"I could've gone swinging" Peter complained.
"You're not in condition to go swinging anywhere" Natasha replied firmly.
Peter was sure he could've arrived at the tower on his own without crashing against a streetlight. Well, almost sure. But this was also ok. The jet was very comfortable (not that he was going to admit that out loud). He hissed when Natasha put pression on the wound in his leg with a cloth.
"See?" Natasha said. "This proves my point".
The red-headed tied the improvised bandage and asked Steve who was in the seat next to Peter:
"Bruce is at the tower, right?"
"Yeah, I already called him".
"That Bruce is your doctor?" Peter asked.
"Doctor, scientist and emergency resource in fights" Clint explained.
Peter frowned at the last part but decided not to ask more. The jet landed on the rooftop of the tower where Tony was already waiting for them.
"I think you like getting to places fast just to show off" Clint said.
"Of course. That's one of the purposes of my armor" Tony answered with that I-know-everything grin that made Peter (and the rest of the Avengers) want to punch him in the face.
Peter got up, took one step...and had to stop because of the pain. He cursed mentally Harry Osborn, his ridiculous allies and their entire family.
"Let me give you a hand" Steve said.
Peter was grateful that the mask could hide his blushing. Because it was very embarrasing having to lean on Steve Rodgers aka Captain America aka the most famous superhero of the world. They took the elevator to a big room that looked like part of a hospital. There were hospital beds at each side of the room and a couple of shelves and a closet in the corner with lots of medical supplies.
"This is where we are patched up after a tough fight" Tony explained.
"You are really well equipped, guys" Peter said. He really envied the Avengers in that moment. They had a mini-hospital while he had to get by with the first-aid kid he had in his bathroom.
"Technically, I am well equipped since the building is mine"
"There's no need of boring Spider-Man with your ego, Tony".
This was said by a man with a white coat. Peter hadn't even noticed he was there. Upon looking him closer he realized the doctor's face sounded familiar. Where have I seen him before? he thought.
"Hi, I'm Bruce Banner".
Peter almost facepalmed. It was the scientist he had talked with in Dr. Barrimore's laboratory. He recalled Bruce telling him that he worked with Tony Stark. Now he had to pretend he didn't know him. Having a double life was very frustrating sometimes.
"I'd say nice to meet you but in these circumstances..." Peter replied.
"Yeah, I can imagine. Sit down and I'll take a look at your leg. All of you, out" Bruce said pointing at the Avengers.
The team started to protest almost immediately but Steve cut them off.
"C'mon, you've heard the doctor. Let's go".
"Yeah, if we don't go he could smash something" Tony said with a smile.
Bruce glared at him but Tony was already gone before the scientist was able to reply and the rest of the team followed him. When they left, Peter let out a sigh of relief. He preferred to have some privacy, especially if the process was going to be painful. He didn't need Tony Stark mocking him. Bruce untied the bandage and examined the wound with a flashlight.
"I see the problem. You have a piece of something metallic inside".
"That's why it hasn't healed yet".
"You have a healing factor?".
Oops. I shouldn't have said that. Peter thought. Usually I'm not so careless. Probably it's because of the tiredness. Or the blood loss.
"Yeah, more or less" he replied. "But it's gonna take me a while recovering from this".
Bruce picked up a pair of tweezers and Peter had to bit his tongue during the process to not let out a cry of pain. Luckily Bruce was already used to heal those kinds of wounds so the metallic piece was removed quickly. When he was finished, the scientist cleaned the wound and started bandaging the leg.
"Can I ask you something?" he suddenly said. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to".
"Since you put it like that...ok".
"Why does Harry Osborn hate you so much?"
"I put him in prison, none of the villains I've defeated likes me".
Bruce knew he was lying so he shouldn't press. But he was curious. Spider-Man was a mystery, not even SHIELD knew his identity.
"Usually, villains want to kill you but Harry wants to destroy you too".
"Tell me about it" Peter huffed and then sighed "We were childhood friends. Then his father sent him to a boarding school and I didn't see him again until he came back to the city when his father died. He asked me to...do something and I refused. He didn't take it well, thought I had betrayed him".
"Did you do it?"
"Betray him? I'm not even sure anymore. Sometimes I think that if I had said yes, things would be different now".
Bruce gave him a sympathetic smile. He had had doubts how Spider-Man would be. Sure, he was a hero and has captured a lot of criminals but he also looked arrogant, webbing thugs to streetlights and mocking them. Now he was surprised to find out that he felt sorry for the wall crawler. The Green Goblin had tried to kill him and destroy his reputation and still the Spider-Man felt badly for his former friend.
"You shouldn't feel guilty" Bruce said. "I don't know if you betrayed Osborn or not but that's not an excuse for what he has done. Turning into a villain was his decision".
Peter grinned beneath his mask. He liked Bruce. He was calm and had a contagious inner peace. Actually he felt a little better after the talk.
"You are very good giving advices. I think you should be a psychologist instead of a scientist".
