The bustling streets of New York are as they always are. Cars travelling through the streets, some parts in gridlock as drivers beep and curse at each other. Other people walk and jog the streets, bags of shopping or briefcases hanging off their arms as they hurry hurry hurry. Amongst it all, a blur of blue and red reflects off windows and last-nights rain puddles as it flies through the air.

Peter

"Hey, you should watch where you're going!" I shout as a swing around a light pole and kick a guy square in the chest—causing him to fly back and slam against a brick wall I'd just webbed. This gives the three cops that were chasing him the chance to put the man, who'd just stabbed another man in the stomach, in cuffs.

I swing off and land on a fence, watching to ensure the criminal is secured correctly.

"Thank you Spidey!" One yells. I smile under my mask and give a salute to the policemen. They give me waves of gratitude.

"When did Mr. Stark want me to come to the tower next?" I ask Karen, before I turn and shoot a web at a distant building to swing away and continue my patrol.

"Mr Stark had asked you to come to the tower today."

Things have been odd for a while now. Really, ever since I got back from the disastrous trip to Europe and Mr Stark recovered from the coma, things have been different. And for once, it's a good different.
Ugh, its been wild lately. From Thanos to that whole Mysterio fiasco. Thank god we stopped him from releasing my identity. I never should have trusted him.

Anyway, so things have changed! Mr Stark has started to let me come to his lab every now and then. I get to help with upgrades to my Spidey suit, or Karen's database, or even just tinkering with random things laying around! Mr Stark says I have a good eye for this kind of stuff, and when he found out how I make my web fluid in school he decided to let me make my web fluid in the lab instead. (I say 'let', but it's more of a forced situation. He 'insisted'. And you can't say no to Tony Stark when he 'insists').

I can't complain, it's definitely made things way easier for me! I get to mess around with web combinations and density and such without the fear of being caught by the teachers. Hanging out with Mr Stark has been really great! He says it's to keep an eye on me—stop me from doing anything he would and wouldn't do— but I'm starting to think he's enjoying my company. At least I hope he is.

Blinking out of my thoughts as I shoot another web, I take in what Karen had said. "D-Did you say today?!" I shout in horror, doing a flip and changing my swinging arm to avoid some scaffolding as I scan the city for any petty crimes. It seems too early for criminals right now.

"Yes, Peter." Karen answers. I mutter a curse Steve (or 'capsicle' as Mr Stark calls him) wouldn't be happy about. I started my patrol just after school got out, so I think it's fair to say I can call it early— I'll probably even head back out tonight, when more criminals will be active.

"It is currently 5:37 pm and Tony has requested your presence at 6:00 pm." Karen adds.

"6 pm... ok. I think I can make it if I hurry." I mutter*.

———————————————————————————————————
*
So, I looked it up and apparently it's like 8 miles from Midtown to SI which is close enough. And that's like 12 kms (I'm Aussie if you didn't know) so like Peter should be able to get to SI fast enough, I think. Like fifteen minutes maybe if you count the obstacles? Lemme know if you think I'm wrong, I'm willing to accept constructive criticism. Ok, let's continue.

——————————————————————————————————————

"I have highlighted the fastest route to Stark Tower here," Karen informs me, a GPS route popping up in the corner of my vision.
"Thanks, K!" I cheer gratefully, immediately taking off in the direction. Excitement buzzes in me, along with adrenaline of course, as I wonder what lays ahead this time.

I haven't been to the labs in nearly two weeks, because while Friday's are our usual lab days—and it's Friday today—, it didn't happen last Friday because Mr Stark had a meeting Mrs Potts made him go to—being the sensible one in the relationship, she tends to do that. But I had a decathlon event anyway so I wouldn't have been able to make it. We won, if you were wondering. May even took Ned, MJ and I out to Delma's to celebrate.

Speaking of MJ, bet you're wondering if Mj and I are dating. I mean, I'd say we are? It's a sort of grey area. Mj says we don't need a label because "labels are for stereotypes and misogyny" but i think she secretly cares. ("Hey loser. Let me know if any rabid girls get near you, I'll scare them off."). At least, I think that's what she meant. Hopefully one day I can build up the courage to ask her to be official, if that's how it works.

She also knows I'm Spider-man, she found out amidst the whole Mysterio fiasco. She sort of already figured it out, but she said she was only like 67% sure so I think she can give me, like, 12% of credit for telling her, right? (The remaining 21% is chalked up to chance).

