Archive of Our Own ^beta

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The class settles as Mr. Harrington closes the door behind him. He clears his throat, catching the attention of the stragglers (Flash) who were still talking. "Good morning, class, I have a secret." Whispers fill the air as Mr. Harrington cracks a smile. "But, I need you to pay attention for this lesson, so unless you are all on your best behavior for this one, I'm not telling you what it is." Everyone groans, curiosity getting the best of them. The minutes creep by, anticipation creating an air of excitement. Mr. Harrington wasn't the kind of person to tempt (or share) secrets, so this was something to cooperate for.

\_( '_' )_/ --- This is Bobby. Bobby marks a time skip for when I'm too lazy to write it. Say hello to Bobby.

As Mr. Harrington finishes the lesson, the whole class perks up, backs straightening in waves and eyes unglazing as minds return from tunnels of thought. "...does that make sense to everyone?" He waits for a few students to nod before moving on. "Ok, thank you for paying attention. Now, our secret. The AcaDec team of Midtown High has been approved for a field trip. A field trip to a very special place, they only take 4 field trips every year." Everyone is paying attention now, eager for the reveal of their upcoming trip. "This trip is to Stark Industries." Gasps and cheers filled the room, the teenagers ignoring Mr. Harrington's pleas for them to quiet down. Everyone was thrilled, except one student, who groaned like he had just heard that he was taking his entire class to his front door.

That student was Peter Parker. But he wasn't taking his class to his front door. He was taking them inside his home. Peter had lived at SI since his Aunt May had passed away, right before Tony and Pepper had adopted him. Ned Leeds, his best friend, nudged his shoulder, prompting him to lift his head off the desk he had slammed it on. "Peter, what's wrong? We're going to Stark Industries! Can you imagine?"

Peter looked at Ned, dumbfounded. "Yes, Ned. Yes, I can imagine, and so can you! You had dinner with us on Wednesday and slept over last Friday! You come over at least twice a week, you've seen almost the whole tower!" MJ looked up from the book she was reading, rolling her eyes at the two boys before her. "Is this field trip going to ruin your life? Why are you so worked up?" Ned replied. Peter was just waiting for Ned to put the pieces together. "Ned... I live at SI. I'm the heir to the entire company. You have been working with Dad for 6 months. MJ has been training with Mom and Nat for longer than that. And Flash doesn't even believe that I have an internship. This is going to expose so many secrets, dude. Best-case scenario, everyone knows I work there. Worst? They all figure out I'm Spiderman, someone doesn't stick to the NDA they all undoubtedly have to sign, and then the entire world knows who I am." Ned's smile falls a bit. A small "Oh..." falls from his lips before a familiar voice cuts through the excitement. 

"Hey, Penis! Are you ready for your lies to be foiled? Because I am! How long are you going to stick to this story before you give up?" Flash's remark makes Peter cringe inside, but he doesn't pleasure him by shooting back a response. He sits through more of Flash's taunting before Mr. Harrington regains the attention of his class. "Ok! Ok. I'm going to hand out permission slips right now, take them home, I need them back, signed by a parent or guardian, on Monday, or you aren't coming. I will also be sending you emails. They will include Non-Disclosure Agreements. If you and your parents don't sign them before Wednesday, you can't come. There will also be a sheet of rules. Read it. Then read it again. Midtown High is the first high school in four years to earn a tour, and I can't afford to have any of you break the rules and ruin our reputation. With that, goodbye. Have a good weekend, I'll see you and your signed permission slips on Monday."

\_( '_' )_/ --- Say hello to Bobby. Again.

Peter walks through the scanner at SI, greeted by FRIDAY, the AI that controls the building. "Good afternoon, Peter. Would you like me to inform Mr. Stark that you are home?" Peter smiles a bit at the familiar voice. "No thank you FRI, but will you please tell him to meet me in the kitchen for dinner?" FRIDAY obliges and pulls the elevator to the Stark Penthouse, opening the door to let Peter into the kitchen. Nat and Pepper are at the table, and Thor is in the other room, yelling at the TV remote. Very Thor-like. Bucky and Steve are in the kitchen, supposedly cooking, but really just locked in a kiss that Peter didn't want to see. 

