Late that night, Peter was perched on the side of a skyscraper, watching the bustle of the city streets below. The IV, along with the several slices of pizza he'd downed afterwards, had kicked his healing factor back into gear. He felt healthy now, normal.
He felt like Spider-Man again.
So now he was trying to make up for the last several days he'd missed patrol. Already, two muggings and three small thefts had been stopped, and now he was taking a quick break before swinging home.
Peter leapt off the building, careful not to shatter the glass beneath his feet, and shot a web out. He shouted with glee as the wind pummeled his body, relishing the feeling of his body falling and then rising again with every web he released. He launched himself high into the air and quickly pulled his sleeve up to check his watch, ensuring he still had plenty of time to shoot another web when he was done.
"Shoot, it's late," he said, covering his arm again and releasing another web. He'd been out for three hours, and if he didn't go to bed soon tomorrow would be miserable.
Peter was mid-swing when his spider-sense blared, and suddenly he was falling. Choking back a scream, Peter frantically shot a web, hoping that it would stick to something. When he felt the familiar tug confirming that it had indeed found purchase, he yanked hard and managed to pull himself out of his plummet. He landed hard on the side of a concrete building and gasped.
"Ow," he whimpered, massaging his bruised side. Peter looked all around, trying to figure out who or what could possibly have cut his web like that, when his spider-sense abruptly went off again and he found himself ducking as a familiar red, blue, and white object slammed itself into the wall right above him and bounced back across the city.
"Crap!" Peter hissed as he ran up the side of the building and vaulted onto the roof. His spider-sense flared again and he danced to the side as someone lunged towards him from the shadows.
"Holy... You're Black Widow!"
She sauntered further into the light, the corners of her lips tilted upwards ever so slightly. "That's right. And if you know what's good for you, you're going to take off the mask and come with us."
"Did Ironman send you?"
"No. Nick Fury did."
Peter felt his eyes widen beneath his mask. The Nick Fury was after him? He wasn't sure if that made him feel intimidated or impressed with himself.
"Okay, well, I already told Ironman that the mask isn't coming off. I'm sorry, Ms. Widow."
"Then I guess we'll have to remove it ourselves," a familiar voice said from behind him. Peter spun around to see Captain America step from the shadows.
"Oh, um, hi Mr. Captain America, sir," Peter said nervously, when suddenly his spider-sense went off again and he was evading attacks from both sides.
"This is not how I imagined my evening was going to go!" Peter shouted as he flipped over Black Widow only to see a fist flying towards his face. He grabbed Cap's hand and stopped the punch, sliding backwards a bit from the sheer force of it. "Dude, careful! You could've hurt someone!"
Peter snagged a web onto the Captain's fist just as Black Widow rushed him again, and as he jumped out the way it pulled taught and clotheslined her. She was almost instantly back on her feet, and Peter gulped. They both looked a little angry. He glanced behind himself nervously, and backed towards the edge of the roof as both heroes approached him.
"Look, I'm really sorry guys, but it's way past my curfew."
"Don't do it, son!" Cap shouted, but Peter had already stepped over the edge and was swinging away. Without missing a beat, Cap aimed his shield and let it fly, hoping to sever the web again. However, Peter merely twisted around and shot a second web, which stuck to the shield, and yanked it in a completely different direction. The shield landed on a nearby roof, and Peter swung away with a grin on his face.
He'd fought four Avengers, and walked away without a scratch every time.
If only he could say the same about the rest of his life.
~~~
"So, how was it?" Tony called sarcastically from the kitchen as the two Rogues exited the elevator.
"It went exactly as planned, actually," Steve said, leaning on the island. Tony raised his coffee cup to his lips.
"The kid did everything we were hoping he would," Natasha said as Steve placed his shield on the counter top, "we were able to gauge his strength, reflexes, speed, and even got a sample of his webbing to analyze." She pushed the shield towards Tony, who leaned in to get a closer look at the sticky substance still attached to it.
