Work Text:
Saturday, February 22nd, 2025
It had taken a lot of planning, a lot of preparation, and a lot of work, but in the end Peter found that breaking into Mister Stark’s lab at the lake cabin was easier than he’d thought. Well, once he’d managed to hijack FRIDAY in a way that didn’t send every alarm protocol in her library on high alert. Thankfully, while everyone in the multiverse had forgotten who Peter Parker was, Peter Parker had not forgotten anything at all, which included all the various passwords and overrides that he’d learned while under the mentorship of one Tony Stark.
Thus. Peter found himself in the lab, FRIDAY silent, and the household (cabin-hold?) none-the-wiser as he fiddled with the settings on the time machine Mister Stark and the other Avengers had used to collect the Infinity Stones, and then return them. His plan was, overall, quite simple. He was going to go back far enough in time that his identity wasn’t leaked, and thus, far enough back that he wouldn’t have needed Doctor Strange to cast the spell that Peter screwed up so badly that no one knew who he was, or who he ever was. He just couldn’t handle being alone any more.
Hopefully, this would also mean that Aunt May would never die, and that would be a very, very good thing.
Taking a deep breath, Peter double checked the note book he’d brought with him. The Daily Bugle had dropped the video with his identity on the seventh of July. He couldn’t be sure what time they came into possession of the video, or how long they had kept hold of it. Therefore, Peter had decided he would go back to the date of the fourth. He figured everyone would be too busy with the festivities to notice anything, and his plan was to go find Doctor Strange, and tell him about the whole damn disaster, and hopefully the guy would be able to mumbo-jumbo the videos out of existence, rather than Peter himself. Tada, everything would be fine then. Right? Right.
Excellent.
Taking another deep breath, Peter squinted at the data he had input into the control panel, nodded to himself as he looked it over, muttering under his breath. Yeah, yeah that all looked good. He’s pretty sure. Maybe another check? Yeah, that sounded like a good idea, better than leaving anything to chance, yeah? Yeah. Biting his bottom lip, Peter went over it again. He didn't want to end up arriving at the wrong location, or the wrong time. That would be less than ideal.
Once he was sure he had everything set properly, Peter entered the count down, and made sure the time travel suit he put on was all done up properly. Nodding to himself, he made sure the mask was secure, and stepped into the right spot, turning around slowly, breathing deeply through his stress, and stared avidly at the point where the science would happen.
Peter had just enough time to make himself relax, to see the things start to flow together, before the giant, fat spider (why was it always a spider?!) fell from the ceiling, Peter watching it in slow motion as it landed on the control pad, the touch screen control pad, which went wild under the sudden heat markers of the spider. His calculations spluttered, flickered, changed, as the spider scuttled across the virtual keyboard, and finally fell off the side.
He watched the beam shoot him in the chest, and wondered if he was actually going to die now. Or end up eaten by a dinosaur. Whatever was about to happen, he knew it wasn't going to be what he had planned.
“Fuck.”
* * * * * *
Friday, January 17, 2025
From 4pm
Tony looked up with a frown, when FRIDAY suddenly alerted him to someone being in his lab. His narrowed eyes shifted across the room, to where Morgan was curled up with one of her stuffed toys, her voice a soft mumble as she half watched the cartoon on the TV. Concern rippled down Tony’s spine, but FRIDAY’s alert wasn’t one of danger so much as just… letting him know someone was in his lab. It was the protocol that was usually activated by Morgan sneaking in there. The Baby Gate Protocol. Which, really, didn’t make any sense. Tony glanced over to Pepper, who was on the other end of the couch. She’d finished up the week early, and they were enjoying a lazy afternoon before their weekend adventures began. Morgan had been demanding to go to the zoo, so they were planning to spend the whole day there tomorrow; Tony wasn’t not looking forward to it, but he also wasn’t exactly enthusiastic, either. He didn't feel too bad about that, though, because Pepper had that tightening around her eyes that told him tomorrow was going to cause her stress, too.
Probably because Tony would somehow start a fire.
Leaning over to her, he murmured into her ear, “Someone is in the lab,” and frowned, glancing back at Morgan, who was ignoring them, and then at Pepper who was blinking at him in confusion.
“What?”
“Not sure. Baby Gate has been activated. I'm going to check it out. It’s probably nothing but…”
“Right.” She pursed her lips, and he saw her glance to the bracelet she was wearing, which would activate her latest Rescue suit. He nodded once, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and quietly left the house, making his way towards the lab door.
“FRIDAY,” he murmured, activating his ear piece as he walked swiftly. “Who is in there?”
