2.
"Mr. Stark."
"Mr. Stark."
"Tony."
"Mr. Stark."
A multitude of reporters scrambled to get a speaker's attention as he left his podium. Tony Stark, known to the world as Ironman, dismissed himself from a press conference he held in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. A few quick waves here and there was his response to them all as he headed for his limo with several bodyguards flanking him to protect him from a crowd who desperately wanted a comment from the superhero.
Slipping on a pair of sunglasses, Tony quickly descended the few steps from the elevated podium he and other city big wigs occupied as an assistant of his directed him to a nearby limousine. His chauffeur opened the door and waited as Tony climbed in before moving and inch. With a wave to the bodyguards, the chauffeur went to get in the vehicle but found it locked. Unknown to him it was really sealed shut on the inside by a coating of near transparent webbing. He began to slam his meaty fists on the door and call for Tony who was staring at a blond teenager in a hoodie sitting across from him.
"You know, I wish I could say I'm not surprised to see you again but I really didn't think I would see you again. Nice hair by the way. You could pass for Steve Rodger's son like that." Reaching over to a mini fridge, Tony pulled out a Scotch glass and a bottle of the liquor it was meant for.
"Thanks," Peter said flatly. "I couldn't decide whether to where it up or down today."
"How about slicked back and parted to the side with a little "S" curl for "Spider-Man."
Peter looked at the scotch drinking Stark with a raised eyebrow. "I'd rather die my hair black and gel it until it becomes hard as a rock. And maybe grow a goatee and walk around like a douche wearing a suit of armor."
Tony put his glass down and looked straight in Peter's eyes for a moment. "What do you want Parker. And make it quick. I doubt my chauffeur is having a fun time out there with all his banging."
"Okay." Peter shifted in his seat across from Stark. "I want a new identity."
"What, running around as Spider-Hood isn't good enough? I swear, Parker, all you need is a pair of green tights and Friar Tuck."
"Stark."
"Okay, I'm kidding. But Stark Industries is not a charity and I don't owe you anything."
"What about all the months I was forced to work for you? All the crap I had to put up with and threats of living behind bars for the rest of my life? I think I'm entitled to something more for having my life stolen from me."
"You mean the fact that I went out of my way to let you out of SHIELD custody isn't enough? Sure it was partly to irritate Danvers with everything she's done, but we also trained you to stay alive."
"Tony, you don't get it," Peter said while raising his voice. "I want a life. I want to go back to school. I want to live like a normal freaking teenager without having to constantly look over my shoulder to see if one of my enemies is right behind me." He paused a moment as the chauffer's banging got louder. "And will you tell that idiot out there just shut the hell up?"
Rolling the window down, Tony told his chauffeur to take a break then turned back to Peter. "Just so you know, most of the criminals you know and have fought are dead or will never see the light of day due to us keeping them in suspended animation indefinitely."
Peter moved to the edge of his seat and leaned in closer to Stark with a stern expression on his face. "Osborn."
"What?"
"Norman Osborn. What happened to him?"
After taking in other drink, Tony replied, "He's dead. He died on the bridge shortly after you. Sick SOB even had a smirk on his face when he died."
"You sure about that?"
"Yes."
"I mean, did you see his dead body and get rid of it?"
"Parker, he's gone, trust me."
Exhaling a deep breath, Peter sat back. "If only I could."
Looking the young man over, Tony finished the rest of his drink before speaking to him again. It was true what he said to him the night he let him go, he could definitely identify with him; more so with the trust issue where Carol Danvers' SHIELD was concerned. "Fine, Parker. But this is it. After this, it's done. No more favors. The next time I see you, it better not be to ask me for anything."
"It won't," Peter said. He reached into a pocket and gave Tony a piece of paper. "This is the identity I want. The sooner, the better. Everything I could think of, parents, past, the relationship to "me", I made sure all my bases are covered."
Looking the paper over, Tony sat his glass down and carefully read what was written. "Benjamin Parker, huh? Interesting. I'll take care of this, but one of these days, you'll have to reveal yourself. That's the only way you'll ever really have a life."
"Yeah, well," Peter said as he moved to get out. "Until my family and friends are safe, that will never happen…again. Oh, uh, one more thing."
"What is it now, Parker?"
"You've been with a lot of woman, right?"
"I'm not giving you the talk," Tony said after a brief pause.
"No, it's not that, it's, well…have you ever been…uh…caught?"
"Doing what?"
"It."
"I need another drink." Tony poured himself another glass full and drank near half of it in one gulp. "Like I said, you're on your own. I won't even touch that one."
"It's just; I don't know what to do."
