coveted magics, 20
It was Christmas morning, one day before Harry was due to depart down the Road, and Peter was nervous. He wished he could go with, to protect his friend on such a ridiculously dangerous journey. But he didn’t have an ounce of magical ability, and that meant he couldn’t go. Well, perhaps it was better that way. There was a wisdom to Wanda’s apparent refusal to join his coven - people needed to stay behind to protect Billy and Tommy in case Agatha attacked while Harry was gone.
Peter didn’t do anything for Christmas and never had, and Harley had decided that he didn’t want to either if Peter wasn’t, which meant there wasn’t much to do today. Of course there was the one classic Jewish Christmas observance - which was to order in Chinese food since the Chinese restaurants were the ones that tended to be open on Christmas. That brought the total count of plans Peter had for the day to two - research nearby restaurants to order from, and get ahead on some classwork. Beyond that, Peter planned to stay in bed and cuddle Harley for as long as he could.
Unfortunately, Peter’s stomach was beginning to growl relentlessly, which meant he needed to get out of bed and feed his ridiculous metabolism. Groaning, he stretched a little and started to pull himself upright. Half-way through the motion, Harley’s eyes opened. “Mornin’, darlin’. Wha’s the time?”
“Almost ten,” Peter answered, having already checked his phone a couple minutes prior.
“Damn,” Harley said, now wearing a hot, sleepy sort of grin on his face. “We stayed up late goin’ at it last night, huh?”
Peter’s face flushed. They sure had. Instead of responding verbally to that, he just waggled his eyebrows a bit, earning a laugh from his boyfriend. “Anyway, I’m gonna get up and ready, and see if Billy wants to play some games together before I settle down to study.”
“Mmm,” Harley hummed, and slowly sat himself upright. “I’ll come and make y’all some breakfast, if Billy hasn’t eaten yet. How’s savoury pancakes sound?”
“With a little bit of spice?” Peter asked, knowing already what the answer with.
“Absolutely,” Harley confirmed, stood up, and went to put on a t-shirt and some sweat pants. “Need a hand, love?”
Peter took the hand he was offered, hoisting himself out of bed and catching a shirt that Harley then threw at him. Once it was on, he followed his boyfriend out of the bedroom, yawning along the way. They both found Billy sitting at the TV, gaming on Harley’s X-Box. His hair was all ruffled and messy - and something Peter had noticed was that the more comfortable Billy grew here, the less he bothered to keep himself presentable inside the apartment. Thus, the sight made Peter’s heart warm.
“Morning,” Peter said to Billy. “Sleep okay?”
“Yup,” Billy smiled back. “Wanna play some Soul Calibur?”
“Sure, I’ll play a round or two,” Peter agreed, and went to join Billy on the couch. “Have you eaten?”
“Not yet,” Billy shook his head.
“How’s pancakes sound? Savoury, not sweet,” Harley offered, to see if he might need to make something different for Billy.
“Mmm, sounds great,” Billy answered.
Once he’d grabbed a controller, Peter leaned over to bump his shoulder against Billy’s. Billy responded by then fully leaning against Peter with no apparent intention to move. “Excited to start school after the winter break?”
“You bet!” Billy exclaimed. “Daisy said she’d try and mess with the records to make sure I’m in a bunch of Teddy’s classes.”
Peter snorted at that. It sounded like exactly the kind of thing Daisy would do - especially since one of her primary love languages was apparently using her hacking skills to provide for others. “I’d say to be careful not to let your gayness get in the way of learning stuff at school, but honestly? Giving everything you have to high school studies is kind of overrated, unless it actually brings you joy.”
“God I wish the Kaplans could hear you saying that,” Billy laughed as he made every effort to defend himself against Peter’s newfound Soul Calibur skills. “It’d terrorise them.”
“Think Wanda would count that as sufficient retribution against them?” Peter asked, doing his utmost to not let his little brother regain the advantage.
“She just might,” Billy agreed as Peter’s character landed the final blow. “Hey, can I invite Teddy over today? Maybe he could stay the night? I dunno if that’s gonna be a problem with all the superpower stuff or not.”
Realising that Billy and Teddy somehow still both had no idea about each others’ powers, Peter laughed. “Don’t worry about it, he can totally come over. He already knows about all of our powers, actually, and it’s up to you whether you want to tell him about yours or not.”
“Huh,” Billy squinted as he picked a different character for the next battle. “How come?”
