Defending A Father-Figure
Peter Benjamin Parker was many things. He was a part-spider mutant. He was a vigilante going by the name of Spider-Man. He was Tony Stark’s protégé. He was a freshman in high school. He was stronger than the Hulk and Captain America combined (a theory which was proven correct with the help of one, amazing, rich mentor). He was capable of getting shot, then waking up the next day without so much as a scratch.
But something Peter Benjamin Parker definitely wasn’t was a bystander.
The Uncle Ben incident broke him in more than a mental sense. Peter still had nightmares about the incident, and due to Peter’s hyperthymesia, otherwise known as highly superior autobiographical memory, he could remember the night in such extreme detail it hurt. Some days, Peter could close his eyes and clearly see the man’s pale face as the life drained from his sky blue irises. He could see the rough pavement that Uncle Ben had laid on, as well as every imperfection in the concrete so perfectly it was as though Peter was still there.
Anyways, that whole ordeal had shown Peter just how much a simple bystander can impact a situation, especially a bad one, and its outcome. Peter is physically incapable of letting bad people do bad things without trying to stop it (unless it was happening to him (like Flash’s bullying)). Also, ever since then, so much as the sight of chocolate milk made the teenage boy feel the urgent need to vomit. But that was irrelevant. Peter’s brain tended to do that; change the subject when the topic being currently discussed caused too much trauma to resurface.
Five months had passed since the so-called ‘civil war’, a battle between Iron Man and Captain America which resulted in not a single winning team. Everyone lost something that day. Tony lost his friends (and a few years of his life after Roger’s actions in Siberia), Vision lost his lover, T’challa lost alliance with most of the Avengers, Clint, Natasha, Bucky, Scott, Steve and Sam lost their freedom, and Rhodey lost his legs. What did Peter lose, you ask? Peter lost his respect for America’s idol as well as all the idiotic ‘superheroes’ that sided with the super-soldier.
Peter practically lost his childhood (despite how most of it was focused on Tony Stark and the billionaire’s successes).
So when Cap’s entire team was invited to the new, Avenger’s Compound in order to discuss the accords and get them pardoned, Peter freaked. Tony Stark, T’challa, Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanova, Clint Barton, Bucky, Scott Lang, Wanda Maximoff, Vision, Rhodey and himself, Peter Parker, all stuffed into one room to discuss the accords and make a plan on how to get the Rogues pardoned.
Peter didn’t want to.
He wanted to attend, of course, but he didn’t want them to be freed of all the punishments their stunt in Germany caused. They didn’t deserve it, especially Steve. Bucky, possibly, everyone else too, but not Captain America. He was the one that broke Tony the most.
Mentally, physically and emotionally.
Rogers had shattered Stark as though the billionaire were made of glass and the super-soldier was a hammer. Tony had handled the situation carefully, warning Steve of almost every action the mechanic took and even going easy on the shield-wielding maniac. But Steve didn’t care. It was always about Bucky. Fucking Steve Rogers was an asshole, and Peter was sure as hell going to make sure the enhanced ‘hero’ knew that too.
This Saturday, during the meeting.
Only Tony and Rhodey knew that Peter was Spider-Man (in relation to those attending the secret meeting), and it was meant to remain that way. Peter would pose as Mr Stark’s personal intern, there mainly in order to represent Pepper who was unable to attend due to Stark Industries business. Peter, personally, didn’t mind the cover story and was fully prepared to back it up by acting as professional as possible. The teenage boy swore to only intervene if Steve went too far (which the soldier was sure to do).
Peter decided to bring his web-shooters just in case and planned to hide them under a jacket or long-sleeved shirt.
---
Peter was in the common room of the Compound, sitting casually on the couch while playing on his brand new StarkPhone (courtesy of the ever-insistent Tony Stark). He was wearing navy blue jeans as well as a plain, red t-shirt underneath a black jacket. On the back of the jacket were the words ‘Iron Man’ written in white, graffiti font, covering that whole portion of the clothing. It was a gift from Tony, and the mechanic had a matching jacket, but with ‘Spider-Man’ written on the back instead.
His web-shooters were hidden under the sleeves and had been recently stuffed with enough webbing that they could last a week before a refill was required. After several minutes of waiting there in silence, a slight tingle on the back of his neck alerted the boy of someone’s arrival. The Rogues were supposed to arrive together (besides Bucky; he was coming with T’challa) as they had been out in hiding together.
But the approaching footsteps belonged to only one person and were unnaturally quiet. Peter guessed that whoever it was had only just entered the building, considering how the heartbeat was muffled slightly. If the person were closer, the thumping of the blood-pumping organ would be louder, like a drum. Thank you enhanced hearing.
Peter turned off his phone and busied himself trying to figure out who it could be. Definitely not Tony, the man walked too quickly for that to be him, and his heartbeat was never this smooth. Couldn’t be Rhodey because his leg braces made sounds as he moved, similar to that of a car engine but much quieter.
It couldn’t be T’challa.
Peter had met the king only once in Germany and they had hardly been so much as near each other. But the Wakanda ruler had loud, even breathing. Whatever gave that man his enhancements caused his heart to be constantly beating quickly to make up for the constant flow of something in his veins, that defiantly wasn’t blood.
Couldn’t be Bucky either. The super-soldier’s arm clinked and clanked noisily. Well, it was noisy to Peter; not everyone had such advanced hearing that they could hear an ant’s footsteps despite the insect being several feet beneath the ground. And Steve was the same in the sense that he was loud, just maybe not for the same reasons.
Clint’s arrows hit each other as the archer walked, so it wasn’t him. And Peter didn’t hear the whirring of Sam’s Falcon wings or the mechanical appendages sliding back into place after landing. Can’t be Scott; the man is always talking. A bit like Peter, but stupider, and slightly more social. And Peter talked more than Scott. That was for sure.
