Peter set his head in his hand and placed his elbow on the tabletop. He sighed and looked at each person when they spoke. Tony was on his left, on the edge of his seat while arguing with Steve about something Peter was too bored to listen to, and Nat sat comfortably on his left, one leg up on the chair and a finger fiddling with a short strand of blond hair.
Peter sunk in his chair, watching as Clint butt in to say something and get cut off by Tony, who was now standing up and pointing a finger at Steve, who sat opposite Peter.
"What are you even arguing about?" Sam asked loud enough to cover both Tony and Steve's voices. Tony sighed and sat back down, his chair slightly sliding back.
"You know what? It's nothing," he finally replied, refusing to make eye contact with Steve.
"Well then instead of arguing over nothing, let's talk about the actual problem here, you know, the loose Hydra Agents spreading terror!" Sam snapped.
Peter pulled his legs up to his chest when he heard something. He turned his head to where the voices were coming from. He strained his hearing and could sense people under them, in the control room of the helicarrier. He could barely make out two voices fighting, one man and one woman.
"We have to evacuate!"
"Well, where the hell are we going to go?! We're in the middle of the goddamn ocean!"
"Anywhere from here! It's dangerous!"
"I fucking know that but there are too many people to fit in the boats!"
Evacuate? Why would they have to evacuate? And what was so dangerous about the helicarrier?
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Tony's worried voice.
"Peter?"
He snapped his head around and saw the whole team staring at him in confusion.
"What is it?" Nat asked, her position more alert.
"I just heard something," he mumbled, still confused about the situation. "Someone was saying we-"
Before he could finish, an extremely loud explosion-like sound sounded in the small meeting room. Everyone immediately stood up, looking around, startled. Peter grasped at his head as a wave of pain flushed through his brain. He had trouble concentrating, trying to tell himself to stand up straight but only being able to think about the sudden pain and anxiety. He fell to his knees as the floor shook beneath them.
"Kid, you ok?" Tony's voice appeared next to him, steady hands helping him stand up. "You're having a sensory overload."
"Yeah, yeah, that makes sense," he breathed out, trying to steady himself on his feet. The floor shook again, making the Avengers send each other worried looks.
"We gotta get out of here," Steve said, walking surprisingly fast towards the door. The entire helicarrier had started shaking now, and the engines making scary-sounding noises.
They all stumbled out and that was when hell broke loose.
People started screaming and running around, most of them falling due to the violent and constant shaking of the ground. The speakers turned on with a muffled click, and a panicked voice spoke.
"Everyone please remain calm, we are having some turbulence, and chaos would not help."
"I'm pretty sure this isn't turbulence," Peter pointed out as he stared out the window, the view making his stomach drop to his feet.
The entire helicarrier had stopped midair and started to descend slowly, picking up speed as it neared the water. People flew back and hit the walls behind them as the whole thing sped downwards. Peter tried grabbing as many people as he could before they slammed against the walls as the rest of the team tried to help and calm others.
Fear struck Peter's entire body as the shaking and falling stopped and people now flew forward.
Shit, we hit the water.
Peter panicked as he once again caught the screaming men and women and put them safely on stable ground. He turned around and his heart plummeted when he didn't see the team standing there as they had before. He tried to shake it off and hopped out a window and into the freezing water. He could see probably hundreds of people flailing their arms around to stay above the water.
There was no way he could save all of them. But he would sure as hell try.
He swam as fast as possible towards the closest people, ignoring the cold that bit at his fingers and slowly numbed them. He grabbed as many as he could and swam back to the helicarrier, which thankfully wasn't sinking very quick.
He had taken back around fifteen people when his limbs started to ache and he had completely lost feeling in his fingers. He gasped for air every time his head was above water and started swimming rather ungracefully as panic stuck his body when he lifted his head and saw countless people waiting to be saved.
He grabbed another fifteen people when his arms and legs started feeling heavy and exhausted. His chest tightened, stealing from his lungs the air he needed so much to save the rest of the people.
