spidey sense

with great power comes great responsibility 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

the-m3chanic‌:

Sometimes Tony looked at Peter and wondered whether he better kick the kid out of the car before he influenced him anymore. Then he realised, either because someone else said it or that little part of his brain that wasn’t always on the edge of a mental breakdown pointed it out, that the point to do that had long since passed. Any damage that he was going to do to Peter had been done already. Any good that he could do - well, maybe he could still do some more good, could still teach him, guide him, support him in any way that he could. If that involved threatening professors and getting his homework cut way down, then he would do that, and he would do it without hesitation.

“Going to school is pretty normal, all things considered.” Most kids weren’t child geniuses like Peter, but Tony wasn’t particularly good at knowing what was the average anyway. “Pepper,” he admitted, “and staying alive. First time I tried miniaturising the arc reactor was when I was piss drunk, and I blew up the entirety of my workshop for the first time. Dum-E was covered in dust for weeks. Second time, I was in Afghanistan. Ideas come to you when you least expect them, or when you’re trying not to die. I would recommend going for something a lot simpler than terrorist abduction, though.”

Tony blinked a few times, and then grinned despite himself. He wasn’t entirely sure whether this was a meme or just a country music reference - he made a point to avoid both as much as humanly possible - but either way, Peter needed the reassurance. He had to boost the kid’s confidence somehow! “Right. Right, yeah, of course.” Tony was definitely not helping in this situation. Truthfully, he had never been very good at talking about anything even roughly in this area. The reason that he slept with anything that moved had been a relatively simple one - it got him out of his head, it let him pretend for a second that there was someone that could get as close to his heart as they were to his body, and because it felt really good. “We can work with both,” Tony said with a hum, nodding as if he had just decided to slot the answer into place. When the word finally came out, Tony looked at Peter for a moment. “Sex,” he repeated.

“Hey,” Tony said, watching as Peter continued to talk himself into a spiral. He set the robot down on the workbench and went towards Peter, putting a hand on his shoulder, looking at him as he did so. “I get it, kid. You look around at the world and there’s a part of it that you can’t understand. If everyone else wasn’t banging on about it so much - that wasn’t an intentional pun, swear - then you wouldn’t even want to understand it, yeah? That doesn’t make you messed up. That makes you unique, and unique is what saves the world. You know what is messed up? Fucking a super villain. That’s messed up. What you’re telling me - that’s normal, or at least, it’s your normal.”

Tony didn’t have much of a measure for what constituted a good talk, but he knew that every single thing that he had said was pretty much the exact opposite of what Howard would have said - what Howard did say when Tony brought Tiberius around and it was evident that there was something else to it. That seemed to be pretty close to success, or at least far from failure. “Teamwork makes the dream work, and all that tooth-rotting sweetness,” Tony said with a smile. “All I want to do is get in one solid punch on that guy, and we can throw him in jail for the rest of his life.” He paused for only a moment. “I appreciate you, you know that? Coming to me. Talking. Being with me. It means a lot, and my dad never really said that to me, and it sucked, so I just. Wanted to say it to you.”

Peter nodded once, rubbing the back of his neck. Maybe it was stupid, to want to hold onto something normal. Like -- they were in an alternate dimension! There were demons outside, aliens attacked just a few months back! But Mr. Stark seemed to understand instantly, he didn’t belittle Peter for wanting that, he just agreed. And that was... well, it meant a lot, honestly. 

A small smile crossed his face. “Miss Potts is pretty amazing,” he said quietly. “She’s... really inspiring.” Which seemed like underselling it, really. But he’d noticed that they were back together, noticed how much happier they seemed. The look on Mr. Stark’s face -- it reminded him of Aunt May. When Uncle Ben would come home with flowers just because he could, and she’d laugh at him and tell him not to waste the money. That was so long ago, his life was so different. Everything changed so fast, sometimes it made his head spin. “Yeah, I’ll uh, try to avoid that,” he said, swallowing hard. “You don’t talk about it,” he said suddenly, voice pinched tight with nerves. “I mean, you don’t have to. Of course not. It’s just... other people do. They wonder what happened over there, how it made you into... ya know,” he finished lamely. 

The thing about Mr. Stark was he made Peter realize truths that he’d never seen before, even if they were right under his nose. There was something about this place, the lab, that made his brain make connections. Or maybe it was just the guidance he got from Mr. Stark -- most people weren’t that lucky, he knew. A lot of people never found someone like this. It didn’t make it easier, talking about this thing that had preying on his mind for a few years now, he still went bright red when Mr. Stark said the word -- but at least they could say it. At least they could have this conversation.

Without Mr. Stark’s hand on his shoulder, he might’ve sunk down into a puddle on the floor. But the weight, the warmth of it, was like an anchor. And that was the thing -- this simple, platonic gesture was everything he needed. He didn’t understand wanting more than that, didn’t get the need for it. He laughed at the pun, a little strangled, but still a laugh, and bit his lip. “I just -- I feel like the robots sometimes,” he said, nodding towards Dum-E, who clicked affectionately. Peter smiled at the robot, then turned back to Mr. Stark. “But, yeah. If no one ever told me I was supposed to -- ya know, want that, it’d never even occur to me, I guess,” he murmured, shrugging his other shoulder. He glanced up at Mr. Stark, feeling the magnitude of the moment crashing over them. “I don’t think you’re messed up,” he said quietly. “I mean -- you’re the only one I told about this. And maybe -- maybe the things you do, that’s just your version of normal.” He paused a second, biting back a little grin, but he couldn’t hold back his curiosity. “Which villain?” he asked. “I mean, you don’t have to say, I just -- it wasn’t Doc Ock or anything right? That would be a little weird,” he admitted, trying to laugh to lighten the mood. 

He knew they were close, but for a long time, they didn’t talk about it. They had hugged one time, and that was after Peter had almost died. But it had never been a doubt in his mind, not a serious one anyway. So Peter stepped forward and hugged him now, feeling maybe a little foolish, but it still felt right. “Thanks,” he said softly, pulling back. “We’ll get him, Mr. Stark. You can land as many punches as you want,” he said firmly, because he wanted to land a few himself if he was honest. Just a few! Peter’s heart thudded in his chest, skipped a beat and stumbled over itself, but it was beating. Even if it beat a little differently from everyone else. “Thanks for... you know, being cool about it,” he whispered. “I think Aunt May would be kinda crushed, ya know? She -- she’s just always wanted me to be normal.” He loved May, and she loved him, but there were a lot of parts of his life she didn’t understand. A lot she couldn’t. “For the record, Mr. Stark,” he said quietly. “I think you’re a lot better than your dad. I mean, I know he was a genius and everything, but you’re -- ya know, more than that. You’re a genius but you’re also... good. Really good.” 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

abornentertainer:

“I mean, you don’t have to convince me. I’m sold, it’s totally a health food.” The only problem was that Alfred seemed to have mastered seeing through Dick’s nonsense about ten minutes after he moved into the Manor. Which was a real shame, because he was good at nonsense. “They were good teams,” he agreed. “Well. The Titans still are a good team.” Just not one he worked with full-time any more. Just for starters, Robin didn’t need an older brother constantly looking over his shoulder. “But we were much cooler back in the day,” he continued solemnly. He couldn’t help it - at the awe in Spiderman’s voice, he started laughing. Mostly because he really, really wanted to watch this guy meet Bruce some day. “Yeah, all three of them, plus some of the others. Batman trained me,” he explained, once he had himself under control. “But dude, the Avengers? Just as cool. Please tell me you know Black Widow, and you can introduce me.”

He nodded solemnly, the motion only jarred slightly as his grapple found purchase and snapped him out of free-fall and into another controlled arc. “Exactly. Like, I know under the masks we’re all just people and all. But he’s Superman.” He was pretty sure that was at least half the reason Bruce had Batplanes. He glanced in the direction Spiderman had pointed out, and wasn’t really surprised to see the familiar outline of the Empire State Building. Tallest building, best view. It only made sense. “Plus, some awesome King Kong vibes,” he agreed. “But yeah…if it’s all the same to you, not tangling with the Secret Service is on my to-do list for the night.”

