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“Alright, class! I need you all to be on your best behavior today. Mr. Stark was very generous to let us have a tour of the Avengers tower.” Mr. Harrington said as soon as the bus was all loaded up.
“Hey, Penis! We will finally see if this internship of yours is legit or if you’re just faking it as we all think.” Flash shouted. The class laughed at this but Peter and Ned just rolled their eyes.
“Yea, and you will see how much of an idiot you’ve been, Flash,” Ned told him. Peter shot him a grateful smile and they started chatting about the next lego set they were going to build. The students gasped as the bus pulled up in front of the tall tower. They unloaded and got into a big clump behind Mr. Harrington as they walked into the building.
Mr. Harrington walked up to the front desk while the students looked around the lobby in awe. A woman named Andrea was sitting behind the front desk typing on her computer; when she saw them she smiled politely.
“Hello, we are here for the 9 o'clock tour.” Mr. Harrington smiled. She checked her computer.
“Midtown High?” She asked.
“Yep, that is us!” Mr. Harrington responded. She smiled at him. “Alright, one of our lab directors will be here shortly as your tour guide.”
He nodded and stepped away from the desk.
“FRIDAY? Could you please tell Josie that her tour group is here?” Andrea called up.
“Of course, Ms. Derekson,” FRIDAY responded. “Hello, Peter. You are home earlier than expected. Shall I inform Ms. Romanoff? She just got back from her mission.”
Peter blushed “, No thanks FRIDAY. I am actually here on a field trip.”
“Of course, Peter. Have a good time.” She responded.
“Thanks, Fri.”
“How is the- uh- ceiling talking to you, Peter?” Mr. Harrington asked.
“Well, Mr. Harrington, FRIDAY isn’t the ceiling. She is the Avengers Tower Artificial Intelligence. She runs through the whole building,” Peter explained.
“How does the AI know you?” Flash asked suspiciously.
“I work here, Flash,” Peter sighed. “FRIDAY knows everyone who works here.”
“But she said you lived here!” Flash argued. Peter opened his mouth to retort when suddenly a woman ran out of one of the elevators in the back of the room. She had blonde hair that was in a braid at the bottom of her head, brown eyes, and was wearing a standard lab coat. She also had a walkie-talkie clipped to her pants.
Peter and Josie were really close. Whenever Peter had free time (which was rarely) he would always come and hang out with Josie. When she saw him she grinned and hugged him. He, of course, squeezed her back.
“Are you with the tour today, Peter?” Josie asked.
“Yea, I am.” He answered.
“Great! Okay, let's start! Sorry if I am a little late, there’s a lot going on in Gamma right now,” Josie laughed. “Hello class, my name is Josie, and I am a Lab Director in the Gamma Sector. Each of you will get a temporary visitors badge. There are six sectors of the Avengers tower: Omega, delta, gamma, zeta, beta, and alpha. The Omega sector is the bottom 25 floors which consist of the entrance and the interns R&D labs. There are different levels of interns depending on age and skill. The level 1 interns mainly consist of high school juniors and seniors, while level 2 and 3 interns are college students.”
“I bet Parker doesn’t have an Omega Sector badge,” Flash laughed. Josie raised an eyebrow at Peter, but Peter just shook his head.
“I’ll tell you later,” he mouthed to her. She nodded and continued.
“The next 20 floors is the Delta sector where the level 1 scientists have their labs. The Gamma sector is floors 46 through 70 where the level 2 and 3 scientists have their labs. In this sector, all products are tested and reviewed. Doctor Banner is sometimes on this floor helping out with advance projects, experiments, and tests. Sector Zeta is, as we call it, the “Meeting Sector”. This is where the Avengers, the government, and Stark Industries meetings take place. It consists of floors 71 through 81. Sector Beta only consists of three floors. All three are personal labs. The last 16 floors are the Avengers’ personal space. Each Sector has at least two cafeterias and breaks rooms. Any questions?” Josie smiled as she handed out the badges.
A couple hands shot up. Josie smiled and pointed to a kid in the back. “What is the highest sector we will be allowed to see today?” He asked.
“I think that depends on how quickly we move through the tour. We will definitely not be going into the Alpha Sector as that is private space. Even the interns and scientists are not allowed in that sector.”
A couple groans and ‘awws’ were heard but Josie ignored them. “Please swipe your badges as you enter.”
