Thanks to all who favorited and reviewed.
In advance, I will NOT abandon this story. It may take me a while to update, but I have had too many experiences with dropped stories to do that to you all. I am ecstatic that my story is enjoyed by so many people.
PS. I hate when characters do things that make no sense, so I try to explains the whys of things.
I was a little paranoid with my suit in the tower. There was not a minute that I was not worrying over whether or not the Avengers would find it. It had only been in the tower since a couple hours ago and its presence constantly made itself known. I should have left it in the safe house.
But if I left it there anyone could find it if they entered and looked through my things. It is safer for it to be here where only a select few can get to it. Safer for others, but it is not safer for me. I am pondering telling the Avengers; if only for my health.
Giving up trying to sleep, I went to go get a midnight snack. It might help calm my nerves and get my mind on something else. If not, then it might help me gain some weight so the Avengers will stop trying to feed me a lot more than I am able to eat.
I went to the kitchen to find Bruce already there with a cup of tea. I nodded at him before getting a glass of milk and making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
"Nightmares?" Bruce asked simply.
"No just too anxious to fall asleep." I replied.
"Are you willing to share what is making you anxious?" Bruce questioned.
"I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop; for everything to go wrong." I answered honestly.
"Even if things do get bad we will be by you the entire time. There is nothing that will motivate us to get rid of you. Get used to it now because you're stuck with us."
"With Tony being how he is I doubt I will be able to get rid of you all even if I tried."
"It's him and Steve you need to worry about. Steve can get really determined and stubborn when he wants to be."
"He does seem the type to worry over everyone." After that there was a comfortable silence as we enjoyed our respective food.
"I can give you some melatonin to try if you want." Bruce offered. "It usually works to put people to sleep. I always keep some in stock because most of us who live here have sleep troubles."
"Sure," I said after a moment's contemplation. It couldn't hurt to try. Melatonin is something that is made by the body and supplements are relatively safe. The supplements are derived from animal glands. The most I have to worry about is my spider DNA rejecting the melatonin because it came from another animal. If I have a chance of getting a good night sleep the risk is worth it.
After taking some with a glass of milk I said goodnight to Bruce and went back to my room.
Laying down, I tossed and turned while waiting for the melatonin to do its job. Even with the talk with Bruce I could not stop thinking that when the Avengers find my suit they will kick me out.
Maybe I should tell them now to not risk more hurt later. The longer it takes for them to figure it out, the more attached to them I will be. Might as well do it now when it will hurt but not as much as it would if I waited. Alright, I will tell them tom-.
For once in the last couple months I was reluctant to get out of bed. I had no nightmares and I was comfy in my blanket cocoon. I also was procrastinating revealing that I was Spider-man for a little longer. Letting myself indulge in the miracle that was my situation.
How should I reveal that I am Spider-man? How should I reveal my biggest secret to my heros? How should I prepare myself for the inevitable pain of shattered hopes? Will they not like me and leave me alone out of pity? Will they hand me over to some organization that will throw me in a cell? Will I still be able to continue on after they reject me? Probably not, despite knowing them for only a short time I care for them.
I can't see Gran after, there is a chance that the Avengers will go see her. Maybe with them around her it will be okay that I broke my promise to her.
I will not be able to use the safe house that I went to yesterday. I have to remove all chances of running into them. Just the sight of them will rip open the wounds that will be on my heart from the separation.
But what if they accept me? They have expressed numerous times that they will not reject me. But that is just because they did not know, right? What if they don't reject me? I will have a family again. I need to reveal that I was Spider-man because they have a right to know the truth about me.
After a while I finally found enough courage to get out of bed to get ready. I made the process take a lot longer than the time I do it in normally. The whole time my thoughts were all over the place; wondering about the Avenger's reactions.
I decided to just show them the suit. It was the easiest solution for me. It did not require that much courage to do compared to outright saying it.
I have to disappear before they react. I do not want to see the disgust or disappointment on their faces. I would rather keep the hope of them excepting me then see those expressions. Even if they do accept me, I will have broken a promise by leaving without consulting anyone first. Being around them after breaking a promise is like I was asking for them to get killed.
The problem is all the trackers that Tony has on me. The first thing I need to do is get a new pair of clothes. With the way Tony is all of the clothes he got me will have at least one tracker on me. Also he might have ways of using Jarvis to put trackers on me. The chances that the Avenger's will not go after me are very small. If they reject me, I am a threat that needs to be kept under control. If they accept me, then they are going to try to get me to stay with them.
