peter parker [5+1 collection one shots]

2.1

5 things Tony Stark didn't know about Peter Parker (and 1 thing he did)

intro

word count: 1068
warnings: none

    He didn’t mean to get stuck inside the kid’s head, he really didn’t.
   
    He didn’t want to experience a teenager’s life again; he hated being a teenager. All the mood swings and unnecessary drama really didn’t fit with his vibe.

    He had messed up experiments before, it was part of his job – to learn and grow from his mistakes and help those who needed it by doing so. But this – this was nothing like he had ever encountered before, including the countless types of aliens he had seen in his lifetime.

    This was different, like an out of body experience almost.

    He had no idea how it happened. All he knew was one moment he was helping Bruce test out their newest development in Stark technology – mind reading – after saying his goodbyes to the kid for the night, and the next, he could see and feel everything his seventeen-year-old intern could.

    His body was still next to Bruce’s, lying on the table that had sent chills up his spine not even five minutes ago. He could see it – the bags that hung low under his eyes, the scraggly hair that fell behind his forehead messily, the sharp piercings of his wrinkles. He saw it all, but through Peter’s eyes.

    He felt like a teenager. His body felt weird – like it was in its awkward stage of life, not too sure where to go yet. And that’s where it was. Peter was seventeen, nearing the end of high school and puberty. Tony felt as though his legs were too shaky and his face was too oily.

    Peter didn’t seem to notice the addition to his mind as he left the tower. Tony tried to scream at him to turn around, turn around and get Bruce, but the teenager didn’t hear him. He only heard the music that was playing through his ear buds softly.

    Bruce didn’t notice anything remotely wrong with the billionaire until he was unresponsive. He had a heartbeat, he was breathing, but that was all his body would allow. The genius began to freak out and retrace the steps he took in the experiment, trying to determine where his error fell. He double checked all the factors, all of the parts, but nothing seemed off. He called the one person he knew would have an answer.

    “Doctor, thank you for coming.” He said softly as Stephen Strange entered through a portal of orange light.

    The doctor nodded and took slow steps towards Tony’s unmoving body, bending down to get a closer look. “What seems to be the problem?”

    Bruce shook his head. “I have no idea. His heartbeat is normal, his breathing shows no signs of irregularity, but he is unresponsive, almost as if he’s not there anymore.”

    The sorcerer pursed his lips, lifting up the inventor’s eyelid, only to watch it fall when he let it go. “What experiments were you performing when this occurred?”

    “We were trying out some new technology to adapt to one’s brain waves and enable others to read their mind.” Bruce explained, showing the doctor the advanced tech that lay beneath his fingertips.

    Stephen nodded, putting his index finger and thumb against his chin, gripping it in thought. “Give me a second.”

    He took a step back and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he cleared his mind. Bruce took a step back as well, watching as a green magic appeared, spiraling within the sorcerer’s fingers. Stephen expertly moved his hands, flowing slowly with the magic intertwined within them. He continued his process for several minutes while Bruce watched in anticipation.

    Stephen opened his eyes suddenly, inhaling sharply as he found himself drifting back into reality.

    Bruce took a place next to him, placing a hand gently on the man’s shoulder. “You alright?”

    Stephen nodded. “Yes, thank you.” He walked back over to the table Tony lay on, placing his hand over the unconscious man’s forehead. “I think I know what happened, but you’re going to have to bear with me.”

    Bruce nodded slowly as he crossed his arms, waiting for the taller man to continue.

    “When you were analyzing your experiment, you forgot one factor.” Stephen said slowly.

    “Which was?” Bruce inquired.

    “The kid.”

    Bruce furrowed his eyebrows and looked down, placing his right hand on his cheek as he ran through the process in his mind. “Peter?”

    “You planned to have Tony read your mind, but you didn’t program your technology to handle more than two people in an area at a time. The child’s interference messed with its structure, and as he left, he took Tony’s aestrial form with him.” Stephen explained, examining other parts of Tony’s body thoroughly.

    “Wait,” Bruce said sharply, holding up the hand that wasn’t preoccupied with his cheek, “you’re telling me that Tony’s soul was transferred into Peter’s body?”

    “Technically, yes.” Stephen said in monotone. “And it appears that Peter doesn’t know.”

    “So Tony can see and hear and…feel everything Peter can?” Bruce asked, looking towards his unmoving friend.

    Stephen nodded. “I can fix it, I think. It’ll be a quick process, but it’ll take several hours to learn; I’ve never had to perform something like this before.”

    “Do you think we should tell Peter?” Bruce asked.

    “Would it affect him?” Stephen questioned, folding his hands together.

    Bruce bit his lip. Peter was a strong kid, but if there was one thing Bruce knew about Peter, it was that the kid was a package deal of Peter Parker and Spider-Man. With the strength and confidence of the nighttime vigilantly came to anxiety and pressures of the high school student. Though the kid wouldn’t express it verbally and did his best to try and hide it physically, he had a constant anxiety riding through his veins. Bruce knew it, and with that in mind, he figured he would wait to let Peter know until the procedure had to be done.

    “I’ll just tell him to stop by the tower ASAP.” Bruce nodded, pulling out his phone to shoot a quick text to the teenager.

    He didn’t receive a response until the early morning, in which Peter had said he didn’t have any free time until the afternoon, after classes.

    Bruce sighed and watched Stephen flip through hundreds of pages of countless books. He prayed that Tony didn’t lose his mind that day.