- The Avengers game from Square Enix comes out in September...I think. I tend to wait until a game has built up some good reputation so I probably won't get it at launch. It's one of the few games I'm looking forward to playing in autumn. Cyberpunk 2077 is another one and here's hoping they don't delay it again.

- It's been a rather dreary few months since the new year. I hope you're all doing okay.

Please enjoy.

Peter had seen and experienced a lot of extraordinary things in his young life...from traversing the universe to meeting actual Gods. Hearing about Mr. Lang's suggestion of time travel through the quantum realm was a new one for him though. He believed traveling through time was possible in a limited capacity but there were a few reasons why no one's ever attempted it to begin with.

The most obvious being that it was extremely dangerous for the individual making the attempt. As Mr. Lang pointed out earlier, there was no way to properly navigate through the quantum realm. One simple mistake was all it would take to land in the wrong time period. Coming back from said time period was another problem. If there wasn't anything anchoring the individual to the time they just left, odds are they'd be stuck in the past or future...which would then be their new present.

"Peter?"

The young Spider snapped out of his thoughts and noticed Cap and Natasha were staring at him expectantly. Mr. Lang was still chewing away on the peanut butter sandwich that he grabbed from the Black Widow's desk. The man must've drove all the way here from San Francisco without stopping to rest or eat.

"Uh, sorry. What were you guys saying?"

"We want to know what you think of Scott's idea." Steve repeated. "After all, you understand how quantum physics works better than Natasha or I ever will."

Peter tried to think of a good way to voice his opinion on the matter. The last thing he wanted to do was to crush the small bit of hope they all felt for the first time in four years...but it would be stupid to not inform them of the dangerous risks that stood in the way of their ultimate goal.

He took a deep breath. "I think it's the only chance we'll get to bring everyone back. That being said though, this won't be easy to pull off. Knowing the theory is one thing...putting it into practice is a whole different matter. Doing this wrong even once could end badly for not just us but the timeline in general."

"Would you be able to build a stable time machine?" Natasha asked.

"Maybe...but I can't do it on my own."

Scott Lang suddenly raised his hand and nodded towards the young Spider. "Uh, sorry to interrupt but who is this kid and why are you guys asking him about the quantum realm?"

His question could've been worded a little better but Peter knew he didn't mean any disrespect. Mr. Lang had no idea who he really was and so it made sense why he assumed him to be some oblivious youngster. Steve glanced at Peter, wordlessly asking if it was alright to tell Scott his secret identity. Spidey thought for a moment before he eventually nodded.

"I assume you've heard of Spider-Man before?" Captain America asked.

Scott nodded. There were a few news articles about the webslinger a couple of years back that he occasionally read. Though not much was known about him, he thought it was cool to see another bug themed hero doing his best to help people. His daughter, Cassie, was a fan of the Avengers and Spider-Man was amongst one of her top favourites.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" He said before it slowly dawned on him. "Wait, you mean he's-"

Natasha nodded. "Yes, this is Peter Parker...who's also Spider-Man. Not only is he one of the strongest members of our team but he's also a scientific genius."

Peter's face turned a twinge of red at her praise as he offered his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Lang."

It took a second for Ant-Man to snap out of it and shake Peter's hand. "Uh, yeah. It's good to meet you too. Just call me Scott. You're younger than I thought."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Heh. So, uh...who else do we talk to about this?"

Steve immediately thought of a certain billionaire...though he was a little hesitant to suggest him. Now wasn't the time to let past grievances get in the way of doing the right thing though. He just hoped Tony would be willing to help them.

"I know someone." Cap said. "...I'll drive us there to meet him in the morning. You should get some rest first, Scott. You can spend the night here."

The super soldier grabbed his jacket and walked out of the room. Before Scott could get up to follow him, Natasha tapped the former house burglar on the shoulder. When he turned around...her eyes narrowed into a emotionless cold glare.

"I trust you'll keep the knowledge of Spider-Man's secret identity to yourself?" The Black Widow asked, sounding very threatening. "...Because if you don't, I will hunt you down and tear you apart."

