My first-time diving into Marvel. I like to start off by saying I own nothing except my OC and her plot points that turn this into an AU. Because the MCU has a fun timeline where Tony is like 48 in the first iron man and I'm gonna capitalise on that factoid. All right, let's get into it! Please Enjoy!

1

My name is Piper, Piper Parker. Ah, I know what you're thinking. Parker? Like Peter Parker? And you would be correct. I shouldn't know about my male counter part or that I'm a heroine in a small alternative universe, but I am extremely aware. The reason I'm aware is that I come from beyond the fourth wall, as do you. The way I came to be in this world is tricky. I died, plain and simple. Someone had knifed me in the back and ran off with my wallet. It was a bit Batman in origin except I didn't get to stay around and be a caped crusader. Wade says I would've made an excellent bat like I do as the Spider, though I don't think it's much of a consolation. Wades insane to the point where he's able to deconstruct the fourth wall and peer into alternative universes, and I don't think he realizes that's what he's doing. Anyway, it turns out that when I was killed, I had to start over again, my memories intact…well for the most part. Oh, I need to close this document. Dr Octavius is coming by, and she seems worried about something.

Log of

P. Parker.

Date: September 21, 2001

"Parker, please tell me you weren't slacking off," Dr. Octavius sighed as she peered at the brunette from behind her glasses.

"I wasn't slacking off," Piper stated, her expression the perfect image of innocence, "are you sure the portal is going to hold?"

"We might take out a block of New York, but it should hold," Dr. Octavius answered.

She turned her back to the young adult and missed how the blue eyes narrowed slightly at her. Piper Parker hadn't been lying when she wrote that she had been aware of the universe she was in. Her recollection of her previous life had happened when she hit her head while helping her Uncle Ben with his car. She had gotten an ice cream cone and existential dread, all in one day! Speaking of her uncle, he had passed a while back. Her Universe, her "Spider-Man origin story", had her Aunt May dying instead. Well, now that both were gone, she had nothing else to lose. She was tired, 60+ years of living would do that. Her therapist thought she was suicidal, she wasn't. She knew that her time had passed. She shouldn't be walking around slinging spider webs in a manner that was reminiscent of Toby's Spider-Man. She shook those thoughts from her head as she moved to write something on a clipboard. Her Doc Ock hadn't gone off the deep end yet, hadn't added those tentacles to their body. She was trying to create a portal to detect different dimensions. Piper felt as though she was trying to find a way to the Bifrost. It filled her with dread, Thor hadn't been introduced yet to her universe and she'd like to keep it that way.

"Start up the machine!" Dr. Octavius ordered and her workers rushed around to do her bidding.

Piper stood next to her and watched. She didn't have to hold any levers down, the last time she did she had accidentally gotten stuck to it. Sometimes having the micro-barbs in her skin made life more difficult. She had finally progressed from tearing doors off their hinges. She gained a slightly annoyed expression as her phone vibrated. She pulled it out and checked the message.

The anger from down under is planning my murder. -Wade, 6:30 p.m.

Maybe don't make Wolverine mad? I doubt its fun being cut into pieces…unless you're into that. - Spidey, 6:32 p.m.

You wound me Spidey, J Jonah Jameson was right you are a menace. -Wade, 6:36 p.m.

Piper smiled at that before putting her phone away. She could text Wade later if she was still around. It was difficult to tell what would happen. She put a pair of sunglasses on as the last lever was pulled down and the portal sparked to life, filling the area with a golden light. A buzz filled the air and Piper looked towards the neighbouring buildings. The lights flickered for a few seconds before the surrounding area was plunged into darkness. She could hear the pandemonium that was being caused by the power outage. She tensed when a loud explosion hit her ears before everything turned dark.

"It's always something," She muttered as she slowly sat up.

Piper didn't recognise the area around her. She watched as people walked past her with plastic bags in their hands. She squinted slightly and read the bag. Oscorp Expo? Those had gone out of style before she entered MIT. She shook her head and slowly got up to her feet. A skirt swished around her knees, and she crinkled her nose at the sight of it. A dress was impractical for the Spider, she also hadn't worn one since kindergarten. That thought caused her to pause for a few seconds as she looked around for something reflective. She caught sight of a silver vehicle and slowly walked up to it. Her reflection was a bit distorted, but she could tell that her face she was back to being a kid. She ran a hand through her chin length dark hair and inwardly cursed. It always was something. Why couldn't she just die like a normal person! Wade was never going to let her live it down…he wouldn't even know about it! She'd have to find this universes Wade and inform him that they were the new dynamic duo, he was her Adam West to her Robin. It would get his attention for sure.

"What's a child doing looking at a car?" A posh looking woman muttered, staring down at Piper.

It was time for her to move away from the area. She put her hands into her dress pockets and started to walk around the expo. There were free items being given away, reminding her of the career fairs that went on at her old high school. She had gotten a pen and a lanyard that showed she had gone to the expo, which amused her. She hadn't paid any money, only her last 20 or so years of her second life. A part of her was starting to wonder if she wasn't the spider and just a cat. She's used up two of her nine lives if that was the case. She paused as she heard a commotion and turned to look at a press conference. She winced slightly, she needed to keep a better eye out for her surroundings.