"Yo," he says, directed at the men cooking. "Could you not make out above my dinner?" Bucky pulls away, smiling at the boy. "Pete! how was school, kiddo?" Peter shook his head, his mind playing the events of the day back to him. "It was a day. They announced a field trip." The elevator dings, and Tony walks into the room. "What's this about a field trip?"

Peter turned, smiling at the friendly (as friendly as a sober Tony Stark could be) face. "Hey, Dad. Ugh, it's horrible. Mr. Harrington announced a field trip today. To SI. I'm fucked. Yay." Peter's hands rose in sarcastic jazz hands. Steve said "language," to which he received a prompt middle finger from Peter. "What am I going to do?" Tony stood still. His smile grew until it was so wide he could fit his hand in his mouth if he wanted to. He chuckled, and he didn't stop until he was fully cackling. He sat down so he didn't fall over from laughing so hard. Peter shook his head at his father, feigning disappointment. 

The elevator dinged again. This time, 5 Avengers walked out, ready for dinner. Bruce, Clint, Wanda, Sam, and Vision, along with a tired-looking Rhodey, all stopped in confusion, looking at Tony like he had lost it. "Tony? What happened?" Rhodey was the only one who was brave enough to ask. Tony looked up, tears running down his face from laughing. "Peter is going on a field trip. To Stark Industries." It took 4 seconds for everyone to register what this meant for the boy. Then it started. The laughing. They all broke down, just like Tony, joined by Pepper, Nat, Steve, and Bucky.

Peter glared at them all, muttering "Some family you all are" before cracking a smile of his own.

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Peter woke up in a daze, dreams mixing with reality. Thank God the last night was just a dream. A flash of white in the corner of his eye caught Peter's attention. The permission slip. Shit. Not a dream. Peter groaned, stumbling out of his king-sized bed. Before he had been adopted, Peter had only ever had a twin, and he hadn't even considered the thought of an upgrade. When he saw the new bed for the first time, he cried, but not from unhappiness. That was the moment when everything really hit him. Not only had Uncle Ben died, but then, not even 3 years later, Aunt May had died too. And Tony Stark, the Tony Stark, had adopted him, and he was living in Stark Tower. This was his bed now. This was his home.

\_( '_' )_/---Hi Bobby.

It was the day before the field trip that Peter expected to ruin his life. Peter stretched, yawning loudly enough to startle the pigeon outside his window. He stared at the paper, almost as if he was willing it to disappear. It did not, in fact, disappear. Slumping his shoulders and pulling on a hoodie from his closet, he walked out of his room and down the stairs to the kitchen. He would have gotten to the kitchen, too, if he hadn't sensed that something was off and stopped just in time to avoid a giant pink glitter bomb, followed by a high-pitched scream that definitely came from Captain America himself. Peter poked his head around the corner, greeted by Natasha chasing Clint with his bow (she stole it from him). Tony was sitting at the table, acting as if everything was fine, even though Bruce was taped to the ceiling above him, Bucky was standing on the table, throwing the glitter bombs, Rhodey was hanging from the ceiling fan that had been designed to hold the weight of a person (specifically for these circumstances), and Wanda was sitting on Vision's shoulders, who was peacefully making breakfast. 

"What in the ever-loving fuck is going on here?" Everyone froze, except Vision, who continued making breakfast for the wild beasts he was in the room with. Steve's predictable "language" broke the silence, leaving Peter even more confused. "What is happening right now?" Vision was the only one to speak up. "I am making breakfast. Good morning, Peter." Peter rolled his eyes, making the internal decision to just ignore whatever this was. So he ate breakfast. Vision made hashbrowns and blueberry pancakes. And he went along with his day. 

\_( '_' )_/---Hi Bobby.

