Peter
“YOU MET TONY STARK?!?!”
“Ned! Keep quiet-“
“THE TONY STARK!?!?!?”
“Yes, Ned! Now please quiet down-“
“THE TONY STARK WAS IN YOUR LIVING ROOM?!?!”
“NED!!” Peter finally shouts, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and shaking him.
“Right, right, sorry. I’m calm.” His friend replies, looking anything but calm. Peter knew he would react like this, which is why he chose to tell Ned the news at the Leed’s house instead of in public.
Peter let go of his shoulders and sat back down on the floor by their half built Lego NASA Apollo Saturn V Rocket. Ned invited him over for the weekend and Peter had gladly accepted. He had even convinced Diane to agree to let him go instead of him just sneaking out and facing the consequences. All he had to do was deep clean the entire apartment, do all their laundry, and precook all of their meals for the weekend.
She’s been in a good mood this week since Stark showed up and offered him a paid internship with his company. He knew already that those two would be getting everything that Stark paid him, which was honestly fine by him. He didn’t want money from that man anyway. He didn’t even get punished for Stark just showing up at their apartment unannounced, which Peter had been positive was going to happen.
“So he seriously just showed up and offered you an internship? Just like that?” Ned was still standing and pacing, a bewildered look on his face.
“Well, yeah.” Peter responds hesitantly. He hates lying to Ned, but the other boy doesn’t know about his secret identity yet. It’s not that he doesn’t trust him, honestly he trusts Ned more than he trusts himself some days, but he doesn’t want that to be a burden on his friend. It could put Ned in danger if he knows.
“I applied for the September foundation a while back, and I didn’t even mention it because it’s for college students and there was no shot I was going to get it anyway, and then he just showed up and said to come to the tower on Wednesday.”
“Whoa.” Ned said as he plopped back down on the ground next to Peter. “I’m so jealous of your life dude.”
Yeah of course he is, because he doesn’t know anything about Peter’s life.
Peter left Ned’s early on Sunday to get in an afternoon patrol before he had to head back. He loved sleeping over at his friend’s house and getting out of his foster home, but he couldn’t be Spider-Man there without the risk that Ned notices he disappears in the middle of the night, and there’s only so much talking about Tony Freaking Stark that Peter can handle in one weekend.
His friend just didn’t realize it was annoying because it’s possible that at one point, Peter might have been a little bit of a fan of Tony Stark. He just thought his inventions were kind of cool, that’s all. He definitely didn’t beg his aunt and uncle to take him to the Stark Expo, and dress up as Iron Man, and have Iron Man bedsheets, and have both Iron Man and Tony Stark posters up on the wall of his bedroom. Oh no. Definitely not.
Anyways, he hasn’t considered himself a fan of Tony Stark since he went into foster care. At the beginning, when he could still consider himself a child, he used to lay in bed after being beaten or yelled at and wished that Iron Man would come rescue him. He was foolish, and now that he’s actually met the man, he’s glad he never showed up to save him. Stark is a total asshole. He just showed up where Peter lives and threatened him because Peter was actually helping people. He thinks he can just come in and take whatever he wants because he’s rich. Peter hates people like that.
“Spider-man! Help us!” The cry for help pulled him from his thoughts, and he jumped down quickly from his swing to stop a mugging in progress. There’s never a moment of peace for a superhero in New York City.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Wednesday came far too soon for Peter’s liking, and he very quickly found himself outside the school in the mass of students trying to find their parents cars in the front. He looks around, trying to find someone that could look like the driver to Tony Stark, when he hears his name.
“Peter Parker?” A gruff voice calls from the curb. Peter turns his head and sees a very large man in a suit with a frown on his face. Yep, that just about checks all the boxes for Tony Stark’s driver.
Peter strolls up to the man unhurriedly, paying close attention to his spider sense in case it alerts him that this guy was dangerous. Everything stayed quiet though.
“That’s me.” He replies. “And you are?”
“Harold Hogan, but most people call me Happy. The Stark’s head of security. Tony asked me to make sure you arrived at the tower safely and,” he pulls up his sleeve to glance at an expensive looking watch, “on time.”
The man started to open the back door when Peter snorted with laughter. “Happy? Really? That’s your name?”
Happy rolls his eyes like he’s heard that a thousand times before. “Yes, that really is my name and no, it’s not a joke. Now get in the car.”
Peter grumbles as he climbs in through the open door. “God, you and Stark both need to have a lesson in not bossing people around so much- holy shit.”
Peter looks around the car, amazed, while Happy sits down in the front with a smug smile on his face.
The man starts the car and pulls out of the school pick up lot while Peter was taking in his surroundings. This was easily the nicest car Peter has ever seen, even in movies. The seats were so comfortable that Peter felt like he could lie down and take a nap in them.
“So a nice car is all it takes to shut you kids up?” Happy asks from the front seat.
Peter rolls his eyes. “Oh, please. It’s not that nice. And it smells like fast food. And I’m not a kid.”
Happy grabs a bag from the passenger seat and tosses it back, Peter reflexively catching it without even thinking. It was a fast food bag that smelled absolutely heavenly.
