"So what are we going to do tonight?" Ned whispered from where he sat next to Peter at a table in the library.
Peter looked up and caught Mrs. Johnson watching them. He ducked his head and pretended to work hard on his math homework for a few seconds before surreptitiously flicking his eyes up to make sure she wasn't watching him anymore. She wasn't.
"Whatever you want." He whispered back, head still down. The last thing he wanted was to get a detention for disrupting study hall. Mrs. Johnson had the reputation as the strictest teacher at Midtown. She'd give out detention for sneezing too loud.
Luckily, she taught junior and senior English, so Peter usually didn't have deal with her, but Mr. Harrington was out sick today and she was covering his study hall. The last thing he needed was to get detention and have to explain it to Tony after all the ribbing he'd had to endure at the beginning of the week after the man had found out about his numerous detentions last year.
"Are you going to go out as Spiderman?" Ned asked with the characteristic excitement he always showed whenever they talked about Peter's vigilante activities.
"Ned shhh." Peter shot him warning look. Ned had been quiet and there wasn't anyone nearby but he didn't like it when his friend talked about his alter ego at school. He worried one of these days Ned would slip up and someone would overhear.
"Right. Sorry." Ned apologized.
They both caught Mrs. Johnson watching them again so they went back to diligently working on their homework until her attention was diverted somewhere else.
"Well are you?"
"I don't know. Maybe." Peter answered. He probably would later, but he wanted to spend time with Ned first. He hadn't hung out with him at all last weekend even after he'd promised he would, so he planned to give Ned his undivided attention tonight, which shouldn't be too hard since he was staying overnight at Ned's house. Tony was in DC. Again. For what, Peter still didn't know. Ever since the first slip up, his dad and the rest of the Avengers had been careful about not bringing it up or discussing it around him. For all he knew they could be planning to flee the country and he wouldn't know until Tony whisked him away last minute on the Quinjet.
"Did you bring the suit?"
"Yeah."
"Dude that's so awesome. Like, it never gets old. Does it ever get old for you?"
"No. It doesn't." It really didn't. He still felt a thrill every time he put on the suit. He wondered if it'd ever fade. Did Tony feel the same way whenever he put on his Ironman suit?
"Spiderman and his guy in the chair get to team up tonight." Ned was practically bubbling with excitement.
"Ned." Peter chastised again.
"Sorry." Ned said instantly, but he looked anything but.
"Mr. Leeds. Mr. Parker." Mrs. Johnson's voice rang out across the room.
Shit.
"Do I need to remind the two of you—"
The end of the period bell rang, interrupting before should finish. She huffed angrily but gave no indication she meant to continue her reprimand. She caught Ned and Peter staring nervously at her. "Well? You're dismissed."
"Thank you Mrs. Johnson." Ned said as they both hurried to pack their things away.
"Sorry Mrs. Johnson." Peter added while they practically sprinted out the door.
"Oh man." Ned said in relief once they were out of earshot. "That's the first time I've literally been saved by the bell."
Peter laughed at the comical look on Ned's face.
He spun the combination to his locker and flung it open but he froze when he felt the floor shudder under his feet. Shit. He hadn't meant to use his super strength. Had he ruined the locker? If he had, how was he going to explain it? He carefully grabbed the locker door and moved it back to check it. There wasn't a single dent in it or on the locker next to it. Huh? How could he have caused the floor to shake without making a single mark on the locker?
He stared at the locker, perplexed, when the floor shimmied again and Peter heard a distant rumble. He blinked and turned to look in the direction of the sound. All down the hallway kids were glancing back and forth at each other, confused expressions on their faces. His spider sense started its low level thrumming.
"Dude what was that?" Ned asked from his other side at his own locker.
"I don't know." Peter mumbled. He was just about to take a step toward the school doors to try to find out when the door burst open and his classmates started running in, panic evident.
"Run!" Kelsey screamed as she sprinted down the hallway. "It's coming!"
Peter grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop as she ran by him.
"What's coming?" Peter asked, holding tight as she tried to yank out of his grasp to keep running.
"It's a-it's a giant…a giant robot!" She babbled in fear and Peter released her. She went sprinting back down the hallway where everyone else was now hurrying to run away. Mob mentality and all that.
"A robot?" Peter frowned skeptically at Ned.
The ground shook again, more severely this time. Whatever the robot thing was must be getting closer.
"Good thing you brought your suit to school today huh?" Ned smiled.
"Good thing." Peter grinned back as he grabbed his backpack out of his locker. "Come on."
They ran to the bathroom, which was empty. Big surprise. Ned locked the door and Peter wasted no time running to a stall and changing, bundling his school clothes into his backpack and tossing it to his friend.
"Can you hold onto that for me?" He asked rhetorically as he climbed up the wall and pushed the bathroom window open.
