DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING. NONE OF THIS BELONGS TO ME.
Hi everyone! So, this is it. This is the final chapter. I want to thank everyone for reading and following me throughout this process. I loved writing this story and it was incredible to go on this journey with you guys. I am planning a sequel so there will be information in the Author's Note at the end of the chapter about that. I hope you enjoy the last chapter of Safe House. Please R&R. Without further ado, let's continue the story.
The group landed quietly, the quinjet hovering slightly above the landing pad. Stealthily, the extraction team moved out. Tony, Steve, Natasha, and Wanda all landed gently on the wet floor, trying to remain silent as they carefully moved to a side door. The door opened the moment they reached it, a man in a white lab coat standing on the other side. He had brownish hair with light green eyes.
"Dr. Delroy?" Steve questioned as they entered. The man nodded handing the group his spare key card so they could access the different parts of the building.
"Yes. The cameras are down for this hallway, but I couldn't do anything else. If I do not return to work soon, they will become suspicious."
"Go on Doc, we'll take it from here," Tony said pushing the man out of the hallway.
"Wait! My family…" he started in protest before Wanda cut him off.
"Is fine. Now leave," she said dangerously her eyes flashing red. The man nodded nervously, before turning and walking away from the group. Wanda watched as he left. She hated this place. This was where she was put in a straight-jacket, a shock collar around her neck. They chained her to the wall like a rabid dog and ran experiment after experiment. Even when she was with Strucker, volunteering with Hydra, she was treated better than she had been on this floating torture chamber.
Most of what she remembered from here was pure agony. Painful flashes, drifting in and out of consciousness. It seemed like an eternity before Steve came, ripping the collar off and freeing her and the rest from their prison cells. But that didn't mean the pain ended. She'd have random panic attacks, flashbacks. She could never sleep, and when she did she woke up screaming. She completely withdrew from everyone. For months it was the same thing. Sam had tried to work with her, get her to talk everything through, but nothing seemed to help.
It took her a long time to recover from that experience. Even now, the nightmares still woke her up. But it was better, and Peter had definitely helped. He was there for her. A friend who was closer to her age than anyone else on the team. He had his fair share of issues, but he'd overcome them. And somewhere along the way, Wanda had begun to think of him as a brother.
"I shut down the rest of the cameras in the prison," Tony announced. Breaking her train of thought.
"Then let's split up," Natasha suggested. Everyone nodded in consensus at the idea. Wanda went down the south hallway, while Tony went north. Natasha and Steve split up going down the east and west halls respectively.
Tony wasn't really one for stealth, but if it meant getting Peter back, he'd try anything. Which was why instead of blasting in with his suit like he wanted to, he crept carefully around the corner, successfully sneaking past all the guards. He was walking cautiously down the hallway when he heard a scream, without thinking he broke into a run.
Was that Peter? It had been so long since he'd seen him, but he would never forget the kid's voice, or the sound of his screams. He didn't know why or how, but somewhere along the road, he began to think of the kid like a son. And that thought was terrifying. His father was never around. He never paid any attention to him even when he acted out in desperation.
He would never be a good father, which was why he never wanted to have children. But life had other plans. His entire world had been flipped on his side when he met Peter Parker, Spider-Man. The kid was amazing. He had the biggest heart Tony had ever known. Which was why he tried to distance himself at first. He didn't want to cause the young Spiderling any pain. So, he sent the kid to Happy. Told his friend to deal with him instead.
And then the Vulture happened. When he'd gotten the call, he was horrified. After all, he'd been the one to take Peter's suit away. And if he was killed because of that, he'd have never forgiven himself. But he'd been ok, well… he hadn't needed immediate medical attention. After that, Tony knew he couldn't keep pushing Peter away.
So he made some changes. Gave Peter a real internship, started spending time with him, tried to be everything his dad never was. And after everything that had happened, it still wasn't enough to protect him. He'd failed. And now, he could hear his kid scream in pure pain in a floating Prison he'd helped to design. It wasn't supposed to be for this. Another scream ripped through the air as Tony pushed himself to go faster, he had to save Peter. After all if he died, it'd be on him. A new name to add to the list of people that he's killed. Only this time, the name would be of someone he thought of as a son.
He finally reached the source of the noise and blasted the door in front of him down. Alarms started blaring loudly, but he didn't care. All he felt was anger and rage. Two scientists stood over Peter as the Spider writhed on his bed whimpering in pain. A series of drugs sat on a table next to the laid out neatly in a row.
All he saw was red.
In an instant, both of Peter's tormentors were thrown across the room. They hit the wall violently before sliding down to the ground. They were alive, but only barely. And the only reason Tony left them breathing, was because no matter what, he knew Peter would never want him to kill anyone.
Quickly, the genius tore the restraints that had bound the Spider to the bed. Peter continued to whimper as he was scooped up in the arms of his mentor.
"Guys, I found him," Tony said into his comms.
"Good, everyone rendezvous at the quinjet. Natasha out."
Tony nodded even though she couldn't see him and made his way to the exit. He stopped in the hallway however when he saw a limp body in the hallway. Racing over, he checked Dr. Delroy's pulse. But there was no life left in the man that had saved Peter. A large dark stain of blood covered the front of his shirt and lab coat. The situation reminded him too much of Yinsen. Looking down, Tony noticed a picture in the scientist's hands. Taking it, he saw an image of three people. The smiling faces of the dead man's wife and daughter were splattered with blood. The little girl would never see her father again.
