Chapter Text
Peter was doing good for himself. After escaping a Hydra run base in the middle of a small town in Tennessee, he immediately hauled ass away from the compound, while keeping his face covered and using a fake name with anyone he talked to.
After days of traveling, he ended up in Queens, New York. He knew that Hydra was still looking for him, but he assumed it would take them at least a little bit of time to find him several states away, in a highly populated area where he could easily blend in with the crowd of people just living their everyday lives.
There was also the benefit of the Avengers living in New York. While it was a very last resort on his list, he had a feeling that if he came forward of Hydra base and information about what they were doing over there, they would listen to him.
That would mean revealing himself to them, though. He was already at the disadvantage of not being a normal teen, having spent most of his years being trained in the compound. Tied together with the fact that he was bit by a radioactive spider and can now climb walls, he had a feeling he would be trading one cage with another.
He had a feeling that the Avengers wouldn’t be so kind as to let him run free.
It took a while to get a handle on life, but he eventually found someone who could falsify documents, which let him at least put a name to his face. He wasn’t confident enough to apply for a job yet, not when he knew that HYDRA was still looking for him.
So he found an empty apartment that no one was currently renting out and settled down in there, one problem out of the way. The next glaring issue was finding out what to do with his free time. Back at the base, he had a clear schedule that he would follow every day of the week or get punished.
Everything in his life was always laid out for him. He had very little, if any, decision-making power. The difference between that and living his own life in New York was jarring, and Peter was going so fast that once he finally started settling down, it all came rushing over him.
Which is how Spiderman came to be.
Peter was slowly going insane just hiding away in his small apartment with the bare essentials. He had found a mattress and carried it up the wall and into the apartment, using the cover of night to keep from being seen. He also stole some basic groceries from the local corner store. He felt a little bad at that, but there were far worse things he did under Hydra’s command, so he let it slide.
There was also the guilt. The soul-crushing guilt as Peter slowly started coming to terms with the things he was forced to do under Hydra’s hand. It felt so normal back at the base. When his finger curled around the trigger of a gun as if they were made to do so, it was his whole word. There was nothing except for the commands he was given.
So he decided to do some good for Queens. Besides, he was itching to get some sort of physical activity in, slowly going crazy after going from working out and being active every day to now barely leaving his apartment.
It didn’t take long to gather the necessary supplies for his Spiderman suit. Sure, it was basic as all hell, but it would keep his identity hidden. Besides, the main part of the getup were the web shooters that he designed using parts that people threw away, as well as a chemical compound that he already had buried in his mind and only needed to call forward.
With each patrol as Spiderman, Peter felt like he was slowly becoming a person. He loved the feeling of air brushing past his face as he swung through the city. He found familiarity in the feeling of his fists colliding with faces as he pummeled bad guys. He tried to stray away from killing the people that he fought, but sometimes, they were bad enough for him to warrant it.
There were also some days that he felt an itch to his skin, begging him for violence. Peter dubbed the feeling 'Hydra Peter'. Needless to say, there were some days when he would brutally beat up the bad guys, leaving some dead and others wishing they could be. There was no guilt, not when he did so much worse under Hydra's hand.
At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.
All in all, being Spiderman was like a breath of fresh air. It gave him something to wake up for and gave him a sense of purpose in his life. And it was easy. Very few people could stand up to his super strength and spidey senses. He was also staying under the radar, keeping away from the bigger villains that he left to the Avengers.
Also, if the wallets of the assholes he took down occasionally were drained of their cash and made their way into his pocket, well, it was just karma for doing bad shit. So his financial situation was also pretty much handled.
Everything was going well. Until he caught the attention of the Avengers.
===
Tony sighed as he cleared away another digital file, just as useless as the previous one.
“Find anything yet?” Rhodey asked from the seat next to him, a Stark tablet projecting his own fair share of digital files to go through. It was late at night, with the dimmed overhead light illuminating the empty coffee mug sitting to Tony’s right, and a tea next to Rhodey.
Shaking his head, Tony pushed himself up from his chair. “Nada. I swear this Spiderman kid is an enigma. No accidental identity reveals, no familiar patterns, nothing.”
A strange look passed Rhodey’s face, one that makes Tony know that whatever comes out of his mouth next he’s not gonna like to hear.
“I think we might need to bring the others in to help us out.”
Tony shook his head before Rhodey had even finished talking. “Sorry, were you not there last time we met up? Pretty sure you ended up in medbay and the Avengers team ended up six feet under. It’s not happening.” His words were hissed out with anger that Tony felt coursing through his veins.
Thankfully, his friend knew better than to be hurt by the venomous words that Tony spat out. “Yes, but if Spiderman isn’t cooperating, this can become an Avengers-level threat. You don’t want Ross to get to him first, do you?”
Tony glared at his friend. “Don’t blackmail me by bringing Ross into this.”
