The Secrets of Petra (Parker) Stark

11

2018 (still)

As Tony, Natasha, and Rhodey flew back to New York, Tony did some research on the "Spidergirl" of Queens.  She had been active for just under eight months, but from the videos that Tony had found, the girl was a relatively skilled fighter with good reflexes. Unfortunately, she was pretty much dressed in sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and a ski mask, so he would have to give her an upgrade. Good thing he had been working on a Spidergirl suit for quite some time. 

Tony had been able to trace Spidergirl's identity to one Petra Parker, a student at Midtown School of Science and Technology, top of her class in fact. She was fifteen years old and lived with her aunt in an apartment complex in Queens. Tony had been unable to find a good picture of the girl because poor Petra seemed to have the worst of luck when it came to picture taking. 

Once they arrived in New York, they all parted ways to prepare to bring Steve and his gang in. Tony went straight to Queens. 

Tony knocked on the Parker's door. A woman, Petra's aunt he guessed, answered. After getting over her initial shock and seeing Tony, the woman said, "Hi, Mr. Stark. Can I do something for you?"

"Yes, actually. Would this be the Parker residence? I'm looking for Petra Parker."

"That's my niece," the woman confirmed. "Why don't you come in." She opened the door and led Tony into the sitting room. "I'm May, by the way."

"Tony."

"Can I get you anything?"

"No, that's alright. Now, uh, straight to business. As I'm sure Petra has informed you, she applied for the Stark Industries Internship program-"

May furrowed her eyebrows. "She hasn't mentioned anything of the sort."

"Oh, my apologies. She must have meant for it to be a surprise. Since the cat's out of the bag, I might as well tell you, Petra has been accepted. She has actually been accepted for months now, but one of my employees lost the files. I'm here in person because there's a training for the internship program this weekend, overnight at Stark Tower, starting this evening."

"Oh, wow. That's very soon."

"I know." Tony pulled out a packet with a description of the program that he just created an hour ago and some permission slips for May to sign. "If you could read through that and sign that you approve of the program. As soon as she arrives, she can pack a bag and we'll head right over."

"Of course." May glanced at the clock. "Petra should actually be here any second now if you would like to meet her."

As if on cue, the lock on the door to the apartment jiggled and the door opened with a slight creak and then was closed. "Hey, May," came the voice of a teenaged girl.

"Hey," May responded. "How was school today?"

Tony could hear the sound of a bag dropping to the floor. "It was okay. There's this crazy car parked outside-"

Petra walked into Tony's view and for a second, he froze. He knew she was fifteen, but gosh she was young. The girl wore a white shirt and a dark blue hoodie. She had shoulder-length brown hair, just a shade lighter than Tony's, that was tied in a messy ponytail. What really caught Tony's attention, however, was her face. It felt familiar. 

Tony shook himself out of his thoughts. He had work to do. "Ah, Ms. Parker."

Petra Parker took her earbuds out of her ears and walked towards Tony. "What- What are you doing he... Uh, hey! I'm Petra," the girl stammered.

"Tony."

"What are you... What are you doing here?"

"It's about time we met. You've gotten my emails, right?" Tony winked at her.