Work Text:
“Alright class, I want your work submitted in one clean piece,” Mr Harrington looked directly at Peter, who paused mid whisper with Ned, at least looking guilty, “by next Tuesday. Is that clear?”
Incoherent murmurs of “yes” and “understood” spread through the classroom before he started again.
“With work out of the way, I have one piece of good news!”
Cindy raised her hand, “Is it about the field trip?”
“Yes— Wait, how do you know that?”
“It's always at this time of year. Not really a surprise anymore.” MJ added.
“W-well,” he cleared his throat, taken aback by the response. “This trip is extra special this time! We were all surprised it was approved!”
“Hopefully it won't end like last time.”
Mr Harrington faltered for a moment, memories of the Washington Monument coming to mind.
“Don't worry, this is the safest place in the world! We're going to…”
He started drumming his fingers on the desk, the sound bouncing in a silent classroom. There were some snickers from the class, watching as their teacher's face flush pink.
“We're going to Stark Industries!”
The class erupted into rambunctious cheers.
“No way…” Peter whispered in disbelief.
“No way!” Ned followed, also in disbelief for a different reason.
“Ned, I can't go to Stark Industries!” Peter whisper-shouted at his best friend.
“Why not? You'll get to show Flash!”
“No, you don't understand—”
“Alright, alright, calm down. The consent forms and the NDAs are being passed down. I expect you all to complete it and return it to me by next Thursday at the latest or you're not going. Got that?”
The response was practically shouted and it hurt Peter's enhanced ears. He was getting a migraine, both from the noise and the forms now sitting in front of him.
Mr Harrington soon left, a wide smile on his face from getting his desired reactions. The chatter never died down even with the ringing school bell, excited at the rare opportunity.
“Hey, Penis Parker!”
A familiar voice called across the classroom. Peter groaned into his hands, covering his entire face.
“Let's see if you really have that internship, hah!”
He ignored the jeers from Flash's group, grabbed the cursed papers, and stormed out of the classroom before he lost it. Ned quickly did the same, chasing after the other into the hallway and met him in front of the lockers.
“Peter, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. It's— it was just too loud.”
He slammed the locker door, swinging his bag over his shoulder and stalked towards the exit.
“So… why can't you go?”
Peter sighed at his words.
“I just want to lay low, y'know? And with my other thing, my clearance is too high.”
“But, Flash…”
“But my identity.”
Sighing, Ned smartly dropped the matter, talking about a new Star Wars Lego set he recently bought instead.
***
“Hey May.”
The door softly clicked to a close as Peter walked towards the sofa, dropping his bag against the furniture as he sat beside his Aunt, invested in the program.
“Hey sweetie, how was school?”
“It was fine, I guess. What're you watching?”
“‘The Price is Right’, it's rerunning right now.” She popped another popcorn into her mouth, “Your ‘fine’ doesn't sound very convincing.”
“Really, it was. I got to class on time, aced a surprise calculus quiz, it was going great.”
“Until?”
He resolved himself to pull out the crumpled papers and showed it to her. She shook her head at the state of the sheets, used to it by now, and scanned the words on the papers.
“A field trip to Stark Industries?”
“Yeah.”
“And that's a problem because?”
“The whole,” he mimed the shooting of his webs, “that's why.”
“I still don't see the problem?”
“I just…don't want any attention. And knowing Mr Stark, he'll probably want to give me attention.”
“Oh yeah, he will.” She ate another popcorn. “But it's not like he'll expose your secret.” She tilted her bowl towards Peter.
“Yeah, he won't,” He takes a handful, throwing a few into his mouth, “But that's the thing, my actual internship with him will get too much attention. And…I have an identity to protect. I don't need more eyes looking at Peter Parker.”
May sets down the bowl and shifts to look directly at her nephew, her eyes locking into his hazel brown irises. “But that doesn't mean Peter Parker should sacrifice his normal life. You're 16, Peter. You deserve to live more…freely.”
“Swinging between buildings isn't free enough?”
“Oh you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I know. I'm just…”
“Scared?”
“What? Why would I be scared? I've been through worse.”
“That doesn't mean you can't be scared of everything else. Spider-man or not. Uncertainty is scary, we all know that.” She gently reached for the young teen's hand, “Peter, there are many people here for you, myself included. Enjoy your school life, go on the field trip with your friends, Ned and MJ, was it? The adults will be here to help you.”
