Chapter Text
The battle at the Tower Bridge was a mess and Peter wasn't sure what he should do. The drones were everywhere and making a mess and he didn't know how to contain it all. His friends were in danger just because of knowing what he did and it was all his fault for handing over the EDITH glasses to Beck, for being so easily manipulated, for doubting Mr Stark's faith in him.
But despite all that, knowing it was all his fault, he was sort of glad for all of this happening. He needed something to take his mind off of Mr Stark's death and his mourning and perhaps the trip to Europe wouldn't have been enough. Don't get him wrong, he hated all of this was happening, but he desperately needed a distraction. He only wished it had come in a much less dangerous manner. He only wished he wasn't tarnishing his mentor's memory with his behavior and how such a precious gift and sign of faith and trust was being misused.
Because, even dead, Mr Stark is still the hero. EDITH's acronym is perfect for Mr Stark and Peter hated the thought that something his hero and somewhat, pseudo father figure slash mentor had created to do good was being used to hurt all these people and destroy cities. Beck had gone way out of line just to get a place in the spotlight and Peter didn't even know why the man was doing all of this. Didn't he know just how tough a hero's life was? Mr Happy was right. Tony was a mess. He made mistakes, he drove himself crazy trying to rectify them, to prevent others from making the same mistakes. He had given his life to protect the Earth, the universe. Because that's what heroes do. They give his or her life up for something greater than them, they leave a legacy behind for future generations.
Quentin Beck isn't the type of man to do that.
Mr Stark was. Even before Iron Man, he was trying to pace the road for future generations. Not in an entirely too healthy way, but Mr Stark had changed and evolved and his own pain had been the key. Beck didn't know how to turn any sort of pain into a thing of good. Whatever his reasons for doing all of this, they weren't a worthy excuse for endangering so many people.
And it was up to Peter to stop him.
Easier said than done when Beck seems to have called upon a whole army of those drones and they weren't some cheap knockoffs or anything. Peter can recognize SI quality when he sees it and the drones matched the one EDITH had sent to nearly kill Brad the other day. Those things weren't going to be so easy to destroy. He managed to trash a few of them, but they just kept coming back, and with reinforcements. Good thing was not all drones were in on the fight, since they were still pretty much trying to keep up the lie Beck was telling the world about how he was some noble hero trying to save them from these fake 'Elementals', and others were flying around close by to protect the rest of the drones that Peter hadn't trashed. Usually, he wouldn't have a problem with dealing with them, despite the numbers, but he was still healing from Beck's last attack and he was getting even more battered by the second in this fight and that wasn't even mentioning his panic regarding his friends.
He was running out of time. They may be hiding in the Crown Jewels vault, but that won't keep Tony Stark's killer drones out for long. Mr Stark was too good at his job for a little safe, even the safest one in the world, to keep his inventions meant to help save it out. Which would have been great in any other scenario, except those same drones were hunting Mr Happy and Peter's friends.
'Why can't I have one normal school field trip?' Peter wondered even as he webbed two drones together and swung them around, trying to take down as many others as he can while simultaneously avoiding any incoming attacks from the others. EDITH was just as advanced, if not even more so than KAREN and Peter's helper AI wasn't installed in the suit he'd made on the flight to London. Heavens, he wished he had KAREN here. Or the Iron Spider suit. Yep, Kill Mode would have definitely been damn useful right now. If it can get him halfway through Thanos' army while guarding the Iron Gauntlet, then it could definitely deal with the drones. But, unfortunately, Peter had refused to take it with him so Aunt May had packed the suit she knew how to pack. The Iron Spider suit was kind of way out of her league. Sometimes not even Peter quite understood it and he had instructions and a helper AI!
He was forced to focus back on the battle when a squadron of drones nearly took his head off had it not been for his 'Peter Tingle', as everyone insisted on calling it. It still wasn't up to the level he would have liked - he blamed Thanos and Titan and all that portaling around with Doctor Strange that totally messed up his sense of direction and even his grief - but it sure was wicked handy all the same. Besides, maybe he should stop relying on all his other senses when it's clear they're being deceived, from his eyesight to his hearing. This technology was definitely Mr Stark's and it reminded Peter of BARF in a sense, only a lot more violent and more military oriented, something Mr Stark would never participate in. Maybe someone stole his specks or the drones themselves and hacked them? Not that hacking anything is required with EDITH.
'I really need to work on being less gullible,' he thought as he swung around the bridge, firing a few explosive webs - how Mr Stark made that feature, he'll have to look into later, when he isn't fighting for his life because that was wicked cool - at the incoming drones and wanting to internally swear when some of them avoided it and kept going after him. Maybe Tony shouldn't make drones that are so efficient that they can pretty much keep up with Spider-Man.
