Chapter Text
Peter looked down at his phone as it buzzed in the middle of his AP US History class. He quickly hit the side button and stuck it back in his pocket. He’d have to call May back later. It was senior year and he was in the middle of mid-terms, so May would have to wait. He ended up thinking he did alright on the exam, and by the time he met up with Ned and Michelle for lunch at their corner table he had completely forgotten about the phone call.
“So you’re telling me that you have never seen Star Wars?” Ned exclaimed; mouth wide open as he watched MJ with disgust.
“Have you ever read Murder in the Rue Morgue?” She asked, her eyebrow lifted just enough to show how much she was not having Ned’s reaction.
“Of course not… but Star Wars is like – a classic!” Ned fired back, taking a bite of his sandwich.
“Ned – Murder in the Rue Morgue is literally a classic!” She fired back as Peter just laughed.
“Okay how about this, Ned and I will like – Spark-Notes the creepy murder book, and you watch the first Star Wars with us.” Peter interceded.
“Sure. But you guys are providing the snacks.” She said, and the boys high-fived.
Peter felt his phone buzzing again, and he checked the screen.
“Hang on, May is calli- “The bell clanged and Peter groaned. Without looking at the screen he shot her a text explaining that he was going to be in his Chemistry exam and that he would call her back during their next break. He silenced his phone as he headed into the lab room with Michelle.
When the exam was finished, he and MJ stepped into the hallway silently.
“Well, how did you feel about it?” He asked, tapping his fingers anxiously. Spider-Man had been taking a bit of time away from his studying, but at least chemistry was his best subject.
“Pretty good. Question twelve made me think about jumping out the window, but I think it went alright.” She said as the two of them paused at her locker.
“I know. I don’t think I was using the right formula. I went over it about three times, but I got the same answer twice, so I went with it. I guess we’ll see.” He said. “Alright, time for me to go try and come up with a pointless essay for an hour.” He said, turning to go.
“Hey, you gonna make it to our study group today?” Michelle asked. Ned, Betty, MJ, and Peter had formed a study group at a nearby coffee shop recently, but Peter was dying to get out and do some patrolling.
“I’ve got- “
“The internship.” She finished looking disappointed. “Yeah… that’s fine. We’ll see you next time.” She turned to walk away.
“MJ, listen- “
“It’s fine Parker. Good luck with your essay.” She said and then she had slipped into the crowds of bustling students. Peter huffed as he headed to English, once again forgetting about his silenced phone.
He was halfway through an essay regarding the influence of Shakespeare on modern culture when someone burst into the room. Peter jerked, his head snapping up to see Happy Hogan standing in the room, looking frantically for him. They made eye contact as Mrs. Clarke stepped up to him, asking him who he was in a hushed voice. She went quiet as soon as Happy said something. The older man made a waving motion, beckoning Peter forward.
“Mr. Parker, it seems as though you need to leave immediately. You will be able to finish this exam on a further date.” Peter just furrowed his brows, shrugging at the look Ned gave him.
“What’s going on?” His friend asked as Peter grabbed his books.
“I have no clue, I’ll text you.”
“Back to your essays everyone.” Mrs. Clarke called out as Peter made his way over to where Happy was holding the door open for him.
Peter stepped into the hall before turning to look at the head of security.
“What the Hell, Happy? I’m in the middle of mid-terms!” Peter exclaimed.
“Why is your phone on silent? May and Tony have been trying to reach you all day!” Happy whisper-shouted as they walked towards the nearest exit.
“Let me re-state the fact that I am in the middle of mid-terms! The teachers tend to have a bit of a problem when you have your phone on in the middle of a test- hey!” Peter was cut off when he went to open the door and Happy practically shoved him out of the way, before opening the door himself. “You’re taking this whole chivalry thing a bit too far don’t you think?” Peter joked, but if he was being completely honest, the weird look Happy had on his face was freaking him out. The man looked as though they were marching into battle, when in reality they were just on their way to the car that the man had running at the curb.
“Yeah well, just don’t touch anything right now, okay? Tony will explain everything when we get back to the tower.” Happy opened the back door for Peter who slid in, simultaneously pulling his phone out. His heart plummeted to his feet when he saw seven missed calls from May and fifteen from Mr. Stark. He was gonna puke. They were going to kill him, bring him back to life, and kill him again for missing that many phone calls.
“Happy what on earth is going on?” Peter asked, his voice quiet this time as the man continued to speed as best, he could through the city’s traffic.
“Just use some of the hand-sanitizer back there and do your best not to touch anything.” Happy then clicked on his Bluetooth device and began to talk to someone on the phone as Peter leaned back against the seat. He looked at his phone before clicking on May’s name.
It took half a ring before he heard her receiver click.
“I’m going to kill you.” She said, her voice a mixture between worry and annoyance.
“I know – I know, I’m so sorry May. I was in the middle of Mid-terms and silenced my phone and totally forgot to look back at it.”
“It’s okay, I was just worried. But you’re going to be fine.” She stated quietly.
“May, you have to tell me what’s going on.” Peter said, his voice carrying every ounce of urgency that he felt.
“I don’t understand it like Tony does. He’ll know what to say better than I can, but… baby I don’t think I’ll be seeing you for a while. You’re going to be staying with Tony until we get everything cleared up, okay? I just… I can’t risk giving it to you, not with working in the hospital and probably being exposed to it.” Her voice was quiet, and he could hear the waver that told him she was doing her best not to cry.