Peter tears it open without even thinking, his stomach louder than his thoughts for a moment before he remembered himself.
“Wait a second…” he wonders aloud. “If this is Stark’s idea to bribe me and try to make me like him, it’s not going to work, and I don’t want any part of it.”
“Uh, no, actually it’s from me…kind of. There’s something in the seat pocket too…” Happy replies from the front. And he sounded…nervous? Embarrassed? Peter can’t tell, but it’s an emotion that Peter didn’t think would come out so freely from a guy like Happy.
He pulls a paper out of the pocket on the back of the seat in front of him and finds a drawing that looked like it was done by a little kid. It was clearly Spider-Man swinging over a city with a bunch of people below him.
“My niece, she just loves you. You’re her favorite super hero, even though she’s met Tony plenty of times.”
Peter snorts at the thought of Tony Stark with a young child. He was sure those interactions were very awkward for them both.
“I just think what you do for the city…it’s real good, Kid.”
Peter opens his mouth to tell Happy not to call him kid, he isn’t one after all, but Happy seemed like someone he actually wouldn’t hate to get along with, so he stays quiet. This guy actually seems genuine, and Peter appreciates that.
“Thanks, Mr. Happy.” Peter says with a smile. “This is really nice of you, and your niece of course.” Happy just nods at him through the rear view mirror, and Peter starts digging into his food.
Peter keeps quiet for the remainder of the drive, and all too soon, they arrive in a private parking garage at Stark Tower. Peter scowls but holds back from whining like he wants to. He really wants to throw a full on tantrum, but then they really would think of him as a kid and he can’t have that.
Happy opens his door for him and lets him climb out of the car. He glanced around the garage and tries not to let his face show the awe he’s feeling at all of the cars he can see nearby.
“This is Tony’s personal garage, where he keeps his collection.” Happy says, glancing from Peter’s face to the row of cars he was staring at. It appears he didn’t do as well as he’d hoped at hiding his reaction, so he attempts to turn things around.
“I bet Stark doesn’t even drive these things. Doesn’t he just make you drive him around everywhere?” He says, scowl firmly planted back on his face.
Happy snorts a laugh. “Yeah, pretty much. Come on, let’s get you upstairs.”
Happy goes to put a hand on Peter’s back to guide him towards the elevator, and Peter instinctually steps away from his outstretched arm. Happy gives him an odd look.
“I, uh, don’t really like being touched.” Peter stutters out as an excuse. Hey, it is the truth after all. The fact that he doesn’t like being touched because most of the contact he’s had in the last few years has been negative or painful can just be…implied.
Happy raises his hands in defeat. “Hey, alright, whatever you want, kid. Elevator is right over here.” Happy starts walking and waves for Peter to follow. Peter doesn’t see any buttons by the elevator, and he doesn’t see Happy do anything before the elevator doors open up and let them inside. He has just a moment to notice the lack of buttons on the inside of the elevator as well, when a voice surrounds them.
“Greetings, Mr. Hogan. Would you like me to take you to Boss?”
Peter practically jumps out of his skin with surprise.
“What the hell was that?” He asks, looking around the elevator for where the voice came from.
Happy looks like he’s trying hard to hide a chuckle. “That’s just Friday, Tony’s AI. She runs the tower.”
Wow. He’s meeting Tony Stark’s AI in real life. This must be the one that replaced Jarvis after the whole Ultron incident. Which he definitely didn’t do a lot of reading about, because he doesn’t care about Tony Stark. It was just all over the news so of course everyone knows about it.
“Wow.” He says out loud. “This is so crazy.” This time, he really can’t help the awe that seeps into his voice or the small smile that creeps onto his face.
“You can talk to her if you want.” Happy tells him.
“Um, hello Friday.” Peter says nervously. He’s never spoken to an AI before, especially one as advanced as Friday.
“Hello, Mr. Parker. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Boss has informed me that you are to be his new intern, is that correct?”
“Uh, yes ma’am. It’s nice to meet you too.” Peter replies. “And you can just call me Peter, if you want.”
“Alright, Peter. Shall I take you and Mr. Hogan to see Boss now?” She asks.
“Yes, please, Miss Friday.” Peter answers with another smile. He isn’t sure where the cameras are, but he’s sure Friday can see him from somewhere, and he wants to make a good impression.
The elevator begins to take them up, and Peter’s excitement over meeting the AI quickly fades as he remembers why he’s in this tower in the first place. He’s being forced against his will to go to stupid superhero training.
Tony is waiting for them when the elevator door opens. Peter wonders if Friday told him they were coming, or if the man was just waiting around for him. He rolls his eyes at the idea as he steps out of the elevator. Seriously, get a life dude.
Stark greets them with a plastered on smile that Peter has seen a million times in interviews….not that he’s seen that many interviews of course.
“Mr. Parker!” The man exclaims with open arms. “Welcome to my tower. So glad you could make it.”
Peter scowls and crosses his arms. “It’s not exactly like I had a choice, Stark. I was threatened and blackmailed, by you.”
Stark’s smile falters for just a millisecond and he ushers Peter forwards into the room, waving Happy back out. The large man nods his head, acknowledging that his job was done, and steps back into the elevator without a word.