“Y-yeah…Thanks, May.”
“You're welcome. Now get me a pen, the NDAs are scary enough, I don't want to prick my finger and sign a blood oath.”
For the first time since the announcement, he laughs. He digs through his bag for a pen and hands it to her.
“Anyway,” She signs the forms with a flourish, “you have lab day coming up right? Why don't you talk to Tony about it?”
“Yeah, I'll do that.” He receives the forms and pen, signing his own parts on the NDAs. “Whether or not he'll actually listen is the question, though.”
“He won't be able to resist your pleading eyes.” She turns her attention back to the TV.
“You're making fun of me, aren't you.” Peter deadpans.
“No, have you seen yourself in the mirror? You're like a fawn who's just been born into this world. You should see how concerned Tony is for you, too.”
“Yeah, right.” He stands up from his seat, dusting off the crumbs in his hands, “I'm going on patrol before I eat.”
“Come back by 7.”
“Pretty sure my stomach will remind me.”
“What was it that you always say? Crimes don't give a damn about your schedule. Just try to come back before you starve on the streets.”
“Got it.” He hollers back from his bedroom.
He did not, in fact, return by 7, but by 8 instead.
***
Lab day.
It was always his favorite day, working on his equipment and other projects he's been set to do in Tony’s personal lab. But today was different, he had another goal in mind for the day. Standing in the familiar elevator lobby of the back entrance reserved for the Avengers, he took a deep breath before stepping into the private elevator.
“Hey, F.R.I. Mr Stark's lab please.”
The elevator began to move.
“Hello, Peter. Would you like to inform the Boss of your arrival?”
“Yeah. I have something I want to ask him.”
“He is currently in the lab. He says,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. plays a voice clip, “You have questions? That's nothing new.”
The teen rolled his eyes.
“Tell him, that's the point of a mentee.”
“Already did.”
“Thanks, you're the best.”
“No problem, Peter.”
The elevator doors opened with a ding. He walked through his routine, smoothly navigating himself into Tony’s lab with practiced ease.
“Hey, Pete.” Tony, looking up from his project, throws a screwdriver at him which Peter catches easily, “What do you have for me?”
“I'm not your toolbox, you know.” He sets the screwdriver into the box anyway. “It's just something really dumb.”
“Kid, if you're calling your questions dumb, then the questions I get from the reporters are idiotic.” His hands pause for a second. “Actually, they are. Pass me that wrench, would you?”
Peter sighs, a wrench in hand as he approaches his mentor. “You know you shouldn't be saying that, right? PR and stuff.” He holds the metallic tool beside the man.
“The PR department is there for a reason. Plus, we're in private, it's fine.” He takes the tool and returns to his work. “So, what's the question kid? You know I hate waiting.”
“You know how Stark Industries has tour groups, right?”
“We have tours?”
“You do. Have you not seen them come round before? Or the documents?”
“No, I hardly step out of here on regular days, and Pepper handles them.”
“I feel bad for Ms Potts.” He says through his breath.
“I don't need enhanced hearing to hear that.”
“Because I said it loud enough for you to hear.” The teen crosses his arms, “That's not the point. The point is, my class is coming.”
“Coming?”
“Coming here. To Stark Industries.” He mumbles out.
Tony bursts out laughing, his hand slapping the workbench Peter hopes is made to be durable.
“So, what's the problem?” Tony asks after collecting himself, though he was still wiping away the tears in his eyes. “You're just coming to work on a class trip.”
“The problem is you, Mr Stark,” Tony raises an eyebrow but Peter rambles on, “I don't want the attention. Makes it difficult to keep Spider-man a secret.”
“The internship?”
“Yeah, kind of.” He shrugs.
“What's wrong with it?”
“Have you even read your own company’s hiring policy?”
“I'm the policy around here.”
“I thought you were Iron Man.”
“Smart mouth.”
“I learnt from the best.”
“Damn straight. We're going off topic. You know I chose you not just because you're Spider-man, right? You're a smart kid, and that's saying something from me.”
“Uhm, yeah. Thanks, Mr Stark.” He looks away from his mentor's kind gaze, “It's just, my school.”
