Thank you so much Rjcarreno77 for pre-reading. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Hearing from you boosts me when I'm working on Story V.

I am putting up an early update, even though I might regret it as we're running low of chapters, as I need that boost today. I realized I was going wrong with Story V, regressing Peter, so I've got a long day of editing and reworking ahead of me. I thought some reviews while I work would give me a lift.

You probably noticed I've changed my username. I've been Clowns or Midgets since 2012 when I started writing for SPN, but now I'm writing for Marvel, I decided to change it as Clowns or Midgets is frankly offensive when you don't understand the context of Mystery Spot.

Chapter Ten

Bruce came into the kitchen, glasses perched on the end of his nose, and said, "Okay, Peter, I'm ready when you are."

Peter downed the remains of the glass of juice he'd had with his breakfast and slid off the stool. "Yep. Ready."

"Where are you going?" Morgan asked suspiciously.

Tony tousled her hair. "Peter and Bruce are going to do some experiments today, and Daddy is going to watch."

Morgan's eyes brightened. "Can I come?"

Bruce looked hesitant. "I'll be drawing blood…"

Tony gave him a quick nod and then said, "Not this time, Maguna. It's going to be boring for you to watch. Daddy will probably be so bored he takes a nap. You play with Momma while we're doing it, and then we can all have lunch together later."

Morgan bit her lip and considered. Tony was sure he knew what was going through her mind. As much as she liked spending time with Peter, she had a low tolerance for boredom. Also, the prospect of both lunch and breakfast with what remained of the team at the compound would tempt her. It wasn't often she was allowed two meals with the group in a day.

"Okay," she said. "You can go be bored, and I'll play." She looked up at Peter. "Do you want to take a book to read while Bruce and Daddy are being boring? I can give you one of mine."

Peter grinned. "You know, I think Daddy and Bruce will want me to pay attention. And I don't think it'll be too boring. Getting to do this with Bruce is pretty exciting for me. He's the smartest man I ever met."

Tony scoffed and said, "And what am I? Chopped liver?"

Bruce grinned and said, "Seven PhDs," in a faked cough.

Tony rolled his eyes, and Peter laughed.

"Okay, Bruce is the smartest scientist I've ever met," Peter said. "You're the smartest and most technologically capable person I've met."

Tony placed a hand on his chest and said, "That means a lot to me, kid, but I think we all know Morgan is the smartest person in this room."

Morgan stared up at him. "I am?"

"You are," Tony said, and Bruce nodded his agreement.

"Definitely," Peter said. "You're going to blow us all out of the water one day, Mo, but only as long as you do your schoolwork."

Morgan considered and then nodded. "Okay. I'll do it, and you do your boring stuff, and then we can play schools later."

Tony saw Peter's smile falter, but he covered it quickly and said, "Great. Can I be your star student again?"

She eyed him. "If you work really hard, yeah, but if you mess around, BoBo will be the star."

If Peter minded that he might be outshone by a stuffed elephant, he gave no sign of it. He kissed her cheek and followed Bruce out with a wave.

"Come on, Morgan, I'll drop you off back with Momma, and then I'll see if I can be so boring that Peter falls asleep."

"He won't," Morgan stated. "Peter will be good."

"You know, he probably will," Tony said. "Your brother is usually good these days. He wasn't always, though. He used to make Daddy's hair turn grey with some of the things he did."

Morgan took his hand and allowed him to lead her back to their apartment. When Tony dropped her off with Pepper, she squeezed his hand and said, "Be nice to him, Daddy. It's a Peter Day."

Tony nodded. "I know, honey. And I will be very nice."

He kissed her, saw the door click closed behind him, and then headed to Bruce's new lab.

Morgan was right that it wasn't a good day for Peter, though he was hiding it well now. Tony hadn't yet had a chance to ask him about his dreams, what had happened, but he was sure that there was a new scar marring Peter's skin for them to worry about.

xXx

Peter was sitting on the reclining seat in Bruce's lab when he got there, and he was chatting to Bruce a mile a minute about the experimentation and work it had taken for him to merge himself with The Hulk to gain his new form and mind. Tony hadn't heard the story before, so he listened interestedly to Bruce as he prepared a trap of vials and the needle to draw blood.

