Peter sucked in a sharp breath and stood tall on the edge of the apartment complex's roof, spreading his arms wide to let the cold night wind hit his body. Damn if he didn't miss that sensation, the feeling like he was flying. It came once and a while during training with Emily, but nothing compared to the unadulterated feeling of freedom. Peter let out a sigh of happiness. It hadn't been that long retrospectively; only about three and a half months since he had swung through the streets of Queens as the Spiderman. But hell, he missed it!

"You need a moment alone there, Kid?" he heard a voice call out from behind him, and Peter dropped his arms, rolling his eyes underneath his mask.

He was sure that he had said this before, but Stark Industries was his favorite company. Nothing could or would beat Stark Tech, and that included the suit that Tony had whipped up for Peter. The moment the words "I need a suit" had left Peter's mouth, Tony was already finishing up sketches that he had made when he learned that Peter had been Spiderman. It came with everything a guy could want: night-vision, advanced web-shooters that made web-slinging so much more simpler, and breathable fabric.

That last one may not seem like a lot, but Peter could attest that chafing was the ultimate villain to any superhero.

Peter turned around and folded his arms, falling quickly into his Spiderman facade. Bucky stood in the center of the roof, his arms folded as well and an eyebrow raised in exasperation. Really, who had taught all of the Avengers the Exasperated Dad LookTM? Peter's best guesses were either Steve or Rhodey because man, could those two look disappointed. Peter was even considering making an "Eyebrows of Disappointment" board with Steve's eyebrows and whenever someone was about to do something stupid, like Bucky and Sam arguing about which one of them were more patriotic, they could whip it out and ask themselves, "Would Steve give you the eyebrows of disappointment?"

Peter felt as though a lot of arguments could be ended because of that board.

"It's been months since I've been Spiderman. Let me have my moment," Peter shot back, holding up his hands in defense. He sucked in a sharp breath through his nose. "Can't you just smell it?"

"Pollution?" snorted Bucky, eyeing the Queens' skyline with disdain.

"The smell of car exhausts and disgusting chili dogs that they serve two streets down," Peter corrected, holding up a finger. "It smells familiar. Like home."

"I always knew you Queens boys were weird," Bucky sniffed, watching closer towards Peter. He eyed the drop warily. "You've done this before, yeah?"

"More times than your feeble, weak heart could handle knowing," Peter answered, shifting on the balls of his feet in excitement.

"Just for my sake, and the rest of the team, repeat the rules."

Peter let out a groan, but consented. "Rule number one: there is an Avenger every five blocks, spread out in a circle throughout the city. Do not leave the radius. Rule number two: if I need help, just call out and FRIDAY will patch my suit comms with the nearest Avenger. Rule number three: if I see any semblance of HYDRA or the Cult, no matter how small, notify the team."

Bucky gave him an expected look. When Peter didn't say anything, Bucky held out his hand and motioned for Peter to give him more. This time, Peter groaned in actual refusal.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"But it's embarrassing, Bucky -!"

"Like I care? Say it."

Peter let out a sigh. "Rule number four: I have a curfew. Back with the group by eleven, at the Compound by midnight." He shook his head. "That one's just not fair."

"It's a school night, Petey. You need all the rest you can get; you're a growing teen boy."

"I've been out until five in the morning and I was able to still get As at school," Peter defended himself, throwing his hands up as he turned around, so he was facing the open air again. "I am living in a prison!"

"Stop being dramatic, Petey," Bucky snorted. Bucky was silent for a moment and Peter took a moment to just feel the moment of silence between the two of them.

As the month had progressed, Peter had noticed Bucky getting more and more tense as the date for Spiderman's reappearance approached. He tried hiding it from Peter, but Peter could spot the signs. He had taken to grabbing Wanda's hand whenever they were together, a sort of physical touch connection to help calm him down. He spent a lot of hours in the gym, and Peter had seen the multiple broken boxing bags that they tried to hide from him. Of course, the rest of the Avengers felt the same, but something about Bucky's anxiety just struck Peter. He really cared for Peter, despite the fact that they hadn't known each other very long. And there were moments when Bucky reminded Peter of his Uncle Ben that it made Peter laugh and cry.

There was a flicker from the comm system in Peter's ear and he could hear Steve's voice whisper, "Showtime, Peter."

Peter hopped on the balls of his feet, wiggling out his arms as he prepared himself for his leap of faith and following swings. "Aye, aye, Captain."

"Go show them what we've taught you, Petey," Bucky encouraged him. "See you when you get back."

"See you later, Old Man!" Peter cheered as he sprang off the roof and fell through the air.

Damn, this was what he was missing! Peter couldn't help but let out a whoop of excitement as he thrust his arm out, hitting the corner of a nearby building with his webs in ultimate precision. The tension grew on the webbing and Peter found himself swinging, away from Bucky and into his hometown. Just to give Bucky something to really worry about, Peter waited until he was at the peak of his swing to do a backflip and waited until the last second to whip out another web to swing around one of the buildings. He knew from the sounds of Bucky cursing in his comms that his mission had been successful.