Peter laughed, and gave the other hero a thumbs up. Then he paused, frowning under the mask. “That was totally lame, wasn’t it?” he asked. Across the city somewhere, Johnny was groaning and didn’t know why. (Or more likely, he probably did and was subsequently planning to scorch Peter’s curtains just a little -- to ‘deter’ him from future awkwardness.) “But you aren’t with them anymore?” he asked, hoping it wasn’t too prying. “Oh, I don’t doubt it, dude,” he said, laughing. But then Nightwing laughed, and Peter paused. Then his eyes went wide, visible even with the mask on. “Are you serious? That’s so cool! Is he like, as grumpy as he seems, or is that just a thing he does for the bad guys?” he asked, talking a mile a minute now. “The Avengers are totally cool. And I do! Black Widow is totally amazing, they all are. I can introduce you anytime! Except, like, right now probably. They’re usually busy by now.” 

He realized he was babbling a little, so he focused on swinging for a minute. “Yeah, like, he’s the guy. He doesn’t even need like a gimmick, he’s just good,” he said. Cap was like that, too. And Peter liked to think Mr. Stark was, but he knew that not everyone agreed with him. He nodded to Nightwing, and they swung past the Empire State, Peter leading them towards an adjacent building. “Yeah, I’m not really a Kong fan anyway,” he admitted as they landed. “And I’ve had enough secret service encounters for one lifetime.” 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

rainbcwbright:

“Oh! No! That–that came out wrong,” she shook her head before covering her face with a hand. Talking to cool people who did what you wanted to do except much better was waaaay harder than talking to celebrities. “I meant not, um, running into you until now. That was bad luck. This is the opposite of bad…er, good luck!” Well, it could have been, but it felt like she had blown it, never mind that they were mere seconds into their conversation. “You make a really good point. I feel ever-so-slightly less stupid now. Me, too, despite what it sounded like.”

“Congratulations, I think?” He struck her as the kind of person who studied and nailed his finals, but Karolina was also that kind of person, and she could admit that avoiding the majority of finals week would have been nice. “Churros should definitely be taken as a sign that things are changing for the better.” That sentiment didn’t feel true, but it also didn’t seem like their predicament was getting all that worse, so that was something. If she had to grasp at straws. “Yeah…I guess you didn’t have much of a choice. I almost feel like I’d be bragging if I did either of those things, like I belong on those lists with people like you. Weirdly doesn’t feel like I even deserve it.” And Karolina was somebody who didn’t treat her privacy with a lot of care. She’d happily have this conversation in almost any public location. “Oh, you know, the usual. Dropped by to tell Stark I forgive him for trying to apprehend me three years ago and he responded by offering me an internship. Tale as old as time, really.”

Peter held up his hands. “It’s okay,” he said quickly. “I was only kidding. But yeah!” he said enthusiastically, grinning crookedly. “It is good luck. We could’ve walked around each other for like, ten years in a place like this,” he joked. “You didn’t sound stupid,” he assured her. “Just... ya know, awkward. But that’s okay, because I’m what my friend Johnny calls, hopelessly awkward. So we’re a pair at least,” he quipped.

“I mean, I was kinda looking forward to my final for calc, but there’s always next semester,” he shrugged. Maybe he was kinda hopeless, Johnny had a point. “Churros are the universal symbol of hope. At least, to my stomach they are.” It was easier than admitting that they still knew next to nothing about where they were or how they got here, anyway. “The President, he’s actually throwing a party to celebrate it. Did you hear about that?”  Karolina started talking, and Peter, for as awkward as he was when he talked, was a hell of a listener. “Deserve it?” he asked, tilting his head. “I mean, everyone deserves privacy. But if you wanted to list, I mean, I could help. It’s a weird process,” he admitted, screwing up his face. “But it’s supposed to be secret, at least. So you could help, but not be exposed, ya know?” He shook his head slowly, a small smile on his face. “That sounds like him, honestly. I’m not even a little bit surprised.” 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

notdaredcvil:

Destiny was a strange concept for Matt to consider. He was religious, as deeply as he could manage to be, and that meant that on some level he believed there was a higher power that had everything mapped out, that people had a fixed point that they were always going to hit no matter what choices they made. Of course, along with his religion, he knew that God had provided free will. People could choose to be good, they could choose to be bad, they could choose to be something in between.

Because of that, Matt had summarised destiny in a very specific way - there were certain situations, certain events, that were always going to happen, but the way that a person responded to it defined who they were. Matt was always going to meet Stick. He was always going to be blinded. His father was always going to die. In any existence, those events had to happen. He had to get these powers, he had to follow the law, he had to hide a part of himself from the outside world. It was how he had chosen to act in regards to those events that represented his free will.

Spider-Man could have become a villain just as easily as he became a hero. At that young an age, emotions, especially grief, was magnified. Peter had been dealt some pretty terrible hands, and that meant that he could tip to either side of the scale. He had made a decision, and that decision had been what transformed him into a hero. “You must know some real assholes,” Matt said with a smirk and a half laugh, but he felt his heart pound in his chest, touched at the fact that at least someone wasn’t pissed off at him for a moment, just a moment. “I doubt it,” Matt admitted, not hesitating for a moment before answering. Spidey wasn’t like the people in his ‘normal’ life - he knew something about this world, knew something about what it was like, even if their experiences were slightly different. “He told em we were fighting a war, that we needed to stay focused on the endgame before all else. He didn’t make a habit of saving individuals, put it that way.”

Daredevil and Spidey, though, they focused on the little cogs that added up to the big machine. That was how they changed the world. Spidey was an Avenger, but he had his roots and origins in vigilantism, something Matt connected to deeply. “I feel like it would open another door that would just lead to a whole pile of crazy shit,” Matt admitted, “but maybe it needs to be opened.” Maybe it was as simple as Stick asking around for people like him. Maybe it was as simple as the nuns calling for help. Maybe it was something else, something mystical to do with the Chaste’s history.

“I feel like any kind of shooters is your patented technology. I’d hate to step on your toes, or get sued,” Matt said with a smirk. Matt tilted his head to the side as Spidey spoke, listening intently to what he was saying. They rarely talked about the specifics of their powers, at least until the power swap when it had basically been necessary for them to discuss it at length, and so it was always interesting to learn something more. “Has it been wrong often before?” Matt asked. “Your spider sense?” If it was anything like Matt’s radar capacities, Matt would put insane faith in it. “Nah, this guy takes pro bonos, and I would put in a good word for you.” A party did seem as if it was distracting the citizens from something, but maybe it was just a night for them to enjoy. Maybe Matt didn’t need to be that pessimistic. “Gut instinct counts for a lot. I wouldn’t rule it out entirely just yet.”

Sometimes, he wasn’t sure why he still wore a mask around DD. His name, his face, his entire social media history (an extra painful consequence) was out there for anyone to see it. But they still pretended, the two of them, that both their identities were secret. That things were still simple, when they’d been complicated for a long time now. DD had never once called him ‘Peter,’ never once let on that he knew the name, apart from a few cautious conversations they’d had directly after it happened. 

Maybe he was always destined to be de-masked. Maybe it was just a matter of time. But he hoped DD had a different fate in store for him. Peter understood, intrinsically, the importance of secrets. How they could help, how they could keep people safe. For DD to cling to his mask this hard, he had to be protecting a whole heck of a lot. “I’m an Avenger!” Peter said, shaking his head. “I know all the best people. I mean, all right, Johnny can be a lot, but still,” he laughed. He was used to making self-deprecating jokes, too. Really, he and DD were similar in a lot of ways. Apart from taste in mentors, it seemed. Peter turned his head, biting his lip under the mask. “Guess you turned out better than he did,” he said softly. “Still. He must’ve taught you a lot, even if you ended up choosing a different path in the end.” He paused a second. “What war was he talking about?” he asked, a little apprehensive. 

For all their similarities, there were some striking differences, too. Peter had no choice now but to operate in the full view of the public. His team was public, his name was public, he fought just as often during the day as he did on a nightly patrol. DD existed in the shadows, operating in the dark. He was a soldier, trained even earlier than Peter had. Peter was just a kid, trying to do what was right. And sometimes, he wasn’t all too sure what that was. 

