Heyyy y’all so here’s another fic. Think this one might be a bit longer. Something you’ll learn quickly with me is that I’m a big 2012 Avengers kind of girl sooo they all totally live together in the tower. I will fight people on this.
Uhh. Heads up, I’m gonna say there’s some emotional abuse/neglect themes in here? Idk but here’s a trigger warning for that just in case.
Popping through the bright and disorienting glitches, a short-statured figure stepped into the brightly lit living space of Avengers Tower. “Peter B. Parker, you piece of shit! How dare you give my brother a going away present and not me. What the fuck man?” Blinking slowly, she stared at the bewildered duo in front of her. “You’re not the Peter I’m looking for.” Frowning she tugged on her sleeve, groaning as her watch glitched before going black. “I’m literally going to strangle him.”
Speaking from behind the mystery person, a blonde raised her pistol. “Just who are you and how did you get here?” Looking from the stranger to Peter, she frowned. “Peter, how do you know her?”
The teen merely shook his head rapidly, stuttering through his response. “Miss Romanov, Mr. Stark, I swear, I have never seen this girl in my life. I don’t know who this is.”
Laughing to herself, the unknown girl took a look around the room. “Nice place you got here. Kinda reminds me of those comics Miles reads.” She gave them an easy smile. “Sorry about dropping in like this, I was given the wrong coordinates I think. The name is Angelica Morales, I’m from Earth-1610, Brooklyn to be exact.” Gaze having been taken in all of the occupants of the room, she gasped. “Tom?! What the hell are you doing here? I thought you said you were visiting your family in New Mexico. Speaking of, how come I still haven’t gotten a postcard?” Pausing she added on, “You know, Aunt May and Liv asked about you.” She nodded slowly as she took a seat in a chair. “Nevermind, this is totally making sense. I knew you never had family in New Mexico. Can you help me fix my watch? It might just be outta juice.”
The taller form of Loki merely groaned as he shook his head. “Morales, you utter idiot.” He sighed as he walked over to her. Tilting her head, he checked her eyes, frowning at the glitching every so often. “How long have you been jumping? Does your brother know about this?”
She shrugged halfheartedly. “I dunno. We don’t talk all too much. One of us is usually on patrol or at school. Mom’s been busy at work since that Wuhan flu came over. Dad is usually trying to clean up Mile’s messes. I visit Gwen and Noir a lot. They get it, ya know?” She avoided meeting his eyes, knowing just what she’d see if she did.
“You need to stop doing this. If I help you get home, you need to stay home. You’ve got a life worth living, people who need you where you belong.” Pausing, he nodded before picking her up. “I know what you need. Come along.” Dragging her towards the elevator, he called out. “Don’t mind us. She’ll be returning home soon enough. She can be trusted, who wouldn’t trust a friendly neighborhood Spider-Gal?”
The teen punched the god and huffed. “Don’t freaking call me that. I hate that stupid name.” Her eyes rolled when the elevator was shut before they could walk in. “Oh, that’s classy.” Waving her hand, a cluster of spiders appeared from the cracks and forced the doors open.
Tony sputtered in his shock and was drawn out by Peter’s gasps. “Ohhh my god! That is so cool! That’s like, you’re like Ant-Man with spiders!” The teen quickly moved closer to the duo. “How did you do that? Who are you?”
She glanced back at him curiously. “Didn't I tell you already? I’m Angelica Morales. And you’re the Spider person of this universe I’m guessing?” She nodded and shrugged. “Nice to meet you but I’d hate to get attached seeing as Tom here will probably rat me out to the others.”
When the elevator dinged with the arrival of a new person, they all looked at it and most were surprised to see an unfamiliar, moderately overweight man wearing a Spider Suit and eating a burger step through. “Well if it isn’t my favorite Spider Gal! You know, Spam is pretty worried about you. So’s your brother. Cmon, I’ll get ya home.”
Snorting, she shook her head. “Miles hasn’t even noticed I’ve been gone. Don’t feed me bull, Parker. What are you even doing here?”
He waved off her dismissal of her brother’s worry. “Kids these days. I got bored. MJ and I are kinda in a rough spot again and I thought it might be better to give her some time. I’m guessing that’s how you ended up here?” He nodded along with her. “Yeah, there’s not much to do here. Turns out the Avengers are all real here and crime is considerably lower here. Nice vacation spot really. Hey Tom.” Pulling his watch out, he started fiddling with it. “I’m gonna have to swing us by Constantine’s place real quick though.”
“Ewwww. Do we have to? That guy gives me the hella creeps. And you never know if he’s gonna be entertaining guests.” Her nose scrunched in disgust at the thought of walking in on that again.
