A/N: Hey! I didn't die. Changed jobs. Got my heart all broke and stuff *sigh* Anywho, the first half of this chapter has been written for at least three or four months, finishing it up was kind of a bear. There was The Hobbit, Christmas, Downton Abbey happened for a while (don't get into it, you'll only have your heart broken) I also started thinking about the sequel to this fic (which is totally useless when you haven't finished the first one). Bottom line: been distracted. But this update is over 7000 words, so enjoy, and see my note at the end for an addendum to the Spiderman section of the story.
At some point, Natalia became fully aware of her situation and circumstances and, seeing as how she was only a sixteen-year-old girl, started screaming loudly and repeatedly. They pulled into an alley and Natalia was almost immediately on her knees on the ground, retching and throwing up yellow liquid. Harry was, oddly, the first one brave enough to approach her. He knelt down in front of her and said, "Do you need to go to the hospital? Did they hurt you?"
"Don't touch me!" she screeched, batting away his outstretched hand. "I wish I'd never seen you! You're just a stupid, rich jackass! You're no different from Sasha."
Harry cocked his head and said, "My money's not all in cash." He stood up and marched back over to where the other three were waiting by the car. "I'm done. Who's next?"
James knelt down in front of her and said, "Natalia, I'm sorry for what you've gone through. I know it's horrible-"
"How?" she asked, her eyes wide and frantic. "You're just like them. I heard that shot go off. You killed one of them in cold blood, didn't you? My mom thinks you're some sort of damaged hero; like you got in over your head with bad people and it wasn't your fault. But she's wrong. You're just another bad guy."
James could feel his blood boiling as he clenched his jaw. A part of him had always been a little hot-tempered and really wanted to lash out, but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. "He's not one of the bad guys, Natalia," Natasha's voice said calmly. "He's actually as good as they come."
"And just who the hell are you?" Natalia asked, standing up to face the redhead. "I heard them saying you're my aunt, but you can't be. She was older than my mother and she's probably dead and you're like 25! You can't be her."
James slowly stood up and said, "I was born in 1918."
Natalia looked at him in stunned silence. Hawkeye raised his hand and said, "If it makes you feel better, I was born in 1980."
Harry looked at him with a raised eyebrow and he quickly replied, "Fine. It was 1978. Shut up."
Natalia regarded the redhead and slowly said, "Why?"
"I did what I had to do, or what I thought I had to do at the time."
"Mom adored you," Natalia said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "You just disappeared."
"Kid, she's the reason you didn't grow up in a frozen wasteland," Hawkeye said before looking at Natasha and saying, "at least I remember that being why I was yelling at you last night."
"You're all just fucking crazy," Natalia growled, trying to stomp away, and limping instead.
"She lives around the corner. I'll make sure she gets there," James said, moving around Natasha and Clint.
The pair of assassins stood there in silence for a minute or so before Clint said, "Go after them."
"You're still angry," Natasha replied without looking at him.
"Yeah, but I'll get over it. I always do. Go, Natasha."
She gingerly squeezed his forearm before jogging after James and her niece. Hawkeye sighed and stood there for a minute, clenching and unclenching his fist.
"Um, hey, just FYI, I'm still here," Harry said with a raised hand.
"Jesus, how did I get stuck with the rich jackass?"
It was all part of the plan…the really, really tenuous plan they'd cooked up in less than five minutes. That was what Bruce kept telling himself as he looked down at the floor of the van. General Ross was sitting across from them, staring daggers at Bruce's forehead.
"What was your play here, Banner?" the general asked gruffly. "Did you have a plan until we showed up at the restaurant?"
Bruce smiled and shook his head. "General, I haven't been one for making plans in a long time."
A loud bang emanated from the truck behind them as something crashed through its engine block. Bruce looked up and met the general's eyes. "Recently, though, I've become acquainted with some people that really like making plans."
The van they were in suddenly came to a halt and the general angrily stood up and moved toward the cab. "We need to get the prisoner out of here! Why are you slowing down?"
"I-I'm sorry, General. The lead vehicle just stopped!"
"Hey, Dad," Betty piped up a little too sweetly, "did you know that all Humvees designed for the U.S. military between 2004 and 2009 have an electrical system produced by Stark Industries and designed by Tony Stark himself?"
The general glared at his daughter and produced a sound strikingly similar to a growl. "Back it up. Take us down that side street," he yelled at the driver.
"But, Sir—"
"Do it!"
The van moved so suddenly that Bruce and Betty had to hold onto their seats as they giggled. General Ross stormed over and pulled Bruce up by his jacket collar. "What do you think you're going to accomplish here, Banner?"
