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Tony sighed as he stepped off the elevator and neatly slid between the residents who were lingering in the hallway at his approach. Even in a rundown apartment complex in Forest Hills he was recognized. The billionaire adjusted his shades as he looked for the correct door. He found it at the end of the hall, unadorned and waiting. Tony straightened his shoulders and mentally braced himself, knocking loudly.
Hello, are you Mrs. Parker? he practiced, I’m actually here because of your child. He applied for our September Foundation, and he seems very promising, if I do say so myself. Tony frowned thoughtfully. Maybe gifted instead of promising?
The door opened and Tony grinned at the beautiful, dark-haired woman before him. She looked at him with large brown eyes, which were wide with surprise. Her mouth was parted open and she blinked at his appearance.
“Um—” she cleared her throat. “Hello,” she said, slowly and cautiously.
Tony adjusted his glasses again. “Hello, are you Mrs. Parker,” he began, but was interrupted by a voice he heard within the apartment.
“Who is it, hon?”
A voice he recognized.
Tony’s jaw dropped as he saw none other than Happy Hogan come around the corner to stand behind the bombshell at the door. His friend, bodyguard, and chauffer stood stock-still, wearing the same gobsmacked expression Tony was sure he had on his own face. His strong jaw hung open, and his dark eyes were narrowing suspiciously at Tony. Tony looked him up and down and shook his head to see Happy in jeans and a t-shirt, like it was his day off or something.
Tony shook himself. It was his day off. Tony didn’t expect to find him here, though.
“Boss?” Happy asked, raising a brow.
“You weren’t kidding when you said you worked for Tony Stark?” May Parker asked in surprise.
Happy just gave her a slightly disbelieving look. “No, I wasn’t kidding.”
“Oh, wow,” she said. “Oh!” she pulled the door further open so she and Happy had to step back. “Where are my manners? Please, come in,” she said, gesturing for Tony to come inside. Tony stepped over the threshold and pushed the door shut behind him. “I’ll make some tea, do you like tea?”
“Sure—” Tony said, just as Happy said, “No.” Tony shot him a warning look that Happy shrugged off, folding his arms over his chest. May looked between them for a moment before making her way back towards her kitchen.
“How about you two settle down in the living room,” she said. “I’ll boil some water and warm up the date loaf.” She turned her head and gestured toward the seating area, raising her eyebrows at Happy. Happy sighed and led Tony to the couch. Both men sat down on opposite corners. Tony adjusted his suit and glasses while Happy stared at him stoically.
“So,” Tony began, looking around the room. It was very small. Cozy, is what Pepper would urge him to say. He frowned as he thought about her. Their breakup was—well, it wasn’t easy, but it was expected. There was just too much going on with him for her to manage. He was a stressful man to be with when things were normal. Adding Iron Man and PTSD into the mix did not help things. His therapist kept telling him it wasn’t healthy to blame the deterioration of their relationship only on himself, but Tony wasn’t sure he knew any other way.
“So,” Happy replied, not moving from his position, still gazing levelly at Tony. Tony pulled himself away from the dark thoughts that were clouding his head. He frowned, trying to think of what to say.
“I thought you had a place in Manhattan,” he decided.
“I do,” Happy replied. “Today I’m hanging out with my girlfriend, who happens to be in the next room.”
“Ah,” Tony said, nodding.
“Tony.”
Tony looked around the room again, peering at several pictures. There were a few of that boy—Peter Parker—with an older man and May, and some at what were obviously school events like science fairs and band concerts. On the end table next to him was a picture of Happy and May eating ice cream cones with the big Ferris Wheel at Coney Island behind them. The light from the sunset made them glow. It was an exceptional photo. Beside it was a shot of Peter and Happy on the boardwalk, and the boy was laughing at Happy who had a smudge of pink ice cream on his nose. He was scowling, but Tony could tell from the corners of his mouth that he was trying not to smile.
Shit.
“This is a nice place,” Tony said. “Very cozy. Family chic. I like it.” Happy’s eyes narrowed. “No really, it’s a good look on you—”
“Tony, why are you at my girlfriend’s apartment?” Happy asked bluntly.
“Well, to be fair, I didn’t know she was your girlfriend,” Tony replied. “Not that I’m here to hit on her or anything. That’d be weird, just coming to a woman’s house to hit on her.”
“You’re avoiding my question.”
“No,” Tony said, chuckling. “No I’m not,” he smiled and saw Happy’s expression hadn’t altered in the slightest. The smile dropped from his face and he shrugged. “Alright, I am,” he said. He dropped his voice. “Look, I’m here about the kid.” Happy raised his eyebrows.
