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A pounding at his front door startled Tony, the man gritting his teeth and sighing, and he took a moment to be angry that anyone would bother his family at nearly 3 in the morning before setting aside the small screwdriver in his hand. He’d been working on a reparation to Pepper’s mask, trying to be quiet enough that his daughter and wife would actually sleep through the night for once. So much for that.
Another sharp knock came as he made his way over, and he grumbled, “Take it easy, would you? I’m coming.” The man cracked the door, ready to take the head off whoever dared to come beating his door down the way they had.
“I’ve got a kid, do you have any id-.. May?” He frowned, seeing the fear in her eyes. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Where’s the kid?” he asked, stepping aside to let her in. “What happened?”
“Tony Stark,” she growled, pacing back and forth, “I've called you 7 times!!" Tony took a moment to feel a touch guilty that he'd shut his phone off for the night. "You got my boy into this. You gave him that suit, told him he was a fucking Avenger, and now??” her voice cracked, and she turned on him, a vicious anger in her face that made him take a few steps back. He’d always believed Pepper to be a formidable woman; that was before he met May Parker.
“He didn’t come home tonight. He was supposed to be home at 8, Tony. He-He’s got a thing tomorrow, some kind of class trip,” she shook her head, “And he’s not answering his phone. It stopped even ringing an hour ago, and goes straight to voicemail. You find my boy, Stark!” she cried, gritting her teeth. “You bring him home, or so help me!”
Tony’s mind was reeling at the information the woman had shouted at him, blinking a few times and trying to absorb what he’d been told. The boy wasn’t answering his phone. “Okay, hey, maybe.. Maybe he’s just gotten caught up in a mission and lost track of time. I can get in touch with the AI in his suit and locate him,” the man promised, suddenly thankful he’d re-installed the tracker before giving Peter his suit back.
The shouting had woken Pepper, who stood in the hall with a robe wrapped around herself tightly, arms crossed over her chest. “What’s going on, Tony? May?” she frowned, following them to Tony’s office downstairs.
“Peter’s not answering his cell phone and we want to be sure he’s okay,” Tony replied, “Which he is. I’m positive he’s just lost track of the time and that as soon as we call Karen, he’ll answer and everything will be fine.”
He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince more; himself, or May. Either way, it didn’t work. He thought it best he didn't mention to May that Peter's suit should've been answering those phone calls, and he didn't let himself panic over that same thought, yet.
It only took a moment of searching on his computer before a deep, sickening dread filled his gut. Tony didn’t allow it to reach the surface, however, as he turned to May and Pepper.
“His suit isn’t online. The tracker, Karen, none of it’s working,” he told them gently, and May let out a weak noise of pain, covering her mouth.
“Hey, no, it’s okay,” he promised, reaching and touching her shoulder almost hesitantly; the woman didn’t pull away. “That’s a million dollar suit. It has more than one tracker in it. It just.. It’s going to take me a little longer to find him, but I will find him. Meanwhile, I insist you stay with us. You’re in no state to be alone. Pepper, honey, would you?” he looked to his wife, who nodded and led May back up the stairs to distract and console.
Taking a deep breath, Tony pulled his phone from his pocket and called Happy, who answered within the second ring.
“Happy? Yeah, listen, we have a situation.”
______________________________________________________________________________
Finding Peter had been an arduous task. It had taken two long, sleepless weeks to hack into Karen’s databases and reboot the tracking system fail-safe that Tony had installed after Ned and Peter’s little stunt with removing the initial tracker. Wherever he was, it had blocked nearly every sensor Tony had installed into that suit. All except one. He was close, but the reading claimed he was deep underground, a good couple miles below the surface.
Tony made Pepper stay behind (“Somebody has to make sure May’s okay, Pep, and you’ve got Morgan too…”), bringing Rhodey and Steve Rogers with him. He wasn’t certain, couldn’t possibly be until they arrived, but the man feared that he knew who had taken Peter and what his motivations were. If he was correct, they wouldn’t have much time. The kidnapper would already know they were coming, and had no qualms about putting an end to Peter.
Following the tracker to Peter’s location proved to be the easiest part of the entire ordeal. They’d hardly had to fight to get into the building, a stronghold and a facade for the lift that would take them below. Tony knew it had to be because the enemy expected them, and had most likely tampered with the suit enough to lure them in, but he couldn’t be bothered to be angry about it; it only assured that Peter would be safe soon enough. He had to believe Peter would be okay.
