Another thing I wanted to try, sorry for not writing requests right now. I mostly write the ones I feel up to or ones that I wanted to try that people haven't requested. Backstory: Only Ned and MJ know that Peter is the guy underneath the Spider-Man mask. Organic webs and stuff.
He has the camouflage of Miles Morales, as well as the electricity control. (This is important you may be confused.) He doesn't really know about it though.
Peter created the Spider-Man suit (the one mostly used in Homecoming), but Tony created a more improved version of it. Civil War never happened. May knows that Peter is bullied by Flash, but she assumes it has stopped, since Peter has started hiding his wounds.
Trigger warnings: Not Steve Appropriate (Language)
Spider-Man's identity is a huge secret. But when someone came out claiming to be the friendly vigilante, everyone believed it.
After all, the Thompsons were a very prestigious family. So when their son, Eugene, was revealed to be the hero, nobody questioned it.
Except, of course, the people who actually knew Spider-Man.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Peter wanted to either smack someone (Flash), or laugh in his face. Seriously, how could anyone believe that he was Spider-Man? More likely they were scared - too scared to speak up against such a rich family. Heck, if Peter weren't Spider-Man, he might be tempted to believe it himself.
Of course, Peter wasn't just going to let Flash continue pretending. He had made some sort of huge publicity scene about his official recruitment to the Avengers. When they needed him to go on a mission, he was probably dead. One, everyone thought his stickiness was from the suit. Two, they thought his webbing was man-made. Peter poked at the little tubes in his wrist. They must have some sort of thin flap, because they were invisible when he wasn't shooting webs. And three, Flash didn't have Peter's healing factor.
So, you add all these together and Flash is dead.
Oh yeah, there's also the minor inconvenience that Flash is using it as an excuse to beat the crap out of Peter.
Because logic.
Peter was walking home from school and he was pondering the options to expose Flash.
Wait for him to expose himself. Show up in the same room as him. Do a competition-style thing. Or, just prove that Peter, in fact, was Spider-Man.
Any of these would work.
Peter wouldn't have considered these yet if Flash hadn't just finished giving Peter a bruising. (It would be gone within the next 20 minutes or so.) Acting in self-defense, he had landed a punch on Flash's eye. It was already turning an ugly shade of purple when Peter had made a run for it. Then he had felt bad, because he had used his enhanced strength on a civilian.
He doubted Flash would feel the same.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Natasha was suspicious.
When the Avengers and Spider-Man had worked on missions together, the arachnid had always been so stiffly formal. He had called her "Ms. Natasha Black Widow Romanoff Ma'am", and Clint "Mr. Clint Hawkeye Barton Sir". He had only ever called Tony "Mr. Stark", but these shows of discomfort had always been present in the spider.
The Spider-Man showed up today and was apparently on a first name basis with them all, as if last time he'd seen them, he hadn't used these titles. His voice was different, too, as well as his body.
Natasha concluded that when she saw Spidey train, she would be able to learn more.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Flash couldn't believe his lie was going so well. Tony Stark himself hadn't even batted an eye when he had shown up, even without the Spider-Man suit. There were, of course, complications, like if the real Spider-Man ever actually showed up. Although he was practically doing the guy a favor. Anyone that secretive about their identity would probably be excited about a distraction for the media.
"Hey, kid," Tony had greeted as Flash had walked in. He was at a loss for a few seconds, before figuring that since Spidey and the Avengers had been on many missions together, they probably knew each other quite well. "Hello, Tony," Flash said casually. When the man looked up from his work, he did a double take. "Whoa, kid, what happened to your eye?"
Flash paused. He had beat up Parker earlier today, but that would definitely not go over well. So he decided to formulate a lie. "Well," He said hesitantly. "I- well, I get bullied." Tony stopped. "Who?" One word from the billionaire, laced with hatred and deadly curiosity, only confirmed what Flash was about to say. "This kid named Peter Parker. But it's fine."
Tony nodded. "I'll pay a visit to the kid. Warn him off of you. You are Spider-Man, after all."
