BETTY TURNED HER HEAD JUST AS THE LAST SWISH OF  BRONWEN'S DRESS LEFT THE THEATRE. She turned in her seat, "Where do you think they're going?" Betty asked Ned, "Do you think they're going to the carnival?" before Ned could respond, Betty continued talking, "Yes, we should go. Come on, let's go."

She pulled Ned out of his seat and snuck away, leaving the opera behind.

∆ ∆ ∆

From the top of the bell tower near a plaza that held a bustling crowd, Bronwen settled down on the edge. Peter donned his new stealth suit — courtesy of Nick Fury and his team. Bronwen, on the other hand, wore the same suit she wore on the day her father died. Only patches needed to be repaired, and Fury wanted her to stay out of the way anyway.

Her hair was neatly braided around her head, swept up and kept out of the way. She needed full concentration for this mission, otherwise someone could get hurt.
Bronwen didn't want that this time. No people would die tonight, not on her watch.
"All right, we're in position. As soon as I see something bad, I'll let you know." Peter spoke into the comms.

Bronwen's earrings, which she hadn't taken off since the fight with Thanos, were hooked up to the line of communication that Fury and Maria were using.
"How's the suit?" Maria asked on the other end.

"The suits great." Peter replied, "It's awesome... It's a little tight around the old web shooter."

Bronwen snorted, Peter earning a reprimanding 'Parker!' from Fury on the other end. Peter muttered something about shutting up and temporarily switched the comms link off.

Bronwen held back her laughter, "I can't believe you just said that to Nick Fury."

"It was an in the moment thing." Peter grumbled.

Bronwen heard the comms switch back on, "We have seismic activity." Maria reported, "Okay, he's here. Beck are you ready?"

"You know what to do." Fury said, before their end of the comms shut off.

In the plaza, spikes of orange cracked through the pavement. Bronwen could feel her heart begin to beat faster as the orange flowed into lava. The fountain steamed, and civilians began to scream.
"On your lead, Spider-Man." Beck said as he flew in.

Peter gave Bronwen a squeeze of her hand, whispering, "Stay safe." before swinging off the roof.

Bronwen watched in awe as the lava pooled together, turning into a massive elemental monster. It towered over the three-story buildings and the Ferris wheel — which Bronwen spotted to have people still in it.

Bronwen teleported over to one of the carriages on the Ferris wheel. She spoke quickly to the passengers, who nodded in response as she teleported a block or so away. She continued around the wheel, having to teleport the civilians closer and closer to the site, but still out of the way, due to her energy quickly depleting. Carrying more than one person took a lot out of her.
When she reached the last carriage, her heart was pounding, her breath coming in short bursts. Through her exhaustion, Bronwen recognised the two people clinging tightly to the carriage.

"Betty?! Ned?!" Bronwen drowned out the battle raging behind her, and the communication between Beck and Peter. They're capable, they don't need her help, right? "What the hell are you doing here?!" 

"We saw you leave, and thought you were going to the carnival with Peter. What are you doing here?" Betty asked.

"My job!" Bronwen exclaimed, turning to Ned, "I thought you had this all under control!"

Ned jumped when a large piece of rock was thrown at the Ferris wheel, through the lava monster' "I thought I did too!"

"Wait, wait, wait, you knew about this?!" Betty gave an incredulous look at Ned.

"Betty this is not the time!!" Bronwen looked over her shoulder just as Peter was flung toward them by the fire monster. Bronwen's hand twitched, and she caught Peter in a bowl of solid purple power.
He stood, giving her a thumbs up and shouting a 'thanks!' before relaunching into the battle.

"Who was that?!" Betty asked.

"Just a person I work with. Now we need to go, this is taking too long." Bronwen held out her hands, "Hold on, this might tickle." The pair grasped a hand each, "And you might throw up, happened to a couple of people." Bronwen looked at her feet in disgust, having stepped in the vomit more than once.

The farthest Bronwen could teleport the pair was an alley just off the plaza. She sternly told them to turn their backs on the scene and run. There was no need for them to be there.

