Hey Guys! Here's Chapter 2. I hope you like it! Thanks for the reviews so far. They made me so happy!
Previously
"Oh my Gosh! There he is!"
"Really? Where?" Tony pointed across the street and down an alley, where a small figure was huddled. The two men rushed across the street, eager to meet the kid and reward him for his good deed. They approached his shivering sleeping form. "Maybe we should come ba-" Steve started to suggest when Stark went up to the kid and shook him, trying to get him to wake up. His eyes shot open.
He saw two men hovering above him and panicked. Tony and Cap immediately noticed the bruises lining his jaw and neck and a cut across his forehead. Peter jumped up on his feet, dodged between the two, and started walking backwards fastly, saying "Sorry, I won't stay here any more. Sorry." Then he recognized the two. He saw them the other day. They were the ones who gave him the money.
"Hey kid, it's ok. We didn't mean to scare you. We just wanna talk." The blond man said. Peter stopped walking backwards. He nodded.
"So, why did you give that little girl the money. Is my cash not good enough for you?" Peter scoffed nervously. Funny how in front of weird mutant creatures and robbers who are trying to kill him he can throw out quips without a single second of doubt, but in front of two strangers who give him money, he can barely talk, Maybe it was because this time he was Peter Parker, not Spiderman, or maybe it was because he recognized the two.
"Yeah, I guess it's just 'Tony Stark money' has a bad rep. to it. Who knows where that came from, man?!" Tony and Steve laughed.
"So why did you give it away?" Freaking Captain America asked him.
"She needed it more than I do." Peter looked down, embarrassed. He didn't deserve anything.
"You got parents, kid?" Stark asked him. Peter didn't look up, just nodded 'no'. "So why aren't you in foster care?" Steve saw the boy tense up, then all of a sudden he bolted. Damn, that kid was fast. He could easily catch him though.
"Should we follow him?" He turned to Tony.
"Nah, he'll come back. I have his bag" He held up the beaten sac like a trophy. "Let's see what's in here!"
"Don't Tony."
"Ugh! Fine. You're no fun. This is why I always bring Clint on my strolls through the city." Steve just rolled his eyes.
It wouldn't have mattered if they opened the bag. The only thing they would find was 2 pictures. One of his parents, and one of his Aunt and Uncle. He was wearing the suit under his clothes and the mask was in his pocket. He had just gotten back from patrol when he fell asleep for the second time in the 12 days he had been alone. Peter cursed to himself when he realized he had left his bag there. He needed those pictures. They were the only thing he allowed himself besides the suit and the clothes on his back, which were barely even there anymore. He decided to go be Spiderman for awhile, and hope that they had left before he came back. If not, he would have to face the consequences, even if it meant foster care. He needed those pictures.
As he swung through the city, he heard fire sirens. He usually didn't respond to fire calls, but he was desperate for some work to do. He needed to clear his head, get his mind off things. He approached the apartment building that was currently engulfed in flames, with 36 people still inside. He went in and out, each time closer and closer to passing out than the time before. He was exhausted, burnt in 4 different places, and he was having a hard time breathing, probably from inhaling too much smoke. His suit was blackened and disintegrated in someplace, throwing soot all over his arms, legs, and face. And he couldn't even take a shower when he was done. Great. Only one more person, than he could get back to his nap. He swung the last person out as the building collapsed. He ran off before they could even thank him, found an empty alley, changed into his clothes, got as much soot off him as possible, and walked back to the closest thing to what he could call home.
He sighed in relief as the two men were gone, but when he looked to get his bag, it was gone. Instead there was a note. :If you want your bag, come to the Avengers tower- Stark and Steve (Who does not agree with this): Great. He stashed his suit behind the pizza box and ran to get his bag. He needed those pictures. He was coughing and wheezing from the fire still, and running all the way to the Stark Tower was not helping. He slowly pushed open the glass door and walked into the big lobby. There was a lady sitting at the desk.
