Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers.
A HOME FOR BROKEN HEROES
Chapter Five
WHY FEAR RUNS WHEN LOVE WALKS IN
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It's one of those days.
New York City was bustling in peace with the people going on with their daily lives without being attacked by some super powered mutant, alien or robot.
Maybe villains have lazy days too, Peter thinks.
The sun was too high up and too warm that even their teachers don't seem enthusiastic to be up and working. Every direction Peter looks, there's a classmate dozing off. Flash would have choked on his drool if MJ didn't throw a chalk at him. Those who saw snorted with laughter, but Mr. Harrington couldn't be bothered to look up from his book, content leaving them to self-study.
Peter was just about to bang his head on his two inches thick Physics book if only to relieve boredom when the bell finally rang.
To the other kids' excitement, a dressed to the nines Tony Stark was waiting outside, leaning all too casually on a flashing red Audi R8.
Peter stared for just a sec, surprised because he'd been expecting Happy to fetch him today. He didn't need to look beside him to know that Ned was just about ready to die from amazement.
His mentor was waving at him, beckoning him to come with a smug look on his face that tells Peter he's thoroughly liking all the attention that came with doing something so domestic for an intern.
"Hey kid, thought I'll get you this time. Meeting finished early and all, but don't tell Pepper. She doesn't need to know I managed to annoy the life out of another potential partner."
"Mr. Stark! What are you-, I thought Happy's supposed to come fetch me?" Peter blabbers, fidgeting. Then, getting close enough to whisper, he inquires, "Is there a mission? Do I need to make an excuse for school tomorrow?"
To his befuddlement, Mr. Stark just laughed and patted him on the shoulder, stirring him to get inside the car.
"Nah," the man casually shrugged. "Been craving cheeseburger since this morning. You like cheeseburger, right? Wait, don't answer that. Of course, you like it. Who doesn't? Anyway, say ba-bye to Ted."
"Bye Peter!" Ned chirps, smiling too widely at being addressed by one of their heroes. "Bye Mr. Stark!"
Peter waves back at him, looking apologetic for having to ditch early when they're supposed to hang around Ned's room and play Lego. But Ned, being Ned, couldn't be more understanding and happy for him. To make up for it, Peter promised himself to give his best friend a detailed overview of everything that's about to happen.
"So, how was school today?"
"Ahm, it was okay. Everyone was slacking today. I think it's the weather."
Mr. Stark was nodding as he steered the wheel.
Peter just keeps quiet and waits, not really knowing what to expect from the billionaire.
"And, that other kid? Your scary crush, MJ was it? Thought Ted, you and her are stuck to each other like gum, but I saw she wasn't with you."
It was embarrassing how Peter quickly turns into a tomato. "What-, no! Where did you get the idea Mr. Stark? She isn't, she's just a friend. She's the leader of our decathlon team so she had to stay behind and discuss logistics with Mr. Harrington."
Peter wanted a hole to open and pull him in because Mr. Stark was laughing too gleefully.
"Hey, no need to get your underoos in a twist. It's perfectly normal to have a crush at your age. Just let me know if you need a reminder of the birds and bees talk. I haven't had practice giving it to anyone, but I'm sure I can wing it-"
"MR. STARK!" Peter cried, this time really banging his forehead on the dashboard, only stopping when something soft got in the way.
Peter looked up to see his mentor's hand stopping him from hurting himself.
"I'm just messing with you kid. You make it too easy," the billionaire teases, eyes still bright from laughter.
Peter pouts and leans back on the backrest with his arms crossed.
"Just for that reaction, I'm getting you a happy meal."
"MR. STARK!"
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Earth 616
Sitting at the head of the board table, Peter finds himself smiling at the memory.
But the sound of applause alerts him in time to see the holographic images of the earth, fire, wind and water monsters which the presenter called the 'elementals' disappear.
"So, Mr. Parker-Stark, what do you think of the presentation?" Quentin Beck, the head development engineer for the project, turns to ask of him. With great excitement and just a tad bit of desperation, he adds, "Look, I know Tony loved his acronyms but I really believe it deserves a better name that won't be laughed at. Binary Augmented Retro Framing has too much potential for us to limit it on treatment for trauma. If we're looking at market trends and conditions, people get excited on superheroes fighting super creatures. I know Stark Industries is all about techs and gadgets, but just imagine what we'll be starting if we actually build an amusement park of holographic illusion technology. We'd be setting a new trend and reaching new markets! It'd be a hit, potentially even bigger than Coney Island."