"Um, sir?" the driver asked, slowing down slightly.
"What the—?" Ross asked, eyeing the red, white, and blue figure down the street as he loosened his grip on Bruce's jacket. He narrowed his gaze and said, "Keep going."
"Really?" Bruce asked as the general shoved him back into a seat. "You're gonna play chicken with Captain America?"
"It's just a man in a suit," General Ross grumbled, looking straight ahead.
"You wanna bet?"
"Sir?" the driver asked as they came to within a few hundred yards of Captain America.
"Step on it!"
The next few moments passed in slow motion. Bruce and Betty grasped each other's hands as they clutched onto their seats. The van collided with Cap's shield with such force that one of the soldiers knocked himself out on the dash and several others, including the general, were knocked to their backs. The front of the car had caved in around the curve of the shield. Steve backed away and came around to the side where he pulled the sliding door off the van.
"You alright?" Steve asked as he helped Betty out of the van.
"We're good, thanks," Betty replied, nonchalantly stepping over her father's motionless form.
"Did he not stop?" Tony asked coming in for a landing. "That's just unpatriotic."
General Ross sat up laughing. "What would you know about real patriotism, Stark?"
"Wow. Somebody gets grumpy when they lose," Tony said before letting the mask slide back from his face.
Ross pulled himself up and said, "You hurt my men—"
"Your men are unharmed," Thor announced, landing with a thud.
"What the hell is that supposed to be?" Ross asked with a horrified expression.
"That's Thor," Bruce said, finally standing up and moving around the general. "And, yes, I mean that Thor."
Ross chuckled mirthlessly as he watched Bruce step out of the van. "Is that the point of all this, Banner? To prove to me that you have friends now?"
"That, or he's just proving what a humongous ass-hat you are," Tony suggested.
Ross shook his head. "I certainly hope that you all aren't laboring under the impression that he's still going to be your friend when the monster comes out."
Bruce looked down at the ground and then at the men around him. They were all meeting his gaze and not shrinking away. He and Betty shared a brief smile before he turned around and faced the general.
"You never knew me very well, Sir," Bruce began. "All you ever bothered to find out was that I was capable of giving you what you wanted and that I was in love with your daughter. You didn't know me then, and you sure as hell don't know me, or the Hulk now."
The general just scoffed and shook his head. "We'll see who's right in the end, I suppose."
The sound of repulsors and the rumble of many engines suddenly filled the air. A column of military vehicles sped up the street with Rhodey flying in front. He came in for a landing and the mask slid back and he said, "General Ross."
General Ross stepped out the van and faced his fellow officer. "Colonel Rhodes. To what do I owe the displeasure?"
Rhodey didn't flinch. "General Dempsey sends his regards. He also says you're under arrest."
"Who is this General Dempsey?" Thor asked.
"He's the—"
"Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Steve cut Tony off, causing the latter to raise his eyebrows. "I can read, you know," he quickly explained.
Thor's face still held a blank expression and Betty clarified, "He's the highest ranking officer in the most powerful military on the planet."
"You're going to regret this, Rhodes," Ross said as two MPs cuffed him and lead him to one of the humvees.
"I sincerely doubt that, General," Rhodey replied, moving toward the others. "What happened here?" he asked, motioning to the sizable dent in the transport van.
"Ross apparently thought it was a good idea ram a van into Captain America," Tony replied.
"Huh. We need medical attention over here!" Rhodey called back to his column after noticing the two unconscious soldiers in the front of the van. "Anyone else hurt?"
"We were most careful to leave the soldiers unharmed," Thor told him.
"Although the ones in the truck Thor disabled might need some new underwear," Tony joked.
Rhodey shook his head along with Steve and Bruce as medics rushed forward to assist the injured soldiers. A few moments later, the ground started shaking silently.
"What the hell?" Steve muttered as both Tony and Rhodey's masks came down.
"JARVIS, what's happening?"
"The seismic event is not being caused by tectonic shifts or volcanic activity."
"Then what the hell is causing it?"
"It appears several of the inter-dimensional rifts Dr. Banner has been tracking have all opened at once in subterranean locales across Manhattan."
Bruce's eyes widened slightly. "That's not happening naturally. JARVIS, what's happening with the Tesseract?"
"It appears to be active."
"You should have led with that!" Tony angrily informed his AI before rocketing into the sky.
Steve looked back at Thor and said, "Jane and Darcy were going to the Tower."
Thor's arm was up and the rest of him followed before Rhodey said, "You need a ride, Cap?"
He nodded briefly before turning to Bruce and Betty. "Meet us there."
"You got it!" Bruce yelled after him before Rhodey lifted them into the sky in a blur of red, white, blue, and silver.
