Tony waited inside of Fogwell's Gym, looking at his watch again. It had been three weeks since he started to repeat the routine: he would go to the gym after trying to contact Peter, leave a voice message and wait inside for him to show up.
After what happened to his Uncle, Tony knew the boy needed some time, but if he really wanted to become a hero, he'd be back. Tony checked his watch one last time before suiting up in his armor. But just as he's about to take off through the skylight window, the door creaks open. He turns to see a small but familiar person enter wearing gym clothes. Peter had a big smile on his face and breathing heavily from running over.
"Finally!" exclaimed Tony, feigning irritation towards the boy. "Well, what are you waiting for? This gym won't fix itself!"
And Peter got to work, throwing his backpack on the bench and running over to move some weights. He doesn't see the smile of relief under Tony's helmet.
After a few days spent getting back on track and two more weeks of effort, Peter had finally completed repairing the gym. Tony entered the front door one morning holding a cup of coffee and a briefcase. He stopped and looked around in realization.
The walls were painted fresh coats of yellow and red. The exercise equipment was set up and organized. The lockers were spotless and free of rust. And there, in the middle of the boxing ring, was Peter. He was sweaty and shirtless, but triumphant. He raised his arms and whooped in victory like a boxer who just won the title; he had succeeded.
"Yo Rocky!" Tony called over. "Nice work, this place looks fantastic!!"
Peter turned around, dropping his hands in slight embarrassment, "T-thanks, Mr. Stark. How long were you standing there?"
"Long enough," the billionaire replied. "But hey, you earned the right to celebrate. You've come a long way."
Tony activated his watch, which brought up a hologram of Peter before he began training. Then after pressing a button, a light began to scan the boy. New stats were added to the image and it showed the development of the boy's efforts.
"You've got the body of any Olympic level gymnast," he went on. "And with all the hard work you've done, you really made this Quirk your own. I'm impressed, and kinda proud actually. I'm not used to feeling that in other people..."
Peter blushed, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Plus, you managed to finish ahead of schedule," Tony continued. "I'm sure Hornhead will be happy."
The mention of the hero caught the boy's attention, "You mean Daredevil?"
Tony nodded, "He told me he met you." He lowered his glasses to peer at the boy, "He also told me you were keeping busy with other things..."
The boy looked away slightly, "Y-yeah, it's a long story. I know I'm not supposed to use my Quirk in public without a license. But when I saw what was happening-"
Tony waved him off, "Say no more kid, I get it. That's how we all got started back in the day. Hell, I bet ol' Devilman understands better than anyone."
Peter raised an eyebrow questioningly, "What do you mean?"
"Eh, it's not really my place to say," Tony shrugged. "Maybe ask him about it. But he did have a point, those Tracksuits work for a big guy, and you're not at that level where you can handle it yet."
Peter looked down, "Yeah, I know..."
"That being said," Tony continued. "I'm beyond impressed with what you did at the building fire."
Peter picked his head up, "You know about that too?"
"Kid, there's not much I don't know about," Tony winked. He pressed his watch again, and cellphone video of Peter swinging out of the burning building came up.
"Officially, the Emergency Services don't condone the involvement of an unlicensed vigilante," he went on. "But everyone who was there is glad the Spider-Man saved that little baby."
"'Spider-Man'?" Peter walked closer, looking at the blurry footage.
"Yeah. 'Spider', 'hyphen', 'Man'. That's what they're calling ya, kid," Tony scrolled down the hologram to the video title. It read 'Spider-Man Saves Baby From Fire.' There was over 30,000 views and several hundred comments.
"Whoa..." Peter's eye widened.
"That your costume?" Tony indicated the outfit and mask Peter wore. "Looks like it got pretty charred."
"No it's just... what I had with me at the time," Peter looked a bit embarrassed by the thrown together getup. He also felt a twinge or regret over ruining his uncle's jacket.
"Just as well, I figured you could use an upgrade. Something a bit nicer," Tony kicked over the briefcase. "Your birthday was last week, right? Consider it a belated present."
Peter's eyes widened, "Wait... I-Is this-!?"
"I might've jumped the gun a bit," Tony shrugged sheepishly. "You aren't supposed to have it before you start classes, and that's only if you get in. But after all the hard work you put in, I thought you might like to see it," he finished with a smile.
The boy opened up the case, inside was a brand new costume. "I hope it looks fine," Tony went on. "You seemed to have a primary colors thing going in the video..."
Peter took out the costume. It was red and blue, just like his uncle's jacket. It had a matching pair of red gloves, a red mask with black and white eye lenses, blue pants, and red boots reminiscent of his sneakers.
The boy's eyes filled with tears, "It's perfect..." He turned to his hero and hugged him tightly.
