-AN-

I just thought about it, but isn't Venom technically MCU now? I mean. Spidey is. Venom is pretty intrinsic to Spidey's story. Well, so is multiverse travel. Huh. I just remembered that. It gives me. Ideas.

-Story Start-

"So what are we doing out here again? Didn't we land into trouble the last time we wandered around New York alone?" Boruto walked along next to a happy Cammy, who he had to admit was adjusting very well to this world. He thought it was boring. No one here to fight, he couldn't go off into the wilderness to experiment or try out new seals. And the air smelled so bad! How could they live with things like this? He still felt like he was choking on the air. "Also, why are you looking for some talking spider?"

Cammy nudged her brother as they weaved through the busy late afternoon crowds. At the least it was beginning to cool down, though the noise level was much higher hear. "First of all, that last time was completely your fault. Hima-chan and I were having a wonderful afternoon tea before you showed up and decided we needed to have a chat with an Elder God." She still had shivers thinking about it. That ever shifting form, those malevolent purple eyes. All those worlds strung together like fleshy rosary. Nope. All of the nope. That was for Daddy to deal with. She was just a normal girl looking for normal fun.

"It wasn't my fault. I just…solved a really interesting math problem." Boruto had a feeling both of his sisters were never going to let this go. He would have to do something really awesome to outweigh it. Maybe he could build Cammy a new air board or something. No. She could do that herself. He'd have to think harder. "And the talking spider?"

Taking a whiff of some really delicious looking cooking meat, Cammy spun in a circle as they walked by the shop. Shawarma? She'd have to try that later. "It's not a talking spider. Somewhere in New York there's a guy running around calling himself the human spider." Wait. Was that correct? No. Spiderboy? Manspider? "What is with these guys and the weird names they give themselves. I still wanna give Tony grief over the Iron Man name."

"At least Iron Man sounds cool. Who calls themselves the human spider?" Boruto chuckled as they could hear sirens in the distance. "You know, this isn't our home and we're operating on visit rules, but like, we could at least roof hop here. Good chance no one would see us."

Cammy groaned and shook her brother by the shoulders, "And miss out on all this fun? This city is so alive, try being social for once." Making her point, Cammy pointed at a trio of girls laughing together and walking by them. "Hey I love that jacket!"

"Aw thanks! H&M cutie!" Watching the group continue on their way, Cammy gave Boruto a smug look, "See. You could try making some friends for once."

"I have friends."

Now Cammy could clearly hear the sirens, were they getting closer? "Really? Outside of the family? And your own age?"

Boruto started to walk backwards, facing his sister while using his senses to avoid running into anyway, "Now that's not fair. So many of our friends are considered family. All the Uchiha. The Nii twins." Well, okay. So actually everyone he was friends with was actually family. "No wait, what about Bato? I'm friends with him!"

Cammy shivered as she considered the son of Kabuto Yakushi. His dad was already a different level of creepy. The son wasn't much better even if he was slowly becoming a medical prodigy just like his old man. "Okay. Maybe a new plan. We need to find you some normal friends."

"You say that like no one we know is normal."

Yup, those sirens were beginning to get closer, "Our version of normal and actual normal are two different things by a large margin. We're a famous family remember?"

Boruto figured he knew that now better than any of the others. It was going to take a long time to stop thinking about their Dad being a Kami. Which should be easy considering Auntie Kaguya was very loud about her divinity all the time. Dad being on the same level just felt. Weird. "Yeah, famous. Can't forget that."

There was something in his tone just then and Cammy really wanted to say something about it, only they were interrupted as the street almost literally exploded with activity. Several police cars were in pursuit of a fleeing car holding a bunch of men waving guns. Cammy was almost tempted to offer to help, before just the rumor they were looking for went swinging overhead. "Uuuuuh." What was with the red and blue? Certainly a fashion statement. Was he swinging from the buildings on a thread?

Boruto nudged her once, "Found your human spider. Shall we go after them?" Just when he thought this world couldn't get interesting.

"Well let's get moving then!" It was easy enough to slip into the crowd and down an alley and from there up and to the rooftops. Smile building on her face, Cammy was actually excited! Something new and interesting to look into!

"You've got a creepy grin on your face!" Boruto knew that look. It was the same sort of look he had learned to avoid when trying to ask Auntie Honoka for advice on seals. Oh well. At least his sister was having fun.

