AN: You know all those fics where Pete ends up being adopted by the Avengers and tries to either avoid that or to hide being Spidey? Thinking about it, Peter hits the Jackpot of life when none other than Iron Man adopts him! Hence, this One Shot.
This One Shot is old. It was meant to be posted in an Advent Calendar One Shot collection, but I decided that instead of a fandom mix, that calendar collection will focus on one fandom. Marvel isn't it, so the few held back One Shots I wrote will be posted in the next few months, opposed to next December.
Peter had been living in this orphanage for so long, he accepted he would stay there until he is eighteen. He just is too old to be adopted. Well, the only people who would adopt him at this point would be folks looking for free babysitters for the kids they already have.
The orphanage itself has not much going on, so it was even more exciting when their caregiver announced, "Kids! You won't believe it! Tony Stark wants to adopt!"
While Peter knows he won't be the lucky one, he wants to take the chance and ask for an autograph. The rest of the day, he worked on his second best friend, his AI, A.R.I. Or in long, Advanced Radar Intelligence. She helps him being Spidey... well, she assists his guy in the chair and takes over completely when Ned simply can't.
Like right now. Ned is busy, so A.R.I takes over. A good trial to see how well she works on her own.
'I scan nothing of note.' she said, 'A rarity, Spider-Man.'
"Yes, but isn't it good?" he replied. "Albeit that just could mean you're failing to track something."
'Is that your low self esteem speaking, Creator? Or are you insulting me?'
"I made you, so I suppose it isn't the later." he decided. "My self esteem isn't that low, Ari." But she kept silent.
With that, he continued to swing though the city. He didn't find much crime to fight, but he walked into the Avengers. Captain America, Iron Man and Black Widow to be specific. "Oh, hello, Avengers? Is there something I can help you with?"
Captain America explained, "Good day, Spider-Man. We're just here to prove a theory. We want to know your age. You're a minor, right?"
"And that's important because?" he inquired.
"Well, if you are, this means you're way too young to play hero! Are your parents even aware of this, of your powers?" answered the captain, sounding worried, while Spider-Man just hung unimpressed from a building.
"Nope, then again, it is difficult to know something when you're dead." he answered.
'Did you have to tell them that? I don't think the pity train does anything of use for you.' commented A.R.I, but her creator just ignored her.
"In that case, please come with us to the Avengers Tower." demanded Iron Man. While the prospect of seeing the towers innards is intriguing, he doesn't trust why they invite him. "If you're an orphan, we need to-"
"Nope!" said Spider-Man and left, swinging away, back to the orphanage.
The next day, a Saturday, was the day. Tony and Stephen were adopting a kiddo. After choosing an agency, submitting an application, completing a home study – as if Tony Stark couldn't offer enough for a kid – attending agency-sponsored training – which they had to repeat a few times due to missions – they finally worked with a caseworker to find a match. Well, due to him and his husband being Avengers, the worker struggled to find a match, so instead they drop by a few orphanages and take a look at the kids.
So far, they haven't found a kid they agreed on. Both agreed they wanted an intelligent kid. Now what 'intelligent' entails...
"Tony! The kid won't step into your lab until-"
"Okay, okay, okay! God, you act as if I'm looking for an assistant." complained Tony while driving to the nest orphanage.
"Good... now, about yesterday." said his husband. "Why didn't one of you follow the kid?"
"I... not sure about Nat and Cap, but I didn't because... well, just because his parents are dead, maybe he lives with an aunt or something."
"So, no acting until you know details. Good." said Stephen. "Looks like Fury rubs off on you. Oh, what did he say about Spider-Man being a minor?"
"He does not want that a kid with powers isn't supervised by professionals or SHIELD. He worries villains would pick him up." recalled Tony. "I wonder how the kid got those insect powers. And where that voice came from."
"Voice?"
"Yeah, there was a voice, talking to the kid." recalled Tony. "He seemed to acknowledge the voice, but he did not answer her."
"Ah, a female voice. Maybe he was on a call?" offered Stephen. "Or the kid got his hands on an A.I."
"Now that is something I need to know! More so than the powers."
"Not now, we're here, Tones." said Stephen. They parked in front of a building. "Let's hope we find a match here. I'm growing impatient."
"Agreed."
Peter was working on A.R.I – well, her drone body – when a younger child came, telling him Tony Stark was there. "Don't care."
"But don't you want an autograph at least?" asked the kid.
"Right! I come down, then." he said, remembering the autograph.
