DELETED SCENE #1:
JOHNNY AND HARRY'S FIRST DATE

Johnny Storm was never nervous about dates. Never. He was a suave, smooth talking teenage superhero, he knew how to handle dates. Yet there he was, standing in front of his large mirror, endlessly fiddling with his shirt collar, trying to figure out why he didn't feel as hot as he usually did.

"It's just a boy," a voice said, scaring him half to death.

"Sue!" he screamed, "How long have you been here?"

"Not long," his sister replied, appearing right next to him, causing him to jump back, "But long enough to see that you care a lot about this date. Look, you'll be fine. We've met Harry Osborn before, he's a nice enough kid. Even though his dad is..." she trailed off, letting the silence speak for itself.

"He's nice and pretty and goes to that smart kid school," Johnny breathed, "I just go to public school. In Long Island. He probably knows how to properly use 'whom' in a sentence."

"You'll be fine," Sue scoffed, shoving him out of the bathroom and towards his door, "He's waiting, go on!"

He made his way towards the garage of the Baxter Building, tapping his foot on the floor of the elevator, checking his phone every few minutes. No texts from Harry. He should calm down, Harry was probably calm and relaxed. He shouldn't be so worried.

º º º º º

The restaurant was too fancy. Despite the two of them having gone there multiple times, going there by themselves was completely foreign territory. All the people around them were of the older variety, those under the age of thirty being accompanied by their parents.

Johnny handed the valet his keys, adjusting his shirt as he stepped towards the large doors. He wasn't dressed overly fancy, but he was dressed well enough to be known as someone who belonged.

He looked to the side and found Harry looking around patiently, his jacket in his arms rather than in the coat closet. Johnny's stomach plummeted; people only held onto their jackets if they were planning on making a quick escape from the date.

"H-Harry," he said, walking towards him. He wanted to hit himself; why did he stutter? He gave Harry his winning smile, only to be greeted with a similar one from the other boy.

"Have you been here before?" Johnny asked as they were seated, the waitress giving them a fond, albeit patronizing smile.

"Yes," Harry replied, a bit too formally, "For business prospects with my dad and with his various dates who wanted to get to know me and the like."

"Oh," Johnny said, unsure of how to respond, "Well...that's nice?"

Harry blushed slightly. "Sorry, I just made this really awkward, huh?" He sounded less formal now, more embarrassed.

Johnny rushed to speak. "No, no, no, it's totally okay! I, er, I-I..." he trailed off, unable to think of anything to say, "God, what is happening to me?"

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, frowning at him, concerned, "Did something happen during one of your missions?"

"No, nothing happened," Johnny wheezed, "I just...you're really cool and I don't know if I'm cool enough to be on a date with you."

Harry ducked his head, smiling. He glanced up at him. "Well, I mean of course you're not cool. You can turn into fire, you're hot."

Johnny's jaw dropped and he stared at the boy in front of him. "Did you just...was that-was that a pun?"

Harry shrugged, "Well, yeah. Though, I mean..." he trailed off, smirking.

Johnny felt his entire body heat up and he had to stare at his hands in an effort to cool himself down. He didn't want to Flame On in the middle of a fancy restaurant in front of his ridiculously smooth date.

Harry Osborn was one-upping him. He couldn't let that happen.

So then began the competition. As the dinner waned on, the two boys were thankfully oblivious to the older people in the room, focused solely on each other. For every line Harry dropped, Johnny was there to try and beat it. Sometimes he did, sometimes he said something so cheesy and ridiculous that Harry choked on his water, laughing.

By the time the entire meal was finished, Johnny had already given up. Harry Osborn was not a boy to be swayed by his charm. If he had any at all. Maybe people were just humoring him; maybe even Harry was humoring him.

The thought made his stomach churn. He liked Harry, he was funny and listened to Johnny's endless ramblings with rapt focus, asking him questions and saying things in turn. The thought of all of it being a front hurt him.

"I got it," Harry said, holding out his hand for the check.

"No way, I asked you," Johnny replied, pulling out his own card, "There are rules set in place, Harold."

Harry covered his mouth and put away his card, laughing too hard to argue. Johnny gave the waitress a bright smile as he handed her his card, not even watching as she left. That was how much he cared about this date.

