16

Chapter 16: history has its eyes on me

Notes:

1) And finally one of the first tags on this fic is coming alive!!

2) Is this a day earlier than I planned? Yes. Did I get overexcited? Definitely.

3) Enjoy the chapter and leave a kudos and comment!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"Incoming call from Tony," Karen announced as he swung past the Rockefeller Centre – wait, why was he heading this way when his home was on the other side of the river? He must be more concussed than he thought.

"Accept," he replied as he switched direction to make his way to the East River, squeezing his eyes shut to fight off the dizziness as he swung towards the bridge. It would take half an hour at most to make it to Forest Hills once he crossed over. Damn Shocker for dragging him so far away from Queens!

"Kid, how come you're on the other side of the East River?" Tony sounded slightly perplexed at how far away he was. He couldn't blame him though; normally he didn't swing further than the surrounding boroughs, let alone near Manhattan.

"I followed Shocker and- well…he tried to rob a 5-star hotel."

"What is with criminals and high profile places?"

"I know right! Why do they choose places that'll have lots of security and then go in with a bad plan? It's like they're asking to be caught. Either way I managed to get him but I'm pretty sure his gun whacked out my senses but I think I'm okay even if I'm a bit concussed-"

"Hold on, you're concussed?" Tony exclaimed, causing him to wince. He hadn't meant to mention that but it had slipped out and despite his senses finally sorting themselves out, he was pretty sensitive to noise and light and really wanted to lie down and sleep. "FRIDAY, bring up his vitals."

"Sorry boss, Spider-Man's suit has been in blackout mode for the past fifteen minutes. The last recorded stats were temperature and BPM."

"Blackout mode? Underoos, what did you do?" Tony asked accusingly, his eyebrow raised in the way he knew intimidated him.

"It wasn't me- oh shit!" He let go of the web he was using to swing to avoid the massive billboard that had appeared out of nowhere (at least to him) before shooting another web. "Shocker blasted me with a LEMP and shorted out the suit. It messed up everything but ironically it did get the suit heater to work."

"No weapons or communications?"

"Yep. It's why I didn't answer your calls. I used my Spidey-sense to arrest Shocker so that's a plus." He finally made it to the river, using the cables to keep swinging before he made it to Queensbridge Park and rested, panting slightly as he waited for the world to stop swaying.

"Spidey-sense?"

"It's like a sixth sense," he replied, slumping against the base of a tree as nausea washed over him. God, he really didn't want to throw up in a park. Who knew what that would do for his reputation? "Helps me win fights 'n' stuff."

"You don't sound too good. You sure you can swing back to Queens?" Shit, the concern in Tony's voice was palpable. His blood turned cold when he realised his weakness would mean Tony would come out in the suit to find him and get him to the medical bay if he was that bad.

No, no, no! He couldn't bother Tony like that when it was 11 PM. It was way too much hassle and even if he looked at Tony like he was a father-figure, he didn't like being a burden. He had come from the future after a few years without Tony, surely he could manage by himself. How was he meant to be a good hero if he was still a burden to others?

"N-no, I'm good. I can make it, it's not that far," he replied quietly, simultaneously using the tree trunk as leverage to stand up before he carried on swinging. None of his actions would benefit him but his concussed brain wouldn't figure that out until the next day. "Might make a stop in Greenwich though," he muttered.

"Why Greenwich?" Oh shit, did he say that out loud?

"…the guy who told me about Shocker is in Greenwich," he lied. "May as well ask him if he knew Shocker would attack a hotel while I have the chance."

"Don't think you can push it off until tomorrow?"

"Nah, what if he runs away because he knows he gave me bad intel?" He didn't fully mean that. Aaron had been fairly honest with the information he had sent but Shocker attacking a hotel must have been a spontaneous and desperate decision.

Tony sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly before turning back to the camera. "If you think you can manage it then go ahead. I'll call at 1 to make sure you're home otherwise don't think I'm above using the Baby Monitor Protocol."

"You reinstalled that?"

"Of course. You didn't think you would get away with disabling it with the moderations, did you?"

"That's what the other protocol was for," he whined as he swung to the Sanctum. All he could do was hope Stephen was there so he could get some medical advice and maybe an update on the Infinity Stones -there was no way he would be able to get out of bed tomorrow and thankfully May had a long shift- before he went home.

"Nice try kid."

Little did Tony know that he could omit certain details like Stephen's face with his Blackout protocol that he had created with his suits from before just in case someone managed to get the security files from his suits.

It always blurred people's faces and voices if he put the coding into the file but he had to manually disable the protocol otherwise. Tony could see what he saw through the Baby Monitor protocol but if he wanted to see it again the Blackout protocol would distort everything.

