The support beam came crashing down. All Peter could do was catch it. It wasn't too heavy, but it was bulky, and he didn't have a lot of space to maneuver in. He remembered his adversary a second too late. The criminal shot forward and plunged his spear into Peter. It tore through his suit and entered his stomach. He screamed in pain as he attempted to toss the beam aside so he could fight. But the criminal kicked him hard, right in his fresh wound. Immobilized by pain, Peter went staggering back, dropping the beam between him and his opponent, right through the glass windows. He was falling, his side burning, his vision going black, his lungs failing as he slammed into the hard asphalt twenty stories below.

"Peter!" Nat said urgently, shaking the boy awake.

He bolted upright in his bed, gasping for air. Oh, god, he couldn't breathe, his lungs-

"Peter, breathe," Natasha commanded, a consoling hand on his back, rubbing circles. "Focus on me, okay? Deep breaths. You're okay. You're in your room. Breathe."

His ragged breathing slowly evened out. He forced his muscles to relax, slumping into Natasha. She just adjusted her position to better support him, running her fingers through his sweaty hair. Slowly, he became aware of the feeling of his tangled sheets and Natasha's warm skin. He could tell he was shaking but couldn't stop.

"There you go, Peter," Natasha murmured. "Just a dream. You're okay."

"Th-thanks," he stammered out, still slightly disoriented and shaking.

"Shh," she reprimanded and he closed his eyes. Her breathing was steady, so he tried to match her pace. That worked pretty well. After a few more minutes he was able to sit up. She cupped his face. "Better?"

He gave a weak smile. "Yeah. Thanks, Nat."

She smiled gently. "No problem. It's been a rough night all around. I walked into the living room and found Wanda sleeping on the couch with Vision next to her. Apparently, she couldn't sleep so she stayed up talking to Vision until she crashed."

Peter nodded, untangling himself from his blankets. Nat helped him out. He stood and stretched, tired, even though he'd only been awake a few minutes. He could tell this was going to be a long day.

"I'm going to shower. Is there any breakfast?" Peter asked.

"I think Sam and Bruce were making something," she replied vaguely. Then she blinked and said, "Oh, I actually came here for a reason. Make sure to put on something nice. The press conference is in two hours."

"...Right. The press conference," Peter repeated slowly. The conference that had already caused him enough stress for his nightmares to return, apparently.

Nat frowned. "If you don't feel up for it, Tony and Steve can handle it. You don't have to do it, Peter."

"No, no! I will, it's just that... ," he trailed off, unable to put it into words. She understood though. She was rather good at reading people, a trait Peter found both helpful and unnerving, depending on the situation.

"Yeah, I get it. Go shower. I'll make sure there's something edible left for you," Nat promised, leaving with a smile. Peter ignored his growing nerves and shut the door to his bathroom. First thing first, he needed to rinse all this sweat off of himself. He was nowhere near presentable looking like this, especially for a national audience.

Once properly washed, he opened up his extensive closet, courtesy of Tony. He hadn't had any occasion to wear a suit yet, but he had five different ones. He picked a simple gray suit, not bothering to put on the jacket yet. If he had to admit it, he looked pretty good in the designer suit, but nerves rose up as the reason he was wearing it hit him. He'd never had to deal with the press in this way before, unmasked and being interviewed.

But Tony would be there, he reminded himself. And Steve, Pepper, probably Nat and some of the others too. They would be there. They could get him out of there if he needed. Which he wouldn't, he decided fiercely. He was Spider-Man. He wouldn't back out of a press conference. He would face it down with his head high, his team by his side. He was an Avenger, which meant he wasn't alone.

Sam, Bruce, Nat and Scott were in the kitchen, silently eating and cooking. Bruce was flipping through a scientific journal, so absorbed that he was the only one who didn't notice Peter's entrance at first. Peter spied Vision watching over Wanda's sleeping form in the other room.

"Morning, Pete," Scott greeted, pulling out a chair for him. He sat down, and began shaking his leg instantly.

"Hey," Peter replied, thanking Sam as the veteran placed a loaded plate in front of him. After a minute of digging into his food, Peter swallowed and asked, "Where's Tony?"

