So this is an Avenger/ Amazing Spiderman crossover. It turns out that Peter is the son of Captain America.
Along Came a Spider
Peter was in shock. He didn't even know how to handle the information that had been given to him. It was so unbelievable but he had the clear and absolute proof right in front of his eyes. You think after watching New York get attacked by aliens and then saved by superheroes and then becoming a superhero himself and defeating a giant lizard-human hybrid that nothing could shock him. But he'd been proven wrong.
It all started when his Aunt May got sick. Peter had been at school when the principal had come into the classroom asking for him. He'd immediately known it was serious because it was the principal and he'd come in person. Gwen had given him several concerned looks as he was led out of the class. Peter had been terrified and he'd been right. Aunt May had had a stroke while at work and was even now in the hospital. It had sent her into a coma with little chance of recovery and Peter was left reeling in pain and fear. He didn't have any other family and he had had no idea what would happen to him.
With Aunt May in the hospital social services had stepped in and with no other options they were going to have to move him into a temporary boy's home. It was while he was going through things that he wanted to take with him that he discovered his mother's journal. It was in Aunt May's closet along with a letter for Aunt May asking her to give it to Peter once he had turned eighteen.
Peter had had a momentary crisis about whether or not he should read it but in the end he wanted to some have some sort of connection to the mother he barely remembered. In the end he really wished he hadn't. The journal had succeeded in taking his mind off Aunt May's death but it brought up a whole other can of worms that Peter really hadn't wanted to deal with.
In his mother's journal he made the shocking discovery that he wasn't the son of Richard and Mary Parker. It all started when they had trouble conceiving a child. But they were both intelligent scientist within the field of genetics. Instead of going to a clinic Richard announced that they were more than capable of doing the procedures themselves. They were successful for only a couple of months later the implanted embryo stuck and Peter was conceived to the happiness of both of them.
She wrote that it wasn't until Peter was four that she suspected something. She had always thought it was a miracle that Peter was never sick but by the time he was four she found it very odd that he had never had so much as a sniffle or that he never bruised or had cuts despite his rough and tumble play. She decided to check his blood to see why this was and discovered that his blood type didn't match her own or Richard's which meant either one of them or both of them weren't his biological parents. She'd taken a closer look at his DNA to find the answers. She'd been shocked to discover that Peter's mitochondrial DNA didn't match her own and since mitochondrial DNA was passed down through the mother it meant that she wasn't his mother. Further testing proved that Richard wasn't his father either. She'd been stunned by this revelation and looked into how this was possible. First suspecting that maybe there had been a mix up at the hospital but then that idea was quickly scrapped since she had had Peter with her in the hospital room the entire time.
She made note of all the times that Richard had taken Peter into his basement lab she thought it had been to watch him but now she remembered walking in on him taking various recordings of Peter's health. He'd played it off as if he was just making doing his own checkups Peter was healthy because he didn't trust the other doctors and at the time she believed him. She hadn't been so sure after discovering the revelation that Peter wasn't really their child. When she confronted Richard about how Peter wasn't their son he admitted to the fact that neither or them had been fertile enough to create a viable embryo so he'd gone to get donors not wanting to upset her. For a time she had believed this but still it didn't make sense for why Richard had been so invested in monitoring Peter. Her curiosity got the better of her and she looked into the situation a bit more. She discovered that what Richard had been doing was directly involved in trying to recreate the super soldier serum.
The super soldier serum had been created by a Dr. Abraham Erksine back during World War II there had been only one success since he had been shot and the serum's formula had died with him. The success had been Captain America himself and he'd died in a plane crash with his body never being found. People had been trying to recreate it ever since. The serum was a weapon and whatever organization or country first managed to complete would have stronger, faster and more durable soldiers. They'd be practically unstoppable and that was why it was such a profitable and shady research experiment.
Mary had outlined her discoveries and research on the serum and Richard's dabbling in it to Peter in her journal. Apparently a shady organization had approached Richard with a stolen and well-preserved sample of Captain America's semen and hired him to try and recreate the serum. They'd heard what an incredible geneticist he was and were willing to give him a chance. They were hoping that he could separate the formula from Captain America's DNA since the semen sample was the only sample of DNA of Captain America's that they could get their hands on. They weren't sure if it was possible because they weren't sure if the serum had even affected his little swimmers. But Richard discovered that the sample must have been taken directly after his transformation as a standard physical health check because the serum was potent in them. Instead of trying to extract the serum from the sample he decided to use them to create a child. It was then that he suggested to Mary that they try invetro. Mary's own eggs weren't viable so he'd used a donor egg that was being preserved in the same cryo-tank as Captain America's semen.