It's kind of nice to have another person back me up with the whole Spider-Man thing. With Ned as my "guy in the chair", May as my mature guardian, (mr Stark is not, what you would call, "mature"...not that I see him as my guardian or anything!) Mr Stark as the smarts behind the suit and all the superhero stuff—like my unofficial mentor(?), and MJ as the stern friend/girlfriend that bosses me around when I need it—like the younger version of Pepper Potts. all in all, i have a great group of people around me.

As I swing through the streets, I can hear the afternoon shoppers and what-not cheering for me— my popularity has risen ever since the Mysterio stuff was sorted out in a press conference and I was able to return to patrols without things being thrown at me.

*a few weeks ago*

"Now, let's welcome Spidey onto stage so we can clear up all the misunderstandings!" Mr Stark's voice rings out from beyond the curtains. I take a deep breath, adjusting my mask and about to walk on stage when Mr Stark continues. "I would just like to remind you that flash needs to be off on all cameras, any violation of this will have you removed. Also go one at a time. We'll answer questions best we can."
I smile, delightfully surprised. That's very kind of him, because I was too busy worrying about everything else to even think about the flash from the cameras and how that would effect me. "Anyway, let's hear it for Spidey!"

Quiet applause welcomes me as I bounce onto stage, waving at the crowd—no more than fifty people, all seated— energetically. My Stark claps me on the shoulder and leads me to the mic, although I won't need it because my mask is now connected to the speakers. Now comes the difficult part.

"H-Hi everyone." I mutter a little nervously. I'm thankful that Mr Stark is staying on stage with me, it takes the pressure off. "I'm, I'm Spider-Man...you knew that." Already I can hear the cameras clicking, but am glad to see no flashes are being activated. "Uh, questions?"

Hands raise into the air. Mr Stark nods at a man somewhere near the middle. "You, man with the mundane haircut and the dull brown pants."
Damn, he's insulting the guests.

"Hi, Craig Denver from Daily Spill, I have a question for Spidey?" I nod, he continues. "What's the story about Europe? I'm sure we'd all like to know."
"Yes. Of course. Mysterio was not the hero he claimed to be. Quinten Beck was a fraud and was after Mr Stark's tech, which had been temporarily in my hands following Mr Starks injury. He desired to stage himself as a hero against these—these monsters—"
"Projections. Lousy work by the way," Mr Stark supplies. I nod.
"Yes, and he planned to kill me because he knew I was onto him. Luckily I worked everything out and was able to stop him, but unfortunately he died in the process."

Mr Stark points at a person, "you, with the horrifying haircut."
A voice rings out. "Daniel Mulvany from News to You. Was Mysterio's death intentional?"

"N-No, it wasn't." I stammer, slightly anxious of this question. I don't want to be viewed as a murderer. "Those who are familiar with me and my work know that death is never my intention," I add, watching the crowd closely for their reaction. "I do what I do to prevent death, but sometimes even hero's can't prevent death, y'know. I'm just thankful Mysterio was defeated before he could cause any more casualties with the Stark tech."

More hands shoot up in the air. Mr Stark picks a man with 'the cheap dollar store tux. Nice try bud'.
"Is it true that Mysterio knew your identity?"
"Yes."

I pick a woman in the second row.
"Mr Stark, do you know Spider-man's identity?"
"Yes, yes of course I do. Stupid question. I'm Iron Man." He answers like it's obvious.

I pick a young man in the back row, who was struggling to be seen and seems relieved when I call on him.
"Spider-man, is there any way the world will know your identity soon?"

"No, not at this stage. Maybe sometime in the future." I answer truthfully. I knew the question would come, but I don't want to risk my friends and family being in danger because of me. I couldn't live with myself if they got hurt because of me.

Mr Stark picks a woman in the third row.
"Daisy Ruth. Mr Stark, can you tell us about your recovery? What injuries did you sustain in space? They were obviously bad enough for your technology to be handed over."

Mr stark waves a hand dismissively. "Just some tissue damage and such."

I turn my head to look at him in disbelief. I feel the lenses narrow as I glare at him. (Little did I know at the time that it would become a meme among the gen z community and would trend for two weeks). I momentarily forget I'm connected to the mic, "Mr Stark, you broke your arm. And had internal bleeding. And a heart attack. And a—"

"Ok, ok, so it was a little more serious than tissue damage, but I'm ok now. It took me a month or so to recover but I assure you I'm good."

Except for the PTSD.

"Spider-man, I understand you too were in space. What injuries did you sustain? How bad were they?"
Ah, speaking of PTSD.