"You know, I could play Avengers Bingo right now!" Peter shouted over the wind as he swung, running alongside one of the buildings' walls to gain more momentum.

"No need to shout, Peter. We can all hear you loud and clear," Tony replied, his voice crackling and staticky.

"I mean seriously," Peter continued, toning his voice down a little. He swung to a red brick building and allowed himself to attach to the siding. He leaned out from the building, his trained eyes scanning the streets for anything that could qualify as crimes. All seemed quiet on the streets of Queens so far, which was slightly concerning. Had he really had no effects on the city that when he disappeared, crime didn't skyrocket? "Every time I pass one of you, I could just check it. I could win a prize at the end!"

"The prize is that you will go to bed at a decent time and receive an excellent homeschooling education," Emily shot back. The back of Peter's neck prickled and he looked up, narrowing his eyes. He touched the side of his mask, activating the night-vision. Above him appeared to be pitch black darkness, but Peter could spot one ball of darkness that seemed darker than the rest. "Hey there."

"Hi Emily," Peter snorted. "By the way, we need to talk about that. What's your made up name? Because we have Spiderman, Captain America, The Winter Soldier, and like, you need one too. Even Dr. Strange has one!"

"It's just my real name."

"Aren't you supposed to be stopping crime?" Clint interrupted. Peter rolled his eyes. "Because if that's why we're out here, you might want to check out the armed car chase that is happening over on my street."

Peter immediately fell into work mode. "On my way!"

He launched himself off the brick building, catching a nearby fire escape and shooting off towards Clint's position. Another handy feature of the suit that Tony had created for Peter: he could pull up a map of the city, and on it were the locations of each of the other Avengers. Maybe that would make him a cheater at Avengers' Bingo…

Peter rounded a street corner and immediately spotted the delinquents. They were driving horrendously, swerving around traffic and evading the five cops cars that were trying their best to follow them. Peter frowned a little. He hadn't really talked to the Avengers about how he and the NYPD didn't have the bestest of relationships...it was probably fine.

Probably.

Peter zipped through the streets, dodging the street lamps as he gained on the armored car. He could hear the shouts from pedestrians as he swung past them, some of them good shouts and others filled with curses. He was used to it. Not everyone was excited to see Spiderman.

Just when Peter got close enough to web his way onto the armored car, the back doors swung open and a thug appeared behind them. Wearing…

What the hell was he wearing?

It looked like he was dressed from head-to-toe in fishnets with a yellow suit underneath, giving him a yellow-checkered pattern. He also wore a burnt orange vest over that and silver boots and gloves.

"Are you seeing this?" Peter couldn't help but ask just as the mysterious thug lifted a hand and pointed it towards the cop cars. A tight shiver raced through his spine thanks to his spidey-senses. That can't be good...

And a shockwave shot out from the gauntlet, tearing up the asphalt and sending three of the cop cars flying off towards the side.

Peter let out a loud curse as he had to tuck in on himself to avoid being hit by nearby shrapnel. Once he was in the clear, Peter flipped around to quickly thwip out some webs to prevent the cars from hitting pedestrians. Once the webs were connected with the cars and the buildings, Peter flipped around again and resumed his chase of the car.

"What the hell was that?" he heard Rhodey curse in his earpiece as Peter swung around another corner, still chasing the car with two other police cars. By now, the mysterious thug had noticed him, but seemed to be ignoring him. Odd. None of the other villains Peter had encountered ignored him. It was an odd sensation. "Did anybody else see what that guy just did?"

"It's technology, not a mutant," Peter added quickly just as the thug let out another shockwave from his gloves. This time, Peter was prepared and dodged the shockwave completely, though the same could not be said about the two police cars that smashed into nearby cars as soon as the shockwave hit them. "Can somebody check on the NYPD officers and make sure they're fine?"

"I got it!" Wanda called out, and Peter could hear the familiar sounds of her magic as she launched herself into the air.

"Do you need backup, Peter?" Bucky asked him, and Peter could hear the nervousness in his words. "Just say the word."

"I got this!" Peter replied. "Honestly not the weirdest thing I've had to deal with before!"

Peter picked up his pace, webbing himself closer and closer towards the armored vehicle. On a whim, he shouted, "You know, your speeding could really cause a traffic violation! You might want to slow down or stop completely!"

And just that, the car slammed to a halt and Peter grossly overshot them, landing on a lamppost nearly a block away from where the armored vehicle had screeched to a stop. Adjusting his stance on the light, Peter couldn't help but cock his head to the side in amazement. "I can't believe that worked!"