The final bell rang right as Ned's head hit the desk in front of him. Harrington's lesson had been so boring that it was exhausting. Peter laughed at Ned, MJ offering only a smart smirk. As students poured out of their final classes, excitement filled the halls for the next day. Flash, being the dumbass that he was, chose that as the perfect time to shove a student against a locker. Peter's senses startled, alerting him to the trouble. Peter jumped to help, shouting at Flash. "Put him down, Flash." When the bully didn't listen, Peter resorted to his real name. "Eugene! Put the poor kid down, he doesn't want to deal with you." Flash set the freshman on the ground again, giving him a swift kick to the shin before turning to face Peter. 

'Shit,' Peter thought. 'He's pissed.' Flash barreled towards Peter, slamming him against his own locker. Apparently, it was the theme of the day. "What the fuck did you call me, Penis Parker?? God, I can't wait until tomorrow, when everyone learns how big of a liar you are. You will be ruined. You'll probably be blacklisted from any Stark companies for fraud." Flash laughed at Peter, spitting on his face. Flahs pulled his fist back, winding up for a punch before Principal Morita turned the corner. Flash dropped Peter, sneering at him, but ultimately leaving him alone. The next day was going to be hell on earth.

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As he swings from rooftop to rooftop on patrol, Peter lets his anxieties melt away like butter on a baked potato. Speaking of potatoes, Peter's phone dings with a notification, waits 2 seconds, then gets a phone call. Peter presses on his chest, and his suit retracts into his watch. As soon as he pulls his phone out of his pocket, a smile steals over his face. The screen glows with the words "southern french fries <3" Peter answers his phone, trying to hide the smile in his voice. "Hello, who is this?" His favorite voice floats through the metal box in his hand. "Hey, Darlin', how are you?" Peter was going to draw the playing-dumb out, but decided against it. "Hey, Harls. I'm alright. tomorrow's going to be rough, but you are coming back Saturday, right?" 

Nothing made Peter feel warmer than Harley Keener's chuckle, even when it was over the phone like right now. Even when his boyfriend was 2,000 miles away, Harley could always feel when Peter was having a rough day. "Baby, what's up? Is it that little Flash shit?" Peter smiled a bit. "Kind of. He's bugging me about the trip tomorrow. He almost hit me today, too. I'm ok, I promise." Harley would break the universe for Peter, especially if he was being bullied. Peter had made him promise almost a year ago that he wouldn't do anything to hurt the kid.

Peter sat on the edge of a rooftop, one of his favorites to watch the sunset on. He spent an hour on the phone with his boyfriend before Tony called and told him to come home. "I'll see you Saturday? You promise?" Harley let out one of his signature laughs. The laugh that could even make hell a little bearable. The laugh Peter had fallen in love with. "I'll see you on Saturday, Darlin. I love you, go home before Pepper throws a fit," they say their goodbyes, each boy promising to see the other on Saturday. One more day, and then he could see Harls again. 

Harley was (if you can't tell [if you can't, you probably need a psychologist, it's blaring obvious]) Peter's support post. He had moved into Stark Tower only 3 months after Peter, late enough to avoid the numbness of loss, but soon enough to help Peter through everything. Since the day Harley first hugged him, he had fallen in love with the southern charm. 

\_( '-' )_/---HAYYYYY BOBBAYYYYYY

Back at the Tower, Peter was hit with a relentless wave of premeditated torture. As soon as he walked into the dining room, Clint shot an arrow at him that exploded in a bomb of honey right before it hit him. Seconds later, the ground in front of him retracted (courtesy of an escape route Tony had created in case of emergency) just in time for Peter to miss his window to catch himself from falling. So he fell down the slide to wherever this tunnel led. 

That tunnel led to feathers. A dumpster full of them. And Peter fell into them, head first. Now Peter was covered in honey and the honey was covered in feathers. So now what? Peter managed to make it up the stairs without being bombarded with another inconvenience. That peaceful period was cut short by a shriek. Or, rather, a blare. A loud, long one, and it scared Peter shitless. Every door he opened triggered another insufferable blare. By the time Peter made it back to the dining room (which took a while, considering he had no idea where he was in the tower), he had a headache. 

