Sorry, this one is a bit late. I've had the flu all week, but I'm glad I managed to finish it before the end of the night. Enjoy! Sorry about the cliffhanger :)
Taken
It shouldn't have surprised Peter that the press had figured out that he was the kid that Tony had taken in. He'd been feeling on edge ever since he'd gotten on the bus at the school, so maybe this was why. Maybe this had been what his senses had been warning him about. It made sense that the press had figured out who he was...they hadn't given his name when Tony had announced that he was taking over the guardianship of a kid. It hadn't been a secret at Midtown that Peter interned with Tony Stark, and although he hadn't spread the news around that Tony was his guardian, it wasn't some huge leap in logic. Tony had come to his school to pick him up after the incident with Flash and then Tony had dropped him off at the bus the day before.
That morning, Peter and Ned woke to camera flashes outside their room that only increased when Peter pulled the blinds aside a little to peek outside. "Dude...look," Ned told him, holding out his phone, and Peter stared at the little screen that showed a news headline.
"Tony Stark takes in orphan, Peter Parker." And then a news story. A news story that started with "Amid controversy surrounding the reunification of the Avengers, the Asgardian refugees, and the protests over the protection of Loki by Tony Stark, anonymous sources have revealed the identity of the teenager under the guardianship of Iron Man as Peter Parker." The article went on to mention his aunt and his school...and his high school yearbook picture that he hated, plus a blurry shot from when Tony had taken him out to dinner. Groaning, he handed the phone back, wiping a hand over his eyes and telling himself not to freak out.
The press had been bound to come after him sooner or later. He hated it...but he didn't think there was anything to be done, especially considering he'd jumped in front of a bullet at a press conference to protect Loki. He considered calling Tony...but it was still pretty early. Only 7:30. Their competition started at 10, and they needed to be there at 9 to get signed in, so they would be leaving at around 8. After the competition was over, they'd have some free time in the city. Maybe then he could call and talk to Tony about all this.
He wondered who that anonymous source was that had talked to the press. He'd have put money on Flash's dad. He was kind of an asshole so it would make sense. The guy didn't like Tony, apparently, and didn't like him much either. The press had to have figured out that he'd be at this hotel somehow, and only the people on the decathlon team and their families would have known. It was possible that Flash had told them, he guessed, but Peter didn't think so. While he hadn't been friendly, exactly, he'd been leaving Peter alone for the most part, knocking off with the rude nicknames although he'd still get pissed when Peter beat him at Decathlon practice or answered questions right in class before him. Still, it had turned into an almost friendly rivalry. It was kind of nice, actually.
He missed Tony, which kind of surprised him. Not that he didn't like Tony...okay, he loved him. He thought of Tony as his dad, which he had nearly called the man the day before, much to his embarrassment. Thankfully, Tony hadn't seemed to notice his slip. Still...it had only been one day. But he did miss him. Plus he felt like crap. The cough and the headaches had started a few days ago but, not wanting to worry anyone, he'd kept quiet about it. Tony had so much to worry about with the Avengers and the people that hated Loki and the new Accords that they were all trying to agree on. The last thing Peter wanted to do was add even more to his plate. So he'd kept quiet about it, but worried that Natasha might have noticed. He just wanted to go home and go to bed until he felt better and also avoid the people outside his room with the cameras and let Tony deal with all that.
Now that Natasha was living with them full time, he ran into her about once a day, sometimes more. Usually at the gym when he would get on the treadmill, but also just around the tower. Once he'd found her in the living room with Loki, the two of them reading in amicable silence. Another time he'd woken up in the middle of the night and had gone to get a drink and had found her watching TV. She'd invited him to sit, and after a while they'd been joined by Thor and Bruce, both wandering in at different times for a drink or something to eat and just staying. It had been nice.
"Dude...what are we going to do?" Ned asked, the two of them dressed for the day as they stood by the window, peering out of the blinds and trying not to catch the attention of the mob outside.
"I don't know," Peter muttered, closing the blinds and shrugging. "Wait for Mr. Harrington?"
"But...like...should we call Iron Man?" Peter laughed a little at his awed tone.
"And tell him what? That people are taking pictures of me!"
"Yeah! And he can come with his suit and...you know!" Ned held up a hand and made a repulsor noise with his mouth, making Peter laugh out loud. "Come on! That would be so cool!"
