The Infinite Child

“Have you ever tried controlling your powers?” 

Beck asked over lunch as he bit into his tuna sandwich. The teen choked on air, flabbergasted. 

Peter barley wanted to acknowledge what was inside of him let alone purposely use it. It scared him. The thought of him having control was odd. 

“You can’t control freaking space rocks,” Peter replied in a hushed yet stiff tone. 

“You’ve used their power before, right?” The teen hesitantly nodded. “Then try doing it again, but this time try to control it!” 

“Last time I did it, I nearly killed a man. If I mess up again, who’s to say I won’t do it this time?” Peter’s voice was snip and cold.

“Not controlling them is far more dangerous,” Beck pointed out, stuffing another piece of his sandwich into his mouth. 

Peter opened his mouth to reply but faltered when he couldn’t come up with a comeback. The teen fell silent, his mind lingering on the words of his friend.

“We’re running out of time. We need a plan,” Hill announced to the crew, “Now Fury was called to some side business so it’s just us.” 

Beck and Peter glanced at each other before back at Hill who watched them intently as if she expected one of them to start coming up with a plan on the spot. 

“No offense but universal tears isn’t exactly my expertise. There isn’t exactly a class that teaches that,” Beck told the agent, his voice distant. 

Peter shoved his hands under his legs, his eyes shifting between the two like a child would, picking up on the strange tension. 

“Peter?” Hill turned to face the teen, her eyes desperate. 

“Well, uh, I-I watched a movie once were they opened p-portals into different universes,” Peter switched glances bet ween the older audience watching their facial expression as he made bizarre hand gestures as he nervously explaine d his lane of thinking, “I-In the movie, t-they built a particle accelerator t-to open the portals. I remember because they were wicked and totally didn’t make sense in the eyes of science  at all! My friend N-Ned and I both thought it was pretty unrealistic on how they were able to build a portal underneath-“

“Peter! What is your point?”  

“Oh!” Peter snapped out of his ramble, blushing. “I-I was gonna say that what if we build our own particle accelerator?”

“That’s a nice thought Peter,  but we’re trying to close tears not make them.” 

“I-I know! But if we can o-open portals on the other side, then w ho’s to say we can’t close them too? Mister Stark built a time machine, maybe if I modify his design and physics maybe we can make a particle accelerator that can close tears instead of make them!”

“That’s a big risk,” Beck suddenly spoke up, his voice stiff, “Especially for a science that is more fiction than actual science. No offense Pete.” 

Peter waved it off nervously, watching distant look on the man’s face. He could understand the man’s hesitance, this plan was far fetched and unbelievable considering it was sparked by a movie for god sake. Plus his ideas were always terrible and ended in pain of some sort.

“Wait, I think he’s onto something,” Hill interrupted.

“I am?” Peter asked in disbelief.

“Yes! Particle Accelerators aren’t totally in the realm of science fiction. It’s feasible. I’ve seen a few accelerators in my lifetime, so one that can open tears into other worlds isn't impossible.” 

Peter blinked, clearly not expecting what he was hearing. He just thought his idea would be brushed off and sent into the stupid dumb ideas pile. 

“But if it doesn’t work, d-dozens of people will perish,” Beck stated forcefully. His tone seeming a bit off and sending subtle red flags to the Shield Agent.

“It’s better than doing nothing.” Hill gave the man a firm look, telling him that her mind was made up. A dark look briefly washed upon the older hero’s face and for a second, Peter could swear he was looking at a whole different man. 

“Do you think you can build it Peter?” 

“I-I,” Peter stuttered, fearful of the responsibility, “-I’m not Tony Stark! I-I can’t just crack the secret of dimension hopping in a day! This would take years of research a-and testing-“ 

“Well, we don’t have years kid. I need to know now if you can do this.” 

Peter was shocked. The responsibility of the world on his shoulder already hurt his back but carrying the fate of it would break it. A kid being the only key to the world's survival was gut wrenching. However the world was desperate. They needed him again, they needed his brain. Unfortunately his brain wasn’t really anything, or at least that’s what Flash keeps telling him. Kept his mind corrected him.

“I-I’m gonna need a whole lot of coffee.”

Peter hadn’t slept in days. 

For the most part, it was due to the fact he was trying to crack the key to particle accelerators in a few days. His only source of help was a shit ton of google searches and a few ratty old physics textbooks. His eyes felt heavy and his body was slumped as he stared at the arias text on the page in front of him, scribbling some notes. 