Cammy really really wanted to switch to her air board to catch up quickly, but she also did not want to hear another lecture from Tony. Yeah so normal people were not used to kids flying around on wind powered chakra. Supposedly the police would get involved, it was a major headache and most likely would end up Tony's problem. Not like he needed more of those. She couldn't relate but she was doing her best to be nice all the same. A chakra powered leap took them both over the next rooftop, air suddenly hot as the passed over air conditioning units and exhaust vents. But they could hear all of the sirens stop at the next intersection. Coming to a stop themselves and looking over the edge, they could see the fleeing car, strung up by a massive amount of spider webs while the goons inside all groaned and moaned in pain.

"Well that's one way to stop a chase."

Cammy rolled her eyes and stretched out her senses, "He can't be far, we gotta catch him."

"And then what, ask for his autograph?"

There he was. "Shut up and come on!" Now Cammy was fully invested. Where did the web come from? Was he a normal human or a world traveler like them? Why was he playing hero? Well, maybe hero was a strong word. Vigilante then.

"Why can't you be normal?"

"Wanna repeat that mask thief?"

"Nope. Not at all." Boruto sure hoped Himawari was having a better time of things with Tony. Deciding to continue to take her guard duty very seriously, they were off to Florida to find some wash out general.

Ahead of them and taking a break, Peter Parker decided today was a good day. He got to stop some bad guys, his new suit was working out perfectly, and he was actually keeping up with his school work. He didn't want to jinx it as he watched over the busy streets below, but today probably couldn't get much better. Well, maybe if a literal bag of money was dropped in his lap. Building web slingers and fluid was getting expensive.

"Hey there! So you're the human spider right?" A girl's voice nearly yelled from behind him, making him jump and lose his balance. Taking a few steps and standing sideways on the wall that was previously underneath him, Peter turned back to stare at the obviously from California girl beaming at him with a wide grin.

"Uh…no it's…It's Spiderman." Blinking, he took a moment to note that this rooftop had been empty when he decided to stop here. There was only one door access, which he hadn't heard open. "How did you get up here?"

"Spiderman? Well that's way better than the human spider. Hey so like. Are you from here? Like here here? You swing around with webs right? Where do they come from? Do you spit them out your mouth or does it come from your butt? Are you like a human spider hybrid? How many eyes do you have. Hey why aren't you talking? It's rude to ignore cute girls you know."

Thoroughly overwhelmed, Peter held up his hands to slow said cute girl down, "Wait wait wait. Slow down. You're talking a mile a minute."

"You gotta forgive her, she gets obsessive when she's interested in something." Arms folded behind his head and standing on the same wall just underneath this Spiderman, Boruto smirked a little as the guy jumped again. So twitchy. "And wait, Spiderman? Aren't you kinda…" Boruto wanted to say small, but figured that would be mean. "Young?"

Looking at the boy standing on the wall and defying gravity just as he was, Peter was suddenly very stumped. Were superpowers on sale suddenly and he wasn't invited? "How're you doing that?" Pointing at the other boy, Peter missed Cammy coming down to join them in the land of sideways living.

"That's not important. You're the interesting one here, com'on com'on, spill!"

Blinking as yes, the cute girl with auburn hair was in fact standing on the wall with them and gravity was doing him a big favor in the view department, Peter decided that nope. Today just got weird. "You know what, I think I left my stove on. Gotta go!" Jumping away from the wall, web shooter instantly firing to attach to a rooftop across the street so he could swing away, Peter decided to cut his evening short. Maybe he shouldn't pray for good luck anymore.

"You know, you're fast, but not that fast." Cammy was there, all thoughts of rules forgotten as she road along on her airboard with a grin. Idly tucking some hair behind her ear to keep it out of her face. "So, about those questions?"

Flipping and shooting off into a new direction, Peter tried to make sense of his current situation. A cute girl from California who could stand on walls and fly was chasing him while another boy was following along more sedately while hopping from rooftop to rooftop. Nope. Still didn't compute. It was time to pour on the speed.

Boruto knew there was no stopping Cammy now. Her switch was fully flipped. Best to just make sure she didn't go overboard. And beg Tony for forgiveness later. Guess he'd have to let the older man in on his project with those salvaged Hammer Drones. He would like that. Maybe.

-b-

Tony knew he wasn't the most personable person in the world. Hell, if he wasn't being a snarky smart ass with an ego most people who knew him would probably run for the hills. Or wonder if he was a pod person. Or maybe a clone. So. When Coulson had called, saying they needed a go between for a former General Ross. Well, Tony had a feeling they didn't want this to go well. He hadn't gotten all the details, but more than enough. The Abomination. No. Emil Blonsky. The World Security Council wanted the man freed. Apparently placing all of the blame for the destruction in Harlem on Bruce Banner's shoulders. Yeah. Cause Tony believed that one hundred percent. Blonsky had a serious case of roid rage and Tony personally agreed that the man deserved to stay in prison. From SHIELD's profile on Banner, Tony didn't believe the man had it in him to willingly cause such destruction.