"Okay, I will admit that that's a little impressive," Tony said begrudgingly, "so what's the plan now?"
"We need a place to analyze the data," Steve paused, "and we could use your help with it as well." Tony frowned, staring at the contents of his mug as he slowly swirled it around.
"Fine. Follow me."
Soon, they were all standing in the elevator. Tony hesitated before turning to look at Cap.
"Who all came while I was gone?"
"Clint and Sam arrived shortly after I got back to the Tower. They both wanted to just stay in their rooms tonight," Steve said, "and we still don't have tabs on Vision or Wanda." He paused and glanced nervously at Tony before continuing. "Bucky will be here early tomorrow morning."
Tony tensed and the silence in the elevator thickened. Natasha stood stoically beside him as he pursed his lips in an attempt to maintain his composure.
"I'll make sure he knows the rules," Steve said softly. Tony grunted stiffly. The doors opened, and before long they were all in the lab, trying to forget the conversation.
Tony placed the shield in a machine that neither of the Rogues recognized. It began to glow, and Friday's voice echoed from above.
"Analyzing unknown species."
"That'll take a minute," Tony said, sitting in his rolling chair and launching himself to the other side of the lab. "Do you want to start uploading and reviewing the information you collected while we wait?"
Natasha nodded, and both she and Steve removed small chips from their suits and plugged them into the computer. A small loading icon appeared on the screen, and seconds later, the data transfer was complete.
They opened the file, and with the press of a few buttons, all the information they'd collected from the fight was being holographically displayed around them. Video footage of the fight began to play, and Tony watched curiously as the kid flipped over Black Widow's back before nearly taking Cap's fist to the face.
"He caught it?" Tony asked in disbelief.
"I was holding back," Steve said, shifting uncomfortably on the spot.
"Whether or not you were, the fact remains that this kid can take a hit," Natasha said. "He's obviously untrained--he fights without technique or discipline--but Fury is right. If he were to go bad, he would prove to be a formidable enemy."
"Analysis complete," Friday announced. Another panel of information appeared to Tony's left, and he took a step closer to read it.
"Friday, can you just summarize the main points for me please?"
"Of course boss." As she began to rattle off different chemical formulas, Natasha started surfing through some of the other data. She frowned when she read the vigilante's estimated weight and age. She thought back to how light Tony's intern had been when she picked him up earlier that evening, the strange scars on his chest.
"I'll be right back," she said cooly, walking towards the door. Steve and Tony looked at her, confused. "I just need some coffee."
"Can you bring some for me too, please?" Tony managed to call before the door shut behind her. Natasha pulled out her phone as she approached the elevator and opened Google. As the elevator carried her up, she scrolled through multiple news articles until something interesting caught her eye.
New York's Spider-Man Injured Badly While Rescuing Trapped Civilians from Apartment Fire!
She clicked on the article, wandering lazily towards the coffee pot as she skimmed over what the reporters had to say, looking more for pictures than words. Finally, she found one that had been captioned: Spider-Man badly burned; tumbles out of collapsing apartment building with woman and girl before refusing hospital treatment and fleeing the scene.
Natasha squinted at the poor quality photo, but the longer she stared at it, the more she could make out the large burns across the vigilante's torso.
Burns that happened to be in the same spots as Peter Parker's 'childhood accident' scars.
"Hey Fri, can you send me the video footage of when I met Peter for the first time?" Moments later, her phone dinged with a new file. She sat down at the kitchen island and watched herself lunge gracefully out of the shadows at the boy who had just emerged from the pantry. She frowned. If he was indeed Spider-Man, how come his incredible reflexes hadn't kicked in? She replayed the footage from a different angle, and that's when she saw it.
Despite her near-silent approach, and the fact that his back was turned towards her, seconds before she attacked Peter's eyes widened in shock.
"Well," Natasha sighed to herself, "what now?"
She shook her head, tucked her phone away, and then returned to the lab with two cups of coffee and a secret.