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Peter shouldn’t have gotten into the car.
He’ll admit that was a dumb decision to make, but he panicked and couldn’t think of anything else to do that wouldn’t make him seem suspicious so instead, he went along with it like his date’s dad wasn’t the Vulture.
As soon as the door opened only for Peter to come face to face with The Vulture, Peter froze, he was utterly screwed. Well, he would have been less screwed if he didn’t get in the damn car!
Now here he was sitting in the back seat of a criminal's car next to said criminal's daughter who was his almost-kinda-girlfriend. This was a complete shitshow. Because Peter was pretty sure Toomes was onto him as soon as Liz brought up the internship and how he got to hang out with Spider-Man.
“I’ve seen you around, right? I mean, somewhere we’ve uh- have we ever- cuz even the voice…” Toomes squinted at Peter through the mirror. Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit . Peter began to shake his head and say no when Liz cut in.
“Um, he does Academic Decathlon with me.”
“Oh,”
“And he was at my party.” she added.
“It was a great party, really great, yeah, beautiful house, lots of windows.” Peter chuckled nervously, turning to look at Liz who had raised a brow at him.
“You were there for, like, two seconds.” she mused.
“That was-- I was there longer than two seconds.” Peter protested, glancing nervously to where Toomes was staring at him through the mirror.
“You disappeared.”
“No. No, I did not disappear.”
“Yes you did, you disappeared like you always do like you did in D.C. too.” Liz frowned. Peter really liked Liz but at this moment he really wished she would stop talking. Peter began to feel the palms of his hand's sweat as the car pulled to a stop at a red light.
“That’s terrible what happened down there in D.C., though. Were you scared?” he questioned, eyes staring. Peter nodded stiffly. “I’ll bet you were glad when your old pal Spider-Man showed up in the elevator though, huh?” he hummed, brows raised. It felt hard to breathe, Peter fiddled with his phone that was clutched in his hands as he turned to meet Toomes eyes through the mirror.
“Yeah, well, I actually didn’t go up. I-I saw it all from the ground. Very lucky that he was there that day.” Peter lied, his breaths coming out short and fast. He had to know…
“Good old Spider-Man.” he grinned and that's when Peter knew he was screwed. Toomes, the Vulture, knew he was Spider-Man. Toomes continued to stare at Peter even when the light turned green and he had to be nudged by Liz.
Peter looked back out the window as they drove up to the front entrance of the school. Toomes pulled the car to a stop and Peter couldn’t wait to get out of the car that was suffocating to be in.
“Here we are. End of the line.” he announced. Peter couldn’t help but feel like there was a double meaning to that.
“Thanks, Dad.” Liz said as she moved to climb out of the car as well as Peter, only to be stopped when Toomes spoke up again.
“You head in there, gumdrop. I’m gonna give Peter the, uh, the “dad” talk.” he pulled a funny face and Liz rolled her eyes as she reached out to place a hand on Peter’s thigh.
“Don’t let him intimidate you.” easier said than done, Peter wanted to respond with but opted to stay quiet instead. Liz said bye to her father before climbing out of the car, leaving Peter alone with him. Toomes stared out the window, waiting until Liz disappeared inside with her friends before the car suddenly lurched forward making Peter’s stomach twist uneasily.
“Uh, sir?” he questioned, his voice cracking. Toomes stayed silent as he pulled out of the school parking lot and drove down the street until the school was no longer in view. He pulled to a stop along the curb. Peter watched as he reached down and pulled out a gun making Peter’s heart pound 10x faster than it already was. Toomes turned to look at him, his eyes dark and dangerous.
“Does she know?” he questioned. Peter shook his head, feigning confusion.
“Know what?”
“So she doesn’t, good. Close to the vest. I admire that. I’ve got a few secrets of my own. Of all the reasons I didn’t want my daughter to date.” He shook his head, shrugging. Peter stayed silent, his phone held tight in his hands.
“Peter,” he continued. “Nothing is more important than family. You saved my daughter’s life and I could never forget something like that so I’m gonna give you one chance. Are you ready?” Peter stayed silent and still. He continued anyway. “You forget any of this ever happened, and don’t you ever interfere with my business again. Because if you do, I’ll kill you and everybody you love, I’ll kill you dead. That’s what I’ll do to protect my family, Pete. Do you understand?” Peter nodded stiffly. He wasn’t going to just give up and let him go, he just couldn’t.
