Chapter - 1 - the end is just the beginning

-X-

Aunt May used to say 'that the end is just the beginning.'

Peter never truly dwelt on that thought until now, as he looked up at Mr Stark and felt, deep down into his core, that something was wrong.

He could feel it, he even watched it happen to those friendly alien people.

He knew he was going to die.

He thought back to every time that the tingle in the back of his head rang, told him to duck, sidestep, run, jump, push, pull, or even catch, he thought back to the dull ache each one seemed like now.

At the time it felt like shooting shivers, tingles, even warmth on the rarest occasions.

Right now, all he could feel was a pain.

Shooting pain that went straight up his spine into that familiar spot of warning at the back of his head.

He could only feel dead as the people around him crumbled to ash.

He could only look to his mentor, scared, sick, terrified, paint, there was so much pain.

"Mr Stark… I don't feel so good." His voice was rough, the choking from before probably left bruising, he thought, trying to keep his mind off the pain that filtered through his being.

Pain. Pain. PAIN

It hurts!

He stumbled forward, caught by the arms of his mentor.

He looked up at the man, a man who he has always admired, a man who always seemed confident, proud, strong.

He wasn't that man now.

Right now his face was withering above him, pained features that highlighted his glassy eyes.

He looked like the world was crumbling beneath him.

No.

More than that, he looked like the world was crumbling around him, as he watched helplessly.

Everyone around him dying without so much as a goodbye.

Wait, dying?

...Was he dying?

"I don't wanna go…"

No! There's still so much I have to do.

I still have to help May clean the house, I haven't cleaned my room. "I don't wanna go." What about my homework? "I don't wanna go." What about school! What about Ned, and MJ, who was going to help Ned build his next Star Wars LEGO set? "I don't wanna go." Who was MJ going to call a loser when they both meet in detention. "I don't wanna go."

"I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go."

He couldn't just leave.

He couldn't leave everyone alone.

He couldn't.

His mind went through every problem, every solution, everything he missed.

Everyone who he would miss.

Oh God, he can't leave. Not yet.

He still has to beat up the Purple raisin chin man and met the other Avengers.

I haven't said goodbye yet

It was then that his mind seemed to pull him back to reality, now realising that Mr Start was cradling him, tearing himself apart trying to help the trembling whimpering boy he's become.

But there was nothing he could do.

Even as his mind raced, seconds becoming an eternity, the tears welling up in his mentor's eyes made him think back.

It made him think of Ben.

How he felt cradling his body, calling for help, only for them to arive too late.

The sorrow that was overwhelming until it drove him to do the right thing and put on his mask.m

Did Uncle Ben feel like this?

Did he look up at me scared? Knowing he would die?

Wondering what to say, in his last moments?

Then he thought of the funeral, the loss, the despair as he held the man who was like a father to him.

Feeling the blood drain from his body.

Feeling the heat leave the body.

Watching his father in everything but blood change, from Ben, into a corpse.

"I'm sorry…" Everyone…

One last tear fell down his face as he looked off into the distance, feeling the inevitable plague of death finally reach over him... darkness filling his vision.

It was painful, the worst pain he ever felt. Everything he ever felt seemed to fail in comparison.

But now… Nothing was left.

He couldn't feel anything.

…But why?

Why was the pain coming back?

Why was the feeling coming back?

His arms, his legs, all of it was there.

Why?

He opened his eyes with a start, taking greedy gulps of air into his lungs.

He was alive?

Why?

Hyperventilating, but alive.

Each breath seemed to burn as he felt his heart pound faster and faster.

Slow breaths.

In though the nose, out through the mouth, like a straw.

Focus, focus, focus.

Breathe in, breathe out, in and out, in and out.

It felt like another painful eternity before he could finally calm down enough to take in his surroundings.

They weren't what he was expecting...

Why was he standing on orange water, in a sea of orange emptiness?

Why was there a green woman in front of him?

Oh.

"Now it makes sense."

The woman tilted her head questioningly.

"I'm dead."

