For an undetermined period of time, I felt myself cut off from the world, an abstract spectator.
We made it to Part 4! As I had said in previous notes, rather than this being a single narrative, this will instead function as a series of oneshots between the end of Part 3 and the start of Part 5 which picks up the following summer. The oneshots link into the overall story, but the point was to focus on specific situations or individuals, and mostly to have some fun. Many of these oneshots are downright silly.
But not this one. Today we have some aftermath to follow up on after Part 3.
The song for tonight's oneshot is "One Woman Army" by Porcelain Black. Because everybody's favorite aunt is absolutely ready to fight tonight.
Enjoy!
Story 1: Battlefield: May vs Spider-Man and the Avengers
" — CK!"
May knew she was a smart woman. Maybe not on the level of Tony 'genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist' Stark, or the level of Peter 'I can do chemistry in elementary school' Parker. But smart nonetheless.
And so seeing Peter's back, Peter wearing Spider-Man's costume, and suddenly, terribly, making sense of everything came as a blow.
How did I miss this?
Before Peter had even turned fully around, May's thoughts had transitioned from shock to fury.
"Aunt May!" Peter's eyes were huge. "I...uh...this...it's a...c-costume…"
"Save it." Her chest was burning and she crossed her arms to give her something to hold onto. She was shaking. "How stupid do you think I am?"
"You're not!" His face was pale. "I just...I…"
"Peter. Benjamin. Parker." May bit back the urge to shout with a will that felt like knives. "Get out of that suit and bring it out here. Now."
She turned back to the living room, tugging on her hair to ground herself. She had to get through this. She needed the truth, and she needed to keep from screaming at Peter in order to get it.
If she laid into him, he'd clam up. And she didn't have time for that. She needed answers.
Moments later, Peter trailed out of his room, the Spider-Man suit limp in his hands. He'd thrown on the nearest shirt and jeans, which she could tell had been on his floor for at least a couple of days by the wrinkles. She clung to the details because they kept her focused.
"How long."
"W-what?" Peter stopped beside the couch.
May's hands clenched into fists. "How long have you been lying to me?"
"I…"
May stepped forward and took the suit from him. She peered at it. "You didn't make this. Tony made this." She threw it onto the table. "How long have you both been lying to me?"
"It's not...it's not like that," Peter managed.
"Peter!" She didn't mean to snap. "Tell me what the hell is going on right now before I put that thing in the trash forever!"
As when he was nervous, his words fell out, tripping over each other. A near-lifetime of raising the kid was the only way she could follow all his half-finished thoughts and asides. But as he got close to the end, a darker anger started to burn up her spine.
"...so...so they found out in April because of...well, I can't tell you because I promised but I helped them when they went to go rescue Wanda and Pietro, but I made...I made them all promise not to tell you and they helped me out so much and the suit Tony made for me is actually really cool and has its own AI and KAREN looked out for me like when I was DC with that thing at the Washington Monument and everybody was really mad at me about that...but, anyway, I was going to tell you, especially after what happened on Friday so…"
"Stop." She held up her hands. Took a deep breath through the nose. "You're telling me...Tony, which means Pepper, and the rest of the Avengers, even Ned...have known you were...you were out there almost getting yourself killed, for months? And you all kept it from me?"
Peter gulped. "I...I made them do it. Don't...please don't be mad at them."
"Oh." She laughed and it was a cold sound. "I have plenty of mad for everybody. Including you." She held his eyes. "Did you even consider what I would go through if you got hurt? If you got killed?"
"I...I heal really fast…"
"That's not good enough!" She wanted to stamp her foot and only barely kept from it. "You are a child, Peter! You have no right to do this behind my back!"
Peter's eyes were filling with tears. "May...I didn't mean to hurt you, I just…"
"You just what?" she demanded. "What was so goddamn important that you had to lie to me for a year?"
"I just wanted to save people!"
It burst from him suddenly, and it brought her up short for a moment.
Peter saw her hesitation and dove into her lapse.
"I couldn't do anything for Uncle Ben when he died," he said, his voice shaking. "I couldn't stop the bullies at school. I couldn't fight Hydra when they came after us. And I'm just...I'm just one person, May. There are so many people who can't protect themselves. And I can do that now. I can save them now."
