April 27, 2018 Greenwich village
Sitting in class at NYU's College of Arts and Science James Dorsey's attention from the note taking of her professor's lecture was interrupted by a booming loud humming noise and people screaming outside. Several of her fellow students ran over to the window to see if they could see what was happening. Just as Jamie was about to get up to see for herself she got a text alert. It was from her best friend. Knowing that if he was texting at a time like this it was important, she grabbed her phone out from her purse.
Webhead 🕸️: Get out of the area. Aliens are attacking six blocks from your school.
Short stack 🥞: Which direction should I avoid?
Webhead 🕸️: Head towards the park and get home as quickly as you can. I'll see you later.
Shit! Snatching up her notebook, purse and backpack she does what Peter said to do. Get the hell out of there. Not one to be self-serving Jamie called out to the rest of the class to let them know they needed to move away from the danger, not stand there and film it.
"It's aliens and they're six blocks from here. My friend said we need to evacuate now. Stay north." With that she ran out of the lecture hall. Then out of the building and headed straight for Washington Square park. Which apparently was the wrong way to go because out of nowhere Iron man was thrown through a building and skipped across the lawn to her right like a stone across a lake. Pausing for like two seconds to try and process that she was now in the thick of it, Jamie booked it around the fountain for the other side of the park. A sparkling orange circle that looked like a portal caught her attention when it dropped out half of a taxi and… Bruce Banner?
Where the hell had this guy been hiding for three years and why wasn't he Hulking out? Hopefully he did something soon cause Stark was getting his ass kicked by the giant troll looking alien who was tearing up the park using his red and gold metal covered face while Dr Banner stood by almost getting crushed by a tree in the middle of having an existential crisis.
All she wanted to do on this supposed to be chill Friday was go to class, work for a few hours at the flower shop and then hang with Peter and MJ as they binge watched Killing Eve for the second time. Instead, she was dodging a cut in half taxi, giant ass chunks of trees and concrete.
Running as fast as she could, Jamie almost made it halfway through the park before she saw Spider-Man stop the troll looking alien from crushing Iron man with its hammer thing. Stopping for just a moment to see what was going to happen she accidentally dropped her purse which inconveniently spilled the entirety of its contents. Of course. Because why not?! Dropping to her knees she scooped up what was most important and stuffed it all back into her purse just as she saw Spider-Man take off after what looked like an unconscious flying man being chased by a flying… Squidward?
Seriously, what the hell was going on?
Abandoning the park as fast as her short legs could carry her, Jamie ran blindly as far as she could go before it felt like her lungs were going to burst with the need for oxygen. Half collapsing against a pawn shop's doorway she gasped for breath as she tried to keep her shaking legs steady enough to hold her up. Heart pounding out of her chest Jamie could still hear screams, but they weren't as loud as before. Cautiously stepping out she looked back the way she came in time to see the huge ass circular spaceship rapidly rising into the air. Within minutes it was gone, but the whole of the city was still in chaos as people tried to come to grips that aliens had just attacked New York (again) and tried to figure out what the hell they wanted.
Knowing that Peter would catch her up later Jamie worked her way back the way she came to try and catch the bus that would start to take her back to Queen's. Mind on her singular purpose she dodged and weaved through the panicked crowds of Greenwich village. Quickly giving into grabbing an available cab she hopped in and told the cabby to step on it. Today she could justify the expense because it wasn't every day her city was attacked by aliens. Often enough that it was annoying, but not too often that they were desensitized to it. Giving the cabby her address she sat back and tried to get the shaking in her hands to stop.
That was way too close of a call. She'd been nearly flattened because she had been too curious about what was going on. When Peter had told her to run she should have listened and booked it as fast as she could without looking back. But he was her best friend and honorary little brother and as such Jamie had been worried. She was always worried when Pete suited up and fought anything scarier than the common mugger. When your best friend was a freaking superhero it was both ridiculously cool and absolutely terrifying.
Shooting her friend a quick text to give her a call when he could, she also sent off a text to Ned and May in their group chat. They'd started it once enough of them knew Peter's secret so that way one of them could update the others in case he needed help or was in trouble. As soon as the text was sent May had replied.
Not Spider-Man's group chat
Jamie: Pete was in Greenwich. Unsure where he is now. Will text if he messages me.
Aunt May: Of course he was. I'll do the same. Get home safe, sweetheart.
Ned: Ditto. Jamie, did you see what happened?
