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Chapter Text

"Spider-Man's name is Peter Parker!"

The Avengers scowled and Peter groaned. "Great, we're starting right from where we left off," he said.

"Jameson is an idiot," said Natasha. "Nothing he says has any truth to it. I don't know what he's been saying since I've been on the run for the past two years, but he didn't say anything useful before either."

"I still can't believe he said that Mysterio was the greatest superhero of all time when Nat and Tony exist," Steve grumbled.

"He's said nothing useful during those two years," Tony bit out. "He's just shifted his focus to Spider-Man now."

"Maybe if everyone knows that nothing Jameson said is true, people won't believe him," said Scott.

"Doesn't matter," said Stephen. "People will still connect Peter to Spider-Man. But the charges about the drones can probably be dropped because there's no basis to it." Peter didn't deserve this. He was a good kid, and Stephen wished he could do something to help him.

Peter clenched his jaw. People knowing his identity was his worst nightmare come to life. May, Ned, and MJ would be in danger! At least he knew Tony could take care of himself. He didn't have to worry about one of his loved ones if his identity was revealed this time around — although he hoped it wouldn't be and would do everything to ensure that his identity would be safe this time. Happy would be safe as well. His breath caught. What about Morgan? She was only a child! The rational part of his mind knew that Tony and Pepper could keep her safe, but she was a baby; she was vulnerable.

He had learned his lesson, though. No one except his loved ones, the Avengers, and the Guardians would know his identity. And it's not like his identity mattered in space anyway.

The bystanders around looked up at Peter and then at MJ and crowded her.

Peter paled while the rest of the Avengers scowled.

"Give them some space!" Wanda snapped.

"Peter and MJ need to get out of there right now," Tony said firmly. "They need to go home and find May and Happy."

Peter's stomach dropped. May and Happy. "Oh god, they're going to be so worried."

A man asked her if she was Spider-Man's girlfriend.

Peter's eyes widened. "Everyone's going to know about MJ!"

Everyone else winced. "Yeah, that'll be a problem," said Bucky.

Peter's eyes widened. He jumped down and asked him not to touch her as the bystanders surrounded them with their phones.

Peter's eyes flashed at seeing strangers going near MJ.

Tony clenched his fists. He wished he could've been there to help Peter deal with this mess. It would be much easier if he could, but no, 2014 Thanos had to show up in 2023 and ruin everything.

"God, this is a mess," said Sam. He, along with Bucky, gave Peter a hard time, but all of them knew it was a joke and just friendly ribbing towards their youngest Avenger. He cared about Peter just like all of the other Avengers did and he wished he could do something to help him. Surely, Captain America's support would help.

MJ was very uncomfortable by this point.

Peter's mouth straightened into a thin line. MJ didn't deserve to be caught up in this mess.

"You murdered Mysterio? You helped him murder Mysterio?" a woman asked.

"Mysterio isn't even that great anyway," said Scott. "Even if we didn't know he was a fraud, he didn't do anything great."

"Everyone thought Mysterio saved them from the Elementals," Bruce pointed out.

"Let's be real, the world is so crazy right now; the Elementals showing up is just another Tuesday," said Rhodey.

Clint sighed. "It's sad how true that is."

She tried to take off Peter's mask, but MJ and Peter swatted her hand away.

Tony and Stephen scowled.

"Don't take his mask off!" Steve growled.

"It's not like the mask is useful anymore," Peter said bitterly. "Everyone knows who I am and thinks I've murdered Beck."

"He hit me. Spider-Man hit me!" she yelled.

"He didn't do that, you asshole!" Tony yelled.

"That lady is infuriating," Clint spat.

"Is this what it'll be like from now on?" Peter asked in a small voice.

Tony didn't know what he could say or do to make Peter feel better. They both knew this was a bad situation, and there was no point in sugar-coating it.

Peter swung away with MJ. As they swung away, a man jumped, trying to seize them, but missed.

"Oh please, as if he'd ever manage to catch Peter," said Scott.

Peter clutched MJ and swung through the streets of New York City frantically.

"Poor MJ," said Wanda. "She hated swinging."

"Well, she doesn't have a choice right now," said Natasha. "Peter and MJ need to get out of there right now and go to a safe place."

They swung past a jumbo-screen with Peter's face.

Peter stared in horror. His face was everywhere! "This is a nightmare."

"Luckily, it's never going to happen," Natasha said firmly. "Tony said he won't make EDITH."

"Beck and I have unfinished business," Tony bit out.

Stephen thought he'd like to meet Beck…just for a friendly chat, of course. Just to show him what a real sorcerer looked like, and he was sure that Wanda would be more than happy to join him to take care of the witch side as well.

Jameson called Peter 'Public Enemy Number One!'.

The Avengers glared at Jameson.

"Fucking asshole," Bucky spat.

"That's complete bullshit!" Sam yelled.

"Public enemy number one?" Stephen said incredulously. "What the hell is Jameson saying?"

They swung past an advertisement for Rogers the Musical.

"The musical was there in the summer too?" Steve asked curiously.

"I don't give a shit about your damn musical right now, Rogers!" Tony snapped.

"Sorry, you're right. That's not what's important now. Peter, run!"

"I don't ever wanna do this ever again!" MJ exclaimed.

Peter promised himself that he would never take MJ swinging. He hated that she had to do something she didn't like, but the most important thing right now was to get her to a safe place. He shuddered, remembering how the crowd had surrounded her.

MJ asked where they would go.

"I would've said the Compound, but that's destroyed," said Clint.

"Peter needs to go home, get May and Happy, and get out of there," said Tony.

"The Sanctum is a safe place," Stephen suggested. "It's close by as well."

"That's a good option," said Peter. MJ would be safe there with the magic spells.

Wong was bewildered by Stephen helping a child. Granted, the child was Spider-Man, a fellow super-hero, but it was still a child.

Peter suggested her house, but MJ said they couldn't as her dad would kill him. "What? I thought you said your Dad really liked me?" Peter asked.

Peter let out a massive sigh of relief. MJ's dad liked him!

"Yeah, well, not anymore!"

Tony grimaced. As if this couldn't get any worse. "Bad luck, kid."

"Parker luck," Peter corrected.

Peter and MJ landed on top of the Queensborough Bridge.

"Peter, MJ hates heights and you've landed on the top of a bridge," Wanda pointed out.

Peter's eyes widened. "Oh."

Peter's phone vibrated. He and Ned kept yelling, "Dude!"

"I will never understand this generation," Bucky grumbled. Peter, Shuri, Kate, Ned, and MJ made no sense to him.

"Ah, there's Ned," said Scott.

"Oh man, Ned will be dragged into this just like MJ is!" said Peter.

"Dude!" said MJ.

"Nice to see Peter's forgotten his girlfriend," said Sam.

Peter froze and ran back to MJ. He asked if she was okay, but she said she wasn't.

"Obviously not; she hates heights," said Natasha.

"Yo, Peter!" a man yelled.

Peter's heart jumped into his throat at a random stranger calling him by his name while he was in his suit. "This is how it'll be from now on, isn't it?" Peter asked. "Everyone's going to know who I am."

The Avengers winced. All of them were well-known by the public, but this was the first time Peter would be facing this.

Peter and MJ turned around to see crowds on the Roosevelt Gondola filming them, people pointing from balconies, and news helicopters flying up to them.

The Avengers stared in horror. "What is going on?" Peter said, faintly.

Tony rubbed his temples. "This is bad. God, this is so bad."

MJ told him to swing them, and Peter said they could take the subway.

"Good idea," said Clint. "No one can take pictures of you and MJ down there."

He grabbed MJ and dived off the bridge. MJ screamed.

Everyone winced.

"Poor MJ," said Natasha.

Down on the street, Flash was staring at his phone as he found out that Peter was Spider-Man. "No!"

Despite being extremely worried for Peter and MJ, they laughed at seeing Flash.

"I'd been wondering how Flash would react to this," said Wanda.

Peter looked at Flash, amused. "School is going to be unbearable with him knowing." He froze. School. "How the hell am I going to go to school?"

None of the Avengers had an answer for him, even Tony. "Hopefully, all of this will die down soon enough," said Bruce. "It's July, right? There's still around two months left."

"Yeah, if I'm not in jail," Peter said.

Tony's expression soured at knowing Peter's seventeenth birthday would pass like this. He was supposed to be there for his birthday!

Flash gawked at it in disbelief, oblivious as Peter and MJ dived through a grate in the sidewalk behind him.

Everyone chuckled, even Peter.

Clutching MJ, Peter swung through the tunnels until a train came right at them. Peter steered them into a different tunnel just in time.

"Oh, thank God," Tony gasped. He'd seen Peter get hit by a train once and he didn't want to see it happen again, especially with MJ there.

The two climbed out of a manhole cover in Queens. "That was so much worse," she said.

"Poor girl," Carol said sympathetically.

"It's only a little while longer," said Peter, trying to look on the bright side. "We're almost home." He felt guilty about putting MJ through something she clearly hated.

In the background, Delmar III was present.

Steve's eyes lit up at seeing Delmar's. "Oh, I've been there! I was roaming around, and I ended up in Queens. Delmar's has amazing sandwiches."

"I know, right!" said Peter. "Delmar's is really good." He titled his head. Delmar III? He knew they rebuilt after the messed-up ATM robbery, but what happened after that? He chalked it up to the Blip.

MJ jumped into Peter's arms and wrapped her legs around him.

Despite the mess Peter and MJ were in, the Avengers couldn't help but laugh at the two teenagers. They were adorable.

Tony's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"

Peter's cheeks turned a violent shade of red. He has been constantly embarrassed while watching his summer vacation because his stupid teammates kept teasing him about his relationship with MJ.

"Listen, kid. You know I love you as my own son, but there are some things I don't want or need to know. Boundaries are good."

"Oh my God, Tony!" Peter exclaimed, mortified.

"I'm so sorry!" Peter said as they swung off again.

Wanda's lips twitched to a smile. Peter apologizing because he knew how much MJ hated swinging around was adorable. She loved those two.

Peter and MJ finally got to the outside of Peter's bedroom window.

A part of Peter wished that the situation was under entirely different circumstances.

As MJ opened the window, Peter accidentally touched her bottom, and he quickly moved his hand on her back. "I'm sorry!"

The Avengers snorted while Peter's face turned pink.

Meanwhile, Happy and May were in the doorway of the apartment. His eyes are red and puffy.

Tony, Rhodey, and Peter grimaced.

"Oh, man. What happened in the time Peter was gone?" asked Rhodey.

As May tried to shut the door, Happy said he felt dumb as he didn't realize she was miserable.

"Ah shit, that's bad luck," said Tony.

"I don't think May was completely miserable," said Rhodey. "She seemed pretty happy during that phone call when Peter was in Venice."

"I don't know what's going on between them, nor do I want to know," said Peter.

"No, it was really fun," said May.

"Peter's future is awful, but I'm glad we found out about Happy and May," said Rhodey.

"I can't wait to grill Happy about it," said Tony.

Peter crossed his arms and was unimpressed.

Her hair was messy.

Peter's eyes narrowed. "May's hair wasn't that messy before?"

Tony and Rhodey let out a guffaw while the rest of the Avengers looked highly amused. "Do you really want to know the answer to that question, Peter?" Rhodey asked.

Peter turned green. "Oh my God!"

"Break-up sex," Tony said knowingly.

"Don't say that, Tony! That's May and Happy," Peter hissed. "Gross."

"Come on; you can't have been surprised. May said they were having a fling. What do you think a fling means?"

"Doesn't mean I like thinking about it!"

"You know, that's why they call it a 'fling', and we flung." "It was fun. I could've been more fun. I can be fun." "We'll hang out again." "Wait. When do you think?"

Tony, Rhodey, and Peter grimaced.

"This is getting awkward," said Tony.

"Really awkward," Peter added.

There was a crash from Peter's bedroom.

"Ah, that's Peter and MJ," said Scott.

Happy charged back into the apartment, towards Peter's room. May rolled her eyes, saying that Peter was always coming and going.

"That's true," said Peter. "It's much more convenient with May knowing that I'm Spider-Man. I had to sneak in and out of the apartment before."

Happy opened the door to see Peter standing in front of MJ only in his boxers. Both of them were startled at seeing Happy and May.

Except for Peter, everyone else burst out laughing.

"Happy and May are going to come to a completely different conclusion," said Sam.

Wanda chuckled. "At least MJ doesn't have to sneak peeks at Peter anymore. She can stare all she wants."

Peter's cheeks turned a brighter shade of pink, but he was extremely smug. He was very proud of his abs if MJ wanted to look at them.

Happy covered his eyes, saying that he didn't see anything.

Tony and Rhodey snorted.

May went to shut the door, telling him to practice safe sex.

Tony and the rest of the Avengers howled with laughter while Peter covered his face, completely mortified.

She turned back around as she realized MJ was there, "Oh, hey! You must be MJ." MJ nervously smoothed down her hair, "Nice to meet you."

"She's nervous," Bucky noted.

"She's a teenager, and she's meeting her boyfriend's aunt in a situation like this," said Natasha. "Of course, she's nervous."

Peter didn't think MJ had anything to be nervous about. Everything about her was great.

Peter noticed Happy's face. "Wait, have you been crying?" "We broke up," Happy said awkwardly.

Peter, Tony, and Rhodey grimaced.

"Ouch," said Rhodey.

Peter heard a neighbour yell, "Hey! Spider-Man!" and quickly webbed the blinds shut.

Everyone else stopped laughing while Peter groaned. Honestly, Tony was surprised that Peter's neighbours didn't know that he was Spider-Man since he used to crawl outside the building in his Spider-Man suit.

MJ handed him his 'I survived my trip to NYC' T-shirt.

Tony groaned. "I wish you would stop wearing that shirt, Pete. It makes me feel like an asshole."

"What's the story behind the shirt?" Steve asked.

"Tony gave it to me after we argued," said Peter. "He took away my suit and gave me that shirt and the most comfortable Hello Kitty pants because I didn't have any other clothes. I use those pants as pajamas because they're so soft."

"Please stop wearing those clothes!" Tony exclaimed.

"They're comfortable! And in hindsight, it's a good thing you took away my suit. I learnt a lot of things about being Spider-Man because you did."

"I wish your fifteen-year-old self could hear that."

"You thought I was fourteen at the time."

"How was I supposed to know your birthday had just passed? We barely knew each other back then."

"I didn't know you guys broke up. I thought you were in love, May," said Peter.

Peter, May, and Rhodey winced.

"Clearly not," said Rhodey.

"It would be nice if she was, though," said Peter. After Ben, May deserved someone who loved her, and he knew that Happy did.

Peter rushed May out of his room and asked if they could talk about this in the kitchen. The doorbell rang, and Peter led May to the living room.

"May's going to find out that Peter's identity has been revealed; it might as well come from Peter," said Clint.

A neighbour asked if it was true, but MJ shut the door.

Bucky crossed his arms. "Mind your own damn business."

"I didn't know you were so awkward about sex, Peter." May said. "This has nothing to do with sex!" Peter protested.

The Avengers erupted into giggles again while Peter pinched the bridge of his nose. He loved his teammates, but they could be very irritating sometimes.

"I'm not awkward about sex," said Peter. He tried to throw the attention away from himself. "You know what's awkward? Watching Steve lecture me about Sex Ed."

Everyone else started to laugh louder while Steve groaned. "Stop bringing up those PSAs!"

"I can't help it! Your PSAs tortured me and an entire generation for years. I know all the lines to all of them."

Clint snorted. Kate would've had to watch those PSAs too.

Peter's baby picture was on the side table.

The Avengers grinned as Peter buried his face in his hands and let out a muffled scream. Sam and Bucky had a shit-eating grin on their faces. They loved seeing Peter get embarrassed.

"Adorable," Tony smiled.

Peter quickly webbed the blinds shut. Happy and May's phones lit up with messages and calls.

Peter and Tony sighed. Tony desperately wished that he could've been alive so he could've helped Peter with this.

He frantically grabbed May and Happy's phones and said he just wanted to talk to them about their relationship for five minutes.

"Not sure what more there is to talk about, to be honest," said Rhodey.

MJ pointed towards the TV behind Peter. The local news was live with helicopter footage of the outside of the apartment — SPIDER-MAN'S IDENTITY REVEALED.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"They're right outside Peter's apartment!" Stephen exclaimed.

Peter's throat tightened. "Shit."

May gasped, and Happy asked if that was here.

"All of them need to get out of that apartment right now," said Clint. "It's not safe if everyone knows where Peter and May live."

Peter paled. May would be in danger.

Peter's shoulders slumped and he defeatedly opened the blinds. May, Happy, Peter, and MJ looked at the chaos outside the apartment.

"This is a mess," said Wong.

Carol looked at Peter sympathetically while Tony's mouth thinned.

"I mean, maybe it's not such a big deal?" said Peter.

"Everyone knows the identities of all of the other Avengers," said Peter. "Maybe they won't care."

"I think it's a big deal," Steve said kindly. "None of us are legally a minor."

Peter's shoulders slumped. Mysterio ruined his life.

"Spider-menace!" said J Jonah Jameson on the Daily Bugle.

Everyone scowled at seeing Jameson.

"Governments around the world launch investigations into Spider-Man, AKA Peter Parker, AKA the web-headed war criminal!"

Peter groaned. "This just gets worse and worse."

Jameson's 'news desk' is a cheap digital backdrop in a cluttered, conspiracy theorist's apartment.

They looked at Jameson's apartment in disgust.

"That man is pathetic," said Wanda.

"I should've expected Jameson's apartment would look like that," said Bucky.

School photos of Peter, MJ, and Ned have been photoshopped into mug shots under a headline, "TRIO OF TERROR: PARKER'S CRONIES REVEALED!"

Peter clenched his jaw. "Jameson can't do that! Ned and MJ didn't even do anything! Drag my name, fine, but he has no right to bring Ned and MJ into this."

"I don't think he can even do this," said Bruce. "Ned and MJ are minors."

"I don't think Jameson cares," Clint bit out.

"Trio of Terror?" Scott scoffed. "Get the name right; it's FOS — Friends of Spider-Man."

There was also a cover calling Peter 'Iron Man Jr'.

The Avengers raised an eyebrow while Peter sighed.

"Iron Man Jr?" Tony fumed. "Who the fuck is calling you Iron Man Jr? You are Spider-Man." He'd never wanted Peter to be like him.

Phone footage captured green paint thrown on Spider-Man with a Mysterio fanatic yelling, "Murderer! Mysterio forever!"

"Mysterio supporters have zero brain cells," said Scott.

"That paint is going to take forever to get out of the suit," Peter said tiredly. He'd accepted that life wouldn't turn out well for him now.

A British news channel talked about the attack in London. Text at the bottom included: "Interpol issues arrest warrant for Czech Republic's 'Night Monkey'."

"Night Monkey," Thor laughed. "I still can't believe that it stuck."

"People are stupid," said Bucky. "I think Mysterio supporters have proved that."

Peter wrung his hands. "Interpol, though? This isn't good."

Tony scowled. "All because Fury decided to ditch Earth and go to space." He wasn't thrilled with Fury at the moment.

Carol grimaced. Talos messed up.

"Political turmoil continues in New Asgard as Z—"

Thor and Loki shared an alarmed look while the rest looked at the two with worry.

"Political turmoil?" Thor said, shoulders slumped. "Haven't our people been through enough?"

"Val's going to have a lot on her plate," said Bruce. "She's King now."

"Who is Z, though?" Loki asked.

Crowds of people were outside Peter's apartment, chanting.

"Peter, you and May need to move now," Stephen said, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm getting that," Peter replied.

Peter and May watched the news confirming that Stark Industries designed the drones.

"Ah, shit," said Tony. This would only create a mess that Pepper would have to deal with only a year after he had died. His heart twisted. Even while dead, he had managed to make things worse.

Footage of the Stark drones being collected were shown.

Tony's stomach churned. He didn't want to know what the government would do with the drones.

There was a knock on the door. "Federal agents! Open up!"

All of them sucked in a breath, and Tony and Peter blanched.

"Oh no," said Scott.

"Peter, you need a lawyer," Steve said, extremely concerned.

"Don't say a single word without May or a lawyer present," Natasha said sternly.

May opened the door to a group of Damage Control agents. "We have a warrant for the arrest of Peter Parker," said Agent Cleary.

"He's a minor!" the Avengers yelled.

Peter instantly turned an unhealthy shade of grey. "Arrest?" he said in a weak voice.

Tony clenched his fists. The DoDC was in a joint venture with SI, but it didn't look like he would be working with them any longer. He paled as he realized that Peter could be sent to the DoDC Supermax prison.

"Peter shouldn't have to deal with this alone," said Clint, shaking his head. He imagined Kate going through this situation, and nearly had an aneurysm. "We should've helped him. He's a part of the team. He's one of us."

"I barely knew most of you before coming here," said Peter. "Sure, I knew of you, but I never really knew any of you guys like I do now. My on-screen variant knows Tony and Stephen the best, and Tony's gone."

"The Avengers splitting apart had a larger impact than not being together to fight Thanos the first time," said Stephen.

"The team isn't holding together," said Bruce. "Thor should've been checked on during the Blip, Wanda shouldn't have been left alone after the Blip, and Peter should've had support after his identity had been revealed. Based on what I've understood, some people couldn't communicate, and it tore the team apart. It can't happen a second time. We have a second chance; we have to take it."

"Agreed," said Steve. "The team is stronger than ever now."

"Only because we're somehow communicating for once," Tony muttered.

"Yeah, because our future is shit and we've learnt that we need each other," said Clint.

"Give me your phone, Peter," Natasha said forcefully, holding out her hand.

"What?"

"Phone!"

Slightly lost, Peter gave Natasha his phone. She put numbers for her actual phone and her burner phones. "Here, now call me if you need anything in the future."

Stephen took Peter's phone from Natasha and put his own number in. Peter's phone was passed through the rest of the Avengers (except for Thor and Carol) and was returned to Peter, who couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"I'm blocking you if I get any stupid texts," said Sam.

"I don't have a phone but you can send an email or a raven," Thor said with a wide smile. Peter gaped.

"You don't have a computer or a phone, Thor," Stephen said, frustrated.

"I'll get a phone and a computer!"

Carol gave Peter a communicator. "Call me if you need anything, but only use it if it's important." Peter was awed at holding space technology and carefully slipped it into his pocket.

At least it isn't a damn pager this time, Tony thought. Just seeing the pager hurt his eyes.

May asked if they knew the fourth Amendment, but they ignored her and entered the apartment.

Everyone made a sound of outrage.

The agents took pictures of Peter's room, including the Iron Spider charging station and the EDITH glasses.

"Hey, other me gave those to Peter!" Tony snapped.

"Tony, I really don't want the EDITH glasses," said Peter. "I don't need killer drones or anything like that."

"I'm not making the EDITH network or the glasses," It would be stupid to create it after he had seen the damage that it had caused, and if there was one thing he was not, it was stupid.

Agent Cleary was interrogating Peter at a station. He was alone and handcuffed to the table.

"Oh please, those handcuffs aren't doing anything," said Peter. "As if I can't break out of them in a second." He crossed his arms. He was completely done with this mess and wished everything could go back to normal.

"They're breaking so many laws at the moment," Sam snarled. "They can't even question Peter without May there. He's legally a minor!"

Steve scowled. "It's Peter today, but it'll be someone else tomorrow."

"I didn't kill Quentin Beck; the drones did." "The drones that are yours."

Tony felt a stab of anger towards himself. All of this was his fault. After his death, all he had done was cause trouble for the two people he loved the most. Peter got caught up with Beck because of him, and subsequently Pepper. As if Pepper needed enough trouble at the moment.

Steve's mouth thinned. He never liked EDITH or the drones. "Creating killer drones was never a good idea. Now Damage Control has them and I don't even want to think about what those drones will do in their hands."

Peter said Fury was there the entire time and could explain everything.

All of them scoffed.

"I'm so tired of Skrulls," said Tony, rubbing his temples.

Carol winced.

"Nick Fury has been off-planet for the last year," said Cleary.

Everyone glanced at each other in confusion while Carol narrowed her eyes at Cleary.

"How does Cleary know that?" asked Bruce.

"What?" said Peter, totally confused.

"Oh man, my on-screen variant doesn't know the truth. That would've been so confusing," said Peter.

May, Ned, and MJ were being escorted into the station for questioning. Peter said they had nothing to do with this.

"They didn't!" Peter exclaimed. His loved ones were getting dragged into his mess, and he hated it. None of them deserved this; they didn't do anything wrong!

May and MJ told him not to say anything without a lawyer.

"Don't say a single word," Clint warned. "You've already said enough about drones and Fury."

Natasha nodded in agreement. "You're digging yourself into a deeper hole. You need a good lawyer."

"My cousin's a lawyer," said Bruce. "Jennifer Walters. She's a really good lawyer and would be able to help out."

"Really?" said Peter.

He nodded. "She's a criminal defense attorney."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

"This situation isn't going to happen, kid," said Stephen.

"I know. After seeing all of this, I think it's good to have connections to a lawyer, just in case."

MJ was being interrogated. "Miss Jones-Watson—"

Except for Peter, everyone else furrowed their brows.

"Watson?" Natasha said curiously.

"She doesn't get along with her mom," Peter said quietly.

"Jones. I don't go by Watson," MJ corrected.

"That's why we only knew her as Michelle Jones," said Steve.

"Miss Jones, why do you want a lawyer if—" "If I have nothing to hide?" "Exactly. Unless—" "I'm actually guilty of something? I'm very aware of your tactics and my rights."

A wide smile spread across Peter's face. MJ was so smart; that's part of why he liked her so much.

"Rights they are very clearly ignoring as neither one of her parents are there," said Steve.

"I think MJ should look into being a lawyer as a career if she isn't," said Rhodey.

"Where is she applying to college?" Tony asked Peter.

"Her top choices are MIT or Harvard," Peter replied.

Cleary said MJ was a smart, young woman with a bright future. "Why would you risk it all by getting involved with a vigilante like Peter Parker?"

Peter instantly stiffened while the rest of the Avengers snarled.

"He's not wrong," Peter said softly. "I've messed up their lives."

"You haven't done anything," said Steve. "It was Beck and his crew. This isn't your fault."

Cleary entered Ned's interrogation room. He cheerfully offered Ned snacks.

"Clearly, he's going with a good cop persona with Ned," said Rhodey.

Clint scowled. "I don't see Ned's parents there either."

"I just have one question: when MJ told you that Peter was Spider-Man—" said Cleary. Ned interrupted, saying he knew way before MJ. "I was Spider-Man's 'Guy In The Chair.'"

"Oh my God, Ned, who cares?" Peter said, throwing his hands in the air. "He shouldn't be saying anything right now and should pretend that he never knew I was Spider-Man."

"He's a minor; his parents are supposed to be there with him exactly because of this," said Sam.

"I literally helped him find the Vulture."

"Ned, shut up," Peter hissed. Ned was already in enough trouble; he didn't need to get into more because he was Peter's guy in the chair.

"I didn't know that." "And I helped him hack a suit once, and kind of helped him get to space."

Peter pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Ned hacked the Spider-Man suit I made," Tony said proudly. "It's impressive for anyone to do that, let alone a high schooler. But it's probably not the best idea to admit that Ned did that right now."

"Ned's distraction to allow Peter to get off the bus still makes me laugh," said Wanda.

"He wasn't wrong, though," Bucky said. "We did die."

"So, in Spider-Man's illegal vigilantism, you were his main accomplice," Cleary said, dropping the likeable persona.

Peter buried his face in his hands and groaned. If Ned could get into situations like this, he wished that Ned never found out that he was Spider-Man. Sure, it would've been a lot lonelier, and he probably wouldn't have taken down the Vulture without him, but at least Ned would be safe.

"Bastard," Bucky cursed. He'd warmed up to the kids even if he didn't understand them.

Ned froze. "I would like to have my words stricken from the record."

"Doesn't work like that," said Scott. "He's said too much."

May was then interrogated. "With all due respect — and I mean that very insincerely — unless you have some real specific charges to throw at us, legally, you can't hold us here."

All of them grinned.

"They should be scared," said Clint.

"There are only two people in this world that terrify me more than anyone — Pepper Potts and May Parker," said Tony.

Peter snorted. He had seen how Tony tried to get on May's good side after May found out that he was Spider-Man.

"You should definitely lawyer up."

Everyone's eyebrows shot up.

"Is that a threat?" Peter said darkly.

"Child endangerment's a nasty rap. A boy was entrusted to you, and as his legal guardian — essentially his mother — you not only allowed him to endanger himself, but you actually encouraged it. Who does that?"

The Avengers were furious and glared daggers at Cleary.

Tony clenched his jaw. When May found out, she tried to get Peter to stop being Spider-Man before understanding why Peter did what he did. None of this was her fault, as both of them knew Peter had been Spider-Man months before either of them had any clue.

Peter stilled. "He did not just say that to her." Even though he pressed down on his anger, he knew May was only facing all of this because of him. He'd messed up Ned, MJ, and May's lives because he was stupid enough to trust Beck, which cost him everything.

DoDC trucks drove away from a Stark Industries facility as the news talked about federal agents opening an investigation into missing Stark Technology.

Everyone grimaced while Tony rubbed his temples. "I fucked up, and now Pepper has to deal with this. She has enough to deal with already." Pepper already had to raise Morgan alone now, and he'd just managed to make things worse for her.

Peter was steeped in guilt. SI, and therefore Pepper, was being dragged into this all because he was stupid enough to trust Beck. He'd just given the EDITH glasses away to the first superhero person he'd met because he didn't want to deal with the responsibility.

"Those drones are hurting so many people," said Tony. He fucked up with Ultron and he would fuck up with EDITH as well.

The same broadcast was playing in Peter's apartment. It cut to an old photo of Happy providing no comment. "At least they used a good picture," said Happy.

Tony, Peter, and Rhodey looked at him incredulously.

"I know when that picture was taken, and a picture from 1999 is not good," said Tony.

Matt Murdock hung up the phone, thanking someone. He told Peter that the charges wouldn't stick.

There was a beat of silence before everyone erupted into chaos.

"I knew it!" Tony said triumphantly. "I knew the charges were bullshit." He didn't know Peter's lawyer, but he had to be a really good lawyer to get the charges dropped.

"That's great, kid!" Sam said, clapping Peter's shoulder.

"Thank God," said Steve, letting out a massive sigh of relief.

Stephen was glad Peter's charges got dropped. He was a good kid who didn't deserve anything that had happened to him. He'd been through enough.

Peter smiled. It was like a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "I'm not going to jail!" he cheered.

"You're not going to jail, kid!" Tony said, equally happy.

"Anyone with common sense would know that Peter wasn't responsible for killing Beck," said Bucky. He'd deny it if anyone ever asked, but he had a small soft spot for Peter. He was an annoying little shit, but he was a good person. Besides, the only people allowed to make fun of Peter were Sam and himself.

"Common sense isn't that common," said Wanda. "But the charges got dropped! That's great."

"Everything can finally go back to normal now," said Peter.

Natasha smiled sadly. She wasn't so sure about that, but she wasn't about to burst Peter's bubble of happiness at the moment.

"Everyone still knows your identity, though," Bruce pointed out.

Peter's shoulders slumped. "Right. Well, I'm not in jail," he said, trying to look on the bright side. People knowing his identity wasn't ideal, but the identities of the other Avengers were known, so he could deal with it too. Right?

Peter, May, and Happy were relieved. "Oh my God, Mr Murdock. Thank you!" said Peter.

The Avengers froze.

"Wait, Murdock?" said Clint. "Like Nelson & Murdock? The same law firm that we found out took down Fisk?"

"It can't be the same Murdock, can it?" asked Bruce.

"This Murdock is also a lawyer," Stephen pointed out.

"If Murdock was able to put Fisk in jail and get Peter's charges dropped, then I'm sure that he's an excellent lawyer," said Tony.

"He thanked someone on the phone earlier," said Natasha. "It's probably the Nelson part of Nelson & Murdock."

Matt told Happy that the feds were actively investigating the missing technology and told him to secure a lawyer if he was involved.

"He wasn't involved," said Tony. "Well, he wasn't involved with the missing tech."

"Fury should've been there," Steve said bitterly. "Except he was too busy doing whatever he's doing in space with Skrulls." He respected Fury, but he was still tired of all the secrets the man kept close to his chest. Peter paid the price because of it.

Natasha and Clint's mouths thinned. They weren't pleased with Fury at the moment either.

Happy panicked, but May told him to calm down and hear what Matt had to say. "You're gonna need a really good lawyer," said Matt.

"My cousin's a really good lawyer," said Bruce.

"It's nice to see that Happy and May are still on good terms after they broke up," said Scott.

"Peter is in a bad situation," said Tony. "That's the most important thing right now."

Matt told Peter that he may have dodged his legal troubles, but things would worsen as there was still the court of public opinion.

"People are vultures, kid," Tony said softly. He didn't want to make this worse, but Peter had to know. "Trust me, I know."

Peter groaned. "And I thought all of it had ended. Well, public opinion can't actually affect me, right? The charges have been dropped."

"Public opinion is critical," said Natasha. "The public were unhappy with us after Sokovia and Lagos, which is a large part of why the Accords went through."

A brick flew through the window. Despite being blind and his back facing the window, Matt caught the brick in mid-air.

A beat passed as they stared at Matt.

"How did Murdock do that?" Bucky asked. "He's blind."

"Enhanced?" Steve suggested.

"An enhanced, blind lawyer?" said Natasha. "Interesting."

"Well, I was going to pay him a visit to get more information about Fisk anyway," said Clint.

"And I was going to visit Daredevil," said Peter.

Peter, May, and Happy were confused. "How did you just do that?" Peter asked, his hand about to catch the brick too.

"If Peter's tingle sensed it, then Murdock has to be enhanced," said Sam.

"I really don't care who Murdock is or if he's enhanced or not," said Tony. "Peter's charges have been dropped because of him, and I'm grateful."

"But as Mr Murdock said, I still have to deal with public opinion," said Peter.

"I'm a really good lawyer."

Everyone snorted.

Peter looked at the brick — WE BELEIVE MYSTERIO.

"They can't even fucking spell correctly," Clint muttered.

"What do you expect from Mysterio supporters?" Bucky said.

"We're gonna need a safer place to live," said May.

"The Compound would've been a great option if it hadn't been blown to hell," said Sam. "It's safe and secure."

The many locks to Happy's condo opened, and an alarm rang as Peter and May brought their luggage in.

"Happy's place is great too," said Tony. "'At least bricks won't be thrown through the window."

"The spiritual oasis," Rhodey chuckled.

"That's a lot of security," Stephen noted.

"Happy's the forehead of security," Peter replied.

Tony and Rhodey snickered.

May was wearing fashionable clothes.

"I really love May's clothes," said Wanda. "They're cute."

DUM-E was in the kitchen, and it waved.

Tony lit up. "DUM-E! It's nice to know that Happy has him. That's Vision's brother, by the way," he told Wanda, who laughed loudly.

Behind DUM-E, a child's drawing was stuck to the fridge.

Tony beamed as he realized whose drawing that was. "Do you see that drawing? My baby girl's an artist! Look at it!" he said proudly, pointing to Morgan's scribbles. He felt a surge of adoration towards Happy for looking after Peter and Morgan when he couldn't.

The rest of the Avengers looked at Tony fondly. It was nice to see how excited he was about something as simple as his child's drawings. Steve and Natasha thought fatherhood was a good look for him.

May said Happy's apartment looked nice and safe.

"Yeah, because psycho Mysterio supporters don't know where they live anymore," said Bucky.

Later at night, Peter was in Happy's laundry room trying to scrub the green paint off his red and black suit, but it wasn't coming off.

Peter groaned. "Stupid Mysterio supporter."

In the background, a man on the radio talked about how he disapproved of putting the Captain America shield on the Statue of Liberty.

Steve and Sam shared a look of disgust while the rest of the Avengers raised an eyebrow.

"Huh, I guess that's the new and improved Statue of Liberty Yelena was talking about," said Natasha.

"The shield on the Statue of Liberty?" Sam said warily.

"That's a horrible idea," Steve said, shaking his head. "Who the hell came up with that?"

Bucky crossed his arms. "Leave the Statue of Liberty alone. Wasn't giving Walker the shield enough? Why does the government keep doing this to the shield?"

Sam snorted. "We all know why."

Peter grabbed a nearby tarp and dried his hands, but it covered a large object marked 'Stark Cases'. "Oh, Happy…" Peter said as he realized what the case was.

Peter, Rhodey, and Tony became still.

"What is it?" Scott asked.

"A fabricator," Tony said quietly. He didn't think Happy was dealing with his death very well if he had so many of his old things.

"It's basically like a tiny lab," Peter explained.

Rhodey hoped he, Happy, and Pepper were looking out for each other after Tony's death.  

Later, Peter was lying on the couch talking to MJ through video call. He was wearing a familiar shirt.

"That's MJ's shirt," Natasha said wryly. "She was wearing it in Venice."

The rest of the Avengers looked at Peter in amusement, while he rolled his eyes.

Peter and MJ were talking about their MIT applications.

Tony and Rhodey perked up. "MIT?" Tony nearly screeched in happiness.

"I'm glad you've changed your mind," said Rhodey.

"Oh no," Peter said, worried. His anxiety sky-rocketed. "I forgot about college applications with the Mysterio mess."

"Peter, you're a smart kid. Every college is going to accept you," said Clint. 

"Clint's right; they'll be stupid not to accept you," Steve said reassuringly.

Peter gave them a small smile, still worried about college.

"They'll accept you," said Tony. "You have the internship too."

"That internship is fake," Peter said, slightly confused.

"Come on, kid. Both of us know we worked on much more complicated projects in the lab. You worked on nanotechnology. Just ask Pepper for a certificate and put it on your application."

"Oh."

"What happened to Columbia?" Stephen asked, slightly deflated. He would be lying if he wasn't disappointed in hearing that Peter's top choice was now MIT instead of Columbia.

Peter frowned. "I don't know." Columbia had always been his top choice because it was in New York, and he didn't know why it had changed now.

"Clearly, Peter's realized that MIT is the superior choice," Tony said smugly.

Stephen bristled. "Columbia is a great university! I went there!"

"And I went to MIT!"

"Oh my God, they've started the MIT-Columbia argument again," Sam said, exasperated.

MJ said they would have to get scholarships, but Peter said she had the scores and the grades.

"MJ is pretty smart," said Bucky. "It makes me wonder what she's doing with Peter."

"That's true," Sam laughed.

Tony smacked his forehead. How had he forgotten to set up a college fund for Peter?

MJ thought she was being too pragmatic. Peter agreed and said it was one of her favourite things about her.

Peter thought everything about her was his favourite thing.

"Well, what are your other favourite things?"

"Christ, I don't want to hear teenage flirting," said Sam.

"Shut up, it's cute," said Wanda.

"I love your relentless optimism." "Yeah, I am a glass half-full kind of gal."

Everyone chuckled.

MJ's room was filled with books, art, and lights.

Peter looked at MJ's room curiously.

"That's a very MJ room," Natasha noted.

There was a picture of her and Ned at Homecoming in 2016.

"FOS!" Scott exclaimed.

There were also sketches above her bed, including one of Peter.

Peter had a small smile at seeing MJ's sketch of him. He remembered the day she drew it; it was hard not to since The Ferry Incident happened the same day.

"You like sports." "I think the Mets are gonna go all the way this year." "Really?" Peter said, skeptical.

Steve and Bucky shot Peter a dirty look.

"If you're a Yankees fan, I'm going to kick you off the team," Steve said, completely serious.

"You're from Queens; how can you not support the Mets?" Bucky demanded.

"I do!" Peter defended. "I'm guessing you two support the Mets too."

"We do," Bucky replied. 

"We would have supported the Dodgers, but those assholes moved to LA," Steve spat.

"You should've seen Steve the day he found out," Natasha laughed. "Poor guy practically moped for days."

"It was a betrayal, Nat!" Steve hissed.

There was a noise in the background, and MJ asked what it was. Peter said it was Happy snoring as he gave his room to May.

"Happy snores just as loudly as Tony," Peter said, highly amused.

Tony scowled. "Take that back right now!"

He showed Happy sleeping on the couch, wearing a sleep apnea mask.

Tony and Rhodey chuckled.

MJ asked if any part of him felt relieved about all this.

"No," Peter said immediately. "It looks like a nightmare. I never wanted everyone to know."

Peter said only one week of his life has felt normal since he got bit by the spider, and it was because MJ found out as everyone he wanted to know knew.

"No one else will find out about my identity this time," Peter said firmly. "I'm not going to let it happen."

"But now everybody knows, and I am the most famous person in the entire world."

Everyone looked at Peter sympathetically as he swallowed thickly. "That's nice to know."

MJ said she was excited to see him tomorrow, and Peter agreed.

All of them furrowed their brows.

"What's tomorrow?" asked Thor.

"Wrap it up!" said Happy. Peter jumped.

So did everyone else.

"Stop ruining their moment, Hap!" Tony exclaimed.

"You both like each other; we get it. Hang up. There's no new ground being broken. Okay? I need my eight hours."

The Avengers snickered while Peter rolled his eyes.

"And he was the one who gave MJ the necklace, too," said Bruce.

"I'll be able to give MJ the necklace this time!" Peter said happily.

"I noticed that MJ's been wearing the Black Dahlia necklace everywhere," said Natasha.

Peter's heart warmed. "Yeah, I noticed that too."

"Have you been listening this whole time?" "Uh... not by choice."

Sam and Bucky shuddered. They felt terrible for Happy as he had to listen to Peter and MJ.

"Hi, Happy," said MJ. Happy waved, "Hello."

Peter grimaced. "This is awkward."

"Then don't call your girlfriend when Happy's there," said Rhodey.

Chapter Text

The next day, the outside of Midtown High was chaotic as there were fans and protesters.  

Everyone gaped at the chaos outside of Midtown.

Peter sighed. "My first day of senior year. At least I know I'll be able to go to school. It's going to be painful, though."

"You're a senior," said Tony, blinking the tears from his eyes. Peter was growing up. "If it's the first day of senior year, then your birthday's passed." He wasn't there for Peter's birthday.

Peter blinked in surprise. "I'm seventeen."

"You were supposed to get the Iron Spider suit for your seventeenth birthday, not because you got dragged to space."

Betty Brant was reporting.

"Betty!" Wanda exclaimed. "She and Ned need to get back together. They were cute."

Rhodey snickered. "According to Ned, he was a boy before he met Betty and then he turned into a man."

"She was the first person he fell in love with," Steve added.

"They dated for, like, two weeks max," said Clint.

"We're covering the first day of senior year from Midtown High's most famous student Peter Parker! Go get 'em, tiger. Or should I say, 'Spider?'"

Everyone snorted.

Peter, Ned, and MJ walked down the path, and Peter and MJ held hands in support.

"Well, at least those two are able to hold hands without shying away from each other now," Tony noted.  

A man with MJ's face printed on his shirt yelled for her attention as he asked if she would have Peter's spider babies.

All of them looked at him in disgust.

"That's so wrong," said Peter, shaking his head.

The three kept their heads down and walked as the crowd yelled at them.

"Just get inside the school where it'll be safe," said Clint.

A poster called Peter the 'devil in disguise.'

"They're calling Peter the devil in disguise?" Stephen said, baffled. "Peter?"

"I knew people were stupid, but clearly, I underestimated how stupid," said Bucky.

"Hey! Let's see you and MJ kiss!" a person in the crowd yelled.

"They're literal children," Scott fumed.

"Disgusting," muttered Tony.

Ned told them to back off.

"Good, tell them off, Ned," said Clint.

A girl asked him who he was. Ned started to say he was Spider-Man's best friend, but a blond Flash interrupted and said, "I'm Peter Parker's best friend. You come at my boy; you come at Flash Thompson."

"Blond doesn't suit him," said Wanda.

"What?" Peter said, astonished. "Flash is saying that he's my best friend?"

"At least Flash is on your side," Scott pointed out.

Natasha snickered. "I think Flash would rather die than insult Spider-Man."

"Flash being Spider-Man's #1 fan but hating Peter will always be funny to me," said Rhodey.

He promoted his book, Flashpoint, which was about being best friends with Spider-Man.

Peter looked at Flash incredulously.

Tony knew Flash was an ass, but he still pitied him because it was like looking at a younger version of himself as the way Flash's parents treated him was painfully familiar. He hoped that the kid would become better once he grew up a little.

Peter was separated from MJ at security, and he said he would see her inside. Peter walked past a mural of famous scientists, including Abraham Erskine, Howard Stark, and Hank Pym.

"Erskine?" Steve said curiously. "That makes sense for a STEM school."

"Hank makes sense, too," Scott added.

Tony scowled. "Midtown as a picture of my dad but not me? Clearly, I need to be having a conversion with the Principal."

Peter rolled his eyes. Tony was so dramatic sometimes.

Steve beamed. "Peter's Principal is Morita's grandkid."

"There's a picture of Principal Morita's grandfather, you, and Bucky in his office," said Peter. Steve and Bucky were taken aback.

"Didn't Peter also say that there was a picture of Bruce in his Physics classroom?" Rhodey asked.

"Oh yeah, there is," Peter responded.

"Which I couldn't believe when Peter first mentioned it," said Bruce.

"So, they include one scientist Avenger but not the other?" Tony said, outraged.

"Relax, shellhead," said Natasha. "Midtown had Iron Man artwork plastered across the walls before."

"Oh, right," he said, mollified.

"I just want to say that you're my science hero. And Ned's. And literally everyone else at Midtown," Peter told Bruce.

"Uh, thanks?"

"Why doesn't your school have a picture of Jane Foster?" Thor asked.

"That's what MJ asks too," said Peter. "She loves Dr Foster."

"As she should."

"Dr Foster's pretty cool. I mean, she won a Nobel Prize. The Foster Theory is groundbreaking!"

Thor wholeheartedly agreed.

At the top of the stairs, he found Coach Wilson, Mr Dell, and Mr Harrington waiting for him.

"Huh, I thought Morita's grandson would've shown up to greet his school's most famous student," said Bucky. "I would've liked to have seen him."

Bruce smiled. "Hey, there's Roger."

Peter shuddered. "I still can't believe you went to college with Mr Harrington. It's weird."

"Mr Dell and Mr Harrington were so stressed throughout that entire Europe trip," Scott said.

"Who wouldn't be stressed when there were Elemental attacks wherever the kids went," Clint said. 

"Poor guy's wife pretended to blip and left him for another guy," said Sam.

Bruce grimaced. "I really have to visit Roger."

"Who's that?" Stephen asked Peter, pointing to Coach Wilson.

"My gym teacher, Coach Wilson."

Suddenly, Wanda chuckled. "I just remembered that Mr Dell was convinced that witches were real. He was right."

Mr Dell welcomed Peter back to Midtown High, where they shaped heroes. Mr Harrington gestured to a trophy case turned into a shrine for Peter.

All of them cringed.

"That's so awkward. Why would they do that?" Peter asked. He frowned as he realized the trophy Midtown's Academic Decathlon team won against their rival school, Coles Academic High School, would've been removed to create the shrine. Their team worked hard for that trophy.

"Well, you are their most famous student," Thor pointed out.

"Or murderers," muttered Coach Wilson.

Peter's stomach dropped as the rest of them glared at Coach Wilson. "He thinks I murdered Mysterio?" he said quietly. "But he knows me."

"Your gym teacher is shit," Bucky declared. "You don't even need to go to gym class anyway. You're stronger than Steve."

"It's an honour to serve you, sir," said Mr Harrington.

Peter grimaced. "Please don't. It's so weird hearing Mr Harrington call me 'sir'."

Coach Wilson kept muttering that Mysterio was right.

Everyone stared daggers at Coach Wilson. "Midtown needs to get a new gym teacher," said Bruce.

"And feel free to walk — or swing — through the hallway, or crawl on the ceiling to avoid everybody," said Mr Dell.

"I think that would bring more attention to Peter," Natasha said wryly.

"We all know you can do it," Mr Harrington.

Suddenly Peter froze and then groaned.

"What is it?" Tony asked, worried.

"I'll have to put more effort in gym class."

He looked at Peter with exasperation.

"I'm so glad I'm not in high school anymore," said Rhodey.

"And Coach Wilson is my gym teacher. Gym is going to be a nightmare."

"He's a disgrace to the name," Sam muttered.

"At least I can breeze through the Captain America Fitness Challenge," said Peter.

Steve shot Peter a dirty look. "Stop bringing it up."

Bucky grinned. "You'll end up doing those PSAs too," he told Sam. "I'll make sure you do."

Sam scowled.

Peter, weirded out, walked down the long hallway of students, who were crowding and pointing their phones at him.

Peter swallowed thickly at seeing what his future would've been like. "This is a literal nightmare and I hate it. I like not being the center of attention."

"Well, at least your classmates won't think you're an underage male escort anymore," Sam said, looking on the bright side.

All of them chuckled. Wanda scanned the group of students for one particular student but couldn't find him.

"Who are you looking for?" Stephen asked.

"Brad."

The Avengers laughed loudly. "I wonder what he thinks about their Europe trip now," said Scott.

"That's probably why he's not showing his face," Natasha said.

A small part of Peter was smug that Brad wasn't showing his face.

"I know Brad's just a kid, but he was an ass," Rhodey said.

"You guys are a little too invested in Midtown's high school drama," said Peter.

"We're not invested in Midtown's high school drama, we're just invested in your high school drama," said Tony.

Later in the day, Peter and MJ were on the school's rooftop. MJ read from a newspaper as Peter watched the clouds.

"This is a lot more peaceful than what happened downstairs," said Scott.

Peter loved staying on that rooftop. Everything was a lot calmer and he could get away from anything up there.

Peter wanted to stay there all day as it was crazy downstairs.

"Everyone would be staring at me," Peter complained.

"Welcome to the Avengers," said Steve.

Peter was starting to hate being an Avenger. He wished more and more that he could stick to being a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man and help with Thanos-level situations when they happened.

The newspaper's front page had a depiction of Peter controlling MJ and Ned with puppet strings.

Everyone scowled, especially Peter.

"Vultures," Tony grumbled. He wished he could've been there to protect the kids.

MJ talked about a theory in the newspaper. "Some suggest that Parker's powers include the male spider's ability to 'hypnotize' females, which he used to seduce Jones-Watson into his cult of personality."

Peter had a look of confusion on his face. "What did I just hear?"

"That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard," said Natasha.

"You're just sensitive because they're talking about spider-powers," Scott said.

"She's a Black Widow; they do something much more dangerous to their mates," said Tony.

Natasha rolled her eyes.

"I think Peter does have those powers because what other reason is there for someone as smart as MJ to date him?" Sam teased.

Wanda pinched Peter's cheek. "He's an adorable boy." Peter squirmed and swatted her hand away. "Stop that!"

Peter laughed and told her to stop.

Tony found it nice to see Peter laugh after so long.

"Yes, my Spider-Lord," she said mockingly.

Peter's breath caught as his heart skipped a beat. Huh, it turns out hearing MJ say that did something to him.

