Chapter Text
Lost
He didn’t mean to ignore Happy’s calls.
It’s just every time Happy happened to call about a report he was doing something. Weather it be webbing a criminal or in a car chase. Sometimes he wasn’t even in the suit. Sometimes he was at school, taking a test with his phone in his backpack on silent. Sometimes he was building legos with Ned, or working on a recon drone or tracking a criminal. He’s been very busy. He wasn’t avoiding him.
Ever since Peter rejected the Avengers, he’d been busy.
His life was already complicated since the spider bit and May had died leaving him with Uncle Ben, and then Ben started to drink. He thought it would be okay, but it just got worse. And then Tony Stark had shown up on a roof one day after patrol saying he needed to him in Germany. Gave him a suit, and Ben really didn’t notice Peter was even gone. The thing was, Tony had shown up a week after the September foundation had been announced. No surprise that Flash Thompson had gotten the internship, his parents were filthy rich. But he couldn’t find it in himself to really care, not for lack of not wanting to. Of course he wanted to, but then Ben stopped paying bills and he had to get a job. Between school, a job and Spiderman, he didn’t have time to even think about a stupid internship. He wasn’t even going to that good a college anyway, with how Ben’s binging sessions were getting longer and longer, slowly draining money from things like rent and food. And cloths. Then this villain called the Vulture decided to show up and Ned found out and it was all a mess. He ended up screwing up more than a few times. He was busy trying to keep on top of all that.
He didn’t mean to be though, and to be honest he really would rather have the time to answer Happy’s random calls. Really! But he got his suit back and now he’d been kickin it on overdrive. There were many reasons:
MJ found out. That wasn’t as surprising as he’d like it to be though. He was glad she knew though. He thought she’d give him slack at decathlon, he studied every free second he had anyway, it’s not like he wasn’t trying. She didn’t though. He was oddly relieved and disappointed at the same time.
Ned had been his official ‘guy in the chair’ and Peter honestly didn’t mind. He was actually relieved he had someone who was constantly there for him. Day or night, it didn’t matter Peter couldn’t go two days without Ned. He’d been cool about it after a while too. He helped with his drones and helped remake his homemade suit a little better. When Ned had asked why they were remaking it, Peter just laughed and said it was iconic.
He’d never tell Ned the real reason was because he was afraid Mr.Stark would take away his suit again, if he screwed up again. He’d been unprepared that time. The suit he’d started with was painfully undergraded. He didn’t have any tech. Stark’s suit was a safety net he’d relied too much on and took for granted. He earned it back, but in case he pissed Mr.Stark off again, he’d need the right tech to keep going as Spiderman.
Cause like it or not, he’d proved to everyone, including himself, that he could be Spiderman without Tony’s aid. He didn’t dwell on it too much though, because Mr.Stark had been so nice .
But another thing he learned during Homecoming: he was shit when it came to taking orders. It’s not even the fact that he didn’t care though, he did and he tried to follow the rules and be a good child, but then he was always at the wrong place at the wrong time and he couldn’t not do something. He blamed his bad luck - Parker Luck as Ned liked to call it - it must’ve been a talent to have as much as he did. And that was probably the real reason he didn’t join the Avengers.
Peter was fine without Mr.Stark’s help. After being ignored for two months, and now being the ignorer; it was ironic. He picked up when he could though. Like now.
“Hey kid.” Karen had answered the call not him. Someone must have forced the call through. “What’s up?” That wasn’t Happy’s voice.
“Nothing really.” And it was true, he was just chillin on a rooftop for 15 minutes acing his Chemistry take home quiz. Flash always said they were hard, but they weren’t.
“You haven't been answering Hap’s calls. He’s a bit miffed.”
“Sorry, Mr.Stark.” he winced, yeah he didn’t think he’d get away with that much longer either. “I didn’t mean to. Honest. There was just a lot.” A lot was right.
“You didn’t answer my calls either.”
“I answered this one.”
“ Karen answered this one.”
“I would’ve answered anyway. I have no reason not to answer right now.” Peter said with a playful smile and tone, since Tony couldn’t see him. His insecurity bubbled up a bit, maybe it didn’t sound so playful cause Mr.Stark wasn’t laughing “Sorry Mr.Stark, uhm did you need something?”