Jamie: Stark, Pete and briefly a wizard fought off a troll and a Squidward looking alien. Unclear if they were successful, but the ship is gone. I'm taking a cab home now.
Ned: First I want to say I'm glad you're ok. Second I want to ask, was it as cool up close as I'm imagining?
Aunt May: Seriously Ned?
Jamie: Peter almost accidentally crushed me with half of a taxi so I'm gonna go with no, not cool.
Aunt May: Omg are you okay? That boy is gonna get an ear full when I see him. Just because he's fighting aliens doesn't mean he can just go about throwing cars!
Jamie: I'm fine, just some minor scrapes to my hands and knees. It was my fault for stopping when I should have kept running.
Jamie: I'll be there later to check in with Pete. Gotta go. Uncle Matt is blowing me up to know if I'm still alive.
A not so quick phone call later Jamie let her only blood relative know that she was in fact alive and on her way home. Almost an hour later she finally made it to her and the Parker's building. Traffic had been a bitch with everyone and their mom trying to get out of the disaster zone that was the city. Paying the driver Jamie went upstairs to clean up and change.
Extremely grateful that the elevator was working today she took it instead of the stairs. Digging her keys out of her mess of a purse she let herself into the small two bedroom apartment. Tossing her bags onto the couch Jamie kicked off her Van's and made her way to the bathroom. A glance in the mirror showed her that she was a bit more of a mess than she originally thought. Her hair was tangled around her dirt streaked face and she had a small cut on her cheek. Stripping off her black jean jacket, midnight blue sundress, bra and underwear Jamie stepped into the shower to wash Washington Square park off of her.
Allowing herself to take her time to calm down Jamie thoroughly washed herself head to toe and then rinsed off. Still shaken up she stayed under the spray of the shower until the hot water turned cold before finally getting out. Checking her phone showed a few text messages from friends making sure she was okay, but nothing from the one person she wanted to hear from the most. Toweling off she rushed to her room to toss on some leggings and a random t-shirt before slipping on some flip flops. Grabbing her keys that had May and Peter's apartment key on it so she could let herself in she took off for their place.
Matt and Jamie had given them a key to their place as well just in case or more likely for May to come cook for them because her and her uncle were too busy most days. Now don't get her wrong. They appreciated the help, but May Parker was an.. eccentric cook would be putting it nicely. More often than not they ordered take out when she went back upstairs. With the door being locked it let her know neither May or Peter was home. And with what happened today she didn't expect to see her friend until after whatever debriefing the few Avenger's left would have. As for May she would be busy with her soup kitchen and probably figuring out how she could help the people affected by the attack. Making herself comfortable she settled on the couch and waited for Peter to come home.
Having been through all of this Spider-man stuff with Peter over the last almost three years Jamie knew to avoid the news. It would only stress her out and they didn't always get it right. Conjecture is what it was known as. As his family, if anything bad happened she'd rather hear from May or Stark himself. Not that she'd ever met the billionaire, but she knew he knew who she was because Pete had a bad habit of word vomit when he was nervous or intimidated. And let's face it, Tony Stark was Peter's idol, so he did both to the poor kid.
While she waited she cleaned up around the already clean apartment and went through the kitchen cupboards and fridge to write up a grocery list. Anything to keep her mind occupied. Around four o'clock she was getting antsy so she got started on dinner to keep herself busy. As she was pulling out the garlic bread from the oven she heard the front door open and then close. The sound of keys dropping in the dish by the front door let her know it was May. "Peter, Jamie?"
"Just me. Still haven't heard from Pete?" She asked as she came out to the living room. The older woman shook her head no as she ran a hand through her long chocolate colored tresses. She was anxiously nervous, Jamie could tell by how May was pacing as she bit her thumb nail as she checked her phone. Checking her own phone for the time Jamie's heart sank. It's been almost nine hours since she last saw Peter and not one word from him or Stark. Shooting a text to MJ she told her that tonight was canceled for family reasons. Since she didn't know that their friend was Spider-Man it was best that she not come over while they were waiting to hear if he was okay or not.
While May made some phone calls Jamie went back into the kitchen to dish up dinner. It was doubtful that either woman would be able to eat but it was better than doing nothing. Taking both plates out to the small dining room table she called out to the older woman. "Dinner's done."
Holding her phone to her chest May whisper-shouted, "Oh thank you, honey. Give me just a second. I'm trying to get through to the Avenger's facility."
