Alright, this one's a shorty, but that's why it's a double update today. This is just to address something (that I honestly kind of didn't realize until brought up) that should have been.
The doctor had led the group to Peter's room, and allowed them some time, but just before Rita left, she pulled Tony off to the side, a curious expression on her face.
"Is there something that I should know about Peter here?" Tony looked at her, extremely confused.
"What do you mean," the man responded and Rita raised an eyebrow.
"I think I managed to dissuade any others who noticed, but I sure as hell didn't make myself believe what I told the others working on Peter."
"Still not following."
"Peter Parker's healing is off the charts."
"Shit," Tony muttered, running a hand through his hair.
"Mr. Stark, I know that children heal faster than adults, when in good health of course, but Peter's, well, the speed his system works is superhuman. It wasn't entirely noticeable, so I don't think many of the nurses, or the other surgeon, noticed, or if they did, they didn't mention it. There were at least two whom asked if I noticed how Peter was able to somehow remain living after losing, and pardon my language here, a shit ton of blood as well as having shrapnel lodged into his heart and dying not once, but three times. I just brushed them off with a made up excuse, which they seemed to by, but I don't."
"I mean, you said it yourself, Peter's a healthy kid, and he's a kid, so he just heals faster than others I guess. There's nothing strange about that at all."
"It made me think though," Rita said softly, pulling Tony further away from prying ears, which caused the billionaire to become tense. "Peter's 'healing factor' being enhanced and also the amount of muscle on his body, well, it reminded me of Steve Rogers' whole super soldier serum and such. Then, and I believe it's just me, I saw you waiting out here, Tony Stark, billionaire genius, looking for a random fifteen year old kid who happened to be shot. At the time, I wasn't necessarily thinking, but now, now I remember how that Spider-man character showed up like a myth, in a god awful outfit, and suddenly, he has a brand new looking suit and has been seen palling around with none other than Iron Man. Don't get me wrong, but the way people describe that Spider guy make it sound like he's either a small, immature adult, or a kid. It isn't that hard to put two and two together."
All Tony could do was stare at the doctor. She knew who Peter was, but she was apparantly trying to keep it on the down low. The problem Tony saw was that she knew who Spider-man is, and she knew who Peter's family was. Plus, she might not be the only one who could make the connection, or she could accidentally let it slip who he is. This was not good. Tony looked around, grabbed Rita's arm, and pulled her into a nearby, empty room, shutting the door with a click.
"Alright, fine, I would try to deny it, but I doubt you'd believe me. Yes, Peter is Spider-man, but now that you know, this creates a problem."
"What are you going to do, kill me?"
"It depends," Tony deadpanned, causing Rita to roll her eyes. She'd been a doctor for well over forty years now, not counting the years she spent as a resident in Chicago. She had been threatened many a time.
"Look, I get the whole deal of threats, and I know yours probably has some truth behind it, but if you want, I can sign an NDA if you want me too, or mind wipe me, or whatever. I promise I won't tell a soul about this. It was purely accidental that I figured it out. You know what they say about the brain making strange connections," Rita said, trying to assure Tony that she didn't mean harm. The billionaire pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing.
"Look, I trust that you'd keep this contained. For now, let's forget you know anything. Also, is there a more private wing where the kid could be, you know, so he doesn't start freaking out about this whole thing, and if he does, he doesn't make a big scene. That and I have a feeling that the press will be showing up at some point, wanting to get a statement from the 'hero'." Rita nodded.
"My lips are sealed. As for the whole privacy situation, I think I can manage something. After all, he is a hero, in more ways than one, it's just no one knows."
"I'm the only one, besides you and one other, who know exactly who that kid is in there."
"Not even-"
"Not even his aunt, that's May Parker, or Ned, his friend, know."
"Wow, that's, I wouldn't be able to keep it a secret from my family if that was me. Hell, I'd have trouble keeping it a secret from anyone! I'd probably walk over to some stranger, start a conversation, and blurt out, 'hey, did you know I'm that Spider guy!' I don't know how he does it."
"Honestly, I'm not really sure myself."
"What do you mean?"
"Kid's a terrible liar."