Chapter 4:
My lab was dark and quiet. A small blue glow was emitting from the scanner on my table, the runestone Peter and I found resting on it.
"Where the hell were you going Odinson?" I muttered under my breath.
Turning around, I snapped my fingers and the lights turned on.
The lab was full of projects. Experimental wings for Sam, a new suit for Rhodey, most of my old suits and a Rescue Mk2 suit among other things.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y.? Do you have anything on the stone yet?" I asked, walking over to the arc reactor that contained the Mk 85 suit.
"Not yet boss. Selvigs research is hard to decipher. Is there no other specialist you know?"
I sighed and pinched my nose.
"Dammit..." I muttered.
I knew another of course, but I'd avoided talking to him since...
Thanos.
"I do, contact Stephen Strange and ask him to come at his earliest convenience."
"Right away boss."
I picked up the core and placed it on my workbench, tapping it twice.
On the bench was the Mk 85 suit, my most advanced suit.
The one I died in.
The reality of that hadn't really settled in yet. I'd been distracting myself, first with the kid and then with finding Thor.
I'd never thought of improvements to the suit. I intended to die in it.
But I'm here still, because of him.
As if on queue, an orange, sparking circle appeared in my lab and through stepped Doctor Strange.
I turned and straightened myself.
He looked mildly annoyed and crossed his arms.
"Stark. I take it you called me for a reason."
I waved my hand and walked back over to the scanner.
"That's right Gandalf. I found this-" I gestured to the stone. "-and Selvig is a crazy S.O.B. with indecipherable work, so I figured I'd ask another expert."
Strange picked the stone up and examined it.
"It's for transportation, but the engraving is slightly different."
He spun the stone around in his hand, his hands glowing slightly.
"Who used this last?"
I shrugged.
"Thor Odinson I think. He's been missing for a while and the kid and I found that stone in a cave he was spotted near."
Strange nodded.
"I need to take this back with me. I need some time with the stone in the Sanctum to figure out its true purpose. I'll be back once I find something."
Strange started to summon a portal.
"Hold up Merlin! I need that thing to find my friend."
Strange stepped through the portal and turned to face me.
"He's my friend to Stark, and you'll get the stone back."
With that, the portal closed.
I sighed and walked back to the arc reactor.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y., make a file for a mark 86 suit, let's look into improving this baby."
———————
"Come on man! Go quicker!"
Five men stood inside a bank, one trying to pick a lock on a rather large safe.
"I can't go any quicker dumbass. Just make sure no one gets in."
The 4 men were armed with varying weapons, shotguns, hand guns and an anti-gravity gun from before Toomes was arrested.
The 5th was different, wearing an orange and yellow mechanical suit with electric gloves.
"Dammit Shultz, I don't like this. Hurry up!"
The armoured man stood up and punched the man, knocking him unconscious.
"I told you I can't go any quicker."
He went back to work on the safe.
"Hey, when did it get so foggy in here?" One of the men asked.
"I don't know man, James, check the door."
One of the men slowly walked towards the door, shotgun in hand.
"Nothing here bo-"
His sentence was cut off.
"AAAAAAGHHH!!!"
The other 2 men perked up at his scream.
"Shultz, look man we gotta go!"
Herman Shultz stood up.
"You bet your ass we do. Let's get out of here!"
A green smoke descended around the 3 men.
A silhouette appeared in the cloud, and a green blast sent the man with the anti-gravity gun flying.
"Argh!"
The other man began firing into the fog.
"I wouldn't try that."
Behind him appeared Quentin Beck.
The man aimed his gun at him, Beck grabbing it and twisting his arm.
The man dropped the gun and was sent flying by a green blast.
Shultz activated his gauntlets.
"You're that Mysterio guy right? You might have taken my boys down, but you ain't ever messed with the Shocker!"
He ran at Beck and swung for his head.
His hand passed right through the illusion.
"What the hell?"
A green blast hit Schultz in the back, knocking him over.
"You were too easy to fake out. I can understand why Spider-Man can't take you seriously."
Mysterio floated down, his green triangles summoned and ready, his cape flowing behind him as the illusion fizzled out.
Schultz stood up.
"Come on man. It's gonna take more than a magic beam to hurt me." He said, charging up his gauntlets.
He shot a blast a Mysterio, knocking him out of the air.
"Ranged attacks, didn't have those on my Earth..." Beck muttered as he stood up.
"Your Earth?"
Beck sighed and shot another beam, knocking Schultz down again.
"Stay down, id rather not drag this out when we both know I'm going to win."
Schultz laughed, the yellow eyes of his Iron Man like mask glowing.
"We'll see about that."
A shotgun blast to the back knocked Quentin over.
"Oof!"
Schultz stood up and ran over to the culprit.
"I'm sorry I hit you, we gotta run!"
A golden hand appeared on the shoulder of the shotgun man.
"Not so fast." Quentin said, spinning the man around.
He punched the man hard, breaking his nose and knocking him to the ground.
He raised his arms in a defensive stance as Schultz turned around to face him.
"You just survived a shotgun at point blank range? How the fu-"
"Armour dumbass."
Schultz reactivated the gauntlets, electricity crackling.
"Whatever man, lets just get this over with so I can go home."
He ran at Beck, swinging for his head.
Expertly ducking the blow, Beck spun and kicked Schultz in the back, sending him tumbling forward.
Growling, he got back up and charged at Beck, picking him up and slamming him into a wall before punching him hard in the stomach.
Beck fell to the ground, the air in his lungs being knocked out of him.
Schultz picked up the man while e was sprawled on his back and slammed him into the ground.
"You're a weak little man ain't ya?"
Beck rose to his hands and knees.
"Or maybe I'm just playing you?"
Beck fizzled out, and a kick from behind sent Schultz sprawling on the floor.
Before he could react, he felt himself being lifted into the air by a strange force.
He was turned around and faced Mysterio, using his abilities to hold him in place.
"You tried your best 'Shocker', but you belong in prison and you'll stay there as long as I'm around."
Mysterio spun the eye of the triangle in his right hand, making Herman's mask pop off.
He motioned with his left hand, morphing the mask into a sheet of metal and tied Schultz's hands together with it.
"How...are...you...doing...this?" Herman asked.
Mysterio smiled beneath his helmet.
"What a simple minded man like you would call 'magic'."
He sent Schultz flying into a wall, knocking him out cold.
The dome around Mysterios head disappeared, and he sighed.
"I suppose I should call Stark..."
————————
MJ and I walked through some trails outside the compound. Pepper had set up a nice, and incredibly large garden and MJ figured it would be good for the both of us to walk through it.
"You know MJ, i thought summer was supposed to be a break for us."
"It would be if you weren't an Avenger dork."
I sighed as we walked.
"I lost the chance to be a normal kid when Be-Burkhart exposed me."
I looked to MJ, my face going dead serious.
"You don't deserve this."
MJ frowned and rolled her eyes.
"Don't start this again Peter. Nothing bad happened. I'm safer here than I am at home, and while I may not be overly fond of Tony Stark, I'm not gonna deny his hospitality."
MJ punched me on the shoulder.
"I'm here for you loser. I'm not going anywhere."
"Thanks MJ."
MJ hugged me.
"Come on dork, lets go have a semi-normal afternoon."