"Friday, stop recording in here," Tony turned to Dr Lyle and was just about to remind him he couldn't tell anybody.

"Don't worry, Mr Stark. We know not to tell anyone about his identity. I've got one nurse in here to help," Dr Lyle promised. He loved working here. Not only did he get to help the Avengers, but he also helped with medical advances. He gave suggestions for the next generation of equipment, which thrilled him.

Tony was about to leave when a feminine voice stopped him.

"Mr Stark," Nurse Sinclair was next to Spiderman's bed.

"Yes, Ms Sinclair?"

"You know him better than us. I think it would be better if you stayed, just in case he wakes up."

Tony didn't know him exactly, but at least they talked in person once. But the kid didn't know the others at all, and waking up with no mask would terrify anyone, let alone someone young. Spiderman was definitely a teenager, no matter what anybody else said.

"It's a good idea, Ms Sinclair. I will."

XXXXX

Natasha sat near the infirmary and waited. She was a complete stranger to Spiderman, but that never stopped him from getting in the way to save her. She hoped he was going to be okay. The other Avengers had tried to get her to leave, but that wasn't something she was going to do.

Tony was acting weird. He knew more about Spiderman, and he was worried. If he told her fine anything, but she wasn't going to push. Natasha wasn't going to force or go looking for his real identity either.

She remembered the look of disbelief on Clint's face when she insisted they should leave who he was under the mask alone.

When he was better, the first thing Natasha was going to do was thank him. If he needed anything, she'd do her best to get it for him.

XXXXX

Peter groaned as he woke up. His body ached, and that was something he hadn't felt since before he was bitten. He forced his eyes open. Where the hell was he? That was when he realised he didn't have his mask on.

Tony could see the fear on the kid's face. He'd hoped that he was an older teen, someone a little closer to being in his twenties. But someone this young, he had to be fifteen or sixteen. What had happened to him?

"Calm down, kid, you're fine. There are only three of us who have seen you."

"What, why?" Peter turned to the man who spoke. He wasn't completely with it, and then he saw someone familiar. "Mr Stark?"

"You were hurt saving the Black Widow. She has barely moved from outside the door. Natasha would like to thank you when you're back in your onesie," Tony laughed as the kid rolled his eyes.

"It's not a onesie, and Natasha?"

"She wanted to make sure you knew that you could call her by her name. Talking of names, what can I call you?"

"You didn't research me?" Peter knew how much Tony Stark loved knowledge.

"I can't lie and say I wasn't tempted, but you didn't have a choice on who saw your face. I thought you'd prefer telling me what you want to be called?"

He wasn't sure. Only two people knew that it was Aunt May and Ned. Mr Stark had saved his life and kept people who could see him to a minimum. "Peter, my name is Peter, Mr Stark."

"Nice to meet you, Peter. I'm Tony.'' He couldn't help at laugh at the horrified look on Peter's face.

"Oh, I couldn't do that, Mr Stark."

"Yeah, we'll see," Tony was now determined to make sure that this kid would call him by his first name. "So, what can you tell me? How did this happen? Why do you do this? How can I help? The last one is non-negotiable. I am going to help."

Peter stared at Tony. The person he admired most wanted to help.

"Ned's going to freak out.'' He muttered.

"Ned?"

"Oh, my best friend."

"He supports you?"

"As much as he can."

"Good." At least he had one person talk to. He was also trying not to push for more. He wanted Peter to trust him. "So what else can you tell me?"

Peter had no doubt that Ned was going to be over the moon knowing Tony Stark had said his name. "Six months ago, I went on a trip to Oscorp." He laughed at the face Tony made when he mentioned the other company. "I was bitten by a Spider."

"A spider?"

"Well, I assume it was one they'd tested on, and it escaped," Peter paused for a moment and groaned. "Radioactive."

"Radioactive?" He was starting to feel like a Parrot.

"I've just remembered an article. They were studying radioactivity."

"So, one of the things they were doing was using spiders. Right, I would like to get them closed down for this, but there isn't a way I can explain it without you. This is something we're not doing. I'll have to figure out another way to ruin them instead," Tony smiled at the look of relief on Peter's face. "How did you survive?"

"I'm guessing they did more to it. I mean, I don't know much. It took three days, and I felt like I was dying. Then after that, I got my abilities."

"That must have been terrifying, especially alone. You were alone, right?"

"I thought I was ill...my uh," Peter stared at Tony. Should he tell him more? After this incident, it was apparent he couldn't do it alone. "My aunt was on the verge of taking me to the hospital."

Tony's smile was incandescent because of the trust he was being shown. "She sounds like a great aunt."

"She is. Aunt May does everything she can to help me."

"Where are your parents?"

"They died when I was nine. I was raised by Uncle Ben and Aunt May. It's just the two of us now," Peter stared down at his hands.

Tony was stunned at what Peter had been through. He knew he was going to hate the answer to the question he was about to ask. "What happened to your uncle?"

