Peter had to admit- Field Trips were the worst part about the whole school experience. Sure, to the normal student they were an exciting way to get out of classes. You get to hang out with your friends, see new things, and [sometimes] meet someone super cool.
For Peter, however, field trips were a magnet for disaster. Or, maybe it was just him that was the magnet for trouble. Either way, his field trips hadn’t been the greatest.
And this one, too, was doomed to end in disaster.
“Alright, kiddos, you know the drill by now. Form an orderly line against the bus so I can take the register. Once your name has been called, hand me your form and you may get on the bus” Miss White announced, looking down at her clipboard and calling out each student by name, collecting their permission slips as they passed her.
Once Peter’s name was called, he reluctantly gave her his slip and got on the bus, heading to the back few rows and sitting next to Ned before Miss White could process the name signed at the bottom of his slip. He had begged, pleaded, on his knees last night for anyone other then Mr Stark to sign his permission slip- ‘why can’t Nat do it? She’s one of my emergency contacts-‘
The answer had been a resounding ‘no’, with Mr. Stark adamant that he should be allowed to sign for a field trip to his own tower. And, well, no one could really argue with that.
“Peter! Ohmygodthisissoexciting!!!! Are you excited? I mean, I know you see it like every day but still! Do you think we’ll see the avengers? Or maybe Dr. Banners labs? OH! Will we see-“
“Ned, breathe,” Peter reminded, chuckling at his friend's excitement. Honestly, no, he wasn’t excited. But Neds excitement was contagious, and Peter felt himself grinning despite his growing anxiety.
“Right, yeah,” Ned nodded enthusiastically, “so?” The boy raised his eyebrow expectantly, and Peter realised he was obviously expecting some kind of answer on what they’d be doing today.
Peter shrugged, “Honestly, I have no idea. I know what the usual tour consists of, and I hope that’ll be all we have- but knowing Tony, he’s probably changed the itinerary because I’m going to be there,” The teen confessed, his best friend nodding in understanding.
“Yeah, that checks out,”
The conversation then drifted to their favourite topic- Star Wars. In just a few days, it would be May 4th, and as everyone knows- that’s Star Wars day. The two had made plans to watch their favourite Star Wars movies, as well as build their latest Lego set. It would have to be after school, but Mr. Stark had agreed to let Ned stay over for the night, as long as they both promised to get up for school in the morning no matter how late they go to sleep. Of course, the two teens had rapidly agreed to these terms. That, to Peter, was going to be more exciting than a field trip to his own house.
Through-out the entire bus ride, Flash had been suspiciously quiet- only casting the odd gleeful glance at Peter, or throwing the occasional snide comment about. Peter suspected that had more to do with the fact that Miss White was sitting directly in front of Flash, rather than the obnoxious teen deciding to be nice for once.
“Alrighty, Kiddos, its time. In just a few short minutes we will be arriving at Stark Tower. Now, as exciting as this is, I am required to remind you of a few rules before we depart the bus. First of all, no wondering off. Absolutely no one is to leave the group without permission from me or the touts guide- that includes toilet breaks. You MUST tell me where you are going, so i know.
Secondly, do everything you are told. No touching without permission, no photos without permission. Raise your hands if you have a question, and most importantly- be on your best behaviour! SI has very strict no-bullying policies in place, and that goes for all visitors and staff alike.” Miss white wrapped her speech up with a warning glare around the bus, though Peter felt like she looked at him for a bit longer than everyone else.
“Make sure you have all your belongings, and please wait in a line against the buss when you get off” The bus stopped as she said this, and the doors opened. Students clamoured to get off the bus first, with flash pushing ahead of everyone. Peter hung back, wanting to be one of the last off to avoid being elbowed, and as he approached the doors, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Peter, one moment, please,” Miss White smiled, waiting for the last person to leave before she levelled Peter with a stern gaze.
“You’re a smart kid, Peter, and trust me, I believe you're smart enough to work here someday- but this?” She held up his permission slip “this crosses the line. You can pretend you have an internship all you want at school, it doesn’t hurt anyone. But forging a signature on an official document? You can’t do that, Peter,” She didn’t sound upset, or even angry, to Peter she sounded like a disappointed mother scolding her child. And somehow, that made it all the worst. “Now, I have to go hand this in and hope they’ll let you on the tour and won’t press charges, otherwise I’ll have to send for your guardian to come and pick you up.”
“I can assure you, Miss White, that signature is real. I really did try to stop him from signing it, but the guy does what he wants. I doubt you’ll run into any issues when you hand it in,” Peter tried to assure her, he even put on his best Paparazzi smile.
Given the fact that she just shook her head and ushered him out the bus with a quiet “we will see,” Peter figured it didn’t work all that well. He’d have to practice it later.
Peter exited the bus to join Ned and MJ, who both cast concerned looks in his direction the send they saw him.