Peter was skeptical while entering every room, utilizing his hyperawareness to sense before he moved. This time, when he got to the dining room, nothing flew at him, but instead he was greeted by his father, his mother, and all his family. Said family immediately hit the ground, body's shaking in laughter, chests heaving for air. Peter looked more like a half-plucked chicken than his superhero namesake, and it brought more tears to their eyes than their last big battle.

Peter just stared at the crying, wheezing, screaming pile of idiots in front of him. He shook his head, turning 180⁰ and marching toward the elevator. Leaving the Avengers on the floor, Peter commanded FRIDAY to take him to his room. He stripped from his clothes, grateful that he had pulled his suit into his watch before walking inside. Peter turned on the shower, freezing to make sure nothing was going to jump at him. 

When he confirmed that there weren't any waiting risks, he stepped into the shower, letting the hot water strip the honey and feathers from his body. He spent 20 minutes just standing there, decompressing from the long day at school and the trouble that met him in his home. 

Snapping from whatever daze he was in, Peter rinsed the shampoo out of his hair. He turned off the water and pulled back the curtain. Stepping forward, he reached for a towel from the pile next to the sink. Peter used it to wipe the fog from the mirror before wrapping it around his waist. Immediately, his hand went to his hair. It was bright red, dyed without knowledge. 

"Shit-" Peter let the word drag out, turning his head to see the sides. What was he going to do? What would happen at school? What would the Avengers say? Who did this? He couldn't confront them though. He couldn't give them the pleasure of knowing that it bugged him. So he ignored it. He pulled on pajama pants, foregoing the idea of a shirt.

\_( '-' )_/---Bobby says hi. 

Nobody speaks. The table is silent, but Peter can almost hear everybody's thoughts. Nat had made dinner. Well, ordered dinner. A spread of various Chinese takeout boxes littered the table. Most were half empty, crumbs on the table from the wild beasts (four grown men) that had scavenged the meal. 

Bucky was the only one to be brave enough to speak up. "So, uh, Pete," He cleared his throat, smile audible in his voice "Nice hair?" Peter lit up, smiling brightly. "Thank you! I love it so much!" No one had expected the enthusiasm, and that was obvious from the choking sounds around the table.

The rest of dinner went by without a mention of the afternoons events, but everyone was on edge. After everyone was in bed, Peter began plotting his revenge. He crept out of bed and back to the living room and dining room. On his watch, Peter started a stopwatch, curious how long the task would take. 

Without hesitating, Peter got to work, using his webs to attach everything to the ceiling. If he couldn't put something on the ceiling, he turned it upside down. At the end of the project, it looked like the room had taken its walls and flipped them completely upside down. He looked at his watch. 

3 hours and 47 minutes. It was 1:16am, and he was exhausted. The humor of the day had made him consider that maybe, if he took a couple deep breaths and surrounded himself with what he needed, tomorrow wouldn't be so bad. After all, his boyfriend was coming back the day after. Plus, he was an Avenger. He had fought some of the world's most dangerous people and villians. Peter took a deep breath, convincing himself that he could make it through the next day with no issues.

He was wrong. 

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Heyy, I promise there is more coming. I started college this week so it's been hard to write, but I promise it's still coming along. I'm trying to only have one more chapter, so patience is much appreciated <3

Really really hoping to get it done by tomorrow, but after that my next day off is Thursday, so praying we make it

Good luck with life, loves. Drink water and eat your veggies :)

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dude I'm genuinely so sorry. It's not going to be done by Sunday, I've been hit by the ao3 curse and my mom is currently dying in the hospital, so... got that going for us....

also SIX HUNDRED AND NINETY SEVEN HITS WHAT ARE YOU PPL

ok I promise I'm working on it love you all bye bye :)