"After I'd recovered from the bite, Aunt May insisted I need some air, and she wanted a few things from the shop. Uncle Ben joked that it was an excuse so we could get her shopping. They laughed. We all said I love you and we went to the shop. While we were there, a robber came in. While the cashier was getting the money, this guy started harassing a teenager. She was so frightened. Uncle Ben stepped in, and the robber just fired. I held him while we were waiting for help. The robber had run. Uncle Ben told me that he loved Aunt May and me. He said he was so proud of how I turned out, and then he died." The tears were falling from Peter's eyes. He had kept it all in to help Aunt May. It was the first time he'd let it out.

Tony moved and sat on the side of the bed, pulled Peter into a hug, and held him.

"I'm so sorry that you had to go through that." It would've been so easy for Peter to have used his powers to steal or get revenge. But instead, he decided to help people.

"Thank you, Mr Stark." He pulled away and wiped his eyes.

"You're welcome, and it's Tony." He was glad that it made the kid smile. It was definitely going to be a challenge to get him to call him Tony.

Just then, Dr Lyle walked in.

"It's wonderful to see that you're awake, Spiderman."

"Thank you for helping me."

"Kid, can we get some blood and do some tests. I would rather know what we can do to help you and to make sure you are healthy."

"Uh, sure." It would probably be a good idea as he didn't know what was going on with him, well inside anyway.

"Thank you." He pulled his hand from a pocket when his cell fell out and lit up.

Peter looked at it. "I know her."

"You do?" Dr Lyle looked at Mr Stark, who shrugged his shoulders. "Are you sure?" He showed him the photo.

"Yeah, it was her, the teenager. The one from the shop, she was the one my Uncle Ben tried to protect at the robbery."

"What are the odds," Tony muttered.

"It was your uncle that did that?" Dr Lyle waited for him the nod. "This Alexandria, she's my daughter. I'd heard about what had happened. I tried to find your uncle to thank him. I didn't know he died." His daughter still talked about this man who'd helped her. It would upset her. It was even more of an honour treating him now.

"How is she?" Peter asked.

"Alexandria's doing well. She's looking at universities. Is there anything I could do for you?"

"I think saving me is enough." Peter smiled at him.

Dr Lyle disagreed. He still had nightmares of what that man could've done to her. It made him sick to the stomach.

"I'm not sure I agree, but if I can help, let me know. I'll get what I need to take blood, and I'll do what tests I can do now. We'll get him to the exercise room when it's empty, where the treadmill and the other equipment are. We'll need to see what the difference between him and the average teenager." He'd stopped himself from demanding that he stopped doing this, but Spiderman wasn't his kid.

As soon as Dr Lyle left, Tony looked at Peter.

"What a small world."

"I'm glad that she's doing well. That guy could've done anything if Uncle Ben had never stepped in."

"He was an amazing man with an incredible nephew," Tony grinned as Peter's face flushed red." We definitely know he'll do anything to help you. You're now a special case. So tell me about those wrist devices and the webbing."

"Well, with being bitten by a spider and the climbing walls, I thought that I needed some kind of webbing that I could use for a variety of things, like swinging from place to place. I created it in chemistry class. I'm usually ahead at what we're studying, and so I decided to use the time for something different. My wrist devices I designed and built in my room from things I got in dumpsters."

"I'm impressed and horrified."

"Why both?"

"Well, what you designed is impressive. That webbing is amazing and done in a classroom with limited equipment. It's the dumpster parts, and you're safety that concerns me. I'll just add it to the list."

"The list?"

"New suit specially designed for what you can do and need when we find out about it is and now new wrist devices. Please patent the webbing. I'll get my lawyers onto it. There's probably a lot that can be done with it? Wait, why don't we see it webbing all over the place?"

"It will normally disappear after two hours, but I developed a spray that will do it straight away."

"Okay, patent the spray too." It was clear he knew about chemistry, and those wrist contraptions were impressive. So, what else did he know?"

XXXXX

Clint sighed as he saw her sitting in the same place, so he went and joined her.

"So he's going to be okay."

"Yes, he is."

"And you're still here because...?"

"I want to thank him."

"Why don't you just go in then, Nat?"

"I'll do it when he's ready, and his identity is hidden. I told Tony, and he'll let me know."

"What's so special about him?"

"It's been a long time, maybe it's never happened, but he risked his life to save me just because it was the right thing to do. I want to show him that I'm respecting his wishes." Natasha hoped one day he would show her who he was.

Tony spoke as he walked over to her. He was amazed at how brilliant Peter was. "Spiderman will see you now."

"Thank you, Tony."

XXXXX

Peter's mind was reeling. 'The Tony Stark' not only wanted to help him but wanted him to be his intern. He couldn't wait until he told Ned. They'd come up with how poor Peter Parker could get one. It was through the September Foundation.

"Hello, Spiderman."

"Hi, Ms Black Widow, Ma'am."

Natasha suddenly laughed; she couldn't have stopped it if she had tried.

TBC