A/N: Well, I said it would be done before Endgame came out, and that premiered pretty much everywhere today, so...

But I still haven't seen it, so I think it counts. ;)

Here is the final chapter of Bear the Burden of Responsibility. Once again we're using Tony's POV. It seemed like the best way to wrap it up. I want to reiterate what I said in the beginning. This is the beginning of a resolution for Infinity War. I don't have the creativity or the patience to write a full fledged story (AU at this point most likely) to see where this goes. It would have a thousand plot holes. And most likely a Mary Sue. It's better this way, trust me. It's meant to be open ended. I hope that doesn't bother you, and you knew what you were signing up for. If not, I sincerely apologize.

Chapter title is from Present, Past and Future by Beware of Darkness

When May announced Peter must have sneaked out his window, Tony did the smart thing. He immediately opened his phone, tapped Friday and started tracking the kid's suit (because when would he go anywhere without the suit?), which led him straight to Peter's closet.

There was the suit, but no kid was in sight. For half a second, he thought the kid had turned invisible (don't some spiders have a camouflaging ability?) before he realized how stupid he was being. Parker left the suit behind on purpose.

The next step was to have Friday run facial recognition on all the traffic cameras within a 10-mile radius. After about half an hour of searching, he finally managed to trace the kid to a subway station before he dropped off the map altogether. He pulled up several schedules and routes, crosschecking with any known addresses for people under the surname Strange, and was having a difficult time narrowing down his list seeing as there were 186 people with the last name Strange in New York City, of which 30 had the title of Doctor. He was working the algorithms for about 15 more minutes, finding some conclusive information of three possible clinics and five residential locations the kid may have gone to when May burst back into the room wringing her hands, Pepper trying to be a calming presence behind her.

"I've called him three times, and he won't pick up. I know he's off the train now, too, because his phone isn't automatically going to voicemail."

Tony perked his head up, cocking his head to the side slightly. "What was that?"

"Peter won't pick up his phone," May said, pacing the length of the small room.

"But, why… he didn't leave it behind?"

Pepper shook her head a little. "We would have heard it ringing. Tony, he's a teenager. Do you really think he'd go anywhere without his phone?"

His phone. Why didn't he try to just track the kid's phone? He could kick himself. A few taps on the screen of his own device and he saw an icon moving along 6th Avenue, nowhere near any of the locations he originally pulled up. "Got him."

"You found him?" May asked crowding him to look at the screen. "How? Where?"

"Kid knew I could track his suit; didn't realize I could track his phone. He's in Greenwich Village." Tony stood, causing May to take a step back. "Alright. I'm getting my suit on and I'll bring him right back—"

"Excuse me? You'll do no such thing. That's my kid out there, and we're going to get him together," May said sharply.

"May, I'll get to him in 4 minutes in the suit, we won't be wasting any time this way."

"It'll take 30 in a cab. Peter can take care of himself, but he needs to know we're here for him. I know he looks up to you, Tony, but between the two of us, he'll listen to me."

"May—"

"You said I'm the boss."

"Yes—"

"Well then let's go get my kid."

Tony huffed. "What makes you so sure he'll do what you say?"

May raised an eyebrow. "Because I have the power to ground him."

So, half an hour later found Tony staring up at a heavy wooden door, taking in the grandiose building that had no business in this area, even though it was pretty obvious that the neighborhood grew up around it. May stood right behind him, taking it in. He stared at the tarnished plating that read 177A Bleeker St, then looked down at his phone, finding the blinking blue icon, indicating his lost spiderling was somewhere in that huge, old, out-of-place… house? Museum? It was hard to say.

"Tony, will you please knock on the door?" May asked, twisting her fingers again. If she had it in her, he was certain she'd be tapping her foot. Tony wished for Pepper's presence as a buffer, to help keep May calm, but she elected to stay behind in case Peter decided to come back and they lost him in route. Tony took in a deep breath, knocking firmly on the door, rapping hard enough to sting his knuckles. Apparently, he was about to meet a wizard, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.

The door creaked open, and a stocky Asian man around Tony's height stood before them, staring blankly.

Tony smiled. "Hello."

The man's expression did not change.

"Well, I probably don't need to introduce myself—"

"It would be polite to do so, and most likely in your best interest," the man interrupted.

"Wait, you know who I am, right?"

The man blinked at him, still blocking the doorway.

"Oh my God, this is shocking. I hardly ever run into this. This feels like a photo op—"

"Please, my name is May Parker," May stepped around Tony, holding out her phone. The screen revealed a selfie of May and Peter smiling into the camera. "We're looking for my nephew." The man glanced between the phone and the woman, raising an eyebrow. "Please, please have you seen him? I'm so worried. He left on… on bad terms and I just need to know he's okay," she said, tearing up a little. The man nodded and opened the door wider to let them in.

"Let me put you at ease. He is here, and he is safe. Can I assume since he is an acquaintance of Iron Man that you know the reason he sought out the Sanctum Sanctorum?"

