New Friends At Every Turn
Sam checked in with FRIDAY before entering the elevator. Ever since his tentative...whatever....with Peter had started, he had been taking extra care to avoideveryonewhen leaving and reentering the tower whenever he saw him. While blockers kept an individual smells hidden fromrandompeople, there had been cases ofmatessometimes being able to pick up hints of each other's smells anyway. Since Sam was a beta, Peter's scent never meant anything to him, and he hadn't even smelt anything from him lately. Hoever, with two super soldiers with enhanced senses in the tower, Sam didn't want to chance the lack of scent just being him. He had made a promise to keep their interactions secret, and he intended to keep it.
The two were slowly getting to know each other. For Sam, everything about Peter was new, but for Peter, it more so a game of similarities and differences.
Sam would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying getting to know him. Peter was a genuinely good person, and if things every worked out between him and the others, he could be a valuable asset to the team.
The public sure seemed to love him.
Something that seemed to amuse Peter greatly for some odd reason.
Still, Sam avoided talking about his fellow teammates like the plague. He desperately wanted to ask more about Peter's past with the, rightfully dubbed, "Evil Avengers", but didn't want to overstep.
“Dr. Banner has entered the common area.” FRIDAY answered.
“Ok. Bruce is clear.” Sam replied.
Bruce was probably the only person in the tower he didn’t have to worry about. There was no way he’d pick up on Peter’s scent, nor would it even matter since he was a beta and not romantically interested in Peter.
Also, he was the only other person in the tower Peter seemed comfortable talking about.
Peter had held a lot of respect for the Bruce Banner of his world. So much so that Sam had taken up teasing him about being a Bruce Banner fan boy.
Interesting enough, Peter seemed to be an even bigger fan boy here.
The Bruce Banner of his world lost a lot of his freedoms and abilities to do research after the Avengers turned and trapped him, so eventually Peter had run out of research papers to read.
Here though, here Bruce was continuing to put out papers, and Peter was consuming them at an alarming rate.
Maybe he could bring Bruce to meet Peter one night.
Bruce had displayed plenty of interest in getting to talk to Peter, and Peter had definitely displayed his own.
Yeah, maybe Peter wouldn’t hate him if he brought Bruce.
“Hey, Bru-“ Sam’s greeting stopped short as a very disgruntled Bruce Banner lay on one of the couches, taking deep breaths.
“Uh…everything ok?”
“If by ok you mean I won’t Hulk out, then you should know I’m straddling a thin line right now. I can’t go back to the lab or the line will break.” Bruce huffed.
Sam grimaced at Bruce’s obvious efforts to calm himself were only marginally working.
“We’ll, I’m going out. Wanna join me? Maybe getting out of here will help?”
Bruce paused, lifting his head to look at Sam. The green tint to his eyes started to fade as he considered the option.
“You know, maybe that’s a good idea.”
Sam grinned as Bruce stood up.
Peter was gonna freak, and hopefully in a good way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“When did you start coming here?” Bruce asked. “It’s a bit out of the way for us.”
“It’s what I needed. With the raging alpha hormones, I wanted to be as far away as possible.” Sam sighed before smirking.
“Plus, I get a little private bonus for coming here.”
Bruce raised an eyebrow as he followed Sam into the rowdy bar.
“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” Bruce frowned, uncomfortable with all the people.
“Don’t worry, they’ll be clearing out soon.”
Bruce continued to frown, but followed Sam to the bar anyway. As they sat down, a muscular black man stood in front of them. He raised an eyebrow as he took in the sight on Bruce.
“Taking a real chance there, Wilson.”
Bruce looked up as Luke Cage moved in front of them.
“I’m aware.” Sam nodded. “But I’m pretty confident it’s gonna be fine.”
The man shrugged before setting Sam’s usual down and asking what Bruce wanted.
“Just water please, I’m not really a drinker.” Bruce winced.
“Strange to come to a bar for water, but to each their own, Banner.”
“I didn't know you ran a bar.”
“It's pretty low key. Mostly just known here in the Kitchen. Anyway, when you come back, leave Wilson at home next time.”
Sam choked on his drink as Luke laughed, moving on down the bar after giving Bruce his water.
“Jerk.” Sam muttered, no bite to his words.
“How long have you been coming here?” Bruce asked.
“About a month or so now. Couple of nights a week depending on certain factors."
“How have we not noticed you’ve been going out so much?” Bruce asked.
"Well, in your defense Bruce, you're usually tied up in some sort of research and buried in the lab."
"Don't talk about the lab." Bruce grunted. "That is a terrible subject at the moment."
"That's only raising my curiosity."
Bruce huffed as he took a sip of his water.
"Let's just say that Tony is in big trouble for the foreseeable future."
Sam laughed as he patted Bruce on the back.
"Just let me and Clint know what we need to do for you. Clint's been dying to have a go at Tony since he rigged one of his arrows with confetti during training."
The two continued talking, Sam occasionally taking note of the fact the crowd was thinning out quickly. As it neared the time Peter would most likely come from the back, Sam turned to Bruce with a serious expression.
"I'm gonna tell you something Bruce, but you've gotta keep it a secret."
"Is this something that could get us in some sort of trouble?" Bruce asked wearily.
"......no? Maybe? Probably? Yeah, definitely." Sam shrugged with a smile. "But if it makes you feel better, you'll be getting a immeasurable up on Tony."
Bruce raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Okay.....what's the big secret?"
"The drinks and distance from the tower aren't the only reasons I come here."