The two looked at each other and were about to kiss, but they were interrupted by Ned, who sat down.

Peter groaned in frustration while everyone else snickered.

"This is why he needs to get back together with Betty," said Wanda. "He doesn't want to feel like a third wheel."

Ned said they should live together at MIT; Peter and MJ agreed.

"Ned doesn't want to live with a college couple," said Rhodey. "Trust me. He will get zero sleep."

"That's probably true," Tony said shamelessly.

"Gross," Peter wrinkled his nose. He didn't want to hear about Tony's exploits at MIT.

Peter said MIT was the dream and he could Spider-Man there since they have crime in Boston.

"I think they have crime everywhere," said Bruce, amused.

"It'll be weird going on patrol somewhere else but New York, though," said Peter

"But you're going to have a great time at college," said Rhodey. "Hopefully, you'll get into MIT too and have just as much fun as Tony and I."

Peter nodded. "I've worked really hard on my grades too." They would've been better if he didn't have to fight crime, but they were still pretty good.

Tony beamed. "God, I'm so proud of you."

"Yeah, wicked crime," said Ned.

"Plenty of crime for Spider-Man's guy-in-the-chair," said Scott.

Peter's mouth straightened into a thin line. He wondered if Ned should stop being his guy-in-the-chair because he had seen how it had gotten him into trouble during the interrogation. Ned didn't deserve to be dragged into this mess.

Peter said it would be like a fresh start.

"Oh." Peter's stomach dropped. "My on-screen variant wants a fresh start; that's why Columbia isn't a top choice anymore. It's in New York and MIT isn't."

Tony and Stephen shared a concerned look. "MIT is an excellent school as well," Stephen said begrudgingly.

Wong was completely lost. Was Stephen being nice to a…child?

"If you expect disappointment, then you can never really get disappointed," said MJ.

"Pretty good motto to live by," said Natasha.

Peter took her hand. "It'll be a fresh start. And we'll all be together."

"A fresh start sounds good," said Peter. "Maybe a little break too."

"You deserve it," said Steve.

MJ agreed with the fresh start. Ned cluelessly takes their clasped hands, "Fresh start."

Peter pinched the bridge of his nose. "He needs to get back together with Betty."

Cut to May running into the condo with an admissions envelope. "First one's here!"

Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats, Peter was pale, and Tony nervously fidgeted.

"You're going to get in," Clint said reassuringly. "You're a smart kid."

Peter was studying at the table with DUM-E next to him.

"That's a familiar scene," said Tony.

A Lego Death Star was half-built.

"A Death Star?" Sam asked curiously.

"Ned and I are probably building it again," said Peter. "His favourite figure is Palpatine."

Peter got rejected.

The Avengers blinked dumbly as Peter's stomach dropped.

"Huh?" Bucky said in disbelief. "Peter didn't get in?"

Tony gaped. "What the fuck," he said flatly. "How the hell did Peter get rejected? He's a genius and the smartest kid I know!"

"Well, it's only one school; there are still others," said Peter.

"It's okay. It's a backup school," Peter said, optimistic.

"Right, there are still other options," said Stephen. "Something's wrong with that school, though."

Another day, May ran in with another letter. Peter eagerly awaited May's reaction as she read the letter, but she shook her head.

The Avengers glanced at each other in concern while Peter's stomach churned. "That's two rejection letters," he said.

"Okay, there's no way Peter's been rejected from two colleges," Tony said, shaking his head in disbelief. "That's impossible. There's something wrong with their admissions process."

Natasha thought there was something else preventing Peter from getting to college.

"If you're still planning on applying to Columbia, I can help you, Peter," Stephen suggested. "I have connections there."

"I went to Harvard," said Bruce. "I got one of my doctorates there. I can help you too if you want to apply there." Of course, he wasn't going to mention that he and Betty participated in an experiment that involved hallucinogens at Harvard.

Peter lit up. "Really? That'd be great. Thanks, guys!"

Tony frowned. "How come you won't let me help you?"

Peter shifted uncomfortably. "It's not the same. It'll be weird letting you help me."

Another day, May walked in with a letter. "Last one."

Peter and Tony sharply sucked in a breath while everyone else's eyes widened.

"MIT?" Tony asked faintly.

Peter looked up from his bowl of cereal, mouth full. "MIT?!"

Tony put a hand on Peter's shoulder in comfort even though he was shaking himself. Peter nervously wrung his hands, "This is it."

DUM-E twisted and hit the nearly completed LEGO Death Star. It shattered into many pieces.

Peter groaned. "DUM-E, no. The Death Star's been destroyed again."

Later, Peter swung down in front of Peter Pan's Donut Shop, decorated for Halloween.

"I love that donut shop!" said Steve. "It's in Brooklyn."

Peter has a lump in his throat seeing his on-screen variant swing without his mask, but he supposed there was no point in hiding his identity when everyone knew who he was. Swinging was so much more convenient anyway.

He entered the shop and spotted MJ at the cash register in her waitress uniform.

"MJ works there?" Steve said curiously. He wondered if MJ would accept a senior citizen discount.

Peter thought MJ looked really pretty in her uniform, but he thought MJ always looked pretty.

She held up her own MIT envelope. They headed to the back of the shop and joined Ned at the counter, who also had an MIT envelope.

Peter couldn't sit still. "What if we don't get in? The other colleges rejected me."

"MIT would have to be stupid not to let the three of you in," said Rhodey.

"Yeah, Ned hacked into a suit I made at fifteen," Tony added.

"And I bet MJ's application is perfect," said Bruce.

MJ's boss rudely told her to take down the Halloween decorations.

"So I'm guessing it's November 2024," said Scott.

"One more month until Clint falls out of the Christmas tree," Natasha laughed. 

Clint rolled his eyes. One more month until he meets Kate.

MJ swallowed her pride and said she was on it.

"Shitty bosses are everywhere," said Sam.

The three took a deep breath and opened their envelopes. Peter's face fell.

Peter frowned as he looked away while everyone else looked at him sympathetically. Tony's face crumpled. Peter didn't get into MIT?

He looked at MJ, who shook her head. "In light of recent controversy, we are unable to consider your application at this time," said Ned.

"All three of them got rejected?" Rhodey said, dumbfounded.

Stephen was astonished. There was no way those three didn't get in. They were the smartest kids he knew. Not that he knew many kids, but still.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Tony said in a low voice. "That's why Peter kept getting rejected? That's complete bullshit!"

"It's so unfair!" Peter exclaimed. "Ned and MJ didn't even do anything." His stomach twisted. "They got rejected just because they know me."

Peter said this wasn't fair as he didn't do anything wrong, and Ned and MJ definitely didn't do anything wrong.

Peter buried his face in his hands. "Beck is still fucking up my life. Ned and MJ don't deserve this." He was steeped in guilt; he knew how badly Ned and MJ had wanted to go to MIT, and he had ruined it.

"Expect disappointment, and you will never get disappointed," said MJ.

Natasha smiled bitterly. "I said it was a good motto."

Suddenly, Flash entered, sporting an MIT sweatshirt. Peter, Ned, and MJ stared at him.

Peter blinked in surprise. "Flash got in?" He paused. "I guess he's smart."

"Not as smart as you, Ned, and MJ," said Steve. "You three should've gotten in."

"You guys didn't get in?" Flash asked, confused.

"He's just as confused as the rest of us," said Bucky.

"Because the reason the three of them got rejected is so stupid," said Clint.

"Yeah, because we're actually friends with Spider-Man," Ned replied.

"But Flash was telling everyone that he was Spider-Man's best friend in his book," said Wanda. "How did he get into MIT?"

"He has rich parents," Natasha replied.

Tony clenched his jaw. He knew if he was there, he could've easily gotten the kids into MIT. It was infuriating to know that he could fix all of Peter's problems if he weren't dead.

"Peter, you should just call me," Rhodey said. "I can probably pull some strings."

"Oh." He didn't even think about Rhodey.

"Or you can call Pepper too," Tony added. "SI has always donated a lot of money to MIT, so if the CEO of SI calls, they'll probably let you three in too."

Peter shook his head. "I've caused more than enough trouble for Pepper."

"Shut up, kid. Pep would be happy to help."

Flash awkwardly said he had to get going as they had a mixer for new admissions and left.

"Stop rubbing it in their face," said Sam.

MJ ripped up her letter and said that she wouldn't change a thing she did. Ned agreed and ripped his letter up too.

The Avengers had a small smile.

"You have good friends, Peter," said Steve.

Peter thought he had fantastic friends, but he was a bad friend to them.

"Although, I do need to show this letter to my parents," he said, picking up the pieces.

"Oh man, Ned's parents are going to be upset," Peter said. He felt so guilty.

Peter guiltily watched Ned walk away. He got an idea as he looked at the Halloween lights that suspiciously looked like a certain sorcerer.

Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at Stephen, who blinked dumbly. He shot Peter an unimpressed look. "A Halloween decoration reminded you of me?"

"It looks just like you! It even has the cloak!"

Stephen sighed with exasperation. He was glad that Peter was going to visit him, though. He knew his on-screen variant would be happy to see him. "But what do you want me to do?"

"Can't you use the Time Stone to reverse—wait, no, Thanos destroyed the Time Stone and the other Time Stone was returned back to 2012. Uh, can't you use some other magic spell?"

"Kid, I'll always be happy to help you, but why can't you just call MIT and ask them to reconsider first?"

A beat passed.

"You can do that?"

Stephen, Tony, Rhodey, and Bruce nodded.

Peter grimaced. "Oh."

"Not all colleges allow it, but some do," said Bruce. "I'm not sure about MIT, though. It's unlikely but not impossible. There's a small chance."

Later, Peter walked down Bleeker Street and arrived at the Sanctum Sanctorum.

"Ah, I walked there too," said Thor.

Loki scowled. He didn't like the reminder of the time Stephen had made him fall for thirty minutes. He supposed he would have to get used to it since he, Wanda, and Stephen would be having their weekly study sessions there.

He was about to ring the bell before the door opened on its own.

"The door opens on its own?" Sam asked.

"For people I want to come in, yes," Stephen responded. "Or there's always Dr Banner's method of entering the Sanctum by crashing through the ceiling."

Bruce looked sheepish.

"You teleported me inside when I visited," Thor told Stephen.

"I wanted you to come inside, didn't I?"

Peter entered and saw snow everywhere.

Stephen and Wong sighed while the rest of the Avengers looked confused.

"What's up with all the snow?" Scott asked.

"Someone probably forgot to cast the monthly maintenance spell on the Rotunda Gateways," he said, looking at Wong, who rolled his eyes.

Wanda looked at the Sanctum curiously. She had seen it before, but now she knew she would be visiting it often. Stephen had already given her many books, but she was looking forward to studying with other sorcerers and their weekly study session with Stephen and Loki.

Two apprentices were shovelling the snow.

"Who are they?" Scott asked.

"Apprentices," Wong replied. "They must've done something wrong for them to be shovelling."

Peter's eyes widened. "You guys take apprentices?"

"Will I have to start as an apprentice?" Wanda asked.

Stephen and Wong laughed loudly at the thought of Wanda being an apprentice. "You? An apprentice? No. Besides, you're studying witchcraft right now," said Stephen.

Everyone turned to the back of the room where Wanda's astral form was studying.

"And, you're more like an exchange student," Wong added. He still wasn't on board with letting Wanda learn at Kamar-Taj considering she was the Scarlet Witch, but he trusted Stephen.

Wong entered from a portal, carrying many suitcases. "The most famous person in the world, I know."

"Oh, it's me," said Wong.

Peter frowned. "I hate that I'm the most famous person in the world. Don't people have better things to do?"

Peter asked if the snow was for a holiday party, but Wong said a blizzard blasted through one of the Rotunda Gateways.

"Why would you think the snow was for a holiday party?" Stephen asked.

Peter shrugged. "I don't know. You guys are sorcerers."

Stephen Strange floated down the staircase with a mug that said 'For Fox's Sake'.

Wanda rolled her eyes. "You're so dramatic."

Stephen scoffed. "Oh, please. As if you don't fly everywhere too."

"I look a lot cooler than you."

"Not true."

"You decided to make a dramatic entrance when I visited," said Thor. "It reminded me of Loki."

Stephen and Loki spluttered while Wanda snickered.

Peter let out a loud laugh at seeing the mug. He didn't know that Stephen liked puns like him.

He was wearing a Columbia sweatshirt underneath his parka. He was also wearing the Cloak of Levitation on top of his parka.

"That's a…look," Wanda said, for the lack of better words.

Tony scowled at Stephen's Columbia sweatshirt.

"Do you wear the Cloak everywhere?" Bucky asked, looking at their Stephen wearing the Cloak too. 

"It's comfortable."

"He's attached to it," said Wong. "He carries it everywhere he goes."

Stephen and Wong bickered about forgetting to cast the monthly maintenance spell. Wong said he had higher duties. "Higher duties?!" Stephen balked.

Wong and Stephen furrowed their brows. "That's a bit rich coming from the person who participates in cage fighting matches in his free time," Stephen grumbled.  

The rest of the Avengers looked at Wong incredulously.

"You participate in cage fighting matches?" Clint asked.

"Yes, it's a good way to unwind stress."

"It's basically his hobby," Stephen added.

"The Sorcerer Supreme has higher duties, yes."

Stephen and Wong's jaws dropped. "I'm the Sorcerer Supreme?" Wong whispered. He straightened up. "It is an honour and a duty I will take very seriously."

"Good for you, Wong," said Tony. "You deserve it."

"It's ancient custom to bow before the Sorcerer Supreme," said Wong, shooting Stephen a pointed look.

"I'm aware of the customs."

The Avengers instantly got up and bowed to Wong. Wanda looked at Wong curiously as she knew she was more powerful than the Sorcerer Supreme. "So I've been reading books from Wong's private library?"

Stephen paled and glared at Wanda for letting that slip.

"You've been reading what?" Wong yelled.

"I told you not to tell him," Stephen hissed.

"Sorry! It slipped out!"

Wong looked at Wanda cautiously. He didn't have a good feeling about her.

"So the Sorcerer Supreme's hobby is cage fighting?" Carol asked.

"Yes," Wong replied. "It's a fun hobby."

"Wait, I thought you were the Sorcerer Supreme," Peter asked Stephen.

"I'm supposed to be," Stephen muttered. "I would've been."

Stephen defensively said it was on a technicality since he blipped for five years.

Stephen gaped. "That's how Wong got it?" He found this incredibly unfair. "I was dead!"

"Doesn't matter," said Wong. "I'm still the Sorcerer Supreme."

A small portal opened and a book dropped on Wong's lap — The Super-Secret Guide to Being the Sorcerer Supreme. Wong's face lit up.

"Unbelievable," Stephen grumbled.

Peter congratulated Wong.

Stephen scowled.

"I'll think you'll be a great Sorcerer Supreme," Bruce told Wong. "Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"If I'd been here, then I would have—" Stephen started to say. "Burned the place down," Wong interrupted.

Stephen bristled while everyone else snorted. Wong let out a guffaw, "That's true."

Wong walked away and told the apprentices to keep shovelling.

"Well, clearly they've pissed off the Sorcerer Supreme," said Clint.

"So, Peter. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Stephen asked.

The light-hearted atmosphere instantly disappeared. "Peter, I'll be more than happy to help you after you've asked MIT to reconsider," said Stephen.

"Uh yeah, I don't think that's happening. I never knew that I could ask them to reconsider."

Stephen rubbed his temples.

"I'm really sorry to bother you, sir, but—"

"Sir?" said Stephen. "It feels weird hearing you call me that. You've called me Stephen for a while now."

"Yeah, but they haven't gotten to that point yet," said Peter. "It feels weird hearing myself call you 'sir' too."

Wong snorted at anyone calling Stephen 'sir'.

"Please, we saved half the universe together; I think we're beyond you calling me 'sir'."

"Never mind, they're like us now!" said Peter.

"That space road trip was the worst," Tony grumbled.

"Okay, uh... Stephen—" "That feels weird. But I'll allow it."

"It doesn't really feel weird anymore," said Stephen.

Peter explained that his life got screwed up when Mysterio revealed his identity, so he wondered if Stephen could go back in time and make it so he never did.

"Absolutely not," said Wong.

"The Time Stone doesn't exist anymore anyway," said Steve.

"Where's the TVA when you need them?" Rhodey asked. "The Infinity Stones don't even mean anything to them. We saw that they had spare Time Stones lying around."

"They're under new management," Loki said bitterly.

Everyone else grimaced at the reminder.

"Peter, we tampered with the stability of spacetime to resurrect countless lives. You want to do it again now just 'cause yours got messy?" "It's not about me."

It felt like Stephen had been hit by a truck. What Peter had said was one of the most valuable lessons the Ancient One made him realize in her final moments. It's not about you. How could he not help Peter after that? Besides, it was impossible to say no to Peter's big, brown sad eyes.

Wong was happy that Strange wasn't going to tamper with the stability of spacetime now.

Peter said it was hurting a lot of people, and Ned and MJ's futures were ruined just because they knew him and they'd done nothing wrong.

"Exactly! They got rejected just because they got dragged into this mess," said Peter. "They don't deserve any of this."

"Peter, you don't deserve any of this either," said Stephen.

"I am so sorry. But even if I wanted to... I don't have the Time Stone anymore," Stephen said sympathetically.

"But there are other options, right?" Tony asked.

"Yes, but Peter really should plead his case with MIT first," Stephen replied.

Peter deflated. "That's right. I'm really sorry if I wasted your time."

Stephen shook his head. "You didn't."

"No, you didn't—" Stephen said sincerely.

Natasha wondered if Strange would be this nice if anyone else but Peter asked for his help. Or maybe she wasn't giving him enough credit. Strange did work well in a team when needed; the fight on Titan proved that much.

Stephen knew his on-screen variant would be happy that Peter visited. He liked the company since he didn't get enough of it as he was completely focused on being a sorcerer. It does get a little lonely at times. It wasn't as if he didn't want to care for someone, or have someone care for him — he just got scared. A small part of him knew that he had an aversion to forming close relationships with other people because he wasn't able to save Donna.

Peter told him to forget about it.

Stephen looked at Peter miserably. He wanted to help him since Peter didn't deserve anything happening to him. He wanted to help him; he was unable to save Donna so maybe he could help save Peter and the future of his friends' lives.

Wong picked up his suitcases and said Stephen was very good at forgetting things.

Wanda and Stephen sharply sucked in a breath. "Are you thinking about the same spell as I am?" she asked him. 

"Runes of Kof-Kol?" Stephen replied.

Wanda nodded.

"No!" Wong exclaimed. "That spell is dangerous!"

"We've used it for a lot less," said Stephen. "And the spell is only dangerous if it's cast wrong and I'm not going to cast it incorrectly."

Wong shook his head. He didn't like any of this.

Stephen's eyes widened. "Wong, you've actually generated a good idea. The Runes of Kof-Kol."

"What are the Runes of Kof-Kol?" Tony asked, trying not to get his hopes up.

"A spell of forgetting," Wanda replied, excited to be explaining the magic stuff for once. She'd learnt a lot about runes in her studies.

Stephen explained that it was a standard spell of forgetting. "It won't turn back time, but at least people will forget that you were ever Spider-Man."

"Exactly," said Stephen. "It's a pretty good solution considering all of Peter's problems are because people know he's Spider-Man."

"Thank God you're going to fix this then!" Peter said, elated.

"Great, problem solved," Tony said with relief.

"I still think it's too dangerous," said Wong. "You shouldn't cast that spell, Stephen."

"Peter deserves a win. You know what he's been through," Stephen whispered.

Wong sighed. He didn't deny that, but he was surprised by how much Stephen cared for the kid.

Bucky frowned. If that spell were cast, then it would also affect him. He didn't want his mind to be messed with anymore, but he also knew this would help Peter.

Carol narrowed her eyes. "You can't mess with people's memories. I feel bad for Peter too, but I also know what it's like to have my memories messed with and it's not great."

"They won't even know that their memories were altered," said Wanda.

"And that makes it okay?!"

"That spell travels the dark borders between known and unknown reality. It's too dangerous," said Wong.

Stephen snorted. They've used that spell before. The rest of them looked wary at hearing this.

"Dark borders between known and unknown reality?" Sam said, worried. "Are you sure that spell should be cast then?"

"I don't think it's a good idea," said Wong. "But maybe there's another way we can help Peter."

"I've obviously never cast it considering I didn't even know I was a witch before, but the books say it's a pretty simple spell," said Wanda.

Stephen froze and glanced at Loki. Cosmic energies were already fragile because of what Sylvie did, but Peter needed this. If the spell went smoothly, there wouldn't be anything to worry about. He could do this.

"We've used it for a lot less. Do you remember the full moon party at Kamar-Taj?" "No…" "Exactly."

Wong looked lost. He didn't remember this, but that was the point.

Wanda laughed. "You said I could come to the next full moon party."

"You were going to be invited anyway," Stephen said, amused.

Wong shook his head. Wanda didn't seem dangerous but he had heard tales about the Scarlet Witch.

"Can I come?" Peter asked Stephen.

"Okay."

"Whoa, Ned's going to freak out!"

"Your parties must be fun. You can refill beer!" Thor laughed. "Strange gave me a self-refilling beer mug when I last met him," he told everyone else.

Loki scowled. "And made me fall for thirty minutes!"

Stephen smirked. It was fun.

"Come on. Hasn't he been through enough?" Stephen said.

Tony and Stephen swallowed thickly. Peter had been through so much that no seventeen-year-old should go through. Stephen also felt like he owed it to Tony to help his ward.

"That's true," Natasha said quietly. "Peter could use a win."

Peter just wanted this entire mess to end, and thankfully it looked like it would.

Wong's face softened, and a portal opened behind him to Kamar-Taj.

Wanda looked at Kamar-Taj curiously.

He told Stephen to leave him out of this and left.

"I want zero part of this," said Wong. "I have higher duties now."

"You've stressed out Wong," Rhodey told Stephen.

"He's always making me stressed," Wong grumbled while Stephen rolled his eyes.

Stephen turned to Peter and grinned.

Tony had never been happier that Stephen Strange existed. People would forget that Peter is Spider-Man, and everything would go back to how it was before.

Stephen, now in his sorcerer robes, and Peter climbed down the stairs. Stephen was wearing the Eye of Agamotto.

"I thought Thanos destroyed the Eye?" Bruce asked.

"No, he destroyed a fake," Stephen answered.

"But why do you have it when the Time Stone is gone?" Natasha asked.

Wong still couldn't believe that the Time Stone was gone.

"The Eye has other properties than just being a container for the Time Stone."

"Huh, that's interesting," said Wanda.

In the Undercroft, Stephen was preparing items for the spell.

Wanda looked at them with interest.

Peter asked what this place was.

"The Undercroft," Stephen and Wong responded.

"The Sanctum's built at the intersection of cosmic energy currents. We weren't the first to seek 'em out. Some of these walls are thousands of years old."

Except for Stephen and Wong, they were surprised to hear that the Sanctum was that old.

Stephen asked if Peter was ready, and he said he was.

"I'm just ready for this mess to get over," said Peter.

"Nice knowing you, Spider-Man," said Stephen. Peter furrowed his brows. "Wait, excuse me?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Peter said, confused.

"Yeah, everyone will forget that you're Spider-Man, including me," Stephen replied, equally confused. "That's what you wanted?"

"Everyone?" Peter squeaked.

"Well, yes. That's how the spell works."

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Including May, Ned, Happy, and MJ?"

Stephen paused and grimaced. "Yes."

Peter groaned. Wong rubbed his temples. He never wanted that spell cast and now he didn't have a good feeling about what was going to happen.

He began to cast the spell, and a golden ring of runes encircled them.

"Runes," Wanda noted.

"The entire world's about to forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, including me."

All of them looked at Stephen, exasperated.

"So, what would you remember about Titan?" Scott asked. 

"I would remember fighting with Spider-Man, but wouldn't remember Peter introducing himself," Stephen explained.

"I should probably stop introducing myself as Peter to everyone," Peter muttered. Introducing himself turned out fine with Stephen and Carol, but not so much with Beck.

"Everyone?" Peter panicked. "Uh... can't some people still know?" "That's not how the spell works. And it's very difficult and dangerous to change it, mid casting."

"Like May, Ned, MJ, and Happy!" said Peter. "They can't forget I'm Spider-Man."

"Peter, stop talking!" Stephen, Wanda, Loki, and Wong yelled.

"Everyone's going to forget who I am!"

"Just tell them again," Stephen said, slightly annoyed.

"The spell will go haywire if you don't stop talking," Wanda said.

"Why couldn't the two of you have discussed the parameters of the spell before casting it?" Wong asked, exasperated. "I already didn't want this spell to be cast."

Peter and Stephen blinked dumbly.

"You two are so stupid," Bucky said flatly.

"Hey, how was Peter supposed to know how the spell worked? Stephen's the magic one," said Tony, crossing his arms.

"How was I supposed to know that Peter wants to keep both parts of his life?" Stephen shot back.

"So my girlfriend's just gonna forget about everything we've been through? I mean, is she even gonna be my girlfriend?"

"Yes, she would," said Stephen. "She just won't remember you being Spider-Man."

Peter let out a small sigh of relief.

"That depends. Was she your girlfriend just 'cause you're Spider-Man, or—" "I mean, I don't know. I really hope not!"

Everyone sent Peter an unimpressed look.

"Did you just forget MJ telling you that she wasn't watching you just because she thought you were Spider-Man?" Wanda asked sternly.

Peter was sheepish.

"That girl has a huge crush on you, kid," said Tony.

"And I have no idea why," Bucky muttered as Sam nodded in agreement.

Stephen adjusted the spell. "Everyone in the world's gonna forget that you're Spider-Man, except your girlfriend."

Peter sighed in relief at seeing the spell adjusted.

Peter thanked him but then remembered Ned.

Peter's eyes widened. "I forgot Ned!"

"How can you forget Ned?!" Steve said.

"What is a Ned?" Stephen asked.

"Well, I know who Ned is now," said Stephen. He knew how important Ned and MJ were to Peter.

"He's my best friend, so it's really important to me that Ned knows." Stephen sighed and adjusted the spell again.

"Peter, just tell them that you're Spider-Man again," Wanda said, worried about the spell. "The spell can't be changed these many times."

"But what about May and Happy?" Peter asked.

Stephen clenched his jaw. If Peter changed the spell two more times, he would get pissed. He looked at Wong out of the corner of his eye and grimaced at Wong's angry face.

Stephen was trying to concentrate and told Peter not to change the parameters of this spell anymore while he was casting it.

"Maybe you should've explained the spell before casting it," Tony snapped.

Peter said he was done but realized he had forgotten May.

Peter clutched his head. "How did I forget May?"

"Peter, stop tampering with the spell."

"Peter, shut up right now," Stephen hissed.

Wanda wrung her hands. This was bad.

Everyone else looked at the spell in concern.

"When she found out that I was Spider-Man, it was really messy, and I don't think that I can go through with that again."

"Messy?" Tony said incredulously. "That's an understatement. I would rather fight Thanos than deal with angry May Parker."

Peter shuddered. "I definitely can't go through with it again. It was bad enough the first time."

"You can't go through that again? I can't go through that again!" For once, Tony was glad he was dead because he had no desire to deal with an angry May Parker again. But he had no doubt that May would dig him out of his grave, bring him back to life, and kill him again.

"So, my Aunt May?" "Yes!" "Oh, thank you—Happy?" "No, I'm annoyed!"

Everyone snorted.

"Well, I know who Happy is now, too," said Stephen.

Peter said it was a nickname for Harold Hogan and then babbled about Happy dating his aunt and them breaking up.

Peter grimaced. Maybe he should stop talking.

The spell started to become erratic.

"Congratulations, the spell has officially gone haywire and has to be contained now," said Stephen.

"Wong did say that the spell was too dangerous," said Clint. "Maybe you should've listened to him."

Stephen scowled.

"Exactly, you should've listened to me," said Wong. "But you never listen to me."

"Would you just stop talking!" Stephen yelled, extremely irritated. The spell erupted, and Stephen and Peter were lifted to his feet.

The Avengers gaped while Stephen, Loki, Wanda, and Wong winced.

"What the fuck is going on?" Peter asked.

"Strange can't cast a simple spell properly," Loki said, rolling his eyes.

Stephen stared daggers at him. "You didn't even realize you could make portals. You only realized once you saw Classic Loki do it."

Loki spluttered. Wanda pinched the bridge of her nose hearing Loki and Stephen argue about their magic again.

The jumbled spell billowed in rings around them as the room started to shake.

Wanda, Loki, Wong, and Stephen groaned in frustration.

Over the chaos, Peter shouted that everyone who knew he was Spider-Man before should still know.  

"It's too late for that now," Stephen snapped. "The spell has to be contained."

"Look what you've done," Wong complained.

Stephen struggled with the spell as the room ripped apart and the purple sky appeared around them.

Everyone's eyes widened, and Stephen's heart nearly stopped. Fuck.

"That doesn't look good at all," said Scott.

"This is why I didn't want that spell to be cast," said Wong. "I told Stephen that the spell travelled the borders between unknown and known."

With great effort, Stephen yelled as he contained the spell. Peter and Stephen dropped to the ground; the walls reassembled. The spell was now a ball of light, trapped inside a pentagon-shaped orb.

"You cast a containment spell," Wong noted. "Well, at least it's not as bad as it could've been."

"Because someone wouldn't stop talking," Stephen said, glaring at Peter.

"You should've told him what the spell would've done before!" Tony shot back.

"Of course, Peter would mess up the spell by talking too much," said Sam.

Peter asked if it worked, and Stephen said it didn't because the spell was changed six times.

"Maybe this wouldn't have happened if the two of you were idiots," said Natasha.

"Wong left and took half of Stephen's impulse control with him," Wanda said.

Wong snorted while Stephen clenched his jaw.

"That spell was completely out of control. If I hadn't shut it down, something catastrophic could have happened!"

"The important thing is that nothing bad happened," said Steve.

"It could've," Wong bit out.

Wanda furrowed her brows. "I thought once a spell is cast, it can't be changed or undone, but that's for witchcraft, isn't it?"

"Probably," said Stephen. "I know a little about witchcraft but not a lot; just enough to identify that it is witchcraft. But I do know that spells for sorcery are different because the Masters of the Mystic Arts draw power from other dimensions, while witches are born with their magic."

"Wait, sorcery and witchcraft are different?" Scott asked.

Stephen, Loki, Wong, and Wanda nodded.

"Only sorcerers who use Eldritch magic channel energy from other dimensions," said Loki. "Then there are others like me who are born with their magic. It's innate."

"So, are you a witch?" Steve asked.

"HA!" Thor laughed. "He dresses like one."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Our mother was a witch, but no, I'm a sorcerer."

"Oh right," Wanda remembered. "She said she was raised by witches. But from what I understand, witchcraft usually requires an incantation like how Agatha cast spells, but I don't need it, and sorcery doesn't need an incantation either."

"I can teach you what I know," Loki told Wanda, who smiled. "You, Stephen, and I were going to start that study group anyway."

Wong pinched the bridge of his nose. Stephen got roped into a study group with the Scarlet Witch and the God of Mischief? "Witchcraft also primarily depends on runes," he added. "We use runes too, like the Runes of Kof-Kol, but not like witches."

"They're different runes," Wanda added.

"I know I didn't give you many books about witchcraft because we don't have that many, but I did give you the ones we do," Stephen told Wanda.

"It's alright, they somewhat overlap anyway. We can both astral project."

"Wait, so if sorcerers draw energy from other dimensions, does that mean anyone can learn sorcery? This whole time I thought you had to be born with it like Harry Potter," said Rhodey. "So I could learn how to walk again?" he asked quietly.

Tony sucked in a breath and looked at Stephen hopefully, who smiled kindly. He knew better than anyone what Rhodey was going through. "Yes."

Tony and Rhodey's breaths caught.

"There was a man — Jonathan Pangborn — he became paralyzed from the waist down just like you. He learnt the Mystic Arts and constantly drew on dimensional energy to bypass his paralysis, channelling it into his body to allow it to function normally."

Rhodey looked overwhelmed at knowing he would be able to walk again. "Will I have to join the Masters of the Mystic Arts?"

Wong shook his head. "No, Pangborn learnt how to harness the Mystic Arts and left Kamar-Taj as he wanted nothing more to use it than to be able to walk again. We'll teach you," he pointed to himself and Stephen, "but I do think Stephen will be able to understand what you're going through better than me."

"It will take a lot of effort, time, energy," Stephen warned. "It's not easy, trust me."

Rhodey nodded. "I'm ready." As grateful as he was to Tony for making his braces, he just wanted to be able to walk again.

Tony looked away as he blinked the tears out of his eyes while Sam felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He knew Rhodey didn't hold it against him, but he still blamed himself for what happened.

"Stephen, listen, I am so sorry—" "Call me, sir."

Stephen sighed; all of his irritation gone. "No, you can still call me Stephen," he said quietly. He'd gotten used to it.

Peter let out a small smile.

Stephen said he forgot Peter was just a kid after everything they've been through together.

Unlike his on-screen variant, Stephen was very aware that Peter was a kid after he had seen how his summer vacation played out. Peter was a kid he respected and cared about, but he knew that he was a child.

Tony was very irritated at Stephen at the moment, but he couldn't be too mad at him since he tried his best to help Peter.

The words weighed heavily on Peter, who was now feeling lower than low.

Peter's shoulders slumped. He managed to mess up the spell, just like how he managed to mess up everything else in his life.

Stephen realized it and softened. "Look, Parker, the problem is not Mysterio. It's you. Trying to live two different lives, and the longer you do that, the more dangerous it becomes. Believe me."

Stephen would never admit it out loud — he had a reputation to protect — but he cared about Peter. He wouldn't agree to brainwash the world for many other people.

"Listen, kid. I had a choice once. Either I could use magic to heal my hands and return to being a surgeon and a normal life, which the Ancient One would come at a great loss to Earth, or I could join the Masters of the Mystic Arts and fight for the Earth's survival. I tried to want both, but I couldn't, and it became dangerous. I'm sure you can guess what I chose."

He knew exactly what it was like to have to choose between two different worlds, to leave people behind in order to do something greater. He fidgeted with the broken watch Christine had given him. She was right when she told him that losing his hands didn't have to be the end but could become a beginning instead.

"So, you're saying that I should choose either being Peter Parker or Spider-Man?"

"No, what I'm saying is that you either have to balance the two or choose one. You're not doing either right now and it'll become dangerous."

"Oh."

Stephen was sorry to hear about Peter and his friends not getting into college, but said there was nothing else they could do if they rejected him and Peter tried to convince them to reconsider.

Stephen scowled, Peter shifted uncomfortably, and the rest of them winced.

A beat passed. "When you say 'convince them,' you mean like I could have called them?" "Yeah." "I can do that?"

"I learn something new every day," said Peter.

"You haven't called the—" Stephen said incredulously.

"Clearly not," Stephen said tiredly.

Peter assumed he couldn't, but Stephen was annoyed as Peter didn't even think to plead his case with MIT before asking him to brainwash the entire world.

There was a beat of silence.

Peter grimaced while Stephen ran a hand down his face.

"Hey, it's your fault for offering to brainwash the entire world," said Bucky.

"Peter's first option was asking me to turn back time instead of asking MIT to reconsider," Stephen shot back.

"Well, I mean, when you put it like that, then—" Cut to the Sanctum doors slamming in Peter's face.

"Okay, I may have deserved that," said Peter.

"Yes, you did," Stephen bit out. He pinched the bridge of his nose. This would've been a large mess if he hadn't contained the spell.

"I can't believe you messed up," said Wong. "Actually, wait, I can."

"Wonderful spell casting, Stephen," Wanda complimented.

"It really was marvellous," Loki added.

Stephen shot all three of them an irritated look. 

Chapter Text

Peter called Flash and asked where the MIT mixer was as he was trying to get Ned and MJ a second chance.

"What about you?" Scott asked. "College is important for you too."

"Ned and MJ first and then me," said Peter. "I created this problem for them, so I have to fix it."

Flash asked what was in it for him. Peter sighed and said he would pick him up and swing him to school for one week.

Peter stared at Flash. "Is he joking? That's what he wants?"

"Well, he is Spider-Man's #1 fan," Natasha said, amused.

Flash and Peter bickered about the time length before Flash said Peter knew what he wanted. Peter agreed to tell everyone Flash was his best friend.

"Why would he want that?" Bruce asked. "Ned got rejected from MIT because he's Peter's friend."

Flash grinned.

Everyone snorted while Peter rolled his eyes.

He said that Peter would plead his case with the Assistant Vice Chancellor and said she was going to the airport.

"Please don't tell me that you're going to try to plead your case while she's on the way to the airport?" Stephen asked. "You're not going to make a good impression."

Peter didn't reply.

Later, Peter wore his Iron Spider suit as he soared through the air.

"Uh, I didn't know the Iron Spider suit could do that," Peter told Tony, who blinked in surprise.

"Because I didn't design that part," A smile formed on Tony's face. "But your red and black suit can do that. You've been upgrading the Iron Spider suit too."

"Oh." Peter nearly drooled at the thought of upgrading a nanotech suit.

Peter's HUD said that the Stark Network was unavailable.

Tony let out a loud sigh. "Because SI's caught up in this mess. Great."

Guilt was written all over Peter's face.

He got a text from Flash with a picture of the Assistant Vice Chancellor. Peter sighed as he heard the Daily Bugle helicopter filming him. He waved and said he could see him.

Peter tiredly ran a hand down his face.

"Jameson needs to get a life," said Clint.

"Peter's basically single-handedly funding the Daily Bugle with Jameson's Spider-Man obsession," Natasha added.

"Jameson hates me and Daredevil, so Kate's most probably next," said Peter.

Clint's stomach dropped. "Absolutely not. I'll tear him to shreds if he says a single word about her."

"Get in line!" Tony snarled.

Scott scowled. He wished he could get the truth out there about Peter. He froze as he got an idea. He could start a podcast! It could become the anti-Daily Bugle.

Peter dropped down to the road, and the Iron Spider Suit retracted.

"I'll never get used to taking off the suit in public," said Peter. "I know there's no point in keeping my identity a secret because everyone knows, but it's just weird."

"You'll get used to the stares soon enough," said Steve.

A toddler noticed him. The toddler waved and said, "That's Peter Parker." Peter waved back.

The Avengers smiled fondly.

"Aw, well, there's one perk to having my identity revealed," said Peter.

He saw the Assistant Vice Chancellor sitting in a car.

"Peter, I don't think trying to convince her on the street is a good idea," said Wanda.

"There isn't any other choice," Peter replied. "Ned and MJ have to get another chance."

"I wish you would've just called me," said Rhodey. "You wouldn't have to convince the Assistant Vice Chancellor to give you guys a second chance in the middle of the street."

In her car, she was reading Flash's book.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Peter exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "She's reading Flash's book?!"

"I doubt Flash will insult you," said Bruce. "Even though he doesn't like Peter Parker, he likes Spider-Man too much to do that."

"I am Spider-Man!"

"I know, which is why this is hilarious!" Sam laughed.

Peter knocked on her window. She reluctantly rolled down her window and asked if he knew he was in the street.

The Avengers shot Peter a look, who winced.

He explained that he was dumb because he let MJ and Ned him, but if he hadn't then millions would've died. "So please don't let MIT be dumb like me."

There was a beat of silence.

Tony sighed, "Kid, you basically just insulted MIT."

Peter's eyes widened. "Oh no."

"MIT is dumb?" "No, I'm saying don't let MIT be dumb. I mean, like the dumber version of me that wouldn't have let them help."

"Please stop talking," said Bucky. "I think you're making this worse."

"You didn't rehearse that, did you, Peter?"

Peter awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "No, probably not."

"Just like Kate," Clint muttered. "The two of you need to start thinking before jumping into action."

"It's a bit hard for Kate and Peter to do that," said Tony.

Suddenly, Peter's Tingle activated.

Everyone instantly stiffened.

"Peter's Tingle went off," said Steve. "Something's happening."

"The Tingle's evolved a long way since the last time we saw Peter use it," Natasha noted.

"Peter took down those drones with his eyes closed!" Tony said proudly.

"I can't believe Peter Tingle is sticking," Peter said, annoyed.

"It's a great name!" said Scott. "It's accurate too."

"It's a horrible name!"

He jumped into the car and spotted people running away.

Everyone furrowed their brows.

"What's happening?" Bucky asked, worried.

Patches of the road crumbled, and Peter activated the Iron Spider suit.

Peter shook his head. He still found it weird seeing himself suit up in public.

He told the Assistant Vice Chancellor to get out of the car. Her driver ran off, so she was stuck in the car.

All of them sucked in a breath.

Large metallic arms destroyed the cars. The dust cleared to reveal a man attached to the arms.

There was a beat of silence as everyone just stared at him.

"Who the fuck is that?" asked Rhodey.

"He's attached to four giant arms?" Scott said, confused.

"Everyone seriously does have a gimmick these days," Sam said tiredly.

"Hello, Peter."

Peter furrowed his brows. "I've never met this man in my life."

"But everyone else knows who you are now," Bruce pointed out.

Doc Ock asked what Peter did with his machine, but Peter didn't know what he was talking about.

Stephen's blood ran cold. Fuck. He could feel his blood pressure rising. "Okay, so I think I have an idea of what's going on, and none of you are not going to like it."

"What?" Tony asked warily.

Stephen just had to say two simple words: "The Multiverse."

All of them instantly groaned in frustration.

"Oh no," said Peter, turning pale.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Tony spat.

Wong threw his hands in the air. "I leave you alone for ten minutes and you've broken the Multiverse!"

"I am so sick and tired of the goddamn Multiverse," said Bucky.

"You're tired?" Loki said in disbelief. "If you're tired, then I'm exhausted!"

"All of this is Sylvie's fault," Rhodey grumbled.

"How was she supposed to know that He Who Remains was telling the truth?" Thor defended. "Everything else about the TVA turned about to be a lie."

"She should've taken a minute to listen to TVA Loki before impulsively making a decision that has impacted the entire Multiverse," said Natasha.

"Is this what it's come to?" said Clint. "We're telling people to listen to Loki?"

"Sylvie is also a Loki," said Loki, getting a headache at the thought of his variants.

"One could say that Sylvie saved countless lives from being eaten by Alioth," said Steve. 

"One could also say that she doomed trillions by causing a Multiversal War," said Wong. 

"I think it's a lot more than a trillion," Tony said. 

"That's not what's important right now. The important thing is that the spell backfired and brought people who know Peter is Spider-Man from every universe into this universe," Stephen explained.

"But I thought you contained the spell?" Scott asked.

"Some of them probably got through," Wanda responded.

Tony rubbed his temples. He had been so relieved that this nightmare would end, but it looked like another one was about to begin.

"I can't believe you were the one who messed up the Multiverse," Steve told Stephen. "You were the one who wanted to prevent a Multiversal War before."

Stephen scowled. "Hey, I'm not the only one who messed up the Multiverse! Wanda's been messing with the Multiverse looking for Billy and Tommy too!"

Wanda balked. "Sylvie was the one who killed He Who Remains!"

"Oh my God, all of you messed up the Multiverse," Natasha said, frustrated. "Sylvie opened it, and Strange and Wanda made it worse. Wonderful."

Stephen and Wanda looked at each other and grimaced while Wong cursed them both.

"Maybe TVA Loki could've stopped it if he wasn't too busy making out with Sylvie," Rhodey said.

Thor gagged while Loki ran a hand down his face. "Stop bringing that up!" Loki snapped. Thor thought it was nice that his brother and sister were in love; he just wished it wasn't with each other.

"Do you know how fucked up it is that Loki is the responsible one now?" Clint said. "He's the only one that's actually trying to keep the Multiverse stable while Strange and Wanda are making it worse than it already is."

Thor and Loki shuddered. Barton was right. What had the Multiverse come to?

"I'm not the only one!" Stephen said. "Wanda did it too!"

"Don't put this on me! You also messed up the Multiverse!"

"The two of you are giving me a headache," Wong told them.

"None of this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't fucked up," Tony snarled, pointing at Stephen.

Stephen bristled. "Me? At least I'm trying to do something useful. Do I need to remind you how this mess started? Beck wouldn't have even met Peter if you hadn't pissed him off or created EDITH."

Tony blanched and everyone else sharply sucked in a breath.

"Okay," Peter said warily, his eyes darting between the two. "Let's take a deep breath."

Tony and Stephen looked away from each other.

"The power of the sun in the palm of my hand. It's gone!"

"What the hell does that even mean?" Bucky asked. He paused. "Why am I even trying to understand anything anymore? This one is going to turn out to be another weird one like Wanda and Loki's."

"Which were also the ones that made my blood pressure rise the most," Stephen muttered.

"Why can't we watch another normal one like Sam, Barnes, and Clint's?" Tony whined. "Those were nice." Even though the one about Sam and Barnes brought up a lot of pain, he'd been able to make peace with Barnes and his parents' death because of it. And although Tony would never like him, at least it didn't have anything to do with magic, alternate realities, time travel, Infinity Stones, and the Multiverse.

"I enjoyed watching Sam and Bucky fix the boat," said Steve. "Clint and Kate were funny too."

Clint scowled. "For you. She's a pain in the ass for me."

"Shut up," said Natasha. "All of us know you love her."

"Whatever."

"Listen, sir, if you stop smashing cars, we could work together, and I can help you find your machine."

"Well, apparently Tentacle Guy's machine is in another universe, so I can't help him find it," said Peter.

"I hate the Multiverse!" Tony exclaimed.

"You found it great before," Bruce pointed out.

"Yeah, from a scientific point of view when it had to do with Loki, not Peter."

"Wow," Loki said flatly.

"You want to play games?"

Peter sighed. He didn't want to play games; all he wanted was to get Ned and MJ into MIT.

"Tentacle Dude needs to calm the fuck down because I cannot handle watching any more Multiverse bullshit," said Sam. "Once was enough."

"I swear I'll lose my shit if I see a Peter variant as an animal or something equally weird," said Clint.

"Don't insult Alligator Loki," said Scott. "Alligator Loki was the best Loki variant."

Thor nodded firmly. "Alligator Loki is my brother."

"I can't believe this means Throg is my brother too," Loki grumbled.

Doc Ock flung a car at Peter, who dodged it, but another car was immediately thrown at him, full of people.

Everyone's hearts jumped into their throat.

"Peter needs to stop getting hit by transportation," said Wanda. "First the train with Beck and now the car with the Tentacle Man."

"I really hate octopuses," said Peter. "I know this guy isn't really an octopus, but his tentacles remind me of one and I've always been terrified of them."

"Octopuses?" Carol said, amused. "Why are you scared of octopuses?"

"Apparently, May and Ben said that I kept dreaming about them when I was toddler." He chuckled. "I used to get nightmares."

"That's…a weird thing to dream about," said Tony.

Peter laughed. If only they knew how weird his dreams had gotten. He also used to dream about black goo when he was a child too.

Peter and the car fell over the bridge, but he safely brought the family back to the bridge.

The Avengers sighed in relief.

"How do idiot Mysterio supporters think Peter killed him when he's saving people like this?" Rhodey asked.

"Because they're idiots," Bucky said.

One of Doc Ock's tentacles grabbed Peter, wrapping him tight in its grip. "You think your fancy new suit's gonna save you?"

"So the other Peter that the Tentacle Dude knows doesn't have a nanotech suit?" Peter asked curiously. He knew how awful the Multiverse was, but he couldn't help but be curious about the differences between his universe and the Tentacle Dude's universe.

Another tentacle flung Peter into the Assistant Vice Chancellor's car, who was still trapped inside.

Peter clutched his head. "She's in danger!"

Tony, Bruce, and Stephen looked at Doc Ock's tentacles closely.

"How do those tentacles work?" Bruce asked. "I'm assuming the Tentacle Man is controlling the arms."

"Has to be through an AI then," said Tony. "Most probably through a chip." He would've found it fascinating to study if Tentacle Man wasn't currently attacking Peter.

"The chip would have to be connected to his spinal cord if he's controlling them," Stephen added. 

Doc Ock hurled Peter away, who crashed into a truck. "I should have killed your little girlfriend when I had the chance."

Everyone froze as they glared at Doc Ock.

"What did he just say?" Peter asked furiously.

"Tentacle Man's fucked," Rhodey said.

"But he's talking about Other Peter's girlfriend," said Steve. "Not MJ."

Peter choked. "He tried to kill Other Peter's girlfriend?" He imagined Tentacle Man trying to kill his MJ, and his heart nearly stopped.

The Iron Spider arms pierced through the truck's roof, and Peter climbed out. "What did you just say?" he said darkly.

"Yeah, Tentacle Man's definitely fucked," said Bucky. "He pissed off the kid. We all saw Peter take down those drones with his eyes closed."

"Not to mention Peter's stronger than me," said Steve. His arms had strained from holding Bucky's small helicopter from taking off in Berlin, and then he found out Peter had held a ferry together.

"I can't believe you found Peter on YouTube," Natasha told Tony.

"Finding Peter on YouTube is better than Clint finding Kate because she wore the Ronin suit and had a bunch of Tracksuits after her," Tony replied.

Clint sighed.

"Looks like we've got competition," Doc Ock said to his tentacles.

Everyone snorted.

"The Iron Spider arms are better," said Tony.

"You're only saying that because it's Peter and because you made the Iron Spider suit," said Natasha.

Doc Ock and Peter started to fight with the Daily Bugle helicopter capturing all of it.

All of them scowled.

"They really don't have anything else to do," said Stephen.

The Assistant Vice Chancellor yelled for help.

"That driver was an asshole for running away like that," said Clint.

Peter just hoped he could get there in time.

Doc Ock's tentacles grabbed Peter's arms as another tentacle latched onto the helicopter. He lifted Peter towards the rotating blades of the helicopter. 

They stared in horror.

Peter fought against it until he webbed two cars to crash into Doc Ock.

The Avengers let out a massive sigh of relief.

"That was too close," said Tony.

Spider-Man quickly webbed the Assistant Vice Chancellor's car as it fell, but the Iron Spider arms grabbed onto the edge of the bridge. Peter webbed the car securely to the bridge.

A small part of Stephen would always be thankful for the Iron Spider arms because they were the only reason his on-screen variant wasn't floating around dead in space.

"At least she's somewhat safe," Scott said, looking on the bright side.

"I hope the Daily Bugle is recording all of this," said Wanda. "They had to have seen Peter saving the MIT woman."

"Jameson wouldn't care," Peter said bitterly. "He would just talk about how I destroyed the bridge while fighting the Tentacle Man."

One of Doc Ock's tentacles grabbed Peter and smashed him through the bridge.

They winced.

A tentacle claw ripped off the chest area of the Iron Spider suit.

Tony blanched. "What the hell?" He instantly started to develop ideas on how to make the nanoparticles in the Iron Spider, Iron Man, Rescue, and War Machine suits stronger. First, Thanos had managed to rip off a blade from the Iron Man suit and stab him with it, and now this; it couldn't happen again.

Everyone else looked at Peter with worry.

