"So, what do you think it was?" Rhodes asked a short time later.
Both men were staring at the boy, who was sitting in Tony's lap to keep him from being too overwhelmed. Strong, reassuring arms were wrapped loosely around his belly from behind, but not so strong that he couldn't turn to look at the man as he told them about the weird thing that had happened to him, and had watched their expressions for any indication that they didn't believe him.
"A bug." Peter shrugged. "It had to be something little. I didn't see anything, and I would have noticed a dog, or a rat, or a monkey…"
"True," Tony agreed. "Besides, dogs and monkeys don't stick to walls."
"Yeah."
"What else can you do?" Rhodes asked, curiously. His eyes widened, excitedly. "Can you fly?"
Peter shook his head.
"No. I don't think so."
"Then it wasn't a fly that got you," the man pointed out. He smiled. "We could put you in a dark room and turn on the light. See if you scurry away like a cockroach."
That made the little boy smile for the first time since he'd fallen off the island.
"I don't mind the lights coming on. And I see in the dark pretty good…" he added.
"This is what you were trying to get my help with?" Stark asked, gently. "Before, I mean?"
"Yes. I didn't know I could do the wall thing, but I knew I was strong, and I get weird feelings, sometimes. I thought…" he shrugged. "I thought that since you're a superhero, you would know what I should do. What do you think?"
"Huh." Tony brushed Peter's bangs back with his hand. "I think you have a lot on your plate for someone so young. Do these abilities hurt you?"
"No."
"Then we'll wait and see what happens. You told Natasha and the others?"
"Clint and Sam," Peter confirmed. "I wanted to tell you," he added. "But you were so angry… I didn't-"
"That's on me," Tony told him. "And I really am sorry. I was terrible to you, and you didn't deserve it." Peter nodded, and put his cheek back on Tony's shoulder, ready to be cuddled and comforted, now. Stark complied, of course, and he smiled when he looked at Rhodey. "I can't wait to show the others…"
The other man nodded, patting Peter's back but looking just as smug.
"Definitely." He looked at his watch. "The game's starting. Tell me we still get to watch it?"
"Peter?" Tony asked. "You good with that?"
"Yeah."
He closed his eyes and just clung to Tony.
OOOOOOOOOOO
"Visitors at the door."
Tony turned his head, ready to tell JARVIS to let them in, but Peter was excited to see Natasha and the others, and the boy sprang from the sofa, quickly, bouncing himself from the position he'd had between Rhodes and Tony and jumping over the back of the sofa.
"Careful…" Tony cautioned.
Peter landed, easily, though and they heard the electronic lock click to allow entrance just as the boy reached the door. It opened, revealing Romanoff, first, but she was followed by Sam, Steve, and a dark-skinned man that Peter didn't know. The three men were loaded down with bags and packages, but Natasha's hands were free, and she smiled when she saw Peter and swept him up into her arms with an excited noise.
"There's my favorite guy!"
Peter hugged her, close.
"Hi, Natasha." He looked at the others, his smile huge and his eyes bright with happiness. "Hi Steve, hi Sam." He hesitated when the other man looked at him. "Um… hi…?"
Natasha hugged him, well aware that her companion could look a little intimidating. To anyone, really, and not just a little boy.
"This is my friend, Nick.," Natasha told him. "Nick, this is Peter."
Fury smiled; hands too full to offer one to the child.
"I've heard a lot about you, Peter. It's good to finally meet you. Stark? Come get some of these things before I drop them."
Tony and Rhodey had both moved to greet the newcomers – although not as quickly as Peter had – and Tony reached for one of the bags that Fury held out to him. Then he moved out of the way so that Romanoff and the others could come in and close the door behind them. Natasha wasn't in any hurry to give up her excited burden, though, and the boy beamed at her.
"I'm staying here," he told her. "Did you know?"
"I did," she confirmed. "Which is why one of those bags that Steve is carrying has a present for you."
His eyes widened.
"You got me a present?"
"Yup."
"Wow."
The bags were all carried to the island, and Peter hugged her, again, and then wriggled to get down. He climbed up his special chair and then moved to sit on the island, itself, to get a better look at all the things that they'd brought. Only to have Rhodey scoop him up.
"No way, Cheese Pizza," the man admonished, lightly. "We're not doing that, again."
Peter giggled, but accepted the reprimand and settled into his chair, instead, watching as the bags were unloaded.
The others had been in charge of bringing all of the sides; there was a tray of cheese and crackers and meats. There was a fruit tray, and another with veggies and ranch dressing to dip them in. Peter reached for a carrot, even as Nick started unloading the desserts. Two pies; one pumpkin, and one apple, brownies, a small cake with a lot of icing. There was a large can of cranberry sauce, and a few containers of whipped cream. The boy watched, expectantly, as Steve unloaded his bag, especially, and Rogers smiled over at him as he pulled out a small, neatly wrapped box and handed it to Peter.