“Hey Loser, mind telling us what that was about?” MJ spoke first, raising a questioning eyebrow. Her Crisis book was already out and open on a blank page.
“Meh, nothing serious. Miss White noticed that Tony had signed the slip, and was asking me if it was real,” He glossed over the fact that she accused him of pretending to work here and forging a signature, MJ seemed to buy it, and so did Ned.
“Dude, I can’t wait to see their faces when they realise you’re not lying,” Ned smiled, adjusting his backpack as the trio began to walk with the rest of the group.
“I suppose that’ll be pretty cool,” Peter agreed. They hung back as their class entered the reception room. It was a massive open space, with multiple desks and security points, decorated with expensive art works and lavish looking furniture- nothing but the best at SI. Honestly, Peter still got an overwhelming sense of excitement every time he saw it. Pepper called it her pride and joy, since she had been the one to design the interior.
“Pssst, Penis- are you ready to get your lies exposed? I bet you’ve never even seen anything like this,” Flash was behind him now- when had he gotten there? He was at the front a few moments ago. “Just you wait, as soon as we’re through security, they’ll be throwing you out onto the curb where you belong”
Peter just rolled his eyes at his insults, briefly aware of MJ and Ned moving to flank him on either side as if that would protect Peter from Flash’s verbal assault.
“Piss off, Eugene. No one wants to listen to your obsession with Peter’s Dick” MJ flipped the bully the bird, grabbing Peter's arm and walking with him to the front of the class where Miss White was within hearing range, Ned following suit.
“Thanks, MJ,” Peter smiled, the girl just shrugging in response.
“No problem.” And that was the end of that conversation.
From his new position at the front of the crowd, Peter now had a clear view of his teacher at the reception desk handing in the forms and NDA’s.
She looked nervous, at least from what Peter could see, and he had a very good guess as to why.
Mid way through checking the forms, the receptionist came to a stop, a frown on her face as she help up on of the forms- Miss White stood apologising, discreetly pointing at peter and no doubt spinning some lie about him being a special needs kid or something to try and get away with it. He didn’t know, he couldn’t hear her over all the noise in the room, but that’s what he felt like she'd do- it definitely looked like it.
The receptionist glanced over at him, and immediately smiled when she saw who the teacher was pointing at, giving him a happy wave before continuing looking over the forms. Good job it was one he knew, and not one of the new starters.
Miss White returned to the front of the students, a tour guide at her side holding a box of lanyards. Peter recognised him, he’d worked on many projects with him on his team- Matt. He was a fantastic help every time. Perks of being the youngest on the team, Peter always learnt something new when working with other people. And Mat had taught him a lot, thought not as much as Tony had.
“Good Morning, everyone. My name’s Matt Smith, and I will be your tour guide today. Here I have your lanyards, which your lovely teacher will pass out. Once everyone has their badge, I will escort you through security where your bags will be checked and all electronic devices will be put in the lock box. Ah- no complaining, we can’t have you leaking our projects to the public. Even if it would be accidental,” Matt shut down all the complaints, most of which came from one Flash Thompson, and Miss White began handing out the passes.
The teacher came to a stop in front of Peter, Ned, and MJ faster than the ten would have liked, while she rummaged through the nearly full box looking for their passes.
“Um- sorry, there seems to be a mistake, three of my students don’t have passes printed…?” Miss white looked back at Matt, as if he’d magically produced them from his pocket.
The man in question just smiled, having been expecting something like this to happen the second he saw Peter and his friends standing at the front of the crowd. “I can assure you, all your passes are there. They should have their own,”
“Right…” Miss White didn’t look convinced, looking back at the trio of teens expectantly. As if on cue, the three of them took their passes out of their bags and put them around their necks. Ned and MJ each had a white badge with a red and blue trim, whilst Peters was clear with a golden trim. Miss white took a moment to examine them, before ultimately deciding that they were probably legit and carrying on with her task.
Once everyone had their badges, Miss White returned the empty box to security and Matt took control over the teens once again.
“Everyone got their badges? Yeah? Great. Alright, so if you’d like to follow me-“ Matt was interrupted by a raised hand and a question.
“Sorry, but what do the different badges mean?” Cindy, a timid and smart girl in their class asked.
“That’s a great question! I’m only going to tell you the basics for now, and if you’re still curious once we’re through security i can go into a bit more detail on the way to the first stop,” Mat smiled.
“So, there are 14 total different access levels at SI, with 6 different coloured badges. Sometimes seven if needed.
What you guys have right now is Charlie clearance, the white badges. There are two sub-tiers for that, Press and tours. It only allows you access to here- the reception- and the gift shop. To go anywhere else you need to be accompanied by at least a Level 3 badge holder.
