Chapter Text
Peter took a deep breath, closing his eyes and taking his thoughts away from his spider-man persona, walking towards the table where his friends were having lunch he smiled as he reached for one fry off of Angelica’s plate, sitting down at the lunch table “So what are you guys talking about?”
Angelica pouted, but as she was about to say something to Peter, however she got interrupted by Bobby “We were just talking about the story assignment we got”
“The meta registration act in japan?” Peter raised an eyebrow, he had heard about it but history wasn’t his forte, he thought of himself as being better at engineering and chemistry.
“Yeah, I was thinking we could make the assignment on how the registration program helps propagate discrimination not only towards certain types of meta beings but also towards humans” Mary Jane spoke as she scribbled down on her notebook, her eyes glued to the pages within it and the history book.
Mary Jane had beautiful locks of red hair going down her shoulder, it complimented her soft almond skin and hazel eyes. She wore a purple shirt with a safari cropped jacket, a pair of jeans and a pair of platform boots.
“I am not sure I understand, isn’t law enforcement mostly metahuman there?” Harry pointed with his fork as he ate his mac and cheese.
“Well it’s complicated, since it’s prohibited for metas to use their powers unless they have studied to control it, many who can’t make it to school end up homeless or forced to live a life without a big part of their physiology” Angelica pointed out before taking a big bite out of her burger, she was still glaring at Peter for the transgression he had committed.
“So they have to resort to a life of crime” Peter spoke out, taking a bite out of his sandwich Aunt May had packed for him. Despite his best effort his thoughts dwelled on his life as Spider-man and if he could even help people who suffered those systematic issues.
“Precisely, it’s good to see there’s at least a sense of general understanding of the topic” Mary Jane finished writing down, a smile on her face as before she reached for an apple in her lunch box “we have settled on a topic then?” she took a bite out of it as her eyes looked for a response from the other four.
Angelica shrugged with her shoulders “I can’t really think of anything else to talk relating to that topic” she took another bite out of her burger, groaning out of delight.
Bobby took a bit out of his salad and nodded “Plus I think some of us have some form of grasp on this topic” he figured he could teach Peter a thing or two about Xavier’s school for gifted youngsters.
Harry sighed “I don’t know how I’d get past these projects without you guys” he was already done with his lunch.
Peter chuckled “Harry come on, it’s not that bad. Remember you are still a valuable member of the team, funding is very important” he said half-joking.
Angelica hit his arm, a bit harder than she used to “Peter, the man is more than just muscle and a wallet. Remember, he aced the math test” she said as she finished up her burger.
“And don’t forget that he is a very funny guy, and quite a looker” Bobby joked, laying back against the chair.
“At least I know you guys value me for more than my good looks.” Harry joked, slicking his hair back with his hand and giving a bright smile to the others.
“I guess they forgot to mention how good you are at talking” Mary Jane rolled her eyes and finished up her apple, stuffing her notebook back into her backpack “We should meet up after school to work on this assignment and maybe do some research”
“Yeah, yeah, we have two weeks to do it MJ, don’t worry about it” Peter brushed her worries off as he finished up lunch “Plus we still have a few more classes to go through” he reminded her with a smile.
“I’ll still see if the library has books we might need on Japan's history” Mary Jane spoke out, putting down a few more notes with a smile.
“Have you guys seen Douglas? I don’t think I’ve seen him the whole day” Peter questioned Bobby. If anyone would know it was him, he thought to himself.
“Well, last time I heard from him he got a fever. Nothing too bad but the Doctor recommended that he stay at home. It also gave the therapist I recommended you both, the opportunity to visit him” Bobby put a hand on Peter’s shoulders with a soft smile.
He was a really good actor, his charming smile and performance was incredible, Peter thought to himself “As much as I appreciate help, I don’t really think I need it” Peter brushed the concerns away and smiled back. As much as he wanted to take it, he really didn’t think he needed help with his powers, what he needed was resources.
“Should I be jealous of you two” Angelica joked with a smile, kicking both Peter and Bobby below the table before getting up, grabbing her back before looking back at the group “We are gonna arrive late, again”
Peter couldn’t help as a soft blush crawled its way to his cheeks, he wasn’t used to such insinuations nor jealousy. I guess this is my life now, he thought to himself before getting up, putting his stuff back into his backpack “What’s wrong with being a little late from time to time”
“Well for one, Flash often skips classes so we could run into him” Harry picked his own stuff up, patting Peter’s back “And I don’t really wanna deal with that right now”
“Besides, you like chemistry.” Angelica pointed out as they all started to make their way to class.
