took my girl." Ahhh, that explained who Gamora was.

"Wait, who are you?" Peter agreed, he was asking the same question in his head.

"We're the Avengers, man." Peter hoped this man knew who the Avengers were, anyone from Earth knows the Avengers. They were the Earth's mightiest heroes, does that ring a bell?

It was time for this Quill guy to put down the gun. It was really getting on Peter's nerves.

"You're the ones Thor told us about." Peter spluttered at the comment. What!? No fair, they met Thor before me! And I'm an Avenger!

"You know Thor?" Mr. Stark voiced Peter's incredulous thoughts.

"Yeah. Tall guy, not that good-looking, needed saving." Oooooh, looks like someone's jealous. Either that, Peter thought, or we're talking about the wrong Thor.

"Where is he now?"

…..

It took awhile for their differences to be worked out, much to Peter's displeasure. He had really wanted to be released from that man's grasp much sooner.

It was uncomfortable being held hostage.

But, eventually Peter got released and now here they were, arguing. It was rather pointless actually. They were getting nowhere because of it. They needed a plan, but they had nothing. Quill, turns out his first name was Peter too, but Peter was just going to call him Quill for his own sake, argued against almost everything Tony said. It didn't matter what his mentor said or did, Quill managed to find a way to do the exact opposite. It didn't help that the rest of his team followed his every move.

Peter didn't quite understand what their purpose was here. Apparently, it was "Kick names, take ass," or at least that was their response when Peter voiced his question.

So, all in all, they just argued.

And Tony got frustrated.

But that was all that happened.

Except for Dr. Strange, he was just, well, strange. He was sitting off to the side doing some sort of wizard thing. He was even floating. Peter wanted to know the physics behind that. It definitely didn't follow gravity. Well, it was magic, but magic has to follow some sort of logic, right? If not, everything Peter has learned in school would be pointless.

"Excuse me, but does your friend often do that?" The alien girl, Mantis (if Peter remembered her name properly), asked the group worriedly.

The group stopped arguing and looked towards their resident magic expert to see that he was rapidly twitching as if he was moving faster than time itself. Which, thinking about it, he probably was. Dr. Strange was phasing in and out of their reality, looking every direction seeing some unseen force. Suddenly, he screamed and collapsed to the ground after snapping out of his trance.

The wizard was gasping for breath. "I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict."

"How many did you see?"

"14,000,605" Wow, that was a big number.

"How many did we win?"

"One." Well those weren't good odds. Dr. Strange took another deep breath and took a glance at Peter, looking him directly in the eyes.

"Just one." The look on Dr. Strange's face gave Peter the chills.

…..

There was a burning sensation in his chest, his body ripping itself up and trying to regenerate it at the same time. Peter had never felt anything like it. It wasn't like when he was hit by Ant-Man during the Civil War, or even when he was crushed under a building while facing the Vulture. Slightly panicking, he called out to Mr. Stark, as the genius always seemed to know what to do.

"Mr. Stark….. I don't feel so good." One of his hands flew to his stomach, the pain increasing tenfold in just a few seconds.

"You're alright." The worry was clear in the billionaire's eyes.

"I don't…. I don't know what's happening." That was a lie. He knew exactly what was happening. He was going to die, just like the others. He just didn't want to accept it, and he wasn't going to.

"I don't know…" Peter tried to walk towards his mentor, staggering a few steps, but another increasing wave of pain hit him and he was sent falling into Tony's arms. He could feel his grip on reality fading, so he desperately clung to Tony, hoping that if he held on tight enough it would keep him from fading to ashes like the others. Alas, the cruel truth was that he could do nothing to stop the inevitable.

"I don't wanna go." His vision was blurring in and out, and his head was starting to feel fuzzy. With alarm, he realized he couldn't feel his hands or legs anymore. Dread settled in his gut as he turned his head slightly on Tony's shoulder to look at his hands. Even with his vision impaired, he could see exactly what was wrong with his hands.

Some of his fingers were gone.

"I don't wanna go, sir." He watched as more of his hand faded away before his eyes. The charred ashes of his skin dissipating as they flew in the air.

"Please." He could barely feel Tony setting him down on the ground. Another wave of pain wrecked havoc throughout his body, making his tight grip on his mentor slacken.

"I don't wanna go." Maybe if I say it enough this won't be real, Peter thought to himself hysterically. This can't be real.

He knew in his heart he wasn't going to make it out of this battle.

He just hoped he would be older when this day came, and not in front of Mr. Stark.

He turned his gaze to the sky, he didn't want to see the pain on his mentors face when it happened. He refused to see the agony in Tony's eyes. Peter didn't even want to think about his looming death. He didn't want to think of the people he was leaving behind. He was supposed to help others.

He can't do that when he's dead.

"Please." His voice came out in a cracked whisper, only loud enough for Tony to hear his last word.

His eyes still turned to the sky, he finally relented his grip on reality to the power of the infinity stones.

And then there was nothing.

…..

Life:2

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Peter's alarm incessantly ringed over and over and over again. Groaning, he automatically shut off the alarm. Just five more minutes. Peter needs his sleep, he barely gets enough as it is. Throwing off the covers of his bed, Peter walks to his bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for the day. After all, he has a field trip today.

Wait.

Field trip?

Peter freezes, wasn't the field trip yesterday?

And then everything comes back to him.

Aliens.

Spaceship.

Thanos.

One out of 14,000,605.

Dying.

Peter quickly glanced down at his hands. No dust. Was it all a dream? Peter could have sworn that everything was real. Everything was so vivid. The colors, the smells, the sounds, the feelings. He remembered every single detail about it. There was no way it wasn't real, right?

"Peter! You're going to be late for school!" Aunt May called out to Peter from somewhere in the living room.

So, Peter brushes off the odd memories as a realistic dream. He couldn't have actually died. He was standing right here. And magic? Please, things like that don't exist in the real world.

But, somewhere in the back of his mind, a tiny voice said otherwise.

It wasn't a dream.

This is where the nightmare begins.

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel.

So, here's a new story! I've had this idea in my head for awhile and now I've finally written it out. I'll try to get the next chapter out for this soon, but I'm still also working on A Choice so idk.

Sooo, if any of you notice, the dust scene is the same from one of my other stories, Goodbyes, but that's partly because I've started way too many documents on my computer based off that one scene and I'm tired of writing it over and over again. So, it's the same, but it only takes up a small portion of this chapter.

Anyways, thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review and favorite!