This Is Our Path

by LucasA

Their lives were never the same after the incident at the Clocktower. Together, they've found comfort in each other's hearts, and their bond remains strong despite the countless attempts to wipe everything they ever had. A tale of the most important stages in their life, from the moments of calamity and happiness, to the difficult moments of sadness and reflection.

46. Final Hours

Nick Fury's Helicarrier - US Space

"Tell me everything." Peter leaned his back against the wall of the small interrogation room and crossed his arms as he faced the table where Gustav Fiers was currently sat. "I didn't come here for nothing, I want answers, and you seemed to know a great deal of them."

"Did you watch all the interrogation tapes?" A much older Gustav asked, emotionless as ever. "That means you already know the truth after they showed you all the 'lies' that I've been spreading in my cell."

Peter stood calmly. "It's hard to believe that you're doing something good back then, can you blame us? I don't buy it. I didn't even care anymore, I've moved on life."

"Look at you..." Gustav analysed Peter with his cold eyes. "All grow up, Avenger, Father and Hero."

"I'm not here for your mental games." He snapped. "You stated you're doing something good for humanity, people considered you to be crazy, but in the end…are you?"

Fiers chuckled. "Every story has two sides. What do you want to know?"

"The truth..."

Fiers took a heavy breath and rested his arms on the table. "Can I have a coffee? If the world is about to end, it would be nice to -"

Peter cut him off, "No."

"Fine…" He scoffed. "Well, as you know... I used to work for Hydra for a really, really, really long time, but some of their methods were…disturbing."

"Cut to the chase. Why the Sinister Six? Why clones? Why the symbiote? You mentioned that it was all about me, let's no forget the AI that you're always talking about, but nobody believed you."

"Don't you see? They're all connected. Hydra, Norman, Richard, Symbiote and you were all part of the big plan... even Ultron." He coughed weakly. His age was already taking its toll on his health. "Sometimes, you have to be the bad guy to be the good guy, someone needs to do make the hard decisions no one's willing to make, and that's where I came in."

"And what does Ultron has anything to do with this?" He questioned, impatiently.

"Ultron is an advanced form of extra-terrestrial life. During the 40s, they wanted an army of these drones. The ultimate weapon and the catalyst, but they ran out of time and archived the project. If I'm correct, they recently continued the research with the current technology and after recovering Loki's scepter, they somehow tried to transfer the sceptre's essence, which kept Ultron's consciousness, they would transfer into their own drones, if your little group hadn't stopped them first." Fiers explained.

"But...why? Why continue this now?"

"Don't you understand? Despite what you think, Hydra was always about improving humanity, doing what needs to be done, but they lost their way and that was when I left the organization, barely. They did sick experiments to reach such goal to combine organic and synthetic into one thing, the perfect race. Something Hitler always wanted. I didn't want to be part of that, messing up with Mother Nature, trying to play god."

"If you're trying to redeem yourself, sorry, but you still tried to kill me so that's negative points on my books." Peter affirmed.

"I'm not, but I knew what's coming."

"What was coming?"

Fiers stood quiet for a brief moment. "The ending….Everything I have done was to fix this mess. I knew that Hydra would find a way to keep the project alive if they failed, so Stark was the answer, and he addressed the issue and this happened. I wanted to avoid this war, and since no one would ever believe me, after all, Norman got your parents killed ... I made a secret deal with Osborn, he was desperate and I always kept my real goal away from him. I wanted the perfect specimen, contacted Oscorp, gave them great deals of technology in exchange of biological weapons, but none of them worked... and that's where you came."

Despite the fact that Fiers was involved with his parent's death, Peter stood calm. "Me? I was just a kid."

"Hush, boy." Fiers shook his head in disapproval. "I was losing my hopes, but then Richard created the spiders and everything... changed, but your father discovered things he wasn't supposed to, so he doomed us all."

"What are you talking about? It's my father's fault now?"

"The real reason why I worked with Norman was to create a force to stop Ultron, when someone finally discovered him, everything would be lost, it's inevitable, and mankind likes to play with things they don't know how to control. Your father destroyed the very cure for that problem when he made the spider's only blood compatible. He left me no choice; I wanted an army of Spider-Men's when I noticed what you're capable of."

"You're lying. My father isn't the one to blame for this. Stop twisting things for your own sake." He stated, taking one step closer and approaching the table.

"But it does make sense, doesn't it?" Fiers challenged. "The Symbiote was never supposed to kill you... but to eliminate any sick cells, curing diseases, and saving you on the process, it never worked properly before you upgraded it with your own DNA, making the suit the basic structure for the clones. As you know, that didn't work too, so I delivered it back to you, hoping it would be enough when the time arrived."

But Flash found it first... that's why there's no sides effect anymore, I improved it with my very body.

"Wait, you're telling me... no, if you're trying to help me, why the Sinister Six?"

"Would you trust the guy who was involved with your parent's death? I didn't want that plane crash. Believe it or not, the suit made you stronger, improved your gifts, once recovered, I would have clones better than the original, and without the original weakness as well. The Six was just your training field."

"Weakness...?"

"Without the emotional baggage that limited your true potential, " He replied. "I tricked Norman into thinking you could cure him if you're ever bitten, recovering your modified blood, or do you think it's just that easy to get into the Spider- Chamber? Once we saw you there, the plan was set up in motion."

"I..."

"Either way, that wasn't ever going to work, your new DNA gets flawed as you age, you already know that from you've told me, short memory loss and dizziness. Norman was doomed to die regardless if he had your blood. He passed away years ago, the transfusion you conducted never worked." Fiers revealed.

"Flawed?" Peter realized why he wasn't feeling well recently, it all made sense. "I don't think that's..."

"But you have to."

Peter shook his head in denial. "Nobody has ever told me that about Osborn."

"Why would they? You had moved on life. His death's reveal wouldn't change anything. "

"So, I'm dying?"

"Not really, just exaggerating. See, your body wasn't made to embrace such gifts properly, when you're younger, you had more resistance, but now, with the war going on, you're abusing it."

Peter gulped. He wasn't the only person to have these gifts, and that got him worried. "What about my children? Will they have the same side effects as they get older?"

"Probably not, they're born this way, the embodiment of true human perfection. You should be proud, even Gwen Stacy herself gained advantages from the pregnancy. "

Peter turned around and leaned his back against the nearest wall, wandering through his mind's thoughts. "Ten years later and my life still is a mystery." He sighed. "Regardless of our differences…thanks, Gustav."

Fiers replied calmly, "I never did this for you, but you're welcome." He nodded. "I won't be living for much long, so do us both a favor, and finish this war."

---

"Peter Benjamin Parker... do you really have to do that at the dinner table?" Gwen asked faux annoyed as she gently brought the spoon carrying baby food close to Elizabeth's lips.

Now shirtless and only wearing his red and blue Spider-Man pants, Peter carefully opened his web shooters at the opposite side of the table, facing his gorgeous girls. He replied, "What? I had a long night taking out bad guys."

Elizabeth said quietly, "Bah guys..."

He continued, "If you want me to run outta web fluids the next time I'm on patrol.."

"Oh no, you're not playing that card." Gwen cleaned her daughter's lips and fixed him a cute glare. "We both know 'going on a patrol' is code for 'I don't want to change a diaper'."

Peter deadpanned, feeling Ren wandering around his legs underneath the table. "Hold on, I've changed plenty of Liz's diapers."

"The one time you spun a web-diaper doesn't count, and let's not forget what happened one hour later after that webbing dissolved." Gwen rose from her chair and approached him from behind. She snaked her arms around his neck and leaned down.

"Eww, you're right, that was ugly. What do I owe you?" Peter smiled as she kissed his cheek.

Gwen teased, "For a super intelligent wife, perfect daughter, and our puffy pug?" She grinned. "Mister whatever you've got is not enough." She said; unwrapping her arms from him and opened the fridge to grab some milk.

Peter caught Elizabeth looking at him with her big green eyes and a smile. He winked at her, widening his daughter's beautiful smile even more, before replying, "Sorry, Gwendy. I've just been busy lately."

"About that...what's going on?" Gwen handed Elizabeth the cup filled with milk and made for babies. "You've been out later and later each night. Is something wrong?"

"Don't know, lately, on top of my regular goons, I've been dealing with Daredevil's, not mentioning Punisher's too. Feels like the other guys have been taking it easy, and I've been picking up their slack."

Gwen observed her daughter and replied, "Maybe you should talk to them. You have a wife and now a daughter; they should start picking up your slack."

"Don't think it works that way." He said softly.

"Well, it should, you need to spend more time at home and less as S-P-I-D-E-Y." Gwen stood up and brought Elizabeth into her arms.

"Wait, are we spelling it now?"

Gwen approached her husband as he raised from his chair. "We have to, we can't have Liz blurting it out at the park or on a playdate." She gently handed him their daughter. "She can't keep seeing you as Spidey-"

"'Pidey!" Elizabeth grinned.

