Johnny lowered himself and dropped silently in the shadows of the cave opening. He watched Peter scamper down the wall and land lightly next to him. If he could have flamed up he could have made it down the rocky hillside without breaking a sweat. Instead, non-powered Johnny Storm had to maneuver himself down the old fashioned way. It wasn't the first time he wished his abilities transferred over without the flames and he was very thankful that Wyatt and Peter insisted they spend as much time in the gym as they did. It made the descent somewhat easier than it would have been a year ago.

Davis, Bobby, and Wyatt were creating a distraction on the other side of camp that should pull everyone out of the cave and allow Johnny to seal the it. Heated enough, the rock would melt and seal off the passageway. But, it wouldn't do any good unless everyone was out. So, they tucked themselves into a shadowy corner and waited.

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Tony looked at the map on his HUD. Peter had done a good job of painting the primary targets. The plan was solid, Tony just hated being this far away from Peter when the fireworks started. He fought the urge to increase power to the boot jets. If he got there sooner than he was supposed to Johnny wouldn't have time to seal the cave. So, he forced himself to match the speed of the Wakandan fighter next to him. They were two minutes out from the drop zone. If everything was going according to plan Wyatt, Bobby, and Davis would be moving into position and in the next sixty seconds Bobby would blow a weapons cache. There was a funny little quirk when you blended alien tech with normal tech...it got a little unstable when the temperature got too low. It was something he and Peter had discovered by accident one afternoon in the lab. It really wasn't a liability unless you were approaching zero Kelvin. And that never really happened outside of a lab, or if you happened to be around someone who could manipulate the temperature of particles.

He glanced up at the countdown on his HUD and noticed the familiar transponder beacons start to appear. They were getting within range of the encampment which meant the weapons cache should explode right about...

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Davis closed the portal behind the three boys as the weapons cache exploded behind them. He had only moved them out of range of the explosion, not out of range of the action. He could hear the chaos breaking out behind them and saw Wyatt situating himself to defend their position. Offense wasn't the mission right now, although if anything came their way they were all more than willing to engage. He slid behind the rock next to Wyatt and Bobby and looked up as a repulsor fired towards the encampment. Tony's timing was perfect.

The initial blast they caused was to get anyone in the cave out of the cave and allow Johnny to seal up the cave entrance. Tony's targets were designed to take out the remaining weapons cache as well as drive everyone into a contained area. T'Challa was dropping in with Wakandan fighters to subdue targets on the ground. Wyatt, Bobby, and Davis were responsible for making sure no one ran. Davis kinda hoped somebody ran.

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Peter and Johnny watched the group run out of the cave. Based on the intel T'Challa had, it looked like it most of the leadership of this particular group. Peter fought the urge to start flinging webs. He and Johnny could probably contain most of them. But not all of them. And the plan was for them to seal up the egress route, not capture. They waited for the group to make it far enough away before Johnny started working on melting the sides to start sealing the entrance. Peter looked back into the cave. "Karen, anyone else in there?"

"Peter, I'm picking up several more life forms."

Peter sighed, "Human life forms, right?"

"Yes."

Peter looked over at Johnny. "Keep sealing, I'll take care of whatever's in the cave." Peter started walking deeper into the cave. "Johnny, keep an eye on your six." He hated leaving Johnny on his own but they also didn't want to leave anyone in the cave."

"Peter, I got it. Just don't spend too long and make me come look for you."

Peter waved over his shoulder and continued into the cave. Karen was projecting the approximate location on his HUD so he followed the winding paths through the cave.

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Lighting flashed as a group of five landed in the middle of the encampment. The sonic bursts originating from the spears took out the combatants in the immediate area. The remaining waves realized who had landed in the middle of them. Some ran. T'Challa was confident that Wyatt and the other boys could contain them. Other fought. The Wakandans were more than a match for them. T'Challa slashed through the men who chose to face him with little regard for the outcome.

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Tony landed next to the cave opening. T'Challa had the fight under control and Bobby, Davis, and Wyatt had contained the ones that had tried to run. He stepped over some bodies on the ground that had obviously been stopped as they tried to escape through the caves. "Where's Peter?"

Johnny glanced over his shoulder as he melted a final piece of rock leaving an opening wide enough for a person. He had heard Tony land behind him. "Karen picked up life signs inside the cave."

