Peter huddled with the other boys around the orphanage's small TV as Tony Stark addressed the restless crowd of journalists vying for his attention. Finally he waved his hands and waited for the noise to die down before speaking.
"It has been decided that the Rogue Avengers are to be relocated from the Raft to Avengers Tower. I don't know who made that decision or why, but on Tuesday the Avengers Tower will be home to most of the Avengers once more."
Peter frowned. Despite the friendly wording, it was clear that Tony was not at all happy that the Rogues were coming back. His words were clipped and forced, and he held the podium in a white-knuckle grip. Colonel Rhodes and Pepper were standing in the background of the conference with equally disapproving looks on their faces as the antsy reporters spouted questions once more.
Suddenly, the TV switched off, and the boys all whipped around to see an agitated Ms. Walters standing behind them with the remote in hand.
"It's past your bedtime. All your bedtimes," she said with a scowl, "Go!" All the boys jumped up and ran upstairs, almost trampling over each other as they scrambled to obey Ms. Walters.
Lincoln, the youngest of the group and easily the most envied, tripped on his way up the stairs and skinned a knee. Peter, who was the last one to the stairs, quickly dropped to comfort him.
Lincoln had big blue eyes and soft dirty blonde hair. He was only four years old, and Ms. Walters doted on him like there was no tomorrow. Many of the older boys blatantly ignored him. His presence was a constant reminder that no one would want them while Lincoln was there.
"It-it hurts!" Lincoln whimpered. Peter hugged the boy to his chest and gently rubbed his back.
"Shhh, hey, it's alright. It's only a little scratch. If we put a Bandaid on it, it will feel better in no time!" Lincoln took a couple gasping breaths before nodding and wiping the tears off his face with a balled fist.
Peter lifted Lincoln into his arms and turned to keep going up the stairs when Ms. Walters' shrill voice echoed up the stairwell.
"Peter! What have you done?" Peter turned to face her, confused and more than a little frightened as she stormed up the stairs and wrenched the boy from his arms, eliciting a wail of disdain from the four year old.
"That's it! You've gone too far, Parker! Hurting a child?"
"Ms. Walters, please, I didn't hurt him! He tripped and-"
"Enough!" she shrieked. "You are now responsible for both Tanner's and Robert's chores for the next two weeks! If you don't get them done, you will start missing meals as well. Is that clear?"
Peter stared at her, shocked at the unfairness of it all. "But I didn't-"
"Make that a month!" Peter closed his eyes as her signature spray of spit cascaded towards his face, and when he opened them again she was already making her way downstairs with Lincoln clutched tightly to her chest.
"There, there," she cooed, "don't be frightened. Peter won't hurt you anymore."
Peter fled up the stairs, tears streaming down his face. Tanner and Robert threw him sympathetic glances as he stormed into their shared bedroom and flung himself into bed. Their pity only served to make him angrier.
I'm Spider-Man, for crying out loud, and I can't even stand up for myself against an old fat lady. Even with the spider bite, I'm powerless here. Peter wanted to take back his thoughts the minute they entered his mind, but he couldn't deny the truth in them.
I'm powerless here.
I'm powerless here.
I'm powerless here.
After a couple sleepless hours, the room started to get hot. Tanner and Robert had long since fallen asleep, and all Peter could think about was that he needed out of this horrible place, at least for a few hours.
He slipped his suit out from it's hiding place and carefully exited through the bedroom window, sliding it shut behind him before leaping off the side of the building and swinging deeper into the city.
As he moved from building to building, he let himself relax in the cool night breeze and scanned the city below for any signs of trouble. It wasn't long before he spotted a young woman being held at gunpoint in an alley by one man while another rifled through her belongings.
Peter didn't waste a second before dropping down between the two men.
"You two chose the wrong night to become criminals," Peter said. He let them throw the first punch, and then chaos broke loose.
~~~
"Boss."
"... What is it, Friday?"
"I've located Spider-Man. Based on security camera records, it appears he is heading towards Times Square."
