I still down own these fabulous characters. They belong to Marvel.

A/N: I really do love Peter, so don't hate me. I just think sometimes characters need to hit rock bottom so that they can realize their full strength. Enjoy!

Chapter 14: The Raft

May was tired. She had spent way more time than she expected learning how to use all the different features in the new car. Marie's husband had been patient with her, and he took the time to show her how it all worked.

May coughed a little. She was afraid that she was getting a cold. She was driving the car back to Marie's house. She was spending the night there before heading to the compound tomorrow. She only hoped a good night's sleep would help her to feel better. "I can't get sick now!" She thought, "I've been looking forward to this for weeks!"

She noticed a shopping center with a pharmacy, and she thought it might be a good idea to stop. She figured it wouldn't hurt to load up on vitamins and purchase some cold medicine just to be on the safe side. She sniffed and thought she might need a nighttime medicine with decongestant. She was definitely going to need that if she hoped to sleep well.

She didn't take long in the store. She knew Marie would expect her back at the house soon. May started the car and was about to put the car in drive when a ringing sound was suddenly filling the small space.

"Shit!" she cursed, jumping at the sound. She looked towards the phone that had been setup to work with the car. She fumbled around a little before she remembered which button to push to answer the call.

"HELLO!" she shouted from the driver's seat, forgetting that it wasn't necessary to yell.

"May…" She heard Tony's voice through the speaker.

"Oh, hey Tony!" She cut in, realizing that she should have called him earlier. "…Sorry! I meant to call you. I have the car. This thing has everything, Tony! I was seriously out of my league, but Joe… Marie's husband… he helped me figure it out! I'm actually using the Bluetooth thingy to talk to you now…"

"May…" Tony tried again.

"Peter is going to love this thing, Tony… I promise you! I know you're skeptical, but this is great! I decided to go with a silver color, red or blue might have too been too obvious," she rambled.

"MAY!" Tony called to her.

She recognized something in his voice this time. "What?" she asked.

"Are you driving right now?" Tony asked. He sounded worried, and May could feel goosebumps rising on her arms.

"Umm…no," She told him, looking towards the drug store. "I needed to make a stop. I'm in a parking lot right now, and I was about to head back to Marie's. What's… Is something wrong? Did Peter make it to the compound ok?

There was silence for a moment.

"Oh no… this can't be good!" she thought.

Tony's voice finally spoke again, "May, I want you to stay where you are. I've tracked your car and I can see where you are. I'm sending someone to come get you… Happy will be there."

May's breathing picked up. He hadn't answered her question about Peter. "Tony… what's going on?! You didn't answer my question! Is… is Peter alright?"

It was quiet again… too quiet.

"I'm sending a chopper, May. It will be faster. For the love of god, do NOT go with anyone unless you see Happy!" Tony instructed.

"What the hell?" May asked. "A chopper? Tony…" She was growing frantic now because something was definitely wrong. "WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING? WHERE IS PETER? WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS?" She screamed the last questions into the speaker. He needed to be clearer, damn it!

"May…" Tony said, his voice clearly distressed. "Please… let's talk when you get here."

"WHAT THE F**K IS HAPPENING WITH MY KID?" she yelled, slamming her hands down on the steering wheel in frustration. Her head hurt. She really didn't feel well. Although, now she wasn't sure if it was the stress or illness.

She heard Tony sigh. "I'm sorry, May," he said.

"Oh shit!" She thought. Those words sounded too much like the words from that police officer when Ben was killed. The officer had come to her door, telling her something about a man with a gun and Ben. Finally, he had just looked at her and said, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Parker." Tony's apology now was too similar. She had to know…

"Is he… is he alive?" fear dripped through her voice as she asked the question. She was already holding back tears.

"I… he should be fine," Tony responded.

May breathed a sigh of relief, until she thought more about what he said. She didn't think his answer made much sense.

"He should be?" she asked, completely confused. "What aren't you telling me?"

She heard Tony sigh again, perhaps he even growled in frustration. "Damn it, May! I wanted to talk about this in person!" Tony sounded exhausted.

"TALK ABOUT WHAT? Please… I'm listening… I'm not going anywhere…" She was pleading with him now. "I don't need all the details, but PLEASE tell me something!"

It seemed like a long time passed before he answered, but in reality, it was only a few seconds.