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There is nothing worse than an alarm clock. Or at least, Peter thinks so. He gave it to Thor, telling him to try to figure it out, knowing that the god would get upset and smash it. But, apparently, he didn't think that all the way through, because that meant that FRIDAY was his alarm clock now. The 'alarm' had been playing for 3 minutes. That alarm was Freebird sung by Kermit the Frog. As much as Peter tried, FRIDAY wouldn't turn the horrendous sound off until he was sitting fully up in bed. Stretching, Peter sat up until he could see his door, eyes lingering for a second before flopping back in his bed. Taped to his door was a giant customized poster that read "Happy Field Trip Day!!!" Complete with animated confetti and balloons. It was Friday. 

"Peter, according to current traffic patterns, if you don't leave in 15 minutes, you will be late for school." FRIDAY's voice rang across his room, leaving him only one option. Try to suffocate himself with his pillow. When that didn't work, he rolled over until he rolled off his bed, the hardwood floor cold enough to shock him awake fully. Fumbling across the floor, Peter grabbed his phone off his nightstand. The teen called Harley as he got dressed, letting his mind unshrivel at the sound of his boyfriend's voice. A soft whirring in the background made Peter question where Harley was, but he was told, "Don't worry about it, Darlin'. You are the one who puts themself in dangerous situations, not me. I have to go, though, and you have to go to school. I love you so much, I'll see you tomorrow." They said their goodbyes, delaying pressing the red button as long as possible. When Peter finally did hang up, he pulled on a sweater that said "Keener" in big black letters across the back. Turning toward the door, Peter took a deep breath and walked into the elevator, asking FRIDAY to take him down to the kitchen. 

The moment he stepped into the dining room, Peter knew that there was going to be chaos today. Not a single thing was wrong. Not a single thing was out of place, and everyone was on their best behavior. As soon as Peter walked in, everyone set down the cup of coffee that they had in their hand and turned to him at the exact same time. Peter froze, creeped out by the simultaneity of the Avengers. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath. "Can you guys please, please, please behave today? This is my entire class, can you just be normal and not embarrass me for one day?" Tony grinned in mock sympathy. "Of course, Bambino. We could be nice for one day." They will not be nice. Grabbing a plain bagel from a bag on the counter, he turned on his heels and marched back to the elevator. 

\_( '_' )_/ --- Say hello to Bobby. Again.

As Happy pulled up to the block before Midtown High, Peter asked him to stop so he could walk. The last thing Peter needed was more drama, and if he pulled up to the school in one of Tony Stark's cars??? Complete chaos. That's what the result would be. Peter rounds the corner, smiling at Ned, who is waving his arms like an idiot. MJ is next to him, nose in a book. She glances up, gives a two-fingered salute, and returns to the land beyond paper. Peter pulls off his hood, not thinking about what was on his head. Ned looks at him, gasping. "Peter, your hair!" His mind circles back to the night before. When he (unwillingly) dyed his hair red. He groans, pulling his hoodie back over his head, attempting to hide it from the world. 

As Peter catches up to Ned and MJ, swinging one arm around each of them, smiling in a way that says, "Help, I don't want to be here! My entire family is scheming against me today!" Mr Harrington is yelling at Flash in the distance, trying to get the boy (who is climbing up the side of the bus) to get all his energy out before he ruins the school's reputation. The roudy teenager doesn't pay any mind to the nagging teacher. Flash continues to try (and fail) to use a window ledge as a handhold. He freezes when he sees Peter, eyes glued to the boy. Peter stumbles, almost as if his legs don't want to do this any more than he does. 'This is stupid,' Peter thinks, 'I'm Spiderman. I could break his neck with one hand, and I'm scared of him.' That had always bugged Peter. It was almost as if the second Peter saw the bully, every ounce of Spiderman-ness left his body. 

Right then and there, Peter changes his mind. There is one thing Peter hates more than alarm clocks. Flash. And he knew he could stop the boy whenever he wanted, but it just felt like if Flash was busy bugging Peter, then he couldn't turn any other kids into a target. That was his weakness. That no matter what he had to do to harm himself, he would always put the safety of others above his own. And with great power comes great responsibility. 

