- Happy New Year! I hope you all had a good Christmas. There isn't much I have to say so let's just get right to it. Enjoy.
…
Carol departed early the next morning. After eating a quick breakfast, Peter and Pepper gathered in the back field to see her off. Captain Marvel promised them she'd return as soon as possible before she flew up towards the skies and rocketed off into deep space like a golden comet. The two of them stayed where they were until Carol eventually faded away from view.
"Don't worry, she'll find him." Spider-Man held his arm tight around her shoulders. "We should get back inside."
The CEO of Stark Industries nodded and followed along as Peter led the way back to the building. Ever since Tony went missing, she hadn't been sleeping very well and this time was no different. It was taking all she had just to stay awake. The young Spider noticed this and escorted Pepper to her room, much to her confusion.
"Mr. Stark would kill me for not taking care of you. Take today off and get some sleep. I'll swing by to bring your meal for lunch later."
Pepper rolled her tired eyes. "Peter, I'm fine."
He didn't buy it for a second. "Uh-huh. You sound just like Mr. Stark does whenever he denies that he's working too much. Go to bed."
"...Alright. I suppose napping for a couple of hours is okay but don't you dare let me sleep in until the evening."
"I make no promises."
Pepper sighed but she knew that was the best she was going to get from Peter. The red-headed woman thanked him with a warm smile before she entered her room and closed the door behind her. Spidey looked up to the ceiling for a second as he walked away.
"FRIDAY?"
"Yes, Peter?"
"...You let me know if she has any nightmares, okay?"
"Of course." The A.I. said.
Spider-Man headed downstairs to the living area, where he spotted Darcy staring out of a window. He approached her from behind in silence and gently patted her back.
"Good morning, Darcy."
The brunette woman smiled and gave Peter a quick kiss. "Good morning."
"How are you feeling?" He asked.
"Now that I know you're okay, I'm a lot better now." She said, resting her head on his shoulder. "...Jane and I were freaking out pretty badly for almost a week after people in town started to disappear on us."
Peter held her close. "I understand...Natasha and I barely kept ourselves from panicking when we saw Wanda and some of the other Avengers die in front of us."
"The same thing happened with Erik. We were just talking with him and the next thing we knew...he was fading into dust."
"You can thank Thanos for that."
Darcy wrapped her arms around Peter's waist. "I know. Thor told Jane and I about the details of your battle in Wakanda. Do you guys have a plan to fix everything?"
"Sort of. Once we locate Thanos, we're going to take him down and then use the Infinity Gauntlet he has to bring everyone back." Peter said before he caressed Darcy's face and looked straight into her eyes. "I won't lie to you though. It's quite a long shot...there's no guarantee things will go that smoothly."
"It's better than nothing. Just be careful...and do me a favor once you guys find him."
"What is it?"
"Rip out that purple bastard's eye or something for me." She said with steel in her voice.
Peter just blinked a few times before he chuckled. "Well, that won't be easy but I'll do my best."
"As long as you hurt that grape moron, I'm cool."
"Understood. How's Jane doing?"
Darcy shrugged. "All things considered, she's doing okay. It's Thor that we're worried about...he's been kind of depressed lately."
"I know. He's been that way since we came back from Wakanda." Peter said sadly. "Loki and Heimdall died at the hands of Thanos...and Lady Sif was killed too when he used the Infinity Stones."
The beautiful intern felt her heart break for the God of Thunder. Not only was Asgard destroyed but so many of Thor's friends and loved ones were dead thanks to that purple jackass. Losing that many people in her life would've completely destroyed her emotionally.
"...I know it sounds crazy but I really want to kick Thanos in the balls right now."
Spider-Man smirked as they moved towards the couch and sat down. "That's assuming he even has any."
Darcy let out a playful gasp. "Peter Parker...did you just make a burn?"
"...Maybe."
The two interns laughed before they laid down and relaxed. Darcy rested her head on Peter's chest with a smile...after almost a year of being separated, being by his side again felt wonderful. Hela walked in not long after and noticed the young couple resting on the couch.
Spidey looked up and met her eyes. "Hi, Hela."