This question, Peter didn’t know how to answer without divulging secrets that weren’t his to divulge. It didn’t matter that he was absolutely certain Billy would have zero problem with the truth of Teddy’s identity, it wasn’t his information to share. Hoping he wasn’t being too obvious, Peter searched his mind and found an excuse to try and resolve this. “Hold on, I just remembered I need to make a quick phone call.”
Peter then got up and went back to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. He searched for Teddy’s number in his contacts, and clicked dial. A few seconds later, the line connected. “Hey Teddy, you haven’t told Billy about your powers yet, have you?”
“No, I… guess I wasn’t sure how he’d take it.”
“Got it,” Peter responded. “He’s currently wondering how you know about all of us and our powers, because I told him it’s fine for you to come over because none of us need to hide our abilities from you. How do you want me to handle this?”
There was a brief pause. “He wants me to come over?”
Peter laughed. “Yep, expect an invite for the day soon. So, how do you want to proceed?”
“Do you… do you think it’ll go okay if I show him?”
“I think it’ll go more than okay,” Peter assured him. “Want me to tell him that you’ll explain the situation yourself?”
“Yes please!”
“Cool, I’ll tell him that,” said Peter. “I’m gonna head off now, but expect to hear from him soon!”
“Awesome! Alright, see ya later!”
Peter then hung up, and stepped back into the living room. “So, there’s a reason why Teddy knows, but he’ll explain himself. Alright?”
“O…kay?” Billy responded a little apprehensively.
“I promise you have nothing to worry about,” Peter assured Billy, glad that he’d no longer have to play messenger and keep these secrets for much longer. “Oh yeah, if Teddy’s gonna stay for dinner, ask him if he knows any good Chinese restaurants that deliver to the area?”
Instead of starting the next Soul Calibur match, Billy shot up off the couch. “I’m gonna go call him now!”
While Billy scampered off to invite Teddy over, Peter got up to go sit at the kitchen island and watch Harley cook. Or, more precisely, stare at his boyfriend’s ass. Just sitting here, he couldn’t help but laugh at how long it took him to realise his own feelings for his best friend. Sure, his trauma was holding him back, but still.
One by one, Harley started flipping pancakes into a large stack on a plate set on the kitchen island. They were almost done when Billy returned from his bedroom, looking even more excited than before. “Teddy’s gonna be here in about half an hour, and he’s gonna spend the day and probably the night as well!”
“Cool,” Peter responded, taking his eyes off their rather enjoyable focus point. “Hey Harls, there enough pancake batter to make a little extra?”
“Sure,” Harley answered, and poured in some more batter for yet another pancake. “I’d ask you to take over after this one, but we both know how that would go.”
Peter frowned, and grumbled. “Hey, I’m getting better at not ruining food!”
“Would Wanda say the same?” Harley countered teasingly.
“Yes, actually,” Peter pouted. “Just for that, you have to make the rest.”
A little over half an hour later, by which time Peter, Harley and Billy had been sufficiently well fed, the doorbell rang. It occurred to Peter that this doorbell had never even been used since he moved into the apartment, which meant that Teddy had the honour of being the very first to use it. Billy ran straight to the door, taking seconds to figure out the correct button to buzz his date into the building, and about ten seconds later, Teddy was being ushered inside.
“Hey, welcome!” Peter greeted him with a wave from the kitchen island, where he was still seated. “Doing alright, Teddy?”
“Yup!” Teddy answered easily, excitedly taking in the environment around him as he followed Billy inside, hand in hand.
Peter simply watched as Billy gave Teddy the tour, pointing out the bedrooms, bathroom and laundry and finally bringing him to the open shared space, where Soul Calibur was still running, the character selection screen left open. Once he’d taken in the sights, Teddy slung his backpack down behind the sofa and leaned against the back of it. “Nice place!”
“Thanks, Daisy got it for us by pulling a Robin Hood on some billionaire,” Peter explained.
“Epic,” Teddy responded praisingly. “So… I can do my thing here, right?”
Peter nodded, and nudged Harley who was now sitting next to him and scrolling social media on his phone. As far as Peter could recall, Harley hadn’t actually seen Teddy use his powers in person yet.
“Your thing?” Billy questioned, probably now piecing together the connection to this and how Peter had explained earlier that there was a reason Teddy knew about everyone’s powers.
A sudden look of nervousness developed on Teddy’s face. “Promise you won’t freak out?”
Billy’s head tilted in confusion, but he nodded all the same. “I promise. I like you way too much to be weirded out by whatever’s going on, I swear.”
