Chapter Text
Peter lets himself slide in through the window, and lands carefully on the laboratory floor. RC DC is playing loudly over Friday’s speakers, but before he has a chance to even take a step towards Mr. Stark and make his presence known, the music cuts off. It’s one of the mechanics many protocols, installed to make life around the Avengers tower easier. He turns around in his chair, away from the worktable he’s sitting at, and smiles as Peter. “How was patrol?”.
“It was great” Peter smiles as he pulls the mask off his face, letting cold air into his lungs. He discards the fabric on a nearby table. “There was this older woman whose dog had run away, so I helped her find it. It had hidden itself in one of the bushes near her apartment complex. It was so cute, you should have seen it, Mr. Stark”.
Mr. Stark shakes his head with a deep sigh, as he gets to his feet and moves to place his arm over Peter’s shoulders. Pulls him into his side and offers safety and warmth. “We’re not getting a dog” Mr. Stark says sternly and guides Peter towards the lab exit, Peter almost wants to argue that wasn’t what he was thinking, but maybe it was. It isn’t his fault that animals love him, or that he loves animals for that matter. He says nothing. “Go get changed, Steve’s cooking”.
Peter lets Mr. Stark push him out the lab doors, and chuckles with a light smile, as the mask is pushed into his hands. “Steve really doesn’t have to, we could just to takeout” Peter points out. He doesn’t mind that Steve cooks, the super solider always made enough to feed a whole party, or… three super soldiers and rest of the Avengers. But it feels almost, like wasting the hero’s time. Peter had stayed over with Mr. Stark for lab nights, and Pizza and movies, a million times. This wasn’t any different. Or well, he couldn’t just go home to May, because she was traveling with work. But that didn’t mean, the Avengers needed to do anything special.
“Steve knows, Kid. Don’t try to stop him” Mr. Stark responds with a snort as he turns on his heals and calls over his shoulders as the lab doors close behind him “Remember to call aunt hottie!”.
Peter gives a soft nod at the door, but Mr. Stark is already out of reach, when Peter lets his eyes roll sarcastically. There’s no way, ever, that he’d forget to call Aunt May. It’s a part of their deal, he gets to keep being Spider-man, and he must update her every day. Even when she’s traveling. But he doesn’t mind. It seems like a fair deal, even to him. Everyone’s happy.
His feet and legs feel heavy as he carries himself towards the elevator, where Friday is waiting to bring him up to the penthouse on the top floor, where his bedroom and the general living area is hidden. Far away from paparazzi, and stalkers, so Peter can change safely.
The light in the elevator shines brightly, and slightly harshly into Peter’s eyes are he steps inside. The doors close slowly, before the panel activates, and show him the floor number. Slowly ticking upwards, as the elevator moves. Pushes him up, through the tower. Into his second home. Where he could be safe, both as Peter, and a Spidey. Most kids would give anything to live with the Avengers, for just a day. Peter gets to do it a lot. Once, he’d been the one to give everything.
The elevator comes to a halting stop, and the doors open with a soft pling playing over Friday’s speakers, before Peter steps out. The smell of Steve’s cooking hitting his nose instantly, the sound of voices echoing through the house, reaches his ears.
He lets a smile slide onto his lips, and in a small flip he jumps from the floor to the celling. Letting himself stick to the surface, as he crawls over the white painted wooden loft, towards the combined kitchen and living room. Pretty, and white, and modern, in a way only Pepper or Happy would have ever thought off. Yet it’s the Avengers who uses it the most.
He crawls in a large circle around one of the celling lamps. The warmth radiates, from the bulb. It’s light, vibrating in the darkness that’s slowly sneaking in through the windows, as falls hits, and with it, the city grows colder. As the suit, and its heater, grows warmer in responds.
He crawls over the celling as silently as he can, until he reaches the kitchen. He finds a good spot near one of the backwalls to keep crawling. It allows him good access to all the Avengers in the room. Steve is working on the cooking at the stove. Natasha is sitting at the kitchen island with Clint, reading through some outdated magazine, that Mr. Stark is too busy to replace with a new version. Like in hospital waiting rooms, were all you can do, is read about some beauty trend from 2012, or the latest hero stuff that’s really from 2010.
It’s an oddity that Peter has never understood, but then again, Peter is too young to read magazines. He has access to the whole world, through a screen, that lives in his pocket. No letters, and pen pals. It’s all just a click of a button now.
Bucky is leaning over the couch with Bruce, his own smartphone holds in his flesh arm. The sound of tik tok music blast through the speakers, and Peter can’t help but hm along as he crawls.
He crawls over, sitting above Steve’s head, before he finally unsticks from the celling with his hands. Before he slowly lets himself slide down, on a well place web, that holds him up, right in front of the Super soldiers’ face. He smiles awkwardly, as Cap takes a step backwards, almost falling over his own two feet, but catches himself on the counter. “Mr. Stark said you’re cooking”.