Though, as he parked his rental Cadillac and got out, he once more wished he didn't have his tag along. At the least, the dress suit Himawari had received from Pepper fit well, but it was like dressing up a Pomeranian. Black on white to match him, there was no aura of intimidation to be found. It was like taking your kid on a field trip. "You sure I can't convince you to at least stay in the car?"

Noting that it was humid enough to remind her of Kirigakure, Himawari shook her head as she noted the rest of the vehicles in this parking lot were in a lot worse shape. "I am your guard Stark-san. No can do."

"Something tells me you're loving this."

"I'm just doing my duty Stark-san." Reaching out and pulling the door open first while Tony was distracted, Himawari held in a smirk, "After you sir."

He wasn't sure how just yet, but he was going to make this girl crack one day. "I'm going to have your brother watch me next time. At least that won't look so bad." The inside of the bar was relatively empty. A few locals watching a college football game, a tired looking bartender who eyed them up and down for a moment before snorting and walking away, and an average built man at the bar nursing a mostly empty drink. "There's the man I want to see."

Hearing an unfamiliar voice, Ross looked up blearily and turned to see two suited individuals walking his way. He certainly didn't recognize the girl, much to young to be a part of any programs he was aware of. But the man he recognized right away. "Go away." Just his luck, some rich asshole to bother him.

"Aw, no hello. How ya doin? You used to be such a big shot you know? I'd figure you'd have better manners." To think this man had the final say in whether Blonsky got to go free. Yet here he was, getting drunk cause his daughter wanted nothing to do with him. Maybe don't be such an asshole?

Eyeing Tony Stark up and down as he leaned against the bar next to him, Ross considered how much trouble it would be to deck the man full on in the chin. Instead he turned more focused eyes to the young Asian girl looking for all he could tell completely distracted and… "Why do you have a blind girl here? Some charity case to make yourself feel good after selling weapons for years?"

Opening her mouth to argue, Himawari paused as Tony was already moving to stop her. Right, her pale eyes like her mother's were not normal on this world. Most people would assume she was blind. "Stark is a charitable man."

"Hah! Charitable. You'll forgive me for knowing the man a little better than you do little girl." Waving her off and ignoring her for the rest of the conversation, Ross turned now completely focused eyes on Stark. "Well, you're here for a reason. Out with it."

Ooooh, someone was really in a mood today weren't they? Good for Tony then. "Maybe I just wanna see your sparkling face and charming personality in person." Watching the man take a drink as Himawari put on the act of feeling her way into a seat, Tony did have to hand it to her that she was quick on the uptake. "Hey can I get some juice for the kid?"

"I like cranberries."

The bartender rolled his eyes, "This ain't a daycare."

Tony reached into a pocket and pulled out a fairly heavy black card, "It is a business isn't it?" Watching the man sigh and start rooting through his lower fridge, Tony turned back to Ross. "So, you really wanna know why I'm here?"

"I can take a guess, but please. Embarrass yourself." Another drink before Ross noticed he was in fact empty. "Dave! Another." Sliding his empty glass away, he focused a bit more on Stark.

"It is an embarrassing situation isn't it. My friends have need of something. Someone you have locked up. Big, green, hormonal. You know the one."

"Yeah, not the correct one though." It should absolutely be Banner in that cage along with Blonsky. Ross one hundred percent believed that. They were monsters, a threat to all of humanity. He would still be happy to see Banner tossed into a cell right next to Blonsky. Either that or in the same one. Maybe they'd kill each other. Save him the hassle.

"But it's the one they want. Have a heart. You'd be doing the world a favor by letting him out. Call it a short term loan." Tony's smirk began to build as he could see the gears turning behind those eyes. Ross was not happy. But he just needed a little more of a push. "Maybe we could come to some sort of deal. Name a price."

"A. Price?" Face twitching, Ross finally began to stand, nearly standing nose to nose with Tony as anger welled up in his chest. "Let's get one thing clear. I do not like you. You think money is all that you need to make your way. But it takes more. It takes grit, determination. Loyalty. You don't understand any of that do you?"

"Okay okay grandpa. I'm not here to get your waddies all twisted." Actually that was exactly what he was here for. But Tony was starting to have fun. "There's a new initiative on the books, Blonsky could be a major asset to it. This is about protecting the world here. Isn't that what you're all about?"