"Hi, yeah. I was, uh, part of the dusted. Uh. What injuries? Let's see...I think I got lightly poked with a knife a couple times, punched maybe. Nothing too bad." I admit, hand rubbing my neck. Best not to mention the feeling of being torn apart, or being choked by a giant purple grape, they might be traumatised. Because the truth is that Thanos did snap. And I died. But mr Stark brought me and the rest of the snapped back not long after— a few days, apparently, was all it took for him to recover the gauntlet and kick the giant grapes ass.

I choose a young girl in the middle. "Kathy Reeds representing the Daily Bugle. Is it true that you willingly gave Mysterio the tech he used to cause irreparable damage?"

"Well, he had me fooled—"

"The tech that was willingly put in your hands by Tony Stark?" The woman continues.

"Uh, I'd say—"

"And wouldn't you say you're therefore responsible for this damage?"

"I wouldn't say—"

"I think it's crucial we discuss your decision to abandon Queens."

"I'm not—"

"What were you doing there in Europe? Were you working for Mysterio? How can we trust you to defend us when you behave like that?"

I start feeling overwhelmed by all the harsh questions, coming at me like bullets from one person who won't let me get a word in. I guess Mr Stark knows, cause his hand returns to my shoulder and gives it a squeeze before drawing it away and clapping his hands. "Wouldn't you say your under qualified to be asked those sort of questions, Ms Reeds?" He asks sternly. I bet he's having FRIDAY scan the reporter's profile. "Because you did not complete any law or journalism courses you began. Nor were you truthful on your Resumé. You also have not paid tax in five years. And you never did pay the vet bills for hitting that dog, did you? Liars and frauds are not welcome in my building."
Without a word, Happy appears and gladly drags the stammering woman out.

"Thanks, Mr Stark." I whisper shakily, forgetting the mic is still on. He gives me a smile with the corner of the mouth before addressing the crowd again.

"Now, let me make one thing clear. Spider-Man would not willingly have worked with or handed over my technology to Mysterio had he known his true intentions. Nor is he obliged to hang around queens 24/7—despite how much he'd like to. Spidey looks out for the little guy and does not need such criticism from rooky newspapers like the daily bullcrap."

Getting my confidence back, I speak up. "We're also working closely with several governments and charities to help with the rebuilding of the damage caused by Mysterio. If you've noticed, much progress has already happened."

Someone raises their hand, I nod at them. "Hi, Kim from 9news. Can you tell us what it's like to deal with these kind of events? Mentally?"

Wow. A question I was not prepared for. Most people don't care about our mental states, unless they think we're not capable or worthy to do what we do and think we should be locked up. "Well, y'know, with this type of life, things can get pretty tough. Just like it can get tough for regular people! Trust me, I'm just a regular guy under this mask. I have friends a-and family like all of you. The best thing to do is know that you've tried your best. Because sometimes we try our best and people still get hurt. But a lot more people would be hurt if we didn't try at all."

"Ask any of the Avengers, they'll tell you the same. We all have issues." Mr Stark adds to my speech. "Like capsicle, deathly afraid of ice cream." He jokes, earning a few confused chuckles from people trying to figure out if he's joking or not. "The point is. We all come out of it stronger because we have each other to pull us through. We took cap to Wendy's." More confused laughter at the last sentence.

"Now, next question?" I ask looking at the crowd.

A man raises his hand, "yes, Mr Stark, I'm sure we'd all like to know what you're planning on doing with the latest stark phone..."

***

"Karen, have FRIDAY open the window to Mr Stark's lab!" I call as I make it to the tower in record time. I'd only stopped to help an old man cross the road (he claimed he knew me, poor man) and buy a bagel for a homeless man who was two dollars short.

"Certainly, Peter. Mr Stark requests you don't smash through the window this time."

I blush in embarrassment. "T-that was only two times!"

I crawl up Stark Tower—I probably scare a few people as I do this, but they should be used to it by now. Stark Tower is also known as Avengers tower, although a few of them moved out—Wanda needed time to mourn Vision. Hopefully she's not playing with his corpse or anything. It's ok, she goes to therapy. Mrs Natasha Romanoff "Black Widow" her excellency (I still haven't worked out how to address her, she's so cool but so so scary) went to spend time with her sister but she's due back anytime. And everyone else comes and goes). I've met everyone now, sometimes I even get to train with the Avengers, which is super fun but also kinda scary.

"The window above you to your left will open." Karen informs me, and I move towards it. It opens just in time and I roll into the lab, hearing the window close behind me. I would have stuck the landing, if it wasn't for the fact that I tripped over my foot and then fell over a desk.
"Ow." I mutter, pulling my mask off and standing up.

"Welcome back, Peter." FRIDAY greets. "I advice you to put your mask back on as Mr Stark has company who have not yet been disclosed your identity."

