Author's Note: Hello, hello, my readers, and welcome back to Raise Me Up! This one takes place immediately after the last chapter, and Peter does a little more digging to learn more about the Accords! Also, Ross has something to tell Tony and Rhodey regarding those Accords. I hope you all enjoy this one! It's a little short, but that's okay! BUT before we get to that…REVIEW REPLIES!
Guest: You'll have to wait and see!
Sillysammijo: They sure are! Lol, I know, trust me, I want to get these chapters out as fast I can because I want to show you what happens next, lol! But yes, it's all outlined, so I just have to write it! I know, I'm sad too! But we got a ways to go! And things will continue to escalate from here!
SapphireRuby24: I do too, friend!
Radiant Arabian Nights: Lol, thank you, friend! I love seeing my readers get excited! I'm so glad you enjoy it! Hope you continue to enjoy the story!
Wandamarie: Thank you for reading!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Chapter 25
Not long after Tony ran off to find Pepper, Peter woke up in his room, and as soon as he woke up…he could tell that something was up. The penthouse sounded quiet…too quiet. He knew Pepper was working in her office downstairs, but…he couldn't hear Tony. He slowly sat up in bed and stood up figuring he should check on him. The teenaged vigilante stepped out into the hallway and went to the kitchen and living room only to see that they were completely empty. There was no sign of Tony anywhere. He then looked at the counter and checked his phone. No note or text from his guardian.
"Tony?" he called out.
No answer.
Then he went back towards Tony and Pepper's bedroom and saw the door was wide open, the bed was made, and the lights were off, which meant he was already awake. The teen furrowed his eyebrows together and decided to check Tony's office. Usually if Tony wasn't in the lab, that was the most likely place he could be found in. However, when he walked in…it was empty…aside from a huge packet of paper on the billionaire's desk, and that piqued the teen's curiosity. He walked into the office.
"Hey, FRIDAY, where's Tony?" Peter asked the AI.
"Boss is currently downstairs speaking with Ms. Potts in her office," FRIDAY replied as Peter took a closer look at the packet on the desk. "Would you like me to call them for you, Peter?"
"Nah, that's okay," he said reaching the page Tony was clearly reading and annotating. "I don't want to interrupt them. Are these the Accords?"
"Yes, Peter," FRIDAY replied, "those are the Sokovia Accords. Boss was looking them over and making potential changes before Secretary Ross called him."
Peter had chills run down his spine at the mention of the Secretary of State, but he shook it off as he sat down at Tony's desk. He couldn't help but feel curious about the Accords. He had learned about them in school, and of course, he heard about them on the news. Finally, when Tony came to recruit him for Germany that day, Tony explained everything to him, as of course, it made sense to help the billionaire when all he wanted was to be kept in check and to do damage control. He remembered what he told Tony that day.
"When you can do the things that I can, but you don't…and then the bad things happen…they happen because of you."
It was like Ben always told him… "with great power comes great responsibility."
"Do you think he would mind if I looked through them, FRIDAY?" Peter asked after a moment.
"So long as you leave a marker for where he left off, I should think that there's no harm," the AI replied.
Peter placed a green post-it note on the page Tony was reading and turned back to the beginning. He began to read. The Accords began defining exactly what an enhanced individual was, and of course, an enhanced individual was defined as…
"…any person, human or otherwise, with superhuman capabilities. This includes individuals whose powers are an innate highly advanced technology to grant themselves superhuman capabilities."
"Okay, so that clearly includes me because of the spider-bite," Peter muttered to himself. "That was a change to my DNA, and then Tony because of his suits. So…that seems pretty straightforward."
"I would advise you to keep reading, Peter," FRIDAY said. "It unfortunately is more complicated than that."
"What paperwork isn't?" he asked. He kept on reading. First, it explained why the Accords were a thing in the first place…because of the Ultron incident in Sokovia, the attack in New York, and Lagos, which made sense. There was a lot of damage and casualties, and they were incidents in which the Avengers were involved. The United Nations wanted the Avengers to be kept in check and to take responsibility for their actions. That seemed reasonable enough, so he kept reading and found the page discussing what was expected of enhanced individuals.
"And enhanced individuals who agree to sign must register with the United Nations and provide biometric data such as, fingerprints and DNA samples."
-Those with secret identities must reveal their legal names and true identities to the United Nations.
-Those with innate powers must also wear tracking bracelets at all times.
