Assemble
New York was slowly reviving itself. The tenants of the world took about a week to get over the initial shock of resurrection, and to realize that for as far as they could see this was a permanent settlement. The streets started crowding, the buildings filling, and of course, Peter’s homework piling. Since ‘extenuating’ circumstances had occurred, Peter and others who choose it, were allowed to take both junior & senior classes, grades permitting. Inch by inch normalcy was creeping back into everyone’s lives. Peter even found more solace in the Spidey suit than anticipated and was somehow expertly balancing his two lives. Life, for all intents & purposes, was good.
Although not all the credit was his. Both May & Tony had been playing helicopter parent since the moment Quill’s ship broke the atmosphere. Not only did he have a curfew, but his suit did too. After eleven on weekdays (and 1 on weekends) Karen would shut down all functions & alert Mr. Stark if the suit wasn’t at either the apartment or compound. Peter really only got to see MJ and Ned when they called it a ‘study group’ and in the words of Tony Stark, ‘until he graduates, field trips are absolutely out of the question.’
Another great change was Tony’s rather literal use of the term ‘intern’. Peter had never been a stranger to the R&D labs, but with Tony’s recent obsession with suit modifications it was a place he frequented more than school. It had become so commonplace for Peter to stay late at the labs that he earned himself a room in the East wing of the compound.
It was there he woke this Thursday morning. Being no foreigner to the premises after three months, he stumbled his way to the kitchen and was greeted by FRIDAY and her reminders for the day (Spanish quiz, Decathlon practice).
He returned the sentiment with a yawn, stifling it with the palm of his hand. Last night had been a tedious one. He and Tony were testing out theories for nano-tech on the Spider suit that wouldn’t interfere with the chemical composition of his webs, and only until they realized that dawn was quickly approaching did they call it a night.
He had just settled into his seat with a gourmet bowl of cereal in front of him when he heard the unmistakable click of Tony’s shoes.
“Morning kid.” He said, turning immediately to the coffee pot as if it were the elixir of life.
Peter responded through a mouth full of frosted flakes.
“You staying tonight? I think I figured out the glitch that made the last suit catch fire. Either I made it more flammable, or fire-resistant so there’s really nowhere to go but up from here.”
Peter didn’t have to be asked twice.
“Sure! I’ve got practice after school, but I’ll come by after.” He had some theories himself as to what went wrong with the last test, and was literally itching to get back to those blueprints.
Tony nodded--- pleased with the answer. He was searching & correcting something on his StarkWatch when FRIDAY came on again.
“Sir, everyone is waiting for you in the West wing conference room.”
Everyone? Tony didn’t run Stark Industries anymore, and his other interns were definitely at the Tower rather than the compound. Tony only had one other group of people that worked with him enough to constitute as an ‘everyone’ and if Peter’s hunch was right then Tony Stark was hiding something from him. He’d give him the benefit of the doubt first.
“Everyone?” He vocalized, unable to mask the betrayal in his voice.
Tony didn’t flinch when he replied with, “The Avengers.” Peter, however, felt like he had just received confirmation that Tony was cheating on him. Okay, not in that serious of a sense, but Tony Stark didn’t even have the audacity to look ashamed when he thanked FRIDAY for the reminder. Unless his eviction notice was in the mail, Peter thought himself to be an Avenger.
“I didn’t know we had a meeting today.”
“That’s because you don’t.” Tony refused to look up from his watch, and Peter knew that nothing on there could be interesting enough to overshadow this conversation. He was deflecting, circling the argument as to why Peter wasn’t invited to a meeting of a team he had been a part of months earlier. Maybe his mind was still hazy from the whole ‘dying’ thing, but he distinctly remembers Tony knighting him. He’d call up Doctor Strange if Tony wanted proof.
“But I’m an Avenger.” Peter fought.
“No, you’re not.”
“I was an Avenger on that ship!”
“Desperate times.” Tony shrugged, and Peter couldn’t help but be a little offended at that.
“So I’m off the team? For how long?”
Tony sighed, finally giving his full attention to Peter but still looking completely unremorseful about the whole ordeal.
“Look, kid, you’re still an Avenger, I can’t take that away from you. But you only go to the meetings I approve of, and you keep that mask on when talking to anybody but me or Rhodes.”
“Oh come on! That’s not an Avenger--- that’s an Avenger’s alternate.”
Tony was gracious enough to give that a moment of thought before responding.
“Huh, that is an easier way of saying it, thanks kid.” And with that he set down his mug, and departed through the South elevator as if he hadn’t just dropped a bomb on Peter Parker. Desperate to defend his case, he shouted “I’m an Avenger!” to an already closed door, and gathered his stuff for school.
It’s not like he expected to be team captain or anything, but he had expected some title change since he went hand to hand with Thanos.
A little put out, Peter grabbed his backpack and headed for the front door. One day he’d be an Avenger.
X
When Tony arrived at the conference room, every face turned to watch him enter. He used to love making an entrance, but more and more he’s realizing that usually entails bad news. Or maybe it’s his line of work that dictates the type of news.
“At ease.” He joked, earning an eye roll from Rhodes who sat at the front of the room. On his right was Steve, Sam, Bucky, and Bruce. On the other side was Natasha, Clint, Scott, and Wanda. Everybody seemed interested in what called for their congregation. They hadn’t all been together in a civil setting for some two odd years now. It felt bittersweet to break that.
“Tony, why are we here?” Sam questioned. Followed promptly by Clint’s, “yeah if this is another invasion…”
Tony cut that thought off in its track.
“No, it’s----it’s about the accords. The new draft is going to congress today.” Those who fought with Cap all those years ago leaned forward. Whatever Tony said next dictated whether they lived in some off the grid safe house, or the penthouses of the compound. Only Rhodes and Bruce seemed unaffected.
