Taking Hits | P. Parker

| 020 - Press |

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Mining away
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I can feel the eyes on me as I make my way through the glass hallway with the rest of the Avengers. They are all smiling and talking with each other as we make our way down the halls with each other. I listen and nod or shake my head if they turn their attention to me but I am pulled away from the conversation as we enter a huge room.

My eyes immediately go to the crowd of people who are all standing around or sitting in chairs with cameras or notebooks in their hands. As if when we enter the room, the group all look to us and I shuffle even closer to the rest of the group of Avengers. I stay close to Ms Pepper as Mr Stark leads the group of us up on to the stage and he starts talking to them all as he gives me a small encouraging smile.

"This is Peter Parker." Mr Stark says finally to the chat and he is almost automatically asked many questions from many voices from all around the room. I suck in a small breath as I realize exactly how many people are in this room and suddenly the room seems even smaller and even more crowded then it had been before. My head buzzes as I look around and I try to identify each voice to a face in the crowd.

"Is he a new Avengers recruit?" I hear a man with a camera shout louder then the rest of the people who are chatting. I freeze up a little and glance towards Mr Stark whose eyes travel to him, a small smile appearing on his face before he answers the question.

"No," Mr Stark chuckles a little as he shakes his head no at the question and the crowd goes quiet, ready to take any note they can on what he is talking about. I watch as the man who had asked steps back behind his camera and he adjusts it a little. "But he is most definitely part of the family." He smiles and I glance over at Ms Pepper who is still standing at my side and she gives me an encouraging smile when she sees me looking.

"What does that exact entail Mr Stark?" A woman in the front row of the crowd asks and my eyes move to her. She is a pretty blond and staring at Mr Stark as if the world revolves around him. Playboy, I remind myself, Mr Stark is a playboy. I look around the room and see that everyone is pretty much on the edge of their seat as they wait for another answer.

"That means," Mr Stark says, stepping back to stand next to Ms Pepper and myself. I look up at him as he places a hand on my shoulder and looks at Ms Pepper before looking back to the crowds of people. "Earlier this week Pepper and I adopted Peter," He starts to say and I shrink back a little, trying to hide from the crowds of people. My body goes into overdrive with the lights being too bright and my head pounding to the point where it's almost too much. I glance at Ms Pepper and she must get the message because she taps on Mr Stark and motions towards the door.

"That's all for now, I'll answer more questions in the future." Mr Stark tells the people who are once again swarming him with questions. I am quickly lead out of the room with Ms Pepper and Aunt Nat with the other Avengers around us at the same time, everyone heading back up to the living corners of the compound.

The group of Avengers lead me upstairs before they allow me to go off to the room they gave me on my own. Everything still feels like it's too much even as I sit down on the bed and my eyes go to the scene outside of the building. It is beautiful but I tear my eyes away from it and look to the blank wall on the other side of the room from where I am sitting.

I don't know why I'm acting like this or why everything had become so intense suddenly to the point where it was more then overwhelming for me. I do know that I probably freaked out the Avengers which is most definitely not a good look yet my mind goes back to the question of "Is he a new Avenger recruit?". The question makes me want to sink into the floor because no, I'm not but they have been saying that Spiderman is the next to become an Avenger but that also happens to be me. I know that I am like them, like the Avengers, if I really think about it but still, the idea seems unreal. It feels almost illegal for me to think of something like that.

I take a deep breath and shake my head slightly at the thought, wishing it would go away so I could sit in the silence but I know that it won't. Ideas like that don't just go away, they stay hidden in the back of your mind and try to get some kind of answer from you even if you don't want to give them one. Within a couple seconds my laptop is loading up in front of me and I hack into Friday before grabbing my backpack that had my suit hidden in it.

Patrol always helped me get my mind straight, always helped me calm down, and always let me get away from my problems. And with that in mind I throw the bag over my shoulder and slide out of the windows to make my way back to the city.