Yo, congrats to the one or two of you that commented thinking it was Ironman.

If Spider-Man were in a movie, he probably would have woken up in a start. His eyes would have flew open, stirring up rod-straight and gasping. Maybe he would have quickly scanned his surroundings and assessed for any danger. He would have been instantly wide awake and ready for anything...

This wasn't a movie. That reality was much different. When Spidey woke up, it was in an extremely groggy manner. His eyes creeped open, only to slam shut when he found it to bright. He hadn't even twitched to sit up. Plus, he was anything but wide awake. All he wanted to do was curl up on the soft mattress and fall back into a deep sleep for the rest of eternity.

Wait a minute...

Mattress? The last thing Peter remembered was falling from the helicopter. How did he end up on a bed? This was probably a good time to open his eyes now.

The teen was extremely relieved when he opened his eyes to find himself looking through the lenses of his mask. At least his identity seemed safe so far. The room he was in looked like a normal bedroom, with a dresser, desk, closet, night stand, and, of course, the bed. It was also void of any personal objects. No pictures, posters, or personal trinkets. Just common needs. It gave Peter the impression of a hotel room.

The vigilante crawled out of the covers and slid off of the bed.

"Good morning, sir."

Peter jumped so high he hit the ceiling and clung to it. The male voice seemingly came from nowhere.

"W-Who are you?" Peter's voice cracked.

"I am the personal AI of Tony Stark's creation, but you can call me JARVIS. I have informed Mr. Stark of your awakening and he will be here shortly." Said the robotic English butler voice that was JARVIS.

Peter was awestruck. He knew self-operating AIs existed, but he never thought he'd have an up close experience with one. Not only was it an AI either, but it was Tony Stark's-

Wait, Tony Stark? And He's gonna 'be here shortly'? It didn't take a genius like Peter to figure out where he was. At that moment, Spider-Man knew he should get out. This was a huge risk to his secret, assuming it even still was a secret. He couldn't be in Stark Tower. Or now, as they call it, Avenger Tower.

"Um, thanks, JARVIS, but there really is no need for me to see your boss, but tell Mr. Stark thanks for the hospitality and everything, would you? Anyway, I really should be going. Places to be, things to do. You understand, right?" Peter walked over to the wall with all the windows on it, attempting to pry one open. It wouldn't budge. Peter inspected the windowsill, only to discover an electronic window lock.

"JARVIS, could you unlock the window for me?" Peter absently asked the AI as he looked closer at the lock.

"Actually, JARVIS, don't do that. I've got a couple important matters to discuss with the kid. I'm sure he can spare a bit of his time." Peter spun around to the new, though familiar, voice in the room. He hadn't noticed the owner of the building open the door before.

"Mr. Ironman- er- Mr. Stark!" Peter fumbled, "Uh, hi?"

Tony leaned up against the doorway, a lazy smirk on his face. "Hey, I see you're finally up. You had us worried for a moment there. Bruce was even considering bringing in an IV drip to keep you hydrated."

"Umm... how long was I out?" Peter didn't like the sound of needing an IV.

"Well, you passed out Friday evening, and now it's Sunday morning, so just over a day. You hungry? We can talk more over Breakfast." Mr. Stark offered.

Spidey had been about to decline, but he was interrupted by his stomach grumbling its protests. Peter blushed, not that the other in the room could see.

The smirk Mr. Stark was sporting widened. "I'll take that as a yes. Follow me." The man turned around, motioning the teen to follow.

"Thanks, Mr. Stark." The hero walked behind the older meekly.

"Oh, and do me a favor, cut the Mr. Stark bit. Mr. Stark was my father. Call me Tony." The billionaire grins and leads the teen past what appeared to be the living room and into a large, open kitchen.

"Ever had a cronut before?" Tony asked while opening a breadbox.

"No... what is it?" Peter had never heard of a cronut before. It sounded like an exotic tree nut.

"It's basically a croissant doughnut. Want to try one?" Now he had pulled out a small white box and was lifting the lid.

"Sure, thanks." Peter still wasn't sure what his place was with the hero, or how he should act. This made him extremely nervous. If there was one thing his aunt had taught him, it was always know your place. Spider-Man was stuck in unknown territory.

When the "cronut" was placed in front of him, Peter pulled up the bottom half of his mask and picked it up, taking a tentative bite. He wasn't sure he really trusted Stark, hero or not. Then again, the man had given him a place to stay while he was unconscious. Peter didn't wanna seem rude by refusing to eat due to misplaced distrust. Besides, you know what they say, if he was eating poison, he might as well lick the plate. That applies both literally and figuratively here.

