"Hey Leeds, Where's Penis?"

Ned scowled, looking over at Flash.

"What do you care?"

"I want to talk to him. Where is he?"

MJ, who had been sitting next to Ned during lunch, frowned. They'd been discussing the fact that Peter wasn't in school and had been comparing notes, since their friend had called both of them, but hadn't done more than simply tell them that he wasn't going to be in school, but that he wasn't hurt or anything. It was an Avenger thing, but something that he couldn't tell them about, just yet."

"What do you want to talk to him about?"

"None of your business."

"Then we don't know where he is, do we?" she retorted, making Ned smile.

MJ wasn't a fan of Flash's, after all, and she didn't bother to hide the fact. Even better, Flash was intimidated by her and he and she both knew it.

"My dad is in the Army National Guard," Thompson said, abruptly. "He's a surgeon."

Of course. What else would he be doing?

"Good for him."

"So?" Ned added, a little curious, since Flash wouldn't be sharing that information if it didn't mean something.

"So he was warned that he's going to be called up. As a supernumerary commander and as a surgeon."

"So?"

"So he wasn't supposed to say anything, but I heard him tell my mother that they're sending all the medical personnel north. Since the only things up north are Canada and the Avengers, I wanted to ask Parker what's going on with his Avenger buddies."

"What makes you think he'd tell you?" MJ asked. "Even if there was anything to tell?"

Flash scowled.

"Where is he?"

"He's out," Ned told him.

"We'll make sure to let him know you asked for him," MJ said.

The boy gave them both another annoyed look and walked off, muttering to himself, and the two watched him go.

"Peter didn't tell you what's going on?" MJ asked, again, well aware that if Peter was going to tell anyone, it would have been Ned.

Peter's best friend shook his head, looking worried.

"No. I'm going to call him, again, tonight – just to check on him. I'm sure he's okay, though. He sounded okay."

She didn't look convinced, but it didn't help that Ned didn't, either.

OOOOOOOOO

The briefing with the military liaisons was kept in the lounge. There wasn't really any point in taking it to a briefing room or a conference room. The only people in the lounge were those who already knew what was going on – bartender and waitstaff included – and the chairs were just as comfortable. Peter sat beside Tony and had Gamora a seat away on the other side, but he didn't add anything to what was being said.

He was just watching. Keeping his mouth closed and his eyes open, as May used to tell him all the time.

Grady and Lyle both listened with excusable disbelief to what they were being told, and then a lot of uncertainty when the footage that had been furnished by the guardians was watched. More than once, despite how disturbing it was. Peter could tell that Grady was already looking for weaknesses in the massive army of creatures he was looking at – and hadn't seen any.

"These things can be killed, though?" he asked, looking at Tony – and at Gamora.

"Yes. They overwhelm with sheer numbers, more than anything – although they are dangerous, of course."

"We've handled equally awful in New York," Steve said, almost before Tony said the exact same thing. "And we're more prepared – with more allies, this time."

"You guys have to keep the civilian population safe," Tony said "Even better, figure out a way to move the ones in this general area and then make a line to keep these things from reaching New York. We-"

He was interrupted when Peter looked toward the door and was almost immediately captured in the excited grasp of the Cloak of Levitation, which had swooped in well ahead of Strange and Natasha, and had immediately found Peter, wrapping him up and excitedly rubbing against his cheek.

The newcomers stared – and Grady even made half a reach toward his side – although Tony knew he wasn't holding a side-arm. It had probably been automatic.

"What is-" Lyle's question was interrupted when Stephen and Natasha reach the table, and Tony stood – as did all the men, in deference to Romanoff.

"You're back?" Tony asked, rhetorically.

Strange nodded.

"Yes."

Natasha smiled at Grady.

"Colonel Gradymatson. You're the liaison?"

"I am." He offered her his hand. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Agent Romanoff."

"You, too." She smiled at Peter, who was still struggling a little with the cloak. The ancient relic seemed particularly concerned about Peter, and the boy was trying to calm it down. "Good choice."

"You remember Captain Harris?" Steve asked, making the introductions, and aware that Romanoff had met them both in Phoenix.