Next, you have yellow Delta Level 2. There are two sub-tiers to this badge as well, for general employees and janitors respectively. Their access depends on their assigned floors, which are the only floors they’re allowed to access,”
Mat took a breath then continued, “Next is blue Charlie Level 3, which I am. There are 4 sub-tiers to this badge; PR interns, R&D interns [which i am], Directors of the intern labs, and security. Once again, the floors you can access depends on the floors you work on.
At level 4 is red Bravo. We have 3 sub-tiers to this, all Bravo badge holders have access up to floor 30. This is for the Lead scientists, friends and family of the tower's residents, and the avengers that do not live in the tower, in that order. You’ll notice that Ned and MJ each have a red and blue trim on their badges, and that’s because they’re both interns and friends with a few of the residents of the tower.
Alpha 5 has two sub-tiers, 1 is for the residents of the tower, mainly the avengers. 2 is for the likes of our head of security, Director Fury, and select board members. People with this clearance can customise their badges.
And Finally, we have Godly, the all access pass. Clear with golden trims, there are only three people in existence to hold this badge.
And that concludes the badges and what they’re for. Any questions?” Matt asked, looking as if he needed a long drink of water after all that talking.
Flash raised his hands, “why does Pen- Peter, have a Godly pass? He’s been lying about an internship here for ages, so i bet he’s faked it,” Flash looked so smug right now, Peter just wanted to punch his stupid face.
“Well. I’m sure if he has faked it, our security system will pick up on it. It’s run by Dr. Starks personal AI, after all. Nothing gets past her,” Matt smiled, gesturing for the group of greens to follow him over to the security gates.
“It’s quite simple, really, just scan your badge and walk on through to the benches. If you’re supposed to be here, you should just be able to walk on through. If not, the alarm will sound and you’ll be escorted out. And, if you’re really lucky, FRIDAY will greet you personally.” Matt explained, scanning his badge and walking through the gates to wait for them on the other side.
Peter and his friends stood to the side and waited for the rest of the class to go through first, not that they really had a choice. Flash had shoved his way past them the second Matt was on the other side of the gate.
Soon enough, it was just the trio and their teacher on the other side. Miss white waiting until everyone was safely through security before she passed through.
“Come on, you three, we don’t have all day,” Miss White ushered them closer. MJ took one for the team and went first, scanning her badge. Before she had even stepped through, a female voice was speaking from the ceiling.
“Welcome back, MJ. Actually the Boss would like to know if you’d like to stay for dinner tonight to run through some files,”
MJ glanced up to the camera and flashed the briefest of smiles, “Sure, sounds great, thanks FRI.”
“Not a problem, MJ. I shall inform Actually the boss about your decision,”
MJ nodded and joined the rest of the class on the other side of the gates to get her bag checked in.
Next, was Ned. Again, as soon as he scanned his badge, FRIDAY spoke.
“Welcome, Ned. That dinner invitation is extended to you, as well. Mini Stark would be pleased to have some back up against the scary lady trio during dinner.”
Ned laughed and glanced back at Peter, “Yeah, for sure, FRI. I’ll let my parents know,”
“Already done, Ned. Your parents want you back by 10, the latest”
Ned nodded and joined the class on the other side, bouncing on the spot, completely ignoring the looks they were getting from the rest of the class.
Finally, it was Peter’s turn. There was no way he was going to get around this, and he doubted that Mr. Stark would have changed his name to something normal for the trip.
Before he’d even reached for his badge, the gates were open and FRIDAY was greeting him like normal.
“Welcome home, Mini Stark. I have alerted the relevant adults that your tour has arrived. Actually the boss would like to inform you that tonight is family night, Scary lady one wants to train with you before dinner, and fossil 2 would like you to do maintenance on his arm after the tour.”
Peter sighed- yes, he was well aware it was family night. That meant no patrol, or extended lab time on his own. It happens at least twice a month. “Alright, Thank you FRI. Tell Bucky to meet me in my lab after the tour, I’ll sort it out before i get dragged away to train,”
“As you wish, Mini Stark. Fossil 2 and Scary Lady one have been informed. Please, enjoy your tour.”
Peter flashed Friday a thankful smile, before joining Ned and MJ on the other side. He could feel everyone’s stares, and one unnecessarily malicious glare, on his back. He tried to ignore them, but the whispers made it hard. ‘I guess he wasn’t lying,’ was the general whisper.
“There’s no way- there’s no fucking way you work here! You clearly hacked it, why else would it call you ‘Mini Stark’! It would have been more believable to have it announce you as an intern or something, or not at all!” Flash was outraged, marching right up to jab a chubby finger in Peter's chest while he spewed his feelings on the topic.
Peter could see the men at security posturing and preparing to step in- no one insulted Peter here, or Tony would have their heads. Before they could intervene, However, Peter discreetly shook his head at them, and though they looked confused at being told not to get involved, they thankfully complied. Peter was glad, he couldn’t have them making a scene.