Protectiveness, fierce and hot, rose up in her heart.
"Peter, you can't risk your life for strangers!"
Peter shook his head. "Yes, I can! And I have to! Because if I let people get hurt, then it's as bad as if I hurt them myself. And I can't…" He looked away. "Not everybody has you, Aunt May. Not everybody has someone to go to if their parents die in a mugging or a car crash. I can't…"
May's rage cracked a little; it was hard to sustain anger when Peter was just so good. "Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.
"Well, at first I just...I didn't want to scare you," he said. "You were already so mad from the bite that made me sick, and it was only a few months after the Mind Stone and...I'd already put you through so much."
May scowled. "That's bullshit, Peter, and you know it. That's no excuse."
He flinched. "I…"
"I think you didn't tell me because you didn't want me to stop you," she said. "Which, I guess now I really do know where you've been sneaking off to all the time. And here I thought my kid wasn't one of those teens who can't confide in adults, that you were just getting up to little stuff. But you…"
She stopped before she said something they would both regret later. Took a breath. Peter took one, too, she noticed.
"So. You lied to me. Tony lied to me. Pepper lied to me." She flexed her hands to keep from cutting open her palms with her nails. "And a band of superheroes thought they knew better than me what's best for you."
"No, um, they all pretty much hated it," Peter said. "But I convinced them."
"Oh, this I gotta hear. How did you get the entire Avengers team to lie for you, Peter?"
Peter drew in another deep breath, but he met her eyes. "I reminded them that I had a right to privacy. That it's my body and my powers, and I had a right not to tell you anything about them if I didn't want to."
There was challenge in him, and May would probably be a little proud later, but now she was pissed.
"And if you got shot swinging around every night? What then?" She gestured at the suit on the table. "That thing doesn't look bulletproof to me."
"I don't think it is," Peter said before he thought better of it. "Um. But I've never been shot. And I heal really fast. And, um, when I was in trouble, Tony promised to help. And Loki came, too."
That was a twist she didn't expect and it caught her off-guard. "Loki?"
"Yeah, he, uh...figured it out. Before I told anybody. He was training me so I could, you know. Protect myself."
"Well I'm glad somebody was watching out for you." May turned around, needing a moment. She was trembling and she didn't know anymore if it was from anger or fear or a new kind of grief.
"May." Suddenly Peter's hand was on her shoulder. "May, I'm sorry."
May spun around and pulled him into her arms, squeezing him tightly until her bones creaked. "Peter, my god." And she was still feeling so many things, but there were tears, too. "How could you?"
"I'm sorry," he said again, a little more broken. He held her back, but not as tightly as he probably could. She'd seen enough of Spider-Man on YouTube to know he had strength the way Steve did. "I didn't want to hurt you."
"But you did," she said, and she shook as she said it. "You and everyone else. My whole family was lying to me. And anything could have happened to you and I'd never know."
"I always came home," Peter said.
"But you can't tell me you didn't get hurt." She gave him a slight push so he would let go enough for her to see his face. "Kiddo, how many times have you been hurt and I didn't know?"
He gulped again. "I...I didn't keep track."
May hated the hot tear that rolled down her cheek. "I can't...Pete, you can't do that. You can't...you can't do that."
"I have to," he said. "May, I have to."
"Why?" She squeezed his shoulders. "Why does it have to be you? We have an entire family of superheroes. Why can't you just be Peter?"
Peter surprised her. Her question didn't upset him. It steadied him.
"I am Peter," he said, and there was conviction in his voice. "And Peter is Spider-Man. Even without the suit. All alone, in the dark, I am Spider-Man, and Spider-Man takes care of people who can't protect themselves."
May shut her eyes.
She knew the kid too well.
She'd even warned Tony about it, long ago.
Peter Parker was the most stubborn kid on the planet. And when he decided that something was right, and something needed to be done, he did it. He did it without permission, or without support if he had to. It went beyond there being no quit in him.
Peter Parker didn't have an ounce of bend in his soul when it came to what he believed.
"You snuck out all this time," she said, keeping her eyes shut. "If I told you to stop, you'd keep doing it anyway."
