Buried Energy

By: ChryslerBuildingFeathers

Chapter One:

Lab Day

Tony stood, mouth agape, and stared in awed silence at the whirlwind ripping through his lab.

Machinery everywhere had come to life, fabricating, mixing, and processing. Blueprints were scattered across the floor. DUM-E hid in the corner. Were those.. Fresh drones? Flying through the air?

The chaos was boggling, and bouncing eclectically through it all was none other than the tiny unassuming kid he'd picked up from Queens: Peter B. Parker.

"...Peter?" Tony called, when his voice finally came back to him.

The kid froze for a moment, then pulled out an earbud and turned.

"...Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"What're ya up to, kid?"

The boy's eyes widened comically, and he tilted his head sideways as he looked up toward the billionaire. Briefly resembling a dog who'd caught the word 'walk.'

"You really want to hear about it Mr. Stark? You won't be annoyed?"

"I- Of course. That's why I asked ya' Peter."

Peter's eyes grew even wider, and a rush of happiness washed over his entire face. Tony's curiosity grew.

He'd known the kid for a few months now, mentoring him on all the ins-and-outs of the hero business. Basic first aid, de-escalation techniques, how to console victims and avoid collateral damage - All the important stuff people don't consider when they picture crime fighting. Peter took to it like glue.

After all that hard work, Tony thought the kid could use a day to relax a bit. He knew Peter liked science, so he thought he'd show him around his personal lab. Maybe let him play around with it some.

Unfortunately, after giving his brief tour, he got called away to a business meeting. So he'd turned to the kid, told him "Go crazy," and left. Which brings us to now.

And the biggest smile Tony Stark has ever seen directed toward him:

"IwascheckingouttheHolodesignerandInoticedacoupleblueprintsyou'dstartedbuthadn'thadtimetoworkonandIrealizedthereweresomegreatwaystorefinethemsoIdidand-"

"Kid, I'm listening, but I do need you to breath-"

The kid startled, paused, then took a deep breath.

"S-So, anyway, I did the blueprints and then they reminded me of this idea I had for a web bomb. See, I wanted something with more concussive force to break up larger groups, like one of your repulsor blast settings can do- and then I realized it could be way more effective if I used webs! But the fluid formula would need changed so-"

"So it can be properly distributed by the blast and not immediately solidify into one connected chunk." Tony interrupted, nodding along with the boy who was now jumping in place.

"OH MY GOD, YES, EXACTLY!"

"That's really cool, Peter. Do you mind if I look over your work on the blueprints while you continue your web bomb project?"

"Of course not! Does that mean I can get back to it now, Mr. Stark?"

"Go for it."

Tony smiled and chuckled lightly at Peter's enthusiasm as he glanced over all the notes and design changes. These.. Weren't new ideas he'd had.

These were projects he'd worked on for months. Only, better. Scribbled all over with improvements he wanted to kick himself for not coming up with before. On top of that, the coding had been completely reworked and made more efficient than ever.

Tony barely even recognized or understood the chemical formulas Peter had fixed for medicine that'd work on Steve's super-metabolism; but Fri's simulations deemed them successful.

Was Tony's brain.. Broken? How had he never realized this before?

Somehow, it came completely out of left field. He'd seen the kid solve puzzles before, and heard him mention his love of tech and chemistry. How he'd come up with the web formula himself, how he'd gotten into a stem school on an educational scholarship. Casual background information like that. This though?

He needed to call May, he needed to call the kid's school, he needed to tell Pepper about this.

The words found their way out his mouth before he could even process them:

"Kid, I knew you were smart, but you never told me you were a genius!"

The room went strangely, completely silent.

Tony glanced up from the holotable, confused, and saw Peter had frozen. His face was completely flushed, and his eyes were.. Watery?

"I- I've gotta go, Mr. Stark, sir. I-I'm late for- Late for- yeah. Bye!" The kid stuttered, and then promptly turned on his spidersuit, and jumped out the window.

Chapter Two:

Conference

That.. Was weird.