Speaking of his unconsciousness...

"Mr.- erm- Tony, what happened? How did I get here?" Spidey spoke after he inhaled the rather good tasting cronut.

"I could ask the same of you. Mind telling me why I had to save you from becoming a Spider-Man sized splat on the cement? Which, to answer your question, was right before you fell unconscious and I had to take you back to my tower to see if you were alright. What did you do? Prick your finger on a magic spindle? Don't tell me you dreamed of kissing a frog to wake you up." Ironman leaned on the island counter across from Spidey with an amused smile.

"Okay, one," Peter held up a finger, "Those are two very different fairytales. Two, I probably wouldn't have died, even if you hadn't gotten me, with my powers and all. Three, um, thanks." Spidey finished off.

Tony huffed. "Sure, Spidey, anytime. Seriously though, what happened out there?"

"Oh," The younger hero scratched the back of his head, "Remember those guys from that parking lot a couple of days back? They chased me around in a helicopter, drugged me, took me into said helicopter, and I escaped, to keep a long story short."

Tony sighed and scratched his chin in though, "I had a suspicion it would be them, but I was hoping it wouldn't. Truth is I was actually looking for you when I found you falling from the sky. I wanted to warn you of the possibility of their interference. Seems I was a little late though, huh?"

"Wait, you knew they would attack me? How?" Peter raised a brow.

"It was less of a 'know' and more of an educated guess. They guys who tried to capture you had Hydra insignias, but they weren't technically Hydra. They are actually just private weapons suppliers for the big guys up top. They are more of a side branch, really. Thing is, every private company desperately wants the attention of Hydra, so naturally, they want to make something big enough to be really noticed. If they make something good, they'll no doubt be promoted big time. This particular branch we are dealing with happen to have lots of resources and a plan. We suspected that if they would go through the trouble to get you in the first place, they probably won't give up so easily." Stark explained.

"So, what your telling me is a power-hungry, weapon-supplying branch of Hydra is hunting me for God knows what reason." Peter asked as he held his head in his hands . Just the thought of how exhausting all this would be made him tired.

"Well, we do have some idea, actually. Genetic experimentation, most likely." Tony nodded as he stated the fact bluntly.

This time Peter's head hit the island counter with a soft thud. He groans in exasperation. "Experimentation: that's a word I don't like. Right up their with root canal and broccoli. Sounds like my kinda party."

Tony chuckled and patted the teens shoulder, "Don't worry, kid. We'll protect you from the big, bad Hydra wannabes until the whole business is sorted out. Besides, I bet hanging with the Avengers is a hell a lot better than school."

Peter froze. School? Why did he mention school? Did Ironman know about him being underage? "What do you mean?" Spider-Man asked, hoping the question didn't sound too suspicious.

"You know, college. There's no way you're over twenty-three." Tony eyed him as if confirming with himself his deduction.

"Right, college. I don't have to worry about that too much. We're on break." Peter went along with Tony's theory. Better to give himself a believable cover now rather than later.

"Break? But it's only April." Tony raised a brow.

"Spring break." Peter amended.

The elder man nodded. "Right, Easter and all that jazz. Anyway, back on the topic at hand-"

"Tony, who are you talking- oh. You're awake? That's good." Bruce Banner walked in carrying a cup of coffee. "Are you feeling any unusual side effects? Dizzy? Nauseous?"

"No, I'm fine. A bit unfocused after waking, but it seemed natural. Um... you're Bruce Banner." Peter nearly smacked himself as the obvious after-statement slipped out. Spidey couldn't help it though, he was in awe. In front of him was one of the greatest role models in science he had ever had.

Bruce chuckled, "That's right. Seems your perception is fine. Let me guess, fan of the big guy?" His grin grew mirthless as he seemed to get lost in thought for the briefest of moments.

"No, no! I mean... sure, the Hulk is cool and all. Not a huge fan the whole 'Smash everything' routine since it's pretty dangerous for the innocents, but the Jolly Green Giant is still pretty sick. That's not really why I know who you are though. I was more referring to the work you've done in genetics. Um... you've been a role model of mine for years. I wrote a paper on your work in Gamma radiation once. There's even a poster of you on one of my old science teacher's walls. You're up there with all the greats: Einstein, Newton, Darwin, Curie, Galilei." The teen explained awkwardly.

