Peter just lay on the bed as Dr. Banner just went over all the tests from the machine that he was hooked up to, with Mr. Stark not standing too far behind.
"All the tests are showing normal vital signs with no signs of internal injury." He said as he took off his glasses after going over the reports.
"Did you hit your head or something Banner, you saw what Karen reported to me a heart rate of 176, which would be enough to kill instantly."
"That if Peter was a normal human, but we're talking about a kid whose DNA is mixed with Arachnid DNA, for spiders it's not terribly uncommon for a heart rate to reach 176 if said spider was suddenly in a forced exercise, but otherwise resting heart rate is typically at 138."
Tony just gave Peter a look when Bruce mentioned forced Exercise.
"You can even look at the footage Mr. Stark, I didn't do anything strenuous. It's just been a very off day" Peter said going on the defense.
"Must be a pretty off day, you would've interrupted at 3 or 4 times by now when we were going off the results."
Peter internally sighed, while he knew Mr. Stark didn't mean anything by it personally, he still couldn't help the dread that Mr. Stark still hated him or at the very least only tolerated him because of everything that has happened.
Bruce however just continued "As far as we are aware, there's no one else like Peter in the world, so we have no precedence to go by, so we need to deal with it by a case by case. What might be in normal limits for ordinary people, doesn't necessarily will apply to Peter."
Peter saw Mr. Stark caress his forehead while mentioned about needing a drink
"So that means I'm all good and we can take all this off," Peter said gesturing to the numerous pieces of equipment he was hooked up to.
Bruce just nodded and gestured to one of his co-workers to start removing the stuff as he put the files away "Peter let me just emphasize, I know you think you don't have too much to worry about with your super-healing, but that doesn't mean your immune to everything. If something is wrong, I really would like for you to come to me. From one mutate to another, I understand the struggle."
"Will do Dr. Banner, thank you" Peter said as he got up as soon as the last needle was taken out, and quickly made his way out of the lab with Bruce and Tony just watching him spring away.
He quickly made his way down to the bedroom, Tony assigned to him when he stayed over for lab weekends. As soon as he shut the door, he let out a sigh of relief as he just stood there leaning against the door. He thought that would never end, he was starting to feel like a lab rat. He just couldn't tell Mr. Stark or Dr. Banner for that matter what he saw because he was still trying to process what happened. That Woman with the red trench coat and her meaning that the Metamorphis has begun. Maybe the radiation from the spider has finally started to make him lose his mind, from a couple of years ago.
Peter just shook his head and quickly took a look at his phone which showed that it was already past midnight and that he had a couple of missed calls from Ned. He quickly texted Ned he would explain everything at school in the morning, before heading and laying on the bed planning on waking up and quickly getting out of the tower as soon as he could.
As he flopped on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, he saw a spider just crawling around. Before the accident, he wouldn't exactly say he was afraid of them per se, but the moment he saw one he had no qualms about crushing them. Now though, he felt strangely sympathetic with them and made sure to the best of his ability that if one was found in a public place, he would help it escape so it wouldn't get squashed. It's almost funny how things turn out.
(Lab)
"Oh, come on Bruce, I don't know why you didn't conduct the blood test anyway."
Bruce just looked at Tony incredulously "You know as well as I do, about both the ethical and moral values about taking a blood test against a patient who was adamantly against it. Plus, my job was to assess the heart rate and nothing else. I think you're being paranoid."
"The kid was totally out of it when I got there just staring out into space, should've seen the look in his eyes when he nearly pushed me off the roof, almost like he didn't recognize me. I'm telling you something is up.
Bruce just smiled and laughed a bit "Yeah something is up, and that's called adolescence we've all been there, I'm sure his experience isn't as extreme as yours was but if something is bothering him that's affecting his usual behavior then you shouldn't just jump to the conclusion it has anything to do with his biology. Maybe something in school that's going on and he doesn't want to talk about it, maybe he has a girlfriend who knows? It doesn't necessarily have to do with you."
Tony was about to respond, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a spider crawling on his desk, and automatically took a nearby book and squashed it.