Even for a kid who's half spider.

Tony sat awkwardly in place as he watched the kid swing away.

"Did that just happen?" He asked his now empty lab.

The lab did not respond.

Tony's never been the best at social interactions, but he could've sworn everything was going well. The kid was excitedly talking up a storm, jumping all over the place, and then he just. Left?

Was he bashful? Embarrassed?

"Hey Friday, 'genius' is still a good thing, right?"

"It appears so, sir."

"..Hm. Do me a favor and call Pepper, will you?"

"Right away, boss."

…

"So he's a genius?"

"I mean, I haven't exactly had him tested, but yeah. It looks like it."

"And he.. Reacted badly to this?"

"He literally jumped out a window when I told him." Tony laughed, half painfully.

"Well that's not good. I can't exactly say Iʻm surprised at the news, but-"

"Pepper, I think he's smarter than me. And he didn't even *say anything* about it. Why wouldnʻt he say anything about it, Pepper? We talk about being nerds all the time, but never- Did I do something wrong?"

Pepper paused, thoughtfully.

"I don't think so Tony, but maybe- He might be.. I think you should ask May about it."

"May, huh? Alright, thanks Pep."

Friday ends the call, and Tony is about to make a new one to Pete's Aunt, when he pauses. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices a large red schoolbag. Peter's schoolbag.

Maybe this conversation would be better in person?

###

The next morning, after a brief text to May, Tony drags Happy away from his office and nervously begins the ride to Queens.

Something about yesterday just won't stop nagging at him. It really shouldn't be a big deal, it was just one awkward conversation. Maybe Peter just panicked? Or got too excited and needed to swing out the excess energy? He had been hopping around and speaking a million words per second, after all.

But actually, it wasn't just yesterday, was it? The more Tony thought about it, the more he realized this wasn't just a one time thing. Strange pieces of otherwise inane conversations shifted uncomfortably in his head.

Peter suddenly freezing when Tony entered a room.

Peter flinching when Tony turned up his radio.

Peter stifling himself when Tony was sure the kid knew more than he was letting on..

They were all part of a bigger picture. One Tony couldn't put together just yet, but could feel pressing just beneath the surface.

Itʻs a bright and sunny Sunday, and traffic is impressively calm for New York. Happy sends pointed glances at him through the rearview mirror. Tony ignores him.

After a long, weird silence, the bodyguard's will finally breaks.

"Something wrong with the kid?"

Tony sighs.

"Happy, did you ever notice how smart Peter is?"

"Well yeah Tony, he does go to a fancy STEM school."

"No, I mean.. What do you think of him? How would you describe him, to someone that doesn't know him?"

"Well, I don't know, Boss. He's a weird, kinda nerdy kid who's always got way too much going on."

"Weird how, though, Happy?"

"...What is this about, Tony?"

Tony's really not sure.

Their conversation is cut short as they finally pull up to the Parker's rundown apartment building.

Chapter Three:

Secret

Tony shuffles awkwardly in place after knocking on the Parker's apartment door. He'd come here with a forgotten backpack and a plan, but now that he's here..

He's not completely sure how to go about this. He knows he comes off as overly-blunt and rude even after years of Pepper's coaching, so maybe this isn't such a great idea after all. What if he ends up making things worse?

Regardless, May answers, and he can't exactly back out at this point:

"Hey, Tony, come on in. You can just set Peter's bag on the couch by you. Coffee?"

"No thank you, May. Actually, I wanted to ask you about something-"

"I kinda figured you weren't here just to drop off a bag."

Tony chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, um, actually I had a question? About Peter?"

"Yes?" May sat down on the chair across from him, expectantly.

"Did you know.. Er, that is to say. Is he-" Stark has been making public announcements and addressing important business partners since he was sixteen. Puzzling together a simple question should not be as hard as it is proving to be for him right now.

"Tony?"

"Why is Peter hiding that he's a genius?" He rushes out at last.

She looks at him blankly for a minute.