"Tentacle Man managed to destroy the Iron Spider suit," Steve said, highly concerned.

"Nanotechnology. Ah, you've outdone yourself, Peter," Doc Ock said, impressed.

"Thanks," said Tony and Peter.

"So I'm guessing Tentacle Man is a scientist in his universe," said Natasha.

The Iron Spider nanotech began to meld with the tentacles.

Everyone's eyes were wide.

"Holy shit," Peter whispered.

Tony scowled and glared at Doc Ock. "That's not what the nanoparticles are supposed to do."

"Tentacle Man's arms have to be nanotech for the Iron Spider nanoparticles to meld with his tentacles," said Bruce.

As Doc Ock launched a killing blow, the Iron Spider suit defensively shifted nanoparticles to cover Peter's chest, exposing his face.

"I would've been a lot more upset if everyone else already didn't know I was Spider-Man," said Peter.

"I'm glad at least something in the Iron Spider suit is still working," Tony bit out. Now the Tentacle Man has some of his tech.

Stephen discreetly cast a protection spell on Peter. That kid got into too much trouble.

Wanda sent Stephen a knowing look and cast her own protection spell on Peter. After a moment of consideration, she cast a protection spell on all of the Avengers.

"You're not Peter Parker," Doc Ock said, confused.

There was a beat of silence.

"A Peter variant?" Peter said, delighted. "We know that variants can look different from each other, and the Peter variant that the Tentacle Guy knows has to look different than me if he's confused."

Sam and Bucky made a face at the thought of Peter variants.

"Well, you did want to meet your variants," said Tony.

Loki chuckled darkly. "It's not great, trust me."

Clint snickered. "TVA Loki and Sylvie seemed to be getting along well."

Thor buried his face in his hands at the reminder while Loki and Peter cringed.

Stephen didn't want to think about his variants, he knew he wouldn't like them. Wanda wondered what her variants were like and if they were as traumatized as she was.

"Ugh, I am so confused right now," said Peter.

"Well, I'm not," said Peter. "Sadly."

"I hate the Multiverse so much," said Stephen. Maybe he was a little stupid for not discussing the spell's details with Peter first.

"Me too," Loki added.

The tentacles seemed to malfunction as the Iron Spider suit detected a new device.

Tony and Peter blinked in surprise.

"Well, I didn't expect that, but I should've," said Tony.

"But it's nice to know that I can do that," said Peter.

Peter paired the tentacles and found that he was in control now.

"So Peter is controlling the tentacles now?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah. This mess is over," Peter said happily.

"Get him back to the Sanctum, and then I'll be able to send him back to his universe," said Stephen.

"Great, problem solved," said Tony.

Doc Ock swung at Peter, but he couldn't get close. Peter laughed.

Everyone snickered. They felt like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders.

"For the Multiverse, that wasn't that bad," said Wanda. "We've seen what the Multiverse consists of. Tentacle Man isn't anything like He Who Remains."

"Only because Peter had the Iron Spider suit," said Bruce.

"He Who Remains was terrifying and he didn't do anything except talk," said Scott.

"And that was more than enough," said Loki.

Peter used the tentacles to safely get the Assistant Vice Chancellor's car, him, and Doc Ock back on the bridge.

Steve clapped Peter on the shoulder. "Great job! It was some pretty smart thinking."

"Thanks!"

The Assistant Vice Chancellor thanked Peter and called him a hero. She said she would talk to admissions about him and his friends.

The Avengers beamed. Peter got a second chance!

"Oh my God, really?" Peter said, thrilled. "That's great!"

"MIT has to let you three in now," said Tony. "If they don't, they are dumb."

"Peter never would've gotten a second chance if it wasn't for Tentacle Man," Sam pointed out.

"Huh, it turns out the Multiverse was helpful this time," said Bucky.

Peter protested, saying it wasn't about him.

"Shut up and let her talk to admissions, kid," said Tony. 

Stephen's lips quirked into a smile. Peter was a good kid.

The Assistant Vice Chancellor firmly said she would talk to admissions about them and told him to keep his nose clean.

"That's going to be hard," said Clint. "Peter's just like Kate, and she can never keep her nose clean."

"Being compared to Kate is a compliment," Peter shot back.

She shoved her bag in Peter's arms, got out of the car, scolded Doc Ock, and walked away.

The Avengers looked at her in amusement.

"She isn't phased," Carol laughed.

"After everything that's happened, Tentacle Dude showing up is nothing," Rhodey said.

"Only because she doesn't know that Tentacle Man is from another universe," Bruce added.

Doc Ock tried to grab Peter again but was held in place by his tentacles.

Everyone grinned while Peter snickered.

"That's so satisfying to see," said Natasha.

"Great, now go to the Sanctum and get this mess over with," said Tony.

"But everyone still knows that I'm Spider-Man," Peter pointed out.

"I don't think there's anything we can do about that now," said Stephen. "I probably shouldn't cast another spell."

"Don't cast another spell," Wong said firmly.

"I bet I wouldn't have messed up the spell," Wanda teased.

Stephen rolled his eyes. "I know you're one of the most powerful magic-wielders on the planet, but I don't think even your witchcraft is powerful enough to prevent Peter from talking."

"Hey," Peter protested, slightly offended, while Wanda chuckled.

Peter said he was in control of Doc Ock's entire tentacle situation until he stopped trying to kill him.

They couldn't help but laugh at how Peter was scolding Doc Ock.

"But it's not a good sign that the Tentacle Man wanted to fight Peter," Steve said warily. "They clearly have history because he thought Peter stole whatever machine he was building."

"The power of the sun in the palm of my hand," Tony quoted. "What does that mean?"

"Luckily, it doesn't matter because Peter has the Tentacle Dude situation under control, and Strange can send him back where he came from," said Sam. "It's going to be fine."

Peter's Tingle activated as a Pumpkin Bomb rolled on the ground and exploded.

"A bomb?" Peter said, pale.

Tony and Bruce looked at the Pumpkin Bomb closely.

"I don't know who made those bombs because no one I know makes bombs like that," said Tony.

Peter activated the suit. From the smoke, Green Goblin cackled, on his glider.

All of them got chills hearing Green Goblin's cackle.

"Another Multiverse visitor?" Stephen said, dismayed. "How many are there?"

"Now, who is this guy?" Rhodey asked.

"This new guy seems creepier than Tentacle Man," said Scott.

Peter squinted at Green Goblin. "He looks like a flying green elf. His glider looks cool, though."

"I just want them to leave," Tony said, defeated.  

"Osborn?" Doc Ock said, confused.

"Wait, Tentacle Man and this new guy, Osborn, know each other?" Clint asked.

"They must be from the same universe then," Loki realized.

"Why can't things be normal!" Steve exclaimed. He missed when the weirdest thing he had to deal with was the serum.

Bruce chuckled. "Things were never normal. We just didn't know it yet."

Green Goblin flew towards Peter, but he and Doc Ock were enveloped in a portal.

Natasha narrowed her eyes. The flying green elf flew directly towards Peter. She guessed that the elf also had a history with the Peter in his universe. Bad history. 

Stephen and the rest of the Avengers were relieved at seeing the portal. "I've found out about the Multiversal visitors," Stephen said.

"So, if the Elementals were real—" Scott started to ask.

"—another sorcerer, Wong, or I would've detected their otherworldly presence much before Peter would've been told," Stephen finished. "But the Elementals were fake, so I never found out about them."

"I wish you would've shown up to Westview," said Wanda.

"I have no interest in becoming one of your sitcom characters."

Wanda thought she would've given Stephen a nice role. She was glad she met him.

Now, alone in the dark, Peter looked around cautiously.

"You're just at the Sanctum," Stephen told Peter.

"I know, but this is my on-screen variant's first time at the Sanctum."

Behind Peter, the Lizard was in a cell as he lunged toward him and hit an invisible barrier. Peter jumped back in shock.

Everyone jumped in their seats.

"Oh my God!" Tony shrieked, clutching his chest.

"What the fuck is that?" Bucky said, looking at the Lizard.

Peter furrowed his brows. He was certain he'd seen the Lizard in his dream years ago. It was hard to forget that dream. What the hell was going on?

"Oh my God, a dinosaur!" Scott said in terror. "Jurassic Park is real now?"

"I love that movie," Steve said happily while Tony rolled his eyes.

"These Multiversal visitors are so strange," said Sam tiredly. "First Tentacle Man, then the flying green elf, and now a dinosaur. What the hell did the other Peters get into?"

"All of that still isn't as weird as Thanos," said Peter.

"I don't know," said Rhodey. "Thanos was insane, but at least he wasn't a dinosaur. I can deal with insane people; I cannot deal with dinosaurs. And all of them still aren't as weird as Wanda, Strange, and Loki. Wong's the most sensible one out of the magic people."

Wanda, Stephen, and Loki were unimpressed while Wong snickered.

Doc Ock was in a cell as well.

"Fantastic, let's send them home and get this mess over with," Peter said.

Peter staggered backwards. A hand clamped his shoulder, and Peter screamed before seeing Stephen, now battered and bruised.

Stephen looked at Peter in amusement while Sam and Bucky laughed at Peter's scream.

"Your Tingle didn't go off?" Stephen asked.

"You're not a threat," Peter responded. "Of course, the Tingle wouldn't go off."

"Be careful what you wish for, Parker."

"Maybe cast spells properly then," Tony snarked.

"Maybe Peter should stop talking," Stephen said.

"Or maybe you should've discussed the spell before casting it," Bucky shot back.

Wong groaned. "I never should've left."

"Stop arguing," said Natasha. "What's done is done. All of this will get over soon because the Multiversal visitors are going back."

Doc Ock pounded on the barrier, yelling for them to let him out.

"No," Stephen and Wong said firmly.

"Let the Multiverse people stay there until Strange can figure out how to send them back. We don't need another Multiverse mess," Tony said, glancing at Loki.

"Exactly, knowing that a Multiversal War will break out is bad enough," said Sam.

"And all of He Who Remains' variants," Scott shuddered. "I never want to meet them."

Peter asked for an explanation, and Stephen said the botched spell started pulling in everyone who knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man from every universe into that one.

"I hate the Multiverse so much," said Bucky.

"You were in favour of the TVA being destroyed," said Wanda. "What did you expect?"

"From every universe?" Peter said, confused.

"Yeah, there's a Multiverse; catch up," Peter said impatiently.

"Who are you? And where am I?!" Doc Ock asked Stephen.

"Stephen Strange and a different universe," Bruce answered.

"Why can't there just be one universe?" Loki asked. "It'd be nice if there was."

Stephen ignored him and said, "I think it's better we don't engage with them because frankly, the Multiverse is a concept about which we know frighteningly little."

The Avengers looked amused while Stephen snorted. "Well, I know a lot about it now."

"And it sucks," Peter added. He wanted to meet his variants, but he had seen the dangers of the Multiverse with He Who Remains and the TVA. 

Thor nodded. "It does suck." He'd seen what all of the Loki variants had to go through because of the Multiverse.

"And I feel like what we've learnt is just the tip of the iceberg," said Natasha.

Peter's eyes were wide. "The Multiverse is real?!" he asked, amazed.

Everyone laughed while Peter looked at his on-screen variant sympathetically.

"Oh man, that Peter doesn't know anything about the Multiverse," said Sam.

"I know a little too much about the Multiverse now," said Peter.

"And that Peter just got fooled by Beck saying he's from the Multiverse," said Clint, pointing to on-screen Peter. 

"I still can't believe Fury sent the most incompetent Skrull to take his place," Tony grumbled.

Carol sighed. Talos could make bad decisions sometimes, like the time he couldn't figure out that Mar-Vell's instructions were state vectors; not coordinates.

Stephen sighed. "This shouldn't even be possible."

The Avengers glanced at Loki, who scowled.  

"So I'm guessing this is because Sylvie killed He Who Remains so the Multiverse is dissolving in chaos already," said Wanda.

Stephen sighed. "Probably."

Wong groaned. As he was the Sorcerer Supreme, he knew he would have to deal with the Multiverse as well.

"Okay, maybe Sylvie should've found another way about the TVA," said Bucky. "A way that didn't involve brainwashing and erasing memories."

"What do you think we had been trying to say the whole time?" Loki said, exasperated, pointing to him, Wanda, and Stephen.

"She was never going to listen," Thor said sadly. "Not after what He Who Remains did to her."

"Maybe if she had listened, this mess wouldn't have been created," Tony hissed.

"Sometimes there isn't another way, but there was another way in that situation," said Stephen. "She just didn't take it."

He said that after Peter left, he detected an otherworldly presence, so he pursued it into the sewers, where he found the Lizard. "Spell? As in magic?" Doc Ock said in disbelief.

Tony let out a suffering sigh. "That used to be me, but I can't even deny it anymore after seeing what Strange, Wong, Loki, and Wanda can do."

"I can't believe you thought you weren't a witch, and you couldn't cast spells," Sam told Wanda, amused.

"I didn't know anything about my magic!" Wanda defended. "I thought I got my powers from the Mind Stone. No one told me about the Scarlet Witch or Chaos Magic."

"Your red wiggly woos."

Wanda looked at him, exasperated.

"What is this, a birthday party? Who is this clown? What is this madness?!"

"Ha!" Tony laughed. "That's what I said."

Stephen asked Doc Ock if he knew a Peter Parker, who's Spider-Man, and he said yes.

"I'm worried for the other Peter," said Peter. "He has these dangerous people knowing his identity. Beck knew, and he told the entire world. What if the same thing happens to my variant?"

"Is that him?" "No."

"It's kinda weird knowing that there are Peter Parkers out there in the Multiverse who don't look like me," said Peter.

"You get used to it," said Loki.

"I wonder how the Peter Variant looks if he doesn't look like our Peter," said Scott.

Peter was very confused.

"I feel kinda bad for my on-screen variant," said Peter.

"He's getting a Multiversal mess dumped on him," Rhodey replied. "We were just as confused before."

Stephen didn't know how many visitors they got, but Peter said he saw another one on the bridge, which looked like a flying green elf.

"Three so far," said Thor. "Tentacle Man, the flying green elf, and the dinosaur."

"I hope there aren't any more," said Steve. "Three are more than enough."

Stephen needed Peter to capture and bring them to the Sanctum while he figured out how to get them back before they destroyed the fabric of reality, or worse, Wong finds out.

Stephen shuddered while Wong's lips thinned, "I found out."

"I bet Wong would've discussed the spell with Peter before casting it," said Tony.

"I didn't want to cast the spell at all," Wong said.

"I still can't believe that the Sorcerer Supreme's go-to karaoke choice is 'Single Ladies' by Beyonce," said Peter. His go-to karaoke song was 'Umbrella' by Rihanna.

"And cage fights as a hobby," Bruce added.

"Wong's a much cooler Sorcerer Supreme than Stephen would've been," said Wanda.

Wong cackled. He was still wary about Wanda, but she wasn't all that bad. Maybe the prophecy of the Scarlet Witch was wrong.

"I'm uninviting you from the next full moon party," Stephen said. "I never should've invited you."

Wanda rolled her eyes. She knew he didn't mean it.

"Fury's karaoke song is 'Please Mr Postman' by the Marvelettes," Carol added.

Clint howled with laughter while Natasha snickered. "That's the best thing I've heard in my life!" he said.

"I have a feeling we're going to get along very well," Tony smirked widely. "Do you know any other secrets about Fury that he doesn't want us to know?" 

Carol smirked. Fury liked to put on a tough-guy exterior and she knew the Avengers wouldn't know these things. "Oh, many. He can't eat his toast if it's cut diagonally, his first cat was named Mr Snoofers, and my cat scratched his eye out."

There was a very long pause as the Avengers digested that information before they burst into laughter.

"You're joking!" Steve gaped. "So much for, 'The last time I trusted someone I lost an eye!'"

"A cat is the reason Fury lost his eye?!" Clint laughed. 

"He's never living this down," Tony cackled.

Bruce choked. "Fury named his cat Mr Snoofers?"

"I feel like it's our moral obligation to give him diagonally-cut toast," said Natasha. 

Peter said he and his friends just got a second chance at getting into MIT, and they couldn't see him fighting crazy monsters, but Stephen couldn't believe he was still thinking about college.

"Okay, I know MIT can't see me fighting crazy monsters, but I know a lot more about the Multiverse and how dangerous it can be, so I know that getting the Multiversal visitors back home is the priority," said Peter. "They have to go back."

"Great, glad to know we're on the same page," Stephen said.

"None of us want a Multiversal War," said Bruce. "Normal war is bad enough."

Loki scoffed. "Too bad because it's coming anyway."

Stephen summoned one of Peter's web-shooters and cast a spell on it.

Tony scowled. He couldn't believe Stephen was making Peter's web-shooters magical.

Peter gaped. "No way. Magical web-shooters?" He nearly drooled.

"The Multiversal visitors need to go home as fast as possible, so yeah, magical web-shooters," said Stephen.

"Cool."

Peter asked what it did. Stephen webbed Peter, who disappeared inside a cell and walked into the barrier.

Peter shot Stephen a look, who couldn't help but chuckle. Sam and Bucky cackled at seeing Peter walk into the barrier.

"It's an easy way to capture the Multiversal visitors and send them back," Carol noted.

"I hope this Multiversal mess gets over soon," said Tony. "I've heard enough about the Multiverse for a lifetime."

Doc Ock was dumbfounded and asked Stephen how he did that.

"So I'm guessing that Tentacle Man's universe isn't like ours," said Bucky.

"The faster Tentacle Man gets used to how weird our universe is, the better," said Rhodey.

"Tentacle Man is going back home where he belongs," Wong reminded everyone.

"Do you think that universe has Thanos too?" Scott asked.

"God, I hope not," Clint replied.

"Lots of birthday parties," Stephen snarked.

Everyone chuckled.

Stephen removed the barrier and gave the enchanted web shooter back. "One shot, send them here, move on. Get to work."

Peter thought it was nice that Stephen thought he could handle this, and it didn't hurt that he was getting magical web-shooters.

"One step closer to getting this mess over with," said Bucky.

"Sir?"

"Don't call me sir, kid."

"It's weird calling you sir now. I'm so used to Stephen."

Peter said he knew this was his mess and would fix it, but he needed some help.

"Also partly Strange's fault," said Natasha. "The spell should've been shut down the moment Peter started to talk."

Later, Ned and MJ are led inside the Sanctum by an unhappy Stephen.

Stephen sighed. He knew how much Ned and MJ meant to Peter and that they were helpful, but he wanted to get this mess over with. He knew he fucked up and wanted to fix it as fast as possible. He needed to fix this. He couldn't help but be bitter at the fact that he'd managed to mess up everything in his life. He couldn't save Donna, he'd messed up his relationship with Christine, and now he'd messed up the spell as well.

Tony frowned as he felt a twinge of jealousy at seeing Stephen meet Ned and MJ while he'd never gotten the chance to.

"Good, you need your FOS," Scott told Peter.

Peter bit the inside of his cheek. He knew he needed Ned and MJ, but he didn't want them to get more involved in this than they already were. He'd seen how the interrogations with Agent Cleary had gone.

"I can't believe I'm in the Sanctum Sanctorum!" Ned said, awestruck. "Neither can I," Stephen muttered.

Everyone snorted.

"I told you that Ned was a big fan," said Peter.

"Ned's a big fan of anything sorcery-related," Stephen said, exasperated.

"Ned's also a big fan of anything science-related," Tony defended.

Ned asked Stephen how he knew he was made from magic as his grandmother said they had it in their family, and he also got tinglings in his hands. Stephen told him to talk to his physician.

"I was born a witch and didn't know it, so maybe Ned's the same," said Wanda.  

"I don't think Ned's the equivalent of the Scarlet Witch," Stephen said, amused.

Wanda shrugged. "Who knows? I didn't."

"It's true, though; Ned's grandma always said they had magic in their family," said Peter.

"It's not the same thing," said Wong. "We already said that the Masters of the Mystic Arts draw power from other dimensions while witches are born with their magic."

Peter and MJ hugged as Peter apologized for dragging them into this, but she wouldn't accept it as he got them a second shot at MIT.

"They never should've needed a second shot," said Peter. "They would've gotten in the first time if it wasn't for me."

"I'm very upset with MIT now," said Tony. "And it takes a lot for me to get mad at MIT."

Ned asked how the bad guys got there. Stephen replied, saying Peter screwed up a spell trying to get them into college.

Everyone glared at Stephen, who winced.

MJ thought it was the MIT lady he saved, but Peter said that was after and to focus on the good news. "No, let's just focus on the bad news: as of now, you have detected zero multiversal trespassers, so...get on your phones, scour the Internet, and Scooby-Doo this shit," said Stephen.

"Hey, your spell caused this entire mess," Tony snapped.

"Peter shouldn't have talked!" Stephen shot back.

"Of course, he's going to panic once he's realized that his loved ones would forget that he's Spider-Man," Bruce added.  

"Scooby-Doo this shit?" Peter said, astonished. "Who talks like that?"

"Someone who has no idea how to talk to teenagers," Clint said. 

"Peter's the only teenager I know, but he's also Spider-Man, so yes, I don't know how to talk to teenagers," Stephen responded. "There's a reason why I don't want kids."

"You're literally babysitting three teenagers right now," said Wong.

"And trust me, I don't want to be."

Carol laughed loudly. She couldn't imagine babysitting kids either.

"I'd be like that too if I had to deal with three teenagers," said Bucky.

MJ laughed. "You're telling us what to do even though it was your spell that got screwed up, meaning that all of this is kinda your mess. You know, I know a couple of magic words myself, starting with the word 'please'."

Stephen was impressed, and so was everyone else. Wong let out a guffaw at seeing a teenager talk back to Stephen.

Peter had a wide grin. MJ was amazing!

"You deserved that," said Tony.

Stephen softened, charmed. "Please Scooby-Doo this shit."

"She impressed you, didn't she?" Scott asked.

Stephen nodded. "I have no idea why she's with Peter."

"That's the general consensus," said Clint.

"No arguments there; I have no idea what MJ sees in me either, but I'm not complaining," said Peter.

"You can work in the Undercroft." "The Undercroft?!" Ned said, awed.

"It's literally just Strange's basement," said Bucky. "Nothing special."

"Come on; it's a sorcerer's dungeon!" Scott said, excited.

Later, Peter, Ned, and MJ were in the Undercroft. Peter tried to apologize for the spell, but MJ said it was okay as he was just trying to fix things.

"And it would've if someone had just discussed the spell before casting it," said Tony.  

She told him to run it by them next time so that they could help him brainstorm ideas. Peter had a soft smile.

So did Peter in the room as the rest of the Avengers looked at the two fondly. Peter had no idea what he did to deserve someone like MJ.

"She's a great kid," said Natasha. She was flattered that she was MJ's favourite Avenger.

Ned was excitedly distracted by a torture rack.

"Why the hell do you have a torture rack in your basement?" Rhodey asked Stephen.

Natasha laughed. "That's not a torture rack. Ned just thinks it is."

No one wanted to ask why Natasha knew it wasn't a torture rack.

MJ said it was a pilates machine.

The Avengers looked at Stephen in amusement, whose face was pink.

"Pilates machine!" Wanda cackled. "That's hilarious."

"You're irritating; you know that," Stephen told Wanda. He was glad he met Wanda, though.

"Wong, Peter, and I are your only friends, so I don't think you have many options."

"Ouch." Stephen did find it nice that he had more friends and teammates now than he thought he did as Christine and Wong had been the only friends he'd made as an adult, and things with Christine were…complicated. And he didn't feel conscious about his hands when he was with the Avengers and Guardians since Bucky had one flesh arm, Rhodey was paralyzed from the waist down, Thor lost an eye, Tony used to have a hole in his chest and still had heart problems, Nebula had most of her body replaced, and Clint was one explosion away from losing his hearing.

Wong, Peter, and Wanda snickered.  

"Okay, so... we get the rest of the guys, you zap them, Dr Magic will send them back. And when we get into MIT, a round of stale doughnuts, my treat," said MJ.

Stephen frowned at hearing MJ call him 'Dr Magic'.

Tony wished he could've been there so he could've given the kids something a lot better than stale doughnuts.

"Great, it's a simple but good plan," said Bruce.

Doc Ock asked who those Ned and MJ were, and Peter introduced them.

"I wonder if there's a Ned and MJ in his universe," said Peter. "I mean, there has to be, right? Tentacle Man knows my variant, so he would have to have a Ned and MJ."

"Not necessarily," said Loki. "Variants can have very different lives. You saw how different Sylvie's life was from mine."

Peter deflated. "That's true." He hoped Ned and MJ existed in his variant's universe. He couldn't imagine life without them.

"Uh, I'm sorry, what was your name again?" "Doctor Otto Octavius."

There was a moment of silence as everyone looked at Otto incredulously.

"So, the man going around with giant mechanical tentacles is named Otto Octavius?" Clint asked.

The three burst out laughing, and Peter asked Otto what his actual name was.

Stephen raised an eyebrow. "You think that's his made-up name like mine?"

Peter froze. "Uh…I mean, yeah? How was I supposed to know that your name is actually Doctor Strange?"

"Is that a dinosaur?!" Ned asked, looking at the Lizard, who scowled.

"Jurassic Park is real," Sam said, annoyed.

"I have so many questions about the dinosaur, I don't even know where to start," said Rhodey.

"So what if there's a dinosaur?" said Natasha. "We're friends with a talking raccoon and tree."

"Just accept it and move on," said Steve. "We know the Multiverse is weird. If Loki can become an alligator and Thor can become a frog, there can be dinosaurs too."

Cut to Peter pulling out his suit covered in green paint from his backpack. As Peter grabbed cleaning supplies, a doll on the shelf turned its face towards him.

Except for Stephen and Wong, the rest of them shuddered.

"What is wrong with you?" Clint demanded. "Why do you have a doll like that in your basement?"

Stephen shrugged. "Decoration."

MJ looked at a goatee template box, confused.

Tony took one look at the goatee template box and burst out laughing. "I can't believe you have to use a template for your goatee!" he told Stephen, who scowled. "I don't have to use a template."

Stephen's scowl grew deeper. He never wanted Tony to know that he used a template.

Peter was scrubbing his suit while on the phone with May, who told him to bring it to the shelter, but he said they had to find these guys first.

Peter nodded. "That's the priority. A Multiversal War is going to break out anyway; there doesn't have to be more Multiversal messes."

He turned his suit inside out to see a black and gold interior. "That could work."

Peter tilted his head. "Huh."

Ned said he found one. He read that there had been a disturbance near a military research facility outside of the city, and witnesses saw a monster flying through the air.

"Yeah, that sounds like Osborn," said Steve.

Rhodey frowned. "What was he doing at a military research facility?"

"But the good news is that they know where Osborn is, so Peter can use his magic webs and send him to the Sanctum," said Scott.

"That's impossible," said Otto.

All of them shared a look of confusion.

Peter asked if Otto knew him since he said his name on the bridge. "Norman Osborn. Brilliant scientist. Military research. But he was greedy. Misguided," Otto replied.

Tony froze. "Uh." Some of that sounded a little too familiar, and judging by the glances he got; everyone else realized that too.

"How does Osborn go from military research to dressing up as a flying green elf?" Steve asked.

"How does one go from military research to flying around in an exoskeleton suit?" Tony responded. "Shit happens."

Peter asked what had happened to him. Otto lunged forward, "We tire of your questions, boy!"

All of them jumped a little as they looked at Octavius warily.

"Okay, maybe give Octavius some time alone before asking more questions," Thor said slowly.

"Octavius said 'we'," Bruce said curiously.

Otto said it couldn't be him as Norman Osborn died years ago. "So, either we saw someone else, or you're flying out into the darkness to fight a ghost."

A chill ran down everyone's spines.

Thor didn't believe Otto. "He's too dramatic. Maybe Osborn faked his death; who knows? Loki faked his death many times."

"That's not normal," Sam said, concerned.

"You're expecting normal when Loki's his brother?" Clint asked.

Loki didn't disagree.

"Or Osborn's from a different point in the timeline," Natasha pointed out. "We saw TVA Loki diverge from the timeline years before he was supposed to die."

A beat passed.

"Brilliant!" Tony exclaimed.

"I'm starting to think I'm the only one with common sense on the team," she said wryly.

Rhodey cleared his throat and gave her a pointed look.

"I think Rhodey and I are the only ones with common sense on the team," she corrected.

Chapter Text

At the Undercroft, Ned opened the refrigerator to find otherworldly specimens in jars.

All of them sent Stephen and Wong a strange look.

"Dude, why the hell do you guys have that in your fridge?" Sam asked.

"Research," Stephen replied.

"Aw, they're cute," said Wanda.

"As the Sorcerer Supreme, I don't live at the New York Sanctum anymore," said Wong. "I'll be at Kamar-Taj."

MJ told Peter to keep an eye out for the trees since they didn't know where Osborn was.

"Smart," Natasha complimented.

She and Ned watched a live feed from Peter's phone, duct-taped to his chest.

"That's pretty resourceful," Steve said, impressed.

"I can't do any of this without them," said Peter.

Peter was wearing his black and gold suit, swinging from power lines, landing in a dark forest.

"The black and gold suit looks good," said Bruce. "The wires are sticking out, which is a problem, though."

"Eh, he'll be fine," said Bucky.

In the background, something in the sand moved.

The Avengers glanced at each other in concern.

Sam groaned. "The sand moved weirdly, which means it's another strange thing, so it's probably a Multiversal visitor."

"It's not even Osborn," said Clint. "Octavius, Osborn, and the dinosaur were enough."

Tony clenched his jaw. "I'm so tired of these visitors."

Peter froze as his Tingle activated, and behind him, an eerie blue light appeared.

"Oh shit, what's happening now?" Peter said warily.

He activated his magic web-shooter, and three rings of Eldritch magic appeared.

Stephen looked satisfied at the Eldritch magic while Tony frowned.

"Magic web-shooters," Peter said, amazed.

He quickly turned around to see a blue humanoid figure hovering above the power lines.

Peter frowned. He'd also seen that guy in his dream. He remembered it because it had been so weird.

Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Another Multiversal visitor."

Bruce leaned closer to get a better look. "He's drawing energy from the power lines."

"Another weird guy then," said Rhodey.

"I hope this visitor is the last one," said Loki. "All of them need to go back to their own universes. The Multiverse is already vulnerable."

Wanda nodded. "The longer they stay, the higher the chance that many more visitors will show up."

"I know; I want them to go back as quickly as possible too," said Peter. He'd seen enough Multiversal troubles for a lifetime, and he wanted Ned and MJ to keep their second chance at MIT.

Peter asked Electro if he was from another universe to no reply.

"How are they supposed to know they're in another universe?" said Clint. "Octavius didn't know."

"Before all of this, if someone asked me that, I would've thought they were crazy," Bucky added.

He sent a magic web at Electro, which went right through him.

Stephen frowned at the magic webs not working.

"Well, that makes sense considering that electric man has no body," said Steve.

"These guys seriously get weirder and weirder," said Sam.

"Again, we're friends with Rocket and Groot," Rhodey reminded him.

"At least Rocket and Groot have bodies! This guy doesn't have one since he's made out of electricity."

"Peter's variants have gotten into some very weird situations in their universes if these are the people they've met," said Natasha.

"Well, that's Peter for you," Tony said simply. "I guess all Peters across the Multiverse are like that."

Peter shrugged. He couldn't deny it; his life had taken a bizarre turn after getting bit by the spider.

The web hit a tree, and it instantly appeared in a cell at the Sanctum.

"At least the magic web-shooters aren't malfunctioning," said Peter.

"They wouldn't malfunction," Stephen said, offended.

Electro spotted Peter and shot bolts at him as he tried to get away, and with a blast, Electro sent Peter tumbling to the ground.

The Avengers looked unimpressed at seeing Electro, especially Thor.

"Is this guy some kind of wannabe Thor?" Rhodey asked.

Thor crossed his arms. "My lightning is much cooler than his. His lightning is very tiny."

"I don't care how tiny this guy's lightning is; there shouldn't be lightning at all," said Tony.

"Thor's better," Peter announced. He'd always find whatever Thor did cool.

Ned's laptop lost connection, and Ned and MJ panicked.

"Ah shit," said Sam.

Electro tried to attack Peter again, but a wall of sand protected him, and a face appeared.

There was a moment of silence.

"...Did a face just appear from the sand?" Clint asked, bewildered.

Tony shook his head. "You know what, I'm willing to accept that since the sand guy is helping Peter."

"So, one of these visitors has a good relationship with the Peter variant," Natasha noted.

Wanda sighed in relief. "That's great to hear; I was getting a little worried about the type of people the other Peters had to fight."

Bucky snorted. "One of them is a dinosaur."

"Compared to the dinosaur, Toomes and Beck don't seem that weird," said Peter. "Thanos is still pretty weird, though."

"Peter, it's me! Flint Marko! You remember?"

Peter shook his head. "Not the same Peter."

"I'm surprised if the Peter Variant managed to forget Marko, considering he's made out of sand," said Rhodey. "What the hell happened to him?"

Peter said he wasn't Marko's Peter, and Marko was perplexed.

All of them looked at Marko sympathetically.

"Poor guy has to deal with Multiverse bullshit," said Clint.

"You sadly get used to it after a while, though," said Bucky.

Peter said he would explain everything later and asked him to stop Electro, and Marko agreed.

"I'm just glad that not all of these Multiversal visitors want to hurt Peter," said Tony.

"The first thing Octavius, Osborn, and the electric guy did was try to attack Peter," said Carol. She paused. "I don't know what's up with the dinosaur, though."

"Let's just ignore the dinosaur for now, I don't have the energy to think about him," said Steve.

"How can you ignore a dinosaur?!" Scott exclaimed.

Peter and Marko worked together to take down Electro. Peter webbed the power lines and pulled them apart, and Electro's body grew dimmer as he touched the ground.

"Glad that mess is over with," said Clint. He didn't know how Tony was surviving seeing Peter go through all this. He knew he couldn't handle seeing Kate fight the same people Peter was fighting.

"The sooner they return to the Sanctum, and Strange can send them back, the better," said Loki.

"What do I think I want to do? I don't want to deal with the Multiverse just as much as you do," Stephen replied.

Peter took off his mask, and Sandman formed beside him.

"I have so many questions about the sand dude," said Sam. "I don't even know where to start."

"I really want to know what kind of worlds the other Peters live in," said Peter. "Like our world is pretty crazy but do they have the Avengers? They have to have the Avengers, right? Do they have Thanos?"

"I hope they don't have Thanos in their worlds," said Wanda.

"I wish we didn't have Thanos in our world," Bruce grumbled.

"I want to know why the Multiversal visitors exist the way they do," said Natasha.

"A different Peter. Weird," said Marko.

"You get used to it," said Loki. "Sadly."

"I know Marko's Peter looks different than our Peter, but at least he's human and not an animal," said Clint, thinking about Alligator Loki.

"Alligator Loki eats people's hands too!" Thor added proudly.

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"Thanks," said Peter as he slapped Marko's hand, and it scattered in the wind.

Everyone was taken aback.

"That has to be inconvenient," said Wanda.

"How the hell did the other Peter even meet this guy?" Bucky asked. "I'm a little concerned."

"Sorry." "Don't worry about it."

"I guess Marko's used to it," Bruce noted.

"How does Marko even live like that?" Peter asked. "It has to be a very lonely life being made out of sand."

Electro was now in human form. "I got my body back."

They stared at Electro in fascination and morbid curiosity.

"Fake Thor only sometimes turns into electricity?" Scott asked.

Thor scoffed. "He has tiny lightning."

"Your body never turned into pure electricity," said Loki.

"So? He had tiny electricity," Thor stressed. "How useful is that?"

Peter told him that this wasn't their universe, and Electro realized the power was different and liked it.

"I guess that makes sense," said Bruce. "A different universe means a different frequency."

"I don't like the Multiverse, but I can't deny that it's amazing from a scientific point of view," Tony begrudgingly admitted.

Peter said it was his fault that they were there.

"It's not completely your fault," said Natasha, looking at Stephen, who grimaced.

"I should've shut down the spell the second Peter started talking."

"Yes, you should've."

"Y'all just gonna stand here and act like I ain't butt-ass naked?" Electro asked.

"We're trying to ignore it," said Steve.

Peter quickly looked away and saw a utility shed with a fireman's outfit inside. Cut to Electro appearing in a cell at the Sanctum, wearing the fireman's outfit.

"Great job," Stephen complimented. "One step closer to ending this mess."

"Even if this mess is over, the Multiversal War is still coming," said Loki. "The end of everything and everyone. Infinite variants of He Who Remains, and he said that he was the nice one. None of us want to meet the conquering one."

"And Wanda's been messing around with the Multiverse by reading the Darkhold," said Sam.

Wanda looked sheepish. She'd been made aware that the Darkhold would corrupt her.

Wong and Stephen frowned. They hadn't forgotten about Wanda reading the Darkhold.

Clint let out a deep sigh. "I'm never going to be able to retire."

Otto waved to him from his cell.

All of them chuckled.

"If Octavius didn't try to attack Peter and weren't from a different universe, I would've wanted to discuss those tentacles with him," said Tony. "I just want the Multiverse mess to end."

"Those tentacles are fascinating," Bruce admitted. "Sure, they're a little rudimentary but they're still amazing."

Meanwhile, Marko was alarmed at Electro disappearing and angrily asked Peter if he had killed him.

"I mean, I can't blame him for thinking that," said Sam. "Marko just showed to another universe, met a different Peter than the one he knows, and then saw Fake Thor disappear because of magic webs."

Peter said he could explain everything and that Marko just had to trust him. "I don't trust you! I don't know you!" Marko exclaimed.

"Just web him," said Stephen. "He'll end up in a cell."

Marko lunged at Peter, who fired his magic web-shooter. Marko ended up in a cell.

"Great!" Tony said.

"That's four visitors down," said Loki. "Just find Osborn and get this mess over with."

"What if there are more?" Clint asked.

"God, I hope not," said Stephen.

Electro spotted the Lizard. "Connors?"

"Connors? That name doesn't suit the dinosaur," said Bucky.

"Connors and Fake Thor are from the same universe, and Octavius and Osborn are from the same universe," Wong noted.

"Wait. You know this creature?" asked Otto. Electro said he wasn't a creature but a man.

"A man?" said Scott, astonished. "He wasn't originally a dinosaur? I thought he actually was a dinosaur!"

"So, he's like Loki," said Thor. "A shapeshifter."

"Or maybe like the Hulk?" Sam suggested.

"Dr Curt Connors. He was a scientist at Oscorp when I worked there," Electro explained.

"Wait, Oscorp?" Peter said, confused. "As in Osborn?"

"I thought Connors and Fake Thor, and Osborn were from two different universes," said Wanda.

"There has to be an Osborn in Connors and Fake Thor's universe then," Stephen realized.

"Does Oscorp exist in our universe?" Steve asked.

Everyone turned to Tony for an answer, who was slightly insulted.

"Okay, I know all of you turned to me for an answer because Osborn worked in military research, but it's still insulting. But no, as far as I'm aware, Oscorp and Norman Osborn don't exist in our universe."

"A brilliant scientist. Until he turned himself into a lizard, then he tried to turn the whole city into lizards; it was crazy!"

Everyone stared at Connors, completely baffled. 

"He's insane," said Bucky. "Turning the whole city into lizards?"

"I'm guessing Peter, the other Peter, stopped it," said Natasha.

"I hope he did," said Peter.

"It wasn't crazy, Max. It was the next step in human evolution."

"I think I'm high," said Rhodey. "The dinosaur just talked."

"In a British accent," Clint added, eyes wide.

"Fake Thor's name is Max?" said Scott. "I was expecting something a lot cooler than that. Something like Thor."

Bruce threw his hands in the air. "How the hell does Connors think turning people into lizards was the next step in human evolution?"

Lizard asked what happened to Electro as he used to have bad teeth, glasses, and a combover.

"So this isn't what he used to look like?" Wanda asked.

"I don't know; this whole situation is weird," said Steve.

"Did you get a makeover? You know I can give you a real makeover." "Let me guess, into a lizard?" "Exactly!"

"Connors is so weird," said Scott. 

"He turned himself into a lizard," said Tony. "What do you expect?"

Bruce winced. He'd turned himself into an enormous rage monster.

Marko asked Ned and MJ where they were. "A wizard's dungeon," MJ replied.

Stephen sighed. He liked MJ, but he wasn't a wizard.

"We're not wizards; we're sorcerers," Wong corrected.

Electro said he wanted a taste of the new energy he felt, looking at his hands.

"His new energy wasn't very impressive," said Thor. "I created that energy when I was a toddler."

MJ got a call from Peter. He said he would try to fix some of the damage, so they don't blame it on him again.

All of them scowled.

"Jameson's an asshole," said Bucky.

He told her that he couldn't do any of this without her and thanked her.

"I need my FOS," Peter said with a small smile.

Ned inspected the tree in the cell and asked MJ to ask Peter if it was a tree monster or a scientist that turned into a tree.

"Two very valid questions," said Sam.

"It's just a tree, man. Just a tree," said Electro.

"Trees can talk now, too," said Rhodey.

"Tree is a good friend," said Thor.

In a deserted alley, Norman desperately tried to cover the glider with trash.

"So that's where Osborn went," said Natasha.

"Coward! We have a new world to conquer," said Goblin. Norman saw the Green Goblin mask hanging on a nearby dumpster and trembled with fear.

Everyone was taken aback.

"Um, what?" said Tony.

"What's up with Osborn?" Carol asked.

Bruce fidgeted. He had some idea of what might be happening to Osborn, but he needed to find out more.

Norman told the Goblin to leave him alone, but the Goblin said he made him sick as Norman hid in the shadows, hiding from who he truly was.

All of them looked at Norman in concern.

"I think Osborn needs help," Steve said.

"The other guy clearly isn't a good influence on Osborn," said Clint.

Norman picked up a brick and smashed the mask. He ran off, but Green Goblin's cackling laughter echoed around him.

All of them shivered at hearing the Goblin's laugh.

"That was so creepy," said Scott.

In the forest, Peter got a call from May, who told him that she was at work and one of the guys he was looking for had just walked in.

Everyone's eyes widened, and Peter's stomach dropped. "They're at FEAST with May? Oh no."

"The other guys were dangerous and one of them found May?" Tony panicked.

Outside the FEAST shelter was a billboard with Spider-Man waving, but it had been graffitied with "MYSTERIO WAS RIGHT".

The Avengers scowled.

Peter ran inside and found May having tea with Norman.

They froze.

"Osborn is just having tea with May?" Wanda said, confused.

Peter let out a sigh of relief at seeing May safe. For a second, he thought she had been in trouble.

Norman wasn't wearing the Green Goblin suit and was dressed in ill-fitting clothes. He looked tired and disoriented…even fragile.

"Whatever we saw in that alleyway and the other voice we heard took a toll on him," said Steve.

May introduced Norman to Peter, who was thrown.

So was everyone else.

"Osborn's confusing me," said Carol. "I need to know his situation."

"He's still a Multiversal visitor, so he needs to get back to his own universe," said Loki.

"I saw Spider-Man in an ad for this place. And I thought he could help me. But you're not him," said Norman.

Peter sighed. "I'm getting a little tired of hearing that I'm not Peter Parker or Spider-Man when I am. We just look different from each other."

Norman explained that he didn't know where else to go. "Someone's living in my house. Oscorp doesn't exist. My son…"

All of them looked at Osborn sadly.

"I didn't realize how confusing it might be for someone to end up in a different universe and not find anything familiar," said Thor.

"Sometimes I'm not myself. I'm...someone else. And every time he's in control, I can't remember."

Bruce's breath caught. That description was painfully familiar.

May tried to ask him who was in control, but Norman panicked and said he was in this place, he didn't know why, and it didn't make sense.

They couldn't help but pity Norman.

"Osborn needs help," said Bucky.

"He'll be fine once he goes back to his universe," said Stephen. "He'll be back in a familiar environment, and most importantly, this Multiversal mess will be over."

May pulled Peter aside. She said Norman was lost in his mind and asked if they were all like this.

"Pretty much," said Sam.

Peter said they all have their own mental and physical issues.

"Marko is literally made out of sand, Connors is a lizard, and Max is made out of electricity and it's not like Thor," said Clint.

"Octavius has his own tentacle situation going on," said Peter.

"I have no idea what's going on with Osborn—" Steve started to say.

"—It's like the Hulk and me," Bruce interrupted. "Sort of. Norman is like me, and the other voice is Hulk in this scenario."

In the background, Norman stole a doughnut and put it in his pocket.

"I'd give him a free doughnut," said Peter. "Poor guy."

"Well, he needs help, and maybe they all do," said May. Peter said it wasn't his problem.

"What can I even do about Osborn or the rest of them?" Peter asked. "I'd love to help them if I can, but they'll be fine in their own universes."

"The longer they stay here, the longer the Multiverse is at risk of becoming more unstable than it already is," said Wong. "They need to go back now."

He told her that their chance of getting help was way better back where they came from.

Peter nodded. "The best thing for them and us."

"They were never supposed to come into this universe, so we're just correcting the mistake," said Stephen.

"For them? Or for yourself?" May asked. "Look around you. This is what we do. We help people."

Peter shifted uncomfortably. He knew what May was trying to say, but this was the Multiverse.

"This is what's best. For them. Trust me," said Peter. May wasn't wholly convinced.

"They should be sent back," said Tony. "I understand what May is saying, but she doesn't know how devastating the Multiverse can be. They need to go back as soon as possible."

Scott nodded. "They can get help in their own universes. I'm sure that the other Peters would be happy to help them."

"And they don't even have to deal with the Multiverse because they're from that universe," said Loki. "There won't be any side effects."

"And their technology can't be less advanced than ours," said Bruce. "Octavius knew about nanotechnology."

Cut to Jameson behind a desk in a professional news studio. He was promoting Daily Bugle Supplements.

"Who the fuck is going to buy Daily Bugle Supplements?" Bucky asked.

"The Daily Bugle's studio becomes more and more professional," said Natasha. "Peter has been basically funding the Daily Bugle."

"The Daily Bugle is trash," said Rhodey.

I need to get started on that podcast, Scott thought. Jameson couldn't drag Peter's name through the mud!

The broadcast read — "Why does Spider-Man hate national landmarks?"

Despite their hatred for the Daily Bugle and Jameson, they couldn't help but chuckle.

"He's not wrong," Sam said, amused. "First the Washington Monument and then the Tower Bridge. What monument is Peter going to destroy next?"

Jameson answered the phone. One of his employees was watching a FEAST truck pull away. The employee said Peter was with his aunt and some guy.

"They're stalking Peter and May!" Tony exclaimed, outraged.

Peter stamped down his frustration at seeing May getting dragged into awful situations because of him.

"Don't lose him!" Jameson said eagerly.

Everyone looked at Jameson in disgust.

"Bastard," Clint spat.

May stopped outside the Sanctum in the FEAST truck.

"I hope Osborn's the last visitor," said Stephen. "But even if he isn't, it's fine. I would've researched a way to send all Multiversal visitors back so if there are any others out there, they'd be sent back."

"Thanks, May! Hope to see you again," said Norman as he got out of the truck.

"Hopefully not because they'll go back to their own universe," said Natasha. She really didn't want to see the Multiverse dissolve into chaos even though she knew a Multiversal War was coming.

May told Peter that Norman trusted him, and so did she.

"So do I, kid," said Tony. 

"Thanks, Tony."

Peter thanked her for cleaning his suit while hopping out of the van as he was now wearing his usual black and red suit.

"How does May do that?" Peter muttered. He was never able to get the stains out of his suits.

At the Undercroft, Peter introduced Norman, Ned, and MJ to each other. "Mary Jane?" Norman asked, confused.

Everyone furrowed their brows.

"Mary Jane?" Peter said, confused.

Natasha smacked her forehead. "MJ! Mary Jane is MJ!"

Peter gaped while everyone else blinked in surprise.

"MJ has a variant too?" Peter said, delighted.

"I wonder what Mary Jane's last name is? Jane can't be it," said Steve.

"I'm assuming that Mary Jane is the Peter Variant's girlfriend," said Wanda. "Osborn and Octavius are from the same universe, and Octavius did say that he should've killed Peter's girlfriend when he had the chance."

"Octavius went after my variant's MJ," Peter realized, clenching his jaw. Even throughout the Multiverse, his loved ones were getting into danger because of him.

"It's Michelle Jones, actually."

Peter had a warm feeling in his chest at knowing that MJ and Peter's across the Multiverse were meant to be.

"Fascinating…" said Norman. He walked further into the Undercroft.

"It is," Bruce agreed. "Unfortunately, it's also dangerous, and I've seen more than enough about the Multiverse to not want to deal with it."

Ned asked MJ if she thought there were other Ned Leeds-es.

"There probably are," said Stephen.

Norman looked around and then spotted Otto in his cell. "Octavius?" "...Osborn?" Otto said, amazed.

"It has to be weird seeing someone alive when you thought they were dead," said Clint.

"It is," said Thor, giving Loki a dirty look, who winced.

"I said I was sorry!"

Otto told Norman that he died years ago.

"So, Osborn diverged from an earlier time than Octavius," Natasha noted.

Peter started to pay attention. Norman said Otto was insane.

"Sadly no. I would've been easier if Octavius was insane," said Loki. "They've just been introduced to the Multiverse — the current source of my permanent headache."

Electro grinned. "God, I love it here."

Everyone burst out laughing.

"That man just wants to watch the drama unfold," said Rhodey.

Peter asked Otto what he was talking about as Norman was right there. Marko said they both died fighting Spider-Man.

A chill ran down everyone's spines.

Peter's stomach dropped. "What did my variants do?" he said in horror. He'd had dreams about not holding back his punches, and the aftermath was awful, but he'd never do it.

"Hey, we don't have the full context, kid," said Tony. "Beck died on the Tower Bridge, but you didn't kill him; he died because of the drones."

"Exactly, the same thing could've happened to the other Peters," said Stephen.

"It was all over the news. Green Goblin? Impaled by the glider you flew around on."

"Impaled by his own glider?" Scott said faintly. 

"I'm guessing Green Goblin is the other guy Osborn's hearing," Bruce noted.

"Yeah, his whole green elf getup is very goblin-like," said Peter.

"And a couple years later, you, Doc Ock, drowned in the river with your machine."

"The machine Octavius kept on mentioning," said Clint. "The power of the sun in the palm of my hand," he quoted.

"How did the other Peter meet this man?" Thor asked.

Peter couldn't help but laugh. Of course, it was a constant in the Multiverse that Peter Parker had to get into weird situations like this. It was Parker luck. His Homecoming date's dad turned out to be the guy whose weapons he'd been trying to take down.

Otto and Electro realized that they were fighting Spider-Man and were about to die before they came here.

"They arrived in this universe moments before they died," Steve realized with horror.

"So what happens if they go back?" Clint asked.

"They die," Stephen said simply.

A beat passed.

"They can't die," said Sam. "There has to be another way."

