Far From Home
"Europe? You want to go to Europe?" Tony repeats, looking over at Natasha quickly before facing Peter again. Natasha was holding a squirming Maria, who was barely eight months old. Peter shrugged sheepishly.
"It's the senior trip. Ned and MJ are going and I don't know...it sounds like fun?" Peter said, hesitant. Tony swallowed down the panic at the thought of his son being so far away so soon. It had been almost a year, but both Peter and Tony still had nightmares about what happened. And even Natasha had a couple of flashbacks still, forgetting Peter was back and going almost catatonic when she saw that he was actually back. They were still dealing with things, and the thought of Peter going so far away made Tony want to lock him in a closet and keep him close for the rest of his life.
Tony looked over at Natasha for help and saw her brows furrowed in thought as she absentmindedly cleaned some spit from Maria's chin. Tony wanted to smile at the domestic scene, but the elephant in the room kept him from doing so. Natasha must have sensed they were both looking at her because she finally looked between them.
"It does sound like fun, bug. Do you think you're ready to be so far from home?" Natasha asked softly. Peter looked down to his hands at the question, looking sheepish. He didn't say anything for a moment so Tony spoke up.
"Bug?" he prodded and Peter looked up with a sad smile before he shrugged.
"I don't think I'll ever be ready to be so far away. But I have to get used to it eventually right? With college coming soon?" Peter spoke softly, looking frantically between them. Tony moved closer and brushed some of his bangs from his forehead gently, smiling when Peter leaned into his touch.
"I agree, one day we will all have to get used to it. But if you're not ready, then you can take as much time as you need. You don't need to rush into things because you feel like you should." Tony said softly, and Peter closed his eyes and leaned his head into the hand Tony had cupped on his cheek. They stood like that in silence for a moment before Peter opened his eyes with a determined look.
"I know I don't need to rush Dad. But I think it will be good for me. For all of us. And I'll be with Ned and MJ, and I'll call everyday. And if while I'm there I feel like I can't do it anymore, I'll call you." Tony felt panic grip his chest at the words, but he forced them down with a nod and a strained smile.
"Of course, bug. You call me anytime and I will come get you immediately, we can steal Cap's quinjet." Tony said instead of addressing his own fears. Peter looked at him with wide eyes before looking at Natasha as well.
"So I can go?" he asked, looking between them. Tony looked over at Natasha who was sending him a questioning look. She studied his face for a moment before nodding and looking at Peter with a sweet smile.
"Of course, bug." she answered, and Tony nodded in agreement. Peter beamed before bouncing on his feet in excitement. Tony felt a smile cross his face at the sight.
"I gotta go call Ned!" he screeched, rushing up the stairs quickly before he disappeared in his room with a excited slam of the door. Maria giggled at the sudden noise, and Natasha walked over and set her down on her blanket near her toys. She watched Maria settle for a minute, making sure she was content before she motioned for Tony to come sit next to her on the couch. Tony let out a shaky sigh before walking over.
"You had every right to tell him not to go." she said quietly, purposefully keeping her gaze on their daughter. Tony felt his right hand automatically clutch at his left wrist, brushing over the scars that still remained from the gauntlet. He stared unseeingly at the stuffed bunny sitting next to Maria, mind flashing through memories he wished he could forget, when he felt a hand touch his face, yanking him back into the present.
He looked over to Natasha wildly as she shushed him gently, moving to grasp his hand and squeezing. He focused on the feeling of her hands on his and took a few deep breaths.
"It's not his fault I'm messed up." Tony finally found the voice to whisper. Natasha hummed curiously, letting him fill the silence with his thoughts.
"It's not his fault I can't let go of the past. He's here, so why can't I stop dreaming about it? I can't stop him from living because I can't move past something that shouldn't still affect me." Tony rambled, guilt pooling in his stomach as he fought against the memories threatening to swallow him whole. Natasha let out a sigh before forcing him to look at her.
"Tony. Our kid died. He was dead for a year. Yeah we got him back, we're lucky. But you don't just move past that unscathed. I still struggle with it too. I am so grateful that he's here and alive, but he was still gone and that wound will probably never heal." her voice rough with emotion. Tony just nodded, the lump in his throat too big for him to talk through. Natasha pressed a kiss to his temple.
"But you're right. We can't stop him from going. We all need help moving past it, and maybe this will help." she finished. Tony took a deep breath and nodded.
"Yeah. I'm sure everything will be fine." Tony said, feeling a bit calmer than before. Natasha brushed another kiss to his forehead, standing up.
"Let's go help Peter sort through his clothes. He might need some new ones before he leaves." she said, offering him a hand to help him up.
"Da Da!" a small voice piped up, causing them to both laugh. Tony bent down and scooped Maria up, causing a burst of giggles to stream out of her mouth. He pressed a kiss to her cheek with a smile.
"Well Little Miss, it looks like you're helping." he said, balancing her on his hip as he followed Natasha up the stairs.
---
"I have a plan. Okay, first, I sit next to MJ on the flight." Peter said, sitting down next to Ned without a greeting. Ned turned to him surprised, but nodded in agreement.
"Mhm." his best friend hummed in agreement. Peter continued.
"Second, I’m gonna buy a dual headphone adapter and watch movies with her the whole time." he said, watching Ned's face closely for a reaction.
"Okay."
"Three, when we go to Venice, Venice is super famous for making stuff out of glass, right?" Peter asked, and Ned looked confused for a moment before nodding.
"True."
"So, I’m gonna buy her a Black Dahlia necklace, because her favorite flower is the Black Dahlia, because of, well..." he trailed off but Ned nodded knowingly.
"The murder." Ned finished with a nod.
"The murder. Four, when we go to Paris, I’m gonna take her to the top of the Eiffel Tower, give her the necklace..." Peter continued, feeling a bit self conscious at this point.
"Oh!" Ned squeaked, looking a bit surprised. Peter ignored him for a moment.
"And then five, I’m gonna tell her how I feel...And then six, hopefully she tells me she feels the same way." Peter finished, looking at Ned, hoping his plan was a good idea. Ned didn't give much away in his face but he nodded.
"Oh! Don’t forget step seven." Ned said pointing his finger in the air. Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He didn't remember a step seven.
"Step seven..." he asked, slightly panicked.
"Don’t do any of that." Ned said, and Peter stopped short.
"Why?" he asked, confused. Ned just looked at him in exasperation.
"Because we’re gonna be bachelors in Europe, Peter!" Ned exclaimed. Peter felt his shoulders slump.
"Ned..." Peter whined, wishing his friend would just be supportive.
"Look, I may not know much, but I do know this: Europeans love Americans." Ned said, excited.
"...Really?" Peter asked, doubtful that that was true. His father had told him stories of his business trips to Europe, and he made it sound like Europeans hated everything about Americans.
"And more than half of them are women!" Ned continued as if he hadn't heard Peter.
"Okay, sure, but...I really like MJ, man. Okay? She’s awesome, she’s funny in a sort of dark way, and sometimes I catch her looking at me, and I like I’ve feel stood up way too...Wait. Dude, she’s coming now. Just don’t say anything." Peter rambled, until he caught sight of MJ walking towards them a bored look on her face like always.
"What up, dorks? Excited about the trip?" MJ asked as she came to a stop in front of their table. Peter nodded nervously.
"Hey, uh, yeah. We’re just talking about the trip." Peter said, cursing himself for being so awkward.
"Yeah, and Peter’s plan." Ned said then, causing Peter to want to bury himself six feet underground. He felt MJ's attention turn to him.
"You have a plan?" she asked a slightly curious tone in her voice. Peter shook his head quickly.
"I don’t-I don't have a plan." he blurted out. And Ned looked between them with wide eyes.
"No, he’s just going to collect tiny spoons while we’re traveling to other countries." Ned fills in, sending Peter a wink. Peter just sighs internally at his friend.
"Like a grandmother?" MJ asked, confused. Peter rolled his eyes.
"I’m not collecting tiny spoons. He’s collecting tiny spoons." Peter said, glaring at Ned, before turning back to MJ who was looking between them curiously.
"Oh. Okay, well...that was a real roller coaster." she said.
"Mhm..." Peter hummed awkwardly, wishing more than anything for this moment to be over.