"I…"
"Don't lie to me now, Pete," she interrupted him. "We both know that's what you were about to do."
He fell silent.
"I could tell Tony to burn your suit, but then you'd be out there in sweatpants."
"At least you didn't call it a onesie."
That made May open her eyes. "What?"
"My original costume," he said, looking away. "Tony called it a onesie when he found out."
"Of course he did." She sighed. "Peter, I love you. I love how selfless you are. But…"
Her throat closed.
"May," he said very softly, "I...I'm just...so sorry. For all of it."
"I know." She let go of his shoulder to run her hand over his head, hating how much taller he was now. She missed her tiny kid.
But he wasn't a tiny kid anymore. He was still a kid. But he was more than that, too.
"I never stood a chance, did I?" she asked. "Growing up on all those books and movies, Iron Man at the Expo, the Avengers...you're like one of those kids in your stories. It never even occurred to you to not to become a hero, did it?"
"Not really."
Her rage was abating for now. Or, rather, its target was shifting.
"Thor's hammer chose you, and the Mind Stone did, too." She shook her head. "For once in your life, kid, couldn't you have been less amazing?"
"I mean…" He shrugged.
Damn this kid.
She pulled him into her arms again. "I am not okay with this, Peter. I'm...I'm not okay."
"I'm sorry, Aunt May."
"Don't apologize for something you would do again," she said. "You know better."
He huffed. "I...yeah, you're right."
She held him another moment, then stepped back.
May had made a few decisions amidst her churning feelings in spite of her her mind being almost numb in surprise and pain, but one thing was clear to her: if she didn't act now, she wouldn't know any peace.
"Here's what's going to happen," she said. "You are going to stay here. You are grounded until I decide otherwise. If you set one toe out of the apartment, so help me, you will regret it."
He nodded.
"I am going to need to talk to the rest of our family," she said. "You screwed up big, buddy, but you're just a kid. And I can't completely blame you for doing what you thought was right. But everybody else?" That dark anger started to burn again. "They did know better."
Peter barely stifled a smile. "Oh my god, you're going to yell at the Avengers."
"I am absolutely going to yell at the Avengers." May looked up. "JARVIS, what's the protocol we use when we don't want you warning Tony about something because we're trying to surprise him?"
"Master Parker has named it the Surprise Party Protocol."
"Okay. Enact it now. Where is everybody?"
"Most of the Avengers remain at the Compound, but Sir and Miss Potts are at the Tower."
May frowned. She didn't want to do this in phases. And she very much didn't want to warn people before she got to have her say.
"Of course they make it hard to call them out on their crap," she muttered.
"JARVIS," Peter spoke up. "Do I have the ability to call an Avengers Assemble?"
"While you are not an Avenger, you have access and clearance second only to Sir's. I see no reason you cannot overrule the protocols regarding the Assemble command."
Peter glanced at her. "I feel a little bad about it."
May actually managed a small smile. "Put it this way. Either I yell at them all at once right now, or I'm going to be mad for a couple of days until I can get them together some other way. I don't think either of us wants that."
"Like pulling off a band-aid." Peter sighed. "I'm going to get in trouble for this, aren't I?"
"Do you really think you can get in even worse trouble at this point?"
"Maybe not with you."
"Fair." May shrugged. "If Mister Perfect Captain America comes after you for calling an Assemble on my behalf, I promise you he'll pay for it."
"Wow." Peter blinked at her. "You are really mad."
May felt a feral and very not-nice look spread across her face.
"Yes, I am really mad."
"Okay, then I'd much rather get this over with. Just, uh." He started fidgeting with his fingers.
May was surprised at the look of fear on his face. Alarm bells went off in her head. "What?"
"You're not going to take the suit away, are you?" And it was small and there was pain there and May thought maybe she'd have to yell at somebody twice.
She sighed. "If I did, would you stop being Spider-Man?"
"Apparently not," he said.
There was definitely a story behind this, but she would get the details out of him later. "Then I'd rather you have whatever Tony invented to keep you safe."
"And, um, you don't think...I mean, I just fixed my big fight with Tony and…"
"No, Peter," she said, understanding this part better than he did. "Even this isn't going to break our family up. I'm going to yell them all into submission, but they're all adults. Or they're supposed to be. They can handle it. Anybody who takes it out on you gets drop-kicked off the Tower."
