Work Text:
Peter tried to stop his hands from shaking as he passed the single most incriminating flash drive of his seventeen years of life over to his teacher.
Mrs. Davis had assigned their end of the year project months ago, and Peter was torn on what he wanted to do. She had asked them to make an interview-style video on the qualities that made someone a hero. The assignment itself was easy. His initial idea was to go with what everyone expected him to do and interview his aunt, but he remembered that he lived with literal superheroes part-time.
Hell, he was a superhero part-time.
After weeks of going back and forth and multiple heartfelt conversations with Tony and May, he made his decision. Tony also knew that most of his classmates didn’t believe his position at Stark Industries, and he thought that he should get at least one good I told you so before he left. He made the point that in just a few short weeks, he would graduate high school and turn eighteen where he would be legally required to sign the updated Accords and come out to the world as an official Avenger and Spiderman anyway.
Standing in front of Mrs. Davis, handing over a stick of plastic and circuitry, he wondered how Tony even talked him into making the video in the first place.
“Thank you, Mr. Parker. You may return to your seat,” she said with a smile.
Peter nodded in response and turned to walk back to his desk, ignoring the feeling that he was walking to his death sentence.
He fought down wave after wave of nausea as she plugged the flash drive into her computer and scrolled through the files until she found the one that he titled ‘Hero Project.’ Neither Ned nor MJ even knew what he had done for his project. He had refused to tell them out of fear that he would lose his nerve.
Mrs. Davis casted her screen to the projector in front of the board and pressed the play button.
There was no going back.
He wondered how likely it was for a sudden alien invasion or catastrophic event that would cut all power from the school before the video finally loaded.
Naturally, he had no such luck. World-ending events only happened when he had something fun planned.
The screen faded from black to show Peter sitting at his desk in his room at his aunt’s apartment. He stared straight into the camera, and took a deep breath, anxiously drumming his fingers on wood in front of him.
“Uh, hi. So, my name is Peter, but you all already know that,” he laughed nervously, only visibly cringing slightly. “Sorry, this is going to be really weird, and I’ve recorded this intro three times with three different scripts, but nothing felt right. This is my fourth and final attempt before I scrap this whole project, and I’m going to try and just wing this part since that usually seems to work out the best for me.”
Peter took another deep breath and squared his shoulders.
“We were assigned a project that asked us a really important question. What makes a hero? Most people think that heroes have to have be really fast or really strong, have a genius level IQ, or have special talents. I don’t disagree with that. I mean, just look at the Avengers. They pretty much check all of the superhero boxes. The point that I’m trying and failing to get to is that the things that make them heroes aren’t their abilities or intelligence. It helps, yeah absolutely, but there’s so much more to it than that. It’s-“
Peter cut himself off and lowered his head.
“I can’t believe I’m really doing this,” he mumbled, the noise barely loud enough to be picked up by the microphone.
He lifted his head again with a renewed determination.
“I’m just going to cut to the chase before I ramble forever and have to come up with a whole new idea because I’m not doing this again. The whole reason I’m doing this intro is to ask all of you watching to please respect my privacy as well as the privacy of the people I interviewed. They’re like family to me, and they’re doing this because I asked them to. I’ll answer a few questions once this is all over, but after that, I want things to go back to normal. I’m only asking for a few more weeks. Thank you.”
The camera cut to black for a moment, and the word ‘Natasha’ popped up in bold white letters before the it cut to Natasha sitting on the couch in the common room of the tower, dressed in leggings and an old t-shirt, her feet tucked under her. It was nothing like the things she normally wore in front of cameras or for the public. She looked relaxed and comfortable, like she was at home.
“Why are we doing this again, kid?” she asked, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
“It’s for a project at school. We’ve been over this,” Peter said, his voice coming from off camera.
Natasha smiled for real and shook her head.
“You and Stark are one in the same, you know that? Neither of you have a subtle bone in your body.”
Peter laughed, the sound bright and unfiltered.
“Okay, okay. Let’s get started. I’ve got a lot more people to interview before today is out.”
He cleared his throat, and Natasha shifted so she was sitting up a bit more.
