Chapter 3: Peter Mets The Team
Peter thought he was going to have some time to think about what he was going to say, but the trip to Reed's tower was a lot faster than the ride they took from the school to Aunt May's house. After the two men buckled in, the limo had engines underneath it ignite and the car started to hover upwards into the air. Once it was a good forty feet off the ground, the booster in the back fired and the car began to fly back towards the downtown part of the city.
"I didn't realize this was a flying car!" Peter said as he held on for dear life.
"Traffic this time of day is terrible," Reed answered, "And this will help us get you back to the house by seven as we promised."
"Okay," Peter said, looking out the window. "How long will it take..."
"On approach to the Tower," The driver called back.
Moments later the car slowed down as it reached the hanger of Reed Tower in the middle of the city. The engines below the car ignited again and slowly lowered the car to softly touchdown in the large hanger. Reed opened the door and stepped out. As Peter exited the car behind her, he could see Reed walk up to a woman that was on the other side of the large room. She seemed to be working on something scientific but put the work on hold to hug Reed and greet him. She had long blonde hair and was wearing the same blue uniform that Reed had on. There was no doubt about it Peter thought to himself as he walked closer, that was Sue Richards, the invisible woman.
"I didn't know you were taking the car out," Sue said to Reed, "What kind of business were you doing in uniform?"
"Recruiting," Reed replied, gesturing to Peter. "I'd like to introduce you to someone. This is Peter."
"Peter," Sue said trying to recall someone, "I don't remember you talking to me about him."
"I've been keeping this one close to my chest," Reed honestly answered, "Shield has been trying to claim him for almost a year now."
"Shield?" Sue repeated thinking about it. "Who did they send to recruit him?"
"Nick Fury himself," Reed answered, "But I was just informed by his Aunt that Stark was involved as well."
"Was he?" Sue said, sounding impressed. "And what do we want him for?"
"Peter is the newest student of the G-class." Reed said as he tried to be cool with his answers, "And I've also asked him to join the team."
"Excuse me?" Sue said, almost shocked as Aunt May was. It was clear that Reed hadn't passed this by his wife, something even Peter knew was a big no no. "This kid is going to join our team? With me, Johnny and Ben?"
"Yes," Reed confirmed, "He is."
"I'm sorry... how old are you?" she then asked, looking over at Peter.
"I'll be sixteen in August." Peter replied.
"He's not even old enough to drive!" Sue said, scolding Reed with her tone, "And you want him coming with us and fight super villains?"
"Sue, you haven't even given me a chance to explain." Reed countered, "Once you know everything that I know, you'll have no issue with him being on the team. Once you understand his unique resume, you're doubts will wash away."
Sue could tell he was cranking up the charm, but wasn't buying it. "He's a child."
"A super powered child." Reed corrected.
Sue turned back to Peter, "You have powers?"
"A few," Peter answered modestly.
Sue turned back to face her husband. "Who is this kid?"
"A superhero," Reed answered, "Trust me Sue, I've landed a big fish."
"And you also want him in the G-class?" Sue continued, "How smart is he?"
"One day I see him taking my place," Reed told her, "I've found my protégé."
Sue was stunned to hear the word come from Reed's mouth. They had talked about him taking one of the G-Class students under his wing, to groom him or her to eventually take over the Fantastic Four, but Reed had always been reluctant to pick someone. Now out of the blue he came home with someone new he selected himself.
"Oh, Reed." Sue said, understanding what a big decision this was, "Is he really that smart?"
"The rest of the G-Class has nothing on him," Reed confirmed, "The fact that he's also a super powered hero is icing on the cake."
"Him?" a voice called out, "A super hero?"
Peter looked up and was suddenly in awe as the massive build of Ben Grimm, also known as The Thing, strolled into the massive hanger in the middle of Reed conversation with Sue.
"Hello Ben," Reed called up to the big rock, "How much of that did you hear?"
"Am I not allowed to partake in talks about team business?" Ben retorted.
"Of course not," Reed replied, "Just wanted to know how much you missed so that I can catch you up."
"Oh," Ben replied, "I just heard something about a new team member."
Suddenly there was a flash of fire, and another man in the same Fantastic Four uniform, but with short blonde hair like Sue was also now in the room beside Ben.
"A new member?" Johnny repeated, "When can we meet him?"
"Or her," Ben corrected, "Don't make assumptions."
"Thank you Ben," Sue replied, "But your new member is over there."
The two men looked up to realize that she was pointing at Peter, the scrawny looking kid who was still standing there.
"Hey guys," Peter called out, "Big fan."
"Him?" Johnny said, looking over at Peter. "Is this a joke?"
"No joke," Reed called back.
"He's not old enough to vote!" Ben said, almost growling.
"He's not even old enough to drive!" Sue then added.
"He's not even sixteen?" Johnny said, stunned.
"I will be in August," Peter repeated, "It's not that far away."
"Do not judge a book by its cover," Reed said, ready to defend his decision to everyone. "This young man will make an exceptional addition to our squad."
"Says who?" Johnny asked.
"Me," Reed replied, "Isn't that enough?"
"It is for me," Ben then said, "I trust you completely."
"Not for me," Johnny said, looking over at Peter, "Get ready for your audition, kid... FLAME ON!"