"By the way, travel tip: You should probably download a VPN on your phone, just so that the government can’t track you while we’re abroad." MJ took pity on him and changed the subject. Peter nodded with a sigh of relief.
"Smart. Will do." he said, before MJ nodded and walked off. He let out a groan once she was far enough away.
"Dude, I think that went really great!" Ned said, elbowing him. Peter just glared at him before getting up and walking away himself.
---
"Okay." she hears Peter mumble to himself as he walked around his room, packing. She watches silently as he looks at his suit hanging in the closet. He stares at it for a moment before shaking his head and shutting the closet door, to her surprise. She decides to take that moment to walk in.
"Hungry?" she asks, throwing the banana she had brought towards him, knowing his reflexes would allow him to catch it. Until they didn't and the banana hit him square in the shoulder. She furrowed her eyebrows in worry as he stared at her with a hint of betrayal in his eyes.
"Oh... So sorry. I thought you could sense that with your Peter-tingle." Natasha says, joking around as she walks further into his room. Peter just rolls his eyes at her joke.
"Please do not start calling it Peter-tingle. Dad is bad enough." Peter complains, looking around his room for something.
"So what's up? You can dodge bullets but not bananas?" she asks curiously, sitting on the edge of his bed. Peter just sighs tiredly before coming to sit next to her.
"No, I just really need this vacation. I need a break. But I'm also really nervous to be going so far away." Peter mumbles, stress evident in his voice. She leans over and pulls him into a side hug, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.
"You deserve the break. And it's going to be fun, and everything will be okay." she comfort, rubbing his shoulder. He nods from where his face is tucked under her chin. They sit like this for a moment before he pulls away.
"You're right. It'll be fun." he says, standing up to continue packing, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself of the words than her. She stands up, walking over to the door to leave before she stops and turns around.
"Yeah. You know what? You should pack your suit, just in case. I have a tingle about it." Natasha says lightly as to not stress him out. She sends him a smirk at the joke when he groans.
"Please stop saying 'tingle', Mama." he whines. Natasha just laughs and walks out, coming to a stop where Peter can't see her to see if he was going to listen and put the suit in his bag. She watches as he looks at it again, opening the closet door to stare at it. Instead he just shakes his head.
"No." he whispers out loud, closing the door again before coming to a stop when he spots his Iron-Spider suit in it's case by the door. He looks at it, deep in thought, before shaking his head again.
"No. No, I'm not." he says, walking over to his bed and shutting his suitcase pointedly. Natasha just shakes her head silently, before slipping out of the hallway quietly. She walks down to Maria's room, already forming a plan to slip his suit in his bag when he's not paying attention. She knows it will help both her and Tony sleep at night to know he had it with him.
---
"No, no, no, no. We wanna stay. We wanna stay." Peter pleads into the phone. He hears his dad let out a sigh on the other end.
"It’s a good thing I packed your suit, huh. I can’t believe you forgot it." his mom's voice piped up through the speaker, she sounded far away but Peter could tell from her tone that she knew he didn't "forget" it.
"Yeah." Peter said, trying not to sound guilty, but judging by the tinny laugh his mom let out, it hadn't worked. His dad cleared his throat.
"So, who was that guy you were with? Was that Dr. Wizard?" his dad asked, his voice had lost the panicked quality to it and now he just sounded curious.
"You know he hates when you call him that. And, ummm... No. I don’t know who that was. He was a new guy. I was trying to help him." Peter answered, earning a scoff from his dad.
"He doesn't get a say in what I call him. A new guy huh? I haven't noticed any new heroes pop up. Has Agent said anything to you Tash?" his dad's voice coming in quieter at the end as he directed his words to his mom. He could barely pick up her reply on the other end.
"Phil has other things to worry about, so no. I can ask around?" his mom answered so he quickly stepped in.
"No. No. Don't do that. You guys are retired. Let someone else worry about it. I'll let you know if anything else comes up, but just stay out of it please? I want you guys to relax and enjoy retirement, not go jumping back in at the first sign of trouble." Peter begged. He waited patiently for a response, knowing that his parents were having one of their conversations without saying anything that always creeped him out.
"Okay, bug. We'll stay out of it. So, uhh, how’s the plan going?" his dad asked, changing the subject, his voice teasing. Peter rolled his eyes.
"There’s... some setbacks, for sure." Peter said, ignoring the teasing chuckle his dad let out at the answer. He heard some shuffling before his mom's voice came on, clearer this time.
"Ignore your dad, he's a loser when it comes to romance. Trust me. Don’t overthink it, just trust your instincts and you’ll be fine." his mom assured him, talking over his dad's loud protests in the background. Peter let out a laugh at their antics, enjoying how normal this conversation felt after everything they had been through. It was nice having them retired.
"I know. Love you guys." he said with a laugh. His dad finally stopped complaining when he said that.
"Love you too Pete! Bye!" his dad shouted in order to be heard, but as soon as he finished there was a screech that sounded like Maria. He heard his mom sigh.
"That was your fault. Go take care of it." she reprimanded his dad, "Love you, bug. Have fun." she finished, hanging up. Peter smiled slightly before turning his attention back to his group as they all gathered around the television.
---
"What are you gonna do about the water monster?" Ned asks later that night as they are getting ready for bed. Peter lets out a sigh, picking up his toothbrush with a shrug.
"Nothing. it’s dead. And besides, that Mysterio guy’s all over it. Look... I just wanna spend some time with MJ. We were talking about Paris and... I think she really likes me." Peter said, hoping to change the subject from the monster. Ned took the bait luckily and smiled.
"That’s nice. Reminds me of when Betty and I first fell in love. I had just finished my first fruit cobbler, right-?" his best friend rambled when suddenly he stopped talking and Peter heard a thump. He whirled around to see Ned unconscious on the bed and Nick Fury sitting in their chair with a gun. Peter gaped for a minute, looking back and forth between Ned and Fury.
"You’re a very difficult person to contact, Spider-Man." Fury finally said, breaking the silence. Peter let out an affronted noise.
"Uncle Nick? You just shot Ned." he said dumbly, eyeing his uncle curiously before turning his gaze worriedly to Ned. His uncle just let out a chuckle.
"It’s just a mild tranquilizer. He’ll be alright." he assured. Peter just nodded cautiously.
"If you say so. It would be really awkward to explain to my parents if he didn't wake up." Peter said, finally putting down his toothbrush and looking at his uncle, who had a guilty look on his face. Peter furrowed his eyebrows.
"My parents don't know you're here do they?" he asked suspiciously, and the look on his uncle's face confirmed his theory.
"The important thing is, you’re here." Fury avoided the question. Peter let out a sigh.
"Do I want to know why you are approaching me on a school field trip, without my parents knowing you're here?" Peter asked, feeling a bit annoyed at this point. Fury waved him off before continuing.
"Here’s what I do know... a week ago, a village in Mexico was wiped out by a cyclone. Witnesses say that cyclone had a face. Three days later, a similar event in Morocco. A village was-" Fury got cut off by a knock at the door. Peter watched in alarm as Fury pointed his tranquilizer gun at the door. Peter held his hand out to stop him as Mr. Harrington's voice filtered through the door.
"Just making the rounds. See if anyone needs any emotional counseling after today’s traumatic event." his teacher said, and Peter motioned for Fury to stay quiet as Mr. Harrington pushes open the door.
"No. we‘re... we’re okay. We’re fine, thank you." he says, stepping forward to make sure Fury wasn't seen.
"Great. Cause I’m not qualified to actually..." his teacher gets cut off by a snore from Ned. Mr. Harrington stops short and starts to back out of the room.
"Oh, he’s passed out. I’m not really qualified to do it anyway, so... good night." Mr. Harrington continues, before leaving and closing the door behind him.
"That was my teacher, sorry about that. You were saying?" Peter says quietly, turning back to Fury.
"A village was destroyed by what may well be another world-threatening..." Peter has to hold back a snort at the look on his uncle's face when another knock interrupts him.
"Babe? You still awake? You’re not answering any of my texts." Betty's voice comes in muffled through the door. Peter rolls his eyes at his uncle's angry look.
"Um... he’s asleep, Betty." he calls so she can hear him from the other side of the door.
"Oh, already?"
"Mh-hmm. Yeah."