Vision? No; the mind stone wielder didn’t have a beating heart in his chest. Or footsteps. The dude floated everywhere he went. But his mind stone made noise, a sound similar to that of a soft humming. And Wanda had a humming too, but it came from the energy constantly floating around her. An aura that was invisible to the naked, human eye. Peter doubted Steve could even see it despite the super-soldier’s own enhancements. The kid could though. It was a faded red colour that floated around Wanda constantly, and whenever she was within a mile of him, Peter could feel the energy. It was strong.
He was stronger.
So that left Natasha; a trained, female spy and assassin. Otherwise known as the Black Widow. Most, if not all were scared of her when she wanted them to be. Peter himself had witnessed her death glare, and if looks could kill, that one would.
To anyone else, her footsteps would be non-existent, her breaths silent. But Peter could hear it as clear as day. Just before she turned the corner and came into view, Peter decided to alert her of his presence. He doubted she knew he was there.
“Hello, Ms Romanoff.” He called, choosing to use her fake name (not that anyone besides herself and Peter knew otherwise), before relaxing back into the couch cushions and opening his phone. His spider-sense tingled in warning. Oh yeah. This is going to be fun.
Suddenly, she was in front of him, knife pointed at his throat. Her eyes narrowed. “Who are you?” She hissed.
Peter had to physically restrain himself from laughing. Seriously? Was this supposed to be intimidating? The poor woman has become soft. Though there was still that small part of him that was beyond excited to be this close to the Black Widow! How many people can say they’ve been threatened by Natasha Romanova? Well, lot’s, actually. But most of them weren’t alive to tell the tale. Peter would be. She couldn’t kill him if she tried.
“Hi! I’m Peter Benjamin Parker here to represent Pepper Potts in the meeting. She was unable to attend due to Stark Industries business, and since I am Mr Stark’s personal intern I was the best choice.” Peter spoke calmly, as though there wasn’t a sharp, silver blade scraping the skin of his neck.
Natasha looked completely unfazed. She just remained still and looked Peter directly in the eyes. Peter did the same, his gaze never wavering, and eyes determined.
There was a rumbling in the background, the sound silent to Natasha but almost painfully loud to Peter. The engine turned off and the sound stopped. Peter simply listened as people exited the jet. He could tell it was a jet due to the sound of the engines and the size which he vaguely figured out by the noise it made when it landed on the roof of the Compound.
Alright. That was Vision and the Rogues. The android was instructed to retrieve them for the meeting and bring them here ten minutes ago. They were late. Then again, so was T’challa. The king had informed Tony that he would arrive five minutes ago from now, which he didn’t. Also, where was Tony with Rhodey? How come a fifteen-year-old boy is the only one able to stick to schedules out of a bunch of heroes and a genius billionaires? Who were all grown adults!?
“Fine. Don’t believe me. The rest of the Rogues are here now anyway with Mr Vision. You guys can discuss this together.” Peter declared confidently.
Natasha raised an eyebrow in response and gave him a slightly confused look. That was the most emotion she had shown in the past few minutes. Peter bit his tongue to stop himself from saying so. He didn’t want to embarrass himself and really didn’t need to risk getting on her bad side.
The elevator chose that moment to open with a bell-like chime. The Rogue Avengers along with Vision were cramped inside, and Peter could practically hear their non-existent sighs of relief of getting to finally leave that cramped space. Clint and Steve were the first to step out, but due to the positioning of the sofas and the teenage boy, they were yet to see Peter. All they saw was Nat partially bent forward onto one of the couches.
Scott looked around the room in silent awe. Peter had been the same when he had first seen the Compound a few months back. It was truly a beautiful place and a science/engineering nerd’s dream. The labs here were just fabulous. They had everything! Secretly though, Peter was thankful Scott was in too much shock to speak. That guy was funny and seemed like he would get along great with Peter, but the teenager just wasn’t in the mood.
“You know, Tasha, next time you choose to sneak away like that, leave a note or something so that we know not to look for you for an hour!” Clint complained.
The spy simply glared from her position; her firm hold on the knife never faltering. Peter rolled his eyes; why was he not surprised? She does seem the type to vanish without a trace for no apparent reason, and it would explain why the others were late. By now, there wasn’t a single person left in the elevator, yet the rest of the Rogues were still unaware of Peter’s presence. Clint was still complaining about something or other, Steve looked plain annoyed (as did everyone else) and the female assassin just stared at Peter. How no one besides her had noticed him yet was a mystery. I’m surrounded by idiots.
“So are you going to introduce me, or do I have to introduce myself? And do you mind lowering your blade? I like red, but I don’t need the colour to be pouring out of my neck.” Peter spoke suddenly, his voice unnaturally calm.
Truthfully, the confidence Peter was currently feeling was unexpected by even himself. He thought he’d stutter and make an absolute fool of himself in front these superheroes, but he didn’t. Peter guessed it was because he was far too angry at them for how much they hurt Stark to bother with anxiety.
The shocked expressions that travelled around the room were expected, but funny none the less. Almost instantly the rest of the group jumped into action, defensive stances replacing their previously relaxed forms. Upon noticing Natasha’s fixed gaze on a specific spot on the sofa, Wanda activated her magic and lifted Peter into the air.
Having this red energy actually lifting Peter into the air hurt. Not badly, but about as much as a paper cut would on a pain scale. Wanda clearly wasn’t attempting to hurt him, just make him visible to the rest of the group. Peter could tell that much due to how she lifted him until he was about an inch above the top of the couch backrest, and made him face the group in something that was similar to a normal standing position, but with his arms and legs more spread out.
The energy around him felt hot. He could feel it travelling along his skin in such detail as if it were the waves or current of the sea washing over him. The magic-type thing felt rather restraining, tighter around his wrists and ankles than anywhere else in order to keep him in place. Peter’s enhancements included sensitive touch, so the chances that anyone else would feel Wanda’s energy on them so clearly was close to impossible.
