"Avoid the world, it's just a lot of dust and drag and means nothing in the end."

- JACK KEROUAC

Chapter 1

14 Hours earlier

Thursday, 10:00am

Tony Stark drove behind his 2002 Chevy Suburban vehicle. Years ago, the billionaire wouldn't have been caught dead inside such a vehicle. But after he had been forced to admit defeat on his attempt to install a car seat in his Audi R8, he had to settle for the 'coolest' family car Pepper would allow him to get. Meaning he had to settle for the step above a minivan. But he'd gotten used to it over the years.

Said reason for the car seat, his four-year-old daughter Morgan, was sitting in the back seat humming to the song that was currently playing through the car's speakers. The song was another indicator on how much his life has changed. Six years ago, not only would Tony had never been seen driving this car, he certainly wouldn't be listening to "Wheels on the Bus." He had attempted in the beginning to bring in some hard rock and start a new trend of children's songs; but then Pepper reminded him about how much swearing was in those songs. Even when he played the 'clean' versions, the loud noise would always interrupt the kids' nap. He finally had to admit defeat when Pepper had gone three days without sleep and threatened to divorce him.

So, this was Tony Stark's life now. A whipped man who drove around in a SUV, listening to cutesy kid songs. What has happened to him?

Not that he would trade it for anything. He had never been happier. Especially now that they had managed to reverse Thanos's snap mess and returned everyone who was dusted. Having Peter back in his life has meant so much to him, and the price had only been his arm. Yes, having a prosthetic was inconvenient at times, but it was a small price to pay for getting one of his kids back and still being able to keep the other.

Yes, he now 100% thought of Peter like his second child. The feeling had begun to morph years ago after the boy's incident fighting with the Vulture and his crew. But Tony had always refused to indulge in the feelings, making sure to keep the kid at arm's length and kept their relationship strictly mentor and mentee. At the time he didn't think he could ever be a good father due to his only role model being his own father, Howard. Back then he had no high feelings about his father, who only seemed like a distant man that didn't care enough to do much parenting. Too busy trying to find Captain America. His trip into the past gave him some clarity about some of the actions his father made. He now concluded that Howard had always wanted to be a good father, but his own fears made it hard for him to actually be a loving one.

After Morgan came along, he had the same fears that his father probably had. But was always determined to not do the things that he hated his father doing. So far it was going well; and now with Peter back, he has no issues indulging in the parental love that he felt growing towards the teen. Peter was still trying to adjust to a five-year jump, when in his mind only hours had passed since he was dusted and then brought back. He had seemed to find it strange that Tony was now a doting father that took every possible chance to hug and embrace his children.

"Wheels on the Bus", had now turned into "Baby Shark", and Tony couldn't take it anymore. "Hey Maguna?" He glanced at his daughters face in the rearview mirror. "Mind if I change the tune for a while?"

"Aww…" she whined, her bottom lip poking out in a pout. "But I like this song…"

"I promise, I'll put baby shark on for you when we get home." When I have the ability to walk away and avoid listening to it, he added in his head. "I'll even have FRIDAY pull up the YouTube video."

"Okay…" she relented trying to sound sad and upset, but not really pulling the look off. She was always very good at rolling with the punches, getting it from her mother.

"Thanks baby," Tony said with relief, changing it to a news channel. The reporter was talking about a recent earthquake that had hit the country of Uganda, leaving the country in devastation. One thing he had noticed in the last year or so, were the many, many natural disasters all over the world.

"Daddy I'm hungry," Morgan called out from her spot in the back seat.

"We'll be home soon sweetie. And I'm sure mommy will have a nice lunch waiting for us."

"Will Petey be there?"

The question caused Tony to smirk and hold back a laugh. Ever since he had told Morgan two weeks ago that they were hosting Peter's fiftieth Birthday party at the cabin. The girl seemed to think that the party was going to happen that day. Which meant she had asked that question every day since then. Luckily there wasn't much longer to wait now. "No Morgan, I already told you before. The party's not till Saturday."

Morgan let out a disappointed sigh. "So how much longer now?" She sounded like she was getting as tired as Tony was having this same conversation every day.

"Well today is Thursday, which means Saturday is the day after tomorrow."

"That's too long Daddy. Can't you make it come quicker?" Unfortunately, one too many of her little preschool friends has told her about his messing with time travel. So, she legitimately thinks he can control time, much more than a normal child her age would think.

It was Tony's turn to let out a sigh. "No Maguna, Daddy can't go messing with time travel just so a Birthday party can come quicker." At the little pout that formed on her face he added, "But Peter will be coming over tomorrow after school; and he'll spend the whole weekend with us."

"Yay!" she clapped her hands and cheered. That certainly lifted her spirits.

