Chapter Text
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“Yeah,” Peter nods at Rogers. The captain stares him in the eye which Peter holds. If he wants the Avengers to back him up against Tony, he can’t have any hesitancy.
After about a minute of the two holding each other’s eye-contact, Steve nods. Clint, Natasha and Rhodes are carefully watching Peter. Natasha is next to speak, “You know the rules. If we back you up and you break those, we won’t be happy with you either.”
“I understand.”
Peter wishes Yelena was here right now. While the four Avengers have agreed to help him, he knows they’ll easily switch to Tony’s side in a heartbeat. Yelena’s been the only adult he’s trained with where Peter doesn’t feel like she automatically sides with Tony. After his talk with Helena and Jason, Peter understands why the Avengers are harder on him when asking for something like this. When he first got to the tower, the Avengers had to push him because Peter was behind and didn’t want to be there. Now he's caught up and at an age where if he wants to go on a faster timeline than what they are comfortable with, Peter needs to be the one to put in the effort to make that happen and show he's responsible. But a part of him still wishes his father’s team didn’t make it feel so difficult to ask for help.
At least Cooper is here.
Although, Coop’s not on the greatest of terms with his father or mentor at the moment. In a different way than Peter’s about to be with Tony. Cooper had taken the flight back to New York last week as an opportunity to chat with Steve. He explained to his mentor that he is ready to enter the public eye and his idea on how to do it. Rogers was actually impressed and agreed to help Cooper approach the boy’s parents. The Bartons were hesitant but wanted to be supportive. Everything started off well until they began planning the details. Luckily, Peter’s been able to stay out of that drama for the most part. But it hasn’t been uncommon for Cooper to complain about the three arguing over his suit design, press conference speech, plans for social media. Clint and Steve have different ideas of what they want for the boy and Cooper is caught in the middle, also having his own ideas of what he wants.
Tony arrives at the conference room and is surprised that Rhodes and Cooper are there. Rogers brushes off explaining the two’s presence and dives into updating Tony on Peter’s progress in the gym. He and Natasha go over his improvements in combat while Clint handles weapons.
“Banner and I took him downstairs to test his strength this morning,” Steve says. Tony perks at that. Rogers reads off, “His top weight was 18,251 pounds.”
“Shit!” Cooper is genuinely surprised. Peter smirks at that. He guesses he’s never gone into great detail about the absolute specifics of his powers with his team.
“I still think we can get him over 20,000.”
“In time Steve,” Rhodes rolls his eyes. “He’s still growing.”
“Banner doesn’t think he’ll get much bigger.”
“Wait,” this is news to Peter. “What?”
“Apparently Tony’s been the same height since he was sixteen.”
“Is that true?” Peter looks to his father in despair.
Tony chuckles, “Sorry, Bud.”
“Nooooo…”
“You still have some time to get a bit taller.”
“I thought Mom’s genes would give me a bit of an advantage.”
“Actually,” Rogers reads on, “By Banner’s projections, you’ll be an inch or two shorter than your father.”
“What!”
Cooper is laughing next to Peter, “Shorty.”
“I blame you for this,” Peter tells his father who snickers,
“For how much you look like me, you really thought your height would be any different?”
“Rogers, why do you even have access to that information?”
“I’ve been in charge of your strength training for over a year,” the soldier answers passively.
“This has got to be a HIPPA violation.”
“Go ahead and make a complaint. It’ll be handled by the man sitting across from you,” Steve nods towards Tony.
“Dad…”
“What a great note to end on,” Tony cuts him off, giving Peter an answer to his grievance.
“Actually, Tones,” Rhodes interjects, stopping Tony right before he was about to stand from his seat. “There was one other thing we wanted to discuss with you.”
“Oh?”
The four other Avengers and Cooper turn to Peter, causing Tony to do the same. Peter takes a breath and tells his father, “I want to start working cases.”
“You…”
“Actual cases.” Peter can see his father wants to say no, but he continues explaining before he can. “Not just stuff I come across on patrol or petty crimes. I want to do actual cases. Not big things yet. I know I need to start small.”
“There’s been reports of a flasher terrorizing St. Johns University,” Cooper slides his Starkpad across the table for Tony to read. “The perp is targeting groups of girls walking home at night from bars and parties. Since his victims are usually drunk, it’s been difficult for police to get concise stories about what happened. For instance, some say he wears a mask while others say his hair is covering his face. Street cams haven’t been successful in identifying the guy, so the police are asking for our help.”
“Perfect thing for Peter's first case,” Rhodes adds. “He can start with cleaning up the street cams, figure out the guy’s pattern, then his powers should help him in catching the perp.”
Tony doesn’t look happy as he stares at the report in front of him. He takes an inhale before turning to the other three adults, “I take it you all are on board for this?”
“Yes,” Steve states without a hint of doubt to his voice.
“He’s still learning…”
Natasha interrupts, “You just heard us talk about how far along he is with combat and weapons.”
“Frankly,” Clint adds, “I don’t think there is much else we can teach him with those web shooters.”
“Considering how much you brag about his work in the lab, you can’t say he isn’t ahead on that. It’s time he starts improving on other skills such as investigating.”
Tony says, “He’s only been patrolling for a few months.”
Rhodes begins,” Tones…”
“Look…” Tony turns to Peter. “I know you’re enjoying patrol and want to do more. You can one day. But for now just stay close to the ground. Build up your game by helping the little people, like that lady that bought you the churro. Can’t you just be a friendly neighborhood Spider-man?”
Peter argues, “But I’m ready for more than that now.”
“No. You’re not.”
“This isn’t even that big of a step.”
“Yes. It is.” Tony says more sternly.
“The guy isn’t even violent. It should be easy…”
“Which means someone else can handle it.”
“Why can’t that person be me?”
“Why?” Tony finally snaps. “BECAUSE I SAID SO!”
“Peter, Coop,” Rhodes starts shooing them towards the door. “Let us take it from here.”
“I…”
Clint interrupts Tony’s dispute as Rhodes escorts Peter and Cooper out of the room. “Tony, I know you’re nervous.”
Before closing the door, Rhodes tells Peter, “We’ll talk Tony down. Go wait for him in the lab.”
As Cooper walks him to the elevator, he tells Peter, “You did good. Like you said a couple weeks ago, Tony’s not going to take a lot of your upcoming stuff well.”
Half an hour later, Peter’s working on the battery of the latest Starkphone when Tony walks into the lab. They both pause at stare at each other for a second before Tony takes a seat across the worktable from him. He doesn’t say anything at first. Peter breaks the ice,
“I think I figured out the overheating issue on this.”
“Good. The guys downstairs will be happy to hear.”
For some reason that makes Peter pause. He feels his face drop in disappointment before he goes back to working on the phone. “Good.”
“Bud,” he hears Tony sigh. “I’m glad to hear that too. I…Hey,” Tony grabs Peter’s hand, forcing him to stop. “Look at me.”
When Peter’s eyes drift up from the phone to meet his father’s, Tony lets go. He then says, “If I let you start working cases, you promise you’ll be careful?”
Peter nods.
“And…Steve and Natasha said they’ve already discussed with you…”
“I stick to my assigned case,” Peter reiterates the rules the two went over with him. They’re a bit restrictive, but the other Young Avengers had to follow them too when they started. “If something comes up while I’m in the field, I call it in. I only approach if given permission. If I’m in trouble, I don’t hesitate to call for help. I can go on if you want.”
“You do know those are in place for not only your safety.”
“I know.”
“Okay. Then…Do you still want to keep working on the phone or begin trying to clean up the pictures from those traffic cameras?”
The two of them together finish up fixing the phone before moving onto their separate projects. Peter gets to going through the case file while the computer begins working on the blurry pictures. Tony pulls out his nanobot project. Peter does glance his father’s way every few minutes with a bit of jealousy. As much as he’s learned since living with Tony, those nanobots still are far too advanced for his skillset. It doesn’t help that Tony progresses the complicated technology at the same rate Peter begins to comprehend it.
Just as predicted, it doesn’t take long for Peter to solve his first case. Upon returning from the compound for Cooper’s big press announcement, Peter has the perp webbed to the outside wall of a dorm building two nights later. A rush of accomplishment courses through him as he hands the guy off to the police. There’s a small group waiting for him at the tower to congratulate Peter when he returns to the tower. After their argument on the way back from the compound and the following one the day after, Peter thought Tony wasn’t going to be over enthusiastic about the win. But to his surprise, Tony and Pepper instruct him to meet them in the garage after a quick shower.