Peter could tell that he could escape Wanda’s magic with ease, like forcing one’s hand through the top layer of sand at a beach. Easy. Simple. Effortless. But he didn’t want to scare her, or anyone else, and preferred to keep his identity secret for a little longer.
Here’s one thing Peter learned about the spider that bit him; it didn’t only contain the DNA of a spider. It was mutated with other snippets of DNA from other creatures, like a drug flowing through the arachnid’s veins. It was an experiment made to create a super-soldier that could challenge most of the Avengers in battle, and even a God, like a Thor, to be rendered powerless against.
The venom in a spider bite was the only way to inject it into a person, as the serum was far too acidic to allow injection through a syringe and guarantee survival for the patient. The research was forgotten, and Dr Conners was fired after losing the spider. Oscorp thought they’d failed.
Peter was proof that they didn’t.
But he would never tell them that.
He wasn’t stupid.
Anyways, now he was faced with all of the Rogue Avengers, plus Vision (who didn’t know Peter because Tony just had to be protective of his protégé). He was doomed, but only if he let himself be. Parker, being the genius he was, chose to be polite and casual. Maybe not the best choice, but apparently he thought it smart to seem approachable. A random, strange, unknown kid in a secure, Avengers Compound with seemingly no business to be there, could be a thief or something for all the Rogues knew, but hey; at least he was nice. Idiot.
“Hi, there!” Peter smiled kindly, any anger he felt towards the group vanishing from his wide brown eyes. Peter promised Stark he’d try to forgive them. Peter doesn’t break promises. He just doesn’t. It’s plain wrong. “My name’s Peter! Peter Benjamin Parker! Nice to meet you. Although you are like, ten minutes late. But so is Mr T’challa with Mr Barnes. And Mr Stark with Mr Rhodey.” Peter added thoughtfully, his rambling habits surfacing.
“Mr Barnes… does he mean Bucky?” Clint asked in disbelief. Peter couldn’t tell whether that was a good thing or not.
“Why are you in Avengers Compound?” Steve questioned, choosing to ignore the archer.
The sound of approaching footsteps distracted Peter. He could recognise that whirring anywhere. And that clanking of metal against metal had to be Bucky. Mr Stark and T’challa must have carpooled. And by the sounds of it, they were rather close. They should be coming into view in 3… 2…
“Hi, Mr Stark!” Peter greeted as the billionaire rounded the corner. They must have used the front door rather than the landing pad like the Rogues did. Meaning T’challa had landed his aircraft somewhere out of sight, a bit of a distance away at least. Probably flew to where Rhodey was practising his walking exercises and then got in a limo with Stark and War Machine. Bucky probably rode in a separate limo, though, knowing Tony.
Stark was startled out of his conversation with the king, his head snapping up upon hearing Peter’s voice. Clearly, Tony didn’t expect Peter to be on time, never mind early. Or for the freshman to be floating in the air. “Kid! What in the fuck’s hell are you doing!?” The mechanic switched his attention from Peter to the Rogues, slight rage flickering briefly across the man’s eyes. “Put him down!” Tony demanded.
Peter rolled his eyes. Billionaires and their dramatics. “You know him?” Steve asked for verification.
“Yes! And I’m pretty sure I just told you to put him down!” Tony repeated crossly, but Peter noticed the billionaire’s flinch at being addressed by the super-soldier anyway.
The Avengers (Rogue or not) simply watched as Wanda hesitantly lowered Peter to the floor, the red energy dissipating quickly. Peter smiled as his feet hit solid ground, the sensation one that he missed. “You know you didn’t have to do that, right? I was fine.” Peter stated as he adjusted the sleeves of his jacket so that they hid his web-shooters better.
Tony groaned in exasperation and rolled his eyes. “Seriously kid, one of these days you’re going to give me a heart attack.” He declared.
Peter scoffed. “Sure I am.”
T’challa chose that moment to intervene and cleared his throat in order to grab everyone’s attention. “Stark, why is there a kid here? This was supposed to be a private meeting. Even the AI was disabled so that there would be no evidence of this ever happening.” The king reminded.
The Rogues silently nodded their agreement at that statement, their eyes fixed on Tony in accusation. Clint, being the ever stupid person that he is, asked the following; “He’s not yours, is he?”
Tony coughed and choked on his own spit. Peter started laughing hysterically, bending over as the giggles shook his body. “Oh my God!” The boy exclaimed between his laughter. “Seriously?! His kid? Have you met the man, Mr Barton?” The Avenger’s shocked expressions that came with Peter’s sudden laughter were priceless.
By the end of Peter’s ‘speech’, Tony had managed to calm himself. He straightened up his posture and glared at the boy as the teenager managed to slowly calm down too. “No, he is not my kid,” Tony explained. “He is my personal intern. Nothing. More.” He hissed, eyeing the archer dangerously. But Peter noticed a longing shine in the billionaire's eyes and secretly wondered if Tony believed what he was saying.
Clint took a step back and raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay.” He mumbled.
“Since when do you have a personal intern? I thought you hated interns because they could never keep up with you.” Natasha pointed out; her eyebrow raised as if to say; ‘I don’t believe you’.
“And why is he wearing Iron Man merchandise? Isn’t that a bit strange considering he apparently works with Iron Man?” Sam added.
“It’s been almost half a year since we’ve so much as spoken,” Tony answered coldly. “Things change.” He shrugged to create the illusion of not caring.
“And I work with Tony Stark. Wearing Iron Man-themed clothes is practically dress-code.” Peter lied smoothly. He saw Tony jump slightly at how believable the teenager sounded. There was no hesitation in Peter’s voice, no clue whatsoever in his body language or dialogue that what he was saying was anything but the truth.
“So now that we all know each, let’s get to it! Follow me.” Tony said with forced enthusiasm as he spun on his heel and started down a hallway.
Peter was the first to start following after his mentor, falling into a casual walking pace only a few steps behind him. Soon, everyone else started to follow, and the mismatched group of supers were led through the Compound single-file.
