In the US, there were three large tech companies that were in constant competition with each other:

Stark Industries, which, after a quick fall in the stock market slowly began to climb back up the ranks with their new innovative, and more importantly, nonlethal merchandise.

The third most well known company was called, 'Hammer Tech' (Peter didn't have much interest in Hammer Tech. Sure, some of their stuff looked pretty neat, but it was clearly just their version of Stark products that had an 'HT' logo glued on). While not as popular as Stark Industries, Hammer Tech's potential as a company increased thanks to SI leaving the weapons-making business. That left Hammer Tech in competition with the second most revered company, Oscorp.

Run by Norman Osborn, Oscorp was the harshest of the three companies. Human rights violations were rumored, but unproven, thanks to the size of Mr. Osborn's bank account. Things that would stain other companies and place their CEO's into prison have been white-outed of Oscorp's reputation. Norman Osborn was living proof that with enough money and power, the law was optional.

And that was why Harry Osborn could never get the help he needed.

Peter wasn't quite sure when he realized that Norman Osborn didn't treat his son the way Uncle Ben treated his nephew. Normy had a tendency to be hypercritical to a nauseating degree. He'd belittle every small thing that Harry did. He'd treat Peter with kindness and respect, than turn to Harry, and ask him why he wasn't like Peter.

Harry never responded or fought back. He'd just stare at the floor, clearly believing every word that his father said to him.

Peter especially wasn't sure when things started to get physical. When exactly did Harry start wearing long sleeves, and wincing when he moved sometimes? Was it around when he started gaining weight from the stress of it?

The brunette wasn't sure. All he did know was that even with all his powers, there wasn't anything he could do to help Harry except to be his friend.

There was no one Peter could report the abuse to. An underfunded government program like CPS could only do so much against a rich billionaire. School guidance counselors were out of the question, since they were obligated to report on stuff like that. A therapist?

Good old Normy didn't believe in mental health.

Harry never got the help he needed when his mother died. He never got the help he needed as he constantly dealt with the monster he had to call 'father'.

Instead, the taller of the pair simply had to wait until he was eighteen. The two had already planned everything. They were both saving their money for an apartment. May said that they could both stay in the Parker residence until they had enough money for everything they needed.

'Harry will be free in three more years.' That's always what Peter thought to himself whenever he helped patch up any cuts Harry might have received while his father stayed over. He clenched his jaw as he studied one particularly big gash. 'Won't need any stitches, thank god.'

Harry, in the meantime, was staring at the wall in front of them with a blank expression. His dark eyes looked duller than usual. He didn't say a word as Peter worked, and chances were, he wouldn't until Peter was done.

So, the pair were silent as Peter bandaged his arm. He didn't ask Harry any questions. At this point, he knew that Harry wouldn't answer them anyways.

"I'm spending my entire summer with him."

Peter paused. He glanced at his friend, who had paled considerably.

"We're going to Japan together." He muttered. "I...We're going to Kyoto. My mom grew up there, you know."

Peter nodded.

Harry stared at the floor.

"The guy," He said suddenly. "Was there…did he give any specific reason why he tried to...tried to…."

The shorter teenager finished up. "Just had an agenda against my dad, I guess."

Harry's eyes darted to Peter. He knew immediately that Peter was hiding something, but he didn't call him out on it.

"You almost died, Pete." Harry muttered. "You almost died and ...God…."

Guilt immediately attacked Peter's soul. He didn't think how him dying would affect Harry. Peter, MJ, Gwen, and Eddie were all that Harry had, in terms of a family. What would have Harry done if he lost one of his family members?

Peter sighed. "I shouldn't have let Liz tell you."

Harry shook his head. "No...No. I needed to know. I...want to help. Like Liz does. I want to help."

The dark haired teenager eyed his friend. Than he tossed Harry his shirt back.

The taller teenager accepted it, and slipped it on.

"Are...are you going to tell the others?" Harry asked.