Tony set down his tools with an exasperated sigh. "Alright. Let's just get this over with." He tapped his chest and his nanotech suit spread out and covered him completely before he jumped out the window and flew towards Times Square. A miniscule map in the corner of his visor showed him exactly where to go.
A few short minutes later, Tony arrived at Spider-Man's most recent location. He paused, listening for signs of the vigilante, when suddenly he heard a gunshot followed by a cry of pain.
Tony leapt into action, maneuvering the suit into the alley the noise had come from to find Spider-Man on the ground with a gun pointed at him.
"Dude, that hurts!" the vigilante whined, clutching at his stomach. The man holding the gun was sweating profusely as he edged closer and tried his best to hold the gun steady.
"D-don't move, or... or I'll shoot!" the man stammered.
Suddenly, Spider-Man lashed out with his foot, knocking the man over. The gun clattered as it skidded away from the pair and came to a rest at Tony's iron-clad feet.
"I was just kidding," the masked man laughed, webbing the criminal to the ground. "I can dodge bullets, and you can't even aim anyways."
Tony stepped out of the shadows. "Very impressive, Spider-Man," he said, examining the crime scene. "Who taught you how to do that?"
The vigilante jumped backward in surprise. "Holy--you're Ironman!"
Tony bowed. "The one and only." He eyed the criminal struggling (and failing miserably) to free himself from the webs. "Let's go somewhere more private, shall we?" Without waiting for a response, Tony shot off into the sky, landing on a nearby rooftop. A few seconds later, the vigilante joined him.
"Can you just give me a sec?" he asked Tony, pulling a cell phone out from a hidden pocket. "I need to let the police know about those guys."
"Friday's already notified them. They're on their way over right now."
"Oh, uh, okay."
Tony frowned. "How old are you, anyway?"
"Sorry, secret identity stuff is a no-go," Spider-Man said, waving his hands as an emphasis on what he was saying. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two heroes before Tony shifted and sighed.
"That's why you wanted to talk, isn't it?" Spider-Man asked. He tilted his head back in exasperation. "Look man, I can't tell you anything. It's too dangerous. Please just leave me be, although I'm honored you made time to come meet me."
"Yeah, there's no way you're an adult." Tony finally said.
"What?"
"I lived with spies for years. I know how to tell if you're a kid. Besides, you're wearing pajamas for a super suit."
"Well..." Spider-Man paused, clearly at a loss for words, "crap." The vigilante pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, can we please just forget this ever happened? My day already kind of sucked before this."
Tony took a step closer, trying and failing to look inviting. "Kid, I have orders to find out who you are. Please just take off the mask. This doesn't have to be a big deal."
"But it is a big deal! You wouldn't understand--please just leave me be." Spider-Man said backing away to the edge of the roof.
Tony groaned. "How much do you want?"
The kid stopped, confused. "What?"
"Do you want money? Is that what this is? Because I am willing to pay you if that's what it takes."
Spider-Man shook his head. "Nothing you offer is going to change my mind. I'm sorry."
"Fine," Tony said with a resigned sigh, "I really didn't want to do this, but you haven't given either of us much of a choice." He raised his repulser and fired a blast at the kid's leg. Spider-Man dodged the fiery bolt and leapt off the roof, swinging wildly away through the city. Tony followed suit, blasting into the air to follow the kid.
"Friday, set the blasts to the lowest setting. We're trying to catch him, not kill him." The AI responded, but Tony had already turned his attention back to the escaping vigilante. He fired several blasts, but somehow the kid was able to dodge each one despite being unable to see them coming.
Spider-Man moved around the edge of the building out of sight, and Tony didn't think twice before following. Suddenly, the kid was swinging directly at him, having turned around while Tony couldn't see him.
"Sorry I have to do this!" the kid said before kicking Tony square in the face. Disoriented and a little shocked at the kid's raw strength, Tony wasn't able to react fast enough to stop the kid from webbing him to the side of the building.
The vigilante landed beside him. "Uh, it was nice meeting you?"
"Friday, call Rhodey."
"Um yeah, I think that's my cue to leave," Spider-Man said. Then he leapt off the side of the building and swung away into the night.