6150k words? Geez. What have I done lol

Peter felt numb as he swung his way towards the compound in the shadows of the city that he considered his home. Everything that had just happened felt like a twisted nightmare, and Peter would give anything for it to have been all in his head. Ned wasn't right about Harry. Harry didn't just admit to gaining Peter's trust only to stab him in the back in the worst way possible. Alex wasn't on the brink of death because of him. His identity didn't just get exposed to the entire world. He was dreaming, that had to be it, right? Anytime now he would scream himself awake at the lake house and things were fine... Except that didn't happen and Peter was still alone with his raging thoughts, his ribs protesting with every swinging motion he made.

It was like there were several waves that were roaring in his ears and he just couldn't fully anchor himself back into the choking grasp of reality. Peter wondered if it was just his mind possibly trying to protect itself from his entire life crumbling in the blink of an eye.

If Alex dies because of you, how can you even live with yourself? An intrusive thought broke through Peter's mental barrier. This is your fault, Peter. You're the one who kept everything a secret. You're the one who failed to notice what was in front of your face the whole time. Alex almost died, and could still die, because of you.

Peter was jolted out of his self-pity when his sixth sense flared and he barely dodged his way around a tree that he had been barreling towards. Pushing down the rest of the negative thoughts with great effort, Peter focused on the road in front of him. No matter how hard he tried, however, he couldn't ignore the hollow feeling inside of his heart and he wondered if maybe this would been the thing that destroyed him for good.

By the time the Compound's lights came into view, Peter felt like he was wheezing, and speaking from experience that was most definitely not a good sign. He knew it was his ribs that were screwing him over, and his throat was sore to all hell from where Harry had been choking the life out of him. His face was getting increasingly itchier, and Peter had the half of mind to realize that his burns were already slowly starting to heal. He felt a little warm, but overall it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been from the fire a few days prior.

Landing onto the solid ground wasn't a good idea if Peter had to be honest with himself. As soon as his feet hit the ground, his knees buckled from the pain it caused in his upper torso. His ankle was tender and it almost made him wonder if he had managed to sprain it at some point. Wrapping a protective arm around his ribs, Peter slowly got to his feet and stood up as straight as he could, his back slightly arching from to take the pressure on his ribs. Limping inside, it was eerily quiet, and Peter closed his eyes and used his exhausted senses in a desperate search for the one sound he needed to hear most at the moment.

Peter sighed in relief when he found the noise he had been looking for, but it didn't fill him with much confidence with how weak it sounded. It was such a stark contrast to the strong sound that Peter had grown accustomed to, and had even served as a source of comfort. It was yet another reminder of what Peter still had left to lose.

His mind was cloudy as he made his way up to the infirmary on the 3rd floor of the Compound, not even realizing that he couldn't even hear Tony in the Compound anymore. Walking past all the rooms, Peter's heart began to race when each room showed up empty. Alex's heartbeat was still echoing painfully slow, which meant that he had to be somewhere in the building. When Peter finally came to a stop at the door that said "Doctor's Only: Operating Wing", he wanted to cry. He knew Dr. Cho and Dr. Banner hated to have people in the area because they got in the way, but Peter wasn't just going to sit in the waiting room while Alex was there all alone because of him. Slipping past the doors, Peter walked down the hallway until there was an evident commotion coming from inside one of the windowless rooms. Sinking down against one of the walls next to the closed doors, Peter pulled his legs into a criss-cross position and leaned his head back against the wall.

The adrenaline was quickly leaving him and the pain was starting to fully set in. His throat felt torn to shreds and his ribs were aching something fierce. He could feel the dried blood on his face and it was making his skin crawl, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. In fact, Peter couldn't give a damn about anything that wasn't Alex right now.

Thoughts of the raven-haired boy flashed through his mind, and it brought a new wave of sadness over him. Alex's wide smile that was so infectious that Peter had to join in just because it felt like treason if he didn't. The warm brown eyes that seemed to be able to read every thought in your brain, eyes that never judged you and always supported you unconditionally. The cheesy knock-knock jokes that Alex always told, but never failed to make him laugh when he needed to find a way to relax. Alex who had been there for him when Peter needed someone the most, someone to look up to in the face of a world that had left Peter behind.

