Work Text:
It started slowly.
“Reports of local protesters in New York showing up at this weekend’s ‘NYC Loves Spidey’ celebration have been flooding in.”
Like the spread of a virus.
“With recently released footage of Bruce Banner, dubbed ‘The Hulk,’ destroying entire towns, new tensions have been on the rise.”
It always does.
“‘I used to feel safe with Spider-Man around,’ one concerned civilian says. ‘Now, all I can think about is how dangerous he is.’”
But like any pandemic…
“With the next U.N. meeting coming up quickly, social media tags such as #SokoviaAccordsAmended and #NotMyHero have been showing up everywhere you look.”
The more it was caught…
“Today, meeting at the newly remodeled Vienna International Center in Austria, the United Nations will be discussing potential amendments made to the Sokovia Accords of 2016.”
The more it was spread.
“We have just received breaking news from Austria, where the United Nations just voted to ratify a newly proposed amendment to the Sokovia Accords requiring all enhanced individuals to go through a ‘Liberty Approval Process.’ While this amendment received support from those such as the U.S. Secretary of Defense, many have spoken out against the ratification, including Tony Stark, saying, ‘This is not the kind of bullsh*t I agreed to when I promoted the Accords last year. This amendment will hurt so many of those who fought for these regulations in the first place.’ As we speak, officials are beginning to track down and identify enhanced individuals to-”
“No more of that,” Aunt May said as she turned the television off.
“Come on, May,” Peter complained, hugging the pillow he was squeezing closer to his chest. “We- we have to know what’s going on, especially Now! I’m- I’m basically being prosecuted and-”
“No,” May argued. “SPIDER-MAN is being prosecuted, and as far as any of these officials are concerned, that could be anyone.”
“You don’t think I should-”
“Peter,” she cut him off again, firmly. “We talked about this. It’s not like we didn’t see this coming.”
“Right,” Peter said, looking back at the blank TV screen. “Are you sure it’s the right thing though?”
“You saw what they’ve been saying. You read the amendment. For now, the best thing is for you to lay low and let Mr. Stark handle this.”
“But-”
“There’s no way anyone besides me, Ned, and the Avengers would know you’re enhanced.”
“What if one of them tells though! You remember how last year went, what if- what if they all start turning against each other again and-”
“It’s late, Peter,” May said more softly this time, placing a hand on her nephew’s knee. “You should get some sleep. You have school tomorrow.”
Peter sighed. “Yeah. Okay.” He set the pillow down on the couch next to him and headed to his bedroom.
“And Peter?” May called before he could close the door.
Peter stuck his head out of the room. “Yeah, May?”
“Promise you won’t up late texting friends. Actually sleep. I mean it.”
“Okay, I promise.”
“And Peter!” she called again, causing Peter to roll his eyes.
“Yeah, May?”
“I love you.”
Peter smiled. “Love you, too.”
Peter closed the door, letting the bright light from the living room of the apartment be replaced by the soft red glow of his Spider-Man nightlight, before he sat down on the bed and pulled his phone out of his hoodie pocket. He had about a hundred missed calls and texts from Ned, which he expected, but also MJ which was strange.
Darth_Nedward_01: just saw it on the news
holy shit man
this is INSANE
please answer me dude
you arent locked up in a lab or anything yet right??
Peter smiled a little. He was scared out of his mind, but it helped to know Ned cared and was worried about him, even if he shouldn’t have to be.
IronFan2001: yeah i’m okay
may and i talked about this beforehand, i’m not turning myself in
Peter took a deep breath and opened the messages from MJ, worried about why she’d be texting him.
Michelle-dahlia-murders: Okay looser, look. I’ve had my suspicions for a while now, and I know this is awful timing but after what just happened I need to know for sure and DON’T even consider lying to me because I will know.
Are you Spiderman?
Also
Are you in danger?
Peter had known this was coming for a while now. He knew this was a bad time to tell anyone else, but he also knew that MJ would probably be more responsible than Ned. He ALSO also knew that she wasn’t joking about the whole ‘I will know’ thing.
IronFan2001: yes
sort of?
it’s complicated
Michelle-dahlia-murders: Which part?
IronFan2001: um
Michelle-dahlia-murders: Oh my gosh, you’re actually Spiderman.
Are you okay!?
What’s going on!?
IronFan2001: that’s the complicated part
Michelle-dahlia-murders: I can keep up
I figured out you were Spiderman, right?
Peter sighed as he added Ned and MJ to a group chat. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t be keeping his promise.