"I knew you knew who I was," Tony muttered.

"I am Wong. Young Mr. Parker came by not too long ago to speak with Doctor Stephen Strange."

"The wizard?"

Wong blinked, arching an eyebrow. "Well, he prefers the term sorcerer, but yes, essentially."

"I need to see him," May said, looking over his shoulder.

"I am afraid they are busy at the moment. It may disturb you to see what is happening."

"Wait, what?" Tony said, eyes narrowing. "What exactly is Strange doing to my kid?"

Oh, that wasn't supposed to slip out. May stared at him for a heartbeat before turning back to Wong. "Our kid," she said and Tony's heart warmed at the acknowledgement. May was looking at Wong with all the fierceness of a Valkyrie. She would fight and maim and kill to protect her child, powers or no, "and I want to know what is going on here."

Wong let out a quiet sigh before gesturing for them to follow him up the stairs. "I did not mean to alarm you. They are both in trances, and Stephen is… exploring timelines and possible outcomes. It can be disturbing to one who has never seen him work before," Wong said, leading them down a hallway with several doors. "Your child was tainted. There were cracks and tears in his aura, indicating he passed through worlds." Tony raised his eyebrows as he followed Wong, thinking quickly. His nightmare coming to the forefront of his mind. He held the trembling teenager as he shook apart in his hands. Did that actually happen? Would it happen? "After hearing his tale, Doctor Strange decided to take a look for himself, using Peter's memories and aura to guide him." Wong stopped in front of a door that was cracked open, pushing it inward. "In here," he said, stepping forward and guiding them into the dim room.

Candles flickered on several surfaces, and Tony was distracted but what must have been a man, but whose hands and head moved so quickly they blurred, making his features indistinguishable. Before him glowed a small green stone.

"Peter!" May gasped, running to the settee—the only piece of furniture in the room—which Peter was lying down on. His eyebrows twitched a little, but otherwise he remained motionless, one arm folded over his stomach, and the other dangling uselessly over the side of the chair, fingertips brushing against the wooden floor.

Wong darted in front of her, preventing her from touching her nephew. "Please," he said with a hint of an edge to his voice—firm but somewhat afraid, "I must implore you to not touch the child until this is over. He has not been harmed—"

"The hell he hasn't! He's passed out on your couch!" May shouted, trying to move past the man.

"—and if you interrupt this ritual, we could all be in grave danger!" Wong continued, grasping May's shoulders and holding her in place.

"Hey, take your hands off of her!" Tony growled, storming forward.

"You are all so very loud. It is lucky I am able to meditate through such useless drivel." Tony turned around at the low voice, taking in the man who was the cause of all this trouble. He had silver-streaked hair, a strong jaw and blue eyes that pierced him somewhere deep and unknown. Tony repressed the urge to look away or shudder at this man's otherworldliness.

"Tell your sidekick to back off, Harry Potter."

The wizard—sorcerer, whatever—raised an eyebrow and Tony was almost certain he heard the words reluctant companion muttered behind him. "Wong, I have completed my task. Peter will wake any moment now, and probably needs his aunt."

May turned and frowned at him as Wong released his hold on her and stepped aside. "How do you know who I am? What I am to him?"

"Because I have seen you in him. He holds you in very high esteem," he responded kindly. "To get to the heart of what happened, we had to make our way through his subconscious. It is a difficult spell. I apologize if it frightened you, but the boy will be alright." Suddenly Peter gasped, shooting up and clutching at his chest. May spun back around and sat at the edge of the chair, holding Peter's hands. He was blinking away tears, eyes finding May's immediately.

"May?"

"Oh, Peter! Don't ever do that to me again! Don't you know how scared I was?" May babbled, pulling him into a fierce hug. Tony stepped forward to do his own check on the kid, when the wizard held up a hand and gestured toward the door, walking out of the room. Tony looked back at the kid, speaking quietly with May before deciding not to intrude. He followed Strange out of the room and into the hallway.

"Stark," the sorcerer's tone was low, and he wore a thoughtful frown.

"Strange," Tony replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Please, we need to talk. It is most urgent, and for now I believe best done out of earshot of your ward."

"Whoa, whoa he's not my ward, what the…" where did this guy get that bizarre idea?

"If you say so," Strange replied, leading him a little further from the door.

"Yeah, I say so. God, he lives with his aunt for Christ's sake. Ward. All I did was give him a suit."

"Stark, you need to listen to me and listen well."

"When you take back the Ward comment, I might."

Strange whirled around and pierced him with that unnerving gaze. "The world as we know it is in peril. The universe is in grave danger. You must listen!" Tony closed his mouth and chewed on his cheek a little before nodding for Strange to go on. "I have seen through the cracks of that boy's spirit, into the nothing that he came out of and I must urge you to act, and quickly!"