It was his own fault he was hit, really, because at that exact moment he remembered Tony will never make anything ever again because he's dead and Peter couldn't breath- So, yeah, he should have kept his head in the game and not let himself get distracted. He grunted as he slammed into the hard pavement of the bridge, now really regretting he was such a good guy that he didn't let himself curse because that hurt. Forget getting stitches, bruised or broken ribs were the worst! 'Aunt May is so going to kill me if I survive this.' He looked up to see dozens of drones gathering around him while newly arrived ones flew over to take the place of the ones he'd destroyed to keep up the illusion Beck was feeding the world. Getting inside the illusion now that Beck knew he was here was going to be next to impossible, he'll never manage to get a drop on him like that again. If he can even get up, that is. 'I so wish Doctor Strange was here.'
He had actually sent a text to the sorcerer, a couple of them, to be precise. Though that was while he still thought the Elementals were real and he was asking for advice on how to deal with them since he had remembered dimensional threats were sort of like Doctor Strange's thing but the sorcerer hadn't answered. Now Peter - or a small, selfish, partially childish part - was kind of glad that the Sorcerer Supreme hadn't responded because he felt so foolish after he found out how he'd been doped. No hero should be so easily tricked and he hated that he had messed up this bad. But the bigger, far more reasonable and responsible part of Peter wished the doctor had because, whether the Elementals were real or not, Beck was causing a lot of damage and hurting a lot of people. Perhaps meeting a not so impressed actual sorcerer would teach him a lesson not to play at being hero when he was so far from it. Doctor Strange would definitely teach him a lesson. He was giving the sorcerers a bad name.
Not to mention that the man was ... incredibly fond of Peter, ever since Titan, and had taken to checking up on the boy twice a month since the final battle and Tony's funeral eight months ago. Peter had lost count how many panic attacks or emotional breakdowns the former neurosurgeon had talked him through in just the first few weeks after the funeral. The young hero wasn't sure if Stephen was doing it out of guilt for inevitably sending Tony to his death by choosing the path he set them all on or if he was just worried, but Peter wagered it was a little bit of both. What Peter always found odd whenever the sorcerer tried to console hos grief was that Doctor Strange always said he shouldn't mourn Tony, that it wasn't what he would want. Peter often wondered why the sorcerer never talked about the one and only Iron Man in the past tense, as though the man were still alive. Spider-Man had a theory that the doctor had a connection to Tony in the afterlife, if it even exists, and was always kind of envious about that and wondered if he should turn to magic just so that he can have that connection, too. Only he knew he was being selfish and never confronted Doctor Strange about it. Stephen sort of deserved, perhaps more than anyone, to talk with Mr Stark if that was the case. It was them, ultimately, that had saved everyone. Stephen, by making sure Mr Stark will survive and Mr Stark by snapping his fingers even if it meant he was going to die. Peter was honored to have fought beside them both, that he had somehow earned himself in both of those amazing men's hearts but ...
He missed Mr Stark and he really wished Doctor Strange was here, even if that were to somehow reverse time and they had to fight Thanos on Titan all over again. He just wanted to see them again, for the three of them to stand on a battlefield together again ...
'If wishes were giant flying space donuts ... ' He thought wistfully even as the drones all released a powerful sonic blast at him that he was sure was going to destroy his eardrums and quite possibly his brain and center of gravity if it lasted longer than a few seconds, especially with his enhanced hearing, but then he heard a rustle of clothing and he was suddenly no longer in the firing range of the drones. When he opened his eyes, he found himself wrapped up in the all too familiar red Cloak of Levitation and a half laugh, half sob escaped him as it continued dodging around the drones, keeping him out of line of fire as it flew him straight towards a very familiar figure that had a magical shield dome out ready to receive him. He actually jumped out of the Cloak's embrace and flung his arms around Doctor Strange because he now knew everything was going to be alright because someone he knew was there and he knew Doctor Strange will help him and won't let his friends get hurt because he's Doctor Strange and a real badass-
"Whoa, Peter! Easy! Are you okay?" A scarred, shaking hand carded through his hair in a comforting manner even as the drones started firing on the dome, the attacks useless. The magic shield didn't waved for an inch or a second. "You're safe now. I've got you. What's all this?"
"The Elementals are all fake and the Mysterio I told you about was just a fraud who wanted to get the glasses that Mr Stark left for me because they contained EDITH and now he's using EDITH to make up bad guys so he can be the hero and I don't know why he would be willing to hurt all these people but he is and he's after my friends and Mr Fury and Ms Hill because they'll figure him out or already know in the case of me, MJ and Ned and they'll reveal him for the fake he is and he's in the Tower Bridge and I can't get to him because there are dozens of drones there to protect him or the drones making the illusions and I'm running out of time because Happy, MJ and Ned are in the Crown Jewels vault and drones are hunting them as we speak and I'm so tired Doctor Strange but you're here now and you can help me get to EDITH because I don't want to destroy EDITH since she's one of the last things Mr Stark left for me and I don't know what to do but you can help me, right Doctor Strange?"