The next day, as Peter trudged through the halls of Midtown School of Science and Technology, he couldn’t help but envy the people around him. So many students were casually talking at their lockers or anxiously quizzing each other on chemistry. Peter would have loved to be anxious about the chemistry test. He talked to a concerned Ned and MJ at lunch in hushed voices while the rest of the students enjoyed their food. Despite Peter’s enhanced metabolism, he couldn’t seem to eat much. Ironically, the same traits that usually made him hungrier were now only making his stomach do flips. It wasn’t until the Academic Decathlon meeting after school when he felt the atmosphere around him shift.
It was strange to walk from the hallways, filled with students ready to go about their days like usual, into the room where the meeting was, a depressing silence suffocating the room. Nearly everyone there had their heads down. It wasn’t just Peter, Ned, and MJ that seemed to have their minds on the Accords. Everyone in the room had been saved by Spider-Man at least once; they were all mourning his rights.
“Alright,” Mr. Harrington said after a minute of uninterrupted awkward silence. “Know what? No practice today, let's circle up.” He walked to the middle of the room and sat on the floor, motioning for everyone to follow him. “I have a feeling I know what’s on your mind. So, let’s talk politics at the dinner table,” he joked as everyone sat down in a ring on the ground. “How do we all feel about the Sokovia Accords amendment from last night?” When all anyone did was glance around the room nervously, worried about the divisive conversation, Mr. Harrington added, “Come on, don’t be shy. Seriously, it’s freaking me out, this is the LEAST shy group I have ever met.
“Fine,” Flash said, “I’ll start.” Peter braced for the bully to say something awful, or to dehumanize him even further. Instead Flash said, “It fucking sucks.” Peter was even more surprised when Flash’s statement was met with nods of agreement. “They’re clearly targeted at Bruce Banner and Spider-Man, who are both HEROES. Especially Spider-Man. Hell, Spider-Man’s first ever sighting was when he helped Iron Man fight the Avengers who were against the Accords, and now they’re gonna use them to either discriminate against him or lock him up in some lab to study him for weeks and then MAYBE if he’s ‘deemed eligible’ or whatever they’ll let him out!? That’s not right!”
“Spider-Man saved our lives,” Betty agreed. “It goes against the rights of every enhanced individual to have their body basically owned by the government.”
“Yesterday, I watched Spider-Man help a cat down from a tree,” Abe added. “Now the authorities are looking for him like he’s some kind of criminal.”
“Iron Man called him a kid when he talked to the press about him,” Cindy mentioned. “They’re probably trying to experiment on some TEENAGER. Do you know how messed up that is?”
“My friends at lunch were talking about the Accords,” Charles admitted. “They said it was a good thing. That they’d protect us from freaks of nature like Spider-Man. I should have said something. Spider-Man protects us, we shouldn’t be trying to neutralize him like he’s a bomb ready to go off at any moment.”
“My parents were watching the Daily Bugle last night when it happened,” Betty chimed in again. “I keep trying to tell them how biased it is, but they’re wrapped around Jameson’s accusatory finger.”
“I can’t believe anyone in their right mind actually listens to that crap,” Flash complained. “They’ve been calling Spider-Man a menace for years while showing footage of him running into burning buildings to save people. It isn’t right.”
“None of this is,” MJ said. “Let’s be honest though, we saw it coming. It all started with those five protesters at the festival over the summer. If everyone who knew the truth stood up for him then, we wouldn’t be here. The U.N. was just doing what they thought they could get away with. Someone needs to show them they can’t.”
Peter looked to his right where Ned had apparently been watching him the whole time, a concerned look on his face. He had been wondering why Ned hadn’t said anything. It wasn’t like him to stay quiet about anything related to Spider-Man. That was just it though. When Peter looked into Ned’s eyes, he didn’t see a mask or fancy suit reflected back in them, he saw himself. To Ned, this wasn’t about Spider-Man. It was about his best friend being in danger.
“You all seem to share a lot of the same big feelings on this,” Mr. Harrington commented after some silence. “MJ brings up a really good point. Unfortunately, it isn’t on those who are wrong to fix what they’ve done, but on those who are right to hold them accountable.”
“It shouldn’t be,” Ned said quietly. He was still staring at Peter, that same worried look in his eyes that had been there the whole day.
“You’re right, Ned,” Mr. Harrington said. “You all are.”
“Hey, guys…” Peter said after a moment, causing everyone’s heads to snap towards him.
Before Peter could say anything, Mr. Harrington met his eyes and said, “Unfortunately, this new amendment makes me a mandated reporter of any possibly enhanced students.”
Everyone nodded in understanding before looking back at Peter with sympathy in their eyes.
“Right,” Peter said. “That is unfortunate.”