I quickly pull my mask back on as Mr Stark walks in with a few people.
"...but he should he here soon—Ah, here he is." Mr Stark stops his speech once he notices me. "This is Spidey. Spidey, this is—"

"Black Widow! H-Hi, great to see you again!" (Yes, I still freak out), I then look at her company and the person Mr Stark was trying to introduce to me. "Ooh, hi nice to meet you! You-you look super cool, I can tell you're just as awesome." I say quickly to the mystery woman, with braided blonde hair and a vest with heaps of pockets.

"Dial down the fangirl," Mr Stark teases me. "You'll get used to his energy eventually... I'm still working on it." He adds as a side comment.

Ms Black Widow walks forward and eyes me, "you still haven't told me how young this guy is, Tony." In case you're confused, she doesn't know my identity yet. No one but Mr Stark knows. I'm not ready for that, I don't want to face the questions or the judgement or the disapproval. I know what they'd say... you're a kid, you're not strong or smart enough. This is reckless and stupid of you. You should focus on your schooling. Crawling around isn't an excuse for your Teenage delinquency.

"I-I'm not a kid—"

"She's a spy. She knows. Just let it happen." The other woman speaks up. "I'm Yelena. The cooler sister who's not a poser."

Yelena shakes my hand when I outstretch it. "Nice to meet you Miss Yelena." I respond. I knew I was right, she's cool.

"It's just Yelena."

"Don't bother, he refuses to be anything but 'polite'." Mr Stark tells her.

"He still won't call me Nat." Natasha adds, crossing her arms. I think this is the longest I've been in her company—unless you count training sessions. We don't usually have a lot of time to chat because we're too busy dodging each other's blows, but she's tried to get me to be less formal and call her Nat but I don't think I can bring myself to.

"Sorry Nat...your excellency Black Widow miss." I stammer. She shrugs, her mouth pulling up at the corner. Was that a smile? Did the Black Widow just smile at me?! Ned is gonna freak. Maybe MJ too cause I know she idolises Black Widow from how much she perks up whenever I mention her.

"Anyway, Spidey's always here for lab time so you might see him around here a lot." Mr Stark pipes up, obviously wanted to be the attention again. My eyes light up, reminded why I came to the tower in the first place.

"What are we gonna do this time?!" I ask eagerly, then I realise it might sound impolite to Yelena and Natasha. I turn to them. "Not that it hasn't been great seeing, and uh, meeting you!"

"We'll show the scary Russians to their rooms then we'll order something," Mr Stark responds. "I'm thinking burgers. Then we'll go to the lab for a few hours. Probably make some repairs to your suit cause I know you got it caught on barbed wire again. Then we'll work on the stark phone cause the interns overworked themselves again. Fools don't know how to take a break."

"Mr Stark, you don't know how to take a break," I respond as I walk out of the room with them.

"I like this one. Let's keep him," Yelena insists. I crack a grin.

About ten minutes later we've shown the two sisters to their shared floor and are now in the Avenger's shared kitchen. (Yelena is really funny and has already made fun of her sister three times; a feat I never thought I'd witness.) Mr Stark had Friday order some burgers, but now we're making coffee because Mr Stark lives off the stuff...he won't let me have any though. Despite how many times I ask, including right now.

"Last time you had this, do you remember what happened?"

"No...?" I ask hesitantly.

"It took days to get the footprints off the ceiling! Days!" My Stark exclaims.

"Boss, the girl delivering the food is in the elevator. Where would you like it?"

"Bring em up, Fri. Usual protocol." Mr Stark responds, taking a sip of his coffee.

A few seconds later the elevator dings. I pull my mask back on, as I'd taken it off again to drink some fruit juice.

A girl, 18 perhaps, walks into the room shyly. "Burgers for T-Tony?" She calls timidly. She spots us and I give her a friendly, energetic wave.
She gives me a small smile, relaxing a little, and approaches Mr Stark— who tells her to put the bag on the counter instead of handing it to him cause we all know he doesn't like being handed things. He takes out his wallet and gives her like 200 dollars.

"S-sir you already paid, and this is too much—"
He waves her off, "don't be silly. Spidey toss her a juice. I bet she's thirsty."
I comply, grabbing an apple juice and throwing it to her. "Apple's my favourite." I tell her happily.

"Oh, t-thank you." She catches it luckily. "I gotta go. Thank you for the generous tip, enjoy the food." She adds quickly, turning and walking back to the elevator. As soon as it closes, Mr Stark speaks to FRIDAY.
"Fri transfer an extra hundred to her account."
"Certainly sir. May I ask why?"
Mr Stark shrugs. "She called me Tony. At least someone around here does." He sends a teasing look at me and I shrug, taking my mask back off.