"He's with Ross, May," Tony sounded defeated.

It scared May more than she would like to admit. He wasn't supposed to sound defeated. She would need him in order to survive this because SHIT! This was really bad!

May was speechless. There were no words. She just cried.

Tony must have heard her because the next thing he said was, "Don't cry, May. Happy is on his way. We're going to figure this out. Ok? May? Please just say something… I need to know you're still with me."

"I'm with you," she said weakly, her voice quiet.

"Ok. It won't take long for the chopper to get there. Someone else will take care of the car. I'll tell you what I can as soon as you're here." Tony was trying to sound calm. She could tell he wanted to be calm for her.

"Yeah, ok," She answered.

"We'll talk later. Stay in the car until you see Happy!" With that, the call ended. Tony's voice was gone.

Peter was gone.

May was alone… very much alone.

Happy was coming. She thought it was odd that Tony emphasized that she was supposed to be sure that Happy was there. She thought there was probably a reason for that and assumed she'd find out later.

She quickly sent a text to Marie, telling her that something came up and she couldn't stay. She noticed her hands were shaking.

The world around May seemed to move in slow motion. She could hear her own heartbeat, moving in rhythm with the pounding in her head. She breathed heavily. She clutched her hands to the steering wheel, and she lowered her head to rest on top of them.

She let herself cry. She stayed that way until she heard the sound of a helicopter landing in an empty area of the parking lot and saw Happy running in her direction.

Tony was in the command center. Rhodes had arrived, and Vision was there now. Pepper filled them in as Tony was breaking the news to May.

It was awful. He hated to tell her over the phone, but he realized that he couldn't make her wait.

He knew Happy would fill her in on the flight to the compound. Happy felt so guilty. There was barely enough time for Happy to apologize to Tony upon his arrival. Tony didn't have time to listen. He just sent Happy with a pilot to bring May back and tell her what was going on. He would let her know how Ross had managed to take Peter into custody. Tony would find a way to fill her in on the rest later.

Time was already passing so quickly. Tony was determined that he could find a solution before Ross returned. Surely, he could get Peter back with the help of Rhodes and Vision in the next 24 hours. He wouldn't need to get Rogers or the others involved. Ross wasn't going to win!

"Incoming message from Secretary Ross," FRIDAY spoke suddenly.

A message blinked on a nearby screen. It looked like a video message. Tony looked at Pepper, Rhodes, and Vision. They simply returned his look. No one moved.

"We should watch it," Rhodes stated.

With a shaky hand, Tony reached forward and opened the message. Below the video was written, "Just a little update for you. Something to help you think about giving me the information I need. -TR"

Tony clicked the video. It expanded and projected in front of the four people in the room. It was a video of Peter. Tony could tell he was in a cell on the raft. He recognized the horizontal bars and cold surroundings. Peter was even dressed in the same blue prison scrubs that the others had worn.

"Oh no," Pepper gasped out.

[The video zoomed in closer to Peter. Ross hadn't wasted any time securing him in a cell, and Peter still had the collar around his neck. Peter looked to be sleeping, but they all knew that they had likely kept him unconscious.]

"God, kid…" Tony whispered to the video as if Peter could hear him. "I'm so sorry."

[The video showed Peter beginning to stir. They watched as it showed him blinking slowly and turning his head to take in his surroundings. Their hearts ached as they watched Peter sit up suddenly, looking scared as he realized where he was.]

"Peter is afraid," Vision stated simply, vocalizing what they were all thinking.

[Peter looked down at himself, grabbing at the prison clothes. They realized the video had audio when they heard the kid speak. "What the HELL! No… no… no…!" Peter walked over towards the bars of the cell, likely looking out for any guards. "HEY!" he called. "This isn't right! Is there someone out there? I don't belong here!" Peter began to pace around the cell. They watched as he stepped forward to try to pull on different things, trying to see if anything would give way to his strength.]

Tony shook his head. From what he could tell, Peter looked pale and weaker than usual. He probably needed food. And forced unconsciousness probably hadn't helped the kid either.

[They watched as Peter started to climb the wall, moving closer to a vent. He was probably hoping he could pull it loose. To their horror, Peter suddenly let out a yell and reached towards his neck. He fell off the wall and slammed to the floor on his back. They heard him gasp for breath as the air had been knocked from his lungs. Someone had activated the collar upon seeing Peter on the wall.]