"You're sure?"
There was no superhero in that uncertainty. That was wholly her kid who loved so fiercely, and who had lost so much. The nephew who had feared even Tony wouldn't love him after a fight. For all that Peter could be uncommonly wise, he was also just a scared boy with emotional object permanence issues.
And while there was a tiny, dark tendril of betrayal in her heart that wanted her to tell the Avengers to collectively go to hell and never so much as look at Peter again, that was an impulse she ignored. May wasn't about to uproot a family because they'd made an egregious mistake.
If they'd gotten Peter seriously hurt, or killed, maybe.
"I'm sure."
"Okay." Peter glanced upwards. "JARVIS, can you time an Avengers Assemble so that everybody at the Compound gets to the Tower at the same time Aunt May does? And so it doesn't go to, like, SHIELD or anything?"
"Yes. I can estimate from Missus Parker's location and speed and determine when to issue the alert."
"I'm going to get in so much trouble for this," Peter muttered, running a hand through his hair. "But at least you all will be yelling at each other for a while. I'm kind of done with the yelling aimed at me."
He squared his shoulders.
May's heart lurched. And just as quickly, this wasn't only her kid anymore. There, hovering in his expression and his stance, was a young man.
Oh, baby. Why'd you have to grow up so fast?
Peter didn't notice May's moment of crisis. "Okay, JARVIS. I'm requesting a timed Avengers Assemble to the Tower so that the Compound arrives at the same time May gets to the penthouse. And make sure Tony and Miss Pepper are there, too."
"Understood, young sir."
Peter dropped to the couch as though his strings had been cut.
May kind of wanted to hug him, reassure him that she didn't intend to break anything that couldn't be repaired with some soul-searching, actual communication, and maybe a little groveling. She also realized he'd called Tony 'Tony' more than once now, not 'Mister Stark,' and she wanted the story behind it, and to find out what had changed enough to shake Peter out of his ingrained habit. And to tease him for it, probably.
But if she did any of that now, she'd lose her edge more than she already had.
And while the Avengers went into battle against Hydra and aliens to protect the world, and apparently Peter went into battle to protect people from muggings and runaway bicycles, this was her battle.
And May didn't intend to leave even one person (metaphorically) standing.
So she gathered up her things and left without another word.
-==OOO==-
Peter watched May go and sighed. "Well, she didn't stop me from being Spider-Man."
"I doubt even she could do as much."
Peter blinked and looked up. An image of Loki had appeared in the living room. Peter's senses told him at once that it was as a vision only — Loki himself was probably still banned from Earth.
"Sorry I can't train with you today," he said tiredly.
"No, that is not why I came." Loki moved around the furniture as if he was really there and settled on a chair. "You have been under a great deal of duress recently. I mislike how it feels to the magic which warns me of your imminent demise."
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry." Peter flushed. "I didn't know that I was bothering you by being upset."
"That is not what I said. Regardless." Loki was peering at him. "We have not spoken since my fight with Stark in the other city. Are you well?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"And your wounds from the collapsed structure?"
Peter swallowed. "Mostly healed. It wasn't...it was a lot scarier than it was painful."
Loki's face twisted with disgust. "You, child, are the absolute worst at offering encouraging words regarding your own wellbeing."
Peter sighed, flopping sideways to sprawl across the couch. "Good to know."
Loki shook his head. "What I am attempting to communicate, and apparently not doing well, is that I wish you to know that I was concerned for you. I was concerned Stark would break your heart, which he did. I was concerned for your safety and for your confrontation with that vile creature who tried to kill you. And I am concerned for you now."
Peter blinked at him. "You are?"
"Indeed." Loki's face went implacable. "I have some experience with the disapproval and disappointment of a parent."
"Oh." Peter didn't need any more than that to know that Loki didn't actually want to talk about it, and that was fine. He knew more than enough not to push any buttons. "I'm okay with Tony now. We figured it out."
"Indeed. But with mothers...it is always more difficult."
And Peter could feel the pain in that. He knew Loki had loved his mother very, very much, and missed her still. And, he remembered suddenly, Loki's mom was an adopted mom, too.