“That’s so gay, dude.” Blushing, Teddy let his civilian transformation fall away. Gradually, his skin turned green, his muscles increased in size a little and his facial structured broadened somewhat. It was impressive to Peter just how naturally Teddy could hold up his usual transformation, but it made sense since not only did Teddy undoubtedly have an absurd amount of practice with it, but it also wasn’t actually all that different to how his natural form looked.
“Woah,” Billy uttered, totally transfixed on Teddy’s changed experience. He stared for a few long moments before speaking again. “Promise you won’t freak out?”
“Why would I-“ Teddy started to say, before Billy’s hands glowed blue as he lifted Teddy up half a metre into the air. “Holy shit! You have powers too?”
Billy nodded, and slowly lowered Teddy back to the ground. “It’s, um… complicated, but technically Wanda - the Scarlet Witch - is my mom.”
“Oh, I’ve trained with her! She’s really nice,” Teddy remarked. “How complicated is complicated?”
“Well, she created me and my brother Tommy in Westview and then we got reincarnated into new families,” Billy answered. “So that’s why you know about everyone here? Is Peter training you or something?”
Teddy nodded, grinning. “I wanna be a superhero when I’m older and better trained. I’ve been training with Peter and Ms Marvel pretty much every weekend since maybe October?”
“Awesome,” Billy exclaimed. “Hey, want some pancakes? They’re savoury and stuff.”
“I could eat,” Teddy answered, after which Billy grabbed some pancakes and brought the plate to the dining table for Teddy. “Hey, is that Soul Calibur?”
It was about one in the afternoon when Wanda and Daisy both burst into Peter, Harley and Billy’s apartment together. Peter was sitting at the dining table with his laptop, a textbook and lined exercise book working through some of his engineering homework with partially noise canceling earbuds in. Billy and Teddy had moved on from Soul Calibur and were now having some pretty heated Mario Kart races, which Tommy had come over to join in on about ten minutes prior. Harley was out, over at Kamala’s place to help her and Bruno with an AP Physics project, due to be back in a couple more hours.
“We found her!” Wanda blurted loudly enough to startle Peter. He pulled out his earbuds, and turned to face them with a confused look on his face. Taking in the sight of the new arrivals, he realised that Wanda looked a mix of stressed and furious, and Daisy looked resolute.
“Found who?” Peter asked, even though he was already connecting the dots between what Wanda had said and what her and Daisy’s expressions were communicating. A small amount of worry seeped up in the back of his mind, because Billy had told him about how Tommy wanted to be a part of getting revenge on Agatha, and him being here to hear this was not going to end well.
Wanda shot him a serious look, power crackling at the tips of her fingers. “Agatha. We found Agatha. Well, Jess and Daisy did together, and now we know exactly where she’ll be for at least the next day. She was sighted in Gallatin, Missouri, and Daisy was able to tap into somebody’s phone at a bar and hear Agatha confirm that she has business in town there.”
Tommy launched up off the sofa, and sped across to Wanda faster than Peter’s eyes could follow. “Are you going? I’m coming with!”
“No you are not,” Wanda shot back. “It’s far too dangerous for you. Daisy and I are going to get there as fast as we can, and take care of her before she can hurt anybody else.”
“You’re sure she’s there?” Peter asked, well aware that Billy and Teddy were now both looking on in a mixture of concern and fright.
“Absolutely certain,” Daisy answered. “It lines up with her patterns of movement so far, and I was able to access some security camera footage as well. Better that the two of us go now and take care of her. It’ll be safer for everyone that way.”
“I have to go!” Tommy insisted, hands vibrating to a blur by his sides. “SHE KILLED MY PARENTS!”
Wanda placed a hand on his shoulder, and Peter could swear he saw threads of fine crimson energy wrapping slowly around Tommy’s torso. “I understand how you feel, but I can’t lose you.”
Slowly, Tommy’s hands stopped moving, and his head slumped forward onto Wanda’s chest. Taking her hand back, she wrapped magical energy around his body and lifted him off the ground, floating him over to an empty seat at the dining table. Tommy’s head fell to the table with a slight thunk, Wanda’s magic having rendered him fully unconscious. Peter understood what she’d done and why - there was no convincing Tommy with his grief as fresh and volatile as it was. This way, they could leave before he had a chance to join them.
“Make sure he doesn’t run after us,” Wanda said, and she and Daisy turned to leave. Silently, Peter wished both of them well. If they succeeded at their mission, the threat would be well and truly over.
“I feel like I’m missing something here,” Teddy said quietly once the door had shut behind the two women. Beside him, Billy was practically curled up into a ball on the couch.
