Doubts and Investigations
Peter stared out the window from the backseat of the social services vehicle.
It hadn't taken long at all for them to come collect him after Kathy and Kent had been arrested. He didn't know the full extent of the event, but from what he managed to overhear, the cops had been completely unprepared for what they found at the house. Kathy and Kent had been victims of a brutal home invasion.
Peter felt that strange darkness in him stir. He wanted to know exactly how "brutal" it had been.
How bad had they suffered?
Who did he owe his thanks to?
"Don't worry Peter," the blonde haired social worker smiled back at him. "From what we heard, you won't have to stay at the home long."
No. He wouldn't, and it had nothing to do with Pepper wanting to adopt him. As soon as he was "settled in", he would make his escape.
He couldn't go back to the compound. He didn't belong there.
He didn't.
He gave a small smile back to the woman, hoping it didn't look at fake as it felt.
The further he got away from the compound and its occupants, the more that strange darkness and anger returned. It was a little more prominent than it ever had been before, almost as though it was responding to the loss.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"How long before we can go get the kid?" Steve asked, watching the social services van leave.
"Not until the lawyers get all the paperwork pushed through." Pepper sighed. "I wish he could have just stayed here, but that's not how it works."
"He'd have been better off here." Sam frowned. "We have better accommodations than any group home. Besides, we're literal superheroes. He couldn't be safer anywhere else!"
"Relax bird brain," Tony grinned. "Kid's only gonna be there a day at the most. My lawyers are the best for a reason."
"The sooner Peter's back here and those two are behind bars for good, the better." Steve frowned.
No one argued.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'll be glad when we can get him back." Wanda sighed.
"At least we're on the right track." Pietro smiled. "And think, we made some really good progress today! He was talking to us!"
Wanda smiled back. They had been able to learn a bit more about him, even if it had been a little tense and awkward.
"Yeah, it's just.....it shouldn't be this hard." she frowned. "Everyone is usually so happy to find their soulmate and Peter......he just....he seems so......unhappy. It's like finding us was not something he ever wanted. Sure, he talked to us, but it wasn't really an effort to connect with us. It was more like he just didn't want silence or something."
"Well, we know he didn't have the best home life."
"Lots of people have bad home lives, Pietro. There's just something about Peter..." she said, a worried look on her face.
"You think there's more?"
"I don't trust him." Wanda said after a moment. "I don't trust him not to do something foolish. Something that could get him unnecessarily hurt."
Pietro looked at her with wide eyes.
"You're not really thinking he's-"
"No!" Wanda gasped. "No! I don't think that! I just.......I don't think......I don't think he'd think about what he was doing. I don't think he puts much thought into his own safety. I don't think he......I don't think he thinks he should care about himself at all."
"Do we know anything about his other families?"
"Maybe Nat and Clint could look into it for us. I feel like they'd be honest with us on whatever they find." Wanda replied, pulling out her phone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter's brain was always in a constant state of action. Whenever something settled in, he became hyper aware of what had to be done to see it to the end.
It took him roughly five minutes to figure out the best exit from the group home.
A quick tour of the building and the room he was sharing gave him all the information he needed. Once everyone went to sleep, it would be easy to leave without detection.
"Peter?"
"Oh, yes?" he asked, turning to the young woman showing him around.
"Just checking. You seemed out of it. I...I know you won't be here long, sweetheart, just trying to hang in there." she smiled warmly at him. "You can come talk to me anytime you need to until you leave."
"Thank you, Miss Jones."
"I know you don't really have anything other than what's in your bookbag right now, but I've been told you'll be getting a few things from..." she hesitated, not wanting to mention Peter's former home. "I've been told there was a request put in for you to receive a picture today. The police were kind enough to agree to bring it to you when they finished their search. You could possibly have it back by this evening."
Peter nodded, the picture of Ben and May the only thing he was worried about.....well, that and those weird clothes he had tucked back in his closet.
Then again, maybe they would find out where they actually came from.
Giving him one last smile, the woman left him alone in the room to get settled. The other children would be returning from school and various other activities soon.
Walking to the window, he looked out over the street below. He had no idea where he would go when he left, but at least he couldn't be a burden to anyone anymore. No one would have to put themselves out to take in some pathetic orphan from Queens.
