One moment, Tony watched Peter and Ned worriedly. Peter didn't look good, not at all. He shouldn't be that weak after fighting Maw. The alien had mostly flung him around. Nothing to worry about. And still, Peter was doing nothing else than sleep. He had wanted to turn to Strange, ask him if he knew what was going on with him. After all, Strange had been very persistent about cleaning his wounds using his sparkly magic. Yet, he never got to see Strange's face. he never got to ask his question. Once again, his world disappeared in pure, white light, swallowing everything around him and leaving only pain.

Groaning, he cursed lowly. No more aliens, please. No more swords stabbing through his side. No more. He didn't know if he could fight another one just yet. He would have to, no questions asked, as he would defend Peter. And Ned, of course. And maybe even Strange. With his senses still gone, he waited for the inevitable. An alien screaming at them. Something or someone stabbing him, ripping him apart or beating him to death.

"re you?"

His heart nearly stopped. Had that been Pepper? Pepper's beautiful, surprised, slightly panicking voice?

"Pepper?" Was he back? Was he actually safe? Were they safe?

"Yes. Of course, it's me." Pepper's voice told him. She sounded closer now. As if she sat beside him.

"There aren't any aliens nearby?" he asked, sounding worried. Maybe they had turned up together with them. Just postponing his death by a few seconds. Attacking everyone close by. Was Pepper safe?

"No, there aren't any aliens nearby." Friday informed him.

Tony let out a sigh of relief. He wanted to start laughing. Or crying. Or both at the same time. No aliens. Did that qualify for a mental breakdown?

"You can't see again, can you?" Pepper asked lowly.

"I…" he just wanted to tell her that he couldn't feel anything either when said sense returned. Her warm fingers were running through his hair, stroking him gently. Was he laying on the ground?

"Yes, but just for a little." With his sense of touch back, sight couldn't be far behind. Sitting up slowly, he extended his hands in search of his girlfriend. He wanted to hold her. Feel her. Be sure she was okay. There was no reason, she shouldn't be, but still. He needed to know. He had to be sure. Pepper caught his hands in her own. For a moment, they were simply holding hands. Until she let go and snuggled into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"I'm okay." He whispered softly, earning a half-hearted chuckle.

"What happened?" Pepper asked after she had her voice back under control. Tony had known the question would come. It was inevitable. Sighing softly, he only hesitated for a few seconds. And then, he told her. About whatever it had been he had witnessed first, all of the others turning to ashes. About the spaceship. About the alien torturing Strange. About Ned being there. About Peter distracting it. And them all nearly dying.

Pepper was silent for a very long while after he was finished with his story. Looking down at her, he saw she was brooding over what he had said. She was probably thinking about what to say first. About what to worry most.

"If we cuddle up for the night and there is one of those light flashes, I can end up in the future with you?"

He felt something cold grabbing his heart. A shiver running along his spine. He didn't want Pepper anywhere near aliens. He wanted her safe. At home. However safe his home was, but with Friday running the place and a ton of Iron-Man suits in the basement, her chances looked pretty good.

"I would think so." He said lowly. Things like that were the reason, he had built his nanotech suit in the first place. To always be able to protect her. Just in case there was a monster in the closet, which seemed more possible than ever before. Maybe… maybe he should build her one too. Teach her how to use it. Just to be sure, she could protect herself, if things went south.

"What happened here?" He asked, trying to distract himself. Pepper only needed a moment until she answered. Her voice calm and business-like.

"At first, you groaned and slumped, much like the first time. As Friday didn't give me any alien warnings, I figured you had to have something else time-travely. After all, you don't typically collapse." She paused for a mere second. "As long as you don't have panic attacks." She added dryly.

Tony smiled weakly. Good catch. She had been through too much with him, hadn't she?

"You eventually slid off the chair, despite my efforts to keep you in place. Before I could try to get you upright again…" Pepper stopped at this point, looking distant. Worry mixed with fear. Tony hadn't seen that expression in a while. Cupping her cheek, he kissed her softly.

"What happened?"

Holding his gaze, Pepper took a deep breath. "You vanished. Gone. Just like that."

Tony could only stare at her. He had been gone? Physically been in his future? How was that even possible? And what if he had died there? Would his corpse turn up again? Or would he simply stay lost, gone forever?

No. No, Strange had said, that their current timeline would collapse if one of them died. That they would end up back in front of Thanos. For a second, Tony was willing to believe that. Until his head reminded him, that he had just physically been in his future. Maybe Strange was wrong. Maybe they wouldn't turn up again and this timeline would simply continue. Without them.

Stephen stared at the blue-grayish sky above him for a very long time. He knew the Ancient One was sitting beside him, but he wasn't saying a single word and she wasn't pressing him for what had happened. She seemed to know he would speak eventually.

