(A/N): Quick note before we start, first this is a long chapter due to the long delay, sorry. Second, I don't own anything that I, obviously, don't own but might appear in this chapter; and third, this is not meant to be 100% accurate, think of it as an adaptation to fit what I had in mind for this world. Might contain minor spoilers for a certain superhero movie. You've been warned.
(Six months later)
"Sooo... why are we stalking him again?"
"Shhhh, we're not stalking him, we're just following him."
"Uhhh, I don't think there's a difference between those."
"..."
"Is there?"
"Fiiiine, maybe we are stalking him, but I swear it's for a good reason."
"Which is?"
Two boys bickered as they made their way down the street, the blond - who looked concentrated in not losing sight of the other kid their age he was following - took out a glass jar from his backpack and shoved it on his best friend/brother chest - who was just following him with both hands behind his head, an amused smile on his face and no care in the world - with a glued piece of paper that had something written on it.
He really wished to whistle the tune of the Imperial March, but guessed that Naruto would get mad at him if he did.
"Web fluid?" he read with a raised eyebrow "What does that- no… you can't mean…"
"I knew something was off ever since he started that internship at Stark industries Sora. Being personally picked up by Tony Stark? It was a little too convenient because, sure, Peter is a really smart guy and everything, but Stark was not looking out for smart kids to work with, he was looking for us"
"Yup! And Spiderman!"
"Yeah, and Spiderman... remember he knew who you were under the armor?"
"And you under the makeup?"
"It's not makeup! You're just jealous you don't have the awesome Chakra cloak Kurama gives me."
"... Suuuuuure… "
Naruto narrowed his eyes and huffed at Sora's amused face but said nothing else about that topic, seeing Peter walk into a sandwich store.
"Well, if he knew who we were even when we kept things as hidden as possible-"
"Naruto, your golden makeup is not exactly discreet"
"It's not makeup!"
People walking by turned at Naruto's sudden outburst, giving him odd looks and making him blush in embarrassment.
"Ok, ok, sheesh, learn to take a joke, won't you?"
Naruto said nothing again, but Sora could see the edge of his mouth twitch upwards.
"If friggin' Iron Man knew who we were" Naruto continued "then of course he knew who Spiderman is."
"But why are you so sure that it's Peter?"
"I saw him lift his entire locker block with one arm, and pick one of those" he said pointing the glass jar still in Sora's hand "from a backpack hidden there."
"... Ok, that is proof enough, but how you got this one?"
Naruto just gave him a deadpan look.
"Oh, true, chakra, duh... You know that thing is broken, right? Don't you feel like cheating with it?"
"Oh please Sora, if we talk about broken stuff why don't we talk about your keyblade? The only thing it doesn't do is let you clone yourself… yet"
It was Sora's turn to grumble and say nothing.
"My theory is that Stark convinced Peter to fight on his side on that problem he had with the other super guys."
"All that stuff Segaku told us that happened a couple of months ago?"
"Yup, and now he's some sort of reserve superhero helping people here while he finishes high school- hide!"
Both boys snuck behind a corner when Peter came out of the store, looking as if someone was following him, and only when he started walking again the duo came out of hiding.
"So... Peter, huh? I wouldn't have imagined it. I mean, between Ned and him he gives that perfect school nerd vibe… n-not that it is a bad thing, but, well, you get the idea, right?"
"Sora, we are school nerds, if you haven't noticed, and yet we still kick ass in the streets when we go on patrol."
"Well…"
"How much time it took you to Max the level of your World of Warcraft character?"
"Hey, anyone with enough liking of the game would-"
"How many pieces does Ned's Lego Death Star has?"
"..."
"I'm still waiting"
"I only know that because Ned was repeating it all day through classes ok? Besides, when Ned said we could join him and Peter in building it you squealed."
"And you didn't?" Naruto teased.
"I- I… That was a manly shout of excitement!"
"Suuuuuure"
"Fine, fine" Sora said with a laugh "we are school nerds."
"Hey" Naruto said nudging Sora's side with his elbow "There's nothing to be ashamed of, if there's something I've realized is that here I'm- well, we're kids, and that's what kids do. Whine about classes, teachers and homework; have friends, pretend to be older just to look cool, try to woo girls; enjoy toys, video games and music without a worry about what will happen tomorrow, besides doing homework and going back to school, then keep doing the same thing every day. That's what we're supposed to do here…" then his shoulders slumped and his voice lost some of it's cheerfulness "Well, that's what normal kids do here, but we're not from here, right? I mean… you had it similar back at your islands until you got the keyblade, but me? Normal for me meant being left all alone most of the time, only hoping things would get better once I became a ninja. The closest thing to normal there was the academy, but still... only now I see how… bad some of the stuff taught there was… and then we graduated and got into teams… Sakura-chan… Sasuke…"
Sora stepped in front of the blonde and wrapped him in a tight hug, not caring about making him lose sight of Peter, or getting weird looks from the bystanders.
It was his obligation to help him heal from his time at his… home.
"Naruto, please, don't think about that again ok? You aren't in that place anymore. Here you can enjoy all of this normal stuff as much as you want, because here we have friends, good friends, and videogames, a- and music too! Heh, even silly toys like the Lego Death Star Ned has, and I wouldn't let anyone deny you any of it because you deserve it, much, much more than so many others out there."
