Author's Note: I'll admit it; I'm in love with the concept of "Superfamily". I find it totally adorable and wonderful and I could honestly go on about it all day. That being said, this story takes the concept of "Superfamily" and tweaks it a bit. There will be no slash and probably no pairings. I really want this story to focus on how the Avengers are like a makeshift family and how Peter fits into that family. I hope you'll enjoy!

"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof."

—Richard Bach

"Mr. Parker?" He rose from his seat in the waiting room and held his breath, trying to decode what the doctor's expression meant. The doctor smiled at him kindly and motioned for Peter to follow him. The two entered a small conference room and the doctor sat down. Peter followed suit and waited as the older man glanced over what had to be May's file.

"How's my aunt?" His voice was tinged with worry. The phone call had come during 5th period advanced mathematics. The principal himself had walked into the classroom and called him out, explaining that there had been an accident and his aunt was currently in surgery.

"Well, the surgery was a success," The doctor explained and a weight lifted off the teenager's shoulders. "She was lucky that she was wearing her seat belt." Peter nodded, processing nothing more than the words "success" and "lucky".

"Can I see her?" He was suddenly filled with this sheer desire to see his aunt and prove to himself that she really was all right.

"Yes, but there is something I need to discuss with you first," The doctor shifted uncomfortably and fear suddenly filled the pit of Peter's stomach. "While your aunt will make a full recovery, it'll take time." Peter nodded, wondering what the problem was. "And I'd like to keep her in the hospital for awhile."

"How long?"

"Two months."

"Two months?" Peter echoed. "All because of a drunk driver hitting her?"

"Her injuries, while not life-threatening, were severe and it's not just that," The doctor mumbled. "It's just . . . Peter, your aunt's immune system is weak. All the stress from your uncle's death, I believe it took a toll on her physically. I would like to monitor her here until all her injuries are healed and all signs of infection have past.

"What exactly happened to her?" Peter questioned. "I know she was in a car accident, but no one would tell me anything else."

"A few fractured ribs, a concussion, numerous lesions, and bruises," The doctor listed. "Nothing too serious, but combined they can cause problems." The teenager frowned and ran a hand through his hair, trying to process everything that had been thrown onto his plate.

"Can I see her, please?" His voice was soft, mixed with fear and guilt—fear that his aunt would get worse and guilt over not being able to prevent the accident. He was Spider-Man for God's sake! He could have done something to help her!

"There's one more thing we need to cover first," The doctor added and Peter waited expectantly. "Since you are a minor, you can't stay alone in your aunt's house without a guardian. Is there someone you can stay with?"

"Yes." He lied. His parents and uncle were dead and he had no ties to other family members, but he wasn't about to let this doctor know that. The last thing Peter needed was to be put in some stranger's care.

"Good," The doctor smiled, like he had solved everyone's problems. "Then, right this way." They exited the conference room and proceeded down a long, white hallway. "Here, we are." He opened the door to an impersonal room that smelled of antiseptic.

"Oh, Peter, honey," His aunt was sitting up on her bed, bruises darkening her face and arms and a white bandage wrapped around her head. She smiled softly at him and Peter instantly bolted to her bedside. "You okay?"

"Am I okay?" Peter mumbled, surprised. "Aunt May, you were in a car accident! How do you feel? Can I do something?"

"No, Peter," His aunt replied, relief evident in her eyes. "I'm fine."

"What happened?" Peter questioned, grabbing his aunt's hand and holding it between his own.

"Honestly, I don't remember," May confessed. "It all happened so quickly. I was driving one second and then . . ." Her eyes flashed with pain and she winced. Peter cursed himself silently for bringing this upon his aunt. She squeezed his hand and after a few seconds, the pain vanished. "I'm sorry, Peter, I just can't remember."

"It's okay," Peter soothed. "It'll all be okay, Aunt May. Just focus on getting better." She nodded and he grinned at her, trying to mask his worry behind a façade that she wouldn't be able to see through.

"Peter, the doctor said something about you having to stay with someone—"

"It's fine," He lied. "I've got it all covered. You don't have to worry about it."

"Okay," She mumbled, exhaustion clearly getting the best of her. Her eyelids began to droop and Peter held her hand even tighter. He was alone in this world—all he had left was his aunt and if he were to lose her too, he was sure that he wouldn't survive. How much more did he have to lose?

"Mr. Parker?" A nurse stood in the doorway. "Your aunt needs to rest." He nodded his head and pressed a kiss onto her hand before reluctantly leaving the room. Wandering the seemingly endless halls, Peter tried to clear his mind. Aunt May was alive—at the end of the day that was all that mattered. Anything else, he could handle, except for the finding a guardian to take care of him. He had no family, no friends—there was no one that could take him in. What was he supposed to do for two months? He could lie, conjure up some make-believe cousin to take him in, but if anyone tried to follow up on that, they'd certainly find out that Peter was being dishonest. He could ask Gwen, but her family was still dealing with the loss of her father and he didn't want to be a burden to them. So, here he was, out of options and frantically trying to figure something out.

