Peter folded and rolled the final T-shirt into a tiny ball, then stuffed it in his new backpack. He'd thought his old one, the one he'd brought with him to Young Minds, would be just fine, but Tony had insisted the $12 Jansport Peter had been using since eighth grade wasn't suitable for traveling the world.

Because that's what Peter was doing. According to the official record, Peter Andrew Weatherford, a smiling twenty-one year old, was using his parents money to take a gap year or two between university and the real world to go and see the planet. A different, entirely unrelated Peter, Peter Parker, along with his aunt, had disappeared during the Lapse. That was not abnormal. Several hundred had, worldwide.

He had a one-way trip plane ticket to Bern, Switzerland, a specially crafted Stark Phone untraceable to all but Tony, JARVIS, and SUSANNA, a backpack, a credit card in Peter Weatherford's name, and his webshooters.

Mostly, he just had a burning desire to see his aunt again. Alive.

He hesitated before he zipped up the backpack.

The suits- the original and the new version made with Stark's help -were in a separate metal suitcase on the bed.

Peter couldn't risk bringing them.

He had no reason to use them, anyways. Spider-Man was going undercover, and a bright red costume would very quickly blow that cover.

He opened the suitcase and pulled out his original mask anyways, tucked it securely in the secret pocket in the lining along the bottom of the bag.

He'd worn it for so long, it would be strange not having it with him.

Peter left a note for Bruce on his bed, on the nightstand.

'Bruce,

Thanks for everything.'

He hated that he wasn't more specific, wasn't more explicit, but he couldn't let Bruce in.

Bad things happened to people Peter let in.

He zipped up the backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He walked to the door, glanced back at the now empty room one last time.

The lights flickered off as Peter shut the door.

If I had known 3 years ago an epidemic would sweep across the earth and affect literally everyone's lives, I wouldn't have made a worldwide epidemic the villain and big plot twist in my fanfiction. Whelp, hindsight's 20/20. (Heh. You see what I did there?)

In all seriousness, my thoughts and prayers are with everyone, especially those of you who are personally impacted by coronavirus.

Keep an eye out for the follow-up story, Manipulation. I'll post it shortly. Here's a summary:

MJ has three observations about the newest teacher at Midtown. One: Peter Weatherford isn't twenty-four; he's nineteen. Two: His name isn't really Peter Weatherford: it's Peter Parker. Three: He's keeping a dangerous secret and it has something to do with Spider-Man. And MJ will get the secret out of him, no matter the consequences.

Thank you to everyone who has read and supported this story through reviews, favorites, and follows. It's because of your feedback especially, reviewers, that I have grown as an author. I love to get to know people who have the same interest in fanfiction and Marvel as I do, so feel free to PM me or connect with me on Tumblr: (the at sign) gammathetaalpha Your thoughts are so interesting and unique! Feel free to share them with me!

I also want your feedback. I am looking for people to actively beta (comment and suggest edits) on any and all parts of Infiltration and Evasion. If you would be interested in offering your constructive criticisms, send me a PM and we can figure out how you can get involved in the editing process.

TL;DR:

You guys are awesome and if you want to help me edit Infiltration, PM me!