Chapter Text
Peter and Ned played thumb wars, waiting for the class to start when Mr. Harrington walked in.
“Class, quiet down,” After a few mumbles didn’t stop, he continued. “I have an announcement.”
The class obeyed because of their interest, encouraging the teacher to continue.
“A few months ago, Stark Industries held a raffle with the most prestigious schools. The raffle decided which institute they would reward with a tour of the Stark Tower,”
Before he could continue, excited whispers erupted from his class. Mr. Harrison struggled to contain them and resume his announcement.
“Quiet, please!” he sighed. “They picked out Midtown, and this is a wonderful opportunity for us.” the teacher pulled out two stacks of pink and white paper and instructed one of the students to pass them out. “The pink sheet is your permission slip, and the white is a nondisclosure agreement. Ms. Potts doesn’t want anyone spreading anything we learn, so that you will need the NDA. We will be going on Friday from 8:20-4:20, so expect to show up at school no later than 8:00. I need the sheets back by Thursday. It’s Monday, so you have three days to get them signed. Alright, now that that’s out of the way, have a good study hall.”
Mr. Harrington smiled, and the class burst into eager chattering and grins. Ned looked at Peter expectantly as they received their forms, widening his eyes and beaming.
“Peter, this is so cool!” He squealed, immediately scribbling his name where he was supposed to. “Did you know about this?” Ned shot his gaze over to meet Peter’s.
“No, and I don’t think it’s that cool; I mean, I’m there, like, almost every day.” he sheepishly tugged at his sleeves and signed his name on both forms.
“Do you think Mr. Stark knows?” Ned gasped dramatically.
“God, I hope not. Knowing Tony, he would try to show off in some way. I would hate that,” Peter buried his face in his hands. “But I think it should be fun to tour the whole tower.”
“I still don’t understand how you’re a superhero, but you don’t like attention,” Leeds shook his head, feigning disappointment.
“Well, excuse me for wanting to be a normal high schooler.” the brunette responded, making Ned scoff.
“Even if you weren’t half-spider, you’re, like, a genius. You got into this school by scholarship, dude.” he reminded his best friend, making the teen blush.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Peter turned and pretended to do homework to avoid eye contact.
He thought about how the tour might go. He didn’t necessarily know a lot of the staff, but he’d interacted with a fair amount. After he caught Toomes, Tony invited him over to the Tower. Gradually, as they got to know each other more, the billionaire grew more and more fond of the teen. When Tony found out about Peter’s at-home chemistry experiments, robotics, and the kid’s other unsafe hobbies, he insisted that if Peter was going to do science stuff like that, the teen should do it somewhere secure. This decision prompted the trend of Peter coming around whenever he wanted to do something in the lab, getting a bedroom for when work nights were exceptionally long, and a usual spot at the Potts and Stark dining table. Peter often felt like family when he was with the billionaire - how the man treated him with affection and the domesticity of their lives. Peter finally felt okay calling the man by his first name, which Tony had been asking him to do for months. He was comfortable with the man.
Peter came down to Earth when Ned snapped his fingers in front of Peter’s face. The bell had rung, and their school day was over. Peter walked out with his friend and went home.
Friday came sooner than Peter thought, and after a week of nearly avoiding Tony, he was on the bus headed to the Stark Tower. He and Ned sat at the front, MJ sitting across them alone. Peter was nervous but excited nonetheless; the chance Tony would interrupt them was slim to none. He was pretty sure the man didn’t even know the name of Peter’s school, so the teen would (probably) be alright.
“Puny Parker,” Flash said from where he was sitting behind Peter. “How’s your internship going?” His cronies snickered as Flash poked Peter’s head with a pencil. “Are you gonna introduce us to Tony Stark?”
“No,” Peter responded, trying not to incite more of Flash’s pride.
“Why not? I thought we were pals,” the bully pouted, laughing with his friends.
“Flash, sit down.” Mr. Harrison said from his seat, looking exhausted already. “Peter, stop encouraging him. If you just ignored him, he would leave you alone.” the teacher whispered. Peter didn’t try to argue with his teacher.
“Right. Sorry, Mr. Harrison,” he said, making his teacher smile softly and turn back to face the front window.
