I am so so so so sorry! I know I was supposed to update yesterday but I was sick (still am, bleh) and I'm sorry. But it's here now and I'll shut up so you can go read now.

Chapter Nineteen: Science Bros

"That's the guy my dad never shut up about?" Mr. Stark sneered as he started back up where he left off on the nearest screen. Dr. Banner left his scanner tool and the magical scepter-thing alone to work on a different monitor across the room, almost as if he was trying to get away from the tense atmosphere. Which left Hiro and Spider-man himself by the glowing blue jewel. "Wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice."

"Hmm," he hummed noncommittedly. "You were a little harsh."

"I don't think so."

"That's 'cause you're you," Spidey brushed his fingertips towards the former playboy. "And he's not."

"And thank God for that," Dr. Banner commented almost inaudibly, though the teen caught it and snickered.

"What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing."

What's wrong with you?

What's wrong with you?

The little voices in the spider's head had whispered in his ear, the inklings, the little thoughts of doubt, that he couldn't do anything right. That everyone around him died because of him. Something wrong with him. They were right. No, he couldn't do that right now. Right now, he was talking to two of his idols and he was having an intelligent conversation where he was making a point. "Think about it this way. He just woke up from a seventy-year or something siesta and everything's different. The only thing that's the same that he's been exposed to is the military structure. Dr. Banner! Remember what he said on deck? When you asked him if it was pretty different?"

The tanned scientist glanced back over his shoulder, not expecting to be included in a way that mattered. "Uh, yeah. 'Well, this is actually kind of familiar.'"

"Exactly," he snapped his fingers and pointed while feeling an awful lot like his freshman history teacher during a lecture. "And then you come along and you're asking him to question the only thing he feels he can trust anymore. Everyone he ever loved is gone and dead, and S.H.I.E.L.D. took him in. You want him to disobey them. You get that now?"

"So, you're on his side?" Mr. Stark glowered pettily.

"No," the boy superhero cocked his head to the side. It was odd, how experienced and how untainted he seemed at the same time. "I'm just seeing things from his side. Personally, I think you're more right than him." Spider-man stopped talking and slipped fluidly back to the counter he set his bag on, hoisting himself up with ease.

They really didn't know how much he related to the "everyone's dead and gone" part of that impromptu speech, or if they did, they weren't saying anything. They were all gone. Everyone. Because of him.

What's wrong with you?

At some point, Hiro had jumped down from his head, sometime before his "owner" had tilted it. Now he was sitting rigidly by the golden spear, glaring at the object with hate as if it had personally offended him.

"Guy's not wrong about Loki," Dr. Banner filled the silence as he adjusted the settings, "he does have the jump on us."

"What he's got is an ACME dynamite kit," the other adult revised, back to his sarcastic self after their heavy moment of thoughtfulness. "It's gonna blow up in his face, and I'm gonna be there when it does."

"I'll read all about it," the hardworking mutate agreed.

"Mhm, or," Mr. Stark objected, "you'll be suiting up with the rest of us."

"Now, you see I don't get a suit of armor. I'm exposed, like a nerve, it's a nightmare."

"Hey, I don't have armor," Spidey told him lightly from his seat on the counter. "I run around in this sweatshirt the whole time, you're better off than me. I'm not bulletproof." Apparently, the arachnid was back to his perky self – they could hear him faintly humming Titanium under his breath after that last comment – and it was shocking how quickly he could change back and forth. At least one of them was beginning to think that he was bipolar. Behind the walls of his mindscape, Peter forced himself to put up the cheerful front.

Yes, well, I have a reputation to maintain, don't I?

Can't let them think anything's wrong. Nothing's wrong, nope, not with him!

"You—" the former CEO started.

"Are a crazy person?" Spider-man jumped in eagerly. "Yes, I am, thank-you-very-much!"

He shook his head a little at that and turned back to Dr. Banner. "You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart. This stops it." A finger tapped the circular light of the arc reactor, a little pinging noise sounding even through the shirt that drew Hiro's attention just for a split second as Mr. Stark walked over to the other side of his fellow genius' clear data monitor. "This little circle of light. It's a part of me now, not just armor. It's a terrible privilege."