"The day I let that monster out of his cage is the day I either lose my mind, or I'm dead." Ross slammed a hand down on the bar that rattled several glassed along its length and earned him a look from the bartender. "You understand me boy? I would sooner eat my skivvies than let that thing out of its cage. Go away. I've got nothing else to say to you."

Getting that audio recorded and done, Tony nodded his head once. "Welp, can't say I didn't try. Your word is final after all." Shrugging and adjusting his jacket, Tony turned to help Himawari from her seat, "I'm sure they'll send someone else in the future. So maybe don't be at some rundown bar in the middle of nowhere drinking away your sorrows."

"You are a real piece of work Stark, you know that. You aren't even half the man your father was, that I can say for sure." Howard had been a real American back in the day. They hadn't worked together, but Ross had been privvy to more than a few reports. That Stark had been willing to do whatever was necessary. This one was just a spoiled brat.

Halting for half a step, Tony looked back to Ross while putting his sunglasses on, "You know. On second thought. I like this place. Real charming really. I think I could use something like this as a hideaway." Plans already forming in his head, Tony strolled off with Himawari in tow.

Leaning closer to him, Himawari had a frown on her face, "I could disable him. Make it look like an accident."

Holding the door open for her this time, Tony shook his head, "Aw you do like me."

"You are my ward."

Rolling his eyes with a smile, Tony tapped his earpiece, "Jarvis, you have my location correct?"

'Yes sir.'

"Good. This bar? Buy it, then torch it."

'Right away sir.'

Coming around and opening the door to the car, Himawari dropped into her seat at the same time as Tony. "That was. Cruel." Not that it wasn't deserved, but she hadn't seen Tony display such a mean streak before.

"Sometimes an asshole only learns a lesson one way. That man Ross? He won't learn anything from this, other than that I am also a big asshole." Tony sighed and started the car, ready to be back home. "SHIELD can keep these little errands to themselves. It's no fun."

"Not all of life is fun, Stark-san."

"First, that was way to profound coming from you. Two, thought I had you that time. We were bonding there for a moment."

"Not even in your dreams Stark-san."

-b-

Still somewhat vibrating, Peter gave a happy sigh of relief as he stepped out of the shower, freshly changed and clean from the day. It had taken him far too long to lose those two other teenagers, and even though he was curious about anyone else who had powers like he did, he also knew how it could end. He did not want to secretly find out they were actually super evil and out to harvest his blood or something. There were a lot of weirdos popping up in New York lately. Pausing by his room, he thought about his web shooters and some maintenance he needed to do. He was starting to run low of fluid. Hopefully he could sneak away to make more at school.

"Peter! You have friends here, come downstairs!" Aunt May's voice rang out through the room, and Peter raised an eyebrow as he looked at his phone. Leed hadn't called him and it wasn't like Peter was a social butterfly. Certainly no one would be calling on him this late. Not on a school night.

Coming out from his room and having to go through the kitchen first, his Aunt pulled him aside with a wide smile on her face. Happy to see Peter was actually being social. "Why didn't you tell me you knew such a cute girl?"

Brain freezing, Peter's mind rolled through the list of girls in his school that he actually talked to. Coming up instantly with nill, he shook his head minutely, "I uh. What?"

"The little red head who's here with her brother. Something about a date and wanting to work it out with you. Good job you." Bumping a fist into his shoulder, May went back to working on dinner. She had just enough to feed everyone, though she'd have to remember to go to the store tomorrow.

Walking towards the living room in a daze, Peter's blood ran cold as the pair from earlier were sitting on his couch, the boy looking bored while the girl was all happy grins. "Hey Peter! You left before we could finish our talk."

Mind instantly changing, Peter turning his head back to the kitchen, "Hey Auntie, I'm gonna go for a walk away. We'll be right back."

"Suure sure. Just abandon me!" May's laughter filled the house as the Uzumaki siblings stood with knowing grins on their faces. "I'm not so old you know. I can be cool. I can be hip."

"Not the problem May!" Turning panicked eyes to the two, Peter ushered them up, "Out. Out. Out." He had so many questions, and not enough time to ask them right this second, they needed to be far away. Very far away.

"Aw don't be embarrassed, I like your Aunt, she reminds me of my mom." Cammy was having so much fun with this. She was so glad she stuck this out. Another person to include on her weird people list. "How about some tea?"

"Don't be mean Cammy." Boruto easily went out the front door, out into the hallway of their apartment complex without a complaint. Anything to keep the girl happy though. A bored Cammy was not in anyone's best interest. Where was Hima when you needed her? At least she knew how to talk Cammy down.

