Work Text:
From his perch on the nearest high-rise, Peter Parker shot a line of web fluid toward the window on the 34th floor of the Baxter Building. It took some finessing, but he eventually created a whole trapeze wire.
That would be sure to impress the Fantastic Four. Maybe enough to convince them to make him the fifth member of the team. An endorsement like that, from the most prominent superheroes in New York, would surely get the Daily Bugle off his case. More importantly, he’d finally be able to make the stupid Spider bite work to his advantage and make money. The Fantastic Four were obviously loaded, and he figured that if he was on the team, he’d get a fat paycheck to go with it.
Hopefully, his Aunt May wouldn’t have to pawn off any more jewelry just to pay the rent. He felt so guilty watching her trade away the few nice things she had just to keep a roof over their heads. And one way or another, he was going to pull his weight to help.
Once he’d worked up the gumption, he stepped onto the trapeze web and swung toward the window… and into the proverbial brick wall. He found himself trapped inside a glass cylinder, the reinforced sliding-glass doors trapping him within. On the other side, Reed Richards was examining him with a hand on his chin. The Storm siblings seemed cautious and apprehensive, while the orange golem known as The Thing was paying more attention to his newspaper than their uninvited guest.
"Great, now I really know what it feels like to be a spider," Peter muttered to himself. Then he pounded on his glass cage with both fists. "Well, you four sure know how to make a fella feel welcome. What gives?"
"We don't just let anyone come into our home unannounced," Reed explained. "Especially not wanted criminals."
"I'm not a criminal!" Peter contested. "I'm a good guy! Surely you heard about me saving that astronaut's life yesterday?"
"Boy, did I ever hear about that," sneered Johnny, holding his nose up. "Jameson says you sabotaged the launch just so you could save his son and get the glory."
Peter rolled his eyes. This was just what he needed. Johnny Storm was exactly the kind of handsome, cocky jerk who would have shoved Peter into a locker. He was sorely tempted to punch the smirk off his face.
"You can't believe everything that man writes, Johnny," Sue scolded lightly. "So, this is Spider-Man? He's a lot smaller than I expected, and he sounds younger, too."
"Mebbe he oughta start calling himself Spider-Boy, so's he can end up in Juvie instead of jail," the Thing added. His voice was gravelly and inhuman, like the orange rocks weren't meant to move the way human lips moved. Crumpling his paper into a ball, he left his chair, approached the plexiglass and tapped it. "I say we turn the little crumb bum in. Easiest supervillain fight we've ever had."
"Okay," Peter huffed. He wasn’t going to be treated like a zoo animal. Grabbing the steel that supported the sliding door, he ripped it open with little strain. The glass screeched horribly as two sides pressed against each other with speed and force they weren't designed for. "I didn't come here to fight, but if that's what you want, I can oblige."
"Hey! That cost us thousands of dollars!" Reed exclaimed. "If you've broken that, you're going to..."
Whatever Mister Fantastic thought Peter was going to do was interrupted by a ball of webbing adhering to his mouth.
"Oh, how horrible!" Sue exclaimed, wagging her finger at Spider-Man before turning her attention to the love of her life. "What a rude little boy."
"Don't worry, Susie." Ben cracked his knuckles. "The ever lovin' blue-eyed Thing will teach this brat some manners."
Peter rolled his eyes. He didn't even need his Spider-Sense to dodge the massive haymaker thrown his way. Ducking under the orange fist, he retaliated with an uppercut that sent Ben Grimm flying back a few feet.
"I may look scrawny, but I've got the proportionate strength of a spider," Peter boasted. It felt good to have someone who could take one of his punches without having to hold back so much. "I came to demonstrate just how powerful the Amazing Spider-Man is, and if I have to trounce you all to prove it, then I will."
Johnny sighed. "Yep. That's supervillain 101. Flame on!”
The laboratory became a battlefield as Spider-Man dodged a two-pronged assault from half of the Fantastic Four. The Thing lifted an entire segment of floor, only for Peter to adhere to the ceiling. And no matter how many fireballs the Human Torch threw, he barely singed the agile human arachnid.