Though there was another factor to it.

While working exhaustively, he was also plagued by the fear of dreaming. It was like a curse that was forced onto him. Everytime he slept, he dreamed. His dreams were always strange and unexplainable, scaring him every night. 

So Peter stayed awake and now he had an excuse. 

The teens exhausted form shifted, turning to look at the passed out figure of his friend. Beck’s face was buried in book, drooling as he dreamed about whatever one does after reading a massive science textbook. He assumed it was good since the man didn’t seem to be under any stress.

Peter turned to look at Hill. Her trained eyes watched her computer look like a hawk. She didn’t even look away when the teens eyes landed on the back of her head. 

The sight had become a usual. With time ticking, sleep had became an uninvited guest. The crew worked tirelessly for hopefully a good outcome. Peter couldn’t lie, the crew had grew on him like how the Avengers did once to him. Like a second family that lived underground in the sewers. He felt safe with them. They gave him back what the Avengers did once. A family. Including Fury despite it all. Hill had became like an older sister he never really wanted. Beck was something different. He wasn’t exactly what Mister Stark was to him. Nothing could replace what Stark was to him. It was just Beck was different. He wasn’t clinging onto Peter to make himself feel better. He didn’t see him as some sort of support kid as he once was with Stark. He didn’t need rasing. Beck was just there because he was. He didn’t have ropes tying him down to him. He saw Peter as his own man, yet still acknowledges the kid inside of him. He was the one person in this whole time of being back that made him feel whole. Like he wasn’t some broken forgotten kid again. He felt like he could actually stand on his two feet now with him helping him. He didn’t feel the depression as deep as he did before meeting him. Beck was a perfect role model. He always managed to make him feel better like how Stark did for him once. Maybe it was his orphan brain searching for another parent figure after losing Stark and May, or maybe it was the universe granting the spiderling a gift after all the sacrifice given by him.

As soon as that thought hit him, he felt guilt settle in his stomach. In a manner of weeks, he had already replaced the family he once had. Though never his intention, the kid couldn’t help but feel like he has a family again. One that didn’t leave him, one that understood him, one that didn’t underestimate him. They were everything the Avengers weren’t.

If this was supposed to be so bad, then why does it feel so good?

It didn’t matter anyways. Mister Stark had a family so he wouldn’t need him. Captain America was gone, even though they weren’t friends persay. Miss Romanoff was...well she wasn’t here anymore. Rhodey had his own life doing god knows what these days. Vision was also gone. Mister T’challa is literally a king so he definitely doesn’t need him. The Guardians were from space (thank god) so they surely didn’t need him. Strange was clear that he didn’t like him and Peter was unsure of his feelings towards him. Now that most of his anger towards him began to dampen, he wasn’t sure where to put the man on his favorite to least favorite hero list. After that, he doesn’t really know anybody else since they were technically his enemies during their whole little airport battle and then became fugitives. However, what he did know was that they were awesome fighters after the whole Thanos showdown. 

So maybe this new found family was supposed to be his next chapter. Maybe this is where he’s supposed to be. Part of him wished this would never end despite the circumstances. He just desperately wanted a family to be his forever. Or maybe he was too desperate and clinging onto the first sense of safety he’s felt since this whole snap fiasco. 

Whatever it was, Peter didn’t want to let it go and when the time comes, he wasn’t sure how he’ll take it when they’ll part ways.

“Are you sure?”

“The mother identified the body.”

The Coroner stood behind the glass, standing behind the large metal slab that was covered by a white sheet hiding a deceased body. 

“We just need your identification to be sure.”

Fury watched, his face set like a statue as the Agent banged on the window, signaling the coroner to start. He watched as they edged closer to the body, her thin fingers grabbing onto the white cloth and pulling it off of the body. His back straightened, puffing out his chest as he took a deep breath. 

“It’s him.” The nurse nodded, nodding towards the other woman. The body was covered up once again by the white sheet.

“So you’re gonna tell me what killed one of my best agents?” Fury asked, his fist clenched behind his back. “We don’t know. There’s no signs of foul play. The previous morgue that had him noted no signs of foul play so they shaped it up to be an overdose of pills or something to the homeless. That’s why it took awhile to find him.” 

“But?” Fury prompted.

“After the autopsy,” The Nurse continued, “we noticed something suspicious.” The woman brushed the stray strands of hair on her face behind her ear as she began to walk out with the director.