Naruto didn't realize he had been shaking until Sora pushed him against his chest, and found himself surprised by the gesture for a moment, but after a couple of seconds he returned the hug with a soft smile.
"I know, I know, it's just that sometimes… nevermind, it's nothing"
"Naruto…"
The blond broke the embrace and looked to a side while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, a soft blush dusting his cheeks.
"Really, it's nothing, just me being silly."
"You know I never dismiss anything that goes through that brain of yours" Sora said tapping Naruto's head "this little trip should be proof enough. You know you can trust me."
Naruto just sighed and started walking again, placing his hands on the pockets of his orange hoodie, and letting Sora put an arm around his shoulders in a half-hug, having already given up in following Peter, letting Sora guide him wherever he wished to go now.
"It's just that sometimes… sometimes I fear all this is just some sort of nice dream I will wake up from some day, and then I'll be back at my old apartment still in Konoha… I don't want to go back there… not yet. I like it how life is here, without worries or missions, or… or… I- I'm not a weapon!" Sora squeezed the hand he had placed on Naruto's shoulder, making the blonde flinch a little, but then sigh "Here I can be happy because the people don't fear Kurama's power like the people back at the village. Heck, they would even call me a hero because of it… and still I can't help but feel a little guilty I'm liking this world so much more than mine."
"Kurama's not a bad guy" Sora said avoiding that specific topic, knowing there wasn't much more he could say that hadn't already been said "he's just a grumpy oversized fuzzball who needed someone to relate to."
Naruto's gaze glazed for a second before he shook his head slowly, releasing a chuckle along with the movement.
"Kurama says that he will feast on your flesh and clean his teeth with your bones for daring to call him all that."
Sora's answer was a loud laugh as he directed them towards an alley.
"I'm sure people would also like him more if he improved his social skills… look, I know how hard it is because I'm also afraid one day this is going to end"
He stopped and then stepped in front of Naruto.
"But hey, we have a 'god' on our side now, so maybe we are worrying for nothing, huh? Let's not think about it and just enjoy what we have now. We won't stay here forever after all… remember what Segaku said when we arrived?"
"To unlock the path to the next world, the boy must learn that the hero is more than a mask."
Both boys shared a look before they shook their heads.
"He's just like Master Yen Sid" whined Sora "even when things were dire he always spoke all riddle-y."
"Kakashi-sensei was all about looking underneath the underneath, sometimes it was just irritating."
"At least this should count as a good first step, don't you think?" Sora said removing a backpack glued to the wall next to him.
"Is that-?"
"Peter's backpack? Well, these are his clothes" he said taking out a shirt from the bag "so I guess that yeah, it is… and yup, it's glued with spider webs."
"How you-"
"You're the ninja here, you tell me."
Naruto glared at him for a second, before he huffed and pouted.
"Fine, you surpassed my awesome shinobi skills this time, now what do we do?"
Sora held the cocky smile for one more second before placing a hand under his chin and frowning in thought.
"Well, now we know for sure he's Spiderman, so I think it would be unfair if we don't come clean with him."
"Quick question" Naruto said while raising his arm "does he even know there are other people like him going all hero on the streets in the afternoons?"
"Only one way to find out" Sora answered at the same time he slammed his fist over a metal bracelet on his left arm, light covering him for a second before it dissipated, leaving behind a figure clad in black and white armor "just tell Kurama to don't go overboard with the makeup this time, we just want to talk with Peter, not become the next trending topic."
With that he summoned Future's Shadow and threw it to the air, also jumping and landing over a black and white hovering board, dashing out the alley they were in with the backpack still in hand.
"If he keep up with the makeup jokes, Kurama" Naruto said as golden flames enveloped him, making his eyes become red slits instead of the usual blue, two strands of his hair stand up emulating horns, and making everything - skin, hair and clothes - glow on a warm, golden light "I will let you deal with him."
With that said he jumped from wall to wall until he was on the rooftops, jumping from one to another keeping up with his best friend/brother.
Peter knew today would be a… different day because... well, the best way to explain it would be that it reminded him too much of the day he found Mr. Stark sitting on the couch talking with aunt May.
It had been a great day at school. He had finished another jar of fluid without problems, Ned got the Lego Death Star - note to self: Thank Naruto again for telling him that he agreed to let the assembly be done at his house while he was in la-la-land with Liz - and his two newest friends were somehow still his friends, despite them being kind of popular and the rest of the school branding Ned and him as losers - well, weird loser in his case, but MJ wasn't being mean there… he hoped - and that kind of lowered them to his social status, but they were cool with it so yeah, everything was fine.
Patrol had gone great - apart from the 'car robbery' incident - and now he was taking a small rest while eating the Burrito that kind old woman bought for him, sure that Happy would answer this time.
Well, almost sure.
"I told you we would find him on the rooftops, it would be impossible to talk with him while he's swinging anyway."
The mask was on in a second, the unfinished burrito falling to the street about… hmmm… five or six floors down, and he was turning to face whoever spoke, already with a comment about how his schedule was full, when-
"Why are you glowing?"