He said goodbye to Tony after a few minutes of idle conversation -he probably stayed on the phone to make sure he wouldn't pass out mid-swing- and made his way to Greenwich, relived his healing factor had kicked in and started healing his wounds.

If Stephen wasn't in then he would meet him on Sunday for an update on Thanos and what they could do to protect the Infinity Stones. After all, they couldn't risk losing when they had so much time to prepare.

The next fifteen minutes passed in a blur of muscle memory until the gentle scarlet glow from the Window of Worlds came into view from a few blocks away. His confusion had faded away and his sight had mostly cleared up except for the blurriness in his peripherals and a headache that stubbornly continued to pound at his forehead.

He had about an hour and a half until he needed to be back home so he would need to make sure to leave about twenty minutes before 1 – why was he planning all this?

Ah, yes, anxiety. May was home already but he didn't know if she was staying up to wait for him. She had a sixth sense for when he managed to crawl through his window and change because she entered about 5 minutes after he arrived and it sometimes freaked him out.

Dropping down to the front of the Sanctum, he raised his hand to knock on the door before hesitating as his resolve wavered. He hadn't wanted Tony's help because he hadn't wanted to bother him but wasn't he doing the exact same thing to Stephen? What if he had already gone to sleep and he was waking him up for a dumb reason and a conversation that could be continued on another day at a better time?

"Kid?" He tensed, his fingers already halfway to activate his web shooters before he registered it was Stephen's voice.

"Oh, um, hi Stephen," he stammered, wincing at how childishly high his voice was. It was as if he had been caught red handed stealing out of the cookie jar.

He turned around to face the sorcerer, grateful his mask covered his expression because he wasn't prepared to see the Cloak of Levitation wrapped around Stephen's neck like a large scarf. He held a carton of milk in one of his hands as he walked up the steps.

"What brings you the Sanctum this late?" He asked as he waved his hand to open the doors, gesturing for Peter to follow. He waited until the doors magically shut -meaning Stephen waved his hand again and must have used telekinesis or something- to take his mask off, relaxing slightly when he breathed in deeply with little resistance from the material.

Most of the time his suit was comfy and he would be happy to wear it but he had just chased criminals around for about 7 hours and he needed a break.

"Well, at first it was to ask about the Infinity Stones and stuff but it's obviously late and a bit impulsive," he rambled. "And then it was because I was gonna ask for medical advice because weren't you a doctor before? But again if it's a bad time then I can leave. Actually, I probably should, it's nearly midnight and I'm probably bothering you-"

"Peter, slow down. One would think you had infinite energy with how much you talk." Stephen huffed as he tapped the Cloak of Levitation with his free hand, cueing for it to unravel from its position around his neck and start floating alongside him.

Instead, Cloak decided to float like the flying carpet from Aladdin and fly towards Peter, causing him to squeak in surprise when it slowly circled him like it was judging him before it ruffled his already messy hair with one of the collar corners before it floated back to Stephen.

The sorcerer in question had made his way across the foyer and entered a room to the left and with a snap of his trembling fingers -though he doubted it was from emotion, more so Stephen's nervous system because there was nothing to fear or fight in the safety of the Sanctum- the lights flickered on.

"Uh, sorry for rambling," he apologised as he followed him into the kitchen, watching as Cloak casually leaned against the counter as Stephen put the milk in the fridge.

Most of the kitchen had dark oak cupboards and panelling with a black marble kitchen island in the centre with an old chandelier hanging above it which lit up the rest of the room. There were stools made from black oak and a black oven to the side with a window above it – presumably for easy access in case something burned.

"It's fine if you ramble, I'm simply trying to figure out what you need. You mentioned medical advice?" He asked.

"Uh, how bad is a concussion if you are blinded by it?"

Stephen sharply turned towards him, his eyes wide as he assessed Peter's awkward form in the doorway.

He hadn't known where else to stand! The last time he had been in the Sanctum he had asked Stephen to cast a spell that would remove him from the memory of billions before being banished to the basement. It wasn't like he had much time to look anywhere else.

"Peter, if you're only telling me now that you have been talking to me whilst blind-"

"I can see now! My healing factor is really fast!" He assured as he waved his hands in a way that was meant to be placating but it didn't seem to be working as Stephen glared at him frustratedly before he gestured to a stool. "I was just wondering…"

"Sit down, I need to check if you have a concussion."

Biting his tongue to stop himself from yawning, he did as he said, sitting down on a stool as Stephen stood in front of him before lowering himself to his eye level and examining him.

"Do you have a headache?" Stephen quietly asked as he checked his eyes, muttering some foreign-sounding words under his breath before he held one of his fingers up as it emanated a bright light. Flinching as Stephen brought his glowing finger up to his left eye, he responded.