"Sure. What are guys in the chair for?" Ned rolled his eyes.
"And get somewhere safe." He commanded and then jumped.
He hit the ground running. It took him all of two seconds to see the robot Kelsey had been talking about. His eyes widened. The thing wasn't huge per se but it wasn't small. It was about the size of the Hulk, or what he assumed the size of the Hulk was. He hadn't actually ever seen the Hulk in person. To him, he was just Bruce.
"Whoa." He commented as he watched the robot pick up a trunk and throw it into a nearby storefront, demolishing it. People on the streets were screaming and running, doing their best to get out of its way.
"Karen, what is that thing?" He asked and his voice didn't squeak. It absolutely did not.
"It appears to be a large robot Peter." Karen replied. Unhelpfully.
"Yeah obviously." Peter rolled is eyes as he shot a web out to try to get closer. The thing was a few blocks from the school but it seemed to be coming his direction.
"What else can you tell me about it?" Peter asked. The thing grabbed a light post and plucked it from the ground as if it was a blade of grass.
"It appears to have enhanced strength." She answered.
"Thanks Karen." Peter said dryly as he resisted the urge to facepalm.
"Be careful Peter." She warned as he webbed closer.
"I always am." He quipped and landed across the street from the big robot thing before Karen could reply.
"Hey buddy!" He yelled at the robot, garnering its attention. "You lost?"
The robot paused in its destruction to study him for a few seconds before taking a giant step toward him. It moved fluidly, almost like the Ironman armor. Whoever had designed it clearly knew what they were doing. Maybe it was someone's PhD gone wrong.
"Hey Karen, is there someone in that thing?" Peter asked as the robot rapidly closed the distance between.
"I am not detecting any heat sources that would indicate a living entity."
"Cool. Great. Thanks." At least Peter didn't have to worry about holding back. He could trash this thing. Easy peasy.
He slung a web at it, planning to use it to fling it into a building, but the web didn't stick. It grazed right off the metal on the robot's chest. What the hell?
In his shock, he almost missed when the thing's arm turned toward him and shot a fiery energy blast at him. His spider sense screamed and he instinctively threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding getting fried.
"Oh shit! This thing has firepower?" Peter complained as he webbed onto a nearby building to get out of the way as the robot shot another blast at him. He felt the warmth as he escaped. Damn. That was too close.
"It would appear so." Karen responded. "Also its metallic coating prevents your webs from adhering to it."
"Yeah I noticed!" He yelled as he swung to land on a roof. He figured he'd have a few seconds to collect himself, but the thing followed him. It could fly. And it was fast. Fuck.
"Oh this is not good." Peter complained as the robot landed right in front of him and tried to punch him. He ducked just in time but he wasn't fast enough to evade its other arm, which caught him hard on the right shoulder and sent him flying head over heels into the air. He shot a web off and managed to slow his fall so he didn't land quite so hard on the pavement, but it still hurt.
"Ow." He grimaced.
"Multiple contusions detected." Karen supplied.
Yep. He felt that. He pushed off the ground and barely managed to make it back on his feet before the thing was in his face again. Yeah it was really fast, which seemed counterintuitive for how big it was.
The robot kept coming at him. Somehow he managed to evade it, but that was all he could do. He hadn't been able to land a single blow of his own, and he couldn't seem to stop himself from instinctively shooting webs at it even though they wouldn't stick.
When the robot got the upper hand and pointed its gauntlet in his face, Peter's eyes widened. Oh shit. He tried to evade it but it was as if the thing had anticipated his next move. It brought its other fist up in the exact direction he dodged. The metal fist landed a hard blow to his head and sent him flying face first into a brick building across the street.
Peter's eyes shot open and for a long few seconds he couldn't figure out where he was or what was going on. His ears were ringing and fresh dust hung in the air. Had he been in a fight? A sense of urgency tingled in the back of his mind. Was he still in a fight? Where was he? He blinked and coughed as he took in the partially demolished room. As he moved, the bricks covering him shifted and fell to the ground. He rolled onto all fours and brought a hand up to clutch his head when the world spun dizzily around. He groaned. The loud repeated thunk thunk of metal on concrete caught his attention. He turned his head and saw a huge robot sauntering toward him through the new open hole in the wall. Everything came back to him in an instant.
A stab of icy fear shot through him. This thing was really strong. Too strong. He hurried to stand and staggered sideways, almost falling again before he caught a nearby shelf and managed to keep his feet under him. Shit shit shit. He had to get it together. The robot stepped into the trashed room that looked like it used to be a backroom storage area.
