A Familiar Face
"You're not going to destroy it?"
Tony shakes his head, staring at the time machine. "We've worked too hard to just get rid of it."
Bruce sighs. "We were almost killed because of it."
"True," Tony nods, stroking his developing goatee, "but imagine if we need it again, only to remember we destroyed it."
"I don't know, Tony... this - this isn't right."
"Which part?"
"How about we start with the lies we fed to the other Avengers?" Bruce looks at his friend with tired eyes. "You know damn well this has gone too far. Way too far."
Tony shrugs, nonchalant. "If we've already gone this far, why not go a little further? Trust me, Bruce, I'm just as cautious about the machine as you. But if we need it - for whatever purpose - it'll be there. A fallback option."
"You also lied to Peter," Bruce speaks lowly, dejected. "What happens if he finds out?"
"I lied to ensure he doesn't find out."
Bruce shakes his head slightly. "We threw him directly into the furnace. I feel sick about it."
Tony nods in agreement. "It was a mistake to bring him that deep into our work. But... the kiddo ended up saving us. We'd all be dead if he hadn't used the machine to warn everyone."
"T-Tony... he... Peter's probably seen... a lot of horrible sights... a lot of death."
For a moment both Tony and Bruce stand in silence, weighing the consequences that have arisen due to their actions.
Bruce exhales, rubbing his temple. "Steve said he hasn't contacted any member of the Avengers since the incident."
"It's only been a week. Just lay off the dude. Give him some time to figure those teenage hormones out. He'll be... fine. Yeah? Just fine."
"And what about the machine? Do we tell the others we're keeping it?"
"No."
Bruce was dumbfounded. His comment was so out of character, so far from what he knew of Tony, that Bruce just stared at him open-mouthed. His brain formulated no thoughts other than to register that he was shocked. He closed his mouth, then looked at his shoes before glancing back up to catch Tony's eye. "...Why?" was all he could say.
"Why should they know?"
Bruce scoffs, cautious. "Because we almost got everyone killed. We've been discussing this for the past week and you still don't understand the scale of what we've done. You're not even trying to comprehend it!"
Tony stifles a small but prevalent smile. Bruce sounded exactly like Peter.
"I know what I'm doing," Tony concedes, "and I know that I'm a monster. But the machine stays alive, and it stays a secret."
"You're just digging a deeper hole. For the both of us! Do you remember what was found on Peter's phone? When he told Steve about the strange messages he was getting?"
"Of course I remember."
"Well?" Bruce looks at Tony with wide eyes. "You gotta remember what they found in the messages. There was one - complete static for a minute and four seconds. One minute. Four seconds. I'm damn sure you can count, Tony. Sixty-four seconds. We didn't understand a damn thing about that message until Peter activated the time machine to jump onto this worldline. Sixty-four seconds. That's the exact number of wires you connected to SHIELD. And do you remember what was on the video file when it activated?"
Tony nods. "It was indecipherable noise. Not in English, Russian, German, Japanese, nor in any other recognizable language. According to Miss Maria Hill, there were screams throughout the entirety of the video. The shrieking could be phonetically transliterated into Japanese as "Fariya. Seta messo. Fariya. Tuse."
Bruce turns, unceremoniously yanking a pen from his coat breast pocket and subsequently scribbling on an otherwise lonely document. He finishes, hoisting the paper into the air so Tony has a full view.
「ファリィア。セタセパ）メッソ。ファリィア。トゥスェ.
Bruce clears his throat, sweating. He looks dead-to-the-world-tired. "Supposedly written in an untranslated language. One could entertain the possibility that they are written in the same language as that of God."
Silence envelops them once more.
Tony laughs. "Obviously that one wasn't from Pierce. Did we ever figure out what it meant?"
Bruce shakes his head. "Never."
Shrugging, Tony continues to sip on his whiskey in nonchalance.
"...Tony... are we defying God?"
The billionaire takes a moment to ponder this question. "... Is there a God to defy?"
Bruce places the paper down, exhaling.
