Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Left In Other’s Shadows

Okay so welcome to my next Fic Idea. It's something I’ve wanted to do for a while now. I hate writing Tony as a bad father but… It’s not done enough so, yea. The first chapter is just a basic overview and catch up on what's going on in this AU. I do not own anything, not the character or the idea, (it’s been done before but never competed by anyone that I am aware of.)

Peter left a broken home. It wasn’t broken for anyone else but for him it was. He’d been an outcast, living in other’s shadows. And so, he struck out on his own to wage a new path for him alone to follow. Watch as he tries to live out a life of happiness but fails to escape his inner demons.

(Or in other words, Tony’s a bad Father, the Avengers aren’t around and don’t have time, Harleys the oldest son, Peter is also a Genius, Millionaire, philanthropist. He doesn’t play with anyone’s heart though… Too good for that.)

Other questions… FEEDBACK IS WANTED! SO LEAVE IT ON THIS CHAPTER PLEASE. <3

1. Should this be a Soulmate Au… Yes or no?
2. Do we want angst in the form of Tony regretting his life decisions?
3. Is Endgame cannon or do I throw my own spin on things?
4. Should Ned and MJ be in this?

Chapter Text

Peter Stark, was the second son of the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, Tony Stark. It was a lot when you thought about it. He was the son of the most influential man in America and yet felt as if he wasn’t important at all.

Peter hadn’t been reserved much care for most of his life. He was born like his older brother, out of wedlock. While Pepper, his father’s girlfriend and CEO of S.I. was generally caring towards Harley. Pepper was much the same as everyone else towards Peter.

No one seemed to care about the second son, always about the firstborn. Tony always seemed to find time for Harley and cared deeply for him. Pepper and Rhodey were much the same as Tony. The Avengers on the other hand was as of course no different. Most didn’t even bother to say “Hi” to Peter; let alone acknowledge his presence.

Peter had expected it to some degree. He did his best to stay out of his father’s way and not be around. Peter had experienced enough miscare in his life to think his father would change. Tony had loved Harley, had been with the kid at every chance, and helped with Harley with S.I. projects.

On the other hand, Peter had only ever been in the lab a handful of times and even then he wasn’t allowed to touch anything. Peter felt that his life was so meaningless. Void of worth and lacking any real family. Yet, he stayed with them for a long time. He wanted there to be something more with his family yet there was nothing.

Harley had always been the ‘golden boy’ as some would say. He’d been made heir to Stark Industries on his tenth birthday as a gift from Pepper and Tony. He’d been allowed to go to an advanced school called Midtown Tech in Queens and was even given his own suit that could be used on missions. He did, however, have to wait until his 18th birthday.

Peter on the other hand. Had not been given anything other than a place to sleep and the majority of supplies he asked for. He wasn’t given any role in the company, he hadn’t been groomed to be Tony’s next in line like his brother. He had gone to ‘normal school’ as some would call it.

Peter always felt so… so down about his life.

His aunts and uncles… Or at least that was what he once called them when he was younger were the same as everyone else. They’d always given him small glances or had short conversations with him. Nothing more, nothing less.

Harley on the other hand had always been allowed in on top-secret info and allowed to participate in fun games due to Tony’s own suggestions. Peter wished his so-called family cared for him more… more than anything he wanted to be loved and yet it never happened.

Steve, had always just seemed out of reach to Peter, so busy on missions and out of touch with the kid.

Natasha on the other hand felt cold and calculating but did on occasion care about the kid enough to check on his well being. She was the only one most of the time.

Clint seemed to notice the kid. However, he never really talked to Peter or had a conversation with Peter. It was always a one answer type of thing and “Hey kid.” Or at least along with those manners of speaking.

Thor… Thor was Thor for the most part and stayed out of Midgardian lives the best he could.

Bruce, Bruce Banner was one of Peter’s favorite scientists of all time. He’d tried to voice it on multiple occasions but never got through to the man. His mind was always on Tony or Harley and whatever science they were up to at the time.

The newer Avengers, Peter had no real connection with. It was always, “Ohh cool a new Avenger... Who doesn’t even know I exist.” Type of ordeal.

Pepper and Rhodey took care of the kid for the most part. It was the bare essentials though. Food, a place to stay, and whatever the kid asked for. They hadn’t even really focused on him as a person, to say the least.

While of course, Peter had spent time with all these people. He’d been there for some movie nights or for morning breakfast, it was less a part of the family and more “I’m Tony’s son and so I’m here…” It was frustrating for the kid who loved everyone.

Harley on the other hand… His actual step-brother was to say at the least, not caring? Were those the right words… No, it was more like abusive.

Not in a physical way. In no way had Harley ever physically hurt Peter. However, the kid had emotionally damaged Peter. It wasn’t even Harley’s fault and he probably had no knowledge of doing it either.

Peter’s brother was just… The perfect storm to say the least. He had everything Peter ever wanted from his family and yet even with that. Harley found a reason to complain about minor things. Like, how Tony had banned him from the lab for a week or how the family wasn’t able to do something. It just… It always put Peter down knowing he could and would never have that in any form.

And after time…

It all became too much for the young Stark. It was just too much for one person to go through. Peter hated his life from the time he was eight years old and it never seemed to change. Tony hadn’t even acknowledged the problems he’d caused either. The man more than likely didn’t even know, much like Tony’s oldest son.

Tony was distant at best and at other times nonexistent. He’d lock himself away in the lab for days at a time with only Harley and Pepper near him. He’d come back and act like he hadn’t left one of his sons for almost a week.

Tony never was a good listener to Peter either. Pete tried at one point to tell Tony that he wanted to see him more and only got a reply of. “You see me plenty Petey, I just saw you yesterday.” To which the boy had replied. “I saw you last Friday dad. You’ve been in the lab for six days.” And Tony had acted like it was all perfectly normal.

So, when Peter had gone on a field trip to Oscorp for his freshman year of Highschool he hadn’t told anyone about the trip. Peter had Happy sign it and promise for the love of everything he had not to tell Tony. ‘Why?’ you might ask, well Tony had major problems with the company’s owner.

However, for Peter, it was a dream come true. He had gotten the chance to see the real labs… Even if it was just the lowest level ones for the most part. The major one and the last one they saw had been on some form of new medical research involving Spiders… and of course, Peter’s luck was well, bad.

Peter had gotten bitten by one of the Spiders. And so, you know the story from there. Boy gets bitten by a spider. Boy gets abs and spider powers. Boy saves the day. Okay, no need for me to explain that. <3

2 Years after freshman year. Peters now 16.

It’d been a struggle to keep everything from Tony and Pepper but in the end. It didn’t even matter. After so long of just… of just being forgotten Peter left. Peter straight up left Stark Towers. He doubted if anyone would miss him in the first place and there was nothing S.I. could do.

Peter was a secret, he was the son of Tony Stark, hidden for protection. And now he was gone from what people understood. Peter had dropped the name Stark soon after moving out of the tower. Going by Peter Parker after a man he’d tried to save and failed. It was his greatest mistake and so in memory of the man, Peter went by Peter B. Parker.

Peter had moved out, he was homeless when he left, or at least that’s what many would have figured. However, thanks to his friend Wade… Wade Wilson (Yes, it’s him. Don’t make me regret it.)

Wade had given Peter a place to stay, it wasn’t much but it was something for the time being. Wade had said something about it being his old place when he had a girlfriend or something. However, for now, it was Peter’s place.

That didn’t last long, soon after Peter had begun to tinker, he inherited the trait from Tony for some god awful reason… And so at heart, Peter began to make small multipurpose tech that could be sold to the general public. It was by no means dangerous but it made ends meet.

Soon after, Peter had built a clientele of people, and shortly afterward Peter had invested the earnings into a building thanks to a friend of Tony’s who’d come by S.I. once upon a time. Using his fake name, and a fake identity known as Peter B. Parker, the boy had set up a company. It started with just a secretary and a friend of Wade’s known as Matthew. The guy was smarter than all get out and knew his way around the legality of different things.

The company had been marketed under a fake name and details about its founder we’re for the most part redacted. Information was scarce at best when talking about the company. Matt had handled everything. It was filed under his name and looked after him. He did the payments and accounting and all Peter had to do was tell Matt where and what to invest in..

The two worked well together and both had fun doing it. Matt was still an attorney and spent time juggling the two work prospects. However, it worked out fine and Peter trusted the man with his life…

Because he had to on a weekly basis. Matt was DareDevil and Wade was Deadpool. While not the first people you’d think to be friends with, they came in handy at times.

The company had been named Spidertech and all products featured the Spider-man web and arachnid design. Peter liked naming it after his alter ego because it was him. Stark Industries was named after a Stark; so Spidertech was named after a spider. Seemed only fitting.

Soon, after only a few months of being on the run so to say. Peter had built a medium to large company from the ground up and was now producing computers and phones at a decent rate. He’d hired well over 100 hundred employees who he’d never met in person. They’d all been looked over with a fine-tooth comb and cleared. However, Peter never talked to a single one.

That would of course change in due time. But for now, everyone working for S.P.I. wherein the dark about their employer… (And it’ll lead to questions later on.)

Interns and employees had gone through a process with Matt, background checks, in-person meetings, over the phone conversations and group work. However, none of them knew who the boss was and Peter liked it that way.

Matt had become the main channel for facilitating conversation, Peter would pass down notes or info to Matt and he’d spread it throughout the chain of command. Division heads would take it from there and tell people what to do. It was best that way. Peter was never seen, except in the lobby of the building and, yet, everyone was happy with their jobs.

Matthew had asked Peter once what he’d wanted to be called and the kid only ever replied with “Boss or if necessary they could just call me Ben… Benjamin Parker”. It was an easy enough cover for him.

However, while Peter did own and operate the company it wasn’t really his concern. They’d rolled out a few different designs and produced a couple of different options for everything. Case, charger, and accessories companies had just picked up the products and were now producing said products for Spidertech so everything was covered for a while.

Peters’s main focus was the lab, he’d spent many… many hours in the lab. It was his safe space, a place where he was a peace. When the company had first launched Peter had built a mark two of the Spider-Suit, he’d created an A.I. for it, and named it after the Karen meme because the sentient A.I. had become the closest thing to a mother he ever had.

After the creation of the Mark II, Peter had begun to focus on what he loved. Random junk that he could improve upon. He’d bought a 1964 Shelby G.T. 350 for scrap price at the time, Peter had only been 15 at the time of purchase and restored it to the best of his ability. Peter had also bought a motorcycle and was in the middle of the restoration of that as well.

Junior year was approaching and Peter… honestly was not looking forward to it. He’d started the company back in March earlier that year and by now his schedule was more or less packed. Between work, the labs, Spider-man, and M.I.T. And Yes the kid was currently enrolled in courses at M.I.T. because of his genius. Even though many believed that Harley was the smart one; with an IQ of 143. Peter had an IQ of 158 which put his just a bit below Einstein. So with Peter’s busy work schedule and to ease his pain…

He’d started drinking. Peter would be the first to admit to it not being healthy in a heartbeat. However, he didn’t care in all honesty.

Whiskey numbed his pain and thus it was a fixture of his life for better or worse. Peter had also gotten a tattoo on his left arm, it wasn’t anything special but it was different. It was just a simple arachnid done in black ink. The Stark Industries logo had been etched into the spider in the center of it’s back.

Peter didn’t want to forget his past but he wanted to move on. He wanted to be better… Better than those who he thought to be the best.

Chapter Text

“*Beep, *Beep, *Beep!” The sounds of Peter’s alarm clock filled the air of the modern penthouse floor. It was one of the newer additions to his life. He’d purchased the place outright a few months prior right after school ended. It had a view of Midtown along with a modern kitchen.

Pictures filled the room, he’d taken up photography a while back as an outlet for his sorrows. However, two of his favorites were just him, Wade, and Matt together as themselves. And the second, a picture of the three in their suits. Their arms hung over each other shoulders and laughter evident in their faces.

It was perfect for his needs, plus there was an extra room where Peter had his lab. It was by no means massive in size. However, it was large enough for him to do anything he ever really wanted.

It was where he worked on small modifications of the spider suits along with updates to some of the company's technology and software.

But now wasn’t the time for a lab day; now was time for school. Peter rolled out of bed with a small grunt and stretched his legs. “Karen, turn on the shower.” Peter was met with a “Right away Peter.” And the sounds of water filled his spacious bedroom. Peter grabbed his clothes and walked into the bathroom.

Soon after Peter had finished, he made his way to the kitchen where he grabbed two Eggo waffles and placed them in a toaster. Peter’s eyes held dark circles and his mind was elsewhere. The night before he’d been out drinking with Matt and Wade for a bit of unnecessary celebration at Josie’s Bar.

So, after eating breakfast and grabbing his backpack. Peter began his day of hellish unwanted schooling. Peter pressed the button on the elevator door and eventually, he arrived at the parking garage below.

Peter walked off towards his car, fiddling with the key in one hand and the other rubbing softly at his own hair. Peter let go of a long sigh before placing the backpack in the car and turning the key.

At school…

Peter pulled into the school parking lot and parked in the student area off to the far side of the building. He locked the Mustang and walked off towards the front of the building. Yet, he didn’t make it far.

“Hey, Peter! Is that you?” Called a voice he knew all too well. Peter turned on his heel and looked behind him. Before him stood a teen, the same age as Peter with dark hair and green eyes. His hair was nearly perfect and his smile could light up a room.

“Harry! Hey, how have you been? How was France?” The two smiled at each other before shaking hands and begging their usual banter among one another.

“I’ve been good. Missed you bro, but France was nice… A nice getaway from everything here in Midtown.” Peter nodded to his friend and they continued to walk towards the entrance of the school.

“How have you been?” Harry asked. Peter shrugged, he'd been the same as always.

“I’ve been good, studied during the summer, and worked at my internship at S.I.” Harry nodded, the two had known each other since freshman year of high school.

Yet, Harry still didn’t know about being Stark's son or anything else for that matter. Peter had used the S.I. internship as a cover and still used it to cover-up certain information.

Even if it felt wrong not to tell Harry, it was best to keep it in the dark. Peter had told Harry about the name change a while back. Tony had originally told Peter and Harley to both use the last name Edward. However, Peter had gone on to tell Harry that he had changed his name to Parker due to ‘spite towards his father.’

Harry knew about Peter’s disliking of his father. Well, it wasn’t a disliking, it was more a disconnect between the two. Peter had told Harry that he didn’t want his father's name, that it didn’t mean anything to him, and that he wanted something of his own. A way to build his own brand. And thus, he’d been going by Parker since sophomore year.

Of course, most people knew this and it wasn’t a problem. Peter had changed the school’s information a few days afterward thanks to some help from Matt. He’d also made Matt a legal guardian and so, everything was signed by the Devil of Hell’s kitchen.

But, that was neither here, nor there. And, so this brings us to Harry and Peter. Two friends who are trying to make it through high school.

“You have Math III?” Peter nodded to Harry, and the two continued to look at their schedules. Peter looked at his classes and smiled, they as of course we’re all easy to him but, at least Harry was in most of them.

“So, have you thought about Homecoming yet?” Peter gave a small shoulder jab to his friend. Harry always commented on Homecoming for some reason. Even if it wasn’t for three months.

“Oh, come on Harry. It isn’t for another three months! Late October, remember!” Harry rolled his eyes at his flustered friend. Peter hated any social event, especially something as high as a dance… It gave him the shivers just thinking about it.

“Are you going to ask MJ?” Peter rolled his eyes, Harry had been trying to set the two up for literally months! If not years…

“What’s Peter going to ask me?” Harry and Peter both turned around from their newly found lockers, behind them stood the ever-glorious Mary Jane Watson. Her hair was down, and her usual smirk filled her face.

“Umm… Nothing MJ! Harry’s just being an ass.” The taller boy rolled his eyes at his friend and let go of their previous conversion.

The three began to catch up on everything that had gone on over the summer. MJ and Harry talked more than Peter but it was expected. However, Peter relished in his friend's voices.

Soon after the bell wrung and Harry hurried off to class leaving MJ and Peter together for a moment. MJ once again smirked at the brown-headed boy and whispered to him.

