Chapter Text
[The scene started with a black car driving into an open street and coming to a halt, the car windows rolling down to reveal Nick Fury. It‘s summer in the year 2024.]
Natasha, Tony and Clint shared a look, all grinning from one ear to another. „Nice to see he’s still around“, Clint said. „After all, he’s kind of the reason we teamed up in the first place.“
„Beg to differ“, Loki cut in, and smirked at the annoyed groans he earned through his comment. „I’m merely speaking the truth“, he innocently announced, and Thor beside him not-so-subtly shoved him. „Don’t ruin the moment, brother.“
Yelena squinted at the screen, inspecting the man. „He was probably less problematic than Valentina“, she murmured, and Bob next to her nodded darkly, reminding himself of how said woman had manipulated him into hurting the only people on his side.
Nick Fury: Get in.
„Wow, how polite“, Bruce commented with a smile.
Tony responded with a grin thrown at the scientist over his shoulder. „Well, that’s Fury, alright!“
Holding back from a sigh, Peter leant back. If they’d only know that this, in fact, wasn’t Fury, something he wished he’d realized earlier.
[The camera panned to Peter Parker, who stopped in front of the car with widened eyes. He wasn’t in his usual Spider-Man suit, however wearing a black one, that looked pretty similiar.]
„That‘s a nice suit, Pete“, Tony commented with an appreciative smile, clapping the boy on the back who gave him a sheepish thumbs up. „You made it yourself?“
„No, but I actually made one or two on my own after“, he admitted, „was pretty cool. Actually, one of them‘s the main suit I use now!“
His mentor‘s brows flew up. „Oh, was mine not good enough or what?“ Peter‘s eyes widened, and he quickly added: „Wha- nonono, Mr Stark, I mean, the Ironspider-suit is awesome, and it’s a real honor and- but, you know…“
„Relax, kiddo. I’m joking“, Tony said, serious expression clearing up as he laughed. „That’s pretty fucking cool, Petey-Pie.“
[Peter opened the door and quickly jumped into the car. As they drove, Parker pulled off his mask and turned to Fury.]
Those who didn’t know Peter nodded slowly, recognizing his face on screen. Yelena turned to Parker, who picked at the hem of the provided TVA-shirt giddily, looking up in surprise as she addressed him. „You’re Spider-Man?“, she asked surprised, brows knitted together into a frown.
„Uh- yeah!“ He was quick to answer, although not without giving her a slightly skeptical look. After all, he didn’t really know her- at all. But to be fair, he didn’t exactly know any of the avengers except Tony that well, so he decided to not build up his walls. Although he could’ve used that, especially concerning Beck…
The assassin nodded curtly, examining him with piercing green eyes, but before he was able to feel threatened her expression cleared up. „Good to know. Just, ah, imagined you as older. Although, it does kind of make sense, given that you weigh only 156 lbs.“
The brunet gaped at her. „Wha- wait, how do you know that?“
She only gave him a grin that could almost be described as cheeky. „Just observation. It’s pretty easy to see when you were trained an assassin“, she explained. „There are many things I can find out with one look.“
Walker beside her scoffed halfheartedly. „Yeah, right. Stop bragging.“
This earned him a glare from not only Yelena, but also from Natasha, Sam and Bucky- although the latter two were pretty much glaring at him permanently, so it didn’t really make a difference. John winced. „Jesus, okay, sorry-„
„For example, you, Walker, didn’t shower for exactly four days“, Belova quipped, and he groaned loudly, cheeks flushing immediately. „I said I’m sorry! And also, it’s three and a half, which isn’t even that bad.“
„I assume not“, Ava Starr interjected, wrinkling her nose, „However, believing that your beloved ‚Shark attack‘ deodorant will do the trick very much is.“
A few stifled snickers rose at that comment, and John sunk into his seat. „It’s not my fault men’s cosmetic products get such stupid names!“
During their Banter, Sam leant closer to Natasha, whispering: „Nat- I love your sister already“, which made the redhead chuckle. „Yeah, she does have that effect.“
Peter Parker: Mr. Fury-
Nick Fury: You've got a lot of explaining to do.
„Explaining?“ Tony cocked his head curiously. „What happened?“
„A lot“, Peter said after a moment, figuring it’d make more sense to explain after the scene, given the circumstances.
Stark caught the signs and frowned, but turned his attention back to the scene.
Peter Parker: No, no, no, listen-
[Fury holds up a finger and Peter falls silent.]
„The power that one finger withholds is incredible“, Thor mumbled.
Loki slowly turned to his brother, and Bruce closed his eyes at the blond‘s words. „Brother mine, do me a favor and don’t say that. Ever again.“
Thor shot a confused glance at him, before giving him a deadpan expression, embarrassed smile tugging on his lips. „You know what I meant to- shut up!“
Nick Fury: Wait until we're secure.
Peter Parker: Okay.
Natasha’s eyes narrowed at the youngster’s body language. He seemed pretty alarmed, after all. “Why did you need to be secured? Is someone putting you in danger?”
She didn’t get an answer to that question.
[Fury then cleared his throat and gestured him to put on his seatbelt.]
„He looks so done with you“, Clint cackled, turning to Tony with a wide smile. „Just like he was with you when we first met.“
Tony scoffed. „Yeah, pretty sure he hated me. I know, impossible, right?“
Rhodey looked at his best friend unimpressed. „Dude- to be honest, it’s rather easy sometimes.“
„Excuse me, name one time I did something wrong!“
„You pissed in your suit at your party“, Rhodes exclaimed, which brought laughter from the others and Tony to quickly shut up, glaring at his friend. „I was drunk, okay?“
„Oh, you did drink, alright-„
Peter Parker: Right.
[Parker tugged at his seatbelt repeatedly, and accidentally pulled it off. He shot a panicked look at Fury, who only sighed and turned to the street again.]
A few snickers rang out at that, and Peter sunk deeper into his seat, cheeks bright red. „Oh, shut up, guys.“
Sam and Bucky exchanged a glance, both having similiar grins on their faces. After all, they had to uphold their „rivalry“ with the youngster, and regain their reputation after the last clip, where they were pretty much humiliated by Spider-Man‘s victory.
Bob smiled. He could relate to awkward things happening in unuseful situations.
[The car is shown as it pulls into a building, and Peter and Fury enter, Peter with his mask on again. After climbing up a fleet of stairs they walk inside a room, where Parker removes his Spider-lenses.]
Rhodey shot a glance at Tony. „Why didn’t you ever build that into your suits, huh? You know how hard it is to have a normal conversation with someone when everything’s behind a layer of metal?“
„It wouldn’t have fit into the aesthetic, Honey-Bear“, Tony replied, shooting a playful wink at his best friend who scoffed.
Nick Fury: So is there anything you want to tell us about your girlfriend?
A few wolf-whistles rang out, and Peter quickly jumped up, raising his hands. „No no, that’s a misunderstanding- I didn’t have a girlfriend at that point“, he breathlessly told everyone, face even more flushed than before.
„But you do now?“, Steve asked curiously, the corner of his mouth tugging up at his reaction.
„Uh- well, not exactly, I…“, he trailed off, seeing the wide smiles surrounding him. It wasn’t that easy to say, though. He recalled Dr Strange‘s spell, how everything had went wrong, how MJ had looked him in the eye like he hadn’t even existed, like they hadn’t even existed. After a moment of hesitation, he decided on answering with: „It’s… complicated.“
„What’s that supposed to mean“, Tony questioned him, eyes lit up. „Wait- is it about that girl you told me about, what was her name…?“
„Not so important“, the teenager squealed, and glared at the genius as he burst into laughter.