Luckily he hadn't told his employers about his success in creating a child from Captain America's sample. It had been an incredible genetic breakthrough but he still wasn't able to discover the key to the serum and unfortunately he'd lost the rest of the Captain's sample due to a power outage in his basement lab where he was keeping the sample since it wasn't safe enough to keep it at work. It was a problem because his employers were getting antsy and annoyed with him. It was why he'd started being not as careful with his experimentation of Peter and how Mary had started to notice something was off with him.
She knew she had to get Peter away from him. Her discovery of his betrayal had upset things even further because she had cut off his access to Peter and thus he couldn't finish his work. Mary had still trusted Richard's brother and his wife because they knew nothing about what Richard was doing and they were such kind and caring people. She left Peter with them with instructions for them to keep Peter there and not to give him to Richard. Uncle Ben had apparently had some idea how far his brother had fallen and agreed. Mary had gone to confront Richard about who had employed him so she would have a better understanding of what type of people might be after Peter. She was gathering things together in the event that it became necessary for her to go into hiding with Peter if Richard's employers came after him.
That had been his mother's last entry. She had written the diary before leaving because she had been fearful about not surviving if Richard's employers came after her. She was connected to Richard by being his wife so she had written the journal and left it in May's care in the event that she too was taken out along with Richard. She hadn't wanted them to know anything about Peter or have the slightest hint about just who Peter really was. For that reason she had left Peter to distance herself and make sure that whoever Richard's employers were they didn't get any ideas about coming after him. He was still in shock because apparently his father was none other than Captain Freaking America.
After reading the journal Peter had spent two days in complete denial before taking the initiative and testing himself. There were signs he couldn't help but note. He'd never been sick a day in his life, he'd always healed from bruises faster and then there was the kicker: the spider bite. All indications showed that Peter should have died from the spider bite. After studying the genetically engineered spider a little more he discovered that all other test subjects or scientists who accidentally come into contact with the spiders had died from the venom. It was a lethal spider toxin but Peter had survived. Peter had not only survived he had become even stronger because of it. With all of this evidence he had tested his own DNA against samples he had of both Mary and Richard through the Oscorp database. And there was the truth right in front of him.
He was sitting in a lab in Oscorp thanks to Gwen just staring at the results and not knowing how to handle this information. Sure he'd read the words his mother had written but having actual proof in front of him was more than he could bear. It was too much on top of Aunt May's impending death but at the same time he was filled with elation at the prospect of his father being alive. He wanted nothing more than to meet him. It was so weird to Peter to think his father was none other than the incredible man he'd learned about in history class. To top it all off Captain America had turned out to be alive. He'd helped save the city from an alien invasion over a year ago and he lived in Stark Tower newly named Avengers Tower. He'd helped out with various other issues since then and Peter was itching to meet the man who was his only living family well at least until he discovered who his mother was. But she was an egg donor and had done so with the desire to not be involved in the child's life. He hoped that the Captain wouldn't feel the same.
Having Captain America for a father seemed like a much better option than Richard Parker. Uncle Ben had been an amazing man, his younger brother not so much. Focusing on his finding and meeting his father was keeping his attention off Aunt May's impending death. The doctors said it was only a matter of time before her body shut down completely and there was nothing Peter could do. He'd never felt so helpless in all his life. He had these incredible powers but here he was unable to do anything but watch his Aunt waste away. Stopping crime as Spiderman also seemed to help. It made Peter smile to think that he had become a superhero just like his father. Although at the same time it was intimidating trying to live up to the living legend that was Captain America.
Peter left the lab and started heading back towards the boy's home he was currently being forced to stay in. He really hated it there. The only positive was that they never checked to make sure he was there or not so he had complete freedom to go and be Spiderman and not worry that anyone was monitoring his wear abouts. He hated the other guys there though some of them were major jerks and he'd taken to carrying around his backpack with all his gear in it with him everywhere. It was the only way that he could protect his stuff from getting trashed and keep them from realizing he was Spiderman.
Peter felt the telltale tingle at the back of his neck telling him that something bad was about to happen.
"Hey kid," snarled a male voice.
Peter turned to look and sure enough a couple of thug looking types were making their way towards. Peter almost grinned at the thought that they were going to try and rob him. He glanced around but there was no one else to see him beat the crap out of these guys. A good fight is just what he needed. He'd led the asshole into a false sense of security and then he'd strike.
"I don't want any trouble," Peter said making his voice tremble.
"Just give us your money kid," demanded the head thug grabbing him by the front of his shirt.
"I don't have any money really," replied Peter hamming it up and wondering how stupid these guys were not to realize he was playing them.
"Wrong answer," he moved to swing but Peter had already broken out of his hold and punched him in the face throwing him back several feet.
