One week remained until the coming Sports Festival. Everyone's vibe had become upbeat in their own ways, even Bakugo as the calmest of the class turned competitive. Everyday during homeroom, all the students could do was talk about the event and how they were preparing for it. In fact, some were almost getting too worked up, slipping in turning in homework after spending so much time training after school.
Peter, however, was not one of these people.
"That's not fair!" Mina stood up and exclaimed, pushing the palms of her hands against her seat. The homeroom class looked between her and their instructor, Aizawa. Their gaze lasted longer on him, due to being wrapped up like a mummy thanks to the injuries he sustained from the USJ attack. Peter could only hide his face in embarrassment, "Peter should be allowed to compete just like the rest of us! Why are you only telling us this now?!"
"It took this long to make the decision, Ms. Ashido," Aizawa said almost emotionless, "Since Mr. Parker is not an official student here at U.A High, he cannot be allowed to compete in the official events."
"But, but-" She stuttered, "He should still be allowed to be apart of it after helping to save the school!"
Much of the other students murmured in agreement, only now making Peter reveal his face again, as red as it was.
"We did discuss that," Aizawa noted, "Mr. Parker is permitted to participate in the half-time events since those have no impact on the main challenges. However, due to the rules, he still won't be allowed to join the rest of you in the Festival."
Mina slumped back down, her forehead resting on the table as she groaned, "That's so uncool …"
"It's fine, Mina," Peter reassured her with a bright smile, "I'll just look forward to watching everyone perform. You'll all be great!"
Mina looked back up at him, smiling with her eyes half open from exhaustion. Much like the rest of the students, Mina had been working hard to prepare for the festival, which meant many late nights of training and perfecting her Quirk. It was easier for some people than others, since certain students were stronger than others.
"Just you wait, Peter!" Denki gave a thumbs up, "I'm gonna blow straight through to first place!"
After his comment, Kyoka chuckled and scoffed his direction, "That's if you don't fry your brain again first."
The other students laughed along at her joke, despite Denki trying to argue at her. It didn't seem like anyone was going to listen to him, so he eventually just shrugged it off. Even Peter found himself laughing along, much to some of the others surprise. Tokoyami found himself smiling when he saw him laughing and smiling with the others. Ever since the verses class prior to the USJ attack, Peter had seemed troubled and hurt. Recently however, something had changed with his overall mood. It was like he had found a piece of himself, like he was whole again. At least comparing to before, he seemed much happier. Perhaps having his Aunt here helped to improve his mood, it's the only thing he could think of at least.
Todoroki, however, felt a little different. While he recognized his mood to have improved, he also saw something else underneath. It was as if Peter had gained, or regained strength he didn't have before. He would walk the halls a little more confident than before, and he was blowing through the Hero Class with flying colors of red and blue. What could have occurred to give him this strength, and just how much stronger has he become?
Lunch time came around as usual, everyone had gathered to receive their daily meal. Normally, the same groups of people gathered at each table, except one group was missing a member. In recent days, Izuku and his friends found Peter absent from the lunch room entirely, and they never received the same answer whenever they asked. Rather than consuming burgers and fries with his friends, Peter took his food and rushed out into the hallways, finding himself in the Development Studio where many of the Hero Class students go for costume repairs or upgrades.
Without constant access to Tony Starks nanosuit, Peter knew he had to get creative.
The room wasn't empty unfortunately, as he discovered on his first day trying to sneak in some work. Mei Hatsume was another student who spent much of her free time hidden away with the rooms many tools and trinkets. Telling her that he needed to work on his suit would require paperwork, as it turns out one needs to file for permission to alter a costume dramatically. He wasn't quite doing that, rather making a new one entirely. Peter was a good liar, however, and simply explained that he was inventing for fun much like she did.
Plus, it helped to have a skilled technician in the room if needed.
While Mei worked with her tools on one side of the room, Peter was glued to his chair on the other. In front of him was an array of materials for thin armor. Shoulder pads, leg guards and chest plates could be found scattered across the table. One chest plate was wired with circuits and lights, with a cord connecting it to a laptop that rested in front of him, code running up and down the screen as he typed. Ear buds were plugged into his ears, connected to a small music player that rested firmly in his pocket. Some nice upbeat jazz music had been playing, giving him a sense of peace and concentration.
