"When do you think well see him?" Nat whispered to Wanda. The girl slid the cup of hot chocolate over to her mother figure and took a sip of her own beverage.

"He didn't say," she hissed into her cup. "He just said today."

They both looked up simultaneously at Tony, who had just walked out of the elevator.

"That... that was creepy. Aaaanyway, my new intern is arriving in...-" he glanced down at his watch, "-approximately three minutes."

Nat smirked. "Is it the one with zero per-"

"Yes it is the one with zero percent." The man flopped down on a stool, grabbing a cup of coffee. "I am not ready."

Wanda looked between the two, confused. "Intern? As in one from high school?"

"Yup." Tony missed the look Wanda shared with Nat.

Before anyone could respond, the doors to the elevators opened and Happy stepped out, followed but the lucky (or unlucky) intern. The cogs in Nat's brain started churning as she watched Wanda start. The girl's eyes widened with surprise at the sight of the boy, who sent her a small wave in response.

"Boss, your intern." Happy stepped aside, inviting the teenager to introduce himself.

"I'm Peter. Peter Parker." Peter dipped his head slightly in a small nod. "It's nice to meet you." An expression of concern and confusion soon crossed his face as a tingling sensation went through his hand. "Wha- AH!" The intern yelped, his hand floating high above him in a ball of red.

Wanda cackled mischeviously. "I just read your shirt."

Peter looked down at the text that clearly said "If you believe in telekenesis raise my right hand" and frowned. "Right. My bad."

The witch let his hand drop, giggling uncontrollably at her little joke. Nat smirked, glad that Wanda was feeling so open to meeting this new kid.

"I'm Natasha Romanoff. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Parker."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too."

The spy watched as Tony and Peter introduced themselves. Something was clicking at the back of her mind, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Something about that last name...

They watched as Tony went with his new intern before erupting into a hurried conversation.

"That's him," Wanda said first.

"Who?"

"Spidey."

Natasha's eyes widened. "I thought so. Say, have you heard the last name Parker before?"

"Nooooooo... I don't think so... Why?"

"It just sounds familiar." The Russian shrugged. "Oh well. Up for a round of Black Jack?"

Tony lead Peter down to his workshop, consciously relaxing his jaw. He seriously hoped this shy, quiet kid wasn't a total flop. Worst case scenario, he either sends him to Wanda or he boots the kid and doesn't get an intern. That's not bad. Right?

Peter, meanwhile, was silently stressing. What if I mess something up? What if I break something? It's Tony Stark! My flipping idol! And the person who gave me a serious burn! WHAT IF HE KILLS ME!? He mentally shook himself, forcing his overcrowding thoughts to move aside. Tony Stark would never ever ever kill a high school intern. Unless he worked for Hydra or something. Right?

When Tony pulled the glass door, he couldn't help but smirk at the kids reaction. His hazel eyes grew wide, scanning every surface.

"Woah. It's like a dream in here!" Peter beamed. "Wooooooooah, you have a 3D printer!? That's sick!"

"Yup," Stark replied, popping the p. "It's me, what else do you expect? Okay, let's get to work."

AC/DC started blaring through hidden speakers, sending Peter leaping out of his skin at the noise. Tony immediately got to work, grabbing for a hologram hovering on his desk.

"I'm curious about you. Tell me more about yourself."

Peter blinked. "Oh, yeah, right. Um... do you wanna play 20 questions?"

Tony looked up, quirking an eyebrow.

"I-its a game I play when I meet new people. Basically someone asks a question, the other person answers then the first person answers and then we switch. We each ask 20 questions."

"Sure. I'll start." Stark jumped back as a piece of metal came flying at his face. "Middle name?"

"Benjamin. You wanna put that there." The teen pointed to where the engineer had just skimmed over with the screw.

"I know." He hadn't actually, but he wasn't going to tell anyone that. "Edward. Your go."

"Hmmm..." Peter moved his head to the beat of T.N.T, thinking. "Favourite band?"

Tony looked at him incredulously, spreading his arms. "AC/DC, duh."

"Hm. I too like an Australian band. Crowded House."

"A classic. Pass me the screwdriver?"

Peter obliged. "Here. Now your answer?"

Tony glared at Peter's shy smirk, rolling his eyes. This is the kid with a science pun shirt, so of course he's gonna be a smart alec. "That doesn't count." When Peter didn't budge, Tony sighed. "Get it yourself, you lazy geek."

Peter gasped in mock offense. "You sound like my friend. Okay."

The questions started off simple, the generic "what's your favourite colour," "Favourite food," that sort of thing. Eventually Tony got bored and decided to get deep.

"What one-in-a-lifetime event changed your life?"

Peter froze, the spanner suspended in the air. What do I do, what do I do?  He put the spanner down, refusing to look at Tony, who was no doubt watching his every move. He couldn't say Oscorp, for obvious  reasons,  and he couldn't say Ben because... that was just too private. The air seemed to get thicker and Peter swallowed. "Um... I don't-I don't really know... um... I guess... getti-getting an internship here?" Stupid stutter.

Tony  nodded, not quite convinced. "I see."

"Your turn."

"Ah, yes." Tony cleared his throat. " Um... Afghanistan. Go."

Peter blinked. "Oh, right. Stereotype that fits you?"

"Rich, egotistical billionaire," Tonyfired back with his winning smile. "Had me the screwdriver."

Peter obliged. "For me it would beeeeee... The nerd. All the way. Can't get much more nerdy than me. Actually, Ned is pretty nerdy but..." he trailed off, the tips of his ears growing red as he realised he was starting to rant again. "Sorry."

Tony merely chuckled. "All good kid. My turn!" An idea popped into his head and he paused, considering it carefully. "What are your opinions on Spider-Man?"

If Peter was eating, he would have choked out of surprise. Fortunately he wasnt, but he was still immensely startled by the question. "Spider-Man? Uh, yeah, he's a great guy. Looking out for the little guys like me, y'know? Saving the city, stopping crime, the little things."

"Ahuh." Tony nodded, peering at the bolt he was screwing. "Personally, I think hes a little annoying and fishy."

"How so?"

"No one knows who's under that mask. It could be a criminal, for all we know, trying to get himself a spot in the Avengers before tearing us apart. It's fishy and I don't like it."

"And the annoying part?"

"The stupid jokes. He doesn't shut up about them! The only thing He says are jokes and it's infuriating because we can't get anything else out of him." Tony had completely forgotten by this point that Peter wasn't supposed to know that the Avengers were chasing the masked vigilante. Peter knew anyway, but was still curious.

"Have you ever thought that maybe... The jokes are some sort of... well... mask?" He asked, forcing Tony to look at him.

The man's eyebrows creased in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, sure, he's a funny guy, probably tells jokes to lighten up the air. And probably also to distract his opponents, but the jokes , at least, I think, are possibly there sometimes as a defense mechanism. A way to stop fear showing. A way to..." he squinted, thinking of what he was trying to say, "a way to hide the fear and make sure he doesn't give any slips away."

Tony studied Peter's face, understanding exactly what he was meaning. This kid could be a real asset. Someone who dug deep into what others might be feeling, was smart, intelligent, someone who could get information without anyone noticng.
"Tell me kid."

Peter looked up. "Yeah?"

"How would you like to help us bring in Spider-Man?"