A teenage boy with brown hair was racing down alley way after alley way. He was running as if something was chasing him as a shadow loomed behind him which wasn't his own. As soon as he turned the next corner, he gripped his chest with his hand where he could feel his rapid heartbeat underneath his hoodie. When the shadow appeared around the corner he sucked in air and made a run for it, pushing his limits far beyond his strength. He had to get away, he couldn't survive like this, he needed affection, not pain.

"Peter Parker," the shadow boomed, "come here, boy."

The boy, who was named Peter, wouldn't let his pace slow down, if anything, it got even faster as the shadow called for him. The next turn Peter took had been a mistake. He was standing at the end of a dead end, no escape, only him and the shadow. He clutched his chest with his hand again, feeling his heart as it pounded harder than he had ever felt. He looked right at the shadow who was preparing to pounce. Out of fear, Peter turned away and squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for pain, but all he felt was something softly stabbing him in his shoulder. The alley seemed to disappear into the darkness as a new reality emerged as he felt his eyes opening.

Peter whipped his head up which had a piece of paper plastered on his cheek that was once on his desk. He whipped his head back to see what was stabbing him. Behind him was a girl with brown hair and darker skin. She lifted up her sketch book to show Peter what was inside and it was a drawing of him having a nightmare on his desk. There was a signature on the bottom that read 'Michelle Jones.'

"Very funny, Michelle," Peter chuckled a bit, "I can feel the crisis in this one."

"You have a little…" she motioned to the side of his face where the paper was still stuck as he quickly took it off, "you've been having quite a lot of nightmares, Peter."

"Well, um, you see," Peter stuttered as Michelle looked at him, "just a reoccurring nightmare that started one night, won't stop…Ya know…"

"Sure," Michelle sits back in her chair before the bell rings, "but reoccurring nightmares have to start from somewhere, don't they?"

Peter quickly got up as Michelle packed her stuff into her bag and quickly walked after him. She slowed to his speed once she caught up to him. It was the last hour of school and Peter's chubbier friend, Ned, normally meets up with him and Michelle before Happy came to pick him up that day. Peter and Mr. Stark had a whole new project planned to work on, and he needed to go straight to the compound instead of going home, which he preferred. Peter didn't like going home, and Michelle and Ned were the only ones catching on to the slightest. They walked out together to where the parents picked up the kids or the kids parked to drive themselves home.

"Hurry up, kid," a older man stepped out of his car that was just outside the school, "I don't have all day."

"Bye," Peter quickly told his friends before running to the man, "sorry, Happy."

"Just get into the car, kid," Happy, who didn't seem like a happy man, told Peter who did as he was told.

"Man, that loser is never that quick to get into a vehicle taking him out of school," Michelle stated and Ned nodded his head in agreement.

"Do you think something's up?" Ned asked as he looked at Michelle, "I wouldn't want Peter to get hurt."

"I don't know yet," Michelle said as she watched the car drive away, "but maybe it has to do with his home?…"

"He would've told us, right?" Ned looked at Michelle for an answer, but she only shrugged, "that's reassuring…"

Once Peter got settled in the car he quickly put his headphones on for the ride. After he got his spider powers he had terrible sensory problems, and the radio in Happy's car could trigger it after such a bad day. He even put on some sunglasses that helped with the seeing aspect of his sensory problems. Right now his top priority was to work with Mr. Stark on an intern project that they started on. Peter only saw Mr. Stark as a mentor and nothing else, and all he was to Stark was an intern he took to Germany to fight a war.

They soon made it to the Avengers complex. Peter quickly jumped out of the car, ready to start working on things with Tony. It was much better for him to come here rather than home. He truly preferred it, but he never talks about why, or home in general. You could normally find Peter at the Avengers Complex, at the deli across from the bank, or at school in the band room with a friend, Katelyn, who played percussion. She always tried to convince Peter to try clarinet, and he may consider it. Whatever he could do to stall after school, but not today.

Peter bolted inside as he knew exactly where the lab is. He stopped at the door and knocked politely, still not able to simply walk in at any time he wanted. Mr. Stark didn't even put his hand print in the system except to get through the front door. The door soon opened, revealing the billionaire in a AC/DC shirt and jeans.

"Hello, Mr. Stark," Peter smiled to the billionaire.

"Hey, kid," Tony said, smiling only slightly, "lets get to work."

They walked into the lab where Tony had a space ready to adjust a few things on the spider suit, and hopefully Peter's friend, Ned or Fred…probably Fred, hopefully he can't hack it as easily. Peter was putting some wires together in the suit rather than working on the coding since Tony wanted to kee that to himself, obviously. After a few hours in the lab, dinner time came, and that meant Peter had to go home.