Flash hid a broad, triumphant grin.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Peter dropped his backpack onto the chair as he walked into the living room of his and May's apartment. He knew May would flip out - he had a bruise over his eye, similar to the one he had left on Flash. He also had a split lip and a cut near his temple. Of course, he was also bloody and battered, with bruises patterning his abdomen and face. Peter had pulled a hood up over his head to attempt to hide it - as long as he didn't have to look at her, she may not notice. He'd just have to keep his head turned away.
"Hey, Aunt May," He said, entering the room. "Mr. Parker," A voice - a very familiar voice - came from the couch. Peter halted, desperate to look and confirm who he was seeing. "U-um, hey," Peter said awkwardly. There was a silence. The man was probably waiting for him to turn around. "I'm sure you've heard of me," Tony Stark said conversationally. "I have," Peter replied carefully.
What was the meaning of this visit? Was it something to do with Spider-Man?
Or something to do with Flash?
Peter's Spidey Senses were throbbing in the back of his mind, so it definitely wasn't a casual visit. Mr. Stark got up in a way that was probably supposed to have been silent, but Peter could easily hear the stepping as if the man wasn't even trying. He was walking toward Peter, and right when the man was right behind him, Peter stopped. He heard Tony moving his hand, likely to put it on his shoulder. Of course, there was a horrible cut on his shoulder, so that was probably not the best decision. Instinctively, he flung his arm up and caught the man's hand a few seconds before it touched Peter's shoulder.
Tony paused. "Ms. Parker? Do you mind if I talk to your nephew for a moment in private?" "Go ahead. You can go to his room, down the hall and to the right."
That was a terrible idea - Peter had a mirror in his room, and there would be no hope of hiding his injuries. "Actually, we could go-" "That sounds great, ma'am," Mr. Stark interjected. Peter started to turn to glare at the man, before realizing that was a terrible idea for two reasons - one, he was a billionaire, and two, he would see Peter's injuries prematurely, and May would, too. That would result in the immediate death of Peter, and possibly of Flash. The billionaire moved his other hand to steer Peter toward his room. As soon as they entered, he shut the door behind them. Peter looked pointedly at the floor, still trying to hide. "Kid, look at me. There's something serious we need to discuss."
Peter refused, mumbling out an "I don't want to."
"Look, I know what you did."
Peter halted. So this was about Spider-Man. But it was better for Mr. Stark to explain, so he didn't reveal anything that the man didn't already know.
"Look at me." "Nope." "Kid." "No." Tony grabbed Peter's arm and turned him around forcibly to face him.
"What possessed you to think it was a good idea to bully Spider-Man?"
Peter's mouth fell open. "Are you serious?" He asked, finally turning to face the man. His Spidey Senses came too late - he forgot about the remnants of the fight. "Holy shit," Mr. Stark gasped. "What the hell?" Peter rolled his eyes. "So you think I bully Spider-Man. Me? Why the hell would I bully someone who's been beating the crap out of me since freshman year?" He asked, anger seeping into his voice. Tony stopped. "Don't try that bullshit," He warned. "Flash himself told me you bully him."
Peter considered his options. One was an identity reveal right here, right now. Probably stupid. Two was to convince Tony that Flash bullied him - shouldn't be too hard, considering it was the truth. Three was to literally just jump out of the window and run. Four, pretend that he did, in fact, bully Flash. One, three, and four were probably not viable options, so he went with two.
"Look, Mr. Stark, I don't know why Flash lied to you, but you can even ask my aunt for confirmation," Peter said, confused. Tony inhaled sharply. Something had connected inside his brain, and Peter was suddenly scared.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Tony may have made an idiotic mistake. The kid, Flash, came along claiming to be Spider-Man, and everyone believed him. But he acted and sounded entirely different from the real Spidey. This kid - what was his name, Peter - sounded exactly like Spidey, with the same mannerisms and quirks. I mean, come on. The "Mr. Stark" was the tip-off for Tony.
