Looking back, the first thing Peter should have done when he got back into the Spider-Man suit again was go after Toomes. It was probably one of the few things he could change. He almost felt a little dumb for not thinking about it earlier.
And now that he had realised and decided that he should do something about it, he was left with a predicament. He had two options about how to proceed.
Firstly, he could do it himself. He knew about Toomes. He knew all the details of the weapons ring. But what he didn't know was where he was right now. It was quite a few months before he had found out about Toomes in his universe. Theoretically, he could be anywhere in New York.
On the other hand, he could send the information, or part of the information, to Nat and the Avengers. They would be able to find him and gather the proper information required to arrest him along the way. Something Peter didn't have.
When he had left Toomes to be arrested, there was evidence all around him about Toomes being responsible, the rubble around him made it obvious along with the Stark plane footage. And though Peter could probably get it done faster, the Avengers would get it done lawfully. Or as lawfully as you could get as a team of superheroes.
As Peter walked down the street away from the bar, he made his choice. He would call Nat. Something old him wouldn't have done.
When he first became Spider-Man, he longed to prove himself. He thought that the only way he would gain people's respect was to take down the big bad guys, people like the Vulture. And though people were always grateful for that, he had learned long ago that what he people really want is a small town hero helping the little guy. A friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man that was around to keep the everyday evils of the world at bay. To protect the average citizens.
People loved the Avengers and respected what they did for the world, but they also wished they were around to stop the everyday muggers and attackers. People wished they didn't only show up when the world was ending. They never saw what the Avengers were doing behind the scenes. They just wanted to be protected. Which Peter could understand, which was why Peter became Spider-Man in the first place. To help the little guy.
But now, he knew he didn't have to have the glory of a public victory to be a hero. In fact, Peter was perfectly happy to give that to the Avengers and stay small time. Like he used to be. Like he always planned to be. True glory came from helping day to day. From seeing the relief in people's faces when you arrived to save them. He didn't need warriors' pride from defeating his enemies. He wanted the protector's happiness from helping people. He understood that now.
Knowing he didn't have a phone to call from, Peter walked up to a pay phone on the side of the road and dug into his pockets, pulling out the number from Nat and a few coins he had left over from his blanket purchase. Putting in a few coins, he dialled the number and waited for it to ring.
ring
ring
"Hello?" Natasha's calm voice came through the speaker of the old phone.
"Ms. Widow?" Peter asked to confirm, even though he knew it was her.
"Calling already kid?" She cheekily asked, Peter could almost hear the subtle grin and quirked eyebrow Nat probably had on her face.
Ignoring the joke, Peter spoke seriously, "Adrian Toomes."
There was a beat of silence in which neither of them spoke. Peter worried that the call had ended for a moment before Nat spoke up.
"I'm sorry?" She asked.
"There is a man called Adrian Toomes. Look into him," Peter repeated slowly. His voice never wavering as he spoke.
"Is he part of the weapons ring?" Nat asked, searching for more information.
"If I'm right, then he's the head," Peter confessed. He couldn't make it seem like he knew everything, that would be suspicious.
"Ok."
"Ok?" Peter questioned, his voice turning breathy for a moment.
"We'll look into it," Nat said.
Peter just nodded to himself as he responded with a short, "Good."
"Can I get a name to put to your face, or should I keep calling you "the kid" to the team?" Nat asked slowly.
Peter thought for a moment about how to respond. He wasn't close enough to Tony for him to mention his name, possibly the two super soldiers had. Peter couldn't risk them finding out the kid they knew was all the same person. Eventually, he found the name for him to use.
"Ben. My name's Ben."
With a tinge of subtle happiness, Nat ended the call with "Thank you, Ben."
He didn't want to be a hero like the Avengers. He wanted to be a hero like his uncle. There for the people.
Maybe taking his uncle's name would help him remember that.
———-
Peter was beyond excited when Tuesday rolled around. Not only did he get to do some training, but Wade was back. Which put a spring in his step as he walked to work early to begin another training session. He had slept better than any other night in the last few weeks with his new blanket and working heater. It felt like he was sleeping in a furnace in the best possible way.
Some small part of him wished he was still in bed instead of walking around the frozen streets of New York. But the larger, louder part of him was too excited about seeing Wade again to care about that right now.
Peter all but rushed into the bar, which with the amount of time he had been spending there, started to feel like a second home. He quickly waved at Weasel as he sprinted out back into the makeshift training room. Only to be faced with an empty, silent room.
From behind him, a voice called out, "I was going to tell you before you rushed passed, Wade had to deal with someone, he will be here in a few minutes. Told me to tell you to warm up, kid."
Peter whipped around to see that the voice belonged to the bar's owner, who was leaning against the doorway with his hands at his sides.
"Oh," Peter said awkwardly, "thanks."
With a nod, Weasel made his way back out to the bar. Leaving Peter alone in the empty room. Well, there was no point in wasting time now. Even if his teacher wasn't around.