Peter pushed away from the shelf and ran in the direction of the open door behind him. He sprinted through the abandoned grocery store and he'd almost made it to the store's front door when he heard the zing of the thing's energy gun. He dove for the door and the blast leveled the ground he'd just been running on and catapulted him through the door in a shatter of glass. He rolled like a ragdoll across the concrete. Ouch.
"Peter, based on my current fight analysis, you appear to be outmatched by this adversary." Karen noted.
Peter agreed. As embarrassing as it was, this robot thing was kicking his ass. He'd barely been holding his own before and now he was hurt. His head spun. He forced his legs to a shaky stand. The evil robot was fast approaching again.
"Would you like me to call for help?" Karen offered.
Help would be great. Yeah he definitely needed help.
"Yeah Karen. Call To—" He abruptly broke off. Tony was in DC. Even if he called him there was no way he'd get here in time. He hated to admit it, but he needed help now.
"Call Steve." He decided as he webbed away, evading another blast from the robot.
"Calling Steve Rogers." Karen complied.
On the fifth ring, when Peter was already thinking about who to try to call next, Steve answered. "Hello?"
"Steve! Help!" He wanted to say more, but the roof he was standing on was suddenly blown out from under him. As it crumbled, he barely managed to web onto the building next to it.
"Peter? What's going on? Where are you?" Steve asked hurriedly. He'd never heard Steve sound scared before.
"I-I need help. Please!" The robot thing was nearly on top of him again. If he weren't so terrified, he'd be embarrassed that he was practically begging Steve for help.
"Where are you?" Steve asked again and then his voice got softer as Peter heard him talking to someone else. "Rhodes suit up. We need to go. We need to go right now."
"I'm-" Peter paused as he leapt out of the way of another robot punch. "I'm by my school. There's this giant robot thing! It's—"
He brought a hand up to try to grab the robot's fist and block the next punch, but instead of stopping the blow it shot a stab of pain through his arm and sent him flying again. This time his web missed and he didn't manage to slow his descent. He landed on top of a parked car. At least the roof had caved in under him and somewhat cushioned his fall. That had really hurt. He just wanted to lie there for awhile.
"Peter? Peter!" Oh right. He was still on the phone with Steve.
"It's too strong." He whimpered. "Please Steve. I need help! I c-can't take this thing by myself."
He could see it coming after him from the roof of the building he'd just been tossed off of. Shit. He needed to move. Like yesterday. He sat up and rolled off the car roof onto his feet. He managed to stagger a few steps back before the car exploded into flames. The blast threw him backwards and he landed hard on his butt.
"I'm coming Peter." Steve's voice finally registered. Peter had no idea if he'd been saying anything else a few seconds ago. He'd been otherwise occupied with trying to stay alive.
"Just hang on buddy. We're on our way. I'm almost there. I'm one minute out. I just need you to hang in there for one minute. Ok? Focus. You can do it. You can. One minute. You've got this." Steve continued.
Peter got up just in time to dive out of the way of another blast. The landing jostled his aching body.
"Come on dude. Can't we come to some sort of truce?" He tried to banter to the robot as he stood again, facing down the robot. In response, it brought an arm down and tried to hit him.
"That's a no huh?" Peter joked shakily as he jumped back, away from the blow.
It leveled its gun at him and Peter swore as he jumped out of the way. Or tried to. Mid-leap he felt the thing grab ahold of his ankle. He had just enough time to register the crushing grip and how screwed he was before the robot flung him mercilessly into a building. This time the wall crumbled but didn't give way. His left side took most of the impact as it slammed into an embedded girder before his body fell to the ground.
Sounds around him buzzed in and out. He lay there limply, eyes open but not really seeing. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. He thought he'd just blinked but he must've faded out for a few seconds because the next time he opened his eyes the robot was standing a mere six feet away from him. Shit. He needed to get up. He needed to move. He managed to push his chest a few inches off the ground before his arms gave way and he collapsed back down, bringing a new jolt of agony. He whimpered.
The robot took another step forward. Oh god. He was in deep shit. He was really going to die. This thing was going to kill him. As the robot brought its arm up to aim its energy gun at him, it almost seemed to happen in slow motion. At least if he died, he'd get to see May and Ben again. And his parents…
But he didn't want to go. He didn't want to die. He wasn't ready. He still needed to see the last Star Wars movie when it came out. And graduate from high school. And kiss a girl.
And what about Tony? If he died, it would kill him. At that thought, he tried to move again but all he managed to do was make his fingers twitch.
No. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't end like this. Spiderman couldn't be taken out by some stupid robot. If he died now, he'd never find out if he'd aced the Spanish test he took today. And what an inane last thought… Before he could think of a better one, the robot thing's gun thingy whined as it charged. This was it. Hopefully it'd be quick. Or would it hurt? Would dying hurt? His spidey sense spiked and Peter gasped.