Ushering the pair outside with a sigh. He noted them both walking away easily, though the girl. Cammy. Had a sway to her step. "How…why are you here?" Falling into step with them as they continued to walk, Peter needed to get to the bottom of this quickly. Arm's flailing, Peter tried to make sense of this, "What is going on?" He didn't even consider trying to fake not knowing them, the panic was very clear on his face and in his heart.

Turning around and letting Boruto lead the way, Cammy folded her hands behind her with a grin as she walked backwards, "Can't a girl just be curious?" Seeing that the boy was all of seconds from having a panic attack, Cammy rolled her eyes. "You can relaaax dude, I'm not gonna tell anyone you're swinging around the city in fancy underwear."

"Hey, I'm proud of that suit."

"You needed a second opinion."

"Says you, everyone thinks it's cool." Peter didn't in fact know that for sure, but no one had said anything bad about it. At least not that he could hear. At least everyone he overheard talking about him at school were certainly hyping him up.

Cammy's smug grin grew, "More like everyone's too nice to tell you."

Boruto found a stairwell, leading up wards easily as he tried his best to ignore his sister. It was a losing battle. "Kami. I'm gonna tell Mom you're finally into a normal boy. She'll be so proud."

Blushing at the accusation, Cammy turned to her asshole of a brother quickly, "I'm not! I'm just curious. He shoots webs and can climbs walls and stuff, that's so cool! I'm not-I don't."

Chuckling Boruto shrugged as he continued to lead the way. "Kami now you can relax, I was joking. Maybe I hit a nerve."

"Boruto, I swear to everything sacred and pure, I will boil you alive."

"No you won't, you need me to be a scapegoat."

Raising a finger, Cammy paused as she really thought about that. Did she consider her older brother a useful tool to be foisted off? Well, she was currently on a different world because he decided he needed to outdo their father in the worst way possible. And fail at the task in the end anyway. No. He did not have the moral high ground here. "I am your little sister. All your arguments are invalid."

"That's not how this works!"

"That's exactly how this works!"

"Can't someone explain just what the heck is going on!?" Peter continued to walk after pair while ignoring the part of the conversation about the very good looking girl might or might not like him. He was a nerd of the highest order. He was invisible. Girls were not into his type. Everything about this screamed scam.

Pausing on the stairs, voices echoing in the concrete and steal space, Cammy and Boruto shared a look before Boruto actually smirked and gave his sister a salute. "You know what, this is your little project. I'm gone. I have things to do. Robots to tear apart." Vanishing in a Hiraishin, Boruto's laughter faded on the wind with Cammy shaking her fist to where he was previously standing.

Peter instantly knew everything about this was wrong, a trembling finger pointing at where Boruto used to be. "Did he just disappear?"

"I know where you sleep asshole!" Trying to figure out if she should flash away as well and pick up with this little curiosity later, she decided that that would be seriously rude. They. NO. She had interrupted this dude's life with no warning. She should at least give him a bit of an explanation. Sighing heavily and turning back to the brunette with the cute face, Cammy chuckled and rubbed her neck. "Sorry about him. He's a jerk with no filter." Seeing his gaze frozen on where Boruto used to be, Cammy huffed and put her hands on her hips, "And uh yeah. It's something we can do."

"No offense, but honestly all of this is waaay to weird for me to fully comprehend. Why did he just disappear without a trace? You still haven't explained who you are or why you're following me." Peter felt like he was seconds away from hyperventilating. Yes he was used to the weird because of what he was and what he had fought before. Even so, that did not include anyone his age. So far everyone he had to fight or save New York from had been way older than him. Like really older than him. Like maybe if they had just gone to therapy there'd be less for him to do type of old.

Pausing to really see that Peter was in fact starting to freak out, Cammy sighed and tried to smile softly. Right. She was used to weird. Her whole life was weird. Several Aunties that could bend the elements to their will. One who could walk through minds and another who was a literal Kami of legends.

The Less said about her father the better really. She loved him, but he was the textbook definition of strange.

Even with powers, Peter was not used to the weird or the random like she was. The more she thought about it, it would probably be worth a freak out if someone so easily figured out your secret identity. She was a ninja, it was easy to her. Plus where she was from secret identities weren't really a thing outside of comic books. Or ninja work, which Peter was not. At least she assumed he wasn't. "Right. Sorry, I get hyper-fixated and forget that I'm used to not normal." Taking a look around the empty concrete stairwell, Cammy decided to sit on the nearest landing and relax a bit. "I really was just curious about you. I don't have any other motives. I'm not looking for a fight. I'm not looking to ruin your life or draw you into some crazy adventure." Fighting down a flush, Cammy scratched at her cheek, "I saw a rumor about a guy who could shoot webs and fight crime and was just fascinated. That was all." Cammy began to twiddle her fingers together, "Sorry. I uh. I'm Cammy. Cammy Uzumaki. I should have started with an introduction."

