An hour later.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
When Peter opened the door, a handsome middle-aged man in a suit stood there.
"Hello, Mr. Parker," Tony Stark greeted with a smile, looking friendly. He wasn't arrogant like Peter had imagined, nor did he possess the aggressive and sinister nature of a capitalist, as Shadow Spider-Man had perceived.
"Hello, Mr. Stark," Peter nodded slightly, taken aback, and then stepped aside to let Tony Stark in.
Tony Stark glanced at Peter with surprise.
He'd been keeping an eye on Peter for quite some time. It started around the time Peter gained his powers and began his street-level heroics as Spider-Boy, wearing a homemade baby suit.
It was easy enough to discover the real identity behind the mask.
After gathering Peter's information and assessing his actions as those of a teenager who idolized superheroes and wanted to be one himself, he didn't pay much attention.
He even erased some of Peter's tracks, so he wouldn't attract the wrong kind of attention and get into trouble.
Even without specifically focusing on him, he still kept up with information about Peter.
From the information he gathered, "calm" wasn't an adjective that came to mind when thinking about Peter.
In fact, Tony Stark's description of Peter was: childish.
Not even "youthful."
"Are you doing alright lately?" Iron Man asked, scrutinizing Peter. It was a bit out of the blue.
"Uh, I'm doing fine, Mr. Stark," Peter replied. "You can just call me Peter."
"Alright, Peter, I'm Tony," Iron Man said, patting Peter on the shoulder. "Wow, you're a sturdy kid."
"Mr. Stark, please come in and sit down," Aunt May invited, stepping in.
Peter gestured again for him to enter.
Iron Man walked into the house, took a quick look around the living room, and sat on the sofa.
Aunt May went to make tea, and Peter sat down next to Iron Man.
"Mr. Stark…"
"Call me Tony."
"Okay, Tony. So, what brings you here?" Peter asked in a low voice.
Tony sized Peter up: "Looks like you've already got an idea."
Peter nodded slightly: "The Sokovia Accords?"
He didn't bother asking why this agreement involved him, or why Iron Man knew his identity—stupid questions.
In his previous guesses, the fact that Iron Man had come in person meant that everything was already based on the knowledge of his identity.
"Yes, but not entirely," Tony looked at Peter with some surprise, and said in a low voice, "I want you to sign the Accords, but the main reason I'm here is that I need your help."
"Need my…?" Peter was stunned. Had he guessed right? Because of Captain America's rebellion, Iron Man needed help to deal with them?
"Ahem," Peter hadn't even finished his question when Tony coughed, his voice rising, "Regarding the September Fund, I've already approved it. So, Peter, when will you be ready? We can discuss the details of our partnership."
"September Fund? Partnership?" Aunt May emerged from the kitchen, carrying tea and pre-prepared snacks.
"Uh, sorry, Aunt May, I actually…" Peter knew this was Iron Man using a cover story, so he stammered.
Tony looked at Aunt May, stood up to take some of the items from her, and smiled. "Peter is an excellent young man. I'm looking forward to working with him."
"Actually, I'm also looking forward to working with you, Mr. Stark," Peter said in a serious tone, even changing his address.
From Aunt May's perspective, it was about the September Fund and funding. It was likely her nephew, Peter, had applied for a grant, and the funder was something like the Stark Group.
In fact, to Peter and Tony, Peter's words meant he agreed to sign the Sokovia Accords.
"Mr. Stark, can we discuss the details of our partnership?" Peter asked.
Tony smiled slightly, "Of course, Mr. Parker."
"Aunt May." Peter looked at Aunt May.
Aunt May gave him a fist pump, mouthing, "Go get 'em!"
"Yeah!"
Peter and Tony got up and walked toward Peter's room.
"What's this, retro tech?" As soon as he entered the room, Tony was attracted by a large, old-fashioned desktop computer on the desk.
Peter glanced at it. It was indeed a computer he had assembled himself from a bunch of parts he scavenged from a junkyard. It was mainly used for debugging his Web-Shooters, so he had added a lot of interfaces to the back of the computer, making it look a bit bulky.
"Actually, it is quite retro." Peter felt a little embarrassed to have his idol see these things.
Tony snickered, finally finding an expression on this overly serious little brat that was appropriate for his age.
That's right, he'd just thought it over carefully and decided Peter was just putting on an act.
After all, before today, his intel painted Peter as just a childish kid.
How could someone suddenly grow up overnight?
Even if they did, it should be because of some major turning point in their life.
But everything for Peter was calm, unchanged from before. Where were the conditions for this "ripening"?
"Although you seem to have admitted it, I still want to confirm, the one in baby pajamas wandering the streets, that's you, right, Peter?" Tony pulled out his phone and opened a video.
".Yes, that's me, but those aren't baby pajamas, that's my... suit, just like your Iron Man armor!"
"You call that thing a suit? Hahaha!" Tony slapped his leg and burst out laughing.
Peter looked at him, a little annoyed.
"Ahem, I didn't mean to laugh at you," Tony said, sobering up and apologizing. "Haha, but I just couldn't help it."
". . ." Peter said, a little helpless. "Tony, I think we can stop talking about the baby sleeping, no, the suit, and talk about the Sokovia Accords and why you need my help. I think that's the real reason you're here."
"Right, yes, the Sokovia Accords are…" Tony explained the general content of the Sokovia Accords to Peter, as it was a prerequisite for him to join.
Peter also wanted to understand the full picture of the agreement.
Although he also believed that people with superpowers needed to be somewhat regulated, he couldn't accept it if the regulation was too strict.
Moreover, influenced by the experience of Shadow Spider-Man, he didn't have much faith in the integrity of those in power.
He didn't want to become a tool for others to profit from without knowing anything.
(End of chapter)