“Dude, that’s obnoxious,” Ned growled, playing on a GameBoy but still listening.
“Flash or Mr. Harrison?” Peter watched him play from over his friend’s shoulder.
“Both,” Ned scoffed, and Peter laughed.
The class arrived at the Tower, and students were getting more enthusiastic by the minute. Mr. Harrington instructed the students to file through the front doors orderly, but the students practically plowed him down to get through. The students, Peter being the exception, looked around in awe. MJ was too busy sketching to gape about the “fanciness” of Stark Tower, and Peter had been there enough not to be amazed, but he still admired everything at the Tower. It was incredible that he got the chance to go there every other day.
“Alright, all of you wait over there,” Mr. Harrington ushered the students to the lobby seats before going back to talk to the secretary. Peter could hear their conversation even over his classmates’ excited whispers.
“Hello, can I help you?” one of the secretaries said. Peter often waved or chatted with him when walking in, his name was Mark, and he was always charming to Peter.
“Yes, I’m here with Midtown Science and Technology.”
“Right, for the tour!” Mark pressed a button before continuing. “Alright, your guide is on her way. I have visitor passes for all your students; please line them up so I can hand them out. I have to program their names into the badges.” he smiled.
“Alright,” Mr. Harrington turned his attention to the class. “Everyone, please line up so you can get your visitor badges.”
One by one, all of Peter’s classmates got their badges. When he got up, Mark recognized him.
“Peter! Is this your class?” the secretary said, not loud enough for the rest of the class to hear. Peter nodded.
“If it’s okay, can I use my badge?” The lanyard held his ID - Parker: All Access - and key card. FRIDAY had facial recognition, but it was still good to wear the lanyard around.
“Oh yeah, of course. No problem,” Mark nodded, and then Peter moved so Ned could get his card. “Last name?” Mark asked, looking at his list.
“Leeds,” Mark typed Ned’s name and slid his white lanyard across the desk. Stark Industries lined the nylon strap. “Thank you,” Ned looked at the card like it was a block of gold.
After everyone got their badges, the tour guide showed up.
“Hello, everyone! I’ll be your tour guide today, so it’s nice to meet you. I’m Tracy,” she smiled, everyone’s attention on her. “Alright. I noticed you all have your lanyards on - good. Keep them on. If a security guard sees you without them at any time, they will escort you off the premises,”
Peter had seen Tracy around the labs before but had yet to talk to her. He was glad; he wanted a calm field trip, and if Tracy recognized him, he might not get that.
“Let’s get started. You all went through security when you came in, so we’re good to go,” Tracy smiled and walked toward the service elevator, class following. “First stop is floor 15. It is where new ideas are filtered through to the separate labs or offices. Floors 2-5 are for human relations, along with 46-50. We reserved 6-20 for theory and office work. There are office floors from 61-70 as well.”
Peter chatted with Ned in the corner of the elevator, and when it stopped, one of their classmates raised a hand. The class filed out, and Tracy said they could ask their question.
“What do the lanyard colors mean? Yours is brown, and ours is white.” the student pointed at her lanyard.
“That’s a great question,” Tracy smiled. “White lanyards represent that you are visitors. Mine is brown because I’m an intern. The colors show your access, and some also symbolize your job.” she explained chirpily.
“What does gold mean?” Flash raised his hand and smirked, pointing at Peter.
“Oh, gold is saved for the higher-ups like Dr. Stark and Ms. Potts. Other people like Mr. Happy Hogan and some of the Avengers also have it. You get full access with the key card.
Peter’s face got hot, the stares burning holes in his back, and he regretted using his gold lanyard.
“It’s rare to see someone around with the gold,” Tracy said before turning to walk again.
“Peter,” Mr. Harrington called from behind the crowd of students, and Peter weaved through them to get to his teacher. Ned fell back as well but didn’t follow all the way.
“Yes, Mr. Harrington?”
“Look, I know you’re an intern here; I saw the forms. Even so, I don’t think it’s acceptable for you to use that.” the teacher looked from Peter’s eyes to his lanyard.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” The teen was becoming more anxious by the minute.
“It would be best for you to use your original lanyard. Your brown one.” Peter took in a sharp breath.
“This is the only one I have,” Mr. Harrington’s lips formed a tight line.