Peter sighed. He figured it’d be best to explain everything to Teddy now, so that he had the context with which to help support both Billy and Tommy, and to be prepared if anything went wrong. “Agatha Harkness is an old enemy of Wanda’s, who she encountered in Westview. Technically Agatha was supposed to be locked up there still, but she managed to break free in November last year. She’s been hunting witches and people with powers fueled by energy from the demon Chthon, to steal that power for herself. Agatha killed Tommy’s parents just over a week ago, and we know that she’s also going to be targetting Billy, and probably Harry too. She also happens to be Harry’s mother.”
“Holy shit,” Teddy uttered in response, taking all the information in. “That’s… what the hell?”
“Yeah, that about sums it up,” Peter chuckled dryly. “Harry gathered up a coven to embark on the Witches’ Road so he could power up to take her down, and he was supposed to leave tomorrow. Now, he might not have to. Anyway, I’m going to text everybody now to let them know what’s going on.”
“Alright,” Teddy said, and then turned to Billy as Peter grabbed his phone and opened up the secure hero chat. “Billy, are you okay?”
Immediately distracted back away from his phone, Peter looked up at Billy. He wasn’t just curled up now, he was shaking a little.
“Something doesn’t feel right.”
Two more hours had passed, during which Peter got very little study done. For the first ten minutes, he was busied helping Billy calm down and feel safe, and ensuring Teddy that he didn’t have to leave - rather, it was better that he stay to help Billy keep his spirits up. Then, Peter informed everyone of what was going on and spent nearly twenty minutes talking Harry down and assuring everyone that there was no need to rush off to join in on the fight. After that, he certainly tried to study, but was too distracted worrying about Billy, and keeping an eye on Tommy. An hour in, though, Gwen came and took Tommy to their apartment, since they were better suited to look after him and make sure he didn’t run all the way to Missouri once he woke up.
But it had been two hours now, and Billy’s stress had skyrocketed again. “SOMETHING’S WRONG!”
Peter rushed over to Billy’s side. “Talk to me, what’s happening?”
Billy shook his head, eyes wide. Teddy was gently rubbing his back to try and soothe him, but it wasn’t helping. “I don’t know how to explain. I feel this… malevolent energy, and it’s getting closer and closer. I… I don’t know what’s happening!”
“Fuck,” Peter cursed. His mind raced to try and figure this out, and there was really only one solution that both made sense and seemed actually likely. “We got played. Billy, can you tell where the bad feeling is coming from?”
Billy nodded, and pointed roughly northward. Peter racked his mind for geographical knowledge from all of his patrols since he’d moved to Boston, and realised that there wasn’t anywhere close that was relatively unpopulated and spacious. The best option he could think of was one of the bridges over the Charles River.
“Billy, I want you to focus on taking deep breaths in and out. I think Agatha’s nearby, so I absolutely am not leaving you alone.”
“Me neither,” Teddy added in fiercely. “I like you way too much to let you stay in danger if I can do something to help.”
Billy let out a shaky, weak and breathy laugh. “That’s kinda gay.”
“That’s the point,” Teddy responded with a smile, and then looked over to Peter. “What’s the plan?”
Peter drummed his fingers against the back of the couch. “I’m going to tell everyone to gather up in the middle of Harvard Bridge. I’m gonna suit up, and then we’re gonna go there. Agatha is most likely tracking down and hunting the energy she can sense from Billy and Tommy, so if we all go there, we can bait her out to somewhere that endangers the fewest people possible. There’s no way that Daisy and Wanda will make it back here in time, which means it’s just those of us still in the city.”
“Okay,” Teddy nodded. Peter noticed he seemed more confident than usual, but now wasn’t the time for him to worry whether it looked like overconfidence or not. Right now, his primary focus was on keeping his little brother safe in the best way he knew how.
Peter sprinted to his room, called Harley on speed dial, switched his phone to speaker mode and threw it down onto the bed. While the call connected, Peter grabbed his suit from the closet and stripped off so he could put it on.
“Darlin’? What’s up?” Harley asked.
“You’ve got your suit with you, right?” Peter asked urgently. Harley had recently upgraded his suit to transform into a backpack that he could carry around with him, and Peter was pretty sure he’d flown most of the way to Roxbury in it.
“Course, yeah. Did somethin’ happen?”
“Agatha’s here. She somehow faked her presence in Missouri, probably to bait Wanda away. You and Kamala need to get to Harvard Bridge as soon as you can, we’re gonna lure Agatha there so we can keep any civilian dangers to a minimum. Can you text the others?”
“Fuck. Got it, I’ll handle all that. Are the boys okay?”