"Hey," Darcy said cautiously as she entered Jane's lab in Stark Tower.
"Hey," Jane replied, bent over a circuit board with her glasses on the end of her nose.
"Are you okay?" Darcy asked.
"I'm fine," Jane answered, setting down her soldering tools and carefully placing the board in a tower. "I'm sure you had a much more interesting night than I did. I like how you modified his shirt with a belt, by the way."
Darcy self-consciously smoothed the wrinkles and said, "Yeah, my shirt was kind of unwearable."
Jane smirked as she replaced the covering on the tower and started connecting wires. "Sounds like you had fun."
"I did, but…it was more than that," she said softly. "Did anybody ever tell you that there's a difference between having sex and making love?"
"No, but I've figured it out for myself over the years," Jane answered, pushing her glasses up and lowering the Tesseract into a piece of machinery.
"I've had plenty of sex before, but I don't think I've ever made love, at least not like that. It's like he wanted to capture every single moment, every nuance. Of course, I may just not be used to sleeping with an artist that has the body of a Greek God."
Jane chuckled as she sat down behind a computer screen and started typing. "Well, after the lecture you gave me, I certainly hope you used protection."
"Yeah, well, you see, I'm actually quite diligent about taking my birth control and because I don't want to find out what super-soldier sperm can do to my birth control, we took extra steps, courtesy of Tony Stark."
"I saw that one. Tony's kind of an ass," Jane muttered.
Darcy regarded her boss for a long moment and walked around the console to join her. "Are you okay, Jane?"
"Of course. I haven't experienced much morning sickness. Some people don't, although it could also be because he's not entirely human."
"'He' being the baby?" Darcy questioned.
Jane nodded, seemingly still focused on the computer screen in front of her.
"How do you know it's a boy?"
"I just do."
"I know you didn't have a chance this morning, but...are you going to tell Thor?"
"I'm not sure," Jane replied, finally stopping her work with the computer and looking up at her assistant.
"Jane, he's the father. He kind of deserves to know."
"But it's not just about him. If I tell him, he'll tell everyone and then Fury will know, and God only knows what Fury will do then," Jane argued.
"Jane, I think you might be-"
"I'm not overreacting," she interrupted. "You're the one that told me SHIELD has standing orders to bring Spiderman in, and you're the one who said it was because Fury doesn't like the idea that someone is out of his control and not dancing to his tune. What do you think he's going to do about a half-Asgardian baby?"
"Well, he's not going to just take the kid. Thor won't let him."
"And what if Thor's not here?"
"In case you hadn't noticed, he's not the only super hero around."
"And they all work with Fury."
"That doesn't mean they march to his tune and it doesn't mean they'd let anything happen to your kid!"
A high-pitched whine, a loud pop, and a bright flash punctuated Darcy's words. She looked at the small glass cube in the middle of one of Jane's contraptions. A blue orb was glowing inside of it. "What the hell was that?" Darcy asked.
"It worked," Jane breathed, standing up and moving to examine the small cube more closely.
"What worked? Jane, what did you do?"
"I leeched power off the Tesseract to create an independent power cell," Jane explained. "It's what Arnim Zola did seventy years ago."
"Well, that's a recommendation," Darcy replied facetiously. "Why did you do it?"
"To make sure the physics were still sound," she murmured. "You know Tony's Arc-Light projects?"
Darcy nodded. "Clean energy based off of arc reactor technology," she said. "This building runs off that technology. It'll run this building for a year."
"This could run it for ten years, easy," Jane said, picking up the cube and holding it in the palm of her hand.
"Should you be, you know, holding that thing?" Darcy asked, backing away slightly.
"It only puts out low levels of gamma radiation. No big deal."
"I'm pretty sure Bruce Banner would disagree."
"I work with Banner, I know what's safe and what's not."
Suddenly, a loud, mechanical thud filled the room and the Tesseract itself started spinning in its casing. Every computer monitor in the room buzzed to life, bright with warnings.
"Jane, what's going on?"
"I-I'm not sure. I'm not doing this. The program was already shut down-Darcy!"
Her last protest was in response to Darcy roughly grabbing her arm and yanking her to the door. "Don't argue. The last time something got out of your control, you got stabbed in the gut, and it's not just you you've got to look out for anymore!"
Jane reluctantly let Darcy pull her away as the sound of mechanical and electrical buzzes and pops filled the air.
James hadn't been properly scared of a parent in a long time. That one night he brought Connie Gierson home at 3 a.m had been pretty terrifying, but her father had had a shotgun. Ekaterina was making him want to soil himself with her eyes alone. She was also yelling at him in Russian about being a child molester and calling the police.
