THE MEETING

In the war room of the Avengers Mansion, the Avengers themselves have gathered and had a young Peter Parker, dressed in his Spider-Man suit but minus his mask, standing before them. Tony, while clad in his Iron Man armor but with his faceplate pulled up, started things off. "All right Avengers, I know that we currently have the matter of dealing with Norman Osborn's little tournament, but before we do so, I guess now is as good as time as any to address the matter concerning the reserve membership Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, more importantly, his age."

Peter himself couldn't help but hang his head in shame. "Nice going, Parker, you got so caught up in being a part-time member of one of Earth's most prominent superheroes, you didn't even bother to tell them your real age. Well, if they kick me out, then hopefully, they'll be a lot nicer about it. Nicer than Jameson, anyway."

Tony, while seeing Peter's look of shame, as well as the seriousness of his teammates, continued. "And, I would like to state for the record...I like this kid." Once he received the surprised expressions of Peter and his fellow teammates, Tony continued. "Sure, he obviously still has a lot to learn, but this kid's got tons of potential, both as a hero and as a scientist. And I think he has a better chance of bringing them out with our help. So, I say we keep him on board."

This answer left Peter completely baffled, but he allowed a small smile to appear on his face upon hearing Tony's response.

Moments later, Peter received another surprise in the form of the Wasp, who in her shrunken form, flies over to the young man's shoulder. "I second that," she said in her usual perky demeanor, slightly startling Peter. "I, for one, saw him in action. I say he's a keeper." With that said, she turned to Peter and gave him a friendly and welcoming wink.

As for Peter himself, he just stood there blushing for a few seconds before finally answering. "Wow...uh, thanks."

However, the positive mood is soon dashed away when the less than pleased Hawkeye, with his arms crossed, spoke next. "Well, glad to see you two all hunky-dory about this kid being part of this team, but not me," he said bluntly. "I may be a jerk, but I'm not a heartless jerk. This kid's still too young to be putting his life on the line against the monsters and psychos we face day in and day out."

The next one to speak in his mind on the matter is Yellowjacket, who sat back in his chair looking at his fingernails. "Agree," he said clearly in a somewhat smug tone, getting the attention of everyone in the room, especially a very stunned Wasp. "Being a superhero is a man's job, so it might be best if he comes back after puberty."

As the Avengers, namely Wasp and Ms. Marvel looked at Yellowjacket with both appalled and disappointed expressions, the Vision, who was adjusting to experiencing emotions, began to feel the tension in the room escalating and thus decided to move the conversation along. "A...valid point, I suppose," said the sytheziod, getting everyone's attention. "True, Spider-Man shows the inherent nativity of any teenager his age, his skills, and abilities; however, cannot be ignored. Therefore, Spider-Man training under our supervision does seem logical."

Following up with his opinion on the matter is the calm and serious Black Panther, who responds with a solemn nod. "Agreed," said the Wakandan King. "And I say this as a man who has seen first hand how Mr. Parker did in helping me against my would-be assassins at the Wakandan Embassy. True, he is somewhat undisciplined, but with the proper training that we can provide, he can be a force for good." After speaking his mind, the Black Panther turned his attention to the flattered Peter. "Besides, providing my guidance to this young man is the least I can do for how he helped in saving my life."

Ms. Marvel, on the other hand, only shook her head in annoyance, as she could not believe that someone as intelligent as the Panther would agree to this. "Oh, for god's sake!" she said under her breath, then turned her attention to Cap. "Well, I hate to be that girl, but of all the things we already have on our lap, I don't think being responsible for the possible death of a teenager is going to make things any better for us."

Moments later, Thor speaks his mind while still holding his hammer in hand. "I say that age matters not, and that this boy has proven himself to be not just a man, but the Man of Spiders!" this statement earned the God of Thunder awkward looks from his teammates, as well as Peter, and after looking confused as to why he would get such expressions, the Thunder God cleared his throat and continued. "The point is, young Peter Parker has proven himself truly worthy of being an Avenger in my eyes." After making his opinion known, Thor soon turned to Cap. "What say you, Captain?"

Hawkeye, in particular, looked at the Super Soldier with a raised eyebrow. "Well, how about it, old man?"

With a sigh, Cap finally sat up from his chair to address both his fellow Avengers and Peter. "I won't lie to you all...this is a dilemma," Cap said honestly. "This job is far too dangerous for a teenager and putting Peter's young life at risk, especially when he still has his whole life ahead of him, would be...problematic."

A saddened Peter once again felt shame consume him as he listens to Cap's every word, further regretting not telling him the truth.

But as he continued, Cap's stern expression suddenly transformed into a warm smile. "However, speaking as someone who has seen this young man's heroics and skills first hand, I'd like to say that we have ourselves a great hero in the making, on in which could use our guidance." Upon saying this, Cap received stunned looks from not just Peter, but the rest of his teammates. "Not to mention that we now find ourselves in a situation that's so desperate, we're going to need all the help we can muster." The Super Soldier then turned his attention to Peter, who still looked at him with awe. "So Peter, I would like to have you added on our team to participate in Osborn's tournament."

"What?! Really?!" asked a baffled Peter.

"That's right," Cap replied, but later changed his demeanor to that of a serious one. "However, you will have to be supervised. Not only to see how well you do in battle, but how well you work within a team and follow orders."

It was here that Tony decided to step in to put a much lighter tone to the proceedings. "In other words, kid, think of this as your...' performance review.'"

Feeling honored and somewhat relieved, Peter stood straight up as he went to speak to the team. "Th-Thank you all," he said somewhat nervously, but then stood proud as he said this. "I promise, I won't let any of you down!"

