Freely trusting a teenager
llll: FREELY TRUSTING A TEENAGER
Peter was in his own lab back at his base, he had taken a copy of the weapon blueprints Batman had shown them. He let out a breath of air as he flicked his wrist, the blueprint hologram spinning around to show all angles.
Peter barely registered the knock on the door and his own voice saying; "come in." In his now-normally tired voice.
Ever since becoming a babysitter to his vigilante team, it has been chaos. One wrong move from him and his whole team will go stumbling. Which meant no more play time for this spider.
The door opened and a certain blonde-haired girl peeked in. "Peter? The others were worried about you. You haven't been out of the lab for two hours," she told him, opening the door a bit wider so her frame was fully in the doorway.
Peter gave a small shrug before looking back at the hologram. This project has been bothering him all day, it was high tech and he's been trying to found the exact recourses this weapon has.
Spoiler alert: he found nothing. Which is worrying.
"I'm fine, Gwen. I just need to find the right sources for this weapon." He replied, spinning around in his chair and crossing the room to look at the glowing stones he had found recently.
Another thing that was bothering him.
Gwen hummed and nodded slightly, "okay, but, dinner will be here soon, I will send someone up here to let you know?" She suggested, Peter nodded absentmindedly.
Gwen frowned, but it went unseen from the other spider. With that, she backed out of the room and shut the door behind her.
Then silence overcame the lab that Peter found himself locked in, struggling to find what this strange weapon had to offer him.
———
"I just don't understand why we are freely trusting a teenager to make sure we don't all die in the process of going between alternative realities?" Green Arrow stated, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face to match the brooding look.
Peter rolled his eyes, his own arms folded. He had just been informed by Nick Fury that Red team would have to show these heroes around.
Apparently the interrogation had gone well, with just a few people having to have babysitters due to their killing morals.
And, who better to babysit than the already stressed out Peter Parker?
Oh, and did he mention that his suit was currently being fixed by Harley because Wade decided to play with fireworks inside the base again? Which meant the fact he was only 22 was now out in the open?
Tony raised an eyebrow, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, sure, because clearly, the guy who built web-shooters in his bedroom and outsmarts half the villains in New York is the problem here. Face it, Robin Hood, Peter's probably smarter than your entire squad on their best day. So, maybe reel in the attitude and leave his name out of this." He leaned back casually, a smug grin creeping onto his face.
Green Arrow's eyes narrowed down to slits. "I'm sorry, but your son's web slingshots aren't a portal to different universe." He snapped back.
Peter, meanwhile, huffed and flicked his wrist. A blue hologram appeared, showing clear blueprints that were very specific. And complicated. Very complicated.
He gave a short glare at Green Arrow before looking back at the other heroes. "I managed to find the exact resources of the weapon, we don't have a few certain things to make it run smoothly; but we have replacements that will work just as well—if not better." He told them in that serious voice that made people listen. He figured he would need to use it on these overgrown children.
Barry Allen whistled lowly, leaning forward to examine the hologram. "Okay, I'll admit—that's impressive. You did all this in just a couple of hours?"
Peter shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal. "It's been bugging me since I saw it, and, well, I don't like leaving questions unanswered."
Bruce Wayne, who had been silent up until now, finally spoke, his deep voice carrying the weight of someone who had seen far too much. "And you're certain these substitutes won't compromise the device?"
Peter turned back to the display, swiping through the highlighted components. "No offense, Bats, but if I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have even brought this up. The replacements should actually stabilize the energy output. The original design was functional, yeah, but it was also a bit unstable—probably because whoever built it didn't have a full grasp of interdimensional energy currents."
"Unlike you?" Green Arrow scoffed, unimpressed.
Peter shot him a flat look. "Yeah. Unlike them."
Oliver opened his mouth to retort, but Barry stepped between them with a quick shake of his head. "Okay, okay, let's dial back the hostility. I get that we're all new to trusting each other, but I think we can agree that right now, he knows more about what we're dealing with than any of us."
Tony smirked, giving Peter a pointed look. "See, kid? You even got the fastest man alive backing you up."
"I'm honored," Peter deadpanned, before sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Look, I don't care if you trust me or not. What I care about is getting this thing built and getting you all back home before any more multiversal headaches show up."
Bruce nodded, arms crossing over his chest. "Then let's get to work."
Peter exhaled in relief. Finally. At least someone here had some sense.
Green Arrow still didn't look convinced, but at least he wasn't arguing anymore. That was progress, right?
Just as the tension in the room started to ease, the door burst open and Deadpool waltzed in, arms outstretched.
"Alright, who's ready for chimichangas and an existential crisis?"
Peter groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. This was going to be a long night.
Deadpool's sudden entrance shattered whatever fragile peace had been established. The mercenary flopped onto the nearest chair—Bruce's chair, if the Bat-glare was anything to go by—and propped his feet up on the table.
"Okay, let's get this show on the road! We've got broody billionaires, an emotionally exhausted Spider, and a bunch of people who still think spandex is a good idea—"
Peter shot him a look. "You wear spandex."
"Yeah, but I own it," Wade shot back, finger-gunning at him. "Totally different situation."
Before Peter could respond, Harley appeared in the doorway, a wrench in one hand and Peter's repaired suit slung over his shoulder. "Alright, web-head, your suit's good to go. Had to reinforce some of the internal wiring—because someone decided to use fireworks indoors." His gaze flicked toward Wade, who at least had the decency to look somewhat guilty. "Again."
Peter sighed, standing up to retrieve it. "Thanks, Harley." He took the suit, inspecting the modifications.
Green Arrow, apparently unable to contain himself, scoffed. "You really let a bunch of kids run your tech?"
Tony, who had been content to sit back and enjoy the chaos, straightened, his expression hardening. "You keep using that word like it's an insult, but in case you haven't noticed, these so-called kids have done more for this situation than you have."
Peter, slipping his repaired gloves back on, nodded. "Yeah, I'd say building a functioning multiversal bridge puts us ahead."
Cindy, who had been leaning against the wall watching everything unfold, smirked. "That, and we have better outfits."
"Hey!" Barry protested. "The Flash suit is iconic."
"And yet, it's still just a glorified onesie," she shot back.
Barry looked mildly offended. Green Arrow looked like he was regretting every life decision that had brought him to this moment.
Bruce, meanwhile, had already tuned out the nonsense, his focus back on the hologram. "Parker, if you're certain about these adjustments, we should start assembling the device."
Peter nodded, already swiping through a list of components. "Agreed. We'll need everyone on deck for this. It's going to take a lot of energy to stabilize the gateway, and I'd rather not test it with a half-finished system."
"That means no distractions," Bruce added, giving Deadpool a pointed look.
Wade gasped theatrically, placing a hand over his heart. "Bats, you wound me! I am nothing if not a professional."
A beat of silence.
Then Harley snorted. "Sure. Professional menace."
"I accept that title with pride," Wade said solemnly.
Peter shook his head, already feeling the beginnings of a headache. "Okay, let's get moving before someone throws another punch."