"You alright, kid? You're usually not this quiet pre-mission."
Peter Parker startled slightly, turning away from the window he'd been staring out of and at his mentor, Tony Stark, who was suited up in his latest Iron Man suit, offering the older man a small smile.
"Hey, Tony. Just...caught up in my head right now." Ha admitted with a slight chuckle, glancing out the window once more at the hanger and the sprawling ground of the Avenger's Compound before him. "It's just...I've got the weirdest sense of nostalgia right now. It's hard to believe that three years ago, I was just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Now, I'm an Avenger."
"It's certainly been a helluva road, yeah. Things sure have changed these last few years." Tony agreed, a weary but hopeful smile lingering on his face. "Wizards, Asgardians, self-proclaimed guardians from space. Seems like our already complicated line of work just keeps getting stranger."
"Yeah, well...on the upside, we've only had one alien invasion in that period, right? First one since New York, so...that's a positive, right?" Peter quipped, earning a sparse look from Tony and chuckling lightly. "I mean, I know we're aiming for none, but still. Small victories."
"Small victories, yeah." Tony repeated, though that same weathered look crossed his face as he followed Peter's gaze, his tone softening further. "With Steve and Clint retired, Thor making a new Asgard with his brother of all people, and Bruce off tinkering in Wakanda, we're gonna need some new blood. Besides you and sparkle fists, anyhow."
Peter snorted a bit at Tony's selected nickname for Carol Danvers, AKA, Captain Marvel, who'd officially joined the Avengers not long after he had. He actually really liked her, considering the two got along very well. Still, Tony had a point. The roster was a bit sparse regarding official members.
"I mean, we still have Mr. Wilson, and Mr. Rhodes! Not to mention Ms. Romanov, Wanda and Bucky!" He defended, receiving another sparse look in response, though some of the humor seemed to return in the armored avenger's eyes. "What about Doctor Strange? He shows up pretty often, have you talked to him about becoming an official Avenger?"
"Yes, Pete, I'm trying to reach out. Strange has been real busy with his "mystic arts" and "maintaining order on Earth" and he has yet to get back to me." Tony remarked, before his smile finally returned as his tone turned dramatic, rolling his eyes theatrically. "And for the love of god, please start using first names. It literally took me three years just to get you to call me Tony, why on Earth are you still Mr and Ms-ing your teammates?"
"I'm sorry, Tony! It's just a habit. They're still my heroes, you know? It feels weird to not treat them with as much respect as possible." Peter defended, crossing his arms and averting his gaze as he mumbled out the next part, cheeks flushed slightly. "That, and Ms. Romanov scares me."
"Ha! No shame in that one, Pete. She scares me too." Tony chortled, before a distinct beep from both of the Avenegr's communictaors mad them glance down, with Tony whistling as he did so. "Speak of the devil. Looks like we're game, kid. See you in New York?"
"See you there, Tony." Peter confirmed, giving his mentor a quick pat on the shoulder before jogging down towards the waiting Quinjet, mnetally hyping himself up for the fight to come. Just another day in the life of the amazing Spider-Man, right?
Peter's eyes flickered open slowly, a pained groan slipping past his lips before he could even think to suppress it. His entire body felt sore, like he'd been wailed on for hours, and yet a few experimental flexes and jerks indicated no significant injuries.
"Look at that. Maybe Parker Luck does have its perks." He snarked quietly, slowly hauling himself to his feet and giving himself a once over. His suit seemed fine, aside from a few patches of damage and grime that dotted him. Overall, he'd certainly been through worse.
"Spider-Man, do you read me?" A voice suddenly asked over his busted commlink, garbled and unrecognizable among the accompanying static. "Damn it, Parker, do you read me? Where are you?"
"I-I hear you, yeah!" Peter answered, uncertain of just who he was addressing, or if they could even hear him. "I'm, uh...I'm not really sure where I am. I think I'm in some kind of...office or something?"
Glancing around as he spoke, Peter really could discern much of his surroundings. Besides the rubble and shattered rock around him, the room he was in wasn't even remotely remarkable. The best guess he could offer was maybe an office space, but there weren't any desks or cubicles, nor any initial signs of an exit!