But was it possible that Peter was Spider-Man? Looking at the kid's injuries, it was certainly plausible - he could have been injured on patrol... or by Flash.
But, wait, the injuries?
Those were fading. The mottled blue and black bruises covering the boy's face were fading back to his normal skin color, and the cut - the super deep, scratched up cut - was knitting itself back together.
A look like fear crossed Peter's face, and he turned around quickly. Tony saw the kid reach up to touch the cut that was, according to the conveniently placed mirror, closing rapidly.
"Ah, fuck," He heard the kid mutter.
Now, Tony was no idiot here, and he was beginning to think that something was seriously different.
Of course, he could have just been reading too much into the situation and everything the kid said had been a lie.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Bucky was officially confused. He, Steve, Clint, and Natasha had taken Spidey for some training, to see how he matched up to the Avengers. But the kid's moves were clumsy and weak. Not like the Spidey they'd seen fending off an arbitrarily large army of aliens a couple weeks ago.
Natasha, he noticed, was looking very suspicious, and whispering to Clint. Flash looked highly uncomfortable. Steve walked over to Bucky. "Do you think Flash is ok?" Steve asked. Bucky frowned. "Either he's had some injuries that are still affecting him, or..." Bucky trailed off.
Oh shit.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"There's something wrong with this picture," Mr. Stark said.
Peter cursed himself internally. Of course he'd slip up somehow, he just didn't think it would be by calling Tony "Mr. Stark". "I do see that there's something wrong here, because I'm certain Flash is lying to you," He said. Mr. Stark frowned. "No, I don't think that's it," The man stated. Peter widened his eyes innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about," He said warily.
"I don't think there's a point in playing dumb," Tony said finally. "What? I don't see what you mea-" Peter was cut off by the man. "I think you do, Spidey." Peter froze. He turned around to face the man again. "A-are you crazy? You think I'm S-Spider-Man? You do know that F-flash is Spider-Man right?" Peter was just digging this grave deeper. Of course he wanted everyone to know Flash wasn't Spider-Man. But that didn't mean he wanted people to know he was. Plus, he was panicking now.
Tony was silent. Then he was scanning Peter's room. "Of course. Then you wouldn't know about Spidey's... web-zapping?" He asked. "It's web-shooting," Peter said instantly. The corner of Tony's mouth raised in a hint of a triumphant smile. "B-but everyone knows that. I-I only know that because - uh, because everyone else does!" It was too easy to make other people correct themselves, and Peter was sure Tony knew that, too. "I see. So it wouldn't make sense for you to, say, have some web shooters?" Peter sighed, relieved, internally. "It would not." Peter had never used web shooters. It was just what the public came up with as an explanation. And a convenient cover story. "I see." Tony pulled out a small device and tossed it in the air. Hovering there, a blue light emitted from it, wheeling around the room. "No web shooters detected," A voice came from inside. The light shut off, and Tony caught it as it began to fall.
For any of y'all confused, in this oneshot basically the Queen was one of Peter's first villains, so he was enhanced right away. He didn't know his newly enhanced abilities were from the Queen, and he managed to defeat her single-handedly. The Avengers were not involved. He got some bonuses to his abilities from this.
"Hm." Tony said thoughtfully. "Convinced now?" Peter asked archly. "Not really. I think you may have to come with me," The man said. "I don't think I will," Peter said instantly. Then he cursed himself. This is exactly how someone suspicious would be acting. "I'm not fond of going strange places with crazy people. You know, that's how some people die, am I right? Better safe then sorry, you know, Mr. Stark?" Peter said conversationally. "I think you should come with me," Tony said. Peter heard the quiet charge of a repulsor. "Whoa there, Mr. Stark. Threatening a minor. Don't you know that's illegal?" This only made the man's smile grow. Ohhh right. That's the voice he uses for Spider-Manning. "Ahem, I mean. I just- I have homework," Peter mumbled.
