Nope, I'm not dead? Just life kicking me in the rear. New job. Leaving psycho roommate. Computer crashed? Moving apartments. Etcetera, etcetera. Here is the much anticipated chapter. Fyi Deadpool will make another appearance as well MJ and Ned! The story still has a good couple of chapters left and I hope to get back to posting once a month now that life has started to steam and iron itself out. lol. Enjoy my lovelies! Please review :)
The gym was quiet that morning. Clint generally preferred a mid-morning workout. Nothing like Rogers who woke up at the crack of dawn to get in his fitness. Crazy health nut. Natasha on the other hand would spend most of her time in the weapon's chamber, mostly playing with new gadgets. And other metallic—pointy—dangerous things. Clint rolled his eyes at the thought.
The archer decided to work on his arm strength. SHIELD had been lacking missions lately, which was good in technical terms of safety, but for active superheroes, quite boring. So, while not visiting his family, Clint decided to upkeep his strength with a good workout a couple of times per week.
Sighing he looked down to where his phone was vibrating in his pocket. Grunting with effort, he put down the weights and picked up the device. Normally the Avenger phones were used only on missions, mainly for communication. Although sometimes JARVIS would alert them to larger threats in the area or on-site.
"RED ALERT. SPIDERMAN ON PREMISES. ENGAGE WITH CAUTION."
Reading the notification, Clint's first instinct was to glance up at the ceiling and look for the sticky sucker. It took every fiber of restraint not to give in to the temptation. Instead, the archer continued with his workout, moving from the weights to the floor where he began casually stretching.
Peter watched the figure glance at the phone and move to the center of the room. He analyzed the movements carefully, looking for any signs the archer noticed his presence. Peter jolted in surprise as a voice broke the silence.
"My kids say I'll never be as cool as Spiderman," Clint offered to a seemingly empty room.
"They like you, probably more than they like me at the moment," he chuckled to himself.
Sighing before continuing, the archer knew he needed to make that first olive branch. His guilt plagued his every memory as he thought back to the night of the chase.
"I'm sorry kid. I didn't—," pausing to collect his words, "—we didn't know you were so young. You didn't deserve that treatment." Slowly, his gaze lifted up to the rafters of the gym.
Clint's light blue eyes met Spiderman's larger white ones. Peter said nothing in response.
The vigilante turned his head in contemplation, listening to the quiet room before quickly turning his attention towards the entrance of the gym. Clint curiously followed his gaze, spotting Natasha and Steve who appeared moments later.
The archer nodded a brief acknowledgment to both figures, a silent message passing between their eyes. Spiderman watched the exchange with a ready tension. No weapons were brought with either Avenger.
Unless they had hidden weapons or have something else up their sleeve. Peter though was ready for whatever they had planned. His muscles were coiled and tensed in preparation for anything the Avengers could throw at him.
In fact, as he scrutinized the trio further, they appeared to wear plain lounge clothes. Peter's brows furrowed in confusion at their lack of…lack of what? Preparedness? Hostility?
Captain America sported a navy jogger with a white tee, Black Widow a soft gray t-shirt with black pants, and Hawkeye an all-black workout ensemble.
Peter was cautiously skeptical. Weren't they furious with Spiderman for violating the Accords? And escaping mid-interrogation? He was half expecting another forced attempt at an identity reveal. Hence, why he decided to maintain his distance and an escape exit next to the window.
The string of questions populated into his mind ceased suddenly when he made spotted the next body turning into the gym. Tony Stark in the flesh. The billionaire instantly searched the rafters for Spiderman's iconic red and blue. Peter felt his spider-sense flash as Iron Man's gaze flittered over his form. Peter felt an uneasy feeling settle at the bottom of his stomach.
The man was wearing jeans and a black band shirt. His hands were stained with black oil and his hair a fiasco. Peter noticed dark circles under his eyes, it made him look almost…concerned? No, this must be a hoax of some sort to get me to let my guard down. I won't let them trick me.