“Can you tell me your name?”
She raised a brow, looking at him past the camera.
“Really, Pete?”
“Come on! Just humor me.”
“Which one?” she asked with a smirk.
“Nat.”
“Alright. I get it. Serious time. My name is Natasha Romanoff.”
“What’s your alias?”
“Black Widow.”
“And what’s your primary role in the team?”
Natasha just grinned.
“Super secret spy stuff,” she teased.
Peter huffed, and she rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
“If you think I’m bad, just wait until you get to Stark or Wilson. I’ll be surprised if you even get a word in sideways.”
“Don’t remind me,” Peter groaned.
She laughed softly before looking back at the camera.
“I do a lot of intel, recon, and generally try to stay under the radar. If we need a place infiltrated through stealth, or if we need information, I’m the one they call in first.”
“What’s it like being part of the original six Avengers?”
“I feel like it’s not much different from everyone else. We all have our own jobs to do, and we’re all good at what we do. I guess you can say that I took on a mentor type role to a few of the new guys, but they’re very capable on their own,” she explained, her face softening a bit.
“Why did you become an Avenger?”
Natasha opened and closed her mouth a few times, as if she were looking for the words.
“I wish I could say that it was because I wanted to help people. I did, and I do, but that’s not why I joined the Avengers. I was tasked by Shield to recruit Bruce and Tony to help get the tesseract and stop Loki. After that, I worked with Shield undercover for whatever they needed me to. I was considered an Avenger. I was there to defend New York, but it didn’t feel like anything but a title. It was just a job that I had to do. It wasn’t until after Shield fell that I realized it was more than that. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to help people. Maybe it was Steve’s sense of righteousness rubbing off on me, but my past is full of lies, secrets, and ways that I’ve hurt people. I didn’t want to do that anymore. I’ve seen enough bad in the world to last me a lifetime. It makes no sense that I should add to it.”
“So, would you say that it’s your past and the mistakes that you’ve made is what makes you a hero?”
She considered the thought for a moment before nodding.
“In a way, yes. While I have regrets, I don’t think that I’d be where I am now without it.”
“That’s all the questions I had for you. Thanks, Nat.”
Natasha smiled.
“Anytime, Peter.”
The screen cuts to black again before the word ‘Clint’ comes up in bold, white font. It fades to show the archer standing in the training room, bow hanging loosely in his grip.
“You sure about doing this, Pete?” he asked, tilting his head in question.
Peter was standing behind the camera like he was in the last interview.
“As sure as I’m gonna be. I’ve already talked about it a lot with May, and Mr. Stark.”
Clint just shrugged and shot him a grin.
“It’s your world, kid.”
“Okay. Let’s get started. What’s your name?”
Clint’s face scrunched up in confusion.
“What’s my- Peter you know my name.”
“It’s for the camera, dude. Just roll with it.”
“Clint Barton.”
“What’s your alias?”
“Hawkeye,” he said with a wink.
Peter snorted.
“What’s your primary role on the team?”
“I run around with a bow and arrow and shoot things,” he deadpanned, gesturing to the bow in his hand.
“And?” Peter prompted, clearly asking for more information.
“Fine. I don’t just shoot arrows. I run recon and stealth missions. I’m usually the scout for the team as well.”
“What’s it like being one of the six original Avengers?”
“I’d say it’s no different, really. I mean, I feel like we have the responsibility to look out for the younger generation, but you and I both know that I’m the least responsible out of the group,” he laughed. “I like to think of myself as the fun uncle. I leave the parenting up to Stark and Cap.”
“Why did you become an Avenger?”
“Damn, kid. You’re really going deep with this, huh? I figured it’d be a bunch of silly questions about what it’s like to be an Avenger.”
Clint ran his free hand through his hair as he stood in thought.
“That’s a difficult question. Everyone knows how I became compromised back in 2012, and how Nat literally knocked some sense into me. I had a duty back then to Shield and to her to see that fight through. It was my job. After that, I went back to working for Shield and then the whole thing with Ultron happened. It put some things into perspective for me. We were the Avengers, and we went on missions, and we saved people. That was our thing, but it never felt real. At least not for me. Not until Wanda and Pietro.”