Sitting down Jamie pushed her food around the plate with her fork as she watched the older woman get more and more frustrated before finally hanging up. "Nothing?"
Shaking her head no, she sat down putting her hands over her face for a second to gather herself. "They wouldn't tell me anything. Since none of the team was there and no one outside of the immediate Avengers know of Peter's identity they wouldn't patch me through to anyone." Tossing her phone on the table, May's frustration came out when she spoke through her clenched teeth. "And Apparently they can't give out any information about when anyone will be back, but they happily took down my message for Tony."
Jamie got up to give May a comforting hug, it was for them both really. As she went to put her arms around her shoulders she fell forward as her friend and only mother figure turned to dust. Catching herself on the chair and table she stood up staring at where the older woman had just been sitting. "May?"
Confused, Jamie stood there for several minutes trying to understand what she just witnessed. Pinching her arm really hard let her know she wasn't hallucinating. Panic filled her as she grabbed out her cell phone and dialed her uncle's number. "Come on. Come on, come on, answer your phone Matty."
Nothing. It just rang and rang until it went to voicemail. Redialing his number three more times before she tried Ned's number. Then MJ. Alice from the flower shop. Again nothing, no one was answering! Trying her uncle's number again before she ran downstairs to their apartment hoping and praying that he was there looking for her too. Panting hard her hands shook as she tried to fit the key in the lock. Just as she was about to get it she dropped the damned things at her feet. "Fuck!"
She began to cry in frustration as she finally got the key into the lock and like always it caught as she tried to turn it. "Come on, god damn it!" Shoving the door open she rushed inside calling out to her uncle as she searched every room of their apartment for him. "Uncle Mathew, are you here? Matt? I need you to answer me!"
The whole apartment was empty except for her. As she stood there in the middle of the living room staring helplessly around the room she saw her uncle's car keys on the side table and a smear of dust on the floor. Collapsing to her knees on the floor Jamie shook her head in disbelief. "No, no, no, no, no!"
This couldn't be happening. How was this possible? Sobbing until she had no more tears to cry Jamie knelt there as she grieved for her uncle and May. What was she going to tell Peter?
Peter! Oh god, she didn't even know if he was alive. Had he been turned to dust too? Was that why they hadn't heard from him? Scrambling to her feet Jamie grabbed her uncle's car keys and booked it down the stairs. She almost tripped and fell down the last flight of stairs, but caught herself at the last second. She would have felt fear if her heart wasn't already pumping full of it. Rudely pushing past Mrs Rodriguez, Jamie hastily called out an apology as she exited the lobby.
Running down two blocks to the right until she got to the spot her uncle parked his '99 Honda Accord. Quickly getting in and silently thanking Mathew for insisting that she get her driver's license. Driving as fast as she could without getting pulled over Jamie drove around crashed cars and crying people wandering the streets looking for loved ones who'd never come home.
Gripping the steering wheel tightly she breathed a little easier once she got on the highway north towards the Avenger's facility. Someone there would know what was happening and they would tell her what happened to her friend and only family she had left. They had to because she didn't know what she'd do if they didn't know.
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The hour or so that it took to get there Jamie's mind raced with a thousand questions and she had no clue and no answers as to what and why this was happening. The Avengers had to know because that's what they did. They fought things like whatever this was. Finally seeing the exit that she needed she quickly took it flying down the road well above the legal speed limit. This road, just like the highway, was mostly empty. It just made it that much better for her to get to the facility faster. The gate was open making it even easier for her to get there. The whole way up the long driveway she kept her eyes flicking back and forth from the road to the huge building. It was as empty here as it was in the city.
Pulling up right outside the front doors Jamie slammed on the brakes and threw the car into park before jumping out and running inside. There wasn't anyone at the desk or in the lobby that she could see. "Hello! Is anybody here?!"
"Hello?" The soft voice of a woman and the click of high heels came from down the hall. Immediately turning towards the voice Jamie raced down the hall and through the doors.
"Yes, hello! I'm looking for anyone who can direct me to Peter Parker or Tony Stark." She came to an abrupt stop at the sight of the strawberry blonde that she's known of for most of the last decade. It was hard not to recognize the woman who stood by Tony Stark's side and ran his multi-billion dollar company. "You're Pepper Potts."
