Tiny Genius

Evil Wizards are no Fun

It was Peter's typical Tuesday being Spider-man. Well, not really. He didn't usually cut classes when being the vigilante.

He had booked it out of school as soon as the bell rang for him to head to seventh period after recieving word that there was an evil wizard on rampage and he had rushed over to New York City after pulling on his suit.

He was now fighting the wizard one on one, the rest of the other Avengers that currently resided in New York (Doctor Strange, Vision, and Mr. Stark) otherwise occupied with the small purple gremlins that the man had released. They had been fighting for two hours now and finally getting the upper hand, but then things took a turn.

Peter really wasn't supposed to be this close to the enemy. Mr. Stark didn't want him in the middle of battle, which he guessed was understandable considering he was only fifteen, but still! He could fight and he wanted to prove himself. Proving himself ultimately ended up with him going in way over his head, yet trying not to show it as he said quip after quip when each spell came within just a foot from him.

He was scared, but it wasn't like he would say anything. Or call for back up. He could handle this. He was Spid- what was that?

The wizard was holding a scepter, and from what he knew about scepters (most notably the one Loki had), they were never good. This man had a gold one with a purple ball at the top, which shimmered a bright pink that was almost blinding.

If the situation weren't so bad, Peter would have taken the scene as a bit more comedic. The wizard was not like others he had seen. Appearance wise, anyway. He had a clean shaven face, a head of white hair, and a more staut frame. He wore an olive green bathrobe by the looks of it, modified with gold markings that could have been made by a highlighter. He had also donned some white jeans and black combat boots.

Peter launched himself off of the car he had crouched in just a mere second ago, feeling the heat as it imploded into flames. "Woah, buddy- be careful with that glowy stick, it can do some damage." He shot a web at a light post with accurate precision, pulling himself out of the way of another attack and perching on the light like a bird.

The wizard, Mr. Purple Eyes (Peter thought they were contacts), did not heed his little warning as he waved the magical artifact around with a crooked grin and a maniacal look to his eyes. The pipes in the nearby building bursted outward, one stream splattering the suit. "Aw, I didn't want to get wet," he whined as he jumped off the light, sending out another web that allowed him to drift in a lazy arc behind Mr. Purple Eyes. "This suit also costs a fortune and Mr. Stark has done so much work-"

"How are you doing over there, kid? Need back up?" Mr. Stark himself asked. Over the months, they'd gotten to know each other better and Peter frequented the compound and the tower (which Tony decided not to sell, instead turning it back into a Stark Tower and not Avengers Tower)

"I'm good," Peter said breathlessly as he dodged another bolt of light. The scepter changed colors then, becoming a weird mix of green and gold. "What is he doing?"

"I'm coming over, underoos. Hang tight." Peter could hear the telltale sound of repulsers and the worried tone of Mr. Stark's voice.

"No, no, I'm fine!" He said as he was sent tumbling when the next power blast cut his web. Too low to the ground and without any holds, he couldn't shoot another web so he was sent into a roll that ended in a shaky crouch. This battle was really tiring and he just wanted to go home.

"No, you're not. You were supposed to stay on the sidelines." Peter knew he would be getting a lecture after the battle. He knew Mr. Stark was only trying to keep him safe, but he just couldn't wait to get into the thick of the fight. He had already been chewed out by his mentor when he left class and he knew May would definetly not be impressed.

"Really, I'm alright-" he had to duck to the ground as a gold and green beam of light shot from the scepter. The wizard cackled, showing all his yellow teeth. Another blast was shot in an arc that Peter couldn't avoid and he was sent crashing into the nearest building. He got up quickly, finding his bearings and standing on slightly wobbly feet, fear that he had been fighting back slowly beginning to take hold of his heart.

"I'm coming, Peter."

Peter turned just in time to see the wizard landing a few feet from him. His spidey senses were going haywire, telling him to run. To web him up. To do something. But he found himself frozen with fear. That had only happened a few times in his past year of being Spider-Man. It felt like he couldn't move, a cold emotion spreading through him as he stared at the enemy.

Said wizard raised his scepter to strike, the light from the top becoming brighter and brighter until Peter could barely see, but he just couldn't tear his eyes away. He couldn't move, paralyzed with fear. He braced for the pain, the shock, the light, all of his muscles tensing and his eyes closing.

Only.... nothing came. Nothing but the sound of a yell over the commline that had him wrenching his eyes open just in time to see Mr. Stark intercept the blast. He was still in mid air for a moment, completely encompassed by light. He could just barely see the armor retreating back into the arc reactor, nanites hurrying across his mentor's skin. Why were they doing that? They were supposed to protect him!

Another yell rocked Peter's mind because this one was not of defiance like the last one. This was one of pain. He could hear other voices over the comms, but all he could see was how his mentor, his father figure, disappeared from view as the light grew.

Vision full on tackled the wizard, sending them both to the ground and engaging in a fierce combat. Peter barely even spared a second to think about the angry look on the usually calm android's face, sprinting over the mass of light that was now on the ground, slowly fading.

For a brief moment, he thought that the light would disappear and his mentor would be gone, a possible scorch mark or crater to show where he had been. Or maybe not even that. Maybe he would disappear and Peter would never be able to see him again. Never be able to talk to him. Never work in the lab with him.

He tried to chase those thought away as he skidded to his knees, watching intently as the light grew smaller. Mr. Stark wasn't that short, was he? Colonel Rhodes always made jokes about him being short, but shouldn't his feet be there....

His heart picked up pace as he saw that there was only three feet of light left. Was his mentor disappearing? No, no, no, no.... Mr. Stark couldn't just disappear!

But it became more of a real possibility by the second. The light slowly faded out and there was still nothing else resembling his mentor.

Then, there was.

The light was gone, replaced by a boy of barely three years old, it seemed. His eyes were closed and he had a mop of tousled brown curls on his head. He was wearing a small suit: dress pants, white sneakers, white t-shirt, black jacket, and a blue tie.

Peter stared, unable to move his body as the small boy stirred, but didn't wake. Where was Tony?

His eyes caught sight of a light in the middle of the kid's chest. It was a pale blue color, emitting from something of a familiar shape.

Tony Stark's nanite housing.

Peter felt like he was going to faint because this boy... this boy was his mentor. This boy was Tony Stark. Tony Stark who had just taken a blast from an evil scepter to save him because he had stupidly frozen up when he could have just moved.

What had Peter done?