Day 1...
Peter and Nebula made their way over to the ship that the Guardians had arrived on. Nebula helped Peter limp over there, trying her hardest to not jostle his wounds that much. But even the littlest of movements made the man wince in pain.
Neither one of them talked to each other, quietly making their way onto the ship. Nebula set Peter down in a chair before heading over to the cockpit to start up the engine.
Peter sat there and stared at the opposite wall with a blank look across his face. He was cradling his forearm close to his chest, the forearm that was missing his wrist and hand.
He stayed completely still even as the ship lifted off the ground of Titan and started to make its way out of the planets atmosphere. Nebula walked over to him a few minutes later with what looked to be a med kit.
"If I don't treat your hand, it'll get infected and you will die." She said bluntly, reminding him of Tasha for a minute. Without a word, Peter laid his hand on the table next to him, letting the woman treat it to the best of her abilities.
He didn't even flinch when she started to clean the wound again, making sure that it didn't get infected. All he could do was stare and think about how he had failed everyone.
How he failed the universe...
If he was just a little bit stronger, he could have gotten that gauntlet off his hand, he could've spared the universe of all this loss.
But, at the end of the day, the villain came out victorious...
And the heroes lost...
Before he knew it, Nebula was wrapping his hand in some bandages after applying some ointment on the wound, stopping the bleeding and helping with a bit of the pain.
Peter still didn't react...
Nebula and Peter sat there for a few minutes in silence before she broke it, "In all my time fighting, I've never seen someone capable of hurting my father like you did." She admitted.
Peter snorted softly, "Yeah...well, it takes a monster to hurt another monster. It's also the only way to kill one."
Nebula frowned, "You don't look like a monster."
"Well, you'd be surprised. Let's just say you and I have a few things in common. We were both raised by bad people, made into something that we didn't want to become." He said, causing Nebula to tense, not knowing how he knew that.
"I never..."
"You didn't need to. You don't look like Thanos so you're not biologically his, which infers that you were adopted. Which also begs the question that if you had a good relationship with him, why were you fighting against him on Titan? That narrows it down to a few options. Plus, I didn't think a madman like him would treat someone nicely." Peter said. Nebula would never admit it, but she was impressed with his observation skills which could rival her sisters.
"You are quite skilled."
"Like I said, you weren't the only one who was raised by bad people."
Day 3...
They've spent the last two days aboard the Benatar, watching as the stars zip past them at a fast pace. Now, Peter has always been fascinated with space and stars and everything that has to do with the universe, but for some reason, he's not so fond of them anymore.
Now that he thinks about it, space is just an endless void of nothing, full of emptiness and nothing else.
It's cold...
It's hallow...
It's lonely...
And there was no hope of ever finding your way out of it.
Especially when you run out of fuel and you start to drift around aimlessly...
The morning of the third day, Peter had woken up to a ship that was not moving an inch. He walked out of the room that Nebula had shown him to, and he found her trying to work on the engine a bit, trying to coax out at least a few extra hours out of it.
He cleared his throat so the woman would know he was there before he walked over to her.
"Need any help?" He asked.
She looked back at him with a raised eyebrow in disbelief, sparing a glance towards his one missing limb.
"I don't think you'd be much help. Plus you've never worked on a ship like this before."
"Doesn't mean I can't be of help."
The two of them spent the rest of the morning trying to fix up the engine and get a few more hours of fly time in. Which worked out.
But by midday, according to the clock onboard, they had run out of juice and they were slowly floating towards the planet earth.
Earth, which was still thousands of light years away...
It was only day 3, but Peter didn't really like how this looked...
The two of them also went through their supplies they had on board. Any food, water, medical supplies, anything.
They sat around the table going through everything they had found after they were done, "So, between the two of us, I'd say we have about three weeks of supplies to last us, after that..." Peter trailed off, knowing he didn't have to say it.
Nebula nodded her head before looking him in the eye, "It's not the food and water we should be worried about, it's the oxygen."
Peter somberly nodded his head, "Yeah."
