You know how they say life gets better after high school? How they say it only goes up from here?
Peter really wished that was true.
Really, he knew it had to be true. How many people lose all of their family before they turn 18? How many people can say all of their family died at the hands of the Avengers? The Avengers killed a lot of people when they became evil supervillains and Peter felt like it was the most unfair part about it. He used to worship the Avengers, especially Tony Stark. But it didn’t matter anymore. Peter couldn’t change the past. Once he was 18, he no longer would be a ward of the state and could drift freely from place to place and not have to look over his back for CPS.
But for now, at least he had Harley. Harley was also a homeless orphan, destined for the same futile life Peter had. But they were like brothers and needed each other to survive. Oh, and Peter was Spiderman. Much to Harley’s annoyance. Peter wanted to do his part, watch out for the everyday people. Harley just didn’t want them to get noticed. Especially by the Avengers. After the Avengers took over, they ruled over the world with an iron fist. They had all the money and power, and everyone else had to bow down to them.
It disgusted Peter and Harley.
But if they said anything they would be executed.
But it was still fucking shitty.
“Life just isn’t fair Petey-pie,” Harley said, breaking Peter from his thoughts.
“Huh?” Peter asked.
“Common man, did you hear a word of what I said?” Harley rolled his eyes.
“No, I never listen to you.”
“Go to hell,” Harley joked, pushing Peter’s arm lightly as the pair turned down an alley.
“I’m already there.”
“Hell yeah, we both are.”
Peter laughed.
“But seriously, it’s not fair. I got a C- on that history test because I didn’t fangirl enough over the Avengers.”
“Seriously? They’re testing propaganda again?” Peter asked, climbing the rattly ladder to their rooftop.
“Yeah and fuckin’ Betty put a heart around the Avengers and got a perfect 100. Who even knows if she had written anything else,” Harley grumbled, following Peter up to their home.
“Common Harley, they don’t want us kids to be smart. Just obedient.” Peter commented, looking down over the ledge.
“It’s bullshit.”
“Believe me I know.”
“We both do, don’t we?” Harley asked.
Both boys truly knew how fucking unlucky they were.
Both boys lost their families to the Avengers. A casualty of war, as they said. Even though that wasn’t true, it was never just a casualty of war with the Avengers. Not that CPS cared to make sure Peter or Harley were okay. They had enough orphans to neglect.
Harley sat down against the air vent, and Peter followed, opening up the air vent to reveal some of their supplies.
“Going out?” Harley asked, watching Peter pull out the homemade spiderman suit.
“Duty calls.”
“No one is requiring you to do this,” Harley argued, as Peter began getting undressed.
“You’re right, but if I can save someone, then it’s worth it.”
“You’re a good guy Parker.”
“Thanks for noticing Keener.” Peter smiled cheekily.
“Don’t get smart with me,” Harley joked, and waved dismissively. “Go save the day.”
When Peter jumped off the roof, he felt free. It was the only thing he had control of in his life.
Ever since his family was murdered by the Avenger’s he had no control over everything.
He remembered that night so clearly. Being suddenly woken up. His mother telling him to run. Him hiding in his room listening to Tony Stark yelling at his family. Stark said something about stealing something precious from him. Peter didn’t have time to stay and hear the rest of his monologue. Peter ran, ran far away while Tony Stark murdered his family one by one. He knew he wouldn’t be alive if he didn’t run, but he still felt guilty for abandoning his family.
Overall, it was a pretty busy afternoon. Spiderman stopped a few muggings, helped a cat down from a tree, and stopped a car from hitting a bus. Peter was perched on a roof, waiting for his next call to action, when his spider senses tingled. It wasn’t warning him of something nearby, but of something further away. Maybe Harley needed him?
So he started swinging.
It wasn’t until he was closer did his spider-sense flare. Painfully. Peter stopped to look around and realized immediately what the issue was. In front of Harley stood Ironman. The iconic red and gold suit towered over Peter’s closest friend. Harley was looking up at Ironman, fear in his eyes.
“Where is he?” Ironman demanded.
“Who?” Harley asked.
“Peter!” Ironman ordered.
“I-I, I don’t know what you want.”
“I know you and Peter hang around each other. Pretty sure you two live on this roof.”
“What? No sir, that’s crazy! We’re kids, we can’t live on a roof,” Harley lied, hoping it would be enough to send the man away.
“Bullshit kid, I’ve been watching. I know you two have been avoiding CPS. All the better for me.” Ironman said casually. Peter crouched down, ready to jump down and attack Ironman.
“Wha-what? Why?”
