Work Text:
1: PROLOGUE
Peter had a problem. He seemed to have become a victim of voodoo doll magic.
Or just straight up possessed.
Ok that was probably not true. That’s just what Ned thought was going on with him. But even in the world of superheroes, sorcerers and aliens that seemed an absurd idea. Right…?
No no there was no evil spirit haunting him. But that didn’t change the fact that for the past few weeks he seemed to be forming injuries overnight. Out of nowhere. He’d wake up in the morning with random cuts and bruises all over his body. They weren’t usually anything serious, and didn’t appear every morning; but the fact that this was happening at all was extremely concerning to say the least.
So while he may not be under the influence of an evil spirit; sleep walking seemed to have a higher probability. Peter had tried to remedy this of course. First was child proofing his entire bedroom at night. That didn’t work. He knew this because a very conspicuous cut appeared on his forehead the next day; which led to him developing a sudden interest in side swept bangs. May couldn’t know about any of this.
Next was locking his door and window. But he went a step further and added a locking mechanism that required a ten digit passcode to open. He’d just about pulled his hair out when the next morning his knee was busted and the locks remained untouched. Maybe the possession theory had some credibility after all. Maybe he should ask Ned if his mom knew of any shamans in the area…
Exorcising his demons would have to wait till after his chemistry test though.
It was a Monday morning, Peter was winding through pedestrian traffic, Left Hand Free blasting through his earphones. The wonderful New York stench of piss mixed with obnoxious deodorants hitting his nostrils. He finally arrived at Midtown Tech , but not before Flash Thompson almost hit him with his car. Peter yelped and jumped out of the way just in time for Flash to drive by with a “What’s up Penis Parker!” as a way of greeting. Yeah, he was peachy like that.
He shouldered his way through the throng of students in the hallway making their way to their classes till he finally reached his locker. His knee had started twinging again after the stunt Flash pulled. But he tried to ignore it as best he could. He hadn’t been able to bandage it in the morning without May noticing. But his injuries never seemed to last long anyway. It would probably be completely scabbed over by the end of third period. He entered the locker combination to pull the door open when a familiar arm draped across his shoulder.
“Dude! Check out the school newspaper!” Ned said excitedly. So close to his ear it made Peter wince. “Your face is all over it. Everyone’s talking about the Stark Internship!”
Peter could feel his heart slowly sinking down to the bottom of his shoes. He looked around and now that there was no music blasting in his ears, he did notice an odd number of stares being thrown his way. Usually he was invisible. And he was completely happy with that. But ever since he’d entered (and actually won) the Stark Industries Internship Program or SIP contest for high schoolers all across the country, he’d done nothing but gain unwarranted attention.
The moment he’d laid eyes on the flyer he knew he had to do this. It was Tony Stark for gods sake! His childhood idol! Getting to work with him was so beyond what he thought was possible that he’d entered the competition partly as a joke. Because there was no way someone like him stood a chance against the most brilliant teenagers all over the country. But that joke was staring him in the face now, along with every single wannabe inventor in the country as his face was plastered all over the news channels as Tony Stark’s genius new intern.
For his project he’d designed a nylon based adhesive, stored in liquid form in a highly pressurised container,strong enough to hold up to twenty tonnes of weight. Functional in high pressure environments, extreme temperatures as well as in the vacuum of space. Applicable for space travel as well as deep sea explorations. Needless to say his project beat all others and he was accepted as the first ever intern of Stark Industries. Word around the grapevine was Tony Stark had personally judged all the entries.
Naturally, a bunch of adolescents with still developing frontal lobes were going to feel jealous. And while Peter was social on the best of days, he still preferred not to be the source of high school gossip. He slowly felt himself shrinking into his locker, his ears turning red. He felt like he could hear every single conversation in the hallway, all the voices overlapping each other so that he understood exactly none of it. He wanted to shove his earphones back in but Ned wasn’t done talking.