So he didn't mind Loki not making the distinction between a mom and Aunt May. Peter's biological mom was gone, but the woman who had raised him was his mom in every way that mattered. Like Uncle Ben had been his dad. And how Tony and Miss Pepper and everyone else was his family. The names for things never mattered the way the reality of them did.
"Yeah," Peter said simply.
"I still know little about you mortals. But from what I have observed, I would suggest that your honored mother is angry at the risk to you more than at you."
"I know," Peter said. "But I really...I never wanted to hurt her."
"Hurt is inevitable," Loki said. "And I am perhaps not the one to give you sound council in this, but I have been told, repeatedly, that honesty is the first step along the path to reconciliation."
"Yeah? So how's that usually work out for you?" Peter asked.
"Well." Loki smirked. "I am not known as Liesmith for nothing."
Peter sighed.
-==OOO==-
May exited the elevator to the Tower's penthouse into a scene of chaos.
"I'm telling you, I didn't call anybody!" Tony was yelling. Around him, the entire Avengers roster, as well as the Maximoff twins and Bucky Barnes, swarmed in various states of agitation and confusion.
"Could JARVIS have been hacked?" Pepper asked.
May drew in a deep breath.
And then shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Peter is Spider-Man?"
That caused every single person to freeze.
Almost comically, Tony turned very slowly towards her. "Uh, May, now's not the best…"
May had no idea what was on her face, but it stopped the words in his throat.
She stalked into the room, seething. "You're all going to sit down. And you're going to explain yourselves to me. Or so help me, I'll never forgive any of you."
And it didn't make any difference to May that she was facing off against a literal team of superheroes who could all kill her in an instant. That she was glaring at the people who defended the Earth against threats and had actually saved her life and Peter's more than once.
Because Peter was her kid and her family had lied and she was livid.
Only Steve had the gall to step forward, hands raised placatingly. "Now, May, we've got a situation here — "
"I called the Assemble," she snapped. "And don't tell me this isn't an emergency. My kid could have died and every single one of you kept it from me!"
She actually stepped into Steve's space and gave him a tiny push.
"And if you dare try to tell me to calm down, I will slap you back to the goddamn forties."
Steve's face paled and he backed up. "Uh, yes, ma'am." And he actually retreated to the couch.
May took in everyone's faces as they copied their fearless captain and yielded the floor to her. The Maximoff twins, Thor, and Bucky weren't as close to May and Peter, so while they looked concerned and uncomfortable, they weren't taking things as personally. Vision's expressions were usually subdued, but he was showing enough emotion to suggest he was pretty upset. Nat, conversely, was a bristling combination of pissed and resigned. Clint looked particularly guilty and ashamed, as did Bruce. Sam was visibly preparing himself to moderate the situation, and May shot him a special glare to keep him from even attempting it. Steve was keeping his head down.
But the others — the real targets of her anger? Tony and Pepper and Rhodey looked devastated.
Good.
"Here's what's going to happen," May said, and she couldn't tell if her voice was shaking or if it was her whole body. All the adrenaline she'd lost talking with Peter was back tenfold. "You're going to tell me the truth. All of it. I've already talked to Peter, but I deserve to hear it from you."
She didn't bother to levy a threat. It was there in the air.
"We didn't know," Rhodey began, and she could admire his courage for throwing himself into the fray even as her heart beat hard with anger. "Nobody knew until we brought Barnes back from Europe in April. We were all off arguing with Ross about Avengers stuff, and somebody attacked the Tower to try to get to him. When we got here, Spider-Man was holding his own."
"I knew," Vision said quietly. But he met May's eyes calmly. "I saw the changes evolving in him after the incident with radiation. However, I did not realize he was Spider-Man. Only that Peter was changing."
"It is a good thing he came with them to Siberia to face us," Wanda said, and that was not information Peter had given her, "because he was able to help us understand that we were fighting on the wrong side. He kept us from making worse mistakes, and he saved Stark's life."
"And mine and Steve's," Bucky put in.
"And you all, what?" May glared. "Decided that because he could lift a bus that you could let him run around in spandex risking his life?"