"Be on your guard, Peter," Dr. Strange advised him as Peter swung to the ground. According to the map in Peter's mask, the Sorcerer Supreme was on the building just beyond the car. He was probably watching them all. That helped to ease Peter's nerves a little. "You don't know this guy's motives or why he just stopped."

Peter gave a nod, knowing that Dr. Strange would see him. He picked up the pace, jogging a little until he was halfway there, a decent four cars lengths away. He cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, "Yo!"

The sound of a slamming door filled the streets and it was then that Peter noticed that the street had gone eerily quiet. That meant no pedestrians, no cops, and no innocent victims. Which was good. Peter tried his best not to ruin the buildings surrounding him when the villains attacked, but the villains seemed to not care about that as much as he did.

The thug with the yellow fishnets approached from the back of the van and Peter could hear the whirling of engines as Sam's icon on his map showed up, mirroring Dr. Strange's position on the other side of the street. He had backup if he needed it. Not that he would. He had dealt with the Green Goblin and Doc Ock by himself. He could do this one too.

"I don't know if you've heard," Peter continued, shouting so his voice could be heard from their distance. Not everyone had super soldier hearing. "But yellow fishnets are so last year!"

"The Spiderman," the man in yellow breathed, his voice low and gritty. It scared Peter a little to be honest. Just a little. "I was wondering when I would get a visit from you."

"Oh, I have a fan?" Peter snickered, moving to place his hands on his hips. He sauntered his way slowly towards the thug, his eyes flickering back and forth as he observed the scene. The thug seemed way too at ease. In order for him to be so confident, he had to feel like he had the upper hand in the situation. Quietly, Peter added, "Check the surroundings. He seems too confident."

"Got it," Dr. Strange replied.

Peter continued on with the man, acting as if everything was alright and hunky-dory. "Well, your local neighborhood Spiderman would like to say that he's disappointed in you! Robbing banks is not to be considered a decent paying job!"

"They told me about you."

Peter's spidey-senses spiked and Peter stopped, his hands falling from his hips and curling up into fists. All sense of humor drained out of his body, replaced by stone-cold determination. "Who's they?"

"Rumor has it that you have some very dangerous people looking for you," the thug continued, this time approaching Peter. He used his arms to talk as he walked closer and closer. "And that they'd pay a large amount of money for you."

"So this was a trap then?" Peter hissed, getting ready to web the guy up at a moment's notice. He shifted his feet a little to fall into the defensive position that Bucky had taught him during their training. "A lure to get me to come out and say hello?"

To Peter's surprise, the man started to laugh.

And not just a "teehee". Like a full on belly-laugh, his arms wrapping around his torso because he's in pain kind of laughing. It freaked Peter the hell out.

"Of course not!" the mysterious man guffawed, slapping his knee as if what Peter had said was the funniest thing in the world. "They told me you were a joker, but you are too much." The man took a moment to sigh, returning back to a level of seriousness. "No, no. I have no need for money as you can see." He gestured towards the armor car as if that explained everything. "No. I did not call you here to trap you and deliver you like some prized steak. This was merely a distraction."

"Distraction for what?" Peter demanded.

"Distraction for that."

What…?

And the whole world rocked and moved under Peter's feet. He even stumbled a little, not expecting the movement. Peter flipped around and felt all the blood draining from his body.

In the distance, closer towards where Bucky had been stationed, an entire building was on fire.

Every single floor.

"Massive explosion in my district!" Peter could hear Steve shouting, and the sound of pounding footsteps. "Bucky, report!"

Silence.

Peter felt weightless. Like his being had no connection with the physical world.

"Bucky, report, damn it!"

"What the hell have you done?" Peter couldn't help but ask, his voice sounding like a dying whisper.

"Don't worry, your friend is not dead or captured," the thug said. Peter looked incredulously towards the man, and he was waving his hand dismissively. "I do not work like that. He has merely been removed from the equation."

"What equation is that?"

"I was approached by these dangerous people. They wanted my help in capturing you," the thug continued on, as if the conversation was about nothing serious. "I told them no, I had no interest in capturing a spider. But then they proposed something entirely different." If the man's eyes could narrow, Peter would imagine they would do so right then. "Test the Spider's limits. Ask the ultimate question that every citizen of Queens has asked. Can the Spiderman save everyone?"

Peter had heard enough. He webbed the edge of the building Dr. Strange was on and pulled himself hard, shouting, "Get me there now!"

"Peter…" he heard the sorcerer begin, but Peter cut him off, yelling, "Now, Strange!"

One minute Peter was flying the air and the next he was tumbling across the concrete to a stop in front of the largest building fires he had ever seen in his life. The fire department was already positioned around the entire building, working desperately to try and put out the fire. Firefighters were running around in a panic, yelling over the noise with commands for each other.