Peter involuntarily winced at the painful memory of his fight with the Vulture on said location but boxed it away in favor of being present minded at the meeting.
Murmurings came from the other heads sharing their own thoughts on what they'd just witnessed. They're all at least twice or thrice his age, something Peter tries his best to forget as they all turn to him, expectant for his opinion as CEO and one of the main heads of R&D.
"It's a very interesting presentation," Peter says, chin propped atop his crossed fingers with his elbows leaning on the table. "I'll bring it up to the board and see how it goes. If they approve, we can start thinking for a new name. I know you all worked hard for this project, and if it's a unanimous decision then I don't see why not."
Mr. Beck's face instantly brightened at his sound approval, and Peter rose to shake his hand.
A tilt of his head allowed Peter to see Happy already waiting by the door to bring him to his next schedule.
Finishing up, he compliments, "Good job Mr. Beck." Then turning to the rest of the heads, he says, "Good job everyone. Meeting adjourned. Please check your schedule for the next heads' meeting."
"So what's next?" he asks, reaching a very disturbed looking Happy who pretends to check on his watch.
To Peter's stun, the head of security pushes his personal phone to his face.
20 Missed Calls from Nick Fury
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Earth 1032
As far as prison cells are concerned, Tony has to admit HYDRA has good taste.
A modern dungeon style square room lighted with torch, with inches thick vibranium walls and ceiling and granite floor, sealed on the front with criss-crossed titanium cylindrical bars, all movements and sounds monitored by the cameras outside, the highlights being projected in a control room somewhere in the halls no doubt.
There's a steel bed that's as cold as ice when he touched it but with no mattress or pillow, just a dirty white blanket as thin as a wrap and stained with blood. Somehow, Tony couldn't decide on whether he'd rather the blood came from human or animal.
Turning to his stoic captors looking very chill and watching him from outside the cell, Tony remarks with a raised eyebrow. "I see you even got me a bed. Not bad. Never really liked plain grey except maybe in a suit, but the blood makes up for a nice touch. Very Sherlockian."
"Of course," Smirnov, the buff bald guy in a suit who he labelled as the Russian baldy in his head, rolls his eyes and decides to humor him. "Only the best for our latest prisoner."
Tony's eyes caught sight of the wooden door on the ground in the far corner, and his curiosity immediately rose and overlooked the sadistic glee that lighted the Russians' faces as they watch him cross the room and open the hilt. "And oh looky! What is this? A surprise?"
The moment he did open it though, he wished he could undo what he'd found. There are literal tears in his eyes at the horrible, horrible smell.
"Oh gosh," he gags, his face having gone two shades paler as he hurries to seal it back while pinching his nose to keep off the scent of decaying excrete. "Privy, right? Never felt happier to be alive in the twenty first century."
He ignores the mocking laughter that followed his reaction as he jumped to make himself comfortable on the bed. He hates how they sound too much like nails on chalkboard from his captors.
"So, do tell. What's the itinerary? You know, if you want my attention so bad, you could have just asked. What now? Need me to sign you funding checks? Or would you rather I give away nuclear codes? You know I don't manufacture weapons anymore. Just ask Ten Rings." Then his tone shifted to casual threatening, "Oh, wait, they're all dead. I destroyed them all. No torture worked. Been there, done that. Never became a fan but you lot seem the type to try anyway. So what makes you think there's anything you can do that can turn me to an obedient captive? Didn't they ever teach you in school? Bad guys never win against Iron Man."
To his startle, instead of rising to the challenge, the other more fashionable Russian dude in leather who has actual hair and a scar covering half his face throws him an apple which he caught albeit clumsily.
Turning to inspect the apple in his hand, Tony breathes, feeling out of his depth for the first time since he'd woken up in a HYDRA base. "Hah. Got to say, didn't expect that. What? Is this poisoned? You trying to poison me now?"
"Oh, no need for paranoia Stark. We didn't kidnap you for any of those things. In fact, you can even trust us to keep your health in good condition."
