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We live and we die like fireworks
Our legacies hide in the embers.
Tony was certain he had never been more scared in his entire life. Watching Peter's writhing, and screaming in pain had been bad enough, but that was over now. Tony was with him for that.
But now?
The kid was literally on fire, swinging with absolute reckless abandon from the ceiling of the compound, fucking taunting the monster that had nearly killed him not long ago. How...
"That tattoo." He muttered.
Natasha looked at him. "What?"
"He had a tattoo. 012. Like El." He said. Natasha paused, and her eyes widened.
"I'll kill them," Tony muttered. "I swear to God I'll go back in time and kill all the bastards that hurt him."
There was a startled cry and a victorious roar, and Tony turned to see Peter flying through the air, webless, suddenly extinguished. The Mindflayer had swatted him off.
Tony felt his heart stop, ignoring Natasha's shouts for him to stay put. He sprinted to Peter, hearing a scream from where El was, but he was too focused on Peter-his kid-to hear it.
He slid next to Peter, who was lying prone on the ground, surrounded by rubble. He must have hit the wall. He was on his side, facing away from Tony.
"Peter?!" Tony gently shook him, rolling him over on his back. Peter's eyes were closed. Tony flinched. He looked awful.
Blood was running out of his nose.
Peter cracked his eyes open, barely aware. "M'ssr St'rk?" He asked blearily.
The Mindflayer suddenly wailed, and Peter seemed to snap awake, pushing Tony away as one of the monster's legs stepped right where he was.
"PETER!"
May our stories catch fire
And burn bright enough to catch God's eye
Tony coughed, rushing through the dust to find any sign of Peter. Steve emerged through the ash, carrying someone.
Peter.
Tony sprinted to him, heart about to explode. "Is he...?" He didn't dare finish the thought.
Steve nodded. "He's alive. His aunt..."
Tony swallowed. So Peter was two-for-two on watching family die. Lovely.
Peter's head was lolled back, ashen color more prominent than ever. Blood dripped from his nose and ears like a sickly waterfall. His arm hung out, 012 tattoo exposed. Peter moaned, muttering something unintelligible.
Tony swallowed hard.
"We need to go." Natasha said, appearing behind Tony like a ghost. She rushed over to El, who was deathly pale, shaking hard.
Tony whirled around to her. "What the hell happened to Peter?!" He snapped.
"Tony-" Sam said, but Tony whirled around, ready to punch Sam.
"Don't Tony me! I wanna know what's going on!" Tony yelled.
"Powers," El said quietly. "Overused."
"You knew?!" Ned asked over the comm. He had been deathly quiet, seeming afraid to say anything. "Why didn't you say anything?!"
"He didn't want me too," El said, wincing slightly as Natasha helped her up, supporting her. "He was scared."
Tony had to turn away to hide tears.
We live and we die
"Hemorrhaging?! What the hell?!" Tony shrieked at El, who stared back at him evenly.
"Tony, stop yelling at her. It's not her fault." Rhodey said.
"Sorry if I'm a little stressed, I just learned my kid was having a brain hemorrhage!" Tony threw his hands up, pacing.
"Small ones." El said, holding two fingers close together to show how diminutive it was.
"So what?! How do you even know this?!" Tony said.
El's look darkened. "I lived in a lab for twelve years. I know."
Tony kicked the wall, but he couldn't argue with that.
They were back in Stark tower, on a lower, undamaged floor. El had convinced Tony not to call the hospital, saying they wouldn't know what to do. Peter was in the other room, under close watch by FRIDAY.
Wanda and Bucky stood at the edge of the room, frazzled, but alive.
"So he's Twelve." Wanda said.
"What?" Tony blinked.
"One of the Flayed was threatening me, saying to tell it where Eleven-" She nodded at El. "-and Twelve were. I didn't know who Twelve was, and it said 'he really has you all fooled?'" She pursed her lips.
"It knew," El said softly. "Peter burned it up back at my home when I closed the gate the first time. It said it would kill Peter too. Not just me."
Tony felt physically sick at the thought of the beast knowing Peter, having a vendetta, and worst of all calling him Twelve, as though he was a commodity, not a human, an experiment-
"What did they do to him?" Tony asked.
El shrugged.
"I swear to God if you don't tell me-"
"I don't. Know." El said in a flat voice. "I don't how I can do things. I just can. I...think it has something to do with my Mama..." Her face grew mournful for a moment, but then it disappeared. "But I don't know."
There was quiet.
"But it's a bad place," El whispered. "Bad people. Bad things. Bad."
Like fireworks we pull apart the dark
"Hey kid," Tony said, grabbing a seat, sitting next to Peter's bed. It had been a few hours since the events, and Steve and his team were packing up to leave. "So you gave us all quite the scare."