"What?" Peter said aloud as he read that bullet point. If he were to sign the Accords…and reveal his identity, he would have to wear a tracking bracelet. The government and the United Nations would know where he was at all times. He really wouldn't have any privacy…whether it was a field trip with school, a trip with Tony and Pepper, or…even if he was visiting May and Ben's grave. He still hadn't gotten the courage to do that, but…it would be nice to have privacy then as well. "Ross forgot to mention that…asshole. Tony and Pepper weren't kidding."
"Any enhanced individuals who use their powers to break the law (including those who take part in extralegal vigilante activities), or are otherwise deemed to be a threat to the safety of the general public, may be detained indefinitely without trial."
-If an enhanced individual violates the Accords, or obstructs the actions of those enforcing the Accords, they may likewise be arrested and detained indefinitely without trial."
That was even more troubling as well because he was a vigilante, and someone like him…an enhanced individual who did not sign the Accords. Not only that but anyone could be held indefinitely without a trial. How was that fair? They were people, who should have the right…just like everyone else. Nevertheless, he kept reading. There was more information on how the Avengers were not allowed to operate in other countries unless the United Nations said otherwise. Then, he came to the section that Tony was reading before Ross called him… "Undocumented Enhanced Individuals."
"All enhanced individuals (Avenger, SHIELD, or not) are expected to sign and to follow the Accords. Any individual who does not sign and has not followed through on secret identity reveals, DNA samples, and power testing and is deemed a threat to the public will be arrested and imprisoned indefinitely."
Peter felt his heart drop to his stomach as he read that, and he breathed heavily as he remembered Ross' words from the night before.
"…reveal yourself now and agree to sign the Accords…or we bring in and make you do it."
The teenaged vigilante breathed shakily with widened eyes. Revealing who he was…tracking bracelets…DNA samples…powers testing…being held indefinitely on the RAFT. That last one made him even more scared. If Ross were to arrest him and keep him on the RAFT without a trial, he really would never see Tony and Pepper again. He would be all alone, and it didn't matter if he signed or not. No wonder Tony wanted him to stay close to the ground, and there was no telling what Ross and the UN would make him do.
"Pete?"
Peter let out a scream and jumped as he looked up and saw Tony standing in the doorway looking at him with his eyes furrowed together. "Oh, Tony, I'm so sorry," he said standing up. "I-I woke up and couldn't find you, so I-I couldn't find you, so I-I came in here and…and started reading. I—"
"Kid, relax," Tony said holding his hand up as he walked in. "It's okay. I-I'm sorry I ran out. I…I had to talk to Pepper about…something."
"Y-Yeah…uhh…FRIDAY told me that Ross called you," Peter replied scratching the back of his neck. "W-What was it about?" He had a feeling as to what it was about, but Tony had a right to not tell him if he didn't want to.
"Uhh…" Tony began as he sat on the edge of the desk, "it…it was about last night and…Spider-Man."
Peter closed his eyes and looked down at his hands as he wrung them together. He had a feeling that he was the subject of Ross' conversation with Tony, but now it turned out to be correct. "Is…is…is he…going to arrest me?" Peter asked looking at his guardian.
"No, bud, absolutely not," Tony said firmly but gently while placing a hand on Peter's shoulder. "He has no grounds to arrest you. You haven't done anything against the law."
"But in the eyes of the Accords…I have," Peter said looking back at the packet. "I haven't signed the Accords or given any information to the UN, and it technically doesn't matter if I signed or not, Ross could still hold me indefinitely at the RAFT just for that reason."
"Pete, let me ask you something," Tony said. "Do you honestly think that Pepper, Rhodey, Vision, Happy, and I would just sit back and let Ross arrest you for no reason or for some bullshit reason like you not signing the Accords?"
"N-No," Peter replied.
"Kid, it's like I told that asshole," Tony continued. "If he wants to try to arrest you and take you to the RAFT, he's going have to go through me…our whole family first. I would rather die then let him lay a hand on you. You're Pepper's and my kid. You're our kid, Peter, and we'll do everything to protect you…everything."
Peter looked at Tony as tears formed in his eyes feeling the care and support in everything Tony said, especially when Tony referred to him as his kid. He wasted no time in standing up and wrapping his arms around Tony's neck burying his face in Tony's shoulder. "Thanks, Tony," he said.
"You don't have to thank me, kid," Tony replied hugging Peter back. "I do this because I want to…not just because May asked me to…but because I want to."
Peter chuckled as he pulled away. "You never do anything you don't want to do," he said.
"Exactly," Tony said patting his kid on the shoulder.
"And because I hate the idea of never seeing you again," he added mentally.
"Although this just makes me feel even worse about the whole Vulture-Toomes…thing," Peter said as he sat back down. "You were trying to keep me off Ross' radar, and I didn't listen."
