Matt, Steve, and Natasha were off on another mission somewhere in the Outer Rim.
Scott and Hope were currently holed up with Rhodey in the workshop, tinkering with their equipment while keeping an eye on... well, they still hadn't settled on a name for the little green kid who often wandered into their workspace. Was it Kevin? Or had they decided on Dylan? Maybe Jack? Whatever the name, those three were thoroughly occupied with their projects.
Pietro had left earlier for what he'd called "a date."
"A date," Peter mused to himself with amusement.
Ahsoka and Barriss were somewhere deep within the Temple's meditation chambers, but he'd already searched for over an hour without finding them.
And Sam... well, Sam was off doing whatever Sam did when he wasn't supervising the younger Avengers.
This left Peter with a rare opportunity to do exactly what he wanted for once.
The question was: what should that be?
The young web-slinger perched high above the Jedi Temple's main spire, gazing out over the sprawling cityscape that the Avengers had reluctantly called home since arriving in this galaxy. He sat cross-legged in his full costume, absently turning his mask over in his hands.
Were they even still in the Milky Way?
Or somewhere else entirely? Another galaxy, or... another universe altogether?
The concept of the multiverse was something that both fascinated and terrified him in equal measure. In theory, the multiverse represented a realm of infinite realities and endless possibilities, where anything that could happen would happen somewhere. The idea that he might be trapped in just one of those infinite variations wasn't something Peter was ready to fully accept.
Not yet, anyway.
Peter shook his head to clear those heavy thoughts, then pulled his mask on and secured it properly. He leaped forward into the open air and fired a web-line, swinging away from the Temple at full speed.
If he was going to be stuck on this planet-sized city for who knew how much longer, he might as well get to know it better. That sounded infinitely more appealing than sitting around the emotionally sterile Temple, meditating on things he couldn't change.
It felt incredibly refreshing to simply swing freely through Coruscant's towering spires, and honestly, he should make time for this more often—whenever he wasn't stuck on some battlefield or desperately searching for their missing teammates.
He really hoped T'Challa was okay. Even though their time together had been brief, the Prince of Wakanda had used his considerable skills to help Peter and Matt.
Where was he now? Lost somewhere among the countless worlds of this vast galaxy? And then there were Wanda and Vision, who were still missing after all this time.
Peter winced inwardly at that thought and deliberately pushed it to the back of his mind for now.
Right now, he just wanted to swing around for a while, maybe clear his head... and possibly get into some harmless trouble to keep himself occupied.
Peter executed a spectacular spinning dive through the air, which naturally attracted the attention of everyone who spotted him. Pedestrians and speeder passengers alike pointed at him openly, clearly amazed to see someone leaping and weaving between flying vehicles with such apparent ease. Some onlookers even wondered if he might be a Jedi.
Given the seemingly effortless grace of his movements and acrobatic prowess, it seemed like the only logical explanation for how he could pull off such incredible feats.
For Peter, of course, it was as natural as breathing.
He landed gracefully on a restaurant's outdoor terrace, causing the dining civilians to jump slightly at his sudden appearance. He straightened up and gave them a friendly wave.
"Sorry, folks," Peter said sheepishly, his voice slightly muffled by the mask. "Just passing through—don't mind me. I'm with the Avengers."
The mention of the Avengers elicited mixed reactions from the crowd. Some looked curious, others appeared stunned, and a few seemed genuinely confused.
Of course, plenty of people still had no idea who they were, but over time more and more beings would come to recognize the team's name and reputation.
Still, it was definitely surprising for some patrons to witness one of these legendary Avengers casually swinging around the city like it was nothing. What an odd outfit this particular hero wore—it looked like some kind of form-fitting synthetic material.
Peter glanced around the terrace, doing his best to ignore the stares he was receiving, until his eyes landed on something that made him grin widely beneath his mask. He chuckled softly and jogged over to a small food cart where the owner was busy serving several customers his signature dishes.
"Hey there, Garen," Peter called out, waving enthusiastically.
The Twi'lek he'd met during his first week on Coruscant jumped at the sound of his name and spun around to see the brightly colored figure approaching his cart. After blinking in surprise for a moment, a genuine smile spread across his face as he recognized the masked hero who had saved him from those protection racket thugs several weeks ago.
"Well, well, if it isn't my favorite hero," the Twi'lek said with obvious enthusiasm. "How've you been, Peter?"
"Oh, you know—same old, same old," Peter replied with a casual shrug.