The Goddess of Death nodded. "Good morning. Forgive me if I've interrupted anything."
"Nah, you didn't." Darcy said. "We were just relaxing for a bit before breakfast time."
"I'll go cook something for us. Would you like some, Hela?" He asked.
"I'm fine. There's no need to trouble yourself on my behalf."
"It's no trouble at all. I'll whip up some bacon and scrambled eggs."
Peter pecked his lips on Darcy's forehead before he got up and went to the kitchen. His girlfriend sat up and grinned as she watched him work.
"I've got the best boyfriend ever." She bragged with pride in her voice.
Hela just smirked and acknowledged her words with an amused nod. The two of them sat across from each other in silence. While it was hard to tell with the Goddess of Death, Darcy felt a little awkward. Her mind struggled to think of something for them to talk about.
"So are you actually Thor's older sister?" She finally asked. "We've only met Loki...well, sort of. I only saw him once on T.V. when he attacked New York seven years ago. Jane's the only one who's actually met him and your parents in person."
"Well, Frigga wasn't my mother so we're technically half-siblings. Loki was adopted."
"Whoa, really? Good looks must run in your family though. I mean Thor's easy on the eyes while you're a drop dead gorgeous woman."
Hela chuckled. "Thank you. You're not so bad looking yourself. Peter's clearly got an eye for beauty when it comes to his lovers."
The look on Darcy's face as she blushed was downright adorable. "R-really? Compared to you, I look pretty boring though."
"Asgardians and Humans are very similar in terms of physical appearance. Trust me when I say your beauty rivals some of the young maidens on Asgard."
Peter slipped in from behind and served a plate of hot bacon and eggs to them both. "She's right. You're a drop dead gorgeous woman too, Darcy. Don't ever doubt that."
Darcy was certain her face now resembled a bright cherry from how much she was blushing. She grabbed her plate of food and began to quickly eat to avoid saying anything embarrassing. Spider-Man and the Goddess of Death laughed a bit before they dug into their own breakfast.
"This is good, Peter." Hela said, taking a bite of the eggs. "Thank you for cooking us breakfast."
"You're welcome."
Darcy took a drink of water to wash down the piece of bacon in her throat. "What are your plans for today?"
"Not much. I'll be tinkering with my suit for a bit and then I have to check up on Pepper later. You?"
"Not sure...I don't think Jane has any papers for me to look over. Do you mind if I just watch you work in your lab?"
Peter shook his head. "Of course not. What about you, Hela?"
"With my brother still brooding, I think it'd be best if I got us started on finding a place of settlement for my people when they arrive. I will ask Lady Natasha later for her assistance."
Spidey thought about Tønsberg, the little town that they stayed in for two days after coming back to Earth. The surrounding land around the town was very large and spacious...it could probably accommodate all of the Asgardian refugees.
"Maybe the area around Tønsberg is a good place. There seems to be enough space there for everyone." He suggested.
Hela remembered the place. It was a quiet little town located on the cliffs overlooking the sea in Norway. She'd have to go there again to be certain but it seemed to be suitable for her people to reside in.
"That's not a bad idea." She said. "I'll head there in a few days to see if there is sufficient space for all of my people."
…
Three weeks later...
It's been almost a month since Captain Marvel left for deep space to find Tony. There was no sign of her returning yet but Peter felt confident that Carol was okay and still looking earnestly for Ironman. He wasn't the only one who was missing though. For the past few weeks, he and Jessica assisted the Black Widow in trying to find Hawkeye. Natasha had been worried about her old friend and his family for a while now but when they went to go look...there was no sign of them at the farm.
All they found was a wooden table with untouched food laid out on top. From the evidence, Jessica deduced that they were probably just about to enjoy a picnic when Thanos snapped his fingers with the Infinity Gauntlet. The Barton family had likely been erased from existence too.
There were signs that Clint was still amongst the living though. His trademark bow was missing, which was something he'd never leave behind. His combat attire was also gone. Wherever Hawkeye was, it seemed like he was getting ready for a tough fight.