He leaned back, staring up at the stars that weren’t really the stars, wondering if the atmosphere outside their bubble was different -- and whether whatever power transported oxygen, atmosphere, heat and light to this place, could be utilized for good. That was the only difference. Whether power was used for good or evil. “Sometimes it’s better to open the door,” he said, glancing at DD. “Before it gets opened for you. At least you’ll be in control if you started now,” he suggested quietly. He wasn’t sure how deep and dark the rabbit hole got, but he hoped DD knew he wouldn’t have to go down it alone. 

Peter laughed. “I’d share! I mean, I definitely wouldn’t sue you or anything. And like, not that it matters to you, but I’d make substantial aesthetic differences. They’d have little horns, and the devil-web would come out of Satan’s eyes,” he joked. He shrugged, knowing from experience that DD would sense it -- ever since the power swap, he was more aware of how much DD could pick up. “It’s been... weird, before,” he said, hooking his hands behind his head. “Like, it used to go crazy in high school if my bully was at the end of the hall, but it didn’t pick up anything from the Skrulls,” he said, biting his lip. “I don’t really know how it works, honestly. It’s the hardest part to figure out, hardest part to test,” he said, shaking his head. “Thanks,” he said, for both the promise of a free lawyer and the sentiment. “We’ll have to see. The party could be fun, at least.” He paused a moment, mulling over the possibilities in his head. “Is it bad that I hope I’m wrong? That feels weird, but I do. I hope it’s all... just okay. That everything will work out.” 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

gcttagofcst:

Pietro was only twenty-six years old, one of the youngest Avengers, but there wasn’t a day that went by where he felt it. Perhaps when he had been dating MJ, when the world had stretched out in front of him and he had realised how many years there were left, he had felt as if it was just the beginning, but the grand majority of the time it felt as if he had lived through several wars already, and bore the scars of it in every word he spoke. Some people were born with the predisposition for everything to go to shit, and clearly the son of M would have inherited that himself. His sisters didn’t deserve it, and so it made sense that it was Pietro making all of the mistakes, pushing himself further away even when he was trying to do the right thing.

He had thought that by making sacrifices, he had been doing something good, something decent, something worth doing. That hadn’t been the case. He had made mistakes, that was all, and now it seemed as if he was going to spend the rest of his life atoning for them. “I don’t have time to think up a great joke!” Pietro retorted. Spider-Man was the one that quipped during his battles. Pietro was entirely focused on ending them as quickly as possible and moving onto the next situation, which was what had served against him on the Brotherhood, preventing him from realising what he was truly doing.

“You’re safe here,” Pietro reassured the groups one by one as he set them down in the park, spending more than a few seconds with the children, ensuring they were unharmed. “Are you an Avenger?” one little girl asked, blinking up at him with something like wonder and amusement. Pietro smiled, tight at the edges, and ruffled her hair. “Used to be,” he told her. “Today, I’m just doing the right thing.” As he sped off to rejoin the battle, he thought to himself how many days he would need to do the right thing to make up for all those moments he had chosen the wrong. It seemed impossible, a mountain that he couldn’t see over, but nothing was outside the realms of possibility.

He had to remain convinced of that. Had to tell himself that some day, he would be the hero that his sister always thought he would be. “Does he actually have a tank?” Pietro called back, running around the Lizard’s person faster and faster, so that the creature was choking for air. Pietro felt his own chest burning and so he stopped for a moment, watching as the web blast knocked the Lizard back. “That’s gotta be him now, right?” Pietro asked. “This isn’t a boss battle, dude! Just stay down so we can go get cheeseburgers!”

It was a little strange, how close they were in age. Pietro was only a few years older, and yet he seemed so different. Was that what growing up looked like? He thought of Mr. Stark, of Pietro’s twin, and realized -- no. No, growing up was just making decisions. Over and over, that’s what it came down to. And Peter had to trust in himself, had to trust that even if he made mistakes, he wouldn’t make the same ones as Pietro.

Keeping track of the blue blur was nearly impossible -- Pietro seemed to be everywhere at once. There was no denying he was a capable hero. When his heart was in the right place, he was a force to be reckoned with, and right now, Peter was glad to have him on his side. He could figure out the rest later. 

“Yeah, it’s called cell 42 at the Raft!” Peter yelled back, though maybe the sound got lost in the whirlwind Pietro created. Lizard, webbed and choking for breath, still wasn’t giving up. He clawed at the webs entangling him, swishing his tail outwards to try and trip up Pietro. Peter sighed. “Cheeseburgers would be nice,” he said, shooting a web upwards and swung up high, over the swinging tail. He twisted mid-air, and fired down another blast of webs -- this time at the wall behind Lizard. A new formula, extra sticky but not as easily shaped -- it mostly worked as a net. A trap. All Pietro had to do was get the villain into it. 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

spidcrgwens:

She and Peter had never told one another the awful details of what it felt like to lose one another, and they’d never had to. Gwen knew how Peter must have felt watching his Gwen Stacy die because she knew what she’d felt like watching her Peter Parker die. It was an awful, indescribable sort of pain, something that she hoped would never be replicated. 

Moments like this, she feared it might be. Every time Peter leaped, her heart jumped up with him for just a second. Every time he fell, her gut seemed to hang suspended from wherever he’d fallen from like she was on a roller coaster that had just dropped. Losing her Peter was something she’d feel for the rest of her life. She’d always hate herself a little for her part in his death, always wonder if she could have done more, if it was her fault. The real challenge was learning to grow passed it, learning how to navigate life after the fact. She couldn’t save her Peter, and he couldn’t save his Gwen, but they had a chance to save each other. That wasn’t nothing.

And, hey, they made a good team. Their powers were almost identical, and their humor had always been similar. They jumped around the room pretty well in sync, trading quips and taking turns shooting webs. “That’s true! If you said that, I think I’d be out the window. I’d just go for a swing around the city or something, you know. Leave you to deal with the fallout.” They both knew that wasn’t true. Gwen would stick by Peter’s side for as long as he’d let her.

Seeing the shape of the thing made it a lot more real somehow. Gwen had been on top of it, gripping its neck for balance, but until this moment, it hadn’t quite seemed tangible. Now that she could see it, it was a little scarier. She whistled lightly, touching the demon cautiously with her foot. “So, note to self: electricity’ll knock them on their asses. That’s — That’s really good to know.” She snorted at his statement, blinking as she registered the size of it. “We can, uh… Toss it back out the window, maybe? Knowing New Yorkers, they’ll probably come at it with sticks and rocks.” The citizens of New York were brave by necessity these days. Looking back to Peter, Gwen offered him a small smile. “I’m good,” she promised him. “How about you?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t leave me to face a inviso-demon on my own, now would ya?” Peter called, the grin clear in his voice even if he was wearing the mask. He wished he had the rest of the suit, just to be safe, but superheroing was never convenient. (A fact he loved and dismayed when a supervillain took him out of say, a final exam.) 

The danger had passed now, and there was always that strange silence after a fight ended. Peter wasn’t sure he’d ever be used to it. The movie they were watching was still playing in the background, but it sounded far away to his ears. The place was trashed now. There was a hole in the wall from where he’d been thrown, the coffee table was completely splintered, and there was popcorn everywhere -- but they were alive. They’d won. 

“Guess I’m stocking up on taser webs,” he murmured, following suit and kicking the demon lightly. The creature groaned, stirred, but didn’t get up. Peter breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll make them stronger, too. Maybe Mr. Stark has some new ideas,” he said, pulling the mask off, and stuffing it in the pocket of his pajama pants. He’d taken down an invisible demon in pajamas. “I think we oughta call it in,” he said, searching for his phone. “The Avengers -- they’ll know where to take him,” he said, reaching down in the couch cushions. He paused, to smile back at her. “I’m good. I mean, my head’s gonna ache for like, the rest of the night, but bruises only! That’s a plus, right?” He stopped for a second, then walked over and hugged her. “We did it!” he said, squeezing her tight. “That’s Spider-Team one, Invisible Demons zero!” 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

spidcrgwens:

Though she’d been living with him for nearly a year now, Gwen didn’t often fight side-by-side with Peter like this. It was hard on her – and him, she’d wager – to watch him get thrown around like this remembering the Peter she’d lost, hard to see him fly through the air without thinking back to the way she’d thrown him, the way she’d fought too hard, the way she hadn’t realized who she was fighting until it was too late. But tonight, they hadn’t been given much of a choice. They were here together, they were fighting, and if Gwen had anything to say about it, they were going to be winning. “If they did, they sure didn’t listen,” she huffed, smiling under her mask in spite of herself.