"It's time for you to go home," Tony spoke through the silence.

"A-already," Peter's head jerked up from what he was doing, "uh, can I just work a bit longer instead of going home…"

"I think you achieved all I was planning," Tony said as he noticed Peter wanted to stay, but he thought he was just being a kid in a candy store.

"Alright, Mr. Stark," Peter sighed and stood up, his head down as he left.

Tony watched as Peter left in such a way it concerned him. He let it pass by because he heard Peter had a new uncle and it may just feel different to him since it was all new to him. Tony turned around to walk away when he heard Peter saying he didn't want to go as he walked out the door, not directly putting up resistance for his leaving. Peter has been a lot more passive lately, but Tony only felt a small concern at the moment. It may grow within time, but the kid was just an intern. There's no space to get into anything personal in their lives.

Peter walks into the car while he could feel he was being watched, but at the time he didn't even suspect it to be Tony Stark watching as he left. Peter didn't want to go, and it wasn't fully because he had intern work he wanted to do. He really didn't want to go back to the man who Aunt May just married who tries to force him to call him Uncle Liam, but he refused to do so. He put on his headphones to silence the radio in his ears for his sensory issues as they drove away from the complex, the sanctuary…

Peter shivered as he thought about going home. He did not want to go home for a long time, and it all started when his Aunt May started to bring Liam home more often. At first, Peter tried to be nice, but he had a bad feeling about Liam since he met him. It wasn't only his spider sense screaming in his ears, but it was more than just plainly that.

After about an hour had passed, they finally made it to where Peter lived with his aunt and 'uncle.' He reluctantly got out of the car, holding his school bag to his chest as if it was his only life force that he could have. He stepped onto the sidewalk, surprised that Happy didnt floor it this time, but waited for him to get to the door. When Peter looked back as soon as his hand hit the door handle, Happy left, but he didn't go as quickly as usual. As soon as Happy left, Peter threw his bag on a chair on the porch and began his homework in silence, as if avoiding to go worked on his homework for a hour before he heard a man's voice inside the house.

"Where is that boy?" The voice boomed, and right away Peter knew, it was Liam.

"I don't know, Liam!" Aunt May cried out, and Peter knew he had to go in.

"Well I need dinner, and I need him to cook it," he shouted, and then there was a sound of glass shattering.

Peter jumped to his feet, then he burst into the house to see Aunt May picking up shards of glass from the ground and Liam simply opening another beer. Peter ran to May's side to help her with the glass, trying to resist flipping off Liam because Aunt May was there. Ever since he and Aunt May got married Liam only got more abusive, but Peter took many blows from the man because he didn't want to hurt May too much.

"Aunt May, are you alright?" Peter asked as he kneeled by his aunt.

"What about me, boy?" Liam slurred, "your uncle needs his dinner."

"I'll cook your dinner," Peter said through clenched teeth, "but I won't call you uncle, Liam."

"Peter Benjamin Parker," Liam shouted, "respect me or face the consequences!"

"This was my home first, and I don't feel you belonged here in the first place," Peter yelled.

"Peter," May scolded, "apologize for your outburst!"

"Sorry, May," he said as he left to the kitchen, but he heard someone yell behind him.

"Get back here, boy," Liam hollared as he got off his chair, "you didn't apologize to me!"

Peter ignored Liam as he started cooking his favorite, beer brats with more beer on them after they were done cooking. It discusted Peter, but it kept him off their backs. He was about to finish when he heard May and Liam having an argument. Good, he hoped they would divorce and life would return to normal, just him and May. The argument continued as Peter started hearing the argument.

"I will leave when I want, and I'm going out now," May argued as she was trying to grab her coat.

"You are my wife and you'll do as I say," Liam yelled, "and I said you can't go out!"

"Listen, I'll go when I want to, and I'm going out now whether you like it or no-" May was cut off by the sound a his hand slapping her face, and her falling down, "you bastard!"

"Go to the room, now!" Liam shouted as he shoved her in the general direction towards the room.

Peter had enough of this. He had never heard Aunt May say something remotely like that, and he knew that he had to intervene because it got so bad. Peter ran across the house and blocked his aunt from Liam.

"Leave her alone," Peter growled lowly.

"I'll do what I want," Liam spoke lowly as he grabbed Peter's throat and pulled a gun from his fatness, aiming it at Peter, "and I want you to die!"

"No," May screamed and shoved at the hand with a gun, a shot.

Liam picked up a full beer bottle, as if to finish it, and hit Peter across the head, shattering on the boys skull as he and his aunt fell on the ground.