"Mr. Stark, what are your thoughts on lasers against possible meteors?" A reporter asked.

Stark. He had a neat goatee, and messy dark hair. He looked tired, as if he had been heavily drinking the night before. Piper didn't miss her first life where she had partied until the sun came up. Hang overs were horrible to experience in her opinion. She hated them with a passion. She watched as he went off about laser technology and how it could be used for earth defence. Stark was a brilliant man, and as his hang over started to disappear he talked with energy that Piper should have as a child. She took a chair towards the back to listen to him speak. She was curious as to what his thoughts were. Piper never had the chance to speak to Stark in her previous universe, so she'd take what she could get. Though, she was curious as to what he was doing at Oscorp expo.

Virginia "Pepper" Potts watched her boss and friend with a sharp expression as he talked to the crowd of reporters. It had been a few years since his parents had passed, and his behaviour was still self destructive. She worried about him, more than she'd let him know. She looked over the crowd again before noticing something strange. A little girl was sitting in the back with a thoughtful expression on her face. Her blue dress was dirty, and had holes on the skirt of it, and there was some dirt on the side of her face. Yet, the child seemed unbothered by that fact. Her curiosity was piqued, where had the child come from? She made her way towards the back of the room and took a seat next to the child.

"Hello," Pepper greeted, and the little girl looked at her for a few seconds before shyly smiling.

"Hullo," She greeted back, the English accent throwing her for a loop.

"Are you visiting from England?" Pepper asked, trying to understand the strange child.

"Something like that," Piper answered as she tilted her head in thought at Tony's words, "he's got an interesting outlook on technology."

"Is this your first expo?" Pepper questioned.

"Yeah, it's really cool!" Piper exclaimed, trying to channel the energy for her visual age.

Pepper gained a small smile at that before a nagging sensation started in the back of her head. Where was this child's parents? She needed to get her to security so they could find them. She quietly informed the child and got a slightly disappointed expression from her as they left the area. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. It seemed as though Tony had gained a new young fan for his ideas more than his personality.

Piper looked around the security room with her skirt in her hands. She hadn't noticed the dirt on her person, or the tears and holes in her dress. She chewed the inside of her cheek and look down at her wrist. Right above her artery was a small white spot. Her spider abilities were still there, but they felt a bit muted. As though still forming. She was just thankful it wasn't like it had been the first time she had gained them. The fever and then the hunger that had followed had worried her Aunt and Uncle before it calmed down.

"What's your name, sweetie?" The woman who had sat down next to her asked, her red hair tucked behind her ear.

"Piper Parker," She answered, going with the name she previously had.

The woman gave her a kind smile before relating the information to security. Piper went back to wringing the hem of her dress in thought. Usually, she would have previous memories of her new life, but she had nothing to go on this time. What had happened? It bothered her not knowing. A chill went down her spine as a sudden thought came to her. What if this iteration of her had died? It was possible that near death could've triggered her memories coming back, and her abilities. She healed faster with the radioactive spider DNA going through her veins, she had been thrown through buildings and had even stopped a train at one point. She looked up when a door opened. Tony Stark stood there in all his glory and spared her a glance. She responded in kind with a raised eyebrow. He gave her an offended look before heading towards the red head.

"What's with the kid, Pep?" Tony asked Pepper.

"She was listening in on your speech alone," Pepper answered with a shake of her head, "we're looking for her parents at the moment."

Tony nodded at that before looking back towards the kid in question. She had released the hem of her dress and seemed to be staring into space before moving her head side to side with her thoughts. Pepper was a better person than him, he didn't even know how to communicate with children. He decided to plop down next to the kid anyway, ignoring Peppers warning glance.

"Can I help you?" The kid asked him, the English accent a surprise.

"What brings you to New York kid?" He asked and she looked at him for a few seconds.

"My family, most likely," She stated with a shrug, "what about you? This is an Oscorp Expo, not a Stark one."

"Repaying an old favour," He answered, "nice deflection by the way."

"Thank you," She said with a slight nod of her head.

She started to swing her legs in thought, and he gathered she didn't like sitting in one area for long. The kid was quiet, and knew how to talk around people to avoid questions. Dang kid was confusing. He looked over at Pepper and noticed that she was still speaking with security.

"I don't know where my parents are or who I came with, I'm not much help," The Kid stated, "I feel bad for her, she's nice."

"Pep?" He asked motioning towards Pepper and the kid nodded, "Yeah, she's nice but she's got one hell of a temper."

The kid smiled at that. At least there was a sense of humour there. She stopped swinging her legs and looked towards the door. Norman Osborn walked in and spared her a slight glance before a small sneer crossed his face. She seemingly grew uncomfortable around him. Huh, most people were star struck around him and Osborn. She seemed unbothered by that.

"This the lost kid?" Norman asked and said kid sent him a dirty look behind his back.

"We haven't found her parents yet," One of the security officers stated, "we have her walking into the expo floor from a side passage, but we don't have her anywhere else."

