"You had this dream, too?"

"Not the same one that Tony and Pepper shared," Stephen told Natasha as they walked through the corridors and toward the workroom. "But one that showed me the planet well enough to portal there."

"So you're just going to go?"

He was dressed in robes, now, with the full regalia of the sorcerer supreme – including the time stone hanging from his neck in its protective magical housing. The Cloak of levitation was hanging from his collar, although it would occasionally reach out and touch her cheek, as if to say hello.

"A portal is safer than a jump. We'll be able to take a look at where we're going before we commit to actually going there. I don't foresee any trouble, really. Peter didn't mention going through an army to get the stone, I don't imagine we'll have to fight one to return it."

"But you'll be careful…" she said, as they entered the main room that led to one of Tony's workrooms. This one being the larger of the two that he preferred to use – and right off of the quarters that he shared with Pepper. "Right?"

"Of course."

Tony and Pepper were waiting, although Peter wasn't anywhere in sight. The Rescue suit gleamed silver and blue, and looked as amazing as they remembered it being. Tony's suit wasn't activated; he was wearing simple jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt.

"Where's Peter?" Romanoff asked.

"He went to see if Nick would kitten sit for him."

"We're not worried about this injuring his hand?" she asked, since the boy wasn't there to hear her concern. "I mean, he just got the brace off."

"He should be fine," Tony said. He was actually holding the polymorph in his hand, but couldn't feel anything coming from it – whereas Peter had mentioned being able to feel both stones the minute Tony had removed the thing from his safe. They hadn't been overwhelming, though, he'd assured him. "I told him if it gets to be too much, we'll call it, have Stephen yank us out of there and try again a different day."

"You're not too worried, though?" She looked worried. "I could go. I know Steve and Carol both want to – and Clint."

"We're not worried about Peter's health," Pepper said, looking toward the door, as if to make sure the boy wasn't there. "He seems to be pretty confident that he'll be able to handle them – and he's done it, before, so he knows how much he can take before he really hurts himself."

"Then what are you worried about?"

"The voice in my dream said that the stone has to be returned to the sacrifice," Tony said.

Stephen hadn't heard that part – presumably because Peter had been in the room at the time.

"Peter told us May was the sacrifice," he pointed out – unnecessarily. "You think we'll see her? Like he said he did, before?"

"I think it's a possibility," Tony answered. "And I want us to be there for him, but I don't want to make it any harder for him than it already would be."

"Should I come?" Natasha asked.

She hadn't planned on it, simply because if she went, she knew Steve and Clint would insist – and so would Carol, and several others. It would turn the journey into a full on invasion – and they weren't completely sure if their destination had any defenders or not. Which was why they were wearing armor, after all.

"No. I want you to be here when he comes back – in case he needs someone other than us to talk to. If you don't mind?"

"Of course not."

She'd be hovering, anyway, while they were gone.

Before Tony could say anything, Peter walked into the room. He smiled when he saw Natasha, not at all surprised that she was there.

"Hey, baby. Did Nick take Nutmeg? Or do I need to go track him down while you're gone?"

"He took him. You're not coming?"

She shook her head, pleased by the implied assumption. She'd do anything for him and he knew it.

"I'm going to stick around here," she told him. "Just to make sure Nick doesn't sell the place while you guys are gone."

That made them all smile.

"Are we ready?" Stephen asked, before Peter could have a chance to get nervous.

"Sure you know where you're going?" Natasha asked, watching as Peter pulled the polymorph out of his pocket and then activated his vibranium suit. "I don't want them to end up in Vegas without me."

"I'm not old enough for Vegas," Peter said, smiling. Her cheerful manner was keeping him from panicking, and he appreciated it. "But I hear some of those shows are pretty interesting. Ned said he saw one on a live feed one time from Vegas, and that it was a lot of nak-"

"Shouldn't we be going?" Pepper interrupted, pointedly.

Her expression was exasperated but her eyes were amused, and Peter wasn't the only one to smile – although he blushed, slightly.

"Yeah. Sorry."

He stepped away from all of them, automatically, as he focused on the polymorph in his hand. A moment later the metal spread along his right hand and forearm, forming the gauntlet that had been there, before, and then emitting the two remaining stones, which settled smoothly into place on the back of his hand. Peter groaned, softly, and winced as the power of the stones came to bear, but he held up his left hand when Tony started to step forward.