So I went to the main floor with my heart pounding so loud I thought that Jarvis might comment on it. I fiddled around with the suit in my hands due to my nervousness. This was it. This was the time to see if all my hopes were mere fantasies or possible reality.
Getting off the elevator, I was greeted with the sight of Clint trying to get out of a weird hold Natasha had him in, the kitchen was emitting smoke, and Bruce was on a couch calmly reading a book.
"What happened?" I was still in a little shock as the question passed through my lips. Bruce was the only one who paid me any attention.
"Clint tried to cook again and Natasha caught him." Bruce stated like it was not a big deal.
"And why doesn't this concern you at all?" I asked.
"It takes a lot to make me unnerved and this attempt was better than his last one." Bruce calmly answered.
"Okay then, I'll just go now." I said, not knowing how to deal with this situation. I made sure to drop of the duffle bag in the middle of the table before leaving.
"Come back in around an hour to get edible food." Bruce commented, not once looking up from his book.
Now I just have to take care of Jarvis. He was told by Tony to warn the Avengers when I try to leave. Then again, Tony never specified how Jarvis should contact him.
"Jarvis alert Tony by using his least checked email about me trying to escape."
"Yes, sir." A voice answered from the ceiling. Tony probably made it so I would not be able to stop Jarvis from alerting Tony, so this was the best choice. "I would recommend that you stay here as it is better to your health."
"It might be better for my health but not for the Avenger's health." I said as I walked out the door.
First thing that I needed to do was to get to Gran's in order to change my clothes. There is no way Tony could have injected me with a tracker without my spidey-sense going off. The only way he could have gotten a tracker inside me was if he had me ingest it Since the tracker is no danger to me and my spidey-sense has been weaker, along with the rest of my body, due to the lack of food and sleep. With my high metabolism, the tracker would not last longer than a day. I just have to dodge the Avengers until then.
I weaved through the crowds with practiced ease while I headed towards Gran's flower shop. I was not running in order to blend in with the crowds of people who were going about their lives. It would be easier to find me that way. Sure, Gran's place is probably the first place that the Avengers would check, but it was necessary. If they find out before I make it to Gran's I will have to try to avoid them with multiple trackers on me. Doing so sounds close to impossible, even by my standards. So I need to make it to Gran's before that.
I was paranoid the whole way there, thinking that every other person was an Avenger in disguise, but I got to the flower shop.
"Where are your bodyguards?" Gran asked as soon as she saw me. She immediately sat me down and put food in front of me.
"I am able to take care of myself. I have survived on the streets by myself." I told her despite the fact that I probably would not have survived without my powers. While I disliked my powers, I needed to use them in order to stay alive.
"Barley, and while you may be able to protect yourself from others you need someone to protect you from yourself." Gran retorted. "It's you who chooses to not accept anyone's help and distance yourself from others. You're the one that can do the most damage to yourself."
"But that is my punishment for being selfish." I argued feebly.
"See that is a perfect example of how you are harming yourself. You're trying to make yourself hurt. Is it not enough that you don't have anyone to care for you and you lived on the street for months?" She prodded me.
"Maybe, but the chance that I may lose another precious person terrifies me. It terrifies me to the point that I would rather hurt and be lonely than to face it." I admitted shakily.
"How are you ever going to be happy if you do not take that risk?" Gran asked.
"I won't, but my happiness is less important than someone's life."
"Sometimes whether to follow through with a risk is not up to you. I want to get close to you and it seems that the Avengers do too." Gran informs me. "Let us decide if the risk is worth it or not."
"But-"
"We choose what we want to do with our lives and I choose to become one of your precious people."
Suddenly, my Spidey-sense went off. I turn around to see men in uniforms filing into the room.
"Ahhhhh isn't that sweet. I almost feel bad ruining it." The person who I guessed was the leader. "But orders are orders, and I have an order to capture one Peter Parker." I frantically looked for any exits that at least Gran could escape from. There were none.
"If you are only after me then you would not mind leaving Gran here alone, right?" I needed to get Gran out of here.
I got no answer as my spider sense went off. With my weak state, I was not able to avoid the needle that was infected into my skin. Whatever was in the needle kicked in right away and my vision started to blur. I knew I needed to help Gran get out of this situation but my vision was rapidly being overcome by darkness. Gran….
