The End Is Just A New Biginning

Chapter 2: From One Tragedy To Another

May 2012

Peter's mind couldn't start to comprehend what was going on. One moment it was the end of the world, the next he awoke to a completely different kind of chaos. How could he have ended up in 2012 when he had just witnessed the entire reality shatter in front of his very eyes?

He didn't know what was true anymore. Was he dreaming? Was his brain imagining some kind of fantasy in its last moments?

Peter felt sick to the stomach, the state of extreme confusion he was in bleeding onto his physical body. He could feel the air that was so distinguishably New York filling his lungs with every breath he took. Feel the pebbles on the rooftop digging into his bare feet through his suit. Hear the commotion of chaos many stories down below.

Yet, he doubted the reality of it. The events on Titan were still so vivid in his mind. He could remember every second of the fight. If he just closed his eyes he could see Thanos deliberately raise his fist towards Strange in the final moments of the encounter, impervious to the knowledge his choice would lead to. Peter's mind was filled with the sound of the metronome ticking as he stared into Tony's unblinking eyes, blood oozing from his mouth, gurgles coming from a giant hole in his guts -

It couldn't have been a dream. It just couldn't. Tony had always seemed immortal, as if his charisma and brains alone could be armor against anything. Peter couldn't have imagined him leaving in such a horrific way.

He wasn't able to stand the solitude of the roof anymore. He needed to see people - anyone, really - just to make sure that his mind wasn't tricking him, that he was indeed back on Earth. Peter got back down in his alley, only half aware he was doing so.

All the while, the deafening rumble the universe itself made as it split apart was ragging through his ears, for him alone to hear.

It's in a daze that he walked out in the open. The street was in an advanced state of destruction, the likes of which Peter had rarely seen, even as Spider-man. The asphalt was broken open in many places, revealing the dirt underneath it. One of the holes was so deep that a punctured water pipe was spreading its content out on the street. Cars were turned upside down; some smoking, some others outright burning. Entire pieces of buildings were scattered on the ground, leaving gaping holes where edifices should have been plain. People were evacuating buildings briskly, some even running, all headed in the same direction, following policemen's instructions. Some were crying, some clearly panicking, while others were just too shocked to utter a single word.

But none of this had captured Peter's attention. As soon as he emerged from the alley, his eyes had locked with the bodies laying strewn on the ground. There was a massive number of them. Without realizing it, Peter took a few steps towards them, before his legs gave out under him. If a few seconds ago he was still doubting about being somehow back in 2012, he wasn't anymore. The sight of the dead bodies had all but sent his mind back to Titan and the consequences of their defeat. Because this - this scene right in front of his eyes - looked like the end of the world if anything was. So many people had died because of him. Because he had failed to take down a single person.

Sobs he could no longer contain escaped him as realization hit him full force. He saw the universe collapse. He saw people die, Tony amongst them. But just how many didn't he see? His Aunt. His friends. People he knew, and people he didn't.

The entire human civilization. And trillions of others.

Billions of years of history and evolution and creation, of mysteries uncovered and mysteries yet to be found. Potential to improve, evolve and become more. All stolen in a snap.