Planned Hope

There's not much to say about the story without giving things away, but I haven't left an author's note blank yet.

If anyone is wondering what graduate school is like, it's a continuous experience of feeling like an idiot because you thought you knew your major well but you didn't at all. This makes you question if you chose the right path, but this doubt is kept to yourself because since you applied for the program to this present moment you've been pretending like this major is all that has ever mattered to you. So you live the lie until it is truth and use big words to mask your insecurity.

And then you get to know the upperclassmen who are still feeling lost even years later, and you feel a little better knowing that you don't need to know everything.

Reviews:

Guest: Ah yes, remember that when he fought Electro, Peter mentioned that his spider sense works by detecting vibrations in the air.

Shikarai: The bite was so satisfying. I love it when I can let Peter stand up for himself, not that it happens often. Spiders inject venom super fast, but Peter did not inject any as you'll see in this chapter. So he's safe, for now. And MJ may be an embodiment of my deepest love for Spidey. Especially since Tom Holland took the role. Woof. I love him too much sometimes.

Peter watched as Tandy gently washed the small cuts on his hands. The porcelain had cracked into small enough pieces that none of the cuts were severe, but they stung as she applied disinfectant. Peter hissed lowly but settled down as a new wave of calm washed over him.

He knew he was being manipulated. He knew this was part of Taskmaster's plan. But Tandy was so sweet, and her powers were so effective, Peter couldn't find a way to escape the calmness. It felt like it was seeping deep into his bones, warming him from the inside out.

It felt nice to not worry. Peter didn't think he'd felt so relaxed since kindergarten. Or maybe not even then. That had been around the time he lost his parents.

"Sorry about the stinging," Tandy apologized as she put the offending liquid away. "I decided to use a little more disinfectant since you broke a toilet, and those things aren't exactly sanitary."

Peter smiled despite himself. "I appreciate it."

"Do you have a healing factor?"

Well, it wasn't like he would be able to hide how fast these cuts would heal. "Yeah, these should be gone within three hours, max."

"Okay, I'll only put some thin bandages on then, so they shouldn't impede your hands too much." She began wrapping a thin gauze around his fingers.

Regardless of the deep sleep he'd had, Peter was beginning to feel tired again, probably because of the emotional turmoil that now felt lightyears away. He gave a large yawn.

Tandy glanced up at him with a kind smile. "You look good with fangs."

Peter blushed, remembering belatedly that his veneers were useless now. "Um, thanks?"

"Don't sound so surprised. You don't need to be a pure human to look good. Besides, plenty of people think vampires are hot anyway." Tandy tilted her head as she tied off the bandages. "I don't think you look like a vampire though. I'd compare you more to an elf."

"An elf?" The comparison had never occurred to him before.

"Your eyes flash this really vivid green, like the color of leaves in sunlight. If you had pointy ears, I would totally say you were a wood nymph or something."

"Elves don't have fangs though."

Tandy's smile turned playful. "No one's ever seen an elf. Who's to say they don't have fangs?"

"The Avengers saw elves once when they helped Santa."

"What?! Seriously?"

"Yeah, Mr. Stark told me once. Unless he just used it as an excuse to make me behave in the lab."

Tandy laughed.

Why did he say that? Why was he unwinding so much? Just because he was relaxed didn't mean he could say all these things. But he was also getting sleepy, and the effect was much the same as when the team had cornered him to have that interrogation about Aunt May. His brain-to-mouth word filter was wearing away with each stifled yawn.

"Are your fangs getting bigger every time you yawn?"

Peter hesitated, considering keeping his mouth shut from here on out. The thought translated into movement as a fang poked out to curl around his lower lip.

"Oh, they can move! That's so cool!"

Blushing again, Peter managed not to respond verbally.

Tandy seemed to sense his sudden reluctance for conversation and continued wrapping his hands in silence. She was tying off the second one when she noticed the red spot on his right wrist. "What happened there? It doesn't look like a cut."

Peter pulled his hands away. "It's nothing."

"It looks inflamed. I can put some ointment on it."

He shook his head. "Don't touch it, please. Amadeus hurt it and look at what—look what happened—"

The fresh memories threatened to break through the soft, ephemeral barrier Tandy had made around his mind. Peter wasn't sure whether to be afraid, or to welcome the return of his normal emotions. He didn't get a chance to decide as Tandy grabbed his shoulder with a glowing hand.

