Hello again! With the completion of this chapter we will officially be halfway through the book (provided things go as I've planned).

Also, I sincerely apologize for abandoning this book for, wow, almost a whole half a year now (at least by the time I get this chapter out, because at the moment, I know I have a test tomorrow to study for and midterms in a week.) But thanks for sticking around, and, if you follow my oneshot book, you'll know that I hope to be able to update much more regularly, now that I've sorted some personal issues out. Regardless, enjoy!

~ ~ ~

Yeah by the time I'll have published this it'll be... January 18th. And I'm right in the middle of midterms but whatever. Inspiration struck me.

~ ~ ~

Tony's steps echoed loudly in the empty hallways. Before today, he would've thought nothing of it; perhaps he'd even find the silence welcoming. Yet after hearing about Thanos and his plan- and more so, how he succeeded, everything became dangerous. Sounds were too loud, heartbeats sped up, and monsters lurked, sneering, in shadowy corners.

Tony turned around a sharp corner and found the elevator doors open and ready to slide shut behind him. Logically, he knew that FRIDAY had opened them and that she was waiting for him to step in so the elevator could take him up to Peter. Yet in the irrational, superstitious part of his mind- the part he tried so desperately to push back, because he was a man of science, not of monsters and magic- he felt like the elevator would swallow him whole. That the doors would clamp shut with a hollow, metallic bang and that he'd be trapped here forever.

However, when he actually stepped into the elevator, the doors slid shut smoothly and without a sound- similar to the ascent of the machine. Tony watched the red numerals signifying the floors flick up, up, up. He found solace in the fact that they were going up, not down, because if they were going down all he'd be able to think of was a ticking clock, a time bomb, glowing numerals counting the hours, minutes, seconds to his death.

He shook himself of these thoughts as he stepped out of the elevator again, this time on Peter's floor. Why did he keep thinking of death? It wasn't like he was a stranger to it.

Yet every small motion, every movement, triggered something in Tony's mind, a sense that was screaming 'danger' at him. It hadn't shut up since he'd heard of Thanos, hadn't disappeared when he watched the videos with the team, and hadn't disappeared when he watched the videos by himself.

Every couple of moments he'd shiver involuntarily, an inexplicable horror climbing up his spine and resting at the base of his neck.

A hand came to rest on Peter's doorknob, and, just like he did before he went downstairs to watch the videos, Tony cracked the door open and peered in.

He was met with a much different scene.

Before, there had been a teen, tucked under too many blankets, sleeping lightly yet blissfully.

Now, blankets and pillows and sheets were thrown asunder, some of them torn completely in half. Scraps of fabric littered the room. Tony's eyes scanned the wreckage of the once-organized room and his gaze quickly found the center of the chaos: a writhing, struggling- yet still asleep- Peter.

A nightmare.

Tony froze at the realization, remembering all the times he'd had a nightmare and had lashed out at Pepper or Rhodey when they tried to wake him up. He didn't know how Peter would react; whether he was someone who lashed out in his dreams or tried to hide himself away. Tony decided to take the risk; he couldn't just stand here and watch Peter suffer.

If he got flung across the room in the process of trying to wake the kid up, well then... he'd get flung across the room.

"Hey!" he tried calling out, nearing the thrashing form of the teenager. "Hey, Peter. Kid. Spider-Man." At the sound of his superhero name, Peter's fist shot out and Tony narrowly missed being sucker-punched in the stomach.

"Okay, no superhero names, got it," Tony said, taking a moment to pause before reaching out and grasping Peter's shoulder firmly. "Kid, wake up, it's not real."

But it could have been. His brain reminded him, even as he dispelled the thought. His grip tightened minutely on the teen's shoulders, and, with a gasp, Peter woke, jerking up so quickly that his head connected with Tony's. Tony winced, and Peter, though still half asleep and panicked, started apologizing once he saw the look on his mentor's face.

"I- ah-" Peter started, rubbing his own head. "I'm so sorry Mr. Stark-"

Tony waved him off. "It's fine kid, I've had worse."