“It’s a big moment,” Tony tells him. “How about the three of us celebrate with a day trip at the Hamptons?”
Peter naps during the car ride that night. They arrive at the vacation house in the very early morning so all three agree to sleep in. Since he had the car ride to rest, Peter isn’t surprised when he’s the first one awake. He scarfs down a bagel and juice before relaxing in the pool on a float.
His body feels like it wants to melt in happiness, soaking in the sun. The gentle wind seems to sweep up all the tension Peter didn’t realize he had and whisks it away. The property does it’s magic and Peter is soon so tranquil he could almost fall back asleep.
God, he loves this place.
While listening to the sounds of the beach waives crash, Peter realizes this is the first time in weeks that he’s truly relaxed. The first moment he’s allowed himself to unwind from all the stress that’s recently been his life. So much has happened since the last trip to the Hamptons, it almost feels like a different lifetime ago. Tony finding Howard’s tape, DC, Peter’s talk with the Waynes, Richard’s bill, the Vault, finding the box of evidence, Cooper’s conference. Peter even got a girlfriend since the last time he’s been here. For many of the Avengers, life is starting to feel back to normal since the Vault. But for Peter, he feels busier than ever trying to plan on how to catch up with the Wayne kids.
Pepper and Tony decide to order lunch from a nearby place, they too seeming to need a break from work and responsibility. With the little he sees of her compared to Tony, Peter knows his mom and Happy have been swamped with the upcoming move to the compound. He doesn’t think Tony’s fully recovered from the chaos that the London trip brought onto his mental state.
But for one day, all three of them are able to escape. They can lounge around the pool, run on the beach, zip around the ocean on Tony’s boat without a care in the world. Tony takes Peter out for a driving lesson which he excitedly accepts. They decide to pick up dinner in town while they're out and bring it back to the house.
Turns out they could truly only escape reality for a single day.
Peter walks downstairs the next morning to find Tony with coffee and breakfast already made. Peter eyes the stack of waffles waiting for him questioningly. Tony explains,
“Don’t worry. Your mother made them.”
“Oh,” Peter grins before grabbing the syrup next to him. “Where is she?”
“On the phone with Happy. They’re discussing when to move the team’s tech and weapons to the compound.”
“Ah.” Peter doesn’t necessarily want to talk about SI at the moment, but judging by the look his father is giving him, he knows something is coming. He focuses on his waffles, hoping in vain that by avoiding eye-contact he can also avoid this conversation.
“Pete,” there’s a hint of concern Tony’s tone.
Of course, that didn’t work. Peter plays dumb, “Yeah?”
“I know when we were at the compound a few days ago you didn’t want to talk about what happened that night you talked to Helena and Jason.”
“And I still don’t,” Peter states bluntly.
“Buddy…”
“No.”
“Why are you being like this? What could those two have possibly said that needs to be kept so secret?”
“I’m keeping secrets?” Peter scoffs, putting his fork down.
The irritation on Tony’s face drains as he says, “Peter…”
“How about you Dad? Any other Ultron level secrets you’re hiding from me?”
“No.”
“Sure.”
“Peter, you are right to be mad about that. The team and I have given yours a lot of room to express yourselves on that topic. But things were complicated after Ultron. Both teams hate talking about it because of how much damage he did to both sides. Even the League avoids talking about it. The only reason Jason and Helena know is probably because of Richard.”
“Or Bruce just trusts his kids with information.”
“Buddy…I do trust you.”
“Clearly not.”
Pepper must have caught onto the soured tone of their conversation, because she came dashing back inside that moment in attempts to diffuse. The car ride home was silent. The air thick with tension and hurt feelings.
Upon returning to the tower, Peter begins a steady schedule of casework. Cooper, who was trained to delegate those tasks for the Young Avengers, has started him off with small cases as promised to Tony. Slowly, Peter has gotten a couple more difficult ones that don’t take only a few hours to figure out.
It also becomes a normal routine for Liz to spend an extra hour or afternoon at the tower for her and Peter to hang out after her internship. He plans a couple dates for them on the weekends. Nothing as extravagant as the yacht since it’s shorter notice. Peter has also officially introduced or reintroduced her to some of his team. Liz and Kate had a good laugh about how they met the first time. Cooper and Harley had run into the girl enough that they didn’t need much of an introduction. Liz was a bit intimidated by Gwen because of how much power she has over the interns. Peter almost smacked Harry when his friend gave Liz a once over and instead of greeting her, he whistled.
But all their time together has caused people in Liz's life to notice her absence.
“I finally told my dad about you,” she tells him one day as she and Peter have lunch at a rooftop bar.
“Oh?” Peter raises an eyebrow at her, “How did that go?”
“Not…great. There was some shouting.”
“Can’t say I blame him.” They have been going out for a couple months at this point. Liz had gotten her father to sign the NDA a few weeks ago when he was in a hurry. He had skimmed it before scribbling down his signature and dashing out the door. Sometimes it seems that Liz’s dad is busier than Peter’s.
“Same,” Liz mumbles. “He…he wasn’t happy when I said I had been dating someone for a while, but he calm…He was furious when he found out it was you. Then he stormed out of the house when Mom and I explained the NDA that he had already signed.”
“Shit,” Peter frowns. “Is he…”
“He came back the next morning and apologized for his reaction. We then sat down and talked. I told him about some of the dates we’ve been on and showed him pictures. He was…I don’t know. He was calm and smiled but…It was just…weird. Dad did ask if you were coming to my party.”
“I wish,” Peter absentmindedly snorts.
“Wait…what?”
Realizing what he just said, Peter is also surprised by the statement. “I…I mean...” What does he mean? Peter was never one for large gatherings when he was younger, especially with his classmates at Midtown. Even getting together with his team during Academic Decathlon and band competitions could get taxing. Peter hated having to deal with Flash and never felt like he fit in. Even though he did have some teammates that liked him outside of Ned and MJ, he’d always find himself in some corner of the room with those two until he could leave.
But after this last almost year and a half, Peter isn’t that timid kid trying to avoid attracting attention to himself. He stands up for himself when faced with bullies like Richard and Jason Wayne. Flash and his lackeys are nothing compared to them. Now without the fear of doing something stupid that would end up with him facing Tony again, Peter wouldn’t feel the need to hide away from any potential trouble. In fact, he found himself having a lot of fun at the Chitauri Gala and Kate’s birthday. He's also gotten used to the large crowds of people wanting his attention from all his public outings.
“You want to go to my party?” Liz asks in disbelief.
“Yeah,” Peter shrugs, trying not to show the fact that he’s reeling from the revelation too. “Why not? It’s just…my dad would never let me.”
“Oh…”
“I’m surprised yours is still allowing you to have the party.”
“Me too,” Liz lets out a small chuckle. “I thought for sure he was going to make me cancel, but he didn’t. Like I said…Dad didn’t react like I thought he would. He did send me to my room for the rest of the day after our talk. My mom must have thought he was acting strangely calm too because I heard her ask if he was high as I walked up the stairs.”
“Maybe he felt guilty for freaking out the night before,” Peter offers before smirking. “A bit of help from some weed might have helped keep his head from exploding. Not the worst thing in the world.”
“Considering how he acted when he found some in backpack, I’d say that’s unlikely.”
“He wouldn’t be the first parent on earth to be a hypocrite.”
“True,” Liz chuckles. “Mom said he was probably just scared for me. She admitted that she was too at first. But also…” Liz glances out the windows looking over the Hudson River, “She said it helps watching me ride off in a car with you knowing we’re going somewhere like this.”
Peter smiles at that and joins her in looking at the view. It’s still fun to surprise Liz with outings that aren’t normal for the average teenager. Just like Peter was when Tony first found him, Liz is still overwhelmed with the heavy amount of special treatment they get. For instance, the restaurant they are currently at doesn’t usually open until four. But the owner was happy to accommodate the two and brought in a chef early while he serves their table personally to give them as much privacy and secrecy as possible.
“Speaking of parents,” Peter says. “Mine want to have dinner with you.”
Liz turns to him with wide eyes. He can see the bit of fright that she’s trying to hide. He knows exactly why. While Liz has never been nervous around Peter due to them having a previous history, Tony still scares her. She was fine the one time she passed by Pepper and had a quick hello. But every time Tony has either passed through the penthouse during her visits or watched from afar when Peter would talk to her in the chemistry lab, Liz became unnerved by his presence.
“I promise to make Dad be nice,” Peter tells Liz, remembering the two’s first interaction. “Mom will be there too. She’s good at keeping him at bay.” Liz nods but the concern doesn’t leave her face. “Hey,” Peter tries to comfort her, “There’s no need to worry. He’s excited to get to know you. So is my mom.”