Bronwen teleported back to the tower, all the civilians had been evacuated from the area. They had at least an extra two hundred metres around them in case their mission turned south.
She turned her attention to the battle, wishing there was at least something she could do to help but she knew Fury would have her ass if she took a step off the tower now, the pair of them knowing all too well that she had done her part.

Bronwen's stomach dropped when the fire monster began to absorb the ferris wheel, growing bigger and stronger before her eyes.
"It's too late." Beck muttered over the comms, "Whatever happens... I'm glad we met."

Bronwen clung to a pole holding up the roof of the tower, using all her self control to keep herself from jumping head first into the fight, "Beck, what are you doing?"

"What I should've done last time."

Peter darted across the ground, shouting, "Beck, don't do it!"

But it was too late. Beck had resolved to draw considerable power from where his came from. He was screaming as it formed before him. When he thought he had enough, he dived into the fire elemental.

With her last grasp of power, Bronwen teleported beside Peter, watching as the fire elemental crumbled back into the cracks of orange beneath their feet. It had left the motionless form of Beck behind.

The pair of teenagers rushed to him, calling his name. Peter lightly shook his shoulders, hoping for him to regain consciousness.
Beck coughed, allowing Peter to pull him to his feet.
The roar of car engines filled the quiet plaza, doors were slammed shut, and Nick Fury crossed the path of rubble to the three heroes.
"So it's over?" Peter asked Beck.

"That was the last of them." Beck confirmed.

"But not the last threat we will ever face. We need to stay vigilant." Fury gestured to Beck, "There's a void in this world for someone like you. Hill and I are going to Europol headquarters in Berlin tomorrow. You should join us."

"Thank you." Beck replied, "I might just take you up on that."

Fury turned to Peter, "You got gifts, Parker, but you didn't want to be here."

Peter protested, "Mr Fury, I..."

"I'd love to have you in Berlin, too. But you've got to decide whether to step up, or not." Fury said, "Stark chose you. He made you an Avenger. I need that. The world needs that. Maybe Stark was wrong. Was he? The choice is yours."

At last, Fury turned to Bronwen. His frown lessened, "Miss Stark, I will see you after your vacation."

Fury turned and left without another word.
The three heroes turned to each other.

Breaking the silence, Beck sighed, "Let's get a drink."

∆ ∆ ∆

Bronwen did not join Beck and Peter in their little festivities at the small bar off from the plaza. Instead she retired to her room, passing out from exhaustion in her room.

Peter sat at a bar, mask off, and twirled his straw in his cup of orange juice. Beck had drink in his hand.
"Hey," Beck began, "We gotta celebrate. You did something good tonight."

Peter sighed, turning to face Beck, "Fury was right. Tony did a lot for me, so... I owe it to him, to everybody."

"Do you?"

"Yeah... I mean... Mr. Stark gave me a chance to be more. He wanted me to be better than him. And Fury just wants me to live up to that." Peter grumbled.

"What do you want, Peter?"

"What do you mean?"

Beck repeated, "What do you want?"

"...I don't know..."

Beck smiled, "What do you want? You, Peter Parker, now. I know you're thinking about it..."

Peter's eyes darted back and forth as he thought, "I wanna go on my trip. Right? I wanna go back on my trip, with my friends. And, go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, with Annie, and tell her how I feel about... everything... and... give her a kiss." At the amused expression on Beck, Peter replied, "Shut up, man."

"You're not gonna do that, are ya?"

Peter sighed, "No, I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I have too much responsibility." Peter became distracted by a lady passing him the pair of glasses he kept in his pocket, "Oh my god. Thank you so much."

"What are those?" Beck's eyes widened when he recognised the particular pair of glasses Peter was holding, "Are those the..."

"EDITH glasses, yeah." Peter finished for him.

Beck's brows raised, "It was on the floor?... Try them on. Let's see what they look like."

Peter put them on, "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I actually really like them."

"Can I be completely honest with you?" Beck asked.

"Please."

"You look really stupid."

Peter's excited demeanour dimmed, "Oh.."

"But maybe they have a contact lens version of them."