Tony smirked. He turned to open the door, and stepped out. "Ms. Parker? There's some stuff Peter and I have to talk about, at the tower. He's a very gifted kid. Do you mind if he comes with me?" Peter heard him asking. Now was Peter's chance. He slid open the window and walked down the side of the walls of the apartment, after checking to make sure nobody was around. He jumped down to the ground, rolling, and began to run. That was when he heard a whirring. "So, Mr. Parker. Not Spider-Man?" Tony asked, touching down next to Peter as he stepped out of the suit. "I used the fire escape," Peter said weakly. "Uh-huh. Where's the suit?" Tony asked.
Oh.
He thought, like so many others, that his stickiness was due to the suit. "I'm not Spider-Man. I don't have a suit." Tony pulled out the contraption from earlier, and after a few seconds, it beeped and announced that Peter did not, in fact, have a suit on him. "Hm." Tony said noncommittally. The pause that followed lasted about 10 seconds until he picked up Peter and launched off the ground in the Iron Man suit. "Mr. Stark!" Peter yelled over the wind as they shot up hundreds of feet into the air. Looping in the air, Tony sped off toward Stark Tower.
"Crap! Mr. Stark, what the heck?" Peter yelled angrily. "Kid, you're going to want to hold on," The man said casually. Peter started planning his course of action of the next few minutes. Based off of their speed, they'd arrive at the tower in about 45 seconds. He couldn't risk trying to fight the man - Peter could fall, and then he'd have to use his webbing. That would end in a whole lot of awkwardness. So, he'd have to make an escape at the tower. Once they were inside the building, he could make a break for the stairs. Once the door shut behind him, he'd climb up above the door. Once Tony followed him into the stairwell, he would drop down and make a break for the window they would doubtlessly arrive through. The only issue was, depending on where they arrived in the tower - what floor, what room - there may not be stairs. So Peter would have to hope for the best.
In exactly 45 seconds - Peter was right! - they landed at the tower. Tony casually walked out of his Iron Man suit and guided (read, pushed) him through a small door embedded into a window. When they walked in, Peter was surprised to see that it led to the lounge. Peter has spent a lot of time here with the Avengers - playing games, eating pizza (with the mask mostly on, of course), even just talking casually to them.
He was not, of course, expecting to see Flash there.
Flash went pale when he saw Tony walk into the room, nudging Peter in before him. "Shit," Peter muttered, looking down. "So, Flash, your bully?" Tony said, a hint of anger in his voice. Flash gaped. "I- yeah?" He said, but it sounded more like a question. "Glad to know that was probably fake." Flash stopped. Tony turned his face to yawn, and Flash took advantage of the situation to glare at Peter and mouth "You're dead," at him. Peter looked away.
"So. I was thinking I would take this, quote unquote, bully, in for some testing." Flash frowned. "Testing? Why?" He asked. Peter sighed. "For some reason, he thinks I'm Spider-Man," He explained. "What? That's impossible! I'm Spider-Man!" Flash yelled.
"No, you're insecure," Peter said under his breath.
Tony snorted, obviously hearing him. Peter took in the injury he gave Flash - it looked horrible. It was an ugly mix of many shades, swollen near-shut. "I'm, uh, sorry about your - y'know, eye." Peter said hesitantly. Flash made an ugly sound, glaring at Peter. He did a double take, doubtlessly realizing that Peter had no bruises or cuts.
Oh.
Peter typically put on bandages before leaving for school, just to make sure Flash wasn't suspicious.
"Hey, Stark, what's u- oh hello there Spidey. Random kid," Clint said, walking in. Peter didn't like the emphasis the man put on "Spidey". Peter was hoping Flash's lie may take the spotlight off of him, especially once it was proved to be a falsity.
Except wait.
Anywhere Clint was, Natasha was sure to be there too.
Typically before, but there were a few notable exceptions.
Sure enough, Peter's senses went off and and Natasha walked in. She only nodded curtly to her audience, then walked over to kiss Clint on the cheek. (I'm sorry, I had to, I ship them so much.)
