A/N: Currently this is only the set-up for the idea, which people are free to take with alterations, though I may post more later. For now, it was just an idea I wanted to get out of my head. AU for the sake of set up, basic changes for a TL:DR, Peter didn't blip, found an alternate solution to the soul stone, became friends with Black Widow and everyone is still alive because that's more fun for reactions. No Way Home post-credits didn't happen. ~~Yet?~~


"UP HIGH!"

Natasha Romanoff, better known to the world as Black Widow of the Avengers, felt her head snap upwards to stare at the red and blue spandex clad superhero coming down on her, too fast for her to react.

Which superhero was it? It was Spider-Man himself diving headfirst towards her, grabbing her arms she brought up to block him from hitting her face and in one fluid motion twisted his entire body around as he fell to be curled up and facing her before expanding outwards again.

She let out a pained gasp as his feet drove into her stomach and sent her flying across the room, tumbling across the ground. After he stood up again, Spider-Man threw his fists into the air and let out an elated whoop of excitement. "Hah! I finally did it, I managed to knock you down, Miss Romanoff!"

He quickly hurried over, holding his hand out to the groaning assassin who took it, before smirking. She saw his odd eye lenses contract in surprise as he felt the drilling in his head of his spider-sense but before he could do anything she used her own enhanced strength and skills to pull him down and flip around his body at the same time, finding herself straddling him a moment later, pinning his wrists with a smirk. "Попался, Маленький Паук. You left yourself wide open."

"Ugh… Too cool." He groaned, making her snort as she reached up and yanked off his mask, revealing the brunet Peter Parker with fluffy hair and innocent brown eyes that no one would guess was one of the hardest hitters on the Avengers team. At least, when he wanted to be. She rolled her eyes at him in amusement before pulling off and helping him to his feet.

"Your enemies won't go easy on you, Peter, so I won't go easy in training either. Especially if you want to keep your identity." She reminded him as they walked towards a table near the side of their sparring arena, where there was water waiting for them.

Peter happily gulped down three cups while Natasha took her time with one, smiling lightly in fond amusement at the youngest member of the Avenger team. It felt weird that here she was, not even batting an eye at his presence now considering his age but even without the approval and insistence from Tony Stark, Iron Man himself, that Peter would be a good asset Peter had made his stubbornness quite clear.

Either he would go solo, or the Avengers would help him out when the worst times came and he'd still go solo half the time. At least with the latter option they could help him.

It honestly wasn't so bad and anyone who hit Thanos in the face three times in a row was alright in her book, albeit she only knew that from an account by Tony after the end of the entire Blip debacle.

Her gaze softened lightly as she patted his arm. "Come on, Мой Спаситель, let's go catch up with the others. Considering its your birthday, I'm sure Stark will kill me if I force you through a whole session of sparring without coming down to celebrate."

Peter chuckled as he stood up, walking beside her and out an automatic door into the halls of the Avengers compound a comfortable silence overtaking them. "You mean he'd try."

"Well, maybe think about it." She shot back with an easy chuckle that he returned happily. It wasn't odd to see the two spider-themed heroes walking together, really.

Even before they had truly bonded, they had gravitated towards each other a little out of a general sense of interest (and in Peter's case, fanboy syndrome though he was like that with all of them) and had simply found themselves clicking.

It was odd but Natasha hadn't been complaining, needing all the support she could get. If that had to come partially from a traumatized teenager returning from space with a struggling Tony Stark, well she was desperate.

But the more she heard, the more she understood just how important Peter really was. She doubted anyone else could have gone to Tony when Ant-Man had returned and succeeded in convincing him they needed to try the time travel idea, no matter how insane it was.

Both were very private about the subject. The most the former assassin ever got out of them was Tony telling her an adage the kid himself had told him about how when you have the power to help others, and you don't, then whatever happens next is on you.

She was grateful to Peter for that, among other things but it was something else that had solidified her bond with the Spiderling, as she playfully called him sometimes.

Vormir.

Theoretically, it should have been impossible for their group to have left with all members intact. Impossible to get the soul stone without a sacrifice. Natasha and Clint had been ready to fight to the death over it and certainly to keep Peter from trying for even a second to get involved.

Unfortunately for the soul stone and its red-faced bastard of a guardian, Peter Parker did not give a damn what was theoretically impossible when his loved ones were at stake.

It felt like they'd been there a good few hours, arguing over the stone, Peter refusing to allow either former SHIELD agent take the plunge as he did the math and demanded the exact clause from the Red Skull over and over until he'd finally gotten the single line he needed, free of drama to exploit a loophole in the test.

'The one who seeks the stone must know sacrifice and the tremendous weight the power over souls carries.'

…She didn't want to recall the ugly mess that followed or what was revealed, meant to stay private on that middle-of-nowhere planet. All she knew was that one, she wanted to protect Peter Parker as best she could from now on.

And two, Peter Parker already had saved her life. She knew full well if they'd gone with their initial plan she wouldn't be standing here today. That's when she first started calling him "Мой Спаситель", her rescuer.

