Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Peter's pov November 10th 2016 3:15 pm
Thursday
I air drummed with one hand along to the music in my headphones, holding a dvd player I had found in the trash down the street in the other. Dumpster diving for ‘new’ tech was a longtime hobby of mine, and I hit the jackpot. I was so high on cloud 9 from my new project piece and my top scoring chemistry test, I didn’t notice the warning signs of a super fancy car outside my apartment. Or hearing another voice besides my aunts inside.
"How was school today?" I heard May ask over my music when I walked in the door and directly to the kitchen for an after school snack. I pulled out my headphones and opened the fridge.
"Fine, chemistry test was good And there's this crazy car parked outside-" My heart sank as I looked over into the living room where my aunt was sitting. "Oh uh H-Hi, Hello, I'm Peter."
“Tony.”
Before I was zoned out to the world, but now I was hyper aware of everything that was happening. Why was he here? What did he know? What did May know?
The look on her face was telling me not much, as he seemed just as surprised to have a multi-billionaire sitting in our cramped queens apartment.
My brain ran a million miles a second, trying to narrow down all the reasons he might be here. There were two.
“Peter honey, you didn’t tell me about this September foundation and a Stark internship. We usually don’t keep big secrets.” She awkwardly laughed but mouthed ‘what the hell’ after before smiling at the man who’s invaded our home under false pretenses.
One one side, Stark was looking at me to play along. On the other, the woman who has raised me for years, being just as confused as I was.
"Didn't think I'd get it so I didn't want to get your hopes up." Neither of the reasons he could be here were something I wanted my aunt to know. So I will obediently corroborate his story, which I didn’t even know the full extent of.
"Well, Mr Stark here, was just telling me all about it." That's great so May has more information than I do.
“You’ve been getting the emails right? We’ll I’m here to tell you, your grant was approved and you’ll be working alongside yours truly.” He winked, making my stomach turn further into a knot.
But my aunt just smiled proudly, her boy had gotten some grant and an internship? Does that come with money? “Congrats honey, we’ll have to go out to celebrate tonight.”
“Can I talk to the kid alone? Just for a moment, gotta work out some details.” May agreed, already on her phone to brag to her friends and coworkers about this achievement. Fake achievement.
I ground my teeth down and motioned down the small hallway to my room, my heart speeding up as he walked a few steps behind me. Once we were both inside the door, I shut it and acted like everything was normal. Setting down my bag, taking off my shoes, and fake glasses, putting my new treasure down in a pile on my desk.
I took a shallow impatient breath and ran a hand through my gelled hair, relieving its curls. Then I looked out my window to my fire escape. I had my webshooters on.
I could run.
But how far would I really get?
“Nice woman, nice cookies.” I turned sharply to the lying man. May can’t cook to save her life. I didn’t respond, hoping the awkward air in the room would make him as uncomfortable as I was. “Good playing along, must have been a surprise to see IronMan in your living room.” He chucked and I shook my head.
"Oh you don't even know." I said aloud to myself. I took a deep breath to calm down and gain confidence before turning to him. "Cause I definitely didn't apply for your grant or some internship and-" He put a finger up to cut me off. I felt myself deflate as he quickly shut me up.
"Ah ah, me first. Quick question," Stark paused pulling out a phone and sliding up so a protection of Spider-Man swinging across the city played. Next displayed was me in my homemade suit saving a bus and the reel continued with more clips from YouTube, some from city security cameras, and other, must have come from Stark himself. "This is you right?"
That was a rhetorical question, a stupid one, but it told me why he was here.
"Uh no, no sir. That's not me. That's that spider man guy, I actually heard all the videos of him are like CGI and stuff." I rambled out an excuse, straightening the papers sprawled across my desk to give me any reason not to look his way.
"Yeah, like those UFOs over Phoenix? That makes sense" He asked while walking over by the closet, grabbing my wooden pole and poking the entrance to the attic down, causing my suit to fall down with it. I rushed over to push said suit into my closet, but the damage was done.
"So you're the Spider-boy? Spider-ling? Crime fighting Spider?" The older man listed off names that sounded more like off brands of the real version. The kind you'd see at a dollar tree or something.
I accepted defeat and corrected him with little confidence. "Spider-Man."
“Spider-man.” He chuckled. “Not in that suit you’re not. What are those Pajamas?” Before I could say anything in my own defense, he kept going, grabbing a vile of my webbing off my desk. “But you know, that webbing is impressive. I’ve been trying to recreate it for months.” I can’t say my heart didn’t swell with some pride, this genius couldn't make something I did in a high school chemistry lab. “The adhesive gloves are a smart move too, but I’m thinking of a total upgrade.” The same phone used to show videos of me earlier was showing off prototypes of a suit, my suit.
