Chapter Text
A teenage boy casually leaned his back against a rough brick wall and faced the busy streets of New York. Cars of every color tried their best to push against the traffic of the morning rush. He took notice of two yellow taxis as they dangerously weaved through the compressed pack. He didn't even blink an eye. This was normal.
The boy fiddled with the white earbuds in his ears. No music came through. He just liked to listen to the people around him. It's amazing what strangers said when they thought he was oblivious to their words. He normally laughed about it later on.
The boy's soft brown eyes moved away from the streets and scanned the crowd of New Yorkers pushing against each other on the sidewalk. His eyes narrowed in on a head full of pitch-black hair moving through the crowd. The boy straightened up to get a better look. An Asian man exited the horde of people. When the teenager caught sight of him, he sighed and slouched back against the wall. That man wasn't his best friend.
Let's back up a bit so that you readers can understand what is currently happening. You see, the teenage boy leaning against that wall, his name is Peter. Peter Parker. At least, that's what his friends know him by. His family knows him by another name, but you'll find that out later on.
Peter made a friend a few years back. A boy his age who goes by the name Ned, last name Leeds. The two bonded over their love of Star Wars and quickly became best friends. Most mornings, the two met up in front of their favorite sandwich shop, Delmar's Deli & Grill. From there, they would walk to school together.
Recently, the two had become closer friends with the reserved and outspoken girl, Michelle Jones—or MJ. Just in the past few weeks, she had started to join them in walking to school. Peter may or may not have a small crush on her. Of course, he would never admit that out loud. Not in a million years!
Peter's eyes scanned through the crowd once more. By now, it was a routine thing, especially since taking up the mantle of Spider-Man. That's a whole other story, though. His eyes landed on another head of dark hair bobbing through the thick crowd. That's, for sure, Ned, thought Peter.
Sure enough, Ned came walking out of the pack of people seconds later. Peter's face lit up in a grin. "Hey, Ned," he yelled, throwing up a small wave.
"Sup, dude." Ned's eyes did a sweep of the small area around them. "Is MJ not here yet?" he asked.
"Nope."
Ned absentmindedly nodded his head while he reached into his pocket. He pulled out an old, slightly cracked phone. "I want to show you this video. It's been out less than a day, and it's already gone viral!"
Peter nodded his head and occupied himself by bobbing up and down on the balls of his feet. Ned's fingers slid across the phone. His eyes deeply focused on the screen. "So if this video is so popular, why haven't I seen it?" Peter asked.
"Probably because you're rarely on your phone." Ned glanced up. "I texted you one time, and you didn't answer until the next day. And only because I asked you in person."
Peter gave Ned a sheepish smile. "Sorry," he mumbled.
Peter's eyes scanned the crowd again. This time, looking for MJ. He heard Ned make a small sound of success, drawing his eyes back to him.
"I found it," Ned exclaimed.
Peter glanced down at the phone Ned had just shoved into his face. He tilted his head in thought. That room looks awfully familiar. Ned's finger hovered over the screen, ready to press play, but a voice stopped him.
"Sup, losers."
Both boys jumped. MJ had a way of sneaking up on the two. Even Peter with his heightened senses.
Peter focused his attention on the girl. Her hazel eyes were trained on the paperback sitting in her hands. He still questioned how she was able to navigate through big crowds with her nose deep in a book.
"Are we leaving?" MJ asked, not even looking up from her book.
"Y—yeah," Peter stammered out. MJ nodded her head and started heading towards their school, sidestepping and twisting around people without even looking. Peter and Ned followed in her wake like lost puppies.
Ned slid his phone back into his pocket. "I'll show you that video when we get to school."
MJ's head tilted up a bit. She glanced up from her book but quickly looked back down. "Video?"
Ned's head bobbed up and down, "Yes! Somebody posted it last night. It's already gone viral. Peter's going to freak!"
The trio pushed through the front doors of their school—Midtown School of Science and Technology. Students migrated through the hallway. Some stood talking in little groups. Peter's ears easily picked up some of the conversations within the vicinity of his enhanced hearing. Every topic was about this viral video going around.
"I can't believe he has a son!"
"Do you think they're actually related, or is he adopted?"
"How old do you think he is?"
Dread settled into the center of Peter's stomach. With every comment he heard, it grew. Ideas flew through his head at lightspeed, but he didn't know which one was real. Saying Peter was confused would be an understatement.
The three friends stopped in front of their lockers—which were conveniently next to each other. Peter quickly unlocked the door and shoved his bag inside. He recalled what Ned had said about him rarely checking his phone and decided to quickly check to see if he had any notifications. He did.
Out of the corner of his eye, Peter noticed MJ leaning against the lockers, reading her book. He would never understand how she could do that. He would get distracted by anything that moved in his peripheral vision.