"But you can control it," came the dead statement.

"Because I learned how."

"It's different."

"Hey," he said forcefully, swiping away all the work to the side of the screen. They had full views of each other now. "I read all about your little accident. That much gamma exposure should've killed you."

"So, you're saying that the Hulk—" He stopped uncertainly, neither of the men noticing the full attention of the teenager they were getting, though the gaze was light and sympathizing. "—the Other Guy – saved my life? That's nice. That's a nice sentiment. Saved it – for what?"

"I guess we'll find out."

"You may not enjoy that."

"And you just might."

"Awa, bonding time!" from somewhere he had been sitting upside-down on the ceiling, the webbed superhero flipped down and pulled each of them to the side of the touchscreen in a slightly awkward hug since he was shorter than the both of them. Without the wide lenses, they could see a happy sheen to his rich brown eyes that crinkled at the corners with a wide, beaming smile they couldn't see.

He laughed, but there was a reflective quality to the joy in those eyes, a darker secret hidden below the surface that no one except Hiro knew and no one except that brilliant kit could catch more than a passing glimmer of before the young hero let them go and pulled the goggles back down again, shutting them out. His arms un-looped from around their shoulders when he saw the quiet cheerfulness on Dr. Banner's face and the clear enthusiasm from Mr. Stark, a little unexpected, but real and grateful on behalf of Bruce. "Science bros forever!"

"Hey, that's actually good!" the eccentric billionaire chuckled.

"Excuse you!" he replied with faux hurt and more excitement to falsify it. "I'll have you know I've come up with a number of good ideas in my life!"

"Then what happened to your name? I mean really? Spider-man?"

"It was the press I tell you! The press! I blame Jonah for everything!"

Sorry, I know this one was terribly short compared to all the other ones, but I thought about combining it with Chapter Eighteen, but then that one would be ridiculously long and run-on, so how about I just promise a better next chapter, okay? And that way y'all won't kill me and lock my soul in the Fields of Punishment. Deal? Deal.

Well, we got deep into poor Peter's self-doubt and self-hatred, but the chapter ended on a sort-of silly note. I just thought that 1) the chapter was terrible, so I went back and added some of his thoughts on the matter (I legitimately have no clue what the POV was supposed to be in this chappie, sorry) and 2) Peter was being a little mopey or too serious in some of these interactions, so I decided to give an actual reason besides the fact that they were talking about a serious topic.

Final poll results are as follows: A/N's will be sticking around and updates are being shifted to once a week Tuesdays.

'Til a hopefully better next time! (I mean, I better make Chapter Twenty a good one, I've never made it up to twenty chapters before now)

Lucky

To winfield56: Well I'm glad it was still interesting.

To Dylan-A-Friend: So do I! Thanks a bundle, Dylan, you just gave me a great idea for a scene later! :)

To Hexal: Animagus-type stuff will be in here somewhere, might take a while, though.

To The Red Dementor: Oops. Well, it said it was posted to my profile but who knows. I'm new to all this, thanks for rolling with it.

To Vladimir Mithrander: Oh yeah, that scepter will be getting some attention later, trust me. And I am all too happy to grant your wish! No way in Tartarus that Civil War will happen! Canon can go screw itself when I'm involved. But I suppose this means you're in support of a sequel at some point?...

To budhayes: 1) I legit hadn't realized that my story was up to 40,000 words. 2) … yeah, that's mostly how it goes. Peter and Hiro don't have much of an effect on the plotline of Avengers, and I'm sorry if that's not what you were looking for. To be honest, this portion of the story won't appear to have much effect until later.

To Merlin (Guest): No prob! And I really couldn't tell, you're perfectly fine!

To Sis (Guest): Are you psychic?! Half the stuff you just mentioned happens later on! Mind. Blown. ;) But in all seriousness, thanks for the feedback. I'll keep it in mind for the future.