Stephen hesitated. He'd learned that sometimes there could be another way when they were watching the entire mess with TVA Loki, Sylvie, and the TVA, but Sylvie didn't listen. "There wasn't another way with Thanos. What if there's no other way for this one too?" He wanted the visitors gone — so what if he sacrificed the Multiversal visitors to ensure the Multiverse and Peter's safety? They were going to die anyway. "In the grand calculus of the Multiverse, their sacrifice would mean infinitely more than their lives."

"Listen, they were fighting the other Peters for a reason," said Tony. "We have no idea what relationship the Peter Variants have with the Multiversal visitors. What if the visitors are just as bad as Beck or insane like Thanos?" He just wanted Peter safe and away from the Multiverse.

Peter felt a flash of irritation at hearing Beck's name. Tony has a point; he didn't know anything about the visitors. What if he was helping someone as bad as Thanos? But another part wondered what if they weren't like Thanos? May said he could help Osborn, and he agreed that Osborn needed help, but he couldn't do anything. Could he? But he also knew more about the Multiverse than his on-screen variant and how bad it could be.

"And we can't risk making the Multiverse getting worse than it already is," Loki added. "Send them back. They were going to die anyway. It's a small price to pay to keep the Multiverse stable."

"That's basically what He Who Remains said," Bruce pointed out.

"Don't compare me to him!" Loki snapped.

Bucky frowned. "I can't believe we're back to this argument."

"Welcome to the Avengers where we're always arguing about something or the other," said Clint.

"Sylvie and all the other Loki Variants were taken away from their timelines because He Who Remains justified his actions by saying he was preventing a Multiversal War," Thor said, looking at Loki. "You know exactly what he did to your variants — my siblings."

"I know better than anyone what they did to my variants, but what Sylvie did was wrong, and you're seeing the effects of it right now," said Loki. "TVA Loki and Sylvie should've taken the other option."

"Exactly, they have to go back to keep the Multiverse stable," Wong said firmly.

"The Multiverse already isn't stable; that's why all the visitors ended up in this universe," said Steve.

"What do you want to do then? Make it more unstable?" Loki said, exasperated. "They can't stay in this universe."

"I wish there was a way where we could isolate our universe," said Scott. "No one gets in and no one gets out. Problem solved."

"You know that's exactly what He Who Remains did before Sylvie killed him," Wanda pointed out.

A beat passed.

"Ah, fuck," said Rhodey. "He was right."

"Max, do you know—do I die?" Lizard asked.

"If Osborn, Octavius, and Max died before coming here, Connors probably died too," said Rhodey.

A portal opened and Stephen appeared, holding a box with the corrupted spell inside.

"Great, they'll go home now," said Tony.

"We can't send them home, Stephen," Peter said softly. Maybe he should just take May's advice and help them. Deep down, he knew there was a small chance he could.

"Peter, you've seen what the Multiverse consists of," Stephen replied kindly. "You know much more about the Multiverse than your on-screen variant."

"But we can't send them home to die! I know a lot more about the Multiverse, but maybe I'll be able to help them, and then we can send them back so then they won't have to die."

"And how long would that take? The smallest action created a He Who Remains variant; what consequences do you think will happen by keeping them here for a little bit longer?"

"I have to try. I can help them, so I should. It's the right thing to do."

Tony's breath caught as he instantly thought of the first time he and Peter met. Those words were very familiar. Stephen's heart jumped into his throat. Was that not why he'd continued being a sorcerer? Because there were different ways to help people?

Natasha looked at Peter sadly. She, of all people, knew people deserved a second chance, but she had also seen the dangers of the Multiverse and didn't want Peter to deal with any of it.

Stephen saw Norman and transported him into a cell. He explained that the Macchina di Kadavus would send the visitors back to their universes.

"I know all of us have opposing views on the Multiverse, but there's one thing we have to be on the same page on because we weren't on the same page before, and it cost us everything," Natasha said firmly. "We're going to stick to being an actual team this time around, which means keeping a united front. I know some of our variants have dealt with the Multiverse more than others," she looked at Loki, Peter, Stephen, and Wanda, "but this affects all of us across the entire Multiverse."

"None of us want a Multiversal War, Nat," said Sam. "All of us agree on that; we just have disagreeing views on dealing with it."

"Either way, we have to be a team this time when it comes down to it."

Clint, Tony, Steve, and Wanda sighed. They'd planned on retiring after defeating Thanos but they knew they'd be back when it was time to fight. But Steve knew when he came back to fight, it wouldn't be in a Captain America uniform. There was only one man who was Captain America now, and it wasn't him. He was just Steve these days.

"And then what? We perish?" Otto asked. Electro said he'd pass.

"I can't blame them," said Scott. "I wouldn't want to go back to my universe if I found out that I would die."

"I think you should help them, Peter," Steve said softly.

"I agree, a lot of them need help too, and you can help them," said Bucky. He couldn't help but sympathise with Osborn. Peter thought he should help them too.

Clint bit the inside of his cheek. Peter was a lot like Kate and just imagining Kate in this scenario made him break out into hives. He didn't want Peter to deal with the Multiverse any more than he wanted Kate to deal with it. No wonder Tony and Stephen wanted the Multiversal visitors to go back to their own universes so badly. They didn't want Peter to get hurt. And besides, the other Peters fought the Multiversal visitors for a reason, and if the other Peters had fought them, they couldn't be good.

"Let me out of here. Peter!" Norman yelled.

"Osborn trusts Peter," Natasha noted. "I wonder what kind of relationship he has with his Peter."

"The Goblin also flew straight towards Peter when he saw him in the Spider-Man suit," Bucky said.

"Peter has bad blood with the Goblin but gets along with Osborn," said Carol. "Well, that's interesting."

Peter told Stephen that they couldn't send them back yet as they would die.

"Peter, I don't want them to die any more than you do, but I want to send them back because of the threat they pose to the Multiverse. Nothing else," said Stephen. 

"I know, but I think they deserve a second chance," said Peter.

Wanda shifted uncomfortably. "I want them to be sent back as well because of the threat they pose to the Multiverse, but a lot of us got a second chance, so I think they should too." But she also knew why Tony and Stephen wanted the visitors to be sent back — if she had to choose between sacrificing a couple of people to keep Billy and Tommy safe, it wasn't even a choice. She'd choose the twins without hesitation.

"Parker... it's their fate." "Come on, Strange. Have a heart."

Stephen flinched. It hurt hearing Peter say that.

"Come on, kid," Tony frowned, "Strange doesn't deserve that. I'm pissed off about the spell, but not about this. You know exactly why he wants them to be sent back, and he isn't exactly wrong."

Peter sighed. "I know. It's just that they don't deserve to die."

Stephen let out a small smile. "I suppose it's not your nature to let them die anyway." He'd had to make hard choices before, and he didn't want Peter to make them.

Wong shook his head. "As the Sorcerer Supreme, it's my duty to protect us from any mystical and Multiversal threats. The Multiversal villains are a threat, Parker."

"You could've helped them if you weren't at Kamar-Taj," Bruce pointed out.

"If someone had decided to tell me, then I could've," he said, shooting Stephen a look.

"In the grand calculus of the Multiverse, their sacrifice means infinitely more than their lives."

Peter frowned. He respected and cared for Stephen; he really did, but it hurt knowing that he considered Tony's sacrifice more than his life. However, he also knew that Stephen had to make hard decisions constantly.

Stephen looked away. He didn't enjoy seeing Tony die when he had a family, but his on-screen variant made the only play they had.

Tony paled. Stephen was right; his sacrifice meant that Peter and Morgan would be safe, and he'd do it again to keep it that way. He'd sacrifice his life a hundred times to keep them safe as their lives were the most important thing. Nothing else seemed significant compared to them.

Sam's eyebrows shot up. "That's cold."

"That's basically what the TVA said and you agreed that what the TVA did was wrong," Steve told Stephen.

"That's because they involved innocent children like Sylvie. She was only a child when the TVA kidnapped her. She didn't do anything besides play with her toys! However, the Multiversal visitors aren't innocent children, and they fought Peter's variants for a reason. They're dangerous."

"I'm not saying that they're not dangerous— they are. I just don't think they deserve to die."

"And you think I want them to die?! I don't, but if I have to choose between the Multiverse or a few lives, it will always be the Multiverse. You saw the state of the Multiverse after Sylvie killed He Who Remains."

Steve let out a frustrated sigh. Life was so much simpler before the Multiverse.

Peter took that in, conflicted. "I'm sorry, kid. If they die, they die," said Stephen.

Stephen wanted to protect everyone he loved from Multiversal threats, and if that means he has to sacrifice a few people to ensure Peter and the Multiverse's safety? He'd do it in a heartbeat.

Wanda frowned. She considered Stephen her friend, but she also knew that because he'd given Thanos the Time Stone, her on-screen variant had to kill Vision, and it meant nothing. But she knew that they weren't the same as their variants as their Stephen had never met Thanos or had given him the Time Stone. She didn't hold an entire town hostage either — they were going to be different from their Sacred Timeline variants.

"It was their fate to begin with," said Loki.

"And your fate was to die and let others achieve their best version of themselves," said Thor as Loki instantly paled. "That's what Mobius said, but you wanted to change, so why can't they change?"

There was a beat of silence.

"Okay," Loki said softly. "Let Parker help them, but they go back the second anything goes wrong."

Peter nodded. "The second anything goes wrong; they go back. I don't want to mess up the Multiverse even more."

"It's a bit too late for that," Stephen muttered. He had a horrible feeling about this, and the last time he had a bad feeling, he'd watched Wanda become the Scarlet Witch and Sylvie break open the Multiverse.

Tony sighed. Peter had simultaneously annoyed him and made him proud. Was it that bad that he didn't care if a couple of Multiversal visitors died if it meant Peter would be safe? He'd do anything to protect him.

Stephen started the ritual and the villains grew uneasy.

Stephen and Peter glanced at each other in concern.

"Peter!" yelled Norman.

Bruce frowned. He felt terrible for Osborn and hoped Peter was able to help him, but also didn't want anything to happen to the Multiverse.

"Out of all the visitors, Osborn fascinates me the most," said Natasha. "He seems harmless, but I'm wary of the Goblin."

"I want to know more about Marko," said Sam. "I have so many questions about how he's become sandy, but I'm a little afraid to know."

"So, all of us have forgotten about the dinosaur?" Scott asked.

"Who cares about Connors?" said Bucky. "Loki's an alligator and Thor's a frog; let's move on."

Stephen activated the box, but Peter webbed it. Stephen's eyes widened, "Don't!" Peter used his magic webs to teleport Stephen into Sandman's cell.

The rest of the Avengers looked at Peter and Stephen awkwardly. They knew the two of them cared about each other.

Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Somehow, I expected that."

"I have to try," Peter said firmly.

Stephen could just feel the control slipping away from him. This situation was about to get so much worse. "I just hope you know what you're doing, Peter."

Ned and MJ panicked. MJ told Peter to run and put her arms out to protect him from Stephen.

All of them had a slight smile, and Peter couldn't help but laugh at seeing MJ try to protect him from Stephen.

Stephen looked at MJ, amused. "She's a good kid." All three of them were; there were worse kids to babysit. He liked Peter, Ned, and MJ, but he'd be happy if he didn't have to see another child for a while.

"Kate, Peter, MJ, and Ned," said Clint. "All of them are something else."

"The next generation," Tony said proudly. "I know Ned and MJ aren't involved in this life like Peter and Kate, but they're FOS."

"Only because you guys shaped our generation into who we are," said Peter. "I told you how important the Avengers are to our generation, and you know why Kate looks up to Clint."

Clint smiled softly. He couldn't wait to meet Kate.

Stephen easily walked out of the cell as Peter ran away while Sandman smacked into the transparent wall.

Everyone chuckled.

"This is why I never had kids."

"But you've ended up babysitting three kids," said Sam.

"And do you think I'm enjoying it?" Stephen shot back.

Wong snickered at Stephen babysitting while Peter crossed his arms and frowned.

Peter ran outside the Sanctum but fell into a series of portals and landed right back in front of the Sanctum.

Peter scowled. "That's so annoying."

"I wish I could do that to catch Nate whenever he tries to run away," Clint complained. "It would be so much more convenient. He can't stay still!"

"Hah! I use the same strategy during my cage matches and make the opponent punch themselves," Wong laughed.

Stephen glared at him, looking very disappointed. "Give me the box."

Tony and Clint cackled.

"Dealing with these superhero kids is a hassle," said Clint. "Trust me, I know."

Stephen looked at Clint in terror. He'd seen what Clint had to go through with Kate.

Peter tried to use his magic web, but it disappeared into orange sparks.

Peter frowned. He knew what Stephen was capable of, so how was he supposed to beat him?

Peter tried to shoot a web, but it flew into a portal and out the other, webbing his own foot. He was dangling between the two portals, stuck.

Everyone else and Peter stared at the multiple portals in fascination.

"If we had time, I would want to study that," said Bruce.

Stephen used an Eldritch Whip to pull Peter down and knock out his astral form.

They looked at Wanda's astral form that was still studying.

"Whoa, my astral form," Peter said, amazed. "That's so cool! I'm not going to lie; I've wanted to see my astral form ever since Bruce got his knocked out."

Peter thought he was dead.

Peter laughed. "No, just separated from my physical form. It's funny that I know way more about magic and the Multiverse.

"It's much more than I ever wanted to know," Tony muttered, but he wasn't that upset. Stephen and Wong were going to help Rhodey walk again.

"You're not dead. You've just been separated from your physical form," said Stephen.

"It's normal," said Wanda, looking at her astral form.

"You know, your physical body being awake while astral projecting isn't supposed to be possible," Wong told her.

"I know. Stephen told me."

Stephen reached for the box, but Peter's physical body moved it away. "How are you doing that?" Stephen asked, bewildered.

Wong, Stephen, and Wanda blinked in surprise.

"...That's not supposed to happen either," said Stephen.

"Of course, you would find two people whose astral projection doesn't work as it should," Wong told Stephen.

"I'm guessing it's because of the Tingle," said Stephen. "As far as I've understood, the Peter Tingle works like an auto reflex as Peter described it as a sixth sense. So, your consciousness not being there makes it more effective because you can't consciously override it."

"Huh," said Peter.

"This feels amazing," said Peter, looking at his astral form.

Peter wanted to know how it felt. "Can you push my astral form out?" he asked Stephen, who did.

Peter's body was frozen while his astral form was gleefully swimming everywhere. "This really does feel amazing!"

Wanda's astral form looked up from her books and waved at Peter's astral form, who waved back. To Peter's disappointment, Stephen connected his physical body back.

He had squiggly lines over his head.

"That's the Peter Tingle, isn't it?" Bruce asked, looking at the lines closely.

Peter swam back into his physical body. "That might have been one of the coolest things that's ever happened to me. But don't ever do that again."

"It was so cool, you can do it again, but just not in situations like these," said Peter.

Stephen's lips twitched into a smile.

He webbed away with the box. Stephen sent the Cloak after Peter, who grabbed onto him.

Peter looked at the Cloak, betrayed.

Peter told the Cloak to get off of him.

"Peter got along so well with the Cloak before," said Scott.

Clint snickered. "He introduced himself as well."

"The Cloak is cool!" Peter protested.

The newsstand next to them had a cover of Liz Toomes talking about Peter—"He's a liar."

Peter's heart twisted at seeing Liz say that about him. She'd taken Mysterio's side. He knew he ruined her life, but he hoped she would've believed him.

The Cloak flung Peter, and Stephen sent him into the Mirror Dimension. Peter fell with Stephen flying after him.

Except for Stephen, Wong, and Wanda, everyone else stared in confusion.

"Whoa, what is that?" Scott asked.

"Where the hell did Strange send him?" Tony demanded.

"The Mirror Dimension," Wanda answered. "It's where Stephen's in control."

"We use the Mirror Dimension to train, conduct surveillance, and sometimes contain threats," Wong explained.

"Whatever happens in the Mirror Dimension doesn't affect the real world," Stephen added.

"You couldn't have used that against Thanos?" Bucky asked.

"I did. He used the Power Stone to break it and then used the Space Stone to create a black hole and send it back," Stephen said, irritated.

"Right," Bruce said faintly. "That was a thing that happened, and then you turned the black hole into butterflies."

Stephen manipulated the Mirror Dimension, making duplicates of everything. Peter was flung backwards in front of a subway train.

Stephen's eye twitched at seeing Peter get hit by a train again, and this time he was the one who caused it.

The box landed on the roof. Stephen was about to grab it, but Peter webbed the box back. Stephen let out a tired sigh, completely exhausted.

So did Stephen in the room. "I never wanted to deal with kids and now I'm dealing with three."

Wong snickered.

"Look what you've done to Strange," Sam told Peter, who was annoyed. "You've stressed him out."

"That was basically me dealing with Kate!" Clint laughed. He patted Stephen on the shoulder. "I know kids are stressful, especially superhero ones."

Tony had a tiny smile. He found it immensely hilarious that this was the second superhero adult that Peter had managed to stress out.

Peter and Stephen were standing on the train's roof. "Strange, stop! Can we please just talk about this?!"

"And my answer wouldn't change, Peter," said Stephen. "But I know it's not in your nature to let them die, but this is the fate of the Multiverse."

"I hate the Multiverse," Peter muttered.

Stephen chuckled. "So do I, kid."

"Literally all of this is Sylvie's fault," Tony complained.

"The only reason we're even getting the chance to change our future is because of Sylvie," Thor said. "This is our future and it's awful. I don't know who brought us here, but we would've had the exact same future we're watching because we didn't have free will before. We got a second chance because of her."

"We got a second chance, so they should too," said Bucky.

"Parker, don't you realize that in the Multiverse, there are an infinite number of people who know Peter Parker is Spider-Man. And if that spell gets loose, they're all coming here!"

"Strange has a valid point," said Clint. 

"They can't just die, Clint!" Bucky shot back. "Some of them need help. Osborn, especially." Parts of Osborn reminded him of himself, especially when he'd said that he couldn't remember some things. He'd gotten help because of Steve, Shuri, and T'Challa, so why couldn't Osborn get help too?

"If all of them come here, it's a direct threat to everyone in the universe," said Wong. "Whatever happened with Loki happened outside of time and in apocalypses, but that's not the case this time. It's much more dangerous."

A chill ran down everyone's spine.

"Look, I know. I get it! But we can't just send them home to die."

Stephen shook his head.

"It's their fate. You can't change that any more than you can change who they are." "But what if we could? What if we could change their fate?"

"Huh, this argument sounds familiar," said Peter. "It's basically the same argument we had about what the TVA was doing."

"What if some of them don't want to change?" Natasha asked. "You're playing a very dangerous game, Peter," she warned. "Dillon seemed happier with himself in this universe than his own. Don't you think that's going to cause some trouble?"

"Connors seemed pretty happy staying as a lizard, and I know that Octavius is going to resist," said Tony. "I still think the best idea is to send them back, but I'll support you if you think that helping them is the best idea."

Peter sighed in relief. Even with Tony and Stephen telling him that the visitors should go back, he was sticking to the idea that he should help them, but it was nice to know that Tony was on his side. "I think giving them a second chance is something worth trying."

Stephen duplicated the train, becoming a spinning vortex around Peter.

"I hate trains," Peter stated. It was hard to like them after seeing himself get hit by one.

Peter tried to run away, but Stephen created a portal dropping Peter from one portal to the next.

Peter scowled. "So not cool."

While Peter was falling, the Cloak grabbed the box, but he webbed it, suspending them between the two portals. Stephen shot an Eldritch whip at the Cloak and the Box, bending the two portals closer until they fell in on each other.

Wong and Stephen blinked in surprise.

"I have never seen this happen," said Wong.

"It figures Peter would be the one to do it," Bucky muttered.

Peter landed on top of a rock, noticing an Archimedean spiral. He realized that the Mirror Dimension is just geometry.

Peter, Bruce, and Tony looked at the Mirror Dimension curiously.

Stephen got a hold of the box. Peter shot webs on the rocks, doing geometry.

"What the hell are you doing?" Stephen said incredulously while Peter looked dumbfounded as he realized what his on-screen variant was trying to do.

Stephen said he'll pick up Peter when it was done and opened a portal back to the Sanctum.

"I can't believe you tried to sideline me," Peter complained.

"Don't try to steal the box then," Stephen said.

"Hey, Strange! You know what's cooler than magic? Math!" Peter said as Stephen was caught in a web.

The room was completely silent, completely stunned by what they had seen.

Stephen gaped. Did he just get beaten by a teenager using math? The teenager was Peter, but still. That was just embarrassing.

Wong let out a guffaw. "This is the best thing I've seen in my life. Thank you, Parker!"

Loki smirked widely. It was so satisfying seeing Strange like that after he had made him fall for thirty minutes. "Fantastic work."

"Did Peter just defeat the same man who went toe-to-toe with Thanos, who had four Infinity Stones using math?" Steve asked, astonished.

"Yeah," Peter said, equally amazed. He beat Stephen.

Tony burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. "Peter beat Stephen using math! That's the most Peter thing I've ever seen. I knew magic wasn't that great."

Stephen scowled.

Peter webbed the box back. "Don't do this," said Stephen.

Stephen let out a loud sigh, completely exhausted. "He's going to do this."

Peter webbed the sling ring off Stephen's fingers as well.

Wong and Stephen frowned.

"He took my slingie," Stephen said, dumbfounded.

"He took your slingie," Wong repeated.

Peter apologized, dived through the portal, and said he had to try.

Stephen let out a sigh. He knew Peter had to try — it's just who he was. He understood that, and it was why he respected and cared about him so much, but he hoped nothing would go wrong. Peter had been through enough. He hated that he wasn't in control anymore, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

As the portal closed, Stephen stared back, equal parts furious and concerned.

"You went easy on me, didn't you?" Peter asked Stephen. "I've seen what you can do."

"Obviously, kid. You're not Thanos."

Peter told Ned and MJ that he fought Dr Strange and totally won.

"Only because he underestimated you, but it's still pretty impressive," said Bucky.

Wong snickered. "Seeing Stephen getting beaten by a teenager using math is the funniest thing."

Stephen glared at him. It was embarrassing.

He showed them Stephen's sling ring, and Ned grabbed it in excitement.

Stephen scowled. "These kids need to stop touching the sling ring."

Peter said Stephen was trapped but wasn't sure for how long.

"Until someone decides to let me out," Stephen frowned.

"There's a reason we use the Mirror Dimension to trap our enemies," Wong added.

Peter grimaced. "Oh."

Loki shot Stephen a furious look. "It's where you made me fall for thirty minutes, isn't it?"

Stephen smirked. "Yes."

Otto asked why Peter didn't leave them to die. "'Cause that's not who he is," MJ replied.

Peter's heart skipped a beat. He liked MJ so much.

The rest of the Avengers smiled softly. They hadn't said it out loud, but they knew Peter was their best member. He was the future and represented the best of them.

Stephen looked away. He knew Peter wasn't someone to stand by and let them die when he knew he could help him, but it would be so much easier if he were. May raised the kid well.

"I still can't believe you found him on YouTube," Steve whispered to Tony. "He's the best of us."

"It's what I've been saying since I met him."

"I think I can help you guys. If I can fix what happened to you, then when you go back, things will be different, and you might not die fighting Spider-Man."

"I think it's something worth trying," said Peter.

"It is," said Bucky.

"Just keep the Multiverse in mind," Stephen reminded.

"A Multiversal War is coming; there's no need to make it worse," said Loki.

"What do you mean 'fix' us?" Electro asked.

"I knew a few of them wouldn't be agreeable with this idea," said Natasha.

"It's better than letting them die," said Steve.

"Be careful, though," Wanda warned. "The other Peters fought these men for a reason; they're dangerous."

"The second they cause any trouble to the Multiverse, they go back," Wong added. 

"They go back," Peter agreed.

Peter said their technology was advanced.

"If our technology is more advanced than their universes, there have to be universes where technology is even more advanced than ours," said Bruce. "It's the Multiverse; the possibilities are endless."

"The Multiverse also means endless threats just like Stephen told us," Tony said.

"We already know about a pretty big threat to the Multiverse," said Thor. "All of He Who Remains' variants."

"Who is someone I never want to meet," Scott added.

Norman said he could help them as he was something of a scientist himself.

The Avengers looked at Norman, amused.

"He owns Oscorp, so I guess he is," said Peter.

"I don't think we have variants of any of the visitors in our universe, but it's something to look into," said Bruce. "But I do think at least Tony, Peter, Strange, and I would've heard of Connors, Osborn, or Octavius if they existed in our universe since they seem to be well-known scientists in their universes."

"We should look into Osborn especially," Clint added.

"Oscorp exists in both of their universes but doesn't exist in ours," said Tony. He wondered if it had anything to do with him since Stark Industries dominated military research for decades.

"I wonder what type of company they are," said Rhodey. "Where do they fall on a scale of Hammer Industries to Stark Industries?"

Tony and Natasha grinned at the mention of Justin Hammer.

"'Fix?' You mean like a dog? I refuse," said Otto.

"I knew Octavius would refuse," Tony muttered.

"He reminds me of Bucky," said Peter. "They're both very grumpy."

Sam, Natasha, and Steve let out a guffaw while Bucky glared at him.

Peter didn't promise them anything but thought they would have a second chance which was worth trying.

"It is," said Bucky.

"Wait, Peter needs a lab," said Bruce. "Where is he going to cure them?"

"The fabricator," Peter and Tony instantly answered.

"In Happy's apartment," Rhodey realized.

"Trust me, Peter. When you try to fix people, there are always consequences," said the Lizard.

"That's true," said Bruce. He'd searched for a cure when he lived in Brazil, but there had been consequences.

He said they'd have to deal with the wizard if they stayed there.

"They wouldn't because Stephen is stuck in the Mirror Dimension," said Wong. "He can't come out."

Stephen sighed. He didn't have a good feeling about this, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. He was stuck in the Mirror Dimension, dangling over the Grand Canyon.

Sandman just wanted to go home.

"I can't blame him," said Carol. "Staying in an unfamiliar universe would be horrible. I would want to go home as well."

Electro said he didn't want to be killed by a man dressed like Dungeons & Dragon and asked Peter about his plan.

Everyone chuckled.

"Dungeons & Dragons!" Stephen balked. "He has no room to talk, considering he used to be blue and translucent."

"We don't dress like Dungeons & Dragons," Wong said, offended.

Peter lied, saying he had it under control.

"Well, you better come up with something quickly because even if you're giving them a second chance, they're dangerous," said Clint.

Peter told MJ to take the box, so if something bad happens, he'll text her so she could push it, and they'll all be gone.

"Good," Loki said firmly.

Stephen still wanted them to be sent back but hoped nothing terrible would happen.

MJ protested, saying they would go with him.

All of the Avengers rapidly shook their heads.

"That's not happening," said Peter. "Staying with them at the Sanctum was fine because they were in cells, but now? There's no way MJ and Ned are going to come."

Peter said it was too dangerous and they'd already done enough.

"Peter needs to focus on helping the visitors, not checking if Ned and MJ are safe," said Steve.

"Ned and MJ are capable kids, but they don't need to get involved in this," said Clint.

Ned said they were in it together. Peter agreed but said he couldn't do this if he knew they were in danger.

"Exactly," said Peter. 

MJ took the box but said that she was pressing the button if she didn't hear from him, and he agreed. "And I will do it!" she yelled to the Multiversal visitors.

Everyone grinned.

"No way that's his girlfriend. No way," said the Lizard.

Sam and Bucky snickered. 

"That's exactly what I said," said Sam.

Peter agreed. He was amazed that MJ even agreed to become his girlfriend.

Peter and Ned did their special handshake and a spark emitted from the sling ring.

They all froze at seeing the sparks while Stephen and Wong narrowed their eyes.

"Uh, what was that?" Peter asked. "Sparks?"

"Bring Ned by the Sanctum, kid," Stephen said slowly. "He just unknowingly channelled dimensional energy. We'll see what he can do and if he can learn at Kamar-Taj. Most students are adults, but we do take in kids."

"It's very impressive that he could create sparks without any effort. I think Ned has the potential to become a very powerful sorcerer," said Wong. "It usually takes a tremendous amount of effort for a beginner to make the tiniest sparks."

Peter's eyes were wide. The Sorcerer Supreme was saying that Ned had the potential to become a powerful sorcerer. "Ned has magic? He can become a sorcerer?" he said, awed. "Holy shit! My best friend is magic!"

"I knew Ned had magic," Wanda said, amused.

"He did say that magic ran in his family," Scott pointed out.

"Sorcery doesn't work that way," said Wong. "I'll train him."

"I'll train him. He'll be my apprentice," said Stephen. "I thought the Sorcerer Supreme had higher duties," he snarked.

Wong was taken aback by Stephen offering to train a child. What did Peter do to him?

"Don't teach Ned how to break the Multiverse," said Bucky. 

Stephen glared at him while Wong said, "On second thought, I think I'll train him with you."

"I can't believe you've converted Ned to the dark side," Tony said, disgusted.

"Don't be so dramatic, Tony," said Stephen. 

"Is Ned invited to the full moon parties now?" Peter asked.

"Yes," Stephen and Wong replied.

"Awesome."

MJ kissed Peter goodbye and told him to be careful.

Peter let out a massive sigh of relief seeing Ned and MJ get away from the visitors.

After the two left, Peter asked the visitors who were coming with him.

"Wait, where are you going?" Stephen asked, confused.

"Um, Happy's condo?" said Peter. "We can't stay at the Sanctum."

"Why not? Wong's at Kamar-Taj, and I'm in the Mirror Dimension. Just bring the fabricator to the Sanctum so they can safely stay in their cells while you make the cures."

"Oh."

Wong pinched the bridge of his nose. "The New York Sanctum is basically unguarded."

Electro said he was in, but he would fry Peter from the inside out if this went sideways.

All of them looked at Electro, unimpressed.

"His lightning is so tiny and weak; I doubt it would even do anything!" Thor laughed.

Chapter Text

Peter and May led all the Multiversal visitors through Happy's apartment, except Connors who wanted to stay in the truck. 

"Connors staying in the truck alone is such a bad idea," said Clint. 

"All the Multiversal visitors staying there without security is a bad idea," said Stephen. "Especially Osborn and Dillon. Octavius isn't that dangerous at the moment and Marko seems amendable."

"I don't think letting May near them is a good idea," said Steve. "As much as I want Peter to help them, they're dangerous. Peter can handle himself, but May…"

Peter blanched. Steve was right. What was his variant thinking, letting May near them?  

Peter felt bad using Happy's apartment like this, but May said he'd get over it. 

"Yeah, it's fine," said Tony. "Although I would've liked for Peter to stay at the Sanctum. It's a lot safer there than Happy's apartment."

Electro shot electricity at the TV to turn it on. 

"That's one way to turn on the TV," said Natasha. "A way that Thor is never going to try." She looked at Thor, who deflated. 

The news said the majority of New Yorkers oppose the Statue of Liberty renovation. 

"No shit," said Sam. "It's an awful idea."

"I hope they decide to take down the shield because I hate it," said Steve.  

"Did they even bother asking Sam what his opinion was?" Bucky asked. "It's his shield."

"We all know the answer to that question," said Sam. 

Flint sat on the sofa and sand fell everywhere. He tried to brush it off the sofa but was unsuccessful. 

"That has to be a hard way to live," said Wanda. 

"Which is exactly why Peter should help them," said Thor. 

Otto had one of his tentacles wrapped around him. With derision, he asked if Peter was going to cook them some cures and some frozen burritos in a microwave as he had no lab or facilities.

Everyone looked at Otto in amusement. 

"Well, Peter does have a fabricator in the storage room," said Tony. "It's a pretty good lab if I say so myself."

"I could go for a burrito," Norman perked up from where he was examining DUM-E. 

"Osborn seems nice," said Scott. 

"But he's also the one I want to keep an eye on," said Natasha. "Whatever situation is going on with him and the Goblin is making me uneasy."

"He can examine DUM-E in the meantime," said Tony. "He did say he was something of a scientist."

"Wait so, Connors, Octavius, and Osborn are all scientists and they're in this situation because of something they did to themselves," Peter stated. 

Bruce grimaced. That was a little too familiar to himself. He'd already found similarities between himself and Osborn. 

"I wonder how Max became electricity," said Clint. "He doesn't seem like Thor. He's not…godly."

Peter told Otto that he was up first, but Otto insisted that he didn't need fixing by a teenager using scraps from a bachelor's junk drawer.

"Hey, that teenager is smarter than most of us," Steve defended. 

"Scraps from a bachelor's junk drawer," Tony said, highly amused. "Okay, let's call the fabricator 'scraps'."

Electro followed Peter, saying he had something as he could feel the weird energy. Peter activated the fabricator, and May thought that was the tanning bed Happy broke. 

Peter, Tony, and Rhodey let out a guffaw. 

Electro's eyes lit up at the sight of the arc reactor. "Look at that." 

"Nuh-uh, get your eyes away from my arc reactor," Tony said.

"So, the weird energy was the arc reactor?" Peter asked. "Huh, that's interesting. I know the Multiverse sucks and I hate it, but scientifically, it's—" 

"—amazing," Bruce finished with a small smile. "I agree." 

"Yes, it's amazing when you see yourself as an alligator," Loki muttered. 

The fabricator punched a hole through the kitchen wall, which startled Otto. "He's going to kill us all," he muttered. 

"He's just as grumpy as Bucky," Peter said, and Bucky rolled his eyes. 

"Peter is his best chance at living because Strange was ready to send them back to die," said Thor. 

Wong sighed. He didn't even want to think about the effect all of this would have on the Multiverse. Why did Stephen, Wanda, Loki, and Peter have to give him a headache?

The FEAST truck was outside Happy's apartment building and it gently shook as two pedestrians walked past it. "Whoa... what’s going on there?"

Everyone snickered. 

"They think someone's having a lot of fun in there," said Rhodey. "But no, it's just a giant lizard."

"I can't believe Jurassic Park is real now," said Sam. 

Meanwhile, Norman and Peter were working at the fabricator. 

Tony smiled sadly. Not too long ago, he and Peter used to work in the lab. He didn't know what kind of relationship Osborn had with his Peter, but they had to be close since he trusted their Peter so quickly and searched for Spider-Man. Yeah, Osborn wasn't that bad. 

There was a hologram of Otto's chip and tentacles.

Peter, Tony, Bruce, and Stephen took a closer look at the hologram. The rest of them didn't comprehend what they were looking at and trusted the four of them to understand it for them. 

Peter explained that the chip was designed to protect Doc's brain from the AI system that was controlling these tentacles. However, the chip was fried, so rather than Otto being in control of the tentacles, the tentacles were in control of him. 

Tony, Bruce, Peter, and Stephen gaped while the rest of them looked slightly horrified. 

"But the effect that would have on Octavius' brain…" Stephen trailed off, shaking his head. It wasn't anything good. 

"Octavius did say, 'we tire of your questions,'" Bruce pointed out. "It wasn't just him being weird, he was talking about the tentacles."

"That's why they deserve a second chance," said Steve. "Octavius hasn't been himself the entire time."

Stephen looked at him. Maybe Rogers was right about this and Peter could help them before they sent them back, but part of him kept thinking about the effect this would have on the Multiverse.

"Exactly, Octavius wasn't in control of his actions, it was the tentacles," said Bucky. Both Octavius and Osborn reminded him of some parts of himself. 

"And he's hellbent on his machine," said Tony. "What kind of machine is it anyway? He kept going on and on about the power of the sun in the palm of his hand."

"Three out of five of them are scientists," Sam realized. "And Dillon worked at Oscorp."

"The good news is that Peter just has to fix the chip and then Octavius will be fine," said Clint. "Peter's smart, he can do it."

"Which I guess explains why he is so miserable all the time," he said. 

Bucky chuckled darkly. "Pretty much."

Norman looked at the holographic chip, intrigued and amazed.

Tony furrowed his brows. "Do they not have holographic technology in their universe? I know it's not as common everywhere but I had it way back in the mid-2000s. I'd expect someone like Osborn to have it."

"I think our universe is much more advanced than theirs," said Bruce. "We also don't know what time they're from." 

"Octavius's arms are AI, though. I don't think they're that far behind," said Peter. "But based on how surprised Octavius was at seeing the Iron Spider suit, their Peter doesn't have a nanotech suit."

Tony scoffed. "I doubt my variant wouldn't give your variant a nanotech suit, especially to fight Thanos."

"Tony, I don't think you exist in their universe," Natasha said slowly. 

Tony's heart sank. "Oh."

In the kitchen, May offered Otto water: "Fresh water or salt? You know, because you're an octopus?" "...What?" "Fresh water it is." 

All of them howled with laughter. 

"After everything we've seen, I can't blame May for thinking that," said Bucky. "The world is so weird."

Electro was by the window, staring out of it. "Look at this place. And all the possibilities…" 

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Is he talking about the arc reactor? He seemed pretty interested in it before."

"Please don't tell me he wants to stay here," said Rhodey. "Because that's not happening. They're going right back to their universe after Peter cures them."

"I have a feeling that Dillon's is going to be a tough one because he likes this universe better than his own," said Natasha. 

"They are not staying," Wong said firmly. "They're going back the second Parker cures them all." He didn't even want to cure them but Parker was doing it and Stephen was trapped in the Mirror Dimension so now he had no choice but to watch. 

Flint was looking at a picture of Morgan Stark that Happy had. 

Warmth blossomed in Tony's chest. He was so grateful to Happy for looking after Peter and Morgan when he couldn't. He hoped she was getting all the cheeseburgers she wanted.

Electro said he liked who he was here, smiling at his goatee. 

"Right, Connors said he used to have bad teeth, glasses, and a combover," said Steve. 

"Too bad, he's going to be sent back after Peter cures him," said Stephen. 

He glanced at the storage room where the arc reactor was. "And all that power back there... I could be so much more." 

Everyone's eyes widened. 

"Absolutely not," Tony said instantly. "Dillon isn't getting anywhere near the arc reactor. He needs to get that thought out of his head right now."

"This is exactly why I wanted them to be sent back," said Wong. 

Peter had an uneasy feeling. He knew helping them was the right thing to do but he was aware that this was still incredibly dangerous. Maybe his on-screen variant should've thought this through a bit more and cured them at the Sanctum.

He asked Flint why he came. Flint explained that he had a daughter and wanted to see her, but Peter wasn't going to send anyone back until he finished. 

Tony, Scott, Clint, and Wanda suddenly became very quiet. They all had or were planning to have children.

"Understandable," Scott said softly. 

Flint asked Electro how he ended up like that, who said Oscorp was experimenting with electricity created by living organisms and he fell into a vat of electric eels.

"He's joking," Carol said, astonished. "Oscorp was experimenting with electric eels?"

"What the hell was Oscorp doing in that universe?" Tony asked.

"Connors used to work at Oscorp too and he turned himself into a giant lizard," said Peter.

"Damn, Osborn has some weird stuff going on at his company," said Sam.

"Dillon and Connors have a different Osborn," said Bruce.

"The Osborn we know is strange too," Natasha said.

"You’re kidding. I fell into a super collider." "Damn. Gotta be careful where you fall."

Despite how morbid it was, they couldn't help but let out a tiny laugh.        

"But how can they just fall into a vat of electric eels and a super collider? Shouldn't those places have an insane amount of security?" Peter asked.

"I fell off a train and became the Winter Soldier," said Bucky. 

"It was a lot more complicated than that, Buck," said Steve. 

Meanwhile, in the storage room, Peter and Norman were putting together the final pieces for Otto's chip. 

"It's nearly done!" Peter exclaimed. "I hope it works." 

"Of course, it's going to work, kid," said Tony. "You made it."

"And the most important thing is that Octavius is going to get a second chance," said Bucky. "Even if he continues to do fucked up things with his second chance, at least it's his choice."

Stephen just wanted Peter to quickly cure all of them so they could be sent back. 

"Remarkable. The technology and you. When all this is over, if you need a job and you're willing to commute to another universe…" Norman trailed off as the chip was finished. 

Tony rapidly shook his head. "Absolutely not."

"I want to know what kind of relationship Osborn has with his Peter," said Natasha. "He trusted our Peter so easily even though they don't look the same."

"Even if they don't look the same, they could act the same," said Loki. 

"That's true, all the Lokis are just as chaotic as each other," said Thor. "We all saw how they tried to kill and predictably betray each other."

Loki sighed at the reminder. 

"I think Peter is annoyingly kind-hearted in every universe," said Stephen. "That's not going to change."

Peter had a small smile. He knew Stephen was a softie. 

"That totally worked!" Peter said excitedly. 

"Fantastic job, Peter!" Steve praised. 

Tony beamed. "There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he could do it," he said, proudly. 

Bucky let out a massive sigh of relief. "Octavius won't have to die now."

He grabbed the finished chip and raced into the kitchen. May adjusted the controls to move Otto's tentacles to the second-story loft, where Peter ran to. Otto told Peter to keep his science fair project away from him. 

"A science fair project that's going to save his life," said Clint. 

"Peter's one of the smartest people I know," said Bruce. "If he says it's going to work, then it's going to work."

Peter's eyes widened at hearing the Bruce Banner say that. 

"Hey, it’ll work. Have faith," said Norman. "Says the reckless fool who turned himself into a monster," Otto shot back. 

Everyone grimaced. 

"Even though Osborn seems nice, the Goblin creeped the hell out of me," said Scott, shuddering. "That cackle…"

"Well, monster's a bit too far," said Steve. 

"We don't know much about Osborn's situation or what he's done," said Clint. "All we know is that he trusts Peter and has a bit of a problem with whatever he has going on with the Goblin."

Otto squirmed as Peter told him to stay still. Peter attached the new chip to Otto's inhibitor chip and he passed out. 

All of them held their breaths as they waited to see if Otto was okay. 

"Did it not work?" Thor asked hesitantly.

Peter fidgeted with his hands. He hoped he didn't make anything worse. 

After a few seconds, Otto gasped. "It's so quiet. Those voices...inside my head... I'd almost forgotten."

"Peter did it," Stephen said, impressed. He didn't doubt that Peter could do it but it was still a wonder to see.

"Octavius seems very different now," Thor noted. 

"Because this is the actual Octavius," said Peter. "We never saw the actual one."

Tony, Bucky, and Steve had wide grins on their faces. Tony was against helping them just because he didn't want Peter to deal with the Multiverse but he'd managed to help Octavius. Maybe he'd been wrong about this.

"Octavius got a second chance," said Carol. "Good for him."

"Otto?" Norman asked. "Yes, Norman...It’s me," Otto replied. 

"For the first time in a while, I'm guessing," said Bucky. Although he didn't know what it was like to be under the influence of an AI, he did know something about not being in control of his actions. He was glad Octavius could make his own decisions now and it was all thanks to Peter. 

Although Loki had wanted to send all of them back, Thor's words still echoed in his mind. You got a second chance so why can't they? Now, they could be whoever they wanted to be, even someone good. It was never too late to change. 

Peter released his control over the tentacles and Otto gave the Iron Spider nanoparticles back to Peter. The nanotech reformed over the Upgraded suit forming the Integrated suit. 

The Avengers looked impressed with the new suit while Peter thought it looked cool.

"The new suit looks good," said Tony. "The Iron Spider suit fused with the Upgraded Suit. I'm glad Peter got the nanoparticles back."

Otto held his hand out to Peter, who shook it. He said he was truly grateful and asked how he could help. 

"Huh, Octavius isn't that bad," said Tony. 

"He got a second chance," Natasha said, her lips quirking into a smile. 

"This will go a lot faster with Peter, Osborn, and Octavius working together," said Steve. 

Happy was in his car, driving. He left Peter a voicemail. He said he accessed his doorbell camera, asked who those guys were, and told Peter to call him back. 

"Happy and I went from him not picking up my calls to me not picking up his calls," Peter said, amused. 

Back at the condo, the fabricator was manufacturing more cures for Dillon, Connors, and Osborn. Norman's cure generated a green serum. 

The Avengers frowned at seeing a serum while Bruce's heart nearly stopped. That green serum looked nearly identical to the one he took when he became the Hulk. 

"That serum better not be anything like the super-soldier serum," Steve said darkly. 

"Osborn with the serum?" said Bucky. "God, what a nightmare. I don't want him to die but I also don't want him with the serum."

"How does it feel, Norman? You’re about to become whole again. No more darker half. Just you," Otto said with a kind smile. 

"Whoa, Octavius is so different," said Scott. 

"All thanks to Peter," Thor said proudly. 

"Doc's smiling," said Peter. "He's not like Bucky anymore."

"Shut up, you little shit."

Peter snickered.

"Just me," said Norman.

"Maybe he could've learned how to live with the Goblin like Bruce and the Hulk," said Thor. He missed the Hulk. 

In the kitchen, Peter placed Electro's cure device on his chest. He explained that when all the lights turned green, all the electricity in Electro's body would've dissipated.

"I don't see him liking that," said Rhodey. "He seems happier with who he is now."

"I hope Peter keeps an eye on him while he, Osborn, and Octavius work on the rest of the cures," said Stephen. 

Electro asked if the Legos on the table were Peter's. 

"I fucking hate Legos," Clint hissed. "I accidentally step on them sometimes because Nate leaves them everywhere. Fighting aliens is less painful than stepping on a Lego."

There was an alert from the storage room and Peter got up. One green light appeared on the device. 

"Hey, I think this is going to turn out well," Peter said, happily. "Octavius is done so four more to go."

"Osborn and Octavius are helping so this should thankfully all be over soon," said Stephen.

Electro said he didn't like this. Flint told him to leave it alone as the sooner they got through this, the sooner they could go home.

"And the sooner he gets to see his daughter again," Clint said. 

"It must be hard not being able to hold his daughter since he's made out of sand," said Scott. 

"It's a good thing Peter's curing them then," Tony said. 

"Cure them, get Stephen out of the Mirror Dimension, and send them back home," Wong said. 

"How is he going to get me out of the Mirror Dimension?" Stephen said. "He doesn't know how to make a portal."

A pause.

"Oh no," said Peter.

Outside of the apartment building, Jameson told his employee that he wanted incriminating footage of Spider-Man. "I already called Damage Control. They're on their way." 

The Avengers scowled. 

"What an asshole," said Bucky.

"Waste of a human being," Sam hissed. 

The Lizard overheard all of this inside the FEAST truck. "And so it begins." 

"He's so weird," said Scott. 

"He turned himself into a lizard and wanted to turn the entire city into lizards, what did you expect?" Clint asked. 

In the storage room, the 1974 Stark Expo models were in the background. 

"Happy has those too?" Tony said. Those models were the only reason he was alive right now otherwise he would've died from palladium poisoning years ago. 

Peter was working on one of the cures when his Peter Tingle went off. 

Everyone stiffened. 

"You've got to be kidding me," said Steve. "The Tingle went off now?"

"We can rule out Octavius," said Bruce. "It's not him."

Otto asked what was wrong and Peter said he didn't know. 

"The Tingle is working better than ever at this point, he should find out pretty soon," said Stephen. 

Peter was on edge. He just wanted to cure the visitors and send them back home. He knew how dangerous the Multiverse was and didn't want to do anything to trigger anything since the TVA wasn't trying to fix it anymore.

Peter walked to the kitchen with Otto and Norman following him.

"Osborn seems fine so I guess it's Dillon," said Wanda. 

"I never liked that guy," said Tony. 

"May?" Peter called out. "What is it, Peter?" May asked. 

Peter turned an unhealthy shade of grey. "Oh shit, May's still there."

Peter looked at the four Multiversal visitors on high alert. 

The Avengers looked at all of them warily. 

"It's either Dillon or Osborn," said Clint. 

"Dillon isn't doing anything," said Stephen. "He's standing there like the rest of them."

Peter narrowed his eyes at the visitors. "None of them are doing anything."

"Then why did the Tingle go off?!" Tony exclaimed.

He closed his eyes and focused on the Tingle. 

"That's good," said Steve. "The last time Peter focused on his Tingle like that; he took down a dozen drones with his eyes closed in under a minute."

"It was impressive," Natasha complimented.  

He quickly webbed Norman's hand to DUM-E. "That’s some neat trick. That sense of yours," said Green Goblin. 

Everyone's eyes widened and Peter blanched.

"It's the Goblin," Bruce said faintly.

"Oh no," said Clint. "Osborn's the one that creeps me out the most."

Stephen clenched his jaw. He knew Peter and Osborn would end up fighting because this always ended up in a fight. He didn't want Peter to get hurt any more than he already had. He'd been through too much. 

"Norman?" Otto said, concerned. "Norman's on sabbatical, honey!" Goblin cackled.

A chill ran down everyone's spines. 

On sabbatical like how I was for two years, Bruce thought. 

"This is so bad," said Wanda. 

"Peter can't catch a break, can he?" Natasha said sadly. "It's just one thing after another ever since he went to space."

Peter chuckled bitterly. "I told you it's that good ol' Parker luck."

"The hell?" Electro said, extremely confused. 

"This must be very confusing for someone who doesn't know about Osborn's situation," said Carol. 

"We barely know what's going on with Osborn and the Goblin," said Rhodey. "All we know is that it's a Bruce-Hulk type situation but more…sinister."

"Goblin," Peter realized. He and May shared a look of concern.

"May needs to get out of there right now," said Bucky.

"This is going to end up in a fight," said Sam. "It always ends up in a fight."

"No more darker half? Did you really think that I’d let that happen?" said the Goblin. 

Tony and Stephen glared at him.

"I think he's the most dangerous out of all of them," said Natasha. 

Rhodey snorted. "And we thought he was harmless before."

May quietly put the cures in a FEAST bag. "That I’d let you take away my power just because you’re blind to what true power can bring you," said the Goblin. 

"Peter puts his power to better use than him," Tony snapped. "He's not blind at all." 

"He reminds me of Loki in 2012 before he went through a major personality change," said Clint. 

"You mean, traumatic events," Loki corrected. "And don't remind me of when I was younger."

"It was six years ago. You're a thousand years old."

"You don’t know me," said Peter. 

"Exactly, and just because Osborn knows the Peter in his universe doesn't mean he knows me," Peter said, narrowing his eyes. "Variants have similarities but also differences. We saw that with Loki."

"Don’t I? I saw how she trapped you. Fighting her holy moral mission."

"Trapped?" Peter snapped, his anger spiking. "May didn't trap me into doing anything. She may have influenced me the same way Stephen wanted to send them back but I made my own decision."

"May's holy moral mission is a pretty good mission," said Steve. He had a lot of respect for her. 

"We don’t need you to save us... We don't need to be fixed!" 

"I knew it," said Natasha. "I knew at least one of them wouldn't want to be cured. I thought it was Dillon but it turned out to be Osborn."

Goblin told the others that these weren't curses, but gifts. 

"Octavius didn't see it that way," said Carol. 

"Octavius is quickly becoming my favourite out of all of them," Tony muttered. 

Electro looked down at his device as another green light appeared. 

"Or it ended up being Osborn and Dillon," said Loki. 

"I'd bet Marko thinks it's a curse," said Scott. "He can't even hold his daughter."

"Norman, no," said Otto. "Quiet, lapdog," Goblin snapped. 

They glared at the Goblin. 

"You don’t know what you're talking about," said Peter. 

