"Boss?"

"FRIDAY?"

"Karen is filing a report under the 'Stupid Spiders Get Squished' protocol."

Tony sat up straight from where he was working on a coding update he wanted to install in Rhodey's armor. He frowned. "Let's hear it, FRI."

"At approximately 5 PM this evening, Spiderman encountered a flying robot which was grabbing entire ATM's and ripping them out of the ground before flying off with them. Spiderman attempted to find out where the ATM's were being taken by webbing to the bottom of one and following that robot to its destination. This eventually took him out of the city, and he was flying over an area without anything he could have webbed to to slow his descent for approximately 8 minutes before he passed something tall enough to attach to so he could let go of the ATM."

Tony swore and jumped up to pace. "So you're saying if anything had happened during those 8 minutes to dislodge him from the ATM-stealing robot, he would have hit the ground from what height?"

"The height varied from 1800 to 2400 feet." Tony pivoted and glared at FRIDAY's sensor, as if she'd had something to do with what he was hearing. So higher than the tallest buildings in NYC. What in the world had the kid been thinking? He hadn't been thinking, obviously. Yes, he had a parachute in his suit, but it was a back up plan, and definitely not meant to be relied on at such heights.

"How did he get home? He did get home, right?" Tony was livid. And worried. And incredulous. What the… How did the kid think… What an idiot; he was going to get himself killed!

FRIDAY had been quiet for a moment, obviously communicating with Karen. "He mostly ran, trying to stay out of sight, and then started swinging once he entered the city's outskirts. It took him approximately an hour and a half."

Tony pinched the top of his nose with one hand, his head down, trying to stay calm. Any other awful thing could have happened to him, and they might not even have known in time, if Karen somehow had interrupted connections at any point in his trek.

"FRIDAY, tell me I shouldn't call him right now?" He practiced some of the slow, deep breathing he'd been working on - Usually when the kid did something stupid and he didn't want to yell at him. He didn't usually mean to do stupid things, he was just a teenager, and impulsive, and didn't always think things through.

"Your history suggests you will be 78% less likely to say something you later regret if you wait until you've had time to process and calm down before you speak with him. Mr. Parker is currently safe, and is located at Ned Leed's residence in Queens."

Tony growled in frustration and kind of wished he hadn't stopped drinking other than the occasional social occasion. Instead, he closed out the project he was working on and headed to the gym to get some of his frustrations out.

Two hours later Tony was out of the shower and grabbing a late dinner with Pepper.

"I just don't know what to do, Pep. I'm so frustrated at him taking risks like that, but I'm not sure how to stop him. Yelling doesn't work; already tried that. Taking his suit away doesn't work. Then we just run the risk of him doing dumb stuff without any tracking or protection," Tony ranted.

"Have you asked May? Have you even told her?" Pepper asked curiously.

"Not yet. When we hashed it all out, she was supposed to handle most of the "Peter" stuff, but she asked me to handle the "Spiderman" stuff like this. He listens even less to her about anything to do with his patrolling." Tony huffed, supporting his forehead with one palm.

"Well, the last time you guys really clashed over something like this was just before Homecoming right?" Pepper asked. "I feel like your relationship has completely changed since then. And he did listen to you about curfew, right?"

"That's true," Tony sighed. "He's only missed curfew once since then, and he had a good excuse."

"So why don't you think of some reasonable consequences, and talk to him, Tony? Without yelling, but do let him know how scared and upset you are about this. He knows you care about him now," Tony shot her a doubtful look. "So maybe he will care enough to just listen to you. Give it a try, at least."

"You're right, of course. I don't know until I try."

Tony did send the kid a text late that night. He owed him a few hours of stress, at least, he thought with an evil smirk.

Karen tattled on you, kid. You and I are going to have some words when you get here tomorrow, so make sure you get your well-thought-out excuses straight.

Tony couldn't see if the kid had read his message or not. Ridiculously slow, cracked Android. Tony had been bugging Peter for months to let him replace his phone with a StarkPhone, but the kid had resisted until now. Well. There was another good idea. Actions have consequences.

Tony went into the bedroom to kiss Pepper goodnight. "Sorry I'm not joining you, hon. I had a few good ideas of what to do with Peter, and I'm going to be in the workshop for a few hours at least."

