It was the smell of a hamburger that woke him, next. He stirred, opening his eyes and looking around without doing any more than simply lifting his head. Pepper was on his bed beside him, a tray over her lap. That was where the mouthwatering smell was coming from. Peter saw a burger and French fries on her plate, even though she set it aside when she noticed he was awake.

"Awake again," she said, softly.

"Yeah."

"How do you feel, Peter?"

Tony's voice coming from the other side had him turning a little more, so he could look over his shoulder.

"I'm okay."

"We're going to feed you," Stark told him. "Then Stephen's going to check you out."

"Okay."

"Are you hungry?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah. Please."

They'd hoped that he would have woken sooner, but Strange hadn't pressed the issue, advising that if he slept through breakfast and lunch they could wake him to make sure he had dinner. Pepper hadn't wanted to leave him, so she'd brought her laptop to his bed and spent the morning, and then the afternoon, sitting beside him in the bed, simply keeping him company so he'd know he wasn't alone – even while asleep.

Tony had joined her with a late lunch, bringing a tray with enough food for three – although Peter didn't make any indication that he was ready to wake when Stark settled the tray on Pepper's lap, and had then taken the spot on the other side of Peter. They were both watching him carefully when he sat up, then, and although he looked tired, he wasn't showing any sign of weakness. No shaking, or trembling, and he was holding himself upright instead of leaning one direction or the other. No fever, either, proving that they had nipped that before it became a problem. Even better, his expression was far more alert than it had been during their last conversation.

"Burger?" Pepper asked, pulling a loaded plate off the tray and setting it on his lap.

A cheeseburger made the way they knew he liked it, along with a pile of fries.

"Thanks, Pepper."

He was hungry and it was delicious, and vanished fairly quickly. While he was eating, Tony sent a heads up that Peter was awake, and by the time the boy finished helping Pepper and Tony eat their fries, too, Stephen Strange walked through the bedroom door.

The doctor crossed the room and the empty plates and the tray all were suddenly stacked on the top of Peter's dresser, out of the way. Tony got off the bed, moving to allow Strange that side so he could have access to the boy. He motioned Peter to sit on the edge of his bed, and watched, pleased that he didn't seem to be too sore – only a little stiff, and probably just from being in bed for so long. That would work itself out without much assistance from anyone.

"How do you feel?" Strange asked, feeling Peter's forehead, and then taking his pulse, watching his expression for any sign of discomfort.

"I'm okay."

"Do you remember what happened?"

He hesitated.

"I think I had a panic attack," he admitted, as if he was embarrassed that he hadn't been able to control it. "I woke up and I thought Loki was after Pepper. And Ned – and MJ? I'm not… I don't really remember, but I know he was angry and trying to get even with me, and I was scared."

"You felt him?" Strange asked.

"I don't know," Peter told him. "I thought so – at least I think I thought so at the time. But now I'm not sure. I don't really remember too much of that."

"Then what happened?" Stephen asked, willing to let that part slide to hear the rest of the story.

Peter's memories of the events were fairly fragmented, but he tried to tell the three of them what had happened as well as he could without confusing them any more than he had to. When Strange told him that he'd gone to Asgard, he'd simply shrugged, uncertainly.

"How did you feel when you landed?"

"Tired. But then Loki was there, and he started throwing spells and I did, too. He threw something really big that I couldn't dodge, and then Thor was there and there was lightening all over, and it was two against one – but I didn't want to hurt Thor, so I caught Loki in a portal to avoid being caught between the two of them."

"You would have taken on Thor?" Stark asked.

Peter flushed.

"Maybe. He looked pretty angry, so I didn't think I'd have a choice. He'd already sent lightening – at least I think he did – but then it gets black and next thing I remember I was here."

"He's here," Strange said.

"Thor?"

"Yes. He's been waiting for you to wake up. He wants Loki released from the portal – and Wong and I can't do it, since neither of us created it."

"No." The boy shook his head, looking distraught at telling any of them no when he knew it was wrong to, but the stubborn set of his jaw making it clear that he was serious. "He tried to kill Pepper."

"Peter…"

"He wants to hurt everybody that I love," Peter reminded Strange – and Pepper and Tony, looking at each of them, one at a time. "And he will. If he has the chance. But now he can't. I won't let him go and give him that chance, either."

