Chapter Text
Unfortunately, the incident occurred on a Thursday afternoon, after school. Shuri swore that she made Peter's arm waterproof, fireproof, bulletproof and many-other-proof's , but somehow, Peter had still managed to electrocute it. The volt had passed through it in a flash of yellow, making Peter yelp and jump in surprise, landing dangling from the ceiling.
Harley and Peter were in the lab together working on their respective projects when it happened. Harley was bent over a car, and Peter was in the middle of wiring a circuit, muttering under his breath in frustration.
When he went to school, he wore a rubber-like glove on his hand that mimicked the look of his real one and felt like flesh. However, in the lab, it sometimes felt bothersome as it was restricting and allowed him less range of motion and feeling. Had he been wearing the glove, Shuri told him afterwards, It would have protected him from getting electrocuted in the first place.
Harley looked up when he heard the noise. Whirring round, he laughed seeing Peter's shocked expression and dishevelled appearance. The arm sang a low hum, terrifying Peter as he realised something was wrong. Releasing his grip and falling back towards the ground, Peter tried to move it. The arm protested, releasing a jarring screech and a sharp, unco-ordinated jerk, causing both boys to flinch. Harley's amusement turned to worry. "What the fuck did you do to it?" Harley asked, running a nervous hand through his hair.
Peter's eyes were wide as he touched it, his hand recoiling quickly as he flinched at the heat. "Shit! Ah!" He stumbled. "I- uh- I electrocuted it?" His statement came as more of a question. Peter went to touch it again, flinching at the heat once more. "The fuck do I do?" He panicked.
"I don't know!" Harley replied. "I don't have a vibranium arm to electrocute- I don't know!" He took a few steps forward, inspecting the damage. They were completely baffled about what to do. This had never happened before. As far as they knew, there was no protocol for this. Protocol. Peter thought, having an idea. "Friday?" Peter asked.
"Mr Stark and Mr Barnes are on their way to your location." The AI replied. Peter sighed in relief, and although he didn't do much in the way of showing it, Harley calmed slightly too.
They barely had to wait at all before the doors to the lab were opening and in walked Bucky and Mr Stark. "Get it off!" Peter said, exasperated. "It's hot! I can't-" Bucky understood, immediately approaching Peter and running his finger down the pressure plate that released the arm. It fell to the floor with a cluck and Peter took a deep breath, Finally calm.
"What the hell happened?" Mr Stark's voice was laced with worry as he spoke. Peter let the other teenager explain as he examined the connection point of his shoulder, trying to scope out the damage. Surprisingly, he found it was mostly okay. Only a few adjustments were needed, which meant that the arm itself probably took the brunt of it.
Turning his attention back to the adults, Peter wrapped his arm around his waist. "I'll go and call Shuri," Barnes spoke. "See how fast she can come and fix it." He left the room, pulling his phone out of his pocket. The arm was cool enough to pick up now but was still warm when Mr Stark lifted it, placing it on the cluttered workbench, before shoving the two teenagers out of the lab to get a look at the damage for himself.
//-//
Peter and Harley shuffled into the living room after having cleaned themselves up and took a seat on the couch. Peter looked rather dejected, Harley had noticed, as they pulled out their phones. "Hey, at least you'll probably get a day of school," Harley commented, shrugging. Peter laughed. Shuri had informed them that she wouldn't be able to get there until Saturday due to some official princess business. She had tried to get out of it, but couldn't. Regardless, He still respected that the girl was a very busy person.
"Yeah, I hope so." He said as he began composing a text to the group chat they had with Ned and MJ. However, he panicked when Abe replied instead, realising he had sent it to the wrong group.
"Shit!" He whisper-screamed. Harley had seen the text himself and snorted.
"You're an Idiot." He commented, amused.
//-//
"Absolutely not." Mr Stark commented when Peter broached the idea of having the day off of school. Peter's heart sank. Nobody at school knew that Peter was an amputee, sans Harley, Ned and MJ which meant that everyone would find out. He tried to explain, but to no avail. "You'll have to face it one day, kid. Call it a learning experience." He patted the kid on the back as he passed him, sipping his coffee. Peter groaned.
He was not looking forward to school tomorrow. Damn his stupid Parker luck. Why didn't he electrocute himself on a Friday? Or- not at all. He internally corrects himself as Cap's face of disapprovement flashed through his mind. "Fuuuuuck '' He groaned, Headbutting the table. "Why Is it always me? "