“Hey.” Peter looked up. “I just saved your life. Now, what do you say?” he glowered. Peter swallowed.
“Thank you.” he mumbled. Toomes nodded.
“You’re welcome.” he paused and Peter expected him to let him go then but he was wrong. “Now, I’m going to ask you again. Will you interfere with my business again?” he repeated, dark eyes burning into his. Peter shook his head.
“No, sir.” he lied, his voice wavering. Toomes sighed and Peter’s heart rate sped up.
“Don’t lie to me, Pedro.” he scolded. Peter began to panic, he shifted in his seat, hand inching toward the handle of the door.
“I’m not lying to you, sir.” Peter told him but Toomes only shook his head, the hand holding the gun shifting.
“Then why are you so nervous and look like your moments away from bursting out of this car? Surely you wouldn’t be so nervous if you were telling the truth.” Toomes accused and Peter knew at that moment he had to run.
Toomes stared Peter down as if he was daring Peter to do what he was about to do, Peter being naive didn’t heed his warning and yanked at the handle of the door and scrambled to get out. A gunshot pierced his ears and there was a sharp pain in his leg as he collapsed out of the car and onto the curb, crying out at the pain in his leg. He looked down to see blood pouring from his thigh.
He looked up to see Toomes climbing out and rounding the car angrily, his face furious as he stormed over to Peter who was crying silently. The teenager clawed at the ground to drag himself away, he didn’t get far before Toomes was pressing his boot against Peter’s head, pressing him into the ground, and for good measure, he lifted his boot and stomped on Peter’s outstretched arm. Peter let out a cry when he felt his wrist snap, sharp hot pain shooting through his arm.
“Ple-please sir. I’m sorry,” Peter pleaded as Toomes leaned down and buried his hand in Peter's hair, pulling him up to his feet before shoving him back into the car. Peter landed with a grunt and heard the car door slam behind him as well as the sound of the doors locking.
Toomes was getting something from the trunk and Peter fumbled for his phone that had landed on the floor of the car when he fled. He picked it up with his good hand and shakily typed in his passcode before pulling up messages and clicking the only person he knew could help him. He typed frantically.
Peter Parker: Help
Urgent
Kidnapped track phone ASAP
Vulture. Shot.
Please
Peter sent the last text and just hoped Mr. Stark would see it. He never answers when Peter reports his patrols but maybe he read and just never responded. Peter could only hope.
He heard the trunk slam shut and moved to quickly shove his phone under the car mat. Toomes walked over to the back door where Peter’s head was closest to from where he was laying down across the seats. The doors unlocked and Toomes yanked it open.
Peter looked up to see him holding cuffs. The teenager tried to curl into himself but Toomes wrestled his arms away from his body, flipping the injured boy onto his stomach so he could pull his arms behind his back and snap the cuffs on. Peter cried out in pain when Toomes gripped his broken wrist harshly.
Peter struggled and tried to break the cuffs but couldn't, his eyes widened and he frantically pulled again only to hear Toomes tutt as he climbed back into the driver seat.
“Vibranium, Pete. No escaping that.” he told him. Peter squeezed his eyes shut to shove back the tears threatening to escape.
“Please, sir. Just let me go…” Peter begged.
“Will you interfere with my business again?” Toomes raised his brows at the boy through the mirror. Peter shook his head frantically.
“No sir,” he told him and the older man sighed.
“You see, that’s the problem. I don’t believe you which is why I can’t let you go, Pedro.” Toomes told him as he began to drive again. The tears Peter held back now sliding down his cheeks as he hiccuped and sobbed. He was going to die on Homecoming night. He was only fifteen years old.
They drove for about a half hour until finally the car pulled to a stop, Peter unable to see where they had stopped since he was laying on the seats and couldn’t see out the windows from his position. Toomes stepped out of the car and rounded to Peter’s side.
Peter sucked in shaky breaths, tears flowing down his cheeks rapidly. Toomes pulled open the door and grabbed Peter’s cuffed arm, dragging him out of the car. Peter bit his lip when he landed on the ground with a thud, sending a sharp pain through his injured leg and wrist.
