Everything kind of goes downhill after the bomb. Seventy people injured and twelve dead- one of them being the king of Wakanda. To make matters even worse, the man being blamed is James Buchanan Barnes, Captain America's old friend. It's all anyone can talk about for the next few days.
Peter's practically glued to his phone. He chats constantly with Ned and with anyone who will listen. He even reads out loud to Darwin, who, admittedly, is grateful he's being kept in the loop. He's curious about all this drama.
Captain America is arrested soon after the bombing in Vienna for trying to protect his friend. Then, literally the same day, Barnes escapes custody and Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson go missing.
'Everything's a mess,' Darwin thinks as he walks with Peter the next day, 'I hope they can fix this without anyone else dying.'
He and Peter are currently on their way to the dumpster behind a tech company. Peter likes to root through the trash occasionally and see if he can find something he can tinker with. His boy's obvious intelligence makes Darwin's heart swell with pride, so he's happy to accompany him and keep watch.
(He also likes to think he's helping further Peter's intellectual growth).
The dumpster is full, so Peter roots around it for a few minutes. He eventually makes a noise of disappointment and pulls away.
"Nothing good this time, Darwin," he says, disgruntled.
Darwin tilts his head and then notices something underneath the dumpster. Crouching down, he reaches underneath with his snout and grabs it. When he turns around, Peter instantly perks up.
"Hey, a DVD player!" Peter takes it from his mouth and scratches his head fondly. "Good find, buddy!"
Darwin wags his tail happily.
When they walk back to the apartment, they notice a particularly fancy car parked in front. Peter stares in awe for a few moments, then takes out his phone.
At Darwin's questioning glance, Peter shrugs sheepily. "What? Ned would love to see this!"
After snapping a pic, Peter readjusts his backpack and leads the way into the apartment. He hums along to the music in his earbuds during the elevator ride, fiddling with the DVD player in his hands. As they walk towards their door, Darwin picks up a new scent.
'Hmm,' the dog thinks, 'May must have a visitor.'
"Hey, Aunt May," Peter says as he walks in, immediately taking off his backpack.
Darwin pads after him but stops in the living room. May is sitting on the couch with Tony Stark. Like the Tony Stark. The one that's famous, the one that's Iron Man, the one that's… currently involved in a superhero scandal. Darwin narrows his eyes suspiciously.
'What's going on here,' he thinks.
May smiles at Peter, who hasn't noticed the billionaire's presence yet, and asks, "Hey, how was school today?"
"Okay," Peter replies distractedly as he walks through the kitchen, "There's this crazy car parked outside…" He finally sees Tony Stark and he stops, his eyes widening.
"Oh! Mr. Parker," Stark says casually.
Peter, looking bewildered, takes off his headphones and stammers, "Um… What-what are you doing...? Hey! Uh, I'm-Im-I'm Peter."
"Tony," the man replies.
"What are… what are you-what are you doing here?" Peter stutters, smiling nervously. Darwin silently slinks over to his side as Stark replies.
"It's about time we met."
Next to him, May mouthes to Peter 'What the fuck?'
"You've been getting my emails, right?"
'No, he hasn't,' Darwin thinks.
It's clear that Peter doesn't know what he's talking about, but then Stark winks (or tries to considering that he has a black eye) so he replies, "Yeah… yeah."
"Right?"
"Regarding the…?"
May steps in and says, "You didn't tell me about the grant."
Eyes lighting up, Peter nods. "About the grant."
"The September Foundation," Stark adds.
"Right."
"Yeah. Remember when you applied?"
"Yeah," Peter replies.
'No,' Darwin thinks, 'I don't remember him applying to that. Probably because he never did.'
"I approved," Stark continues, "So now we're in business."
May pouts and says exasperatedly, "You didn't tell me anything. What's up with that? You keeping secrets from me now?"
'Oh, if only you knew.'