Peter shook his head and focused his attention back on his phone. He couldn't let MJ catch him looking at her—if she hadn't already. That would guarantee him a few hours, if not days, of teasing.
Meanwhile, Ned was currently scrolling through his phone, trying to find the viral video. Peter laughed, drawing Ned's attention to him. "Oh, did you finally look at those memes I sent you last night?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Did you see the Spider—" Ned stopped. Peter's head shot up, mouth twisting down into a frown when he saw Ned's wide eyes. "Are you okay, Ned?" He asked.
"Is that the newest Stark Phone? The one that doesn't come out for two more months?" Ned questioned.
Peter's eyes shot down to his phone. "Yes it—yes it is. I get to test it out because of—" his eyes darted around the hallway "—because of my Internship."
Ned narrowed his eyes. He obviously didn't buy the lie. Peter quickly hid the phone from sight. "Weren't you going to show me that video?" he asked.
Ned stared at the space the phone used to occupy for a few seconds longer. Then he shook his head. "Yeah. I have it pulled up." Ned pushed himself between Peter and MJ and angled the phone, so they could both see. Ned made sure the volume was up enough so all three of them could hear, then he pressed the play button.
The video started out shaky. Like someone had just set their phone down. The camera faced what looked like a common room. To the right, the corner of a marble counter jutted out. Beside that sat a huge wooden table with papers spread across the surface. A man bent over one of the papers. But not a normal man. No. This man was Tony Stark.
But Tony Stark didn't seem to be the main focus of the camera. The very center of the camera faced a large U-shaped couch set off to the left with beanbags spread around it. A flat-screen TV was positioned on the wall in front of the couch. No one seemed to be sitting on the couch, but the TV had a running game displayed on it, so it was safe to assume someone was there.
The feeling of dread in Peter's stomach thickened. He knew this room; he knew this day. He knew what was about to happen. But he didn't let any of his feelings slip through to his face.
Movement on the right of the screen caught Peter's attention. Tony Stark had begun to tinker with a silver watch. He couldn't get a closer look at it because the video chose that moment to speed up. Peter glanced up at Ned and raised an eyebrow.
Ned answered the question running through Peter's mind with, "They're skipping to the good part." The dread grew.
Peter counted his breaths—in an attempt to control them—while he watched Tony Stark speed build an extremely familiar watch and the game continue to play on the TV. After a few seconds, the video slowed back down to normal speed.
A snapping hand appeared above the couch. Tony Stark tilted his head toward the sound and said, "Yes?"
"Can you toss me my phone?" A young male voice asked.
"Why don't you get it yourself?"
"Because it's right beside you."
Peter risked a glance at Ned to see his eyes glued to the screen. It didn't seem like he suspected anything. He couldn't figure out MJ's reaction because she was on the other side of Ned.
Peter's eyes moved back down to the screen to see Tony Stark picking up the phone. The camera picked up a blurry image, but it was impossible to make out. Some of Peter's dread settled.
"Somebody's calling you," Tony informed the unknown boy.
"Yes, I know." The hand made grabbing motions. "Now throw it to me."
Tony twisted around in his chair to face the couch. "How do you know?" He asked. "It's on silent, and it's been sitting here since you got home from school."
The hand stalled in its movements but quickly went back to making grabbing motions again. "It doesn't matter. Just throw it to me, dad."
Peter's ears picked up the increased pumping of Ned's heart. Even MJ made a small sound of surprise. He made sure to let out a quiet gasp and reflect surprise on his face, but all he felt inside was dread.
Tony stood from his seat and walked over to the couch. He reached over the back. Movement and sounds of protest followed. Tony drew back his hand and inspected the object sitting in the center of his palm. He let out an exasperated sigh. "Did you take a comm from my lab and wire it to your phone again?" He asked.
"No," the voice defended. "This time, I made the comm and then wired it to my phone." You could practically hear the cheeky grin in his voice.
Tony laughed and threw the comm back behind the couch. The hand reached up and snatched the device from the air.
"I get it back?"
"Of course, kid." Tony smirked, "Technically, you didn't steal it, so Pepper can't hunt me down."
The boy on the couch snorted. "What about my phone?"
Tony Stark glanced down at the phone in his hand; he tossed it over the back of the couch without a second thought. The hand shot up and easily caught it. Tony gave the hidden kid a fond smile and then walked back to the wooden table to continue working on the watch.
The video sped back up again, but Ned pulled the phone away before Peter could see where it stopped. He could only assume whoever had recorded the video had gotten the phone before anything else was revealed.
Ned started rambling on about Tony Stark's secret son. While he talked, MJ shot Peter a questioning look, making him realize his face was probably reflecting some of the horror encasing his body. He quickly wiped it clean. The small wrinkle between MJ's eyebrows only deepened.