There were two guys standing there, one clad in the most cool set of white and black armor he had ever seen covering him from head to toe, holding an oddly shaped big sword in the same black and white theme; while the other glowed in a golden color, dressed in what seemed to be common clothes, if the shape of the hoodie was anything to say, but there were also many symbols drawn everywhere in black lines, the most prominent being a spiral on the stomach.
"I'm glowing because I'm awesome!" The glowing guy said with a wide grin and pointing a thumb towards himself… where had he seen that before?
"cough-makeup-cough"
"Stop it with the makeup jokes! It's getting old already!"
"Fine, fine, steal my fun won't you."
"Sorry if I interrupt… whatever is going on here but, who are you guys?" Peter said while rising a hand, making the two already bumping heads turn in his direction.
"Oh, true" armor guy said while throwing something to him "don't leave your stuff in random alleys, next time the one who finds it might not give it back."
His blood froze seeing that it was his backpack what had been thrown into his hands, and if they had delivered it personally to him then…
"You can't tell anyone"
"Sure thing Pete, we're all friends here right? Besides May would have the freak out if she ever learns you've been swinging around the city dressed in tight spandex, fighting armed criminals and stopping cars out of control with your bare hands" then glowing guy shuddered "I can almost hear her screaming already."
"Exactly! That's why- wait, how do you know May?"
Armor guy facepalmed, making an odd noise with his helmet, and glowing guy gave another wide smile, white teeth almost lost on the sea of gold light, and hand scratching the back of his head. It just dawned on him at that moment how similar he looked to Naruto, specially after he did one of those infuriatingly amusing stunts that had already made May freak out once- oh… Oh…
As realization hit him - like a truck, he might add - both guys released their… transformations? Bright light surrounding armor guy, leaving behind Sora grinning sheepishly and doing the same gesture with his hand that gave Naruto away, and talking about him, the golden glow surrounding him died out like fire - and only now he noticed that at several points the glow extended and moved like dancing flames - leaving behind Naruto, still with that same expression on his face.
"Whoah! Wh- Wha- where- Ok, ok, just relax Parker, take deep breaths and calm down, because there is no way your two new best friends, first, already know your secret identity, and second, have secret identities of their own, or even powers, because they are just two normal guys… well, two cool normal guys that go to my school, share classes with me and are great to hang out with, but I'm imagining them here because either I'm feeling lonely or that burrito had something on it, so now I'll close my eyes, count to three, and when I open them again I'll be alone in this rooftop. Everything will be alright Peter, just follow the plan and... everything will be alright" with that he closed his eyes, counted down to three, and once he opened them again…
"Nope, they are still here…" taking a hand to his head he took out his mask, feeling a little anxious already and in need of fresh air touching his face, while sitting down and raking his other hand over his hair "Guys, what is going on here?"
The amused faces at his ramble and attempt at self-convincing disappeared once they saw his panicky state, so they walked and sat each on a side of him, placing both their arms around his shoulders.
"Hey Peter" Sora started "This is not as bad as it seems… I mean, it's us! We know how important is to keep things secret."
"Even if we don't appear on YouTube" Naruto added.
"What he meant" Sora said giving an annoyed look at Naruto, noticing Peter pale a little at the mention of Youtube "Is that we care a lot about you, Ned and May, and we wouldn't do anything to put you guys in danger. We are new to this… city, and so far you three have been nothing but kind to us, so all this is because we really care for you in return."
"You are like family to us, and we value family and friendship above everything else."
He heard his friends tell him all this and tried to remain scared because, well, his secret was out, and he never intended to let that happen... at least until Mr. Stark asked him to, but looking at the faces of his friends, seeing the sincerity they radiated… betraying his wishes his body relaxed and air starting to reach his lungs like it was supposed to do, shortly followed by his mind, accepting that yeah, from all the people who could have discovered it, these two were some of the best options that could have forced themselves upon him.
Besides that, somehow, they also had their own secret to keep, and had shared it with him, so… kinship?
"Happy won't like to hear about this" he said with a laugh.
"Then don't tell him- ow! What was that about?"
"Don't give him ideas" Sora scolded, making Naruto pout "Maybe he's some sort of Superhero trainer? I mean, someone must have taught him how to defend himself, right?"
He just chuckled awkwardly.
"Happy is Mr. Stark's security guard… I think? and I have to report to him until I get a new mission."
"Mission?"
"Yeah! Because Mr. Stark believes I'm strong enough so much that he came all the way here to Queens to ask me for help fighting the other Avengers" he said smugly "that was my first mission, by the way."
"No way!" Naruto said excited "He made you an Avenger?! Do tell, what happened!"
The enthusiasm he saw in the face of his two friends urged him to tell them his experience in Berlin, and he felt so good, and enjoyed so much answering their questions, that the fact they also had some explanations to do didn't return to his mind until the sun started to set.
"So, guys… first and most important, how did you found out?"
"That would be me" Naruto said waving his hand "you really need to improve your stealth skills, because sneaking to an empty corridor when there's Lego goodness waiting for us at your home doesn't scream suspicious, at all."