Sighing, he turned as the door to the room opened and a boy about his age walked in, throwing his bag onto one of the beds.
"Hey!" he grinned. "You must be the new guy. Miss Anna said we'd be getting a roommate. I'm John."
Peter hesitated a moment before taking the boy's outstretched hand.
"I'm Peter."
"Nice to meet you, Pete." John said, giving an easy smile. "The idiot that has that bed over there will be in a little later. He takes writing classes from a woman down the street."
"That sounds fun." Peter said, trying to keep the friendly air.
"He seems to like it." John shrugged. "I'm not even much of a reader, let alone writer."
"I enjoy reading, when I can." Peter smiled slightly. "I haven't really had much time recently though."
"Well, we don't really have any books here, but the library is just down the street. So, will you be joining us at school?"
"Oh, I don't.....I don't know. I only just got here a little while ago. Nothing....nothings really been discussed."
"You'll probably join us then. Don't worry though, the people at school are actually pretty cool about us living here at the home. Even so, I'll keep an eye out for you."
Peter blinked in surprise. This boy didn't know anything about him and already he was willing to look out for him? No. He couldn't let John do that. He couldn't let the boy waste his time. He was a failure at most things and definitely more trouble than he was worth. He would no doubt just cause John trouble, and the guy didn't deserve to suffer because Peter was a terrible person. It wouldn't take long for anyone to figure it out anyway. Just a few minutes around him and everyone knew what a waste of space he was.
Wanda and Pietro didn't seem to think so. Neither did Pepper, Tony or Steve. Pepper wants to adopt you.
You should crush anyone keeping you away.
Peter jolted.
He had had the occasional childish, optimistic thought enter his head before, but this was different, new.
This voice was deep....dangerous.
Pulling himself into the present, he looked at John's expectant face.
"Y..yeah. I...I appreciate it."
"Great." John nodded, turning to his bookbag and digging around. "Sorry I can't be more company on your first day here but, I gotta start on my homework. Chem is my worst subject."
"Chem?"
"Yeah. I'm way better at gym than most of my academics. I mean, I can hold my own for the most part, but Chem always causes me pain."
"I....I could help. I've always been....I've always been good at science."
"Really? That would be great!" John grinned, pulling out his notebook and Chem book. "I really appreciate it. I really want to be able to get into a good college one day, so I need to keep up my grades. If you're really good, maybe I'll be able to keep my average up after all."
Peter frowned as the boy set up his things on the small desk in the room. He felt bad offering help he was going to be able to continue with. Helping John with one assignment wouldn't be enough to help him for the rest of the school year. John had been nice and friendly to him without even knowing him, and this was how Peter repaid him. Offering him limited help.
The guilt fell heavy in his chest as he joined John at the desk and began walking him through his work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Natasha frowned as she looked down at her phone.
"What's up?" Clint asked, looking over at her.
"The kids are wanting information on Peter's former homes."
"Not surprising. They're smart kids. No doubt they've picked up on the fact Peter's obviously come from more than one abusive home. I mean, we haven't exactly met the kid, but it's easy to tell just from hearing everyone talk about him."
"I know. I just worry what uncovering his past could do to them.....or him. I'm sure it's not something Peter wants advertised." Natsha frowned. "Still, it may help with getting through to him as closed off as he seems."
"Well then, time to do some snooping."
"We keep this up and we're gonna know more about this kid then we do the others."
"If it helps the three of them move forward, then its worth it. Laura would probably kick my ass if I didn't help, honestly."
Natsha smirked before turning back to her phone.
"I'll find out who Peter's original adoption agency was and we can pay them a visit."
"After hours I'm assuming."
"Is there any other time?"
Clint grinned, watching as the SHIELD agents brought out the freshly painted car. The black surface was shiny with a new coat of wax.
"You know, you can ditch the wig. I'm just not used to a blonde Nat."
"I don't know, I think I pull it off pretty well."
"Maybe give it a little time before drastic appearance changes. I don't want you getting mistaken for some crazy blonde that attacked two abusive perverts in their home."
The two shared a look before getting into the car and driving off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Peter?"