Harry sighed softly, still laughing. "Hey, what are you doing after this?"

Johnny shrugged. "Nothing really." He inwardly winced; that sounded really lame in retrospect.

"Cool," Harry said, "Do you wanna go for a walk in Central Park?"

Johnny blinked momentarily. Harry wanted the date to continue? "Y-yeah, sure!"

º º º º º

They walked in silence as they fell into an easy stride, moving deeper into the park. Johnny left his car at the restaurant, handing the valet a few twenty dollar bills, walking with Harry. The two boys walked in silence, looking towards the darkened sky, comfortable in the other's company.

"Sorry about the date," Harry said, breaking the silence, "I'm not usually one to point out my flaws or anything, but I haven't been on one in a while, so..."

"Why are you apologizing?" Johnny asked, turning to look at him, still walking, "I had fun."

"Really?" Harry asked, "I mean, I had fun, don't get me wrong, but..." he trailed off, "Did you? Have fun? With me?" He sighed and muttered under his breath, "Gwen was right, I'm hopeless."

"I had fun with you," Johnny said, "Well—"

"Well?" Harry exclaimed, eyes wide, "What does that mean?"

"I mean you kept one-upping me," Johnny groaned, "I was supposed to be the smooth talking hot guy that won you over, but instead you kept beating me."

Harry blinked. "I didn't realize we were competing, I thought you were just complimenting me and I figured it'd be rude if I didn't say anything."

Johnny sighed. "So this was a front. Great."

"No! I—" Harry groaned, "I was trying to keep up with the compliments and whatever, but it's easy because there's a lot to compliment. Gwen was right, you are way out of my league."

"What?" Johnny exclaimed, "What do you—you're Harry Osborn! Poster boy for rich sons everywhere. You've proven that kids don't always end up like their creepy, probably evil fathers!"

Harry blinked. "Okay, I'm just gonna pretend you didn't call my dad evil because that's a rabbit hole I don't wanna go down tonight and just say: you turn into a literal ball of flame and proved the existence of friendly aliens, what the hell does being pretty have to do with anything?"

"You're not pretty!" Johnny shouted, "Wait, no, you're not just pretty! You're also, like, really nice and whatever." Harry raised an eyebrow and Johnny began to stutter and flounder.

So much for being the suave, smooth talking teen superhero.

"I-I-I just mean that you're, like, really nice and laugh at my dumb jokes and whatever I say even though you were holding your jacket because you wanted to ditch this date and you still asked me to walk with you even though you totally have better things to do with your time." Johnny felt his entire body begin to heat up and forced himself to cool down; these clothes weren't fireproof and he wasn't wearing his suit underneath.

"I laughed because you're funny," Harry said, completely serious, "And I was holding my jacket because the last time I turned one in, mine got stolen. And I asked you to walk with me because I wanted to spend more time with you because you're really hot. That wasn't a pun."

That punched a laugh out of Johnny and he doubled over from the sheer relief. "So...you don't think I'm lame?"

"No, you're really lame," Harry replied, "Those puns made me want to brain myself on the table. But that's how I am with all puns and yours were the better ones that I've heard. They were lame, but smart."

Johnny paused. "No one ever calls me smart."

Harry hummed. "No one ever calls me nice."

The two just continued to walk in silence, looking at the street lamps that illuminated their path. The two had nothing else to say, their words spent.

Wordlessly, Harry reached out and took Johnny's hand in his own. Johnny froze up; Harry's hands were really cold. But he knew that his hands were always warm which meant that, together, they reached thermodynamic equilibrium.

"Wow, I'm a nerd," Johnny gasped aloud.

Harry burst into laughter, pausing their walking to double over, gasping for breath. Johnny grinned down at him, watching him laugh. He had done that. He caused that.

"Yeah, you know, I..." Harry began, standing back up, only to stop short, just staring at Johnny.

They just stared at each other for a few moments.

"What's your rule on kissing on the first date?" Johnny asked quickly.

Harry shrugged. "My friend Diana kissed her boyfriend on the first date, so I honestly have no complaints."

"Great," Johnny said before he lunged forward, reaching up slightly as Harry was slightly taller. He kissed him fiercely, gripping his shirt, stumbling forward as Harry slipped an arm around his waist and pulled him close, grasping his shoulders to keep from falling.

