"That's so cool…"

The other teens – and some of the adults – who had gathered outside the gym entrance to the outside nodded their agreement when Ned turned to them. None of them had seen Thor arrive – although the charred grass in the area by the door had been mute testimony to the energies involved – but they were all witnesses when he left.

There had been a flare of light of many different colors, and it had engulfed the god of thunder and his raised hammer, and when the light dimmed and vanished, so had Thor.

"How does he do it, Peter?" Abe asked, awed.

They could all say that they were used to being around the avengers and superheroes, but Thor was another matter, entirely. He'd vanished into thin air, after all, and they all knew he wasn't from Earth.

Many eyes turned to Peter at the question, and he shrugged.

"I'm not sure."

"Have you done it?" one of the girls asked.

"No."

"It's tech," Flash said. "It has to be. It's just that Thor's from an alien civilization that has been around a lot longer, and has transporters and all kinds of Star Trek stuff that we're not even close to developing, yet. Right Peter?"

He was so surprised that Flash had called him by his name – and hadn't said it derisively – that it took him a moment to respond.

"Probably. Yeah."

"Peter couldn't travel that way," Ned told his friends as the adults all started dispersing, either going back to the gym or heading elsewhere in the compound. "The energy that thing puts out? It'd kill a person, I bet."

"Or have some kind of radiation poisoning," MJ added.

The kids all nodded at that.

"We're probably fine, just looking at it," Ned said. "Thor came to Tony's wedding, and no one got sick here. Right, Peter?"

"Yeah. There's no danger," he assured his friends. "Unless we were traveling that way. It's called the Bifrost."

"Why?" Flash asked, curiously.

The boy shrugged.

"No clue. It doesn't look cold."

"Or bi," Ned added. Peter wasn't the only one to roll his eyes at the lame joke, and Ned held his hands up. "Oh, come on, it was pretty good."

"It wasn't that good," MJ said, smirking. "When are they going to open up the pool, Peter?"

"It should be pretty soon. We can ask Steve."

Natasha was going to take Shuri's car to Wakanda, Peter knew, so she wasn't the one to ask, just then, since they were using Thor's departure as a good distraction from the portal that Stephen was creating on the other side of the compound to send T'Challa, Ramonda, most of the security detail and the car back to Wakanda.

No sense trying to explain the 'tech' involved with portals, after all. Especially to a group of kids as smart as Peter's friends were. Shuri was as smart as they came and she didn't believe in magic – despite having seen the cloak flying and Stephen's portals, and the magicians who had come to help in the defense of the compound the night Thanos attacked. It was just technology of a much more advanced level than Earth had, was all.

Even Wakanda.

"I'm going to go change," Ned said, looking pleased with the idea of playing in the pool for a while. He knew they had water volleyball and some pool toys already planned. "I'll meet you at the pool."

Peter nodded, and Ned left, along with most of the others, who also said that they'd be at the pool. Shuri stayed, as did Flash and MJ.

"Are you going to play in the pool?" MJ asked Peter.

"Yeah. I need to talk to Tony, first."

"I'll see you there, then."

He nodded and she followed, and Shuri went with her, leaving the two boys standing alone outside of the gym exit.

"She's cute."

Peter looked at Flash.

"MJ?"

The other boy rolled his eyes.

"Shuri. She must have a boyfriend, back in Wakanda?"

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"Just wondering." He gave Peter a look the boy couldn't decipher. "What happened between you and MJ?"

"What?"

"Why aren't you dating her, anymore? Did she cheat on you? Did you cheat on her? Is she seeing someone else?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious. You two make a good couple."

Peter frowned, wondering what was going on. Had Flash been taken over by a Skrull that had managed to figure out a workaround to the spell that was protecting the compound – and a large percentage of the Earth – from their abilities?

There was an amused snort, purely mental.

"He's trying to clear the way to Shuri for himself," Alec explained, proving that he was paying attention even if he wasn't commenting on what was going on around Peter. "If you get back with MJ, then you aren't a challenger for Shuri's attentions. See how that works?"

Oh.

