Chapter 1
Scott hadn't really known Tony Stark as well as some of the other heroes he fought alongside; but the man had made a sacrifice he'd never forget. His work had given billions their lives and loved ones back, and that was just on Earth; his death had ensured their safety. So sometimes he visited his memorial - not the big public one, but the one for Avengers and family members.
This time, it was a rainy Thursday afternoon, and he'd gone somewhat on impulse, since he was already in New York with Hank for some business he had. As he approached, a figure with short brown hair and a gray hoodie was already standing at the memorial, hands in his pockets; Scott walked slowly up beside him. The teen didn't greet him, but after a moment he recognized him anyway.
"Hey. Peter, right? Peter Parker?"
The teen whirled, staring at him.
"Uh, Scott Lang. Ant-Man? We met at Tony's funeral?" Peter gaped at him, so Scott kept talking. "Well, I guess technically we met at an airport, but we were in costume then."
"You-you remember who I am?"
"Yeah? You're Tony Stark's protege. Plus wasn't your secret identity revealed on the news? Thought that'd be a longer-lasting story to be honest."
"Uh-uh-I... I need to sit down." Peter staggered away from the memorial to slump on the wet grass nearby. Scott followed, dropping down beside him.
"You okay?"
"It's- okay, I don't understand what's going on."
Scott shrugged. "Well, I don't even know what you're talking about, so you've already got more information than I do. Which seems to be happening to me a lot the paat couple years."
Peter sighed. "Okay. So... when my identity was revealed, I did something kinda stupid. I went to Doctor Strange, and asked him to make everybody forget, except my aunt and my best friends."
Scott raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing it didn't work."
"No, that's the thing! It did! Well. Eventually. I kind of messed up first. Like a lot. Like almost-tore-the-fabric-of-reality a lot." He took a deep breath. "I interrupted the spell and distracted him, and it wound up... attracting people who knew my secret identity. But not from here. From, like, other earths in the multiverse."
Scott nodded. "Okay. Other earths. Cool. I'll save my many questions until the end."
"Right, so, a bunch of enemies of other Spider-Men- Spider-Mans? Uh, Peter Parkers out there got pulled in, and I tried to help them out and things kind of went super wrong, and-"
His breathing had gotten shakier, and Scott put an arm around the kid's shoulder. "Hey, breathe, Parker. Take it slow."
"Thanks, Mr. Lang. Um. My-my aunt... died. Because of one of the people I was trying to help. But then two other versions of me showed up, and helped stop him and help everyone and send them all home." He swallowed. "But we had to make everyone here in our reality forget me, because otherwise the spell wouldn't work and a bunch of other timelines would have crashed into ours. And I mean everyone. All my friends, even Happy and Doctor Strange. And I don't- it's really hard, Mr. Lang. Really, really hard."
At the tears forming in his eyes, Scott pulled him in for a hug like he would Cassie.
"Hey, hey, kid, it's gonna be okay, alright? Do you at least have a place to stay?"
Peter shook his head, rubbing at his eyes. "I was gonna go look for an apartment today." Yeah, no, that's not gonna cut it.
"Tell you what, why don't you come stay with us in San Francisco? At least for a little while, until you get back on your feet."
His eyes widened. "Really? Yes! Definitely! Thank you so much!" He leaned into the hug - oh yeah, he was a hugger at the funeral, too. "I just... I don't understand! How do you even remember me?"
"I made another trip to the quantum realm recently? Maybe it was at the same time, so the spell didn't affect me? Honestly, I just don't know. Magic isn't really my thing. Uh, unless you want card tricks, I guess," he said with a grin.
Peter laughed at that, and Scott pulled him up.
"Alright, come on, spider-kid. I'll help you pack."