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Today was normal, well as normal as it gets with two spies, a god, supersoldier, and genius that turns into big green angry guy. For all he knows Clint is falling through a vent to just get a bottle of water. He went down to the lab after breakfast. He’s fixing the left shoulder of the suit when the alarms blared. Despite the uncompleted upgrade it is still usable, sort of. He makes his way down to the quinjet where the others are. The suit making the clinking sounds at each step he stands next to Steve waiting to be debriefed with the others, Clint and Bruce start autopilot to join them.
“Let's get started now that everyone is here” Steve gives him a look. He rolled his eyes in good ol fashion, “SHIELD received a tip of a hydra base that contains a weapon. Our operative is to get the weapon and turn it into them for further investigation.”. Natasha tilted her head as if she was trying to figure something out. “What's the description of it?” She asks calmly. Steve face shift from the assertive expression like he was wondering the same question.
“They wouldn't tell me”
He scoffs “So basically get anything that looks dangerous? That's what they want us to work with”
Steve nodded. Clint signed, "At least Thor didn't join which means it isn't a god needed mission”. They landed in the woods at a distance from the base. Bruce came to them asking if they were sure they wouldn't need the big guy. Like usual the answer was yes but to be on stand by just in case. Clint, Natasha and Steve went on foot as he flew over to the base. Step One of the Star Spangle plan is to break into the base, Step Two, kick ass, and lastly step three get out with the weapon. He added his own little touch to the plan but its all the same.
The comms went off “Stark are you in position?”
“For the last time you don't need to call me Stark on the missions Tony will do just fine. And yes Steve Im in position” He opened his palm and blasted a hole in the base. Smoke and dust darkened the air but the agents were clear as day.
“I couldn't find the door, you should really have a sign somewhere” he flew quickly inside, taking down everyone, as he turned on his comms to give an all clear when one of the agents on the ground grabbed a gun and shot at him. The bullets didn't affect him, until the last one hit him in the shoulder. It was a graze; he winced slightly when he lifted his arm. He knocked the agent out with one shot of his repulsor. He gave his all clear for his position.
He went further into the base, as he checked the rooms everything felt weird. One of them had a bed and tools a surgeon uses. Another is filled with different types of equipment, what was really strange was the pieces of webs. At the last door his scans pick up something small. He opened the door with a slight cracking sound, he always hated when doors did that. The small thing shifts, when he takes off the thermal he can see more clearly a set of eyes looking at him. It would've been scary in any other circumstance but this pair of eyes seem more scared than well angry. He flicked the switch on the wall and now he is able to see who he was looking at. It was a kid. And he was cowering more against the wall, he looked away hiding his face with his body. Scared.
“It’s okay” he said as he realized why the kid was scared. He motions for Jarvis to dismantle the suit. He steps out in his Black Sabbath shirt and jeans. He crouches down, not trying to hover over the kid. “Hey kid, it's okay”. He said quality to not scare the kid further. He could see the brown curls, small skinny figure and what is a very worn out shirt. He looked around the room, there was a small thin bed, and a bucket. Some type of stuffed animal on the bed too.
“What's your name?” He asked, attempting to put on a soft tone. He doesn't usually have to speak like this unless with kids, even then the children are excited and loud. This one though is reserved.
The kid peeked out, the eyes that were looking at him in the dark were brown and big with a button nose, like a bambi. The kid's eyebrows furrowed and made a scowl, it would've been funny in any other situation. He seemed confused, did he speak English? Or maybe…
“Tell me your name,” he asked again. The little voice spoke and it was like the breath was knocked out of him.
“Spider”
Before he has a chance to say anything else his comms went off “Tony have you managed to find anything” he completely forgot what he was doing here there was no way the kid is what we are supposed to be looking for, the child's head turned sharply at the suit where Steve voice came out of. The kid went back in the position, face hiding away from him.
“I'm not going to hurt you, I promise” he tried to reassure the child. He stood and went back in the suit.
“I found a kid” It was silent for a second and then-
“What!” Clint yelled. He noticed the kid flinching back a bit, strange.
“You heard me, he can’t be what we’re looking for though” He scans the room again, sees the same webs from before. The walls are a gravel grey and dirty, he doesn't even want to mention the bucket in the corner of the room, not the type of environment any child should be in.
“I'm on my way to you” Natasha said
“I'll finish my sweep on the base, and I'll be in the quinjet. Get him and bring him back to the jet” Steve said.
He detached himself from the suit and crouched down again in the same spot.
“Kiddo, someone I know is coming to us. Are you hurt?”
There was no response. It isn't surprising but it was worth a shot. 15 seconds past until the same little voice from before was heard.
“No”
He nodded “That's good”. The kid lifted his head up again. It was no longer fearful, it was more curious if anything. His eyes keep going down and up.
