The next day, Peter woke, feeling much better but still pretty terrible. He could move, but not quickly. Ned, who'd stayed the night, told him that the King of Wakanda had phoned Shuri and she'd had to go back to the tower. Peter ate something, redressed his own bandages, and, with Ned's help, walked into the kitchen to have breakfast. He texted Shuri a quick thank you, then winced as he went back into his room and saw the blood caked on the carpet. He'd have to get that cleaned, or at least buy a rug before May got home.
He wondered if, given he ate enough and didn't tear the stitches, he'd be able to go out later.
"Ned..."
"No."
"But-"
"No."
"You don't even know what I'm going to ask!"
"You are not going to your Stark internship today! I don't even know how you can work for a man that does this to you!" He gestured at Peter's bandaged torso.
"It's his job, I'm not going to hold it against him! And you know how much that internship means to me," Peter gave Ned his best puppy eyes.
Ned stared. "He almost killed you, Peter."
"But he didn't so it's fine, right?"
"Oh my..."
~
Shuri kept her shoulders hunched and a scowl on her face as her brother berated her in front of all the Avengers.
"-you allow that vigilante to get away, and now you go sneaking off without permission? You could have been hurt! That vigilante-"
"That vigilante has a name!" Shuri blurted defiantly. "He's a person and he has a name and you - all of you - almost killed him!"
"SHUR-"
"Where did you go you, princess?" Natasha Romanoff asked quietly.
"I..."
"Give me your phone," T'Challa said suddenly.
"No!"
"Shuri."
"No."
"Tell us where you were."
Shuri froze. If she didn't tell them, they could easily take her phone, then they'd have Spider-Man's number and address, then he and Ned and whoever he lived with would be in danger.
"Fine," she muttered. "Somehow he got my number, and he contacted me, asking for help. I couldn't just let him bleed to death."
T'Challa all but exploded. "You did what?! It might have been a trap, he could have killed you!"
"You almost killed him! If I hadn't gone, he would have died! I can defend myself, but do you really think he would hurt me after being so careful to only defend when he fought you? I think if he wanted to hurt you, he would have done!" She heard heard Wakandan accent thicken, but she didn't much care.
"Do you know his identity?" Captain America asked her gently, like she was some dumb animal or frightened child.
"I wouldn't tell you if I did," she answered angrily, not able to clear her mind of the blood-soaked carpet.
"Look, we're only chasing him because he refuses to give us his name. If we knew who he was, we could stop."
"He kept his mask on," Shuri said truthfully. "I don't know his identity." That wasn't exactly a lie, per say. She only knew his first name, and even that was common enough. "Have you ever tried talking to him? Trying to find a compromise? He seemed nice, when he wasn't screaming at every breath." To her endless satisfaction, some of the Avengers looked down guiltily.
"We had to try to subdue him, or he would have-"
"He's never attacked us," Natasha said suddenly. Was she actually taking Shuri's side? "Every time, he stays on the defensive, only uses attacks to disarm and not injure."
"But-"
They were interrupted by a ping from Shuri's pocket. All eyes on her, she pulled out her phone, suddenly self-conscious. It was a message from Spidey.
Hi Princess Shuri, I just wanted to say thank you for all your help yesterday, and I'm super sorry if you got in trouble because of me. If there's anything I can do for you, I owe you my life.
On a slightly brighter note, I'm feeling a lot better this morning, managed to actually get off the floor, but I don't think the stain's going to come out of the carpet :/ Do you think I can sue the Avengers or...?
She sent a laughing emoji back, and looked up to find all of the Avengers staring at her, quite pale.
"It gets a lot more real when they have a phone and a carpet and a sense of humour, doesn't it?" She said meaningfully, and walked out.
~
Despite Ned's protests, Peter had decided to go to his internship. He didn't want to raise suspicions by calling in sick, he told himself. In reality, he just loved it there. He was one of the youngest interns, but his ideas were still respected and he adored the freedom that gave him. He could claim a headache, do a bit of work and not move much, and then head home, and everything would be fine.
Wincing a little, Peter swiped his access badge and stepped into the elevator. He was wearing a baggy hoodie to hide the lump of his bandages, and he shifted uncomfortably as he went up. The doors opened and he hurried out. If he could get to his workstation without attracting attention, everybody around him would be too absorbed in their work to notice if he was acting odd. He just had to-
Peter crashed into someone and they both stumble. Peter cried out in pain, but quickly disguised it as an apology.
"Aah- I am so sorry!" Peter helped the girl to her feet, but his eyes widened as he saw that it was Shuri. She frowned at him, and he suddenly realised that she hadn't seen him without the mask.
"Um, uh," he gave a clumsy bow, wincing as his stitches pulled, and kept his head down as he stuttered on. "You're uh, you're Princess Shuri."
"We don't do that in Wakanda," she motioned him up, and he did so, stomach barking in pain.