A blur of black and tan landed in front of him a split second before the gun went off.
The resulting shockwave shook the ground and shattered all the windows of the buildings on the street. But…Peter wasn't dead.
He frowned and in the next instant his mind took in what it was seeing. Someone in a black t-shirt and khaki pants crouched in front of him, shielding him. With a very characteristic red, white, and blue shield in his hand. Steve. Oh thank god.
Peter could see the robot had been thrown backward a good twenty feet by the shockwave but it was getting back up.
Steve glanced back at him.
"Pe—" Steve almost slipped and said his civilian name in public before he caught himself. "Spiderman? Are you with me?"
Was he? He just wanted to rest now that Steve was here. And Rhodey. He noticed as War Machine sent his own blast at the evil robot. It didn't even put a scratch in it but it did make it pause for a second.
"Spiderman?" Steve turned toward him more fully, but still stayed in his protective crouch in front of him with his shield kept up as a barrier between them and the robot.
And Peter wanted to answer. He really did. But at the moment all he could do was focus on breathing. He was having a hard time catching his breath. So he could talk or he could breathe. He elected for the one necessary to sustain his life.
"Kiddo?" Steve tried again, hand coming down carefully on his shoulder.
Peter managed to make a small pitiful whining noise. At least Steve would know he wasn't dead.
"Cap this thing isn't messing around! I could use some help!" War Machine called out from across the street where he was getting thrown around by the crazy robot creation.
"Yeah well I could really use a comm!" Steve yelled back at him. "How far out is the team? I need to get Pet— I need to get Spiderman out of here. He's hurt."
Why didn't Cap have a comm? Why wasn't he in his uniform? Why didn't anything make sense? Peter tried to take a deep breath to ask but it hurt and got caught in his throat. He coughed. He could taste copper in his mouth. Blood. Had he bit his tongue or was he coughing up blood now? Shit. He couldn't tell. Everything just felt sort of weak and numb.
"They're three minutes out." Rhodey answered. "And Nat has a comm for you argh—"
Peter watched as the robot flung War Machine into a building just like he'd done to Peter earlier. He winced in sympathy and then his eyes widened as the robot turned its attention back on him and Steve.
"Shit." Steve swore as he stood. Peter blinked in shock. He'd never heard Steve swear before.
The robot took a step toward them and Steve flung the shield at it. The shield glanced off it, only pushing the robot back an inch, before it flew back into Steve's hand. Peter had never seen Steve in battle before. He'd transformed from the gentle and unassuming person Peter knew into an imposing and intimidating figure.
"If you're done napping over there I could use a hand!" Steve yelled as he threw the shield again with the same result.
For a second, Peter thought Steve was talking to him. He even tried to get up, but he only managed to roll onto his back with a groan.
"I wasn't napping." Rhodey said in response as he landed next to Cap and the two of them started a coordinated an attack. Oh, Steve had been talking to Rhodey. Not him. He could still stay checked out. That was probably a good thing. It'd taken everything he had just to roll over, which had probably been a mistake. This was definitely a more uncomfortable position. He could feel blood draining down the back of his throat, making him cough. At least that meant it was probably coming from his mouth or nose or something and not his lungs. The thin trickle suddenly turned into a gush and he choked on the coppery liquid. Great. Now he was going to die drowning on his own blood.
He coughed again and instinctively turned his head to the side so he'd stop choking. Good thing some rational part of him still remained intact. He could feel the blood dripping out the side of his mouth and some trickling from his nose and down his cheek. Awesome. He was bleeding from his mouth and his nose.
He watched hazily as Cap and Rhodey continued their attack on the robot. War Machine kept taunting it from the air like an annoying fly until eventually it took off to chase after him. Rhodey led it to a nearby roof. Instead of following after them, Cap turned and ran back to him the second they were in the air. Oh. That whole maneuver had been planned. Rhodey had been trying to draw it away.
"Do you think you can stand?" Steve asked as soon as he reached his side.
Peter let out a weak groan.
"Come on kiddo. We gotta go." Steve grabbed gently under his armpits and pulled him to a stand. When it was clear he wouldn't be able to keep his feet under him, Steve lifted him higher up to carry him. Peter's head fell against Steve's shoulder and he automatically wrapped his arms loosely around the man's neck. Steve had one arm around his upper back and the other one under his butt, holding him effortlessly like a toddler on his hip. If he wasn't so out of it, he'd be embarrassed that Captain America was carrying him like a child, but at the moment all he felt was relieved to be getting away.
"Hang on." Steve warned and then started running. He knew Steve was trying his best to keep him cradled close so the movements didn't jerk him around, but the jostling still hurt. He couldn't hold back the whimpers that escaped.
"I know buddy. I know. I'm sorry, but I need to get you out of here." Steve muttered.