"Oh, Peter…" Pepper had tears running down her face.

[The camera zoomed in on Peter fighting to catch his breath and curling up in a protective ball on the floor. "Please…" he spoke again, "Please… somebody… just let me go home!"]

The video stopped. No doubt Ross cut it off there on purpose. Those last words were like daggers to Tony's heart. He would do anything to get Peter home. He just had to think about the best way to do it, and he wasn't convinced that giving up Rogers was the best way. Ross wasn't likely to let Peter go that easily.

The room was silent as everyone was trying to gather their thoughts.

"We can't let May see this," Tony finally said to the others. "It'll be too much…"

"What will?" May's voice entered the room. Happy had brought her down to talk to Tony. "What can't I see, Tony?"

Tony quickly closed the message with the video.

"Was that Peter?" May asked. "Is he ok? Why can't I see it? What's going on?"

"You should have let me know you were here, Happy," he glared at the man, "I would have met you both upstairs. May…" he looked at her, "I'm sorry, but you can't be down here."

"The hell I can't!" She snapped. "Peter is my responsibility! I have a right to be a part of this!"

Tony noticed that she looked very pale, her eyes were beyond tired, and her voice sounded hoarse. He took her by the elbow and led her towards the elevator.

"I've thought a lot about this, May," Tony said. "I will fill you in on everything that you need to know, but I don't think it's good for you to be here while things are happening. This is Avengers business."

The others were silent, not sure if they agreed. They watched as May pulled herself free outside of the elevator and glared at Tony.

"Do you want to get hit again?" she asked. "That's my kid! Avengers business? What the HELL are you talking about? What Avengers? I see two of them here with you, Tony! Who do you think you are? You called me here, and now you want to send me away?" She sounded hurt and confused.

"I'm not sending you away, May!" Tony defended, "I just don't think you need to know exactly what Ross is up to." May was about to protest again, but Tony asked, "What was the ONE THING that Peter worried about?" Tony asked her.

"What?" May wasn't expecting that.

"The one thing… ONE THING…" Tony's voice grew louder. "Don't you remember? He only wanted you to know the things that you needed to know. He wants you SAFE!" Tony lowered his voice and talked quickly, trying to get her to understand. "I owe him this, May. I couldn't protect him, but I can still protect you! Ross hasn't involved you yet! If he sees you here, it could be trouble!"

May just looked confused.

"He's right," Rhodes spoke up and approached them. "The information that comes into this room. The conversations that we have here could be too much information, Mrs. Parker. I know it's hard, but I think Tony is right."

"But…I…" May stopped. She was too exhausted, and this was all too much for her to handle.

Pepper came forward. "Maybe Tony's right. Please trust us, May. How about I take you upstairs? I know what's going on. We'll sit down, and I'll tell you what I know." Pepper looked to Tony to make sure that sounded reasonable. Tony nodded to her, knowing Pepper would know what to say and what to hold back.

"Promise me…" May said, looking at Tony. "Promise me that you'll tell me the truth. I can't handle any more lies."

Tony nodded his head. "No lies… I promise. I just can't let you see or hear anything that would give Ross a reason to target you. I will keep you safe. Peter would want me to keep you safe."

"Ok… I'll go upstairs with Pepper. But first…" May looked determined, and yet very tired. "…I want to know what you were looking at. It was Peter, wasn't it? Please… Tony, let me see him. I need to know that he's ok."

"He's not ok," Tony thought. He looked at her before pulling out his phone to access the message there. "It was a video, May," Tony told her honestly, "…A video of Peter on the raft. It's hard to watch, and I don't think you need to see the whole thing. It may not be safe for me to show you that place, but I will select a frame so that you can see him."

May nodded.

Tony selected the moment when Peter was standing up and looking around, he didn't look too bad in that one. He enlarged the image for May to see.

May brought a hand to her mouth to hold back her cry upon seeing Peter. She brought a hand to her own neck when she noticed the collar on Peter. "Oh Peter…what did they?" She looked at Tony, "What is that?"

He knew what she was asking about. He thought for a moment. He wanted to give her an honest answer, containing only what she needed to know. "It's how they control his enhanced abilities," he said finally.