They kissed for a few moments, Johnny trying not to completely burn up from the sheer shock because Harry Osborn could kiss better than him. Did this boy have to beat him at everything?

They pulled away quickly, Harry gasping for breath. Johnny laughed, only slightly out of breath. He leaned in for another kiss, but Harry pushed his head back.

"Let me breathe," Harry complained, grinning.

"Am I the better kisser?" Johnny asked excitedly, "Did I finally beat you at something?"

Harry pretended to think. "I dunno. I think we should try again."

Johnny laughed as he pulled Harry back in for another kiss, not even caring that he had to stand on his toes to do it.

As far as first dates went, this one was one of the best.

DELETED SCENE #2:
REGULAR STUDENT: HOMECOMING

Flash walked numbly up the stairs towards the dance, blinking rapidly, barely registering as he stumbled into the auditorium, the music muffled.

Spider-Man just stole his phone, his car, and his date.

"Flash, where's Diana?" Harry asked, pulling him towards the side.

"She's, um, she-she—" he pointed towards the door, "She's out with Spider-Man."

"What?" Harry exclaimed, Gwen piping in as well, having overheard the conversation. "Spider-Man?"

"Uh, yeah," Flash squeaked, "He just took my car and my phone, so I have no way to get home, so...can someone get me home?"

"Yeah, sure," Gwen breathed, "We can get you home. But are you okay, you look shook up?"

"I'm fine," he breathed, "I just need...can I get some punch or something? Hey, Liz." He greeted the older girl as they neared the refreshments table, all of them frowning when she caught sight of her shocked expression.

"Are you alright?" Gwen asked, placing a light hand on her arm.

"Y-Yeah," Liz stammered, "Uh, P-Peter just left? Like he always does." She scoffed lightly, wiping at her eyes. "I dunno, that just hurt. A lot."

"He's such an asshole," Flash groaned, "You don't deserve that."

"Yeah, seriously," Harry added, "That's really shitty. You know what, we'll be your dates."

Liz sniffed, smiling. "Yeah?"

"Yeah!" Gwen cheered, "Who needs Peter when you have the dream team! Minus Diana because she's out fighting crime, but we're still good!"

"Diana's what?" Liz asked, frowning, "Is she okay?"

"Y-Yeah, she'll be fine," Flash stuttered, his heart lurching, "I hope."

Before anyone could say anything, a familiar monotonous voice interrupted. "Um, excuse me, but I'm alone and this lost puppy came over, I think he belongs to you."

Flash and Harry turned to see Michelle standing behind them, a hand on Johnny's arm, the boy smiling brightly at them. She lightly pushed him towards Harry, glancing over to Liz.

"You look pretty," she commented lightly.

"Thank you, so do you," Liz said smiling, "No book today?"

Michelle glanced down, breathing out a laugh. "Uh, no, um, Ned took it from me. Said I needed to socialize and mingle tonight."

"Boo," Gwen called out, "Books are great, who needs people?"

"Right?" Michelle said, smiling slightly, "That's what I said."

"Well," Johnny interrupted, "As much as I would love to talk about books," he said the word like poison and Harry tried and failed to remind him that he was actually a smart person, "I love to party so...see you!"

Harry yelped as Johnny dragged him towards the dance floor, immediately melting into a state of ease and comfort, casually dancing with his overly enthusiastic boyfriend.

"Well," Liz sniffed, adjusting her dress, "This is my last Homecoming of my high school life and I am going to enjoy it. Michelle, will you dance with me?"

Michelle's eyes widened slightly and she shrugged. "Oh, well, I don't know, I'm not that great at dancing, I wouldn't want to step on your nice shoes."

"Oh, c'mon," Liz urged, reaching out her hands, twiddling her fingers, "I'll teach you. It'll be fun! Please?"

Flash nudged Michelle. "Don't let this be one of you biggest regrets, dance with her."

Michelle nodded and took one of Liz's hands, shoving Flash into Gwen as she reached for the other, smiling as Liz laughed and pulled her onto the dance floor, showing her how to shake around and let loose.

"Geez!" Gwen yelped, nearly crashing into the refreshment table.