Peter didn't even think about it before latching two strands of web to either side of the building. He pulled back, took a deep breath and allowed himself to be rocketed up into the sky. When he reached the top of the building, Peter ignored the heat and thwipped himself into the burning colossal.

Smoke.

Burning debris.

Fire.

The sounds of people crying.

Peter's senses were overloaded but he refused to stop. He ignored the cries of his teammates and Soulmates to leave the building. He would not leave a single soul alone in the building.

He worked like a machine, searching floors with a quick precision, dodging the burning ceilings and floors. Whenever he found a person, he would immediately go to one of the windows and throw them out. Yeah, literally throw them out. They would be caught on webbing that Peter made sure to attach to them all, giving them just enough push to get away from the building without injuring them even more than they already were.

And Peter went down, securing everyone out of the building. It could have been worse, honestly; the building was some kind of law firm, so there weren't many people working that night. Peter kept pushing, moving faster and harder.

He got to the fourth level when he spotted a little Asian girl curled up in the far corner of the large conference room. Peter immediately approached her, calling out reassurances as he navigated his way through the fires.

"Just stay there, I'll be there in a second, alright?" Peter called out. The little girl seemed to hear and quieted her cries, clutching onto what seemed like a burnt brown bunny in her hands. Peter took a few steps back, taking in a rattling breath before running towards her, tucking in when over the flames to prevent himself from getting burned. He landed successfully on the other side, and immediately went to the little girl to swoop her up in his arms.

Instead, she resisted and cried, "Help my mommy!"

Peter looked towards the side, realizing that there was a little closet room sectioned away from the rest of the conference room; it looked like a baby-nursing room, where mothers were allowed to nurse their babies while still listening to the meeting. In there, an Asian woman was pinned underneath a large metal mesh. Her black hair was covering her face and Peter could just see pools of blood gushing out of her. It drew Peter back to that night.

His uncle and his aunt...his apartment...the blood…

He shook his head and noticed another man standing by the mesh, his palms cut and bloody as he tried to pull up the mesh. He was Caucasian, and he seemed to have stubble on his chin and dark hair. His clothes were a mess like every other person in the building's had been. But the thing that caught Peter off-guard was the fact that despite his clothes being singed, the man was fine. The only blood came from his hands. It looked as if he had never been in the blast.

Turning to the little girl, Peter said, "Stay right here, ok?"

The little girl responded with an enthusiastic nod and a sharp cough and Peter winced. He needed to get her out.

Turning to the man, Peter approached through the thick smoke, crouching and wrapping his hands around the metal. He let out a hiss of pain as the metal burned against his palms, even through the suit. And the other man was doing this barehanded! How was he intact and not in massive pain?

Peter and the man in a silent grunt of agreement squatted and stood, together having enough strength to pull the metal up and off the woman. From where Peter was standing, the woman's eyes flickered and Peter could see the rise and fall of her breathing. He let out a silent sigh of relief.

Muscles straining, Peter growled out to the stranger, "Get her out! I got this!"

The stranger seemed to falter, but shook his head.

"Don't try to be a hero," Peter ordered, glancing behind himself to ensure that the little girl was alright. Her head was beginning to droop a little and Peter couldn't help but curse. She was not going to be an orphan today and she was not going to lose her life today. "I'm stronger out of the two of us."

"I'm a lot stronger than I look," the stranger replied, his voice thick and having a New York accent that Peter was so familiar with.

Peter felt his leg burning, but he knew it wasn't from the fire. He was one of them.

Another Soulmate.

"Just trust me, please!" Peter begged, finding a new Soulmate giving him renewed strength. Peter loudly grunted and pushed harder against the metal, hefting it higher than the other man's reach. "Just get them out!"

The older man let out a loud curse before letting go of the metal. Immediately, all the pressure came running onto Peter's shoulders and Peter couldn't help but gasp at the weight. Holy crap, his Soulmate wasn't kidding! He was stronger than he looked!

Peter heard the man drop and grab the woman, gently dragging her out of the room. As the man exited, Peter could hear him shout, "Get yourself out too!"

Peter was about to respond when the ceiling cracked and the floor cracked and he was filled with the sensation of falling before slamming into something, blacking out.

Peter woke up to the smell of burning flesh and the sensation of weightlessness. It was just darkness surrounding him and whenever Peter tried to move, he felt a sharp stabbing sensation in his lower stomach. He grunted and took a steady breath through his mouth, not trusting himself to not throw up if he tried to breathe through his nose. He heard the faintest whimpers from beyond him and the gentle shushing of a voice, one that Peter didn't recognize.

Peter reached up, his fingers extended towards the ceiling. Or what was above him. Peter, through the suit, could feel the chunks of concrete that had been the ceiling above them.

The floor had collapsed, and so had the ceiling. Peter wasn't sure if his Soulmate, the kid and the woman had escaped, but he hoped so.