Though the Avengers that were against Peter's reserve membership, namely Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, and Yellowjacket looked disappointed and remained silent, the rest of the Avengers, especially Cap, only smiled, knowing in their guts that Peter was definitely someone they can count on, but also someone they can shape into a great superhero that can save protect not just the city, but the entire world.

And it is Cap who said this to Peter with a proud smile returning to his face. "Well, you haven't so far, son. So you better not start now."

Moments later, The Avengers, including their still reserve member Peter, receive another surprise in the form of the eye patch wearing former S.H.I.E.L.D. director, Nick Fury, and his associate, Quake, come out of the shadows and into view. "Well, now that you've gotten problem concerning the kid out of the way, what do you say we focus on getting the rest of the team together?"

Suddenly, the meeting comes to an abrupt halt when the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. speaks through the intercom system. "Pardon the interruption, sir, but your other guests have arrived."

This news is enough to cause a smirk to appear on Tony's face. "Funny you should say that, Nick."

Moments later, the double doors of the war room open, and thus, everyone turned to its direction and saw who was coming in. Sure enough, on the other side of the door were members of the New Avengers, with the line-up consisting of Heroes for Hire, the powerful and streetwise Luke Cage, the martial arts master of Kun-Lun, Iron Fist and the second Ant-Man, Scott Lang. Also with the team was that of the feral mutant of the X-Men, Wolverine.

Though he was glad to see the New Avengers team here and accounted for, Cap could help but notice the absence of two other members, more specifically, Tonys best friend Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, who wore the War Machine armor, and Ben Grimm, otherwise known as the Fantastic Four's rocky powerhouse, the ever-loving blue-eyed Thing. "Weren't there suppose to be more members than this in the New Avengers unit, Tony?"

"Yeah," Tony replied, somewhat reluctantly. "But Rhodey's at a briefing at the Pentagon, and Ben's on vacation with the rest of the Fantastic Four...in another solar system."

This news was enough to make the usual chipper Wasp let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, that's just hunky-dory."

Peter replied to this with an irritated expression, relating to the team's current lousy luck. "Tell me about it."

Meanwhile, the gruff Wolverine stepped up to address Peter. "Well, we're all ya got, kid, so get used to it." said the X-Man, then turned his attention to Cap himself, who by then was looking at the feral mutant. "You lookin' at somethin', Rogers?"

While everyone in the war room seemed shocked and appalled by how Wolverine addressed Cap, the Super Soldier himself just looked at the feral mutant with a severe expression, utterly unphased by his aggressive demeanor. "Just glad to see that your back in the fight with us, Logan. Just remember not to sliced our enemies to pieces!"

Tony was at first shocked on seeing that Cap and Wolverine knew each other, but soon remembered from what he read from S.H.I.E.L.D. computers that he managed to hack into, he soon remembered their history together as part of the Howling Commandos during the Second World War. "Oh, that's right, you two are old war buddies from World War II."

Wolverine turned to Tony and let out an irritable grunt. "We just served together, Stark," he said bluntly. "That don't mean we're buddies."

The news of Cap and Wolverine's association with each other is a surprise to everyone, except Nick Fury himself. However, it was Peter who is stunned the most as he stood there in disbelief. "Whoa, whoa, hold on! I know that Cap was involved in World War II, but could he and Wolvie be..." At this point, Peter stopped himself and quickly dismissed the notion. "You know what, nevermind! Question for another time! I've had WAY too many surprises for one day, and I can't afford to try and figure you out any more of them."

Peter's remark soon caused Luke Cage to cross his arms and look at Tony with a raised eyebrow. "Speaking of 'affording something,' I'm hoping that you think that you can afford our help Stark, and know that we're not running a charity."

Tony let out an aggravated groan as he answered the aptly named 'Hero for Hire.' "Yeah, I know, and check is in the mail, Cage."

As Luke stood there satisfied, Iron Fist only shook his head in annoyance on how his partner seemed to want to put a price tag on helping others. "There are times you worry me, Luke."

Suddenly, Peter felt his sadness instantly return when he heard Iron Fist mention the word 'worry.' "Yeah, well, I should probably to get back to the hospital to check on my aunt."

It was here that Nick stepped in to reassure, Peter. "Relax kid, I got some of my people looking out for her."

"Really?" Peter asked, confused, but at the same time, a little relieved in knowing that May was watched over by people Nick Fury can trust. "Well, gee, thanks." Though he was grateful for Nick providing support, the depression remained due to the fact that his aunt was still dying and there was nothing that the hospital can do.

Tony soon walked over to the teen, appearing just as sad as he placed his hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, I also saw the files on the virus given to your aunt. And for what it's worth, we're sorry."

"Yeah...thanks, Mr. Stark," Peter replied, still feeling down, but almost instantly, is filled with hope when heard Tony say something about reading S.H.I.E.L.D. files. "Wait, you said you looked at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files? Does this mean you can make a cure?"

"First off, just call me Tony." replied the billionaire in a light-hearted tone, always wanting to a 'first name' environment with people that he works with. "And second...no, or at least not yet. Norman falls under the 'crazy but not stupid' category by making his files completely hacker proof." Before continuing, Tony turned and looked at Scott Lang, who by this time was conversing with Thor. "But I have a plan to get the info we need from the inside. Info that'll put Osborn away..." Tony then turned back to the now hopeful Peter and is happy that he managed to boost the young man's morale. "And to save your aunt. But I'm going to need you to play along in order to make it work. Can you do that, kid?"

For the first time in hours, Peter felt the happiness within him, knowing that this was the best news he's heard in quite awhile. And so, with tightened fists and a determined look on his face, Peter looked up to Tony to answer him, and in doing so, earned not only Tony's admiration but that of Cap and Wasp, who were also watching him. "Like I said before...I won't let you down!"