Hearing Alex's heartbeat stop was something that was going to haunt him for the rest of his life. Ben's had been bad too, but Alex's... They were too separate situations and in a way, Alex's was worse. Alex's was avoidable in the sense that Peter could've told someone about Goblin trying to kill him. It could've been avoided if Peter hadn't been so foolishly ignorant to Ned's pleading case against Harry. If Alex died... what would May and George think? Would they ever forgive him or would they toss him to the curb as he deserved?

God... If he... I don't think I could face them... How am I supposed to face George? His son... A lump formed in Peter's throat and he let out a restrained cry.

Then there was the matter of his identity, and that was something Peter selfishly dreaded. He had prided himself on keeping his alter ego from those around him, and that was for the sole reason because he wanted to protect everyone he cared about. If they had found out about Spider-Man it put them in danger.

It's not like you're wrong either, Peter thought sadly. Look what had just happened to Alex...

Part of him wanted to hide away for the rest of eternity, but the world was never nice enough for it to be that simple.

Peter was jolted out of his thoughts when the machines in the operating room started screeching at an urgent pace and over all of the noise, Peter noticed the lack of Alex's heartbeat and a female voice yelling "CLEAR!" and Peter's face fell into the palm of his hands as a sob escaped him.

Please don't make me lose him, Peter pleaded against the cruel world. Don't punish May and George for something that was all my fault.

It felt like an eternity before Alex's weak heartbeat washed back over Peter and the machines returned to normal once more. Pulling his hands away from his face, Peter went to use the sleeve of his hoodie to wipe away the tears when he noticed for the first time that the actual hoodie and sweats that had hid his suit were in ruins, singed away from the fire. It almost made him wonder if he looked any worse than he felt. Leaning back against the wall, Peter closed his eyes once more and prepared himself for the long wait ahead of him.

He mustn't have been alone for more than an hour before someone inevitably came to look for him. He had bets on Tony finding him first, and Peter couldn't tell if he craved the support from his mentor or if he dreaded the questions and disappointment that would come with the revelation of everything that had just happened. He wasn't even sure if he was even ready to relive the memories so soon afterward, and most of all, he wasn't ready to leave Alex. Just like everything else, though, Peter had no control of the events outside of his hopeful fantasies.

He heard their heartbeat before he sensed them coming around the corner. Peter opened his eyes and just stared blankly at the wall in front of him, the pain in his ribs had subsided enough for him to pull his legs to his chest so he could wrap his arms around them. They didn't say anything until Peter saw them crouch down in front of him.

Clint's eyes were sad as he studied the scene before him. "Oh, kid..."

Peter didn't have the energy to say anything, so he just kept staring off into space.

Clint sighed as he gently reached over to survey the burns on Peter's face. "Has someone checked you out yet?"

Peter knew he meant well, but he still wasn't in the mood to talk.

Clint's hands fell away from his face, the archer obviously assessing how he should approach this situation. Eventually, Clint just asked, "When was the last time you had something to eat?"

When Peter just continued staring into space and remained quiet, Clint seemed to get more concerned. Was this what shock felt like?

Just before he stood up, Clint's hand came to rest on his right knee. "You can stay here, I'll be right back, okay?" He must've known he wasn't going to get a reply from the teen because he stood up and hurried out of the operating wing, his footsteps echoed clearly in Peter's brain as he retreated.

He knew he should feel bad for making the others worried about him when it was Alex who was far worse off than himself, but he just felt like he was miles away from his body. A few minutes after Clint had left, a familiar heartbeat washed over him, and he should've known Clint would find the one person Peter knew would find a way to make him move.

Tony came to sit beside him, careful not to touch Peter as if he was scared it would overwhelm him, and for that Peter was grateful.

"Everyone got out of your apartment complex fine, a few are banged up and bruised, but there were no casualties," Tony broke the silence quietly.

Peter knew that should've made him relieved, but he still felt hollow inside.

"We couldn't find the guy, kid," Tony told him sadly. "He went off the radar as soon as he bailed. Sam and Vision are out there trying to scout him from the skies."

Peter just closed his eyes at the mention of Goblin getting away. That was just another failure to add to his growing checklist.