Peter reached up towards his ear, trying to do his best to ignore the sharp pains in his stomach to find his comm. Instead, he felt a hand grab onto his. Except, it was bigger and larger than it should be. And it felt slightly slimy. Overall, it gave Peter a slightly sick sensation in his already hurting stomach.

"The Spiderling should not move."

The voice was deep and it rumbled in Peter's body. It sounded distinctly masculine and it came from beyond Peter's line of sight, and from higher up. Maybe three-ish feet. Peter wasn't sure. He didn't do height and measurements well. Especially when he was pretty sure he was concussed.

"W-What happened?" Peter managed to cough out, whimpering as his chest seized in pain. The big hand moved from his hand and rested on his chest, pressing down slightly. It was enough for Peter's ribs to seemingly settle in his chest and he let out a breath of air as a way of saying thank you.

"The building collapsed. We did not escape."

"T-The woman and t-the child…?"

"Here with us. They are alive."

Peter hummed. His face felt cold. Why did it feel cold…? With his free hands, Peter reached up, ignoring the odd hissing coming from the voice and felt at his face.

There was no mask. No comm. All Peter could touch was his flesh. All breathing stalled in Peter. He wasn't supposed to be around without his mask on. Secret identity and everything!

"The Spiderling was hurt. Eddie said to remove the mask, see the face. See that you were alive."

"W-Who is Eddie?" Peter breathed, blinking his eyes. "W-Where is my mask? And...w-who are you?"

"Eddie is partner; Eddie is Soulmate to the Spiderling, just as I am Soulmate to the Spiderling." What? "Mask is here. And we are Venom."

"None of that made sense," Peter whispered. Just then, the rubble shifted and the pricking sensation in Peter's stomach became worse and Peter let out a cry as a flash of pain raced up his body and to his head, where his spidey-senses were already crying out. "Ah crap -!"

Something even darker than the darkness surrounded Peter and the others and the rumbling stopped. Dust didn't fall into Peter's eyes like he had been expecting, which was a bit of a nice change. Change? What the hell was he talking about? He had never had a building collapse onto him before? He was being way too calm for a situation like this?

"V-Venom, was it?"

Peter heard a grunt from the voice.

"I-I need my mask to c-call my team. T-They'll be worried about me. About us."

"No one touch the Spiderling. Soulmate. Protect."

"T-That's the thing, Venom or Eddie or whatever t-the hell is up with you," Peter answered, sucking in a sharp breath through his nose. Peter resisted the gag reflex that spiked high in him at the smell of burning flesh and what had to be death. "T-Team are my Soulmates. I-I have more t-than one, and t-they need t-to know t-that I-I'm alright."

It was getting a little harder to breathe now and Peter just felt really sleeping and tired...Peter shook his head, ignoring the pounding headache that came from it. No! He wouldn't sleep! He needed to be awake. He needed to contact the team.

Something that felt like fabric pressed against Peter's ear and there was a clicking noise, and the frantic shouts of the Avengers flipped Peter's brain. He could distinguish all of their voices individually, and could hear the panicked shouts of Bucky and Natasha over the rest of them.

"I-I'm alive."

Immediately silence filled the comms and Peter thought he heard Wanda weakly ask, "Peter?"

"I-I'm alive, over," Peter repeated, his breaths getting laboured. "U-Under some rubble. T-Three to four civilians with me, I think? O-One of t-them…" Peter looked towards where the voice of Venom had come from and added, "M-Maybe two of them are m-more of my Soulmates…"

Peter heard Tony shout, "FRIDAY, track his comm link address now!" and then he heard Natasha's silky voice say, "What are your injuries, Peter?"

"D-Don't know," Peter stammered out. Venom pressed a little harder on Peter's stomach and Peter had to sigh another thank you. "R-Really injured...that much I-I know…" Peter squeezed his eyes shut and whispered, "Sorry I went rogue."

"We'll discuss that later, Peter, we just need to get you out now," Natasha cut him off.

"N-No, I-I just need you to know that I-I'm really sorry…" Peter whispered again. It was getting so hard to stay awake. So hard… "Natasha?"

"Yeah, Petey?"

"I-I'm s-scared."

And Peter let out a sigh as he couldn't fight the darkness anymore. But just before he drifted off, he could hear a roar of pain coming from his Soulmate trapped with him.

Bucky could feel it, deep in his core. In the exact spot where Peter's Soul Marking was, Bucky could feel the moment when Peter's heart stopped beating a pulse.

The shock to his system had been so severe that Bucky had fallen to his knees in the rubble, his hands grabbing onto pieces of debris to keep himself from completely collapsing. From everywhere around the rubble, Bucky could hear the sounds of his teammates, of his friends, of his loved ones and his own Soulmates, feeling the severed connection between Peter and them. A heart-wrenching, anguished scream ripped through the night air and pieces of rubble were vaporized beside Bucky, a familiar red aura wrapped around each of the particles. Through the comms he heard Tony give a strangled cry of, "NO!" as the Iron Man suit dropped like a stone towards the debris. When the man in the suit touched down, he simply dropped to his knees in disbelief.