This Peter, she knew, was a lot stronger than the one she’d lost. Physically, it was made obvious due to his more muscular frame and the lack of glasses with lenses as thick as Coke bottles, but it went a lot deeper than that. This Peter didn’t feel so woefully inadequate that he’d turn himself into a monster just to be special, didn’t worship someone who didn’t deserve to be put on a pedestal in the slightest. He was different, stronger, and most importantly, he was alive. Gwen intended to do everything in her power to keep it that way. “Oh come on. Have you never seen, like, any movie? You don’t ask the demon if that’s all it’s got! That is the worst plan!” Despite her words, Gwen was laughing. Maybe she’d hit her head one too many times throughout the course of her career as Spider-Woman, but the situation was a little funny.

She’d never ridden one of those mechanical bulls in a cowboy bar, but she liked to think it would be similar to this. Less slime, hopefully, and no sense of life or death about the whole thing, but ultimately similar! “You’re my hero,” she told him seriously, doing her best to hold the demon still for him. It was far easier said than done, and she wasn’t sure she was having any effect on the thing at all, but at least Peter knew where it was now. “Okay,” she agreed, tensing and preparing herself. When he gave the word, she flipped backwards off the demon, sticking to the ceiling above it. His taser web struck something, and judging by the echoing thud of something hitting the ground, it must’ve had an effect. “Yay team,” Gwen cheered from the ceiling. “Is it knocked out?”

Peter was no stranger to team-ups. He loved fighting alongside other heroes. But he and Gwen had a sort of... unspoken agreement to avoid it unless absolutely necessary. Not because of a lack of trust or anything like that -- they just both knew what it was like to watch the other die. 

That was almost as strange a thought as fighting an invisible demon. They didn’t talk about it, not in specifics, not with details, but they didn’t need to. It took a long time for the guilt to fade away from her gaze when she met his eye, for the shame to stop welling up in his chest when he heard her voice from the other room. Eventually, they had stopped being just painful reminders of the past for each other, become friends -- but every now and then, it still hit him. He figured it was the same for her. 

In spite of it, they worked well together. Moved fluidly around each other, had a sense of each other’s rhythm because of how similar their powers were. Plus, they both liked to talk during fights, a definite plus. “Hey, at least I didn’t say ‘it can’t get any worse!’” he yelled back. He was laughing with her, and the demon let out this strange huff -- like it was confused as to why they weren’t scared. 

They probably should’ve been scared. But Invisi-demon clearly hadn’t counted on a team-up like this. Gwen kept the creature distracted until Peter’s taser webs were at full capacity -- a spray of sparking web fluid, enveloped the demon, finally giving it some kind of shape. He could even see what was the head as the thing twitched on the ground. Peter and Gwen were both on the ceiling, staring down at the mess below, and he took a moment to catch his breath. And marvel at the fact that they were both pretty much unharmed. “Seems that way,” he said, looking back down. “Uh... no idea what we’re going to do with it, because I’m pretty sure the garbage guys won’t pick it up off the curb though.” He didn’t move a muscle, just in case the beastie wasn’t quite finished. “Are you all right?” he asked, glancing at Gwen. 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

gcttagofcst:

The Avengers had never been a team that Pietro had particularly aligned himself with. He had been a part of their ranks, had been one of their own on battles and had been front and centre when Jameson’s lackeys came around to take photographs of them to later rag on as much as possible, but that didn’t mean that they had any kind of special place in his heart – or at least that was what Pietro had assumed. He had never shared Peter’s enthusiasm for the team, hadn’t dedicated his life entirely to being a part of them, but when they were gone, he had noticed their absence. Maybe that was what family was, after all, not missing something until they weren’t there anymore, a fundamental piece of his life missing.

Either way, he had other things to be focusing on besides his inner quandaries at that time, something that he was insanely grateful for. “You’re lucky he cut you off, because you were about three words away from being so embarrassing I would let you be eaten,” Pietro deadpanned. Dodging the Lizard’s claws was easy, but helping the civilians get out of dodge was a little more complicated. “Maybe for people too slow to be impatient!” Pietro called back. Group by group the onlookers were removed, placed into a safe spot on the greens of Central Park, and left to go about their daily business as if their lives hadn’t been in grave danger mere moments before. New Yorkers, man. One thing that Pietro did notice was that he had absolutely zero exhaustion where before, he would have been panting within moments. Maybe Magneto had a point – at least when it came to his teaching. “Hey, Gecko!” Pietro yelled. The Lizard turned to look at him, and Pietro jumped up onto one of the benches, using it as leverage to launch himself into the air. He punched the Lizard right below the eye, applying a bit of superspeed for good measure, and landed on the ground again with a satisfied smirk. “Need a hand?”

Maybe he really was young, even now. Young and naive, because he couldn’t imagine walking away from the Avenges in a million years. All he’d ever wanted since he developed these powers was to be a hero, just like the Avengers, just like Mr. Stark. He wanted to be someone brave and powerful and able to make a difference -- someone plain old Peter Parker could never be. Even now, he still got chills when he walked into a team meeting, when he trained in the Tower, when he woke up in the guest room that he’d pretty much claimed as a second home and realized it was all real. 

How did Pietro walk away from that? What made him decide that being a part of that wasn’t enough? “Not a great joke, dude!” he shouted. He was going to say more -- something about how slowing down wasn’t the worst thing -- but Pietro was already a blue blur, tearing off with the citizens in his arms. That’s when Peter knew it for sure. Whatever Pietro had done, whatever mistakes he made, he was still a hero somewhere in there. 

The thought hit him like a freight train, but it was nothing compared to Lizard’s claws. Peter got the one quip out, but then Lizard tightened his grip, squeezing off his air. Spots danced in front of his eyes -- and his oxygen-starved brain still managed to wonder why they always described it as dancing because the spots seemed very still, even as they grew bigger and bigger. He could barely see when Lizard’s head turned, but he heard the shout. Pietro came flying in out of nowhere, and sent both Lizard and Peter flying. Peter sucked in air in deep breaths, and flipped, landing gracefully on the alley wall.

Lizard wasn’t so lucky -- he slammed into the opposite wall. “Oxygen, really,” Peter quipped. “But the hand is appreciated.” He hoped Pietro could hear the genuine gratitude in his voice, but there would be time for thanks (and gloating on Pietro’s part) later. Right now, they had an overgrown reptile to deal with. “Let’s put this bad boy back in his tank,” he said, firing up a powerful web blast, and shooting it towards the still slumped Lizard. 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

notdaredcvil:

Casting his mind back to the time when he was fifteen, Matt tried to envision what life would be like if he had put on the mask at that point of time, rather than shutting himself in his room at St. Agnes, putting an almost singleminded focus on his studies and nothing else. If Jack Murdock hadn’t been killed, if he had been around for his son and Matt hadn’t been so desperate to study and get into university to make his dead father proud up there, would Matt have been in the same position as Peter? Without Stick appearing at the door of the orphanage looking for him, what would Matt be? Would he have been able to control his powers, or would he have been driven to distraction as a result of them?

It was impossible to tell, which only furthered Matt’s belief that there was such a thing as destiny. It was flexible, it was defined by people’s choices, by their own free will that God had imparted on them after Eden, but there were fixed points. His father would always die. He would always meet Foggy Nelson. He would always help people, as much as he possibly could until he died because of it.

For all of the differences between Spider-Man and Daredevil, those were the things that were similar. They had started at different stages of life, went about things in monumentally separate ways, but they still had the same heart at the end of the day, and that was what brought them together as friends. “I would say I wish you could meet him, but I seriously hope you never do,” Matt said, with something of a laugh. “He’s not the nicest guy around, put it that way.” Stick saw hope and he attempted to squash it out as quickly as possible. He would take the spider motif to a whole other level, and try to step on Peter like a bug. Matt didn’t really want to see that happen, didn’t even really want to think about it.

“Sometimes the truth hurts a whole lot more than a lie,” Matt said, which sounded in his own mind as a Stick quote, a justification for all that he had done, “or in this case, filling in the blanks. I think if I was meant to know how he found me, I would know by now.” Same as with his mother, he supposed. She hadn’t reached out to him, so Matt wasn’t going to go there with her, either. “Do you think I should look into it? Try and get some insight?”