As usual, she was understanding, especially when it had to do with taking care of someone he cared about. He'd spent about 4 days straight in his lab after Rhodey's accident, working on something to make his friend's new life more possible. Hopefully a night well-spent would give him a little less to worry about with the kid, too.

The next afternoon, Tony was waiting calmly for Peter, putting a few finishing touches on his project of the day.

FRIDAY silently delivered the notification to his glasses that Peter had entered the building.

"How does he look, babe?"

"Suitably nervous, Boss. He's taking his time getting to the lab." Tony was surprised to realize he had mixed feelings about that. He should just be satisfied that the kid was anxious about their talk, but he wasn't. He wished there didn't need to be a talk. He felt a little worried himself, and like he wasn't looking forward to the conflict either, despite the fact that he technically had most of the power in this relationship. Sheesh, was this how parents felt when their kids were in trouble? He struck that thought from his mind. Maybe he'd come back to it later if he was feeling braver.

Peter finally shuffled into the lab, hands in his pocket and dragging his feet. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere else, but there was also a touch of stubborn defiance in his face. Sheesh, Tony hoped this went well. Or less-bad than it could go.

"Hey, kid. Long time, no see."

"You saw me Wednesday, Mr. Stark," he said flatly.

"And I'm grateful that I get to see you today, and that you're not a spider-shaped smear on the ground somewhere in suburban New York," he said with more venom than he meant to. Calm it on down, Tony. Take a deep breath.

Peter glared at the ground, shoulders hunched.

"Just so we're clear, what I'm upset about is that fact that you didn't let go of that flying ATM-thief when you realized it was going to take you higher or farther than the city, where there were buildings you could web to and catch yourself before falling. I want an explanation from you about why you thought that it was a good idea to keep going, and then we'll talk about what's going to happen."

Peter sighed and dropped his backpack, sitting down sullenly across from Tony at his work bench.

"I was fine, Mr. Stark. It didn't even pay any attention to me being there. And someone had to figure out where it was taking those things, so they could get to the source and stop it. Who is better qualified than me for that? It's not like the cops could follow it while it was flying. And isn't that the point of the parachute in my suit? For stuff like that? That's what it's there for, right?"

"No," Tony said, keeping his voice low. "It's there as a last-ditch failsafe. And I had envisioned it catching you at a few hundred feet if your webshooters jammed or something, not at a few thousand feet because you're being an idiot."

Peter's eyebrows raised at the clarification, but his mouth still frowned.

"Did you know that professionals never jump with just one parachute? Did you know that any number of uncontrollable things can go wrong with a parachute, depending on chance and conditions? One small parachute is not a defense against possibly being dropped half a mile, Peter. Did you even think of throwing a location tag on the thing instead, or even using your drone to follow it for a while? Both of those are replaceable and expendable. You are not." Some emotion had leaked into Tony's voice, and Peter looked up, some remorse visible on his face this time.

"I did think about that," he started, "but not until we were just passing out of the city and there was nothing left to grab onto." His eyes flicked down towards his shoes at that admission.

"And kid, what if Karen had a broken or missing signal out there in the boonies, and you were in trouble and we couldn't find or track you? Her connection depends on the suit being in good working order for the most part. What then, huh? Do you know what it would do to me, to your friends at school, to May, even to Happy and Pepper if we couldn't find you and didn't even know where to look because you didn't bother to communicate what you were doing?"

Peter looked pained and mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"I knew you'd probably tell me to stop," Peter said louder, his eyes suddenly drawn to a corner in the ceiling.

"Dang right I would have told you to stop! Because it had turned into an unsafe situation. And especially because it was just money, Peter! No one's life was in danger except yours!"

Peter finally met Tony's eyes, and instead of stubborn and defiant, they had shifted to remorseful and submissive.

"Do you understand now why I'm upset, Pete?" Tony kept his voice soft and reaching, trying to convey to the kid that he was mad because he cared so much about what happened to him.

Peter nodded, and wiped a sleeve across his face, sniffing. "I'm sorry, Tony. I'll be more careful," he almost whispered.

That brought Tony up short. The kid had never used his name (though he's been invited to several times). "That's all I'm asking," Tony said, walking around the bench to put arm around his shoulder and squeeze in a side hug. "But let's talk consequences."