Flash's jaw had dropped. Peter mentally cursed him - Peter had seen this before, on missions, but their relationship was not public knowledge. Peter glanced around quickly, before running through his plan. Considering Wanda and Vision had left for a mission in Europe, he didn't have to worry about those two. But who knew about the others? Peter just had to hope they weren't in the stairwell.
Peter glanced furtively at the trio of Avengers, then at Flash. The boy was still staring daggers at Peter, but Peter shook his head minutely. Flash looked confused, so Peter mouthed "I'm leaving," at him. He saw the internal debate on Flash's face. Tell them of his escape plan to make Peter's life worse, or not say anything, making Flash's life better. What would he choose?
Peter got the answer when Flash jerked his head toward the door to the stairs. Flash may hate Peter, but he still valued himself over lowering Peter's self-esteem.
So Peter darted for the door when nobody was looking and, checking to see that there was nobody there, flipped onto the wall. Realizing that Tony now had backup - not part of the plan, Peter had to devise a Plan B. So, he ran up the wall, dodging around stairs and climbing floors incredibly quickly. Peter's Spidey Senses went off, and Peter flipped himself under the closest stairway. There was a clicking sound, and somebody came through a door above him. When Peter risked a quick peek, sheltered from sight by the overhang of the stairs, he saw none other than the Winter Soldier strolling down the stairs. Peter had one chance at this.
3... 2... 1... now!
As Bucky descended another step, Peter darted a few more steps up the wall, then flipped himself over the stair railing. Tony was yelling downstairs, so Peter turned and ran into the door Bucky had just left from.
And staring at him was one very surprised Captain America.
Peter's eyes widened. How much had he seen? The flip? The wall-climbing? Or just the running in?
"It isn't what it looks like, Mr. Steve Captain Ame- heh, sorry." Peter slapped himself mentally for slipping into his automatic Spidey mannerisms.
Steve clearly noticed this too - he wasn't an idiot.
"You're the Spider-Man," Steve breathed. "What? No I'm not!" Peter said anxiously. "You were running up the wall! And you flipped over the stairs! " He exclaimed.
Peter fucked up.
"Sir, please, you can't tell anyone about this!" He begged. Steve shook his head. "I-I'm sorry, kid, but we need you. There can't be an imposter hero," Steve said softly. "Really? Are you fucking afraid that your reputation as a goddamn hero team would be ruined?" Peter yelled angrily.
Steve shook his head. "Language, kid. If that were the only reason, I would let you go and forget that Flash isn't Spider-Man." "Then what's the other reason?" "Flash could get hurt," Steve said simply.
Peter shouldn't care.
In all his rights, he shouldn't care if Flash was hurt.
But he did.
"Damn it!" Peter spat angrily.
The look of pity on Steve's face as he muttered another'language' showed that he clearly felt bad for Peter.
"Okay. So what you're saying is that the one thing I've worked on - keeping my identity safe - I should just reveal, so that Flash doesn't get himself hurt? He's not an idiot, you know," Peter challenged.
"No, I'm not saying you should give up your identity. Getting Flash off the team and revealing your identity aren't mutually inclusive. There are other solutions."
Peter stopped. "So what exactly are you trying to say?"
Steve smirked.
"So you manage to get by me. I tried to stop you, of course, but I just finished training and I'm tired. You make it out of the tower through a window that is conveniently placed down the hall behind me, then two left turns, one right turn, and it's right there. You get out of the window and leave. You don't get caught because sadly I thought I saw you run a different way. I drop some hints that I think Flash is genuine, because it's not like I saw anything, of course, apart from you running in here. You come by tomorrow because, oh no, something came up about your identity and you realize it's important that Flash's charade comes to an end. I'm the first one you see. After all, at 11:00 on Saturdays, which just happens to be tomorrow, I'm always at my art studio on the 79th floor, twelfth floor from the left. So you go there. It's urgent, after all. You need to talk. So, lacking a better place, I'll bring you to the lounge to talk. Of course, if Flash happens to be there, it wouldn't be my fault. And if the rest of the Avengers happened to be there as well, then that's a shame. And if you prove that he isn't Spidey and you are, well, that's certainly an unfortunate set of events," Steve said casually.