The scary expression on the Black Widow's face almost made Scott piss himself and he wisely nodded...not that he was going to say no anyways. "O-of c-course. I-I swear I won't tell anyone."

Peter decided to intervene before Lang actually did wet himself and the floor he was standing on. He placed his hand gently on Natasha's shoulder. "I think he gets it. You don't have to keep scaring him."

"...Right. My apologies, Scott. We just can't afford to take any chances."

"I-I understand. If the wrong people knew I was Ant-Man, they would come after my daughter. Don't worry, man...I promise I'll keep your identity a secret."

Spidey nodded. "That's all I ask. Thank you."

Ant-Man smiled before he quickly moved to catch up with Captain America, leaving the two Spiders alone together. Peter walked over to the soft couch on the far end of the room and took a seat. Natasha sat down on his lap and made herself comfortable.

"Well, today turned out to be a surprise."

She rested her chin on top of his head. "No kidding...but for the first time in years, we might actually have a way to bring everyone back."

"You think Mr. Stark will help?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"If this had been a few years ago, Tony would've started working on something right away. But now he's got Morgan and Pepper to take care of...I wouldn't blame him for not wanting anything to do with this."

"Nor would I but I can't see this plan actually working without him."

Natasha gently caressed the side of his face. "We'll see what happens when we go see Tony tomorrow."

Peter tilted his head up and captured her lips for a loving kiss. Hopefully, the retired billionaire would be willing to lend his assistance with this desperate plan.

The next day...

"Peter!"

Morgan charged towards the young Spider to give him a big hug after he stepped out of the car. Peter smiled as he took the little brunette girl into his arms and threw her up and down a couple of times.

"Hiya, Morgan! How are you doing?"

"I'm okay." The four year old child said before she waved at the Black Widow. "Hi, Auntie Nat."

"Hey, sweetie." Natasha greeted, pecking a kiss on Morgan's cheek. "Where's your mother?"

Morgan pointed to the cabin. "Mommy's inside cooking lunch. Are you all here to play?"

"I'm afraid not, sweetheart. We're here to speak to your dad about something. Maybe afterwards, we'll have time to play with you."

"Oh, okay."

Spidey carefully let Morgan down and she went back to her father, who ruffled her hair.

"Why don't you go help mommy get lunch ready? Daddy has to talk with his friends for a little bit." Tony said.

Her daughter cutely pouted. "Can Peter come help too?"

The young Spider didn't have a problem with that. He was certain the others would be able to tell Tony the details of their admittedly desperate plan without him.

"Sure, I don't mind." Peter said before he looked to the others. "Unless you guys need me here."

Steve shook his head. "We'll be fine. You two go ahead and have fun."

"Yay!" Morgan cheered excitedly. She grabbed Peter's hand and pulled him with her into the cabin. "Let's go, Peter!"

The young Spider chuckled as he followed her, closing the door behind them once they got inside. Pepper was testing the taste of her chicken noodle soup in the kitchen when she saw her daughter walk in with Peter. Putting the ladle down on the counter, she wiped her hands with a clean rag and went up to give him a hug.

"Hello, Peter." Pepper greeted. "I didn't know you were coming over."

"Sorry about that. I forgot to call ahead."

"It's alright. Is it just you here?"

He shook his head. "No. Cap, Natasha, and a man named Scott came with me. They're outside talking with Mr. Stark right now about something important."

She wondered what this important topic was but decided to ask about it later. "I see. Why aren't you out there with them?"

"Morgan wanted me to come with her so we can help you with making lunch."

"Is that okay, mommy?" Morgan asked, looking up at Pepper.

"Of course it is. Why don't you get started on setting the table while Peter helps me prepare the codfish burgers?"

The little four year old girl nodded and left to do what her mother asked. Spidey removed his jacket before he quickly washed his hands in the sink.

"She already knows how to set the table?" He asked, picking up some bread buns. "That's pretty impressive."

