Iron Boy [Peter Parker x Male Reader]

Chapter Sixty

      A few minutes later we were speeding across the Wakandan plains headed for the edge of the dome.
      "How you doing, Bruce?" Nat said.
      He let out a series of whoops and hollers from the Hulkbuster suit, just before tripping and falling on his face.
      I sighed, "My dad's gonna kill me for letting him use that..."
      "He'll get over it," Steve said.
      "I've got two heat signatures breaking through the tree line," Rhodey said into our comms.
      The transports came to a halt and everyone got off. The Wakandan soldiers immediately filed into organized lines.
      I saw Charlie break away from me and go stand by Rhodey.
      I wandered over to Nat, Steve, and T'Challa.
      T'Challa was sharing words with a Wakandan higher-up.
      After they were done the four of us made our way towards the edge of the dome. I immediately recognized the female alien from Scotland on the other side. Along with the huge, alien brute from New York.
      We walked right up to them.
      "Where's your other friend?" Nat said.
      "You will pay for his life with yours," the alien said, "Thanos will have that stone."
      "That's not gonna happen," Steve said.
      "You are in Wakanda now. Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood," T'Challa said.
      "We have blood to spare," the alien said.
      She raised an arm above her head. I looked up to see the large shuttles opening.
      The four of us made our way back to the ranks.
      I stood next to Nat.
      Hundreds of horrifying aliens came charging out of the forest and towards the shield.
      "Looks like we pissed her off," Nat said.
      The creatures began to attempt and rip through the dome, to no avail.
      Heads, legs, and arms got chopped off as the shield closed around them. Although, a few managed to slip through.
      I pressed a hand to my chest and my suit began to surround me.
      "Ready, boss?" Smoak said.
      "Let's hope," I said.
      The Wakandan soldiers around me raised their arms and shields materialized in front of them.
      T'Challa said something in his language and the soldiers began firing blasts.
      I raised my palms and blasted the creatures that got too close.
      After Rhodey dropped bombs on the ones slipping through they began to surround the dome.
      "Cap, if these things circle around and get behind us there's nothing between them and Vision," Banner said into the comms.
      "Then we better keep them in front of us," Cap said.
      "How do we do that?" Okoye asked.
      "We open the barrier," T'Challa said, "On my signal, open North-West section 17."
      Cap activated his shields and T'Challa began to shout commands in the native language.
      He made his way in front of the front lines and raised his helmet.
      "Wakanda forever!" he yelled before charging forward.
      I took to the air as everyone around me began charging.
      I looked to my left to see Charlie flying a ways over from me. I nodded once at him, then flew forward with the army.
      The dome formed a line in front of us, then opened a few yards. The creatures came pouring in.
      I immediately began to fire rockets and energy blasts from above.
      I saw Steve and Panther fighting in sync below me and managing to fend them off.
      I felt a tug at my heart at every soldier I saw fall.
      My eyes landed on Bucky shooting at the creatures, until one ripped his gun free and tackled him, going for his throat.
      I prepared to fly in a different direction, but a pain shot through my head and I was shot into another out of body experience.
      I looked down to see my blue energy body.
      I looked to me in real life and saw that everything was frozen in place. The battle had stopped waging around me.
      "Really, Stark?" the Russian voice said.
      "Listen, Sokolov, I'm not perfect."
      "But you'd let a man die, all for a mistake he made in his past?"
      "A mistake that destroyed my father."
      "A mistake he did not consciously make."
      "...Why can I speak now?"
      "Your mind must be evolving, but that doesn't change the reason you are here. Let me take you somewhere," the voice said.
      My body jerked upward and once again I saw the globe beneath me. It spun back to North America and I was thrown down to the ground in Chicago.
      I scanned my surroundings and immediately my heart sunk.
      "Get me out of here, Sokolov! Get me out now!"
      "Watch."
      "No! I won't."
      "Watch!" she boomed.
      My eyes were forced back to the sidewalk.
      I saw two people coming down the sidewalk.
      "No, no, no, no, no, no..."
      "Did you have fun?" the woman said, a smile on her face as she looked down at the little boy next to her.
      "Yeah!" the little boy cheered.
      "I'm glad, honey. What do you think, Y/N? Should we get some ice cream on our way home?"