She couldn't even recall when it stopped being a teasing title and just one of her go to names for the spiderling. She supposed, as they reached the living area and pushed open the door, it didn't really matter. She was just happy to know him.

"Heads up." She spoke up as they walked in, making everyone turn then beam, Thor raising a beer high above his head.

"Aha! The Man of Spiders has arrived!" he laughed boisterously as the others grinned and clapped a little.

"Happy Birthday!" They chorused together, making Peter smile even as his face flushed, walking out into the middle of their group and melting into the crowd as the party really got started now that the star was available.

Natasha watched with a content smile, briefly meeting Tony's eyes across the room and giving him an amused look as he grinned proudly at Peter. 'Such a dad.'

Ding.

Natasha blinked, turning to the door nearby and furrowing her brow. She didn't remember there being a bell on the door to the compound. With some trepidation she reached up to the door and checked outside.

Seeing nothing she frowned deeper and reached for her pistol as she opened the door, looking around for a threat before her gaze went downwards. She paused.

"какого хрена?"

Staring back at her was a case for a Playstation 5 game, of all things. A game with Spider-Man on the cover, albeit different from the design she was used to.

What truly concerned her though was that there was a second Spider-Man and while she could assume it was a prank off that alone, she couldn't ignore the taglines.

She had no idea what to make of the "Be Greater" and "Be Yourself" parts. That wasn't the part she cared about anyways though, she only cared about the part giving her a sinking dread as she read the second tagline.

"Experience the stories of Miles Morales and Peter Parker in one package."

"….Guys, we have a security problem."


Needless to say, the second Natasha returned with the case, pandemonium erupted. No one was truly focusing on the Miles part, not yet.

All they could focus on was that someone knew Spider-Man and Peter Parker was one in the same. Now they just had to figure out their intention. That's what they'd been discussing back and forth for the past hour now, as Natasha, Clint and Tony sat with Peter, making sure he wasn't about to black out from a panic attack.

There were theories of all kinds, running back and forth from overly obsessed fangirls with no sense to darker theories of extortion. It was Peter himself who finally found the will to speak to ask the real question though.

"What I don't get…" He spoke, causing a silence to fall as everyone turned to him. "Why a video game?"

"Yeah, I have to admit, even I'm stumped on that one." Tony admitted, scratching his head. "it's such a bizarre choice no matter the person's intentions. A fan girl would try to meet you face to face."

"And an extortionist would probably be way more direct." Sam spoke up nearby, crossing his arms. "Last time I checked, most blackmailers don't threaten you during a gaming session, at least not intentionally."

"Maybe we should open it?" Steve suggested hesitantly, as everyone looked around. "Do we have anything that can play it?"

Tony waved his hand somewhat dismissively. "Cap, please. FRIDAY can easily play the next six consoles that haven't even been released yet, with the right port to read the data. It's the question of it we should risk it. But… I guess it wouldn't hurt to try running it on an isolated drive cut off from the rest of our systems to see if there is anything malicious inside."

He went quiet for a moment, then reached for the case, opening it up. A note fluttered out, which Peter picked up as Tony walked to a table.

"Dear Avengers."

Tony didn't stop in his work, though he did look up while the others froze, giving full attention to Peter as he read with a furrowed brow.

"You will probably want Stephen Strange to confirm what I am about to tell you but this video game is not of this world. Nor is this a threat to YOUR Peter Parker. It is neither a threat to this Peter Parker but its more important you understand it especially is not one to yours."

"What the fuck…" Bucky muttered nearby, turning to the first person beside him, which just so happened to be Rhodey. "Did he say our Peter Parker."

"If there's going to be two, Tony's going to have a heart attack." Rhodey stated bluntly as he just stared with a exasperated expression at the boy in question.

"Ditto." Bucky grumbled mildly. He had no distaste for the Spider hero but one quipping hyperactive Spider-Man was enough. He did not want to deal with more.

"To put a long story short, this game is a glimpse into another world. A world where Peter Parker had to operate more independently and for longer. Where your Peter is now 18, this Peter is- H-HUH?! TWENTY-FOUR?!"

"…" Tony just gaped mildly, ignoring the robot arm poking him from the table trying to drag his attention to the fact the disc was done being scanned.

"I recommend you play it together. It will be insightful into what your Peter will one day have to deal with in some form or another, and may help you appreciate him more in general." He finished, before blushing. "I swear that l-last part is on the note, I didn't add that."

"I believe you, Детеныш паука." Natasha assured, him, patting his back gently. "Tony, the disc?"

"Oh, right." He turned back and hummed, not noticing the golden sparks appearing behind him. "Well, FRI says it's all clean. Someone get Doctor Cadabra out here so he can inspect-"

"The game?" Stephen Stange asked next to Tony's ear, making the inventor startle and almost trip over his feet as he backed up before grunting, half tempted to smack the subtly smirking sorcerer.

