Chapter Text
This had not been a part of Peter’s plans.
It was his senior prom, and his girlfriend would be expecting him to show up to this dance. He knew MJ would understand if he had to go out as Spider-Man to save people’s lives, he just wasn’t sure if this qualified as an acceptable excuse.
He turned to Happy. “Why is Miss Potts not doing this?”
The man sighed, eyes still locked onto the door in front of them. “Pepper is representing the company, not Tony.”
CEO duties, right.
Peter was trying not to fidget and failing, but he felt that it was fairly understandable given what he was about to do.
“And no one else would be able to represent Mr. Stark?”
Happy hesitated before taking a folded paper from his suit pocket and handing it to Peter, not making eye contact. “No one else legally can.”
The statement had Peter freezing in place. He hadn’t realized it was more than a stepping in, this was legally binding.
With trembling fingers, Peter slowly opened the tri-fold paper. The crisp paper and neatly typed lines all tied together by a single grand signature. Tony Stark. And at the top was Peter’s smaller signature.
Happy sighed. “Kid, you did read all the pages, right?”
Peter had skimmed all the pages. There had been at least 50 of them he had to go through and sign!
“Not carefully,” Peter admitted, eyes locked on Mister Stark’s signature. “Are-“ He looked over at Happy. “Are there other documents similar to this one? Like- That put me in charge of things during emergencies.”
Happy wouldn’t look at him. “You should probably reread those documents later. Pepper has copies of the records in her office.”
Peter didn’t get the chance to protest as the head of security pushed the doors open.
Cameras were flashing, and the table of Avengers had a single empty seat waiting. He was sure most of them expected The Tony Stark. But Mister Stark was in a medically induced coma as Doctor Cho was frantically working to remove the magnetic bullet.
Peter wished he didn’t have to do this. That Mister Stark was okay.
But he couldn’t change what had already happened. He had to move forward.
All of his mentor’s training was rather useless in this field, The Stark Snark was only tolerated because of the money and power that backed the billionaire. Instead, Peter tapped into his Spidey Sense. Slip into the confidence of Spider-Man.
He let the adrenaline for a fight flood his body, bring him to the edge, make every move intentional.
“Who are you?” A voice broke through the shuttering of cameras and Peter paused, turning his attention to the reporter that had spoken up.
With the confidence of Spider-Man, Peter gave her a smile with a touch of sass. “Is that really your sole concern in a nationally televised meeting on the topic of balances and checks for heroes?”
He didn’t wait to let her finish, continuing to walk toward the table.
“You’re far too young to know anything about true power or responsibility to be knowledgeable about the accords.” It wasn’t one of the reporters, it was a general. General Ross, Peter’s memory supplied for him.
Peter realized the smile had slipped from his face.
Letting out a breath, an almost laugh, Peter brought the smile back. “I think I can understand now why my mentor thinks each and every single one of you is a remorseless manipulator.” Peter didn’t let his smile falter or grow, just sit. “But now I can see what you really are.”
He continued walking. “Scared, desperate people who want nothing more than safety and security.” He stood at the table, looking out at the crowd of reporters and generals, and politicians.
“And you’re willing to rip that away from anyone to secure it for yourself.” Peter tilted his head. “You speak so grandly about responsibility while excusing your own neglect and selfish errands. I promise you that the America I know has no room for anarchy as it does not for tyranny.”
Finally, he sat at the table, letting Spider-Man sit confidently and in control. The plan was simple. Represent Tony Stark’s perspective on the Accords.
The irritation and incredulous looks he was receiving from the attending members was slightly validating. Being irritating was Spider-Man’s greatest weapon. It pushed others to be reckless.
The leader of the talks was Pepper Potts, much to Peter’s pleasant surprise.
“We welcome you all today to the discussions regarding the accords. The legality, reason, and reality.” She spoke with the confidence and power that Peter had seen over and over again in the women in his life. Aunt May. MJ. Gwen. It was inspiring to be sitting beside her.
