Spider-Man: The New Avenger

23

Peter's POV:

I slip on my hood, entering the compound. I take the elevator up to the penthouse, getting nervous by the second.

As I leave the elevator, I immediately head to my room. Though just my luck, I have to walk by the living room.

I try to quickly walk past it, looking down the whole time. I was hoping no one would notice me, but Parker Luck is a bitch.

"Hey, Pete! How was school?" I hear Tony's voice. I curse under my breath, as I stop in my tracks.

"It was good. I've got a lot of homework. Better get to it." I say, the hood hiding my face the whole time.

"Hold up. What happened?" he asks. I mentally groan, not knowing what to do.

"Nothing, why?" I reply, nervously. Everyone else is closely watching the situation.

"Turn around." he says. I slowly turn to face him, still keeping my head down.

"Take off the hood." he says. Shit.

"Why?"

"Just the take off the damn hood." he repeats. I slowly lift my arms, slipping off the hood. I hear multiple gasps, as I keep looking at my feet.

"Who?" Nat asks in a deadly voice.

"I just tripped and fell down the stairs. It's not a big deal, it'll heal in a few hours." I say, trying to defuse the situation.

"Not a big deal? You're bleeding, Pete. Who did this?" Tony says, his voice stern. God, I don't want to deal with this, right now.

So instead of answering, I just roll my eyes and turn around, heading to my room. When I enter, I close and lock the door.

I drop my bag to the floor, walking over to the mirror. And holy shit, that really doesn't look like it's not a big deal.

I have a back eye, and 3 more bruises covering my face. My nose and bottom lip are both bleeding.

I slowly take off my shirt, softly wincing in pain. My whole upper body is covered in bruises and a few trickles of blood.

"Fuck's sake."

I examine every bruise, doing my best to clean up the blood from my face and body. Flash didn't hold back this time.

Of course, it was 4 against 1. Very honorable. Though if I wanted to, I could easily deal with all 4 of them in a matter of seconds.

I hear a knock on my door, making me roll my eyes. I slip my shirt back on, throwing away all the bloody tissues.

"What? You came to interrogate me again?" I ask, walking over to the door.

"Baby, it's me. Please open the door. I'm worried." Wanda's voice sounds from the other side of the door.

I sigh and unlock the door, opening it to let her in. She steps inside and I close the door, as she places her hand on my cheek.

"What happened?" she asks, softly. I sigh, I really don't want to lie to her.

"It was just a kid at school. I'm fine, honestly." I reply. She sighs and nods, still staring at my busted face.

She then hugs me tightly, making me feel every bruise on my body. Sure, I love her hugs, but now's not the best time.

I fail to cover my wince, which she unfortunately hears. She immediately pulls away, giving me a worried look.

"What? Did I hurt you?" she asks.

"No, you didn't. It's just.." I reply, though not knowing how to form the words. So I just reach for the hem of my shirt, taking it off.

"God, Pete. Who the hell did this to you? I'm going to kill them." she says, softly running her fingers over every bruise. It's a very soothing feeling.

"Wands, I'm Spider-Man. I've been through worse." I say. She shakes her head, not having it.

"It doesn't matter. This happened at school. Who did this? I need a name." she says, sternly.

"You know I won't give up the name." I reply. She just sighs.

"Why are you protecting them? They beat the shit out of you, for fuck's sake!" she says, raising her voice.

"Wanda, please. Can we not do this, right now?" I ask, pleadingly. She scoffs, turning away. She walks to my bed, stopping to think for a few seconds.

"Peter, please tell me their name. I just want to help." she pleads. Why can't she leave it alone?

"Well, I don't need your help! I'm fully taking capable of taking care of myself! Now please, the door is there." I say, pointing at the door. That's when I realize what I said.

"Wanda, no, please. I didn't mean it. Wanda!" I call her name, but she's already out the door. I watch her as she walks to her room, slamming the door behind her.

"Fuck!" I close the door, turning around and resting my back against it. I bang the back of my head against the door, sliding down to the floor.

Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut? I should've just kept silent. Maybe she would've given up at some point.

I know she's worried about me, but I can't give her Flash's name. She'd most likely do something she'd regret. No one wants that for her. Especially me.

I keep running other possible scenarios of what would've happened if I reacted differently, or not at all. At some point, I finally stand up and walk to my closet.

The idea of a shower sounds really good, right now. So I strip out of my clothes and walk to the bathroom, grabbing a towel.

I place down my towel, stepping into the shower. I turn on the water, adjusting the temperature.

I step under the water and close my eyes, letting the warm water run over the bruises. I softly run my hands over every bruise, feeling the soft stinging.

I soon step out and dry myself, before wrapping the towel around my waist. I leave the bathroom and walk to my closet. I slip on a pair of boxers and my under armor suit.

I order Friday to open the window, walking over to it. I crouch next to it, looking down.

"Friday, please tell the others that I'll be back in a few hours and not to worry." I say, before jumping out of the window.