“Well, maybe you should’ve thought about that before going dimension-hopping. I mean, honestly. How irresponsible are you? Miles doesn’t act like this. What were you even doing?” He rolled his eyes at her actions. “We’ve been over this. The suit is more than just a suit. It’s a responsibility and if you’re going to wear it then you’ve got to be serious about it.”
She shrunk in on herself a bit as she looked away. Nodding, she put her hands in her hoodie pocket. “Right.”
Waiting for the elevator to come, Peter huffed. “And then you go and do this. You start daydreaming when people try talking to you, that’s not professional. You’re bound to get someone hurt or worse at that point. Remember the Gwen that died because Peter could reach her in time? Do you want that to happen? Do you want to end up like your Peter Benjamin Parker? I mean, come on kid. You’ve gotta think about this stuff. If you don’t get your act together, Miles is gonna get swept into your mess and get hurt because of you. And he’s a good kid. And I doubt Gwen would be happy with you if you let something happen to Miles.”
Clenching her fists in embarrassment, she retreated further into her hoodie. Heart sinking it clicked that most people really just cared for Miles over her.
Quickly seeing the signs of a villain origin story in progress, Loki stepped up. “You know, Parker. I can get her home. Straight home. I’m not busy, you should probably go fix things up with Mary Jane.” He waved his hand.
Eyes glazing over, the man looked down and fiddled with his watch. “I should fix things with Mary Jane. I’ll head home now.” Walking through the portal, he left the glitches popping away soon after.
Spinning around to face the teen left behind, he squatted to her level. “How long has that been going on?”
She shrugged mutely. “It’s always gone on. But it just happens more often now. Miles is very flashy with what he does when he’s on a watch. I try to not end up in the news. So people end up thinking he’s doing all the work and I’m just goofing off.”
His eyes softened as he nodded in understanding. “Well, I know you’re not. And you know you’re not. And Parker’s have never been the socially smartest. Who do you need?”
She teared up at the question. “I just want to go back to how things used to be. I want to say sorry. And I want to be quicker. Uncle Aaron understood. He got me. But…”
“But he’s gone, Angie.” Looking at her watch he sighed before dropping and smashing it. “Oops. You’ve got to stay here longer until we really fix that. You’ll stay in my room. I’ll sleep in the library. Okay?” He shot a warning glare at the other adults. “Friday can you guide Angie here to my room?”
“Of course, Reindeer Games.”
Giggling, the girl smirked. “Reindeer Games? Gwen would get a kick out of that.”
His eyes narrowed. “And she won’t find out unless you want her to know who was really behind the spiked eggnog. Right?”
Nodding rapidly, she stepped into the elevator. “Oh of course. Of course. It’s not that funny anyway.”
Loki sighed as he faced the team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. “So, what exactly must I do for her to stay here for a week.”
His brother crossed his arms, a serious look on his face. “Where exactly did you meet these people, brother?”
Cap quickly added in. “And, what exactly was all of… that?”
The god groaned thinking things over before giving in. “Sometimes when I’m bored I’ll spend a few days in other realities. Hers is one I visit a lot. Very chaotic every now and then and very interesting. The day the original SpiderMan from her reality died, both she and her brother were bit by a radioactive spider and wound up getting powers. They helped save all realities with another group of Spider Folk and every now and then they’ll visit each other. But seeing the glitching in her eyes, it’s obvious she’s spending more time in realities other than her own. I’m running a risk letting her stay here a week but she needs someone actually caring for her for a while but I doubt you’ll exactly let me out of sight for a while.”
Tony snorted and shook his head. “You’ve got that right. Doesn’t this all seem a little crazy? I mean, other realities? You sound like Strange. Just send the kid back wherever they came from already.”
The tall man winced and pointed to the busted watch on the floor. “You see, that was her only way back home. And it’s kinda really broken. I never learned how to fix them, but she knows. Honestly, you won’t even notice she’s here.”
Walking out of the elevator once again, the teen grinned. “Dude. Is this why he called you Reindeer Games?” She laughed and jingled the ornaments and bells she hung on it. “This is awesome.”
Sighing deeply, he looked at her before frowning. “No-no-no. You’re not wearing your suit. Gods forbid people begin to think there’s another Spider Teen running around.” Looking around, he paused between Nat and Wanda. “Could you change her? She’s more casual with her clothing than anything.”
The redheads looked from Loki to the self-entertaining teen before sharing a glance. With a nod, Wanda beamed. “We’d be happy to. A week, right?” At his nod, she clapped before walking over. “Hi, I’m Wanda and this is Natasha, Nat, or Natalia. You never know which one you’ll get. Cute suit but we should get you something more comfortable. Cmon.”
