Chapter Text
“So what is this mission exactly?” the kid asked. “You know, in Berlin?”
Tony had returned to the one tiny uncomfortable chair in the corner of the bedroom where he was starting to feel a tad claustrophobic. He had wardrobes bigger than the Parker’s entire apartment. But it wasn’t the tight space so much as this conversation that was making him feel trapped.
How to explain the mission in such a way that would keep the Parker kid on his side? His new juvenile superhero friend had just demonstrated his staggeringly slick web-shooters and now he'd retreated to sit on the edge of his unmade bed again, his knees bouncing with anticipation.
"Well..." Tony began. "Well, what do you need to know? Cos we want to keep this thing pretty confidential."
“Um. I guess just...what is it you want me to do, Mr Stark?” he asked, his voice jittery.
Tony leaned forward, maintaining eye contact. He had the kid where he wanted him now. A little light blackmail had done the trick. The boy was desperate to keep his aunt from finding out about his vigilante antics. Tony had the leverage he needed to get Parker on his team and he needed to use it. He was devoting most of the 36 hour deadline Ross had given him to recruiting this kid. He couldn’t take no for an answer. Besides if Parker told him no now, he might continue to say no to him in the future. Then Tony would have another super-powered rebel on this hands.
“It’s nothing you won’t be able to handle,” Tony assured him. “I’m just going to need you to make best use of this stuff.”
He held up his hand which was still coated in white strings of webbing. The kid had cut him free from the door handle with a Stanley knife and then told him the rest of the sticky binding would dissolve within a few hours. Which would give Tony time to make a study of the extraordinary substance on his flight back to Berlin.
“I tell you...these webs have got to be the best non-lethal weapon I can bring to this fight,” Tony went on. “I’d be asking to buy the formula from you so I could shoot it from my own suits. But as it happens, I’m operating under some serious time constraints. Hence why I've got to bring you in as the expert to fire off the shots yourself.”
The kid just stared at him wide-eyed, a rabbit in headlights.
“There’s going to be a fight?” he practically squeaked.
Tony raised a calming hand, realizing he needed to choose his words carefully. “No, no. It’s not going to escalate to that. Because when I give the signal, you’re just going to swing on in there and tie up a few troublemakers before any punches are thrown.” He paused, then added. “But if punches do get thrown…you can hold your own, right?”
“I…I guess,” the kid stammered out. “Only to be honest, sir…I don’t usually use my fists when I’m fighting bad guys. Because you see, the criminals I catch here in Queens…they’re just normal guys. I wouldn’t want to beat them up in case I, like...seriously hurt them. You know, because ever since I’ve had these powers I’ve been noticing, well…I break things a lot.” The kid swallowed. “I’m really strong now, sir. It’s kinda scary.”
Tony nodded, absorbing this information. To look at him, Peter Parker was the last person you’d suspect of being a mighty superhero. The kid was small in stature, too little to make the football team. He had a baby face that was going to see him getting carded until he was in his thirties. His clothing was cheap, careless and nondescript. He had no hairstyle to speak of. Tony could imagine the kid being pitifully insignificant among his peers. He had hacked into his Midtown High school records, of course. He’d learned that the kid’s GPA was startlingly high. But apart from his brains and his tech skills, nobody would guess there was anything remarkable about this boy.
Nobody besides Tony. Considering the things that this kid could secretly do, Tony was just glad that he'd gotten dibs on him. Yes, he would be keeping Mr Parker very firmly under his wing. Not even the few loyal Avengers left on his side would know the kid’s real name. Only Nat had the vaguest idea about their newest recruit.
Tony’s mind flashed back to their brief talk in Berlin, roughly ten hours ago.
“So you've seen this Spider guy on youtube, right?” Tony had said to Nat before playing her the video of the kid catching the speeding car. “He went viral a few months back. Recently I had F.R.I.D.A.Y. send a drone after him, tracking him back to his apartment...”
Nat had raised a critical eyebrow. “Already doing Ross’s dirty work for him, huh?”
“Hey, it was a good thing I found him first! Because this Spider guy? He’s a teenager, Romanov. He’s not even old enough to drive and he’s swinging around New York in goggles and a onesie fighting felons all by himself. I’m not just recruiting him, I’m rescuing this kid.”
Nat had just narrowed her stare, looking at Tony like he was crazy.
“So what’s the plan? We're going to strong-arm the kid into signing the accords and make him a tool of the government? A child soldier?”
Tony had taken a breath then, close to losing his temper.
