Chapter Text
He settles a hand carefully against the smooth surface of the top of the desk as the teenager in front of him fidgets. Her costume is a little rough around the edges, but it is clear enough she’s sewn protective elements into it. He can pick them out easily enough to combat them, but the fact she did that in the first place was a big step up to some of the kids who find their way to him.
Her height and body language screamed teenager, unproven hero. She’s eager for something to do with likely newfound powers.
Peter knows that feeling well. If MJ was here, she’d probably tell him he was the reason every rule existed for these kids.
It wasn’t the first teenager he had taken under his wing. Kamala comes to mind almost immediately. At this point, his life had taken on the role of mentoring young heroes. A lot of heroes at this point.
“Well.” Peter starts out slowly, the lenses of his mask’s eyes narrowing in thought. “You’re new to New York, right?”
“Yes, Mr. Spider, sir. Man. Sir Spider-Man.” she replies, nodding vigorously. Definitely a teenager, with that kind of energy. Peter was hoping she’s going to college at least.
Clearly, some things never change.
“Well, first off, welcome to New York, the big apple!” He spreads his arms wide, idly spinning in a circle around his office. His spinning earns a brief laugh from the girl before he comes to a stop back behind his desk. “Hopefully you’ve been settling okay.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely a lot.” The girl agrees, reaching up as if to scratch the back of her head only for her arm to fall. “Is it usually this… messy, this time of year? I thought my hometown was a lot, but geeze.”
Peter agrees idly, “Messy is the nicest way you could put it.”
“I mean, if it’s like this all the time, oof. I hope it’s just the heat doing this.”
Peter chuckles at that, “The summer definitely sets off the crazy, but New York is always active. Never a dull moment around here. It’s why we have so many superheroes, mutants, gargoyles, and everything else running around.” He would have to get in touch with everyone to warn them there was a new kid in town working with the other kids. That was after everything was settled after all.
“So… uh- what about me helping you?” She tries to be smooth to get to the topic she wants to talk about, but that is about as smooth as a brick against his face.
Peter couldn’t exactly blame her, but he does laugh a little. “I’d be more than happy to have you helping out in New York, but, there are rules to all of this.”
The teenager groans a little, “Rules? Really?”
“Really.” Peter supplies casually, grinning briefly under his mask. The fact this girl hasn’t run off yet is sign enough that she's dedicated to the idea.
“Look, the first rule of being a superhero, is ‘Do It For The Right Reasons’.” Peter says smoothly, well aware this part of the conversation always went nowhere with some kids. Some kids were responsible, sure, but… all kids wanted to just be a cool superhero with no real obligations.
“The right reasons?” The girl questions back, shifting where she’s standing. Even with her full costume, Peter could tell she was confused by his line of thought. Peter wanted the lesson to stick, at least a little bit. He wanted to protect these kids. He wanted to make sure they weren’t throwing themselves into danger.
“Are you doing this to help people? Are you doing this for revenge? Are you doing this because it makes you feel powerful? Do you want people to talk about you online?” He rattles off the questions easily enough, “You want to be helping people because it's what you want to do, and it’s the right thing to do.”
The girl in full costume finally stills. “I’m doing this because I do want to help people. I was patrolling around my hometown before I came here.” There is a defensive edge to her tone, but she clearly isn’t leaving. She is interested enough to hear him out. “Why are you giving me the fifth degree here?” The more she talks, the more the Chicago edge comes into her words.
“You’re not the first person in high school or college to show up in New York and start patrolling the streets in full costume. A lot of kids, and hell a lot of adults too- mutants, people who’ve just gained powers, or even a kid with a gun will put on a mask trying to be something more.” Peter says simply back, carefully trying to weave around his point to help her understand. “New York is a big dangerous place, and I don’t want to just throw you out there without any help, or encourage you if you just want to be famous.”
“Okay… fair. I forgot about the clout chasers for Super Heroics.” She answers with a roll of her shoulders. She was still excited about being a hero, but wasn’t a fan of rules if anything. “New York especially probably gets a lot of that.”
“Birthplace of Ironman and the Avengers tends to.” Peter says with an amused hum. He inclines his head to the side somewhat. “Second Rule, ‘You Do Not Work Alone’.”
“How many rules are there?” The girl in costume questions.
“If you complain, I’ll invent more.” Peter bats back at her casually, proceeding with his point. “You are a vigilante, technically working outside of the bounds of the law, but you’re under my care. You aren’t alone. You’ll be working with two fellow supers. One close to your age, by my guess, and one older to take over if things get rough. If you’re uncomfortable with the people assigned to you, talk to me. I’m here for everyone. I won’t make you stick with a group that could consist of your school bully in a mask or estranged evil twin sister in a rabbit onesie.”
“That sounds really specific and I kind of hate it-“
Peter just pushes past her interjection, “We’re all working together here. I’m not going to force you to stick to one team. I can always shake things up for your sake and everyone else's.” He taps his knuckles against the desk between then, "I'm Spider-Man, the friendly neighborhood spider-man, I'm here to help. Kind of my gig, as much as you helping people is yours.”
The girl is quiet for a moment, mulling over his words. “So, I don’t work alone…. Ever?”
“Nope.” Peter says, popping the p in the word casually in the process. “No solo patrols, ever. If you get shot, stabbed or vaporized by an alien, you’ll need the help.”
“Okay, I kind of hate the vaporized by the alien thing!”
“We all do!” Peter says relatively cheerfully, “You should see the scar I have from that.” He continues anyway, resisting the urge to dig into the point to watch the girl squirm. She’s a little snarky, but that never hurts. “You can also retreat to the safe house if you ever need it. Even if a villain is hot on your tail, the safe house will repel them from going near it.”
