A.N. This one-shot is originally owned by sam6sam, whom I thank for making this possible. This is a long-awaited part two to "Peter Parker vs. Fieldtrips". Hope you enjoy!
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Tony and Bruce were working on a project in the lab. It was everyday stuff.
What wasn't normal was the silence.
I don't mean the "they're not talking to each other" silence, I mean the "no music, no mumbling, literally no noise" silence.
It was...nice, for a change.
"Hey, Tony?"
Ah, so much for liberation from noise.
"'Sup, Brucie boo?"
"Um, so I met this kid today. Think his name was Peter. He-"
"-really intrigues you? Put you in a fix? Amazed you?" finished Tony, putting down his tools and turning around to face the other scientist.
"Exactly," exclaimed Zeu-sorry, Bruce. "He's been on my mind al-wait, how did you know?" he asked, looking at the man of Iron.
"Well, this class of kiddies came over for a field trip today and I had some random meeting at the time. One thing led to another, and suddenly I was chaperoning them. FRIDAY was playing back some footage regarding that and we noticed that he was the only one in that room who started with coding. I mean, not that big of a deal, but his stuff was pretty smart."
"Makes sense. I crossed paths with the kid today morning and he was hurt. So, after patching him up, he said that he loved my work on anti-electron collisions."
"And that is a big deal because..."
"Tony, people I've worked with for years need a simplified explanation for the same. Even you needed a bit of nudging and explanation to get it. If that kid, a high schooler, understood what I had written in that thesis, I wonder how high his IQ could be."
They both instantly looked at each other.
Only difference was that Tony had a look of excitement while Bruce looked like he regretted it already.
"Tony, no."
"Tony, yes!"
"You can't background the kid, Tony." said Pepper Potts as she entered the lab.
"How did you know we wer-"
"Everyone's seen the kid. Natasha and Clint were talking about how he barely blinked when Clint popped out from the vent and when Natasha strolled in. She already did background on the kid, assuming he was some terrorist, and found that he was a Peter Parker," she said, pulling up his file for them. "Steve and Wanda saw his face, heard his name and instantly started defending him, said that he had helped them while in the tower. FRIDAY then pulled up footage of him finding and placing Sam's cross on the table."
Tony was appaled. "How could he see the thing, it was hidden in-"
"-some wires? I know, and we'll talk about that later." Pepper chided him in her stern voice.
"He's even met Bucky. Bumped into him on his walk, complimented his arm, and dashed off."
"Kid sure does get around," said Tony, looking at his file for the first time.
"Peter B. Parker, goes to Midtown Tech, top of his class and specializes in engineering, physics and biochemistry-"
"Wait, I thought you couldn't major in subjects when you're still in school?" asked a thoroughly confused Bruce.
"You can't." Pepper clarified. "He's doing courses from various colleges. Every major one has already given him admission and is willing to take him in on scholarship, to be honest he could just leave school and join an Ivy-League college, but he's adamant on finishing high school with his peers and then going to MIT."
"Huh," said the amazed Tony. "So it's small wonder that he could understand what Bruce was saying in his book."
"I wouldn't be surprised. He's in your ballpark, boys, with an IQ of 250."
That floored the duo.
"250?! For a HIGH SCHOOLER?!"
"Who is this kid?!"
Tony and Pepper then shared a look.
"We should have some serious words with the others about this."
***
"Wait, so you want to hire him?" asked the dumbfounded Clint.
Tony and Pepper had a long talk and decided that with the kid's smarts, he could very well keep up with Tony. So, it was decided that, with the kid's current financial situation in mind, it would never hurt to give him a few thousand dollars for working for Tony, right?
Wrong.
"Well, he'll be my intern. So I think the answer is yes."
"That's not what we're talking about, Tony. This kid's a high schooler. Don't you think it would be a bit...tough to work for you?" voiced the ever reasonable Steve, who had grown fond of the boy he had just met.
"That's not a problem. Kid's IQ is uncomfortably close to Stark's."
The room was quiet now. Tony may not have been many things, but smartest in the room by a long shot, and probably the whole world, was something that he very much was. If Natasha of all people claimed that the teen's IQ was remotely close to the genius', it was a pretty big deal.
"How close are we talking?" Sam asked, voicing the thoughts of those in the room (who didn't know already).
"Stark's at 270, the kid's 250." (A.N. It differs from comic to comic, so I'm not concrete sure.)
"Damn, even Banner ain't that smart. No offence Bruce."
"None taken, but that's why we want him in."
"There might be another reason that I haven't told you yet." said Natasha in a very not suspicious way.
***
If Peter had the chance to squeal, he would.
He instead opted to flip onto the ceiling and drop back down.
He had just opened an e-mail from Tony Stark of all people, asking him if he was free to meet him today.
He knew about internet scams, so he had Karen verify the address. Twice over. He even did it himself.
It was the real Tony Stark.
So, of course he was a little excited to finally meet his hero.
Then the apprehension kicked in.