"Hey, it's okay, I won't touch it if you don't want me to. That's your web-making thing, right? Sorry if I don't know the fancy science words. How about I give you the ointment and you can apply it yourself?"

Tandy's magic calm was forced, but her kindness was so genuine that Peter was pretty sure that he really was grateful. "Thank you."

He took the bottle and rubbed a small amount onto the spinneret. Peter wasn't sure why it looked like this. Maybe he ought to figure it out. He pulled the skin aside and tried to get a good look at the mechanism within. The sight meant nothing to him though. He didn't know nearly enough about what it was supposed to look like to know if it looked wrong now.

Apparently, spider instincts did not come with innate knowledge of spider anatomy.

"Do you feel better?" Tandy asked when he was done.

He did. He felt so much better. Peter nodded.

"That's good. I'm glad you're here, Pete. Now we can help you handle these situations."

"It's not going to happen again."

"It might. Never say never. Just remember that it's not the end of the world."

"But it—I could—I—Krav—it could be bad—so bad—" Again, the memories came rushing back, trying to ram into his mind with the force of an atomic blast. This time they were succeeding, which was kind of short circuiting his brain as his thoughts became wild, but his emotions remained sluggish as they kicked into gear. He remembered the moment when he decided to use venom on Kraven, and the fear that accompanied it. He remembered considering injecting venom into Amadeus. Only anger accompanied that memory.

Anger. Hulk. He had promised May he wasn't the Hulk. He never lashed out when he was angry! But then what had happened with Amadeus? Peter had known he wasn't in immediate danger, but he'd been annoyed by someone breaking his web and actually thought of biting them.

What if he had done that to May when she tore down his web? What if she kept taking down his webs and he eventually bit her? What would she—How—What if she never forgave him? What if she couldn't? What if she died and it was all his fau—?

That runaway train of thought abruptly derailed and disappeared into the distance as Peter found himself the recipient of the Most Perfect Hug.

"it's okay," Tandy whispered. "It's alright, Pete. Things happen. Sometimes, we're not proud of those things. But we can work through them, okay? You're part of a group now. A group who understands what it's like to have strong powers. We've all hurt some people, sometimes pretty badly, but we're getting better. We're learning to use our powers better. I know you can too. We'll help you. I promise."

Peter knew he'd been part of a perfectly good team before he was kidnapped. He knew he shouldn't be here. But he couldn't help but feel relieved that he hadn't left everything behind. He still had people he could depend on.

He began to purr. If he had been capable of hating that reaction, he would have, but Tandy's hug made such negative emotions impossible. So he purred and hugged her back and chuckled at her pleasant surprise.

"Felicia is going to love this!" Tandy squealed.

0o0

Felicia hated being proven wrong, especially when it hindered her plans and forced her to bandage up a sniveling baby.

Okay, fine, so Amadeus wasn't crying, but he was making all these pained little noises whenever she touched the wound, and it was annoying. Felicia preferred working with experienced professionals.

Well, maybe not all the time. The experienced professionals she was going to call were just as annoying. The only reason she decided to begin the plan so soon was because Anthony had finally taken things too far. He was going to use this opportunity to break Peter, and Felicia wasn't going to let another soul be shattered. If she could get him to safety while getting some petty revenge, then it would be a good day.

Yes, the plan would be worth it, even if she had to deal with costumed losers. She needed the manpower to burn this joint to the ground.

Amadeus hated pain. It distracted him and there was very little he could do about it without taking medication that would alter his brain anyway. It wasn't worth the risk.

That begged the question, why did he think that touching Peter's web was worth the risk? Amadeus knew that spiders defended their webs. He knew that anything that got stuck to webs was considered prey. He knew Peter was part spider. He should have known he'd be attacked. But instead, he let his curiosity get the better of him.

The silk really had felt super interesting though. It was light but durable and sticky. Amadeus had never seen anything like it at such a large scale, at least not in person. Spider-Man's webs were supposed to be like that, but Amadeus hadn't seen one up close yet to test those claims. Hm, testing. At least he'd kept a hold of that piece he worked so hard to snap off.

Well, that didn't matter at the moment. The information about the web didn't change the fact that Amadeus was hurt and in pain. He hoped the bite didn't leave any lasting damage. Typing on a computer would be so much slower if one of his hands wasn't working well.

Felicia's phone buzzed. Amadeus tried to glimpse at the screen, but she angled it away from him. "We're going to have a group meeting in a few minutes to discuss what happened," she informed him. Then she gave him a rather scary look. "Peter's already torn up about what he did, so you better not make him feel worse."