"Cap look out!" Rhodey yelled out a warning and a moment later the dumpster next to them exploded. Steve dove out of the way, rolling across the ground, but careful to keep him caged in his arms, protected from the fall. They hadn't even come to a complete stop before Steve was up and running again.
"Rhodes!" Steve yelled.
"I'm on it." Peter heard the man answer from right behind him. Shit. That must mean the robot was close.
"You know Cap, this thing is really starting to piss me off." Rhodey complained and then Peter heard the characteristic sound of his guns going off.
"Me too." Cap agreed and Peter jerked slightly in his arms as he threw the shield.
"We could really use a little more help." Rhodey grunted.
"Help's here boys." Natasha's voice rang out from above them.
When Peter flicked his eyes up, he was greeted with a welcome sight. Natasha and Clint were rappelling down from the Quinjet as Sam jumped from the open hatch and took flight. Even though he wasn't in the best position, he couldn't help but feel awe at the sight of the Avengers leaping into battle.
"Here Cap." Natasha landed next to Steve and handed him a comm that he immediately placed in his ear while Clint released a volley of explosive arrows at the robot thing, slowly pushing it back from them.
"Thank you. That's much better." Steve said gratefully.
"How's our little spider?" Nat asked in concern and Peter felt her hand brush softly against his back.
"I think he's hurt pretty bad but I haven't exactly had the time to check. We need to get him out of here." Cap answered.
They were doing the thing he hated where they talked about him like he wasn't there.
"What's our play here Cap?" Clint asked and Peter frowned in confusion. He'd heard his voice crystal clear even though he could see the man was currently scaling a building's fire escape across the street to get in a better position on the roof.
"Is this a Code Green guys?" Bruce asked and Peter realized Karen had piped him into the Avengers open comm frequency. That's how he could hear everyone.
"No." Cap answered instantly and with authority. Peter had never heard his command voice before. "We have to minimize the damage here and I need you in the Quinjet. We're going get Peter to you. That's the play."
"St'p…sayin…m'name." He managed to slur out in protest. At this rate someone was going to overhear and figure out that Spiderman's name was Peter.
"Hey." Steve turned to look at him. "You with us buddy?"
"Mmhmm."
"We're going to get you out of here. Sound good?"
"Yeah." That small amount of conversation exhausted him and left him breathless.
The commotion around him continued, but it seemed more distant. Natasha was covering him and Steve as Sam, Clint, and Rhodey continued their assault on the robot.
"What is this thing made out of anyway?" Hawkeye asked as another arrow he shot at the robot barely affected it.
"Vibranium." FRIDAY supplied. "Coated in a covalent alloy I cannot yet identify."
"What? How the hell did this thing get covered in vibranium?" Rhodey asked.
"That's a good question," Steve muttered before ordering, "Banner throw me down a line. I'm going to bring Pe- Spiderman to you."
"You got it." Bruce agreed and a few seconds later Steve grabbed the line and wrapped it around his right wrist, keeping Peter secured with his left.
"Take us up!" Steve commanded.
If Peter had more energy he would've told Steve he should've said 'Beam me up Scotty' instead.
The line tightened and they start to quickly ascend as it reeled them in.
But apparently the robot thing wasn't ready to relinquish them so easily. They were half way to the Quinjet, fifty feet in the air when the thing shot a blast toward them, slicing through their line.
"Shit!"
"Rhodes!"
"Gotcha." War Machine said as he deftly caught them and deposited them gently back on the ground before taking flight again.
"Well that seems like a no go." Sam observed.
"You guys all right?" Bruce asked.
"We're fine." Cap answered. "Right kiddo?"
He nodded.
"All right new plan. Rhodey, you take the kid to the Quinjet."
"Aye aye Cap."
"Ah!" Sam's pained cry erupted across the comm.
"Falcon?"
"Sam!"
"Does anyone have eyes on Sam?" Cap asked.
"I do. He's down Cap, two blocks south of you." Clint answered.
"I'm all right guys." Sam said with a grunt. "It just clipped my shoulder, but the wings are toast. Fuck. I think I'm out."
"Get yourself somewhere safe." Cap ordered.
"Yeah don't worry about me. I'll just hail a cab." Sam joked.
"Shit Cap. I can't get to you. This thing's got me pinned. I'm not going to be able to take Peter." Rhodey said.
"We can't give up our sole air support right now anyway." Natasha said, completely calm and collected even as things seemed to be falling apart around them.
"Dammit." Steve swore.
"We need more help." Nat added.
"I'm with Nat on this one Cap." Clint chimed in. "We can hold this thing off but we're not exactly winning right now and we have to get the squirt somewhere safe."
"I know." Cap sighed. "FRIDAY?"
