The background of the Astral plane was usually whatever the person walking it wanted it to be. In this instance, however, it was pure brilliance. A white so bright that it might have been blinding if not for the fact that the whiteness wasn't actually real. It was simply an illusion of the lack of any light. Despite it not being the color of his choice, Stephen Strange knew immediately where he was, and as he looked around, waiting, he wasn't surprised when he saw three other figures coming out of that whiteness, walking toward him, but looking around.
"Are you doing this?" Tony Stark asked Strange as soon as they 'reached' him.
"No. I don't have that ability, Tony. You know that."
Natasha looked around with interest as she stopped beside Stephen.
"Where is he?"
"Who?" Pepper asked. She was looking around with a mixture of uncertainty and interest. She'd been left out the last time that they'd been brought to the Astral plane, but Tony had told her all about it and was quick enough to figure out where they were. "Alec?"
"Has to be him," Strange said with a shrug. "No one else could bring us all here without asking, first."
"Correct." The voice was in their heads, as it had been the first time they'd met him. A moment later the alien form of the ancient sorcerer walked toward them – and Pepper stared. "I apologize for the inconvenience", the voice in their minds said. "But it's easier to speak with all of you, here, rather than try to connect with you, individually, elsewhere."
"Is Peter alright?" Pepper asked, automatically.
"All things considered? He's doing amazingly well. He's part of the reason I wanted to talk to you all together."
"Only part of the reason?" Stephen asked. "There's more?"
"The infinity stones cannot be allowed to remain on earth together any longer than it takes Peter to heal enough to open the polymorph."
"I want mine back."
"And you should have it back – and the Mind stone definitely needs to go back where it belongs. It would be tempting, however, to think that it would be easier to protect them if they are in the same place, but that much concentrated power is a powder keg waiting for a spark."
"What do you suggest?" Tony asked.
"That's up to you. And to Peter, really, since he's the one who will have final say."
"Does he want to keep them?" Natasha asked, curiously.
"He hasn't thought about it beyond wanting his hand to be healed so he can still be Spiderman."
Pepper looked at Stephen, worried.
"Is that a concern?"
"No. he's healing well and there's no reason to believe he won't have full use of the hand when he's finished with any therapy he might need."
"Okay, we can deal with the stones," Tony told Alec. "That's not a problem, really. But it gives us something to think about. Peter's reasonable. And he doesn't want to rule the world, so he's probably not going to give us a lot of pushback on it."
"True."
"What about Peter?" Pepper asked. "What can we do for him? He seems so sad, lately. He hides it, but you can see it in his eyes when he doesn't know you're watching him."
"He's had a rough time," Alec told her. He didn't even think twice about making sure they all knew what was going on in Peter's head. His people didn't have privacy issues, after all. "And had to make a decision that no one should have to make – especially someone his age and with his history."
"What was it?"
"You know of the soul stone?"
"It was the one he got from Sirah," Pepper said.
"No. That was the reality stone," Tony corrected. "The soul stone was on the same planet, though."
"Correct. It's by far the hardest stone to collect – which is why it rarely is heard of."
"Because…?"
"Because to possess the stone demands a sacrifice. You have to lose the one you love most."
Tony frowned.
"But-"
"The sacrifice was chosen for Peter long before he went seeking the stone."
"May…" Stephen said, softly.
"Yes."
"Then what decision did he have to make?" Natasha asked, curiously. "If that was already done, then there wasn't a choice for him to make."
And what a horrible thing to have to decide.
"He saw her," Alec told them. "In the soul stone. After his snap injured him so terribly."
"How would he be able to see her?" Pepper asked. "If she's gone, I mean…"
"The soul stone is the repository for every soul that has ever been. Everyone – every creature – that has ever been ends up there."
"But Peter was alive, still. How could-"
"We lost him, twice, on the table," Strange told them. His expression plainly told them just how terrible that had been for him. "That means that he was, technically, dead."
"Correct," Alec agreed. "So he had the choice – given him by the universe – presented to him by the one that he loved most in the world. Stay with her – and his parents – and be at peace in the park for eternity."
"Or come back to us," Tony finished.
"Correct. It wasn't as hard as you might think; Peter loves you all very much."
"But still…" Pepper said, her hand reaching for Tony's. "No wonder he's so upset."
"It's the biggest reason, yes," Alec told them. "He thoroughly enjoyed the dance though – just so you know. That was a great idea."
"What do we do about the flerkin?" Strange asked.
"The what?"
"Nutmeg."
"Keep him close to Peter. Flerkin have ambient abilities. He can assist Peter's healing if he remains close."
"Wait. What? He can heal?"
"What's a Flerkin?" Natasha asked.
They could all sense amusement from the being in front of them – although his face wasn't intended to show such an emotion.
"A Flerkin is an incredible creature. Rare, even when my people lived, and considered fantasies – like your unicorn. And no, they can't heal, but they augment – like the artifact that you call the Cloak of Levitation. Peter is capable of healing – all beings are, of course – but his enhanced abilities are impressive enough to heal himself much quicker and efficiently as you already know. With Nutmeg close at hand, it will increase that natural ability."