Miss Potts turned to the table. “In attendance, representing those whom the accords affect primarily, are the Avengers.” She met Peter’s eye but made no noticeable move or expression. “Captain America. Black Widow. Falcon. Hawkeye. Scarlet Witch. Vision. War Machine.”
She had skipped over Peter as she moved from Vision to Rhodey. But Miss Potts was clever. “Standing in for Iron Man, as his legal representative, Mister Stark.”
Mister Stark?
Was Peter speed running adoption right now? It felt like he was speed-running adoption.
Miss Potts cut through the loud clamoring response to that announcement. “Any and all questions, comments, and discussion are in regards to the accords and none else. This gathering is being recorded as well as being broadcast live, with the intent of being used for ongoing international negotiations and cases within the United States of America’s Supreme Court.”
Don’t ask off-topic questions, this is being recorded for the judge.
Peter felt the nervous level tick up at the realization that this was a legally binding procession. Anything said here could be brought up in court, and result in his involvement with court cases.
No pressure. He really should have read that fine print more carefully. Or maybe just have burned the entire stack and do his own thing for the little guy.
“We’ll begin with statements from the two heads of the Avenger team, Captain America and Mister Stark.”
Well, it was too late to back out now.
Probably trying to be an honorable Boy Scout, Captain America stood first. “Our country was built off of the primary principles of freedom and the freedom of choice. When the government begins to interfere, reason gives way to paranoia. We’ve seen the absolute corruption and destruction that occurs when we place too much control into the government’s hands. The corruption of SHEILD. The government’s assessment of threats and non-threats.”
Peter thought that was a funny thought. Accusations of paranoia while being paranoid. Though, he supposed, pro-registration was also done in paranoia.
“There must be a balance,” The Captain continued, “But the Accords are not a solution. They’re cages and collars that will only lead to corruption.” The man’s jaw was tense like he was trying to keep himself from grinding his teeth. “We are people just as much as any other individual you might find on the street, or living next door, or working beside you. We have the right to live without constant surveillance and restrictions.”
The man took a breath in, and Peter noticed that the man’s hands were shaking a little.
“There are those of us who want to live private lives or have private lives. Our names, identities, and connections could put people we care about in danger.”
Peter did his best not to react to that statement. Secret Identities kept civilians safe and battles impersonal. His mind flashed to the Vulture. The villains who know you are the ones that can break you.
“And there are those who, if they wished to retire, to vanish from the public eye and the constant threat of injury and death, would no longer be secured in anonymity.” The Captain seemed to be thinking about someone, in particular, Peter could see it in the fire behind his eyes. “Who is to say that those identities couldn’t be discovered or hacked? Identities leaked and exploited? Why should we trust our freedom in the hands of another when that freedom truly only matters to their life?”
Captain America stood tall and regal, nothing like the PSA’s Peter had seen throughout his school years. This was a soldier, not a champion. He’d come out of war disenchanted by the horrors and pain it brought.
“The Accords are only the beginning of a slippery slope.” The Captain’s expression was hard. “Today It’s registration, but how simple would it be to become so much more? Today it’s heroes, but does that mean that all people with powers need to be registered? But then there’s an imbalance because then there’s people whose minds are brilliant. And if we’re going to include the smart with the powered, what of the resourceful?”
The man was a rather impassioned speaker, speaking with sincerity and emotion. Peter wished this was the Captain America he could have seen in those videos. He would rather see sincerity than a righteous script.
“The Accords are dangerous.” Captain America nodded. “But it is not just for those it affects now, but what precedence it sets for all the laws to come.”
The man sat down, and Peter was grateful to have been sitting at the same table. This was the Captain America the people had relied upon, the honesty and integrity. And Peter himself agreed with quite a few of the man’s points, he felt the Captain made a fair argument. He also knew Tony Stark’s opinion was quite the opposite, but Peter couldn’t help but agree with his mentor as well.
Peter stood, letting Spider-Man shine through. “I am here in representation of Tony Stark’s word and honor.” He paused, letting the words sit for a moment before continuing. “The world is full of people with the power to make a difference. Whether it’s with the mind, or the arm, or the superpower.” Peter motioned to the Avengers sitting around him. “People who want to change the world and protect what they care about.”