Sadly he was too busy trying to make sense of his situation to notice her exasperated look.

"You must be like, a god, or something " he finished.

The woman then stared straight into his eyes, seemingly looking into his soul, which would be entirely possible for a god.

"No, I am Gamora. I was part of the Guardians of the Galaxy." The majestic god, not a god, explained.

"Oh, YOU'RE Gamora." He was happy to finally have a face to the name.

"Yes, I was also the one who brought you here." She explained, leaving him with one overpowering question.

"…Why?"

"Why?" She questioned in return.

"Yeah, why? Why save me? What about your team?" He asked in honest curiousity, although his voise was quiet.

"…I couldn't… Reach them in time." She answered solemnly.

"Oh. I'm sorry…" he apologised quietly looking up at her with a guilty and apologetic look.

"It's ok…"

That answer left them in a solem silence before Peter gathered his courage and decided to change the subject.

"So where are we?"

"Inside the soul stone." She said, like it would explain everything. It didn't. But Peter didn't dwell on that fact as he exploded with enthusiasm.

"Wait, what?! Woah! That's awesome!"

"But you won't be here for long." She stated, while pointing at his hands which were beginning to look transparent.

"Woah" he exclaimed, receiving a light chuckle in response before the not quite god, but in his opinion pretty close, Gamora continued.

"You see I pulled you here while I was forced to push your body somewhere else."

"Wow, ok? First off, thanks, for like, everything. Second, umm do you know where? Like if I'll be back on earth or somewhere else crazy, like Asgard. Wait please tell me I'll wake up in Asgard!" He began to ramble wildly in the hopes of seeing the undoubtedly mystical - or would it be mythical? - home of one of his favourite heroes/Gods.

"Wait what do they do in Asgard, do I bow?" He asked, stumped.

"Ok, hold up, so first off I don't know where your body was sent, I just know it won't be on the same plane of existence," Gamora explained curtly as he sighed in disappointment.

Seeing Asgard or Thor for that matter would be the most awesome thing ever, even after he's been to space and fought aliens.

"Looks like you're getting pulled back, " She observed, as he looked down to see his legs were already transparent.

"What? Wait! How do I get back home!" He asked in a last-ditch effort.

"I'm sorry kid. I'll do what I can." She paused before bringing up a hand to wave goodbye, "Hopefully I see you soon though."

Peter just watched as the world around him seemed to distort and blur, before finally looking back at his saviour, "Thank you for everything, Miss Guardian of the Galaxy."

After seeing the beginnings of a smile make its way onto her face, the next thing he knew, he was being pulled, sucked through an ever-changing tunnel as his body - or was it his soul? - was pulled by some vacuum that got stronger and stronger until he felt like he was free-falling through the sky, without air pressure, which was definitely weird.

Until, after what seemed like an eternally long moment of travel, he was suddenly thrown sideways into a bright light that opened at the end of the ever-changing tunnel.

The only thing that soothed his mind as unending questions plagued his mind was the lack of a warning tingle.

Then suddenly, as if he had just woken up from a dream, he was looking up at the sky.

Vast, endless blue stared back at him, skyscrapers falling into the edge of his view as city noise flooded his being with calm, the familiar noises of traffic and people were music to his ears, and rushed him with relief.

He welcomed to pleasant loud noises, reminding himself that everything around him was real.

That he was real.

Although as he began to take in all the smaller sounds around him, he noticed two things. One, his whole body ached, everything hurt, everything tingled, he couldn't move. Two, the people around him, he couldn't understand them, the language they spoke wasn't one he knew, yet it sounded vaguely familiar.

With these two new discoveries, he knew one thing for sure…

He should have stayed on the bus.

-X-

- So like most of my other stories, this chapter is a prologue, and I plan to get to the more MHA stuff in the next chapter. I hope anyone who reads this finds it at least a little interesting as a start, especially because there's a lotta great PP to MHA stuff out there. -

- please let me know if you like it, or if you have any cool ideas for the storyline -

MadMoonLunatic