Waving a black card in the air, Nat grinned. “Thanks for the card, Stark!” She laughed with Wanda as they ushered the teen in and down to the garage.
The man only gasped in shock at the situation before spinning towards Peter. “Kid. You stick with me or you go home. I don’t trust this. It’s too much.”
Eating the odd food, Angie looked around, a soft smile on her face.
A throat cleared and Tony looked from Steve to the new teen. “So, uh, kid. What exactly do you do? I mean, you’ve gotta have a life, right?”
She nodded happily. “Oh yeah, totally.” Pausing to take a drink, she explained. “My brother and I both got these full-ride scholarships to Brooklyn Vision’s Academy. It’s pretty cool. We stay there during the week and go home on the weekends to visit our parents. We trade off Spider Watch every other night so we can get sleep and ahead on school work.”
Looking mischievous, a certain god chimed in. “Didn't you mention you were going to try out for a few clubs this year?” He chuckled at her flustered expression. Inside, he felt pleased to see just how well she was taking to people.
Wanda gasped excitedly. “You didn’t mention any clubs earlier. My brother and I always dreamed of going to school. I wanted to join an art club. But he wanted to do sports instead.”
The teen gladly took the opportunity to escape. “Oh, that’s pretty cool. I didn’t know you had a brother.” She drooped when she still received expectant stares. “Well I uh, I got into the Honors Society. Modern art was a joke so I didn’t stick around long. But Ji Min teaches me how to play the piano every Wednesday. Which is pretty cool cause then Noir and I have concerts after we finish beating up the Nazis.”
Steve choked on his drink as Bucky cracked up. “Beating up the what now?!” He glared at Loki heavily. “You think that’s some kind of joke? You let people live in a world ruled by Nazis?”
She quickly came to her friend’s defense. “Hey hey. The Nazis aren’t in my world. Noir lives in, like, the forties. And they’re not like… World War II Nazis. More like, American Neo-Nazis.” She pointed and nodded along with Nat and Clint who’s expressions turned to understanding.
This obviously did not help Steve at all as he gasped in shock. “American What?!”
Nat shrugged, figuring she understood enough. “Correct me if I’m wrong. But there’s a growing population in the United States that feel as if their jobs and homes are being taken up by immigrants and so they’ve started acting out. Mass shootings, terrorist attacks, major right propaganda.”
The young teen nodded. “Yeah, it’s crazy. Back in my world, over a thousand of them stormed the capitol building like, two weeks before the inauguration of our new president. That was like last year though.”
Loki sighed, a smirk on his face. “You find humor in the strangest of things. But I can tell when a person is dodging a question. So fess up.”
Drooping, she glanced at him. “Can it wait till later?”
He paused before his eyes lit up. “Will you show me your work? And don’t tell me you haven’t done anything, I can tell that’s a lie.”
She rolled it over in her head before nodding. “That’s fair. So, what do you do when you’re here?”
Bucky chortled. “You mean besides drive Tony mad? I mean, he hasn’t tried killing anyone lately. Or died recently.”
“Honestly, this stuff is wicked.” Laughing as she fiddled with a web shooter, she raised the volume on the music in the lab.
Peter joined in her laughter as Harley and Shuri merely rolled their eyes. “How are you so good with fixing those? They take forever.”
“Ooh ooh! Let me! I have a theory that since you’re more of the natural type of web-slinger, you’re able to visualize just what is needing an adjustment.”
Glancing at Shuri in a mildly impressed manner she hummed. “Great theory. But sadly, no. I don’t sleep easy so I read through like, all of the Spider Suit manuals. It’s like second nature now.”
Just as Harley was about to speak, a glitch appeared and caught their attention. Blinking, he turned to their newest member. “Did your watch just turn on?”
Stepping through, Miles Morales looked around before his eyes rested on his sister. “Where have you been? Bed empty! No note! Suit gone- could have been kidnapped- out of my head with worry- did you care?- never, as long as I’ve lived- you wait until mom and dad get home, they’ve never had issues like this from me-“
She rolled her eyes. “Miracle Miles,” she muttered.
“YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF MY BOOK!” yelled Miles, tossing his hands in the air. “You could have died, you could’ve glitched out, you could have gotten this Spider-Person killed-“
It seemed to go on for hours before Loki finally arrived with Tony in tow along with Wanda and Pietro. “Ah, Miles, always a pleasure to see you.” The god chuckled humorlessly. “Why don’t you calm down?”
Having stepped out from the glitch and closed it, Gwen took a look around the room before tilting her head. “This is where you’ve been?”
As Miles exploded on Loki, Angie shrugged and nodded before handing the web-shooters to Peter. “I left some adjustments in the manuals. You’ve got a great thing going for ya.”