"Oh uh. Peter. Peter Parker. I think I kinda get it." Seeing the girl who could do crazy stuff that shouldn't be physically possible, Peter sighed and sat on a step just below her. "So. You aren't secretly planning on harvesting my organs."

Shaking her head with a chuckle, Cammy leaning her arms on her knees, "No. What the hell gave you that idea?"

"Well, it's been a crazy few months."

Cammy relaxed a bit more and assumed there was a lot to learn here. "Wanna talk about it? I'm used to people who can do the impossible." Maybe, with permission, she could talk about her actual life. It wasn't like anything from this world was going to cross over into hers anyway. "Sometimes it's good to talk to someone who can give an impartial view."

Heart finally calming down, Peter really thought about that. Here was someone who apparently had been through some craziness themselves. He could see it on her, the scars along the hands and knuckles. The clear muscle definition and minor twitches when sounds echoed through the building. "Uh. You know what, yeah. It would be good to talk. You seem like a good person."

"Yeah, that's the spirit. Lay it on me."

"Well it kinda started a while ago on a school field trip to Oscorp labs. They were harvesting silk from these genetically modified spiders and-" Peter had to admit, telling someone his story was actually pretty nice. He kinda wished he could bring friends into this, going it alone wasn't always fun.

Sitting and listening to this young man who had honestly been through a lot, Cammy settled in for a long evening. While it was disappointing to hear he did not in fact shoot webs from his butt, this was nice. He was an interesting dude.

-b-

Tony sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he and Himawari ascending Stark Tower in the only elevator allowed to reach the top floors. Having steadfastly refused to be teleported by the younger girl, more because he had yet to understand how it worked and less about being afraid, the flight back had at least been quick and mostly painless. But there was always more work, always more to do. He'd have to get Pepper something nice for picking up the slack. Absolutely nothing with strawberries this time.

"Think Pepper would like a stuffed animal?" He had just the one in mind too. A big bunny. Girls liked bunnies didn't they?

Caught off guard by the out of the blue question, Himawari considered it. It was something she would like, but she was also half the older woman's age. "Um…does she like stuffies?" There was always a chance wasn't there?

Frowning as he considered that he didn't know that answer right away, he switched tracks and deflected. "You're right, bad idea. Something else then."

"My father would usually say that quality time is always more important than anything of material value. Gifts are nice, but what is most important is to treasure the person who holds your heart in a way they themselves will value the most." Himawari held up a finger sagely as if instructing a small child. The grin on her face let Tony know that once more, the girl was having fun with him.

Something he'd let slide, this time. "You know, I really wanna have a meet up with your old man, sounds like he's a pretty good man."

"He's the best." Himawari thought back to home, wondering what the family was up to. She wondered if the Quints had raided the pantry again, or if Mama Tayuya was chasing them down to the lake so Mama Honoka could have a break. Either that or the Matatabi was playing horse for the littles, and causing pandemonium in the city. The elevator dinged, breaking her from her thoughts as she stepped out with Tony at her side.

Blinking and wondering if he was seeing things, Tony rubbed his eyes carefully with one hand while the other itched at his personal reactor. "Sweet Tooth. Are there more of you suddenly?"

Himawari didn't really hear him, bounding over a low glass wall and several house plants to dive headfirst into the low sitting area. Being caught and spun by strong arms, Himawari laughed as Boruto looked up from his own conversation. "Cousin Itachi!"

Tony almost missed Pepper coming towards him from down the hall, a grin on her face as he surveyed the room. The low sitting area had been surrounded by all manner of flora from literally all over the world. Thanks to that, it was a bit more humid that he'd like, but the kids enjoyed it.

That said, the extra five of them that were currently crowding his couches was not necessarily welcome. Most of them were all black haired, except for one with shocking bright bubblegum pink. "They're multiplying."

Laughing, Pepper came to stand next to him, "I guess they've gotten the okay to visit from time to time. They've already demolished several pizzas." Pepper actually kinda liked it. It made this place feel a bit more alive. Homely even. "These are the Uchiha clan kids. Well, some of them."

Boruto finally noted Tony, raising a hand in greeting, "Hey there old man! Come meet our cousins!" Getting a slap to the back of his head, Boruto eyed the girl next to him with a wince, "What was that for Sarada?"