Maria Hill: He's talking about EDITH.
Stark perked up, turning to Peter once again. “You got EDITH?”
Spider-Man winced, remembering how the whole situation with EDITH had worked out, but nodded. „Yeah. She’s pretty amazing, though I almost blew my classmate up.“
His confession was met with another round of cackles, to which he joined in, surprisingly. „Hey, only almost, I handled it!“
„Oh, I’m sure you did“, Tony laughed, nudging him. „You know, if you needed help with figuring out how she worked, you could’ve just called me, right?“
Peter’s smile slowly slid off his face, despite his attempt to maintain it. „Well, actually“, he started, feeling the dread pool in his stomach at the reminder that, in fact, he hadn’t been able to call his father-figure at that moment.
The screen suddenly flickered- a warning, Parker‘s spidey-senses told him, and he quickly shut up, shaking his head dismissively. „Uh, nevermind.“
Tony frowned, but turned back to the screen after a shrug.
Neither of them noticed Natasha overhearing their whole conversation, eyes glued to the teenager, who’d started to fidget nervously again. She added two plus two and came to the conclusion that… oh god. A jolt ran through her, and she quickly turned back to the screen, trying to blink away what she’d just overheard.
Could it be that Tony…?
Peter Parker: I know I made a mistake, and I'm sorry, but he is not who you think he is. Beck is a liar. Mysterio, the Elementals, it's all fake. He has some sort of illusion tech. That's how he tricked you and tricked me into giving him EDITH.
Tony span around to look at Peter again, face pinched up in concentration.. „Beck… didn’t that guy use to work for me- wait“, he realized, face clearing up in shock, „isn’t that some weird obsessive psychopath?“
„…yeah?“
„And you gave him EDITH?“
Peter winced. „Yeah… sorry bout that.“
Stark, still surprised, took a breath but relaxed, giving him an apologetic look. „Well, you said he tricked you, so… it’s fine, really.“
Wanda‘s brows flew up. „I’m sorry- but what is an elemental?“ She turned to the other two magic-users in the room, who looked just as clueless as she did.
„Can’t say I’ve ever heard of that either“, Thor mumbled with crossed arms, and Loki shook his head in thought, black hair swinging from one side to another. „Neither have I. Perhaps one of Midgard‘s wonders?“ The gods both turned to Bruce, the only earther in their row, who gave them a deadpan expression. „How about we ask the one who just told us about them in the clip? After all, he’s right there.“
„Oh.“
„Right, we could do that.“
A few snorts were heard at their cluelessness, then everyone turned back to Peter, who shrunk back a bit at all the attention. „Oh, yeah- so there was this guy, Beck, who used drones to project monsters representing every element, and pretended to fight against them to look like the hero.“ He rolled his eyes while explaining, and the others shared his distrust towards the man once he finished, taken aback by the story.
„He wanted to be the next Ironman by faking his victories?“, Steve asked, astonished and disgusted at the same time.
Peter nodded, a tight expression on his face. „Yep. And- let’s just say that I was sort of in his way, as you’ll see.“
They all turned back to the screen, wary of what would happen next.
[With those words, he pulled out one of Mysterio‘s projecters, sliding it across the table.]
Peter Parker: It's a projector. I pulled it off the fire monster in Prague.
Thor’s expression darkened. „Fire monsters are the worst kind of monsters“, he muttered, thinking back to when his entire homeplanet was destroyed by Surtur. Bruce next to him caught his words and gave him an apologetic look, placing his hand on his shoulder.
„They really are“, Loki beside him agreed quietly, and the god of thunder gave them a small smile.
Nick Fury: So all that death and destruction we witnessed was created by this?
Peter Parker: No, not just this. I think he's using drones.
„Smart boy“, Alexei commented, giving Peter an appreciative nod. „He would do good on our team, don’t you think, Lena?“
„Dad, shut up, our team is a major fuckup without some teenager causing problems“, she growled, and Alexei gave her a sulking expression. After a moment, the Russian man muttered something along the lines of „you’re like teenager sometimes too“, and the blonde smacked him on the arm, causing him to yelp loudly.
Natasha sighed at her family‘s antics, trying to keep the smile from sliding on her face.
[Fury and Hill exchanged a concerned look, and Maria stepped closer to the window while Fury continued interrogating the boy.]
Nick Fury: Well, if this is true, then Beck's very dangerous and we need to be smart. Who else did you tell about this?
[Suddenly, Peter‘s spider-senses went off, and he looked around in concern.]
Everyone fell silent at the youngster‘s reaction.
„What’s going on“, Walker murmured confusedly, and Ava beside him shushed him quickly, leaning forward in her seat. „It’s finally getting exiting, keep your mouth shut!“
Nick Fury: Parker? Parker!
Maria Hill: What's wrong?
Peter Parker: It's Beck. He's here.
„Shit“, Tony breathed out, and looked at Peter with disbelieving eyes- „He doesn’t do anything to you, right?“
Peter avoided his eyes, his own stare fixed into the screen like his life was depending on it. Tony‘s confident smile slowly disappeared. „Right?“
The rest of the room braced themselves for whatever would happen now.
[All of a sudden, everything around them and Agent Hill started to vanish, revealing an empty concrete construction lot. ]
Nick Fury: What? Hill?
Sounds of shock rang out in the entire room as the guests realized they’d been tricked by Beck‘s illusions as well.
„Wait- so Hill wasn’t there the entire time“, Sam cut in, turning to Peter wide-eyed, who only gave him a sad nod.
„Yeah. Wish I would’ve realized that earlier- would’ve been a lot more convenient.“
The sarcastic drip in his voice told everyone that far worse was to follow, and everyone silenced in concern as the scene before them unraveled.
Peter Parker: No, it's just an illu- [a bullet pierces through a wall, staggers Peter and hits Nick] Fury!
Even more worried gasps filled the air at the quick action took place before their eyes.
„Fury!“, Clint called out, and Tony cursed beside him. „Fuck. Shit!“
Natasha took a sharp inhale, eyes filling with concern as her usual Pokerface slipped. „No, no he’s not- he doesn’t-„ She cut herself off in horror.
But Peter was quick to reassure everyone. „Don’t worry, guys, he’s fine“, he said, and a chorus of relieved sighs went through the crowd.
[Due to the illusions Peter fell and landed on the ground after crashing through a few floors.]
„Fuck-„
„Oh shit!“
„Are you okay?!“
Concerned voices prattled in on Peter from all corners, and he squirmed under all the attention, breath intakes quickening with every question. Before he was able to panic properly, a firm hand on his shoulder grounded him, and Tony raised his voice the slightest: „Everyone shut up! You’re stressing him.“
Luckily, the teammates understood and quickly silenced, as the overstimulated boy slowly calmed down again with a nervous smile, ears still ringing. „Sorry, it’s just- my senses are- everything’s too loud and-„ He gasped for air and ducked his head, ashamed for panicking in front of the group of heroes.
However, everyone of them seemed to get what he was feeling, and they all backed off, their concerns turning into quiet whispers as they turned back to the screen. After all, a child had just crashed through a bunch of floors out of nowhere!