“I am” Steve nods, as he sighs deeply, before letting go of the marble counter behind him. Stepping closer, “Hungry?”.
Peter shrugs kindly and grabs the spoon Steve had been using to steer around the pod. He places a little of the sauce on the spoon and moves it to his lips. The spicy smell makes Peter’s mouth runs, as he places it into his mouth. Eating upside down, had been tricky when he first started doing it. Now it’s as easy as eating right side up, if not easier. It comes almost naturally. Despite the food, breaking basic rules of physics to get into his stomach. “This is really good, Mr. Captain, sir”.
The solider rubs the back of his neck, and smiles at the younger hero, before grabbing a new spoon. Shooing Peter away, so he can keep on with his cooking. The younger hero, moving to a new strand of webbing by Rogers side. The old one, dangling in front of Steve’s blue eyes.
From his web, he reaches out easily towards the phone he’d left on the counter before patrol. The background pictures, a photo of him, May and Ben, taken on the last birthday Peter held with Ben, stares at him as he types in his password, before opening contacts, and scrolling downwards to find May Parker on the list. She’s somewhere near the bottom, and her named is followed by more emotes than the screen can even show. The contact picture is some old one, from a wedding album that Peter had gone through, a while ago. The picture of a picture isn’t the best quality, and scanning at in the towers Media lab, would probably be better. He’s just… not gotten around to it.
Yet.
Yet, being the key word.
His fingers double tap her name, and the screen changes to the call screen as he places the smartphone that Mr. Stark got him, against his ear. Waiting for a respond through the speakers. Waiting to be greeted by May’s soft voice, asking how everything is going. A small beep repeats over and over for a few seconds before May finally picks up. “Peter! How was school?”. May’s voice is cheerful, light. It makes Peter smiles even brighter as he started going over both school and patrol for the day. About test, and studying, and homework. About Flash and MJ and Ned, and everything else that he can think off, and anything that May asks about.
“The earthquakes stopped” Peter finishes off, “They were really weird, May. Like, weird. There’s something more to them, but they haven’t been there for the few two days”. But they had been weird, sending waves through the city as the same time, every day, for almost a week. But Karen hadn’t had the sensors to track it, and while Friday probably could, the shakes had disappeared.
May’s voice stiffens when she responds, slowly, hesitant. “Maybe it’s nothing, Peter”.
Peter instinctively shakes his head, without even realizing it, knowing full well that May can’t see it. But Steve, Clint and Natasha all move their eyes to him, talking, without using any words. “I don’t know” Peter whispers into the phone, “My Spidey sense says it is something”.
“If it is something…” May says, even slower than before. Almost like she doesn’t want to say the words out loud, “I’m sure our all’s neighborhood Spider-man is going to fix it”.
“He will” Peter says confidently, but he knows May hopes he won’t. It’s never said out loud, and looking at their deal, with the phone calls and updates, you wouldn’t guess it. But May doesn’t like the idea of Spider-man. It’s only because of the fact, rest of the Avengers has his back, that May has agreed to their arrangement. Peter fears every day she’ll change her mind.
May and him says their goodbye’s before he hangs up, and slowly lets himself get back down onto the floor. He looks around at the Avengers, who’s been listening to the last part of the conversation with an intense stare. “You really don’t think it’s weird?”.
Bruce joins from the living room, with Bucky at his heals, “It is weird” he says, “But it’s also quite fascinating. And seemingly, less dangerous than an alien attack”.
Peter feels his shoulders slump. Sometimes, he feels like a kid when the Avengers area around. They’ve seen things that Peter could only dream about and fought battles that Peter wouldn’t have the skill to even make an attempt. They know what they’re doing, most of the time. And make that more than well known, when Peter stays over, asking stupid questions and comes with odd theories. Of course, this isn’t any different.
And of course, Bruce is right. The shakes that flow through the city, has yet to make any actual damage. The ground just vibrates under people’s feet, but it’s nothing like a real earthquake. So why does Peter’s sense tell him something else? Why does the science, and the instincts, tell him different things? It’s confusing. And weird, and odd. And annoying, all the same.
He shrugs halfheartedly, and then tightens his grasp around his mask. He walks out the kitchen, towards his room, with a low head. Why can’t they just believe him for once when he says something isn’t right? Why, oh why, is his thoughts not good enough?
He can hear the elevator move through the tower, Mr. Stark voice joining the others in the kitchen, and Peter picks up the pace as he reaches his room. Friday opens the door, without a word in acknowledgement. Allowing Peter to enter, what might be the most expensive bedroom anyone has ever owned. Ned is jealous about it, but for Peter it’s just overwhelming. Lego everywhere, more technology than he could ever need.
He lets himself fall over the large bed in the middle of the room, pushing himself to the edge on the other side, and plugs in his phone. Letting the green battery icon show up, as the phone pulls out it’s much needed energy from the wall outlet. Peter can hear the electricity move. Can almost feel it in the edges of the phone before he discards it on the nightstand.