“Because no one is looking for you. So I can kill you and take Peter, and no one will know the difference.”
With that, Peter sprang into action. No one threatened Harley like that.
“Hey tin can,” Peter called out, webbing the Ironman gauntlet to the air vent, “this roof is for members only.”
“Ah Spiderman,” Tony calmly exclaimed. “I’ve been looking for you Spidey. Or should I just cut to the chase and call you Peter?”
“Wha-what?” Peter stopped, thrown off by the identity reveal.
“That’s not Peter,” Harley attempted to defend. “No, no that’s Spiderman. Peter isn’t Spiderman!”
“Hmm,” Tony said, looking at Harley briefly then back at Peter.” I’ve heard enough, time to take out the trash.” Tony said.
Peter prepared to fight. But he wasn’t fast enough. He wasn’t smart enough to anticipate Tony’s actions. Peter thought he was ready. He thought he knew what Tony would do. Attacking Peter.
But Ironman went for Harley. And as Ironman broke through the webbing and immediately shot Peter’s only remaining link to any kind of family, Peter realized his mistake.
“No!!!” Peter screamed, rushing over to his best friend.
But Peter was too slow. There wasn’t even a heartbeat. By the time Peter reached his friend, he was gone.
Peter couldn’t save his parents. He couldn’t save Uncle Ben. Or May. Even as Spiderman, he couldn’t save Harley.
Peter felt like a failure. He was a failure.
Peter crumpled to the ground, crying next to the only person Peter had left in the world. He sobbed uncontrollably, resting his hand on Harley’s shoulder.
Suddenly, Peter felt a warm hand on his back. He spun around, only to see the man he hated most in the world looking down at him with concern.
“No,” Peter shoved Tony’s hand off, got up, wiped away the tears, and prepared to fight.
“Peter, you need to calm down,” Tony said cooly.
“No, no! Fuck you! You took everything from me!”
“Peter, please, I’ll explain everything when we are home,” Tony explained, stepping closer to Peter, who staggered back.
“No!” Peter cried, “Get AWAY FROM ME!”
“You leave me no other choice,” Tony sighed, letting the armor encase his body. Peter tried to get away, but the suit caught him quickly and kept an iron-tight grip on him.
“Argh,” Peter grunted, trying to wiggle out of the hold while they flew over the New York City sky. “Let me go!!”
But Tony ignored him and kept his hold tight.
The more he struggled; the more tired Peter felt. He was no match for a suit of armor. So he gave up.
When the pair flew onto the landing pad of Stark Tower, Peter realized he shouldn’t have given up. They landed, the armor clinked on the ground, and Tony was quick to guide the spider child inside. Peter was shocked at how elegant the penthouse was. He should’ve known it would be beautiful. But nonetheless, it still amazed him. The small details from the beautiful marble to the modern diamond chandelier were impressive. And Peter would bet that everything he touched in the penthouse was worth more than his life.
“Welcome home,” Tony said, and Peter looked at Tony with bewilderment.
“This is not my home! It never was my home, and it never will be!” Peter screamed. He couldn’t believe the man who took everything from him was this evil.
“You don’t seem to understand, do you?” Tony chuckled.
Peter frowned.
“Come with me,” Tony said, wrapping an arm around Peter’s shoulder.
Peter shuttered at the contact.
But Tony ignored it, and instead pulled him along, down a hallway and into a room. In the room, there was a bunch of different things lying around. Books, science journals, random knickknacks, clothes, and letters. Peter looked around at the stuff, totally confused.
Until he saw the first picture of the hundreds laying around.
It was a picture of Tony. On some boat, probably in the Caribbean. He looked a lot younger. Happier. Not so evil-looking. But it wasn’t Tony’s apparent purity that shocked him.
It was the familiar woman smiling back at Tony that made Peter gasp.
“This, all of this, is Mary’s stuff that she left here,” Tony explained softly.
“Wha- I – how…” Peter stuttered.
“Mary was my everything.”
“What are you talking about?” Peter choked.
“I loved Mary. I loved your mother more than anything.”
“No,”
“Yes.”
“No, no, no. You didn’t. She wouldn’t.”
“We were so in love. We were kids, but I knew she was the one. I loved her more than words can even explain. We were meant for each other. I knew we were born to complete each other. And I thought she felt the same way. She had to. But her parents… your grandparents, they hated me. They thought I was no good. And they kept trying to set her up with that man. Richard.” Tony spat, his hatred for Richard apparent.
“Why are you-,” Peter tried to interrupt, but Tony shushed him.
