When Peter opened his eyes, he found that he and M.J. were still in the cave, but their hosts were not. Both he and his fiancé looked all around them but found no trace of the three aliens.
"Where'd they go?" M.J. was the first to ask.
"I don't know," Peter replied. "Maybe this is part of the..."
A realization suddenly dawned on him.
"Peter, what is it?" M.J. asked anxiously. He turned back to her.
"On the first test," he began, "I didn't remember anything about being tested."
M.J.'s eyes widened in concern.
"What?" she questioned. "Nothing?"
"It was weird; it was like some kind of mental block or something," Peter explained. "My entire focus was on the scenario that I was supposedly going through at the time."
"Okay," M.J. said, putting her hand to her head for a moment as she tried to think through what was happening. "Well, maybe this is part of this test; maybe something about this one requires it."
"Maybe," Peter replied, pondering the possibility. "But even if that's true, why are we still here? For my first one, I was back in New York. There's literally nothing here though, except you and I and a lot of rocks."
"That one alien or whatever DID make it seem like it was important that I go through this too," M.J. pointed out. "Granted, that doesn't answer the location question, but still, there has to be a reason."
"You're right," Peter concurred. "Maybe there's somewhere we need to go or something. Come on, why don't we..."
A violent tremble suddenly shook the cave, causing Peter and M.J. both to fall to their knees at the unexpected quake. A residual tremble continued afterward, though this one was not nearly as intense.
"What was that?" M.J. questioned.
"I don't know," Peter replied, "but M.J, I didn't sense that it was coming."
M.J.'s eyes narrowed as the implications of his words dawned on her as well.
"You mean that..."
"Yes," Peter replied. "I think that my powers are gone."
The trembling began to pick up again, this time so much so that pieces of rock were breaking off from the cave wall and ceiling, a couple of them coming dangerously close to the two of them.
Peter and M.J.'s eyes met.
"Test or not, we need to get out of here," Peter stated. M.J. nodded in agreement, so he took her by the hand and the two of them took off, heading back down the tunnel as fast as their legs could carry them.
Kate could only stand there, observing as Thanos's forces continued to assemble in front of them. The Avengers and the forced allied with them had all rushed out in front of the city to take their initial position. When they had first done so, it looked like the situation was going to work more in their favor. However, it wasn't long before Kate and the others realized the full scope of what they were up against, as the Mad Titan's army only grew larger, if they were just multiplying themselves instantaneously.
"I'm not going to lie, he has a lot more backup than I thought he would," Riri mumbled from just behind her.
"Uh, not helping there Ri," Amadeus replied in the back.
"Oh right, sorry," she quickly apologized.
Kate could hardly blame her teammate for voicing what they were likely all thinking.
Finally, the assembling of the Mad Titan's forces was finalized, his army stretching all in front and even beside them. Surprisingly though, he did not attack, but simply waited, staring them down as if to let their situation sink to the furthest depths of their hearts. Kate could even swear that he was specifically making eye contact specifically with her to try and break her will.
Gripping her bow tighter, she glanced to her left and behind her, observing the team. They were nervous but steady and prepared as they could possibly be in their situation. Eli gave her a smile and a little nod. She then turned forward again, closing her eyes for a moment, blocking out everything else around her. She thought back through key moments of the last few years: the team first assembling and how they took out a threat none of them were truly prepared for. She thought of the many missions they'd been on since then, all the challenges they had overcome together. That would be how they would overcome this one: together.
Opening her eyes, Kate glanced to her other side towards Shuri, who returned her gaze. The two women exchanged nods and light smiles as they braced themselves for what they needed to do. Steeling herself one last time, Kate then charged into the field of battle, with Shuri right beside her. It took barely a second for the roar of those behind her to be heard clearly as they followed behind, the intensity of the moment causing her adrenaline to spike and her legs to move faster.
In response, Thanos raised his blade, pointing it directly at them. Sure enough, the alien monsters that made up his forces charged toward them in return, their movements animalistic and chaotic. Kate drew her first arrow, quickly inserting it into her bow, drawing it back and firing it, sticking it straight into the neck of one of the creatures and causing it to collapse onto the ground before getting overrun.
As she approached the creatures directly, Kate held out her bow, converting it to a bladed weapon and grabbing the handle with both hands. When the first beast was within range, she did not hesitate, swinging with everything she had straight at the monster coming for her and slicing open its chest, killing it instantly. From there, her battle veteran instinct took over as she worked against the opponents closest to her. Naturally, her teammates and allies provided some initial assists in the initial chaos, as did she for them. The whole thing felt incredibly claustrophobic, but right now, it was what they were going to have to work through.
