Chapter Text
Peter Parker was absolutely exhausted. He was always exhausted lately, which was understandable.
By day, his name was Peter Parker. He was a highschool student at Midtown School for Science and Technology, going there as part of an academic scholarship because it was a very expensive school. Peter Parker went through the same struggles as everyone else at Midtown. Girls, grades and bullies were a constant in his life.
He waited in the obnoxiously long lunch line for a scoop of whatever “casserole” the lunch lady had made. He was shoved into lockers whenever the school bully, Flash Thompson, decided he looked like a target. He spent time in the library with his friend Ned, geeking over Star Wars theories. His palms went sweaty on the rare chance a girl would look his way.
He was just Peter Parker. He was a pale, skinny, orphan. He was a chemistry and physics genius. He was a kind nobody. Peter Parker was a normal, teenage kid.
By night, when Peter would decide to throw on his red and blue spandex, his name became Spiderman.
Spiderman was the protector of New York. He would swing around the city using chemically engineered webs, sticking to any skyscraper that crossed his path. He had enhanced strength and senses, making him stronger than most. He had the ability to stick to surfaces like a spider would, crawling upside down as he pleased.
He used his powers for food. Usually that included stopping bike thieves and helping old women cross the road. Sometimes, if he was really lucky, someone would rob a bank and he’d intervene before the police arrived. Those were nights he found exhilarating. Spiderman was strong and unbeatable.
Peter liked using his powers for good. He knew what it felt like to be powerless and scared. He knew what it felt like to lose a loved one. He put his life on the line every time he put on the red and blue costume. Sometimes he got hurt- from either underestimating his opponent or just regular clumsiness when swinging 30 feet above ground- but it was worth it. Personal cost didn’t matter as long as he was able to save someone.
***
Peter wondered how his weekend would be going if he had chosen to sleep in.
If he had slept in, he wouldn’t be in the middle of Times Square wearing his Spiderman suit. If only he’d soaked in a few more hours of peaceful rest, maybe he wouldn’t be facing off against a 15 foot rock monster.
But there he was, getting his ass handed to him by a big pile mindless of stone.
The rock monster, who he had dubbed Pebbles, wasn’t as stupid as Peter initially assumed. Upon surveying the rock monster for the past 30 minutes, Peter discovered that it didn’t seem to have any binary life. In fact, it seemed to be nothing more than artificially constructed rocks that were being controlled. He wasn’t sure who or what was controlling Pebbles, but it was always a step ahead.
Peter shot a web towards the nearest building and propelled himself forward, narrowly dodging the boulder that was thrown his way. The hero heard the whoosh of the rock as it flew inches away from his head, before crashing into the road.
“Phew! That was close,” he breathed heavily, swinging upwards. “You know, Pebbles, if I didn’t know better I’d think you were trying to kill me!” Of course, Peter didn’t expect a response. That was probably the worst thing about fighting a giant rock monster, that they didn’t respond to any witty comments. It made fighting them boring.
The monster roared in response, tossing his fist in Peter’s direction. The boulder soared two feet above him, not nearly close enough.
“Not even close, Pebbles! Not that I should expect anything less. You know, considering you have a rock for a brain, right?” The vigilante called out. However, the telltale sound of his web snapping caused the smile to slip off his face. Peter didn’t have time to react before the web had snapped and he was hurtling towards the ground.
He reached out to the builders, willing his fingers to latch onto something. But he couldn’t get a solid grip on anything. His fingers burned as they scraped against the cement walls, trying to stick desperately. The hero only succeeded in slowing himself down, before he hit the pavement.
Peter’s vision of New York’s sky blurred. His back and head sent red, blaring signals of pain throughout his body. “Shit,” he muttered, inhaling sharply. “Ouch.”
Pebbles’ roar was muffled by the ringing in his ears. ‘ So it’s smarter than I thought,’ the teenaged hero thought to himself as he attempted to push himself upright. ‘ And I’m more off my game than I thought. Guess that’s on me for not eating before a fight.’
Peter had been off his game for nine months, after his Aunt May had died from a heart attack. Since then, Peter had been on his own. He had been in foster care briefly when his parents died, before Aunt May and Uncle Ben took him in, and he wasn’t going back to that hell. Because of that, Peter had become frail. A source of food was scarce, especially with his insane metabolism. Without constant meals, his body became weaker than he’d like.
Peter was just pushing himself off the ground to jump back into battle, when a shadow of enormous rock cast over him. He had just enough time to glance upwards at the stone-faced monster, before a fist of boulders was swinging down at him. The teen had just enough time to shield his head before the rock came crashing down on him. However, the blow never came.
Repulsors shot at the monster’s rocky fists. Pebbles let out a roar, reeling back in pain from the fiery blow. It took several steps back, fist cradled to its chest protectively. Peter’s head shot upwards as he felt his stomach drop.
The Avengers.
Peter had done his best to avoid all interactions with the team of superheroes, after they tried to capture him during their first meeting. He heard the words “threat” and “bring him in”, and knew that the Avengers were not his friends. SHIELD wanted to detain and run experiments on him, and the Avengers had been given orders to bring him in under any circumstances. Because of that, Peter tried to stay as far away from them as possible.
However, in the circumstances of defending New York, sometimes that wasn’t possible. This wasn’t the first time he and the Avengers had arrived at the same fight. Those were the worst, as Peter was busy fighting off two sources of attack; from the good guys and the bad guys.