"Aunt May doesn't even know." Peter walked to his bathroom to wash his hands. He kept both doors open as he did so. "Besides, those three are the most impulsive people I have ever met. Could you even imagine what they'd do if they found out?"

Harry eyed him as he returned to the room. "Uh...call the cops, like normal people?"

Peter sighed.

Harry shifted. "Look man, why not ...Okay, you're going to hate me for suggesting this, but why not ask your dad to help you?"

Peter stiffened. "My dad...who's dead?"

"You know who I'm talking about." Harry replied.

The brunette tugged at his hair. "I….He never even ...It's almost been a month, and he hasn't said a word to me. I...I don't see a point in bugging him, yet."

Harry tugged nervously on his shirt. "You know...I've met Tony Stark before. Like...before and after Afghanistan. It was like meeting twin brothers, or something. He was a completely different person, you know? Like...he's a better person. I think he could help you."

A bitter expression flickered on Peter's face.

"Cool, let's toss old Normy to that cave for a few months, than! Maybe that'll-" Peter paused when he noted Harry's cringe. He winced. "I….Sorry, man. I didn't mean that….Like that."

Harry shrugged. He didn't look too pleased with Peter's comment, and Peter couldn't blame him in the slightest.

"Tony's cool." Harry continued. "I think….I think he could help."

Peter stared out the window. "No...That would involve Iron-Man and the Avengers. And that's worse than the police interfering."

Harry sighed. He shifted. "Look, man, I get why you're doing this. Why you want to do it yourself. And if it was me, and I'd probably feel similar to how you feel. But this isn't me. This is you. So I say, you should tell someone."

Peter blinked blankly at Harry. "I have no clue what you just said, but I sense hypocrisy, and I do not appreciate it."

"Dude! I-" Harry rubbed his face with his hand. "Look, I-This isn't a game, man. Your life is in danger. And yeah, I'm offering my help, and I will help you, since you're my best friend and stuff, but...What if you get yourself killed? What than?"

Peter stared at his door. "I'll just have to find out who this guy is before he gets a chance to kill me."

The taller teenager huffed. "Pete, you're being unrealistic."

'No, I'm not.' Peter stared at his hands. 'I just can't tell you all the details. If that guy wasn't threatening me with Liz's life, he'd be toast.'

"Peter, I just….I'm scared of losing you." Harry admitted. "You're my best friend. If you...if you died….."

His eyes began to water.

Peter felt alarmed, and he immediately wrapped an arm around his friend.

"That's not going to happen." The teenager promised. "You're stuck with me until we're both old and gray. Got that, bud?"

Harry sniffled in response. "You better! We're supposed to be roommates when our spouses die and our children abandon us to some retirement home!"

The pair hugged.

Peter chewed his lip.

'I'm doing the right thing.' He told himself. 'I made a promise, and I'm going to keep it.'

It took awhile for Harry to fall asleep, meaning it took awhile until Peter could go out for patrol.

He listened carefully to Harry's soft breathing before carefully crawling out of bed. He grabbed his backpack and gently opened up his window.

Checking the lock, he closed it silently before taking off.

Spider-Man swept through the city, making sure that he was a good distance from the apartment before shouting, "WAAAAHOOOOOOO!"

He swung from building-to-building, and with each stride he made, he felt the metaphorical tension drip out from his shoulders.

The webhead passed building after building, aiming for the tallest one in the area. Once he did so, he landed on a flagpole and closed his eyes.

'Just let go.' Peter told himself. 'Just a little. Don't let yourself get sick…again.'

He furrowed his eyebrows, and focused on slowly allowing his senses to take over. His ears pricked as the city became louder. Peter gulped nervously as he began to feel it. The city, that is.

The vibrations of his city slowly appeared behind his eyelids.

Sweat began to pour down Peter's face as he made sure to not allow himself to feel the vibrations too much. Just that little nibble.

After a moment, he felt a fuzzy outline of the city. He couldn't discern too much. He couldn't make himself do anymore, since this alone felt pretty overwhelming.