Peter blushed at his friend's deadpan admitting that, yeah, that was not his brightest idea… but he had been so excited for going out to patrol today that the fact he could be suspicious absolutely flew out of his mind.
"Besides" his blond friend continued "if not for being Spiderman, then you would have become famous for managing to lift that whole locker block like it was made of marshmallow… even I have to admit it was a bit heavy when I took out one of those jars…"
"You what?" He said standing up the next second "You stole one of my fluid jars?"
"Well…" Naruto answered flushing scarlet in embarrassment "It's not like stealing, more like… gathering evidence?"
"Great, just great, as if it's not hard enough already to make those… at least you still have it with you, right?"
"Yeah, Sora had it with him."
Two heads turned towards the brunet, one worried and the other expectant, making him suddenly feel like the bad guy here.
"Uhhh, sorry guys but I kinda… left it on the floor of the alley?"
The groan that he let out made both Naruto and Sora cringe, and he felt bad for it the next second because it actually was kinda his fault for not being more careful, and his bad luck that it was Naruto, and not Sora, who found out… at least Sora would have called him first. Really, sometimes Naruto is too curious for his own good.
"Guys, sorry, I didn't meant to blame you… even if it's kind of- no, no, sorry for that. Do you think it would still be in that alley? I really don't want to lose any of those jars."
"Maybe?" Naruto answered "I mean, it looked like nobody would use that place for anything, and you left your backpack there too, so yeah, maybe it's still there."
Peter had to admit that he was right, and thank that they brought his backpack with them because if when they arrived the fluid jar was not there… well, at least now he had his stuff with him, so once again putting the mask on he saw Sora summon the huge blade, throw it to the air and make it return as a hoverboard he jumped on, while Naruto just stretched.
"You won't go all golden?"
"Nah" he said with a shrug "That's mostly to hide my identity, or give me a boost if I need to, but we're not too far so I can follow you guys without problem."
Peter turned to Sora, and saw him nod confidently, so he just shrugged and jumped from the rooftop, web already shooting from his wrist, and hearing Naruto whoop loudly in joy as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop as if he had done the same thing his whole life, Sora laughing with him, sometimes jumping from his hoverboard and glide for some time, before summoning it again and doing some flashy stunt that made Naruto whoop even louder and rate him, before doing another stunt himself to get rated by Sora, engaging in some sort of friendly competition.
He stopped for a moment on his swinging and took perch on a nearby rooftop, watching them do their silly game laughing like they were just playing a game in the park, making him shake his head fondly while also feeling a little envious at how carefree they seemed, hoping he could join them, but knowing he was a hero now, an Avenger, and Mr. Stark believed that he would always do the right thing… he wouldn't disappoint his idol by acting like a kid, so-
"Hey Spider!" Naruto called him "bet you can't beat this!" and proceeded to jump so high he was almost at Sora's height, starting to do a series of turns and twists midair as he fell, before landing perfectly on his feet like a gymnast and bowing to them.
"I've seen better" Sora said unimpressed "six out of ten, what can you do Mr. webbs?"
It would have been so easy to say no, to just jump and say that he was worried about his fluid jar, and he knew they would have understood, making a beeline to the alley, but they seemed so happy, expecting him to join in their game… he remembered himself younger, one day in the park, when Uncle Ben was still around... no one would let him play because the other kids were afraid his glasses would break while playing, and they would get scolded for it.
"Hey Peter" he said "don't let their fear of getting into trouble take the fun away. Look, there's another kid alone over there, why don't you go play with him? Maybe then the others will let you two join."
In the end they got to play with the other kids, and his glasses did broke that day, but Uncle Ben just laughed and bought ice creams for everyone… that day he met Ned.
"Nobody's perfect Peter, so don't let the fear of making a mistake ruin the fun for you, ok?"
"Never uncle Ben" he thought before jumping to the streets again.
"I don't think…" He started, seeing their faces lose their smiles "You could beat this!" And he propelled himself to the air, using his web to reach higher and higher, until he was at Sora's height - giving him a wave - before he started free falling, web leaving his shooters at extreme rates crisscrossing between buildings, until he comfortably landed in a perfectly made spider web.
"Sooo… your rating?"
He started laughing at how their jaws dropped, knowing that he had wasted waaay more web fluid than what he should, but feeling so good after doing it that he couldn't bring himself to care.
"Well, that's the first time I have seen that one, so I guess it deserves a ten out of ten, don't you agree Naru?"
"Show Off" Naruto muttered, but then grinned widely and gave him double thumbs up "but yeah! That. Was. Awsome!"
The next half hour was spent in trying to outdo each other, all the time laughing and just enjoying a great time, Peter almost forgetting the reason they were heading to that alley, deciding to just keep playing with Naruto until Sora returned to the rooftops with the fluid jar on hand and a relieved expression on his face.
"Here Peter, I just forgot where I left it."
"Don't worry, I had a great time with you guys, and this? Well, I always could make more, besides that there's a couple more jars on the hiding spot so…"
"And you were being all bitchy about it- ouch! Hey, what's the big idea!"
"Don't complain, because you're even worse when you don't eat ramen for more than three days. At least he was being patient... sorry again Peter."