"You know that's not what happened, May," Pepper said, masterfully composed. "Peter had been Spider-Man for six months at that point. None of us could have stopped him. Even though we tried."
May hauled in a breath that hurt. "You should have tried harder."
"It wouldn't have worked." Nat shrugged, affecting a cool exterior May wished she could see through. "I know a lost cause when I see one. Either we worked with him, or he'd be on his own again."
"That's not why you're angry at us, May," Sam said. He met her eyes. "That's why you're mad at Peter, and you have every right to be. At least be honest with us about how we hurt you."
"Damn you," she said. "I didn't ask for you to make this one of your therapy sessions."
"No," Sam said, uncowed. "And it isn't. This is a family."
May felt her tears gather and fall, and it only incensed her more.
"You lied to me!" She shouted it, tears running, but she was looking at Tony and he wasn't looking back at her. "I know this is your doing! You lied to me about Peter, Tony! And he could have died!"
Before he could speak, she rounded on Pepper. "And you! We sat on the beach together and all the time you knew and you didn't…" She couldn't tell if she wanted to scream or sob. "You lied to me! All of you!"
Clint moved as if he was going to stand up, but then held still. "May...we…"
"I trusted you! All of you!" She was past shouting now, the words reverberating in her chest. "I trusted you to protect him and you threw him into danger! I trusted you with everything and you lied to my face!"
"We meant only the best," Thor tried. "We hoped to nurture the boy while allowing him to find his true path as a warrior."
His take on it was so awful it only deepened her rage. She could have spit on him, god of thunder or not.
"Buddy, not helpful," Rhodey said, elbowing Thor.
"But it is the truth," Thor said. "He is young, but he is strong. He chose a noble and heroic path, and it was our duty as his guardians and teachers to assist him."
"Thor, seriously, shut up," Pietro said. "Do you not know when not to challenge the angry mama bear? Or are you so large an idiot after all? If she kills you now, none of us will be surprised."
It should have lightened the tension in the room, but May had no intention of letting go of her feelings so easily. Whatever boundaries she had set when she was calmer suddenly shattered.
"You had no right," she growled. "You had no right to keep this from me. He's my kid!"
And she saw that barb land in Tony's heart and in her fury she hoped it hurt.
The person she didn't expect to stand up and face her was Bruce. But he did, and there was none of his usual awkwardness in his face now.
"May, I know you're upset. And you have every right to be. But Peter's ours, too." He swallowed, but did not falter. "You're not the only one who loves him."
And then Pepper was there as well. "And we don't only love Peter, May. We're family and we screwed up. We were wrong to keep this from you. I was wrong. And I'm sorry."
May wasn't ready to be placated. She shook her head. "Not good enough. Do you really expect me to just roll over and pretend you didn't lie to my face for months?"
"No," Pepper said. "But be mad at the right people. Tony and I...we're the ones who asked everyone to keep it from you. Don't take it out on them."
"That's bullshit. They're adults." She swung around to look at everyone else. "They all knew better. And if they don't, then I'm not sure how safe I feel with them anymore."
"Don't." Bruce actually caught her shoulder. "Don't go that far. I know you're angry and hurt. I know. And you have every right to be. But, take it from me. The damage you do with your anger can be really hard to fix later."
May couldn't keep looking at Bruce and his honesty and his compassion and maintain her fury, so she again turned to the target that burned brightest in her heart, the pain she felt most keenly. And the person who hadn't spoken a word.
"Tony."
He flinched as if she'd slapped him where he sat. His head was down, hiding his eyes.
"I know you thought you were helping him. God knows you'd do anything for Peter. But you lied to me, Tony! To me!"
She stalked away from Pepper and Bruce, planting herself in front of him.
"How many times, Tony? How many times did he get hurt swinging around and stopping cars with his bare hands? How many times did you let him hide injuries from me? Huh? How many?"
"Too many," Tony said almost too quietly for her to hear.
"Did you just want to be the fun parent? The one who lets the kid get away with stuff so I could be the bad guy? Or was it an ego thing?" she accused. "You're the great and mighty Tony Stark so of course you know how to raise a child better than poor little May Parker?"
Tony shook his head, but said nothing.
Behind her, Bruce and Pepper were both talking, but May ignored them.