His eyes looked a little further off than they had moments before.
“Those two kids had seen so much tragedy and heartbreak in their life, and there we were, a group of people that swore they would help, hurting more people than we were helping. Sokovia was almost globally catastrophic, and it was for Wanda. She lost her brother that day, and it was inherently because of us, because of me. I realized that day that it wasn’t a just a job or a duty. We were affecting real people with real lives, and we had to do better.”
He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.
“In a really roundabout way of answering your question, I became an Avenger because it was my job, but I stayed after Shield fell because I saw the other side of what we had done to in an attempt to protect the planet. Before then, we had never had a chance to see what it was like. First it was Loki. Sure, we nearly destroyed half of New York, but we did it because we had to. We packed our toys up and went on our separate ways without seeing an ounce of the consequence. Then it was the Hydra bases and Shield work. Those didn’t affect anyone on the scale that Sokovia did. I think that was the first time really got to see what we were doing to people and their families.”
“That’s- wow. Okay. That’s not what I expected,” Peter breathed.
Clint gave him a half-smile.
“Sorry for putting such a downer on your school project.”
“No! I mean- no. That’s what I wanted actually. Thanks.”
Then there was a warm, genuine smile.
“Sure thing, Pete.”
Another cut to black, and then ‘Bruce.’
The camera was in Bruce’s lab, facing the worktable he was standing behind. The man looked happy, almost excited, as he smiled at Peter behind the camera.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yeah! I just started recording,” the teen chirped. “Can you tell me your name?”
Bruce huffed a laugh.
“Dr. Bruce Banner.”
“And what’s your alias?”
“I feel like you should be asking who it is. I’m actually not even sure if the Hulk can be called an alias.”
“Fair enough,” Peter murmured. “Anyway, what’s your role on the team?”
“I suppose my job is researching and developing anything that falls within the fields of nuclear physics, biomedical engineering, particle physics, biochemistry, computer science, medicine, and quantum field theory, but as I’m more widely known as the Hulk, my other job is to- well, smash.”
Peter busted out into a fit of giggles that took several seconds to get under control.
“How does it feel to be a part of the original Avengers?”
“It’s crazy when you think about it, to see how far we’ve come. I never thought we’d make it this far when we started. To be totally honest, I figured we would tear ourselves apart within the first three hours, but here we are. I think we have a sort of responsibility to guide the new guys that come in. I mean, we’re their foundation. That’s not to say that we should baby every new guy that joins, but they do need to be outfitted and trained as well as learn how to work as a team.”
“Because that’s one of the hardest parts of this, right? Learning to work as a team?” Peter asked.
Bruce nodded.
“Absolutely. It took a literal act of a god to get us to work together the first time and another world-ending event after that for it to stick. Things are great now, and I can’t complain, but I never want anyone else to go by it the way we did. It saves a lot of trouble and heart ache.”
“Why did you become an Avenger?”
The scientist sucked a breath in through his teeth.
“That’s a tough one. Alright. To make a long story short, I got to a low point in my life. The Hulk obviously wanted to stay around for a while so, I decided to make the best of things. I did that for a while helping sick families in India, trying to stay off the radar. Of course, no one was ever off of Fury’s radar, and Natasha came to recruit me during the whole Loki fiasco. I didn’t want to go back because I knew they didn’t trust the Hulk. I didn’t trust the Hulk, and for good reason. I had no control over him, and I had done a lot of harm as him. After months and months of hating myself and fearing that I would lose control and hurt someone else, I finally came to terms with it, with him. I realized that I could do really good things with him, and that I could trust myself. In short, Pete, I stayed on the team because I wanted to prove to myself that I was worth calling myself a hero.”
“Thank you, Dr. Banner.”
“Kid, when are you going to start calling me Bruce?” the man asked with a chuckle.
“Never!” Peter answered with a laugh just as the camera cut off again.
Then, ‘Sam.’
Sam was seated at the dining room table, smirking at the camera.
“You know this face was made to be in front of a camera, right?”