"He's busy, Ned. Besides, they just want pictures. We knew they'd figure out who I was eventually. It was never that good of a secret."
"So like...what do we do?"
"Wait for Mr. Harrington and then get on the bus." He wanted to get this competition over so he could go back to bed, honestly. It had started off fun, but he had felt worse than before when he'd woken up and he didn't want to have to deal with the press. How did Tony do this?
When their teacher finally reached their room and opened the door, Peter was surprised to find a handful of police officers with their arms out, forming a line to the bus so that Peter could walk. "Peter? Are you alright!? His teacher asked, looking concerned, and Peter had to fight the urge to flinch back at all the camera flashes.
He wasn't some baby that needed Iron Man to save him every time something bad happened. He was Spiderman. He could walk to a bus and ignore some reporters. "Yeah. I'm fine." He told him, taking a step forward and following the man to the parking lot where the bus waited.
"They promised to have extra security at the school. They won't let any reporters in." The man assured him as reporters yelled questions, Ned on one side and Mr. Harrington on the other to block him as best they could
"Peter, is it true that you are friends with Loki?"
"Over here, Peter! Can we get a picture?"
"What's it like to live with Tony Stark?"
"Peter, look over here!"
"Why did Tony Stark take you in?"
"How do you feel about your aunt's death?" That last one made him flinch, but he kept his head down, knowing enough not to answer as he hurried up the stairs and into the bus where he sat next to Ned, keeping his back to the window. All around him, his teammates kept quiet, looking almost shell shocked. Had the reporters yelled questions at them too? He hoped not.
"You okay, man?" Ned asked, leaning in.
"Yeah," Peter muttered, pulling out his phone and considering it. Tony would answer. Tony always answered when he called. And he knew that that man would fly out in a heartbeat if Peter asked him to. No questions asked. He'd keep the press from bothering him and watch his competition and put his arms around Peter and ask if he was okay. And Peter could finally admit that he was sick and wanted to lay down and Tony would make that happen.
No. He wasn't going to make a big deal out of this. He was fine, and they were going home that evening anyway. It would be fine. Turning his head, he coughed into his sleeve and wished for the thousandth time that regular medicine worked for him. Maybe he could ask Bruce if he had anything that would help him.
The bus pulled away from the hotel, taking them down the same road toward the high school where their meet was. It wasn't a big competition, so they were just at another high school. It was a pretty big school, but not as nice as Midtown. There hadn't been a ton to do the night before after their completion, so he and Ned had snuck out and gotten junk food and ice cream at a convenience store nearby before watching movies on Peter's laptop thanks to Karen. MJ had joined them, even though they weren't allowed to have girls in their room, and had sat between them, resting her head on Peter's shoulder and curling up on the bed with them.
It had been nice.
Now he and Ned sat close together on the bus, MJ in the seat in front of them, all of them quiet and a little stunned as they drove away from the paparazzi that continued to try and get photos of them. "You okay?" Ned asked him, looking worried, and Peter nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He shrugged. "I mean, it sucks but…"
"It'll be better when we get inside the school," MJ told him, turning around in her seat and looking surprisingly sympathetic. "Wonder who went to the press." She glanced over at Flash who was sitting across from them, and the boy scowled.
"It wasn't me!" He snapped. "I have better things to do than talk to reporters about Pen...Peter." Peter had to admit, he was impressed with Flash's restraint. Besides, he believed him. It hadn't been Flash. His dad, maybe, but probably not Flash.
Michelle eyed Flash for a minute, then shrugged. "Whatever. You two ready for the competition?" Both Peter and Ned nodded, so she turned back around in her seat, pulling out her novel and ignoring them once more.
There were reporters at the school too, waiting outside by the sidewalk, cameras ready, and Peter almost expected Flash to say something about it, but he just looked kind of upset. He pulled out his phone and tapped something out, but their teacher was on his feet and hurrying out onto the lawn before Peter could think too hard on that. Mr. Harrington put his arms up, asking the reporters for quiet, for them to step back, but they didn't listen...he didn't exactly have a commanding voice. "These students are on their way to a competition." He tried.
"Peter? Is Peter Parker on the bus? Is he the captain of the team? How long has he been on the academic decathlon team?" The wall of noise hit Peter even on the bus where he sat beside Ned, trying to keep his hood over his face. He really wished Tony were there. Or Thor. Or Loki. Or any of the Avengers, honestly. He had a feeling that any of them would be able to handle this.