"Morgan's been asking if she could help us around the house for a while so we decided to teach her how to do some simple chores." Pepper said before she leaned in closer. "...What's this important thing you guys came to speak to Tony about?"

"We might've found a way to bring everyone back. It's a bit of a long shot though and we need Mr. Stark's help to actually make it work."

"H-how? I thought the Infinity stones were destroyed?"

Peter nodded. "They are...but the stones still existed before. Our plan is to travel through the quantum realm to certain periods of time in the past and borrow the Infinity stones from then to bring everyone back now."

In the past, Pepper would've immediately dismissed their plan as a far fetched idea. Then again...a lot of things have happened in the last decade that she once thought were impossible. Something told her Peter and the others had a fair chance of actually pulling this off.

"I'm guessing this won't be an easy task."

"No. I understand the theory but building an actual quantum tunnel that's safe enough for us to travel through...I don't have the tech or resources to do that."

"Which is why you need Tony's help." She said, understanding his predicament. "You seem a little hesitant about the idea though."

A nervous chuckle escaped his lips. "Well...doing this has a lot of risks as you might suspect. If Mr. Stark doesn't want any part of this, I'd understand. Family comes first before everything else."

"That's true but...Tony still feels bad about failing to stop Thanos. Every now and then, there are times when he has nightmares about the Decimation."

"He's not sleeping well again?"

Pepper shook her head. "Oh no, not like before. Tony's been able to rest a lot better ever since he retired from being Ironman. It's just the guilt that's built up inside him over the years hasn't completely disappeared and sometimes it gets to him unexpectedly."

Spidey put the top bun on the last codfish burger and set the tray in the oven so the food would stay warm. "That's happened to us too. I can still see Wanda dying in front of me sometimes...and it never fails to scare the hell out of me."

Her heart broke a little to hear that. It was easy to forget the fact that he had been through more difficult situations in his life than any individual his age should ever have to deal with.

"I'm sorry, Peter. If you ever need to talk, you can always come to me."

"I know. Thank you...so would you be alright if Mr. Stark agreed to help us?"

She thought for a moment. Morally speaking, it would be the right thing to do but she didn't want her husband to go through any more pain. "I don't know yet. Let me discuss it with Tony first...then we'll see."

Peter smiled in agreement. It was only fair to give them time to think about it first. Morgan came back to the room with a proud little grin on her face...she must've just finished setting the table.

"Table's set, mommy." She said, looking up at Pepper. "Should I get some water for everyone?"

"That's okay, I can handle that. Why don't you go to your father and save him from the boring conversation he's been having with the other adults? Tell them that lunch is ready."

Morgan nodded excitedly and ran out of the room to fetch her daddy. Peter and Pepper just watched her leave before they chuckled and grabbed the food so they could put them on the table.

"Morgan's sure got a lot of energy."

Pepper jokingly rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it...it's hard for me and Tony to keep up with her sometimes."

The young Spider placed a burger onto each plate. The scent of the fried codfish smelled wonderful and he couldn't wait to try it out. Mr. Stark soon came into the dining room with Morgan in his arms. Natasha and the others were right behind them. Pepper smiled when she saw the Black Widow and went to go speak with her. Tony motioned for the others to sit down at the table so they could begin to eat.

As Peter pulled out a chair, Natasha met his eyes and she shook her head in a subtle manner while hugging Pepper. He understood what that meant...it seems Mr. Stark had refused to help them. Not that he could blame him.

...

With Mr. Stark's help currently unavailable, they had to find someone else that could assist with their plan. Fortunately, there was another Avenger Steve knew of whose intelligence rivaled that of Tony's. He gave him a call once they returned to the Compound and made arrangements to meet at a local diner in the city. Peter decided to stay behind so he could get started on planning out the rough designs for the quantum tunnel. He was in the middle of jotting some notes when the Black Widow suddenly nudged him on the shoulder from behind.

"We're heading out to meet with Bruce now. We should be back soon...just don't overwork yourself while I'm gone."