"You must be the boy they were talking about. Meet Mr. Stark on the main floor. Just ask JARVIS to take you there. Have fun." Peter mumbled "thanks" in a scratchy voice, still sore from the fire, smoke, and coughing. He stepped into the elevator and looked in the mirror. He suddenly felt self conscious. His face was filthy, you couldn't even tell the bruises from the mud and dust. His arms were much like his face, and his shirt and pants were ripped and full of holes. His hair was long and messy. He wasn't even wearing shoes. Now that he thought of it, his feet hurt from running here barefooted. He had lost his shoes, well, actually, he gave them to this 12 year old boy who looked like he needed them. He noticed that in the elevator there were no buttons. He remembered that Stark had an AI for the building, JARVIS. He decided to give it a try.
"Uhhh, JARVIS" He asked in his strained and cracky voice.
"Hello sir. What floor would you like to go to."
"Uhh, the main floor? Please?"
"Yes sir. I will tell Mr. Stark you are on your way up."
He was about to say thanks when a coughing fit came over him. Stupid smoke. He probably was sick too, considering he was out in the cold for 12 days and nights, and had had nothing to eat or drink. He reached the floor and the doors slowly opened. He looked to the left and saw a kitchen with some guy in it. He panicked. Was that Bruce Banner? THE Bruce Banner? The man noticed him the same time JARVIS spoke up.
"The boy you spoke of has arrived, Sir." It was then that Peter noticed the other side of the room. Sitting around a T.V on a mixture of sofas and chairs were the Avengers.
Black Widow and Thor were sharing a sofa and Steve and Tony, the ones from earlier, were sitting in chairs. He noticed that Hawkeye was missing. As he realised it, someone fell from the ceiling next to him. He jumped away in surprise and resisted the urge to attack, knowing it would not end well to assault an assassin. The man from the vent spoke first.
"So this is the kid Steve and Tony are fangirling over. Doesn't look like much." The archer shrugged.
"Rude." Peter faked a look of offence and Clint laughed, a little worried at the rasp in the little guy's voice.
"Seriously dude, I would not call it fangirling, just impressed." Tony replied defensively.
"Oh please, it's all you guys have talked about since you got back." Black widow added to the conversation, joining the people now grouped around Peter.
"Well, the kid surprised me. What can I say?" Steve said as he too stood up and walked over.
"What the boy has done was very noble" The god of thunder added, also coming over,
"Can we stop calling him 'the kid' and 'the boy'. What's your name?" Bruce called from the kitchen.
"Peter" he choked out, then went into a coughing fit. His eyes watered and someone handed him a glass of water. He took it gratefully and drank it with shaky hands while the team of superheroes stared at him concerned. When he was finished he said 'thanks" his throat better but still raw. Clint took the cup from his skinny hands and brought it back to the kitchen. Bruce wanted to get Peter off his feet. He looked like he might fall over at any moment.
"Lets all go sit down in the kitchen and we can relax." The group nodded and went over. They all sat around the table, the Avengers all staring at Peter. Steve noticed the boy becoming uncomfortable and started back up the talk.
"So, Peter, how old are you?"
"15"
"Do you go to school?"
"Um, I used to."
"What grade would you be in?"
"Oh , well, this was supposed to be my senior year." Clint laughed, trying to ease the tension some more.
"Look Stark, you guys can be child genius buddies."
"But I'm not a child anymore!" Tony replied in defence with a pout..
"You still act like one." Natasha muttered, and Peter laughed at the groups immaturity. Stark saw him laughing and pretended to be angry.
"Hey, don't encourage them!" he demanded, playfully hitting the laughing kid on the shoulder. Peter couldn't help but cringe at his healing burn was touched.
"Hey, sorry kid, did I hurt you?" He said worried and guiltily. The whole team was looking at him again. He tried to smile, but he guessed it looked more like a grimace.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's fine." While the others hesitantly continued the conversation, Black Widow decided to use her secret agent skills to find out about the kids physical state. She looked up and down his arms, seeing, under the thin layer of dirt, he was covered in bruises, scratches, and even burns. His face was in a similar state. His clothes were rags and she could tell the kid was probably left out in the cold with only them for the winter. He was skinny, too skinny, and looked like he needed a good 3 day sleep. She needed more information.
"So kid, where have you been staying?" She threw into the conversation the team had been having about science. Tony looked happy that he was invested in the subject. He was a smart boy. Thor just looked confused, but she noticed Clint and Steve doing the same that she had been. Observing the kid. Peter smirked nervously.
