Chapter Text
VIGILANTE
“You have to tell him eventually, you know. Before he finds out the wrong way.”
“I know, I know.” He sighed, obviously itching to change the subject. “The kid, he- he’s smart. Did the right thing when I asked him to join the crew. It was wrong of me to ask him that. I realize that now. He’s staying on the ground, helping out the little guy. He wanted that. The way that the Accords treats enhanced individuals is inhumane. It’s crazy. We can’t make him sign it. Not like this.”
“And we won’t make him. We should have read it more carefully. Should’ve expected this. But we didn’t know that they would pull a stunt like this. It’s not our fault, Tony, but it happened. Now we have to protect the kid before they try to go after him.” Rhodey walked around the room, keeping his hand on the table to help keep his balance. Tony avoided eye contact, listening to the mechanical whir that came from each one of his steps. He stopped behind Tony’s chair and leaned against it for support in fear of his paralyzed legs failing him. He looked down at the page that was open in front of Tony, skimming the pages. His eyes paused at the sight of one section. The one that didn't seem important until now. Tony bore his eyes into for hours, hoping that it would disappear somehow. It was the section that mattered the most to Tony, regardless of the fact that it didn’t apply to him.
- ‘Any enhanced individuals who agree to sign must register with the United Nations and provide biometric data such as fingerprints and DNA samples.
- Those with secret identities must reveal their legal names and true identities to the United Nations.
- Those with innate powers must submit to a power analysis, which will categorize their threat level and determine potential health risks.
- Those with innate powers must also wear tracking bracelets at all times.’
He sighed and pushed the Accords away from Tony, sliding it across the table. Tony had been staring at the book for hours, wondering how he could have missed something so important. The worst of it was that it was only a small segment within a long list of inhumane laws and regulations for enhanced individuals. They never seemed important until now. Tony thought he was doing the right thing when he signed, and had no idea about Ross’s plans. While the Sokovia Accords were created for the safety of citizens through the regulation of the Avengers, they also made more laws to control those who worked outside of the Avengers initiative - vigilantes. The laws made sense at first, until they met a dorky fifteen year old high school student from Queens who worked outside of the law as a hobby, right after he finished days worth of homework in just a few hours.
“I messed up, didn’t I?” Tony looked up at Rhodey, leaning back in his chair. “Signing the Accords, fighting with Steve, all of it.”
Rhodey sat down and looked at Tony firmly. “You can’t keep blaming yourself for something that was out of your control. Steve refused to tell us what was happening at the time and Secretary Ross is not the dude we thought he was. Not your fault. We didn’t have all the informatio-”
“I should’ve seen it coming-”
“The fineprints and the minutiae- none of us saw it coming.” Rhodey rose his voice slightly. “Not even Rogers knew about this. You tried to revise it and request changes. We did everything, but Ross set us up good and-”
“And now he’s bringing the kid into this too-” Tony said, cutting Rhodey off once again. He leaned forward, pressing his elbows into his knees and burying his face into the palms of his hands. He never shared how he felt about the spider vigilante with anyone except for Rhodes. No one knew his true identity, including his age, but Rhodey knew the new hero was young and incapable of handling press on his own. Of course, Tony was the first one to take on the role of becoming his mentor. Unfortunately, that failed. Thaddeus Ross had plans of his own.
“Out of all of the Avengers that are left, he is the only one who didn’t sign it, Tones. We can use that to our advantage.”
“He’s just a kid.”
“A smart one. Brave, too. Sometimes I think he can protect himself better than we can protect him.” He smiled at the thought of the kid, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “We can get through this. You’ll keep him safe while we’re at it, too. I know it.”
“Oh God, oh God,” Peter muttered to himself. His heart thudded violently in his chest and blood pounded in his ears. His knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip, nails digging into his palms.
This can’t be happening. He thought to himself.
“Dude, seriously, calm down. You can do this. It’s really not that big of a deal.” Ned said, fastening his seat belt in the passenger seat.