He lets himself sink into the soft mattress and allowing every muscle in his body to relax. Mr. Stark had designed the room himself, somewhere between Berlin and homecoming. Of course, the original room is at the compound, this is at the tower. But he’s seen both. They’re copies of one another, every little detail the same. Only looking at the window here, makes Peter feel much more are home than the compounds woods and fields ever had. He’s grown up in the city. He doesn’t function well, is there aren’t windows he can crawl out of, and skyscrapers he can swing from. He’s Spider-man after all. He’s special.
He’s Spider-man, with super strength, and a Spidey sense that sends shivers down his spine. Warns him of incoming danger and tells him where it’s coming from. How to move and get away from it. And together with his enhanced senses, he feels almost OP. Overpowered.
He stiffness on the bed. His muscles go ridged as against the mattress that’s as soft as a cloud, and a small wave of shivers moves down Peter’s spin and down through his lower arms, and legs. Making the hairs against his skin stand against the cold He pushes himself up into a sitting position and allows his senses to work, feels the vibrations in the bed, and can hear quietly the sound of the windows as their bulletproof glass is shaken.
“Friday?” Peter asks slowly, as he looks around. It’s another earthquake. “Can you track that?”.
“Give me a moment, Peter. I’ll see what I can do”.
Peter nods to himself and swings his legs on the edge of the bed. Let’s his feet collide with the floor and moves back towards the kitchen. Running, this time, while he pulls the spandex mask over his head, and the tremors through the ground grows bigger, and stronger, and his Spidey sense screams at him to get out. To get away.
To stop whatever is happening. Whatever the cost. Before it’s too late.
***
Obi-wan feels the force as the pocket, quickly, yet clearly all the same. It’s song catching his attention, as the new, different, melody. It’s different, in a way he can’t quite explain, as he frowns his brow and closes his eyes for a short moment. Letting the force flow more deeply, more intensely through the body. Listens to it, reaches into it, and finds it chaotic. Dark, almost. It’s different from its normal lightness, and the new feel almost takes him off guard. Makes him, stumble a few steps backwards, almost falls.
He catches himself on a nearby crate, cradles to it like a lifeline. It’s enough to prevent him, and his cloths, to collide with the muddy ground below the training ground. But not enough to pull him out of his moment with the force, his eyes still tightly closed.
The force calls for him. That much becomes clear in moments. Maybe because neither Anakin nor his Padawan Ashoka reacts to it, reaches out into it, like Kenobi does. Maybe, because he can feel it almost whispers his name, tickles his down his back, and arms, in a new, interesting way. Like a warning, a sign of incoming danger, that only he can sense. That only he understands. Even if he doesn’t understand it yet. Not quite.
And with the new feeling, with the pulsing danger that flows through the force, he also feels something different. Something he’s only sense one time before, on a mission gone wrong. On Mortis, with the daughter, and the father, and the son. Like a force nexus, but weaker. Almost human like, in the far distant of the force. Human, so much like himself. But younger, and… unaware of the force flowing brightly around him like an ocean of hope of glory.
“Master Kenobi?”. His eyes open slowly, meet with the blue, sky like shine from Ashoka’s eyes. Her orange, almost reddish skin, with the white patterns growing in, changing as she ages, stares back at him. Worry in her face. “Are you alright, Master?”.
“Ah” Obi-wan takes a deep breath, before he straightens, “Of course, Young one. A small disturbance in the force, is all”.
Ashoka places a deep, unthrusting, thrown on her face. One Obi-wan has seen many times before, both at himself, but also Anakin. But the young Padawan doesn’t push the issue, even he Obi-wan and herself both knows she wants to. She spends as much time with Obi-wan, as she does her master. It’s no surprise that she senses the shock, and unease that he feels. And with her strong ability to read Anakin’s lies, it’s no surprise she reads his either.
“Did you need anything?” Obi-wan asks with a hesitant smile, as he his scan over the area, watching the rebels as they gather around Anakin and Rex somewhere in a far corner of the camp. Clearly getting ready to moves from the training with the tanks, to some droid training instead.
Ashoka shakes her head, her lekku brush against her shoulders softly with the movement. “Anakin just asked that I’d get you. Seemed pretty… spaced out”.
Obi-wan nods and waves at Ashoka to lead the way, as the two falls into step by each other’s side. The young Togruta straightens her back as they near the rebels, folds her arms behind her back. She looks like more of a jedi knight by now, than a Padawan, and it’s only a question about time before she moves up in rank. Obi-wan can’t imagine it will be more than a few months. And then, Ashoka would probably get her own Padawan. Or maybe she’d teach younglings.
The war had pulled traditions apart. Knights were put through their trails early. Younglings through the gathering earlier. And no kid, ever had to fear aging out ever again. Well… at least so Kenobi hoped. But the war wouldn’t last forever. That was for the better.
“Ashoka?” Obi-wan looks to the teen girl, who looks at him back with questioning eyes, “Does the force feel… off to you?”.
