Work Text:
Tony felt numb when he figured it out. He also felt incredibly stupid. He knew something felt off when Peter told him about Richard being alive. The story his real father told him just didn't add up. Yet, he didn't say anything because he didn't want to ruin it for Peter.
Now he really wished he had said something.
It was Tuesday, and Peter was supposed to come home at 5:00pm. It was 8:44pm. He knew the boy was meeting with Richard after school, and he said that was okay. He guessed trying to be a supportive Dad really bit him in the ass.
It didn't take him long to connect the dots. Richard took him. Or maybe he was just being jealous and overreacting.
No. He was almost certain that it was Richard. Even more so now that Nat managed to hack into the CCTV near that café Peter told him about. The one that he and Richard went to a lot. That thought made Tony's stomach churn.
He watched as Richard took Peter down an alley, then the screen cut. It turned to a different camera, where a black van was parked. It sat there for a few seconds before driving away. Tony felt like he was going to throw up.
They had taken Peter again. Tony hated himself. When he adopted Peter, he promised him that he would protect him. And now he's broken it, and the kid probably hates him for it.
What if he comes back even more traumatized than before? What if he comes back, not being able to speak again? What if...he doesn't come back? What if--
"Tony. You with us?" Nat asked, snapping the man out of his thoughts. He looked up and noticed that all of his teammates were staring at him. Steve, Bucky and Natasha. He turned his attention back to the computer screens.
"No, not really." He grunted. "Please, continue. I'll do my best to listen." His teammates didn't argue, knowing how difficult this was for the man.
"You said that Richard told Peter he was hiding from HYDRA all those years...correct?" Steve asked.
"It's a cover story. I know it is. He's working with them." Replied Tony. "Can you track the number plate of the van?"
"Yeah, we can. But I doubt it will get us anywhere. HYDRA are smarter than that." Bucky answered.
"Yeah, well, we'll take what we can get."
Weeks had passed, and Tony hated himself more and more for every hour they wasted. Peter was locked up somewhere, feeling hurt, scared and betrayed. And they were doing nothing.
The man hadn't slept and hadn't eaten. He felt like shit and he looked like it too, he knew he did, but he didn't care. Not when Peter was kidnapped and feeling way worse than he was.
He failed Peter. He failed him. He failed his own kid, who was already broken enough. He had been through so much already, and Tony promised him. He swore to him that he was safe now, and always would be. He lied to him.
Tony yelled in anger and pushed everything off his workbench, not even reacting to the breaking and clattering sounds when his things crashed to the ground.
"Tony." Steve greeted as he walked into the lab.
"Unless you've got good news about Peter, I don't want to hear it." Tony grunted from his seat, not even turning to look at the soldier.
He heard Steve sigh, and then he sat down beside him. "Tony, please.."
"What the fuck did I just tell you Rogers? I don't want to hear it."
"You're hurting...I know you are. But you can't just cut yourself off from the rest of us. We're trying to help, and this situation would be done a lot quicker if you worked with us." Steve explained, slowly. It almost sounded like there was a hint of worry in his voice...but that couldn't be right.
"I get it, Steve! I know! But I don't want to go through the pain of hours and hours of looking and researching when we're just coming up with dead ends! It's HYDRA, they're fucking brilliant at covering their tracks. Just tell me if something comes up, alright? Now go and fuck Romanoff, or whatever it is that you usually do."
Steve knew he couldn't argue with the man. Not when he was like this. So he just nodded and left.
Once Tony knew that Steve was out of sight and earshot, he let himself burst into tears.
"How many times have we searched through the HYDRA base Peter was originally at? The one you guys destroyed a while back." Bucky asked.
"Too many to count." Nat mumbled, twisting around on her chair.
"Couldn't hurt to check again. There could be rooms or secret passageways we're missing. I mean, the cell Peter was locked in was pretty well hidden. Tony told us it took a good few minutes for him to find it after Clint sent him that way." Steve replied, leaning on the desk.
"Alright. I'm on camera and SHIELD duty, though. So who's going?" Said Nat, looking up at the two soldiers.