"Just, you know, around…" He looked down, playing with his hands, similar to the show that Tony had when he was embarrassed, scared, or nervous.
" 'Around' doesn't happen to be the side street you were sleeping in the other day, does it?" Steve knew the answer before he had asked it, but he wanted the kid to assure him.
"Maybe" Peter muttered. He was done with this little get together and just wanted to get back to patrolling New York.
"When's the last time you ate something?" Clint asked forwardly. He was never one to avoid confrontation. Peter just shrugged. "How long you been on the street for?" He slowly looked up.
"Not that long. Just a little over a week. I know what you're doing. I don't need your help or pity. I just need my bag. Can I have it please?" He demanded more than asked, clearly finished with their prying.
"Yeah, sure, I'll go get it." Stark slowly got up, glancing at the kid and making his way around the corner and down the hall. Peter needed to get back out there on the streets, where he belonged. He shouldn't have come here in the first place. Natasha, however, was not done with him.
"Where did you get those burns from?" She question abruptly. Peter ignored her. Tony returned with the bag.
"This thing is really light, kid. What do you have in here?" Peter took the bag from him. He debated whether or not to show them, but they had been nice, so he slowly put the bag on his lap, digging through until he found the right pocket. With shaky hands he pulled out the stack of two pictures. He placed them on the table next to each other, and pointed to the first one, of Mary and Richard Parker.
"These are my parents. They got in a plane crash when I was four. I was living with my Aunt and Uncle" He gestured to the second picture, "But my uncle was shot by a robber a year ago and my Aunt just died in a car crash, so they sent me to foster care, but I ran away"
"Why did you run away?" Steve asked. Peter waited a few moments, then shrugged. Steve and Tony were glad he didn't try to sneak away again. There was no way they were letting this hurt little boy back on the streets.
"I had to. I couldn't stay there. I had to be alone." He was looking down and playing with his hands again. They decided to drop the topic.
"That's all you have in the bag?" Tony inquized. Peter nodded for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. "No other clothes, no money, no food?" He shrugged. "Did you even have any food? Since you ran away." He stayed silent. "Seriously Petey! Bruce, make him a burger or something. No wait, I'm ordering a pizza. " Peter started to protest, but Stark wouldn't let him. "No stop being so damn noble all the time. You're gonna put Cap out of his job." Steve scoffed at that, but he agreed with Tony. The kid was great.
Normally this would be the time that he would tell them he couldn't stay, that he needed to get home to his Aunt. The thought made his heart flutter. 'Well' he thought, 'I could use some food. Spiderman's not gonna be any help if he's starving to death.' He looked up at the faces all looking at him and grinned. It couldn't hurt to stay.
"Thata boy! Alright what do you want? Anything, Really. Chinese, pizza, whatever you would like."
"Uh, pizza's fine." He answered.
"Come on, let's go sit over on the sofas." Clint suggested. He put a hand on Peter's shoulder to guide him over, and felt the kid flinch and duck out of it, putting his own hand there instead. He automatically felt guilty. "Shit kid, I'm sorry, I forgot. You Ok?". Peter nodded, not trusting himself to speak. The burn's around his body were healing, but the one on his shoulder and the one reaching from his hips to his ribs were still raw. Bruce, being a doctor, wanted to investigate the boy's injuries.
"Hey Peter, do you mind if I just give you a little check-up. Make sure you're not in too bad shape?" He asked uncertainly, unsure of how the kid would respond. Normally, Peter would have denied it. Pretended not to be hurt. Normally, though, Peter would have had his burns wrapped and treated with antibiotics. Again, Spider Man would not be helpful to the people of New York if he was dying from infection. Plus, his shoulder and side hurt. A lot. He paused, thinking for a few moments, then nodded. Everyone's faces turned from a concerned frown to a supportive smile.
"Great. We can just move over to the sofa." They all got up and made their way over. Steve sat in a chair, Tony stayed in the kitchen, dialing the number of a Pizza place, Thor stood off to the side of Steve's chair, and Peter sat sandwiched between Bruce and Clint. He felt oddly comfortable with the archer. When they were all settled, Bruce began his inspection. "Ok, so where do you think we should start."