"Mom, no!" Natalia insisted. "It was my fault. It was Sasha Ystrohvsky. This man was just helping me."
Ekaterina chuckled mirthlessly and fixed James with a relentless glare. "You picked a fight with Sasha Ystrohvsky?"
"No. I shot him in the knee," James replied.
Ekaterina shook her head. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Do you have any idea what vengeance they will take on us?"
"You always worried too much, little sister."
All of their heads turned toward the young redhead standing in the doorway. Ekaterina's jaw dropped and all the air expelled from her lungs. "How can this be?" she whispered.
"I volunteered for things I probably shouldn't have," Natasha replied briefly, not meeting her sister's eyes. "I have always tried to look out for you, but, as you know, I was not always successful. After what happened to Mikhail, I made sure they would never bother you again."
"And last night?" Ekaterina asked, looking back at her daughter.
"That was…kind of, my fault…" Natalia said sheepishly. "There was Sasha and…this other guy, and things got a little out of hand, and then that guy and his snarky friend got involved, and things became more complicated."
"Snarky friend?"
"He's my…" Natasha began to answer.
"Partner," James finished for her. "It was always hard for you to say."
She looked up at him and said, "It was always hard for you to be."
"Not when it came to you," he replied.
Ekaterina cleared her throat and shook her head, smiling. "Some things never change. Men and boys were always falling over themselves to be in your presence."
James blushed and Natasha smirked slightly as her sister moved forward and gingerly placed her arms around the seemingly younger woman's neck. "I shall have to tell people you are my younger sister now," Ekaterina said quietly, "or my niece, whichever I find less distasteful."
Natasha chuckled and hugged her sister more tightly.
"Don't think this means you're not grounded," Ekaterina said to her daughter, who had been edging toward the back door. Natalia sighed deeply and pouted as she looked at her feet.
"I wish I could say the same for you, Agent Romanov?"
They turned to find a small olive-skinned, bespectacled man in a suit in the doorway of the flower shop. "Agent Sitwell?" Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm sorry to interrupt this awkward and touching family reunion, but, as Agent Coulson was indisposed, I'm to collect you. Both of you," Jasper Sitwell said, looking between Natasha and James.
Natasha squeezed her sister's hand and said, "I'll be back soon."
Ekaterina nodded solemnly. Natasha moved to follow Sitwell, but James stayed rooted firmly in place.
"I'm under no obligation to go with you," he said flatly.
Both of Sitwell's eyes arched upward thoughtfully. "So, I could just call in a tip to the police about the mob-related shooting of Sasha Ystrohvki's kneecap earlier this morning?"
James grumbled before stomping after them and climbing into the back of an SUV. He slid into the bench seat next to Natasha who was at that point sandwiched between him and Hawkeye.
"You guys got called to the principal's office too, huh?" Clint asked. Natasha rolled her eyes. James cracked a smile.
"Where's Osborne?" Natasha asked.
"Some Oscorp guys appeared and picked him up. I got to meet Norman Osborne. He's a very unattractive man. Seriously, you could put one of those wacky African ceremonial masks on his face and it would be an improvement."
"Do you really think making light of other cultures is going to help you right now, Agent Barton?" Director Fury asked, leaning forward into the light as Sitwell climbed into the front and the car pulled away.
"No, Sir," Clint mumbled while still clearly suppressing a laugh. James covered his mouth with one of his hands, but a chuckle was still making its way up his throat.
"I fail to see what is so funny," Fury stated. "You got so shitfaced you were overpowered and imprisoned by low-level Russian mob."
"I don't believe that's correct, Director," Natasha interrupted. "With James' modified metabolism and Clint's level of fitness; the only way they could have become so intoxicated was through the use of drugs stronger than alcohol."
"Regardless, the lack of control you all displayed was more than a little disturbing," Fury told them.
"I was under the impression control was Agent Coulson's purview, Sir," Natasha replied flatly.
James and Clint both turned their heads to look at her with raised eyebrows. Fury shook his head. "Everybody knows control becomes your purview when Agent Coulson becomes incapacitated."
"I thought that's what Sitwell was for."
"I can hear you, Agent Romanov," Sitwell said from the front seat.
"Can I interject, please?" Clint asked with a raised hand. "We kind of missed the rest of the party due to the Russians. What happened?"
"You really think that's important right now, Agent Barton?"
"Well, you're never going to decide who the biggest control freaks of your underlings is—it's Hill, by the way—so I'd just like to get caught up on everything else."