"I'll go." A voice startled them from the front of the room. They turned around to find Tony leaning on the doorway. Steve smiled at him, glad that he had come to his senses and finally got himself out of his lab.
"Perfect. We'll go with you." Steve said, and they set off.
Tony hadn't been at the HYDRA base since he and Nat found Peter. Being there again made him feel uneasy, he already hated this place for what they did to his son. Stepping inside again was only fueling that fire of hatred and anger growing inside of him.
His anger only intensified when they passed the door to the basement Peter was kept in. But then that anger turned to sadness...and suddenly...he was terrified.
He just wanted Peter back. He wanted his amazing, beautiful, smart kid back. And he wasn't going to stop until he did.
Tony was scrolling through the HYDRA files they dug up when it happened. The compound's alarms suddenly started going off, along with red flashing lights. Tony jumped up from his seat and scanned the room.
"FRIDAY?"
"We have been compromised, boss. Intruder alert."
Tony cursed and ran out of the room, meeting Steve, Bucky and Nat in the hallway.
"What's going on?" Tony asked them frantically.
"It's HYDRA." Bucky stated, breathing heavily.
Tony's eyes darkened and he clenched his fists. It was time to get his son back. They all suited up and made their way to the ground floor, where HYDRA were patiently waiting, with smirks on their faces. It only angered Tony more.
Anton slowly walked up to the man. Tony knew he had somehow broken out of the Raft, but it still shocked him to see the shithead there.
"Tony Stark, it's-"
"I don't have time for your fucking villain monologue. Give me Peter before I set Black Widow on you. She has her own special torture methods, reserved just for you." Tony spat.
Anton laughed and stepped back. "You want Vex, do you?"
Tony's stomach dropped. He didn't...he couldn't have...there was no way he brainwashed Peter into being a Vex soldier in just a month?
"Quit fucking around and give us the kid." Steve grunted from behind Tony.
"Stark wasn't lying about those torture methods." Natasha added.
Anton stuck his hands up in fake surrender. "Alright, you can have him." He smirked, turning around. "Vex, get in here."
Tony's eyes watered as he watched his son step through the doors, dressed in a black suit with a black mask. He felt like he had been stabbed in his lungs, suddenly not being able to breath.
"Go on, walk up to Daddy." Anton teased, giving Peter a shove in Tony's direction. His walking slowed down as he got closer to him, until it finally came to a stop.
"Peter..." Tony choked out, reaching out to touch him. He was in too much of a vulnerable state to realize that it was too good to be true. He was quickly proven that when Peter grabbed Tony's arm before it touched his face, and twisted it painfully. Tony let out a painful yell and staggered backwards. He saw Anton and his men smirk, but he didn't care. All his focus was on Peter.
"Peter?" He tried again, but no reaction from the younger boy.
"Tony...it's not going to work." Bucky said from behind him.
"We need to take them all down first, at least." Nat said through clenched teeth.
Tony whipped his head around to look at his team with anger. "Do what you have to do. I'll work with Peter, and don't even try telling me that it's useless. Don't kill Anton, I want him back in the Raft."
The others nodded and went to fight Anton and his men, whereas Tony turned back to Peter.
"Peter, it's me. It's Tony." He tried again, walking slightly closer to his son. "It's Dad."
Peter didn't react. His face remained emotionless as he shoved Tony backwards with his super strength, causing the man to crash into the wall. He got up slowly and walked back over to his son.
"I'm not gonna fight you, kid." He said. Peter kept on throwing punches and Tony took them. He was just glad that Bucky, Nat and Steve were taking down the HYDRA guys. He trusted them to kill them all and take Anton back to the Raft. He needed his full attention on his kid.
"I am so sorry, Peter." Tony said, helmet off and showing the tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry...I love you so much, Pete."
"Shut up." Peter grunted, punching the man in the face. Tony spat blood on the floor and turned back to him.
"I know you must hate me, but you have to listen." Another punch. "The others are taking HYDRA down, and they're going to take Anton too." Peter stiffened and turned around, watching the scene that was playing out behind him. There were multiple dead bodies on the ground. Steve and Natasha were fighting more of them, whereas Bucky was on Anton duty. He had him pinned to the ground as the man struggled.
