Chapter Text
Peter was sitting at the table, eating Chinese takeout again with the rest of the Avengers that were currently at the Tower.
Tony, Steve, Scott, Wanda, Bucky, Bruce, Nat, and Clint. All surrounding a table, eating takeout. A few years ago, and Peter would have never thought this would ever happen, and he would be freaking out. But, now, it was normal.
Currently, he was talking over a new suit design with Tony and Bruce. Normal night, when he would spend a few hours working on a new suit until nine, then go patrolling until one. Then crash until ten am.
That was his plan, until he got a text on his phone.
Crime Warning near area “Aunt May’s Apartment”.
“I have to go.” He said, instantly standing up.
“What’s wrong, kid?” Tony asked, knowing full well that Peter never skipped takeout.
“Crime near May’s apartment. I need to make sure she’s safe.”
Bruce nodded. “Good luck, Peter.”
“See you later!” Peter was already pulling his mask over his face and clicking on his web shooters. He always had his suit on, so he just dumped his clothes onto the floor as he made his way to the window. Janking his suit sleeves down and pulling over his gloves, he pushed the window opened, and flew out.
This was the reason that Peter loved the Avengers Tower. Last year, when they moved back into the Tower since the Compound was impractical. At first, it was really scary jumping off of the Tower, but now it was fun, thrilling.
Zipping out a web, he swung to his Aunt’s apartment.
______________
Once the apartment was in his sights, it almost made Peter pass out in horror.
The whole building was on fire.
“Karen! Why didn’t you tell me this?” He screamed at his suit.
“I knew that if I told you, your stress levels would rise, which would probably result in a panic or anxiety attack. But, if you figured it out on the way, then you would get right to the point.”
Taking a deep breath, Peter nodded. “Okay. The fire apartment’s here? What started the fire?”
“I’m not sure, but I believe that is was a leak in a gas pipe. It seems like there are about ten people left inside the building, on the third, eighth, and tenth floor. All scattered. Everyone else is taken care of. It seems that there are others on the scene, most likely firefighters. I would recommend taking the people on the tenth floor, since they are in the most danger.”
“Thanks Karen! Can you find Aunt May?”
“I cannot tell just yet, but I’ll alert you if I do.”
Flying into the building, he noticed an young girl and a teenage boy surrounded by fire.
“Jake!” The little girl cried out, hugging the boy’s leg. “The fire’s getting close!”
“It’s okay, Gem.” The older boy said, picking the girl up. “I’ll protect you.”
Peter ran through the flames. “Don’t worry! I’ve got you!”
“Spider-Man?” The girl asked.
“Take Gem first, Spider-Man.” The boy said, handing over the girl. “She’s more important.”
“You come to, kid. I can’t leave you behind.” Peter took the girl and held out the arm to the boy. He grabbed it and the three went off.
Peter made a web trampoline, and pushed the boy off into it. Making another one, he dropped the little girl into it.
“JAKE!” She screamed, bouncing in the web.
“I’ll get to you, Gem!”
Peter went off to the next floor. “Anymore in the top floor?”
“Nope. Five in floor eight, three in floor three.”
Then, a flash of white caught Peter’s eye. But, after a second, he just brushed it off as a figure of his imagination, since Karen didn’t pick anyone up.
Saving the people in the building, he carefully pulled the people and got them in webs. Hopefully, they could get out, but he didn’t have time to get them all of the way down. Although he wished he could have kept the two kids together.
“I have found May Parker. She is trapped in concrete, but not injured.” But, as Peter sprinting to find her, Karen spoke up. “It seems that she is being saved already.”
“By who ?”
“I cannot read their faces, or anything about them. They don’t seem to be giving off any heat signatures. But I can see their bodies, and they still affect my signals.”
“Shit!”
Peter found his way over to the people, trying to get there in case they hurt May. But when he got there, they were both gone.
“They both are outside now, Peter. May is probably getting the help she needs. I would recom-”
“I’m checking on Aunt May.”
“Okay, most of the other victims have already been saved. I trust your judgement, Peter.”
“Thanks Karen. Make sure that the other people are safe.”
Swinging down, Peter found that May was sitting with the other victims, getting checked for burns. He recognized the little girl and her brother, being taken care of by a medic.
“Jake! It’s Spider-Man!” The little girl cried out as he hit the ground. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome, kiddo.” Peter waved at her, smiling at her big, bright hazel eyes. Even though she couldn’t see, but Peter knew that she knew that he smiled.
“Thanks, Spidey.” The boy said, resting a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “Go do what you need to.”
Peter left the two, going back to trying to find May.
Once he finally found her, he peered from behind a truck, making sure she was okay. She was being checked by a parametric, and she seemed just fine.
Peter zipped to a alley nearby and changed back into Peter Parker.
Running back, he went straight to May.
“Aunt May!” He shouted as he got closer. May noticed him and waved him over.
“Peter!” She cried, pulling her nephew into a tight hug. “Thank God you’re here!”
“Are you okay?” Peter asked, looking his aunt over. “Are you hurt?”
“Nothing more than a few minor burns. Thankfully, Spider-Man saved me. But he ran away before I could thank him.” Winking, she let go. “I’m going to need a place to stay for awhile.”