Said girl leaned back and crossed her arms, short hair tucked behind her ears, "That's rude, isn't he the one putting you up? You should be polite."

"Ah Tony doesn't mind it."

Tony sighed and waved them off, at least he could focus on work for a bit, "Sure I don't you little smart ass. Remember, you break it, you bought it."

Turning back to his family, Boruto grinned, "See, he's cool."

Sarada sighed as one of her sisters leaned on her shoulder, "This little mission is going to ruin your ego. Like we need you to have a bigger head." On her shoulder, the longer haired and older Naomi was grinning down on the relaxed Boruto.

"Soooo, exiled and alone. You taking after uncle and got a bunch of little girlfriends running around yet?" The toothy grin the older Uchiha gave Boruto didn't waiver even as Sarada flushed and pushed her away.

"Why must you be this way?"

"It's a talent."

Boruto chuckled and waved a hand back and forth, "Nope. I'm been working all this time. No time to be social." He still wanted to hit the lab, he had an idea for those knock off armors. His dad's sage paths giving him inspiration.

Letting his little cousin down, the second oldest Uchiha child smiled at Himawari. Unknowingly looking much like his namesake, Itachi took in the room with a smile, "We can't stay for long, but we wanted to visit for a short while, make sure you haven't gone insane."

Bowing her head quickly, Himawari felt giddy. Just when she was starting to miss her family heavily, some of them showed up, "It has been, trying, but we're alright. Bo-kun is making progress and you know Cammy."

Itachi smirked and noted said girl wasn't here at the moment, "So a trail of love struck boys and girls and a growing social empire?"

Wanting to deny any of that, Himawari could at least do the first one. "Well, no love interests just yet. But she's certainly adapting quickly." Catching Boruto chuckling, Himawari turned to her twim, "What's so funny."

"Where do you think our sister is right now?" Seeing wide eyes turned his way, Boruto shrugged, "Something about some human spider and wanting to know if he shoots webs from his butt."

"Wouldn't it make more sense for it to come from one's mouth?" Naomi asked.

"You know Cammy. Every off the wall thought has to be voiced."

Leaving to let the kids enjoy their family time, Tony did file away that bit about a human spider for later inspection. So little Cammy was off exploring, interesting. He did like that Pepper was keeping up with him, "Anything I should be updated on?"

"Well, Senator Kelly had more than a few choice words for you. I sent him the usual reply."

Tony snorted, "You'd think now that the US military has a shiny new toy they'd be happy with me." Goes to show politicians were always happy to talk out of both sides of their mouths when necessary. "Hows the company?"

"Like you've started, we're divesting into the clean energy sector. With the test of the latest ARC reactor, we're going about getting regulatory approval for installation in Stark Tower as a final proof of concept. Construction should begin within a few weeks with luck." Pepper knew Tony's ability with quick manufacturing. She half expected to see a fully operational reactor completed within a few months.

Reminding himself to have Boruto help him transport their working reactor underground in a few days, Tony grinned. "Good. That's one less thing to worry about." Tapping his ear as they descended a set of steps, moving away from the living area and into his labs, Jarvis came online, "Hey buddy, how's the next suit coming along?"

"Current construction is thirty percent along. Should be complete within three to four days. Variance to account for testing delays." The robotic voice of Jarvis called out over the speakers, while Pepper turned to Tony slowly with a question on her face.

"What?" Tony didn't mean to sound defensive, but he had a feeling she was thinking the worst right now.

"Why do you need another suit?" Pepper really hoped Tony wasn't sliding into some new and potentially dangerous habit. Together they paused as through a thick glass window they could see multiple robotic arms working on the framework of said new suit.

Considering being snarky, Tony instead remembered a lot of the advice he had gotten within the last few days. Shrugging, he decided to be honest. "Constant improvement. This last suit was sort of a rush job to be compatible with the new chest piece. I've learned a few things that didn't work so well, so I'm building an upgrade. I know perfection is impossible, but it doesn't hurt to chase it." Plus, Fury had been right. He wanted to be prepared and ready.

"Within reason, right?" Pepper wasn't normally one to speak up on Tony's eccentricities, but if he was being honest, she should voice her opinion right? "You aren't gonna end up with some cartoonishly big weapon of mass destruction are you?"

"Never." Though that was a thought wasn't it? A large form suit that could only be used by another normal suit. Hmm. Food for thought. "I'll…keep ya in the loop. You know. Just in case."