Peter pulled his arms all the way through to the fingers of his suit, and then slapped a button on his chest that tightened and sealed it at the back, just like Mr. Stark’s Spider-suit had. Then, he slipped on his mask. “Not really, Billy’s terrified. No clue about Tommy. Alright, I’ve got to go. Love you, and see you soon.”
“I love you too,” Harley said, and the line disconnected.
Peter then rushed back out to the living room to grab the boys. “Alright, we need to go. Billy, do you feel like you can fly right now? If you can, I’ll carry Teddy and swing alongside you.”
Shakily, Billy nodded. “I can fly.”
“Me too, actually,” Teddy offered, standing up and showing off his apparent ability to transform a set of wings onto his back. “Would it be faster if I carry you instead?”
“Yes, actually,” Peter nodded. “I’m gonna go check on-“
The door slammed open, and both Gwen and Tommy blurred into the room. Gwen was already suited up, whereas Tommy was just in jeans, running shoes and a puffy jacket. “We’re here. Harvard Bridge, right?”
“Yup,” Peter confirmed. “No time to waste, let’s go. Billy, do you know how to do the thing Wanda does to make people not notice her?”
Billy shook his head, which meant Peter was going to have to worry about people possibly finding out where Spider-Man lives later. Gwen and Tommy both rushed off first, Gwen looking concerned and Tommy angry and resolute. Peter and the other two boys followed, getting out of the apartment and taking to the skies immediately, which reduced the time it took to reach their destination down to maybe four or five minutes.
By the time they arrived, Gwen, Tommy, Harry and Riri were all already there. Judging by the map on Peter’s phone, Harley and Kamala weren’t far behind. The bridge wasn’t too busy - one of the blessings of it being Christmas Day was that a lot of people were having their daytime celebrations instead of being out and about. Peter’s instinct said he should start giving people orders to get into a protective formation - but fortunately, Riri beat him to it. It was better that she handle that, since she actually had team leadership training from Daisy.
“Billy and Tommy, I know y’all don’t know me that well yet, but I’m Ironheart. I need you two to get in the middle of the road once the cars are clear, and we’re all gonna surround you. Witchboy and Ms Marvel are gonna take up either side on the bridge, and the rest of us will stand in a protective formation around you. Witchboy, can you feel how far away she is?” Riri asked after firing off her rapid orders.
But before Harry could answer, Billy did. “We have about thirty seconds, she’s almost here!”
Riri glanced in Harry’s direction, and he just nodded. Peter couldn’t tell much about Harry’s expression from under his Witchboy mask, but he had a hunch that Harry was terrified. It made sense, especially after what happened in his last encounter with Agatha. But Harry had already explained that he was immune to Agatha’s magic stealing ability, which meant if he could play a successful defensive, that should be enough.
Harley and Kamala arrived just before Agatha, with enough time for Riri to quickly direct them into formation.
And then Agatha arrived.
All of a sudden, Peter’s Spider-Sense exploded. The last time he’d felt it this strongly was in the second battle with Thanos, where there was danger literally everywhere. Hairs raised all over his body and his mind raced with warning sensations all around him. Coming from the north, up in the sky was Agatha, shrouded in powerful purple magic, long black hair and a purple cloak billowing behind her. With his enhanced hearing, Peter could hear her cackling even at a distance.
Then a bolt of her dark purple magic rocketed through the air, and Kamala barely got a light shield up in time. The bolt smashed into Kamala’s shield and shattered it, launching her straight into Teddy - whose reflexes were fortunately good enough to catch her and get her standing upright straight away.
“Fuck,” Peter cursed under his breath again. He tensed up, ready to spring at her. Of everyone here, it made the most sense for him to be the one to break formation and get up close and personal with her, even if she was flying - well, as long as he could bring her down close enough to the ground. And Agatha would rue the day she messed with Peter Parker’s family. “Ms Marvel, are you okay?”
“Ye-ep,” Kamala managed, stumbling through the word as she got some air back into her lungs. “But damn, she packs a punch!”
Peter crouched, and then waited the second it took for Agatha to get close enough, and then he launched up into the air. Already twisting his arm into position as he rose, Peter shot a long strand of webbing at the witch, with every intention to latch onto her and use his strength to hurl her into the ground.
But the web never made it to her. Agatha didn’t even break it - it just stopped, mid motion. And so did Peter. He froze, unable to redirect his trajectory in any way, and fell down onto the bridge with a heavy thud. Behind him, each and every one of his friends were rooted to the spot just like him.
Oh, shit.