"How did it feel when it happened?" Peter asked.

Bruce stopped his movements a moment and frowned. "I'd say it's too hard to explain, but I think you'd understand it if anyone can because of the Stones. Like you, I was scared of the power I held as The Hulk. Though your power came from a place of good, and mine was a nightmare, I think it was the same fear. And you saw me on that mountain, you knew what I was going to do—what I did do the first time I was there. I was terrified of The Hulk and desperate. When it finally happened, the experiment paid off, I didn't dare believe it was real. I stood in front of the mirror for an hour, staring at what I'd become, the merging of me and him. I spent the first few days waiting for The Hulk's mind to take over. It took me a while to trust that we were one." He spread his arms. "Now, I'm both. I've got the brains and brawn, and for the first time since the incident, I don't have to be on guard all the time."

"It's incredible," Peter said. "The sheer inventiveness of the process…"

Bruce smiled. "It was a risk, but it paid off. Now, you ready for the pinch?"

Peter nodded and held out his arm.

"And you're okay with me doing it? Because I know Tony's done it for you before."

Peter shook his head. "No, I won't be shoving anyone away."

"Good," Tony said. "Since sticking a needle in you was not fun."

"No, I don't think it would be," Peter said.

Bruce tied a tourniquet around Peter's upper arm and felt for the vein. It was strange to see such delicate movements in his huge hands, but Tony could tell how gentle he was being by the serene look on Peter's face. Bruce picked up the needle, pricked it through Peter's skin, and then attached a vial. When it had filled, he replaced it with a new one, and then again and again until Tony said, "Easy, Big Guy. Leave him a little blood."

"Each vial holds 6ml, Tony," Bruce said patiently. "I'm not going to drain him."

"Still, you're eating a cookie when we're done with all this, kid."

"I'm not complaining about getting extra cookies," Peter said.

Though he was smiling, Tony saw the slight tension to his eyes, which he thought was a remnant of his nightmare. He didn't know what the injury had been that time, where the scar was, as Morgan had stayed with them from the moment Tony found them on the roof and throughout breakfast.

"I've got what I need," Bruce said, dropping the last vial onto the tray, dumping the needle in the yellow box and pressing a cotton ball to the puncture wound. He held it there a second and then taped over a band-aid. Tony peered at it and snorted. "Bruce, do you seriously have Hulk Band-Aids?"

"I do," Bruce said shamelessly. "Are you going to tell me you didn't buy Iron Man ones for Morgan?"

"I did," Tony said. "But Morgan has since requested the Spider-Man ones that are now available."

"They make Spider-Man Band-Aids?" Peter asked excitedly. "Wow. That's so cool."

Tony frowned at him. "You didn't know? Pete, there's a whole range of Spider-Man stuff in production now. The action figures are selling out in the stores, and the t-shirts are all on backorder."

Peter stared at him in awe. "That's so… I mean, a few t-shirts started appearing from shady street vendors in the city before the Snap, but actual action figures!"

Bruce grinned. "You didn't think it would happen to you when you told me about The Hulk figures kids were going to play with."

"I really didn't," Peter said. "Damn, I can't believe Ned didn't tell me." He gave a short laugh. "I wonder if Flash has one. I've gotta say, the idea of him having an action figure of me in his room is pretty hilarious. I always got a kick out of his thing for Spider-Man when he was shoving me into lockers."

"Flash?" Bruce asked. "What kind of name is that?"

"The name for a little asshole," Tony said. "He used to bully Peter in school." His eyes narrowed. "Apparently, Iron Man showing up to deal with a bully was not good publicity for Stark Industries, though, so Pepper banned me from going near him."

Peter's mouth dropped open. "You wanted to go after Flash? How did you even know about him?"

Tony crossed his arms over his chest. "When you turned Karen into your secret journal while you were patrolling, Friday started sharing your conversations."

"Tony! That's like a gross invasion of privacy, and it's unfair, and…" He dropped his eyes. "What else did she tell you?"