"No, no, don't worry, really, I was just… scared, I guess? I mean, this jar already gave me up to you, so maybe- Is that ATM down there being robbed?"
"Huh… it seems so…" Naruto said with, not really looking worried, and extending an arm to stop Peter, who was about to jump into action "Hey, let us handle this today ok? You've been going all hero the whole afternoon, let us have our share now."
He was about to protest, but he was also reaaaaally curious about what they could do... besides that there was a robbery going on and they were wasting time?
"Fine, but you better deal with this quickly, we don't want to gather too much attention if they are armed."
"Says Mr. YouTube" Naruto grumbled, once again earning a mock hit from Sora "But yeah, I'll be done with this in a second" and then he saw them take out some sort of Hi-tech gizmo they used to cut out the entire machine "Ok, make it four" and with that he was once again enveloped on golden flames, just to disappear the next second, and return in exactly, Peter guessed, four seconds with a group of weird looking… weapons? he dropped to the floor, leaving the criminals knocked out while the alarm rang.
"W- what just happened?"
"Eh? Apparently the Avengers were low on cash and decided to stop by and retire some."
He supposed his face gave away how confused he really was, because Sora sighed and stepped next to a curious-looking Naruto, who was crouched next to the weapon on the ground, poking it everywhere.
"What he meant is that those guys" he said pointing to the robbers already being taken out by the police "had masks on with the faces of the avengers… and that he decided to show off. Remember earlier when he said that he only used the golden cloak when he needed a boost?" Peter nodded dumbly "Well, that's the kind of boost he meant. The drawback? It tends to attract too much attention, with all that glow- Naruto, deactivate the cloak… thanks."
"Guys" Peter said with a breath, a little overwhelmed by what he just saw "you need to tell me what you can do, because if not then I'll be freaking out every time I see you do something."
"Well..." Sora said scratching his head "The idea is that nobody see us, but sure, I have no problems with sharing, you Naruto?"
"Nope! No problems with me, just let me seal all this for later" he said while he took out a scroll from inside his hoodie, opening it and placing all the weapons over a strange array drawn over it and doing… things with his hands, just for the weapons to disappear with a poof of smoke the next second and the scroll roll itself up with a snap.
"Ok, you really need to teach me how to do that."
"Hello- Yeah May, it's Sora… no, we're fine- Yeah, Peter's with us… no, he wasn't lost… yup, the second-hand store… no, it was Motherboards this time… yeah, please excuse us with Ned, but- yeah, a robbery nearby, that's why we took him here, we saw the police cars- no, we were not there when it happened, we were on our way there when we saw Peter through the glass of the store… ok, just letting you know because it's a bit late, we'll send Peter in a bit… stay here? You sure? It's not too far- ok, ok, I'll let you talk with him" and placing a hand over the speaker he called for Peter, who was going nuts with Naruto seeing how his collection of World of Warcraft action figures had increased since the last time he was here "Peter! May wants to talk with you!" loud footsteps signaled his friend was running to get the phone, so he handed it to him - he was already on his normal clothes, spiderman suit safe in the backpack - and walked back to the room he shared with Naruto… just to hear him grumbling.
"I don't get what you two see on Jaina, I mean, she's all drama and no action!"
Sora gasped loudly and ran to where the toy was placed, covering its ears and giving a mock glare to his brother "Don't hear him darling, he's just envious because you're the frost mage, and he gets destroyed by your class every time he uses his character."
"Shush you" Was Naruto's answer, along with a light shove.
"Shush you" Sora answered, also giving him another shove, receiving another one in return from a grinning Naruto, making him grin in return and shove him again, and again, and again… When Peter returned to the room, both boys were on the ground… "wrestling", all the time laughing and taunting the other, and only stopped when he coughed loudly to get their attention, one with his foot on the face of the other, and the other with his fingers inside the nose of the first.
"Is everything games with you?" he asked with a laugh.
"Yeah" Naruto answered as if it was common sense
"Uhhh… most of the time I guess" Sora said with a shrug, and Peter just shook his head fondly.
"May says that it would be better if I spend the night here, in case something else happens today."
"Something like…"
"The robbery you just frustrated?"
"Oh… but we can deal with that without problems."
"Yeah, but May doesn'tknow that."
"And the idea" Sora said before Naruto could say anything else "is to keep it that way. Unlike us, Peter has someone who is actually there worrying about him all the time, and unlike us-" he pressed seeing Naruto once again opening his mouth to protest "He can't create shields to protect himself in a tight spot… it wouldn't be nice for May to know of the extent of his internship because her nephew ended in a hospital."
Peter looked a little disturbed by the reference Sora used, but shook his head and smiled confidently anyway, storing the thought for later.
"Don't worry about that, I'm a hero and it's my job to put myself in danger so others can be safe, right? Besides, nothing bad has happened to me so far…" He let the word hang out for a moment, seeming lost in thoughts, before shaking his head again, this time with a smaller, but more sincere smile on his face "Someone used to tell me that with a great power comes a great responsibility, and I used to dismiss it as one of many advices old people would give all the time… maybe I didn't ask for these powers, but now it's my responsibility to keep others safe, and I will do so no matter what."
