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So here's the thing. Peter used to be a massive fan of the Avengers. Like huge. Would probably have a heart attack if he ever came face-to-face with them. They are one of the things that inspired him to become Queen’s web-slinging vigilante in the first place!
But… things change, especially after overhearing the Iron Man talking about capturing him. Spider-Man. The apparent ‘threat to citizens’, according to Tony Stark himself.
One day, Peter had stumbled upon the Avengers fighting a giant… Water dude? Anyway, that’s not the point. Already in his spider gear, Peter joined in the fight to help; he even clarified that he was assisting them! Peter was doing a little bit of fanboying for a lot of it, but he distracted the giant water monster so the Avengers could get some hits in. Overall, he was helping his idols, and he was ecstatic.
And then things went downhill.
Water Guy landed a pretty decent hit on Peter. Peter had been flung over to the top of a nearby rooftop. No biggie! He just had to take a few seconds to get his head back in the game.
Thats when he heard it.
“Fury says we need to take the Spider-ling in; he’s a potential threat to civilians. Not to mention an unknown mutant.”
Peter whipped his head around, saw Iron Man fly by him, and promptly froze. Tony Stark said that. He’s 100% sure Peter was not supposed to hear it, but he did. (Thanks, enhanced hearing).
Peter’s heart had leapt into his throat. The Avengers wanted to take him in? They thought he was a threat? Even after everything he has done for Queens, they think he’s dangerous?
Yeah. It hurt Peter. A lot. But mostly, it just scared the shit out of him. The Avengers, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, thought he was a threat. And Peter didn’t know what they would do to him if they did actually take him in, or god forbid, come to the conclusion that Spider-Man was a villain.
Regardless, Peter still stayed and helped The Avengers take care of Water Guy. Surely if he was enough help, they’d realize he didn’t mean any harm?
But nope! As soon as Water Guy was down, he was approached by Steve Rodgers. Captain America.
Peter had been standing awkwardly by, watching the Avengers clean up and wait for SHIELD agents, when he was approached by Steve. And yes, Peter was anxious, but he was also excited. Because ‘OMG Captain America wants to talk to me!! Don’t mess this up!’
“Hey, kid. You did good work out there.” Steve said, and Peter beamed at the praise. “We’d like you to come back to the compound with us for a quick debrief.”
That sent his spider-sense off. He froze and hesitated. He almost went with them. He wants to trust the Avengers. He wants to trust his idols.. But Tony’s earlier words of him ‘being a threat’ rang through his head.
And he bolted. He should have known they wouldn’t trust so easily. But why? Why do they think he’s a danger? Did he accidentally hurt someone at some point? ‘TheythinkI’mathreatTheythinkI’mathreat.’ It’s safe to say Peter was spiraling.
It was easy to lose the Avengers, as they didn’t expect him to just take off like that, and they were all already spent from fighting Water Guy.
But that was nowhere near the last encounter Peter had with his ex. idols.
The Avengers tracked him down a few more times. The first time Peter saw one of the Avengers was when Tony Stark approached him when he was on patrol. Peter still ran.
Next was Natasha, Peter ran.
After Natasha, they stopped trying to talk and started trying to take him in by force. At first, only two at a time tried, but Peter kept getting away. And the more he got away, the rougher the Avengers got with him the next time they had an encounter.
~~~
All that comes up to today.
Peter sits on the edge of a building, feet hanging down and kicking subtly back and forth. His mask is pulled up to rest on his nose so he can eat the sandwich he’s holding.
It’s been almost a month since the last time he saw any of the Avengers. Now, don’t get him wrong, Peter is still on edge. But he feels.. A bit safer now. More at home without the constant threat of the Avengers breathing down his neck.
Which is why he’s actually eating outside instead of taking the food back to May’s and eating inside. Bad Idea, Parker.
Peter’s spider-sense goes off.
Watching. Near. Danger!
His head snaps up, and he automatically reaches up to pull his mask down. Peter slowly, carefully stands to his feet, glancing around. His eyes catch on a glint in the shadows on the building across from him.. And his heart drops.
An arrow. Clint Barton. Hawkeye.
NEAR!
Peter whips around just in time to see Iron Man landing behind him with a quiet thud.
“Hey Spidey, long time no see.” The face plate on the armor flips up to reveal Tony’s face. The man grins.