That’s a tiny lie. Pepper is looking forward to the dinner. Tony…Peter has picked up on something that Tony doesn’t say outright. Tony doesn’t see Liz as permanent. Peter’s theory has doubled in plausibility when observing Tony’s behavior towards the girl. The man doesn’t make any attempt to talk with Liz more than a quick ‘hello’. He’s not rude, but also not overly friendly. He never asks about her. Only inquiring if Peter had fun on a date. His father is happy to let Peter spend as much money as he wants on Liz, but only to make Peter happy. Tony only views Liz as something for Peter to enjoy for the time being and someone to get relationship practice with. Whether it’s because of Peter’s age or Tony’s opinion of Liz, Peter doesn’t know.
Looking across the table, Peter can see Liz is still unsettled. “Hey,” he grabs her hand. “What’s wrong?”
“I…” his girlfriend lets out a nervous sigh, “There’s something I need to talk with you about.”
It turns out people gossiping about them around the tower is the least of Peter and Liz’s worries. Liz explains to Peter about everything going on in Queens. The reason she finally told her dad about Peter is because there are other people in her life catching onto the relationship. Liz is pretty sure Betty and a couple of her other friends have figured it out but don’t know how to bring it up. Others on the decathlon team and student council have noticed her increased time at the tower due to the start of school approaching. Liz was always popular and gave a lot of her time to her extracurriculars. Of course, they began questioning her suddenly being busier than normal.
Tony wasn’t happy one bit when they brake the news. Granted, Peter could have chosen a better time than in the middle of the first dinner Liz has had with his parents. But…Peter also doesn’t regret it. He has Pepper there to back them up and a bit of leverage over his parents walking in on him and Liz earlier in the day.
The first time he got his girlfriend’s shirt off and those two ruin it. Thanks Mom and Dad.
Peter was also gets a bit fed up with his father during that meal. While Tony isn't mean, he again, isn’t interested in being there. He puts on a bit of an act, but Peter can see right through it. Luckily, it seems Liz doesn’t notice and Pepper only gets slightly annoyed with her husband. No matter how friendly Liz comes across or how much Peter talks her up, Tony is just…unimpressed. Which made Peter feel more protective of his girlfriend and offended on her behalf.
At least they are able to convince Tony into letting Peter go to the party. With some stipulations, of course. Peter begs Tony not to force him into bringing Happy. Both the bodyguard and Peter are relieved when Tony agrees to allow Peter to go without as long as he and Cooper bring coms with them in case there is an emergency. Peter isn’t allowed to leave the property. Neither are Cooper and Harry.
This is also Cooper’s first unofficial public outing since the press conference. The Avengers are also interested to see how it will go for him.
Cooper is not so thrilled.
“Aw,” Harry’s aunt coos as they approach Liz’s house. Peter is silent in his seat as they approach. He wasn’t nervous about seeing his old classmates until this point. Cindy goes on, “Party in the suburbs. I remember these. I’m kind of jealous.”
“It’ll be a night to remember,” Cooper grumbles next to Peter.”
From the front passenger seat, Harry asks his aunt, “What parties were you invited to?”
“For your information,” Cindy lightheartedly argues, “I was very popular in high school.”
“Uh huh. Sure.”
“It’s true. In fact...Actually, you’re right that I didn’t get invited to a lot of parties. I was usually the one throwing them.”
“Doubt it.”
“Your grandfather used to work overnights. Emily and I used to throw parties then kick everyone out around three in the morning. That way we could have the house cleaned up by the time he came home.”
“My mother did no such thing. She was an angel.”
“An angel who did her first keg stand at fifteen.”
“How dare you spread such lies.”
Peter interrupts the banter. “This was a mistake.” He’s staring at all the teenagers making their way to the house. The street is full of parked cars and the house already looks full of people. Peter spots a kid named Mike who used to target him in gym class, pass by Cindy’s car. Nobody has noticed him yet; Peter still has a chance at a clean escape. “Let’s just go home.”
“Oh, Peter,” Cindy turns around to him. At first she sounds sympathetic, “I know. I know it’s really hard trying to fit in…you know with all the changes your body is going through.” Peter’s face drops as Harry begins snickering as they both realize Cindy is teasing. “It’s flowering.”
Peter likes Harry’s aunt…but just like her nephew, Cindy can be a bit much. Peter forces himself not to blush as he shakes his head slightly, “Uh huh.”
“He’s so stressed out lately,” Cindy tells the other two boys.
“You have no idea,” Cooper mutters.
Harry share’s his aunt’s energy, “You know what helps with stress? Going to a party. So, why don’t we go to the party.”
“Let’s do it,” Peter unbuckles his seat belt and begins getting out of the car. He wants out of this conversation before the Osbornes gang up on him more and also, he doesn’t want to chicken out of the party. He had already texted Liz when they were a few streets away. She’s expecting him soon. “Yeah, I’m gonna go.”
“You three have fun,” Cindy calls out. “But not too much fun or I’ll have your mothers to answer to.”
“What’s mine going to do?” Harry asks playfully.
“I already know that woman is haunting me from the grave.”
“If there is anyone she’s haunting, it’s Dad.”
“As if she gives a rip what he’s up to these days.”
“True.”
All three boys close their car doors and watch Cindy drive off. Peter stays between his two friends, not wanting to attract too much attention to himself yet. It’d dark enough outside and all three of them are wearing normal looking clothes. Nobody has spared them a second glance so far.
“You nervous about facing the geek squad again?” Harry asks as they meander up the driveway.
“No,” Peter somewhat lies. “How about you two?”
“Between you, Harley, half the people at the tower, I’m used to being surrounded by nerds,” Cooper answers. “This will be a breeze.”
“You do realize I know your girlfriend. Would Cassie not be considered one of the nerds on the team?”
“She’s the queen of them, no matter how hard Gwen tries to claim the title. Wait until you see her bedroom in San Francisco, it could rival your room on fandom shit. She makes up for it by being hot.”
“True,” Harry agrees. Cooper shoots him a nasty look and lightly smacks the back of the boy’s head. Harry isn’t ashamed one bit. He nudges Peter, “If things go south, we’ll just have Spider-man swing in, the crowd will go wild, then you give me a fist-bump or one of those half bro things…”
“Spider-man is not a party trick,” Peter argues in a hushed tone. “I didn't even bring the suit. Look, I’m just gonna…be myself.”
“Peter, no one wants that.”
“Dude! Why did I invite you?”
“Hey guys!” a voice greets the three as they finally get to the house. Liz is standing in the doorway wearing a pair of jeans and a floral blue top. Peter smiles and resists the urge to greet her with a kiss. The main goal of the night is trying to squash any dating rumors. Liz does step forward and gives him a light hug before doing the same with Harry and Cooper.
“Hey Liz,” all three mutter after each other.
“I can’t believe you three actually came.”
“Of course,” Peter says.
“Well, come on in.” Liz encourages them inside the house. “There’s pizza and drinks. Help yourselves.”
Peter glances around the space. It’s the first time he’s seen the inside of Liz’s house. It’s modern. Not as high-tech and futuristic as the tower, but everything looks new and top of the line. Liz wasn’t kidding when she said her father’s business has taken off in the past couple years. This place is way nicer than the one he remembers visiting in sixth grade. In the living room, Peter sees Flash Thompson at a make-shift DJ board.
“Before we announce you’re here,” Liz turns to him, a hint of concern in her eyes. “Ned and MJ came.”
“What?” Peter freezes. He can feel Cooper stiffen next to him. While Liz and Harry don’t know the full scope of what happened between Peter and his former friends, they know things didn’t end well. “I thought you said they never come to these things.”
“They don’t usually. But…They’re here. I told them they were welcome to. I didn’t want to turn them away. So…I kind of hinted that you were coming. I thought they would want to skip it then. Which they did at first and then…”
“Liz. Liz. Liz…” Peter tries to calm her down. “I’m not mad. Just…wasn’t expecting this. It’s…It’s fine.”
“Do you want to talk to them first? Maybe…”
“NO FUCKING WAY!” a voice booms over the sound system. The music cuts out as everyone begins looking towards the DJ booth where Flash is staring at Peter and Liz in shock. He has a microphone in hand and exclaims, “IS THAT PENI...PETER?...PETER STARK?...AND COOPER BARTON?”
All eyes turn towards the small group huddled near the front door. Shit. This is not how they planned to announce their presence. Everyone is still as statues as they stare. Some in disbelief, some in awe, and some with a hint of fear. Peter and Cooper exchange a look, both silently debating what to do next.