Tony bent down to the kid, slinging his arm around his shoulder protectively, yet softly at the same time, allowing him to pull away. The youngster didn’t, instead leaned into the touch the slightest, breath still hitched. „I’m sorry Mr Stark, I don’t know what is wrong with me-„
„Shush, none of that. Nope, I don’t want to hear it“, Tony whispered firmly, as the teenager made even more efforts to apologize. „Don’t worry about it, Pete. We’re all just worried, okay? Just-„ The Billionaire interrupted himself with a sigh. „I won’t pressure you into talking bout this. Whatever happens. But don’t shut me out, okay? Don’t pretend like…“
Tony rubbed over his face. How should he say this? „Don’t pretend like you’re fine or nothing happened, because according to your reaction and shit something did.“
Peter hesitated, then, a small nod shook his frame. „Thanks, Mr Stark. Really.“
A flashed smile answered him. „Good. But for crying out loud, call me Tony.“
A wet laugh left the teenagers throat as he sat up. „Okay, Tony.“ They exchanged a last smile before turning back to the screen, bracing themselves for what was to follow.
[Peter coughs pained and he tries to get up while the drones surround him.]
Everyone winced, but remained silent in order to keep the youngest in the room untroubled.
Clint held his breath, lost in the horrors of the scene for the moment. Deep down, he knew that, of course, the young man on screen was enhanced and had experience, but for a second, all he could see was one of his own children, looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes, and then, with a gush of wind, dust, disappearing in the distance, never to be found again…
He hadn’t even noticed tears running down his cheeks until Natasha next to him slowly pulled an arm over the shoulders of her best friend, pulling him closer to rest her forehead on his in a comforting way. Knowing him so well, she already knew what was going on in the archer‘s mind. „Hey. It’s fine, we’ll bring them back.“
„Don’t do that“, he hissed, aggressively blinking away further tears that welled up in his eyes. „Don’t give me hope.“
Not knowing what to answer to that she sighed and inched back a bit, however remaining a comforting presence beside him.
Quentin Beck: Wow, Peter, wow. I thought we were close. Fury always had to die, but not you.
„What bullshit“, Wanda growled, the overprotective side of her showing through. „Nobody has to die, he’s just being a bitch.“
A few startled laughs rang out at the unexpected comment, lightening the mood for a split second.
[The drones circled around Peter, projecting laser beams onto the teenager.]
Tony frowned at the machines on screen, a dreading feeling pooling in his stomach. Those were his drones, programmed and designed by him to protect Peter, and now all they were doing was cause trouble for the poor child. He couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty, despite knowing that were isn’t anything he could do right now.
“I swear to god, when I get out of here, I’m going to make sure those things stay far away from you, and then I’m gonna kill that bastard”, he growled protectively, giving his child a firm nod.
Peter stiffened, tears with a different meaning welling up in his eyes. No, you won’t, he wanted to say, but knew it wasn’t the time. Not yet.
Peter Parker: Stop hiding, Beck!
„Beck won’t even face you“, Bucky said with a bitter laugh. „And he’s the one making speeches? Fucking coward.“
Sam next to him nodded, dark expression on his face.
[Parker tried to shoot his webs at one of the drones, but his webs disappeared in the illusion, leaving him baffled.]
“Wait- where did it go”, Bob whispered, eyes darting from the screen to Yelena beside him. “How is that even possible?”
Yelena didn’t know an answer to that, but gave him a reassuring smile, trying to hide her confusion and worry. “It’s Stark technology, apparently. Must be very advanced, even back then.”
While turning back to the screen, she kept her eyes on Bob for a moment longer, taking in his averted gaze and rigid posture. She had no doubt that the young man beside her was thinking about the Void, and the similarities between the two scenes. Projecting fears, insecurities, doubt, all wrapped up in illusions too good to feel fake.
The blonde sighed and reached out to lace their fingers together. Bob looked up in surprise, but wrapped his own fingers around her hand, anxiety melting away the slightest bit. Which was enough for Yelena, who fixed her eyes back on the screen with a soft expression.
Quentin Beck: I tried to help you walk away. Now you're making me do this.
„He’s not making you do anything“, Sam muttered, brows knitted together. „He’s seriously trying to guilt-trip you, what an asshole.“
Peter showed a lopsided smile. „That’s what he was like, Beck.“
[The illusions wash over everything around him, including Peter himself. Suddenly, his Night-Monkey suit transformed back into his old Stark-built Spider-Man suit.]
„Interesting“, Loki muttered, and all eyes fell on him.
„What’s that supposed to mean“, Tony growled protectively, shooting a glare towards the god.
The god of mischief quickly shook his head. „Not that I support his actions, Stark. It’s just… nearby astonishing to see technology this advanced. After all, it seems to be feeding on vulnerabilities.“ He nodded towards the screen. „This brings back bad memories, does it not?“
Peter ducked his head, then gave a hesitant nod.
„I see. So apparently, he’s trying to weaken you with illusions showing your fears and weaknesses. Correct?“ Loki clapped once, looking around.
Silence flooded every corner of the room, everyone overthinking his theory- and finding themselves agreeing with him.
Wanda frowned. „How is that even possible? Can he read minds?“
„Nah, I don’t think it’s that“, Peter said, eyes fixed onto the screen. „I trusted him, so maybe I said something along those lines?“
„Still, it’s different to mention it than to see it with own eyes. He seems to know you rather well“, Loki replied once again, neutral expression on his face. Underneath, however, was someone who’d went through similar experience, meaning trusting the wrong person and unknowingly supporting their actions. Amora, Odin, Thanos… the list went on and on.
Meanwhile, the teenager gulped audibly, eyes now frantically searching up and down the screen as if the secrets of the world were exposed there. Had he really said so much? The memories were blurry, even though it wasn’t even that long ago. And still, it seemed to him impossible that Mysterio had been able to read him so quickly.
And then, out of nowhere, a picture appeared before his mind, burning itself into his memory.
Vienna, the day they’d arrived, strolling through the narrow streets of the city. Him searching for a necklace to buy MJ, to complete the last details of his plan to confess to her days later. Before the faked water-elemental attack, he’d walked out of the store, looking out into the bright morning sun, ignoring the small tingle in his back for a moment, thinking nothing of it.
Ignoring the eyes on him, watching, observing- there.
He felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that perhaps, Quentin Beck had been around for longer than he’d originally thought.
[After that, out of nowhere lockers and school settings appear around him, recreating his school and the atmosphere it beholds. ]
Sam shivered. “Man, I hated school. Fucking awful.”
“Yeah, it’s literally the worst”, Bruce agreed, eyes glaring at the screen. “I get the idea- but it just wasn’t implemented well.”
Meanwhile, Alexei bent over to his daughters, a sad expression on his face. “He’s pressuring the poor spider”, he exclaimed, fists clenched.
[Before him, Mysterio suddenly stood, with his false-heroic appearance. He started closing in.]
Thor shook his head, deep frown on his face. “Despite his efforts to appear like one, that man will never be a hero, that I am assured.”
He then shifted his gaze to Peter, who’s eyes widened at the attention he was getting from the literal god. After observing him for a moment, the ghost of a smile flickered over his face, his blue eyes glistening nostalgically for the glimpse of a moment. “You will do good. Better than that son of a bitch for sure.”
A startled laugh escaped the teenager, but he smiled, tension easing up a bit at his inspiring words. “Thanks, Mr King Thor, it means a lot.” (The words caused Tony to stiffen a smirk. Peter and his awkward antics to address people was something he adored in the teenager, but also liked making fun of- politely, of course.)
Steve sighed at Thor’s words, and Sam chuckled at his expression. “Language, am I right?”
“Did you really have to tell everyone?!” The captain whirled over to Natasha, who merely shrugged. “Well, yeah?”