Ned didn't notice the little exchange between his two friends, but he did notice Peter's blank face. The excitement shining in his eyes dimmed. "I thought you would be excited," he said
Peter quickly forced a grin onto his face. "I am," he exclaimed with false enthusiasm.
Ned furrowed his eyebrows. "No, you're not."
Peter shook the grin from his face. A neutral smile replaced it. He held out his hand. "Can I see your phone?" Ned handed the phone over.
Peter's and Ned's hands brushed against each other during the exchange. Ned's face scrunched together, and he quickly wiped his hand on his jeans. Peter didn't even notice. His eyes were trained on the screen; thumbs typing faster than is normally possible; he gripped the phone with white knuckles. MJ met Ned's eyes and raised an eyebrow. Ned shrugged his shoulders in response.
"How was the video originally posted?" Peter casually asked. He was trying to keep the panic out of his voice, but those closest to him could probably hear the slight tremble.
"It was Livestreamed," Ned answered. Worry laced his voice.
Peter nodded his head as he moved his thumb up and down the screen, scrolling through the phone. "Who Livestreamed it?"
"A guy who posts random videos of people around Stark Tower. It was his first Livestream. Nobody knows who he is."
"A lot of people actually do that," Peter admitted. "What name does he go by?"
"VentsMaster13," Ned revealed. Peter's hand froze as soon as the name left his mouth. His fingers clenched together, crushing the phone inside. Of course, it's him. Who else would be this stupid? Peter thought to himself.
"My phone!" Ned cried.
Peter didn't even realize he crushed the phone. He relaxed his hand and inspected the dead device. Peter gave Ned a sheepish smile and tossed the phone in the nearest trashcan. "Sorry, Ned. I'll get you a new one."
Ned tilted his head in confusion. "How're you going to do that?" he asked.
Peter didn't hear the question. His hands had already latched onto his own phone, and his feet were carrying him down the hall. Ned and MJ shared a look and then quickly followed.
Peter entered the first empty classroom and started pacing across the floor. He absentmindedly fiddled with a silver watch on his arm. He tended to mess with things when his brain overwhelmed him. MJ noticed the watch, raised an eyebrow, and calmly pulled out her own phone. Ned awkwardly clasped his hands together and watched to two. "What's wrong, Peter?" he eventually asked.
Peter jumped a few feet. It seemed like he didn't notice the two had followed him. It's a good thing nobody else was in the room. "Nothing's wrong," Peter assured.
"The bell rang. You didn't notice. You're also skipping class, which I would like to mention you never do," Ned informed. His gaze hardened. "What's wrong?"
Peter paused in his pacing. His chest moved up and down as he took deep breaths to calm himself. "That video should of never been posted. It went against a lot of SI policies, and it's probably going to come back on me."
MJ snorted. "Yeah, it probably will come back on you." She leaned toward Ned and tilted her phone, so he could see. A zoomed-in picture occupied the whole screen. The picture? The silver watch Tony Stark was working on in the video. The same watch, currently sitting on Peter's wrist.
Ned looked back and forth between the watch on Peter's wrist and the watch on the phone screen. Peter noticed and quickly slapped his other hand over the silver strap. "I—I'm testing it out. For my—for my Internship," Peter lied. It was obvious. So obvious.
Ned snorted. "You're testing out a watch Tony Stark made himself just last night?"
"Yes?" It came out as a question.
Ned rolled his eyes. "You weren't even at your Internship last night. I called you, and you texted me back less than five minutes later. Which is actually super-fast, now that I think about it," he pointed out.
MJ's head shot up from studying the picture on her phone. "You called Peter last night?" she asked.
Ned turned to her. "Yeah."
"When?"
"Around 7:30. Why?"
MJ looked over at Peter. "That's probably around the same time Stark Jr got a call."
"A coincidence," Peter shot out.
"Once is a coincidence. Twice is a pattern."
Peter lightly growled underneath his breath. There was no saving this, not with MJ around. The gig was up. He stomped over to the window and flicked his hand to open the latch.
"Peter," Ned hesitantly called. "What are you doing?"
Peter ignored him. Instead, he tapped his ear and asked FRIDAY to send Happy. Ned's eyes grew to the size of golfballs at his words.
FRIDAY's voice echoed into Peter's ear. "Happy wants to know what's wrong, Peter," she announced.
"Tell him I'm sick."
Peter slid the glass pane up. He placed his hands on the window sill and vaulted himself out the small opening, landing softly on the hard ground. Peter turned back toward Ned and MJ and crossed his arms. "You coming?" he asked.
Ned nodded his head, his expression closed. MJ simply picked up her bag and walked over to the window, jumping out without a second thought.