the siren |peter parker x siren!oc|

Infinity: Part 5

Lena could feel the tears falling down her face, the stickiness of the sweat underneath her suit, and the devastation that came with the events that they had just endured. She was on her knees, and the pain was ripping through almost every muscle she could think of. Trying to take a deep inhale, but still getting a good amount of dust, she shakily pulled herself to her feet and went to go help Tony.

They had lost. Dr. Strange had given up the time stone, and Lena knew she had to keep Tony alive. That was it. He had to make it to the final battle, and the doctor had not given her any further instruction. Hopefully, whatever Thanos intended to do, he would still be around to fix what they had not prevented.

She and Peter pulled Tony to his feet, carefully checking out their wounds. From their left, they could see Nebula and Drax both limping to where the group was recongregating. It was quiet. No one knew precisely the right words to say, until Mantis shot Lena a burst of mental energy, forcing her to look in the other girl's direction.

"Something is happening..." Mantis's voice was soft and fearful, and as soon as she said it, Lena could feel the bits of her consciousness floating away as if it was never there in the first place. Along with it went her physical form, flaking off Titan like bits of dust.

The panic amongst them skyrocketed, and it was not hidden at all. Lena could practically hear each of their heart rates rapidly increase as the anxiety-inducing question bounced through their thoughts.

Am I next?

Drax vanished without a word, followed by a brief murmur from Peter Quill before he turned to dust as well.

"Tony," everyone who was left turned to see Dr. Strange, and only Lena could sense how strongly he was trying to hold on, to will his existence to remain intact. "There was no other way."

All who remained were Nebula, Peter, Tony, and herself. If Tony got dusted, there was no hope for them. If she was dusted, she would be leaving Peter by himself. If Peter got dusted, it would be the same if she had been dusted, she would never be able to recover from it.

It left Nebula, but she did not know this human/machine hybrid well enough to pass judgment on her. As the seconds ticked by, Lena only hoped that it was over, that this was it, and they would all just have to get off Titan together.

Then, Peter spoke to just her.

I'm next, Lena.

She winced in pain as her head whipped around to where her soulmate was standing. He was pale, and she knew he sensed just as vividly as she did what was happening.

She had no choice but to try and stop it.

There had to be a way. Limping over to him, each step more painful than the last, she watched as he latched onto her, his breath shaking and a beat of sweat forming on his face.

"Mr. Stark?" he called out to their mentor despite her being right in front of him. She searched through the unruly and tangled web of his thoughts and pinpointed that he was seeking the protection that Tony had always promised him. It was as if that was one of his most aggressive thoughts ricocheting through his brain, and now hers.

She met his eyes, Look at me, just look at me and focus on me. You can stop this, Peter, my love, you are Spider-Man!

"I don't feel so good."

He collapsed in her arms, Tony now able to give them both aid.

"I don't know what's- I don't know what's happening I don't-"

She hovered over him, Tony on his right, and watched with wide eyes as he stuttered, attempting to speak just one of his endless thoughts.

"I don't wanna go! I don't wanna go, Mr. Stark, Lena, please, I don't wanna go."

There was a ripping sensation coming from deep inside her chest. Like a piece of her soul was being plucked out of her body piece by devastating piece. She listened, speechless, as she listened to his mantra, begging both of them to save him, while all they could do was watch, horrified as he was stolen from their hands.

She felt each piece of his body and being as it was torn away from her. What was supposed to be an eternal bond between them both was now shortened by far too many years. They were supposed to leave this universe together.

Not like this.

It had to be her fault. She was foolish to assume that falling in love with her peirasmos would end in the picture-perfect dreamland she had envisioned. Yes, all humans who fall for seiren were killed eventually, that had to be the reason. She should have never involved herself in Peter's life, she should have stayed far away from him, and returned to the sea where she belonged, like the monster she was.

Where was he? The emptiness in her chest felt unnatural, his presence in her brain completely missing. Despite the blood racing through every single vein, it felt cold. Her mind was empty without him. Everything about her was empty without him.

Hands shaking, filled with ash, she turned to look up at Tony who had the same thing. Neither of them said anything for a moment, until Lena fell over into his lap, tears pouring out her eyes faster than she can control them, and screamed with her whole body. She had lost everything. Her sense of identity was skewed, her hair was gone, and now the only person that loved her truly and fully. How could she persist? How was she supposed to live a life where he wasn't there.

Tony's hands were in the hair that she had left. She felt the weight of his head as he crumpled too, a few light sobs escaping him. It was something that was usually hard for him, but the build-up of this loss was too great. She sensed Tony's sense of obligation towards Peter as they held each other together.

"We need to get off this shithole," a woman, who looked like she had some serious hardware in her face and bone structure, said anxiously. "There's nothing left here, and the sooner we fix the ship the better that it's going to operate in space."

She felt the weight of Tony lift off of her, "And who are you?"

"Gamora's sister. Nebula."

"I still don't know who Gamora is."

The blue woman sighed, "Daughter of Thanos, lover to Peter Quill, she was sacrificed for the soul stone."

"I see," Tony responded softly, he then lifted Lena to her feet, wincing from his poorly packed wound. Her vision was blurry, but she could see that Tony was holding onto her shoulders, partially using her as support, but forcing her to look into his eyes. "This is going to be one of the most difficult times of our lives. I might not survive. I'm not sure you'll survive. That's just the odds of our physical survival. If we let anything get in the way of our ability to get home, then our odds are even lower. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

She did. She understood. She had to save it for later. She had seen the way Peter shoved various stressful factors of his life into boxes, addressing them at later points when the time was more appropriate. She could do this. She had proven herself to be Spider-Man's partner in crime, so she could operate in a similar way that Spider-Man did.

Now, there wasn't a Spider-Man.

Before she shed any more tears, she rubbed her eyes, coughed, and saw Tony clearly and vividly. She nodded. She accepted the challenge. She would remind herself of what it was like to live in the ocean, embrace her seiren emptiness, and process this when she was back in her room on planet Earth. Otherwise, she would die trying.

Their eyes faltered in each other for a brief second, a moment filled with grief and loss, before they drifted into neutrality. It was time to get to work.