“You haven’t been answering a whole lot, now that I think about it.” Mr.Stark mused and Peter wanted to roll his eyes. He knew that. But Mr.Stark and Happy weren’t responsible for him. Nothing was going on that even remotely involved them.
“Well, I’m answering now. What’s up?”
“We need you down in Manhattan.”
That’s when he heard the explosion.
OoOoO
In all fairness, Peter thinks this was blown out of proportion. Quite literally. Of course a radioactive gas monster robot thing decided to attack Manhattan on a school night. And of course the Avengers needed him to help clean up and stuff. The monster actually had gotten a few good punches in, or gases. It looked like whatever it was, it was charging for a big gas to the city. Luckily the gas wasn’t poisonous, but if enough was spread, and if it was dense enough, it would be.
What ended up happening was the thing had been thrown into a nearby river and it immediately shut down. He was then in charge of evacuating the premises while the rest of the Avengers cleaned up the gas and dismantled the monster. Of course they got the cool jobs, but he really couldn’t find it in himself to care. He got the most important job in his opinion. Even if it was kind of lame, but that was who Spiderman was. The lame vigilante wanna-be superhero. He helped the little guy and stopped bikes from being stolen and gave directions. Oh and also stopped flying vultures from stealing alien tech and octo pervs from destroying cities and giant lizards from taking over and took down major corporations because their bosses turned into a goblin who throws pumpkin bombs.
Yep totally lame.
He was going to swing back home, but something caught his eye. He landed near the river and looked at the still submerged spots. There was a discolouration where the thing was, and it was growing.
He didn’t have much time to think on it, as he looked at his watch. 2:58!? He had school tomorrow.
OoOoO
“So then we made a drone that flies ten miles up. Well technically I made it, but Tony Stark guided me too. And he said it would make a good recon drone with a few adjustments.” he wasn’t so sure how long he could take hearing Flash’s bragging. Ever since he was ‘chosen’ to be apart of Stark Industries Internship, he’s been on non stop.
Peter actually was really good at ignoring it, just today he had a headache. He wasn’t stupid enough to believe the gas wouldn’t have an affect on him, this was his consequence from it. It wasn’t unbearable, but Flash’s obnoxious voice didn’t help.
“Okay class. Sit down.” the teacher said, and as much as Peter was dreading class he was also was glad that he didn’t have to listen to insistent bragging.
“So today we are going to discuss the effects gases have when it hits water and how they can change their own affects….” he drained everything out. He wanted to sleep. He was so tired, yelling and screaming and whatever toxin that was in his body were all working against him to make his body wary. Even if no one was yelling or screaming now.
“Mr. Parker,” Mrs.Evans said, looking at him expectantly. He couldn’t find it in himself to be alert so he slowly lifted his head. “Do you know the effects hydrogen gas has on water?” oh. Easy.
“Yeah, makes it toxic.” he said easily and he thought she wanted to roll her eyes. Some kids snickered.
“Yes, I just explained that. How though?” what Peter didn’t know was that she’d never said how. That was what she was going to explain, but she wanted to make sure everyone was paying attention. Peter said it anyway.
“The Hydrogen particles break off because of oxygen ones in the water and the Hydrogen and oxygen particles are messed up and reconfigured which is lethal…” Peter’s mind suddenly flashed back to the dark spot growing in the water and his eyes widened a bit. Surly someone knew that the water had been poisoned. They must have put scanners on the lake. But if it was just hydrogen… the scanners would only pick up hydrogen and oxygen particles and that was normal.
“That… is correct. Thanks for teaching my class for me.” the teacher said jokingly. Peter ducked his head in embarrassment anyway, anxiety settling into his stomach. He drained the rest of the class and Flash’s glares out.
What if no one knew? What if they had ignored it? It was pretty dark, and they didn’t know what the gas was. Tony had said it was a compound, but didn’t elaborate because no one would understand him anyway. Or maybe he did and Peter wasn’t paying attention. It couldn’t just be hydrogen in it, it was mixed with something else.
He’d do a pH test today just to be sure.