“Come on, face it Tiger. I’m the best thing that could happen to you.” Peter blushed… Heavily at one of his closest friends before saying goodbye to her and making his way to his class. The first class of the day was English… what a bore.

But, soon after the day began to pick up speed and flew by without a thought. Everyone was doing well for themselves, Teachers hadn’t asked Peter any questions and no copious amounts of homework were given.

By the time the day ended Peter felt better than he ever expected. While he was still tired from yesterday's night out, his headache had gone down considerably so that was a win. Peter walked out to his car and threw his bag onto the passenger seat before heading to S.P.T.

It was an easy drive, nothing too bothersome. It was all of a ten-minute drive between his school and downtown so the drive to work was nice. However, today for some god unknown reason Peter decided to take a detour towards Midtown. Peter would argue it was for fresh air but that would be a lie.

Peter drove through Midtown, passing the tech school and stopping at the traffic stop that the security guard set up regularly to regulate traffic flow. Peter noticed something, a heavier kid of Hawaiian descent was talking to… Wait, no was being talked to.

Another kid was yelling slurs and rude comments towards the boy. Peter let go of a sigh before turning into the parking lot of the school.

While Peter hated this school with every fiber in his bones, it wasn’t right to let someone be talked down to.

Peter put his car in park and didn’t bother to turn the car off. He stepped out and walked over to where he’d seen the two earlier. The kid, which Peter hadn’t gotten a clear view of was tall, well built, and a jack***.

“Come on fatso? What are you going to do about it? Huh? Ned Leeds, what are you going to do?” The kid let go of a small whimper as Flash let go of a laugh in the kid’s face. It wasn’t right for anyone to be treated like this and so our friendly neighborhood Spider stepped in.

“He’s not going to do anything about it. However, I will if you don’t stop. Leave him alone.” Peter’s voice was etched with venom. The other boy stopped and turned around. He looked Peter up and down. Peter wore a dark grey shirt that was relatively tight and showed off a portion of His abs.

“And who are you? Another one of this fat losers friends?’ Peter rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Well, then stay out of this.” The kid exclaimed and Peter did everything to bite back and stop his tongue. Peter grabbed Ned by the hand and led him away from the other boy. However, as he did so, the buses began to leave and Peter felt like an idiot. But, the boy next to him was shaking with… excitement?

“You okay?’ Peter asked, not really worried about anything being wrong with the kid but he wanted to ask.

“Yea I’m fine. Thank you… but that was my bus.” Peter and he both seem to let go of small laughs at the same time. “Sorry.” Peter looked at Ned, the poor kid was buzzing with excitement and worry all at the same time.

“No, don’t worry! Thank you. I would have had to sit with Flash and his friend Harley behind me anyway. It’s a nightmare dude!” Peter got quiet for a second… Harley wasn’t something he had heard in a while.

“Can I offer you a ride home.” Ned nodded and began to follow Peter back to his car but was interrupted by someone else before he could.

“Where are you going, Leeds. And who is this.” The girl gestured to Peter, she seemed less than pleased with him.

“I don’t know…” Ned responded in a small tone of voice. The girl nearly slapped her own face with the new-found knowledge. Of course, this idiot would just walk off with some random guy.

“What’s your name?” Peter’s eyes widened, he hadn’t signed up for all this but with a small sigh, he looked at the two.

“I’m Peter, Peter Parker and I was just trying to stop a kid who was picking on your friend here. But he missed the bus and I figured I’d give him a ride home?” Peter stated the last part almost like a question and the girl seemed to nod accordingly.

“Well, Mr. Parker, I suggest you do that. But, I’m coming with you because I still don’t trust you.” The girl's tone was serious and held no room for argument.

“Okay, but there isn’t much room for a third person.” The girl gave him a weird look and the two followed Peter back towards his car. Peter’s Mustang sat where he left it and the two both seemed to be shocked by it.

Their heart rates had increased considerably once rounding the corner of the school after seeing Peter walk over towards it.

Peter had picked up the ability to hear heart rates from Matt, it wasn’t hard to learn either. Peter had heightened senses already and he just needed to understand how to use them first.

“You weren’t kidding about not having much room.” Peter let go of a laugh and nodded at the two. They all threw their book bags on the driver’s side and the girl climbed in the back behind Ned.

“So, did your parents buy you the car, and why did you stop?” The girl just wouldn’t stop with the questions and Peter… Peter liked the sense of attention for once.

“No, my parents didn’t buy this. I bought it for scrap price and restored it. I’m working on one of the knucklehead Harleys from the mid-’30s right now. And the reason why I stopped that Flash kid or whatever his name is. Is because I don’t put up with the belittlement of others. It’s not fair or right on anyone.” The two nodded.

“Karen, can you set a GPS marker for Ms.” Peter looked back towards the girl, she was surprised, both by the A.I. and by the question for her name.

“41st and 22 Ave. And my name is Michelle.” Peter nodded and Karen plotted the GPS markers. Soon Michelle was dropped off and Ned was left. He didn’t live too far from Michelle and so soon after Peter pulled up next to Ned’s home, a nice two-story home on a small plat of land. It was nice…

“Mind giving me your phone number.” Ned looked up and thought for a second, a questioning look covered his face.

“So that if you’re ever getting bullied again I can come by and stop it.” Ned nodded and told Peter what it was.

“Thanks by the way... “ Peter nodded to Ned. Ned seemed like a good kid if you asked Peter. He still had no clue how he got himself into the whole mess and by now wasn’t sure if he could get out

Ned stepped out of the car, backpack in tow, and gave a wave to Peter. The day didn’t go to plan but that was okay.

Maybe Matt or Wade would know how to stop bullying. (Nah.) Peter looked down at the clock in the car, the dash read 5:10.

“Shit!” Peter yelled he was supposed to meet Matt and Wade for something that night. “Guess I’ll be fashionably late like father always was.” Peter gave his own comment a small laugh and put the car back into drive heading off towards Hell’s Kitchen. (Yay!)

In Hell’s Kitchen…

Peter parked outside of Josie’s bar and walked into the quiet yet familiar bar area. At the counter sat the usual patrons. Other’s filled the pool table and booths. Matt and Wade both sat in a booth in the corner. Wade's face mangled as ever and Matt’s the same bloodied face. These were the people Peter considered friends.

“Hey, guys.” The two both nodded to their young friend and Wade scooched over for Peter.

“Aw, Hey Petey!” Wade gave his usual eager wave to the kid and yelled for Josie to get another bottle of whiskey.

“Wade, would you stop that.” Matt had gotten tired of Wade's antics by now and Peter didn’t need any help getting more drunk than ever. Peter rolled his eyes at Matt and gladly took the bottle from Josie. She couldn’t care less about the teen, she didn’t care about the FDA or anything, anyway.

“So, what’s going on? Any news on Fisk?” Matt nodded towards Peter and grinned a bit. However, they all knew there was no good reason to be talking about Fisk in any manner, other than jail.

“Yea, he's planning something… something big. Fisk has most of the police force under his thumb and some new client that uses the name of Green. It’s not drugs they’re after though, he’s after something else.” The three nodded and Peter took another drink. It was really needed at this point.

“How come you didn’t come to work?” Matt tilted his rose-colored glasses as if looking into the kid’s soul. Peter didn’t move for a second. He didn’t know how to approach the question.

“Aww, is Petey skipping work!” Wade had his ever so sarcastic surprised face on. The action came at no surprise to the other two. Both only gave light smirks towards the man.

“I’m serious. Why weren’t you at work? You have a business to run and plans to approve. Were you too busy in the lab, again?” Peter looked at Matt and shook his head. While the man was blind, he had no problem understanding the kid's response.

“No, I was just helping some kid who was being bullied by a jock. Then I ended up giving him and his friend a ride home because they missed the bus. Well, Michelle didn’t miss the bus but Ned did.” Peter had begun to muse there at the end but Matt nodded towards the teen.

“Still doesn't’ explain why you didn’t call!” Peter rolled his eyes, why was Matt even slightly worried. No one would notice.

“It’s fine, who cares.” The attorney rolled his eyes and Wade flicked a paper football at Matt because he was being too serious.

The three continued to bicker amongst one another for a while. Wade had been yelled at fiercely by Matt for the continued antics of Paper flicking. Peter had been told off twice for his drinking problem. And all the while Peter and Wade continued to do whatever they were told not to do.

Elsewhere…

A young teen stepped out of an elevator that had arrived at the top floor. His face held confliction and his posture seemed to be worse than ever. He seemed sad for the most part but a small bit of anger was bubbling below.

The kid placed his backpack beside the door of the penthouse and slipped off his shoes. He hadn't paid attention to the action nor towards the people in the penthouse. He was trying to figure out, trying to understand what he had seen.

“What’s up Harley?” Called the voice of one Tony Stark, soon after the others followed and the boy was brought out of his confliction. He looked at the group, weighing on whether or not to inform his family.

“Hey guys, um… I’m Not sure how to say this.” He paused looking at the group in front of him. Tony, Nat, Clint, Steve, Buck, Wanda, Rhodey, and the rest of the team minus Pepper were all in the penthouse. He wanted to tell them, let them know he might have seen his brother but, could he really?

“Harley? What’s wrong?” Tony had a look of concern in his eyes and most of the Avengers held the same look. Harley continued to stand in front of the now-closed elevator doors and mulled over his thoughts.

Tony stood up and walked over to Harley. He looked into the boy's eyes, trying to find his confliction but no such luck. The kid had been rattled like a can. He couldn’t speak and was visibly shaking.

“Guys… I, I ahh. Saw him, I saw Peter at my school. Or at least the kid looked like him.” The group's eyes dilated at the news. Growing large for a second or two before returning back to their original size. Tony was now just as much conflicted as Harley had been.

“Are you sure.” Harley shook his head. He wasn’t sure but the thought weighed on his mind harder than ever. Tony looked to the group, their head hung low at the thought.

“Are you okay.” Harley once again shook his head. He wasn’t okay, he was never going to be okay. His brother had up and left him. The one person who seemed like a constant. And yet, he had been the one to leave. The one to write a note and all of a sudden not be there the next day.

Harley had thought about that day over and over again. The morning playing out with Peter not opening his door and Tony having to force Friday to open it. She hadn’t said anything about it. Peter supposedly had said he needed some air and thus Fri wasn’t concerned about it.

Tony had found the room mostly the same as it always was. Or at least the same way he thought it should look even if he never…

Posters and Star Wars collectibles in the same places. Yet, there was a note left on the bed. It had been handwritten in pin. The ink had been well dried at the point of finding and Peter had more than likely been gone for several hours.

Tony picked up the note and read it, he was the first to do so and it laid heavy on his mind. Even now Tony still held a small bit of disdain but Peter had left without even consulting him. What could he have done? Tony had loved the kid more than anything…

“To whoever it may concern, I am leaving. I can’t do this anymore, I can’t stand here in the shadows and watch as you all leave me behind. You’ve always forgotten about me, you’ve never been there for me and still, you find no problems with that. I know nearly nothing about any of you. After 5 years of living with the Avenger and spending all 14 years of my life with you, Father. I can’t do this, it’s just too much for me to bear alone. But, you probably won’t care if I’m gone anyway. You didn’t care about me before so why now would you care? Why now would any of them care either? Harley didn’t care, Pepper didn’t care, Rhodey didn’t care, not even the Avengers cared enough to have a decent conversation with me. None of them ever cared for me, none of you…” The sentence was cut off, unfinished out of heartbreak and sorrow. But the letter continued onward.

“Don’t come looking for me, I’m as good as gone by the time you’re reading this.” The note held a signature at the bottom, in cursive only the name Peter was written. No middle or last name was given. Peter had decided to destroy that part of him long ago.

Peter had finally taken the reins of life and steered himself in a new direction. His family had never really been a family. At least not for him they weren’t. Peter had moved on from his horrid life, he wanted to be something more. He wanted to live life and not just be left in the shadows of those who forgot him.

The memory seemed so fresh on Tony’s mind and now the light of his life was once again worrying about the second son. Tony pulled Harley close to his chest. He whispered comforting words into the boy's ears. Promised that it wasn’t his fault, that he hadn’t done anything wrong. That he was the same wonderful son he’d always know. That no one was to blame for Peter's actions…

That no one was to blame for Peter's actions…

Chapter Text

A few days had passed since Peter’s encounter with his somewhat new-found friends. Ned hadn’t texted him or anything but Peter didn’t have time for that at the moment. Currently, he sat in his English three class with Harry next to him.

The boy continued to go on and on about anything and everything. Peter had half the mind to tell Harry “ta shut up” but he stopped himself from doing so. Peter quite enjoyed the other boy's friendly voice and it helped to relax him.

He’d been on edge ever since… Ever since the killing of innocent lives in Lagos Nigeria. And with Secretary Ross, which he’d seen on TV talking about creating rules and regulations for heroes. Peter agreed with most of it but felt that the accords took away any control the ‘Avengers’ had. They’d lose the ability to make decisions.

Both incidences had been overwhelming, to say the least. The bombing had been just another reminder that no one was safe, and with the reappearance of the Winter Soldier. People throughout New York and the world were living in fear.

The King of Wakanda had been killed in the incident. Which in turn leads to even more conflict. While this honestly had nothing to do with Peter or Spider-Man. The incident served as a reminder for the boy of what someone could lose very quickly.

Harry had even talked about the bombing periodically throughout the week. And yet again he’d come to argue about something or another. “I can’t believe it… I mean, they’re supposed to keep people safe. The Avengers can’t even do that?!?” Harry had thrown his arms up in the air with disgust towards the heroes.

Peter couldn’t blame Harry. The two shared a common enemy. A.K.A. the Avengers, which Peter held no remorse or care for anymore. They were just people and he wasn’t about to stick up for them either.

“You're right. They should be worried about this. They need to take responsibility and help the countries they destroy. You saw what Scarlet Witch did right?” Harry nodded towards Peter and the two boys began to quiet down as the teacher began to resume… Or at least she regained control of the two.

Yet, sooner or later Harry decided it was a great idea to approach the subject of Homecoming. And thus, Peter wanted no parts of it.

“Dude, I can’t wait.” Peter rolled his eyes… He could totally wait.

“For what? It isn’t even that important. I mean, it’s just a school dance.” Harry shook his head at the teen next to him.

“Come on Pete! It’s Homecoming and everyone loves that!” Peter let go of a long, drawn-out sigh that was in no way expressing any empathy towards his friend.

“And, What? It’s a dance, Harry.” The boy rolled his eyes at Pete and just began to smirk.

“So, you’re going to ask MJ right?” Peter began to blush… Blush worse than ever before. He was going to do no such thing, but at least the thought was there.

“NO!” The quick yet, loud remark gave Harry the largest smirk he’d ever had. He loved teasing his friend. Especially when it came to the other boy’s feelings. The two boys once again settled down and after the outburst, quite a few students were looking at Peter.

Pete hated this, he hated homecoming, he hated Harry, and most of all he very much disliked the Avengers. Even if only one of those statements is true, they are all rooted in some form of fact.

Soon after, English, along with science was finished Which meant the day of hell… I mean umm, school was finished. Peter was done with another day of learning it was now time for work. (Yay, fun.)

At Work…

Peter walked into the building like he always did. He pulled into the parking garage below and stopped his car. Grabbed his bag and headed up. The elevator didn’t stop at the main area or any other area. It just kept going until it reached the top.

At the top was his lab combined with his main office. The lab was filled with random junk for different solo projects Peter had. None dealing with highly confidential stuff but it did contain some SpiderTech coding lines and a few different devices.

Peter dropped his bag next to the door and headed over to his office. It was much more homely than the lab. Hardwoods and soft whites filled the room. A comfy sectional sat in a corner. A bookshelf was off to the side. A desk and a chair sat in the center.

A bag of chips and a can of soda were still on the desk. Crumbs from Wade were still on the sectional from earlier that week. And Matt's rose-colored glasses were left on the edge of the desk.

The man had more than one pair, but somehow they often found their home in Peter’s office. Mainly due to Matt preferring to take them off around Peter and Wade. Matt wasn’t in at the moment.