…
After a few hours of class, Peter was happy to get out of school. His mind was filled with thoughts about new gadgets and tools for his spider-man persona, the group could wait for him, I mean not like he could contribute that much to a history assignment.
He got changed in a random alleyway, putting his backpack in a crevice that he was sure no one could reach. He started swinging as his alter ego, making his way through manhattan towards the garbage dump, his run in with who he thought was a cryptid gave him some inspiration.
A tool belt would be a nice addition but he needed tools, and he had ideas for a few. For one he needed more space for web cartridges, his spider-sense warned him when it was about to run out but he needed way more.
However his thoughts were interrupted when he felt his spider-sense going off, it was warning him of… a red 60s corvette? That couldn’t be right, he thought to himself.
The vehicle didn’t look all that menacing so why was his spider-sense warning him about it? The driver didn’t look all that menacing, in fact the two persons in the car looked relatively friendly.
“Hey Spider! Pull over” the man in the co-pilot seat yelled at Peter, before showing him a badge. The man reminded Peter of Flash Thompson, albeit a nicer looking Flash. The square jaw, blonde hair and purple sunglasses were a surprise to him, he was certainly a looker.
Swinging down to a small alley, Peter couldn’t help but wonder about the situation, especially why two persons who he could only describe as a friendly businessman and a jock wanted to talk to him.
As he got down to the ground, the corvette parked over. The businessman getting out of it before showing Peter his badge “My name is Phil Coulson and I’m an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, we are just here to talk” he had a warm smile on his face, his other hand open for Peter to shake.
Peter shook his hand, tilting his head “The UN organization? I saw you guys on the news before, come here to get an interview?” Peter joked as he laid back against the wall of the alleyway.
The other man got out of the car “Sort of, we actually like to properly introduce ourselves to any meta beings who decide to become vigilantes. Agent Clint Barton, you can just call me Clint.” Clint gave him a smile, one that Peter couldn’t help but find charming, Clint didn’t feel like a government agent and he appreciated that.
“Right, is this about the bank robbery? I swear I didn’t know they were wanted internationally” Peter gave an awkward chuckle and scratched the back of his head, trying to keep the situation cool.
“This is about your fight with Emil Blonsky, it’s not every day we hear of someone who could survive getting hit by an Alpha level threat. We just want to ask you a few questions, preferably in private” Coulson spoke out, his words were sincere or at least Peter thought they were, and his spider sense was warning him of the car, just what sort of technology did that machine posses.
“I don’t think I can fit in your car” Peter pointed out at the two seats, tilting his head with curiosity, he just wanted to see what it was capable of if his spider-sense was warning him about it.
“Since you can swing, I don’t think that’ll be a problem. Besides, few people get to touch Lola” Coulson said before getting into the car.
“I’d suggest you listen to the man” Clint said, getting into the co-pilot seat, laying back and closing his eyes “Don’t get too far behind”
Peter webbed the wall and jumped towards it “Hey, I don’t think I’m the one that should worry about that. New York traffic is a pain, you know?” he joked around, he was still cautious around them but he thought it wouldn’t hurt to at least hear them out.
But Peter’s thoughts were interrupted when the car began to slowly lift off of the ground, the sound was similar to that of Iron Man’s repulsors Peter had seen on the news but it wasn’t quite the same. He was fascinated by the way the vehicle took off almost like a helicopter.
“That won’t be a problem, I assure you Mr. Spider-man” Coulson responded before the car began to fly through the streets of New York, Peter swinging close to it. It was an hour or so before they arrived at the JFK International airport, Peter was tired of swinging around and the fact he had to walk to the airstrip wasn’t something he enjoyed.
He was surprised when they arrived at a point far away from every commercial airplane, he saw a Boeing C-17 Globemaster, it looked pretty advanced compared to the rest of the planes in the area. “Is this your base?” Peter scratched his head in confusion, it was impressive but not what he expected.
“Oh no, this is just a mobile command base for my team, at least that’s what I’d say if I had a full team” Coulson said, parking the car into the plane before getting out “It’s quite a nice ride and technically you are our first mission” he said inviting Peter into the piece of machinery.