The Togruta stops, her lekku dangles at the sudden change in passing. Her eyes slide close, and Kenobi can feel her push to their connection to one another, before reaching for the bond she shares with her master. He feels her deep, and powerful connection to the force, as it flows through her body. It had always been so clear, and so perfect. It had gotten stronger on Mortis, Kenobi had realized, the daughter had done something. Changed something.
Her force signatur is almost like a work, comforting, blanket when she let it brush against people’s shoulder. Fills even Kenobi with a sense of security. But the young girl seems unawake of her strength and ability. He hopes it stays that way. That she won’t be forced to use it all. To push herself beyond her limits.
Ashoka stands like that for long moments, taking deep, controlled breaths. Her chest raising and falling almost rhythmically, until her eyes sudden opens wide. “What is that?”.
Obi-wan sighs, a deep headache grows behind his eyes as those words. “Probably nothing good” he responds. Because he doesn’t know what that is, or, or who that is. Because it almost feels like a human. Feels like a Jedi. Yet so different. So… so strange.
“Destroys are quick, pack twin blasters and come with their own shield generators” Anakin explains as they get closer. He paces in front of a handful of modified destroys. The droids look almost cute in this state, but Kenobi have been in their aim more than once, they are killer machines. Able to roll faster, and fight better, than most droids can. “Nothing, short of a cannon will pierce it. But they do have two weaknesses, and you will need to work together to exploit them”.
Rex activates one of the droids, it’s shield turns on with its dark blue glow followed by a long series of beeps that almost makes Obi-wan stiffens. He doesn’t like droids.
Anakin goes on to explain how the shields deflect high velocity attacks, but Obi-wan can’t bring himself to listen. The force still whispers into his ears, mysterious communicating. Codes, words, he doesn’t understand. He doesn’t notice when Ashoka leaves his side, to demonstrate, an easily takes down the modified droid with a well place droid popper. Or when the rebels start their work. The praise, and claps falls on deaf ears. Anakin’s voice, Ashoka worry, it’s all forgotten.
Only the frustration that flows through the force, pulls Kenobi out of the blur of his mind. Saw’s sister, Steela, fails another droid popper, and Obi-wan moves in before Anakin or Ashoka can. Guides, with words, the only way he knows how to. But he feels distracted as the words fall over his lips. What is that feeling?
Soon the rebels fall into groups of two and two, leaving Ashoka and Kenobi to watch.
It’s almost peaceful here. Onderon, might be in war, but in the deep woods Kenobi feels relaxed. Distant from the chaos that fills the force in rest of the galaxy. Guiding them down paths, that Kenobi doesn’t like, or understand. But he’s taught to follow the will of the force.
That’s how he ended up training Anakin, and how he’s now helping in the training with Anakin’s own Padawan. Both of whom, he despite knowing he shouldn’t, cares for. Sees almost as family, that he’s forced to push away, because of the order. But he understands it, has seen with Maul what happens when you let your feelings and relationships get in your way. It leads to the dark side, something Kenobi wouldn’t ever want to touch.
He’s seen Ashoka, out of control of her own actions, consumed by its hatred. By its power. He wonders at times, what it’s like making that choice, but pushes it away every time it comes to him.
It’s a code, build of passion, and strength and power, and victory. So different from the peace, and knowledge and serenity and harmony the Jedi is taught to believe in.
On Mortis is he saw a middle way, a path laying in front of him, a different choice. But every time he reaches into the force, every time he wonders about it, he stops. Hesitant over the edge he leans on. Scared to misunderstand, to misguide, misdo.
One day when he no longer holds responsibility for a Padawan, maybe he’ll try.
The force pushes against him once more, in an almost painful scream that leave both himself and Ashoka shaken. Anakin has stopped up, clearly sensing it too. Whatever it is. Kenobi watches as Skywalker turns towards them, his hair floating in the constant soft winds of the planet. His eyes focus on something behind the two of them, Ashoka clearly seeing the same thing, taking hesitant step back, before she in a flip creates more distance between her, and it.
Kenobi turns slowly, blinded by the light that grows in his vision. A pure, whiteness, that he’s never seen before. It’s former as a growing ball in the air. As it grows, more colors show up inside of it. Yellow, green, different blues and reds, purple, pink, even a few darker, black rays of lights show itself. Pixelated imagines of people, and moments, that he can’t understand, and that he doesn’t know. Nothing like it has ever presented itself to him. It’s not unlike a vision. Only… different in a way Kenobi can’t explain. More like a portal to a different universe. A different…
And with one, he knows, this is where the calling force comes from. This is the path the force had been calling for him to follow. The whispers grow stronger, and Obi-wan takes a confident, but still all to hesitant towards the light. This was how it had started with Mortis too, right? Anakin and Ashoka would be right behind him on moments. There by his side, forever.