"Wait, so you're trying to do what my nutritionists couldn't do? You're feeding me healthy? Who set you up for this? Is it Pepper?" Tony jokes.
"Your spangled friend took the Winter Soldier from us. Years of research and brain washing, gone just like that. But HYDRA has grown wiser over the years. We learned to adapt. We don't expect you to be able to replicate the Winter Soldier for us. He isn't like one of your DIY suits, and we know you may be a dick, but still not cold hearted enough for the job."
Tony smirks. "Impressive commentary coming from a bunch of snake heads. And just for the record, the spangled guy isn't my friend, but do continue."
The Russians scoff at his exessive need for dramatics and decided to focus on their point.
"You're a business man Stark. You know about cutting losses and making do with what limited resources we have. So here's step one of the plan. You, Iron Man, are going to be the next Winter Soldier. Two, the next time you reunite with your avenging friends, you're going to kill them for us."
"We have to thank Rogers for making this too easy. He did betray you for his old buddy, didn't he?"
At the mention of the name, Tony jumps from the bed in spite of his bandaged injuries all over, regretting it all too late at the feel of pain and the sight of their smug smirks. "Never say the bastard's name in front of me!"
They both laugh and turn to leave, but Russian baldy paused to leave him with one last warning.
"Better hold on to that anger, because you, my friend, are going to need it."
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Earth 616
Peter didn't mean to ignore Nick Fury any further than he already had. He really didn't. But Spider-Man or not, he also just couldn't ignore his senses alerting him that someone's about to toss himself off of a building.
He barely had time to change into his alter ego's costume before he was jumping off the opened window, ignoring Happy's exasperated yells as he started swinging from building to building.
"Please don't jump," he heard himself plead before he could even land on the rooftop two blocks away.
From his vantage point, the boy looks to be a student still with his backpack on.
Peter was only to grateful for his stickiness that kept him balanced when the person turned and revealed himself to be a very familiar face.
"Spider-Man?" Flash gawks, face too comical that Peter would have laughed if he didn't know what the boy was trying to do.
Spider-Man takes a step closer, ready to web him back in case he falls. But Flash didn't fall, only dropped his backpack by accident in his startle.
Spider-Man easily remedies that by webbing up the bag and catching it without looking.
Ignoring the bewilderment that easily transformed into a look of shame on his bully's face, Spider-Man walks to the glass railings and without preamble, sat on the ground, crossing his legs like a child.
"You're Flash right? The kid I borrowed the car from?" The hero asks, trying his best to sound confident. Lifting the salvaged backpack in one hand, he tilts his head to the side in a silent invitation for his old schoolmate to sit beside him.
Flash took a couple more minutes before he got over his shock and finally flashes him a sad smile. "The one you wrecked, you mean?"
Spider-Man chuckles weakly and scratched the back of his mask in embarrassment. "Yeah man, sorry about that."
Flash shrugs, coming to grab his backpack before he plops himself half a yard away from his hero.
"It's no problem, man. I mean, you did it to catch the Vulture. Saw it on the news and all. That was awesome by the way. And Tony Stark did reimburse it to my dad, so yeah, feel free to borrow his car anytime."
Spider-Man chuckles, letting silence fall but only just for a little while.
"So, ahm, what brought you here?" he asks.
The response was immediate and he was met with a crest fallen look he'd never seen on his bully's face.
Peter had to do a double take just to assure himself that this is really Eugene Thompson sitting beside him.
"Nothing, I just-"
Spider-Man waits.
It took a moment before Flash sighed, shoulders sagging as he started to play with the Spider-Man key chains in his bag.
Peter blinks behind the mask. He didn't even know they sell those now.
"I don't know. I just…well, I feel like I'm doing it wrong."
"What?"
Flash looks impossibly more broken as he answered with a soft sigh, "Living."
Continuing, he said, "Sometimes, I'm okay, or I pretend to be. I've become a really good actor, you see. Nobody knows, or they just don't care. At home, no one pays attention to me. Dad's always busy and locks himself in his office when he's at home. Mom's always out attending charity events. When she sees me, she just takes one look at me and walks away. It's like they don't even care about my life. In school, I try to stand out but even that fails to the point that it gets too tiring to even try. Mostly, I'm either too depressed or too numb, so I lash out and bully those who have it better than me…" Flash pauses, risking to look up and turn just so he could see the disappointment in his hero's face. But what was he thinking? Of course, there's none. Spider-Man would never judge anyone.