The moment the word audition was uttered from his mouth; Peter had spread his feet apart, aware of what was coming next. He had no time to change so he was about to reveal his true identity to the fantastic four the hard way, especially to Johnny Storm. As Johnny flung fire shots towards Peter, he had already leaped into the air, lifting himself up at least fifteen feet. The leap shocked everyone in the room, especially Johnny, as that height brought the two men face to face with the Human Torch, who had assumed he would dominate the high ground. He was wrong. Before Johnny could respond Peter moved first as he rolled into a back flip, using the momentum from that flip to kick Johnny under the chin with one of his feet, knocking him back. The other three members watched in awe as Johnny came crashing the floor while Peter sailed back to the car and landed on the hood with ease. Peter took a deep breath because his next move was going to all but confirm his true identity to the rest of the team. Before Johnny could try to get back to his feet, Peter unleashed a fury of webs from his shooters, gluing the human torch to the ground.
"Okay," Ben admitted, "That was impressive."
Sue walked over to where Johnny was lying and began to examine the webbing that was retraining her brother to the ground. She looked back up at Peter with different eyes as she suddenly put two and two together.
"This can't be," she said, looking over at Reed, "Is it really him?"
"It is," Reed said, smiling back at her.
Before Peter could respond, Sue disappeared. It was the first time Peter had ever seen someone disappear like that with his own eyes. Seconds later his spidey senses were going off and he leaped back. Moments later they were going off again and this time he caught something and flung it over his shoulder. He had caught Sue's hand as she tried to hit him, and she landed on the ground beside Johnny.
"Who is this kid?" Ben called out.
Peter responded by removing his coat and shirt, to reveal the uniform underneath. "Just your average, neighborhood Spider-Man."
Johnny flamed back on and dissolved the webbing that was around him. The flames went out once he was back on his feet. "Wow, I did not see that coming."
"That's amazing," Sue said as she also got back to her feet, "No one has ever been able to catch me like that. How did you know where I was?"
"It's quite brilliant, actually," Reed answered as he walked over, "One of Peter's many abilities is a natural feeling, referred to as his 'spider-sense', which manifests at the base of his skull. This sensation alerts him to personal danger, and the range of his warnings can also vary in proportion to the severity of the danger. For example, he would feel a small tingling if he would happen to pass by an enemy by accident, which would prompt him to be alert. While a strong tingling, sometimes to the point of being painful, would command him to take immediate evasive action from an incoming deadly threat. It appears to be a simultaneous response to a wide variety of phenomena."
"Yeah," Peter confirmed, "What he said."
"That's incredible," Johnny said, "This means no one can ambush us if he's on the field, right?"
"Precisely," Reed said, "That's just one of many talents Peter has."
"Spider-Man," Ben said as he walked closer, "Life is just full of surprises."
"Dude," Johnny said as he walked over and shook Peter's hand, "I saw that clip of you taking out the Goblin last year. That was some hardcore action. You totally got some great moves."
"Thanks," Peter said, smiling back at Johnny. "I thought your fight with Doom in Times Square was pretty impressive too."
"That was a team effort," Reed informed him, "I suggest you get used to that concept Peter, because from here on we work as a unit."
"So, you're serious?" Johnny repeated, "Spidey's gonna join the foundation?"
"No just the foundation," Reed acknowledged, "Peter is going to be the fifth member of our team."
"Wait," Johnny replied, "That would make us..."
"Five, yes." Reed said, preventing Johnny from hurting himself, "Two weeks from now, we are going to introduce Peter to the public. He will become the newest member to our new brand, which will be known as the Fantastic Five."
"Cool," Johnny said. Then his face then lit up and he raised his arms in celebration as he realized something else. "New uniforms! Yes!"
"Thank goodness," Ben added, "This one was really chaffing me."
"Johnny, Ben," Reed said, using a commanding tone. "Please show Peter to room 706, which is going to be his new quarters."
"This way kid," Ben said he slowly started to walk to the hallway, "I'll show you to your new crib."
"It's a cool spot," Johnny confirmed, "You're right next door to me!"
"That's cool," Peter said as he walked behind them and into the hall.
Sue watched as Peter walked out with Johnny and Ben and then turned to face her husband. She was near tears, and Reed could tell what was upsetting her. "I had no idea he was so young. I just thought he was short, like Logan."
"It's alright, Sue." Reed said as he walked over a hugged his wife. "It took me a few days to grasp the reality of Spider-Man when I discovered the truth. He's been fighting super powered villains since he was thirteen. How he's survived this long is nothing short of a miracle or an indication of how smart and powerful he is and could be when he becomes an adult."
"He's really that smart?" Sue asked again, finding it hard to believe that someone so strong could also be so intelligent, basically the total package.
"He is," Reed confirmed again, "Those webs are not natural; they come from mechanical shooters attached to his arms. He built them himself using only spare parts from electronics he fished out of dumpsters."
"That's as impressive as Stark building an arc reactor in a cave," Sue replied, "No wonder Shield has been trying to enlist him."
"Precisely," Reed agreed, "He builds weapons out of garbage, so just imagine what kind of stuff he'll construct in our facility?"
"I get it," Sue said, now fully understanding her husband, "He really does have what it takes to be your protégé."
"We're just scrapping the tip of the iceberg." Reed admitted, "According to his school records, he we showing signs of genius before he became Spider-Man, but whatever trans-mutated him into the hero also enhanced his intelligence tenfold. He was very smart before he became a hero, but his intelligence has been through the roof ever since. Under my wing and with the G-Class, Peter's potential will be limitless."
"He's still a child," Sue repeated.
"He is," Reed said, putting an arm around her, "But he's with us now. We'll take good care of him, just like Johnny and Ben. Would you prefer he go back out and fight all the super villains by himself?"
"No," Sue answered, "He's safer with us."
"He'll be in good hands," Reed agreed, "And we'll be a better team for it too."
"The fantastic five," Sue said out loud, "It doesn't sound too bad."
"You'll get used it," Reed replied, "So will the rest of the world when they're introduced to our newest member: Peter Parker, the human spider."
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