“What about Pete?”
Tony pressed his lips together and gestured for Happy to scoot closer. Happy moved to the middle cushion of the couch. “Look,” he whispered, glancing back to make sure May was still occupied. “I was going to tell you this as soon as I could, after I talked to the kid, but he’s—uh—he’s not your average fourteen-year-old.”
Happy furrowed his eyebrows. “Okay,” he said, slowly. “I could have told you that. He has straight A’s, attends a STEM school nearby that has a huge tuition, but he got in on a scholarship, and he’s part of Academic Decathlon and his team always goes to nationals. He’s also won a few amateur photography contests. Took that picture over there.” Happy gestured to the photo Tony was admiring earlier. “He’s definitely exceptional, Tony, so that’s not news.”
“Yeah,” Tony said, looking around again. “But he’s—uh—a bit more than exceptional, too.” Happy opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to figure out what Tony was getting at. Tony shrugged and huffed a little. “He, he might have a bit of a side gig you don’t know about, one that’s kind of similar to mine that involves a red and blue sweat-suit.”
Happy’s jaw dropped. He glanced over to see that May still hadn’t returned. “How the hell do you know about Spider-Man?” he hissed fiercely. Tony raised his eyebrows.
“Spider-Man? I thought he was Spider-Kid or the Super Spider or something like that—isn’t he a little young to be calling himself Spider-Man?” he asked, running with the tangent. Happy shushed him, still keeping an eye on May. “Wait, how do you know about Spider-Man?”
“May wanted me to have a talk with him,” Happy said nonchalantly. “You know, man to man. She wanted someone to explain that sneaking out and getting into fights wasn’t a healthy way to deal with grief. His uncle died about eight months ago.”
“She wanted you to tell the kid not to get into fights?” Tony asked incredulously. “What did you say?”
Happy rolled his eyes. “I told him to grab his bag and come with me, and I took him to a gym to give him lessons.” He laughed a little and shook his head. “Come on, Tony, what could I say about not fighting? I think fighting is therapeutic. You just have to do it in a constructive way. The thing was, on the way there, we got jumped by a group of thugs. I was taken by surprise, and two of the guys had guns. The next thing I know, the kid is shooting some sticky web-stuff and restraining them, and I was so shocked that I just took one of their phones and called the cops anonymously, and we got out of there. Good thing the kid’s hood was up or one of them would have seen his face.”
Happy frowned, staring seriously at Tony. “After that, I took him to a diner, and he told me everything. He got bit by some spider at Oscorp on a field trip in the fall. Right after that, he got powers. Then his uncle died, and he started to look for the mugger that shot him, and while he was doing that, he realized that there were tons of people who needed his help. He was faster than the cops, and he didn’t have to worry about due process like cops did. Then he became Spider-Man.”
“Jesus,” Tony said, rubbing his face.
“Yeah,” Happy replied. “He’s a good kid. Now how do you know about Spider-Man?”
Tony shrugged. “Camera footage. I hacked the traffic cameras, found the area he primarily operated in, then I figured out he was coming back to this apartment complex. Did you know he’s the only resident that matches Spider-Man’s height and build?” Tony laughed to himself. “Once you put the pieces together, there’s only one answer.”
Happy sighed. “Good thing not too many people can do that. I’ll need to tell him to be more careful, and maybe change somewhere else.” Tony nodded. “But why are you here for him? What do you want?”
“Cap’s gone nuts, Happy. He won’t listen to reason. I need a heavy hitter to bring him down,” Tony said, steadily. Happy’s eyes widened.
“What? You can’t ask that kid to try to take down Captain America! Are you crazy?”
“He can stop a bus with his bare hands. He can help me with this.” Happy shook his head. “I have to ask him, Happy. I need all the help I can get.”
“Tony—”
“Here we are!” May said, carrying a small tray out. There was a teapot, an assortment of teabags, three mugs, and several slices of some kind of bread on it. She set it down on the coffee table and sat on the other side of Happy. “Now, what brings you here, Mr. Stark?” she asked, pouring hot water into their mugs. Happy grabbed one of the teabags to add to his cup.
“Please,” Tony said, “call me Tony.”
May smiled. “Okay, what brings you here, Tony?”
“Ah,” Tony said, glancing at Happy, silently begging him not to interrupt. “Well, the truth is, I’m here about an application your nephew submitted for the September Foundation.”