"Why, I just, I just . . . I just know how much you love surprises, so I thought I would let you know…" Peter trails off, not knowing where to take that, but then switches the conversation back to Stark, "Anyway, what did I apply for?"
"That's what I'm here to hash out."
"Okay. Hash, hash out, okay." Peter's looking a bit more unsure now. Darwin stands as tall as he can next to him and glares at the man. Despite how cool and calm Stark seems, Darwin can feel the tumulting anxiety and frustration the man is feeling on the inside.
'What's going on here?' Darwin nearly growls.
Stark glances at May begins to compliment her appearance, so Peter holds up a hand. "Let me just stop you there." When both adults look at him, he asks sheepishly, "Is this grant, like, got money involved or whatever? No?"
Darwin nearly rolls his eyes and Stark replies, "Yeah."
"Yeah?"
"It's pretty well funded. Look who you're talking to." Turning to May, Stark asks, "Can I have 5 minutes with him?"
As soon as May says yes, Stark gets up and Peter leads him into his room. Darwin brushes past the man before he can close the door behind them. He looks briefly surprised, but then closes the door and, after a moment, locks it.
Darwin was already on edge, but that nearly makes him raise his hackles.
Turning to Peter's trash can, Stark spits and mutters, "As walnut date loaves go, that wasn't bad." He glances at Darwin, who's standing in front of Peter protectively, and says, "Loyal dog you got there, kid. Whoa, what do we have here?" He notices Peter's collection of old computers and various trinkets, "Retro tech, huh? Thrift store? Salvation Army?"
"Uh, the garbage, actually," Peter interrupts, feeling very on edge.
"You're a dumpster diver."
It seems that Peter's finally had enough, because he says, "Yeah, I was . . . anyway, look, um, I definitely did not apply for your grant."
"Ah-ah, me first," Stark says, "Quick question of the rhetorical variety." He pulls out his phone which proceeds to project a video of Spider-Man swinging by and stopping a car thief. "That's you, right?"
Peter tenses up. "Um, no-what do you-what do you mean?"
"Yeah. Look at you go." The video then shows Peter stopping a car from hitting a bus, "Wow! Nice catch. 3,000 pounds, 40 miles an hour. That's not easy. You got mad skills." He puts the phone down on the desk.
"That's all- That's all on YouTube, though, right?" Peter stammers through lies and Stark gives him a look, "I mean, that's where you found that? Because you know that's all fake. It's all done on the computer."
"Yeah, yeah," Stark says, glancing around the room, seemingly looking for something. He glances up at the attic and Darwin tenses up. "Oh, you mean like those UFOs over Phoenix?" He pushes the attic open with a broom and Peter's suit falls out. Darwin leaps up and catches it in his mouth before Peter or Stark can grab it.
Peter freezes as Stark gazes at the suit triumphantly. He turns to Peter and the boy stutters, "Uh… that's a…" He trails off, knowing it's futile.
Stark pauses for a moment before approaching Peter. "So. You're the . . . Spider . . . ling. Crime-fighting Spider . . .you're Spider-Boy?"
Peter folds his arms petulantly and mutters, "S-Spider-Man."
"Not in that onesie, you're not."
Now Peter looks like he's starting to get irritated. "It's not a onesie." He walks past Stark and grumbles, "I don't believe this. I was actually having a real good day today, you know, Mr. Stark. Didn't miss my train, this perfectly good DVD player was just sitting there and… Algebra test. Nailed it!"
"Who else knows?" Stark asks, "Anybody?"
Peter glances at him and looks away. "Nobody," he says, then adds, "Well, except for Darwin." At Stark's raised eyebrow, he nods to the Wolfhound, "The dog."
"Of course," Stark says dryly, eyeing the suit still in Darwin's mouth, "But not your unusually attractive aunt?"
Peter frowns. "No? No, no. If she knew, she would freak out. And when she freaks out, I freak out."
As he talks, Stark turns to Darwin. His hand reaches out for the suit, but Darwin growls softly. He glares at the man. 'Try it.'