"Okay." she says, finally walking away. He turns back to his uncle, who looks annoyed.
"Okay, we're taking this somewhere else. Suit up." he says, before standing up and slipping out of the door. Peter lets out a tired sigh before deciding to listen and grabbing his suit.
---
"You're dad wanted me to give these to you once he...retired." Fury said hesitantly, handing Peter a small case. He grabbed it and eyed it curiously.
"And he didn't want to give it to me himself because?" Peter asked, suspiciously. Fury just shrugged.
"I don't know kid, that man has never made sense to me. Just take the damn thing." Fury spit out, annoyed. Peter just gave him a look, but decided not to say anything as they arrived. Fury lead him through a couple of streets before they disappeared down some stairs into an underground base.
"You can lose the mask. Everyone here's seen you without it. You'd only be feigning anonymity and breathing through spandex for no good reason." his uncle said, and Peter glanced around hesitantly before nodding and taking off his mask, still trying to keep up.
"Over there we have Maria Hill, you remember her right?. That is Dimitri." Fury says pointing out Maria and a scary looking man who was cleaning a gun. He waved at Maria, who gave him a soft smile in return. He didn't know her that well, but he knew she helped watch him when he visited Fury when he was younger.
"And this is Mr. Beck." Fury finishes, pointing at the man who had helped with the water monster, who was standing there still in his suit and cape.
"Mysterio?" Peter blurts, and the man just raises an eyebrow curiously.
"What?" he asks, and Peter just shakes his head.
"Doesn't matter. It's just what my friends have been calling you." he says dismissively, moving forward to shake the man's hand.
"Well, you can call me Quentin." the man replies with a smile, and Peter just nods. He was still confused on why his uncle had him remove his mask, when he knew he'd never met this man before. But he knew his parents trusted Fury, and that was enough for him for now.
"You handled yourself well out there today. I saw what you did with the tower. We could use someone like you on my world." Quentin speaks up pulling him out of his thoughts. Peter ducks his head bashfully, before the words finally process.
"Thanks. I'm sorry. Your world?" he asks, looking over at his uncle in surprise.
"Mr. Beck is from Earth. Just not yours." his uncle answers, and Peter just widens his eyes in shock.
"There are multiple realities, Peter. This is Earth, Dimension 616. I'm from Earth 833." Quentin says, taking Peter's look as confusion. Peter nods excitedly.
"I'm sorry, you're saying there's a multiverse? 'Cause I thought that was just theoretical. That completely changes how we understand the initial singularity. We're talking about an internal inflation system and how does that even work with all the quantum--? It's insane--" he rambles, before he realizes everyone was looking at him. Maria seemed amused, but he still stopped talking quickly.
"S-sorry. It's really cool." he apologizes, remembering not everyone found science as interesting as he did. If his dad was here, he was sure he would be freaking out right alongside Peter.
"Don't ever apologize for being the smartest one in the room." Quentin reassures him, and Peter sends him a smile in thanks.
"Anyway..." Maria says, pulling up a hologram on the table in front of them, pulling them back on track.
"They were born in stable orbits within black holes. Creatures formed from the primary elements: Air, water, fire, earth. The Science Division had a technical name. We just called them Elementals." Quentin starts to explain, and Peter stays quiet taking in all the information in front of him.
"Versions of them exist across our mythologies." Maria cuts in.
"Turns out, the myths are real." Quentin finishes. Peter looks up at them.
"Like Thor. Thor was a myth and now I study him in my physics class." he says, trying to understand more.
"These myths are threats." his uncle cuts in, looking over at Peter.
"They first materialized on my earth many years ago. We mobilized and fought them, but with each battle, they grew, got stronger. I was part of the last battalion left trying to stop them. All we did was delay the inevitable." Quentin says softly, staring at the hologram in front of him.
"The Elementals are here now, attacking the same coordinates. Our satellites confirm it." Maria tells him, pulling up the information as she did.
"So thank Mr. Beck for destroying the other three. There's only one left: fire." Nick says now, standing up to stand next to Peter.
"The strongest of them all. The one that destroyed my Earth. It's the one that took my family." Quentin said, absentmindedly fiddling with the wedding ring on his finger. Peter felt a pang of sympathy for the man.
"I'm sorry." he says softly, and the other man just gives him a tight smile.
"And it will be in Prague in approximately 48 hours." Maria breaks the moment, and he can feel Nick turn to look at him.
"We have one mission: kill it. And you're coming with us." his uncle says looking down at him. Peter blanches. "
"I'm sorry. Did you say Prague? Uncle Nick, this all seems like big time, you know, huge superhero kinda stuff. And, I mean, I'm just a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." Peter rambles, panic making itself known in his stomach as he turned to his uncle in fear.
"Bitch, please. You've been to space." his uncle fires back unapologetically. Peter feels his stomach clench tighter at the mention of space, but he ignores it for the time being.
"I know, but that was an accident. Uncle Nick, come on. There's gotta be someone else you can use. What about Thor?" he begs his uncle frantically.
"Off-world."
"Okay, um, Doctor Strange." Peter asks.
"Unavailable." Maria cuts in, her arms crossed.
"Captain Marvel." he asks, knowing she was close with Fury.
"Don't invoke her name." Fury says instead of no. Peter feels another rock sink in his stomach.
"Look, I really wanna help, I do. But if my parents find out that I left my class trip, their gonna kill me. And if I'm seen like this in Europe, after the Washington Monument, my whole class will figure out who I am and then-- and then the whole world will figure out who I am, then I'm done. Have you even talked to my parents about this?" Peter explained, before asking the question that had been bugging him all night. Fury looks over at Maria and they seem to have a silent conversation.
"You're parents are retired. I want to keep them away from this stuff and safe with your sister as much as you do. But it's okay. I understand." Fury explains softly.
"I'm sorry, what?" Peter asks, confused on the sudden turnaround. His uncle's reasoning about his parents made sense. He didn't want them to have to come out of retirement and risk their lives again, not when they had Maria to take care of.
"Why don't you get back before your teachers miss you and become suspicious. Dimitri. Take him back to hotel, please." Nick says, walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder gently to steer him towards the exit. Peter still felt confused, but also relieved he wasn't being asked to help.
"Thank you, Uncle Nick. And, uh, good luck." he said, stopping at the door.
"See ya, kid." Quentin pipes in, still standing by the hologram.
"Yeah, see you." he says to the man before turning to Maria. "Bye, Miss Hill." he says and she sends him a wave.
"Bye." she says, and he hurries out the door.
---
"Hey." he could hear Quentin talking to him but he was still thinking about how Fury, his own uncle, didn't think he was good enough. His uncle had told him that maybe his dad was wrong for putting so much faith in him as a superhero. And Peter was starting to wonder whether or not he was right. He was startled from his thoughts when a hand came to rest on his shoulder.
"You gotta celebrate, you did something good tonight." Quentin says, smiling down at him. Peter pastes a strained smile on his face in return, not really feeling like celebrating.
"Yeah..." he trails off, causing the other man to pat him on the back again. He shakes his head.
"Nick was right. Tony has done a lot for me, so... I owe it to him, to everybody." he says, keeping his relationship with his dad covered up for now. He knew his uncle trusted this man, and that Quentin probably already knew that Tony was his dad. But on the off chance he didn't know, Peter wasn't going to be the one to let it slip.
"Do you?" Quentin prompts.
"Yeah! I mean... Mr. Stark gave me the chance to be more, he wants me to be better than him, and Nick just wants me to live up to that." Peter rambles, knowing that he needed to do better, be better, in order to make all the sacrifices his parents made for him worth it. Not to mention to keep them safe, so they wouldn't have to worry about him and enjoy their retirement.
"What do YOU want, Peter?" Quentin asks, pulling him out of his thoughts again.
"What do you mean?" he asks, confused. Quentin let out a chuckle at his words.
"What do you want?" the man repeats, and Peter just gets more confused at the question.
"…uh, I don’t… know…"
"What do you want, you, Peter Parker, right now? I know you’re thinking about it! What do-" the older superhero pushes, and Peter finally understands.
"I wanna go on my trip. Right? I wanna go back on my trip, with my friends. I wanna go to the top of the Eiffel Tower with the girl who I like and tell her how I really feel, and… give her a kiss! I don’t…" Peter blurts, before trailing off in embarrassment at the teasing look that crosses the other man's face.