"Tony, Pepper, Steve, and Bucky are setting up for the conference," Sam supplied, then rolled his eyes. "Honestly, I'm all for just flying over New York City and yelling the announcement, but hey, what do I know?"

Peter smiled in appreciation at Sam. He could tell the man was trying to make him laugh and not stress about the conference. But it was hard. Especially without Tony or Steve there. Actually, as Peter thought about it, he realized this was the first breakfast he'd had without either one of his "dads" hovering. They'd been around so much ever since his reveal that he'd started taking their presence for granted. Peter shoved his unsettling thoughts away and tried to focus on eating.

Too late. His stomach was starting to knot and the delicious breakfast was suddenly very unappealing. He tried to casually set down his utensils, as if he were done, but one can't fool the Black Widow. Her sharp eyes caught the motion, and her pale green eyes bored into him.

"Peter? Is something wrong with your meal?" she asked pointedly. Sam grimaced in sympathy. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of that tone.

"No. I was just, uh, going to get some water," Peter fabricated lamely.

She smiled pleasantly as he stood. "Smart answer."

Bruce rolled his eyes at her behavior. "Go easy on the kid, Nat. He's just nervous."

"What on earth are you talking about?" she replied coyly. Peter filled up a glass of water, pondering their relationship. From snippets he'd heard from the Avengers, Bruce and Natasha were involved, or maybe had been involved. They had an easy banter between them, but Peter had never seen them kiss like Tony and Pepper, or go on a date like Steve and Sharon. There wasn't any of the casual contact Clint had with Laura the one time Peter met her.

And yet, there was something quiet between them, but present. He supposed a relationship between superheroes would be different than one between a superhero and civilian, especially considering Bruce's...condition. When Peter had been asking Bruce about the basics of his Hulk transformation, the scientist had confirmed that he couldn't get too excited. Peter had tried to apologize for bringing it up, but Bruce had just shrugged and said, "It is what it is." Now though, as he saw the man watch Natasha walk to the living room, Peter wondered if it didn't bother him more than he let on. He knew it would bother him if he had Bruce's problem.

Peter was sitting on the couch, earbuds in as he streamed some of his favorite rock music. Most of the Avengers were in the kitchen, or coming and going from the living room. This wouldn't have interested him so much if they weren't all in suits or dresses. He had never seen them dress up, not even when General Ross came to have Peter sign the Sokovia Accords.

"Why's everyone all dressed up?" he asked Wanda, who was braiding her hair on the couch across from him.

She raised an eyebrow. "We have to look good for the press conference, right?"

"Wait, are you all going?" Peter asked in surprise, yanking his earbuds out.

"If that's okay with you," Bucky said, wearing a black glove to cover up his metal appendage. He'd come down a few minutes ago, but Tony, Steve and Pepper had yet to make an appearance.

"Uh, yeah, of course. I just didn't think you'd all want to come," the teen explained, fiddling with his cuff links. Tony had given them to him. Peter had been really touched because they were solid gold. Then he'd noticed the subtle spider engraving on them and caught Tony's little smirk.

Sam barked a laugh. "You kidding? We wouldn't just sacrifice you to the press. They are some major a-holes."

Peter couldn't help but smile. Wanda was helping Vision knot his tie, though the android probably didn't need the help. Bruce was zipping up Natasha's dress. Scott was trying to surreptitiously loosen his tie. All for him, so that they could stand by him. The all knew how much he'd been dreading this, how much he'd freaked out when he found out his identity had been revealed. It was touching.

At about a half hour to the interview, Pepper came into the living room, looking as professional as always. She smiled as she saw Peter, dressed up in a suit and sitting quietly next to Bucky. He looked relieved when he saw her, and a bit nervous. She would spare him from this if she could, but they'd already gone too long without a public statement.

"Ready?" she asked him as he stood up, playing with his cuff links.

"As I'll ever be," he murmured. He was looking rather pale.