Peter choked on a laugh.
“What? You think I’m kidding? Look at this face, kid. This is perfection,” he said, posing dramatically.
“Can we get on with it, Mr. Wilson?”
“Only if you stop calling me Mr. Wilson. It makes me feel old,” Sam huffed. “Why do you call Nat by her name, but not the rest of us?”
“Because she threatened me.”
“Alright, fair,” Sam snorted.
“Tell me your name,” Peter said sharply.
“Sam Wilson. At your service.”
“And what’s your alias?”
“The Falcon, or as I like to call it, the cooler bird-themed superhero.”
Peter actually laughed at that.
“I’m telling Mr. Barton that you said that.”
“Go ahead!” Sam said. “He knows it too.”
“What’s your role on the team?”
“I do a little bit of everything, I guess. I run some stealth and recon ops with Red Wing, but I’m not nearly as good at it as our resident KBG rejects or Hawkass. I mostly do aerial combat when there’s a firefight,” Sam shrugged.
“What made you become an Avenger?”
Sam whistled and sat back in the chair.
“I guess we’re getting serious then? Man, you weren’t kidding. We all know that I was in the military before joining you crazy bastards. I did pararescue before my best friend and wing-man died in combat. After that, I left and started counseling veterans with PTSD. It felt like the text step for me. Even though all of the fight was punched out of me, I knew what it was like for them, and I had to help. I couldn’t not do it. A while later, I met Steve. He reminded me a lot of Riley in a way, and he eventually talked me into joining him on this crazy mission to track down his murderous best friend from the forties. It’s hard to explain what I was feeling. I stuck my neck out for Steve and for Bucky, and I had no idea why. It just felt right. I feel like that’s a shallow thing to say, but it’s the same reason I joined the Air Force. I knew what the right thing to do was, and I felt like that if I didn’t do it, no one else would.”
“Huh,” Peter mused. “You’ve never told me that.”
“You’ve never asked,” Sam shrugged, his smirk sliding back into place. “Not to mention that Stark pays well.”
Peter laughed.
“Thank you, Mr. Wilson.”
“Peter Parker, I swear to all things good and holy in this world. If you do not-“
The camera cut to black just as Sam was rising out of his chair. ‘Bucky’ showed on the screen next.
The dark-haired super soldier was in one of the chairs in the common room, doing his best to look uninterested. He was in a dark long sleeve shirt and black jeans, leaving his metal hand on display.
“Can you tell me your name?”
“Did’ya forget or something, punk?” Bucky asked with a smirk.
“Believe it or not, you’re not the first person to make that joke,” Peter deadpanned.
Bucky huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes.
“James Barnes, but most people call me Bucky.”
“What’s your alias on the field?”
Bucky raised an eyebrow.
“I used to be the Winter Soldier, but I was dubbed the White Wolf in Wakanda, and it sort of stuck.”
“And what’s your role on the team?”
“Just your typical ex-assassin things. Stealth, infiltration, and the occasional really hard punch. If I’m not on the ground, I’m up somewhere near Barton, sniping from a distance and watching the field. I try and coordinate strategies with Steve.”
“What made you become an Avenger?”
The soldier laughed softly.
“I feel that one is a bit obvious, don’t you think?”
“You were pardoned by the government, and everything related to Hydra was wiped from you. Why didn’t you just pick up a normal life and try and move on?”
Bucky looked down at his hands, silent for a moment.
“What people don’t understand is that it’s hard to be a civilian again. Once you’re a soldier, you’re always a soldier. You’re always looking for the next fight over your shoulder because that’s just what you’re used to. I feel like I’m a peculiar case on top of it. I did a lot of unforgivable things as the Winter Soldier. I hurt a lot of people, and I destroyed even more families. I know that wasn’t me, not really. I’ve made peace with that, but I also feel like because of the things I did, I have an obligation to make the world a better place.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“I also promised some scrawny kid from Brooklyn that I’d follow him into the jaws of Hell, and I like to keep my promises.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here,” Peter said softly.
Bucky smiled, warm and open.