The teen smiled halfheartedly as he looked from her to the shooter. “You do too. It was awesome meeting you. Don’t be afraid to visit or we’ll just have to go and kidnap you.”
They shared a laugh before she shook her head and sighed. “Nah. I think this might be it for me for a while.” She hugged him before giving Shuri a fist bump. “Good luck with your Vibranium anal beads.”
The princess smirked before looking her down. “Good luck with your piano lessons, Mozart.” She stepped back when Harley came up. Sharing a glance with Peter, they moved to Tony’s side to give them a moment.”
She nodded slowly, biting her lip as she tried meeting his eyes. “Yeah, it is. But don’t miss me too much Iron Legion.”
The brunet sighed before he finally looked at her. Taking her hand, he squeezed it as he gave her a brave-looking smile. “I’ll see ya soon. Alright? Even if I gotta make a deal with a god of lies. Don’t miss me too much.”
A fond look shined in her eyes. “Oh, shut up.” She hugged him tightly with a sad smile. “Let’s maybe work on surviving glitches before we make any plans, okay?” Before either of them could say anything else, she stepped away and walked over to Tony. “You know, old man, you’re not that bad.”
The shade cover man shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, kid. You’re not that bad either. Next time, don’t pop into random people’s living spaces, yeah?” Nodding, he paused. “Oh, and here’s your allowance for the week. I’ve seen the work you did on the boys’ suits, pretty good stuff there.” He held out a wallet for her.
Tilting her head, she opened it and a soft gasp escaped her. “Tones, this is crazy. I can’t accept this. I don’t even know if it’ll work in my world.”
He chuckled. “Oh. It will. This is one of the two realities where your allowance does transfer over. Doctor approved. In fact, he told me to hand you the card that’s there in the back.” He leaned forward and whispered, “We have a bet. Let me win and I’ll find a way to get the twerps to you. He wins and apparently, there’s a surprise you’ll like but if I tell you, then it doesn’t come true. Sooo, do with that as you will. But I’ll totally add another five k to your allowance right now if you prove me right.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Don’t bother, Stark. Doc already caught me up. Thank you though.” Pocketing the wallet she walked up to her brother. “Are you ready? Brooklyn needs their Spider-Man, don’t you think?” She smirked playfully before nodding at Gwen. “Whenever you’re ready.”
The blonde nodded slowly, taking one more look around the room before turning on her watch causing the glitch to appear. “Next stop, Earth-616.” Her eyes narrowed at the girl’s panicked look. “What?”
She looked back at Tony, “Still one of two?”
The man nodded with a sad sight in his eyes. “One of two until you’re gone. One of two until you decide.”
Taking a deep breath, she nodded to herself. “One of two, one of two, one of two.” Closing her eyes, she fell back into the glitch, tensing up as she hears the tell-tale sound of web-shooters. With a wince, she bounced up into space, face stopping inches before she met the ground.
“Go on Miles, I’ll close this up.” Gwen gave her boyfriend a smile before he jumped in after his sister. Pausing, she looked at Loki, a calculating look in her eye. “She doesn’t have her watch.” Nodding as he smirked, she went on. “Miles says they’re pulling her from school and taking away the suit. She won’t stick around long after that.”
The man merely hummed. “Let’s hope someone finds her before she glitches then. Goodbye Gwanda, do learn how to choose better partners for yourself, yes?”
She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Stay in your lane, ‘Tom’. And don’t get caught. I hear the mafia is being helpful lately. Might want to look into that.”
“Always a pleasure with you.” Chuckling as she and the glitch disappeared, he nodded at tony. “She’ll be with Noir within the month. Usually, he’s hard to find considering how often he moves around. But, Anansi owes me a couple of favors so I figure we can figure that out quickly.”
Harley stepped up with an upset look on his face. “What, so she runs away and they figure what she needs is to be ripped away from the people she does interact with? What do they expect her to do? They’re just pushing her away. Why does she have to go back?”
His father figure sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Harls, you knew she was going back. This was supposed to only be for a week, maybe less. We’re lucky we got the time with her that we did. She has things she needs to do, figure herself out. We’ve got a plan and if she’s waiting for us in two weeks, then it’s settled either way.”
Sitting on her bed, Angie looked around her room for the last time. She sighed, grabbing the picture of her with her Uncle Aaron and Miles under the subway that day everything changed. Placing it in her bag, she got up and put her phone in her desk drawer.
Peeking her head in, Rio smiled sadly as she walked into her daughter’s room. “You know that we hate to do this, but it’s what’s best for you. You need help. We’ll visit every weekend we can. Okay?” She gave her a shaky smile before pulling her into a hug. Though surprised she wasn’t pushed away, she smiled and held her tighter. “Be strong alright? You’ll be home before you know it. I love you, baby girl.”