The others just gaped dumbly at him before trying to attack. He jumped and kicked two of them sending them flying back. The others quickly fell to his gentle taps. It sometimes amazed even him just how strong he was. The only time he'd really exercised his full strength was when he'd been fighting Curt Connors AKA the Lizard. When fighting everyday criminals he had to remember to constantly check his swings or else he could accidently kill someone. He did wish there was more of challenge though. He really to needed to let out some steam.
Once the thugs were gone he changed into his suit and swung around the city. He stopped a couple of petty burglars and webbed them to the front of the police station. He ended back on top of warehouse where he changed out of his costume. However he couldn't bring himself to go back to the boy's home. He headed back to Brooklyn, to his home and slipped into his room. The house would have to be sold to pay for hospital bills when Aunt May was gone and Peter wasn't sure how much longer he'd have a chance to stay here. He had to come up with some sort of plan. He couldn't spend the next three years in foster care. But that really didn't leave him with a lot of options. In fact the only one he had would be to confront Captain America about his paternity since he was the only thing that would keep him out of the system. But exposing himself would bring up a whole other can of worms that Peter wasn't sure he wanted to deal with. He thought about looking for his biological mother but as far as he knew donors signed millions of waivers that waved their rights to their children and he doubted she would want to take him in considering she'd donated her egg with the understanding she wasn't responsible for him so that really only left the Captain.
The next few days passed with Peter making infrequent trips to the foster home and making sure to go to the hospital everyday. He was constantly fluctuating in trying to decide whether or not to approach the Captain. There wasn't even a guarantee that he'd take Peter in. It was only when Aunt May passed away that in his desperation and grief he did something stupid. Peter was a smart kid. He knew that. His IQ was off the charts and he'd easily be the top student at Midtown Science if he tried a little harder but his emotions were getting the better of him and he wasn't thinking clearly.
He was alone and hurting and the stupid people in social services had sent him to some horrible foster home where the parents were devote Christians and thought Spiderman and the Avengers were freaks of nature and should be killed. They watched him like a hawk and because he shared a room with two other kids he couldn't slip out to be Spiderman. They were also talking about taking him out of Midtown Science because they didn't like the way it encouraged children to turn their backs on religion. Peter didn't have a problem with religious people in fact he used to go to church with Uncle Ben and Aunt May but these people were crazy. And they pushed him into doing something that was a little rash.
He knew the Captain was living at Avengers Tower so he decided to go and speak to him. Yes, again it was stupid but Peter was desperate. He managed to get inside by slipping in with a group of movers carrying furniture. The movers didn't even question him when he grabbed one end of a couch and helped the others carry it in. In fact they looked a little relieved probably because Peter was taking a lot of the weight off of them. He hopped into the elevator and road up to the top floors where the living quarters were. All of the Avengers were living here now and Peter had thought they'd finished all of the renovations a couple of months ago. Whatever the case was Peter was glad for an excuse to get inside.
Once the couch was in place Peter broke off from the group of movers and went in search of Captain America. He really didn't have much of a plan beyond trying to explain the situation to him and then once they asked for proof Peter was more than willing to have a DNA test done to prove his claim. He wasn't worried about them seeing the spider DNA because it was only noticeable under intense testing. No one would even notice with a plan old paternity test.
"Excuse me young sir but you are not authorized to be on this level of the building without a pass," came a British voice.
Peter jumped and looked around him trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. But there wasn't anyone there
"Who said that?" Peter demanded.
"I am JARVIS Mr. Stark's personal AI system. I am programmed throughout the entire building and I know that you are not supposed to be here," said the voice snootily.
Peter had read about JARVIS. He hadn't realized just how realistic it was. If Peter hadn't known better he would have thought that it was a person he was speaking to. Tony really was a genius.
"Listen Jarvis I know I'm not supposed to be here but I really need to talk to Captain America ok? Please could you just tell me where he is or ask him to come talk to me? It's really important." Peter felt stupid begging to a computer but it was his last chance.
"Security has been notified and they are on their way to remove you," was all Jarvis replied.
"Great," Peter sighed.
He only had a moment to decide what he was going to do when two huge security officers appeared.
"Alright kid you're coming with us," said the taller of the two.
"Okay just hold on a second fellas, I really don't mean any harm I just want to talk to Captain America. Please I swear just give me two minutes with him." Peter held up his hands in surrender.
"Sorry kid no can do. Come on." The security officer seemed like an okay guy but Peter had a mission he needed to complete.
"I'm sorry too," said Peter before taking off down the hallway.
The officers swore behind him and gave chase. They stood no chance of catching Peter however. Some more security personnel arrived to cut off Peter but he surprised them by simply flipping over them without hardly even breaking his stride. Their gasps of surprise made Peter smile. He knew he couldn't show off too much for fear of revealing himself but he decided a few fancy tricks were sure to get their attention and take him a bit more seriously. The security kept chasing him and it was only when he felt the tell tingle of his own personal danger signal that he realized they were herding him. Minutes later he burst through a pair of double doors into a large open room. He pulled up sharply by what he found there.