"Peter Parker," A voice called and he froze in his tracks. A man in a black leather jacket and with an eye patch stepped out from one of the rooms. "We need to talk."

"You are?" He challenged, body ready in case this guy turned out to be a villain or something along those lines.

"Nick Fury," He stated. "Director of SHIELD. We need to talk, Mr. Parker. Or do you prefer being called Spider-Man?"

It looked like things were going to become a lot more complicated.

Peter wasn't sure how exactly it had happened, but somehow, he had gone from the hospital's hallways to the lobby of the Avengers' building. He was actually here waiting to speak with Iron Man himself, Tony Stark. It was almost a surreal dream—one too good to be true—and yet, a glance to his side confirmed that this was real. Nick Fury's cold gaze surveyed the room with what was clearly distaste in his eyes, almost as if he didn't approve of how extravagant this whole building was. It was slightly amusing to see the fearless Director of SHIELD being forced to wait around for the billionaire.

Fury had cornered him in the hospital and revealed that he knew he was Spider-Man and knew of his situation. He offered him a proposition: train with the Avengers for two months or be constantly monitored by SHIELD agents and relocated to a SHIELD base. The choice hadn't been hard to make, especially considering the way Fury had phrased it. Frankly, the teenager didn't want to risk being on Fury's bad side by not agreeing to stay with the Avengers. So, here they were, waiting to see if Tony Stark would accept Peter into the Avengers.

"Stark!" Fury shouted at the ceiling and Peter wondered what exactly he was doing. "I'm not a patient man!"

"Mr. Stark is on his way, sir."

"Whoa," Peter jumped, startled by the computerized voice. "Is that JARVIS, Stark's AI?" Fury ignored him.

"Please remain—"

"Oh, Fury," Tony Stark appeared in the lobby, appearing slightly annoyed as he interrupted the mechanical voice. "You still here? I was hoping you'd be gone by now." Peter tried not to appear totally star-struck, but here was the Iron Man in front of him. Tony Stark had been his idol when he had been younger and it was partly because of Stark, that Peter had gotten into science.

"This is Peter Parker," Fury introduced and Peter quickly sprung up from his chair. "I want him to stay here in the tower for the next two months." Tony eyed him and the teenager extended his hand.

"This is Spider-Man?" Tony questioned as his eyes glanced over Peter. "Bit scrawny, isn't he?"

"Um, hi." Peter mumbled, awkwardly putting his hand down when he realized he wasn't getting a handshake.

"Look, Fury, you can't just barge in here and expect—" Fury glared at him murderously, but Tony didn't back down. Peter was impressed. He didn't know much about Nick Fury or SHIELD, but from what he had heard, Fury wasn't a person you would want to mess around with.

"Stark, don't make me—" He interrupted.

"Like I'm scared of you," Tony said with a smirk. "So, you wanna join the Avengers, huh?" Peter nodded his head.

"Well, I, um, didn't have much of a choice . . ." His voice trailed off and the teenager wished he wasn't so socially awkward. He must've looked like an idiot in front of his idol!

"Good old Nick gave you an ultimatum, did he?" Peter shook his head affirmatively.

"Will you take him in or not?" Nick asked, exasperatedly.

"How old are you anyways?" Tony inquired, ignoring Fury completely which seemed to bother the man even more.

"16."

"A bit young to be in this business, aren't you?" Concern lurked in Tony's eyes for a brief second and then vanished just as quickly as it had come.

"It's a long story." Peter said, hoping that Tony wouldn't press him for more information.

"Stark—" Fury tried again, his tone dangerous.

"Fine," Tony answered nonchalantly. He shot a grin to Peter. "Welcome to the team, Spider-Man."

"Cool." Peter whispered because he had made the team! He was an Avenger!

"Finally," Fury muttered, under his breath. "Then, I'll check in on you later, Peter." With that, Fury promptly exited the building.

"JARVIS?" Tony called.

"Yes, sir?"

"Next time Fury shows up, don't let him in."

"I'm afraid that goes against my programming, sir."

"Well, just lock all the doors or something!"

"Sir, Miss Potts has instructed me to—"

"You know what? Remind me to reprogram you later, okay?" Tony said with a sigh.

"Very well, sir." Peter suppressed a laugh. It was almost as if JARVIS had a sense of humor.

"So," Tony began, turning to Peter. "Ready to meet the team?"

Peter somehow managed to nod his head as he followed the older man to the golden elevator.

Author's Note: I'm just getting started! Next chapter, I'll introduce the rest of the team. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review if you have a second!