As he walked down, the owner said, "Oh? Decided to show yourself, Peter?" Mrs. Leone doesn't like that he doesn't care about adoption, even though she knows that kids his age get rarely adopted.
"Nah, I just want to ask Mr. Stark for an autograph." he admitted. "Or is that an issue?"
"I suppose not." said Mrs. Leone.
Peter than looked for the Avenger and saw him surrounded by the six year old twins. "Um, Mr. Stark? Could I get an autograph?"
He turned to him. "Sure, if you have a pen and paper."
'Here!' said A.R.I in her drone body. She carried a little notebook not bigger than a palm and a pen. Stark looked at the drone with interest. He took the objects and signed it for-
"What is your name, kid?"
"Peter Parker, sir." he answered.
'Peter Benjamin Parker.' corrected him his A.I.
"Ari..." he said.
'When an Avenger asks, you tell them the middle name as well.' stated A.R.I.
Tony returned the objects to Peter. "Did you build this drone?"
"Yes! And I coded Ari, the A.I controlling it!" explained Peter pridefully. "Well, then, bye." He stepped away and walked back to his room, A.R.I followed him.
"Oh, he left?" voiced Stephen.
Mrs. Leone joined them and explained, "Peter doesn't bother. He knows kids his age don't get adopted."
Tony was thinking about Ari. She – judging by the female voice – reminded him of his A.I's. "Mrs. Leone, could I offer the kid a Stark Industries internship?"
"I thought you don't do those for high schoolers." chimed his husband in.
"Well, the kid's A.I is impressive, so I may change that." reasoned Tony, "Can't have competitions fetch the kid before I can."
"If Peter agrees, I see no reason why not." answered Mrs. Leone. "I can't keep such a chance from him. Should I show you where his room is? Or do you want to wait to talk to him?"
"I want to talk to him now." decided Tony.
Stepping into the small room, Tony said, "Knock, knock, Peter."
Peter turned to the door while sitting on his desk. "Oh, Mr. Stark! What can I do for you?"
"Your A.I. I want to talk about her. You named her Ari, right?"
"Yes. She is charging in the dresser, though." answered Peter.
"Ah. You see, I normally only offer internships for college students, but your AI is impressive." said Tony cheery, "I would offer you one, adapted to you being a high schooler, of course."
Peter's mind was blown. 'But would that interfere with Spider-Man? Could I accidentally blow my cover?'
While Peter's thoughts were running, Tony looked for the AI and opened the highest drawer of the dresser. Like expected, Ari was in there... but also Spider-Man's costume. Tony touched in. Looking to Ari, he realized her voice sounded like the voice that accompanied Spider-Man. The age also matches. He found Spider-Man and he has proof the young hero is an orphan. He took the suit out.
"Oh no..." Looking to Peter, he saw the teen staring at him, Tony with the suit in hand.
"So, you're Spider-Man." stated Tony. "Wait here." He left the room and searched for his husband. He found him talking to a young girl. "Stephen, come. I need to... introduce you to someone."
"Oh, you found a kid?" asked Stephen. "Oh well."
"Yeah..." Tony led Stephen to Peter, who was still paralyzed with shock, holding his suit. Tony then took the suit and showed it to Stephen. "I found Spidey."
Stephen just looked with disbelief between his husband and the mortified teen. "I see... I assume we choose him, then?"
"Yes."
"B-But won't you prefer a kid you actually want?" chimed Peter in.
"Eh, we haven't found the right kid anyway, Peter. Now, under our care, we won't make you stop being Spider-Man, but we will establish some rules and give you proper gear. So you'll take a break until I made you a proper suit." decided Tony. "If you think about it, you get a sweet deal out of this."
"Mm... a proper suit made by you sounds worth it on its own." said Peter.
Tony then clapped. "Then it is decided, we adopt you."
A few weeks later, two things happened. Peter got a new suit promised and he finally got to leave the orphanage. The fellow children of the orphanage couldn't believe Peter had been chosen, some where even bothered by it.
"But he is so old!" one complained.
Mrs. Leone on the other hand was happy for her oldest ward.
Tony and Stephen came and picked him up. As they approached the entrance of the orphanage, Peter felt his spidey sense tingling. Not the 'extreme danger' kind of tingling but the 'something very uncomfortable that should be avoided despite not deadly' type of tingling. Tony then gave him sunglasses, "Trust me in this, kiddo."
When leaving the building, he knew what he meant and why his sense was tickling. Paparazzi. The Media. Annoying reporters and their equally annoying cameras.