He released the kid's shoulders to reach over and pull two matte black boxes toward him. "The first portion involves more peace of mind for me and your aunt." He slid the larger box to Peter.

"Replacing your phone has suddenly become non-negotiable."

The boy removed the lid and eyed the sleek black Starkphone with trepidation. But then his eyes gleamed slightly. "

"Whoa… Is this the unreleased model that uses flush holographic projection?" he asked reverently, picking the phone up out of its box.

"You should know; you helped with it," scoffed Tony. "Which also means there's no glass involved and it's basically indestructible. You're to keep it on you at all times. Karen is installed, but with lots of limitations, mostly concerning privacy protection for you. Unless you ask her to, she'll only record and report any imminent physical threats, and cover location tracking."

"Why doesn't this feel like a punishment?" Peter said ruefully, a half smile on his face.

"We're not quite done yet," Tony pointed out, sliding the other box towards Peter.

He took the lid off and looked at the slim black band with curiosity. "What's this?"

"A watch, at first glance. It's also a tracker, reads your vitals, and can send alerts in case of blunt force trauma or freefall. It shouldn't show under your suit, but it's there in case something happens when you're not in the suit, and as a backup while in the suit. There are a bunch of emergency protocols Karen can walk you through, so you know how to use them."

The look on Peter's face is inscrutable.

"Look, I know it feels like an invasion of privacy for a teenager. I promise not to abuse the tracking features, and only do it if we're concerned about you. But I need you to not to take it off. It's completely waterproof and dang-near indestructible, so there's no reason not to-"

"You made this just for me?" Peter interrupted. "Since yesterday?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

Tony was interrupted again, as he suddenly had an armful of teenager. Peter hugged him just briefly and then pulled back, looking embarrassed. .

"Sorry, sir, I just… I didn't know you cared quite that much, about me, and…"

"Hey," Tony stopped him, reaching over to grasp his shoulder gently, and tipping his head down to meet Peter's eyes. "Of course I care, kid. We all do. And we need you to act like you care, too, and stop doing stupid stuff that puts you in danger unnecessarily."

Peter nodded his head slowly, his eyes contemplative. He picked up the watch and fastened it to his wrist. It was thin, and lightweight. He tipped it up and the display showed the time and date, then went back to matte black when he put his hand back down.

"Sick," he whispered. Tony assumed that was a good thing, from his tone.

"I should have told you that once it's on, you need to use Karen on your phone to unlock and remove it. You know, just in case."

Peter looked surprised. "Just in case, what?"

"You know, if, heaven forbid, you got kidnapped or something and the first thing they tried to do was take it off." Like Tony had been kidnapped. Because if he'd had something innocuous-looking like that, with a tracker in it, that was difficult to remove, maybe someone would have had a chance of rescuing him.

Peter's eyes were huge. "Uh, okay. Sure." He fiddled with the watch for a minute, and then looked up again. "So, I'm not getting grounded or anything?" he asked hopefully, flashing those big brown puppy dog eyes at Tony.

"Oh, right. Yeah, you're totally grounded," Tony said brusquely. "Or, Spiderman is. At least until I have two essays in my inbox: One about the physics and mechanics of parachutes in general, and of yours specifically, and one about at least eight different ways parachutes can fail, and what can be done to avoid those scenarios. Again, Karen has the specific details for you. I'll leave you to start on those while I go upstairs and get a snack."

"Ugh. Mr Staaaaark!" Teenagers could be so dramatic.

Hey May, FYI Peter made some poor choices yesterday on patrol, and is grounded from going out for the next couple days. Or at least until he's proved that he's educated himself on the specific stupidity enough that it shouldn't happen again.

Also, as a consequence I also upgraded his phone so it's more reliable, and made him a watch/tracker that he's promised to wear. I probably should have run those last two by you first, but please let me know if you want to discuss and we can adjust that part.

Do I even want to know?

Probably not. At least one of us should sleep at night.

How did he take it?

Pretty well, actually. He showed some maturity.

Thank you, Tony. For looking out for him.

Of course. He's a good kid, with a good heart. Just dumb sometimes.

Sounds like someone else I know. ;-)