After some short typing, Peter turned his chair and grabbed a screwdriver, going in to tighten any bolts that connected the circuit board to the bottom piece of the chest plate. Once he had, he stood and grabbed another chest piece, placing it on top and letting it click into place. After screwing the bolts in, he placed one thinner layer before finishing it with the top piece, this one more decorative than the others. He did a similar process to the mask that rested next to it, plugging it in to the same program on the laptop.
While he worked, Mei casually made her way over and watched his creativity at work. His eye for science impressed her, and his skills in inventing almost rivalled her own. Almost.
Screwing the final layer on, he backed up to admire his work. All the plating together rested on top of a purely green one. Small gaps in the plating exposed the green layer in a special design that much resembled that of a spider, much bigger than the usual logo he was used to.
"Can I press the go button?!" Mei shouted excitedly, almost catching Peter off guard as he pulled his earbuds out.
"If you promise not to shout in my ear again, be my guest," He pointed to the computer, the screen showing an input command with the word 'run' ready to be clicked. Mei hadn't hesitated to press it and watch the magic at work.
It took a moment for the loading bar to finish, but once it had, the green layers of the suit lit up with an emerald aura. Peter looked between the suit and the program, ensuring that there wasn't any fault in the code. So far, the visual side of his new creation seemed to be holding. Unfortunately, that was the easy part.
"Sparkly, what does it do?" She asked.
"I chose this material specifically for it's strength and ability to bend without breaking. It makes little to no noise during movement and provides a good amount of protection from stray bullets or knives."
"Fancy," Mei complimented, "What else can it do?"
"If I can pull this off," he smiled at her, "Something nifty."
"I like nifty!" She exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air. He grinned at her, sitting back down and grabbing a small circular piece of metal, with green glowing bits inside. He opened it up and exposed the circuit board, grabbing his screwdriver and beginning to mess with the contents.
"You should have gone into the Department of Support," She suggested, "You've sure got the eye for tech stuff!"
"Well, when billionaires aren't making my stuff for me, I too am Mr. Science Man," He untwisted a screw, placing it to the side, "Can't always wait for others to do it for you."
"Uh huh," She mumbled, placing a hand on her chin, "You can't hold genius back, otherwise it'll just punch you in the face. That or drive you to cry in bed but eh, who's keeping track? What exactly is this for anyway? If you don't plan to wear this as your hero suit, I mean."
"Some personal stuff," He answered, "Can't really talk about."
Mei shrugged, finding the answer to be good enough for her, "As long as you aren't missing out on anything by being here. I'm usually not, that is."
He stopped, holding his hands in place but resting them on his lap, looking up at Mei with a raised eyebrow, "Don't you have friends to spend lunch with?"
"Meh, not a lot of people usually hang out with me, and I don't really care. People are too complicated. Not like you though! You're pretty simple!"
He raised his other brow now, trying to understand if that was an insult or not, "Simple?" He questioned.
"Yeah! For you, good is good, bad is bad, simple! Easy to understand."
Peter looked back down at his tools, gripping his screwdriver tightly, "I guess so. It's what drives me to do what's right, and it's easier when I know what is right."
"Exactly, everyone else is too complicated, that's why I like my metal babies more than real ones!" She plopped her goggles back onto her face, "Welp! Back to work!" Zooming away, she nearly crashed into the pile of failed inventions that she had stacked up over her time here. Peter let out a huff that just barely fell short of being a laugh and got back to work. Each time he finished one of the small circular devices, he attached it to a specified place on the suit, screwing it in as tightly as possible. This pattern continued for the time he had remaining.
…
Her suit rested on the table of the large room. Though the warehouse was large, most of their supplies rested in a single room, the same of which many of them slept, ate and spent their free time. Lumina struggled with the screwdriver in her hand, trying to tighten some of the screws around her helmet. Previous trips into the night had loosened them, though that's more her fault than the suit's inventor. Whenever she used her power, she could feel the suit fighting against her even slightly as it could not fully take its intensity.