Tony must've been hoping for a response from him, but when the billionaire didn't get any he sighed in resignation. "I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough, kid."

The apology made a wave of tears form in his eyes. "Don't..." Peter croaked, his voice raggedy and it felt like he had shards of glass in his throat. "Not your fault."

"It all happened so fast," Tony shook his head. "I was there in at most ten minutes, but..."

Had it only been ten minutes? The revelation made Peter shudder. It had felt so much longer than that.

"You didn't know," Peter's voice broke.

Tony flinched at the sound of Peter's wrecked voice. "You gotta let Bruce check you out, kid. I can either bring him to you, or you can come to one of the beds willingly."

Peter didn't want to admit it, but he knew Tony was right. He was hurting, and he hated the fact that he hurt when Alex was the one whose life was on the line. He just didn't want to leave Alex. "I don't wanna leave..."

"You'll just be outside," Tony told him gently. "Alex is going to come out of there when Cho's finished. He'll be your room buddy, yeah?"

Peter almost refused, but sitting on the floor wasn't doing him any favors in the pain department. Plus, a part of him just wanted to get this conversation over with. "Okay," He eventually agreed.

A surprised expression appeared on Tony's face as if he hadn't been expecting Peter to agree so easily. However, the billionaire didn't seem to skip a beat before he got to his feet and held a hand out for Peter in an invitation.

Looking at Tony's hand for a moment, Peter finally reached out and took his mentor's hand and Tony reached down to help Peter to his feet. Almost immediately, Peter curled an arm around his abused ribs and the two of them made their way out of the operating wing. Tony walked beside him, a hand resting gently on the nape of his neck in a guiding gesture as he led him into an examination room that had Bruce, Steve, and Clint lingering in the vicinity. Peter didn't pay them any attention as Tony helped Peter out of the ruined hoodie and sweats before he was able to peel the upper part of his suit away from his bruised body.

He didn't miss the way that Tony and Clint cursed, Bruce inhaling sharply, and the blood that had drained from Steve's face.

"Holy shit, Peter," Tony's hands came to hover above his throat, but Peter flinched away and Tony retracted his hands as if he had been burned.

For the next twenty minutes, Bruce examined Peter's ribs, burns, and throat and the teen didn't miss the green tint that was evident in the doctor's features. In any other situation, Peter would've been flattered that the Hulk himself thought of Peter so fondly, but just like everything else, Peter didn't have the energy for it. Bruce told Peter that he had broken four of his ribs, but they were already on the mend and should be healed within the next couple of days. His burns were quickly fading as well and Bruce was happy to see that his temperature was only slightly elevated, but still in a normal range for him. The worst of all of his injuries was the extensive bruising of Peter's throat and every time Bruce's hands brushed against the tender flesh, flashes of Harry's hands around his neck washed over him and he flinched sharply. Tony didn't leave his side at any point during the examination, listening to every word that Bruce was saying. Steve and Clint were watching from the corners of the room, giving Bruce the space he needed to examine him. Peter felt all of their eyes on him and it made his skin crawl. He felt like some animal on display at a zoo, and it wasn't the most comfortable feeling in the world.

When Bruce had finished with his examination, he took his glasses off his face and wiped a hand over his sweaty forehead as an uncomfortable tension rested among all of them in the room. Peter knew he had run out of time before the inevitable was going to happen.

"Are you really gonna make us ask?" Tony broke the silence first.

"I don't know what to say," Peter admitted, his voice hollow.

"How about you start with what happened?" Steve offered kindly.

"Especially considering the fact that you explicitly said that this was a 'Peter Parker' problem and not a 'Spider-Man' problem?" Tony added in bluntly.

"I thought it was, that wasn't a lie," His eyes flickered over to Tony's. "This... It came out of nowhere. I didn't see it coming until it was too late." Was that true or were you too desperate for it not to be true? A small voice chimed in Peter's head.

"Who was that guy?" Clint asked.

"Someone who's attacked me three times now," Peter confessed.

The synchronous surprised inhale from everyone else in the room would've been comical in better circumstances, but it just grated on Peter's nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

"What do you mean?" Clint was shocked.

"I think we all know what that means," Bruce finally spoke up sadly. "The rooftop was the first time wasn't it?"