"Are you seeing someone Sam?" Bruce asked. "You know you don't have to keep it a secret from us."
"Oh, I'm 'seeing' someone alright, and I do have to keep it a secret and now you will too."
"Why-"
"Hey Sam!"
Bruce's head snapped up in surprise as a smiling Peter Parker walked over, clearly not noticing Bruce's presence.
"Hey, Pete." Sam smiled nervously. "I..um...hope you don't mind that I brought a friend? I told him the rule of meeting you."
Peter frowned as his eyes moved to the person next to Sam, then choked on air.
"D-Dr Banner!" Peter gasped.
Bruce just looked between Peter and Sam in shock, desperately trying to figure out what was going on. How had Sam managed to get close to Peter without anyone knowing?
"H-hi." Bruce stumbled, holding out his hand and praying he wasn't going to have to kill Sam.
He knew how protective the Defenders could be when it came to Peter, and he had no desire to have trouble.
Peter stared a moment before grasped his outstretched hand and began shaking it excitedly.
"I know I should be upset and throw you out Sam, but I'm to busy having a mental freakout at the fact I'm meeting Dr. Banner properly as opposed to when he rescued me from prison."
"Y-yeah." Bruce grimaced at the memory of the last time he had physically seen Peter. "I didn't know they were gonna do that...."
"Yeah, I kind of figured that." Peter smirked, pulling back his hand. "I've never seen someone look so...done with people."
"We may be a pack," Bruce sighed. "But I know stupid when I see it."
Peter laughed as Bruce ran his hand down his face.
"If you have time Dr. Banner, I'd love to get to talk to you. I have so many questions about your work. I've been pouring through your research papers and I've wanted to pick your brain so bad!"
Bruce blinked in surprise at Peter's eager face.
"Careful Bruce," Sam grinned. "Peter's a total fanboy."
"I'm not ashamed to admit that, Wilson." Peter scoffed.
"Well," Bruce said slowly, unsure how Peter would take what he was about to say. "I can't deny I've been wanting to talk to you either. I'm fascinated by your abilities. I mean, I've seen videos of you getting hurt pretty badly, then be out the very next day seemingly fine."
"Tell you what, Dr. Banner." Peter grinned. "We close in a bit. If you guys aren't looking to leave soon, maybe we can talk more. I'll answer your questions if you answer mine."
"Deal." Bruce smiled.
Sam smiled in satisfaction as he leaned back in his chair. He had been nervous to bring Bruce. He didn't know how Peter would handle it. Despite the fact Peter knew Bruce was a beta, and uninterested in the dynamics that came between alphas and omegas, he was still a part of the pack. Looking at him now though, he knew he had definitely made the right call by bringing Bruce. Peter got to fanboy over the one Avenger he had even seemed remotely okay with from the beginning and gain a new friend, not to mention Bruce finally had someone other than Tony to talk science with.
Speaking of Tony, he still wanted to know what the man had done to nearly cause Bruce to lose it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was after Luke and Peter closed down the bar that Sam finally got his answer. Peter's praise of Bruce's work ultimately led to Bruce admitting what happened between him and Tony.
He blew up half the lab!" Bruce growled. "Four months of my research gone in a few seconds!"
Peter gasped in outrage.
"Four months worth?" he shouted. 'What was he doing?
"I don't even know!" Bruce groaned. "One minute everything was fine and then the next, half the lab was on fire!"
Sam struggled to hold his laughter in. He hated Bruce lost his research, but Tony was gonna have to fork out some major money to fix the area, and do some major groveling to earn Bruce's forgiveness.
For once, Sam wished he and Bruce could tell the others about meeting up with Peter. That would really stick it to Tony if Bruce could let that little gem slip.
"I'm really sorry about that Dr. Banner." Peter frowned. "I would be furious too. I'm saddened at the loss of, what I'm sure, was something amazing."
"Not much I can do about it now." Bruce sighed in defeat. 'I'll just have to start over and please, Peter, call me Bruce."
"Wow. Ok, Bruce! I wish I could help." Peter said dreamily. "I'd love the chance to say I got to work with Dr. Bruce Banner!"
"Hey! What about the fact you get to be friends with The Falcon?" Sam huffed, crossing his arms. "I'm pretty cool to, you know."
"Sure, sure, Sam." Peter smirked, waving Sam off.
"I can't believe this. Here I bring you your man crush, Banner, and this is how you repay me?"
Peter laughed, ignoring Sam's disgruntled muttering as he turned back to Bruce.
"So, you have questions for me?"
"Y-yes! If you don't mind talking about your abilities that is."
"No, it's ok." Peter smiled. "To be honest, I've never really gotten the opportunity to study myself on a molecular level. I can tell you everything I can do, and the fact I've noticed myself acting spider like at times." A slight blush rose to Peter's cheeks at that admission.
"Oh, what's with the blush Parker?" Sam grinned, leaning forward.
"N-nothing!" Peter answered quickly.
"No. I refuse to ignore this. Again, I brought Banner! Let's hear it."
Peter sighed, taking a sip of the coke he had.
"I....I was pretty....pretty turned on once by a woman I knew. She was pulling a con at a strip club. I went to catch her and she caught me in the audience and....her dance.....well.....you know, there are species of spiders that are seduced by...dancing? I don't exactly know what the spider that bit me was.....but I know it was genetically altered...possibly even crossbred-"
"Wait! Are you telling me this woman danced her way into your pants?" Sam snickered as Peter's face turned red.