She slipped an arm around his shoulders. "Come on. We'll try and make it quick." He allowed her to lead him out of the room. The rest of the Avengers followed. They went down to the room where Tony had first offered him the Iron Spider suit. Tony and Steve were already there, both in suits, Tony in his trademark shades. Steve smiled encouragingly at Peter, who managed a weak smile in return. Tony went and stood on Peter's other side, his presence alone calming the boy.

"Whenever you're ready, we'll head in, clear some stuff up, then order lunch," Tony said, his familiar babble blocking out Peter's nerves for a second. "I was thinking pizza. From that place you like. Or maybe good ol' burgers, we haven't done those in a while. Whatever you want."

"Pizza sounds great," the teen offered.

Tony nodded approvingly. "Good pick."

Peter took a deep breath, then said, "Let's do this."

Pepper squeezed his shoulder then went to the doors. Happy, who Peter hadn't even noticed was here, pulled the doors open for her. Immediately, flashing lights and yelling bombarded his senses. After Pepper entered, Happy closed the doors.

"Just a second," Tony assured him, keeping his arm around Peter. The rest of the Avengers assembled around them on a nonexistent cue.

Through the door, Peter could hear Pepper saying in a mic, "And now, may I introduce you to the newest member of the Avengers, Spider-Man!"

The doors were opened. He and Tony walked in together, closely followed by everyone else. Cameras were flashing like crazy, about fifty reporters were standing before a long table cheering and yelling questions. Peter felt like he'd been hit by the Shocker as his enhanced senses tried to compute everything going on in the room. But Tony didn't release him, and carefully guided him to sit at the table. Tony was on his right, Steve was on his left.

"Peter! Peter!" reporters yelled. He was beginning to feel a bit dizzy.

Then, of all things, Tony put a finger to his lips and the room fell silent. "Thank you," the billionaire said, holding Peter's hand under the table. "It's the kids first big gig. Let's go easy on him today, alright?"

The room tittered with laughter and settled down. The cameras were now rolling instead of snapping photos and the reporters were raising their mics to catch every word the Avengers would say. Peter tried to relax. The only one who looked as uncomfortable as him was Wanda, who had the most difficult relationship with the press.

"How about we start?" Pepper suggested. Hands immediately shot up. Pepper smiled. "To cover the basics, Peter is sixteen years old, is enrolled in high school, and is from Queens." That was written down by the majority, but no hands went down. Just as Peter started to fidget, Tony squeezed his hand.

The first reporter stood up. "Yes, Peter, could you please give us your last name?"

"My, uh, last name is Stark," he said into the microphone on the table before him. Most of the reporters in the room seemed personally vindicated with his answer.

"Are you Tony Stark's biological child?" she continued, appearing to be looking at a list.

He shook his head. "No. I'm adopted."

A new reporter asked, "Do you have any parents or guardians besides Mr. Stark?"

"Uh, yes. My aunt," Peter replied, not liking how everybody's eyes seemed to be on him.

"Unfortunately, May Parker couldn't be here today," Tony injected. "Ms. Parker, Pepper and I have joint custody of Peter. There'll be quite a custody battle if Pep and I ever split." More laughter. The camera loved Tony and he wasn't afraid of deflecting attention from his son.

"Mr. Stark, when did you adopt Peter?"

Tony pretended to consider. "On June 5th of this year."

"The week after his public identity reveal," the reporter said skeptically. Tony nodded and made an on with it gesture. "Did you adopt Peter to cover up the fact that an under-age vigilante was interfering with legitimate groups, such as the Avengers?"

"No. The paperwork just took forever to finalize. I've been working on custody for nearly a year. My wife would be happy to give you the records of the adoption process when this is over," Tony said flatly. He clearly didn't like being accused of using Peter. The reporter took no notice, sitting down with a thoughtful look.

"Is Spider-Man a member of the Sokovia Accords?"

Steve took this question. "Yes. I can confirm that, per the amendments made in January of this year, minors are able to join the Avengers with the express consent of the minor and their guardians. Peter, Tony, Pepper, and May all signed the Accords."

This seemed to interest a great many people. Multiple reporters pulled out their phones, no doubt researching the amendment that seems to have gone over everyone's head. Peter took advantage of the momentary reprieve to take a sip of water from the bottle in front of him.

