The alien took another swing, missing Captain America by a few inches as he dodged the giant paw, and kicked its legs out from under it. The ground shook a little as it landed, screeching in rage as Tony began blasting it with his beams.
But the alien didn't want to stay down, and rotated its four limbs and head so that it's back was now its stomach, and standing right way up. Well, that was disgusting.
Once properly adjusted, the alien leapt at Peter as he flung webs around its front legs, tripping it up and sending it slamming into a wall.
Peter laughed as it wriggled and whined at being trapped. "Yeah! Take that you ugly piece of shi-"
Tony and Caps voices came through his coms, more amused than anything.
"Peter."
"Language."
The teenager laughed again, swinging from a web in front pf the things snapping teeth.
"Sorry. You know it's kind of cute if you-"
Peter didn't get to finish his sentence, his words cutting off with a grunt of pain as the alien's tail whipped into him. The barbs on the end, tore through his suit, right across his shoulder, and Peter gasped in pain and quickly threw another web higher up on the building. He swung up as quickly as he could while the other two hero's attempted to dodge the tail as it flicked from side to side like an angry cats.
Tony's voice came quick and worried. "Peter! Are you okay? Did it get you?"
The boy hung from the side of the building, perched against the bricks, as he carefully inspected his arm.
The cut wasn't deep but it was seeping blood and stung like hell. He touched his gloved fingers, gently to the tear and hissed as the cut burned.
Cap was using one of Spider-Man's discarded webs to tie up the creatures back legs, and looked up at the teenager as they waited for his reply.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Its tail is kind of sharp though. Man, that stings. It went right through the suit, sorry Mr Stark."
Tony flew over the whipping tail and sent a beam of light and heat to burn it off, making the creature roar in indignation. He didn't look up as he replied.
"It's okay, kid. The suit isn't what I'm worried about. Karen, what are his stats?"
Peter felt his chest warm a little, and he smiled a little at how worried Tony was over him. He was a little like Aunt May at times.
"I really am okay, Tony. It's just a scratch."
Karen rattled off some numbers, stating that he seemed to be okay but would be recommended to see a medical professional. "The chances of infection are extremely high, especially given that the wound was inflicted by an alien creature."
Tony wasn't happy about that, and Peter watched as Cap tried to wrangle the aliens tail, quickly firing a web to trap it.
He almost felt sorry for the thing, as he watched it try to escape. It had accidently come to earth through a faulty Asgardian portal, and sure it had trampled a few cars but there hadn't been anyone in them. It was just defending itself, it probably didn't even know what it was doing.
He didn't want to see it get hurt, and tried to tell the others this, only to find that his mouth wasn't working. His words came out jumbled and half formed. That was weird.
"Hm…Ton…don't...ugh." His head spun, and his vision melted till the street below him was nothing but blurred colours and swirling depth. Something was wrong.
Karen's voice came again, slightly unsure. "Peter, your heart rate has increased significantly."
The teenager couldn't reply, although he tried, his tongue feeling heavy and clumsy in his mouth. He was scared, and didn't know what was happening. He felt his fingers slip on the building, as his mind numbed. And then he fell.
Karen called his name as he dropped, and Tony and Cap managed to look up in time to see him fall.
It was such a suddenly awful sight, Peter dropping like a stone from more than two stories up. Tony's heart pounded in his chest as he flew towards the kid, catching him in his arms as carefully carrying him to the ground as Steve ran over.
"Is he okay?"
Tony looked down at him as the captain gently pulled the mask off their young friend. He didn't know what was happening, Peter's face was blank, his eyes glassy as if seeing nothing, and then a gurgle rose to his throat and his limbs began to tense.
Tony called his name desperately as Peter started seizing, body becoming stiff and fingers curling uncomfortably as his limbs jerked.
"Peter!"
The kid's eyes rolled back into his head, awful choking noises coming from him. Tony felt as if he were frozen, terrified of what was happening, with no idea of what to do.
Steve let out a curse as Peter shook harder in Tony's hold, and it was F.R.I.D.A.Y's voice that pulled him back to the present.
