Chapter Text
Peter has always had poor vision, couldn’t see across the room, colors were dull and muddled, patches missing, his eyes shook constantly. It was worse after the bite, what little he could see through the cataracts(which grew) was impossible to focus on with his nystagmus. He could see vague blobs of color but nothing more.
That never stopped his science interests of course, he may not have been allowed to touch the chemicals by himself but he has memorized every possible combination and their outcomes, he’s theorized, bullied Ned into being his hands and eyes, discovered. It hardly affected his engineering at all, no live wires or soldering but he could build a clock with nothing but feel. Practice (and uncle Ben) allowed him to perfect those skills.
When Ben died, Peter blamed himself, he ran off in a fit to the corner store. It was one o’clock in the morning, he was tired and angry and scared. His world was darker than it had had ever been.
Ben was shot in that corner store, the bang of the guns mf the stench of blood a combination Peter will never forget. The warmth of Ben’s blood as he desperately tries to find and staunch the bleeding. Sirens and screaming and confusion.
Peter listens as Ben’s heart stops beating, as breathes fade and the sirens stop.
He never stops listening, to May sobbing after peters gone to bed, to the baby screaming down the street, the couple fighting next door, the young women screaming help or fire or whatever can get someone’s attention.
He listens.
And he Learns.
—— :p ——
They call him Spider-Man.
His eyes don’t work but the rest of his senses are in overdrive, including an extra one.
He uses the vibrations to make out objects, identifies people on smell and vitals, creates web fluid stronger than his natural webs.
He flies.
His world is brighter in the skies. He stronger. He can help.
—— :p ——
Eight months later when he’s freshly 14, Tony Stark picks him up to fight in Germany. Caps lost priorities. Didn’t read the fine print. It goes. Peter fights some people, get his identity discovered by Iron Man(Iron Man!!) and gets a new suit.
The new suit is way better than his track suit with goggle to protect his eyes. Built in AI, tracker, very helpful voices guides. Turns out an AI to help fill in gaps where sight is important is very helpful, colors, signs, visual descriptions.
Anyway, then he blows up the ferry. Stark is not happy, he demands the suit back, tells him to go home and stop Spider-Man. Peter is furious, but resigned.
He doesn’t need that suit. He didn’t then and he doesn’t now.
He finds Toomes, takes him down not before Toomes takes down that warehouse. He gets the suit back, alongside an actual internship, not for Spider-Man, he and Tony still can’t agree on his methods, but they flourish in the lab together.
Who he does find is are Mathew Murdock, aka Daredevil and Wade Wilson(The merc with a mouth, Deadpool, hottie, whatever you wanna call me- shut up Wade this is my backstory) And oh what a shit show that team up was. Two blind guys and an entirely unreliable narrator.(HEY! It’s true) but it worked out in the end barely. They didn’t team up frequently, but it was often enough they knew each other, styles, weaknesses, Mexican order(Wade pays, I’m not turning down free food). But DD sticks to Hells Kitchen and Spider-Man Has broader horizons.
Peter Parker and Tony Stark get closer, mornings spent with golden light spilling into the lab, warmth sinking into Peters skin.
Stark doesn’t make a big deal of Peters blindness, he makes more of an effort to keep the floor clear, labels smaller tool sizes, ensures Friday doesn’t let him blow himself up with chemicals, but other wise he’s free to do as he pleases. And he creates, he takes everything Ben taught him, everything he’s learned since, and he builds.
He revolutionizes prosthetics, creates more accessible computers for blind people, writes paper after paper on his studies, creates accessible lab starter kits for all sorts of disabilities. He’s not well known outside of science fields, but he’s on his way to the big names within it. His world is practically glowing.
He spends time with May, around Ben’s birthday Peter decides to rebuild Ben’s old clock for her.
She’s dead before it’s finished. Car crash.
Peter is thrown head first into the darkness again. He doesn’t have anywhere to go.
Tony takes him in, tells him he’s doesn’t want to replace Richard or Ben, but won’t leave him alone either. He stays Peter Parker, but he knows that he and Tony love each other like father and son. He’s ok with that too.
He mourns, leaned to move on, holds May and Ben and his parents in his heart. Lets their love fuel him.
Now he’s 16, doing his thing. Saving people and cats and helping old ladies.
Then of course, Nick Fury walks up to him after a fight.