"I'm still not really sold on this idea, Tony"
Hank Pym shifted as he tried to find a comfortable sitting position on the marble staircase of the mansions vestibule in his Giant-Man form, finally settling down with one massive arm resting over his knee. "I mean, us forming a team together, we're all adults, that's one thing, but bringing in a teenager? Even one with superpowers, that doesn't sit quite right with me."
"You worry too much, friend Pym!" Thor boomed cheerfully from his seat in one of the plush guest chairs standing near the entrance to the living room "Surely, it is our responsibility as heroes to foster the next generation of warriors in the art of glorious combat and battling injustice! Why, on Asgard, it is tradition for young warriors to prove themselves as early as possible!"
"Thor's right, Hank!" Janet said, fluttering around his head before landing on his shoulder "I mean, maybe not about the whole glorious combat thing, but if Spider-Man really IS as young as Johan said, isn't it better if he has some adults looking out for him rather than just let him go at it alone on the streets?"
Hank couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, he'd increasingly started to notice Janets attraction to Thor, not that she really made a secret of it in the first place, but as much as he tried to ignore it as irrational, he almost felt territorial about it. It was hard to measure up to a Norse god, or a handsome, well-built man claiming to be one for that matter. "Fine, I get that Janet, but still, it feels more like recruiting a child soldier than mentorship to me."
"Oh calm down Hank, it's not like we're recruiting from a playground here, the kid is 15, not 10." Tony said, crossing his arms over his armored chest. He looked almost elegant now in the slimmer armor he'd begun using, the red and gold contrasting nicely in comparison to the gilded, bulky monstrosity of his previous design "Besides, we're not making him a full member, not yet anyway, just a reserve one. This way, he'll be able to call for back-up if he needs it, AND he'll even draw a paycheck for it."
"Yeah, about that, Tony" Hank said, changing the subject "Not that I'm complaining, it's not like either me or Janet need the money, but are you going to start paying all members of the Avengers, or is it just Spider-Man? I mean, we never really nailed down exactly how this team operates, we just sort of gather in one place and beat people up."
"I have no need of money" Thor added "All the riches of Asgard is accessible to me, if so needed, and Donald Blake is well-off for a Midgardian. All I require is the opportunity to battle evil, which Midgard provides in abundance!"
"Hey, I got no problem cutting you guys a check if you want one, you just have to ask. It's just that no one seemed to think of it before. So far, only Sunshine asked, and even then, it was only for Spider-Man, I don't know what he does for money for himself." Tony turned towards Hulk, who was sitting in the reinforced recliner that had been made for him, moved into the vestibule for the occasion. "What about you, big guy? You want a paycheck? It'd have to be made out to Banner, since I doubt they'll issue an I.D to you, but it's not like you don't earn your keep around here."
Hulk scoffed "HULK NO CARE ABOUT MONEY."
"Well, guess there's more than one advantage to being a gamma mutate, eh?"
The conversation trailed off as the mansion door swung open, and a familiar figure dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with a vest over it, his face covered by his normal bandana masks, stepped through. Mr. Sunshine did a small flourish with his hands like a show presenter, his hand grabbing the other half of the double doors.
"Gentlemen and the one Lady, it's my honor to present to you, known for his appearance on New York Championship Wrestling and the Ed Sullivan show, and for giving the Chameleon and Dr Octopus the asskicking they richly deserved... I give you, the Amazing Spider-Man!"
Throwing the door open, Sunshine revealed their guest standing slightly behind him, looking thouroughly mortified at the announcement. Spider-Man raised an arm, giving an awkward wave to the gathered heroes.
"Uh...hi? I didn't ask him to do that."
.....
"Yikes, I knew you told us he was young, but seriously? That costume does not leave much to the imagination, how has no one noticed this before?"
Janet has returned to normal size, giving a wide berth as Hank and Tony descend on Spider-Man as he's showing off his web shooters. Thor seems somewhat impressed too, but also mildly disappointed that Spider-Man is not a literal spiderman, and thus, not some sort of half-human mythological hybrid who can produce his own webbing. God knows he's probably seen weirder things out there in the cosmos.
I shrug "It's not like Spider-Man tends to just stand around and let people get a good look at him, even back when he tried out as an entertainer. He's usually crawling on walls or bending himself around like a Slinky, it makes it harder to get a sense of his physique. The mask covering his whole face helps a lot too. You should have seen the stopgap costume he wore for his wrestling debut, it was just an old turtleneck and a web mask."
Janet shudders comically "Okay, I know I shouldn't judge fashion choices of teenage boys, but that just offends all parts of my clothing designer soul." She gives me a lookover "Not like you have much place to talk, Mr. Rainbow Raider."
"Hey, I'm a free spirit, lady. Things like "matching colors" can't weigh me down! Besides, Thor wears metal plate armor and a goddamn winged helmet, I don't hear you giving him grief over his fashion choices!"
"Yeah, but he pulls it off so well" She gives Thor an appreciative look, biting the nail on her thumb as she does.
I mean, she's not wrong, but jeez lady, dial it back a bit.
"How does Hank feel about you appreciating Thor's fashion choices?"
She blinks in surprise "Hank? Why would he care?"
"I thought you and he were... you know."
"Oh!" She shakes her head "No, we're just friends. And partners, I guess, but not romantically. Why, has he said anything?"
Hmm. "Not in so many words..."
Janet sighs "Typical... Well, you want to see what has Iron Man and Giant-Man fawning over our new recruit like he's the best thing since sliced bread?"
As we walk over, Tony looks up from examining the web shooter strapped around Parkers wrist "Spider-Man, no pressure, but I think Mr. Stark would REALLY like to take a look at your web shooters when you have the time. Do you think you'd be able to swing by Stark Industries tomorrow?"
"Stark? TONY Stark? Why would he care about my web shooters? I just cobbled them together from some spare parts because I needed some way to simulate webbing"
Giant-Man chuckles "Son, I don't think you realize how difficult making technology this small is, miniturization is still in it's infancy, and that's not even touching on these web cartridges of yours. This... solution is really of your own design as well?"
"Yeah, I mean... it's hard to get the chemicals I need sometimes, but that's the main difficulty, a lot of the ingredients are expensive. luckily I don't need much for each batch, but..."
"Somehow I don't think you need to worry about your web budget in the future, Spidey! Mr Stark will be more than happy to assist you." Iron Man says, before pressing a button on his gauntled, which releases a cache in his leg. Inside the small compartment is a small, square box with a single button on it, which he takes out and hands over to Spider-Man. "Son, this is your very own Avengers communicator. It'll let you get into contact with one of us if you ever need backup, and will also let us contact you in case of emergencies. Mr Stark has asked me to hand these out to everyone of us, but the first one is yours. If you ever need us, we're just one call away."
"Spider-Man, allow me to offically welcome you to The Avengers!"