“I'm pretty sure all the documents were already submitted ages ago unless my Legal team are slacking off, which I sure hope they aren't.”
“No, no, it's properly submitted! But people don't believe it.”
“Then you can prove it during your field trip by waltzing through the doors.”
“The problem is waltzing through the doors. My clearance is too high. It'll make them suspicious.”
“Alright then, what do you want it lowered to? Intern?”
“Yeah, that works. Just have F.R.I.D.A.Y announce me as an intern when I go through the security checks. It's what I wanted to ask you to do.”
“Oh, really?” A smirk appeared on Tony's face, to Peter's horror.
“Please don't embarrass me too. You're not allowed to crash my tour!”
“Aw, come on! It'll be fun! I can be your tour guide!”
“Please don't, I'm begging you.”
He realizes that he was doing what May told him would be effective. He prays for it to be true.
“For the first half of the day.” Tony bargains, Peter’s eyes light up with hope.
“Once. For 5 minutes. And no Avengers.”
“10.”
“ Deal. I'm holding you to your word. F.R.I., do you have that recorded?”
“Of course.”
“My own A.I. working against me.” Tony raises his hands up in surrender.
“You designed her that way.”
“I was designed to constantly evolve and adapt to situations. I have simply learned the behavior from you, Boss.”
“Dammit. Whatever, let's get to work. Chop chop.”
***
Peter wakes up with a start, cataloging his tasks for the day and groans as he remembers today is the field trip. He rubs the sleepiness out of his eyes and swings his legs over to the side of his bed.
“Peter! You're gonna be late!”
He hears May shout from the kitchen.
“I'm up!” He shouts back, yawning as he sets out for his morning routine. First stop, bathroom.
He styles his hair with water as he brushes his teeth, and moves on to checking the state of his face. No bruising or eye bags from the patrol yesterday. That was a first.
Once done, he steps back into his room to change, gaze lingering just a bit longer on his web shooters sitting on his desk. They were restocked right after his patrol, just in case, but this was a field trip to Stark Industries, nothing could happen, right?
There was a nagging feeling prickling at his neck, and it wasn't his Spider sense, just an annoying tell of his Parker Luck that he had experienced first hand multiple times now. He sighs, slipping into a shirt he thinks is fresh and pants to go with it. Glancing at his choice of weapons again, he decides to put them on. It didn't hurt anyone.
He grabs a jacket and stuffs his Spider-man suit into his bag, making his way to the breakfast table, settling into a chair.
“Day of the trip?” May asks, finishing up her portion of breakfast before she leaves for work.
“Yeah, I'm so looking forward to it.”
“Sure you are.” She catches a shine on his wrists, “You're bringing those?”
“Mmm,” he chews his toast, “Just in case.”
“Peter, what could possibly happen on your field trip?”
“Anything, really. I didn't exactly expect a bird to be crashing a plane full of dangerous equipment on homecoming.”
“That's…fair.” She dries off her plate and heads for the door, “I need to leave for work now, good luck on the trip and wash the damn plate.”
“I know, I know. Bye, May.”
“Bye sweetie! See you later.”
The door closes, leaving Peter with his thoughts, even as he hears his Aunt’s footsteps thumping down the hallway.
He pulls out his phone and opens a chat.
Mr Stark
‘Please tell me you've changed F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s settings for today’
‘What, you have no trust for me?’
‘I have no trust in a sleep deprived engineer’
‘That's genius engineer to you. And yes, I already changed it but you'll still have access to everything.’
‘So I'm only intern in name?’
‘You can't exactly just have intern access if you intend on slugging your spider equipment through security.’
‘How do you know I'm bringing the suit?’
‘Trade secret.’
‘May texted you, didn't she.’
‘I have my rights to remain silent.’
‘Oh, the Avengers aren't in, by the way. They're on some mission elsewhere.’
‘Thank god’
‘You're welcome.’
There was a pause in the text but it was followed with a ping not 2 minutes later.
Mr Stark
‘Anyway, nice talking to ya. I have a meeting to attend.’
‘You? In a meeting?’
‘Pepper.’
‘Yeah that makes sense.’
Receiving no other reply, Peter turns off the screen and cleans off his plate, remembering to wash the dishes just before he makes his way to school.
***
“Peter! Over here! I saved you a spot!”
