A Bird Without Wings (Discontinued)

A bend in the road is not the end of the road (Unless you fail to make the turn)

"Drop and give me twenty."

Groaning, Peter did as told.

The lessons were progressing, and every day after he finished schoolwork, he headed down to the gym.

He wouldn't be going back to Midtown until he could keep better control of himself, and as of yet, he was still fairly uncertain of his ability to do that.

Now the lessons included figuring out how the climbing on walls worked, and controlling his strength.

That part wasn't new, but it was the most necessary.

Doctor Banner wouldn't be back until later in the semester, and until then, all they could do was this.

"Another twenty."

Peter forced his arms to bend, and straighten, and bend, and straighten...

He lost himself un the monotony of the task, focusing on just breathing.

In.

And out.

In.

Out.

Breathe in...

And out.

Bend, straighten.

In, out.

What felt like an eternity later, he felt an arm on his shoulder, and Natasha's voice cut through the fog of concentration. "Peter? Did you hear me?"

He stopped moving, absentmindedly noticing the burn of exertion in his arms and shoulders, and flopped onto his back, staring up into his mentor's face. "No...?"

"You just did like a hundred pushups in a row."

Peter blinked. "Is that good?"

"That's... strange." Natasha lifted a shoulder. "Definitely something we need to test."

The teen groaned lightly. "More tests?"

"That's it for today, though." Holding out her hand, she pulled him to his feet. "I've got a few calls to make."

Narrowing his eyes in her direction, he rubbed thoughtfully at his arm. "All right then. Keep your secrets."

Her expression lightened, and a grin pulled at the corner of her mouth. "I should never have showed you those movies."

"But you made a man out of me," he sang softly, the corner of his mouth quirking up.

"You may be my favorite nephew, but if you keep making bad movie references I can still kick your ass."

"You know I've got superpowers, right?"

Natasha stared at him intently. "You know I'm a trained assassin, right? And I can take down Captain America?"

"Mm-hm." Peter nodded wisely. "You go for his legs."

"Because his shield," she continued. "Is the size of a dinner plate."

"And he is an idiot," Peter finished, turning to walk backwards. "Tell me the truth, have you ever taken him down that way? Honestly."

"Once or twice," she said loftily. "I don't do it often, or he'll learn to guard against it."

"Huh." The teen stared at his hands. "Think I could beat him in an arm wrestle?"

"Not yet. You're the size of his left bicep. He'd just flip you on the table if you tried."

"Way to bring me down, Nat."

"You need a bit of that, I think."

They parted at the door, and Peter headed back up to the penthouse.

It was empty, as it usually was this time of day, and he shut the door to his room with a soft click.

He had one missed call on his phone from Ned, and he sighed tiredly as he fell onto the bed, opening the device.

After much thought, he'd realized his original plan of telling his best friend wasn't the... well, the best plan.

He loved Ned, but that boy could not keep a secret.

Rolling over, he patted down the desk beside the bed until his hand landed on a sketchbook.

Perfect.

If I'm gonna help anyone, I need to be incognito.

Slowly under his careful fingers, a form took place.

Red- for his dad's armor, also his favorite color.

Blue- for Pepper's eyes.

If I've got the spider powers, might as well go the whole nine yards.

With a boyish feeling of delight, he sketched webs covering the entirety.

Eye coverings attached to the mask, big and glossy like an actual spider's eyes.

He couldn't cover his hands and feet, or there was no way he'd stick to walls.

Testing would need to be done to see if there were any fabrics that could retain his abilities, and not make him be the barefoot guy that fights crimes.

Fights crimes.

He hadn't even thought that far, although logically it was the next step.

Got the powers, getting the suit...

Next up is become a hero.

Eat lunch, because he was starving.

Maybe not in that order.

This is a chapter I already had partway ready...

Hope you all enjoyed.

For those of you who don't follow me, the reason I haven't been writing is because my grandmother passed from Covid.

We were close, and I haven't been in the right headspace for writing since.

This story is on temporary hiatus after this chapter.

I hope it doesn't turn you off this story, because I really do enjoy interacting with each and every one of you, every time I get a comment or a vote it makes my day, and I don't want to stop writing.

So, in return, I ask that you be patient with me.

Love you guys.

Be safe