"He really doesn't," said Wanda. 

"I’ve watched you from deep behind Norman’s cowardly eyes. Struggling to have everything you want. While the world tries to make you choose." 

Peter clenched his fists while the rest of them stiffened. 

Stephen swallowed thickly. That's what he'd been trying to tell Peter — the problem was him trying to live two different lives at once. He knew exactly what that was like, and he didn't want Peter to end up like him. The kid was so good. 

"Gods don’t have to choose. We take." 

Thor looked very unimpressed while Loki raised an eyebrow.

"Goblin sort of reminds me of the Red Skull," said Steve. "Talking about being a god and the power of whatever version of the serum he has."

"I hope he ends up on Vormir then," Natasha muttered. 

Peter told May to run, who ran out of the door with the cures. 

Peter sighed in relief at seeing May run out of there. She was getting to a safe place.

Electro ripped the device off his chest, as Goblin tore free from the web holding him to DUM-E.

All of them groaned in frustration.

"Dillon was never going to be on board with this," said Clint. 

Wong's mouth straightened into a thin line. This mess had become so much bigger than he'd ever thought it would become. He was at Kamar-Taj, Stephen was trapped in the Mirror Dimension, and Parker didn't have anyone to help him because he'd decided he could do it alone. 

Electro used his electricity to grab the arc reactor from the fabricator. 

Tony's mouth straightened into a thin line. "Great, that's absolutely wonderful. If he has the arc reactor, he'll become even more powerful than he already is." 

Guilt was written all over Peter's face. He knew how protective Tony was over the arc reactors.

"He's not that powerful," said Thor. "He still has baby lightning."

Goblin smashed Peter into the stairs, freakishly strong. 

Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats.

"He's enhanced," Steve said faintly. 

"That goddamn super-soldier serum!" Tony snapped. 

Seeing this, Flint disintegrated into a whirl of sand, retreating. 

"At least Marko isn't making this worse," said Sam. 

"Osborn is the most dangerous one right now," Natasha stated.

"Maybe Octavius will help Peter," said Bucky. "Peter's the reason he has control of his own mind again."

May ran to the elevator, repeatedly pressing the button. 

"Please get out of there, May," Peter pleaded. He'd never be able to forgive himself if May got hurt because of him. 

Otto looked at Electro in horror, "Oh my God. What have you done?" "I liked you better before," said Electro. 

"I like him better now," said Scott.  

Electro unleashed a cascade of electricity, blowing Otto through the building. 

"Now all of them are gone and we're right back to where we were before," said Wong, shaking his head. "They need to go home. Parker needs to tell his girlfriend to send them back now."

He fell but his tentacle arms gripped the side of the building.                 

The Avengers sighed in relief. They didn't want him to get hurt after Peter cured him.

Jameson's cameraman pointed his camera at Otto climbing away, disappearing into the night. "It’s the guy from the bridge!" Jameson exclaimed. 

"No shit, who else has four giant mechanical tentacles?" said Rhodey. 

May headed for the emergency exit door, racing downstairs. Electro and Sandman escaped through the hole in the building, and Lizard ran out of the FEAST truck.

"Great, now Connors ran off too," said Clint. 

"I know Peter can handle himself but he needs help," said Sam. "All of this is way too much for one person to handle. He needs backup."

"He had backup," said Stephen. 

"You wanted to send them back, not help Peter," said Steve.

"If the team was actually acting like a team, then Peter would've had backup," Natasha said. "He's in trouble and no one's there to help him. He's an Avenger and part of the team. The only person he's on speaking terms with is stuck in the Mirror Dimension."

Tony clenched his jaw. It was so frustrating to see Peter go through all of this knowing he could've been there to help him. This mess wouldn't have even started if not for you, a voice in his head said, guilt welling up. 

Goblin smashed Peter through a window, but Peter fired a web and pulled himself back inside only to be flung through another window, out onto the balcony.

Tony and Stephen's breaths caught, Peter paled, and everyone else's eyes widened. They were getting the feeling that this wasn't going to turn out well. 

Peter webbed the balcony above to flip himself on top of Green Goblin, smashing him down to the balcony below.

The Avengers stared at Peter and the Goblin in horror. They'd never seen Peter fight like this.

"Osborn has to be a super-soldier," said Bucky. "Or whatever his universe's equivalent of a super-soldier is."

The Daily Bugle helicopter circled them, capturing everything.

Everyone scowled. 

"They don't have anything better to do?" Wanda asked. 

"Spider-Man pays their bills," said Clint. 

Peter was thrown through a wall and into a hallway. Goblin kicked through a door. "Strong enough to have it all…Too weak to take it!" he yelled. 

Peter clenched his jaw at hearing that.

"…Is he trying to teach Peter a lesson?" Tony asked, flabbergasted.

Bile rose in Clint's throat. All he could think about was Kate facing the same thing as Peter. 

He punched Peter in the chest, who flew down the hallway. Peter ran back and jumped on top of the Goblin, brutally punching him and barely holding back. 

Peter sucked in a breath while everyone else looked at Peter, speechless.

"This is brutal," said Steve, stunned.

Tony's stomach churned at seeing Peter like this. He was always meant to be better than all of them. All of this would be traced back to the mess with Mysterio and Tony felt ill because he knew Beck would've never gone after Peter if it wasn't for him. This was all his fault. 

Peter's jaw dropped at seeing himself not hold back, but he knew he was capable of it. He should've just listened to Stephen and sent them back.

Stephen clenched his jaw. Peter was never going to listen to him once he found out that the visitors would die when they got back, but it would've been so much easier if he had.

Goblin smiled at Peter taking punch after punch, laughing maniacally.

Everyone shuddered. 

"What the hell is wrong with him?!" Rhodey exclaimed. 

He effortlessly smashed Peter through the floor below. 

Their breaths caught.

"This is so bad," said Scott. 

Peter struggled to his feet, hobbled towards a window, and webbed it open. 

The Avengers winced at seeing Peter hurt. This wasn't going to turn out well at all. 

Jameson spotted Peter and grinned. "Now I’ve gotcha." 

"Fucking Daily Bugle," Tony spat. 

Lizard leapt onto Peter from above. 

Everyone groaned. 

"Couldn't Connors leave like Marko, Octavius, and Dillon?" Thor asked. 

He clutched Peter by the throat and hurled him through a window. "I told you there’d be consequences!" 

"And throwing Peter through the window is going to help?" Bruce said.

Goblin seized Peter and smashed him through many floors. 

The Avengers flinched and Tony's blood boiled. This was why he'd wanted to send them back. They knew nothing about the Multiversal visitors and all he knew was that Peter's variants fought them so they had to be dangerous. Even though, Octavius wasn't dangerous after Peter helped him; not all of them were like him. He was getting the feeling that the Goblin was worse than Beck, which was just what they needed. 

May ran out of the stairs into the lobby when the ceiling crashed as Peter and the Goblin landed on the floor. 

The Avengers winced at seeing how roughly Peter landed. 

Peter's heart nearly stopped. "May hasn't left yet?!" he yelled. "She needs to get out of there right now."

The Goblin was strangling Peter. 

Everyone was deathly pale while Tony was clutching Peter tightly. Stephen looked at the Goblin with fear as he decided he would never cast the Runes of Kof-Kaul ever again and would always discuss a spell before casting it for someone.

"Peter's a child!" Wanda snapped. "He's trying to kill a child! What kind of monster does that?"

"The Goblin truly is the worst out of all of them," said Bucky. 

Peter had a lump in his throat. He'd made a huge mistake again. He kept fucking up. 

"Your weakness, Peter, is morality. It’s choking you!" Goblin squeezed harder and Peter gasped for air. "Can’t you feel it?" 

Tony and Stephen nearly threw up at seeing Peter like this. 

"I think he can only feel the Goblin choking him," Scott said, angrily. How much was Peter going to go through? 

Natasha clenched her jaw. If the Avengers were actually functioning as a team, someone would've been there for Peter.

May ran and stabbed Goblin with the cure. 

Peter's breath caught at seeing May near the Goblin. 

"At least Osborn will be back," Steve said, trying to calm himself down. "He's a lot better than the Goblin."

He let go of Peter and pulled the device from his neck and threw it to the ground. "It didn’t work!" 

Their stomachs dropped. If there was a cure that need to work right now, it was Osborn's.

"Oh no," Thor said faintly. 

"It didn't work?!" Peter exclaimed, his heart beating quickly. 

"The Goblin sabotaged it," Bruce realized. 

"Norman was right. He got it from you. That pathetic—" Goblin landed his foot on Peter’s back, slamming his head into fallen debris. "—sickness!"

"Don't touch him!" Tony snarled. 

"Sickness?" Steve said outraged. 

May grabbed a metal rod from the wreckage, as Goblin grabbed Peter, pulling his head back: "You tried to fix me—" 

"Because he needed to be fixed!" Bucky exclaimed. 

"Of course, he's not going to see it that way considering he's basically a super-soldier," said Sam. "If it's anything like the serum in our universe, you know just as well as I do what that serum does to people."

Steve scowled. 

Peter told May to go, but she wouldn't leave him.

Clint, Scott, Tony, and Wanda smiled sadly. Of course, May wouldn't leave Peter. They wouldn't leave their kids either if they were in a situation like this. 

"—Now... I’m gonna fix you." 

Everyone's stomach dropped. 

"What…what does that mean?" Peter asked, frightened.  

Green Goblin's glider hovered right outside the building. 

All of them nearly stopped breathing while Peter clutched his head. "I fucked up…I fucked up. Stephen was right about everything."

The glider rammed May down. 

All of them stared at May, utterly horrified. Wanda clapped her hand over her mouth in shock, Tony blanched and clutched Peter tighter, Stephen closed his eyes sadly, and Steve clutched the handles of the seat so tightly that it was bending. 

"NO!" Peter cried, his eyes shining with tears. All of this was his fault. It was his fault that he wanted to cure the visitors and it was his fault May was there. 

Goblin leapt on top of the glider. "Peter... no good deed goes unpunished. You can thank me later."

"He truly is the worst out of all of them," Natasha said, deathly pale. 

He glanced at May, still on the ground, but still moving. 

"Oh, she's alright," Peter said shakily. "She's alright. She's alive."

Stephen and Bruce glanced at each other in concern. They knew what kind of condition May would be in. It wouldn't be good. 

He tossed a pumpkin bomb towards May, and Peter jumped to catch it, barely managing to knock the bomb aside before it exploded. 

They sighed in relief. This situation had already gone off the rails, a bomb didn't need to make it worse. 

Goblin flew away on his glider, throwing pumpkin bombs behind him. 

"Bastard," Sam spat. 

Bucky's face fell. He'd wanted Peter to help Osborn because he'd seen a part of himself in him but he'd never wanted any of this to happen. 

May got up slowly and Peter sat up, clutching his side in pain. 

"He needs a doctor," Stephen said, concerned. "Both of them do."

May found Peter and hugged him tightly. 

Tony held Peter tighter. 

"Tony…I can't…breathe," Peter said in between breaths. 

Tony loosened his hold on him but didn't completely let him go. 

Her body was shaking as she stumbled back, but Peter caught her. She said she was okay and just got knocked on her ass. 

All of them were concerned by May's body shaking. 

"I think I broke my ribs," he said, wincing. 

"Please go to a hospital," Clint pleaded. 

He said this was all his fault and he should've just listened to Strange and sent them back.

Stephen wished Peter had; it would've been so much easier if did, but he was never going to listen after he found out that visitors would die.

"Call MJ and press the button," said Wong. "This has gone on for too long, they need to go back."

Peter nodded. "I need to call MJ."

May told him that he did the right thing as they would've been killed. 

"You did," said Steve. 

"But it’s not my responsibility, May." 

"It sort of is," Clint said kindly. "This is the job. I know you've already heard me say this, but I'm telling you the same thing I told Kate, this life isn't easy. It comes with a lot of pain and sacrifices. There are some things you'll lose forever."

"I know that," Peter replied. He chuckled darkly. "Trust me, I know."

May put her hand on Peter’s chest. "You have a gift," she said breathlessly. 

"He truly does," Tony said proudly. 

"He's the best one out of all of us," Steve added. 

"It's amazing that the youngest one is also the best one," said Natasha. 

Peter just stared at them, not being able to comprehend what they were saying. 

"You have power, and with great power, there must also come great responsibility." 

May's words impacted all of them deeply while Peter swallowed thickly. Ben had said something along those lines before he died. 

When you can do the things that I can, but you don’t, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you, Peter's voice echoed in Tony's head. 

"She's right," Steve told Peter. "You and the Goblin are the complete opposites. You have power and you use it so responsibly while the Goblin has just as much power as you but doesn't use it responsibly at all."

"...Yeah, I know." "Let’s get the... out of here," said May. 

Peter couldn't breathe. He had a bad feeling about what he was seeing and didn't even want to think about it. 

The rest of the Avengers looked at May in concern, worried for her. 

"Let me just... catch my…" She noticed something on her hands — blood, and dropped to the ground.

Their hearts skipped a beat as Peter's face fell. 

"She needs to get to a hospital now," said Stephen, extremely worried. He had a feeling that May was running on pure adrenaline. "Go to Metro-General and find Dr Christine Palmer. She works in the ER. Always remember that." 

Peter nodded quickly. May couldn't die, she couldn't!

DODC teams got out of their trucks and trained their weapons in the lobby. 

Everyone's hearts dropped. 

"Fucking Jameson, that asshole," Bucky growled. "He's the reason they're here."

"They're going to fire those weapons at Peter," Wanda said in an icy voice. 

Peter asked May if she was okay and she said she just had to catch her breath. 

Stephen and Bruce's hearts twisted as they knew May was dying from shock. 

"Okay, well catch your breath. I’m right here. We’re gonna take our time, you catch your breath, and then we’ll take you to a doctor." 

Tears brimmed Peter's eyes. "Right, that's exactly what's going to happen and then she'll be alright. She has to be." He didn't know what he would do without her. 

Peter looked at May’s side and held up his hand — it was covered in her blood. His face fell. 

Their blood ran cold while Peter let out a strangled noise. "This can't be happening! It can't!"

Wanda and Thor blinked the tears out of their eyes. They were intimately familiar with what Peter was going through. They'd lost so much themselves and saw their future selves lose more just like Peter. 

Peter calls out, frantic: "Somebody help! I need an ambulance, please! Somebody!"

"Please!" Peter pleaded. 

May asked what happened. He turned back to May, holding her face in his hands. "Nothing. You’re okay. You’re okay…"

Peter let out a low sob. He couldn't lose May; he'd lost everyone and he couldn't lose her too.

The rest of them looked at Peter sadly knowing that he was trying to put on a happy face for his dying aunt. Peter didn't deserve any of this. 

Tony's stomach churned as he realized Pepper had done a similar thing for them when he was dying because she didn't want his last image to be of her crying. 

"I just... need to catch my breath…" "I’m right here. I’m right here... we’re okay. Just me and you."

Tears started to stream down Peter's face. He and May always said that to each other. "That's right, it's just me and her," he said faintly. 

Tony's heart was hammering at seeing May die like this.

May’s breaths slowed down and her eyes glazed over. She fell still.

The Avengers were silent, utterly shaken by what they were seeing. 

Peter choked down a sob. He'd just seen May die but he wasn't able to process it yet. May couldn't be dead! He'd lost his parents, Ben, Tony, and now May. How much more was he going to lose?

Peter was heartbroken. "...May? Will you look at me, May? Please?" He gently shook her. 

"Oh my God," Sam said, stunned. How had this ended so badly? 

Wanda and Thor's faces contorted as they watched Peter not fully understand that May was dead. They'd lost many, many loved ones themselves. 

"What are you doing, May? Please, will you just wake up and talk to me? Please?" 

Peter let out a painful scream as it finally hit him that he'd seen May die. 

"This isn't going to happen, kiddo. None of this is going to happen," Tony whispered, wiping the tears from Peter's face. "We'll make sure of it."

"What if it happens again? I can't lose her, Tony. I can't."

"I know, kid. I know. 

Happy's car stopped in between Peter and the DODC team. Peter and Happy locked eyes and Happy instantly knew what had happened. Tears welled up in Happy's eyes. 

Tony and Rhodey's eyes misted over as they knew how much May meant to Happy. They heard Happy confess his love for her in London. 

Happy lifted his hands into the air. He was pulled from the car and slammed onto the hood. 

"Don't touch him!" Rhodey snarled while Tony growled. 

"It’s just me and you, okay? It’s just me and you," Peter whispered.

Peter's body shook with grief as he burst into tears. "It'll always be me and you. I'm sorry, so so so sorry."

He kissed her forehead. "Oh May, I’m sorry. I’m so so so sorry." 

Loud sobs racked Peter's entire body as tears streamed down his face. All of this was his fault — he should've just listened to Stephen and sent them back. May would've been alive.

Stephen closed his eyes sadly. Even though Peter thought he did the right thing by helping them, it hurt so much to see him go through this pain. He never should've cast that spell. He should've listened to Wong and then none of this would've happened. May would be alive. Sure, everyone would still know that Peter was Spider-Man but that option was a lot better than what he was seeing at the moment. 

Thor and Wanda ran towards Peter and crouched before him.

"It hurts so much, I know," Thor whispered.

"It just doesn't stop," Peter cried. His cheeks were lined with tear tracks and his eyes were red and swollen.

"Peter, you know Thor and I have lost a lot of loved ones," Wanda said gently. "You're not alone."

"She's not going to die this time. I'm not going to let it happen."

Thor and Wanda shared a concerned look. They would be hypocrites if they said that they wouldn't try to prevent Loki and Vision's deaths, and it's not like they dealt with their deaths in a healthy way, but Peter couldn't go through that. They wanted Peter to deal with it in a much healthier way than they did.

An officer told Peter to come out right now or they will open fire. 

The Avengers burst into chaos. 

"You're joking!" 

"You've got to be kidding me!" 

"He's seventeen!" 

"May just died!"

"Run!" Happy yelled. 

Tears burned in Tony's eyes and his lower lip trembled as he saw that Happy's priority was making sure Peter would be safe.

They started to fire at Peter. A bullet hit the nanotech part of his suit and he was flung back. 

Everyone glared at the DODC team.

Stephen clenched his jaw. "They fired at Peter?!" 

"He would've been shot if it wasn't for the nanotech!" Tony snarled. He mentally thanked Octavius for giving Peter the nanoparticles back. 

The DODC team moved in but Peter was already gone. 

Peter looked away. It didn't even matter anymore. Nothing did. May was dead. 

Peter was on a rooftop with the FEAST bag at his feet amidst heavy rainfall, watching Jameson's news report, utterly devastated. 

A chill ran down their spines at seeing Peter's face.

Peter's face tightened as he saw the cures. He didn't care about curing any of them anymore, but Osborn…he wanted to kill Osborn himself. 

"Tragedy. What else can I call it? What more needs to be said?"

"Half of it was his fault!" Thor growled. 

Jameson talked about how chaos and calamity occurred wherever Spider-Man went. "Everything Spider-Man touches comes to ruin. And we, the innocents, are left to pick up the pieces." 

"He's right," Peter croaked out. "Everyone I love eventually dies because of me."

"Peter, nothing Jameson says is true," said Tony. 

"It is! Ben died because of me, May died because of me, and you died because of me."

"May and I didn't die because of you. I made a choice and so did May."

"You had a nice life with Pepper and Morgan! You said no to the Time Heist at first and only joined because of me! Don't you see? You would've been alive if it wasn't for me!" 

"But then half of the universe would still be dead, and most importantly, you would've been dead. You made me into a better person, kid. I can guarantee that I would've also thought about something you told me the day we met: When you can do the things you can, but you don't, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you. I had the power to bring everyone back so don't I have the responsibility to do so?"

Peter looked away. "That's different."

"How?"

Peter didn't reply.  

"May dying wasn't anyone's fault except the Goblin's," said Tony.

The rest of the Avengers were glad that Norman Osborn didn't exist in their universe.

Chapter Text

At Ned's house, Ned and MJ sat at the dining table, worried. His Lola dropped off bread rolls. MJ was watching the local news while checking her phone for any updates from Peter. 

"They must be going crazy not hearing from Peter," said Bruce. 

Peter's face contorted as he realized that Ned and MJ were some of the few people he had left.

She sat down next to Ned and looked at the Box. "I’m gonna press it," said MJ. 

"Do it," Peter said firmly. He didn't care what happened to the others anymore. Who cares if they died when they went back? He'd be happy if Osborn died because May was dead because of him. Nothing else mattered now. 

"Peter—" Sam said softly. 

"Don't! Stephen was right, they have no business being in this universe. They should've been sent back from the very beginning."

"Kid…you helped them," Stephen said, kindly. "You found another way."

"And that way killed May! You were right about all of it. May's dead and the Multiverse is a mess." Peter buried his face in his hands. He couldn't do this anymore. 

"I just wish we could see him," said Ned, moving his hands, causing small sparks to appear. He was still wearing Stephen's sling ring.

Stephen and Wong looked at Ned incredulously, Peter's eyes were wide, Wanda's lips twitched into a smile, and everyone else blinked in surprise. 

"Ned truly has the potential to be a powerful sorcerer one day," said Wong. 

MJ told Ned to do it again. Ned gesticulated, larger this time. "I just wish we could see him." A small portal opened and then closed. 

Stephen and Wong shared a look of astonishment. "Ned managed what Stephen couldn't do in months on his second try!" Wong laughed.

Stephen glared at him while the rest of the Avengers looked at him in shock. 

Loki smirked. "You couldn't create a portal? I thought they were one of the first things you learnt?" he mocked. 

Stephen scowled. He supposed that it made sense why Ned managed to create a portal much faster than he did. Ned was a child whose mind was open to many possibilities and desperately wanted to find his best friend. When he started learning the Mystic Arts, he'd been a firm believer of science who thought sorcery was nonsense and spent too much time trying to beat it into submission. 

Ned and MJ stood, alert. Even more forceful: "I just wish we could see Peter!" said Ned. A portal opened and Spider-Man could be seen in an alleyway. 

Wong and Stephen's mouths fell open as they looked at the portal in utter disbelief while the Avengers were highly impressed.

"Ned has the potential to become the Sorcerer Supreme one day," said Wong. "He has a natural ability for the Mystic Arts and I expect great things from him."

Peter's jaw dropped. Ned as the Sorcerer Supreme? He'd seen what Stephen and Wong were able to do and it blew his mind that Ned had a gift for it. "Will he have to move to Nepal?"

"No, he can commute and spend the summer at Kamar-Taj," said Stephen. "Ned should go to college too. Education is important." 

"Peter got down from the rooftop pretty quickly though," said Clint. 

Lola peeked around the corner and gasped. "Magician!" she told Ned in Tagalog. 

"Sorcerer," Wong corrected. 

"Lola, you’re right! I am magic," he said, amazed. 

Peter looked at Ned in awe.

"He's not magic, he just unknowingly channelled interdimensional energy," said Stephen.

MJ squinted into the portal. "Is that him?" "Yeah, yeah, it has to be." 

"Who else would wear a Spider-Man suit?" said Rhodey. 

Ned and MJ start calling out for Peter. Spider-Man heard them, ran towards the portal, and jumped through. Spider-Man was wearing a different suit. 

A beat passed. 

"That's not Peter's suit," Bucky said flatly. 

Peter froze. "Is that my variant?" He eyed the other Peter's suit, looking at with admiration. He liked his spider logo. 

"Variants," Loki groaned.

"Huh, I guess the spell brought them over too," said Stephen. 

Tony gaped as he looked at the other Spider-Man with interest. This was Peter's variant! 

Lola screamed as Spider-Man waved and said, "Hi!" 

"That's definitely not our Peter," said Clint. "Our Peter doesn't sound like that."

In a different situation, Sam and Bucky would've made a joke about their Peter's voice being too high but it wasn't the right time. 

Lola threw a pillow at Spider-Man and then hid. 

"I'd be scared at seeing another Spider-Man too," said Scott.

Spider-Man said he was a nice guy. 

Tony snorted. "No shit, he's Peter."

He took off his mask to reveal his face.

Everyone's eyes flickered between the Peter variant and their Peter looking at the differences and similarities while Peter just stared at his variant.

"He's…older," said Natasha. "Around Wanda's age."

"Figures," Peter grumbled. "I finally get to meet my variant and he ends up older than me."

Tony swallowed thickly at seeing an older Peter. It was like seeing a glimpse of who his Peter could be in the distant future. 

"The only physical similarities our Peter and the Peter variant have is that they both have brown hair and brown eyes," said Bruce. "Otherwise, they're physically two completely different people."

"At least the Peter variant turned out to be a human and not a spider," Loki muttered. He didn't like his alligator variant. Classic Loki was his favourite. 

"Which universe is he from though?" Wanda asked. "Octavius or Dillon's?" None of them were going to mention Osborn. "He could be from a third one as well."

Ned and MJ's eyes were wide as they stared at the Peter Variant. 

"I feel bad for them," said Scott. "This must be so weird meeting Peter but not their Peter."

"We were the same when we first saw all of Loki's variants," said Steve. 

"That Hulk one was pretty weird," said Bruce. 

"That goddamn alligator," Sam muttered. 

"The reason the Multiverse is in this state is because of a Loki variant!" Stephen exclaimed. 

Loki and Thor sighed. 

"Who the hell are you?" MJ asked. 

"Peter Parker," Everyone answered. 

"I’m Peter Parker." "That’s not possible," said MJ. 

Loki snorted. "Oh, it's very much possible."

"Which is something we're sadly familiar with," said Stephen. Just seeing a Peter variant reminded him that he never wanted to meet his variants.  

"I am Spider-Man... in my world. But then yesterday, I was—I was just here." 

"At least the spell brought over someone good," said Bruce. 

"Wait, all this time we thought the five Multiversal visitors were the only ones who got through," said Clint. "That's clearly not true because a Peter variant got through and no one knew. What if there are more visitors out there?"

The rest of them blanched. 

"It's fine if there are more Peter variants—" 

Sam and Bucky didn't think it was fine. 

"—but not more of the other ones," said Tony.

No one wanted another Osborn.  

Lola peeked around the corner, as the Peter Variant turned and studied the portal, geeking out. 

Stephen furrowed his brows. "He's never seen a portal before? He had to have met my variant while fighting Thanos—Oh." His heart sank. "We never met." 

"I think their universes' are pretty different than ours," said Peter. 

"Does the Peter variant not have a Thanos then?" Tony asked. "Peter and Stephen met during the space road trip."

"Lucky universe," Thor said. 

"Wow...string theory, multidimensional reality, and matter displacement...All real?" he asked Ned and MJ. 

"No doubts now," Tony said, staring at the Peter variant in awe. "That's definitely Peter Parker."

"Yeah…" they said reluctantly. "I knew it!" the Variant said, gleefully. 

"Even if the Peter variant looks different, he's still pretty similar to our Peter," said Steve.

"This has to be because of the spell," Ned whispered to MJ. "The spell? Like magic spell?" the Variant asked, excitedly as Ned and MJ tried to say there was no spell. "Magic's real here too?" 

"He hasn't met the Stephen in his universe then," Stephen said, sadly. 

"The Masters of the Mystic Arts have to exist in his universe; he just doesn't know it," said Wong. 

"That's probably true, I had no idea you guys existed," said Peter.

Ned said there were magicians and stuff as MJ hissed for him to shut up. 

"And witches," said Wanda. 

MJ asked for the Variant to prove it and he said he doesn't carry an ID with him since it defeated the whole 'anonymous superhero' thing.

All of them snorted. 

"That's true," said Peter. He smiled sadly. "I haven't been doing pretty good about the anonymous superhero part though."

"He took off his mask pretty quickly though," said Steve. 

"It's a different universe and our Peter and the Variant have different faces," said Clint. "It doesn't matter."

MJ threw a roll at him and took up a defensive stance. 

Peter and the rest of the Avengers couldn't help but let out a tiny laugh. 

"...Why’d you do that?" the Variant asked awkwardly. 

"This is really is Peter," said Sam, flabbergasted.

"At least Peter has backup now," said Natasha. Although she wished someone from the Avengers had helped him out, she was glad he wasn't alone anymore. 

"I was trying to see if you have the tingle thing." "I have the tingle thing, just not for bread." 

"Not for bananas either," said Rhodey. 

"You’re a deeply mistrusting person...and I respect it," the Variant told MJ.

"I do too," said Natasha. "It's one of the things I like about her."

Peter liked everything about MJ.

He jumped and stuck one hand on the ceiling, feet off the ground. 

Peter looked amazed at seeing his variant do the same thing as him. 

"If anyone still had any doubts, they should be gone," said Scott. 

"No one had doubts after the Peter Variant started rambling about science," said Bucky. 

MJ wasn't impressed, "Crawl around." "Crawl around?" The Variant asked incredulously. 

"Of course," said Carol. "She needs proof."

MJ and the Peter Variant bickered about crawling on the ceiling. "How do I stick to the ceiling?!" the Variant asked. 

"There are ways," Natasha said. 

MJ throws another roll at him. "Do it." 

Peter hid his smile. He wasn't really in the laughing mood at the moment, but he was always much lighter when he saw MJ. 

The Variant shook his head and sighed. 

"Shouldn't the Peter variant know MJ?" Bucky asked. "Octavius said he nearly killed the MJ from his universe."

"We still don't know which universe this variant is from," said Stephen. 

"And maybe MJ looks different, the Peter and Loki variants look different from each other," said Thor.

Lola spoke in Tagalog, pointing at the Variant. Ned translated, asking him if he could get the cobwebs since he was up there. 

"Ned's grandmother doesn't even care that someone's stuck to the ceiling," said Scott. 

"Ned's best friend can do the exact same thing so I'm sure she's used to Peter, any kind of Peter, doing that," said Wanda.

The Variant agreed, crawled on the ceiling, dusted the cobwebs, and jumped back to the ground. 

"I hate when Peter — our Peter — does that," Tony hissed. "He leaves footprints everywhere on the ceiling."

The portal closed behind the Variant. Ned said he opened the wrong portal to the wrong Peter Parker. 

Rhodey sighed deeply. "I can't believe that's a sentence that's just normal now. There should only be one Peter Parker."

"I'm surprised that Ned's opening portals this early at all," said Stephen. 

"My best friend's a magic prodigy!" Peter exclaimed. 

"Yeah. I guess you just keep doing it until we find the real one." "Ouch." "No offence."

The Avengers chuckled. 

Ned tried again. "Find Peter Parker." The Variant asked what was on Ned's hand, but MJ shushed him. 

Stephen let out a watery smile. "A sling ring."

"Find Peter Parker. Find Peter Parker!" A portal opened behind them and another Peter Variant appeared in civilian clothes. 

Sam and Bucky looked horrified at another Peter Variant. 

"Another Peter Parker?" Wong said, puzzled. "How many people did the spell manage to bring over?"

"There are way too many Peters," Rhodey said, shaking his head. "We need names to differentiate them."

"I'm Peter One, the older Peter out of the two variants is Peter Two, and the other one is Peter Three," said Peter. He looked at the new Peter closely. "He has blue eyes," he said curiously. "And he's a lot older than me."

"This Peter looks like he's around Sam's age," said Clint.

Sam grimaced. "That sentence sounds weird. In my mind, Peter Parker is a teenager."

"Yeah, well imagine me," said Tony. "It's strange seeing two older versions of Peter instead of teenage Peter."

"Great, it’s just some random guy," said Ned. 

"It is most definitely not some random guy," Steve said, faintly. "It's Peter."

Suddenly, two star-shaped portals appeared and two figures dropped out of them, unconscious. The portals quickly closed.

There was a long period of silence as everyone just stared at the two figures. Stephen blinked in surprise at seeing the star-shaped portals while Wanda and Wong looked at it curiously. That didn't look like any portal they were familiar with.

"My variants!" said Peter, shocked yet thrilled. He smiled sadly. He would've been over the moon to have met his variants, whom he'd wanted to meet so badly, in any other circumstance. 

Stephen shot a spell to wake them up. Peter Two and Three shot up and gasped. They saw the Avengers, instantly took a step back, and looked at them and each other warily. 

Peter One shot out of his seat, running to his variants. "Whoa, we're not going to hurt you."

"Who the hell are you guys?" Peter Three demanded, getting into a defensive position about to shoot his webs. 

Peter's lips twitched into a smile. "Peter Parker."

Peter Two and Three's eyes narrowed. 

"That's not possible," said Peter Two. "I'm Peter Parker."

Peter Three blinked in surprise. "Wait, what? You can't be Peter Parker, I'm Peter Parker."

"All of you are Peter Parker," Loki said, very exhausted. He hated the Multiverse so much. "Welcome to the Multiverse. You've been brought here using magic."

Peter Two and Three choked. "The Multiverse is real?!" Peter Two exclaimed. "Wait, what do you mean by magic?"

"I thought the Multiverse was theoretical," Peter Three said with wide eyes. "That completely changes how we understand the initial singularity. We're talking about an eternal inflation system! How does that even work with all the quantum...?" He trailed off as he realized that everyone else was staring at him. "It's insane."

"You really are a Peter," Bucky said, dismayed. "That's literally what our Peter said when he found out about the Multiverse. The Multiverse turned out to be fake that time, though."

Peter Two's eyes flicked over all of them, especially Peter One and Three. 

"It still doesn't mean anything you're saying is true," said Peter Three. He pointed at Peter One. "Prove that you're Peter Parker."

"I don't usually carry ID with me. It defeats the whole anonymous superhero thing," Peter said with a slight smile. 

The rest of the Avengers snorted while Peter Two and Three were slightly lost. 

"My name is Peter Benjamin Parker. My parents were Richard and Mary Parker and they died in a plane crash," — Peter Three's mouth tightened — "and then Ben and," Peter's voice hitched, "May Parker took me in and raised me. Then a radioactive spider bit me and I became Spider-Man and I know the two of you are too. Is that enough or do you want to know more?"

Peter Two and Three relaxed slightly as they could feel Peter One telling them the truth. They had a sense. A fleeting thought passed Peter Three's mind. The Force? He shook the thought away. The Force wasn't real.

"But that doesn't mean magic's real," said Peter Two.

Their eyes widened as they realized Peter One had outed them as Spider-Man in front of a group of people they didn't know. 

"I'm not Spider-Man. Why would you get that idea?" Peter Three spluttered, looking at the Avengers out of the corner of his eyes. 

"They already know," said Peter, following his eye line. "They're my teammates."

"But why—" Peter Two asked, but Loki, who was annoyed by the long explanations, turned Peter Two and Three into spiders with a wave of his hand, who rapidly scurried around. 

"Oh my God! Loki, you can't do that! Change them back!" Peter One exclaimed. 

Loki rolled his eyes and changed the two spiders back to humans, who were panting. They took a seat near Peter One.

"Okay, I believe you," said Peter Two. "Magic and the Multiverse are real." He looked at Peter One and Three in awe. "You two are Peter Parker."

"That's not cool, man," Peter Three told Loki. He paused. "How'd you do that?"

"Magic."

"Whoa."

"I'm the only one with magic," he said, pointing at Stephen, Wanda, and Wong. "They have magic as well." 

"Oh yeah, they do," said Peter One. "One's a witch and the rest are sorcerers. Two of them are the same type of sorcerer while the other one is different."

"You guys have witches and different types of sorcerers?" Peter Two said, astonished. 

"Dude, your universe is crazy," Peter Three told Peter One. 

"Crazy doesn't even begin to cover it."

"We've named you three Peter One, Two, and Three because there are officially way too many Peter Parkers," said Sam. "Our Peter is Peter One, the older one is Peter Two, and the middle one is Peter Three."

"We're getting wildly off track," said Natasha. "Maybe we should introduce ourselves." 

"I'm surprised that they don't know variants of us in their universe—" Bruce said. 

Peter Three looked at the Avengers and froze at seeing Tony. "I know you."

"I sure hope you do—"

"No, I mean you've shown up in my dreams. I've never met you in my life and I don't even know who you are."

"I'm sorry, what?" Tony said, completely baffled.

Stephen's eyes darted between the two, a theory forming in his head.

"Listen, I know it sounds crazy—"

"—We're way past crazy, you'd be surprised by the things we've had to deal with," said Steve.

Peter Three took a deep breath. "There was this dream I had a couple of years ago. It was so real. There was an orange sky?—" 

Everyone else's blood ran cold. Orange sky.

"Titan," Peter One whispered, disturbed. 

"What happened next?" Wanda asked.

"I was on the ground saying I didn't want to go and I saw the utter fear in his eyes," Peter Three pointed at Tony, who was as pale as a ghost. "It turned black and then I woke up."

The Avengers blanched. They knew exactly what Peter Three had seen.

"How is that even possible?" Bruce asked. "How can Peter Three know about Titan?"

"Dreams are windows into the lives of our Multiversal selves," Stephen realized. He furrowed his brows. He'd had frequent dreams of falling, but what did that mean? Why would so many of his variants fall? And there were worse dreams about Christine dying.

Wanda's chest felt warm as she realized that she dreamed about happy families, about children. It felt good to know that some of her variants were leading peaceful lives. She couldn't help but smile as she realized she would be getting her kids via sperm donor soon. Her dreams would become a reality soon.

"Wait, that happened to you?" Peter Three asked Peter One. "What the hell was that? The only reason I remember that dream was because of the fear in his eyes," he pointed at Tony. "You can't forget a look like that easily."

Peter One looked away. "My death."

Tony's stomach churned.

Peter Two and Three just stared at Peter One. 

"Your what?" Peter Two said, confused. 

"It's what would've happened to me. It did happen to Sacred Timeline Peter. I died along with half of the universe." 

"Sacred Timeline Peter?" Peter Three said, confused.

"Did you not listen to the part where he said that he was supposed to die along with half of the universe?" Peter Two asked him. 

"He came back though," Steve said. "Five years later."

"How can someone come back from the dead?!" Peter Two asked.

Thor snorted. "Ask Loki. It's a very common thing for him."

"I only faked my death once!" Loki said exasperated. "I fell off the Bifrost the first time."

"Anyway, Peter was only sort of dead," said Bruce. "The half of us that were left had to time travel to get the Infinity Stones because Thanos destroyed them, and bring everyone back to 2023."

Peter Two and Three only understood half of the sentence but their jaws dropped as their heard two particular words: "Time travel?"

"Yeah, Tony created it," said Scott, pointing to him.

Their heads whirled towards Tony, who looked very proud of himself. "In a night," he couldn't help but add.

"What the hell!" Peter Three yelled. "Your universe is a lot more advanced than mine."

"I'm sorry, but you guys created a way to time travel scientifically?" Peter Two said, baffled.

"And it's not like Back to the Future," said Peter One.

"I still can't believe that movie's a bunch of bullshit," Scott complained.  

"That's crazy!" Peter Three said. "So, dreams are glimpses in the lives of our Multiversal selves?"

"So that dream I had about becoming the President was real?!" Steve said, dumbfounded. "I thought that was a nightmare. I would never want to become the President!"

"You'd get frustrated by the bureaucracy very quickly," said Bucky.

"Now that I'm thinking about it, I've had a lot of dreams about apocalypses, but I guess that's a glimpse into Sylvie's life," said Loki.

"Did you ever dream of Alligator Loki's life?" Thor asked. 

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose at the mention of his alligator variant. 

"I dream about parties a lot." Thor found those dreams to be quite comforting and entertaining.  

"Of course, you do."

"If dreams are glimpses into the lives of our Multiversal selves then did anyone else get that weird zombie dream recently?" Scott asked.

"No way. You too?" said Sam. 

"You've got to be kidding me," said Stephen.

"Wait, all of us had the zombie dream?" Bruce asked. 

"Does this mean that we got turned into zombies in another universe? What the fuck?" said Bucky. 

"What the hell happened in that universe? What did our variants get up to?" Natasha asked. 

Clint sighed. "Sure, Zombies. That's a thing too now, I guess."

"I had that Zombie dream too," said Peter Two. All of this information was slightly overwhelming. 

Peter Three frowned. "I didn't." A Zombie dream sounded pretty cool.

"I didn't either," said Peter One.

"I think I was flying around?" Peter Two said. "I don't really remember much." His eyes fell on the Cloak around Stephen's shoulders. "It was that actually," pointing to the Cloak. "I don't know how that makes any sense though."

Stephen gaped. Peter had the Cloak in another universe? He wasn't a bad choice and it wasn't a surprise that the Cloak would choose him. He'd probably give Peter the Cloak himself if he ever needed to. He froze. Did this mean Peter was a sorcerer in the other universe?

"A Peter got the Cloak in another universe?" Peter One said with wide eyes. 

The Cloak flew off Stephen's shoulders and comfortingly wrapped itself around Peter One, who let out a tiny smile. "You're pretty cool," he told the Cloak. "Just don't throw me into the Mirror Dimension next time."

Peter Two and Three stared at the Cloak. "That Cloak just…flew," said Peter Two. "The dream makes a lot more sense now."

"Yeah, I told you Stephen's a sorcerer," said Peter One.

"This universe is so cool!" Peter Three said with excitement.

Tony was floored. If dreams were glimpses into their Multiversal selves then he died a lot in other universes. He softened. He'd also been frequently dreaming about having kids lately. 

"But who are you guys?" Peter Two asked. 

"How do you not know the Avengers?" Peter One asked. 

"Is that a band? Are you guys a band?" Peter Three asked, excitedly. 

Bucky pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh my God."

"No, we're not a band," Steve said, amused. 

"We did break up like a band for a while though," Tony interrupted. "According to Bruce, it was like the Beatles."

"But unlike the Beatles, our team got back together. But you really don't know what the Avengers are? It's surprising because our Peter is a part of the Avengers."

Peter Three clapped Peter One on the back proudly even though he still didn't know who the Avengers were. "Good for you."

"But you haven't met any of us?" Stephen asked. 

"Maybe they have and just don't know it," said Loki. "Maybe your variants look different than you."

"That's why I've been saying we need to introduce ourselves!" Natasha exclaimed. 

The Avengers went around introducing themselves, what they did, and why they were in the theatre. By the end of the introductions, Peter Two and Three were staring at Thor, Loki, and Carol, but mostly Thor.  

"So, your parents weren't just really into Norse mythology?" Peter Two asked. He wished the alien he had met looked like Thor and not like…black goo. "Your parents are actually Odin and Frigga, and you're the actual God of Thunder, and that's," he pointed at Loki, "the actual God of Mischief and also your brother."

"Yes!" Thor replied cheerfully. 

"And all of you are from Asgard. In space. But that got blown up so now you're moving to Earth and going to stay in Norway."

Thor's smile dimmed. "Yes."

"That's what an alien looks like?" Peter Three said incredulously, gesturing to Thor and Loki. "I was expecting someone a bit more…green, like the movies. Or even someone like ET."

"There are green aliens," said Peter One. "We're friends with one. She's pretty cool."

"And her sister is blue," Rhodey added. 

"And their dad is purple," Scott said. 

"Fuck that guy! He was a shit dad!" Clint exclaimed.

Peter Two and Three stared at them in disbelief. "What," Peter Two said flatly. "You guys are friends with green and blue aliens?"

"Yeah, and we're friends with a talking raccoon and tree too," Steve helpfully added. 

"Okay, now you're making up stuff," said Peter Three. 

"We're not!" Peter One protested. "And one of the aliens has the same name as us."

"An alien named Peter?" Peter Two said, shocked. 

"He's only half-alien. The other half is human," said Natasha. 

"50% alien, 50% human, but 100% stupid!" Tony said. 

"And Carol's pretty cool too. Wait, are you even considered an alien?" Peter One asked her. "You're from Earth."

"I think so?" Carol answered. "I got a Kree blood transfusion."

"And she hasn't aged since '89," Bruce added.

"Adopted alien then," said Scott.

Peter Two and Three were rendered speechless. 

"Wait, so let me get this right," said Peter Three. "The Avengers are Earth's Mightiest Heroes that were formed to deal with problems that no one else could. The original members were Steve Rogers, known as the former Captain America who's a super soldier. He was born in 1918 and fought in World War II, but looks like he's in his thirties because he was frozen in ice and woke up in 2012; Tony Stark, known as Iron Man who flies around in an exoskeleton suit. Thor Odinson, the literal Norse God of Thunder from Asgard because that's apparently a real thing now; Bruce Banner, a scientist known as the Hulk that can turn into a super cool raging creature." 

Bruce sighed. 

"Natasha Romanoff, known as Black Widow —big fan of the spider theme, by the way—"

Natasha laughed.

"And is also one of the world's greatest spies. And then Clint Barton, known as Hawkeye, who is the world's greatest archer—" 

"One of the world's greatest archers," Clint interrupted. He could think of someone who considered herself the world's greatest archer.

"One of the world's greatest archers. But then the team grew and added Sam Wilson, formerly known as the Falcon and is the current Captain America, James Rhodes who flies around in a suit like Stark's, Wanda Maximoff is an actual witch, Vision is an android that's powered by something called an Infinity Stone, and Bucky Barnes is also a super soldier. He has the same aging situation like Rogers and also has an awesome metal arm."

Bucky sighed. He'd officially reached his limit of the number of Peter Parkers he could handle. 

"Then there's Peter Parker, uh, the youngest Peter, who's obviously Spider-Man. Scott Lang is Ant-Man and can shrink and grow, Stephen Strange is a sorcerer, and Carol Danvers is Captain Marvel can shoot photon blasts out of her hands and can fly in space. Is that all? Did I miss anything?"

"That pretty much sums it up," said Natasha. 

"And there's Wong, the Sorcerer Supreme, who's not an Avenger but the leader of the sorcerer group that Strange is also a part of known as the Masters of the Mystic Arts. And Loki is the God of Mischief and he's the reason the Avengers formed since he led an alien invasion in New York City. But now he's sort of on your side," said Peter Two.

"Do you know how fucked up this situation is? We're willingly working with Loki," Clint said.

Loki couldn't believe he was working with the Avengers either.

"That's not cool, man," Peter Three told Loki. 

"I'm very aware."

"I'm surprised you didn't help," Peter Two told Peter One. 

"I was ten."

"Oh."

"I'm going to help in the next one though."

"Next one?" Peter Three said, astonished. "How many alien invasions do you guys have?

The Avengers sighed. "We try not to think about it," said Steve. "Our friends from space are pretty great, but the rest…not so much."

"Can I see your photon blast?" Peter Three giddily asked Carol. Her lips twitched into a smile and she sent a small and harmless photon blast at Peter Three, who looked utterly delighted. 

"If we're all Peter Parker," Peter Two said, gesturing to himself, Peter Three, and Peter One, "then why do we look different?" 

"Because variants — alternate versions of each other — can look different," said Loki. From there started a long explanation about variants, the TVA, TVA Loki and Sylvie, He Who Remains, and the Multiversal War. By the end of the explanation, Peter Two and Three were deathly pale. 

"I did not expect to learn about a Multiversal War today," Peter Two said faintly. He was just a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, what was he supposed to do about a Multiversal War?

Clint chuckled. "We didn't either."

"So, before Sylvie killed He Who Remains, we never would've been able to meet?" Peter Three asked, looking at his variants. 

Peter One nodded. "She broke the Multiverse."

"Therefore, coming to the reason all of you look different. From what I've understood we've," Loki pointed to everyone except Peter Two and Three, "created a new timeline because we've deviated from what used to be the Sacred Timeline. However, you two aren't from a different timeline, but an entirely different universe. The universe wants to break free, so it manifests chaos. Like the two of your universes being vastly different than ours, therefore, looking different from each other and our Parker, and also like one of my variants being born the Goddess of Mischief in a different timeline."

"Looks like Professor Loki has made a reappearance," said Tony. 

"And he loves to talk," Thor said with a grin. 

Loki scowled. Some days he really hated the Avengers. 

"Huh, I guess that makes sense," said Peter Three. 

"As much as any of this makes sense," said Peter Two. 

"So…" Stephen asked casually. "Where did the two of you go to college?" he asked the Peter Variants. 

Everyone groaned while Tony perked up. 

"NYU," Peter Three replied while Peter Two said, "Columbia."

Stephen smirked widely and shot a smug look at Tony, who scowled. 

"Peter Three went to NYU, not Columbia."

"I don't hear MIT though."

"Fuck off."

"I got my PhD in Physics from Columbia," said Peter Two.

Peter One and Three were deeply impressed. "So, you're Dr Parker?" Peter One asked.

"Technically, yes. But I don't go around asking everyone to call me that."

The Avengers glanced at Stephen.

"I worked hard for my PhD!" Stephen protested. 

"So, we have a lot of differences in our worlds but do we have any similarities?" Peter Two asked. 

"Oh right! I've been meaning to ask you guys," said Peter One. "Osb—" He clenched his jaw. "Someone mistook my MJ's name as Mary Jane. Which one of you has an MJ?"

"You have an MJ too?" Peter Two said, delighted. "I have an MJ! She's my wife."

Peter One choked. "Wife?" he said in a strangled voice. 

Everyone's eyes fell onto the wedding band on Peter Two's ring finger. Peter Three grinned widely. "You're married? Good for you, man." He was glad at least one Peter Parker had their life together. He just wished he and Gwen had the chance to figure that out. 

Tony blinked the tears out of his eyes. He didn't know why he was so emotional. "MJ is your wife?"

"For about a decade now."

Peter One felt like he was about to faint while the Avengers looked at him with a shit-eating grin on their faces. "I expect an invitation to the wedding," Natasha teased.

Peter turned pale. Wedding? He was only sixteen! 

Peter Two's brows furrowed as he remembered what Peter One said. "Wait, your MJ's name isn't Mary Jane?" 

Peter One shook his head. "It's Michelle Jones-Watson."

"You're joking! My MJ's full name is Mary Jane Watson."

Everyone's grin became wider while Peter One turned more light-headed. "She doesn't go by Watson though, just Michelle Jones. She doesn't get along with her mom."

Peter Two softened. "My MJ doesn't get along with her dad."

Peter One scowled at hearing that both MJs had awful parents. "They deserve better."

"They do," Peter Two agreed.

"Do you have an MJ too?" Wanda asked Peter Three, whose smile instantly fell off his face. 

He swallowed thickly. "I did."

All of them noticed Peter Three's use of past tense. Peter One and Two looked at their third variant in concern. 

"Her name was Gwen though. She was my MJ."

Peter Two's eyes widened. "Gwen? As in Gwen Stacy? You had a Gwen too?"

"Wait, you also have a Gwen?" Peter Three asked, baffled. "Were you together too?"

"Uh, somewhat. We sort of had a thing." He wasn't going to mention that he kissed Gwen in front of MJ and used Gwen to try to make MJ jealous. "She fell off a building but I caught her."

Suddenly Peter Three couldn't breathe. Peter Two caught his Gwen but he wasn't able to. 

"Do you know a Gwen Stacy?" Peter Two asked Peter One, who shook his head. 

"If you have an MJ, do you have a Ned Leeds too?" 

"No," said Peter Three. 

"Oh, I do!" said Peter Two. "I don't know him well, but he married someone I used to work with — Betty Brant. I went to their wedding."

The Avengers stared at him. "Ned married Betty?" Peter One said in a faint voice. 

