cat in a tree. yep.
tony sang along to the screeching lyrics of the heavy metal song blasting out of the speakers in his lab, his warbly voice muffled by the large metal visor he was wearing.
sparks flew across the worktop as he fused together components for his latest suit, Mark 47.
the genius continued to assemble bits and bobs for the inner wiring for another ten minutes before taking a break;he had been solidly working for 2 hours.
he wiped off the sweat running down his unshaven face, and handed the visor to dum-e with a "thanks, bud"
the robot whirred in response and hung the helmet on its usual hook as tony walked round to the glowing blue holograms on the opposite end of the spacious room.
tony stretched, twisting his back and sighing. he'd made good progress with his suit, but he was still a bit miffed at how he'd barely gotten anywhere with his search for spiderman.
he wasn't tracking or investigating, he was simply curious as to the hero's background, his motives, his history.
it seemed spiderman wasn't just an incredibly strong, sticky vigilante. he was also clever, as tony had yet to discover where he resided.
steve had mentioned the possibility of recruiting him, and considering tony had taken a liking to the kid (his witty humour and mocking attitude were similar to his own . the mechanic had watched several videos passers-by had taken of the young spider sassing criminals), he was all in favour.
"stark! you missed yet anOTHEr bloody meeting-"
ah, pep. tony grinned as pepper came storming into the dingy lab, her pissed-off voice only just making it above the loud shrieking rock song that nearly shook the compound.
the whirlwind of heels, important papers and sheer indignant exasperation approached him, and his easygoing grin didn't deter her one bit.
"I bloody KNEW I was going to have to storm down here-"
the billionaire ordered JARVIS to pause the music.
"I swear to GOD, tony, I will fucking castrate you if you miss the one tommorow-"
"pep, pep" tony soothed, reaching out a placating grimy hand (she glanced at it distastefully). "I already sent them an apology. my liege and savour rhodey covered for me"
pepper paused, mouth open, the furious words stuck in her throat.
she rolled her eyes as tony smirked gleefully.
"well. okay then. you still need to file the project 35 papers and sign off on-"
"yeah, yeah I get the point. work shit to do" tony waved an arm airily. "but first, drinks"
he grabbed the chilled bottle of red wine he'd prepared earlier and poured them both a glass.
"I can't drink, tony! im on duty, there's-"
tony pressed the glass into her hands with his puppy eyes look he reserved just for her, and she caved.
"oh for fucks sake" she mumbled into her glass. "worst boss in the states"
"aha!" tony cried. "so I've been upgraded from worst boss in the world, have I?"
she glared at him, poking her tongue out.
looking past him, she noticed the holograms depicting a certain bloke in a mask and the information he'd gathered so far.
"I thought you guys had decided to leave him alone" she stated accusingly, and tony shrugged.
"not really. we're all going to try and make a concious effort to befriend him, show him the benefits of working with us" he explained.
tony gestured to the luminous screens. "hence, my background check"
at the blonde's unconvinced face, he looked at her pleadingly.
"cmon honey, its better than fury ordering us to drag him in, kicking and screaming"
pepper narrowed her eyes. "you promise you're not tracking him or anything"
tony knelt dramatically on the black marble tiles floor, causing pepper to snort.
"I promise, my gloriousness" he drawled, and she yanked him back up again with a dry expression.
"besides. he's a sneaky little bugger. knows how to hide" tony continued, eyebrows furrowing.
pepper opened her mouth to say something, but her starkphone rang, the shrill piercing ringing making them both wince.
she answered it hurriedly, face falling slightly as she talked business and made arrangements.
despite their antics, they both were disappointed to be interuppted. tony's new gadgets being released by stark industries meant that pepper, the ceo, was under a lot more strain than usual.
they barely saw each other all day, and the limited contact they did have, they savoured.
pepper sent tony an apologetic look as she hung up. "sorry babe, madison went ahead and dismissed the latest-well, you don't need to hear the details. we still on for tommorow evening?"
tony nodded, grinning again.
"i know a great little place on 41st, their breadsticks are literally mouth heaven-"
"how about we just have a night in?" pepper suggested, and tony agreed instantly at seeing the makeup-concealed bags under her eyes.