"Did you check the cameras outside the building?" Norman asked with a frown.

"What crawled up his ass," The kids muttering caused Tony to purse his lips so he wouldn't laugh.

"We were about to check," The officer confirmed as he pressed a few buttons on the cameras.

Tony got up from the chair and sent the kid a look. She sent him one back and crossed her arms across her chest. It wasn't like she was going to get in his way. He stood behind Pepper as the footage played. The kid was walking behind two people, taking to them about something. His expression became stony when the parents suddenly dropped to the ground. The kid immediately panicked and tried to get them to wake up. Pepper brought a hand up to her mouth as she realised what happened. Tony's expression was stony as a person ran up to the downed adults and kid.

"Someone inform the police of what happened," Norman ordered before pinching the bridge of his nose, "no wonder you stopped doing these things, Stark."

"Pep, could you go distract the kid?" Tony requested.

It wasn't long that Piper left with the older woman. Pepper looked down at the little girl that was following her and watched as she surveyed the area around her. The child was intelligent, enough to know that something serious had happened. She felt horrible for the child, no one deserved to have their parents killed.

"What did you like most about the expo?" She asked, trying to create a distraction.

"Mr. Starks speech," Piper quietly admitted, "I suppose I'm not a big fan of Oscorp all together."

No, they were the reasons behind her DNA shift. She rubbed the tips of her fingers together and felt the barbs brushing up against one another. It was a reminder of how her normal life had been stolen from her. Another was the sudden throbbing on the back of her head. She must've been struck at one point. She wasn't stupid, she knew from their expressions that something had happened to her parents. Once again, very Batman in its origin.

"Have you eaten anything yet?"

Peppers question had been answered by the girl's stomach growling. Piper's cheeks grew warm, and she looked down at her Mary Janes in embarrassment. Pepper gained an amused smile before steering her towards the small food court. They found something simple to eat and sat away in a more secluded area. Piper stared at the Chinese food before mentally shrugging, her metabolism was fast, so she didn't have to worry about weight gain. She was more worried about having to go through life again. She hated puberty with a passion seeing as she went through it twice already. She manoeuvred with her chopsticks and picked up a particularly stubborn piece of chicken. Orange chicken, she supposed that it was Americanised Chinese food. It was still delicious.

"You are a very quiet child," Pepper quietly commented.

"Am I?" Piper asked with a tilt of her head, "I just don't have anything interesting to say at the moment…I also don't want to talk your ear off."

Piper got the feeling that Tony did that enough to the woman. He had energy for days and she had no clue where he got it from. She really didn't. He was just as energetic as Dumbledore from Harry Potter, something she couldn't really reference since it hadn't come out yet. All her pop culture references were useless for a while. That was a bit annoying. She was getting off track. She needed to figure out what she was doing in this variation of the timeline. It almost reminded her of the fan fiction she used to read as a teenager her first play through of life. She tilted her head in thought, that was more plausible than she'd like.

It wasn't going to go how she was expecting it to.

Piper found herself sitting in a small room while Child Services talked to someone on a landline. They were trying to find her extended family, dead parents, and all that. She lowered her eyes slightly and frowned. Just how used to death was she that it didn't affect her anymore? A part of her wondered if it was because she kept respawning every time she died. It didn't help that she didn't remember them this time. She was too young, around five years old. Her second time she had regained her memories when she was around ten or eleven. Piper wasn't even her name this time around, it was her original name. The one from her first life. It threw her for a loop seeing as she hadn't been called by her name in years.

Astrid. She hated that name, but at the same time it felt right to be called it once again. She was handed a box of juice by a different worker, and she eyed it in thought. If her fanfiction senses were tingling, then she'd end up being adopted by one of the avengers at some point. Her money was on Tony seeing as he was the first one she bumped into. Wade would be so proud of her for coming up with that deduction. She just hoped that her theory would be proven sooner than later. She refused to get lost in the system. She had more to her than just another lost child.

"What do you mean you can't take her in?" The worker on the phone hissed.

Piper…or rather Astrid if she wanted to be technical, opened the juice box and took an innocent sip from it. She was going to end up at an orphanage and she was oddly amused by that fact. An orphanage would give her more leg room to move around as she wanted, she could be a tiny hero until the time came that she'd have to get a part time job or even a full time one. What would she study this time around? She had gone to MIT in the last life, but her first she'd gone to Cambridge and studied English. She kept a smirk from her face and gathered she'd just go through MIT again; programming was fun when normal physics didn't always apply. The sound of someone talking stopped and she looked over towards the one worker as they hung up the phone.

"Looks like you'll be with the Walters for a while as your foster parents," The worker informed her, and she slowly nodded her acknowledgement.

Astrid could live with complete strangers; she'd do it each time she was brought back. Astrid or Piper it didn't matter which name she went by. She would never stop; she would keep going. At least, until she figured out how to stop respawning. There wasn't a single clue that informed her of what was causing the phenomenon. She quietly sighed as she was led to a car and driven to her new temporary home.

Just how bad could things get?