Pulling away, the girl hefted her bag onto her shoulder then nodded. “I’m gonna miss the taxi.” Walking out she felt a weight pull off her chest as she left the house she grew up in. “Please don’t let Miles look in my journal. Those are my sketches and I want to keep them to myself.”
Just as her mom was about to respond, her dad cut in. “Then you should’ve thought about that before you started acting out. You see, this is what I feared would happen. I only hope we’re knocking this out of you before you wind up like your uncle.” He stayed strong despite the harsh reactions from his family. “Now, you have one stop in Queens, but if you don’t arrive at the health center by nine, I am going out there myself and will not stop until you are taught just how to act like a responsible adult. Am I understood?”
Swallowing, she nodded, keeping her eyes from meeting his. “Crystal clear, sir.” Turning, she walked out of the house and rushed into the back seat of the taxi. “The Delmar’s in Queens, can we stop there? I’ll buy you some food too.”
Meeting the eyes of the teen, the driver nodded with a smile. “Sounds like a plan kid. Nobody coming with ya?”
She shook her head. ”Nah. Just me. It’s better this way.”
“I get ya.” Waving to the parents watching them, he started driving. “My little sister went to the center when she was younger. One of her stupid exes really messed her up. I beat up the fool with my brothers, but she needed to figure herself out on her own. Three years she was there and it turned out, all she needed was to find new people. Moved to Cali and she’s been great since. Married her penpal, even has two sons of her own. We usually go out and visit them for the holidays.”
Angie smiled to herself at the talkative nature of her companion. “Yeah? That sounds nice. My brother’s girlfriend and two of our coworkers were pretty understanding of everything. They were there for me, you know? It just… it wasn’t enough. I’d see them and all I could see was my uncle. I ran off for a while before my brother and her found and dragged me back home. I miss the people I met.”
“What were they like? They treat you good?” He glanced at her, worried she might have met the wrong people.
She laughed at his question. “Oh, they’re great. They’re all kinda damaged in their own way, but they look after one another. A family. They took me in, you know?”
The driver frowned now in confusion. “You were happy?”
With a nod and a hum, she responded. “The happiest I have been in a while. It’s been rough without them.” Getting a bit down, she nodded to the radio. “Can you turn that up?”
“You know what, I have Apple Music. Play whatever you want. You’re about to go to the nineteenth century.” He handed her his phone and when music started playing. “International?”
She hummed in agreement. “One of my friends lived in Romania for a few years. And these twins lived in Ukraine most of their lives. So the Top 100 playlists were always fun to listen to.”
Nodding in understanding, he bobbed along to the music. “Alright. I can dig it. Pretty good stuff. Is it all foreign? I know the Latin Hits usually have a lot from the States and England.”
“Same here, really. Never know what to expect next.” For the next half hour, they rode in silence, sometimes singing and laughing along with the lyrics.
Once they reached Delmar’s, the driver opened the door for her. “Damian, Damian Wayne. I know that look in your eye, I had it too. You gonna be good?”
She blinked slowly before slowly nodding, a chuckle escaping her. “I’ll be fine. But what about you?”
He shrugged. “I figure we took so long at Delmar’s my cab got towed. I was so busy trying to figure out what to do, you slipped right past me. Don’t worry about the fees, I know a guy. Now, I hear these subs are amazing.” He entered after her.
“I heard that too.” Grinning brightly, she ordered her favorite and paid for both of their meals, with dessert. “Man, this is great. She laughed as they traded stories over lunch.
Just as they were finishing up, Damian pointed at her. “Hey, you better stay alive, alright? And I better be the first inter-reality godfather or man of honor. Got it?”
She flushed with embarrassment. “I don’t know about any for sures, but you’ll get an invite if there does happen to be an occasion. But I expect the same.” When he nodded, she smiled and gave him a fist bump. “You’re like, the coolest taxi driver I’ve ever met.”
He gestured as if it were obvious. “I mean… What can you expect?” Laughing, they walked out. “Oh no, my taxi got towed. Oh crap.” Grabbing his phone, he winked at her and turned away.
Looking at him one last time, she took off for an abandoned alley and using her necklace, she grinned as the familiar glitches welcomed her. “Time to beat my frustrations away.” Walking through, she felt something tug her back but kept going, knowing that she was making the right decision.
“There you are. I thought you got cold feet.” Hopping down from his crate, the man tossed a coat at her before walking off. “We’ve got business.”
Happily following, she put on the trench coat and kept her eyes forward, easily slipping into the persona she had when she stayed with Noir.