The sorcerer just blinked a few times at the word vomit Peter had just unleashed before he gave the boy a smile but shook his head. "I can't." And before the boy could complain about how that was a load of bullshit, the man finished with a: "But I know someone who can." And then he was opening a portal a good ways away from where the drones were attacking them but whoever came through was just out of sight. Peter could just barely make out the top of the portal, let alone a person but then the same song that Happy had played on the plane on the way over started blaring from some speakers.
Peter stared up at the sorcerer in deep confusion. "But how is Led Zeppelin going to help us in the fight?"
Stephen just looked incredulously at Peter before shaking his head. "Unfuckingbelievable. Eight months I've been trying to lure him back from the Soul Dimension and all it took was for you to mistake AC/DC for Led Zeppelin to get a reaction out of him!? Why do I even try? Why am I even surprised?"
Back in black
I hit the sack
I've been too long I'm glad to be back
The song was getting louder and closer and Peter figured whoever had come through was also getting closer. He tried to stand on his tiptoes in order to see better, but Stephen did him one better and levitated their dome a bit higher so they were floating about four feet from the ground and what Peter saw made his eyes water.
Dressed in a pristine, top notch black three piece suit with a black dresshirt underneath with black sunglasses, the only splash of color besides skin and slowly graying chocolate hair being the glowing blue of a triangular shape on the chest was a man, strutting through the ruined streets without a single care in the world. Any and all electronic devices with speakers around him lit up and joined in on playing the same song as he passed them, making the rock 'n' roll almost clearly audible even over the sound of drones firing. In fact, nearby drones lost the green light and only glowed the familiar, beloved, famous blue that was the heart of the world's first superhero and Peter wasn't sure if this, too, was one of Beck's sick illusions because this just couldn't be true. It had to be a dream or maybe he even died and had gone to heaven or wherever else Mr Stark had gone to after he saved them all at the cost of his own life and now Peter was just joining him and, as the good mentor he always denied being, he was here to ease Peter's transaction from alive to dead status.
Yes, I'm let loose
From the noose
That's kept me hanging about
I've been looking at the sky
'Cause it's getting me high
And, as if by some miracle, the drones were all slowly stopping their assault the closer the man go, avoiding debris with the practiced ease of both someone who's caused it and who's used and fought around it for years. Even the illusion froze like a live-streaming movie on a bad site, hell even the spinning cursor was there, as the man looked up and up and up to the spectacle by the Tower Bridge, never faltering in his steps. Half of the drones that were still with the green light turned to look at him and suddenly the ones with only the blue were forming a protective formation around this impossible man. They fired before the green ones could, seemingly with an ease and elegance the other drones didn't posses, though that might be because of how they had done it perfectly to the beat of the music that was now only getting louder.
Forget the hearse 'cause I never die
Peter laughed in disbelief as the man actually stopped in the middle of all that destruction and thrust his arms to the sides of his body, as though inviting anyone to test the lyrics of the song even as more and more drones came to his side. The ones making the giant holographic illusion were detaching themselves from the formation one by one, showing the world the truth.
I got nine lives
Cat's eyes
Abusing every one of them and running wild
"Typical Tony, making a show of his resurrection for the world to see," Doctor Strange said with a fond smile and an exasperated eye roll, but Peter didn't take his eyes off of the man. Because, yes, ladies and gentlemen, that was, indeed, none other than a should-be-dead-but-obviously-isn't, that and and the only Tony Stark in all of his douchy, arrogant, sarcastic glory, pissing off the villain of the day by being his most annoying self. And Peter Parker, the boy who had admired this man since he was a little kid, couldn't believe his eyes because that was his hero, his idol, his mentor, his friend, his father figure and he was somehow back from the dead.
"H-How?" The boy barely managed to strangle out and Stephen turned to him, smiling wider, relieved.
"The Infinity Stones are meant for creation, especially creation of life. They don't really have any agendas of their own, but they do have sentience. They can choose to like some people better than others. Tony just so happened to be one of those people. So they spared his life. Barely, mind you. They took back all the damage their radiation caused but they were reluctant to speed up his recovery by giving his soul back. It was up to Tony to come back when he was ready. Question was, whether he'll ever come back, which is why Ms Potts and I agreed to still declare him dead and hold a funeral. We've been waiting for him to wake up for the last eight months. He woke up several hours ago, his body back in top shape as though he'd never been dead to begin with, and babbled something about AC/DC not being Led Zeppelin and sacrilege. We called Pepper and the other Avengers and we were just explaining things when we saw the news and I remembered seeing your text, so here we are. Though I think Tony's going to kill this ... Quentin Beck if he gets his hands on him."
