𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 | parker²

ix. letting loose

Peter and Ned busied themselves with unpacking while Aster took Peter's suit apart, plugging the wires into her laptop to begin sorting through the codes. For Peter to be able to leave the hotel and chase after the dealers, they were going to have to disable the tracking system that Tony had inevitably included while creating it.

Next to her, Peter placed a flashlight in his mouth and began working on the suit with both hands. Ned closed the blinds and turned around, casting them a weary look. "So, why are we removing the tracker from Peter's suit?"

Taking the flashlight out of his mouth for a moment, Peter continued to work. "Uh, because I gotta follow these guys to their boss before they move again and I don't really want Mr. Stark to know about it."

"So you're lying to Iron Man now?

Aster raised an eyebrow, glancing at Peter. She continued to type at a record speed, cracking one code at a time.

"No, I'm not lying," Peter insisted, dropping his voice to a mumble, "He just doesn't really get what I can do yet."

Ned eyed Peter dubiously, sitting next to Aster on the bed. He watched her type, letting out an impressed hum. "Damn, you can type fast. How are you doing that?"

"Practice."

Placing the flashlight back into his mouth, Peter used a pair of tweezers to pull the tracking device from the center of his suit. "Ah... Gotcha." He reached over and stuck the tiny device onto the lampshade. "All right, Happy. Enjoy tracking this lamp."

"We're not done yet. There's a ton of other subsystems in here..." Aster said, narrowing her eyes at the screen.

"Hm?"

Ned leaned closer to her, holding back a smirk at the encryption Aster was pointing at. "...but they're all disabled by the Training Wheels Protocol."

The flashlight dropped from Peter's mouth as he demanded, "What?!"

He crawled up the bed to sit next to Aster, sighing when he saw 'Training Wheels Protocol' in all red. The codes prove that the protocol was still active and that a 'Stark Industry Key Identifier' must be entered to disable it.

"'Training Wheels Protocol'?" Peter dubiously repeated.

Ned couldn't help but laugh while Peter's pleading eyes met Aster's. "Turn it off."

Aster raised an eyebrow, stopping her typing to send him a look.

"...Please?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Ned cut in. "I mean, they're probably blocked for a reason."

"Come on, man! I don't need training wheels."

Pursing her lips, Aster hesitated. She knew what it was like to be underestimated because of her age. But Peter did need the help. Glancing over at Ned and Peter, who were too busy arguing to pay attention to her, Aster reluctantly typed in the Key Identifier.

She would be there to help Peter if needed. He deserved full access to his suit.

Getting to his feet, Peter hopped up on the other bed and began jumping up and down. "I'm sick of him treating me like a kid all the time. It's not cool."

"Peter, you are not helping your case by jumping on the bed right now," Aster mumbled, still working on getting through the codes.

He stopped jumping.

"You are a kid," Ned added, agreeing with Aster.

Peter raised his hands up and shrugged. "Yeah, a kid who can stop a bus with his bare hands."