So caught up in the rumble and incapacitating the gangbangers, Angie failed to notice the tell-tale glitching that she was used to. Unlike his younger counterpart, Noir narrowed his eyes, quickly working harder to get through the known enemies that didn’t run off. Once they were dealt with or gone, he turned to face their guests, cleaning his knuckles off.
Letting out a slight breath, Angie huffed. “Bunch of pansies. Usually it takes longer to spook them.” Checking her hands, she started tending to any split skin as she rejoined her partner. “I think we got most of them though. You want me to play Get Help?” Looking up at her oddly more silent than usual partner she froze as she registered who had his attention. “Harls?”
With a smirk, the taller teen walked up, a chuckle developing as he did. “You are certainly something else. Never knew someone could look hot punching Nazis.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “Man, I’ve missed you.”
She laughed, eyes getting teary. “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?” When a couple of throats cleared, they pulled back a bit and she smiled at their audience. “Peter, meet Harley. Harley, this is Peter from Earth-90214, Spider Man Noir. Peter, this is also Peter from Earth-199999. Then we’ve got Tony, and you know Loki.”
The man dressed in monochrome nodded at them before refacing her. “You will be alright? You remember your pick up point? You will be there for at least a fortnight.”
With a laugh, she nodded in agreement. “I’ll be just fine. And I won’t be there, but I do remember. And thank you for this. I’m sorry for putting you into this position.”
He waved away her worry, lighting a cigarette. “It’s no problem. Your brother is a prat. If he isn’t careful, he will wind up like B Parker. Don’t forget to come every now and then.” He eyed Harley before shrugging. “You could do worse.” Turning, he started walking away. “If a hair on her head is damaged, I’ll make sure nobody can recognize your bodies. God or not.”
Peter released the breath he was holding, eyes wide in shock. “Holy cheese balls. He’s so cool. Are all of the Peter Parkers that cool? I mean, the Spider Folk? Cause that was crazy. Like, a French black and white mystery movie, crazy.”
The tall god shook his head in amusement. “Yes, Noir is quite an interesting fellow. But not all of them are that amusing. Let’s go back, shall we?” Opening the portal, he waved them through.”
Tony shot a look at the teens. “Don’t go messing around, okay? Save your reunion until we get back to the tower.” His eyes rested on the brunette. “It’s good to see ya, kid.”
She waved, a bright smile on her face. “You too, old man.” They laughed when instead of responding, he just walked into the portal.
Unable to hold it in, Peter blurted out, “Just wait until you see the upgrades we made to your suit.” Eyes wide, he dashed through the portal before he could say anymore.
Rolling his eyes, Harley glanced at the girl beside him. “He just can’t keep his mouth shut. I’ll see ya in a sec.” smiling brightly, he walked through the hole back to their world.
Before she could move to follow him, Loki stopped her. “I just need to check one last time. Are you sure about this? If you go back now we can make it seem like you were targeted and kidnapped and you just managed to escape. Whatever you decide, I can help you. But if you leave now, that’s it. We won’t be able to go back.”
She nodded, a sad smile on her face. “I know. I know what I’m putting aside and it’ll hurt. But I also know just what I’ll be gaining and I’ll be alright. This is what I want.” Without further ado, she walked into the new part of her life and her eyes widened as she faced the gathered crowd. “What…?’
With a chuckle, Pietro nudged her playfully. “Bet ya didn’t see this coming, huh?” He gave her a noogie as his sister rushed over and pulled them into a hug. “Oh I’m so happy to see you back again. We’ve all missed you. Some more than others.” She laughed to herself before they stepped back.
The girl took everything in, kind of pretty much stunned into shock. She was snapped out of it by Shuri who popped some of the confetti cannons with Clint and his kids. “Ta daa~! Welcome back, loser!” She chortled as the younger kids repeated right after her, much to their mother’s displeasure. Everyone else gave a similar version of the greeting, some nicer than others.
“Thank you, for proving me right.” Steven Strange stood behind the returned teen and gave a smile that only she could see. “You look good.”
She smiled right back at him and shrugged. “I feel good. And I definitely like this surprise.”
“I had a feeling you would.” He nodded towards the celebrating crowd. “I’ll leave you to entertain your guests. We’ll discuss your studies tomorrow.”
Looking around, the brunette bit her lip, feeling out of place in the church filled with casual dressy people all here for the same reason. Glancing up, she released a slow breath in a sad attempt to calm herself.
Breaking the woman from her torture, a deep voice interrupted her internal damnation. “I haven’t seen you around much, Minty.”
Jolting, she turned, beaming at the familiar monochrome man before her. “Pete! It’s good to see you.” Laughing, she pulled him in for a hug. “Sorry I haven’t visited. With R&D and Petro and Peitho, we’ve just had our hands full. I’m actually surprised I made it today…”
He nodded as he took a spot beside her. “Don’t think too much about it. Gwen invited me too. But no family?”