Peter shared the space with the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, he was quite fond of Matt. His office was only a few steps away and the only thing dividing the two was a glass barrier. Matt’s office was much the same as Peter’s. However, it was somehow cleaner.

As Peter looked over towards Matts desk and office space. The elevator door dinged and the man himself stepped out. Matt walked over towards Peter’s office and pushed open the door. “Hey, how’s it going?” Peter gave a shrug.

“It’s going well. But, there’s too much paperwork.” Peter whined like always. With the response, Matt let go a laugh and shook his head.

“Aww, is the poor Spider already tired of paperwork? My poor spider! Whatever will we do.” Matt rolled his eyes and soon after Peter did the same to Matt. The two continued to talk for a while before Matt realized he’d left something.

“Can you go grab my cane? It’s down on floor 24. I’ve got a meeting with a Chinese rep in about 5 minutes and I can’t go myself.” Peter let go of a long sigh and nodded. At least it would get him away from paper duty.

Peter got up from his chair and walked out the door. All the while asking Karen where the useless stick had been left. It was on floor 24 apparently. So, at least the old man hadn’t forgotten where he'd left it.

Soon after, Peter found himself on floor 24 with several different Interns walking about. Most of them looked like chickens while the few who didn’t seem to be running on coffee alone. Peter looked around the lab and walked over towards one of the few who looked somewhat sain.

“Heey, sorry to bother you but…” He was cut off by the man’s facial expression. His face screamed ‘get away from me you heathen!’ But, Peter owned this company and was going to be damned if he couldn’t ask a question.

“Do you know where Matt left his cane?” The man seemed to calm down for a second and nodded.”Yea, it’s over by Nava’s desk. He was asking him about a CPU upgraded for the gen II laptops.” Peter nodded and looked over to where he’d pointed.

The girl’s desk was somewhat in the back amongst a jumble of other things. It was cluttered and filled with tons of projects. Peter noticed the cane as he walked over and picked it up. He quickly looked it over, collapsed it, and began to walk out.

However, before he could leave a woman called out to him. “Hey, you can’t take that!” She hurried over to Peter and nearly grabbed the stick out of the kid’s hands.

“What are you doing? How did you even get into this building? AND, why on earth are you taking Mister Murdock's cane?” Peter was at a loss for words, unable to answer the questions. All the while the woman was threatening to call security.

“Ms. Bridge, you do not have the authority to take such actions.” Came the voice of Karen who’d watched the scenario as it happened. She was all-seeing and very, very protective of one young Spider.

“Why?” She tried to ask, all too accustomed with the voice to be scared. The A.I. took a while to answer unsure of how to even do so.

“Unauthorized” Came the A.I.s voice. Peter was thankful she hadn’t given him away.

“Can you just give me Matt’s cane? He’s got a meeting with the Chinese rep in about two minutes and… I really hate dealing with him when he’s angry.” The woman still didn’t want to let go but eventually gave in due to the boy's doe eyes. She’d let it be, this one time.

Peter soon after, found himself working in his lab on multiple different projects ranging in variety and difficulty. The volume of the TV going slowly in the background of reports of Tony Stark's MIT speech. And how he’d done wonderfully. Peter hadn’t the heart to give even the slightest care about the report.

Even after all his time away Peter couldn’t listen to the news, couldn’t bear to hear the man’s name spoken in any form. Yet, for some reason… For an unknown, godforsaken reason, Peter just knew it wasn’t going to end well. Whether that be due to the lab or patrol. Peter knew he’d end up facing something big. His sense had been bugging him and even without it, he could just feel it.

Peter shortly after finishing work in the lab and approving multiple forms, left. He went out of patrol like he always did and continued to help those in need.

Avengers Tower.

Tony had come home from MIT energized and angry. Steve and some of his closest followers had still refused to sign the damn Accords. Ross was up his ass about the new Accords and measures Tony should take to secure the assets.

Tony had thought it over. He refused to have Harley suit up, even if the worse came. There was no way the boy was to ever enter a suit for battle. Tony was done to a select few members that he trusted well enough to help. He needed to build a team. Bring together whoever he could to stop things from escalating even further.

Tony had however been looking at one person in particular. Yet, all information on said webbed hero from queens was redacted and hidden behind several layers of firewalls and servers. Finding Spider-Man's identity was a near impossibility. Plus any information on whoever had a connection to Spiderman was also redacted.

So, Tony resorted to good old boots on the ground. He’d kept the news on for most of the time he was up nowadays. Waiting for Spider-Man to stop something in a recent time frame, so he could track down the guy.

And as luck would have it, tonight was the night. At around 8 pm the Spider went out on patrol. No mentions of DareDevil or even Deadpool were to be had. And thus, it was prime time for Spider hunting.

Tony flew out into the Queens. Spider-man still patrolled Queens even though his Vigilante friends preferred Hell’s Kitchen. Tony did his best to find the Spider. F.R.I.D.A.Y. pulled up security footage from all over Queens showing the recent sighting.

Peter on the other hand was just out of a nightly patrol. Nothing had happened so to say. There was a mugging, it was easy enough to stop. And, a little girl’s cat was up a tree. That was also common and easy. So, by 8 pm Peter had grabbed a sandwich from Delmares and sat at the top of an adjacent building.

Peter’s sense began to tingle. Not the emitted danger type but it was a warning. He had tried to will himself to move but he couldn’t. For once he was stuck, held to the bricks and concrete of the building’s roof. Whatever danger he had sensed throughout the day was going to make itself known.

And just then as Peter was hardly able to will himself to move. The sounds of jets drew close and the hairs on Peter’s neck crept up further. He knew something was about to go wrong. Because that was always his luck.

The jets were soon followed the sounds of clings and clangs. And those sounds later replaced by those of a reactor cooling down. The Iron-Man suit stood tall behind Peter’s back. Peter couldn't and wouldn’t even try to face the man.

“What do you want?” Peter asked, it was always something or nothing.

“Huh, cutting to the chase quickly aren't you. Man, and here I thought I snuck up on you.” Peter rolled his eyes at Dr. Stark. His father had never been able to sneak up on him. Even when he didn’t have the powers. Peter was always ready for something to go wrong. Nothing ever went right for him. Tony never cared what happened to Pete and thus Peter thought of the worst first and the best later. There was no trust between the two, there was nothing… Not a single ounce of anything but bitterness and sorrow.

“Listen, whatever it is you’re selling I ain’t buying. Now, go on with your tail between your legs.” Tony scoffed at that statement and rolled his eyes. This guy was something else!

“Listen, I need your help.” Peter turned around and looked at Tony. From top to bottom, he grimaced at the man. There was no way in any kind of future would he help his father.

“I don’t care what it is you need. I want no parts of it. Rogers, and what the news is calling the Rogue Avengers is not my problem. That is what I would call a ‘family matter.’ And I am not your family Sir. Nor do I want to be.” As Tony tried to interject, but another figure appeared on the rooftop.

Dare Devil stood before Tony. His arm firmly held against Peter’s right shoulder. Almost as if to claim the boy as his. Matt wasn’t going to give the man any chance to hurt Peter ever again.

“Leave Stark. Spider-man wants no parts of your war.” Tony shook his head in dismay and disbelief. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Some rage tag hoodlum of a vigilante was telling him to back off? Telling him to leave and not try to fight a war? Well, Tony Stark wasn’t about to listen to that.

“What if I offered an Avengers position.” He tried to save it, tried to recruit someone they desperately needed. And yet, only hurt followed.

“Dr. Stark, I said I wanted nothing to do with your band of misfits. I have a family, a life, and a team that I would give my own life for. So, I will make this clear. I and my team are in no way interested in your war.” Tony stopped dead in his tracks. There really was no way to get the Spider guy on his side.

Chapter Text

Peter and Matt had both been looking into Fisk for multiple days at this point. With his release being only mere weeks ago and shady business dealing going on throughout parts of Hell’s Kitchen and Queens. The two both knew something wasn’t right. However, neither had an explanation for what wasn’t right.

Fisk had always been one to buy up land. It wasn’t anything new but the lack of a plan or even evidence for why, was a major concern. Fisk always had a reason to do anything. This time, however, it felt like there was no connection.

One property was an apartment complex while the other was a bio lab in the heart of Queens. There wasn’t anything unusual about the ten or so different purchases. It was just property. Matt had tried to come up with something.

Suggesting that Fisk was going to soon demolish them and build a different business that would slowly force other people out. Or even that Fisk was doing something inside the buildings that weren’t necessarily legal. Which as of course was true. But neither knew that.

“Matt, we’ve looked at it all. There’s nothing!” Peter was getting tired at this point. However, the blind man just shrugged it off and continued to look for more info. While still drawing a blank on everything was a major pain for both. They seemed to know there was no getting around it.

“There has to be something. I mean what could Fisk want, he’s always wanted something.” Peter shrugged, there was nothing.

“Have you looked at who owned the buildings beforehand? Maybe that has something to do with it.” Matt shrugged, he’d looked through some of them but nothing all that major had come up. Matt pulled up the files on the GIS database to see who the titles were for the previous owners. The city wouldn’t have changed the names on the databases for another few months.

Matt and Peter both looked over the names. All from different companies, one had been from Oscorp, another from some construction company, and a few others from an investment company. They were all over, but something wasn't right. Matt knew something wasn’t right, it never was.

“I’ll look into who owns all the companies. Oscorp is obviously owned by Norman Osborn but everything else I’ve never heard of.” Peter nodded to Matt and continued to look at it, he still hasn't seen anything. Probably wouldn’t if he was being honest.

Soon after, Matt once again spoke up. He’d found something, it was by no means anything special but at least it was a hint of information. “Hey, look at this!”

Peter walked over and looked at the notes and different tabs Matt had open. All of the companies were shell companies for an investment subsidiary. However, after that the trail went cold, there was nothing after that. No mention of the parent company.

“So it’s all owned by the same company?” Matt nodded and tried to think about why Fisk would buy the properties. However, he came up short. There really wasn’t a reason for it. Even then Fisk could play it off as something totally different.

“Well, there’s only one company that isn’t owned by that investment subsidiary.” Peter looked at Matt with a questioning face. “Who?” He asked without even thinking about it.

“Oscorp,” Matt stated flatly without even looking away. Matt understood Peter was friends with Harry and even Norman, but it was the only company that was different. It made no sense for Fisk to buy just one building that was different.

“Nah, that can’t be true. Norman had hated fisk for as long as he hated S.I. There’s no way.” Peter wouldn’t believe it. There was no way that Norman could be in any way involved in Fisk’s dirty dealings. But, the writing seemed to be on the walls at this point.

“I’m serious Pete. He’s the only one.” Matt was indeed very serious. There was never a time when he wasn’t but it didn’t change the fact of the matter that Norman would never do such a thing. Peter would never believe it even if it was true.

Norman had been one of the only adults to ever really care about the boy. He wasn’t Happy by any means but at least the man cared enough to ask questions. Matt and Peter bickered back and forth on the issue for quite a while. However, within an hour Peter had left to patrol the city. He needed air and time to think. There wasn’t any way that Norman was connected to Fisk.

On Patrol

Soon after Peter found himself on the streets of Queens, swinging as he always did. However, the pressure within his mind continued to build. Peter continued to think about what Matt had said and how Norman could in any way be connected to Fisk.

The only thing that Peter could even think of was that Oscorp sold the building without knowing the buyer. It was commonplace a lot of the time. A buyer was a buyer as some would say. It didn’t matter who they were just that the check cleared.

However, as Peter mulled over his thoughts they seemed to drift elsewhere. Even as he thought about Norman and Fisk they drifted. He felt as if someone was watching, looking at him. His sense wasn’t blaring at him but it definitely wasn’t quiet either. Peter felt uncomfortable and somehow scared all in the same breath.

The feeling was oh so familiar to the boy. It reminded him of home, but that could and never would be. Peter let go a small sigh as he continued to look over the streets of queens. He’d stopped a robbery and a mugging. Helped an elderly man cross the street and now he’d stumbled upon another alleyway.

It was dark as always, filled with stench from something unknown and held three different faces. The faces of those who Peter did not know to be exact. The three men didn’t wear anything to cover their faces but each was armed.

A blonde man, mid-thirties, and a thick accent that was hinted by a bit of Russian held an SMG. The second man, early twenties, with brown eyes and a standard Brooklyn accent. The third man who was probably late-thirties spoke with a Russian undertone and stood around 6-3. The last two men both had a standard run of the mill handguns. Nothing special or new there but all three by now had drawn their weapons.

“Ahh, chill guys!” Peter said in defense. However, it didn’t stop any of them from firing. Peter's sense sprung to action and he quickly jumped upward. All three men continued to shoot while Peter was suspended in the air. Their aim followed near perfectly with his dodge.

Peter landed on the wall on one of the sides of the ally. He looked down to see that the two men with pistols were reloading while the other man hadn’t stopped firing. Peter quickly sprung off the wall and leaped down behind the three. The other two men dropped the mag’s that were in their hands.

The SMG by this point had run out of ammo and Peter could only let go a small “Phew.” As he webbed the three to the side of the alley. He looked at the three men, none of them he’d seen before. That was as of course not uncommon. People came and went all the time but they felt off.

“Who do you work for?” Peter looked at the three, none answered though. Peter shook his head, he couldn’t hurt them or coerce anything out of them… That was Matt's job.

“Okay, I guess I’ll just stick a note on you and be on my way.” Peter quickly wrote down something for the police and looked over the scene before him. There wasn’t anything that stood out, just that the three had been meeting here for some reason. Peter soon left, he had heard the person four stores above call the cops.

Soon after the encounter with what he presumed to be the mafia. Peter headed home, he still felt like someone was watching but was truly unsure of who? Peter chalked it up to his weariness and moved on with his day.

The Next Day.

It was a Thursday of all days and thus Peter was bored because school did no such thing as challenge him in any way. Peter had, however, soon after class gotten a call from none other than Ned Leeds.

“Hey, what’s up?” He asked after answering the phone. Ned had been breathing really heavily through the phone's speaker and the answer came out as a muffled. “Flash is, Flash and his friend are bullying me again.” Peter’s mind began to race, he wasn’t sure what to do.

“Can I do anything for you.” Of course, Peter wanted to help but he wasn’t exactly how to do so. Ned soon came up with an answer.

“I… I could really just use a friend right now. And, I need some help studying for my Decathlon Practice tomorrow.” Peter grimaced at the thought of having to teach. He really didn’t like the thought of it but sighed. He could do that…

“Yea, where do you want to meet.” Ned had soon replied with an easy answer.

“My house?” He’d asked in the form of a question as if to see if the option was okay. Peter had given a quick “Yea, sure.” and been on his way.

Peter soon arrived at Ned’s house. It was the same as it was before. The grass had been cut at some point but other than that. It was much the same as the first time.

“*Knock, *Knock.” Peter stood on the front stoop of the house waiting for Ned to answer. And soon after the boy did so, he was wearing a familiar button-down shirt and a pair of shorts. Peter smiled at the boy and walked in behind him.

“So, where do you want to start?” Ned shrugged and thought for a second. He really hadn’t planned this far ahead if he was being honest. Ned thought for a moment and did his best to make sure it was a good decision.

“Are you any good with Science and Math?” Peter nodded, it was his core subjects that he loved more than anything. While engineering was great and he loved it. Science, in general, was just so fun.

“We can go over some sample questions then.” Peter nodded, he wasn’t sure why he needed to know anything. However, he figured Ned would appreciate the help and thus he went along with it.

Soon after, the boys found themselves entangled in debate questions and the answers seemed to come from left and right. They’d gotten into a grove and hadn’t stopped for well over an hour.

“Do you wanna stop and work on some Legos?” Ned had asked the question out of nowhere. Or at least it seemed that way. Peter hadn’t even thought about doing anything else. He’d had Legos before but with the company/Spider-man being in the way and being the son of Tony Stark… Legos or any toys for that matter seemed out of the question.

“Yeah sure.” Ned got up and began to head for the stairs. Peter soon followed the Hawaiian boy upstairs. Peter found himself in what he presumed to be Ned’s room. It was filled with Star Wars posters, Legos, and Video games.