"of course, my lady" he said, making a sweeping gesture as he bowed low.
she giggled despite herself, then instantly sobered.
"remember young man. sign off on those papers or I will have your head" she said coolly, and tony nodded seriously, his face solemn before going cross-eyed to try and get another laugh.
pepper held back a smile, and walked back down the rows of countertops, her heels clicking smartly.
"and have a wash! you're filthy!" she called back, and he flipped her off with a cheery smirk. she reciprocated, then the door slid behind her.
they were in love like that.
"right.." tony muttered, scratching his head. his eyes strayed to the neat stack of papers and forms on his desk, then to the the pile of metal bits on his oTHer desk.
"hey JARVIS, music on please!" he yelled, and the AI replied politely with "of course, sir"
the heavy drums and guitar riffs pounded in his ears as he made his way over to the suit.
"spiderman! spiderman! over here!"
peter looked down from the towering building to see a frantic-looking dude with blonde dreadlocks.
"my cat's stuck up a tree!" he cried, and peter resisted the urge to giggle.
cats stuck up trees.wow.
"uh yeah, il be right down!" peter yelled, cramming the rest of the energy bar into his mouth and tugging the mask down.
he leapt down and casually slid down the bonnet of a car, grinning at the look of awe on the guy's face.
"s-sorry to bother you, sir, she's just down here.." he babbled, nervously tugging on his wispy blonde beard and pointing down the path at the greenery beyond.
"no worries! it's cool!" peter said earnestly, clapping a gloved hand on the man's shoulder. he looked like he might pass out.
"r-right. yeah, okay. right. so she's g-got an anxiety disorder so if you could please b-be gentle.." he said nervously as they jogged down the pavilion.
"of course" peter said, nodding.
it had been a while since he'd done something as mundane as helping cats from trees.
ever since he'd moved into a much bigger area in the city, things such as helping the eldery cross the road became rarer.
they reached the tall oak, the blonde still rambling and stuttering (peter still found it odd that anyone could ever be nervous around him, a literal 16-year-old nerd).
"s-she's just up there!" the guy pointed out the small black cat, more a kitten, mewling in the branches above
"awww. she's a cutie" peter cooed, and the man blushed.
"p-please be gentle" he reminded.
peter set a foot on the rough bark, and began to crawl slowly up the trunk, careful not to spook the kitten.
as he neared the cat, he called down to the man. "how did she get stuck all the way up here anyway?"
"o-oh, my freinds t-told me I should take her on a w-walk"
peter stifled a chuckle.
"b-but she got scared, and ran up the tree"
peter glanced back down as he inched along the branch, and rolled his eyes when he saw a few people filming.
the sleek black cat's fearful mewls became more like yowls, and peter edged closer cautiously.
he scooped it up gently, and sighed with relief when it didn't start struggling.
back when peter's suit was less developed and flimsy, the fabric had a tendency to rip.
he heard gentle cheers and whoops as peter jumped down, cradling the feline.
"here ya go" peter said softly, and carefully opened his arms when blondie approached.
"t-thank you, spiderman!" he blubbered, stroking his now content kitten, and peter did finger guns as he backed off down the tiles, noticing the small crowd that had gathered.
"anytime!" he called cheerily, and he jumped straight up in the air, grabbing the branch of another tree and using the momentum to swing away.
now, back to base... he thought as he flew through the intertwining streets on his webs. but photos first.
peter's pics that he submitted to the newspaper were all pretty much the same theme: spiderman.
he took selfies of himself when he was swinging, or set his camera up as he swung by.
the photos were very popular, the more detailed the more money he'd get. the newspaper people weren't really interested in peter or his stammerings that he'd gotten the images from a freind of spiderman, they only cared about publishing them and gaining readers.
so petey snapped a couple of selfies on the way home, doing peace signs and even dabbing. he knew the younger kids would love that.
the spider was nearly home when he heard gunfire, and he set down on a rooftop, skidding on the bricks.
he looked down at the rough streets, and saw a bunch of black-clad figures with guns, cornered in an alley.
they seemed like trouble, and peter debated interfering as the criminals took potshots round the wall at whoever they were facing.
peter clung to the wall and crawled round the corner to see who they were shooting at.
peter sighed when he saw a very familiar redhead and surly-looking man staring up at him.