Work Text:
Peter looked at his new suit with wide eyes. He and Tony had been in the lab for almost nine hours, thankfully it was a Sunday and Pepper or May wasn't there to tell Tony and Peter that they weren't allowed to stay for so long in the lab. "This is...wow."
"You like it, kid?" Tony asked, putting a hand on Peter's shoulder.
"I love it." They'd done so many upgrades based on Peter's field tests. He really wanted to put the mask on. "Can I?"
"It IS yours." Tony nodded.
Peter reached out and grabbed the mask, feeling the fabric in his hands. After admiring the light feel, he pulled it over his head and looked around. Everything was so much more in focus. It wasn't too bright. It was perfect.
"Hello, Peter." Karen greeted. "How do you like the new lenses?"
"They're amazing, Karen." Peter grinned. "This is just...wow."
"I can also help to dull audio imput at your request. And I think you'll find the new display is a lot less distracting to you now." Karen
"And this is what you can do when you have access to something better than scraps," Tony said proudly. "You get the credit for this one, kid, it's your brainchild."
Peter felt pride well up in him as Tony squeezed his shoulders. Tony Stark was proud of him. His DAD was proud of him. He said goodbye to Karen and pulled his mask off. "Now it's perfect."
"You did good." Tony smiled and lowered his hands. "What do you say we give a crack at those sunglasses again for you?"
"Yeah, the earpieces are fantastic, but how can I get away with wearing sunglasses in class if I really need them?"
Tony frowned. "Didn't you wear glasses before the spider bite?"
Peter shifted and folded his arms over his chest. "Yeah, but how does that help?"
"What if I can make them look like normal glasses on the outside, but dim everything for you at the same time?"
"That...would be amazing." Peter nodded. Then he rushed forward and started to write notes. "That means we'd have to do like...a camoflage. Something that reacts to how I'm actually moving my eyes and project that on the outside of the glasses so it looks normal... But if anyone were behind me they'd see that they weren't normal glasses, so they'd have to be wrap-around glasses, plus that would keep the light out."
"I think I could manage making them look normal to the outside world. For now we need to get you something that works well, but later we can work on something that doesn't look silly or like wrap-around glasses. If retroreflective panels are a thing, then we can figure out glasses. But, that's gonna have to be tomorrow, because a certain spiderkid needs food."
As if to prove a point, Peter's stomach growled. "Yeah, that sounds fair." Peter looked at his new and improved suit and had an idea. "Could I patrol after food?"
Tony opened his mouth then closed it. His face became considering. "Well, it is the weekend. I guess you could go. You gotta stay safe out there though."
Peter scratched his head. "Would you go with me?"
"Patrolling?" Tony asked after a moment. "Like street crimes?"
"Yeah." Then Peter realized how silly the question was. "Oh, I'm sorry. Iron Man's way better than that. Shit. That'd probably just be weird now that I think about it."
"Well, Iron Man's never really done street patrol, but I could learn. You're probably the best to teach me, right?"
"To what? To teach you? I don't know about that, but I do know Queens better than most people." Peter smiled.
"Sounds like a deal."
-
Tony's heart was in his throat as he stared at Peter. "Are you sure this isn't too high up?"
Peter turned at him and looked at him with a look that basically said 'are you kidding me?' "What do you mean?"
"I know I put a parachute in that thing, but..." Tony could only see how small Peter looked compared to the drop from the top of Avengers Tower. Tony had a suit, and back up suits. He knew his suits would catch him if he ever fell, but Peter's suit didn't have thrusters or anything.
Peter sighed and shook his head. "I do stuff like this all the time. I promise, I'll be fine." He pulled his mask on.
Tony'd seen it before with the other Avengers. When they put on their masks they became different people. Nat went from her semi-soft, mother-hen, sweet to her friends but pain in the ass to enemies outside of her suit to a badass, scary lady that could defeat an army and not break a sweat. Clint went from a clumsy bozo to the most accurate fighter he'd ever known. Steve, well, Steve was always captain righteous, but even he grew far more serious under the mask. Bruce literally became someone different. He even knew he was different inside the armor. Tony felt freer in the armor, but more weight as well. It was strange how he felt so much better, safer, untouchable, but the weight of the world also settled on his shoulders.