Unabashed, Tony said, "She told me that you actually like it when Michelle calls you a loser, which is cute, that you do a pretty good impression of Thor with your dollar store hammer—which is adorable, by the way. She also told me you liked to practice Spanish with her during quiet spells because it was dragging down your GPA."

Bruce looked between them, Tony's smug smile and Peter's mortification, and he said, "Moving on, Peter, I'd like to run an ECG next, and if you're willing, I'd like you to talk to the Stones at the same time. I'd like to get a gauge on what it does to your body."

Peter finally moved his stare from Tony, whom he seemed to be attempting to burn him with his eyes, which was cute as when he was like this and not throwing around the power of the Stones, Peter was as intimidating as a week-old puppy, and said, "Sure. No problem."

"Shirt off," Bruce said.

Tony was worried Bruce was going to see a new scar, but Peter gave his head a small shake and touched the side on his head behind the hairline. With a lurch of horror, Tony moved closer and ran a hand over Peter's head in a gesture which would look affectionate. His stomach lurched as his fingers found a knotted scar behind Peter's ear. He could think of only one explanation for the scar, one weapon, and the thought that Peter had taken a bullet to the head sicked him.

Peter gave him a small smile then looked pointedly at Bruce. Tony nodded, dropped his hand to Peter's shoulder to give it a squeeze, and then stepped back.

Bruce pulled over a trolley and began to place electrodes on Peter's chest, hooking them up to a monitor. He watched the spike and dips for a moment and then said, "Are you ready?"

Peter laid back and said, "You want me to talk to them now?"

"If you could," Bruce said.

Peter nodded once, leaned his head back on the chair, and then his eyes became distant. It was not quite the same as when he had been catatonic, but it was similar enough to make Tony's own heart speed with stressful memory. He listened to the beeps of the monitor, and then his eyes snapped to it as the beats began to slow down.

"Is that too slow, Bruce?" he asked anxiously.

Bruce nodded. "It's within a range that will not harm him. It's much slower than I would expect, but we've never tracked him when he's doing this before. I'd guess it's what normally happens when he's with them." He printed a readout of the results and then said, "And now we wait for him to come back."

"Why do you think it's so slow?" Tony asked, still unnerved by the long space between beeps of the monitor.

"I'd posit a guess that it's because he's placed himself in a state of deep meditation. It makes sense in a way, they're now part of him, and he's relaxed among them."

"He says he is them," Tony stated. "I don't think there's separation between their power and his. They're basically the same being."

Bruce nodded. "That makes sense. It explains why he is the way he is now. Before, he was struggling with their power and the responsibility of having them. He's embraced them now and merged with them—the way I did with The Hulk."

Peter drew in a long breath, and the monitor picked up its pace. He gave his head a brisk shake and said, "Did you see what you needed?"

Bruce nodded. "I did. I'd like to try a electroencephalogram next to monitor your brainwaves when you're with them."

"Okay."

Bruce unhooked Peter from the monitor, wheeled it away, and came back with another machine and mass of wires, which he rubbed gel on and placed over Peter's scalp.

"This as exciting as you thought, Pete?" Tony asked.

Peter smiled. "Not yet, but all I'm doing is sitting around so far. It is cool to see Bruce doing his thing, though—seriously, you have no idea what this would mean to Pre-Stones me."

"I guess traveling through space and time takes the shine off of everyday science," Bruce quipped.

"No!" Peter said quickly. "It's still cool. It's just a little different now. Seriously, though, Bruce, it's still awesome to be doing this with you."

Bruce smiled slightly, "Good to hear."

Tony realized it was the first time Peter and Bruce were really spending time together without the whole team around them the way they had before, at least when Peter was conscious. Bruce hadn't had a huge part of taking care of Peter before, and then Peter had gone off on his travels. Tony thought Bruce was enjoying having the chance to be with him.

Bruce connected all the wires to the machine, and then said, "Okay, Peter. Whenever you're ready, go… talk, I guess."

