Avenge the Fallen • Endgame AU

Four

Fury, Parker and Strange were outside by the S.H.I.E.L.D aircraft, the one Fury took to rescue them and the Guardians. Quill insisted his team went in their own ship, so him and the only other three left of his group were preparing to head back into the Benatar, ready to follow along beside the rest of them. Everyone else was back inside putting on their gear and getting their weapons, but Fury was the only one outside dressed and ready.

The cool breeze hit them, whipping at their hair as they tilted their heads up to the sky, watching the few shining stars with watering eyes.

Fury and Peter stood on the wet grass and Strange sat on the steps of the ship. Still constantly needing rest and support, he sighed and averted his eyes to the grass below him. He wondered if his powers would suddenly come back one grateful morning, or if they'd come back gradually as his grief and lack of strength faded.

Or even worse, they wouldn't come back at all.

The Eldritch Magic was a thing that, as cheesy as it sounds, anyone could do if they just set their mind to it. Stephen Strange's mind was never not set to it. He thought about it during the day, during the night when he couldn't sleep (which would be a regular occurence for him in the coming years), and even sometimes while he was asleep. He thought about the familiar bright orange glow he could no longer summon anytime and everywhere, every single day.

But he still couldn't produce so much as a single spark of energy from his scarred fingers.

He had come full circle, now back to being the cocky, stressed out doctor who thought of himself and everything he did as useless.

As he sat there, he began to consider going back to Kamar-Taj after their Thanos mission was over. It angered him knowing he couldn't even see how the mission was going to go. But honestly, he wasn't looking that forward to finding out.

Fury snapped him out of his daydream when he became the first to speak.

"Do you know why I called you out here?" he asked the two of them.

"Because you're not going to let us come with you?" Peter replied, his face expressing the same disappointment as Strange's.

"Because I'm not going to let you come with me," he repeated, nodding. "You've been to space once, that's more than any kid in your class has done before. You don't need to go again. I've called your aunt, she's coming to take you home as soon as she can."

"Thank you, but... it's not just about that, I can tell. You're not only making me stay down here because I've already been up there," he said, gesturing up to the star-scattered sky.

"Of course it's not just about that, I mean, look at you!"

"Do we get a say in this?" Strange asked, heaving himself up from the steps.

His hands gripped the barrier shakily as he got up to his feet and slowly descended the stairs, to which Fury simply raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"No," he said sharply. "Like I said, look at you both. You can barely stand up. Do you really wanna go back out there? It could kill you. Besides, without your powers, you're no use to us now."

"Ouch."

"Did I stutter? Neither of you are coming."

"I still don't understand," Peter replied. "Why not me?"

"Did you fight Thanos last month?"

"I tried to."

"Could you fight him again?"

"I could... try... again," he suggested, already losing hope in his claim.

Him and Fury shared a glare with each other. Peter knew it was no use trying to verbally fight with this man. He would probably have more luck with swinging a punch.