“The September Foundation?” May asked, raising an eyebrow. “Happy told me that wouldn’t be ready to launch until next year. I’m surprised there are any applications at all.”
“Pre-cursor ones,” Tony responded. Happy folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow. “Those are available to anyone clever enough to look, and let me tell you that kid is clever.” Tony shook his head and chuckled warmly. “I can’t believe he’s only fourteen. Can you believe he’s only fourteen?” he asked Happy, nudging him.
Happy glanced between May and Tony, then shrugged. “The kid hardly lets me forget it,” he responded. “I mean, I’m sure he looks good on paper—he’s real smart. Could be smarter than you,” Happy smiled smugly. “But you know, he still builds Lego sets. And he has some nerf guns in his room. And he plays laser tag. You know. The normal things that kids do.”
Tony laughed nervously. “Well, yeah, I’m sure—”
“And he’s already under a lot of pressure at school, and he just went through a bit of trauma, Tony. I know how rigorous you can be. Sure, maybe he can handle it, but do you really want to put a kid through that program?”
Tony frowned. “He would be completely fine with—the program. I’d wa—I’d be mentoring him.”
“I thought it was designed for older people,” Happy was relentless. “Are you sure he wouldn’t be under too much pressure, going through your internship?”
“Oh,” May said, folding her hands together in her lap. “You know, Tony, Happy as a good point. He and Peter have been getting close and I know Peter tries to act older than his age, but I would rather he focus on being a kid while he can. Adulthood will get him before he knows it, and he already has a lot of responsibility.”
“This is an opportunity that is incredibly rare,” Tony replied, sweating a little. Happy couldn’t block him, not now. “I admit, I get something out of it because while he works for me, the ideas he comes up with will be for Stark Industries, but the training he could get from me is incredibly unique. I could teach him a lot of the ropes for this industry that he can’t get any other way, except trying to learn a lot of it on his own.” Happy’s uncompromising expression faded to one of curiosity.
“I didn’t realize engineering was so exclusive,” May said, raising an eyebrow.
Tony laughed. “It’s not just engineering. Artificial intelligence, robotics, learning about physics from Bruce Banner when he’s in town, or even getting some lessons from Dr. Richards when he deigns to come by. He would have no shortage of people who could teach him anything he would need to know to be successful in this world. He’s a prime candidate, and the grant associated would be very helpful for his college education.” May furrowed her brow and glanced over at Happy, who reached down and grabbed a piece of bread. Tony followed suit and nearly choked on the sweet thing in his mouth. He took a quick sip of hot water.
“What is this, again?” Tony asked, hoping his tone was curious and not disgusted. May smiled, so he must have succeeded.
“Walnut Date Loaf,” she replied. Tony looked over at Happy who was chewing away. His bodyguard had the nerve to smirk at him.
“Ah,” Tony replied, taking another, small bite. God, it was horrible. It had the same texture as banana bread, but there was sickly sweet flavor to it that he just didn’t like.
In the background, the door opened and shut. “Hey May,” a new voice called out.
“Hi honey!” May replied, looking back over the couch. Tony followed her line of sight to see a teenage boy dropping a backpack down at the round table near the kitchen. He wandered into the open space of the kitchen, rummaging through cupboards. “How was school?”
“It was okay,” the boy replied as he walked into the living room. “There’s this crazy car outside, though—”
Peter Parker froze when he caught sight of Tony sitting on his couch. He had curly brown hair, and big brown eyes that had gone huge at the sight of him. Tony was pretty sure if Peter was holding something, he would have dropped it. He looked so young. Tony winced. Maybe Happy had a point, but he saw footage of that kid catching an SUV before it crashed into a Bus. If anyone could hold their own against Steve and his allies, it would be him.
“Hello, Mr. Parker,” Tony said warmly as he tucked the date loaf against his cheek. “It’s about time we met.” Tony raised an eyebrow when he heard Happy huff quietly behind him.
“Oh my God, wow. Hi, Mr. Stark I-I’m Peter,” the boy stammered, shaking his head in disbelief.
“I’m here about the application,” Tony went on, smoothly. Peter glanced between all three adults sitting on the couch, completely starstruck. Tony raised his eyebrow and winked at him, hoping he would play along.
“Oh,” Peter said, nodding slowly. “Right. My application,” he smiled nervously, and Tony breathed out a sigh of relief, glad the kid picked up on his cues so quickly. “What did I apply for again?” Tony felt his smile start to fall. So much for that.