Peter looked up from where he and John were finishing up his homework to see Anna in the doorway. She smiled as she entered, holding out a photo.
"This was just dropped off for you. Thought you'd want it quickly."
Peter took the photo of Ben and May, tears burning in the back of his eyes at the thought he almost was never going to see it again.
Anna smiled softly before looking over at John.
"Wow, don't think I've ever seen you so excited about homework, kid." Anna grinned, looking over John's shoulder. "And Chemistry at that."
"Pete's a genius at it! I understand this stuff now way better than any of my teachers have explained it."
"Well then, maybe you'll be able to bring that grade up after all. Anyway, I was just coming to give you your photo, Peter, and let you know supper will be in a few minutes."
"Thank you." Peter replied softly.
"You're welcome, honey." Anna said, ruffling his hair as she passed.
Between Anna and John, Peter couldn't stifle the small burn of anger he felt. Perhaps if he hadn't been shipped off to an overcrowded orphanage after May died, he wouldn't have ended up hoping from one abusive foster home to the next. Then again, what did it matter? A burden is a burden no matter where they are.
There was a dark hiss in the back of his mind, vanishing as quickly as it came though.
"Thanks again, Peter." John said, putting his homework away. "I mean it. You really are better at teaching me this stuff than my teachers are."
"Yo-you're welcome."
"Come on, let's go eat. If we don't get there early, the younger gremlins get all the good stuff."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter watched as John joined Anna and two other workers as they started making plates for the youngest children, while sneakily stashing away food on his own. He grinned over at Peter as he also motioned to another plate he was filling.
Peter forced a smile as he looked out at the other kids. Who was he to take food from any of them? He was new, and most of them were younger than he was. He shouldn't take it. It wasn't that long ago he ate at the compound. Then again, this would be the last time he would know where a meal was coming from. Perhaps it would be ok to be a little selfish, just this once.
A heavy hand fell his shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. Looking over his shoulder he felt his breath hitch.
The boy behind him towered over him, and despite the silence from his Spider-Sense, he still felt the dread of acquiring a new bully fill him.
“Hey, you must be the new kid bunking with me that loser over there.” The boy grinned, motioning to where John was looking at them and flicked the boy off.
“I’m Alex. I’m sure loudmouth over there told you where I was.”
“He….he said you….you were at a wri-writing class.” Peter stumbled, still unsure of the larger boy.
“Mrs. Crabapple, yea that really is her last name, teaches a few of us a few days a week. You should come with me one day. You might like it.” The boy smiled, leading Peter towards line.
“I...I’ve never been much of a writer.”
“You should still come. You might change your mind.”
As Alex rambled about his class, Peter couldn't help but study him. The boy fit the bill of so many bullies he had encountered before, and yet, none of them had ever talked to him the way Alex did. There was no malice or ill intent in his tone or posture. The boy really was just a big softie.
"I'm not blind, Akins." Alex smirked. "I saw those extra plates you were fixing."
"You'd get the good stuff to if you weren't at your fancy classes." John rolled his eyes.
Peter watched as the two bickered back and forth before John slid Peter and Alex each a plate.
"See butthead," John grinned. "I didn't leave you out."
"Normally I'd have a comeback but I'm starving so I'll let it go."
"Come on Pete, we always eat outside when it's nice. More room."
Peter nodded, following behind the two boys.
The backyard was a small, grassy area surrounded by a tall, wooden fence. There was a swing set, a sandbox, and a small jungle gym. Tucked into the corner was a small tree, just big enough to provide some shade and a nice place to sit.
"So, Peter," Alex started, plopping down on the ground. "Tell us something about you. You already know I enjoy writing, and that John has absolutely no talents or anything-"
"Hey!" John shouted, shoving the boy. "I have plenty of talents!"
"Name one."
"We're talking about Peter you ass!"
"See, Pete. No talents."
"I hate you." John glared.
"Please, I'm to lovable to be hated by anyone."
"You wish. Anyway," John went on. "Peter's really good at Chemistry."
"Really?" Alex asked, snapping his gaze to Peter. "Tell me that idiot knows you're good at it because you helped him with his homework. I suck at it too!"
"Y-yeah. I helped h-him out before supper."