There were so many things that he knew about Peter, but there were so many others that remained a mystery to him. He was sure that it was the same the other way around, considering the fact that Spider-Man didn’t even know his true name. “Really,” Matt said. “I jump from rooftops on a nightly basis, Spidey. I’m not gonna be the guy who says breaking into the Empire State is a dangerous thing to do.” All politicians were absolutely shady. Matt saw that day after day in his day job as well as his night gig. “There had to be something that gave you a bad feeling, otherwise you wouldn’t have broken in,” Matt pointed out. “What was that?” Matt laughed, leaning back against the rooftop as he did so. “I seriously doubt the FBI is going to be on your door anytime soon. If they are, I know a lawyer. He’d get you off.” Hopefully. It had been a few months since Matt tried on defence for size again. “Probably,” Matt said. “If nothing else, it’ll be a good night off. The entire city seems set to go, right?”

Sometimes people -- Aunt May mostly -- lamented the fact that Peter had chosen this life so early on. But when she found out the truth, and he had to sit down and try to explain all this to her, he reminded her of what Uncle Ben always said. With great power comes great responsibility. He had forgotten that once -- and once was too much. Maybe he was young, but he was old enough to know what he had to do.

He wondered when Daredevil knew. When he decided that this would be his life, or at least, a major part of it. Having a life outside of being a hero was important, one of the reasons Peter had clung so desperately to his secret identity, but even without it, he tried to stay normal. As normal as a kid with his abilities could be, that is. When you were like this, when something was different, when you could feel it in your veins -- normal was kind of out of the picture. 

DD never really laughed. It always sounded tired or strained, or like he was scared to laugh too loudly. Like the world might snatch the joy right out of his throat. It made Peter a little sad, but he never brought it up, never asked why his laugh was like that. If it was because of being a hero like this, or if it was something in his past. Judging from how he talked about his teacher, well... that could explain a few things. “At least that part didn’t rub off on you,” he said gently, smile audible in his voice. “You’re one of the nicest guys I know. Did he -- I mean, you don’t have to answer,” he said quickly, holding up a hand out of habit. “But I was just wondering if he, ya know, meant for you to use what he taught you to do this. Being a hero, saving people.” It was hard to imagine someone who trained a person to do that as being all bad. But then, he usually tried to see the good in people. 

It was Peter’s turn to laugh a strange, half-laugh. “Tell me about it,” he said, letting his gaze fall to the street. After all, if Harry and Gwen had never learned the truth about Spiderman -- would she still be here? “But then again... sometimes just because something hurts, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be honest,” he said quietly. He glanced back up at Daredevil, and shrugged. “I’m a scientist. Ya know, try to be,” he said quietly. “I like having answers. Knowing all the variables, trying to find the truth. But not everyone’s like me.” He paused a moment, inhaling a deep breath. “Do you think it’d help more than it’d hurt?” 

This time, his laugh came out a little easier, and Peter found himself nodding vigorously. (He knew from experience that DD would be able to tell.) “And you won’t even let me make you devil shooters,” he added, shaking his head. It was still a little disconcerting, to have one of his more impulsive moments praised -- or at least, not criticized. Mr. Stark could be a little bit of a worrier, honestly. (Not that Peter didn’t understand, given the long and sordid history of Iron Man suits rescuing Spiderman at the last second.) He took his time, really thinking it over before his answer. “I guess... I mean, besides Johnny, it was just this feeling I had. Spidey-sense is this weird thing, it’s hard to read sometimes. But every time I looked at him, I could just feel it going crazy in the back of my head, this constant tingling. I figured I’d at least try to see why.” But the plan had left him with more questions than answers, and that tingle hadn’t gone away. “Yeah?” he asked, smiling back at DD. “That’s a load off. Wait -- would it cost a lot? Because Mr. Stark probably isn’t gonna be wild about footing that particular bill,” he said, leaning back himself. Karen was outlining the constellations for him, but the stars just didn’t shine the same way as they did back home. “That’s what it looks like. It’ll be something. Bigger than Halloween even, ya know, since everyone’s excited about the free food and stuff.” He tapped his fingers along his stomach. “I guess my spidey-sense was wrong, huh? I mean, without the president and his policies, we might never have found those resources, right?” 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

daemonlegacy:

old enough to vote, old enough to die in the army, old enough to slaughter through tens of thousands of men both skilled and unskilled, travel the world by himself, be prosecuted as an adult and go to jail by himself– but not old enough to sip champagne at a stupid, vapid party, the resonate music still throbbing against his eardrums, still hammering against the walls of his skull from the inside, a small yet adamant torment. the night is set to pass by him agonizingly sluggish anyway, his disinterest in mingling, his natural darkened disposition, keeps him lining the walls, avoiding casual conversation, a coded menagerie of verbal labyrinths he still has yet to truly align himself to. imbued with power, the arts, mortal combat, histories and fallacies, and he still can’t navigate the proper terminology for relaxed colloquy. talia really fucked up with this one. or maybe he should blame batman.

the emergence of one peter parker grants damian a whole different set of migraines, his features twisting as soon as their eyes meet, the exhale exiting him while he watches the other do away with the drink damian had placed most of his hopes on, dark irises still pinned to the concoction even as it waltzes away. he doesn’t glance any further towards his web-slinging associate, his brow furrowing, his arms crossing over his chest, something indignant and itchy lining itself across his stomach and esophagus, lacing his words with as much party poison as he can. “i don’t wish to start drinking, parker, it was one glass. i just don’t like being on edge like this when i’m unable to carry out my usual duties, and i can just tell something is wrong about all this.” he taps on his temple, finally deigning himself to glance over at the other. “unlike you, my danger sensors are always on alert.”

“something cool to do, like what? dance? chat up celebrities? dont you fucking dare.” both options would rank on his list just below shooting himself in the head, and if peter parker thinks for one second that he’s going to convince damian of engaging in either of those activities, he’s way more drunk than damian would ever have gotten off that one cup. “there’s no curfew for us, which means there’s no curfew for criminals either, for people roaming around out there who couldn’t manage to attend because they’re looting stores or banks or something– mark my words, we’re all going to wake up to a shit-storm tomorrow morning and it’ll be because everyone is here and no one is protecting the city.” no one, being not damian or batman, since they’re the only two superheroes who really know how to make a difference– spiderman possibly, but he wouldn’t admit that out loud.

Peter knew Damian wasn’t exactly his biggest fan -- at least outwardly. But sometimes, when they ran into each other at Stark Industries, he thought he saw the hint of amusement under that permanent scowl. He swore he’d even caught a glimpse of a smile once. (Long after Damian thought he’d left, of course.) Some people just weren’t good at showing their emotions, and Damian was a complicated guy. Peter just wanted to get to know him a little better, if he was being honest. 

“On edge?” he repeated curiously, but Damian answered the question almost immediately. Peter bit his lip for a minute. “Nothing wrong with taking a break every now and then. You could relax on your own if you know, you tried,” he joked lightly. He laughed, shaking his head. “Dude, I wish I could turn off my danger senses. I’ve just learned to tune them out sometimes,” he quipped, smirking slightly. Spidey-sense took some getting used to, but if he always listened to it, it’d be hard to even walk down the street honestly.

He had been going to suggest dancing, or talking to someone, but clearly those weren’t options. Stalling a moment, he gazed out around the crowd, then nodded towards the elevator. “Have you ever been to the top of this place?” he asked. “The very top, I mean. It’s a heck of a view, one of the best in the city. You haven’t been here all that long, right?” he asked, taking a hesitant step towards the elevators. “Plus, if there is trouble, maybe we can spot it from up there. Or put your ‘danger senses’ at ease, if we don’t see anything,” he offered. “Besides, not everyone is here. I mean, I know it looks like it, but there’s bound to be a few people who didn’t come, for exactly that reason.” Maybe Daredevil was out there, watching the neighborhood. Peter kind of hoped so -- but at the same time, he hoped not. “And maybe the criminals are just as tired of all this mess as we are. Maybe they’re taking a night off to enjoy free food and drinks, like everyone else.” It was a hopeful statement, he knew that, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen.