“And?” Sam pressed.
“It’s in our favor, but it’s still not good. It’s operating on a kind of accountability system, so any crimes or faults the government thinks we had a part in means we’ll get a court summons and have to appear before senate.”
Nobody agreed, but nobody argued either. The threat of punishment was still looming, but the promise of freedom liberating. It was significantly less of a threat than the initial accords, and possibly even plausible.
For them only. They were the famous ones---- the ones who were praised for un-masking. Tony, from the first night he used the suit to fight told the world who was behind the mask, and others like Steve or Wanda never hid behind it to begin with. They had been subject to every article about the ineptitude of their handiwork to the lives they cost since their powers materialized. The others however…
“This means they still need a registry. Obviously, they know most of the Avengers. Almost everybody here has pissed off someone in government, personally. I could fill the hour just with names alone, I mean, Ross, Stern, one time the secretary of defense and I-----“ Rhodes shook his head and Tony got the message to quit while he was ahead. “Anyway, the point is, they want a full list. One that includes all ‘enhanced individuals.’ Even the lower level vigilantes.”
That flamed the reaction.
Scott, who was not as publicized could have probably lived his life in relative secrecy. Even Tony didn’t know ‘The Wasp’s’ name or who their benefactor is, but surely with some light searching that would all be easily attainable. “Like, have them know our private lives?” He wasn’t very good at hiding his ‘private’ life so Tony knew exactly how fast his mind went to his daughter. Tony had the same reaction when he’d first heard, the only difference being he knew he’d do whatever it took to prevent that future from being Peter’s.
To be honest, he felt trepidation about this particular subject and this group. They'd sacrificed so much---- friends, homes, comfort, everything for a new accords. Ross was finally offering an end to their witch hunt, and now it was Tony who was asking them to risk it all again. For people they didn't know from anything other than cover stories. But surely they could remember when they were the little guy. And surely they, if they could, would have kept the mask on if given a second chance.
“Did they name anyone in particular?” Natasha added, glancing at Tony with a look that said ‘I know your secrets’.
“Yes.” Was all he gave at first. He’d been so careful. Even when they were fighting side by side against Thanos he had kept Spider-Man’s name out of his mouth for safety. It really wouldn’t be too hard to correlate the mouthy teenage pseudo super-hero to the mouthy teenage intern Tony seemed so fond of. So he kept his public knowledge of Spider-Man at the lowest level, and he wasn’t about to betray that now. But the ink on Ross’ message had been clear. He wanted the ones who made the papers. The ones who couldn’t seem to stay out of the spot light. The ones who were exactly like Peter Parker.
He found his voice after a beat. “People like Daredevil and Deadpool. Vigilantes who make waves, who make the news and don’t have a public alter ego. And yes Ant-Man, you and the Wasp were name dropped too.”
Scott dropped his head into his hands.
“What will they do with the registry?” Bruce joined in the conversation. From years of knowing the guy, his silence could only be attributed to his linear mind trying to connect everything as accurately as he could. And surely he remembered all the files Natasha dropped some five years ago when SHIELD fell.
“All I know is it won’t be secure. First bad press they get, they’ll ‘leak’ something to divert the attention. Our secrets won’t be safe with them.”
“What about that Spider-kid from Germany?” Bucky intervened. He looked genuinely curious and vaguely concerned but even still Tony couldn’t help but feel a little miffed he dragged Peter into this.
"The one who kicked your ass?" Sam deadpanned.
Bucky looked more expressive than Tony remembers ever seeing him.
"The one who kicked your ass."
Steve stepped in then, ignoring the bickering from his first & second in command. “Whatever happened to that kid? Does he know about Ross’ plans?”
Great, the wonder bros were digging Tony’s personal grave. Rhodey and Natasha shared a look between them and Tony was about two seconds away from calling the whole meeting off. Was nothing private anymore? This was not meant to be a ‘let’s stress Tony Stark out even more’ event, more so a cautionary tale for anyone with secret friends. Serves him right for trying to do something nice.
“I can get in touch.” Tony replied simply.
Rhodes was quick to divert attention. “But that’s not the issue. Unmasking these people, even just to the government could be fatal. We all know that they’re not just revealing the identity of the wearer, but of that person’s family, friends, any chance of a normal life.”
The consensus was clear by the silence in the room. Fighting this accords, again, could not go smoothly with Ross commanding the ship. If they were to publicly act against these accords again, Tony was almost certain whatever delicate balance hung between them and the US government would crumble. Possibly taking them down with it.
But Peter was too young to fight this on his own. Even if he got help from the outliers like Daredevil and Jessica Jones (not Deadpool. Never Deadpool.) they could do nothing but create a bounty over their heads, and an especially prominent one on Spider-Man’s. If Peter was unmasked, that would put May and Ned in jeopardy just for knowing the crime fighting spider and Peter, with that incredible guilt complex, would never survive that. So if the option was between Iron Man’s demise, or Peter Parker’s, the answer was simple.
“So we’re all in agreement?”
Spider-Man would have to lay low for a while. Tony would have to keep an extra special eye on Peter, and make sure to block any Ross-themed articles from popping up on Peter’s newsfeed, but it was doable. The best course of action here was to bench both sides of that teenage coin for the next few weeks to keep him out of the spotlight. Ross’ attention would divert elsewhere----to someone more prepared, and Tony wouldn’t be stressing about the kid’s livelihood every second.
They’d be fighting. For their livelihood, and their security, and everything in between but never had a quarrel felt more justified.
Everyone at the table answered unanimously.
“Alright then. Avengers… suit up.”