"Put him down and step away from the body, Stark."
Tony turned to see the angry face of secretary Ross behind the barrel of a gun. He hesitated, unsure of what to do. He couldn't just leave Peter, but from where he was kneeling, there was no way he'd be able to get his helmet on safely in time. And Peter had no armor on whatsoever.
"Get away or I will kill you. You are a traitor to the government of the United States. Now put the boy down and you both live."
The room was silent. No one moved for a moment. The world seemed completely frozen. It was as if time had stopped at that exact second. When Tony made no move to surrender, a loud bang filled the air. A bullet flew towards his head as he closed his eyes, prepared for the end. At least he'd die with Peter.
But just as the bullet flew through the air, a red aura filled the room. The metal projectile stopped midair not moving and the gun was ripped from Ross' hands. Wanda floated at the edge of the room, a red energy pulsing around her. She was completely engulfed in a scarlet light. Reaching out her hand she mentally picked the Secretary up and threw him across the room, his back hit a column with a sickening snap as his screams filled the room.
Wanda paid no mind to his radiating feelings of pain. Ignoring his pleas for mercy, she allowed herself to float to the ground. The tap of her boots hitting the floor could be heard as she walked across the room. She knelt down next to him, looking down at his crippled form. He was responsible for so much pain. He was the reason her second family split apart. And he almost took away another brother.
Bringing her hands down she grabbed his chin and forced him to look up at her. Fearfully he made eye contact trying to maintain an angry glare. Wanda smiled softly before feeling her powers flow through her and delving into his mind.
Tony watched in shock as Wanda stood in front of a screaming Ross. They hadn't moved in minutes and he didn't really know what was going on. He knew Wanda had been discovering new powers, doing things they'd never even dreamed of. But this was beyond anything he'd expected. He couldn't stay there observing though. Both of them needed to go. Carefully, he picked up Peter and made his way over to the glowing Sokovian. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. The lights in the room flickered as she looked up at him.
"We have to go," Tony said gesturing to the boy in his arms. Wanda looked down at the grey-haired man in front of her, a conflict raging inside her. Her need to protect Peter, and to exact vengeance on the one that hurt them both. After a couple of seconds, she nodded. The room returned to its original color and Ross slumped down on the wall.
"He's alive," she said softly, her eyes never leaving his prone figure. As much as she hated him, she couldn't kill him. It would only make him right about controlling people like her. But she was better than that.
Quickly, they raced back to the quinjet meeting Steve and Natasha on board. Sam and Clint had them in the air in seconds. They were going home.
A sharp pain shot through his head as Peter tried to open his eyes. He wasn't sure where he was as everything blurred in and out of focus. Trying to use his other senses, he noticed the lack of a tingling sense in his spine. It was the first time in what seemed like forever that he'd woken up without his Spidey Sense warning him of danger.
Something was different. Trying again, he pried his eyes open. Wrestling away the last feelings of unconsciousness, his vision cleared. He saw Tony first. The billionaire was holding his hand tightly the other acting as a pillow as he rested his head in sleep. Then he looked around and noticed that everyone was there. Natasha sat on Steve's lap curled up against his sleeping form. Wanda sat with her head resting on Steve's unoccupied shoulder, while Clint and Sam rested on the floor their heads falling against the wall.
And then there was MJ. She was lying on the bed next to him, her hands wrapped firmly around his shoulders and her face relaxed in sleep. She stirred slightly when he reached over trying to grab the cup of water sitting next to his bed. Her eyes fluttered open sleepily, but she woke up quickly upon seeing Peter's awakened state.
"Your awake!" she yelled, relief seeping into her voice. The other avengers jumped awake at the exclamation. Narrowing her eyes, she suddenly slapped Peter's shoulder. "Don't you dare get kidnapped again, Peter Parker!" she said. Leaning down she kissed him both of them losing themselves in the moment. Steve cleared his throat awkwardly as both teens broke apart blushing, realizing they just made out in front of Captain America. Their nervousness only increased when they thought about the Sex-Ed PSA he starred in.
"Sorry," Peter said his cheeks red as tomatoes. Everyone laughed at the teen's obvious discomfort.
"It's fine kid," Tony reassured him. "We've all been there."
That only seemed to embarrass the Spider more as he retreated under the covers of his hospital bed. The group spent hours catching up. Talking nonstop. They explained to Peter what happened after he was taken, and eventually they one by one left the room. Finally, it was just Peter and Tony.
"Mr. Stark I just wanted to say…" Tony cut him off with a hug slightly surprising both of them. "Wow, this is nice," Peter said as his mentor's arms wrapped around him.
"I'm glad your ok," Tony said emotionally. He kept his arms tightly wrapped around the Spider-Child.
"Me too."
They both sat there in comfortable silence neither wanting the moment to end.
"Mr. Stark," Peter finally said breaking the silence that had descended on the room. "What happens now?"
"Well…" Tony began nervously. He'd given a lot of thought into this and he knew it was what he wanted. He'd already asked Pepper, and she'd been overjoyed at the prospect. But he was still nervous. What if Peter said no? Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself. He could do this. "What do you think about becoming a Stark?"
Author's Note: There it is. Please let me know what you thought of the chapter and of the story as a whole. I am considering writing a sequel, but I decided I would ask you guys. What do you think? Should I write a sequel? Let me know. Thanks again for reading. Goodbye for now!