"He's experiencing a grand mal seizure. Lay him on his side to prevent choking, and stay calm. I've called for help, Sir."
Mr Stark did as he was told, gently laying the boy on the ground, and turning him on his side, as Steve slipped his hands under Peter's head to prevent it from hitting the concrete.
He looked up at the other man, whose face was frozen in horror, eyes wide and open mouth panting.
"Has this ever happened before?"
Tony shook his head, voice panicked. "No, never! I don't know why-" His eyes found the cut on Peter's shoulder, blood oozing from the long trail from his collarbone to his arm.
"The cut. The alien must have a toxin on the barbs, this won't stop unless he gets antivenom or… something."
F.R.I.D.A.Y's voice was calm amidst the choking sounds Peter made as he struggled to breathe through his seizure.
"I have alerted the paramedics of the situation. They should be here soon."
Tony watched the kid shake on the ground, eyes nothing but white as his muscles tensed and jerked. The venom could kill him before help came, and even when help did come they might not have what they need to cure him. This was an unknown alien species they were dealing with here. So much could go wrong, and it would all be on Tony.
He felt lost, and totally unprepared. He had no idea what to do to help and no clue how to save Peter from further harm. He knew he shouldn't move him, but the kid's lips were turning blue, and he was barely bringing in any air at all.
Tony's chest tightened uncomfortably at the thought of losing Peter, a sob working its way up his throat, and he made a decision.
"I need to get him help now. Cap finish this thing and met me at Avengers tower."
He didn't wait for a reply as he carefully gathered the trembling boy into his arms. He held him as tightly as he could without causing harm, and sent him a silent apology as he took off for the tower.
F.R.I.D.A.Y was timing the seizure, and informed Mr Stark when it continued past four minutes. They arrived a minute later, Tony calling for help as Peter's limbs finally began to slow and relax. His muscles still twitched a little, but his lungs were finally able to drag in enough air, and his chest heaved with the effort.
Help came running, with a gurney as doctors asked questions and shouted about what to do. Tony knew they were there to help, but he didn't want to lay Peter down, he didn't want to let him go. If he let him go, he was alone, and Peter hated being alone when he was hurt. He always got so scared, and he was just a kid.
Dammit, why did it always have to be Peter.
A gentle hand gripped Tony's shoulder, and he looked up to see Rhodey's familiar look of concern.
"Tony, let them help."
Stark finally nodded, and carefully laid the teenager on the gurney. He was so small, and so young, his hair falling back, away from his pale face, and Tony wanted to pick him up again. He wanted to comfort him, and tell him that he would be okay, that he wasn't alone. But he was taken away, one arm hanging off the side of the bed as they rolled him away, shouting things and poking the cut on his arm.
Tony finally crumpled as he watched Peter go.
"He's…he's a kid."
Rhodey nodded and put an arm around his friend's shoulder. "I know."
He buried his face in his hands as his friend sat him in a chair, a strangled sob clawing its way up his throat. "He's my kid."
Rhodey sighed. Tony had claimed he'd never wanted to be a dad, had never wanted to become his father, but Peter had snuck up on him. He hadn't meant to care, he had only meant to give the kid a suit, and keep an eye on him. But Peter was so smart, so kind, so trusting, he had slipped past Tony's gruff defences like they weren't even there.
He'd become like a son to Tony, and he didn't know what he'd do if he lost him. He'd never loved something so breakable before.
Rhodey wrapped his arms around the man, doing his best to hold him together while he fell apart.
"He'll be okay, Tony. He's a tough kid, he'll make it."
But he didn't know that, not really, and every bad thought in Tony's head began screaming that he wouldn't make it.
Cap met them an hour later, after sending the alien back to its home realm, looking tired and worried. He took a seat next to the two other men and clapped a hand on Tony's back.
"How is he?"
Tony couldn't answer, just continued staring at the floor, hands clasped in front of his mouth. Rhodey sent Cap a look, one that told him it was bad, before the doors finally opened.
An exhausted looking doctor came out, walking towards Tony as he leapt from his chair, questions bubbling from him before the doctor even had a chance to speak.