Walking over to the cupboard on the left wall and grabbed out the boxing tape to wrap his hands. Carefully copying the technique Wade had used last week. Pausing for a moment to remember what to do next, before finishing and taking off his hoodie and putting it off to the side. Walking over to the punching bag that was hanging not too far away.
He set up his stance and started with a soft punch to prepare. Fixing his technique slightly, he hit a little harder. With progressing force, Peter took more punches at the bag. His back foot twisted with his punches giving him more power behind each moment. He felt like he was full of grace. His body and mind synching up and making him feel at peace. Which was probably weird considering he was currently punching a punching bag. But he felt like he was in a state of tranquillity.
The last time he felt truly at peace though, was back before Spider-Man. Before his uncle died. Back in the day, using a camera Ben and May had got him for his birthday, he would take pictures of the world around him. The beauty he saw in the world. He would go for long walks around the city just to capture a few perfect shots of the world he lived in. Maybe once he was more stable, he could save up for a camera again. Maybe.
As his body fell into the simple rhythm of punching the bag, his mind began to wonder.
Peter's life was repeating. He was going after old foes, like the Vulture, all over again. Things he never thought he would have to deal with again, becoming his top priorities.
Wasn't he ruining Liz and her family's life all over again? He felt bad enough doing it the first time when he didn't know what it meant for her. Now that he knew the effect it had on her family, Peter couldn't get the thought out of his brain. He knew it was the right thing to do, telling Nat about Toomes. That didn't mean he didn't feel bad. But it was his job to save the people, not the person.
Sometimes Peter had to remind himself of that.
The fact that you can't save everyone. That he couldn't save everyone, even if he tried. Did that make him a bad person? The fact he wasn't good enough to save everyone who needed to be saved. Or that him saving people ruined the lives of others.
Surely someone who was a truly good person wouldn't think they were a bad person. A truly good person wouldn't interfere in the lives of others. They wouldn't be failing at trying to stop Thanos like he was. If he was good he would be stronger. If he was better Tony would still be around. If he was good enough he wouldn't have had to be sent back in time in the first place.
Peter's punches quickly became more frantic, no longer was he focusing on controlling his strength or perfecting his technique. His mind had spiralled too far into his thoughts to focus on the physical world around him.
Why did he always ruin everything?
punch
He had already been here for weeks and all he could change was one weapons deal?
punch
Pathetic
punch
Why can he never let himself be helped?
punch
Why can't he let himself be weak?
punch
Maybe he was afraid of people seeing the real him
punch
Maybe he was just scared of the truth.
punch
Before he realised it, Peter's hand stopped in the air where the punching bag used to be. With the bag slumped against the wall, sand flowing out of it. Again. He needed to stop letting his thoughts get the better of him.
"Someone's in a mood," Wade called out from the doorway where he stood leaning against the frame.
As Peter turned around and was met with the sight of his friend, all the tension drained from his face. Replacing the contemplative stare with a small grin.
"Hey Wade," Peter greeted, "No, sorry. Just got distracted for a second."
Nodding, Wade changed the subject "So, I've been hearing a lot about a certain spider themed hero swinging around."
"Oh, have you now?" Peter responded, unsure of what Wade had been hearing. Was he disappointed that he hadn't done anything big yet?
"Yeah, you've already got a lot of the people of the city on your side. I guess the people will always be on the side of a local hero helping the people."
Peter just smiled as he adjusted the wrapping on his hands.
"I heard about what happened at the dock."
Peter stopped as Wade said that, looking up at him slowly, waiting for him to continue.
"Good job, I'm proud of you. You're doing good, kid. Stay safe, yeah?"
Peter couldn't help it, he didn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.
—————-
"Is that all for today, Dr. Miller?" Tony asked as he closed the document he was looking at.
"I believe it is, Mr. Stark, although I have one more thing to ask you," The doctor continued, speaking in a calm, collected manner.
"The floor is yours doc," Tony said sarcastically, but in good humour.
With a small smile, she said, "I heard you have taken one of the interns in as your personal intern, Mr. Parker."
"Indeed."
"I'd like to express my delight, he is incredibly smart. I believe he may even be smarter than many of the people in this building if encouraged to pursue his studies."
"I'm inclined to agree," Tony commented, subconsciously looking over where Peter worked the other day.
"He even aced the entry test. The others who got in only got around 70% correct on the test," Dr Miller continued.
"So I've heard," Tony began, "I wish I could have been there to see his answers."
"Well I have all the tests of those selected into the program somewhere in my office. I can get my assistant to bring Mr. Parker's up to you tomorrow." She offered.
With a moment of thought, Tony decided, "Perfect, send it up to me tomorrow. Is that all, doc?"
"Yes it is, Mr. Stark."
As the lady left his lab, Tony looked back over to Peter's desk. It was empty now, of course. Yet despite their interaction being only small, he almost missed Peter working away in his spot. It was surprisingly comforting to have Peter around. Tony couldn't put his finger on it.
It just was.
And whatever "it" was, was perfect.