"Yes Captain?"
"Send out the call to Assemble."
"May I remind you the UN has not yet sanctioned this action?" FRIDAY prompted.
"Yes." Steve said and Peter caught him glancing down at him. "Do it anyway."
"Very well. Call to Assemble sent. Authorization by Captain America."
"Call to Assemble received by Antman. ETA 5 minutes." FRIDAY announced seconds later.
"What's going on guys? What's the world coming to when a guy can't even step out to get a sandwich for five minutes?" Scott complained.
"You've been gone for two hours." Nat called him out.
"Oh whatever."
"Call to Assemble received by Vision and Scarlet Witch. ETA 30 minutes."
"Wanda and I are on our way." Vision spoke over the comm.
"Yeah we heard Viz. FRIDAY told us." Clint sighed. For being part android, Vision never seemed to grasp the technology aspect of things.
"Call to Assemble received by Ironman. ETA 15 minutes."
Peter felt an actual shiver go down his spine at that pronouncement. Tony was coming. His dad was coming.
"What the fuck is going on?!" Tony's voice rang angrily across the comm.
"Tony—" Steve tried to explain.
"No!" Tony interrupted to continue his tirade. "Do you have any idea how bad this looks? I had to leave in the middle of a meeting with the president because Spangles here decided to send out a call to assemble that wasn't even approved by the UN?! When we're on probation? What the actual fuck? How am I supposed to explain this now? Huh?"
Peter tried his best to absorb the bulk of that information. The Avengers were on probation? Was it his fault they were going to be in more trouble?
"Tony, it's Peter." Steve said patiently.
"Excuse me? Say again? Because you couldn't have possibly said what I thought you did." Tony said as if he was unaffected, but Peter could hear the slight hint of concern in his tone.
Steve sighed, shifting him slightly as he threw the shield again when the insane robot thing got a little too close for comfort. Natasha shot a few rounds at it, and Peter's close proximity made his ears ring.
"Peter called me for help. This thing tried to take him out. He's hurt and I tried to evac him but I can't without more help. So I'd appreciate it if you'd just get here and stop complaining!" Steve explained tersely.
The silence reverberated heavily over the comm.
"Is he ok?" The fear-laden question from Tony was a complete 180 from the angry yelling before.
"Yeah he's fine." Steve answered. "Or…well…he'll be fine. FRIDAY says he's a little banged up, but nothing we can't fix if I can just get him out of here."
Huh? When had Steve talked to FRIDAY? Maybe she'd told him his condition at some point after he'd gotten the comm.
"What's the situation?" Tony asked, laser focus apparent.
Fatigue weighed heavily down on him and Peter phased in and out as Steve explained everything up to the current point, all the while holding onto him and evading the robot while the rest of the Avengers protected them. It vaguely registered when Antman joined the fray a few minutes later, but his presence wasn't enough to end the fight.
The constant movements coupled with his pain and exhaustion must've made him fall asleep or lose consciousness. He hadn't even realized it until he heard Steve's voice by his ear what seemed like a second later.
"Peter?"
He groaned softly.
"Wake up for me buddy."
"Uh-uh."
He heard Steve snort and the next instant a loud clang sounded from right behind him. Oh shit. Was the robot thing going to get them? Was Steve trying to warm him?
"Gimme." His dad's voice ordered an instant later and a wave of relief crashed over him. As safe as he felt with Steve, it was nothing compared to Tony.
"Let go Peter. Your dad's going to take you." Cap ordered and Peter forced his hands to unclasp from the back of the man's shirt. Cap started to pass him over gently to Ironman.
"Dad." He whined pitifully and reached for him.
"That's right kiddo. Dad's here." Tony soothed as he grabbed him, securing him carefully in his arms. "I gotcha. Everything's going to be just fine."
Peter blamed the small whimpering cries that escaped him on the emotional whiplash from going from thinking he was going to die to being safely ensconced in his dad's arms in such a short span of time.
"Shh. It's all right buddy. You're ok. I'm going to get you out of here." Tony mollified as he held him.
"Bruce is in the Quinjet." Steve reminded Tony.
Peter felt his dad nod and then say over the comms, "All right guys I could use some cover. I've got precious cargo here."
"You heard the man. Let's give him some cover." Cap ordered and the cacophony of noise skyrocketed the instant before Ironman catapulted the two of them into the air.
It only took about five seconds of flight before they landed on the Quinjet. The moment Ironman's boots hit the ground, Peter felt the jerk as the Quinjet took off.
"Put him over here Tony." Bruce said from where he stood by a bed that protruded out of one of the walls. Peter hazily wondered who was flying if Bruce was back here with them. FRIDAY?
His dad walked over and bent forward to lay him down, but Peter didn't want to be parted from him. Tony realized it too when he tried to straighten back up and Peter still clung to him.
