fiction | Part of the journey is the end

Book 8 - No Way Home | 1. Spider-man's name is Peter Parker!

"Spider-Man's name is Peter Parker!"

The Avengers scowled and Peter groaned. "Great, we're starting right from where we left off," he said.

"Jameson is an idiot," said Natasha. "Nothing he says has any truth to it. I don't know what he's been saying since I've been on the run for the past two years, but he didn't say anything useful before either."

"I still can't believe he said that Mysterio was the greatest superhero of all time when Nat and Tony exist," Steve grumbled.

"He's said nothing useful during those two years," Tony bit out. "He's just shifted his focus to Spider-Man now."

"Maybe if everyone knows that nothing Jameson said is true, people won't believe him," said Scott.

"Doesn't matter," said Stephen. "People will still connect Peter to Spider-Man. But the charges about the drones can probably be dropped because there's no basis to it." Peter didn't deserve this. He was a good kid, and Stephen wished he could do something to help him.

Peter clenched his jaw. People knowing his identity was his worst nightmare come to life. May, Ned, and MJ would be in danger! At least he knew Tony could take care of himself. He didn't have to worry about one of his loved ones if his identity was revealed this time around — although he hoped it wouldn't be and would do everything to ensure that his identity would be safe this time. Happy would be safe as well. His breath caught. What about Morgan? She was only a child! The rational part of his mind knew that Tony and Pepper could keep her safe, but she was a baby; she was vulnerable.

He had learned his lesson, though. No one except his loved ones, the Avengers, and the Guardians would know his identity. And it's not like his identity mattered in space anyway.

The bystanders around looked up at Peter and then at MJ and crowded her.

Peter paled while the rest of the Avengers scowled.

"Give them some space!" Wanda snapped.

"Peter and MJ need to get out of there right now," Tony said firmly. "They need to go home and find May and Happy."

Peter's stomach dropped. May and Happy. "Oh god, they're going to be so worried."

A man asked her if she was Spider-Man's girlfriend.

Peter's eyes widened. "Everyone's going to know about MJ!"

Everyone else winced. "Yeah, that'll be a problem," said Bucky.

Peter's eyes widened. He jumped down and asked him not to touch her as the bystanders surrounded them with their phones.

Peter's eyes flashed at seeing strangers going near MJ.

Tony clenched his fists. He wished he could've been there to help Peter deal with this mess. It would be much easier if he could, but no, 2014 Thanos had to show up in 2023 and ruin everything.

"God, this is a mess," said Sam. He, along with Bucky, gave Peter a hard time, but all of them knew it was a joke and just friendly ribbing towards their youngest Avenger. He cared about Peter just like all of the other Avengers did and he wished he could do something to help him. Surely, Captain America's support would help.

MJ was very uncomfortable by this point.

Peter's mouth straightened into a thin line. MJ didn't deserve to be caught up in this mess.

"You murdered Mysterio? You helped him murder Mysterio?" a woman asked.

"Mysterio isn't even that great anyway," said Scott. "Even if we didn't know he was a fraud, he didn't do anything great."