"I swear this is the 4th one I killed in the last day or so. Wonder If they are attracted to the kid or something."
Bruce shrugged but looked interested in the possibility "It's defiantly a theory I've entertained, but with no substantial evidence to back it up, it can only be left as that."
"A lot about that kid is nothing but a theory, every time I think I got him down, then he does a 180 on me," Tony said as he wiped his hand with a tissue before he grabbed the dead spider in it and threw it into a nearby bin.
"Reminds me of someone else I know," Bruce said as he started to shut off the lights.
Tony just rolls his eyes as the two started making their way out of the lab.
(Peter's Room)
Peter was tossing and turning in his sleep, sweating profusely as he did as memories started to fill in his head at such a rapid speed.
Peter was sitting at the dining room table, talking with Uncle Ben about one of his new fixer-uppers he was planning on with all the stuff he had found. Though Uncle Ben wasn't much of a science person, it didn't stop him from being invested and asking Peter constant questions about how it works and all that.
The next memory was him coming home after the spider bite had occurred. He stumbled into the apartment, having to use the walls to keep him upright. He was so close to his bed, he could almost feel the soft mattress/
Ben who was still looking at the paper asked "Hey Buddy how was the field trip at Oscorp, what all did you learn."
"I-It was f-fine" was all Peter managed to get out as he just leaned against the door before starting to make his way to his bedroom, which seemed so far away at this point.
If Peter's tone wasn't enough for concern, then it would've been the fact that Peter didn't go into his usual excitement about all the inventions he saw and all that other science stuff Ben never could quite understand.
As soon as he dropped his paper, Ben looked shocked over how bad Peter looked, he immediately got up and went over to his nephew.
"Jesus Christ, you look paler than a polar bear, and you're burning up," Ben said as he put his hand over Peter's forehead.
Peter tried to play it off but it was obvious he was failing "It's nothing, starting getting sick after lunch. Just want to go lay down and sleep."
"Come on let's go," Ben said as put one of Peter's arms over his shoulder and helped him to his bedroom.
Peter shot up out of bed, panting as he tried to catch his breath. Even though those memories are at this point nearly 2 years old, it still feels so fresh in his mind. Though the dreams were constant when Ben first passed away, they eventually only appeared once in a blue moon. He quickly wiped away a stray tear, as he reached for his phone. He saw it was ten past 5 in the morning, and then he realized why he was dreaming of Ben. It was only 2 weeks away from the 2nd anniversary of his death, he was shocked that he only just now realized. Even with everything going on, his Uncle Ben was never far from his mind, he is the entire reason why he became Spider-Man in the first place.
Peter shook his head, deciding he needed to go back home, and grabbed the school stuff that he left at home before he unexpectedly ended up at the Avengers Compound, and it was over an hour's ride, so he needed to be quick and call an Uber as he didn't want to inconvenience Happy any more than he has. He quickly got out of bed and headed to the show that was conveniently built into the room.
Thankfully, the shower provided much-needed relief for Peter, while he still felt pretty bad though he was confident he can stuff it down as he goes through the school day. He quickly changed into an extra pair of clothes he always kept at the Compound, and quietly made his way out of the room.
Since it was past 5:30 in the morning, he thought he would be in the clear to make a quiet exit since he assumed everyone was fast asleep. He was very wrong.
"Oh hey, Peter. Tony said you stayed the night" the familiar voice of Steve Rogers called out.
Parker luck strikes again Peter thought cringing before turning around to greet the captain.
"Hi, Mr. Rogers," Peter said smiling, hoping his fanboying wasn't too noticeable. Despite what it may look like, he was trying.
"I've told you before just call me Steve. So, what are you doing up this early, from what Tony said you guys got in pretty late."
Peter decided to go with mostly the truth, no need to bring up his dreams.
"Well, I got to go to school later today you know, and I sort of left my stuff back home. So, I need to call an Uber and go get my stuff and catch my bus."
Steve just gave him a look "You know Tony would be more than happy to get your stuff delivered to your school since it's much closer to our place. I mean it would give you more time to have some breakfast before school."