"We have protections on-"

"They didn't stop him from trying to drop a tree on us," Peter interrupted. "I know it was him. The Mind stone showed me and-"

"Loki will die if you don't let him out," Stephen told him, interrupting.

The doctor's expression was sympathetic as he trapped the boy's gaze. He knew what Peter was saying, and what he was trying to do. But he was also very much aware of the fact that Peter was young, and wasn't a killer – and he didn't want him to become one.

"And if I let him out and he kills someone?" Peter asked. "Then it's on me. Everyone that he kills from that moment on would be on me. Because I've got him stopped right now. He can't hurt anyone."

Tony recognized the words, and knew that conversation by heart. He had to agree that Peter was right about one thing, at least. Loki wasn't a threat just then. He could also understand what he meant by being responsible. Peter was probably certain that Loki was going to retaliate, and that it was safer to keep him where he was and not allow it.

"No," Pepper said, speaking up before the two men could. She'd been watching silently, not wanting Peter to think that they were ganging up on him, trying to make him do what they wanted, but she couldn't let him think that. "It would still be on him. You're not responsible for what anyone else does."

Peter turned to her.

"I won't let him hurt you."

Again there was that stubborn set to his jaw that told all three of them that he wasn't willing to back down – or to be backed down. He truly believed that he was making the right call, and was trying to make them see it, as well.

"If Loki stays in the portal, he'll die," Strange said, again – again catching Peter's eyes in his ultra-intense gaze. "You'll be responsible for his death."

"I don't care."

"I don't believe you. You would care."

Peter looked away first. He looked at the hands that he had folded in his lap.

"And if he goes after Natasha?" he asked, pointedly, looking up at the doctor. "He hates you, too, you know? She's a target, just like Pepper is – or she would be if he knew that you love her."

"None of them are targets for Loki, Peter," Tony told him, moving over to stand beside Strange. "You're his only target. He wanted to get you out in the open so he could kill you. Not because he hates you – because I doubt he does, really – but because he hates us. The Avengers. And Strange and Wong. We made him look like an idiot the last time we caught him, and from what Wanda tells us, he was trying to get to you because hurting you would be the easiest way to hurt the rest of us."

"Do you want me to let him go?" Peter asked him, directly.

Tony hesitated at the question. He couldn't help himself. He wanted to immediately say yes, because that was the right thing to do, but he honestly didn't think that it was the right thing to do, and he didn't like the idea of Peter being Loki's target any more than he would like Pepper being the target.

"No," he said, before he could censor himself. "I think he deserves to rot in that portal for however long the rest of his miserable life would be. He'd deserve it for trying to hurt you – and he deserves it for what happened in New York, for that matter."

Pepper and Strange both frowned, realizing that if Tony backed Peter in this conflict, there would be little chance of swaying Peter's decision. Before either could say anything, though, Stark held up a hand.

"But Stephen is right. As it stands right now, if you do nothing and Loki dies, that's on you. And I don't want you to become anything like him."

"I wouldn't."

"It's a slippery slope," Tony said. "What happens the next time you're out on the street and see someone trying to mug someone? They're trying to hurt someone, too. Do you kill them?"

"No. I stop them with webbing, or something."

"Or you decide that they deserve it, and you drop them off a building or something."

"I wouldn't do that," Peter said, looking aghast. "Why are you on Loki's side, Tony?" he asked, obviously confused and frustrated. "He's-"

"I'm not," Stark interrupted. "I'm on your side, Peter. I'll always be on your side. But I promised the judge that I would take care of you. I promised May that I'd take care of you, remember? Standing by and not saying anything, letting you do something that is so far out of your nature… I have to want you to let him go, because even though he'd be the one that died, I think you'd be the one who suffered from it."

His jaw clenched, his face set, Peter was so tense that Strange expected him to simply combust from the inside out. Instead, he held Tony's gaze for a long time. A full two minutes, which felt like a lifetime. Finally, he looked away.

"I'll think about it."

Stark nodded.

"That's all I can ask you to do." He stepped forward, resting his hand on the boy's head. "Just never forget that I love you. Okay?"

Peter closed his eyes and leaned forward, against him, and Tony put his arms around him.

"I won't."