“Listen, Flash, it’s actually kind of insulting that you think I can't work here, but am clearly smart enough to hack an AI Dr. Stark made himself. Even worse that you think his AI is actually hackable by a teenager,” Peter replied, calmly, even though every bone in his body was yelling at him to deck the snob right there and then. And it was, actually, insulting. Even though he knew he could probably hack her, he would never attempt to unless absolutely necessary.
Flash was red, he looked like he’d just swallowed a hive of bees- and Peter had a feeling he was going to be seeing that look on him a lot today. With one final jab to his chest, Flash huffed and walked back over to his buddies, no doubt to chat shit about him to anyone that would listen.
“Right, now that everyone’s through the scanner- let me remind you about the anti-bullying policy of SI. You have 3 strikes, after that you’ll be escorted off the property. Now, please line up and have your bags checked and devices taken. Don’t worry, you’ll get them back at the end.” Mat smiled, watching the students line up for the search.
Peter wasn’t really sure where he should go. Being all access and living at the tower, he never went through security. Then again, he didn’t often come through the main entrance on his own. He usually went through the back with Happy, or the employee security at the other side of the reception hall.
Though, he supposed, he was on a tour. He should do as he’s told and line up.
“Man, that was so cool. I’ll never get used to hearing FRIDAY welcome me,” Ned confessed, a massive grin on his face, despite the fact was here at least three times a week- both for the internship and to hang out with Peter.
“Yeah, man, me neither,” Peter smiled, happy to see his best friend so excited for something he considered normal now. He had the same sort of excitement when he first started here, but after a few years, it sort of wore off. Not that he didn’t find it insanely cool, it’d just that he was used to it now.
“Name and clearance?” His conversation was interrupted by the security officer in front of him, sitting on the other side of the desk. Peter had not seen him before.
“Uh, Peter Parker, Godly clearance,” Peter responded, gesturing to his badge. Judging from the sceptical look on the man’s face, he had clearly missed FRIDAY greeting him, and didn’t believe him.
“Uh-huh. And I’m an avenger. Hand over the badge, kid, let me just check your credentials” The man rolled his eyes and held out his hand, waiting for Peter to put the piece of plastic in his hands. Despite the fact that it was clearly not a normal badge, and FRIDAY had not set off the alarm, Peter just had to wonder what was going through this man’s head. Was it his first day? ]
“Um, actually, i think i'll keep hold of it, thanks.” Peter said, placing his bag on the conveyor belt. Happy had always been vigilant in reminding Peter that he is not to let anyone take it when he actually has it on him, since it would be a very high security risk. Not even the security guards, just in case. When working in a place like Stark Industries, you never know who’s being paid to spy, and it would be very bad if his badge was stolen or copied.
“I don’t know who you think you are, kid, but I will have you barred from this tower if you don’t give me your badge. Now.” Peter could have laughed, there was no way this man could have him barred from his own home, but he thought it would be better if he didn’t cause a scene- again.
“You do not have the authority to do that, Mr. Lee” Friday interrupted before Peter could even reach for his own badge. “I can confirm the legitimacy of Mini Starks badge, and I am to remind you that it is against company policy to request the badge of an Alpha clearance or higher.”
Peter sighed in relief, mouthing a quick ‘thank you’ to the nearest camera. The man, Mr. Lee, looked a little embarrassed, and annoyed at being scolded by the AI. It was understandable, it hardly happened everyday. “Sorry, Sir, I was unaware those with Godly passes have to go through security..”
“Oh, we don’t, but I’m here on a school trip, so I kinda have to if I want to keep a low profile,” Peter laughed, “Sorry FRIDAY scolded you, you were only doing your job,” he apologised with a smile, holding out his phone for the man to take.
“Keep it,” Mr. Lee shook his head with a smile, “I think Mr. Hogan would have my head if I took your phone,” Even though he was laughing, he still looked rather nervous.
“Oh, yeah, that’s true. Thank you, Mr. Lee,” Peter smiled, putting his phone back in his pocket and taking his bag back. He walked over to the rest of the class to wait for the last few people, and once they were all through, Matt took them over to the lift.
“Our first stop is floor 10- home to the lowest of the intern labs. Here, you’ll be able to wander around and talk to a few of the interns. This is the lab where new interns start, those just employed, until they’re experienced enough to pick a field to go into. However, those that are directly recruited by lab directors get to skip this lab and dive straight into their field of choice.
And since this is the lowest lab, there aren't many dangerous projects here, so if you think you’re able to, do feel free to offer your input on a few projects if the interns allow it. It’s always nice to get a new perspective,” Matt explained, causing a wave of excited chatter to break out at the prospect of working on an SI project- even if it's only a little bit.
The lift came to a stop and the class was ushered out into a hallway, and down to a door where Matt scanned them all in.