Peter looked around and only then did he notice the lake that seemed a bit too familiar as well as the park next to it. Peter recognized it as the lake Vulture had dropped him in the first time he met him after being snatched out of the air mid jump.
Peter looked up at Toomes through the curls covering his eyes.
“Why did you bring me here.” he questioned shakily.
“Well this is a very special place for you and I.” Toomes grinned and crouched down next to Peter's head, reaching down to brush back his curls.
“Please don’t do this.” Peter whispered, his voice breaking.
“No can do, Pete. You should’ve kept your nose out of other people’s business.” Toomes sighed before standing up, his knees popping. “I thought to myself, what place be better than here. Where our first encounter was, will be where our last is.” Toomes smirked. And latched a hand into Peter’s hair as he began to drag him across the grass and toward the dock that led out to the lake.
Peter struggled hard as Toomes began to hum The Itsy Bitsy Spider while dragging him to his death. Peter’s struggles were futile and he resorted to begging only for his pleas to be ignored as well.
Toomes reached the end of the dock and pulled Peter up to his feet, he would’ve fallen in if Toomes hadn’t placed a hand on his arm, holding him up when his legs couldn’t.
“It was nice knowing ya, Pedro. But unfortunately this is the end of the line.” He frowned. “You’re a good kid, Peter. You really are. But I can’t risk having you interfere with my business again. I have a family I need to take care of and if you get in the way I can’t do that. I’m sure you can understand.” Toomes smiled and brushed back Peter's bangs once again so he could look into the kids warm brown eyes which were wet and red with tears.
“Please…” Peter tried one last time.
“Goodbye kid,” Toomes said before giving Peter a push that sent him falling off the dock and into the cold water. He heard the splash of his body hitting the water before everything became muffled, his grunts as he struggled to swim while his hands were cuffed behind his back muffled as well.
The strong feeling of dread washed over him as soon as he accepted that this was it. There was no coming back from this. The first time Mr. Stark had been there to pull him out, but Mr. Stark was nowhere to be seen this time.
Peter thought about Aunt May and how he’ll never get to taste her famous burnt meatloaf or overcooked spaghetti. He’ll never get to feel her wrap her arms around him in a tight hug that held so much love and protection.
Peter thought about Ned and how his friend had just found out he was Spider-Man and only got to be a part of that part of Peter’s life for a short while. He thought about how he and Ned only had eachother and if Peter died Ned would be alone.
Peter felt himself sinking deeper and deeper into the lake as his mind raced with things he wished he had said to the people he loved and how he never got to. As Peter felt the air fighting to escape his lungs he closed his eyes before letting the dark engulf him.
-
To say Tony panicked when he got that text from Peter was an understatement. He had been in a late night meeting when his phone began buzzing rapidly with non-stop messages. He had excused himself outside of the meeting and checked his phone only to see Peters spammed messages.
He was expecting them to be excited reports from his latest patrol, not at all expecting a cry for help and that the kid was shot and being kidnapped.
The last message read ‘please’ and Tony felt his heart clench painfully at the thought that the kid really felt the need to say please when asking for help as if Tony wouldn’t do it if he didn’t ask nicely. Tony abandoned the meeting without hesitation and called upon a suit before shooting out of the compound and toward Queens.
“FRIDAY, track Peter’s phone.”
“Right away, Boss.” and she pulled up a map that had a red flashing dot on the screen that was moving. So Peter must be in a car. His ETA was about thirty minutes but Tony was cutting it down to twenty.
About twenty minutes later Tony landed in front of a black car causing it to jolt to a stop and behind the wheel was an older man with greying hair. Tony assumed this was the vulture.
“Run facial recognition.” Tony told FRIDAY and a minute later a picture popped up of the man, Adrian Toomes. Tony flew over to the drivers side and yanked open the door, reaching in and pulling Toomes out.
Toomes landed on the ground with a grunt and Tony held out his arm, shooting cuffs out of the gauntlet and wrapping them around Toomes legs and wrists. Tony turned away and went back to the car. He pulled open the back door to see that it was empty. Tony took a breath to clam himself before approaching the trunk.