"Peter's hiding what..?"

"He's a genius. Come on, surely you've noticed."

"Now I know Peter's smart and all, but really-"

"Peter Benjamin Parker is a complete and certifiable genius in every sense of the word. He doesn't even have to process most things, May, he just intuitively understands! I haven't met anyone like him since, well. Since me."

There is an awkward and unexpected silence over the room. Peter's guardian is looking at Tony like she's just seen a ghost.

Then, finally, she lowers her gaze toward the ground.

"...I was afraid of that." She quietly replies.

"Afraid?"

"I always knew there was something he was holding back. He'll start talking sometimes, and his eyes will spark so bright! And he'll slip into vocab words I don't even recognize while getting excited about chemistry, or physics. And then, suddenly, he'll just stop. He'll blink, frown, and withdraw for some reason. I always thought it was grief, keeping himself from getting too happy."

"So he's even been hiding it from you."

"Have you talked to him about it?"

"I noticed, and when I tried to tell him how smart he was, he completely rushed out on me. Jumped out a window, even."

"I'll never get used to that." May said with a laugh.

"So what do we do?"

Chapter Four:

Reveal

Originally, their plan had been simple: Tony would spend more time with him for the next few weeks, casually introducing more complex concepts into his conversations with the kid. May would quietly investigate Peter's teachers and grades to make sure everything's okay for him there. Perhaps subtly question Ned and MJ on it as well.

Don't mention the situation until Peter does.

Simple, solid, and as it turns out: Completely unnecessary.

Because on day two putting it into action, while Tony was alone in his lab, Friday received an emergency signal from Peter's rudimentary suit A.I.

Who, as it turns out, Peter had secretly turned into a full-blown A.I. named Karen.

"Mr. Stark, I have deemed it necessary to inform you Spider-Man has been cornered with blackout protocol in place. Please come as quickly as possible."

That didn't sound good. Not the least of which because Tony had no idea what this custom protocol was, or why this situation warranted an emergency. Maybe a stealth mission gone wrong? Regardless, Tony rushed out in his Ironman suit with barely a second thought. It was a dark, noisy night in the city, and Peter's tracker was staying firmly in place on the map.

As Tony approached, the noises only grew louder. Sirens. Lots of sirens.

If it were possible for him to start flying even faster, he would be.

###

At last, he's got Peter in his sights. Or at least, he thinks he has. On top of an apartment building's roof, three gunmen were surrounding and shooting at one giant ball of webbing. Webbing exactly where the emergency signal traced. Tony landed in-between the thugs and the ball with a loud thunk.

"I've heard of people having bad reactions to spiders before, but this is ridiculous."

The gunmen around him startled, before quickly turning their fire toward him.

"You know, those guns really should've come with a safety course. Don't you know shooting metal causes-"

One of the thugs fell to the ground and screamed, clutching his leg.

"-bullet ricochets?"

The others quickly lowered their guns and looked at each other nervously. Tony didn't waste any time before repulsor blasting them unconscious.

Then, he slowly approached the web.

"Spider-Man? Hey Spidey, you in there? Friday, please alert Karen that I've taken out the surrounding gunmen and that it's safe for the kid to come out now."

There was empty silence for a while, before, finally, a slight shifting in Peter's nest. A few more minutes of quiet rustling, and then the young spiderling's head cautiously popped out.

"Hey kid? You okay?"

Tony couldn't see much with the mask in the way, but Peter looked pretty spooked.

"Spidey?"

The peter slowly, carefully stepped out of his web. Only to completely leap onto Tony at the sound of a loud clang nearby.

"...Alright kid, let's get you out of here." Tony shifted Peter so he was safely positioned for the ride, then flew him gently back to the tower.

###

When they got back to the tower, after a quick once-over to make sure he really hadn't been hurt, Peter locked himself in his room. The kid still wasn't talking, and looked.. Angry. At Tony, or Karen, or himself, was unclear.

