Avengers Family

“A job?” Bruce raised an eyebrow at Peter. “Do you even have time for that?”

“Well sorta. It’s just temp work for The Daily Bugle. I get paid for pictures of Spiderman.” Peter shrugged as he grabbed another handful of pretzels from the bowl on the countertop.

“And the employees there aren’t suspicious about how you’re able to obtain photos that no one else can?” Natasha looked at him suspiciously. “Do you only get pictures of Spiderman?”

“Well, as a photojournalist, my identity is protected from all of the employees except for the boss, who can’t say anything about that. Plus, I pose them so they aren’t too good.” He turned to face Natasha. “I don’t take any pictures of you guys. It wouldn’t be right without asking permission. I’m not actually paparazzi.”

“How do you take pictures of yourself? I don’t ever see any Spidey selfies.” Clint laughed at the idea.

“Ned or MJ take them usually. They know where I am and what I’m doing. I just give the excuses, pose sometimes, and pass them onto The Bugle. Then we split the money.”

Natasha nodded approvingly. “Sounds like a good scam to me.”

“It’s not really a scam. I just-“ Natasha just smirked at Peter’s attempted explanation.

“Who’s getting scamed?” Tony came through the door, eager for interesting news after his business meeting. Pepper followed him with a mildly exasperated expression on her face.

“The Daily Bugle.”

“Oh, I never read that one. How so?”

“I don’t think any of us do, but Peter has a “job” there and it’s a scam.” Clint put air quotes around job and mischievously grinned at Peter.

Nearly chocking on his food, Peter tried to protest, but he was cut off.

“Why’re you scamming The Daily Bugle kid?”

“It’s a job.”

“Why did you get a job? I can buy anything you need. You don’t have time for a job with the whole school and underoos gig. Plus, at a newspaper company? I know engineering firms and chemical companies that would take you at the drop of a hat. Just give me the word.”

“Tony, slow down.” Pepper patted his back. “How is his job a scam? They aren’t taking advantage of you are they Peter?”

“No Peter’s the scammer.” Clint’s proud smile grew larger.

Tony snorted. “Peter would never.”

“Well it’s not necessarily a scam.” Bruce gently reminded Clint.

In a few minutes, filled with many, many interruptions, Pepper and Tony we’re finally filled in.

“I’ve gotta run an errand and get to Ned’s for a study session. See you guys later.” Peter rushed off.

“Well, in that case, should we read some Spidey articles from The Daily Bugle?” Bruce suggested.

“JARVIS, pull em up.”

“Confirming subscription to The Daily Bugle. There are twenty-three articles that reference Spiderman. Fifteen of them have Spiderman as the main focus. Shall I pull up the most recent?”

Three articles appeared on a screen in front of Tony, who frowned at the titles.

“Spiderman: Vigilante Menace.”

“The Surprisingly Negative Influence Spiderman is Having on the Youth of New York.”

“Should a Mask Negate the Requirement for Personal Responsibility? The Case of Spiderman.”

“What the hell?” Clint reached out and selected an article, quickly scanning its contents.

Natasha read a particularly nasty quote aloud.

“By choosing to keep his identity a secret, Spiderman has chosen to live as a reckless vigilante, not a superhero nor good samaritan. If he makes a mistake, he’s protected, but his victim won’t be. As a society, can we allow this? Should we have to have this on our conscience?”

Bruce added on from the article on his tablet.

“Young children already injure themselves attempting to repeat stunts performed by the superhero community. Now, we show them a scrawny looking child who they can relate to, and he flings himself off of buildings constantly? It’s a recipe for disaster. Watch your children - Spiderman Syndrome is real, and it’s deadly.”

“They’re even picking apart his costume.” Clint watched the captioned pictures flick in front of him. “Spandex went out of style with Captain America during WWII.” “Is Spiderman’s Suit Hyper-Sexualizing Children?”

“Who’s writing this bullshit?”

Pepper jumped a bit at the loud voice behind her. The rest of the Avengers turned to see a very angry looking Steve had entered the room, apparently in time to hear all the articles about their newest member.

“His name is J. Jonah Jameson. Peter’s been providing the pictures for this asshole’s articles?” Natasha was already searching through the ‘About Me’ authors’ section. “He wrote all of these articles. He’s very outspoken about his hatred. He claims that ‘Spiderman is a bad influence. People should pay more attention to real heroes like the dedicated men and women in our space program.’”

“That’s because his son’s an astronaut. I think this guy is also the guy Peter’s been giving pictures too.” Clint was uncharacteristically serious as he did something on the tablet he swiped from Bruce.

“Is this why Peter was so self-conscious about where our fight was being broadcast last time?” Bruce spoke quietly. “I thought he was worried about his identity, but he just wanted it to be a channel that wasn’t viewed by many kids.”

“Well. I’m going to go have a chat with this Jonah Jameson. He should learn how to speak with respect and appreciate the men protecting his city.” Steve grabbed a set of keys from a bin Pepper had placed on the countertop.