“I’m not sure, boss.” Tony blinked, a confused ‘huh?’ escaping his lips as his AI paused, probably trying to figure out who it was. “It appears to be a child. Male. Approximately two years old.”
“FRI.” Tony paused, before carefully opening the door. “You’re telling me there is a toddler in my lab?”
“Yes, sir. He… materialised.”
“Well.” Tony breathed out slowly, the word barely even spoken, as he stepped into the lab and… Yep. That was a bawling toddler sitting in the middle of the floor. A bawling toddler in one of their time travel suits.
“Jesus Christ,” Tony murmured, walking forward, studying the tiny face that hiccupped up at him. He squinted at the kid, trying to figure out who it could possibly be. The fact that the someone was now only two made it difficult; longish brown hair in tight curls. He didn’t think he knew anyone with curls, but kids changed a lot as they grew up.
Sighing, Tony closed the distance between them and started fiddling with the straps and clasps of the suit, and gently extracted the child from the remains. The kid just stared up at him, hiccupping occasionally. He remembered Scott telling them about his time being time-warped, and how he hadn’t really known what was happening when he was a baby. Some of the more psychology-friendly team members had determined that a baby’s brain just wasn’t structured enough to parse out adult emotions and memories. Which made sense, even to Tony’s more hard-science wired brain. So, he wasn’t expecting much as he set the kid on his hip and looked around the room. Nothing else seemed out of place.
“FRI, can you let Pepper know everything is fine, but I’m definitely going to need her help with a fire of some description.”
“Of course, Boss. Boss Lady is on her way.”
“Thanks.” That done, Tony turned his attention to the kid that was now looking around from his perch on Tony’s hip, little hands gripping fistfuls of Tony’s shirt, rubbing his chubby little cheeks on Tony’s shoulder, sniffling and getting snot everywhere while he was at it. Tony constantly forgot how gross babies were.
“Alright. Let’s find out who you are.” Tony murmured to himself, under his breath. Altering the cadence of his voice, Tony jiggled the baby on his hip, catching the boy’s attention. “Got a name?”
Big brown eyes stared up at him, wide and soulful, still wet with tears. Tony stared right back at him, waiting patiently.
“…” the kid opened his mouth several times, struggling, looking flushed and frustrated, before finally managing to stutter out, “P-Peter.”
“Got a bit of a stutter hey?” Tony asked rhetorically; the kid - Peter - frowned at him but Tony’s attention shifted towards the door as Pepper entered, her eyebrows arching up when she saw the kid, dressed now in the over-sized tee-shirt he’d been wearing under the time travel suit. The rest of the guy’s clothing was still in the suit, but the kid was covered so it was fine. Tony just hoped the kid could control any bladder needs until they could dig up some of Morgan's unused diapers.
“Not sure who it is.” Tony told Pepper. She frowned at him in question, and Tony gestured towards the suit. “Someone messed with the quantum tunnel, and managed to send themselves back in time, both physically and bodily. His name is Peter, but he’s got a bad stutter and FRI says he’s two, so I’m not sure we’re going to get more than that.”
“Oh, for goodness sake.” Pepper sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Yeah. I guess I’ll have to call Capsicle and get him to find out who is missing.” Tony shrugged one shoulder, swaying gently from side to side as the kid blinked sleepily at them both. As Pepper took a breath in to reply, it appeared that Tony’s words finally computed in the young brain, and the kid released his thumb from his mouth to start slapping his hand against Tony’s cheek. Tony’s nose scrunched up and he frowned at the kid, while Pepper hid a smile behind her hand.
“What?”
“No!” the kid demanded, scowling with all the ferocity of a toddler, bottom lip stuck out in a pout.
“‘No’, what?”
“No!”
Tony raised an eyebrow, and looked at Pepper in question, wondering if she’d caught what it was he wasn’t allowed to do.
Pepper frowned slightly. “No calling Captain America?” She asked, shrugging one shoulder at Tony, gaze set firmly on the toddler.
“No!” Peter agreed.
“Why on earth not?” Tony asked, not expecting an answer, though he got another scowling ‘no’ in reply, and puffed out a breath. Okay, so no calling Cap. If the kid didn’t think the man would help, then he probably wouldn’t. “I have no idea who to contact, then,” Tony said, exasperated.
“Maybe Fury?”
“No!” That was even more emphatic, and the child seemed genuinely distressed at the man’s name. Tony pursed his lips, but jostled the kid gently.
“Okay, not Fury. I don’t like him either, kiddo.”
Peter frowned up at him seriously, still pouting. “Mean.”
Tony laughed. “Yeah, he can be.”