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

abornentertainer:

“I had not considered that, but I’m considering it now. And I’m pretty sure the person I ought to be sending it to would complain about how I’d found a way to make fruit unhealthy, but now I want one for myself.” Somehow, though, Dick didn’t think Alfred would ever say anything about the very real possibility that he’d be offended by unhealthy fruit. It was mostly an academic discussion anyways. With most of his trust fund dedicated to his new place in the city, minimum wage plus tips at a bar didn’t really lend itself to building a budget that included the amount of fruit he owed Alfred. “Young Justice, when that was a team. The Teen Titans, after that. Still throw in with them when they need to call in the big guns. And I do some stuff with the Justice League every once in a while.” He wasn’t sure whether he should add the Secret Warriors to the list. After all, the word secret was right there in the name.

He wrinkled his nose, grimacing. “Honestly, I’d take that over getting a ride with Superman. Every time, I end up feeling like I’m about five and my parents are carrying me to bed. So embarrassing.” Thank goodness he’d managed to work out retractable lines, or this would be a very short trip. As he was reaching the end of this line’s swing, he put out another, letting the old one spool back into his gauntlet.

Peter laughed. “Yeah, I feel like that might be a fair criticism. But still! Chocolate and fruit! It balances out, right?” He knew, strictly and technically speaking, that was very much not true, but it sounded good. Mr. Stark would’ve agreed. “Young Justice,” he repeated, thinking back. “I’ve heard good things. And the TT’s, you guys were pretty cool!” he said, as the various stories came into his memory. It was always hard, in this world, separating fact from fiction. The strangest things turned out to be true, while sometimes the most basic stuff was totally bogus. “The Justice League -- so you know like, Superman? And Batman? And Wonder Woman?” he asked, not bothering to hide how deeply impressed he was. Those three were seriously awesome.

“You’ve got a point dude,” Peter agreed seriously. “But still -- Superman! Course, being embarrassed in front of Superman... yeah I think I’d pass too,” he said, still swinging along. He shot out another web at nearly the same time Nightwing shot his zipline. They were already moving in sync. “That up there? That’s one of the best roofs in the whole city to get a view,” he said, nodding towards the Empire State. “Course, it’s weird now, because the President set up his office there. Harder to get away with just scurrying up the windows now.” 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

cftorch:

For a long time, Peter had been the only one outside the Fantastic Four who really got Johnny. Maybe it was because he’d done the whole ‘teen hero’ thing himself, maybe it was just because Peter was just about the first person outside his family that Johnny didn’t feel the need to endlessly impress, but there’d always been something about him that made things so easy. He was pretty much the first friend Johnny’d made all on his own, and he was a hell of a friend to have. “Really? We’re going with me being weirder than you? You stick to walls. Walls that you have no idea how many drunk people have pissed on, by the way! I think that’s got you taking the ‘weirdo’ cake, buddy.” He snorted at Peter’s threat, rolling his eyes and looking entirely unconcerned. “I’ve been getting lectures from Reed since I was a kid. And from Sue for even longer! Stark doesn’t scare me.” Honestly, no one’s lectures could be scarier than Sue’s. She always had that disappointed expression, which was so much worse than her angry expression. Johnny would take a pissed off Sue over a disappointed one any day of the week. “Yeah, but I make it look good. You just make it look awkward.” 

He couldn’t help but laugh at his best friend’s expression, making a face as Peter brought up the one (okay, one of many) instance where he’d said no to one of Johnny’s schemes. “I still think we should’ve webbed him straight to the statue,” he replied, sulking. “On the torch, Pete! Think of the symbolism.” He’d never really been one to listen in English class, but he was pretty sure that was a hell of a metaphor! “I’d be a great lawyer,” Johnny mused, looking thoughtful. Thanks to his various childhood arguments with Sue and his more adult arguments with Ben and Peter, he did have a way of bickering that was hard to beat.

“I’m gonna let that slide because I know you don’t mean it,” Johnny hummed, giving Peter a look that said he sincerely hoped he didn’t mean it. A lot of Johnny’s confidence might be feigned, but when it came to his looks, he knew it was well-founded. He wished he could have the same level of confidence in what they were doing here. Doom was sketchy as hell, but Peter sort of had a point regarding politicians’ usual level of sketchiness. Nobody got elected President without doing some shady shit. “I’d let your hair get singed,” he challenged, and his tone made it clear that he meant that at least. “I don’t know if you’d be able to pull off the bald look, buddy, so I’d be careful!” Snorting, he crossed his arms over his chest and raised a brow. “No, I don’t. Once you absorb a nuclear explosion into your body, you’re pretty much set for life material-wise. It’s a rule.” 

Peter didn’t seem as confident in their findings as Johnny was, but that wasn’t exactly rare. Peter almost never matched Johnny in confidence, though today he might have a point. “Okay, well I’m pretty sure most presidential security guys don’t open fire on people just for being in an empty office! That means something, doesn’t it?” He glanced back as a bullet melted against his back, the metal entirely useless by the time it made it passed his flames. “Well, they’ve got decent aim so we know they’re not Stormtroopers, I guess.” Scanning the buildings, he found one far enough away from Doom’s office to ensure their safety and dropped Peter onto it, landing beside him easily. “Uh, that’s not entirely true. I stole a pen!” He looked down at his shirt, frowning at the realization that the fabric had burned up when he flamed on. “I mean, it melted, but still. Fight the power, right?” Peter had a point, though. While Peter Parker was probably safe as far as being identified as the guy who broke into the President’s office, Johnny was a little more recognizable. There were other heroes who could flame on, sure, but few who did it with the skill he displayed in flight. “Quiet’s overrated, anyways. We can come in from above next time! Break in through the window. You can practice your hacking skills, I’ll practice my lookout skills, it’ll be way better next time!”

Johnny was more than a best friend. He was more than another super to team up with. He was everything Peter wasn’t, confident and loud and able to light up a room with a single grin. Yet they still found a way to enjoy the same movies, to laugh at the same things, to fight side by side for the same principles. Johnny was something Peter didn’t even have the right word for, he wasn’t that kind of genius. This was something he couldn’t break down into an equation, something he couldn’t solve with facts and figures and formulas. He couldn’t define it, but Johnny had taught him he didn’t need to. He could just feel it, and trust in that feeling. 

Still, his sense of humor made Peter cringe from time to time. He screwed up his face, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I wear gloves,” he argued, shaking his head. “Don’t tell him that, because he’ll definitely take it as a challenge,” he muttered, trying to focus on the task at hand. “I’m just saying -- I don’t think you can call me a genius in one breath and an airhead in the next. Seems contradictory,” he joked.

Peter just continued to shake his head. It wasn’t that he disagreed with Johnny’s, uh, unique brand of justice. He couldn’t deny it would’ve been fun to see the guy squirm, but not terribly effective in the long run. “Don’t pout,” he begged, because he never stood a chance against that. “If we get outta here alive, I’ll web the next guy to the statue, deal?” he offered. But he paused a second, head tilted. “Is it... like a symbol of you? ‘Don’t deal drugs, or you’ll get torched?’ Is that what you’re going for here?” He laughed, and waved a hand in the air. Johnny would’ve been a great anything, but he was an amazing hero, and Peter didn’t imagine that changing anytime soon.

He met Johnny’s eyes, and just stuck his tongue out in reply. Of course he didn’t mean it. Even he knew that Johnny was attractive (if attraction was your thing? he was still figuring it all out honestly). He let a look of mock horror cross his face, which quickly morphed into real horror. “I’d look like a really tiny Steve Jobs,” he whispered, eyes going wide. He glanced up at Johnny. “Okay -- you don’t make me bald, and I’ll let you brag about the nuke forever. That seems fair.” 

Did it mean anything? Peter was replaying the entire thing in his mind. The lobby, the suspiciously empty floor -- where had the security even come from? How had they known he and Johnny were there? Did they always shoot first and ask questions later? “Well,” he said, craning his head back to glance at the receding form of the Empire State Building. “That’s kind of the White House right now, right? I think they shoot people who aren’t supposed to be in the White House. We have a real gun control issue in this country.” Which was totally not the problem of the hour, but that’s how his mind worked -- jumping tracks and circling back around to find new angles. On instinct he ducked when the bullet whizzed towards them, but Johnny’s flames melted it before it was even close. There were perks to flaming on, and Peter was a little jealous (and would never admit it, even on his deathbed).