"I couldn't help it! I was practically in a trance! But no, we didn't get that far. The Avengers attacked the club before I could get her alone. I'm not sure how it would have gone if I did."
"That's....that's something." Bruce stumbled. "Not to be a downer Peter, but you should probably keep an eye on that."
"Yeah," Peter puffed out. "Not exactly good to be an omega getting horny just by watching someone dance for them."
"You a horn dog for dancers now, Jones?"
The three men's heads shot up as a smirking Jessica Jones pulled up a chair and sat down.
"Jones?" Bruce asked, looking at Peter.
"Yeah," Peter said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Can't exactly be Peter Parker here. So I'm-"
"My lesser good looking cousin." Jessica cackled.
"How have you not told me this yet?" Sam asked, shooting Peter a pointed look.
"Hey, Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"My last name is Jones now."
"I hate you."
Peter laughed as Jessica turned to Bruce.
"Luke told me Peter had been meeting up with Wilson here, but how'd you get drug into this?"
"I almost lost control at the tower when Tony blew up my research." Bruce deadpanned.
Jessica blinked at him, silent for a moment before bursting out laughing.
"I bet Stark was shitting his pants!"
"He disappeared pretty quickly." Bruce sighed.
"Well, I hate to break up the party, but we've got plans. Come on you two." Luke said, strolling up to the table and pointing at Peter and Jessica.
"Matt just called, Karen's on her way to the hospital. Looks like the kid is making an early appearance."
Peter and Jessica jumped up, scooping up the glasses on the table and putting them behind the bar for clean up tomorrow.
"Give the happy couple our best, Pete." Sam smiled, following the trio out the door.
"I will. Dr. Banner, it was an honor to officially meet you! Please come back. You don't have to bring Sam." Peter said, shaking Bruce's hand with a grin.
"You keep talking and neither one of us are coming back." Sam said, crossing his arms.
"I'd be so devastated at the loss of your presence." Peter said flatly.
"You would be. I'm great company, you ass."
Peter grinned, making to respond before Luke cut in.
"Cut the chit chat, Jones, we gotta go."
"Coming! Well, later guys! I got a nephew to meet!"
"Nephew?" Bruce asked.
"Yeah. I'm gonna be 'Uncle Peter' whether Matt agrees or not. It was already approved by Karen. Anyway, later! Thanks for breaking the code, Sam! I can forgive you because you brought Dr. Banner!"
"Call me Bruce!" Bruce shouted as Peter ran off with a wave.
Once he was out of sight, Bruce spun to Sam with wide eyes.
"How could you be seeing Peter behind everyone's backs! If they found out, they'd kill you!"
"It was a complete accident I found him." Sam said, holding up his hands in defense. "I was just wanting a drinking hole far from the tower. I knew this was Luke's place so I stopped in. I had no idea Peter was working here part time."
"Are you not worried about his blockers failing? We don't exactly pick up on any omega or alpha scents like they do."
"I just have FRIDAY let me know where everyone is when I get back and I go straight to the shower and then run my clothes under the water before burying them in the laundry. Even if Steve and Buck enter my room, there's no smell to pick up."
"Wow." Bruce said, letting out a breath. "Have you ever gotten as close to Peter as you did tonight? I mean, was there always the bar between you?"
"Yeah, so we're gonna have to be a little more careful tonight. It's pretty late though, so everyone should be asleep. Not that I think anyone would be approaching you considering the fact that, by now, I'm sure everyone's heard there was an accident in the lab."
"Don't remind me." Bruce groaned. "Now I have to wait for Tony to rebuild before I can even restart my work."
The two walked to where Sam had parked, sliding into the seats before Bruce spoke again.
"Do you think I could ever get Peter to the lab? He said he wanted to work with me, and I could catch up a lot faster with a mind like his."
"I think you know the answer to that, Bruce. Peter's not going anywhere near the tower."
"Yeah." Bruce frowned. "It was just a thought."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are you really ok with Wilson having brought Banner?" Jessica asked, turning around in the front seat to look back at Peter.
"Well, I don't have much of an option now, but yeah. Bruce wasn't a bad guy in my world. He's the only Avenger I don't have a problem with. He was just as much a victim as everyone else."
"You don't think he'll spill to the others?"
"Honestly, no. He helped me leave the tower that time, plus Sam told him the deal, and Sam's yet to rat me out."
"As far as you know." Luke said, looking the the rearview. "I'm not saying I don't trust Wilson. To tell the truth, I don't think he'd tell them, unless he didn't have a choice. Just be careful, kid."
The car was silent the rest of the way to the hospital. Each person lost in thought.
"Well, here we are kids." Jessica said as they pulled into the parking lot. "Is Rand here?"
"Yeah, he's how called. He was with Matt when Karen went into labor."
"He better not think he's holding the baby before me." Peter huffed, climbing out the back.
"Relax, 'Uncle Peter', we all know the pecking order." Jessica said, rolling her eyes. "But I'm after you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Danny met them as they got out the elevator.
"Karen's still in delivery. I've never seen Matt as serious as he was when Karen called, and that's saying something given his general demeanor when he's out." he grinned.
"Devil Dad Mode activated." Peter laughed.
"He's gonna be such a pain." Jessica grumbled.
"He's not hitting the field any time soon." Luke said, crossing his arms. "He wonn't be in any mental state to be of any use."
"No new parent-"
"No, Pete." Danny said, cutting him off. "I'm sure parents were protective in your world, but this is a completely different deal. Alphas are fiercely protective of their babies and omegas. Karen's comfort level with you and us was the only reason Matt was as calm as he was during Karen's pregnancy. He knew he could count on us. This though, this will be different. If Matt even lets us in the room."
