Work Text:
Prompt: Blood Loss
Peter grinned back at Ned who shook his shoulder in excitement. The Cyclone was great, but Thunderbolt was both of their favorites, and it was the first week of summer vacation. With no plans and a whole summer ahead of them, Peter's only obligations his daily patrols. He was supposed to be going to the Tower that evening around five, and he knew that Mr. Stark would have dinner ready, or maybe they'd eat take out and then they'd go to the lab and despite the fact that they'd been doing the same thing every other Friday since last November. The other Avengers might even be around! He'd only really talked to Steve and Natasha since they'd been pardoned, but they'd both been nice, and despite his misgivings, Peter was starting to look forward to having them around.
But that wasn't for hours and hours…he had the whole day to spend with Ned, riding rides and eating hot dogs and cotton candy until they both felt sick. MJ hadn't wanted to come, mostly because she got sick on roller coasters, but they all had plans to go to the movies later in the week. The sun was beating down on them and all the other teenagers in line were loud and all around them were yelling kids and parents holding bags and drinking out of the huge souvenir cups, and Peter couldn't help his smile. His life had been kind of short on normal lately, but this…this was normal.
"So…will the others be there tonight?" Ned asked, doing a terrible job of keeping his voice down, but no one seemed to be paying attention to him, so Peter nodded. As long as they talked in code, he decided, it would be fine.
"I think so. I mean, I don't know if I'll get to see them, but I think they'll be there."
"What are you and Mr…um…Mr. You-Know-Who working on in the lab?"
Peter snorted. "Please don't reference Harry Potter. You know I don't read books by transphobes."
"Fair. Withdrawn. Mr…Iron."
He rolled his eyes. "He's still working on the new armor." Peter leaned in, lowering his voice. "Nanotech."
"What are the odds you could sneak some out so we can play with it."
"Zero."
"What are the odds that you could sneak me in so that I can play with it?"
"Negative 10."
"Can you at least tell me everything?"
"As long as you promise not to talk about it to anyone else."
"Not even MJ?"
"Dude…MJ doesn't even know that I'm…" he didn't dare even mouth it, but Ned understood.
"Will you tell her?"
He shrugged. He didn't know how…it wasn't like he'd ever told anyone before. Ned had found out by accident. So had May. Mr. Stark had figured it out. The Avengers just thought he was Mr. Stark's teenage intern. There was a vague plan to tell them the truth, but not just yet. Mr. Stark had asked him if he wanted to wait, and Peter had said yes.
"I just…I don't…" he'd started to explain, but Mr. Stark had waved a hand, unbothered.
"No need to explain, Underoos."
"It's not that I don't…"
"Hey. It's fine. Really. We'll just let them think you're my intern for a little while."
"I am your intern."
Tony had tossed a balled up piece of paper at him that he'd caught with a laugh.
Now they climbed into the front of the car, the harness coming down around their shoulders and pinning them against the seat. Ned practically vibrated in excitement…the two of them had waited in line for twice as long to sit in the front, and it would be worth it. Sure, swinging around the city was fun, but just because he got to do that every day didn't mean that he still didn't love roller coasters! May had never ridden them, and Ben had started getting sick on them when Peter was around 10, but Ned would always ride them with him. After this was the Cyclone, and then all the rest. They had a whole system.
Mr. Stark had called him that morning when he'd been on the subway with Ned, and his friend had been nearly as excited at seeing Mr. Stark's name on his phone as he was now on a roller coaster. Trying to keep his voice down, Peter had answered. "Hey, Mr. Stark."
"Hey, kiddo. You still want to come over for the internship?"
"What? Of course! I mean…if you're still free…"
"No plans on my end, Pete. I just figured you might have plans since it's your first day of freedom."
"Ned and I are going to Luna Park, but we'll leave in time for me to swing to the Tower." Beside him, Ned had been shaking his arm, eyes wide and pleading, and Peter had tried not to laugh. "Ned says hi."
Mr. Stark had snorted. "Hi, Ted. You going to want to eat? Or are you going to fill up on hot dogs?"
"I'll be hungry."
"Yeah, dumb question, huh? Good thing I'm rich or you'd eat me out of house and home."