Where was Tony? And the rest? Peter figured they were inside or helping more people on the other side of the helicarrier.
He continued to swim to the last of the people, who seemed miles away. He felt his thigh cramp up, and in a split second, he was under.
His lunges ached and begged for oxygen, but he knew he couldn't inhale or that air would be replaced by water, and that did no good. His eyes sealed shut once they started burning from the salty water and he lost all sense of direction. He knew nothing of his position. His limbs spread out in desperation, hoping to feel the air.
He heard Tony's muffled repulsors under him, which meant he was upside down. He had no idea how he had gotten into the position but it wasn't a time to think about that. The sound faded into nothingness and his hopes of being found faded.
Was he going to die there, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, only a few feet from the Avengers?
His foot finally stuck out of water and Peter used the last of his strengths to turn to it and stick his head out of the water. He gasped and coughed, never knowing he would ever love breathing as much as he did at that moment. His eyes were still squeezed shut, refusing to stop stinging. He paddled ungracefully, his arms kicked and flew around when his arm hit something and felt flesh rip.
Peter gasped and peeled his eyes open as he saw a piece of metal that had come free from the carrier. He scrambled to get on it, feeling as blood seeped through the open wound that stretched along his forearm. It stung as the salty water washed over it.
His heart stopped when he turned around and saw the carrier what seemed to be miles away, and now he was the furthest person from it. There were no more people in the water, and his heart dropped further. He had been underwater for only a minute or two, how had he gotten that far?
He opened his mouth to scream for help, but only a whisper came from deep in his throat. It ached from gasping in so much salty water.
He was going to die there.
Alone.
Scared.
In pain.
Did nobody care? Had Tony been looking for him or for more people to save?
Peter felt his eyes fill with tears. As if he hadn't had enough water already. He stayed there for what seemed to be forever, staring at the ever-shrinking helicarrier, ignoring the pain in his arm and lungs and throat.
The piece of metal started sinking, the icy water taking over his legs and hands first, then his torso, and finally his shoulders. The black steel disappeared into the depth of the ocean, never to be seen again, probably. Just like he would.
He paddled slower, sadder, this time. His eyes locked on the helicarrier, his limbs decided to rest, and stopped moving. He closed his eyes as the water overtook him.
As he felt his body slowly fall, his mind calmly went over his life.
He was, overall, happy the way it had turned to be.
Yeah, he had lost three important people to him but he also met new ones, and became Spider-Man, and found his best friend.
It's a shame, he thought. I'll never see anyone ever again.
He slowly allowed himself to drift off into a dreamless state where death awaited him.
* * *
"Friday, scan the area for Peter," Tony ordered, trying to fight back a panic attack. There were a few seconds of silence before the AI spoke.
"I have found an unknown figure sinking 104 feet away."
Tony immediately flew away, towards the little red dot the AI had marked for him to show where this figure was. He reached it and received a confirm from Friday that he was in the right place.
"Please don't tell me it's underwater," Tony muttered under his breath as he sped under the surface. Sinking in the darkness, he barely saw a familiar red and blue suit, and felt the air knock out of him. He swam towards it with the help of his repulsors. He made it to the boy and wrapped his arms around him, quickly speeding back up and pulling him out.
His lips were blue, face pale and there was a long cut along his forearm. His chest barely moved, scaring Tony even further.
"Shit, kid, hold on."
* * *
Peter woke up with a jolt, appreciating the mask over his mouth and nose that was donating air. He sat up and looked around. Tony was fast asleep in the chair next to his bed, and there were coffee cups everywhere.
"Mr. Stark?" He whispered, his voice tired and hoarse. Tony jumped up, immediately standing up next to the kid.
"You scared me with that whole disappearing stunt you pulled back there," the man chuckled, his hand firmly grasping Peter's. Peter raised his eyebrows.
"What? You were the guys that disappeared, so it's kinda' your fault I almost died," he whispered in return. Tony glared at him for a few seconds.
"What did you just say?"
"I'm sorry, I take that back."
Tony smiled and ruffled the boy's hair.