“Let me finish. Her parents forced her to leave. They swept her away one night 16 years ago, and I never saw her again. Believe me, I looked. For years. When I found her, I found you. I did the math, it wasn’t hard to know you were mine.”
“No, no, that’s impossible. My parents were married a few years before they had me. They’d be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary if you hadn’t murdered them!”
“I righted a wrong. They lied to you kiddo. They weren’t married until August 1st, 2001. Nine days before you were born.”
“No. No! I don’t believe you!” Peter cried.
“Hmm,” Tony scratched his beard. “Then read this goodbye letter.”
Tony picked up a worn piece of paper and handed it to Peter.
April 29th, 2001.
Peter skimmed the letter and recognized his mother’s handwriting. That was her handwriting. And Peter could tell from what she wrote that Tony wasn’t lying, Mary did love Tony. She even said she didn’t want to leave, but her parents made her.
But if she left Tony in April, and Peter was born in August…
Peter looked up and he knew he was looking directly into the eyes of his father.
“No,” Peter whispered. His voice was barely audible.
“Yes, Peter. Yes.”
“It can’t be.”
“But it is.”
“No, no, but you killed my mom! And the man who raised me! And my aunt, uncle, even Harley!! Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You were kept a secret from me for so long. I didn’t know about you until I ruled the world, isn’t that sad? Believe me, if I had known, I would’ve gotten involved with your life much sooner. It’s why they had to die. All of them, your parents, aunt, and uncle, even Harley, they kept me from you.”
Peter choked back a sob.
“When I found out you existed, I was furious. I came to your apartment that night, and Mary wouldn’t even let me see you. So I did what I had to do. Come to find out, you bolted. I’ve been looking for you ever since that night. Then, I find out you’re too prideful to accept help! I would’ve found you much sooner if you did. But that Harley boy convinced you that you could make it on the street, which believe me, will never happen again. You’ll never have to struggle again. Not as a Stark.”
“I’m not a Stark."
“Ah, but you are,” Tony said, patting his shoulder.
Tony stopped patting Peter’s shoulder, and let his hand rest on his shoulder. Suddenly, he pulled Peter into a hug.
Peter felt like he was being suffocated.
“Welcome home,” Tony whispered.
Peter felt like crying.
--
Peter tried. He really did. He tried to hold conversations with his father. He had to. Peter feared what would happen if he disobeyed. Tony had enough power to kill him. In all honestly, that wouldn’t bother Peter that much. Peter feared more that Tony had a way to take away his powers. A few days after his sudden move in, he met the rest of the Avengers. And with his super-hearing, he overheard Tony talking to Thor about an Asgardian potion. Peter couldn’t hear all of it, but it sounded like the potion could alter his DNA. And take away Spiderman.
He was also still trying to accept the father he grew up with wasn’t really his father.
Tony was giddy to show Peter the DNA test that confirmed his parentage. A 99.9% match. There was no denial. Peter was Tony Stark’s child, whether he wanted to be or not.
And boy, was Tony excited about it.
Tony bought him everything he ever wanted as a kid. Legos, real Star Wars props, nerdy t-shirts, insane tech. It seemed like Tony did his research and knew exactly what Peter loved.
It impressed Peter to an extent but mostly scared him.
During the day, Tony would force Peter to follow him around like a lost puppy. Which is how Peter felt, but he would’ve rather been locked up in a cell. Peter hated to admit it, but time in the lab with his biological father was interesting. He got to work on the suits with Tony, and it was an engineering dream of his. For the moments he was in the lab, he was happy.
At night, Peter would dream of escaping. It didn’t seem like he could. But he wanted to. He dreamed of leaping off the roof. Swinging as far away as possible. He would fall asleep dreaming of freedom but woke up in the same bed every morning.
It wasn’t until one night when the Avengers were called away to deal with a disobedient governor, that Peter realized he could get to the roof. Tony forgot to enable lockdown mode because he was in the rush. He usually wouldn’t, especially if Peter was in the room watching them leave. But Peter had fallen asleep in his bedroom early, so Tony forgot. Out of sight, out of mind.
Big mistake.
And when Peter woke up and went to the landing pad to find his biological father, he realized he was completely alone at the tower.
So he ran back to his room, grabbed his big tan and brown hoodie and his web-shooters he hid under the bed, pulled the hood up, and went back up to the landing pad.
He leaped.
He felt like he swung for hours. He swung from downtown Manhattan to Staten Island. He wanted to go back to Queens. He really, really wanted to go back. But he knew his father would look for him there first. The further he got, the further from cameras and lights, the better chance he had of being free.