Peter was trying hard to come up with something, but he knew the well-meaning Captain America wouldn't accept anything less than his suggestion that involved breakfast, less he goes to Mr. Stark if he said no.
"Mr. Stark is probably asleep, and I would hate to wake up him for something trivial," Peter said, hoping that would be enough reason to just let him go. Unfortunately, it was at that moment that Tony made his way around the corner, as soon as his name was brought up.
"What's this about me and something trivial, if it has anything to do with Fury, then tell him I'm away for like ever. Don't need to deal with his pompous ass this early in the morning."
Steve looked at Tony "Just talking to Peter about joining us for breakfast before school."
"That's an excellent idea, Captain, we got plenty of food to go around."
Peter tried to protest "But Mr. Stark, I couldn't possibly, I mean my school stuff-"
"Will be delivered to your school and will be waiting for you by the time Happy drops you off" Tony finished for him as he gave Peter you better not even try and fight me look.
Peter knowing, he lost this argument just said "Breakfast would be great, thank you, Mr. Stark."
"Excellent, breakfast will be served within half an hour," he said as he started walking backward before completely turning around.
Peter looked over at Steve, who gave him a small smile before walking over to him and placing his hand on his back.
"Well come on Son, let's go out to the comms room and see what the others are up to."
Peter just gave an awkward smile as he let the captain lead him away.
It was nice catching up with some of the Avengers despite his apprehensions about staying through breakfast. He did get along with all of them for the most part, some he was closer with than others.
They were currently sitting around this long table, with Mr. Stark on one end, and then Mr. Banner on the other. Peter was currently sitting between Thor and Steve Rogers on the left side, with Natasha, Clint, and Bucky on the other side. Some of the other Avengers had prior commitments and weren't going to be back for a couple more days.
"All right everyone eat up," Tony said as several of the cooks came in and sat their plates down of delicious pancakes, hashbrowns, and some other stuff Peter didn't know. It didn't go unnoticed that his plate was just as much as Thor's and Steve's plates, which meant at least 6 pancakes and triple the hashbrowns. He didn't know Mr. Stark was even aware of his metabolism.
Peter just gulped "Um Mr. Stark don't you think this might be a bit much for me, I couldn't possibly."
"Kid, your metabolism is on par if not even more than Cap's here. No way are you going to school with an empty stomach."
Thor then let out a hearty laugh as he started to stick his fork into his pancakes "Yes young Peter, if you wish to be as big and strong as I, then you must eat like me."
He then proceeded to stuff his mouth full of pancakes, causing Clint and Steve to chuckle at the syrup dripping from Thor's chin.
Natasha just rolled her eyes and said "Thor please."
Thor just chuckles as he continues on eating, Natasha then turned to Peter, who was still staring at his food. "Eat, or are you afraid of the food biting you."
Seeing the look, she was giving him, Peter started digging into his food and glanced up and saw the satisfied smirk on her face.
"So kid, how's the new semester starting," Clint asked, noticing how unusually quiet he was before breakfast. Usually, the kid talks a mile a minute, and now it seems they could barely get a sentence out of him.
Peter shrugged "Just normal first back from the holiday stuff, nothing major."
He was about to leave it there until he remembered Anya "Oh wait there's this new transfer student, her name is Anya Soria and she already humiliated a student on her first day."
For the first time probably before the vulture incident, Tony hears a bit of the old Peter, when he mentioned this new girl.
"Did you say her name was Anya Soria?" Steve asked, looking a bit perplexed.
"Yeah, short for Adriana sir."
Steve sat back in thought for a moment before turning to Bucky "The name sounds vaguely familiar; do you have any idea."
"Doesn't ring a bell to me, I'm assuming maybe an S.H.I. .S agent you had dealings with or someone associated with Peggy."
Steve contemplated for a second before accepting that either scenario was more than likely.
"Come on spill kid, tell us the story" Tony gestured, eager to hear the kid keep going.
Peter went on to tell the story of what happened at lunch, albeit the part where he was the kid being bullied, and how she stood up to me.
Natasha looked impressed "Impressive, knows where to hit them where it hurts the most. Both literally and figuratively."