"Whoa, message received, girls. At home, plain ol' Peter Parker it is." He kissed Elizabeth's forehead and was rewarded with a cute squeal. "Don't worry, I can pull this off. After all, I have been Peter Parker most of my life...and I think I've done a pretty good job of it so far."

---

March 18th - 2028

Slowly and instinctively, Peter, who was lying on his chest on his bed, moved his hand to the side and lazily grabbed Gwen's pillow, smelling her natural scent and feeling nothing but an empty space filled with cold air due to the air's conditioner action. He groaned in frustration, and as he stirred just a little bit, he felt a feminine weigh on top of his waistline, a pleasant one.

"Easy now, bugboy…" Gwen gently stroked his perfect hair as she cleaned his wound and reapplied the white bandage on his muscular back. She was wearing his shirt and a black thong, her hips rested besides his waist as she took care of him.

Still not opening his eyes, he asked lazily, "What are you doing...?"

Gwen smiled contently. "I'm just keeping my handsome husband alive." She replied. "Slept well?"

"I think so." He nodded.

Gwen patted his reapplied bandage and leaned down, before whispering next to his ear, "That's nice to hear, good morning." She kissed his cheek and moved herself off his body and back into their bed.

Peter groaned huskily.

Remembering what he had told her about his talk with Fiers, a topic he rarely mentioned, she was much more comfortable now, sure, her husband wasn't totally healthy, the war was taking its toll on his physical condition, but it wasn't anything life threatening.

Gwen decided to check how he was feeling. "You okay?"

He confessed, "Honestly, I'm tired, can't even more... I've no idea how we're going to win this, I'm doing everything I can, but... how long it will take? How much do we still have to lose? How many before it's enough? "

Truth is; there weren't any words to confort him and Gwen knew that. "I know." She ran her fingers over his back, caressing the skin gently.

"Don't worry, honey, I'm fine." Peter turned and raised his chest as he stretched his bare arms and sat on the bed. He rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I just had this dream, more like remembering a real life event on a dream…one of the best in months."

"Tell me." She approached him and cuddled, with their bodies against the bed's headboard. She wanted Peter to stop thinking about the war for once, and since he had taken before at Clint's family farm house, she decided to help with something as well.

"Well, it's a very old memory, Elizabeth was two I think, we're having dinner, mostly you two, while I fixed my web shooters on the table, you were somewhat annoyed by it." Peter explained with a grin as he wrapped an arm around her perfect body and caressed her thighs.

Gwen leaned her head on his shoulder and slowly ran her fingers over his chest, caressing the skin and felling the tiniest scars she could notice. "Ah, you just had started avenging, if I recall right, barely paid any attention to us..." She teased, it wasn't true.

Peter smiled, "I miss such rather calm times." He continued, "We're both under so much pressure to be perfect, and we rarely give ourselves a break."

Gwen replied softly, "We can't give ourselves a break... there's too much at stake."

Peter tightened his grip over her, reassuringly. He didn't know what to say about it, maybe he could prove it with actions instead of words, give her a good time. He gently grabbed her hand from his leg and caressed it. "Where's your ring?"

She raised an eyebrow at the sudden question. "It's underneath my pillow; you know I sleep without it."

"I do? Are you planning divorce or anything like it?" He asked playfully.

Gwen smiled and elbowed his ribcage, gently. "Don't be silly, unless if you do something really bad, that won't ever happen."

"Oh, and what could that be?"

"Forget how to properly massage my legs would be one of the reasons." She purred.

"You're a high maintenance wife, aren't you?" He kissed her warm lips.

"I am." Gwen replied between the kisses as they lay back to their bed, with her husband's weight over her as they appreciated each other lips which were full of passion.

Peter broke the kiss and mused, "Am I imagining things or did we just talk about divorce?"

"Yeah, we're just that weird." Gwen joked, before wrapping her arms around his neck.

"We are," He nodded. "But hey, we just had some time for ourselves."

"You want me to say you're right?"

"I don't want to make you go through that horrible experience." Peter teased as he spun to the right and brought her along, forgetting they're already close to the bed's limit.

It was too late.

"Peter! No -" Gwen released a yelp as she got carried over on her husband's firm arms. She accidentally brought the sheets along which covered her entire figure, and got lucky since she managed to stay over his toned chest as he fell onto the cold ground.

Once in the ground, Peter chuckled briefly. He ran his right hand down her back and uncovered his wife's face, being greeted with an adorable glare. "I think we just fell from our love paradise, honey."

"You think?!"

---

Conference Room

"I know what's in your guy's head, and I share the same feeling. Ultron won the last battle, but he didn't win this war. We can't let him affect our team's condition, he doesn't realize that our bond, unlike his army, can't be destroyed," Steve affirmed. "Noble Six's sacrifice can't go to waste, we owe their family, everyone is counting with us, trusting their future in us, and we can't let these innocent people down. It's our duty to fight until there's only one of us standing up. I believe that, regardless of the past operation, victory can be achieved. Why? Because I have friends at my side, the people I trust most, my family. We accomplished so many things, and we can accomplish this one."

Tony asked emotionless, "And how.. are we going to do this? You've seen what Ultron is capable of..."

Steve stood in silence, looking at Tony's conflicted and broken figure. "Together."

Peter nodded supportively, "We're a team." He moved his gaze to Stark's figure.

Tony hesitated for a brief moment. He never was into inspiring speeches, he considered them to be pointless and rather awkward, but now, maybe he needed one, and he couldn't refuse Steve's words. He shrugged his shoulders and replied from his chair, "You can count on me, when the time comes, I'll be out there destroying drones in a stylish way with you guys." He smiled and asked Thor, "What about you, God of the blonde locks?"

Thor grinned. "I wouldn't miss this fight for anything."

"And me as well." Clint replied. "And I think that our newest couple shares the same decision."

Since Natasha wasn't present, Bruce had to somewhat deal with the tease all by himself. "W-We are not..." Bruce cleared his throat, "...dating."

Steve teased, "Not officially, you two can't fool us. If anything, ask Clint and Peter for some advices."

Clint grinned. "Oh, I would be more than happy to help you out, Bruce, starting with some swag, you need it urgently."

"What's swag?" Thor questioned confused.

Tony replied, "Look at me," He gestured to himself. "What do you see?"

Thor frowned in deep thought. "I see a..." He frowned. "...mortal, arrogant, cocky and rather -"

"Oh, thanks, that's enough." He said aghast.

Steve went back to the original topic, "With the info Peter gave us, we know what Ultron really is, a sentient alien construct which came from Loki's sceptre, we defeated aliens before, we can do it... again, as a team."

---

High Personal Private Section - Kitchen

She had been to many parties when younger, most of those, however, had been during her time as teenager and with her boyfriend. This party was different. It was a time for great friends to come together one last time; it was likely that not all of them would survive the next week.

She and Natasha were preparing the snacks for the evening on the fancy kitchen which was connected with a wide living room, art gallery and lounge, not mentioning the games area as well.

Gwen struggled to get the hang of the food preparations though, not being exactly sure of what foods would be appropriate for such a party.

"Well what about sushi? I've seen that at many parties."

Natasha shook her head. "Think simpler Gwen, they're coming for a good time with each other. They're not here as food critics or businesses men."

"Well then," Gwen was getting quite irritated, not directly at Natasha, but at her own inability to get this right, after all, the cast was very different from one to another and she wanted to please everyone. "What about pies? Do we have pies here?"

"Yes." Natasha nodded enthusiastically. "That's the perfect kind of thing, simple food. Things like cocktail sausages, salads, you know."

Gwen smiled, amused at her friend's enthusiasm. "Well then I'll make the salad, I can actually do that."

Without any warning as ever, David and Aiden quickly appeared from behind her with huge smiles spread on their faces. She didn't even feel scared anymore, it was something that often happened on their so energetic family.

"Mommy…!" Aiden called.

"Hey!" Gwen smiled happily as she looked down to the twins, hearing a brief laugh from Natasha from the other side of the kitchen.

"David is hungry!" Aiden affirmed.

"You too…" David narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"But you're more!" He mused.

David crossed his arms. "It was your idea."

Gwen cocked her head at them, figuring out what they're up to as they argued. "Let me guess; you two want something to eat?"

"Yes!" They said in cohesion.

"Um..." Gwen turned back to the counter and picked two small slices of strawberries and handed to her boys. "Here."

The twins hesitated for a moment as they eyed the apparently not so tasty food, at least on their eyes.

Gwen chuckled. "Don't give it that look. It's all I got for now, and it's healthy. Give one for your sister too."

The twins looked at each other, like if they're telepathically talking with each other, before shrugging their shoulders and gently grabbing the slices from Gwen's palm.

"Thanks, mommy…" They ran out of the kitchen, leaving Gwen alone with Natasha.