"Jesus, thought you were a goner, kid! Couldn't have chimed off sooner?" A new voice grumbled over the radio, sounding ever-so slightly different from the first, though Peter still had no idea which of his teammates was addressing him. "We're still dealing with Taskmaster and his goons up here, but we'll ping your emergency beacon as soon as we get the chance, alright?"
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind." Peter replied, still scanning the room for any sign of an exit. Finally, after Karen finally brought his hud back online, he spotted a dull grey door on the far side of the room. Jogging over to it, he cracked open and revealed, to his immense relief, a stairway winding upwards what looked like thirty or so floors. "I think I might have found an exit, I'm gonna try and get back outside!"
Peter didn't receive a response that time, electing to just shoot a web to the ceiling of the staircase and gradually rising, flight by flight. The higher he got, the more he got a better sense of the building he was in. It seemed like an office complex, but that made the state of the room he'd awoken in even more confusing.
What kind of building has a giant, empty floor in the middle? He thought to himself idly, before he reached the top of the stairwell, releasing his web and flipping onto the platform, opening what he assumed to be another exit. Guess there's a reason I never got into architecture. At least I'm almost out of...here…
Peter's thoughts screeched to a halt as he spotted two armed, masked men in front of him, facing the same direction he was. They hadn't seemed to notice him yet, and judging by the heavy duty rifles they were holding, he wasn't willing to give them the chance to.
He launched forward quickly, nailing the closest guy with two webs and planting an expertly placed kick right into the second's jaw just as he turned to face him. Without any pause, he planted another punch into the webbed merc's chest, sending him flying back into a far wall, his webs restraining him in the process.
"Sorry for the scare, boys!" He jeered lightheartedly, before turning and looking out the adjacent window the mercs had been standing beside, finally getting a good idea of his surroundings. As it turned out, he was in a skyscraper, one that seemed to be close to Times Square, no less. He could even see the skirmish seemingly winding down from afar.
"Parker, you reading me?" Another voice quired over his comm, just as distorted as the others. "I've got a bead on your position, and I think I can manage a fly-by. You near an exit?"
"Yeah...yeah, I have an exit." Peter confirmed with a slight chuckle, taking a few steps back in preparation, a light smirk resting behind his mask. "On three, then?"
"On go, actually. Remember what happened last time we went on three?" The voice snarked, giving Peter another hint of just who he was talking to at that moment. "One...two...three...GO!"
Once more, Peter launched forward, crashing through the glass pane in front of him and soaring through the open air, both his web shooters primed just in case a certain someone overshot her target. It wouldn't be the first time, after all…
However, thought barely passed before a familiar sound filled the air, and seconds later he found himself in the arms of Carol Danvers herself, who flashed a bright smile at the startled webslinger as she started to fly back towards Times Square.
"Don't tell me you actually thought I'd let you fall, Parker?" She hummed in amusement, seemingly feeling his glare through the mask and rolling her eyes in response. "Seriously? I dropped you once, during training no less, and you just refuse to let it go."
"Why on Earth would I let it go, even if it was during training?!" Peter sputtered in exasperation, earning him an amused chuckle from the hybrid as she continued to fly them back to the rest of the group, who were working alongside the S.W.O.R.D. agents in the war-torn square.
On the far side of the courtyard, Wanda and Doctor Strange were doing what they could to help with reconstruction while Bucky and Rhodey were assisting the agents with the captured mercenaries that Taskmaster had left behind after his attack. At the center of it all, Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, and Tony seemed to be in the middle of a heated debate.
"Wilson, for the last time, no damn way." Tony bit out, clearly peeved by whatever his fellow Avenger was suggesting. "Fury told us to keep our distance for a reason. One wrong step right now puts us back where we were three years ago."
"I'm aware of that, Tony, but look at the facts! Taskmaster would never pull an operation like this on his own, let alone in broad daylight!" Sam retorted, just as determined as his predecessor. "Something else is going on here, and we need to get answers."
"...Alright, if you wanna track Taskmaster down personally, you have my permission, but keep it quiet." Tony relented, lowering his tone slightly as he continued, as if there were other parties listening...which there technically were. "Ross is still looking for reasons to bench us. One slip up and we're toast, and those pardons Steve got you guys are dust in the wind."