So instead of waiting for the scolding that never came, Flash laughs, a hollow laughter from a boy who has nothing good in his life to laugh about. "I know it isn't right. I know I'm being an asshole. But it's the only thing I'm good at that gets reaction out of people. It makes them notice that I exist." Shaking his head as if debating with his own thoughts, he murmurs darkly, "It doesn't make sense, I know. I'm probably just another bully. I don't even know why you're here talking to me. Am I not like the other bullies you fight?"
It was a shot in the dark.
Flash waited but there was no answer. Spider-Man remained quiet, looking relaxed with his big white eyes staring at the horizon.
Unknown to him, Peter's mind was reeling.
Staring at the skyline like he'd always done, Peter finds himself appreciating how no two different times he's sitting on a rooftop are the same.
It's the same scenery, the same view of the sky shifting colors as the sun begins to set. Grey clouds littering a veil of orange with some parts yellow. Peter finds himself amazed of how every time he comes here, nothing is ever the same. It's beautiful and melancholic, even more than usual because of the confession he'd just heard.
Peter had expected a story. He knew there always is. What he didn't expect was for that story to be relatable to his own. A boy who's dying inside, doing his best to pretend that he's okay. That nothing's wrong. That everything's alright when really, he can't remember the last time he's ever really been alright.
"Is that why you wanted to jump then?" Peter found himself asking from behind the mask, more out of curiosity than anything.
He heard Flash gulp from beside him. "I didn't…I-…yeah."
Of all the reactions he was expecting though, Flash didn't expect Spider-Man to smirk and give him a pat on the shoulder. "You're a good kid Flash. You're just lost."
"Wha- what!? How could you say that? Didn't you hear what I just said? Maybe I didn't explain it right. I am a bully! I push kids in lockers and steal their lunches and beat them and-"
"You're a person who's hurting. People do stupid things when they're hurting. They tend to do even worse things when they think no understands them."
"But I-"
"The truth is that people can always change. One minute you can be the bad guy. The next, you can be the hero. It happens all the time. So make this your turning point. The real important thing is what you choose to be the moment you realize that you're doing something wrong."
Flash looks about ready to pull his hair out in his deseration for judgement. "But I messed up a lot! It's too late, and I'm scared to even try! Even if I do try, it won't change anything at home! I'll still be invisible."
Spider-Man looks thoughtful for a second. "Can I tell you a secret?"
Flash nods.
Spider-Man makes a display of looking around to ensure no one else is listening before he leans close to the boy. Covering the side of his mouth with a gloved hand, he whispered, "I'm always afraid."
"What?" Flash frowned, leaning back so quickly and looking very much befuddled."But, but, you're Spider-Man! You're the best avenger I know! You fight bad guys and save the little guy! You're fearless!"
Spider-Man smiles and shakes his head. "You couldn't be more wrong."
Flash's face scrunched in confusion. "Then how can you fight?"
The answer came so easily to Peter.
"Because I have something to fight for. You see, there are more important things in life than fear. There are things I can't lose…people to protect, a world to save. When I think of them, I learn to overcome fear. It just so happens that people call that courage."
Flash slumps forward. "But I don't have that. I'm just not good enough. I don't have the courage."
Spider-Man halts, because again, aren't those words just familiar? How many times had Peter cried himself to sleep as he said those things about himself? He did it only too many times that he'd almost believed it. He'd almost fallen victim to the lies conjured by his own mind.
You can't help yourself, so why not help others? It keeps your body tired and your mind distracted.
Peter knows the game of faking till you make it all too well. He'd even dare say he'd mastered it.
But Flash isn't a hero. He doesn't have the option to use heroism as a mean to run away from his own internal demons.
"I'm a mess," Flash confesses, surprising Peter.
This time, Spider-Man sighs. "You know what's funny? People always think it's the end of the world when they mess up. But haven't books and movies ever taught you? The greatest stories ever told came from the biggest messes ever made. You know how I learned it?"