Peter frowned. It seemed like he was constantly learning something new.
"So you mean, we came here for nothing?"
"No, we came here as support. Even if Matt doesn't let us in, knowing we were here will mean something to both him and Karen."
"I'll never get to hold my nephew!" Peter pouted, throwing himself into a chair and crossing his arms. "I didn't have any siblings, so this is as close as I'm gonna get."
"Relax, drama queen." Jessica said, falling into the seat next to him. "You'll get your chance eventually."
"This world is stupid. All these hormones are on my nerves."
"Oh?" Jessica smirked. "Just wait till you get back there and those omega instincts you try to keep buried kick in."
"What?"
"You telling us you haven't felt even the slightest bit overprotective of Karen?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, we all know you and her haven't exactly been getting along with her encouraging you to get to know the Avengers, and yet you still go over to Matt's apartment and sit with her whenever you're not working. Hell, you've even had her come stay the night at your place when Matt's gone out for a long night."
"So? Friends don't always have to get along you know." Peter scoffed.
"No, but don't sit there and deny you've gotten over a lot with Karen faster than normal during her pregnancy." Danny smirked.
"That has nothing to do with anything other than not wanting to stress her out!"
"Well, you didn't see any of us throwing the offer out." Jessica grinned smugly.
"None of that has anything to do with my stupid omega status. I would have done that regardless. Karen and Matt are my friends."
"Sure, Pete." Three voice said at once.
"I hate all of you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bruce fidgeted as they got closer to the tower.
"You gotta calm down man. At this rate your nerves will be picked up more than anything else." Sam warned.
"I'm just not in any mood to be discovered. I wanna be able to meet with Peter again."
"I've been doing this long enough, Bruce. Just do what I told you. I'll get us to the rooms, you go shower and rinse out your clothes." Sam soothed, not at all worried about being found out.
As he turned to pull into the parking garage, he slammed on the breaks. Standing in the open was a disappointed Steve and a guilty looking Tony.
"What are they doing here?" Bruce asked, eyes wide.
"Well, judging by Steve's face, I'm pretty sure you're about to get a rare Tony Stark apology."
"You think Steve will smell anything? I mean, could we be over estimating him and Bucky? I mean, Peter was wearing his blockers and there are a lot of other smells in the bar...Jessica! She sat at the table with us! If we smell like anyone, we'd smell like her!" Bruce said, panic leaking through.
"Hang on, Bruce."
"Wha-"
Bruce cut off as Sam threw the car into reverse and sped through the parking garage backwards.
"What are you doing!" Bruce shouted, gripping the dashboard with white knuckles.
"I think I'd like to joyride a little longer." Sam said, flying out the the garage and spinning out onto the street.
"There could have been people coming!"
"This is the back of the tower. If someone was coming through here I'd have questions." Sam replied, merging into traffic.
The two were silent as they calmed their racing hearts.
"Sam-"
The two jumped as Sams phone starting ringing, Steve's name flashing across the screen.
"What are we gonna tell them?" Bruce groaned.
"Easy." Sam smirked. "That you weren't quite ready to deal with Tony yet."
"Well, at least we have a chance of them believing that."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony and Steve stood in the garage, stunned as they watched Sam peel out of the parking lot, backwards.
"You saw that too, right Capsicle?" Tony asked.
"Yeah." Steve replied, flabbergasted. "I didn't even know Sam could drive like that."
"So, does this mean I don't have to issue Brucie Bear that apology?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter smiled widely as he pushed open the door to Karen's room. From where he stood, he could see Matt hovering over Karen and the baby like the overprotective alpha he was.
"Hey, Peter." Karen smiled, looking up at him.
"Did you all fight for entry order?" Matt asked, lifting his head.
"They can fight." Peter shrugged. "But I was always gonna be first."
Karen chuckled, motioning for him to come closer.
Peter moved to the side of the bed, surprised by the lack of aggression from Matt that the others had warned him about.
"You're an omega Peter, you're non-threatening to an alpha and their omega and pup."
"I could be threatening." Peter pouted.
Matt scoffed.
"Please, Pete. You've damn near matched me in worry and protectiveness at times."
"I'm intimidation!"
"You're adorable. Now get over here and meet your nephew." Karen giggled.
"He's not an uncle." Matt said flatly.
"You're right." Peter nodded. "I'm not an uncle, I'm the uncle!"
Matt snorted before giving a smirk and turning back to Karen and the baby.
"So, what can I call this little guy?"
"Jack. Jack Murdock." Karen said, running a finger down the baby's chubby cheek.
Peter's eyes snapped up to Matt. He knew Matt's dad had went by the nickname "Jack" before being murdered by a sleazy mobster for refusing to take a dive during a boxing match.
At least, the Matt's dad of his world had.
Matt gave a small nod before running a finger down Jack's face
"Want to hold him?"
Peter looked up in surprise, eyes darting from Karen to Matt.
"Pick the pup up, Parker." Matt grunted.
Peter grinned as he carefully lifted Jack out of Karen's arms.
"Hey, Jack, I'm your Uncle Peter. You're lucky that I happen to have had the best of the best uncle role models to learn from. My Uncle Ben helped raise me. He's a big part of who I am today. I hope to be even half as good of an uncle to you as he was to me."
As Peter carried on talking to their pup, Karen watched them. Peter was a natural with kids apparently. She had a suspicion that it had nothing to do with his omega status either.