“ The guys form robotics lab lowkey have a grudge against you ever since you quit ‘cause of the internship,” Ned continued cheerfully, the bearer of good news that he was. “I heard one of them talking about some kind of showdown during the dodgeball match in P.E. But you shouldn’t worry about that.” He waved his hand dismissively. “You are SO far above them right now Peter! I mean you get to work in the same room as Tony Stark! How awesome is that?! He’s gonna be so impressed with you, he might even let you work on one of his Iron Man suits and - ”
“Cut it out Ned, before Peter throws up on you.” MJ said as she joined their one sided discussion, slapping Ned lightly on the shoulder to stop his rambling.
“ ‘sup Parker,” MJ turned towards Peter. “You ready for Chem today?”
Peter sighed in relief an nodded, grateful for the change of subject as they finally started making their way to class. “Yeah. But it’s P.E. I should be worried about apparently.”
MJ snorted, “Those dorks are gonna trip over their own feet trying to get to you.”
Peter laughed, grateful she was trying to make him feel better.
“When’s your first day anyway?” Ned asked coming up from behind them. He still couldn’t let go of the topic apparently. But Peter just grinned. Because as nervous as he was, he was still just as excited.
“It starts tomorrow,” there was an unconscious bounce in his step as he talked now. “ Someone’s gonna pick me up right after class.” Both of his friends whistled appreciatively.
“Look’s like it’s gonna be just you and me Ned,” MJ said. “Peter’s in with the big shots now.”
“Yeah man, don’t forget about us once you become besties with an Avenger,” Ned added a little sadly.
“What are you guys even talking about?” Peter laughed. “ None of that is gonna happen !”
“Sure,” MJ said dryly.
“You know what? Let’s have a movie night at my place tomorrow, and I can tell you guys all about my first day.”
“Deal!”
“Deal!”
Later that night Spider Man was back at school, but this time trying to sneak in without getting caught by the security guard. He wasn’t wearing the costume after all. It was currently stuffed underneath a row of lockers along with his web shooters.
Hence the sneaking in.
He jumped the back wall with ease and landed in the school grounds. It was a fifty meter dash till the building now. And since there was no cover he’d have to go as quickly as possible. Trying to make as little noise as he could, he half ran half hopped on his tip toes, arms flailing awkwardly till he reached the building.
And just in time as a flashlight beam shone around the corner right where his foot had been a millisecond ago. Spider man pressed himself against the wall further, trying to stay out of the range of the roaming flashlight. It paused for a second before finally it turned in the opposite direction, a mumble of “Stupid cats,” following the retreating light.
He let out a breath and began scaling the wall. It definitely took a while for him to get the hang of his new abilities. His fingers would loose their stickiness at random times if he wasn’t concentrating. The swinging was even harder. And he definitely took way more tumbles than his pride would like to admit. He’d gotten way better now. But there was still that one incident where he’d started having a little too much fun swinging through New York, and ended up dangling from the side of the Chrysler building with nothing but his pinky finger, two hundred feet in the air. Yeah, that made it no longer fun.
He reached the second floor with the faulty window that never closed and quietly slipped inside. It was dark in the hallway, but that was no issue to his enhanced senses. He lifted the entire row of lockers with one hand and grabbed his stuff from underneath with the other. He let the lockers fall back down, put on the costume and swung out the window as fast as he could, already buzzing with excitement.
He swung through Queens, feeling the crisp night air and quickly getting lost in the thrill of it. He’d shoot a web towards a building and let himself swing downwards till his feet were only a few inches above the ground; before shooting another web and launching himself upwards like a slingshot, whooping in excitement.
He spend most of his nights stopping muggings or robberies, with the occasional car jacking. But Peter knew about none of this. And Spider Man intended for it to stay that way. He didn’t believe Peter was cut out for this sort of thing. And Spider Man needed to protect him for this life.
After all…Peter Parker wasn’t a superhero.
Spider Man was.