James snorted before covering his face to hide his laughter. Natasha pursed her lips, laughter dancing just behind her eyes. Clint, to his credit, looked Fury in the eye unwaveringly. Fury had no choice but to shake his head and sigh as he said, "Apparently, Tony Stark managed to upload video of Bruce Banner dancing Thriller with Betty Ross and the rest of you."
"Huh. I remember that now. By the way, how did you even know Thriller?" Clint asked, looking past Natasha toward James.
"I've been around," James replied cryptically with a smirk.
"That's not the point the director is trying to make," Natasha told them. "Images of Bruce Banner have been uploaded to the Internet."
Clint's face fell. "Oh. Yeah. That is bad."
"What? Why? I don't get it," James said.
"Dr. Banner is supposed to be dead," Natasha explained flatly.
"And his ex-boss is kind of an ass who would like to put him in a cage," Clint added.
"Is General Ross on his way?" Natasha asked.
"General Ross is already here," Fury replied.
"What? Why aren't we stopping him?" Clint asked.
"The others appear to be handling it quite well considering their almost complete lack of sleep," Fury answered.
"What is that supposed to mean?" James asked.
"Probably means your best friend finally got laid," Clint muttered.
"Not going to believe that until I have proof," James said.
"Like video?"
James' eyebrows shot up. "God, no! I was just going to ask one of them. What's wrong with you?"
Clint shrank back into his seat as everyone, including Sitwell from the front of the SUV, stared at him. "I'm blaming this on the drugs," he said before looking out the window.
"You might be doing that for a while, Agent Barton," Fury warned him. "Since it's Agent Romanov's opinion you were drugged, you two are going to get real familiar with the inside of the infirmary for the next twenty-four hours."
Clint and Bucky shared the look of a pair of five-year-olds that just lost their favorite toy. Natasha, ignoring the fact that this was happening across her vision, pressed on, "What about Harry Osborne, Sir? I believe he's been witness to far too much for the last few hours and is probably a serious liability."
"I'm sorry. Are you suggesting we rub out Harry Osborne?" Clint asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That is not at all what I was suggesting," Natasha replied, sighing deeply and rolling her eyes.
"Did we finally invent that memory wiper gizmo from Men In Black?" Clint asked, looking quickly between Fury and Natasha.
Fury eyed him and said, "What do you think, Agent Barton?"
Clint's eyes widened comically. "We did, didn't we?"
Fury shook his head. "Harry Osborne is nowhere near a primary concern right now. He makes all the trouble he can and still can't get enough attention from his daddy, so I sincerely doubt he'll prove to be a problem to our clandestine operations."
"You seem to know an awful lot about the kid," James commented.
Fury fixed him with a steely gaze as they came to a stop in front of SHIELD headquarters. "It's my job. You can get out now."
They all silently got out of the SUV and walked into the lobby where Coulson, Hill, and a cadre of medics were waiting for them. Clint managed to swallow a snigger at the fact that Coulson was wearing his sunglasses indoors. Agent Hill looked absolutely no worse for wear.
"I believe the medics can take you from here," Fury told them. "Agent Coulson, I need to speak with you about—"
The ground shook slightly before a shockwave reverberated throughout the building, shattering several windows and scattering debris.
"What the—"
"Sir, something's happening at Stark Tower!" one of the techs from the main security desk shouted.
Fury looked at Coulson, who simply nodded and said, "Change of plans. Romanoff, Barton, you're with me."
"Saved by the bell," Clint muttered, closely following Natasha.
James started to follow, but Agent Hill intercepted him and injected a sedative into his neck. It didn't knock him out completely, but he did seem to lose most of the motivation to his limbs. Agent Hill was as cool as ever, despite the death glare Natasha gave her as she ran into the street with Clint and Coulson.
"Agent Hill, what do you think you're doing?" Fury asked hotly as two medics rushed forward to support James' weight.
"He's proven to be a dangerous and unpredictable element in the field with Captain America standing right over his shoulder," Hill pointed out. "What do you think he'll be like when the only person that can control him is distracted by a genuine crisis?"
James made an incomprehensible sound of protest and made a move toward Agent Hill, but the medics easily held him back.
Fury angrily set his jaw and said, "Get Sergeant Barnes to medical immediately. Agent Hill, get yourself back downstairs and monitor our prisoner. No one else is to see him until we get the all-clear, understood?"
"Yes, sir," Hill replied before jogging toward the stairs.
"Agent Sitwell, we're going to the roof," Fury said, stalking off toward the elevator.
Sitwell couldn't contain his smile. "Yes, sir."
Pepper's head was still pounding, but she could tell the buzzing reverberating around the apartment wasn't coming from within her own head.
"JARVIS?" she asked, sitting up and slowly pulling herself out of bed.