"Oh my god," she gasped and looked at the image again. "At least he's alive." She looked at Pepper. "I think you're right. I'd like to go upstairs now. I don't think I'm feeling well, and I would like to go sit down."

Pepper nodded and led her to the elevator. Happy followed them, seeming to want to help May.

Tony watched them go. May really hadn't looked well, and he wondered if he made a mistake by bringing her back so soon. He also wondered if he would ever do right by the kid. He couldn't seem to keep Peter or May in good health. He felt like a failure. He felt like he was letting everyone down.

This was a nightmare. Peter was in a living nightmare.

He was scared. He hated to admit it, but he knew that he was very much afraid. He was also determined to keep his fear to himself.

Besides the fear, Peter was fueled by anger. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to be taken away so cruelly. He hadn't hurt anyone, so they had no right to hurt him.

He absently rubbed at the collar on his neck. The pulses from that thing were incredibly painful. At first, they were like the taser that Wilson used on him. However, there were times when the pain from the collar was much worse. It was like his insides could burst, like he would explode into a million pieces.

Peter shuddered at the thought. He preferred to remain whole.

Another thing about this place that Peter hated, was the quiet. It was so damn quiet. If he thought that the DODC vault was bad, the was a trillion times worse. He was so bored. The boredom and loneliness alone were enough to kill him.

This prison was absolute hell for a teenager like Peter. He was used to having things to stimulate his brain and keep him busy. There was nothing to do here. It seemed like they wouldn't even let him climb the walls. He could just pace, sit, and sleep. Those seemed to be his only options!

And eating? They hadn't even brought him food yet, which was a serious problem. He needed to eat something soon, or he would probably pass out. Not that these guys would care. They seemed to like when Peter was unconscious.

He had seen a few guards from time to time, but no one really seemed to pay him any attention. Well, there was Wilson. He saw the man once. He gave Peter a wave that could almost pass as friendly. Under different circumstances, someone might think the man was polite. But, Peter learned that it was all part of a game that Wilson liked to play. He was messing with Peter's head. Wilson had also held something out for Peter to see. The man still had Peter's backpack, no doubt with his suit inside. He supposed these people would tuck it away, confiscate it as evidence or something. Peter wondered if he would ever see the suit or talk to KAREN again.

As Peter pondered this, he finally saw someone approaching him with a tray.

"Finally!" he thought, relieved to get some nourishment. Or he was relieved, at least until the man shoved the tray through a slot on the floor. "Seriously? That's it?!" he said aloud, mostly to himself. "One piece of bread and a small bowl of broth? Oh… how nice! I got a small cup of water, too!"

Peter looked up to see that there was no one there, and he was definitely talking to himself. He shrugged his shoulders and reached for the food. He really was hungry, so he would eat the meager meal gladly.

It didn't take long to finish it, and Peter pushed the tray away.

He noticed that there was a toilet and sink beyond a tiny privacy wall. He would hold off on using that for as long as possible.

Peter finally settled on resting on the uncomfortable slab that was meant to be a bed. He was bored, there was nothing to do, and the stress did make him tired.

He supposed it would be nice to get some rest without it being forced on him.

As he settled in and tried to find a comfortable position, he thought again about his feelings in all this.

If these people wanted Spider-Man, then Spider-Man is who they were going to get… in all his fury!

Tony and Rhodes had worked through the night, with Vision helping as much as possible. They tried to find dirt on Ross, and they even toyed with some ideas on how to get even. They wondered if they should try to get some leverage of their own, take something or someone important to Ross.

Ultimately, they knew that wasn't an option. They would not stoop to Ross's level.

"We need to be better, gather evidence against him in this," Rhodes said. "I have connections in Washington. Ross will try to play this off as making a criminal arrest, but I think we could find something to use against him. We could prove that he should not be the one here calling the shots. People will see him as the criminal, not the enhanced persons he arrests."

Tony sighed, "I hope you're right, but it doesn't help us right now! We've been up all night, skipped breakfast…"

"We should eat something for lunch, Tony. We can't help Peter if we aren't taking care of ourselves," Rhodes commented.

Tony looked over at the clock. Lunch? How did the time go by so quickly? How were they no closer to finding a solution? "Tell me again why you and I can't fly there with Vision? We could take that place so easily!" Tony exclaimed.