Peter's eyes darkened and began to walk over to them, attempting to rescue his captor. Tony quickly stepped forward and held onto the boy before he could. Peter instantly started struggling, shoving the man off him.
"Peter, stop. Anton isn't going to win. You're home now, and you're staying."
"Get off me." Peter spat, twisting Tony's arm painfully again, but he didn't let go this time. Instead, he shoved the man to the ground and kicked him in the side, hard enough to damage his Iron Man suit. Tony grunted in pain and watched as Peter turned around, making his way back to Anton. Tony hurried to get up just as Peter reached Bucky, punching the soldier in the face and shoving him off the captor.
Tony rushed up to them and pulled Peter backwards, before Anton got the chance to get up. Bucky pinned the man down again, ignoring the stinging pain on his cheek.
"I'm sorry, kid. I didn't want to do this." Tony said, grabbing Peter painfully and shoving him to the ground. Before Peter could push his way back up, Tony called for his helmet which immediately came flying to him. The man hurried to slip it on Peter's head as the boy struggled.
"FRIDAY, you know what to do." Tony said, pinning Peter's arms to the side.
The helmet released sedatives into the kid's neck. It took a while and a lot of shoving and kicking, but he finally stilled. Tony let out a shaky breath and rested his head on Peter's chest. He was only fourteen. He was only a kid.
Tony stayed with Peter as Steve and Natasha finally killed all of Anton's men.
"You're never getting him back. He's Vex now." Anton laughed evilly as he was dragged away by SHIELD. Tony grit his teeth. He wanted nothing more than to get up and go punch that disgusting man's head in until he begged for mercy. But he didn't. He would save that for when he was locked in the Raft, along with Richard.
Peter woke up in some sort of cell. He furrowed his eyebrows and lifted himself into a sitting position. He looked around him, scanning the walls, the floor, the room, the ceiling. He moved to get up from the bed he was lying in, but something was stopping him. He looked down in confusion, only to find a chain wrapped around his ankle. He reached his hand down to snap it off, but the metal didn't even bend. He tried again, and again, and again. But nothing.
"That's not going to work."
Peter jumped and looked around the room frantically, trying to find the source of the voice. His eyes landed on Tony's, who was on the other side of the cell. Peter's eyes hardened.
"Let me out." He growled.
"Can't do that, kid." Tony was looking at him with soft and kind eyes. It made the boy even more angry.
"What did you do with Anton?"
Tony sighed. "You don't have to worry about him anymore. You'll never see him again."
"Where is he?" Peter yelled, yanking on the metal chain again.
"That chain is made out of vibranium. You can't get out." He said calmly. Peter yelled in anger and looked away from Tony.
There was silence for a few more moments. "I hate doing this, Pete. You have no idea how much it pains me to see you like this. I want nothing more than to get you out of there and just...hold you. But I can't. Do you wanna tell me why?"
Peter stayed silent.
"Can you tell me what your name is?" Tony asked.
"My name is Vex."
Tony almost let out a sob. But he couldn't let his guard down. "Nope. Try again."
Peter growled. "My name is Vex."
"Your name is Peter. Peter Parker-Stark." He saw a flash of recognition on Peter's eyes, but it was gone as soon as it came. Tony continued with hope. "We actually had this built for Bruce, in case he ever Hulked out." Peter finally looked up at him. "You remember Bruce? He looked you over when I found you all those months ago. He gave you a cast for your broken collar bone."
More recognition was plastered on Peter's face. It lingered for longer this time. "Stop it." The boy whispered.
"And then I pulled up some files on you. I figured out what your name was and I asked you a few questions. You didn't answer any, though, because you have selective mutism. Do you remember that? You don't talk much."
A tear fell down Peter's cheek. Why couldn't this man just stop talking?
Tony let out a sad sigh. "I'm going to give you some alone time. I'll come back later, alright?" He said. The least thing he wanted was to walk away. He wanted to stay and help his son, who was crying and needed help. But he knew he couldn't. Walking away would help his kid, he knew it would. He knew that Peter had separation anxiety, so maybe it would give him the push he needed.