"I'm okay. It's not too bad."

He activated the mask of his suit, though, and Tony was suddenly engulfed in his Ironman suit, as well. Everyone turned to Strange, who gave Romanoff a smile, and then waved his hand in a circle, creating and activating the portal. The other side was dim and desolate, and Romanoff frowned.

"Stay out of trouble."

The sorcerer nodded.

"We'll bring you back an ugly t-shirt."

She smirked, and stepped back as Tony led the way through the portal, followed by Pepper and Peter, and then Strange. An instant later, the thing vanished, leaving her alone in the room.

OOOOOO

The place was exactly like Peter remembered. Dark and scary and definitely foreboding. Not quite as terrible this time, though. He wasn't hurting as badly as he'd been the first time, and he wasn't alone. The boy was very much aware of the three adults standing near him as they all looked at the peak of the mountain above them.

"To the top, I suppose?" Tony asked, disengaging his mask when nothing attacked them and the readouts on his HUD advised the atmosphere was safe.

"Yeah." He pointed. "See the two pillars? The space stone landed me up there, so I don't know how long it'll take to walk…"

Strange smirked.

"I'm not here to hike, guys."

The cloak flared and the sorcerer rose into the air, which made Tony engage his mask, once more. A burst of his rockets and he was hovering overhead, as well.

"Hook up, Peter," he ordered, and the boy shot a blast of webbing at him, catching the Ironman suit's hip.

Pepper waited until Tony had pulled him off his feet and then she went to the air, as well, and was followed at a sedate pace by Strange. What would have probably taken hours only took a few minutes and they all landed on the level surface of the top of the mountain, near the twin pillars.

"Now what?" Tony asked, looking around. There wasn't a challenge to their presence, but neither was there any indication of what to do, next. "Is there a magic word? Do we have Peter stand between the two pillars and hold up the stone, or something?"

There was a flare of bright light, almost as if in response to the question. The masks the three were wearing kept them from being blinded, but even though Strange was the only one to actually bring a hand up to block the light, none of them saw the form arrive that was suddenly standing in front of them. A woman that they all recognized, immediately, and one who smiled, lovingly, at the boy they were standing so protectively around.

"No magic words," May said, amused. "He just hands it over to me."

Peter was shocked, but he noticed that he was the only one who was. He stepped forward, automatically, and the mask of his suit disengaged as he did, but he hesitated, uncertain if she was real, or just a high quality hologram.

"May…"

She held her arms out to him and he stepped into her embrace, feeling her very real arms coming around him as she held him, tightly. He didn't cry like he had the last time. This time he was able to simply savor the fact that she was there, holding him.

"Hi, sweetheart," she crooned in his ear, hugging him, tightly. "I'm so proud of you."

"I didn't do anything that special," he told her, his head buried in her neck, and now he did sniff, a little. "And I killed a lot of people."

"You didn't kill any of them," she corrected, kissing his temple, and looking over at the others. "The power stone and the mind stone were the ones who decided who was vaporized and who wasn't. You saved half the universe from a madman – and probably more than that since the ones who would have survived may have gone crazy, as well."

He sniffed, again.

"I wasn't trying to save the universe," he admitted. "I just didn't want my friends to be hurt."

"I know, Peter." She pulled away, and looked at him, smiling when she realized that he'd managed to grow an inch or two. "But you did save the universe, and it owes you."

"I don't need anything," Peter replied, wondering if he and the others were going to have to deal with some kind of crazy cosmic edition of how can the universe repay you? Did the universe have honor that would need to be upheld? "Tony and Pepper take good care of me, and give me everything I need or want."

May smiled, and nodded, but then she shrugged and gave him a look that he couldn't quite interpret.

"Maybe there's something that you need, and you don't even know it?" she suggested.

"Like what?"

She smirked, and glanced over her shoulder, looking behind her. As she did – and as they all looked that direction – there was another flare of light. This time two forms appeared, and Peter wasn't the only one to stare. They all recognized them, but it was Peter who spoke, first, his eyes wide and his voice uncertain.

"Mom…? Dad…?"