Now for the caveat.
“But this world isn’t full of selfless people.” Peter paused. “And people striving to do the right thing can do incredible harm.”
He was probably not doing his mentor’s opinions justice, but Peter was going to do his best.
“We’ve seen in Sokovia, good men and women try to do what they thought was right.” Paused were very good for dramatic effect, Peter needed to use these when he was quipping in battle more often. “And it resulted in 177 fatalities and over 474 billion dollars worth of damages.” Peter didn’t let the numbers sit this time, continuing with a hard voice, “And those are only the initial damages. In a single city. In less than 24 hours.”
This time he let the words sit.
Let them soak it in.
Consider the words.
Now push.
“Good people intending to be good is not enough when the lives of cities; nations; continents; and even at times the entire world; are on the line.” Peter hoped that he was getting Mister Stark’s thoughts correct. This was legally binding after all. “The world needs the Accords simply because we cannot trust that every person is good, nor that any person can know the best solution to any given problem. Every people is unique and thus their problems and troubles are unique. The world cannot rest on a handful of individuals, much less a single person.”
Peter sat back down, not waiting for the silence. It was the silence that he left in his wake.
He sounded so cool sometimes. Most of the time he was a nervous wreck, but Peter hoped that he had enough karma points in the bank to get through this meeting.
The meeting had gone pretty well in Peter’s opinion. He only had to take a couple of times, and the rest of the conference was filled with him staring generals and reporters down. A passive-aggressive attitude was not difficult for Peter to achieve.
With the close of the conference, the Avengers made their way to the commons, while the rest of the attendance was ushered in the opposite direction - out. Technically that left him with the Avengers - the same ones who didn’t know he was Spider-man and didn’t know he existed before today - but it would be fine. Most likely.
The Avengers seemed to be working with the buddy system. Scarlet Witch and Vision. Falcon and Captain America. Hawkeye and Black Widow. Rhodey had left with Pepper. Where was the room for Mister Stark? His mentor wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, but vulnerability was not on the table. He wouldn’t look or ask for a partner. Did they know that or did they ignore that?
They were all conversing with each other, but Peter could feel their eyes flicking over to him. They didn’t have a clue who he was. As Spider-Man or Peter Parker. Peter Stark? He still wasn’t clear on the whole speed-running adoption thing.
Captain America was the first to finally address him. “You speak pretty well, kid.”
Peter shrugged, as he rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. “I felt a bit like a seal in the circus, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
“Formal little thing, aren’t you?” Hawkeye looked amused, but there was a sharp curiosity hidden under the amusement.
Technically wasn’t wrong but felt a little condescending. “You’re a rather nosey old thing, aren’t you?” Peter countered, the snap in his voice a little harsher than he attended.
Falcon barked out a laugh at that, slapping Hawkeye on the back. “There’s the Stark Snark!”
Peter flushed and ducked his head. “Sorry, been rather stressed about this whole ordeal.”
“You’re Tony’s representative.” Captain America stated though it sounded almost like a question. “You were speaking on his behalf, correct?”
“Well, that’s what a representative does.” Peter waved a hand. “So, yeah, I spoke on his behalf. He’s unavailable right now due to some complications.”
The Captain paused on that last bit but he continued his line of thought. “What you said was Tony’s thoughts on the matter.”
Peter huffed. “Again, that is what a rep is supposed to do, so yes. I shared Mister Stark’s perspective on the Accords.”
“Do you agree with him?”
Peter stopped.
The question was probing. Maybe just simple curiosity or potentially searching for a side or looking for divisions.
“I don’t think that matters in the conversation, Captain.” Peter forced himself to try and keep his voice level. He was half successful.
Falcon snorted. “So you don’t agree with Stark?”
Peter took a breath in before turning to face the Avengers. “I shared Mister Stark’s perspective on the Accords. And though it shouldn’t matter to you, my thoughts are not his.”
“So what do you think, kid?” Hawkeye pressed.
Were the Avengers supposed to be this annoying and nosey?
Peter closed his eyes for a moment before he spoke in the calmest voice he could muster. “You’re all wrong.”