“What I’m not planning to do is leave a pubescent wall-crawling weapon without any adult supervision," he retorted. "I’m going to make sure that this kid has the monitoring and mentoring he needs so he’s not a danger to himself or others. And in that way we’re going avoid another Wanda incident where a well-meaning enhanced individual could wind up being the cause of civilian casualties and mass destruction. Does that sound like enough of a plan to you? Whose side are you on anyway?”
Nat hadn’t answered. She’d just told him to hurry up and take a plane since they were running out of time. And Tony could tell that she didn’t approve of him bringing a minor into their Avengers family feud. But then again, Nat had likely been younger than Parker when she was first trained up by the KGB and Tony could see from her hardened soldier looks that she knew they were short on options.
“You won’t need to throw your fists,” Tony said to the kid sitting on the bed before him. “You’re going to keep your distance and not go in for any close combat, you hear me?” Tony squirmed a little in his puny plastic seat. “And even if we do come to blows, you’ll be safe.” He took a breath before adding, “I take it you’ve heard of Captain America?”
At the mere mention of this name, the kid’s face lit up, a delirious smile rising on his lips.
“I...I’m going on a mission with Captain America?!”
Tony winced, knowing now that he was dealing with a giddy fanboy who probably had a box of superhero action figures stashed under his bed. He might be pitting the kid against his childhood hero here. But young Mr Parker was a science whiz, right? If he was an Avengers nerd too, then surely Iron Man had to be his favorite? Yeah, Tony had better count on that.
“Actually, kid…Cap’s the one who I'll be needing you to web up,” he confessed.
Parker’s smile fell. “You want me to fight Captain America?” he asked, his voice small and distraught.
“No. What did I just tell you? Try to pay attention.” He sighed. “Cap and I have just had a bit of a disagreement, that’s all. And it’s become necessary for me to apprehend him and a handful of his buddies before they attempt to flee from Germany. Does that make sense?”
The kid frowned. “What are you guys arguing about? I thought you were friends.”
“It’s complicated,” Tony said, trying to rush through this explanation fast as he could. “And when you come face to face with Cap, he’ll most likely try to lure you onto his side, telling you that you don’t understand what’s happening. But you should know that Cap’s not in his right mind at the moment. So I’ve got to trust that you’re not going to be swayed by anything he says...even if you're a fan.”
“Um, for sure," said the kid, blushing a little. "But Mr Stark, I really don’t understand what’s…”
“Look, all you really need to know is that Cap is in the wrong here. He’s dead wrong. But he thinks he’s right and that makes him dangerous. But in spite of all that...we're still friends. I’m actually trying to help him as a friend. Because if we don’t bring him in then other people will. People with weapons a little more harmful than your web-shooters, understand?”
The kid nodded, his jaw twitching with tension. He rose shakily to his feet.
“Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll come,” he resolved. “But I still don’t know how I’m supposed to take down Captain America, sir.”
“Steal his shield,” Tony suggested. “Then go for his legs.”
"Oh." The kid smirked and nodded to himself. "Thanks man. That's a neat idea."
Tony clapped him on the shoulder and forced a smile.
“You’ll do great. I wouldn’t have flown out here if I didn’t believe you could do this.”
The kid’s eyes got a little misty then. And Tony knew exactly what he was doing. He knew more about young Mr Parker from his personal records. Orphaned in his early childhood. His adoptive uncle shot dead just a few months back. Yes. He knew that the kid would be vulnerable to a show of fatherly affection. And the worst part was that Tony knew this because it was exactly what he had craved his entire life. His attempts at self-therapy really shouldn't involve exploiting similar traumas in others. Yet here he was...doing just that.
“Listen kid, I’ll be going on ahead of you, alright?” he said, recoiling his hand. “You pack a suitcase and then sit tight. Wait for someone named Happy Hogan to call and collect you. And don’t worry. I’ll get the green light from your aunt. Even if I have to swallow down more date loaf to get her permission for our little field trip.”
He treated Parker to a cajoling wink. The kid just stood there nodding, looking completely overwhelmed. Tony took a last moment to size him up, measuring him in his mind. Approximately 5 foot 7, no more than 130 pounds, slim build, narrow waist…he was going to have to shrink that new Spider suit he'd started designing down some if it was going to fit him. And Tony was determined that this costume upgrade wasn’t going to look like another set of baggy pajamas on the boy. Jesus, the kid was so goddamn little.
“Right. So I’ll see you out there, sir?” said Parker.
“Yeah kid. See you there.”
With that, Tony slipped out the door and shut it behind him.
He prayed he wasn’t walking away the latest big mistake of his life.