Chapter Text
Peter Parker was thirteen when Tony Stark adopted him. He had lost his aunt and uncle in an attack, and since Tony Stark was a friend of Richard Parker, Peter suddenly found himself living with him. But Harley Kenner was already there. He was three years older than Peter and Tony's golden child. All the Avengers treated her that way.
Peter had remained mostly silent for a while due to the trauma he had experienced. When he finally began opening up, unfortunately, there was no one there to listen or to talk to him. Peter was a talkative kid. Especially when it came to technology or chemistry, he could talk endlessly—but no one noticed. Tony Stark hadn’t realized just how smart Peter was, even a prodigy. Bruce didn’t recognize how skilled Peter was in chemistry for his age. Natasha barely paid attention to him, while Clint wasn’t bad—he occasionally asked how he was doing, and Peter didn’t mind, knowing the man was busy. Thor, on the other hand, was usually lost in his own world, but Peter admired him, just like Steve Rogers. However, Steve always seemed to prefer talking to Harley. Thor was strange, but it wasn’t a problem. Whenever the god saw Peter, they would talk a little. That was enough for a while…
As time went on, even those who spoke to him occasionally began ignoring his existence. It hurt—truly hurt. And the most painful thing was that Tony Stark, the one he admired most, barely ever spoke to him. Legally, Tony was his guardian, but Peter knew it was only on paper. Harley ignored him as if he didn’t understand anything they said. But she was wrong—Peter understood everything.
Oh, and there was a bite from a school trip, a radioactive spider that had given him some powers. This happened before his aunt and uncle died. Peter tried talking to Tony about it, repeatedly, but he was ignored. Then Pepper got pregnant, and Peter’s presence in the tower was almost completely forgotten.
Peter didn’t know what to do with his powers, but he wasn’t stupid. If he tried to use them without understanding, he could hurt himself or others. So, when he decided to take his first step, he was fourteen. He measured how strong he was, how fast, how acute his senses and metabolism had become. Apparently, he could easily lift ten tons and likely much more. He could run at jogging speed for five hours without breaking a sweat (of course, if he ran faster, it would be less time but longer distances). His senses were extremely sharp—he could hear distant sounds and even detect the smallest danger. He called it his “spider sense.” His reflexes were phenomenal. His metabolism worked incredibly fast; he used to eat five times as much as before, but luckily the tower’s fridge was always stocked. His healing factor was impressive—he once broke his arm by accident, and it healed in two hours.
Peter measured, wrote down, and noted all of this. Two things remained: learning to fight and figuring out how to use the web shooters on his wrists. Of course, these would take time, but that didn’t matter. There was no need to be an unprepared hero. He would be ready for everything. The man he saw as a father, who didn’t want to be his father, didn’t listen to him. No one did. So Peter decided to get help elsewhere.
A few months after he turned seventeen, Peter hacked the SHIELD system and found Nick Fury’s personal number to call him.
---
Nick Fury wasn’t an idiot. When a stranger called his personal line, and he realized it was one of Tony Stark’s kids, he knew something was up. Normally, he would have informed Tony Stark, right? Well, not in this case. When he arrived at the location of the call, he found an abandoned construction site. The kid was already there.
“Mr. Fury, it’s a great honor to meet you. I’m sorry to use your personal number this way, but I didn’t know how else to reach you.”
The kid spoke quickly, and Fury sighed. A talkative child, yes, but Fury was patient.
“Kid, Stark or anyone else doesn’t know you’re calling, right?”
Peter shook his head, and Fury sighed inwardly. Something big was coming, he could feel it.
“Then let’s get straight to the point. Why did you call me?”
And surprisingly, Peter began explaining everything. Fury was secretly impressed but kept a straight face. Stark seemed unaware of the genius beside him—he was even more foolish than expected. Setting aside these thoughts, Fury focused on the kid. Peter clearly wanted to use his powers to help people. No one in the tower would listen, so there seemed to be no one to talk to about this. Fury perhaps should have informed Stark, right? Would that stop Peter? He didn’t think so. Plus, he was impressed by the kid’s determination.
“No one knows about your powers?”
Peter nodded and then smiled faintly.
“Well… I’m a ghost in the tower. I’ve tried telling Mr. Stark countless times… anyway, I want to do something useful. Can you help me, sir?”
Fury said yes. Screw Stark—the man was more irresponsible than anyone.
“Alright, kid. I think we can help each other, but we need to figure out a few things. You’ll need a costume. Give me your ideas, and we’ll make it for you. You’ll also get training at the facility and be part of a team. I have young heroes like you, and a fifth member wouldn’t be bad.”
Peter nodded quickly, already pulling a few sheets from his backpack.
“I’ve already thought about costume designs! Here they are. And I’ll say yes to training. A hero team… sure, that sounds fine.”
The kid was both excited and nervous. As Fury took the papers, he held out his hand to shake.
“Welcome to the team, Parker.”
Peter grinned widely and shook his hand. Fury noticed two things: first, the kid was seriously strong; second, he had a damn sunbeam of a smile.
“Thank you, Mr. Nick Fury! And… can I use your lab too?!”
Alright… how bad could it be?