The other Avengers had been busy with various other tasks. Steve and Buck were doing what they could to help Bruce and Rocket locate where Thanos was hiding. Neither of the WWII veterans knew much about the mechanics of satellites and probes but they were able to read the data that said devices recorded.
As for Thor and Hela, they were in Norway to establish a new home for their people. They took Peter's suggestion and went to Tonsberg to see if it was suitable. The surrounding land was more than large enough for everyone to settle on and they chose to build New Asgard close to the sea, which provided them with a bountiful supply of fish. Jane helped to work out the logistics with the townspeople of Tonsberg. They were kind enough to let the people their ancestors worshipped live with them as neighbors and some even volunteered to assist in the construction of the new homes and port.
Darcy on the other hand stayed with Pepper and made sure she didn't work herself to death. Getting her to take a break was almost a nigh impossible task. The CEO of Stark industries was a stubborn woman who always insisted she was fine. That was almost never true though and on more than one occasion, Darcy had to pull Pepper away from her office so she could at least eat something.
She understood why Pepper wanted to work though...by staying busy, she could distract herself from worrying about Tony too much. Ironically, it was a method that her husband often employed to avoid going to bed.
Tonight was a good night though as Darcy somehow managed to convince Pepper to go to bed early. It was probably because she hadn't been sleeping much again for the past two days but it was a small victory nonetheless. After closing the door to her room, Darcy made her way down to the break area and dropped down onto the soft couch.
"Long day?"
She nodded her head and gave Peter a tired smile. "I don't know how Pepper manages to avoid punching some of those asshole business folks in the face...that woman's got the patience of a saint."
"Considering she has to deal with Mr. Stark on a daily basis, I'm not surprised. Just imagine if she didn't have so much patience and was quick to anger."
Darcy shuddered at the scary thought. If that were the case, Pepper would've probably strangled Tony Stark a long time ago. Peter sat down and leaned in to give her a quick kiss.
"How's the search for Hawkeye going?"
"We still haven't found him." The young Spider said quietly. "The man is a trained spy. He knows how to avoid being seen. "
Her hand grasped his and held on with a gentle grip. "So how are you going to find him?"
"For now, the only thing we can do is wait until he makes a move. Whatever Hawkeye does next probably isn't going to be nice though."
"What makes you say that?"
Peter's face turned serious for a moment. "Considering Hawkeye brought his weapons with him, I don't think any bad guy that he runs into is going to be alive for very long."
Darcy understood what her boyfriend was alluding to. It was difficult to imagine an Avenger like Hawkeye killing in cold blood...but then she remembered the man used to be a spy/assassin for SHIELD.
"Guess we'll be seeing a bunch of news about dead criminals pretty soon then." She muttered.
"If we don't find Hawkeye first? Probably."
Bucky entered the room a few seconds later and said hello to them before he grabbed himself a bottle of beer from the fridge. Peter hadn't really interacted much with the former Winter Soldier. The man was always busy with something whenever he saw him. So far, the only time they've spoken was when Captain America introduced to them each other shortly after leaving Wakanda.
"Mind if I sit here?" He asked.
Darcy shook her head. "Not at all, dude. Go ahead."
Bucky smiled in thanks and sat in a chair across from them. Cracking open the bottle, the WWII veteran took a long swig of his beer and pulled back when only about half of the liquor still remained.
"I don't believe we've properly met, ma'am. I'm Bucky Barnes."
"Darcy Lewis." She replied. "You already know my boyfriend here, Peter Parker."
"I do. Good to see you again, Peter."
"Likewise. How have you been?"
"So far so good...wish I could say the same for the rest of the world though."
"No kidding." Spider-Man mumbled. "What happened to your Vibranium arm?"
Bucky spared a quick glance at his missing limb. "Oh, I took it off. I figured there was no point in keeping it on in non-combat situations."
"Isn't that a little...inconvenient though?" Darcy asked.
"It's actually not that bad. After Shuri removed the Hydra programming in my head, I had her take off my previous artificial arm too. For almost a year, I lived in the outskirts of Wakanda with only my real arm."
Peter was reminded of the Wakandan princess when he mentioned her name. They had only met for a short bit but she seemed like such a cool person to hang out with. The young Spider deeply regretted not being able to save her life again like he did in Lagos.
