Upside-Down

Chapter 21

Tony clears his throat after the pancakes arrive. "Hey, Pete, I understand this might be a tough subject but—"

Peter starts shoveling food into his mouth. At first Tony thinks it's to avoid the statement, but then the kid nods. "Go ahead, I'm listening," he says through mouthfuls of food.

"Okay..." Tony hesitates. Its his fault for giving a kid who's half-starved food. "Umm..." he pauses. He hasn't felt so awkward... he sighs. The kid might be a murderer, even though he didn't seem the type. He has to find out. "I did some research into your uncle."

The kid gags. Apparently not the subject he had thought it was. "Listen, Mr. Stark, what happened—"

"Just let me state what I know," Tony interrupts. "Your Aunt was away. You were away. A... a robber shows up at your old house. Your Uncle tries to calm him down..." He trails off. He doesn't want to make this any harder on Peter then it already is. "Robber runs. Cops know he's in warehouse. They go to warehouse. They find him dead."

"Mr. Stark, let me explain..." Peter has put his hood on, trying to hide his face from any passersby. "I... I understand if you don't want me as you intern after this..."

"Peter—"

"Just let me explain." Peter takes a deep breath. "I had just gotten my powers. I was freaking out. I wasn't really thinking of what I could do for other people with them, just... just for me." He drowns a piece of pancake in syrup, hesitating before he continues. "I went to some street fights. There was a man there. He seemed shady, even for the other people there... I just let him go. He had weapons, Mr. Stark." Peter begins to choke up.

"Later I came home. May was there. She was crying. An officer told me the news. I got really, really angry. I didn't—" Peter cuts off, shoves pancake in his mouth, and looks back up at Tony. "I asked the officer where the robber was. He told me. I chased after him."

Tony watches Peter as the boy looks away, trying to be like Cap, to set aside feelings to be able to judge the boy accurately... it's a struggle for him.

"I went to the warehouse. I saw his face—Mr. Stark, it was the same guy—" Peter jerks his face back at Tony. "I was so mad, I shoved him as hard as I could. I didn't know the extent of my powers then... he went through the window. I ran." The kid wipes his face with his sleeve. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark," he sniffles, "I didn't mean—I didn't know—"

"Kid, calm down, its was just an accident—"

"No, Mr. Stark, Second Degree Murder is still a life sentence! I'm a goner—"

"Kid, calm down, please. He was a bad guy, who knows how many people--"

"No, Mr. Stark—" his voice drops as someone passes. "I killed someone. I am a murderer."

"Pete, it wasn't your fault."

"No, I'm a murder." Peter shoves his plate away, eyes guilty, terrified.

"You think any of the rest of us haven't done what we needed to do?" Tony's voice rises. "Steve was in Nazi Germany. I was a prisoner in Afghanistan, Nat is an ex-assassin, and Clint is too. Bruce—Bruce is the Hulk. Wanda and Pietro were on Ultron's side. Vison knows what has to be done. Thor—you haven't even met Thor. He used to conquer other worlds for kicks."

"Mr. Stark, you're not getting this." Peter sounds pleading. "No one deserves to die. People can change."

"Mistakes get made."

"I can't—"

"Kid, it's okay." Tony can tell he's made a mistake when Peter gets up, and before he can do anything, the boy sprints outside, swinging his backpack. Tony hadn't even realized he brought the thing inside.

"He runs away like a son." The waitress drops a check on the table, and Tony can tell the boy is gone. He sits back, rubbing his temples.

Tony gets up after a few minutes. The check has been paid in cash. He has leftover boxes. "Friday?" he speaks to his glasses, "I'm going to need info on Peter. Tell Steve and--"

"Peter returned to school, Boss. He walked to a security camera and said that if you still want him, to come pick him up from school fifty minutes after the bell."

"Of course, I still want him—"

"May I suggest texting him, Boss?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Tony sighs, getting into the sports car. "First I need to excuse Peter's absence. Where's his school?"

When Tony arrives at Midtown High, the office clerks quail. "Hey," he says, regaining confidence. "I need to excuse my kid's absence."

"There aren't any Starks—" one woman begins, but Tony interrupts her.

"His name's Peter Parker."

"Oh... poor kid," she mutters. "Are you his guardian?"

"We're figuring out the papers," Tony says, confidence slipping. She looks surprised, but He should've thought—

"I can't help you, sir. You can only ex—"

"It was for work. The other absences where excused—"

"This is only for part of the day. Not a trip. Come back when the paperwork is finished, sir."

Tony spins on his heal, inwardly groaning. "Friday," he mutters as he leaves. "Get that paperwork figured out."

"Yes Boss," she chimes as Tony marches into the sun. He sees a kid in the window sit up and look at him, nudging someone else. He ignores them. He's mad at himself for breaking things with Peter.

The kid felt fealty to him because Tony saved him from the street, gave him a home, pays for everything, upgraded his hero-level, and at first Tony hadn't known why he'd done it. No, he'd been intrigued by the spider powers. But now... in a few short days, that boy had turned everything in the Tower around. He liked the kid because he reminded Tony of himself.

Tony drives back to the tower, not answering questions, locking himself in his lab. He didn't even notice Pietro and Wanda chuckling behind their hands. He begins to work, and he doesn't look up for a while. When he does, he jumps to his feet, swivel chair toppling behind him.

One of the Ironman suits is spray painted pink, black and gold. It's covered in a pink leopard pattern, with black and gold graffiti letters spelling out: Team Fish.

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Ta-da! I didn't lie.

Another chapter, tell me, are you Team Fish, or Team Ironman?

I hope you guys are having an awesome day.

See you all next week :D