The older woman gave her a strained smile and nodded. Looking her over Ms Potts held up her hand as Jamie came closer to keep some space between them. Understanding that she'd be leery of a stranger rushing at her Jamie stopped a few feet away. "I am and you are?"
Breathing hard she introduced herself and why she was there in a winded rush. "I'm Jamie Dorsey. I'm friends with Peter Parker. Is he here? Please tell me he's here or with Tony." The older woman's face fell at the mention of her fiancee and Peter.
"I'm sorry, but we don't know where they are. Well, I know where they are, but we have no way to contact them to know if they are.." Still alive was what she was going to say. "They were on the alien ship when I lost contact with Tony. FRIDAY alerted us that Peter was with him. No one's been able to get in touch with either of them since this morning."
"Of course he followed after Tony." She laughed humorlessly. Taking the hairband from her wrist Jamie tied up her shoulder length hair into a ponytail. "That's Peter. Always doing more than he is able to reasonably take on. Always has to prove himself to Stark. As if he is the Almighty himself. I can't believe he would do this to me!" Angry and hurt that he would take off without a way to come home, she paced the width of the hallway as she tried to think about what she was going to do now.
Concerned and wary of the young woman, Ms Potts stepped into Jamie's path to get her to stand still. "Do you have a way to get in touch with Peter's guardian? We haven't been able to get in touch with her."
At the mention of May, Jamie broke down. Understanding and empathy filled in the other woman's blue eyes as she hugged her. "I'm so sorry. Your family?" At Jamie's nod Ms Potts held her tighter as the young woman sobbed her heart out. "Okay, it'll be okay. Come with me and I'll let you know as soon as we find out anything. You'll be with me the whole time." Leading the girl down the hall to wait and see when their men would be coming home.
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Twenty-three days later
Nearly a month after Thanos snapped away half of all life on earth and all of the galaxy it was time. Packing up the Parkers' apartment was hard, but it had to be done; she couldn't afford to keep it for Peter. As it was Jamie barely had enough money to cover rent for her and Mathew's apartment. So reluctantly she packed up their apartment. Donating anything not of value, sentimental or otherwise. The rest she boxed up and filled Mathew's bedroom. As she was bringing down the last of the boxes she was setting them down when her phone started to ring. "Pepper!"
Dropping the box, she fished her phone out of her back pocket and hurriedly answered it. "Jamie, you need to get to the Compound. It's important."
The older woman wouldn't tell her any more. Just that she needed to get out there as soon as she could before she hung up. Shoving the boxes inside her apartment Jamie grabbed her keys and locked up before racing down the stairs. This time she was more cautious. Rushing out to her uncle's car she raced the whole way to the Compound not caring if she got pulled over because she'd just tell the cop to call Pepper Potts.
Just shy of a month there was finally some news. Unable to tell from Pepper's voice over the phone whether it was good or bad Jamie kept her thoughts on the positive side of things. Happy Hogan was waiting at the gate to let her in. Waving her past he told her to head straight up to the Compound. Stepping on the gas she drove as fast as she could to see a much smaller space ship than the one that Peter and Stark had been stowaways on was parked on the right of the building. Unsure if it was a good thing or not she parked a little ways away just in case. Getting out she forced herself to walk at a normal pace. If it was bad news she didn't want to rush in to hear it.
Knowing her way around a bit now she hit the elevator and pressed the button for the team's communal floor. Tilting her head back she tried to take slow breaths so she wouldn't vomit. Her nerves were shot and all of this anticipation was twisting her stomach into knots. When the doors opened she didn't see Pepper but that didn't stop her from searching the older woman out. Raised voices came from down past the kitchen area alerting her to where everyone was. Making her way down yet another damn long hallway and to the entrance of a room filled with most of the Avengers, Jamie listened as the familiar voice of Captain Steve Rogers spoke. "Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus."
Seething with anger an emaciated Tony Stark who was seated in a wheelchair with an IV drip responded to his former friend and teammate. "And I needed you. As in past tense. That trumps what you need. It's too late buddy. Sorry. You know what I need?" He stands, knocking over his bowl of soup onto the table with a clatter. Everyone winces at the noise and is concerned as he takes out the IV. "I need to shave. And I believe I remember telling all youse -"
Lt James Rhodes, otherwise known as War Machine, quickly comes in front of him, trying to stop him. "Tony, Tony, Tony!"
Speaking over his friend, Stark continued to yell at Captain Rogers. "Alive and otherwise what we needed was a suit of armor around the world! Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not- that's what we needed!"