“Someone has to know how to help,” Pepper said.
Peter looked from one adult to the other as he shoved his thumb back in his mouth, and rested his cheek sweetly on Tony’s shoulder. He stared blankly off toward the wall and Tony wondered if he was going to fall asleep; probably. The kid hadn’t been in the lab for long before FRIDAY alerted him, but Peter had no doubt had an emotional day so far.
Peter suddenly lifted his head up, pulled his thumb from his mouth and poked Tony in the cheek with his little pointer finger. Tony lifted a hand to grab the offending digit, fighting a smile as Peter beamed at him brightly.
“Magic!” He crowed, bouncing on Tony’s hip, excited.
“Magic?” Pepper and Tony spoke at once, glanced at one another and then back at the happily nodding child.
“… Wait. You mean Dumbl— sorry, Doctor Strange?”
Peter gave a squeal that hurt Tony’s far-too-close ear, and bounced on his hip again, kicking his legs out excitedly.
“Strange will know who you are?”
The kid deflated slightly at that, nose scrunched up and face going blank. He blinked up at Tony and then said, definitively, “magic!” with a firm toddler nod. That settled, he flopped his cheek back against Tony’s shoulder and quickly fell asleep as Tony continued to sway. Tony breathed in deeply, and sighed as he turned his attention to Pepper.
“Well.” She smiled at him gently.
* * * * * *
Friday, January 17, 2025 - From 8pm
Escaping from the lake house without Morgan seeing the little boy had practically been an Olympic Sport, as far as Tony was concerned. The girl was suspicious of why her parents had been out of the house for so long, and then suspicious of her mother whisking her off to a bath (‘but we haven’t had dinner yet!’) and had threatened a tantrum when she discovered her father was going into the city without her, ‘for work’ when they were going to the zoo the next day. Tony was fairly sure his daughter would find him and murder him if he missed the upcoming adventure.
He had promised Pepper that he would be back in time, who had promised it to Morgan. Which meant if he failed, he would be murdered by two very angry ladies and Tony would prefer to avoid that.
In the end, though, he’d managed to wrangle a now dressed (apparently Pepper had been hoarding Morgan’s baby clothes; who knew) and sleeping Peter into Morgan’s car seat, adjusting the straps to fit his tiny body - it was amazing how much difference there was in the size of this two year old boy compared to his five year old daughter. Then, the long drive through late evening traffic into the heart of New York.
Peter slept the whole way, so that was nice. Tony took the opportunity to have FRIDAY send Strange a text with a heads up, so the man would actually be there when they arrived.
Which they did. Eventually.
—————
Doctor Stephen Strange was unsure what to make of the bizarre message he received from Tony Stark. The content of the message was probably the most bizarre; a simple ‘got a problem for you. See you at eight.’ Tony Stark didn’t hand off problems, he created them, or he solved them. Sometimes he did both.
Regardless, Stephen decided he would see what the tech genius had going on - it wasn’t as if kicking him out of the Sanctum would be difficult.
Tony Stark walking in with a toddler that was not his daughter on his hip was… definitely not what Stephen had been expecting. He studied the two for a moment from half way down the stairs, before indicating that Stark should follow him.
They entered a smaller room, with items within that wouldn’t endanger the toddler once he woke up, and Stephen indicated Stark should take a seat as he himself settled on the opposite side of the solid wooden coffee table. A wave of his hand and a tea and coffee tray materialised. Stark settled himself down with the casual elegance of a parent, rearranging the sleepy toddler on his lap, and then fixed himself a coffee. Stephen fixed himself a cup of tea, and after a moment’s hesitation, called forth a sippy cup of apple juice for the baby. Then, he stared pointedly at Stark and waited for him to explain.
“Someone,” Stark indicated the sleepy child, whose thumb was in his mouth, eyes closed as he snuffled against Tony’s chest, “decided it would be a good idea to mess with the quantum tunnel. And messed up the input data, and now is stuck in the body of a two-year-old.”
A pause as Stark took a sip of his drink, glancing at the child, then back at Stephen. “All we know is that his name is Peter. FRIDAY hasn’t been able to find anything online using facial recognition, so we’re not sure who he is, how old he should be, or where - or when - he came from. The only Peter I know would be Peter Quill, and…” He shrugged one shoulder. “Don’t think he’d rock up without his tree and his various pets.”
“Indeed.”
“Aside from his name, all we’ve gotten out of him is that Fury is scary and a stream of ‘no’ when I said I’d contact Cap. He suggested you.”
Stephen raised an eyebrow. “The two year old recommended me?” he asked incredulously.
