Chapter 2
"So, Peter," Mr. Stark said in a voice of forced calm. "What exactly are you doing out of bed?"
"Um, Dr. Cho discharged me a few minutes ago," Peter said apprehensively.
"That's interesting. You were discharged and you didn't think to tell me. Imagine that," Mr. Stark said dryly.
Peter laughed nervously. "Yeah, imagine that."
Mr. Stark sighed. "I'm just going to skip over whatever excuse you have for leaving medical and get to the chase. What the hell did you think you were doing last night, Peter?"
Peter stayed quiet, just hoping that it would be over soon and he could leave.
"I thought you learned your lesson after the ferry incident, but clearly not! You can't just go gallivanting around because you want to, Peter! This isn't some fun game!"
"I know it's not a game, Mr. Stark," he said quietly.
"Are you sure that you do? Because it doesn't look like it to me. You went around fighting people with no thought as to other people's lives!"
"I was trying to save lives!" Peter shouted, internally fuming at the fact that Mr. Stark thought that he didn't care about other people's lives. "The reason I became Spider-Man was to save other people's lives! To look out for the little guy! These weapons were going to hurt a lot of people, Mr. Stark. They were threatening my area of operation, so I took care of them."
"You shouldn't have been handling it in the first place!"
"Then who was going to handle it? I didn't see anyone else stepping up, least of all you. You were too busy partying abroad and talking to me through empty suits!"
"I called the FBI-"
"Do you seriously think that the FBI could have handled this? It's alien weaponry, for god's sake! How in the hell did you think that the FBI could have handled this! They showed up and immediately started shooting at me on the ferry. Same story with the police in the DC!"
"I-"
"Save it, Mr. Stark." Peter was pacing by now, too mad to think straight. "The fact is you knew about this from the beginning. You knew that I was dealing with Chitauri weaponry that stemmed from your actions in New York! But you didn't care. You didn't get off your ass at any point during this, you stayed back and let me deal with it all alone! I asked if the Avengers could help the night of the river, and what did you say? You said that it's below your pay-grade. So what was I supposed to do?"
"You should have contacted Happy!"
"I tried! He hung up on me! Two times!"
Mr. Stark looked flustered, but still mad. "Maybe so, but you shouldn't have been going after the Vulture guy!"
"I just told you that nobody else was going to! You think that I was just going to let him get away because he was above my level? I tried to tell you. But Happy ignored me, and you-you didn't even give me your contact number!"
They stared at each other, then Mr. Stark sighed. "Fine, kid. You have a point."
Peter scoffed. "Damn right I do."
"But," Mr. Stark continued, "you're not off the hook."
Peter stared at him, waiting for whatever was about to come.
"I want you to hang up the suit."
Wow.
Peter didn't know what he had been expecting, but it had definitely not been that.
"Not for forever," Mr. Stark said hurriedly, "just until you're eighteen, at least that way-"
"No."
Mr. Stark looked shocked. "What did you just say?"
"I said no," Peter stated coldly.
Mr. Stark was beginning to look angry again. "Kid-"
"Nope," Peter interrupted. "I said no, which means no. I did not survive a collapsed building, an airplane crash, and a fire fight just to get my suit taken away by you!"
Mr. Stark rubbed his temples. "You survived a - Never mind, we'll come back to that later. All of that just shows that it's too dangerous for you right now, Peter!"
"You didn't care when you hauled me off to Germany!"
"You chose-"
"Cut the bullshit, Mr. Stark. You blackmailed me into going by threatening to tell my aunt and then used me without giving me any information at all about the fight. Then you brought me back, dumped me on my doorstep, then blew me off for two months, before coming back just to take away my suit!"
Mr. Stark sighed. "I'll admit that I didn't make the best choices regarding you. But I'm only trying to protect you, Peter!"
"No you're not! If you'd been trying to protect me, you would have stepped in when you realized that I was dealing with alien weaponry, but you didn't! You've been nothing but a shitty mentor, Mr. Stark. You didn't bother to check in me and the only time you visited me in person after Germany was to take away my suit! Even now, you're being selfish. You're just taking away the suit because you don't want me on your conscience if I get hurt!"
