One thing that Peter was glad about, was that he volunteered at a homeless shelter. It was something that helped him a lot in this situation. For one, he knew a lot of the homeless people in his area. It also helped that he knew what was easy to get and what he needed or could leave behind. Finally, it helped because it meant that he knew exactly all the things to look out for, where he was safe and which organizations could help him.
He was also glad for Spider-man. His suit was made for the cold nights outside and to be worn under clothing without being detected easily. Along with that, on patrol he regularly got thanks from New York's citizens in the form of food, gift baskets, and just general generosity where they let him take whatever he needed for free.
There were quite a few of those things laying in his old apartment. Those weren't necessities for now though. He needed to make sure he had the things that would allow him to survive until he could find a place to hunker down and make a new home. He had more options than most being Spider-man, but for now, he had no clue where he should go. That is why his bag contained some clothes, his suit, all the money he had, and a list of places to sleep, eat, get internet, and similar things. He also brought a few bottles of water and whatever snacks he could find.
With that, he went to school, along with his school bag. As soon as he gets to school, he stuffs the bag in his locker, glad Ned isn't there yet. If anyone asked, he'd have said that he was having a sleepover at Ned's house. However, that wouldn't work with Ned, as it was a lie.
He didn't know where his path would lead, but he did know it would include Spider-man. The foster care system was not built for vigilante teenagers with spider powers. If that meant his new home was the streets, then so be it. He was Spider-man, he could hide an entire secret identity. Surely he could hide the fact that he wasn't with a foster family from Ned. His best friend. Who he has known for years. With who he shares everything. Shit.
Or from MJ. Who figured out he was Spider-man. Who is so observant they know your exact facial features if they had drawn you. Who could figure out your exact shampoo if they sat close to you the day you had washed your hair. Damn.
But he couldn't. He just couldn't burden them with that fact, they were already worried enough as it is. They would probably offer him a spot at their house, a spot that there isn't is. But they wouldn't mention it. It wasn't the right thing. He could do this. He just had to live three lives now. Spider-man, homeless Peter, and normal Peter. Keep up his grades, patrol, and hide from CPS. Easy peasy.
---
MJ was very observant. They entered the classroom, went to take their seat next to Peter, and immediately said something that he hadn't even noticed in the 10 minutes he had been sitting there already. "Flash looks like he hasn't washed or seen a mirror in three days."
"Hello to you too. You are later than usual." He countered while peering over to where Flash was sitting, indeed looking a little disheveled.
MJ raised their eyebrow. "You are earlier than normal. Especially since you are now living further away." Shit, this wasn't the way he wanted to change the topic of conversation.
"I mean yeah. Flash isn't looking as well-groomed as usual. Maybe the butler had a day off or something. The store ran out of his usual wax. Or he was just late for school and his parents said it would ruin their reputation if they had to go to school again if he was reprimanded." He said. MJ just looked him up and down and turned their attention to sketching Flash.
Classes went by quite fast. He saw Ned after the second period. He apparently missed the first period as he had to go to the dentist and didn't have the same class for the second period. Peter was happy about that, his nerves from having a go-bag in his locker had calmed down a little by then. They had Physics together before heading to the cafeteria for lunch. He grabbed his school lunch and happily accepted the little container Ned handed him filled with sisig.
As MJ joined them at the table they immediately glanced at Flash. "He is eating school lunch."
Ned quickly swallowed his bite before letting out a soft laugh. "Well, MJ, we are at school, and they are providing lunch."
MJ glared at him. "Keen observation Leeds, however, if you looked a little further than the surface, you might remember that just like you, Flash always brings food from home." Ned's eyes widened, nodding flustered.
"Not everyone knows and remembers everything about everyone MJ." Peter sighed. "It was a fast comeback though, you have to give him that."
MJ nodded and Ned relaxed. Regardless of their past, especially with Flash now sitting alone after defending him a few days before, he couldn't help but wonder whether there was something going on with him. Only time will tell though.
---
Honestly, the fact that they woke up in the medbay wasn't that surprising. Nor was it that one of their employees was sitting next to them tapping away on a tablet. The surprising fact was that on the other side of the bed, there was another person going through paperwork. Some of that paperwork even had a stamp on them that said "confidential". Which wasn't that surprising if you knew to who the files belonged. Namely Pepper Potts. The fact that she was working next to them while they were laying in the medbay, was surprising.
A long time to think about it they didn't have though. The voice of the other person in the room, their employee, piped up. "You're awake!" Who was it again? They focused their eyes and their thoughts on the person. Kai. Right. "I'll go get the doctor while you... talk." His eyes passed between them and Pepper nervously. They nodded and Kai bolted out of the room.
Meanwhile, Pepper had put away the documents she was reading. She was staring at them. It was kind of like the way their therapist stared when neither of them was filling the silence, though rather than encouraging, this one was... mad. Frustrated. It surely wasn't happy. The assignment was clear. Talk.