"You're making this too easy," Peter yawned, swinging one-handed from a strand of web like Tarzan and kicking Ben with both feet. The momentum sent the big lug careening into his flammable buddy. Peter dusted off his hands. "Aren't you supposed to be the world's greatest fighting team?"
"You bet we are, mister!" Reed huffed. Peter's Spider-Sense failed him as Reed stretched out with his left arm and yanked him close. Why didn't he feel the threat coming? "But you don't need to be fought. What you need is a good paddling!"
"What?” Peter gasped. Before he could process the words, Reed had his foot on a desk chair and the teenager over his knee. "You better think twice, Mister Fantastic! I'm no punk kid, I'm the amazing Spider-Oww!"
The cosmic rays that had made Johnny flammable and Ben a rocky monster had made Reed Richards’ body elastic and malleable. When his hand smacked the teenager's tuchus, it wasn't shaped like a palm. It was in the shape of the paddle Reed's college dean used to keep in his desk.
"A kid with an attitude is still a kid with an attitude, even with superpowers, son," Reed lectured after a second blow that made Spidey buck and squirm. "And I'll adjust it for you!"
"Ouch! Alright Daddy-O, playtime's over!" A kick in the chest stunned Reed long enough for the teen to worm free, and a carefully placed web tripped up his would-be disciplinarian. "You all had better start treating me with respect, or this is gonna be one serious Spider beatdown."
"I don't think so, squirt!" The insult was accompanied by a crash as Ben leaped behind Peter. Pete had just enough time to register that he was in trouble before Ben's powerful right arm bent him over. "Stretcho's got the right idea. The only way to deal with a pesky little bug is to swat 'im!"
Peter's bottom was once again pummeled with a super-powered hand. This time, it was a four-fingered massive mitt made of stone. The smack was genuinely thunderous; Peter felt like his eyes were going to pop out of his sockets.
"Yee-oww! Ow, oww! What's the big idea?" Spidey demanded, kicking and fussing as he tried to worm his way out. But while he was strong enough to knock Ben Grimm down, he definitely wasn't strong enough to escape his grip. "Ouch! Easy on the tailbone, ya big lummox!"
"Who you calling names, pipsqueak?" Ben huffed before cracking his mammoth palm against the boy's rear again. "You should count yourself lucky I'm in a spankin' mood instead of a clobberin' one!"
"Hahaha!" No longer on fire, Johnny couldn't help pointing and laughing. "Nail 'im Ben. This is the most fun I've had all week."
Sue was unimpressed with her teenage brother's gloating, and popped him once in the middle of his bottom.
“Sis!” Johnny complained, his cheeks flushing as he rubbed the sting out.
"It's not nice to gloat at somebody getting disciplined, Johnny Storm," Sue scolded. "So unless you want to go over my knee, you mind your manners."
The dispute between siblings served as a distraction from Peter's suffering. While he was still howling every time Ben swatted away, most of his attention was on the bickering instead of Ben's grumbling about "kids these days" and his sweet Aunt Petunia. When the Torch was cowed by this threat and said "Yes Ma'am!", Peter pounced on the opportunity provided to him.
"Hah! You get spanked by your big sister?" he taunted mercilessly. "Haha! Ow. What are you, seventeen? I bet all the girls think you're real hot stuff getting treated like a little boy!"
Johnny's nostrils literally flared, puffs of flame coming out as he blushed beet red. "Hey, shut up, ya big jerk. The only reason I'm not beating your ass is because somebody's doing it for me!"
"Baby Torch, Baby Torch!" Peter mocked, gritting his teeth through Ben's smacks. It wasn't easy to remain unfazed through this much pain, but the only things stronger than his superpowered body were his mind and his heart.
Johnny roared, bursting into flame and launching himself at Peter with violent intent. The danger made his spidey-sense tingle, and he aimed his web shooter at just the right time
"Sucker."
Seconds later, a blinded Torch missed his target and collided with his partner instead. Ben put his hands up to catch one teenage superhero and lost his grip on the other. Spidey swung out of the way and watched as the short-tempered duo struggled to their feet.
"Gah, what a revoltin' development!" Ben exclaimed. "This little shrimp is making us look like fools."