      My knees buckled as she said my name.
      "Yeah, mom, let's do it!"
      The woman laughed and my heart lurched.
      "Remember, Y/N...most things can bring you joy, if you look at them the right way. Sometimes something feels hurtful, but behind all the pain, it's really just the same joy..."
       "Huh?" young-me said, confused.
      "Think of it like this: you're eating ice cream and you get a brain freeze... do you stop eating the ice cream? No, because in the end, the pain still brought you joy," I joined her in the last part.
      "Oh! It's like the thing you told me last week: not everything is what it seems. There's always more to a story than meets the eye!"
      She laughed again, "Yes, exactly..."
      Before they could round the corner two men stepped in front of them.
      Even from my spot across the street, I could see the gun in one of the men's hand.
      My mother immediately placed the young boy behind her.
      "Valuables. Now," one of the men said.
      I tried to look away, but I couldn't.
      My mother began to unclip her jewelry and hand it to the men.
      They pushed her back in to the alley and shoved the little boy hard onto the sidewalk.
      "Mom!" he yelled.
      "Run, Y/N! Run! Go home!"
      "Mom! But-"
      "Go!"
      The little boy started to back away.
      I saw the woman begin to pull on her purse as they tried to take it, just as the boy started to turn around.
      He swiveled back to the scene as a loud bang went off.
      The little boy stared at his mother, leaning against the wall of the building.
      "Shit. Look," the man said holding a small card out to the other man.
      "Jovi Smoak? Shit. Like-?"
      "I think so."
      "We gotta get outta here."
      They gathered their scores and ran down the street.
      The little boy ran into the alleyway and up to his mom.
      "Mom?"
      My view was forced closer.
      The woman had a hand over her stomach with blood leaking down her fingers.
      "It's okay, Y/N. Just-just listen to me."
      "But-"
      "Listen. Everything's gonna be okay, okay? Don't worry. Just think of it as me ta-" she began to cough, "...taking a trip, okay? I'm taking a trip to paradise and I'm gonna have an amazing time. And maybe one day you can come and visit me...okay? Everything's gonna be okay, Y/N..."
      The little boy was sobbing and clutching his mother's hand.
      "Mom..."
      "I'll always love you, my little Iron Boy..."
      Her head slumped a little to the side and her eyes went slightly cloudy.
      The boy began to sob very loudly, grabbing the attention of a passing woman. She began to make her way towards the boy.
      "Hello?" she said.
      The vision froze, but I couldn't take my eyes off my mother and my younger self holding her hand. I looked down to my own hand and could still feel the sensation of her fingers on mine.
      Without another word my vision faded to black and I was back in my own body, hovering over the battle field. Bucky was still struggling with the creature.
      No time had passed.
      My mother's words echoed in my head: '...because in the end the pain still brought you joy...'
      I darted down and tackled the creature off of Bucky and blasted in the head.
      I stood up and turned to Bucky on the ground.
      He was pushing himself into a sitting position.
      He seemed to be confused when he saw that I saved him.
      "You-"
      "Your fight's not over yet."
      "Why?" he asked.
      "...get up and find out."
      I held out my armored hand.
      He hesitantly took it and I quickly pulled him to his feet.
      "Do me a favor and try not to die, okay?"
      Then I blasted into the sky, going to fight more creatures.
      I gasped when something struck me in the side and I hit the ground hard.
      I pushed myself onto all fours, absently shooting a creature who was running towards me.
      I looked up to see several of my companions being overrun. After a loud thud I turned to see Charlie on the ground next to me.
      "I hate that alien bitch..." he mumbled.
      I staggered over and helped him up.
      "Come on. We gotta help them," I said.
      Just before I could take off again, a large beam of light struck the ground. An electrified, spinning item came flying out of it and took out many of the creatures, clearing way for the struggling heroes.
      The item flew back to the light, which cleared and revealed Thor holding a large axe, with lightning dancing across it. There was a strange raccoon creature as well as a tree-like alien.
      "The hell...?" Charlie said.
      "Yes!" I cheered.
      "Who does this guy think he is? Using lightning like that? He's stealing my thunder," Charlie said.
      I laughed at his unintended pun, "That, my friend, is Thor. The God of Thunder. He used lightning before it was cool. If anything, you copied him."