“The mission in this case is simply reconnaissance, we want to know you, your abilities and evaluate you for a program.” Clint said, pulling a quiver and bow out of the trunk of Lola, walking into the plane with Coulson.
“Right, what is this program for? Exactly?” Peter was suspicious of them, they seemed nice but how vague they were was what worried him, he didn’t want to be a soldier but he couldn’t lie that being a secret agent was an interesting prospect for him.
“Well, while we are not allowed to discuss too many details on the program, we at least want to classify you. Normally S.H.I.E.L.D. prefers to leave vigilantes alone until they represent a risk, but we are working on a program that requires us to evaluate several vigilantes” Coulson spoke nicely as he closed the door to the airplane, walking toward what looked like a lab.
“What does that… mean? And where exactly am I?” Peter looked around the plane, being careful not to touch anything even if he wanted to. The lab looked pretty impressive, far more than anything he had built himself or seen personally.
“This is what we call the Bus. It’s just a mobile headquarters” Barton explained as he walked around towards the lab and opened the door “Refurbished thanks to Stark Enterprises in collaboration with Wayne Industries, and many others.”
“And we are here because our scientists can analyze if you are a mutant, mutate or something else; classify your powers; and we have the privacy to ask you a few questions about your goals as a vigilante” Coulson spoke quietly as he guided Peter into the lab, pointing him towards a chair. He then pointed to a young man, slightly older than Peter, he had curly hair and he looked like a similar variety of nerd not unlike Peter; next to him was a woman who looked around the same age, she looked frail and nerdy.
“These are Agents Fitz and Simmons, they will be doing most of the tests here today. If there’s one that makes you uncomfortable, just tell me and I’ll tell them to stop” Coulson spoke softly before sitting down at the other end of the room.
“Thank you, sir but we’ll take it from here” Simmons spoke out as she went to her table to grab a small fingerstick analyser, holding her hand out to Peter “If you could take off your glove, please”
“Oh sure, there’s no problem with that” Peter couldn’t help but feel curious himself, if he was a mutant this could be a very important thing to him and he could at least hear his limits from professionals. And so he took off his gloves, feeling a bit uncomfortable as he also exposed his web shooters.
“Your powers are derived from your technology?” asked Fitz looking carefully at the shooters, crouching next to Peter to look at them closer. “Mind if I scan them?”
Peter felt the small poke to his finger as the machine took a sample of his blood “Oh no, I don’t mind at all, the shooters are just for my webbing. Unfortunately I do not produce it naturally myself” he chuckled awkwardly, feeling embarrassed at their homemade nature when compared to all the professional equipment they had.
“So your ability to stick to walls, durability and strength must be natural then?” Simmons said as she took the sample to her computer, looking at the holographic projection and slowly looking at the results “well we can confirm there’s no X-Gene in your blood but this sample is one of the most complex ones I’ve ever seen”
“Kid… did you volunteer for some kind of experimentation?” Barton crossed his arms, his tone was far more serious than before. His stare was now on Peter as he had far more caution now.
“I promise you, I didn’t take any form of drugs or serum” Peter shook his head, he didn’t like how this seemingly friendly man suddenly turned serious, he could probably take him but he was at a disadvantage here.
“Barton, the kid could just have been exposed unknowingly to radiation like Banner. Be nice to him” Coulson spoke out to Clint, he still had that smile as he looked to him “Besides, with the strength he showed on the news, he could have already escaped or attacked us”
“That is reassuring” Fitz joked with some concern in his voice as he looked at the virtual hologram of the shooters “300 psi huh? Are you an engineer by chance?” He dissects the equipment Peter has, opening the hologram and analyzing every part that made it
“Well, not everyone is a billionaire nor a secret agent so I did what I could” Peter gave a nervous chuckle before getting up and standing next to Fitz, looking at his shooters “Considering I got my parts from a dumpster, I feel proud of the results”
“Are your shooters the only mechanical part of your powers?” Fitz turns to Spider-man with interest, as he went to his own part of the lab working on something else.
“Well, for now. I’m not Iron Man nor Batman, my budget is limited you know” Spider-man looked around the lab, taking a look at the computers and 3D printers, technology he had rarely seen anywhere else.
“This is fascinating, your DNA is completely different from that of a regular human, this has the make up of several species of spiders. Very specific pieces of their genome have been irreversibly merged with your own, this is so complex that finding the exact species and strands would take more than a year even with this equipment” Simmons gasps and turns to him in excitement as she speaks about it, pointing to her screen and holograms.