"S-sorry. And sorry I crashed into yo-"
"It's fine, it was just as much my fault." She gave him a distracted nod and brisk smile, and walked off. Peter's heart didn't stop pounding all the way to his lab, where he barely said hello to his fellow intern before collapsing into his chair, pretending to just be eager to start work (he'd been researching ways of making longer-range sensory detectors after walking into one too many automatic door before it opened). He pressed a hand to his throbbing chest, blinking back tears at the pounding pain. Maybe he should have listened to Ned.
Instead, Peter ate an energy bar, gritted his teeth, and got back to work.
~
All the way back to her room, Shuri couldn't stop thinking about the young intern she'd bumped into. He wasn't surprised at his reaction - most people acted like that when they realised who she was - but something about speaking to him had felt like deja vu, and she couldn't figure out what. And in addition to the strange acting around her that she was used to, he seemed to be almost in pain. She shook her head; it was probably nothing.
Her hand strayed to her pocket for the tenth time. Should she offer to come check on Spidey later, or leave it? Clearly Ned was more experienced. For the tenth time, she shook her head and put her phone back. But what if he thought she was rude for not checking in, or Ned needed help?
Before she could go around the pointless cycle again, Shuri realised she'd left her room key in the main room. With a sigh, she turned on her heel and jogged back along the corridor.
By the time she got to the main room, it was empty. She frowned, not having seen any of them near the bedrooms.
"FRIDAY?" She asked the tower's AI. She had make one of those for herself when she got back to Wakanda. "Where have the Avengers gone?"
"Boss and the others have gone to the intern labs to do some research into how Spider-Man's sensory tech might work and how to potentially sabotage it," the disembodied Irish voice replied.
"What part of try talking to him like human people... Can you give me directions?"
Shuri followed FRIDAY's voice back into the elevator, which took her down several floors, then out into an open workroom. She spotted the heroes immediately, and was surprised to recognise the intern they were talking to as the weird boy she'd knocked over earlier. Even before she got close, she could see that he was sweating heavily, but he didn't take off his hoodie. Maybe he was just nervous to meet the Avengers?
Stark asked a question, and the boy licked his lips anxiously and gave a short reply, before groaning quietly as he twisted stiffly to take something out of a drawer to hand to the billionaire. Tony flipped through the file then looked back at the intern with raised eyebrows. By now Shuri was close enough to hear the conversation.
"This is really detailed, kid."
"Thanks," the boy said through clenched teeth, his breathing laboured. Was he alright? How come the other Avengers hadn't noticed how strangely he was acting?
"What's your name again?"
"Peter Parker, sir," the intern said.
Shuri gave a quiet gasp. "Peter?!" It was a common name, yes, but it fit: the pain he was in, the way he'd acted around her earlier, the familiar voice. Shuri couldn't believe that Spider-Man was just a child, no older than she was. Moreover, she couldn't believe that he wasn't still in bed, resting.
"Do I know you?" The intern asked, catching her eye with a meaningful glance. She realised that all the Avengers were staring at her.
"What? Oh, no. It's just such a strange name, is all."
Peter's eyes widened in fake realisation, and he struggled to his feet only to bow, hissing through his teeth.
"You're the princess of Wakanda! I'm really sorry-"
"It's fine, we don't do that in Wakanda," she motioned him up, the deja vu very real. Only this time, instead of standing up he collapsed onto the floor. She rushed forwards. "Are you okay?"
There was no reply. Some of the nearby interns glanced up at the commotion, but the rest of them were working away like the Avengers weren't in their presence and their co-worker hadn't just collapsed.
"Hey, kid, you there?" Tony Stark knelt by the boy, rolling him over to show that he was unconscious, and checking his pulse. He was breathing, but barely. "FRIDAY?"
"Life signs critical." The idiot must have ripped his stitches bowing to her so suddenly. What was he even doing at work?!?
"Aw, man." Tony muttered. "Cap?"
"On it," Steve gently picked up the intern and they all rushed with him to the medical suite, where Dr Banner pulled off his jumper before Shuri could stop him, and they all gasped. Blood had soaked through the bandages and T-shirt, and when they pulled away the shirt his torso was covered in mottled bruises and gunshot scars.
There were some cries among the group. Shuri gasped alongside everyone else, but less in horror and more in surprise at how much better it was looking already. All the wounds had sealed apart from the one he'd obviously ripped the stitches on.
"Who could do such a thing?" Bruce whispered, horrified.
There was a long silence, then Natasha sighed. "We did it."
"What?!" Every spun to look at her. Shuri hung her head, looking at Peter's shockingly young face. His eyelids flickered.
"Wait, are you saying this is... no, that's impossible. He's just a kid, for goodness sake!"
"Oh lord, we shot up a child."
"Shuri, did you know who he was?"
"Why the heck was he even at the internship?"
"It makes sense," Tony muttered. "He's working on long-distance sensory tech. He's using my resources to evade us!"
"No, I'm not,"the boy muttered. Everybody shut up.
"What?"
"I'm not using your tech to be Spider-Man," he said groggily, eyes still closed.
"So why are you researching it?"
"Because my friends keep walking into walls at school because there's a massive delay on the automatic lights," Peter's eyes opened, and he groaned at the light, raising a shaky hand to scrub at his face.
"Peter Parker," Steve mused. "You couldn't have just told us and spared us the pain?"