He knew that there was no way they'd have enough oxygen to last that long. Hell, he'd be surprised if they had enough oxygen to last them a full fucking month.
But Peter wasn't that lucky...
He sighed before he walked over to the cockpit to sit at the captain's chair. Over the past few days, even if he didn't like it, he stared out into the abyss that is space, looking at all the distant stars and planets, glowing just out of reach.
He doesn't know why he tortures himself like that, but he thinks it has something to do with his lose.
If half the universe can suddenly die, Peter could look at a few stars in the sky.
Day 9...
The two of them had barely talked to each other for the week that they've been on the ship. But that all changed on day 9.
The day that Nebula needed help...
Peter was sitting in his normal spot in the cockpit when he heard something fall. He furrowed his eyebrows before slowly making his way to the source of the sound.
When he got there, he saw Nebula sitting down, her back across the wall with a small part of her arm detached from her body. It looked to be damaged to some degree.
"Hey." He announced his presence to her. Her head turned to look up at him with cold eyes.
"What do you want?"
Peter shrugged, "Can't I just check on my shipmate once and awhile?" He said, taking a seat next to her. When he did so, she scooted a little farther away from him, but he didn't take it personally.
The two assassins didn't say another word for a few minutes. That was until Nebula suddenly winced, slightly holding her metal arm closer to her chest.
Peter looked over to her and watched her. He could tell that she was tense, really tense. Her arm would twitch every few seconds which was probably sending some sort of sparks through her body which could not have been pleasant.
"I can fix your arm if you want." He said, just above a whisper. She looked over to him out of the corner of her eye. He could see the slight distrust in her eyes still, which he also understood, he didn't trust a lot of people, he still didn't.
After another minute of contemplation, she slowly nodded her head to the young man. Peter gave her a small smile before he got up off the floor, which was hard considering he only had one hand and was barely getting enough nutrients to keep him on his legs.
An hour later, Peter was attaching the final piece to Nebula's newly fixed arm. They both stayed silent during the whole thing, not wanting to break the silence. After he was done though, he leaned back and gestured for her to try it out.
She moved her fingers and wrist to see if the pain was gone and, to her surprise, it was completely gone. There wasn't even an ounce of pain in the arm anymore.
She looked up at him and her eyes actually soften a little bit, "Thank you, you didn't have to do that, especially considering your current condition." She said nodding towards his missing limb.
Peter shrugged his shoulders, "Don't mention it, I love to help."
"You know I could have fixed it myself." She said quietly.
Peter smiled gently to her, "I know, but if there's one thing my mother taught me, it's that there's no weakness in asking for help." He replied, just as quietly.
Damn, he missed Tasha...
Day 13...
The one thing that was surprising to Peter, was that Nebula loved to play paper football with him.
Well it wasn't paper football, since there was no paper, but..
Nebula glared and exclaimed when she was trying to catch the metal football that Peter had flicked towards her, the one he had made out of scrap metal.
Peter looked at her amused, "You don't need to do that," He instructed her and showed her the correct way to hold her hands, "You're just holding the position."
She put her two fingers together as Peter had showed her while he attempted to shoot a goal and missed it, "That was lame, it's your turn now." He said putting his hand in the same position Nebula did.
While he had difficulty playing the game due to his one hand. He figured out a way he could still play. If he was the one shooting, he'd hold the metal football with his right forearm and flick it with his left.
If he was the one that had to hold up the goal, he'd hold up his left hand and say that if she got it in between his left hand and his right forearm, she'd get the point.
Nebula shot the football into Peter's goal and successfully made it in. Causing Peter to smirk at her and pump his left hand in the air.
"Yeah see, you've got the hang of it. You're already a natural at the game. Do you hear that? Everyone's cheering your name." Peter said with a smile directed towards her.
Nebula looked amused at the young man, "You do know that we're the only ones here Peter."
"But imagine there is!"
Nebula honestly had no idea how someone so young could hold onto all of that trauma, and still put on a smile for someone. She has truly never met a more confusing person than Peter.