Peter hadn't been able to argue…hadn't been able to do anything but smile, his chest warm and tight. Mr. Stark talked to him like that now…with something soft and fond in his voice, and it never failed to make Peter smile. Over the last few months, Mr. Stark had started to be something else to him…something more than a mentor. And that was about as must as Peter was able to define it. More than a mentor.
The car moved forward, the wheels clicking on the track, and Peter gripped the handles of his harness. Beside him, Ned did the same, and the watch on his wrist buzzed to let him know that his heart rate had gone up. But Mr. Stark would know that he was on a roller coaster.
It wasn't until they were on their way up the hill that Peter's hair stood up on the back of his neck and his arms even though it was hot outside, the sun making sweat roll down his back. Ned was still grinning but Peter looked around, listening for anything different…anything that could be wrong. But everything sounded fine…no one was screaming or running…no one that wasn't on a roller coaster.
"Ned?" he asked, turning to look at his friend, but Ned didn't seem to hear him over the sound of the roller coaster as it sped up, approaching the top of the hill, but something was wrong! He looked down at the ground below them but everything seemed fine! Everything…
They reached the top of the hill and started to go over and his whole body stiffened, the sense of danger…of wrongness so strong that it almost hurt. His fingers gripped the metal and they descended and everyone screamed because it was fun and scary but scary in a safe way only it wasn't safe because something was wrong! But what?
Adrenaline filled him, just like it did when he swung through the city, and the car shook and that's what it always did only something was wrong and his watch buzzed again and again, letting him know that his heart rate was too fast because he was afraid…really afraid, not fun afraid, and then something exploded in the distance, and then something else, and out of the corner of his eye Peter watched the Astro Tower fall and people were screaming and the track in front of them was going to run out! Add none of this made sense but it was pure instinct that had him gripping the harness and shoving. Hard.
The harness lifted, and he threw it to the side where it plummeted down to the ground below, but he didn't even have time to watch it as he heaved himself up, sticking to the front of the cart and dropping in front of it, bracing himself on the wood and pushing as hard as he could. Everyone was screaming and he met the eyes of seven people who would now know that he was a mutant even if they didn't know his exact identity now, but that was something he'd have to worry about later. For now, he tried to lock his knees and push as he was shoved towards the gaping hole in the track that was approaching so fast and he wasn't going to be able to save them!
Ned was screaming and gripping the harness holding him to the seat and maybe Peter could only save Ned but he was running out of time to decide! Could he only save Ned? Could he save all of them? How? He strained to hold the car, muscles aching, his whole body shaking as his feet were shoved backwards but they were slowing down! They might make it!
Another explosion in the distance and people screaming and he didn't know how long it had been! How long since the first explosion? Bomb? He shoved as hard as he could, screaming with the effort and then, miracle of miracles, the car slowed, his feet finding purchase on the track, and then…then it stopped.
Peter turned to leap down…or maybe he took a few steps first. Maybe he started to climb down. He might even have made it a few feet from the roller coaster. Because the next thing he knew, he was laying on his back, eyes fixed on the bright blue sky, the sun still beating down on them as though this was just a normal day. It had been just a normal day! He opened his mouth, but he couldn't make himself call out. He was…buried? Half buried? Something was on top of him but when he moved his eyes to the side because he couldn't move his whole head, the car with Ned was still sitting on the tracks. Ned was screaming…but everyone was screaming. People were running and screaming and he needed to help!
Peter groaned, trying to think…trying to figure out what he was doing. He needed to help. He knew that much. He needed to help and he needed to get up. Why wasn't he getting up? Had there been another explosion? No…he didn't think so. He tried to lift his head and failed, then managed to lift his right hand…his left one was pinned by something, which shouldn't have been possible because he was so strong! Right! He'd just stopped a roller coaster!
"Think," he whispered as the watch on his left arm buzzed again and again, almost constantly now. He blinked a few times, struggling to focus, then placed his right hand on his head. It felt sticky and wet. Then he moved it to his stomach where he felt…wrong. Something was wrong. Hadn't he known that? He groaned, closing his eyes and then struggling to open them again. There was something in his stomach…or…in his side. He was covered in blood. Why?