Peter steps forward and sighs, accepting his fate. He was hoping Happy would stick around for a bit. He’s decided he likes Happy enough. Definitely more than Stark. He would probably feel a little more comfortably if he had stayed.
Peter lets his eyes wander around the room for a minute, taking in his surroundings. It looks like a large gym of some kind. It definitely wasn’t anything like the gym at his high school, that’s for sure.
“Look, Pete,” Stark begins, publicity smile still on. “I’m thinking that you and I, we got off on the wrong foot back at your lovely home.”
Peter just glares at him. “You mean when you invaded the place where I live, made me lie to my guardians, and then threatened me to force me to come here?”
“Yeah, that.” Stark responded, still with the smile. “I think it would be in both of our best interests to start from the beginning today. A little reset, if you will.”
Peter just rolls his eyes in response. Is this guy really serious?
“Yeah, that isn’t going to happen, Stark. I’m not happy to be here, and I won’t pretend to be. I’m here against my will, and I’m not going to play nice just to make things easier for you.”
Finally, the stupid smile drops from the older man’s face and he audibly sighs. “I figured you’d say that, but I gave it a shot. Now that we’re in agreement that neither one of us wants you here, can we get this over with?”
He looks at Peter expectantly, so he gives the man one tense nod to continue. Stark is right about one thing: he does want to get this over with so he can leave.
“Okay, great.” The man says with a huff. “This part of the tower we’re in right now is the Avengers gym. I figured the first thing we should do before we start training is test your limits, see what all you can do so we can get an idea of how we should train, kapesh?”
Peter shrugs, arms still crossed unhappily.
Tony rolls his eyes, looking exasperated already. “Okay, I’m going to need real answers from you, kid, or we’re not going to get anywhere. Now, why don’t you tell me about your enhancements?”
Peter shrugs again just to be annoying before actually answering the question. “I have super strength, enhanced senses and reflexes, I can use my hands and feet to stick to things, and I can feel threats before they happen.”
Stark gives him a strange look before speaking.
“Okay…there’s a lot to discuss there. You can stick to things? That’s not a part of the suit?”
Instead of answering, Peter just jumps up a couple of feet and plants his hand on the wall next to him, hanging for a few seconds as a demonstration. Stark just nods, looking like he’s lost in thought.
“And the webs? Those aren’t a part of the enhancements?”
Peter scrunched up his face in disgust. “Ew, no. You thought those came out of me? Disgusting.”
The older man just shrugs as well. It looks like two can play at that game.
“Hey, I wasn’t assuming anything. Plus, the tensile strength of that webbing is off the charts. Where do you get it from?”
Peter squints his eyes and glares threateningly. “None of you business where it comes from.”
Stark looks annoyed at his response, but he apparently lets it go for now.
“what do you mean by you can feel threats before they happen?” Stark asks curiously.
“Like…it’s hard to explain.” Peter starts, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck and looking around the gym. “It’s like a sixth sense I guess. I can just tell when something bad is going to happen soon, or if I’m in imminent danger, my body just knows. It’s like a reflex. I dodge bullets because my body just instinctually moves before they can hit me.”
Peter sees Stark’s eyes widen slightly in surprise. He guesses the man hasn’t seen that one before, even with a whole team of heroes. Stark schools his expression quickly, back to nonchalance, but Peter was feeling pretty smug at the glimpse of surprise he managed to catch.
He smirks. “Impressed?”
Stark scoffs loudly. “Oh please. You think I’m impressed by anything from a teenage boy?”
God, Stark is so annoying. He couldn’t just admit that he thinks Peter’s powers are kind of cool? Peter kind of wants to see if he can get him riled up enough to call the whole thing off. It doesn’t seem like it at this point, but they haven’t really interacted enough yet for Peter to really show how irritating he could be.
“They a lot more impressive than hiding in a big tin can while you fight.”
Stark clenches his jaw. “At least when I fight, it actually takes some skill. It sounds like your powers take care of everything for you. Where’s the talent in that?” The man shakes his head condescendingly.
Peter lets a look of shock show on his face. “Are you really trying to compete with a 14 year old right now? That’s low, even for you, Stark.”
Stark just glares down at him. “Let’s just get this over with, you little shit, so I can get you out of my home.”
Peter 1, Stark 0.
By the time Peter is climbing back into Happy’s car a couple hours later, he’s actually pretty pleased. Stark, of course, was still bossy and irritating the rest of the afternoon, but Peter has to admit, begrudgingly, that the man seems like he knows what he’s doing.
They tested strength of a bunch of different muscle groups, climbing and running speed, and Stark did a lot of questioning and experimenting with Peter’s Spider Sense, which the man annoyingly calls his “Peter tingle.” Peter’s going to have to do something about that soon before the name sticks. Stark also did a lot of sensitivity testing on all of his senses, which wasn’t as fun, but Peter knew it was important so he put up with it anyway.
Of course Peter tried to act bored and uninterested the whole time, but he actually was really happy to find out more about his powers. He’s never had access to anything like what Stark has to test the limits of his abilities. He really can’t believe that he might actually be…looking forward to next week? Absolutely ridiculous.