“I- I can’t, Ned! I can’t even start the car!” Peter dropped his forehead onto the top of the steering wheel, loosening his grip. After tragically destroying Flash’s car on Homecoming night, he had been dreading the day in which he was expected to sit in front of the wheel again.
“You’re Spider-man, Peter. You could literally do anything.”
“Except driving.”
“Come on, dude, everyone has their license except for you. Besides, it’s just a parking lot! There’s no one here. You’re not going onto the road just yet. Baby steps, remember?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Peter sighed. “I got this. It’s gonna be fine, right?”
“Right.”
“Right.”
“You gotta turn on the engine, dude.”
“Right. Turning on the engine.” As Peter was about to turn the key, his phone began to ring. He grabbed his phone immediately.
“No texting and driving, we’ve been over this!”
Peter’s face lit up as he lifted the phone screen, reading the texts that appeared. “It’s Happy. I was supposed to go to the Avengers compound today and he’s picking me up early, now. He said Mr. Stark needed to talk to me in person about something important. I guess we can’t practice driving after all.” He shrugged, celebrating internally.
“Woah, Tony Stark wants to talk to you? Personally? That’s awesome.” Ned said, switching seats with Peter.
“I know.” He tried to stop himself from grinning, but couldn’t help himself. He hadn’t talked to Mr. Stark personally since the day he asked him to join the Avengers. They usually contacted each other through Happy, and occasionally he’d call Peter through Karen to check up on him.
“But you guys are probably like, best friends by now. Especially after he asked you to join the Avengers.”
“You know I rejected his offer, right?”
“Yeah, and it still confuses me. Wasn’t that, like, what you’ve always wanted?”
“It was what I wanted.” Peter corrected. “That changed, I guess. It’s complicated.” He looked down nervously. It really was complicated. The Avengers dealt with bigger problems that he just wasn’t ready for. They didn’t have time to deal with people like the Vulture- villains that terrorize citizens for their own benefit. New York needs heroes like Spider-man. Not that Peter considered himself a hero.
“I’ll never understand you.” Ned groaned, driving back to Peter’s apartment.
The rest of the ride back consisted of Ned grilling Peter about his Spider-man ventures. Peter was glad that he was finally able to share his secret with someone, especially with a close friend like Ned who understood him. The two of them had been friends forever, and Peter wouldn’t have wanted to share his secret with anyone else. Unfortunately, someone else did know. And that someone was Aunt May.
While May never admitted it, she always worried. Constantly. Peter could see it, and it hurt him to see her like that. She texted him throughout the day to check up on him and stayed up at night waiting for him to return from patrolling, even if it meant waiting until 5 AM. She usually passed out before that time, though, so Peter made it his responsibility each night to bring her a blanket to the couch where she snored quietly, TV remote in hand and all. May was the only family he had left, and regardless of how close they were, he always felt like a burden ever since the spider bite. His increased metabolism meant that they needed to buy much more food than usual, and money had always been tight for them. Peter couldn’t go to the doctor, either, because he feared that they’d notice his enhanced senses or his abnormal DNA. That was May’s biggest concern. She’d freak out at the slightest cough or sniffle from Peter, fearing that he might be sick. She failed to understand, however, that Peter couldn’t get sick after the bite had happened. He was different now. He didn’t have the heart to explain it to her anymore than he already had. He was already a burden.
Peter sighed and pushed away any negative thoughts that were building up inside of him. He opened the car window and dipped his head outside slightly, taking a deep breathe. He had to skip patrolling tonight to speak with Mr. Stark, so this was the closest he could get to feeling the cold, New York air brush against his face as he swings around the streets. It was always tough knowing that he had to skip patrolling, even if it was just for one night. Crime doesn’t stop when Spider-man takes a break. It keeps happening. Peter pulled back and closed the window as Ned finally drove through the streets of Sunnyside, stopping by Peter’s apartment complex.
“Thanks, dude.” Peter said, opening the car door.