Not wanted to break whatever spell Tony was under, Pepper turned away with a smile, "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Grinning and feeling like he actually did good for once, Tony was not prepared for a gaggle of children to come bursting into the room. Collapsing all over each other, Tony tried to make sense of the tangle of limbs. "Uh. Is this some weird ninja ritual I'm gonna regret asking about?"

Groaning from near the bottom of the pile, Boruto felt like complaining, "I told you all to hang back!"

Himawari sat prime and proper on his back, "Like we would listen to you. We did that once, look where it got us."

Sarada nodded from her spot next to Himawari, "She's right you know. You cause nothing but trouble. Good thing I'm here now to keep you in line."

"I don't need a keeper!"

"Says you little cuz." Naomi grinned and finally had a good look of Tony Stark. Eyeing him up and down, she finally whistled, "You know, maybe sticking around wouldn't be so bad."

Alarm bells ringing in his head, Itachi was up and gathering said sibling by the collar to drag her away, "Nope. Time to go. We'll visit again in a few days."

Flailing her arms, Naomi was not about to miss out on prime time fun. "Wait a minute, they get to have fun but I don't!? No fair!"

"You're brand of fun is illegal in civilized society."

Naomi drew more looks from her siblings. Sarada shaking her head while the Ama twins tilted their heads with confusion, "Good thing this isn't a civilized society."

"And we're done! It's been fun Bo-chan!" Sarada helped her big brother drag away the eldest Uchiha daughter. They were not equipped to deal with her today. They'd leave her behind next visit.

Tony watched it all as he felt sweat build on his neck, "I feel like I just dodged a bullet."

"More like a howitzer Tony. Com'on, I saved you a couple slices." Smiling and grabbing the man by the wrist, Pepper led the way back towards the kitchen.

Watching them quietly, Boruto and Himawari turned and fist bumped, "Score one for team Uzumaki."

Himawari buffed her nails, "It was mostly through my work though."

"I helped."

"Sure sure brother, I guess you did." Maybe Himawari could take some advice. Making some new friends wouldn't be a bad idea.

-b-

Far away and yet, closer than anyone would ever know, a man sat at his desk. It had been an eternity really. Or maybe just a few moments. One was never sure to be perfectly honestly, time was such a finicky thing here in this realm.

For he was the One Who Remains.

Once upon a time Kang was what most called him. Kang the Coward. Kang the Industrialist. Kang the Wise. Kang the Conqueror. So many titles. So many names. So many different versions of him. All of them were him he supposed and yet none of them really mattered. For he was what was left. In this place outside of time. Where time had no meaning and there was only a few ways to reach him, without dying first of course.

Not that today he was expecting visitors. Soon yes. Or maybe another eternity away? It didn't matter. All would come when it needed, the timeline would twist, branch, weave new patterns. But it was always there. Always flowing backwards. Or was it forwards? No. It was a cycle. Ends to beginnings. Beginnings to end.

Something was changing, he could feel it. The first feeling of congruent thought in such a long time. With change came time, there could be no time without change. And what a change this was. A branch, a strong branch had formed, joining the threads of possibility with all the subtlety of a boulder tossed through glass. It was only a single thread however. Not a breaking of reality. Not yet. But it could come. It was coming.

It had already happened?

No. Not yet. That was certain. Everything was as it should be for now. Should he take a journey. Maybe he could see how the TVA was handling things. Maybe. No. He already had a name. Long forgotten or maybe just whispered to him on the winds.

Uzumaki.

What a strange name, but it was curious. Curiosity was good. Dangerous. Deadly. Good. Yes. Yes a trip. No. He had a duty here. He was the last. But he could delegate. He could start an investigation. Yes. That was smart, that was a good idea. A wonderful idea. He liked it, thus, he made it so. It only took a thought, a version of him would respond. They always did, they were him after all. And he would wait. He was patience. He was enduring.

He was eternal.

Or maybe he wasn't. All things died. All things returned to dust, and formed from dust. His time too would pass. Maybe it would be final one day.

Naruto. That was his name. Kang's new curiosity.

-AN-

Gonna be honest. I'm not the biggest fan of time travel in most forms. It's been done a lot and there's only so many directions most media takes it. But. The TVA is baked into the MCU, so we're gonna abuse them a bit. Well, along with everyone else.

So the kids find themselves settling in on Earth and starting to branch out. Himawari gets to deal with Tony and SHIELD. Cammy and her lust for new knowledge and experiences. While Boruto seems to have designs to experiment with new technology. Next chap may actually deal more with Naruto and what he's getting up to as he begins to do the same.

As ever. Time moves on.