"Dr. Foster's latest experiment appears to have excited the Tesseract. Energy is beginning to build exponentially," JARVIS explained calmly.
Pepper opened the door to find Darcy struggling to get Jane to move down the hall. She spotted a figure racing up the stairs and called out, "Happy, get them out of here!"
Happy, who was obviously dressed for a workout, rushed forward and put an arm around Jane's waist, gently forcing her to move with him. "What about you?" Happy asked Pepper.
"I'll be right behind you," she called after him before grabbing Darcy by the arm. "Did Jane's experiment actually cause this?"
"I'm not an expert, but I don't think so," Darcy replied hurriedly.
Pepper let got of her and said, "Get out of here."
Darcy started to move, but stopped when she realized Pepper wasn't right behind her. "Pepper, what are you doing?"
The redhead took a deep breath and said, "Get out of here, Darcy! Now!"
Darcy gave her a fleeting, confused look before running down the stairs after Happy and Jane. Pepper walked purposefully toward Tony's lab as the building started to rumble. "JARVIS, what happens when that energy is released?"
"It's not entirely clear, but based upon my own calculation, I would say a hole will be torn in the fabric in the fabric of space similar in nature to what you would call a wormhole."
"So, this invasion they've all been worried about is actually happening?" she asked calmly entering in the code to access her suit.
"I believe so, Ms. Potts. May I ask what it is you're doing?" JARVIS asked with a hint of worry.
"A sufficiently powerful force field could contain the energy before it expands, couldn't it?" she asked as she stepped up onto a platform and Tony's machines assembled the suit around her.
"Possibly, but—"
"Tony built the best force field generators on the planet into this suit," she cut him off. "I'm not going to waste them."
"On a scale of 1-10, how mad do you think Aunt May is going to be?" Mary Jane asked as the subway sped them back to Queens.
"Forty-five," Peter answered with a smirk. "I was already in trouble and then I snuck out and stayed out until the next day, so I can't really blame her. My job offer will probably soften the blow significantly. And maybe I can blame the staying out all night on Harry. Aunt May has really mixed feelings about poor old Harry."
"Well, I have to admit, even though he's got everything in the world and kind of acts like an entitled douche sometimes, I always feel sorry for him," Mary Jane said, resting her cheek against the upright rail.
"He hasn't got everything," Peter said. "His mom's gone and his dad isn't really there."
"Both of your parents are gone and you haven't taken a nosedive off the deep end," Mary Jane pointed out.
Peter chuckled nervously and looked at his shoes. Mary Jane released a shaky breath and said, "God, Peter, I'm sorry. I'm such an idiot. I shouldn't've—"
"It's okay," he cut her off. "Really. I was really young when they…um, died. I miss them. I wish they were still here sometimes, but they didn't make me who I am. It's not their legacy that I have to protect or live up to. That's what Uncle Ben and Aunt May gave me."
He met here eyes to find a tear slowly rolling down her cheek. "Mary Jane, what is it?" he asked gently.
"Nothing," she laughed, brushing the tears from her face. "I just think you may be the most…good person in the world."
"God, I hope not," he replied, laughing nervously. "I get the feeling being the good guy all the time would totally suck."
She let go of the pole and placed both of her hands on his face before kissing him deeply on the mouth. "You sure about that?" she asked with a smile.
"I don't know," he replied slyly, using his free arm to pull her closer. "I might need o do more research on the matter."
She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. Then a feeling not at all related to what was happening in front of Peter's face started to crawl up his spine. Most of the time, his Spidey-Sense would just give him a tingling intuition or just helped him avoid flying bullets. But this time was different. This time, it told him that a whole shit-ton of Skrull were about to descend upon their heads.
"Peter?"
"We gotta get out of here," he breathed.
"What? Why?" she asked.
The train came to a stop and Peter grabbed Mary Jane's hand and bolted for the door.
"Peter, this is Flushing Avenue! We're nowhere near—"
The lights flickering and a rumbling across the platform cut her off. She tightly gripped Peter's hand as he tensed for a fight. Then a shockwave and a bright light shot through the platform. Peter could almost feel their marching footsteps.
"MJ, you have to run," he told her.
"Peter, I can't—"
A nasty, hateful, reptilian face appeared from a flash of light ten feet away. "I told you run!" Peter yelled and Mary Jane was quick to obey, dashing toward the nearest set of stairs.