Peter’s heart drops, but he still plays up the unbothered facade. “Hey there, tin man. Wish I could say I missed you, but I didn’t.”
Tony frowns, deadpanning, “We’re giving you one chance to come in peacefully, or we will take you in by force.”
“Yeah, see- I’d say I’d be thrilled, but I’ve actually got a–a thing to do, so–” Peter steps backward off the ledge, throws an arm up, and thwips out a web. He attempts to just swing away from there, but..
LOOK OUT! WEB!
A round, painfully familiar shield cuts through the web Peter’s on, making him fall to the ground. He lands on the road with a grunt, turning his head to glare at Captain America. “Hey, not cool, man!”
Peter jumps back up to his feet, only to find himself surrounded by Iron Man, War Machine, and an approaching Captain America. Not to mention Clint having an arrow trained on him from above.
This is bad.
“Okay, wow,” Peter drawls, raising his hands slightly. “This feels a little excessive, don’t you think? I mean, I’m flattered, really, but–”
“Stand down,” Tony’s flat voice cuts in.
Peter’s fingers twitch, panic seeping in.
A web shoots straight for Clint, not to hit, just to mess up his aim. At the same time, Peter drops low and lunges forward, sliding under where Steve was a mere second ago.
The shield whistles past his head, and he has to bite back a small yelp. He’s not usually this flinchy around thugs. But these are no thugs.
“Seriously?” Peter blurts instead, scrambling up and flipping backward as a repulsor blast burns the pavement where he’d just been. “We’re opening with that? No warm-up round? No, ‘hi, how are you-?’”
Peter twists midair, barely avoiding another blast, and fires two quick webs; one at a streetlight, the other at the ground near Steve’s feet. He pulls back.
The light post groans and tips, forcing Steve to dodge sideways, which is exactly what Peter wanted.
He runs. Or tries to. The web he shoots forward gets sliced clean in half midair by an arrow. Peter doesn’t even have time to swear before gravity reminds him it exists.
He hits the ground hard, rolling with it, shoulder screaming in protest.
“Okay, ow, rude!”
He pushes himself up, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, then freezes.
They’ve closed in tighter. Peter can feel his heart start to pound in his ears.
Tony hovers lower now, not even pretending to give him space. Rhodey shifts to Peter’s right, blocking the street. Steve steps forward again.
Clint already has another arrow trained on him. Peter’s spider-sense is screaming.
“Kid,” Tony says, voice sharper now, “this is over.”
Peter laughs, but it’s thinner this time. “Wow, you guys really don’t do subtle, huh?”
No one even smiles. Of course they don’t.
Peter takes a step back. Then another. His hand twitches nervously at his web-shooter.
Think. Think. Think-
“Last chance,” Steve says, not unkindly. But it’s still terrifying to Peter. He swallows hard, mask hiding the way his jaw tightens.
“…Yeah,” he mutters, quieter now. “You said that already.”
He bolts.
Peter fires a web behind him, yanking himself forward with a sharp pull that nearly wrenches his shoulder again, but he moves fast. Faster than they expected.
Peter flinches when a repulsor blast streaks past his side, but it misses him.
“Yes! Okay- bye!” he calls over his shoulder, adrenaline spiking as he gains distance. “Love what you’ve done with the whole… teamwork thing. Very intimidating. Ten out of ten!”
Peter flips over a railing and lands hard on a lower rooftop. He doesn’t stop moving.
Almost out. Almost free. Then he can go home to May, maybe watch a movie with Ned or build something out of legos..
DANGER, MOVE!!
Peter barely has time to turn before something, no, someone slams into him from the side. They hit the ground hard together.
Air punches out of Peter’s lungs when his back cracks against concrete, vision flashing white. A knee pins his arm down the weight of it calculated.
“Got you,” a low voice murmurs. Natasha Romanoff.
Peter’s heart stutters. “Oh, come on!” he wheezes, twisting violently. “Where did you even–”
He jerks his arm, firing a web at the ground beside them. It yanks, throwing his body sideways just enough to break her balance.
Natasha lets go immediately and on purpose, not surprised.
That’s way worse.
Peter scrambles back to his feet, breath coming sharper now, movements just a little less smooth.
“Okay,” he pants, backing up. “Sneaky. Very sneaky. Love that for you!” He’s rambling. He rambles when he’s nervous. Or in this case, scared shitless.