“You like Star Wars?” Ned nodded, he loved them more than anyone he knew.

“Cool... “ Ned nodded, the boys began to talk about the subject more. Ned had somehow managed to pull out a set for a Star Destroyer and began to build away while Peter sat next to him with his legs crossed following along.

“So, Burn the sequels, right? And the prequels get a pass because… it’s our childhood.” Ned had gladly nodded. The boy began to laugh once again and continued to work on whatever it was they were doing.

Yet, soon after the main components were complete Peter got a phone call. “Hello?” He answered casually.

“Peter… Where are you, you were supposed to meet us at Josie's bar an hour ago!” An unhappy Wade could be heard in the background yelling. “Leave the kid alone Matt.” Wade also soon followed up with “Aww, the Devil of Hell's kitchen is protective of a child!” As if that hadn’t hit Matt's biggest nerve. He cared… deeply for Peter’s well being.

“I’m just at a friends house, I’ll be there in like twenty minutes. And you’re not stopping me from having a drink!” Peter chuckled a bit as Matt grimaced on the other line. Peter turned to Ned with a small smile.

“I’ve got to go, Internship. Sorry.” Ned had looked at him with awe and shook for a split second before saying.

“Where do you intern?” Peter smiled a bit, he felt proud to be able to say something other than ‘Stark Industries’.

“I intern for a new company called SPT, they produce economical home technology for everyday use. However, we’ve been working to expand into the medical field.” Ned nodded, that sounded pretty cool if he was honest.

At The Bar.

Peter left soon after the short round of questioning and went to the Bar. He had missed it since last week. The same people as always were in on Thursday night. A pool game was going on and another guy was unconscious from the amount of whiskey he had drunk.

“Hey Wade… Hi Matt.” Peter quickly added as if he could forget his favorite fath- Mentor figure. Peter slid into the booth where the two vigilantes were. Peter sat down quietly; and started taking sips from the glass that had been handed when he walked in. Peter had figured Josie knew he needed one already.

“How's it going?” Peter asked, both Matt and Wade grimaced but the icing on the cake was that Wade raised his right arm. Only to be missing the lower part of it.

“Sawed it off during a confrontation with some new Russian mafia dudes.” Peter nodded to Wade and somehow found himself drawn to the missing forearm. “Yea, I ran into them yesterday,” Peter added as he still found himself fixated on the missing appendage.

“So, where were you this time?” Peter shrugged, he didn’t need Matt getting on his case about being too trusting or not going to work on time. He hated those kinds of conversations because he knew Matt was always right.

“Well, I guess you wouldn’t mind working in the intern labs…” Matt smiled, he knew Peter almost always hated being in the ‘lower’ labs. Even if he’d only ever gone twice. Both of which had only been within the last week or two.

“Da - Matt! I am not going down there.” Matt rolled his eyes, it was a low blow coming from a blind man.

“Well, come on Peter. You should be down there learning your own company. I know you want to keep your face hidden but, you need to meet these people. I can’t cover for you forever. They're already asking who you are and why you’re never seen. They’ve all passed background checks and have signed NDA’s. They wouldn’t leak anything. Please just meet them.” Peter thought about it for a split second… There was no way he was going to do any such thing.

“So, you want me to meet my interns but you have no problem with Wade sawing off his own arm!” Matt smiled, Wades antics were commonplace among them, Peter seeing his interns? No, that never happened.

Wade was still missing an arm though.

Chapter Text

It was yet another day in the wonderful life of Peter Parker. Things were a mess and his life as always was on a downward spiral. School had gone the same as always, he’d been bored out of his mind and unsure of what to do. Peter had fought back and forth with himself over Norman and his involvement in Fisk’s deals.

However, school had ended on time and Peter had found himself on his way to Harry's house. He’d been to Oscorp before, but it felt off for some reason. The hairs on his neck would continually stay at attention and his mind raced.

The two had arrived at the tower with relative ease, Peter mumbling a thank you to the driver out of habit and following Harry towards the elevator. The two conversed over different topics from the civil war to Homecoming in just 20 days.

“So, have you asked MJ yet?” Harry once again was asking about the redhead. Peter rolled his eyes and didn’t bother to respond to the boy. As the elevator came to stop at the top floor of Oscorp. And it’s doors opened to the penthouse. Peter wondered about what was in store for him.

“What do you wanna do Pete?” Peter shrugged, he as usual wasn’t sure.

“I don’t know, wanna just watch a movie or something?” Harry gave a small nod and the two soon found themselves sitting on the couch in the main area. A few bowls of popcorn and Batman Dark Knight playing in the background. The two continually commented on the plot and how it was one of the better films that came out of the DCU.

However, soon after the climactic end of the movie came, so did Norman Osborn. The man had been hunkered away in his private study for the duration of Peter's stay. Peter hadn’t even known the man was there. Harry gave the usual “Hey dad!” Responds and Peter just greeted the man as he always did.

“Hey Boys. I’ve got to run, meeting with a new client in Hell’s kitchen on a new resource.” Harry gave a wave to his dad and turned back to begin picking another movie. However, Peter’s mind began to wonder, began to think about what Norman had said. It just didn’t seem right.

“Hey Pete, What do you want to watch next?” The question had come out muffled by the popcorn that was buried in Harry's mouth. Peter nearly let go of a small laugh but didn’t. Peter needed to follow Norman… He needed to be sure of everything.

“I um, I have to go. May needs me for something.” Harry nodded to Peter and the boy ran towards the elevator door. May had been the name of the woman whose husband had died a year prior. Peter had taken the name of Parker for the most part when it came to matters of naming so thus he’d made her his cover for home life.

Peter tailed Norman as the man rode off towards Hell’s Kitchen. Peter would have called Matt but he felt that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen would just jump to conclusions and start making up scenarios. Peter stayed far enough behind the car not to be detected but close enough to keep an eye on it.

The vehicle soon arrived at a warehouse in Hell's kitchen. Norman stepped out and walked off towards the building. He carried a briefcase with him. He’d walked into the warehouse where three other dark figures stood underneath a skylight. Peter had landed on the roof and hid between parts of the roof that weren’t skylights.

“Hey Karen, can you make it so I can hear those guys.” The A.I. soon replied.

“Sure thing Peter, Activating reconnaissance mode.” The A.I.’s voice was rather chipper, at least for an A.I. The men talked about a business plan and projects they had going on. Not mentioning names or anything like that.

Two of the men had thick Russian accents, they continued to argue about trade and fair dealing. How they were being cut short in “This whole partnership” type thing. Norman hadn’t spoken at all during the meeting and he most resided amongst the shadows.

“Osborn? How is the Green program going? Any news or… Side effects?” Norman had taken his time in responding almost as if he hadn’t wanted to say anything. The man was somewhat relaxed, Peter could hear his heartbeat. Norman spoke with the temperance of a well-established man, as he should.

“Yes, it’s going according to plan but tell Fisk he must keep his part of the deal for everything to work. Or, it’ll be his head that’s on a platter and not you know who.” The Russian men both grunted to show their disdain and displeasure for Norman mention Fisk. However, Norman didn’t comment on anything about the situation.

The men finished talking soon after, Norman got into the parked vehicle outside and headed back towards Oscorp. The two Russian men then left through another entrance onto the street. Night had fallen somewhere in between the meeting and Peter found himself swinging home.

As much as he hated the thought of it, Matt was right. Of course, the man was right, when was he not. Peter swung back through the streets of Queens and through Midtown. He’d passed by the Avengers tower on his way home. (He’d taken several detours at this point thanks to super hearing.)

But, everything, everything Peter held dear came crashing down. When he’d passed by the Tower, or more subsequently by a small restaurant nearby. He’d heard a voice… A voice he couldn’t bear to hear. A voice that had caused him so, so much pain.

Peter came to an abrupt halt in mid-air. His hands missed the firing trigger on the web-shooters. Peter had nearly fallen face-first to the ground below. The voice had stopped him completely in his tracks. Like a deer caught in headlights but it was a spider caught in a web of lies.

“Dad, I’m telling you, I just want to go see my friends. Can’t I see them, I’m not even allowed to have anyone over to the tower. So, can I at least see them!” The voice was etched with a slight bit of anger. The person it was directed towards however did not waver in any form.

“I’ve told you before. It’s not worth risking your identity. I don’t want you to have the terrible childhood I had kiddo. I was swarmed by the mob at every chance. I don’t need you to have the same thing happen.” The boy had nodded to his father. Peter stopped, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think! He just couldn’t.

Tony was a different matter for Peter, he could deal with his voice, his face, his everything. He’d done so for so, so many years. But his brother… His brother was another story. To hear his voice and just know that he’d been the one who’d caused everything… Caused Peter never to be anything but just the second son. Just the second in line, just the backup, just the second child… Harley had been placed on the golden pedestal while Peter was drug through the mud.

Peter’s breathing didn’t come back, it couldn’t be brought back to normal. His breath shook with nervousness, fear, and utter lonesomeness. Peter had never been enough… It was all he ever wanted to be. But it was the only thing he could never be.

His brain shifted into autopilot. Nothing thinking about his surroundings or the environment, he passed over the two and swung back to his office without even a single thought. Peter wasn’t home, he was away, away from everything he held dear to him. He just couldn’t be there not with every bit of sorrow and regret building inside of him.

At the Office…

Peter came in through one of the windows of the building. He entered his office and looked around. Different projects and other miss organized things were scattered around the room. Matt was sitting at his desk looking over paperwork as usual. He’d been working on a case for the last few days off and on.

The case wasn’t anything major, it was just about a tenant who’d been refused heat and air conditioning even though the contract said they would be provided. However, the corporation that owned that apartment block was fighting tooth and nail to have it appealed.

When Peter’s feet hit the floor of the large office, he’d nearly collapsed. His arms flailed and his legs gave. His mind raced with thoughts, worries, and any sort of regret one could think of. He’d regret not saying anything to Harley, regretted never saying goodbye. But, in truth, Peter didn’t regret that, All of them had been chains that held him. They were what forced him to think that he needed them. His mind focused solely on what could have been and not what is.

Peter's legs soon gave way completely and he crashed to the floor below. Matt felt the breaths, the heavy in and outs of his lungs. He could smell the tears that rolled off the boy's eyes, The older man soon stood from his chair and raced over to the now quivering boy.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong. What happened?” Matt sat down next to the boy, not touching him, not forcing his hands onto him. Even if he wanted to, he knew better than to actually do it. Peter was more than likely going into sensory overload. Matt had it before, not as often or near as bad but he knew the feeling enough to understand what not to do.

It wasn’t the first time Peter had gone into an overload situation since leaving but it was the first that Matt had experienced with the boy. Peter had often broken down by himself and once with Wade after a rather risky rescue at a Hydra base.

There’d been a girl at the base, Peter couldn’t remember her name in any sense but he seemed to remember the feline tendencies the most. It was weird, not even in a good way… Just weird for someone.

But Peter wasn’t at a Hydra base. He was somewhere else, he didn’t know where but he was somewhere.

“Peter, listen to my voice. Focus on it.” Peter tried to do so, but the thoughts of what he’d given up crowded his head. Forced away any other idea, made it so he couldn’t do anything but stay… But stay in Tony Stark's shadow.

“Kid, Kid! Please you have to listen to my voice. I’m here for you, tell me what you need. Breath, Peter, Breath. Let it in… Let it out. Follow me.” Matt began to do breathing exercises. Trying to get Peter to follow him, listen to his heartbeat, and released slow yet steady in and outs of muffled air.

Peter was gone… Too far gone for anything, he couldn’t hear, he couldn't think. Harley… Regrets, family all kept coming in. They just kept coming, not letting up. But, Peter tried, tried so, so hard not to let it take over. He’d put everything out of his mind. His father, his brother, the team. He wanted to distance himself from all of that but still, he’d come face to face with them.

“Peter, please, try again. Follow my breaths.” Slowly… Very slowly the panic attacks began to decrease and his breathing became less and less strained. Soon the boy found a rhythm and his eyes began to open. The light of the room hit and Matt's voice grew louder and louder.

"That’s it, just stay with me now.” Peter looked up, his eyes struggling to adjust but he could see the white outlining of Matts figure. He could see the man slowly come into vision. His savior, his lifeline… His fath…

Peter focused on Matt, the man’s eyes, his brown hair, his jacket, his voice, and breath. All a sense of normality that Peter needed. The boy had come back enough to feel comfortable. He grabbed ahold of Matt and brought him closer. Clinging to him for dear life.

“You’re okay, I’m here bud.” Matt rubbed his hand over the boys back, trying to calm him down even more than earlier. Something had brought this on and Matt needed Peter in a decent state to even attempt to get an answer.

“Hey, it’s okay. Can you? Can you tell me what brought this on.” Peter tucked his head into Matt's shoulder. Afraid of what the man might think of him. Afraid he’d think badly of a kid who had turned into a sobbing mess overhearing a voice.

“I… I heard them.” However, the voice came out at a nearly inaudible whisper. Matt looked down and nearly rolled his eyes. He swore this kid was too good for anyone. Matt rested his hand against the boy's shoulder and held tight to it.

“You can trust me. Bud, I’m not leaving you, I’m never going to hurt you, you can tell me.” Peter looked up, he thought, he thought long and hard about the matter. Or well as long as a split-second decision can last.

“I heard them… I heard Harley and Dr. St…” He couldn’t say the man's name, he could barely even think to state it. He’d done it just fine as Spider-man but this wasn’t Spider-man this was Peter Stark-Parker. He was a much different person then the vigilante spider.

“Hey, it’s alright they can’t hurt you and I swear they will never hurt you again. I will be damn sure of it. Peter please, I handled this in court, you are my… My son. The Judge ruled that it was best for you to wave Tony’s parental rights. Your safety was paramount over everything and Tony failed to do so. You are not his anymore…” Peter looked up to Matt, clinging to him more so now than ever.

“Yea… Yea, you’re right. I’m sor…” Matt cut the kid off before he could even finish the fear-filled sentence.

“No, no more sorries, kid, you do not have to apologize. I get it, it's tough thinking about your parents. I didn’t meet my mother until two years ago. And my father died when I was young. You have nothing to be sorry for. I was an orphan until I met my ‘mentor’.”

Tony wasn’t Peter’s father anymore, he didn’t have that kind of control over Peter. However, Peter still felt so, so helpless.

Chapter Text

Peter had fallen asleep on one of the extra couches in the office soon after the emotional event. Matt had begun work on something else, trying to fill out whatever paperwork he could with a teen feet away.

Peter slept peacefully for most of the night. He hadn’t caused anything to go awry or cause Matt to jump from his position. However, the blind man did continually think about what had set the kid off and if Peter had found something on Osborn.

The morning light soon arrived as it always did and Peter's eyes slowly began to open. The room was still dark, and Matt had at some point or another had fallen asleep two. Matt was passed out on the couch opposite to Peter with his head dug thoroughly into the pillow.

Peter let go of a yawn as he moved to get up. Matt began to stir as well. The two men both smiled at each other and let go of faint laughs. “So, did you find anything on Osborn.” It just had to be the first question.

Peter nodded to his mentor figure and thought for a few seconds. Most of what Osborn had said was wiped from his memory in light of the worser feeling of loneliness. Matt gave Peter all the time he needed to come up with an answer and the teen soon did so.

“Yea, Norman is attempting to sell what he’s called Green serum to Fisk and some Russian Mafia-type dudes. They had a thick accent and everything!” Matt rolled his eyes at Peter, it didn’t matter what their accents were. Just that they were working with Fisk.

“So he is involved? I should have known!” Matt smacked his left fist into his right palm and shook his head. Of course, Fisk would go to another billionaire. However, Matt still wasn’t sure what Osborn's whole part was.

“Do you know why Osborn is helping Fisk.” Peter shook his head, the man hadn’t addressed that in any form. Nor, did Peter think that the men would under the circumstances they were under.

“He more than likely only discusses it with Fisk. The Russian guys seem more like runners than anything.” Matt nodded to Peter, the Russian had always been the one to support the trade and the offloading of different materials. Yet, that still didn’t mean they were out of the loupe.