“Welcome, to Newbie Hell,” Matt announced, laughing at the confused faces at the name. It was an appropriate name, this place really was hell for new starters. It was designed to teach them the SI ways, and to help them further their knowledge. You had to be the best of the best if you wanted to work here, after all.
“Yes, yes, welcome- My name is Alice, and I am one of the lab directors in charge of this floor. As you can see, it's a bit of a chaotic mess, but it's an organised mess. Currently, this lab is in charge of running diagnostics on the New Stark phones and watches, and seeing if we can find any way to improve. You’re welcome to look around, mingle, and lend a hand if you feel confident enough. But please, do not touch any of the tech unless you are told to do so. We don’t want any progress wiped or anything,” Alice chuckled. The students nodded, then quickly dispersed to go look around, including Ned. He hadn’t been to this lab before, his was a little further up, so he was excited to learn everything he could.
Peter, on the other hand, didn’t really need to look around. Most of the schematics and designs this lab was looking at had been his idea, and some of them he had purposely sent down with gaps or faults to see if the new interns would notice or figure out how to improve. That was his job, after all, as the one in charge of all the interns at SI. Apparently that was in the Job description of being Mr. Starks personal intern- the highest level intern you could get at SI. It was a lot to handle at first, but it was pretty easy now he knew what he was doing.
Instead, Peter walked around the lab, stopping at the interns that looked the most stressed or confused, and offered pointers on what to do next or how to improve. Needless to say, every intern he visited looked a lot more confident and relaxed by the time he’d moved on to the next one. There was a reason he was Intern director.
After an hour of walking around the lab, Matt got everyone’s attention and announced that it was time to move on to the next stop. There were minimal complaints, everyone eager to move onto the next location. So far, everything was progressing normally. It left Peter feeling a little uneasy, a bit suspicious that something was about to happen to completely derail this perfectly normal tour of SI.
Knowing his family, Peter had a feeling this normalcy wouldn’t last long.
He was right.
As they all got into the lift, Matt had a massive grin on his face. He seemed super hyped about something. “So kids, the rest of today's tour is going to be a little different than normal. Thanks to a certain someone being on the tour, We’ve been invited up to the Avengers training room for some live demonstrations by the Avengers themselves! How cool is that?” The lift had erupted into cheers, even before Matt had finished his sentence. Peter had to cover his ears from the sheer volume of it all.
“Alright, alright, settle down- Everyone should be on their best behaviour, and remember, the Avengers are people too. Don’t barrage them with autographs and questions. Peter, please take us up to the training room.” Matt grinned, and Peter was about 0.2 seconds away from melting into the ground to escape this. They were going to embarrass him for sure.
“Right… FRIDAY, take us up to Floor 31, Please.” Peter asked, mentally pleading that she’ll say no- of course, that didn’t happen.
“Unauthorised personnel are in your presence, would you like me to drop them off on the way?” Friday asked,
Peter sighed, massaging his temple with his fingers, “Override code 8328A Godly Tier, Peter Parker, Allowing them up to the training rooms, FRIDAY.”
“Override accepted. 21 guests upgraded to temporary Alpha 5 status. Temporary status will end on returning to level 29 or below.” Friday announced, and the lift finally started moving. It was a long ride, and it felt like it would last forever. Unfortunately for Peter, Flash stood right behind him the entire way. He could feel him jabbing him in his back every few seconds, like a child that wanted attention. When it was obvious that Peter wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of reacting, Flash tried to get a verbal response.
“So, how’d you do it, Penis? I know you’re not rich enough to pay anyone to do this- so what, you put your knees and mouth to good use recently? Poor, pathetic, orphan Parker, that’s all your good for. I bet your shit at that, too, Tony probably did all this as a pity favour. You’ll never be anything but a charity case” Flash sneered, making sure to whisper to avoid the teacher or tour guide hearing him. Not that it would matter, FRIDAY would hear him, and report it straight to Tony and the Avengers.
Even though he knew all this, words still hurt. It physically disgusted him to imagine himself doing any of those things for money or status. It hurt to think that the only reason he was here was because Tony pitied him. He could admit that he’s thought about it before, on seemingly endless nights where he’s let his mind wonder. He’s questioned if he even belongs here, if he’d be better off anywhere but here, where he couldn’t be a burden.
All those doubts and worries had been put to rest when he came to live here, and he’d voiced all his concerns to Tony over a tub of ice cream at 3am in the morning.
Yes, he deserved to be here. No, he wasn’t a charity case. He was family, and they loved him very much.
“Shove off, Flash. The only thing pathetic here is you,” Peter bit back, just as the doors to the lift opened to reveal an incredibly large room, with a few of the Avengers standing in the middle.
And honestly, it was a big room. Two floors tall, with the back and left walls being a rock wall and the beginning of an aerial assault course specifically for him and those daring enough to try it. The course spanned across what would have been the second floor, covered in his old webs or arrows from Clint.