Guilt had been gnawing at him for the past couple weeks. Even the town had taken notice of their missing Spider-Man, and it killed him when someone would ask and he couldn’t provide a solid answer. Poor Morgan had been asking for him, too, and he couldn’t bear to tell her the truth. MJ had been calling every single day, and had shown up at the tower more than once, desperate for answers. Ned had been asking May for any updates, worried for his best friend. Tony could hardly take looking into their faces and having to tell them over and over, "I'm sorry. I don't know where he is. I'm trying. I swear I'm trying."
The man couldn’t help but to think that his young protege had been kidnapped purely to get to him; it was no secret that Iron Man had mentored and had been defensive of Spider-Man since day one. If the person who’d taken Peter was truly who he suspected, then there was no doubt in his mind that that had been the case.
“This the entrance?” Rhodey stopped him suddenly, gesturing toward an elevator at the end of a long, dimly lit hallway.
Tony scanned the metal doors, muttering a quiet, “That’s the one,” before leading the other two forward, straight into the trap.
It took far, far too long for the elevator to descend, but Tony knew he was in the right place, and knew, judging by the atmosphere, that his hunch about the culprit was correct. When the doors opened, they were let out into a dimly lit room with hallways on either side of them, and one in front.
“P-Please!” They heard a weak cry come from their left, from a child, and Tony grit his teeth; Peter.
“P-Please, I wanna g-go home!” the voice sobbed, and another voice, cruel and familiar, taunted back.
“It’ll all be over soon enough, kid. That hero of yours will be here any time now. This’ll end when he gets here.”
A gut-wrenching scream, and Tony shouted. Against his better judgement, against every instinct, against everything that's ever told him what a horrible idea it was, he shouted.
“Stop! For the love of god, stop!”
He didn’t hear Rhodey’s words of warning before taking off down the corridor, following the sound he’d heard and leaving the other two behind. “Pete, bud, talk to me! I’m here!”
“You don’t have to search for him, Iron Man. He’s right this way,” A voice called out to him, and Tony growled as he ran into a room at the end of the hall.
The sight inside turned Tony’s stomach, almost as much as the smell. The acrid stench of filth filled his nostrils, a heinous mix of sweat, blood, and stagnant air that could only come from a poorly ventilated room. Stepping out of his suit, Tony walked silently through the room until his eyes landed on the young man he was desperately searching for.
Peter was there, in a small cell, though the door to it was wide open. The cell was dark, and cramped; chains held the young man to the wall, arms above his head, which was lolled to the side. He was unconscious, though he hadn’t been for long; tears still slid down his dirty cheeks, a cut on his abdomen slowly seeping blood, and Tony took a moment to worry about just how much there was.
The more Tony looked, the worse it got. That monster had destroyed Peter, with wounds covering his body, and oh god, his face. His face. There were big, ugly bruises on it, a cut at his hairline that had dried already, and he was pretty confident the boys nose was broken. All he could think of was the time he spent being tortured in Afghanistan, and seeing Peter in the same situation chilled him to the bone. ‘Why him…?’ Tony asked himself, shaking his head.
“Oh, Pete..” Tony whispered, eyes watering as he reached out, but he didn’t get to lay a hand on the boys face before a voice startled him, sudden and sharp.
“I knew you’d come for him,” a male’s voice spoke, and Tony turned quickly. Rage replaced the pain in his heart, and he crossed the room in three large steps, grabbing a fist full of the kidnappers shirt.
“You better hope to God he’s still breathing,” Tony snarled. “I killed your father, and I will absolutely have no qualms about doing the same to you.”
Ezekiel Stane simply chuckled, cocking his eyebrow. “You won’t kill me. You can’t. I’m the only one who can save him, after all.”
A chill ran down Tony’s spine and he shoved Stane against the wall.
“What did you do to him?!” the man snarled, and again, the villain let out a quiet laugh.
“He’s poisoned. Do you really think I had any intentions of leaving that stupid kid alive? He was of no use to me, and I'm not in the habit of leaving loose ends. Couldn’t even tell us how his powers worked.”
Tony felt the world underneath him spin, bile rising in his throat. Forcing it down, he shook his head, taking a step back and letting Stane go.
“He… Look, it’s me you want. It was always me. This was never about him. Fix him, and I’ll do whatever you want. Let him live. He’s a child. His powers… Stane, that kid is radioactive. Peter was bitten by a radioactive spider. It’s not just his blood. It’s his entire body. His cells, atoms. His brain. His bones. He doesn’t know how any of that works, just that it does. He was telling you the truth. That kid is nuclear, and he’s of no use to you. Fix him, send him home, and I’ll do whatever you want,” Tony pleaded, eyes watering.
“You’ll comply with my demands, then? And the kid, he won't talk? I want to be sure of this, Iron Man. After all, you work so much easier when you have a life on the line, it seems.”