"Somehow the media got wind of my intention to adopt. Sorry, Pete." apologized Tony. "You will get used to this."
"Doubt that." muttered his husband.
Peter always assumed he would be super excited to enter the Avengers Tower, but today, when this became reality, he was just a nervous mess. Not to mention, he'll get to meet the other Avengers! As himself, not as Spider-Man... but Tony and Stephen will probably tell them he is Spider-Man.
"Tony, Stephen, will you tell them that I am Spidey?" he asked carefully.
"I have to, kiddo. And I think it would make things easier in the long run." reasoned Tony. "For once, they won't bother you on your patrols."
"He is right. This would be for the best, Peter." agreed Stephen.
"Right..."
The car – a red Audi – parked and the two got out. Tony told Peter to leave his luggage in there, but Peter took his backpack with him anyways. Their stay in the elevator was silent. Peter's thoughts were racing too much to speak, but one thought was consistent. 'Ned will definitively want to visit.'
He hadn't told his best friend who adopts him, just that he will be adopted. Which is weird, considering Ned knows he is Spidey. Anyway, when he told Ned, Ned and his parents celebrated these news with him. The Leeds are aware how difficult it is for teens to be adopted. It feels weird to keep this away from Ned...
They reached their destination and stepped into the Avengers... fighting each other with foam?
"I left for not even an hour!" said Tony offended. "Also, great first impression for the kid! You idiots..."
Hawkeye – Clint Barton – came closer. "I thought you two wanted to adopt a younger kid?" he asked. "Why a teen?"
"Oh, he's Spider-Man." said Tony nonchalantly. "You said we should bring the kid in if he is an orphan."
"You... you adopted Spider-Man..." repeated the Black Widow – Natasha Romanova. "But you started the process months before we talked to Spider-Man."
"I coincidentally found out the kid's Spidey." admitted Tony. "I originally wanted to offer him an internship, because of his impressive A.I... but I found is suit on accident, so here we are."
"This was not planned, but..." said Stephen. "Well, considering our work, maybe it is better we adopted an older kid like we originally planned to."
"I suppose..." replied Captain America – Steve Rogers – he then asked, "Will the kid continue being Spider-Man? He is quite young to be a hero."
"Actually... no. Peter will continue, but I will support him. Starting with a proper suit and gear, training and such." said Tony proudly.
Stephen added, "He won't join the Avengers until he is eighteen, though."
"I don't think this is a good idea." stated Steve.
"Don't tell me how to parent my kid, Caps!"
Before Stephen could attempt to calm his husband down, the Hulk – Dr. Bruce Banner – chimed in, "You said Peter has an A.I? May I see?"
A.R.I.'s drone flew out of the backpack, which prompted Peter to introduce her, "This is Artificial Radar Intelligence. Or A.R.I for short. She helps me find crimes to fight when I am out as Spider-Man. She is essentially a very versatile radar."
'I am insulted you called me a radar, creator.' she said.
Dr. Banner was impressed when he took a closer look. "She sounds very lively. Like Friday."
"Why does she call you creator, Peter?" asked Steve "You don't seem to be as egoistical as Tony."
'I call him that, because it annoys him.' answered Ari. 'It started as an insider joke.'
"Interesting." was all Bruce said. The drone flew away from him and circled around Peter.
"Wow, Bruce made an A.I uncomfortable." joked Clint. Loki and Sam joined in on the laughter while James Rhodes just rolled his eyes. "Come on! The jokes wasn't that bad!"
"Actually, this is just something I coded in. When people become too interested for my liking, she is supposed to gain distance." explained Peter. "I, uh, am a bit paranoid that someone would steal Ari and pretend they made her."
"Oh." It was as if Bruce Banner was insulted. "Why would you worry that?"
"Eh, no real reason, actually." answered Peter.
Tony and Bruce didn't believe that, Stephen even sensed a little lie. He then said, "Well, we should show you your room, Peter. Don't you need to set up Ari's charging station?"
"Oh, right!"
'Before you do that, there is something you should see.' chimed a voice in.
"Oh, what is it, Friday?" asked Tony, revealing the voice to be his own A.I.
'The news, sir.'
The TV started and showed the news. Apparently they figured out who Peter is.
'The teen who was adopted by Tony Stark-Strange and Stephen Stark-Strange turned out to be a star student of Midtown Tech.' spoke the news reporter. 'It is not surprised that the Avenger would adopt a gifted child.'
Her co-host just said, 'Eh, I expected they would go for a kid with powers.'