---
Peter sighed as he watched the two men bicker.
Steve and Tony had been at it for several minutes now. Every once in awhile, someone would interrupt and join the conversation. Whoever was on ‘Team Cap’ in Germany would defend Steve, and whoever was ‘Team Iron Man’ in Germany would defend Tony. Except for Natasha. She just pointed out how stupid and childish the both of them were being.
Peter, though, had surprisingly managed to remain silent.
He kept his opinions to himself, planning to wait for them to sort it out on their own like the adults that they were. It mostly was because the teenager feared that if he did join the discussion, he would either be cruelly judged or end up revealing his secret identity in a fit of rage. So silently observing as the chaos unfolded was the only way to go. Until Steve said something painfully stupid.
“I refuse to get you all pardoned. At least not without a minor sentence each. I couldn’t even if I tried. I’m good, but I’m not that good.” Tony declared, his arms crossed and expression set.
“You have the best lawyers, and enough power to get even Ross fired. I’m sure you’ll manage.” Steve countered, his posture perfect and shoulders tense.
“You don’t even know what you’re talking about, Capsicle.” The billionaire sighed, lifting a hand to massage his temple.
“Yes, I do, Stark. So drop your pride and grow up! Things happened, but you can’t hold a grudge forever.” The super-soldier declared, his voice rising in volume slightly.
Tony glared. “I’m not the one that ran away with my friend and got most of the Avengers to be considered criminals by the law. That was all you. So maybe take some of your shit advice and stop talking to me about growing up! I did, Rogers. That’s why I signed the accords and why you didn’t.”
“I didn’t sign the accords because all they did was restrict us from protecting the people when our help was needed. I care about the team. They’re like family to me. So don’t you dare blame me for getting them put on the Raft. You’re the one who supported such treatment. Open your eyes, Tony! It is not only about you.” Steve scolded in his ‘I’m-Captain-America-therefore-I-am-always-in-the-right’ voice.
“I know it’s not about me, Spangles!” Tony replied.
“So stop acting like such a self-centred brat and start thinking about everyone else in the room! Maybe give that a try for once!” Steve screeched angrily.
Peter saw red.
That motherfucking bitch. Peter could tell Rhodey, T’challa, Natasha and – fuck – pretty much everyone in the room wanted to intervene. But for some reason, they stayed silent. Didn’t move or anything and just stared and watched as Tony and Steve fought. Maybe it was the glares the mechanic sent the group anytime they so much as moved to open their mouths. Maybe it was because the super-soldier and billionaire had started to plainly ignore anything anyone said, and the other supers had just given up.
But Steve had gone too far, and since it was clear words wouldn’t work, Peter did the only rational thing he could think to do. He stood up and swiftly travelled across the room in less than a second and punched Steve in the jaw with all of the strength Peter could master. The deafening crack that came with the collision of his small fist with the man’s face was the most satisfying thing Peter had ever heard.
He broke Captain America’s jaw.
I’ve been waiting to do that for way too fucking long. And technically, I did try to forgive him, so this doesn't count as breaking that promise.
Steve doubled over, clutching his chin and spitting out crimson blood onto the marble floor. He made a sound somewhere between a grunt and a wince as the pain hit him full-on, the shock quickly leaving. Bucky didn’t waste a second, and had already jumped up from his seat and stalked towards Peter with such ferociousness and anger that it actually almost scared the kid.
Keyword being almost.
This time, Peter didn’t even need his spider-sense to warn him. How predictable. Instead of dodging the metal arm that was swung at his head in the form of a punch, Peter caught it effortlessly and used it to throw Bucky backwards and into the wall. He then used a whole bunch of his new, improved webbing to make sure the assassin stayed put and couldn’t move to so much as scratch his nose.
The surprised expression on the man’s face made Peter want to laugh.
He would have had the rest of the people in the room not jumped up to attack and stop the supposed threat. Besides Tony. The billionaire just watched with wide eyes and slightly parted lips; which was as close to a surprised expression that the man could handle.
“You’re that Spider-Kid!” Sam exclaimed, obviously having only just realised himself. Peter didn’t display any visible signs of acknowledgement. Personally, the teenager was relieved that at least one person in the group wasn’t daft enough to not put two-and-two together.
Since all of the Rogues were in their ‘costumes’, they also had all of their weapons. Natasha began to throw knives at Peter, which the boy easily dodged without even sparing them so much as a glance. He shot a web and Natasha was stuck to the wall too. The action was effortless and didn’t require being visibly able to see the target in order to hit it perfectly.
Wanda and Vision were at a loss. Their powers weren’t working (Peter might have had something to do with that) and since neither were very skilled in hand-to-hand combat due to their high dependence on their supernatural abilities, they were easy opponents. Especially if you include their shock at their current situation. Soon, they too were stuck to the wall, firmly kept in place by the impossibly strong webs. The strength of Peter’s creation could rival that of normal Vibranium restraints (thanks to recent improvements in the formula) and not even the Hulk could dream of breaking through them. Thor, possibly, that guy was a literal God, but not anyone in this room. The webs could even survive fairly well when faced against Iron Man’s improved blasters.
T’challa had activated his suit after Peter had defeated about half of the group, and sped forward in attempt to tackle the boy. Peter backflipped out of the way, rotating his body so that he was now behind the king. With a swift kick to the man’s back, T’challa was sent stumbling at the sheer force of the attack and the large amount of unsuspected strength behind it. Moments later the king was stuck to the wall and struggling uselessly against his restraints.
Clint, although able to hold his own in hand-to-hand combat, was a much better archer than anything. If one were to be against Clint and the man’s well-shot arrows, the opponent would be less likely to win. Hawkeye was unbelievably skilled with a bow, and his arrows hardly missed their targets, if ever. But due to the limited space, the man’s bow and arrows were rendered useless.