"Your aunt catch you?"
"Actually, it was my girlfriend's mom."
Tony stared at him for a moment. "Ouch."
"Yeah."
"Well, good luck with that one. Besides telling you to be sure there's no sex tape, all I can tell you is to come see me when you're old enough to drink."
With a sigh, Peter opened the door and halfway stepped out when Tony called him back. "One more thing, watch out for Carol. She's doing something behind our backs but we don't know what it is yet. Since we've distance ourselves from her, she's been going for you, something about being in control. So when you're out there, be careful."
Looking at Tony's facial expression and hearing the tone of his voice, Peter nodded then left.
"Osborn," Stark said with a sigh when he was alone. "Kid has no idea. And neither do I."
Over in the Traskilian, in a sectioned off area, Carol Danvers stood before a large glass tube with a sleeping Eddie Brock inside. The black suit he wore sat next to him a smaller tank but had taken on a slightly fainter color as of late. Had it not have been for a harmonic barrier surrounding the suits containment tank, it most probably would have attempted to escape by now.
"How are the other four?" Carol asked one of the scientists. She wore her standard issue black suit as she walked into the science laboratory.
"Stable," one of them told her. "Bio readouts are good. The suits have bonded with them terrifically. They are ready to go when you are."
"Keep subject zero under," Carol said as she looked over the sleeping Brock. "No use waking him until where we're through." With the push of several buttons, another one of SHIELD's scientists turned up the drug coursing through various tubes hooked up to Eddie to keep him asleep.
The suit, even though it looked like just another blackish liquid, was fully aware of what was going on. It was impossible to know how it sensed its surroundings, but it knew everything that was happening and "called out" to its host, Eddie Brock.
As Carol spoke to the scientists around her, Eddie and the suit engaged in a sort of conversation using mental pictures. Images of them sitting in a park next to a man filled his head followed by the sensation of being contained in a device he was carrying. For a time, everything was a blur until the man, now wearing a metallic suit resembling an insect, exchanged a clear chamber for a briefcase. The people that took it away later changed into white lab coats with the insignia similar to what the blonde woman in the laboratory was now wearing. The last images were of a painful separation from its host with parts of it further separated and given to four other individuals.
With the people in the room preoccupied with themselves, Eddie sent the suit mental instructions and it obliged. Concentrating on a single point of the glass container, the suit formed a spiked point and applied pressure slowly to the side of the glass as it made a drilling motion. Even though the harmonics field hurt it, the suit continued to work on its escape with Eddie telling it what to do. A crack formed, small and barely noticeable in the glass and suit slid out.
Had the scientists in the room paid more attention to the sleeping Eddie Brock, they would have seen the faintest of grins from on his face. A white "eye" formed on the black substance and relayed what it saw to its host as it slid around in the shadows, stopping when it sensed the possibility of it being discovered and continuing when it was safe.
It wasn't until it reached a computer terminal when its search stopped. The words "emergency release" were displayed on a monitor with Eddie Brock's containment chamber highlighted. The screams of those inside the laboratory soon filled the room.
Three Days Later:
"So in short ladies and gentlemen, your mid semester exam will cover not only what we went over this semester so far, but will also include what we will discuss up to the day before the exam. This means you will have one week to prepare."
Standing from where she was leaning on her desk, a middle aged woman paced before a classroom of students. While it appeared as if they were listening to her, they were actually hung up on their own plans. Several students, with their cell phones hidden under their desks, texted back and forth a joke or two that mocked the teacher, what they were doing after class, flirtatious comments, and of course, anything to do with prom.
"I also want to inform you all that if you plan on having a passing grade for the semester, as well as be allowed to attend prom, you need to do extremely well on this test and-"
"Excuse me," a young man wearing a pair of sunglasses said as he entered the room." Um, I was told this was my new class."
"And who might you be?"
The students all looked up at the new comer. Several of the girls ran their eyes over his body while the guys sized him up as he entered the classroom. He filled out his jeans and yellow shirt quite nicely, an obvious statement that he worked out. His short hair was a dark brown near his scalp and faded to blond shortly after. A few of the students went from texting about their plans to talking about the new comer, some in the mature manner. Only one girl behaved differently though. She was a shapely redhead sitting in the second row of the class room and had her emerald eyes wide open in disbelief.
The new student stood before the class and removed his glasses. A few students took a double take as he did so while others began to mumble.
"My name's, Parker. Benjamin Parker. I'm, uh, Peter Parker's cousin. Once removed."
The room instantly went silent.
AN: Will Zona, Venomous059, stick around, guys. I'm gonna try to put more into this one.