"мой паучок"
Natasha slammed her fist into the punching bag, letting out a frustrated grunt. She had been training nonstop all morning, trying to clear her mind, but she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was off.
"Whoa, take it easy there, Nat," Tony said, entering the training room. "What did that poor punching bag ever do to you?"
Natasha stopped and steadied the swinging bag. "I don't know, I just...I feel like I'm forgetting something important."
Tony grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his brow after his own workout. "Like what?"
Natasha shook her head. "That's just it - I don't know. But it's been bothering me all week."
"Maybe you just need a break," Steve suggested as he and Clint entered the room. "We've all been hitting it pretty hard lately."
"No, that's not it." Natasha furrowed her brow. "I can't explain it, but I know something's missing. Or someone..."
The other Avengers exchanged confused glances.
"I don't know what you mean," Clint said. "Who could be missing? We're all here."
"Are we though?" Natasha challenged. "Don't you guys feel it too? That sense that there should be someone else with us?"
The men thought for a moment but shook their heads.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," said Bruce as he and Thor joined them.
"Me neither," Thor agreed. "The team is all here."
Natasha huffed in frustration. "You guys really don't feel it? That absence?"
Again, blank stares.
"Maybe you've been working too hard," Steve suggested gently. "We should take a break, get some air."
Natasha opened her mouth to argue but then stopped herself. Perhaps they were right - she was reading into things too much. With a resigned sigh, she agreed to take a walk outside to clear her head.
But as they left the compound grounds and strolled through the nearby park, Natasha couldn't let it go. A nagging voice in her head told her someone was missing. Someone important.
As she racked her brain, a memory floated to the surface. A flash of red and blue swinging between buildings. Kind brown eyes behind a masked face. A bright laugh that lifted her heart.
Natasha stopped abruptly, grabbing Tony's arm. "Spider-Man!"
Tony blinked in surprise. "What about him?"
"That's who's missing!" Natasha cried. "Spider-Man should be here with us, but he's not. Why?"
Tony frowned, confused. "I mean, yeah, Spider-Man helps us out sometimes, but he's not really part of the team..."
"Yes he is!" Natasha insisted. "Or at least, he was. I remember now - we were all so close with him. He was..." She struggled to find the words. "He was like family."
The other Avengers shook their heads.
"Nat, I think you've got this wrong," said Clint gently. "We don't really know much about Spider-Man at all. He's helped us at times, sure, but we don't know who he is under that mask."
Natasha's brow furrowed deeply. "No, you're wrong. We know him. His name is..." But try as she might, she couldn't grasp the name. With a growl of frustration, she took off down the path again, forcing the others to follow.
"Nat, wait up!" Steve called, but Natasha ignored him. She had to get to the bottom of this.
Bursting into the Avengers compound, she immediately sought out Wanda, who was reading in the lounge. "Wanda, you can look into my mind, right? See my memories?"
Wanda blinked in surprise. "Well, yes, but-"
"Do it," Natasha demanded. "Look into my memories of Spider-Man. We knew him, Wanda. We were close to him."
Wanda hesitated but then nodded slowly. Her eyes glowed red as she entered Natasha's mind. Natasha watched impatiently as Wanda sifted through her memories. After a few moments, Wanda's eyes returned to normal.
"Well?" Natasha asked eagerly.
Wanda shook her head, brow furrowed in confusion. "I'm sorry, Natasha. All I see are memories of Spider-Man assisting us in battles. But his identity is unknown to us."
Natasha cursed loudly. How could this be? She knew in her bones Spider-Man was like family. She could almost see his smiling face in her mind's eye...
Whirling around, she stormed off to find Bucky, who was polishing his metal arm. "Bucky, tell me about Spider-Man."
Bucky looked taken aback. "Uh, strong, fast, good with webs?"
Natasha groaned. "No, tell me who he is. What's his real name?"
Bucky stared at her blankly. "I have no idea."
"We have to know!" Natasha shouted in frustration. "He's one of us, I know it!"
"Natasha." Steve put a hand on her shoulder. "I think you need to accept that your memory is faulty here. We simply don't know Spider-Man's identity."
Natasha wrenched herself from his grasp. "No! My memory is not faulty!"
Storming away, she called out loudly. "FRIDAY! Tell me everything you know about Spider-Man!"
The AI's calm voice responded. "Spider-Man is a masked vigilante operating in Queens with spider-like abilities. He assists the Avengers at times but his true identity is unknown."
With a guttural cry, Natasha swept everything off a nearby table in a rage. The others looked on helplessly, not knowing how to convince her she was wrong.