Banner gave the web slinger a shocked look, "You've seen my work?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "We're forgetting the important thing here: why the hell was I not mentioned when you were listing off 'the greats?'"

"Uhhh..." Spidey trailed off uncertainly.

"Probably because you're not that great." A smirking Hawkeye dropped out of the air vent above the fridge. "All those other guys actually made big discoveries in chemistry and physics. You just build high tech tin cans."

"That is so not true!" Tony pouted, crossing his arms. "And how long were you up there eavesdropping on us, anyway?"

"Long enough to know our theory on Hydra wannabes attacking was correct. And I wasn't eavesdropping. You were just talking very loudly while I happened to be relaxing in the vents above the kitchen." Hawkeye defended.

Tony rolled his eyes and spoke sarcastically. "Right-"

"The Hydra theory was right?" This time it was Captain America walking in with a long-haired, dark looking man.

Tony looked like he wanted to scream. "For Pete's* sake, can I have a conversation without everyone in the tower interrupting?!"
*LOL GET IT?

Meanwhile, Spidey is internally freaking out, though not for the reason one would think. Sure, it was cool he was in a room containing several of the world's greatest heroes, but there was one little, tiny, itty-bitty issue that concerned Peter far more. He was in a room full of strangers. He didn't know them enough to trust them. He didn't know what they did or how they reacted to things they didn't like. He didn't know his place.

Always know your place here, runt.

"Hey kid, something the matter?" Over the arguing voices came the low, vaguely curious voice. The man that Peter couldn't recognize had been staring at him and must have noticed his change in mood. The question from the normally stoic solider must have caught the attention of the others as well, for now they were also silent.

"Yeah." Spider-Man answered simply.

There was a moment of uncertain silence before Tony cleared his throat, "Anyway, as I was saying, it would probably be best if Spider-Man stay in the tower until we've located and neutralized the threat. That is, unless you want to go out there and get your a-, sorry Cap, I mean butt, handed to you again, web-slinger."

That made Peter nervous. Live in the tower? Even if it was only for a short time, it was a huge danger to his secrets. The hero was now much more grateful for having the idea to put that tracer in the helicopter.

"Actually, that won't be necessary." The wall-crawler began, "Before I fell out of the copter I planted a spider tracer in it. Wherever it went, I can find it."

"Hey, great thinking there, Spidey!" Hawkeye exclaimed, slapping the teen on the back. Spider-Man stopped the flinch. "So, how are we gonna get the info. You have like a tracking device that will lead us to your tracer or something?" Clint continued.

The younger scratches the back of his head. "Well, actually the location sends directly to my computer... And the technology is too primitive to intercept the transmission, so I'll have to go get my computer to download the information on something more portable."

"Great, we'll go get the computer now so we can come up with a plan to best shut down their operations a soon as possible." Tony clapped his hands and rubbed them together with a grin.

"What do you mean 'we'? I can't take you to my place. I've got a secret identity to keep!" Peter argued.

"It's too dangerous for you to go alone. You barely escaped unscathed last time. If they attack you again not only might they get you but we wouldn't have the coordinations to find you." Bruce interjected.

"Not to mention there's not much worth in a secret identity if you've been captured and experimented on. They would most certainly find out who you are anyway." Captain America added.

"Besides, who would you rather know your identity: the enemy or the ally?" Clint reasoned.

Peter sighed. They did kinda have a point. Besides, it wasn't like he was actually leading them to his home. It was just a random base. They couldn't figure out his identity unless they came while he was out of costumes. It wasn't like he couldn't trust them to respect his privacy, either. The Avenger group had already had the chance to unmask Spider-Man and they hadn't taken it. If that wasn't proof enough, nothing was. It seems the decision was made for him. "Fine, but not the whole team. That will only attract unwanted attention." The teen agreed reluctantly.

Smirking when he got his way, Tony agreed, "Wouldn't have it any other way. Though, if inconspicuous is the name of the game, rather than swinging and/or flying across New York, why don't we take the car?" The billionaire suggested.

Spidey shrugged, "Sure, I guess."

"Good, I'll tell Happy to start up our ride. Wanna be our third wheel, Steve?" Tony joked.

"Uh, sure." the Captain blinked.

"Great, meet you in the garage." With that, Tony left.

There was a moment of silence before, "I'm not a third wheel. I'm a majestic unicycle with noble training wheels." Steve said flatly.

Hawkeye's expression was priceless.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

After driving through the city without incident, Peter directed Tony to one of the more secluded parking spots by the park near his hideout. Conveniently, there was an RV blocking the view of any civilians as they got out.