“His exact wording was ‘magic’ with a lot of excited wriggling.” Stark shrugged.
“Right.”
Stark frowned at him. “Can you,” he wiggled the fingers of his left hand, which was resting against the child’s side. “Do your Hocus Pocus and tell us who the kid is?”
Stephen stared at Stark, frowning just slightly, and then turned his gaze towards the child. The kid was looking up at him now, blinking owlishly, his expression slightly anxious. Stephen narrowed his eyes, and the kid drew back against Stark’s chest, and Stephen carefully changed his expression to be more neutral.
“Fine.” He said, because it was probably not a good idea to have people hijacking the timeline. He leaned forward, indicating that Stark should do so as well. “I will see what I can find in his memories. I believe they should still be there, likely just out of reach of his infant-aged brain.”
“Right.”
Stark set aside his half empty coffee cup, and shifted his seat, settling the toddler carefully on his knees, little back against his front, and held the child by the sides as Stephen reached forward and placed his fingertips against the boy’s temples. Peter stared up at him with wide brown eyes.
“Okay,” Stephen said gently, and pressed forward with his magic.
It took several long moments before Stephen found where the memories were locked, but once he touched them, they exploded out towards him, almost drowning him in the flood. He learned that the child was called Peter Parker, that he was orphaned, raised by his aunt and uncle, bitten by a radioactive spider and obtaining powers that would help him become Spider-Man, that his uncle had died right in front of him, that he’d been recruited by Tony Stark to battle in the Civil War, that he’d been taken under the man’s wing after a rocky start. That he’d been one of those Snapped away. That he’d been Snapped back. That he’d had his identity revealed after being more or less abandoned by all the older heroes, and manipulated by Fury, that he’d done his best to survive in the mess that had resulted. That he’d come to Stephen to help fix things, and that he’d caused Stephen’s spell to fall apart in a most spectacular way. That his aunt had died. That Stephen had finally cast a spell that made everyone forget who Peter Parker was, when all they should have forgotten was that he was Spider-Man. That he’d lived without existing for months, before coming up with his time travel plan. His breaking into the lab, his careful entry of the data to send him back, of the spider that ruined it (Stephen thought that was amusing, he wouldn’t lie to himself about that) and how he’d appeared in the lab as a child, and only slightly back in the past.
Stephen pulled away, after carefully setting the memories back into the locked box. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he left them out, and didn’t want to damage the boy.
He blinked, and lowered his hands into his lap. The child was looking up at him with sad eyes. Stark was staring at him with wide eyes, looking anxious.
“His name is Peter Parker.” He said slowly, studying the child rather than the man who was holding him. “I am going to try something else now.”
Stark opened his mouth to reply, but Stephen didn’t give him the chance as he leaned forward again, and sharply jabbed the air before the child. Peter’s little body went lax on Stark’s lap, the man exclaiming in surprise and outrage at the reaction, but Stephen just raised his hand, his gaze fixed on the astral projection of a teenager just to Stark’s left.
“Hello Peter Parker.”
“Hi Doctor Strange,” Peter whispered, looking anxious, his gaze shifting between Tony Stark, his own tiny body, and Stephen’s general vicinity; he was definitely avoiding meeting his eye.
Stephen sighed. “I am sorry, Peter.” Both Stark and Peter gaped at him. “It would seem I over compensated due to the danger at the time, for which I apologise.”
Peter shrugged one shoulder awkwardly, and Stephen saw Stark look at the air where Peter’s astral projection was hovering. “It wasn’t your fault, sir. I’m sorry I messed up again.” He finished speaking, and began biting his bottom lip, chewing on it anxiously, eyes bright with tears.
Stephen hummed. “How would you like to proceed?” He asked, ignoring Stark and his confusion. “You only managed to go back by about five weeks. I am sure Stark would be able to undo your infancy and send you to where you were attempting to reach.”
“… You’d help me?”
“Yes.”
He watched as Peter stared at him, wide eyed, before looking towards where his two year old body was still being held protectively by Stark. When he looked back to him, Stephen offered him an uncharacteristically soft smile.
“I… I don’t really have anything to go back to.” Peter said softly, not looking up as he continued to stare at his physical body. “Could I stay here… like this?”
“Probably,” Stephen admitted, gaze flicking to Stark, and held up a hand for more patience. He looked back at Peter. “Where are you now?”
“Um, hiding. Planning. I stopped going out as Spider-Man around now. No one will miss me, sir.” He paused, chewing on his lip. “It won’t break anything if I stay?”
“Not likely.” Turning back to Stark, Stephen considered him for a moment. “He would like to stay as he is, with your family.”