Bruce burst out laughing. "I'd be terrible. I would end up losing my temper and trust me, you don't want to see that. This is finished".
"Thanks doc" Peter said
"Are you hurt somewhere else?"
"No" he lied. His entire body hurt but he just wanted to go home and forget that horrible day. He sat up and, much to his dismay, he winced.
"So you're not hurt, right?" Bruce said with a smile.
"Ok, you caught me but I'm tired. I wanna go home".
Oh, great. I just whined Peter thought. How old am I? Three? Bruce laughed, thinking that Spider-Man sounded like Tony when an experiment didn't have the results he wanted.
"C'mon. It will take a few minutes. Lift up your shirt".
"Without buying me dinner first, doc?"
"Really? I thought you were more original Spider-Man".
"Cut me some slack. It's been a bad day".
Peter complied and lifted up the shirt of his suit. Bruce gasped when he saw the black bruises that covered the hero's body.
"It must be very impressive if the Avengers' doctor has gasped".
"Yeah and it has to hurt a lot. You should've told me before".
Peter shrugged and immediately regretted it.
"Well, it's a secondary effect of the Rhino slamming me into the floor. Repeatedly. And your friends also contributed" Peter said the last sentence bitterly even though it hadn't been his intention.
"I'm sorry".
"You don't have to apologise. You weren't in the fight".
That was true but he also had thought that Spider-Man had blown up Oscorp and hadn't tried to stop the rest of the Avengers so he did feel a bit guilty. He bandaged Spider-Man's chest. When he was finished the wall crawler looked down and said:
"I look like the Mommy".
"Don't exaggerate. And don't even think of going on patrol tomorrow".
"Did you forget the part where I said that I heal fast?"
"It's biologically impossible this is completely healed by tomorrow. If I find out you've been swinging through the city, I'll send the Avengers after you. Ok?"
Peter opened his mouth to protest but then the doors opened and Tony came in.
"Listen to Bruce, web-head. It's better not to argue with him".
"Tony, I told you to stay outside".
"You're already finished. And this is my house, I can wherever I want to".
"So what's going to happen now?" Peter asked him. "I'm not going to take off my mask".
"Don't worry. We promised you you wouldn't have to do it if you didn't want to. Do you want to?"
"No" Peter answered abruptly. Just a few days ago he had had a different opinion but after what had happened... He couldn't trust the Avengers. Not for the moment, at least.
"I had to ask. So what do you prefer, the good news or the bad news?"
"The good ones. I'm done with the bad news".
"The good news is that we're going to tell Fury that you're innocent so SHIELD won't be after you anymore".
"And the bad news?"
"The NYPD".
Peter groaned.
"What happens with them?"
"We don't have any real proof that you didn't blow up Oscorp and kill those people so the NYPD is keeping the arrest warrant. At least that's what Captain Jefferson just told me by then phone. Actually, shouted would be a more appropiate term".
"But SHIELD can arrest Harry, right?" Peter said with a confidence he didn't really feel.
"We'll talk to Fury about it" Tony said. "But I don't really know".
"Ok, you know what?" Peter said getting up "I'm going home. It's been a long night and I just want to sleep".
"And call your girlfriend, I guess" Tony said with a grin.
Peter felt himself blushing. "That's none of your business!"
"I was...
"Tony" Bruce interrupted "Spider-Man is right. That's none of your business".
"Spoilsport" Tony grunted then he said to Peter "We can take you to your house, if you want".
"So you can know where I live? Not a chance".
"I had to tried it" Tony said shrugging.
"Are you sure you're ready to go home?" Bruce asked. "Do you feel dizzy?"
"I'm fine" Peter answered awkwardly. He wasn't used to people being concerned about him. Bruce raised an eyebrow and Peter added "As fine as I can be, at least. I'm not going to crash into a building".
"Look, if someday you have serious wounds or you need to get patched up, you can come here" Bruce offered. "Healing factor or not".
"And we will help you to take down Osborn" Tony assured him. "We're not going to let that bastard and his freaky friends walk free".
"Ok, thanks".
Peter shot his webs and left. While he swung from building to building he thought he may not trust the Avengers yet but tonight was a step in the right direction.
Harry threw a chair at the wall. He was furious. His plan was perfect and Spider-Man should be dead. But the damned Avengers had to destroy everything and ruin his plan. Now he knew what he had to do: to get rid of Spider-Man, he had to get rid of the distractions (aka the Avengers), first. He picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Baron Von Strucker? It's Harry Osborn. I'm ready to pay my debt. I'm ready to start the HAMMER project".
A/N: If you have read Dark Reign comics you know what HAMMER is. If not, you'll find out soon. There are going to be differences but the basic concept is the same.
+60 follows! I almost don't believe it. I've never had so many followers in a fic. Thanks a lot for your support, guys. You're awesome! I know I always say this (you can call me repetitive if you want) but if you've liked the chapter, leave a review :-)