Peter blinked, looking quite miserable despite his mentor's reassurances, and Tony moved to sit down on the edge of the bed. They stewed in silence for a moment before Peter spoke, appearing to be more lucid now that his brain had a chance to process everything that had just happened. Tony could see his cheeks heating up in embarrassment, and he opted to shift a bit and relax against the backboard of the bed to show Peter through his body language that he wasn't mad or annoyed.

"So." Tony started, after another awkward moment. There was a beat of silence as both looked away from each other's gazes- each was astutely aware that Tony was not Peter's Mr. Stark, and that Peter wasn't Tony's Peter. Tony wracked his brain, trying to think of something to say that would let Peter know that he didn't need to hide anything from Tony, without making him think that his privacy had been invaded by Tony watching those videos of just the two of them. While technically he had every right to do so- it was his tech, first of all, and second, it involved his future self- he still felt like he had intruded on something secret, private; something that should have stayed between Peter and the Tony he knew. Yet it was too late now, and Tony blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"I know the Winter Solder killed my parents." Tony said bluntly, wearing a mask of indifference even as he cringed in his mind. Okay, perhaps not the best conversation starter he could have come up with, but it'd been on his mind ever since he heard about it. He could have backtracked right then and there, made up an excuse on how he found out, but Tony Stark didn't back out of things. So he rolled with it. 

He chanced a quick glance at Peter before continuing, noticing the way the boy's eyes blinked rapidly in surprise at the statement. Looking Peter in the face caused another wave of guilt to crash over him for invading on his privacy (and for all the idiotic things future Tony did), so he tore his gaze away from his mentee and barreled on before he could say anything.

"I watched the videos." he said, sighing. "Not just the ones with... Thanos," he could see Peter flinch slightly at the name in the corner of his vision "but ones with just the two of us. Because obviously, we interacted more in those two years and I needed to catch up." He turned his gaze back to Peter, who was staring at him, and he felt another wave of uneasiness crash over him. "I know it was... sort of an invasion of privacy, but I didn't want to overstep boundaries..." or act like a jerk. the silence implied.

Peter was silent, the only sound in the room their breathing and the shifting of Peter's sheets. Tony kept his gaze fixed on the wall, mind going a mile a minute. Was the silence good or bad? Had he already fucked it up in the first day? How did future Tony do this, emotions are so hard.

Peter broke him out of his thoughts. "Thank you, Mr. Stark." he choked out, and Tony looked to him in surprise, noting the red-rimmed eyes. Wait. Did he just make the kid cry? How the hell did he mess up so badly every time? Peter obviously didn't notice his inner turmoil as he continued. "That was really thoughtful of you."

Oh. Oh. Peter was crying... in gratitude?

Emotions are confusing.

Tony's brain short-circuited as all his questions about what he'd done wrong shuddered to a stop. He blinked, surprise overtaking him, and words froze in his mouth, his tongue dry.

"Yeah, no problem kid." he said, with a small smile. His shoulders relaxed, and he rolled his neck around, not realizing how stiff he'd been. The silence returned, though much more comfortable this time. Tony wanted to ask about the nightmare, but at the same time he recognized that it wasn't his place and that it was best to allow Peter to come to him if he wanted. Though he probably wouldn't; Peter was just like him in terms that he was as stubborn as a mule.

I just wanted to be like you. 

"So how much do you know?" Peter broke the silence. Tony chanced a look at him.

"What Karen deemed important." Tony replied. "Toomes, dropping in a lake, the ferry-" he rubbed the back of his neck in guilt, remembering how much of a jerk he'd been. "- the warehouse, Coney Island, and then some of us working in the labs... finding out about Barnes..." he trailed off. Peter shifted awkwardly next to him.