Flash's eyes widens. "Spider-Man watches movies?"
"Hey, I'm human too!" the hero berates, thoroughly offended. "Well, part human. But yeah, of course, I watch movies. I like Star Wars more than anything."
"No way!"
"Yes way, I do and I love it. But, I didn't just learn it from watching fictions. You can learn from them, sure, but it only hit home when it happened in real life. I made mistakes. I made a lot of them. Some still give me nightmares. The others, I learned to just roll with. For instance, I once crashed a plane and caused multibillion dollar worth of damage to Stark properties."
"Really? What happened then? Did you get punished?"
Spider-Man was grinning. "Ironman asked me to be an Avenger," he said before laughing at Flash's jaw drop.
"Yeah. Ironic, huh? I caused all that destruction, but I did end up saving the Avenger's tech. But even before that, I was already doing plenty mistakes trying to be a good hero. Not everything I did ended up the right thing. Some of them, Iron Man had to help with the clean up."
The determination in his old bully's next statement was astonishing. "You're a good hero," Flash said without room for doubt.
"I am?"
"Of course! The absolute best! You're Spider-Man!"
Spider-Man chuckles before turning serious. "But you see Flash, no one becomes a hero without a price. No one becomes strong without being broken first. Even silver is refined with fire. What makes a man any different? No one learns resilience without stress and adversity. So take this as your second chance. Turn your life around. No one else can do it for you. You have to choose it for yourself. And if you ever doubt, just remember," Spider-Man winks. "You've got Spider-Man rooting for you. I can't wait to see the good new person that you become."
A long moment of silence passed by them.
Spider-Man was back at looking at the sunset that he didn't see a slow, but very real smile, curving in the face of one Flash Thompson.
Changing his life would be a giant hurdle, Flash knows. But he now has something he didn't have before.
He has hope, and a hero who actually believes he can do it.
His insides were coiling as he ponders what words to use to thank his hero when a ringtone interrupts the quiet.
Spider-Man pulls up his phone and stares at it dumbly.
"Someone important?" Flash inquires curiously.
"Nah," Spider-Man shrugs. "Just a pirate calling. I'll deal with him later."
"Spider-Man, listen, I-"
But the phone rings again. Only this time, it's from a name he'll always answer to. Excusing himself from Flash, the hero steps away to take the call.
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"Hello? MJ?" Peter responds, pleasantly surprised but unsure why she would be calling randomly.
"Loser," MJ's voice greeted him, and Peter held his breath, immediately knowing that something is wrong. There's a tightness in her voice that shouldn't be there.
"What's up? Are you okay? Do you need me to come to you?"
Michelle laughs from the other line. Because of course, it's Peter. What else could she expect? He's always been so, so good that it makes this call a hundred times harder.
"Yeah. Everything's good," she tells him.
Silence.
"Hey Peter," she says, trying her best to keep her voice from breaking.
"Yes MJ?
"Do you know what comes after the end?"
Spider-Man blinks, frowning. "An epilogue?"
Michelle laughs again, but it sounded even more worrying to Peter. "Oh, I think you're done with that. It's a sequel now. Maybe this next one wouldn't be as bad. You've said it yourself. You've already used up all your Parker luck. This time, the world owes you. It has to be kind to you to maintain balance. It's your second book Peter, and the page won't turn if you aren't willing to live it."
Peter stays quiet on the other end.
Michelle wonders if there's a universe out there where she's selfish enough to ask him to stay.
"MJ, what's going on? What are you-" Peter asks worriedly, but Michelle cut him before he could give her another reason to change her mind.
"Loser," she calls, this time back to the firm, decisive and unbreakable MJ they're both used to. "Don't hesitate, okay? You deserve this chance. So for once in your life, promise me you'll be selfish."
And then the line went dead before Peter could answer.
Spider-Man and Flash both turn to the sight of a portal opening out of thin air.
"Spider-Man," greeted the Sorcerer Supreme, stepping out from the other end. "Just the arachnid I wanted to see."
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A/N: Hey guys! Thank you for reading. Sorry for the typos before. I made revisions now. But if I miss anything, please let me know. I aim to improve by God's grace :D
I'd love to read your reviews. So far, this chapter is the hardest for me to write.