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fifteen

"I'll try to remember that when mine stops beating."

Lily rolls her eyes a little, seeing some of Harry's sarcasm in him, before her attention is grabbed by something else on the wall. Along with some newspaper clippings of law cases, there's a framed newspaper of... a red and gold suit? A large headline saying 'EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES' accompany it, even though she's never seen anything like this in her life.

"...So in this world, you're run by a large Coca Cola can?"

Peter's face turns a little red at Tony Stark's comparison, knowing very well what his reaction would have been like had he heard it. "Um, Iron Man?"

"Not much better. That doesn't even look like iron. And it says it can fly. I'm sure your universe also has the worry about AI rising up against you, right?"

"It's a suit. The man's name was Tony Stark. He died saving the world."

Like Harry.

She immediately goes solemn at the mention, any retorts gone from her lips, before she just puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Peter just smiles sadly back, thinking about it for a moment, before shaking his head. "Uhm... anyway. I need to figure out how to save you guys. Except you, Miss Angry Lady."

"Lily."

"Lily." He then turns to Octavius. "You're up first, Doc."

"What? Hey, I told you I don't need fixing. I don't need fixing! Especially by a teenager using scraps from a bachelor's junk drawer."

Max turns around slowly, sensing something. "Nah, nah, nah. He's got something back there. I can feel it. That weird energy."

He, May and Norman follow Peter and Xara into the storage room, the latter staring at the now-uncovered cube object in curiosity. "What the hell is that?"

Xara immediately grins, brushing some of the dust off it before pressing a button, watching it open up. "It's called a fabricator. Super cool, it's how Peter made our new suits. It can analyse, design and construct basically anything. Like a 3D printer, but better. Mr Stark invented it, and we can use it to make the cures. Don't ask me how it works, though, because I have no clue. All I know is it's got this mini arc reactor thingy that supplies it with infinite amounts of energy. It's good for the environment, too."

"...I thought that was the tanning bed Happy broke," May just mumbles in surprise.

It's then that it opens up too back, crashing straight into the wall behind it and moving some of the bricks.

"Oops."

⋆🕷️⋆

Lily sits at the table by the half-destroyed kitchen, chewing on a PB&J sandwich, the first thing in a while. For all her preaching to her daughter about healthy eating habits, she hadn't expected to practically starve for half a day in a wizard's dungeon.

It's also a little unnerving to have your father - who's been dead in your universe for twenty years - staring at you as you eat.

About halfway through the sandwich, she finally looks up at him. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Sorry." He hesitates. "It's just... you look so grown up."

"That's what happened."

"How long did you say it's been?"

"Twenty years."

"Twenty years..." he breathes, in awe and shock from just the number. That's longer than his kids have been alive, back in his universe. It feels infinite. "Looks like you're the one that should be seeing a ghost."