"The only thing that annoys me from time to time is the phantom pain." Bucky said with a slight frown.
"Phantom pain? What's that?"
"Sometimes Bucky still feels like his arm hurts even though it's no longer there." Peter explained. "It's usually just a sore burning sensation."
The nearly hundred year old man was a little impressed. "How did you know that, kid?"
"My uncle served in the army once. He sometimes told me stories about his friends who lost an arm or leg to IEDs or surgical amputation."
"...The life of a soldier isn't an easy one."
Peter and Darcy couldn't agree more with that statement. Neither of them knew what it was like to be in the armed forces but they understood that soldiers suffered a lot even long after their service was over. In the case of Bucky and Captain America, it was a wonder both of them haven't turned insane from everything that's happened over the years.
…
Two more days pass...
The Black Widow was reading a report about a suspicious murder case that happened in New Mexico when the ceiling suddenly began to shake. She dropped the papers in her hands and rushed out of the room. Steve and Banner met up with her in the hall. They too were on their way outside to see what was happening.
Spidey, Pepper, and Rhodey were already there, staring up at the spaceship that Captain Marvel was bringing in for landing. They all took a step back as the ship's landing gear kicked in and Carol set the ship down on the grassy field. From the cockpit, a hatch opened with a series of stairs. A dehydrated and starving Tony Stark slowly exited the ship with the help of an alien blue skinned woman.
Captain America and Peter immediately rushed to help Tony walk. They wrapped both his arms around their shoulders to hold him steady. Tony turned his head around and gave the blue woman a nod of thanks.
"Easy, Mr. Stark." Spidey said. The man was panting heavily, doing his best to breathe.
"I couldn't stop him."
"Neither could I." Steve muttered, matching his pace with the billionaire's.
Tony turned to Peter, grateful to see he was alright. "Glad you're okay, underoos. I thought we had lost you too."
"We could say the same about you."
"I-is..."
The question about the state of his wife was quickly answered when Pepper ran up and appeared in front of him.
Tony nearly fainted out of relief. "Oh, good."
"Oh my god..." Pepper sobbed out as she embraced her husband. "Oh my god."
Spidey moved aside so she could take his place in supporting Tony. With Steve's help, they slowly walked towards the compound. Banner, Rhodey, and Natasha had already gone back to prepare the medical bay for the injured billionaire. Nebula was sitting down on the steps of the ship with Rocket...who arrived outside shortly after everyone else. The raccoon held her hand as they thought about the fallen Guardians.
Aside from them, Spider-Man and Captain Marvel were the last ones still standing in the field.
"Thanks for bringing back Mr. Stark." Peter said. "Are you okay?"
Carol gave a small smile. "I'm fine. Throat's a little dry from my re-entering the atmosphere earlier."
Spidey led the way back inside and they made their way to the break room. He grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge and handed it to her.
"Thank you." She removed the cap and took a long drink. "Ah, that's refreshing. So how's it been here?"
Peter stood with his arms folded. "Better. World's still a mess but things are starting to settle down a bit. Was it tough finding Mr. Stark?"
"No but he and Nebula were stranded in a very remote part of space. It took me a while to narrow down their exact location."
"Nebula?"
"The blue alien woman that you saw earlier." Carol explained. "She, Tony, and some guy named Strange fought with the Guardians of the Galaxy against Thanos on Titan but...it didn't go so well."
That went without saying. Still, Thanos did mention that Stark was the first enemy to make him bleed. Even though he and the Guardians failed to stop him in the end...the young Spider had no doubts that they gave the mad Titan one hell of a fight.
"So what's our next move?"
Peter sat down next to her. "Mr. Stark might know something that could help us find Thanos. For now, we'll just have to wait until he recovers enough to talk."
...
- For those who were wondering, IED stands for incendiary or improvised explosive device. The Phantom Pain bit is a small reference to Metal Gear Solid V.
- They never revealed who Hela's mother was in the MCU but Thor did confirm they were only half-siblings in Infinity War. Till next time, everyone.