"Look, I know you're into all the aura-magic bullshit, but—"

"In approximately 4 months, a mad titan will come to this world seeking the infinity stones," Strange talked right over him, ignoring his outburst entirely, "and he will succeed if we do not act quickly. In fact he has already succeeded, several times. If he succeeds again, our world—every world—will be destroyed."

Tony closed and opened his mouth a few times. "What now?"

"Destroyed, Tony. Our world as we know it will be destroyed."

"No, no, back up. Several times?"

Strange frowned and looked away. "We have tried before and failed. He has something of a sixth sense, and because of it he is the only one able to remember what happened. We—I—have sent that boy back here many times to correct our error, each time tweaking the timeline for the correct outcome. Each time he has ended up on that planet, turning into dust in your arms."

"Sir, please. Please, I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go…." Collapsing into cold sand and crumbling rock. Deep brown eyes, afraid, taking everything in, knowing it's the last time they'll see anything before finding Tony's very heart with his gaze. "I'm sorry..."

Strange looked at him with a melancholy glint in his eyes. "He doesn't… doesn't remember." Tony looked up sharply. "He does, but he doesn't. Peter always wakes up, usually at different points, and he remembers that he died. He remembers Death and her fascination with him. He remembers how he died, how it felt, and that he needs to find me and convince us of the truth. But he doesn't remember how… often, it has happened. At this point he has crossed over so many times, I fear for the preservation of his spirit. There are cracks there that will be difficult to seal, and I fear if we fail again, he will not have enough soul left to cross into either world."

Tony was slowly filled with a cold rage that started in his belly and worked its way up his chest and into his throat. Peter who rescued cats from trees and helped little old ladies cross the street, who didn't have a cruel bone in his body was going to fade into nothing because of some crazy alien tyrant? "Who?" he asked, sharply. "Who are we taking out? You tell me this bastard's name, because if he tries to do this to my kid again…"

"Thanos. He is a madman, bent on destroying half of all life in the universe. He believes it will restore balance, help to extend resources and help the other half survive."

Tony shook his head a little. "Okay, how can he even do that? He's only one man-titan-thing."

"The infinity stones," Strange said.

"Yeah, you're gonna need to give me a little more than that."

Strange pinched the bridge of his nose. "Right. You don't know about them yet."

"Enlighten me."

Which led to a magical 3-D PowerPoint presentation by Wong and Strange, describing the infinity stones and their purpose. Tony paced the foyer before leaning against a huge, heavy, metal jar.

"If he obtains all the infinity stones, he could destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamt of," Strange said solemnly.

"Did you seriously just say 'hitherto undreamt of?'" he asked, stretching his legs and bracing himself against a giant, glorified cooking pot.

"Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?" Strange replied, walking over to him quickly.

"Is that what this is?" he felt a sharp slap against his shoulder, causing him to straighten up and face the others again. "Okay, so what. These infinity stones just, destroy?"

Strange shook his head. "They can do almost anything."

"So if he's so concerned about balancing the universe, why not just double the resources with them?"

"What part of madman did you not understand?"

"Fair point," Tony said, crossing his arms again.

"Mr. Stark?" Tony looked up to see Peter and May coming down the staircase.

"Hey kid. You missed one hell of a demonstration. Crazy magic, visions, dramatic monologue…"

Peter smiled a little. "That's okay, Mr. Stark. I'm pretty familiar with Doctor Strange's magic."

Huh, Tony thought. Guess he would be.

"Okay, Merlin. You have me here. Now what?"

"Now, you grab that ridiculous flip phone you've been holding onto for the last who-knows-how-long and make a call."

Tony's heart fell to his stomach.

"We need all hands on deck, Stark."

Tony looked at Peter's beseeching expression, huge cow eyes turned on him with both admiration and anxiety. He looked at Tony like he was his last hope. His face seemed to say, if anyone can do it, it's you, Mr. Stark. Please.

Please.

I don't wanna go.

Tony sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out the last thing Rogers ever gave him. He flipped open the phone, and dialed the only contact listed, placing it against his ear. It rang once. Twice. After the third ring, he heard a voice he never thought he wanted to hear again.

To be honest, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear it now.

"Hello?"

Tony looked at Peter one more time, seeing him alive and whole and well, but also seeing the haunted look in his eyes, helping him steel his resolve.

"Hey, Capsicle. We've got a situation over here."

A/N: Well that's it. That's a wrap. That's all, folks. Hope you enjoyed it. If anyone is interested, I'm working on a homecoming/ultimate spider-man AU with Kingpin where our favorite web-slinger maybe walks on the dark side a little bit. A kind of, what if this were the situation when Peter first got his powers scenario that I think is pretty cool. Keep your eyes peeled. It's outlined start to finish. I want to get a couple of chapters done before I start posting so I can at least be a smidge more consistent than I usually am.

Hope you enjoyed this one, and please leave a review (don't spoil Endgame if you've seen it, please. I might cry, and it's not nice to make people cry).

Until next time!