"Ooh!" the man teases, and Peter rolls his eyes.
"Shut up, man! I..." Peter stops short, knowing it wasn't that simple. He couldn't just go back on the trip.
"But you're not gonna do that, are you?" Quentin asks, as if reading his thoughts. Peter shakes his head.
"No, I can't." he agrees.
"Why not?" he questions, and Peter throws his hands up in exasperation.
"Because I have too much of a responsibility." he answers, when a woman walks over and taps him on the shoulder handing him his dad's glasses. He feels guilty that he was so careless that he dropped such important glasses onto the floor.
"Oh, my God, thank you so much!" he says, and the woman just smiles at him before walking away. He turns back to Beck, who is eyeing the glasses curiously.
"What are those? Are those the...?" the man asks, and Peter nods.
"EDITH glasses, yeah." he answers, looking down at them. He had realized that his uncle wasn't actually supposed to give them to him until his dad was gone, if the name was anything to go by. He still didn't understand why his uncle gave them to him early.
"It was on the floor? Try them on, let's see how they look on you." the older man says, waving his hands in the air in front of Peter's face. Peter just nods and puts the glasses on before looking back at Beck.
"...I actually really like them." he says, watching the other man's face.
"Can I be completely honest with you?" he asks, and Peter nods.
"Please."
"They look really stupid." Beck says, only a slight hint of teasing in his voice. Peter feels a thought tingling at the back of his mind.
"Oh." Peter says, taking them back off and looking at them.
"But maybe they have a contact-lens version of them." Beck was saying, when suddenly the idea hit Peter full force.
"You try 'em on." he says, holding them out for the other man to take.
"No, c'mon!"
"Try 'em on!" he insists, and the other man just stares at him like he's crazy.
"I don't wanna- I don't wanna try 'em on!" Beck refuses, and Peter sighs.
"Just put 'em on!" he laughs as Beck finally gives in and puts them on.
"What do you think, kid?" Beck asks, and Peter stares at the other man, his thoughts moving a million miles an hour as he tries to come to a decision. He looks away for a second, going over the words that his dad had left with the glasses.
"To the next Tony Stark, I trust you..." he mumbles to himself, before he looks up at Beck. "To the next Tony Stark, I trust you." he repeats firmly. The other man just stares at him, confused.
"What?"
"Mr. Stark left me a message with those glasses; 'To the next Tony Stark, I trust you.'" Peter explains, hoping the man would understand, as the idea settles more in his brain. He knew this had to be the right decision. He wasn't ready to take on the new role of Ironman, and his dad knew that seeing as the glasses weren't supposed to be his for a long time. So why not give them to someone more qualified, until he was ready?
"I'm still not following. How many lemonades have you had?" Beck asks, eyeing the cup in front of Peter.
"He knows every mistake I've ever made, okay? So he must know I'm not ready for something like this." Peter explains as best he can without giving away his real relationship to his dad.
"Why would he give it to you?" Beck asks then, confused. Peter shrugged.
"Because maybe he doesn't trust me to have EDITH yet, he just trusts me to pick who should. It makes so much more sense, he knows I will always do what's right and he wasn't gonna give them to Fury because Fury would just give himself EDITH." Peter rambles as his scrambled thoughts align into something that makes more sense.
"Alright, you're probably right about that." Beck concedes, but he still looks confused.
"Right, so, the world needs the next Iron Man... and it's not gonna be me! I mean, I'm a seventeen-year-old kid from Queens. It needs to be an adult with some experience and that's good like Tony Stark, like you." Peter says, thinking he finally came to the right decision. His dad hadn't meant for him to have the glasses yet, but his dad knew he would make the right decision once he had them. He knew this was the right decision. He wasn't ready for the big times yet, but Beck was.
The man in question stares at him for a moment before removing the glasses and trying to hand them back to Peter.
"No, c'mon, Peter... No." the other man says, but Peter isn't listening. He grabs the glasses and puts them on.
"EDITH?" he asks.
"Hello, Peter."
"Hi! Yeah, um... I'd like to transfer your control over to Quentin Beck." he says, more sure of his decision the more he thought about it. Fury trusted Beck, and his parents had trusted Fury with their entire family's secret since the beginning. He knew his uncle wouldn't have introduced him to Beck if he wasn't trustworthy. His uncle was super paranoid like that.
"Peter, what are you doing?" Beck asked, but Peter waved him off.
"I'm doing the right thing." he said, turning his attention back to the glasses.
"Any transfer will require confirmation." EDITH said.
"Stark gave you the glasses!" Beck cried, trying to stop him. Peter shook his head.
"Stark gave me a choice! It's my choice to make, okay? And I'm gonna make it. Look, you're a soldier, a leader, you stopped the Elementals, you saved my life, you saved the world! Okay? He'd be okay with you having them. Trust me." Peter explained.
"Waiting for confirmation." EDITH said.
"Confirm." Peter said after he took a deep breath. He took them off and handed them to Beck.
"Welcome to the Avengers." Peter says jokingly, as Beck takes the glasses and then hold his hand out for Peter to shake.
"Thank you. It's an honor." Beck says and Peter shakes his hand.
"Yeah." he says with a smile, grabbing his backpack and swinging it over his shoulder.
"I think Mr. Stark would really liked you." he says before he reaches the door.
"Where you headed?" Beck asks, still looking down at the glasses in his hand reverently.
"I'm gonna go find MJ." Peter answers, relieved that he finally gets to go back to his trip. Beck gives him a teasing grin.
"Good luck, kid. I'll give you about a fifty-fifty chance, you're pretty awkward, so..." the man laughs and Peter just laughs along with him
"Yeah. See ya later, man!" he says, slipping out the door.
---
Peter looked around wildly as Beck's voice echoed around him, he couldn't tell which direction it was coming from, and the drones kept changing his surroundings.
"I don't think you know what's real, Peter...Peter...Peter..." Beck's voice echoed around him. Peter took a shaky breath, trying to calm himself down. The illusion changed, the building around him flying by quickly, until it stopped with a neon sign that said Queens right in front of him. A giant fist then smashes it to pieces, sending Peter backwards towards what looked like the horizon. The illusion then shatters, causing him to fall through what looked like webs, until the illusion stopped suddenly.
"You need to WAKE UP!" Beck's voice echoed. Peter crashes down on a car, before he rolled off, looking around anxiously. He watches as dozens of drones fly out of the building, before the the illusion kicks back on. Huge shards of glass fall down around him, trapping him.
"I mean, look at yourself." Beck taunts. Peter reaches out to his reflection to see if it's real when it suddenly comes to life and grabs his hand. Soon he is taken over by dozens of Spider-man doubles, that slowly rip his suit away from him.
"You are just a scared little kid in a sweatsuit!" Beck's voice continues from all around him. Soon the Spider-mans disappear and he is suddenly in his first homemade suit. He looks around widely seeing a broken down statue of Steve, and he felt his throat close up at the sight.
"I created Mysterio to give the world someone to believe in." Beck said, and soon there was a giant Mysterio statue standing over him.
"I control the truth! Mysterio is the truth." Beck's voice says, when suddenly lasers starts shooting at him. He fires a web at Mysterio, before he promptly disappears and a crane appears falling towards him. He narrowly avoids the crane, but is soon hit with a stone arm from the statue.
He screams but then is suddenly standing in front of a grave. He's scared to look at the name, but forces himself to, seeing his father's name staring back at him. He chokes back a sob as he stares at the letters spelling out Anthony Edward Stark.
"If you were good enough, maybe Tony would still be alive. I wouldn't have had to take him out...and his poor wife. She just got in the way." Beck's voice says softly, reverberating through his skull. He blinks back tears at the words, trying to convince himself that Beck was lying. But how did he know? If Tony had heard about what happened in Europe and came to get Peter...and his mom? Peter had no way to tell if Beck was lying or not. But the thought of his parents death clawed at his mind, closing his throat.
