Dust - On Hiatus

Somebody Has to Do It (Save the World, That Is)

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The only thing Peter could hear was his heart, pounding through the material of his t-shirt. The wind was cold on his bare arms, the soles of his feet stinging from the layer of gravel that covered the roof of the apartment complex across from Ned's house.

He knew that running away didn't solve anything, but it was taking him a while to process the fact that everyone in his life had been lying to him for weeks. He knew that he was being irrational. He knew that they were just trying to protect him. But he was tired of the betrayals and the hiding and never knowing what was really happening.

And he hated himself, a little, for being so caught up in his grief for so long that they managed to pull this.

In the end, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't imagine getting up and fighting again. It just all seemed like so much.

And he was so, so tired of all of the battles. All of the wars. All of the death that never ended.

He'd thought that after the Blip, after Thanos, after losing so much, after Mysterio and after all of the lies it would finally be over.

He had thought that he would finally be safe. But he could see now that it would never end. That was the life of a superhero, right?

Peter bent over, placing his elbows on his knees. Deep breaths. He could handle this. He just had to take it one step at a time.

Step One: figure out who he could trust.

Step Two: make it so everyone in the world no longer hated him. (Oh god.)

Step Three: somehow find and bring in some of the best superheroes in the world without hurting them or getting himself killed.

He was so dead.

It wasn't that bad. His list just made it seem that way. Okay. Step One. Who could he trust? He really didn't want Ned or MJ involved in this. It was just too dangerous.

No. This was... something he had to do on his own. Which meant not telling him about where he was going or what he was doing. They would just try to follow him. And as much as he hated the idea of leaving them worried, it was for their own safety. Being around him made them a target.

Suddenly May's behaviour at the apartment made more sense. Clearly, Fury had had more than one reason to bring Peter to the compound. Keeping him out of the way, and working on the suit... which had been a total fail. Just like everything else in his life recently.

He had to figure out a way to prove his innocence. But... he also had to stop being so selfish. Lately, he'd been focusing on fixing all of his own problems. But until he could figure out how to stop the rogue heroes, none of his problems mattered.

Mentally, he revised his to-do list. Step one was still figuring out who he could trust, and, as a byproduct of that, who had gone rogue. Step two consisted of (hopefully) figuring out how they were getting changed so that they could make sure it didn't happen to anyone else. And then, well, he just had to figure out how to reverse the effects.

He wished Mr. Stark was here. He would probably take one look at the situation and have it all figured out already. Everyone expected Peter to be able to handle the tech stuff, but he wasn't smart, not like Mr. Stark.

And he sure as heck wasn't a billionaire with access to high-tech facilities and equipment - at least not right now when he wasn't sure he could trust Fury enough to return to the Avengers compound. That also seemed like a really obvious place to go. Surely anyone with half a brain would think to look for him there. He supposed that Fury had been relying on its superior security system to keep him safe, but he wasn't entirely sure he was ready to return there... at least not just yet. No, what he needed now was to ask Ned and MJ some questions.  With some reluctance, he realized that he'd have to stick around a little longer if he wanted to finally get some answers.

Like who exactly had gone rogue. And if anyone had been hurt yet. And if anyone at SHIELD had any ideas on how to stop them. He was dreading that answer, especially since it would probably involve the rogues getting hurt. He knew it would be impossible to restrain them without using force, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

He stood up, wincing as the gravel dug further into his feet. With a sigh, he swung over the edge of the building, catching himself on the edge of Ned's open window and slipping inside.

Ned and MJ were sitting in the living room, the muted glow of the TV sending shadows flickering over their faces. MJ had her head buried in her hands, and for a moment, Peter felt bad about just leaving them like that.

He'd been so furious, so let down, that he'd just jumped out the nearest window. They had probably thought he'd left. They'd probably been worried.

Well good, he thought spitefully. He was only back because he had questions, and then he was leaving.

They didn't deserve to know where.

He cleared his throat, awkwardly stepping into the room.

"Peter, thank god." MJ stood up, walking over to him. Peter crossed his arms. She faltered for a moment. "We were really worried. We were about to call May. Where were you, Peter? Why did you just run off like that? I - I know you're probably mad at us, but - "

"Stop," Peter said, putting up his hand. "Just - stop, okay?"

He shook his head. "I don't want to hear it. I have some questions, and I want you to answer them - truthfully. And then, I'm going to go."

"Where?" Ned asked, his face creased with worry.

"To save the world."

A/N: I'm sorry this is so short - I just wanted to get something up for you guys. I also apologize for taking so long, but your reads and votes and comments have really inspired me. I promise to do better in the future! Also, over 1k reads! Wow, you guys are great!

Remember to vote and comment if you liked it!