"I had no intention to. I understand why he did it."

One of Felicia's eyebrows rose. "Do you?"

"Yes. He detected a threat to his web and reacted accordingly."

An unamused smile graced her lips. "So smart, and yet so oblivious. Come on, we're done here."

Oblivious? Him?! Amadeus glared at Felicia's back as she led him to the dining room. Ty and Adrien were already there, sitting at the table, but looking a lot more serious than last night. Amadeus took his same seat from dinner. Felicia did the same, but tilted her chair back until it was almost like a lounge chair as she flicked through her phone.

Ty coughed uncomfortably. "Are you okay, Amadeus?"

Despite knowing it would hurt, Amadeus reflexively flexed his hand and winced. "I'll be okay soon."

Ty nodded, looking lost as to what he should say next. He was saved the trouble by Masters' entrance. Tandy and Peter followed. Peter looked kind of dazed, barely more coherent than he'd been when he bit Amadeus.

As he walked, Amadeus caught the way his eyes glinted green in the light. What was that? A tapetum lucidum? When did that appear? Peter's eyes had been a regular blue yesterday. Then again, Amadeus hadn't noticed his fangs yesterday either. Perhaps he had a way of transforming overnight? Hm, probably not. The idea of a were-spider was absolutely ridiculous. He must have been hiding those features somehow.

Despite how intently Amadeus watched him, Peter kept his focus on the floor. He took his place in between Tandy and Adrien. Adrien leaned over and said something quiet but presumably comforting to him. Peter offered a brief smile in return.

"Good morning, everyone," Masters began. "Or perhaps it isn't so good. I wish we could have started this day a little better for our new recruits, but things happened. I would like for us all to understand what occurred, so we can try to avoid it in the future. Peter, would you mind telling us your perspective?"

Peter gulped and kept his eyes downcast, but he started speaking. "I—um . . . I was afraid last night, sleeping in a new place. So I made the web to help me sleep. And—well—I don't like it when my webs get broken. And the vibrations. I can always tell what's happening to my web. So when Amadeus broke it, it woke me up, but I—I wasn't fully awake. My instincts kind of . . . took over, I guess." His gaze snapped up to meet Amadeus, eyes a startling green. "I'm so sorry, Amadeus! I didn't want to bite you! But I thought I was in a dangerous place and I reacted . . . not accordingly. I was wrong. I know that. I'm sorry! I'm—" Tandy placed a hand on his shoulder, and Peter slumped into her touch. "I'm sorry," he finished much more calmly and miserably.

Amadeus rose an eyebrow. What a curious development.

Masters inclined his head. "Amadeus, do you accept Peter's apology?"

"Of course," Amadeus replied immediately. He had to give that answer if he wanted to work with Peter in the near future. "His spider instincts took over due to his half-conscious state. You acted very accordingly for a spider, Peter. I understand that. Thus, I'm forced to acknowledge that this was my fault. I shouldn't have touched your web while you were in such a state."

Peter frowned, but it didn't last for more than a second. "Thanks, Amadeus. I hope the bite wasn't too deep."

Now Amadeus had to hide his frown. "Your fangs went through my palm, and you nearly sprained my wrist with the pressure, but no bones were affected so far as Felicia can tell. I should be fine within a couple weeks."

This time Peter's eyes almost widened in horror, but a blink later the look was gone. Apparently, no negative facial expression was possible while Tandy was in contact with him. Interesting.

"Good," Masters said. "And I believe the rest of us can also understand Peter's situation." The four other members nodded, Adrien most avidly. "Wonderful. Does this finally convince you that you don't need to deal with these things alone, Peter?"

Peter appeared rather reluctant, but Tandy's hand began to glow, and he nodded.

"Excellent. Then there's just one more thing to address. You never told us about your fangs or the way your eyes glow. We can't help you fully if we don't know what's going on. If we had known about your fangs prior, we could have implemented some safety measures since you felt frightened enough to use them."

"I . . . I try to not show anyone my fangs or eyes," Peter admitted. "Shield gave me special things to hide them."

"You don't need to hide them here. We won't judge you. Please explain it to us."

Several half-formed expressions passed over Peter's face, too quickly for Amadeus to identify any of them. "Well . . . I can see in the dark, and I have fangs that inject downwards just like a spider."