On this floor of the training room, a boxing ring stood in the centre, right behind where the Avengers were standing. Around the walls were various weight lifting equipment, both for normal humans and enhanced. Treadmills, targets, everything you’d find in a normal gym and more.
After some encouragement from Matt and Miss White, the class exited the lift and joined the Avengers in the training room.
“Welcome to the Avengers training room,” Steve stepped forward, folding his arms and using his Captain America voice that had Peter immediately straightening his back and standing to attention. It was just a habit at this point. “I am Steve Rogers, Otherwise known as Captain America, and these-“ he gestured to the people behind him, “- are the Avengers”
“Or, the ones that could be here, anyway,” Natasha added, smirking at the few chuckles that got from the class. “And I am Natasha Romanov, otherwise known as Black Widow. That, there, is Bucky Barnes- the White Wolf, and this is Clint Barton- Hawkeye.”
“Oi, why do i get a short introduction?” Clint asked in mock offence, a hand over his heart and looking at Nat like she’d just taken his last cookie.
“Because you’re a short person, Clint” Peter responded before he could really stop himself. Most of the class gasped, shocked that he’d disrespect one of the avengers, while Miss white looked like she was about to drag him back to the bus for being so disrespectful.
Nat and Bucky, however, were fighting to keep the laughter in as they watched Clint slowly turn around to face Peter, jaw slack, looking highly offended in that same over dramatic way.
“The betrayal! I cannot believe- how dare- you are grounded, mister!” Clint declared, pointing his finger at Peter. To add salt to the non-existent wound, FRIDAY chose that moment to add to the drama.
“You do not have the authority to do that, Flightless bird”
“WHA- FRIDAY! You, too?! Unbelievable! Is there no one on my side?!” Clint looked around at the other Avengers, who each shook their heads.
“We’re with Peter on this one” Steven laughed, Bucky and Natasha now having to hold each other up from laughing or they’d fall to the floor.
“I hate you all,” Clint huffed, folding his arms over his chest.
“Um, I’m on your side, Mr. Hawkeye, sir” Ned raised his hand with a nervous smile, despite having met the man multiple times before.
Clint whipped his head around to look at him so fast Peter thought Ned would shit himself, “You. I like you. I’m going to go stand over there, where I’m clearly appreciated” He got about half way over to Ned before Steve grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back to the rest of the Avengers,
“Not so fast, Clint. We still have a demonstration to do,” Steve reminded with a light chuckle, having Clint go stand back with Nat and Bucky- who were now recovering from their outburst, wiping tears from their eyes. Clint huffed and did as directed.
“Anyway, as I was saying, today we’ll be doing a self-defence demonstration. You’ll be split up into four groups, where you’ll learn each Avengers individual style, and then if we have time, you can pick which avenger you’d like to have a go at sparring. Sound good?” The class nodded in response, most of which are still not over what just happened.
Steve took that as his cue to start dividing the class into groups, having them all set down their coats and bags against the wall before each Avenger took their groups to a different corner to start training.
Peter was with Bucky, along with Flash, Abe, Jason, and Cindy. Great, two of his bullies were in his group, and he doubted Flash would be smart enough to keep his mouth shut. He didn’t want to think about what Bucky would do if he caught Bucky being a royal prat.
“First things first, has anyone done any form of Martial arts before?” Bucky asked, taking off his jacket and tossing it into the corner.
“Being the son of a wealthy family, My father has had me trained in karate. You know, so I can defend myself from thugs” Flash boasted proudly, “And Jason is the bead of the boxing team. It’s just Abe, Cindy, and Penis you’ll need to teach anything to” Clearly, Flash didn’t realise his mistake, but Bucky certainly did. His posture and expression changed the moment that stupid nickname left Flash’s mouth. Peter’s face paled immediately, he had to do something. Bucky looked like he was ready to kill Flash right then and there.
“Buck-“ Peter's attempt fell on deaf ears, Bucky took a step forward towards the boy.
“What did you call him?” Bucky demanded, voice low and threatening. Peter rarely ever saw this side of him, it was almost scary. Flash seemed to realise his mistake now, with the murderous assassin towering over him. He took a step back, and Bucky took another one forward.
“I- it’s just a silly nickname! An inside joke, we’ve known each other since we were kids, right, Peter?” Flash looked to Peter, pleading with him to go along with the lie- though Peter could see the underlying threat behind his eyes that said ‘go along with it or you’ll pay for it later’.
Peter looked back to Bucky who hadn’t taken his eyes off of Flash, but his next question was clearly directed at Peter. “Это правда?” [is this true?]