Josie swiped hers first. “Josie Presington, Sector Gamma Lab Director,” FRIDAY announced.
As the students swiped there badges FRIDAY announced them “, Visitor, Kappa.”
“Miss, what does Kappa mean?” Someone asked.
“Kappa is what all Visitors get. It means they can go on whatever floor their tour guide or occupant is on.” Josie explained.
Peter swiped his and Friday declared “, Peter Parker, Sector Alpha PA, and Occupant.”
The whole class gaped at him. “Miss! I think Pen- I mean Peter’s is broken!” Flash whined.
Josie smirked at him “, I can assure it is not.”
But how?! You said no interns were allowed in the Alpha Sector! And what are a PA and Occupant mean?” Flash fumed.
Josie glanced at Peter. “That is all… classified.”
“Moving on! Everyone hop in the elevator we will start with Sector Omega.”
On the elevator, Josie’s walkie went off.
“Testing Delta #10205 on Gamma 64.”
“Please excuse my walkie, Mr. Stark insists that all Lab Directors keep them on at all times,” Josie said.
“Most of the interns are not here right now since they are all in school. This sector usually doesn’t fill up till around 2 to 3.” Josie explained as they walked through the floor. “Each intern gets their own workstation and tools. When they have finished a project or experiment they can request to take it up to the Gamma sector for testing. There, a Lab Boss or Lab Director can review it and test it.”
“Excuse me, Ms. Josie, what is a Lab Boss and Lab Director?” Mr. Harrington asked.
“Excellent question! Lab Directors are scientists, but are higher up the metaphorical food chain and are responsible for all the other interns or scientists in their sector. There are 5 Lab Directors per sector. There are three Lab Bosses: Dr. Banner, Mr. Stark, and Dr. Cho. Each is in charge of different areas of study. Mr. Stark is in charge of engineering and physics. Dr. Cho is the head of all medical studies and projects and Dr. Banner is, well, kind of the everything guy. Let's move on.”
The group continued walking as Josie pointed out things. There were projects on desks and tools laid everywhere, including the floor. Josie laughed “, I do apologize for the messiness. Our interns weren’t expecting visitors and it is kind of hectic right now.”
The group passed a cafeteria and headed up the next elevator. “We are now going into the Delta Sector. There will be more people up here. Please watch where you walk and try not to be too loud.” Josie warned.
Josie was right. There were a lot more people on this floor. Some were working on projects, others were tinkering, and some were even sleeping at their stations.
“Our scientists and interns do not have specific hours. We have interns and scientists that will have an idea and come in at midnight and work on it for hours. We do, however, require all staff to put in at least 18 hours of work a week. The Lab directors have a room in their sector since they spend 90% of their time in the building. There is supposed to be at least two Lab Directors in each sector at all times. Here comes one of them now! Anne, can you come here please?”
Anne turned her head and waved at the group. She quickly threw her curly afro into a bun and adjusted her glasses before walking over. “Hello, are you all on a tour?” She said in a thick British accent.
They nodded excitedly. “I hope it is going well.” She smiled tired and let out a small yawn. “Apologies for my behavior, a lot of the scientists in this sector have deadlines soon, so all the lab directors in this sector have been here all night helping out.” She explained. She saw Peter and instantly perked up.
“My little man! How are you?” She gave him a fist pump. “I hate to ask you this on a Friday, but Marissa, West, and I want to go to the laundromat and dinner tonight. Alex and Chase are the only ones here. Since deadlines are due in 3 days we need at least three LDs here at all times. Could you please watch this sector with Chase and Alex tonight from 7 to around 1?” She asked.
“Of course.” He gave her a thumbs up. She gave him a fond smile.
“Anne! Could you come here, please! I think I rerouted this wrong!” A voice shouted.
“I’m coming!” She shouted back “, See ya later, hun.”
She gave the group one last look before walking away.
“Um, Miss! Peter is an intern! Not a Lab director! Why did she just ask him to do a Lab Director’s job?” Flash’s eye twitched as he got more annoyed. Peter had to hold in a laugh.
“Peter is Mr. Stark’s personal assistant. He doesn’t really fit into the category of a regular intern, a Lab Director, or a Lab boss.” Josie answered.