Otto Octavius entered through the skylight using his robotic arms, trailing down the walls with a series of clanks. When his feet touched the ground, his mechanical arms retracted into his back, just in time for his body to reach Lumina and see her distress, "Problems with the suit, Lumina?" He asked.
In seeing Otto return, she couldn't help but smile at him. Since their moment of connection during their chase for the Gauntlet, having him here was a joy she cherished. He was one of the few who could understand the way her mind worked, and even challenge it on some occasions, "My powers wear away at the suit a bit. I'm trying to fix it but I'm no technician."
"Well luckily you have me," He said, looking over her shoulder to inspect her progress, "Hm, well you've got the right idea, but simply tightening a few bolts is only a temporary fix. Some rust seems to have formed between the plates, see?" He pointed at a few spots, putting his other hand on her shoulder, "We could apply some oil to loosen it, otherwise a new material might be in order."
"I assume that genius brain of yours has an idea or two?"
"Or seven."
"Oh, very specific," She looked at him with a grin, lowering her eyelids, "Maybe you're just trying to sound smart."
"Must I prove myself?"
She playfully patted his check with her hand, leaving his presence and stepping away from the table, "Fix the suit and that'll do it."
He chuckled, grabbing the screwdriver she had left behind, "Yes ma'am."
Lumina laughed to herself as she strolled away from Otto and moved to the couch and TV placed in the other corner of the room. Quinten Beck had been sitting there like usual, taking notes of what he was seeing on TV. On his notepad were bullets broken up into sections, noting different aspects of the heroes and villains shown on the news. Out of all the people she recruited, Quinten was the least dangerous. His entire shtick was based on movie and theatre effects, tricking people with illusions and parlor tricks. Most of the time he never actually hurt anyone, rather manipulated them to get his way. He was another she respected as he did not view himself as a villain, more a trickster.
"Jot down anything good?" She greeted him, leaning on the couch.
"Been seeing some stuff about a villain called the 'Hero Killer'," Quintain answered, not looking up from his notebook, "So reckless, no awareness of his image. He's just killing heroes and calling it justice."
"How do YOU know that? I doubt the news even knows that much."
Quintain hadn't answered, in fact he stopped taking notes and slumped down, avoiding eye contact entirely. The signs were clear enough for her to catch that he was hiding something from her, and she didn't like when her co-workers withheld information, "Quinten, what are you not telling me?"
His shoulders slumped in defeat as he lifted his body up to face her, turning himself on the couch cushion, "That guy from the 'League of Villains' was talking about it."
Crossing her arms, she stared him down with an eyebrow raised. Of all the people to hear this from, she had hoped it wouldn't be the League of Villains. They were reckless and dull but making a deal with them was the only way to keep them off their backs after Goblin couldn't hold up his end of the bargain. Had he not gone behind her back, she never would have had to deal with them, "What are you doing talking to the League of Villains?" She asked.
"They were …here earlier, actually."
Otto turned into their conversation, putting down his screwdriver but not bothering to turn around.
"They showed up a couple of hours ago," Quintin continued, "Said that you needed to start holding your end of the bargain."
"And what did you tell them?" She scolded.
"I told them to come back later. They wanted to recruit some of the other guys here for their little League. They'll probably come back later today."
"You're just telling me this now?!" She shouted, "The League of Villains may be incompetent, but they still a problem I have to deal with. If they want something, it's going to be tough to deny it to them," she put her fingers to her temple, "How many guys did they want?"
"Not sure, but that guy with the hands on his face …he's weird."
Lumina started pacing behind the couch, her legs shaking with anticipation. The League of Villains wasn't what scared her, it was who was leading them. She had only ever gotten a glimpse at him during her first meeting with the group, and he terrified her. This was simply seeing him on a screen, so she couldn't imagine how this man was in person. Making them angry would disturb their superior, which isn't one of the many problems she wants in her arsenal.
