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Peter groaned as Flash threw yet another wad of paper at his head, willing himself not to catch it and let it boink against his curls.
Boink.
Boink.
Boink.
“Can you stop?” Peter hissed, turning around in his desk.
“Mr. Parker, we are in the middle of a quiz. If I need to remind you again, I will have to deduct ten points.”
Peter bit his tongue and nodded, scratching his pencil into the easy physics quiz.
A few minutes later, Ms. Warren came to collect the papers and she set them neatly in a folder. “Now,” she said, stepping in front of the chalkboard, “I have some very exciting news.” Peter raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “As you may know, Stark Industries recently began an education initiative, and one part of this initiative includes field trips to the SI labs. I applied for our class, and our application was accepted.”
The class erupted in cheers, Flash’s loudest of all. “Hey, Parker! Ready to admit the truth?”
Peter buried his hands in his hair and took a few calming breaths as Ms. Warren ignored Flash and began distributing the permission slips and NDAs.
“Please get these forms signed,” she said, as the students eagerly read over each word on the permission slip. “The trip will be the day after tomorrow.”
Great.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
“This is great, Peter!” Ned exclaimed in between bites of his square pizza. “You’ll finally be able to show Flash that your internship is real! AND that you know the AVENGERS and TONY STARK.”
Peter groaned. “No, it’s not great, Ned! I have a secret identity, remember that? And I’m not exactly interested in the press knowing that I’m Mr. Stark’s son, I would never get any privacy.”
Ned nodded sympathetically and too another bite of his pizza, as MJ crunched down on an apple and scanned the rest of her chapter. When she finished, she slid a bookmark between the worn and yellowed pages, and looked up at Peter with a bored expression. “You’re overreacting. Just tell Stark you’re serious about not wanting anyone to intervene.”
“But if they DON’T,” Peter complained, “Flash will get 100x worse!”
“How about this?” MJ said. ”The interns know you, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So, why would Tony Stark know you? You’re just an intern.”
Peter tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Okay. I’ll talk to him.”
---
“Hey, Dad!” Peter chirped as he entered the penthouse. “Hey, there, tinoket.” Peter swooped Amy up from the couch and brought her into a hug, kissing her curls softly.
“Pete!” Tony exclaimed, grinning. “Did you get any exciting news in class today?”
“Ugh, Dad, please, please, please just ignore me. I don’t want anyone to find out about us.”
Tony furrowed his brow, but saw the sincerity behind his son’s words forced his head into a nod. “I’ll stay out of the way, Pete.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Daddyyyyyy!” Amy exclaimed, poking at Peter’s cheek. “Want gra-fruit.”
“Okay, bug, I’ll go get you a grapefruit.”
---
The next day, Peter brought in his permission slip, signed by Happy, and the NDAs that were completely unnecessary for him to sign.
“Wow, Parker, I’m surprised you’re actually coming. Makes it more fun for me.”
Peter nodded and rolled his eyes sarcastically as he handed his forms over to Ms. Warren.
“Mr. Parker,” she said. “A word after class, please.”
The period ticked by slowly as Peter stressed about what Ms. Warren wanted to talk to him about. Finally, the bell rang, and Peter walked up to Ms. Warren’s desk, Ned flashing him an apologetic look and waiting outside the classroom for him.
“Mr. Parker,” Ms. Warren began. “I wanted to talk to you about your internship. I am aware that you filed paperwork with the school and that your internship is, in fact, real. I just want you to know that I am on your side.”
Peter gaped. He was not expecting That. “O-Oh! Thank you, Ma’am.”
“No problem,” Ms. Warren smiled at Peter, and then gestured that he could leave the room.
“How was it, bro?” Ned asked.
“Good. Ms. Warren believes me!” Peter continued beaming throughout the entire day, even when Flash jeered at him, and even when Amy woke him up at 5:00 AM the next morning.
The next morning.
Fuck.
The field trip.
---
The bus ride was a long one. It mainly consisted of Flash bragging about the field trip on Instagram Live, and Ned excitedly babbling about the labs that they were going to see.