“…. Нет, это не так. Но ты не можешь причинить ему боль, Баки.” [ No, its not. But you can’t hurt him, Bucky. ] Peter replied, glancing from Flash to Bucky. He stepped between the two and folded his arms. “Мне это не нравится, но нельзя убивать или калечить ребенка” [ I don’t like it, but you can’t kill or maim a child ] he reminded, “We’ll deal with it later. Just continue the lesson. Please?” Peter flashed his best puppy dog eyes, it was the easiest way to get Bucky to calm down or to do what he wanted.
“…. “ Bucky was quiet for a moment, weighing his options. On one hand, he could kill a child and possibly get away with it- he was sure Stark would back him up once he knew what was going on. On the other hand, Peter was giving him the puppy dog eyes and god damn it, he couldn’t refuse those. Peter wielded what was potentially one of his only weaknesses. “Fine. But I’m Telling Stark the moment you go for lunch. Understand?”
“Understandable. Thank you, Bucky.” Peter nodded, resigned to his fate. Bucky ruffled his hair, and then continued with the lesson. And, if he was a little bit rougher on Flash then he was with everyone else, well. Who was going to stop him?
Half an hour later, Steve was calling them back to the centre of the room- his group looked significantly more out of breath then everyone else.
“I hope the Avengers treated you well. Of course, half an hour isn’t much time at all to learn everything, but hopefully you picked up a thing or two. Now, you’ll have the opportunity to spar an Avenger, or one of your classmates. Don’t worry, teach, we’ll go easy on them” Steve assured Miss White, who looked like she wanted to protest, but she didn’t really want to argue with captain america either.
While Steve had been speaking, Peter could see Bucky leaning into Natasha’s ear, whispering quietly in Russian- peter could barely hear him, even with his advanced hearing, but he knew he was telling her about Flash.
“Who wants to go first?” Natasha asked, looking around the class. When no one came forward, everyone was a bit too nervous to actively volunteer. She picked someone out from the crowd. “Маленький паук, come spar with me,” she smiled, locking eyes with Peter. [baby spider]
“Ah, no thanks-“ Peter tried to refuse, but it seemed no one was willing to listen to him today.
“Don’t make me come over there to you. Here, now, Peter.” Natasha beckoned, already stepping into the ring. Peter sighed as he followed her up, Flash muttering about how fast Natasha was going to beat him as he passed.
Peter ignored him and stepped into the ring, stretching his arms out to loosen them up a little. He couldn’t go all out against her, and he knew she knew that- but that didn’t mean he was going to go down easily. He’d never live it down if he did.
“Your jumper, take it off. You know the rules,” Natasha smiled, throwing her own jumper off to the side so she was just in her training top. Peter groaned and threw his off, too. Any loose clothing was a disadvantage in sparring, it can and will be used against you.
“Holy shit, Peter is hot” Abe gasped, followed by a few agreeing murmurs.
“Keep your jaw off the floor, Abe, Peter has always been hot,” MJ commented- and God, if that didn’t make Peter blush. MJ thought he was hot?
“Focus, Маленький паук” [baby spider] Natasha brought Peter’s attention back to the ring. The two got into position, and then Steve started the match.
The pair circled each other a few times, each one waiting for an opening. Nat was the first to strike, aiming a jab at Peter’s ribs. He immediately stepped to the side and dodged, aiming a blow of his own at her back.
They continued like that, throwing punches and dodging, never landing a solid hit on each other. It was like a dance. A dangerous, almost terrifying dance. And then things got serious, the pace picked up and Nats attacks became more threatening, more skilled. Peter responded in kind, landing a few good hits in himself, and getting more than a few in turn. Nat went for her signature pin, leaping up and wrapping her thighs around his neck, twisting and throwing him to the ground.
Peter somehow managed to reverse it, slipping out of her hold and rolling them over, jabbing a hand to the back of her neck and forcing the other back, holding her in place with his knees.
It happened in a matter of seconds, no one really knew how to process it- but Steve was calling the match, declaring Peter the winner, who let Nat out of the pin and helped her to her feet.
“You let me win,” Peter accused, grinning despite himself. He rarely won against Nat, she was basically the undefeated champion of the Avengers sparring matches. He couldn’t lie, though, it felt great to win for once.
Nat simply shrugged, and clapped a hand on his back “I have no idea what you’re talking about” she absolutely did. If she let Peter win to prove a point, then that was between her and Bucky.
“No fucking way- There’s just no way, how?? I refuse to believe pen- Peter won against THE Black Widow, Let me have a try. I’ll prove how easy it is,” Flash pushed his way to the front and up on to the ring, shoving peter to the side lines and squaring up against Nat- who was looking him up and down like he was a walking piece of trash [A/N, which he totally is].
“Alright, have it your way. Don’t bother taking your jumper off, this won't last long enough” Natasha warned, getting into position. Flash took up an amature stance, which still had his feet in the wrong place, and his knees were shaking, and waiting for Steve to start the match. The second it started, Nat pounced. She swept her leg out and knocked Flash on his ass. The match was over before it even began.