After a simple shrug, the billionaire exits the laboratory - never glancing back.
xxx
Gwen takes in his dishelleved appearance. Leaves and dirt and various other gunk adorn his unruly mess of dark chocolate hair. He looks tired and worn. Blood stained bandages plaster his forehead from some godforsaken battle. Cuts and bruises decorate his face. Mud and blood streak his tattered clothes. And she thinks.
He had never looked so beautiful, yet so terrible at the same time.
"You look like shit," she tells him.
"Shut up. Don't swear at me."
"It's true, though. Have the wounds even stopped bleeding?"
"Yeah. I - I think so... Maybe?"
"It's been a week."
Peter nods comically, in a mocking gesture. "Uh huh."
"Oh, shut up. I'm looking out for you."
Peter shrugs. "I have superhuman abilities. Bodily regeneration is one of them."
"You didn't tell me that until after I had to clean your Lizard wounds."
Peter stifles a small chuckle, reminiscing. "Chocolate house~"
Gwen smiles, though it quickly fades.
Her father enters her mind.
Peter was obviously hit with the same realization. "I'm sorry. I didn't - mean..."
Gwen simply shakes her head, ensuring her voice remains stable. "No. It's fine. It's okay now."
Nodding once more, Peter opens the door for her.
The date is December 24.
Christmas Eve.
Six days have passed since the battle for the Time Leap Machine.
Six days have passed since Aunt May lost her home.
Six days have passed since Peter last contacted any member of the Avengers.
Five days have passed since reconstruction began on Aunt May's home.
Four days have passed since Peter received a package, courtesy of Tony Stark. It remains unopened.
Four days have passed since Peter dumped his Spider-Man suit in the garbage. It was torn beyond recognition, anyway.
Three days have passed since Peter and Gwen agreed to create a new suit together. Nothing fancy. The same as Peter's first. The classic. No Stark gadgets - nothing connected to the Avengers. Just Peter. Just Spider-Man.
Two days have passed since he dreamt of Uncle Ben and Aunt May, before waking in a cold sweat.
One day has passed since he couldn't sleep at all.
Today, he joins Gwen Stacy in their usual cafe spot. It's quaint. Home-like. Enjoyable.
They sit in their usual seats.
They order their usual drinks.
It's quaint.
Home-like.
Enjoyable.
"Peter?"
He was dozing again.
Rubbing the sleep from his dry eyelids, Peter apologizes. "Haven't been sleeping too much."
"That's the norm for you, but this is bad. You look too pale. Like... too pale. Kinda throwing me off."
He chuckles sweetly. "What every guy wants to hear."
She rolls her eyes in an obviously joking gesture. "Suck it up."
Peter enjoys spending time with her. He supposes he should address their odd friendship -
- but that's just it.
Friendship.
They are in no way forcing themselves to spend time with each other, nor do they see each other too often.
It's a simple friendship, and Peter is glad for it.
About a week remains before school resumes, though Peter is thoroughly in anticipation for it.
For once, he cannot wait to play some basketball with Flash or attend that 'super important' Science Apps. class Gwen always scolds him for skipping.
Suddenly allured by the scent of freshly baked Christmas cake coming from a neighboring bakery amidst the bustling streets of, Peter took his lingering gaze off of Gwen. Looking through the cafe windows, he sets his sights on the enormous Christmas tree adorned with glistening ornaments and glowing fairy lights draped around it.
"Nice, huh?" Gwen speaks softly, following Peter's gaze. "I've always loved Christmas."
He clears his throat, nodding. "Mm. It's a good time. I, uh - I used to have this family tradition with my parents. I don't remember too much about what we did, but I think it was cool. Never really continued it with Aunt May and Uncle Ben."
"Is she okay, by the way? You haven't told me much about what happened."
Peter sips on his beverage, realizing Gwen has been kept out of the loop. He decides to fill her in, though the time machine stays completely out of the conversation.
"Mister Stark had a hunch that the bad guy would attack my house. He evacuated the whole area just in case. We've been staying in this really ritzy hotel since the attack, free of charge."
Gwen's eyebrows raise. "How could Tony have known?"
"It's a pretty long story."
"You're saying your identity was found out?"