“I know, punk. Now, get outta here. Just because you picked my brain like some shrink doesn’t mean I like putting up with you for longer than I have to,” he teased, waving him off with his flesh hand.
Peter’s laugh was cut off by the screen going black again. ‘Steve’ shown in that same white text was next.
The blonde was standing out on the balcony, leaning his back on the railing while he faced the camera.
“You know,” Peter started, the smirk audible in his voice, “I think my class is going to be disappointed that it’s not going to be another one of your PSAs.”
Steve dropped his head groaned, rubbing at his temples.
“Please don’t remind me of those. At least I’m not in that tacky, knock-off suit.”
“Why did you even do those in the first place?”
“I owed someone a favor. They just didn’t tell me what the favor was until I was handed a script. Those were almost worse than the tours I was forced to do back in the forties.”
“Mr. Stark still has one of the signed posters hanging up on the wall in the lab. It’s in mint condition too.”
Steve’s eyes widened comically before a grin broke out on his face.
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope,” Peter said, popping the ‘p.’ “I’m completely serious. I asked him why he keeps it when he lives with the real thing, but he just said it was a collectable.”
The super soldier threw his head back and laughed.
“You’re going to have to sneak me down there one day so I can see it,” he said.
“Deal. I owe you one for doing this, and it’s blackmail on Mr. Stark.”
Steve’s eyes softened.
“You don’t owe me anything, Queens. You know as well as I do that any of us here would do anything for you.”
Peter stumbled over his words for a few seconds before he managed to clear this throat.
“Right. Okay, well- thanks, Captain Rogers, sir. Let’s- let’s begin.”
Steve’s smile only got wider.
“What is your name?”
“Steve Rogers.”
“And what’s your alias?”
“Captain America.”
The soldier stood a bit taller.
“What is your role on the team?”
“I’m the leader and the strategist. While everyone does function independently, I make sure that we’re all on the same page and that everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing. We’re all very capable of making decisions on our own, but it’s easier when one person is calling the shots for the group as a whole while we’re in a fight.”
“What’s it like being one of the six original Avengers?”
“It gives me a sense of responsibility to watch out for the new recruits. They look up to us for guidance and training. We set the example for them.”
“Why did you become an Avenger?”
Steve placed his hands on the railing behind him and looked to be lost in thought for a moment.
“Everyone knows the story of Captain America. I’m not going to go into that again, but when Fury came to me about the tesseract, I was so desperately looking for some semblance of normal that even though I was angry it wasn’t still in the ocean where I left it, I was almost happy that I was back into a fight. War is something that I knew. I was comfortable with it. At the time, the Avengers gave me purpose, and I clung to that. It’s more than that now though. They’re my family, and I wouldn’t change what I have for the world.”
“Thank you for answering my questions Captain Rogers.”
Steve shook his head with a smile.
“One of these days I’ll get you to call us by our first names, Queens.”
There was another cut to black before Tony’s name popped up.
The man sat in a dark navy suit, sunglasses perched on his nose despite the fact he was lounging on the couch in his penthouse.
“Come on, kid. You know the rules. I said I’d do this only if you sat next to me and not behind the camera where no one can see your face,” he said, patting the spot beside him.
“Mr. Stark,” Peter hissed, completely out of view.
“Nuh uh. You promised, and no one likes a liar, Petey,” Tony smirked.
Peter groaned and stepped in front of the camera, dragging his feet with every step. He threw himself down onto the couch next to the man with every ounce of dramatic flair he could muster.
Tony just snorted, tossing an arm over his shoulders.
“Was that so hard?”
“Yes,” Peter said, folding his arms over his chest.
His indignance was betrayed by the way he scooted closer to Tony, tucking himself into the man’s side.
“Since you’ve decided to uphold your end of the bargain, I guess we can begin.”
Peter sat up and shifted around until he had one leg tucked under his knee, facing Tony.
“Tell me your name.”
Tony lowered his glasses with his finger and glanced to the camera.
“They know who I am.”
Peter heaved a sigh but continued anyway.
“What’s your alias?”
“I think that one is pretty obvious too, cucciolo.”
Peter flushed at the nickname, shoving at Tony with his feet.