"Kid, I should've been more open with you about that," Tony said quickly, "about…why I needed you to stay on the ground."
Peter shook his head. He felt bad whenever Tony expressed guilt over what happened with the Vulture after Germany. He and Tony had talked about it before…when he had that panic attack at the gala…and when he told Tony about the warehouse. "Tony, we've talked about this," Peter said. "You couldn't have known any better, and that's all in the past now. We've come a long way since then." It was almost hard to believe that was almost a year ago. It felt like a lifetime ago. "I-I'm just sorry you felt like you had to babysit me."
"It wasn't babysitting," Tony replied. "It was mentoring…guiding…taking care of you…something I wanted to do…something I still want to do. It's my responsibility, but it's never a chore."
Peter smiled even wider. "Still…thank you, Tony," he said.
"You're welcome," Tony said.
"But…I promise, I'll follow the Accords as best I can," Peter said after a moment. "I won't sign or do any of that stuff now, and I do want to help you change them…if Ross and the UN let us."
"I appreciate that, bud," he said smiling, "and I'm proud of you for that. You don't have to."
"I know," Peter replied, "but I want to. I want to help make the Accords better, and I promise to stay off Ross' radar as best as I can. Some of what I read is a good start, but…the whole thing with tracking bracelets…DNA samples and all that can be tweaked. Then the whole thing with being imprisoned without a trial should definitely be changed."
"And I agree with all that," he said, "but let's let Ross and the UN agree to it first. Then we can work on changing it."
"Right, right," Peter said, "I forgot about that."
Tony was about to say something else when…his phone began to ring.
"Who is It?" Peter asked as Tony took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID.
"It's Rhodey," Tony replied before answering. "Hey, honey bear, miss me?"
Peter snickered at his guardian as Tony listened to Rhodey.
"No, I'm just here with Peter, why?" Tony said with after a minute. However, as he listened to Rhodey, his eyes widened. "What? Are you serious? Already?"
"What is it?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be right there. I'll sign on," Tony said before hanging up. "Rhodey said that Ross wants to talk to us about the Accords. He wrapped up his meeting with the UN."
"Already?" Peter asked as he quickly jumped out of the chair allowing Tony to sit and sign onto the video call.
"Apparently," Tony replied as he quickly signed onto the call. "Just stay off to the side, okay? If he sees you're listening, he might get suspicious."
Peter nodded staying quiet as Tony instructed while his guardian brought up a screen with Rhodey and Ross staring at him.
"You're late again, Stark," Ross said.
"I apologize," Tony said. "Peter needed my help with something, that's all, sir. I'm here now, so what's up?"
"Well, as Col. Rhodes told you," Ross began, "I finished my meeting with the UN, and I spoke to them about what you suggested about changing the Accords…They…We have agreed that…given what happened with the Rogues…it would be in everyone's best interest to…relook at the Accords."
Rhodey, Tony, and Peter all widened their eyes in shock.
"A-Are you serious?" Tony asked.
"Quite," Ross replied. "I'm not a fan of it myself. However, I don't like the idea of the Rogues being out and about, and this is the best option. There are conditions though: we will change them if…you can get King T'Challa, Barton, the shrinking man, and the Vision to agree and to support them and to sign the new ones…"
Peter cringed inwardly. He didn't know King T'Challa very well, but from what Tony told him about Hawkeye and Ant-Man, Tony and Rhodey weren't on speaking terms. That was going to be tough.
"Okay, we'll do what we can there," Rhodey said after a moment.
"And what's the next condition?" Tony asked praying that it had nothing to do with Spider-Man.
"That you continue to follow the Accords as they are written until they are changed officially," Ross replied, "and that we do a press conference in December to announce the changes…to draw the Rogues back out."
"Okay, we…we can do all that," Tony said.
"Absolutely," Rhodey agreed. "Thank you, Mr. Secretary."
"You have until December when we will discuss the changes and do the press conference," Ross replied. "Don't make me regret this."
"Trust me, you won't," Tony said nodding.
"Good," Ross said, "I'll be waiting for the changes."
With that, they all hung up, and Tony looked at Peter as they smiled at each other.
"Well, we've got some work to do, kid," the billionaire simply said before the kid walked over to him and hugged him.
Author's Note: Annnnnnnnnnnd that's all for now, boys and girls! I hope you all enjoyed that! Up next is CHAPTER 26….and…it's PETER'S BIRTHDAY! Our boy is going to be turning 16! I think that one is going to be short like this one too mostly because it's a little break from the plot, but it will pick up again after that! Don't forget to leave a review! Thanks, guys!