“So what you are saying is that I’m a mutate?” Peter was curious about this, this was something bigger than what he expected for his evening and perhaps not something he was ready or could be ready for.
“Definitely, we are talking about Delta or Gamma level abilities, probably not Beta but that would require further experimentation” Simmons went to grab a few pieces of equipment including a heart monitor and a few tools to measure his strength.
She gave him the machine “Make sure to use all of your strength, this machine was meant to measure how strong the Hulk is” she reassured him with a smile before going to her monitor to look at the results.
“Would you mind if I ask a few questions?” Coulson stepped towards him, a hand on the monitor as he looked at the eyes of the mask.
“Oh I don’t mind at all, this has been very educational and enjoyable so far” Peter smiled behind the mask as he looked at Coulson with curiosity.
“Why do you do this? Why have you intervened? You must either be crazy, confident, brave or have a very red ledger if you went against Blonksy at Harlem” Coulson said simply with curiosity. His eyes looking over at the Man, interested in what he’ll say.
“That’s a hard question” Peter felt a knot on his throat forming as the pictures of his aunt going to work despite having health issues and his uncle working himself to death “You ever felt like you have a responsibility sir? Life has taught me that if you could do good things for other people, you have a moral obligation to do those things” His voice was far more serious than before, he felt some weight off of his chest as he explained himself.
“Have you ever considered becoming an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Coulson asked genuinely, sitting down in front of him, pointing to Barton “There’s room for wisecracks, not just suits”
Peter looks at the equipment and Coulson, considering the option before shaking his head “I prefer to stay low, you know, being the friendly neighborhood Spider-man. Helping old ladies, stopping muggings, it might be overkill but I like to give back to the community” he puts his gloves back on, and laid against the wall of the lab.
“And this is why he's prime material for the initiative" Barton put an arm on his shoulder and smiled, although he couldn’t help but feel concerned at the origin of his powers.
“Sir, so far from the tests I've been able to do, he appears to be at least a gamma level meta, I'd classify him as mutate as analysis suggests these changes in his DNA are recent" Simmons speaks out as she points to a report on his blood sample.
“Sir, if you don’t mind. I have made some blueprints that could significantly help our guest in his endeavors" Fitz pulls a hologram of a pair of nicer and more sleek web shooters, unlike Peter's more cobbled and uncomfortable ones.
“Kid, we are going to go talk about the results of your test. I'll leave you here with Fitz-Simmons so you can use our equipment extra-officially" Coulson walks further into the plane, looking at all 3 of them “Any blueprints of your tech will be secure here, I'll delete them after you leave if that'll make you more comfortable collaborating with us"
Peter thought about it, he wanted to go over to the dumpster and get himself dirty. But if he didn't have to dirty up another pair of clothing, he wouldn't.
“I appreciate the opportunity sir, I'll make sure to leave everything where it was" Peter said as he turned over the lab equipment and computers, he wasn't used to all this tech but he knew he'd figure it out.
And not an hour had passed that he had completed the design parameters for an utility belt, alongside going over some upgrades to his web shooters. He had upgraded his cartridges to be smaller but have a greater PSI, which allowed him to store far more than his current set and he had designed his utility belt. What he was most excited about was his web shooters, with Fitz' help he had worked through adding different firing modes he could toggle with different flicks of his wrist.
Peter saw a bow and arrow in the armory of the lab, tilting his head “What is this? I thought you guys would have way better weaponry” he went looking around for a quiver.
“Well Clint is human like us, but he is considered a Delta meta, he doesn’t have a single missed shot. Plus he’s incredibly crafty with how he uses those” Fitz pointed out, as he pulled a blueprint of the headless arrows and the quiver, showing Peter many arrow heads that he could fit in there.
“Fascinating… you know, in exchange for letting me use this wonderful lab of yours. I’ll leave him a gift” and just like that, Peter got to work on incorporating his webbing into a few arrow heads and filling them with webbing.
“Have you ever been to the S.H.I.E.LD. Academy of Science and Technology by any chance?" Simmons asked, she had never seen someone learn how to operate their system so fast.
“Oh no, I'm just a fast learner" Peter brushed it off, he had heard of it and considered going, considering it was one of the few public schools in the states.
