Believer

1. Friends

"Friends come and go like the waves of an ocean..."

Peter woke up groggily, taking a moment to realize he was not in his bed, in his room, or in his apartment. After another second, he remembered he was staying at the compound with the rest of the Avengers over the summer.

And Doctor Strange was joining them, labeling himself as Peter's personal bodyguard as apparently he was in 'grave danger'. Peter chuckled, remembering his reaction when Doctor Strange showed up at his aunt's apartment.

oOo

"Peter Benjamin Parker, I've been waiting for you." Said the figure casually lounging in Peter's chair at his desk. The figure stood and stepped into the light, but Peter had already thrown the lamp when he recognized who it was. The ceramic object smashed against the doctor's chest and he fell back onto Peter's bed, spinning his chair into the wall.

Peter took hyperventilating breaths as what just happened clicked in his brain. He didn't recognize who this person was, but he was in a costume so he was either a hero or a villain - no one else was crazy enough to wear something like that.

The only other person to dress like that, might be a fan of some sort. Of course, Peter Parker didn't have fans.

"Who are you?" Peter hissed, grabbing a book that was underneath the lamp and holding it like you would a bat or an actual weapon. The figure groaned, and Peter stepped closer. "Who are you?" He growled, and the older man looked up at him with sigh.

"I am Doctor Strange, and I'm here to protect you. Kindly put down the textbook on trigonometry." He explained slowly, and Peter responded by putting the textbook on his desk. If this guy tried anything else, he still had spidey strength on his side.

"So... what, what do you mean?" Peter crossed his arms, but not before turning on the light. He was terrified to ask what the man had been doing brooding in the dark. Can you say stalker?

Dr. Strange stood and his cape fluffed itself in anger - on its own. That was interesting, but Peter refused to ask about it. Yet.

"You, Peter Parker and Spiderman, are very important to the balance of this universe." Peter felt his blood freeze. This Dr. Strange knew Peter was Spiderman. Where was another lamp when he needed one?

"There is a threat to your life, and I am here to make sure nothing happens to you."

"Uh, there's always a threat to my life; I'm a superhero." Peter explained nonchalantly, though his mind was racing. What level of a threat would be needed for this guy to come to protect him, especially? "Besides, I can protect myself. And I'm staying with the Avengers all summer."

"I am afraid that even they may not be able to protect you. Someone far stronger than anyone they've faced before has heard about you. They will send people to kill you."

"I'm sure..."

"And even the Avengers may not be able to protect you."

oOo

So now Dr. Strange was staying with Peter and the Avengers at the compound for the summer. Peter had originally called Tony to get it sorted out so this Strange guy would leave him alone, but when Tony spoke to the weirdo he got all anxious and said if anything was targetting Peter he needed as many eyes as possible. Peter wasn't nearly as worried as the rest of the Avengers, after all, he was a superhero!

Sitting up in bed, Peter pulled on his socks. He'd slept in his jeans and tee shirt from the day before since he stayed up way to late 'touring' Stark labs. Tony had been showing him around before he got called out to deal with a 'team dillema' and left Peter to monkey around. Before the teen knew it, it was 3am and he was seconds away from passing out.

Hoping he didn't look too disheveled, Peter walked into the hallway and stretched. His room was in the middle of Tony's and Cap's, with Strange staying across the hall. After what happened last time Peter was there, he wasn't surprised they set up a bubble around him.

"Morning, kid." Peter turned to see Tony greeting him as he walked out. The man stopped and looked over Peter breifly. "Say... I didn't come back to the lab, did you handle everything alright?" He asked suspiciously and Peter smiled sheepishly. "Y-yeah! No mishaps, that place is great!" He sent him a thumbs up. "Great." Tony echoed, scoffing and continuing to walk down the hall.

"You ok to train today?" He asked, and Peter realized he was expecting to be followed. "Oh, yeah, of course!" Peter insisted, stumbling after Tony into the kitchen. The other Avengers were there, Vision and Wanda cooking while the others sat around nonchalantly.

"Morning, Peter!" Steve greeted him, and Peter grinned. He sat across from Natasha, which proved to be a mistake. She narrowed her eyes at him, before scoffing. "You barely got any sleep." She announced, turning eyes to Peter. "Uuh..." Peter coughed sheepishly. "I lost track of time." He admitted, and Tony laughed. "Naturally. This is as good a time as any to introduce your curfew for the summer."

Peter groaned. "Curfew? Are you serious?"

"And a few more rules, of course." Steve cut in. "Every day you'll train for at least an hour with Natasha and Clint, or Sam and Bucky. Then you'll practice mission safety with Tony and I. After that you can work on mastering your powers with Wanda. Of course you'll get some free-time as well. And, lastly, no patrolling on your own." Peter blinked at Cap before sighing. "Fine, but at least give me weekends free, or Ned will die of boredom."

"Deal." Tony announced. "And of course, I'll be with you over the weekends as well, so no one will need to worry." Strange announced, and Peter jumped when he realized he was there. Since when did this guy become immune to his spidey sense?

"Yeah, we'll need to put up some boundaries for this guy, too." Sam decided, eying Strange sideways. "First being, I get weekends without you, too." Peter insisted, and Tony frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" He asked, and Peter's shoulders drooped. "Come on, I can take care of myself! And I'll keep my communicator on me 24/7 in case something happens."

"Alright, fine." Steve cut Tony off before he could give the 'my job is to protect you' dad speech. Tony didn't look happy, but he agreed. Peter smiled, and got up to stretch. "So, are we starting training today?" He asked excitedly. Natasha nodded, but reached out to force Peter back into his chair. "Breakfast first, though." She demanded, and he nodded.

"And don't expect me to go easy on you."

TA DAAAAAAA!!!
Good start?

Hopefully this book will be all you guys are hoping for, and feel free to shoot some ideas my way!

Nice to see you guys again,

~Meow