"I can explain" The stare was relentless. "I couldn't miss this presentation. And I was going to go sleep right after." They started.
Pepper cut them off. "Well, apparently you could miss the presentation or at least move it because you were barely a minute in before you collapsed."
"When you say it like that..."
"That's what happened, isn't it."
"Technically yes. But- "
"No buts." Pepper interjected. "Here is what is going to happen. You will be on bed rest until the doctors clear you. After that, you will take another two days off. At least. I will have Tony personally change the protocol because Friday should have done something as soon as they detected the start of the fever. Once you are back, you come to my office. If I even see a runny nose, I will force you back to bed. I will personally bring you chicken soup and all of the stuff. You DO NOT want to be the person to explain to the stakeholders that Pepper Potts could not attend the meeting because employees decided to not listen and go to work while still sick. Have I made myself clear?"
They were still hazy but the message was clear. Joan nodded before the stare was back. "Yes ma'am."
"Call me ma'am one more time and you are fired." A playful glint had returned to her eyes.
"Sure thing ma'am" They said, smirking.
"You little- You are worse than Tony, did you know that?"
---
Tony was woken up by the sound of an alert from FRIDAY. Apparently, he had fallen asleep in his workshop again. He stretched himself to loosen the crick in his neck, the workbench wasn't exactly the best pillow.
He reached over to one of the many cups on the table, the one he knew was the most recent one, and peered inside but saw nothing more than a few dried-up coffee remains. Grumbling he stumbled over to the coffee machine that was a few tables further and started a new cup. Once it was finally done and he had downed the burning liquid, he started to remember why he had woken up.
"FRI," he called out. "What was that alert that woke me up?" He said, returning to his workbench and flopping into his chair.
"That would be me notifying you about an extraordinary score sir. You set the threshold at 80% for notification, this applicant scored a 97%." FRIDAY responded.
Tony shot up "If I was drinking coffee I would have to spit it out right now." He muttered before continuing. "Well let's see who this genius is."
Tony rolled over to where the results were displayed. "Peter Parker, 16 years old. Attends Midtown School of Science and Technology and has a 4.0 GPA. He took the test during his lunch period and the free period after it, finishing it in 82 minutes." Friday explained, interrupted by Tony whistling at the speed. "Though he marked some of the impossible questions rightfully as unsolvable, he also explained the formula and the effect that solving it would have on science. He however also managed to, as far as my simulations indicate, solve one of the impossible questions." They continued.
Tony grabbed a pen and paper as soon as he saw it projected to try and verify it. "Fri, my darling, treat yourself to 5% more computing power to run some more extensive simulations and gather some papers for me with research that could benefit from this solved formula."
"Of course, Sir. Meanwhile, the question Mister Parker did not receive marks for, was a morality question. His response indicates he misread the question though, and all of the other questions show a moral compass that matches yours, though his might even be stronger than yours."
Tony leaned back in his chair flabbergasted. This child looked perfect. There had to be a catch. "Any catch Fri, criminal record, nasty obsession in his internet history, somehow cheated on the test?"
"According to my searches, no criminal record. Nothing worth notifying you of in his internet history and cameras from the school confirm he took the test without help."
Tony nodded along. This was just a life slapping him in the face, wasn't it? Get your act together, we will provide you with the perfect intern. "Get Pep down here whenever she is free. Also, show me his design and motivations."
"Of course, sir. Miss Potts has been notified and will join you in half an hour."
"Perfect. Let's see what else this kid will surprise me with."
---
Talking to Pepper was going to have to wait. The Avengers were called to assemble and leave immediately for a mission. Tony hurried over to the jet where the others were already or on their way to. Once they were all on board a screen turned on showing director Fury.
"Avengers. A suspected Hydra base has been showing increased activity in Tennessee. We need you to investigate and handle it accordingly." He explained. "This base is classified as a possible research lab, so you should watch out for possible enhanced individuals."
This continued on, droning on about the different bits of information he probably should listen to, but Tony's mind was already somewhere else. Tennessee. It couldn't be. He looked over at the flight destination and his fears (Thoughts? Worries?) were confirmed. Rose Hill, Tennessee. A place that couldn't be separated from Harley Keener, and the events with the Mandarin. Well shit.
"Sir, your heart rate and breathing are increasing." He heard FRIDAY say in his ear.
Tony let out a small chuckle, before whispering "Yeah I was kind of picking up on that, FRI."
"You alright Stark?" Barton asked him, his voice laced with concern.
Tony took a deep breath. "Just peachy, Barton. Remembered I have some unpleasant memories and unfinished business where we are going, that's all." He replied, with a hint of irritation, though this was probably more aimed at himself than at Clint.
"Understood. Remember to give us a heads up if you need to tap out, we need you at your best or not at all. For your safety, and ours." Steve replied.
"Aye aye, Captain. FRIDAY, activate Bouncing Leg Protocol for me please."