“Harry,” the third member of their party waives at the room. “That’s me, by the way. Not that…anyone here cares.”
That breaks the tension of the room. Cooper and Peter shoot Harry annoyed looks while Liz addresses the onlookers. “I told you all that I had a…surprise for tonight. Um…Peter and I have kept in touch since he filmed that video for the pep-rally last year. So, um…here he is.”
“Hey everyone,” Peter nods to the room. “Long time no see.”
A blonde head of hair comes rushing out of the crowd. Before Peter realizes it, arms are wrapped around his neck as the girl sounds on the brink of tears. “Are you okay?”
“Betty,” Peter is surprised by the embrace. “I’m fine. I…”
“Why didn’t you say anything to anyone?”
“I couldn’t…”
“One of us could have…”
“Betty,” Peter finally pulls the girl off him. When faced with her sorrowful face, Peter finds himself letting out a chuckle. “There wasn’t anything anyone at Midtown could have done differently to help.”
Cooper adds, amusement in his voice, “He was kidnapped by HYDRA. I don’t think a bunch of preteens and teachers would have fared well going up against that.”
“But…”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Harry steps forward and subtly pulls the girl farther from Peter. “What’s your name? Betty? Peter’s doing great. There’s nothing you need to worry or feel guilty about.”
As the blonde girl steps away, some of Peter’s other former classmates approach. Abe is the first to greet him, also overwhelmed with emotion. For a long while, Peter is swarmed by Midtown students. People he used to know take turns expressing their joy and relief to see him. Many are timid. Peter’s tingle can feel half the room pointing their phone cameras on him. He keeps a smile on his face as he says hi to everyone as music starts playing again. Cooper is also handling the crowd of students well as he’s asked for selfies and asked excitement filled questions. Peter has no idea where Harry has gone. Liz is by him for a while until there is the sound of a crash somewhere in the house.
“My parents will kill me if anything is broken,” she explains.
“Yeah,” Peter nods before she walks off. He turns back towards what he thinks are three seniors since they look to be Cooper’s age and he doesn’t remember them from school.
Somehow, Peter and Cooper end up at the DJ ‘booth’ with the microphone. Cooper complains into it, “I thought I had the night off work. How did I end up in a press conference again?”
“What was it like growing up with Hawkeye as your dad?” someone in the crowd asks. Over half the party is gathered around, staring at them.
“I don’t know. He’s annoying but I guess it was kind of cool whenever I’d ask my mom where dad’s work trip was to, the answer would be something like ‘looking for some terrorist hiding in the Caribbean.’”
A round of hushed murmuring. ‘That’s awesome.’ ‘Sick.’ ‘Coooool.’
“He is not cool. All of you take that back.”
“Peter,” another student calls out, “what’s Mr. Stark like?”
“Also not cool,” Peter answers after Cooper hands him the microphone. There are a few snickers before Peter gives a serious answer, “He um…He’s fun I guess. Super strict but in like…weird ways. For instance, one time Harry and I put on some disguises to go mess with a friend of ours who was leading a school group around the tower. Dad wasn’t upset that we were ruining this tour for those kids, he got mad that they almost figured out it was me.”
“What?” Liz is surprised along with many of the others in the room. Peter Parker was never known as a rule breaker. “You did that?”
“Yeah.”
“Tony isn’t one to prevent harmless chaos,” Cooper explains. “That’s Rogers. Peter’s dinner with his parents and the Waynes should be proof enough of that.”
“And dad was one of the ones on his best behavior that night,” Peter asserts.
“How much of that was real?” Sue, an old teammate asks. “It seemed kind of staged.”
“All of it was real,” Peter shakes his head as Cooper begins chuckling. “None of that was planned. Mom and Mrs. Wayne had already been at the restaurant for a few hours, drinking. The rest of us show up and can hear them laughing from the lobby. Dad and Mr. Wayne looked at each other and went, ‘Shit.’” There are a few stunned blinks from the crowd hearing Peter swear for probably the first time. He continues, “Then we get to the table and it was like our group was on the brink of pandemonium the whole time. Jason and I were the only ones trying to stay out of it. Helena was egging our moms on. Poor Richard, he was the main victim of nearly every embarrassing story.”
“What did he have on his cell phone that made his parents mad?”
Cooper bursts out laughing, being the only person in the room besides Peter to know the answer. Peter tells the room, “I can’t tell you. It’s not super bad or anything, but I don’t think Dick would ever forgive me if I told you all.”
“He would drive all the way from Gotham in the middle of the night,” Cooper agrees, “just to hunt you down and make you pay.”
“I wouldn’t even blame him.”
“I’d watch with a bucket of popcorn as he chased you through Central Park.” There is a hand raised towards the back of the room. “Dude, this is not school. Just ask your question.”
“Is um…Is…Is Spider-man coming tonight?”
“No.”
“But…you do know who he is…”
“Of course, we know.”
“Um…” the big group of teenagers begin peaking around at each other. Finally, quite a few people spot Flash by the stairs, pretending not to be paying attention. “Is…There’s some rumors that he’s from Midtown.”
Peter resists the major urge to roll his eyes. “Oh really?” his tone doesn’t hide any annoyance. In his peripheral vision, Peter spots Thompson make an exit. The boy heads to another part of the house. So, even without Peter at school, the kid is making rumors involving him. “No comment.”
“How about the other boy you’re here with?” Abe asks.
“Harry?”
“Is he also a Young Avenger?”
“Not a chance!” Cooper exclaims as Peter says, “Hell no!” The room is a mix of humor and confusion. Peter glances around the room, expecting to see Harry flipping him off in offense. However, his friend is nowhere to be seen. “By the way, where did he go?”
Cooper handles the next questions sent their way while Peter scans the crowd. When he still doesn’t spot Harry, he decides to use his super-hearing to find him. There’s a lot of noise going on around him, making it difficult to pin-point a particular voice.
That is until he hears one.
“I thought you two were best friends? Are you too scared to go near Peter now that he’s not a wimp like you?”
“Go away,” a familiar voice sounds almost desperate.
“I’m going to grab some pizza,” Peter tells Cooper. His teammate is about to protest but doesn’t when he catches the hint in Peter’s expression. He nods and tells the room. “Three more questions, then can we end this Q&A?”
Peter walks through the crowd, trying to avoid being distracted from his destination. He first stops in the kitchen where multiple pizza boxes and drinks are. He grabs a soda as he listens to what’s going on outside by the pool.
“No wonder he left you two behind. Probably doesn’t want anything to do with you.”
“You have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“Really MJ? Then why have you two been hiding out here since Peter showed up?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I…”
“FLASH!” Peter is at the house’s back door, staring down at the patio. There are quite a few students spread around in small groups. Ned and MJ are sitting on a bench a good distance from the house. If it weren’t for Thompson hovering by the two, Peter could have easily missed them. The three along with nearby bystanders, freeze and turn in Peter’s direction. He stares Flash down, “Leave them alone.”
“I…” the pathetic bully tries to make light of the situation. “I wasn’t…”
“Don’t even try. I know what you were doing. It hasn’t been that long since we were schoolmates.”
“Peter…we…I….back then…”
Slowly, Peter makes his way down the few stairs. Thompson stops his stammering as his eyes grow wide in fear. Peter keeps his face hard, glaring daggers at the boy. He and Eugene have always been around the same height. But as Peter approaches, it’s clear that while that is still true, he has gained a lot of muscle since the last time the two met. Peter doesn’t need to tower over the boy to intimidate him.
“Get back in the house,” Peter demands firmly. “I don’t want to hear about you bothering these two again. Scram.” Thompson doesn’t need to be told twice. He almost trips over himself as he dashes back inside. As he scrambles to get away, Peter tells everyone watching the scene, “I want you all to remember this the next time rumors about Spider-man’s identity begin spreading around Midtown.”
The few bystanders who witnessed the ordeal are a mix of shock and amusement. A few exchange smirks as they watch Flash stumble through the house. Some are watching Peter with hesitation. He doesn’t care. Because Peter can feel the anxiety pooling behind him from his former friends. With a deep breath he turns around.
Ned is wearing a brown hat and his usual two layers of shirts. MJ has her curly hair half pulled back in a bun. Some of her bangs hand loose as they bounce on her face. She’s wearing jeans and a black shirt with ruffles. Appearance wise, they look almost exactly like how Peter remembers them from before the spider-bite. Only a bit more mature and much less full of life than they used to be. Neither can look at Peter, both averting their gazes.
