Chapter Text
Peter thought New York was alright.
It was a little crowded and a little loud, but his dad and Ms. Pott’s seemed really happy about the project they were working on. So he bit his tongue and occupied himself with small tasks around the newly constructed tower. Helping Dum-E sweep the many floors, watching tiny pedestrians from the highest story window, or silently listening to Tony ramble on about logistics that he could only understand half of.
It was a strange change as well. After all, in the two years he’d been on earth he had only known Malibu. Sunny skies and warm Malibu. In California, you at least had room to breath, but every time Peter went outside in New York he couldn’t help but feel like he was being suffocated. Like the millions of people that occupied it’s buildings were staring into his soul and dissecting his thoughts.
When he had confided in his dad about this, the man had only smiled and gave him a gentle pat on the head before saying, “ That’s New York for you buddy. ”
So it was definitely weird and different, but everything hit its peak once the dreams started.
“ Dad!? ” Peter screamed, running through the seemingly endless streets. “ Dad where are you? ”
His voice felt dry and hoarse, mostly likely on account of his frantic yelling and the thin layer of dust that seemed to have settled over everything. Peter wasn’t sure how he had even gotten here, one second him and Tony had been on the couch watching Star Wars and the next he was standing in the middle of an unfamiliar street. Completely alone.
Peter quickly skidded to a stop when an explosion sounded from somewhere above him. Knowing he’d regret it, the boy stole a quick glance up to the sky where a familiar black hole was opening up above the city. Right above Stark Tower.
The sight was one that had become horrifyingly common to Peter, but despite that it still sent chills down his spin whenever the flying ships and monster starting pouring out of the abyss and heading directly towards the city.
“You know you’re one of them, right?” The deep voice spooked Peter and he quickly turned around to find Tony standing only a few feet away from him. “You’re just as much a monster as they are, if not worse.”
This wasn’t Peter’s Tony. This wasn’t his dad. This was a cruel twisted voice in his head that had the gall to manifest into the only person he had ever learned to trust. Peter knew and understood that, but it didn’t hurt any less when the man glared at him with a look of pure hatred and despise.
“I am nothing like them.” Peter retorted through clenched teeth. “I am not a monster, and I never will be.”
Another explosion rang from somewhere in the distance, and Peter swiveled around just in time to watch as one of the huge alien ships crashed directly into Stark Tower. Even though it never truly felt like home to him, and probably never would, watching the letters of his newly acquired surname go crashing to the surface felt like a punch to the gut.
“ Look at this Peter. ” Not-Tony screamed, as more and more enemies poured from the wormhole. “ This is your future one way or another. Are you really selfish enough to take your family down with you? To destroy the only home you’ve ever known? ”
Suddenly the distantly familiar sensation of falling consumed Peter’s being, and only seconds later he realized he too was falling from the wormhole. It was as if all the ships had disappeared, because he was the only one now occupying the sky. Falling straight towards Stark Tower.
This was the way it was always meant to end, Peter supposed, as the tower’s shiny surface continued to get closer and closer. So resigned to his fate, he closed his eyes and imagined the comfort of a shallow Malibu swimming pool beneath him. His own wormhole to home.
Peter woke up with a start, finding that somewhere along the way his small body had connected with the hard wooden floor. Groaning, he pushed himself up onto his knees and found that he was in his bedroom, not the living room as he had last remember.
“Jarvis?” He whispered, his voice just as scratchy as it had been in the dream.
“Hello Peter.” The AI’s british voice responded. “Your heart rate and adrenaline levels seemed to be significantly elevated, would you like me to wake your father?”
“No no no.” Peter responded, pulling himself back onto the overly large queen bed that sat in the corner of his room. “I’m fine, I promise. What time is it?”
“It is currently 1:56am.”
Peter knew there was no way he would be getting back to sleep, not after a dream like that. He could always crawl into his dad's bed, but ever since Ms. Potts had moved in they had shared a room and he always felt weird intruding on them. So he weighed his few options and made a quick choice.
Peter stood up and walked over to his small desk area. His computer was still turned on from earlier when he had been doing homework, so he was easily able to ex out his work tads and slowly type one word into the Google search bar. Letter by letter, and hesitating before hitting enter.
Aliens
“Mr. Peter, I do believe it is far too late for a young boy such as yourself to be playing on the computer at this time of night. Please return to bed before I am forced to inform your father of your late night activities.” Jarvis’s voice rang out throughout the room, making Peter roll his eyes.
“Relax Jarvis.” Peter responded. “It’s just homework. I’ll go back to bed in a second.”
The first few websites were what you would expect; conspiracy theories, alleged alien sightings, and more information on Area 51 than Peter would have ever wanted to know. But around three pages in, he finally started finding somewhat relevant information for what he was looking for.
Possibly Alien sighting in Puente Antiguo, New Mexico???
Peter wasn’t sure what drove him to click on the glaringly lurid news article, but once he found himself reading he couldn’t stop.
On the evening of April 17th, 2011, the small town of Puente Antiguo, located in New Mexico, was faced with a horrendous surprise as it was attacked by a creature that the towns folks can only describe as extraterrestrial. The being, which many of the town's citizens have nicknamed the Destroyer, seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and ruthlessly demolished and tore down many of the town's historic buildings.
Witnesses say the being only disappeared once an equally otherworldly group of people appeared and seemingly defeated the creature before disappearing entirely. Authorities and common folk alike are both dumbfounded by the series of events, and many people have already left the small town and surrounding areas out of fear of the monsters return. However the states governor had assured people there is no more threat, and has been encouraging people to return home and back to their lives.
Locals say they saw long time residents, Dr. Jane Foster, Dr. Erik Selvig, and Ms. Darcy Lewis communing and housing one of the men who was present at the attack days before it happened, but all three of them disappeared before they could be properly questioned or interviewed. As of now, none of them have been located.
The entire story was so unlike anything Peter had ever read or heard about before, that he found himself rereading the article nearly three times. Only two pictures had been released along with the article; one of the destruction wrought upon the town, and one of an agent looking person who appeared to be investigating the scene of the crime.
For some reason Peter kept coming back to that second picture, staring at it until his vision went blurry or he decided to read the article once again. It was on his third viewing of the picture when he realized why the image sat so wrong in his stomach. He recognized the person captured in the picture, or at least the insignia stitched onto his jacket.
The memory was hazy, as was most of his time spent in the basement, but that same symbol which had been sewn onto Nick Fury’s coat stuck out to him like a sore thumb. When the man himself had hacked into Jarvis’s advanced programming and came to visit Peter in the flesh, the same logo had been stitched onto his jacket.
Peter could clearly remember staring at it for longer than was probably necessary, wondering why someone would decorate such a nice coat with such a funny sign.
This wasn’t just some random happenstance in the middle of a desert, Shield was involved in this case. And if Peter had learned anything from Tony’s hour long rants about the entire organization, when Shield was involved with something, it was usually never good.
Which meant that this incident must be truly otherworldly, and possibly Peter’s only gateway to figuring out what was happening with his dreams, and maybe even his own past.