I opened my eyes and found my head resting on my arms. My hands were… smooth. They weren't old and wrinkly, they were smooth and felt young.
I lifted my head. I sort of remembered this place. It looked familiar. I took a look around.
I was sitting at a stool and my head had been resting on a wooden table. I moved my foot to get up and almost tripped over something. I looked down. A backpack. My old backpack. A piece of red fabric was hanging out of it.
I also had skinny jeans and grey sneakers. I had a navy blue jacket on and some nerdy science t-shirt.
I went back to looking around the place. There was a metal suit in the corner. It looked familiar. I began to realise why this place was familiar to me. I was… Was I back in the real world?
Just then, I heard a door click behind me. I whipped my head around quickly.
"Who are you?!" I shrieked. I shot a web at the intruder and stuck him against the wall. I reached into my pocket for my knife and felt nothing. I saw something gleam below me. My knife! I picked it up and went up to the guy. I put the knife against his throat, threatening to cut it. "Where am I?"
"Kid, calm down. It's me, Tony!" I looked at his face. Tony. I know that name. And I recognised him.
"Oh my god, Tony, I'm so sorry!" I immediately began to peel him off the wall.
He stretched his arms after he went on the ground. I looked up and down the man I hadn't seen in over 70 years. He hadn't aged a day. I paused for a second before wrapping my arms around him.
"Pete, are you okay? You shot me against the wall, threatened to hurt me, called me Tony, and now you're hugging me."
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." I let go of him. I saw something on my finger. My wedding band.
Wait, but that means… if that's still on my finger, then those 73 years were real. My eyes widened.
"What?"
"Nothing. I, um… what year is this?"
"Peter, what… are you okay? Do you need me to take you to Bruce?"
"Tony, was I wearing this ring when I fell asleep?" I pointed to my hand.
"Um, not that I remember. Why?"
"Tony, I haven't seen you in over 73 years. I haven't been here. I got transported to another reality, and I lived out a whole life there. Clearly, it was real, because I still have my fucking wedding ring! I died, and now I'm back here, and I'm fucking 16 again. Not only am I back in a world that I barely remember, but I'm a hormonal teenager again. All of my friends from the other reality are gone, and it's like when I left here all over again, except this time, I really will never see them again."
Tony stared in shock. "Kid, I… are you kidding? Like, another reality? A whole other reality? What was it like?"
"I… I'll tell you later. Right now, I need food and water, and I need to see the team." My eyes filled with tears. 73 years. I hadn't seen Clint in 73 years. I hadn't seen Natasha in 73 years. I hadn't seen Bucky in 73 years. I hadn't seen Steve in 73 years. I hadn't seen Bruce in 73 years. Anyone from this reality, I hadn't seen in 73 years. I was finally going to get a chance to see them all. My teammates. My friends. I couldn't believe it.