AN: I'm sorry about my absence. I've been (and still am) pretty sick. And with this story I don't want to try writing anything if I'm not feeling able to concentrate to avoid screwing up my continuity. Thanks so much for reading this and hanging out with me!

OOOOOOOOOO

"Anything?"

Strange sighed, and sat down on the sofa beside May, shaking his head.

"We have very little – read that as absolutely none – information on the thing. That was the whole point of having Peter look at it in the first place. I'm tempted to just touch the damned thing and see if it sends me to the same place that it sent him."

May tucked herself against his side, comforting him and taking comfort from him when he put his arms around her.

"And if it doesn't?" she asked. "Then Wong would have to try to find both of you."

"I know." He sighed, again. "It's the only reason I haven't."

"I thought you guys jump realities all the time?" she asked. "What's to stop you from doing that and going to look for him in some kind of controlled search?"

"We jump dimensions," Stephen corrected. "And while there are many of them – mirror dimension, dark dimension, and others – it isn't the same as realities. Every simple decision that is made, differently, opens potentially another reality. There are billions out there and they're not as easy to access as dimensions are. If I knew which one, I could focus on trying to get there. There are spells that can help. But not without knowing."

Now it was May who sighed.

"What do we do, then? He isn't going to be able to find his own way home."

"No. But we know that he isn't alone. There's another Peter Parker with him, and presumably that Peter also knows Stephen Strange and Wong. Undoubtedly they have brought Jorgen and maybe the other sanctums in to assist with understanding the figurine and what happened. We're not giving up, yet," he added. "But we're definitely counting on some help coming from the other side of this."

"I just want him back…" she said. "Safe."

"I know. We're working on it."

"I know." May hesitated. "Do you know anyone who owns a pig?"

"What?"

She shrugged.

"I was thinking about him, earlier – worrying, really. And I saw another vision of him. He was in what looked like some kind of gym and was feeding an apple to a pig."

"A pig?"

"It was wearing a sweater," she added.

"The pig?"

"A green one, yes. And I'm not crazy."

"No. I know you aren't, May. In answer to your question; no, I don't know anyone with a pig – especially one like that. Any other visions of him, recently?"

He had seen a couple, himself, and Wong had admitted that he'd seen one, as well, but the two sorcerers were busy trying to figure out how to get their apprentice back. May was worried, and it seemed (to Strange) that he received the visions just as he was worried most about the boy. May would be more worried than they were, so it made sense that she would be getting these visions or images more often, he supposed.

"I have," she confirmed. "He was eating in some large cafeteria."

"School?"

"No." she knew his school well. "I'm not certain. He wasn't alone."

"Was he with the other Peter?"

"Yes. It was only a quick glance, though. And then he was wrestling with a man I didn't recognize."

Strange frowned.

"Wrestling?"

"It was in fun," she said. And she hesitated. "It might not have been him," she conceded. "It could have been him watching the other Peter and him wrestle. I didn't hear anything, but they were all smiling."

"No idea who the man was?"

"I thought he looked familiar," Peter's aunt told him. "But it was another of those quick looks and I didn't have time to decide if I knew him, or not."

"Hmmm…"

"And he might have built a machine that he was using to toss squash across a field."

"What?"

She shrugged.

"I might be wrong about that. My glances are just that," May added. "Quick looks at him. As if someone – or something? Is trying to reassure me that he's okay."

"Wong and I were discussing that, as well," Stephen admitted. "I've never had visions put in my head like that. Something similar, maybe, during some of my magical training, but that was completely different from what this is."

"Did you come up with an explanation?"

"No. It could be one of the artifacts in the sanctum. Something reacting to our concern. Wong suggested that it would have to be something extremely powerful," he told her. "In order to be able to discern what we want to see – and be capable of actually breaching the reality that he is in to show them to us."

"If it's that powerful," she complained, resting her head on his shoulder once more. "Then why isn't it helping us get him home?"

"Maybe it isn't designed to do that," he hazarded. "Or maybe it's simply waiting for something."

"Like what?"

"No clue. But at least we know he's safe – and has people around him to help keep him out of trouble."

"True."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Are there really deer out here?"

Peter nodded.

"A lot of them. But they only come out into the field in the mornings."

"Cool."