“Anytime. I’ll see you at AcaDec practice tomorrow, alright? You gotta tell me everything about your meeting with Mr. Stark.”
“Well, I might not be there. You never know what he might be calling me for.”
“Wait.. Are you saying that he might be calling you for a.. a mission ?”
Peter smiled, hopping out of the car. “I dunno, Ned. Could be anything.” He hung his backpack around his right shoulder, reaching for the car door. “See you later.” He shuts the door and waves.
“Awesome.” Ned muttered, waving back and driving away.
Peter entered his apartment, dropping his backpack next to the couch. "Hey, May, ‘you home y-" He pauses, noticing his aunt staring at the TV with a serious expression. She turns up the volume when she notices him come in. Secretary Ross was standing behind a podium on screen, a stern look plastered onto his face as he calmly responded to any question that was thrown at him.
"'The Accords are, in fact, not a violation of human rights. They were-'
'Secretary Ross!' A reporter called out.
'Secretary Ross will not be answering any further quest-' A man in a suit said, once he started to notice how chaotic the situation was getting.
'Ever since the release of the Accords, nothing has been done about vigilantes in New York, even though none of them have signed' The reporter cut in again. She was determined to ask her question before Ross made his exit.”
Peter sat down next to his aunt, watching the screen nervously as a reporter was shown reading off of a notebook. Secretary Ross was holding a press conference, and the room was filled with reporters who were shouting and pushing their ways to the front, trying to get Ross to answer their questions. Apparently, Stark had made a negative comment about the Accords, even though he had already signed it. The media had been going crazy ever since, questioning whether he's been working with Steve Rogers and the other ex-Avengers in secret. A few pages of the documents had been released as well, and Peter never really read them. Mr. Stark had never asked him to sign it, so it never really occurred to him until now. He thought the Accords applied to the Avengers initiative directly, but he was wrong. Very wrong.
"'and now, suddenly Tony Stark is found with the Spider-Man himself.’ She said, causing Ross to stop walking towards the exit. He returned to the podium slowly, interested. ‘Do you have any thoughts about the connection between Tony Stark's change in attitude towards the Accords and his relation to Spider-Man? Is it possible that Stark might be telling the truth about having no contact with Captain America, and maybe, just maybe, he might have actually become soft for some small, part-time hero in red spandex?’
’I’d like to follow up on that,’ Said another reporter. ‘If that’s true, that would mean that Spider-Man has enhanced abilities. Therefore, should Spider-Man really be considered a vigilante? Just another mutant-human that needs to be controlled?’'
May turned to look at Peter. Her expression softened when she saw his taut expression.
Vigilante. Mutant.
The two words reverberated in Peters mind. He never thought of himself that way. Peter just wanted to help New York. He never had any bad intentions. He never viewed himself as anything but human.
Ross rested his hands on the podium and leaned forward to speak into the microphone once again. The crowd of reporters had finally quieted down. “The Spider-Man works outside of the law. He thinks that he is saving the lives of citizens by swinging around tall buildings and putting on a mask without any regards to legal authority. In reality, people like him are a threat to society. Whether Tony Stark is involved in his criminal acts is no concern to me. Spider-man is dangerous. He split a ferry in half and crashed a plane into the city. The amount of lives that were at risk that week-‘ Ross looked down, faking a hurt look on his face. He sighed. ‘Enough is enough. Spider-Man needs to be taken down before it’s too late. The lives of innocent people cannot be lost because one individual refuses to turn himself in.’ He looks up at the camera, almost as if he was talking directly to Peter. “Unlike other vigilants, he has been given two options. Sign the Accords, or deal with the consequences.’ Ross straightened his posture and adjusted his tie. ‘No further questions.’ The crowd of reporters erupted as Ross turned to leave.”
Peter grabbed the remote and shut off the TV. That’s enough for today. He stood up and walked towards his room.
”Peter-“ May reached out to stop him, but he shut the door behind him before she could.