Flash turned red as the class laughed at him quietly. They continued walking. Josie explained a few of the projects as they passed and the class laughed at a couple of the scientists sleeping in odd positions. They entered the elevator and headed up to Sector Gamma. The floor they went on was extremely busy.
“There is a lot of testing happening right now,” Josie explained. They walked through slowly so the class could have time to look around. Peter looked at each project carefully and quickly since he knew that he would be reviewing some of them later anyway. A lot of people acknowledged him as he walked by and he greeted them in return.
“Hey James, if you use a less absorbent sponge your experiment will have better results,” Peter called to him. James studied it for a moment before going wide-eyed.
“You are my guardian angel, Pete.” James laughed.
Peter rolled his eyes “, Only for you, James.” The class eyed him suspiciously but continued. Peter was walking towards the back of the group when Flash started walking next to him.
“How do you really know all these people? Huh, Parker? I know you are not telling the truth.” Flash lowered his voice.
“Sorry, Flash. I-I can’t talk right now!” Peter tried to brush him up. Flash moved to in front of Peter and grabbed the front of his shirt. “Tell the truth, Penis. What are you hiding?”
“No, you cannot fit the vibranium there! It will not power up correctly!” Said a thick Wakandan voice.
Peter gasped “, Shuri!”
She turned towards him when she heard her name. She grinned but then glared in a deadly sort of way and stalked over to him “, Peter!”
“Get your hands off him, colonizer!” Shuri growled. Flash instantly let go and put his hands up.
“I’m sorry, ma’am! I won’t do it again.”
“I know you won’t or you will have all of Wakanda out for your head. Now get back to your tour!” She threatened. Flash nodded and ran to catch up.
Shuri turned her gaze towards Peter and threw her arms around him. “I have missed you greatly, Peter!”
“I’ve missed you too and thanks for the save. What are you doing here?”
“Yea well I came back to work on a prototype for yo- um something.” She covered. He smiled.
Josie walked over with the class. “Class, this is Princess Shuri of Wakanda. Temporary Lab Boss.”
“It is very nice to meet you all,” She said politely. She then turned to Peter. “Movie night?”
He groaned “, Unfortunately no, I have LD duty tonight until 1 AM for Delta. When are you here until?”
She joined his groan. “That is quite unfortunate, but thankfully I am here until next Wednesday.”
“Perfect! Then we can have movie night at 2!” Peter exclaimed. She squealed and nodded.
Josie raised an eyebrow “, Movie night at two in the morning?”
Both stared at her before nodding vigorously.
“I have to go back to testing but we will catch up later, yes?” She asked.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world!” He beamed.
“Now you’re best friends with the princess of Wakanda?” Flash grumbled under his breath.
“It is lunchtime!” Josie announced as they headed back to the elevator. “The cafeteria is one floor up.”
The group started eating and everyone was trying to sit next to Peter and ask him questions.
“Peter, how did you meet the Princess of Wakanda?”
“That... is a long story.”
“How did you become Stark’s personal assistant?”
“I applied for the job and I guess he really liked me.”
“How close are you with the other Avengers?”
“Um, I’d rather not answer that.”
And the questions continued. Peter eventually got tired of answering them and was thankful when Josie’s walkie went off again.
“Hey Zach, are you on a walkie?”
A pause.
“Yea, what’s up?”
“Could you tell your interns when they get in today that their projects and experiments are due in 2 weeks?”
“Yea, I will.”
“Great, thank you.”
“Miss Josie, I have a question!” One of Peter’s classmates shouted.
“Why do you guys use walkie-talkies if you have way more advanced technology?”
“Well, for one, Walkies are easy to pass around and multiple people can use them at a time. Second, Walkies are not as easy to lose as things such as earpieces. Alright class, lunch is over. Do you guys want to see Sector Zeta?.”
Of course, the whole class nodded and followed her to the elevator.
“FRIDAY are there any meetings going on right now?” Josie asked once they were in the elevator.
“I am afraid that information is classified Ms. Presington.” FRIDAY responded.
“FRIDAY, Override Underoos,” Peter said.
She paused. “There is a meeting on floor 76, Peter.”
He gave her a quick thanks before pressing the button for 72.
“Nice little trick there,” Josie commented quietly. Peter smirked, “, Couldn’t have us walking into an Avengers meeting.”
Josie let out a breathless laugh and stepped out of the elevator.