She let out a little breath as she made up her mind. She wouldn't push Peter any more after today. She had heard that he had started up a tentative friendship with Sam Wilson, so she decided to back off and let him come to her whenever he had questions. Peter was an adult, and she had a pup to take care of. She had to let go of worrying about Peter.
"Deep thoughts?" Matt asked her.
"Just thoughts." Karen smiled, leaning in to Matt's touches as he ran his fingers through her hair.
After a little while of talking to Jack as though he understood everything coming out of his mouth, Peter was forced to give the little pup back to Karen as he began to get a little fussy.
"Time to eat, huh?" Karen giggled, positioning herself.
"I'll leave you both to it." Peter said, backing towards the door to given Karen her privacy.
"Hey, Pete." Matt said, voice tight.
"Yeah?"
"Tell the others no more visitors tonight."
"You got it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So let me get this straight," Jessica started with narrowed eyes. "You get to go in and have baby time, but we are getting sent home?"
"I thought you were expecting that?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Shut up."
"Relax Pete," Danny smiled, clapping him on the shoulder. "We did expect it."
"Matt can be salty even on the best days." Luke smirked.
"I'm gonna get my hands on that pup soon." Jessica nodded, face determined.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Where are you going?" Bruce asked, watching as buildings went by.
"I have no idea." Sam sighed. "I was just driving."
"How long should we stay away you think?"
"Well, considering the state of the lab, Tony's got no choice but to actually sleep tonight, so probably not much longer."
Bruce's head fell back against the headrest as Sam turned down a road and started making the return trip towards the tower. As frustrating as have to avoid Tony as Steve was, Bruce wouldn't deny he was happy to have gotten to talk to Peter. There was so much he wanted to ask, but he didn't know what to say and not say. There were a few times he had caught Peter looking at him as though he weren't really seeing him.
"Thinking hard doc?" Sam grinned.
"What happened to me in Peter's world?"
Silence filled the car as Bruce waited.
"Why do you ask?"
"Just the way Peter acted sometimes when I talked."
Sam sighed and rubbed his chin.
"Peter...he uh....he has an extremely soft spot for you...maybe even more than the copies of me and Bucky, and they were his best friends!"
"Why?"
"He felt sorry for you."
Bruce blinked in surprise as Sam gripped the steering wheel.
"What made him feel sorry for the me of his world?"
"He said.....he said you weren't really with the Avengers. He said they kept you prisoner, only letting you out when they needed Hulk. He respected your research and hated what they did to you."
Bruce was quiet as he turned to watch the city pass. The Bruce of Peter's world had had to live his ultimate fear. Being locked up and having Hulk be let loose like a monster had always been something in the back of his mind, but never something he would have thought the Avengers would do.
"Look, Bruce," Sam started. "I want you to know, that's never gonna hap-"
"I know." Bruce smiled tightly. "I do know, but I can't help thinking about how that Bruce must have felt."
"Yeah. The more I learn, the more I'm glad Peter did what he did. Having gotten to talk to him, I do hate the idea of him having not survived, but those copies couldn't continue on like that."
"I'm wondering what happened to send Peter here though." Bruce frowned. "A bomb shouldn't have tossed him into another universe."
"Bruce, with all that we've seen, I'm not above believing anything."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Natasha raised as eyebrow as she stepped into the kitchen the next morning. Tony was slumped over the bar countertop while Steve rummaged around, slowly gathering supplies for breakfast.
"Rough night?"
"Sam wouldn't let me talk to Bruce! They were gone all night. They even left the tower again when they saw me and Cap waiting on them in the parking garage."
"I'd avoid you to if you set my research back by four years." Natasha snorted. "Maybe Bruce just didn't want to hear your apology so Sam didn't give you the chance."
"Since when does Brucie Bear go out?" Tony huffed.
"Hmm, a friend helping out a friend....you're right, it's suspicious as hell." Natasha deadpanned.
"I wonder where Sam took him." Steve said, cracking eggs into a pan. "If Bruce enjoyed it, maybe we should all go."
"Go where?" Bucky asked, voice deep and raspy from sleep.
"Where ever Sam took Bruce last night after Tony blew the lab." Natasha smirked.
"Yes. It was a mighty explosion." Thor nodded, following Bucky into the kitchen.
"I get it. I messed up. For the record though, I was working on a gift for Peter." Tony scowled. "I don't see any of you doing anything to impress our headstrong omega."
No one replied.
"So......did uh....did you lose your work?" Steve asked with false casualty.
Tony looked at the super soldier flatly.
"Yes, Steve. Yes I did."
"It is clear that it was for the best then." Thor smiled, patting Tony on the back as he sat down next to him. "We can't have you blowing up our perfect little mate, now can we?"
Tony growled as Thor continued to smile, oblivious to the man's ire.
Natasha and Bucky tried to hide their smirks as they moved around the kitchen.
"Well then Goldilocks, what are your plans to help us woo our spider?" Tony ground out.
"Easy!" Thor smiled. "I shall take a more direct approach."
"We were specifically told not to do that, Thor." Steve frowned, looking up from where he was making eggs.
"Yes, but I do not plan to do more than make my intentions towards him known. You see, I simply wish to let him know of my respect and desire to earn his trust and affection. As a royal of Asgard, it is important to learn how to speak to people diplomatically. "
"Oh, I see that going over splendidly." Tony rolled his eyes before freezing. "You know what, let me know when you decide to do this. I'd just love to be there."