"Happy housewarming," he told him. "And by the way, I love your shirt."
Peter beamed, and ripped open the package.
"Wow!"
It was Legos. And yes, his new room was filled with a whole box of Legos, but the Legos that they had brought him were extra special. They were Avengers themed, with a little Ironman, a Hulk, a Captain America, Falcon, War Machine, a Hawkeye, and a Black Widow. There was also a Quinjet to put them all in.
"Where did you find those?" Tony asked, curiously, taking the box from Peter to get a better look.
"I have my sources," Natasha told him, mysteriously.
"Amazon," Sam replied, rolling his eyes, and dodging when the assassin pretended to take a swipe at him.
The boy was looking speculatively at Fury.
"Are you an Avenger?"
Nick shook his head, pulling off the jacket that he was wearing and handing it to Stark, who rolled his eyes and took everyone else's coats, too.
"I'm with SHIELD," Fury told the child. "You know what that is?"
"Yeah."
"Nick came up with the idea for the Avengers, though," Sam said. "He's the reason they exist."
"Wow."
"I hear you have some pretty impressive abilities, too," Fury told Peter.
"Oh, you haven't heard all of it, though," Rhodes told him – and the others. "We just discovered a new one, this morning."
Natasha wasn't the only one to look interested.
"Yeah?"
Peter hesitated, looking at Tony, who was returning from putting coats away. Stark understood the uncertainty, and he picked Peter up from behind.
"You mind showing them?"
"No. I don't know if I can do it, though…"
"We'll try. If nothing happens, then it was still pretty amazing."
"What can he do?" Sam asked, curiously. "Oh! Wait. Tell me he can shoot laser beams from his eyes. Is that it?"
Peter giggled.
"No."
"Can you read my mind?" Natasha asked, following as Tony carried Peter out into the living room where there was more space – and a bigger, more open, wall. "What am I thinking?"
"You're trying to decide how to get the biggest slice of pumpkin pie," Steve answered. "But no one needs a super ability to know that."
She shook her head.
"You know what we need?" she asked. "More women in this room. Tony? Where's Pepper?"
Stark snorted.
"She's out of town visiting a sick relative and spending time with family – for a change. I invited her, but she said she'd raincheck and maybe come for Christmas, instead."
Natasha started to say something, but then Stark did something unexpected and turned Peter in his arms and pressed the little boy up against the wall. Natasha frowned, and reached for the boy when Tony suddenly released his grip on him. Rather than falling, though, Peter stayed right where he'd been left, his little hands pressed flat against the surface of the wall.
Stark smirked at the assassin, and made a 'ta-da' motion with his hands. Rhodes looked smug, too, but the others stared – including Nick Fury, who had seen the video from the boy's impressive lifting in the gym weeks before, but hadn't seen anything like what he was looking at, now.
"How did you do that?" Steve asked. "Is it tech?"
"None that I know of," Tony said, keeping his hands out – just in case Peter pulled his hand loose or something, and lost his grip and fell. "He didn't even know he could do it until this morning when he tried to fall off the island."
"Are you kidding me?" Natasha asked, stepping up and putting one hand under Peter's rear – just in case – while she moved one of his hands free of the wall with the other. The boy just smiled at her, looking happy and as normal as ever. Certainly not like a little kid sticking to the wall. "How is that possible?"
"How can he lift a hundred pounds above his head?" Tony asked. "Probably whatever bit him is something that can do it, naturally. Obviously, we don't know anything about it – aside from its effects on Peter."
"Does that hurt?" Natasha asked. "Holding yourself there?"
Peter shook his head.
"I can't move, though," he admitted. He pulled his hand away from the wall, and then put it back. "I'm stuck."
"Not permanently, though," Tony assured them all, taking hold of Peter and pulling him away from the wall. He tousled his hair and then set him on the floor, where he took several steps backward to prove that he wasn't stuck to the floor, and then ran into Natasha's arms, feeling a surge of exuberance. "He's fine."
"I'm sticky!" Peter said, cheerfully, basking in the awed looks that they were giving him. "Pretty neat, huh?"
"It's amazing," she agreed, hugging him. "No experimenting with it, though, unless someone is around. I don't want you taking a tumble."
"I won't."
"Good." She set him down. "Why don't you show me your new room?"
Peter nodded, excitedly, his attention easily distracted by the thought of being able to show her something so much more amazing than being able to stick to the wall.
"It's great!"
Sam followed the two as they stopped in the kitchen long enough to pick up the new Avenger Legos that had been brought, and then they vanished into the bedroom. Fury shook his head, watching until the door closed.
"That's incredible."