The Ironman helmet retracted and actually seeing his dad's face sent another wave of relief through him. "You gotta let go of me buddy, so Bruce can check you over."
Tony tried to put him down again, but Peter still wasn't ready to let go. He let out pitiful whine and held tight.
"Come on Peter. Let go." Tony said with a little more command in his voice. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be right here with you.
When Peter made no move to relinquish his grasp, Tony tried another technique. "You have to let go if you want me to get out of the suit."
Low blow. He did want Tony out of the suit. As great as it was to cling to Ironman, the armor was hard and uncomfortable. Being held by Tony sounded way better. He reluctantly let go and Tony set him down gently on the bed.
He watched as Tony stepped out of the Ironman armor a second later. He was wearing a dark three piece suit. He obviously hadn't had time to change in his rush to get to him. Peter wanted to reach for him but his arms didn't listen. They stayed stuck at his sides. He felt completely boneless.
His dad wasted no time grabbing the edge his mask and pulling it off.
Shock and fear colored Tony's expression at whatever his face looked like.
"Jesus." Tony muttered.
It was just bad timing that in that next moment he had to cough. He tried to hold it in but couldn't, and the pool of blood that had collected in his mouth erupted like a fountain in a spray of red.
"Bruce! Bruce!" Tony called out in panic as he continued to cough. "He's coughing up blood Bruce."
Tony ran shaky hands over Peter's face. Peter wasn't sure if he was trying to comfort Peter or himself. If it was him, his dad was being a little rough. He wanted to reassure him but the coughing fit had left him short of breath again.
"It's ok baby. You're going to be ok." Tony babbled frantically.
"Tony I need you to move if you want me to help him." Bruce said from behind his dad. "Tony, move."
Bruce yanked Tony away and took his place. Instead of giving Bruce space to work, Tony just moved to the head of the bed and kept brushing his hair back and leaning down to periodically pepper kisses over the top of his head.
On one hand it felt nice, but between Tony's affection and Bruce's ministrations as he shined a light in his eyes, nose, and mouth, coupled with the pain that was rapidly ratcheting up in intensity, it was just a little too much. He groaned in annoyance and tried to turn his head away.
"Shh it's ok baby. Hold still for Bruce ok?" Tony soothed, probably misinterpreting his groan as pain. Peter absently noticed it was the second time he'd called him baby in the span of a couple minutes. May used to call him that all the time, but it was the first time he'd ever heard the name from Tony. If he had more blood left in his body he probably would've blushed.
"He's not coughing up blood Tony. It's coming from his mouth." Bruce determined and after a few more seconds of examining his face added, "And his nose."
"Oh thank god." Tony whispered to himself. Peter only heard it because of his super hearing.
"Help me get him out of this." Bruce said, gesturing to his Spiderman suit, clearly unsure of how to get it off.
Peter tried to say no, to protest, to tell them he didn't want to be stripped down to his boxers on the Quinjet, but all that came out was a bundle of consonants. "Nngh."
Tony pressed another kiss to his head before he reached out and pressed the spider logo on the front of the suit and the fabric released. Bruce started gently pulling his right arm out of the sleeve as Tony leaned over and did the same to his left. Peter tried to sit up, thinking it'd make it easier for them, but he only managed to lift his head a couple inches off the bed before Tony's palm pressed against his forehead and gently pushed him back down.
"Don't move kiddo." Tony brushed a hand through his sweat mussed hair again before going back to helping Bruce undress him.
"Don't try to help Peter. Just let us do all the work." Bruce said.
Peter felt like a ragdoll as they manipulated his limp limbs. He couldn't help the few groans and whimpers that escaped when they touched or moved something particularly painful, but eventually he was out of the suit.
"FRIDAY scan him please." Bruce requested and Peter closed his eyes when a laser-like light from the overhead bulkhead above the bed scanned him from head to toe.
He expected FRIDAY to announce his injuries but when she stayed conspicuously silent he opened his eyes and saw Bruce intently reading a Starkpad with Tony trying to peer over his shoulder to see. Bruce took a step away from his dad, pushing his glasses up his nose as he frowned slightly at whatever was on the screen.
"Well what does it say? What's the verdict? Is he ok? Is he going to be ok? He's going to be ok right? He has to be ok."
"Calm down Tony. He's…" Bruce trailed off and Peter saw terror cross his dad's face at Bruce's hesitation.
Bruce looked up and noticed it too a second later. "He's…hurt…but he'll be ok."
Tony let out a harsh breath of air and almost crumpled forward in relief. "Jesus Christ Bruce. Don't scare me like that."
"Sorry." Bruce gave him an apologetic half grin.
"Mm'kay." Peter forced his lips to form the words to try to reassure his dad.