She shook her head, smile easing. “No. They’re still too young to sit through this kind of thing. Charity events are a mess of their own hell. I’d rather be on the streets those nights.”
Letting out a loud bit of laughter drew some attention to them and he sent his friend an apologetic glance. “Sorry, I just… That is far too funny. Only you would say that. I’m glad you’re doing alright. Send them my greetings.”
“Of course.” She glanced around nervously as some vaguely familiar people whispered, looked, and pointed at her. “Ugh. I hate the public.” Rolling her eyes, she raised an amused eyebrow to her companion. “Are you drunk or something?”
He shrugged. “Or something.” With a smirk, they fell silent along with everyone else as Miles went down the aisle.
Whispers filled the church again as a bridesmaid walked out, looking around through the crowd. When the ginger grinned and walked up to Peter and Angie, she tugged on the woman. “You’re not supposed to be here, silly. Gwen’s freaking out that you didn’t show. Come on.”
Eyes wide in shock, the girl looked back at Peter and glared as he cackled. “You knew about this?” Gulping, she quickly caught up with the stranger and followed her. “Where exactly are we going?”
Without answering, the ginger opened a door and pushed the older woman in. “I found her!” Giggling, she went to finish her makeup. “Silly was sitting with the guests.”
“Because that’s what…” Looking lost, she trailed off as she met the eyes of her friend. “Gwen… You, you look amazing.”
The blonde teared up as she laid her sights on the woman who’d been gone for years. “You actually came. It’s so good to see you. I couldn’t do this without you.” Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “I want you to walk me down the aisle. This is it for us, you coming back and me joining the family. Will you?”
Eyes wide in shock, she ran through things one by one. “Okay, firstly, stop crying. Your makeup cannot afford to be ruined. You can cry after you see Miles and get pictures.” She walked up and fanned her face to dry any tears. “Second, you want me to what?”
The younger woman didn’t budge. “I want you to walk me down the aisle. I already told your dad I had someone else in mind.”
She frowned, taking calming breaths before shaking her head. “I… I haven’t seen them in years. But you’ve warned them?”
“They know my choice will shock them. I think they figured I’d ask one of the Spider Gang. Well, they’re not wrong.”
Nodding, she sighed. “Then I’ll do it. It’s the least I can do for helping me out years ago. Besides, if anyone can reign my brother in, it’s you.” She looked around curiously. “How much longer?”
The same ginger from before smiled. “Marianne Jane, pleasure to meet the infamous Angelica Morales. We were supposed to be out there five minutes ago.”
Eyes wide in shock and sensing her friend's incoming panic, she took control. “Okay, everyone go out in order already. We’ll be right behind after touch ups.” Shooing them out, she nodded.
“You… did that really well. Like, scarily well. How did you do that?”
Angie grinned sneakily, fixing her friend’s makeup before they started walking. “Peter inherited Stark Industries. Harls took on a private contract with SHIELD and is their main tech creator. I got full reign of R&D so a lot of chaos management. Especially these past couple of years with the twins.” She laughed to herself.
When they got to the chapel doors, Gwen froze, the reality of the situation hitting her. “Oh I’m actually doing this. How will we do this? I can’t stay here long until I start glitching. And Miles won’t want to leave your parents. We really didn’t think this through.”
Raising an eyebrow in disbelief at her cool headed friend, she snorted. “I did bring you a wedding gift, you know. They match too. That way the connection goes both ways. I suppose I could toss in two more for the in-laws if that’s what you’d like.” She narrows her eyes and whispers as the music starts and doors open. “Don’t you dare cry.”
Blinking away the tears trying to escape, the blonde started walking, excitement filling her being as she walked closer to her future husband.
Miles beamed at his fiancée, proud that they managed to make it this far. So caught up in his thoughts, he barely recognized just who was walking her to him as they were two steps away. Heart stopping, he whispered, “Angie..?”
She winked at him before turning to Gwen and pulling back her veil. “You are stunning. You could’ve done better.” With a shared laugh, she turned to her brother. “You take care of her. I know how to find you otherwise.” Passing her hand, she took her new seat, doing a double take at her company before rolling her eyes. “Of course.”
Chuckling, the brunet leaned down, pecking her cheek before they sat up straighter. “I wasn’t going to miss this. Doc is watching the twins. You did great.”
“Shut up.” Pinching his side with a smirk she hummed. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she took his hand and watched the ceremony with a smile on her face.
As the ceremony ended and they walked out of the church, the man nodded to Peter before leading them over to the older man. “Haven’t seen you in a hot second. You been alright?”
The guy nodded. “I have, thanks. It’s been kind of quiet with everything over now. Good time for retirement as any.” His words didn’t shock the couple that much as they knew he’d been thinking about it.