Stark seems to get the message, because he quickly retracts his hand and settles for sitting down and simply looking at the suit.
"You know what I think is really cool?" He interrupts Peter and gestures to the suit, "That webbing. The tensile strength is off the charts. Who manufactured that?"
"I did."
"Climbing the walls, how you doing that? Adhesive gloves?"
Peter glances away and murmurs, "It's a long story, I was, uh…"
Stark, however, is more distracted by the suit. Darwin doesn't have a good grip on the mask, so he manages to tug it away from him and fiddles with the goggles. "Lordy! Can you even see in these?"
"Yes, yes, I can! I can," Peter snaps, walking over and tugging the mask away from him. He grabs the suit from Darwin as well and puts both in his hamper. Turning back to Stark, he continues, "I can-I can see in those. Okay? It's just that… when whatever happened, happened … it's like my senses have been dialed to eleven. There's way too much input, so… they just kinda help me focus."
"You're in dire need of an upgrade," Stark says bluntly, "Systemic, top to bottom. 100-point restoration. That's why I'm here." Peter walks over and sits on his bed, looking at the man. Sensing his boy's anxiety, Darwin lies down next to him on the bed and puts his head in his lap. Peter immediately starts running his fingers through his fur anxiously. Stark eyes that with a hint of curiosity before asking Peter, "Why are you doing this? I gotta know. What's your MO? What gets you outta that twin bed in the morning?"
"Because…" Peter mumbles, kneading his dog's fur, "because I've been me my whole life, and I've had these powers for 6 months…" Stark hums to encourage him to continue, "I read books, I build computers . . . and-and yeah, I would love to play football. But I couldn't then so I shouldn't now."
"Sure, because you're different." Stark nods.
"Exactly," Peter says, "But I can't tell anybody that, so I'm not." He holds the man's gaze for a moment before looking down at Darwin. He thoughtfully rubs his ear between two fingers, clearly pondering about what to say next. After a moment, he glances up and says in a softer voice, "When you can do the things that I can, but you don't… and then the bad things happen... they happen because of you."
Darwin glances at Peter, noticing the hint of grief in his eyes. 'He must be thinking about Ben.'
Stark also looks slightly affected by Peter's words. After a pause, he asks, "So you wanna look out for the little guy? You wanna do your part? Make the world a better place- all that- right?"
"Yeah, yeah just looking out for the little guy," Peter agrees earnestly, "That's-that's what it is."
Stark gets up and walks over to the bed. He glances at Darwin. "I'm gonna sit here, so the dog's gotta move."
Darwin gives him a deadpan look.
However, Peter starts nudging him and he begrudgingly shifts so that Stark has enough space to sit at the edge of the bed beside Peter. Stark raises a hand and hesitantly clasps Peter's shoulder.
"You got a passport?" He asks.
Surprised, Peter replies, "Uh, no. I don't even have a driver's license."
"You ever been to Germany?"
"No."
"Oh, you'll love it."
"I can't go to Germany!" Peter protests.
"Why?"
Peter hesitates and replies awkwardly, "I got… homework."
Stark rolls his eyes and stands up. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that."
"I'm-I'm being serious! I can't just drop out of school!" Peter argues.
'It's nearly finals,' Darwin thinks, agreeing, 'Not a good time for a trip. Besides, I don't trust this guy.' The man's emotions aren't betraying any ill intent, but that doesn't mean he still can't get Peter into trouble.
"Might be a little dangerous," Stark says as he walks to the door, "Better tell Aunt Hottie I'm taking you on a field trip."
Instantly, Peter gets up and webs the man's hand to the door. There's a tense moment, and then Peter says, "Don't tell Aunt May."
Stark lifts his chin and nods. "Alright, Spider-Man." There's a brief silence, then he asks, "Get me out of this."
"Sorry, I'll get the…" Peter darts over to his desk to get the web dissolver. As he removes the webs, he asks, "So, what do you need me for?"