"I'll get Rhodey and Barnes to back me up. Low profile all the way, I promise." Sam assured the armored man, offering him a nod and pat on the shoulder. "I'll keep you in the loop, Tony."
"I certainly hope so." Tony snarked with a slight grin, before turning his attention to the newly arrived spider and hybrid, throwing up his hands dramatically. "Well, there you are, Pete! You scared the hell out of us disappearing like that!"
"Sorry, Tony. In my defense, I didn't exactly plan to get spiked with a grenade after cornering Tasky." Peter retorted, a bewildered look crossing his face as he considered the event in question. "I have no idea how it didn't set off my Spidey-Sense."
"Oh, you mean your Peter-Tingle?" Tony asked casually, sparking a snort from Carol and an indignant sputter from Peter. "And don't worry. I managed to snag his back-up in the battle. Once we get back to the Compound, I'll have FRI run an analysis so we can figure out why you couldn't sense it."
"Thanks, Tony. I appreciate the forethought." Peter replied, before looking out over the yet again ruined Times Square and shaking his head. "Looks like you guys had things under control while I was gone anyways. Tasky never learns, does he?"
"To be fair, the guy's a merc. He's not exactly on any of our levels." Carol remarked with a small smile, before nodding to Tony pointedly. "Shellhead nearly fried him after he hit you with that grenade. Definitely had us all rattled with that one."
"Ah, don't tell him that! Kid's gonna get a big head!" Tony snarked playfully, earning himself an eye roll from the webslinger and another laugh from the captain. "Speaking of which, you mind following me for a sec? I think Sam might have a mission that could use your skill set."
"Sure thing, right behind you." Carol confirmed, moving to follow after Tony, throwing one last smile and wave over her shoulder to Peter as she left. "See you back at the compound, Parker!"
"See you there, Carol!" Peter confirmed, taking a moment to breathe and re-center himself after the bizarre turn of events that had occurred during the skirmish. He barely even remembered landing with the rest of the Avengers before Taskmaster nailed him with that bizarre grenade, and even then, everything felt a bit...fuzzy.
"Peter? Are you alright?"
Peter startled for the second time that morning, turning on his heel and coming face to face with a concerned Natasha Romanov, the former spy staring at him expectantly with a look of even so slight worry on her face.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm alright, Ms. Roma-I mean, Nat." Peter hastily assured her, even chuckling slightly as she flashed him a dubious look. "Really, I think-I think I'm still just reeling from that grenade, that's all. Tasky definitely caught me off guard with that one, heh."
"Hmm. Do you want to head back to the Compound, maybe have Helen give you a once over? Just to be sure?" Natasha 'suggested', even though Peter recognized it was anything but a suggestion. If the look in her eyes was anything to go by, the path of least resistance was definitely doing as she suggested.
"Sure, I suppose a check-up wouldn't hurt." Peter relented, receiving a pleased smile in response before Nat gestured for him to follow her, which he promptly did so. "You know, when you phrase it like a suggestion, it really does give that false glimmer of hope that you're allowing me to make a choice for once."
"Yes, that's the point. Figured you would have picked up on my game by now, маленький паук." Natasha hummed in amusement, making use of her favorite nickname for the web slinger as they approached one of the landed Quinjets, boarding it not long after. "Strap in, kid. Flight might be a little bumpy, weather's starting to kick back up."
"Yes, ma'am." Peter chipped obediently, assuming the co-pilot seat with little pause, though he did shoot her a mild glare after he did so. "Why am I still 'kid'? I'm eighteen now, that shouldn't apply anymore!"
"Oh, it's always gonna apply, Peter. I promise you that." Natasha assured him with a slight chuckle, before fixing him with a look that he found dangerously close to daring. "Unless you have a better suggestion, of course?"
"...I conceded defeat. You win this round." Peter grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat while Natasha continued to chuckle, shaking her head in amusement as she switched on the auto-pilot and prepared to take off. "I'll come up with something, though! Mark my words!"
"I'm sure you will, маленький паук." The Black Widow cooed affectionately, making Peter huff once more as they took off into the cloudy sky. Gradually, he allowed himself to relax, taking off his mask, sinking back into his seat, and even shutting his eyes as he allowed himself to rest.
All in all, things could definitely be worse for Spider-Man. Much, much worse.
If only he knew the true extent.