Matt soon let Peter go from questioning. Peter still had school to attend. The kid was still doing well in school, having known most of the questions on his science exam for quarter 1. Peter had, however, dropped most of his after school activities since starting the company.

“Hey, kid? Can you go down to the labs today? Work with some of the interns and actually get to know them. They’re really starting to ask about you. Speculating your some foreign prince or something that's runoff. Or that you're the runaway son of a genius inventor.” Matt had a little bit of a laugh hidden behind those last words.

Peter rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at his mentor. “Very funny… I’ll see you later Matt.” Peter grabbed his bag and headed off towards Midtown.

At School…

Peter had soon arrived at school like he always did, tired and beaten. Harry had come up to him soon after he’d made it; just in time for first period and asked how his aunt was. Peter had as of course replied. “She’s doing well but works still stressing her out."

Harry had nodded and decided not to bring up Peter's aunt again. He hadn’t met her before or anything like that, but he was still a concerned friend. The two had eventually found themselves knee-deep in math work for the morning and the teacher had only just started.

Later…

“Okay Class, that’s all for today. Please remember that Homecoming is only three weeks away.” The class had all reacted differently, with varying amounts of interest. Peter wanted to go, it was something he could do as him and not as Spider-man or Peter Stark. Even if he wasn’t a Stark anymore something’s just felt… Starkish if you asked the teen.

Soon after the class was over, Peter found himself in the hallway outside of his homeroom class. He was grabbing a variety of books for English when yet another voice decided it wanted Peter's attention.

“Hey Penis, How’s it going? How’s little poor Penis Parker doing. I’d imagine no so well with the whole dropping all school activities? Are you struggling? I guess that just fits doesn't it. Orphan Parker alone in the world.” Clint had originally come up with a story to divert attention from Peter before his first day of Highschool.

His “parents” had died in a plane crash and he was living with his Aunt. Why was this? Who knows, Clint had come up with it as a joke or something and it was all Peter could remember when he had to come up with a fake backstory.

Clint had always been the one for practical jokes, too bad it had to be the one that stuck. Flash soon left when another person came up to Peter. Mary Jane Watson, otherwise known as MJ by close friends, had come up to Peter.

“Hey Tiger, Flash being a jerk again.” Peter just gave a nod to his close friend. She’d been with him since the start. At least since the start of freshman year. Same as Harry, they’d all gotten to know one another in a short time and become close.

“Did you do the homework for Chem?” MJ had always been the one to try and create a conversation. It was just what she’d always been. Peter nodded and smiled at her.

“Yea, I finished it while I was working with Matt…” MJ gave Peter a weird look. She had no idea who Matt even was, and Peter knew that. He just wasn't used to having to juggle between Peter Parker and his other, other egos.

“Matt’s… Matt’s one of the guys I work with at my internship. He does most of the financial and overhead work.” Peter was internally screaming to himself that he would give away too much… That’d he’d slip up and regret ever saying anything to MJ.

“Ohh, well that’s good. I was wondering if you could help me with some of the new Chem stuff from Friday’s class. I’ve forgotten most of it and I’m not sure how to do the rest of it.” MJ let go a small laugh at the end, she’d never been so forgetful but, there was a time for everything.

“Yea, we can meet up sometime later… If you want.” Peter had stuttered a bit, albeit afraid of what MJ might think he’d meant by the statement.. He hadn’t meant it to suggest anything. MJ smiled at the brunette and rolled her eyes playfully.

“Yea, that sounds great. Where do you want to meet? Your place or?” Peter thought for a second, this was bad… very, VERY bad.

“Um, my place would be… great!” His voice cracked as he said the last bit. ‘What the hell Parker you can fight villains but not talk to your friend about tutoring!?!’ Peter as of course internally screamed at himself, it was nothing new really.

“Yea, you can text me your address or whatever. I’ll see you later. We’ll talk about it after school.” MJ soon left, leaving Peter once again alone it the hallway wondering what the F*** his life even was.

Soon after, Peter had made it through the rest of his classes and was soon on the streets of Queens swing like he usually was. The sights and sounds of New York were something else if you asked anyone. But for a Spider with super hearing, it was loud and annoying at any time. At other times it was too much.

Today it was a mix of everything. People yelling and laughing. Tires squeals and footsteps throughout, and even the different accents could be heard throughout different blocks of the city. Peter loved it all but at times it was daunting.

As Peter went about his day, the sounds began to die down but his nerves never quieted. Was it just sheer annoyance or was it worry. ‘No it's neither’ Peter continued to assure himself that it wasn’t anything but the presence was still there. Maybe he was excited about the date… No, it wasn’t a date!?! Just a study session!

A text soon came, around 5 pm that night from MJ. Peter wasn’t sure if he even wanted to respond, what had he gotten himself into? However, he did text back and the two had soon come to an agreement that they’d meet at Peters place at 7 pm that night. MJ had mentioned that they were having an exam Wednesday and that she really needed to know as much as she could.

Peter swung to the office first before heading home. Telling Matt that he couldn’t stay long and to just give him all the documents he needed Peter to sign. Matt had rolled his blind eyes at the teen and just handed over a stack of paperwork.

“You are going to meet those interns. You’ve put it off for almost a MONTH! I swear I can’t keep lying to them, Peter.” Jeez, it was that bad. Bad enough where Matt had used Peter instead of something like Pete or Spider-kid or something else.

“Fine, I’ll meet them soon, just not tonight. I have to help MJ with something… I should not have said that. I really should not have said that... DON’T TELL WADE!” Matt had nearly begun to laugh, the kid was running from his responsibilities because of a girl, as of course.

“Go on Pete, go have fun on your date.” Peter had gladly rolled his eyes at his mentor figures and taken his leave from the building. Pete swung home by about 6 o'clock and got to work putting away a few different clothes. He hid two other Spider-suits. And he had closed his Lab off.

“That should do it.” He thought to himself as he finally sat down on the nice leather couch that was positioned against a wall in his living room. Peter hardly had time to be home anymore, other than to eat, sleep, and fix. Everything else was seldom used and never really got messed with by the teen. The penthouse also had a spare bedroom and even an extra office space that Peter hardly used other than for papers that Matt had needed him to fill out.

Peter, however, had in fact left out the new documents that he’d received from Matt. He had, in favor of putting them away, left them on the counter next to his bag. It was by no means a smart move, nor would it pay off in any way. Peter Parker, had in fact messed up. How you might ask? Well, you’ll see.

MJ arrives…

Soon after 7 pm comes, MJ arrives at Peter’s place. It was his place, not his Aunts nor anyone elses and that was a problem. Peter hadn’t exactly been quick with answering the door, almost refusing to answer knowing the questions that would soon come.

However, he did eventually answer after yelling a quick. “I’m coming” in the door's direction. The young redhead as of course was on the other side. MJ had her book bag slung over his left shoulder and a small innocent smile on her face.

“Hey, Pete.” She said with her usual upbeat tone of voice. Peter smiled back at her and waved her in. MJ looked around the room, same as anyone would do. Going from what’s in front and moving towards the rest.

The penthouse had a rather modern design with a bit of old flare. The kitchen had an island that was an offset color to the rest of the kitchen cabinets. The living room just past that had a leather sofa, and other leather chairs, a Tv hanging in the center of a recessed bookcase.

Overall from what MJ could see it was a typical modern designed living space. However, it was definitely something she would expect from a businessman and not an Aunt and her orphaned Nephew. Peter walked off towards the living room like nothing was new, MJ soon following.

“So, you live here?” MJ once again looked around the room. Peter gave a shy nod to the redhead and began to pull textbooks out from his backpack.

“Yea, my Aunt’s not home at the moment. She’s got a late shift at Midtown Health, graveyard shift, you know?.” MJ nodded, however it still didn’t explain the almost penthouse like living arrangements.

“Ohh, okay. That’s cool I guess.” Peter gave a small nod, thankful she didn’t ask any further questions.

“Where do you wanna start?” MJ thought for a second, still unsure of what exactly they were going to do or even if she needed help in one core part. Peter looked at her quizzingly, almost debating if he should ask her something. However, MJ hadn’t noticed the look on his face nor the disconnect Peter was having.

“I don’t know… I just kinda need help in everything.” Peter nodded and looked through his notes on everything from the past few days. However, none of it was all that helpful. Peter let go of a long sigh and looked at MJ.

Karen would know everything Peter had been over, so he used her regularly to keep track of what they were learning in class. Mainly because Peter knew all of it and never could keep track of what he had and hadn’t learned.

“Hey Karen, what did we go over this week?” MJ gave Peter a quizzing eye, she had no idea who Karen was or why Peter was even asking this Karen person what they’d gone over in class.

“Sir, you went over Significant digits and different forms of decay. Along with a brief review of the previous week's teachings for your quiz Wednesday.” Peter gave a hum of acknowledgment while MJ just sat almost bewildered.

Peter had by now looked up from his notes and nearly slapped himself for expecting MJ to know what Karen was. “Sorry… That’s the A.I. that I built as a test run at my internship. She mainly deals with things I forget and helps keep me in one peace.” ‘Both literally and figuratively’ Peter added to his inner monologue.

“Ohh, okay. Umm, that’s a little weird. But in a cool way.” Peter gave a small chuckle at MJ’s near shock and horror over the A.I. The two soon fell into conversation about different things they need to know for the upcoming test. Then the two had transitioned into just catching up. Mainly how MJ had forgotten that Harry was in fact not coming Friday due to some gala the night before. By the end of the study session, MJ had suggested they could hang out for a while longer since she didn’t need to be home until 10 pm.

“Oh, what do you wanna do?” Peter had asked while standing up for a brief moment due to the fact his legs had fallen asleep. MJ shrugged, she really wasn’t sure what they could do.

‘Wanna watch a movie. Just ask Karen for anything and she’ll play it. I’ll go make some popcorn.” MJ nodded, wait how was she supposed to ask Karen? Just talk or something like that? She had no idea how to even communicate with a sentient being.

“Umm, Karen play… I don’t even know, what does Peter likes to watch?” The question had not been heard by the boy in question. This was due to the fact that he was too busy listening to Matt talk to an intern about needing to leave for something important nearly 10 blocks away.

“Sir prefers to watch Star Wars and the Nolan Batman trilogy. However, he has no real preference in movie type. I suggest one of the original Star War trilogy movies if you would like to become closer to Mr. Parker.” The A.I. hadn’t meant anything by it other than a suggestion but, Karne always had Peter’s back…

“Yea, go with the first one I’ve never watched any of them.” At that comment Peter had turned around, nearly dropping the bags of popcorn that should have been placed in the microwave.

“You haven’t watched any of the Star Wars movies! MJ I thought we were friends! I thought I knew you!?!” Peter had been punctured by a wooden stake to his heart. One of his best friends had never once seen a Star Wars movie.

“No, I haven’t Tiger. It was never something I thought I should watch.” Peter nearly fell over, she had not just said that.

“Okay, we’re watching them all. You’re coming back over sometime and you’re going to watch them. Because no friend of mine will go without seeing them.” MJ rolled her eyes at the boy and smiled… Hell, she might have even giggled at the boy's antics.

“Well Tiger, come over here so we can start.” Peter did soon walk back into the living room, right after he grabbed the two bags of popcorn and some drinks. They sat down next to one another and let the movie begin to play out.

As soon as it had begun MJ started to ask questions and Peter had done his best to explain, but he couldn‘t really do a wonderful job at doing said job because…

Because MJ was starting to fall asleep. More than likely not out of choice nor due to the fact that the movie was boring. No more like the fact that she was worried about the upcoming test and it felt like she’d been running a marathon all day worrying about said test.

“MJ slowly but surely lowered her head onto Peter's shoulder, still ever so slightly commenting on the scenes playing out. Peter did his best to ignore it and just answer her questions but for some Thor forsaken reason, Harry's words kept coming to his mind. “Bro, you seriously need to ask MJ, like come on you two have now each other forever!” Or something along that line.

A while later…

Around 9:45 the two teen’s peace was disturbed by Karen. The A.I.’s voice was still quiet but enough to wake Peter who had inadvertently fallen asleep two. The voice was calm like always but a sense of urgency was underlined.

“Sir, Mr. Murrdock has requested and I quote. “That you get your ass down to Josie’s this instance because I forgot to tell you that Wade's birthday celebration was today.” Peter sighed, he didn’t want to get up, and MJ… MJ just looked too peaceful next to him.

“Alright, tell him I’ll be there in twenty minutes. And tell Wade to get me something good off the top self.” Karne soon gave an affirmative and the room went quiet again. However, Peter could hear/feel MJ’s heartbeat at a slow steady beat. It had come down a fair bit since school, he’d heard it earlier, beating faster than usual. Now it was just slow and arrhythmic.

“Hey, MJ. Mary Jane. It’s time for you to wake up. You’ve got to get home.” Peter said in a quiet voice. He lightly shook the girl, just enough to wake her from her slumber. Said young girl gave a small disheartened smile. Like she’d planned to have stayed like that for longer.

“But I don’t wanna.” Peter let go of a small laugh, this was definitely different. Different than he had ever expected this whole thing to turn out.

“Come on M, you can’t stay here forever. As much as I would love for us to watch the rest of the movie, you’ve got to get home and I need to head out two.” MJ slowly rose her head, taking in her surroundings once more, realizing she was in fact not at home.

“Oh, I didn’t realize I was… Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Peter shook his head and gave a small smile. “No… No, you were fine. I didn't mind. Just, I know you need to get home.” MJ nodded, she really hadn’t meant to fall asleep on Peter, hell she didn't even plan on staying for anything more than a study session. But, she was just slightly happy that it was a bit more than a study session.

MJ stood up and tried to straighten her hair to the best of her ability. Eventually settling on it and just being happy with however it looked. MJ picked up her bags and Peter stood up as well.
“I’ll walk you out, I’ve got to leave as well.” MJ looked at Peter rather quizzingly, wondering where he could be going at this time of night.

As the two walked out Peter began to once again think about Harry and his damn mind tricks… That boy really did want to set Peter up, it sucked in Peter’s opinion but Harry wasn’t wrong about either of them.

“Hey M? You know the Home Coming Dance.” She nodded, of course, she knew, everyone knew. Why would he be asking about that…

“I was wondering if you wanted to, I don’t know. Maybe go together?” Peter’s voice had nearly cracked just asking the question. He was way too shy to be asking anyone anything. He wasn't Spider-man… He was just Tony’s failed son, the one no one cared about. He was the one who had no social skills or even friends for that matter. The one no one liked.

“Yea… Um, yea I’d like that Tiger. That’d be great.” MJ smiled, smiled more than she had done in a long time. The two soon came to the parking garage in the lower area, MJ’s vehicle had been parked next to Peters due to the valet service.

The two soon left one another, to go off wherever either one would go. Peter had done what he deemed impossible and thus today was a good day for one Peter Stark Parker.

Chapter Text

“OH, you're here! How’s it going with you all? Sorry, the dumbass of an author hasn’t been posting much as of late. The script says…” Wade looks down over the script that is still in his hand.

“That’s he’s had a lot of shit to do in the last three months and that he’s sorry college, actually college applications, family, work, gaming, friends, and even pure disinterest got in the way… Pure disinterest? What the fuck dude. You disappear for three months and don’t say shit! Come on man!” Wade’s hatred for the author builds as the few seconds of fourth wall break go by.

“Aye, leave the poor guy alone! He said he had shit to do. And for fucks sake you’d do the same, Wade… I bet you’d even abandon the damn thing without a word.” Wade rolls his eyes at his blind friend.

“Ohh, come on. It took him 3 months to start on my birthday chapter. I can be a little mad can’t I ?!?” Peter somehow breaks the fourth wall, walking right onto the screen and looking at the two bickering men.

“Mommy and Daddy are fighting again!”

Back to this damn story…

Ahh yes, as of course Wade's party had been at Josie's bar. They’d thrown a party there for the past two years and it was always a fun time for everyone. No one questioned Peter’s age and no one seemed to fight. It was all good things for the three boys.

