Lost Souls - Discontinued

.1.

The last thing Peter remembered was running to Tony. It had started as this fluttering ache in the pit of his stomach, but then the others started to... fade. They turned to dust. Did they die?!

Peter then felt the ache turn into something worse; something sharp, and stinging. Like a knife turning in his side. It hurt and he could feel it spreading. Peter knew he would be next. He ran to Tony. Tony could fix it. Tony could fix everything.

Tony who looked broken and was staring after Dr. Strange's ashes. Tony who couldn't bear to turn around at the broken cry of his name.

No. No. Not him. Not him. Tony couldn't lose Peter too. But the next call of his name turned Tony and he saw the boy holding his middle, tears glassing over his kicked-puppy-dog eyes.

"You alright?" He asked, but he already knew.

Peter fought the feeling, tried to push it back, tried to resist. He should've stayed on the bus, if he'd stayed on the bus...

His knees collapsed, and Tony caught him. Tony held him so tight, it was as if he was trying to hold him together. They fell to the ground and Peter cried, Tony assuring him it would be alright. It wasn't going to be alright. He was going to lose him.

Peter had a final clarifying moment before the pain took over and there was no other thing he could do to keep it at bay. Tony was going to blame himself for the rest of his life. How was he going to move on? How would he ever forgive himself? It was Peter's fault, but Tony would pay.

"I'm sorry."

Peter should've stayed on the bus.

oOo

That was the last thing Peter remembered before his head ached like a ten-ton building had been dropped on him. Oh wait, that had happened. This hurt more.

There was a strange brightness behind Peter's eyelids and he knew he needed to open them, but did he really want to? He was dead! What if he saw... who knows? He wasn't supposed to exist anymore!

Peter heard strange voices, vaguely familiar. They were talking, and his poor brain struggled to keep up.

"Why is it taking him so long?"

"He did get here last."

"Give him some time, he's just a kid."

"How come he got here so much later, anyways? I have questions."

"Save them."

Were they talking about him? Curiousity got the better of him and Peter finally blinked his eyes open with a groan. Who knew death would hurt so much?

"Hey, welcome to... wherever 'here' is." Said the blurry figure in his vision. It was a man with long dark hair and a beard and...

Oh holy frick frack it was Jesus he was dead and in Heaven!

"Jesus?!" Peter squeaked, voice-crack and all. The figure paused and his face slowly came in to view. Peter knew that face from somewhere... maybe a dream? Peter always forgot his dreams.

"Did he just..." Some angel with wings from behind Jesus burst out laughing.

"Sit up, Peter." Now that voice was unforgettable. Dr. Strange was there! At least he wasn't alone in heaven. Strange helped him sit up and Peter screwed his eyes shut again.

"Peter? What's wrong?" Strange asked, scanning his face. "Ugh, everything... hurts." Peter complained. He felt the uncertainty through the group. When the wave of pain passed, Peter opened his eyes. Crowding around him were people his lagging brain could now identify.

Dr. Strange, with the Guardians; Quill, Drax, Mantis and a tree tucked under Quill's arm. The Winter Soldier was also there with Falcon - those two he had mistaken for Jesus and an angel - Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, a black guy with an eye patch and a lady in a blue jumpsuit were staring at him from the back. What a rag-tag team.

"Hurts? There was no pain." Scarlet Witch comes forward and extends a hand, making Peter's whole body tense up and he scrambled away. Half those people had been his enemies last time they met, and two he didn't even know.

"Woah, woah, hold up. Where are and what is going on?" Peter took deeper breaths as he looked around the desolate wasteland. And then he saw the others. There were countless civilians, including animals and babies, trying to regroup and crying out in horror and confusion.

But none of them were in pain.

"Calm down, kid." Quill told him, coaxing him back with a gesture. "None of us really know what's going on. Your experience seems the most... unique." The random woman in a blue jumpsuit explained. When she caught Peter's expression, she rolled her eyes. "My name is Agent Hill. This is Director Fury, and you are...?"

"I'm Spiderman."

Peter got incredulous looks from the two agents. He squared his shoulders in response.

"We need to organize ourselves and try to figure out what's going on and how to get back. We need to help all these people." Black Panther spoke up with his wicked cool accent. Dr. Strange nodded and came forward a little from where he'd been trying to shield Peter. "I know what happened, for the most part. Don't worry, Peter, we aren't dead; we are trapped in the Soul Realm."

"Is that like... the after-life?" Mantis inquired innocently. She sat cross-legged by Drax and Quill. "Not... quite..." Strange didn't want to get into a religious debate, so he didn't go further on that topic. "The Soul Stone has effectively erased us from existence, and trapped our souls in here since you can't just 'get rid' of matter, it needs to go somewhere. The Soul Stone also feeds on us, so the longer we are in here, the worse it will be. We need to get out."

"It's more than that." Scarlet Witch suddenly piped up. "I can feel something else in this place. It is not a mindless stone. There is a core energy. It's... a soul. A powerful soul." Strange seemed intruiged by Wanda's powers, and how her hands glowed. That was, until he realized something.

Scarlet Witch could use her powers. He could not. It was time to take notes. As the 'team' continued discussing plans to find this core being, Strange observed.

Peter seemed to be able to stick to things, and his spider senses worked, but his webshooters didn't. Mantis' powers worked, as she tried to use them on Peter before he ducked away. She also tried to use them on Fury, and Strange discovered that guns were not working either. It seemed that natural abilities stayed, but any weapons or learned abilities - maybe even fighting styles - were lost. They were not part of your 'soul'.

The only exeptions being Black Panther's suit and Bucky's arm. Both were made from vibranium.

Dr. Strange had a plan.

Sooooooo chapter oooooooooooonnnne what doooooooooo yoooooooooooouuu think?

I don't know what that was please forgive me.
Seriously though, what do you guys think? I wanted to try out a post-infinity war fic and, while it will probably be short - hopefully it will be good and it will definitely have a lot of Spidey love in it.

~Meow