A Family of Flaws

Chapter Four; Meeting The Masked Spider

  Cap took a step forward, slinging his shield over his back and holding his hands up to show that they came in peace. "Spider-Man, right? I'm Captain America and this is Falcon, we came here to talk. That's all." Cap spoke calmly, taking another step forward. "Are you willing to talk with us?"

  Spider-Man backed up, away from the edge of the roof and seemed to contemplate his next move. He examined the two Avengers that stood before him as if he was deciding whether or not they were about to pull a fast one and attack him. "Seriously, dude, we actually wanna make an alliance with you so the government doesn't see you as a threat anymore." Sam added as nonchalantly as he could, hoping his more lax and refrained appearance was more assuring than Cap's headstrong and firm front.

  And much to Sam's surprise, it did the trick. Spider-Man nodded slowly and beckoned for them to meet him on top of the roof that he was already standing on. Sam cheered quietly and spread his wings, taking to the air while Cap crossed the street and climbed the fire escape.

  Both of them landed on the roof a good distance from the arachnid, who was standing at the opposite corner, still a little suspicious of them. "Wow, I never thought I'd get to meet the Captain America!" Spider-Man said lightly, as if this was a casual conversation. His voice and attitude were a complete one-eighty from his stance and distance.

  "Am I in trouble or are you guys actually interested in me? Because I promise if you think I did something it totally wasn't me." The masked hero gave a very relaxed, even comical, vibe that instantly told Sam they were going to get along very nicely.

  Cap took the role as the leader and stepped forward, seemingly to Spider-Man's discomfort as he shifted so his body was angled slightly towards another building as if he was preparing for a quick escape. "You're in no trouble, son, the Avengers have been very surprised by your abilities and we wanted to give you some help."

  This, of course, caused another wave of suspicion to wash over the spider. "And why would you do that?" He asked with an air of doubt, probably considering running away from them again.

Sam decided it was time he stepped in, he trusted Cap with every single fiber of his being, but Spider-Man seemed much less confident in the soldier even though his enthusiastic greeting would give quite a different impression.

"We don't know your identity and we respect that you want to keep that a secret." Sam started, giving a small smile. "I mean, we're pretty damn curious but we won't push you to tell us. So, instead, we want to make sure you're actually a hero and not some villain in disguise. We're giving you roof access to the Avengers tower, you'll be able to come into our common room and kitchen, the Medbay, and the training rooms."

Just as Sam thought, Spider-Man seemed much more inclined to listen to Sam rather than Cap, who looked butt-hurt but didn't try to intervene as the two younger heroes had their small moment. "You can come whenever; you'll be able to rely on us to patch you up if you're hurt, hang out when you're more comfortable with us, and train with us." Sam explained, taking a few more steps towards the arachnid. "And if you want, one day you can tell us your identity and join the team. The public doesn't even have to know your identity."

The two of them were barely five feet apart now, Sam took another step and smiled again. "The government won't try to hunt you down or anything anymore because you'll be considered an ally of the Avengers and you'll be able to rely on us to help you whenever you're in a tight situation. Plus, you can even help us with a few big-time villains to get your name out there or whatever you want to think of it as; a way to help, earn fame, blow some time— I don't really care why you help people so long as you do actually help them."

Spider-Man nodded, and it was his turn to step towards Sam. "That... sounds great actually." He admitted almost sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hate to admit this but... I really thought you guys were trying to kidnap me to experiment on me or something." The spider laughed and shrugged. "But yeah, I wouldn't mind being an ally of yours." Spider-Man continued, both Sam and him took a step forward together. The gap was barely two feet.