Gwen shook her head and smiled as she walked over to the fridge, removing the bags of salad that were stored there. As she walked back she stopped, catching sight of Peter. He was sat at the bar in the back side of the living room, staring into the blue holographic projection of Earth in the middle of the room. He had been acting like this the latest days, ever since the last mission. She could understand how it had spooked him, but they worked things out.

"Peter," She called out gently, amazed to get his attention straight away. "Do you want to give us a hand?"

"Sure," He stood up slowly, stretching out his arms. Then he moved over to them, a small smile on his face. Gwen could see through the smile though. "What can I do to help?"

"Well," Natasha studied what they had already done. "You could make up some skewers."

"Aye," Peter walked around the counter, picking up the various ingredients that he needed. "Where's the chicken?"

"By Gwen…"

Gwen noticed the chicken in front of her on the counter. She was going to pass it to Peter, but he got there first. She felt strong arms snake around her, one resting on her waist whilst the other picked up the packaged meat. He pressed his lips to her neck, kissing her tenderly on the side of her throat. She smiled in pleasure; he knew all of her weak spots. There was a snicker behind them, both turning their heads to the sound.

"What is so funny Natasha?"

"You two," Natasha returned to slicing the fruit in front of her. "You two still are like a pair of lovesick teenagers, it's kind of... cute."

At this Gwen turned red, not used to being teased like this. Peter laughed however, clearly not minding the banter. He replied to Natasha jokingly.

"I would never dare to call Gwen cute, Natasha." He joked. "But oh my god... the deadliest and ruthless super spy on the world can actually find something...cute?"

Natasha glared at him. "Don't push your luck, Parker." She responded icily. "But yeah, I'm sure you could get away with...anything with her." Gwen narrowed her eyes, hearing the suggestiveness in her friend's voice.

Peter replied, "Well, she is kind of cute." At this Gwen gave him a jab in the side, rewarded with a little yelp from Peter.

"I'm cute, am I Peter?" Gwen put a slight purr in her voice, not over doing it because of Natasha's presence.

His response was another kiss on the neck, followed by a cheeky pinch on her butt as he walked away from her. She laughed, despite her embarrassment she was enjoying herself. She was spending time with people she cared about. It had so far been truly one of her happiest days, despite what was on the immediate horizon, the final battle.

She was brought out of her musings by a pinging sound, coming from behind her.

"Peter, sorry to disturb." Tony Stark's voice came through the speakers.

"Don't worry, so?"

Gwen smiled, her husband always made time for everyone.

"Me and Bruce are working on something," His tone was apprehensive. "You should probably take a look, it's quite amazing. We need your help as well."

"Sure, I'll be there in now," He shrugged. "I have no idea what it's about, but I'll go whilst I have time."

"Okay," Gwen put down the salad in front of her and walked over to Peter. She wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a smouldering kiss before letting him go. "We'll get on with this. See you later, honey."

He gave her a kiss in return before waving to Natasha and stepping out of the kitchen and into the cosy lounge, noticing a silent and alone Elizabeth sat on the L shaped couch and in deep thought.

Peter approached his daughter and stood on his knees to stay on her level. "Hey, what's up?"

Elizabeth smiled weakly and met his brown eyes with hers. "I just have been thinking."

"About what…?" He asked softly as he squeezed her hand gently.

"I've noticed how everyone is doing; it's calmer and more silent, like if they're fearing or anticipating something. It looks like everyone is saying farewell to each other, like if we won't ever meet again." Elizabeth explained herself innocently.

Peter mentally sighed. She was right. The last attempt is coming and they knew that not everyone would come back at home if they succeed. And how would Peter comfort her if she was right? He didn't want to lie to his own daughter who, at such early age, could figure almost everything out, with or without his or Gwen's help.

Peter replied softly, "You know, you aren't wrong. These people, are my and yours friends. We care about each other like if we're brother and sisters, and we want to enjoy every single possible last moment together." He moved a lock of her golden and short hair behind her ear and asked, "But, despite everything... I can't let what's happening out there affect our family, and raising my chin and smiling helps."

Elizabeth cupped his cheek. "Everyone needs help some times, daddy, even Spider-Man."

He smiles brightly. It never came as a shock to him when he learned something with his children, now, his daughter. He already knew how much brilliant she is. "You're right. I can't do this alone, my little Spider-Girl." He kissed her forehead gently.

She smiled and hugged his neck as they embraced each other. Peter caressed her back gently, enjoying every single second of the peaceful moment he was living with his beautiful daughter. "Uncle Tony wants my help with something; do you want to come along? I'm sure he won't mind." He offered.

"Is Jarvis coming back? He's really nice."

"He is," Peter nodded. "C'mon, I'm sure Tony will let you talk with him." He gently grabbed her hand and helped her to step down on the floor as they walked away and towards the lounge's exit

---

.Private Laboratory

Tony entered the large laboratory which was illuminated with a soft blue lightening that relaxed the ambient and made it perfect for long and exhausting research. He saw Clint knelled over the pod they had recovered from Ultron's now destroyed helicarrier, Bruce was standing next to it, probably analysing what it was all about, and find a way to finally open it.

"It's sealed pretty tightly." Clint informed as he stepped down from the pod's surface and into the floor.

Noticing Tony's arrival, Bruce turned on his back and crossed his arms before stating, "We're going to need to access the program's breakdown from within."

Tony nodded. He quickly gazed the container before looking at Clint and asking, "Any chance we can open this with one of your mini explosives? Maybe a concentrated and timed plan can work out."

"Doubtful. The ones I currently got only work with the arrows and not separately." Clint explained. "But I will check out the basement, might find something useful there." He gestured down to the floor made of glass where they were currently standing over, right in the middle of the room, an underground room connected with the lab by a stairwell.

"Thanks." Tony replied as Clint headed to the right and walked downstairs. He looked around and saw Banner typing in computer.

"I can work in tissue degeneration if you could fry whatever system operation Ultron obligated that researcher to plant." Banner approached the rectangular container and typed a few commands on the holographic panel in the pod's cold surface.

Tony rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, about that..."

Bruce reluctantly turned to Tony's figure as he slowly realized what the billionaire's briefly hesitation meant. He wanted to protest but he wasn't really sure if Tony wanted to do what he just had imagined. "No."

Tony took one step closer. "You have to trust me."

Bruce shook his head and took one step backwards. "But I don't."

Tony insisted, "Our ally; the guy protecting military codes from Ultron's hands? I've found him." He pointed the rectangular and transparent small chip he was holding on his right hand to the empty space next to him as a yellow and circular holographic image from Jarvis' matrix appeared besides him, it looked like the nervous system of living being.

"Hello, Dr Banner." Jarvis greeted. "And you too, Mr Parker and Elizabeth."

Peter approached them rather surprised and holding Elizabeth's right hand. "Um... Hi...?"

Elizabeth smiled happily. "Hello!"

Banner quickly nodded at them before returning his gaze to Jarvi's consciousness, totally confused.

Tony smiled. "Peter, Liz, just in time." He continued, "Before escaping from the Tower's network, Jarvis tried to talk with junior, Ultron didn't went after Jarvis because he was angry, he attacked him because he was scared, what he can do." He nodded to the holographic projection besides him and started to walked around it. "So, Jarvis went underground, scattered, dumped his memory, but not his particles. He didn't even knew he was in there before I pieced him together."

Bruce rubbed the back of his neck, thinking, before approaching the pod and questioning, "So, you want me..." He gestured to himself and later to Tony, "To help you... put Jarvis into this thing?"

"No! Of course not…!" He smiled cheekily. "I want to help you and Peter to put Jarvis into this thing."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Wait - what?"

Bruce shook his head, not approving and almost walked away if he hadn't hesitated at first.

Tony smiled cheekily. "It's out of my field. You and Peter know bio-organics better than anyone."

"Stay here, honey." Peter whispered squeezed Elizabeth's hand before letting it go. He approached the duo and inquired, "And you're assuming that Jarvis' operational matrix can beat Ultron's?"

"Jarvis is already beating Ultron, he's keeping him away from nuclear military's codes. That's why nukes haven't be used against us so far. This is the opportunity." Tony paced around them. "We can create the perfect Ultron without his homicidal wishes or his winning personality. Junior tried to upload himself into this, it can face Ultron."

"I believe this is a worthy goal." Jarvis agreed.

Bruce hesitated and replied exasperated "I-I'm in loop! Getting back on time! This is exactly where it all went wrong." He protested.

Tony stood in front of Peter and Bruce and said reassuringly, "I know, I know... I know what they're going to say, but they're already saying it." He sighed and continued softly, "We're mad scientists, we're monsters, guys, but we got to own it, make a stand."

Bruce shook his head in disbelief and looked at Peter who later nodded to him.

Tony continued further, "It's not a loop, it's the end of the line, but if we take this opportunity, we won't have to solely depend of this super weapon which is 'supposed' to deactivate Ultron's army in one shot...we can do this."