He catches Ned calling for him, waving his arms frantically from where his class was gathered. Mr Harrington spots him and shakes his head disappointedly as Peter notes the time to be 7.35am, 5 minutes after they were supposed to gather. But hey, it was a better timing than usual.
He quickly joins his friend, and greets him with their greeting handshake.
“Oh my god, I'm so excited! Do you think we'll get to see the Avengers?”
“No, they're not in right now.”
“You know them?”
“Kind of? It’s not like I memorized their schedule. Mr Stark just told me about it.”
“You know them!”
“Quiet down kiddos! It's time to board the bus.”
Peter had never been more thankful for Mr Harrington's voice. Ignoring the sparkles in his friend's eyes, Peter shuffled his way to queue for the bus, knowing Ned would follow along.
The students file in, Peter and Ned making their way towards the back of the bus as the former takes the window seat. He vaguely hears his friend continue to ramble something about the Avengers and his love for them but he chose to ignore them, much rather focusing his attention on the view outside.
“Hey, Parker! Surprised you even showed up today. No internship to go to?”
Peter rolls his eyes, ignoring Flash's words.
“What? Cat got your tongue? Thought you wanted the whole school to know you faked the internship.”
“But you were the one—!”
“Ned, ignore him.” Peter states, pushing his friend back down into his seat.
“Hey Flash, could you tilt your body a bit?” MJ, claiming two seats diagonally from Peter, pulls out her crisis sketchbook and readies her pencil. Flash looked at her in confusion, until a voice spoke behind him.
“Mr Thompson, sit down now or you'll be standing beside me the entire trip.” The boy's face turns pale and scurries back into his seat.
Peter hears the soft scratching of a pencil and catches the glint in MJ's eyes. If it wasn't for the sketchbook, he was pretty sure she was smirking.
Hours passed and as Stark Industries soon came into view, the energy level of the students shot up. Peter tightened his grip on his bag.
***
As the group approaches the building, Peter’s Spidey-senses hum to life, a low consistent buzz like the usual microwaves in the air he occasionally sensed when his senses go into overdrive. Not a good feeling but harmless all the same. He figures it must be just his nerves.
“Alright, gather around. Don't split off just yet! Remember the rules I told you on the bus!”
Mr Harrington's shouts were to no avail as the students continued gaping at the architecture in the lobby and the technology around the building. Peter was no architecture student but he had to admit, the design was impressive. He made a mental note to appreciate Pepper's efforts in person later.
“Midtown, right?” A chirpy voice greeted them, carrying a box of white passes as she walked in. “I'll be your tour guide for today. My name Is Eva! Nice to meet you all!”
The group mumbled words of greetings, still gawking at the surroundings to Mr Harrington's exasperation. Seemingly used to it, Eva continued talking.
“I'll be giving you guys these passes. It's important that you keep them on and visible at all times so you don't get alerted to security. You do not want to make them your enemy. Especially the head of security, Mr Hogan.” Eva shivers and Peter sympathizes. “If you wander off where you're not supposed to be you'll alert F.R.I.D.A.Y., the building’s A.I., who'll send a member of security to escort you to the lobby, no questions asked, and I won't be back to pick you up, got it?”
The group nods their heads, imprinting her warnings to memory.
“Right, because you're a school visitor, you guys have a special pass so that you can access the labs unlike regular tour groups. Each of these passes has your information so there's no room for identity theft. I'll call out your name so please step forward to collect your passes.”
Eva systematically picks a random pass from the box and reads off the name, eyes scanning the group for a moving person coming forward. Peter swings his bag in front of him, taking out his own pass, black in color with his name written in gold prints, and discretely slides it into his pocket.
The box was soon emptied, the students chattering and comparing their passes when Flash makes his presence known once again.
“Excuse me, Pen— Peter Parker didn’t get his pass!”
“Oh dear, did I miscount?” She checks the name list, “His name is certainly here but…”
“It's okay, I have my own pass.” Peter excuses himself.
“Huh, are you an intern here?”
“Yes, with uh…one of the labs.”
It technically wasn't a lie.
“Is that so? Let's just move on then, we have security checks to go through.”
“What? You're not going to stop him?”
“Flash!” Mr Harrington chides.