Spider-Man took a deep breath, and tried to pick up any disturbances throughout the city. As it turned out, when you live in a megacity, the question is not 'How many disturbances can I find?', but more like, 'What isn't a disturbance?'.

Peter gagged, and closed his mind door shut with a SLAM!

'Well, that was a bust. Guess we're doing this the old fashioned way.'

Spider-Man jumped off the flagpole. He allowed himself to freefall for a second before webbing a building to his left. He did a quick search of the alleyways, trying to find an activity that might keep him busy. So far, all the crooks seemed disinterested in crooking that night.

Peter sighed. 'Great, another bust! I should just go home-'

His eyes darted to something.

Spider-Man grinned to himself and turned around.

He landed silently on a rooftop, as he watched two men muttering to each other.

"-I'm just saying, Marco! The Avengers are out of it tonight! We have free reign over the city!"

Under his mask, Peter's grin grew.

Flint Marco huffed. "The Avengers? You think I'm worried about the Avengers?"

"What? What are you afra-" The unrecognizable voice laugh. "Wait, don't tell me-Spider-Man? Is that who you're afraid of?"

"Me? Afraid of that brat?" Marco growled. "I ain't afraid of him! I'd wring his scrawny neck if I could!"

"'If'?" The other voice mocked. "Just do it, man. I heard that Spider-Man ain't nothing but a little brat, anyways. What could a little kid do to us?"

Marco shook his head. "You don't understand, Gargon. The kid's one of those freaks! A-"

Spider-Man gasped. The crooks jumped, and spun around.

"Flint!" The webhead cried out dramatically. "How could you say that? After all that we've been through!"

Marco blanched.

The new guy, Gargon, was very tall and very muscular. He examined Spider-Man's upside-down form, and smirked.

"God, the boys' weren't kidding." The man sneered. "You're nothing but a little kid playing dress up!"

Spider-Man snorted.

Gargon pulled out a knife, and advanced towards Peter.

"Oh no! Not the knife!" Spidey exclaimed as he webbed Gargon's hand to the wall. "Anything but the knife!"

Gargon's shocked expression was something that Peter would treasure for the rest of his life.

"What is this?!" He shouted.

Marco back away. "I told you! He's one of them mutants!"

"Hey!" Spider-Man let go of the web and landed in front of Marco. "I prefer the term 'superhuman'! Who do you think you are, assuming my species like that!"

Marco looked like he was seconds from running away.

Gargon seemed to have realized that as well, because he shouted, "Flint! Don't you dare!"

But Flint Marco didn't have time to make a choice. A circular, metal disk beat him to it, and clumped him right on his chest.

Marco cried out in pain before being thrown to the ground. Spider-Man webbed him in that spot before he had the chance to recover.

Peter grinned as he picked up a familiar looking shield. He glanced at the rooftop that he used to spy on the two thieves, and sure enough, Captain America was there.

"Spider-Man." Cap greeted.

"Captain Rogers." The webhead greeted back as he glanced at the shield. "Oh! It's round again!"

Cap chuckled as he jumped to the ground. He landed gracefully for a burly man. "It took a lot for it to get to that point."

"Oh yeah! Your run in with that Vision guy!" Spider-Man handed Cap his shield. "It was all over the news! Oh, and that- that thing that happened this afternoon-"

"You mean how I lost my powers?" Cap smiled.

"Yeah! And how you guys destroyed a subway tunnel." Spidey cocked his head. "Is it true that Thor became a human for a quick second?"

Cap chuckled. "Yes. And Iron-Man lost his...intellect for a quick second as well."

Peter's smile dropped at the mention of his father.

"Oh." He replied awkwardly. "That must have been…funny?"

Spidey was pretty sure that Cap raised an eyebrow at that.

"We should call the police." Spider-Man changed the subject.

Cap nodded.

Peter tugged out his burner phone (he had yet to inform May that his cell phone took a dip in salt water) and left an anonymous tip. He and Cap waited on the rooftop before Spidey dropped his note. He waited to make sure that one of the police officers caught it, before he and Cap began to jump rooftops.