Nodding, Peter scratches his temple. "Yeah. But everything's good now."
Gwen rolls her eyes again, though this time the gesture is serious. "You have a mask for a reason," she whispers.
She's concerned.
Always has been, always will be.
Gwen's consideration is both a warmth and needle to his heart.
"Everything's a-okay."
"Speaking of masks," her voice remains low, a smile playing at her lips, "How about a new design for the suit?"
Apprehensively, Peter begins to speak. "I - uh -"
"No, no, no, trust me, trust me. We'll keep the same color scheme~ and maybe throw in some new web patterns~. It'll look so much better than that trashy thing Tony gave you."
Ah. Peter understands.
Gwen easily noticed his distaste in discussing Tony from such a short conversation.
She had already figured Peter out and was trying to make him feel better.
He stifles a small smile. Gwen Stacy really is brilliant. "Alright, alright, alright~"
She has a look of victory proudly plastered on her face. "Good. Spider-Man is now a free agent. Who needs the Avengers? And with a quick redesign, they'll be begging you to come back."
The conversation resumes for another hour or so.
Peter enjoys himself far too much.
As dusk approaches, they bade each other goodbye. Peter drops his skateboard to the ground, idly gliding toward Aunt May's new apartment.
xxx
"Miss Felter."
Christina looks up.
Tony Stark is entering her laboratory.
"Good evening and a Merry Christmas, Mister Stark. Is there any reason you're here? I've told Peter over and over-"
"The internship offer still stands, though I know you won't accept it. But, uh - no, I'm here for something else."
"Look, Mister Stark," she sips on her coffee, "unless it's something truly important, you're gonna have to be quick. I have Christmas plans."
The older man turns, looking at the horizon through a window.
As the evening sky faded away, the pink and orange hues were replaced with dark shades of blue, whilst the amber light of the street lamps spilled on the stone-paved streets. In turn, the elegantly decorated, wooden stalls slowly revealed their hidden wonders attracting long queues of bustling New York customers.
The festively designed stalls, illuminated with blinking Christmas lights, vibrant ornaments and brightly colored signs, were lined up along either side of the street and had varieties of delectable treats, jasmine-scented fragrances, skillfully hand-crafted greeting cards and unlimited choices of gifts to customers occupied for endless periods of time.
The warm smiles of the people behind the stalls as they tossed freshly roasted, golden brown chestnuts into paper cones or carefully poured creamy hot chocolate into mugs and added generous layers of whipped cream, was returned by the beaming grins of the children who were eagerly waiting to get their mug.
Tony stifles a smile. "You really can't hate this time of year, hey?"
Setting down a clipboard, Christina turns to face her guest. "What'd you need?"
"It's about the time machine lecture Mister Parker and I attended."
"Ah, the one where you tried to discredit my theory?"
"Precisely."
She smiles, albeit against her will. "It was a good experience - tearing down your opinions on time travel."
Tony shrugs, crossing his arms. "Actually, that's what I'm here about."
Her ears perk up. "Oh?"
He nods slightly. "I made one. And it works."
Her ears perk down. "Oh."
Tony shakes his head, smiling. "Don't shoot me down just like that. My claims are legitimate. I have backing from Professor Bruce Banner." He stops talking, instead handing Christina a document.
It was the blueprints and manuscripts for the Time Leap Machine.
She sighs. "You cannot expect me to read this right now ... Christmas is..."
Her words eventually fizzle out. She's lost in thought, deeply contemplating the documentation.
"Good, huh? Wanna know the kicker?"
Christina looks up, skeptical but curious. "I-"
"It works."
She shakes her head, smiling. "I don't -"
Tony shrugs again. "You don't need to believe me. But Peter used it - twice - and it worked. Our little Time Leap Machine actually worked. I just need to confirm a few things with you."
Still in a skeptical daze, Christina is unsure but allows herself to listen.
Tony then delves into the inner-workings of the Machine, telling her everything he told Peter.
About the black hole data.
About the memory data.
About the temporal lobe data compression.
"Y-you stole it! You stole our compressor-"
"I did. Sorry. Needed it." Tony smiles.