"Peter! Peter!" Someone was moving something and he groaned, shivering as something…he didn't know…he didn't know. But someone was talking to him. He tried to focus on that as screaming and pounding footsteps filled the air. Someone was talking to him and he didn't know who it was. He felt…cold. But that didn't make sense because the sun was beating down on them. "Peter? Son, open your eyes," the instructed, and he knew that voice! Why? "Peter?"
"Huh?" he asked, struggling to open his eyes again.
"Son, you're alright. You…just hold on, okay? We…" the voice cut off, sounding choked, and Peter managed to focus for long enough to recognize Steve Rogers. "Cap…captain…"
"Yeah. It's me. Tony? You…you should…" he swallowed hard, and Peter felt the man's hand rest on his head. "You should come. Hurry." Then, to him, "Peter, look at me, son. You're okay. You…just look at me, alright?"
And Steve Rogers looked so sad…sadder than Peter had ever seen. "Is…Ned…"
"Who?" Steve asked.
"My…friend…" he closed his eyes, then forced them open again, lifting his shaking right hand to the place where he knew the car had stopped, and Steve glanced back.
"He's on the ride? It stopped. It didn't fall…your friend is okay. They people up there, they're all okay. The brakes must have engaged. It stopped. They're okay."
Peter nodded. "I'm…really cold."
Steve wasn't dressed in his Captain America suit…he was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, and his hands shook as they hovered over Peter's chest or his stomach…something was wrong.
"What's wr…wrong?" he managed to choke out, and Steve gave him a weak smile, but then he was being pushed aside and Mr. Stark was there, face peering out from his armor. But then the armor was gone and it was just Mr. Stark, eyes raking over him, lips pressed together in the line that meant he was worried. "Mr. Stark?"
"Hey, kiddo. Give us just a sec and we'll get you out okay?"
"Wha…happ…"
"Looks like the track collapsed on you."
"I stopped…the…" He swallowed hard and tried to keep explaining but Mr. Stark shook his head.
"It's okay…just…" He rested a hand on Peter's shoulder, squeezing gently. "We've got to get you out of here, okay? We're going to get you back to the tower…"
"Tony…" Steve whispered, shaking his head, looking at Mr. Stark with so much pity that Peter didn't understand it. "I'm so sorry…"
"Nope. No sorries. Not from you. Just from me. Pete, this is going to suck. I'm sorry, kiddo. But we've got good drugs back at the tower and then you probably won't remember any of this."
"Tony, he's lost too much blood," Steve murmured, dropping a hand on Peter's head. "We have to…"
"Pete, permission to share?"
"Granted," he choked out, nodding, too tired to tell the man himself. Mr. Stark gave him a brief smile, then turned to Steve Rogers.
"Steve Rogers, Spider-Man. Spider-Man, well…you already know Spangles." Peter wasn't fooled by his tone…Mr. Stark's hands shook as he cradled a hand under his head. "He's enhanced. Super-healing, all that. He'll be fine. Pete, Natasha and Falcon are getting your friend from the roller coaster. Everyone else too. I'm going to get the armor on and we'll lift some of this stuff off of you. Try not to move, okay? You're losing blood fast and we've got to hurry."
Peter nodded. "Okay," he rasped.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, stepping back, then reappearing in the armor as a shell-shocked Steve Rogers started to move something off of his left arm.
"Not…too…bad…"
"Good. Glad to hear it." His wobbling voice was only slightly less noticeable in the suit. "Cap?"
"Broken left wrist. It crushed two of his fingers too. No puncture wounds on the arm."
"Great. Pete can heal a broken wrist in his sleep. And I mean that literally…healing makes him sleepy. Kid, we may have to postpone lab night."
"Okay," he whispered, nodding and trying to keep up with Mr. Stark's rapid fire words.
"Rogers?"
"His side is the worst. He fell on…um…looks like metal from the frame."
"One tetanus shot coming up."
"Can I…even…get…"
"No idea," Mr. Stark cut in, false cheer making his voice bright. "Better safe than sorry. Don't worry, you'll be asleep for that part."
Peter wanted to be asleep right then, but he vaguely remembered being told to stay awake…right? That seemed like the right thing to do.