All six Avengers, plus a big black guy with an eye patch and an average looking middle aged guy in a nice suit were standing there waiting for him. None of them were in their suits, which was a good sign to Peter. He stood there staring not expecting this kind of welcome.
"Um, hi," said Peter flushing and giving an awkward little wave.
"Hey kid you've got some sweet moves want to tell us what brings you by our tower?" asked Tony Stark looking casual.
Peter was star struck he couldn't believe he was in the same room with living legends.
"Kid? You okay? You're synapses suddenly stop firing?" Tony asked sarcastically waving his hand in front of Peter's face.
Peter snapped out of it, he was here for a reason.
"I'm here to see Captain America." Peter's eyes couldn't help but flick to the tall blonde man, well the one with the short hair. Thor was tall and blonde and wow way more built in person. Captain America was still tall and powerfully built but even he looked thin when compared to the God of Thunder.
The Captain's light blue eyes locked with Peter's own and Peter was struck by the obvious physical proof that they were related. Since finding out that the Captain was his biological father Peter had looked up everything he could on the man. He'd also found several pictures of him without his mask. He'd had to hack a couple of government security bases to get them but it had been worth it. They had similar noses and chins as well but only if you were looking for it. It was different though being in the same room as his father and seeing him in person rather than staring at some old black and white photo.
"Why do you need to see me?" asked the Captain his voice kind and concerned.
Peter had read about what a good guy he was but you could never trust someone else's word. It could have been over exaggeration throughout the years. It seemed the rumors were at least half true if his tone was anything to go by.
"It's kind of personal so maybe we should talk in private," Peter said glancing around at the others nervously.
"Not gonna happen," said the one eyed man. "We have no idea who you are we aren't letting you be alone with Captain America when we don't know your intentions."
"I think it will be alright Fury he's what fifteen? Sixteen?" questioned Stark.
"Fifteen," offered Peter.
"Right, see I don't think he's going to carry Cap off," said Stark.
"You saw the video footage. He leapt over the security like it was nothing," one-eye Willy snapped.
"Whatever you have to say it can be said in front of them," the Captain finally offered in a placating tone to everyone at least giving Peter the chance to speak.
"Um ok," Peter said glancing around nervously once more. Well here goes nothing. "You're my father."
Total silence reigned in the room before Tony burst into loud guffaws. Captain America looked shocked and confused. The others wore varying expressions of the same emotions as the Captain but Peter could tell that all of them thought he was joking or worse that he was some crazy person.
"In case you didn't realize kid old Cap here has been a capsicle for the past seventy years and he's only been unfrozen for eight months. So he's sort of out of the running to be your father. If you wanted to accuse one of us of being your father for some publicity stunt you should of picked someone else. Most likely me since I would have been the most likely to get into such a predicament," Tony laughed but there was an undercurrent of anger in his eyes as he looked at Peter no doubt thinking he was lying and trying to play them.
"I know that. I'm not an idiot or crazy or whatever is you're all thinking. But Captain America is my father and I can prove it. Just do a paternity test. Right here right now, no tricks I'll let you take whatever samples you want and do any tests you want to prove it," said Peter.
That made Tony frown. Willy was looking at him in a shrewdly assessing manner now. The Captain still looked shocked and confused and the others had varying expressions ranging from confused: Thor to distrustful: the Black Widow and placid: the average guy in the suit.
"Okay lets get this over with. Banner, Cap come with me. I have everything we need in my lab. I've been hit with enough paternity suits to have everything on hand for such occasions," said Tony and he waved them over to an elevator.
"I'm coming too Stark," growled one-eye Willy.
Then average suit guy had to come followed by the Black Widow, Hawkeye and then seeing that he was all alone in the room Thor tagged along.
The elevator ride down was really long and awkward. He was blocked into the corner between one-eye Willy and suit guy. Captain America stood beside suit guy and kept peeking glances at Peter. Peter in turn fiddled with the straps of his backpack trying to avoid the stares that everyone kept throwing his way.
Peter heaved a sigh of relief as they entered the lab hoping that this would soon be all cleared up. He was really starting to regret the whole situation though. He wished he'd actually thought before he acted for once and then maybe he wouldn't be in the situation that he was in now. But he was here now and he might as well see it through.
Tony had him and the Captain sit down at one of the stations and he and Dr. Banner took cheek swabs as well as blood samples from both of them. Then they tested the samples and compared them against one another. With all the fast acting machinery that Stark had it took barely a couple of minutes for the results to become conclusive. Peter watched with mild interest as the positive results were shown on the large hologram projector Tony had. He then turned his attention towards the others feeling a bit smug at their flabbergasted looks.