The pain of Maw's needle touching his face was still there. He couldn't even imagine how Peter felt, who had touched those things with his bare hands. Yet again, maybe he wouldn't be aware of it. He had seemed pretty terrible after the fight. Hopefully…

The feeling of turning to ashes returned. Of dying, fully aware of his surroundings. Of what was going on. And afterward…

Afterward…

Stephen shivered and forced his thoughts away. He had thought that had been it, right there and then. That they had never truly escaped Thanos. That all this had just been a farce. Them being trapped by the Reality Stone, while Thanos went to retrieve the Time Stone and the Mind Stone. Maybe, the snap was inevitable. It had to happen. Always. And they could never stop it from happening, just influence the circumstances under which they died. After all, he had been gambling. He knew that much. It would explain all those oddities if they never actually left Titan. Why he could touch the Time Stone, for example. He shouldn't be able to, after all. It should turn him to dust. Kill him within an instant. Yet, it didn't. He always only felt its vast energies and could use it, as if touching Infinity Stones was normal.

And then… all of a sudden he had been with Maw again. It didn't make any sense. None at all. He should be dead. He had already been…

Only, when Peter turned up in front of him to taunt the alien away, did he realize he wasn't in fact dead. He was still alive. And the others were doing their everything to save him. To save themselves. He guessed, he had convinced Tony that the first thing had been a vision. A possible outcome of the fight against Thanos. After all, it was true in a way. It had been one of his many visions. Of course, he hadn't told him, that it was the only way out. He had laughed at that question and shook his head. No. Of course, Peter wouldn't die. He wouldn't die. Tony could never know before it happened, else he would do everything in his power to save the boy. Yet, he couldn't. He could never. And he wasn't supposed to in the first place.

"You should tell someone."

Stephen flinched at her words and looked at her. She still just sat there, watching him with her ever emotionless face. Yet, there was a soft glimmer in her eyes.

"That obvious?" he asked lowly.

"To someone, who is hiding everything all her life, yes. If you don't tell it to at least someone it might eventually destroy you. Whatever it is you try to hide that badly."

Stephen looked away. "I could tell a psychiatrist. Tell him I have the strangest of all dreams. Wonder what he would make of it."

"Whatever works best for you."

His gaze moved back to her. Just looking at her. That glimmer in her eyes. It was still there.

Finally, Peter's sight returned. First blurry outlines, then colors, then a messy mix of everything and suddenly, there was his school corridor. He had expected to be here. To be home. Yet, actually seeing it calmed him down beyond words. He didn't have to somehow defend Ned. He would have, after all. Even now. His friend had been dragged into this mess because of him. He wouldn't let him get harmed. Any more than he had been already. Looking at Ned beside him, he smiled weakly. His friend looked shaken, but okay. He would be okay. He had to be. He wouldn't forgive himself if he wasn't.

"Are you okay?" he asked weakly. He really didn't expect much of an answer. Maybe a short yes or no. Nothing elaborate. Nothing detailed. Instead, Ned started to chuckle.

"I was in the future, saved your sorry asses, nearly got killed by an alien and made it back home in one piece. Of course, I am okay." His friend said in an odd, hyper-happy voice. Peter blinked slowly. Ned was hiding something from him. He would tackle that problem. Later.

For now, he looked down at his clothes. All ripped and holes and… He sighed lowly. He couldn't be seen like that. Would only raise questions he didn't want to answer. Getting up slowly, Peter felt his world slip to the side. Leaning against the wall in an effort to not collapse and fall down again, he groaned. What the hell? What was that? Why was he feeling so miserable? Just a few scratches. Tiny wounds. Nothing to brag about. Should be healed in no time at all.

"Ned?" he asked, concentrating on a point on the ground. Finally, his surroundings stopped moving around him, stopped slipping and falling to either side. He felt as if he could work without instantly falling to one side. "Can you help me to my locker? I want to change into my gym clothes." Better than running around in those rags anytime. Hopefully, he could dodge any questions of why he was wearing gym clothes already.

A visit to the bathroom later, he was clad in non-ripped clothes. For a very long moment, he had stared at himself in the mirror. The boy who was staring back at him looked as if he would faint any second. Why was he feeling so ill? He hadn't been that bad ever since being bitten by the spider. It reminded him of having the flu. All dizzy and slow minded and a tiny bit confused, he guessed. Trying to concentrate, he wondered what had happened. He had only been scratched by metal. Nothing to… he had been scratched by some unknown, alien metal… worry about.

Alien metal. Ripping his skin. Maybe his body couldn't handle the strange element. Maybe… maybe his tiny, tiny wounds had gotten infected. Bacteria entering his bloodstream through the wound. Did he… did he have blood poisoning? Did the symptoms match? Was it deadly? Sadly, he had no idea. Besides blood poisoning surely being deadly. Couldn't be healthy having bacteria in his bloodstream.

"I think…" should he go to a hospital? He would have to explain to May what the hell had happened and he really wasn't keen on that one. After all, she didn't even know he was Spider-Man. How to explain everything else? Time travel and mad titans and Infinity Stones. It bordered to insanity. What if they locked him up in a mental asylum?