"Next?"
"Could be spinal damage. I can't tell. Keep the metal as still as you can…the second its out, he's going to…" Steve stopped talking and Mr. Stark eased metal-covered hands under him.
"Hear that, Underoos? Stay still, okay? I'm going to pick you up. Get you back to the tower. Spangles and the rest are going to help the Fire Department get everyone to safety. Peter?"
The use of his name in that tone…that tone that told him that Mr. Stark was afraid, had him snapping his eyes open, realizing at the last second that he'd closed them.
"Buddy, you need to stay awake, okay? I know this sucks but I need you to focus on me."
"Doesn't…hurt…"
"Good. I'm glad. Let's try to keep it that way. Just look at me. Stay awake."
Mr. Stark was scared. That, more than anything, had Peter struggling to keep his eyes open. But then the man straightened and something shifted…something was wrong. And then it was like the lights went out.
The next time Peter opened his eyes, there was pain…pain in his arm and pain in his ankle and pain in his stomach. Pain that made him groan, jaw clenched, head digging into the pillow under his head. Mr. Stark had told him to stay awake so he had to stay awake but he didn't even know where he was!
"Hey…easy…easy, Spiderling. Look at me," a soft voice urged, and he looked up at Mr. Stark who rested a hand on his shoulder so gently that he could barely feel it. "You're okay. I know…you're due for more pain medicine soon. It's okay."
Peter didn't know that it was! "Hurts…Mr. Stark…"
"I know. You got smushed, Spiderling." Despite the words, Mr. Stark's eyes were bright and red-rimmed, which was scarier than waking up on the ground with what he was pretty sure had been metal sticking out of his stomach. "I know it hurts, bud. Just…try to stay still. Deep breaths."
"Ned?"
"He's fine. No one on the car you stopped was hurt. Well…maybe whiplash. Nothing serious."
"The…Astro Tower…it…it fell…"
Mr. Stark nodded, dropping his eyes and squeezing his shoulder.
"All those people…"
"There wasn't anything you could have done, buddy. I…I'm so sorry," he murmured, thumb rubbing gently over his shoulder. "The Avengers are all still there working with the Fire Department and search and rescue. They're helping as many people as they can."
"What happened?" he asked through gritted teeth, struggling to keep his voice even.
"Three bombs," Mr. Stark told him softly. "Well…five. Only three went off."
Peter closed his eyes and felt Mr. Stark rest a hand on his head, fingers gently brushing his hair back.
"We're going to figure out who. The only people who saw what you did were the people on the roller coaster car. The Avengers have officially asked them not to share that information with anyone." He paused. "May is at the hospital. I promised that you were fine. They're overrun."
"I knew something was wrong…"
"Peter, you could not have stopped three bombs from going off. You saved eight people. You got out of a roller coaster while it was going almost sixty miles an hour. Then you got impaled when part of the ride fell on you. There was literally nothing more you could have done, bud. I'm sorry." Peter opened his eyes and Mr. Stark shook his head. "You lost so much blood…it's a good thing we keep a supply on hand, you know that? Because we're going to need more now. God, Pete…that was close."
"I'm sorry."
"Nope. No apologies from you, Pete. Not until you're healed up."
Peter shifted a little in bed, wincing, and Mr. Stark held out a cup of water with a straw without asking, watching in silence as Peter drained it. "Mr. Stark?"
"Yeah, kiddo?"
"Do the Avengers all know who I am?"
"Yep. Sorry, Pete. Spangles has a big mouth. But if it helps, he thought you were going to die."
Peter remembered that…remembered how sad Steve Rogers had looked when he'd sat beside him.
"He's pretty fond of you, you know? I think they all are. So they'll probably just be glad you survived." Mr. Stark put the cup on the table, then patted him gently on the shoulder. "I know I am."
"Do you think we should reschedule lab day?"
Mr. Stark barked out a surprise laugh, chuckling as he squeezed his good arm. "Yeah, buddy. I don't think I have it in me today. Hell, I think I need a nap."
"Me too."
He softened. "Go ahead and sleep, bud. You're going to get more pain medicine soon anyway."
So Peter did, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.