Why would Tony Stark want to meet him?
What did he want from him?
Had he been found out?
Was he going to jail?
Did he offend them?
Pushing the thoughts to the back of his head, he quickly typed in a reply to the e-mail.
No harm in checking it out, right?
***
"You're on time, kid." Tony sounded genuinely surprised as Peter entered the lobby of Stark's floor.
"I-is that a bad thing, Mister Stark?"
Look at him. Crime fighting vigilante and stuttering fanboy.
"No, not at all. I just had this stereotype that teenagers were always late. At least I was."
"Why did you call me here, Mr. Stark?"
"Please, just Tony is fine."
"Okay, Mr. Stark."
The genius did a double take at the kid after hearing what he said. Sensing no trace of sarcasm or mockery in his tone or expression, he ralized that the kid was just being extremely polite and well-mannered.
He really is different.
Opening the door for him, he let Peter go first, trying to be as gentlemanly as the kid.
As for Peter, all he could think was 'ohmygodit'sTonyStark-'
Only for him to walk into a conference room with all of the Avengers in it.
Ohmygodit'stheAvengers-
He couldn't decide on what to do and felt dangerously close to a mental breakdown. Steve, Bucky and Wanda offered the kid warm smiles, while Clint had a look of curiosity on his face. Natasha looked nonchalant, while the Bruce Banner was conked out in a chair.
Lightly nudging him, Bruce awoke with a start, nearly hitting his head on the table before him befor gathering his bearings and righting himself.
"Have a seat, kid." Tony said as he pulled out a chair for him.
Peter complied and sat down.
"Interesting stuff you do on the streets." Clint said as he checked his nails for no apparent reason except for dramatic flair.
"Um, what?" Peter asked, trying to keep his cool.
"We know that you're Spider-Man," said Natasha, getting straight to the point.
Well, there goes his cool.
"I-I'm so s-sorry, I promise that I'll do better but y-y-you have to understand tha-"
"We're not asking you to stop, son."
This made Peter look up in surprise, staring at the super soldier who had placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Wait, yo-you're not?"
"Au contraire, kid." said Tony. "We actually want you to keep doing what you do. We know your situation, so how about working under me as my personal intern?"
Peter's jaw dropped. For some reason, Tony felt nervous. So he kept going.
"You'll get full benefits. Travel expenses, health, dental, housing, and anything you want. It's fine if you don't want to join, I understand." Tony said, trying to play it cool. In all honesty, he really wanted the kid to join him.
"Why?"
That halted everybody.
"Pardon?" said Bucky.
"Why do you want me?" Peter clarified. "I'm just a teenage nobody who brings death to his family. I'm still in high school and there are experts all over the world who have been studying for years. Heck, there are superheroes all over the world who have been in active duty for years. So why do you want me?"
"Because none of them are you, Peter." Wanda said as she stood up from her chair and moved over to him. "None of them know suffering like you do. none of them keep going like you do. None of them are a teenage prodigy with genius intellect. None of them are superheroes and still in high school. None of them decide to use their powers to help others and keep going when the going's tough." she said as she kneeled before him. "None of them know the pain you go through, the responsibility you carry, the wisdom you hold. They don't know you and they really don't want to. They aren't you."
"We want to know you, Peter. I want to know you. We want you. Both Peter Parker and Spider-Man." she finished.
Everybody, including Peter, was floored by Wanda's heartfelt talk. She had not spoken much since coming back with the Avengers. So, for her to finally come out of her shell was refreshing.
The room was quiet for a few seconds, until everyone caught a glint off of Peter's cheek.
Wanda, seeing him cry, pulled him into a hug.
Peter hugged back and began sobbing into her shoulder.
After a few moments of silence, he responded.
"It's so heavy, Ms. Maximoff. A-and sometimes, I feel so lost and I'm like 'Why am I even doing this?' but then I see you guys and I just keep going. Because if you can take all of the hate and keep going, then I can too. But sometimes, i-it's like I can't breathe, you know? I just feel like I'm in the same spot and I-"
Natasha had enough. She stood up from her chair and joined Wanda in comforting the boy. Right behind her was Tony, since the kid's mini ramble-speech pulled at his heartstrings, and Clint, who's paternal instincts were acting up.
Steeb and Bucky saw no point in staying out, so they joined in too.
Bruce was an awkward potato, so he stayed out.
After a few minutes of just holding each other, the team broke apart.
"From now on, you're one of us. Got that kid? You're an Avenger" said Tony.
"And we never leave one of our own behind", finished Steve.
For that, Peter was eternally greatful.
***
Hey.
This is my take on the Part 2 of "Peter Parker vs. Fieldtrips".
I know this doesn't live up to your expectations, but I tried my best.
sam6sam is an amazing author. Be sure to check out their material.
Thank you for 1.2K reads! Love you so much.
Lots more coming soon, I promise.
I'm just struggling to control ideas and prompts.
Anyways, see you in the next one!
Hugs and cookies from me,
Jace Lennon
XOX