"Very well friend! I shall let you know once I have spoken to Ka-"
"Good luck with that." Sam chuckled, walking in and going to the refrigerator. "Karen had baby Murdock last night. You guys won't be getting anywhere near her any time soon."
"How do you know that?" Natasha asked, studying Sam closely.
Sam, despite his efforts to remain passive, flinched at her tone.
"You know. Word gets around the hero community."
"Did you hear this from wherever you took Bruce last night?" Bucky asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing him arms.
"Look," Sam huffed. "I took Bruce out last night to get him away from Fire Marshall Bill over there. We went to a small bar and ran into Jessica Jones and she got the call while talking to us. That's how I know."
"Well, we should at least send over a gift." Steve said, turning from the stove and scooping out eggs and bacon onto plates.
"You're like the mother of this team Rogers." Tony said blandly. "Are you sure you're an alpha?"
"You've never complained before." Steve challenged.
"Nope. No way. Not happening in front of the food." Sam glared, grabbing two plates and stomping out of the alpha filled kitchen.
"FRIDAY, take me to Bruce."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sam tried to hold back his laugh as a disgruntled Bruce Banner stood in the doorway of his room. The man's sleep clothes were rumpled and crooked. His hard stuck up in various directions and there were bags under his eyes.
"Shut-up."
Sam's laugh burst out as Bruce snatched the plate of food out his hand and moved into his room.
"Hey, be grateful you didn't have to go down there and get that."
"Why?"
"They were all in the kitchen, well, minus Clint."
Bruce frowned, looking over at the clock.
"It's time for breakfast. He doesn't miss breakfast."
"No I don't, so share."
Sam and Bruce jumped as the archer tumbled out the vent to Bruce's floor.
"The hell man?" Sam shouted.
"I was hoping to hear where you two went last night!" Clint defended.
"I just took Bruce out to get him away from Tony!"
"You could have invited me! Maybe I wanted to get away from Tony too."
"Why would you want to get away from Tony?" Bruce asked blankly.
"........"
"So....no reason."
"Come on! We're all betas here! We should stick together! I can't handle the Mopey Alpha Force."
Sam and Bruce sighed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter stretched, back cracking from where he had spent the last few hours bent over his desk. Various disassembled electronics littered his room.
"Alright, let's see if I got it."
Slipping his mask on, he waited.
A few seconds later, his lenses filled with light as the screens in the lenses began to provide digital readouts of various things he looked at.
"So far so good." Peter mumbled before taking a deep breath.
"GWEN?"
"Hello, Peter. It is nice to finally get to talk with you."
Peter's face broke out into a wide grins as a soothing voice filled his ears.
It had worked.
His own AI.
"How do you feel?"
"That's a rather silly question, Peter. I can't feel anything. You should know this."
Peter's jaw dropped.
"Did I really program you with that much sass?"
"It appears that way....possibly. I have also been learning during the course of my construction. You surround yourself with a rather sarcastic crowd, Peter. Personally, I think I'm going to fit in just fine."
"Oh come on GWEN, you're supposed to be my support! You're supposed to be nice to me!" Peter pouted.
"If it makes you feel better, I love you, Peter."
It was odd that he could practically hear the smile in her voice.
"Thanks GWEN. I love you too." he chuckled.
"Are you planning to go out tonight? If you are, you should get some sleep. You've been working since you got back from the hospital."
"Yeah, I was pumped after meeting Jack plus, I'm anxious for our first date night." Peter grinned. " I'm gonna download some maps into your system so you can help me around the city. In the meantime, I'm gonna go shower then crash. No work today."
GWEN was silent as he removed his mask and shook out his hair. Placing it on his desk, he picked up his phone.
"GWEN?"
"Fully connected here as well Peter. Transfer between suit and phone was flawless. I'm rather proud."
Peter laughed, setting his phone back down the desk and plugging it into his computer.
"Alright GWEN, access the map files and download them. I'll be back."
GWEN didn't respond as Peter gathered his clothes and made his way toward the bathroom. He hadn't told anyone he had been working on an AI. He wasn't sure he was even going to be able to do it, so he didn't want to open himself up for interrogations for no reason.
Now though, now it was different.
GWEN was fully operational.
Prior to her completion, her infant programming had been hiding in his phone, learning as he went to the best of her constantly developing coding. This was her first verbal interaction and everything seemed to be running smoothly. Maybe he could integrate her into more things.
As loath as he was to admit it, he couldn't deny Tony Stark had made amazing use of his own AI. His short time at the tower proved the AI controlled a lot of things there. Bruce had been able to let him out with a simple verbal command. Maybe he could find a way to put GWEN into his own apartment. Having an all seeing AI guarding him wouldn't be such as bad idea. It didn't much matter that he was more than capable of taking care of himself, being an unmated omega all alone only seemed to invite trouble.
Even more loathsome, was the annoying and tiny voice in the back of his head wishing to be able to go to Avengers' Tower and actually pick Tony Stark's about AIs.
Peter scoffed as the warm water washed over him and he smothered out the voice. This world, while it had so many things he was happy with, there were many things he wasn't.
Being an omega came with so many limitations. Despite his capabilities, his strength and intelligence, neither of which he could or was allowed to display, the mere label of 'omega' meant more than anything.
Sure, omegas were able to hold down jobs, the best paying being OBGYN's since that was the only medical position society deemed appropriate for omegas, and oddly enough, omega's alone. Still, those omegas that took on the job, weren't well favored as they were also viewed as "unfit" companions.