Tony's gaze flickered over to Peter, "The fire?"

"Both were him," Peter confirmed, not meeting anyone's gazes.

"So, let me get this straight," Tony pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "This..."

"Green Goblin," Peter supplied, still looking at the floor to avoid everyone's gaze.

"Fine, Green Goblin. He's after you," Tony stated, it wasn't a question.

"Considering he attacked me as Peter Parker and told me his sob story, yeah, he's after me." Peter replied.

"And you have no idea who's behind the mask?"

Peter paused for a moment before he looked up at Tony, "His name's Harry Osborn." The name tasted like ash in his mouth.

"Harry Osborn... The son of Norman Osborn?" Tony demanded.

"He used to live in Queens when I was younger," Peter told him honestly. "He was my friend, and then his mother died and his father took him and jumped ship. When he came back... He was my friend, Tony, I never thought he'd do something like this."

"And you didn't think this was important enough to tell me?" Tony was angry, but Peter saw the worried glint in his mentor's eyes. "Even after you found out I was investigating..."

"Tony," Steve silently warned him.

"No, he doesn't get the easy treatment," Tony pointed at the soldier before turning back to Peter. "Why the hell didn't you say anything after the first time he attacked you, huh? He threw you off a rooftop!"

"I thought it was a one-time thing," Peter shrugged sheepishly.

"You really want me to believe that? A creepy green guy tosses you off a rooftop and you think 'oh, that was an accident'?"

"He's got a point," Steve chimed in. "We could've helped you, Peter."

"I didn't even know what to make of it," Peter exclaimed. "The first time it happened I wasn't even sure if it was real or if my brain was just making it worse than it actually was."

"You said you didn't remember anything from that night," Bruce sounded confused.

"I had a dream, okay? Except it turned out that it wasn't really a dream." Peter began to fidget nervously from where he was sitting on the hospital bed.

"And the fire?" Tony asked.

Peter shrunk in on himself at the question. "He might've thrown a pumpkin bomb at me and it might've blown up in my face?"

"I'm sorry, did you say he blew you up?" Tony was livid. "Dammit, Peter you almost died. Twice... No, three times, I might add. And you still didn't say anything?"

"I still didn't know what the hell was going on, Tony," Peter was getting frustrated.

"I don't care about any of that, but what the hell were you thinking, kid? Tonight was bad, and it could've ended a whole lot worse!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Peter shouted hysterically, close to tears. "Alex is in an operating room because of me! His heart stopped because of me! Harry was in the fucking apartment building because of me! Everything is my own damn fault and I'm more than aware of that!"

"Peter," Steve cut in gently.

"I wanna kill him," Peter's fists clenched.

Clint sighed in resignation at that, "Peter..."

"He's not going to stop until either he kills me or I kill him," Peter said.

"Exactly, he wants to actively kill you. I don't think it's wise to go hunting for someone who is out for your head." Tony cut in.

"What? So you want to put me on lockdown?" Peter challenged.

"Until we find this son of a bitch, yes!"

"No, Tony," Peter shook his head. "This is my fight!"

"It stopped being your fight the moment this guy tracked you down in your own home and tried to kill you!"

"Tony..." Peter tried to argue.

"This is where you zip it, kid! Can't you see what keeping this a secret did?" Tony demanded. "Alex almost died tonight. For someone with great power, you're really lacking that responsibility right now."

Those words felt like a slap to his face and Peter's body went rigid.

"Tony!" Steve's warning tone broke through the fog in Peter's brain.

He saw Tony's face pale when the billionaire realized what he said and he took a step back in horror. "Peter..."

Peter, who was angrier than anything else, just stood up and walked out of the room, wanting more than anything to be anywhere else but there at that moment.

After he had left the infirmary, Peter had just pulled his spandex suit back into place, the only difference being he was still maskless and was missing his gloves. He had no idea what had happened to them after their apartment got blown to bits, and the thought made him sad. Tony had been so kind to make him a new suit and it lasted less than a week. Despite the extreme temptation, Peter didn't leave the Compound's grounds, and instead he perched himself on top of the rooftop's makeshift courtyard. Essentially the roof was fenced in with thick clear glass that came up to his waist, and was thick enough to sit on without fear of falling off. It was far enough away from everyone else where he didn't have to face the possibility of someone coming to look for him any time soon, and it was far enough away from the people who just rubbed salt into his wounds. However, it was still close enough where Peter could still faintly hear Alex's heartbeat in the rooms below, still weak and frail.