"We can't let them take our members," Otto approached the two, almost startling her, "If they take anyone, one of them may speak about the Infinity Stones. If they do, we won't be the only ones looking for them. The League of Villains can't get ahold of that kind of power, or they would surely abuse it," He waved his hand, gesturing to the building as well as themselves, "We have a goal in mind. We know what we want and know how to avoid unnecessary damage. But they want destruction, to steal the hope of innocent people, the classic villain agenda as well as a dangerous one."
Lumina had since stopped pacing to listen to him. She didn't deny how he was right, but that didn't stop the worry she had felt. If she cannot convince them to back off, finding the Infinity Stones will become less of a quest and more of a race, even with Peter Parker already involved.
"I'll talk to them when they come back," She said softly, "I won't let them ruin our plan."
"Question," Quintain raised a finger, "What is our plan? Or, yours I mean."
She turned around, quickly trying to think of what to tell him. Even with how much she trusted Otto, not even he knew the details of her personal agenda. There were few that she really trusted, "To fix things that are broken, I guess. No one else will, right?"
That answer was enough for him as he turned back to the television and continued to write things down. Otto held Lumina's shoulder gently and let his goggles hang by his neck. She looked at him, not even a grin on a face full of worry. Every time she feels as though she's getting close to something, someone comes along and takes it away. First Mirko, who tricked them and took the Gauntlet from under their noses. Now this League wants to take their resources and run against them for power.
"Are you ok?" Otto asked.
"What sort of material should we use for my suit?" She asked, looking down at the floor.
Otto sighed, putting his hand down against his hip, "Vibranium. It's the strongest metal on our world, but without the Space Stone, we can't open a portal to get there. That's why we need to figure out where they are keeping the Gauntlet."
Nodding, Lumina rubbed her face of stress, "I'll see if I can chase down some leads."
…
Outside of the excitement of Heroic's Class, the students of U.A High still had to take average courses such as English and Math, both of which Peter fancied himself good at. While most people dreaded Mathematics class in general, Peter never seemed to mind it. He was one of the few students with extensive mathematical knowledge, so his friends often go to him for help and tips.
Their teacher for the class also happened to be a Pro Hero, much like the other teachers in their classes. The Math teacher, also known as Ectoplasm, wore a tan trench coat that covers most of his body. Underneath was a skin-tight black suit with several gold strips rising from underneath his trench coat and disappearing under his helmet. His helmet was black with a gold jaw-guard that ends in a circle-shaped hinge joint where his ears are. He often pushed his students both on the field as well as in the classroom, as he favored those who shine under pressure.
A quiz was handed out to the many heroic students, no longer than 2 double sided pages. Some of them stared at their papers while others such as Momo and Peter had started right as they picked up their pencil. They, along with Izuku, remained extremely focused on their quizzes while others like Kirishima and Denki tried to prolong the challenge.
Peter flipped his paper over, causing a small reaction to the members of his immediate surroundings. They were almost jealous of how quickly he had gotten done, even beating Momo in the finish time. She didn't seem to mind however, rather she smiled without even looking directly at him. Grabbing his bag, he approached the front desk and greeted Ectoplasm with a smile.
"Finished already Mr. Parker?" He asked, looking up at him, "You know you can't leave until the class is over."
"I have a permission slip," Peter pulls out a folded piece of paper and places it on the desk, "I have to leave early today."
The teacher grabs the paper and opens it, reading over the contents. Taking the moment of distraction, the other students looked up from their papers to see what was going on. The only person who already knew what was written there was Izuku, being aware of it a few days prior.
"Alright," He said, handing him back the paper, "You're free to go."
Giving him a friendly nod, Peter tighten the straps of his bag and left the room with a silent wave to his friends. Some waved back, except for Bakugo who gave him the middle finger, clearly still holding a grudge since their first heroics class together.
"Psst," Mineta whispered to Izuku, sitting just next to him, "Where's he going?"
Izuku leaned over carefully as not to alert Ectoplasm, "Norman Osborn's trial starts today, Peter's a witness."
Just hearing Norman's name got Momo's attention, who had been sitting just next to Mineta. Carefully she leaned in to listen and chime into the conversation, "Norman was that green monster, right? Will Peter be ok?"
