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It was all Tony’s fault. Not directly maybe, but definitely his fault overall. He said it was the beginning of a new tradition. Peter hadn’t even heard it from the man himself, he heard it from Ned when the two of them entered the school to see dozens upon dozens of students wearing full on Spider-man costumes. The hallway was a sea of red and gold; people in onesies, jackets, matching shirt and pants, even gloves.
“You didn’t know? Mr. Stark holds an Avengers Lookalike competition around this time every year. He gives out real cool prizes to the winners. I think last year it was Hawkeye. I guess this year it’s you.”
That was the first time Peter ever heard of such a contest. “Okay- but why is everyone in a costume now?”
Ned shrugged. “Mr. Stark said he’ll know if they don’t dress the part all day and wouldn’t qualify. I think he just finds it funny to see full grown adults wearing Spider-man suits all day.”
He hadn’t seen any adults wearing suits on his commute to school but he wouldn’t put it past Tony to put forth a silly rule like that for his own amusement. He was also sure he just blocked out his surroundings that day and was probably surrounded by people dressed in his likeness.
It was very odd. It was like half his classmates in every class were dressed up and nearly every teacher had to tell them to take the masks off. Especially Flash. Peter got a disturbed chill when he walked up in a suit that was near identical to his.
“I’m kinda surprised, Parker. You seem to worship Spider-man but you’re not doing this.” Flash said.
“You know me, I’d never be able to win a Spider-man contest; too skinny. Might trip and break something.” Peter answered sarcastically.
“I figured it was because if would out you and your fake internship. But I guess you’re right, you’d embarrass Spider-man if you entered and that’s what he doesn’t need.”
“You’re totally right. He deserves the utmost respect and if I entered it would just put everyone in a terribly embarrassing situation.” Peter walked past him, holding in a laugh when Flash started going off about how he was the coolest hero and deserved respect from everyone.
Peter had attempted to text Tony throughout the day, trying to get any sort of answer from the man about the stunt he was pulling. He finally got a reply when the school day was over but it wasn’t one he wanted because it provided absolutely no intel about what was going on.
‘In front of the tower at six sharp. Don’t be late.’
That answer made him even more confused about the whole thing. Was he supposed to go down there as himself? Was he supposed to go in a Spider-man costume? Was he supposed to go as Spider-man? Tony didn’t give him anymore insight on the matter but Ned told him that if it was anything like last year, he needed to go as Spider-man.
It was really odd on the way home; children and adults alike were in full suits, most with bags or backpacks. A lot of others were just walking around doing poses. He even saw a dog in a shirt with his emblem on it. He went past a group of kids just a bit younger than him in shorts and masks. He watched as they ran up to people that were in regular clothes, called them evil villains, and sprayed them with silly string, effectively wrapping them in a cocoon. A few of the adults were annoyed by the action, some just shrugged it off and kept walking. Peter smiled when he saw one man play along with them.
“Curse you Spider-man! I’ll get away with it next time!”
It was just before five when he got home. May had been cooking- something and stunk up the apartment, which had become a regular thing that Peter was used to. The thing that threw him off was her wearing a Spider-man apron that had him wondering where she got it.
“Uh, May-?”
“Hi sweetheart. I was trying a new recipe; Garlic Butter Chicken Alfredo. Burnt the chicken, and the garlic butter. The Alfredo isn’t that bad, a little tangy, and crunchy…”
“No that’s not- what are you wearing?”
May looked down at her apron. “Like it? Only two bucks in honor of the contest thingy.”
Peter raised a brow. “You knew about it?”
“You didn’t? I would’ve thought you were the first person to hear about since your with that man nearly every minute of your free time and since you help with Spider-man’s stuff.”
“No, Ned told me about it this morning. I asked Mr. Stark about it but he only said to be in front of the tower at six.”
May looked at the clock. “You should get going then. Most of the ways will probably be packed and Happy probably isn’t going to get you. Let me get you a few bucks so you can get something to eat on the way.”
“I’m fine, I still have some from last week. I’m gonna put my things away then head out. I don’t know how long it’ll be but I’ll call if I’ll be late.”
He acted as though he was in a rush so he would catch the first available sub, but in reality it would only take him a few minutes to swing over to the tower. He changed into his suit and threw some clothes over before heading back down and announcing to May that he was leaving.
Once outside, Peter headed behind the building, stripping his shirt and pants off and throwing his mask on and begun to scale the wall. A thought crossed his mind that maybe he shouldn’t actually swing to the tower if he could help it. Something about sportsmanship or whatnot. So he didn’t swing, instead jumping rooftop to rooftop where he could and only swinging where it was necessary. Once he got in a close vicinity to the tower he went to the ground and just started walking. It was strange for him but no one paid any mind because he blended in with all the other Spider-mans that were making their way there. Nearly everyone complimented him on his suit.