“What’s your role on the team?”
“Besides kicking ass both on the ground and in the air, I fund the team. I give them all sorts of new suits, tech, and toys to try out. I keep a roof over their heads and food in their fridges. Along with the help of Pepper, I also run the media side of things and organize events and charities.”
“What’s it like being one of the six original Avengers?”
“I’m sure Cap had something awe-inspiring to say about this question. Probably something along the lines of responsibility.”
Peter chewed on the corner of his lip to hide his smile.
“I guess he’s not technically wrong,” Tony continued, waving his hand flippantly. “I’ve never really been one for responsibility though. Well, until I met you, anyway. I kind of had to step up my game if I didn’t want your aunt to gut me.”
The teen couldn’t even try to hide his laugh, especially not when Tony winced at the thought.
“I don’t see anything special in it really. Nothing much has changed other man more suits, tech, and mouths to feed,” he shrugged.
Peter hummed in response.
“What made you become an Avenger?”
Tony paused for a moment, looking at Peter as if he was still processing the question.
“I had already decided that I was going to rewrite my legacy. Calling yourself the ‘Merchant of Death’ was a lot easier if you never saw any of the bodies. Joining the Avengers Initiative was like any other decision of mine, purely on impulse. Shield had information that I wanted, and you know how I get when people keep information from me. I was curious, and it was the perfect opportunity.”
Peter stared at the man, brows furrowed despite the smile on his face.
“You know, everyone else gave me such heartwarming answers, and yours is just curiosity.”
Tony laughed and leaned over to ruffle Peter’s hair.
“You asked why I started, not why I stayed. Everyone on this team may push my buttons one way or another, but after the attack on New York, I knew it wouldn’t be the last time we were together. I stayed firstly because the world needed us, needed a group of people that would defend it regardless of what we were up against, and because contrary to popular belief, I do happen to like the idiots that eat all of my food and run up my electricity bill.”
A laugh bubbled up from Peter’s throat as he tried to dodge Tony’s hand unsuccessfully.
“Alright. That’s all I had for you, Mr. Stark,” he said, standing up to turn the camera off.
Just as he was reached to stop the recording, Tony stopped him.
“Hey, Pete?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m proud of you, kid.”
Tony’s warm smile could just barely be seen over Peter’s shoulder, but it was definitely there.
“Thanks, Mr. Stark.”
The recording stopped and then shortly after, read ‘May.’
May Parker was sitting at the dining room table of her apartment, a coffee mug in between her hands. She was practically beaming at the camera.
“I went around and asked all of the Avengers a bunch of questions on who they were and why they became heroes. So, now I’m going to ask you. Tell me your name.”
“May Parker.”
“And what do you do for a living?”
“I’m an ER nurse.”
“Why do you think that some people call nurses heroes?”
She tilted her head at the question, hair falling into his face slightly. She pushed it behind her ear before answering.
“I mean, we do save lives. People come into us with trauma or pre-existing conditions, and we do our best to help them or try and save them. I don’t really like being called a hero because I’m just doing what I swore to do when I got my license. Besides, it’s not like we’re fighting bad guys or flying around in suits of armor,” she said with a soft laugh.
“I think it counts though. A life is still a life. It doesn’t matter if it’s hundreds at once, or just one at a time. You are the reason that someone is still walking around, breathing, talking, and living life with their friends and family. That sounds pretty heroic to me,” Peter insisted.
May hid her smile behind her coffee cup as she took a long sip.
“That means a lot coming from you, Pete.”
“I know first-hand just how heroic you are too. You and Ben took me in after my parents died and raised me as your own. Even after Ben died, you never treated me any different. I’ve always felt loved and supported, and I can never repay you for that. It doesn’t matter than I spend my time with the Avengers. You have always been my first and favorite superhero.”
Tears started to form in her eyes, and her mouth went slack.
“You set me up to cry,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.
“Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t. I just wanted everyone to know how awesome you are.”
May jumped from her seat and darted around the table, behind the view of the camera. A muffled thud and then a laugh could be heard.
“You’re crushing me, May,” Peter choked out.