Spidey nodded. "Don't worry, I'll just be doing a lot of reading anyways."

"Want me to bring you back anything?"

"Nah, I'm fine. Just come home safely."

"Of course." Natasha said, giving Peter a soft kiss. "I love you."

A smile graced his lips. "I love you too, Tasha."

The Black Widow smiled back at him before she turned around and left his lab. Spidey continued to do his research, writing down ideas and notes that would help him in the construction of the quantum tunnel. He wondered if Dr. Banner would have any problems in understanding this. Not that he doubted his abilities or anything but his area of expertise was an entirely different field of science. Nevertheless, it would be cool to work alongside him...he had always admired the gamma physicist's scientific accomplishments in the past.

A couple of hours passed by without his notice and it was only when a slender pair of arms suddenly wrapped around his neck from behind that he finally stopped writing.

"You've been working for three hours straight..." Darcy murmured, resting her head on top of his. "How about you take a break?"

Peter chuckled as he set his pen down. "Sure. I was starting to feel sleepy anyways."

He stood from his seat and reached for her hand before they left the lab together. Darcy leaned her head on Peter's shoulder as they wandered around the building. There was no particular destination...the two of them were just taking a moment to stretch their legs for a bit. They finally stopped in the lounge area and took a seat on the couch.

"So how's Morgan doing? I haven't seen her in a while." She quietly asked.

Spidey smirked. "Lively and full of energy as ever. I don't know if that kid ever gets tired."

"I doubt it. Most kids that age are always hyperactive."

"That's true...so what'd you do yesterday? I didn't see you much."

Darcy leaned back against the soft fabric of the couch. "Nothing really. I just helped Jane with her research for most of the day and then we had a drinking night with Jessica."

He raised an eyebrow. "...Did you all get black out drunk?"

"No. We had a couple of drinks each and that was it. We just talked a lot, mostly about our love lives. Jane spoke about how things were slowly progressing between her and Thor while Jessica told us stories about her relationship with a guy named...Luke, I think?"

"Luke Cage. He and Jessica were together for a while."

"You knew him?"

Peter nodded. "A little bit. Long before I joined the Avengers, I used to work with him and the Defenders from time to time."

Though he considered Luke to be a friend, the young Spider admittedly didn't know him all that well. The man was always aloof and quiet...even more so than Matt at times. He was still a nice guy though and the few conversations they've shared were mostly pleasant and lighthearted. The Defenders never had a official leader but the rest of the team considered Luke to be the one in charge most of the time.

"I see." She murmured. "...Did they break up or something?"

"No. Luke was a victim of the Decimation, as were the other members of the team. Jessica is the only one who survived."

Now she understood why the private detective seemed a bit somber last night. She had assumed Jessica was only recounting her happy memories from a past relationship that didn't work out but it wasn't so.

"That sucks." There wasn't any other way to put it. "Now I'm really glad Thor chopped off that purple asshole's head."

He laughed in agreement. "Me too."

Darcy chuckled along before she moved forward and kissed Peter. The young Spider caressed the side of her face as he laid down on his back. Darcy slipped her hands beneath Peter's shirt and began to sensually rub his chiseled abdominal muscles. Peter barely suppressed a groan at Darcy's ministrations, kissing her with more fervor. They eventually broke away from each other when the need for air caught up to them.

"W-we should probably take this to the bedroom." She whispered, looking around nervously. "I don't want anyone walking in on us while we're fucking."

Spidey nodded before he slowly sat upright. Darcy moved off of his lap so their heads wouldn't accidentally collide against each other. In a sudden swift move, he gently lifted his girlfriend off her feet and held her in a manner befitting a bride. Darcy smiled before she captured Peter's lips for another hot passionate kiss as he carried her back to his room.

...

- I figured it was best to just stick to the film's use of the quantum tunnel and the supposed science behind it. I don't really know how quantum physics works and I didn't want to just make stuff up. It's why I left a lot of the stuff that Peter says about the time-travel plan very general and basic.