Quentin Beck: You told me, you were just a kid. You told me, you wanted to run after that girl!
The mood darkened once again at the cruel words hurled at the boy on-screen.
“You are just a kid”, Rhodey clarified, eyes shooting daggers at Mysterio. “He’s the one who needs to grow the fuck up, however.”
A chorus of voiced agreements followed his comment, making Peter’s heart lighten a bit. The fact that they all cared about him meant the world to him.
Tony nudged the teenager beside him, trying to lighten the mood a bit more. “So, there is a girl after all, huh?”
“Respectfully, Mr Stark, shut up.”
[Mysterio appeared behind him, but as Peter went in for a punch he found a wall of bricks instead. He pulls back, clutching his hand in pain, but did leave a crack in the pillar of concrete.]
“I still don’t get how he does that”, John muttered, blinking rapidly as a literal human turned out to be a wall. “I’m getting too old for this shit.”
“You contributed to a fight an enourmous amount of one single time. But I agree, you are aging rather quickly”, Ava beside him snarked, an amused smile twitching at the corner of her lips. Walker only scowled, shoving her slightly with the hint of an own smile on his face.
Steve shot a glance at Peter. “You’re really strong”, he commented, adding: “Maybe even stronger than us with our serum, right Buck?”
“…sure”, Bucky said begrudgingly, earning himself a surprised snicker from Sam, who’d overheard the conversation.
[A distant voice called out.] MJ: Help me!
Peter Parker: MJ!
“MJ! That was her name”, Tony exclaimed. “Good to see she’s still around.”
Peter closed his eyes, forcing a nod, which made his mentor pause, but he didn’t question him further, seeing how the scene made him panicked enough.
“Is this your spouse”, Thor mused, and Bruce next to him choked. “He’s, like, sixteen! He’s not married, Thor!”
“I was merely asking a question, Banner”, Thor shot back, although his cheeks had warmed the slightest. “Excuse me for wanting to know more about your midgardian culture!”
“Oh please, brother mine, you don’t give a shit about culture”, Loki’s sharp voice cut in, eyes sparkling mischievously, and he carried on with: “I think you’re just interested in the drama, aren’t you?”
The thundergod turned to his brother abashed. “NO- alright, yes, perhaps that too, however, I am curious about what cultural aspects this conversation might withhold as well”, he claimed, and turned back to the scientist, who was chuckling softly at his antics. “Do you have a spouse?”
Bruce’s eyebrows shot up. “Interesting what ‘cultural aspects’ mean to you.” Before Thor could interrupt, he continued, smiling while talking. “But no, actually. And I’m also not sixteen, I guess that part shows, though.”
The three laughed, and Thor rubbed his back awkwardly. “Good to know”, he mumbled quietly.
Loki coughed loudly, grabbing his brother’s attention, who immediately looked back to the screen, face even redder than before. The god of mischief only smirked before following his example.
[The young hero rushes towards the voice, almost tumbling over the edge of a building into the darkness.]
Peter Parker: Oh, God!
The light amusement after the last few words dissolved at once as startled cries rose out from between the seats.
Tony held his hand over his heart, knuckles clenching the back of Peter‘s chair. „Oh my god…“ Peter looked pretty shaken himself, nevertheless managed to give his mentor a small smile. „I caught myself in the right moment, it’s not so deep.“
„NOT SO DEEP?!“ Stark exploded, for the first time since they entered the room looking downright enraged. Peter shrunk back, but then realized his anger was only directed at one single person; that person being the villain shown on screen, misty-green helmet hiding his cruel smirk and cape swinging back and forth in what was supposed to be heroic glamour.
Tony only saw a monster.
„Yeah no, it does seem kinda ‚deep‘ “, Sam cut in, and gave the kid a genuinely concerned look. „No need to downplay it just because you survived, kiddo. It’s still horrible.“
Nods of agreement followed his words, and Peter sighed quietly. „Okay. It was pretty bad.“ But it would get worse, he couldn’t help but think, forcing his eyes back on the screen
Tony watched the boy, took notice of his frown and the way he avoided eye contact, like he wasn’t being completely honest. He knew, all he could do right now was be there for the teenager, however had a hard time accepting that this was how his future would look like.
[It is revealed that the building Spiderman was standing on was the Eiffel Tower.]
„Paris“, Clint commented, trying to find a distraction from the obvious horrors on screen. „Really nice there, huh, Nat?“
Natasha rolled her eyes. „Yeah, well, Budapest was nicer, don’t you think?“
„Budapest. Nice?“ The archer shot an offended look towards his best friend, an almost disappointed undertone in his voice. „You and I remember that very differently.“
The redhead grinned at the suppressed sarcasm in his words, and replied with a cheeky: „I guess we do.“
Steve leaned closer to Nat, asking her the same question everyone else wanted the answer to. „What actually happened in Budapest?“
„First off, it’s Budapest, you pronounce the ‚s‘ as a ‚sh‘ ”, she started, ignoring Clint’s shake of the head. „And secondly… that’s something between him and me.“ She gestured to Hawkeye next to her and they fistbumped, similar smugness in their faces. Everyone groaned at the non-satisfying answer they’d gotten, but knew that they probably wouldn’t get a better one anyway.
MJ (confused): Peter, what's going on?
[Peter turns around to MJ, who appeared behind him, looking scared.]
Confused sounds rang out at her sudden appearance.
Bucky shook his head immediately, ice-blue eyes locked to the girl on screen. „That’s not her. It’s an illusion“, he clarified between gritted teeth. His throat went tighter with every action Mysterio did to manipulate- no, mentally torture the poor boy. If one person knew how it felt like to be hurt with memories, with faked pictures of people he loved, with images of people he trusted turning against him, it was definitely him.
This whole scene reminded him incredibly of his time at HYDRA.
Sam glanced to Bucky concerned, detecting the small shake in his voice that went unnoticed by almost everyone. After thinking about the whole situation for a moment, he winced as he realized that this was probably especially hard for the ex-assassin next to him. Instead of their usual banter he went for a more honest tone as he leaned closer to him, muttering a quiet: „You good there, Buck?“
A tight nod was his answer, but Bucky‘s dull expression gave it away. That was the look of a man who was disassociating, he knew that look all too well. Slowly, without any intentions of making the man uncomfortable, he reached for his vibranium hand, and carefully placed his palm into his. Bucky blinked, swallowed, and something in his expression seemed to melt away.
And for the moment, that had to be enough.
Peter Parker: I know this isn't real.
Quentin Beck: Do you, though?
„I really did“, Peter admitted quietly, „But it’s hard to keep that in your mind when he shows you… this.“
The guilty undertone in the teenager‘s voice broke everyone’s heart, and Tony‘s jaw only clenched even more as he stared down the villain on-screen.
[Suddenly, Mysterio appears before him, holding MJ in a chokehold.]
„No“, Natasha gasped, and many others snapped for air as well. Peter was already too young for all this- but now Mysterio was even involving people that had nothing to do with the situation in the same age without any superhero experience? That only made him even more cruel to the heroes.
Bucky was quick to reassure her with a side glance, „It’s not real“, he repeated softly, knowing it mustn’t be easy for the Black Widow to see young girls get hurt as well.
Nat tilted her head, eyes burning with furiousity. „I know. Still.“
Steve gave her a concerned look, and a small pat on her shoulder. She didn’t react, simply keeping her eyes glued to the screen.
Yelena had the same look on her face, fingers digging into the material of the seats. „I’m fine“, she hissed as her teammates gave her a look, and inhaled slowly. Bob‘s worried gaze lingered on her for a moment more, and he squeezed the hand he was still holding.