"You promised me you would keep Peter safe, and instead you left him out there throwing himself in front of buses! What if he'd died, Tony? What if Peter had died?"
Tony's head came up and his expression was stricken. "I was trying to protect him."
"You were trying to protect yourself," May snapped. "It's always been about you. You came into our lives and made Peter into your new, shiny toy. A mini Stark, right? Isn't that what everyone calls him?"
She leaned down and got into Tony's face. "And now he's a hero just like you, too. And neither of you gave enough of a crap about poor little May Parker who couldn't possibly understand to tell her the truth. When it came down to it, Anthony Stark, when you had the choice to do the right thing by me and Peter or get your own way, you chose yourself."
Now she was genuinely crying. "You lied to me, Tony. You lied…"
With that, her anger had run its course, and now May just felt so terribly alone and betrayed.
She turned and stumbled away, shaking off hands and ignoring voices calling after her. She made it most of the way towards the elevator but her tears blinded her and she bumped into a pillar. She put her back to it and covered her face and just cried.
And when familiar arms wrapped around her and pulled her to a muscled shoulder, she let them.
"Mi dispiace," he whispered as he held her tight. "Mi dispiace. I'm sorry, May. I'm sorry."
"You can't do that," she managed. "You can't lie to me. Not about Peter or you. You're...you're all I have left…"
Tony squeezed even harder. "Mi dispiace, sorella mia."
"I trusted you." She hiccuped. "And you lied."
Suddenly there was another set of arms holding her and Pepper's fingers carefully drew May's hair away from her face. "Yes, we did. And we thought we were doing the right thing for Peter. But it was the wrong thing for you."
"I didn't want to hurt you," Tony said.
May huffed a laugh that hurt. "That's what Peter said, too." She reached out to catch Pepper's hand and squeezed it. "You can't protect me by not telling me things. You can't."
"I'm sorry," Pepper said. "We should have told you. I should have told you."
"Tony should have told me," May said. "The minute you found out."
She could feel Tony gulp. "I wish I had," he said. "I didn't...I screwed up, May."
May pulled back. "Is that what you and Peter had the fight about last week? About Spider-Man?"
"Something like that." Tony looked acutely uncomfortable. "And I screwed up then, too. I said everything wrong and I took his suit away. And…he could have gotten hurt. Really hurt."
May nodded, piecing it together with what Peter had — or hadn't — said.
"I know you were trying to keep him safe with that suit," she said. "I know you were trying to help him. But you cannot keep this kind of thing from me, Tony. Imagine if I'd known and you didn't, how you would feel."
May could feel the tension that ran through Tony's frame and knew she'd gotten through to him.
"It's not just about Peter," Pepper said. "You deserved to know the truth, and you deserved to hear it from us. We should have trusted you. And Peter should have trusted you."
"But he's a kid," May said. "He's going to be dumb about this stuff." She looked up at Tony. "I need you to be better."
Tony nodded. "I will be. I'm...I'm so sorry, May."
And it wasn't okay, but it was going to be.
May nodded, then peeked past Tony to the others watching, and some of them looking like they'd rather be elsewhere.
"Okay," she said. May extricated herself from Pepper and Tony and grabbed Tony's hand. She led him back to the others like a toddler trailing after her.
"I'm sorry," she said before anyone else could speak. "I'm angry and upset, but I…I shouldn't have said all that." She glanced at Bruce who smiled faintly. "I'm sorry I lost control like that. I was out of line and…I'm sorry."
"You had good reason," Nat said gently.
"Trust me, Laura would have said a lot worse," Clint offered.
May nodded. "But we're not done yet. We're all going to sit down. And you're going to tell me literally everything. We all know Peter won't. And when we're done, we're going to figure out how you all and I are going to co-parent a superkid."
"You're going to let him keep being Spider-Man?" Pepper asked, surprised.
"Could I stop him?" May shot back.
"Definitely not," Rhodey said, and there was warmth in his eyes. "Believe me, Tony tried."
"I do believe you," she said. "And that's why all of you are going to be part of this. Because we are a family," and she said it firmly, "and that means we do this together. And if all of you want to be there for me and Peter, then you're going to need to be here."