He jumped to his feet as Iron Man flew above him. “Oh, hey, guys,” he greeted, even though he knew there was no point in being friendly. “I actually have this taken care of. I appreciate the help, but really, you can head back to your big, bougie tower!”
“It looks like you have it taken care of,” the robotic voice of Tony Stark responded flatly. “Clint, take down Spider-boy.”
Peter didn't hear a response, but his Spider sense warned him sharply. He hit the ground just as an explosive arrow burst where his head had just been seconds ago. He let out a breath. “That wasn’t nice.”
He heard a humorless chuckle. “Wasn’t trying to be,” Clint Barton replied. He already had drawn another arrow by the time Peter was on his feet again. The arrow fired in his direction, causing Peter to spring out of the way again.
Spiderman shot a web upwards and swung away. He had almost escaped when another arrow snapped through his web. “Awe, come on!” He exclaimed as he landed on the ground again. “Too many close calls today.”
“Rough day, Spidey? Why don’t you just come home to our bougie tower and take a nap,” Clint said. A small part of Peter wanted to consider the hero’s sarcastic comment, even though he knew they’d probably strangle him in his sleep. The things he would do for a peaceful sleep.
Still, he pretended to ponder the older hero’s words. “Now, if you had thrown in a hot meal I’d be all yours,” he shot back. “But I, surprisingly, do like my freedom. So I think I’ll have to pass!”
Just as the words had left his mouth, he felt a sharp pain in his calf. It was a burning, splintering pain that caused him to let out a cry and lose his grip on his web. Peter landed on the roof of a low building. He instantly drew his leg to his chest. An arrow was lodged in his leg, the metal point coated in blood after having cut through his flesh.
There was blood already starting to drip down his leg from the wound. Peter drew in a sharp inhale at the sight. “Oh God,” he breathed. He shot a web around the wound to contain the blood, but he knew he needed to get it checked out ASAP.
Faintly he could hear the roar of Pebbles. He figured the other Avengers had their hands full with the rock monster, which meant he needed to get lost before they wrapped that up. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes wouldn’t take long to take down an artificially intelligent pile of minerals. If only he could just ditch Barton…
As if he had spoken out loud, an arrow latched itself onto the surface of Peter’s roof. Hawkeye leapt onto the building softly, eyes trained on Peter. He had his bow drawn and was on the attack.
“Shit,” Spiderman breathed, as the eyes on his mask expanded. “You’re back!”
Hawkeye snorted. “You won’t lose me that easily, kid. I’m a trained spy,” he said, stalking towards the other man. “In fact, you won’t escape us again. You’ve caused us some trouble tracking you down, Spidey, and SHIELD isn’t impressed.”
“Yeah, because I’m going to hand myself in without a fight?” Spiderman questioned, limping backwards from the archer. “No thanks. Why won’t you guys just leave me alone? I haven’t done anything to you.”
“You’re a threat, kid. You’re a superhuman with enhanced abilities. We’d be stupid to let you run around town unchecked,” Hawkeye responded, getting closer with every step. “You could make it easy for everyone if you just let us do our job.”
They walked further and further back until Peter’s heel hit the edge of the rooftop. He subtly reached for his web shooters. “Where’s the fun in that?” He asked, before flinging himself backward. He did a backflip off the roof and then shot his web onto a nearby street lamp. “Besides, by that definition, aren’t half the Avengers threats?”
Hawkeye yelled something at him as he attempted to follow the other hero, but Peter was too quick. Within just a few seconds, he had swung a block away. He scaled the nearest tall building and looked back. Hawkeye was still on the original rooftop, his eyes scanning the streets. He’d never find Peter so far away. He had escaped again.
The teenager leaned back onto his back, letting his body relax for the first time all day. He was weaker and slower than usual, and fighting made him exhausted. It was only eight in the morning and he was ready to collapse for the day.
The pain in his calf was more noticeable now that he didn’t have adrenaline pumping through his body. He glanced down at the arrow. Clint Barton really knew the perfect arrows to use. This one wouldn’t kill him, but it hurt like a bitch. And he knew taking it out would be even worse.
“Now or never, Spiderman,” Peter muttered to himself. He grasped the arrow with both hands and squeezed his eyes shut. “Can’t walk into school with an arrow in your leg. If that doesn’t scream suspicious…”
He didn’t let himself finish his sentence before he was ripping the arrow out. He bit down on his bottom lip to keep from yelling out and drawing the Avengers’ attention again. “Holy crap,” he whispered, throwing the arrow a few feet away from him. He quickly webbed up the wound again, which would hold until he could get proper bandages.
Aunt May used to fix his wounds. As long as he could explain it as a bullying or mugging incident, he’d go to her. She always knew what to do and often had painkillers, though those didn’t affect him anymore. Now fixing everything fell onto Peter’s shoulders, and he wasn’t very good at it.
The sixteen year old looked forward. He could still see the Avengers from a block away, but he knew they couldn’t see him. He could see that the Avengers were just finishing. Pebbles was wrapped up by a street light, bent by the Hulk to contain him. The team was unscathed and flying out again. Pebbles was being loaded into the Quinjet by Black Widow, Hawkeye and Captain America. Meanwhile, Iron Man and Thor were already flying back towards the Avengers Tower.
The young man let out a sigh of relief. His run-ins with the league of heroes was getting harder and harder to escape. It was only a matter of time before they caught up to him. Peter just hoped it wasn’t anytime soon.