"Sorry, sorry," Flash said quickly, immediately pulling his hands away after steadying her.

She frowned. "Flash, I don't think you're going to hit me."

He winced. "Don't gotta be so blunt about it." He stared down at his shoes. He didn't feel much like dancing. He moved to pour himself a drink.

"Seriously, Flash," she said, "My dad is just being dramatic and unreasonable. Even he knows that you wouldn't hurt me."

"You don't know that," he muttered, taking a sip of the punch. Did someone spike it? "He's just looking out for you, same as me. Best we just stay friends. After all, you've got that guy from the internship."

"Warren?" she scoffed, "Harry pointed out that he looked just like him and I didn't need that on my conscience."

Flash raised his eyebrows. "Can I have him, then, I want a Harry Osborn look-a-like. That sounded a lot less creepy in my head."

Gwen snorted and shook her head. She glanced towards the dance floor before looking back at the boy who was way too interested in the bottom of his cup. "Wanna know a secret?" she asked, leaning towards him.

He looked at her, instantly reminded of all the times they sat together on the outskirts of the park during the NYPD barbecues, Gwen asking him if he wanted to know a secret, only to lean close and blow in his ear or lick his face.

Despite being completely suspicious, he still leaned close to let her whisper in his hear.

"My dad let me take the car tonight."

Before Flash could ask what she meant, she was dragging him onto the dance floor, running up to Liz and Michelle dancing along with them. He just shrugged and began dancing as well, laughing at Harry who was shaking his head at Johnny who was trying and failing to breakdance.

"Where's Jesse?" Gwen asked after a few minutes, all of them moving towards the sides, tired out.

Flash immediately began looking around, eyes wide. "If they're not here, I'm gonna find Abraham and I'm gonna—"

"They're over there," Michelle interrupted, "Don't think too hard or you'll hurt yourself."

Flash scowled and tried to see what she was looking at, cursing her for being so much taller than him. He heard Liz coo, "Aww! They're so cute!"

"What?" he exclaimed, moving to stand in front of her.

There, towards the side, were Abraham and Jesse, the two of them laughing as the other tried to do their silliest dance. Even from afar, Flash could see that she was talking a mile a minute, just as she always did. She was laughing and jumping and smiling, like any other freshman girl.

He sighed and threw an arm around Gwen's shoulders, relaxing. "Yeah. They are."

"Wow, Flash, never though I'd hear you say that."

They all turned to see Ned walking back towards them, Ms. Warren frowning at him from afar.

"Where have you been?" Flash asked.

Ned shrugged. "It's a long story."

"Where's Peter?" Liz asked, looking around.

Ned shook his head. "Sorry, I don't know."

Johnny hummed. "Diana and Peter are both gone—"

Harry clapped a hand over his boyfriend's mouth. "Hey! C'mon, we don't need Peter to have fun! It's Homecoming, guys, lighten up!" From the way he was smiling, it was tell he was tense and not at all as light as he tried to pretend to be.

Flash nodded in agreement. "Yeah! It's Homecoming and we're stupid teenagers! Come on!"

So they danced. Liz and Michelle danced together, the latter learning how to move her arms and legs, laughing. Harry and Johnny danced with Ned, copying his modified robot, Johnny and Ned trying and failing to having a breakdance battle while Harry groaned and pretended not to know them. Flash and Gwen danced together because in Homecoming it didn't matter what either of their dads were or thought.

It was Homecoming and everything was going to be just fine.

DELETED SCENE #3:
DIANA MEETS THE HUMAN TORCH

Peter was a sap and wanted to take Diana out for a night on the town again; after the events on Homecoming, they both needed a break. It was during a three day weekend and Peter snuck up to her window when it was already dark, an excited grin on his face. He had gotten his Tony Stark suit back, though he always seemed to forget that Tony could see all the video he had.

"Hey, Bugs," she greeted, opening the window, "Hey, Karen."

He rolled his eyes. "Karen says hi and told me to tell you that I think you look pretty today."

Diana smiled and climbed out onto her fire escape. "I think I'd rather date Karen, she knows how to treat a lady. Well, I'm assuming she uses she/her pronouns. Peter, why did you gender the AI?"