Breathing hard, Natasha closed her eyes, forcing herself to focus. There had to be an answer. She called up an image of Spider-Man in her mind. His lithe, agile figure. His quick wit and youthful voice. His compassion and drive to help people.
And then it hit her - he was just a boy. A child they had all bonded with and vowed to protect. A child who saw them as family.
Natasha opened her eyes. "He's young," she said softly. "A teenager. And he's lost so much already. He needs us."
She looked around beseechingly, but was met with confused looks. With a cry of frustration, she sank to the floor, holding her head in her hands.
"I know you," she whispered. "We all do. So why can't anyone remember you?"
Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up with tear-filled eyes, she saw Wanda gazing down at her kindly.
"I think...I am starting to remember something," Wanda said hesitantly. "A young boy. He looked up to us."
Hope soared in Natasha's chest. "Yes! Keep trying, Wanda. We have to keep trying to remember him."
Wanda closed her eyes tightly. "I...I can almost see him...he was so excited to work with us..."
"That's it!" Natasha leapt to her feet. Turning in a circle, she demanded "Come on, all of you, try! Try to remember him!"
One by one, she could see gears turning behind their eyes.
Tony spoke first. "I...I gave him a suit. An Iron Spider suit..." His eyes widened. "The kid! From Queens!"
"Yes!" Natasha cried.
Steve was next. "My God...that boy. So talented, so caring...what was his name?"
"Parker!" Bucky said suddenly. "Peter Parker."
Natasha could have collapsed from relief. "Yes, Peter! Spider-Man!"
The memories unlocked, they all looked at each other in awe.
"How could we have forgotten him?" Clint said, dumbfounded.
"Doesn't matter," Natasha said firmly. "We remember now. And we have to find him."
Tony immediately set FRIDAY searching for Peter Parker. Facial recognition scans, tracking his phone, accessing school and medical records - nothing was off limits. After hours of tireless searching, FRIDAY finally pinpointed his location - an apartment building in Queens.
The team suited up and headed out, determination fueling their steps. Upon arriving, Natasha pounded on the apartment door.
A tired-looking teenage boy answered. "Can I help you?"
Natasha's heart swelled at the sight of him - the lost piece they'd forgotten. Ignoring his question, she demanded "Peter Parker?"
The boy's eyes shifted cagily. "No, sorry. I think you have the wrong apartment."
He tried to close the door but Steve blocked it with his foot. "Wait. Please."
The boy - Peter - looked anxious. "I really think you have me confused with someone else."
Natasha stepped forward. "Peter," she said gently. "It's me. And Tony, and Steve and Clint...we remember you now, мой паучок."
Peter froze, eyes blowing wide. "What...what did you call me?"
Natasha gave a teary smile. "My little spider."
Peter stared in disbelief. Then his face crumpled. "You...you remember me?"
"Yes," Tony said, stepping forward. "And we've missed you, kid."
That broke the floodgates. Peter collapsed into Natasha's arms, sobbing. She held him tightly, her own tears falling freely.
"I t-thought I was going crazy," Peter choked out. "No one remembered me anymore after what happened with the spell..."
"Shh, just breathe," Natasha soothed, stroking his hair. "We're here now, Peter."
The others crowded in, hugging Peter tightly, reassuring him they were real. After endless days of isolation, of feeling abandoned and forgotten, Peter finally had his family back.
When his tears subsided, they retreated to the roof of the apartment building. Sitting in a circle around Peter, they gently prompted him to share everything that had happened.
Peter explained haltingly how the multiverse had ruptured after a spell went wrong, forcing him to seek help from other Spider-heroes to contain it. In the process, everyone forgot he was Spider-Man and his identity became a secret again.
"It was so hard," he whispered, fresh tears falling. "I lost everything. All of you, my best friends...even May..." He choked on a sob.
The Avengers exchanged pained looks. His only family, gone.
Natasha wrapped a comforting arm around Peter. "You'll never be alone again, Peter. You're coming home with us."
Peter looked up with reddened but hopeful eyes. "Really?"
"Of course." Steve gripped his shoulder. "The Avengers compound is your home. We're your family."
Tony ruffled Peter's hair. "You're gonna be alright, kid. We've gotcha now."
Peter gave a watery smile. For the first time since the spell fractured his life, he felt the pieces coming back together.
Natasha kept her arm securely around Peter's shoulders as they walked back to the Tower. Though there was much healing ahead, she knew the worst was behind them. Their lost spider was finally home.