That earned a snort from Falcon. “Guess that settles the problem then.”
“But?” Black Widow was measuring him with a careful gaze, waiting for him to continue.
“But,” Peter shrugged, tucking his hands into his pockets, “You’re all right.”
Hawkeye snorted, crossing his arms. “Well, we can’t be both, kid.”
“Can’t you?” Peter huffed. “You can do good things for bad reasons. You can do bad things for good reasons. You can do good things for good reasons and get a bad result. You can do bad things for bad reasons and get a bad result.”
He shrugged. “For arguing that the world isn’t black and white, everyone seems to make a lot of extreme arguments. They ignore the flaws and let their egos imbue their perspective.” Peter gave a grin. “What’s the phrase? Moderation in everything?”
“Then what’s your proposal?” Hawkeye was still unimpressed with him.
Peter felt a prickling of irritation. “I’m not in charge of the laws, I haven’t thought too hard about solutions that no one would care about.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I mean, I could make something up off the top of my head? Like, amending the accords in regards to recording and keeping of data.” That’s kind of like what they do for Fort Worth. Only keep records on old tech so other people can’t access it with modern techniques. “Only written copies, bare minimum information.”
Peter’s mind flashed to Aunt May. His friends. MJ. “Or have programs created to protect and or move civilians connected to identities, maybe even provide housing and supplies for them if you’re going to treat them like troops.”
He waved a dismissive hand. “I don’t know. Hasn’t been something I’ve been looking into. But there are plenty of compromises that both sides could come in agreement with.” Peter then gestured to them. “Either way, you guys are the adults. Shouldn’t you be trying to figure this out like, I don’t know, adults?”
“Respect your elders, Underoos.”
Peter spun, “Mister Stark?!”
His mentor was covered in bandages. One that crossed over his left eye and several that wrapped around his chest.
Peter rushed over to his side, confused how Mr. Stark even was standing right now. “What are you doing up right now?! Where is Doctor Cho? Shouldn’t you be laying down right now?!”
“Tony.” Captain America sounded surprised, but the greeting was tame. “Your rep here has quite the brain on him.”
“My what?”
Either his mentor had forgotten about the conference or he’d forgotten about the paperwork - actually, neither option mattered. He had a head injury, any kind of memory loss was a massive concern.
“FRIDAY,” Peter demanded. “Where is Doctor Cho?”
The AI didn’t have to load any files. “Doctor Cho departed half an hour ago, and medical staff has been monitoring Boss.”
Peter tried to help his mentor, who was beginning to tilt. “Why did they let him leave the med bay? He shouldn’t be up right now after being shot three times.”
“You’re right. He shouldn’t.” Miss Pepper Potts was speaking with her voice of disapproval, only a single step up from disappointment.
Tony turned to face her, leaning against Peter to keep his balance. “Why was the kid representing me? He shouldn’t be dealing with any of the technical stuff until he’s 18.” The scathing and accusatory tone in his voice was unrestrained and Peter could visually see Miss Potts prickle.
“Because you were shot, Tony.” Miss Potts was close enough to poke Mister Stark in the chest. She didn’t, because there were bandages there, but Peter could see the verbal poke. “The Accords Conference was tonight and when you were shot your only legal representative was your intern.”
“It was supposed to be emergencies only!”
“You were shot!”
“He’s not even had training or lessons in handling the press, Pep! We can’t just throw him into the wolves den!”
“You and I both know that he’s more than capable of taking care of himself, Tony!”
“Say that to the empty medical kit!”
Divorce speedrun? Peter quickly discarded the thought. Not helpful, nor technically correct. Mister Stark hadn’t proposed yet.
“Mister Stark?” Peter cut in, letting all the nerves from earlier out. Maybe it made him seem a little more innocent and fragile, but it wasn’t technically manipulation. Well, it kind of was, it just wasn’t malicious. “Your voice needed to be heard in that meeting. Every side is important, right?” He fidgeted with his shirt. “I mean, if I did it wrong, and didn’t say what you think then-“ It wasn’t like it wasn’t true. Peter was terrified of saying something wrong and attributing it to Mister Stark. The man didn’t deserve that.