“Stark Industries has thousands of employees, and I'm from the PR department so I'm not surprised I don't recognize people from the labs. Besides, F.R.I.D.A.Y. will alert us if he's anyone suspicious. Here, look.”
She steps forward through the tourist gates, the lights turning green as a voice rings out,
“Eva Martinez. PR Intern.”
The class jolts at the voice, their tour guide giggling at the surprised looks.
“That's F.R.I.D.A.Y., she's usually robotic with regular staff but rumor has it that she talks with more personality with people she's closer to like Mr Stark, Ms Potts, or Mr Hogan. Oh, and the staff gates don't usually announce names, there's thousands of us entering, after all. Come on, let's get the show going!”
Flash pushes his way to the front, chest puffed out as he walks through the gate first, the security team eyeing him curiously. The gate beeps red.
“Eugene Thompson, Tourist. Unauthorized item detected. Please surrender the scissors.”
“Flash! Why on Earth did you bring scissors!?”
Their teacher scolds as Flash's face burns red, meekly handing over the scissors in his pocket while mumbling something about a prank, words that only Peter could catch.
“As you can see, F.R.I.D.A.Y. can detect any dangerous materials and even point it out for the security to catch. Let's continue, shall we?”
The rest of the class followed without a hitch, all of them cleared for their items until it was Peter's turn. He knew the settings were changed but knowing the A.I….He nervously gulped.
“Michelle Jones, Tourist.”
“Ned Leeds. Tourist.”
He stepped through the gates.
“Peter Parker. Intern. Welcome back.”
Peter quietly cursed. His heart beat loudly, praying nobody comments on the last two words. The settings were changed, sure, but he was specially greeted by the A.I., like how Eva had described F.R.I.D.A.Y. to be with close associates.
He senses the confusion of the security and flashes his black card, the staff standing at attention upon spotting the color, quickly letting his items go.
“Okay! Let's get going, shall we?”
Peter let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Nobody caught on.
Well, if he ignored Flash’s shocked face at the announcement of his title.
“Psst, Peter!”
Except for Ned and MJ.
“That's so cool! The A.I. greeted you!”
“Y-yeah, well, I'm an intern here.”
“But Ms Eva didn't get greeted like you had.” MJ states.
“I-I dunno, It's not like I programmed it.” He stutters and opted to walk faster, escaping his two friends to join the class.
“That silence is suspicious.” MJ nudges Ned.
“Wh-what? I don't know anything.” He scurries away to join Peter at the back of the group.
Shrugging, MJ casually strolls to join the duo.
***
“The first stop is the Avengers museum! Mr Stark has kindly put up the Avengers’ old items up for display, powered down and securely locked, of course. You’re allowed to take pictures unless otherwise stated on the displays. Let’s spend about…30 minutes here! Feel free to walk around.”
The class scattered at Eva’s introduction, a majority of them swarming to the Iron Man display, in awe of the technology behind each of the suits. Evidently, there was a prominent ‘No Pictures Allowed’, to protect the knowledge of the circuits, Peter supposed.
“Woah…It’s Black Widow’s weapon! It looks so cool…” Ned gaped, his eyes bulging at the older version of the Widow’s Bite.
“Stare anymore and your eyes might pop out.” MJ deadpans, focusing her attention on the other parts of the display.
Ned promptly shuts his eyes and gently presses on them before opening them again.
“Do you think there’s a Spider-man display?” Ned whispers, turning their backs to MJ.
“No, he’s not part of the Avengers.”
“What? Why?”
From a distance, Eva’s voice interrupted yet answered the question in the rare quiet of the room.
“Spider-man turned it down but he is still considered to be under the tutelage of Mr Stark. At least, that’s what I heard. Does that answer your question, Mr Thompson?”
“Aw, man. He would have made a great Avenger.”
“He would.” Eva smiles, “But I suppose he rejected it for good reason.”
Ned turned back to Peter, looking for answers. He nods.
“Is there any way we can see his equipment?” Flash insists, the Spider-man fanboy that he was. Peter was impressed with his own self-control over not chuckling at Flash’s reverence for his alter ego.
“No, his identity is a complete secret and only Mr Stark and the Avengers know about his whereabouts and his equipment.”
Flash’s face looked downcast, mumbling a ‘thank you’ before stalking away to look at the Captain America display.