There was no going back now, as perhaps the greatest battle in the history of the universe was underway.
Peter and M.J. raced against the gradually collapsing cave, barely staying ahead of the chaotic rock pile up going on behind them. They were nearly to the end of that tunnel, which meant that they were running out of time, as the columns outside of it were too far to get to without his powers.
"This way!" M.J. shouted, turning them left in time to lead them into a side passage that Peter realized he hadn't noticed on their way in before. This passage was much thinner than the wide space of their previous one, but the walls seemed much steadier, albeit a little shakier than he would prefer. They weren't completely falling apart at least, so that was a win.
Eventually, they came to a split point in the tunnel, with two paths in a Y formation to choose from.
"Which way do we go?" M.J. asked.
"I don't know," Peter replied, looking back and forth between the two, trying to find any sort of clue that would point them to the answer. Maybe somehow this was part of the te...
Suddenly, Peter heard a loud crack come from up top, and he pushed M.J. away just in time so that only he ended up with a rock dropping on top of him that knocked him to the ground, pinning him by his midsection.
"PETER!" M.J. yelled, immediately getting up and rushing over to him. The two of them tried to force the crushing weight off him, but it seemed to be no use. Even the slightest movement they did manage only pushed against Peter's ribs even more, causing him to groan in pain. He then stopped and looked at M.J, who was still trying with all her might to get the thing off.
"You need to go," he said to her. M.J. didn't respond or even acknowledge him as she continued her efforts. He repeated his sentiments, even reaching out to grab her hand at one point.
"It's okay," he assured her.
"No," she replied forcefully, "we're both getting out of here."
M.J. then looked around, seemingly searching for something before darting over and picking up a fallen rock that was elongated like a stick. Jamming it just underneath the boulder keeping Peter down, she looked to him.
"On three, okay?"
Peter nodded.
"One, two, three!"
Peter pushed and M.J. used the rock she found to slowly lift it up, and after a moment of struggle and effort, they forced the boulder off him.
"You alright?" M.J. said, kneeling beside him. "Can you walk?"
"Yeah, I think so," Peter replied, groaning with effort as his fiancé slowly helped him to his feet. His midsection was hurting in a way he hadn't felt in a long time, but he wasn't about to give up.
"How about we take the right?" M.J. suggested.
"Sure, why not?" Peter said. It was fifty-fifty anyway, and besides, getting away from this area sounded good regardless. The two of them quickly moved towards their chosen path, or at least as fast as Peter could currently move. The path they had chosen was exceptionally dark, with the two of them only barely able to see in front of them. They tried to play it safe in case there should be a sudden drop off or some other kind of hazard, but the cave in seemed to gradually be gaining on them, so the two of them picked up their pace as best they could.
Finally, they came out of the tunnel and into a slightly more well-lit area.
"Oh great, it's blocked in," M.J. spoke up, observing the wall of rocks surrounding them.
"Let's split up," Peter suggested. "Maybe we can dig out a space large enough for us to get through." She nodded, and the two of them each picked a section of the rock wall and began digging, removing one rock at a time in most instances as they searched for a way out. It wasn't long before the walls around them started shaking, forcing them to pick up their paces.
"Peter, over here!"
Quickly looking over, Peter noticed a ray of sunlight coming through a hole in the rock wall.
"You did it!" Peter yelled excitedly as he slowly climbed his way down from the section that he'd been digging in. As he did, a violent tremble shook the entire room, causing Peter to fall to the ground.
"AAAH!"
Panicked, Peter looked up to see that multiple boulders had fallen on M.J.'s legs, his fiancé writhing in pain from the impact.
"M.J!" he called out, forcing himself up and rushing over to her. Just as she did before, he immediately started trying to force the rocks off her, but just as before, they refused to move. It didn't help that the trembling only continued, with rocks starting to drop all around them. Peter could hear M.J. calling him out by name, but also just as she had, he refused to acknowledge her.
"Peter, look at me!" she yelled, finally drawing his attention. "You have to get out of here. Look, you can fit through that hole in the rocks; get out and get back home."
"We're both going home," Peter refuted. Just then, several rocks dropped near them, the cave-in nearly reaching its finality. He looked at his fiancé, who had a strong expression, as if she'd reluctantly made peace with what she felt needed to happen.
"It's okay," she said. "They need you. Go."
Refusing to even look at the exit point, Peter got down beside M.J, taking her hand in both of his.
"But I need you," he assured her. "Maybe it's selfish, but I can't leave you down here M.J. I won't. From day one, you've been loyal to me like I don't deserve, and now, it's my turn."