Now that held her attention from the way her body language shifted, “How does-“
“I will not be taking questions about the safe house capabilities at this time!” Peter blusters easily, “The safe house has medical staff on hand and amenities if you need a place to hide for a while. My only clause is no hiding from your parents or relatives if you guys had a minor fight. Arguing over Jeopardy doesn’t mean you get to live in the safe house forever.”
“Who argues over that stuff-?” The teenager questions a little baffled.
“You would be surprised.” Peter answers with a snort, shaking his head a little. “Essentially, me casa, your casa, except when you’re trying to blow me up. Then I’ll ask for a monetary fee of ten ring pops in penance for your crimes.”
“This is definitely a conversation I’m having.” The girl muses, clearly still baffled.
“For that, thirteen ring pops.” Peter says as he points at her for dramatic effect before relaxing again. “Look, I’m just trying to make sure you’re safe. Communication is key here. I want to protect my fellow heroes from the likes of General Ross and any Accords. You won’t be arrested or detained; I’ll be taking the brunt of any anger for what you get up to. All I ask is that you act responsibly and stick close to your group.”
“Is this actually legal?”
“Eeeh.” Peter waggles his hand in a vague so-so gesture. “I’m protected by a bunch of stuff I won’t get into, so I’m protecting you. No one signs anything, no one pays for anything, so there will be no paper trail to follow back to your actual life. You’re putting a lot on the line here already, and I don’t want your life to be derailed or ruined by superhero dramatics.”
“This sounds incredibly under the table, but organized.” The girl in the red and brown costume muses, still trying to take it all in. “Are those the only rules?” Peter is starting to realize its very brick patterned in a way. He has to hand it to this kid, she’s much smarter than he was at that age.
“Nope!” Peter carries on with ease, “Third Rule ‘Don’t Hide Injuries!’ Which is a lot more self-explanatory. Even if you have super healing or impervious skin, if you’re hurt even a bit, tell your team, so we can make sure it’s nothing serious. This includes accidentally swallowing something radioactive or an alien. If you were dinged by a poisoned weapon or actively submerged in something suspicious tell us.”
“Again, this sounds like a really specific example. Like, suspiciously specific.”
“You don’t want to know!” Peter says brightly, still going forward. “Fourth Rule ‘Communicate!’, keep talking with your team, us, and your family about what you’re doing. Unless absolutely impossible, you need to tell your parents or friends what is going on with you. Keeping that a secret is a horrible idea and it will backfire. Make sure you have a support system to go with this.”
“Well, my dad and best friend know.”
Peter had to admit, he’s impressed with that much. “Honestly, you’re way ahead of the curve here, and I feel like I owe you thirteen ring pops.”
“Can I just have a check instead-?” The girl questions back. Peter has to admit he’s being a bit of a pain as he opens his desk drawer to pull out a plastic box of ring pops and slides them over towards the teenager. He grins under his mask, “Pick your poison.”
The teenager pauses before reaching out to pick out a variety of colored ring pops.
“Good choices, good choices.” Peter muses, “That green one is really sour though. Watch out for that.”
She shrugs, tucking the ring pops into- concealed pockets? Nice. It’d taken him a bit before he started doing that with his own suit. “I like sour now and then, it’s- it’s fine. It’s like a…” She gestures vaguely, grasping for a word. “A controlled sort of overload sometimes? Is that weird-?”
“Not weird at all.” Peter says easily, “Sometimes a little controlled overload or chaos is good for the soul.” He draws the box back to drop it into his desk drawer before moving to grab the printed out packet.
“And this, is for you and your dad to go over. No, it isn’t a contract at all. It’s just laying out basic stuff about how to reach out for help, protective gear standards and what being a superhero is like long term.”
The teenager blinks a little, reaching out to take the somewhat thick packet of paper. “Should I memorize this?”
“It would be a good idea to memorize the resources page, and have a good idea of where you can reach out.” He reaches out to tap the top page. “Keep that one pinned on your family’s fridge, or on your bedroom wall out of sight whatever works for you.”
“This sounds very controlled, but like you’re a cheerful youth pastor trying to sell me on the life of a superhero.” The teenager comments with a snort. She tries to fold the packet to tuck into her hidden suit pockets.
Peter has to laugh at that, “Hey, look, I’m old, what do you want out of me?”
The girl looks at him from under her goggles. “Actual talent?”
“Oof.” Peter presses a palm against his chest, mock wilting where he’s standing behind his desk. He shoved his chair back at some point and forgot about it entirely. “I’ve been slain!”
The melodrama does make the girl laugh, and Peter considers that a plus. He bounces back to his full height, smiling fully under his mask. Kamala is definitely going to like this girl. Now the question was who else could he pull to patrol with them? Someone maybe a bit more experienced with a bit more level head. Kamala was definitely responsible, but she could get carried away at times.
“After you’ve talked with your dad, call back, and I’ll set you up with some people to run with. I already have a few people in mind.”
The girl nods, “Thank you- thank you, Mr. Spider-man, sir-”
“Just Spidey is good, kiddo.” He offers easily back with a chuff of laughter. “Mr. Spider-Man was my father.” He waves a hand dramatically, “And now is your time to ask questions! Got any?”
“Many!” The girl says brightly back. "I hope you're ready."
Peter already knows this is going to become a longer conversation, but he’s fine with that. He’s got the time. Ned is with the kids right now, and MJ is working.
He always has time for these kids.
"Make me question my reality and sanity," Peter says brightly back, laughing a little as the girl whips out about ten different questions. Kitty would like this kid too. Kitty would probably be a good non-patrol mentor to have for her.