“Good. You deserve it after that stunt you just pulled.”
Another laugh. Then more rustling.
“I love you, Aunt May.”
“I love you too, Peter.”
Everything cut to black for a moment before it was back to the original scene. Peter was seated at his desk, drumming an imaginary beat onto the wood.
“I just got done editing the footage, and if I had the nerve to hand this in, then I guess my secret is out. That’s not really the point of this though. The things that make a hero are not what you see on the outside. It’s not the suits, the abilities, the tech, or the enhancements. It’s what’s inside that makes them heroes. It’s their morals, their standards, and their will to keep fighting no matter what happens because they know it’s the right thing to do.”
He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.
“Heroes are also real people under the suits. They have feelings, motives, and families. People don’t just press a button and they come out of their docking stations like robots. They usually aren’t the kind of people who you expect them to be either. Black Widow loves cats. Captain America likes to draw in his spare time. The Falcon and Hawkeye like to start prank wars in the tower. Iron Man chases his bots around the lab at three in the morning with screw drivers and trips over a box he left laying out.”
A smile turned up the corners of his lips for a second before disappearing again.
“I’ve got one last clip I want to show you. I asked everyone else to keep it under wraps while we were filming because they didn’t know I was doing this, but Mr. Stark talked me into it. Before I go, I want to ask that all of you just remember what I said about heroes being people too.”
It faded to black again before one last word came across the screen. ‘Peter.’
The camera was in the lab, pointed at a table, but no one was in sight.
“Are you sure this is a good idea, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked from somewhere off to the side.
“Yes, kid. I’m sure. Remember when you said that you’d like to have some control over how everything came out? This is a perfect opportunity. You have more control here than you’ve ever had over anything in your life.”
Tony’s voice came from a similar direction.
There was shuffling and clanging in the background before a heavy sigh.
“You know, one of these days, you’re going to be wrong about something, and I’m going to rub it in your face for all eternity,” the teen said. The eyeroll was audible.
“Not likely,” the man snorted.
“Alright,” Peter started, his voice getting louder as he got closer to the camera. “Let’s get this over with.”
Fully encased in the Iron Spider suit, Peter stepped in front of the camera and gave a little awkward wave.
“Can you state your name for the record?” Tony asked, deepening his voice to a dramatic level.
Peter gave the man behind a camera that even through the mask of the suit screamed unimpressed.
“Come on. Don’t I get to have some fun here?” the man teased.
The mask of the suit retracted, revealing Peter’s definitely unimpressed expression. He placed his hands on his hips and shook his head.
“Peter Parker.”
“Mr. Peter Parker, what is your fantastic superhero name?”
“I could just get Captain Rogers to do this, Mr. Stark.”
Tony gasped, and there was a soft thud of skin on fabric.
“The betrayal. You’d leave your own mentor for the one-hundred-year-old Capsicle?”
Peter was visibly trying to fight off a smile at Tony’s antics.
“You’re dead to me.”
“Answer the question, Underoos,” he said in sing-song voice.
“Spiderman.”
“What’s your role on the team, kid?”
Peter visibly relaxed at the normal question.
“Most of my job is making sure civilians are safe and evacuated. I’m one of the most agile, and despite what Mr. Stark says, I can take some of the hardest hits. Once everyone is out of the area, then I come in and help whoever needs backup.”
Tony scoffed lightly.
“You say that like I don’t fly around in a literal suit of armor.”
“I said some. Besides, I’m bit harder to hit than your hunk of metal,” he sniffed, going for an air of superiority.
It lasted for a total of two seconds before both Tony and Peter broke out into laughter.
“Alright, alright. Let’s get serious. I’d ask about your origin story, but I think that can wait until the official press release that we’re going to have to beg Pepper for when you turn this project in.”
Peter smiled dipped slightly, and he shifted uneasily on his feet. Tony caught it right away.
“Hey, you know that if you aren’t ready for this, we can scrap any or all of it right now.”
His tone was gentle and warm, nothing like the teasing air it had moments ago.
“No, no. I’m ready. Keep going.”