"Are we- are we gonna have a problem about that?" he asked tentatively; even without him saying the name, Tony knew he was referring to Barnes. He also noted how Peter used 'we' even though he wasn't his problem; he didn't have to be involved. It was nice to know he had the kid on his side. "Can you work with him? I mean, I know it's not easy, and it's kind of unfair to ask you to work with the guy who, you know." Peter said, rambling, yet he avoided outright saying 'killing your parents' like he was afraid he'd trigger Tony. "Which, to be honest, is completely fair- I mean, I know if I were to have to work with the guy who killed Ben-" he cut himself off awkwardly. "Well... point is, I don't think I could." Peter finished.

Tony gave a wry smile. "I kind of have to, kid." he admitted. "Last time I started something over that, we were a mess when Thanos came."

He thought he heard a "you weren't the one who started it" mutter from Peter, but he couldn't be sure.

"Still, that doesn't excuse the fact that he still did it." Peter said quietly, a tad bit more serious.

"True, but I have to get my priorities straight." Tony said tiredly. "No one gets a choice when it comes to the end of the world."

Both sat in silence, thinking back to the sheer amount of power Thanos had exhibited in Titan, and they both knew that Tony was right. Peter dropped the subject- a good thing, too, because Tony was getting a bit squeamish about how much the conversation was focusing on his feelings.

"What time is it?" Peter asked. Tony looked to the left with the intent to look at the alarm clock propped there- well, what used to be an alarm clock. Peter looked sheepish as Tony took in the crushed lump of metal- it hadn't exactly survived Peter's thrashing around.

"Huh." Tony said. Then, before Peter could apologize for something that could be easily replaced: "FRI, what time is it?"

"It is 3:41 in the morning, boss." she said.

"Are the Avengers still up?" Tony asked.

"Yes, they're watching TV in the communal room." she responded.

"Thanks FRI," Tony said. He looked over to Peter. "You wanna join us for movies or try and fall asleep again in another room?" he was already getting up, knowing exactly what Peter would say, having experienced nightmares himself.

"I'll come to the communal room." Peter said quietly, getting up. He took in the torn sheets and shattered belongings. "I'm sorry for messing up the room. I'll come back later to clean it up." he promised. Tony waved him off.

"No need for that, kid." 

Peter started to protest but Tony picked up one of the blankets that had avoided certain death and shoved it in his arms.

"All the blankets will have been taken by the Avengers in the room, so you might as well take that one." Tony said, leaving no room for argument as he strolled down the hall towards the elevator. He heard Peter quietly shutting the door behind him before following his mentor with scuffling steps. Tony remembered walking down this same hall less than an hour ago and feeling like something would jump out to get him. Now, with Peter following him, it felt much warmer and safer than it did before. Despite the teen's tousled and tired appearance in the pristine halls of Avengers Tower, he fit right in.

Both were quiet as the elevator took them down to the communal floor, Tony lost in thought and Peter taking it all in. It struck Tony that Peter had never actually been in Avengers Tower; it'd been sold and they'd moved to the Compound according to Karen. The doors slid open with a swish and they stepped out into the room. The Avengers were scattered on the assorted furniture, talking in small groups. The air was a bit tense; everyone still remembered that just a few hours ago they'd been fully ready to fight, even if they'd put their issues aside for the moment to focus on the real problem at hand. The TV was on but it wasn't playing a movie; it just had a news station on low volume as background noise. A quick scan around the room showed that only Sam and Steve were really paying attention to the news, while talking in hushed voices to each other. Everyone else was ignoring it. 

Tony sighed. "Guess it's not that interesting down here, kid." 

Peter shrugged, shuffling over to take a seat in the beanbag stuffed into the corner of the room. "I don't mind, Mr. Stark. I watch the news every evening with May anyways." Tony noticed how Peter's voice caught on May's name- he knew they'd have to call her in eventually, because they all needed Peter to defeat Thanos, and there was no way to keep her in the dark (not that they should, anyways). For now, though, he'd let her have a few more days of believing Peter had an internship and was in Germany.

By now, all the Avengers had noticed their arrival, but they respected Peter's privacy and did no more than acknowledge him with nods, continuing their conversations. Peter seemed to relax when he realized they wouldn't be questioning him, and he sunk into the beanbag, wrapping the blanket around himself and training his eyes on the TV screen.