“Hi” The one word sentences are slow but progress is always great.
“Hey, my name is Tony” The boy's mouth keeps moving, like he was saying something. His eyes are no longer on him. He looks down at what the kid is looking at. He gave a light laugh, and a small smile.
“It says Black Sabbath”
“Sabbath”
“Sure, do you like that word?”
“Sabbath. Oni.” He stopped looking at the shirt.
“It's Tony, but good job it's close enough” The kid's eyes brightened and gasped. It's adorable but the overshadow of sadness came with it. It was like the kid rarely ever was told good job. It's not an entire surprise. The boy was probably raised in this hell hole. He really wishes that wouldn't be the case even though it very well might be.
The kid bit his lip and smiled “Good!”
The smile he once had dimmed “Very good”
The kid moved his hands and pointed, eyes wide “hurt?”
He glanced at what was being pointed at. Oh right his shoulder, with this small surprise in the form of a child he didn't remember the sting coming from his left shoulder.
“A little, but I got a friend named Bruce who's a good doctor. He’ll fix me right up. How about you come out the cor-”
He didn't finish his sentence by the time Natasha appeared, he whined and went back into hiding. Damn it.
“Tony back up” She said, and he looked at her surprise.
“It's a child, Natasha.”
She looks at him and back at the child “ Children can kill”.
He didnt have time to process what happens next but suddenly Clint comes out of fuck knows where and shoots the kid with a tranq.
“What the fuck clint!” He motions Jarvis to put the suit around him. He moves forward to pick the kid up in a bridal style. He is fully knocked out.
“We don't know what he can do“ He moved towards the door.
“You’ll just scare him more when he wakes up” he argues and leaves. Natasha and Clint follow him. Once outside he takes off in the air rather than walk with the two. He looks down when he hears grumbling.
“Don't worry kid, you'll be safe”
When he lands, Steve runs up to him.
“How did you find him?”
“My thermal scans picked him up, he was in a room” When they stopped in the middle of the jet, Natasha and Clint arrived.
Bruce came out of the control center of the jet “Guys i started autopilot what did you find?” He saw Bruce look at everyone and when his focus landed on Tony he paused. Straight up just stopped everything, including breathing. He probably remembered breathing is necessary because he took a sharp breath in.
“Why is there a 4 year old on board”
“How do you know he’s 4?” he imagines Bruce wants to strangle him by the face he’s receiving.
“I don't but he sure as hell looks like it. Back to my question, what is he doing here?” Bruce the ever genius figured it out almost immediately “ Holy shit he’s the weapon?”
“Yes,” said Natasha and Clint.
“No he isn't, there's no way. Look at him for christ sake” he gestured to the kid in his arms.
“Maybe he is what we are looking for but it doesn't exactly mean he’s a weapon. At least not right now” Steve reasoned. Cap always had a soft spot for kids.
“We should contact SHIELD, let them know what we found”.
“While you do that, Bruce helps me put him in medbay.“
When they are far away enough for the other to not hear, he begins to talk again.
“He’s not dangerous Bruce” He hopes out of everyone Bruce can have his back on this. Steve is obviously uncertain about all of this. Bruce sighed “look if you say he isn't dangerous i believe you but why do you think he isn't?" Tony thinks back to when the little brown eyes were cowering against the wall. In a position he’s been in the past. He puts him in the bed in the white sterile room.
“He was scared, even when I wasn't in the suit. You should’ve seen his face when I said he did a good job saying a word. He was ecstatic” Bruce looked thoughtfully at the most likely malnourished child on the bed.
“Okay I'm behind you; I just want you to be sure of whatever you're planning up in your head. I know you Tony.” Tony smirked "perfect" he clapped his hands and winced when he remembered the graze on his shoulders. Him and Bruce also notice the slight flinch that came off the boy. He refuses to call the kiddo Spider. It doesn't even make sense; he’ll figure whatever that name came from later.
“Tony”
He hummed “Yes brucie bear?”
“Sit down on the other bed and let me see your shoulder”
He groaned but still did it. As Bruce “I'm not that type of doctor” cleans the graze he calls pepper.
“Hey Pep, how do you feel about a new pair of heels?” he started off with a peace offering.
“What did you do now Tony?”
“I might need you to have lawyers on stand by”
“Did you blow something up again? Honestly tony we talked about this”
“Of course not! It’s just in case i need to adopt a kid”
Beep
He held up his phone to his face and saw pepper hang up on him. Damn he’ll need a lot more than heels this time. Two minutes later after Bruce finished wrapping everything up, he sat in the seat next to the curly headed boy, and he gets a call from Rhodey.
He smiles, finally “ hey honeybear how's your tri-”
“You're adopting a kid?!”