Peter felt the beginnings of a smile form at the edges of his lips. "Of course. If anything, sadly, happens at patrol tonight regarding my identity, I will come to you. Purely hypothetically, of course," Peter promised.
"It's a deal."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Oh no! Peter realized last night, in the midst of a patrol, that the new person claiming to be Spider-Man could be in danger.
That was why he was now sitting on the window of Steve's art studio in his suit, knocking 'frantically' at the window. Steve strolled in at exactly 11:00, and sat down at an easel. Peter knocked again, and Steve looked up. Feigning surprise, he walked over to the window. "Spider-Man. Nice to see you," He said, smirking a bit. "Something came up. It's about my identity," Peter said quickly.
They were really putting on a show.
"Ah! Do you need to talk?" Steve asked.
"Yes!"
"Alright, follow me. We can go to the lounge. Not like there's a better place."
Steve kicked the door open dramatically, revealing all the Avengers assembled in the lounge, sitting down and talking. And there was Flash, lounging in a chair, eating a pretzel. "Oh. Oh wow. I wasn't expecting people to be here!" Steve said loudly. Everyone looked up.
Seeing one Captain America and one Spider-Man.
Emotions ranged from shock - Sam - to confusion - Rhodey - to smugness - Natasha. People were looking back and forth between Flash and Peter. "I - uh, what - I didn't-" Flash stammered, horrified. Anger was quickly forming on the Avengers' faces. "Wait, Flash? Wait, Spidey? What is going on here?" Steve asked melodramatically.
Peter laughed.
"Hey look, it's my personal identity crisis," Peter quipped.
"What's wrong, Flash? Civilian life not exciting enough for you? Going for the big leagues?" He asked. Flash went pale.
Tony was looking curious, as though Peter were some kind of science he had yet to understand.
Peter supposed that was somewhat accurate.
"A-aren't you the one going for the big leagues? I'm the real Spider-Man," Flash stammered, caught off guard.
"Oh, I'm glad you're a fan of my amazing-ness, but I'm afraid only I can harness the true beauty of being New York's favorite web-slinger," Peter retorted instantly.
"Prove it," Flash challenged.
Peter spread his arms in a 'what can I do?' gesture, then walked up the wall. Flash rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. You could've gotten a rip-off version of my suit," He said, smirking.
"Ohhhh, you've been woefully misinformed. You see, my suit doesn't do the sticking for me. I'm the sticky one." Peter pulled off his suit dramatically, leaving only his mask on.
(Leaving his normal clothing on, a white shirt and jeans, any of y'all filthy sneks out there.)
Peter had made sure the clothing he wore under the suit was common. If he had worn a science pun t-shirt, Flash would have certainly recognized it.
He made a big show of walking up to the wall, then stepped up and walked casually up the wall, across the ceiling, and down the other side. "Can you do that?" Peter asked, grinning beneath the mask. Flash was rapidly turning pale, as the Avengers turned to look at him with accusing looks. "Or can you do this?" Peter asked, shooting a web across the room. "B-but you don't have your web shooters!" Flash gasped. "Guess what? I don't need them. I never had web shooters!" Peter said triumphantly.
The Avengers were all yelling now, and Peter's Spidey Senses were going crazy. He touched his hand to his forehead, hoping it would make the rapidly developing headache cease.
Steve was by his side then, asking if he was okay. Peter turned, looking up to nod, when another wave of pain hit.
"Crap..." Peter muttered. He realized what was happening now.
There were a lot of clues, now that he thought about it. The lights were rapidly getting brighter, and every word, whispered or not, sounded like loud yelling. Peter could feel his skin crawling with the increase of sensory input. He could only thank his mask for providing him with a small bit of protection against the blazing light and yelling that sounded like exploding bombs.