OoOoO
Peter walked 3 blocks to a bus stop, that went to Manhattan and then walked another 5 blocks to the river. He looked at it, it seemed normal to any passing eye, but then Peter looked at the shore. There were dead fish everywhere. Which actually wasn’t unusual cause New York wasn’t the cleanest place on earth, if there hadn’t been dead ducks too. And there were so many.
He looked back out into the water. Everyone was going about their business, as if nothing was wrong. As if the water wasn’t poisoned. So they either didn’t know or it was nothing. Peter slide down the slope and got near the water. If anyone asked, he was doing a school project. He had snuck into the chem lab and stolen a few things he needed.
He dipped a testing strip into the water and waited a bit until it changed colour. After doing various tests, he had concluded that the water was contaminated. He took a few samples and secured them in his backpack and left. He was going to have to analyze this stuff at home.
OoOoO
Peter doesn’t go through the front door to get in his home. He actually usually has to go through the window. Even if he’s not on an escapade.
The reason being, Ben is never home and he always locks the door to the apartment, even if no one can get in because of the code you’d have to press in at the entrance. He never bothered giving Peter a key either.
He was actually home more often than not, Peter being the main source of income for them because Ben was in and out of jobs, and spent the majority of his earnings on booze anyway.
“You ungrateful little shit. I provided for you and you’re not even my kid! Start picking up your own slack!”
That was after he was let go of his first job after May had died. He hadn’t even said anything. So it was up to Peter to get rent paid and food in his own stomach. He stopped helping Ben out with his food, cause if he had enough money to pay for booze then he had enough money to get his own food. Didn’t stop Peter from leaving fruit and bread and milk and granola bars in the kitchen though.
Ben for the most part ignored him. Peter had actually prefered that to the alternative, which was yelling and insulting and sometimes hitting him. It also conveniences him because of his vigilante escapedees.
He tried not to think about the time he had thought of him as a father figure. When he, May and Ben had all been a family. A small broken family built out of the ruins of what they had, but they were happy . Now it was just broken hearts and shattered dreams. Thinking about those times was just painful now.
Peter opened his window, there was no way Ben was awake. He tended to lock his door even if he wasn’t in his room. The window was always open and he didn’t want Ben wandering in when he had plans and data and Spiderman things up on his walls and stuff. Especially when he was in a heist and had to pin his evidence to a wall. Blueprints and formulas were everywhere, and spare parts were scattered across his desk and in boxes that were stacked up next to it.
He placed those to the side and brought out his old microscope and some other things and the samples. He studied it then wrote a few compounds down then studied it some more, for nearly half an hour.
In the end he concluded that the water was definitely poisoned. But it was well hidden. The only indicator being the slight breaks in the water’s molecules, it was like something was purposely breaking them apart and putting it back together wrong. It wasn’t leaving a trace though, and Peter also concluded that it wouldn’t stop on it’s own. It’s just keep spreading and if it did that, then it could leave New York with lack of water and by the time anyone got to it, it would be too late.
But he could fix it. He could make a device to stop and repair the molecules. He had all the parts right there and he could also work on it tomorrow since he had mechanical engineering. Mr.Stolman didn’t care what they did anyway.
Peter smiled to himself. Not everyday you got to save New York by being just your average science nerd.
He got to work.
OoOoO
He went down to the river the next day having built a water cleanser and stabilizer. It would take out any of the dead molecules that were poisoning the water. He just didn’t know how long it would be before it had cleaned the water. So he set it up and sat down next to it, bringing out a sandwich he bought earlier. He was about to dig into it when he heard a cautious high pitched voice behind him.
“Why are you in a ditch?” He turned around to see a little girl with messy brown hair and large eyes. He looked up at her confused as she continued. “Daddy said I shouldn’t go down there. It’s dangerous.”
“Well if your not careful.” Peter smiled up at her.
“What are you doing down there?” The girl said. She seemed a little confident. Bold. It reminded him of MJ.
“The water is contaminated and it’s hurting all the animals. I’m fixing it.” He said quietly, he at least hoped he was. He wasn’t sure this device would work, but it seemed to be going fine.
“Daddy said I shouldn’t talk to strangers.” Peter climbed up the edge to go sit next to her.