Peter was currently on his third drink of the night. Even if they had no effect on him he could at least pretend it did something to numb his pain. Wade was taking shots like a mad man like usual, Foggy was all the while trying to stop Wade from doing so. Karen was being a typical Karen… Which meant telling Peter multiple times that it was in fact, a really bad idea to drink at such a young age.

To which he replied with “I have a metabolism on par with Captain America. I’ll be fine. At least let me pretend to drink my problems away.” All Karen could do was roll her eyes at the teen and wish she hadn’t come to the party.

Matt was as of course caught between helping Karen with Peter and stopping Wade from threatening to kill yet another person… There’d been many threats during Peter’s absence and Matt didn’t need another to happen in Peter’s presence.

Eventually, the group settled down enough to begin to talk amongst themselves peacefully without Wade throwing curses and wishing he could do what he did before he was a part of their so-called “Team”. To which as of course Peter replied with “But you love it Wade.” The overly drunken man found no words to fight back with. What was he supposed to do?

The group began to talk about the next year and how they were not doing this again. It was always a topic it seemed. Between both Peter and Wade, the bar always felt like a terrible spot until the two somewhat anti-heroes swayed the group back to the bar again during another birthday party.

Wade had been given new katanas and some new handguns. Wade hadn’t been this excited since he’d received Christmas Presents a year before. “Wade you look like you’re more excited about the damn guns than having all of us together.”

“That’s because I am. I mean come on look at these new Walters. You’d be as excited as me Webs if you got some as well.” Peter rolled his eyes. He might not have the same morals he had as when he was younger. But Peter wasn’t a killer.

“Wade, you’re birthday is about being with people you love, not about the gifts they give.” The mutant faced prick could only hold back a chuckle for so long. “Keep telling yourself that.” Matt rolled his eyes at Wade’s antics and pretended not to be only a slight bit jealous of the katanas.

He might like boxing… But knives were always nice too.

“Alright guys, I’ll see you later.” Peter waved goodbye to his group of friends. He was way too exhausted to go on patrol and even driving home would be a little difficult in all honesty but Peter made the decision to go on patrol. ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ was all he had to think.

A lot could happen..

To say the least, once again Peter soon found himself in a bit of a predicament. He’d been following a lead on one of King Pin’s men and it had somehow led to a building owned by Norman Osborn. However, for what reason were the men here was still unknown.

“The boss says we need to find him. He’s the key to it all and Osborn thinks the best place to start is with a plane full of old Avengers Tech. It’s transporting some equipment for their new facilities upstate.” One of the men out of the shadows nodded to the one who’d been talking.

“Yea, Boss wants this to be as covert as possible. Norman’s gonna do it alone. We’re just here to receive and transport.” A third man let out a huff of air, almost out of displeasure for the idea of being nothing more than a smuggler.

“I know it’s not the best job but we gotta get the info. If we can find out who the kid is and ransom him, we’d make a fortune. And the boss might finally bring the great Tony Stark to his knees. Imagine the power we’d have if it was true. Tony Stark has a son.” Peter rolled his eyes, as of course there was only mention of one son…

“So when are we doing this?” The man in charge shrugged, he wasn’t sure when or even where they would be in position. All he did know was that the big man needed every man he could get a hold of to carry out some elaborate plan.

What didn’t make sense still was why “the boss” or what Peter only presumed to be kingpin was really up to. Of course, taking a child for ransom made sense, and nonetheless breaking down you’re enemies made even more sense but why was he buying buildings from Norman and why was Norman a part of it all.

There had to be a reason why Norman was helping Fisk. What did Norman have to gain in selling to Fisk and helping in his schemes to take down Tony Stark? There was obviously the money and power play aspect but other than that it didn’t make sense.

And while Norman liked power, he understood that Tony Stark wasn’t the way to get to Stark Industries. While the company bore his last name it wasn’t his company to deal with or oversee. The selling of buildings couldn’t be for consolidation of assets or any of the like. The properties were all sold to Fisk; who Norman wouldn’t have agreed to sell to in the first place if that was the only reason for the sale.

He hated Fisk as much as Stark. What was the reason? There was none, there really couldn’t have been a reason. It made no logical sense why Norman Osborn would sell part of his company out to a mad man…

“Whatcha watching Spidey? Ohh, how I love to watch my prey two. Mwahahahaha!” A shadowy green figure appeared behind Spider-man. The slender form of what could only be described as a goblin stood before him. A long slim smirk etched into the faceplate of the costume was one hell of a greeting.

“Who are you!” Peter yelled, standing up from his position and getting quickly into a fighting stance. The Goblin only laughed harder.

“Who am I? Who am I? Well well well, wouldn’t you like to know, fly? You’ve spun your little web right into my little trap!” His voice was hoarse and harsh with venom laced within. Whoever this man was, he wasn't there to talk it out.

“Why are you here. This is none of your business.” Peter’s mind froze, after the shocks and laughs of earlier in the day. Peter was running low on quips and energy. The goblin threw the first punch. Landing square in Peter’s chest.

A hard shock of pain grazed through Peter's abdomen. His senses weren’t fast enough for some reason.

“Come on Spider, I would have thought you’d put up more of a fight!” The goblin-like figure threw another punch yet this time Peter caught the punch and quickly tried to throw one of his own. However, the goblin quickly moved his head and kicked Spider-man in the leg.

“Come on Spider, you can do better than that!” Peter tried to throw yet another punch, this time landing square on the goblin's left cheek. Yet, he seemed unfazed by the action. And grabbed onto Spider-man’s right arm. Tossing him off of the rooftop and onto the ground.

Peter quickly web onto another building side scape and landed onto the ground with ease. The Goblin followed suit doing much the same and landing with a rather loud thud to the ground. His laugh grew in strength as he grabbed something from his belt.

“You’ll really like these, Spider-Man.” The Goblin-like figure tossed small balls of purple and orange at the Spider. Peter’s neck flared with danger and he quickly jumped up onto the side of a nearby building as quickly as he could.

Beeping could be heard for several seconds before a loud boisterous explosion came. Rubble and debris flew into the sky and the laughs of the goblin grew louder as he smiled at Spider-man.

“Come on Spider, just try and get out of the web I’ve spun you into!” Peter shook off the dust that laid on his shoulders and stretched his arms.

He flicked his wrist and webs shot towards the goblin. Landing on target the man fell to the ground. And yet with arms still free he pulled another bomb-like ball from his belt and hurled them towards Peter.

Soon the beeping turned into an explosion and when the debris cleared and Peter’s ears began to settle down from their ringing all that was left of the green man was the rubble he left in his wake.

Chapter Text

“Peter, what do you mean you were attacked! You were mauled by something, not attacked. Look at yourself, look at the F***ing blood coming out of your arm. Why did you not let me know you were going somewhere, why didn’t you call one of us!” Matt looked at Peter with pure shock and terror as the boy nearly lay limp on the office couch.

“What was I supposed to do! We have a job to protect the city and I wasn’t gonna not do my job! Matt, Kingpin is out there doing whatever the h*ll he wants, and you’re going to yell at me for trying to stop him.” The boy looked at his mentor, trying to judge the thoughts and feeling rushing through the man’s head.

“I’m not blaming you for chasing information, Peter. I’m annoyed by the fact that you didn’t call for backup and you let yourself get hurt. I don’t care what you find if you don’t come back from who knows where. That’s on me. No one else can take responsibility for your actions. I’m to blame for what happens to you.” Matt’s eyes seemed to scream disappointment at the boy and Peter couldn’t even see them. Hidden by the rose-tinted glasses was sheer madness and anger.

Not at the boy, no Matt may have been saddened or disappointed, but he wasn’t angry at Peter. He was more than pissed about whoever hurt the child he was looking after. Peter couldn’t look Matt in the eyes, even if he wanted to. The weight at which they held against him was too much.

“Come on, let us get you bandaged up and ready to go. You’ve got school in-” Matt looked down at the watch he definitely couldn’t read.

“Like, I don’t know. Maybe 4 hours, I’m blind.” Peter nearly laughed, but he couldn’t. Matt had looked so done with everything around him that even his sarcasm came out more angered than pleasant and funny.

Peter stayed mute, not wanting to anger his mentor any more than he already had. Even if Matt wasn’t angered by Peter, the kid wasn’t taking a chance. The two eventually settled down, Peter agreeing to tell Matt next time.

Soon after the boy was bandaged and treated, Peter walked home. Doing his best to avoid looks of concern and interest on the way. His face was torn and bleeding in places while his body screamed pain and agony.

Soon enough, Peter made it back home and fell onto his couch. It’s been a long day, some events better than other’s but still came out to be the same effect. Tiredness driving the boy to sleep deprivation and the inability to stay awake. Soon he fell asleep, yet he was plagued by his mind and body. Pain coursing through ever so often while his mind wondered about what would happen in the distant future.

Nearly a Month Goes by Without a Word...

Time had flown passed, crime had slowed down, and Homecoming was around the corner. No, less than two days away. Peter and MJ had talked from time to time. Catching up with one another on all sorts of different topics.

Harry and Peter had drifted to some extent, no fault of Harry’s or Peter. More so the fault of time and work. Peter had been thrown into work like usual. Attempting to get ready for the January product releases.

However, one thing seemed clear. Whoever The Goblin was, he intended to cause more trouble for the group.

Thanks to Wade, the three had managed to get intel on where and when the kidnapping would take place. However, what they couldn’t figure out was why they wanted to take the child. Of course, a ransom was an option.

But, neither Kingpin nor The Goblin seemed to fit the kidnapper lifestyle. Kingpin was from high society and often looked down upon people. Whereas The Goblin seemed to be more based on the idea of chaos and destruction. Why kidnap a teen from some rich billionaire with the most advanced tech on the planet.

The three still had no answer, and with the attempt happening in a matter of days, the three couldn’t think why some kid was so important.

Peter as of course understood that Harley’s life could be in danger but made no real effort to stop The Goblin prior to the attack. Worried that if he were to alert some type of security, it would not only be possible to cause him more harm through Tony but also Harley harm due to the attempt being moved forward to a point where no one could stop it.

“So what day are they planning on kidnaping Harley again?” Peter looked at the two, he couldn’t remember for the life of him when it was supposed to happen. He’d been working way too much on projects, M.I.T. work, and regular high school work to keep it all straight.

“Kingpin and The Goblin plan to attack Stark Tower in two days. Kingpin’s ground crew will start by penetrating the lower and mid sections of the tower. Forcing the building into lockdown. Then some new guy by the name of Vulture will alternatively strike down a transport that is heading to the new Avenger’s facility upstate. By doing so, the group hopes to overwhelm the Avengers and force them to spread out.” Matt begins to pull more paper out from under the table the three are standing around. Each looking at the other with wonder and sheer concern of how bad it could go.

“Finally, The Goblin will attack the penthouse suite of the Avengers tower. By doing so, they should be able to break into the safe room in the penthouse taking the child hostage for purposes still unknown.” Peter nodded, and Matt sighed. This was not going to end well for anyone.

“Alright, now that that’s out of the way. We can discuss what we’re going to do. Since there are only three of us. We’re’ going to have to split up. Wade, you take care of the plane. If an Avenger shows up, either offer help or leave and return to the penthouse. Peter, you and I are going to cover the penthouse. Once The Goblin strikes, we’re going to jump in and do our best to protect Harley. At least until he’s safe.” The group nodded, understanding that the Avengers may intervene at any time and that no one was truly safe. Harley would need help and even with his own suit. It would be difficult to fight off The Goblin.

So, whether the Avengers wanted assistance, the group was going to help. And even if the group of anti-heroes were going to help, that didn’t mean they could provide full support for anything that wasn’t planned.

Chapter Text

Homecoming had finally arrived for one Peter Parker, and it was going far better than he’d ever expected it to. Harry, along with his date, had arrived to pick Peter and MJ up from her place. With a goodbye to her parents Peter and MJ entered the waiting limo that Norman had provided for the four.

“Hey Pete.” Harry waved to the boy and girl accompanying the boy a few steps back. “Hey Harry!” The two greeted back as they sat down. Kate, Harry’s date, waved to two and introduced herself as someone from a business school across the city. 

Soon the four would fall into conversation about all sorts of different topics. Most pertaining to dinner, and what they were looking forward to.

The dinner goes smoothly, each ordering something they all like. Harry orders a steak, Peter does the same, while the two girls choose something a bit different with MJ getting a recommendation from their waiter, and Kate getting a salad and another entrée to go with it. 

The dinner goes smoothly, with Harry and Kate laughing as Peter tries to be a somewhat non-stuttering mess around the four. He couldn’t help it, he was just so nervous. However, MJ offered a hand to hold, which had managed to calm him somewhat.

“Than-thanks.” He murmured to the red head as she laughed at the poor boy's red face. She to, had found his nervousness cute. He was adorable.

Soon though, the group fell once again into conforming times as they all talked about their studies and about the time their history teacher had accidentally cursed in front of the whole class… Which had Kate telling the group about her science teacher setting the lab on fire.

Eventually though, the group finished their meals and Harry was more than happy to pay for the meal, much to Peter’s annoyance. (He tried to help wherever he could). However, Harry refused the money as much as possible and only relented when the two girls began to laugh at their antics.

With their meals out of the way, the four made their way back to the car. Midtown was around 20 minutes from the restaurant.

As the group pulled up to the school’s gym Peter let go a sigh. Hopefully, he could make it through the night before the attack on the tower. However, the likelihood of that happening was rather low. 

The plane was due to leave in just under an hour from now. Matt and Wade were both waiting outside of the tower for the attack to commence. And would contact Peter as soon as possible.

However, getting away from homecoming would be far more difficult than he originally planned. Mainly because he felt so bad for having to possibly leave MJ on short notice. It pained him deeply to do that to her but with a sigh he relented. Following the group before him, the four friends made their way into the gym.

Music could be heard down the hall of the gym, balloons and signs hung overhead as they walked. Some classmates walked around while others stood outside, taking tickets and conversing with friends. 

The group walked into the main hall, finding a table and placing their things down and conversing once again. “So do you guys want to go dance?” Harry asked the other three. Kate nodded and was soon led off towards the dancefloor. Whereas MJ just smirked at Peter, grabbing his hand pulling the boy off towards the dance floor close behind the other two.

“Come on Pete!” Peter let out a small laugh as the two began to dance. A slow song played as the two laughed at Harry’s terrible dancing skills. Kate, laughing harder than anyone as he tried his best. Peter fared the same as his friend. MJ clutching her stomach as Peter brightened from how terribly he was doing.

“I’m so sorry.” He murmured as he continued to trip over her feet. 

“Here, let me slip out of these and stand on your feet? That way you aren’t tripping over my poor feet.” She smirked as the boy let go a small stammered “O-okay”. 

MJ took off her heels, leaving them at the side of the dance floor and stepped on top of the boy's shoes. With Peter no longer having to worry about tripping over MJ, he felt much more at ease. MJ leaned on the poor boy. Finding comfort in his movements. “This is nice, you know?” 

Peter nodded; it was really nice to be doing this with her. The person he’d liked for so long, and yet he worried that the night would end too soon.

“Yea, it-it’s really nice to do this with you. I-I just hope you're happy… I know I’m not exactly-” MJ sighed, Peter had always been shy, even nervous around her at times, but he truly was a great guy.

“Peter, I wouldn't be here if I didn’t want to go with you. I-I wasn’t planning on coming until you asked me. I just- dancing really isn’t my thing either. And please understand that I am more than happy to be spending this time with you. You’ve been a great frie- You’re honestly more than a friend.” The two quieted as the last of the song finished out. Peter’s face peppered with red as MJ fared no better.

“Come on, let’s go sit down… Your feet have to be hurting?” Peter shook his head, he was fine. “Well, still, let's go sit down,  I just want to talk for a while.” He nodded; Peter understood she certainly wasn’t much on fast-paced dancing anyway.

Harry and Kate soon joined the two, and they sat and conversed as the night went on. Around the halfway point, one of the teaching staff, their 9th grade science teacher Mr. Smith came out to reveal the king and queen.