"Great! I could use help with mine!" Alex cheered. "Finally, someone useful around here."
"You do realize you just called yourself useless as well, right?" John asked, raising an eyebrow.
Alex paused before scoffing.
"You're just jealous of my good looks."
Despite the fact the other two boys were carrying the conversation, Peter didn't feel left out. It was an odd feeling. He couldn't remember the last time he felt....included.
The Avengers want to include you.
The voice returned.
They still want to. Pepper said she would come get you.
You can go to them yourself. No one can stop you. You could kill them all if they tried.
Peter winced at the words.
Words.
They were just words.
No one was coming to get him., and he wasn't going to them.
Your soulmates want you back.
They are there. Find them. We can show them how to really handle criminals.
Peter ignored the other voice.
They only want him because they don't know him.
They will get to know you.
They will hate him.
They love you.
No one loves him.
We can kill those that hurt you now. We can do it....together.
Let go of your fear of being with them.
Letting go is dangerous.
Letting go is control. Control is power. WE are power.
"Peter?"
"Huh?" Peter shook his muddled thoughts away.
"You spaced out on us man." Alex grinned, poking him in the forehead. "Just making sure you were still in there."
Unable to stop it, a small smile lifted his lips.
"Yeah, I'm here."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pepper sighed as she hung up the phone.
"Troubles dear?" Tony asked, walking into their bedroom.
"They're not going to let me adopt Peter until after the trial. Apparently not even Tony Stark and his team of top notch lawyers hold any sway."
"And I pay them how much?" Tony huffed.
"I told him I was going to come get him." Pepper frowned. "This trial could drag out for months, especially considering the fact they're both in the hospital. Despite evidence, they're denying the charges...well, as best they can."
Tony shrugged, unconcerned with the Matthews current states.
"If it makes you feel any better, I arranged where he was sent."
Pepper's head shot up at the statement.
"Kids been through enough. He deserved to go somewhere decent. Top rated home with a cap on how many kids they can take due to thier size. Peter's the last one."
"Is he really, or did Tony Stark through a little bit of money at the situation?"
"They're a good home. They deserved it with or without Peter. I'm considering the logistics of a foundation to help out orphans." Tony shrugged.
Pepper smiled, standing up and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"And people wonder what I see in you."
"Well, I am kind of amazing."
"And you ruined it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Who's that?" Alex asked, pointing to the picture Peter was holding.
"You can't just ask stuff like that, numb nuts!" John scolded.
"I wasn't trying to be a jerk, ass wipe." Alex shot back.
Peter looked from the picture of Ben and May to the two grumbling friends.
"I-it's ok." he said quietly.
The two boys stopped arguing and turned to look at him.
"You don't have to talk about, Pete." Alex replied.
"It's ok. It's my aunt and uncle. They....they took me in after my parent's died. They both died a few years ago."
Peter studied the photo, memories of the happy times he shared with Ben and May running through his head. It hurt to remember a time when things were good. A time before he caused thier deaths. Everyone he loved eventually left.
We will kill anyone who tries to take anyone from us again.
"At least you have a picture of them." John said quietly. "I don't have a picture of anyone in my family. Everything burned up in the fire."
"Mine arn't worth having a picture of." Alex scoffed. "They didn't want me, so why would I want anything of them."
The room was quiet for a while, the three teens locked inside their own minds.
"Boys?"
The three jumped as Anna peeked into the room.
"It's time to get ready for bed. I brought you some clothes, Peter. I know you didn't come here with anything. We'll get you more clothes soon."
"Th-thank you." Peter mumbled, accepting the small bundle.
"Well, I'll leave you to it." she smiled, ruffling his hair once more before walking out the room.
"Bathroom's down the hall, Peter." John said, pulling out his own clothes. "Better haul ass if you wanna beat the rugrats. They ruin the bathroom."
Nodding, Peter turned and made his way towards the bathroom. As he made his way down the hall, he could hear the other workers struggling to wrangle in the small kids that didn't want to go brush their teeth or put on their pajamas. Though firm, the tones were all full of caring.
Peter couldn't remember the last time he was given those types of instructions, much less with those tones.