He was forced to attack with well-timed kicks and punches, but they were no match for Peter’s quick reflexes and long ago perfected combat skills. At the same time, a miniature Scott Lang was trying to disable Peter by travelling to any reachable nerve points and jumping down on them to create the illusion of the pinching technique that normal-sized people usually used.
At least that’s what Peter thought Scott was attempting to accomplish. With the use of Peter’s ever-useful spider-sense and sharp eyesight, Antman never managed to get too close. And since Scott’s ability to communicate with ants was disabled due to the magnetic pulses that vibrated off the room’s walls constantly, the man found that his device was nothing, but a piece of metal stuck to his head.
Seconds later Katniss and his tiny apprentice were stuck to the walls as well, having nothing left to do but vocally complain and shout out demands to be released, or tug uselessly at the webs. It was Sam who ran forwards next, as Steve was in too much shock and pain due to the broken jaw a practical kid had given him to move from his position much. His eyes were the only parts of him that moved. They were wide and flickered from side to side in order to watch every one of his friends be quickly trapped by Peter’s artificial webs.
Sam Wilson, otherwise known as the Falcon, was similar to Clint. He was a far more challenging opponent when he was blasting at you with guns from high above. Obviously, the guy had his mechanical wings packaged safely in that backpack contraption of his, but they provided zero assistance in the type of fight he was currently partaking in.
Peter had him soon stuck to the wall also, but hanging horizontally rather than vertically like everyone else. Why? Because the guy had gone and thrown a chair at Peter (which was obviously easily avoided). It did, though, form a slight dent in the wall. This was Stark’s property, and this imbecile with wings just damaged it.
A while ago (Peter couldn’t remember when) the boy had stuck Rhodey and Tony to the only exit/entrance to the room by their legs and arms. Peter left one of Tony’s arms free though, for future assistance.
The only person left free of the white, sticky substance was Steve. He stood on the other side of the long table and chairs, which Peter did not appreciate. With a swift kick, the mahogany furniture was stuck to the ceiling, legs facing down. Luckily, they weren’t long enough to be an inconvenience.
Any chairs that Peter passed on his short journey to Captain America received the same treatment, and soon the ceiling was as crowded with furniture as the walls were crowded with people. Steve attempted to take a fighting stance, but Peter webbed up his feet before the man could. Peter expected his determined gaze to be met with a fearful expression. But all he saw was confusion, and that angered the boy. He is supposed to be terrified! No worry. I’ll just make sure he is by the time I’m done with him.
“Don’t touch him!” Bucky screeched as Peter proceeded to approach Steve casually.
The teenager rolled his eyes. With a quick flick of his wrist, everyone in the room had their mouths coated in a few layers of webbing, effectively silencing them. Everyone besides Steve. He wanted to hear what that idiot hat to say in his defence.
“If this is about what happened in Germany, I’m sorry for dropping a jet bridge on you.” Steve offered, his body tense and unnaturally alert due to his vulnerable position. The words were mumbled in an almost silent manner and were slurred and hard to comprehend due to the fractured jaw Peter had gifted the man with. But the spider-mutant understood anyway as if Rogers was speaking normally rather than forcing out words through an immobile jaw.
Peter growled viscously. How can anyone be so oblivious!? Out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw some of the defeated ‘heroes’ flinch at the sound. Well, flinch as much as the webbing allowed them to. The satisfaction that washed over the boy at that was so wrong and he hated himself for feeling so proud. This wasn’t right. It was so, so wrong. Even if some of the people here were wanted criminals. So then, answer him this; why did it feel so right?
Pushing away his internal struggle, Peter stepped forwards once more so that he and the soldier were so close they were almost touching. Before the man could attempt to do anything, Peter had his hands glued to the nearby wall. Steve grunted in surprise and pulled at the webs.
A useless effort.
Peter leaned forward, his expression hard and eyes reflecting the fire of his inner rage. “Don’t you dare call Mr Stark selfish.” He hissed, spitting the final word out as though it were acidic.
Steve’s confusion was now mixed with fear at the pure fury in the young child’s expression. Peter would have smirked at that lost, and panicked look the super-soldier was pulling, but his own anger-fuelled emotions over-powered any sense of amusement.
“And don’t you fucking dare blame Mr Stark for the situation you are currently in! That was all you! No one else – just you; Steven Grant Rogers! You! So how about you grow some balls and open your eyes to reality. You’re the one that made them choose sides. You’re the idiot that tore up whatever ‘team’ dynamic these people were meant to create.” Peter gestured to some of the other people in the room, forcing his voice to lower in volume and limit his use of swear words. He needed to seem professional, and shouting like a child while cussing stupidly wouldn’t do anyone any good.
“We… were… m – m’nt… t – t’… be… uh – a… f’m’ly.” Steve struggled to speak fluently due to the broken jaw Peter oh so kindly gave him, and this time, his words were so badly pronounced that Peter himself took a second to fully understand what the jumble of letters meant. The pain must be getting to him.
Good.
The boy chuckled drily. The sound lacked emotion causing it to be empty, and the more Peter laughed the hollower he felt. “A family?” Peter asked in disbelief between laughter. “Please. Don’t flatter yourself. You were hardly a team, never-mind a family.”
The teenager could tell Steve wanted to protest, along with some of the other Ex-Avengers in the room, but Peter continued before Steve could force out a sentence. “Family,” Peter stressed the word to show its importance and replaced his slightly amused smirk with a threatening scowl. “Family doesn’t leave each other for dead.” He snarled viscously, glare intense and never-wavering.
Steve, to Peter’s absolute pleasure, flinched at the memory. To Peter’s absolute horror, so did Tony. Bucky remained expertly indifferent, showing no visible change in emotion, besides for the look of shame that washed over the soldier’s face. At least the murderer had the decency to feel bad for his own shitty behaviour.