“I’ll just say, Parker, I’m not the biggest fan of liars.” he put his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “You’re smart, Peter. I think you know that a 15-year-old wouldn’t be able to get full access to Stark Tower,”
“Oh,” Peter nodded, looking down at his shoes. “Right. I’m sorry.” he didn’t want to argue; he only wanted the day to be over.
“You okay, Peter?” Ned asked when his friend returned and saw Peter’s sad look.
“Yeah, it’s just that Mr. Harrington doesn’t believe that this is my lanyard.” he grabbed his key card and fumbled with it.
“What? That’s so dumb; he’s got no right to doubt you,” Ned scoffed, making Peter smile. He had the best friend in the world.
“Puny Parker,” Flash spat, walking over to the two with his friends behind him. “See? Our teacher doesn’t even trust you. Give up the lie already,”
“Shut up, Flash. It’s not a lie,” Ned responded, glaring at the bully.
“I was talking to Parker,” He said. “Not Porker.” Flash’s friends burst out in laughter, and he smirked.
“Piss off,” Peter pulled Ned, so they were closer to Tracy. She explained more about what the workers on that floor did.
“I know office floors aren’t exciting, but they’re crucial. Our schedule says we’ll visit the labs and go to lunch; then, we’ve got a chemistry and robotics workshop you can tinker with.”
Murmurs about being excited about the workshop filled Peter’s ears. He smiled at his classmates’ excitement and high-fived Ned. They would have fun.
For the most part, Flash left the duo alone. Apart from the occasional insults, Ned and Peter were left to their own devices, happily chatting and listening to Tracy. At lunch, they got to pick out a single item from one store, courtesy of Stark Industries. It was a cafeteria similar to ones of malls, different stores set up, with chains such as McDonald’s or Cane’s. Some local stores, like Delmar’s Deli, sold food there. Ned and MJ were waiting for Peter at a table as he chatted with his favorite vendor. His spidey sense went off, and he turned around to see Flash approaching, alone. The bully was smirking, which was always a bad sign.
“Hey, Penis. Why’s it taking you so long to get your food? Making sure the employees are still taking your bribe?” He sneered, stepping closer, so he towered over Peter. He always tried to intimidate the shorter student.
“Sure. Whatever you want to think,” Peter grabbed his tray and pushed past Flash, accidentally bumping his shoulder.
“You got a problem?” Peter fought back a groan and kept walking toward MJ and Ned, who waved when they met his gaze. The collar of his hoodie was grabbed, making Peter stumble backward. Flash gritted his teeth. “I asked you a question,”
“I don’t owe you a response,” Peter said, annoyed that Flash was nagging him in the middle of the cafeteria. “Also, you should stop bothering me. The Tower has cameras everywhere-“he was about to say something about how the workers could see Flash bullying him, but he stopped when his classmate put on a mask of fear.
“You’re threatening me?” His eyes glistened with crocodile tears. Peter sighed. Flash had often taken the victim role if someone caught him; that’s why he was still allowed on the Decathlon team, despite his vindictive tendencies.
Peter turned again and sat down with his friends, starting to eat. He looked down at his food, and Ned asked what had happened. He watched as Flash went over to Mr. Harrington and saw them both look at him.
“I was going to try and tell Flash that Stark Industries is very protective of their employees, but he thought I was threatening him. I don’t want anyone to make a big deal about the stuff he does, you know?” Ned nodded, and MJ shrugged. “I think he’s telling Mr. Harrington something about it. They both looked at me,”
Like clockwork, the teacher walked over and asked Peter aside. He rubbed soothing circles into Flash’s back and sat him down before turning to Peter.
“Peter, this is your second warning. I do not tolerate threats or bullying in my class. Do you understand?” Peter nodded, and his head felt heavy. “Even if what Flash says can be irritating, that doesn’t condone your actions.” Mr. Harrington wasn’t going to ask Peter’s side of the story.
“But-“Peter tried to explain. He hated when people were disappointed in him.
“No ‘but’s, Peter. Now, eat, and don’t bother Flash anymore. I don’t want to have to send you home early,” Peter breathed in shakily and sat back down.
“That looked like a very one-sided conversation,” Ned commented through a mouthful of food.