When the bus stopped in front of the Tower, everyone gaped and began snapping pictures of the skyscraper from all angles, until Ms. Warren stood up at the front.
“I would like to remind you all that you are representing Midtown. Please do not wander off from the group, and please treat everyone with the utmost respect. Am I understood?”
“Yes, Ms. Warren,” the class chorused, eager to get off the bus and enter the marvelous tower.
“Very well. I want everyone to get off the bus in an orderly fashion , please,” Ms. Warren said pointedly, glaring at Flash, who was shoving his way to the front.
After a good amount of time, everyone had finally departed from the school bus, and was entering the Tower with wide eyes. Ms. Warren walked up to reception and told the students to remain where they were. Peter could hear Ms. Warren’s conversation with his enhanced hearing.
“Hello,” Ms. Warren said. “We’re the group from Midtown? We have a tour scheduled today.”
The receptionist, Kai, Peter remembered, scrolled through his computer and smiled at Ms. Warren. “Yes, we have you set for a 9:30 visit, with Alex. Please wait over there for them.”
Ms. Warren nodded her understanding and stepped over to the class. They waited for about ten minutes until Alex jogged up to the group.
Alex had short curly black hair and wore a giant hoodie over a pair of jeans, carrying a basket full of badges. They had brown-black eyes and a grin that overtook their face, and Peter had adopted them as his pseudo-older sibling.
“Hey,” Alex said as they approached Peter’s class. “My name is Alex and I’m an intern here at SI. First things first, I’m going to need your NDAs.”
Ms. Warren handed over a pale folder, and Alex flipped through the papers, before jogging over to the front desk and handing it to Kai. “Okay!” They said, clapping their hands together. “Let me hand out your badges and the tour can begin!”
The badges were made of a thick plastic. They were white, and they had a large black V in the middle, standing for visitor.
“Parker, Leeds, and Jones didn’t get,” Flash said, crossing his arms.
“Mr. Parker has an internship,” Ms. Warren explained, as Alex looked through the empty basket for any badges that may have slipped through.
“Yes, I know Peter, but I don’t know... Leeds and Jones...?”
“They’re my friends,” Peter explained. “And, uh, Mr. Stark wanted to meet them once, so they have badges from then.”
That was plausible. The official story that the interns knew was that Peter was Mr. Stark’s personal intern.
“Okay!” Alex said, bouncing on their toes. “Now, if you could all follow me.” Alex swiped their card on the scanner and FRIDAY’s lilt filled the lobby: “Alex Brooks, R&D intern, Level Gamma, no unauthorized items detected. Mx. Brooks, your Lab Director wishes to congratulate you on your program.”
Alex beamed. “Thank you, FRIDAY!”
“What’s Level Gamma?” Betty asked, pen and notebook at the ready.
“Ah. There are different levels of security access here at Avengers Tower. Visitors, delivery people, and the press all receive Epsilon cards, which basically means that they cannot go anywhere in the Tower without being accompanied by someone with a higher security clearance. The only difference in these cards is the letter – V for visitor, D for delivery, or P for press. Next is Delta. Receptionists, janitors, food vendors, all of these people receive Delta badges. This is for if you generally stay stationary in the Tower, only using a floor or two. After Delta comes Gamma, which interns usually have. Then, Beta, which is for the higher-level scientists. Alpha is for residents, as in the Avengers, and Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts have All-Access. That clear?”
The students nodded and lined up behind the scanner.
“Betty Brant, Tour Group, Level Epsilon, no unauthorized items detected. Enjoy your tour.”
“Seymour O’Reilly, Tour Group, Level Epsilon, no unauthorized items detected. Enjoy your tour.”
“Eugene Thompson, Tour Group, Level Epsilon, no unauthorized items detected.”
Peter noticed that FRIDAY didn’t tell Flash to enjoy his tour.
“Cindy Moon, Tour Group, Level Epsilon, no unauthorized items detected. Enjoy your tour.”
“Ned Leeds, Friends & Family, Level Beta, no unauthorized items detected. Welcome, Ned, it is unusual to see you using this entrance. Enjoy your tour.”