“I’ll do whatever you want, and I'll make sure he doesn't talk. Don’t drag him into this. I’m begging you, Stane.”
Ezekiel seemed to contemplate the words for a moment before stepping around the other man, pulling something from his pocket and approaching the boy chained to the wall. Tony felt a jolt of anxiety shoot through his veins, stepping forward, and almost shouted again when he watched his nemesis slip a needle into Peter’s arm, injecting a small amount of foreign fluid.
“Oh, stop your fretting, your precious boy will be fine. That’s the antidote. It’s what you wanted, after all, isn’t it? You’re cooperating, I’m feeling generous today, and after all, it’s as you said. He’s just a boy. He must be your son, for this to elicit such a response. I honestly should kill him just to make you feel how I did. I’d heard you’d had a child, but I had no idea-”
“I have two,” Tony interrupted, “Two, uh.. Including him.. I don’t-I don’t make it a habit to advertise my weaknesses,” his voice was weak, eyes watering. He didn't realize until it was too late that he'd exposed Morgan to this man as well, though if he knew he'd had a child, it had already been too late for her. “Give me enough time to get him to safety. Just-Just 10 minutes,”
“Make it 5,” Stane snipped, unlocking the shackles that held Peter’s wrists. Tony was quick to catch the boy, letting out an involuntary whisper of, “Oh god,” as he sank to the floor with Peter, slow and easy. Peter didn’t rouse, though a weak whimper of pain did escape his throat.
“Shh.. I’ve got you, Pete,” Tony whispered, gathering the boy in his arms and checking the boys pulse; his heartbeat was slow, and Tony knew he didn’t have much time. Peter's healing time was fast, but not that fast.
About this time, Rhodey and Steve ran into the room, finally having found their missing member, but Tony called out to them, “Stay where you are. Just... Stay there,”
“Stark, is the boy alive?” Rhodey replied, and Tony nodded , tears sliding down his cheeks before he could stop them.
“Barely. Rhodes, you’ve gotta get him out of here. He’s- it’s bad. It’s real bad,” Tony brushed a thumb against the raw marks on Peter’s wrist where he'd been bound, swallowing thickly and getting to his feet. Cradling him close, Tony carried the child to the doorway and handed him off to Steve, so, so very carefully. He tried not to think about how Peter was lighter than before, a worry of ‘Has he been eating..?’ crossing his mind.
“Call Bruce. Stephen. Get them both on it. Hell, call Mister Fantastic. They’ll all be able to help him somehow. Get him to the Medbay. He’s-” Tony wiped at his face, stomach flipping when he noticed how much blood was on his hands, his arms. “He was poisoned, but he should be fine. Check just in case. He needs food, water, and rest. Please, don’t-don’t let him come after me. Don’t..”
“Come after you? Stark, you seriously think we’re leaving you here?” Rhodey frowned, Steve stepping back and adjusting his hold on the boy.
“You absolutely are, and you will not argue with me. We don’t have the time for that. Peter’s dying, Rhodey. You and Cap, you get him back where he belongs. You get him the medical care he needs. You make sure he lives. Do you understand me?”
“But-”
“I said… do you.. Understand me..?” Tony repeated firmly, eyes flickering between the two men.
“Understood,” Steve finally replied quietly, taking a couple reluctant steps backward. The pair hesitated a moment more before turning and heading down the hall, and Tony focused his attention back on his captor.
“Well, that was interesting. Tony Stark, father. Who’d have thunk it. Pretty shitty father, to lose a kid so easily.”
“Better than letting my kid fall to crime. You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you? That is what I’m here for, I assume. Unless you suddenly decided taking on super-powered humans was the way to go.”
“Oh, please! You don’t have any powers,” Stane scoffed, laughing. “You’re nothing without that suit. I, however,” Stane smirked, swinging his arm and cracking it against Tony’s jaw. He went down hard, groaning in response to the mocking laughter.
“You’re even weaker than I remember, old man! Do you know just how long I’ve waited?” the younger man snarled, kicking at Tony’s stomach hard, causing him to double over. “I’ve bided my time for years, Stark, and now I finally get to watch you writhe like the worm you are.”
Tony grit his teeth, remembering something he’d said to Peter before the Blip; before Thanos, before his life had been turned upside down. ’If you’re nothing without the suit, you shouldn’t have it’. He’d said it right to Peter’s face in a moment where Peter had doubted himself the most. Hell, Tony even doubted him in that moment. He should've never underestimated the kid. Should've never made him feel so small.