"Well, I'll be damned the kid's right. Looks like you're a dad, Cap," Tony announced and pounded a stunned looking Captain America on the back.
"How in the hell is this possible?" snarled one-eyed Willy turning his still surprisingly potent gaze on Peter.
"It's a long story and I just found out myself," said Peter holding up his hands in a placating gesture.
"We've got the time, start talking," demanded one-eye.
Under that intense glare Peter stuttered out how his aunt had gotten sick and passed away and how he'd found the journal. He told him what he'd read in Mary Parker's journal and how he'd been put in a foster home and it was that that had driven him to seek out Captain America. He even mentioned how he'd never been sick and tended to heal faster when injured. He told them everything except for the very important detail that he was Spiderman. One-eyed Willy demanded to see the journal and Peter reluctantly handed it over. One-eye and suit guy immediately began paging through it before one-eye started barking out orders.
"It doesn't say who your mother is," suit guy noted.
"No, she said it was some anonymous donor that Richard got whether it was legal or not I have no idea," said Peter with a shrug.
"We're going to need to find that out so we can insure that Captain Rogers' custody of you remains unquestioned. We'll just run your DNA through the database. We're also going to want to do a physical on you with your permission of course," suit guy continued.
"Who are you guys?" Peter asked in complete shock.
"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Or SHIELD if you prefer. We deal with issues that the regular government isn't prepared to handle," suit guy explained calmly.
"Like aliens and superheroes?" Peter questioned.
"Yes just like aliens and superheroes," agreed suit guy allowing a small smile.
"What's your name?" asked Captain America.
He'd been silent throughout Peter's tale and had pretty much been staring off into space ever since the positive results were plastered on the hologram. He was now staring at Peter determination shining in his blue depths. There was a gentle but scared smile on his face. It made Peter's pulse race to be the sole focus of his gaze especially now that he knew the truth about their relationship.
"Um it's Peter, Peter Parker." Peter offered his own tremulous smile.
"Steve Rogers, it's a pleasure to finally meet you Peter," he said holding out his hand a wider smile on his face.
"You too, sir." Peter grasped his hand in his own and shook it praying that his nerves wouldn't get the best of him and cause his hand to stick to Steve's that would be all he needed.
"Please call me Steve," he said sincerely.
"Right, okay," Peter said dipping his head in embarrassment.
"Peter this is Agent Phil Coulson he's the liaison between the Avengers and SHIELD," Steve pointed at suit guy who nodded his head in acknowledgement. "The man in the black suit is Nick Fury the Director of SHIELD," he nodded towards where one-eye was pacing and talking on his cellphone. "This is Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton also known as Black Widow and Hawkeye respectively. They're members of SHIELD as well as part of the Avengers."
"Nice to meet you," said Natasha greeted in a no nonsense, nothing bothers me manner.
Clint just nodded.
"Then there's Thor," Steve said unnecessarily pointing out the tall and powerful Norse God in the room.
"It is a pleasure to meet you son of Steve. It is a joyous occasion that I was able to be here to see you reunited with your father!" the thunder god boomed and slapped a large hand on both Steve's and Peter's shoulders.
Steve's and Peter's faces both turned red at Thor referring to Peter as the son of Steve. It was a little strange sure biologically Steve Rogers was Peter's father but the guy only looked twenty-six or so and Peter was fifteen. They didn't know anything about one another and this was the first time that they had ever met. Steve didn't even sleep with anyone or make the conscious decision to have Peter. It made things all the more awkward.
"Thanks Thor. This is Dr. Bruce Banner," Steve introduced pointing out the unassuming man with the messy dark hair, glasses and purple shirt.
"Hello," he nodded dipping his head in acknowledge.
"I know, I did a project on your work with gamma radiation particles at the subatomic level and how they can be used to increase the rapid cellar regeneration level in organic material," said Peter feeling a little awed to be in the same room as the man. Not to mention he was also the Hulk.
Bruce looked a little surprised. "It's not often I get recognized for my contributions to the scientific community over my other mishap."
"But your work is so incredible," Peter enthused he couldn't help but start going in depth about some of the research he had done on his own when he looked into Bruce's work.
He was a little thrilled when Bruce actually seemed impressed and started to talk with him.
"Hey, hey it looks like Captain America Jr. here is a scientist at heart," said Tony clapping a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Tony Stark," he introduced.
Peter flushed because he was a man who needed no introduction. "Hi and yeah I guess I want to be a scientist or I did. I do go to Midtown Science High School."
"Whoa, whoa isn't that the place that giant lizard attacked?" Tony asked looking eager.