Stark gaped at him for a moment, before giving himself a shake and frowning. “What? Why? What is going on?”
Stephen glanced at Peter again, who was fidgeting, and then Stark. He raised an eyebrow in question, and Stark pulled the unconscious body carefully tighter to him.
“Of course.” It was stated firmly, and Stephen wondered what his wife would have to say about such a decision being made without her. “My questions still stand, however.”
Stephen nodded, and turned to look at Peter, who was smiling tearfully; his physical body had tears dripping from closed eyes. Leaning forward again, Stephen released the pressure needed to shove the boy’s astral form back into his physical body. The toddler jerked forward, and then burst into heaving sobs. He watched as Stark adjusted the child, cuddling him close and hushing him.
Letting the man soothe his new child, Stephen made another cup of tea for himself, and pushed the sippy cup of apple juice closer to Stark. A few minutes later, the child was hiccuping between sipping on the juice, and Stark had resettled them both.
“Peter Parker,” he began slowly, “Doesn’t exist. He did, but his identity as Spider-Man was released by an enemy, and he came to me to fix the issue. This climaxed with the battle at the Statue of Liberty, and the end result was either the destruction of the Multiverse, or Peter Parker being known as Spider-Man completely forgotten. It would seem I was somewhat enthusiastic with the spell at the time, and ultimately made it so that Peter Parker in his entirety, was forgotten. He does not exist.”
He looked up from his cup of tea, to see Stark staring at him in horror. “Five weeks from now, his elder counterpart will sneak into your lab, and attempt to send himself back to a few days before his identity was leaked, with the goal of having that event stopped, thus preventing his being forgotten.” Here, Stephen couldn’t help his lips twitching into a subtle smile. “A spider fell on the keypad, and messed up the input, causing Peter to end up here, and now, as he is.”
Stark blinked several times, while the boy on his lap blinked sleepily, and sipped his juice.
“You offered to set it up so that what he wanted to happen, would?” Stark spoke slowly; Stephen nodded. “But he wants to stay as he is?” Stark was clearly confused.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Stephen considered his words carefully, tapping one finger against the side of his tea cup. “He did not say.” He finally said, turning his considering gaze on the child. “However, if I had to guess?” He looked back to Stark, to see if he truly wanted to know what Stephen thought. Stark gave a single nod.
“His parents died when he was four. His uncle when he was fourteen. His aunt at the battle. He was Snapped for five years. His friends have been repeatedly put in danger by him being Spider-Man.” A pause. “He is the reason you invented time travel.” Stephen said slowly, softly, shifting his gaze from the child to the man.
“I… what?”
“He feels safe with you, Stark, and he is with you now. He may not be even if we fixed the magic situation like he was planning.”
“Okay,” Stark said slowly, brushing one hand through the kid’s curly hair. “No one will miss him?”
“There is no one who knows him, to miss him, and his family is all deceased. Spider-Man will be missed, but he said he hadn’t been out for a while.”
Stark took a deep breath. “Does he still have his powers?”
“I do not know. He received them at fourteen from a spider bite. They may be repressed, like his memories, or they may be gone as he never had them as a toddler previously. You would need to look into that.”
“Will he remember everything someday? Is he actually two now?”
Stephen smiled slightly. “He is indeed a child, with a child’s mind. His memories I cannot speak for. They are there, but they are locked away. He may retrieve them in the future, or he may replace them with his new childhood.”
“What about the spell you cast? Can I get those memories back?”
“That is unlikely.” Stephen didn’t try to hide his regret at that. “If you do discover a trigger to release them, I would appreciate being informed.”
Stark nodded once, frowning down at the child’s head. “Do you know who his family was?”
“Yes. His mother and father were Mary and Richard Parker; she was Fitzgerald. His aunt and uncle were Maybelle and Benjamin Parker. You should be able to find information about them. There should have been minimal changes to who they were, just elimination of Peter’s existence.”
“Thank you,” Stark said quietly, after several long moments of quiet thought, and Stephen found himself startled, though he nodded once in reply. They stood up in unison, Stark arranging Peter against his chest and holding him close.
“I expect you can create the appropriate information for Peter without my assistance.”
“Yeah.” Stark murmured, his expression already looking far away as he no doubt began mentally tackling what was required for putting together a list of things he’d need to do. “Magic has impacted the kid enough, I think.” He gave Stephen a dirty look, and Stephen couldn’t find it in himself to be offended.
“Of course. Drive safe.”
Stark nodded again, and quietly left. Stephen watched them go, feeling weighed down by choices he didn’t remember making, in a way he hadn’t felt before.