---

Slowly, Falcon opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of Ultron standing a few meters away from him and next to a workbench which had a damaged drone laid over it, behind him, the entrance to a small storage room filled with old equipment's could be found.

The area in front of him was enormous, it looked to be a cave which was more like a facility to Ultron's army, with drones meters away from them being repaired or constructed by other drones themselves, it had a lots of movements and it was illuminated in a dark blue tone, the opposite of all the grey found in there.

Ultron spoke as he dissembled the deactivated drone, "I wasn't sure you would wake up, but I hoped you would, I wanted to show you... I... I don't have anyone else." He paused for a brief moment, "I think what's odd about a meteorite... the purity of it..." He suddenly looks at Falcon, "Boom...! The end...start again, the world may clean for the new man to rebuild." He stops what's he doing and completely turns at Falcon's direction.

Falcon slowly starts to drag himself to the only way possible.

Ultron takes one step towards him. "After Thanos betrayed my whole race, I was meant to be new..." He closed his eyes and looked up, "I was meant to be beautiful... because of my plan to save your kind, this world would look up to the sky and see hope and mercy," He gazed his prisoner again and walks forward. "Instead of seeing horror because of you, you wounded me... I suffer because of that, but like a man once said... what doesn't kill you -"

Suddenly, a metallic hand smashed Ultron's skull from behind and then ripped him apart in two pieces, making space for a new and improved version of Ultron, taller and stronger.

At the unexpected action, Falcon quickly dragged himself backwards with his shoulders as the new Ultron approached him. Once inside, he leaned his back against the storage's wall.

Ultron continued as he approached the storage's gate. "Just makes me stronger." He grabbed the gate and pushed it to the side, locking Falcon. "Think about what you done, why it's wrong to oppose the only force that can stop the end on the horizon, and improve your very race on the way."

---

The mess hall was currently empty with the exception of Steve who was now having some coffee. Sometimes, he enjoyed eating alone and peacefully, his mind could be set at ease for a brief moment. It was quiet; he could relax a bit despite the fact that one his closest friends, Falcon, was probably dead. In the past he had always preferred to eat in group, more often with Bucky who still was missing.

After being frozen for decades and without any kind of social interaction, he closed himself since all of those who he knew where gone, he felt like a completely stranger in a totally different world. That changed once he finally realized he wasn't alone anymore, and that doesn't mean being in the media's spotlight again, but actually having people who he considered to be friends.

Hopefully, those people he cared most would find a way to survive. The end was near, with or without their victory, and realizing that such accomplishment heavily depended of a super weapon which he still don't totally approve it since it was develop under his back by the very people who he chose to serve, was unsettling.

Steve just hoped he wouldn't regret it in the future.

He grabbed his glass filled with orange juice and brought it closer to his lips as he closed his eyes for a brief moment to slowly taste the liquid. He almost spat the juice out if he hadn't contained himself after opening his eyes and seeing Wanda standing right in front of his table.

He patted his chest and greeted despite the pain coming from his lungs. "Wanda."

"Steve." She crossed her arms under her breasts.

"What's up?"

"I haven't heard anything about that container we got from Ultron. I'm getting worried." She replied as she crossed her arms.

"Stark is taking care of it."

Wanda slowly opened her mouth in shock, before saying, "No, he won't."

Steve paused, realizing what her reaction meant, but he believed otherwise. "You don't know what you're talking about, Stark is not crazy." He stated calmly.

"He will do anything to make things right!" Wanda affirmed, fearing the possible outcome that Tony could create without him noticing it.

Even if Steve trusted the billionaire, he couldn't help but share the same hesitations Wanda does, after all, a scientist wouldn't stop at nothing to find the cure for something, regardless of the way to achieve that.

He stood up and reached for his small earpiece as Wanda faced his back. "Stark? Come in... Stark?"

"Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it, where do you think he gets that?"

---

Lounge

The two Stacy's were relaxing on the lounge's sofas by the fake window which showed them a normal picture of New York's night, it seemed pretty real. Gwen was greatly enjoying her time with Howard, though she wasn't particularly used to lounging on sofas eating ice-cream, it was like if the war had erased such simple experience from her mind. She smirked at that.

"I'm surprised that you aren't preparing the little party, Gwendy, you know, you're workaholic and everything.

Gwen gave her brother a disapproving look. "Well, I wanted to spend some time with you," Gwen leaned closer to her younger brother. "Besides, I'm just taking a little break anyways."

"Break…? You…? Alright..." Howard scoffed teasingly.

"What? I like to cool down too, okay?" She shook her head disapprovingly.

"Well, I know you for a long time, and when you're into something, you do it."

"Determined you mean?" Gwen corrected him.

Howard chuckled lightly. "Whatever you say, sis..."

Gwen ran a hand through her hair, reclining backwards once more. "So, how was your moment in the resistance?"

"Not good I can assure you, but still, I couldn't say and do nothing."

"I'm glad you're here now."

Howard smiled as they stood in silence, appreciating their time as brother and sister together, but he knew the question didn't simply come out of the nowhere, and knowing his sister very well, she was up to something.

"You're going to the city with Peter, aren't you?" Howard's voice had changed to one of concern. Gwen turned to look at him, seeing her younger brother's apprehensive look.

"I have to, we need the best down there." Gwen placed a reassuring hand on her brother's arm, giving him a little squeeze.

"Gwen, you're no superhero, even less a soldier. What can you possibly do to help them?" Howard asked softly.

"You're right, but I'm not totally useless, I have a degree in medicine, so I can assist those who got injured post the assault, I won't get in any real danger." She insisted. "If I can help them in any way, I must do it."

Howard sighed, so much for persuading his sister at least once in a lifetime. "Fine, keep him safe."

Gwen gave a small chuckle, once again impressed by her brother's sharpness. "I promised I would stay with him, and you're right. Someone has to keep him safe."

Out of the nowhere, a very familiar infant voice tried to scare his mother, "Boo!"

Gwen shook her head and looked up to the ceiling, seeing Aiden upside down, with his hair being pulled down by the gravity. "Have you forgotten who am I, buddy? I'm your mother, and I'm immune to you all spiders' tactics."

He sighed. "Uncle Clint said you would fall for it..."

Gwen smiled. Of course, it had to be Clint's idea, she thought. "Sorry to disappoint, now, come down, I'm still not used to seeing my kids on the ceiling."

---

Back at the lab, Clint found himself in a small chamber under his teammates' feet's. His eyes were fixed at the screen in front of him, he was receiving signals from an unknown source, but it wasn't any ordinary signal, it was Morse. He grabbed a headphone and used it to carefully decipher the code as the computer slowly traced where it was coming from.

And old friend was indeed alive. Clint smiled and quickly headed upstairs.

---

"Hand me that gear, Liz." Peter asked softly as he focused in the workbench where they were located next to it.

Elizabeth happily grabbed the small desired piece from the red box lying on her lap. "Here you go, daddy." She handed the circular metal to him.

"Thanks." Peter snaked an arm around her back and brought her closer as he kissed the top of Elizabeth's blonde hair.

Standing up and facing a computer next to the large rectangular pod, Tony informed, "Stream work is not compatible."

Bruce typed something in the container's panel before looking down at the cables connected to it. "Genetic coding marks are at 97 percent, you got to upload that schematics in the next three minutes. "

Unexpectedly, the laboratory's door slid open with Steve stepping inside, holding his shield as Pietro and Wanda followed his steps. "I'm going to say this once -"

Tony challenged, "How about 'nonce'?"

Steve insisted, "Shut it down!" He ordered.

"No, not going to happen." Tony walked away from the console and approached the glass wall that was separating him from the armoury where his armour was being kept, already expecting the worst case scenario.

Peter rose from his chair and observed the tense situation where he found himself with his daughter who hid herself behind his legs.

"You don't know what you're doing." Steve said.

Bruce interjected, "And you do? She's not in your head?" He gestured his head to Wanda.

"I know you're angry." She affirmed calmly and reassuringly.

"Oh, we're way past that... I could chop the life out of you and never change a shade." He threatened, still not over the time when Wanda manipulated his mind during Ultron's invasion.

Steve took one step closer. "Banner, after everything -"

Tony interrupted him, "It's nothing compared to what's coming!" He stated firmly. "There's a child here, you really want to do this now?"

"We won't if you stop this, haven't your learned -"

"I did!"

Wanda continued, "You don't know what's in there!'

Tired of hearing them arguing for minutes, Pietro sighed and quickly ran from his position and towards the pod as he removed all the cables that were connected to it in a blink of an eye. He stopped and teased with a cocky tone on his voice, "No, no, keep going." He dropped one cable to the ground and cocked his head at Tony, "You were saying?"

That was when a gunshot was heard and time slowed down through Pietro's eyes. He noticed a sound of glass shattering and then a single bullet coming from the ground and towards the ceiling right in front of his eyes. He raised an eyebrow.