"Spared you the pain?" Peter retorted, then immediately looked guilty. "Sorry sir, I didn't sleep well, I'm not thinking straight." The difference between this intern and the confident hero they'd fought yesterday was astounding. "I should probably go home-"
"No, we have to take you into custody for violation of the law-"
"Steve, are you crazy? He's a minor, and we almost killed him! We can't arrest the kid!" Everyone started talking at the same time.
"Right now I don't care what he does in his free time, he's one of my interns, under my protective custody and he needs medical attention NOW!"
"I don't. I needed medical attention last night. Everyone I know was busy, I would have died if Shuri hadn't come." Peter sat up, and several pairs of hands immediately tried to push him back down. "What I need now is food and rest."
"Let me drive you, then," Tony offered.
"I'm really sorry, but I'd rather go alone, sir."
"I'm not going to let you walk out of this building half-dead all alone."
"I can look after myself-"
"I'll go with him," Shuri said loudly.
"Thank you."
~
Peter walked home with Shuri, and she watched in fascination as he stitched himself up with a practised hand before washing down some more painkillers.
"Thanks for getting me out of that," he said eventually. "You probably have...questions."
"Yeah. How old are you?"
"Sixteen."
"Huh." Her expression was inscrutable. "You intern for Stark?"
"Yeah."
"How do you do the sense-y thing? Did you lie back there?"
"No! I have mutated DNA, really strong senses."
"Huh. You will have to tell me all about them some other time." Her phone pinged, and she checked it. "I need to go."
"Okay, thanks again for walking me back."
Peter stayed in bed for the rest of the day, hoping to recover enough for school tomorrow. He fell asleep in the early afternoon, and didn't wake until five minutes before school. Doing his best to keep his stitches intact, he ran madly around getting ready, then sprinted out of the door.
He was only ten minutes late to school, and was halfway through the first lesson when his phone buzzed with a message. His teacher glared, already irate at his late arrival, so Peter just apologised and put it on silent. The next lesson passed uneventfully, and it was nearing the end of break when Peter finally looked at his phone and swore.
"What?" Ned asked.
Peter showed him the message from Shuri.
The team told me to tell you to come to the tower for a 'discussion' at 10am. Sorry.
"Oh," Ned said, looking at the clock that read 11pm. "Oops?"
"They're going to murder me!" Peter hissed. "They're going to show up here and reveal my identity in front of everyone then drag me off to a lifetime in prison!"
MJ, who's only heard the last part of the sentence as she walked past, scoffed. "Mood."
"Dude, calm down. I'm pretty sure that's illegal, but that's never stopped them before and technically vigilante justice is also-"
"Not helping, Ned!"
Before Ned could depart any other wisdom, the bell rang, and the boys hurried to their next class.
~
"So what does Uranium 235 break into after collision with the neutron? Anyone?" There was a knock on the door. "Come in! Yes, Peter."
"Barium 139 and Krypton 94."
"Very good Peter. Now- oh, Mr Stark?!"
Peter's eyes widened in horror and his head whipped around in unison with everyone else's to the billionaire standing in the doorway.
"Hi, sorry to interrupt. Can I have a word with one of your students?"
"O-of course. Who do you want?"
"Peter?"
Peter felt glued to his chair. "I-is this about..."
"Your internship? Yes, Peter." Tony produced a familiar folder. "I took a closer look at your work, and you've got potential. How would you feel about becoming my personal intern on a trial period?"
"I... Mr Stark, wh-"
"C'mon, let's talk outside."
Shakily, Peter stood and followed Mr Stark out of the room. The class was so quiet that every footstep seemed to echo, but as soon as the door closed behind them it burst into muffled chaos.
"Mr Stark! I'm so sorry, I didn't see the text, I didn't mean-"
"Relax, kid."
"No, you have to understand! I'm in school, you can't-"
"Kid. I'm serious about the internship."
"You... what?"
"Yeah, Cap's mad about you not showing up but you need more notice than that and we knew you hadn't seen the message. As my personal intern, if somebody hypothetically tried to arrest you, they'd have to go through my lawyers first." Tony winked, and Peter blinked. "Not that anyone would be stupid enough to come after any of my employees, of course. What do you say? You're obviously a smart kid with a lot of potential, I could genuinely do with someone like you working with me."
"I... Wow. Sir, I-"
"That's great. However, cap is going to blow a fuse if I don't bring you back to the tower for a chat, so..." He opened the classroom door and stuck his head through. "I'm taking Peter out for the rest of the day, is that okay?"
"U-uhm, sure thing Mr Stark," the teacher stuttered. He winked at her.
"Great."
"Wait!" Ned stood up, and immediately seemed to regret it. "I-I mean, does Peter- you can't- You can't take him from school without his consent, right?"
"Hey, Ned, I'm fine," Peter gave his friend a reassuring, albeit a little nervous, smile.
"Okay, man." Ned sat back down hesitantly.
"That was my best friend, Ned." Peter explained on the way to Tony's car. "He's the only one who knows. Was, anyway."
"Seems like a nice kid," Mr Stark commented. The drive to the tower was silent.