“What’s that?” Fury asked. 

“Nothing,” The Nurse concluded, “Absolutely nothing.” 

Fury awaited for the blond nurse to continue, watching her sign a few papers. “A completely healthy man doesn’t just drop dead,” She states boldly, “so we ruled his death suspicious.” 

The director sat in thought, his silence filling the room. For a moment it was like the whole world had become dead to the man, his mind off somewhere else. 

“Anything else?” 

“Yeah, we found blood underneath the fingertips,” The nurse told him, handing the director a file discreetly. 

“It’s a match to one file in the Shield database. Peter Parker.”

“Deep breaths kid.” 

Peter inhaled the cool air, feeling his lungs expand with the single breath before deflating with his exhale.

“Now try to focus on the stones. They’re a part of you right? Like another limb!” Peter focused his thoughts on the stones, reaching out to them. He could feel them. They were so bright, their power outshined the sun. It was like poking thousands of bolts of electricity with a stick. He was hesitant and frankly kinda frightening. This power was already too much to touch, but to hold felt like would kill him.

“Like an arm, you tell it what to do. You are in control, remember that,” Beck told him, his voice growing distant as the kid reached further into the light. 

God it was so bright.

Peter hesitated for a moment, pondering if it was too late to fall back. However he didn’t let his thoughts stump him and in a moment of pure bravery he latched onto the ball of pure light and wouldn’t let go. It was like dozens of bolts of energy shot through his body, frying him up on this inside. Control felt impossible with the sheer amount of energy there was. It was gonna burn him from the inside out if he didn’t let go. 

“Come on Pete!” 

Peter tried harder but eventually the light became too much and the boy collapsed on the roof with a nose bleed.

“Stark has been attempting to contact you again sir.”

Fury didn’t respond right away, his eyes focused on the city below. The tension inside of him sent shivers down the agents spine, making him regret entering the room.

“Ignore,” Fury ordered blandly. 

The Agent nodded and left the premises right away to avoid any more tension leaving the director to brood.

Now over the few weeks, Fury hate to admit it but he’s grown to somewhat be inspired by Peter. The kid showed heart despite his failures  and was truly the modern version of Captain America. However the case left him conflicted. One of his best agents Skip Westcott was dead in the morgue after begging sent on a mission to track down the teenage superhero known as Spider-Man. He had DNA proof that the kid was with him the night he died.

Fury recalled the night they found him all beat up and torn, barely functioning like a human being and responding negatively to touch, still is. All signs pointing to guilt. No doubt Peter had something to do with his death. However there was no cause of death. There was no way to say for sure it was murder if there was no proof. 

He knew his person view was biased by both sides. On one hand, the kid was still a kid. He still has nightmares like a child would a would call out at night for his Aunt or Stark. While on the other, Westcott had a family and was one of his best trained men. He deserved justice. 

If Peter did murder him, then Fury had no choice. He didn’t have one right now either. His soldiers are restless, demanding for action and hungry for blood. 

Fury just sat, reserved from the world. If this was anybody else he’d already have sicked the dogs on them. He couldn’t let emotions cause a barrier in his work. 

Sometimes being a director sucked more than being human. 

Fury picked up his takie, holding it up to his mouth as he spoke. “New mission,” he said, “Bring in Peter Parker for the murder of Skip Westcott.” 

“Copy that, Director.” 

Both agents walked away, their eyes flashed dangerously dark with a cruel expression, their eyes thirsting for blood from the murder of their fellow Agent. Little did Fury know, Peter was not gonna be captured in a peaceful way

Peter worked the blueprints, staring down at the blue paper with determination as he listened to the physicist speak in the video he had playing.

”It uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to very high speeds and energies, and to contain them in well-defined beams…” 

The teen managed to keep his head up during all the large science talk which was impressive since he was listening to Doctorates and Masters talk. He followed along, occasionally added input of his own into his notes, and help the process. Sometimes he finds Beck watching the process from a distant with a conflicted expression on his face as he watched him worked on the machine, tweaking it the design to make the accelerator portable. 

Peter had joined Beck to lunch one day despite his resistance, enjoying a creamy Mac and cheese with bacon while his friend ate fish and chips. The kid spoke freely about Star Wars, finding himself growing close to the mysterious hero. Peter treated him like a god. He’d listen to the countless tales, finding him sink further into the man’s spell. This man was a renowned hero back home, the only one in fact. This man single handedly fought every single villain that came his way and always managed to escape unharmed. Beck was exactly how Peter wished he was. 