“What a shame, huh.” MJ joins the duo again, crisis sketchbook in hand.
“Y-Yeah…” Peter shifts his weight, MJ being too close for his still buzzing senses’ comfort.
He looks around the room, trying to find the source of discomfort. Was Mr Stark going to drop by soon? Was that why he’s been so off? He thumbs the cool metal resting on his wrists, calming himself a little. It wouldn’t be so bad, it was only going to be 10 minutes. Mr Stark promised.
Time passed and the class was soon gathered in front of the elevator, Eva at the front.
“Now onto the fun part! We’re heading into the labs but I need to set the ground rules. I’m sure you know the usual lab rules stuff but as a tourist, you’re not allowed to touch anything, and I mean anything unless otherwise stated. Stark Industries is not responsible for any injuries incurred from the labs.”
The elevator arrived with a ding.
“Now, in you go,” Eva ushered the students in, “F.R.I.D.A.Y., to the intern labs please.”
“Intern Labs.” The A.I. repeated.
Peter, Ned, and MJ tucked themselves into the front corner of the elevator, where the door was, and the contraption began to move.
And his senses suddenly screamed at him—
“F.R.I.D.A.Y.! Override command! Bring us back to the lobby now!” Peter practically shouted, identity be damned.
“Peter, what are you—”
“Voice identification: Peter Parker. Override authorized. Moving to the Lobby.”
The elevator slowed and started to move down but it was too late.
There was a loud blast, violently shaking the elevator and the lights briefly flickering but stayed on. The whole group, including Eva, crouched down close to the floor, covering their heads. Then, there was dead silence.
At least, for Peter Parker.
An incessant ringing in his head, a migraine forming at his temple. He feels everything.
A liquid running down his ears. Each shift of the air in the space. The rough texture of his clothes rubbing against his skin. Every smell particle entering his nose. The cool metallic material wrapped around his wrists. The rush of blood in his veins.
He knows this feeling, yet it was also unfamiliar.
He feels rather than hear the sobs of his classmates.
He opens his eyes. He hadn't realized he closed them and was immediately assaulted with the brightness of the lights. He shuts his eyes.
“F-F.R.I.D.A.Y.?” He feels the vibration in his throat, “Turn down the brightness.”
He doesn’t hear a response, or couldn’t, because the lights do start to dim and he could just barely open his eyes again. He looks around at the group, registering many of them crying or passed out from shock, some gaped at him, mainly Eva, Ned and MJ. He pays them no mind, hand reaching for the liquid that he feels running down the side of his face and brings it in front of him.
Blood.
Great. His ear drums had ruptured from the explosion. His other senses were now compensating for it, throwing him off the delicate balance that he had with his enhanced senses.
He feels the air beside him shift, one Ned and MJ looking at him with concern, and he turns to see Ned mouthing something he feels but doesn’t comprehend.
A hand — MJ’s — is placed on his own which he flinches from and he realizes he was breathing too quickly. He locks eyes with her, concentrating on the slow breaths that she was making for him to follow. He feels his heartbeat slow and thinks he manages to whisper out a thanks.
He feels his phone buzz, but he really couldn’t pick up the call right now, not when he can’t hear. There were only a few people that would be calling him in the middle of a disaster at Stark Industries or any field trip, really.
‘Mr Stark.’
The caller ID reads.
He declines the call.
“F.R.I.D.A.Y., tell Mr Stark I can’t hear and transfer all communications to my phone through text.”
Understanding the situation, there was soon a message from the A.I.
F.R.I.D.A.Y.
‘Message has been received. I have also informed him of your whereabouts.’
‘Thanks. Could you give me a report of the situation too?’
‘Intruders have broken through the intern labs and released bombs in the level. Boss is currently engaged in battle with the intruder and sent an alert requesting for back up. There are no casualties but there are some severely injured and in need of medical attention.’
‘The building is also currently on Code Red lockdown.’
Just what he needed. Everything resembling a door that was not a safe door was locked.
F.R.I.D.A.Y.
‘What was Mr Stark calling me for?’
‘He was seeking to inquire on your safety and granted you freedom to bring your class to wherever is deemed safe. However, the elevation mechanisms on the elevator are currently damaged. I am unable to move it without the possibility of damaging the cords holding the elevator.’