"Yeah, the dirtiest trick in the book, though," Clint said, though he was highly amused himself.
Natasha just smirked "Sounds like, you got something to hide there Barton."
"Shut it, Nat."
As Peter ate, he saw how all the Avengers were laughing and just joking around, like they weren't constantly on deadly missions day after day not knowing if the next day would be their last. Peter couldn't but smile slightly as remembered it was almost how it was like when Ben was still alive. Both his and May's schedules always worked around his, so that way when it came to dinner time, they were both home and they would all talk about their day or do take out and just play random board games. He sees all those good memories, flashing by in his mind's eye, back when life was so much simpler before everything had changed.
"Peter?"
Peter's head snapped up at hearing that oddly familiar voice, and there right in front of his face was Uncle Ben, looking exactly like how he last saw him before the night of the shooting, a face full of worry over all of the changes he had been going through.
"I'm worried about you, what's been going on? Talk to me please."
Peter started choking up "Uncle Ben"
"Who the hell is Ben"
Suddenly the image of Uncle Ben disappears, and for the first time, he was disappointed to see Mr. Stark's face.
"Kid are you all right," He asked looking at his intern very worriedly.
Peter didn't respond, instead, he lifted his hand to his cheek and felt tears running down his face. He then looked around the room and saw everyone just staring at him with worried and confused expressions. He knew he had to get out of the room.
"Thanks for the breakfast, Mr. Stark but I really got to go"
Peter with his quick reflexes quickly got up and bolted out of the room. He just needed to get his thoughts together, and school defiantly would be the place for it, if only for a while until he could talk to Ned privately.
Thankfully, there was little resistance and he was able to get out of the tower easier than he thought he would. He quickly made his way into the already crowded streets of New York and started walking in the direction of the school. He thought it was weird how calmer he was starting to feel, now that he was out of the tower. Out of all the places to be reeling in his guilt and shame of Uncle Ben's death, the tower was the last place he expected to be having all those feelings. It would usually be in the apartment or the site of the murder that this feeling became more pronounced around this time of year. Peter just shakes his head, nothing about these past couple of days was making much sense to him.
He wasn't sure how long he was walking until he heard a car honking at him, at first, he just thought it was Mr. Stark and so he was just going to try to ignore it because he just needed to be alone and get his thoughts in order, but then a female voice called.
"Hey Peter you need a lift."
Peter turned around and saw the car pulling up near him, and from the back seat was Anya leaning just a bit out of the window.
"Hey Anya, what are you doing out here," Peter asked smiling, already starting to feel a bit better.
Anya just chuckled "Going to school, same as you I assume."
Peter's face flushed a bit.
"Come on we'll give you a lift," Anya says as she opens the car door and gestures for him to come in.
"Thanks"
Peter quickly gets in and shuts the door behind him.
"Peter that's Harry, my driver, he's worked for my family for a few years now," Anya said gesturing to the man up in the driver's seat.
Peter does a wave "Nice to meet you and thanks for the ride."
Harry just nods in the mirror "My pleasure Peter."
Soon the car starts merging back in with traffic.
"I surprised to see you up this way, I thought you lived up in the Queens area"
"Oh, I was visiting an acquaintance and lost track of time and just stayed the night"
It was close to the truth that Peter could come to, if he told her that he so happened to be with Tony Stark, she would just laugh right in his face.
"You ok, you seem kind of spaced out," Anya asked looking at Peter with concern.
Peter just took in a deep breath "I don't know ever since yesterday I've been feeling kind of off, especially with 2 nosebleeds in one day, and this morning really started on the wrong foot for an entirely different reason, it's hard to explain-."
Anya interrupted him by putting a finger on his lips "Calm down it's ok, you don't need to explain yourself if you're not ready. I can't say much about yesterday, but today's a new day just because the morning didn't turn out right doesn't mean the rest of the day can't be a fresh new start."
Peter smiled a bit, as he felt his nerves starting to calm down "Thanks, I appreciate it."
"It's what friends are forever after all" Any said smiling as she patted his leg.
