It's time for the finale, and for our heroes to return home…


With Mysterio in custody (and Fury making sure that neither him or his team did anything to get out of it), the students all got to finally return to the states, where their parents were waiting to greet them at the airport.

"I think we did amazing out there," Shocket said with a grin.

"Are you sure that no one else found out about my identity?" Peter asked MJ.

"No one else pays that much attention to you so you should be fine," MJ replied.

Shocket held back a laugh while Peter flinched. "Ouch," he replied.

"Except for me," MJ said.

"Aw, thanks," Peter said.

"You two are adorable," Shocket said cheekily as MJ went to meet her parents. "And speaking of cute couples- hey Ned!"

Peter smiled as Ned and Betty greeted the two. "You know, we should have a double date sometime, you guys and me with MJ," he offered.

The two humans looked at each other and sucked in a breath. "Oh, we broke up," they responded.

"Seriously?" Shocket asked.

"Men and women grow apart, but the journey they share together will always be a part of them," Ned said.

"You are so wise," Betty said before walking off.

Ned gave Peter a shrug before leaving too, making the two heroes alone once more. "Well, that's disappointing," Shocket said.

The two of them left to go outside, where May was talking to a security worker about her car. Once she saw Peter, she dropped what she was doing and went over to embrace her nephew. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said.

"No for real, I'm good," Peter replied. "I'm actually okay."

"Them let's go," May said. "Where's your bags?"

"They kinda blew up, remember?" Shocket said.

"Huh, she really is a talking raccoon," May mused.

"Would it be okay if I crashed at your place for a few days?" Shocket asked. "My parents are on a big space mission, so it'll be awhile before they can pick me up."
"Our apartment does allow pets," May said. When Shocket glared at her, she laughed. "I'm joking! A friend of Peter is welcome anytime."

[***]

After getting settled back it at home, Peter led Shocket on a tour of New York City, Spider-Man styled. He zipped around buildings on his webs, while Shocket skated through the air with her rocket boots. They dipped low to glide over the streets, then curved around the tall skyscrapers for a fantastic view. Peter even used his web wings to glide through an open-air plaza, while Shocket laughed and used her skates to grind on the roof ledges. The two eventually came down near Grand Central Station, where MJ was waiting for them.

"Sorry I'm late," Peter said as they landed. "I was showing Shocket around the city."

"It's fine," MJ replied.

"You ready?" Shocket asked.

"Yeah," MJ nodded.

"You're going to love this," Peter said.

Soon they were all flying through the air again, with MJ holding onto Spider-Man for dear life as they zipped over the New York skyline. Shocket laughed as the usually snarky MJ was screaming into the wind. After some close calls and more screaming, they eventually came to a stop near Times Square.

"You okay, MJ?" Shocket laughed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," MJ said, a bit shaken. "Let's just never do that again."

"Well then, we should probably get out of here," Peter said.

The two heroes waved MJ goodbye as they left the ground, passing by a broadcast from the Daily Bugle on their way out of Times Square. "You know, Mysterio was going to try and out your identity to the public," Shocket said.

"Really?" Peter said in surprised.

The ottercoon nodded. "Yep, they had a whole set up ready to expose you and get your blamed for killing Mysterio and all the crap. But luckily SHIELD had all of that data completely scrubbed before it could be sent off to anybody, so you should be good." A flash of light caught Shocket's eye, making her turn towards the Empire State Building. "Hey Pete? I'm gonna explore the city on my own for a bit. I'll see you back at your place."
"Oh? Sure, just call if you get lost!" Peter said before swinging off on his own route.

Shocket went to where she saw the flash of light, landing near the top of the building. "Okay, what the hell was that?" she asked herself.

"That would be me," said a voice. Shocket turned to see a man in a blue cloak and large head floating in midair.

"Holy-!" Shocket said, almost falling off the building in surprise.

"I am the Watcher, and your world has been one of the most interesting timelines I have followed," the man said. "Who knew that an otter and raccoon would lead to so many changes in the world."

"Huh, so the multiverse is real then. Beck got lucky with that one. So you're a space god or something?" Shocket asked. "And what do you mean changes?"
"In what was known as the Sacred Timeline, Tony Stark and Natasha Romanov both died in the final battle against Thanos," The Watcher explained. "And during his adventure in Europe, Spider-Man's identity was revealed to the world by Mysterio in a final jab at the hero. The actions of both your parents and you, Shocket, have led to a future most different, if not in smaller ways than some timelines."

"Huh, it'd really suck for Morgan to lose her dad at such a young age," Shocket said. "What am I like in this 'Sacred Timeline?'"

"You do not currently exist where the timeline currently is," The Watcher said. "And I do not know the whereabouts of your mother either. Only Rocket and Groot were part of the Guardians of the Galaxy."

"I can't only think of how his mental state would be without us to keep him out of his own arse," Shocket shook her head. "So then, why are to talking to me?"

"Because there is a greater threat out there that may put all timelines at risk, and I am searching for heroes that can stand together to face it," The Watcher explained. "Shocket, may I ask for your family's help in dealing with this new enemy?"

"So you're saying that you want me to go on a multiverse quest to stop a new enemy, making us heroes in this galaxy and others across time and space?" she asked. The ottercoon grinned. "Sign me up, big-head guy! Sounds like a wild family road trip to me!"


Author's Note

And with that, "Shocket: Far From Home" is now complete! So in the end, Peter doesn't get his identity revealed, though since we're still so far out from "No Way Home" there's no telling how that would really affect the timeline at this moment. And how fitting that this story ends in the anniversary month of Spider-Man?

As for the ending, with "What if?" coming out next week I decided to have The Watcher show up to ask Shocket to join his team of heroes. You could say that this entire Half-Worlders duology is a big "What If?" episode in of itself. Also it's funny that Mysterio made up there being other universes, then "Loki" demonstrated why there aren't any other universes, only to break all of time in the end and set up a show all about he multiverse "What If?" Dr. Strange is going to have a heck of a time fixing this mess, isn't he?

This is the end of my Guardians of the Galaxy writing for the foreseeable future. If I feel that the Holiday Special or third movie add anything new I might come back, but for now this is The Dragon Saver, signing off. And just remember readers, We Are Groot.