"We weren't really dating," Peter told Flash. "So we didn't break up." He shrugged, deciding that he'd elucidate. "She was pretty freaked out by me getting shot, too."

"I don't blame her."

"Yeah, I know. That whole people falling for the ones that they're involved in a high stress situation with thing is a myth from the movies. I think that was probably the deal breaker, really."

"Too bad."

"I'd rather she was my friend, anyway."

Peter turned toward the entrance, but Flash turned with him, clearly not finished with their conversation.

"What about Shuri?"

"What about her?"

Flash rolled his eyes.

"Jesus, Parker. What does she like? What is she into? I looked her up on social media, trying to get more information about her. Something I could use to make a move…"

"She doesn't have social media."

"Yeah, I know." He looked annoyed.

"It's a security thing," Peter told him. "Like no one being allowed to mention that she's here until she's gone, or not being allowed to use the web while you're here."

"You don't have much of a media presence, either," Flash said.

"You looked me up?" Peter asked, surprised. "Why?"

"To see if there was any mention of a relationship with MJ – or Shuri – or someone else. But you're a ghost."

Peter already knew that, of course. But there was a reason for it, and it wasn't really a secret.

"SHIELD keeps my social media wiped," he said – and now he did walk to the door, with Flash beside him. "They don't want people to know what I'm doing, where I am, or who I'm doing it with."

"Because you got kidnapped?"

"To keep the people around me from being hurt if someone tried to go after me," Peter told him. "I'm a walking target, really, and the people around me are always in danger. So if no one knows where I am – or where I'm going to be-"

"Then no one can try to kidnap you."

"Right."

"Mr. Stark would probably pay a fortune to get you back," Flash said as they walked into the gym.

"He wouldn't have to," a female voice said, making both boys turn and see Natasha standing next to the door they'd just walked through. Obviously just in time to hear the conversation. She smiled at Flash, and put an arm around Peter's shoulder. "Because I'd find them and put them down before they ever had a chance to call Tony and make a demand."

Flash looked impressed – and maybe a little intimidated – and Peter rolled his eyes, but felt a slight shiver of a thrill go through him, too. It was easy to forget that she was so dangerous, sometimes, but there was never any doubt when she said something like that. With so much confidence. He was glad she was on their side.

"That's so badass…" Flash said, making Natasha smile.

"Are you swimming?" she asked Peter.

"Yeah." He looked at his classmate. "Are you?"

"Yes."

"The lifeguard just showed up," she told them. "So the pool is open – until 2 am."

Flash nodded.

"I'm going to go change."

He left, and Natasha let Peter go with a smirk.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

"He's interested in hooking up with Shuri and was feeling me out to see if I was a threat to that plan."

"Are you?"

Peter smiled.

"Of course. I'd throw myself at her before I let her date Flash."

Romanoff chuckled.

"That's interesting."

"You got the car to Wakanda already?"

"And T'Challa and Ramonda, as well," she confirmed. "They have a nice track set up, there. I was tempted to take it for a spin before I came home."

"But…?"

She rolled her eyes, dramatically.

"Stephen wouldn't let me."

"Oh?"

"Something about driving it back home, since he was going to close the portal and come have another piece of cake and I would be on my own."

Peter laughed at that, and remembered something else.

"Speaking of keeping me out of the hands of kidnappers and worse… Blake gave me a warning, earlier," he said. "When I was out taking Shuri for a drive in her new car."

"Officer Trembdall?"

"Yeah. He mentioned a lot of foreigners in the area, and told me to let you know."

"The Wakandan security people?"

The boy shrugged.

"That was my guess. They were everywhere. But I thought I should mention it."

"You might have mentioned it, earlier."

"I'm sorry. I was going to say something, but there was cake. Are you going to come play in the pool?"

"Of course. But I'm going to check out that warning, first. Just in case."

Peter didn't argue. He knew it wouldn't do any good.

"Want help?"

"I'm not going anywhere," she told him. "I'm just going to go look through some data and some security footage. Go have fun with your friends."

"Okay."

He did as he was told, well aware that she didn't need help from a teenager. Even him.