The two fell silent, giving Tony the chance to listen to what else the news reporter was saying. He turned the volume up slightly. "As the United Nations continues to push for a single world economic plan. So far, the three remaining currencies in use are the Dinar, the Pound, and the Dollar. With the American dollar lowering in value each year, the hope is for the United States and other countries still using the dollar, to switch over to Dinar currency within the year. The United Nations spokesperson, Natalia Brance believes the use of online shopping and cashless transactions will make the transition easier. After the break we will follow up with Scott on the recent attacks on Israel. Stay tuned." The news report transitioned into a song, but Tony switched it to a music only station not even 30 seconds into the song.

Not that he didn't want to listen to what had been playing. He just didn't want to continue listening to the report. It was always risky trying to listen to the news with Morgan around. There never seemed to be anything but bad news and growing despair. He was always afraid she'd listen too closely one day and hear something that would scare her. Or worse, take after her older brother and try to do something about it.

They spent the rest of the drive back to the cabin listening to the music station he picked.

Thursday, 2:30pm

The final bell at Midtown High school rang loudly throughout the school hallways. It only took a few seconds before the young teenagers began running from their classrooms like the building was on fire. All eager to get out of school for the afternoon. After the runners were out of the classroom, followed the group of students that were in a hurry to get out of the building, but didn't feel the need to make a mad dash. Last were the teacher favorite students, that usually took the time to say bye to their teachers before calmly making their way out of the school.

Among these students was one Peter Benjamin Parker. Five years ago, he was part of the group that made a mad dash for the doors the moment the bell rang. The sooner he got out of that school the sooner he could start his patrol. But now with his aunt's new house rules, he has to come straight home after school to do chores, and he can't do any patrolling until after dinner and all his homework done.

Just as Peter was doing his locker combination a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. "One more week," his best friend Ned Leeds declared with a heavy sigh. "One more week and then we're free!"

Peter let out a bitter snort of laugh at the comment. "Yeah, for two weeks. Then we get to come back for the new school year…" he trailed off while grabbing the books from his locker and stuffing them in his backpack.

As part of the immersion program the government put into place, all public schools stayed open for a special summer school for all the kids that got blipped. He'd reluctantly done it at May's insistence. He supposed it was better than having to repeat his freshman year again. Ned who had thankfully been blipped as well had decided to do the summer school with Peter. His parents didn't force him into it, made it his choice unlike some. Ned figured that if Peter was going to do it and move on to be a sophomore, he may as well not get left behind.

Ned seemed to have sensed Peter's bitter feelings at his comment about school and decided to change the subject. "So how does it feel to be almost fifteen?"

That wasn't necessarily a much better subject; but Peter was still grateful not to talk about school anymore. "I'm not sure," he responded, shouldering his backpack. The two boys began making their way towards the school's front doors. "Considering that in my memory, my last Birthday happened about 6 months ago; it doesn't feel like I'm actually any older." It always made his head hurt a little bit when he tried to wrap his brain around how this five-year jump was supposed to work. Ned was technically older than him by a few months. But because of the time of year, they were all brought back, Peter's birthday was now coming first. But did that now make Peter older than Ned? It shouldn't. He almost felt silly celebrating his Birthday right now. He tried suggesting to Mr. Stark that they ignore it this year and then celebrate it next year. But the billionaire was having none of it.

"Yeah… it is a bit strange. But I wouldn't complain. You're going to drive before me now." Ned did have a good point. Peter had to admit that. Not that there were a whole lot of reasons to learn to drive when you live in New York, but it still didn't seem fair. "I can't believe that Tony Stark is throwing you a big birthday bash!" Ned continued in an awestruck voice.

"Not sure I'd call it a bash when the guest list is shorter than my dad's monthly sober days," a bored voice spoke from behind them. Both turned to see their other friend M.J. standing there with a knowing smirk on her face. "Remind me again Parker why you're only inviting like 5 people to your birthday party?"

Peter just shrugged his shoulders, not really wanting to get into it again. The girl had been giving him a hard time about it ever since he had invited her. He almost regretted it at this point. The root issue was that he just didn't feel like it was his birthday right now, even though the date was just a few days away, it was happening too soon. The other problem was that he didn't exactly have many friends before the blip happened, and most of his acquaintances that he may have decided to invite to a party ended up staying behind and were all out of high school by now and moved on with their lives. Most importantly he himself was struggling with the shift that had happened in his life since coming back. The world had moved on and he almost didn't feel like he had a place in it anymore.

"You know what M.J. even if me and you were the only ones invited, I'd still call it a bash, because it's happening at Tony Stark's place," Ned told her in defense.

