Ben had once told Peter that even if he had nothing, he could still help people.
Ben had said many poignant things, all of which Peter thought about often, but this was the one he found himself thinking about after he found himself with no way home; no way back to who he used to be. When he had nothing, he sat and stared around at his miserable room and handmade suit and realised he could do more. He could still help people.
This time, Spider-Man reached out to the Avengers. The media had been all over their recent recruitment of a new generation of heroes. There was a young Hawkeye, the Black Widow's little sister, a guy with magic bracelets, a female Hulk and probably others that hadn't been caught by paparazzi yet.
Some light hacking revealed a weekly training session scheduled in the compound's system, so Peter invited himself to the next one. FRIDAY still ran the compound and although she didn't remember him either, she clearly knew to trust Spider-Man because the doors at the front of the building opened to let him in and the person at security glanced at their tablet and waved him through.
Peter found his way to the training room and paused to watch through the glass. The session seemed to be being led by Wong and Sam. He was right - as well as three of the four he'd seen on the news, there was a girl training with Captain Marvel and two teenagers who seemed to have powers of teleportation and summoning glowing knives.
He knocked on the door. The sounds of fighting paused and Sam's brows raised when he saw Spider-Man at the door. They'd only really met briefly, first at the airport battle, then again during the final fight against Thanos, and finally at Tony's funeral. Sam wouldn't remember that last one, though.
"Webs," Sam greeted.
"Mr America." There was a confidence in Peter's voice that hadn't been there last time they'd met. Having nothing means you have to act like you have everything. "I'm here to join the Avengers."
"Oh yeah?" Sam didn't step out of the doorway. "And you think you can just come in here making a demand like that?" He didn't slam the door in his face, either.
"Yes. You're training the next generation, right? A new Captain America, a new Panther, another Marvel, a new Hawkeye, new magicians... Tony trained me, and I'd like to continue his legacy."
"You think you can be the next Iron Man?" Sam's tone was mocking but he still hadn't closed the door.
"No, but I think I can follow in the footsteps of Tony Stark. I'm strong, fast, a quick learner. I'm smart, I'm experienced and I have a strong sense of justice."
"Humble, too."
"Was Tony?"
Sam huffed a laugh. "You've got me there."
"I can submit a formal application if you want, but I figured that was a good way to get ignored. If you need to test me, fine. I'll do whatever you need to get onto this team."
"And why should we trust you?" Wong called across the room even as he observed a spar between two of the magic wielders.
"Tony did. FRIDAY still does. Fury does too, even if he doesn't know it. And Wong- this feels weird, right? Deja vu? You've helped me out before, you just don't remember it."
Wong frowned consideringly, then gave a sharp nod and turned back to the teleporting teenager. "Let him in."
"I don't remember you being quite so gobby at the airport," Sam mused. "A chatterbox, sure, but a polite one."
Peter shrugged fluidly. "I didn't say Tony was an entirely good influence."
Finally Sam stepped back, holding the door open. "You'd better come in, then."
Spider-Man walked into the training room and looked around at the junior Avengers. "You seem fun," drawled the blonde Widow in a bubbly accent. He attempted a smile under his mask.
"First test," Sam called. "Spider-Man versus everyone. Wong, Carol and I will judge. Yelena, don't kill him. Much."
Peter barely had a moment to size up his opponents before they were moving. He was facing the Widow (probably 'Yelena'), the young Hawkeye, the two magic teens, the guy with the bracelets and the girl training under Captain Marvel. He was going to lose but he needed to put on a show.
Although Yelena was the first to move, Peter had to immediately dodge the teleporting teen when he appeared behind him and threw a sloppy punch. Peter tried to retaliate but instead got sucked into the guy's cloak and appeared on the other side of the room in time to watch an arrow from Hawkeye junior go through the place he'd been.
"Bring him back," the other teen shouted but Peter had already jumped away from cloak boy and was running across the ceiling, firing webs at the Widow. She yelled in disgust as she found her legs pinned with the white substance and he fired at the second teen's hands before she could summon a knife to cut her teammate free.
Little Marvel jumped into the air and ran up a glowing staircase, her fist expanding to punch him. He dropped from the ceiling to avoid the blow he hadn't been expecting - he'd mistakenly assumed she would have the same powers as her predecessor - and fell right into the clutches of bracelet man. The bracelets started glowing and spun around him in a dome, creating a sort of forcefield. He tried shooting a web at it but it passed through without hitting any rings. He grit his teeth, not about to go down so easily, and channeled his senses until the world seemed to slow around him. He could see the path of the rings like he'd been able to predict Strange's magic in the mirror realm. It was maths, and Peter was fast.