Plus his life was a great distraction from his own. 

He learned that this man had been tricked and abused by people he loved, all of them betraying him. It was horrible to listen. 

“So then, I left home. I realized people can’t be trusted easily. People only care about themselves, never you,” Beck told the young spider, casting his eyes off into the distance with a hard look on his face.

“I care, if that makes you feel better,” Peter told him.

“You have a big heart Peter. I can see you care about a lot of people,” Beck told him, “Be careful. Not everyone shares your golden heart.” 

(“Time for you to go home Pete!” “I’m trying to save you!”)

Peter shifted in his seat, squirming at the memory of Toome’s. Finding it to be the lemon of his life, always bringing a sour taste in his life.

“You know, I’m curious as to your story Spider-Boy. You drink orange juice, you sleep in the craziest positions, Fury has an interest in you, you don’t like touch, and you always talk about this Tony Stark like he’s a god church or something. So tell me kid, what’s Peter Parker’s story?” 

That was like putting a ton of lemonheads, sour patches, and warheads into his mouth all at once. It caused him to tense further, bending the spork in his hand. His palms began to sweat, finding the spotlight to be unbearable on his fragile skin. 

“T-There’s not much to tell. It’s pretty b-boring,” Peter muttered, “I’m sure y-you don’t want me to bore you with my life.” 

“Come on, I told you everything about me. Tell me about you now, no matter how boring it could be.”

Peter watched to scream ‘no’ but he didn’t want his only friend to hate him. He was all he got. He couldn’t lose him too. However going into his past was gonna tear all the duct tape and bandages off of the unintended wounds he carried. He tried so hard to forget, to live in the present and look away from the painful shadows. His life before just brought so much guilt, pain, and sorrow that he was afraid to break. 

“I got my p-powers when I was fourteen. I-I kinda got bit on a field trip by a radioactive spider that gave me powers while nearly killing me,” Peter told, recanting the memories of him laying in his bed with a dangerous fever and horrible tremors. He went into detail about the first few months of his adventure in super power land. Recalling his selfish deeds was enough to feel guilt seep through him again, especially after he got into the topic of his uncle. 

“I got cocky...and um...I kinda took everything I had for granted. I-I got in an argument with m-my Uncle about my behavior and I-I kinda stormed off after telling him that he wasn’t my father,” Peter cringed at the memory, “H-He followed me a-and ended up getting shot because I-I was too caught up in myself when the shooter passed by me. H-He said ‘Thanks Kid’ before running off. Five minutes later, I find him in an alleyway with my Uncle and the s-store associate. My Uncle had tried to f-fight the man for the gun but ended up getting shot. I held him in my arms as he bled out.” The words rang in his head, his Uncle’s hoarse voice and pale skin telling him that things would be okay. The man who was dying tried to comfort the terrified teen that screamed and cried for help. 

“He died a hero,” Beck told Peter, his voice awkwardly quiet. 

“Yeah...I know that.” The teen fiddled with his hands, refusing to meet the older man’s gaze. His eyes burned, but he refused to show emotion. “I just wished he didn’t.” 

There was a silence, a dreadful silence that Peter broke because he couldn’t stand it. “Anyways,” Clearing his throat, “ After that I became Spider-Man. My uncle died doing what was right, and the least I could do is honor his memory by fighting for guys like him.” 

“Wow, your backstory is way cool,” Beck joker lightly, giving a small chuckle before taking a sip from his drink. 

“Not as cool as Mister Stark or Captain freaking America,” Peter pointed out, a small smile spread across his lips. Beck twitched at the mention of Stark but still kept his friendly smile. 

“From what I’ve heard, hell yeah.” 

Their laughter filled the table, catching the attention of bystanders. By the time his stomach began to ache, his laughter died down leaving them a giggling mess. 

“We should head back,” Peter told the distracted man, “We don’t have much time to spare before the world ends.” 

“If the world ends,” Beck muttered deeply under his breath. Peter hadn’t heard what was said as he stood, picking up their trash before placing it in its respective bin. Together the two headed out, blabbering on about a bet. 

Neither paid attention to the agents across the road watching them leave.

“Hey Aquafina! Meet my less attractive adversary, Mister Mysterio’s magic with punch!” 