The fact was, the teen didn't want to trust them. He couldn't trust them, at least, not yet. He was still angry and taken aback by the attack.
Dr. Bruce Banner stumbled in not two seconds following the grease monkey, nearly running into the other man. The scientist looked more put together—despite his flustered aura—than the rest of the group. A plaid button-down shirt rolled to his elbows with slacks gave the man a certain—amazing ratings on ratemyprofessor—university teacher vibe.
The archer gave a final nod to Dr. Banner as the man looked up at Spiderman for the first time. Peter started to feel heat prickle around his neck as he grew nervous with so many eyes looking directly at him. His fight or flight reaction was tugging him closer to the window but his spider senses relatively quiet. He held his ground.
The silence encompassed a slight awkwardness Peter couldn't quite place. Similar to the odd feeling when a teacher questions the class and all you hear are cricket noises.
Captain America cleared his throat as he broke the stiff silence.
"Spiderman, thanks for returning so quickly. We weren't expecting you so soon after—" he hesitated, looking for the right words, "—after our initial contact."
The blond paused, looking at his teammates, then back at the wallcrawler. "We as a team wanted to clarify some information that you may not have been aware of in regard to our Avenger's organization—" the man was abruptly cut off by Bruce, "—and we'll answer any questions you might have about SHIELD," the scientist interjected.
Peter gave the tiniest of nods.
The leader started again, "Our SHIELD point of contact declared you not to be an immediate threat to public safety and given your age, things can be taken a little slower. Meaning, if you work with us, we won't force you to reveal your identity." He paused, waiting for a response from Spiderman.
Spiderman wondered what things and how slow was interpreted by the Avengers. Also, working with the Avengers? Seems a little sketch. Peter huffed as if they could force a public reveal without all hell breaking loose, again.
"Okay…so, I haven't broken any laws?" He'd fight tooth and nail against every hand itching for his mask.
Steve looked contradicted with the question. "Well—uh—yes and no. At the time of your vigilante activities, you didn't know of the Accords and the regulations they impose. Because of this, and considering you were technically still a minor eye of the law, SHIELD agreed to officially drop charges against you."
"I see. Well, that's good." Spiderman replied quietly. He didn't exactly know what else to say. Thanks for the rough handling and interrogation, got some great life experience?
Despite his contradicting emotions, there was a slight relief of pressure from Peter's chest. He was getting a slap on the wrist rather than thrown in the frying pan of SHIELD. However, it left him wondering as to what kind of bait and hook the Avengers were setting up. Peter's life was never that simple.
"Although there are an international set of rules you must now abide by, if you break them, you'll be charged as an adult." Steve took a breath after breaking down Fury's agreement about the deal with Spiderman.
Peter pursed his lips and, there's the hook. Briefly allowing the super soldier's words sink in, Peter wondered if compliance indicated he'd get to keep his personal life—well, personal.
Natasha's no-nonsense voice took over next.
"During the altercation, Dr. Banner and I reviewed the video feed, there was no ill intent on your defense. I respect that Spiderman. We shouldn't have forced you past the point of self-defense." A hint of remorse seeped into her tone; it was gone before she finished her sentence. Peter wondered if that was an apology from the Black Widow.
Clint broke the lull in speech. "We want to get to know you Spiderman if you'll let us. Also, if your parents have questions about what happened, let us know and we can reach out to them. It's the least we can do."
"Sure." Peter gave a tight smile under his mask.
What would my parents think? He didn't let his mind wander too far into the past, for good reason. Even though he didn't really get to know his parents, the youth knew what being loved felt like. Aunt May loved him as if he was her own son. Sometimes, he wondered if he was still worthy of being loved after she passed. Of course, there was the higher love of God, but physical, tangible love was another comfort entirely.
He swallowed thickly as sickly-sweet memories tried to make an appearance. Not the time nor the place Peter, get a grip, the teen berated himself for letting his emotions get the best of him. He still hadn't fully grieved the loss of his Aunt; he was never given space or time to process the pain.