For the most part, the shock and self-pity had worn itself thin, and his conversation with Tony, Steve, Clint and Bruce had been enough to reignite the spark of rage that was quickly over compassing everything he had ever tried to suppress. Angry that Tony had been right... Peter kept vital information about a potential threat a secret from the people who could've helped him the most, he put himself first and it got Alex hurt and now a rage induced Harry Osborn was on the loose. Angry at Harry for playing him like a damn fiddle, feeding off of Peter's desperation to find something from his past life to hold on to like an anchor to this new reality. Angry at himself for being so desperate to find something from his old life that he felt like he had control over.

For the longest time, Peter had suppressed his anger because he had that responsibility that came with the super strength and his other abilities. If his anger caused him to loses control it could've easily resulted in Peter losing control of his strength and bashing someone's head in from a single blow. Also, he had the responsibility of doing the right thing, to be the better man in a situation, because that was the right thing to do and that was what Ben had always taught him.

When you can do the things that I can, but you don't, and then the bad things happen? They happen because of you. Peter recalled his words when he met Tony for the first time.

However, the anger inside him was reaching its boiling point and Peter genuinely couldn't find it in himself to hold it back anymore. All of the anger that had been building up ever since he had came back from the Snap, it was all being redirected at one specific target, and that specific target was Harry Osborn, also known as the Green Goblin. When Peter confessed to Tony that he wanted to kill Harry, he hadn't been bluffing and it scared the crap out of him. At the same time, he knew it was true... Harry wasn't going to stop until he killed Peter, and he made that clear as day with no room for misinterpretation.

Does it really count as killing someone if they wanted to kill you first? Peter wondered, but he knew that wasn't even close to why he wanted to kill his ex-friend. Don't lie to yourself, Peter. You don't want to kill him out of self-defense. You want revenge.

Biting his lip, Peter pulled out his cell phone, the screen shattered from the battle.

There goes yet another phone, Peter thought sadly. Two in the span of one month. But at least it still works.

Thumbing through his notifications with a dejected and half-hearted swipe of his hand, Peter saw the missed calls from Ned, May, George, and even MJ. He didn't have the heart to call any of them back in that moment, more out of fear that the small amount of emotional restraint that he had left would finally break. Then there were the social media accounts, most of the notifications being random people tagging him and Peter just saw the word "Spider-Man" and he quickly exited the notification screen. Just as he was going to turn his phone off, a thought crossed his mind and he opened up his text message thread with MJ. When he saw the pdf attachment, a wave of frustration and guilt washed over him. If only he hadn't been so stubborn...

Peter tapped on the pdf file and it immediately opened an encrypted tab with the results inside. It wasn't a huge file, there were 4 pages of notes, sketches, and newspaper articles that were scattered throughout different bolded headlines with bullet points extending on each main idea.

There were two things that stuck out to him the most. One of which was the detailed explanation of Norman Osborn's motivations for creating his failed company and how he had been famous for his genetic mutation experiments. One day that DOD had approached Norman about creating the so-called 'next generation super solider serum', and Norman had readily agreed.

A lot of files were corrupted and missing, Peter read the margins of the file, and it was written in MJ's hand writing.

The other thing that stood out was a newspaper article written about Norman Osborn's death with a note beside the title written in Ned's handwriting that read: Article was wiped off the entire internet database. Found a corrupted file on Harry's laptop.

The Fall of an American Hero:

Norman Osborn, the founding of an emerging science research industry known as Oscorp Industries, passed away after a fatal accident involving an experimental serum. Inside sources tell us that Norman had been working in close proximity with the DOD and United State's Government to create the next generation super soldier serum. However, when Norman had tried the serum on himself, something went tragically wrong and it ended in his death...

The news article ended abruptly there, and Ned wrote: Couldn't restore the rest of the corrupted file, but what Serum are they referring to?

"Thought I'd find you up here."