2: NEVER MEET YOUR HEROES…UNPREPARED.
This. Was. So. Freaking. Cool!
Peter was currently in the elevator of Stark Tower going up towards where he assumed Tony Stark's workshop would be. The elevator was going up…and up…and up. Peter faintly wondered if they were ever going to reach the top floor; or if he’d spontaneously combust from anticipation before that. He decided that wouldn’t be a very good first impression.
He had been picked up after school in an expensive looking black Audi by a guy wearing an expensive looking black suit. He wore sunglasses paired with an annoyed expression. He’d introduced himself as Happy. Peter almost snorted at that.
The guy looked anything but.
Peter said his goodbyes to a totally jealous Ned and an indifferent MJ before joining this happy fellow in the car. He’d tried to strike up a conversation during the car ride; but when he realised he wouldn’t be getting more than grunts or one word replies, he’d quickly given up. After about thirty minutes of a mostly one sided conversation, they finally arrived at their destination.
He was given an intern badge upon entering. He couldn’t help but cringe at his less than flattering photo.
“Don’t lose it. You’re not getting another one.” Happy told him.
“Yes sir!” This was probably the longest sentence Happy said to him and he had full intention of obeying.
They were in the elevator together now, and Peter had his nose pressed against the glass wall, feeling his stomach drop as the elevator climbed impossibly high. He could see the tops of most of the high rise buildings from here stretching far into the distance. Birds were flying underneath them. He could certainly get used to this view.
“We’re almost there,” Happy announced.
Peter swallowed and tried to psych himself up for this meeting, repeating his introduction over and over again in his brain. He started to panic realising he couldn’t remember what the third line was when the elevator halted and the doors opened.
A figure stepped in front to greet them. But with the earlier panic still on his mind all he could think was “ Why the heck is Tony Stark wearing a skirt?” He blinked and looked up towards a face that was most definitely not Tony Stark. Or a man for that matter. She had fiery red hair and tiny freckles peppered across her face. Oh this must be-
“Welcome boys! You must be Peter!” Her face lit up in a genuine smile as she looked at him. Peter felt himself relax slightly. He took the hand she had extended towards him.
“Yes. And you’re Ms Pepper Potts! CEO of Stark Industries!” Peter couldn’t help the excitement that creeped into his voice.
She gave a tinkling laugh, “The one and only!”
A throat clearing sound came from behind them. “Since there are no more teenagers to chauffeur, I’d like to go back to my actual duties.”
“Happy,” Ms Potts chided. “Thank you for driving Peter here. And of course you can go. We really can’t do anything around here without you, you know that.”
“T-thank you Happy!” Peter added, not wanting to be rude.
Happy grunted as if pleased and promptly went back down the elevator.
“Don’t mind him,” Ms Potts waved dismissively in Happy’s direction. “He’s like that with everybody. Head of security and all. He tends to take his job very seriously. But he’ll warm up to you soon enough.”
“Oh no don’t worry ma’am!” Peter waved his hands frantically. “I didn’t mind. He needs to be cautious with anyone new of course. Anybody could be a danger these days you know. Mr Stark especially seems to have a lot of enemies, what with him being Iron Man and all. Not that that’s his fault of course! Oh my god I would never say that! I think what he does is truly amazing! I mean he’s saved the world so many times...how could anyone not love him? He’s actually my childhood hero-
Peter shut up!
But Ms Potts just laughed good naturedly at his outburst. “Relax Peter. I know what you mean.”
Peter let out a breath. Real slick Parker. This has been going just great. She gestured for him to follow her down the room.
He looked around and saw that they were standing in the middle of a massive foyer. Every piece of furniture here looked like it would be worth more than his and May’s entire apartment. He fidgeted with his shirt collar, feeling suddenly self conscious. He’d busted out one of Ben’s old dress shirts for this, since all he owned were science pun t shirts. Peter sincerely hoped he wasn’t expected to dress formally every time, because the amount of shirts he owned could be counted in less than one hand.