The bright lights consume his vision, as Anakin and Ashoka force signatures fades into the background, and all Obi-wan is left with, is that small whispers in his ears. Find the way. It says, over and over. What way?
***
“Tony, Natasha, you take the upper floors” Steve throws out a command as they enter Fisk enterprise. With Friday’s extra sensors, and Peter’s enhanced sense, it had been easy enough to track where it came from. And with recordings from Friday’s system, from the days before, they had confirmed all the quakes had the same point of origin. “Clint, Bucky, you’re with me. Lobby floor. Bruce? Is coms working?” a small hum comes over the coms in responds. “Queens?” Peter’s head snaps towards the super solider, ready for whatever task he’s given, “Can you find the origin of these tremors?”.
Peter takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment to feel the ground below him. The tremors are stronger here, than they’d been in his bedroom at the tower. Or even his room in Queens, despite that being closer to Fisk enterprise. “Yes, Captain, Sir, Rogers”, his hand moves to give a thumbs up as he talks. Stumbling over his words, as he zones in on the vibrations.
He follows the heroes into the building. He’s been in Stark Tower, or Avengers towers as some called it, many times. Over 100 floors, filled with impressive technology. And despite Fisk tower being smaller in height, it’s somehow bigger. Karen finds basements, many of them.
The lobby where they entre, is of course the ground floor. While there are 100’s of floors up, and a good handful down too, most of it is empty space. A large circle fills the middle of the tower, walk Bridges hangs in the air, and around the edge different labs and biome’s zones are. Jungles, and woods and beaches, created and grown inside each room. In the middle at the top, a giant sky light allows sun rays to light up the tower. Looking downwards he finds the same. But Karen’s scans show a floor that’s hidden to Peter’s own eyes.
He'd never tell Mr. Stark, but Fisk’s tower is impressive. More so the Avengers tower.
He wonders if the labs are as cool as the building itself. If they can beat Mr. Starks and includes more technology than most. Makes him wonder if the interns here know about his bad guy actions. If they help him, or they do the same kind of work that Peter does. If so… would Peter be smart enough to work here? - What? He’s a nerd, he can dream!
Now that he’s in the tower, the vibrations are unmistakably coming from the center. And since there’s no center in most of the building, his best guess… is going down.
Only downwards, Karen can’t scan anything. Something blocking her sensors, as she tries to scan for electromagnetic activity, and powers, and structures. Like all her scans bounces back, when they hit the bottom floor. Unable to break through enough, to give Peter a picture.
“It’s coming from a lower floor” Peter calls through the coms, a great distance has been made between the heroes, and screaming to them out loud would give them all away. If Mr. Stark’s blasters haven’t already done that, ages ago.
Captain America looks too Peter with a wary look, the gears inside his head clearly ticking as he attempts to form the best, and safest strategy for everyone. “Get down there” is the only command he gives Peter, but he hears the long list he gives everyone else. Peter already knows what he has to do, get down there, stop whatever machine is causing this. The others will have his back, preventing anyone from following him down. And if they have time, before Peter returns, they’ll come down and help.
It’s not a new strategy by any means, but it’s the first time Peter is the one to go alone. It’s usually Mr. Stark or Rhodey that takes control of the more dangerous parts of the missions. Especially when it comes to tech. Maybe Rogers feels back for dismissing Peter earlier? Or maybe, he’s slowly growing to become a more important part of the team?
Whatever the cause, he doesn’t have to wonder about it. He gives Steve a stiff nod, before he runs towards the edge, jumps on the fence of the walking bridge, and lets himself fall over the edge.
It’s taken a long time, but by now Peter feels confident in his abilities. His knows, that even if his brain is too slow to react into time to place a web, his Spidey sense is over a hundred times faster. Taking control over his body, makes him do things, before he’s even aware of it.
That means dropping through the air, is both a fast, and save method of getting down to the lower levels. Where there hopefully will be an elevator or staircase that can take him even further down in Fisk’s building.
He lets himself enjoy the few, desperate moments, of weightlessness as he falls. It’s almost like flying, but he isn’t bound by a suit, or a plane, just his own fears. Fears, that melts away in his heart, as he crashes towards the ground, before he shots out a web that sticks, and he swings the two last floors, as his speeds takes off, and he lands in a typical Spider-man pose on the floor.
The whole floor is vibrating, shaking under his touch. He feels it deep in his bones. Both in his legs, but also his lower arms, resting against the cold marble floors. And surprisingly, he’s alone. There’s nobody waiting for him, with fancy weapons, ready to attack. Karen’s scanners give him nothing. The floor seems to be clear, so different from everything above, that holds more security than even Stark tower does. And Stark tower holds a lot. Thanks to Happy Hogan.
His first thought is that this has to be a trap. Somebody is waiting, somewhere, where Karen can’t see yet. But his Spidey sense remains quiet. The only threat it finds is the quakes through the ground, that shakes his whole body, and leaves him uncomfortable.
