Someone asked me if I would follow along with the movies, and the answer is I have no freaking clue. This is an AU, and right now, I'm just kind of writing whatever plotline pops up in my head, so I guess we'll see how it goes, and go from there. This is the last part of the Side Effects Arc, so this whole 'updating everyday' thing will not happen again for a long, long time. Sorry.

Tony can't understand how Peter is so calm about it.

The kid climbed the wall like nothing, and when Bruce set a fifty pound weight in front of him, Peter lifted it with his pinky. He didn't freak out when they again considered the possibility of the spider being radioactive, and claimed he had already been considering it since day one.

Tony felt like he was going to be sick.

He should have done something. Maybe if he hadn't been arguing with Osborne, or even skipped the field trip all together. This was his son. If he couldn't even protect his own kid, how could he expect himself to save anyone else?

"Hey, Dad, you okay?" Peter asked. He was sitting on a steel table, shirtless. Bruce had him strapped to a heart monitor, and other than moving his arms around a bit, the teenager looked comfortable.

"I'm fine, Pete," Tony assured him, but as soon as Peter looked away, his face crumbled.

"So, I was thinking," Peter started. "Since I can climb walls, and I'm basically a human-spider hybrid thing, what if I had webs?"

"Webs?" Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow and looking up from his notepad. "Are you telling me you have another ability that you haven't told us about?"

Tony's breath hitched, and he didn't relax until Peter shook his head.

"No, but wouldn't it be cool?" he gushed. "While you guys were gone, I was doing my own research-"

"He was stalling," JARVIS translated.

"-and I got to thinking, I can't have spider powers and not have some kind of web stuff, right? So I designed these web shooters, and I have this idea for a web fluid-"

"No," Tony stopped him, raising his hand. "No, Peter, absolutely not. You are not- you can't- no."

Peter furrowed his brow. "I thought you were cool with this."

"You think I'm cool with this?" Tony asked, his voice rising involuntarily. "I'm not 'cool' with this, Peter. How is a parent supposed to be 'cool' when their kid gets bitten by a radioactive spider?"

Bruce looked between them, and vaguely motioned towards the door. "I'm gonna, uh... go." The scientist wasted no time scurrying out, and Tony waited for the door to shut before he stepped towards his son.

"Why did you feel the need to keep this from me?" he demanded. "If JARVIS hadn't have made you, would you have even told me you had been bitten?"

"Yes, Dad, of course," Peter said, his eyes wide. "I wouldn't have been able to hide it from you even if I wanted to."

Tony ran his hand down his face, and sighed.

"Dad," Peter called, "I'm okay. Dr. Banner said everything was fine. I might even have an enhanced healing factor, so really, I'm better than okay."

"I don't like it," Tony said. "Rhodey won't like it. Pepper's gonna have a fit."

Peter winced. "I hadn't even thought about Pepper. God, I'm going to be grounded for a month. And Mr. Osborne- I'm honestly surprised he hasn't gotten a visit from Iron Man yet."

"I think it'll be best if we keep this between us," Tony sighed. "We kept you a secret for fifteen years, we can surely keep this little development from getting out."

"When you say between us-"

"I'm telling Pepper."

Peter pouted. "Of course you are."

/

He waited until after Pepper returned from her board meeting and had a glass of her favorite wine in hand before Tony lead her to their personal lounge. He explained everything to her, sparing no details, and speaking quickly before she could blow up on him.

"What do you mean Peter has superpowers?" she demanded after it was clear that Tony was finished.

"I mean the kid prefers climbing on the ceiling instead walking." He took a swig of his own wine, and buried his head in his hands. "After all these years, doing everything I could to keep him safe. He wasn't even going to tell me. He said he was going to, but JARVIS had to force him into it. He couldn't even tell me he was bitten by a radioactive spider. What kind of father does that make me?"

Pepper gently took the wine glass from him and set it on the table they were sitting at. "Come on, Tony, you know he didn't mean it like that. You're a good dad."

"A good dad wouldn't have let this happen," Tony mumbled into his hands.

"And what exactly could you have done differently to prevent this, huh?" Pepper asked. "Stopped him from going on that field trip? Homeschooled him? There's nothing you could have done."

Tony seemed to actually think before he answered. "Maybe it's not too late for homeschooling."

"Oh, for the love of- Tony!"

"He wants to be a superhero," he said. "He hasn't said it, but I can see it in his eyes. He's talking about building some kind of web shooter, and he's getting these ideas."

"Can you blame him?" Pepper asked. "Ever since you created the suit, he's been idolizing you even more than he did before. He's wanted to help you since he was eleven and you came home with the idea to save the world."

"Great," Tony griped, reaching for the wine bottle. "So it is my fault."

The redhead glared as she snatched the bottle away from him. "Stop that. You can't blame yourself for this. Peter would have found a way eventually. He's your son, after all."

"You're not helping." He huffed, and closed his eyes. "After what happened with Loki and the Chitauri... I can't even imagine him going out there."

"Oh, Tony." Pepper ran her fingers through Tony's hair and smiled softly. "You said he has a healing factor, and something about a sixth sense. That's good, Tony. It means he'll be safe, no matter what he does."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me you're honestly okay with this?" he asked. "You're completely fine with Peter have spider powers and him wanting to go out and be a superhero."

"Oh, god no," she denied. "I don't want it to happen anymore than you. But knowing Peter, he'll do it anyway. He's probably in the labs right now, working on a costume or something else."

"Actually, he's in his room, hiding from you," he confessed.

"Figures." With a sigh, Pepper patted Tony's leg before standing up. "Have you grounded him yet?"

"Worse." He gave a half hearted smirk, "I told him you would ground him."

She gave him a flat stare before shaking her head leaving.

Tony stared after her until she reached the elevator, then his gaze turned back to the wine. He thought of his son, probably hanging from his bedroom ceiling. Pepper would probably take away his lab privileges for at least two weeks. Peter would whine and pout for one week before Tony would more than likely give in, like he had several times before.

With a huff, he stood from his seat and grabbed the leftover wine. He poured it down the sink and left without glancing back.

If his son really was going to insist on being a hero, then Tony would make sure his boy was safe.