“Kid.” Mister Stark cut him off, letting out a weary sigh. “I highly doubt you would have said anything damaging. You literally can’t do worse than me.”
Is that a challenge? Peter cut off that thought. Again, not helpful, especially if he was trying not to irritate Mister Stark.
“Are you sure I didn’t do it wrong?” Peter hated that he didn’t have to play up the anxious tone in his voice. “You weren’t even there.”
Miss Potts placed a hand on his shoulder. “Peter, you were brilliant.”
“There.” Mister Stark nodded. “You carried on the Stark presence when I couldn’t.”
Peter was only 56% sure he wasn’t about to burst into tears.
“Either way, the conference was recorded.” Miss Potts continued. “And I’m sure that clips are already circling. You’re very well-spoken.”
Mister Stark seemed smug. “Perfect. Then we’ll just have to rewatch Mini Stark at his first conference.”
That percentage had just dropped to 17%.
Miss Potts quickly turned on Mister Stark. “Oh no, you don’t, Sir I’ve-been-shot-and-been-in-an-induced-coma-for-3-hours-and-decided-to-get-up-and-walk-around!”
The back and forth bickering resumed and Peter’s ears caught the faint whisper from behind him.
‘Are we watching a family spat?’ That was Hawkeye whispering.
Falcon snickered. ‘I didn’t know Tony could be such a dad.’
Rhodey’s sigh said enough.
‘Wait, so is he really Tony’s kid?’ Hawkeye’s whispers were more stage whispers than actual whispers.
‘There certainly is a resemblance.’ Vision hummed.
Black Widow snorted. ‘Not every white brunette male looks the same.’
Scarlet Witch spoke after a moment of hesitation. ‘So how old is he really?’
Captain America didn’t speak, but Peter could still feel their gazes on the back of his neck. The man was likely trying to size them up. Or, rather, to size Peter up. Size? That particular idiom would be the perfect setup for a pun to use on Antman if he were ever to see the other hero again.
“-May is going to murder me, Pep.”
Peter’s attention snapped back to the back and forth between his mentor and the CEO.
Miss Potts crossed her arms. “Tony, do you really think I wouldn’t have called her beforehand? I actually think ahead.”
Peter had completely forgotten that his Aunt May would be watching. And it would only be a matter of time before his classmates saw the video clips if they hadn’t already been watching it live. Everyone would still be at prom, but by class tomorrow everyone would have seen it.
“MJ is going to lecture me isn’t she?” Peter buried his face into his hands and groaned. “I ditch her on prom night and then act as the spokesmen for a billionaire. She’s going to put passive-aggressive news articles and posters on my locker again isn’t she.”
Mister Stark patted him on the back. “You better find a way to make it up to her. Girlfriends hold grudges.”
“Tony!” Miss Potts smacked his shoulder and then quickly rushed to apologize. Mister Stark gasped in pain and began to double over as he clutched his shoulder. She quickly grabbed him, keeping him from falling over completely.
Peter quickly helped stabilize his mentor. “You should probably lay down. What with having been shot a couple of hours ago.”
Huffing, his mentor rolled his eyes, but Mister Stark let them move him onto one of the common room couches.
Honestly, Peter just wanted to sit down on the couch and make sure he could still hear his mentor’s heartbeat. And he should probably also text MJ.
-
Someone from his school had been reacting live to the conference on Twitter because they didn’t have a date to prom. And of course, he was tagged in over half of the tweets.
There were only 5 texts from MJ.
Peter? Are you okay?
You better be Spider-Maning and not bleeding out in an alley somewhere in your spandex.
What are you doing in the conference?
Mister Stark?
Confidence looks good on you. And your debate skills suck.
And upon reflection, looking through those signed documents, Peter regretted ever touching a pen. Mister Stark believed in him far too much.
But it was also nice.
(Also - he was right about the adoption speedrunning thing)
(and Mister Stark cried when he saw how Peter presented his argument)
(and Peter was not the one to apply a strange adhesive to the bottom of every Avenger’s mugs)