By the time he’s done here, he fears his brain might be like an egg. So roughly shaken, that it’s all collapsed together. Like in those Facebook videos Ned shows him.
He pushes himself up to his feet, lets his eyes scan the area around him to a path that can bring him down, onto the floor below. Down to the chaos machine that almost feels, like it’s breaking apart every atom in Peter’s body. Even though, Peter knows that isn’t possible. He’d made sure of that, when he took down the Vulture, and together with Mr. Stark destroyed all the weapons. It had suddenly made a lot of sense… why he’d gotten a new person in the roll as shocker.
It takes the short time of a second, for Peter to spot a path. A staircase, the door inside half open in the far corner of the floor. Peter moves towards it in a sprint, listens to the Spidey sense as it gets louder near the door.
He stops a few meters away, moves towards the wall instead of the door, and leans against the frame as a man, large and tall and strong, blast his way past the half open door, so it almost swings up into Peter’s face. The man stops, looks around the room, clearly looking for someone. That someone, being Peter. But with Peter’s webs, he doesn’t have a chance before he’s glued against the cold floor. And Peter easily can make his way down the staircase, without any more trouble.
At the bottom of the stairs, Peter enters a control room. There’re windows near one of the walls, screens hanging down from the ceiling, and more shining, and glowing buttons than Peter has ever seen before. A few people, clad in white coats leans against the control panels.
They twist as the sound of Peter entering, looks at him, studies him for a long, weird moment. Before two of them jumps towards Peter, and the last one moves to grab something from a box near the edge of the control panel.
In a smooth jump, Peter flips over the first two as they get in reach. Spins in the air, so he takes both with him down towards the floor. Kicks one of them away, while he twists his legs around the closet one’s neck. As the man desperately attempts to pull Peter all, he places a solid web over each of the man’s feet, before he glues his hands together as well.
Strong arms wrap around his torso, pulls him away from the first scientist. Incapacitated him for long enough, to allow the third member to pull out the item from the box - a gun - that has now been trained on Peter. The scientist moves closer. Peter can see his eyes dilate with fear.
The nose of the gun is pressed against his forehead before he knows it. Right above the nose, between his animated eyes. The cold metal sends shivers through his skin, despite the fabric in between. A small hum from his Spidey sense activates. Just enough for Peter to be alert, but without telling him an immediate danger.
It’s a scientist, not security. Of course, he wouldn’t shot. It’d be a bad move for both of them.
“You know” Peter chippers lightly, like Spider-man always does, “You really shouldn’t point at people with that, it could be loaded”.
The scientist plasters fake confidence on his face. Tries to hard, as the sweat drips from his skin. Peter call smell the salty liquid as it drops towards the floor. He has the upper hand in every situation that could happen between now, and the next minute. Even of these guys, haven’t realized it yet. Because it isn’t always about numbers, or size. It’s about confidence. Real confidence. And Peter has hit and taken down enough bad guys to have a lot of confidence on his record. These guys can only ever dream.
It’s an awkward twisted move, Peter gets free of the mans holds. Flips above him and pulls the man’s arms behind him. Placing the man between himself and the gun. The man stiffens under Peter’s touch, but Peter won’t hurt him. And the guy knows that.
Everyone knows that about Spider-man. He’s never hurt a criminal. Even if they deserved it.
That doesn’t stop them from fearing him, however. And the scientist with the gun lowers it, but Peter can see his hands shake. Can see the tremors of the fingers, placed around the trigger. “Why don’t you, put down the gun, and I won’t turn you guys in?” Peter offers with a chipper to his tone.
“We’d never agree to that” the man in Peter’s hold growls, hits backwards with his head, but hits nothing but air. Peter has seen the trick on too many times.
He tightens the grasp around the man’s wrist and then replies into the mans here, barely above a whisper, but loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. “I didn’t talk to you”. Natasha, he taught him, that placing fear in the bay guys are important. And despite Peter’s happy personality, and the fact he hasn’t ever killed, the next few moves are deeply calculated.
The man is Peter’s grasp pulls hard against him, twists to allow his friend a opening to shot. The sound of the bullet echoes through the room, and his Spidey sense rings, as the world stops. How it happens, Peter doesn’t know, but he can see ever flappers a bug does with it’s wings against the light above. Can see the bullet hovering in the air. Can feel his own body moves slower than it should, or maybe his brain just works faster. Because his body reacts the second Peter gives a command. And he does so quickly.
He lets go of the bad guy, shows him towards the floor. A web Granada slips from his wrist, lands against the mans back, and slowly starts forming a pouch of webbing around him.
His attention moves to the bullet. He falls into a forward flip across the floor. Let’s his hand reach out towards the golden metal as it glimmers in the air above him, before he closes his fingers around the cold, cold metal. Stops it in it’s path, before he takes his final step to end up in front of the guy with the gun. And once more the world is back at full speed. His body no longer sluggish.