"Yeah, why?"

"My Ned dated Betty but they broke up."

"I told you that Ned and Betty needed to get back together!" Wanda said triumphantly. 

"Who else do we have in common?" Peter Three asked.

"Peter's classmate is Flash," said Scott. 

"Flash Thompson?" Peter Two and Three said at the same time, and all three looked at each other in shock. 

"You've got to be kidding me," said Peter One. "You guys have Flash?"

"Turns out, my Flash wasn't a total asshole," said Peter Three.

"I sort of feel bad for my Flash," said Peter One.

"I haven't thought about him ever since I graduated high school twenty years ago," said Peter Two. "Did your Flash and MJ date too?" he asked Peter One.

"Flash and MJ?" Peter One said hysterically while the Avengers looked at Peter Two as if he was insane. Peter One felt like his mind was melting. What kind of universe did Peter Two come from where MJ dated Flash? 

"Yeah, they used to date in high school." He looked at everyone else's faces. "I'm guessing by everyone's reactions that didn't happen in your universe."

"No!" Peter One yelled. "That's so fucking weird." He shook the thought away. "Do you guys like Star Wars?" he asked, trying to stop thinking about Flash and MJ being together. 

"Duh, I was born in 1995. I grew up with the prequels," said Peter Three. They looked at Peter Two. 

"Obviously, I do. Are your birthdays also August 10th?"

Peter One and Three nodded.

"A Peter Parker that was born in 1995 feels…wrong," said Tony. 

"I was born in 1984," Peter Two helpfully added. 

Natasha stared at him in horror. "You were born the same year as me?"

Peter Two shrugged. "When were you born?" he asked Peter One. 

"2001."

Peter Two and Three looked disturbed. "You don't look twenty-three," Peter Three said, squinting at his younger variant. 

"Ah, you're from 2024," Bruce said. "We're from 2018."

"Whoa, time travel."

"I'm sixteen," said Peter One. "On-screen Peter One is seventeen."

"Wait, you're sixteen? When did you get the spider-bite?" Peter Two asked. 

"At fourteen."

"You became Spider-Man at fourteen?!" he shrieked. 

"Yeah, when did you become Spider-Man?" Peter One asked, confused. 

"When I was eighteen!" 

"Huh, how old were you?" Peter One at Peter Three. 

"Seventeen." He couldn't believe Peter One was a part of a superhero band at sixteen. 

"Do you guys like photography too?" Peter Two asked, trying to get off the topic of Peter One being so young. 

"Yes," Peter Three replied. 

"Kind of?" said Peter One. "It's more videography. Photography is MJ's thing."

"I'd hate to break up the conversation but we really need more information about the Multiversal visitors that I think are from your universes," Natasha spoke to Peter Two and Three. 

The light-hearted atmosphere instantly disappeared and Peter One's jaw clenched as he thought about them, especially Osborn. 

"Multiversal visitors?" Peter Two asked. 

"I think we need to start from the beginning," Tony said gently. 

Peter One took a deep breath. "Do you any of you guys know Quentin Beck? He also goes by Mysterio." 

Peter Two and Three shook their heads. 

"If you ever meet him, never trust him," Peter One warned. "Well, he, um, revealed my identity."

Peter Two and Three instantly froze. "He did WHAT?" Peter Two and Three yelled. Their identity being revealed was their worst nightmare and they couldn't even imagine the effect that would have on Peter One and his loved ones. 

"He also framed Peter for murder," Rhodey added. 

Peter One laughed bitterly. "Yeah, there's that as well. Basically, life's been hell. But the final straw was that Ned and MJ were rejected from MIT just because they know me, and I got rejected too."

"That's so unfair!" Peter Three exclaimed.

"You could've made an appeal to MIT," Peter Two said. Stephen rubbed his temples while everyone else grimaced. 

Peter One winced. "I didn't know that was an option. Anyway, I went to Stephen because I know him and we fought together on Titan — the orange planet. I originally wanted to ask if he could turn back time so it was like none of this ever happened."

A beat passed. 

"That's an actual option for you guys?" Peter Three asked in a faint voice. 

Peter Two threw his hands in the air. "Why is time travel your first thought?"

"Hey, our world is really crazy!" Peter One defended. "Half of the universe disappeared!"  

"I wanted to ask more about that," said Peter Three. 

"We'll explain later," said Thor.

"But then I suggested using a forgetting spell so everyone would forget that Peter is Spider-Man, but the spell went wrong due to reasons so it was shut down, but some people got through," said Stephen. "The spell brought in people who know Peter Parker is Spider-Man including yourselves, Norman Osborn, Otto Octavius, Flint Marko, Max Dillon, and Curt Connors, who must be familiar names to you."

Peter Two and Three instantly paled. "Yeah, those are familiar names," Peter Two said as Peter Three nodded in agreement. 

"But Norman Osborn and Otto Octavius are dead," said Peter Two. 

"So is Max Dillon," said Peter Three. 

"They were transported to this universe before they died," said Loki. "They're technically variants as well."

"Stephen and Peter managed to round them up so Stephen could reverse the spell, but because they were going to die when got back, they fought, Peter trapped Stephen in another dimension and wanted to cure them before sending them back," said Wanda. 

Images of the five visitors appeared on the screen. 

"I know three of them," said Peter Two. "Otto Octavius, Flint Marko, and—" 

"—Norman Osborn," Peter One snarled. 

Tony put a hand on his shoulder, the rest of the Avengers looked at him sadly, Peter Three blinked in surprise at the strong reaction, and Peter Two froze. He swallowed thickly. "He did something to you, didn't he?" he asked quietly. "The Goblin."

"He killed May!" 

Peter Two and Three blanched and stared at Peter One in horror. "What?" Peter Two yelled while Peter Three went cold with fury. 

"She's dead because of him! He crashed his glider into her!" 

Peter Two's stomach churned as he remembered how Norman died because of his own glider. 

"None of this is going to happen in my timeline though. Osborn doesn't exist in my universe and there's no way I'm ever going to let Osborn enter my universe either, let alone get anywhere near May."

"How'd Osborn become the Goblin?" Bruce asked Peter Two. 

"There was a serum—"

Everyone instantly groaned at hearing that while Peter Two and Three were bewildered by the reaction. 

"Of course, there's a fucking serum," Tony spat. "Even in the Multiverse, the serum causes way too much trouble."

"Norman Osborn was a scientist who was known for his contributions to nanotechnology. He was MIT's youngest graduate and was also the head of Oscorp. They were contracted by the military to create a super-soldier."

The Avengers blinked in surprise and looked at Tony, who pinched the bridge of his nose. "What the fuck." It disturbed him that he had so many similarities to Osborn. 

"A super-soldier serum," Steve sighed.

"I wrote a paper on nanotechnology in high school," said Peter Two. 

"I have a nanotech Spider-Man suit," said Peter One. 

"A nanotech Spider-Man suit?" he said faintly with stars in his eyes. He shook his head. "Anyway, at the time, Oscorp was competing for a defence contract against its competitor who were building exoskeletons suits, which were deemed superior to the super-soldier serum."

Steve and Tony glanced at each other awkwardly. 

"Dr Osborn's colleague told the military that some of the test subjects went insane." 

"So Oscorp falls more on the Hammer Industries side," Rhodey muttered. 

"After that, he was given a tight deadline so he experimented on himself. All of this happened in 2002."

Bruce's mouth straightened into a thin line and refused to meet anyone's eye. 

Stephen raised an eyebrow. "2002? Our Peter was one then."

"The serum caused him to become violent and aggressive and these psychotic urges manifested as a new identity, the Green Goblin."

"So, Osborn's serum is sort of like…Howard's serum," Bucky said, not looking at Tony. Steve's eyes warily darted between Bucky and Tony. 

Tony clenched his jaw. "Basically, yes. They both failed."

"Violence, aggression, and insanity were the side effects of Dr Osborn's serum," said Peter Two. 

"That's literally what happened to the other Winter Soldiers," said Bucky. 

"After that, a lot of stuff happened between him and me, and he eventually died due to his own glider."

"Good," Peter One said firmly. It seemed fitting that the same glider that killed May was how Osborn died. The rest of the Avengers and the other two Peters looked at him in concern. 

"What about Octavius?" Stephen asked.

"Otto spent much of his life researching and building a sustainable fusion power reactor."

"The machine he kept going on about," Tony realized. 

"In 2004, he received funding from Oscorp and the machine was powered by tritium and the device used harmonic reinforcement to create a perpetual sun that could serve as a source of renewable energy."

The Avengers once again looked at Tony, who sighed. "He basically wanted to create an arc reactor."

"What's an arc reactor?"

"It basically provides the same function as Octavius' machine. It's something I made. That model sounds a little…"

"Rudimentary," Bruce finished. 

"Exactly, it doesn't sound like there's anything to stabilize the fusion reaction and to protect it against the magnetic field."

Peter Two was slightly taken aback at how quickly Tony had figured that out. Rudimentary? "Then what did you use?" 

Tony grimaced. "It's…complicated." The later version of the arc reactor was based on Tesseract energy and the Peter variants didn’t know what the Space Stone was. "The arc reactor was originally created by my father using research from the Space Stone — one of the six Infinity Stones. A large version of it powered the Stark Industries headquarters in LA. Then due to events, metal shrapnel was lodged in my heart so I miniatured the arc reactor and placed it in my chest to prevent the shrapnel from reaching my heart. The core was made out of Palladium and it powered the Iron Man suits."

Peter Two and Three looked horrified. "But the palladium would've poisoned your body," Peter Two said. "That can't have been healthy."

Rhodey and Natasha snorted. "It wasn't," they said. 

Tony smiled softly. Peter Two really was a Peter. "No, it definitely wasn't. I was dying. Eventually, I got my father's old research and synthesized a new element — officially, Starkanium, but unofficially, Badassium, and used the new core in the arc reactor," he gestured to his arc reactor.

Peter Two and Three stared at Tony in disbelief. "You created a new element?" Peter Two said faintly. 

"What even is your world?!" Peter Three said incredulously. 

Tony shrugged. "It was research from an Infinity Stone. You two could probably create it if you had research from the Space Stone too. My father was limited by the technology of his time and by the sounds of it, Octavius was too."

"I told you our universe was insane," said Clint. 

"I'm starting to realize just how insane it is," said Peter Two. 

"Hey, your worlds have people made out of sand and scientists turning to lizards," said Peter One. "It's pretty weird too."

"Half of the universe died in your world!" Peter Three shot back. 

"Okay, that's fair."

"Anyway, the arms were created to help Otto perform the experiment, but the reactor overloaded and became unstable because of the magnetic field."

Tony, Bruce, Peter One, and Peter Three winced. 

"Otto's wife was killed and the neural chip was destroyed—"

"And he didn't have control of his own mind anymore," Bucky finished. "We saw our Peter fix that though. Octavius is in control of his own mind again."

Peter Two looked at Peter One proudly. "Otto blamed Spider-Man for the failure because I tried to shut it down, but eventually, he sacrificed himself to bring down the reactor."

The Avengers looked solemn. They'd come to like Octavius.

"Octavius mentioned that he tried to kill MJ…" Wanda said. 

Peter One and Two's faces turned stony. "Right, he did. I saved her though – she's fine. But we ended up fighting on the top of a train. He destroyed the brakes and I had to hold the train from running off the rails."

"You held a train together?" Peter One said, impressed. "I held a ferry together."

"Wait, that was you?" Peter Three said, excited. "I had a dream about that!" 

"Wait, Peter, uh, Peter One, didn't you mention that you dreamed about octopuses?" Bruce asked. "I think you were dreaming about Octavius. You were only three in 2004 so you wouldn't have fully understood what was happening."

"That makes so much sense. The weird lizard dream makes sense too now."

"Which one of you fought a flying bird man?" Peter Two asked his variants. 

"I fought two," said Peter One. "Are you talking about Sam or the Vulture? Sam had red and grey wings at the time."

"Don't call me a flying bird man," said Sam. 

"Is that not what you are?" Bucky said. "You've just changed from a falcon to a bald eagle."

Sam glared at Bucky, who glared back. "Please don't get into a staring contest again," said Steve.

"No, he didn't have red and grey wings," said Peter Two. 

"Then it was the Vulture. If you guys run into him, he's not that bad but watch out. His name is Adrian Toomes."

Peter Three frowned. His variants were so cool and he seemed so lame compared to them. Peter Two even managed to catch his Gwen.

"We know about Osborn and Octavius, what's up with the sand guy?" Rhodey asked. "We know he fell into a super collider."

"That's pretty much it." Peter Two paused and then grimaced. "But he was the one who killed Uncle Ben in my universe."

Peter One and Three clenched their fists and anger welled up in Peter One's chest. Osborn killed May and Marko killed Ben. He wondered why had he even bothered to try to cure them in the first place. He had no qualms about wanting to send them back now. 

"It was an accident though," Peter Two said quietly. "Flint's not a bad person, he's just had a hard life."

"Like that makes it better?!" Peter One snapped. 

"It doesn't, but he regretted it every day. I forgave him in the end."

Tony's eyes flickered to Bucky, who looked away. There was a brief pause as they digested the information Peter Two dumped on them. 

"I know the other two," said Peter Three. "Max Dillon and Curt Connors. They're from my universe."

"I know a Curt Connors but that's not how he looks like," said Peter Two. "He used to study with Otto and was my Physics professor."

"Did your Curt Connors turn into a gigantic lizard?"

"…No." 

"My Connors lost his arm so he was experimenting to find a cure." 

"Oh no, my Connors lost an arm too."

"You may want to keep an eye on him then."

Bucky's face softened as he looked at the space where his left arm should be. Stephen's throat tightened. He knew all about trying every single possibility to heal a part of his body. He had just found the Mystic Arts instead of becoming a lizard.

"Connors also worked with Dad."

Peter One and Three's eyes widened. "Really?"

"They worked at Oscorp."

Peter One and Two frowned while everyone else groaned. 

"Oscorp?! Again?" said Scott. 

"So, Osborn obviously founded it, Octavius got funding from them, Connors and Dillon worked for them," Natasha summed up. 

"Your dad worked for Oscorp?" Peter One said, his anger spiking at hearing anything related to Norman Osborn. 

"We have the same dad," Peter Three said. 

"My dad didn't work for Oscorp because it doesn't exist in my universe!" 

"That's probably a good thing."

"It's definitely a good thing."

"So Dad and Connors worked on genetically modifying spiders."

"Well, that's a coincidence," said Steve. 

Peter Three sighed. "It's not. Those spiders are the reason I got my powers."

"You're kidding," Peter Two said shocked. "That's not it worked in my universe."

"Mine neither," Peter One added. 

"I guess like everything else, this also ties back to Norman Osborn," said Peter Three.

The Avengers scowled. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," Tony muttered. 

"In my universe, Osborn wanted to use the research for biological weapons and contacted a foreign military to continue funding it. Dad refused to work for Oscorp anymore and fled the country with Mom." He smiled sadly. "They left me with Uncle Ben and Aunt May."

"Osborn framed Dad, but he didn't know that Dad used his own DNA to genetically modify the spiders, so without our bloodline, Oscorp would be unable to continue the work for the biological weapons. So, when the spider bit me, I got my powers. Years later, Connors experimented on himself and turned into the Lizard."

"Just like Osborn and I," said Bruce. 

"Except we like you, we don't like the other two," said Rhodey. 

"After that, the chemical deeply affected his mind, creating an obsession with his new lizard abilities and making him see it as biological perfection, so he planned to turn everyone in the city into a lizard."

A beat passed. 

"What the fuck," Sam said. 

"We fought and I was able to cure him."

"That's great!" Steve exclaimed. 

"What about Dillon?" Bruce asked. "We know he fell into a vat of electric eels." 

"Yeah, at Oscorp."

The Avengers shook their heads, exasperated. 

"He saw himself as a nobody and was always forgotten. I saved him once and he sort of became obsessed. He fell into the vat on his birthday, actually. He caused a citywide blackout and challenged me to fight at the Oscorp Power Plant. Along with," his breath hitched, "Gwen's help, we defeated Electro by overloading his power supply causing him to explode into pure energy and killing him."

Tony blinked in surprise. He and Pepper had defeated Stane the same way — by overloading the arc reactor and killing him. 

"So, what I'm getting from all of this is that avoid we should avoid Oscorp and Norman Osborn at all costs," said Clint. 

"And his pathetic son, Harry Osborn," Peter Three spat. Gwen was dead because of him. "He was the Green Goblin in my universe."

Peter Two's head whirled towards him. "You have a Harry too?"          

"Wait, you also have a Harry?"

"Yeah, he was my best friend."

"He used to be my best friend when we were kids. I wish I never met him."

"Harry Osborn was your best friend?!" Peter One said, betrayed. "You're not friends with Ned Leeds, but Harry Osborn?" 

Peter Two looked at his younger variant sadly. He knew Peter One wasn't feeling very charitable towards the Osborns. "Harry had a complicated relationship with his father. He constantly tried to impress Dr Osborn but he didn't have a lot of time for Harry since he was obsessed with the company."

Tony rubbed his temples. That sounded a little too familiar.

"By the sounds of it, Green Goblin has always been Spider-Man's greatest adversary," said Peter Two. "In every universe."

Peter One clenched his jaw.

"Well, the Multiversal visitors sound awful," said Scott. 

Peter Two entered the portal and waved. The portal closed behind him. "Oh. It just closed." 

"After all of the bombs you guys dropped on me, portals don't seem that crazy anymore," said Peter Two. 

"Hey, you're learning," Clint said, proudly. "At this point, you just learn to accept it."

"I'm starting to get that."

"You’re Peter?" MJ asked. "Yeah. Peter Parker," said Peter Two. 

"It still feels weird seeing a forty-year-old Peter Parker," said Sam. 

He said he'd seen Ned and MJ, but then he spotted Lola, who blushed and waved. 

Peter One balked. "Lola?" he said, disturbed. 

Peter Two kindly waved back. "Hi." He paused, noticing Peter Three. 

Peter One, Two, and Three glanced at each other. They just met but they were glad they had. Spider-Man was a lonely life, and although Peter One wasn't as lonely as compared to Peter Two and Three, they had already felt a sense of companionship. 

They eyed each other. "Wait, he’s not your friend," said Peter Two. 

"Peter Two and Three would've seen Peter One's face plastered everywhere," Stephen said. 

Tony scowled. "Goddamn Daily Bugle."

Peter Two and Three's eyes widened. 

"You guys have the Daily Bugle too?" Peter Two asked. 

Peter One frowned. "Yeah, I do. Why do we have all the bad things in common?"

"The curse of being Peter Parker, I guess," Peter Three said. 

Peter Three fired a web at Peter Two, who dodged it and fired a web back. Peter Three dodged it, equally fast. They both flipped in mid-air and landed. 

Everyone stared in fascination. 

Peter Two quickly webbed Peter Three's web-shooter. Peter Three nodded, impressed. 

So did Peter Three. 

"This is going a lot better than the Loki Variants meeting," said Scott. 

A chill ran down Thor's spine. He just hoped none of the Peters kissed each other. 

"Please don't mention my variants," said Loki. 

"What happened with the Loki variants?" Peter Three asked. 

"They tried to kill each other," Bruce said casually. 

Peter Two and Three were taken aback by how causally Bruce stated it. 

Stephen looked at Peter Two and Three's faces and snorted. "It's normal for Loki."

"It is," said Wanda. 

Loki let out a large sigh. He couldn't even argue because it was true. 

Ned asked Peter Two why he didn't say he was Spider-Man. "I generally don’t go around advertising it. Kind of defeats the whole 'anonymous superhero' thing." 

Peter One, Two, and Three chuckled. 

"I really need to stop advertising it though," Peter One said. 

"I just said that," said Peter Three. "It’s what he just said," said MJ. 

"Variants," Loki sighed. Just the thought of the Multiverse and variants resulted in a headache. 

"Peter One said that too," said Peter Three. 

"He was quoting you," said Carol.   

Lola spoke in Tagalog. Ned translated, asking the two Peter to clean up the webs they just shot. The two Peters apologized and Lola said she was going to bed. 

"I would've done the same thing if I wasn't stuck in the Mirror Dimension," Stephen said.

Peter One grimaced. "You won't be left there. Someone will let you out eventually! Probably Ned because he's a gifted sorcerer now."

"Whoa, your best friend is a sorcerer? That's amazing!" Peter Three said.

In most cases, Loki wouldn't have minded leaving Stephen in the Mirror Dimension so he could get a taste of his own medicine, but Stephen was needed because Peter had to deal with the Multiverse.

Peter Two told Ned and MJ that he'd been trying to find their friend ever since he got there because he had a sense that he needed their help. 

"Is it because of the Peter Tingle?" Tony asked.

"I think it is," Stephen replied. "Our Peter's astral form didn't function as it should because of the Tingle."

Peter Two and Three were bewildered by the term. "Peter Tingle? What kind of name is that?" Peter Three laughed. "Do you mean the Spidey-sense?"

"May called it the Peter Tingle," Peter One said quietly. 

Peter Three's face softened. "We can call it the Peter Tingle."

"Also, what's an astral form?" Peter Two asked. 

They pointed to Wanda's astral form that was still studying at the back of the room, and Peter Two and Three shrieked in terror. 

A force ghost?! Peter Three thought, stunned.

Wanda snickered. "It's when you're separated from your physical form."

"Stephen can do it," said Peter One. 

Peter Three's eyes narrowed at Stephen. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious about being separated from his physical form. "Do it to me."

"It isn't a party trick—"

"Come on, Stephen! You did it for me!" Peter One protested. 

Stephen groaned. Peter Parker was going to be the death of him, especially Peter One. He pushed Peter Three's chest and knocked out his astral form. 

Peter Three looked at his astral form and his frozen physical body in shock. After a moment, Stephen connected Peter Three's physical and astral forms. Peter Three put his hands on Peter One's shoulders. "Your universe is so cool."

"It's honestly not. Trust me."

"Our help," Peter Three corrected. 

Tony was slightly bitter that none of the other Avengers besides Stephen helped Peter, but he was grateful that Peter had some superheroes in his corner and who better than his own variants? 

"Hell yeah, we got your back," said Peter Three. 

Peter One let out a watery smile. "I'm just really glad I met you guys. I've been wanting to meet my variants for a while and it's really nice finally meeting the two of you."

"I didn't even know about the Multiverse and variants until now, but I'm glad I met the two of you too," said Peter Two. "And knowing that we've been dreaming about each other's lives all this time makes it seems like it was—"

"—destined?" Peter Three finished. 

"Yeah."

"...He does," said MJ. "We don’t know where he is," said Ned. "And um... honestly, right now, we’re all he really has left," MJ added. 

"Wait, where are the rest of the Avengers?" Peter Three asked, frowning. "I thought you guys were a team?"

The Avengers shifted uncomfortably. "Let's just say that we didn't always get along," said Steve. "That's a new development."

"And Tony would've helped but he's dead in 2024," said Natasha. "So am I."

Tony's shoulders slumped. "He's lost so much."

Peter chuckled darkly. "Let's count. My parents, my uncle, my mentor, and my aunt."

Peter Two and Three looked confused at the mention of a mentor. "I didn't get a mentor," said Peter Three.

"Who's your mentor?" Peter Two asked. 

Peter One pointed to Tony, and the older Peter variants looked at him in interest. 

"I got a normal mentor, not a superhero mentor," said Peter Two. "My Dr Connors and Otto were mine, actually. For Peter Parker, not Spider-Man."

The Avengers' brows shot up. "Those are some…interesting choices for mentors," said Tony.

"You're pretty eccentric too, Tony," said Peter One.

"Is there some place that he might go that has meaning to him? Like a place where he would go to just—" "Get away from everything?" Peter Three finished. 

Peter One let out a watery smile. Midtown's rooftop, he thought.  

Peter Two said it was the top of the Chrysler building for him. Peter Three said his was Empire State Building since it had a better view. "That is a sweet view," Peter Two admitted. 

"It is pretty cool," Peter One admitted. 

MJ knew exactly where it would be. 

They looked at Peter One for an answer. 

"Midtown's rooftop, right?" Tony asked. 

Peter One nodded.

Chapter Text

Peter One sat alone on Midtown's rooftop. Ned and MJ appeared and wrapped him in a hug. 

A sob rose in Tony's throat as he wished he could've been there for Peter. 

"They're the only ones I have left," Peter One whispered. "I can't lose anyone else."

Peter One collapsed into them and sobbed. 

The Avengers closed their eyes sadly and Tony clutched Peter One tighter. 

A great pang gripped Wanda and Thor's hearts. They, along with Peter, had lost so much and it broke their hearts seeing someone as hopeful as him go through all of this. 

Peter One clenched his fists. He was glad that Norman Osborn didn't exist in his universe, but he wanted to tear him apart. 

Peter Two and Three's breaths caught. Peter One was so young and he had to deal with this. Were all Peter Parkers destined to lose people they loved and struggle? 

MJ gently pulled back and told him that there were some people there. 

Peter One let out a watery smile. He wished he'd been able to meet his variants in any other circumstance, but he was still happy to get to know them. 

Peter One leapt up, sensing them. 

"It has to be because of the Peter Tingle," said Bruce. "It's fascinating, to be honest."

He looked up to see Peter Two and Three's silhouettes. Peter One stood in a protective stance, guarding Ned and MJ, as Peter Two and Three jumped down. 

"And all three variants have met," said Loki. "You three are truly lucky that you don't have an animal variant," he told the Peters. 

Peter Two and Three looked at Loki strangely. "…Do you have an animal variant?" Peter Two asked. Nothing was out of the realm of possibility after everything the Avengers told him. 

"Alligator Loki," the Avengers answered while Loki let out a large sigh. 

"There's also my frog variant!" Thor helpfully added. "His name is Throg."

Peter Three clutched his head. "What the fuck."

Peter One patted his variants' shoulders. "You guys will get used to it. The Multiverse has always been crazy but you just didn't know it yet."

Peter Two apologized about May. 

Peter Two's heart clenched. He still couldn't believe that Peter One's May was dead and the Goblin was the one who killed her. He'd been thinking about how to cure him for a long time, and hopefully, he'd see himself manage it this time. 

Peter Three tried to tell Peter One that he had some understanding of what it was like, but he didn't want to listen. 

Peter Three knew Peter One was too angry to listen to anyone. He'd been the same after Gwen died. 

Peter Three looked at Peter One with pain in his eyes. 

It's so familiar, Peter Three thought. It was like looking at a younger version of himself, literally. 

"She’s gone. And it’s all my fault. She died for nothing."

"Octavius got a second chance though," said Bucky. "I don't think that's nothing." 

"May is dead!" Peter said. He didn't care if Octavius got a second chance or not. 

He said he'll do what he should've done in the first place and reached for the Box in MJ's hand. 

Stephen closed his eyes. Everything would've been much easier if Peter agreed to send them home earlier, but he was so impressed that Peter managed to give them a second chance.

Peter Two tried to reason with him, but Peter One said both of them didn't belong there so he was sending them home.

Wong sighed. All this time, he'd wanted Peter to send them home because he didn't want anything to happen to the Multiverse, but he'd managed to cure Octavius so he wouldn't die when he went back. It was impressive. 

Peter One told the others to deal with it as the visitors were from their worlds. "And if they die, if you kill them... that's on you. It’s not my problem. I don’t care anymore. I’m done." 

The Avengers looked at Peter sadly. He'd always been the best of them and the one with the most potential. The Goblin changed him.

Tears burned behind Tony's eyes. Peter had changed so much and he hated seeing him like this. He'd always wanted the best for him. 

He apologized for dragging them into this but they had to go home. 

"You need help," Peter Two said softly. "We can help you."

Peter tried to reach for the Box again, but MJ gently pulled it back. "My Uncle Ben was killed. It was my fault," said Peter Two. 

The Peters sucked in a breath. "You guys too?" Peter Three asked. 

Peter One and Two nodded. 

Peter Three chuckled darkly. "God, the Multiverse is playing an awful joke." 

"I lost…" Peter Three's voice caught, "I lost Gwen. She was my MJ. I couldn’t save her. I’m never gonna be able to forgive myself for that."

Peter Three's heart dropped. Of course, he would never be able to forgive himself for not being able to catch Gwen. How could he?

Peter One and Two's hearts twisted. They noticed that Peter Three mentioned Gwen in the past tense before, but they thought it had been a bad breakup.

"How did she die?" Clint asked gently.

"I told you that Harry Osborn was the Green Goblin in my universe. We were fighting at the top of a clock tower and," he swallowed thickly, "she fell. Harry dropped her."

Peter Two's eyes widened as he remembered he was able to catch his Gwen. And told him that he was able to catch her, he thought guiltily.  

"I dived after her and tried to catch her by shooting a web, but I wasn't able to save her," Peter Three said, choking down a sob. 

There was a moment of silence as everyone looked at Peter Three in horror. They didn't know what they could say to make him feel better.

He said he carried on and tried to keep being the Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man because he knew that's what she would've wanted. 

"She would've," Peter Three whispered, and Peter One and Two put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. 

"But at some point, I just— I stopped pulling my punches. I got rageful. I got bitter. I just don’t want you to end up...like me."

Peter One and Two, Steve, and Bucky looked stunned. They were the ones who were constantly pulling their punches. Peter's stomach churned as he realized that he'd had dreams about not pulling his punching.

Peter Three looked away. He'd made a lot of mistakes in his life and not being able to catch Gwen would always be his biggest one. He wanted Peter One to be better than him.  

Tony's throat thickened. He knew that the Peter variants didn't have a Tony and he didn't mean anything to them, but Peter meant something to him — every version of Peter. Just hearing all of the Peters go through all this pain made his heart ache. 

Peter Two talked about hunting down the man who he thought killed Ben as he wanted him dead. "I got what I wanted. It didn’t make it better. It took me a long time to learn to get through that darkness."

"You didn't know it was Marko?" Sam asked. 

Peter Two shook his head. "I found that out years later. I went after the person I thought did it and it's my fault he's dead. He didn't even kill Ben. It really doesn't make it better, trust me, Peter." He knew what it was like to be consumed by vengeance, both figuratively and literally with the Venom symbiote.

"I want to kill him. I want to tear him apart," said Peter One. 

Everyone sucked in a breath, shocked at hearing Peter say that. But the Avengers all knew they would've done the same if they were in Peter's place.

Tony's heart stopped at hearing his Peter say he wanted to kill someone. "Kid, I know that you're going through—"

"No!" Peter One snapped. "You of all people don't get to say anything. You tried to kill Bucky because he killed your parents!" 

"But I didn't — because of Steve — and it's because I tried to kill Barnes that I'm trying to tell you that it doesn't help," he said calmly. "I don't like Barnes, I really don't, but I'm glad that I didn't kill him. You get to a point where resentment becomes corrosive. It wasn't doing me any favours."

Bucky tried to make himself blend into the background. He didn't want to be in the room at the moment.

"Peter, I went through the same need for revenge and it resulted in Ultron," said Wanda. "It doesn't feel better, trust me. It's a slippery path."

Peter Two and Three's eyes were wide as they flickered between all of them. The two of them were getting the feeling that there was a lot of drama between the Avengers. "Barnes killed Stark's parents?" Peter Two whispered to Peter Three. "I thought they were part of the same team."

"Dude, this is insane," Peter Three whispered back. 

Peter Two shook his head. The Avengers' drama wasn't important at the moment. He cleared his throat. "Peter One, my May told me that it's not up to us to decide who deserves to die or not even if they deserve it. I think your May would've said that as well."

Peter One looked away and stayed silent.

"I can still hear her voice in my head. Even after she was hurt, she said to me that we did the right thing."

Steve, Sam, and Bucky agreed with May and thought that Peter did the right thing. Tony and Stephen were impressed by what Peter managed to do and cared about him so much, but there was still a part of them that never wanted Peter to deal with any of this. 

"She told me that, "With great power—" 

Peter Two and Three sucked in a breath at hearing the start of that very familiar phrase.

"—Comes great responsibility," Peter Two finished. 

"May told you that too?" Peter One said, stunned. 

"Uncle Ben," Peter Two and Three answered. 

"Wait, what? How do you know that?" Peter One asked. "Uncle Ben said it," said Peter Three. "The day he died," Peter Two added.

The three Peter Parkers stared at each other, overwhelmed by this uncanny connection. Bound together across universes by those words: With great power, comes great responsibility. 

"Maybe she didn’t die for nothing, Peter," said Peter Two. 

The Avengers looked at the three Peters in awe. Loki thought the Peter variants were getting along a lot better than his variants did. 

"Cure them and send them back," said Stephen. "Giving them a second chance is impressive, kid, but this has to end soon. You know that."

Peter One nodded. They still had a Multiversal War to think about. 

At Midtown's chemistry lab, the three Peters looked over the cures. 

"Your Midtown is a lot fancier than mine," said Peter Three. "Wait, you go to Midtown, right?"

"Yeah, I do. Your Midtown isn't a magnet school?" Peter One asked. 

"Hah, no!" 

Peter One took out Connors, Marko, and Dillon's cures and slammed Osborn's to the side. 

Tony narrowed his eyes. Did Peter even plan on curing Osborn?

Peter One said he could repair the devices for Dillon and Marko. A little cocky, Peter Three said he got Connors since he already cured him once, so no big deal.

"Right, you mentioned that," said Rhodey. "Connors tried to turn the entire city into lizards."

"He wasn't in his right mind," Bruce defended while Bucky nodded in agreement. 

Peter Two said he could make an anti-serum for Dr Osborn as he'd been thinking about it for a long time. 

"I have," said Peter Two. A lot of his early years of being Spider-Man had been defined by the Green Goblin. His friendship with Harry had instantly become complicated ever since he saw him drop off Norman's body at his house. 

Peter Two noticed Peter One's conflicted look. "We gotta cure all of them, right?" Peter Two said. 

"That's the plan," said Peter Three. 

"Right," said Peter One. "That’s what we do," said Peter Two. 

Tony and Stephen's lips twitched into a smile. Peter Two was right, it's what Peter did. 

Peter noticed MJ watching him. "What?" "Just... three yous." 

"Be lucky it's only three," Loki said darkly. 

"How many Loki variants did you guys see?" Peter Two asked, bewildered. 

"A lot," said Clint. "So many that we couldn't even count."

Later, Peter Two and Three were working on their cures when Ned arrived. "So, do you have a best friend too?" he asked Peter Two. 

Peter Two grimaced, Peter One and Three scowled, and the Avengers winced knowing who Peter Two's best friend had been. 

"I did." "You did?" "He died in my arms after he tried to kill me. It was heartbreaking," he said casually. 

Everyone looked at Peter Two in disbelief. 

"What the hell, man!" said Peter One.

"Of course, Harry would try to kill you," said Peter Three. "Typical Osborn."

"Harry and I had a…complicated friendship," said Peter Two. "He didn't know I was Spider-Man for a while and he thought Spider-Man killed his father for a couple of years so he hated Spider-Man. He helped me in the end, though."

A beat passed. 

"And I thought the Avengers had complicated relationships," Tony muttered. 

"Dude..." Peter Three whispered. 

"I should be happy considering it's Harry Osborn," Peter Three hissed. "Stay away from Harry Osborn, Peter One."

"I'm staying away from all the Osborns," Peter One said, firmly. 

Peter Two sighed. He knew how complicated life with the Osborns could be. That seemed like a constant in all Peter Parkers. 

Minutes later, Peter One was working on the cures and asked Ned to run a diagnostic. Ned refused to make eye contact. He started the diagnostic and then hurried off. 

The Avengers and the two Peters chuckled. 

"Ned thinks he's the best friend Peter Two is talking about," Natasha laughed. 

"But I'm happy you have supportive friends," Peter Two told Peter One. "Harry was the only friend I had, besides MJ, and that turned into a mess later."

"Harry and I used to be friends when we were kids and then he moved away. I didn't have any friends besides Gwen," said Peter Three. He let out a watery smile. "And you already know how that turned out. I'm glad you have friends like Ned and MJ."

"I'm glad I have them too. I can't lose them. You should find out if you have a Ned Leeds in your universe," he told Peter Three. 

Peter Three was sure that if Ned existed in his universe, he would be a great friend if he was anything like Peter One's Ned, but he'd learned his lesson about loved ones after Gwen.

Peter Two made a mental note to reach out to Betty and maybe casually be able to meet his universe's Ned. 

MJ sat next to Peter One. "Hey, you okay?" "I’m fine. Are you okay?" "You don’t deserve this. I’ve ruined your life—" 

Stephen closed his eyes. If only he'd listened to Wong, spoke to Peter before casting the spell, or shut down the spell the second Peter started talking, none of this would've happened. "You don't deserve this either, kid. You deserve so much better."

"I should've stopped speaking—" 

"What we should've done can be discussed for a long time, but there's no use in talking about that now," said Natasha. "None of this is happening."

MJ denied it and held his face in her hands. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. We're gonna get through this, and we’re going to get through it together."

Peter fell a little harder for MJ. After everyone he'd lost and seen himself lose, he couldn't bear to lose the small number of loved ones he had left. 

"You found one hell of a girl, kid," Tony said. 

The Avengers grinned. They'd been cheering for Peter and MJ ever since they found out about Peter's big fat crush on her. 

MJ leaned her head against his and Peter relaxed. "Thank you," he whispered. Peter Three watched them with a tinge of longing.

Peter Three blinked the tears out of his eyes. Peter One and MJ reminded him of himself and Gwen. It was the kind of love he had…and lost. 

He swore that he'd do anything to protect Peter One, Peter Two, Ned, and MJ. He couldn't protect Gwen, but maybe he'd be able to meet some of the new people he'd met that already meant a lot to him. Peter One and Two felt like his brothers. 

Peter Two smiled. Peter One and MJ seemed sweet together. 

Peter Two noticed him watching Peter One and MJ. "You have someone?" 

Peter Two winced knowing how Peter Three lost Gwen. 

"No. I got no time for uh, Peter Parker stuff, you know? Do you?" 

"That's what I thought too," said Peter One. "May and Tony forced me to make time for Peter Parker stuff. I actually think I balanced it pretty well before…Thanos. Ever since then, it's been complete shit."

"My May didn't find out for a couple of years," said Peter Two. "She found out later. And I didn't have a superhero mentor."

"Me either," said Peter Three. "Gwen knew, but then…well, I've been focusing on Spider-Man ever since then."

"Uh, that’s a little complicated." "No, I understand. I guess it’s just not in the cards for guys like us." 

"That's not completely true," Peter Two protested. 

"Well, I wouldn’t give up. It took a while, but...we made it work." "Yeah?" "Yeah. Me and...MJ." 

"I still can't believe you and your MJ are married," said Peter One. 

"I can't believe it myself," said Peter Two. "I'm going to be honest; it took a lot of effort to get there and our relationship still has its ups and down." If he thought their relationship was complicated back then, it became a lot more complicated ever since Mayday had been born.

Peter Three thought Peter One and Two were lucky enough to still have someone.

Peter Three's brows shot up. "My MJ. It, uh... it gets confusing here," said Peter Two. 

Everyone chuckled. 

"This honestly isn't as confusing as what we saw with Loki," said Bucky. "This is pretty tame on the Multiverse levels, honestly."

"We saw a lot of weird shit with Loki," said Sam. 

Peter Two and Three looked at them with astonishment. 

"This is tame?" Peter Two asked. 

"Oh man, you don't even know about the time Wanda created an entire sitcom with her mind," said Peter One. 

"Please don't mention Westview," said Wanda. The less she thought about Westview, the better.

Wong rubbed his temples at the mention of Westview. 

"What the hell, guys?!" Peter Three yelled. 

"Peter!" Ned shouted. All three stood up and turned towards him. "Yeah? Oh, sorry. Did you mean—" All three pointed at each other. 

The Peters snickered. 

"Peter, Peter—" "We’re all called Peter—" "Peter Parker?" "Same again—We’re all Peter Parker." 

"That's going to get old very quickly," said Tony. 

"It’s uh... the computer!" Ned said, giving up. Peter One moved to his laptop and said he was ready. Peter Three said he was too. 

"Great, you guys can do this!" Scott said encouragingly. 

"I better be freed from the Mirror Dimension soon," Stephen threatened. 

"Right after they're all sent back," said Peter One. "You can yell how much you want after that."

Stephen spluttered while Tony snorted. 

"Honestly, I'll be really happy to see you, though. You're one of the only four people I have left."

Stephen softened. 

"I still can't believe Peter One is close friends with a sorcerer," Peter Three whispered to Peter Two. 

"He's faced a lot of weird things and I thought we've faced a lot of weird things."

"Okay, so now all we gotta do is lure these guys someplace, right? Try to cure them while they try to kill us, and then send them home," said Peter Three. 

"That's pretty normal," said Clint. "Someone's always trying to kill us. It's the worst. I just want to retire!"

"Shut up, Clint," the Avengers said.

"Using a magic box," Peter Two clarified. 

"It's not a magic box," Stephen said, irritated. "It's the Macchina di Kadavus—"

"Strange, please," said Sam. "None of us, except for Wanda, Wong, and Loki, understand anything you're going to say."

"I should've expected that because you think sorcerers are wizards without a hat." 

"And I'm right!" 

"When have I ever worn a hat?!" 

"Well, you should wear a hat."

"Well, that's the plan," said Peter One. 

"He clearly makes better plans than Tony," said Steve. 

"'Attack' was a great plan!" Tony defended. 

Peter Three asked Peter Two if he was going to battle dressed as a cool youth pastor or if he had his suit. 

Peter Two raised an eyebrow. "Cool youth pastor?"

"Huh, you do give off that vibe," said Peter One. 

Peter Two pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing his Spider-Man suit.

"Great, we have three Spider-Mans, get to work and end this mess," said Wong.

Ned slid web fluid cartridges over to Peter One. "What’s that for?" Peter Two asked. 

"Web fluid…" Peter Three said slowly. Shouldn't Peter Two know what web fluid is since he was Spider-Man?"

"It's my web fluid, it’s for my web-shooters. Why?" Peter One asked. Peter Two fired a web from his bare wrist.

Peter's jaw dropped. He wondered if Peter Two's webs came out of anywhere else. Everyone else stared at Peter Two who looked a little uncomfortable. 

"I can't do that!" Peter Three yelled and Peter One shouted, "I can't either!" Peter One and Three each grabbed one of Peter Two's arms and examined it closely. 

Peter Two sighed. He'd finally found two Peter Parkers and he was still different from them. At least some of the other Avengers were just as weird.

"How does that even work?" Tony asked curiously. 

"Uh, I don't know actually. I just somehow found out I could do it."

"This puts a new meaning to Spider-Man," said Natasha. 

"You're Black Widow," said Peter Three. "You're also a spider."

"It's for aesthetic reasons just like your synthetic webs. You don't have natural webs like Peter Two."

"That came out of you!" Ned said. 

Sam groaned. "That's what I asked our Peter the first time I met him but turns out it was true for another Peter."

Peter One snickered. "I remember our first meeting very fondly. It was the start of a very beautiful friendship."

Sam and Bucky rolled their eyes, albeit fondly.

"The only thing Sam and Bucky agree on is how much they dislike Peter," Steve said. 

"He's a little shit!" Bucky defended. 

"Yeah. You can’t do that, huh?" Peter Two asked. "No!" Peter One exclaimed. 

"I wish I could though," Peter One said. 

"How on earth does that even...?" Peter Three said, amazed. 

"It's kinda cool," Peter Three said. As gross as it was, organic webs sounded cool.

Peter One said they were getting side-tracked. 

"We aren't getting side-tracked, so please explain," said Bruce. He was fascinated that Peter Two's webs came out of him.

"As I said, it just happened. I got it from the spider bite."

"My spider bite wasn't like that!" Peter One exclaimed. 

"Me either!" Peter Three said. 

He said they were going to draw them there with the Box since they all wanted it. All they had to figure out is how to get there. 

"A portal," the Avengers answered. 

"Those portals are very convenient," said Thor.

"Really saved our asses against Thanos," Tony agreed. 

"Yeah, because someone was ready to fight Thanos and batshit army by himself," said Bucky, shooting Steve a dirty look. 

Steve rolled his eyes. Bucky worried a little too much sometimes.

"Oh, we could portal there," Ned said. He proudly said he was magic now.  

"Adorable," Wanda grinned. "He should join our study group." 

"That study group is for you, me, and Loki," said Stephen. "Ned needs to learn a lot before he can catch up with us."

"He can learn," said Loki. 

"Stephen and I have a lot to teach him," said Wong. 

"You're going to teach him? Where are your higher duties now?" Stephen asked.

"If I let only you teach him, all he'll know is how to break rules and be reckless."

"Don't forget lessons on how to break the Multiverse," Loki added. 

Stephen was unimpressed. 

Peter One blinked dumbly. "I still can't believe my best friend is going to be a sorcerer." 

MJ backed him and the other Peters said they saw it too. 

"It was so cool!" said Peter Three. 

"If you think a portal is cool then you see some of the stuff Wanda, Loki, Stephen, and Wong can do," said Peter One. "It's amazing! Portals are pretty normal."

"What kind of world do you live in where portals are normal?" Peter Two asked. 

"I told you our universe is weird," said Clint. 

"Wait, really?" Peter One asked. "Dude, I got Dr Strange-magic," Ned said. 

"Eldritch magic," Stephen corrected with a slight smile. 

Ned promised that he wouldn't turn into a supervillain and try to kill him. 

Peter One snorted. "Not that that'll ever happen but it's nice to know. Ned isn't Harry Osborn."

Peter Three patted Ned on the back, proud of him.

Peter Three chuckled. Ned was a sweet kid. 

Peter One was very confused. "Okay... thank you?" 

Peter One and the rest of the Avengers snickered. 

Peter One said, "What’s that thing you always say: "Expect disappointment and—'" "No... we’re gonna kick some ass," MJ said. "Cure. Cure some ass," Peter Two corrected. 

"Hell yeah, you are!" Scott exclaimed. 

"Just get it done as soon as possible," Wong said. "They need to go home."

Jameson went live on the Daily Bugle as he received a call from Peter. "So, Peter Parker. What pernicious propaganda are you peddling?" 

Peter Two groaned loudly. "J. Jonah Jameson. It's good to know he's the same in every universe."

"You also have a Jameson in your world?!" Peter One asked.

"Yeah, and he looks exactly like that one. Just…with more hair. Working for him was a pain."

"You used to work for the Daily Bugle?!" Tony exclaimed. "Jameson's dragging Peter's name through the mud!" 

"He dragged my name through the mud too. I was a photographer for the Bugle, but he didn't know I was Spider-Man though." He shrugged. "Gotta pay the bills somehow."

"So, you got paid for taking selfies?" Wanda asked.

Peter Two started to protest and then sighed. "Yeah."

"Ugh, you worked for the Bugle too? So do I," said Peter Three.

"I don't know if this is funnier or sadder than Flash hating Peter but loving Spider-Man," said Rhodey. 

"I used to work with my Betty at the Bugle," said Peter Two. "It's where I met her."

"I don't know if my Betty works for the Bugle," said Peter One. "She wants to be a reporter, though."

"I haven't spoken to Betty in a while ever since I quit my job at the Bugle. I'm a teacher now."

"A stable job," Peter Three said, impressed. "I still work for the Bugle."

"The Jameson in your universe doesn't pay you fairly either, does he?" 

Peter Three laughed loudly. "Jameson? Paying his employees fairly? That's not possible."

Peter One's eyes flickered between the two. He didn't have a job.

Peter One admitted that it was all his fault. 

"Not all of it," said Bucky. "Part of it was Strange's too."

"And the spell shouldn't have done what it did," said Stephen. "It's also Sylvie's fault."

The broadcast played across giant video billboards in Times Square.

Peter Two and Three shuddered as they saw Peter One's face plastered everywhere when he was wearing his Spider-Man suit without the mask. 

"I know everyone knows Peter One is Spider-Man but it's still—" Peter Three started to say. 

"—A nightmare to see," Peter Two finished. "I know."

"I accidentally brought those dangerous people here." "Well, he admits it!" 

Peter Two scowled. Jameson was just as infuriating in Peter One's universe, maybe even more. Dealing with Jameson just as Peter Parker was bad enough, he couldn't imagine how awful it was when Jameson knew Spider-Man was Peter Parker.

Peter directly told the Multiversal visitors that he really did try to help them. 

"And Octavius was grateful," said Thor. 

"He was never evil, it's just that the AI took control of his mind," said Peter Two. 

He could've killed them at any moment but he didn't as May taught him that everyone deserves a second chance. 

"It's true," said Natasha. "Sometimes people are in difficult situations."

"And maybe sometimes people need to be pushed to get their eyes opened and not waste their lives," said Tony. 

"And also, to be able to be someone good if they wanted to," said Loki. 

Stephen was amazed that Peter was still trying to give the visitors a second chance after May's death. Maybe he'd been a little too quick in trying to send them home.

"And where is 'here' exactly?" "A place that represents second chances," Peter said, revealing he was on top of the Statue of Liberty. It was being renovated and the oxidized copper was now restored. 

"What did they do to it?" Steve said, horrified. 

Bucky frowned. "The Statue of Liberty isn't green anymore." 

"I know the Statue originally looked like that but it sucks without being green," Peter One said. 

The torch was concealed by a Captain America shield. 

Steve scowled and Sam's mouth straightened into a thin line. 

"What's that?" Peter Three asked. 

"Captain America's shield," Scott answered with excitement. He wondered if Sam would let him touch the shield if he asked nicely.  

"The Statue of Liberty?! Good God, folks, he’s about to destroy another national landmark!" 

The Avengers let out a guffaw. 

"Another? How many other national landmarks have you destroyed?" Peter Two asked. 

"Washington Monument in DC and Tower Bridge in London," Peter One said, sheepishly. 

"Oh my God, Jameson's right. This is the third one," said Bucky.

"Wish me luck. Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man could really use some."

Tony smiled sadly. 

Peter Two was now wearing his Spider-Man suit, webbing cures throughout the scaffolding, keeping them hidden and safe.

"Your suit looks good," said Peter Three complimented. 

"Thanks! I like both of your suits too," said Peter Two. "The spider on Peter Three's looks pretty cool and the gold metallic parts on Peter One's look amazing."

"It's nanotech," said Peter One. 

"Sweet!" 

In the calm before the battle, Peter Two and Three were by the scaffolding. Peter Two's back tensed up and he started to stretch. "Ah, there it goes." 

"Ah, you have a back thing?" Clint asked. 

Peter Two nodded. 

"I obviously don't swing, but my back still hurts." He paused. "Honestly, it's my entire body."

"I have really bad neck cramps while flying in the suit," said Tony. 

"Probably hurts like hell, doesn't it?"

Tony made a disgusted sound. "It's the worst thing in the world."

"You okay?" "Oh, it’s my back. It's kinda stiff from all the swinging I guess."

Peter One was bewildered at hearing that Peter Two's back got stiff from swinging. 

Peter Three said he had a middle back thing too.

"Oh, I don't have a back thing," said Peter One. 

"I hope you don't because you're sixteen," said Peter Two. "You should take care of your back though."