Suddenly a giant mechanized hand bursts from the ground in front of him, making a grab at him, causing him to scurry back in fear. Soon there was a skeleton in an Ironman suit crawling towards him, a black widow spider crawling out of the empty eye socket. Peter held back another sob at the imagery, sure this was meant to tell him that both of parents were, in fact, dead. Beck had killed them. Leaving him and Maria orphans. Maria. He didn't even want to know who was taking care of Maria now that their parents were gone. Suddenly the the image in front of him turns into multiple Mysterios marching towards him.
"Deep down, you know I'm right." Beck's voice continued to taunt. Peter couldn't find his own voice, but he knew Beck was right. If he had been better, his parents would be okay. Several more illusions flash by Peter, and he was barely able to keep up with what was happening. All he could do was look frantically around, waiting for the next attack from the drones.
"You made your choice, and all you had to do was step aside. And now, you ha-" Becks voice cuts out at the same time as the illusion, and suddenly he's standing in front of a collapsing Beck, Nick standing behind him with a gun the smoke still pouring out of the barrel. Suddenly there was chaos around them as agents flew out of cars. His uncle limped towards him.
"Uncle Nick!" Peter cried, standing up and meeting Nick halfway.
"Beck's people... We're trying to find everyone who could expose him. Who'd you tell?" his uncle demanded in a panic. Peter looked around wildly and shook his head.
"Eh..." he stumbled, trying to find his voice. He took a couple deep breaths, trying to shake off the past few minutes.
"I know you told someone. So, just tell me..." his uncle pressed, sounding worried. Peter scrambled to get his thoughts together.
"Okay..." he said, wracking his brain. His uncle grew impatient and let out a sigh, before raising his voice.
"Who did you tell? Who else did you tell?!" his uncle shouted, scrambling Peter out of his thoughts.
"Just Ned and MJ from my class, and maybe Ned told his girlfriend Betty, but that's it." Peter assured his uncle, when suddenly Nick smiled and started laughing his head shaking. Peter furrowed his eyebrows.
"What?" he asked, eyeing his uncle worriedly.
"You... are so gullible." Nick said, stopping Peter short. That didn't seem like something his uncle would say. Peter felt a knot form in his stomach at the thought.
"What?" Peter said, hoping his uncle was just tired and that everything was fine.
"I mean, you're smart as a whip. Just a...sucker." Nick's voice slowly distorted until the illusion fell away and Beck was standing in front of him, a smirk on his face.
"And now all your friends have to die." Beck finished, and Peter's stomach dropped.
"Oh, my god!" he choked out, before two drones flew out from behind Beck and started towards him, flashing illusions. Peter backed away slowly, eyeing them.
"It's easy to fool people when they're already fooling themselves. But for what it's worth, Peter... I really am sorry." Beck says, and suddenly the illusion stops, and he only hears the start of a train horn before all he feels is pain and everything goes black.
---
Peter limped out of the jail, looking around before walking over to a man standing a small stall nearby.
"Excuse me, sir? Can I borrow your phone?" Peter asks, to which the man smiles and says a few words in Dutch before handing Peter his phone.
"Everyone's so nice here." he mumbles to himself, before wracking his brain for who to call. He had no idea what illusions were real and what was fake. So he had no idea if Beck had actually killed his parents or not. He felt a lump form in his throat at the thought. He didn't want to find out if that was true quite yet, so he dialed Steve's number.
"Okay... Pick up, pick up, pick up... Hey. Hey Uncle Steve? Uh... I messed up. I need a... I need a ride." Peter rambled before his uncle could say anything else.
"Okay Pete slow down. I can come pick you up and we can figure out whatever you think you messed up. Can you tell me where you are?" Steve's calm voice washed over him, helping him breath a little easier.
"Where am I? Uh... where am I, sir?" Peter asked, looking over at the man who's phone he was using. The man smiled and replied in Dutch.
"Het is Broek op Langedijk." Peter just blinked before holding out the man's phone.
"Hang on, could you say that into there?" he finally asked, and the man nodded, taking the phone and speaking into it.
"Hi, it's Broek op Langedijk." the man said into the phone, before listening a bit and nodding. "Yeah, no problem." the man replied handing the phone back to Peter. He grabbed it with a thanks before turning his attention back to his uncle.
"Did you get that?" he asked, nerves still bubbling in his stomach.
"Yeah, Pete. I had Jarvis help me find it. I'll be there soon okay?" Steve assured him. Peter bit back a sob at the mention of his father's AI. He must have made a sound because his uncle spoke up again.
"Pete? Is everything okay? Are you injured?" Steve asked, his voice pitched higher in worry. Peter just sniffed and shook his head.
"Nothing too bad, Uncle Steve. I just really need you to get here." Peter practically begged. He heard Steve let out a small sigh on the other line.
"Okay, Pete. I just got to tell Buck where I'm headed and I'll be there as fast as I can. Okay?" Steve said, and he could hear Steve moving around in the background. Peter nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat and the relief that Steve would be there soon.
"Okay, thanks Uncle Steve." he whispered, before he hung up and handed the phone back to the man and limping off to meet Steve.
---
"Hold on, Tony." Steve interrupted him looking down at his phone, before he let out a confused noise.
"What is it?" he asked, walking over to Steve and looking down, noticing the foreign number. "Answer it, maybe it's Peter." he said and Steve nodded quickly before pressing the phone to his ear. Tony watched as Steve started to say hello before stopping, his eyebrows jumping up in surprise, before furrowing in concern.
"Okay Pete, slow down. I can come pick you up and we can figure out whatever you think you messed up. Can you tell me where you are?" Steve asked then, and Tony felt his heart drop into his stomach with worry. He had no idea what could have possibly happened that Peter had called Steve instead of him for help.
"Okay, thank you sir." Steve said, motioning to Jarvis' camera as if he did that on a daily basis. Jarvis must have known what he was asking though, as he immediately pulled up a map and a list of coordinates. Tony furrowed his eyebrows at the location, knowing Peter's class was not supposed to be in Norway.
"Yeah, Pete. I had Jarvis help me find it. I'll be there soon okay?" Steve said, earning his attention again. A pained look crossed Steve's face as they made eye contact.
"Pete? Is everything okay? Are you injured?" Steve asked then, and Tony felt his breath stop in his throat as he collapsed into the chair behind him. He gripped his left arm tightly as he tried to swallow down his panic.
"Okay, Pete. I just got to tell Buck where I'm headed and I'll be there as fast as I can. Okay?" Steve said, rushing around now, grabbing his go bag he kept under his stairs. He hung up the phone before he came to a stop in front of Tony, looking down at him in worry.
"Tony, I'm gonna need you to snap out of it." Steve said sternly, and Tony blinked quickly before nodding, letting out a shaky breath.
"Okay. Okay. I'm here." Tony said, standing up and Steve nodded.
"Okay. Peter sounds like he's injured, and he kept rambling about how he messed up. I don't know why he didn't call you, but are you coming?" Steve asked him, and Tony started nodding before Steve could finish talking.
"Yes, I'm coming Steve. Don't be ridiculous. What about Tash and Maria?" he asked, as they both headed to Steve's living room where Bucky was watching TV.
"Buck. Me and Tony need to go help Peter. I need you to go stay with Tasha and Maria, make sure they are safe." Steve ordered in what Tony called his Captain America voice. Bucky didn't even ask question before nodding and heading out the door. Tony watched as he walked down the hill that stood between their cabins and let out a sigh of relief. He followed Steve out the back door to where his quinjet was waiting.
"Let's go." Steve ordered, and Tony nodded grabbing an extra go bag Steve always had around and followed Steve. His phone started ringing the second Steve lifted the jet off the ground.
"Tash." he answered.
"Bucky told me you guys need to go help Peter. Is everything okay?" Natasha's worried voice filled his ears as Maria wailed in the background.
"I don't know. He called Steve, not me. He didn't say much to Steve other than a location. But Steve said he didn't sound so good." Tony said, taking a seat next to Steve.
"Okay. Don't worry about us here, Bucky's here and I already called Rhodey and he's on his way too. We're covered. Just focus on Peter, make sure he's okay." Natasha said, and Tony felt himself calm slightly knowing Rhodey and Bucky were watching over the rest of his family.
"I will." he said, hanging up and turning to the navigation to see how fast they were going to get there.
"He'll be okay, Tony." Steve spoke up a few moments later.
"I hope so, Cap. I hope so." he responded quietly.
