Bullets || Peter Parker

Eighteen

"How's your first space mission going?" The hologram of Steve asked. The light flickered as he leaned back against something unseen. Emil could picture him leaning back back at the bookshelf of the main office. He was dressed casually, int he pale blue polo-shirt that he often wore to support meetings, along with a pair of jeans. He must have just come back from the city.

"It's been good so far", Emil replied. He was sitting in the room this planet's leaders had allocated him. It was a underground space lit by glowing orbs. Tree roots were visible in the earth walls like veins. The whole species here lived beneath the ground of forests in massive interlinking burrows and warrens. Emil found it quite cosy.

Instead of a bed, one corner of the room had been covered in soft materials. They reminded him of moss and fleece, but the texture was slightly different to the earth substances. Emil was cross legged in the comfortable bundles, sharpening a foot long blade as he talked.

Him and Carol had been called to the planet to help organise the new peace treaty between the different races. There were three major races living on this planet, all resembling reptiles. Luckily, Carol had fitted him with a universal translator that she had stolen from the kree. It was the same kind she had and it worked magnificently. Emil was still highly confused about the politics and traditions of this species but his job was just to look threatening and didn't require much talking. Carol handled the confusing stuff.

The main race of this planet reminded Emil of the legends of Medusa. They had skin in varying shades of greens, blues, and browns. Instead of hair, they had long snakes coming from their skulls. You could apparently determine their age by the length of the snakes and the paleness of their skin. Apart from the snakes, the skin tones and their slit pupils, they were humanoid. However, there was little difference between the males and females. All their children were hatched from eggs and they grew to be around seven feet tall when fully grown. Emil wondered how he could seem threatening when he was only 5'9 and he was dealing with seven foot tall people, but he guessed it was the look of the thing.

The second species was more aquatic and lived underwater in coral buildings. They did not have as tough skin as their snake neighbours but they were highly colourful. They had layers of tiny drifting tentacles like those of a jelly fish instead of hair and their skin was decorated with colourful patterns. Some of which reminded Emil of a variety of fish back on earth. These people had webbed hands and feet but were as humanoid as their cousins. One could tell their age and gender by the layers of patterns across their cheeks. Males had stripes, whilst the females had dots. Each pattern was unique to the individual.

From a artist's view, Emil would have loved to study them longer. He had already used up all the film on the camera he'd brought. Carol had to explain that the camera was not a weapon and would not harm them before they allowed Emil to use it. It had been a rather panicked and chaotic moment.

The third race, and the most aggressive (these were the ones that Emil and Carol had been hired to protect against) were like dinosaurs. They had horns instead of hair and were the lest humanoid and more scaly. They were like desert lizards, thickly scaled and sharp. Those ones lived north of the planet, in the rocky landscapes. Because of their warrior like culture, it was hard for the more passive races to create a treaty with them. With the chaos caused by the snap, it had nearly descended into a full blown war. Luckily, Carol and Emil must have looked threatening enough as the negotiations of the peace treaty were almost finished.

"I should be back in a week", Emil said. He held up the long blade. It had been a gift from the leader of the lizard people. He had recognised Emil's warrior aura and had bestowed to him the weapon as a sign of honour and respect. Apparently the blade was from their local metal ore, which gleamed a iridescent blue in the low light. The handle was carved wood, stronger than any wood back on earth. Glimmering stones from the fish people glittered at the hilt. Ellis sheathed it into its blue leather scabbard and tied it to his waist.

"That's good", Steve smiled. "The place has been rather quiet without you kiddo".

Emil returned the smile. "It's amazing being here", he admitted. "But I am feeling rather homesick. Luckily, these talks are going well. All Carol and I have had to do is stand there and look scary".

Steve laughed. "She's pretty good at that".

"She is", Emil grinned, remembering Carol's death glare. With her new short haircut, it was only scarier. "I did have to fight one of their warriors to prove my worth, but it was easy. Over in seconds. That helped".

"I bet it did", Steve agreed. Emil watched as the hologram glanced over at something before returning to face him. "Hey bud. I, starving and it's quite late her. Call you back later?"

"Okay, talk to you later". Emil waved as the image of Steve flickered then disappeared. With a sigh, he slumped back into the soft bedding and curled up in a ball. The knife was placed to the side as Emil huddled up. The glowing orbs in the corners of the room, dulled until they were a soft moonlight silver.

Hugging his knees to his chest, Emil let his mind wander. The ever present ache in his heart hurt beneath his ribs. While going to space was amazing, it was also painful. Every time he experienced something new, his mind would automatically wander to how Peter would have reacted. It had become a habit to turn around to share something with someone, anyone, only for him to be alone. This ache had only grown bigger now that he was away from earth.

Back home, he had people supporting him. Tony and his family, Natasha, Steve, Bruce, okoye. Although Carol tried to help, she couldn't fully empathise with him. Her mind always looking towards saving the whole galaxy, not the individual. Half the galaxy had died. Not just Peter.

The individual. That was where Emil struggled. Throughout his whole life, he was told to put the individual first. Kill anyone who threatened his superiors. Save the person even if it meant dooming the world or himself in the process. For himself, he would have killed again in a heart beat. For Peter, he would have doomed the world.

Being out here hurt. Here he could see the effects of Thanos' snap. It was not just earth that was empty and desolate. This planet had the same depressing feeling. Areas which gave off the sense of having been built for bustle, were practically dead. Everyone had this hollow look in their eyes that Emil was familiar with. If he looked in the mirror, he could see it in himself too.

Emil dozed off to dream of home and an excited voice swinging around New York.

Unedited