His spider-sense spikes again, but he’s getting sloppy from panic.
A blast hits him square in the side.
Peter cries out, the sound tearing out of him before he can stop it as he’s thrown off his feet, slamming into the ground and skidding across gravel and broken concrete. He hears something in his suit snap.
Everything goes quiet for half a second. Shock, he supposes. But then the sharp and blinding pain hits.
“Don’t-” he chokes, curling in slightly before forcing himself to move. “Don’t-okay. No– get up, Parker, get up!”
His arm trembles as he pushes himself upright. Something’s wrong. His side burns, every breath catching wrong, uneven. He tastes blood.
He hears footsteps approaching, quick, and his panic spikes.
Peter staggers, nearly tripping before catching himself on a wall. His vision swims, edges going fuzzy.
Move. He needs to move.
He turns and stumbles weakly, ducking down the fire escape and dropping the last few feet instead of climbing. The landing jars everything and he nearly topples over again.
“Okay. okay. still good. Everything’s fine. I’m okay-” He mutters, voice shaking.
Peter hears them behind him.
“He’s heading down!”
“He’s hurt.”
“Nope–no, no, no-” he whispers, backing away, eyes darting wildly until.. There. A narrow, dark, and out-of-sight alley. Perfect.
He stumbles into it, boots scraping against pavement as he forces himself further in, deeper, until he can duck behind a dented metal dumpster.
It smells horrid. But Peter can’t bring himself to care.
He drops down hard behind it, one hand clamped over his mouth, the other still pressed to his side.
His panted breathing is too loud, too fast. He needs to be quiet.
He goes stiff when he hears footsteps and voices not far off.
“He couldn’t have gone far.”
Peter squeezes his eyes shut, shoulders shaking as he tries and fails to steady his breathing.
Please, he wills silently, please just go away.
His whole body is wracked with tremors of both pain and fear.
Footsteps pass the alley.
“Spread out.”
Peter presses himself further into the wall behind the dumpster, like he can somehow disappear into it. His hand clamps tighter over his mouth, trying to muffle the sound of his breathing, but it’s shaky. Uneven and too loud.
Everything feels too loud. Everything hurts. He wants to go home.
His side throbs with every heartbeat, and he bites down hard on the inside of his cheek to keep from making a sound.
A soft thud lands at the mouth of the alley.
Peter’s eyes snap open.
Boots step into view—Natasha Romanoff’s boots.
Peter goes stiff, staring up at her in horror.
No no no no..
Her gaze sweeps the alley.. before landing on him.
Peter’s breath stutters behind his hand. He tries to push himself back further, but there’s nowhere to go. The wall digs into his shoulders.
Peter shakes his head immediately, frantic, pressing himself tighter into the corner.
“Don’t-” he tries, but his voice mod crackles, distorting the word into something warped. That must have been what he heard snap. “Don’t..come closer-
Her eyes narrow slightly, and she steps closer anyway.
“Easy,” she says. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine!” The mod glitches again, the pitch slipping for half a second, too high, too young, before snapping back into place. “Just- just go away!”
Natasha stops just a few feet away. Her gaze sharpens.
“…Your voice,” she says quietly.
Peter’s heart pounds. He can hardly hear anything else. “No, it’s–” he starts quickly, panicked now, one hand fumbling blindly at the side of his mask. “It’s.. it’s a setting, it’s just–”
He hears the voice mod click out of place again, and the next sound that comes out of him isn’t distorted. It’s his actual voice. Young, raw, and terrified.
“Don’t, please–” Peter freezes. But the damage is already done.
Natasha goes completely still.
Her expression changes into something almost soft. But still bewildered and on edge.
“You’re a kid,” she says.
Peter flinches like he’s been hit again.
“I’m not!” he tries, voice cracking outright now, no filter left to hide behind. “I’m not a kid, I’m– I wasn’t doing anything bad, I swear, I didn’t-” He cuts himself off with a sharp inhale, pain lancing through his side. He presses his head back against the unforgiving wall of the alley, fighting to keep his eyes open.
Natasha takes another slow step closer.
“No, don’t!” His voice pitches higher, panic fully breaking through now. “Please don’t take me in, I didn’t do anything, I– I was just trying to help, I swear!”
Natasha stills again. Slowly, her hands lifted slightly. “I’m not going to hurt you,” she says, softer now.