---
Peter felt tears sting his eyes as he watched the quinjet touch down in the tulip field. He felt himself start walking towards it without thinking. He could see Steve walk out of the jet and start towards him. He could feel the tears building up now as he walked faster.
"Peter? Are you okay?" Steve called as they got closer. He could hear the worry in his uncle's voice.
"Uncle Steve, is that you?" Peter asked, slowing down a bit at the thought that even this could be an illusion.
"Is it me? Yeah, of course, it's me?" Steve answered in confusion, still making his way over to Peter, but Peter stopped short. He held out his hand, and watched as Steve stopped slowly, his hands raised in surrender, looking confused.
"Stop! Tell me something only you would know!" Peter shouted, hoping more than anything that this was true and Steve was here to save him. Steve hummed in confusion, before he straightened with a nod.
"Something only I would know. Uh. You-I-uh, remember when you were little, and I came over to watch you when you're mom was on a mission and Tony had a meeting? And you wanted to make them cookies, so you climbed up on the top shelf of the pantry and ended up pushing the entire 10 pound bag of flour all over me-" Peter felt relief bubble up inside of him.
"Okay! Okay! Fine, it's you, it's you, stop!" Peter said, running up to him as fast as he could and wrapping his arms around his middle. Steve grunted a bit at the force of the hug before he too wrapped his hands around Peter.
"It's so good to see you." Peter whispered, his voice hoarse, and tears streaming down his face.
"Peter, you're going to have to tell me what the hell is going on here. Your dad is worried sick-" Peter let out a sob at that, and felt the dam finally break inside him as he continued to sob.
"Dad? My dad's here?" Peter sobbed out, his breaths hitching uncomfortably as he spoke through the sobs wracking his body. Steve looked down at him in alarm and nodded.
"Yeah he's in the jet, he wanted to have everything ready in case you were really injured-Peter!" Steve explained, and Peter didn't need to hear anymore before he rushed past Steve and into the quinjet. When he reached the inside, the sight that awaited him made the sobs wracking his body come more violently.
"Daddy." he choked out, not caring about letting the childish name he hadn't used in years slip out of his mouth, as he rushed over and collapsed into his dad's arms.
"Oh. Okay. Peter, baby? What happened?" he could hear his dad ask, but all he could do was sob harder pressing himself closer to his dad as he possibly could. His dad seemed to realize he wasn't going to answer, so he just pulled Peter closer and started humming softly while rocking them back and forth. He stayed in his dad's arms until his sobs started to die down. He could hear his dad and Steve talking quietly above him, when he decided to finally pull away. His dad stopped mid sentence when he did so, turning his attention to Peter, his hand coming up and brushing comfortingly through his hair.
"Hey, baby. Wanna tell me what's got you so upset? Also not to worry you, but that cut on your shoulder is gonna need stitches. But luckily our very own Popsicle knows just how to fix that." Tony said, pitching his voice low and soft. Peter nodded numbly, watching out of the corner of his eye as Steve started preparing the tools he would need. He turned back to his dad who was watching him patiently.
"I'm sorry." he said, his voice completely hoarse from sobbing. His dad hummed with a nod, still brushing his hands through Peter's hair.
"Okay. Wanna tell me what for?" his dad asked softly, using a voice he hadn't used on Peter since he was little. It was the same voice he used on Maria when she woke up early in the morning crying.
"I was the one to give him the glasses. I didn't know he was behind it, and so I went to Uncle Nick to tell him, but then the drones. And then he said he killed you and Mom. And I didn't know what to believe, and then he hit me with a train..." he trailed off when his father held up a hand to stop him. He could feel Steve stitching through his shoulder as they talked, but he ignored it.
"Hold on. You got hit by a train?!" his dad asked, voice high.
"Tony." Steve reprimanded softly, and Tony nodded.
"Sorry. Okay let's start from the beginning. What glasses?" his dad asked. Peter rubbed his hands over over his swollen eyes quickly.
"The EDITH ones." Peter said, and his dad's eyes furrowed in confusion, shaking his head.
"The EDITH glasses? I gave those to Uncle Eye-patch to give you years from now when I was..." Tony trailed off in confusion. Peter nodded.
"When you died. I figured with the name and all. But he gave them to me now. And then asked me to fight these giant monsters, and I didn't feel like I was ready so I gave the glasses to Beck..."
"The Dr. Wizard wannabe?" Tony cut in and Peter nodded.
"Yeah, cause I wasn't ready, so I thought the glasses would be better off in someone else's hands. Someone older." Peter reasoned looking over at his dad to gauge his reaction. His dad just looked confused, but he didn't look angry so Peter continued.
"But turns out Beck was behind it. He has drones, and now he's controlling them with EDITH and the monsters are just illusions created by the drones. MJ helped me figure that out, so I went to Uncle Nick to tell him, but then Beck was there and there were so many illusions I had no idea what was real. He told me that he killed you...and mom!" Peter rushed out, his words coming out in a jumble. Tony carded his hands through his hair at the words and shushed him quietly, and he felt Steve finish up his stitches before he came around to sit next to his dad.
"Mom's okay too, bug. She's at home with Bucky and Rhodey. She's protected, and so is Maria." his dad said softly, and Peter felt himself nod in relief, before Tony spoke up again. "And the train?" he asked worriedly.
"Yeah. He was using illusions to back me onto the tracks without me knowing and then dropped them as soon as the train came...and it hit me. Some people in Norway found me so that's why I'm here." Peter finished, and he could feel his dad stiffen at his words. He watched as his dad closed his eyes and took a few measured breaths, and Peter knew he was trying to stave off a panic attack, so he waited quietly for his dad to calm down.
After a few moments his dad reopened his eyes and looked at Peter.
"Okay. First, I don't blame you at all for the glasses. You weren't supposed to have them yet anyway so that's your uncle's fault. Me and him are definitely going to have some words when this is over. I know you meant well by giving them to an adult, it's not your fault he turned out to be the bad guy. If Fury didn't see that coming then I doubt you could have, bug. But none of that matters now. Let's figure out a plan, figure out how to take this guy down before he hurts your friends okay?" Tony explained calmly, and Peter nodded, grateful his dad was here to help.
"I know where he's going. And I'm the only one who can sense the drones...at least I hope so." Peter spoke up, and his dad nodded.
"Your spidey-sense? I thought it wasn't working?" his dad asked, purposely not teasing him with the other name he had for it. Peter shrugged.
"I think I know how to get them to work. I'm just gonna need you guys to find my friends, and stay safe while I take care of Beck." Peter said, hoping his dad wouldn't argue. But to his surprise they both nodded in agreement.
"Okay, kid." Steve said heading back up to the front of the jet and lifting it back into the air. He turned to his dad.
"I'm gonna need a new suit." he said, and he watched as his dad grinned and pressed a few buttons before another room opened.
"That I can help you with." his dad said ruffling his hair with a smile.
---
"There they are Cap. Land there." Tony said, pointing to a familiar group of kids. He could barely make out Ned and MJ. Steve just nodded silently and quickly landed the jet.
"Ned!" Tony shouted as he rushed towards the kids.
"Mr. Stark!" Ned shouted in relief, while all the other kids except for MJ gaped at him and Steve.
"I got to get you guys out of here! Get on the jet!" Tony shouted above the commotion.
"And why should we trust you?" MJ asked, her face devoid of emotion. Tony gaped at her and turned around to share an incredulous look with Steve, who just shrugged.
"I'm literally Ironman? And if that's not enough, Captain America is literally right behind me?" Tony said desperately, but MJ did not look impressed. Ned was just staring at her in shock. Tony sighed.
"I work with Spider-Man, okay? You got to get on that jet." Tony said then, hoping that might convince her. It seemed to do the trick, because her eyes widened slightly and she nodded.
"You work for Spider-Man?" the kid, Tony remembered his name was something stupid like Speed or something, asked. Tony rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, one of the biggest superheros in the world, and I work FOR Spider-man. Look can we just get to the jet?" he asked tiredly, before turning and seeing the jet explode from one of the drones missiles. Tony sighed again and looked to Steve, gesturing for him to take over.
"New plan. Into the tower!" Steve said, pointing at a building nearby. The kids nodded and followed Steve with Tony trailing behind.