“You didn’t tell me about the grant,” May said, furrowing her brow. “What, are you keeping secrets now?” Happy put a hand on her shoulder and shrugged a little at Peter.
“Well,” Peter stammered, “I was going to, but uh, I didn’t know if—uh—” Peter swallowed. “I just know how much you like surprises, and I didn’t want to say anything until I knew more.”
“There are all kinds of things associated with this, but we have details to discuss. Can I borrow him?” May frowned, leaning back and folding her arms over her chest.
“I can go with, honey,” Happy added. “Supervise. Make sure Tony doesn’t get too far off the ground.” May looked between Happy and Tony and Peter, then finally nodded her assent. Peter led Happy and Tony to his room. As soon as Tony crossed the threshold he moved as quickly as he could to the trash can in the corner to spit out that nasty concoction. When he straightened up, Happy was glaring, and Peter had both eyebrows raised.
“Believe me, as far as walnut date loaves go, it’s pretty good,” Tony muttered, pulling his phone out of his pocket.
“Uh, Mr. Stark, I didn’t apply for your grant. I think you have a mixup—”
“No, kid, no mixup,” Happy interjected.
“Quick question of the rhetorical variety,” Tony said, projected the image from his phone so both could see. Spider-Man dove down and stopped a carjacker in his tracks. Peter’s eyes widened. He looked over at Happy, who shrugged. “That’s you, isn’t it?”
Peter shook his head. “What? No. No, no way,” he said, smiling and stepping a little bit away from Tony. He kept glancing over at Happy, who remained impassive.
“Let’s try another,” Tony said, pulling up a different video, this one of Peter stopping a major traffic accident. “What is that, three thousand pounds, forty miles an hour—what a catch.” Peter looked over at Happy again, his smile falling further. Happy shook his head and gestured back to Tony. “You’ve got mad skills,” Tony continued, frowning at the silent exchange.
Peter kept looking between Happy and Tony, frowning now. “Happy—”
“I didn’t say a word, Pete, I swear,” Happy said, placatingly.
“Then how does he know?” He asked, eyes wide. Tony swallowed and put his phone away. Great, he thought. Now I’m ruining other relationships.
“Because I’m smart, kid,” Tony said, shrugging. Peter turned back to him. “They don’t call me a genius for nothing. Happy isn’t supposed to be here—well, I planned on introducing you guys in a bit, so I’m glad to know that step is taken care of.”
“That step for what?” Peter asked, flummoxed.
“I’ve got some questions,” Tony forged on. “Where’s your suit?” he asked. Peter looked up at the crawl space panel in his ceiling and said nothing. Tony reached down and grabbed a bat, then pushed the panel up so a sweat suit could drop down. Tony grabbed it and examined it as Peter looked away. “Whoa, these are actually sweats—and how do you see out of these goggles—”
Peter snatched the suit out of Tony’s hands and shoved it into his closet.
“You are in serious need of an upgrade,” Tony said, shaking his head.
“I’ve been doing just fine with the suit I made, thanks,” Peter said vehemently, folding his arms over his chest.
“Peter,” Happy said, sitting on the edge of Peter’s bed. Peter followed suit, staring at the floor as he sat down. “Listen, Tony shouldn’t have just shown up like this, but he’s my best friend. Let’s just hear him out, okay?”
“He wants me to sign those accords,” Peter said, quietly, rocking a little bit. Happy grasped his shoulder and looked up at Tony, eyes narrowing.
“Look, Tony, Peter’s underage. There’s nothing in the Accords as written that protects minors,” Happy said, warily. “Does he have to sign? Is that one of your stipulations for being here?”
Tony rolled his eyes. “Jesus, why are you so worried?”
“Because enhanced people can be taken and imprisoned indefinitely without trial, Tony,” Happy said, a tinge of anger coloring his tone. Tony blinked at him. The same protective look that came over his face when Tony was in trouble was now there, but for Peter’s sake. Happy was ready to defend Peter until the end. “Look, if you want to know why the kid does this, well, I already told you when you showed up unannounced, didn’t I?”
Peter lifted his head and stared at Happy with wide eyes. “What did you tell him?”
“I told him you’re a good kid. I told him you’re quicker than the cops, and you want to help people, and you think because you have these powers, you can do it.”
Peter bit his lip and looked down at his feet again. “With great power—”
“Comes great responsibility,” Happy finished, chuckling a little. “I know, Pete.”
“So why is he here?” Peter asked, glancing up at Tony. “Why are you here if you don’t want me to sign the Accords?”