Peter nodded, smiled slightly, and then drifted away again, his eyes glazing. Bruce powered on the machine and then sucked in a breath. Tony didn't know how to read an EEG, but he was pretty sure what he was seeing wasn't normal. The lines that were being drawn by dancing probes on the paper readout were spiking so hugely that they were blending into each other in a scrawled mess.

"What's happening?" he asked tersely, his eyes on Peter's peaceful face.

Bruce stared at the readout and shook his head. "What's happening is not what I expected. Peter's brain is stimulated in all areas right now. That doesn't happen. His Broca's and Wernicke's areas are on fire essentially." Seeing Tony's confusion, he rushed on. "He's talking, Tony."

"Obviously," Tony said. "That was the point of him going to see them."

"Yeah, but I didn't think it would look like this." He rubbed his huge hands together. "I want to see this under a PET scan. I can just imagine the activity he'll have going on."

"Okay, Bruce, save some of this excitement of the kid," he said. "This is his nerdy nirvana moment, after all."

Bruce nodded eagerly, said, "Yeah, of course," and switched off the machine. He patted Peter's hand. "We're done, Peter. Whenever you're ready, we can…"

Tony squeezed Peter's shoulder hard and grinned as Peter's eyes opened.

"We done?" he asked.

"We're definitely done," Tony said. "Go ahead, Bruce."

Bruce took a deep breath and said, "Peter, this is absolutely fascinating. The brain activity when you're with them is huge, like nothing I've ever seen, and this is just brainwaves. If Tony can find a way to actually detect them…" He whistled. "Do you understand what this means?"

Peter looked blank. "Uh… not really, but I can tell you're excited, which is great. Biology isn't my specialty, but I'll try to keep up with what you're doing. What's next?"

"We run a PET scan," Bruce said. "That will show the activity in your brain in greater detail, and then we'll brainstorm to see if there's something Tony can create to see them ourselves. I know you can let them talk—"

"Please don't," Tony interjected. "At least not Power."

Peter grinned. "No problem. I'll keep him quiet."

"And then we'll move onto the physical aspects," Bruce said. "I'd like to see what you're capable of as Spider-Man and with the Stones, to see if they enhance those abilities at all."

"Okay, Peter said. "That's great, but I've never really found the upper limit on what I can do as Spider-Man yet, so I can't tell you what's me and what's the Stones."

"You've never met your limit?" Bruce asked.

Peter shrugged. "I never really tried. It's always been more about controlling it so I don't hurt someone."

Tony snorted. "Then we're going to need your brawn as well as your brain, Bruce. You outmatch Steve and Bucky now, so you'd be a good test of what Peter can do. And if that fails…" He shrugged. "Danvers could fly the Benatar back in her hands, so we can try Pete with the Quinjet."

Peter's eyes widened. "You want me to fly the Quinjet? Like actually carry it while I fly?"

"We'll start with just lifting it," Tony said, tousling his hair. "I'm willing to bet we'll need to go bigger, though."

Peter looked dubious but not upset. In fact, his eyes seemed brighter now than they had been when they'd started, still under the effects of what Morgan called a Peter Day. Tony was pleased, and he felt the same lift in mood. When his kids were down, Tony was down. Peter had a lot going on, a new nightmare and a new scar, but he was enjoying himself now with Bruce.

Right now, he was happy.

Peter laid down on the rolling table and Bruce said, "Okay, the tracers are absorbed so we can start. Are you ready?"

Peter nodded and Bruce pressed the button to glide Peter into the machine.

"Come on through here, Tony," Bruce said. "Peter, there's a speaker in there so you'll be able to hear us and a microphone so we can hear you. Let us know if you get uncomfortable or want to stop."

"Got it," Peter said, giving them a thumbs up.

"You know, he can hear us without the speaker, Bruce. His hearing is out of this world."

Bruce nodded. "Yeah. I forget sometimes. As long as we can communicate, it's fine. I want to do this In stages."

They went into the viewing room and sat in front of the monitors. On one screen was a view of Peter's face, his rainbow eyes gleaming with excitement. Tony knew he was pretty hyped about this for reasons other than exploring the Stones. He'd said he'd always wanted to see his own brain on TV. Bruce promised to take lots of shots of it for him to examine when they were done.