Peter didn't reply, wheezing and shaking, gray face screwed up in what looked like concentration, but was probably pain.
"Turns out it wasn't such a bad idea to get Rogers here. You were right. I'll never admit it to you when you're conscious, but you were." He sighed. "So a brain hemorrhage, huh? Your friend knows a bit about what you're going through. She'll be here in a bit. Barnes found out she likes Eggo waffles, and Rhodey bought her some. Jesus, it was terrifying. I tried to take one and she threatened to kill me. I'm pretty sure she was serious." He chuckled, remembering El gnawing on the frozen waffles like a desperate mouse, waiting for the others to finish their time in the toaster.
"Fire powers, huh? You're just full of surprises. You and I are going to have a very long talk about keeping secrets when you're better. Because you will get better. You owe me that much after the grey hair you gave me after today." He sighed, heart throbbing when Peter gasped for air, a shiver going through his body.
"...you gotta be okay, Peter. For me. Your aunt..." He trailed off, as if it were taboo. "Your aunt did what she did so you could stay. So now you gotta stay, Pete. You have too much to do to give up now."
There was silence for a long moment.
"Hey." Tony shifted his gaze back, seeing Steve. The man looked a decade older than he did ten minutes ago. "...we have to go."
Tony nodded, turning back to Peter.
"...I'm sorry Tony," Steve said. "...for everything. For not being able to save Peter's aunt, for Siberia, for everything."
Tony swallowed hard, taking a shuddering breath. "...thanks." He managed to say. "I...can't say I forgive you yet, but...thanks."
Steve nodded. "Wanda wanted to ask something."
"Yeah?" He turned back, seeing Wanda standing behind Steve.
"I...he's not asleep. He's...in too much shock and pain." Wanda looked down, suddenly seeming ashamed. "I...if it's okay, I could...I could relax him. Try and give him a little bit of peace while he heals."
Tony was quiet. A day ago he would have shot Wanda before he let her anywhere near Peter, the vision of hell she gave him forever burned into his head, and what it almost cost. What it DID cost.
Peter gave another whimper, and Wanda turned away, seeming to take no for an answer.
"Will it hurt him?"
She turned back, surprised by the question. "No. Not at all." She said.
Tony nodded. "Do it."
She crept over to Peter as if expecting a trap. Gently, she laid her palm on his forehead, and a gentle flicker of red came from her fingertips, reminding Tony of fire, for some reason. Peter exhaled, and relaxed, looking more like he was sleeping as opposed to trying to fight.
Wanda nodded, stepping back. "...thanks," Tony said. "I can give you a three-hour headstart before I have to call Ross. Do you want to say goodbye to El?"
"We already did," Steve said. "Everyone's on the plane. They wish you and Peter the best. Do you need a phone to call us if you need us-?"
"I think I can find you if I want too." Tony allowed a small smile.
Steve nodded. "...see you soon Tony."
"See you soon Steve."
Compete against the stars with all our heart
"Alrighty, El, you all set to go?" Tony walked into Peter's room early the next morning, where he had a feeling El was waiting. He was right.
Peter still hadn't moved, now decked out with an IV for fluids and a heart monitor. El glanced up at Tony from the chair, confused.
"I got your time machine ready. You can go home." He said.
El shook her head. "Not yet." She said. Since Steve and his team left, El's already limited speech plummeted to only the most basic communication, and Tony was getting good at vague charades with her.
"Not yet? What's that supposed to mean?" Tony asked. El pointed at Peter.
Tony's heart clenched.
"El, you're dying from being here. You need to go home. You have your family and friends. Time moves faster there, who knows how long you've been gone for them?" Tony said, surprising himself with his gentle voice. "I don't know how long it's gonna be before Peter wakes up, or..." He forced himself to face the scenario that he never wanted to imagine even in his nightmares. "...or if he's ever going to wake up."
"He will," El said, with the confidence of a child. She looked at Tony. "Waiting."
'Til our temporary brilliance turns to ash
We pull apart the darkness while we can
El swallowed hard. Two days later, and she still sat vigilant in the room, waiting for Twelve to wake up. She had to yell at him, punch him for making her wait so long. He had to wake up. He had too.
She had to say goodbye before she went home. Do their handshake. Tell him his powers were okay, that he was okay, and he was safe to use them. Tell him how much Aunt May loved him, how brave she was...
Almost on her own accord, she took his hand, trying to swallow the increasing lump in her throat.
"Please be okay." She whispered.
May we live and we die a valorous life
May we all write it down in cursive light
"Tony? You haven't called me for days. What's going on-" Pepper's worried voice sounded frazzled over the phone.
"The kid." Tony said.
There was silence. "Tony...what happened?"
"He time traveled. The day my portal project blew up. He was blown back to 1984. These...these Hydra people got him, Pep. They used him, they experimented on him and hurt him, they didn't even call him by his name, he's got a twelve tattooed on his arm like some kind of lab rat-"
"Tony." Pepper's voice said, but he ignored him.