Peter…

Peter was gone.

They were too late.

"What's happening? What happened? Is Peter alright?" Bucky heard Emily frantically asking through the comms, Sam and Clint echoing their sentiments. The Avengers who did not have that kind of connection with Peter. The bond. The Soul Bond.

Bucky had heard stories of how soul-sucking and mind-killing the severing of the connection could be. How the pain was enough to drive a man mad enough to off himself so he could be reunited with his loved one that had died. Never did Bucky imagine he would have to live through that himself. And not with Peter. Not with poor, sweet Peter.

Wanda's cries filled the comms as a response to Emily's question and an equally pain-filled sob came from the winged woman. Bucky's fingers gripped the concrete, his Vibranium arm doing so so strongly that the concrete shattered underneath his fingertips.

Peter was dead. Because they were too late. Because they didn't foresee the building being bombed. Because they were unable to go in and help Peter. Because they had been too late to rescue him from its collapse. Because they had allowed him to be bait for HYDRA.

It was all their fault.

"FRIDAY, heat signatures, now!" Tony demanded, his voice tight and filled with tears. Bucky just felt numb. Peter was gone. His Peter. Bucky could barely remember a time before the kid had entered his life; how was life supposed to move on without him?

"Guys!" Sam's voice cut through, and though he too sounded like his world had been shattered, like all of theirs had been, he also sounded hesitant. "Something's coming up. From underneath the rubble."

And the world exploded.

Debris was sent everywhere as a strong force leapt out of the giant debris wreck mountain that had been the center of the building. One piece of debris hit Bucky square in the chest, sending him flying backwards a few hundred feet before tumbling to the ground, skidding across the road before using his arm to force himself to a halt.

Bucky looked up towards the rubble and saw a monster. That was the best way to describe the thing. Well over seven feet tall, it was this black, oily substance that looked like a man in shape but it had a snake-like pink tongue that dripped drool and razor sharp teeth that looked ready to snap a man's head clean off. Strong muscles riddled the creature and its eyes…

Maybe Bucky was reeling from Peter's death still, and that was causing him to hallucinate but…

The monster's eyes looked like Peter's on his Spiderman suit Tony gave him.

The creature had two bundles in its arms, but what they were, Bucky couldn't tell. The creature took one step forward, his footsteps thudding loudly. The rest of the Avengers were getting up slowly, quietly assessing the situation while trying to box up their grief. This creature had something to do with Peter's death; Bucky was sure of that.

Bucky rose to his feet, falling back into a form of soldier he had sworn off. The Winter Soldier. No grace, no mercy, no forgiveness. Only death. That thing had to be part of the reason why Peter was dead. And Bucky was going to make him pay.

He strode confidently towards the creature, as the creature walked equally like so towards Bucky. Murder was the only thing on his mind. Murder and justice…

Were those humans?

Bucky faltered in his stride, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to scope out what the bundles in the creature's arms were. One was much smaller than the other, and with his advanced hearing he could hear the faintest of sniffles coming from the bundle. They sounded like a child.

"Soulmate."

And the monster spoke too, apparently.

Bucky tensed up, trying to mask his unease with hellfire in his eyes. "Who are you?"

"Soulmate."

"I will say this only once more," Bucky snapped, reaching slowly to grab onto his pistol. He doubted that that would be enough firepower to take it down, but it would be enough to stall it long enough to get the Avengers' attention. They were all watching from the sidelines, ready to engage at a moment's notice. "Who. Are. You?"

"Peter."

Bucky balked. There was no way. Peter may have been a crazily changed teenage boy with some of the powers of a spider, but this was definitely NOT one of them. "How do you know that name?"

"Soulmate."

Now, that could mean a lot of things and to a lot of people, but Bucky recalled the words that Peter had spoken to the group before...well, before. He mentioned something about a Soulmate. Bucky's eyes trailed the creature's body, looking for any indication. Any sign.

And there, on his left leg, in a white scrawl that stood out distinctly on the creature's leg, were the words, "Get her out! I got this!" Words that Peter had said during the burning building, almost right before the entire building had collapsed.

Bucky looked back towards the creature's face. In a heartbroken voice, Bucky whispered, "H-He's gone, isn't he?"

"Peter alive. Venom keep Soulmate alive."

And then, the creature unfolded slightly in the center, the black oily skin parting to show two bodies in the center. Two bodies facing each other, with their side profiles to Bucky. They each seemed to be sleeping, or at least had that likeness. One was a stranger that Bucky could care less about. However, the one to the right was smaller, closer to the body of a teenager. And Bucky would recognize that nose and hair combo anywhere.

Peter.