“You two okay?” he asks, also feeling awkward. Neither answer, both clearly nervous. “Okay…well…come get me if Thompson starts with his shit again.”
Peter turns back to the house. He’s only taken a couple steps when behind him, MJ shouts, “Peter!” Looking back, Peter sees she has stood from her seat. There is a slight shake in her demeanor as she spares him a quick glance before staring at the ground again. “Can…can we talk? Um…” she notices the others standing around the pool now watching them. “Somewhere more…private?”
“How about you three use my room,” someone offers from the back door of the house. Liz is gazing down at them, pity in her eyes. “I’ll show you where it is.”
Peter nods, “Thanks.” He turns back to Ned and MJ who appear petrified at the idea. He sighs, “C’mon guys. Let’s just go talk.”
It’s awkward as the four make their way through the house. A lot of students glance in their direction as they pass, almost all their eyes widen when they see what’s going on. Peter, Ned and MJ follow Liz upstairs. Her room is a bit far from the main area of the house. There is barely anyone around by the time they reach her room.
“You can…” Liz opens her door. She frowns when looking inside. “What’s going on in here?”
There are two surprised voices inside. Seconds later, two figures appear at the door. Harry and…Betty! Peter blinks as his friend and former classmate make their way into the hall, both blushing.
“Sorry,” Betty says. “If you need…” her eyes almost pop out of her head as she spots Peter, MJ and Ned. “Yeah…yeah. You three need privacy more than we do. C’mon Harry.” The girl grabs the boy’s hand and begins dragging him back to the party. Peter is flabbergasted as he watches them go. Even more when Harry turns and shoots Peter a wink before they disappear around the corner.
Turning to Liz, Peter sees her mouth slightly dropped open as she frowns in the two’s direction. She points to her now empty room. “You three take as much time as you need. I’m going to go deal with…that.”
Liz chases after her best friend, leaving Peter alone with his former ones. Peter turns to Ned and MJ who are still struggling to look at him.
Well, lets get this over with.
Peter allows the two to stand closest to the door. Not wanting them to feel trapped. He takes note of the simple décor around Liz’s room since this is his first time inside it. After enough silence, he asks, “What did you want to talk about?”
“Jesus Christ, Peter.” Ned says in a whisper of a voice. “What the hell happened?”
“Look…I was going through something the last time we talked…”
“I mean to you,” Ned cuts him off. For the first time tonight, he looks Peter in the eye. "The way you talked to that reporter not too long ago and then Flash downstairs. What…”
“They were both being assholes. I just put them in their place.”
“Is that what you call it?” MJ asks, disgusted. “Using fear to control people…”
“I didn’t hear you two complaining downstairs when I made Flash walk away.”
“After the last time we saw you, how did we know you weren’t going to freak out again?”
“Look,” Peter runs a frustrated hand through his hair. “Like I said. I was going through something. I…Something really shitty happened and…”
“Stop talking like that,” Ned pleads. “Since…Since when do you talk like that? Since when are you this person?”
“Since about a year ago.”
Both of the teens go silent. Peter watches them carefully. He can see the anger and sense of betrayal in MJ’s face. Ned appears heartbroken. A part of him feels bad. But also…he’s so glad this isn’t him anymore. The two in front of Peter remind him of everything he used to be and they seem so…weak.
“Look,” Peter keeps his voice calm but firm. “I haven’t told any of the Avengers or my parents about what happened that night. Believe me, you and your families would be in a world of trouble if they did.” Both Ned and MJ shutter at that. Peter goes on. “Never bring that night up again. I didn’t just run away for no reason. I was dealing…There was a lot going on and I got overwhelmed. When I first got to the tower, I fought my father and the Avengers about almost everything. I was just like you two. It took me a while to figure out what I truly wanted and who I want to be…”
“A murderer?” MJ regrets her words the second they come out of her mouth.
Peter stares at her, letting the gravity of the conversation sink in for everyone. “Are you accusing me of that, MJ?”
The girl’s lip quivers. “Do we really have to beat around the bush? It’s an open secret about what happens in Stark tower.”
“I haven’t killed anybody.”
“Will you one day?”
“Why do you care?”
MJ takes a step back, betrayal lacing her features.
“Do you think this is easy for us?” Ned asks, his eyes glassy. Peter pauses but doesn’t allow himself to feel any remorse. “Watching all of this from afar. Seeing you change and…Do you think that night you came to Peter Pan’s wasn’t horrifying for us? Seeing you in that state and then you woke up and…You don’t think that day haunts us?”
“I apologize for that. I…I wasn’t in a good state of mind. I needed a break from the tower to get my head screwed on straight.”
MJ argues, “Seems like you screwed it on crooked.”
“What was that?” Peter didn’t mean to be so harsh. But the comment went too far for him. For a second, MJ freezes. Then all of a sudden, she bolts out the door. Ned appears terrified being left to fend for himself. Peter lets out a breath. “You don’t need to be afraid of me, Ned.” The boy is nervously fiddling with his fingers, causing Peter to reiterate. “You don’t. Tell MJ that I’m sorry I snapped at her.”
Peter heads to the door. Before he leaves, Ned causes him to pause. “Are you sure this is who you want to be?”
“What?” Peter turns back to him.
“This…what Mr. Stark has…is turning you into. Is that really what you want?”
“I…”
“Because the Peter I knew wouldn’t. He…” Ned trails off.
“You’re right,” the air is somber. “The Peter you knew would hate me. I’m not him anymore. I haven’t been for a while. But that’s not a bad thing, Ned.”
“You…”
“I’m taking my role in life as Tony Stark's son seriously. I don’t hold myself back to stay in the shadows. I don’t let people walk over me. I’m trying to learn how to lead some of the most powerful people on the planet. Is that so bad?”
“When you put it that way, it sounds…”
“What other way is there to put it?”
“How about leading by example instead of fear? Or is that…”
“Why not both?”
“Peter…”
“Look Ned,” Peter cuts him off. “You wanted to stay out of SI. Even though it hurt, I respected that. But you don’t get to come back into my life over a year later acting like you understand my world. Again, I apologize for that one night of weakness. Believe me, it won’t happen again. Other than that, I have left you and MJ alone. I know you’re concerned but, I’m fine. I’m more than fine. I…”
“Fine like you’re okay or fine like you were fine that night,” Ned’s voice shakes. “Because I’m not sure you understand the difference anymore.”
Peter stares. He grabs the doorknob, “Bye Ned. Hope you have a good school year.”
Before anyone can talk to him, Peter shoves some pizza in his mouth when returning to the party. He tries not to let his foul mood show. A couple minutes after walking downstairs, he sees a red shirt and brown hat walk out the front door. He can only assume that Ned and MJ came here together, they're probably leaving the same way.
God. He did not want to have this conversation tonight. As much as he’s wanted to reach out to those two, Peter’s also been dreading this conversation and it went about as bad as he expected. At least he knows they’ll keep that night at Peter Pan’s a secret.
“Can you tell your girlfriend to lay off,” Harry suddenly appears next to Peter. “She’s been keeping Betty away for the last twenty minutes.”
“Good,” Peter remarks, his temper lightening a bit. “Stay away from her.”
“Why?”
“Betty’s a nice girl.”
“And I’m not a nice boy?”
“No. You don’t need to be corrupting her.”
“I’m not corrupting. Maybe we have things in common?”
“I don’t believe that.”
“It’s true.”
“Name one thing.”
“We both love math. Especially Algebra. Although, it’ll be exciting to start pre-Calc this year…”
“You dirty, lying snake.”
“What?” Harry feigns ignorance.
“Do you even know what pre-Calc involves?”
“I’m assuming numbers.”
“Stop tying to pick up my former classmates.”
“Why the hell do you think I agreed to come to this thing?” Harry snickers, causing Peter to roll his eyes but smile along. Now that levity has returned to Peter’s demeanor, Harry asks solemnly, “So, your talk with Ned and MJ…I’m guessing it didn’t go well?”
“You could say that,” Peter grumbles, keeping his voice low so only Harry can hear.
“Sorry, Dude. That sucks.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t let it get you down for too long. Hey,” he points towards Cooper who seems to be trying to escape a group of girls crowding around him. “How about we go save Coop before his girlfriend sees some video online and shows up to beat his ass.”
The next couple hours are truly fun. Not everyone is comfortable or brave enough to hold a conversation with Peter. Either because of his connection to Tony or their interactions pre-spider-bite. But the ones who do are excited and Peter finds himself enjoying catching up with former acquaintances and teammates. A lot ask to take pictures with him, which Peter happily obliges. He has started to get used to that aspect of fame, unlike Cooper who is now new to it.