Tony adjusted his glasses and nodded his head toward the empty space on the bed. Peter slid over so that there was room for Tony to sit down. The boy sat between Happy and Tony, leaning closer toward Happy as Tony tried to find his words.
“You ever been to Germany?” Tony asked.
“What? No way,” Peter said, shaking his head.
“Tony, do not have him going into this blind,” Happy said sternly. He looked over at Peter. “Pete, Steve—I mean, Captain America—doesn’t agree with the way the Accords were written so he didn’t sign them.”
Peter nodded. “Yeah, I know. That was on the news. I don’t agree with them, either.”
“Okay, well, Steve left recently, but apparently something else happened that Steve is involved in. Tony needs help to stop Steve from doing something bad. Want to elaborate, Tony?”
Tony shrugged. This was not how he wanted to handle things, but he had always worked well when he had to wing it. “Well, there was a bombing where the signing of the Accords was taking place. In Vienna.” Peter nodded, showing he knew what Tony was talking about. “The guy we think bombed them was the Winter Soldier. Have you heard much about him?”
Peter bit his lip and looked thoughtful. “Not really,” he said. “I mean, there were a bunch of information leaked online when SHIELD got exposed as Hydra. My friend Ned told me about some of the files and mentioned a few of Hydra’s spies. One of them was the Winter Soldier. Other than that, I’m not sure.”
“Well kid, that’s the same guy. The thing is, this guy is a friend of Steve’s from a long time ago. Steve won’t listen to reason, and I only have,” Tony glanced at his watch, “thirty-two hours to stop the Winter Soldier and deliver him to Secretary Ross.”
Peter frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you sure the Winter Soldier actually did it?” he asked. Tony pinched the bridge of his nose.
“There’s footage showing he was there. We don’t have another lead.”
Peter narrowed his eyes. “That doesn’t seem like much to go on.”
Tony shook his head. “Yeah, but it’s all way have.”
“So what do you need me for?” Peter asked, picking at the threads on the sleeves of his hoodie.
“You’re tough, kid. I need someone who can help me stop Captain America and his friends.”
“Is the Winter Soldier going to be locked up without a trial?” Peter asked. Tony looked over at him and frowned thoughtfully. Peter was looking over at him with worry. His eyebrows were lowered and he was frowning in a way that said Tony needed to think carefully about his answer.
“I don’t know for sure,” he replied. Peter shook his head a little. “But I will try my hardest to keep him from a jail cell. Maybe Steve is right and the Winter Soldier didn’t do it. I don’t know. I won’t know until we catch him. But I have some wiggle room with Ross. He hasn’t been able to take me down, yet.”
“So, you don’t want me to kill anyone or anything, right?” Peter asked. Happy put his hand on the kid’s shoulder again.
Tony gaped at him. “No! You’re fourteen! I just want you to stop them and web them up!”
Peter looked over at Happy. “What do you think?” he asked.
Happy contemplated the question. “You know, Tony wouldn’t ask for help unless he actually needed it,” he said, smirking at Tony. “He has a complex.”
“Hey!” Tony interjected.
“But despite that, I’m not sure it’s the best idea.” Peter nodded at Happy’s words. “It’ll be dangerous, and it might be scary. And you’re fourteen, kid. I’m not sure what Tony’s thinking even asking you—”
“I’m thinking that I’m desperate, Happy,” Tony said, throwing up his hands and standing up. He paced the small room. “I’m thinking Steve’s friends are good, and Steve is even better, and I have to do something about this! The kid is gonna do this superhero gig anyway—”
“In Queens, Tony—”
“So he may as well get a crash course while he does it!” Tony finished hotly. “At least if he works with me, he’ll have someone watching his back.”
Happy frowned, looking reluctant. “Look, ultimately it’s up to you, Pete.”
Peter sighed and scuffed his toe against the floor. “Do you really need my help, Mr. Stark?”
“I hate to say it kid,” Tony huffed, “but I really, really do.”
Peter leaned closer to Happy. “Will you come, too?” he asked. Happy paused a beat then gave him a small, unexpected smile.
“Of course, kid. Someone has to keep an eye on you and make sure you do your homework.”
“Happy,” Peter laughed, “I have straight A’s—”
“And it’s going to stay that way,” Happy said firmly. “Besides, me going is bound to put May a little more at ease with this idea.” He turned to Tony. “Do you have a spiel prepared for how this ties to the internship he applied for?”
Tony grinned, relieved he got Spider-Man on his side. “Boys, let me tell you all about the Stark Industries Retreat we’re about to go on.”