Spider-Man | Doesn't Need Help

CHAPTER 32

“Hey, kid.” I automatically looked up, hearing a voice I already knew very well.

Tony Stark was standing behind the security gates I had already passed through, clearly waiting for me.

“Good morning, Mr. Stark,” I said, not even trying to smile.

I didn't care about being particularly nice to the man, I was just trying to be polite.

The man smiled faintly, then stood sideways, waiting for me to join him. He placed his hand on the small of my back, which, as usual, made me flinch slightly. Fortunately, well, I was somewhat used to it by now, so my reactions weren't as obvious.

We set off in a direction I knew very well, or at least that's what I thought.

I was quite surprised when we didn't turn into the corridor leading to my work area, where I usually built the necessary robots, worked on my laptop, or did paperwork when asked.

To be honest, I enjoyed it. I didn't like Mr. Stark watching me work, but I loved doing those things. It might not have been as much fun as being Spider-Man, but it was still quite satisfying.

“You’re probably wondering where we’re going now, aren’t you, Peter?” he asked enigmatically.

I involuntarily rolled my eyes at his tone.

“Not really,” I teased.

Usually, I preferred to stay silent or agree to things, just to be left alone. But I did enjoy slightly irritating the billionaire.

The older man rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly, though I knew he wasn't offended. Or at least I thought he wasn't.

“Okay, okay. How are you, my favorite intern?” he asked, and I deliberately ignored the way he addressed me.

“Everything is fine,” I replied briefly.

There was a moment of silence, and I knew he was waiting for me to say more.

“Aren’t you going to ask how I’m doing?” he asked with obvious amusement.

I didn't even notice when the corners of my mouth turned up slightly.

“You know, I don’t want to be rude…” I started, turning my head towards him.

He did so too, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"...but I don't really care." I finished.

Stark frowned, but also smiled slightly.

He shook his head and turned back around.

"Oh, Parker, Parker." He laughed. "But getting back to you, you're here today because I see great potential in you. You're very intelligent for your age, and I've also noticed that you're smarter than the other interns who got in with you. Remember, these are mostly from the highest years, and you're in your first class, if I'm not mistaken. And yes, I even like you." After those last words, he stopped and looked at me seriously. "If you tell anyone this, I'll deny everything and sue you," he added, pointing a finger at me.

I rolled my eyes, and the man gasped in outrage.

“Are you rolling your eyes at me!?” He raised his voice slightly.

I smiled mockingly, then nodded slightly.

"Oh, you little..."

“There you are, Tony!” We both turned our heads to the left, where the male voice came from.

Mr. Stark didn't even move when he saw who was walking toward us. He was still pointing at me.

A dark-skinned, tall and thin man in a leather jacket and dark pants was walking towards us.

When he stood right in front of us, he looked at me with his hazel eyes, holding out his hand.

“James Rhodes.” He introduced himself as I shook his hand.

“Peter Parker…” I said uncertainly.

I didn't like meeting new people; I always felt insecure because I didn't know what I could do with them.

I looked at Mr. Stark, who was my only hope at the moment.

"Yes, he's one of the seven interns who got in. We were just walking to my lab together."

Tony Stark's laboratory?

Rhodes raised his eyebrows and then folded his arms across his chest, looking at the millionaire in disbelief.

“You’re taking this kid to your lab?” He emphasized the words “kid” and “your.”

I wanted to roll my eyes at being called that again. Tony Stark always called me that.

“Yes?” He asked rather than answered. “What’s wrong with that?”

The dark-skinned man shook his head, muttering something incomprehensible under his breath.

"Wait. You have an important meeting soon. Pepper asked me to find you and tell you this, because you probably forgot. And, as usual, she was right."

The billionaire stood still for a moment, then slapped his forehead with his hand and tilted his head back.

“I completely forgot,” he groaned.

“We know.” Rhodes laughed. “Here, Tones, ten minutes.” He glanced at me, winked, then turned and walked back the way he came.

I looked at Mr. Stark, who was looking at his watch.

"I can go back to…"

"If you want, you can do some work in my lab yourself. And as soon as I finish the meeting, I'll join you," he suggested, and my eyes widened.

He wanted to let me work alone in his lab?

"Really?"

"Oh, come on, kid, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." He encouraged me further. "Come on, I'll join you in three hours tops."

I really wanted to create something new, especially since I recently needed better equipment to do it.

Plus, being able to be alone in Tony Stark's lab without him constantly looking at my hands sounded like a dream come true.

“Okay…” I agreed, though still hesitantly.

I wanted to do it, but at the same time I felt a little embarrassed.

“Great.” He clapped his hands. “Come on, I'll take you there.”

We walked briskly toward the lab. Stark unlocked the code-locked door and we went inside.

My mouth dropped open in amazement, looking around the huge room, full of various objects, electronic devices, and in one corner stood Iron Man suits, next to which were floating holographic folders.

I was in my paradise.

Tony's laughter snapped me out of my trance.

“I finally managed to impress you with something,” he said proudly.

Unable to say anything, I nodded, taking a few steps into the room. Stark was locking something into one of the panels.

"The entire room is yours. The only thing you can't access are the folders on the armor. I advise you not to get too close to them." He leaned slightly closer to my ear, still gazing at his creations. "Some of them work on their own," he whispered.

I nodded. Mr. Stark spoke for a moment, then left.

I, on the other hand, got to work, suspecting it would take me longer than I expected.

POV: ???

“So how’s it going?” asked a very familiar voice.

"Everything is going according to plan. Should we go ahead with the final phase?" I asked, watching the cars passing by.

"Yes. In less than two months, he'll be ours," he replied calmly.

I wasn't interested in any of that. I only cared about one thing—paying off my debt.

Sometimes I wished I'd simply been killed that day. Paying off that debt was worse.

Much worse.