"Yanno, I've changed my mind," Peter grumbled, shaking his head and trying to ignore the blistering sting in his buttocks. "Why would I want to join the Fantastic Four, when you're all a bunch of slap-happy loonies?"
"Join us?" Reed scoffed. "Is this your idea of an audition, mister?"
"Something like that. But I think I'm better off on my own than with this dysfunctional pack of losers." Peter placed his hand to his head in an obnoxious L-shape. "Sayonara!"
Spider-Man's escape plan was cut short. Figuring he was safe, he took a moment to relieve some of the sting from the pounding he'd taken. The moment of hesitation cost him dearly, as a lasso looped around his torso and squeezed his arms tight against his body.
"What now?" Peter growled. What he thought would be a minor nuisance turned out to be a real problem - he couldn't break free of the rope. Soon, he was being pulled one way, and he turned around just in time to see the Invisible Girl becoming visible once more. "What is this made of?"
"It's an experimental material Reed created," Sue explained as she pulled Spidey into her personal space. "Strong enough to hold my foes in place, but light enough for me to handle. Quite extraordinary, isn't it?"
"Yeah, actually," Peter acknowledged. "Now come on, pretty lady. Let me go and I'll get out of your perfectly kept hair."
"Flattery will get you nowhere with me, young man," Sue promised him, fixing him with a stern look. "I'm done watching you rough house with the boys. It's clear to me that you need a woman's touch. You're not going anywhere until I get an apology."
"An apology? For what? You guys trapped me, attacked me, and two of you put me over your knees!" Peter spun around to address the men of the family, who were all watching with curiosity. "I think I'm the one who deserves an apology."
"Young Man." Susan Storm's tone of voice made Peter stand up straighter. It reminded him of his Aunt on the rare occasion when she got upset with him. "You break into our house, pick a fight, start a destructive brawl, and insult all of us the whole time, then insist you need the apology? You are far out of line. You may not be a villain, but you sure aren't being a good boy. So if you know what's good for you, you're going to apologize right now."
Peter was glad the mask was hiding his sweating, blushing face. When Reed and Thing scolded him, he felt annoyed and compelled to fight. When Sue came up to bat, he was just as intimidated as her little brother had looked. But he wouldn't show it.
"I'm not apologizing for anything, sister. Now I don't want to hit a lady, but if you don't let me go, I'll make it four for four." Even saying the words made him feel guilty. As far as he knew, Sue Storm’s powers only revolved around turning herself invisible to the human eye; he wouldn’t dream of actually throwing a punch at her.
Sue scowled, and dragged him along. Peter struggled fruitlessly against his restraints, and had no choice but to follow along. She stopped at the nearest chair, pulled it away from her desk, and took a seat. "Reed. Be a dear and fetch me a wooden spoon please. I'm going to teach this little boy a lesson."
"Excuse me?" Peter yelped, bemoaning the announcement of a third spanking in ten minutes. He pushed more aggressively against the rope, but was still stuck. “Lady, I just got my rear end hammered by an ogre. Don’t you think this is a tad excessive?”
“Not if you haven’t learned to mind your manners,” Sue said simply. She tugged on the rope and Peter tumbled close enough for her to grab him - she was much stronger than she looked and tipped the lithe teenager over her lap with relative ease. “If living with the Human Torch has taught me anything, it’s that young men with superpowers need some humility and responsibility beaten into them. I bet you think your new powers make you invincible. But I’m about to show you otherwise.”
Peter wriggled on her lap, but he couldn’t stop her hand from cracking down against his bottom. Unlike the plodding, deliberate blows from her male counterparts, Sue slapped with fervor and alacrity, her hand landing almost every other second. The effect was immediately noticeable. Reed had made him gasp and exclaim, and Ben made him grunt and howl. But Sue’s spanking made him whine.
“Ow, ow, hey! Hey, stop it! I’ve had enough! Ow, ow!” Peter assured her between his pouts. He wanted to blame the pain on his rather painful warm ups, but about a minute in, he stopped fooling himself. Sue’s technique and intensity would have been painful even if she’d been the first one to take him to task. “Ow! Come on, I don’t deserve this!”