“What are you talking about? Give what to me? May, what the hell?”
“Pete, honey, I’m getting a phone call that I have to take. Tony and I need to talk. He’ll explain everything soon, I promise. I larb you.” She said quietly, and he felt his chest constricting.
“Yeah, I larb you too May.” He whispered back before the phone call ended. For the remainder of the ride Peter just stared out the window trying his best to piece together what on earth was happening. The city was moving along just like every other day. Workers bustling to their next meeting, tourists taking photos and almost getting hit by cabs. It was one in the afternoon, so it was right in the middle of the lunch rush. It was mid-November, cold but not too over-bearing. He wasn’t getting any alerts on his phone about Spider-Man having done something stupid, and no one was talking about an imminent threat to the world, though it was always just a matter of time before that happened again. He had no clue.
The car jerked to a stop in the parking deck of the tower and Happy opened the door for Peter. He went to grab his backpack but Happy cleared his throat.
“Leave everything here. I’ll bring it up to you later.” He said, doing nothing more than confusing Peter once again. He followed Happy to the elevator, anxiety aching through his bones as the man took him to an underground level. Happy just stared straight ahead, his face looking much paler than it usually did.
The elevator dinged and the two of them stepped out and into a well-lit room where Mr. Stark and Dr. Helen Cho stood waiting for him.
“Why the Hell did you not answer your phone?” Tony’s voice was steel. Solid, his eyes screaming terror and aggravation as Peter flinched.
“I am in the middle of mid-terms, and if they even see my phone I’ll get sent straight to- “
“I don’t care if you can’t have your phone within a ten-block radius of you, Peter. You’re not a normal teenager, and if I call your phone you damn well better pick up.” Tony said again, before pinching his nose in a way that Peter knew meant he had a stress-headache.
Peter knew where the stress came from. One of Tony’s enemies had found out who Peter was and where he went to school. Tony had known it was coming, but Peter’s phone had once again, been silenced for class. Tony had been in DC, so he had called in Bucky Barnes on a whim. Bucky had taken care of the man before he had stepped foot in the school, but the instance had been enough for Tony and May to freak about not being able to reach Peter at all hours of the day. Peter wanted to cower in a corner having forgotten the rule. Tony had been clear that he was very serious about that rule, and the look of stress on his face was enough for Peter’s stomach to flip once more.
“Okay, that’s enough. Peter, I need you to do something for me and then we will go up to the living quarters and Tony and I will answer every question you have, alright?” Helen interjected and Peter swallowed the lump in his throat before nodding. “I’m going to take you over to our decontamination chamber. You’ll step inside, remove your clothes, put them in the sealed compartment and then tell me when you’re ready. Keep your eyes closed and hold your breath until there’s a beep. There is a set of sterilized clothes, shoes, a mask, and gloves in the container at the top of the box. Get dressed then step out of the box and we will go from there.”
Peter hadn’t thought he could feel even sicker, but Helen’s words did nothing but raise his anxiety to a whole other level. Whatever was going on, was a big deal. He stepped over the large metal box and stepped inside. His claustrophobia reared its nasty head as he heard the door seal, but he just pushed through. He stripped out of his clothes and told Cho he was ready.
When the decontamination was done, he slipped into the gear Helen had waiting for him. He twisted the handle and pushed, stepping into the room. Tony was waiting for him and had his brows furrowed still.
“Okay, let’s get going.” The man said, and Peter followed the two of them to a different elevator. When he stepped into it his nose was assaulted with the smell of disinfectant. The three rode in silence up to floor 93. “FRI, hold for a second.” Tony said. “Peter, put the mask and gloves in here.” Tony held out a plastic container. Peter followed orders. “Open up, Friday.”
They stepped off the elevator and Peter wanted to curse at the smell assaulting his nose.
“What did you guys do, buy out Lysol and spray every can in the world into this room?” Peter asked, doing his best to hold back a gag.
“If that’s what it takes.” Tony responded and Peter stopped in the middle of the living area.
“Alright, I’m not moving from this spot until someone explains why everyone is acting like I drank a bottle of raid.” Peter said, his stubbornness coming into full play.
“I’ll explain everything Peter, but let’s at least go sit down.” Helen said, walking over to the couches. Peter followed begrudgingly and sat down with a plop. Tony remained standing, biting his nails. “Okay, Peter. I’ll explain everything I know, then you can ask questions at the end.” He nodded. “We got intel from SHIELD about a bio-weapon being used to target enhanced individuals… and we believe that Secretary Ross, in retaliation for the obliteration of the Accords, is doing his best to rid the world of enhanced individuals to the best of his ability.” Peter could visibly see the anger leaking from Tony as Helen continued. “SHIELD is sending a file over with everything that they know about the effects of this weapon, but what we do know now is that… in every case we have been informed of - it is deadly. The reason we brought you here and sterilized you is because this is a controlled space. We had this floor completely sterilized. Tony and I are sterilized, and FRIDAY is running an air filtration to purify everything that comes in through the AC. SHIELD is doing their best to put an end to this, and Tony has many people on top of it, but until everything is cleared up…” Cho looked at Tony. “Until everything is cleared up, you’ll be under quarantine on this floor for your own safety.”