But seeing how Peter changed was strange. Peter's whole body straightened as he put on the mask, but his fingers shifted. He looked taller, but excited, full of energy. Peter, too, felt freedom behind the mask, judging by the slight bounce in his knees as he looked at both of his webshooters. "Hey, Karen, how are you doing?"
Tony smiled, Peter too treated AI's like people.
"Me too, we're gonna have company today, is that alright?"
"Technically, I'm always watching."
Peter turned and Tony could tell he lifted an eyebrow. "That's not creepy at all. Race you to Queens, Tony. Let's get this bread." Peter ran forward and threw himself off the building.
Tony's whole body seized. "Fri, after the kid." His helmet closed around him and he was chasing after the kid, who was still falling. Why was Peter still falling? Tony was almost to him when Peter lifted his left hand. THWIP. Peter whooped in joy and swung forward. "This kid is going to give me a heart attack."
"Your heart is beating abnormally." Friday answered. "According to my research it is common to feel such fear when a child is in perceived danger, especially your own child."
Tony sighed. "No kidding." He flew after the kid. He could have easily beat Peter in a race, Peter, while quick, had to go a lot further than Tony did. Peter swung in long arcs while Tony could just fly straight. But it really wasn't about the race, so Tony stayed close, but not too close.
They landed on a building together and Tony looked at Peter. "So, where to?"
"Usually I listen first."
"Listen?" Tony didn't understand. Friday or Karen could point out any crime that the police were going after. Peter could help any of them.
"Yeah." Peter nodded and crouched on the edge of the roof. It looked like an uncomfortable position, but Peter seemed fine. His head turned suddenly, the eyes of his mask narrowed. "I think it's a good idea that you agreed to come along, hang back for a moment though."
"Hang back?"
"The suit is too loud!" Peter shouted as he launched off the roof and swung around the building.
"Friday, track him." Tony, however, hung back as asked. He wanted to go, as a father, but Peter had asked him to let him do as he usually did, which meant Tony watched, even if he walked across the roof toward where Peter had swung off too.
"He's currently getting a stealth look at the inside of a bank and requesting to speak to you. Would you like to take the c-"
"Yes." Tony answered.
"Okay, take a look at this." Peter's voice was quiet. "There's a hold up here, they haven't been able to trigger the alarms...probably turned off, these guys look professional. There's six, no, eight, two on the bottom floor as well. If you get here nice and quiet you can help, but I don't want to risk them hurting someone, so if you don't have stealth mode on that suit, I'd hang back."
"Kid, they're armed." Tony commented when Friday gave him a feed of what Peter could see.
"Yup."
"You're supposed to stay low to the ground."
"Well, this is what's on the ground. You able to help?"
Tony could, he'd just have to be careful with his approach. "Friday, get me the best route and keep it quiet, let's go. What's the plan, kid?"
"You ever play any of the Arkham games? Like that, only cooler and with more quips."
Tony landed next to Peter by the windows. "What? Was that English?"
"It's Batman, Tony. Everyone knows Batman."
"You mean the less attractive, less rich, less smart, less skilled, poor man's version of the real life hero Iron Man?" Tony smiled.
Peter laughed and pressed a hand to his mouth, even though he was outside the building. "Shhhh. Basically, I'm gonna drop in there and attract the attention. I can probably take three out before they really figure out what's going on. If it goes bad I can signal you and then I'll try to get the citizens out of the way when you come in to help with the others. Cool?"
"You're making yourself bait?"
"It usually works." Peter shrugged. "You'll be able to tell if it goes sideways, trust me."
Tony sighed and looked down. "Okay...if it even looks like it'll go bad I'm in there, signal or no."
Peter nodded and lifted a window. He silently climbed into the building and Tony watched with thermals. Easy as can be, Peter webbed up the three lookouts without alerting anyone.