Tony did the same, settling in the chair and allowing the flashing lights from the TV and the hushed voices in the room to blur together. He closed his eyes, relaxing in the atmosphere of the room.

~ ~ ~

Peter stared at the TV screen, seeing flashing lights but not absorbing any of it. It was like the string of neurons that led from his cornea to his brain to process images had been snipped, and he couldn't make sense of what he saw. He hadn't told Tony this, but he couldn't shake the feeling that his nightmare was important. He was extremely glad Mr. Stark had respected his boundaries and not asked about his nightmare, because to be honest, he didn't completely understand it himself. Well, the aspect, in and of itself, was fairly simple. He was on Titan again. Reliving the snap. Which would make complete sense, as dying is a fairly traumatic event, but something just seemed... off. With Dr. Strange. He acted the same in Peter's nightmare as he did on that fateful day, but right before Tony woke him up, right before everyone dusted, the Strange in his dream had looked at him straight in the eyes. And Peter had seen it. The flash of recognition. The small nod. This Strange knew that Peter wasn't really there. And then he'd woken up.

Just then, sounds from the room and the TV started filtering back into his brain. He picked up the words "Stephen Strange" and his head shot up, eyes focusing on the TV screen, absorbing the information for the first time since entering the room. Everyone else had heard the name too, and they each looked up, all of them watching the blonde reporter standing next to a completely wrecked car hanging off the side of a cliff.

"Famous neurosurgeon, Doctor Stephen Strange, was in a car accident earlier tonight. It took authorities two hours to find him. Sources state that he was on the phone with a coworker when he crashed. Witnesses claim he was going far faster than the speed limit and was swerving in and out of lanes when he hit the back of another car and careened off the road..." the lady kept talking, but Peter's mind was being dragged elsewhere, and not of his own accord this time. Something was yanking, tugging at the strings of his mind. Peter tried to fight it, but he was still exhausted from the events of the day and his mind gave in.

He could feel his body going slack and sliding off the beanbag, and he could just barely hear the exclamations of alarm over the rushing in his ears. He closed his eyes, trying to ward off the feeling of vertigo, even though he was sitting perfectly still. His spidey sense alerted him of the exact moment when another person entered the room, and Peter snapped his head up and opened his eyes.

In front of him was Dr. Strange.

Not the younger version who'd just crashed his car. No, this was Dr. Strange. The same Dr. Strange from Titan. The same Dr. Strange from Peter's timeline.

"Ah, hello Spider-Man." Dr. Strange greeted him. It almost sounded like he was speaking inside Peter's head, while also speaking regularly. All weird and echo-y; kind of like in the new Star Wars movie, how the Jedi communicated with Rey- okay, time to stop referencing movies in bad situations, Peter. He chided himself, refocusing on Strange, who looked like a ghost.

"I thought you dusted?" Peter asked uncertainly.

Strange's lips quirked into a small smile. "Yes, but didn't you?" Peter blinked and shrugged, knowing full well he had no clue how the stones worked. Dr. Strange sighed. "Before I gave the time stone to Thanos, I activated it and put a hidden spell on it, telling it that when Thanos snapped- because in all the timelines, he would- to send the one most capable of saving the world back in time to a year where they could make a difference. I knew that Thanos was no master of the stones; he wouldn't be able to detect a spell like that, much less take it off. What I didn't know, however, was that my astral form was too closely intertwined with the time stone because of the spell, and I was dragged along with you."

"Why don't you have your own body, though?" Peter asked. "I do."

Strange shook his head. "The spell only accounted to send the most able person back. My guess is that it's compensating for your inexperience by sending someone who understands the stones a bit better along with you."

Peter bristled a bit at the man calling him inexperienced- the contempt came through in his voice. He obviously didn't approve of the stone choosing a kid to send back. He did have a point, though- Peter really had no clue what he was doing.

"So why am I only seeing you now?" Peter asked.

Strange sighed, obviously a bit annoyed with Peter's constant questions, but he answered nonetheless. "I've been attached to you since Leipzig, trying to get your attention."