Peter released the heavier man onto the raging monster below. He watched as the extra boost gave them the higher ground, bringing them the better chance. 

However the teen on the other hand focused on the ground. He saved citizens from being whisked away by the unusual large tides, bringing them to safety. He counted nearly twenty who recklessly placed themselves in harms away by simply trying to film the fight on a bridge or something while others were there purely by accident. Peter swooped down, snatching them out of harm's way while Beck did the heavy lifting. 

It made him being Spider-Man less daunting. He didn’t have a major freakout or freeze. He was actually doing something good for once. He owed it to Beck for making him overcome it for a bit and own it. He owed it all to that man for making him feel like himself once again.

The two hero’s had grown to be in sync while fighting. They were like peanut butter and jelly while fighting. The city was their studio and they were the dancers. Each move and every hit was a strange melody that melted into each other playing a great song.

Fighting Hydron had became a norm. They became partners in crime fighting, throwing hits that neither would be able to do alone. The two were about to wrap up the fight when suddenly the monster dropped, returning to salty water underneath. Peter was in mid swing when the water man decided to dip and landed on another roof. He looked up at Beck who just seemed to shrug it off like it wasn’t weird. The two were left alone with tons of people and not a clue on what happened.

Peter and Beck returned to base, smiling wildly as each spoke happily about their victory. For once a true smile was plastered onto the teens face. Happiness sore through him at his usefulness, finally finding where he belongs. They were coming up by the opening when he felt a tingle on the back of neck causing the hairs on his arms to rise simultaneously. He stops mid track, his arm shooting out to stop the hero beside him.

“What?” The hero looked at the kid, his smile fading into confusion.

“There must be a mistake! No way in hell would the kid be guilty of something like that! You must have the wrong kid!” He heard Hill exclaim, using his advanced hearing to his advantage. 

“We have DNA. Now stand down. We have orders to bring Peter Parker in, so don’t stand in our way unless you want your badge revoked.”

Peter stepped back, feeling his heart drop and mouth go dry. Hill went silent. 

“We bring in the Parker boy alive. He’s only to be harm if he tries to run or harm one of us! Copy?” The soldiers shouted, copying the orders.

Beck must’ve heard since he was the one to back away first gesturing for them to run. However by the time Peter felt his feet move, men came charging down the hall, wield rifles and other weapons while wearing protective gear.  

“FREEZE! HANDS IN THE AIR!” Peter’s head swirled, unable to comprehend what he was hearing. Was this really happening? 

“PETER!” Beck exclaimed as agents grabbed him, pulling him back leaving Peter in the center of a circle of lions.

God why does everything feel so weird? Nothing felt real. Like this was some crazy dream he was bound to awaken from. He could feel the negative emotion radiating off of Beck as Peter just stood frozen in time. 

“HANDS UP, NOW!” Men screamed at him. 

Danger.

Danger 

Danger.

Danger. 

His mind rang like a bell in a church, his instincts glaring up as suddenly he felt a familiar light inside of him flare up. Like a puppet on strings, he moved his arms up unable to stop them.

“Peter!” Hill came running before being stopped by another agent. “Just do as they say! Don’t do anything rash!”

All the voices got louder, overflooding him with emotions he couldn’t handle, forcing the light inside of him grew larger until it burst inside of him. 

Peter blinked, his eyes shifting to the color of mind. He heard people gasp and watched Hill stumble backwards in surprise before suddenly lifting his hands in the air like he was asked. Without any sense of control, he tore cement off the walls before aiming them towards the dozens of agents. They began to fire but all the bullets were stopped mid air, freezing in a center on time. 

“That was a bad idea,” he snarled.

“OH SHI-“ Cement bricks went flying, attacking each man that threatened him. In the shadows the boy could make out the familiar hooded figure fighting the crowd like a ghost, hurting them despite being invisible to basically everyone at the moment, serving him and aiding in his protection. 

Although looking back at it, the only protection he needed was from himself.

By the time Peter gained his body back, nothing by rubble and ash could be seen. He was too frightened by the scene to listen. He felt cold chills rise through his body as tried to find Beck or Hills face. Unable to watch for any longer he stumbled backwards, tripping over his own feet as his body fell through a portal created, landing in a soft green grass field behind a farm. 

Peter’s tears stung more than the fear inside of him. The stench of death reeked his hands, and this time, there was nobody to run back to.