"We are the only ones invited, dufus." M.J. responded. Neither seemed to notice how quiet Peter had gotten. "Unless you count Peter's family."

"I am counting them," Ned shot at the girl hotly. "Adding them and Tony's Starks family, it's a total of 9 people."

M.J. gave Ned a look and replied sarcastically. "Wow… what a crowd. You sure put me in my place."

The three of them were out of the school by now, and at the street where they usually parted ways. Peter for once was glad for the excuse to leave them. Both his friends needed to take the subway to get home. Before the blip he would be going on the subway with them, but now May's new house was within walking distance of Midtown High, and he no longer needed to take the subway. The three exchanged goodbyes, and Peter and Ned parted with their signature secret handshake.

Now that he was alone, Peter tried to get his mind off of birthdays and the blip. It was just so hard when everything he once knew was different because of the blip. He had to sleep in a room he was not familiar with, spend his days with complete strangers and an aunt he barely relates to anymore. Even Mr. Stark had changed in the last five years; he was married to Ms. Potts and they have a daughter. Peter did have to admit that the change in Mr. Stark has been the one he's been most okay with. Having his own kid really softened him up for the better, and despite his sudden reappearance in the world the entire Stark family has welcomed him with open arms. He sometimes felt like the Starks were more his family than May was now.

That was what hurt the most. He and his aunt used to be so close. But she had not been blipped; and in the last five years she met and married some guy and now they have 3-year-old twins. Not that he had anything against May's new family. The kids were really cute and adored Peter, and her husband was a nice enough guy who was okay with allowing May to do the majority of parenting when it came to Peter.

Peter just had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that May had remarried so quickly after losing Uncle Ben… Okay, maybe he wasn't being very fair with that count. He had missed out on 5 whole years; and for Peter, Ben had died less than a year ago. But to May, it's been almost 6 years. He should be grateful that she found happiness with someone who seems to love and cherish her. The feelings of hurt and betrayal he couldn't stop himself from feeling; only made the boy feel guilty.

Much sooner than he preferred, Peter approached the small house that Aunt May and her family now lived in. Peter had never lived in a house a day in his life before now. With his aunt and uncle's low incomes they were never able to afford anything better than paying rent for a rundown apartment. His parents even lived in an apartment complex before they died. So, coming home to a place with a front and back yard, and no other families living in the same building was strange.

The jingling of keys sounded as Peter pulled his set of house keys from his pocket. He determinedly shifted his eyes away from the annoying decoration that hung on the door. It was a round piece of wood decorated with fake flowers that said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." This sign alone indicated the biggest change in his aunt since returning.

After everyone was dusted, apparently to help cope with the sudden loss of her nephew; May had found religion. Which was good for her, he supposed. To each their own, if it makes her happy, and all that jazz. But it got a bit grating when he always had to come home and have her full of prayer, bible verses, and the nonstop talk about God and serving and all sorts of strange nonsense. The worst part was how she would constantly say how grateful she was that God brought him back. Like God had anything to do with everyone being brought back from the blip. It was Mr. Stark and the other Avengers that did it; and May sure had some nerve trying to take the credit away from them and give it to God. They almost died to bring everyone back; some actually did.

"Peter is that you?" He heard his aunt call out from the kitchen when he opened the door and stepped into the house.

"Yes May, it's me!" the boy responded; shutting the door and kicking the shoes off of his feet. One of the many new house rules was no shoes on in the house. Not the most annoying; in fact, that was one of easiest to follow. Probably the hardest one to follow was the no swearing. Not that May had allowed him to swear before. But he had been allowed to say damn, and the occasional slip was usually ignored. Now, every single time he was caught he had to throw a dollar into the swear jar that lived on the kitchen counter. More annoyingly were the words that were not considered swear words before but are now. He's no longer allowed to say "Oh my God" or "Jesus Christ." He'd probably lost over a hundred dollars in the last three months to that swear jar.

May came out of the kitchen to greet him with a hug. "How was school?"

"Boring as usual," Peter responded shortly with a shrug. He hoped that tone was enough of a hint to drop the school subject. The two had gotten into a lot of fights over school the last couple of weeks, and he really didn't want to have another one.

Thankfully his aunt took the hint and moved on. "Could you do me a favor and take the kids out to the backyard." She motioned over to the two kids, Elihu and Elizabeth, that were bouncing around the living room. There was some video on the TV playing kids songs. "They have been crazy all afternoon, and I need to finish up dinner before Thomas gets home."

Peter let out a frustrated sigh at the request. "But I was hoping to get my chores and homework done early, so I can do some patrol after dinner."

"Just for a half hour," May gave him her pleading puppy eyes which really isn't fair because he's the one who probably taught her the look. "Please honey, I just need them to get their energy out, and it's better for them to do it outside rather than in here. I promise to make it up to you."