Rhodey sent Tony a worried glance, yet the billionaire refused to look anywhere but at Peter, a fearful shine in his desperate eyes. But what caught Peter’s attention was how perplexed everyone else seemed. Immediately, Peter realised why. “You didn’t tell them?” Peter cackled. “You didn’t tell your own ‘team’ – ‘family’ – as you refer to them – what you did in Siberia?” Peter was hysterical now, the glint in his eyes seeming psychotic and his laughter inhumane.
Suddenly, the webbing was ripped off Clint’s and Sam’s faces, the skin red where the web had stuck to their flesh. No one even saw him cross the room, and they had been staring at the boy. The bird-themed ‘heroes’ hissed in pain before recomposing forcefully when Peter addressed them, his grin cunning and promising no mercy. “Did either of you idiots know that Steve Rogers, the shield-wielding maniac that you sided with during a war, almost killed Mr Stark?”
Clint scoffed. “As if. Steve would’ve told us if something like that went down.”
Peter raised an eyebrow, his confidence that of someone who has already won. “Do you really believe that?” He hissed.
“I don’t know what made you want to tell lies like that, but we’re not stupid! So let us go and we might go easy on you, Spider Brat.” Sam advised, his response sounding planned and every word was spoken with a determination and anger Peter himself felt. But Peter’s anger was stronger by a lot, and he would make sure the Falcon knew so too. Sam would fear the kid’s burning rage if it’s the last thing Peter ever did.
And so would everyone else in this room.
“Clueless. You are all clueless idiots that don’t even know the person you so loyally follow. Idiots.” Before they could shout out in denial, Peter covered their mouths with the sticky, white substance again and spun on his heel in order to face the Captain. The teenager ignored the bird-themed heroes completely, their grunts of surprise falling on deaf ears.
“You must be proud of yourself, Captain. You’ve fooled almost everyone in this room. Come on, then. Claim yourself innocent of your crimes. Do it. Do it for your blindly loyal group of ‘heroes’.” Peter spat the final word out as though it disgusted him when relating it to the Rogues (which it did) and also coated it in thick sarcasm.
Everyone watched expectantly. They wanted to hear his denial. His refusal at the mere thought of committing such a crime. Because Steve Rogers wouldn’t do that. Not to a friend. Not to Tony.
Instead, the American Idol hung his head in shame. “I… I… ‘m s – s’rry… I… d’dn’t… kn… kn’w ‘t… w’s… th – th’t bad.” Peter was sure he would have heard shocked gasps at the confession had the group’s ability to speak had not been taken by the boy. Bucky looked angry. Furious that Peter would put his friend in such a situation. Tony was just sad. He stared at the floor with wide eyes that were filled with embarrassment. Peter didn’t know why his mentor felt so vulnerable and anxious.
The teenager could only guess that that was of Peter’s causing, and the guilt at the revelation was almost painful. He chose to distract himself with the fury that engulfed him at the stupid expression Steve had painted on his face. He looked so deserving of pity and as if searching for sympathy.
Peter couldn’t have that.
“No, I don’t think you are.” Peter snarled. Steve’s head shot up in surprise, his eyes wide and reflecting his perplexion and shock at the child’s declaration. Peter continued without a moments wait. “Because if you were sorry, you wouldn’t be coming here and calling the only human being that gives so much as a shit about your well-being selfish.”
Peter stalked towards the man. Everything seemed to fade away, and all that was left was Spider-Man and Captain America. Except Spider-Man didn’t have his mask, and looked exactly like Peter Parker, yet had none of the freshman’s anxiety. And Captain America had none of his bravery and courage, yet he was donning his blue, red and white outfit, his shield gone due to how he had abandoned it in Siberia next to Tony’s dying form. He looked scared and guilty, apologetic, and Peter was glad because he deserved to feel that way.
“Do you have any idea what Mr Stark has done for you?” Peter growled. He snapped around, glaring at every Rogue in turn. “For all of you!?” He shouted. Quickly, Peter composed himself and narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on Clint. “You remember your family?” He questioned, and watched in satisfaction as the archer’s eyes grew. “The one you never once visited since you ‘escaped’ the Raft?”
Clint flinched and stiffened at the mention of the family he had to run from. “Did you know that Mr Stark went to check on them the moment he was released from medical?” Peter stated more than asked. “That he babysat your children when your wife couldn’t? That he reassured your devastated, and worried family that he would find your kids’ father and bring him home, unharmed? Did you know that he spent thousands of dollars on them, pampering everyone living on that farm with whatever they wanted? That he finally provided your house with plumbing, and functioning electricity, and so much more? Voluntarily? ”
The reaction Peter received was expected. The archer flicked his gaze from the kid in front of him to Tony for confirmation and back to the kid. Everyone else was doing the same, and the billionaire in question just stared at Peter in disbelief. But Peter didn’t have time for them. He simply continued his speech by turning to Scott.
“Did you know he did the same for your daughter? For Ms Hope and Mr Pym and all of your friends?” Antman didn’t seem able to look away but shook his head to answer that no, he was not aware. Because he hadn’t seen them, nor spoken to them in months and Peter knew that because the boy had helped Stark tend to these people's families and loved ones.
The teenager turned to Wanda. “You were public enemy Number 1 when you left. Mr Stark spoke on the news in your name. Mr Stark spent so much money campaigning in your honour and donated to all of the charities that you told him – yourself – that you wanted to assist. And he gave you all of the fame. All of the credit. Right now, you have more fans than you ever did. Than you ever expected to.”
Peter looked at the girl before him in the eyes, his gaze softer than before in order to communicate understanding. He could see the hurt she felt from the years prior to now, and his own eyes mirrored that agony so perfectly it was revolting. He could tell she was conflicted. And he knew why. But he continued his rampage, anyway, determined to defend the man that had done so much for the boy.
“He made you all new weapons!” Peter spun around, moving away from Wanda knowing that if he stayed much longer, he would be tempted to never look away. Her strength could challenge that of an Infinity Stone (only six of which existed, each holding indescribable power (Peter had read up on them since hearing of the gem embedded in Vision’s head)). He wasn’t about to go and challenge that power Wanda held beneath her skin. Even now with the dampeners, he could feel her magic floating in the air carelessly. Peter doubted Wanda herself knew of her strength.