"Penis Parker!" Flash draws out the foul nickname, purely to earn a few forced chuckles from his minions behind him. "Last chance to admit you're lying before you embarrass yourself in front of Tony Stark!" Unluckily for Peter, that happened to be the moment when his hood fell an inch. Flash sees his hair and bursts into laughter. "Are you trying to look like a fire hydrant, or did you just forget to stop when you saw a bottle of dye? You’re rocking that red hair like you’re a walking, talking ‘Before’ picture in a shampoo commercial." Peter hides how much that had hurt, and scoffs at the bully's stupidity. Peter chooses to ignore the insults. "Flash, you don't honestly think that D-" He caught himself, "that Tony Stark is going to interrupt his schedule just to come greet a high school tour." Flash's smile flickers, but he hides it, turning around with a smirk and marching back to the girls he had been talking to. Realistically, Peter knew Tony was going to greet the tour along its trip, and if that morning had been anything but a clue, the rest of the Avengers would too. 

They walk toward the bus; Mr. Harrington is next to it, yelling orders to the upperclassmen. When he's done with his rant, he steps aside and the students climb on, Flash pushing through the class to ensure a front row seat. Ned plops down next to Peter, and Peter can see a thought hit him. "Peter," he starts, "why didn't you just stay at the tower? Why did you have Happy drive you out here just to go right back?"

Peter smiles, having thought about this himself the night before. "First of all, they wouldn't have left without me, and I don't need them calling my Dad, especially not today. Second, Flash would have had a fucking field day, and I don't have the mental energy to deal with that today. My entire family is already holding the role of ruining this trip." Ned chuckles, thinking about the pictures that Peter had sent him of the 'crafting' he had done the night before. MJ had called Peter to yell at him for not inviting her. He promised she would be there for the next one. Peter's mind traveled, thinking about the last big prank he got to pull on the Avengers. He and Harley had spent 5 weeks planning, and when they had executed, they got grounded for another five weeks. God, he missed his boyfriend. 26 hours. That's it. In 26 hours, he would be able to hold his love again. 

Lost in his thoughts, Peter didn't notice the time slipping away until the ever-familiar view of the SI sign was above his head. Ned startled him out of his trance, hitting him excitedly. Peter rolled his eyes at the enthusiastic boy. If he had wanted a tour, he could have asked. It's something Peter has only done a couple of times, but when you know all of the Avengers well enough to know that Clint Barton is scared of Roley-Poleys and Black Widow can't use sunblock with Avobenzone in it, you don't really have to know the speeches for the tour. Mr. Harrington clears his throat, asking for attention. He didn't get it, as all of the high schoolers were too infatuated with the tower to pay attention. Again, he tries. It takes 4 more attempts before the teacher gets tired of the antics and presses an air horn, almost damaging one girl's hearing and making the rest of them flinch. But it works, and he got the kids' attention. 

"Ok, you are going to get off this bus single-file, walk to the front steps, and wait for the rest of the class. Then, we are going to go inside where our tour guide will meet us and hand out security badges, as well as explain the rules and itinerary." Mr. Harrington steps to the side, and Flash almost kills him, tripping over seats to get to the building first. When Peter catches up with the rest of the class, Flash decides that right then is the best time to mock Peter again. However, he barely gets a word out before MJ (who is lost in her book, but if you know her, you know that she is paying very close attention to what is happening around her) walks a little too far forward and twists just in time to let her backpack full of heavy books swing into Flash's stomach, cutting him off by stealing his air. 