"Wouldn't Ross just love that," Rhodes said. "He'd probably have cameras ready to capture the whole thing. Then he'd have reason to lock us away for good, along with Peter. He could do whatever he wanted to us at that prison, make us give up Steve and the others."

Tony blinked, "I'm surprised he hasn't done that."

"He can't, Tony," Rhodes explained. "No one would let him get away with detaining us since we signed the Accords. It's easier for him to control us this way, unfortunately."

"Yeah…" Tony said, sitting down and rubbing a hand over his tired face. "…It's unfortunate for Peter. He doesn't deserve to be used like this. He's not a bargaining chip. This wouldn't have happened if I had kept the kid at a distance."

"Tony, don't do that!" Rhodes protested. "Peter could still be locked away right now, even if he had never met you. His relationship with you… it's probably giving him some hope. He knows that we'll find a way to get him out of there."

"Will we?" Tony asked, standing up to look at his friend. "Do we have a way to get him out?"

Rhodes was quiet and looked towards Vision was listening quietly from across the room. "I think you need to consider calling Steve," he said.

"What?" Tony asked. "No… that's not an option."

"I do not understand," Vision finally spoke. "Does not the Captain have the most knowledge on how to break into that prison?"

"I don't get it either," Rhodes added. "I thought you were angry with Steve. Why protect him?"

Tony shook his head, "It's not about protecting him. He can be locked away in that hell hole with that serial killer friend of his for all I care."

Tony put his hands on his hips and looked at Vision and Rhodes. "Peter has taught me to think of others, not just myself. If I were thinking of myself here, I would hand that information over to Ross in a heartbeat. Maybe then I would feel some sense of justice for what was done to my parents… what Cap knew was done to my parents!"

Vision and Rhodes stared at Tony, saying nothing.

"You didn't see them in that place," Tony added sadly. "Wanda, Sam, Clint, that other guy…"

"Scott Lang…" Vision offered.

"…Sure him!" Tony said. "They didn't deserve to be placed on that thing. It wasn't right. How can I give Ross information that could put them right back there?" He shrugged. "Sure Clint and… uh… Scott made a deal. They're on house arrest. But Wanda?" he looked at Vision. "Sam? Natasha?" He looked at Rhodes. "How do I justify that? I can't get them involved. This is my fault. I need to figure it out."

"So, we call him," Rhodes said again.

"Did you hear anything I just said?" Tony asked.

"Yes… we call him," Rhodes gave Tony a pointed look and continued before Tony could argue again. "If you're worried, then we call Steve. We warn him, tell him what's happening. He can warn the others. They go deep into hiding, somewhere Ross can't get to them."

"You really think Steve would stay out of it?" Tony asked. "He and the others will get involved, you know they will."

"But it would be their choice…" Vision offered. "Perhaps it is not our place to choose for them."

Tony was pacing and shaking his head. "If only we had been able to get through to King T'Challa," he said, referring to the Black Panther. "If he gets our message, then maybe he can help…"

"You heard what's on the news, Tony," Rhodes said. "Wakanda is opening their boarders. I imagine he has his hands full right now."

Before they could continue their conversation, Pepper stepped into the room. Tony wondered if she had somehow been listening to their conversation because she was carrying a familiar black flip phone in her hands.

"May is resting," she said, walking up to Tony. She held out the phone for him, "I grabbed this from our room. I think you should have it with you."

Tony just looked at her, then turned to the others in the room.

It seemed the choice was made. "What if this turns bad?" Tony asked. "It could be taken out on Peter!"

"What if it can help?" Pepper countered back.

Tony took the flip phone and stared at it. He looked back at Pepper. He noticed she had a strange look on her face. Was it guilt? It was strange, but Tony figured she probably felt bad for forcing him to make this call.

He opened up the phone and scrolled to Steve's number. He didn't even get to hit the "call" button.

"Sir," FRIDAY called to him. "It seems Ross has come back early."

"Damn it!" Tony cursed. He looked at the others in the room.

"We go up and face him together. He can't be down here." He sighed, filled with regret.

He looked at Rhodes, "It's too late. There's going to be no warning the others now." He shoved the phone into his pocket and moved towards the elevator to go up to the helipad. The others followed closely behind.

As they all got on the elevator, he added, "I think we're officially out of options."

However, Tony often had a way of forgetting—someone was always watching his back. Not all was lost, and Tony would learn the meaning of family once again.