"Is Peter another enhanced individual, or do his abilities come from his equipment?"

Steve looked at Peter, apparently letting him decide how much he wanted them to know. Peter took a deep breath and said, "I'm enhanced, but the webs are synthetic."

"How did you receive your abilities?"

Peter frowned. "I was, um, bit by a spider."

Confused looks followed his statement. Bruce leaned down to his microphone to say, "What Peter means to say is that he was bit by a spider that had been genetically mutated. From my research, I currently believe the bite affected Peter's DNA, altering it in a way similar to how Captain America's was altered."

"Dr. Banner, could you expand on that statement?"

"Yes, of course," Bruce said, not seeming to mind being asked to talk science, even though Peter knew crowds made him nervous. "Peter has a similar super strength, durability, increased metabolism, healing rate, enhanced senses and superhuman speed as Captain America. Peter is much more agile though, and has an ability called superhuman equilibrium. That's what allows him to walk on walls or ceilings."

"That isn't an ability of your suit?" a reporter asked in surprise.

Peter smiled. "No, I really only need the suit to have free movement and my webs."

"Could you demonstrate?" a journalist asked, raising an eyebrow. He could tell she was joking, but he decided to have some fun.

He stood and walked to the wall. He heard people leaping up to get a better view and cameras clicking as he placed his fingertips on the wall and began to climb up the smooth surface. He then stood upside down on the ceiling. Luckily his tux stayed in place. He didn't need his abs plastered on magazine covers.

"Show off," Sam muttered.

"Catch!" Nat said, throwing a pen at him from behind. He caught it without even looking, prompting excited exclamations from the audience. Sam and Scott just shook their heads in exasperation. His unnaturally fast reflexes were something the two men often tried to get by. It wasn't uncommon for them to randomly chuck objects at the teen when he was turned around. They'd yet to succeed in hitting him.

Tony peered up at him. "I think they get the idea."

Smiling a bit sheepishly, Peter dangled by one hand for a second before dropping to the ground near soundlessly. He sat down next to Tony again.

"Peter! Why did you decide to join the Avengers only this summer when you've had this abilities since at least fall of last year?" Another journalist called out.

His brow furrowed as he said, "Well, my uncle always used to say something. 'With great power comes responsibility.' I never took it very seriously. But then I got my powers, and I knew I had to use them to help people who don't have any. I didn't join the Avengers at first because I felt I could do more good for individuals on my own. But things change, and I made a choice to join them. We fight a bigger fight, but its still to keep people safe."

Tony smiled at him proudly. His face was a little flushed from his impromptu speech, but the press seemed to be loving it. More questions came, about his abilities, his involvement with the Avengers and as a vigilante pre-Accords signing, his plans for school, his life prior to his bite. They seemed to want to know everything about him.

Tony seemed to sense that he was running low on energy. "Well, I think that should be enough," Iron Man announced, standing up and clapping his hands. "I look forward to the scathing articles half of you will write."

All of the Avengers stood as the reporters desperately cried out requests of just one more question. Tony guided Peter out, Wanda, Vision, Bucky, and Bruce right behind them. Steve, Scott, Sam, Rhodey, and Nat had stayed behind to answer a few more questions.

"How you feeling?" Bruce asked Peter kindly.

"Pretty good. Glad it's over," he admitted, rolling his shoulders. Bucky and Wanda smiled at his response.

Tony clapped him on the shoulder. "You did good. One of the best press conferences I've been to."

"Thanks," Peter said, tugging off his tie.

Tony whipped out his phone and dialed in a number. "I'm ordering pizza. You guys want any? These things take it out of me." People chimed in their requests. As usual, Tony ended up ordering around thirty pizzas. Food disappeared from this place faster than even a billionaire could keep up with, especially with some of their increased metabolism. Which made all nearby restaurants practically dependent on the large orders that they routinely received from the Avengers Facility.

Bucky brushed by Peter, murmuring in his ear, "Great job, kid." A smile broke out on Peter's face. He'd done it.