Peter fiddled with the arms of the glasses, having taken them off, before responding. He held out the glasses toward Beck, "You try them on."

"No.." Beck denied.

"Come on, try them on."

"I don't want... I don't wanna try them on."

Peter extended his arm further, "Try them on."

Beck sighed in resignation, taking the glasses from Peter and putting them on. They perfectly framed his face, unlike looking like a father figures glasses on Peter. It was almost if the glasses were designed for Beck. "What do you think, kid?"

Peter leant back in shock. Beck... Beck looked so much like Tony. It was uncanny, how much he resembled the famed hero, and for him to arrive just after Tony's death. It was so convenient...
"For the next Tony Stark, I trust you." Peter mumbled, "For the next Tony Stark, I trust you." Peter repeated, louder so Beck could hear him.

"What?"

"Mr Stark left me a message with the glasses, For the next Tony Stark, I trust you."

"I'm still not following. How many lemonades have you had?"

Peter glanced around, a small flame of frustration growing, "He knew every mistake I ever made, okay? So he must have known I was not ready for something like this."

"Why would he give it to you?"

"Because... maybe he didn't trust me to have EDITH, he just trusted me to pick who should." Peter ran a hand through his hair, "It makes so much more sense. He always knew I would do what's right, and he's not gonna give them to Fury, because Fury would just give himself EDITH."

Beck nodded, "You're probably right about that..."

"Right. So, the world needs the next Iron Man, and it's not gonna be me. I mean I'm an eighteen-year-old kid from Queens. It needs to be an adult, with some experience and that's good like Tony Stark, like you."

"...no, Peter, come on."

"No." Peter took the glasses from Beck, "EDITH?"

"Hello, Peter."

"Hi. Yeah, umm... I'd like to transfer control over to Quentin Beck."

Beck's mouth dropped, "Peter, what are you doing?"

"Doing the right thing." Peter replied.

"Any transfer will require confirmation."

"Stark gave you the glasses." Beck said.

"Stark gave me a choice." Peter frowned, "It's my choice to make, okay? And I'm gonna make it. Look, you're a soldier, a leader, you stopped the elementals. You saved my life, you saved the world. Okay? He'd want you to have them."

"Waiting for confirmation."

Peter set his jaw, "Confirm."  He handed the glasses over, "Welcome to the Avengers. They look good on you."

"Thank you." Beck put the glasses on, "It's an honour."

"Yeah... Mr Stark would've really liked you." Peter stood off the bar stool, picking up the mask for his suit that was on the counter.

"Where are you headed?"

"I'm gonna go find Bronwen."

Beck smiled, "Good luck, kid. I give you about a fifty-fifty chance. You're petty awkward, so..."

"Yeah... see you later, man."

Beck waved goodbye as Peter left, "See ya."

Beck waited a beat before his small smile turned into a grin.
He raised his hands, and as he did, the small, cleanish pub slowly disappeared through green-coloured holograms. The neat pub turned desolate, barely furnished. Patrons disappeared, leaving only those wearing tatters for clothing.
"See?" Beck said, "That wasn't so hard."

The remaining patrons cheered.

I did not make a mistake when I wrote that Peter is 'just an 18-year-old kid from Queens' because in this version of Far From Home, Peter is 18! He was born in 2001. Bronwen is 21, but she was born in 2002. I thought it made for a less-weird age gap because Peter blipped and Bronwen didn't. It does sound weird now, but I didn't want to make Bronwen any younger.
I'll write their ages in each of the books down below:

LIGHTS OUT (Spider-Man: Homecoming):
Bronwen - 15 (Bronwen was placed in Peter's year due to her education at the compound, she was quite smart)
Peter - 16

INFINITY PART 1 (Avengers: Infinity War)
Bronwen - 16
Peter - 17

INFINITY PART 2 & 3 (Avengers: Endgame)
Bronwen - 20
Peter - 17

THE NEXT LEGACY (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
Bronwen - 21
Peter - 18

So there you go, that's how it works. I put a bit of thought into it, so it wouldn't be too w e i r d for others reading it. This was the best I could come up with without making Bronwen blip too.
Onto the next chapter?

- J