He lost solid ground and fell into Clint's place. The marksmen immediately placed his right feet over his leg and teased with a grin. "You didn't see that coming?" The joke Pietro had used after stunning him when they first met months ago.

"Pietro…!" Wanda called worried.

"Power loss is critical." The VI warned.

Tony saw the computer's notification and went to fix the issue. "I'm rerouting the upload."

Steve quickly reacted and threw his shield around Tony's position as it slammed against the large majority of computers on his sides and then accidentally headed towards Peter's direction that immediately used his feet to throw a metal plate from the ground and to his hand, before using it to deflect the shield.

The hand part of Tony's armour quickly crashed through the walls' made of glass and automatically connected itself with Stark's right hand as he quickly aimed it at Steve and fired a blast towards his chest, causing him to land on the ground. Tony let his back face the now shattered window as the back plate arrived through it and attached itself into his body, with the chest plate coming as well.

Wanda was about to counter attack if Bruce hadn't appeared behind her and moved a single arm around her neck. "Go ahead, piss me off." He challenged.

Clint emerged from the stairwell and holds a single pistol with both hands. He arrived just in time to see Steve jump from a table behind Tony, with his left fist closed, and into Stark's back who noticed it and quickly turned on his back, firing a blast from his chest, and causing them to fly backwards to opposite directions.

Wanda managed to free herself by quickly approaching both hands to her chest and sending a red painful aura through her body and into Banner's, stunning the scientist and causing him to release her. She turned on her back and sent another wave from her hands and towards Bruce as he forcedly landed fell down onto the ground. She caught some abrupt movement on the sealed chamber and saw Thor standing over it. He raised his hammer to the ceiling to absorb energy from the lights.

"Wait!" Bruce stood up.

When finally charged, Thor lowered his hammer next to the pod and energized it.

Peter used his body to protect his daughter from the loud and bright lightning happening in the middle of the laboratory. He saw Thor stopping the process and expecting the outcome from such action. It didn't took long, the pod's surface was abruptly open with a blast coming from inside, the impact caused Thor to be throw away from it.

Amidst the nitrogen coming from the now opened chamber, a tall and red humanoid figure emerged from it and stood knelled in the chamber's edge. It analysed the room and its inhabitants, stopping it's gaze particularly at Elizabeth's figure. Noticing his gaze, she completely hid herself behind her father's legs.

Steve carefully approached them again with his shield already back on his hands. Thor raised his right hand at him, signalling to avoid engaging the mysterious figure. Tony observed everything from the spot where he used to take cover from the blast.

"Don't be scared, child." He shook his head, gathering his thoughts. "I'm sorry... I was... odd." He saw Thor standing him. "Thank you." His whole 'skin' minus the hands and head turned green among with the golden cape that formed on his back, applying Thor's style of clothing on himself as well.

"Thor, you helped to create this?" Steve asked confused.

"Months ago, after disabling that Hydra base where we first met the twins, I had a vision, but I wasn't sure what it was about. Now it all makes sense. The world gets its hope and life all sucked from it, and at its centre, there's that." He gestured to the yellow gem in Jarvis's forehead.

"What? A gem…?" Peter questioned.

"It's the mind stone, one of the six infinity gems. The source is unstoppable and greatest power in the universe, capable of endless amount of destruction and chaos." Thor explained.

Steve continued, "then why you brought-"

"Stark is right." Thor affirmed firmly.

"Oh... it's definitely the end of times..." Bruce mused.

Thor continued, "The Avengers can't beat Ultron and his army."

Jarvis slowly walked towards Tony, before pacing in circles. "Not alone."

Steve holstered his shield on his back. "Why does your vision sounds like Jarvis?"

"We integrated Jarvis... to create something new." Tony said as he eyed who once was his assistant; perplexed with such creation.

"You think I'm a child of Ultron, I'm not Jarvis, I am..." He paused, trying to find the best words to express what he wanted to say in an efficient way.

Wanda moved from her spot besides Pietro and approached him. "I looked in your head, and I saw annihilation."

"Look again."

Thor interjected, "Their powers, the dreams in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the mind stone in Loki's scepter. It's nothing compared to what it can unleash. He's on our side."

"Is it? Are you? Our side…?" Steve couldn't take any risks anymore.

"I don't think it's that simple." Jarvis replied.

"It will get simple very soon." Clint threatened.

Jarvis ignored the remark at returned his gaze at Elizabeth who now seemed to be calmer. "I'm on side of life, Ultron isn't, and he will end it all." He paused. "What's your name, child?"

"E-Elizabeth…" She replied shyly.

"You can't see it now, but you're destined to greatness, when the time comes, at the darkest hour... you'll finish it all, Elizabeth."

Tony crossed his arms. "Don't scare the little girl with silly prophecies, focus, if you're against him, what are you waiting for?"

"You…"

Clint informed, "Paris, Ultron is there with Falcon."

Peter gently grabbed Elizabeth's hand and took one step closer. "If we're wrong about you, if you're the monster Ultron wanted you to be.."

"What will you do?"

Nobody replied as they stood in mutual silence.

The construct continued, "I don't want to kill Ultron, he's afraid and in pain, but that pain will roll over the earth... so he must be destroyed, every form he's build and every trace of him on the net. We have to act soon, and none of us can do it without the other. Maybe I am a monster, I don't think I'll ever get to know that, I'm not what you're and I'm not what you intended, so there may be no way to make you trust me, but we need to prepare." He handed Thor's hammer back to its original owner without making any strength to hold it.

The whole crew stood motionless. There has never been a single soul minus Thor that managed to carry the hammer which only accepts who's worthy.

Thor retrieved the weapon back as Jarvis walked out of the laboratory. He chuckled awkwardly and went to pat Tony on the shoulder "Good job." He made his way towards the exit.

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Well... no hard feelings, let's go guys, there's a a little fraternization to attend."

---

Peter and Gwen's Bedroom

Peter opened the door of his quarters and strolled inside, seeing nobody at first sight, but he had a feeling that the current view wasn't accurate. He smiled and approached his desk and looked under it, empty. Deciding to check the most obvious place, Peter went towards the bathroom, and at the same time, his special sense triggered and warned him of what was coming from behind him.

He immediately turned on his back and grabbed the web-line that was inches from his nose. "Try again, boys."

David fell from his spot behind the couch and into the ground as he uncontrollably laughed along with his twin brother who had Peter's red Spider-Man mask over his face, one of his old web shooters was around his wrist as well.

"You cheated!" Aiden protested.

Peter raised his hands in defence. "I did nothing of the sort. Where's mommy?"

"It's not fair." David stood up and next to his brother. "I need to grow quicker! "

Peter chuckled. "I don't think so..." He quickly pointed his right hand at them and gestured like if he had just fired his own web shooter at their direction.

Both twins played along and instantly laid on the ground as if they got caught on their father's web.

I love these two. He thought.

Peter approached the apparently unconscious pair and kneeled down to tingle them both, causing them to immediately stir and burst into fits of giggles. "Now tell me, what have you done to your mother?"

"She's on the bathroom!" Aiden confessed.

"Good boy." Peter stood up and helped them to come along. "I'm gonna check on mommy, see you guys there?"

"What are you going to do?" David inquired curious.

"Um... just see if she's ready." He replied awkwardly.

Aiden frowned, suspicious. "Fine..." He nodded and grabbed his brother's hand as they walked towards the door.

As they passed by him, Peter gently kicked their butts to hurry them up, receiving giggles in return and the intended effect. He stopped at the closed door to the bedroom's bathroom and knocked.

"Gwen?"

"I just took a shower." Gwen replied.

"Since when did that become an issue around here?" Peter teased.

Gwen giggled. "You can come in," She called out from inside.

Peter slid open the door and stepped in and closed the door behind him. Right next to the doorway was his girl standing at the mirror applying some lip gloss. He was once again floored by her clothing, long sleeved black shirt which revealed some of her cleavage, and a blue snug jeans, her hair cascading down over her shoulders.

Gwen turned to him and smiled, "Hey, I was in the middle of make-up when the twins showed up, so they took care of our bedroom for a while."

"My…wow," Peter uttered astonished as he walked over to Gwen and hugged her and gave her a soft kiss.

"Do you like it?" She purred seductively in a whisper and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Yes. You look beautiful," He smiled.

"Thank you," Gwen smiled big. "I had to do something so you wouldn't forget me with everyone else here."

"How could I possibly forget about you?" Peter asked.

"Just a precaution," Gwen smirked.

---

Hours later

Flash sat on the large kitchen's counter with crossed legs, facing the others, Clint, Thor and Natasha. He chimed in a little tipsy, "It can become very hot in here."

"It's a nice place, indeed," Clint said. "Even got some pretty good sniper positions…It would need some work on the defensive side, but once that's completed, this is a place I could retire to, bring the family."