They dropped off the prototypes and then headed for Pete's rooms. Peter decided that the guy would want some time away from everyone. To sit and be able to just decompress. As crazy as things were, he knew it was something that he would need, for sure.

"Do you need anything?" he asked as they stopped at the door to the VIP room.

"No. Thanks for letting me hang out with you, today."

Peter grinned.

"It was great." He hesitated, uncertain how to proceed. "If you need anything, you know you just have to ask, right? I mean, I know you don't know anyone here – well, me, kind of, but not the others." And not really him, truth be told. "Tony and Pepper don't want you to feel alone, or anything, while you're here."

Pete nodded at that, feeling a warm glow inside him at the comment.

"I appreciate that. I really expected Dr. Strange to have figured this out, by now."

Peter nodded, and he shrugged.

"It took them a while to figure out how to turn me back into a teenager," he reminded the other boy. "I was on the astral plane forever, waiting, it felt like."

"I bet that was weird."

"Being on the astral plane?"

"Being a little kid."

"I didn't actually have to go through it," Peter told him. "The stones separated me from the little guy, although he did have our abilities."

"Really?"

"Yes." Peter grinned. "He climbed the ceiling one night. Tony had to pull him down because he got stuck."

"Crazy."

"I know, right?" Another shrug. "Anyway. Don't give up, or anything. Stephen and Wong are pretty smart. Two of each is just that much better."

"Too bad they can't talk to each other."

"Yeah."

"Any idea what Pepper has in mind for me for tomorrow?" Pete asked, curiously.

"She didn't tell me," he admitted. The boy grinned. "It's Pepper, though, so it isn't going to be something horrible."

"Oh."

"Need anything?"

"No. Thanks."

"If you do, you can come find me." He was pretty sure that Pete wasn't going to look for Tony – or one of the Avengers. "Or you can come out into the hallway and just ask Karen or Friday to have me come here," he added. "They're not in your rooms, but they are in the corridors. They have to be – to keep an eye on Nutmeg and Ironpig."

"That makes sense."

As much sense as low-jacking a sweater-wearing pig can make, that is.

"Night."

"Night."

Pete went into his rooms, and Peter headed back to his.

"He's fine," Alec told him. "A little concerned about wearing out his welcome – and how long he'll be here – but he isn't panicking, yet. You guys are doing a good job of keeping him from freaking out."

"I'd be freaking out," Peter admitted.

"Yeah. But I would still be with you and wouldn't allow it."

Good point.

"Is there anything that he needs?" Peter asked. "That he just doesn't feel he should ask for?"

"He can't think of anything to ask for."

"Do you know what Pepper has planned for tomorrow?"

"Of course, I do."

"And…?"

"And you'll find out, later."

Peter rolled his eyes, but knew that it wasn't going to do him any good to ask, again.

"Fine."

OOOOOOOOOOO

They were sitting in the lounge, having a final cup of coffee with Natasha and Clint when Strange walked into the room. The sorcerer supreme nodded a greeting and walked over, sitting next to Natasha with a somewhat tired sigh.

"You look worn out," Tony observed, pushing the plate of cookies that they'd all been enjoying. "Long day?"

"Long day and a bit of a dead end to show for it."

"You were going to see the Collector?" Natasha asked, just to clarify.

"Yes."

He smiled a thank you when Clint brought him a cup of coffee. Of course he could have created his own, but the thought was what counted.

"Did you learn anything?" Pepper asked.

"The figurine that Pete touched is ultra rare," Stephen told them. "Even among all other realities it seems there are only two of them."

Tony frowned.

"That's it?"

"So he understands," Strange confirmed.

"That can't be a coincidence," Natasha said. "If there are only two, then they must connect, somehow."

"Except the one in this reality was in his collection," the sorcerer told them. "Eons ago."

"But no longer?"

"No. It turns out that it was swallowed – along with a half a hoard of other displays from his collection – by a rampaging Flerkin who didn't want to be part of his collection."

"Nutmeg?"

"No. It was a very long time ago. Nutmeg's a baby. Certainly not the one Carol mentioned, either. The creatures are extraordinarily rare, but it's doubtful that they live so long."

"So a dead end, then…" Tony said.

"Most likely. How is he doing?"

"He seems to be holding together pretty well," Natasha replied. "Or maybe he's just still shocked by finding himself here – with us."

"Well, keep him busy," Stephen told them. "We're not out of ideas, yet."

Mostly.