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“Mr. Stark? Mr. Stark? Tony?”
Tony shook himself out of his thoughts. “Sorry Pete. What were you saying?”
“The pain sensors on Dr. Banner’s sling. I fixed them - I was asking if you needed me to work on any other Avengers stuff.” Peter pulled his chair around the table, and sat down next to his mentor. “What’s wrong?”
“Ah...it’s parent stuff,” Tony said, waving a hand.
“Morgan? What happened?”
“She’s having trouble at school. Pep went up and talked to the teachers...some boy in her class is being mean to her. Depression runs rampant in this family, and we’re starting to see signs.”
“Sorry, there’s a kid - of any gender - who is dumb enough to pick on the daughter of the collective Avengers?” Peter asked.
Tony couldn’t help it - he laughed. Peter looked genuinely bewildered. “Kids don’t care about us, Pete. Their world is different.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Peter muttered. Then he brightened. “What if I came over this weekend? Won’t solve everything, but I can make her a spider hammock. Let her know she’s not alone.”
Tony squeezed his shoulder. “Come by - bring MJ. Morgan likes when MJ reads to her - your girl does the voices.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” Peter said, grinning.
“You’re grounded.”
*
“What do you think, Uncle Tones?” MJ asked.
Tony had come upstairs to check on the kids, and wasn’t expecting to be asked his opinion. He paused in the doorway, surveying the stuffed animal/barbie explosion that had apparently occurred. “Uhhh, about what?”
“Would Applejack beat Twilight Sparkle in a fight?” Peter asked, holding up the two ponies.
Wholly unprepared for this conversation, Tony threw a Hail Mary. “Uh...they wouldn’t fight. Because friendship is magic.”
“Come on, Dad! Be serious,” Morgan groaned.
“You know, I was just coming to see what kind of pizza you all wanted.”
“Pepperoni and pineapple,” all three chorused.
Tony retreated back to the safety of the kitchen, where Pepper was making a smoothie. “How is it that the eight year old and the eighteen year olds are all captivated by MLP?”
“MLP?”
“My Little Pony,” Tony said. “You gotta work on your pop culture references, Miss Potts. But hey,” he said, snuggling up to her. “The eight year old is smiling. And interested in eating again. I’d count Operation Spider-Sitters as an absolute win.”
“For once, I agree with your assessment of a win,” Pepper told him, pouring two glasses. “Gives us time to figure out a long-term solution. Cheers!”
*
Two weeks later, Peter was in a stickier situation than babysitting. And the few Avengers gathered there were trying to teach him to stand on his own.
“Avengers don’t give up!”
“I can’t do this!”
“Come on, Pete,” Natasha goaded. “Being a hero means facing your fears.”
“Okay, Spider-Mom,” Peter said, glaring at her, “Show me how it’s done.”
Natasha stared straight at him...and downed three raw oysters in rapid succession. “It’s a delicacy, really. Go on. Your turn.”
Peter was reaching for one when Friday came through on the intercom.
Sir? Urgent call from New York STEM Elementary.
The others went silent as Tony went into the other room to take the call. He came back a second later to get his jacket. “Gotta go - that kid who was picking on Morgan -”
“What? Who would dare bother the Stark heir?” Thor asked, looking just as confused as Peter had. He’d just come back that morning, so he was a little behind.
“He pushed her down on the playground...and somehow she’s the one getting suspended.”
“Oh shit,” Peter whispered.
The rest of them turned to stare at him. Tony, who had been turning to leave, turned back slowly and leveled a gaze at Peter. “Something I should know?”
“I...uh...I should go with you. Morgan wanted me to teach her to fight - I didn’t!” Peter said quickly, seeing Tony’s eyebrows go up. “I told her she should use her words, and...uh...MJ and I sort of...gave her some suggestions. Among other things.”
Twenty minutes later, in the comfort of Principal Zeller’s office, Pepper, Tony, and Peter were all standing behind Morgan, while Mr. and Mrs. Wexton stood behind their son, Justin. Justin was still crying.
“Frankly, Mr. Stark, I’m surprised at Morgan. This is one of the most vicious verbal attacks I’ve ever witnessed by a student. Would you like to repeat what you said, Morgan?”
Morgan stared at her shoes, but spoke clearly. “Justin pushed me down, and I told him to stop picking on me. He pushed me again when I tried to get back up, so I asked what his problem was. And then I told him it wasn’t my fault his parents didn’t love each other or him enough to teach him basic respect. I told him he should stay in during recess instead of coming after me because he wasn’t smart enough to pass the third grade without some serious extra help. And that he’s probably so maladjusted because his mom breastfed him through second grade and only gave up when his dad threatened divorce….”
All of the adults’ eyes were bugging by that point. Peter risked a glance at Tony, who was staring intently at the ceiling.
“Just for the record, that last one was MJ’s,” he whispered.
“Shut it, Parker.”
“Given the serious nature of this incident, I’m going to have to suspend Morgan for two days,” Zeller said.
“How long for the future woman beater?” Peter asked.
“Pete,” Pepper said, gently.
“How dare you?” Mrs. Wexton snapped.
“He’s already pushing them down on the playground…”
“And you never did that when you were younger?” Mr. Wexton demanded. “Boys will be boys.”
“Nah, I never did that. I don’t even have parents and they still taught me better than that.”
Tony twitched. Peter knew the older man was barely keeping it together, so he plunged on. “Justin’s been bullying Morgan for weeks now. But she gets suspended when she fights back?”
“Son, I witnessed this. I can’t punish him for something I don’t know is occuring.”
“That so?” Peter asked. He tapped his watch twice, and seven holograms of Morgan came up and fanned out across the length of the room. “I know I can’t record the other kids, but I can keep an eye on her. Her pen makes recordings, and I told her to only use it when she was filling out the school’s official bullying reports. So how about you bring those out, and let’s talk.”
The principal was looking, as the kids say, shook. But he nodded to the secretary, who brought in a stack of papers.
“Pete...take Morgan home,” Tony said, holding out his keys. “I’ve got it from here.”
Peter could hear the change in Tony’s voice. His mentor was no longer trying not to laugh. He took the keys and picked up Morgan’s backpack. “Let’s go, tiny goober.”
*
Morgan was taking a nap when Tony and Pepper got home. Peter was up, though, and had clearly been panicking.
“How much trouble am I in,” he asked.
Tony walked over and pulled Peter into a hug. “The good news is, Morgan isn’t suspended. The bad news is, we pulled her out of that school. Pretty sure the dad has compromising pictures on the principal or something. Luckily, Morgan won’t have to make all new friends, because five of her classmates did the same.” He let go of Peter and nodded once at him. “Go home - you’re grounded.”
Peter smiled and hugged Pepper before heading home.
*
A week later, Peter came to find a limited edition Star Wars LEGO set on his bed. Before he could call Ned, MJ called him.
“Any idea why Uncle Tones sent me a first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosoper’s Stone?”
“He never really means it when he says I’m grounded,” Peter told her, smiling.
“I have no idea what that means, but okay.”