|Towards the Endgame|

•Chapter 142• Breathing and Breathing

He hasn't swung this fast in a long time. His arms ache a bit. When he saw the light from the house, he dropped down and made a run for it, giving himself a little break. Peter almost tripped twice over a few branches hidden beneath the dirt and leaves. The front door by the porch was open – only a few inches. When he looked inside, he could see three shadows moving around. Peter didn't think or hesitate; he just forced himself inside their home. "Y/n?! Y/n!?" His feet moved faster than the rest of his body. Y/n's sweet eyes met his when he came into the living room. Her mother, Pepper, and Harley were also there. "Y/n..." She jumped straight into his arms. One of his hands rested on the back of her head whilst the other wrapped around her shoulders, keeping her as close to him as possible without melting together. "Please, tell me you're okay. Please, please, tell me you're -" It was impossible to miss the two unconscious bodies on the sofas. "Shit..." He whispered. "They're not uh... they're not?" Y/n shook her head against him. "They're just passed out. Dad took a hit to his head." Peter could see the red mark from here.
"Toomes said someone would be here for you. To harm you." He grasped her chin gently and checked every inch of bare skin he could find. "Someone did show up," Y/n said calmly. The grip on his shirt tightened a bit. "You have no idea." She mumbled. "Beck was here." Peter's face dropped. This was not a time to be funny, and on any other day, he would have scolded her for making such a terrible joke. But Y/n did not look like she was being funny. "Beck? Quentin Beck? Mysterio Beck?" He could hardly believe himself.

It was impossible. He heard his heartbeat, and then it stopped. He wasn't breathing anymore. Mysterio died that day in London. The fact that she saw him doesn't bode well... Just like how she saw Loki... "Are you sure it was him?" Y/n's face shifted in record time, offended by his comment. "I saw him, Peter. He was here." She's not crazy. Maybe a little bit, with that whole Loki thing. But that was in her head. "Beck was here, Peter. He's teamed up with Adrian Toomes. Maybe from the moment he let us think he was dead, I don't know. But he's alive." Knowing how idiotic that sounded, she wouldn't have believed it herself either. "Are you sure it wasn't a trick? Like Hardy." Peter asked her quietly. "It wasn't." She shook her head. How did he manage that? He saw him die, and he heard it. "Beck misled us, Peter. He simply cheated everyone." She said, still clinging onto him. "You have to listen to me. He altered Edith. She lied because he made her. That suit blocked out your senses, somehow. I don't know how it works, but if we have Mysterio and the Vulture on our backs..." Y/n briefly looked over her shoulder at her unconscious father and friend. Pepper kept an eye on her daughter, too. "Peter, we're in danger. Toomes wants revenge. Beck wants revenge. We barely defeated them last time." She suddenly sounded very helpless, as if she had already given up. That wasn't it. She's too weak, and she knows it. Peter will never let her out in the field, even if he has to. Y/n knows Peter well enough. He'll take immediate action. Stop the evil. He won't be able to do it alone, not against both villains. With her words, she was trying to talk some sense into him before he jumped up and tried to be a hero again.

Peter wanted to ask his girlfriend again if she was absolutely certain of what she saw – meanwhile, he tried to let the message sink in. Peter was not afraid of Toomes in the same way. He was a threat, yes, but not like Mysterio. He trusted Beck – thought he was a good person. That man was so much more powerful with his games and lies. The Vulture you can see. Mysterio can hide in plain sight, and you'd never know he was there. He couldn't be alive. He was out there – all this time – waiting for the right moment to strike. Whatever causes the most trouble and drama. Before Peter could speak, Harley stood up from his seat on the floor. "I saw him, too. He's not fake or a hologram or whatever. A ghost. I don't know. That dude was right there on the porch." Harley said. Peter was confused and conflicted about what he believed and what he didn't. Tony and Natasha didn't just lie down and pass out on their own. Suddenly, they're back. Toomes was with him. It had to be true.