"But how is he overriding the drones?" And Peter immediately facepalmed. Maybe he had a concussion because how could he ask such a stupid question? "Right. He's Tony Stark."
"Actually, I think that's the one called JARVIS, that he apparently dragged back from the Soul Dimension with him, shutting EDITH down," the sorcerer shuddered for some unknown reason. "Say what you will but Thanos is nothing compared to that overprotective piece of coding."
Peter, who had only heard about the first real AI that had been the copilot of the Iron Man armor, couldn't help but nod and wince at the same time. He actually pitied Beck a little if that was who he was going up against. From what he'd heard of JARVIS from both Mr Stark and Vision, back in the days before Thanos' attack, JARVIS was merciless. It was where KAREN's Kill Mode first came from, as well as any other of Mr Stark's more lethal traits in his AIs. "Beck's not going to survive this, is he?" And he was surprisingly okay with that. Call him vengeful or petty or downright cruel, but he didn't feel like Beck deserved his sympathy. Not after going after his friends. Not after everything he had done for his 'deserved' place in the spotlight.
"It is rather unlikely. Tony wasn't feeling particularly generous or merciful after his talk with Happy so I can only imagine how pissed off he is if he's letting his AI have at it. Apparently, JARVIS isn't very forgiving towards people who hack Stark technology, so good luck to that Beck guy you were talking about. I don't think you'll be seeing him anytime soon."
Peter thought about Doctor Strange's words even as Mr Stark finally activated his Iron Man armor - the new model Peter had only briefly seen during the final battle - and flew off to confront 'Mysterio'. "I wonder how Mr Fury and Ms Hill will fare against Mr Stark? He looks kind of angry."
"On the scale of Lang to Hulk, I think he's a solid Hank Pym." They both snorted at that, an inside joke only the Avengers - extended or not - were in on. Say what you will, but the first Ant Man was an extremely grumpy and passive-aggressive angry person. Or at least he was most of the time, a lot less so ever since he got his wife back. "And I don't think Fury will be leaving a meeting with him without his ears ringing. KAREN told him about your plans and he's not happy with 'Popeye' for ruining them for you."
"At least he's not Ms Potts levels of angry." They both shuddered at that, having met the formidable woman several times and knowing you are not to mess with her, ever.
"Yet," was all Stephen could say and neither really felt sympathy for Beck when he was thrown out of a window and then caught by the army of drones he had been using to terrorize London. The two watched as Iron Man casually flew out of the broken window and brought him to the ground, his nanites forming cuffs and binding the fake hero just as people tentatively peeked out of their hiding places, pointing at the all too familiar red and gold figure in the sky.
'Cause I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back, back
"Hey, kid. Long time to see," said Tony as he retracted his mask, revealing the EDITH glasses where they belonged, and gasps went through the crowd like a wave, phones and cameras out on the ready, taking pictures and videos of the miraculously alive Iron Man and the still not famous Doctor Strange assisting Spider-Man against the villain Mysterio, live-streaming the return of a missed and mourned hero. "Well?" The billionaire asked as he landed, opening his arms wide like he had during the 'battle' just moments ago. "What are you waiting for? Because, you know, this is a hug-"
Well, I'm back in black
Peter let out a strangled laugh and launched himself into his mentor's arms, holding on tightly with as much strength as he dared, even with Mr Stark's armor still on. When those familiar arms wrapped around him, he felt like everything was right in the world and just let the tears he'd been holding back since the 'funeral' flow, desperately holding on, like he feared Tony would disappear if he didn't squeeze hard enough. Judging by the older man's own grip, it was a fear they rightfully shared and neither was willing to let go.
"It's so good to have you back, Mr Stark." He barely got the words out past the lump in his throat, but he managed. He had to say the words to make them a reality, otherwise he might just go mad.
He had to go check on MJ and Ned and Happy. He should probably check on Mr Fury and Ms Hill, too, and be there when Mr Stark unleashes the fury (no pun intended) of an overprotective mentor/father(figure) on them. He had to call May, she must be so worried about him right now, if she was watching all of this. He should also leave before anyone gets to try and figure out his identity or connect his frequent disappearances with Spider-Man sightings, even in Europe. But he can do all that later. After all, Mr Stark was right here and so was Doctor Strange, they will back him up. He'd been without his mentor for so long that he never wanted to let go.
"It's good to be back, Pete. We have so much to discuss, starting with the fact that AC/DC is not Led Zeppelin!"
Mr Stark was here and Peter felt like everything was finally going to be okay.
Yes, I'm back in black!