Another, longer pause. "Karen said that she assumed the gender and she gladly accepts the pronouns attached, but she's glad that you took her preference into consideration. Now, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, sure," she said, moving to wrap her legs around his waist, arms around his neck, "This will always feel weird no matter how many times you take me out."

He didn't reply, instead shooting out a web and jumping off the landing, a hand on her waist. She yelped at the falling sensation, tightening her grip. She forced herself not to hide her face, instead watching the city move past her in a quick blur.

It was honestly beautiful, just as it had been. Peter seemed to be moving faster than he had the last time, however, so she couldn't fully appreciate the large billboards and bright lights as she once did. They were still captivating and she wished she could see how they danced across her and Peter's faces, though his was covered by his mask which was finally starting to grow on her.

They continued to swing through the city at a remarkable speed, Peter switching arms with ease, moving in and out of streets, asking her what she thought. All she saw were streams of light, so there wasn't much to say. He was going almost too fast.

"Wow, I'm getting dizzy," she groaned after swinging around for a while after, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"Shoot, sorry, doc," he said, taking a detour to stop on top of a building. He set her down and she groaned, falling back.

"'s not your fault," she mumbled, eyes closed.

"Oh God, please don't pass out," he said, shaking her.

"Hey, don't do that!" she cried, "I'm dizzy! And don't worry, I'm fine. Why're you always worried about me passing out?"

"I-I just—" he stammered, thinking back to when he found her limp body next to burning wreckage on that night, how he had cried, begging for her to wake up, how relieved he had been to find her okay, only to panic when Nicky demanded to know why he let her go back to sleep after hitting her head. "I'm scared you might not wake up."

She cooed and sat up, feeling a little odd as she patted his mask. She wanted to take it off and kiss him, remind him that things were okay, but she didn't want to risk it. So she just intertwined their fingers, staring at his gloves, feeling the texture.

"Hey, Spidey, you on a date?"

Diana froze as she heard a familiar voice. Johnny Storm, the Human Torch.

She didn't turn around right away, hoping that he would just move on and let Peter—Spider-Man—continue on with his date.

Unfortunately, Johnny was an awful person who liked to embarrass his friends and poke his nose in things that didn't concern him.

"Well, hey," he said, dropping down behind her, "What's it like dating a guy who doesn't take his mask off? Wait, unless you know his identity, do you kno—Diana?" His joking tone turned into an incredulous shout and she figured his expression matched his tone.

She closed her eyes and sighed softly, feeling a headache forming. She just wanted to have fun with her boyfriend and maybe kiss on top of the Empire State Building again, was that too much to ask?

She lifted her head to look at Johnny, smiling slightly. "H-hey, Johnny. How's it going?"

He stared down at her, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. He looked between her and Spider-Man, a small squeak escaping his lips. "Diana? Are-are you cheating on Peter? With Spider-Man?" His voice was turning shrill and he took a step back.

She jumped to her feet, unsure of what to do. "I-I can explain—"

"How could you do that to him?" Johnny demanded, "That guy loves you! I mean—Look, I'm a player myself, but even I wouldn't cheat on anyone, especially not Peter. I mean, you don't know this guy!" he pointed harshly towards Spider-Man who was just watching this all play out. "You don't know his name, his age, anything! You're ruining a healthy relationship over a stranger! What, just because he's a superhero? Seriously?"

Diana sighed. "Johnny, I can explain—"

"No!" he cried, "No, don't explain to me, explain to Peter! Explain to the literal manifestation of that really cute confused face emoticon that you're cheating on him with Spider-Man!"

Before Diana could speak, Peter—Spider-Man—spoke up. "Confused face emoticon?"

"That's what you focus on?" Johnny cried, "And yeah, Spidey, your date is dating a literal emoticon. Here, look, it looks like this." Johnny fished out his phone and began typing, showing the two of them the emoticon in question.

'O.O or O.o'

"Oh..." the two said. In a weird way, Johnny's description was accurate.

"My point!" he cried, nearly throwing the phone, "Is that you're cheating on probably the cutest boy I have ever seen! If I wasn't dating Harry I would be all over that! How dare you do that not only to him, but to me! I thought we were friends!"

Diana could tell he wasn't going to stop anytime soon. So she said the first thing that came to mind.

"We're not on a date!"