Tony stepped back to his side again and perched on the bed, looking down at him. "Of course you are."
Tony brushed his hair back. "I mean you kind of look like a murder victim right now, but we're going to clean you up and you'll be just fine in no time."
Peter huffed a laugh at that but that turned out to be a mistake because it turned into a painful coughing fit with more blood splattering.
"Shh you're ok. I know it hurts. I know it hurts baby, but we're going to fix you up. Bruce is going to set you up with the good stuff here soon."
It took him a minute to realize the reason Tony was trying to reassure him was because he was making pitiful whimpering sounds. He tried to stop but only half way managed it.
"Where does it hurt Peter?" Bruce asked from over Tony's shoulder.
What didn't hurt was probably the better question. Maybe his right pinky toe? The numbness and weakness he'd felt everywhere was slowly transforming into white hot scalding pain.
"Ev...ever'where." He gasped out.
Bruce just nodded like that was the answer he'd expected as he finished wrapping some kind of sticker around his finger and then started affixing other monitoring stickers to his chest.
"Does it hurt to talk?" Bruce asked after he finished placing stickers on his chest. He knew he wasn't being his typical verbose self but that wasn't why.
"Nn-no." Peter answered. "Jus…can't…c-catch…m'breath."
Even trying to get that out was exhausting. He closed his eyes.
"Bruce." Tony said in alarm.
"I know." Bruce placated calmly and a few seconds later he felt an oxygen mask being placed on him. "We'll fix it when we get to the compound. He'll be ok for now. We're landing in ten minutes."
Compound? Not the Tower? Peter wanted to ask why but he didn't have the air or the energy.
When he felt something cool and wet being repeatedly dabbed carefully against his face a minute later, he blinked his eyes open again. Oh. Tony was cleaning the blood off his face. The cloth in his hand was already stained a nasty reddish brown. He could tell his dad was trying to be gentle but he couldn't help but wince when the cloth bumped his sore nose.
"Sorry." Tony apologized instantly and the odd tone to his voice made Peter examine him closer. The hand holding the cloth trembled slightly, almost unnoticeably, but not to Peter, and when he looked closer he could see that Tony's eyes were uncharacteristically bright. It took him longer than it should've to recognize that Tony was on the verge of tears. For a second it was hard to reconcile the unflappable Tony Stark with the vulnerable man Peter was seeing.
"D-don't cry." He croaked. It seemed a little easier to talk now with the oxygen mask on.
"I'm not." Tony denied but even as he did, a tear welled over and slipped down his cheek. Tony blinked and the same thing happened on the opposite side.
"Are." Peter argued weakly. "Don't. For me. Please. I'm…ok."
"I'm not crying." Tony said again as he quickly wiped the tears away from his cheeks, leaving a bloody smear in its wake on one side. His blood. Peter belatedly noticed it was caked all over Tony's hands.
"It's just allergies. It's dusty in here." Tony sniffled and tried to give him a watery smile.
"You don't have allergies." Bruce called Tony out as he fiddled with something on the crease of his elbow. Peter glanced down. An IV. Weird. He hadn't even felt it go in.
"Shut up Banner." Tony said without any real bite and went back to cleaning the blood off his face. Peter watched him dazedly.
"I'm going to give you a little something to take the edge off, ok Peter?" Bruce said a couple minutes later when he came back from wherever he'd gone. Peter honestly hadn't even noticed he'd left. Reality seemed to be fading in and out.
"Yeah." He mumbled. That sounded great. A few seconds later the pain went from all encompassing to bothersome but ignorable. Oh god that was so much better.
He must've made some kind of sound of relief because Bruce chuckled and asked, "Better?"
"Mmhmm."
"Good."
He thought he might finally be able to let go of consciousness, and he wanted nothing more than to escape it all for at least a little while. Now that he knew he was safe and he wasn't going to die and it didn't hurt quite so much, his eyes slipped closed.
Right before awareness vanished completely he felt Tony kiss his now clean forehead and whisper almost desperately, "I love you kiddo."
"Hmm." He hummed contently. He loved Tony too. He really really did. He wanted to say it back, but when he tried to say it all he could get out was a faint, "Too."
He heard Tony chuckle, but it sounded wet. "I know kiddo."
Was Tony crying again? He couldn't manage to open his eyes to find out. Peter frowned, and a second later Tony lightly brushed a thumb over his crinkled forehead, trying to smooth it out.
"Go to sleep baby." Tony whispered tenderly. "I'll be here when you wake up."
He couldn't have stayed awake even if he'd wanted to. Awareness slipped away.
A/N: Sorry for the wait but it took awhile because this chapter was extra long since I didn't think there was a good way to break it up. Enjoy! This is my favorite chapter so far!