"Don't do that, Houdini!" He griped, as Stange leaned down and drew a Sigil into the air, before pushing it gently into the DVD, causing it to glow lightly before it turned back to normal. "How did you know about it anyways?"

"It breached the Multiverse." He said, as casual as one would talk about the weather, ignoring the shocked sputters in the crowd. "Extremely dangerous, but the disc itself is fairly docile."

"Fairly?" Steve asked warily, getting a light shrug from Strange.

"It still hurts if you throw it at someone fast enough." He said, making Peter on the couch suddenly snort, getting a few confused looks while Strange just glared lightly, clearly an in-joke. "On a more serious note, I can't send it back… until its been played."

"Wait- What?" Peter asked as he stood up, turning to Strange with a furrowed brow and concerned. "But… If it's a version of me…"

Strange hummed lightly then gave him a softer look. "Well, the only people who are required to be present are yourself, the original Avengers, Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones, May Parker and Betty Brant."

The youngest avenger sputtered again, before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Betty Brant? Everyone else knows who I am, but, why Betty?"

Strange just gave a light, mildly frustrated sigh. "I'm just telling you what the spell told me, Peter. I don't know the motive of the person who sent it. The longer we leave it though, the more of a risk it becomes."

"The rest of us can leave, if you want?" Wanda offered, seeing his hesitation. Peter looked up, meeting her eyes before sighing softly.

"I… can you give me a few minutes to think it over?" He asked, and the others nodded, letting him walk. As he did, Tony called out to him.

"Just let us know who you want there, kid. I'll set things up for them to be there." He assured him and Peter nodded as took refuge in another room.

It was such a weird and concerning situation to find himself in. He had no idea what could possibly be revealed by this game, how similar would he and this other Peter Parker even be?

But… he couldn't just leave it. If it was truly as big a threat as Strange said it was…

"KAREN?" He spoke up, causing a new voice to beep to life, his own personal A.I., due to complications with the material of his suits compared to his needs, it had gotten harder and harder to keep the AI attached to his super suit.

He cared about her too much as a friend though to let her go, so he'd convinced Tony to move her to his compound room and phone, so he could work with her both during and away from his times as Spider-Man.

"Yes, is there something you need help with, Peter?"

"I need you to help me put together a list of people who we're going to invite to the compound." He told the A.I, who chuckled. It was such a human reaction. He honestly considered trying to get her some kind of display to show emotion some day, he was sure he she'd put it to spectacular use.

Regardless of what she and FRIDAY said, they were practically alive to him and to Tony.

"What for, Peter?"

He considered it for a moment. He still wasn't a hundred percent sure on what to do but… Well, he'd rather take the risk of embarrassment or needing to find a way to keep Betty quiet about his identity than whatever multiversal risk Strange was worried about.

"…A game night. As soon as we can pull them together."


It was almost twenty-four hours later that everyone would be fully assembled in, of all things, a theatre Tony rented out for use. Peter wasn't exactly sure how the man had managed to get one that could house them all on such short notice and play games and all while they were lucky enough to be able to get everyone together.

Whatever the case, Peter could marvel at the somewhat nerve-wracking site. Naturally, as the game was about him, he, his aunt and his friends were in some of the best seats in the house alongside the Starks, Rhodey, Happy and the original six Avengers.

More spread out in general rows below were the other Avengers. Bucky, Sam, Wanda, Scott, ectera. Loki was sitting by himself but watching with mild interest in his own loner seat.

Up and off to one side, the Wakanda's had their own section, watching the show. Shuri was by far the most eager but T'Challa and Okoye were present as well, just as interested.

As for Peter himself, he was escorting the only remaining person left into the room.

"You know, this is all a bit weird Peter." Betty Brant told the brunet, halfway between confused and concerned at how he'd been trying to get him to come with her on an important meeting all day. "What could possibly be sooooooooooH MY GOD!"

Silence fell on the room, most giving her amused looks, MJ and Ned both clearly feeling sympathetic yet also feeling a silent urge to cackle in their seats.

"…Hi." Bucky greeted awkwardly, breaking the silence. It took a bit of a long-winded explanation from Peter after that but soon a very confused, somewhat struggling to breath Betty took a seat beside MJ who awkwardly patted her shoulder while Peter sat down, right between MJ, May, Tony and Natasha.

"Someone in here is Spider-Man, and we're going to watch a game about him… and him playing it." Betty muttered to herself again for the third time, mostly in disbelief at this point.

"Well, Queens." Steve spoke up, turning to Peter. "Tony says he set up an intercom system so everyone will be able to talk so long as they push the buttons in front of them. So, we're just waiting on you. It's your game, after all"

"Right, right." He nodded, as Betty's neck risked snapping from how fast it twisted to stare at Peter, her jaw going slack. Peter just focused on the screen, choosing the Spider-Man they recognized when prompted, the classic red and blue and the easiest difficulty considering they were all there for Spider-Man, not the game experience itself. "W-Well, here it goes. New Game."

And so, everyone leaned in as Insomniac's Spider-Man began playing on the big screen.