“Awesome dude! Looks like the real thing!”
“How long did it take you to make that?”
“Did you know it would be Spider-man ahead of time? How’d you managed to take it look so cool?”
“You were able to put this together in one day? That’s crazy dude!”
He felt bad honestly. He saw people take one look at his suit and then get discouraged with how they were, but of course he wouldn’t be competing. He kept telling everyone they looked amazing and that he’s been working on the suit for years just as a hobby. He wanted to tell them he wasn’t competing and that if he knew Tony as well as he thought he did, even if he was competing he probably wouldn’t win because Tony likes putting twists on things.
Peter wound up in front of the tower just before six in a sea of others. He got a very strange feeling of irony as he heard a voice compliment him.
“Wow. You’re suit looks awesome, man. You almost look like the real thing.”
How Peter ended up standing next to Flash while there were literally at least a hundred other people, he didn’t know.
“Thanks. You look really good yourself.” And he did look good. It looked like Flash had added a few more details in the time since he was seen at school. “How’d you end up making it so detailed in such a short amount of time?”
“This is actually a side project I’ve been working on for a few months.” Flash answered. “I mean Spider-man’s so cool. He helps people out all the time and stops bad guys from doing things and I respect him a lot for it. I feel like anything less than perfect would be insulting.”
Peter had to stop himself from snorting. If Flash knew it was him under the mask the. He would probably have a different tone.
“Same with me really. In all honesty though I didn’t know this thing was happening. My friend told me it was happening and that I should come down to see if I get anything. If I don’t it’s fine; would be pretty cool if Spider-man himself were here though. That’d make everything worth it.”
“I met him once, briefly.” Peter quieted a laugh at the thought of him taking Flash’s car. “He seems like a really chill, down to earth kinda guy, you know? Actually a lot shorter than I would’ve imagined.”
“Maybe with some luck we’ll be able to see him tonight-”
Peter was cut off as a bell went off. Trust Tony to be as eccentric as possible when it came to his stunts. The crowd cheered as he came out of the building and then hushed as he put a finger to his mouth.
“Wow,” Tony’s voice echoed over some sort of speaker system. “I think I need an exterminator. It appears we have a spider infestation.” A laugh rippled through the crowd. “How’s everyone doing tonight? It’s good to see each and every one of you here tonight in honor of our very own, Spider-man.”
The crowd erupted into a roaring cheer that left Peter sort of awestruck.
“Yeah I suppose he’s kinda cool. Let’s get this shindig going huh?” Drones flew into the sky and projected a grid onto the crowd. “Okay I need everyone to divide; those in full body outfits over here, those without over there, and if you’re just here for support then I kindly ask you to back away so we have easy access.”
“Come on, man. Let’s go.” Flash nudged Peter’s arm, beckoning him to follow. Peter still wasn’t over the fact of Flash talking to him like a normal human being. After a few minutes, everyone had gotten themselves sorted.
“Alright now unfortunately, this is a contest so there can only be one winner, but everyone knows I can’t stand a sad face so each and every one of you here today will be receiving something as a token of appreciation for coming out and showing your love for your neighborhood hero.” Cheers erupted from the crowd. Of course Tony didn’t want anyone to be upset.
He began going through the groups, telling people he liked their outfits and asking some questions; their names, how old they were, any hobbies, what they liked about Spider-man. It took a little over an hour and a half to get through everyone before he came to Peter and Flash.
“Well well, looks like you two have been studying our work rather closely. Your suits look like the real thing.” Tony looked to Flash first. “What’s your name kid?”
“Flash, sir. Flash Thompson.”
“Hello Flash Thompson. And I can only guess that you’re portraying Spider-man today.”
“Yes, sir. I’m a big fan. I’ve put alotta my spare time into making this suit just like his.”
“Tell me, what do you like the most about Spider-man, Mr. Thompson?”
Peter raised a brow under his mask. Tony was doing it on purpose, he knew he was. How else would he ever hear Flash give him some sort of praise? He also noticed the drones that had been projecting the grid had gone dark, all but one, and it was the one above him. But the light was necessarily around him, it was hovered over someone else a little ways behind him.
“He’s awesome, ya know? The way he can do all the things he does; his super strength, stopping bad guys, just looking out for the little guy.”
“That’s an amazing answer.” He turned to Peter. “How about you, Spider-man? What do you thinks so great about him?”