Turning his thoughts away from telling the truth, he wondered if he could sit this one out. See if his healing powers could handle blood poisoning. Maybe he could crash at Ned's place and wait until he was fine again. Honestly, that sounded like a pretty neat plan. Just wait until everything was okay again. Not tell his aunt about the crazy reality of things.

"What?" Ned asked, looking at him.

For a moment, Peter was silent. Just looked at his friend. Was it okay to keep silent? Just act as if he was exhausted? Just…

"I think I should go to the hospital." He finally managed to say. It was the right choice. The responsible choice. The insane choice. The choice which would lead to awkward explanations in his very near future. He didn't want to face the consequences. He didn't want to need to worry, whether or not his aunt would still have custody over him if he had obviously gone mental. In which hospital did Christine work again? Maybe he could dodge some questions…

Ned nodded without objecting. That simple gesture made Peter feel even worse. His belly clenched. He had to look like shit if his friend didn't object. Oh God, hopefully, he was okay. He didn't want to die to some lousy scratches. How to explain that to the others once they were back on Titan? Yeah… I survived Maw, but you know, those scratches just did me.

With the help of Ned, he made it to the nurse office. Right before going in, he stopped. "Can you get my bag later on? It's still in the class." He had completely forgotten about actually having school. About the class. About the test. About his stuff. Ned nodded, let go of supporting him and opened the door. Taking a deep breath, Peter made his way in.

The school nurse eyed him skeptically at first. Obviously, she was used to students looking like shit but not being ill at all. He guessed, the percentage of teenagers wanting to ditch a test, the last hours or the entire day was quite high. After he had told her about his symptoms and mentioned scratches, he showed her his arm, which didn't look all too bad in comparison to his legs, she looked worried. While he watched the wall flip to the side again, she was taking his temperature. Turned out he had a fever. Well, that would at least explain his dizziness. He guessed, he took a nap while she was making calls and dismissed Ned. The next thing he knew was a paramedic waking him up, his friend being nowhere to be seen. He was escorted off the school grounds under the curious gazes of his co-students, got into an ambulance and had to tell his whole story once again. This time, he invented some thorn bushes he had been crawling through during his break. He added having changed his clothes to hide having scratches on top of it and not feeling well afterward. Sounded reasonable. Just an unlucky idiot getting blood poisoning from scratches. All the way to the hospital, he didn't sleep once. He was too worried to even think about that. Listening to the paramedics didn't help much either. A possible side-effect of blood poisoning could be organ failure.

To his horror, Peter was admitted to the intensive care unit. Only the worst got here. The following was an odd combination of questions, tests, his scratches being treated in a hurry and long wait times. Once again, he didn't sleep once. He couldn't until he knew what the hell was going on. Sometime later, after he had watched a stupid romance movie from his hospital bed, a doctor turned up again, telling him what he had been worried about. Yes, he had blood poisoning. He would get antibiotics and an IV soon. He would stay on the station for monitoring purposes to be able to act fast, just in case his organs failed him. He didn't need to worry, by the way. He was in good care. They would watch over him.

Yet, Peter didn't quite share the enthusiasm of the man. If he died… no. He couldn't. Not to stupid scratches! He couldn't fail the others that badly. He couldn't suddenly be back on Titan, with Stephen handing the Time Stone to Thanos. He couldn't watch half of the universe die. He couldn't watch May, Ned, Tony, Stephen and cloak die. Just. Because. Of. Him. Bursting into tears made a nurse try to comfort him before they had to pin him down to be able to give him said antibiotics and place the IV treatment. And probably gave him something to calm him down as

Slowly blinking, he realized it was dark outside. Light flooded down on him from above. He heard someone breathe slowly beside him. Turning his head, he saw May. May, who looked as if she had aged at least a year from one day to the next. She looked grim, sad, afraid, worried and exhausted. She had been called, hadn't she? By the nurse or by the hospital. Your nephew, Peter Parker, he's in the ICU. With blood poisoning. We don't know yet if he is stable. Could you come as soon as possible?

He felt ill just thinking about it. How much she had to worry because of him. How afraid she had been. How…

She moved her head. Looking up from staring at his hand and saw him. Saw him being awake. A thousand emotions rushed over her face. Worries making place to happiness and relief. And then she jumped up from her chair, halfway laying on his bed and hugged him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder.

"I'm okay." He tried weakly, earning an even worse sob from her, while he hugged her back. They stayed like that for a long while. Eventually, she let go of him and dried her tears. Seeing that, Peter felt worse than ever. He had made her cry.

"You're in a hospital with blood poisoning. Don't give me the you're okay treatment." She scolded him softly, sitting down again. She still looked worried but relieved too. He was awake.

"What happened? And don't you dare tell me the same bullshit you told the doctor."