Tony stepped through the opening. "Stay here." Knowing Johnny would comply he walked further into the cave, following Peter's transponder. It was moving in his direction which he hoped was a good sign. "FRIDAY, how many life signs are you picking up?"

"Eight plus Peter."

Tony picked up his pace.

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Peter felt the young girl clinging to his back shift slightly. He was glad she was able to hold on since both of his arms were currently occupied. He looked down at the older girl that had been unconscious when he found them. Eight girls. He guessed the oldest one was only seventeen or eighteen. His dad's voice came through his mask, the cave walls distorting the message. "Kid, you ok?"

"I'm bringing eight girls out. Let T'Challa know a couple of them need medical attention." The cave walls caused too much interference and he knew the message had come across as garbled. He looked over at the other six girls following him to make sure they were all still there. He saw his dad's transponder and knew he wasn't too far ahead in the tunnel.

After rounding two more turns Peter saw a glint of red metal. He realized the girl on his back had also caught sight of it because all the sudden she had a death grip on his neck. "It's ok. He's with me." His assurance did nothing to alleviate her fear as Iron Man came into view. He tensed as the younger girls let out a squeal and hid behind him. "It's ok," he assured again and looked over at his dad as he disengaged the Iron Man mask and helmet.

"It's ok. I'm with him." He reached over and took the girl from Peter's arms allowing Peter to readjust the girl on his back and scoop two others. Leading the way, he glanced back to make sure Peter had the rest of them in tow.

Stepping out into the moonlit night, Peter passed one of the girls off to Johnny. The fighting had subdued for the most part. He glanced down at the charred bodies littered around the cave entrance and felt a wave of guilt at the idea that he had left Johnny to fight them alone. He felt a gentle slap on the back of his head. He turned and looked at Johnny.

"You're an idiot." He shifted the girl on his hip and looked around at the other girls. "They are more important." He stepped over one of the bodies on the path as he followed Tony down the path. "That wasn't a problem," he added pointedly.

Peter grinned to himself as Johnny turned his attention to the girl he was carrying, putting a flame in his hand to act as a nightlight. Peter ushered the other girls in front of him, following them down the path. Karen had already let him know that Davis, Bobby, and Wyatt had not been hurt but he still let out a sigh of relief when he saw them.

Okoye walked over to Peter as he put one of the girls he was holding down. She looked at the girl still clinging to Peter's neck. "Come with me little one."

Peter felt the grasp around his neck relax but only a little. He smiled to himself knowing what the end result of this interaction was going to be. During the first mission to Wakanda he had been astonished at the fighting ability of the Dora Milaje. Any one of them probably could take him in a fight. Partially because his jaw dropped any time he saw them fight, but nonetheless they were still fierce. It was the other side that he found more remarkable though.

Okoye held one hand out to the little girl while the other one was firmly clasped around her spear. She was patient. She has done this more than once. Slowly, one little hand reached out and rested fingers in Okoye's hand. The other hand was still firmly gripped around Peter's neck.

Peter glanced back at the girl knowing she was staring at Okoye's spear. Most of these girls came from small villages and had never seen the likes of the Dora Milaje. Seeing these impossibly strong women after what the girls had undoubtedly experienced was mind blowing to them and it gave them hope. He felt the grip around his neck relax a little bit more as the girl slowly slipped down Peter's back and grasped Okoye's hand. Okoye nodded to Peter as she led the girl to where the other girls were being examined for injuries.

Peter walked over to his team. None of them looked worse for wear. He could hear the additional Wakandan shuttles approaching. The girls and wounded would be loaded first. T'Challa and some of the other warriors would load the prisoners in one. Peter, his team, and Tony would more than likely be in the last shuttle, along with any remaining warriors. It was a successful mission. One warlord down, multiple others to go.

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One Year Later

After all this time Peter still hated press conferences. He had gotten a little bit better after the first couple. At least he didn't feel like he wanted to throw up. But he still hated them. Too many people talking at once. He always felt like they were yelling at him. He glanced around the room. His dad was busy entertaining Morgan. MJ and Pepper were going over last minute notes. MJ had taken over more and more of the press conferences. It was all part of the transition. Tony and Pepper weren't fully retiring but they had both started taking a back seat to MJ and Peter. Peter still had to deal with all of the technical questions but for the most part MJ handled the rest of it. And she was good at it. He would forever be thankful that she could manage reporters almost as good as Pepper.