"Sure, but I plan to go there after school anyway if it's still going. If you want to come and support him, you can."
"Focus on your papers please!" The teacher stressed, finally catching them in the act and forcing them to sit up straight. Even as they got back to work, Momo looked out the windows, with Peter engraved on her mind.
…
Peter's foot tapped quickly as he waited outside the court room, now changed out of his school outfit and into something more comfortable. He doesn't often go to the trials of villains he takes down because no one can use Spider-Man as a witness. This will be the first time he see's the bad guy face to face on trial, and of all people, if had to be Norman Osborn. Just thinking about him made Peter feel guilty; all he could focus on was his late wife, Emily. His powers were her cure, and he stole that from her. Perhaps it was an accident, but it still happened none the less. Norman was crafty; who knows what he may pull in there?
"Peter," A voice grabbed his attention and made him whip his gaze from his feet. Overcast was standing in front of him, holding her arms together as he tried to give him a comforting smile, "How're you doing?"
With his legs still kicking, Peter stood and hugged his guardian tightly, surprising her as she hugged him back. Her body rocked back and forth in a rhythm, hoping to calm him down. She even started rubbing the back of his head, holding him close to her, "It'll be ok, Peter. It's just a trial, no one is going to get hurt."
"It's not that," Peter back off the hug and rubbed his face, "I don't know what they're gonna bring up in there, maybe things from our past. That really scares me."
"Why? Do you have something to hide?"
He couldn't answer her. Even though he tried to speak, nothing more than a breath of air could escape his lungs. Beyond Emily, there were mistakes he's made that he never though Peter would have to face. Spider-Man was always ridiculed for his actions, but Peter remained safe. Now, it was all gonna come crashing down on him.
The door to the building opened quickly, making Peter look to it expectantly. Kendo came through, wearing her standard jacket and skirt attire. When they made eye contact, Kendo didn't hesitate to rush over and hug him tightly, nearly leaping into his arms with her momentum. Her arrival was just what he needed to avoided Overcast's question.
"It's good to see you, Pete," Kendo said, breaking the hug but still holding his arms, "I haven't seen you much since the school attack."
"Yeah, and I'm sorry. I've been helping Aunt May settle in, so I needed to spend time with her. Plus, I figured you were busy training for the Sports Festival."
"Yeah, but I always have time for my friends."
"Kendo," Overcast chimed in, "Are you here as a witness?"
"I am," She nodded, letting go of Peters arms, "I was at the heart of the attack after all. Hopefully we can get this guy behind bars where he can't hurt anyone else."
"I hear you. Kamui Woods is here too as a witness against Osborn, but Mt. Lady couldn't make it. Though she will stop by when the news crew gets too rowdy. She knows how to keep them busy," She clapped her hands together, "Let's get you two in there, shall we?"
Quickly, the courtroom had filled with people ready to examine their newest case. Peter sat with the crowd next to Overcast and Kendo, sitting on the side of the accusing. Others however chose to sit on the side of the defendant, though Peter didn't understand why. These weren't friends of Norman, just regular civilians. Shop owners, husbands and wives, they chose to sit and support the man who became a monster. If only they knew about the things he has done. The lawyer standing against Osborn came in and took his place at the proper desk, sitting with the Pro Hero, Kamui Woods.
Norman himself was the last to enter with his lawyer. He was dressed in orange with handcuffs on his wrists and ankles. Half the room stared in horror while the other half looked on with curiosity.
The bailiff called the court to order, making everyone stand as the trial's judge entered from the back, sitting in his royal-like seat.
"Calling the case of the people verses Norman Osborn. Are both sides ready?"
The attorney and Public defendant both agreed to him.
The Bailiff wastes no time to swear the Jury, readying the trial to begin. As everything got into position, Kendo noticed just how much Peter's legs were shaking even as everyone finally sat down. The expression on his face only added as proof to his current state. He was scared, or perhaps angry, maybe even both. Seeing Norman Osborn with that confident look on his face made him furious. He always knew how to dodge paying for his crimes, then going back up to his pent house to drink fancy wine from a glass as the world burns around him. He's had a habit of ignoring the worlds issues and focusing on himself.