He took a deep breath and time slowed down. The lights were still out and that was okay with him; he saw better in the dark. He slung a web at the first Skrull and pulled it off its feet. The second one took a shot at him, which struck the wall as he easily avoided it. He grabbed the gun with one of his webs and sent the Skrull chasing after it as he kicked another one coming up behind him. He fought on like this for what felt like an hour. And then he stopped, his heart still pumping adrenaline to his shaking hands. Half a dozen unconscious Skrull surrounded him on the otherwise empty platform. The lights were still flickering, but the rumbling and the Skrull-producing flashes had stopped. The whole thing had taken about thirty seconds.
He dashed toward the steps and grabbed his phone—which, fortunately, wasn't shattered—from his back pocket and dialed the only helpful number he'd managed to save. It rang twice before he heard, "Peter, this really isn't—"
"There are Skrull in the subway," he told her, taking the steps two at a time.
"What? Peter, you're breaking up."
"Dammit. I said there are Skrull in the subway," he repeated when he reached the surface. "Only half a dozen and they hadn't had a chance to change, but I could have just gotten lucky."
"Oh my God," Darcy breathed.
"What's—"
"Peter!"
He turned at the sound of Mary Jane's voice and quickly ended his call before shoving it in his pocket. "Why'd you stop running? We have to get out of here," he said, reaching out for her.
Her arms remained folded across her chest. "Peter, I saw," she said quietly.
"Saw what?" he asked lamely, knowing any hope of a cover was crumbling around him.
"I saw you fighting those aliens, or monsters, or whatever they were," Mary Jane explained.
He exhaled a shaky breath and said, "I, uh—"
She reached out and grabbed his wrist. Then her thumb landed upon the thin disc he usually wore hidden under his sleeves or leather cuffs during the day. "What is that?" she asked.
"Web shooters," Peter replied meekly, "although, that sounds really stupid that I've said it out loud."
"Peter…are you Spiderman?" she asked quietly.
"Yes," Peter breathed, barely believing it was coming out of his mouth.
Mary Jane let go of his hand and took a step back. Peter winced and ran both of his hands through his hair. "Come on, Mary Jane. What is it that bothers you most about this? Is it because I didn't tell you, or-or do you think what I do does more harm than good, or—"
"Peter, could you just shut up for a second and let me absorb this?"
"Sorry," he replied sheepishly.
After pacing back and forth for a few moments, she asked, "When did this happen? I mean…are you a mutant, or—"
"No, I wasn't born this way," he answered quickly. "I wandered off during a trip to Oscorp with my internship group at Columbia. I got bitten by a genetically enhanced spider and woke up like this the next day."
"That's a hell of a field trip," she commented.
Peter shrugged. "I don't know. It wasn't so bad. I met Harry that day…it was about a year ago I guess."
"But Spiderman has only been around for what? Eight, nine months? Why did you decide to—" Mary Jane's own thoughts suddenly cut off her words. "Your uncle Ben?"
"He always used to tell me that bad things happen because good men stand by and do nothing," Peter told her, quickly brushing a tear from his face. "And the last thing he told me was that with great power comes great responsibility. He was talking about using my intelligence to create world peace or something instead of trying to impress a girl, but he died that night because I didn't do anything, so I took it to heart."
"Peter, it wasn't your fault."
"You weren't there. You don't know," he told her quietly.
"So…all those people last night…were they…"
"Darcy's boyfriend is actually Captain America, so I'm thinking the answer is yes."
"And what's happening right now?"
"Pretty sure it's a genuine alien invasion."
"So…we should probably talk about all this later?"
"Probably," Peter confirmed.
"What should I do?" Mary Jane asked after a deep breath.
"Get back home. Grab your mom and Aunt May and get as far away from Manhattan as you can, and, for God's sake, stay out of the subway," Peter told her, gently grabbing her shoulders.
"Are you going to be okay?" she asked, finally looking up into his eyes.
"I don't know," he replied with a sad smile.
Mary Jane pulled him close and wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug. Peter reciprocated and whispered in her ear, "I love you."
"I know you do," she said before kissing him softly on the mouth. "Go get 'em, Tiger."
Peter smirked before dashing toward the nearest alleyway.
Happy and Darcy finally pulled Jane into the elevator and the doors slid shut, leaving them in eery silence. After a few deep breaths, Happy said, "Doc, what's happening up there?"
"Same thing that happened in New Mexico," Jane replied slowly. "A…wormhole is about to open up."
"So…the aliens…they're coming?" Happy asked.
"Yeah," Jane replied simply.
"Right," Happy said, pressing the button for Tony's private garage. "We'll get you both back Westchester; out of danger, but still able to monitor—"
The lights started flickering and the elevator shook violently. All three of them grabbed hold of the railing and gritted their teeth.
"We jump before we hit the ground. That's how it works, right?" Happy asked above the noise of shaking metal.