"Maybe it would be best if Spidey won't associate with you for a while... and if I stick with my old suit for a bit longer." decided Peter. "I want to stay anonymous."
Peter then felt his phone vibrate. He took it out of his pocket, the screen as cracked as always. Checking it, he saw a message from Ned. 'Lucky you! You hit the Jack Pot!' followed by 'Why didn't you tel me!?'
Tony the while was just disturbed by his phone. "Peter! Your phone! How does it still work? It is so old and broken!"
"Us orphans only get cheap ones."
"But the display is cracked." said Tony. "You get a new one."
It was Monday, so Peter is nervous. The first day of school after he moved in with the Avengers... and after the news. The whole school should know. As we walked to the elevator, Tony said loudly, "Nope, kiddo! We drive you! We need to talk with your teachers anyway."
"That... do you have to drive me? This would be... embarrassing?"
"Do you really think we would be embarrassing?" countered Stephen. "We drive there anyway, so no need to bother with the public transit."
"Not to mention, Happy will drive you anyway from now on." added Tony.
"Okay..." Peter knew this wasn't a fight he could win.
The closer they came to his school, the more nervous he got. When he got out of the car, he just could feel all eyes were on him. As he lead Stephen and Tony to the principal's office, he walked into Flash. And ignored him.
"A friend of yours?" asked Stephen.
"Hell no. Not Flash." answered Peter. He added in thought, 'That guy is a lot but not a friend.' After they reached the office, Peter made a bee line to his locker where Ned was already waiting.
"Dude! I am so jealous!" said Ned, "Your parents are Avengers!"
"So, you're jealous of the attention, of Flash trying something to hijack my connection, acting as if the years of bullying didn't happen?"
"Peter! Flash is Flash, ignore him!" told him Ned. "Just... do the best out of it. You won't be bullied anymore, right?"
"I... right... I think." answered Peter. "Honestly, I am still too overwhelmed."
"Well, let's go to class, then. You may be famous now, but Mr. Garcia still won't allow you to be late." proposed Ned.
"Good point."
With that he followed Ned to their first class of the day. Math. An easy class – for Peter – albeit Mr. Garcia can be a pain at times. Peter sometimes has the feeling he is on the personal payroll of Flash Thompson's parents. Said teacher started to speak, "Good morning, class! Roll call! Flash Thompson-" For once, he is the only teacher calling Flash by his chosen name, instead of his given name.
"Here!"
"Nathaniel Leeds."
"Here..." For the record, Garcia doesn't do the same for other students chosen names. Unless one sues him.
"Peter Stark!"
"Mr. Garcia, my name hadn't been changed!" he said, "It is still Parker." Peter doesn't want to change his name. It fells wrong, as if he would cut off his dead relatives. He just can't.
"Oh, well..." replied Garcia.
Tony was working on Peter's suit. Like promised, he will install A.R.I and not an off shoot of Friday like he originally planned. While he worked on the web shooters – and considered if he shouldn't let Peter handle those as the webbing constantly gets onto his hands – Steve came into the lab.
"Tony?"
Said man looked up from the suit and to his team mate. "What is it, Steve?"
"About Peter... do you think it is a good idea to let him continue?" asked Steve. "Not to mention, his adoption is all over the news. When Spider-Man pops up with a new suit, people may figure out-"
"Steve. I'll give him the suit when the media dies down." countered Tony.
"Tony, even if the media won't notice, what if people like Hydra notice?" elaborated Steve on his worry. "It would put him danger!"
"Steve, don't tell me how to handle my kid." said Tony angrily. "Now leave. I have a talk with the pirate coming up."
"Nick Fury? Why?"
"About Spider-Man." answered said man, leaving the elevator. "I still can't believe you randomly found Spider-Man. But I suppose this is good. How exactly did you figure out the kid is Spider-Man?"
"Oh, I recognized Ari's voice." said Tony. "I heard her when we first met and then again in the orphanage."
"Ari?"
"His A.I! Peter programmed his own A.I!" told him Tony. "She can even keep up with Friday!"
'I won't go this far, sir. At most, A.R.I can keep up with Jarvis.' chimed Friday in.
'Oh, is someone jealous?' asked A.R.I from the suit on Tony's work bench.
Feeling that a verbal fight between two A.I's is about to break out, Steve decided to leave. He did saw that Nick was also impressed by the A.I, to Friday's annoyance.
Class ended and Peter got a message from Tony. Happy will pick him up and his boss will accompany him. Director Fury wants to meet him and talk about being Spidey. 'He is less scary than he looks.' his new father wrote.