“You really thought a bullet could take me down?” Peter asks with a soft smile on his lips as he opens his hand in front of the scientist. His eyes stares as the bullet, the gun drops towards the floor. And Peter takes the opportunity to web both gun and the last person in the room. “I mean, I am Spider-man after all”.
The scientist now packed into a ball of webbing growls at him from the floor. Muffled words come out, but the webbing is covering most of his lower face. Like some Santa beard.
And with the three-scientist detained, Peter can finally get a good look at what he’s dealing with.
He moves slowly towards the control rooms window. He doesn’t know what he’s expecting to see, if he’s expecting anything really. A part of him fears it’s all some odd coincidence. But this - whatever it is - is clearly the source of the shakes that’s sent through the city of shock waves.
It’s big. It’s massive. It’s giant. It’s huge! It’s colossal. It’s enormous. Or maybe it’s ginormous! Or is the word he’s looking for gigantic? Mega, possibly? It’s like hulk time a billion, a hulk seems big to Peter, despite the two sharing jokes when Bruce lets the green giant out. And of hulk is big, this is even bigger. Bigger, than anything Peter has ever seen in his life. As he has no idea what it is.
On the other side of the glass, is a large white tube. It’s circle, it seems to be a repeating theme the Fisk goes with. It’s not the first time, he’s built a circular machine.
In each head, piece of a large machine is being build. His first thought is giant lasers, because that’s the vibe he gets from it. But it doesn’t seem right at all. There’s more to this than fancy lights. If the machine itself didn’t scream that, the still ongoing earthquake tells him.
There are multiple piece spinning around in each end of the machine. Some spin to the left, some right. Some clockwise, some counterclockwise. All at different speeds, and dimensions. All with different lights, and piece of technology. And it becomes clear to Peter, that whatever this is, it has to be turned off now. It seems to be almost finished, and the shakes earlier in the week must have been smaller test’s that allowed them to get further in their work on it.
Between the two ends that’s a large red, powerful beam traveling. Meeting in the middle, from were it changes colors to green, blue, purple, and goes on and on. The longer Peter stares at it, the more colorless, the whiter it becomes.
He can almost feel the energy from it. The blinding lights makes him falter.
“Captain?” he calls hesitantly, hoping despicably for a respond, “I could… eh… I could use Mr. Stark down here. I… I don’t think I can turn this thing off on my own”. On a nearby screen in the control panel Peter can see circles, planets, all seeming to connect and transform as the beam becomes stronger. Bigger. More terrifying.
The coms blossoms to life. “A little” break, “Busy” heavy breathing, “Up here” slam. “Can’t Karen help you, Kid? We don’t really have time to get anyone down there right now”.
Another voice in the background scream, “Fisk is here”.
Peter sighs. Leans over the control panel to gather information about whatever the machine is doing. But even though Peter is smart, most of this seems like a different language to him. “It’s getting unstable” one of the scientist whispers, clearly scared that Peter won’t listen. Scared to break his concentrations. “You want to stop it? Right?”. Peter gives a nod at him. “Then you need to turn it off in there… there’s a USB, on the table. It’s a kill switch”.
Peter’s hands run over the USB, eyeing the scientist carefully. “How do I know you aren’t lying?”.
“Fisk… Fisk forced us to do it” he whispers, voice ever smaller this time, “Please… please don’t… don’t kill us”.
Peter grasps the USB, lets it fall into one of his pockets. Moves slowly towards the scientist. “Were to I put it in?”. There’s no responds as first. The world turns pixelated in front of his eyes, before a wide range of colored figure flinders to life, and then back to normal. Glitching? The world is GLITCHING! “What even is that… that thing?”.
“There’s… a panel. In the floor” the scientist talks fast now, panicked, “You need to do it, now. Before the multiverse collapse around us!”.
Peter shakes his head, tightens his grasp around the USB. “The multiverse is theoretical”.
“Not anymore” the scientist states, drily. urgency in his voice. If he’s telling the truth, and the multiverse is collapsing in on itself, Peter can’t risk not doing it. But it’s a lie. If he’s being set up, to do the guys work for him, would he ever be able to forgive himself, for activating a machine that could laying down all of New York, if not all of earth, down in seconds?
He shakes his head at himself. Listens once more to his Spidey sense. He doesn’t have a choice. Be slams his fist against the window, the glass splinters under his touch. Breaks into a million piece. He crawls out slowly, so he won’t cut himself. He sees the panel in seconds.
He lets himself slide down to it, reaching it in moments. But someone else reaches him just as fast. Slams into his side, like a purple lightning bolt. Stopping him from placing the USB in the open panel. So clearly, the scientist is telling, some sort of truth.
The man places himself on top of Peter, weights him down against the white tube, making it impossible for him to break free on his own. There’s no backup coming.
Another glitch dances in front of his eyes. Ghostly figures and voice’s fill his ears. People he knows yet doesn’t know all the same. We great power… comes great responsibility. Ben’s voice enters the mix. Sends shivers, sends grief into Peter’s gut. Into his stomach. It’s been so long since he died, yet it’s still like an open wound, when Peter is reminded that he failed him. That he could have done more. And this time, Peter has a chance to do more.
