WEB OF LIES [TRANS PETER PARKER]

nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Peter's POV

"Welcome back, kid! We were just talking about you," Tony greeted me as I made my way back into the main room.

I breathed a sigh of relief, glad to be back here where the spotlight wasn't just on me. Well, maybe it was for now, but soon people would move on.

"Uh, that's a lie, we were actually just talking about me." I noticed another new face, sitting on the couch. He was wearing a brilliantly purple jumper and twirling a - was that an arrow? - in his right hand. Tony rolled his eyes slightly at the comment. "Clint Barton. Hawkeye." He held out his hand and I slowly approached him. When I finally went to shake it, he said "Too slow" and instead gave me a high five.

"Uh, Peter Parker. Spider-Man," I said in the same fashion that he had introduced himself.

"Hawk, are you all set up?" Mr. Stark asked.

The new man nodded. "Well, yes. But first I need coffee. Anyone else want any? Pete?"

Tony interjected. "No, he's fine. We're a bad enough influence already. Besides, Peter, I have something I want to show you."

I frowned slightly. I was almost fifteen*, I was perfectly capable of drinking a cup of coffee. As odd as it seemed to say it, Mr. Stark was almost more protective of me than May, though each of them knew only one half of my true identity.

-

There was a knock on the door of my room, and I heard Tony ask, "How does it fit? Can I come in?"

"Yeah, come in!" I shouted from where I stood in front of the mirror, examining my reflection.

I could practically smell the dollar bills on my skin ((he sounds like a hooker oops)), could practically feel the weight of however many of May's pay stubs would've been needed to pay for this, but all that I saw was the form fitting red and blue suit.

It was a complete upgrade from the mismatched sweat suit I had been parading around in before. Scratch that - this was on a whole other level. I held my arms out, admiring the sleek design.

"Mr. Stark... wow. This is amazing, I can't- wow," I breathed, as Tony stood behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders. For once, I didn't flinch at his touch.

In fact, I was too in love with the suit to notice how it revealed all of the miscalculated waves in my figure. Because in that moment, as I pulled the mask down over my face, I wasn't Peter Parker. I was Spider-Man.

"How does it feel?" Tony asked, having to step to the side slightly as his height matched mine so closely that he couldn't easily peer over my head from behind.

"It feels like... like I could be a real hero for once."

He laughed at that. "From what I've seen, kid, you're already a real hero." He squeezed my shoulders and then let go, beginning to walk towards the door. "C'mon, let's give that baby a test run."

As I followed close behind, I was grateful to have the mask covering the grin that broke out on my face.

-

"Welcome to Clint Barton's fun-filled superhero showcase extravaganza, where we push your limits, to... to see what your limits are. Sorry, I'm still working on that title."

Everyone was gathered in this large warehouse-type room, and not only that, but we were all in costume. Tony had warned me earlier that the others wanted to test out my abilities, and my performance anxiety was starting to act up. Normally, I was 100% comfortable as Spider-Man, because even if I messed up, it wasn't Peter Parker. It was the super-guy in the red and blue suit. But here, everyone knew me by name. And these were no ordinary Joe's.