She nodded a hello and then introduced Stephen to them, as well.

"You delivered our message to Thor?" Nick asked.

"Yes. His stone is buried in Odin's vault, deep within Asgard."

"That's a good place for it," Tony said, glancing at Peter, who didn't catch the look. "How did he react to the Thanos thing?"

"Said to bring him on," Romanoff replied, shrugging. "You know how he is. He did offer up Asgard as a bolt hole, though. In case things go badly, he said they'd take refugees."

"Asgard isn't that big," Tony said, but he nodded. "It's nice of him, though."

"We're going to set up a portal," Strange told him. "Something that can be triggered by a non-magic user."

"A Muggle?" Lyle asked – which made Peter smile, although very few of them caught the reference.

"Magic?" Grady echoed. "What do you mean?"

The Avengers looked at Strange, who scowled, slightly, and then shrugged. True, it was his secret to tell – if he wanted to – and he didn't really want to tell it. But the military – at least the ones that were going to be at the compound – probably needed to know everything that the Avengers would be able to use in their defense of the compound, and magic was almost certainly going to play a part of that.

"I'll explain that, later," he finally said. "Is your shield up?"

"It's in its final finishing stage."

"If Thanos uses the power stone, no shield is going to help your world," Gomora pointed out. "Nothing can stand against its power, unleashed."

"Then we have to keep it leashed," Tony said. "Or use our stones to overpower him and take the one that he has."

"It doesn't work that way," she told him, as Strange and Natasha seated themselves, and the others resumed their chairs. "Each stone is the embodiment of a different aspect of the universe. One can't control another."

"So these stones… You mentioned that we have some?" Grady said, looking at Tony. "Where are they?"

"We have access to the mind stone and the time stone," Tony replied. "Thanos has the power stone. Thor's stone on Asgard is the space stone."

"That leaves reality and soul," Stephen said. "The Collector holds the reality stone. Wong hasn't been able to locate the soul stone's whereabouts, as of yet."

"He won't, either," Gamora said. "No one knows where it is."

Peter suddenly had a flash of a dark world with high peaks, and heard Alec whistle, softly, in his mind.

"Oh boy…"

Since it almost certainly wasn't a phrase used by aliens who only spoke in each other's minds, he assumed the phrase was one he'd caught from Peter. The boy looked sharply at Gamora, and she glanced over at him – suddenly looking concerned.

"She knows where it is," Peter said to the alien in his mind.

"Yeah."

"I know, too. Did you pull it from her mind?"

"The mind stone did. I don't work in visuals like that – you know that."

"True."

But now he had a name to go with the visual – and Peter suddenly felt a sense of dread that made him pale.

Everyone else had glanced at Peter when Gamora did, and none of them missed the way that he went white. So quickly that Tony actually reached for him, afraid that he was going to pass out or something.

"What's wrong?" his father asked him, concerned.

"I…"

"Don't even say it aloud," Alec warned. "Not to everyone."

"Nothing…" Peter lied – and did it, poorly. "I'm… I don't know."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. It's… I'm okay." He saw that none of them looked convinced – including Grady and Lyle. Everyone was looking at him, and the cloak suddenly shifted on him, until it was completely blocking his head, face and all, and was crooning encouragement to him. "I need to go lie down, I think…"

Peter stumbled to his feet, feeling lighter than normal and aware that the cloak was keeping him steady simply by taking his weight. The fabric moved enough that he was able to see where he was going, and he headed for the exit and left without another word. He heard the scraping of a chair and didn't need to look behind him to know that Tony was going to follow him.

Sure enough, running feet caught up to him, immediately.

"Hey?"

Peter stopped, turning to look at him, his eyes wide with fear and consternation.

"I'm sorry." He knew that it was rude to just leave like that, but he hadn't been able to help himself. "I just-"

"What's going on?" Tony asked. "What has you so spooked?"

How well he knew him.

"He needs to know," Alec told him.

Peter hesitated, looking over Tony's shoulder to make sure no one else had followed.

"I know where all the stones are."