Tony saw his heart rate and oxygen intake appear on his HUD. "Your heart rate and oxygen intake are returning to normal rates. Miss Potts has been informed of the incident."
"Thanks, FRI, keep me updated, you know what to do."
There was a moment of silence, everyone looking at Tony with various looks of worry. But after that moment filled with unspoken worries, Steve called out to the team. "Alright, now that is sorted, touchdown in 2 minutes, everyone prepare to go to your positions."
Though Tony was overtaken by anxiety when they were talking strategy, he was focused enough to have paid attention when his name was called and thus knew where he was supposed to go. He had no clue of what the others were doing though.
As soon as he flew inside, he knew that this wasn't a Hydra base, or at least not a normal one. That is why he had to continue despite his feelings that they were gravely mistaken and probably traumatizing a bunch of scientists. Or making their day, it depends on how the others were handling it.
He knew it wasn't a usual base because it wasn't protected like the usual ones. There were locks, sure, but just the normal science lab variety. The experiments he saw were regular ones, not ones for creating super soldiers or things like that.
He looked around some more but the more he looked around, and the genuinely scared but frozen on-the-spot scientists he saw, the more it confirmed what he was thinking. "Either there is a base beneath here, or this was a false alarm. I'm disengaging my suit to talk to some colleagues, stand by."
"Copy that Stark, be careful." Steve responded.
Walking over to the closest scientist, who was standing with a flask still in hand, seconds away from pouring it in the distillate of the distillation set up in front of him, he disengaged his suit and took off his sunglasses. "Any reason why this base might have been classified as a Hydra base?"
The scientist's hands were shaking heavily. "I might- uh. Mr.... Dr. Stark Sir. We are working on a- well it is technically human enhancements. But not in the way you think, though it might be the reason that it was flagged as a possible Hydra base. That or maybe there are some people here with connections to Hydra, but not because they are part of it, but maybe someone has like a cousin or a friend who is affiliated with Hydra in some way, unknowingly of course." They took a deep breath before continuing with their rambling. "Either way, we are working on human enhancements to provide disabled people the option to get some support, if they choose to do so. A bit like a cochlear implant for Deaf people, we want to be able to provide blind people some form of sight. Technically it could also be used by for example soldiers to have built-in night vision or something but that is way way waaaaaay future technology."
Tony put up his hand to stop the rambling. "Gonna stop you there, thanks for the info. You heard all that, team?" He asked and got some affirmations through his coms. "Alright, we are still going to have to do a sweep, but I promise we will be careful. We won't disturb any experiments and try not to disturb your colleagues too much. I'm sorry for the ruckus."
The scientist was still a little jittery but was able to respond. "We understand, better once too many than missing one and having a possible devastating event. Tell us if you need access to a locked door or something like that. You have our full cooperation."
"Thank you, I will let you know." It was at that moment that Harley Keener decided to walk in. He did expect to see him somewhere while they were here, but not right here at this, though now unlikely, possible HYDRA lab. "Well I guess I found myself a prime candidate for giving me a tour. You wouldn't mind, would you, Keener?"
"Gee old man, wasn't sure you'd remember me after all this time."
Tony pretended to be shocked, ignoring his anxiety that had been slowly building from when he first saw Harley. "Who are you calling old! Also, why wouldn't I? After all, we are connected." He said, doing jazz hands during the word connected.
In the meantime, Harley had started leaning against the doorpost, grinning. "That is certainly true. Glad to know you aren't starting to forget things, that is quite common at your age. Well, come on, follow me. I'll be sure to walk slowly so you can keep up."
They left behind an extremely confused scientist.
Apparently, Harley was working here after school and during the holidays. They needed the money at home and didn't want any more of Tony's 'charity' as Harley said his mom put it, air quotes and all. His personal lab that Tony had gifted them was now significantly diminished, as there had been quite a few sudden expenses that their salaries just did not cover. But if you had to choose between a working fridge and a 3D printer that you couldn't use because you didn't have money for the filament, the choice was easy. He did print all he could to make a new one, but he didn't have the rest of the equipment that couldn't be printed.
Tony was going to make sure that they wouldn't have to worry about something like that anymore, through a donation from the September Foundation or something like that. Harley deserved it.
Eventually, the all-clear was given. This lab was not a HYDRA base. There was a sigh of relief coming from all the employees, and even Harley relaxed a bit more. Tony hadn't even noticed that there was some tenseness in his shoulders. Tony didn't know a lot of things about Harley, but he wanted to. So he gave Harley his number, to keep in contact.
When it was time to go, Tony even managed to give Harley a hug. When he boarded the plane, Harley had already sent him a screenshot of how he was named in his contacts, "Rich Old Man". Tony smiled. His anxiety was starting to disappear but it had taken most of his energy. It wasn't long before he realized that the plane ride back was the perfect opportunity to nap. Which is what he did.