The creature, this Venom, had Peter. And Peter looked relatively alright; the only startling thing was that he was wearing his suit but his mask was gone.

"H-How…" Bucky couldn't help but murmur in disbelief. It almost felt too good to be true.

"Venom keep Soulmate alive," the creature replied again. The skin folded back up again and Peter disappeared from Bucky's view. "Help innocents."

Venom, the creature, held out his arms and Bucky was able to confirm now that they were both humans. One, a little girl and the other, a woman who looked like she could be her mother. Both looked to be seriously injured.

"Stark, I'm going to need a med-evac team over here, stat," Bucky urged into his comm. "The creature is not a threat. Repeat. The creature is not a threat." He closed his eyes and breathed out. "Peter's alive."

The child and woman were taken away with the reassurances that they would have the utmost care. The working EMT, after the initial look-over, confided in Steve that had they been stuck in the building without whatever that creature was and Spiderman, they would have died. Steve thanked the EMT for doing his job and ushered them off, sending them to the hospital.

He and Natasha were the ones running the HR department of the job, keeping the NYPD and the ambulances and firefighters off and away from the rubble. Bucky, Dr. Strange, Wanda, and Emily had been sent into the rubble with the creature, hiding away to a place where most of the cameras that were appearing from the news' vans wouldn't be able to spot them. The rest were off on a borough-wide search for the thug from before, the one that had distracted the whole team from the bombing.

Steve had to clench his fists together as he turned back from the officers he had been speaking with, his gaze naturally landing on the rubble and the spot where the four Avengers and creature had once been.

Peter had died. He had felt it and Steve had felt that once before on the day when Bucky had fallen from that train. It was the sharp searing pain from his Soul Marking. And Peter...when Peter died, the pain had been so sharp that Steve had collapsed straight to the ground, not even able to get up. It was kind of a blur for the super soldier. He just found himself falling in a way that he couldn't fathom. But then Bucky had said those two words. Two words that Steve would have never thought would hold such a sway in his life.

Peter's alive.

His Soulmate was still breathing and was alive.

Bucky hadn't gone into much detail about what the creature, apparently named Venom, had said, only that it had Peter, Peter was alive, and the two of them were Soulmates (Peter and Venom). And the lack of information made Steve dance with worry.

"How are we looking, Bucky?" Steve couldn't help but ask, folding an arm across his torso and bringing up one of his fists to press it against his lips in worry.

"Venom says, in the short words that he seems to speak, that Peter did die, but Venom was able to...adapt?...to him and is managing to keep him alive. He said it will take him a while to heal Peter, but with his enhanced healing it should take only a day or so."

"Is there any way we can get him back to the Compound?" Steve asked, glancing around at the camera crews with disdain. Unfortunately in the twenty-first century, the paparazzi were much more prevalent than they had been in Germany during World War II, and Steve found that he hated them just as much as he did then. "We're drawing more attention than I'm comfortable with."

There was a short moment of silence, and then Emily answered for him, "That depends then, Cap. Do you want Venom to get him back or do you want Stephen to do the swirly hands?"

"It's already uncomfortable not being able to be in there with you now," Natasha sounded, sidling up beside Steve. The Captain gave the Spy a nod of acknowledgement. "I doubt it will be smart to just let this thing off with Peter."

"Alright then, we'll go with...holy crap, what is it doing?" Emily shouted. "Cap, Nat, get your asses over here right now! You're going to want to see this!"

Steve didn't need to be told twice. He broke out into a run, nimbly dodging pieces of debris and rubble and leaving Natasha behind him in the dust. She could catch up. Steve followed the tracks in the dust left by Bucky and headed towards the center of the debris. He could see Emily, Dr. Strange, Wanda, and Bucky all standing there, and the mysterious creature known as Venom. But now there was also another man, wearing singed clothing and holding his hands up in the air, occasionally glaring at the creature behind him.

Steve slowed down to a jog, and then came to a stop once he was in line with Bucky. Steve stared down the man who had definitely not been there before and asked tensely, "Who are you?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" the man answered in a thick New York accent. It sounded like the ones he and Bucky had back when they were growing up in the 30s. "I-I'm with him." He gestured roughly to the creature behind him and Venom shrugged, but noticeably tensed whenever one of the Avengers took a step closer towards the man in front of him. The human man took a deep breath and said, "My name is Eddie Brock, I'm an investigative journalist from San Francisco. This is my partner, Venom. T-This Peter kid, the one you guys keep talking about? He's my Soulmate."

"Prove it."

The man reached down and pulled up his left pant leg, although there was not much to pull up. Steve could clearly see the words "Get her out! I got this!" written on his leg. Steve glanced past the human and towards Venom's leg, where Bucky had informed him was Peter's Soul Marking. It was the same phrase.

"How do you both have the same Soul Marking?" Natasha panted, coming up beside Steve. She rested her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"It's really long and complicated," Eddie said.