Ms Potts had started leading him down a hallway. Peter tried to shake off his restlessness and followed her. The click clacking of heels and hurried shuffling were the only sounds Peter heard for a while before Ms Potts led him inside a door towards the left. It looked like some kind of waiting room. There were a few chairs and a coffee table at the center and a mini fridge in the corner. A tv was mounted on the wall opposite them. Ms Potts gestured for him to have a seat and he obliged. She took a seat opposite him.
“We went over your project Peter. And I must say it’s very impressive. Tony especially couldn’t stop gushing about it. He thought it was ingenious!”
“O-oh th-thank you!”
Ohmygodtonystarkthinksimageniusohmygodohmygod!
That’s not what she said stop freaking out!
Peter cleared his throat awkwardly and hoped his sudden jubilation wasn’t outwardly visible. But Ms Potts just continued.
“So we figured the R & D division would be the best place for you. You’ll get to work on your inventions as well as some ongoing SI projects. You’ll be able to learn from some of the best scientists and engineers in the country. How does that sound?”
“I- That would be incredible! Thank you so much Ms Potts. This opportunity…I don’t even know if I deserve this.”
“You deserve everything we can offer Peter. You’ve proven that with your work. There’s nothing to be thanking me about.” She smiled.
In truth as much as Peter was grateful to even be able to set foot in this place, he was still having mixed feelings about his near future. A part of him was incredibly relieved that he wouldn’t have to come face to face with his idol and inevitably make a fool of himself. He also had no idea what he would be like in real life. This was something he couldn’t stop thinking about ever since he found out he’d be interning at Stark Industries. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to know the answer.
What was Tony Stark like in real life? Was he mean? Egotistical? He may be a hero but a lot of the news channels revelled in reminding people of his narcissistic playboy days. You know what they say, ‘never meet your heroes.’ Maybe Peter was just saving himself the disappointment that the great Tony Stark wasn’t all that he had made him out to be. Maybe this way his idol could forever remain this perfect but unreachable being,without anything to shatter the illusion.
But there was another part of him that couldn't help but feel extremely disappointed. He had a once in a lifetime opportunity to work at SI, and yet a few measly walls would hold him back from meeting the one man he looked up to the most?
He probably shouldn’t get too ahead of himself. He’d surely get to meet him at least a few times over the month.
‘It’s fine. This is actually the best case scenario!’
Lost in thought he hadn’t noticed when Pepper had gotten him some kind of fruit juice from the mini fridge. He accepted it gratefully. He eyed the fridge wondering if there were more grown up beverages in there as well…not that he’d ever had any of course.
“Dr Clarke should be here soon. You’ll be working under her while you’re here. I’ve also asked her to give you a little tour of all our main departments.”
Peter just nodded and took a sip of the juice, realising how thirsty he was. He hoped Dr Clarke wouldn’t get here before he was done with at least one more of these.
Suddenly a disembodied female voice started speaking from seemingly everywhere, and Peter jumped a mile in shock. His juice spilled over and he wondered if that was actually the grown up drink in question, and he was hearing voices.
“Ms Potts, there is a change of plans. Boss has requested you bring Mr Parker to his lab as soon as he has arrived.”
Pepper seemed surprised by the voice too, but not startled. “Why? He never said anything about this to me.” She looked up at the ceiling as she spoke and Peter noticed there were tiny speakers, almost unnoticeable.
“Boss says he requires Mr Parker’s assistance urgently.”
Pepper ran a hand over her face in frustration. “Tony I swear to god…”
Peter’s thoughts screeched to a halt. Boss…Tony…Wait. Tony Stark has requested his presence?! No, no, no. He had just recalibrated his brain into not meeting that man. All the smoothly moving gears in his mind seemed to collapse in on themselves. Before he could make sense of this sudden whiplash, Ms Potts had stood up and was gesturing him towards the door.