Sitting on the edge of the table the blonde Captain looked sad and defeated as he told Tony, "Well, that didn't work out, did it?"
Emotions running high, Stark stepped forward with Lt Rhodes trying to keep the two men apart. "I said, "we'd lose". You said, "We'll do that together too." And guess what, Cap? We lost. And you weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the Avengers, we're the Avengers. Not the Prevengers." With every word spoken you could feel the tension in the room thicken with everyone's guilt that they had lost. Lost on a scale unlike anything they'd ever had before.
"Okay." Lt Rhodes tried to get him to sit back down before he fell. It was a struggle as whatever energy Stark had left he was using at this moment.
"Right?"
"You made your point. Just sit down."
"Okay..."
"Okay? Tony, you're sick."
Struggling to stay on his feet, Stark looked over at a blonde woman Jamie had never seen before. "Nah, nah. Here's my point. You know what? She's great, by the way."
"Sit down. Sit." Lt Rhodes says to his friend who was clearly in no shape for this. But the frail man kept angrily pushing against him trying to get to the Captain.
"We need you. You're new blood. Bunch of tired old mules!" Stark finally shoved past his friend and walked right up to Captain Rogers, his voice hushing down to a venomous whisper. "I got nothing for you, Cap! I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust. Liar."
Captain Rogers looked deeply affected by Stark's words. The old friends just gaze at each other, each broken by the events leading up to now. After a moment, Tony ripped his arc reactor from his chest and shoved it into the Captain's hand. "Here, take this. You find him, and you put that on. You hide." As he spoke Stark fell to his knees as his weak body gave out on him. It was then that he finally noticed her standing in the doorway listening to a conversation that she probably shouldn't have been.
"I'm fine.. I'm.." And then he passed out with everyone rushing to his aid. As Lt Rhodes and Pepper rushed Stark to whatever medical wing they had she was overlooked in the chaos. Jamie followed behind them, glancing back briefly at the others standing there looking absolutely wrecked by the scene they'd just witnessed before jogging to catch up with the others in the elevator.
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He woke up when they got him into the hospital-like room. They set Stark back up with a new IV drip to hydrate his emaciated body. His confused eyes scanned the room, immediately he focused on his fiance before Jamie caught his eye. Not looking away from the young woman he asked for some privacy. "Pep, can you give us a moment please."
Nodding, she stood up, leaned over to kiss him on the forehead and told him she loved him to bolster him to be able to break the news to the girl anxiously waiting. Squeezing Jamie's hand on her way out she told her to go easy on him. Not understanding what that meant she gave her friend a nod as she walked over to sit on the chair next to his bed. Giving her a weak grin Tony pointed at her. "So, you're the infamous Jamie Dorsey."
"That would be me." She said with a small polite smile. Impatient, Jamie glanced back towards the door where there were other rooms like this one and asked, "Is Peter sick? Can I see him?" When Stark's already sad expression fell it said everything he couldn't voice, making Jamie shake her head in denial. "No."
When he reached out his hand to take hers she scraped her chair back to jump to her feet. The older man's eyes fill with tears of grief. "I'm sorry, there was nothing I could do…" He trailed off as he roughly coughed, his body still weak from nearly a month of malnutrition.
"No, he can't be gone!" She yelled as tears filled her hazel eyes and her voice cracked with emotion. "He's all I have left. My uncle, May, MJ and Ned they're all gone. If Peter's gone… then I'm all alone." It killed him to see someone so young look so broken.
Struggling to sit up Tony tried to get her to come sit back down. "Me and the blue chick, Nebula, we're the only ones who didn't turn to dust. I'm so sorry, kid. We tried. I tried-"
"Well, you didn't try hard enough did you! He never should have been on that stupid fucking spaceship. I blame you for dragging him into this mess two years ago. You should have left him alone to run his small patrols of Queen's. If you had he would have been just fine." The more Jamie spoke the more it broke Tony's heart because he felt like she wasn't saying anything that wasn't true. "Peter died because of you. You, all of you, killed my family!"
Brushing past a shocked Captain Rogers and an upset Pepper who tried to stop her, Jamie stormed out of the room and down the stupid long ass hallway to the elevator. Jabbing the button for the main floor she held herself together until she got out to her uncle's car and then she allowed herself to fully break down. Sobbing as her heart grieved as the news sunk in that her last hope of not being alone died somewhere out in space twenty-three days ago.