He was expected to be smart enough to just do it on his own. No one ever cared if he did though, nor did they always provide him with the means. If he was dirty or with bad breath due to improper mouth care, they either made fun of him or ignore him in favor of other people ridiculing him for it.
Walking up to the bathroom, he froze. The wall outside it was lined with cups labeled with each child's name. The cups each contained a tube of toothpaste, a toothbrush and a stick of deodorant. Looking at the names, Peter's eyes stung as the cup right next to John and Alex's was labeled "Peter". Inside was everything the other kids had.
His mind warred with his heart. His heart was over joyed with the simple expression of care, while his mind screamed how he was taking supplies from the other kids. Supplies he shouldn't have been given because, what had he done to earn them?
Taking his toothbrush and paste out of the cup, he starred at them a few minutes before shutting the door and turning to the sink. The mint burned his mouth, but he didn't stop. He brushed and brushed until his teeth and mouth felt smooth and clean. The spider bite and made him sensitive to mints, but he couldn't say it wasn't worth it. Rinsing out his brush, he set it on the clean counter top before changing into the fresh set of clothes. They were a little stiff from the wash, but he didn't care.
A beating on the door, made him jump.
"Hurry up!" a small voice yelled through the wood. "I gotta go!"
Grabbing his brush, Peter opened the door and hurried out as a tiny boy rushed inside, not even bothering to shut the door as he yanked down his pants and did his business.
"Carter! Shut the door!" A brown haired woman scolded, shutting the door. "Sorry about him, Peter. He has a nasty habit of waiting till the last minute to go."
Peter looked up at the woman in surprise. She knew his name?
"You're the newbie, kid." she grinned. "Of course I know who you are. I'm Lisa."
"H-hi." Peter stuttered.
"Well, more introductions later. It's time for bed now, squirt. Scoot on. Tell Alex he better stay in bed tonight. The bed isn't off the ground so he can climb underneath it to write at night when he thinks we're all sleeping. I can see the light from his flashlight under the door."
She laughed before turning to question the emerging Carter on whether he had washed his hands or not.
Peter hugged his other clothes close to his chest. Everyone here was so....nice. They all seemed to care and get along.
He didn't know what to do with that.
His former families hated him. They never wanted anything to do with him. There was even one family that never learned his name. They just called him "brat" or "little shit" or "trash".
He had to leave.
They didn't know who they were being so nice to.
They didn't know why they shouldn't be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuri Watanabe has seen a lot during her career with the police forced, but anything involving children always took her back to how she felt as a rookie.
In a lock box, buried deep inside the Matthews’ bedroom closet, was pictures upon pictures of physically and sexually abused teens. Attached to each picture was a letter thanking them for the “present” they delivered.
It was atrocious.
She listened as members of the team whispered their hatred and disgust for the couple. Many of them mentioned how eager they were to get home and hold their own children.
The more they searched, the more they found. Floor boards were pulled up, revealing more lock boxes with pictures and letters.
The more they found, the more they worried about the young boy that had been removed from the home.
It had been revealed that the couple had waited till each teen reached the legal age to sell them off, but they had no idea what all the children had endured until then.
The door to the boy’s room had remained closed during the search of the house. No one really wanted to enter, afraid of what they might find. Eventually though, it was the last room in the house.
They had been aware that a request for a picture of the boy’s aunt and uncle had been approved to be freely handed over to the kid. Usually, nothing from a crime scene was to be removed, but a simple picture could easily be overlooked.
Walking in the room wasn’t what they expected.
Truthfully, no one was really sure what they expected, but this wasn’t it.
The room was bare aside from the most basic things. The window was bare, no blinds or curtains. The bed was covered in a thin blanket, which the removal of revealed a sheetless mattress.
There was no lamp or any other light source in the room meaning, when the overhead light went out, the kid was in darkness.
Pushed up against the wall was a single dresser with broken drawers. Inside each drawer were clothes way past their prime, not many of them even looked washed.
Inside the closet, hung two pair of jeans and two worn out sweaters.
“Jesus.” one of the officers breathed. “This poor kid.”
“I was really worried what we’d find in here. I didn’t need to, the kid doesn’t have anything in here.” another grimaced.