The cave-in drew closer still, but the two of them just stared into each other's eyes, seemingly accepting their fate at last.
"I love you," M.J. said.
"I love you too," Peter replied. He bent down to kiss her just as the final collapse occurred.
Peter dropped to the ground alongside M.J. as they were removed from the mind-bending sequence. This time was a little easier for him, but one look as fiancé told him that it was a bit much for her, strong as though she was.
"You alright?" he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder to help steadier.
"Yeah, yeah I'm alright," M.J. replied, letting out a breath. "It's just...everything was so real; like, I felt EVERYTHING exactly how it probably would be in real life."
"I know, it's kind of strange," Peter concurred. "I'm still not used to it, even if this time was a little easier."
The two of them looked up to the green creature that had put them under the mind-bending scenario.
"Well?" M.J. asked. "Did he pass?"
The being did not answer, his expression utterly unreadable. Peter's heart sank, though honestly, as the scenario had played out, he'd come to suspect that this would be the outcome.
"Well?" M.J. repeated.
"M.J," Peter muttered, drawing her attention. "I didn't pass."
"What?" M.J. questioned. "Why? You stayed by my side, even though I begged you to leave."
Peter shook his head.
"You really think that's what they were looking for, given what's at stake?" he questioned. He then rose to his feet, turning and looking the green being in the eyes.
"I know what you were wanting to see me do, but I couldn't," he explained. "Like I said, maybe it makes me selfish that I wouldn't sacrifice spending our last moments together for the sake of helping save the world, even without my powers, but I just...I couldn't leave her."
"Peter," M.J. spoke up, but stopped there, seemingly unable to find the words to say. Peter hung his head, saddened by his seeming failure.
"Come on," he said, nudging his head back in the direction from which they had come. "We better get back."
He had only taken the first few steps of his journey back when the green alien finally spoke up.
"Perhaps you should listen to the one you love."
Stopping in his tracks, Peter spun around, eyeing the being in question.
"What?"
"This test was not one of sacrifice, but of love and loyalty," the being explained. "She proved her love for you when she refused your urgings for her to escape while she could, and you returned the favor, even when there was no hope of saving her. You sacrificed your own life to spend your final moments together so that she would not die alone, and for that, you have passed the test."
Peter's eyes widened in shock; he could not believe what he'd just heard.
"Wow," he spoke up. "I mean, I was so sure that I..."
"He is right you know," M.J. reasoned, a wry but genuine smile on her face. "You really should listen to me more."
Peter let out a breathy chuckle at his fiancé's humor.
"I mean, I've never argued that have I?"
Taking a moment to accept this development, Peter's mind soon turned towards what now lay ahead of him: the final test. Stepping up to the grey creature, the one who'd initially addressed and instructed him, he spoke up.
"So, I'm guessing you're going to put me through the last one?"
The grey alien nodded.
"I must warn you that this test isn't like the others."
"What do you mean?"
"In the scenario you are about to see, you will be tempted by all of your darkest impulses," the creature explained, "parts of yourself that perhaps you weren't even aware of before. Even should you succeed, you might never be the same afterward. Therefore, before you undertake this final test, I must ask you once more: after what I have just told you, do you wish to proceed?"
Part of Peter wanted to answer yes right away, but another part was also disturbed by this creature's warning. That, in conjunction with what he'd heard from the journal beforehand about this final test, made him suddenly apprehensive. He had already come this far though, and there were people counting on him...existent or otherwise.
"Yes," he finally replied. "Let's do it."
The alien slowly began stretching out its hand towards Peter; he swore he could feel his heartbeat speeding up already.
"Wait."
Peter turned to his fiancé, who had spoken up. She then came up to him, placed her hands on his cheeks and planted a kiss on his lips.
"You got this, okay?" she said once they separated.
Peter nodded lightly, and the two of them both turned back to the grey creature.
"Can I go under for this one too?" M.J. asked.
"I'm afraid that's not part of this one," the being replied.
"I know, but I just...I want to be there," she insisted. "If this thing is so traumatic, me witnessing it will allow me to properly help him once he's released. Please, can't you just make me invisible in the background or something?"
The grey being hesitated, appearing to let out a light sigh before finally answering.
"Very well; you will be able to see what he sees, but he will be unable to hear or see you."
M.J. nodded in understanding, and the alien reached out again. The two of them stepped up, coming underneath the being's hands just before he came to rest on them. As things started to grow fuzzy one more time, Peter let out a slight breath, turning to face his love.
The last thing he saw before the world left him was her mouthing three simple words.
"I love you."
Getting closer!
Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!
"'But what about you?' he asked. 'Who do you say I am?' Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'" Matthew 16:15-16