“Nat wins. Don’t be so cocky next time, kid.” Steve said, the warning in his voice clear.
Nat didn’t even try to help him up, just exited the ring and went to go stand by Bucky.
“But- how- I don’t understand-“ Flash muttered as he stood up, shakily getting out the ring “How was Peter able to beat her, but I couldn’t? I’m better than him, in every way, so why…” Flash looked close to tears now, and maybe he would have felt bad for him if he hadn't bullied him every day since junior year.
“Well that’s an easy answer,” A new voice entered the room, apparently no one had noticed Tony Stark himself enter the room while the matches were taking place. “Peter Lives here, and regularly trains with the Avengers. That was one of the requirements for being my Intern. Gotta have him close by at all times, and he needs to be able to defend himself in case he gets kidnapped.” Yeah, that was pretty much the truth. That’s the story they told anyone that asked, anyway. Truth was, Peter was an Avenger, and was required to live here anyway. That, and he didn’t exactly have anywhere else to live now Aunt May was dead.
“.. he lives here?” Flash asked incredulously, as if he’d just been told unicorns exist and fairies ran the world. The gobsmacked boy looked from Tony, to Peter, and back to Tony, trying to process the information he’d just been given. So did the rest of the class, really.
“Yu-p” Tony replied, popping the ‘p’. “And because he lives here, he’s under constant watch by FRIDAY, as per the Baby Monitor Protocol. And do you want to guess what that means?” Tony asked, but steamrolled on before anyone could even formulate a reply. “Correct! That means I know his every move in this tower, in case I ever need him in an emergency, or just need him in general. I get constant updates from FRIDAY, including when obnoxious, arrogant, snobby little pricks try to bully him,” Tony was smiling now, but it wasn’t the kind smile Peter had grown used to. It was his ‘I’m going to kill you but I need to look media friendly’ smile.
Flash was not smiling, and neither was the class. Peter was, a little bit. He was proud to call Tony his guardian, especially when he got protective of him. And yeah, maybe it was nice to see Flash be put in his place a little.
“So, Eugene, it brings me great pleasure to eject you from Stark Industries, and black list you from every company and building connected to it. If you ever harass my intern again, just hope your ‘wealthy parents’ will be able to afford the lawsuits I send your way.”
“Tony, don’t you think that’s a little too far? I agree, he's been a dick, but a life ban is a bit too much for a bit of petty high school bullying,” Peter commented. No, he was not defending Flash, just doing what was right. He didn’t really deserve all that, he was only a teenager. Peter just wouldn’t feel right ruining someone’s entire life.
“Hm. I think it’s just right-“ Peter gave him a meaningful look “- oh fine, what would you suggest?” Tony raised a brow. If Peter didn’t like his decision, then he would be the one to decide what to do with him.
Flash, now realising his entire future rested in the hands of the boy he’d bullied for years, simply looked defeated, and was subtly trying to wipe the tears from his eyes.
“Well, I don’t think punishing his behaviour so harshly is going to improve the situation at all. He’ll be angry, upset, jealous, and those feelings will fester overtime if left untreated. I don’t want to be the reason someone’s life ends up ruined. And Flash, despite all his faults, is really smart. He has to be, he’s in one of the top science schools in New York,” Peter looked at Flash, then at Tony “I suggest we hire him as an intern- only and entry level intern, and enroll him in SI’s employee Therapy so that we can monitor his progress, and get him back on the right track. And, if we see some improvement in his mental state and grades, I might consider allowing him to progress further into a field of his choice.”
“Huh.. that’s not a bad idea, actually, Kiddo. See, this is why you’re my intern,” Tony smiled, proudly pulling Peter into a one-armed side hug. “Alright, that’s what we’re gonna do. Flash, forget everything I said. We’re going to do this Peter’s way, or trial it at least. What do you say, want to work for SI?”
Flash, bless his poor confused heart, was now full on crying. “Really? You’d do that? For me? But- but I’ve been so horrible to you- I really don’t deserve it..”
“No, you don’t. But, everyone deserves a chance” Peter agreed. Yeah, Flash might not deserve it, but Peter was anything but spiteful. He was a hero, and a hero saved people- no matter who they were or what they’d done.
“Okay! Now that’s sorted, I am going to need to steal both Peter and Flash to go over a few details.” Tony smiled, leading Peter over to the lift and gesturing for Flash to follow him, who did so with an eager sense of nervousness.
For the rest of that afternoon, Peter, Tony, and Flash sat down to discuss the job and what it would entail, and to draft up the special contract that required him to see SI’s therapist at least once a week. It was a productive afternoon, which ended up with Flash apologising for his behaviour and promising to improve. Peter was happy, and felt like things would only get better from here.
And Tony? Tony couldn’t be prouder of his little prodigy.
End.