Thor chimed in, "You won't retire, Clint. There'll always be criminals who deserve bullets in their hea-" He cleared his throat, "I mean, justice for their actions."

Clint chuckled, "The alcohol getting to you, Thor."

"Perhaps just a little bit," He replied with a cheeky smile.

"I must say, I'm thankful for being welcomed in," Flash said. "I definitely feel like an outsider. Everyone else close to Peter have such history with him."

"Hey, you brought my clothes from the laundry when I asked," Clint quipped, "you're close to become an honorary team member."

"And what do I need to do to become a full-fledged team member?"

"Stop an alien invasion," Thor mused. He reached for some potato chips from a bowl and munched on; it felt very good for a mortal's food.

"And ride one of their bikes like I did." Natasha continued.

"And infiltrate a Hydra base," Thor replied sipping on his drink. He sighed whimsically, "Ah…the good old days."

Clint shrugged, "Eh, you don't really miss anything; A lot of running and gunning, and somewhere in there a button or two that needs pushing."

Natasha nodded, "Indeed, we've had our share of close calls, narrow escapes, death encounters and random violent escapades than I care to remember." She sighed wishful, "Maybe some alcohol will make me forget." She sipped on her drink.

Peter had left the living room and walked around the corner into the kitchen. He smiled disarmingly as he stopped near Natasha, "I see, and hear, you are all enjoying yourself."

Flash looked at his friend and said, "You know, Pete, I haven't seen any horosk."

Peter sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen island and sipped on his drink. He countered, "I heard you can go in a coma drinking that stuff. No way I'm letting you guys drink that."

"Hey, I can handle my drinks just fine," Natasha asserted. "I'm an Avenger!"

Clint said proudly, "We've seen a lot of good times, haven't we?"

"That we have, Clint..." Peter nodded.

Thor said, "I must say, I love you all..."

The present crew laughed at Thor's sudden comment.

Clint replied, "We love you too, blondie."

Peter raised his bottle, "To the Avengers!"

The others raised theirs without further ado in honour of the team, or more likely, the family.

---

"You can't put up a proper defence here," Rhodes explained as he, Thor, Peter and Jarvis analysed the arts on the small gallery.

Peter rolled his eyes.

Jarvis turned and looked out over the ground floor, "That's not fair, the sight lines aren't bad."

Thor approached the group snorted with a glance over his shoulder, "And not much else in its favour, an' I should be impressed?" He turned and looked at the two large paintings hanging over the couches and gestured dismissively, "And what the hell are those things?"

Peter and Jarvis looked at the paintings, and both were silently taking in the odd art. Both were actually confused by the large, colourful but peculiar paintings. It looked like the painter had just splattered the canvases with colours.

"I…think its art," Jarvis said bewildered. "It must be a human thing."

Thor murmured almost in trance, "Oddly relaxing I have to say; for being primitive."

Rhodes sighed exasperated and turned around again and gestured to the open floor, "Look at the corners; Too big and too many of them. Anyone outside could easily track your movements." Then he continued giddy and whimsical as his tactical mind was racing, "But, there's a lot of potential for a barricaded position over there covering the front door." He pointed to the doorway into the living room.

Jarvis pointed at the isolated wall, "I'd extend the wall out, prevent' someone from flanking you."

Thor approved, "This is good, plan a defence."

Peter was a little worried and suggested evenly, "Why don't you relax? Mingle with the others?"

Thor looked at Peter in horror, "Fine? What if a clone of Gwen comes after you? You would never see that coming. Or Flash's clone?"

Yikes, two Gwen's. Not sure I could handle all that lovemaking. Peter pondered to himself; Or her workaholic persona.

Rhodes pointed out, "That puffu soldier guy. Might already be a clone. An evil one at that."

"How about we barricade the door, and maybe install a tripwire connected to some mines?" Jarvis asked and pointed at the door.

"You're a goddamn genius!" Thor chuckled.

Peter sighed, "Right, you three have fun."

He was in the gallery, taking a detour to the toilet. Listening to Rhodes, Thor and Jarvis plan the defence of the place had been humorous even if Peter thought that even those two ought to relax.

---

Later on...

"Then you're in for some fun," Tony, who was inside of his Iron Man armor, declared with a grin. "You got two armours that will be wasted tonight. There'll be a lot of broken things." He teased War Machine who stood in front of him.

"That sounds more like it," Pietro agreed and placed the glass on the small table next to them.

After entering the lounge with Aiden mounted on his shoulders, Peter cautioned, "Let's not destroy this cool relaxing area, guys."

"You're no fun, Peter." Rhodes, on his War Machine armour, chuckled. "Parties are much better if you got redundant systems and armour."

Tony nodded, "Can't argue with that."

"So, which one's the strongest?" Pietro asked and peered at the Iron Men's. "You or War Machine…?"

"Yeah, I've been so curious about that!" Aiden said enthusiastically.

"Good question, but I don't think this the appropriate hour..."

Tony was offended and snorted, "I'd kick this sorry War Machine's ass without any trouble."

War Machine shook his head. "No you wouldn't," He awkwardly punched Iron Man on the face.

The crew sat in the couch, Gwen, Elizabeth, Bruce and Wanda collectively gasped surprised at the same moment and stared wide eyed at the scene unfolding.

Rhodes grinned tauntingly, "You could only defeat a helpless alien."

Tony chuckled, "Now we're partying!" He charged and head-butted War Machine right on his head's frontal plate with a loud crack of metal. Rhodes got stumbled by the blow.

The crewmembers bolted out of the couches, careful not to spill their drinks, terrified the fight would spill out on their end of the gallery. They hurried several meters away from the lounge but still looked intrigued at the wrestling Iron Men's, an astonished murmur within the group was heard.

"That's quite enough guys," Peter interrupted. "Another time…and somewhere else…"

"Aw, daddy…!" Aiden complained.

War Machine rose up from the floor and sighed despondent, "Just as it was getting fun."

Tony snickered, "You got lucky, junior. "

"Why did you have to stop a perfectly good fight?" Pietro mumbled.

"Because I like the place as it is," Peter pointed out.

Down in the seating area people had heard the commotion and looked up confused. The group in the kitchen had walked out into open floor and looked up as well, so did the group in the living room.

Flash called out from the kitchen, "What the hell is going on in there?"

Peter turned and explained calmly, "Nothing, we're fine up here. Tony and Rhodes just showed how an Iron Men's party would be like, a chaos..." He knelled down and allowed Aiden to do what he had to do.

Flash continued, "They're calling you to see a little competition which is about happen.

"You mean?"

"You'll see." Flash walked away with Peter following him cclosely.

After reaching the living room, Peter sat on the couch and next to Flash, and decided to see the current challenge which was happening on the middle of the place with his own very eyes, it was the question everyone shared on their minds for years since they all got together.

Steve had Elizabeth sat on his muscular back with the objective of being weight as he pushed up. Meanwhile, Thor was doing the same thing a few centimetres away from him, but the difference being that he had both twins sat on his back, who were pretty much having a blast with everything that was going on.

Surprisingly, the one who was struggling the most was the so called God of the Thunder, for everyone's amusement.

Natasha teased, "Hey, Steve, you don't need to pretend you're not getting exhausted."

Steve smiled cockily as he calmly proceeded with his push ups. "What are you talking about? This is my thing."

Thor said tiredly, "These two... Peter's twins.." He gasped. "Are as heavy as my hammer..."

"Quit blaming my boys." Peter joked.

Now free from his Iron Man armour, Tony leaned his back against the living room's wall and crossed his arms. Like with most of the crew, the alcohol's effect was already showing. "What's the mark?'

Natasha replied "421 for Steve against Thor's 418."

Thor went upwards with the help of his strong arms for one last time before recklessly landing on the floor and causing the twins to drop from his back and laugh all the way down.

Elizabeth got from Steve's back and cheered for him as he slowly stood up as well. "We won!"

Steve chuckled as he patted her shoulder gently, before helping Thor to get up from the ground. "Fair game..."

Thor shook his head. "I've lost my honour, I'm not worthy of my hammer anymore... I require a rematch!"

---

After washing up from the bathroom Peter stepped out of it. He glanced out over the seating area and saw the recognizable form of Jarvis at the far end, sitting with legs crossed under his and meditating under a small tree in the corner of the entrance to the guestroom.

Peter walked over and the newest member as he glanced over his shoulder and spoke calmly, "I heard the footfall and knew that it was you, Peter."

Peter stopped on the path near Jarvis and sat down as well.

"What are you doing? Not enjoying the party, Jarvis? "

He faintly smiled, "The concept of party is something new to me, but I am. Although I suspect not in the same way as the rest, are you worried about me? Don't be. I only stepped away for the moment to explore this are and then I found this quiet corner. Reflecting on one's place in the universe while a party rages within reach can feel oddly self-affirming."

"It can?" Peter asked. "Meditating isn't exactly what one does in a party."

"I suppose you're right."

"I'm surprised you came." Peter confessed.