“Well, I hope you’ve all enjoyed your night so far. Without all of you and the teaching staff here at Midtown High, this would not have been possible. All our students have far exceeded our expectations so far this year and you’ve all come so far in such a short time. But tonight, is a night of celebration and I’ve been volunteered by our wonderful staff-.” Mr. Smith looked to the teaching staff in the far-right corner of the gymnasium. 

“That I am going to reveal the Homecoming King and Queen. You were all given a form at the beginning so hopefully you all turned that in.” Some people looked at their friends, having not actually turned in the forms.

“And without further ado, I’d like to congratulate-.” The teacher looked down to the letter he held in his hand.

“Harry Osborn as the Homecoming King! Congratulations Mr. Osborn.” Harry sighed, and was pushed by Kate to go up and receive his crown. He hadn’t even wanted it…

“And, I would also like to award the title of Homecoming Queen to Ms. Mary Jane Watson!” The crowd clapped as MJ blushed greatly by being given the award. She’d always been one of the more popular girls in school, especially among their grad year.

“I ahh, I don’t know what to say. I wasn’t expecting to win this in all honesty.” The crowd laugh as Mr. Smith presented the girl a crown/tiara. Which she wanted to refuse but accepted, nonetheless.

Peter sighed, he was happy for his friends but felt somewh-somewhat jealous over MJ and Harry being awarded the titles. If it’d been anyone else he’d been fine but it had to be those two.

As MJ was being presented a crown Peter’s phone rang. The event had only been going on for half an hour and yet just by the caller I.D. Peter knew it was over for him. “Hey.” He answered.

“Times up Spider, you thought you spun your own little web… But you’ve fallen right into my trap!” Cackling followed the voices proclamation.

“How did you get this num-?” Cackling stopped Peter from finishing his question. He should have known, should have thought that the man was smarter than this.

“Come now Spider, your friend is waiting, and I don’t know much longer he can!” Peter groaned as he ended the call with the goblin. 

Of course, Norman would find Matt, he should have known the man would figure it out, should have known that it was a setup all along. “Damn It!” Peter yelled under his breath as he turned and quickly rushed out of the gymnasium. 

MJ watched as her friend/date/Love interest ran from the room. She stopped paying attention to Mr. Smith, stopped listening to the cheers of her fellow students, and more so importantly stopped thinking. She ran after the boy, her body moving on it’s own as she ran from the stage after the brown haired boy.

“Peter!” She yelled as she ran after him...

MJ ditched her heels, trying to catch up to Peter. But he was too fast, and too far gone for her to even try to find. As she reached the doors to the gymnasium, she forced open the metal door on the right and stepped out into the parking lot.

Nothing, darkness only stood before her. The parking lot still filled with vehicles and buses but no life other than the animals that roamed. 

“Peter!” She yelled again, hoping that the boy would be there, what happened, was it something she’d done? MJ, thought, tried to understand why the boy would leave so abruptly. She tried to tell herself that it was an emergency or the typical Peter Parker exit.

Peter was gone, as far as she could tell and only one thought came to mind, and she didn’t like it… She couldn’t believe he had just run off.

Chapter Text

Peter didn’t know what to do, Matt was at best in clutches of the Goblin and at worst dead. Though Peter knew the man wouldn’t likely kill Matt. There was also a side of Goblin that was akin to that of a psychotic maniac.

He’d left home coming as soon as possible, zipping out of Mid-Town, and hurling himself off towards Broadway Street where stark/Avenger’s tower was located. Peter assumed that’s where Goblin would be, of course he couldn’t possibly know for sure, but they did have a plan to steal.

Pete’s mind raced as the tall buildings of Manhattan came into view. Standing above all those who passed by, he could see one of the planes that were supposed to be loaded with cargo perched atop the towers overhang.

‘The plan, what was the-’ Peter ran over the plan he and two others had gone over for the past few days. Wade hadn’t jumped into action and Matt was supposed to wait until Goblin attacked. Peter assumed that Matt had prematurely attacked without contacting him due to a change. Goblin having likely jumped the gun on attacking Avenger’s tower.

“Incoming call sir.” Came the voice of Karen.

“Put them through Karen.”

“Hey Petey… We’ve got a problem-Matt ah, he started the attack already since Goblin showed early. The attack on the tower hasn’t begun but-It seems like they’re getting ready for takeoff.” Wade continued.

“Wait-Wade, has Goblin attacked the penthouse yet?” Peter asked, his mind beginning to whirl with thought.

“Not that I-though it seems that… *Explosion. Gotta go Pete, they’re attacking the lower floors now.” Peter let go a sigh, damn it!

The line dropped and Peter was once again left to his thoughts. The Avengers tower grew closer, and from the sky’s he noticed another figure. Green and grey shown in the night sky. ‘Vulture?’

Peter kept an eye on the figure flying above, though it wasn’t necessarily his concern now. Matt was in trouble and for now took priority. Peter tried to figure out what the next logical plan was. They had Matt, Wade had to deal with Vulture, the Avengers had a stolen plane, and an attack to deal with. He had Matt to find and Harley. Though now Peter realized that Harley wasn’t really the game plan, they weren’t after him-’He’s the distraction!’

They weren’t after Harley, or the tower. They wanted what was in the plane. Whatever Stark had been moved had to be valuable and Vulture made his living off old tech if Peter remembered right.

Finally, he landed on the overhang of the tower. There hardly anyone was left, the loader were gone, the plane having just taken off and the only person left standing on the run way was-

“Mr. Hogan! Please get to a safe place. Stark’s son is the target of the attack, along with the plane that just left. The occurrence on the lower floor is a distraction.” His uncle looked over to him, an eyebrow raised and his usually disgruntle nature coming out.

“What are you doing here Spider-man?” Happy asked, an eyebrow quirked upwards as he looked the spandex clad hero over.

“Me and my associates got word roughly four days ago that villains by the names of Goblin, Vulture, and King Pin were going to attack the tower. However, I worried for the safety of Starks son and felt that it could jeopardize his life if I had informed the Avengers sooner.” Happy seemed angered, ‘why didn’t they inform us, we could have stopped this ahead of time!’

Sensing the man’s anger, Peter looked directly at him. “Please, I was trying to protect Harley.” Happy’s eyes widened, anger vanishing as he only smiled at the boy. Faintly one could hear the man say ‘Peter?’

“I-I have to go. Please, get to safety.” The bodyguard turned favorite uncle nodded and headed towards one of the safe rooms in the tower. His hand brought his watch closer to his face as he spoke into it. Sending word to Stark that Harley may be in danger.

Peter ran towards the elevator, hoping that it would still be working. Though he wasn’t sure, the explosion could have damaged the components. With a sigh, he pressed his hands against the private elevator, and the doors squealed open.

On arrival Peter wasn’t sure what he expected. Though the sight before him certainly did not meet the expected view. The common floor had been essentially ruined, couches, chairs, tables, papers, and anything else were either destroyed or laying haphazardly around the room.

Scorch marks could be seen along the common room floor and the glass top coffee table was broken in several pieces. Though what caught Peter’s eyes was the sight that stood before him.

“Matt-” Peter’s mind raced as he looked at the figure before him, blood pooling from his sides as the man lay hardly conscious on the apartment floor. His head shifted only slightly as Matt looked up, clinging to consciousness as he muttered. “Nor-Norman is the Goblin.”

Chackling could be heard from afar, screams for help as more chackling soon followed. Peter rushed past Matt’s side, vowing to come back as soon as possible. “Karen sent Wade a message-The Plane is no longer a priority, Penthouse floor, Matt’s Unconscious!”  Peter spoke in as low a voice as he could muster, sneaking through the penthouse. The laughing and crying got louder and louder as he reached his half-brother’s room.

“Come on now prodigal son, I haven’t even had my fill yet! BEG FOR MERCY!” Another yell and chuckle would follow as Peter neared. Harley’s door was ajar as Peter got closer, the overhead light was on, pouring out into the hallway.

Pushing the door open, Peter didn’t let the dismay get to him. The room was a mess, what little boxes were left were destroyed. The windows that fell onto the far side were all broken, allowing the hard autumn breeze to rush in.

Norman stood above the boy, as he cowered into a corner. What looked to be a bomb held in his hand, Norman continued to laugh hard as the whimpers grew louder. “Goblin! Leave him alone.” Peter’s voice was sharp, angered yet held back to some degree.

“Oh, and what are you going to do Spider-man?” The villain asked, the masked face raising an eyebrow as he stood up. Leaving the cowering child alone as he addressed the larger threat.

“What do you think Gobby?” Peter quipped, his hands moving upwards, ready to release.

“You've spun your last web Spider-Man. Had you not been so selfish, your big brother’s death would have been quick and painless. But now that you’ve really pissed me off. I’m gonna finish him nice and slow just like your friend out there. Your brothers going to be plastered all over the walls and then the news, Peter.” 

Peter's eyes winded as he looked Osborn down, greed and anger shown on the man's face as madness danced amongst his mind. There was no saving Norman, no bringing back the man Peter once knew. 

“AGH!” Peter yelled as he lunged forward at Norman, his arms out reaching as he tackled the man sending them both flying backwards. Slamming against the metal frame windows, the force destroyed what little support was left.

“NO!” Goblin yelled as the bomb fell from his hand landing onto the floor. Norman’s right hand quickly wound back, trying to hit Peter. Though it would never connect, the ticking began. *Tick.

Another punch was thrown, Peter trying to once again push Norman off, and out of the room *Tick “You think you’ve won Spider-Man?” The Goblin questioned as he smirked. ‘Danger!’

Peter’s mind yelled, *TICK. Peter quickly jumped towards the bomb as it rolled further along the floor, flashing orange and yellow as it did so. Peter grabbed the bomb, dodging Norman as he tried to dive for it.

“Godspeed Spider-Man!” Goblin coughed out, smiling almost at his and the stark son’s demise.

Without thinking, Peter tackled the green man before him, tumbling out of the tower. “AGH!” The two yelled as they fell, the bomb held within Peter’s hand falling out as he tackled the man, flying out into the open air. Both he, the goblin and the bomb all fell towards the Manhattan sidewalk. *TI-

The world went dark, the bombs impact sending him and Norman in separate directions as they fell. A chuckle dyeing out as the bomb went off, pain rushed through him as he fell. 

Peter awoke sometime after that several people stood above him. Strangers, the kindhearted people of New York stood above him each looking to make sure he was okay. “What hap-Shit!” Peter cursed, everything rushing back to his mind. Matt, Wade, the attack, Norman, Harley!

Peter stood, shaking somewhat as he did so. Looking around, he noticed that the Goblin was nowhere in sight. “Was anyone hurt?” He asked, gentlemen who’d stood next to him. Concern playing on the persons mind, though he shook his head.

“Thank you.” Peter said before once again swinging off, his face hurt, his body coursed with pain and his head certainly was concussed. Peter swung upwards and landed in Harley’s room sine the windows had been shattered.

Harley was nowhere to be found though so; Peter’s didn’t worry about the boy. He wasn’t of concern for the moment. ‘Matt!’ Peter’s mind yelled as he rushed off towards the common area. The halls were all the same, no one else had seemed to enter. Though Peter was slightly worried for Harley. 

He still didn’t want the kid to die.

As Peter neared the living room more concerned seemed to bubble within him. Noise could be heard from far off, though due to Peter’s concussion he wasn’t sure whose. Peter neared closer, his mind still racking with even more pain with every step.

“I should have you detain and arrested!” Yelled one voice.

“We were trying to help, your son could have been killed, Stark!’

“YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME MY SON WAS BEING TARGETED!”

 “Could you both shut up! Wade, come on let’s go.” Peter said, his mind going into worry over Matt’s condition and fear for being in front of his father.

“Spider-Man, what are you doing here?” The Stark asked, about to raise an accusing hand at the spandex clad hero. Peter waved the man off, smugly replying. “Leaving.”

“Come on, help me get Daredevil back to my place. He’ll need some stitches and rest. Hopefully, Norman didn’t break anything too important. Also, Mr. Stark the ones behind this were Kingpin, Norman Osborn-otherwise known as the Goblin, and Vulture. I assume your team has handled Vulture and Kingpin. Goblin has once again disappeared, but I’ll leave his capture up to you. Since your son was the target of the attack.” Peter was done, he wanted out of this, if Norman had escaped rather than dying in some ditch. It could be Tony’s problem.

“Now, I’m going to take my men home, lick my wounds, and try to keep the streets clean. Since you can’t seem to look out for the little guy.” With that, everything became a blur, Peter, Wade, and Matt would all head back to his apartment. Each covered in blood in some way. Though Peter was sure Wade’s wasn’t his own.

And so, concludes the long-awaited chapter that I enjoyed writing way more than I thought I would. Most of Goblin's lines were taken from the original spiderman and it just seems right… Though I adapted it to fit Harley instead of MJ.

Chapter Text

Peter, Matt, and Wade had all made it across town without being seen. Though it had proven to be rather difficult carrying Matt down the dark streets of New York. At least it was a typical sight for a Tuesday night. 

Though everything would become rather atypical when the three made it to Peter’s apartment building. Pressing the elevator button, the three soon road up the long elevator to one of the upper floors where Peter resided.

To say Peter’s day was about to go from bad to worse was a fair assessment.

As the three rounded the corner to where Peter’s apartment entrance was, a single figure stood. Her arms crossed as she tapped her foot lightly. To say the person was upset was likely an understatement.

Of course, Peter’s danger sense didn’t go off, and while still in uniform with his hood down around his face he along with the other two walked closer. Matt was still hardly conscious, spouting something about Fisk and his wife and blah, blah, blah. Peter could deal with that later.

Wade on the other hand simply helped carry the wounded devil. Matt’s arms spread across both their shoulders as they walked closer, the man’s legs dragging along the ground as they did so. Peter sighed as they finally got closer to the door.

“Would you please stop mumbling; I’m trying to make sure you don’t bleed out!” Peter sarcastically growled at the man hung over his shoulders.

“Wha-whatever you say Sp-spider-boi.”

“*Ahem!” Came the clearing of one Mary Jane Watson’s voice as she looked the three stooges over.

“SH*T!” Wade nearly yelled, jumping slightly as they all three looked forward, each’s eyes widening.

“M-MJ?” Peter asked, worry coursing through him as he looked the redhead in front him over.

 “Peter Parker… Where have you been?” She asked, venom escaping her mouth as she looked the three boys over. Her mind still not quite connecting the dots that stood in front of her face.

“Umm-A little help Wade!” Peter stammered, side eyeing the mercenary next to him. The man shrugged. “She’s your girlfriend man, don’t get me mixed up in that.” Wade gestured to the angered red head that stood before them.

“Matt-help.” Peter begged, hoping his father figure would maybe, possible, hopefully, save him from whatever rath MJ was about the unleash on him. Goblin had been bad, his identity being exposed to Haley was terrible, facing MJ? Peter needed to go hurl.

“Tiger, where did you go?” MJ asked, looking the boy up and down for the first time since he’d arrived. Noting the spandex, blood, the scarring that coated the boy's face.

“Comic Con?” Peter quipped, hoping that the jokes would for once in his life save him. However, MJ’s eyes widened more and more as she looked the scene in front of her over. Her brain connecting the dots as she realized exactly what Peter had gone to do.

Well not exactly, but at least somewhat of what the boy had done.

“You-you’re Sp-Spider-man… And that-that’s-” She stumbled out as she looked the three in front of her over. Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Deadpool all stood in front of her; with blood all over them. She wasn’t sure if she should be angry or worried.

“Can we continue this conversation inside?” Peter asked, pulling his keys out of his pocket of his dress pants that he worn underneath the suit. The red head could only nod in agreement. The four figures quickly walked inside, Peter walking to his bathroom and pulling his med kit from the cabinet.

Walking back in, Peter and Wade pulled the Devilish figures body onto his nice white couch and began to stitch what little they could back together. “Guess you owe me a new couch dad.” Peter quipped, a small smirk falling upon his face as the man muttered something in return.