"Is he okay? Where is he? I need to be with him, he doesn't like to be alone when he's hurt."
The doctor held up a patient hand as Rhodey took Tony's shoulder again.
"He's alive and should recover in time, but it was touch and go for a while. The venom from the cut was like nothing we'd ever seen, and we didn't have anything to treat him with. He had another two seizures and we almost lost him, it put a lot of strain on his heart. However, we were able to create an antiserum from the venom we collected from the tear in his suit, and he is responding well.
"He's doing okay, but he might not wake up for a few days. The venom was very aggressive, and even with his increased healing it will take a few weeks for him to fully recover. You can see him if you like, but I should warn you, it looks fairly bad."
Tony nodded and thanked the Doctor, before following her to Peter's room. He'd sent his medical staff Peter's files when he first got him the suit, in case something like this happened, and so they knew all about his senses and how delicate they were. Peter's room was dim, as they entered, with music softly playing in order to give some semblance of calm and comfort amidst the terrifying atmosphere that hospitals could be.
Peter was laying in the giant hospital bed, looking so small and fragile among the sheets and blankets. His chest was raised, with a tube down his throat, and wires covering every inch of him. His shoulder was bandaged and his bright eyes closed. Tony couldn't breathe.
Steve put an arm around his shoulders and led him to a chair next to the bed, voice gentle in the quiet room. "Tony, take his hand. So, he knows your there."
Tony did as he was told, unable to think about anything but the way Peter had been shaking, and too terrified to look away from the tube in the teenager's mouth. The doctor tapped a few monitors, voice soft as she noticed Tony's expression.
"He isn't breathing on his own yet, but he is responding well to the treatment. I know it all looks scary but it's there to help him."
It was more than scary, Peter was so fragile, and so pale. He looked like a little kid under all the tubes and wires, his arm and shoulder covered in bandages and raised on a pillow.
He finally found his voice, though strained and shaken. "This should never have happened."
Steve quickly intervened, knowing all too well where his friends mind was headed.
"Come on, Tony, don't start with that. You know he wanted to help and you had no idea this would happen. Besides, we needed his help, we never would have trapped that thing if it weren't for his webs. So, save the guilt trip okay? It wasn't your fault and Peter's going to be fine."
Tony let out a small laugh and wiped his eyes with his free hand, the other still tightly holding on to the teenager's limp one.
"You really are good at giving orders, aren't you?"
Steve shrugged and folded his arms, small smile on his face. "I am the captain."
Tony sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. God, today had been awful and it wasn't about to get any better. "I have to call his Aunt. She's going to lose it when she sees him like this."
Rhodes patted his friends shoulder. "I'll do it, you stay with the kid."
Tony couldn't be more grateful to his team, for everything they did for him and Peter. He'd never been good with handling his fear or any emotion really, and he knew he'd be useless without them.
It was awful when May came. She cried for hours, brushing Peter's hair back and begging her baby boy to wake up. Tony had done his best to hold himself together, but it was too much. Her grief filled the room and choked him, and though he'd promised not to leave, he'd had to.
He couldn't be in that room while May cried, he couldn't stay there while Peter lay unresponsive and strangled by the breathing tube that kept him alive.
Steve found him as he had a panic attack in one of the empty rooms. He held his hand and coached him back to a normal breathing rhythm, and told him over and over that Peter would be okay.
He didn't really believe it until he finally woke up. They extubated the teenager after the second day, and he woke up on the third, groggy and confused.
May was sleeping at his side, head resting on his leg as she held his hand, while Tony sat at his other side, heart racing when those eyes finally opened.
"Peter? Can you hear me?"
He wasn't sure where he was, but he knew Tony was there, which meant he was safe. God, everything hurt. His arm, shoulder and half his chest felt as if it had been set on fire and filled up like a water balloon. He groaned, nose scrunching up as he tried to open his eyes.
Tony watched, sitting forward eagerly, as Peter finally woke up. His glassy eyes flittered around the low-lit room, landing on his own still form in the bed. He didn't seem to know what to make of the wires and leads over his chest, and lifted his good hand to tug at them with clumsy fingers.