Peter's heart jumped out of his chest as soon as he heard the soothing voice of the one person Peter found himself craving the most in the current mess he found himself in. "Ned..." He breathed out in relief and hopped back onto solid ground.

Ned walked over to him and pulled him into a strong and comforting embrace, one of which Peter returned immediately, holding on for dear life as a new wave of sadness washed over him.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Pete... They were showing the entire thing on the news and I just..." Ned's voice shook as his arms tightened around him. "God, dude..."

Peter pulled away a moment later, his hands never straying from Ned's shoulders. "How did you even..."

"Get here?" Ned finished for him. "May and George picked me up. I just had to see for myself that you were okay." Ned's eyes flickered around his face. "Peter, your face..."

Peter's face fell, "I really am happy to see you, I mean I... Even after..."

Ned shook his head, "We don't have to worry about any of that right now, okay? For what it's worth, I'm really sorry about a lot of things. And I know I don't have any right to just expect your forgiveness or anything..."

Peter just pulled him into another hug and buried his face in Ned's shoulder. "I don't care about that anymore, dude."

"I don't want to, like, spoil the mood, but I gotta ask," Ned told him remorsefully. "Is Alex..."

A lump began to form in Peter's throat at the question. "He's alive... at least for now, but... Oh, god..." Peter's hands began to shake and he let go of Ned like he had been burned. The rage was boiling in his veins, not at Ned, but from the entire situation and the last thing he wanted was to accidentally hold on to his friend too tight. "He died, but I was able to..." Peter ran his hands through his hair. "His heart's beating, but it's not strong, Ned. And I don't even know how long he was down before I was able to get him back. I mean, what if there's brain damage or he just isn't able to come back from this?"

Ned's face softened. "Don't think like that, Peter, you've been down that road once before. You know it doesn't end well. Stick with what you do know, okay? You said for yourself that his heart is still beating, and that in itself is good enough until you know more."

"This is all my fault," Peter stumbled backwards until he found a bench he could sit on before his knees collapsed from the weight of his emotions. "If I had just told someone, or just listened to what my senses have been trying to tell me from the very start, or just listened to you... I mean, I know you, wouldn't have done what you did if you didn't have a good reason."

"Peter," Ned cut him off sternly, but his eyes were gentle as he came to crouch in front of him. "Don't do that right now, you can't spiral like this anymore. None of this is your fault. Something was going to happen either way, you didn't ask to be targeted like this."

"Harry said that the spider that bit me was created by his father." Peter took a shaky breath before continuing, "He said he was after me because that had been Norman's breaking point. So his father had created a serum, and it had gotten him killed."

Ned's gaze fell to the floor for a moment before they flickered back up to Peter's. "I overheard Harry arguing with someone over the phone one day after school. He seemed pissed off at them. He kept saying something about how he needed the serum to work sooner rather than later."

Peter's heart skipped a beat at the revelation and his head snapped up to meet Ned's gaze. "Wait... You think... You think he was trying to recreate his father's serum?"

"I don't know," Ned admitted. "But he kept muttering things along the line of 'If this doesn't work, I'll kill you myself.'"

"And that's when you got suspicious," Peter realized.

"It happened after the game," Ned said and Peter didn't have to have his friend elaborate to get what Ned had meant. "I told MJ, and she never liked Harry from the start when I mentioned him, and I guess that was just the icing on the cake, you know? So she helped me do some digging and we put together this dumb pdf file for you, and it fell on me to try and convince you that you needed to read it."

"But I didn't listen," Peter ran a shaky hand down his face, but talking about Harry was reigniting the flame inside of him. "He wasn't human, Ned. He was strong enough to hold his own and there were times where I could've sworn he was as strong as me, maybe even stronger."

That got Ned's attention, "So you think he did recreate the serum?"

"No other explanation makes sense," Peter shrugged. "It doesn't change the fact that he basically screwed over my entire life. He took everything away from me... He was willing to murder Alex to get to me, and because of him Alex is fighting for his life just by association. May and George are never gonna forgive me, the Avengers are pissed because I didn't tell them anything... and my identity..."

"He didn't take everything away," Ned vowed, grabbing Peter by his forearm. "Me and you against the world, remember?"

"I wanna kill him," Peter confessed once more.

