Chapter 5

Peter stared down the long hallway, looking for any sign of life. Jarvis had told him that all available Avengers were in a meeting room that was much closer to the other side of the compound. Apparently, while the whereabouts of his old suit was classified information, he was still permitted to view maps of the building. He wasn't sure he'd get a better chance and he knew May would be concerned by now, so it was worth the risk.

As he trekked his way toward his planned exit, he found himself curious as to what the other doors in the hall were used for. Most of them were closed, and the ones he'd tried so far had all been locked. It wasn't until he made his way into what looked to be a common area that he noticed two doors in the room ajar. The first one he opened was just a bathroom. He stared at the double sink in mild disappointment. Though he knew in the back of his mind it was wrong to snoop around someone's house, he figured in this instance it was at least deserved. After all, police use search warrants all the time to get stuff back from thieves, right? How was this any different? He's just looking for his suit.

He turned out of the bathroom and opened the second door. A closet, which didn't surprise him. It held a few jackets and umbrellas, but was empty apart from that.

"Jarvis?" He called out to the AI, "Are there any other rooms in the compound that I have access to?"

The AI didn't respond, so Peter tried again. "Jarvis, is there anywhere in the compound that I should under no circumstances be permitted in?"

There was a long pause, and after a moment Peter turned to see the rest of the room, hoping that the AI hadn't ratted on him yet. Jarvis replied to him just as he stepped away, though.

"Yes, Peter. You are not permitted under any circumstances in the Lab, the Armory, Dr. Banner's Reading Nook, or in Closet 4C." The AI's voice had a weird tone to it, Peter noticed. The closet piqued his interest, though.

"Closet 4C? What's in there?" He waited a moment for the AI to respond until it was apparent he would not get an answer. "Okay.. can you guide me to closet 4C Jarvis?"

Again, he got no answer. "Jarvis, can you guide me to the room next to closet 4C?" He stared at the ceiling, praying his phrasing would work to get around the protocols Mr. Stank had set in place.

"Certainly, Peter," The jovial voice pronounced clearly. Peter's face lit up, as did the blue lights that guided him around the corner. He followed the path for a few moments until he heard voices from a room down the hall. Shit. He must have trekked to the other side of the compound, near where the Avengers were having some sort of meeting. The blue lights lead him past the door, but he inched a little closer until his super-hearing was just in range to hear the words.

"No. We aren't bringing him with. He's like what, thirteen? Jesus Christ, how is this even a discussion!" He rolled his eyes at Stark's words. He'd been patrolling regularly as Spider-Man for three months and they're still all hung up about age. Nobody ever asks for his age before he takes care of purse-snatchers and bank robbers. If they'd just start treating him like an actual person, then maybe he'd actually be a little more helpful. He wasn't dumb, though. The only reason he was still here is because they wanted to use him for information. They wanted him to lead them to James, someone who they don't feel they'd have to treat with kid-gloves on. He wasn't going to let that happen.

He deftly moved past the conference room, being careful not to make any noise. The lights led him around the corner to the end of a hall. At first glance it seemed like a dead end, but then he noticed the exit sign hanging above what he assumed was a staircase entrance. He didn't like being stuck in a corner. The door he was looking for was easy to spot, a slightly smaller door that sat right next to the room Jarvis led him to. He jiggled the fancy inset doorknob, but it was locked. He stood there and contemplated for a moment, before taking notice of something out of the corner of his eye.

He glanced up to see a figure standing at the entrance of the staircase, and he jumped in fright. Holy moly, he just about died! He hadn't heard anybody walk by, or even the staircase door open. Black Widow stood there, a finger over her lips signaling him to be quiet. He gulped, and stood still. Maybe if he stood still enough, he'd turn invisible. No point making a run for it now, he figured. The Avengers would certainly catch him before he ever made it out of the building, if Widow didn't do it herself. She walked up to him, reached over and placed her hand on the doorknob… then twisted it open. She took a step back, giving him a wink with a small smirk at his surprised face before walking around the hall. He stood there in shock for a moment before picking his jaw back up and opening the closet door. He wasn't sure why she did that, but he still wasn't quite sure who's side she was on. She could be tattling right now for all he knew.