"If I'm to be an efficient member, I must socialize in some way."

"Really…? Not interested in knowing us more? Not a single question about human behaviour?"

Jarvis shrugged his shoulders. "Hmm... well, I see that you and Ms Stacy are very close, but I can't understand how that happened."

Peter nodded, trying to find the best words for his upcoming explanation. "Once you find someone that understands you, share a mutual respect, know what makes you happy, a relationship can be formed -"

"So, you and Mr Thompson are in a relationship as well?"

Peter shook his head. "No, no, that's a different kind of relationship, friendship." He replied. "See, Gwen and I are attached to each other in a different way, and that leads into a relationship, like... um... sexual attraction..? Yeah, that's the word, we have feelings for each other, so it's more than that, because sex doesn't mean relationship in some cases, and..." He took a heavy breath, noticing that he was running around in circles with his awkward explanation. "Got it?"

Jarvis stood motionless.

"Hello?" Peter went to pinch his shoulder.

Jarvis came back to reality, "Oh, sorry, I was searching the internet. I've came to the conclusion that you and Gwen do movies of -"

"No! I mean - we don't do what you're thinking. That's not a relationship." He calmed himself down. Awkward wasn't enough to describe the current situation.

Jarvis frowned in concentration. "I see, human behaviour is a very complicated topic, my processing core is overheating, I could blow up at any moment."

Peter shook his head, not buying it. "Jarvis, I know you're trying to make a joke, but such joke is not funny at all... you know, deadly ones."

Jarvis nodded in agreement. "Well, you know what does the fox says?"

---

Now that they're alone in the kitchen, Peter placed his drink on the balcony behind Gwen as she leaned her butt on the cold surface and let Peter press his muscular body against hers.

Soon his other hand slid onto the other hip and Peter held her close, their bodies melted together and he moved his head to her shoulder and Gwen could feel his hot breath on her ear while the music was beating away in the large area.

Peter kissed her ear lobe and proceed to set trail of kisses down her neck.

"Wait, we must talk to Tony." Gwen said, trying to cool down the hot moment.

"Why? Thinks he misses us? Cause I've missed you." He kissed her throat and slipped a hand under her shirt's material and massaged her back.

Gwen's eyes shut close and she blocked out everything and everyone except Peter, her and the music. His hot breath on her neck, his seductive touch and their bodies pressed so close sent a pleasant shiver through her body and she clenched her teeth in an effort not to let out a soft moan. She could live with the others seeing the two of them dance like they did a few minutes ago after tucking the twins into bed, but she was self-conscious and didn't want to be caught moaning to her husband's ministrations.

That would have been a little too embarrassing.

Peter kissed the soft skin behind her ear and whispered ever so softly, "God, you're beautiful."

"Hmm..." Gwen flipped her fringe and looked at his deep brown eyes, feeling the physical tension on the air. "You know, assuming that Jameson is doing good, would you ever consider to take photos for him again?" She asked teasingly and recomposed herself after minutes of making out.

Tipsy and happy, Peter smiled and placed both hands on her hips. "Well, it's been a long time, I may need some practice, I wouldn't mind taking some pictures of you." He replied flirtatious as he leaned on her neck again.

Gwen giggled briefly. "Oh, Peter Benjamin Parker..." She moved her head to the side, allowing him more space as slowly appreciated his warm lips on the smooth skin of her throat.

He played along and whispered, "I think we should find a more secretive spot."

Gwen smiled and teased, "What type of woman you think I am?" She purred. "My only daughter can't be left alone."

Peter smirked and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. He rested a hand on her hip which not very stealthily inched in and rested on her inner thigh, caressing her through the jeans' material.

Gwen glanced over at Peter faux annoyed, "Watch your hand... not the right place, nor hour."

"Oh, but it is easy access. Wonder what would happen if I go further up?"

"You wouldn't -"

Without a warning, Tony called from the kitchen's wide entrance, "Parker! Stop harassing Gwen and come make yourself sociable!" He walked away.

Gwen laughed as she buried her head on Peter's shoulder, feeling somewhat ashamed. "Well, well..."

"You can relax, I'm only teasing," He chuckled and kissed her cheek. His hand remained on her inner thigh and didn't move further in, only caressing.

"Then let's get going, love boy." Gwen quickly kissed his lips and then took his head and leaded him outside the kitchen.

Once back to the living room, the couple immediately spotted the entire crew reunited on the L shaped couch, Flash, Clint, Steve, Wanda, Pietro, Rhodes, Natasha, Banner, Thor and Jarvis, almost everyone with the exception of the famous billionaire Playboy who was a few meters away and in front of them, holding his drink on his right hand.

"Daddy…!" Elizabeth appeared besides her father with a huge kind smile, having a good time. She asked softly, "Uncle Tony will make a speech, but I'm too short to join them!"

"Not a problem, little one." He let go of Gwen's hand and moved his hands down to Elizabeth's waist and helped her to snake her legs around his neck as she placed both hands on his jawline to support herself, he brought Gwen closer with his free arm as they joined the crowd.

Tony brought a chair from the bar and stepped over it, still holding his drink. "Alright everyone... I'm here, right now, on this moment and hour..."

Elizabeth giggled at his silliness.

Peter exchanged an amused glance with Gwen before returning their eyes at Tony's drunk figure.

Stark continued, "... I look around me... and I don't see people, teammates or co workers... despite my dizzy vision, I see what I'd like to call a family.."

Bruce said to himself, "Definitely drunk."

Tony continued,"...brothers and sisters, bounded together, a bound that can't be damaged or broken... if in the following days, I'm lying on the ground, injured and in pain, I won't be nervous or sad... I'll be happy because I know I got to fight my last battle with the people I care most, till the last possible second, we stood together, never gave up…despite everything, the bad moments, I would do it all over again... because that's what friends do, they stick together until the end." He raised his glass at the group's direction. "Steve, honours?'

"With pleasure…." Steve smiled and nodded as he took a few steps close and turned around to face them. "Avengers..." He brought his drink next to his chest, and raised it to the air, "Assemble!"

"Assemble!" Everyone said altogether, with no exception, even Elizabeth happily cheered by raising her arms to the ceiling.

It was the mix of allies, and not without its issues or conflicting personalities; a billionaire, a soldier from WW2, a cheerful vigilante, a marksman, a super spy and an angry scientist. Just to mention a few. No matter their origin, they had banded together due to one exceptional warrior, sadly laden with a heavy burden.

There had been inevitable losses during the time. There were people that were not with them anymore. There were fellow warriors that would be remembered for their sacrifices.

They had faced impossible odds more than once, people thought they wouldn't ever come back alive, other considered them to be threats, despite everything, they would always have that moment of blissful joy frozen in time. No matter what obstacles lay ahead, no matter the sacrifices or losses waiting in the future? They'd stick together.

---

One hour later

Gwen opened the fridge and retrieved a bottle of cold water from it. She was needing it urgently, not only to regulate the amount of alcohol in her system but because she was thirsty too. She opened the bottle and approached the kitchen's entrance and leaned her shoulder against it and she took sips.

It was much calmer now. The music was gone and there barely was any chatting. She could see Clint lazily lying on one of the couches, ready to fall asleep, next to him, Thor could be found on the carpeted floor, already unconscious that's for sure.

Rhodes was sat in a puffy chair and was muttering something, probably talking to himself. Not far away, in the gaming section, Wanda and Pietro were playing some darts, with Pietro complaining about his sister changing physics into her favour. It was the usual banter between brother and sister.

Bruce and Natasha couldn't be found, and that revealed something. Gwen giggled at the thought. She only wished the happiness for the potential couple. They deserve some peace and comfort.

Gwen couldn't help but feel there was something missing, and after realizing what it could possibly be, she got a little worried because once the three most influential heroes gathered together, and were alone and alcoholised, they could get themselves into a suicide mission.

She saw Elizabeth sat alone on the bar's stool and decided to check up on her, Elizabeth seemed to be drawing something on a piece of paper. She kissed the top of her blonde hair and hugged her from behind. "Hey, sweetie..."

Elizabeth smiled happily. 'Hey, mommy, what do you think of my drawing?"

"Our friends, it's lovely." She leaned down and kissed her beautiful daughter cheek, receiving an adorable giggle in return, enjoying the little moment the greatest accomplishment of her live, her children, a girl and two boys who always received her full passion, until the last moment together. "I love you, honey." She whispered softly, holding the incoming tears as she embraced her only daughter. "Always will."

Elizabeth turned her to kiss her mother's cheek softly. "I love you too." She nuzzled Gwen's blonde hair, before resting her head next to Gwen's neck. "Have you seen, daddy?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." She replied, wondering where her husband currently was located.

"Uncle Tony and Steve were with him, I think he's on the laundry." Elizabeth informed.

"Wait... how would you know that?"

"I can feel him if I focus, it's like a little vibration, a bolt."