Sora opened his mouth, ready to say something, but then closed it seeing the determination in Peter's face, biting his lip and clenching a hand, looking in a debate with himself, only to sigh and close his eyes, giving a tired smile at his friend as Naruto stood and walked next to him, squeezing his shoulder in a supportive way.
"Just… be careful Peter, it's not nice when you discover you were not as invincible as you think you are. You make others worry for you… you make other do stupid things because of that… there's always someone who can beat you-"
"But that's why we have friends" Naruto interrupted "So that we don't need to face alone that someone."
Sora smiled and wrapped his arm around Naruto.
"So, now that's been sorted out" an older voice said from somewhere in the room "we can move on to the next topic."
Naruto positively shrieked, turned on Kurama's cloak, and pulled praying beads and a bottle of blessed sake out of nowhere.
"Whoa golden boy, put that down" the voice said as a corner of the room flickered on and off, until there was Tony Stark sitting on a chair in front of them eating a cup of instant ramen "I imagined you were fast, but that was impressive, even for me. F.R.Y.D.A.Y. it seems the cloaking device works as expected, send the report to Happy so he can get it to be installed in the plane."
"Already done boss" a feminine voice said from… somewhere "It surprised me you took so long to end the experiment."
"Well, excuse me if I was surprised myself, not even at this age I manage to sound so reassuring… really kid, save that sake until you're at least my age."
"Old enough to-" Naruto started to mutter, but a hard nudge on his side from Sora made him shut up before he finished that sentence, earning a raised eyebrow from Tony.
"Mr. Stark? W-What are you doing here?"
"Hey Peter, nice to see you too, how's May doi-"
"What the hell are you doing in our house? And… is that one of my ramen cups!?"
"Shhh, no cursing until you're older" Tony scolded, taking another spoonful of ramen "And this? well, I got hungry and there was a lot of this stuff in the cupboard, so I said 'Why not?'"
Naruto was about to pummel Tony Stark, but Sora managed to keep him in place, and turned towards their… visitor with an awkward smile.
"Could you please tell us what are you doing here? And how you managed to enter?"
"Nice that you ask because, well, I was lounging with Pepper back at home- If you like this" he said pointing the cup of instant ramen "as much as it seems you would love her blondie, she makes the best noodles- when I decided to check on Peter here because… reasons. When I saw he was still not back at home I thought 'hey, maybe he's in trouble, or maybe he's out there with a girl, so what kind of mentor would I be if I'm not with him on either of those situations?' so I asked F.R.Y.D.A.Y. to locate him, and show me, what he's doing…" then he took out a phone the three kids immediately recognized, and showed them a projected video of the moment Peter did his massive spiderweb.
Sora could see on a corner the YouTube icon, and by the way Peter paled he had noticed it too.
"Nice acrobatics kid... hey, don't worry about the show, you were having your fun. Heh, I still remember my first birthday with the suit…" He seemed lost in thought for a moment, a goofy smile on his face, but after a moment he shook his head and returned to the topic at hand "Besides…" he paused the video and zoomed it in, showing two dark silhouettes they knew were Naruto and Sora "You were with friends… that could keep up with you, and are your same age. I mean, besides the fact that they must already know you were the guy under the mask- which they already did, by what I have heard- they also, well, kept up with you- Ep ep ep, I'm not done yet" He said seeing that Sora was about to say something, while Peter looked totally scolded, and Naruto kept fuming about another person eating his ramen.
"Now" Another spoonful of noodles "I already knew you two were special - not the specific details, like you so kindly requested- you still owe me an armor kid" Naruto just stuck his tongue out "So no biggie there, you had friends your age that can keep up with you, and believe me, you will needthem. The problem here, and reason I'm currently eating… ramen you called it? - A tad too salty for my taste, but anyway - in this teenager wonderland of a room after eavesdropping one the best pep-talks I've heard in awhile, is that not too long after I saw this video, F.R.Y.D.A.Y. showed me this little clip I found quite interesting because it would have become a viral in the media had I not interfered before someone leaked it from the security footage of the bank. You know how hackers are, right?"
Now the video that was played showed four guys with Avengers masks trying to take out an entire ATM with strange-looking weapons, and immediately all the people turned towards the nervous-looking blonde.
"Ehhh… I think I need to go to... the bathroom?"
"But why? I'm sure you'll also like the clip- oh! This next part is my favorite."
All the camera managed to catch was a golden blur knocking out everyone in the room and picking up the weapons in a matter of seconds… before a golden face appeared in front of the camera.
Blowing a raspberry at it.
"Our deal was" Tony said before Sora pummeled Naruto "that I would leave you two alone if you stayed out of radar. This-" he said pointing to the paused clip showing Naruto's golden face "-is not staying out of the radar. There is a whole movement trying to militarize meta-humans - ugh, even the term sounds ugly, no wonder the army is involved - especially young, impressionable kids like you because they have this crazy idea they can mold them into their 'perfect weapons'- an stupid idea if you ask me."
Naruto immediately went stiff, his eyes widening and his breath quickening, only when Sora placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, squeezing it hard enough, he snapped out of his little panic attack.