Of course, pictures and videos begin getting posted online. Once enough traction begins to build, Peter gets a text from Happy saying they only have half an hour left. He tells Harry and Cooper before going to find Liz. Peter’s barely spent any time with her tonight, now’s his last chance. The two of them sneak outside. Peter uses his strength to climb them onto the roof without using his sticky fingers. The two can now have a bit of privacy before Peter has to leave.
“Did you have fun?” Liz asks, cuddled into Peter’s side as he wraps an arm around her.
“I did,” he says with a small grin, enjoying her warmth compared to the night wind. “It was nice to see everyone. How about you?”
“I think I spent the majority of the night being asked about you.”
“What a boring topic.”
“There are worse ones,” Liz teases. “Flash began asking me about the Young Avengers and how to get on the team.”
“You’ve got to be kidding…”
“There were like eight people around us who stopped their conversations and stared. He was so embarrassed that he left.”
“Good,” Peter smirks. He places a kiss in Liz’s hair then notices something strange. Two people are sneaking out of the house, into the backyard. They wander over to some shrubbery and trees and look for a hiding spot. “Oh my God. Is that Harry and Betty?”
Liz glances down. She lets out a small laugh, “You did say you needed help getting him and Harley girlfriends.”
“I forgot that mean sacrificing one of your friend’s to Harry.”
“Out of everyone you’ve introduced me to. I must say, I don’t understand yours and Harry’s dynamic.”
“Honestly, neither do I at times. He…”
This time Peter pauses for something that is actually abnormal. Off in the distance a bright blue light shines from some park. One he’s seen before. “Liz, please tell me you didn’t just see that.”
“I didn’t just see that.”
“Are you lying?”
“You asked me to,” Liz tries to keep her voice light, but Peter can hear the concern. “Are we…”
“Everyone here should be fine,” Peter tells her. “I need to find Cooper.”
Peter carries Liz back onto a second-floor balcony where they go back inside. It doesn’t take long to find Cooper since he’s had a crowd following him all night. He initially doesn’t notice Peter until he’s getting pulled towards the stairs.
“What the…”
“Come with me,” Peter whispers as they move along. Naturally, they attract the attention of the remaining party goers. Cooper is asking what’s wrong when Peter pulls him towards the balcony he and Liz came from. Now there are four other teens watching the blue light in the distance. Many turn to Peter and Cooper, scared at the sight they’re seeing.
“Shit,” Cooper curses under his breath. His phone is to his ear a second later. “FRIDAY, patch me through to Rogers, Romanoff, Dad, whoever is available. It’s urgent…Steve, I think we have a code C.”
Peter tunes his hearing to listen in on the conversation. Rogers is confused, “Code C? As in Chitauri weapons?”
“Yeah.”
“Aren’t you at some high-school party? Who the fuck brought...”
“It’s coming from a nearby park. Maybe a mile away. We can see the blasts from Liz's house.”
“It…”
“Steve, this is the closest we’ve gotten to getting one of these guys in weeks.”
There is a frustrated huff. “What do you and Peter have on you?”
“Just those packs that Tony made up for us.”
Along with the coms they were forced to bring, Tony also gave the two some smaller weapons that are easily hidden on their persons. Liz was cuddled up against Peter minutes ago and didn’t notice the knife hidden on him.
“Keep your distance unless necessary. Try to get their ID’s and we’ll handle bringing them in later. No approaching unless you think with absolute certainty you can take them out.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Peter, I know your listening. You are Cooper’s back-up. You’ve done well with those few cases you’ve had, so I’m giving you some leeway with this. You follow Cooper’s lead and listen to directions. Got it?”
Nodding, Peter let’s Cooper talk for him. “He’s got it.”
“Both of you be careful.”
They run back into the house and down the stairs. At this point, the whole party is distracted by what’s going on outside. They call out to the two as they run towards the backyard. Cooper shouts as they make they’re way through the crowd, “ALL OF YOU STAY INSIDE AND DON’T LEAVE UNLESS WITH YOUR PARENTS!”
While both Peter and Cooper are fast runners, it still feels like an eternity for them to get to the sight of the blue light. As they dash through the streets, back yards, and a golf course, they put the coms in their ears and pull out the little bit of gear they have on them. Finally, they reach a bridge. A van, very similar to the one Peter came across months ago with Chitauri weapons, is parked underneath. Three men are talking near the open back. Suddenly there is another large blast from a giant gun one of the goons is holding..
“WOAH!” the man obnoxious laughs. He then begins spouting off about the gun in hand.
Cooper doesn’t need to whisper very loud for Peter to hear him. “I’m gonna get up that tree and try to get some footage with their faces on my phone. You do the same from the other side of the bridge. Try to keep the shots normal looking, nothing dangling from the bridge. That way we can deny your involvement if Richard starts spouting off.
Peter nods and does what he’s told. He uses his spider powers to climb the bridge without getting noticed. As he looks for a good hiding spot, he listens in on the thugs’ conversation.
“Man,” the man who must be the buyer complains. “I wanted something lowkey. Why are you trying to upsell me?”
“Okay, okay, okay,” the seller says. “I’ve got what you need.” The guy goes back to the van and begins naming off different types of tech. “Black hole grenades. Chitauri rail guns…”
“These sound a lot more advanced than anything they’ve had before,” Cooper whispers into his com.”
“Doesn’t mean they all work,” Peter tells him, although he shares his teammates worry.
“I just need something to stick up somebody,” the buy complains the second seller. “I’m not trying to shoot them back in time.”
“What an upstanding guy,” Cooper jokes, making Peter smirk.
“I’ve got anti-gravity climbers,” the first seller calls out.
“Climbers?” Peter and the buyer ask simultaneously.
“We can’t let these guys get away,” Cooper says. “This is shit we haven’t seen before. We can’t let them drive off with the van. I don’t care about the buyer. He doesn’t seem like much of an issue. The other two though, let’s bring them in if we can.”
“Got it,” Peter whispers as he continues to observe the scene. “Any ideas how?”
Cooper thinks for a minute. “How much has Tony taught you about cars engines?”
“Quite a bit.”
“How long would it take you to sabotage the van?”
“Thirty seconds.”
“That’s all?”
“It’s all about pulling the right plugs. Baby shit.”
“Okay,” Peter can hear his friend’s eye-roll. “I think I can manage a distraction that long.”
“I might not need one. Um…Let me see how close I can get. Jump in if they notice me.”
“Be careful.”
As quietly as he can, Peter makes his way over to the front of the van. The three goons don’t notice, giving Peter the chance to sneak under the car. It would be faster to open the hood, but this way he can remain discreet. He gets to work. They’ll have to get the thing towed out of here, but that’s not a big deal.
He may have gone too fast. Hand slipping after a few minutes, Peter accidentally allows a clang to sound from under the car.
“What the fuck?” one of the goons says.
Before any of the three thugs can look under the car, Peter hears Cooper leap out of his hiding spot. “Hey guys. Beautiful night we’re having.”
Peter finishes up and is rolling out from underneath the vehicle when he hears one of the thugs scream in pain.
“My dad’s an archer, I have good aim even with knives. I…” Cooper pauses as this strange electric buzzing sound fills the air. “What the…AHHHH!”
Peter glances up just in time to see his teammate flying backwards into a pillar. The one injured seller is running to the opposite side of the car Peter is while the other stands in place letting out a victorious howl. Peter can see a contraption around the gloating thug’s arm. The guy then leaps back into the van. The buyer must have run off at this point. Oh well.
“It’s not starting!” The partner yells from the driver seat.
“What?”
“It won’t start!”
“Get us out of…” The guy sitting in the back lets out a scream when Peter yanks him out of the back of the van. At the same time, Peter can hear the driver curse before opening his door. The guy runs off but Peter doesn’t care. He’s focused on taking down the man who hurt Cooper. The one trying to recharge whatever zapping device is covering his arm.
The two wrestle for a minute, Peter trying to get the metal arm thing off while the goon tries desperately to keep it on.
“Hold him still.”
Peter follows directions and wraps himself around the man’s arms and torso, immobilizing him. The guy is facing Cooper just in time for the boy to send a hard punch to his face. The seller slumps in Peter’s hold and falls lifelessly to the side.
“He’s going to feel that in the morning,” Peter jokes.
“So am I with the hit he gave me,” Cooper huffs.
“Shit. You okay?”
“Not gonna lie, that one hurt.” Peter helps his friend sit down on the back of the van. Cooper glances back at the weapons sitting inside and winces a smile. “Looks like it was worth it though. Especially with this asshole,” he lightly kicks the perp with his foot. Cooper then puts a had to his ear, “Impromptu mission successful.”