“Well your talking to me. I won’t hurt you though.” He said looking out in the water.
“Yeah, I hope dad won’t get mad.” She said looking down and swinging her legs on the edge.
“Where is your dad?” He asked.
“I’m not sure he’s in work. I lost my daddy friend.” She said a bit sadly. “I kinda needed help finding them.”
“Want me to help you find them?” He asked as he looked down at her. “I have a phone, want me to call them?” He asked.
“Really?” She asked a bit skeptically. He nodded and pulled out his phone.
“My name is Peter, what’s yours?” He realized that was a stupid question. She’d never tell him-
“Cassie.” Then something clicked. Ant man was at the fight a few days ago, and he always talked about his daughter. Her name was Cassie and although he’d never met her in person, he’d heard enough about her for him to fit the description.
“Hey, Cassie Lang?” She looked at little surprised “I work with your dad.” He said before thinking. He slapped himself mentally. Just tell the whole world your Spiderman why don’t you Parker.
“Are you a superhero too?” She asked excited and he chuckled a little.
“Kind of” He said and looked her over. What’s the harm in telling one girl right? I mean her dad was a superhero. “Can you keep a secret?” She nodded frantically and he opened his bag to show her the Spiderman suit.
“You’re Spiderman?” She asked excited and surprised. He smiled because apparently he had a fan. He didn’t think he had much of those.
“Yeah and you can’t tell anyone. Not even your dad.” She deflated at that and then he looked her over “wait here.” He deployed drony to keep an eye on her and quickly went to change. He came back all dressed up.
“What’s happening?” She asked worriedly as he picked her up.
“Do you like roller coasters?” She shrugged “great I’m gonna take you back to your dad.”
“But what about the animals?” She asked. And he looked at his water regulator.
“I’ll come back. It’ll take a while anyways.” He said bringing the girl back to her family is more important, New York wasn’t the type of place for a little girl to wander around. And he didn’t know how long the regulator would take to finish its process. He also knew Scott would be worried sick about his daughter.
“Ready?” She nodded reluctantly and they took off.
OoOoO
“How did you lose her?!” Scott screamed at Carlos. Carlos cringed.
“Hey, hey man chill. The guys are tryna find her.” Carlos said in a frantic manner. Scott face palmed. New York was big and scary, especially to a little girl. She could be mugged or kidnapped or… ugh she should have never taken her to New York for winter break. But Maggie had finally given him custody and he had to go in for work. Screw it she loved superheroes so why the hell not. God if Maggie ever found out… he’d never see Cassie again because he’d be six feet under.
“We gotta find her.” He was just about to leave the front doors when they swung open and Spiderman walked in. With Cassie in his arm gripping tightly to the suit and smiling like she’d just had the greatest time of her life.
“Daddy! Daddy! Spiderman took me swinging and it was so fun .” He became alarmed and relieved all at once. Her girl was back, but he’d seen How Spidey swings. It was reckless and dangerous. He was hanging literally by a thread . The thought of Cassie swinging made him almost faint.
“Low swing, nothing too dangerous.” Scott nearly collapsed, he didn’t know what to think now. He forgot that Spidey didn’t like when people were hurt. The guy never kills, and had the least property damage under his belt, well beside Scott. But they’ve both had their fair share of messes. “Well I guess this is your stop and remember our deal.”
“Oh yeah!” Cassie said with a big grin. And ran over to her dad. He knelt down to hug her.
“Thank you.” Scott said sincerely.
“Yeah no problem. Easy to get lost in this city.” He tried to joke but then looked over to Cassie. “Just stick close to whoever you're with.”
“Where’d you find her?” Scott asked, he felt like he should.
“She actually found me. That robot we took down contaminated the water. I have a guy fixing it, but you might wanna tell Mr.Stark to look into the molecules.” Scott nodded silently.
“I’ll make sure he knows.” He said seriously and Spiderman nodded once and turned to leave.
“Wait!” Cassie said and before Spidey could turn she was already hugging his waist. “Thank you.” She said and Spiderman turn and kneeled to hug her back.
“No problem Cassie. It was fun.” Spiderman Said and let go and gave her head a little ruffle. He then left.