      Charlie sneered and shot into the air again.
      I followed suit.
      "Bring me Thanos!" Thor bellowed.
      He used his powers to leap into the sky, lighting striking around him and took out many more creatures.
      I flew down into the fray and began to fight several more of the creatures.
      After I had cleared the ones around me out I felt a rumble and turned to the dome where I saw many trees collapsing.
      Then with a huge ground shake, a gigantic piece of machinery consisting of huge saws came from the ground and began to destroy everything in its path. It separated into several saws and diverged its path. I saw two more just like it on the other side.
      I took to the skies and began to fire rockets and blasts at one of the saws.
      After several explosions the saw collapsed and I turned to see a red figure soaring through the air. It landed in front of one of the saws and lifted it into the air, then threw it back, clearing a charge of creatures.
      Wanda.
      "Guys! We got a Vision situation," Sam said over the comms.
      "Somebody get to Vision!" Steve said.
      "On it," Bruce said, as well as Rhodey.
      "I'm on my wa-" Wanda started but got cut off.
      I scanned the battle field and saw the female alien standing over her, Okoye and Nat to her sides. They broke into a fight.
      I was brought out of my pause as I heard a familiar voice scream my name.
      I turned to see Charlie being surrounded by several creatures. I swooped down kicked one of them, then blasted another. Then used my chest reactor to blast the last few.
      "Good timing..." he panted.
      I looked around. He was in the clear for now.
      "Meet up with me when you're good, okay?"
      I took into the skies and blasted off towards Vision and Steve.
      I landed to see Wanda standing over him.
      His stone flashed and he groaned.
      "What? What is it?" she said.
      "...he's here."
      I looked away from them and powered up my weapons.
     Everything seemed quiet as we waited for him to arrive. The leaves began to rustle strangely as everyone converged on our position.
      I saw a small grey cloud appear and slowly morph into a large spiraling vortex.
      A large purple man stepped out, equipped with gold and blue armor, with a large gauntlet on his hand.
      I immediately remembered the numerous visions I've had where this man appeared.
      "Cap...that's him," Bruce said.
      "Eyes up. Stay sharp," Cap said as he moved forward.
      I slowly approached him as the others began to attack.
      Charlie landed next to me.
      Bruce lunged at him but was turned ethereal and passed right through Thanos, then was forced into a stone wall, stuck there.
      Cap jumped to attack, but was easily tossed aside.
      Panther leaped at him, claws unsheathed, but was caught and knocked out cold.
      Sam flew at him, guns blazing, but with a flash of blue his wings gave out and he hit the ground.
      Rhodey hovered in front of him and began to fire every weapon he had, but Thanos closed his fist and he was crushed inside his own suit and tossed aside.
      Bucky ran at him firing his rifle, but with a flash of purple he hit the ground.
      Nat and Okoye charged him. Okoye threw her spear, but it stopped a mere inches from his head. He tossed both her and her spear aside. Then raised rocks from the ground and covered Nat in a prison made of earth.
      The tree alien, Groot, attempted to restrain him, but Thanos broke the roots and threw him aside.
      Cap rushed back into the fray and began to throw punches, and managed to catch Thanos' gauntlet. But he moved him aside and punched him out cold.
      Charlie and I ran towards him.
      Before I could give an order, Thanos blasted Charlie against a tree with a flash of purple.
      A thought came to mind and my nanosuit constructed a new piece of tech quickly, and launched it at Thanos. It stuck to his palm and kept his hand from closing.
      I fired blast after blast before charging forward, my gauntlets morphed into blades and I began to swipe at him. He used his gauntlets to block my blades. I pushed harder, trying to get them to his throat.
      He cocked his head.
      "Killing you would be too merciful..." he said, "You have just as much fight as your father. But, your will is easier to damage."
      "I won't let you touch her..." I seethed.
      I broke out of the block and ducked down under his arm, spinning to get behind him and stabbed at the back of his thigh. It pierced the skin and he staggered a bit. I flipped through the air, with assistance from my thrusters, and swiped at his face. A small, blooded line appeared just under another scratch.
      "Curse you, child," he said.
      He punched me in my face and I recoiled, my mask breaking off. My suit automatically made another one, but that too he ripped off. He continued to punch me until I could hardly breathe. I tried to stab him again, but he caught my arm and broke off the blade tossing it aside. I tried to make another one, but my suit wouldn't budge. I had expended too many nanoparticles.