Peter rolled his eyes. “Well, he’s- he’s Spider-man.”
“Not like him to toot his own horn.” Tony winked at him and walked away. “Okay. I’ve come to a decision.” Overly dramatic music started playing. “Mr. Thompson,” Flash’s eyes widened. “While your costume is, as the kids say, on point, I can’t give you the grand prize.” A disappointed groan went through the crowd and Flash deflated a bit. “Does anyone wanna take a guess as to why he can’t take the prize?”
The crowd went silent before Peter spoke up. “Identity.” He looked at Flash. “You have away your identity like that.” He snapped his fingers.
Flash blinked at him before groaning. “Man, I knew I would trip up on something like that.” He held his hand out. “Congrats man. Your suits better than mine anyways.”
Peter took a step back. “Thanks but I didn’t win either.”
“What do you mean?”
He pointed to the drones above them. “Their lights have been slowly shrinking until the disappeared. I can only guess that’s how he was eliminating people.”
“You guess right.” Tony said.
The last lit drone up and shined a light down into the crowd, singling out the winner. Everyone parted so Peter was able to get a look, and his heart did a little flutter. The winner was a child, maybe around nine or ten given their height, and they were wearing an original Spider-man suit. Not the first one Tony had made, the first one Peter himself put together; red hoodie with blue sleeves and spider emblem, goggles that were impossible to see out of, fingerless gloves, blue pants and red socks.
“Everyone, I give you the winner of this year’s lookalike contest.” The crowd erupted into cheers and congratulations. Tony strode over to the child. “Congrats kiddo. What’s your name?”
“Spider-man!” The child said causing Tony to laugh.
“All right Spider-man. Did anyone come with you tonight or did you brave the streets of New York all my yourself?”
“He came with us.” A woman said as she and her assumed husband approached. “Congratulations sweetie!”
“Yeah! Good job buddy!” His dad picked him up and started swinging him around.
“I never would’ve expected this but I can assure you that you’ve made his entire year. Thank you, Mr. Stark.” The woman said.
Tony held his hands up in defeat. “It was all him. He thought outside the box for this. Once I set my eye on him I knew he would be the winner. Even I didn’t expect anyone to show up in a replica of the first ever Spider-man suit.”
“He was quite adamant about wanting to wear that, even made me take him shopping to get the exact shade of blue that was used.”
“Well his hard work paid off. Now he has bragging rights until the next one.”
Peter smiles under his mask as he listened to the conversation through the many voices in the crowd. Tony was asking if there was anything specific the child would like as a prize and he started naming off whatever he could think of before his parents quieted him down. They all agreed to meet the next day to discuss the actual prize, but Peter knew Tony was going to give the kid everything he names off before that.
“I can’t believe I didn’t think to show up in his original suit.” Flash grumbled. “I mean I’m happy for the kid but I feel like an idiot.”
“Cheer up, man. There’s probably next year for the next Avenger.” Peter said. “But knowing Mr. Stark it’ll probably be Black Widow.”
“Yeah I bet… hey how come you didn’t win? I mean besides the obvious, your suits like perfect. If the kid wasn’t here then I’m sure you would’ve taken that prize.”
Tony came up and clapped Peter on the shoulder, surprising the two of them. “It would be a little unfair wouldn’t it? Having the real thing compete in a lookalike contest.”
“The- the real thing?”
Peter extended his hand. “Hey Flash, I’m Spider-man.”
At that point Tony had decided to turn the speakers back on. The crowd went completely silent before people looked towards them and started shouting and cheering.
“This is awesome!”
“Nothing like last year!”
“Having him being here made it completely worth it!”
“He said my suit looked really good.”
Flash paled. “You’re- actually Spider-man?”
“Hard to believe right? Imagine how embarrassing it is to lose your own lookalike contest.” Tony smirked.
Peter rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t have picked me anyways. You didn’t even tell me about this whole thing and I got a very short notice about showing up. I didn’t even have time to prepare.”
“You’re really Spider-man?”
Tony and Peter looked at Flash’s dumbstruck stare, both laughing slightly at his state.
“Let’s close the night off huh? Give the people something to take home.” Tony elbowed Peter slightly. Peter nodded and shrugged of his bag. “Ladies and gentlemen! May I present to you, Spider-man!”
Peter took his queue and swung up the side of the tower before flipping off and doing all sorts of tumbles and twists in the air, then shooting his web to another nearby building for he hit the ground. The entire area was filled with people cheering him on and shouting. With every turn and flip, he could see the child that had won. His mask was finally off and Peter saw the huge smile plastered on his face.
Normally Peter hates losing, but that was a time he was glad he did.