“Oh, thank God,” Rogers sighs in relief. There are a few other voices on the call who are also happy to hear from the boy.
“Coop,” Clint asks, “Are you okay? You don’t sound great.”
“I took a bad hit. I’m definitely going to need to stop by the medbay, maybe even spend the night. Peter and I are also going to need a pick-up for us and a perp.”
“And a tow for a van,” Peter adds. Tony is the next to speak, his voice dripping in concern.
“Peter, are you okay?”
“Yeah. I…”
“Did you get hit too?”
“No. I’m fine. I probably don’t even have a bruise on me.”
“You two stay put,” Rogers takes over the call. “We have transport on the way. Good job.”
Peter shares a grin with his teammate. Cooper holds up a weak fist for Peter to bump before asking, “Guess I should call Dick too.”
That makes Peter falter. “Have you…talked to him recently?”
“Except for that social media post he made about me, no. Not since the Vault. This…will be interesting.”
Richard doesn’t pick up the first time Cooper calls, which is apparently not normal for him. Even when he’s at an event or patrolling, the boy will have his phone set to notify the caller to try again if it’s urgent. Cooper frowns in concern when Dick doesn’t pick up right away the second time he calls. After the fifth ring is when the Wayne heir finally answers.
“Hey Cooper. Is this important?” Peter can hear there is something guarded in Richard’s voice.
“Yeah…Is this a good time?”
“Yeah. Yeah. Just…busy. You know, moving to school next week.”
“Right,” Neither Cooper or Peter believes him.
“What’s going on?”
“Some good news actually. By complete coincidence I came across some guys from the Chitauri case selling shit out of a van. New stuff.”
“How’s that good news?” Richard asks in a rush.
“The good news is I caught one of them. The guy and the van of shit. I’m currently waiting for the clean-up crew from the tower.”
“Oh! Oh…That…that is good. That’s great.”
“Um…” Cooper appears unsure about what to say next. “What time would be good for us to drop the stuff off at the manor? I’m not in good condition for that type of drive right now but Kate could bring the weapons and perp to Gotham tomorrow.”
“No.” Richard says much to quickly. Weird. The boy then begins backpedaling. “I mean…Tomorrow won’t work. How…Would…Bring everything to Titan’s Tower. We’ll store it there.”
“Why…”
“We’re still trying to figure out who’s taking the case over when I’m off at school.”
“I thought Jason…”
“If you can’t bring it to Titan’s…How about…There’s just a lot in the air right now. Can your side keep everything on ice for a while?”
“We can. But…”
“Bring the guy and weapons to DC in a couple weeks. We should have everything sorted by then.”
“You want me to bring everything all the way to DC just so Jason can bring it back to Gotham?”
“Yes.”
“Dick,” Cooper is hesitant to ask. “Is everything okay.”
“Everything’s fine. Just…there’s a lot going on right now.”
“Okay, well…I’ll keep you updated if there’s anything else...”
“Thanks.”
The line goes dead. Cooper pauses with his phone to his ear, as if in doubt the call had just ended so abruptly. He looks to Peter, “That was…odd.”
“Is he usually like that?”
“Never. Especially with cases as big as this one. Usually, Richard wants to know every detail.”
“Huh. I guess…” Peter’s mind forgets about the call almost immediately when out of nowhere his instincts go on edge. The tingle in the back of his neck is picking up something, but he doesn’t know what. He glances down at the passed-out weapons dealer, “He’s knocked-out right?”
“I think,” Cooper frowns as Peter checks the guy. “You okay?”
“I…” there’s another flare in Peter’s neck. The tingle is increasing. He says into his com, “We need back-up. Right now.”
“Why?” Rogers' voice is alert. “What’s going on?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“You don’t…”
“My neck. Something…something’s going on.”
“We’re on our way.” Peter can hear rustling on the other side of the line. Probably multiple people running around. “You two hold on. We…”
Cooper yelps as Peter pushes him farther into the van to safety. It’s just in time as a moment later, what feels like mechanical arms wrap around his body. Before he can process what is happening, Peter is violently being yanked into the air by something. He can hear Cooper shout his name as the boy watches the scene in horror.
“I NEED HELP!” Peter screams into his com. He can hear voices but is too frantic trying to escape whatever thing is holding onto him, to understand what anyone is saying. The sharp arms dig deep into his skin.
Up. Up. Up. Peter is flown above the city. The lights down below get smaller and smaller.
Looking up, Peter is met with a pair of green robotic eyes. The creature or person or android or whatever stares down at him. Even with the mask, Peter can see the being’s malice towards him. He looks the creature up and down. Kind of like Wilson, the person has metal wings. This one with turbines that is allowing it to fly. The person is strapped into the contraption all over his arms and legs.
In desperation, Peter lunges his upper body towards the machine holding him. Weird talon-looking metal claws are what’s holding onto him. Not caring about the damage he’s doing; Peter uses his strength to rip them apart. Anything he can get his hands on. Wires, bolts, whatever he can do to get these things off him. He’s successful with one. It malfunction’s and releases most of his body, leaving Peter dangling by his left leg in the other claw.
Then with a searing pain in his skin, Peter’s jeans rip. His leg slips out of the robotic man’s grasp.
Suddenly, Peter is falling. He screams as he tumbles back down to earth. He didn’t realize he was up so high. There is not controlling his body as the wind whips by him around. Peter panics. There’s nothing else he can do as he falls to his death.
Water is the next atrocity to happen to him. After painfully slamming into a mass of it, Peter is then surrounded by the cold liquid. His lungs fill with it as he gasps in shock. Peter desperately tries to gain his bearings underwater but can’t figure out which way is up.
His chest feels like it’s about to burst. With how much liquid is inside them, Peter’s lungs feel like they’re on fire.
Darkness.
Pain.
Water.
Need to breathe.
Then something mechanical grabs him again and Peter feels himself panic.
Not again. Not again. Not again.
This time he doesn’t have any energy to fight the creature. Peter can barely keep his eyes open as he’s flown above the city again. He feels himself vomit up the water he had just inhaled, harshly coughing right after. That too hurts.
When Peter does get a bit of energy to glance at his surroundings, he finally has a moment of peace when spotting the approaching building ahead.
Stark Tower.
Peter is still coughing up a storm when Tony gently places him on the landing pad. The sound would be gut-wrenching if it didn’t bring Tony the relief of knowing his son is breathing. There is a crew waiting on the pad for them. As soon as Peter’s feet touch the floor, Rhodes is there to scoop him onto a stretcher.
Tony doesn’t get a good look at the boy until stepping out of his suit. By then, Strange and Banner are pushing the stretcher back inside. Peter looks pale and exhausted. At least he isn’t struggling for air anymore. Before Tony can run after his son and the medical team, Rhodes holds him back.
“Let them work, Tony. Peter will be fine. You need to be calm when you see him.”
“Calm!” Tony sneers. He knows his reaction is only proving the man’s point, but he can’t imagine trying to control his franticness at this moment. “HE ALMOST DROWNED, RHODEY!”
“Hey,” his friend pulls Tony in for a hug. A hand rubs up and down his back. “Peter’s fine. He’s alive. He’s in the best care possible. You got him in time.”
The two of them go to the medbay lobby where Tony paces around. Pepper arrives shortly after in her pajamas, which means someone must have just woken her up. She has a worried look that Rhodes keeps trying to soothe away. Nurses keep assuring them that Peter isn’t critical, but they are also constantly brining blankets and other medical supplies into the room. Having known Rhodey for most of his life, Tony can tell the godfather is also worried but keeping on a good front to keep him and Pepper under control. Finally, they are given the clear to see Peter. Tony is forced to take some deep breathes before walking into his son’s room. The sight he sees next, he wasn’t prepared for.
Large dark bruises wrap around Peter’s lower half of his body. Strange is currently cleaning a large cut on the boy’s left shin. Peter’s hair is still wet which is not surprising. So are his boxers which appear to be the only clothes he has left on. Tony pities his shivering son as he can practically hear the boy’s teeth chatter. Peter’s only relief from the cold are some blankets wrapped around his upper body.
“Someone, turn up the heat,” Tony calls down the hall towards the nurses’ station.
“They already have,” Strange states, not looking away from Peter’s injury.
“How is he?” Pepper asks as she goes to Peter’s bedside. Their son leans into his mother’s touch when she caresses a hand on his face.