"Then he got back, and this...monster thing followed him, and he went up against it all on his own, he's got fire powers now, it's insane." Tony took a long, shaky breath. "...his aunt died."
Silence.
"Pep-"
"Yes."
Tony blinked. "You didn't let me finish."
"I don't have to. Yes, do it. He needs you, Tony." There was shuffling. "Are you at the tower?"
"Yeah. El's still here. She says she won't leave until Peter wakes up. She can't stay much longer, she's fading away..."
"I'm coming now. Hang in there."
So we pray we were made in the image of a figure-eight
El looked back, hearing someone behind her. It was the woman she followed in when she first arrived, the redhead. She reminded her of Max. Not as abrasive, but just as tough.
"Hello." The woman smiled, taking a seat next to El. "We haven't officially met. I'm Pepper. It's El, right?"
El nodded.
"How are you holding up? Tony said you decided to stay until Peter woke up. Are you feeling okay?" She asked, trying to look in El's eyes. El kept her gaze fixed on Peter.
Pepper waited for an answer that never came. "...Tony told me you liked Eggo waffles. I'm more of a pancake person myself, but..." Pepper held out three waffles on a plate.
El stared at them as if trying to remember what they were. Then she shook her head.
"You have to eat something. If you're going to wait for Peter, you have to take care of yourself." Pepper insisted gently.
"Not hungry." El said. Every word felt like a Herculean effort.
"You still need to eat." Pepper said.
"It's not fair." El whispered, feeling emotion bubble up dangerously inside her.
"What's not fair?"
"May didn't have to die. It wanted to kill me." El said, trying to stop her shaking hands. "He wasn't supposed to have a number. They were looking for me."
Pepper placed a gentle hand on El's shoulder.
El looked at her, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why...why do people have to get hurt because of me?"
Pepper pulled her into a hug, and El broke down in sobs. "I wanna go home, I wanna go home, but I can't, I can't because it's not fair Peter's hurt and I'm not, it's not fair May's dead and I'm not, it's not fair that bad things keep happening because of me and I'm not TRYING to mess things up, I just wanna go home..."
May we live and die
El didn't move for a long time, just letting Pepper hold her as she cried.
She missed Hopper more than ever.
Peter suddenly shuffled, eyes squeezing tightly together, and then blinking open slowly. He glanced to his side, looking confused.
"El?"
El burst into tears again, throwing herself on Peter with a choked sob, hugging him tightly. Peter winced, surprised, and then hugged back.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." El choked. Peter tensed, instantly seeming to know what she was referring too.
"...it's not your fault. We all would have died if it wasn't for you." Peter said.
"I didn't do anything. You blew it up." El said, pulling back and sitting on the bed next to him.
Peter smiled weakly, sitting up with a slight grimace. "I guess I did."
"Finally." El added.
"Yeah, kinda took me a while." He seemed to finally notice Pepper. "Oh, uh...hey Ms. Potts."
"Hello, Peter." Pepper smiled.
El twiddled her fingers nervously. "...I have to go." She said quietly.
"Yeah duh, you need to go. You look like shit. And that's not sarcasm." Peter grinned.
El paused, laughed, full of tears. She offered her fist nervously. "...superhero squad?"
Peter obliged immediately with their handshake. "Superhero squad."
El stood up shakily, and Pepper took her arm to offer support.
"Bye Peter."
"Bye El."
Like fireworks we pull apart the dark
"So what did we learn today?" Tony asked, looking at Peter sternly from his seat beside his bed.
Peter wriggled. "...not to keep secrets?"
"Not to keep secret. Congrats, an A-plus." Tony grumbled. There was no real annoyance in his voice.
Peter looked down, catching sight of the 012 on his arm. Instinctively, he put his hand over it. "What...what happened?"
"After the fact? Steve and his buddies left. Ross got on my ass, but I mean, I was being held hostage, what was I supposed to do?" Tony said.
"You weren't being held-" Peter stopped, the plan dawning on him. "Oh..." He said. He rubbed his arm nervously. "I...I'm sorry."
"What? What the hell are you sorry for?" Tony asked.
"For...for keeping everything a secret. For causing this mess. For everything-oh my God." The knowledge dawned on him again, grief hitting him like a ton of bricks.
"Oh my God. Oh my God..." He gasped, unable to say anything else. There weren't tears, sobbing, or any of that. Just the realizing horror of what had happened.
Tony was at his side in an instant, hugging him.
And then the tears came.
Compete against the stars with all of our hearts
"You know I don't care right?" Tony said.
Peter looked up, confused.
He had been upgraded from strict bed rest to being allowed to walk around a little, with strict rules on sitting. Peter would have argued but found standing quite tiring still. So he was in the workshop with Tony, scrolling through his feed to try and catch up on what he missed.