"Okay, Peter," Bruce said. "We're starting. I'd like to get some baseline views and then, when I say, I'd like to see you talk to the Stones while also being aware, and then to commune with them fully."

"Okay," Peter said. "Do I have to do anything?"

"Just lie still."

Peter made a point of taking a deep breath and then his eyes fell closed and he stilled. Tony's eyes moved to the other monitor on which the scans of Peter's brain appeared. Tony couldn't make sense of what he was seeing, just glowing phases of red, yellow, and green.

Bruce nodded, tapped a few buttons, and then said, "Okay, can you speak to them now while remaining aware? Ask them a question, perhaps."

Peter frowned and then said, "So, Power, what do you think about this stuff?"

He chuckled as Power presumably replied, and Tony saw the moving colors on the screen. Large areas were glowing red, which Bruce explained meant high activity.

"Hmm, it's a global process," Bruce said, seeming to speak to himself. "It's not just one area as I assumed." He raised his voice. "Okay, Peter, can you go to them fully now?"

"On it," Peter said, his eyes opening and becoming distant.

"Whoa!" Bruce said, jumping to his feet and leaning closer to the main screen.

Tony understood his shock as he was seeing it, too. Peter's whole brain was glowing intermittently with colors, and not the ones that had been there before. The colors moved between red, orange, blue, green, purple and yellow—the exact colors of Peter's eyes. The Stones were talking, and they could see it.

"This is incredible," Bruce said. "Look at them."

"Looks chaotic to me," Tony said, rubbing his chin. "Like they're all talking at once. That'd give me a headache."

"Me too," Bruce said. "But I doubt they bother Peter. He's with them in a whole different way. You don't think they'd hurt him, do you? Remember what Power said."

"I do," Tony muttered.

The color showed blue for a long time, and Tony wondered what Power was saying to Peter. Time took over, then Mind, and Tony just stared until the colors faded to a calmer red and yellow and then Peter's eyes focused again. Tony stared at him, seeing the spark of amusement in his eyes and the quirk to his lips.

"You okay, Pete?" he asked.

"Yeah," Peter said. "Did you see what you wanted?"

"We definitely saw something," Bruce said.

"Can I get out of here now?" Peter asked.

"Sure."

Bruce went back into the scanner room, Tony following, and Peter was rolled out of the machine. He was grinning, eyes alight, as he sat up, and Tony thought there was some joke he was missing out on.

"You know what we saw?" Tony asked.

"The Stones," Peter said. "They told me what they were going to do."

"You mean they did it on purpose?" Bruce asked. "They showed us themselves?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah, in a way. They could have hidden themselves, but they said they didn't want to spoil your fun. I mean, you put all this work in, you should get something out of it."

Bruce huffed a laugh. "Well, I guess that makes sense. It's fascinating still, though. We actually saw the Stones in communication with you. I need to think about this…"

He trailed off, muttering to himself in fragmented statements that made no sense to Tony, and judging from Peter's expression, him either. Tony was intrigued, seeing the Stones had been interesting, but he didn't know what more Bruce was getting out of it.

"Okay," Bruce said eventually. "I want to analyze this data for a while, then we'll move onto physical tests." He clapped a huge hand on Peter's shoulder and said, "But, Peter, this, what you've given me, is astounding."

Peter grinned. "I didn't give it, they did, but it's cool either way." He slid off the table. "I'm going to head into the city and patrol for a while before lunch. That okay?"

"Sure," Tony said, tousling his hair. "You go be a Spider-Baby for a while. I'll help Bruce find out what kind of miracle you are."

Peter chuckled. "Not a baby, and not a miracle."

No, Tony thoughts, perhaps not either of them fully. But he was some kind of marvel with the Stones, and Tony loved him with it.

Peter was his son.

So… A little experimentation with the Stones. I know that might seem a little random, but it plays a role in Story V. I also wanted to give Bruce and Peter a little time together. Hope you enjoyed it. If you didn't, found it a little slow, I can promise we've got a really big chapter coming up next as the final arc of the story begins.

Until next time…

Jadey xxx