The school only had one security guard, and she was obviously overwhelmed. "Thought they were going to get better security," MJ muttered, rolling her eyes. Ned threw Peter a worried look and he made himself look calm. Maybe there were more guards inside. Or, more likely, the school couldn't afford to get better security, or their best attempt was this one guard and maybe an extra teacher or two inside. If Tony had known, he probably would have sent the entire Iron Legion. The thought made Peter grin.
"It's fine. Let's just go inside." He suggested, standing, and Ned and MJ followed suit, Michelle in front of him and Ned behind him. Flash stood as well, then Abe, then the others, all of them heading toward the front of the bus where their teacher waited. Michelle held a hand out as she descended the stairs and Peter grabbed a hold of it, reaching back to get Ned's hand, and then Flash came down, sticking close behind him, while Mr. Harrington walked in front of him, the security guard holding out her arms and keeping the reporters back.
"Peter, can we get a photo?"
"Peter, do you condone what Loki did?"
"Peter, have you met the Avengers?"
"Peter, do you know anything about Spiderman?"
"Peter, why did Tony Stark adopt you?"
He wanted to answer, though of course, he couldn't. They'd never let him. But that last one...sometimes he wondered the same thing. Not that Tony had adopted him yet...but he had a feeling that he would bring it up sooner rather than later. Or maybe, somehow, Peter would build up the courage to ask Tony about it himself. A part of him worried that letting Tony adopt him would be the last straw...would finally mean that he'd replaced Aunt May. But another part of him, the bigger part that knew better, knew that he could never replace her. Never. Not her or Ben or his mom or dad. He couldn't replace any of them. He'd loved them all so much.
And he loved Tony. Tony was all he had left, really. Tony and now the Avengers, or...well, what part of the Avengers he knew. And Loki. His family was getting stranger by the day. Still, the point was, Tony was already like his dad. Making it legal was the logical next step...the next step that he wanted. He hoped that Tony wouldn't want him to change his name, but that was a part of the discussion that Peter hadn't even gotten to in his mind. Usually, when he played it out in his mind, he walked up to Tony, said the words, 'can I ask you something' and then got too scared to go any further. So he didn't.
He was sure that Tony would say yes but so afraid that he would say no.
They managed to register with no problem, grabbing their nametag badges that said they were allowed to be in the building and headed for the library. It was just them and three other teams, all of them hanging out in the library where they sat around at tables, studying or reading or playing on their phones. At 9:00, Peter pulled out his own phone, surrounded by MJ and Ned, and, strangely, Flash who sat across from him but ignored all three of them, and called Tony. He was fine...everything was fine, but his spidey sense was shooting sparks up and down his spine and maybe, just maybe, Tony would have some tips for dealing with the reporters.
It went to voicemail.
Sighing and figuring the man was still sleeping, he pocketed his phone. "Voicemail." He told Ned, pulling out a book for English. Ned pulled out his own phone, showing him the latest video by a youtuber they both loved, and all thoughts of school work went out the window. All around the room were whispers about them, but no one approached him. Teachers gathered in groups at the edge of the room, phones out, murmuring about drives back and dinner plans. Their spouses. Children. The school system. Across the library at another table, a girl from another team laughed loudly and showed something on her phone to another guy, while two boys from different teams sat with their heads close together, talking about meeting up later. And still, Peter's senses were going crazy, goosebumps rising on his arms and making him shiver. Something was wrong. But everything was fine.
There were footsteps in the halls and he pulled his phone out again, cutting Ned off mid-sentence. "Something's wrong." He told his friends, dialing Tony.
Voicemail. "Tony? Call me back when you get this, please." He murmured into the phone, not wanting to advertise who he was talking to or who he was just in case there was anyone left in America that didn't know.
Something was wrong.
But everything seemed fine.
His spine was tense, shoulders bunched at his neck, heart speeding up, goosebumps rising on his skin.
Get out.
Get out!
It was 9:21 when the first gunshots went off, and Peter dialed Tony again right before the shots started, grabbing Ned and MJ and yanking them down under the table, the teachers racing to flip the lights off and other students all jumped under tables and behind bookshelves, all sadly prepared for this eventuality thanks to plenty of lock-down drills.