I pulled my gloved hands back defensively, getting frustrated. "They aren't- You know what, what are you doing here?" I snapped.
"Anyone know? Your unusually attractive aunt?" Stark danced around the question and made an unnecessary comment.
I sighed and sat down on my bed. "No, no way. She'd flip out. She cannot know." May has more than enough to worry about, especially with everything that's happened in the last year.
"Right." He rubbed that stupid signature goatee of his for a moment. "So answer me this, kid, why are you doing this? You know, what gets you out of this twin bed in the morning?"
"Because I have to." There's no better explanation, I have to be Spider-Man, I have to help people.
"You have to go out every night and save kittens from trees?" Clearly from his tone, Stark didn't believe my simple explanation.
"Yes, I have to go out and help who and what I can with the time I have left." With Stark being here that time might become significantly less.
"Time you have left? You're a barely 15 year old kid with your whole life ahead of you and as far as I know you aren't dying." Stark chuckled like everything I had just said was a big joke.
"You don't know anything. I might not always have this freedom to go out and do what I want. But I do have these amazing powers so I gotta make the best of it and help people." I explained my mindset while being Spider-Man without the unnecessary life details.
"Cause when you can do the things I can, but you don't, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you." If I had these powers, and did nothing, more good people will die. And it'll be all my fault.
"So you're just looking out for the little guy, wanna do your part, make the world a better place all that?" I nodded, he never really got what I said or listened anyways. But instead he moved and sat down on the bed beside me. "You see kid, I think you can do more. We all do."
“We?” My voice broke a little, who else knew who I was? That Stark was here?
"The Avengers." He paused and waited for some reaction out of me. But continued when he got a blank stare. "The director of Shield has taken an interest. But more importantly we've seen what you can do.”
"We want you to join the Avengers. And sadly according to my orders, it's you do so willingly or I'll have to have a chat with your aunt." I breathlessly laughed for a moment, like the kind of chuckle that leads to someone erupting into sobs. But I didn't cry.
“Now that I know you’re well, a spider-boy, the plan might have to be altered.” That would be more patronizing if it didn’t seem like my only way out of this. “A junior avenger of sorts? Can’t have you falling in with the wrong crowd.” He’s definitely seen the news of me with Deadpool and knows that’s too late.
We sat beside each other in silence for a solid minute as I felt everything I had worked for slipping away from me. I thought of the options I had before me, which weren’t many, and what would be for the greater good. "Okay," I took a deep shaky breath to get the nerves out and made my demands. "May doesn't find out and my identity isn't revealed to the public." I bargained with a steady cold voice.
“Done.” He stood up, proud of a mission accomplished. Forcing a teenager to join the Avengers with the threat of news that would give his last remaining family member a heart attack. “Wearing a suit at press events shouldn’t be an issue.” I bit down on the inside of my lip, imagining the headache of cameras flashing in my face, people screaming my name over and over. Till a hand on the shoulder snapped me out of it.
I snapped back into reality, pissed. "Fine, just please leave and never come here again. You being here puts May in so much danger and if she's hurt-" He cut me off yet again.
"Calm down, I won't come here but I'm sending a car to get you so you can meet everyone. That okay?" His tone wasn't asking, it was telling me, throwing in the last line like many adults do to make me think I'm choosing any of this.
"After school? Yeah sure whatever, if that's all please be leaving now." The man raised his hands in surrender while walking out of my room, I had the door shut immediately but waited till I heard aunt may show him out, our front door shut, and for the fancy car out front to start before sinking down to the floor. I held my hair hard in my gloved hands, pulling to try to feel anything but immense panic.
This couldn’t be happening, everything I had worked for, my entire life hung in the balance of some narcissistic billionaire.
“Peter! We’re going to your favorite Thai place! Be ready at 7!” I heard her shout across the apartment, though with my senses I’d be able to hear it at a whisper down the street.
“Peter, you’re having early signs of a panic attack. Would you like some breathing exercises?" My Ai, Karen, who lived in my suit and watch had been quiet up till now spoke up.
“No.” I said through heavy shallow breaths. I jumped up and shakily opened my window and went out onto my fire escape. Looking under a ceramic pot MJ had painted for my birthday hid a small red and white box and a lighter which I grabbed like they were my life force.
“Peter?”