Johnny froze. "What? But then why were you being all touchy and holding his hand or whatever?"

She thought quickly. "It's a kink thing."

Of course it was.

Johnny blinked. "E-excuse me?"

"Peter's got this weird full body suit kink and he and Spidey are friends and I've helped Spidey out sometimes, so I was like 'hey, what's your suit made out of, is it uncomfortable?' and I was feeling the hand fabric 'cause..." she trailed off, letting Johnny fill in his own blanks.

"O-oh," he said, backing up slightly, "That-that's neat. I-I mean, you do you, you know? I-I'm not gonna kinkshame or anything. Yeah...well, have fun with that, I'm just gonna keep patrolling. Um...yeah."

"Please don't tell," she said quickly. He mistook her hysterics for fear and embarrassment and immediately softened.

"Yeah, yeah, of course," he said, "I mean, I—"

"You know, we don't need details!" Spider-Man cried, finally speaking up, "I'll see you around, Johnny, yeah? Let's just not mention this to anyone since poor Pete'll probably have a heart attack if anyone found out."

"Yeah, totally dude," Johnny said, already by the building's edge, "Bye!"

They had never seen someone fly away as fast as Johnny did in that moment. In a blink of an eye, he was already around the corner and out of sight. It might have just been her eyes, but Diana could have sworn that his flame was more red than it usually was.

"A kink thing? Are you kidding me?"

Diana couldn't help but burst into laughter, falling back down to the ground, Peter groaning and pacing around, shouting about how much he hated her.

"You are the actual worst!" he whined, moving to the shadows and pulling off his mask to run a hand through his hair.

Diana stood up immediately and rushed towards him, pulling him into a hug. He grumbled as she did, hugging her back nonetheless. She gave him an apologetic smile, kissing him softly.

"You're the worst," he mumbled against her lips, "Kisses don't make this better."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course they do." She kissed him again for emphasis, gripping his shoulders.

"The Torch is actually the worst," Peter continued to whine, pulling Diana close.

She nodded earnestly, her eyes wide. "That is very, very true."

DELETED SCENE #4:
NICKY GREEN V. TONY STARK

Nicky sighed as he rubbed his eyes and walked out of his room. He had finally gotten a somewhat good night's sleep, the first in weeks; odd that it happened just after the near death of two teenagers. He shuddered at the thought and walked towards the kitchen to make himself some breakfast, Rhett having already gone to work.

He was in the middle of making himself some toast when he heard a short cough. It was soft and brief and wouldn't have been heard had it not been dead quiet. He glanced around briefly, convinced that it was just his imagination; he had been worrying about Mason and Toomes since they first showed up. 

When he toast was finished he set it on a plate and headed back towards his room. He still needed to locate where the wings were before someone important found them. He also needed to sleep some more, he had forgotten how nice it felt.

Just as he was crossing more towards his room, he heard a louder cough. That one had to be real. He looked around carefully, afraid of what he might find, when he saw one of the chair in the living room had been moved to the middle, turned towards the window.

"Wha—?" he breathed. Was Rhett pulling a prank on him?

The chair swiveled around, albeit a bit choppily, frustrating its occupant. Nicky dropped his toast as a familiar man with sunglasses and nice clothes adjusted his position on the chair, trying to pretend that it had swiveled around perfectly.

"Nicholas Green..." he began loudly.

Nicky pointed towards the chair. "How-how long have you been waiting to do that?"

Tony sighed. "Hours. Seriously, why do you people sleep?"

The younger man frowned. "Since the safety of my life is no longer in danger, I've been catching up on sleep so I don't throw coffee cups at tables thinking they'll land perfectly during my sessions with patients."

"You've done that too?" Tony asked, "Of course, I did that back in college when I was first starting out with the 'no sleep for days' thing, I'm sort of a pro at it now."

Nicky snorted. "Yeah, I'll bet. With your resources, I wouldn't sleep either. Too much stuff to build. And I guess..." he trailed off, choosing his words carefully, "If I were just you...too much guilt to handle."

Tony held up a hand. "Yeah, no, we're not doing this psychoanalyzing thing. I know you're not really a psychologist."