-
Peter looked around and tried to figure out the best next step.
"Peter, this hostile can cause the most damage, it'd be beneficial to take him out first." Karen said, outlining one of the baddies.
Peter switched his webs. If he did this right, he could disarm the guy near the hostages and present himself as the bigger target. Maybe he could draw the attention onto him. He took a breath and launched himself down from the ceiling. He shot two webs one to yank away the biggest threat's weapon, the other to stick him to the wall.
The other two thieves jolted and turned to look at Peter.
"Hey, you guys don't look like you work here." Peter commented. "And I don't think that money's yours." Peter pointed to the guy who was shoving money from a till into a bag. He webbed them both up, easy. "Huh, I expected that to be worse." Peter muttered. There were still two in the basement, but they didn't seem to know anything had happened yet. He walked forward and gently put his hand on a middle-aged woman's shoulder. "Hey, come on, let's get you guys out of here."
"I think there were more, downstairs." She whispered as he helped her up.
"Thanks." He nodded to her. "Come on, everyone, head outside. Call the authorities, okay?"
Some of the others got up quickly and ran out of the building, but the woman clung to him, looking at him with confusion. Peter's spidersense kicked in, hard. His eyes widened as one of the supposed 'hostages' pointed a gun at him.
Peter grabbed the woman and ducked them both out of the way just in time to avoid getting hit by a bullet. The gun went off again and Peter managed to keep himself and the woman safe. Then the windows above shattered and the gunman was blasted back by a repulsor blast.
"Thanks." Peter called, helping the woman behind cover. "Sit tight, you'll be okay. Promise."
"You reacted quick." Tony commented, turning to look at Peter.
"I've got mad skills." Peter shrugged. "There are two more in the basement. But they're trying to escape. They think it went wrong cause of the gunshots."
"Keep the people safe, they could have more guns, you make sure these ones stay down."
Peter almost protested, but someone did have to make sure none of these baddies moved. He made sure to web up the others real tight, then he collected the guns and emptied them out, the last thing he wanted was someone to pop in and use them. When he turned, the middle aged woman was leaning against a column watching him.
"You should leave, I can hear the police coming."
"I'm alright."
"Basement's clear, Spiderman." Tony walked up and tossed two unconscious baddies on the ground. "What's she still doing in here?"
"I don't know. It's alright though." Peter's spidersense wasn't going off, so he knew she was safe.
"Tony Stark, such deep regrets you have and deeper wishes and dreams." She smiled. "I'd like to thank you for helping but...well, he's not ready." She looked at Peter. "My name is Titania. I think I'll visit you two again later, when you're both ready." She walked forward and gently reached out.
Peter didn't flinch when she touched his shoulder, but it nearly was a thing. "Um that's not cryptic at all."
"Let's just say you're not the only one with abilities." She looked at Peter. "And you carry too much on your shoulders. It wasn't your fault, none of it was. I'll thank you both properly for the save...just when you're both ready. Have a good one." She turned and left.
"Well, that was odd." Peter turned to Tony.
"I don't like the way she looked at us. I felt like she knew too much."
"She wasn't a threat, I know that, but she was weird." Peter frowned. "I'll leave a note, we can head out. Police are almost here."
"You normally just walk away?" Tony asked.
"Not always. Some of the force really like me, but um, there's this one guy, Captain Stacy...he's a bit wary of me. I rather not piss him off worse, or be around for the rant about vigilantes." Peter shrugged. "Plus, that's just one robbery. Plenty left to do for patrol."
"Isn't that enough excitement for you?"
"Nah. I only got shot at a few times and none of them hit. Lots more to do."
"You have a lot of energy."
Peter shrugged and looked up. "Aw man, they're gonna blame me for that window. Just wait until you see the headlines in the Bugle: Spider-Menace Breaks into Bank. Just you wait."
"I'll repair it." Tony commented.