He tightens his fist, and quickly, before he can think his actions through, pulls his arm loss and swings it. His knuckles collide with the man’s jaw. He becomes limp on top of Peter in just a second, and he moves out from under the heavy weight. Slams the USB in the port and waits.
He watches, holds his breath, waits for death to come. But the beam slowly, so slowly, starts turning off. Starts closing. It will take time, Peter knows. He moves slowly towards the man against the floor.
He’s cladded in a purple suit, claws from his fingers. Face hidden under a mask, not that far from Peter’s. But without the webbing, and without the animated eyes. And the tech.
Peter brushes his fingers against the man, finds the jaw completely loss. A small amount of blood dripping from the man’s mouth, soaking into the mask. There’s a reason Peter choose red, and it’s not just because it’s his favorite color. This time Peter sees the red and feels his heart stop.
He’s hit harder than he’d intended to. More raw force in his punch than he’d meant. Spider-man hasn’t ever hurt anyone before, and this time… Peter lets his hand rest of the man’s chest as he moves him around, onto his back. There’s no movement. No grunt in responds as Peter rubs the man’s chest. No raise, and no falls, and no in-between.
Peter fingers grasp lightly as the edge of the mask, pulls it up just slightly. Places to fingers against the man’s neck, despite knowing what he’ll find. The panic already hitting him. His lungs feeling restricted, as sweat starts to soak the mask, and his hair, and his hands.
There’s no thumb under Peter’s fingers. No pulse in the man’s body. There had been when Peter attacked, but now there’s not.
It’s a bad guy. Peter shouldn’t care. But he remembers what it’s like coming home, without his uncle. That pain that had lived in his chest, and still did in moments like these. Like tonight. Do bad guys have family? Vulture had. Family that was closer to Peter than he could have ever expected. But did all bad guys have family, or was Vulture an odd once out? Mr. Stark has never talked about it, or Steve, or Bucky, or Bruce. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen…
This could be a father. Or a brother. Or a son. This could be someone else’s uncle Ben, and Peter wouldn’t ever know, because the dude is dead. Dead by Peter’s hand!
“Kid?” Iron man’s voice is metallic, and robotic as it vibrations from under the face shield, “You’re okay?”.
Peter looks up, stumbles to his feet. Away from the slowly, cooling body. “I didn’t mean to” he says, loudly as first, then he whispers it, “I really didn’t mean to”. Iron man lands against the white surface. His suit stands out in contrast to the bright white. “I didn’t… I don’t know what happened. I… and he… and I…” Peter shakes his head. Feels his hands shake too, as he takes a few more steps backwards. Almost falls over his own feet. “Please, I didn’t… you… I can’t… I…”
Iron man, Mr. Stark moves towards him. Hands stretched out. “Kid, breath. It’s okay. It will all be okay”. Peter takes another step backwards. He can feel the power the beam, lick against his back. Heat and coldness against his skin, at the same time. “Breath”.
“It won’t be okay” Peter whispers… “He’s… he’s dead!”. What if somebody had died tonight? That’s on you.
Mr. Stark takes a quick, sudden step forward. His sense’s screams at him to move. Scream at him to get out that way, danger, danger, DANGER! And he does without thinking. Without realizing. His feet slip from underneath him. And he tumbles, backwards towards the beam of light. It’s almost gone now. Almost close. But Peter hears the voices as they echo through it.
A part of him wants to fight the fall, wants to reach out to Mr. Stark, but he can’t. He lets the gravity go, lets himself free fall. Much smaller than the jump that had taken him to the basement. But freeing, relaxing, all the same.
White lights consumes his vision as he hits the power beam. The ground disappears from under his feet. He never lands. He never feels pain. Just freedom.
Spider-man killed someone today.
He didn’t mean to…
***
Alright let’s do this one last time. My name is Peter Parker.
My name is Peter B. Parker.
Alright people, lets start the beginning on last time. My name is Gwen Stay.
I was bitten by a radioactive Spider, and for the last 22 years, I’ve thought I was the one and only… Spider-man.
I was bitten by a radioactive Spider, and for 10 years I’ve been the one, and only… Spider-man.
I was bitten by a radioactive Spider, and for the last 2 years, I’ve been the one and only… Spider-woman.
I’m pretty sure you know the rest.
With great power comes great responsibility.
I’m pretty sure you know the rest. You see, I saved the city. Fell in love. I got married, saved the city some more. Maybe too much. My married got testy…
I saved a bunch of people. Fell in love. Saved the city. And then I saved the city again. And again, and again, and again. And I did… I did this. We don’t really talk about this.
You guys know the rest. I joined a banned. Saved my dad. I couldn’t… save my best friend. Peter Parker. So now I save everyone else. And… I don’t do friends, anymore. Just to avoid any distractions.
And I am… Spider-man.