Gwen immediately realized what she was talking about, Peter sent through the same experience when Elizabeth was born, he mentioned it once and never said anything about bit again. "Oh... so your father was right after all, you do share some sort of connection with him."

"Connection…?"

"When you're just a little baby, well, you still are my baby." Gwen smiled kindly. "Your father said he felt something unusual when he hold you on his arms for the first time, you two share more than a blood blond, I think the same can be said to your little brothers."

Elizabeth frowned in deep thought. "When I become a scientist like you and daddy, I will definitely study it!" She said in excitement.

Gwen kissed the top of her daughter's head. "You will accomplish everything that could possible want on this life, darling." She affirmed softly. "Now, laundry you said?"

---

"Okay..." Peter stepped inside of the fancy laundry as Tony and Steve followed him closely while being careful to not stumble on something. He approached the counter which contained his wife's recently clean clothes and inquired, "W-What I'm supposed to do again?"

Steve brought his right hand to his forehead and sighed. "I think we shouldn't... d-do this, it feels wrong."

Tony laughed as he opened Natasha's locket and placed his Iron Man helmet on the floor for a while. "Relax my friend... we're just having some fun!" He retrieved a black gym short that belonged to the super spy and threw at Steve's face who later proceeded to wear it over his jeans while muttering something.

"Gwen is going to kill me... what if she breaks up with me?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm too old to be left alone, thirty five and rocking."

Tony shook his head. "Don't overreact; there, that blue bra will fit you nicely." He gestured to the intimate piece of clothing in front of Peter.

"God bless me.." He followed Tony's order and reluctantly wrapped Gwen's bra over his shirt as the billionaire wore one of Natasha's skirts. If the world was about to end, he wouldn't miss any extra time with his friends, no matter how awkward such moment could have been.

After wearing his old red and blue Spider-Man mask, and now with his wife's bra, Peter turned on his back and saw the pair ready as well, one wearing a super tight gym short and carrying a shield with his left hand, and the other who came up with the idea using a skirt and with Iron Man's helmet over his head.

"What have I done?" Steve asked himself as he and the others stood in the center of the room.

Tony replied, "No room for regrets. Veronica?" He called.

"Yes, Mr Stark?" Jarvis replacement, Veronica, replied through the console next to the laundry's door.

Tony laughed briefly. "Is Pepper awake? If so, establish a connection. "

Veronica replied, "Understood." It only took a few seconds before Pepper's image appeared in a hologram between the trios. She was sat on a chair in front of her laptop and currently typed something.

"Hey To..." Pepper paused when she saw the other end of the line. "What on earth -"

"Hello!' Tony greeted as he moved his right arm around Peter's shoulders and brought him closer.

"Hello?" She said aghast. "What's going on? Steve? Is that a gym short?"

Steve looked down. "Yeah...?"

"And this is Spider-Bra! An exclusive…!" Tony patted Peter's back.

His girlfriend shook her head, checking if it was a dream, but it wasn't. "Are you guys drunk...?"

Tony continued, "Not drunk; I like to call it 'under heavy alcohol influence', it has some style on it."

"Where's Natasha or Gwen…? Let me talk to them."

"It's alright, darling, good to see you. I will call you later!"

"Wait -"

Tony shut down the connection as they laughed like if it was the funniest thing ever. He recomposed himself and ordered, "Veronica, contact Nick Fury!"

It didn't took long for a the holographic image of the ex-Shield head appear on front of the group. Nick appeared sat on a toilet and appeared to be reading the newspaper. He instantly saw the disturbance, but couldn't notice who the intruders were due to his end being disturbed and the image getting affected by that.

"What in the hell...Guards...!" He yelled.

An unknown voice replied, "You need more paper, sir?!"

"No! Hydra has found me!" Fury state furiously.

They laughed altogether, before Tony explained himself. "Nick, relax! It's just me, Steve and Peter!"

"What…?! I visited Clint's farm to motivate you guys to stay together as team, not to pry on me!"

"And it worked!" Tony grinned at his squad mates. "Nice to know you're doing well, see you later!"

After they laughed together until they ran out of oxygen, the only door was opened with a blonde woman strolling towards them.

"I trust you have an explanation for this, a very good one." Gwen inquired as she stepped inside with arms crossed. "Is that my bra?'

Peter looked at Tony who shrugged his shoulders in response and then return his gaze back at his wife. "Yes...?"

Gwen covered her face with her right hand, feeling ashamed for her husband and friends. "Oh for god's sake..."

---

Still feeling the effects of his earlier crusade, the door from the closed commons slid open with Peter stepping into one of the many catwalks around the underground facility where the enormous killer weapon was finally being finished meters underneath him. It was quiet, it was late and most people were already sleeping, and despite being a underground installation, the top notch air system managed to regulate the temperature outside the living floors.

He leaned against the balcony and gazed the device not so far away from his position, just a few meters below. It instantly brought him back to reality, there's a war happening and the time for resting was already gone. In the following days, he would face his most dangerous battle, one that would define the fate of humanity, man against machine.

While he chose to avoid such thoughts, he wasn't blind to realize the chances of victory were pretty slim to none, their future was at the hands of an inexperienced construct, and if that doesn't work, there's the unknown weapon which it's side effects weren't really booked, but it was their only options, one way or another the war would end in the following hours.

Reflecting about his whole life, the ups and downs, the victories and the failures, Peter was proud of his accomplishments he was granted due to the lessons he went through. If someone asked him twenty years ago if he ever thought about having what he has now, Peter would certainly such dismiss such future, but thanks to Uncle Ben, Aunt May, Harry Osborn, Captain Stacy and Gwen Stacy herself, everything he ever dreamt of came to reality, because of them, he became the man and guardian he was meant to be, with his biggest accomplishments being the ones he loved most, Elizabeth, David and Aiden, his children. That was enough, and the most important aspect of his life, he would move mountains for them.

And finally, there's his other family, a group of people with distinct origins and costumes, but that wasn't an obstacle for their natural bond to be established over the years, and here they were, celebrating what could possibly be their last moment together, despite all the suicide odds, they're together until the very end.

Peter smiled. He lived a good life, a learning adventure, one that he would do it again if necessary.

"Back to planning…?" Gwen asked as she embraced him from behind.

Peter nodded, seeing Gwen moving herself very close and next to him, before intertwining her fingers with his and leaning her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, can't say I didn't had a good time though.." He paused." ...maybe my last one..."

Gwen smiled and said reassuringly, "Hey, cheer up, I know you, you'll find a way to win... and when you do, our family will be awaiting for you." She leaned closer and kissed his cheek, before whispering, "I won't say it's been totally easy, it wasn't, but despite the rough times, we had a good run..."

Peter smiled happily and turned his head to slowly and passionately kiss her warm lips, not rushing the moment, but just appreciating the lovingly and eternal moment he was living with the love of his life, and mother of his children.

Before kissing her again, he took a brief pause and whispered, "... an unforgettable one."

---

And we're now reaching the storylines' end, this chapter was written with the objective to spend one more last time with some of these characters, a way to close an era, so I gave each character an special moment before the final battle triggers, and hopefully, I did a good job in honoring them.

Clint's farm was something that happened in the movies, and here as well, but I decided to remove it from the last chapter because I don't think it was really necessary, who watched the movie can picture what happened in here, and yes, Nick Fury is back.

I said I wouldn't write Jarvis, but I changed my mind after finding a reasonable way to insert him into the plot.

Something I wanted to explore deeply, was to make Peter unique in the sense that he's a coin with two sides, if that makes any sense, not only regarding the Peter Parker and Spider-Man, but his gifts as well. The way I interpreted the mythos and the movies is that no matter how much of a good person he is, he can't deal with such monumental powers by himself, he can't rely on his own to keep them on check, that's where Uncle Ben, Aunt May, Captain Stacy and Gwen come in, they're the ones who guided and still guide him, they're the ones who created the beloved Spider-Man, and without such important persons and their lessons, Peter wouldn't use his powers like he currently does, keep them balanced, and avoid his own dark side, the Black Spider-Man, a Spider-Man who didn't care about others that much, and only served the city because there wasn't anything else to do, that's what's he meant to do, on his very way, and when Fiers mentioned the emotional baggage, that only reinforced what I wanted to tell. That's a very interesting dilemma, that may come back on the future, but not with Peter. Who knows?

I wanted to quickly address a negative review, it's hard to understand what scrambled means here, the plot?Characters? Writing? Eggs? I'd love to hear constructive criticism, I'm always wanting to improve, but calling it out will be often ignored.

I'd like to thank FireflySurvivor, despite her personal issues, she's willing to help me again, and I really appreciate it. Big hug!

The extra chapter possibility is still up, hit me a PM or state around here if you'd like to read it, it's finished, not long, and I won't take long to update if it's requested.

About the chapter, hated, loved it? I'm always open to suggestions or questions. Thanks again, hope everyone have a good weekend!