Soon, Matt was taken care of, and Wade was told to go back to one of the guest rooms that was seldom used unless the three were dog tired. Which for once, it was the case. Peter’s apartment was large. With three bedrooms, a kitchen/living space, a lab, and a small home office it was fairly expensive for upper Manhattan. Though, Peter certainly wasn’t one to spend, it had been an exception.

“Alright, spill.” MJ urged as the two were finally somewhat alone. Peter sighed, he didn’t want to let her know, worried that she could be hurt in the process. Though, with a sigh, words began to fall from the boy’s mouth.

“I-I am Spider-Man… I was bitten by a radioactive spider on our freshman trip to Oscorp and gained the abilities of a Spider. I hid this information from my parents for roughly a year before I left. I-I couldn’t take it anymore-” A pitiful near cry left the boys mouth, and MJ’s hand fell upon the boys back.

“After the incident, I moved into Wade’s old apartment, though that didn’t last long. Soon I got bored and started inventing which led to the creation of Spidertech. That is the company I own and Matt runs- He-he’s daredevil and more or less my father figure. And before you ask, yes, we just got back from a mission. Yes, it was stressful, yes, I’m tired, and yes it was bad. But a friend once told me ‘With great power, comes great responsibility.’” Peter offered the girl beside him a small smile as he wiped tears from his eyes.

“Ar-are you okay?” The girl asked, worry building in her as she looked over her friend. He was hurt, bruised, but most importantly he seemed conflicted.

“N-no I’m not okay and I’m sorry you have to see me like this. I’m so-so sorry I hid this from you and-I’m broken. I know that- I just want to help people… But all I do is hurt them in the end.” Peter curled in on himself, his legs being squeezed against him as MJ wrapped her arms around him, offering what little comfort she could.

“You’re not broken Tiger. You haven’t hurt me or your friends… I’m just worried Pete-I care about you- a lot. And I don’t want to see you hurt- and you’re not broken-” She stopped; her throat caught as she tried to tell him how she felt. But there was nothing, but utter concern laced within her thoughts.

“I-Mary Jane, I’m so sorry you had to see me like this… You should have to deal with my trauma-You should have to burden yourself with me. I just wanted to get to know you-wanted us to be something more, but I realized now that I-I can’t be with anyone if all I cause is pain. The only reason these two stuck around is because he-” Peter gestured to Matt.

“Is obligated by law, and the other cannot physically die. You shouldn’t have to deal with me, shouldn’t have to-shouldn’t have to feel obligated to look out for me.” A dry heave fell from Peter’s mouth as he cried, he’d caused so much harm, why would she of all people care about him.

“NO-Pete, please don’t say that. I am not obligated to help you; I am here because I was worried and-” MJ’s own eyes filled with tears as she hugged the boy tighter. “I like you Pete, your so-so kind, and always looking out for me or for Harry. You care about other, and you would put my happiness over your own. I came here because I thought you’d been jealous or angry or annoyed at me and that- “MJ sighed; her mind unable to communicate everything she wanted to say.

 I’m not leaving you, not now… Not ever.”

The two stay like that for some time, huddled together as they softly tremble against the other trying to gain comfort in each other's arms.

Harley didn’t know what to feel, didn’t know what to think… Didn’t even know what to process first. His mind swirled in thought over and over again trying to digest the events that just transpired.

They’d been attacked by three villains all in one night. He’d nearly lost his life at the hands of a man called the Goblin. A bomb had nearly taken him from this world and to top it all off with the biggest F-you he’d ever seen. Peter Stark was Spider-Man.

The brother that had abandoned him, left him, and his family was a masked, spandex wearing, spider themed hero.

Who’d just risked life and limbs to save the bother he’d left behind. Protecting Harley when in his darkest hour, trying to make sure he didn’t die at the hands of some psychotic maniac. Harley was shaken, horrified, and grateful.

He would never understand why Peter left, never see the reasons why his brother had abandoned him…

Why the only constant in his life would up and vanish from his world. But Harley was grateful for his brother. He wouldn’t be alive if the boy hadn’t saved him. And when Goblin had been taken down and Spider-Man-

No, when Peter had come back somewhat charred.

It took everything for him not to rush to the boy’s side, trying to comfort him and say how thankful, angry, annoyed, and downright hurt he was at him. But ultimately Harley held back, opting to protect Peter’s identity from his father.

Harley's mind told him it was wrong, so-so wrong to hide such a thing from Tony fricking Stark! But Harley would, his brother had nearly given his life to save him. Harley may have been mean, may have looked down upon his brother at times without knowing it. But he understood that if his brother was willing to sacrifice his life. Then Peter still loved him, still wanted him to be okay.

Life may not be fair; it may not even be nice. But in the end, it’s about the friends and family we make along the way.

September 13th, 2021 - After a year of production this fic can finally enter phase two! On to a new day, a new plot to destroy-

Chapter Text

It was supposed to be a normal second semester field trip. Midtown had promised that it was nothing special due to budget cuts. But Peter’s luck would never be anything but terrible. Apparently, they had a last-minute change of plans and had the student field trips quickly changed.

Now, where was Peter going, well... 

Midtown had received an innovation from an up-and-coming tech development firm in Manhattan to come take a tour of their building. Now, the firm wasn’t overly well known. No Stark industries, or Oscorp but it was somewhat large for a New York based company.

It’d been science class with one of Peter’s favorite teachers, he’d passed out forms to them at the start of class as usual. Said something about having them returned by the end of the week and that there was a fee for the tour.

MJ hadn’t said anything to Peter, just smiling at him only slightly as she put her own form away before returning back to looking at the board. They’d started dating at some point, likely a few weeks after homecoming.

They made it work the best that they could. She worried more than he’d like but he understood why. Matt and Wade bad both expressed their liking of her so they had no problem with the red head being in his life.

Maybe she could even curve his drinking problem.

“Alright, now I know some of you may be excited for the trip. But please remember that we have an exam on Monday. A video lecture will be available online along with a study guide.” The teacher sounded off as he began his lecture.

The day, and week would soon pass rather quickly. MJ having come over on Tuesday and Thursday for help with the chem exam and to just be around her boyfriend. Though they’d still hadn’t figured everything out on that front, Peter was unbelievably helpless when it came to such a subject.

Patrol had been easy, just a few muggings, thefts, cats up trees, and every other usual occurrence one could see in queens. Matt was still somewhat bared from doing hero work. Though the man had fully recovered, Peter and Wade just didn’t want him to push his luck even after four-ish months of recouping.

Everything was normal, and that somewhat frightened Peter. Things had been normal for much of his life, there was always the ‘Avengers’ or his dad, or starting a small company, or even just trying to figure out life. The most normal thing about his life for the longest time had been school and even that was weird now with MIT.

So, for Peter to find everything in his life ‘normal’ was concerning to some but more so intriguing to others. Though the universe could never allow the boy to have a normal trip. Peter hoped it would be just that, normal.

It wasn’t

The sounds of the Manhattan could hear over the noise of a yelling bus crowd. Peter had gotten to school on time, turned in his permission slip a whole day in advanced and even managed to snag a seat next to Mary Jane.

Now, things just seemed too good to be true. To say Peter was somewhat apprehensive and worried would an understatement. He fidgeted slightly as he sat next to the red head who was busy conversing with Harry. 

The raven head boy had been somewhat upset with everything that had happened with his father. Angered, annoyed, and mad at the world for the problems dealt to him at first. But he did calm down, found support in his friend and happiness in no longer hiding in his father’s shadow.

But that isn’t important for this story, we aren’t here to watch two best friends tear each other apart for the death of one's father. No-no the tv shows and movies can handle that. We’re here for revenge of a different kind, and that shall come in time.

Peter sighed as he looked out the window, ‘Spidertech’s pretty close to here, wonder if Matt could pick me up.’ Peter wondered to himself, though doubted the blind man would ever do such a thing.

MJ looked over to the somewhat absent Parker, a small smile gracing her face as she looked over his feature. Her right-hand landing on his shoulder to shake him out of his thoughts. “Hey, I think we’re almost there.” She informed him, gaining a meek nod from the boy.

The bus soon stopped, the teacher ushering the students off the bus in a somewhat orderly fashion as he spoke about not wanting to leave another student on the bus again. The group met outside, standing together as their teacher laid down some ground rules for behavior…

However, our brunette was…

Peter was freaking out, ‘Why did I let Matt sign my permission form!’

In front of the spiderling stood the company he owned and operated. The tall, roughly 12 floor building stood before the group of students. The Spidertech logo hung down across the entrance way and the glass front showed off the modern looking lobby.

A blonde receptionist sat at the front desk, looking over a stack of paperwork. A few others milled about, likely getting ready to take their first break. Peter sighed; it was only slightly early to be taking a break so he’d let them have it.

“Alright, come on follow me class.” The teacher instructed as he along with roughly twenty students walked into the building. The receptionist soon looked up waving the teacher and students over. 

“Welcome to Spidertech Industries. You must be Midtown High?” She asked, Peter’s teacher nodded, the students conversed among themselves making small talk as they looked around.

It wasn’t Oscorp but it wasn’t bad either. Sure, they’d all love to see S.I. but this was cool as well. Many were talking about seeing the labs or even just product management. Though of course some, ‘mostly the jocks and popular girls’ could care less about the whole thing. Preferring to just have the day off from regular class.

“Alright, well, I’ll go ahead and call your tour guide down. She should be here any moment.” The teacher nodded and began passing out I.D. badges to everyone in the room. Spidertech required all employees to wear badges, along with anyone else in the building. The only real exception to that was Peter, but he was sure Matt had a badge made for him.

Thankfully, Matt did have a badge made for the boy, along with everyone else. The teacher was given a blue badge that displayed ‘tour group leader’ to make it easier to find him in the labs. Everyone else simply received a ‘tour group’ badge in white.

Their group leader soon arrived. A tall blonde girl wearing heels came out of the elevator. A stack of papers in her hands that were fastened to a clipboard as she looked up a small smile graced her face.

Peter let go a very long sigh… Karen

“Hello, you all must be Midtown High?” She asked looking over the group of students who nodded back or gave a small affirmative in some fashion. 

“Great, I am your group leader for today. You can call me Karen or Ms. Page if you would prefer. Would you all like to start our tour?” The group nodded once again giving Karen several different variants of “Yes Ms. Page.”

Peter let go a long sigh, Karen wasn’t even an S.P.T.I. Though Peter knew she was as good as anyone to give the tour, having been through the building several times with Matt as they talked about the law firm side of things. Peter was just nervous; he didn’t need the employee’s figuring out who he was.

At worst… He could always claim that he was simply Matt’s adopted son but even that likely wouldn’t be bought too easily considering they’d likely never seen the boy before. The receptionist was the only one who really knew Peter even existed.

Soon though, the students began following Karen as she led them off towards the elevator. Most students conversed among themselves as they stood in the elevator. Karen didn’t make any attempt to stop them, obviously planning out what she was going to say once they got to the R&D section of Spidertech.

The doors would soon retract, leading out into a large space where several different interns were running around. Some having paper stacked high in their hands, while others were working on different small projects.

The newest phone was having battery modification test, their new tablet was having screen test, while their new laptop was having the keys tested. Others were working on a variety of different projects but for the most part all interns were working on products for the Mid-summer releases.

“Alright everyone, welcome to R&D where Spidertech does most of its testing. Everyone here is interns other than the division heads.” The students nodded as they continued to follow Karen over to one of the desks where Jim, a head intern, was working.

“Hey Jim, this is the tour group Matt spoke of.” She gestured to the 20ish students behind her and the man nodded. He began to go into several different products and innovations that they were working on.

The class as of course did for the most part pay attention. Jim would eventually introduce the class to some of the interns who’d go on to talk about their projects. Peter had a small smile as each confidently presented their project.

Eventually though, the class moved on, and upwards towards a testing area where part of the floor was taped off for security reasons. Several different tests were going on, and most interns were wearing eye protection and other necessary clothing.

“This is our testing area for all our different projects. For instance, there’s a test going on for our prostheses program. Then there’s also testing for batteries, and cameras, and anything else they may be potentially dangerous to the eyes or body.” The students all nodded, some writing notes down in expectation for a quiz on the field trip. (Can’t believe some schools do that sort of thing.)

However, after some questions from students, mainly Eddie on the camera technology and how it could be dangerous. The class moved on, heading further upwards to the last room Karen thought they’d be visiting.

The last place the students were to be taken to the finishing out floor. Where products were approved or denied based on overall construction, likely success, or any other reasons that could be needed for final approval.

Only a few people milled about on the floor. A division head in a lab coat was standing waiting for the class. “Hello, my name is Grace, I’m the division head for our final approval process here at Spidertech. I, along with my colleagues here mostly deal with looking over projects, approving them for sale, and forwarding them to high management.” The brunette announced as she motioned for the class along with their teacher and guide to follow.

The class followed her as she led them through the office space. Different cubical like areas were spread throughout. Several projects were piled onto of different desk as workers typed away. Some looking up and talking and explaining different processes as they went.

However, everything would come to stop when an oh so familiar voice stopped the group in it’s tracks. “Karen, is that the tour group I hear?” The legal assistant stopped and turned around, meeting the gaze of her friend.

Matt had his cane with him and was dressed proper as ever. “Yes Sir, this is the group from Midtown.” She happily exclaimed as she along with the rest of the group looked at him.

“Ahh, it’s nice to meet you all. And I am very glad to see all of you. Ahh… how many are there?” Matt asked, looking up to Karen with a small smirk on his face. “There’s 19 students and one teacher.”

“Ahh, well I hope you all enjoyed your trip. Would you all like to see my office and the boss’s lab?” The man asked, an even larger smirk gracing his face as mischief only grew. Peter sighed; he hadn’t even cleaned the lab last time he was there… Maybe Karen had done it?

Matt of course was no use for such a thing, even if he could see for the most part. He still couldn’t detect every little object or speck of trash. “Of course, they would, wouldn’t you?” Karen aske looking at the group.

“They’d love too.” The teacher gladly filled, and soon the group followed after Matt. Though he could easily lead his self, he turned to Peter and looked at him with a small smirk. “Young man would you please help guide me.” 

“It would be no problem, Sir.” Peter answered allowing Matt to grab hold of his shoulder as they all entered the elevator.

On the top floor, there were still paper thrown everywhere, different things lay on Matt’s desk. Peter’s office was fortunately closed off with just the name ‘Boss’ written on the door. Peter still didn’t like being called boss, but he’d deal with it.

“Alright, so this is where the owner of Spidertech usually tinkers with different object. Though he spends more time in his private home doing so, if he’s here it’s done in this room. Our owner and founder is not known due to his status as a minor. I lead the company in his absence and provide legal counsel when necessary. All decisions for the most part are made through me, and as such I do the hiring and firing around here with his consent. I also approve and regulate production. In a way I am the CEO of Spidertech while our owner simply owns the company.” Matt stated as he walked to the front of the room.

“You have roughly 20 minutes to explore, the door labeled ‘boss’ is off limits along with my desk nad anything in my office. Feel free to look around the lab as you like though.” The students nodded and soon spread out, looking around as they spaced out.

MJ had at some point grabbed Peter by the wrist and drug him off towards a corner of the room. “That’s Daredevil?” She asked, an eyebrow quirked upwards as she looked at the brunette across the room.

Peter gave a small nodded before speaking. “Yea, that’s Matt, he leads the company while also working as a lawyer and vigilante. I on the other hand own Spidertech-sin-since-you know it’s named after a spider.” MJ nodded and then her eyes widened.

“You own Spidertech?” Peter nodded again, he sighed before looking up to her eyes and decided that everything would have to wait. “Yes, I should tell you who I am at some point. I-I’ll tell you tonight if that’s okay?” She nodded, today was a long day, and she would unfortunately not get the real answer until several weeks later.

Though of course that wouldn’t be her or Peter’s fault more so luck than anything.

“Tony Stark, I’m Doctor Steven Strange. I need you to come with me. Oh, and ah-congratulations on the wedding by the way.”

“I’m sorry, are you giving out tickets or somethin?” The brunette asked, an eyebrow quirked high as Pepper stood behind with a mix of emotions running against her face.

“I’m sorry, but we need your help. Looks it's not overselling it to say the fate of the universe is at stake.”