Friday had already notified and updated May on the roof situation, and about the kid's silence. Unfortunately May was in the middle of a long night shift, so she wouldn't be able to come check on him herself until morning.

Tony was worried.

When he asked Karen what blackout mode was, all she was allowed to tell him was that it's a safety protocol Peter had made. She wouldn't say anything about Peter's silence, how the roof situation had come about, or why Peter had turned her into a full A.I. in the first place.

He was almost tempted to try hacking into her file system, but decided to save it as a last resort. The last thing he wanted was for Peter to shutdown on him even more.

So, with no other choice left, he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Four hours later, restless and about to check if Peter had actually just gone to sleep, Tony heard the quiet creak of a door opening. The kid crept out into the hall slowly, wincing at his own steps. Finally, he reached the living room, where Tony had been watching from the couch, and waved shyly:

"H-Hi, Mister Stark." His voice was hoarse, and nearly a whisper.

"Peter, what happened out there?"

Peter crossed his arms in front of his chest nervously, and quickly stuttered. "S-some guys got the- the drop on me. That's a-all."

Tony raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.

"They got the drop on you. With your super senses? Come on kid, I know that's not the full story. What's really going on?"

"I-" Peter huffed with frustration. "You weren't supposed to find out."

"Find out what? Is this about that whole secret genius thing, Peter? 'Cause I promise, there's nothing wrong with-"

"No!" Peter cut him off. "No, it's not about being smart. It's-"

Tears streaked their way down his face as his mouth searched for words. "I..I'm broken. I'm broken and I don't think I can ever be fixed."

Tony stood frozen, stunned. What does this mean? What's been going on behind the scenes for so long that it led his kid to this point? A million possibilities flicker through his brain, but the pieces all feel too jagged and warped.

"Kid. Peter, come here. Please, come sit down on the couch."

Stiffly and silently, the kid obeyed.

"I'm gonna go make us some hot cocoa, and then we can talk about this more. Do you want your aunt here?"

"No." Peter responded with the most exhausted whisper Tony had ever heard.

"Alright, that's okay. Wait here, I'll be just a minute."

Chapter Five:

Unraveling

Tony Stark you sunnova bitch.

You just had to go and get yourself a little protégé, didn't you? Less than three years ago, you were partying it up, having a grand ol' time, enjoying all the irresponsibility in the world.

Now?

Now you care about silly things like Feelings and Not Being An Alcoholic and Taking Care Of Your Pseudo-Son. Ugh.

And the worst part? You can only blame yourself.

And you already wouldn't trade this for anything.

###

Tony rubs slow hands over his tired eyes with a long, breathy sigh as he waits for the kettle to reach a boil. May and Pepper have long impressed upon him the importance of having comfort beverages for serious conversations, and this one's shaping up to be a long one.

He doesn't even have to look to know that Peter's fidgeting anxiously on the couch in the other room.

After carefully pouring two steaming mugs of hot cocoa topped high with whipped cream, Tony sends a quick text to Pepper ("Serious talk with kid. Emotional backup appreciated. Please standby.") and heads back to the living room to sit on the couch next to Peter.

"So, kid. Who do I need to have murdered?"

Peter chokes on his drink and splutters.

"Nobody! You shouldn't k-kill anyone Mr. Stark!" He bursts between coughs.

"Ah, right, right. Death is too easy, they need to suffer." Tony nods consideringly as he pats Peter's back.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter cries out, exasperated.

Tony takes a long sip from his mug. His customly monogrammed "Iron Dad" mug. His customly monogrammed "Iron Dad" mug that was jokingly gifted to him by Rhodey for Father's Day. 'Jokingly'. His paternal instincts have never been stronger; and Pepper would be very amused.

"Talk to me, Peter. What's blackout mode, why the secret genius thing, and where did this idea of you being 'broken' come from?"

The kid's eyes glue themselves to the floor.

"I'm. Um. I'm not.. Normal?" Peter half mumbles.

"Well, you are a genius half-spider after all." Tony agrees.

"That's not. Well.. I was like this before the bite."