"Yeah," Peter murmured briefly touching the thin scars of the claw marks that Dr. Connors had left behind.
"Did you see the thing?" Tony wanted to know.
"I didn't get that close," said Peter with a shrug.
"Oh, that's too bad," said Tony.
"Stark!" said Steve glaring at the billionaire. "It's a good thing you weren't in the middle of it Peter."
"Right," Peter agreed unable to meet Steve's eyes.
"Parker! Let's go get that physical," snapped Fury's voice. It really was an appropriate name for the guy.
"Can't it wait Director?" Steve wanted to know.
"Yeah Fury poor kid just met his father give him break," said Tony surprising Peter by slinging an arm over Peter's shoulder in a companionable way.
He glared at them. Then he turned to Peter. "Be here tomorrow at three thirty sharp. Understand?"
"Uh yes sir," Peter agreed.
"Good," with that he stormed from the lab still yelling into his phone.
Agent Coulson followed him out after a brief goodbye. Natasha and Clint both said their goodbyes soon after. Thor stuck around for a bit but he eventually ducked out to go see how Jane, whoever that was, was settling in. That left Peter with Bruce, Tony and Steve.
"So what happens now?" Peter asked curiously. It seemed to him that nothing had really been decided. It had been mostly the one-eyed guy running around issuing orders and wanting to do background checks on Peter, Richard and Mary.
"What do you want to happen?" Steve asked him eyeing him closely.
"Well I sort of did all this because I didn't want to stay with the foster family I've been staying with. They're religious fanatics they think you're all going to hell and they want to take me out of Midtown High because what they teach us there is "unnatural". I thought if I found you I would be able to stay with you or something. I know it was stupid and I'm sorry for barging in on your life like this," said Peter hanging his head. Captain America was definitely a busy guy and suddenly finding out he had a kid that he had never consented to having was probably a huge inconvenience to the guy. Peter was just surprised he was taking it as well as he was.
"Don't apologize Peter. I'm really glad you came. If you hadn't I would have never known about you. I've already missed most of your life. I don't want to miss anymore of it. I would love if you came and lived with me. I mean I have no idea what kind of father I'll make and my life isn't the safest and this wasn't planned or anything. I still want to be a part of your life if you want me to be," said Steve in an awkward yet heartfelt confession.
"Thanks I'd like that. I didn't think I had any family left," Peter said smiling and feeling a rush of warmth knowing that Steve actually wanted him to live with him and wanted to have a father son relationship with him. Who wouldn't want to tell people that their father was Captain America?
"Me neither. I always wanted to be a father. I didn't think it was something that would ever happen with the career I have," said Steve with a quick chuckle. But his blue eyes showed the truth of his belief in his own words.
"Oh please Cap you have plenty of time to have more children. Sure I've never seen anyone more awkward around women than you. And that includes Jolly Green over here. But you're a reasonably attractive guy I'm sure you'll find someone," Tony said clapping him on the back.
"Not what I meant Stark," Steve said with a roll of his eye.
"Anyway enough of this sentimental crap. You hungry kid? Sure you are, come on we'll get take out and figure out how you want to decorate your room. We'll put you in Cap's wing," said Tony steering Peter out of the room.
"Don't I have to go back to my foster family?" Peter asked in confusion.
"Nope I have Jarvis taking care of it. You're officially in the custody of one Captain Steve Rogers," Tony assured.
"You can do that that quickly?" Steve asked in shock.
"Money talks Cap," said Tony dismissively.
Peter felt relief. Maybe in the long run this wasn't such a good idea but as of right now Peter was happy. He was away from his crazy foster parents. He was with his father who actually wanted to be his father. He was in Avengers Tower having Chinese with Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America. Tony made sure the conversation was always going with his quick wit. He asked questions about Peter's childhood and Peter found himself telling him about all sorts of things that he normally didn't talk about. Between the three of them Peter had never felt so comfortable. Bruce was intelligent and very easy going yet he had a surprising core of strength. Tony was friendly, open and scary observant. As for Steve he was very attentive to Peter and extremely kind and welcoming. It was more than Peter could have asked for.
When it grew late outside Tony surprised Steve and Peter by the fact that he had set up a state of the art room for Peter on Steve's wing of the building. Peter gaped seeing a new state of the art laptop and a closet full of new designer clothes in Peter's size.
"Tony thank you," Peter managed to get out.
"You didn't have to do this Tony," said Steve looking grateful.
"I know but hey the kid said all he owned was in that backpack of his after the state sold his aunt's home. I figured he could use it and I've got the money," Tony shrugged.
"Thanks," said Steve.