“I’m sorry Peter, I know you were expecting a tour right now. Tony can be really unpredictable at times.”
“But why would he need me all of a sudden?”
They entered the elevator. Ms Potts must have sensed his anxiousness because she tried to give him a reassuring smile. “It’s probably nothing. He probably just needs fresh eyes on some new tech he’s developing.”
Peter had to admit that would be extremely cool.
On a day he’s mentally prepared for it.
Today is not that day.
The elevator stopped at the penthouse floor. The doors opened and Peter’s jaw dropped.
Instead of a foyer, they were greeted with a massive living space with a lofted ceiling. Near the centre, a portion of the floor was lowered housing a flatscreen tv surrounded by large couches and a coffee table . On the left was an open kitchen complete with a wine cabinet. On the right was an entire piano. Probably just for decoration, because that’s how rich people were. The walls were lined with various modern art pieces and; Peter snorted; multiple framed posters of iron man himself. Of course the billionaire was someone to collect his own merch. The entire right wall was floor to ceiling windows looking out on what he guessed was a landing pad. Stairs led up to a second floor balcony overlooking the living area. The entire space was opulent but tasteful (if you ignored the iron man posters).
Peter eyed a large metal door on the second floor nervously because some mysterious clanking and thumping sounds seemed to be coming from behind it. Unfortunately for him, Pepper seemed to be leading him right to it. Either she didn’t notice or was used to it. He couldn’t decide which was worse.
Once they reached the door, he could read the sign on it that said - Private Lab 1.The clanging seemed to have stopped for now. Ms Potts knocked on the door.
“Tony? I’m here with Peter. You better have a good reason for why you needed him so urgently!”
There was a mechanical whirring sound and he heard a man’s voice saying something; then footsteps hurrying towards the door.
Peter expected the door to be thrown open and for the billionaire to grandly step out to greet them. Instead the door opened just enough for a man to slink out of the room before closing it shut immediately; like a kid trying to hide a puppy he was secretly keeping from his parents.
And there he was. Tony Stark in the flesh.
He was shorter than Peter had expected. Only a few inches taller than himself. Wearing an oil stained AC/DC t-shirt. But even with the sheepish look on his face, there was an air of importance about him. His eyes met Peter’s and a chill seemed to travel up his spine.
But then he smiled and the feeling was gone.
He turned to Ms Potts . “Pepper! How nice of you to drop in. I must say you look exceptionally beautiful today.” He winked.
Ms Potts just rolled her eyes. “Don’t deflect Tony. Is there a reason why the kid is not on his tour right now like it was planned?” And then almost as an afterthought, “And what were those sounds we heard earlier?”
So she did notice.
Mr. Stark just waved his hands dismissively, “Oh you know, just run of the mill…equipment malfunctioning.”
Ms Potts raised an eyebrow.
“Which is where…!” Mr. Stark started loudly, fully turning towards Peter for the first time. “…you come in young buck! You know an old man like me could really use some spry muscle around here, moving crates and whatnot.”
“Don’t call yourself old sir!” Peter said before he could stop himself. “You’re literally one of the smartest and strongest men on earth!”
Mr Stark laughed and patted Peter on the back so that he stumbled slightly.
“Nice. A healthy dose of admiration. Always good for your health. Though I can’t agree with the ‘strongest’ part. That’s mostly the suit.”
“Which is why,” Ms Potts started, “you don’t exactly need his help moving crates and whatnot. I don’t think you even have any crates in there.”
Mr. Stark clutched his hand to his chest dramatically. “Is that doubt I hear Ms Potts? You wound me!”
“I am responsible for making sure this kid goes back home in one piece. You, Mr Stark, are not.”
“What? responsible?”
“Yes!”
“I assure you Ms Potts, there won’t be a scratch on him while he’s with me,” he threw an arm around Peter’s shoulder and grinned.