Everyone gaped at Ned’s access level, but Alex just laughed and motioned for MJ to scan her card.
“Michelle ‘MJ’ Jones, Friends & Family, Level Beta, one authorized item detected. Hello, MJ, Lab 37.A has your sketchbook that you left there.”
Alex smiled. “We’re heading over to that lab later today, anyway. Next!”
“Monica Warren, Tour Group, Level Epsilon, no unauthorized items detected. Enjoy your tour.”
Peter braced himself, as he was the only remaining member of the group yet to pass through the scanners. Taking a deep breath, he flicked his card over the screen.
“Peter Parker, alias: Underoos, alias: The Kid, alias: [redacted], [redacted], Personal Intern, and [redacted], clearance level redacted, three authorized items detected. Peter, you are supposed to be in school. Alerting Boss, as per Baby Monitor Protocol sub-section 43.”
“It’s fine, FRI, I’m on a field trip.”
“Very well. Enjoy your tour, Peter.”
If the class though they were surprised before, they were absolutely shooketh now.
“Mx. Brooks?” Betty asked, raising her hand. “How come all of Peter’s information is redacted?”
Alex chuckled. “Peter’s pretty high up on the food chain here at SI, so it’s safer for all of that to be redacted. Now, shall we begin?”
“Please, no,” Peter mumbled under his breath, but no one heard him over the sound of his classmates’ cheers.
---
“First,” Alex said, swiping their access card and leading the class into the elevator, “We’re going to watch a short movie about the history of Stark Industries.”
Peter stifled a groan. He had made that movie. After the Homecoming incident, Tony had begun inviting Peter to his labs. One day, Peter had complained about not having anything to do, and Tony had forced him to create the movie.
Oh, joy.
The elevator zoomed to the Viewing Room, a small theater with cushy velvet seats and a giant movie screen. Eagerly, the class filled the room up, and Alex began the film.
It started with old footage of Howard Stark, talking through one of his new inventions. The camera then cut out, and horrifying footage of Stark weaponry and destruction filled the screen, the picture changing every few seconds, somber music accompanying it. Pepper’s voice-over began.
“Stark Industries was created by Howard Stark, and it’s main goal was to privatize world peace. Howard Stark was a smart man who created weapons of mass destruction for the government to buy and use in war. When Howard Stark died, Obadiah Stane, a close family friend, took over as CEO of the company. Then, when Tony Stark, Howard Stark’s son, turned 21, he inherited Stark Industries.”
The footage began showcasing pictures of Tony when he was younger.
“Tony is a genius, but he struggled a lot with responsibility, until he was attacked in Afghanistan by a terrorist organization known as the Ten Rings.”
A picture of the Ten Rings symbol appeared alongside an image of Tony.
“He was in Afghanistan, demonstrating an incredibly powerful weapon - the Jericho bomb – and he was ambushed by the Ten Rings. A Stark bomb exploded near him, and a piece of shrapnel was embedded in his chest, forcing him to need surgery. The Ten Rings tortured Tony, and forced him to build a Jericho missile for them to use against the U.S. During this time, Tony built an arc reactor to save his life, as well as the first Iron Man armor.”
Triumphant music echoed through the room as a shaky video appeared, probably shot with a cell phone, of Iron Man flying through the sky.
“You all know how it goes from there, with Iron Man and everything, but this video isn’t about Tony’s legacy as Iron Man.”
The Iron Man video cut out and photos from all angles of Avengers Tower popped onto the screen, one by one.
“After returning from Afghanistan, Tony refused to manufacture any more weapons, much to Stane’s annoyance. They fought, Tony found out about Stane’s involvement in his kidnapping, and, eventually, Stark Industries did stop making weapons.”
An upbeat tune replaced Pepper’s voice-over as various images of interns flashed across the screen for a minute or two, and then Pepper’s voice-over returned.
“Tony Stark is a hero, a husband, a father, and a changed man. He takes pride in all of the work that goes on here at SI, much more involved in the labs than he had been. He even formed a program, the September Foundation, to help young prodigies.”
“Fuck,” Peter whispered, shrinking in his seat, as he remembered what happened next in his film.