He yanked it open only to see it was empty too. That's when he really began to panic. He spun around and flew over to Toomes furiously. He raised a hand and charged the blaster threateningly.
“The kid, where is he.” Tony demanded, growing when Toomes only smirked. He reached down and pressed the blaster against his shoulder, burning him through his shirt. Toomes yelled in pain and Tony pulled back.
Toomes huffed out a laugh which only fueled Tony’s anger.
“Where. Is. He.” Tony growled.
“He’s probably dead by now, Stark. You were there the first time to pull him out, you weren’t there the second time. Too late.” Toomes grinned.
“What are you talking about, enough of your games. Tell me what you did with the kid or I swear to god I’ll eviscerate you.” Tony threatened.
“It’s simple, Stark.” he huffed, “I washed the spider out.”
Tony stared at him with dark eyes through the helmet. But as he stood there he began to realize where they were. The park oddly familiar to Tony. He looked up and around and spotted the park as well as the same bars Peter had sat on when Tony pulled him out of the lake. The lake.
Tony looked behind him and spotted the lake a few yards away. He shot a blast at Toomes, knocking him unconscious before shooting toward the lake.
He saw that the ripples of the water were nearly gone which meant the kid wasn’t in there for too, too long, but still long enough to be concerning.
Tony shot into the water, turning on the light in his helmet to search around the dark water. About three minutes later he finally spotted something at the very bottom of the lake.
He shot closer and felt his heart drop at the sight of Peter, hands cuffed behind his back, water red around his leg where a bullet was lodged into his thigh, eyes closed peacefully, and hair splayed out. Tony’s breathing began coming out fast and uneven as he scooped up the limp and unconscious boy into his arms and blasted out of the water.
He flew over to the grass and set the teen down gently, he was careful as he blasted the cuffs and pulled them off of Peter's red and bruising wrists, one looking broken. He rolled Peter onto his back and splayed his arms out so they weren't stuck under his back.
“Kid, kid open your eyes.” Tony opened his faceplate and tapped on Peter’s cheek. He realized his face was a light shade of blue and his lips dark blue. He looked way too much like a corpse. Tony didn’t like it.
“F-FRIDAY what do I do!” He yelled through his panicked breathing.
“Check if he’s breathing and for a pulse, if there is none of those things begin CPR. I have notified the medical team, they are expecting you back at the compound.” came FRIDAY’s calm instructions.
“Okay, okay I can do that.” Tony spoke to himself as he leaned his face down to Peters, tilting his head to the side to feel if he was breathing. A sharp pain shot through his heart when he realized he wasn’t. Next he checked the pulse. None.
“Shit! Shit, okay c’mon kid you gotta work with me here. Aunt hottie will kill me.” Tony rambled as he pressed the heel of his palm against the teenager's unmoving chest. He began chest compressions all the while trying to slow his own breathing. Him taking in such long gasps for air made him feel horrible for the boy in front of him who currently wasn’t breathing at all, who needed that air.
After he did chest compressions he checked the pulse again, still no pulse.
“FRIDAY, what do I do! He’s not breathing still!”
“Stay calm, boss. Perform rescue breaths, thirty compressions, two breaths, repeat.” FRIDAY instructed him. Tony swallowed down his panic and tilted back Peter’s head, pinching his nose, and sealing his mouth over his, blowing into it twice. He continued compressions.
Tony was crying now, openly sobbing for the kid he barely made time to get to know. He called the kid on a mission and completely ignored him after that. What a dick. He regrets never talking to the kid or responding to his overly long reports of his patrols. All he knows is that if Peter survives this, which he will , Tony will never ignore him again and make an effort in talking to the kid.
After minutes of no sign of responsiveness Tony began to sob loudly and pounded on the boy’s chest, yelling at him to wake up. He breathed two more times into his mouth and pulled back.
“Peter, please…” Tony leaned down and pressed his head to the boy's chest, crying into his wet suit that was meant for his home-coming dance, not a fatal swim in a lake.
Tony jumped back when Peter suddenly began coughing, water spurting out of his mouth. He gasped and gagged and Tony was quick to roll him onto his side.