"Sorry, Mr Stark!" I grin, taking a sip of my juice. "Not my fault you're old and should be addressed as such."

Mr Stark gasps in fake offence and I grin, doing a flip over the counter and grabbing a burger from the bag from mid air as I go over it.
"I'll be in the lab, the suit is practically begging me to repair it," I explain, pointing at my shoulder where it's got a few holes showing.

I got snagged on some wire earlier this afternoon when I was rescuing a cat from a dumpster. Poor thing fell in. I wonder how Mr Stark knew about it? Baby monitor protocol? Probably.

"Hey, hey!" He calls, clicking his fingers at me, "don't spill food on my lab work again."

"Yes, Mr Stark!"

"And don't think we won't be having a talk about your self preservation skills! I saw the video of you throwing yourself in front of that truck last Tuesday!"

"I-it was to save a dog! It was just so cute and scared and I couldn't just leave it!" I defend myself. "How'd you hear about that anyway?!"
"I hear about everything. Now, go eat your burger. I know you haven't eaten since 3."
"Stupid baby monster protocol." I mutter, walking to the elevator and unwrapping my burger as I go.
"What was that?" I hear him call as I press the button to summon the private elevator.

"I said sure, Mr Stark!" I lie as the elevator dings and I walk in. I take a bite of my burger. I throw my wrapper between the closing doors, smirking as I see it smack Mr Stark in the face.
I hear an offended "hey!" As the doors closed and I begin my descent to the lab.

*** (a half hour later) ***

"Well, I would not have to be here if you would just answer my calls." I hear a voice approaching Mr Stark's lab as I'm bent over the Spidey suit. I immediately panic, because my mask is currently unassembled and being diagnosed by Friday for faults.
I've at least I changed into some clothes I must have left here last time, some jeans and a science pun shirt. So I could be passed off as an intern... in Mr Stark's personal lab. That's believable.

"You ordering me eye patch?" I hear Mr Stark respond. I can hear the smirk in his voice. I sit down the tweezers I was prodding my suit with. "And frankly, you're quite boring."

"FRIDAY, who's Mr Stark with?" I ask quietly, having a good idea of who "eyepatch" is but knowing there could be more than one person. Should I hide?

"Boss is accompanied by Nicolas Fury, or 'angry pirate' as he is nicknamed in my database."

Nick Fury? Oh great. I hope he's not here to see me. "Are they coming in here?"

"It appears so." FRIDAY responds. I groan under my breath. I hear Mr Stark voice permission for 'Eyepatch' to enter the lab temporarily.

"Hey Underoos!" Mr Stark calls as I look over to see him and Mr Fury enter. "Fury wants our help for superhero stuff. Sounds fun, right?" He says the last sentence sarcastically. Great. The last time he wanted my help it was the whole Mysterio fiasco. I turn to Fury.

"Y'know, I would help but I'm just really busy with school and patrol and actively avoiding you—"

"An old hydra base has been discovered in Australia and you two are going to be travelling there next week to gather intel." Mr fury cuts me off.

"Why don't you have the scary Russians go? Nat has a sister! D'yknow about that?" Mr Stark responds grumpily.

"No one else is available as they are on missions. I'm not negotiating. Your flight leaves for Perth, WA at 0800 hours next Saturday."

Mr stark pulls a face at the thought of having to catch a flight and not take one of his quinjets.

"I'm not falling for that trap! Everyone knows Australia doesn't exist. What's next? We'll be touring Area 51?" I pipe up, half joking. In reality I really don't want to go anywhere.

"I used to own that!" Mr Stark exclaims and I look at him in shock. We are definitely going to have a talk about that! "I also used to be part of—"

"I will send more information regarding the mission at a later date." Mr Fury insists, before turning and walking out of the room. I groan in annoyance. Why can't he use other heroes?

"Ignore the pirate, let's get to work," Mr Stark shrugs, grabbing a cup of coffee from who knows where and taking a sip. "Now, what have you done to the multi million dollar suit I bestowed upon you?" He says dramatically.

"Ok, but you gotta tell me about Area 51 later!" I exclaim. "Anyway, so this section here is lacking some wiring because I got lightly touched with a ratchet last night—"

"LIGHTLY TOUCHED?"

Aaand let's end it there before I go on for days. I may have gotten a little carried away lmao.
Please note that Peter does not know that Vision is actually alive. Or alive as vision can get.
Please leave any criticism because I know I probably have errors. I'll try to get my chapters out every Thursday and Friday Australian time.