“Fight the power,” Peter agreed, raising his fist weakly. He ran the hand through his hair, glad at least to feel that none of it was singed. He stepped towards the edge of the roof, glancing towards the distant Empire State Building. “There were cameras in the lobby,” he said, rubbing his chin. “Must’ve been. That’s how they knew we got in, and that’s how they’ll figure out who it was.” He glanced back at Johnny, shirtless now that he had flamed on in regular clothes. “Besides the obvious clues.” He frowned and bit his lip, shaking his head. “I don’t think we can get that close again. They’ll be on red alert. We need an entirely different approach, a new way to get in the door. Or a way to set up some kind of remote access, but with security like that...” He sighed. “I think either way, we gotta lay low for a bit. And watch out for armed national security guys coming to interrogate us.” 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

rainbcwbright:

There was certain perks to being a name nobody cared about. Actually, Karolina didn’t even have a super alias. Lucy in the Sky had only been used in LA, briefly, before they all gave up on the idea of superhero names. It didn’t feel like they’d earned it – plus, they were terrible at thinking of anything good. Not listing didn’t feel risky, not the way deciding not to register had. Now that she worked for Stark, she often wondered if he thought she was young and naive for not registering.

Karolina was a fairly social person, especially compared to her own friends, but she had a way of getting too in her head and inadvertently ignoring the people around her. She narrowly missed someone call out her name and she offered a surprised smile when she saw the voice belonged to Peter. “Hey! Must be…what’s the opposite of fate? Bad luck. This place is huge, though, I guess it makes sense that we’ve never run into each other. How are you?”

“Bad luck?” Peter repeated grinning. “Ouch. I’m hurt. Deeply,” he said, placing a hand over his chest as he took a seat in the stool opposite her. He leaned his elbows on the desk, smiling at her. “There’s 93 stories,” he said, nodding. “We’re lucky we found each other at all, it could’ve taken years,” he quipped. “But I’m glad we did. You know, find each other. It’s -- good to see you,” he said sincerely. 

That was always a hard question to answer, especially for people like them. Being a superhero wasn’t easy, and sometimes having powers only meant having more problems. But all in all.. “I’m good,” he said. “I mean, most of my finals got cancelled when a Skrull ship landed on them, and since they found all those resources, it seems like churros won’t run out after all, so there’s a lot to be grateful for there. Almost worth getting demasked, ya know?” He laughed lightly at himself, and shrugged. “At least it made registering and listing easier. How about you? How’d you wind up here?”

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

notdaredcvil:

For someone that had the level of strength, the level of compassion and kindness and heroism inside them as he had, Peter wasn’t entirely sure in himself. Confidence was something that was in short supply, and it was evidenced by more than the catch in his voice when he was talking, the blush that formed more easily than most, and the awkward jokes that he cracked in the middle of battles in order to calm himself down. Matt knew how Peter felt, at least partly. For all that he hated himself, Matt had always been confident on the outside. It was part of the reason why the kids in school had been so frustrated by him. Someone that had suffered like he had before they were even ten years old shouldn’t have been capable of laughing, of being happy, of having friends, but Matt always proved them wrong.

Or at least, he had at one stage. As the years progressed he proved them right more and more, as his friendships ended, his relationships fell to pieces, and his career died a slow, painful death. Peter, though, had stuck around with him. Their similarities, as well as their differences, meant that they were more than adept at dealing with any situation as long as they were together, and if there was one person that Matt trusted indefinitely to have his back, it was Peter. Yet, he remained hidden behind the mask. It wasn’t a reflection on their relationship as much as it was a reflection on Matt, and Matt hoped that Peter knew that much.

“Imagine how much my mentor helped me, then, if that’s the case.” Stick, for all of his horrible, terrible traits, had been one hell of a teacher, and Matt would never take that from him. “I know, I know. Your secret is safe with me,” Matt said, trying not to laugh, but he wasn’t sure that his face didn’t demonstrate that attempt. He crossed his heart regardless, knowing, or hoping, that Peter realised how closely guarded all of his secrets were, even ones as meaningless as this. “That’s a question yet to be answered,” Matt said, frowning a little. “He just showed up at the orphanage one day. The nuns said they got into contact with him, but I don’t know how they knew who he was, what he did.”

Stick was notorious amongst ninjas and hand to hand fighters, but among women of the Lord … that was a question that needed a little more investigation, not that Matt was going to willingly enter into anything that involved that old man. He had enough on his plate as it was. “Hey, I’m not judging you. I would’ve done the same thing if I thought I could.” Matt was almost irritated he hadn’t thought of it before - he could get some good eavesdropping done from within the Empire State. “Secret service? Did they have guns? I suppose that makes sense, considering he’s the president.” And they were currently surrounded by demons, too. “Thank the Lord for small mercies. I thought my co-worker was going to die if we ran out of coffee beans.”

There was very little about this life that even approached normal anymore. Sitting on this rooftop, with another costumed vigilante? That was about as close as Peter got. He and DD had been doing this for years, taking these small moments while they still could. Peter knew better than most that one day, moments like this would be far beyond them. Anything could happen -- they were in another dimension -- but right now, he felt like he was back in the early days of being spiderman. When he still ran around in a homemade suit (old pajamas and a ski mask really), and mostly stopped muggers in the train station. 

If DD had told him then where they’d wind up -- Peter don’t know what he would’ve done. But even with all the pain, all the strife, he had a feeling that he still would’ve wound up here. Daredevil was living proof that this wasn’t an easy life to walk away from. He had taken that break for those few months, but it hadn’t stuck, and Peter was glad. But maybe he shouldn’t have been. Maybe he should’ve hoped that Daredevil found a way to walk away from this, because as Johnny had said once -- there wasn’t exactly a superhero retirement plan. There was always a new threat, a new danger, and someone had to take responsibility for it. Peter and Daredevil, they had the power to change things, to keep people safe, and that wasn’t something you could just walk away from.

“That’s -- yeah, pretty impressive,” Peter noted. Secrets. It always seemed to come down to secrets in this life, in one way or another. Heroes and villains alike relied on them, needed them to survive in this world. Even stupid, small ones like this, they mattered. And no one knew that like Daredevil. After years of working together, Peter still didn’t even know his real name. Maybe if he’d been better at using DD’s powers during the swap, he might’ve been able to figure out some things, but maybe it was better that he didn’t. Secrecy wasn’t the only way to be a hero, but maybe it was the only way to be a hero and a normal person at the same time. Sometimes he liked to imagine what DD was like in his everyday life. Peter pictured him as a teacher, probably at an under-funded school, where he gave everything to his students during office hours. Other times, he imagined DD had a shop of his own, a bookstore or a coffee place. 

Maybe he’d never know if any of his theories were close to the truth. But maybe that was okay -- plus it let Peter pretend that every blind person he saw on the street was a potential DD. It gave him a little bit of hope, imaging random passersby as heroes. “Do you want to answer it?” he asked gently, tilting his head. “I mean, Mr. Stark has some of the greatest computer systems in the world. Can’t be that hard to find one guy, right?” 

Peter blinked, fully expecting something of a lecture (maybe he was spending too much time in the labs with Mr. Stark worrying over him). “Really?” he asked. “I honestly was surprised we got as far as we did -- but it was weird. The whole top floor was completely empty when we got up there, until the guards showed up.” Peter nodded, made a noise of affirmation in the back of his throat. “That’s the hard part. I mean, yeah he’s shady, but aren’t all politicians kinda shady? And all politicians have crazy security on their laptop, armed guards ready to take down people who break into their office. It’s hard to tell if anything is actually wrong.” He just felt it, somewhere deep in his gut, in the very back of his mind, but the thought refused to take shape fully. “Do you think that counts as terrorism? Because the last thing I need is Spiderman labeled a terrorist. I mean, again,” he said, smirking lightly. He laughed a little. “Yeah, I was getting real worried for the caffeine addicts of the city,” he joked. “Are you gonna go to that celebration? The party thing?” 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

the-m3chanic:

Tony blinked a few times. “Do you seriously think tenure would stop me buying them out?” Tony asked. He quickly realised, then, that he had never sounded more like his father in his life. Money fixed all problems, it meant that any law or rule could be overturned with the right person to slip it into their pocket. Tony didn’t want to be that person. Sometimes, though, it came in handy, but that didn’t mean he was going to admit to dirty deeds, at least not to Peter, who still somehow managed to look at him as if he was worth following.

