28

Notes:

1) Sorry for disappearing for a while! I went to the coast and was battered (*insert the 'it's fucken wimdey' meme*) before thinking I got a cold. It turned out to be COVID and I couldn't write until today.

2) Will things go well? Who knows...

3) Enjoy the chapter and leave a kudos and comment!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Deafening silence formed an almost tangible barrier between him and Stephen.

He tensed as he waited for the sorcerer to reply, knowing how insane his idea sounded. Ask the God of Mischief who had attacked New York for help against the Mad Titan? It sounded absolutely ridiculous coming from him, especially since Loki's army had destroyed nearly everything in his area.

"You're not being mind-controlled, are you?" Stephen asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"What the- no!" He exclaimed, slight shock running through his system as he wondered how Stephen came to that conclusion. "Hear me out: Thor is obviously powerful but imagine Loki helping us! Thanos is a major threat and probably threatens his existence. He would destroy Asgard while he searches for the Space Stone and Loki probably wouldn't want to serve him anyway."

Stephen looked at him sceptically. "Since when did you know what Loki wants?"

He fumbled with his words before throwing his hands up frustratedly. "I don't know! I'm just guessing. The point is it would be better to have him as an ally than an enemy again. Can't you find him and Thor and warn them so we have a better chance? 1 in 14,000,605 isn't a very good chance and I'd rather improve it than sit on the side-line."

Stephen sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine. I'll entertain this, frankly, insane idea. How would you persuade Loki to help us?"

"I'd tell him the truth." Stephen looked at him pointedly. "Okay, obviously not all of the truth. I'd warn him that Thanos was coming to steal the Space Stone from Asgard and that if he wanted to have somewhere to rule, he would need to protect the stone and his home. Wait, that sounds more like an order than a warning…"

"And how would you even meet Loki?"

He opened his mouth before shutting it, completely stumped on that part of his plan. Stephen shook his head.

"Luckily enough, both Thor and Loki happen to come to Earth in a few months. If there is no other option, I will figure out a way to warn them."

"And if push comes to shove, you'll ask them to move the Space Stone?"

Stephen nodded. "Something of that sort." He straightened up slightly, his figure excluding an authoritative aura. "But under no circumstances will you meddle with any of that."

He bit down the retort bubbling at the bottom of his throat, simply nodding instead as he sensed their conversation was close to ending.

Frustration ignited in his chest – why did Stephen insist on keeping him away from all of the infinity stones and Gods and everything else? He was treating him the same way Tony was before he had crashed the plane, always pushing him away from the main events which he could help with!

Biting the inside of his cheek, he grounded himself and shoved his inner turmoil into a mental box and shoved it to the back of his mind. He could think it through later – the last thing he needed was to ask something stupid in front of Stephen after his insane suggestion hadn't been immediately shot down.

"Kid, I can see how antsy you're getting. Calm down." Stephen clapped his shoulder which somewhat reassured him. "We have time to think things through."

That wasn't how he saw it. If anything, they were running out of time.

So many events had passed since they had been sent back to 2016 -hell, they had practically been there for a year already- and he couldn't stand the thought of wasting any time between now and Thanos's arrival.

Well, he technically never came to Earth when he, Tony and Stephen were on it. Two of Thanos's underlings had come instead to take Stephen and things had spiralled from there.

"Just don't shoot down the idea of Loki as an ally. Isn't there a saying? 'The enemy of our enemy is our friend'?"

"I can see what angle you're coming from. I'd be more worried about how others would react."

His stomach dropped. Holy shit, how would the other Avengers act?! Especially the original 6 who had fought against him!

If Tony heard his plans he would think Peter was being mind-controlled by Loki. Natasha would interrogate him for his thought process and logic behind it. Wanda would read his mind and find out everything -he probably needed to ask Stephen for a mental protection spell or something- which would be disastrous.

"I guess it's a good thing I've kept quiet for over a year then," he mumbled.

"You've had the Loki idea for a year?" Stephen raised an eyebrow.

"What? No, sorry, I meant the um, the whole time travel thing."

He sighed. "I'm not sure whether I'd be more or less concerned if you'd been thinking about involving Loki for over a year. It's best not to dwell on it."

He only stayed for a few more minutes before leaving after a reminder on his phone notified him that he needed to pick up his Homecoming suit from the drycleaners and he needed to make Michelle's corsage since Homecoming was tomorrow.

All he could do was hope that no crimes would occur for the few hours he was at school with Ned and Michelle.

The Homecoming Committee had outdone themselves this year. The theme had been 'Happily Ever After' and, from what he had heard other students say, the decorations reflected it very well.

The entrance to the gym had a balloon arch made up of various pastel balloons, a banner with an elegantly painted 'Happy Homecoming' delicately tied over the centre. He had grinned when he had seen it, well aware that Michelle had spent hours working on it as a favour to Cindy after she had called him and asked for his opinion.

All of the backings that supported the basketball hoops had been raised up to their full height, long swathes of cream-coloured cloth tied prettily to them with a simple bow. All of the cloth had been draped in a way that seemed sophisticated and the fairy lights that were intertwined with the fabric softly lit up the gym.