"No problem, nice meeting you Jr. Night!" Tony had taken to calling Peter Jr. as in Captain America Jr. It made Peter snort in amusement and Steve smirk. Tony went off and Peter and Steve were left alone for the first time since meeting.
"Crazy day huh?" Steve asked looking as awkward as Peter felt.
"Yeah definitely. Thanks for being so great about everything," said Peter.
"You'll never have to thank me Peter. I know how we came to be father and son isn't exactly traditional but the point is we are and I would like to be there for you. I know you had your Uncle Ben and he seemed like he was a great guy and I don't want to replace him but I would like to try and be your father," offered Steve.
"Thank you a lot for that. It's more than I expected you know? Not to sound sappy or whatever but I'm really happy that you're my dad you know. Anyone else would have probably kicked me to the curb," said Peter with a shrug trying to sound casual and not show how much the thought of rejection hurt him. After Peter had been orphaned twice now and a thing like that could really affect a kid.
"No need to worry about that from me Peter," Steve assured. Then he hugged Peter it was a quick but warm hug that Peter returned enjoying the first physical comfort he'd had since Aunt May had gotten sick.
"Goodnight Peter, if you need anything I'm just down the hall," Steve reassured.
"Thanks I'll remember that and goodnight to you too Steve." He smiled at Peter and left him alone in his room.
The new set up was incredible. He had his own bathroom and a huge bedroom. The entire wing belonged to Steve and so there was a living room, a small kitchen and a little gym. The entire floor were the living quarters for the Avengers and in the center was one large, full kitchen and living room where they could all hang out together. Even Tony stayed on this floor with the other Avengers even though there was a complete penthouse on the top floor. Peter showered and got ready for bed. He was too tired and emotionally drained to go out tonight so he flopped on the bed and tried to enjoy his new accommodations and the fact that he now had a father in his life.
The next morning was a Saturday. Peter wasn't used to sleeping in until noon like most teens but he did roll out of bed at around nine. There wasn't any food in the smaller kitchen cabinets so he ventured out into the common kitchen. He was assaulted by the sweet scent of pancakes and he smiled when he caught sight of Tony Stark attempting to make waffles. Bruce was reading the paper ignoring the mess Tony was making. Steve was attempting to help and steer him in the right direction. Natasha and Clint were eating cereal. Thor was eating pop tarts from the box along with a pretty, slender brunette woman. A curvy woman with dark brown hair sat on the other side of them urging Tony to hurry up because she was hungry. They were all still in their pajamas with their hair in various stages of disarray. This was a relief to Peter seeing as how he was in a similar state.
"Good morning Peter," Steve said being the first one to notice him.
Peter flushed to have everyone's eyes on him but smiled when Steve waved him to the seat at the counter beside him.
"Oh it's Captain America's mini me! Oh wow you have the same beautiful baby blues! Hi I'm Darcy," said the darker haired curvy woman.
"Hi, I'm Peter," he smiled at her.
"I'm Doctor Jane Foster, I'm Thor's girlfriend," said the lighter haired woman.
"Yes we have been courting for almost a year now," Thor said proudly.
"Congratulations," offered Peter.
"Do you have a girlfriend Petey?" Tony wanted to know as he fiddled with the controls on the waffle maker.
Peter felt his face go beat red and he stammered.
"Oh no you have Cap's awkwardness around women. You poor boy," sighed Tony. "Lewis here has been trying to get your old man in the sack for a couple of months now."
"Stark!" snarled Steve flushing as red as Peter and glancing quickly at Darcy who winked back at him making him flush even more.
"I do have a girlfriend actually. Her name is Gwen Stacy," Peter said proudly.
"Gwen huh?" Tony started fiddling with his phone and to Peter's shock Gwen's picture was suddenly up on a hologram screen.
Tony whistled. "Very pretty Jr. Good work, you've already surpassed dear old dad."
Peter rolled his eyes and offered to help him with the waffles. Between the two of them they had managed to make enough waffles for everyone. Peter then spent the day with Steve. Tony did have some paperwork the two of them needed to sign and Peter even changed his name. Steve had assured him he didn't have to but Peter was more than ready to. He loved Aunt May and Uncle Ben and Mary Parker had been a good person too but Richard hadn't and he just wanted to distance himself from him. He also wanted to move on. He would always love his Aunt and Uncle and all that they did for him but he knew they would want him to be happy and not being a Parker anymore was going to help him in the process of moving on.
At three thirty sharp SHIELD doctors showed up along with Fury and Agent Coulson to conduct his physical. Peter was really nervous and had come to the conclusion that there was a large possibility they would discover he was Spiderman. Steve had come with him for support and for that he was grateful.
"Before we get started we were able to discover how Richard Parker was able to get ahold of your sample Captain and we're sorry to say that Shield seems to be the one at fault," said Agent Coulson.