Ned's sad eyes flickered over his face, but he didn't say anything for a long while. "You can't bottle up your anger anymore, Peter. I know you've been scared to let it go, but you're starting to tread in deep waters that you can't come back from."

Peter shook his head in frustration. "Harry's not going to stop until he kills me, and he's shown that he's more than willing to hurt those close to me in order to get what he wants. It's either I die or he dies."

Ned shot him a knowing look. "That's not why you want to kill him. You want revenge."

Peter just looked at him, and he could essentially feel the fire in his veins. "It's time to end this once and for all. I let it go on way too long."

"Right now?" Ned looked conflicted. "I mean, come on, Peter, you don't even know where he is. You just got beat to hell and Alex needs you. May and George need you."

"I need to do this," Peter told him insistently. "I need to do this for me."

Ned hesitated for a moment before his face morphed into an expression of resignation. "Where do you think he'd go? It's not like he's gonna go on a rampage if he's just set on killing you."

"He left me to die, but he's gotta know by now that I'm alive," Peter thought aloud. "He's not gonna attack random people, it seemed too personal for that."

"Do you think he'd come here?"

Peter shook his head, "He wouldn't risk the Avengers."

"So what do you think he's going to do?"

Peter bit his lip, "I don't know..." Wait a minute...

Poor Peter Parker, struggling to have everything he wants, while the world tries to make him choose... Harry's words washed over Peter, and oddly enough it sparked a wave of unease that washed over him. Gods don't need to choose, Pete... We take.

"Holy shit," Peter realized, his eyes widening.

Ned frowned, "What?"

"Oh my god," Peter stood up in a panic.

"Peter? What's wrong? Can you hear something with Alex?" Ned was also scared.

"How else do you lure a fish from the sea?" Peter asked him urgently.

The words dawned on Ned and he paled. "You wouldn't think..."

"He went through you and Alex to get to me, Ned," Peter paced back and forth. "What else am I supposed to think? Everyone I care about is here, except for one person."

"MJ," Ned breathed out in horror.

"He's going after MJ," Peter's blood boiled.

"Peter you can't go alone!" Ned pleaded. "Look what happened..."

"I wasn't prepared then, but I am now," Peter told him confidently.

"You're going to get yourself killed," Ned tried to suppress his panic.

"Ned... I need to do this for me." Peter told him imploringly. "I'll be okay. Anyways, I won't be alone, right? You'll be my guy in the chair?"

Ned looked like he wanted to fight Peter's decision, but his head fell in resignation. Pulling off the backpack that he had been wearing on his back, he opened it up and handed it to Peter. Peter, who just stared at the bag in confusion, took it. His eyes widened when he saw his mask and gloves inside.

"What the hell... How'd you even..." Peter asked as he took out the garments. Taking off the Stark Watch he had on his wrist, Peter pulled the gloves on with no hesitation.

"May was able to in and salvage a few things. Your school bag was in ruins, but everything inside was..." Ned's voice was rough with emotion and he had to clear his throat. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "What do you need from me?"

Peter tossed the watch his way and Ned caught it in one fluid motion. "Buy me some time?"

Ned was quiet, and Peter could see the traces of tears building up in his eyes. Then he nodded before saying, "Make sure you come back, okay? We still have that R2-D2 that we have to build."

Peter pulled on his Spider-Man mask before looking back at Ned. "I'll be okay," He repeated, but Peter wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Ned or himself, the fear of MJ being in danger still lingered in his mind.

With one more glance at Ned, Peter took off at a run before diving off of the Compound's building, latching onto a tree in the distance with a web and zooming out of sight.

Was it good? Was it bad? Feel free to let me know!

P.S. Don't be mad at Tony. He's scared. He goes all tough love when he thinks Peter's in danger.

P.P.S. Ned and Peter aren't perfect, but there's a relationship that's been forged that is too strong to be broken so easily. Are they fully healed? No. Peter will never forget what Ned did, but Harry had put that implication in his mind that Harry essentially would've done everything in his power to isolate Peter from Ned. Either way, Peter trusts Ned to have his back as Spider-Man, and that's something that'll never go away without something extreme. Anyway, that's my explanation as to why I kept them close, and I hope it makes sense to you too :)