"Yeah, having a middle back thing is super inconvenient," said Peter Three. 

He asked Peter Two if he wanted him to crack it, who said it would be great. Peter Three cracked his back. 

"Put some distance," Thor hissed. 

"Uh, what?" Peter Three said. 

"Ignore him," said Natasha. "It's just that the last time we saw variants together, they ended up kissing — they're Thor's Multiversal siblings."

Peter Two and Three looked disgusted. "Variants kissing each other?!" Peter Three said. "Gross." He looked at Peter One and Two. "There's no way I'm kissing either one of you."

"Me too," Peter One and Two said.

"How is it?" "Wow... that’s good!" "Right?" he said proudly. 

"I think I do it pretty well," said Peter Three. 

Peter Three sat down, taking in the moment. "Ah, this is so cool. I always wanted brothers." 

The Peters grinned. They'd just met each other but they already felt a sense of brotherhood through shared experiences by just being Peter Parker and Spider-Man. 

"Figures that it'll finally take the Multiverse for me to get brothers," said Peter Three. "I never expected I'd be the middle child, though."

"But it's a bit awkward since I've just heard about variants kissing," Peter Two said. 

"So you, like, make your own web fluid in your body?!" he asked Peter Two. 

Peter Two sighed. He should've expected this would come up in the conversation soon. 

Peter Two didn't want to talk about it, thinking Peter Three was teasing him. Peter One chimed in saying he wasn't teasing but they were curious since they couldn't do it. 

"I wish I could tell you but I don't know how," said Peter Two. "Like you two probably found out that the Peter Tingle exists and you could climb walls," — Peter One and Three nodded — "it's the same thing. I don't really think about it. It comes naturally."

"But if it’s personal, I don’t want to, like, pry. But I just think it’s cool," said Peter Three. 

"Exactly!" Peter One added. 

Peter Two explained it by saying it was like breathing and it just happened. Peter Three's mind was blown. 

"So cool," said Peter One and Three.

"Like, does it just come out of your wrists? Or... does it come out of anywhere else?" Peter One asked. "Only... only the wrists," said Peter Two.

"Please don't tell me you thought it came out of my ass," Peter Two asked. 

Peter One shifted uncomfortably. "I mean, I wasn't going to say it, but yeah."

"All of us were thinking it," said Scott. "So, if webs come out of you, can you also summon an army of spiders? Peter One said he couldn't."

Peter Two looked at Scott strangely. "No, I can't…why would you ask that?"

"Because I can summon an army of ants."

"Dude, are you serious?" Peter Three asked, excited. "That's so cool!" 

"Yeah! My favorite ant died though. His name was Ant-Thony."

"Rest in Peace, Ant-Thony."

"Scott can become giant-size too," Peter One told his variants. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing the first time I saw him. His giant hand smacked me in the face too."

"Really? I'm so sorry!" Scott said.

Peter One waved off the apology. "It's alright. I got to web your giant legs together so we're even."

"You've never had a web block?" asked Peter Three. "'Cause I run out of webs all the time. I have to make my own in a lab, and it’s a hassle compared to what you got." 

"Oh man, don't even get me started," Peter One complained. "I used to make my webs during Chemistry when my teacher wasn't looking. It was a huge hassle. I run out of webs all the time too."

"It's the worst," said Peter Three. "Organic webs seem a lot more convenient."

Peter Two chuckled. "Trust me, it's not."

"That sounds like a hassle. Yeah...but I did actually, you said that I was like, 'Oh! I had a web block.'" "Whoa... why?" 

Peter Two frowned. "It's a long story." He'd learnt a lot when his powers went away, and maybe telling Peter One and Three about it can prevent them from going through the same thing. 

"After Dr Osborn died, I was going through a lot. I was struggling to deal with Spider-Man along with being Peter Parker. MJ and I weren't together but our relationship wasn't that great at the time, Harry was mad at me for taking pictures of Spider-Man and he thought Spider-Man killed his father, May was going through financial troubles, and we were still grieving Ben. It was affecting college and I thought about giving up Spider-Man. I did later on."

There was a beat of silence.

"…Damn," said Peter Three.  

"Existential crisis stuff." "Yeah, I mean, like, don’t get me started on that." 

The Avengers let out a laugh. "That's pretty common with the rest of us too," said Bucky. 

"We've gone through a lot of existential crises," said Clint. "Most recently, when we found out about the TVA and He Who Remains."

"That goddamn drawer full of Infinity Stones still haunts me," Tony muttered. 

"It haunts you?! Imagine how I feel! I swore an oath to protect a paperweight!" Stephen exclaimed. 

"Hey, what are, like, some of the craziest villains that you guys have fought?" Peter One asked. 

"Mine's Thanos," said Peter One. "I haven't fought him yet but I'm going to."

"Who's Thanos?" Peter Two asked. 

"You're very lucky you don't have Thanos," said Thor. 

"Maybe they do and they just don't know," said Wanda. "We didn't know about Thanos either."

"They're from 2024 though. Thanos snapped in 2018," said Bucky. "The Blip should've happened by now."

"They're from a different universe, so they have different circumstances," said Natasha. "The two Peters were born in 1984 and 1995. There was no Battle of New York in their universe either." 

"And they said they're the only superheroes in their universes," said Peter One. "No offence, but you guys are screwed if Thanos ever decides to come to your Earth. One person isn't enough, you need a team," he told Peter Two and Three. 

"Can someone tell me who the fuck Thanos is?" Peter Three yelled. 

"The alien who wiped out half of the universe using the Infinity Stones," Wong answered. "The Infinity Stones are six immensely powerful gems created by the Big Bang from six singularities. There's the Space Stone, Reality Stone, Power Stone, Time Stone, Mind Stone, and Soul Stone."

"Okay, you've told me a lot of crazy things but six magically stones with the power to wipe out half of the universe in an instant?" Peter Three said dubiously. "Sounds fake."

"Well, you better believe it because a lot of our history has been intertwined with the Infinity Stones," said Steve. 

"What if the Infinity Stones don't exist in our universes?" Peter Two asked. 

"They have to," said Stephen. "The Infinity Stones are our chief forces against darkness. The universe would collapse without it."

A beat passed. 

"Okay, so the Infinity Stones do exist in our universes," said Peter Three.

"Both of you need to find your universe's Stephen Strange," said Stephen. "If he exists. If even I don't exist, the Masters of the Mystic Arts have to exist in every universe because we have to be there to protect Earth against mystical threats."

"And also, to protect the New York, London, and Hong Kong Sanctums. If all three Sanctums fall, the world will be vulnerable to many mystical threats," Wong added. 

"The Masters of the Mystic Arts exist in your universe, but you just don't know it. Go to 177A Bleecker Street and ask for Stephen Strange and Wong," said Stephen. "If they exist, hopefully, they'll help you if you mention that someone wants the Time Stone. We are sworn to protect it and we take that oath very seriously." 

Peter Two and Three's eyes were wide and mentally made a note to find Stephen Strange and Wong. 

"But if you two are the only superheroes in your universes, what happens if there's something outside of New York? What if there's an alien invasion?" Bruce asked. "Who's going to deal with it?"

"And when we had an alien invasion in our universe, one person was not enough," said Steve. "We were nearly losing with six."

"The invasion only ended once I shot a goddamn nuke at the mothership," said Tony.

Peter Two and Three looked extremely terrified. "Uh…no idea," said Peter Three.  

"Seems you’ve met some of them," said Peter Two. Peter Three laughed, "That's a good question."

"They're pretty much the ones you've already met," said Peter Three. 

"Fake Thor sucks!" Scott exclaimed. 

"Fake Thor?" Peter Three asked in confusion. 

"Dillon isn't impressive at all," said Thor. "His lightning is very tiny." He unleashed his lightning — his eyes turned blue and lightning ran down his entire body. 

Peter Two and Three's jaws dropped. 

"Definitely tiny," Peter Three said breathlessly.

"Wait, why are you the God of Thunder if you control lightning?" Peter Two asked.

"God of Lightning was already taken."

"By who?" Peter One asked.

"Zeus."

"Zeus?!"

The Avengers burst into chaos. "You're joking! Zeus is real?"

"Thor, you never told us Zeus was real!"

"Zeus is an arse," said Loki.

"He's not!" Thor insisted. "He's my personal hero."

"Brother, you're an idiot." Loki thought most — if not all — of the Gods were idiots, including his brother.

"Zeus being real is something you should've told us, Thor!" Steve exclaimed.

"How many other gods are real?" Natasha asked.

"From the ones that are known on Earth: Dionysus, Ra, Tawaret, Khonshu, Horus, Osiris, Iris, Ammit, and Bast. Our Eternals friends are mistaken as Athena, Hephaestus, Mercury, and Circe."

There was a long silence while Peter Two and Three were glad that they weren't the last ones to know something.

"What the fuck, Thor," said Clint.

Peter Two said he fought an alien made out of black goo once.

"The alien I met did not look like Thor," Peter Two muttered. He cringed as he remembered how he danced around the city due to the symbiote.

"With our luck, the black goo alien probably exists in our universe too," said Bruce. "Space is weird, guys. I don't even remember most of my time on Sakaar."

Thor wasn't about to tell him that the Hulk spent two years killing his opponents.

"Oh, no way! I fought an alien too. On Earth and in space." 

"It was the same alien," said Steve. 

"The second one was a variant though," said Natasha. 

"I can't believe you went to space," Peter Three told Peter One, awed.

"I haven't gone to space yet—"

"You're not going to go at all!" Tony yelled.  

"Tony's a little sensitive because he saw me die in space. You should know, you saw him in the dream. But I also saw him nearly die because he was stranded in space for three weeks."

"Oh."

"Yeah, space isn't that great. Our space friends are pretty cool though."

"Oh!" "Yeah, he was purple."

"Didn't you guys say that your friends' dad was purple?" Peter Three asked. 

"Yeah, it's the same person," said Peter One. 

"You have to fight your friends' dad?"

"Our friends want to fight their own dad," said Rhodey. 

"You wanted to kill Thanos as a baby!" Bruce exclaimed. 

"It's Thanos!" 

"He wasn't even a good dad," said Scott. "He tortured Nebula and dropped Gamora off a cliff."

Peter Two and Three blinked in surprise.

"I want to fight an alien!" Peter Three exclaimed. 

"Let's fight!" Thor said. 

Peter Three felt like he was about to faint out of delight. "No, thanks," he squeaked out. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Thor. 

Peter One sent him a knowing look. He felt the same in front of Thor.

Peter Two and Three eyed Thor's hair. "We know he has great hair," said Clint.

"A creepy old man cut it," Thor said gloomily.

"You mean your hair is actually better than it is now?!" Peter Two cried.

"It's Thor," Peter One stressed like it explained everything, which it did.

"I’m still, like... that you've fought an alien in space," said Peter Two. 

Tony, Stephen, and Peter grimaced. 

"Titan didn't end well," said Stephen. 

"I'm never stepping foot on Titan," Tony said firmly.  

"Our space road trip could've ended better—" Peter started to say. 

"Peter, you died!" Stephen exclaimed. 

"So did you!" 

"No one is going to Titan this time," said Tony. "I swear I'll lose my mind if we do."

Peter Three sighed. "I’m lame. Like, I fought a Russian guy in, like, a rhinoceros machine." 

The Avengers and Peter Two protested that he wasn't and Peter Three was slightly taken aback by the sheer number of people telling him he wasn't lame. 

"And a rhinoceros machine sounds pretty dangerous," said Peter One.

"Can we wind it back to the 'I’m lame' part? 'Cause you are not."

"You're not!" said Steve. "You're Spider-Man. I know we don't know you very well, but like our Peter, you do your best to look out for the neighbourhood. It's a good thing." 

"Uh, thanks?"

"Aw, thanks. No, yeah, I appreciate it. I’m not saying, 'I’m lame', I’m just saying, like—" "But it’s just the self-talk maybe we should, you know...'Cause you’re... you’re amazing."

"Yeah, you are!" Peter One added. 

"Don't have a low self-esteem," said Peter Two. "You truly are amazing even if you don't think so."

"I can take it in." "Will you say it?"

The Avengers and Peter Two gave Peter Three a pointed look, who sighed. "I'm amazing," he mumbled. 

"No, I kinda need to hear that. Thank you." 

"Even if you think you haven't done much compared to us, it doesn't matter," said Peter One. "Going to space and fighting aliens isn't that great. It sounds cool, but the next thing you know you're dying and then you come back five years later, only to fight in a giant battle that ended once your mentor sacrificed himself, so then you have to see him die too."

Peter Three blinked. "...Oh."

Chapter Text

Peter One's Tingle went off and told the others to focus.

Everyone stiffened. 

"Fight's about to start," said Scott. 

Electro appeared with the arc reactor mounted on his chest. "How do you like the new-new?"

Tony clenched his jaw. "Destroy the arc reactor, kid. I don't want it in Dillon's hands." 

"Oh wow, Max looks different," said Peter Three.

"Look, you give it to me; I’m gonna destroy it," he said, talking about the Box. 

"That's not going to help at all," Stephen said, shaking his head. 

"It's not like there's a Multiversal War to think about," Loki muttered. 

"Even if this Multiversal threat is over, Wanda's still using the Darkhold to look into the Multiverse," said Wong. 

Wanda winced. "I know that's going to be a problem."

"It's definitely going to be a problem," Wong said, exhausted.  

"But I’ll let you live. Don’t make me a murderer, Peter."

"…Then don't murder people?" Scott said. "It's pretty simple."

Peter One put on his mask and swung off with The Box with Electro chasing after him. Peter Two and Three put on their masks and swung into action.

"The eyes on your masks don't move," Peter One noted. 

Peter Two and Three looked at him in confusion. "Your eyes…move?" Peter Two asked. 

"Yeah? There's a camera mapping my face and copying whatever my face is doing."

"Mine doesn't do that."

"Mine either."

"Huh."

Peter Two launched at Electro with the cure. Peter Three greeted him, but Electro tried to zap him and missed. 

'This would've been over in a second if Thor was there," said Bruce. "Dillon wouldn't stand a chance against him."

Thor smirked widely. 

Peter One tossed the Box to MJ through a portal, who caught it. She and Ned were at Midtown's Chemistry lab. 

"Smart," said Natasha. "All Multiversal visitors are fighting for the Box, but the Box isn't there."

Peter Three was just glad that Ned and MJ weren't going to be at the Statue of Liberty. After Gwen, he couldn't handle seeing any loved ones of Peter Parker being in danger. Peter One's May has already died. 

Ned tried to close the portal, but he couldn't manage it. 

Stephen and Wong frowned. "It's a wonder that Ned managed to open a portal so easily in the first place," said Wong. "It takes practice to successfully open and close portals at will."

"That's not helpful at the moment, though!" Peter yelled. "The portal's still open!"

At the base of the Statue, the Lizard leapt out of the water. 

"Ah, shit. There's Connors," said Sam.

Peter Two still found it incredibly weird that there was a version of Curt Connors that turned himself into a lizard. His Curt Connors was always kind and helpful.

Electro told Peter Three that he wasn't even the shit anymore. Peter Three dramatically sighed, dropping his head.

"Dramatic little shit," Bucky grumbled. 

"Peter One is the shit," Peter Three admitted.

"That's not true!" Peter One denied. "You're the shit too!"

"Don’t worry about me," said Electro, looking at the arc reactor. "I saved myself." 

"Using the arc reactor?" Tony said, incredulously. "The arc reactor is making this worse!"

Peter Two was swinging with the Lizard hanging off his leg. He told them that the Lizard was there too. 

"Wonderful," Wanda said sarcastically. 

"Hey, at least Peter's not alone," said Scott. "He got his back up."

The best backup, Peter One thought. 

Both Peter Two and Three said they needed the cures, and Peter One was on it, but before he could help, Sandman's giant fist grabbed him. 

"Shit," Peter One, Two, and Three said. 

"Where’s the Box, Peter?" "Flint, we can help everyone!" "I don't care!"

"I get that he wants to go back to his daughter, but if he's just a little more patient, he'll get the chance to not be sandy!" Clint said.

Just as Peter One webbed the crane, trying to free himself, Peter Three swung through and plummeted. Peter Three webbed a new line, accidentally hitting Peter Two in the face. "Gross!" he said. 

The Peters frowned at their lack of teamwork. 

"This isn't working," said Natasha. "The three of you need to work as a team."

"You're getting off to a rough start; it's fine," said Steve. "We did too, but we got there eventually."

"They don't have time," said Tony, worried. 

"It's fine," said Bruce. "We didn't have time either, but we figured it out."

"Sad to tell you, Sandman. Nobody’s going home!" Electro yelled. 

"Everyone's going home!" Wong yelled. "No one's staying back."

"It's not like the end of everything and everyone is coming anyway," said Loki. His face hardened. "All of them are going back to their own universes."

"None of them know about the Multiversal War," said Wanda. 

"I don't know if that makes this better or worse," Stephen replied. 

Electro accidentally blasted the crane, which came crashing down, freeing Peter One from Sandman's grip. 

"He accidentally helped Peter One," Scott said. 

The Lizard was pinned underneath the crane. 

"Great, he's stuck!" Thor said. "Cure him now!"

Sandman drew sand from all over, creating a massive sandstorm. 

Thor froze. "Or maybe not."

"I can't believe the rest of us are just ignoring this giant battle at the Statue of Liberty," said Sam. "Peter literally told everyone on the Daily Bugle."

At the scaffolding, Peter One ripped off his mask, catching his breath. Peter Two helped him up.

 "That's sweet," said Wanda. 

Peter Two and Three were confused about which number Peter they were. 

Loki sighed. "I know. It gets confusing very quickly."

"Stop arguing! Both of you! Listen to Peter One. Look, we're clearly not very good at this!" said Peter One. 

"You're Peter One!" Peter Three exclaimed. 

"None of them know which Peter they are," said Bruce. 

Peter Two and Three said they sucked as they didn't know how to work as a team. 

"Luckily, our Peter has," said Tony. "He works well in a team."

"Titan was a dream in terms of teamwork, especially when most of them were meeting each other for the first time," said Natasha. 

"Please don't tell Quill that. I'll never hear the end about how his plan was better."

"Stephen put us on the path where we won, though," said Peter. 

"He didn't control the way you fought and worked with others. The team on Titan worked together well, and you guys were the ones who got the closest to defeating Thanos besides Thor the first time," Bruce told Tony, Stephen, and Peter.

"There was no plan during the fight at the Compound, but Peter still worked well there," said Clint. 

"That wasn't a fight; that was a literal battle," said Rhodey. 

"A battle?" Peter Three said. "Peter One has been in a battle?"

"Not yet," Peter One responded. "But soon."

"You're sixteen!" Peter Two protested. 

"Come on, if you were Spider-Man at sixteen and could help save the universe when the stakes are so high, wouldn't you do anything to protect it?"

Peter Two and Three didn't say anything. 

"Exactly. The first time Thanos wanted to kill half of the universe and succeeded. The second time, he wanted to wipe out the entire universe and create another one from the beginning."

Peter Two and Three stared at him in horror. 

Thor put a hand on Peter Two and Three's shoulders, who were suddenly faint-headed. "If you ever meet your Thanos, always go for the head."

"…Okay?"

"Well, I do! I have been in a team, okay? I don’t want to brag, but I will... I was in the Avengers," said Peter One. 

The Avengers snickered while Peter's face turned slightly red. 

"I've looked up to the original six Avengers since the Battle of New York, okay! Me being an Avenger is a big deal! You know the reason why Clint means so much to Kate. Sure, there are downsides, but of course, I'm going to brag about it."

"No, we get it; it's just funny," said Tony.

"10-year-old me would faint if he knew I would be an Avenger one day," Peter One muttered. 

"I still can't believe we're letting people who were kids during the Battle of New York onto the team now," said Sam. "First Peter, then Kate. Who's next?"

"Kate's not an Avenger yet," said Clint. "Eventually, yes. At the moment, no."

Peter Two said, "The Avengers?!" "Yeah." "That’s great!" "Thank you." "What is that?"

"Well, I know who the Avengers are now," said Peter Two. "Earth's Mightiest Heroes." 

With everything he'd learnt — Thanos and the Multiversal War, especially — he'd wondered if he should create his own team. Clearly, his universe was much crazier than he'd ever realized if things Infinity Stones existed. He had listened to everything the Avengers had talked about and the threats they faced, and it was clear that he couldn't handle it alone. Once he got back to his universe, his first stop was at 177A Bleecker Street. 

"Wait, you don’t have The Avengers?" Peter One asked, confused. 

"If the Avengers don't exist in their universes, then Fury doesn't exist," said Tony. 

"Maybe he does, but hasn't gotten the idea," said Clint. "He only got the idea because he met Carol."

"He only met me because the Kree took me, and I was only taken because of the powers I gained from the Tesseract," said Carol. 

"The reason SHIELD even got the Tesseract was because Howard was looking for me," said Steve. "I think their WWII is a lot different than ours."

"So, it makes sense that Steve and I don't exist either," said Bucky. "They don't know about Captain America and if we do exist, we would've stayed in the 40s."

"We know I don't exist," said Tony. "And they wouldn't know about Natasha and Clint if the Battle of New York hasn't happened. Natasha and Clint could exist. Rhodey, Sam, and Bruce too. Bruce probably isn't the Hulk, though." 

"Which makes sense if Steve doesn't exist because I was trying to replicate Erskine's serum," said Bruce. 

"But super-soldiers exist in Peter Two's universe," said Steve.

"Also, true. They know about the Norse myths, so Thor exists but has never been banished. He's probably in Asgard if Ragnarok hasn't taken place yet."

Thor and Loki grimaced at the thought of a Thor who had never been banished. 

"Does Hank Pym exist in your universes? He's a well-known scientist," Scott asked the Peter variants, who shook their head. 

"Then I wouldn't have the Ant-Man suit. I could exist, though."

"I could exist too," said Wanda. "How is Sokovia in your universe?" she asked Peter Two and Three, who looked lost. 

"I've never heard of Sokovia," said Peter Three.

"Me either," said Peter Two. 

Wanda's shoulders slumped. 

"Is that a band? Are you in a band?" Peter Three asked. 

"They broke up like a band," Bruce said. He still couldn't believe he'd missed so much when he was at Sakaar.

"No, I’m not in a band. No, The Avengers is uh, uh... Earth's Mightiest—" "How’s this helping?!" Peter Two yelled. 

"It's not! Who we are isn't important right now," Natasha said. 

"Look, it’s not important. All we gotta do is focus, trust your tingle, and coordinate our attacks, okay?"

"The Peter Tingle is one of the greatest assets that all Peters have," said Tony. "It's…something else."

"Let’s pick one target," said Peter Two. "We take them off the board one at a time," said Peter Three. 

"You three are getting the hang of it!" Clint said.

The Peters decided who were Peter One, Two, and Three. Peter One and Two were about to leave, but Peter Three stopped them, "I love you guys." 

Peter Three grinned. "I do!" He'd only just met Peter One and Two, but he already felt a sense of brotherhood with them.

"Thank you," said Peter One and Two. 

"Love you too," Peter One smiled.

Peter Three beamed. "Best younger brother ever."

Peter Two chuckled. "I love you guys too. This makes me the oldest brother."

The Avengers smiled softly. Seeing the Peters together was an incredibly sweet thing. 

"You're motivating everyone like an older brother," said Peter One. "Or at least, that's what I think an older brother would do."

"It is," Thor said, at the same time as Loki said, "No." 

The three of them shared a determined look. 

So did the three Peters as they were united as one. 

They pulled their masks and leapt off the scaffolding, screaming in delight. 

Peter One, Two, and Three had the widest grin. 

"Oh man, swinging with you guys would be so much fun!" Peter Three said. 

"We can come up with so many cool moves!" Peter One said, excited. 

Peter Two smiled. He wanted to introduce MJ and Mayday to his new brothers, and he wanted his MJ to meet Peter One's MJ. 

"Three Spider-Men," Bucky said, shaking his head. It was still a nightmare for him. 

"Three Spider-Men," Tony said fondly. He was glad that if there had to be only one superhero in a universe, it was Spider-Man. Peter, any Peter, was better than all of them. 

The three Spider-Men swung as a team. They landed one by one on the Statue of Liberty’s crown. 

The room was silent as everyone took in the scene they had witnessed. The Peters had wide smiles while the rest of the Avengers were stunned. 

Sandman, Electro, and Lizard rose directly across from them, and the three Peters leapt towards them. 

Tony was glad that Peter One wasn't alone to fight them since the Avengers weren't there. 

"We got this!" Peter Three said. 

Peter Two's heart warmed at hearing Peter Three talking positively. 

Peter One said that Sandman was first. Peter Two said he was going to lead him inside the statue. The Lizard chased Peter Three, who had the cure, and pinned him down. "Hey, Doctor Connors..." "Hello, Peter."

"The Lizard having a British accent is so weird," said Rhodey. 

"The Dr Connors in my universe doesn't have a British accent," said Peter Two. "He's American."

Peter One swung by with Electro after him. Peter Three threw the Lizard's cure to him, who caught it. Electro zapped him, causing him to drop the cure. 

Everyone groaned in frustration. 

"Get the arc reactor off of him!" Tony yelled. 

Peter Two was running from Sandman and crawled inside the Statue. Sand flooded in all around him. "Guys, I’m at the top. I need the cure!" Arms of sand grab at Peter Two, pulling him under.

Peter One and Three paled while the rest of the Avengers looked at Peter Two in concern. 

Peter One said he was coming. Peter Three webbed the Lizard to the scaffolding and told him to wait his turn. 

"Good, focus on Marko for now and leave Connors for later," said Stephen. 

Peter Three grabbed the fallen Sandman cure, jumped off the scaffolding, and slingshotted himself to the crown. He tossed the cure to Peter One, who threw it to Peter Two inside the crown. 

The Avengers looked impressed at how quickly the three learned to work together. 

"It becomes easy when all of them are Peter Parker," said Scott. 

Loki snorted. Dealing with his variants had been anything but easy. 

Peter Two activated the cure, and the sand quickly retreated to reveal Flint Marko, who was a man once again. 

"One down, three more to go!" Peter Three cheered. 

"It worked!" Peter Two said, elated. 

Peter One let out a watery smile. May hadn't died for nothing.

"He can live a normal life with his daughter," said Scott. "He got a second chance."

"So that's what he looks like," said Bruce. "All this time, we've only seen him as sand."

Electro grew with power, amplified by the arc reactor. "I've never seen him this powerful," said Peter Three. 

"The arc reactor," Tony spat. "Thor's lightning and the arc reactor has always been a powerful combination. I hope it's destroyed."

Peter One realized it was the arc reactor. "You’re not gonna take this away from me," said Electro. 

"Yes, they are!" Tony snapped. "I'm the one who made the arc reactor and I don't want it in his hands." 

He fired a huge bolt of electricity at the Spider-Men, who jumped away. 

Thor was frustrated that he wasn't there. If he was there, then he could've shot a bigger bolt of electricity back at Electro. 

"Okay, we gotta do this up close. Peter Two, go right. Peter Three, go left. On me!" Peter One said. 

"Peter, I think one day you have the potential to be the leader of the Avengers," Steve said casually. 

Peter One's jaw dropped as he stared at Steve. "Leader?" he choked out. He didn't want to be the leader! He was just a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man!

Tony grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. "You are the best of us, kid." 

"Hey, you turned out to be the future leader of the band!" said Peter Three. 

They tried to get closer but were all blasted by electricity. Peter One jumped, but Electro shocked him straight into the Statue, slamming him onto the scaffolding below.

All of them winced.

Meanwhile, Lizard broke free from the webs. He heard Ned and MJ's voices talking about the portal, which was still open. 

"Ned still hasn't managed to close the portal?" Peter panicked. 

"That's what we'll work on first," said Stephen. "He can open portals with ease but has trouble closing them."

Wong found it very strange that Stephen was creating lesson plans.

Peter One spotted Lizard charging towards the portal and he swung towards him. Ned and MJ panicked, and they ran as Lizard jumped through, crashing the lab. 

Everyone stared in horror. 

Peter Three groaned loudly. "Dr Connors, no!" 

"Does he want to turn Ned and MJ into lizards or something?" Sam asked. 

"Probably."

Peter One kicked the Lizard back and told his friends to run. Ned and MJ ran, and they had no choice but to head through the open portal. 

Peter One's stomach dropped. "Not through the portal!" 

"They don't have any other choice," said Clint. 

"But they can't be anywhere near the Statue! I've placed them in more than enough dangerous situations. The Washington Monument and everything that happened in Europe."

Peter Three was still pinned by Electro's power. He lost his grip on the cure, but Peter Two caught it when suddenly a tentacle arm grabbed him. 

"Dr Octavius?" said Peter Two. 

Peter Two dropped the cure. Another tentacle arm grabbed Peter Three, and Otto rose into view behind Electro. "Leave 'em. They’re mine."

Peter Two's breath caught at seeing Otto. The last time he'd seen him was when Otto decided to sacrifice himself to shut down the reactor back in 2004. It'd been twenty years. 

"He was on good terms with Peter before; why is he doing this?" Bruce asked. 

Suddenly, a third tentacle latched onto the arc reactor on Electro's chest. 

"He did it to get closer to Dillon," Natasha realized. "None of the Peters were able to get close to him."

"Those arms came in handy," said Bucky.

Otto released Peter Two and Three. He yanked the arc reactor with one tentacle and set the cure device with another. "There you go," said Otto. 

Peter Two looked relieved. 

Tony laughed loudly. "Good." He'd never heard of Otto Octavius in his universe, but if there was one thing he'd learnt from the Multiverse, it was that he doesn't know anything. Octavius could be much younger in their universe and just starting his career. He decided to look into him, especially if he was interested in creating renewable energy. 

"Two down, two more to go!" Scott cheered.

"Osborn hasn't shown up yet," said Steve. 

Peter One clenched his fists. He didn't want to cure Osborn. He wanted him dead, no matter what everyone else was telling him.

Meanwhile, Ned and MJ were running from the Lizard. He managed to open a portal to the bottom of the bay. Water flooded through, knocking Lizard back. 

Stephen raised an eyebrow, impressed. 

"He still managed to create a portal very quickly," said Wong. "Quicker than most sorcerers who are beginners can manage."

MJ grabbed the Lizard cure and threw it to Peter, who shoved it into the Lizard's jaw. 

All of them grinned. 

"I know he lost his arm, but hopefully, Connors won't mess around with lizards again," said Bucky. "And now he won't turn the entire city into lizards too."

"Only one more person left," said Clint.

MJ said they had to hide the Box. Ned opened a portal, and Stephen stepped out of the Mirror Dimension. 

The Avengers let out a loud sigh of relief, especially Stephen and Tony. 

Peter One paled. "Oh shit." 

"I'm glad he's back," said Bruce. "He can send the visitors back to their universes now."

"Peter's so close!" Bucky exclaimed. 

"I'm not going to stop him once I've seen that Peter's plan is actually working," said Stephen. "But this needs to end soon. It's gone on for long enough."

He glared at Ned and MJ. "Where is he?"

"Strange looks pissed," said Sam. 

"No shit, Peter trapped him in the Mirror Dimension all this time," said Clint. He and Stephen had the same tired energy while dealing with superhero children. In their defence, Peter and Kate were a handful. 

Stephen summoned the Box and sling ring from the two. 

Stephen found it embarrassing that a teenager was able to take his sling ring away from him, even if the teenager was Spider-Man. 

Ned quickly told him that Peter's plan to cure them was working. "What plan?" Stephen asked. 

"He doesn't even know about the plan?" Scott asked. "He's been gone for a while."

Loki smirked. This is what Strange deserves after making him fall. 

He doesn't know about May, Peter thought. 

He walked forward to see the Lizard transforming back into Curt Connors. 

"I knew my cure would work," Peter Three said, smugly. 

"This is also the first time we've seen Connors as a human," said Steve. 

Stephen was surprised. "Well, I'll be damned." 

Stephen let a soft smile. The kid always managed to impress him. 

He turned to Ned. "Did you just open a portal?" "Yes, sir. I did." "Hmm," he said, quietly impressed and walked off. 

"It surprised the hell out of me," said Stephen. 

"Ned has the potential to be the future Sorcerer Supreme," Wong told Stephen. It was never too early to start thinking about his successor. "I'm going to teach him too. He's the most talented student we've had since you."

Peter shook his head. Stephen and Wong told him to bring Ned by the Sanctum, but it was surreal that Ned wasn't just able to do magic; he was a magical prodigy. Ned was so gifted that the Sorcerer Supreme wanted to keep an eye on him! He lit up. Maybe they could fight together like he and Stephen had. 

Wanda grinned. She had a soft for the kids and she was glad that Ned was finding something he was good at. 

Tony sighed. Ned had impressed him by hacking Peter's suit, but now Stephen and Wong had managed to convert him to the dark side. It was a shame. 

Ned looked at MJ in shock. 

"It's a surprise when Stephen is impressed," said Peter. 

One of Otto's tentacles gently dropped Max onto the scaffolding. Peter Three dropped down beside him. "Max?" he said cautiously. 

"He can't access his electricity anymore," said Peter Two. 

Thor frowned. He couldn't imagine what it was like to not be able to feel the electricity in his body. 

Max said he was back to being a nobody while Peter Three protested. 

"He wasn't a nobody!" said Peter Three. 

Max laughed. "You gotta nice face. You're just a kid."

"He's twenty-nine," said Wanda. "Peter One is a child, not Peter Three."

He thought Peter was Black as he was from Queens and helped poor people. "There's gotta be a Black Spider-Man somewhere out there."

Peter Two's eyes lit up. "There is! Well, there is in my universe, at least. There's this kid I'm mentoring — Miles Morales. He's such a good kid." 

Tony blinked the tears out of his eyes at hearing that Peter Two was a mentor. He knew variants weren't the same, but seeing Peter Two was like seeing a glimpse of who Peter One could be. 

"So, there are two Spider-Mans in your world?" Steve asked. 

"Hey, there can be two Spider-Mans," Clint defended. "There are two Hawkeyes."

"Yeah, Miles and I share the name. It gets slightly confusing at times, but we make it work. You two should find out if Miles exists in your universes," he told Peter One and Three. 

"I'm not old enough to be a mentor!" Peter One exclaimed. 

"I'm not emotionally mature enough to be a mentor!" Peter Three said. 

Peter Two chuckled. "His spider bite was a little different than ours, though."

"Your spider was different than mine or Peter Three's," said Peter One. "We didn't get organic webs."

"Well, that's true. But Miles can turn invisible and has these electricity blast things."

"No way..."

"So cool."

"But he isn't from Queens, he's from Brooklyn," said Peter Two.

Steve and Bucky beamed. "A Spider-Man from Brooklyn?" Steve said, overjoyed.  

"I guess there's one Spider-Man in the Multiverse that isn't that bad," said Bucky.

Peter One rolled his eyes.

"Miles is a pretty great Spider-Man and he gets along well with MJ and Mayday too," said Peter Two.

"Mayday?" Peter One asked.

"Yeah, my daughter."

There was a pause as Peter One felt faint-headed again, Peter Three's jaw dropped, the Avengers grinned, and there was a loud thud as Tony fainted.

"…Is he okay?" Peter Two asked, pointing to Tony.

Rhodey slapped Tony on the cheeks to wake him up and Tony got up, looking dishevelled. "Did I just hear that Peter Two is a father?" he asked.

"Yes," said Scott.

"Oh my god."

"You're a dad?" Peter Three said, overjoyed. "Peter One, do you know what this means? We're uncles!"

"I'm an uncle!" Peter One said, ecstatic.

"Peter Two is a father," Tony whispered. "A father and a mentor."

"I guess this makes Peter Two an honorary member of the Dadvengers," said Scott. "I know Peter Two isn't an Avenger, but he's Peter Parker and our Peter is an Avenger, so he's an honorary member?"

"Thanks!" Peter Two said, even though he didn't know what that was.

"Goddamn eels..." said Max as Peter Three helped him to his feet. 

"He got a second chance, though," said Natasha. "They usually come out of it as a better person."

Meanwhile, Otto examined the arc reactor in his hand. "The power of the sun..."              

"—In the palm of your hand," Tony finished with a slight smile. Octavius wasn't awful; he liked him the best out of all the visitors. 

"In the palm of your hand," said Peter Two. "Peter?" he asked. Peter Two pulled off his mask, "Otto."

Peter Two grinned. He'd always regretted not being able to shut down the machine before the chip got fired. Dr Octavius sacrificed himself in the end, but Peter Two wished it hadn't come to that in the first place. He was glad that Peter One managed to cure him and got him a second chance. 

"Oh, it's good to see you, dear boy." "It’s good to see you." 

"I haven't seen him in twenty years," Peter Two said. "It truly is good to see him again, knowing he has control of his own mind now. He once told me that intelligence is not a privilege, but a gift and you use it for the good of mankind."

Tony's lips quirked up into a smile. "Smart man."

"You're all grown up. How are you?" 

Tony let out a watery smile. He still couldn't believe he was seeing a Peter Parker that wasn't a teenager. Peter Two had his own protégée and was a father!

"How old were you when you first met Octavius?" Steve asked Peter Two. 

"Twenty. I'm forty now."

"And from Octavius' perspective, Peter Two was twenty the last time he saw him," said Stephen. 

"They technically did time travel," said Loki. 

"I can't believe you guys say sentences like that so casually," said Peter Three. 

"Trying to do better."

Peter Two let out a loud laugh at hearing that. 

Stephen emerged from a portal, carrying the Box. Peter One dropped down in front of him, "Strange, wait, we're so close—"

"Just Osborn left," Peter One muttered.  

"Zip it! I’ve been dangling over the Grand Canyon for twelve hours!" 

Loki let out a burst of laughter while Stephen looked extremely irritated. "That's how it feels!" Loki yelled. 

Stephen stopped when he noticed the Peter Variants. 

Everyone erupted into peals of laughter while Stephen was very exhausted. 

"He's so behind on everything," Wanda laughed. 

Loki knew how he felt. For every Loki variant he saw, there seemed to be three more. Why couldn't all of his variants be like Classic Loki?

A confused Peter Two stepped in. "You went to the Grand Canyon?"

"No, it was the Mirror Dimension that looked like the Grand Canyon," Peter One answered. 

"I have no idea what that sentence means," said Peter Two. 

"Stephen and Peter fought in there, and Peter beat him using math," Tony said smugly. 

Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose. He was never going to live that down. 

"He coulda used your help, man," said Peter Three. 

"I could've helped if he hadn't trapped me in the Mirror Dimension!" Stephen yelled while Peter One grimaced. 

Tony shrugged. "It's your fault that you don't know math."

"I know math!" 

"Peter's just better at it than you then."

"And you were never going to help Peter," said Bucky. "You wanted to send them back."

Stephen deflated. "That's true. I wouldn't help him then, but I would now."

Stephen shook his head, exhausted. 

"That's me whenever I find out any new information to do with the Multiverse," said Steve. 

Peter One introduced the other Peters. "They're mes from...other universes. They're here to help."

"Variants is the correct term," said Loki.

"And I'm glad they're there to help," said Natasha. 

This was all too much for Stephen. "No, no..."

Clint and Tony knew exactly what Stephen was feeling — it was a side effect of being around either Kate or Peter. 

Stephen rubbed his temples. Was it too much to ask to live a peaceful life?

Peter One turned to the other Peters: "This is the wizard that I was telling you about."

"Sorcerer," Peter One corrected. 

"Is there a difference?" Peter Three asked. 

"Sorcerers are wizards without a hat!" Sam blurted before Stephen could say anything. 

"For the last time, that's not true!" Stephen yelled. 

"Look, I am really impressed that you’ve managed to give them all a second chance, kid. But this has to end. Now." 

"It does," said Stephen. "I don't want to think about what else is out there in the Multiverse."

"It's just Dr Osborn, and then we're done," said Peter Two. "Send everyone back after that."

"Osborn isn't even there yet," said Bucky. 

"Can the Spider-Man come out to play?!" Green Goblin cackled. 

Peter Two froze at hearing that voice and the same words the Goblin had said all those years ago. Peter One clenched his jaw and the rest of the Avengers stiffened. 

Bruce's mouth straightened into a thin line. "There's Osborn." It was odd knowing that he and Osborn had a similar relationship with their other halves, except the Hulk was nothing like the Green Goblin. But he still empathized with Norman.  

Green Goblin was on his glider, dropping pumpkin bombs. Goblin stole the Box from Stephen. 

Everyone yelled, "NO!" 

"He cannot destroy the Box," Wong stressed. The Multiverse was falling apart and his on-screen variant was peacefully spending his time at Kamar-Taj without a care in the world. 

One of Otto's tentacles grabbed onto the glider, holding Goblin in place. 

"I knew I liked him for a reason," said Tony.

Stephen used an Eldritch Whip to take back the box. 

Tony was delighted that Stephen was there now. He had faith in all the Peters, but what they were facing had to do with the Multiverse. 

Goblin sliced his glider through Otto's tentacle arm. 

The Peters, Bruce, Tony, and Stephen winced. 

"That would've hurt," said Peter Two. 

Suddenly, all three Peters sensed something was wrong. 

"All of them got the Peter Tingle at the same time," said Natasha. The Tingle was a good tool to have.

There was a pumpkin bomb inside the Box. 

All of them blanched. 

"Fuck," Clint cursed. 

Peter Two really hated those pumpkin bombs sometimes. 

The bomb detonated and the Box exploded. The broken spell was unleashed and unstable. 

Stephen, Wong, Wanda, and Loki looked at each other in concern. 

"Oh shit," said Rhodey. "This isn't going to be good."

The Captain America shield broke off and fell through the scaffolding. 

"That's one good thing that's come out of this mess," said Sam. "I hope they don't attach it again."

"Leave the Statue of Liberty alone!" said Steve.

MJ screamed as she fell off the scaffolding. 

The Avengers looked horrified and Peter One froze. 

Peter Three nearly stopped breathing as he remembered Gwen. He couldn't let his younger brother face the same fate he did. He had to save MJ! 

Peter One dived after her, nearly reaching her before the Goblin's glider slammed into him, carrying him in the opposite direction. 

Everyone looked utterly terrified at this turn of events. 

"Fucking Osborn," Peter One hissed. If MJ died because of him, he'd tear a hole through the Multiverse and kill him himself. 

Peter Three's stomach dropped. Peter One wasn't there to save MJ!

"She was never supposed to be there," Tony said, a lump in his throat.

"The first thing I'm teaching Ned is how to close portals," Stephen said, deathly pale. He'd grown attached to his three babysitting charges. 

The screen flicked to show Gwen Stacy falling.

Peter Three's face contorted and tears instantly formed in his eyes. That day had been the worst day of his life. He couldn't save Gwen and he couldn't watch Peter One go through the same fate he had.

Peter One and Two froze, their eyes prickling with tears. They knew this was Peter Three's Gwen Stacy. They were watching Gwen's death, the same death that had tormented their brother all these years.

Peter Three shot a web, which caught Gwen, but subsequently broke her back right before she landed on the ground.

There was a loud gasp from Peter Two and the Avengers. Peter Three had told them what had happened, but seeing it was so much worse and tragic. No wonder he hadn't been able to forgive himself all these years.

"This is all Harry Osborn's fault," Peter One hissed, furious on his older brother's behalf.

The screen flickered back to show Peter Three diving after MJ, catching her, and shooting a web so they landed safely. 

"I caught her," Peter Three whispered, tears streaming down his face. He'd replayed Gwen's death in his mind a thousand times wondering how he could've prevented her death. Instead of shooting a web, he should've just caught her, and that's exactly what he did with MJ. 

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Peter One yelled, hugging Peter Three, who hugged him back tightly. Peter Three was just glad that he was able to prevent Peter One from going through the same thing as him. 

"Are you okay?" "Yeah. I’m okay. Are you okay?" Overwhelmed with emotion, Peter Three nodded. 

"You managed to save MJ," said Peter Two, kindly. No wonder Peter Three had self-esteem issues.

Peter Three relived the worst moment of his life when he lost Gwen, but this time, he prevailed. By seeing himself catch MJ and help his younger brother not face the same thing he did, he felt like he could finally forgive himself for what happened that night. Besides, that's what older brothers were supposed to do, right? Protect their younger brothers? Peter Three thought he was getting the hang of this brother thing. 

Stephen was floating above the crown, shaking with effort as he tried to control the spell. 

All of them looked at him in concern. They didn't want Stephen to get hurt.

Ned was hanging from a bent pole, straining to hold on.

Peter One clutched his head. "Not again!" 

Peter Three's eyes widened and his breath caught. Ned was about to fall too?! 

The spell was nearly contained when the spell erupted, and deep, purple cracks pierced the sky. 

A beat passed as everyone stared at the purple cracks in the sky. Peter Two and Three were still astonished that these things happened in Peter One's universe. 

Stephen groaned in frustration and Wong's eye twitched.

"This is not good," Loki said, faintly. 

"The three of us have to work on our magic together," Wanda said. 

"We're fucked," said Bucky. 

"The sky is literally falling apart, and no one else from the Avengers has shown up!" Tony yelled. 

"What the fuck do you want me to do when the sky is falling apart?!" said Clint. "Shoot a goddamn arrow at the sky? Strange has this stuff covered."

"It's probably not a good idea for me to show up," said Wanda. "Other me is reading the Darkhold."

"Not to mention making the Multiverse worse herself," Wong grumbled. He'd just become the Sorcerer Supreme and now he had to deal with this mess. Dealing with Stephen was bad enough, but now he had met Wanda, Loki, and Peter as well.

"I'm dead in that timeline," Loki said casually. 

Thor frowned. 

Ned lost his grip, but he was saved by the Cloak of Levitation. 

All of them sighed in relief while Stephen grinned at seeing the Cloak. 

"I love the Cloak!" Peter One cried. "Thank you for saving Ned," he told Stephen and the Cloak. He always thought the Cloak was cool, but now he'd always be grateful to it and Stephen for saving Ned. 

Stephen smiled softly. "What kind of babysitter would I be if I let Ned die?" Donna had already died while he was babysitting her, he couldn't let the same thing happen to Ned.

The shield fell and stopped at the water's edge. 

"Don't put the shield back on the Statue of Liberty," Sam muttered. 

New rifts split through the skyline. Stephen quickly tried to seal the rifts. 

Stephen frowned. Even though he'd learnt a lot by watching Peter and May try to save the Multiversal visitors at a great personal cost to themselves, he still wished that Peter didn't have to get hurt. He vowed to discuss any spell he cast for another person in great detail first, and maybe not cast any spells around Peter because he couldn't keep his mouth shut. 

"The rifts keep appearing every time Strange manages to close one," said Steve. He and Strange argued a lot about what to do with the Multiverse, but he deeply respected him. 

"Stephen can't do this alone," Tony said, worried. 

"Wong is at Kamar-Taj blissfully unaware that any of this is happening," Bruce said. Wong seemed like a cool guy. 

Natasha pointed at Stephen, Wanda, and Loki. "You three are the magic side of the team—"

"I'm not an Avenger," Loki interrupted. 

Clint snorted. "No, you're not. But somehow, you're working with us."

Thor beamed at seeing everyone get along. 

"Anyway, you three are the magic side, so you have to learn to work together."

"That's what our study group is for! All of our magic is different," said Wanda. "Chaos magic, Eldritch magic, and Asgardian magic."

Wong was horrified at the team Stephen had gotten himself into. He could already predict that Stephen, Loki, and Wanda would cause a throbbing headache that he wanted nothing to do with. He decided that he needed new friends. He eyed the Avengers — Bruce and Carol seemed like good options.

Meanwhile, Peter Two and Three were still trying to wrap their heads around that the Avengers now had a specialized section to deal with magic. What kind of world did Peter One live in?

Meanwhile, Peter One pulled a pumpkin bomb and shoved it into the glider. Both of them crash-landed on the shield. 

They sucked in a breath at seeing Peter One and Goblin together. 

The Cloak dropped Ned safely and flew away. "Thank you, Mr Cape. Sir." 

"Mr Cloak, sir," Stephen corrected. 

"Best Cloak ever," said Peter One. He hadn't forgotten that one of his variants in the Multiverse had Stephen's Cloak — it was so cool. 

Ned and MJ ran into each other's arms as they realized they were okay. They told Peter One they were okay, and he sighed in relief. 

So did everyone else. 

Peter One swallowed thickly. Ned and MJ once again nearly died because of him. This was the third time for Ned and the second time for MJ. He knew he needed them, but he kept putting them and danger and ruining their lives. They would've gotten into MIT on the first try if they hadn't been associated with him. 

Peter One turned to face the Goblin. "Poor, Peter. Too weak to send me home to die." "No. I just want to kill you myself."

The Avengers' hearts dropped at hearing Peter say that. He'd always been so full of hope and the Goblin broke him. Some of them had been in Peter's situation themselves and knew what he was going through, but it hurt seeing him like this.  

Peter Two and Three closed their eyes. They knew better than anyone what Peter One was going through because they'd done the same themselves. They didn't want their younger brother to go through the same situations they had. 

"It wasn't Osborn," Bucky said softly. "He wasn't in his right mind. He didn't have control of his actions—"

"I don't care!" Peter snarled. "He killed my aunt!" 

Tony's breath caught as he, Bucky, and Steve blanched. The three of them instantly thought of Siberia. 

Goblin grinned. "Attaboy!" 

"Fucking asshole," Sam snapped. 

Peter One and the Goblin started to fight. Peter One punched the shield so hard that it caused a large dent. 

The Avengers sucked in a breath. They knew Peter was unbelievably strong and they'd always seen him hold back. To know how easily Peter could punch through everything if he wanted to, but chose not to, said a lot about him. 

The Goblin fought back, but Peter One got the upper hand, brutally beating Goblin back.

Their hearts jumped into their throats at the murderous look on Peter One's face. 

"Oh my God," Tony said faintly. He just hoped someone would stop Peter. He hated Osborn too, but he didn't want Peter One to kill him. That's why he'd chosen him in the first place! 

"This is brutal," Bucky whispered, stomach churning. Winter Soldier-level brutal, he thought. And Peter didn't even have a metal arm. 

Stephen's stomach churned as he watched Peter punching the Goblin again, and again, and again. He hated seeing Peter like this. He was a bright and hopeful kid, but it had been one thing after the other since Thanos. 

Peter Two and Three shared a look of concern as they ran to see Peter One punching the Goblin until he was down on his knees. 

So did the Avengers and the two Peters. 

Peter Two and Three hoped they'd be able to stop Peter One. Peter Three told his younger brother that at one point, he stopped pulling his punches and got rageful and bitter. He'd do everything to prevent Peter One from ending up like him. 

He grabbed the glider. 

Everyone's stomachs dropped and looked at Peter in horror. Tony felt ill. 

"Someone please stop him," Clint pleaded. He didn't know how Tony was managing seeing any of this. He and Tony bonded over their idiot superhero children, and all he saw when he looked at Peter was Kate. 

Rage gripped Peter One. He wanted to see himself tear Osborn apart. The glider was a fitting way to die since it had killed May, and besides, it had killed Osborn originally. He wanted to make him feel the pain that he was going through. May was gone because of him, and he barely had anyone left. 