In a single motion, Spider-Man threw himself sideways through a momentary gap in the spinning rings and cartwheeled to his feet. Ring Man ran at him and Peter met him head-on, sending him flying back with a kick whilst simultaneously dodging a series of arrows and another attempt by the cloak boy to grab him. When Cloak Boy tried to teleport away, Peter grabbed the back of his hood and pulled him down, slamming him into the ground. The magic bracelets flew back at him and Peter had to retreat to get away from them as well as the arrows from a different direction. Mini Marvel was there again, trying to fight hand-to-hand but she was clearly inexperienced and no match for his spidey sense. Ring Man, however, kept coming back and it took all of Peter's focus to keep him at bay.
"And surrender," a voice said in Peter's ear, something cold pressing against his throat. It was the Widow, her arm somehow around him and a blade at his neck. He froze. He could probably get out of the hold if he tried, but if this was a real fight he would be dead already so he slowly raised his arms.
Carol clapped slowly and Sam gave a low whistle. "Now I feel less bad about you beating me all those years ago."
Peter frowned. "I didn't win, though?"
"Against two trained assassins and massively outnumbered by powered individuals? I wasn't expecting you to last three seconds," Carol admitted. "I say he's Avengers material, alright."
"One issue," Sam said. "New Avengers have to sign the New Accords. Which, while less like signing away your soul than it used to be, still involves revealing your identity to the team."
"Of course," Peter had done his research. He removed his mask. "Peter Parker, Spider-Man, nice to meet you."
"Huh," said Sam. "You must have been, like, ten at the airport. I feel bad about you beating me all over again."
"To be fair, you did only have one trained assassin on your side."
"Not helping, kid."
"Speaking of trained assassins," Wong said. "Shang-Chi, you are better than that. Do not let the rings erase your training. You are a skilled fighter when you do not rely on them."
"We can save the feedback for after introductions," Carol suggested. "Kamala, I need to teach you how to throw a proper punch."
"Can we save the introductions for when I am not covered in gunk?" The Widow complained. "Peter Parker, you will remove this goo or buy me new pants."
"Just Peter is fine-"
"She does that to freak people out. She thinks it's scary," Hawkeye junior told him.
"Oh, okay. Give me a sec, I'll remove it." He produced a spray vial of formula from his belt and dissolved the web on her clothes, then also released the knife teenager's hands.
"Thanks," she told him. "I'm Tandy, I go by Dagger. That's Ty, Tyrone, he's Cloak," she pointed at the teleporting boy.
"Yelena. The better Widow. You're welcome for me not slitting your throat."
"Um, thanks."
"Her two favourite words are 'Kate Bishop' which is also my name, and I'm the superior Hawkeye," she winked at him.
"I'm Kamala, I go by Ms Marvel. I'm a bit of a fan," said the Marvel girl. Yeah, Ms Marvel fit.
"Shang-Chi," Ring Man offered him a hand to shake. "Sometime you have to tell me how you escaped the rings like that."
"Not right now," Sam interrupted. "Carol and Wong are going to give you feedback from that fight while I have a chat with Spider-Man."
The group voiced their unhappy acknowledgment and Peter followed Sam out of the room. He gripped his mask tighter with the nerves that he hoped didn't show on his face when Captain America turned to face him.
Sam sighed. "Peter. You would be a great addition to the Avengers, I have no doubt. You're strong and talented as well as fun - which is never to be underrated in a team."
"It feels like there's a 'but' coming."
"But joining the Avengers puts you in the public eye. Your identity can stay secret, sure, but you will be noticed more, you'll be treated as more of a threat by your enemies. Your life comes second to the mission, and often you and your loved ones pay for it. I'm more than willing to offer you a place on the team but I need you to understand what accepting that would mean."
Peter nodded. "I know I've come in here very confident and loud, but I did think long and hard before making this decision. Tony offered me a place years ago and I declined it then because I knew I wasn't ready. I'm ready now. My goal as Spider-Man is to help people, and the best way to do that now is with the Avengers. You need numbers, you need experience, and you need someone who's good with tech to keep making equipment like Tony did. I'm willing to accept the consequences of joining you, and it would be my honour."
"Than consider yourself officially a member of the Avengers, Spider-Man. We'll get you set up with a room and introduce you to the others as soon as possible before we start preparing to announce you to the media, but for now - welcome to the team."