      "You Starks are resilient. I almost hope you survive this, just to suffer through the loss of everyone else..."
      I gasped as he lifted me by my throat and tossed me aside, using tree branches to bind my legs and arms.
      Charlie was just beneath me, unconscious at the bottom of my tree.
      I sighed.
      "I'm sorry, Wanda..." I whispered.
      She began to hold him back with her other hand, as Vision reassured her.
      With a gasp from Vision, a yellow explosion blinded me momentarily.
      Vision's body was gone, with the stone. Wanda lay at Thanos' feet. He began to say something to her and touched her head.
      I fought against my restraints.
      "Don't you touch her!"
      She met my eyes from the ground. She was broken, but victorious.
      Thanos walked over to the spot where Vision exploded and raised his hand. It glowed green and he twisted his wrist.
      A moment later, everything rewinded and Vision was crouched before him.
      "No!" Wanda and I shouted.
      He threw Wanda aside.
      Thanos lifted Vision by the throat and tore the stone from his head.
      Vision's body lost all color and slumped to the ground.
      With a smile Thanos placed the last stone in his gauntlet. Colorful electricity sprung up his arms and he groaned for a moment, before it receded.
      "No..." I whispered.
      A large blast of lightning struck Thanos and pushed him back. I saw Thor flying towards him. Thanos attempted to blast him, but Thor threw his axe and it ripped right through the blast and sunk itself in Thanos' chest.
      I watched the entire scene unfold, not being able to shake the pain of our duel off.
      Thor landed in front of Thanos and grabbed his head.
      "I told you...you'd die for that," he said.
      He began to push the axe deeper into his chest. Thanos gasped in pain. His head fell and his breathing grew intense.
      "You should have...you should...you should have gone for the head..."
      I saw Thanos raise his hand and put his fingers together to snap.
      "NO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
      There was a flash of blinding light.
      When it cleared Thanos' gauntlet was charred and smoking.
      "What did you do?" Thor said, "What'd you do?!"
      Thanos raised his gauntlet and a blue vortex opened behind him. He disappeared through it and the axe hit the floor, stained with purple blood.
      The branches holding me in place released me, as well as the rocks holding Nat in place.
      I crawled over to Charlie and helped him sit as he began to wake up.
      Steve came into the clearing again, looking around.
      "Where'd he go? Thor. Where'd he go?" he said.
      "Steve?" Bucky said.
      I turned to see Bucky's arm begin to turn to dust, then his legs, and as he collapsed he disappeared. And the wind took the dust away.
      I looked across the clearing to see Groot disappear as well.
      "No..." I said, "No, no, no. No!"
      I saw Wanda begin to fade away as she held Vision's body. She met my eyes just before she faded away.
      I turned down to Charlie, who was looking at me weakly.
      "Hey...no matter what anyone says...you'll always be a hero...to me..." he said, grabbing my hand. I felt something pressed between our palms.
      "No, Charlie. Please. No..." I sobbed, hot tears running down my face.
My hand fell right through Charlie's hand and his eyes flicked to the sky as his face caved in. The dust got carried away by the wind.
      Bruce, Thor, Rocket, and Rhodey stood and watched as Steve inspected Vision's body. Nat came running over.
      "What is this? What the hell is happening?" Rhodey said.
      "Oh, God," was all Steve could say.
      I looked down into my palm.
      There lay a small wooden necklace...half of a heart.
      I closed my fist around it and brought it to my heart.
      I threw my head back and wailed. My screams and cries filled the empty clearing, my body shook and racked with sobs. My eyes burned and stung as hot tears ran down my face.
      "No!" I screamed.
      Nat staggered over to me.
      "Y/-"
      "NO!" I wailed.
      I fell onto my hands and desperately tried to collect the dust left behind.
      "No, he can't be gone...he can't be!"
      "Y/N!" Nat snapped, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to look at her.
      My sobs stopped and I met her eyes.
      "He's gone," she said, "They're all gone."
      I fell into her arms and she ran a hand down my back as I began to cry again.
      I felt another pair of strong arms wrap around me and the familiar scent of Steve wafted around me.
      "No..." I whispered.