Peter stared at the ground, hiding his face so nobody could see his laugh. Ned isn't even paying attention, which is so out of character that it throws Peter off. Ned's fingers are tapping his phone screen rapidly, as if his text had a deadline. Looking back at MJ, Peter notices that she's glued to her phone too. Quickly, almost so quickly that Peter wonders if he imagined it, MJ and Ned look at each other, glance at Peter, look back, smirk, and drop their phones into their pockets. That is the moment when Peter realizes that he's not just being targeted by his family. His best friends are scheming against him, too. He tries to mention it, opening his mouth to question them, but he's cut off by Mr. Harrington, who is trying to herd the kids inside the tower. 

Flash scrambles to the door, flinging it open before running inside. The rest of the class follows, greeted by the girl at the desk. Peter recognizes her as Lillian, one of the first staff members in the building to know that he was the heir to SI. Peter smiles at Lillian, catching her eye as she shoots a sly smile back. 

Lillian clears her throat. "Good Morning, Midtown High! My name is Lillie. I'm going to give you your badges and go over the rules." The class quiets, letting the young adult talk. "We only have a few rules today, but you are expected to use your common sense. The first rule: stay with your group. Do not leave your guide. Second, respect any staff of Stark Industries. Third, bullying will not be tolerated in any way, shape, or form. Fourth, do not try to touch anything that you haven't gotten explicit permission to touch. Most of the stuff you will see today can blow up, so that's for your safety."

"For your itinerary, we are going to ask FRIDAY to message a digital copy to you, that way we aren't wasting paper or something." Lillie checks a message over her Apple Watch before looking back up and turning back towards her desk. "Your tour guide is a little late today, so I am going to be giving out your badges and answering any questions. When your name is called, please come forward and pin your badge to your clothing. Adrian Cook. Betty Brant. Damian Philips..." The list goes on. Nobody notices when Peter, Ned, and MJ don't get called; they are all too focused on their new name tags. 

Once all the names were done, Betty raised her hand to ask Lillian a question. "Why are our badges white and yours are blue?" Lillian smiled, hand absently trailing to the badge attached to her shirt collar. "There are different levels of security. Each level has a different color. When you go through the scanner, FRIDAY will read out your name, status, and security level. We have ten levels, all with different access privileges and protocols. White means a visitor or press, they have level one clearance. Level one can't go anywhere without someone from at least level 4, except the cafeteria and the museum. Purple is a worker; they have level 2 clearance, which means they can visit their offices, coworkers' offices of the same level, and the main areas. Orange is low-level maintenance; they have level 3. Blue, like mine, is level 4. Green for interns, level 5. Yellow is 6, for high-level maintenance. Pink is 7, for the scientists. Gray means lawyers; they have level 8. Red is level 9; they can go almost anywhere. 9 is for personal assistants, friends, or family of the Avengers or Level 10 residents. Level 10 is red and gold, for the Stark family, Tony Stark's personal intern, Happy Hogan, and his son." Another ding leads Lillie to look at her watch and announce that they are going to start entering the building past the lobby. 

Lillian gestured for the first student to put their badge in the scanner and walk through the doors. FRIDAY's voice boomed from thin air. "Betty Brant. Tourist. Level 1, WHITE CLEARANCE" Several kids jumped at FRIDAY's voice, not expecting the invisible presence. Lillian kept filing kids through, receiving a mirrored introduction until eventually they got the hang of it, and she turned to talk with Peter. Peter notices when she glances at his head, but she doesn't mention it. "Hey Mini-Boss. How's everything? Oh, when is Harvey coming back?"

Peter groaned. "He's not back until tomorrow. I swear, every second longer he's gone is another day taken off of my life. I can't wait for him to be back. I literally want nothing more." Out of the corner of his eye, he watches MJ smirk at Ned, and Ned pulls out his phone to text whoever he had been texting earlier. His smile grows as he gets a response, eyes trailing to Peter as he puts his phone in his pocket. Peter shrugs, turning back to Lillian and deciding that he doesn't want to deal with whatever that is today. While this went down, nobody realized that all of the line had gone through until Mr. Harrington started calling the three teenagers from the other side of the door. 