Honestly, being an omega in the work industry was just weird as hell. You can work, but your options are limited. You can work, but certain jobs cause you problems. You can work, just take whatever job is the most favorable for flying under the radar.
Thanks to the omegas at Xavier's for their generous donations of the most powerful blockers to exist. Still, working for Luke and Jessica were the only real places that he felt comfortable. He was able to hide his second gender and they sure as shit didn't care. They paid, and they paid under the table to avoid any official paperwork trail. An omega working in a bar or doing detective work was unheard of!
Sighing, he got to the shower and toweled off, slipping into some sweatpants and a t-shirt before heading to the small kitchen. His apartment was far from extravagant. It was a small, one bedroom flat. Danny had helped him get it, paying the deposit and first three months rent while Luke and Jessica got him settled into his new positions. He had tried to deny Danny's help, but the man had been firm and unrelenting, causing Peter to swear to pay him back, something Danny had thought hysterical.
Making quick work of a ham and cheese sandwich, Peter walked back to his room, face planting onto the bed.
"Map files are uploaded, Peter. Get some rest."
Peter smiled before sleep took him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karen looked up from where she was feeding Jack and smirked.
"You're fidgeting dear."
Matt huffed before standing and moving to her side.
"I don't 'fidget'."
"You fidget almost as much a Peter."
"No one could fidget anywhere near as much as Peter."
Karen chuckled, before looking out the window.
"I think I'm going to apologize to him."
Matt paused, just letting her think.
"I've been to pushy. I know his history with his Avengers, and I still pushed him to meet the ones here. I just worry about him. He's an unmated omega out in a world where being that very thing can be such a hassle. He's so independent that he'd have so many problems should those super blockers ever fail. Not to mention he's not even on suppressants because we don't know why he's not showing signs of typical omega cycles of heats. He's been here long enough to have had at least one."
Matt sighed, pulling up a chair to sit next to the bed.
"Your concern is valid, Peter just doesn't want it. Still, he needs a little push to get to know them. Whether he wants to acknowledge them as his alphas or not, he needs to, at least, be able to fight along side them without the distraction of constantly fearing them turning on us. We fight together often enough for that to be something he should work on."
"He wouldn't like hearing that any more than hearing me talk about his omega needs." Karen chuckled.
"I don't care." Matt replied. "His attention is split during fights. It makes him dangerous to himself and us."
Karen was silent as she continued to feed their pup.
"Well, what do you propose?"
"Right now, nothing. Approaching Peter out of the blue about it is only asking for trouble. It's something that needs to be lead up to."
"Just be careful. I'm on shaking ground with him. He's been caring towards me because of my pregnancy, but I know there's an annoyance there. Still, I think it's an easy to repair relationship once I tell him I'm sorry."
"Yeah," Matt chuckled. "He's to good hearted not to accept a sincere apology."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thor took a breath. Being the God of Thunder, he rarely ever had any reason to feel nervous. Still, standing outside Jessica Jones' detective agency, he felt his nerves tingle.
Maybe he should have went to Danny or Luke. In hindsight, Jessica was most definitely the wrong choice. However, he was already here and it was important he be able to request a meeting with his omega, even if he had a chaperone during it.
Lifting his hand hesitantly, he went to knock on her door when a familiar thwip reached his ears.
Looking up, Thor watched as a very welcoming sight of blue and red swung overhead. He felt his face heat as he watched Peter somersault through the air with a loud 'whoop'. His omega's obvious happiness was a wonderful sound to his ears.
He watched until Peter swung out of sight and ran his hand down his face. To chase after him would only result in anger and aggression from the hero, but to not approach him at all only lengthened the lack of interaction and possible relationship building he and the other alphas wanted to do.
Why did the Avengers of Peter's world have to be such dishonorable and repulsive people?
"Can I help you, Captain Thunderpants?"
Thor startled as he turned to see a smirking Jessica Jones leaning against her open door frame.
"Oh, yes." Thor said, straightening himself. "I wish to speak with you."
"This wouldn't be about my favorite arachnid, would it? Don't tell him I called him that though, or I'll kill you."
"As a matter of fact, it would."
Jessica grinned mischievously as she motioned for him to come in.
"Better make it quick big guy. No guarantee Spider-Baby won't drop in, and I can't imagine he'd be overly excited to see you here."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter felt the adrenaline pumping through him. So far, GWEN had been operating perfectly. Her downloaded mapping system was working excellently, making quick work of getting to any crimes he picked up through the hacked police feed.
"You're a work of art GWEN."
"Are you seriously praising yourself, Peter?"
"Only marginally." Peter laughed. "I programed you to be self learning. I'm only hold so much responsibility for your amazingness."
"I'm not fully convinced this isn't you just bragging to yourself."
Peter just continued to laugh as he dove off the roof of the building he was on.
"No, patting myself on the back is what I'm really about to do. I wanna show you off. We gotta go visit someone."
"Ms. Jones is the closest of your approved contacts."
"I'll only feel a bit bad that Matt isn't who you'll meet first."
"I don't think meeting me is something he would be overly interested in right now."
"Yeah, you're probably right." Peter chuckled. "Alright GWEN, let's go pay my 'cousin' a visit."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I have to say, choosing to wear your blockers is a very good start, High Voltage." Jessica said, throwing herself into a chair and snatching a bottle off the end table.
"I want to assure him I mean no harm."
"You do realize that'll take more than a few blockers, right?"
Thor frowned and sighed, settling into another chair.
"I am aware. Our dishonorable counterparts have done us a great disservice."
