Author's Note: Glad you all were surprised by the twist. Don't worry, Fury will get what's coming to him. Here's the next chapter! Please enjoy.
"Without a family, man, alone in the world, trembles with the cold."
—Andre Maurois
"Peter?"
He's standing on the roof of Gwen's building, shivering. The night is cold and a starless sky fills his vision as he stares upwards at the new moon. He's wearing a light t-shirt and jeans, not enough to withstand the frosty New York nights. From the rooftop, he can make out the outline of Tony's building and he shakes his head, disgusted by it all. He came here as soon as his head cleared, a few hours of wandering the streets, though he's still reeling from the betrayal from S.H.I.E.L.D. How could he buy into that lie so easily? Was he that desperate for a family that he just would let anyone have his trust?
He's a fool.
"Here," Gwen, all bundled up in a black coat and a matching scarf, comes to stand by his side, draping what must've been one of her dad's jackets over his shoulders. She rubs his shoulders, generating some warmth in his chilled bones. She hasn't said anything ever since he showed up, crestfallen and on the verge of an emotional breakdown. She just held him and then left to fetch him a jacket. "Better?"
"Yeah." His voice is rough, like he hasn't used it in years. He runs a shaky hand through his hair and tries to steady his pounding heart.
"Is it your aunt?" Gwen ventures, cautiously. He shakes his head quickly and she sighs, relieved. Her brows knit up together and she frowns. "What's wrong then?" He breathes in and out, slowly and deeply. His girlfriend slips a warm hand within his and grips it tightly within her own. "Peter, whatever it is, we'll work it out." She smiles softly and he nods his head, summoning up his strength.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. staged the accident that my aunt was in." He tells her quietly.
"They . . . what?" She echoes, seemingly unable to process this information.
"And I think," He clears his throat against the sudden wave of emotion that surges through him. "I think the Avengers knew."
"They knew?" She murmurs, clearly upset by this news. "All of them?"
"I don't know." He whispers. He can't be sure if they knew or not, but he can't go back. He can't face them, knowing that there is even a possibility that they put his aunt—his last living family member—in danger. "But Gwen, Aunt May could've died—" A sob bubbles up within him and he breaks, loosing control. Tears rolls down his cheeks and he knows he needs to stop crying, but it's been a long day and though he tries to forget it, he is only a teenager. A teenager shouldn't have to deal with all the responsibilities and problems he had. But here he is, breaking under the pressure and stress. "I'm sorry, Gwen, I—"
"Shhh," She soothes, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly. "It's okay, Peter." His knees buckle and they both sink down onto the freezing pavement. "I'm here. I've got you." He holds onto her for dear life, his lifeline in this storm. "You just let it out." She presses a kiss onto his cheek. "I've got you, Peter."
He just continues to hold onto her and cry.
"Director Fury." He turns around to see a clearly startled Maria Hill before him, her gaze wide with worry.
"What is it?" She bites her lower lip and then sighs softly.
"The technicians just found this in the mainframe." She presses a few buttons on the keyboard beside her and the S.H.I.E.L.D. computer mainframe appears. Numerous programs are displayed, but immediately Fury can see there is something off about this. The screen flickers and he walks over to the monitor.
"This is Stark's work?" He's the only one smart enough to hack into their mainframe without setting off any alarms. Still, it's unlike him to leave without any trace. Stark usually likes to leave some sort of haughty, "I'm smarter than you" note.
"Sir, he got the files on Parker." That gives Fury pause.
"He did what?" Fury growls, suppressing the urge to scream. "But those files were encrypted and—" She hits another button, pulling up the files about May Parker's accident.
"Hello, Director Fury." It's JARVIS. "Master Stark sends his regards. Though, I do believe he is quite upset over finding these files." The computer A.I. quickly scrolls through the reports regarding the staged accident. "I will now leave your mainframe. Goodbye, Director Fury." The screen flashes white for a few seconds and then the files all began to disappear.
"Dammit, he's remote deleting everything!" Fury shouts. "Get the technicians on this now!"
"Yes, sir!" Maria sprints down the hall, leaving the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. staring at months of files going down the drain right before his very eyes.
He has to get this situation under control now.
"Natasha, Clint," Steve begins, voice ringing with authority as they sit gathered around the huge meeting room table. The documents that Tony uncovered are displayed on three, giant plasma monitors that are mounted to the wall behind where Steve sits at the head of the table. "What can you tell us?"
"You're asking them?" Tony challenges, seething with anger. "Like they would even tell us—!"
"When we joined this team, it was on behest of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Clint begins, calm and collected. "We take on missions for S.H.I.E.L.D. and we are not at liberty to discuss—"
"Bullshit!" The billionaire shouts, slamming his hands on the table. "Fury crossed the line—"
"It's not your call!" Clint growls, his hands clenching into fists. Natasha's gaze is downcast, crestfallen but when she meets Tony's gaze, the spy is once again composed.
"Why did you show him those documents? How did you even find them?" She presses.
"Peter mentioned that the accident investigation didn't seem to be progressing," The inventor leaned back in his rolling chair and ran a hand through his hair. "So, I figured I would hack into the S.H.I.E.L.D. mainframe and see what I could find and lo and behold," He pauses for dramatic effect. "I find that the whole accident wasn't really an accident at all, but a staged event."
"You don't understand why Fury did—" Clint protests.
"I don't need to understand it!" Tony growls. "He lied, just like he always does and now, we lost a member of our team and had to send Thor and Bruce to go look for him!"
"We'll find him." Steve speaks up, finally feeling that now is the time to put this argument aside or on the back burner for the moment. "Look, we may not agree with Fury's tactics, but our priority is finding Peter." His gaze drifted to the two super spies. "Is there anything you can tell us?"
"There is another party interested in Peter," Natasha mumbles. "I can't say who or why, but their interest in him is what motivated Fury into making sure Peter was safe here."
"And you were planning on telling him or us any of this?" Clint shakes his head and Tony curses under his breath. "You know what? Screw you!" He rises from his chair and storms out of the room. The elevator dings and then the room is silent.
"I'll call Gwen." Natasha whispers, rising from her chair. Her footsteps echo down the hall.
"Clint?"
"Yeah, Cap?" The archer seems shaken up by this whole ordeal, though he keeps a calm façade. If Steve had just met him, he would've assumed that Clint didn't care about Peter or his welfare.
"You think you can find him?" Clint nods his head.
"I'm going to damn well try."
"Me too." They both stand up and begin to head towards the elevator. "Let's bring him home."
And then they're off.
Author's Note: Next chapter, the team tries to convince Peter to come home. Please review if you have a second! Thanks.