Throwing Caution to the Wind

Chapter 27

Metal Man was seen 3 more times over the next few weeks. With the ventilation system now up and running, Peter was able to fityh him. But somehow, he always got away. Only S.H.I.E.L.D really had the ability to arrest him, and they were always too slow. and as close an eye as Peter tried to keep on him, the limbs disappeared and no one was anywhere near where it was supposed to be.Winter was finally settling in, and Peter was hoping that the cold would deter him, even if only for a few months. Unfortunately, there were reports of a large shipments of anti-freeze going missing, so his dream was dashed.

It was a peaceful Friday in late November and Peter was in the tower as usual. He and Mr Stark were currently in a competition to see who could design the better mini-robot. The aim was to build useful things that could be used around the lab. While the 2 enjoyed working on their suits, either together or apart, they needed someone to focus on, something with an end goal. And a competition was the perfect thing.

Peter was currently working on a small bot that would magnetically find and grab any screws that they dropped. It happened more often then they'd like to admit. It wouldn't be a massive problem if Mr Stark had better stamina. Last week he had fallen and hurt his back and was on bed-rest for a few days. And with Peter constantly changing in and out of his cloths and the suit, his foot was well aquainted with he feeling of the thread of screw after stepping on then a few too many times.

"Tony" came the voice of a furious Pepper from the doorway.

"What is it dear" Tony called from his workbench.

"We have that meeting now, and it's incredibly important you actually show up to this one" she said walking over and grabbing his arm.

"But what about the kid" he said stopping in his tracks and turning towards him.

"He can come, maybe then you'll actually behave" Pepper said already heading out the door.

The mentor and mentee looked at eachother and shrugged. They got up and followed her.

When they got to the meetings room, Peter recognized it as the meeting room that housed 'Mr Stark's Square Table'. He hadn't been here since he started working with the man.

The three of them sat down and waited for the others to arrive.

There were small electronic tablets that one could take notes or sketch on, so Peter grabbed one and started reformulating his webs. He now had something that worked with his taser webs, but it still lacked.

He was sketching away when he looked up at the sound of his name.

Turns out that everyone had arrived and they were waiting on him.

He quickly sent the formula he had written down to Friday and wiped the tablet.

Pepper started by talking about how they would need to market the Flood Vacuum. In the weeks he had been away, the first and second prototype were built and just last week they had a final product.

Peter took small notes but earned most of them. Marketing wasn't really his strong point.

"I think Peter should present it to the investors" Mr Stark said.

"I-what, sir, I couldn't possibly do that" Peter said caught off guard.

"Sure you can kid. I know that you haven't seen the thing yet, but pretty much all your ideas are in there" Mr Stark said placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Umm, you should probably get someone more qualified to do it, like one of the scientists that worked on it" Peter said nervously.

"Kid, the scientists wanted me to let you present it" he said reassuring him.

"Ok, I guess I could. If you an insist" Peter agreed reluctantly.

"Great" Mr Stark said clapping his hands together.

The rest of the meeting went fine. Peter zoned out afterwards since they started talking statistics and legistics.

One part that stuck out though, was the apperantly someone was selling unused and scrapped tech to some buyer named Ontobo. About 2 months ago, small amounts of unused or scrapped tech that was being sent to be taken apart and reprocessed had started going missing. Not only smaller things like scrap metal or spare wires, but it went as far as entire engines from the mechanical engineering department. While they didn't know the seller, they knew the buyer (Ontobo) was getting it for a hefty price. And they only knew this because one of the Stark employees investigating the case found a piece of paper listing it, and only that. They tried putting trackers, but apparently Ontobo had thought of that already because all the trackers no matter the size, shape or location, were always left in the same ditch on the side of a road. So far the case had been kept quite from the press.

When they finally left the meeting room an hour later, Peter was beat. He went to take a nap in his room. Mr Stark and Pepper told him they would come and get him when their food arrived. It was already 8 in the evening so he would at most get 30 minutes of sleep.

And sure enough, 30 minutes later he hobbled into the kitchen having been called by the sent of Thai food.

Dinner was a good time. Peter woke up again and was soon enough making plenty of jokes along with the other 2.

Then, it was time for bed. Peter was about to protest saying he was good for a movie, but Pepper put her foot down reminding him that he was a teenager that had just attended a meeting with a bunch of adults, and that anyone would be exhausted after that.

So he reluctantly headed to bed.

He brushed his teeth and went through his nightly routine and tucked himself into the incredibly soft king sized bed with the warmest blankets he'd ever felt.

He looked out of the massive window in his room. The moon was full tonight, not a cloud in the sky. The velvety darkness created a beautiful backdrop for the buildings to rest against. The windows of all the buildings blinking on and off. The sound of a siren in the distance. If he focused enough, he could hear the faint chatter of the nightclub a few doors down. The City that Never Sleeps. A sign of the apocalypse should be that New York was quiete. But he moved the noise, the constant chatter. It was home, his home, and nothing would change that. So with the imprint of the New York City skyline still on his eyelids, he fell asleep.

He woke up in a cold sweat. His pajamas were drenched in it. He opened his eyes fighting off the sleep that he so desperately wanted. He had just had a nightmare, he didn't need another one.

He walked over to his closet and got a warm black hoodie that Mr Stark had gotten him along with an entire new wardrobe for his room in the tower. He pulled it over his head and slipped out of his room.

He quietly, so not to wake anyone, headed towards the elevator.

"Friday, roof" he whispered.

"Right away Peter" she said back just as quietly.

Once on the roof, he took a deep breath of the crisp November air. The sounds were clearer up here, the moon brighter.

There was a small garden up here. A large grassy area surrounded by shrubs and flowers and a few trees. It was clearly and area meant for picnics. But tonight Peter was content to lay down in the grass. It was cold, but as long as he stayed cold, he could avoid sleeping, and if he avoided sleeping, he could avoid nightmares.

Nightmares didn't come often, once in a blue moon. They were usually about Ben. On night like tonight, Peter found it easily to stay awake.

Unfortunately, his body had other ideas. The hoodie was warmer than expected. And the scent of dying flowers and leaves was strangely calming. So after a few minutes if staring at the moon, he was completely out.