At first glance he was disappointed, as the first thing he laid eyes on was Hawkeye's suit gently folded on a shelf. It was a bit odd. He'd always imagined super suits to be displayed in grandiose like the movies always had them. Big glass cases, lots of variations, that sort of thing. Not hanging up in such a simple closet. His eyes wandered over to Black Widow's leather outfit before he caught sight of an odd pattern next to that one. His jaw dropped again, because the closet contained not his old Spider-Man suit but a brand new one. He picked up the fabric, unfolding it and admiring the web design in awe. He shook his head and hurriedly pulled it on over his clothes. It hung loosely on his figure and he stood for a moment in confusion and mild disappointment. Maybe it hadn't been tailored for him yet? After all, he wasn't supposed to join them until late tonight.

He leaned in to look around and caught sight of a bag. His backpack! They must have found it on the roof and taken it with them on the way back. He moved to grab it, accidentally nudging the emblem of his suit on a shelf while he leaned over to pick it up. The suit shrunk quickly, and Peter let out a startled choke, quickly bringing his hand up to his throat and tugging the fabric away from his throat in fear. The suit fit perfectly to his skin now, just a few wrinkles left from the more ill-fitted clothing underneath. Peter felt an uncomfortable shiver go through his spine as he let go of the fabric around his neck, allowing it to form around him and leave a slight pressure against the spider bite. He glanced down at the sleek new material, noticing it was lacking web-shooters.

Glancing back into the closet, he leaned in and snatched the mask and backpack up. He rifled through his bag for a moment, coming back up with spare web shooters, web fluid, and an empty candy bar wrapper. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he'd never gotten around to breakfast that morning. He didn't have time to ponder his hunger though, the Avengers probably wouldn't hold their meeting forever. He quickly clasped the web shooters to his wrists, shoving his bag back into the closet and quietly closing the door before he bolted to the stairs. First, he tried to go down a flight, only for the door to not open for him. Then he recalled Jarvis mentioning that he was only permitted on the main 3 avenger floors. Up it was, then. Thankfully, the door at the top of the next flight of stairs opened for him. He turned around and webbed up the door on his way out to ensure nobody followed.

"Jarvis, can you guide me to the common area on this floor? Oh, and uh… is anybody on this floor?" The tower was inhabited by more than just the Avengers he knew; it wouldn't be unreasonable to see a worker somewhere along the way. Though he'd prefer if he didn't.

"Certainly, Peter. As of right this moment, nobody appears to be on this floor of the tower."

Peter grinned, bolting along the path to the common area. He spotted the elevators, and quickly made a web to block the area as well. When he got there, he stared at the large window panels. He'd only have one shot at this, so he'd have to make sure his angle was right. Windows didn't open wide enough for him to slip through this high up, and usually they'd be pretty durable too. He was pretty sure he could make it through the window, even without maxing out his strength.

He quickly moved to the opposite end of the room, deciding on a running start. Normal men can break through skyscraper windows if they get a running start, after all. He grimaced, that had been a particularly bad patrol day and had led to nightmares for weeks. He probably could use therapy or something. He took a deep breath -double checking his web shooters one last time- before he charged toward the window panel.

He felt as he made contact with it, head first. And he felt as the window began to give way, bouncing out before springing back. He landed on the floor with a thump and groaned, head aching slightly from the impact. Why were these windows so fucking strong!? Stark couldn't even just put a normal window in his tower. He snorted, of course he'd be extra. He used to look up to him, to his intelligence. Especially when he'd announced that Stark Industries would no longer be part of the weapons industry. He'd looked up to him as Iron Man ever since that first conference too. But now he knew that the man was truly exactly what the press made him seen, what he'd always vehemently denied. An utter asshole, stuck-up, snobby, arrogant rich man.

He stood up, examining the window and realizing that while it hadn't broken, the frame was slightly bent now. He twisted his body and kicked the window in, somewhere in the back of his mind he imagined it to be Stark. Tony Stark with that cruel, disgusted look he had on his face when he'd told him not to touch anything lest he fuck something else up. He kicked again. And again. Harder. Until finally the window burst open. No sooner did the window fall and crash to the, thankfully empty, street when the alarms finally went off. Jarvis's voice played screechingly loud above his head.

"BREACH! BREACH! COMMON 3! BREACH! BREACH! COMMON 3!" The noise didn't stop, and Peter hurriedly jumped. He didn't want to lose his head start. His webs caught onto the nearby buildings and suddenly he was well on his way to the edge of Brooklyn and Queens.