"Inject?" Amadeus interjected. "Do you have venom?"

Peter bit his lip, one of his fangs stretching down to pierce his own skin. Amadeus watched it, fascinated. "I—I—um—I—"

"You can tell us," Adrien said softly. "We won't ever fear you. We only want to help you."

Peter's fang pressed down hard enough to draw blood, which finally made him stop. Tandy handed him a tissue. He pressed it to the small cut. "I promised I wouldn't tell anyone," he muttered from behind the napkin.

"So Shield asked you to hide everything about who you are?" Masters asked sadly.

"I—No—That's not—I asked if they could help me hide everything."

"You can't hide yourself forever, and you certainly don't need to hide here. We all know about your powers, and we don't view you any differently because of them."

Peter almost began biting his lip again but stopped himself. All was quiet for a moment. Amadeus was considering saying that Peter's reluctance to answer was confirmation in and of itself, but Peter finally spoke up. "I do have venom," he practically whispered. "And . . . it sort of builds up. I need—I need a way to get rid of it. Soon. Please."

"Thank you for telling us," Masters said. "Would you care to explain what you mean by your venom building up?"

Wringing his hands, Peter answered in another soft whisper. "When I'm scared, I make venom, and then I have to use it or it hurts and—I—it could make me bite someone again." His eyes flickered almost imperceptibly to Amadeus.

Amadeus gulped. Was he suddenly some sort of target because he disturbed Peter's web? That was so unfair! He didn't deserve to be poisoned to death just because he was a little curious!

Adrien's eyes lit up. "I know exactly what'll help you! And it's extra perfect because you haven't had breakfast! Mr. Masters, can I take Peter to the Birdhouse?"

"Of course, that's an excellent idea. You boys enjoy yourselves."

Smiling like a kid in an electronic parts store, Adrien gently but excitedly pulled Peter out of his seat and towards the door. Tandy got up too. "Do you want me to go with you?"

Peter shook his head a little too vehemently. "I'll be fine. Thank you." He barely got a chance to wave at them all as he and Adrien disappeared out the door.

With Peter gone, all attention turned to Amadeus, which was rather puzzling.

"Amadeus," Masters said. "I hope you learned that, although we don't have much space here and we do try to share, we also need to respect each other's boundaries. You never touch someone else's property without permission. Do you understand?"

Oh, that old lesson? "I understand. I won't let it happen again."

"Good, because access to our workshop depends on good behavior."

Workshop?! Finally! "You'll find that I can be the epitome of good behavior, sir. Would it be possible for me to see the workshop today?"

"I did have that planned. Ty, why don't you show him where everything is?"

Ty didn't look too happy about that, but then Amadeus had never seen him look happy about anything. He started walking to the door, and Amadeus hurried to catch up.

This was what he'd been waiting for! Once he had access to proper equipment, he could finally start on his plan. Then he only needed to convince Peter to go down to the workshop with him. Alone. If Parker really was a nerd, then that shouldn't be too hard.

Oh yeah, it was all coming together.

Luke couldn't believe that some clues were finally coming together!

The tech team had found some footage with Taskmaster's van. It didn't show his final location, but it did help them determine a new search radius that was miles away from where they'd originally been focusing on. Armed with this new information, Fury had called the team up immediately so they could finish long before nightfall.

Fury had only just started debriefing them when the door to the conference room hissed open. Everyone turned to find Tony Stark sauntering in.

"Hey, what'd I miss?" he asked as he slid into a chair.

Fury raised an eyebrow at him. "You came just in time, if your intent was to assist in the search."

Tony nodded. "That is, in fact, my intention. How'd you know? Can you read minds? Quick, I'm thinking of a number between one and googol."

"As grateful as I am for help, I will not accept subpar assistance," Fury said warningly.

"When have I ever been subpar? Wait! Don't answer that!" Tony added hurriedly when Fury opened his mouth. "Look, I'm honestly here to help, okay? The kid was kidnapped with my suit, so I feel kind of, I don't know, involved."

Fury considered him. "Fine. But the team is in charge here. Not you."

Luke blinked, glad his sunglasses hid his shock. Iron Man was going to be taking orders from them?!

"Fair enough." Tony shrugged. "The Avengers already feel like a bunch of teenagers."

"Tell me about it," Fury agreed pointedly.

The meeting went on as if it had never been interrupted, but Luke could sense the change in his teammates. Between the new info and this new asset, things were looking up.

It was a new hope.