The last press conference still made him laugh. One of the reporters kept asking when Peter and MJ were getting married. After the first time MJ had refused to answer the question the reporter had the nerve to keep pushing. MJ verbally destroyed him, but he had unbelievably asked a third time. At that point MJ told him to leave. And then proceeded to stand at the podium not saying a word for two solid minutes until the rest of the reporters forced him to leave. It was by far his favorite press conference.

This one would hopefully be a little better than the run of the mill press conference. It was an update on the Wakanda / SI initiative and announcing an expansion into South America. The model had worked so well in Africa they were planning to replicate it across the globe. These were the fun press conferences.

There was always a running bet between the four of them as to which questions would be asked. It was questions like 'when are MJ and Peter getting married', 'when was Pepper fully stepping down', 'was Tony retiring from Iron Man'. Peter had added a new one to the pool - 'Is Peter Spider-Man'. There had been increased discussion online that was spreading out into the general news at this point. Who was Spider-Man? Peter's name had come up more than once. Miles was leaving for college next week so he didn't have to worry about outing him. He had talked to MJ at length about it. They both understood what it meant. MJ was on board with any decision he made. So were his dad and Pepper. If you had asked him last night what his answer would be he couldn't have told you. He looked over at the door as Happy walked in to give them a 2 minute warning. He straightened his sleeves and looked over at MJ. If asked today, he thought he knew what his answer would be. Of course it could change in the moment too.

The truth? I am Spider-Man

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A/N - when I started this I had no idea it would run this lengthy or involve so many characters. It was merely an attempt at getting the scenes out of my head. Endgame and Far From Home made me sad so this was almost cathartic. A happy Peter and a not dead Tony. These last couple chapters have taken me forever to write - I think partially because I knew this is where this story ended. Not their story, just this story. If you made it this far I hope it was enjoyable! And I hope you forgive the typos...I think there's at least one in every chapter. It didn't matter how many times I proofed it, I'd miss something. For anyone interested, following are what I'm calling "Fun Facts". No where near as interesting as the tidbits that are included in jerseydanielgibsons's 'The Avengers: Disney Princess Edition' (it's a phenomenal read...go check it out).

Fun facts

* the only named characters not from Marvel are teachers, Bucky's nurse, and the boy from the village (whose name I took a little bit of a spelling liberty with and if I had spelled it right means 'Return of the Father'...at least according to the website I looked it up on).

* At this point I'm going to be really disappointed if Wyatt doesn't make his way into the MCU. He is now my favorite secondary marvel character that doesn't currently exist in the MCU.

* I tweaked some backstories of the Marvel characters to make them work but for the most part there's at least elements of their Marvel backstory in this story.

* Davis got included purely because I couldn't figure out how to get them from Boston to New York during the prison breakout. In the comics, he's not a big character. I used some of his backstory, not all of it. I'm glad I ended up with five because it made it easier to split them up in different ways.

* Jennifer's last name is Walters...as in She-Hulk...who was Wyatt's girlfriend in some of the comics so maybe there's hope for Wyatt showing up with the She-Hulk Disney show. I had some thought to having her exposed to gamma radiation during the fight at Rikers but opted to leave her and MJ out of it.

* I'm very visual so a lot of the scenes are based on pictures - Peter cutting his hair after the accident was brought on by Tom Holland's buzz cut for the movie he was filming with the Russo Brothers. Tony putting his DNA in after seeing a picture of himself Peter's age was because of some pic floating around with half of RDJ's younger face with half of Tom Holland's (don't care if it's a manip or not it's still a visual stuck in my head). Peter holding Morgan the day she was born while wearing the Spider Suit...Tom Holland holding a baby on one of the cast visits to a hospital.

* "Shut up" from chapter 42 is a very small call out to Chaos Walking - go read the books and then go read 'Awake' by shewritesit18. Don't skip the books because it won't make sense. Shewritesit18 does an amazing job writing in the same 'voice' as the books and the story is a phenomenal addition to the books. (The tie in...Tom Holland is one of the leads in the upcoming movie)

* Firebrand - I love Iron Man Armored Adventures (my kids are young enough/old enough where they watched the show when it was on) - Firebrand is a character in one of the episodes. It's one of my favorite episodes. This is not that Firebrand. When I was looking at fire options there was an Amanda that was one of the four or five Firebrands in Marvel's history. Zero backstory so the character is Marvel's and I filled in the blanks. Her father in the story was one of the other Firebrands.