A dramatic sigh fell from the teen's lips. He knew he'd have to agree. If there is one thing he'd learned in the last three months it's that when his little cousins have too much energy, they become twin terrors. "Fine…"

His response caused a smile to blossom onto his aunt's tired face. She gave him a wet kiss on the cheek. "Thank you so much sweetheart! And don't worry. I'm sure you'll have time to get your homework done."

He returned her smile with a small one of his own. That was easy for her to say; she wasn't the one doing it. He walked over to the front room where both kids were bouncing up and down in front of the TV singing a song about some guy named Abraham. He grabbed the TV remote, and neither of them seemed to have noticed Peter yet. "Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons-" both stopped singing and turned towards the teenager when the video suddenly paused. Despite the fact that they were fraternal twins of different genders, the two could pass as identical if both of their hair was cut and styled the same. May however had chosen to make sure their genders were unmistakable. Elizabeth's brown hair was long and usually filled with girly ribbons, or headbands, while Elihu's hair remained short. The two children still gave him identical dimpled grins at the sight of him.

"Hey ya rugrats," he greeted with a sly grin. "Let's go outside to play."

"Yay!" both cheered and ran over to him. Elizabeth caught him around the legs in a hug, while Elihu used the couch to launch himself onto Peter's back.

"Eli, what did I tell you about jumping on the furniture?" May scolded lightly from the kitchen.

"Sorry mommy!" the little boy called back and wrapped both of his arms around Peter's neck in a strangling hug. "Peter, can we play Spiderman rescue outside?"

Peter grabbed the younger boy's hands and moved them so that they were holding onto his shoulders. "Didn't your mommy say that we couldn't play that game anymore?"

"No, we just can't play on the roof anymore," Elihu replied matter of factly.

"Yah," Elizabeth agreed. "Mommy says we can only play if we pretend to be in danger."

It was the twins' favorite game to play with him. Either one or both of them would pretend to be in danger and then he would fly in to rescue them as Spiderman. The last time they played, Elihu convinced Peter to bring him up on the roof where he proceeded to pretend that he was hanging off the roof in mortal danger. Which he technically had been. May caught them and just about had an aneurysm, and probably lost ten dollars to the swear jar. It all ended with Elihu getting a spanking and Peter had been grounded for a week. So now… let's just say that's the last time he'll ever listen to a three-year-old.

One of the very many annoying things that came with her newfound religion was the incessant need to always be honest. This meant that the whole family knew about his spiderman activities. Thomas had already known when he first came back. May had said that she told him when they were discussing the loved ones they lost during the blip. The twins didn't find out till after Peter came back; not wanting either of them to get any vigilante ideas. They had halfheartedly tried to keep it a secret from them when Peter first returned. But when Elizabeth walked into his room while still wearing the suit, they all knew the cat was out of the bag. They wouldn't be able to explain it away without lying. Which was a "sin", as May always liked to remind him every time he did something wrong.

"All right, as long as you're sure we won't get in trouble again," Peter agreed with a roll of his eyes.

His response was greeted with a chorus of "yay"s from the two children. Elizabeth ran ahead out the sliding door to the backyard. Elihu jumped off of Peter's back and scrambled after his sister. Both kids ran into their little play house. Elihu stuck his head out one of the windows and began to shout, "Help! Help the house is on fire!"

"Yeah, we need Spiderman to save us!" Elizabeth added as her head joined her brothers in the window.

Peter climbed up into the tree that stood in the yard, and took a quick glance around to make sure no one nearby would notice him using his abilities. Luckily their yard was surrounded by a pretty high fence that shielded the majority of what they were doing, so it was relatively safe to use his powers when they played in the yard. But he always double checked, just in case. "Don't worry! I will save you!" he called back to the twins using a voice more dramatic then he would have if he was really going around as Spiderman.

Using his web shooter, Peter shot a web at Elihu, hitting him right in the chest and then expertly flicked his wrist so that the younger boy was pulled from the window. Elihu screamed with joyful giggles as flew toward Peter at rapid speed. Only with the practice of multiple saved children was Peter able to gently catch the child in his arms without causing harm. Holding Elihu firmly in his grasp, Peter did a flip out of the tree and set the younger boy on the grass. He then shot a web at the top of the swing set, and used it at leverage to acrobat his way over to the playhouse and pull Elizabeth from the window. "Don't worry, you're safe now," he told the girl. That's how he usually ended the pretend saves.

"Thank you spiderman!" the little girl said, giving Peter a big squeeze. The teen felt warmth spread through his chest at the affection. As annoyed as he felt towards May at asking him to babysit his little cousins, he couldn't deny how much he loved the munchkins.