"Dad, are you okay?" Peter's voice piped in through the comm unit in his ear. Tony gave a small huff of laughter, and he could tell Steve was holding back a smile.
"Yeah. We're okay, bug. Just go get Beck." Tony answered, earning some questioning looks from each of the kids at his fond voice. Ned just smiled at him though, knowing what was going on. MJ just narrowed her eyes at him, as if she still didn't trust him. He flashed her a smile, which she ignored.
"Into the Crown Jewels vault." Steve ordered, rushing the kids forward.
"Yeah, go, go, go!" Tony said, pushing them along as well. They rushed forward as a drone came chasing after them. Steve quickly grabbed something off the floor and hurled it at the drone, slowing it down. Tony just shook his head.
"I still have no idea how you do that. Close the door!" Tony said as he and Steve got into the vault and Steve slammed the door shut.
"Dad! Say something, please, to let me know you're alive!" Peter's voice broke the silence in Tony's ear. Steve's eyebrows furrowed in concern at the panic in Peter's voice.
"I'm here. I'm here." Tony answered, his finger pressed to the comm.
"Dad, thank God. Did you find everyone? Is Steve okay?" Peter's voice chattered on.
"Yep. Got everyone, we should be okay for the time being. Cap's all good, right Cap?" Tony said, looking at Steve with an eyebrow raised. Steve rolled his eyes but nodded.
"Yeah Spider-man, I'm good. Focus on Beck." Steve said, his voice firm. He heard Peter agree before his voice disappeared again.
"Are we gonna die?" Ned asked them then, looking between him and Steve. Tony shook his head.
"Nobody dies on my watch." He said, pulling up some video footage on his watch, trying to figure out what was going on outside the vault.
"I wasted my life playing video games, and we're gonna die." Ned said in response. Tony looked at him and sighed. He knew Ned well, ever since he found out Peter was Spider-Man and his son in the same day. The kid had slept over at his house several times. Before he could respond though, the blonde girl holding his hand spoke up.
"I have a fake ID, and I've never even used it." she blurted. Tony raised an eyebrow at Steve, who just shrugged again. Tony rolled his eyes at how useless Steve was, before trying to figure out how to console these kids. He wasn't super good with teenagers, unless their name was Peter.
"I post stupid videos daily for people to like me." the Speed kid said, and Tony wanted to snort but he could feel Steve glaring at the side of his head, so he refrained.
"Hey, if it wasn't for those stupid videos, Spider-Man would have never found you." Steve tried to console, causing the Speed kid to gape at him.
"Spider-Man? Spider-Man follows me? I saved us, guys." Speed said smugly. He watched as MJ rolled her eyes.
"If you saved us, why are we about to die?" she spit out at the boy. Now it was Tony's turn to gape at her.
"MJ!" he choked out and she looked at him before Ned shoved her shoulder.
"Stop it." Ned choked out, his voice shaking slightly. This caused MJ to deflate and she shook her head.
"I'm sorry, ok? I'm just. I'm obsessed with telling the truth even if it hurts other people's feelings." MJ admitted. Tony nodded understandingly.
"Okay guys. We're going to be just fine. Spider-man is out there saving the day, and I'm sure once he's done he'll come get us." Tony said, trying to make his voice as comforting as possible. It seemed to work because they all just nodded, relaxing slightly. Then Betty looked at him in confusion.
"How do you even know Spider-man so well anyway? And why did he send Captain America and Ironman to protect just us? That doesn't make any sense." Betty said, confused. Speed nodded in agreement as if he also wanted to know what was going on. Tony sighed, wracking his brain for a lie when Steve caught his eye and nodded knowingly.
"Well we're sharing right?" Tony asked, looking down at Ned, who's eyes widened slightly before he gave an approving nod.
"Yeah?" MJ spoke up, sounding suspicious. Tony nodded, taking a deep breath.
"Well...Spider-man is...my son. And he knows you guys are from Queens, so he sent us to come find you." Tony explained, hoping that was enough to quench their curiosity. Speed and Betty seemed to accept this and nodded, dropping the subject. But MJ looked at him, her eyes slightly wide in shock. He watched as she looked over at Ned in silent question, to which he nodded with a smile. This caused her to look back up at him with a calculating gaze, before she too nodded and dropped the subject.
---
"Dad!" Peter shouted, when he saw the man standing next to Steve, watching from afar as his classmates gathered back together. He had quickly stopped and changed out of his charred suit, in case he ran into any of his classmates looking for his dad. The man in question whirled around at his voice before breaking into a jog and scooping Peter into a hug. He laughed as he felt his feet lift off the ground in the force of the hug.
"You did so good, bug. I'm so proud of you." his dad whispered in his ear once he had set Peter back down on the ground, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. Peter blushed and pulled away.
"Thanks, but it was my fault to begin-" he started but his dad playfully cuffed the back of his head.
"Uh-uh. Nope. Not your fault. Don't even start with me." Tony said, before Steve awkwardly walked up beside them.
"Uh, just thought you should know that you're class is watching..." Steve said awkwardly, breaking the moment. Peter blanched and looked over at the new school bus where half the kids were watching them with open mouths. Peter looked to his dad in panic, and his dad shrugged.
"Um. Oops. Now they know you're my kid. I mean, the blonde girl and speed racer are gonna connect that you're Spider-man too now...sorry?" his dad said sheepishly, turning to him. Peter let out a strangled noise.
"What? Why?" he asked his dad, turning away so he wouldn't have to focus on his classmates. His dad threw in hands up in surrender.
"I don't know, kid. They were nosey. They didn't know why Ironman and Captain America were helping them, and they wouldn't trust me so I tried to keep at least half your cover intact and said that Spider-man was my kid." his dad answered with a shrug, his eyes swimming with guilt. Peter deflated.
"It's fine, Dad. They were gonna figure it out somehow anyway." Peter shrugged, and turned to Steve.
"Thanks for coming to my rescue, Uncle Steve." Peter said quietly, earning a soft smile from the other man. Soon he was being pulled into another hug, but this one was much stronger.
"Anytime, Pete." Steve's chest rumbled with his words, and Peter let out a laugh, before Tony pulled on his arm.
"Don't suffocate my kid, Rogers. He's mine to smother with affection." Tony said, pulling him free and pulling him closer to his chest, his hand automatically finding Peter's hair. Peter laughed.
"Okay, let's not fight. I'm gonna have to get back to my class." Peter said, pulling away but letting his dad keep an arm looped around his shoulder. His dad just shook his head.
"Nope. Not letting you out of my sight. Point me in the direction of your teacher and I'll work it out. You're coming home with Steve and me. Ted and MJ can come too, I'll call their parents." Tony said, already starting in the direction of the bus. Peter just rolled his eyes, already accepting the hovering his dad was going to do for the foreseeable future.
"You know it's Ned, Dad." is all he said, as they approached the bus. He pointed out his teacher and let his dad and Steve wander over there while he walked over to Ned and MJ, who both immediately hugged him at the same time.
"Dude. You did so good." Ned said, while MJ just nodded in agreement. He blushed slightly at her, thinking of the kiss they shared not to long ago.
"Thanks, man." Peter said with a shrug, and they both pulled back, looking pointedly over at his dad who had his phone pressed to his ear while Steve watched in amusement as Mr. Harrington stuttered in shock.
"My dad's gonna get your parents permission to have you fly home with us." Peter said with a shrug while Ned let out an excited squeal. MJ just raised an eyebrow.
"So it's true then. Stark's your dad? Your real dad?" MJ asked, her face looked like she didn't care but from her tone he knew she was curious.
"Yeah, he's my real dad. It's a long story, I'll tell you on the ride home, come on." he said, pointing to Tony who was waving them all over with a thumbs up.
"I'm riding home with Ironman and Captain America." Ned said in disbelief, to which Peter just laughed.
"You've been to my house like a million times, Ned." he laughed, but Ned just shrugged.
"It's never gonna get old, Peter. Just deal with my excitement." Ned argued as they reached his dad, who immediately flung his arm around his shoulder as he lead them to a new quinjet that was waiting in a field nearby.
---
Peter was sitting in the back of the car that Happy picked them up in after they dropped MJ and Ned off, leaving the quinjet at the compound. They were headed, slowly in Peter's opinion, back to the lake house. Peter bounced his knee up and down repeatedly as he stared unseeingly out of the car window. He knew his mom was okay, his dad had said so, but ever since the illusions he was still having a hard time picking out what was real and what wasn't. He needed to see her with his own eyes.