“Peter?! Oh thank god, kid. You’re okay, get it all out.” Tony rubbed his back and waited for him to finish getting all of the water out of his lungs. Finally able to breathe, Tony took a deep breath, the world no longer spinning.
“Mr. S’rk,” Peter slurred as he rolled back onto his back, looking up at the older man with bloodshot eyes. “You’re h’re.”
“Yeah, i’m here kid. Everythings going to be okay.” Tony assured gently.
“I though’ I was’gonna die,'' Peter’s whisper broke Tony’s heart. He's just a kid. He shouldn’t be having to deal with dangerous people trying to kill him. He should be worrying about school, and grades, and asking his crush out on a date.
“Well you didn’t and you won’t ever, not if I have anything to say about it.” Tony smiled and Peter returned the smile weakly.
“Ev’ryone dies eventually.” he murmures sleepily.
“Well not Peter Parker.” Tony says. He can’t imagine a world without Peter Parker. At least not his world without Peter Parker. He may have only just met the kid a few months ago but he can’t seem to remember his life before the kid came into it, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.
“Toomes,” Peter says suddenly.
“I had a little chat with him, I’ll deal with him later. Right now we need to sort you out.” Tony told him and Peter nodded lazilly.
“‘M tired.” Peter mumbled and Tony shot up.
“No, no, you can’t sleep yet, underoos. We gotta get you to the medbay to deal with your gunshot wound.” Tony told him but Peter wasn’t listening, already falling asleep.
“Boss, I recommend you get Mr. Parker to the medbay immediately. There is still the possibility of second hand drowning as well as blood loss.” FRIDAY told him and Tony nodded. He scooped up the boy and shot into the sky.
-
When Peter came to he was surrounded by white walls and bright lights that made him wince and close his eyes again only to hear a familiar voice.
“FRI, turn lights down to 20%, thanks.” Tony asked softly. Peter tried again and was able to open his eyes this time without any pain. He looked around the hospital room and spotted Tony Stark sitting in a chair next to his bed, tablet in his hand.
“Well look who’s back,” Tony hummed as he set down the tablet and leaned forward in his seat.
“Where did I go?” Peter questioned.
“Well you almost took a trip to the land of the dead but luckily I got there before that could happen so you’re welcome.” Tony shrugged and Peter rolled his eyes, chuckling softly. “Seriously though, kid. Do you remember what happened?” Tony’s tone turned serious and Peter looked down. Only then did he notice the bandage wrapped around his thigh and his casted wrist.
“Toomes found out I was spider-man, shot me in the leg when I tried to escape his car and tried to kill me by drowning me in the same lake he dropped me in when we first met. Poetic really.” Peter said the last part sarcastically. Tony nodded.
“So you do remember then. Then you can answer this question for me. What the hell were you doing in the Vultures car?” Tony questioned, his gaze burning into Peter. Peter sighed.
“He’s my date’s dad.” Peter answered and Tony recoiled.
“Well he took the protective dad thing to a whole new level. That’s rough, kid.” Tony sighed and ruffled the teens hair. Peter let out a defeated laugh.
“Yeah, well Parker luck strikes again. Pretty sure Liz is gonna think I ditched her, little does she know, her dad tried to kill me.” Peter joked flatly. Tony smiled and shook his head. They sat in silence for a minute before Tony spoke up again.
“Thanks for messaging me, kid. I know I never respond and there’s really no excuse I can give to you. I always read your reports but I never respond and I’ve realized that’s really dickish of me. But thank you for trusting me to help you. I’ll always be a phone call or text away. No matter what.” Tony told him, patting his hand that rested on the bed. Peter smiled.
“Thanks, Mr. Stark. For saving me. I know I can be a pain but I promise I wasn’t looking for trouble this time.” Peter joked, earning a laugh from the older man.
“You’re a trouble magnet, even when you’re not looking for trouble, trouble will always find you, kid.” he nudged Peter gently and the kid laughed.
“Hey, I was thinking. Since you’re already here and you’ve never seen the compound before, maybe you’d want a tour and maybe stay the night? I’ll message your aunt and let her know if you’d like? We could order pizza and watch a movie or two...maybe?...” Tony offered hesitantly. Peter raised a brow and smiled.
“I’d like that a lot, Mr. Stark.”