“Oh yes you do, young man,” Sue disagreed, firing a round at his thighs for daring to contest the merit of the ritual. “For trespassing, for brawling like an animal, for insulting and taunting my brother and my friends. You deserve to be... oh, how did you say it? Treated like a little boy?”
Peter was again thankful that his mask hid him from view, because his cheeks were as red as his costume. Having his taunt at Torch thrown back in his face was the kind of poetic justice he was not prepared to deal with. He couldn’t believe that this plan had gone so awry, and landed him his first humiliating defeat. If it weren’t for bad luck, he’d have no luck at all.
“That’s not fair! Ow, ow!”
Sue’s response was interrupted by the cough of Reed Richards. Both spanker and spankee turned their heads to face the man, and Peter became deathly aware that he had an audience for his attitude adjustment. Both Johnny and Ben looked rather smug, while Reed looked a little more sympathetic. It was a small comfort considering he had a heavy wooden spoon in hand, as per Sue’s request. And while he was sorely tempted to fire off some smart comments at the lot of them, his imminent peril was a strong deterrent.
“Thank you, darling,” Sue said with alarming cheerfulness. The spoon was passed, and it was soon tapping ominously against the seat of Spider-Man’s uniform. “Now. Spider-Boy?”
“Spider-Man!” Peter insisted, his voice betraying him by cracking.
“Right,” Sue said with unmistakable affection. “Do you want to think about giving me that apology now?”
“No!” Peter answered instinctively. “Let me go, now! You’re embarrassing me.”
Sue sighed, and tutted. “Oh, you foolish, arrogant child. That’s a poor decision. I’m afraid I haven’t even begun to embarrass you.”
To Peter’s abject horror, Sue yanked the pants of his costume down in a few swift motions, exposing his boxers to the whole room. And as Peter protested this removal, she went one step further and rid him of those as well. They sat just below his keister, framing it like a picture.
"No! No! You can't do that!" Peter panicked. Rather than retaliate by using his webs or his spider powers, the boy started squirming. He hadn't gotten a bare bottom spanking since his age was in single digits. Being back in the position made him feel as helpless as that skinny little nerd who'd flooded the kitchen with a volcano science project.
"Clearly, I can and I should." Peter's nerves were wracked as she tapped his cheeks a few times, taking careful aim with the stirring spoon. He almost wished she would strike true just to spare him the maddening purgatory of waiting to be smacked. But then the blows rained down, and he found that the fiery fate was far worse. Speed and accuracy were Sue's tools, and she used them to toast and tenderize every inch of his tush. As Peter wailed and writhed, she gave him an earful to accompany the painful progression. "You're a very naughty boy, young man. You are arrogant and belligerent and above all impolite. In this house, rude little boys get soundly spanked until they're good and sorry!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Oww! Ma'am, please! Ow, ow. Ahh! I'm so sorry for barging in and picking a fight. Ow!" Peter bawled. He had no shame anymore. He was humbled and humiliated, worn down and remorseful. "I won't cause any more trouble, I promise!"
Sue continued to spank Peter through the worst of his hysterics, though he was too far gone to notice that she was being gentler with her swats. It had been roughly a month since the last time he’d cried like this. After Uncle Ben’s passing, he’d tried so hard to stay strong for his Aunt that he refused to break down. Even though life kept kicking him while he was down, no failed job search, supervillain brawl or nasty news article could break his shell. But this simple act of parental discipline was enough to crack the walls and let the emotion consume him. All of his pent up frustration and guilt came out in a steady stream of tears.
By the time his mask was soaked, Sue had stopped punishing him and was instead rubbing his back and humming softly. The gesture of compassion helped calm Peter down until he was just sniffling. Once again, he was reminded of how his Aunt and Uncle would soothe him after they had to discipline him, making him feel safe and loved after such unpleasantness. This time, it was just the ghost of old emotions, and yet it still provided him with comfort.
“Okay. I can tell you’ve had enough, and I think you sorely need a hug,” Sue assessed, all of the sternness gone from her voice. She adjusted his clothes back to where they originally were.“If I set you on your feet and untie you, you have to promise not to lash out at me or anyone else. Deal?”