"It was you who sent the nightmare." Peter realized.

Strange nodded. "Yes. It wouldn't have been my first choice-" Peter acknowledged the apology with a short nod "-but it was the only way to shock your mind into thinking about the time stone. It's the only way you're able to see me, since I'm connected to it, and you kept shoving it to the back of your mind." A wry smile twisted his lips as he seemed to look at something over Peter's shoulder. Peter automatically turned, but nothing was there. "Looks like they're trying to get you back into the land of the living." Strange remarked.

Peter tilted his head in confusion at the odd wording. He wasn't dead, was he? 

"What do you mean?" Peter questioned the sorcerer.

"Your astral form had to be drawn out of your body to speak with mine, so your body appears to be in a comatose state at the moment." Strange answered.

Wonderful. Of course he'd go into a coma and freak everyone out on the first day travelling into the past. "How do I go back?" Peter asked the man, leaving the unspoken question clear. Can he go back?

Strange nodded his head and gave a small smirk. He stepped closer to the boy and put his hands up, reaching for Peter's forehead. Peter stopped him by stepping back. He'd thought he wanted to get away from Strange, because he didn't seem like the type of guy who enjoyed hanging around kids, but now that he was actually going back, Peter panicked. Strange was the only one who really understood him. All the others had only watched the battle; they'd never experienced the pure and utter terror Peter felt on that battlefield. They never would.

Aware that the man would be sending him back soon, Peter bombarded him with questions. "Wait, will I be able to see you again? How will I free you? Are you just going to be a ghost forever? How are we supposed to defeat Thanos when we failed the first time?"

He fully expected Strange to be annoyed with the sudden question overload, but he just sighed and looked older and more tired than Peter had ever seen him. He softened his voice- not much, certainly, not to the extent at which he would associate with May or Ned, but it was definitely softer for Strange.

"I can travel anywhere around the world easily- with just a thought, I'm there. But when you want to speak with me, think about me and the time stone and it'll drag my astral form back to yours, given that we're still connected." Strange paused, a wry smile coming back onto his face. "That being said, don't make it a habit to drag me back over here, I need to... fix some things. Leave the escaping part to me; I'll talk to my... current self. I may have to stick around for a bit, though, if you don't mind- my old self is a bit of an arrogant ass." Peter gave a small grin, noting the man's attempt to cheer him up.

He may have been an arrogant asshole 99% of the time, but he wasn't a terrible person.

"And as for Thanos..." Strange continued, pausing. "I have an idea. Just let the Avengers know you saw me and I'll be back soon." 

He didn't allow Peter enough time to speak again, and before the teen knew it, the sorcerer had put his hands on Peter's temples- and with a quick flash, everything went dark.

~ ~ ~

About 10 minutes prior...

Tony's eyes blinked open when he heard a thump to his left. He turned his head and saw that Peter had slid off the beanbag. Tony sighed but chuckled and got up to wake him.

As he walked over to Peter's side and crouched next to him, Tony frowned. Something seemed wrong. Peter was never this still when just sleeping. He reached out to shake the kid's shoulder, his sense of dread only growing when he got no response.

"Peter?" Tony asked, shaking him. "Peter." he said, louder. The rest of the Avengers were focused on the two of them, and Steve got up and walked over to them. 

"Is he alright?" Cap asked.

"He's not waking up." Tony muttered, shaking Peter harder. He didn't so much as stir. "FRI, honey, what's up with the kid?"

"Mr. Parker has entered a comatose state." his AI replied. There was a beat of silence.

"What?" Tony asked, and several others voiced their confusion along with him. "FRIDAY, what the hell do you mean, comatose state? He was awake and watching TV a minute ago. Did he hit his head really hard on something?" Tony asked, looking around. Nothing stuck out to him.

"No, boss. According to my scanners, Mr. Parker was awake, and approximately 63 seconds ago, he collapsed and entered into a coma. However, his mind is operating normally and he has very active brainwaves."