“There’s another blanket over in the corner. Looks just as bad as the one on the bed.”
The officer crouched down, gloved hands pulling out the blanket before dropping it in surprise.
“Someone get the captain!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuri watched as the evidence they collected against the Matthews was loaded into the van. Her gaze followed the entire trek of the sealed bag containing an outfit stained with blood that they had found inside the kid’s closet.
“Forensics is gonna have a fit.”
“They’ll have to get in line, Phillips.” Yuri sighed. “The entire team is already in arms. Finding a blood stained outfit in the back of an obviously neglected kid’s closet is never a good thing.”
Phillips nodded, turning to look at her.
“We found the picture. Where should we take it?”
“The kid was dropped off at a group home. I’ll get you the address and you can take it to him.” she paused. “Where did you find it?”
“Tucked under his mattress. Looks like the kid was hiding it.”
“Wonderful.” Yuri replied, tight lipped and disgusted at the days events.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Have you heard anything from Nat and Clint?” Pietro asked, watching as Wanda flittered around the room they had set up for Peter. She busied herself arranging extra pillows on the bed and putting away the clothes Pepper had had Happy go pick up from the store.
They wanted Peter to be able to pick out his own things, but there was no doubt he would need a few necessities as soon as he arrived.
“They’re waiting till tonight to do anything. They found out the agency that had assigned Peter to that…….place. They’re going to look for his file.”
Pietro sighed, sitting down in the rolling chair at the new desk.
“Are you nervous about what they’ll find?”
“No. I’m just frantically working in Peter’s room for my health.” Wanda huffed. “Of course I’m worried! I’m so torn between wanting to know and not. I know I’m the one that asked them, but now I’m questioning my decision. Is it really going to change anything?”
“I think it was the right choice.” Pietro smiled, standing up and pulling her into a hug.
“If anything, it might help us better approach him. The more we know, the better prepared we are.”
“I just want him to want to be here as much as we want him to.” Wanda sniffled.
“He does,” Pietro assured her. “He’s just having a hard time accepting it. Once we break through those walls, I think we’ll finally see the Peter who’s happiness we used to feel so strongly.”
“It’s been a few hours,” Wanda smiled, looking up. “And I haven’t seen a single mark on my skin.”
“And that’s a good start.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter climbed into bed and for the first time since he was sent to the Matthews, he felt the softness of sheets and the warmth of a real blanket.
The smell of fabric softener filled his nostrils, and though it was a bit strong for his sensitive sense of smell, he relished it.
If only for a moment.
He couldn’t stay here.
He shouldn’t stay here.
Even though Pepper would break her promise and leave him, this wasn’t a place he could stay.
He was dangerous.
People who were nice died around him.
It’s why he knew he didn’t deserve to have anyone good in his life.
Ultimately, he would kill them. It would be his fault. He would take someone good from the world, and he would remain.
We would not harm them. We will help them. There is delicious, deserving prey on the streets.
Shivering, Peter blocked out the voice and listened to Alex and John throw playful insults at each other as they climbed into their own beds.
He had been here a few hours and no one had yelled or hit him. He had been fed, properly clothed, and people talked to him kindly.
He knew this unwelcome feeling paled in comparison to what he had felt with Wanda and Pietro at the compound, but it still was to much.
There was to much at risk by staying. There were kids here. Good kids. Kids that deserved to be sent to good homes with people that would love them. Kids that deserved to find their soulmates and be happy.
Looking over at the window, Peter stared at the glass. Outside the window was a world he could get lost in. A world where he would never hurt anyone, because no one out there loved him. He could leave New York and live out the rest of his life alone, just as he should be.
Everyone would be better off if Peter Parker didn’t exist.
Sliding his hand under his pillow, he ran his fingers on the smooth texture of the photo of Ben and May.
He missed them.
It was his fault they were dead.
Bad things that happened around him were always his fault.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he waited in the darkness for Alex and John to fall completely to sleep.
Despite Lisa’s comment of Alex wanting to stay up past bedtime, the boy fell asleep before John. His deep breaths sounded in Peter’s ears as he waited on John’s to even out.
It wasn’t long before they did.