“It was,” Peter replied and continued eating. At least the workshop would be soon.
They spent half their 45-minute lunch chatting, interrupted by a loud whistle blow.
“Alright, everyone from Midtown High! We’re ready to head to our next stop, so please join Tracy and me.” Mr. Harrington took roll call, and they headed to their next destination, the workshop.
They designed the workshop for more dangerous tests, such as robot testing. It had explosive-proofed walls and doors with tiny windows. They didn’t want the building to collapse if a bot didn’t work as intended.
The beautiful welding sounds and the chemicals’ smell met them when they arrived. For Peter, those sounds and smells meant he was home. He was in the Tower. He smiled as he followed Tracy, who was explaining what workers often did in the shop. Another woman came over at Tracy’s call and stood next to her.
“This is Bailey. She will be your instructor for the shop. Ask her any questions if you have them.” Tracy smiled again and scampered off; Peter saw her chatting with other interns.
“As Tracy said, I’m Bailey. Our supervisors told us Midtown is a school of ‘geniuses,’ so our test today is to make a robot powered by your own battery. You will make the battery.” she went through all the safety protocols and demonstrated how and when to use the tools. “We have all of the materials you will need. Get in groups of 3-4; then, you can start. You have an hour.”
The students all scrambled and separated into their groups. Peter chose the obvious route, sticking to MJ and Ned. There were enough workbenches for each group; the trio decided on one in the back. MJ sketched a design for their desired robot. They wanted a simple prototype that could grab and bring things to you. They quickly decided on the measurements and how they would build it.
“Okay. Let’s make the battery and circuit first. Batteries use the flow of electrons from one object to another through a circuit.” Peter said the last sentence to himself.
“I’ll get the chemicals.” Ned left and came back with dioxide, carbon, and some lithium salt. They gathered all their supplies and started working, MJ and Ned building the base while Peter made the battery. It was surprising to see MJ work so hard.
He made a simple, rechargeable Li-Ion battery. He started with a polyvinyl chloride base, shaped in a rectangle, to hold the different chemicals. He quickly put together the battery, familiar with it because Tony had, multiple times, made sure Peter knew how to recharge his phone (or any necessary electronics) in case of an emergency. He saw Ned and MJ connecting the wheels to their robot. They had to code it and test everything, but otherwise, they had finished. They had half an hour left.
“What do you want me to help with?” Peter asked, making the two look up.
“I can start on the coding, maybe make some edges to make the bot look more modern or something,” Ned grabbed a laptop that Stark Industries provided for coding and got to work. MJ got a small piece of sheet metal for Peter.
MJ stopped paying attention, and Peter gripped a pair of snips. He figured he only had to cut a small piece; he didn’t need gloves. Flash passed through and slammed his shoulder into Peter’s. Peter’s hand slipped and sliced his thumb.
“Excuse me,” Flash snickered.
“ Ouchie protocol activated. Stay where you are until further notice. I have contacted the proper authority.” Tracy went to the front of the workshop and got everyone’s attention.
“I’m not sure what that protocol is for, but don’t do anything with the tools for now. Wait for whatever authorities FRIDAY contacted.” Tracy brought out her phone and sat back down, presumably checking what was happening.
Peter went to the door keypad and spoke into the microphone. The protocols Tony made for Peter often had names that made him seem like a baby. He didn’t want anyone to complain.
“Override protocol,” Peter said.
“Access denied.” She responded. He was about to enter the override password into the pad when Mr. Harrington placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Peter, sit back down. If you triggered this protocol, don’t try to stop it. Whatever you did, take consequences for your actions.” he seemed irritated.
“But-” Peter was interrupted when FRIDAY spoke again.
“Third warning protocol activated.” Mr. Harrington looked pissed.
“Peter! What did you do?! Go sit down, now.” He took a deep breath and sat down at his workbench.
Peter noticed his hand was staining his jacket, so he pulled the sleeve up and concealed the cut. Mr. Harrington started speaking to the class, but they looked shell-shocked. He turned around and saw Tony Stark in the doorway.
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but someone triggered two of my safety protocols.” The billionaire looked at the class through his sunglasses.
“Mr. Stark, we didn’t expect you here today!” Mr. Harrington said.