"Uncomplicate it," Dr. Strange ordered.

"Alrighty then," Eddie stammered, his eyes flickering back and forth between all the Avengers. "I've always had this Soul Marking on me, and when I met Venom, we connected and bonded successfully and since then, he's adapted this Soul Marking. Not all of my Soul Markings, but, definitely this one."

"How did Venom come to be?" Emily asked, glancing at the creature with slight interest. It did look remarkably similar to the shadows that she was able to conjure up.

"Another long and complicated story," Eddie began, but at the look of Dr. Strange's glare, he added quickly, "But to simplify it, he's a symbiote alien from space."

The six Avengers glanced at each other and nodded. Steve vocalized, "Makes sense."

Eddie seemed shocked by that. "Oh...well...yeah." He winced slightly, and glanced up back towards Venom. "How's he doing?"

"Weak, but strong. Needs rest. As does Eddie and Venom."

"You're right about that," Eddie sniffed, yawning slightly.

"Hey Cap, we've got a secure set of vans coming to you in five minutes," Sam said to Steve through the comms. "Could just be more news vans, but can't be too sure."

"Got it. Thanks, Sam," Steve said. He turned back to his small gathering and the man and creature that held Peter's fate in their hands. "Are you certain Venom will heal Peter?"

"He's saved me from death," Eddie confirmed. "More than once, and I'm just a human. He'll take care of Peter."

"Good," Natasha said. She took a dangerous step forward and leaned towards Eddie. Venom let out a small growl in the back of his throat, but didn't move to approach the two. Natasha whispered, "Because if Peter dies while on your watch, no symbiotic alien will be able to save you from my wrath."

Eddie visibly and audibly swallowed, squeaking out a tentative, "Yes, Ma'am."

"Caravan on your six," Rhodey called out.

Steve nodded and looked at both Eddie and Venom. "Time to prove your worth."

The rest of the Avengers distracted the media and the press, and the strange caravan at the scene whilst the six Avengers, plus Eddie and Venom (and subsequently Peter), walked through Dr. Strange's portal back into the Compound. It was eerily quiet in the building, as all of the Avengers had left to join Peter on his first night out.

What a nightmare that had been.

"Avengers, do you read?" Steve asked, pressing the headpiece as he unsnapped his helmet and tossed it onto the countertop.

"Copy," multiple voices called out.

"Distract the news and get back here as quickly as possible. No one left alone. Group up, at least teams of two."

"On it!" Steve heard them shout.

Steve rubbed his eyes wearily and said, "Over and out" before yanking out his earpiece and tossing it onto the countertop alongside his helmet. He managed to stagger off into the hallway, weakly telling Bucky to keep him updated on Peter's condition, and made it to the hallway with his room before he broke.

He collapsed to his hands and knees, the tears pouring out of his eyes. His heart was hammering hard in his chest, and it felt like an asthma attack. He hadn't had one of those since he was small, skinny, pre-serum Steve. Nothing should be able to affect him. He was Captain America. He was the man with the plan. He was…

Damn, he was scared out of his mind.

The featherlight hand on his back didn't do much to stop his tears and his heaving breaths. Instead, Steve sat up and turned, wrapping his arms around the woman's body and burying his face into her neck, letting his emotions rage. He could have lost another one of his Soulmates that night. He had lost another one of his Soulmates. What if Bucky had been there too? He would have lost two and then…

So Steve cried and cried and allowed himself to break; the break that Captain America never allowed him.

And Natasha just held him.

A/N: Couple notes. Number 1: Eddie/Venom was that 13th Soulmate I forgot about, so whoops! If you got them right, check mark that off for yourself! Number 2: The caravan coming towards them was originally supposed to be their exfil but I then remembered Dr. Strange could do the swirly hands and had to fix that. Number 3: Did any of you thought I was going to bring in Eddie and kill Peter? Number 4: Extra points if you can identify the villain and who you think they are working for. It might be a little hard. Number 5: Chapters will be shortened, because I understand how ridiculously long they are; from now on it'll probably be 6,000 - 7,000 words.

Onto our one, beautiful review!:

Eshal: You may scream. I know I did. No problem! I read all the reviews people post, even if it's been two years since I've posted something. They always bring a smile on my face. On your own time. No Hydra battle just yet, but here's some fighting for you! Since you were the only reviewer of the last chapter, I dedicate this chapter to you!

Top five countries of this chapter are: (1) United States, (2) Canada, (3) Sweden, (4) United Kingdom, and (5) Australia! I honestly believe this story has been my most popular story in Sweden, which is such a weird thing to say.

I'm moving to a two week posting schedule, due to college (I'm on my final term and then I graduate with an Associate's Degree of General Studies!), so the next chapter will be posted in two weeks! I hope you all stay safe and enjoy your lives!

Love you all!

BecomingFearless1F