Peter was confused at the fact that May thought that he had saved her, not the other person. But, he still was able to pick up May’s hint.
“Y-you can stay with me, May.” He said, nodding for no reason. “It’s okay.”
“Thanks, Peter.” She turned to the paramedic.
“You’re good to go, Miss Parker. Just keep an eye on those burns.”
Peter began walking, gesturing for May to follow him. “Come on, I just have to make a quick call.”
Grabbing his phone, Peter clicked on the icon of a poorly drawn Ironman. “Tony?” Peter asked once the phone connected.
“What’s up Peter? Is May okay?”
“Ya, May’s fine. But her apartment burnt down, and she needs a place to stay.”
“Oh, just bring her up here. We’ll get a room made for her.”
“Thanks, Tony.”
“You know how the fire started?”
“Karen said it was a faulty gas pump nearby. Hopefully, they fix it soon.”
“Hopefully. See you soon, Pete.”
“See ya, Tony.”
The phone call ended and Peter carefully slid the phone into his pocket. He began to walk towards the street when he heard a cheerful cry.
“GWEN!” The little girl from before shouted, and Peter turned to see the little girl sprinting towards a tall, older girl with short, curly light blonde hair. Next to her was a slightly taller, Mexican/African-American boy with very short black hair, and a Spider-Man hoodie.
“Gem! Are you okay?” The older girl picked up the little girl and they hugged.
“What happened, Jake?” The tall boy asked.
“A fire started, and I was so focused on making sure that Gem didn’t get hurt that I didn’t realize that we were trapped until too late.” The brown-haired boy said, following his sister. “Thankfully, Spider-Man got us out, and a woman; dressed in a black and white suit, and having similar powers to Spidey- got us out of the webs we were trapped in and got us to the paramedics.”
“There’s three Spider-Men!” Gem cried out. “We saw a black one, too!”
“That’s amazing, Gem.” Gwen looked at Jake. “Where are you two going to go?”
“I guess we’re finally going to go to the child protective services.”
“Or you can come with me.” Gwen took a few big steps forward. “Jake, you and Gem won’t last a week in that place! It’s crazy!”
“Will Uncle Arthur let us stay?”
“Screw him! My dad will.”
Jake shook his head. “Sorry, Gwen. But I’ll have to pass. Gem and I will figure this out.”
“But-Jake!”
“I know Uncle Arthur, Gwen. He won’t let us stay.”
Gwen let Gem down, and the little girl ran to her brother. The brother and sister duo held hands and began to walk away, all the while Peter was frozen in place, watching the blonde-haired girl fall to her knees. Peter could tell that May was watching too, and he wanted to leave, but neither could move.
“Gwen, they’ll be okay.” The boy said, patting his friend’s hair. “They’ll be safe, the gover-”
“No, they won’t!” Gwen shouted, looking straight into the boy’s eyes. “Miles, you’ve never been there. You never had to deal with the grief of a dead parent! You never had to deal with a worthless slob that called himself your father!” The girl was freaking out. “T-they were doing so good . I just wanted them to be okay.”
After a few seconds of silence, the boy grabbed the girl’s hand. “Come on, let’s go. Let’s just...forget about this over some video games, okay?”
“Kay.” Then, they both left.
Once they were out of sight, May and Peter locked eyes.
“Did you save those two brown-haired kids?” Peter nodded. “Oh, God…” May ran a hand through her hair. “I feel so bad for them.”
“I wish we could do something.” Peter knew how the kids felt. Sad, depressed, probably. Jake? Hopeless. It was all something that Peter had gone through.
Peter and May finally made their way to the Avenger Tower.
_____________
“ Two new people?” Bruce asked, as he, Peter, and Tony were working in the lab.
May was talking to Nat and Wanda, getting to know about everything that was going on in the superhero world that Peter failed to mention. So, Peter had taken the opportunity to talk to Tony and Bruce, the two people that he felt could help with the new discovery.
“I think so. According to a teenage boy and a young girl. But, I believe it.”
“And why’s that?” Tony asked, setting down his welding torch.
“Aunt May-she said that it was
me
that had saved her from the building. But I didn’t. Someone else did.” Peter sighed. “But Karen couldn’t see anyone.”
“Did she scan everything?”
“Yep. Nothing.”
Tony stared at the young boy. “What exactly did those kids say?”
“The boy said that after I had gotten them safely away, that a, supposedly woman, figure grabbed them both and took them to the paramedics. And that they saw another one, in a black suit. They were said to have...similar abilities as me.”
Bruce spoke up. “But, the spider bite was six years ago. Would Oscorp still be making those spiders?”
“Probably. They focus a lot on genetics. They wouldn’t stop unless they were forced to, and then they would probably just do it in secret.” Peter picked up a wrench, and tossed it in his hand. “I just wonder how.”
“Do you know if the middle school you went to still does those field trips?”
“I don’t think they do. It costed a lot of money.”
Tony sighed. “Well, that leaves one thing.”
“What’s that?” Bruce asked, facing the man.
“Peter goes and meet the two, and finds out if they’re doppelgangers, or if they’re legit.”