"So, what are you doing here, exactly?" Spidey called out as they jumped to one particularly short roof. "Shouldn't you-like-be resting or something?"

"Good never rests, son." Cap replied.

Spider-Man grinned. "Couldn't sleep either, huh?"

They paused on a UPS building.

"No." Cap admitted. "It's a school night for you, isn't it?"

Spidey scoffed. "I'm a college kid, Cap. I don't have a bedtime."

This time, Cap did raise an eyebrow. It was quite clear that he didn't believe him, which made Peter nervous.

"Be-besides," He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I have a lot to think about. A lot of things have happened to me. Too fast for me to really process."

"Oh?" Cap sat at the edge of the rooftop.

Spidey hesitated for a moment before settling next to the older man. "Yeah…lots of stuff. In my personal life, I mean."

There was a pause.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Cap offered.

'Yes.'

"It's okay. You seem to have a lot on your mind, too." Peter replied.

Cap chuckled. "I do, actually. But I've been told that I give pretty decent advice."

Spidey stayed silent.

Cap didn't push him, something Uncle Ben definitely wouldn't have done.

"We aren't sure who the Vision is working for." Cap said suddenly. "Makes me feel…antsy. I'm not sure if it's a new enemy or an older one. Not sure which one is worse."

"Older enemy. Is better, I mean." Peter stated immediately. "Least you know all their moves, and stuff. They stop surprising you."

Cap shook his head. "Not unless they change their strategy."

"But at the end of the day," Spidey replied. "It's still someone who you know. And hey, if you can't fight it out, you can still go out to dinner together and talk about your feelings, and stuff. I feel like you can get to that point when you've been enemies with someone for that long."

Cap chuckled. "Is that how you think supervillains work, son?"

"Probably?" The teenager shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't had a supervillian to call my own, yet."

Cap's joking smile immediately faded. He stared out into the distance. "I think you can wait a bit longer for that, Spider-Man."

"Oh, I definitely agree." Peter nodded. "Fighting the Serpine Society wasn't exactly a party."

The soldier smiled. Relief entered his face. "It isn't. Although, I'm sure members of my team might argue with you about that."

"The Hulk?" Spidey guessed.

"And Wasp." Captain America glanced at him. "Iron-Man, too."

Peter flinched.

Cap noticed. "You don't seem to like Tony that much, do you?"

Peter glanced at his feet. The seeds of doubt began to get watered.

"I don't know him well enough to make that type of call." Peter replied.

Cap didn't say anything for a moment. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nope." Peter replied immediately. "I...What reason would I have to not like Tony Stark? I mean, I admired the dude since I first picked up a screwdriver."

Cap chuckled. "I'll make sure to tell him that."

'Please don't.'

Spidey decided to change the subject. "So, how did Thor react to being human?"

The super soldier definitely knew what Spider-Man was trying to do. But he allowed it anyways.

"Not well at first," Cap admitted. "But he got the swing of things before that situation was solved."

Spider-Man swung his feet. "You make it sound a lot less interesting than it probably is."

"Trust me, son, it was a lot less interesting than the papers tell it." Cap replied. He got up suddenly. "I should head back to the Mansion. And you should probably head back to bed."

Peter snorted. "Thanks, Dad, I'll make sure to brush my teeth, too-"

The two froze.

Under his mask, Peter's face was burning as red as his suit.

"I-Uh...What?...What I mean is….uh….." Peter stuttered.

Oh god, the shocked expression! Peter couldn't stand the shocked expression on the supersoldier's face.

"You know, you're right! I have work tomorrow, and classes-Ugh, so many classes! So-like-yeah, bye, good night, later!" Spider-Man babbled as he jumped onto the roof's edge. "B-bye!"

And with that, he jumped off the rooftop before Cap could get a word in.

A/N: I keep forgetting to promote my tumblr. I'd make a bad businesswoman.

Anyways, it's avigayilrose. Check it out if you want to see re-blogs of cute animals...cause honestly, that's what I mostly do on tumblr.

Any who, thanks for reading, and have a great weekend, my fellow humans!