At least, that's been Peter's experience.
As the two lawyers gave their opening speeches for the case, Norman turned his body to look a Peter sitting further in the back. As much as the young hero tried to remain composed, Norman's stare made him feel guilty. It was as if he was somehow forcing him to remember their conversation in the hospital, making Peter out to be the villain of the two. He tried to look away from him, but Norman continued to stare with that horrible look of shame. As if he needed any more of that in his life.
"You're honor," Normans lawyer, his name tag reading Rei, began, "I would like to first call Mayume Aihara to the stand."
"That's my cue," Overcast said, "Wish me luck," She stood from her seat and approached the front of the courtroom, as everyone watched her take her seat next to the judge and be sworn in by the bailiff.
"Mayume, is it true that you are a Pro Hero?" Rei asked her, earning a nod of agreement, "And how long have you been operating as a Pro Hero?"
"I've been a Hero for about 7 years now, since I graduated from U.A High School."
"The same school that my client is accused of attacking."
Peter let out a silent growl, gripping the back of the chair in front of him. Of course, this was the direction he was going, trying to play innocent even in a world where his company can't bail him out. He kept himself calm however, having faith that without his money, Osborn will finally face charges.
"Can you describe the event from your point of view?"
"Of course," Overcast took a moment to recall what had happened, "I had gotten the call from a fellow hero that the USJ trip was under attack by a swarm of villains. Naturally I rushed over to help fight against them. It was after we had finished when one of the students told me the school had been under attack as well."
"What did you see when you arrived?"
"The school was overrun with Super Villains, half of which I didn't even recognize. I fought as many as I could until I reached the front and found my fellow heroes as well as two students under attack."
"And it stands to reason you saw the green monster when you arrived, correct?"
The Public defender, the name Tamika on her suitcase, called out to the court "Objection, leading the witness."
"Sustained," Said the judge.
"I'll rephrase," Rei continued, "Who was it you saw fighting against the heroes sworn to protect us?"
"I saw 6 villains."
"Were one of these six villains my client, Norman Osborn?"
She nodded.
"And how do you know this? All the reports state a green monster, not a simple middle-aged man."
"He is not simple, sir," Overcast stated sternly, "He has the ability to become this monster called The Green Goblin. He hurt people, tried to kill students in cold blood and rallied super villains to attack the school and its inhabitants."
"He becomes a monster, you say?" Rei paced the small space of the room, "And how did you defeat him?"
Overcast composed herself, sitting up straight in her chair, "I had to mix together a compound to give him a chemical balance, so he'd turn back. We needed to negate his powers."
"So, would it stand to reason that these abilities drove my client to do such acts? That his powers warped his mind?"
"What? No! He chose to do all this! You can't pull a 'crazy-plead' out of nowhere!"
"No further questions your honor," Rei stood down from the post and returned to his seat. Overcast eyed Peter sitting in the crowd, a look of sorrow and anger on her face. She hated being played by another person like a piano, especially when there is so much more to the song before they decide to stop where it's convenient. Even as the Public Defender ask her questions to turn things around, Overcast couldn't help but feel as though seeds have already been planted.
"Ms. Aihara," Tamika, the Public Defender started, "Why do you believe Norman Osborn attacked the school? Describe your perspective of the situation."
"Objection, leading the witness," Rei called out, only to be immediately overruled by the Judge.
"I think he was angry," Overcast said, "I think he's probably suffered a lot of loss, that's how a lot of villains turn. When you lose something, or someone, it's hard to come back from that. Sometimes people never do, and they allow themselves to fall so deep into the dark that they become cruel."
"And how do you know this?"
She didn't say anything right off the bat, instead her eyes darted to her hands as she gulped in worry. Of course, she knew much like most people. Tragedy was a fated event for all living people, even those who are the luckiest and the happiest. Tamika asked her again how she knew, "I've suffered much like everyone else. My family was killed by villains, and I was the only survivor. My Mother, father, brothers …told me to run away while they got slaughtered by those who became fueled with anger."
"Objection, irrelevant-" Rei could not finish his sentence, for Overcast stood from her seat and slammed her hands against the seat.