„Norns“, Thor cursed at the sudden action, eyes widening.
Even though this situation was completely different, the alarm bells in his head were ringing sharply. All he could see were purple fingers wrapped around a paler throat, eyes locked with his as a sick crunch echoed through the empty statesman, his brother being thrown to the ground like a ragdoll, Thanos-
„Hey.“ A quiet voice rang through to him, and his eyes settled onto a pair of deep-brown eyes, a concerned frown on the scientist‘s face, who was kneeling in front of him. He hadn’t even noticed his breaths becoming more rapid, and the electricity riding up and down his right arm wasn’t something he’d been aware of up to this moment either. He pulled back, wincing at the small shock running through his upper arm.
„My apologies, I-”
Bruce‘s understanding, small smile made him stop rambling, and he cleared his throat after a moment of silence, in which he concentrated on his partner‘s rising chest, in desperate attempt to calm down. Breath in, hold, breath out. Through some miracle, it actually worked.
Without any further words between the two of them Banner settled into his own seat again, and Thor turned back to the screen, preparing himself mentally, but not without shooting a thankful and slightly embarrassed look towards the smaller man beside him.
Loki, once again, only observed with a thoughtful expression, eyes flickering curiously between the two of them.
[Mysterio lets go of the girl and she falls down, plummeting towards her death.]
Everyone in the room held their breath despite knowing the truth. Nevertheless, it was hard to watch something as such, and it being so realistic too.
Sam averted his eyes from the screen for a second, having lived through a familiar experience. And he wasn’t the only one; Steve, Bucky, Loki, Thor, Rhodey and Tony flinched as well, bad memories welling up in them.
Peter himself looked close to tears, reminding himself of the gut-wrenching feeling he felt in that moment.
At least he’d protected her this time- even when it hurt him.
[Peter immediately dived down after her.]
Peter Parker: MJ! MJ!
„Shit, why would you do that“, Tony cursed fearfully, directing his question at the young man next to him. „You could’ve died!“
„Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same thing for Mrs Potts, Mr Stark“, Parker only replied, and turned to Tony with an expectant look.
„… I can’t“, the genius finally admitted, his thoughts trailing back to the mandarin. His eyes softened. „I get it. I’m just worried.“
Peter ducked his head sheepishly as Tony ruffled through his hair affectionately, and couldn’t suppress a smile. It was nice, seeing his mentor again after all this time…
[He hit the ground, MJ‘s scream still echoing around through the darkness. He gets up slowly, as Mysterio‘s voice speaks in the distance.]
Quentin Beck: I don't think you know what's real, Peter.
„Nobody would in such a situation“, Ava muttered, shooting a pitiful glance towards the youngest member in the room.
Wanda nodded darkly, understanding the feeling of not being able to grasp reality quite in certain moments. „It felt so real, am I right“, she asked, a bitter undertone ringing in her voice. Her numb voice made Peter turn to her, the answer already written in his face.
„Yeah. And I knew it wasn’t, I knew it was all fake, but I couldn’t-„
„Of course you couldn’t“, she interjected, something softening in her eyes. „I’m not expecting you to, and no one else in this room is, either. Heaven knows I would do less in such a situation.“ Her thoughts traced back to Agatha, and how their ‚friendship‘ had ended.
„Yeah, and he was really manipulating you before“, Tony pointed out, nudging Peter softly. „That must’ve been a lot to deal with.“
The usually talkative child stilled, silently agreeing. It had been a lot, and it still was, looking at it now.
[Everything around him flashed green, and suddenly, he was standing in front of an enourmous building reading ‚QUEENS‘. All of a sudden, a fist appeared, punching him through a wall of glass. He was sent flying away, landing on a car in an empty parking lot.]
The crowd was left to gape at the graphic illusions, tricking all of them for a split second.
Peter winced every time on-screen Peter was hit, remembering the pain he’d experienced after the fight, when he was able to calm down a bit on that train ride.
He’d crawled his way into that train with all power left, which hadn’t been much; he recalled himself almost slipping from the speeding vehicle before he’d entered. As soon as he was inside he’d managed to heave himself against a seat, the sun washing over his face in that moment being the only bit of comfort. And then he’d cried.
It began with silent tears, but went over to scared sobs within seconds. He’d trusted Mysterio, hell, he’d downright worshipped him. And he’d looked him dead in the eyes, not even a trace of regret in his eyes as that train had run him over.
Without even noticing he grasped Tony‘s hand, who didn’t hold him back from doing so in the slightest.
Peter calmed down a bit, recognizing the actual one he should’ve believed in, no matter if dead or not.
Quentin Beck: You need to WAKE UP!
[Peter rolled off the car, breathing heavily and looking around frantically. Had the illusion really stopped?]
„Finally, it’s over“, Steve groaned, sounding as relieved as most were feeling.
Natasha, however, scanned the scene more specifically, and sighed sadly when she realized. „It isn’t. Am I right“, she concluded, and Peter‘s eyes darted away once more. A small shake of his head followed, for he knew the worst was yet to come.
The others turned back to the screen in horror, feeling a sick feeling pile up in them as they continued watching.
[But then the drones flew through the window, covering everything in illusions once again. This time, humongous shards of glass cut into the ground around him, reflecting his scared face.]
Quentin Beck: I mean, look at yourself.
„This is brutal“, John admitted to himself, a weird protective feeling growing in him.
It didn’t matter if he knew that kid or not (or if he was being sued by his team or whatever), nobody, especially not a child, should go through something as pressuring like that. He felt a pang of regret, thinking back about how it worked out with his own son. He promised himself to try harder when he got the chance to- after all, being the child of an official (or non-official) avenger could lead to a lot of danger, like he was witnessing with his own eyes right now.
At this point, Tony was fuming. „Fuck, when is this nightmare finally over?“
„I have the feeling the nightmare is yet to come“, Loki muttered, noticing a certain pattern out of own experience. First comes confusion, and then, when the victim just thought he’d finally seen through the schemes of their offender, they flip it all around again. And finally, when they were close to complete despair, they pull out the meanest card and slap it in front of them, watching their world break apart within mere seconds.
[Peter tries to touch the glass but his reflections suddenly sprung out of the glass, attacking him through piling themselves onto him.]
The guests were taken aback at the detailed illusions, left to gape at the screen as the situation only worsened.
Peter shuddered, the feeling of being crushed underneath the weight of literal illusions still lingering over his skin.
Quentin Beck: You are just a scared little kid in a sweat suit.
Loki, surprisingly out of his ever-so nonchalant attitude, couldn’t suppress a scoff. „Would he just shut up already? By all means, by the end of this clip my ears will be bleeding from the utter nonsense he’s speaking.“
His brother snorted at the comment, while agreeing fullheartedly. „What, jealous somebody is trying to steal your reputation as master of illusions?“, he asked, and Loki replied with another huff of desperation.
„Jealous, me? Of a mortal? And such a pathetic one? I mean, even he is less puny than that bastard“, he said, gesturing to Banner with a nod of his chin, and the scientist sighed loudly.
„Gee, thanks, Loki, you’re the best“, he drawled, halfway offended, but mostly amused. „But you’re right about that point, though.“
„That you’re puny?“
„…that he’s no master of illusions compared to you- why am I even nice to you“, Bruce muttered, and Thor gave him a small smile.