"What happened?" asked Peter.
"It seems that a sample was taken from the Captain during the tests that were conducted after his transformation. It was standard procedure and they wanted as many different samples as they could to make sure that everything was all right," Fury explained.
"I remember," said Steve blushing red at the memory of what he had had to do for the sample collection.
"After the sample was looked at it was decided that the sample should be preserved for the records and was placed under lock and key where it was eventually forgotten. In fact it's shocking that Richard Parker's employers even knew about the sample. It was definitely a smart plan of action on their part since the sample wasn't overly guarded and it was hardly ever checked on. They took the cryo-tank and replaced it with an identical one without anyone being the wiser. Since this theft occurred sixteen years ago we don't have a lot of leads on just who completed the theft. But rest assured, we're looking into it." The threat in Fury's voice was clear and Peter almost felt bad about it.
"Well I guess I can't be too mad considering Peter wouldn't be here without it which I'm grateful for. But you don't have any of my other DNA floating around for people to use right?" asked Steve.
"No we've destroyed all the other blood samples and there were no other semen samples," Agent Coulson assured.
"Good," said Steve nodding firmly.
"We've also discovered the identity of Peter's biological mother," Agent Coulson announced.
"Who is she?" asked Steve sitting up even straighter and looking tense.
Peter was also eager and nervous to learn who his biological mother was.
"Your sample was kept in a cryo-tank with several others. But like I said before the thief simply took the entire container and left a fake in its place. Richard Parker just used one of the eggs being stored in the container to create the embryo."
"It's someone from SHIELD then? Or another sample you were trying to protect?" asked Steve curiously.
"The sample was taken from one of our founding members of SHIELD when the procedure first became available. She wanted to preserve her eggs so that she could focus on her career and have a child later in life. However she never ended up settling down and her eggs were never used. You actually knew her Captain. Peter's mother is the late and venerated Agent Peggy Carter."
Peter watched as Steve's face. He had never seen so many conflicting emotions pass over a person's face before. He looked thrilled, regretful, miserable, shocked and a bunch of others that were too quick for Peter to give name to.
"Peggy? Who was she?" Peter asked softly.
"Here," offered Agent Coulson.
He brought up a picture of a beautiful, curvaceous dark haired woman on the hologram. She was wearing an army uniform and looked very official and proud. Coulson went through a few other pictures and Peter was surprised to see some of her and Steve together.
"She was a very brave and intelligent woman. She really made a name for herself being a woman and holding a high rank in the army. She was very involved in the war. She passed away six years ago from cancer," Coulson informed him gently.
"She sounds pretty awesome," Peter agreed feeling his throat tighten with emotion at the thought that he shared DNA with such an amazing woman. It seemed like he had two awesome mothers since Mary Parker had risked her life for him and given birth to him. Well three if he counted Aunt May.
"She was amazing. She was the only one who truly believed I was more than just some character and that I could actually fight in the war and make a difference," Steve said turning to look at Peter with tears in his eyes. "I can't tell you what it means to me that you're our son. I loved her and to have a piece of her living through you as my son is more than I could have dreamed of."
With that Steve pulled him tightly into a hug. Peter was helpless to do anything but hug him back. It felt great even if Peter's teenage self did think it was a little embarrassing to be seen hugging his father in front of everyone.
"Uh-hum, now let's get to that physical," said Director Fury breaking them up.
Peter sighed. "Um before we do that can I be sure that everything that you'll find is classified."
"Of course," said Fury looking insulted.
Peter looked from him, to Steve, to Coulson and the doctors. They'd find out anyway so he might as well tell them the truth before hand.
"I'm Spiderman," Peter murmured.
"What?" asked Steve looking confused.
"I'm Spiderman, you know the webs, swinging from buildings and the blue and red suit," replied Peter.
There was a long silence as they all just stared at him.
"Really? Do you need me to show you?" Peter griped and he flipped upwards latching himself to the high ceiling.
Steve was openly gaping at him now. Fury was giving him a calculating look and Coulson wore a small smile. Peter dropped back down to the ground easily landing on his feet.
"So I was bitten by a radioactive spider and the bite should have killed me but I think it was the fact that I already had a strong regenerative factor from Steve and that's why I survived," Peter explained.
"Radioactive spider?" Fury questioned.
Peter explained about Oscorp and how he had been exposed to the genetically altered spider when he had been looking into information on Richard Parker. He also hesitantly told them that it was his fault that Curt Connors had become what he had because Peter had been the one to give him the formula.
"We all make mistakes Peter but at least you were able to fix yours and learn from them," said Steve still looking pale at the thought that his newly discovered son was in fact a superhero.
"I'd like to test your abilities Peter. If you don't mind," said Fury and it sounded more like a command than a suggestion.