"Oof! Ok, I guess this is happening," Tony said uncomfortably, patting the boy's back a bit so he'd let go. "But remember, you don't get it unless you pass the Entrance Exam. You feel ready?"
Peter nodded, "I've definitely got the written part down. And I feel ready for the physical challenge, whatever that ends up being..."
"Good," said Tony. "Well then, I guess my work here's done for now. Oh hey, that aunt of yours. Is she still working at the hospital?"
"Yeah..." Peter replied.
"I've got a bit of pull down there," said the hero. "I'll see if I can get her a better shift, maybe a raise. It's not much, but she's a single parent now. She shouldn't have to struggle so much. Plus I mean, her kid's more or less my protégé, I gotta make sure he can stay focused and not worry about his family."
Peter goes in for another hug, but Tony held out an arm. "Ah-ah, we're not there yet. One was enough," he said.
Three weeks later, Peter left the building where took the written test of M.A Entrance Exam. He managed to answer everything and he figured that aspect would be no problem. But the written test only counted as one tenth of the final result, so it only helped those who barely reached the minimum. Not by much, but it helped.
Now, the practical test was the one that really counted, which everyone really trained for. That's what everyone who showed up were the most nervous about. Peter stopped when he arrived at his destination; he was in front of the gate at M.A. The huge building completely glazed on the outside, it housed the most promising future heroes from all over the world.
He was one step away from realizing his dream, everything seemed to have happened so long ago. Carnage, Iron Man, the spider, Uncle Ben; those past six months had been more than he ever imagined he'd have to endure. But Peter was determined to make it all worthwhile, he would fulfill the promise he made towards his uncle.
Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice, "Hey, Wall-Crawler!" The boy turned to see none other than Flash Thompson. He wore an athletic outfit with a Midtown hoodie, and the expression on his face was one he usually wore during football games. Peter knew he meant business.
"Oh. Hi Flash..." he said, unsurprised to see the boy there. Peter was anticipating an unpleasant encounter with his old classmate. But things didn't quite go the way he expected.
"How's your Aunt? You both alright?" Asked Flash, uncharacteristically genuine.
"Um, she's ok. We've both been going through a lot lately..." Peter replied.
The blond sighed, "Yeah, I get it. My Mom died when I was two, but... I know what losing a parent feels like."
Peter nodded, "Thanks."
Flash looked the boy over, "You figure out how your Quirk works?"
"Mostly. Still a few bugs to work out," he replied, not intending the pun.
"Good," said Flash, getting in his face, "Because this is the last bit of sympathy you get from me. Once it's test time, I'm leaving you in the dust." His game face was back on, and a few black tendrils wiggled from his back.
Peter grinned with determination, "I dunno, I might be fast enough to keep up with you now, Eugene."
Flash smiled darkly, "Well look at that, Puny Parker's managed to grow a pair along with his Quirk. See you inside..." He bumped into Peter's shoulder as he walked by.
"And there's the Flash we all know," Peter rolled his eyes slightly and began to walk again. He does have a point though. I've gotta focus, everything I worked so hard on is riding on today. It's now or never!
The boy was so wrapped up in his own self-pep talk that he wasn't watching where he was going, and accidentally bumped into another examinee. "Oh jeez, I'm sorry!" Peter apologized.
The person turned around, "Don't worry, it's all- Hey wait, I remember you!" The boy's eyes widened, it was the girl he spoke to over by his uncle's grave. She still wore the same red bow in her hair.
"Oh wow, it's you!" He said. "Yeah, from the cemetery!"
She smiled warmly at him, "I'm glad you decided to come after all."
Peter smiled back, "Yeah, a lot happened. But here I am. Hey, thanks for everything back then, I think I needed it..."
"No problem," she said, offering a hand. "I'm Wanda, by the way. Wanda Maximoff. I don't think I properly introduced myself back then."
"Peter. Peter Parker," the boy replied, extending his own hand to shake hers.
"Nice to officially meet you, Peter Parker," smiled Wanda.
"Wanda, what's taking so long??" Called a voice further up. A boy with messy white hair and a green tracksuit waited impatiently by one of the hero statues.
"My brother, Pietro. Always so impatient," she said, exasperated. "I'd better catch up. Good luck in there!"
She ran off to meet with her brother as Peter watched on. Wanda, huh? Nice to finally put a name to her face.
The boy exhaled, looking back up at the looming building before him. Ok, he thought. However this goes, leave nothing on the table. I WILL make it through, and I WILL become a hero!!
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Barber's Chair
• Since it's not a beach full of trash, I wanted Peter and Tony to have a moment that was more fitting for their surroundings and respective personalities.
• Ooh, tease of a costume!
• What's this? Flash is being nice? Can this be... character development!?
• And we get a name, although I suppose the cemetery girl's identity was pretty obvious given the hints of her background in the last chapter.