And the nods all around put a lump into May's throat for a different reason.
People got up to grab snacks and drinks from the kitchen, and others moved furniture around so they could sit in a big oblong circle. And Bruce, Rhodey, Clint, Nat, even Sam came in to hug May and apologize to her. But Tony never strayed from her side, and his eyes were dark with emotions still. May could see the guilt and grief hanging heavy in him.
"I knew this was going to go FUBAR," Clint said to May as he handed her a glass of water. "But I was outvoted."
"Do you really think now is the right time for an 'I told you so?' Because it isn't," Nat told him.
Clint shrugged. "I'm just saying."
"Karma's a bitch," Sam said. "Watch your kids do something awful in a year or two."
And May managed to laugh.
Two hours of explanations, some videos by JARVIS, a few more tears, and some additional yelling later, May had a much clearer perspective on the antics of Spider-Man and the changes in Peter. She also suffered what felt like four panic attacks, and she may or may not have sworn a blue streak upon finding out about Liz's dad and how many times he'd tried to kill Peter.
And Tony still looked pretty guilty about taking the suit, so May knew that would be a conversation for another day.
But the Avengers collectively vowed to watch over Peter as he watched over Queens, and they all gave their words — Thor gave an actual oath — never to lie to May again about Peter or Spider-Man.
And those burning bridges started to mend themselves.
"I just...I wish there was more I could do," May said finally. "I can't...I can't protect him from this. From bullies or bullets, or from what he's going to see out there."
"No, but he's getting pretty good at protecting himself," Bruce said. "And he isn't alone, either."
"I'm not the only one who saves him, May," Tony said. "You save him, too. Every day. You saved him first."
"I know, but it isn't the same. What if another pile of aliens shows up, or evil robots or something?" She sighed. "I can't...I'm not a superhero."
"Neither am I," Pepper said. "But if I had to fight? For this family, I'd fight." She held up a hand that burned a little orange and the nearby temperature soared. "And maybe it's time I prepare for that possibility."
"Pep, are you sure?" Tony asked, concerned.
Pepper nodded. "I'm ready." She looked around. "Because if a horde of evil robots shows up, if my whole family is out there fighting, then that's where I belong."
"Yeah, that doesn't help me. I don't have glowy fire powers," May told her with a frown.
"No," Wanda said suddenly. "But you are a nurse, correct? In Sokovia, as our people battled our government for freedom, the truest heroes were not those with guns, but those with bandages who saved us again and again. You do not need to destroy robots or aliens to fight with us."
"That's what I mean," Tony said. "You save him by giving him something to protect and a home to go back to, but you could help me out a ton by keeping an eye on him. Enhanced healing or not, stuff's gotta heal. And Pete's bad about letting it."
May nodded. "You protect him out there, I patch him up in here?"
"Exactly."
"Okay. I can do that. I just need to do something." May ran a hand over her hair. "I wish I could say to sign me up for boxing lessons, but I'm just...that's not me."
Nat leaned over to whisper, "I'm sure Happy would be delighted to help you with that if you want."
May batted at her irritably.
"No, it's not you, and that's a good thing," Clint said suddenly. "Peter needs both. He needs a home to go back to where he can just be Peter. Where Spider-Man can go in the drawer and he doesn't have to be the hero anymore. That's the best thing you can give him, and none of us can do it."
"We'll fight for him, and beside him," Steve said. "You give him something to come home to at the end of the fight."
May nodded. Then, after a moment, "But just so you all know? He's so grounded right now. And he's going to stay grounded until I can deal with this."
"Um, no offense, but good luck with that," Bucky said, surprising May. He'd been quiet most of the time. "The first time somebody yells for help where he can hear it, he'll be gone."
"I would estimate that Peter will not be able to help himself for more than a week or two," Vision added. "After that, his own sense of responsibility towards the people of Queens will be enough for him to risk your displeasure."
May sighed. "You're probably right."
"Enjoy this week while it lasts, then," Pepper said with a smile. "And when you need to vent about living with a selfless, ridiculous superhero, you know where to find me."
"I'm never going to get a good night's sleep again, am I?" May asked.
Pepper held up her glass. "Welcome to the club."
And everyone clinked glasses in solidarity.