"Won't do much, I'm afraid. That paper has it out for me." Peter held up his hand and shot a web up, slinging himself up through the hole in the windows. He landed on the roof and Tony followed him. "I should leave a note about that window." Peter slipped a pen out of his pocket along with a sticky note. He wrote quickly then pressed the note on it. "I hope they're alright...at least their stuff wasn't stolen." Peter's head turned. Even over the sound of the sirens he could hear someone shouting about their bike being stolen. "Hey, we should help that lady."
"Who?" Tony asked.
But Peter was already swinging away.
"He sure likes to stay busy." Tony sighed, taking off after the kid.
-
"No wonder why you eat everything in sight." Tony chuckled as he and Peter shared dinner.
"I keep busy, yeah." Peter shrugged, before taking another bite. "Thanks for the suit. The upgrades are fantastic."
"You're welcome, kid. Thanks for showing me around Queens. Go for less gunshots next time, okay?"
"No promises. But I'm pretty good at dodging so..."
"Did I just hear something about gunshots?" Pepper asked as she walked into the dining room. "Who's getting shot at? Peter, are you okay?"
"It was only a little gun, besides they were a terrible shot." Peter shrugged. "I'm fine."
Pepper glared at the two boys. "You're like twins, I swear. No more guns for a week, either of you, or you're grounded."
Peter paled. "Yes, Miss Potts."
"Not even a little one?" Tony asked.
Pepper shot him a glare.
Tony looked down. "Yes, Miss Potts."
Pepper huffed. "When I said you should bond with your son I did not mean for you to go get shot at together." She muttered then sighed. "I'm gonna shower. Save me something, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am." Peter nodded.
"Just, Pepper, sweetie." She ruffled his hair as she walked by him and then pressed a kiss to Tony's forehead. "Glad you're both safe. Just try to avoid gunshots for a while, okay?" She left the room.
Peter looked up at Tony. "I like her. She's scary...but I like her a lot." Peter'd thought that Pepper would disapprove of him, that she wouldn't be welcoming to the son that Tony had had before they were in a relationship. But Pepper had always been kind to him, warm, even if she could be a bit awkward sometimes. She seemed to genuinely like him and it made Peter happy.
"I agree. And I'm glad you approve." Tony smiled. "So, what was with that weird lady?"
"I dunno. Maybe we'll find out. She said she'd see us again."
"What if I don't want to see her again?" Tony sighed.
Peter shrugged, then looked at the clock. "Oh no. I gotta get home. May'll kill me."
"It's late, underoos. Maybe you could sleep here. I could take you to school tomorrow."
Peter sighed. It would be really late by the time he got home. He didn't want May to feel like he was trying to cut time short with her though...
"I'll call her and ask, okay?" Tony seemed to sense the worry and got his phone out. "Hey, May."
"Evening, Tony. It's a bit late, you know?"
"Yeah, I know, and I know I agreed on having the kid home Sunday night, but he and I lost track of time in the lab today. I don't know if he'd get a full night sleep for school if I sent him home. Is he alright to spend the night here?"
There was a beat of silence. "Did he have fun?"
"Yeah, got to work on some super-projects. He geeked out a bit." Tony said with a smile.
"Good. Yeah, he can stay the night. Lord knows he needs his sleep. Do you need me to pick him up for school?"
"I can get him there as long as you can pick him up afterwards."
"Okay, sounds like a plan. Tell him I love him."
"May loves ya, kid." Tony relayed, even though Peter could hear here.
"LARB YOU MAY!"
May chuckled. "Thanks for letting me know, Tony. Tell him to get some rest."
"I will. Goodnight, May. And thank you."
"Mm-hm. Goodnight."
Tony hung up and sighed. "Your aunt is scarier than Pepper."
"No joke." Peter nodded in agreement.
"She seems to hate me a bit less though, must be doing something right." Tony muttered. "Alright, underoos, time for bed. Helping that old lady across the street must've tuckered you out. Even spiderbabys have to sleep."
"Not a spiderbaby." Peter huffed, but got up and tended to his plate and fork. "Goodnight, Tony." It was a close thing. Peter almost said Dad again, but it didn't come out, not quite.
"Goodnight, kid, love you."