"I don't care about all the shit that happened in 1984. I mean, I do care, but it doesn't change how I think of you." Tony said.
"I know-"
"It doesn't seem like you do. Wearing long-sleeves in summer? A bit odd, sure, but even weirder when I turn up the heat in the tower, and you still keep the winter gear." Tony turned to Peter, who looked surprised.
"That's why it's so hot?!"
"You actually feel the heat? You can set yourself on fire, but that bugs you?" Tony said, a bit amused.
"That's different." Peter muttered, looking uncomfortable.
"Why?"
"It just is!"
Tony sighed, setting his tools down. "Kid. You don't have to be afraid of me. I don't care about your tattoo. I don't want you to care either."
Peter was quiet. "It...it's just weird." He was quiet. "What if I messed up? I don't want to hurt anyone."
"I think that's sort of something you gotta figure out yourself, with controlling them and figuring out how they work. But you can talk to me. About your powers. About 1984. About..." He paused. "...about whatever those bastards did to you in that lab."
Peter winced.
"I'm here for you. Okay?" Tony said.
Peter slowly nodded.
Next time Tony saw him he was wearing a t-shirt.
'Til our temporary brilliance turns to ash
We pull apart the darkness while we can
"Mr. Stark?" Peter asked a few days later, suddenly looking very small.
Tony glanced at him, confused.
"What...what's going to happen to me? Now that..." He trailed off.
Tony swallowed hard. He wasn't sure how to phrase it. He wasn't sure if Peter even wanted what he was going to offer.
Peter waited patiently, looking upset. His pale complexion still stubbornly refused to leave, but he wasn't on the verge of collapse like an anemic every time he stood up.
"Well...Pepper and I were talking," He said slowly. "We...if you wanted to live with us, we'd take you in."
Peter blinked, looking confused. "What?"
"Only if you want too. I get it if it's too weird-" Tony trailed off. Peter was grinning.
"I...I'd like that," He looked happier than he had in a while. "Thank you, Mr. Stark."
Like fireworks we pull apart the dark
"Peter!"
Ned sprinted in the room, making Peter jump in surprise. Ned raced to him, tackling Peter in a hug.
"Oh my God! It's all over the news! People are going crazy over it!" Ned said shrilly.
Peter nodded, hugging Ned back. "Yeah, I checked the news. How many people...?"
Ned's face fell. "There's thirty-three confirmed deaths, including..." He trailed off, knowing they both knew who was included.
Peter looked down.
"But it would have been a million more if you didn't stop it." Ned said.
Peter was quiet, struggling with himself. "Yeah," He said slowly. "I guess your right."
To his own surprise, he believed it.
Compete against the stars with all of our hearts
"You need a new suit." Tony announced suddenly, walking in on Peter. Peter jumped, turning pink when Tony saw what was on his laptop screen.
"What the hell is that?" Tony asked.
"It's...a game. Minecraft. You build stuff. Ned and I have a server-"
"Why can't you watch porn like a normal teenager?" Tony muttered. "Anyway, I'm working on a new suit for you if you want to help."
"Do I?!" Peter quickly saved his progress, slamming his laptop shut. Tony handed him a tablet with a basic design. Peter paused, confused. "The hands aren't covered-oh."
Tony seemed to realize Peter's hesitance. "We can make it full body again if you want-"
"No, no it's okay." Peter paused, looking at the uncovered hands on the suit design, an opening, almost permission for the fire to show itself. "I...I like it."
He glanced at Tony, a small smile on his face. "El's right. I can't be afraid of it."
'Til our temporary brilliance turns to ash
Peter stared at the new suit, alone in the workshop. He was rarely alone now. There was always some on Stark Tower, and he didn't mind the company. But now, in the dead of night, even Tony had gone to sleep, and Peter was entirely alone, staring out into the New York skyline on his first official night of being Peter Parker-Stark.
It was quiet.
The sky outside was lit up with the glow of electricity, bustling even now, the city that never sleeps earning its name every time. A beacon of humanity, one he vowed to protect.
But inside the building was dark.
Peter pushed his feet off the ground, and the rollie chair shot back with a squeak. May's note was tucked away safe in his room. Peter had already memorized it by heart.
He turned, his eyes picking up the vague outline of something for him.
Peter paused, debating what to do now.
Slowly, he stretched out his hand, and a flicker of flame lit up the workshop, illuminating a new Spider-man suit, glove-less, with the blue part now edged in orange like a hot coal.
When the sun rose over the workshop the next morning, the suit and Peter were gone.
All that revealed their existence was a note.
We pull apart the darkness while we can...
Hey Dad, couldn't sleep. Went patrolling. Be back sometime tomorrow evening. I think. No later than 10:30.
-Peter