Peter Parker... Stark?

Public Scrutiny

Peter sat on the couch, staring at the two men sitting across from him.

"I have so many questions," he finally said as Clint twisted the Spider-Man mask nervously. "Why are you... me? What was going on at school?"

"Friday?" Tony said. The TV flickered to life to reveal an excited new reporter waving her arms at... Midtown High?

Peter leaned closer as the screen switched to someone interviewing a young woman, and in the background was a picture of Peter's own face, half of it hidden behind a Spider-Man mask. Above the photo was written Starks... A Family of Supers?

"How did they find out?" he stammered, his heart sinking. His secret had gotten out. "What are we going to do?"

"I've already called a press conference," Tony said, "and I need you there. That's why I brought you home from school."

Tony got up and Peter and Clint followed suit as the TV shut off. "But how is Clint dressing as Spider-Man going to change anything?" Peter asked as he followed Tony down the hall.

Suddenly, his spider-sense jerked to life, and Peter stepped sideways as a web smacked into the wall beside him.

"Because," Clint said with a grin, his arm still extended, "how could Peter Stark possibly be Spider-Man if he's at a press conference and Spider-Man is swinging by overhead?"

"So, you're going to pretend to be me..." Peter said slowly. "I can already think of, like, a thousand things that can go wrong with this plan. How are you planning on being Spider-Man without spider powers?"

"Don't stress about it too much, Pete," Tony said, resting a hand on the teen's shoulder. "I've already given Katniss here the whole shebang. He's got some tech in his boots that'll let him stick to the walls for a really short period of time, so as long as he swoops by with a fancy flip and then runs off it should get you out from under public scrutiny."

Peter nodded slowly, and Tony smiled, satisfied. "Good. Now go put a tie on or something. You're going to be on TV in five minutes."

~~~

Peter hated press conferences. All the shouting and flashing lights were hard on his enhanced senses, and today they weren't shouting at Tony--they were shouting at him. Peter focused on taking deep breaths as Tony guided him onto the stage, the teen refusing to tilt his chin down. He would not look ashamed. He needed to convince the press that they had it wrong about him, or he might as well throw his identity and patrols out the window.

Peter sat in a chair beside the pulpit at the front of the stage. Tony had arranged for the conference to be outdoors, and already the sunshine combined with his nerves was making Peter uncomfortably warm. Tony tapped the mic a few times, clearing his throat and effectively silencing the reporters present. They all stared up at both the Starks on the stage with heavy anticipation as Tony started talking.

"It's to my understanding," Tony started with a grim look on his face, "that someone has spread the rumor that Peter Stark has taken it upon himself to dress up in a cheesy costume and run around as a vigilante by night." He let the reporters stew in the tense silence for a moment before continuing. "I've called this press conference to discredit whoever thought they were clever enough to throw my son under public scrutiny so mercilessly without any real proof."

"But where's the proof that he isn't Spider-Man?" a reporter called from near the back of the crowd. A hum of agreement hissed through the rest of the people gathered and Peter tried to ignore just how many pairs of eyes were on him at that moment. Where was Clint?

"That's not the point," Tony started, but he was interrupted by another reporter.

"On the contrary, I think it's entirely the point!"