"Actually, I am," Nicky pointed out, "I went to college for it and everything, I'm actually a really good one and you'd be able to fit my prices easily if you're—"

"That is not why I'm here," Tony said quickly, shoulders tense. Nicky walked over to the counter and plucked a card from the stack that was placed on a purple seashell, handing it over to the man. Tony glanced at it and pocketed it with a sigh. "I'm here to talk about your little escapes, Nick."

"Call me Nicky," the younger man said. The sleep must have been working, he wasn't even fazed by Tony Stark

Tony blinked. "Are you sure?"

Nicky rolled his eyes. "My parents used to call me it so I'm softening the blow and giving it better memories by telling people I like to call me it."

Tony hummed. "So you have issues?"

"I was surprised by the sheer lack of people you did when I was in grad school," he said, "I expected more of us to want to help others after what we went through, but you know..."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "I can't tell if you love people or hate them."

Nicky shrugged. "I can't either. I just wanna keep us alive. Anyways, what's up, Tony?" He smirked at the slight shock on the man's face before moving down to pick up his fallen toast and unbroken plate.

"You've been helping out Spider-Man?" he began, "Let's just start there."

"Peter?" Nicky asked, surprising Tony even more, "Yeah. Well, really, I've been helping his...ex? His friend. Diana. She'd been patching him up back before you gave him his new suit and I supplied them with bandages. I'm her psychologist."

"Diana..." Tony drawled, "Would she happen to be the winged figure that followed my plane crash?" Before Nicky could ask, Tony had his phone out and a perfect holographic video was up, showing Nicky a YouTube video of Diana. Her face was unable to be seen, but everyone saw her wings and her mask.

"Shoot," Nicky sighed, "Let me guess, you have my wings?"

Tony nodded. "You're a smart one. That was what we we're going to talk about later, but first. Tell me more about this Diana kid, what's her story?"

Nicky laughed softly. "You have a minute?"

Tony splayed out his hands. "I have all day."

Nicky pulled up a chair, sighing. "That's not enough time, but I can make it work. Okay..."

º º º º º

"—so that's how I ended up waking up and finding you waiting in my living room."

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dear God, I swear, these kids are going to kill me."

"Welcome to my life," Nicky said, nodding in agreement, "So, what, are you gonna try and kill Diana? Because I'm not okay with that, she's like the daughter I never wanted."

"Really, I was gonna talk to you about your tech, but now I need you to do me a favor concerning her, but this first," Tony replied, "What are you doing? With this tech?"

"I aid the Fantastic Four and the X-Men," Nicky replied, "I just provide them with tech when they can't make their own because Reed Richards and Hank McCoy can't do everything all the time. It pays well."

"You've never worked with the Avengers before," Tony said, "I've never heard of you."

Nicky smiled wryly. "Who needs Nicky Green when they have Tony Stark?" 

Tony laughed shortly. "True, but...you are aware of the Accords and what went down?"

"Yeah," Nicky said, eyes darkening, "I heard a lot about it. Isn't there a registration now for heroes? That's why you didn't want Peter going out too far, he might get tangled up in that."

"You're smart," Tony said, leaning back in his seat.

Nicky smiled. "Tony Stark called me smart, I should put that on my business cards and references. So, what, you want me to stop building? Because I've been cleared, the Four work well with the government, they don't know about me, but the have no problems. The X-Men are a little harder to explain, but the Accords haven't touched them yet."

"No, no, no," Tony said, "I want you to keep doing what you're doing. Just keep me in the loop if it's important. I think having you working the underground might be an asset in the long run."

"So you're not offering me a job," Nicky sighed, "Figures."

Tony shrugged. "I think you're doing fine on your own. I just wanted to talk to you about ideas and mechanics, because your wings look very familiar."

"Look, lots of my things are original, that tracker I stuck in Peter was a risk that somehow works, would you like to see the specs, it's incredible. I just wanted to get the wings from you because I didn't like Sam not having them," Nicky explained in a rush, arms waving.

"Breathe," Tony commanded, holding up a hand, "I mean, I feel attacked, but whatever, you seem nice enough. And yeah, I want you to show me that and all your other specs, especially for what you made for Diana."

Nicky nodded earnestly, heart pounding, barely able to squeak out a simple, "Yeah, sure."

"Great," Tony said, pulling out his phone, "But first. I need you to help me make a video."