"Sorry, kid, but I'm not entirely sure what your definition of 'same old' actually entails," Garen said with dry humor, making Peter laugh out loud.
"Fair point. Good to see you're doing well, Garen," Peter said, leaning casually against the food cart's counter. "I'm honestly surprised you even remember me."
"How could I possibly forget the colorful weirdo who saved my life and my business?" Garen asked with an amused snort. "You're not exactly easy to forget, you know."
"Right," Peter muttered, and Garen chuckled at his obvious embarrassment.
"So what can I do for you today, kid?" Garen asked while preparing another customer's order. "Feeling a bit hungry?"
Peter shrugged noncommittally. "Not particularly. Just wanted to get out of the Temple for a while, to be honest."
"I can definitely understand that," Garen nodded sympathetically as he added some exotic spices to a sizzling pan. "Saw you on the HoloNet recently—you guys got sent back to Geonosis again."
"You saw that coverage?"
"Pretty hard to miss," Garen said with a slight shrug. "Everything on the HoloNet these days is war news, battle updates, casualty reports. Though I have been hearing more and more about these Avengers showing up on battlefields alongside the Jedi and clone troopers. Even the Supreme Chancellor has been mentioning your team specifically in his public addresses."
"Oh really?" Peter asked, genuinely curious. "What's he been saying about us?"
"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure," Garen admitted with a sheepish expression. "I don't really pay that much attention to political speeches in the first place. I just caught your team's name being mentioned repeatedly."
"Ah, okay," Peter nodded. "So, got any new menu items this time? I've actually got enough credits to pay for something decent now."
Garen smirked mischievously. "As a matter of fact, I have been experimenting with a new recipe, if you're feeling adventurous enough to try it."
"Absolutely," Peter said eagerly. "Anything's got to be better than those awful military rations we sometimes have to choke down."
The Twi'lek nodded and began preparing Peter's meal with practiced efficiency.
As time passed, Peter and Garen chatted comfortably, with the food vendor sharing fascinating details about life on Coruscant.
It turned out that the entire planet was essentially one massive, continuous city built in countless layers over thousands of years. When Peter asked about the planet's original surface, Garen just chuckled and said he wasn't even sure if Coruscant still had an actual surface beneath the thousands of levels of urban development.
This revelation was certainly mind-boggling, to say the least.
Peter had been so busy learning about the Jedi Order and galactic history in general that he'd never really taken time to understand the world he was currently living on with the rest of the Avengers. The concept of a city with over five thousand vertical levels was almost impossible for his Earth-born mind to truly comprehend.
What did the deepest levels even look like?
These thoughts and their ongoing conversation occupied his time with Garen until...
"There you are," a familiar voice called from above.
They both looked up to see Sam descending toward them through the afternoon air traffic.
"Hey, Sam! What's going on?"
"What's going on? Where the hell have you been?" Sam asked, crossing his arms as he landed nearby. "I've been looking all over the Temple for you."
"You know, just around the city. Had to get out of that place eventually."
Sam wanted to object to Peter wandering off alone, but honestly, if he was being completely truthful with himself, he'd been itching to do the exact same thing. All this constant traveling and fighting on alien worlds was starting to wear on him mentally.
"Alright, so what exactly are you doing here?" Sam asked, glancing toward the Twi'lek vendor with mild curiosity.
"Oh, you know," Peter shrugged, holding up his steaming meal. "Just sampling the local cuisine and making friends."
"Huh... any good?"
Peter turned to Garen, who immediately got the hint and prepared another serving, handing it to the Sam with a welcoming smile.
Just as Sam was about to take his first bite, the distinctive wail of Coruscant security sirens echoed across the cityscape. Both Avengers looked up to see several police speeders racing past at dangerous speeds, followed closely by two heavily armed LAAT gunships.
"Whoa," Peter blinked in amazement. "That looks pretty serious."
"Yeah," Sam said slowly, his expression growing more focused. "It definitely does."
The older Avenger turned to look at the younger hero, and he could clearly see that Peter was already getting that familiar restless energy.
"If it bothers you that much—"
"Thanks, Sam!"
Without waiting for him to finish the sentence, Peter fired a web-line high into the sky, leaped into the air, and began swinging rapidly toward wherever the action was unfolding.
Sam blinked in surprise, then couldn't help but shake his head with a rueful grin.
"Crazy kid."
He flexed his shoulders, extended his mechanical wings, and engaged his jet pack thrusters to maximum power. Sam launched himself into the air, chasing after Peter at full speed.