* Original last chapter was the one where Peter gives Miles a suit. I'm kinda glad I kept going because I ended up really liking Peter's team although it completely turned into a story of its own.

* I had a couple other "scenes" in my head...one where Bucky went back to the children's hospital and interacted with the little boy again. A couple Steve and Natasha scenes (who, by the way, are together in this story/AU although I never made it a thing). One involving patents, Peter and SI. One with a school civics project on the accords (would have brought Flash into the mix). I opted not to do them for various reasons - mainly because it didn't move Tony and Peter's relationship forward.

* There were also some story lines that did not end up going the way I planned. The alien thing was the first one (I had this great line in my head for Peter in dealing with the Skrull's..."In my defense...I didn't know they were aliens"), the whole Richard Parker thing was another. I really liked the idea of someone masquerading as Richard Parker and that original part of the storyline was a little different and much longer but I realized in the middle of it that I had a HUGE plot hole that I couldn't work my way out of so I had to change it.

* Originally there was a longer subplot story where Peter and Bucky go to Wakanda to rescue MJ and Nakia with T'Challa. I opted to leave it out because again, it didn't do anything to move Peter and Tony's relationship forward and it's really hard to keep up with this many characters!

* Speaking of too many characters...I was on the fence about bringing Thor, Loki, and Bruce back around Bleed Through. I opted to leave them out because again it's REALLY hard to keep up with everyone. Stay tuned though. I think I have a short story planned out. 'Bleed Through 2023'!

* Side note - Medical webs...the stuff that Tony sprays on his wound at the end of Infinity War seems an awful lot like web fluid to me...

* Another side note...If nanotech worked on everyone why doesn't Rhodey have it (wouldn't it be easier - unless I missed it in Endgame), thus was born the whole 'brains wired differently' which ultimately led to Peter's whole electricity thing.

* The Odyssey is a bar that was my favorite haunt in college. I wanted them to have a place that they always went to, where they were known. It's also a book I had to read no fewer than three times in school (curriculum change and different schools) which I still hate to this day, but when I looked up the themes from the book, a lot of them fit. A hero's journey, revenge, justice and punishment, fate vs free will.

* Bleed Through and the multiverse - I've toyed with the idea of glimpses into the different multiverses created. In my head Tony and Peter always find each other, regardless of the circumstances leading up to it.

* The title - I was three or four chapters into this before I could figure out a title and post it. It may have been the hardest part. When I finally settled on it I realized I could make it fit multiple things. Tony's need to see himself as worthy and the hero he is, Peter's need for a father figure, Peter's need to see himself as a hero, Steve and Tony's need to reconcile their relationship, etc, etc.

* I am not a May fan - at least not in the MCU. But I also didn't want sad Peter so I didn't kill her in the accident but she is definitely missing in this story! Oddly enough I do like May with Happy...

* The worst chapters to write were the ones I call the bridge chapters. The ones that are in between two story arcs that get you out of one section and set up the next one. They're the ones that would take me days to write. I did not have as many 'bridge' chapters early on which is why it felt more choppy.

* Peter lost a year...it happened sometime in college. He should have been 18 not 19. I wanted to get him and MJ talking future and it felt a little off at 18. I had already slipped up and called them all 19 so I just let it go. FYI...I have a document that has a ginormous timeline. It's the only way I could keep track of everything.

* You all have no idea how much reviews are appreciated unless you're writing. Not only does it just make you feel good that people are reading but sometimes it also helps to see how other people are reading certain scenes or what they're picking up on most. As someone who doesn't write a lot, it was always interesting to see what aspect people commented on and what they didn't. I could make course corrections when I realized something wasn't coming across the way I intended. I owe a HUGE thanks to Belbelanne and shewritesit18...I'm pretty sure I guilted them into leaving a review for every single chapter. There are some others that hung in there a long time too! Also kudos to the readers who picked this thing up somewhere around chapter 100 and finished the whole thing in a couple sittings. It got a little out of control...