"Now" Tony continued, pretending not to notice Naruto's little episode "Peter here is off the hook because he's under my protection, and that means whatever he does I answer for it, but it's fine because he's a good kid and I trust him. You two on the other hand… do you wish to have General Ross knocking on your door one of these days? I know I wouldn't, that guy has the tact of Hulk when dealing with kids, I'm sure."
Sora and Naruto exchanged looks for a second, a whole conversation going between them without a word being said, before both turned and nodded, Naruto being the one who spoke this time.
"W- What do we need to do?"
"Hmmm, it's more like what you need to say really. I could leave you alone again and just hold the video for you, but I can't guarantee Ross won't get his hands over it eventually. Or I could give you the benefit of doubt and put you under my protection, just like Peter, and delete all traces of the video, so no army on your doorstep. But then I would have my own terms and conditions for you so… your decision! I'd rather hurry up, because I'm sure the guy already got the hint something interesting might have happened."
The decision wasn't that hard, to be honest. If not for the fact that Naruto would simply not be once again seen as a weapon, then because dealing with an army was a big NO in their books, but they turned towards Peter anyway since he knew Stark better than they did, and like expected they saw him with wide, excited, happy-bright eyes and face-splitting smile nodding, so they nodded.
"Nice!" Tony said with a cheerful tone and a smile "welcome to the family- F.R.Y.D.A.Y. please delete all records of Naruto's little video and upload our version, thanks - Pepper told me I had a soft spot for kids and I never believed her, now I'll return home and say 'Hey guess what, we have triplets!' and she will give me that look and say 'told you so'- sorry, I'm a little nervous and I tend to ramble when I'm nervous, never been officially responsible for so many kids and my dad wasn't exactly a role model- So now we're all like a little weird family, and little weird families don't have secrets, you agree with that?" The kids nodded easily "Great! Because now we're all going to start sharing personal stuff, just as if we were on a therapy group. And yes, you too Peter, because now they are like your adopted brothers… your adopted super brothers? Superhero brothers? You get the idea. Now come, let's make a little circle- yes, you there- no, a little closer… yeah, perfect. I'll start so you have an idea. My name is Anthony Stark - just Tony please - part time superhero, billionaire philanthropist playboy genius- Thor loved that one - with a liking for Shawarma… have you ever tried shawarma? We should go have some one day. I like spending time with Pepper, inventing stuff and protecting earth from being destroyed, and I hate being outsmarted, evil northern gods or evil A.I. and aliens trying to destroy the earth. Now you go- why are you smiling like that? It's creeping me out a bit."
"It's nothing, you just reminded me of someone back at… nevermind" Naruto answered.
"O...k… why don't you go next Peter?"
And so the three kids and hero spent the next three hours just… talking, sharing what they felt like sharing - and what Tony demanded to be shared - with the rest of the people in the room, surprising themselves at the realization that just talking about their problems with others helped understand them better, and also helped the others understand them. They were amazed when Sora explained in detail the extent of his responsibilities as a Keyblade Master and all he had done so far as a Keyblade wielder, and they comforted Naruto when he finished the explanation of what used to be his burden - because Kurama was now his friend - and how life was for him in his village before he got a Keyblade of his own and met Sora.
When Peter decided to also share how he sometimes still felt about his Uncle Ben, found himself surprised at how much they- all of them- really understood his situation, and felt an even deeper kinship between them that he would dare say would go beyond simple friendship between his two peers, and even more respect for Tony Stark.
"That went well" Segaku said reading the book of prophecies.
"I thought only the eye on the Keyblade could keep that book updated" Jarvis said.
"God here, remember? I can do as I please" the "god" said closing the book with a snap.
"Well" Tony said once he felt what needed to be said had been said "this have been quite the… learning experience. One of the two kids- that are the closest thing to non-hostile extraterrestrial beings I have ever been next to- houses inside of him a demon. An actual friendly demon. And the other has, apparently, saved my world - and all the others that might exist out there - more than once from becoming a baddie wonderland. At almost half my age. With an actual oversized key with cosmic powers... well, now I know I need a drink because I actually like those kids."
Two loud whoops and tackle-hugs later; Tony was chuckling on the ground with said two kids latched at each side of him, and a third one smiling at him but looking hesitant about if he should join or not. He just rolled his eyes.
"Jump in you too, it's not like one more would make a difference" At that Peter beamed and jumped on top of them, his laugher making him feel lighter than he had felt ever since Steve- "Ok, off you go, enough hugs for a month"
When the kids left him he felt a little cold, but just sniffed and discarded the thought. He had never been a touchy-feely person anyway.
"Will you also stay Mr. Stark?"
"Me? Nah, I have a lot to do now, besides don't you three have school tomorrow? Go to bed already… which reminds me, Naruto please the guns."
"Guns? What- oh!" and taking the scroll from inside his hoodie he made the - now they knew - required hand seals, making a cloud of smoke leave the scroll before leaving three futuristic-looking machines in the floor.