“I’ll do whatever I need to get you to listen to me. My next option is to bring Pepper into this.”
He threw his arms up in the air in defeat. “Sure, call in the Avengers. You can deal with the fallout when we all gang up on each other and Spiderman dances on our graves.”
With that, he left the room with a dramatic huff, not wanting to be there when Rhodey called Steve. He knew, deep down, that the others could help them with this rapidly growing arachnid problem, but there was still that bubbling vat of anger that lurked within him.
He was already annoyed by this vigilante.
===
Peter was sitting on top of a tall building when he was approached by his first Avenger. It was a long night of stopping pesky crimes, and he was treating himself to a famous New York street hot dog when his stomach started rumbling.
It was a beautiful view. One thing he learned about New York is that it never truly slept. There were still many lights throughout the city, and he could make out people walking below him, oblivious to the vigilante watching over them.
Of course, nothing peaceful could last.
The little alarm bell in the back of his mind rang a couple of seconds before he could hear repulsors touch down on the rooftop a couple of feet behind him, not getting any closer. Peter lowered his mask back down over his mouth.
“Hey underoos, fancy having a chat?” Iron Man asks.
Head tilting to the side, Peter considered his answer. Back at Hydra, answering anything other than yes sir or ma’am would get him punished. He knew things were different now, but there was always a voice in the back of his mind trying to keep him from pain.
“Do I have a choice in the matter?” he decided to ask.
He could hear Iron Man, or Tony Stark, chuckle. He stayed facing the Queens skyline, trusting his senses to alert him if the man got any closer. “I mean, I don’t really want a fight, but I would prefer it if you said yes,” Tony admitted.
“Then start talking,” Peter commanded, feeling a rush of euphoria from defying someone of power. Maybe it was also the itching in his skin, begging him for a fight with someone who would actually hold their own against him.
“I’m gonna be honest, kid. I’m not having much luck finding information on you, so I wanted to try one last attempt before my colleagues have to get involved.”
Peter tensed at the mention of the other Avengers. It was public knowledge that the group had a bit of a falling out after the enforcement of the Accords, but he didn’t know they were back to talking again. For the first time since escaping, Peter was having doubts about choosing New York as a place to live.
“I thought the Avengers were fine with vigilantes.”
“They’re fine with vigilantes that stick to things like getting cats out of trees. You’re slowly involving yourself with bigger criminals and tend to be a bit more… violent… than we’d prefer.”
Peter hummed, finally looking over his shoulder towards Stark, who stayed in place. “Is that going to be a problem?” he asked, keeping his voice even.
“It will be if you keep killing people. Soon enough, you’re going to end up on SHIELD's radar, and I don’t really want that.”
“You want me to work with you,” Peter said, finally figuring out the true reason behind this all.
When Stark took a moment too long to respond, Peter knew he hit the nail on the head. “I’m not going to lie, it would be nice to have you under my payroll, but I mostly want you to stay out of anyone else’s payroll. Either way, you’re going to need to follow more laws than you currently do.”
“I’m not looking to work for anyone.” Just the idea sent a shiver down Peter’s spine. He did not work his ass off to escape from Hydra’s clutches to end up following another set of impossible-to-follow rules and regulations.
The Iron Man suit shrugged. “Well, now I can tell everyone that I tried. Good talk.”
A couple of seconds is the only warning Peter got before the repulsors power up on the suit, and a hand is aimed towards him. Peter sent the man a two finger salute before launching himself off the roof of the building, catching himself with a web mere feet before the ground, a huge grin on his face at the swooping feeling in his stomach.
He didn’t look back until he was safely in his apartment, chest heaving from the excursion. While it was fun to feel that familiar sense of danger, he knew that won’t be the last he hears from Stark, or any of the others.
===
Rhodey was cackling when Tony finally got back to the Avengers Tower. Tony threw him the worst scowl he can manage.
“Did you get any information?” he asked, stepping closer to peer at the screen that Rhodey had in front of him. While the conversation with Spiderman went more poorly than he had hoped, there was still a chance some good could come from it.
“Besides some amazing blackmail of you getting owned by a kid, nothing.”
Tony frowned. “You thought he sounded young too, then?” It was something that had been eating at Tony during their interaction. He had initially placed Spiderman in the early twenties range, but now he was beginning to fear that the vigilante may barely be an adult.
“One hundred percent. He’s not older than twenty.”
There was a contemplative look on Tony’s face as his eyes wandered around the room, a clear sign that he was thinking. “You know I hate to say it,” he started.
Immediately, Rhodey perked up. “Are you about to say what I think you’re about to say?”
Burying his head in his hands, Tony sighed. “I think you’re right. We might need the others’ help with this. Spiderman is already on the fenceline of morals, and I don’t really want to see what happens if he gets tipped into the wrong side.”