"Pete." his dad's voice jarred him from his thoughts along with the soft hand that stopped his leg's movements. He looked over to see his dad watching him with worry, his eyebrows furrowed. Steve was snoring against his shoulder, but his dad seemed to be ignoring the giant super soldier using him as a pillow.
"I'm fine." Peter said, shaking his head. His dad just raised an unimpressed eyebrow, his lips down turned in a frown. Peter sighed.
"It's nothing, I'm just having trouble remembering that the illusions weren't real." he finally admitted in a whisper. His dad's eyes widened a bit in understanding. He let out a soft hum and brushed his fingers through Peter's hair.
"Your mom and sister are just fine. I talked to Mom like an hour ago, bug." his dad's voice was soft a soothing, his hand still brushing through his curls. Peter nodded, blinking a few times to keep the tears at bay.
"I know. I just-I need to see it with my own eyes, you know?" Peter said then with a shrug, and his dad nodded pressing a kiss to his forehead and bringing him closer to where his head was now resting on his shoulder like Steve. Peter fell asleep quickly, listening to the comforting sound of his dad's heartbeat.
"Petey, we're home." his dad's hand was squeezing his shoulder softly. Peter sat up quickly, blinking hard. He eyed the cabin with trepidation, before his dad slung an arm over his shoulder.
"Come on, I know there's some lovely ladies in there who want to see you. And your mom and sister are in there too." his dad joked with a wink, referring to Bucky and Rhodey. Peter gave him a half smile, nerves exploding in his stomach, but he followed his dad anyway.
The second they were past the threshold, he was bombarded with a hug by a flash of light red hair, and he felt everything inside him melt at the feeling. He wrapped his hands around his mom and smiled.
"Mama." he breathed out in relief, and his mom just squeezed him tighter in response, before finally pulling away and looking up at him with tears in her eyes.
"I'm so glad you're okay, детка." his mom whispered, squeezing his shoulders. He smiled down at her and reveled in the fact that she was in fact alive and breathing right in front of him.
"Thanks, Mama." he said back after a few seconds. His mom furrowed her eyebrows a little at the tightness in his voice, and gave him a look that said they would discuss that later, before she grabbed his arm and lead him further into the house.
"Your sister has missed you. She's been chanting PeePee all day." his mom said with a laugh, leading him to the living room. The moment his little sister saw him from Bucky's arms, she squealed.
"PeePee!" she squealed, making grabby hand towards him. He sped over quickly and swept her up into his arms, squeezing her tightly, causing her to giggle.
"Hey Maria, I missed you loads." Peter said to her, earning him some babbling in return. He laughed and pressed a raspberry kiss to her cheek, causing more giggles.
"See Pete, all good here. Rhodey and Bucky seem to be competent at something at least." his dad spoke up, smirking over at the two men who were now standing by the couch. Bucky just flipped him off with his metal hand, and Rhodey just rolled his eyes.
"Says the King of Incompetence." Rhodey said then, walking over and ruffling Peter's hair.
"You did a good job, kid." he said over Tony's protests over his words. Peter smiled and shrugged.
"Yeah kid, you are welcome on the Avengers whenever you want. You've got some serious skills." Bucky spoke up then, offering him a high five, which he happily returned.
"I agree." Steve said quietly from the doorway where he still seemed to be waking up from the drive. Peter blushed, and turned his attention to his parents who were smiling at him proudly.
"While I'm all for that, I think the kid deserves a break from saving the day for a bit. Why don't we get some dinner going?" Tony said, breaking the moment with a clap of his hands. Bucky perked up at the mention of food at turned to Steve with puppy dog eyes. Steve just stared at him, unimpressed, which earned a grumble from the man.
"Are we invited?" Bucky then turned his puppy dog eyes to his parents. Natasha rolled her eyes fondly and nodded.
"Of course. Who else is going to chop the vegetables? Come on Barnes, you're now my cooking assistant." she replied with a wink, and Bucky happily followed her to the kitchen like a lost puppy. His dad just watched the scene with a fond crinkle in the corner of his eyes.
"Alright, the rest of you can make yourselves comfortable. Me and Pete are going to go give Little Miss a bath, she's still dirty from her trip to Gerald's enclosure today." Tony said, giving the evil eye to Rhodey, who shrugged.
"She's your kid." Rhodey said, putting his hands up in surrender. Tony just rolled his eyes and motioned for Peter to follow him.
Peter smiled, forever grateful that the illusions were wrong, and that his family was safe and as unconventional as ever.
---
"You can put me down now! You can put me down now!" he heard MJ shout in his ear, so he quickly webbed down to the side walk and put her down as gently as he could.
"You okay?" he asks as he watches her stumble back slightly as her feet touch the ground. She nods quickly moving her hair out of her face.
"Whoo…Yeah! Yeah, I'm okay. Just...Never, never doing that again. I'm never doing that again." she stumbled through her words as she took a couple deep breaths. Peter laughed.
"Okay. Well, I should probably get out of here. It's family game night, and we're playing Monopoly." Peter said, and MJ let out a snort.
"You're playing Monopoly with the former CEO of a billion dollar company and a former Russian spy?" MJ asked, her eyebrows raised in judgement. Peter just shrugged.
"Steve will be there too." he tries, earning another snort from MJ as she shakes her head.
"Cause that evens the playing field." she mumbles, and he laughs again before waving at her.
"Be safe." she shouts as he webs to a nearby lamp post. He sends her another wave when suddenly the giant screen across the street lights up.
"This is breaking news." the voice says, and Peter stays where he's at, glancing down at MJ who is looking at him in concern.
"We come to you now with revelations about last week's attack in London. An anonymous source provided this video, it shows Quentin Beck, aka, Mysterio, moments before his death. A warning, you may find this video disturbing." the man on the screen says, and Peter feels his stomach sink at the words, he wants to web away but he's frozen to the spot. He watches at the camera cuts to a video of Beck on the ground on the bridge, his face a bloody mess.
"I managed to send the Elemental back into the dimensional rift, but I don't think I'm gonna make it off this bridge alive. Spider-Man attacked me for some reason. He has an army of weaponized drones, Stark technology. He's saying he's the only one who's gonna be the new Iron Man, no one else." Beck says, acting as if he was truly shocked by this news. He can feel MJ's gaze fly to him, as well as thousands of others who have stopped on the street to look up at him. The scene changes again, and Peter knows this was somehow fabricated.
"Are you sure you want to commence the drone attack? There will be significant casualties." he hears the EDITH glasses ask him. He knows that's not what she asked him, he knows it. His breathing picks up at the words that come out of his mouth on the screen.
"Do it! Execute them all!" he hears his voice say, and he suddenly can't feel his face, his whole body feels like pins and needles. He needed to get out of here, people were starting to stare. He is about to swing away when the man comes back on the screen.
"This shocking video was released earlier today on the controversial news website, 'TheDailyBugle.net.'" the man says, cutting to the head of The Daily Bugle.
"There you have it, folks. Conclusive proof that Spider-Man was responsible for the brutal murder of Mysterio! An inter-dimensional warrior who gave his life to protect our planet, and who will no doubt go down in history as the greatest superhero of all time. But that's not all, folks. Here's the real blockbuster. Brace yourselves, you might wanna sit down." the man says, and the scene changed back to Beck again, injured on the bridge.
"Spider-Man's real... Spider-Man's real name is... Spider-Man's name is Peter Parker!" Quentin chokes out, and if Peter wasn't freaking out before, he certainly was now. He watches as his school photo crosses the screen, and he can suddenly hear everything around him too loudly. He knew he was having a sensory overload attack, so he quickly webbed away, finding an abandoned building as far away from people as he could before he dropped to his knees with a gasp.
"Peter, your vitals are reaching dangerous levels. Would you like me to contact Mr. Stark?" KAREN's voice fills his ears, and he nods since he is still currently choking on his own breath. He can hear KAREN dialing the number and his dad's voice picking up, but it all sounds muffled like he was underwater. The last thing he remembers is hearing the familiar sound of repulsors, before everything went dark.
---