Peter fidgeted then said "My shoulder, I guess, and my side." He seemed really nervous. Clint was surprised he wasn't freaking out. I mean, he was some street kid, hanging in a billionaire's huge building with the Avengers. Peter was actually taking it pretty well though.
"Ok Pete, can you just take off your shirt so I can take a look?" Peter removed the thin piece of fabric and everyone grimaced and had a look of shock on their faces, well, everyone but Natasha, who always kept her composure. Along Peter's ribs were dark bruises, his skin was blotchy and red. He had 3 long scabs along his back, looking almost like claw marks. On his side, there was blackened skin, looking as though it was healing. His shoulder was also blackened, but not as bad as his side. Along the burns, his skin was dark red and raw. Tony looked over from the kitchen and started cursing. Bruce just bit his lip. Peter looked down. He didn't know it was this bad or he wouldn't have let them look. Oh well, too late now. Thor finally spoke up.
"What villainous creature has done this to you, young midgardian!?" He exclaimed, standing up and walking over to get a better look at him. Tony walked over with a wet wash cloth.
"Here, wipe that dirt off your face." Peter took the cloth and pressed it against his skin. It felt cool and gentle against his burning face. When the dirt was removed, the team could see an inflamed burn stretching from his ear to his chin. He had a cut across his forehead, a black eye, and numerous bruised scattered across his child-like face. Bruce began to work. First, he checked the kid's temperature. 99. Not good, but not too bad. He inspected the burn and cut on his face, but they were not that bad either. Most of his other injuries looked old, except for the burns on his face, shoulder, side, and the ones scattered across his arms. He looked at the boy's shoulder. It needed wrapping and medicine, so it wouldn't get infected. His side needed the same. He sent Steve to go get them, seeing as the soldier was starting to look sick from the injuries on the juvenile's body. Steve returned, and Bruce started to put the medicine on the youth's burns. 'What happened to this kid?' Clint thought. Natasha was apparently thinking the same thing.
"How did you manage to fry your skin?" She questioned. Peter looked up at her.
"Well, I was walking down the street, and I heard sirens. I wanted to see what was happening and if anyone needed help, so I followed after the fire truck I saw racing down the street. When I got there, they were trying to put out the fire, but it was going slowly, and there were a lot of people in the apartment complex. I heard some officer saying that they needed back up and they were gonna call the station to get some more trucks to come, but the building was in bad shape, and there was no way they were gonna get those people out. The place was gonna collapse soon, so they called the fire fighters out. There were still people in there though, and they were just gonna leave them, so, I don't know, I guess it was just instinct? I just ran in. I know it was stupid, but I got all the people out before the building fell down. It was worth it though, ya know?" The team nodded. They all knew too well. Peter noticed their unspoken agreement. "Yeah, I guess you guys would know. You do things like that all the time. Save people." Bruce had finished the wrappings while he told the story. Peter went to grab his shirt, but Tony picked it up before he could.
"No way. You need some actual clothes, not these rags. I'm probably closest to your size. They'll probably be it bit big, but it'll be better than this" He ended, gesturing to the mangled shirt. Tony was out of the room before Peter could deny it.
"Ok kid, so you seem to have a cold, probably from being out in the freezing air and rain." Bruce said, explaining what he found out about the boy's condition. The youth nodded. He figured. "Your arms are pretty burned up," Bruce continued, "But they seem to be healing nicely." Peter smiled to himself. Thank the lord for superhuman healing abilities. "Your shoulder and side need to be cleaned daily and the cream needs to be reapplied each day. I recommend that you stay here until you're better." Than Stark barged in.
"I second that notion. All who agree say 'I'." A chorus of "I"'s echoed the room, and Peter then really couldn't do anything about it. If all the Avengers wanted him to stay, he guessed he would have to. Spiderman could take a break until he was better. He nodded and Tony threw the shirt he had grabbed at him, which Peter caught perfectly.
"Welcome to the tower, kid." Peter smiled, but frowned a little on the inside. Should he really be enjoying himself right now? He shook it off though. He would be gone by tomorrow.