There was a dance floor in the centre of the gym with a DJ setup on the left and there were several tables with food were closer to the edges of the gym, leaving plenty of space for people to mingle and talk to their friends if they wanted to. The bleachers had been decorated with more strings of LED lights that pulsed softly before alternating to a livelier pattern.

None of the lighting was too overwhelming for him and the music was just under the level he deemed uncomfortable, so he would be able to make it throughout the night without too many sensory problems.

"So, what do you think?" Michelle asked as she intertwined her hand with his. She wore a knee-length dress that became longer around the back, making her look pretty regal (at least in his eyes) and had put on the corsage he had given her.

"It's amazing!" He replied. "Who came up with the idea to put the fabric with the fairy lights?"

"Betty. A few members on the Committee had been torn on the placement for the fabric and fairy lights and someone had pointed out it might've looked a bit messy, so she came up with a compromise."

"Well it paid off," he replied, grinning when she smiled at him.

"Where's Ned?"

"He said something about helping with one of the displays, I think." He looked around, slumping slightly when he couldn't find his best friend. "He'll probably turn up in a few minutes."

They spent a while talking about whatever came to mind from the ridiculous amount of food the school had ordered to working out how much Flash's car would be worth before searching up the answer. It seemed like something completely irrelevant but it was fun to debate about; eventually they found out the price was $100,000 more than what they had estimated.

He had missed hanging out with Michelle like this. Both of them were completely away from schoolwork and external responsibilities like Michelle with the Decathlon team and him with being Spider-Man.

The past few months had been so hectic that the most they could do was stay on the roof and half 45 minutes together at most before they had to go back to lessons and all their other worries. Even weekends were taken up by him being Spider-Man or Michelle's part-time job - not that either of them blamed each other. It was just that having free time was something they both struggled with.

He would bring it up with her after Homecoming. Maybe they could work out a day where they would both clear up some time so they could go on a date or at least relax together?

"Hey guys!" Ned waved at them as he made his way over from the entrance, the lights highlighting parts of his navy suit. "How's it been so far?"

"It's been good," he replied. "Where've you been? I thought you'd be here when I arrived?"

"Ooh, right, sorry." Ned grinned sheepishly. "At first it was because Lola was fussing with my tie but then I had to help Betty with something planned for later."

He gave Ned a knowing look. "Did you…?"

"Huh?" It took a couple of seconds for Ned to figure out what he meant. "Nah, I didn't try. She would've been too busy with making sure everything's running smoothly. Besides, I was helping with something way cooler."

"What is it then?" Michelle asked curiously.

"It's a surprise for the end of the year. You'll enjoy it!" He grinned before his eyes widened. "Oh yeah! Do you guys wanna come to the Sanctum in a few weeks? It'll be my final exam and if I pass then I'll finally be able to keep my sling ring."

"Dude, that'd be so cool to watch! As long as it's not internship weekend then yeah, I'll come."

Michelle shrugged even though the twinkle in her eye gave away her excitement. "Sure, what time will it be?"

She had been the first person to see Ned practice magic, even if it was accidentally since he wasn't meant to have Stephen's sling ring. He hadn't seen him do magic but if it was anything like what Stephen could do it would be incredible to watch.

"Wait, what kind of spell would you have to do?" Michelle asked. "We haven't actually seen you perform magic since the Statue of Liberty."

"Well…" Ned thought for a few seconds. "There's this non-verbal shield spell everyone has to learn called 'Shield of Seraphim' but he said it was the most useful spell to learn. Most of what I've been taught has been defensive spells anyway."

"Is the shield amber coloured?" He asked.

"Yeah! The stronger the colour, the stronger it'll be."

"That's gotta be the spell I've seen Stephen use the most, no wonder he taught it to you first."

"I mean, I learned how to portal pretty quickly and I think he thinks it'll help if I land anywhere I shouldn't."

"You're not planning on going anywhere dangerous though, are you?" Michelle asked.

"Nah, I can't think of anywhere like that. Not unless Harlem counts."

He chuckled at that but internally wondered if Ned would be able to travel anywhere he wanted. What if he could travel places he had never been? It didn't seem out of the question since Stephen had opened a portal to the Compound for the final battle but he also had a lot of experience – or at least, he seemed to have a lot of experience.

The rest of Homecoming passed in a blur of talking and eventually laughter as everyone slowly migrated to the dance floor once it passed 9 PM. They recognised pretty much every song and danced along and, for Michelle's sake rather than his, left roughly half an hour earlier so she could catch a bus.

He had insisted on taking the bus with her, partially so he was sure she would be safe and because it would shorten his walk home, before going home and flopping into bed.

"Right, the chaos gremlins have returned," Stephen muttered before levitating towards them. He snickered to himself at the nicknames, used to picking up the undertone of fondness the sorcerer had for him.