He lifted it over his head, about to bring the glider down when Peter Two jumped in between them, stopping Peter. 

Everyone let out a massive sigh of relief. Peter One clenched his fists, trembling with fury. He knew what Tony and his older brothers had said, but he still wanted Osborn dead. 

"Oh, thank God," said Tony. He'd forever be thankful that Peter Two had also been transported to their universe, but it made his blood chill at seeing just how close his Peter had been to murdering someone.

There was a pleading look on Peter Two's face.

"Don't do this," Peter Two whispered. "Please."

The Avengers hoped Peter One would listen to Peter Two. 

Slowly, Peter One relaxed and set the glider down. 

Tony nearly sobbed out of happiness knowing that Peter wouldn't have blood on his conscience. 

Suddenly, Peter Two was stabbed in the back by the Goblin. 

Their hearts jumped into their throats. 

"It's alright," said Peter Two. "I've been stabbed before. I'll be fine." He wasn't about to mention that Harry stabbed him, everyone else already hated Harry and Norman.

Peter One and Three chuckled weakly. They'd been stabbed too. 

"She was there because of you..." Goblin said, taunting Peter. "I may have struck the blow. But you...you're the one that killed her," he cackled with glee. 

The Avengers glared at the Goblin. They could understand what Peter Two and Three meant when they said that the Green Goblin would always be Spider-Man's greatest adversary. 

Peter One clenched his fists as anger swept over him. The Goblin was right; it was his fault that May was dead because everyone he loved was constantly in danger because of him. Even his loved ones like Tony, who could make Thanos bleed, died for him. But May would want Osborn to be cured — she thought it was worth it if they didn't have to die.

Peter Two sucked in a breath. It had been twenty-two years since he'd last faced the Goblin, and he'd forgotten how cruel his words could be. 

Peter Three bit back his anger at seeing the Goblin taunt Peter One. Even though the Green Goblin he was seeing wasn't the Green Goblin from his universe, he'd always hated Norman Osborn and Harry Osborn. Harry Osborn was the reason Gwen was dead and Norman Osborn was why his parents fled. 

Peter Three threw the cure. Peter One grabbed it and stabbed the Goblin with it in the neck. 

Peter One had done what May wanted, but now he just wanted Osborn gone. He was glad that the Osborns didn't exist in his universe as he would never like Norman Osborn or Harry Osborn. He could see why Tony would never like Bucky even though he knew Bucky wasn't in control while killing Howard and Maria Stark.

"You did it," Steve said. 

"And you three were able to do it by working together," Natasha added. 

From the floor of the shield, Peter Two smiled with relief.

Peter Two's misted over. For twenty-two years, he'd been wondering what he could've done differently to save Norman, and subsequently, Harry. Harry eventually helped him in the end, but he never would've gotten to that position if it wasn't for the night he and the Goblin fought. 

The Goblin fell back, and then a look of recognition. "...Peter?"

"And Osborn's back now," Bruce whispered.

Norman saw Peter Two on the ground and remembered everything. "What have I done?"

Bucky, Bruce, and Carol looked at Norman sympathetically. They knew what it was like to not be able to make their own decisions and wake up with blood on their hands. 

Peter Three rushed towards Peter Two and asked if he was okay. Peter Two said he was good as he'd been stabbed before. 

"Me too," said Peter Three. 

"Same," Peter One added. 

Peter One joined them. "Hey, nice catch," Peter Three complimented. "Nice throw," Peter One replied. 

The Avengers smiled softly while the Peters grinned. 

There was a rumble from above. "What? Is that happening, or am I dying? Are there... people in the sky?" Peter Two asked. 

"I'm not even surprised at this point," Peter Two said. "Half of the universe died, so sure, there can be people in the sky."

Stephen, Wanda, Loki, and Wong cursed. 

"They're coming through," said Stephen. "Everyone who knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man in the entire Multiverse."

"What can we do to stop it?" Peter asked. "You always have a solution."

"Honestly, I hate to admit it, but I have no idea, kid."

Peter Three said it was real. 

"I can see why you keep saying your universe isn't as cool as it seems," said Peter Three. "This is stressful."

Peter One snorted. "You finally get it."

"You should come visit mine some time," said Peter Two. "I'd love for you guys to meet my MJ, Mayday, and Miles."

"Absolutely not," said Loki. "No one is visiting each other's universes. Figure out how to talk to each other using your dreams."

The Peters looked at each other in excitement. They hadn't realized they could do that. 

Many shadowy silhouettes formed in the sky. 

Tony was astonished at the sheer number of figures. "How many people know Peter Parker is Spider-Man in the Multiverse?"

"I think every Peter Parker is bad at keeping their identity a secret," said Sam. 

Stephen trembled from the strain of keeping them at bay, but they kept appearing. 

They looked at Stephen in concern. 

Wong wished he and some other sorcerers had been there because this was their duty.

Meanwhile, Wanda wished her other self wasn't reading the Darkhold so she could've worked with Stephen. It was frustrating knowing that she could've helped him and Peter with the Multiverse but was in the process of being corrupted by the Darkhold instead. Maybe if the Avengers had stayed together after fighting Thanos, none of this would've happened.

Peter One said he had to go and webbed to the top of the torch. He asked Stephen what was happening. 

"Bad things," said Scott. 

"Like usual," muttered Rhodey. 

"Everything related to the Multiverse ends up like this," Loki grumbled. 

"They're starting to come through, and I can't stop them!"

The Avengers sucked in a breath. Stephen was the second-most powerful magic person they knew, after Wanda. If he wasn't able to stop it, then what could be done?

"There’s gotta be something we can do! Can’t you just cast the spell again? But the original way, before I screwed it up."

Stephen, Loki, Wanda, and Wong shook their heads. 

"It's too late," Wong said.

"We’re too late for that. They're here because of you!" 

"Hey, they're there because you cast the spell," Tony told Stephen. "You should've spoken to Peter before casting the spell."

Stephen's shoulders slumped. "I know." He'd always do that from now on. He'd learned his lesson now. He didn't want to make the Multiverse worse. 

"What if everyone forgot who I was?" "What?!"

All of them froze. What was Peter One talking about?

"They’re coming here because of me, right? Because I’m Peter Parker? So cast a new spell, but this time make everyone forget who Peter Parker is. Make everyone forget...me."

Everyone's hearts skipped a beat. Tony suddenly didn't know how to breathe. 

"No," Stephen said instantly. He wasn't going to forget Peter. Ned, MJ, and Happy couldn't forget Peter either. "That's not an option. We can find another way."

Peter One let out a watery smile. "This is the only way." He took a deep breath, "In the grand calculus of the multiverse, my sacrifice is worth infinitely more than my life."

"I don't care what I said, Peter! I was wrong!"

The Avengers and Wong were astonished at hearing Stephen admit he was wrong. 

"No." "But it would work, right?" "Yeah, it would work." 

"And it would basically reverse this mess…" Loki trailed off. Parker was a good kid, but they knew the dangers of the Multiverse and what was waiting for them. If this was the only way, Parker and Strange had to do it. 

Peter Two and Three looked at each other in horror at what was happening to their younger brother. None of his loved ones would remember him. By the sounds of it, he only had four people left — Ned, MJ, someone named Happy, and Strange. His parents, uncle and aunt, and mentor were all dead. 

"But you gotta understand that would mean that everyone who knows and loves you, we...we'd have no memory of you." 

Tony closed his eyes. We. 

"We?" Peter One said in a small voice. 

Stephen nodded and let out a watery smile. "We." He found himself with an armful of a teenager and slowly wrapped his arms around him. "I'm sorry, Peter. I'm so sorry," he whispered. 

"It would be as though you never existed." "...I know. Do it." 

"But Peter One's relationship with the rest of us would basically stay the same…" Sam said slowly. "We only knew Spider-Man; we never truly got to know Peter Parker before all of this."

"The only Avengers Peter actually knew were Stephen and I," Tony said, looking away so no one would see the tears falling down his face. Why did Peter have to go through this? "I'm dead, so out of all of us, only Stephen is affected."

"But what about Ned, MJ, and Happy?" Scott said. "They won't remember Peter."

Peter's breath caught. "I know, but if the Multiverse is stabler then, well, I'll learn to live with it. All of us wanted the Multiverse to become stable."

"Not like this," said Natasha. 

"It's alright," he said, trying to convince himself. "I'll find Ned and MJ and explain everything. It'll be like none of this ever happened."

Stephen reluctantly nodded. 

Stephen's heart broke for Peter, and Tony's face crumpled as he saw Stephen nod. It hit him that this was actually happening. Everyone would forget Peter. 

"You better go and say your goodbyes. You don't have long." "Thank you, sir."

"Stephen," he corrected. 

Peter One chuckled. 

Everyone else looked at the two painfully. They knew how much the two cared for each other. 

"Call me Stephen." "Thank you, Stephen." "Yeah... still feels weird," Stephen smiled. 

Stephen let out a watery smile. "Doesn't feel weird anymore."

Peter smiled back. "I'll see you around."

"You better come and tell me everything like Ned and MJ," Stephen threatened. He couldn't forget Peter. He never would've realized how heartless he was becoming as Peter showed him that everyone deserved a second chance whether they were good or not.

"Of course." 

As Peter swings off, Stephen choked back emotion. "So long, kid."

Stephen swallowed thickly. He hated that it came to this. 

Stephen began to cast the new spell. 

Tony choked back a sob while the rest of the Avengers' hearts twisted. 

The other Peters were still horrified by what they were seeing. How could their younger brother go through this? There wasn't anything they could do about it this time either. They couldn't guide him because this was the first time they were facing magic and the Multiverse themselves. Peter One probably knew more about it than them. 

Carol and Bucky stilled as they witnessed Stephen casting a spell to make everyone forget Peter. They knew their memories would practically stay the same because they never knew Peter Parker, but memories were a touchy subject for them.

At the base of the shield, Peter One told his variants that they were about to go home. 

"It's been one hell of a ride," said Peter Two. 

"I'm really glad I met you two," Peter Three told the other Peters, who smiled.

Peter One hated the Multiverse, but he'd always be grateful that he'd been able to meet his older brothers. 

Peter One thanked them and then stumbled over his words as he didn't know how to say what he wanted. 

"I'm really bad at words, but I hope you two understand how grateful I am," said Peter One. 

"We do," said Peter Two and Three. 

The other Peters grinned. 

Peter Two and Three shared a glance. They were so proud of Peter One and how he'd managed to stay afloat even after everything he'd been through. They found out that his parents died, Uncle Ben died, Peter himself died, his mentor died, Aunt May died, and now everyone was going to forget him? It was a lot for a seventeen-year-old to go through. 

"You know. It's what we do," said Peter Two. 

"A friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man," Tony said, wiping his tears.

Peter One smiled. "Yeah. It’s what we do."

"It's why Peter Parker, any Peter Parker, is the best of us," said Steve. 

Peter Three was taken aback at hearing Steve say that. He hadn't had the most confidence in himself, especially after Gwen's death, and hearing people like the Avengers and Peter Two say that and seeing himself save MJ — well, he gained some new perspective. Maybe he'd finally be able to turn over a new leaf in his life. 

He said he had to find Ned and MJ. He started to move but then quickly turned back to hug them. 

The Avengers looked at the three Peters with extreme fondness. 

"That's so sweet," said Wanda. She wondered how she'd get along with her variants. 

The three Peters looked at each other and found themselves in a hug as well. 

"You two are the best older brothers ever," Peter One said in a muffled voice. 

"And you two are the best younger brothers," said Peter Two. He wished he could've introduced his new brothers to Miles, MJ, and Mayday. 

"I really love you guys," Peter Three said in a wobbly voice. 

He pulled back. "I guess I'll see you." He ran off. 

"Hopefully only in your dreams and not in person," said Loki. 

"You're in so much pain, huh?" Peter Three asked. "I am," Peter Two admitted. 

"Eh, I'll be alright," said Peter Two. 

Peter One swung over to Ned and MJ and the three of them shared a group hug.

The Avengers looked at the trio painfully as they realized this would be the last time all three would be together and remember Peter One. At least Peter One would make them remember him. This was just a temporary problem. 

Peter noticed a cut above MJ's eyes. "Oh my God, you're bleeding." 

Peter One's heart twisted at seeing MJ get hurt. 

Peter Three couldn't help but think that Peter One was lucky that a cut was the least of MJ's injuries. It could've ended a lot worse if he hadn't managed to save her. 

MJ insisted she was fine. "Are you sure?" "I'm fine. I promise." 

"At least, she's okay," Peter One said, trying to look on the bright side of this awful situation. 

Peter told them that they were going to forget him. 

Everyone's stomachs dropped. 

Ned and MJ were confused. "It's okay. I’m gonna come and find you, and I'll explain everything," said Peter. 

Misery was written all over Tony's face. If he hadn't made EDITH and pissed off Beck, Peter would've never have been in this situation. Peter would've been a happy teenager — as happy as he could be after the Blip and his death — and he would've gotten into college on the first try, the Multiverse wouldn't have broken apart, May would've been alive, and everything would've been fine. He managed to fuck up everything even when he was dead. Was EDITH and Damage Control the type of legacy he'd manage to leave behind?

Stephen's face was etched with sadness as he watched Peter, Ned, and MJ go through this. He already knew he had a giant soft spot for Peter, but he'd grown surprisingly attached to Ned and MJ as well, especially Ned. He failed Peter just like he failed Donna; he couldn't save either one of them. He swore he'd do better next time.

Sam and Bucky loved to take the piss out of Peter, but they hated seeing him face tough situations like this. He always got up, but it was different this time. It was so much worse. 

"I'll make you remember me, and it will be like none of this ever happened. Okay?"

"I have to," Peter One said. "I can't live without them. I've lost nearly everyone else."

MJ panicked, saying what if didn't work and they couldn't remember him. She said she didn't want to do that. 

They blinked the tears out of their eyes. Peter, Ned, and MJ were just kids and they had been through so much that teenagers should never go through. 

She asked if they couldn't come up with a plan or something. Peter shook his head. "There’s nothing we can do. But it'll be okay."

"It will," said Peter One. 

Ned's eyes brimmed with tears. "You promise?" "Yeah, I promise." Peter and Ned did their handshake and then he pulled him into a hug. 

Tears burned at the back of Peter One's eyes. He really hated the Multiverse. 

MJ said if he didn't find them, she'd just figure it out. "I've done it before; I can do it again."

"She thought she was 67% right," said Scott. 

"She said that with 100% confidence and turned out to be right," said Wanda. 

"I promise I'll fix this." 

Peter felt like he kept fucking up after the Blip and all he was doing was fixing things. 

"I really hate magic." "Yeah, me too."

Stephen and Tony chuckled bitterly. 

"I always hated magic," said Tony, lip trembling.

Peter Three decided that magic wasn't that great. Peter One had been trying to tell him that, but magic and the Multiverse were just so new and cool to him. It opened up so many possibilities, but now he was watching his younger brother lose everyone. Magic sucked. 

MJ cupped Peter One's cheeks. "I love you."

Everyone sucked in a breath while Peter's eyes widened. 

"I love—" "Just wait. Wait and tell me when you see me again." 

This was too much for Peter, who was too tired to fight his tears anymore, so he let them fall as his entire body trembled. 

There were more rumblings as the spell started to take effect. 

They paled as they realized that it was finally happening. All of Peter's loved ones would forget about him. 

Peter and MJ shared one last kiss. 

The Avengers smiled sadly. They'd been cheering for Peter and MJ since the beginning because those two had a love that was so innocent and sweet; it was adorable for them to see. 

Meanwhile, the Multiversal visitors disappeared. 

"Finally," said Loki. 

Stephen couldn't muster up the energy to be glad that the Multiversal visitors were finally gone — even though that's what he'd wanted all this time — because of the price Peter had to pay to finally send them back. It made his heart ache. 

Wong sighed. He'd wanted to send them back the entire time as well, but this was just depressing. 

Tony realized that Octavius took the arc reactor back to his universe. He didn't mind as much as he thought he would. Hopefully, Octavius would be able to do something good with it now that he got a second chance. After all, he had been limited by the technology of his time and universe.

Peter Two and Three held up a peace sign as they disappeared.

The three Peters were glad they got the chance to meet each other. It was too bad they would never be able to fight together, though. 

Peter and MJ were reluctant to let go, but Peter stepped back. Before he webbed off, he glanced up at Stephen, who nodded his own goodbye. 

The tears in Stephen's eyes came suddenly without warning. Just the thought of forgetting Peter caused a fresh round of tears. 

Peter One knew after making Ned and MJ remember him, Happy and Stephen were his next stop. Hopefully, Stephen would believe him since all of this happened magically. 

In the end, Tony wouldn't even be angry at Stephen even if he was partially responsible for this mess. He could see how this was affecting him too.

The spell was about to hit MJ, but she managed to mouth one last I love you. 

Peter One let out another sob. Peter Two and Three's throats closed up. Were all Peter Parkers destined to struggle?

There was a blast of magic as the new spell was complete. The sky was clear. 

The room was utterly silent and no one's eyes were dry.  

"It worked," Tony croaked out.

Chapter Text

Jameson said it had been a few weeks since the fiasco on the Statue of Liberty, and Spider-Man's cultists continue to contend that the vile vigilante is a hero! 

The Avengers and Peter Three scowled. 

Peter Two groaned. "Same ol' Jameson. That man doesn't change across the Multiverse." 

Peter One sighed. "Back to normal." That's what he wanted in the first place, right? For everything to go back to how it was? 

"Well, if he were a hero, he'd unmask himself and tell us who he really is! Because only a coward conceals his identity." 

The Peters rolled their eyes. 

"That's the same thing he says about Daredevil too," Peter One said.

"I should've known that he has one script to drag both of your names through the mud," said Clint. 

Peter walked down the street, but this time, no one recognized him.

"No one remembers Peter is Spider-Man now," Thor noted. 

"No one remembers Peter at all!" Tony exclaimed, his heart aching for the kid. 

He was reading to himself from a note. "Hi, my name is Peter Parker. You don’t know me, but—"

"They'll believe you, kid," Stephen said, encouragingly. 

Peter One wrung his hands. "I hope so." Although he planned on involving Ned and MJ a lot less in the Spider-Man side of his life to protect them, Peter Parker needed them. 

He stopped outside the doughnut shop, now with Christmas and Hanukkah decorations. 

December 2024, Clint thought. He wondered if his other self had met Kate yet. 

Peter walked inside to find MJ. She looked up at him and waved. He was taken aback until he realized that she waved at Ned, who entered behind him. 

Steve's face crumpled. He knew how painful it was to have someone you love look at you and not recognize you. It was a specific type of pain he didn't want anyone to experience, let alone Peter. 

Peter Two and Three's hearts dropped as they saw their younger brother not have anyone in his life. Both of them hadn't had many people in their lives and they still managed to lose them, but Peter One did have people in his life. He was the only one out of the three that had supportive friends and had worked in a team to save the universe, and even though he was the youngest, the two older Peters knew Peter One was the team leader. To see Peter One have people around him and slowly lose all of them was a pain they didn't want to see him go through. 

Ned greeted MJ and walked past Peter. 

Sadness flitted across Peter's face as he saw Ned walk past him.

"That looks wrong," said Sam. All of them had seen Peter, Ned, and MJ stick together through everything and now they were seeing Ned walk past Peter like he was nothing. 

Bucky and Carol swallowed thickly. Both of them had their memories erased, were forced to become weapons, and their loved ones thought they were dead for years. They'd been in the same position as Ned and MJ, who didn't even know who they were missing, just like what they had faced. 

"Can I help you?" MJ asked, taking Peter's order. 

"Yes, he's your boyfriend!" Scott yelled. 

"Hi, um, my name is Peter Parker. And I...would like a coffee, please," he said, losing his nerve. 

Everyone groaned in frustration.  

"It's alright," said Peter Two. "Peter One lost his nerve but he can try again."

"And again and again, until they finally remember him," Peter Three said. 

"I think the handshake is a good way to convince Ned," Natasha suggested. "He'll still remember it; it's muscle memory."

"And if Peter explains that it had to do with magic, they'll understand," said Wanda. 

"They'll still remember that they were involved in an incident with Spider-Man so it won't be too hard to convince them of the truth," Stephen added. 

Peter One's head whirled towards him. "What do you mean?!" 

"They would still remember being at the Statue of Liberty, but the details will be a little vague. I would still remember dealing with a Multiversal incident with Spider-Man, but wouldn't remember Peter Parker."

"So, you'll still remember Titan?" Tony asked. 

"Yes, I'll remember fighting alongside Spider-Man, I just won't remember Peter introducing himself or anything about his personal life." Stephen hated knowing that a part of his memory would be gone. He had a photographic memory! And it hurt even more knowing that the memories he would be forgetting would be about Peter. 

"So, the giant soft spot you have for Spider-Man would still be there?" Wong asked. 

Stephen opened his mouth to protest on reflex but closed it. Was there even a point in denying it anymore? "Yes."

"Okay, no problem, Peter Parker."

Peter One hated hearing MJ saying his name without any of the emotion that he always heard from her. He never realized how warm she was until he was seeing her talk to him, not knowing who he was. 

Ned and MJ chatted about the Engineers being MIT's mascot. 

The Avengers beamed at hearing the good news. 

"They got in," Peter One said, proudly. His heart jumped into his throat as he fully realized that the only reason they didn't get in the first time was because of him. He was starting to think that Ned and MJ were better off without him.

"It's good to know that MIT was being completely stupid," said Tony. He froze as he realized Peter would never be able to get into MIT, or even Columbia because no one remembered him. He narrowed his eyes. Was Peter even going to school? 

MJ gave Peter his coffee. He asked if she was excited about MIT. 

Peter Two looked at MJ curiously. "Does she not want to become an actor?"

Peter One furrowed his brows. "An actor? No, my MJ doesn't want to act."

"Oh, that's interesting. My MJ is an actor on Broadway."

"Huh. That's great, though!"

Peter Three desperately wished he could join in on the conversation about their girlfriends or wives. He took a deep breath. Maybe it was time to move on from Gwen. He felt he was finally able to forgive himself for Gwen's death after watching himself save MJ. Maybe it was time to start a new chapter in his life because he certainly felt like he had after meeting Peter One and Two.

MJ was confused but realized that he had overheard her and Ned. "Yeah, actually, I am excited which is weird 'cause I don’t really get excited about things. I kind of expect disappointment—" 

"—And you will never get disappointed," Everyone else finished. 

Peter One let out a watery smile. He was glad MJ was excited about going to MIT. Tony had told him a lot of stories about MIT and he wanted Ned and MJ to experience all of that.

"—'Cause then you’ll never actually be disappointed. Right?" A flicker of déjà vu on MJ's face, then, recovering: "Uh, yeah. It’s just kinda feels different this time for some reason." 

Everyone's heart skipped a beat. 

"It is different," Carol said, sadly. "She doesn't have a pretty big part of her life." She'd lived for six years with the Kree, not knowing that she had loved ones on Earth. She never knew she was missing a part of herself until she found herself back.

MJ brushed back her hair, and Peter saw a Band-Aid above her eye. "You okay?" he asked, gesturing to the Band-Aid. 

Peter One frowned. 

"It doesn't really hurt anymore." 

The Avengers sucked in a breath while Peter One froze. He felt like he'd been run over by a truck. 

"She lied," Peter One whispered. "She lied to protect me." He found himself in the depths of misery as he fully realized that Ned and MJ were better off without him. All he'd done was make their lives worse and constantly put them in danger. Even if Ned and MJ wouldn't change a thing they did, he would. 

"Peter…" Natasha said slowly. 

"Please don't. I put them in danger! The only reason they didn't get into MIT the first time was because of me. Ned and MJ nearly died multiple times in Europe and at the Statue of Liberty, and Ned nearly died at the Washington Monument because of me."

"The Chitauri core was the reason the Washington Monument incident happened," said Tony. 

"And who gave him the core in the first place?! They're better off without me." 

"Is there anything else?" she asked. 

Tony looked away because he already knew what Peter was about to do. Peter was truly alone now. 

"You're not going to tell them, are you?" Scott asked, his eyes brimming with tears. Peter One was so young and now he was all alone. 

Peter One choked down a sob and shook his head. 

"Tell her, Peter," Bucky pleaded. "Please tell her."

"I can't," Peter One said in a shaky voice.

"You don't have anyone left," Tony said softly, choked with tears. 

"You better be coming to the Sanctum next," Stephen threatened Peter One. "I'm not in danger because of you, okay? I've died a thousand times so I handle whatever happens. You don't have to be alone." He felt like a hypocrite saying that, but Peter One had changed him.

"But I'm the reason you had to deal with the Multiverse in the first place. You're better off as well," said Peter One.

"I'm not." Stephen couldn't understand why Peter One didn't realize that the only reason he'd become better was because of him.

Peter One shook his head. He didn't believe him. Jameson was right, everything he touches comes to ruin. It broke his heart knowing that Ned and MJ wouldn't be in his life anymore, but it was for their own good. They would be safe and happy.

Peter paused, but he just shook his head and smiled. "Uh... no." He tucked his note into his pocket. 

Peter One nearly doubled over. "I never even got a chance to be with my MJ," he sobbed. 

"No!" Wanda snapped. "We're changing our future! You'll get the chance to be with MJ. You can be happy!" If she was getting the chance to live her life with Vision and the twins, she wanted Peter to live a life with his loved ones as well. 

"But she'll still be in danger if she's associated with me! Ned too."

"Wong and I be training Ned, though," said Stephen. "He'll be more than capable of handling himself. Anyone who'll come after him will have a trained sorcerer to deal with and he already has a gift for the Mystic Arts."

Peter froze as he looked at Stephen and Wong hopefully. 

"He'll be facing mystical threats himself when he's ready and it will have nothing to do with you," said Wong. 

"And I can train MJ to defend herself," said Natasha. "Steve can help, he has nothing better to do now that he's mostly retired."

Steve shrugged. "Nat's right. I can train MJ. I don't mind."

Peter One was overwhelmed by the choices he had, but the Goblin's voice echoed in his mind. Struggling to have everything you want, while the world tries to make you choose. "No, I have to let them go. They'll always be in danger because of me." He wasn't going to distance himself from May, because she would kill him, but he wasn't going to tell her much about the Spider-Man side of his life now. 

Peter Two and Three felt a great wrench of sadness because they'd also made similar decisions. Peter Two left MJ at the graveyard because he knew she would be in danger every time he went out as Spider-Man, and it was something the two of them struggled with for years. They still struggled with it. 

Peter Three wished he'd listened to Captain Stacy when he told him to leave Gwen alone because of the dangers he faced as Spider-Man. He hadn't listened and Gwen was dead because of it. 

Peter took his coffee. "I'll see you around." He walked out the door.

All of them looked at Peter One, half-painfully and half-proudly. They'd seen Peter One grow so much; it was bittersweet. They knew why he did what he did, but they wished he didn't have to.

Peter One let out a bitter smile. "This life comes with sacrifices. There are some things I'll lose forever."

Clint's face dropped as he heard those familiar words. 

"Clint was right. It's part of the job; it's always inconvenient and lonely. We have to make some tough decisions."

"That was meant for Kate."

"You and Tony always say how similar we are. Besides, we have to do whatever it takes, right? Whatever it takes to save the Multiverse."

The Avengers gaped at him. 

"I think you made the right decision," Peter Three said gently. He didn't want Peter One to go down the same path he did, which meant that he had to let Ned and MJ go so they didn't end up like Gwen. Besides, he still had the Avengers. "Being Spider-Man is a curse sometimes, but it's what we do."

"It's what we do," Peter One repeated. He realized that he couldn't be Peter Parker anymore, only Spider-Man. Stephen told him that the problem was him trying to live two different lives, and the longer he tried to do that, the more dangerous it would become. He chose Spider-Man and it felt slightly liberating. 

Peter Two looked at his youngest variant sadly. "Peter, I wouldn't get together with MJ for years because I knew she would be in danger as long as I was Spider-Man; I thought we could never be together."

"Exactly, you know what it's like!"

"No, listen to me. Please. MJ once asked me to respect her to make her own decisions, and I think that's something your MJ would say too."

Peter One's throat tightened. "She would. That's…a very MJ thing to say."

Peter Two chuckled. "It is. She knew there would be risks but she wanted to face it with me, together."

"That's exactly what Gwen said and she died the same night!" said Peter Three.

Peter One and Two's breaths caught. "MJ also told me that it's wrong that we should only be half-alive, half of ourselves. It was miserable not being with her," said Peter Two.

"I want to be with her so badly, but I can't," Peter One said in a small voice.

MJ watched Peter go. She was still wearing the Black Dahlia necklace. 

The Avengers' faces softened at seeing the necklace and tears streamed down Peter's face. "She's still wearing the necklace," he whispered. 

Peter was standing before May's grave and set down a flower. 

Peter Two and Three's hearts twisted as they saw Peter One at May's grave. Peter Parker and graves were, unfortunately, a very familiar image. 

Her grave read: 'When you help someone, you help everyone.'

"It's true," said Peter Two. He wished he had gotten the chance to meet Peter One's May. His May had passed away a few years ago, but she had lived a long, happy life and he was comforted by the fact she had a peaceful death as she died in her sleep. Peter One's May was murdered. 

Happy approached him but didn't recognize him. 

This was too much for Tony, who started to weep. Tears welled up in Peter's eyes — he'd grown close to Happy in the past few years and now he didn't have Happy either. "That's Happy," he told the other Peters. "He used to date May."

There was a long pause as Peter Two and Three narrowed their eyes at Happy.

"He's a bit young for May," said Peter Two. He couldn't believe Peter One's May was still dating.

Peter One furrowed his brows. "They're around the same age, I think? May was born in 1964."

"Oh. My May was born in 1935."

"Wow, that's old."

Steve and Bucky shared an awkward glance. They were still around twenty years older than Peter Two's May.

"How'd you know her?" Happy asked. "Through Spider-Man. You?" "Same." 

Everyone's hearts felt heavier knowing that Peter couldn't even tell people he was May's nephew because no one remembered him. 

"I lost a good friend a while back. Felt like this," said Happy. 

Tony, Peter, and Rhodey's faces dropped. They just realized that Happy had lost two loved ones within a year as well.

"It hurts 'cause they’re gone. And then it hurts all over again because you remember what they stood for, and you wonder, 'Is all that gone too?'"

"It's not," Peter One said, his voice heavy with emotion. Tony and May's legacies would go on.

Tony's throat was tight, his eyes blurring from tears. Happy was already one of the people he trusted the most, but that trust had skyrocketed after seeing how he had stuck with Peter and Morgan after his death. He made a mental note to talk to Pepper about making Happy Morgan's godfather. 

"No, it's not gone. Everyone that she helped... they'll keep it going." "You really think so?" "I know it." 

"I know some of the Multiversal visitors will keep it going," said Steve. "Especially Octavius."

"How do you stay so upbeat after everything?" Sam asked Peter One.

"Aunt May used to say, that if we don’t keep smiling when they can’t, then we might as well just be gone, too. And…well, she'd want me to keep going."

"Take care of yourself, okay?" "Yeah. Nice to meet you," said Happy. 

Tony let out a sob. "'Nice to meet you,' he said. Happy has known Peter for years!" 

At Peter's new apartment, his landlord told him that rent was due on the first of the month. 

Peter Two's eyes widened. Mr Ditkovitch? 

Peter carried a box into a studio apartment. He turned on the light, taking in the barren space. His new home. 

Tony's face contorted at seeing the apartment. It was so small and run-down.

"Peter's seventeen," Clint said, aching with sympathy. "Only seventeen." Cooper was nearly his age. Peter One had gone through things that no child should go through and now he had no one looking out for him. 

Peter One found it funny that he was getting the fresh start that he wanted. Although he was still sticking with the Avengers because he'd found out about a lot of threats while watching their future that he couldn't handle alone, Peter Parker was going to have to take a back seat.

Peter Two let out a slight smile at seeing the apartment, nostalgic for his early 20s. "It looks like my old apartment." 

"It looks like my current apartment," Peter Three muttered. 

He opened a box containing a picture frame. 

Tony nearly broke down at seeing the picture frame, Peter was glad he still had something of him and Tony even though he wouldn't be in the picture anymore because of the spell, and the rest of the Avengers let out a soft smile. 

Peter Two and Three were taken aback by the strong emotions a picture frame caused. "What's up with that?" Peter Three asked. 

"That was the picture that saved the entire universe," Steve answered. "Tony refused to help bring everyone back using time travel because it was too dangerous and he had a daughter to think of, but he saw the photo and him and Peter One and changed his mind."

Peter Two and Three stared at Tony and Peter One in utter disbelief. 

"You created time travel for Peter One?" Peter Two asked Tony. 

"You have a protégé, you know what it's like," Tony replied. "If Miles was gone and there was a chance to bring him back, wouldn't you?"

Peter Two didn't hesitate. "I would." He'd do anything for that kid.

The box also had a GED test study manual. 

"GED?!" Tony said in a strangled voice at the same time Stephen yelled, "You dropped out of school?!"

"No one remembers me! I'm probably not even in the system anymore," Peter One said. 

"On-screen Peter One may have dropped out of school, but you better not get any idea of doing the same thing," Tony threatened. "I swear, I'll make you graduate high school if it's the last thing I do. I'm retired now and I have nothing else to do so I'll drag you to every single class myself and make you graduate. Morgan can come with me in those baby carrier things. Is that what you want, kid? To have your family at school with you?"

Peter One stared at Tony, utterly mortified. 

Peter Two knew he would do the same if Miles and Mayday decided to drop out of school. Actually, now that he thought about it, he wouldn't have to do anything for Miles, Rio and Jefferson would drag him to school themselves.

"And May isn't dead in our timeline," Tony went on. "Do you really want to tell her that you're dropping out of school?"

The Peters blanched. Peter Two and Three hadn't met Peter One's Aunt May, but she was Aunt May. Peter One shuddered at the thought of telling May he was dropping out. If he thought May finding out he was Spider-Man was bad, he knew telling her that he was dropping out of school would be infinitely worse.

"I'm not dropping out of school," Peter One announced. He didn't know how he was going to avoid Ned and MJ, though. He couldn't be friends with them anymore for their own safety. At least, he only had a year left. 

He set aside the Lego Emperor Palpatine figure.  

"Oh," Peter One said in a wobbly voice. "Something from Ned."

Later at night, Peter grabbed the Spider-Man mask on his bed. He followed a police precinct app.

"Looks so familiar," said Peter Three, and Peter Two nodded. 

The desk had a sewing machine with scraps of red and blue fabric. 

"Back to the basics," Peter One said. 

"The basics aren't so bad," Peter Two said. 

"Just don't mix up your suit with your white laundry," Peter Three warned.  

Peter Two chuckled. "I did that too!" 

Nearby was the Palpatine figurine and the coffee cup MJ gave Peter at the doughnut shop. 

"Peter kept the cup," said Bucky. 

"The Palpatine figurine is from Ned, the coffee cup from MJ, and the picture frame is from Tony," said Peter. 

In the background, Spider-Man leapt out outside. 

If you're nothing without this suit, then you shouldn't have it, Tony's voice echoed in Peter's head. Now he was nothing but the suit. Only Spider-Man exists. 

He flipped and rolled across a snowy roof in a new red and blue suit, reminiscent of suits he'd seen before. 

Peter Two and Three's eyes widened at seeing Peter One's new suit. They were touched. 

"A new suit inspired your two older brothers," Tony said softly. Out of all of the suits he'd made for Peter and had seen Peter make, the new suit was somehow his favourite. He'd given Peter the Stark suit because he thought that Peter needed an upgrade, but it turns out that he never did. He paused. Except maybe when they fought Thanos.

"I told you that I loved the spider on your suit," Peter One told Peter Three. 

Peter Three didn't know what to say. He couldn't form words at knowing his younger brother was inspired to make a Spider-Man suit by him and Peter Two.  

Spider-Man leapt and soared over the still-upright Rockefeller Christmas tree.

"Clint hasn't been stuck in the Christmas tree yet," Natasha noted. "The tree is still up."

Clint scowled. 

"I think it's a couple of days before the mess Clint and Kate got themselves into," said Steve.

"Then what the hell was I doing that night?!" Peter One exclaimed. "I could've helped Clint and Kate! I live, like, right there! Fisk was running around free and there were dozens of Tracksuits attacking Clint and Kate. I'm sure the police tracker would've mentioned the mess at Rockefeller Center." 

Sam smacked his forehead. "No wonder we didn't see any posters about Peter being Spider-Man when Clint and Kate were running around New York; the Daily Bugle was everywhere. No one remembers it."

Liberated from having to juggle two lives. Peter Parker is no more, but Spider-Man lives on...

A beat passed as everyone took in what they had just watched. It was broken by Tony's loud sobs as he broke down. His entire body was shaking as he kept on crying large, guttural sobs and his tear-stained face was puffy and swollen with grief. 

No one's eyes were dry. The Avengers had always respected Peter, but now it was through the roof at seeing the bittersweet way all of this ended. 

Stephen was right, Peter One thought. The problem wasn't Mysterio, it was him trying to live two different lives. Stephen had said the longer he tried to do that, the more dangerous it would become. 

Although Ned was going to train to become a sorcerer and Natasha and Steve offered to teach MJ to defend herself, Peter One knew he couldn't involve them in his life. He didn't feel the same anymore. His eyes had been opened to how bleak his life would be, but there was also a sense of clarity as he knew what he had to do with his life. Besides, with all the threats he'd found out about, like Thanos, the Multiversal War, and Kingpin, he didn't think he would have time for Peter Parker even if he wanted to.

In another universe, Eddie Brock and Venom were watching a Mexican telenovela. Venom was not visible. "We all have a past, Eddie," said Venom. 

All of them were confused about who and what they were seeing. Most of all, they were confused at hearing two voices as they only saw one person. 

"Is this guy talking to himself?" Clint asked. 

Peter Two tilted his head. He used to know someone named Eddie. 

Eddie thought Venom was hiding stuff from him. "80 billion light-years of hive knowledge across universes would explode your tiny little brain," said Venom. 

All of their mouths straightened into a thin line. 

"I'm really tired of hearing about different universes," Peter One said. 

"Hive knowledge?" Stephen said curiously. 

Sam groaned. "I thought Peter One and Strange ended this particular Multiversal mess."

"What does that even mean, man?" "Well, let me give you a taste, then. Just the smallest fraction of the things we symbiotes have experienced."

Peter Two's blood ran cold and his eyes widened in horror. Symbiotes. Then he stiffened as he remembered the name he heard. It couldn't be a coincidence that he was hearing about symbiotes when someone named Eddie was there. Peter Two looked at Eddie closer. He didn't look like the Eddie Brock in his universe. 

"Symbiotes?" Rhodey asked. 

"I know what symbiotes are," said Peter Two. "Remember when I talked about fighting an alien made out of black goo?"

"It's not like I can forget something like that," said Peter Three. 

The Avengers let out a loud groan. 

"You know we're very familiar with aliens," Peter One said. 

"Normal aliens were bad enough, but now there are multiversal aliens too?" Clint said. 

"What are the chances this alien is as nice as Thor or Carol?" Natasha asked. 

Peter Two winced. "Zero."

"It's always the Big Three," Sam complained. 

Bucky threw his hands in the air. "None of the Multiversal visitors were a part of the Big Three!"

"They were alien to our universe, weren't they?"

"That doesn't count!"

"Fine, I'm calling it the Big Four now – androids, aliens, wizards, and the Multiverse. I think I've covered all aspects."

Steve narrowed his eyes at Eddie. "He's not made out of black goo."

"Right, it's a whole thing," said Peter Two. "The symbiote is the black goo part and it bonds to you." He paused. "It bonded to me. It wasn't fun."

A pause. 

Tony stopped crying to stare at Peter Two. "What the hell?"

"An alien bonded to you?!" Peter Three shrieked. 

Peter One crossed his arms. "And you said my universe was weird."

"It really wasn't a great time and I did some things I'm not proud of, but I eventually got rid of the symbiote and it, uh, went to Eddie Brock in my universe."

There was another long pause. 

"Isn't this dude's name Eddie?" Rhodey asked. 

"Yeah, I'm guessing it's an Eddie Brock variant because he doesn't look like the Eddie I knew."

There was a rumbling noise and a bright orange light as Eddie and Venom found themselves in another universe. 

Everyone sighed. They'd seen too much Multiversal travel by this point. 

"They're here because of Strange's first spell," Peter Two realized. "You guys said that's the one that caused everyone to come to your universe."

"Because it brought people who knew Peter Parker is Spider-Man," Peter One said. 

"Yes, but the symbiotes have a hive knowledge across universes. They're all connected. The symbiote I was bonded to knew I was Spider-Man, so the other symbiotes know that too."

They were both confused about where they were. Eddie asked Venom what he did, but he said it wasn't him. 

"No, it was Strange's spell," said Loki, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"This man never showed up to New York," said Stephen. 

"I don't know what he was doing all this time, but I'm glad he didn't," said Scott. "It's a little hard for the Peters to cure alien goo."

"I wouldn't even know where to start," said Peter One. 

"There's no curing the symbiote," said Peter Two. "If you ever see it, stay far away from it," he warned Peter One and Three. 

"I have no interest in fighting more aliens," said Peter One. "Thanos is enough."

"I met Thor," Peter Three said, conveniently forgetting about Loki and Carol. "I've met an alien now and I'm happy. I don't need to meet any more aliens." 

The Daily Bugle was playing on the TV. Jameson was talking about Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, aka the Spider Menace.

"Wonderful," said Peter One. 

"MJ used to date his son," said Peter Two. 

"Jameson has a son?" said Wanda. "I feel bad for the son for having a father like that."

Eddie fully transformed into Venom. 

The Avengers and Peter Three let out a tiny scream at seeing Venom. 

"What is that thing?!" Scott yelled. 

"That's Venom," Peter Two answered. He felt a flash of irritation at seeing a version of him again since his Venom had killed Harry. 

"That really is an alien made out of black goo!" Peter One exclaimed. 

"Do you three know of any symbiotes like that in space?" Natasha asked Thor, Loki, and Carol. All three shook their heads. 

He stared at a video of Peter One without his mask on. 

"All of the videos of Peter would disappear, right?" Bruce asked Stephen, who nodded. 

Peter One was glad that his face wouldn't be plastered everywhere. 

"That guy…" Venom said as he licked the TV. 

All of them cringed. 

"Clearly, Venom never made it to New York and never met Peter One before Stephen sent all of them back," said Wanda. 

A man walked out of the bathroom and found Eddie on the floor. "Dude, what are you doing in my room?"

"He got transported into another universe," said Steve. 

Later, Eddie was sitting in a bar, taking notes. "You're saying that this whole place… here. It’s just tons of…super people," he said to the bartender. 

"It is," said Peter Three. "It's cool but also stressful at the same time. Peter Two and I don't have a ton of super people in our universe."

"Peter Two's universe has another Spider-Man," said Peter One. "Miles."

"That's only two."

"But Strange and Wong told us about the Masters of the Mystic Arts and how they have to exist in every universe," said Peter Two. 

"Yeah, but Peter One's universe has a lot of super people," said Peter Three. 

"You haven't even met all of them," said Peter One. "There are a lot more."

"And he has been saying it for hours," Venom said. 

"Hey, it's a little hard to wrap your head around, okay?" Peter Three defended. 

There were many drinks on the counter. 

"So, this guy came to a new universe, wanted to talk to Spider-Man, but decided to go to the bar and have a bunch of drinks instead?" Bucky said. 

"He's instantly my favourite," said Wong. "The rest of them should've done that too." 

"And it's a good thing because Peter One was already going through so much, he didn't need to deal with Venom either," said Peter Two. 

"There was a billionaire. He had a tin suit, and he could fly. Right?" The bartender made the sign of the cross. 

Tony snorted. His face was still puffy from crying. 

"And there was a really angry green man." "Hulk," said the bartender. 

"Angry green man," Bruce said, amused. 

Eddie wanted to hear more about the purple alien that loved stones. He said aliens didn't love stones. 

"Well, Thanos did," said Clint. 

"You know what aliens love? Eating brains! Because that's what they do," Eddie said. 

Peter Two stared at Eddie. The Eddie variant was so different from the Eddie he knew and he wondered if this Eddie needed forgiveness and religion as well.

The bartender said he made his family disappear for five years. 

"Which I still can't believe happened," said Peter Two. 

"Five years? That’s a long time. I mean, maybe I should go to New York and speak to this, Spider-Man." 

"If Stephen's spell brought them here, then the second spell should've taken them back already," said Wanda. 

"Then they never made it to New York because we never saw them before," said Scott. 

"Because they're surrounded by drinks," said Natasha. "They're drunk."

"Eddie! We are drunk!" Venom roared. 

Peter Two was taken aback by the Venom and Eddie variants he was seeing. 

"They are drunk," Scott agreed. "But I'm glad they were so they didn't go to New York."

Huh, maybe this Eddie isn't trash, Peter Two thought.

Eddie and Venom disappeared back to their universe like the others. 

"So, they stayed in Mexico the entire time they were in our universe," said Bruce. 

"All Multiverse travellers should be like that," said Loki.

The bartender was upset that Eddie left without paying the bill. 

"Someone literally disappeared in front of him and he's more concerned about Eddie not paying the bill?" Peter Three said, confused. 

Bucky shrugged. "Half of the universe disappeared as they turned to dust and then came back five years later. The bartender's own family died for five years. He's used to it."

However, a tiny piece of the Venom symbiote was left behind. 

Everyone looked at the symbiote in horror, especially Peter Two. 

"What are the effects of something from another universe being left behind in our universe?" Steve asked. 

"Nothing good," Loki, Wanda, Stephen, and Wong replied. 

Please don't move, Peter Two thought. Don't move. 

It moved. 

"Fuck," Peter Two cursed. "Peter One, if you ever face Venom, remember that sound waves are its weakness. That's how I got the symbiote off of me," he turned to the Avengers, "And if you guys ever see Peter One suddenly get a black suit and act like an asshole, get that thing off of him."

Peter One glanced at the symbiote. He'd faced enough aliens for a lifetime. 

There was a portal—not star-shaped—that caused Vision, Nebula, Gamora, Quill, Rocket, and T'Challa to appear. The Avengers let out a slight smile at seeing them, and Wanda beamed at seeing Vision. 

Peter Two and Three's jaws dropped at seeing the Guardians and Vision. The Avengers weren't lying — they were actually friends with green and blue aliens. They stared at Rocket and wondered if they were hallucinating.

T'Challa was a little confused at seeing where he was and why all of the Avengers were together when the last time, he'd seen all of them, they were fighting in an airport, but kept his sophisticated façade.

Bruce made sure he didn't bow because, apparently, bowing wasn't a thing they did in Wakanda. He shot Rhodey a dirty look, who grinned as he knew exactly what Bruce was thinking.

"It's nice to see you, your highness," Steve said warmly.

Thor lit up at seeing another King. He planned on making Valkyrie King soon, but it was nice to meet a fellow King.

Rocket eyed Bucky, who scowled. "I haven't gotten my arm yet, Rocket!"

"I'll get that damn arm someday."

"Yo, little Pete, I've been catching up on all the new Star Wars movies, and I have to say—" Quill started to say before Gamora nudged him in the ribs. Vision and the Guardians noticed the grave atmosphere and grew a little concerned. 

"Geez, who died?" Rocket asked. 

The Avengers winced and Peter One's eye twitched. Peter Two and Three felt faint at hearing Rocket talk.

"Rocket!" Gamora hissed. 

"So much has happened since you guys have been gone," Peter One croaked out. 

And thus, began a very lengthy explanation about Peter, Wanda, Vision, Loki, Sam, Bucky, and Clint. 

T'Challa's face turned stony as he heard about Zemo's escape from prison and Bucky refused to meet his eye.

"Infinity Stones as paperweights?!" Nebula exclaimed in disbelief while Gamora was in a similar state of shock.

"The Power Stone blew up part of Knowhere and now you're telling me people use them as paperweights?!" Quill yelled.

"Yes," Loki sighed.

"I know what's like to have your sister try to kill your friends, though," Gamora said, looking at Natasha sympathetically. 

"I said I was sorry!" Nebula cried. Tony and Rhodey grinned. They missed Nebula. 

"You've never said that!" Rocket shouted back. 

Natasha snorted. She had a feeling she and Gamora would get along very well. Besides, they both fell off Vormir. "Sisters, huh?"

Gamora laughed. "Sisters."

Nebula glared at Gamora. Quill narrowed his eyes at Loki. "One of your variants kissed your other variants?"

Thor gagged.

"Other versions of myself," Gamora said curiously. She had already seen 2014 Gamora, but variants of herself in other universes? That had to be interesting. 

Nebula frowned. She had already watched herself kill a younger version of herself, and she doubted she would like her variants. 

"I always thought the Multiverse was dangerous," said Vision. He was still a little light-headed after Wanda told him they were going to be parents via sperm donor. He couldn't wait to meet Billy and Tommy. 

"And you were right," Stephen replied. 

Quill and Gamora looked at Peter One with sympathy. He had been through too much. 

"These are my variants, though," Peter One said, introducing Peter Two and Three.

"Holy shit, you're half-alien and your name is Peter?" Peter Three giddily asked Quill. He thought he'd been satisfied meeting Thor, Loki, and Carol, but the Guardians were aliens who actually looked like aliens! And they were friends of the Avengers and his younger brother, so they were nice aliens.

"Yeah?"

"My name is Peter!"

"…I know?"

There was a brief moment of silence as the Peters could feel their time with Peter One and the Avengers end. They turned to look at each other. "We'll figure out a way to talk to each other through our dreams," said Peter One. 

"Maybe even find other Peters in the Multiverse," Peter Two suggested. 

"Like the Peter in the zombie apocalypse," Peter Three said. "I really want to know more about that Peter."

"I don't," Bucky grumbled. "I don't want to know anything about a zombie apocalypse."

The Peters stared at each other for a moment before they found themselves in another hug. "I'm so glad I met you two," said Peter One. Peter One and Three made similar sounds of agreement and let go of each other. 

"It was nice to meet you guys," Peter Two told the Avengers, glancing at Thor out of the corner of his eyes. Peter Three snuck a peek at Thor as well. Both of them knew they'd try to find variants of the Avengers in their universes. 

Tony plastered on a smile. Despite the mess he'd seen, meeting Peter Two and Three was a highlight. 

"Thanks for telling us about Thanos," said Peter Three. "I don't know if Thanos exists in our universe, but we'll try to find the Infinity Stones."

"If you do fight Thanos, always go for the head," Thor said gravely. 

The rest of the Avengers said their goodbyes and the Peters disappeared through two star-shaped portals. Peter One's shoulders slumped at seeing his older brothers leave. He already missed them.

Text appeared on the screen. The next recording is about all of your variants in different universes.

"Another one about the Multiverse?" Loki cried. Wanda, Wong, Peter, and Stephen groaned loudly while Tony clenched his jaw.

"What a mess," Wong complained.