Peter shakes his head violently. “You said that before-” he chokes out. “He said that- Captain America said that-”
Natasha exhales slowly, glancing once toward the alley entrance. Then back to him.
“...They don’t know,” she says quietly.
Peter’s breathing stutters. “Wh-what?”
“They don’t know you’re a kid.”
“They think you’re… something else.”
Peter swallows hard. “They said I was a threat,” he whispers.
Natasha’s jaw tightens. “...Yeah,” she admits. “I heard.”
His shoulders shake. “I didn’t mean to be-” he says, small. “I wasn’t– I wasn’t trying to-”
His voice breaks completely. Natasha makes a decision. She steps fully between him and the alley entrance.
Footsteps approach outside.
“Romanoff?” a voice asks. Steve.
Peter’s head jerks up, panic flaring all over again.
Natasha doesn’t look back. “I’ve got him,” she calls.
He tenses, shrinking back against the wall. He’s trembling hard.
Tony approaches the two. “About damn time!” He snarks, “What are we waiting for then? Let's take him in.”
“He’s hurt,” Natasha answers, finally glancing back at Tony. Steve, Clint, and Rhodey are there too.
Tony’s eyes narrow. “Okay, we’ll take him to the medbay then. He had it coming; he’s been running from us for weeks.”
Peter inhales sharply when Tony steps even closer and looks down at him. Peter lets out a small, choked whimper. But he doesn’t speak. His voice mod is broken, and he really doesn’t want any of the other Avengers to find out he’s a kid, either.
“Stark.” Natasha deadpans, glaring, “He’s a child.”
The entire team freezes.
Tony’s the first to speak. “..What?”
Vaguely, Peter hears the others pipe up in confusion, concern, and a hint of anger. Loud. so loud. But he can’t.. He can’t tell what they’re saying.
His vision is getting spotty. Whatever hit him earlier must have done a number on him.. He can't stifle a small groan.
The last thing he sees is Natasha’s lips moving, trying to speak to him, but he can’t make it out. Everything goes black.
~~
The first thing he notices is the silence. It’s nice.. It feels safe.
Safe, unlike the Avengers.
The Avengers. The Alleyway.
Peter wakes with a start, shooting up out of the.. Bed? He breathes heavily, looking around. He ignores the pain in his side.
He flinches violently when he feels hands pressing on his shoulders, then he hears a voice. “Hey- Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe.”
Peter blinks rapidly, looking up at the person.
Natasha.
He inhales sharply, allowing her to push him back into the bed.
“..hi,” He croaks weakly, unsure what else to say.
Natasha looks down at him with a quirked eyebrow. “Hey. How are you feeling?”
“..like I just went twelve rounds with the Avengers.” He answers truthfully.
She frowns, but doesn’t comment on the pointed quip.
Peter turns his head, looking around the room. It looks like a hospital room. “..Where am I?” He asks, but before he can get an answer, his eyes land on a mirror.
His mask. His mask is off.
Peter’s heart rate spikes.
Natasha notices the panicked look, “Peter.”
Peter freezes at the use of his actual name.
“We called your aunt. She’s on her way. You’re safe.”
He takes a few, shaky breaths, forcing himself to nod.
He hates this.
“You’re in the Avengers Compound,” Natasha answers his earlier question.
“..fun,” Peter says dryly.
Natasha watches him for a long, uncomfortable moment before saying, “We have a few questions for you when your aunt gets here, but you’ll be free to go after.”
Peter looks up, hopeful, “You mean you aren't.. Taking me in?”
Natasha looks a tad guilty, “No.”
He releases a breath, finally relaxing again. “Good.. good.”
~~
It doesn’t take long for a very pissed and distressed Aunt May to arrive at the Avengers compound.
All of the heroes get a very stern talking to about child endangerment and injuring people. Even Tony looks slightly nervous.
They all talk about Peter’s vigilantism and come up with a compromise. Peter will be allowed to continue as Spider-Man, as long as he checks in with the Avengers once a week. Plus, they will upgrade his tech and make sure he’s safe.
Peter has a feeling he won’t ever feel truly at ease around the Avengers, and he sure as hell won’t look up to them nearly as much as he used to, but he does his best to be happy. At least he’s not rotting in a jail cell.
The second he gets home, Ned is invited over and the two of them hunker down to binge all of Star Wars.