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four
AFTER A DEEP, extensive search on the 'Spider-Man', Tony and Elena traveled together to Queens later that evening.
Tony was driving his Audi, and it was nice, but Elena found the seats too stiff and the leather irritating. She much preferred Tony's older cars, but the man wanted to impress.
"So, what are we doing for this kid?" Tony asked Elena, sharply turning right onto a street. He drove recklessly; Elena's fingers were sore from gripping the car door so tightly. "Like, you got a suit for him or are we keeping him in his onesie?"
The embarrassing truth is, when Elena first heard of Queens' hometown hero around four months ago, she began her own secret project. Because she had a lot of time to herself, she'd taken it upon her to design the web-head a new suit—his homemade one was quite awful. She was able to do this because Tony had taught her how to use his tech, and as she thought herself a little bit more fashionable than the man, she worked with FRIDAY to make the suit.
When she told him this, he raised an eyebrow. "You made it? I may have to look over it, make sure the tech is correct." Elena rolled her eyes.
"Tony, I learned from the best, do you really think my work is anything less than perfect?" Elena laughed loudly at the many memories she had of working with Tony in the workshop as a young child, fumbling with expensive gadgets. Tony smiled despite himself, happy to see a glimpse of her old self: happy, and carefree.
"But all of it at once might overwhelm him, and he's still just a kid," he mentioned, and it made sense to Elena. She was surprised when she read that Peter Parker was only 15, like her, and a self-proclaimed superhero. As much as she admired that, she was also puzzled as to why he'd want to give up a life of normalcy and safety for a life like her own.
Elena didn't respond to Tony, only staring out the window as she watched the buildings fly by.
Nearly half an hour later, Tony pulled to a stop next to an apartment complex. As she exited the car, Elena couldn't help but smile up at the building. It was adorable, about ten stories high and well-worn. It looked cozy, like a real home, where you could raise a child and walk to the city for work. She envied this Peter Parker, and this only made the growing lump in her stomach sink deeper into her gut.
As they rode up the elevator, Tony asked, "Remember the plan?"
"Yep. I'm Elena Strong, here with Mr. Stark to take Peter on a retreat for the internship he's been accepted to for the September foundation. It's only a couple of days, and it's in a luxurious cabin in the wilderness, where there's no cell service." Elena recited. They'd discussed this on the plane ride over from Vienna.