“Peter said he doesn’t think he has any broken bones,” Banner explains. “The bruises have already formed which means his advanced healing kicked into gear a while ago. I just ordered some food to be brought up to help his metabolism keep that going. I thought some warm soup might also help the chills.” Peter sends a grateful, trembling half-smile which Banner returns. “We’ll do a scan once Stephen is finished up to make sure everything is fine internally. We’ll keep him here for a couple days to keep an eye on his lungs since he inhaled so much water. But other than the cut, it doesn’t seem like he has any major injuries.”
“No major injuries!” Tony exclaims.
“Tony…”
“LOOK AT HIM!”
“Tones,” Rhodes is too late in pulling Tony back.
“WHAT HAPPENED?” Peter flinches back into his bed as Tony nears.
Still shivering, Peter tries to explain between breathes, “There…this guy showed…showed up…He…had…had a suit…It…had wings…and…and claws…”
“I TOLD YOU TO START SMALL!”
“I did.”
“For fuck’s sake! You promised not to do anything…”
“Stark!” Strange snaps, glaring in his direction. “Calm down or I will have you removed.”
“I am talking to my son.”
“I didn’t…” Peter argues, “I…didn’t do anything…”
“You knew the rules! You promised…”
“GOD! You…you always…think the worst…You never trust me…”
“THIS IS WHY!”
“That’s it,” Strange pauses his work. “Stark, get out.”
“I…”
“He’s right Tony,” Banner begins ushering him towards the door. “You’re making things worse and Strange needs his leg to be still for those stitches.”
“C’mon Tones,” Rhodes grabs Tony’s arm and begins pulling him out.
Tony protests but can’t do much as both Rhodes and Banner work together to get him out of the room. He can hear Peter tiredly complaining to Pepper who is trying to calm him down. Tony almost turns around to shout not to baby the boy, but something in the hallway distracts him. Rogers is standing in the doorway of another room, looking in. He notices the commotion of Tony getting kicked into hall and walks over.
“Is Peter okay?”
“NO ROGERS! HE’S NOT OKAY.”
Steve is taken aback by the outburst. Rhodes once again grabs Tony and pulls him towards the elevators, “Let’s go talk about this upstairs.” Rogers helps manhandle Tony there. Inside, Rhodey asks, “How’s Cooper.”
“A bit stiff and some electrical burns. He’ll be resting for a few days but should be fine in no time.”
“Electrical burns?”
“He…”
“Those two shouldn’t have been out there,” Tony hisses. Rogers frowns at him. “They should have stay put at that party…You know what? No! They shouldn’t have been in Queens in the first place.”
“They…”
“How could you give them permission…”
“TONY!” Steve cuts him off. They arrive to the penthouse where Tony is once again dragged somewhere he doesn’t want to be. Before he can protest, Rogers stops him, “What the hell is your problem?”
“Those two…”
“Did exactly what they were trained to do.”
“They…”
“Okay,” Rhodes intervenes, “Let’s calm down. Steve, did you get the story of what happened from Cooper? Peter isn’t exactly in a good state right now to explain.”
The two Avengers force Tony to sit down as Rogers goes over what Cooper told him and Clint on the way back to the tower after they picked him up. Tony can feel himself shaking as he listens. He wants to burst in anger when he hears about the strange mechanical bird-man who snatched his son up and flew off with him.
“Peter gave a similar description of his kidnapper,” Rhodes says.
“I thought Coop was overexaggerating,” Rogers blinks as he processes. “He was pretty shaken up about it when Clint and I got there.”
“The van driver must have called…someone after running off. Maybe their boss?”
“Either way,” Tony seethes. “They shouldn’t have…”
“Cooper and Peter are fine,” Steve asserts. “Those two did nothing wrong.”
“I only agreed for Peter to start working cases if he promised…”
“He followed every single rule.”
“No, he…”
“He didn’t go running off on his own the second he saw the blast from those weapons. He found Cooper, who called the tower and got permission for the two of them to approach. They didn’t jump into action right away. They came up with a plan and were careful. I told Peter to follow Coop’s directions, which he did. They didn’t try to take on more than they could handle. If Peter had broken your rules, he would have gone chasing after the van driver alone. Instead, he stayed put and waited for us. Then the second he felt the tingle in his neck and couldn’t figure out why it was going off, he called the tower for help. How is that him being reckless?”
Tony huffs but has no response. Next him Rhodes says in a cool voice, “Peter did everything right tonight, Tones. I know you want there to be something that could have been done differently to prevent him being in the medbay right now, but nobody knew this…flying suit guy existed until tonight. If Peter hadn’t given us a heads up, you wouldn’t have been in your suit so quickly. You need to cut your son some slack.”
“I…” Tony internally cringes. He remembers what Peter said through shivering teeth right before Tony was shoved out of the medbay.
‘You always think the worst. You never trust me.’
God…the boy sounded so broken. All of a sudden, Tony feels like absolute shit. Just like Howard used to do to him, Tony went off on his son when he was already at a low point. Tony allowed his anger at the situation cloud his judgement and outshine his underlying concern. Instead of waiting to hear his son out, Tony jumped to conclusions. Since the person to actually blame for his son’s injuries was nowhere in sight, Tony put it on the closest person he could. Peter.
“I need to go talk to Peter.”
“You do,” Rhodes nods. “Not tonight though.”
“But…”
“I’ll go talk to him and let him know you aren’t mad. Before you see him again, let Peter get some rest and heal up a bit. That way you’ll both be in better head spaces and he won’t look so…battered when you see him again. I think that might help calm your nerves when you talk to him.”
Tony knows his friend is right and is looking out for Peter’s best interests. He silently nods. Rhodes spares him a pat on the shoulder before heading to the elevator. Tony slumps back on his couch as he listens to the doors ding. Now with his anger and anxiety wiped away, he feels exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster that was the last forty minutes.
“Rhodes is right about you needing to lay off that kid a bit,” Rogers chastises. “He’s doing the best he can and you aren’t making it easy for him.”
“I know.”
“What’s going on, Tony?”
“I’m trying to keep him safe.”
“Our world isn’t safe. Covering him in bubble wrap might soften the hits for a while but then what will happen once it’s all popped? Peter isn’t afraid to face our world without it, so why are you trying so hard to hold him back?”
“I…he wants to grow up so fast but there’s still so much he has left to learn that he isn’t ready for.”
“He’s not going anywhere anytime soon. It’s not like we’re shipping him off to MIT next week with the other college students like Howard did with you when you weren’t ready for that. Peter’s more than happy to spend his next few years with us learning about our way of life before going to school. In fact, lately he’s seemed quite determined to understand it better.”
“That’s just it. Why? I…” Tony lets out a heavy breath. “I can’t figure out what’s going on in his head anymore. Ever since he met those Wayne kids…I don’t know. When we found him, Peter was so honest that it hurt. Then he got closer to Harley and the other kids and started confiding in them, which I was fine with. Then I get out of that coma and…everything was just…great for a while. There were a few hiccups but overall things felt perfect for a few months. Then the gala came and…it’s like Bruce got into my head and his kids got into Peter’s. It feels like Pete and I are now constantly battling to get on the same page. Then whenever we do, the Waynes come back in and screw it up. If it’s not drama between me and Bruce, it’s those kids planting ideas in Peter’s head. If…If he just tell me what Jason and Helena said, maybe I could understand where he’s coming from. But ever since the gala, it’s like Pete’s filled with secrets…”
“Sir,” FRIDAY interrupts his tirade.
“What FRIDAY?” Steve sounds annoyed as he speaks for Tony.
“Oliver Queen is calling.”
“Oliver?” Tony frowns in confusion along with Rogers. Nobody from the League has reached out to him since the Vault. They’ve interacted with the other Avengers, but nobody has contacted Tony directly. It’s one of the reasons he’s had some more free time lately. Tony’s definitely not in the mindset to deal with them right now. “Tell…tell him it’s not the best time.”
There’s a pause, “Mr. Queen says it’s urgent.”
“Fine,” Tony lets out a defeated sigh. Tonight’s already been rough, why not handle this too? “Put him through.” After waiting a second for the line to connect, Tony calls out, “Hey Oliver.”
“Hey Tony…Is…I know it’s late but is it really a bad time to call?”
“It’s fine just…long night.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Tony grows more confused listening to the archer. There’s something off in Oliver’s tone. A hint of anxiety mixed with worry. “Oliver…Is something wrong?”
There’s a moment of hesitancy before the man says, “Remember a few months ago when you were going through something and…your team couldn’t get you out of your lab so they called Bruce for help?”
“I don’t like to remember it, but yeah.”
“Well…we need you to return the favor.”