Tony gently took his hand, and pressed it down to the bed, keeping his voice low.
"Hey, Pete. You're okay, don't touch those. Look at me, come on."
Slow blinking eyes found his as he let out a breath, words slurring on a heavily medicated tongue. "Hey, T'ny."
Stark smiled, unable to help himself as he fret over the kid, tucking his blankets up higher on his chest and carefully brushing the hair from his forehead, knowing it always made Peter feel better.
"Hey there, Spider-kid. How you feeling?"
Peter blinked up at the other man, taking a moment to decide on his answer. His voice was scratchy, although he didn't know it was because of the tube. Tony was glad he hadn't been conscious for that.
"Arm hurts."
Tony nodded, frowning in sympathy. The venom had been so bad the doctors had been afraid he'd lose it, and although it would take a while to heal properly, he would make a full recovery. It was only because of his healing abilities that he had survived at all, but Tony didn't think he needed to know how close he'd come to biting the bullet.
He didn't know how to explain what happened.
"What do you remember?"
Peter blinked again, eyebrows furrowing a little over his glassy eyes. "Umm… Alien. It was gross. You didn't hurt it, did you? It was just lost. It didn't mean it."
Tony shook his head, incredulous. Of course, he'd be worried about the alien. This kid was so pure hearted he could probably lift Mjölnir just by asking it to fly.
"No, Peter we didn't hurt it. Cap sent it back to its own realm safe and sound. Minus the tail of course but that was on me. Do you remember getting hurt?"
Peter thought for a second, before rolling his head a little on the pillow, in an exhausted version of a head shake. He didn't remember. That was a blessing and a half.
Tony sat and took the kids good hand, watching those slim fingers gently squeeze his rough ones back.
"You got hit, and we didn't know it right away but it got some venom into you. It…it was pretty bad. But you're okay now, you're safe and we're going to take care of you, okay? You don't have to worry about a thing, just rest and get better."
Peter seemed a little more coherent, and looked down at his arm, staring at the fingers peeking from the end of the bandaged limb. They were swollen and bruised, but nothing compared to how bad his shoulder looked. The venom had spread so quickly, destroying every cell it came into contact with. It was a miracle the whole limb hadn't died, let alone the rest of him.
He stared at his fingers, brows furrowing in concentration until they finally moved, just a little, just a twitch. But it was enough. He blinked heavily and seemed to decide to trust Tony.
"Where's Aunt May?"
Tony gestured to where she slept at his other side, and he slowly rolled his head towards her, smiling a little before it melted into a frown. Those eyes were so hard to look at when they were so sad.
"Did she cry? I hate when she cries. I hate that I make her cry."
Tony didn't want to lie. "…She was just worried, but she knows you're going to be okay. It wasn't your fault, Pete. That alien wouldn't have been stopped if it weren't for you, you saved a lot of lives."
Peters eyes were getting heavier and it was too hard to keep them open, he lifted his good hand from Tony's grip to brush his aunt May's hair back from her face, and pull her blanket higher on her shoulders.
Once satisfied that she was taken care of, he rolled his head back to Tony and clumsily took his mentors fingers in his own. Tony watched as Peter closed his eyes, words falling from his lips with a sigh.
"It's not your fault either. I know you always blame yourself when something happens to me, but it's not your fault. You should know that. You're still my hero."
Tony's heart melted in his chest, like a marshmallow in a microwave, blowing up ten times its size before collapsing into a puddle of sticky sugar. He sighed, unable to stop the smile that took over his face, and squeezed those fingers back.
"Thanks, Pete. Now, get some sleep."
Peter nodded and sighed as he drifted off, hand still curled in Tony's palm. He didn't know how he did it, how someone so young could be so brave and so giving, but he knew that no matter what, he would always do his best to protect him.
And although Peter was already asleep, Tony had to say it. He had to let him know at least in some way. "I love you, kid."
He wasn't expecting a reply, he wasn't expecting to be heard, but that voice came, slurred and sleepy, and tinged with joy.
"I love you too, Tony."