There was one thing Tony was certain of; if he could survive Thanos, survive the raw power from the Infinity Gauntlet, then he could, and would, survive whatever Stane threw at him. Just as this thought came to mind, Tony saw his opportunity. The man had, turned away, perhaps to grab something from the table nearby, believing Tony to be unconscious, and had given Tony a way out of the mess he’d gotten himself into.
Scrambling to his feet, the older man darted to his suit and climbed in, letting out a shaky breath as Stane took notice.
“Alright, Stane. You wanted to finish this? Fine. Let’s finish it.”
______________________________________________________________________________
Tony couldn’t say he was surprised at the fight Stane put up. After all, the younger man had a lot of rage and not a lot to lose. Still, Tony never relished killing anyone, and Stane Jr. was no exception.
He was bruised, battered, but still alive, and one single thought was on Stark’s mind; get to Peter. The battered man made his way to the surface, blinking in the sunlight. He’d known it had been a long fight between himself and Stane, but he hadn’t realized just how much time had passed.
Wasting no time, Tony flew back to Stark Industries, taking the back way into the MedBay. His eyes immediately landed on Pepper, and he stepped out of his suit, limping over.
“Jesus! Tony,” Pepper breathed, jogging over and getting a hold of him with both hands. “What the hell happened out there? You’ve been gone for hours!”
“Where is he?” Tony pleaded, ignoring her question. “Peter, where- is he okay?”
“They-They think he will be, but he’s got a lot of healing to do. Who did this?”
“You remember Obadiah Stane, right?”
Pepper frowned, shivering a little. “Of course, how could I forget?”
“His son. He wanted to get to me. H-He knew how. This.. It’s all my fault..”
“Tony, don’t you dare blame yourself for this,” Pepper scolded, guiding Tony down the hallway at a slow, steady pace. “Peter loves you. You know he does. But he’s a superhero, as are you, and that comes with the unfortunate reality that people will hunt you down. You know he won’t blame you for this, so please don’t blame yourself for it either, baby..”
Tony didn’t respond to that; he couldn’t tell her that he would stop blaming himself, wasn’t willing to lie to her like that. Instead, he focused on keeping his sore body moving. The pair came to a stop in front of a closed door, and Pepper squeezed his hand.
“He looks bad.. I just think I should warn you of that. He’s going to pull through, but he looks awful right now. May and MJ are inside,”
“Isn’t that his scary girlfriend?” Tony asked, a weak, half-joke. Pepper smiled weakly and shook her head.
“She’s not scary. Right now, all she is is scared. She loves him, Tony. Be nice..”
“I’m always nice,” Tony teased back, another weak attempt at lightening the situation that was threatening to suffocate them all.
Cracking the door, Tony peeked inside. The first thing he saw was May, curled up in the armchair in the corner. She’d fallen asleep, a blanket draped over her. Her glasses were still perched on her nose, and it was clear she hadn’t meant to fall asleep here.
He saw Peter and MJ all at once, as one full picture. A young girl, eyes red but face stoic, holding the hand of a broken boy who had more machines than Tony cared for hooked up to him, looking so small in that bed. The sight made bile rise in his throat for the second time that day, but again, Tony forced it down and stepped forward. “How’s he doing…?” He asked MJ, resting a hand on her shoulder.
“He, uh..” she cleared her throat, quiet to keep May from waking, “He’s gonna be okay.. He even woke up for a couple minutes earlier, but he was out of it, and confused. I’ve never seen him like this,” the girl’s voice tapered off, and Tony saw her thumb swipe over the back of Peter’s hand.
“You know..” Pepper’s voice came from behind them, and the woman rested a hand on MJ’s shoulder, “I know just how you’re feeling. The first time I saw Tony after he’d been in an awful fight, I could hardly stand it. I begged and pleaded, ‘Don’t go back out there, don’t do this to yourself, I love you’. But I came to understand that the world needed Iron Man, and though I needed him too, I had to support and do everything I could to help him, because there was no stopping him. I guess what I’m saying is… your boy, he’s a hero… Nothing you say to him will convince him not to throw himself into dangerous situations, and I want to spare you the heartache of trying.”
“Is this supposed to make me feel better, or..?”
“Lemme finish, sweetheart,” Pepper gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “You can’t stop him from getting hurt, but if you want, we can assist you in helping him, and in keeping him safe. Peter tells me how smart and clever you are. And pretty, and amazing," she added, hoping to make the girl smile, even for a moment. "You’re welcome here any time, okay? We don’t see nearly enough of you, and I’d love to get to know the girl Peter won’t stop talking about.”
“He talks about me..?” MJ couldn’t help the tiny smile, turning and looking up at Pepper.