The fact that Iron Man was standing right next to him and acting so casually with him was starting to freak him out now. But he couldn’t help but look back and forth between the two adults like it was a tennis match. ‘So this is what he’s like in real life? He’s surprisingly… normal.’
Ms Potts was standing with her arms crossed and foot tapping, contemplating. After a moment she relented. “Fine. But only if you promise to make sure he’s home by eight.”
“Of course of course. As unbelievable as it might be to you, a lot of people in my life do consider me responsible.”
“Yes, it is unbelievable.”
“Ok now, go on. Go back to your paper shuffling or boring meetings or whatever it is you CEO’s do.”
Ms Potts had already started to walk away. She called back over her shoulder, “Eight o’clock Tony! Today! Don’t forget.”
And then she was gone. And it was just Peter and his idol alone in the massive penthouse.
He turned towards Peter and clapped. “Well then Pete, let’s get started shall we?” He opened the door to the lab and led him inside. “I can call you that right?”
Peter was about to reply but Mr Stark cut him off. “Nevermind. That was rhetorical. I am calling you that.”
“Uh sure…sir.” Peter wasn’t sure if calling him ‘Mr. Stark’ would be too familiar. Though he doubted the man cared.
But then he finally looked at the lab. And it took his breath away.
It was Huge! Like a capital ‘H’ huge. Maybe twice as big as his apartment. Holographic work tables and workbenches were scattered throughout the room. Each displaying an assortment of tools, blueprints, or 3d holograms of ongoing projects . He even spotted a sole iron man boot on one of the tables, its wires and circuitry exposed. He could see a couple of what he guessed were assistant robots. The one nearest to them seemed to be called ‘Dum-E’ according to the name engraved on his arm. And for some reason he was pouring motor oil into a coffee mug. The far wall was all glass, with a magnificent view of the New York skyline.
The whole lab was messy and chaotic. At least to the untrained eye. He had a feeling Mr Stark knew precisely where everything was. This was the sort of organized chaos Peter himself thrived in. But on a much much smaller scale of course.
However, all this wasn’t even what drew his attention most.
“When you said ‘equipment malfunctioning…” Peter started trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
“Well yes, the suit’s not yet complete. So I would still consider it ‘equipment’”
Peter laughed in disbelief, “That’s not what I meant sir.”
Because on the ground in front of him was an unpainted Iron Man suit that had a steel pole wrapped around it like some sort of overkill restraint. The eyes of the faceplate were glowing, as if it was still operational. But the suit itself was not moving. And towering over it was a complete version of the suit, thrusters aimed towards the restrained one, ready to attack at any moment.
Seeing these two powerful machines in front of him sent goosebumps up his arms. He knew one blast from the thrusters, and he would be pulverised.
Not only did he get to meet Tony Stark, but he got to see not one but two Iron Man suits up close?! And in his personal lab?! Oh man, movie night today was going to be wild.
“ Well as you can see, two of my suits seem to be having a bit of a lover’s quarrel right now. He’s the problem by the way, I’ll tell you right now.” He gestured towards the one on the ground. “And you kid, are gonna help me fix him.”
“Well what’s wrong with him?”
“Oh nothing too serious. Just a bit trigger happy. He thinks my other suit is an enemy robot or something.”
“He was attacking your suit?!” Peter yelped.
“Well yeah. I just need to reconfigure his code. Then he’ll be as good as gold.”
“But how do we do that? With him all…tied up like that.”
“That kid, is the fun part!” Mr Stark grinned at him.
Peter was not liking how casual he seemed to be about this situation. This very much did not seem like a casual situation.
He continued, “Now this is what we’re gonna do. There is a panel at the back of his neck that I need to remove to disable his functions. But I can’t reach it right now because of the pole. I’m gonna get into my suit, rip that off, due to which Rambo here will start attacking me. I’ll distract him long enough for you to go around the back and remove that panel.”
“Wait wait…you’re going to intentionally get him to attack us?”
“Not you, just me. He has beef with the suit, remember?”