A new villain appeared in New York. The guy called himself Penguin and carried an umbrella that he used as a machine gun with blades at the tips of the ribs. Yup, just like the villain in the comics of that flying rat that had become so famous (Tony only knew them because he had been told that he looked like him and had investigated them in case he had to report the creators; but no, he was much more charismatic than that sinister black guy. And he could fly).

Spider-man, the new neighborhood superhero that had appeared, was already there. He had received some reports about his work and even though he was only dealing with minor criminals, he was doing a good job reducing crime. However, this criminal was more violent and dangerous than Spider-man used to face, and Tony was already in the air trying on a new suit so it was easy for him to drop by to save the day.

When he arrived, things were a little worse than he expected. Spider-man was clearly injured, his blue and red sweatshirt had dark spots on his shoulder and side. It was difficult for him to stand upright and raise his right arm. He could hear him exclaim "Iron-man" as he stood in front of him.

"Hey, spider friend, do you need a hand? Or leg?"

"Uh, thank you, Mr. Iron-man."

Mr. Iron-man? How old was that boy? He mentally shook his head, it was not the would have time to talk to him when a psychopath in cosplay was not attacking the city. It was not as difficult as it seemed, Penguin could cut the spider web with the sharp blades of his umbrella, and the fabric was strong enough to stop the police bullets, but it was not enough to stop the firepower of his suit It took him some time because the psychopath had a win or die mentality, but in the end the ambulance took him away seriously injured.

When he finished, he landed in front of Spider-man on one of the rooftops. He put his hands on his hips and studied him carefully. He was a little shorter than him and, above all, really thin. His shoulders (one of them shot) were narrow, as was... well, everything really. He had the build of a teenager that had not yet fully developed. He was a kid!

"You and I have to talk," he said seriously, "but first you need to get that checked. I'll take you to the Tower."

"Ah, um, I can-"

"It's not a question."

He walked over to him and lifted him with one arm under his knees and one hand on his back, trying to avoid touching the wounds that were soaking his sweatshirt with blood. The boy looked too stunned to object.

"JARVIS, tell Bruce to wait in the infirmary," he asked before taking off.

When he got to the Tower, he went straight down to the infirmary and Bruce was already there preparing instruments. He left the boy on the gurney and took off his suit.

"You're going to let the doctor close those holes for you," he ordered, pointing a finger at him, "and then we'll talk about what a kid is doing fighting psychopaths on the streets of New York."

The boy lowered his head, and Tony hoped that was enough for him not to run away before talking to him. Just in case, he didn't go very far. He verified that they were taking care of Penguin correctly and reviewed the test data of his new suit. The idea had been to test its flight, but thanks to the fight he had more useful data. When JARVIS notified him that Bruce was finishing up, he went back into the infirmary.

Spider-man was sitting on the gurney, his bloodstained sweatshirt at his feet and... He had breasts. She had breasts (covered by a shapeless white top), and that face was definitely a girl's face even though she wore a boy's hairstyle.

"Good Lord, you are a woman."

Spider... woman? girl? raised her head and looked at him wide-eyed with a terrified expression.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, I think it's great that women are superheroines. There should be more. Seriously, you should meet Natasha, she's scarier than any superhero, you really don't want to have her as your enemy."

"Tony!" Bruce exclaimed in a scolding tone, interrupting his statement.

"What?!" Tony looked from one to the other in confusion. Why were they looking at him like he had just kicked a puppy?

The spider cowered, covering her chest with both arms, head lowered.

"Tony, this is Peter," Bruce informed him with a deliberate tone, and when he didn't seem to understand, Bruce looked at him as if he were a little slow (his IQ didn't say the same, thank you very much).

Until he finally understood it.

"Oh. Oooh! Ah, I- I'm sorry, it wasn't my… intention." He cleared his throat and for almost a minute there was an awkward silence, the boy still hunched over himself. "Nice to meet you, Peter. I know you've been doing a good job stopping criminals in New York, but aren't you a little too young to be fighting guys armed to the teeth? How old are you exactly?"

"Uh, eighteen?" he answered questioningly.

"Peter Parker, sixteen," JARVIS chimed in.

Peter flinched as if he had been yelled at and Tony frowned.

"And you've been doing this for about a year, that is, since you were fifteen. Definitely too young."

"I started when I got my powers, I couldn't do nothing when there are people I can help," he explained at full speed. There was some fear on his face and he seemed eager to make himself understood.

Tony sighed and ran his hand through his spiky hair.

"I'm not going to try to convince you to quit because I have the feeling you're stubborn."

"Just like him," Bruce chimed in and Tony shot him a look that didn't affect him at all.

"But I'm going to make sure you have a decent suit." He grabbed the sweatshirt with a couple of fingers and watched it wrinkling his nose. "Plus, you'll have us on speed dial in case you ever need help with another comic book psycho. And you will call us," he warned him with a serious look, pointing at him with the sweatshirt in his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Stark."

"And don't call me sir, coming from someone so young you make me feel old." Bruce coughed covering his mouth with one hand and Tony ignored him. "I keep the sweatshirt for the costume design. I'll lend you a clean one."

"Um, sir- uh, Stark?" he hesitated.

"Just Tony, please."

"T-Tony." He was clearly uncomfortable calling him by him name. "About the suit... There's no need."

"There's no discussion either."

Peter bit his lip and lowered his head, trying to hide it in his arms still crossed over his chest.

"I'm sure Tony can make it so it hides the parts you don't want to show," Bruce assured him with a hand on his shoulder, careful not to touch his wound.

Peter raised his head and looked at Tony with tight lips and too much hope in his eyes. He knew from that moment that he wouldn't be able to deny that boy anything.

"Of course, I'll make sure the costume is appropriate. And if you need anything else, just tell me and I'll get it for you." He turned around, already thinking about the design of the suit. "Oh, and when you feel better we can talk about those webs of yours, I'm very interested in that."

"Yes, si- Tony."