Now Mr. Stark looked beyond mad. "Kid, don't accuse me of matters you know nothing about! I don't care what you think, I am responsible for Spider-Man, so when I say hang up the suit, you hang up the suit!"
"No!" Peter screamed. "I am done with your shit! Spider-Man is a part of me, and I'm not going to give him up because you say so! You have zero say in Spider-Man business. You were never, ever responsible for Spider-Man! You gave me a suit and then ghosted me for two months before coming back to take away my suit! How is that responsible, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked, sneering.
Mr. Stark said nothing.
"Exactly," Peter growled. He stepped closer and poked Mr. Stark in the chest. "Answer this, Mr. Stark. How many muggings, robberies, or thefts have you prevented?"
Mr. Stark was visibly fuming, but still said nothing.
"That's what I thought," Peter said icily. "See, that's the thing. The Avengers might handle the bigger threats, but everyday people also face threats, but the Avengers aren't around for those, are they? I handle those threats. People need me, Mr. Stark, and you're not going to take that away just because you have guilt issues!"
If Peter wasn't so mad, he would have been cringing hard at how low a blow that was. But right now, he didn't care.
"That's enough! " Mr. Stark shouted. "You-"
"Do you know how my uncle died, Mr. Stark?" Peter interrupted, so done with this conversation. "He was shot and died in my arms."
Mr. Stark's eyes widened and he took a step back.
"He died in my arms," Peter repeated, "and I had my spider powers at that time. I viewed them as a party trick, something cool. I could have saved him using them, but I didn't. You know what he told me? He said with great power comes great responsibility. "
Mr. Stark cleared his throat. "Kid-"
"I'm not going to hang up the suit, Mr. Stark. I have a duty to the people, and I'm not going to give it up just because you can't come to terms with it!"
"Kid, look at it from my point of view," Mr. Stark said. "You're young, and I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt badly, like last night."
"You know what that sounds like? Not my problem, " Peter said coldly, and Mr. Stark recoiled. Peter was beyond caring at this point though, as icy rage thrummed through his veins, dulling any hurt, pain, and regret he might have felt at his words. "I know I'm young, but I got these powers, and I have to live with them now! I'll always be in danger, Mr. Stark, and I'm not going to quit. You know what it's like living with enhanced senses. I can hear screams and cries most of the time." He swallowed. "And I can't just ignore them, Mr. Stark, I can't. I don't look for danger, but if I hear something, I'm not going to turn away. I can't. There won't be any more Bens on my watch. If you really want to protect me, Mr. Stark, you'll give me my suit back."
They stared at each other for a long while, then Mr. Stark shook his head. "I'm sorry, kid, I really am, but I can't. I'm not going to endorse your Spider-Man stunts any longer."
Peter's heart fell. Mr. Stark was really just going to leave him with I'm sorry?
"You were my hero for so long, Mr. Stark," he whispered. "I looked up to you, I wanted to be just like you. You saved my life at the Expo. I met you, and I was blown away! But you just used me. You used me in Berlin without telling me what was going on, and when we came back you threw me away like a toy you didn't want anymore. Then you took away my suit, and now you're trying to get me to quit."
Mr. Stark looked guilty, guilty, guilty. "Kid, I'm-"
"Don't say you're sorry, Mr. Stark," Peter said heavily, "I've heard that too many times in my life. See, Mr. Stark, these abilities, these suits, they aren't toys or gifts, something to show off. I learned that the hard way. They are a privilege, an honor, and it's our duty to use them responsibly. I will not apologize for my actions, Mr. Stark, because I know I was right. If you can't get your head out of your ass long enough to see that, then that's your problem. You don't need to support me, heck, I don't think you've ever supported me. I was Spider-Man before you, and I can damn well be Spider-Man without you. So goodbye, Mr. Stark, and thanks for nothing."
With that, Peter strode out of the room with the same eerie calmness he had talked with, leaving a shocked Mr. Stark behind.