"I'll take… this one and this one" He said picking the bigger one and another one "save the last one for later, think of it as your trophy or something meanwhile, just don't… mess with it" Naruto just nodded and stored the remaining one "Now I leave" he said before awkwardly patting Naruto and Sora on the shoulders, and more easily ruffling Peter's hair "You two keep an eye on him, since you seem to be more experienced, but Happy will be your babysitter anyway, If anything happen… I'll probably know already, but he will tell me anyway, and then we'll have a talk. Bye. F.R.Y.D.A.Y.? Transport for two please, and tell-" with that he went out of the room and, by the sound of a door being closed outside, out of the house. The next second the trio were on the window seeing Tony outside throwing the weapons to an Iron Man armor, before entering another that was standing in front of him and flying away.
"Look, there's still some pizza, and I have some cola in the kitchen. You up for some video games?" Sora asked while Naruto was already on his way to the kitchen. Peter seemed to doubt, looking like he wished to ask them something else, but then giving up and smiling.
"Sure, video games sound cool."
Pepper heard Tony arrive - his armors always made some noise when they landed, even if he argued that the design was perfect - but he never reached their room, so after an hour of waiting she decided to look for him at his workshop, knowing that his absence only meant he was worried about something, and that something was severe.
He had been doing better since he met Peter - she had not met the boy personally, but the way Tony spoke about him showed how much he cared - so it rose red lights when, once she reached the workshop, she saw Tony giving directions to F.R.Y.D.A.Y. about what seemed to be the blueprints for a new armor.
"Hey Tony, what are you doing here."
"Oh, hi Pepper, guess what, now we have triplets" he said without turning from the projected 3D design he was holding on his hands, from what looked like hand repulsor cannons.
"Uh huh, triplets, was this another adventure in Monaco? Or maybe this time it was Las Vegas..."
Hearing her dry tone he finally turned, and it may have been because of the scarce light in the room but he looked really pale "Whatever would make you think that of me, Miss Potts. F.R.Y.D.A.Y. please show her."
Three photos appeared in front of her, each one of a teenager smiling. The first one she recognized instantly as Peter Parker - or Spider Man - but the other two… "Naruto Uzumaki and Sora Harada, adopted brothers" both with wide smiles, blue eyes and messy hair, the main difference being that one was a blond, while the other had chocolate-colored hair... besides the strange marks - almost like whiskers - on the cheeks of the blond one."
"So they are…"
"Naruto's the blond one and Sora the brunet, friends with Peter, both seem to be good kids, and apparently one houses a demon while the other has saved the multiverse more than once" Once he said that the worry finally showed on his face "Pepper, those kids are from other worlds. Other worlds! And at least a couple of those could pose a threat to us, despite what they said… besides that apparently people in one of them can be even worse than Hidra with kids… I- I don't know what to do Pepper, those kids now look up at me - I think - and I don't know what to do! I had to lie to them about Ross… I think, don't really know with that guy anymore. Anyway, the thing is that I did it because I felt like I needed them to trust me... I would have gone crazy with half of what one of them had to endure, and yet he still manages to smile everyday like it's the easiest thing to do-"
"Hey, shhh, calm down Tony" she said hugging him to her chest, where he nuzzled between her breasts, making her roll her eyes "why don't we go to the bedroom? there you can explain me in detail me what happened, and you can rest."
"But this-"
"Can wait until tomorrow. Come Mr. Stark, how does a massage sounds?"
Tony's shoulders sagged and he finally smiled, letting her guide him "Sounds great Miss Potts- F.R.Y.D.A.Y., please keep running the tests."
"As you wish boss, have a nice night."
Pepper found herself shaking her head, knowing it would not be totally out of his head, but at least now he would be in the bed, so… small victories?
Even as they left the workshop and the A.I. did her… it's work - sometimes she forgot it was a program and not an actual person - she couldn't help but wonder why would Tony try to hide he had such a soft spot for kids, it was actually an endearing trait of him she loved so much, and wondered if now, with the responsibility of those three kids he was talking about - pay some more attention to him Potts! - he would let her drag him to a therapist.
Another thing she wondered, and also worried her, was those designs she saw back at the workshop… Why would he implement those odd-looking machines that were placed on top of the scan table? Those seemed like they would not fit in any normal set of armor... Maybe a War Machine prototype? But she doubted it, after what happened to Rhodey… then again, this was Tony she was talking about, and sometimes she didn't knew what went inside his head - and doubted she would ever want to.
For example, why there was an armor blueprint that looked awfully similar to Ultron's armor highlighted at several parts?
Whatever it was, she was sure it could wait until tomorrow.
Back at Merlin's house, things had been... hectic ever since Sora escaped, and without any way to track the boy they got only worse. Searching missions were sent out everyday to every world that had been discovered, making it so that the house was empty almost always.
That was, of course, until...
"Are you sure we can trust this stranger Riku?" Roxas asked, eyeing warily the piece of paper on Riku's hand.
"Not really, but at this point I would take anything over still searching blindly."
"Ok, then let's wait until the others return from their missions so we can tell them there's finally have a clue, but... dunno, this Jarvis gives me a bad vibe."
"Yeah, me too, but this'll have to do."
"What does that paper say anyway?"
"Thread where no one has ever before, break the frontier and reach beyond the borders of your universe. Dip into the great unknown of the multiverse... and start your search in The Elemental Nations. The coordenates are written below the message."