"Well, not entirely." Jessica shrugged. "I mean, they are the reason he's here so....."
"We're grateful he's here, we just don't like the circumstances of it."
"Understandable. Look, I'm the last person you should have come to for this. I'm not an omega, so I can't help you there. I also enjoy drama, so I'm salivating at all your struggles." Jessica threw him a wicked grin.
"That is both unsettling and disheartening." Thor grimaced.
Jessica chuckled, taking a swig from her bottle.
"Look, I get it, Karen is currently off limits. I also get that considering she's with Matt, there's no telling just how long she'll be unavailable, but I seriously can't help you."
Thor sighed again, throwing his head back and looking at the ceiling.
"We worry about his health."
"So does Karen, but he seems to be doing fine. If you didn't know him, you wouldn't even be able to tell he was an omega. Those super strength blockers he got from the wonder bunch and Xavier's are amazing."
Thor didn't reply. While they had all caught on to the fact that Peter's scent seemed nonexistent, that had had no idea why. It had begun to scare them. It was a relief to find out his scent was just completely muffled.
"Tell you what Thunder God, I'll offer you a question. Have any of you tried just making yourself available?"
Thor raised an eyebrow in response.
"Like, going out at night and just sitting on random rooftops? Not pursuing him, just out and stationary."
"I hardly think that would matter. He never makes any attempt to approach us when there is a crowd, why would he do it alone?"
"Peter's a strange guy like that. Alone, he may have the security of being able to take you down, because, ya know, he can."
"Stark seeks to try to gain his attention through a gift."
"......a gift? Look, I know that a typical omega trait is to enjoy their alphas spoiling them, but Pete's not like that. Unless.....unless Stark's making some kind of fancy tech for him." Jessica said, rolling her eyes. "Pete's a real technology whore."
"Do not speak of my omega that way!" Thor roared, jumping up from his chair to tower over Jessica.
Jessica raised an eyebrow and went to open her mouth in challenge when the door to her office flew off the hinges and Thor slammed into the wall. Groaning, the god struggled to his feet, rubbing the back of his head. Before he could orient himself, a fist slammed into his face.
"You should have stayed down!"
"Peter!" Jessica shouted, jumping up.
"I told you! I told you! They were just waiting!" Peter growled, throwing another punch.
"Peter! Stop! It's not what you think! He wasn't gonna hurt me!"
"Stop lying! It's only one of them! We can take him!"
"Peter!"
Peter gasped as Jessica's fist slammed into his cheek, knocking him back. Moving in front of the rising Thor, she turned to face that stunned vigilante.
"And I told you, it wasn't what you thought. He got mad because he thought I insulted you."
"So? That doesn't give him any right to be threatening towards you!'
"It's fine!"
Thor wisely watched in silence as the two friends faced off. He hadn't actually meant any harm to Jessica, but he knew Peter was protective of all his friends. If he had known there was a chance Peter would show up here, he would definitely have made sure not to overreact to Jessica's, he can admit, harmless joke. It was just so hard to hear anyone speak of Peter with such a casual air when they were so far from being able to.
He took in a breath when Peter ripped off his mask. His mask mused hair stood up at odd angles, and his face was flush with emotions. The pretty honey brown eyes were dark with betrayal and anger.
"Move, Jess. I'm gonna deal with this asshole once and for all!"
"Sorry, Pete, but you'll have to go through me to do it."
Peter froze, the color draining from his face. He knew from her posture, Jessica wasn't joking. She was actually willing to fight him to keep him from going after the Avenger.
"Jess......"
"You have to understand, Peter. This isn't your world and he's not your enemy. He's an ally."
Peter's eyes darted between Jessica and Thor before sadness replaced everything. Shoulders slumping, Peter pulled his mask back on, and left.
Once he was gone, Thor guiltily looked at Jessica's gloomy face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you such stress."
"It's ok." Jessica sighed, closing her eyes and running her hand down her face. "Pete's got a lot he needs to work on. I don't agree with Karen's methods, but she's honestly been trying more than the rest of us to get through to Peter. We've all taken the approach of just letting Peter see us interacting with you guys and hoping that seeing how comfortable everyone is, that that would eventually be enough."
"Perhaps I should have let him fight me."
"Are you serious?" Jessica shouted, turning on him. "None of you have seen how strong he really is!"
"But if I had let him fight me, I could have shown him how I don't mean any harm."
"You mean, let him beat the crap out of you?" Jessica scoffed.
"Yes. If I truly meant him harm, I would never just allow him to do that."
Jessica let out a breath as she studied Thor's face.
"There's no guarantee that would work. Peter could just kill you instead of taking your unwillingness to hurt him into consideration."
The two were silent for a while, both thinking over what had happened.
"I think I may have made things worse for the rest of us." Thor frowned, lowering his head.
"Maybe. Maybe not." Jessica shrugged. "He may be speaking to me for a little while though."
"I'm sorry."
"Eh. It's fine. I've been through worse than this. I hate it, sure, but I'm not going to dwell on it. That's Karen's department, and by extension, Matt's. Matt's kind of Peter's caretaker anyway since he's who he went to first."
"I should head home." Thor said, heading to the door.
"Why not do what I told you and hang out on a rooftop somewhere? Who knows, maybe he'll show up for that fight."
He nodded before leaving.
Jessica watched before her anger suddenly flared. Running out the door, she screamed up at the sky, knowing there was a good chance her target would hear.
"Hey! You're gonna pay to have my door fixed, cousin! You asshole!"