“You say that now.” She laughed teasingly. “I wonder if you’ll last a week without the job.”
“Whaaaat? Noir, you're retiring? But why? What’re you going to do after? Who’s going to watch after your city?” Peter B Parker and Peter Porker stood in disbelief as they joined their old buddy and his companions.
When they got closer, Porker gasped in shock. “Oh my bleu cheese and rice. Sweet cheese and sprinkles. Hot diggity dog. Holy guacamole. Morales, is that you?” His exclamation drew more attention from those around them.
Easy smile being harder to keep up, Harley glanced at his companion to see how she’d react. Holding her hand, a safe look shone in his eyes.
Relaxing, the woman hummed. “I see you haven’t changed at all, Porker. Still as joke-filled as ever?”
The pig man laughed loudly and nodded. “Well of course. I would ask what you’re doing here but you know what they say, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” He cackled as his face shaped into that of a horse. “Oooh. Incoming SpiderMan.”
“Angie? Is that really you?” The man still in his tuxedo walked up, a confused and hopeful expression on his face. When they faced him, he gasped before looking between her and Gwen. “You, you got her to come. How?”
The blonde smiled. “My plan finally worked. You know she’d leave pictures in our safe spot to let us know she’s alright. Well I left an invite to the wedding for her. But I wasn’t sure if she’d come so I didn’t want to get your hopes up. Do you like your surprise?”
Eyes getting teary, he nodded, a watery smile pulling at his lips. “This, this is great. Thank you.” He kissed Gwen before turning and pulling his sister into a bear hug. “I’m so sorry we pushed you away. I just, I’m so glad to see you’re alright.”
She chuckled as she hugged the taller man back. After a bit, she took a step back. “I’m happy you’re doing alright too. And, I hope our wedding gift is welcomed?” Checking her purse, she frowned in confusion.
Snorting and shaking his head, her partner pulled the box from his suit. “You forgot them in the kitchen. Shuri made five bucks off of the twins.”
Flushing in embarrassment, she huffed. “I could’ve sworn I grabbed them. Thank you.” Giving him a soft smile, she turned and held the box out. “It’s kind of like a microchip. But you won’t have to worry about glitching out anymore. And if there’s any little Spiderlings in the future, there is a tracking feature in case they ever get away. Happens quite a bit when they’re young.”
The newlyweds were in such shock of her appearance and of her gift that neither noticed when they were joined by two more people. “Mija? Is that really you?”
Just as her husband was about to urge her away, the woman responded meekly. “Hi, mama.”
Crying, she threw her arms around her daughter and hugged her tightly. “Oh I just knew it was you that walked Gwen down the aisle. Your father always told me to stop getting my hopes up but I knew you’d come back. That I’d see you again someday.” She took a shuddering breath before going on. “I’m sorry mijita, I’m so sorry we sent you away. That you felt you had to run away. Could you ever forgive me?”
The younger woman felt like she was thirteen all over again as she shook her head. “Ma, I already forgave you years ago. I just, I had to do what was best for me. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
Trying to not get as emotional as his wife, he looked around the group, pausing as he met an unfamiliar face. “Who are you? Miles introduced me to the Spider Folk he knows. Unless you’re the one from where my daughter’s been.”
Blinking, the man shook his head with a small smile. “My apologies for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Harley, Harley Keener. The Parker from our world is my brother. Pete and Gwen asked for me to come today. Not that I’d leave Angie to come alone if she didn’t want to.”
Noticing the adoring look in the young man’s eyes, Rio's eyes widened in shock before she pulled back and held her girl’s hands, gasping when the rings shined softly in the daylight. “Oh my baby girl… We didn’t know you got married. I missed my baby girl’s wedding.”
Sighing as she figured it would come, she held her mom close. “It’s okay. We didn’t tell many people. It was more, people just happened to find out. We didn’t want to make a big deal of it.” Pulling away, she did fish an envelope from her purse and held it out to her mom. “We did take pictures though. And I should warn you that your grandkids are terrors if you’d like to meet them someday.”
Miles gasped in shock at that as Gwen went to look at the photos with his mom. “You have kids? But, but since when?” He looked between his sister and this Harley guy and that’s when it clicked. “Earth-199999… That’s where you’ve been? I remember you from that day we got her back.”
She nodded, smiling as she rejoined her husband’s side. Glancing around she hummed. “I think that’s enough about us now. Pretty sure your guests might be concerned something happened. I can come over another day and we can talk some more.”
Aight so this one’s got a bit of a sudden ending but hey. Open interpretation of how their relationship goes on from here. Like last time hope someone enjoyed, if not, oops. Have a good night/day.