„It’s alright, Banner. Nobody blames you for demolishing my dear brother‘s arse in 2012, you don’t have to win his respect for you have his fear!“ Thor‘s words wrapped in a cheery voice made both men splutter, and the blond leant back as they both came for their defense. „Oh wait, perhaps that was one time where you were jealous of a mortal, Loki!“
„Actually shut up if you don’t want me to stab you.“
„Yeah, and I’ll smash you again.“
„Pretty sure I’d be able to recall if you had done so before.“
„I meant the Hulk on Sakaar- WAIT WHAT WERE YOU THINKING I WAS REFERRING TO?!“
„I DON‘T KNOW-„
Quentin Beck: I created Mysterio to give the world someone to believe in.
„I’d be surprised if anyone every believed in him“, Bucky said between gritted teeth, not being able to stand men like him.
Peter gave him a tentative smile, acknowledging the ironic side of that statement. „I did.“
[The Spider-Men attacking him suddenly disappeared, leaving Peter behind. He looks down and realizes he’s now wearing his homemade suit, hanging from his limbs loosely.]
„Oh“, Tony breathed out. He recalled that time after civil war, some time in 2016, where he’d taken away the suit from Peter and left him alone. He’d been angry, and not for a wrong reason, but still. It had hurt the kid, he could still feel his teary eyes on his as he‘d taken off back then. Had he given him the feeling of not being enough without the suit? God knows that hadn’t been his intention.
He turned to Peter, catching his gaze. „You’re more than that suit. You know that, right?“
„Of course, Mr Stark“, Peter quipped, and a genuine smile widened on his face, hesitant but there . „At least I do now.“
[The camera zooms out, showing Peter standing on a statue of Captain America with his shield.]
Steve narrowed his eyes, now glaring at the screen as well, his stern expression cold as ice for once. „I’m not even relevant to any of this, why is he even showing me? Or the shield, what-„ He cut himself off, shaking his head in disapproval.
„It’s because of pressure“, Sam said, slowly seeing a strategy in Mysterio‘s illusions. „First your girl, then the school-lockers, then the thing with the suit and now that. He’s trying to put as much pressure on you as possible, to prove to you you’re ‚not strong enough‘.“
„Which is bullshit, of course“, Tony added, seeing Sam‘s theory. „He’s actually only showing how good you’ve been able to handle all of this until now.“
„It probably worked, given that he used as many triggers that he did, didn’t it? The image of not being enough? It hurts enough when a trusted person tells you, but showing it through examples, and even projecting them as literal pictures must have worsened the situation.“ Loki stilled after speaking what had been on his mind, and scoffed at the looks sent his way.
„What? I’m the god of mischief, I have experience in this.“
Thor frowned at his brother. „You’d never go that far. Even you aren’t that bad.“ Surely he must’ve learnt all that somehow else. The question was how? But Loki had already turned away, simply showing Thor his back.
„You’re good at reading this stuff“, Bucky commented, and Sam grinned. „Ya think? I’m honored, Buck, that you can acknowledge my talent for once.“
„I wouldn’t say talent, more like luck.“
„Sure, sure.“
„If you had talents other than annoying me, I would know.“
„Hey! There’s lots of things I’m good at. Like bird-sighting! Come on.“
„Fine, that too. But it’s such a dumbass hobby, I wouldn’t describe it as talent either.“
„Why don’t you just shut your cyborg ass, James“, Sam scowled, pushing down a laugh.
Quentin Beck: I control the truth. Mysterio is THE TRUTH!
„I’d rather live under a lie then“, Rhodey said, disgusted by the man‘s behavior.
[Behind the fallen statue of Captain America stands one of Mysterio, even bigger and prouder. Peter starts fighting the villain.]
„Go get him“, Tony whispered, leaning forward in his seat.
[But as Peter tries to pull his enemy back with his webs, he turns into a construction crane, and he barely gets the chance to scramble away before the crane crashes to the ground.]
„Oh shit“, Clint gasped as Mysterio, once again, proved how impressive his illusions were.
Tony sighed in relief as he saw the boy escape his certain death, other than that he wasn’t quite happy with what he was seeing. Until now, everything had been traumatic enough, and probably scared the poor kid for life. But that right there? That was down right attempted murder!
„I’m so gonna kill him“, he muttered under his breath, quiet enough for the kid not to hear, who had curled himself together in his seat, watching the scene with hooded eyes.
[Peter tries to run away, but out of nowhere a fist of stone came down from above him.]
A new round of startled yells followed the action, and if they hadn’t been it before, now every person in the room was angry on Peter‘s behalf.
„Would he cut it out already“, Bucky growled, a protective feeling he’d felt for Steve before the serum welling up in him as he watched the scene envolve. „He made his point, why does he have to make it so goddamn painful?“
Peter laughed halfheartedly. „I guess he liked seeing me all vulnerable. Must’ve been really fucking funny for him.“
They all shook their heads, in shock a fully grown man would ever do such a thing to a teenager, most of all such an innocent one like Peter.
[The screen clears. Peter is kneeling on the ground, in front of what appears to be a grave stone. ]
The room dissolved in silent whispers as they all looked at the scene in confusion.
„What’s that supposed to mean?“
„Why would he show a grave stone?“
„Is this about his parents?“
Peter avoided everyone’s gaze, finally noticing tears welling up in his eyes as he turned away from the screen. Because there was no denying it now. This was it, then. They’d all see what really happened. Who they‘d lost after all. What that stupid grave stone meant, what it meant to him.
Before the scene flickered to the next image, Peter shot a terrified glance towards Tony beside him, who was frowning at the screen. Noticing his eyes on him, he smiled softly. „You good?“
And that was all it took for the young hero to break down as the next clip played…
[The grave turned out to be labeled: „ANTHONY EDWARD STARK“]
All whispers dissolved at once, as if all sound had been sucked out of the room.
Tony‘s smile slowly slid off as his brows furrowed, and then his face cleared with awful, painful understanding. „Oh. Oh.“
While the genius himself was still processing, Rhodey next to him chuckled nervously. „What’s that supposed to mean, Tony isn’t dead- I mean, he won’t be dead, am I right? I mean“, he breathlessly turned to Peter, who had silent tears streaming down his cheek, and got his answer. His face dropped, and everyone realized with once;
Tony Stark would soon be dead.
„No, no, they must’ve gotten it wrong“, Rhodey started spluttering, turning his wide-eyed gaze to his best friend of years. „You can’t just- die, fuck.“
Ironman himself was still staring at the screen in clear shock, letting out a shaky laugh. „Wow. That’s- wow.“
It was now that everyone started realizing that this was most probably going to happen, it happened already, in one way or another. Sounds of shock were heard all over the room as they processed the death of the beloved hero on their own way.
„Shit“, Bruce cursed, tears prickling in his eyes. Tony had been the first avenger he’d really bonded with, his first real friend in years. And all along, he’d treated him like he was; separate from the other guy, an own person. He’d respected his boundaries after time, he’d shared his interests, and overall, he’d been a good friend. And now… he was dead. If one of them had had to die, he’d wished it to be himself, that was for sure, and he was destroyed to see how it’d worked out.
Natasha sunk further into her seat as her suspicions were confirmed. It still hurt, though; even the Russian spy couldn’t withhold a tear running down her cheek. She and Tony went way back, and although she hadn’t exactly had the best picture of him at first, they’d gotten along soon. They weren’t always on the same side, but he’d stayed loyal to her, even after civil war and all that, and she’d never be able to pay him back for that.
Clint dug his face in his hands, losing yet another loved one. And Thor bowed his head in respect, eyes squeezed slightly shut at the new information.