"Yeah," he murmured, scrunching his nose in discomfort when the bright light moved to his right eye.

"Are you bothered by sounds and lights? Feeling sluggish or tired?"

"Not as much as before but yeah I'm tired. The adrenaline would've worn off by now anyway." He shrugged as Stephen stood to his full height and shook his hand which made the bright light disappear. "So do I still have a concussion?"

"Yes, albeit a minor one now." He walked over to the sink and filled a cup with water. "It would have been moderate if you temporarily went blind. How long did it last for?" He went back to where he was sitting and offered him the cup. "It should help the headache."

"Thanks." He took the cup with a shaking hand, trying not to spill anything as he pulled his mask up. "Uh, the blindness lasted for like five minutes, ten at most. Time doesn't really exist when I'm in a fight."

"It must have been a bad fight if the concussion was that severe," Stephen remarked as Cloak chose to move from against the counter to settling on his shoulders.

"Yeah, Shocker had a gun that emitted LEMP blasts." He carried on explaining when Stephen raised an eyebrow. "They basically mess up whatever tech a person has on them, so I couldn't diagnose myself. His gauntlet threw me into a wall and gave me the concussion in the first place."

"I'm assuming you arrested him?"

"Of course, otherwise I'd still be out there fighting him!" He practically inhaled the water, completely unaware of how drained his body was. "Also, about the Infinity Stones…"

"You're getting antsy about it all, aren't you?" Stephen asked.

"We need to change something, don't we? Even if it's telling those space dudes on Xandar about Thanos! Surely that would boost our chances since they could prepare a better defence. I think once I've earned Tony's trust a bit more than we can tell him about Vision and the Mind stone so King T'Challa and Princess Shuri can do something about it."

"Then we leave the other stones?"

"What if we told Thor about Thanos coming after the Space stone and he moved it somewhere else. Surely that would be safer?"

Stephen sighed. "All are valid points but we can't dive in headfirst. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction which may disrupt the balance of the universe too soon for it to benefit us."

His shoulders slumped as anxiety continued to churn in his stomach (or maybe that was his nausea.) The idea of having little sway over the Infinity Stones was maddening. He wanted to make a difference from the beginning and stop people from dying. Being shunned to the side lines to wait until the time was right was like acting as if he was oblivious to the future he lived through.

"However, I'll look into telling the Nova Corps on Xandar. If it seems events will be beneficial for us then we can move forward with that aspect of the plan."

"Oh- okay, that's good! But I'm serious about warning Thor. If we can warn the Nova Corps -whoever they are- then surely the same thing should work for the Asgardians."

"There are various outcomes for each action," Stephen warned as he took the cup. "Let's hope we choose the right ones."

Just over a week had passed since he had visited Stephen and he had spent most of that time letting himself stress about things other than the universe for a few days. Christmas had snuck up on him and he had travelled around the city looking for gifts for Ned, Michelle, May, Stephen and Tony.

Buying for the first three had been easy. He had bought a new Star Wars Lego set for Ned featuring one of the new fighter jets used in the Force Awakens that he knew Ned didn't have. Michelle had shown him the pens and sketchbook she wanted and he had bought them for her yesterday.

May had insisted on having nothing but he knew she wanted a new set of tea towels since she had stained the last ones with bleach and she had pointed the set out when they had last gone shopping two weeks ago.

He had reserved them a week ago (as Spider-Man because the shop had been about to close and he didn't have time to change) and was going to collect them at the end of his patrol. Staying consistent would work in his favour even if his followers on Twitter would laugh at him.

Sitting on the edge of a building (it was early in the morning -too early for Happy to pick him up- and patrol had been quiet for a while and he could afford to rest for a bit) he pondered on what to get Stephen until it hit him. Why not get him a mug? It wasn't too practical that it would be insensitive but he could personalise it with some sort of inside joke. Stephen seemed like a mug guy; he could do it.

Still…what to get for Tony, the man who could buy everything and have money to spare. It would definitely have to be something personal and meaningful but not overdone.

He couldn't draw anything outside of the sketches he made for his suit and robot designs so that idea flew out the window as quickly as it arrived. He wasn't great at cooking or baking -he was sure he had he had inherited that trait from May- with the exception of three practiced dishes: chicken curry, brownies and cookies. A random combination but it would be good for evenings when he needed to destress.

Jolting as an idea hit him, he fumbled with his words as he asked Karen to note everything he said down, hoping he could make his gift in time for Christmas.

Notes:

What do ya'll think of the timeline pacing? Do I need to speed up to the events of Infinity War or are you enjoying the story as it is?