“Peter, would you like to take over from here? I have only been in this sector a few times myself.” Josie asked. That was a lie. Josie came to this floor at least once every two weeks.
“Um, yea, I-I guess.” The class followed him as they walked through different meeting rooms.
“Since there is so much space, each meeting room is used for a different purpose. For example, the meeting room we are in right now, C-04, can hold 30 people max. This is because this room is used for Lab director meetings which happen once or twice every 2 weeks. Floor 75 is just one huge room with chairs and a projector; that is where all intern and scientists meetings are held.” Peter explained.
“Excuse me, Miss Josie? How many people work in the Avengers tower?” A kid asked.
“I believe there are currently around 5,000 interns and scientists right now and 15 Lab Directors,” She responded. “But, we get over 250,000 applications yearly. Why don’t we take a seat in this meeting room and Peter and I will answer any more questions you have.”
Peter’s classmates took seats in the chairs around the room and he stood awkwardly in the front next to Josie. Multiple hands shot up.
“Ms. Josie, who goes through the applications?”
“Excellent question! We actually have a team of 20 people who sort through them every day. We call them the Show and Tell team.”
“What are the requirements to become an intern?” Someone else asked.
“Well, the minimum GPA is a 3.7. The applicants must be going into junior year of high school. All applicants must have an A in their science and Math classes. They must have no criminal records and a clean background check. They also have to have a flexible and free schedule, as this internship requires you to be here at least 18 hours of the week.”
“Oh, Ms! Do the interns see the Avengers a lot?”
“I think it depends on the Avenger. Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark are usually on the floors every day. Agent Barton once had a competition between all the interns to see who could make him the best arrow. That was a fun little competition,” She giggled at the memory.
Peter also smiled “, Do you remember how bad clean up was for days after that?”
Josie nodded and sighed “, We were all there till 3 in the morning for multiple nights.”
The class joined in on the laughter.
“So Parker, are you gonna actually answer why you are allowed in the Alpha Sector? Or are you going to pull that classified bullshit?” Flash asked with a grin. Peter shifted uncomfortably under the classes’ stare.
“Um, well,” He tried to quickly think of a cover-up; saying that he lived there half the time was not an option. “You see, Mr. Stark sometimes has me grab stuff from that Sector when he is busy. Or if he needs another avenger for something.”
Flash raised an eyebrow but didn’t press it.
“Mr. Parker, Ms. Romanoff is headed your way now. She seems quite angry.” FRIDAY announced. Not a minute later, Natasha Romanoff came out of the elevator. She looked murderous as she stalked towards Peter. The whole class took a collective lean back and Peter gulped thickly.
“Peter Benjamin Parker, why didn’t you tell me you were here?!” She demanded.
“I was on a field trip with my class and I didn’t want to bother you.” He supplied weakly.
“I just got back from Ukraine and you don’t think I would want to see you мой паучок ?” She asked.
“No?” He answered, uncertain.
She sighed deeply “Я скучала по тебе, мой паучок.”
He smiled at her “Я тоже по тебе скучал!”’
She turned to Mr. Harrington “, I will be taking him.”
“But…” He started. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Okay, Peter have fun and be safe! Class, that is our cue. Let’s go!”
“Since when does Peter know Greek and know the Black Widow?!” Flash yelled and crossed his arms.
“Actually, it’s Russian,” Natasha smiled sweetly.
Once the class and Josie had left Natasha hugged Peter tightly. They headed to the Avengers living space and jumped on the couch in the living room.
‘What were you doing in Ukraine?” He asked as he settled between her legs. She wrapped her arms around him and he rested his head on her shoulder.
“Just a little undercover to get some information.”
“Sounds interesting.” He smiled into her shoulder.
“Believe me. It is way more boring than it sounds.” They both laughed.
“How was your field trip?” She inquired.
“Eh, as good as a field trip to where you live and work can be, but Flash kept bugging me and is super suspicious.”
“Do I need to take him out for you?”
“Ugh, I wish, but unfortunately not. I’m just gonna have to deal with him for forever.” Peter groaned, making her laugh. “Hey Nat, what time is it?”
“It is 5:30, are you hanging out with Shuri?”
“No, I have Lab Director duties at 7. Can we eat something? I’m starving.” He said as his stomach grumbled.
“You’re always hungry, мой паучок.” She shot back. “I think Steve made chili.”
“Sounds perfect.”