"I'm sure you've heard the news," Stark replies as he pulls his arm away. He plucks stray web strands from his suit as he idly says, "I'm gonna bring Cap and his buddies in, but I might need some backup."
"Backup?" Peter echoes before nodding seriously, "Okay, okay, so there's gonna be-"
"If all goes well, there won't be any actual fighting," Stark interrupts, "You're more of a… safety net, I guess. In case things do go south. I'll fill you in on everything later. I'll be having my driver Happy pick you up tomorrow morning to take you to the jet."
"Jet?" Peter repeats, glancing up, "Like-Like a plane?"
"How else do you expect to get to a country across the ocean?" Stark raises an eyebrow.
"Well, I mean, I, uh," Peter stammers nervously. He glances back at Darwin, who pads over to his side and licks his hand. The hand pats his head, and then Peter says, "I'm gonna need to bring Darwin." At Stark's questioning look, he hesitantly adds, "He's my, uh, support dog." He's nervous, as if he's afraid of Stark judging him.
A flicker of surprise passes over the man's face before his expression smoothes out. He shrugs casually and nods. "Alright, no problem. But, he can't come with us when we go after Cap-"
"Oh, no, that's fine!" Peter laughs and scratches the back of his head nervously, "He always stays behind when I go out as Spider-Man anyway, so… yeah, he'll be fine, it's cool."
"Good." Stark nods. "Happy will pick you up at 6AM, so be ready."
"I will," Peter says, "Thank you, Mr. Stark."
"Thank you."
They shake hands and then Stark walks into the living room and proceeds to tell May that Peter has an internship and he will be taking him on a retreat for the next couple of days. May is excited to hear that and, once Stark leaves, asks Peter question after question to which he quickly makes up lies.
Darwin can't help but feel dreadful. It seems like Stark is just using Peter to help dig him out of the hole he dug for himself. Not that what happened with Barnes was his fault, but Darwin would rather keep Peter as far away from this superhero scandal as possible. Things must be particularly bad if he needs a fifteen-year-old's help to solve his problems.
Peter seems anxious as well, and as soon as May steps out to pick up food from a restaurant to celebrate, he begins ranting to Darwin.
"Oh my God I can't believe this this happening, bud," Peter exclaims, pacing restlessly, "I mean, he just showed up and like basically asked for my help. He knew I was Spider-Man! How'd he even find out?! Well, he is a genius and has a lot of resources so it probably wasn't that hard for him but- I just can't believe- I mean, what the fuck?"
'Language,' Darwin mentally scolds.
After a few minutes, Peter exhausts himself and he drops to his knees to hug Darwin. "Man, I am so glad he's letting me bring you," Peter exhales nervously, "I'm gonna be freaking out- I am freaking out. I just can't believe…" He trails off when Darwin licks his ear comfortingly. Grimacing, he pulls away and wipes it with his sleeve. "I hope you do well on planes," he mutters, then freezes, his eyes widening, "Oh my God. I hope I do well on planes. I've never been on one before! Are they scary? I mean, they can't be that bad, people go on them all the time! Oh, but they're probably loud, that's gonna kill my ears…"
Peter continues ranting wildly for the next few minutes and bounces his leg nervously throughout dinner. May assumes it's because of excitement so she doesn't mention it but instead tells Peter how proud she is of him. Later that night, Peter hardly sleeps, and so Darwin hardly sleeps.
At one point, Peter grabs his Spider-Man suit, and Darwin think, 'Nope, not tonight, kid.'
The Wolfhound tugs the suit out of his hands and growls when Peter tries to take it back.
"Oh, you're probably right," Peter sighs, "I should save my strength for tomorrow. Don't want to risk getting injured tonight."
Darwin sighs as well. Eventually, Peter does manage to sleep, but the dog stays awake, his mind racing with worry. For once in his life, he can relate to Peter's favorite Star Wars character, Han Solo.
He has a bad feeling about this.