“Every single one of you. New armour, outfits, equipment. You name it! Each design fitted with the best technology he could manufacture. All of this, even after that ‘Civil War’. All of this even after you stabbed him in the back.” Peter lost some of the enthusiasm in his voice. “Almost too literally.”
He froze his wild hand gestures and stared sadly at Bucky, his angry words dying in his throat as he stared at the super-soldier. He seemed so… so helpless. So defeated that Peter wondered whether he was looking in a reflection because – wow – that look was a far too common sight nowadays for the kid.
“He followed you. He came with you to Siberia all alone. He told not a single soul. Even after Steve chose to fight Mr Stark for you he came. To offer a truce because it hurt him too much to fight with the closest thing to family he’s had in a lifetime. He followed you, Mr Barnes because Mr Rogers meant a lot to Mr Stark, and if you meant a lot to Mr Rogers, that meant you meant a lot to Mr Stark, too. He ignored every feeling of betrayal and anger and rage because he wanted to stop this war. Not for himself. But for his friends. And everyone he risked losing if he lost the two of you.” Peter felt drained. Empty. He looked at Bucky, begging the assassin silently to understand.
But when the spider-mutant looked at Steve, all hell broke loose.
Because this man – this man right in front of him – looked so uninterested. So unconvinced. So sure that he was still right despite all of Tony’s self-sacrifices and Peter doesn’t think he’s ever wanted to tear that man apart - limb from limb - more than he does now.
“Stark… doesn’t care…” Steve’s speech was getting better, and Peter could tell his jaw had healed quite a bit. Great. Now I can break it again. “… if… if he did h – he wouldn’t h’ve… h’rt Bucky.” The man objected pathetically.
Peter roared. Like full-on, animal, predatory roar. “You would’ve reacted the same had you seen what he had!” He screamed, blinded by rage and the need to avenge his broken father-figure. “And I don’t care if you were watching the video at the same time he was! You saw only yourself and your friend! Mr Stark saw a man he considered family that had gone and lied to him for years! Years! About something so important to him! Something you knew had been a priority in his life since the day it happened!”
Peter suddenly calmed down, his body shaking. His fingers twitched and his head faced the floor. “He didn’t hurt you even then. Refused to. Let himself take every injury you gave him yet still refused to use his blasters at full strength. To use any of the updates that could have killed you in seconds. But he didn’t. He warned you of every attack move he was going to make and gave you far too many chances to back down. But you didn’t.” Peter paused, his voice cracking.
“You didn’t back down. Just fought. For Bucky, huh?” Peter chuckled and the sound was even worse than previously. “Do you want to know who found him? Who found Mr Stark after your fight?” The boy asked, his voice painfully quiet. Right then he seemed exactly like the scared kid that he was. “I did. With Mr Hogan and Ms Potts.”
Peter was crying now, the tears rolling down his pale cheeks and leaving a wet trail in their wake. “Two days. He’d been there for two days.” Peter sobbed almost silently and lifted a hand to rub at his eyes. For the first time in a while, the teenager stared Steve in the eyes. “Five broken ribs, a punctured lung, skull fracture, twelve other broken or fractured bones, extreme blood loss, internal bleeding, extreme dehydration and hypothermia. To list a few.” Peter was slowly collecting his feelings, struggling to replace this overwhelming sadness with that oh so intimidating rage. But it was so hard. And he was so tired.
“And I found him. I searched for him after the first day even though he didn’t give a shit about me after Germany. I tracked his suit to Siberia and was the first to see him, lying lifeless next to your shield, Captain. It took a week to stabilize him and we had to put that arc reactor back in his chest to keep him alive. Mr Stark will be lucky if he survives to see his sixtieth birthday. And that was you. That was what you did!” Peter was slowly regaining that anger. Slowly replacing that sadness and grief with the rage that kept him from breaking down. From falling apart.
Because finding Mr Stark had been one of the most terrifying things Peter had ever experienced. And he’d seen a lot during his fifteen years of living. From people dying in his arms to kidnap and torture. He’d seen it all. But fearing that Tony was dead had hurt so much more than Peter expected it to.
Everyone looked horrified. They knew Stark had his arc reactor but didn’t know it was there for any other reason than to store and power his suit. Their terrified expressions encouraged Peter to continue. “And when he woke up and saw that God-forsaken machinery in his chest he ripped it right out, knowing that if he did he wouldn’t survive.” Peter shakily inhaled. “He wanted to die. And that was all you. Your fault.” Peter glared dangerously at Steve, eyes narrowed in anger and body tense with rage.
Peter didn’t think people could look that scared. That disgusted and horrified all at once. Shock mixed with sympathy that was topped with betrayal. These heroes had trusted Steve with their lives, but now they’ve just learned that he almost took the life of a good man. Of someone who, despite everything, was still their friend. “You used to say that you don’t trade lives.” Peter purred, yet the pain he felt was clear in his tone, “But that’s exactly what you did. Mr Stark’s life for Mr Barnes’ safety. A fair trade, right?”
Steve stared at his teammates. But no one would meet the Captain’s gaze. Even Bucky seemed so untrusting of Steve and Peter felt almost guilty for possibly ruining the pair’s friendship. Steve’s eyes travelled around the room before landing on Stark. The billionaire stared at the floor, not daring to look at anyone in fear of breaking down. Peter could tell by Tony’s expression. The teenager had seen it too many times in the mirror to not recognise that look.
“But he’s still trying to help you. Do you think you broke into the Raft on your own? No! Mr Stark let you in. He made sure the alarms wouldn’t ring as you snuck inside. Made sure the sensors wouldn’t pick you up. So how about you show some respect.” Peter growled. Steve tried to avert his gaze, look anywhere but at the boy. Peter couldn’t let that happen.