"Norman Osborn attempted to murder a student multiple times and cared not for the lives of others!" Overcast shouted, despite the judge telling her to sit down, "Villains allow their anger to control them and they don't care who gets hurt. You wanna blame his powers rather than him?! Fine! But it's your fault if he kills again! Some people just wanna live their lives and this man thinks he has the right to take that away!"
It took a moment to calm her down, the bailiff had no choice but to escort her out of the courtroom for a while to cool down. Her emotional reaction however may have influenced the Jury's decision. By the looks on their faces, their opinions of Osborn weren't high.
Recess came quick as everyone stepped outside for a break, all except Osborn who waited inside. Once out of the court room, Peter searched for Overcast desperately until he found her on the upstairs balcony. He simply followed where the extra light and rush of colder air was coming from, where she had opened the balcony door to step out onto it. It was sunny, the light shining off her cream blonde hair. She has been crying, her eyes red and a dry streak of tears on her cheeks. She knew what questions that would be asked, but that didn't stop her reaction despite how she tried.
"…Mayume?" Peter approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "How're you doing?"
Instantly she rushed into his arms, holding him tightly as more tears fell from her eyes. He hugged her back, stroking the back of her head to calm her down. It took a few minutes before her rapid breathing finally slowed down to a healthy speed.
"I'm sorry," She gasped on her tears, letting him go and leaning back on the rails, "I wanted so badly to remain composed but …I guess I don't think about them as much as I thought. At least not in that way. I always like to think their words define me, their lessons carry on. But I don't always focus specifically on the fact that they're actually gone …I just think of everything I missed out on with them. Every movie night, every school event …"
"…Every baseball game," Peter continued for her, "Every science fair."
A smile crept onto her face, her head looking up to the sky.
"You're the next witness, you know," She reminded him, "You better get in there before they start again."
"Well they don't need me now," Peter leaned on the rail next to her, "You do."
He smiled, comforting her as she allowed herself to vent the remaining sadness from her eyes.
…
Meanwhile
Doctor Strange's hands were glowing with orange neon runes, a large cryptic circle drawn in chalk rested on the ground in his home. Tony stood a distance away with his fingers on his chin, examining the work he had been doing. Strange's scarred hands had been shaking with frustration and over-exertion. Even as he pumped more power into the spell, he couldn't seem to forge the gateway they desired. With one final push, the chalk of the circle dispersed from their position and dirtied the wooden floor. Strange set his feet on the ground and sat in the nearest chair, his hand on his temple.
"Nothing?" Tony asked.
"I've scanned the entirety of several dozen universes, Stark," He scolded, "But each universe I search has nothing. Nothing on the Peter Parker we know. He could very well be dead, Tony, you might have to start accepting that."
"No," He stated, "There has to be another way. Is there anywhere else he could be? Another universe or dimension or whatever you call it. We need to find him and the stones so we can fix this!"
"I don't…wait," he stood, "We need to widen the scope."
"How?"
"Because we thought he was lost in another Universe, we assumed this because of the Space stone. But there are other stones. They could have affected where he ended up. We need to account not only for a certain space, but also what mindset Peter and Goblin had, how much power Goblin used, we have accommodated for every stones abilities
"Then we can find him?"
Strange cocked his head, "I can find out."
Strange waved his hand and repaired the chalk-drawn circle of runs. Only a few spells had to be cast before it began to glow once again. Like a hologram, images of squares piled on one another began to form. As one square flew up and vanished, another appeared from the ground. Each shape was a different color, showing different saturations, some Tony couldn't even comprehend.
Tony leaned against the wall and looked way for two reasons. One was how the images gave him a headache, but the other was out of guilt. Had he kept him close during their mission, or not brought him at all, he would still be here. Now, even his Aunt has gone missing from the city, and it could very well all be his fault. If he didn't fix this, it would be another casualty held against his iron heart.
A small explosion erupted and pushed Strange to his feet, nearly stumbling. The images from the circle vanished as his eyes widened.
"Strange, you ok?" Tony asked.
"Yes … I am," he said with a pant, "I think I know how to find him."