“Uh, hi,” on-screen Peter said, smiling at the camera. “My name’s Peter Parker, and I’m Mr. Stark’s personal intern, and a recipient of the September Foundation grant. A lot of people think that he’s a selfish asshole, but when you actually get to know him, he’s great.”
Peter cursed his laziness at not wanting to go interview an actual September Foundation recipient as his class gawked at him and Ned pushed him playfully.
A video of Tony, bouncing a three-year-old Morgan on his hip, in the intern labs replaced that of Peter. He was examining an awestruck intern’s project when he glanced up at the camera and rolled his eyes playfully, but the love behind the gesture was obvious.
“You’re a little shit,” Tony said, pointing at the man behind the camera (Peter, not that his class had to know that), as the cameraman giggled.
The camera cut out once more to show a laughing Morgan.
“What do you have to say about your Dad?” An off-screen voice asked, and Morgan’s face lit up.
“Daddy played Tea Party with me today!” She exclaimed excitedly.
“Yeah? How do you play that?”
“Daddy had to wear a tiara and he pretended he was drinking tea with me.”
Tony appeared on camera and lifted Morgan up. “Don’t you dare put that in the video,” he said.
“I’m totally putting that in the video,” the offscreen voice said, and the camera switched one final time to that of Pepper.
“So, yeah,” she said, smiling softly. “I think that SI’s doing pretty well, and I can’t think of anyone that I’d rather be working with than Tony.”
As the movie stopped and the Stark Industries symbol appeared, Alex turned the lights back on.
“What the fuck, Parker?” Flash asked, crossing his arms.
“I told you I was his personal intern?” Peter said, shrinking into the chair.
“Alright, please don’t harass Peter. Let’s move on to the labs,” Alex said, leaving the room.
---
Peter was never going back to the intern labs ever again. They’re all monsters.
“Petey!” Maya exclaimed, and the rest of the interns turned to look at him.
“Stark Junior!”
“Mini Stark!”
“Tiny Boss-Man!”
“Baby Boss!”
“Whiz Kid!”
“Shut up,” Peter mumbled over the incessant screams of the interns.
“Yes, we have quite a few nicknames for Peter here in our labs,” Alex said, stifling a laugh. “Andrew?” They said, snapping their fingers at a red-haired man engrossed in an advanced circuit board.
“Hm?” He looked up at her.
“This is Andrew Stevens, the Lab Director for this lab. Andrew, would you like to tell them a bit more about your lab?”
“Oh, sure. Yeah, I’m Andrew, I’m the Lab Director for Lab 27.A. That just means that our lab is on the 27th floor and that it’s the closest to the elevator out of 27.A, 27.B, 27.C, and 27.D. We’re currently working on a few things, such as -”
But Andrew didn’t have time to elaborate on that before Peter’s spidey-sense started BLARING, and the alarms began going off.
“Intruder Alert, Intruder Alert,” came FRIDAY’s calm tone.
“Shit!” Peter exclaimed. “FRI, where’s the threat?”
“The Avengers have been dispatched. The threat appears to be an alien force, attacking this tower specifically.”
Peter nodded and bit his lip, before remembering that Amy’s school had been out today because of a lice outbreak (that Amy fortunately had not contacted).
“Where’s Amy?” Peter exclaimed, eyes wide.
“Amy is currently napping in her room.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, she’s not with Pepper?”
All of the interns were staring at Peter in confusion, the threat of aliens forgotten for the moment, and Peter’s class was just plain baffled.
“Pepper and Morgan are currently in the safe room.”
“They fucking forgot Amy?” Peter growled.
“I believe that Boss was on his way to bring her to the safe room when he had to go assist Colonel Rhodes in the invasion.”
Peter groaned and rubbed his eyes. “Okay, I’m heading to bring her there now.”
“Peter, the safe room for this lab can only hold the interns. You must find a place for your class to take cover.”
Sighing, Peter motioned for them to follow him into the elevator, and they did so, bewildered. “FRI, take us to the penthouse, authorize my class to be there with me.”
“Are you -”
“Just do it, FRIDAY!”