He was right. As Peter watched his Dad walk away, he felt more tears slip down his face and a longing in his chest. He didn't know why, though. But Tony did. He knew that deep down, the old Peter was in there, and he wanted him to stay. Especially because he was locked in a cell he had never seen before.
Peter stuffed down those feelings, pretending they weren't there, as he yanked at the metal chain again.
A few days had passed and Tony was pleased to say that they had made some progress. Peter had forgotten about HYDRA and all that 'Vex' stuff. But he wasn't...Peter. He was somewhere between nothingness and life. He was alive. A living and breathing human. But he wasn't Peter. To the boy, he was no one.
Tony went with his routine questions. "What's your name?"
Peter was sat on his cot, hugging his knees to his chest, staring at the floor.
"..Peter." He finally said. But it didn't feel right.
Tony smiled. "Good. That's good. What's your last name?"
"Parker-Stark." Peter answered, looking up at Tony.
"Yes, well done, kid."
Peter found himself smiling at the praise...but why? He didn't want to smile. He was trained not to.
It was another few days later when they went off script with the questions.
"You doing okay, Pete?" Tony asked as he walked into the room. He always made sure to ask, because Peter's comfort and well-being was all that mattered to him. He knew that cell couldn't be very comfortable for him either.
"Um...could you, uh...could you get this chain off me? Please? I don't...I-I don't like it." The boy asked, looking as vulnerable as ever. And of course, it instantly let Tony's guard down, and he came rushing over to the glass.
"Hey, are you okay? Is it digging in?" He asked with worry.
"N-No...it's just...uncomfortable and it...it makes me feel...bad." Peter replied. His explanation was pretty vague, but somehow Tony understood what he meant completely.
"Alright, uh..." Tony thought for a moment, not knowing whether he should go into the cell or not. His Dad instincts got the best of him, though, and he walked over to the cell door. He unlocked it and walked in, locking it behind him just in case. He got a key out of his back pocket and walked over to his son, kneeling down to the chain wrapped around his ankle. Once it was off, Peter let out a relieved breath.
"Thank you...Dad."
Tony whipped his head up to look at Peter, a feeling of hope in his stomach.
"Peter...?"
Peter sniffed as tears fell down his face. He looked at his lap as he wiped them away. "I-I'm sorry." He choked out. Tony instantly stood up and sat beside Peter on the cot, wrapping an arm around him.
"What are you sorry for, huh?" He asked, pushing Peter's head down on his shoulder.
"I...I hurt you."
Tony let out a wet chuckle. "Oh, Peter. I don't care about that. I don't care about that at all."
"B-But-"
"Hey, enough of that. I'm the one who's sorry. Fuck, you don't even know how sorry I am, kid." He said as he ran his fingers through Peter's hair, ignoring the tears falling down his own face. "I promised you that I would protect you...I said that you would be safe here. God, Pete, I am so sorry. I failed you."
"N-No...it wasn't your fault. It was Richard's," mentioning Richard sparked Peter's memory more, and he suddenly sat up straight. "Wait, Richard!"
"It's okay, we found him. We locked him up."
Peter let out a shaky breath and nodded his head. "Okay...yeah, that's good." He only lasted a few more seconds before he burst into tears.
"Oh, bambino." Tony wrapped his arms around Peter again, in hopes to soothe him.
"I-I just...I can't believe he would even..." Peter cut himself off with another sob.
"I know, I know...are you...are you with me now?" He asked with hope.
Peter sniffed. "I think so."
Tony smiled and kissed Peter's head. "I'm glad. I missed you. And I...I can't apologize enough."
Peter knew if he argued and said it wasn't his fault, Tony would never stop apologizing.
"It's okay. I forgive you."
Tony let out a breath of relief. "Thank you. And I promise you, Peter, you are safe now. You always will be."
"I love you, Dad." Peter sobbed, clinging onto him tighter. Tony sniffed and wiped away a tear of his own.
"I love you too, bambino."
They stayed hugging for a while, until Peter spoke again.
"Can I get out of this cell now? I don't like it."
Tony chuckled. "Of course."
Even though he really shouldn't, Peter trusted Tony when he said he was safe now. Because as long as Tony was with him, that's all he would feel.