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.