"What the hell..." someone muttered. Tony found himself agreeing.

"Well, how do we get him up?" Clint asked.

"You can't." FRIDAY replied. "He has to do it himself."

Everyone soaked that in, and Wanda spoke up for the first time.

"I could...?" she said uncertainly, miming using her powers. Tony stared at her. Did he want to risk it? No, not at all. He didn't trust her in the slightest, and she knew that. But on the other hand, even though Peter was a kid, they needed him for this upcoming threat. And on another hand, Tony knew he couldn't stand by and do absolutely nothing. This was already freaky enough as it is.

Before he could reply to her, however, FRIDAY spoke. "Boss, I just detected a spike in his brainwaves. I think he may wake up soon."

"Define soon." Tony almost snapped at her.

"Within a couple of minutes."

Tony didn't think three minutes could last so long. The silence was agonizing, but no one dared to move or to speak; they were all watching Peter.

With a gasp, Peter jerked up, causing most of the people in the room to startle. Tony reeled back and then let out a sigh of relief.

The silence weighed heavily on Tony, only broken by Peter's heavy breathing- almost like he'd run a marathon.

"What the hell just happened." Sam deadpanned, stating what they were all thinking. 

Peter looked up when he was addressed, realizing they were all staring at him.

"Um." he said, eyes flicking rapidly between each person. Tony opened his mouth to say that he didn't have to answer right then, but the boy gestured to the TV.

"So... you all watched my suit's videos, yeah?" he started awkwardly, shifting off the floor and back onto the beanbag. Others did the same, resuming the seating arrangement they'd had before the- before whatever the hell just happened... happened.

Everyone nodded.

"Well, remember Dr. Strange? Apparently his astral form- his soul or something like that- was connected to the time stone which was connected to me so i just saw him-" Peter was speaking too fast, too jumbled for anyone to follow what he was saying.

"Woah, slow down, kid. Take it from the top." Tony said, eyeing Peter's hunched form.

Peter complied, and, damn, Tony had thought earlier today that nothing could be more wild than what had happened already. And boy, was he wrong.

Once Peter had finished explaining what happened- including his nightmare- everyone's brains were spinning.

"So is there any way we can talk to the wizard?" Natasha was the first one to break the quiet, getting straight into the questions.

"Um, no, I don't think so-" Peter started awkwardly, when there was a large crash. Everyone's heads whipped around to see a cup on the floor, still rolling from where it had fallen off the table.

But there was no one near enough to the table to have knocked it off.

Tony got up, approaching the table warily. He picked up the cup and started to place it back on the table, thinking perhaps it had just been really close to the edge, when he noticed a letter placed there. A letter that hadn't been there before.

"FRI?" he asked, picking it up. "Who left this here?"

"I don't know, Boss." she replied. The hairs on the back of Tony's neck stood up, and he got the same haunting feeling he'd gotten earlier. "There was a strange energy form in that spot, and objects appeared to move to write the letter. That form knocked the cup on the floor."

Tony's head whipped around. "Is it still here?"

"Yes."

Everyone went on high alert at FRIDAY's confirmation, and Tony could see many of them picking up weapons and getting into defensive stances.

Peter's voice cut through the room. "It's alright, it's just Dr. Strange."

Tony turned to him. "Are you sure?" he asked. Peter nodded. "In that case..." Tony muttered, carefully opening the letter to reveal the neat handwriting. Sure enough, the signature at the bottom of the page was that of one Stephen Strange. Tony nodded in affirmation to the rest of the Avengers, who slowly relaxed.

What a weird day.

Tony unfolded the full letter and started reading.

"To the Avengers..."

~ ~ ~

Okay, we're halfway through! I'm so sorry, this is really bad (it's been such a long time since I wrote one of these chapters). And it's 2 in the morning and I should be studying but oh well.

I hope you enjoyed... my writing gradually got sloppier and sloppier but I was determined to post something (finally). Keep in mind that I still have 4 midterms left and a ski trip, though, so...

But there's no reason not to post something I've already written. :)