Peter's eyes opened slowly, taking in the dark, dust filled sky above him. A sky he recognized all too well.
What? H-how am I back here?
He sat up, ignoring the pain in his chest as he took in surroundings, his heart sinking deeper. The Avengers lay around him, all either dead or dying among the ruins of the Compound. The battle raged around him, Thano's forces decimating the remaining Avengers that stood against him.
No. No, no no no no no, this can't be real. This-this is just a bad dream.
"No, insect." A voice boomed from in front of Peter, the webslinger raising his head to see Thanos, The Mad Titan approaching him, a bloodstained double-bladed sword in one hand, and a broken Iron Man helmet in the other. "This is no dream. This is your reality. Weak, unstable. Unworthy of existence."
Off the last word, Thanos dropped the helmet, allowing it to roll across the ground, stopping in front of Peter.
"And now, with your pathetic Avengers are gone, I am free to finish my work." The Titan continued, bringing up his empty hand to reveal the Nano Gauntlet, the Infinity Stones shimmering with untold power within their assigned slots. "For what it's worth, insect, you fought well. Just not well enough."
With that, the Titan raised his hand, and prepared to snap his fingers, only for a web to catch his hand, preventing him from doing so. The villain turned to look at Peter, a look of amusement on his face as the webslinger desperately tried to yank the gauntlet off the Titan's hand.
"Tenacious until the end." Thanos mused, heftig his sword with a sadistic grin. "I can respect that."
The sword plunged into Peter Parker's chest, and his world went white.
Line break
A sharp gasp left Peter's throat as he lunged forward, immediately regretting the action due to the sting sensation that followed from his arm. He blinked, and realized that he wasn't in his room. In fact, he was in what appeared to be some sort of medical bay, full of high-tech equipment and machines.
"Are you alright, Mr. Parker?"
Peter neary jumped out of his skin when the voice called out, before he recognized the voice and released an embarrassed chuckle.
"Yeah, I'm ok, Friday." He confirmed, before glancing around in slight confusion. "Am...am I in the Compound?"
"Yes, you're currently in the Compound's medical wing." The A.I explained, her irish accent familiar and comforting. "In fact, you're the first one to use it."
"Heh, whoops." Peter responded with a slight chuckle, rubbing his neck absentmindedly. "Um, Friday? Where is everyone? I thought Mr. Wilson and the rest of the Avengers were living here."
It had been all over the news a few weeks ago. The Avengers had properly reformed, and were now back in business. While all the names of the new members weren't released, the confirmed members consisted of Sam Wilson, Bruce Banner, Wanda Maximoff, James Rhodes, and T'challa. None of whom were present in the medical bay at this time.
"Currently, T'challa and Mr. Barnes are in Wakanda. The rest of the Avengers are currently meeting with Nick Fury and Ms. Danvers in the laboratory." Friday explained. "Would you like me to inform them that you're awake?"
"Oh, um...sure." Peter sputted, hurriedly looking himself over to make sure he was presentable. He was slightly surprised to find that he was still in his upgraded suit, and noticed his Iron-Spider armor was charging nearby. "Hey, Friday? Are my aunt and Happy here too?"
"Confirmed, May Parker and Happy Hogan are both on the premises. Would you like me to contact them as well?"
"No, that's alright." Peter said quickly, before coughing into his hand and waving his hand dismissively. As much as he wanted to check on his aunt, he needed answers as to his current situation. "I mean, I'll just find them later. Do you mind pointing me towards the lab?"
"Of course, down the hall to the left, I'll guide you from there." Friday responded, opening the door down the hall. Peter nodded his head in understanding, and started for the doorway. Time to meet the Avengers...again.
Line Break
Go back to Earth, Thor said. The Avengers need someone like you, Thor said. Carol Danvers grumbled mentally. Of course the day I come back is the day shit hits the fan.
The hybrid thought all of this as she leaned on one of the walls of the lab as Nick Fury argued with both Sam Wilson and Bruce Banner over the current situation regarding Peter Parker. Carol herself was pissed at the former spy, his actions having put an innocent boy in the position he was never made for, and resutling in him getting framed for a murder he didn't commit. Clearly, the Avengers shared her disposition.
"What the hell were you thinking, dragging that kid into something like that?!" Sam demanded, glaring venomously at Nick as he paced the room.
"I didn't have a lot of options, did I?" He asked in response, not even flinching as a green fist slammed into a tabletop, making the rest of the room's occupants jump.
"You put Peter in the line of fire, without giving him choice!" Bruce roared, the green-skinned man's anger clearly reaching a boiling point. "You could have called us! Any of us!"
"Could I?" Fury interjected, barley raising his voice past his normal speaking level as he scanned the room. "Would even one of you have actually come to work with me?"
A crushing silence stretched, resulting in Carol looking at the other's faces as well. Sam and Bruce both wore definitely pissed off expressions, still glaring at the one eyed man. Scott Lang, otherwise known as Ant Man, looked more conflicted, glancing around as if he was searching for a consensus. Rhodey's face was completely blank, which made it all the more surprising when he stepped forward, drawing Fury's attention.
"Honestly? After everything you've put us through, all shit that you've brought our way?" he asked, before shaking his head in disappointment. "Yeah, I still would have come. But instead, you took a kid-Tony's kid- and turned him into a weapon for your own personal use. Not an asset or a teammate. A weapon."
The rest of the heroes missed it, but Carol noticed the way Fury flinched when Rhodey said his name. He'd die before he admitted it, but deep down, Nick Fury always had a soft spot for Tony Stark. His death had affected Nick more than he'd ever say, but Carol saw it in the spy's eyes...or, eye. Fury sighed deeply and turned to face the Avengers fully, his expression harder than ever.
"Speaking of which, there's a second reason I came here today." He admitted, catching the attention of everyone in the room. Before he could continue, however, the door to the lab slid open, and all eyes flicked over to see who entered.
"Um...is this a bad time?" Peter Parker asked, an uncertain expression on the boy's face. Carol was a bit surprised to see the boy up and about, only a few hours after getting shot and crashing into a building, but from what she had seen in past footage of the webslinger's escapades, he healed fast.
"Actually, you're right on time, Parker." Fury answered, ignoring the glare from Wilson as he gestured the boy forward. "As an Avenger, you should know this information as well."
Peter obeyed, and stepped a bit farther into the room, offering a nod to Scott as he passed him. Once he was in place, Fury continued.
"Now, since I know this issue with Beck is going to come up again, I'll settle it now: Should I have brought Parker into my operation? No." The spy confessed, making Sam raise an eyebrow in surprise. "Am I going to apologize for it? Also no. Parker did his job,and ended up saving a lot of people. That said, if an event comes up where I need the assistance of an Avenger again, I will inform you properly this time."
"Don't you mean ask us properly?" Scott interjected, prompting a short laugh from Sam as he shook his head.
"No he doesn't."
Fury managed a rare smile at that, before his expression became serious once more.
"As for my second point, the situation is a bit more...sensitive." Fury continued, his gaze flicking to Peter Parker. "You might wanna sit down for this, Parker."
All eyes flicked back to the brunette, who felt a bit self-conscious with the sudden attention shift. He hardened his expression, and shook his head.
"I can handle it, Mr. Fury. Same as them." He answered, missing the way both Sam's and Carol's smirked at the show of open defiance. Fury's lips quirked up again, which made his answer all the more shocking to hear.
"Tony Stark is alive."