There were four of them that walked through the portal and into the third floor library. Wong was waiting for them and wasn't at all surprised to see Tony Stark was included. Of course he was. The magician smiled at the large arrangement of flowers that Pete was carrying in one hand, ignoring the backpack that he'd slung over his shoulder.
"Flowers for May?" he guessed.
The boy smiled, glancing around the room as he did.
"Yeah."
The portal closed behind Stephen, and the cloak wrapped itself cheerfully around Peter, crooning cheerfully into his mind.
"Because you worried her?" Wong asked. "Or as an offering to keep her from killing you for getting the tattoo?"
"We're going to say it's for worrying her," Tony told him. He spared a glance at the figurine that was sitting on the far end of the heavy table that dominated the corner of the room. "But if it keeps him alive, too, all the better for him."
Wong snorted, amused.
"How did it turn out?"
Yes, they were going to send him home, but there was still time to ask – and it would be the only chance that he had to see it, right?
Pete handed the flowers to Peter, and his backpack, and lifted the front of his t-shirt so he could show it off. His healing ability had already begun working on the redness that surrounded the crisp lines of the tattoo and the area wasn't even swelling.
"Pretty neat, huh?"
"It's nice," Wong agreed.
"Tasteful enough to keep us from wanting him to get rid of it?" Strange asked.
"I like it," Wong told him. "It'd be hard to erase something so appropriate."
"Let's hope May agrees," Pete said.
"What's the plan, guys?" Tony asked, looking like he was trying to be confident to keep the boys from being nervous, but definitely on edge. "How are we going to do this?"
"We're going to put Peter here," Wong said, pointing at the closer end of the table – which was on the other end of where the small figurine was. "And then Pete over there," he added, gesturing to the other chair – at the other end of the table and right in front of the figurine. "Do not touch it until I tell you to do so," he told the boy.
"Okay."
"Do you have everything?" Tony asked Pete.
The boy nodded, his expression uncertain, but also excited – eager, even.
"Yeah. Thank you," he said. "I mean… for everything. You know; for keeping me, and making me feel at home, and all…"
Tony smiled and pulled him into a hug. He couldn't help himself, and he didn't bother trying to.
"You're welcome. Not that I ever want to see you again, because we don't want to do this to you or your aunt, again, but I had a good time meeting you. You're an amazing guy."
Pete held him tight for a long moment, and then pulled back, smiling.
"You're just saying that because I'm Peter."
"Of course." He reached out and tousled the boy's hair. "Be safe, okay?"
"Yeah."
Pete handed him his backpack and the flowers, but he didn't hug his other self. He just smiled.
"Take care of May."
"I will." He grinned. "Take care of Natasha."
"That's my job," Strange told the boy, cuffing him, lightly, on the back of the head. He smiled, though, clearly amused at the cheek. "Go sit down – and don't even think about touching that thing until you're told to."
Pete smiled, too, not at all offended that they thought he needed to be told, twice. He did what he was told, walking over to the other end of the table and sitting down, backpack on and flowers in his hand. Then he watched as Strange gestured for Peter to sit on the other end, which he did.
"Where do you want me?" Stark asked.
"Just out of the way," Stephen told him. "Pepper wouldn't be amused if you joined Pete, I imagine."
"No."
Tony walked over to stand near Peter, but not touching him. Obviously he was there just in case something happened and he was needed, but he wasn't really expecting anything. He had complete confidence in Strange and Wong, or he would have just kept Pete home with him where he could be safe and certain of where he was.
Strange and Wong walked over, as well, standing in the middle, between the two boys. They looked at Peter, first.
"You know what to do…" Stephen told him.
Peter nodded, and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on May. He wouldn't have been able to, though, - not as nervous as he was about everything working out okay for Pete – if not for Alec suddenly helping him. There was a mental nudge, and a moment later he had her firmly in his mind. Not his May, either, he realized. This May looked the same, but she was different, somehow, and he realized (or maybe he was told) that this was the image of May that Alec had pulled from Pete's memories.
"Very good," Alec told him, approvingly. "Now concentrate on her, and think about Pete finding his way back to her."
He could do that.
Strange waited until Peter was relaxed, and then turned to Pete.
"Ready?"
The boy nodded, his hand tightening on the flowers he was holding, and watching the two magicians. Stephen looked at Wong and nodded, and a moment later, both men made an arching motion with their right hands, and then a sweeping motion with their left. A pale yellow light formed, and moved toward the boy sitting in front of the figurine, and Wong made an approving noise.
"Now, Pete," he told the boy. "Touch it and think about going home."
Tony watched, holding his breath, as Pete reached out and touched the figurine in front of him. The yellow light brightened for just a moment, and then the boy was gone, and so was the light.
Peter opened his eyes, and looked around, and Wong and Strange lowered their hands.
"Did it work?" Peter asked.
"That was it?" Tony asked at the same time.
"What did you expect?" Strange asked him, walking over and waving his hand.
The figurine vanished and reappeared on a shelf, enclosed in a protective display.
"I don't know," Tony admitted, shrugging. "A portal? An explosion? Lots of fanfare?"
Peter smiled at that, but looked at the magicians.
"Did it work?"
"The spell worked," Wong said. "If we got him to the right place. No way to know for sure," he added. "Normally."
Of course, Peter had a connection with the mind stone and the reality stone. One of them would surely know.
"Oh."
OOOOOOOOOO
"Where are we going?"
"Third floor," Wong said.
May looked at Stephen as they went up the stairs, but the sorcerer supreme was concentrating on something else and had been tense since the three of them had arrived in the sanctum only moments before.
"This way," he said, taking her hand. "Hurry. It's happening."
"What-"
The Cloak of Levitation swept into the hall just as Wong opened the library door and took its customary place on Strange's collar. May felt a sudden sense of something weird, and the hairs on the back of her neck all seemed to stand up at once. There was a sudden flash of bright yellow light, and she gasped, bringing her arm up to protect her eyes. There was a thud, and muffled curse and the sound of cellophane crumpling, and the light faded as suddenly as it had appeared.
Leaving a slight form sprawled on the floor of the library.
She recognized him, immediately.
"Peter!"
The boy looked up, the flowers in his hand a little worse for wear, but his own face unblemished and happy.
"Hey, May."