He wouldn't be surprised if the same or a higher level of fondness applied to Ned and he was pretty sure Stephen was slightly scared of Michelle after their first introduction when she had managed to make him say 'please Scooby-Doo this shit' to them.

Ned breathed in nervously as Stephen floated to the bottom of the stairs, twisting his fingers together until Peter tapped his shoulder.

"Dude, you'll be amazing," he said quietly, offering Ned an optimistic grin.

"Yeah, you learn quickly, you'll be fine," Michelle added.

Ned nodded, albeit it slightly shaky. "Yeah, okay."

"Follow me," he said, floating towards a corridor to the right. The Sanctum was surprisingly warm considering New York had entered another winter that was being estimated to be one of the coldest on record. The temperatures had plummeted overnight and it didn't look like they would lighten up any day soon.

They ascended a spiralling staircase, the lights on the wall magically flickering on until they reached the top and turned right before Stephen clicked his fingers and the door opened to reveal a hollow room. Wooden beams supported the roof and the frosty windows let the harsh winter light stream in, painting shadows across the polished floorboards.

"Realistically the exam shouldn't take longer than five to ten minutes, so don't worry if you think this'll interfere with any plans you have for today," Stephen said as he waved his hand and Cloak detached itself from his body.

It floated freely and ruffled his already messy hair -his hat had messed it up already so he didn't complain- before it went towards Michelle, sensing her apprehensiveness and mild curiosity before it gently swirled around her. The breeze Cloak made ruffled her hair and she huffed amusedly, somewhat appeasing Cloak before it went back to Stephen.

Were all pieces of clothing this friendly or could Cloak sense if a person was good or not? Maybe it was completely to the person it was bestowed upon?

"I'd recommend you two stay to the side for the time being," Stephen said. Michelle shrugged, wandering over to the left side and leaning against the wall as she glanced at him curiously. He shrugged in reply, completely clueless about how Ned's exam would work. Would Stephen ask him to perform a spell or would it be based on more instinctive reactions – perhaps muscle memory?

Stephen clapped his hands, causing the blinds on the windows to draw themselves down and the room darkened to a more comfortable level for him but something more difficult for everyone else until the lights on the walls turned on, softly illuminating the space.

"We'll begin," Stephen announced, watching as Ned nodded and his Spidey-sense hummed dully in the back of his skull.

He placed the tips of his fingers together as they glowed amber before he pulled them apart to reveal he had manifested six daggers altogether. With a sudden movement, he threw the daggers straight at Ned, the amber figures blurring into a streak of light.

Michelle gasped softly beside him as he forced himself to stay put. All of them knew Stephen would never intentionally hurt Ned and wouldn't have allowed him to take this exam unless he was ready, but it was shocking to see Ned fighting against someone to begin with. Not because he couldn't, because he definitely could considering he had his magic, but because it was so new.

Ned threw his hand out and amber burst out in front of him, the daggers clattering to the ground and dissipating the second they touched his shield.

His jaw dropped slightly as he watched Stephen launch more projectiles at Ned and his shield kept up for a while before it faded out of existence, prompting Ned to bring up a shield in each of his hands.

Stephen changed tactics from there, gesturing to Cloak before manifesting a portal to come straight towards him before he appeared beside Ned.

Ned stumbled backwards before he opened a portal and walked into it before shutting it before Stephen could even think of going it. He appeared closer to where he and Michelle were before he raised his shield to block Cloak, causing the garment to bounce harmlessly off his shield before he opened another portal and disappeared.

Stephen appeared a fraction of a second later in the same spot Ned had been, looking around the room and realising Ned was on the other side behind one of the pillars.

He simply smirked before raising his hands and conjuring fire, except it wasn't normal fire, it was white fire! Heat emanated from it -he relaxed as the cold chill that had plagued him faded away- as Stephen threw it across the room, somehow making it curve around the pillar that he guessed Ned was behind.

Instead of the fire hitting Ned's shield like he guessed it would, a burst of light exploded from that corner of the room. The force made the window covers roll back up, making the sudden influx of light much worse as they all shielded their eyes.

Stephen extinguished the fire in his hand and strolled over to where they had all guessed Ned had been, smiling slightly as Ned walked out and smiled nervously at him.

"So," he said, fiddling with his fingers. "How did I do? Did I pass?"

Stephen sighed before nodding. "Yes. You can also keep the sling ring but don't do anything stupid."

"I won't!" Ned grinned before turning towards him and Michelle. "How did all the spells look? I've never actually recorded any of the practice fights so I don't know what I look like."

"Dude, I have no words. That looked amazing! You used portals so quickly, it was almost like you were teleporting!"

"More importantly, you closed your portals," Michelle remarked but she did smile at Ned.

"I know! That took way too long to learn for some reason, but I know how to now."

Eventually Stephen managed to move them from the practice room to the Sanctum's exit, telling them that he had an important meeting with Wong and he needed to complete some preparations. They could all tell he was slightly more relaxed than when they had all entered and he nodded at Peter meaningfully.

Don't get antsy. I'm handling things.

Notes:

How do y'all think Loki and Peter would interact?