The elevator began to move, and it opened soon after, revealing the Stark penthouse.
“Don’t touch anything, don’t explore, just stay in the Living Room. The penthouse also qualifies as a safe room.”
Peter glanced out the window before leaving his classmates behind, and running to get Amy. Amy was in her crib, hiding from the alarm under her covers.
“Hey, tinoket,” Peter said softly, taking off her blankets. “It’s just Daddy, baby.”
Amy peered up at Peter, tear streaks lining her face. “Daddy, loud.”
“FRI, turn off the alarms up here.”
“Peter -”
“Override!”
The alarms shut off, and both Peter and Amy exhaled. “Alright, bug,” Peter said, groaning softly as he tucked her into his side. “It’s all going to be okay, yeah? I promise.”
Amy sniffled and let Peter comb his fingers through her curls. For a few moments, Peter forgot about his classmates being inside of his home, and let himself revel in Amy’s safety. And then those few moments passed.
“Ugh. FRIDAY, update on my class?”
“Your class is quite confused, but has remained stationary.”
“Alright, Amy, want to meet Daddy’s class?”
Amy looked up at Peter and nodded excitedly, wrapping her legs around his midsection as he opened the bedroom door and glanced apologetically at the class.
“Hey...” he began. “You can, er, sit down, I guess.” Peter gestured at the sofa and the chairs, and a few students took a seat.
“Hey, Amy!” Ned said, waving at the bundle in Peter’s arms.
“Uncle Ned!” Amy replied, grinning at him.
Ms. Warren cleared her throat and Peter looked at her guiltily. “Thank you for inviting us up here, Peter.”
“Oh! Yeah, yeah, no problem.”
“Okay, I’m just going to say it, who the fuck is that?” Flash asked, raising an eyebrow at Amy.
Peter bounced Amy and took a deep breath. “Well, uh, a few weeks ago, May died. And I guess Mr. Stark adopted me? So, I live here. Yeah. And, um, this is Amy. My daughter.”
Cindy grinned and crouched down to Amy’s eye level. “Hi, there, button!”
Amy glanced at Cindy shyly.
“Aw!” Betty exclaimed, sitting down next to Cindy.
Peter was about to say something when FRIDAY interrupted the moment. “Peter, the threat has been apprehended. Boss is on his way to your location now.”
Peter narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, he better be.”
The class glanced at each other, still not comprehending any of the information that they had learned today, as Iron Man flew into the penthouse and receded from his armor.
Peter glared.
“Kid -”
“You left her , Dad.” Tony glanced at Peter’s class. “Yeah, I had to bring them up here because I didn’t want her to be all alone. The alarms were blaring, she was scared out of her mind!” Peter clutched Amy to his chest and a tear ran down his cheek.
“Rhodey was about to go down, he could have died if I hadn’t gotten there. I swear, bambino, right after I helped him out, I was on my way to her, but FRI told me you were already there.”
Peter sniffled. “It’s okay.”
“No, I get that it’s not.” Tony sighed and turned to Peter’s class. “Hello, there.”
Nobody responded, too star struck to even form words.
“It’s okay, they signed NDAs,” Peter muttered.
“FRI, get their tour group up here to take them down.” He nodded at them briefly before giving Peter a meaningful look, and Peter followed him into a more private room.
“I’m so sorry, kiddo.”
“I know. And – And I know that it’s selfish. Rhodey could have died! But... you said she’s your number one, and then your actual family was in the safe room without her, it just... it scared me.” Amy twitched her nose and looked up at her father in confusion. “Hey, bug, it’s okay, don’t worry.”
“She is my number one, Pete, I promise you. If it had been anything else...”
“I know. I just didn’t know the whole story, and I was... angry, I guess.”
Tony brought Peter and Amy into a tight embrace. “I’m not going to let anything happen to either of you, okay? I promise. I promise that I will do everything in my power to keep you two safe.” Tony brushed Peter’s bangs away from his forehead and kissed it, repeating the action on Amy’s smaller face as well.
Peter grinned softly. “Thank you, Dad.”
“No problem, son.”