Those already aware of Tony Stark‘s death, being the Thunderbolts, Sam, Bucky and Wanda, remained quiet, all in a darkened mood. Despite not being close to the billionaire, they were still obviously upset about his death and the way it affected those around him.
„How- how did I“, Tony started, voice breaking off as he turned to Peter, who‘d dissolved into a mixture of sobs, hiccups and tears. „Woah, hey, kid, it ain’t-„
„You saved us all“, Peter gasped, avoiding his eyes shamefully as his chest rose and sank quicker than ever. „You saved us all in order- in order to defeat Thanos b-but, we- I couldn’t save you, I should’ve been able to-„ He broke off as Tony wrapped his arms around him, holding the crying child close to his chest as he tried to calm him down.
Steve‘s breath hitched, staring at the two incredously.
You‘re not the guy to make the sacrifice play, hadn’t those been his exact words in 2012? And now exactly the opposite was proven. Fuck, he felt bad, and also regretful. Knowing their troubled relationship they probably hadn’t ended it on good terms. He looked away, still not properly believing what he was seeing.
Tony pulled back from Peter, still holding him tightly. „I don’t know what the fuck happened out there when I…died. But I know, okay, I’m sure that it wasn’t your fault. Don’t ever feel like that, okay?“ Peter nodded weakly, still sniffling as he lifted his head.
„Sure thing, Mr- Tony.“
Quentin Beck: If you were good enough, maybe Tony would still be alive.
„Now why the fuck would he say that“, Tony yelled at the screen angrily, causing many of those reacting to wince. „Bullshit, bullshit! I am alive right now, and that’s the worst fucking thing you could ever throw at someone, so actually shut up!“
After his little outburst he was left panting heavily, sheepishly clearing his throats as the others stared. „Sorry, had to… just had to get that off my chest.“
Rhodey gave him a wet smile, ushering a soft: „It’s fine, Tones.“
[A quiet moment passes where Peter just stares at the grave, sadness obvious even through the mask. But then, out of nowhere, a fist and then a whole body crawled out of the grave, stalking towards the young boy who crawled back in shock.]
„Oh shit!“
„What the-„
„He really can’t seem to catch a break, can he“, Bob muttered sadly as the others nodded.
[It turns out to be a zombie-version of Ironman, spiders crawling out of his eyes as he closed in.]
Tony looked downright murderous now, seeing how much worse Mysterio was making Peter feel, but he kept silent, simply death staring the screen like it personally offended him- as it had, in a certain way.
Meanwhile, Natasha frowned. „Are those… Black Widows?“ That couldn’t be a coincidence, right? Was Mysterio using her death to pressure him as well?
Peter shrugged softly, eyes glued onto the ground. He seemed pretty spaced out, as if in another world. She understood, but noted herself the name Quentin Beck mentally. Just another person she might want to take care of…
Quentin Beck: Deep down, you know I'm right.
Clint snorted passive aggressively. „Yeah, sure, that’s the lesson we’ve learned today; that this genius is always right.“
[Mysterio‘s illusions do its charm once more, and after a few moments of flickering, confusing images, Spiderman is shown trapped in a snow globe, which turns out to be Mysterio‘s helmet, which he takes off dramatically.]
„The illusions are pretty captivating though“, Sam muttered, leaning closer to the screen a bit.
Bucky shot a glance at him, and despite the rather saddening and inappropriate moment, he couldn’t help but notice the gorgeous way the colors of the illusions reflected onto his partner‘s skin. After a few seconds Sam met his gaze and smiled unsurely, causing Bucky to quickly turn away, ignoring the flush building on his face.
Oh, man .
Quentin Beck: You made your choice. And all you had to do was step aside, and now you have-
They all waited for Mysterio to complete his sentence, staring at the screen in confusion.
[He was cut off as something hit him, causing him to sink to his knees, now revealed in a gray suit with headset. The illusions around him dissapeared with once, and they stood outside of the warehouse.]
„Finally“, Thor said loudly, glad the child was put out of his misery after all of that emotional torture. (After all, this chapter had over ten thousand words, and the writer was surprised that the reader even got to this point. )
The others started relaxing now as well, many voicing their relief.
Peter remained silent.
[Fury shows himself from behind Mysterio, limping and with a gun in hand. Behind him, dark cars came to a halt, and agents with weapons directed at Mysterio stepped out of the vans.]
„Look, your friend lives“, Alexei cheered and clapped Natasha on the back, who replied with a soft smile. However, she didn’t seem completely convinced, brows still furrowed as she watched the scene even closer than before.
Tony and Clint sighed in relief as well, glad to see the man again.
Peter Parker (relieved): Fury.
Nick Fury: Beck's people are trying to find everyone who could expose him. Who'd you tell?
„Well that’s… nice“, Ava said, and a few dry chuckles followed her comment.
„He’s usually like that, but that‘s a bit cold even for Fury“, Clint commented, now not looking that trusting anymore as well.
Peter Parker: Um-
Nick Fury: I know you told someone, so just tell me.
Peter Parker: Okay.
Nick Fury: Who did you tell? Who else did you tell?!
“That’s not Fury”, Bruce realized, his eyes widening a fracture. „It’s an illusion. Again. What the fuck is his problem?!“
Peter gave an exasperated smile at the scientist, who’d gotten on so quickly. „I’d like to know that to.“
Those who’d heard his heated words bristled, not having expected that Mysterio tricked them- FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME.
Peter Parker: O-okay, just Ned and MJ from my class. Maybe Ned told his girlfriend Betty, but that's it.
„Shit“, Natasha breathed out, already imagining what Beck was now planning to do. „Shit, you told him.“
Peter grimaced at his past self‘s naive attitude. How had he actually thought it had all been over?!
„Kid“, Steve suddenly spoke to him, noticing his doubt. „He got us all. Don’t overthink this.“
[Nick Fury let out a pitying chuckle, and Peter interrupted himself.]
Peter Parker: What?
Nick Fury: You are so gullible.
„Oh, fuck off“, Yelena groaned, flipping the bird at the screen, surprising the other guests. „What? He’s an asshole.“
[Peter takes a step back as he realizes.]
Peter Parker: What?
„I hate how quickly he realized“, Sam muttered to Bucky, inching closer to him in order to keep his voice low. „That kid‘s been through hell.“
Bucky agreed. „We should take a look at him, when this is all over, shouldn’t we?“
Sam grinned at his words. „You read my mind, James.“
Nick Fury: Oh, you're smart as a whip. Just a [Mysterio voice] sucker.
[Fury turned out to be just an illusion as well, and was replaced by the image of Mysterio.]
The calmed-down atmosphere changed rapidly, as the rest finally recognized they had been tricked- again.
Wanda looked like she was about to explode. „He wants to hurt children?!“, the witch growled, eyes flashing red for a split second. She took a shuddering breath as a few curious pairs of eyes fell on her, falling back into her seat.
Quentin Beck: And now all your friends have to die.
„He’s threatening to kill literal children“, Bruce stated in shock, and his eyes might have had a green glint to them as he said those words.
At this point everyone was fuming
Peter Parker (realizing): Oh my God!
[Once again, the illusions wrap around the boy as he stumbles back.]
„SERIOUSLY? AGAIN“, Rhodey called out, and many jumped up protectively as the whole nightmare began again.
Quentin Beck: It's easy to fool people when they're already fooling themselves. But for what it's worth, Peter, I really am sorry.
„What’s that supposed to mean-„ Tony started, but was interrupted by the scene.
(Suddenly, a train hits Spider-Man.)