People were running now, he heard Tony loudly making a dash for Peter. There was a soft pitter-patter that Peter was grateful for, then realized it was Natasha, usually more than silent, but now he could hear her movements. She knelt wordlessly by his side and made a few gestures with her hands that he recognized as sign language.
Are you okay?
Peter's eyes widened as he realized what a good strategy this was.
Dim the lights. Tell everyone to stop yelling.
Natasha turned to Clint and repeated the signs Peter had just made. The archer nodded and silently - well, loudly to Peter, but not too loudly - ran off to turn down the lights. Natasha looked up at the Avengers and held a finger to her lips in a 'be quiet' gesture. They thankfully fell quiet, leaving Peter to hear their breathing echoing in his ears.
Does this happen a lot? Natasha signed.
Flash asked something, and it sounded like a sonic boom in Peter's ears until Natasha looked up at him and made the quiet gesture again, paired with a death glare, and Flash obligingly fell silent.
It's complicated. Peter attempted to sign. His hands were shaking from the loud noises.
It's... very ugly? I'm confused.
Sorry. It's complicated. Those two are similar. I'm kind of trembling right now.
No worries, kid. Clint decided to join the silent conversation now.
Sensory overload? Natasha queried.
Yeah. My senses are like, dialed to eleven. On bad days, they go to a thirty.
Ouch. I've experienced overloads before, because of, you know, my ears. Mostly with sight, but I know how it feels. Clint winced sympathetically. He wrote something down on a sticky note, which he passed to Tony. It read 'turn on lockdown mode'. Tony nodded and pressed a button on his watch. Walls slammed down, cutting out the lights, and causing Peter to flinch from the loud noises. Flash said something else, and Natasha smiled quickly at Peter, then stood up and grabbed the boy by the arm. She pulled him through a door, and Peter heard her say something to him - there were too many noises for him to focus - then a surprised sound and a shove. Natasha then walked back in, a calm look on her face as though nothing had happened.
Okay, so, Peter - you are Peter, right? Natasha spelled out his name using the individual letters, and, with a sinking feeling, Peter nodded.
Clint reached out and drew calming circles on Peter's back.
Peter took some deep breaths, and was relieved when the light started to dim and the noises grow quieter. He closed his eyes.
Natasha touched him gently on the shoulder.
Doing better, spider?
Somewhat, thank you.
Don't worry about it. I'm going to take the Avengers away for a bit, Clint will stay with you. We'll take care of this imposter situation.
Peter nodded gratefully and slumped back onto the ground.
"Don't worry kid. It'll be okay," Clint whispered. Peter nodded, then let his eyes close again and slid off into the blackness.
~.-.~.-.~.-.~.-.~.-.~
When Peter awoke, Steve was sitting at a chair near his bed. "Hey, Peter," He said casually. Peter's hand flew to his mask, which, thankfully, was still on.
Peter waved halfheartedly.
"That didn't exactly go according to the totally-not-plan we definitely didn't have," Steve sighed.
Peter shrugged, sitting up. "The others want to see you," Steve said. "I didn't know if you wanted to see them."
Peter paused.
They didn't mean him any harm.
Due to Natasha and Clint's reactions, they were people he could trust.
So did he want to try for a third chance at a family?
"Let them come in," Peter said boldly.
Natasha was the first one in, shoving Clint and Tony out of the way. Those two scrambled in after her. Rhodey walked in next, Sam trailing behind. Then Bruce... Scott... Bucky... everyone.
"Hey guys," Peter managed.
Tony smiled at him.
"Sorry for that, kid," He said.
Peter paused. Natasha, Clint, and Steve all looked at Peter, the same question in their eyes.
Was he going to do it?
Peter reached up to touch the edge of his mask, then tentatively peeled it back from his face.
There was a silence, then Tony yelled "I KNEW IT!!"
The Avengers, the earth's mightiest heroes, collectively broke into argument as Peter sat there and laughed.
Maybe he could try for that whole family thing again.
Part 2??