“Hold-up, don’t take the motorcycle.”

“Why not?”

“I’m coming with you. We’ll take my car.” Tony grabbed a different set and made to leave. Natasha and Clint were already following. Bruce hesitantly looked at the door, a green tint to his skin.

“I’m going to stay back and make sure that Stark Industries isn’t supporting The Daily Bugle or its affiliates. Would you like to help me with that Bruce?” Pepper calmly suggested, knowing Bruce wanted to help, but that he wouldn’t want to Hulk our.

Bruce nodded gratefully and the other five stepped into the elevator to get to the garage.

————-

“Oh no.” Peter muttered under his breath as he saw a group of angry Avengers approaching from the window behind Mr. Jameson.

Jameson snatched the envelope and ripped it open.

“I’m in a bit of hurry. You know my pictures are good, is there any way-“

“Are you trying to trick me Mr. Parker? Because I don’t appreciate it. In the newspaper business it is vital that I ensure the best quality for our readers...” He rambled on about disrespect, but Peter was too focused on the scene outside the window.

Was there a fight coming? Why was almost everyone there? What were they so upset about? Were they headed for this window?

“Are you even listening? What could possibly be happening outside so that-“ Jameson’s eyes went wide as he took in the situation. He only had moments before  Tony smashed the glass and the other four let themselves in.

Natasha knocked Jameson into a chair and took his, resting her feet on his desk.

“Wh-The Avengers, what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you?”

Clint slowly inched into Jameson’s personal space before speaking down to him. “We were hoping you could put something in the papers for us.”

“What would that be?”

“Well,” Steve paused dramatically, “Some people have decided that it’s acceptable to degrade the newest addition to our team. Even though he’s just starting off and has already saved hundreds of lives, this slimeball has been spouting off all kinds of slander about him.”

Jameson swallowed thickly, visibly becoming more nervous.

“We just want it to be known what happens to people who unfairly attack one of us.” Tony shot his fakest smile at Jameson. “As a warning.”

“You’re superheroes. You wouldn’t. If you did, you wouldn’t be any better than the villains you fight.” Jameson regained composure and settled into a smug look. Peter seemed a bit frazzled at the threatened violence.

“We wouldn’t what? Cut off all ties with The Daily Bugle and threaten to sue if they use any pictures of us in action? Because I think we would.” Tony actually smiled. “I’m sure you don’t, but if you actually knew anything about current legal standings, you’d know that Stark Industries has the rights to the Avengers.”

“They’re very lenient about who can use our images. Of course, anyone who uses it and uses some of the profit to help a worthy charity is fine. Up until this point, all newspapers have been fair game because we believe in transparency and the spread of information.” Steve explained.

“But we’ve decided we can’t, in good conscience, let a reporter spread lies. That would be harmful to the children and the public wouldn’t it? One man deciding to bend the truth for his own reasons? Unacceptable.” Natasha finished.

“So, Mr. Jameson, could you direct us to the office of whoever is allowing this pathetic rag to print such incoherent gossip?” Clint sat down next to Natasha’s feet, knocking off several picture frames and a stack of files in the process. Peter desperately but back a smile.

“Um...well...you shouldn’t...”

“Are you sure you’re a journalist? You don’t seem very eloquent.” Natasha flared at him.

“That’s why he works at this shithole.” Tony replied, surveying the room. “If he wasn’t unhireable before, he definitely will be. Pep just got back to me with the SI stuff.”

“Well. If you aren’t going to speak, I’ll just have my lawyers handle it. I don’t want to spend any more time here.” Tony shrugged. “Hey kid, this place is about to burn to the ground. Fancy transferring to Stark Industries? I feel like I’ve seen you before around Spiderman. If he trusts you, I’m sure I could put you somewhere.”

Peter nodded to hide his nearly-escaped laugh. They started walking away. Clint pushed more stuff off of the desk and waved as he walked out the door.

“Are you actually going to sue The Daily Bugle? There are some good people who work there. Mr. Jameson only runs the opinion section.”

“I won’t if you don’t want me to. I’m going to have my lawyers send threatening letters every few months though. Why didn’t you tell us what he was writing about you?”

Peter looked at Tony incredulously. “Mr. Stark, they said bad stuff about you all the time in the newspapers and on TV.”

“But it’s true. This was plain lies. Plus, I’ve got thick skin.”

“It’s not true.” Peter, Steve, Natasha, and Clint spoke unanimously.

Tony’s eyes crinkled with the makings of a smile. “Fine then, it’s because I already have lawyers who squash bad PR for me. I’ve got a team behind me, you’ve got to remember that you do too.”

Peter’s eyes light up and almost involuntarily, he wrapped Tony into a giant hug. “Thank you!”

“Anytime kid.” Tony responded affectionately while Steve, Nat, and Clint nodded in agreement.