Tony Stark finally spoke up, startling him out of his spiraling slew of thoughts.
"Kid, we're really sorry for jumping you like that. We don't want to be your enemies. It seems like we started out on the wrong foot with assuming accusations and finger-pointing. In this new agreement from SHIELD and their terms within the Accords, our team wants to train you to hone your skills and possibly help us with larger-scale events."
Spiderman perked his head up at this news. Me? Train with the Avengers? Peter was baffled by the offer, it felt more like a scam—one of the bait click ads.
He didn't really know how to feel, in all honesty, he was a tad confused. Would he meet expectations? Was it just a ploy to keep an eye on him? Did they expect him to be all buddy-buddy with them just because of an apology? Did they mean to keep their word with leaving his identity alone?
"What kind of training?" Peter pressed, now curious at the prospect.
"Combat skills, endurance, stealth—just to name a few. There would also be perks of the tower. Namely the gym, open kitchens, and security to train. And other things too, we occasionally have team dinners and training excursions."
Peter toyed with the idea—he kind of liked it. It made him irritated that he liked the idea. Training with his idols after a misunderstanding of sorts? Or Peter being blindingly forgiving by allowing people to walk all over him? Deep in his gut, there was still a sliver of lingering doubt.
"Am I going to be able to keep my mask on while training? Or will there be sticky fingers trying to accidentally knock it off?"
He finished the sentence more caustically than intended but needed confirmation in the questions. Peter frowned as a couple more Avengers craned their necks upwards at his tone.
Stark smirked, the kid was smart. "You have our word Spidey, no one will deliberately attempt to take your mask from you." There was a round of nods, in confirmation of what the billionaire stated.
Captain America slowly made a placating gesture. "Although before we let you leave, we need verbal confirmation you understand and commit to the training the Avengers will provide."
"And what if I don't?" Peter played devil's advocate to weigh his options.
The man patiently sighed. "Spiderman, SHIELD wants proof you are not a greater threat than initially marked. If you train with us, we'll give SHIELD our word—evidence of sorts —you are not a threat. But if you don't, we can't guarantee they won't take a rasher approach."
Peter's mind was racing. There was the board, and the pieces, now all he had to do was play his cards right. Playing with the Avengers was a dangerous game of Tom and Jerry. Playing with SHIELD was a rogue game of monopoly in which somehow the board was on fire and the players blindfolded. He'd never sign up for a game deprived of rules, the teen would rather take his chances with the latter.
"Fine. I'll train with the team on one condition—I get to keep my mask on at all times. And I don't have to answer any personal questions if I don't want to."
For a brief moment, there was an underlying, uncomfortable shift in the atmosphere, akin to fibbing.
"Deal." Stark clapped his hands together and spoke up in a rush, words flying out of his mouth as Spiderman startled slightly at the sudden sound and movement.
"Let's plan for lunch tomorrow to go over training details?" Peter couldn't help but feel as if he just bargained his life away—to an extent. In a somewhat panic-induced word vomit, Spiderman reacted.
"W-wait, just, hold on…" Spiderman blurted out without thinking, "I-I don't know if—how," he paused in exasperation of phrasing his question, "how do I know I can trust the Avengers?"
Silence. For once in his life, Tony Stark didn't have an answer.
"You don't know," Captain America's soft voice answered, eyes cast to the floor.
"You'll just have to make that decision for yourself kid. In time, we hope our actions can prove to you that we mean you no harm. What happened before was a mistake. So," he paused and eyed the vigilante's timid form, "what do you say Spiderman? Can you give us a chance to prove ourselves?"
The Avenger's ordeal had been following Peter around for weeks and he was about done with it all. Maybe training with a team of more experienced heroes would be worthwhile? He had so many questions to ask the Avengers. Had Deadpool been a setup? Why did SHIELD suddenly care so much about Spiderman? If he trained with the Avengers for a few weeks, would they finally leave Spiderman's identity alone? Peter sighed.
"I'll do it."