“There you are,” Tony mumbled with a smile and walked over to the teen. “Peter,” he pulled Peter’s hood down, and the student blushed, not wanting to be the center of attention.
“Mr. Stark, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what he did-” Mr. Harrington started, but Tony cut him off.
“Alright, I’m going to stop you there. We can talk later, but Peter needs some first aid right now.” he took off his glasses and tucked them in his shirt pocket.
“No, it’s okay, Mr. Stark. I’ll just put a bandaid on it,” Peter pulled his sleeve down further and looked from Mr. Harrington’s confused face to Tony’s amused one.
“Sure. You only call me ‘Mr. Stark’ when something’s wrong.” Tony took Peter’s left hand and rolled down the bloody sleeve. He dragged Peter over to a sink and told him to wash it. “I’d like to know why you didn’t help Peter sooner.”
“Oh, I didn’t know he was injured. He didn’t tell me,” Mr. Harrington started to look anxious while Tony turned and dried Peter’s laceration.
“Seriously, it’s not a big deal. Go back to work,” Peter could feel the eyes burning into his back as Tony stuck a gauze pad around his thumb.
“I’ll decide when I go back to work.” Tony patted Peter’s hand and turned back to Mr. Harrington. “FRIDAY, why was the warning protocol activated?” He kept eye contact with the teacher as she answered.
“The third warning protocol was activated after Mr. Harrington failed to properly care for his students while they were under his watch.” This notification made Tony look pissed.
“Oh, Tony, don’t trust FRIDAY. She’s biased. You should go, probably.” Peter stood next to Tony and started nudging him away with his foot.
“Peter! Respect him,” Mr. Harrington said, making Tony’s eye twitch.
“Okay. Harrington, tell me what you else you scolded Peter for today.”
“Well, he has a golden lanyard, and that’s not what he’s supposed to have. Then he threatened one of his classmates, abusing his internship here. And he tried to override the protocol he triggered because he was afraid to get caught.” Tony glared at the teacher and turned his head to talk to Peter.
“God, kid. I’m going to transfer you, I swear. Now, I want to hear your side. Let’s go,” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose before leading Peter out of the door.
“Bye, Pete!” Ned stood up from his stool, waved, and MJ flipped Peter off. Peter’s face turned red as Tony dragged him to another room.
“Dont transfer me, please,”
“I was joking.” Tony sighed and sat on a chair, motioning for Peter to do the same. “So, what happened?”
“I was wearing my lanyard, but Mr. Harrington said to put on my ‘real one,’ but this is my only one, and he called me a liar and stuff. Well, he didn’t actually call me a liar; he just implied I was one. Then Flash was being a little obnoxious, so I said that Stark Industries is protective of their employees ’cause I didn’t want him to get in trouble, you know? Then I, uh, slipped, and the sheet metal cut me.” Tony didn’t believe that Peter ‘slipped.’
“FRIDAY, pull up the footage of Pete getting hurt.” a screen showed up and played the video of Flash bumping into Peter. His face darkened. Before Peter could say anything, Tony walked back into the workshop.
“No, Tony,” Peter didn’t want a mad Tony to talk to Flash or anyone in his class. Tony, on the other hand, had known Flash insulted Peter. What he didn’t realize was that it got physical.
“No, Peter. You tell me these things, got it?” he raised his voice, making Peter shut his mouth immediately. If Tony yelled, you couldn’t change his mind. The students watched with wide eyes. “Harrington. I could forgive you for the first two screw-ups. Maybe you were just being cautious because you care about your students. Fine. But you don’t notice that one of your students caused my kid to cut himself?” he wrapped an arm around Peter and pulled him close. “He shouldn’t have to worry about being hurt while at school. When you fix your teaching skills, I’ll invite you back. Now, please excuse yourself. I do believe that your time here is over.”
Tracy gathered the class and escorted them, reminding them of their signed nondisclosure agreements. Tony pulled Peter into a hug and took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry I shouted at you. You’re my kid; I got protective. You deserve so much better than your imbecile of a teacher; I hope you know that.” Tony rested his chin on Peter’s head.
“Thank you,” Peter hugged him back tightly and smiled.
The field trip was better than he expected.