"A cute as a visit to Central Park would be, don't you think we have bigger fish to fry?" Tony asked sarcastically.

"Of course, but how would it look for Tony Stark to park in front of a house and waltz in followed by Spider-Man and Captain America? People would be more than a little suspicious." Spidey said raising a brow.

"Point taken."

And so, with great care to not be seen, the three heroes, lead by Spider-Man, made their way through the wooded parts of the park and snuck to the backyard of Peter's hideout.
(Don't question it.)

Spider-Man opened the backdoor and as he lead the two Avengers inside he jokingly called out, "Honey, I'm home!"

The backdoor lead into the laundry room, and from there Spider-Man went to the kitchen.

"Spider-Man... Do you live here?" Captain America asked in a little concern. Tony didn't look all to happy either as he lightly prodded a suspicious sounding floorboard with his food.

"Seems a bit... unstable." Tony commented dryly.

"Not really, I just use it as a base." Peter half-lied with a shrug.

"Really, because I don't know about you, but whenever I watch movies heroes usually need a base to keep all their superhero stuff. This seems like a whole lot of space for a whole lot of nothing." Tony said skeptically.

Peter huffed, "Look, I'm just using this place as a temporary solution to a personal problem. It'll work for now. I'm just gonna go get my computer from upstairs. I'll be back in a second." Without waiting for a reply, the vigilante leapt up and wall-crawled up to the room he kept everything in upstairs.

Peter opened his computer to make sure he had gotten the transmission, and sure enough, the screen showed it had been received.

Spidey shoved his computer into its case, then put that into his backpack along with an extra costume he had made awhile back. He didn't know how long he would be at Avenger tower, and had to be prepared. There is only so long one can wear the same suit before it starts smelling rank.

He climbed back downstairs to the two Avengers, who he promptly urged to get going. The trio retraced their steps back to Tony's car. On the way back, Peter noticed Steve seemed to be glancing around as if in search of something. Tony must have seen too, because seconds later the man asked, "What'cha looking for, Capsicle?"

Steve must have not realized how obvious he was being, because the super soldier looked startled by the question. "Oh, well I actually jog through this park around this time every morning. There was this kid I passed by everyday that I met a couple days ago. I haven't seen him since then, so I was trying to see if I could spot him now."

Peter inwardly cringed. Was it too obvious that Peter Parker disappeared right when Spider-Man cam to the tower? He hoped not.

"I'ts probably nothing to be concerned about." Tony advised flippantly as they approached the car.

As they were driving away from Central Park, Tony seemed a little out of it. Peter wondered if there was a problem, but the question on the tip of his tongue was answered by the billionaire's own accord. "Hey, Spider-Man, I know we aren't exactly long-time acquaintances or anything, but if you ever need a place to stay the Tower's always got some extra space. Even if it is only temporary."

Captain America looked a wary, but didn't say anything. Spidey rose a brow, "Isn't it a bad idea to invite an unknown super to live at your building? for all you know I could be some evil operative trying to infiltrate your base."

Tony shrugged nonchalantly, "Normally, yes, but you're a good guy. I can tell, and my read of character is never wrong." Tony looked smug at that while the Captain just looked skeptical.

The teen was silent for a moment. "Why are you so willing to help me?" With all the ease of parking a car in a shoe box, the insecurity slipped out.

Tony rubbed his chin, "Like I said, you're a good kid. You chose to save people when you could have easily used your powers for bad. Not many people would have, and I respect you for that. The good guys gotta stick together, you know? The public sure won't be doing you many favors. just look at Jameson. Besides, those Hyrda pricks messed with one of our own. they gotta pay. It's not like the public police can or will do anything about it, either. some things are just better left to the pros, especially cases concerning such a dangerous group." The older explained.

"Thanks for the offer, Tony." Peter sad after a brief pause, "I won't be taking it, but it's good to know I have support if I need it."

"Oh good, you caught my drift. I didn't wanna say it outright. It would sound too much like a cheesy line in an amateur fan-fiction."

AN: OH, you mean like that entire paragraph of a speech, Tony? Oops, looks like I suck too much at writing to make it readable.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, please comment.

Speaking of commenting, seriously, THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH TO THE TEN OR SO OF YOU WHO COMMENTED LAST CHAPTER! I really, Really love reading all the awesome stuff you say! I'm so glad I can pay you guys back with these updates!

~Sayonara