Something defiant sparked in Peter’s eyes, and it seemed to be enough for Tony.
“What made you become a hero?”
“When I found out I had my powers, I was too afraid to do anything with them. I didn’t even learn how to use them, and that was mostly because I didn’t want to get caught. Ben, May, and I got into fights a lot because I was obviously hiding something, and I was cranky and moody. One night, I stormed out. Ben came looking for me, and- well, it didn’t go well. I’ve come to terms with a lot of what happened that night, and I’m not going to go into it, but I felt like if bad things happened, and I didn’t do anything to try and stop it, then it was my fault. That’s why I became Spiderman. The Avengers were there for the big problems. I wanted to be there for the little guy.”
“Good answer, Pete. It was a lot more wholesome than mine.”
Peter laughed.
“I mean, I don’t know. Your whole bit about how you actually like us idiots was pretty wholesome,” the teen snarked.
A screw was thrown at him, and he caught it without blinking.
“Brat.”
“I wonder who I got it from,” Peter retorted, a challenging look on his face.
“Hey! Spiderman or not, I can still kick your ass!”
“You’ll have to catch me first.”
The last thing the video showed was Peter breaking out into a grin and jumping straight up into the air. Tony’s shout was cut off by the screen fading to black for the final time.
Silence.
The classroom was in absolute silence. Even the teacher was frozen in her seat.
Peter felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest.
“Uh, surprise?” he said awkwardly in the semi-darkness.
“Well,” MJ said slowly, “I guess that was one way to do it.”
Even she sounded surprised, and Peter counted that as a win if nothing else. MJ was usually so unflappable, and it took a lot to shock her. He guessed coming out as Spiderman via school project was well above the threshold if the fact her book was sliding out of her hand was anything to go by.
“Mr. Parker- Peter- I-“ Mrs. Davis stammered, trying to find the words.
“So, did I pass?” he asked in an attempt to diffuse some of the tension.
She didn’t answer. She was just keep staring between him and her computer screen, like she couldn’t believe what she had seen.
“There’s- there’s no way that’s real, right? This had to have been some sort of joke. I mean, there’s no way Parker knows all of the Avengers, and there’s really no way that’s he’s Spiderman,” Flash croaked, his eyes wider than Peter had ever seen them.
“That would be hard to fake, dude,” Ned said, nose crinkling in distaste.
“Video editing exists,” Flash snapped, like that was the most logical explanation.
Murmuring broke out around them as everyone seemed to consider what Flash said, and Peter resisted the urge to put his head through the nearest wall. He knew that there would be some speculation, and he guessed that it might have been his fault that he didn’t prepare for it, but he felt that it was starting to get a bit ridiculous.
“First of all,” he said with a sigh. “That would be some seriously impressive video editing. Second, what will it take for me to prove it to you?”
In for a penny, in for a pound he supposed.
Flash narrowed his eyes and sneered.
“Spiderman can stick to anything, right?”
“Yes?”
“Stick to the wall then since you’re so determined to prove yourself.”
Peter shrugged.
“I can do you one better.”
The teen did exactly what they couldn’t see at the end of the video. He rose from his desk and jumped straight up to the ceiling and stuck himself to the tiles, hanging by nothing but the palms of his hands.
Flash’s jaw might as well have hit the floor, and the class scrambled to stand in the spot under him and erupted into shouting and questions, loud enough that it made him wince from the sudden volume.
Maybe that wasn’t his best move. He started to wonder how fast Pepper could get that press conference together.
He opened his mouth to say something, but the release bell rang, interrupting him.
Peter took that as his chance to bolt like the coward he was.
“Hey, so, I know that I said I would answer a few questions, but I just realized that something came up, and I have to go, right now . I- uh- won’t be answering any questions until the official press release sometime this weekend hopefully. Thanks, guys! See you Monday maybe!” he shouted over everyone before launching himself over everyone’s heads and to the door.
Peter wrenched it open and took off sprinting down the hallway, ignoring all of the pounding footsteps chasing after him but choosing instead to smile at Ned and MJ’s laughter that rang out over it.
He couldn’t wait to tell his family how it went.