“We can’t get the kid to talk about anything else,” Tony teased lightly, Pepper nodding in agreement.
“We know this isn’t exactly the same as him getting hurt on a mission. We’re not sure how he fell into the hands of Stane, but we’re developing new tech every single day, for all the Avengers, including him. New suits, new webs, anything that keeps Peter safe. You can take part in that, if you’d like to. There’s no pressure, or obligation. Only an offer,” Tony told the girl, giving her a weak smile.
“I’m in,” MJ nodded, and for the first time, the two adults finally saw a tear slide down the girls face. “I’m in… I wanna help.”
Just as she said that, a groan came from the bed, and they all three looked to Peter. The young man was finally waking up, and though there were three people watching him, the first words he had were, “MJ..? S’that you..?” His voice was rough, cracked and strained.
“Yeah, it’s me,” she murmured back, giving his hand a careful squeeze. “I’m right here, Peter..”
Peter was quiet for a moment, just looking up at MJ and taking her in as if he’d been scared that he’d never see her again. Tony watched them, could see himself and Pepper in the teens, and for a moment, he felt a small fear growing in his chest, not wanting either of them to go through what he and Pep did.
Finally, Peter tore his eyes away and shifted his body, a wave of pain accompanying the movement. “What the hell happened..?” he groaned, wincing in pain, and Tony stepped a bit closer, resting a hand on the foot of the bed.
“Ezekiel Stane happened. He wanted to draw me in, and used you to do it. Kid, I.. I’m sorry, I-”
“Mr. Stark, you didn’t do this,” Peter frowned, almost echoing Pepper. “You.. c’mon, no. That was a bad guy, not you..” the kid insisted, and Tony sighed, patting Peter’s leg carefully.
“You don’t have to worry about him anymore, either way. He’s gone. As soon as I can, we’re going to work on a better suit for you.”
“My suit is perfect, Mr. Stark..”
“Bud, it’s in tatters, for starters. Secondly, I want something that’s not going to leave you so vulnerable. Something similar to the Iron Spider suit. I know that one was destroyed, and I know you have a preference for the less… flashy, you called it? I’ll figure it out. It’ll probably be made of Vibranium, at this point.”
Peter was looking up at the man with a mix of fondness and exasperation, and Tony couldn’t help but to chuckle quietly. “Get some rest, kid.. We’ll all be here when you wake up.”
That was all the convincing the kid needed, leaning back against the pillow. MJ brought his hand to her face, kissing his knuckles, and a soft smile crossed Peters face as he fell back asleep, succumbing to exhaustion.
______________________________________________________________________________
It took Peter nearly a month to fully recover, in the physical sense. Mentally, Tony knew, would take much longer. There were things Tony knew Peter was hiding, pain and fear that the boy tried protecting the others from. Still, Tony did occasionally hear evidence of these things, in the wee hours of the night when he was working on a project and MJ's quiet voice would float from down the hallway, comforting a sobbing young man and reminding him he was safe.
The new suit was not, in fact, constructed of Vibranium, but it was an upgraded version of Peter’s Iron Spider suit, with more abilities to track and locate were the suit to go down. Tony did what he could to make it as true to Peter’s style and personality as he could; Peter loved it, and wore it proudly.
MJ hung around the tower much more often, doing what she could to assist Peter and make him safer; it made her feel better knowing there was something she could do, in this insane world, to protect her boyfriend from the bad things that wanted to take him away from her.
Tony knew they couldn’t always protect Peter; there was no guarantee that any superhero would come out of a fight alive. But he had to try.
“Mr. Stark?”
“Kid?” he looked up from the project spread out on the table before him; Pepper’s suit, something Tony hadn’t found time for in the past month since Peter’s disappearance.
“I don’t think I took the time to say thank you,” the teen said quietly, and Tony’s heart ached at the way Peter said it. As Peter stepped forward, Tony could see those scars on his face; the one on Peter’s cheek bone, another on his forehead by his hairline. Grim reminders of an incident Peter narrowly escaped. The boy had others, he was certain of, but Tony never did see them.
“Thank you? Pete, I would’ve never left you there, you know that..”
“You traded yourself for me. Rhodey told me..”
Damn it, Rhodes.
“Yeah, well.. I would’ve never let him take you away from May, or that scary girlfriend of yours.”
“She’s not scary,” Peter frowned, and Tony chuckled, shifting his chair over and gesturing at the other seat.
“Why don’t you lend me a hand? I could use another head in here.”
“Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, taking his seat beside his mentor and looking back up to meet the older mans eyes.
“Peter?”
“Thank you.”
“Any time, kid.. Any time.”