It's About Time

Epilogue

The following Monday, Peter walked into homeroom expecting Flash to yell out some comment he could just ignore.  However, Flash said nothing.  He just glared at Peter then went back to his conversation with his friends.  Peter was surprised, but said nothing.  He was perfectly fine with Flash not bullying him.  He had just assumed that since Flash hadn't remembered being yelled at by Tony Stark, he would continue his regular bullying.

"Peter!"  Ned called, waving from the back of the room.  Peter grinned and walked over to Ned.  "Dude, you missed out big time on Friday.  I mean, I know you go there all the time, but still."  Ned told Peter about the tour their the intelligence offices and then how they got to watch Natasha fight Steve and Clint.  Ned had found it the coolest thing while Michelle just rolled her eyes.

"It was cool,"  she agreed.  "But not as cool as Google."  Peter didn't say anything, but he silently agreed.  Google was just too amazing to top.

"Alright, everybody,"  Mr. Hanley called.  He did roll and started their regular homeroom routine.  Michelle read the entire time and Peter drew caricatures in his notebook.  Ned nearly fell asleep, but Peter nudged him to make sure he stayed awake.

* * *

As it turned out, Flash not bullying Peter was only a homeroom thing.  He continued to mock Peter in the halls and make insulting comments every now and then, but Peter did nothing.  He figured as long as he could just ignore Flash, he wouldn't provoke him enough to get punched again.  His dad had said if that ever happened again, Peter would have to switch schools.  He didn't have to return to homeschooling, but he would be leaving Midtown High for a place where he wasn't getting bullied.  That's why Peter thought it was an accomplishment when he went the whole day without getting punched.

"How was school?"  Tony asked as Peter climbed into passenger seat of the suburban.  "Did that kid bully you more?"

"Yeah, but it was just comments,"  Peter answered, fastening his seat belt.  "I ignored them, though, and he stopped making them after lunch."

"That's progress,"  Tony said, pulling out of the parking lot.  Peter nodded.  "Oh hey, I was thinking: your cover about being my intern has inspired me.  What would you think about Stark Industries opening up internship opportunities for high school kids?  We already have a few for college grads, but if I opened it up to high school kids then your cover would seem legit and more kids could come experience the Stark Industries lifestyle."  Peter chuckled, but it did sound like a good idea.

"I think it would be good,"  Peter said.  Tony nodded, obviously off in his thoughts for a moment.  When he snapped back to attention, Peter continued.  "What were you thinking it would entail?"

"Coffee runs,"  Tony replied.  Peter rolled his eyes and Tony chuckled.  "Just stuff like filing, answering phones, stuff like that.  Basic intern things."

"Have you talked to Mom about it?"  Peter asked.  He knew Tony tended to get an idea and not consult Pepper first.  Sometimes that caused problems.

"She was actually the one who came up with the idea,"  Tony admitted.  Peter wasn't all that surprised.  His mom was all about renewable energy and making kids grow up responsible.  Starting a high school internship at Stark Industries wasn't surprising for her.

They talked about what the internship could offer and how they would make selections all the way home.  They walked into the penthouse talking about it and only stopped when Pepper said Bruce was back down in the lab and had made a breakthrough.  Apparently he had shown up minutes after Tony had left to drop off Peter at school in the morning.  He had spent the entire day with a red band on his computer and only recently come running upstairs to tell Pepper all about it.  Pepper didn't have to say much more to get both Peter and Tony running down to the lab to find Bruce.

"Uncle Bruce!"  Peter called, opening up the lab door.  Bruce looked up from his work station and grinned.  He beckoned them over and began explaining what he had done.  Peter's generator had been just what they needed.  He had finished it and put the algae inside.  After making a few tweaks to the model, Bruce had left it alone for a few hours.  When he came back, the algae had produced so much energy the generator couldn't hold it all.

"Peter, you were a genius!"  Bruce exclaimed at the end.  He hugged Peter tightly then let him go to pull up the report he had sent to various science publishers.  He told them how he had come up with his theory and how he had worked on it.  He had told how Peter Parker, the son of a close friend, had been the one to come up with a functional energy harvester and therefore been one of the leading causes to his breakthrough.

"You're famous, Peter!"  Tony exclaimed.  Peter grinned.

"Everyone at school is going to wonder how I know Uncle Bruce, though,"  Peter said.  Bruce's grin dropped as he realised his mistake.

"Oh man, I'm sorry, Peter,"  Bruce said.  "I just wanted to make sure you got the credit you deserved."  Peter smiled and promised it was alright.

"Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"  Peter asked.  "Flash realises I'm close to the Hulk?  I think that would keep him from bullying me."  Bruce's eyes widened and so did Peter's.  He had forgotten Bruce didn't know about that.

"What?"  he exclaimed.  Peter and Tony rushed to tell him it was all taken care of now, Flash wasn't bothering Peter as much anymore.  It didn't seem to do much in relaxing Bruce.  "Well, then it's a good thing he'll see your name under my publication,"  Bruce said.

It took a month for the article to be published but as soon as it was, kids at school hounded Peter about how he knew Bruce Banner.  Peter tried to explain how he just knew him through his dad, but that only brought up more questions.  How did Peter's dad know Bruce Banner?  Why was Peter trying to avoid questions?  In the end, Peter just thought 'screw it' and told his dad he wanted to just go back to being Peter Stark.

"You'll get paparazzi following you everywhere,"  Tony said.  He didn't like the idea of Peter announcing who he really was.  "You will never have a private life again and people will try to be your friend just for the perks."  Peter shrugged.

"I can handle it, Dad,"  he said.  Tony still didn't like the idea.  "It's not like I don't know who would and wouldn't have been my friends anyway."  Tony finally agreed and they changed his name back to Peter Stark over Christmas break.  They also held Peter's first press conference to announce him to the world where Peter waited backstage with his mom until Tony raised a hand out to him.  Peter hurried on stage and stood beside his dad, smiling at the bright camera flashes.

"This is Peter,"  Tony told the reporters.  "And he's my son." 

* * *

The next time Peter went to school, it wasn't in the suburban and his dad didn't park in the far corner.  Of course, kids tried to be friends with him and Flash was nearly in tears as he apologised to Peter for bullying him.  He begged Peter to be his friend, but Peter refused.  Ned and Michelle were thrilled to discover Peter didn't want anyone else as friends and Michelle quickly scared off anyone that tried to push their way into Peter's friend circle.  Peter had asked his dad multiple times if he regretted announcing Peter to the world, but he got the same answer every time.

"No,"  Tony said as he shook his head with a smile.  "It was one of the things that just showed you were grown up.  I generally try to avoid those."

The End!