“And if you don’t,” The spider-mutant continued, his tone amused. A frightening grin tugged at Peter’s face. “I’ll make sure they never find the body.” He almost whispered, stepping back.
Peter was cackling and everyone looked terrified. Even Natasha despite how she hid it much better than anyone else. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got every person that was in that Germany fight tied up and stuck to the wall.” He pointed out. “I created technology that can stop Ms Maximoff from using her powers and disable an Infinity Stone.”
Peter gestured to Vision, who’s red body had gone grey and immobile. The gem in his forehead no longer glowed brightly and was instead dark in colour like the rest of him. For the first time in a while, everyone looked over to the android, and panicked at the sight that they were met with. Especially Wanda.
But Peter ignored them in favour of glaring at Steve with an overly cheerful smile. The boy looked and sounded insane, which was only that much more terrifying. “I can lift ten times more than you can, Rogers, and my senses are so much more advanced than you could ever dream your own to be. I’ve lifted entire buildings off my back and crashed a plane while fighting my date’s deranged father on said plane. All while severely injured. I can dodge bullets while blindfolded and heal from a stab wound in a few hours.” Peter stated the facts so smoothly that no one dared question the teenager.
“I could snap your neck without blinking.” Peter purred, grabbing Steve’s head. He held it tightly, applying enough pressure to make it hurt, but not break anything. “I could kill you right now. It would be so easy.” Steve was sweating profusely and was trying uselessly to pull away from the kid.
Peter frowned, his brown eyes holding so much hatred it was as though there were lost souls screaming for freedom inside. “So maybe watch what you say about Mr Stark. But that’s only if you care for your ability to breathe. Or have a beating heart in your chest.” The teenager spat before releasing his hold on Captain America and shrugging carelessly.
“The footage from Siberia will be coming on in about,” Peter paused and pulled his phone out of his pocket before quickly turning it on and checking the time. “Look at that. Ten minutes until Shuri will make ya’ll watch the whole thing. From the truce to the almost-murder.” Peter glared at Steve for a few seconds before looking up to the ceiling. “Did Shuri watch this whole thing so far?”
T’challa was staring at Peter, expression hidden by his mask. It seemed that the mention of his sister had captured his attention. “Of course, Peter. The princess also states that she would like to have a look at the technology you used to temporarily immobilise Wanda and Vision.” Karen replied, her voice smooth and robotic.
Tony’s head snapped up, and he eyed Peter as if to say; ‘tell me you didn’t do what I think you did’. “Great. And tell her thanks again for giving me access to Wakanda’s Vibranium supplies. They worked great with my webs." Peter added, choosing to deal with Tony in a bit.
The mention of Vibranium had everyone staring at Peter with even wider eyes than before. If they open their eyes any wider, I fear they might fall out of their sockets. He mentally chuckled. “Okay. You probably want to know what that’s about.” Peter sighed. “And I'll tell you later, Mr Stark. Because I refuse to say anything about my personal life when that bastard is in the room.” The teenager pointed to Steve, expression dark and menacing. Seeing that expression on a sweet, 15-year-old's face was horrifying enough to be traumatising. No child should ever look so haunted.
Everyone stiffened and everted their gaze in fear of meeting the teenager's eyes. Peter groaned at that. Clearly, despite how amusing their reactions had been to Shuri, the boy wasn’t really enjoying them. I'm so done with these fools. I already did what I needed to anyway. Wait - Suddenly, Peter reached for his jacket pocket frantically before revealing a small vial that contained an opaque, grey liquid.
“Catch.” He said in warning before tossing it to Tony. The billionaire used his free hand to catch it on instinct before pulling the glass container up to his face to examine. “That,” Peter began, pointing to the thing Toy held, “Will melt through the webs and release you. It’s perfectly painless and won’t affect anything but the webs. Sadly, there’s only enough there for yourself and maybe four other people.” He said nonchantly as if it weren’t that big a deal. “The rest of you will just have to wait for the webs to dissolve in an hour or two.”
Peter’s features then softened. “Mr Stark, if you don’t want them to see that video, just say so once you’re free. Karen will recognise your voice and respond to you and you alone. And don’t worry, this recording that Karen took of the meeting is even harder to hack than the Compound or FRIDAY. And only Shuri has access to it. I don’t even have access to it. And the technology that’s stopping Ms Maximoff and Mr Vision from using their powers? The blueprints were long ago destroyed, and the actual machinery will self-destruct itself in three hours and forty-five minutes. The explosion will be minimal and cause almost no damage to the Compound.” He reassured calmly.
Suddenly, a soft beeping sounded from Peter’s phone and he hurried to silence it. “Well, that’s my cue! You guys have fun in here!” Peter announced with a wave and forced smile. The anger in his narrowed eyes betrayed the false act of friendliness and Peter knew this. But he didn't care. He spun on his heel to face an almost barren wall that was opposite to the door Tony and Rhodey were stuck to. The teenager strode quickly towards it before pausing. “Oh, yeah! How could I have forgotten!”
Peter face-palmed before turning to face everyone again. Swiftly, he released another string of webs from his wrists that caught onto the web everyone in the room had on their mouths. With a quick pull of his arms, the webs were ripped off the people’s mouths painfully fast. Everyone groaned as their skin, red and irritated, reflected the agony that Peter’s action had left them in.
The boy then pressed his right palm to the wall, causing it to open revealing a door that not even Tony was aware of. Peter stepped into the secret hallway and just as he was about to close the door he looked to Tony with a wide, childish smile. He giggled and lifted a hand to his mouth to muffle the sounds. But Peter's next sentence was said so flatly - so smoothly and threateningly that the grin the spider-mutant wore seemed more malicious than anything.
“Been waiting to that for months.”
And with that the door was closed, blending back perfectly into the wall as though it were never there. The room was quickly engulfed in silence before a bewildered Clint shattered the fragile quiet.
“The fu –“
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