When he saw the car and got in, he saw the man. The eye patch was intimidating, but his sense wasn't going haywire near him.
"I didn't expect that Spider-Man is a teen. Well then. Just because you won't join the Avengers doesn't mean there won't be rules for you, kid." started Nick Fury. "If you're overwhelmed, call the Avengers for help. If they can't, S.H.I.E.L.D agents will come to your aide. Apropos S.H.I.E.L.D, you can only use S.H.I.E.L.D approved gear. Your A.I already has been approved."
"Sir, do I have to go public like the others?" asked Peter.
"Not at all. In fact, I would prefer if you stay anonymous and a small time hero due to your age." answered Nick. "Now, when you turn eighteen... we discuss if you stay anonymous or go public when it happens. I am sure there will be a public outrage when they realize Spider-Man was a kid until then."
Peter did not have any issues with the rules. "I agree will all of those rules."
"Good. I expected discussing this with a teen would be worse."
"Oh, wait. Do I need to get Ari approved again if I were to upgrade her strongly?"
"Yes."
When he was done with his home work – Garcia gave him less than normally – he started to work on Ari's upgrade. Now that he finally had access to the needed tech, he can get her to her true potential.
"And? How is it going?" asked Tony, preparing to update A.R.I 2.0 onto the suit.
"Presenting Advanced Research Intelligence, A.R.I 2.0!" SAID Peter happily. "Now S.H.I.E.L.D only needs to approve her."
"Then you can test the suit. It is not final, mind you, but we need to do a test run." said Tony. "Ah, caps will be so pissed I give it to you already."
The next day, he wore the suit. Comparing it to his old make shift suit, it was night and day. As he jumped off the tower and swung though the city, he felt the web shooters were so much more stronger and more precise, the wind was whipping closer to his skin and his vision was better.
'Muggers near Times Square.' informed him his A.I.
"On it!"
The New Yorkers were split on the matter of Spidey's return, but all of them were surprised when they realized he had a proper suit now.
Later when he returned – maybe a bit later than promised – he realized something as well.
"This is the best case scenario for Spider-Man."
The next few days Peter tried to get into a rhythm of things. His worry of living with the Avengers turned into relief. He now does not need to hide being Spidey – in fact they help at times – so this is a worry less. While Steve's arguing with Tony is annoying, it is nice and cool to know that Captain America is just worried. Peter warmed up to the other Avengers, especially Natasha and – to Tony's annoyance – Loki.
The new suit was also cool. Ned was excited when he showed the suit to him... not as excited when he entered the tower, though.
School... was still chaos, but the hype had been dying down. Flash at least returned to normal, albeit toned down massively. Flash got the hint he couldn't be buddy-buddy with Peter, but he stopped being physical. He won't shut up, though. One Thursday after classes concluded made this clear.
"Hey! Parker!" he said loudly in the halls.
Peter sighed and replied, "What is it, Thompson?"
"You know why your surname hadn't been changed?"
"I don't care, I don't want it to change anyway." replied Peter.'
"Yeah, sure. You just know deep down you're just a charity case for the Avengers." said Flash mockingly. "We all know how controversial Tony Stark tends to be."
"I literally do not care. Saying that I am a charity case is not the insult you think it is." countered Peter, just so slightly annoyed, "Living with the Avengers is still a massive upgrade from the orphanage, even if it is just a charity case like you claim."
Flash then was silent. Normally his insults always hit. That one didn't land was as if someone pulled on his legs.
"Hey! What is going on here?" yelled someone. This someone was Tony who walked into the building. "Are you bothering my son?"
"Ah, no!" Flash then left. For once, making his name make sense.
"Oh... how much did you overhear?" asked Peter.
"Most. Peter, you're not a charity case."
"I know! I just said it to shut him up." said Peter. "Taking the energy out of his insults."
Hours later, Tony was tinkering in his lab when Stephen came in. "Tony, it is late. Please come to bed."
"When I am finished with this." he replied while working on the device.
"The device or your frustration? What is wrong?"
Tony stopped working and looked to Stephen. "Today when I picked up Peter, I overheard him talking to his bully. The kid claimed Peter was just a charity case. Peter told him that is no issue for him, he still profits from that. I am shocked that Peter just accepted being a charity case!"
"Well, considering why we chose him, this is not too surprising." admitted Stephen. "Seriously!" "But! We just moved him in. In time he will realize this isn't the case, we will grow on him. Just you wait."
"I suppose..." agreed Tony, "Well, it is late..."
"You don't say, Tony."