Excellent. Parker Luck sure was on his side today. He could only thank himself for bringing his web shooters, at least he had something familiar to work with. He could feel his ear drums gradually healing but it definitely wasn’t going to be fast enough to disarm the threat. He had a whole damn class he needed to get to safety before the cords snapped.
F.R.I.D.A.Y.
‘What are my options?’
‘There is currently nothing you can do other than wait for Boss to arrive. However, the damaged cords may snap depending on how long the fight takes.’
Peter bites his lips. He doesn’t like that answer. Screw it, he already exposed himself with the override and talking to F.R.I.D.A.Y. Identity be damned, when lives were at stake here.
F.R.I.D.A.Y.
‘As Spider-man?’
There is a corner of the elevator unobstructed by rubble you can open a hole at and pull up the elevator to a safe floor for me to open the door with your authorization.
He’ll take it.
He rummaged through his bag for his mask. He’ll need Karen’s precise calculation and his senses not constantly blasting excessive information at him constantly for the stunt he was about to pull. Again.
He stands up, mask in one hand and leaned the other on the wall for support. The teen took a second to orientate himself and recalibrate his sense of balance.
Tugging the mask on, he could feel the sharp intakes of breaths and sensed the stares directed at him while the system in the mask was recalibrating to adjust to his further heightened senses. He couldn’t pay them any mind right now, his attention focused on getting his class out of here. He breathes in and jumps onto the wall as Karen automatically feeds him the required information without prompting. F.R.I.D.A.Y. must have filled her in. He climbs to the highlighted corner and punches at it, eventually breaking through, though it was still weird not hearing the sounds of the wreckage.
Spider-man looks up and takes in the dusty wreckage of the shaft. He spotted the damaged cord and instantly did not like the looks of it. A corner of the wall was highlighted to him so he took aim and shot a web towards it, tugging the string to test the stick.
“F.R.I.D.A.Y., open the elevator door when we reach a floor.”
He didn’t need to check his phone before he positioned himself just like how he had rescued his friends at the Washington Monument as he began pulling the elevator up.
***
After what felt like an eternity, he felt the elevator door open and the ensuing stampede out the door in search of fresh air. Once everyone was out, he let go of the elevator that plummeted down to its original position when the cord couldn’t handle the stress and snapped, dropping the metal box to the bottom of the shaft. Peter then swung himself out of the shaft and into the crowd, the strain on his muscles disagreeing with his movements. He stood in front of a staring crowd.
“Uhm,” He hears a muffled version of his voice, his hearing gradually returning, “Hi?”
“Peter!”
He registered the muffled voice before Iron Man came into view.
“Mr Stark! Is everything alright?”
“Alright— You’re the one that was just trapped in a elevator! Wait, you can’t hear me, can you?”
“A little. Feels like we’re talking underwater right now.”
“Christ, let’s get you to med bay.”
“What about the injured? I got a report from F.R.I.D.A.Y.”
“Our little guests have been captured and Rhodey and Sam are in there, nothing they can’t handle.”
“But—”
“You’re a deaf spider right now, spider-boy.” Tony pulls off the boy’s mask, likely notified of his decision. “Just go get treated before your ear gets infected or something. I’ll handle this, it’s fine. Why else would I be here?”
Peter supposes that it was safe now, considering his Spidey Sense was no longer screaming nor humming at him. He looks past Tony and meets Mr Harrington’s stunned eyes.
“Guess I’ll be going first?”
“Yeah, yeah. Skedaddle, the private elevator’s still working.” Tony turns to face the group, his gaze meeting Ned’s starstruck ones, “You. You’re his friend right? Follow him and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
“Y-Yes sir!”
“Just so you know, this wasn’t how I wanted to use that one chance. And I just got out of that meeting too!”
Peter rolled his eyes, walking off in the direction of the private elevator, with Ned quickly following behind.
“Oh right, Kid?” Tony addresses the teen.
“Yeah?” He stops to face the man.
“See you tonight? Buckaroo made those cookies you liked again.”
“Aww, sweet! I’ll tell Aunt May!”
Peter skips off to the private elevator, Ned chasing after him.
Tony turned to the rest of the crowd. Peter just barely catches his words.
“Now, you all have some very serious NDAs to sign.”
Identity be very well damned.