Peter kept swinging all night long. He crossed the bridge into New Jersey and kept swinging south. He swung until dawn began to break on the horizon.
He had to stop.
Daylight meant people would see him. And Tony would find him.
So Peter landed. Only to realize he was on a sidewalk next to a beach.
Peter was somewhere on the Jersey shore. He looked around, only to see the small shops still dark. Nothing was open yet, it was still so early. He sighed. He was exhausted. It was the longest and furthest he had ever gone, and he could barely handle how tired he was.
Peter looked around for a good place to hide out and realized the best spot would be the surf shop. They had a low enough roof to climb, so if anyone found him it would be less suspicious as to how he got up there.
He climbed up and immediately passed out.
--
When Peter finally woke up, he felt someone's eyes watching him.
Peter jolted up.
The hot sun was beating down on him, and Peter could feel he was already burning. He looked around, his eyes squinting in the light, only to see a boy his age staring at him. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and jeans and looked like he was worried yet excited.
“Are you an Ewok?” The boy asked.
“Why would you think I’m an Ewok?” Peter quirked his head, then looked down at his hoodie. “Oh yea, I guess I am.”
“Why are you sleeping on my roof?” The boy asked bluntly.
“Uh…”
“I’m Ned by the way. My family owns this surf shop. We originally lived in Queens but well, the Avengers they kinda….”
“Fucked up everything?” Peter finished Ned’s sentence.
“Yeah,” Ned paused then began to ramble. “Thank god you don’t actually like them. You don't like them either right? My mom says part of the reason we left New York is that I don't know when to shut up and would get myself killed for openly hating the Avengers.”
“Like them?” Peter laughed. “I hate them. They killed my entire family.”
“Shit…” Ned said.
“Yea it was pretty shitty. I’m Peter by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Peter.” Ned grinned and stretched out his hand. “Hey so do you like Star Wars? I made a Star Wars surfboard.”
“No way, that’s awesome dude!”
“Common I’ll show you!” Ned grinned. For the first time in a while, Peter smiled.
--
Peter didn’t intend to stay with the Leeds for 3 months. He couldn’t find the will to leave. If Peter had known Ned back when they were both in Queens, Peter knew they would’ve been best friends. They both loved Star Wars. They were huge nerds when it came to science, and as kids they both loved Ironman.
Peter grew his hair out. He looked like a surfer bro. He always thought he was a city boy, but he liked it out here. He worked at the surf shop and lived with the Leeds. It felt like home, and after everything Peter went through, Peter felt like he deserved to have somewhat of a normal life. That he deserved to be able to stay here and be happy.
He was wrong.
He was laughing at some stupid joke Ned made about waves when the clatter of the bells attached to the front door rang. Both boys looked up, only to see an extremely famous man.
Tony Stark.
Peter’s eyes widened so largely he thought they might burst. He glanced at Ned, who looked almost as surprised.
Tony slowly sauntered in, walked impossibly slow to the counter, as if to torture Peter even more. He slowly lifted his sunglasses off his face, casually looked around, then spoke.
“So this is where you’ve been hiding out Pete?”
Peter was too stunned to respond.
“And what’s your name? Fred?” Tony asked, looking Ned up and down.
“It’s Ned, sir, um... Mr. Stark sir,” Ned stuttered.
“Leave him out of this,” Peter quietly pleaded to Tony, unable to hide the fear in his voice. He was so screwed. Tony simply cocked an eyebrow at his son.
“Remember what I told you on that roof, Peter? Anyone who tries to keep me from you… I will always fix that.”
“No, no please,” Peter begged. “I’ll do anything.”
“It’s too late,” Tony said, as calm as ever. The Ironman suit wrapped around the man, and he took a step forward.
“No!! Please, please! I’ll do anything. I’ll come back with you. I’ll never try to run away again. Just please don’t hurt him!” Peter begged, tears falling down his cheek. “Please, I’ll let you give me that potion Thor has to take away my Spiderman powers. I’ll do anything if you leave the Leeds alone.”
“You’re Spiderman?!” Ned screamed but immediately regretted it when Tony turned to look at him.
Tony stopped to think about it. He looked at his begging son. His heart ached to see him in pain, but Peter didn’t know how painful the last three months had been for Tony. Three months without his boy. It was worse than death.
But to give his son the potion. Tony thought about it. In fact, he had thought about it before. Peter would lose his purity. His endearing personality would completely change. Thor said it wouldn’t just take away his spider powers, it would take away all his development. All his development from birth. Peter would turn into a baby. A newborn. One Tony could easily mold. Turn into his proud son.