"You can't just steal, Mister Stark-"
"I can bring it back. Or build another one for you or something. Don't worry about a thing. But I needed it to make the bloody machine run."
She exhales, rubbing her temple. "...And you're saying it ran? That Peter... what, he was shoved into the past?"
Tony points at her. "Bingo."
"So why do you need me if you already know it works?"
"Well, Miss Felter... you're a genius. Extremely smart. Freakishly smart, just like yours truly. There's a lot of things Professor Banner and I don't truly understand about the time traveling aspect yet, and we can't contact Peter right now to confirm any details."
"So you want me to fill in the blanks?"
Tony inclines his head. "Yeah."
He then explains the situation -
- everything about the Avengers being killed, and about how Peter altered the world-lines to save them.
Of course, he would never disclose Peter's identity.
Tony simply used the excuse that Peter was interning for him at the time, and became muddled into the situation against his will.
Christina ponders this for a moment, then relates back to Tony's documentation. "Your chronology protection conjecture holds, but I think it's slightly different. That conjecture denies the possibility of time travel from quantum theory because of the danger of disrupting the law of cause and effect. But in the case of time leaping, no time paradoxes occur in the first place."
Agreeing, Tony says, "So two of Peter can't exist at the same time. He can't bring anything with him to the past, either. The only change is the memories stored in his temporal lobe. At the very least, time-leaping can't cause a Grandfather Paradox."
"But this doesn't make sense." She thinks hard for a moment. "You can't control which possibilities you observe, so I don't know if the many-worlds interpretation holds or not. It should be unreasonable to expect to arrive at the possibility where the Avengers didn't die."
Tony points at her again. "Bingo. But Petey did it anyway. He denied the will of the world. It's as if the universe itself was censoring him, correcting any changes he tried to make."
Christina sets down her coffee before taking out a pen from her coat-pocket.
She begins to write down on a blank piece of paper.
"Perhaps the cause of the Avenger's death wasn't just being killed by Pierce's soldiers, but something more macro. Maybe 'because we made a time machine', or possibly 'because SHIELD found out we hacked them'. As a result, you died. If you think like that, cause and effect aren't warped."
Tony exhales, shaking his head. "This time travel shit is confusing."
"What I'm saying is... just because you avoided death for a moment... doesn't mean you freed yourself from the universe's will. The law of cause and effect is absolute. Deny that, and you deny all of physics. So, there must be a cause for the Avenger's certain death. Yes, you did stop Pierce, but if the Avengers were fated to die because they built the machine... the possibility still stands that they can die because the machine exists."
Tony sighs. "You're saying I have to destroy it to absolutely ensure we remain living? We could all die ten years down the line because I didn't destroy it?"
"I don't know. It's not like I have a full understanding of its theory and structure. You can do consecutive leaps. As long as the Time Leap Machine exists, that is. For example, if the Time Leap Machine doesn't break for ten years, then you could go back those ten years. By simple calculation, it would take 1825 time leaps, so there's quite a big risk, but it's theoretically possible. If something does arise in those ten years, you could leap back to destroy the machine and place yourself on the safer worldline."
"So what's the problem? I can keep the machine and leap back if anything happens."
She exhales. "A big one. Didn't I say so? As long as the Time Leap Machine exists, it is simple cause and effect that you will die."
"But-"
"You can't leap before the machine was created because you need the machine itself to leap."
Tony falls into a chair, heart pounding. "Well, damn."
He laughs inwardly. This whole situation is beyond his comprehension.
Since he built the machine, it is entirely possible the Avengers are fated to die regardless of what actions are made.
If anything happens in the future, Tony can leap back in time to save everyone. But the will of the universe still dictates that they will die, as the machine still exists.
Destroying the machine is the only way out here.
"You have to destroy it," Christina says simply.
Tony nods - a feeble gesture. "I'm gonna go take a nap."
Rising to his feet, the older man paces to the exit.
"Oh, Miss Felter-" he turns, "The internship offer still stands, y'know."
He smiles sincerely, big and proud, before leaving the room.
xxx