Snake and Spider: Friends Forever

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The first bit is what I posted yesterday. Just scroll down to the "~~~~❋~~~~" to see the new part

Peter, Loki, and Thor stepped through the portal and onto the crowded balcony of the tower. Loki was still a little woozy and was a little unsteady on his feet but he managed to keep himself upright. Once they had stepped through the portal, Peter heard a glass drop. "P-Peter?" someone said, sounding slightly surprised. Steve Rogers.

"Hello cap," Peter greeted him cheerfully.

"I need to go get the others..." Cap muttered before rushing inside. Peter smiled to himself and looked up at the sky. Perfectly clear and blue, no clouds in sight. He hadn't seen a blue sky in so long. The light hurt his eyes but he didn't care. He was free from the Shadow's prison. But the thing that vexed him the most was that he hadn't even noticed the Shadow was taking over. He hoped that wasn't a sign of what was to come...

Suddenly, he heard Aunt May shout, "Peter! Loki! Get over here and give me a hug!"

Both rushed forward and entangled her in a hug, laughing gleefully as they did. It was good to be home. "You had me scared to death," she whispered.

"We missed you," Peter heard Loki murmur.

"Yeah, we did," Peter agreed.

"Peter, Thor, and Reindeer Games I guess, you're alive!" Mr. Stark called. Natasha whooped somewhere from inside and Clint appeared on the overhang above.

"I guess you're safe now," he spoke begrudgingly to Mr. Stark.

"Good, maybe Natasha will stop putting a gun to the back of my head," Mr. Stark joked.

"That will never end," Natasha shot back from the doorway. Banner and Rogers stood right behind her. Banner came forward and shook their hands.

"Welcome back," he told them.

Steve clapped Thor and Peter on the back but kept away from Loki.

"Come on, let's get everyone inside and let these three tell their story," Clint spoke from the overhang. The others agreed and they were ushered inside. They happily sat on the couch and the entire time, Loki never put down his new staff. Peter was a little confused on where it came from. One minute Loki is laying on the ground, not breathing and hardly a heartbeat. Then the next, the staff shimmered into his limp hands and he woke up. Strange, but Loki was a sorcerer. That probably happened all of the time. Nonetheless, Loki seemed proud of his staff so Peter was proud of it as well.

"Alright, you three have a lot of explaining to do," Stark demanded from the chair across from them.

The trio chuckled and began their tale.

~~~~❋~~~~

A couple of hours later, Peter laid in bed thinking. He thought about everything that happened during his time in the Shadow. But one memory stuck out the most. He remembered watching Loki start crying as Peter was absorbed by the Shadow. He really didn't think that Loki cared that much about him. He remembered Loki calling him "bróðir" when he was delirious (Google Translate told him that meant brother in Icelandic) but he just guessed that Loki might have slipped into some sort of court formalities or something. As he lay pondering, a small sound came from the kitchen. He decided to go investigate.

Peter navigated the dimly lit halls of the Avengers tower. He got turned around a few times but eventually found his way to the kitchen. Loki stood behind the counter, staring at a pot of water. He must have been making tea again. When he heard Peter, he whirled around and muttered, almost relieved, "It's just you."

"What are you doing up?" Peter asked him.

"Can't sleep, too many worries," Loki admitted.

"I can't sleep either, mostly because I want to go on patrol..." Peter knew Loki would never let him go on patrol alone again. But if Loki came with him...

Loki sighed heavily, "Alright, go get your suit, let's go. If you get injured this time, I will turn you into a dung beetle.

"Okay," Peter responded brightly. He scampered off to go get his suit as he heard Loki murmur to himself, "I only wanted tea..."

Peter ducked into his room to change knowing that Loki wasn't happy with the idea of another patrol but Peter desperately needed one. He sprinted down the hall back into the kitchen to see Loki in full battle armor, his new staff in hand. He smiled at the young god and went out the door to the balcony and swung off into the night. Loki shapeshifted into a falcon and flew alongside him, much closer than normal.

As they swung through the city, looking for any crime, Peter became increasingly aware of the policeman that was following them on the ground below. Peter realized with a jolt that his disappearance must have been played through the city and it was probably tied to Loki as he was the last person Peter was seen with. Oh no. Peter looked over at Loki to see him growing visibly distressed. "Hey, it's okay. He probably just wants to make sure we're alright. We were missing for a while."

"Mortals don't panic over my disappearance," Loki almost snarled, "Besides, why would they panic over my disappearance. He probably sees you swinging with a large bird of prey and wants to check it out."

Deep in his heart, Peter knew that was true, but he would never admit it then. "Alright, let's go see what he wants," Peter sighed reluctantly.

They landed on the ground before the cop. Loki stayed in falcon shape and perched on Peter's shoulder. The cop was a skinny fellow with a thick, bushy mustache above his lip. In the dark his hair looked to be a silvery strawberry-blonde. The lines on his face showed his age. His voice only added to that. He sounded every bit like he was only a day or two away from retirement.

"You are still alive?!" the cop was surprised, "How?"

"I don't know," Peter responded, "Luck I guess."

"How did you escape Loki's grasp?" The cop asked excitedly.
"Loki's grasp?" Peter was growing increasingly worried.

"You were taken by Loki right?" The cop now just seemed confused.

"No, Loki is my crime-fighting partner. He would never hurt me," Peter explained.

The cop looked relieved, "Whatever you say Spiderman. I am going to have to ask you about the falcon though. It is illegal to own one without proper permits. Do you have those on you?"

"N-No, but I kind of don't own him..." Peter spoke nervously. He could feel Loki tensing on his shoulder moments before he hopped off and shapeshifted back to human shape.

"Is there a problem Mr. Officer?" Loki asked.

The cop jumped back. "N-No none a-at all s-sir. P-Please d-don't h-h-hurt me!"

"I won't," Loki promised.

The cop nodded and rushed off back to his car and sped off. Peter looked up at Loki who said, "I think that's enough patrol. It's two in the morning and you have school tomorrow."

"Right, well then. Let's go," Peter spoke before swinging off. Loki joined him in falcon form. They landed on the balcony and Loki sent Peter right to bed. Peter fell asleep easily after that, dreaming of everyones' reactions to him not being dead tomorrow.