“Yeah,” Peter nodded. He wasn’t sure about the prospect of a hug, but he was willing to do anything to get off of her lap and out of the rope. And after three of the Fantastic Four had taken him over their respective knees, he was in no mood to fight them all. “Unless the Torch is going to have a go at me next,” he mused defeatedly.
One of his jokes finally landed, as all four of them left out soft chuckles. Instinctively, Peter felt a bit annoyed by the laughter, but by the time Sue set him on his feet and released him from the lasso, he could tell that it wasn’t antagonistic.
“No man, that’s not my style,” Johnny assured him, waving the notion off. “And even if it was, your goose is well and truly cooked.”
Peter grumbled, but before he could stew in self pity, he was turned around and pulled into a hug by Johnny’s sister. Sue held him close, squeezing him tightly and patting his back.
“There, there,” she said simply. “You don’t have anything else to worry about as long as you compose yourself like a respectable young man instead of an animal. And if any of you boys start pestering him, I’ll use this spoon on you next.”
The idea of Sue threatening Ben with a wooden spoon made Peter guffaw. He relented, leaning his head against Sue’s shoulder and crying on it, and gradually returning the hug. Maybe if he’d had a big sister, she would have been just like Sue Storm. That would have been nice; he wished that Aunt May wasn’t the only set of arms he could fall into when things overwhelmed him.
“What’s your name, Spider-Man?” she asked softly.
After several seconds of hesitation, he answered. He trusted her, and more importantly, he knew she was no threat to his Aunt. The Fantastic Four were good guys, even if they grinded his gears. “Peter.”
“That’s a lovely name. Well, Peter. I sincerely hope I don’t have to spank you again. But if you’re dead set on trying this Spider-Man thing, you better keep it in mind,” she warned him affectionately. “I won’t have any irresponsible children running around my city being reckless with their superpowers.”
“Believe me, Miss Storm, you don’t have to talk to me about responsibility,” Peter chuckled. “My uncle made sure I understood that.”
Once Peter was settled, Sue, Ben and Reed pressed for more information about why he had made such a preposterous attempt to impress the Fantastic Four. Vulnerable and at the end of his rope, Peter revealed his identity and explained his situation: the tragic loss of his Uncle and the dire straits it had put him and his aunt in financially. Since they were the most famous superheroes and everyone loved them, he wanted to associate with them, both for his image and his income.
“Aw, gee. And I thought I had it rough,” Ben said sympathetically, giving Peter an affectionate pat on the back. “I’m sorry, kid. I won’t say anything pithy, but I promise ya, it gets easier with time.”
“Unfortunately, we aren’t really a for-profit outfit,” Reed explained, feeling deeply sympathetic. “I also have doubts about officially sponsoring another teenager to be in this group. Johnny is different, he’s family and we’re already responsible for him.”
Peter sniffled, and nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Now, wait just a minute, son,” Reed interrupted, placing a hand on him before he did anything rash. “Just because you can’t get the help you wanted, doesn’t mean you can’t get the help you need. It seems to me that what you could really use is a job - and if you’re smart enough to come up with those web-shooters all by yourself, then you’re enough of a science whiz to get my attention. Why don’t you take a part-time job as my assistant?”
Peter’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He’d been so single-minded in his focus on making Spider-Man profitable that he hadn’t considered that he could use his other talents to make money. He couldn’t believe his ears, or his luck. Being Reed Richards’ assistant was a dream job.
“Really? You mean it?” Peter sputtered, almost ready to cry again.
“I do. I’ll even give you an advance on your first check to help you cover the rent. I want you to focus on school and graduating, but any freetime you have, you can come here and we’ll work on projects together,” Reed offered. “As for Spider-Man? Well, he might not be officially sponsored, but he can always count the Fantastic Four as friends.”
This was such great news that Peter considered the day to be a good one, even though his bottom still stung when he did something as simple as change out of his Spider-Man outfit and into some normal clothes. For the first time since he’d gotten his powers, he felt happy, and looked forward to what life was throwing his way.
Things were going to get better, and even when they got bad, he wouldn’t have to face them alone.