avengers one-shots (Open)

The Collar🔵

Peter Parker is a terrible liar. Absolute rubbish. He doesn't seem to know how bad he is though.

So we all decided to let him keep thinking he was good at secrets.

But in reality, we all knew he was Spider-man.

He literally never got to class on time. He "fell down stairs" constantly. He pulled a bullet out of his leg during a lecture.

And we all noticed when he didn't come to school for a week. Everyone had different theories about why, and every one of us turned out to be wrong.

He came back eventually. We almost didn't recognize him. He was quiet, obedient, no longer spoke in class. And the weirdest thing?

The collar.

There was a metal ring around his neck.

I asked him what it was. He didn't answer. Just looked down and ignored the question. And I didn't ask again.

The next day, in biology, someone else asked.

He avoided them too.

"Peter, is it a Spider-man thing?" Mason asked gently. Peter's eyes grew wide and he looked accusingly at the boy.

"Oh come on Pete, we have known for literal months." Cindy chimed in. "Don't worry, none of us have told anyone."

He didn't relax.

"How did they find out then?" His voice was soft and choked.

"Them?"

He looked down. "Stryker. They registered me as an illegal and dangerous mutant." He winced, like someone had poked him.

Cindy was furious. "Is that what the collar is? What does it do and how do we get it off?"

Peter's eyes never left his lap. "It limits my powers and makes sure I don't do anything they don't want me to. It's essentially a shock collar. I don't think it can come off. Not without killing me in the process."

Everyone was shocked. I was absolutely outraged.

"A shock collar? What are you, a dog? How is that legal?! People are okay with this? YOU AREN'T EVEN A MUTANT!"

"Via-" Our teacher started, but Peter cut her off.

"Technically I am, and therefore don't have the same rights as a human. My DNA has been mutated. So it is legal."

He sounded so broken.

"Peter..." Lauren started cautiously. "What else did they do to you?"

A tear slipped down his nose. That was all the answer we needed. They had hurt him. He was a 16 year old boy and they hurt him, branded him, stripped him of his privacy, his freedom. Disgusting.

Yeah, we were gonna start a riot.

But first? We needed a plan. And a lawyer. Luckily, I have access to the best.

Five months later, we all sat in the courtroom.

"Your honor, this is Peter Parker. His is 16 years old. Three years ago, on a school field trip, he was bitten by a radioactive spider and his DNA was merged with that of a brown recluse. He vowed to only do good with his new powers, and became a hero, while staying anonymous to protect his friends and family. Almost 6 months ago, Colonel Stryker learned of his identity, and immediately incorrectly classified him as a mutant. He experimented on him, a teenager, and then stripped him of his human rights. And he IS a human. He was born a American citizen, and that can't be taken away. (I think that's false. I don't care.) I call to the stand, Peter Parker."

•••

He won.

It was proven that Stryker illegally tortured and experimented on a minor.

Three days later, we all went with Peter to get the collar removed. We all had to stand outside of a room that had walls made entirely of some kind of clear plastic. Apparently the collar wasn't safe for humans to be around when it wasn't in use. That made me so angry. How much pain had this stupid piece of metal caused him?

Two men in hazmat suits entered with a device. They put it up to his neck, and after a few seconds, the collar popped open. Peter immediately collapsed to the floor, and, almost like I was on autopilot, I lunged towards him. Emma stopped me before I ran right into the wall.

After a few seconds, he struggled to his feet. He looked like he was glowing. He looked healthier and more relaxed than I had seen him in months, even though he was shaking. He gave us a smile and a thumbs up.

Everyone cheered.

The door popped open with a hiss, and I tackled him with a hug. But I wasn't the only one. The entire class surged forward

From the back of the group, Lauren yelled: "I vote we celebrate!"

Peter smiled.

"It's your victory Spidey. Any preference?" I smiled at him.

He screwed up his mouth, thinking. "Ice cream?"

We all laughed. I put my hand on his arm. "Absolutely. Ice cream for everyone! It's on me!"

Everyone cheered again, and looked expectantly at our teacher. She sighed, but smiled.

"Alright. If Via is paying."

All the students raced back to the bus. But Peter hesitated.

"Peter? What's wrong?" I asked.

He shook himself, squaring his shoulders.

"Nothing. Just getting used to, you know, feeling like me again. I had forgotten how weird it was to be able to hear so much and see so well. It's like the world was diluted, and now it's over saturated."

"Hey, it's okay. Do you need headphones or anything? To, you know, block the noise?" I pulled some earbuds from my back pocket. Peter smiled gratefully.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Now... race you to the bus!"

I took off, and he followed me, only trailing behind for a few seconds before leaving me in the dust. I pretended to be mad, but really, I was just glad I had my friend back.

This is the thing that I actually like that had to be posted after the Spider-man Protection squad. I think Via might show up more, she is also probably gonna end up being the daughter of a villain. Not a supervillain, not even a super villain. But technically a bad guy. I actually didn't decide that until long after I wrote this and the previous story, but somehow it is all perfectly set up.

Excelsior!

Alrighty! Some stats on Via, since you will be finding out who she is pretty soon!

Hair: dark red
Eyes: green/amber, depending on the lighting.
Height: a little above average. 5'6

She is a little straight white girl. Soft and romantic, into indie music. Really talented pianist and tennis player. Typical rich kid stuff. She is incredibly loyal and probably more than a little depressed. Definitely has OCD, but isn't actually diagnosed, so only we know that.

Absentee mother, only child. Has a lot of access to Daddy's money, but doesn't often take advantage of it, just wants to be seen as a normal kid. She's popular but doesn't have many real friends, and had kind of given up trying to find any, until she started getting along with Peter.

Likes to wear flared jeans and sweaters, has about 20 pairs of chunky sneakers. Has a couple tattoos she got that her dad doesn't know about, but refuses to get her ears pierced.

Actually kind of enjoys going to fancy dinner parties and other events. Likes to mess with elitist white men and their stuck up wives.