The room dissolved in horrified gasps.
„What the fuck!“, Clint hissed loudly, furious eyes burning into Beck on the screen, who was talking to someone. Nobody cared about the villain anymore, too scared for the poor teenager‘s life, who only looked up to the screen with tired eyes and a sad, quivering smile.
„Don’t worry- I’m still here“, he attempted to lighten the mood, but his shaking hands gave it away.
Before anyone was able to interact with the boy, once again, Tony was the first to turn to him, face twisted into a regretful and bitter expression. „Kid“, he managed to bring out, eyes softened in concern. That was all it took for Peter to throw himself into his mentor‘s arms, shoulders wracking in silent sobs.
„I’m sorry“, Stark muttered, doing his best to conceal his shock and rubbing circles into his back instead, „I’m so sorry- fuck.“
His gaze hardened with once, and everyone watching felt a shiver run through their spine as his eyes fixed onto Mysterio on screen, burning with unraveling hatred. „I’m gonna fucking kill him.“
„Count me in.“ Bucky‘s cool voice spoke up, and his and Tony‘s eyes locked with once. They might have gotten off on the wrong foot, but when it came to things like these, both were on the same side without hesitation. As well as almost every person in the room, for, in the small time they’d gotten to know Peter better, they’d all come to the same conclusion; they would kill for that boy.
Sam, despite his unserious rivalry with Spider-Man, seemed just as disturbed as his partner, fists clenching in anger on the kid‘s behalf. Annoying or not; Parker somewhat reminded him of his nephews, for who he’d do literally anything. And anyone who’d do something so cruel to a child had made themselves an enemy; the Falcon, or as he was yet to know, Captain America…
Steve felt his throat tighten. Even though it was almost impossible to compare, the scene made his heart ache in recognition of being the weaker one, being tricked and ridiculed by those who were stronger and used your vulnerability. He hadn’t been able to get to know Parker properly yet, but saw himself in acts of the youngster in many ways.
Natasha and Clint stared the man on-screen down, eyes narrowed to slits. Whether it was their past in the red room or the recent death of their own children- they both felt their heart jump every time the young man was hurt. Nat noticed Yelena‘s fingers curling around her hand, and gave her a small squeeze accompanied with a soft smile.
Thor took a deep breath, the faint cracking sound of electricity and a somewhat humid atmosphere filling the air, which sent a few alarmed looks his way. He hadn’t even known Peter until they were in the theater, and up to now only heard a few sentences leave his mouth. And yet, he felt rage building up in his chest. Mortal or not, that boy was way too young for what had just happened.
Bruce beside him let his eyes drop from the screen as a frown built on his face. He’d gotten to know Peter a bit during their last break, and had immediately seen a younger version of Tony in front of him. It seemed wrong to him, seeing the former bubbly teenager now with his eyes filled with silent tears. However, knowing his anger problems, he was able to reduce his reaction from the outburst that probably everyone was holding in.
Wanda‘s eyes stayed glued to the screen, cold as ice. But her fingertips were sparking with scarlet magic, and the red glint to her eyes showed that she was just as furious as the other guests, who seemed horrified on their own behalf.
A few minutes passed, everyone processing what they had just witnessed. On-screen or not- this was most probably the future awaiting Peter Parker, and everyone, including those who never got to know him, were shocked by that.
A loud clear of a throat on the other side of the room made them all turn around.
It was Mobius, who’d appeared out of nowhere. He gave everyone, especially the boy, a sympathetic smile. „That must’ve been a lot to watch right now. My apologies for that. But I hope you’ve gathered some useful information out of the clip.“
Hesitant nods followed his words, although most were still disturbed by the scene that had just come to an end.
Mobius opened his mouth. „Alright, now that that’s settled, I’d like for you to take a small look at a certain someone’s life, to understand why-” But before he was able to finish the sentence, a loud, whooshing sound interrupted him.
Not all too far from him, in fact, right in front of the screen, blue clouds had appeared out of nowhere, vanishing to mist curling around the feet of their seats. Suddenly, two more people were standing in that room- one of them familiar in a quite extraordinary way.
„It appears I’m in the right place. Finally.“ TVA-Loki turned to Casey beside with a curt nod. „Thank you. I appreciate it. Now get back to your paperweights or whatever, not that I care“, he added with a tone in his voice that implied that he very much did care.
Clint’s mouth fell open, and he spluttered some non-identifiable before finally spitting out: „One of him‘s enough, do we seriously need another?“ A chorus of similar words followed his, and both Lokis seemed mildly amused at the fact that they were causing a tumult under the heroes.
Thor seemed like the exact opposite, a wide smile spreading over his face as he recognized the variant. „Why not, son of Bart?“ He then waved TVA-Loki to him, ignoring his suffering scowl, and scooted to make room for him. „Have a seat next to Banner, I’m sure he doesn’t mind!“
„Uh huh“, Bruce weakly said, and made place for him as well, not looking him in the eyes. TVA-Loki smirked at the scientist‘s antics, and so did the other Loki, which was pretty much a nightmare for the entire room; make one Loki satisfied and something was wrong. Make two satisfied, you should start running.
The thunder god didn’t comment as the doctor inched closer to him, but a surprisingly small smile played around his lips. Loki caught it and rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, muttering under his breath: „Out of all you could choose, a mortal?“ Bruce didn’t seem to hear, and Thor only shot a short glare towards his brother, but TVA-Loki caught the words and stifled a chuckle.
„Do you have something to say“, Loki finally asked, after TVA-Loki‘s shoulders didn’t stop shaking in suppressed laughter.
„Oh, it’s nothing“, he replied, still grinning ear to ear. „It’s just ironic.“
Loki‘s eyebrows shot up. „How so?“, he said, confusion and mistrust thick in his voice. He didn’t get an answer, but he took notice of the way his variant‘s green eyes flickered to a certain agent still standing in the way of the portal, who was watching the interaction with an almost soft look.
No. That was impossible. The only mortal he’d ever looked at like that was Theo, and that was a long, long time ago. But seeing the almost whimsical expression on TVA-Loki‘s face left no place for discussion; that was affection. Lovely, actual, disgustingly sweet affection.
He held back a groan, turning his warm face away from his variant, assured that his cheeks were glowing red.
Perhaps he really wasn’t the one to make fun of his brother after all.
It was that moment that Mobius cleared his throat, directing the attention towards him again. „Alright then. If you insist on staying… what am I even saying, as if I were able to make you do something you wouldn’t like“, he sighed, shaking his head with the ghost of a smile. „I’ll leave then. The next scene is quite fitting though, because-„
„You’re leaving already“, TVA-Loki spoke up, disappointed expression on his face. He quickly covered it up with his nonchalant tone: „I mean, one Midgardian more or less, I couldn’t tell the difference.“ Mobius huffed, a suspicious gleam in his eyes, but he simply turned around and aimed to leave the room.
But then he stopped in his tracks, considering. And finally stepping back into the room again, closing the portal after Casey, who quickly fled as soon as he got the chance to. „Actually, why not. The next scene is something I’d like to witness as well.“
The other Loki variant frowned at that, but decided to ignore, and gestured to the seat beside him instead with a flashy smile. „By all means.“
Mobius approached the seat row, a weird unsureness in his eyes as he slowly sat down next to TVA-Loki. The other guests seemed surprised as well, not expecting the agent to intervene as much as he was now. Thor seemed delighted that his brother had found an actual friend, even if it only was a variant of him.
„Well then“, Mobius announced, „Let’s carry on.“
With those words, the screen lit up once more…