It didn’t take long for Tony to agree.
“Alright Peter,” Tony said, and grabbed Peter’s arm, pulling him away from Ned and towards the door. “I’ll take your offer. Let’s go.”
“Thank you.” Peter recognized. Even though Tony was taking Peter back to his personal hell, his biological father could’ve just killed Ned anyways. But he spared him.
“Get in the backseat,” Tony demanded. He went into the trunk of the Audi and pulled out the vile. Tony returned to the door Peter was getting into. “Drink this.”
Peter took the vial. He turned his lips up in disgust and kept glaring at it.
“Now Peter,” Tony was growing impatient. Peter downed it in one gulp.
Satisfied, Tony took the vial and went to the driver’s seat. He started the car and the family of two sped off.
By the time they got to the highway, Peter could barely keep his eyes open.
“I’m tired,” Peter wined and leaned his head against the window.
“Go to sleep son, we’ll be home when you wake up.”
Peter didn’t need to be told twice.
--
When Peter woke up, he thought he might be in some sort of cell. It sounded about right, after the stunt he pulled. Tony wasn’t about to let him go anywhere.
What scared Peter is that he couldn’t sit up. Or rollover.
Peter couldn’t help but let out a cry.
Peter heard himself, why was his voice so high-pitched? It made him cry harder. Why couldn’t he stop crying?
It was when he heard thundering footsteps echoing and getting closer and closer, did he realize he was in his room. But it looked slightly different.
“Hi, baby boy,” Tony’s recognizable voice called out. Baby boy? “How’s my little man doing?”
It wasn’t until Tony stood over him, did Peter realize something was wrong. Really, really wrong.
Peter cried frantically.
“It’s okay, daddy’s here,” Tony soothed, picking up Peter out of the crib and cradling him close.
Peter tried to squirm, as much as a newborn baby can squirm. But he couldn’t do much. He saw his tiny fists flail around and knew he wasn’t going to be able to get away from Tony for a long long time. He was a baby. The realization made him cry more.
“Is it time for your bottle? Is that why my boy is so fussy?” Tony cooed, wiping a tear from Peter’s eye. He rocked Peter for a while until Peter was too tired to cry anymore. Instead, Peter was left hiccuping and exhausted.
They walked out into the hall, only to see all the Avengers waiting for Tony.
“There he is,” Steve greeted.
“Let me see the young one,” Thor boomed, rushing over, as all the Avengers followed.
“He’s a handsome fella,” Clint commented.
“He’s precious,” Wanda added, brushing a curl off of Peter's face.
“Looks just like you,” Steve smiled.
“Just a lot more handsome,” Sam added. Tony rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to try and argue with that.
“It worked. Flawlessly,” Nat noted.
“I’m happy for you Tony,” Bruce smiled.
“Everyone, this is Peter. My baby boy. You might have met him as a teenager, but this Peter is much better.” Tony smiled down at his baby.
“He’s perfect. This will be good for you. For us.” Steve commented.
“By the time he’s old enough to walk, he won’t even know who the Parkers are.” Tony grinned.
Peter frowned. He would never forget his family.
“He’ll be the next Avenger,” Rhodey chuckled.
“After he gets his bottle,” Tony said and moved to the fridge to pull out the bottle.
“Are you changing his name?” Clint asked, trying to take Peter out of Tony's arms. Clint really wanted to hold Peter. But Tony was quick to give him the death glare. it was his kid afterall.
“His name is Peter Anthony Stark. It always has been. Got it?”
“Yes, boss.”
“Of course, boss.”
“You got it, boss.”
“Good,” Tony said as he warmed up the bottle.
When it was finally warm enough, Tony sat down with Peter on the couch while the Avengers hovered over Tony and watched.
Peter tried to keep the nipple of the bottle out of his mouth, but it was shoved in, and instinct took over. And boy, was he hungry. He suckled and slowly looked up at his father.
“There you go baby,” Tony softly smiled at his kid who was looking up at him with those big brown eyes. Tony thought he loved Peter before. The love he felt when those innocent baby eyes met his melted his Ironheart. This boy, his baby, was his entire world. Peter would never have to suffer again. Peter was going to have a perfect childhood. With a loving father and a ton of aunts and uncles to love him. He wouldn’t be poor. Or an orphan. Or Spiderman. Never again. Peter would be none the wiser, forgetting they ever existed.
Peter closed his eyes, and let his guard down. Tony gently rocked his kid in his arms, and he watched Peter slowly fall asleep.
Tony’s soft smile broke out into a grin. Peter was finally his, forever and always.