Sitting up, he reached under his bed and pulled out his beat up backpack. He carefully placed the picture of Ben and May in the front pouch before shedding the new pajamas and tossing them in as well. He slipped on the clothes he had come in wearing and crept to the door. He opened it slowly, peering out into the hall.
He didn’t know why his heart was beating so fast. He could easily hear the silence of a house of sleeping people.
Stepping out the door, he closed it softly behind him and made his way to the bathroom. He hesitated as he looked at the cup with his name on it before removing its contents and putting them in his book bag as well.
Spider-Man the thief.
You could have these things and more with Wanda and Pietro.
The softer voice returned.
No.
Yes. They’re your soulmates.
Peter Parker doesn’t get to have his soulmates. That’s not how it works.
Peter Parker is alone.
By choice if you leave.
He shook his head. The stupid voice was wrong. They only thought they wanted him.
No one really did.
Why would they?
It wasn’t just the Parker Luck working against him that sent him to those various homes.
No, that was the him being taught his place.
He was sent to each family to learn just how little he mattered. Just how much of a burden he truly was.
He had been taught lessons, and he learns from his lessons.
It was time for Peter Parker to disappear for good.
The dark voice growled and his skin prickled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Can we talk about how shitty this filing system is?” Clint huffed as they rummaged through various filing cabinets.
“There’s no rhyme or reason to any of it. There’s no order!”
“There’s an order.” Natasha glared. “It’s just a hateful one.”
Clint raised his eyebrows at her.
“They’re organized by ‘successes’ and ‘failures’. The files of adoptions and kids with good reports from foster homes are the easiest to find.”
“Guess they want to see their ‘good’ kids first.” Clint growled, aggressively slamming shut another drawer.
“Let’s move to that room over there.” She motioned across the hall. “It’s further from the office so it’s most likely full of more ‘troubled’ cases.”
The room contained filing cabinets that weren’t even closed properly in some cases. Opening the closest, it was easy to see why.
“Look at how thick some of these are.” Clint frowned, lifting one file almost to full for its folder.
“Work from the front. We’re going to assume the further back we go will be kids who have been here longer. Peter wasn’t born into the system.” Natasha said, opening on of the drawers.
The two worked quietly and quickly for a time before Clint cheered.
“Found it!” He grinned, moving to pull it out.
He frowned at how thick it was.
“Looks like we’ve got some reading to do. Let’s makes some copies.” Natasha said, taking the file from his hands and moving to where they had seen a copier.
As they ran each sheet, they read.
Peter’s file was full of various families he had been to. He was labeled a troublemaker and a generally unpleasant child to deal with. He was rude, selfish, violent, a thief, and a liar.
“This doesn’t mesh with the image I’m getting of the kid. Pepper’s pretty preceptive. I find it hard to believe a 15 year old kid, with these descriptions, would be able to act innocent enough to fool her.”
“Considering what we just saved him from…..speak of the filth. Here’s a report from them on Peter.”
Natasha laid the two pages out for them to see.
“Peter is a highly aggressive child. He is physically and verbally violent. He will go days without eating if not given what he wants, when he wants.
He has destroyed a lot of the things we have given him. He doesn’t take care of himself or his things. His hygiene is a touchy subject and one of the more difficult things to manage. He simply doesn’t care.
He gets into fights with other children once they leave school and comes home with various cuts and bruises.”
“Well, that sure doesn’t match the timelines of Wanda and Pietro’s marks.” Clint grunted.
“Still, we feel we can manage through this storm. We care deeply for his safety and well-being and are committed to seeing him improve. We are very interested in keeping Peter until he’s gotten the help he needs.
We’re positive he’s going to be perfect soon.
-Kathy Matthews.”
“In a very few years he would have been.” Natasha scowled, knowing what “perfect” meant to the couple.
“Let’s finish up and get out of here. I want to meet this kid.” Clint frowned at the papers. “I want to hear what he’s got to say.”
“You won’t. He’s apparently pretty closed mouthed.”
“Can’t blame him. I’m sure they drilled silence into him.”
“This is the last of it. Let’s put the file back and get out of here.”
“I’m going to assume we’re both in agreement we’ll look over everything before sharing with the class.” Clint looked at her, taking the file.
“Naturally.”