“You would have definitely fit right in, although you don't seem to be specialized in a field" Fitz pointed out as they waited for his belt and shooters to be manufactured.
“The formula for the fluid is definitely something, looks remarkably similar to what Oscorp was working on" Simmons noted down, looking over at Peter “How extensive were your physiological changes?"
“Well considering I can climb walls, my physique went from Nerd to Captain America and everything else? I'd say very extensive" Peter counted the changes with his fingers, committing counting the spider-sense just in case.
Before he continued, Agent Coulson walked into the room clapping his hands together before speaking “Well Spider-Man, we have determined you might not be a prime candidate for the initiative just yet. But we are going to be staying around for a while. If you need us, here's my number" Coulson handed him one card, the design was compact and minimalistic with Coulson's contact information only.
“There are more heroes out there, and we want to help them protect people” he nodded to him, giving him a pat on the shoulder. He handed Peter a copy of his report.
“Thank you Coulson Sir, I appreciate this opportunity more than you can imagine" Peter couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed, he felt as if he was stepping into an universe far bigger than he could have ever imagined.
After being escorted out of the Bus and into the city he made sure to go into a quiet spot on a rooftop, he was pretty interested in what the report said about him. Skimming through it, he saw a few keynotes that interested him “Inexperienced… High potential… Young age… Prefers to be street level… Pretty interesting, he thinks I’ll work better as a rapid response agent in the New York Megalopolis area…” Peter thought he understood some of the logic behind it, but he didn’t want to pretend he understood how the Strategic Headquarters of Intelligence, Enforcement and Defense worked.
Well whatever it was that they were looking for, he hoped it wouldn’t endanger New York but he had heard of other superheroes in the world and he knew just his presence was an inevitability for that danger.
He was surprised at how quickly the day went by with his stay at the Bus, he hoped nothing bad had happened while he was occupied and he noticed the smoke coming from Oscorp tower, sighing as he started to swing there.
As he arrived he saw that everyone had already evacuated, he didn’t arrive in time, it seemed that the only people who died were killed, he didn’t know by who but what he found interesting was costumed people who were overlooking the clean up.
He didn’t want to get their attention in case they confused him with an attacker so he decided to leave the place, swinging away. He took a deep breath, he’d have to make an excuse for why he didn’t show up in time to the library, and he hadn’t even thought about it.
He had hoped this would be another light day of crime fighting, after dealing with the big green and arriving late at school he wasn’t sure he could afford another day like that, at least not for a month or so.
And how lucky he was because the first thing he noticed was someone trying to get into a car without keys, so he jumped down and onto a street light, looking down at him “I don’t presume that car is yours buddy?” he joked around.
And the man began to run away, leaving his lockpicking tools behind “Hey I think you forgot those!” he shot a web to one of his feet and pulling it back lightly to make him fall before webbing it to the ground “Come on buddy, you could at least say thanks”
He pointed to the man in the deli in front of him “Hey, you don’t mind calling the police? Man right there was trying to steal that car” he then began to swing across the city again.
He then realized something, May was about to get out of work, he could get there in time and made sure she got home safe. So he went towards the hospital she worked at.
And surprisingly he saw something that wasn’t uncommon in a city like this, two assholes pushing a girl into an alleyway. Those guys were scum, they pissed him off and so he jumped between them and the girl, punching one straight in the jaw.
He didn’t knock him out, he wanted to savor it but before he could land another punch he had to dodge a slash from a pocket knife, retaliating by kicking it out of the man’s hand.
He didn’t try to reason with them, he just wanted to beat them up, grabbing the man and throwing him towards the other, kicking them and webbing them up. Looking down at them and asking the girl without turning “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
She shook her head “...Thank you” she spoke out before running crying.
Peter sighted and hoped someone would have called the police, but he knew nobody would so he took it upon himself to grab them by the webbing and swing towards the police station.
And before he knew it, it was too late. He was home and Aunt May was already home, at least she arrived safe that day.
But he was too tired, just eating some cereal before passing out on his bed. If being Spider-Man taught him something, it was that he needed to get in better shape or have more food because swinging took so much energy out of him and he wasn’t even sure he slept enough.
At least the next day was going to be a slow school day and hopefully no super criminal would try and rob a bank nor attempt to kill anyone. Although he had hoped they would get some leads on the TCRI situation, he knew without help, they wouldn’t be able to get much further, at least not without waiting.