Peter then shoots his goal and gets in in, but Nebula missed her next shot, "We're now one apiece," Peter informed her.
"I would like to try again." Nebula said, trying to contain her excitement. She doesn't think she's had this much fun in awhile.
They start over again and Nebula gets her first goal on her first turn, causing excitement to bubble in her chest. Peter smirked at her and what he said, made Nebula smile at him.
"Oooooh! Miss Bellatrix has scored a goal against her opponent, Spider-Man. Will he have what it takes to win the game?" Peter changed his tone back to his normal voice and looked up into her eyes, "Do you feel the tension brewing? It's fun, right?"
Nebula nodded her head, she hasn't had fun like this since her early childhood.
Peter attempted to shoot a goal but he missed it completely, "That's terrible, I guess you now have a chance to win."
Peter looked over at his opponent with excitement radiating out of his tired eyes, he had a big grin across his face but she could see how pale his face really was from all the work his body has been doing to try and heal up his hand as best as it could.
Nebula decided to ignore his sunken eyes and cheeks. She could see how his condition was getting a little worst but right now, she'd have to focus on something more positive or she'd drown herself in worry.
Nebula shot her football into Peter's makeshift goal which caused him to smile proudly at her,"You've won. Great game." Peter extended his hand out for her to shake, which Nebula did.
She won. For the first time in her entire life, she had won something and it felt great. It may be something so small that to a normal person they'd just brush it off, but to her, it was everything.
Peter limped over to her and laid his hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze before walking over to his corner, where his busted up suit laid, and he leaned against the webbing mat that he had made around day 10.
"It was a lot of fun." Nebula said, walking over and sitting next to him.
"I'm glad you had fun Bellatrix." He said with a smile. He could feel her questioning gaze on him so he explained.
"Bellatrix is the name of an appellation of one of the many stars in Orion, which is a constellation. In Latin, which is another language on earth, it also means female warrior." Peter said.
He looked over to her, "I think it suits you well."
She smiled at him.
Day 18...
Nebula had noticed Peter's declining health, she just didn't know what to do about it.
She watched as his body slowly got skinnier and skinner as the days went by. He was so thin that she could practically see all of his bones, sticking out of his baggy workout clothes. The ones he had worn in the park that day the aliens had arrived.
Peter could barely move anymore. He's been having difficulty with standing up and keeping himself straight too. He can barely move an inch without her help.
The only good news is that his hand hasn't gotten worse...
She could see the little things too, like how he'd shiver more constantly during both days and nights, how he'd sleep way more than he originally did during the days, taking naps whenever he could, and he'd been a little more distant with her for the past few days. If she talked to him, he'd respond but if she stayed quiet, he'd sit there for hours, not talking or moving.
Nebula was fucking worried, and that was an understatement...
It was around lunchtime and they only had one sandwich left and half a bottle of water between the two of them.
Peter looked at the sandwich before slowly pushing it over towards her to eat. If there was one thing that Nebula had learned about Peter, it's that he'd willingly suffer if it meant he could take someone else's pain away.
Not this time though...
Nebula gently shook her head before sliding it back over to him, offering him a smile and nodding her head.
Peter smiled back at her with a soft look behind his eyes. It's the first time she has seen anything other than blankness in his gaze for days.
He took the sandwich and took a bite. When he got down to a few bites left, he offered it to Nebula but she only shook her head, wanting him to have it.
After he was done, he took a sip of the water before he handed it over to her. She was about to argue when he spoke up, "Nebula, I appreciate it, really I do, but in three days it won't matter, please...just take it and make me feel a little bit better." He said.
She sat there frowning for a second before she sighed and picked up the water bottle and drank the rest of it. He was right, in three days none of this would matter since they would run out of oxygen.
And suffocate...
What a way to go out...
But the smile that he gave her after she was done with the water was good enough for her...
Day 21...
Peter could barely move from his corner by the time day twenty one rolled around...
But, it wouldn't matter because in a few hours, all the oxygen in the ship would be depleted...