"If he doesn't eat him, first."
Another snort of amusement – still only in their head, but more sincere because of it.
"He's not a danger to Peter – or any of you. But put him and the cloak around Peter for an extended period of time, and he'll be on his feet even sooner."
"Tell me about the light," Strange requested, realizing that they only had so much time on the plane before Alec would need to end the conversation and wanting as many answers as he could get. "What was it?"
"The power stone doing what it was intended to do, all along."
Tony rolled his eyes.
"Well, okay then. Question answered. Let's go home."
The alien sorcerer wasn't offended by the sarcasm. He'd been in Peter's head long enough to know Tony well, by then.
"The infinity stones are the supreme power in the universe. There are a few other items that are as powerful as one, perhaps, but when combined like they were and wielded by someone who could focus that energy, they surpass anything that has ever been – or ever will. Each stone, separately, is potent in its own perspective; the mind stone can interact with any being with a conscience, the time stone controls time – of course – the reality the same only with how things are perceived and so on. But the power stone is just that; a stone with incredible power. Innate ability to do whatever needs to be done – or whatever the bearer wants it to do. In the hands of someone like Thanos, it is capable of incredible destruction – of the loss of all life in the universe, but it doesn't have to be so."
"Peter could never have decimated a planet," Natasha said. "Not like Thanos did."
"Of course not. The stones know that, too. One of the reasons the universe chose him. When Peter gathered the stones – and then stole the power stone from Thanos – the stones were aligned and subject to Peter's will. I admit, it was a little touch and go for a moment – the pain and the mental anguish he was subjected to when gathering the soul stone had him a little unstable – but he was able to focus enough to tell the power stone what he wanted, and then unleash the power of the infinity stones to make it happen."
"You told him what to do?" Tony asked.
"No. I don't have any control over him, like that. I helped keep him steady, though, and might have reminded him that Natasha and many others were hurt – and the rest of you were in danger of being overrun."
"So, when he snapped, the stones were thinking heal and get rid of the threat…" Stephen murmured.
"Exactly." More amusement. "They might have gone a little overboard; Peter was thinking the earth, but the power unleashed would have destroyed your planet had it been confined to one simple ball of rock, and so it had to be expelled out into the universe."
"It's still going, too…?"
"Might continue until the end of time, and for all anyone knows, that same light might hit the end of the universe – wherever that may be – in a million, trillion years, and bounce back and do it all over, again."
"Incredible."
"It really is," Alec agreed. "He's an incredible guy – and he has no idea. He just thinks he's bad luck and a freak."
"What do we do about that?"
"Exactly what you're already doing. You four – and the others – are the stability that keeps him going, even when the most terrible things happen around him. And more, you don't hold him back. The spider bite had many physical side-effects; the strength, the agility, the infertility and those spider senses – as you call them – but they also unbalanced him, emotionally and mentally. Spiders and humans are so very different, it's to his credit that he didn't go crazy the day after it happened."
"Which is what you're here to repair," Strange said.
"Right. My kind were natural mind healers – and I'm more powerful than the rest – although I have a feeling the universe duped me, as well. The timing was too perfect for my purpose to only have been to assist Peter regaining his equilibrium."
Natasha smiled. It was amusing to her to think that someone as powerful and clever as a long dead sorcerer supreme could be tricked into helping save the universe.
"So you're sticking around?"
"Until Peter doesn't need me. He's-"
"Wait." Pepper was frowning. "Infertility?"
"The hybridization of spider and human is at a genetic level. It had to be, otherwise Peter would have lost his abilities the minute his cells regenerated the first time after the bite. But you all know that a mix of two vastly different species will only present a sterile offspring – if the result survives, at all."
"Peter can't have kids?" Tony asked, looking stricken. He'd been looking forward to the time – way in the future, thank you very much – of seeing his boy find someone and settle down and having little ones that would call him grandpa. "But-"
"Don't panic, Tony," Stephen said before Alec could reply. "I've already started looking into it."
"You knew?"
"I suspected – Wong and I both did, when we first met him – but Shuri's scans in Wakanda when he was so sick confirmed it."
"Does Peter know?" Natasha asked.
Alec shook his head.
"No. And I would suggest you not add anything else to what he already has to deal with by telling him."
"Yeah. Definitely." Tony agreed, immediately, and Pepper nodded, too. "But-"
"Don't worry," Strange interrupted. "I've had a lot of reason to look into reversing infertility, lately, and Wong is helping with the research. If there's a fix, we'll find it."
That particular comment made Tony give his friend a sidelong glance that was more speculation than panic – and made Natasha stare at him, outright.
"Anything else you want to know?" Alec asked, pointedly. "My time is short – and you guys need to get some real sleep."
And he needed to get back to Peter.
Tony nodded.
"Is there anything that he wants? Something that he's longing for, and just hasn't told us because he thinks it's too crazy?"
"Funny you should ask…" Alec told him. "Because you might have a conversation with Peter Quill when your son's bandages come off."
"Oh? I'm listening…"