MJ was the first through the scanner, pulling her own badge out of her bag. "Michelle Jones. AKA MJ. AKA scary girl. AKA 4 other nicknames. Friend of Mini-boss. Level 9, RED CLEARANCE. Welcome back, MJ." Whispers filled the air, but honestly, if the biggest secret the MJ was hiding was that she was friends with the 'Mini-Boss,' then all was well. 

Ned next, rifling through his pockets for a second before pulling out a slightly scratched badge. "Ned Leeds. AKA guy in the chair. AKA LEGO. AKA Mini-Banner. AKA 7 other nicknames. Friend of Mini-Boss. Level 9, RED CLEARANCE. Welcome back, Ned." That was the one that caught the class off guard. But they had no idea what was coming. 

Peter was last; his hands were almost shaking from nerves. "Peter Parker. AKA Stark-spawn. AKA Underoos. AKA Mini-Boss. AKA 274 other nicknames. Mini-Boss. Level 10. RED AND GOLD CLEARANCE. Welcome home, Peter. Would you like me to inform the Boss you have arrived?" Peter smiled slightly, but shook his head violently, as if there were wasps in it. "No, no FRIDAY. If possible, don't let anyone know I'm here. Maybe they've forgotten it's today." There was a whirr, almost as if the AI had snorted in laughter. "They have not forgotten Peter. Buckle up." Peter hung his head, mentally preparing for the torture of the day. That's when shit hit the fan. 

"What the FUCK??!!?" "Mini-Boss?" "Peter, who the fuck are you?" These and other questions were shouted at Peter from every corner of the class. Peter just shrugged, refusing to answer then and finding Ned. Another round of panicked chaos ran through every cell in Peter's body. He had seen what had happened to all the Avengers when they were discovered. It was quite literally the last thing he wanted. And to bring his AcaDec class to his home was taking that boulder blocking the truth and crumbling it. Now all someone had to do was move a single piece of the rubble, and everyone would know. Ned notices Peter's expression and swings his arm around Spiderman's shoulder. "What's wrong, P?"

Before he could get a single word out, a familiar voice came from the elevator. "Good Morning, Midtown High!" Peter froze. "I will be your tour guide today, my name is Bobby!" Swinging his left foot in front of his right, Peter uses the momentum to turn 180 degrees, becoming face-to-face with the man walking at a pace that could only be described as swift panic. It was the kind of walk you do when you are 20 minutes late for something but trying to appear calm.

That familiar voice had an even more familiar face. Peter had seen that face in every corner of his life, watching, protecting, silently helping. Bobby Hogan, secret son of Happy Hogan, Head of Security himself. The 24-year-old had grown up running around Stark Tower, and he was the only kid Tony had been willing to put up with. When Bobby was 12, he had gotten into something Tony had scrapped months before and turned it into a new project. One night, though, Bobby was hyperfixated on the scraps and missed a loose wire. One thing led to another, and as soon as Bobby touched the project, it sent such a large electric shock through his body that he was in a coma for 6 days. He woke up with the ability to manipulate time. 

Bobby had hidden that from Tony, terrified that when he found out he was messing with his stuff, Tony would throw the boy out, or something worse. What Bobby didn't know, though, was that Tony had noticed as soon as the scraps had gone missing in the first place and had been monitoring the boy ever since. He waited. He waited for months, watching the boy struggle, but waiting for Bobby to come to him. When he finally had, Tony had taken a full break from developing technology. He spent 3 weeks training Bobby to use his ability for something good.  That's why he knew Peter. When Tony had met Peter, he had sent Bobby back in time, instructing him to keep him safe but not do anything that could change the path of the future. So he was there, always. Watching, waiting for something to happen. And until he realized who Bobby was, Peter had rarely noticed the boy. 

"Bobby?! You are supposed to be in Italy!" Bobby smiled as he took the last couple of steps toward Peter, taking his hand and pulling him in for a hug. "You know me, MB I had to come back to help Tony with his.... shenanigans." Peter felt his blood run cold. What was Tony planning that he needed to bring Bobby back from across the globe?