A table over, a girl cried, muffling her sobs into her hands, and MJ was shaking. "Tony. Tony, please pick up. Please. They have guns and they're in the school…" He hung up, hitting the end call button and silencing his phone, then reaching out and grabbing Flash who hadn't moved, yanking him down under the table, and together with Ned, he pulled the chairs closer, trying to create a shield.
One of the teachers was whispering into their own cellphone as another burst of gunfire went off. Loud, staccato booms filled the air as they spoke to the 911 operator. "Silence your phones." He ordered softly, and small screens illuminated terrified faces with varying degrees of brightness as, all around the room, the other students hurried to do as he'd said.
It was 9:24.
The feeling was there, dread and terror and sickness. They were there for him. Of course, he didn't know this, but he felt like he had enough evidence.
It was a Saturday, and they were the only ones in the school, so if they'd wanted to cause as much destruction as possible, they wouldn't have come on a weekend...they were here for someone on the Academic Decathlon team.
News about who he was had just broken the night before or early that morning, which meant people knew that the boy under Tony Stark's guardianship was in this school.
There were at least five people, all with heavy boots and some serious firepower...probably not just some angry white guy wanting to shoot up a school. No...these guys had a purpose and maybe some training.
They were here for him. Peter Parker. And maybe it had something to do with Loki and maybe it had something to do with the Avengers or getting revenge on Tony but he couldn't let anyone get hurt because of him no matter what. He picked up his phone, let his thumb hovering over Tony's name, then called Rhodey instead.
It only rang twice before he answered. "Hey, Peter. Everything okay?" The man asked, barely able to get those words out before Peter was speaking in a rush.
"Rhodey, the press knows that Tony is my guardian and they know who I am." He hissed, fighting so hard to keep his voice calm. There were two doors to the library but who knew if more armed people were waiting outside. They couldn't move. They were trapped. His suit was in his bag already packed on the bus. He knew what he was going to have to do.
"Okay. listen, just stay put…"
The footsteps were so close. They were kicking in doors. Getting closer and closer. People were staring at him, some in confusion, some hopeful. "There's an active shooter in the school. They're looking for me. Please...I can't…" He couldn't say what he couldn't do. No in front of everyone.
The door to the library was kicked in and the air was filled with gunfire.
Peter hit the end call button, holding it tight to his chest and closing his eyes, hot tears building up and spilling down his cheeks as he reached back and took MJ's hand.
It was 9:29.
He knew what he had to do...what was coming next.
The guns were aimed at the ceiling, and as shots filled the air, Peter turned his phone on silent so it wouldn't vibrate, then shoved it in his pocket, flinching at the sobs and screams in the room. The lights were thrown on and a girl sobbed uncontrollably, whispering 'please, please God' over and over. Peter wasn't going to let her die. Not like this.
"Peter Parker!"
"No," Flash whispered, shaking his head, and honestly, Peter was almost touched. He reached back, grabbing Michelle's hand and squeezing.
"Come with us and no one gets hurt!"
And before anyone could do anything stupid...before a teacher could take another step or someone decided to be brave, Peter crawled out from under the table, shoving his phone even deeper in his pocket and pulling his hoodie down, then pulling away from Ned who grasped at him desperately. "Peter...Peter don't…" His friend begged.
"Tell Tony I'll keep my phone on me as long as I can." He whispered, then stood, hands up as if he was surrendering...which he guessed he was.
The men had huge guns, all pointed at him. There were four of them, and the one in front came closer until he was poking Peter in the chest with his gun. "Hand over your phone." He ordered.
"I gave it to Ned." Peter choked out, jerking his head toward his friend under the table and praying that this worked.
"Give it here." The man ordered his friend, pointing the gun at the table, and Ned all but threw his phone out, only for the man to crush it under his heel, stomping on it two or three times. "Get the kid in the van. Now. No funny business or we start shooting your friends. Got that?"
Peter nodded, not fighting as one of them grabbed his arm, and, refusing to let himself glance backward, he followed the men down the hall, out a side door, and into a van parked in a back alley, the sound of sirens coming to him from a distance.
Tony would come.
Tony would save him.
He would just have to survive until his dad could come get him.
He wasn't going to cry. He wasn't going to cry.
Something heavy whipped him across the back of the head almost as soon as he sat down in the back of the van, a needle stabbing him in the neck right after, and he wasn't sure which had done it, but all he knew then was darkness as his head hit the floor./p