"Go on?"

Peter takes a slow, deep breath, then lets his whole body deflate with it.

"Everything is. Loud. All of the time. The noises are loud, the lights are loud, the feelings are loud." He turns to Tony. "Too loud."

"And now, I've got super senses, and it's a thousand times worse! I can hear Pepper's heart beat upstairs, Mr. Stark. I can hear the flow of blood pumping through your veins. I can feel each individual molecule of moisture in the air rubbing against me right now. If I focus, I can smell the family two blocks down having pizza."

"Oh kid-"

Tony has always known about Peter's enhanced senses, that they help him find crimes to stop and follow evidence trails no one else can. But he's never stopped to consider what that would actually mean on a whole-life scale. The full implications of what kind of hell that would be. God, how does Peter make it through a school day?

"But that's not even the biggest problem." Peter's voice cracks with stress. "No, I can usually ignore the worst of that if I try hard enough. The biggest problem… is that I can't control myself."

"Control yourself?" Tony asks.

Peter abruptly stands.

If just getting him to open up about the loudness was hard, this seems like it's gonna be moving up to Peter Parker grad school. The kid shifts, rocks, paces around the room, finishes his cocoa, makes more cocoa, and generally does anything he can do to dodge further addressing the situation until Tony breaks the silence again.

"Listen Peter, I'm not gonna be mad, or judge you, or anything like that. And you're definitely not broken. But I need to know what's going on, okay? You're my kid, and I care about you. And I want to be able to help you when you need it."

Peter's movement comes to a sudden halt as he turns back toward Tony.

"I'm your.. You really mean that?"

"I- Well, yeah. Pete." He continues nervously. "You're already on the will and everything."

"Oh wow." Peter mumbles under his breath as his face turns an embarrassed red. Tony does his best to keep down his own emotional awkwardness and panic.

Peter slowly, cautiously brings himself back down onto the couch.

"...Okay." Peter says weakly.

"Okay...?" Tony asks.

"Yeah." Peter sniffles. "It's just. Feelings, right?" Tony nods for him to go on.

"When I have.. feelings. They're loud too. They're so loud, it's like they're trapped inside me and trying to explode! I can't make myself sit still, or think through everything that's happening, and. Sometimes, when everything is too loud, I can't speak at all."

"So you made the blackout mode to help quiet things down?" Tony guesses.

"Y-yeah."

"Alright. And the hiding how smart you are?"

"It's- My brain. My brain gets stuck on stuff when I get excited about it. I get stuck on stuff, and can't stop talking about it or thinking about it, no matter how hard I try. Like physics and chemistry. It's frustrating and annoying and it makes people hate me."

Tony gives that thought a moment to settle, and Peter a chance to catch his breath, before finally responding:

"I don't think anyone worthwhile could ever hate you, kid."

"Well of course you're saying that now, but-"

Tony cuts him off by waving a hand in his face.

"Nu-uh. I'm saying it forever, kid, and I'm gonna buy you a new super-expensive lego set every time you try to argue otherwise."

"But-!"

"Ah-uh, one new Lego Star Destroyer coming right up. In fact, maybe I should throw in another set for you believing that junk in the first place-"

Peter huffs.

"So," Tony begins again, "Why haven't you told your Aunt May about this?"

"How did you know I-? Ugh." Pete turns away again.

"Peter-"

"It's just." He sighs and mumbles. "Ididntwantobedoubleorphaned."

"What was that?"

Peter sighs even louder. "I didn't want to be double orphaned, okay!? I knew there was something wrong with me, and I was already such a big burden on aunt may, so I didn't want to cause any more trouble!"

"Oh, Peter."

Tony can't help himself. Personally, he blames the mug. Tears fill his eyes as he leans over, wraps his arms around the kid, and pulls him into the greatest bear hug the world has ever known.

Peter yelps with surprise. But slowly, carefully relaxes into Tony's hold.

###

Later, when Pepper quietly peaks in to check on them, she finds the two half asleep still holding each other.