"They did it on Mythbusters! It doesn't help!" Darcy yelled back.
"Thanks a lot!"
Suddenly the shaking stopped and the lights were back on. The elevator, however, was no longer moving.
"Dammit. I gotta do a reset," Happy said, prying open the main panel.
"You okay?" Darcy asked Jane.
"Yeah, I think so," Jane replied, one hand clutching her stomach. "I think so."
"Got it," Happy said triumphantly as the elevator started to move once more. "It's taking us back up to the penthouse, though."
Darcy's phone started ringing in her pocket. She glanced at the caller ID as the elevator doors slid open and answered, "Peter, this really isn't—"
"Skull…in the…sub!"
Her forehead crinkled up at both the smell of burning metal in the penthouse and the Peter's broken message in her ear.
"What? Peter, you're breaking up," she told him, jogging up the stairs and ignoring Happy's protestations.
An electronic hum joined the smell of burning metal as Darcy drew closer to Jane's lab. Then Peter's voice clearly said, "There are Skrull on the subway!"
That was all Darcy absorbed before she breathed, "Oh my God," at the sight in front of her. Wind whipped through the room, presumably due to the window Tony broke when he flew in. He was looking at the scene around them with as much shock as Darcy. Pepper was standing before Jane's machine, her suit was obviously shorting as her helmet was half on/half off her face, but the forcefields she was generating from her hands and chest-piece were holding steady. The blue energy inside the forecfields was twisting and gyrating, but it was certainly not expanding.
"Pepper, what did you do?" Darcy asked looking around at the screens.
"I think I may have stopped it," she replied hopefully.
"No! You didn't stop anything!" Tony exploded, tossing his helmet across the room. "You just stuck your finger in the goddamn dyke!"
"As I recall, that saved Holland!" Pepper replied hotly.
"It's a story!" Tony yelled back. "Real physics doesn't work that way!"
Tony didn't even notice when Thor came through the window almost silently and went to Jane who was waiting at the door with Happy.
Darcy took a deep breath and said, "Well, don't leave us hanging there, Stark. Finish your cheerful physics tale."
Tony looked at her and some of the angry flush faded from his face. He took a shaky breath as Rhodey arrived with Steve and said, "When you plug a hole from one side in the face of a rushing torrent, it doesn't just stop a leak, it builds pressure on the other side. It won't just be about a hole, it'll be about a crack, or, worst case scenario, an eruption."
"Let go," Thor suggested. "We can fight whatever comes through."
"Thor's right," Steve agreed. "Pepper, you've given us enough time. Just let go of it before it gets worse."
"I don't think I can," Pepper replied, panic creeping into her voice and across her face.
"You can't," Tony told her, laughing almost maniacally, "because the suit wasn't ready and you shorted it out."
"You let me fly around in it!"
"It was ready for that. If it was ready for everything, I would have told you," Tony argued back. "You were hung over, and you made a bad judgment call."
"You're giving me that lecture?"
"Yes, I am!" Tony bellowed. "You feel that pressure at the base of your skull? That's the neural interface I designed fusing with your nervous system."
"What does that mean?" Pepper asked, turning her head to look Tony in the eye.
"I can—I can't—I can't get you out of the suit without killing you," Tony said, a tear escaping from his eye. "And the rest of the universe can tear itself apart for all I care, because if you're not in it, I don't give a shit."
A long silence permeated the space.
"Tony," Steve began, "you can do this."
"I really don't need your 'ra-ra, go America' attitude right now, Steve," Tony replied shortly.
"That's not what he means, Stark," Bruce said, pushing through the veritable crowd, including Coulson, Natasha, and Hawkeye gathered at the door. "He means you're the smartest guy in the room, I'm not too proud to admit it. You can do this."
"I'd really appreciate it if you gave it a try, Mr. Stark," Pepper said quietly, looking at him from the corner of her eye.
"Tony," Darcy said, stepping up to face him, "what do you need?"
Tony thought about it a beat. "I need the motor from a kid's scooter."
A/N2: So...you're probably wondering which version of Spiderman I'm using for this fic. I've said in the past it's basically a mish-mash of a bunch of versions. Primarily it's both movie franchises (not a huge fan of Amazing Spider-Man, LOVED Andrew Garfield as the character, however) and a little bit of Ultimate Spiderman (as in Mary Jane is the high school girlfriend and Gwen Stacy is around at the same time b/c everybody loves a good love triangle...ask the Twi-hards...) My head cannon is that Uncle Ben's death was a little more like Raimi's Spiderman, but he's being pursued by the police a little more like Webb's Amazing Spiderman. The rest will mostly be explained within the story...hopefully. Thanks for reading!