“You need to think on something else before the answer comes to you,” Tony said. “I mean, the arc reactor came to me when I was thinking about something else.” That ‘something else,’ of course, had been Pepper. How she stood in front of the large arc reactor, staring up at it on her second day on the job, and asked him whether he was insane for giving her the only other key in physical existence to the generator plant. Tony had been waterboarded at the time, but the memory came to him regardless, and with it, a eureka moment.

Contrary to popular belief, Tony wasn’t entirely oblivious to other people. Although he was focusing now on picking up one of the small robots on the workbench, fidgeting with it because he couldn’t keep his hands still, he could pick up on the catch in Peter’s voice, how he hesitated. He still sounded sure, though, in a way Tony couldn’t quite explain. “Twelve,” Tony deadpanned. “Yeah. Yeah, neither have I.” Tony paused for a moment. “I don’t really think ‘one and done’ counts as an ex, right?” Though Maya had. Maya had counted, for reasons Tony wasn’t sure of. “A whole part of the world,” Tony asked slowly, “or a whole part of people? Because if it’s the latter, then yeah. Absolutely. Emotions, you know? They were confusing for a long time. People aren’t like machines. You can’t predict them. I found that hard for a long time.” It was something he hadn’t really admitted to anyone, but he could sense a confession coming, and he needed to give something to get anything back, to feel as if he deserved that level of trust. “No one is anywhere near S.I level,” Tony said smoothly, as if he was entirely confident in that fact. “You know, you sound just like Riri.” And that, more than anything, terrified him, what those kids would do for him.

It was Peter’s turn to blink right back (like a mirror image of Mr. Stark, really -- how much time was he spending in this lab anyway?). It somehow always surprised him how far Mr. Stark was willing to go for him, the lengths he’d go to make sure Peter was happy. Not just safe, not just ‘not-screwing-the-pooch,’ but happy. “That’s okay,” he said quietly, a small smile on his face. “It’s kinda nice, ya know? To have something normal. Well, as normal as anything ever gets around here.” Which... wasn’t saying much, especially when it came to Peter. (How many kids got superpowers from their school field trip?)

“What were you thinking about?” Peter asked instantly, because his curiosity about Mr. Stark’s thought process and the arc reactor in particular never waned. The reactor was, in his opinion, the single biggest breakthrough in modern technology, it would revolutionize the world -- already had. And if Mr. Stark had come up with that idea because of a random tangent... Well, who could blame him for wanting to know what it was?

Peter whistled lowly. “Okay, so this is definitely an issue. Raise the terror alert to Carrie Underwood levels, plus two, gotcha,” he said, biting his lip. He raised a brow at that, but then Mr. Stark clarified and Peter felt himself flushing all over again. “I -- uh, wouldn’t really know about that, Mr. Stark,” he said quietly. The thing that had been in the back of his mind for so long now, that little niggling thought, it was getting closer. Peter tried to answer, but he wasn’t sure. “Both?” he suggested softly. His mind was racing in a million directions right now, reeling from Mr. Stark’s confession, trying to find the words for his own -- and wondering why it felt like it had to be a confession in the first place. “I mean -- it’s about people, I guess. But not emotions, emotions I get, I feel those, but --” He bit his lip again, harder. This was the point of no return, and once he crossed this line, everything could change. “It’s about the world, too,” he blurted out. “Like, every magazine ad. And in movies and TV and books -- it’s like, everyone’s obsessed with this -- this thing that I just...” He stopped, inhaling deeply and holding the breath for a long moment. “Sex,” he said finally, wanting to melt a little on the spot. But now that he started, the dam was broken. The words came rushing out in a torrent. “I don’t get it. Like, Johnny always seems like he’s gonna die if he can’t -- ya know. But I never -- I mean, I haven’t, and I don’t even really want to, and that feels weird. Like I’m just missing this whole part of the world and people, and if everyone is telling you that you should feel a certain way and you don’t, aren’t you kind of -- I don’t know, messed up?”

No one was near S.I. level, because no one was near Mr. Stark’s level. (Of course, Miss Potts had a lot to do with it, too.) But there was a reason Peter was saying this to Mr. Stark before he said it to anyone else, even Aunt May or MJ or Johnny. There was a reason he was adamant about stopping this crazy ex-boyfriend before he did any serious damage to his mentor. Because Mr. Stark had completely changed his life, trusted him when no one else did, and kept supporting him through every mistake, every mess up, every collapsed building and cruise ship. Peter knew he would always be able to rely on Mr. Stark. It was time to return the favor. “I’m okay with sounding like a bonafide genius,” he said, smiling softly. “You’ve got a lot of people in your corner, you know? We’re in this together, as a team.” 

[friendlyneighborhoodspidernerds]

gcttagofcst:

Pietro hadn’t exactly stopped to explain to the other Avengers where he was going. One moment he was a part of the team, the next he was with the Brotherhood, and he assumed that his sister would make the rest aware of the situation. The press didn’t seem to be advertising it, more than likely paid off by Stark to keep quiet on the situation, but other heroes knew intimately what he had been doing, where he had defected to, and the harm that he had caused in the meantime.

Honestly, Pietro was surprised that Peter didn’t punch him in the face the second after they saw each other. All things considered, he absolutely deserved it, just as he would’ve deserved Clint to send an arrow flying towards his face or to take a punch to the jaw from MJ several times over, Iron Spider suit and all. He deserved a lot of things that he probably wasn’t going to get, solely because the people around him were some of the best that he had ever known or could ever hope to know, and that was something that weighed on him just as much as the blood on his hands.

“Oh, we’re calling dibs on villains now?” Pietro called back, something of a smirk on his face as he did so. “I should’ve let him continue his rampage on New York before you got here, then! Too busy trying to find a drycleaner to get web fluid out of your pyjamas, Spidey?” Pietro was a loner. He had always been, at least to the extent where having one other person was the only thing he needed. Yet, when he found himself with other vigilantes around, he took the help. Maybe there was something to teamwork that he found himself liking after all - though he doubted it. “I was gonna do that!” Pietro called back, rather petulantly. He sped up, running towards the civilians. “Sounds like a plan, Parker!” He ground to a halt in front of a woman and her kids, ducking down to talk to the small child for a moment. “Your ears are gonna pop,” he told him gently, “but it’ll be over like a snap, okay?” The kid nodded, and at that, Pietro picked up as many civilians as he could carry and dropped them off. 1.23 milliseconds, far from a record, but close enough.

It was hard not to look at Pietro and see the look of crushing disappointment on Wanda’s face. No, no it was more than disappointment -- it was grief. Like the brother she had always relied on, the twin who was her other half, had died. For real this time, and in a way there was no coming back from.

But Peter had always believed in second chances. And third chances, and fourth chances -- and maybe that was naive or whatever Frank Castle had said, but it was a core part of him. Something he couldn’t escape even if he wanted to. And why would he? The alternative was looking at Pietro and seeing nothing but a lost cause, and Peter knew that nothing was ever that simple. 

“Uh huh,” he shot back, almost smirking under the mask. “It’s the new thing, buddy. We’re all picking our favorite super-bads and --” Peter had to stop mid-sentence to duck under Lizard’s tail and backflip away from the swipe of his claws. “Patience is a virtue, ever hear that before? Some of us don’t have superspeed!” He shot a web towards Lizard. It went wide, sticking to a light post instead. “Then get to it!” he yelled, taking a running start and leaping towards the villain. He landed on his back, and immediately went for the blinding tactic, aiming for Lizard’s eyes. Out of the corner of his own, he could see Pietro speeding off with the civilians, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Only for a moment though -- even blinded, Lizard was still dangerous. One of his huge claws reached back and snatched Peter by the neck. Spots danced in front of his eyes, his feet dangled off the ground as Lizard held him up in front of his maw. “Dude--” Peter choked out. “Two words. Breath. Mint.” 

[burglarhobbit]

favourite mcu characters (6/6): peter parker.

Spider-Man is not a party trick!