He spent his days sitting down against the wall and trying to keep warm with the little clothes he had on plus the web blankets that he had spun to try and conserve some of his warmth. He didn't know if they did any good for him, but he liked to think they did.
His breaths came out shallow and ragged from his position leaning against the wall. He could hear Nebula in the other room, her breaths coming out just as ragged.
He knew it was only a matter of time before they both drifted off into the endless abyss that is death, no hope of ever being saved.
After his whole life of violence and killing, he hadn't even imagined that he'd go out like this. He thought he'd die from an enemy in a fight.
He didn't think he'd die in a spaceship that was stranded in the middle of nowhere...
He sighed before looking down at his lap at his red and black spider helmet. He commanded the rest of his nanites to form the helmet, so he could leave a message, incase anyone found the ship.
As he picked up the helmet to lay it down I front of him, he could sense the stickiness of the helmet.
Which was only a testament of how much blood had actually spilt out of his body onto the suit...
Peter reached his left hand down and pressed a button underneath his helmet, letting SCARLETT scan him twice before a light blinked on, indicating that he was recording.
"Hey...to whom ever finds this recording, my name is Peter Parker, Spider-Man. First I wanted to say that if you find this message, can you please take it down to earth? The Avengers compound is where my family lives, that'd be great...It's day...20?...No, 21 I think on my voyage through space. When your up here with no real way to tell between night and day, they all just start to blurr together."
"I've been aboard the Guardians ship with Nebula, she's great by the way. She was cold and distant but that act didn't last long, she eventually opened up. We were the only two to survive..." Peter said, taking a break to cough into his left hand.
"God...we fought... I fought the purple bastard head on and he still kicked my ass, those fucking stones. If I ever see them again I'm gonna through them in a garbage disposal. But, at the end I was no match for that monster, he...made me feel like...all my years of fighting, were for nothing...He made me feel, so...weak. Like I was some sort of ant underneath his foot..."
"You know, I used to find space fascinating. All the different planets and languages and culture out there in the universe. But now, all I see when I look out there is emptiness, the void."
"Like I said, Nebula was originally a little closed off but after being stuck in the same place for a few weeks, we've grown close. I think you would have liked her Tasha, she reminds me a lot about you. You know, girl trained to be an assassin for someone evil, girl turns good, girl tries to make up for everything she's done...you know...the classic assassin origin story."
"Food and water ran out three days ago...And oxygen will run out in less than a day. The nearest alien civilization is light years away from our current position, so I have no chance of making it out of this alive. I just wanted to let you all know, that when I drift off, I'll think about you. All of you...Tony, Steve, Clint, Sam, Buck, all the Avengers, my sisters...But, I'll think about the two of you the most, Tasha...Em..."
"I wouldn't be me without the support and love of you two, so I have you guys to thank for that. I'm sorry that this isn't the goodbye you all imagined, but I want you to know how grateful I am that I met all of you..." Peter looked the camera right in the eyes before speaking again.
"I love you mom, don't blame yourself for this, it ain't on you."
"...This is Peter Parker, Romanov, signing off." With his last words said, the helmet cut off the camera and shut off.
Peter inhaled a shaky breath before slowly sloding down the wall, snuggling up to his baggy clothes and his web blanket to try and conserve his heat.
Nebula walked in a few minutes later and found him asleep on the floor. She gently walked up to him and picked him up bridal style, and carried him over to the Captain's chair.
When he was secured in the seat, she laid her hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She knew that neither one of them would be waking up, but it still hurt the alien knowing she'd have to see him go first.
"Thank you, for everything." She whispered before walking out the room, getting ready for her untimely death.
But that's not what happened, because an hour later, Peter was hazily blinking his eyes open due to a bright light shinning in his eyes...
"Can't a dude peacefully drift off to the afterlife?" He grumbled, letting his eyes adjust. They widened though when they came face to face with a glowing woman.
Her lips twitched up in a small smile before she flew under their ship and it started to move again...
Peter didn't know what to think, all he could do was watch as the stars zipped by his head, hoping that they were heading to earth