Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed! I appreciate you all so much! You guys were begging for an early update, so, an early update you shall have :)

10:02am

"From now on, if Peter tries to call me, wake me up, FRIDAY. I don't care how. Turn on the damn sprinklers if you have to." Tony ordered as he sat in the Quinjet, phone clutched in his hand against his ear. They'd been in that jet for about fifteen minutes, Tony sitting by himself despite the worried looks Rhodey and Bruce were throwing him. He didn't care. He couldn't afford to be worrying about them at the moment. He needed to fix this. He was a mechanic. He fixed things. Peter was fine. The kid was a superhero. If anything, he was going to think it was ridiculous that Tony had dropped literally everything to get to him, bringing along Captain America, War Machine, and the Hulk.

"Hey, it's Peter. Leave a message...or, like...just text me." The kid had been laughing when he'd recorded that voicemail greeting, Tony could hear it in his voice, and he could also hear Ned laughing in the background. It was almost strange to hear the kid laughing like that. Not that Peter wasn't happy, he didn't think. He got the feeling that Peter was as happy as he could be living with Tony and a slowly growing group of others. But to hear him laughing and goofing off...it wasn't a side he'd seen much of over the last month. Then again, the kid had just lost his aunt. Well...not just, but still. He'd lost her and his whole life had been turned upside down. Tony thought he was doing a pretty good job of keeping it together considering. He would happily listen to that voicemail greeting a thousand times...it beat the hell out of listening to the one Peter had left him. The kid had sounded scared. But then he'd called Rhodey. Smart kid. So smart.

Tony had had his phone on silent. Probably, he'd put it on silent before laying down with Pepper and had just fallen asleep. He couldn't remember and he didn't want to ask FRIDAY. From then on, he decided, he'd volunteer to chaperone every school trip the kid went on. Every single one. He'd heard that seniors got to go to Europe for their last field trip...he'd fly the kids on his private jet if it meant he got to stay with Peter.

Then again, what if the kid didn't want him going on all his field trips?

He'd deal with that later.

"Tony, he's going to be fine," Rhodey told him softly as Steve piloted the jet. Of course, he would be fine. Peter was Spiderman. The kid was practically a genius, was stronger than just about anyone he knew, and his favorite hobby was swinging around Queens and stopping crime. Everything would be fine. Except for the people who had, for whatever reason, threatened his kid. Those people would not be fine.

He needed to know who those people were and what they wanted. That was the most important thing. Once he knew that, he could take them out. Would he feel bad about using all of his vast resources to exact some revenge? No. Not at all. They'd brought his teenage kid into it. So whatever they wanted, they weren't getting it. "Tony?" Rhodey broke into his thoughts, apparently wanting his confirmation.

"Of course he'll be fine." He snapped a little. "We're just gonna pick him up and take him home." He told the others, ignoring the looks they sent him. "I'm thinking we take him to lunch on the way home. Kid loves Thai food so I hope you do too."

Bruce chuckled a little, obviously making an effort to remain calm. Just then, his phone rang with an incoming call, and he glanced down to find Natasha's face on his screen. Right. He'd forgotten about her. And there was something about a meeting with Thor that he'd need to reschedule.

"Tony? Where are you?" Natasha asked as soon as he answered the call, holding his phone up so that they could see one another.

"We're taking the jet to the school where Peter's competition was."

Her eyes narrowed as Thor appeared in the background, walking by and pausing. Behind him, Tony could see Loki sitting in his usual spot, making his way through a book without any apparent interest in their conversation. "Tony? Are we not meeting this morning? I wished to discuss…"

Tony cut him off, feeling restless energy crawling under his skin like bugs. "I know...sorry, Point Break. We're going to have to reschedule."

"Is everything alright with Peter?" Nat asked, pushing herself back into the conversation.

"Someone leaked his identity to the press...now the whole world knows he's the kid I took in, and we think someone told the press where he'd be today." The next part was harder to say, but he had to. Dropping his eyes and tightening his jaw, he tried to speak without emotion. "There was a shooting at the school...he tried calling me right before...he talked to Rhodey but now he's not picking up his phone."

That, apparently, was enough to get Loki's attention, and the Asgardian put his book down and turned toward the phone screen. "Is he.." Thor trailed off, not seeming sure how best to phrase it.

"I don't know. I don't...we're on our way."

"We're on our way too," Natasha told him firmly, shaking her head when he started to argue that it might be overkill. "When you find Peter, you'll need to stay with him. We can take care of the people that did this."

He didn't argue anymore. They could do what they wanted. He was getting Peter back before he figured out his next move anyway.

"Tony." Rhodey's voice was soft and urgent to get his attention, and he turned toward his friend who was holding out his own phone, lifting the screen so that both Tony and the Avengers he was on the phone with could see.

It was a reporter, surrounded by people, holding up a mike and speaking solemnly into the camera as she stood in front of a high school. "I'm here at Oakridge High School where Peter Parker, ward of billionaire and superhero Tony Stark, was abducted by a group of armed gunmen less than an hour ago. None of the other students, all here for an Academic Decathlon competition, can be reached for comment. But the police are saying that the kidnappers have been in contact. Tony Stark has not been available for comment, nor has his fiancée, the CEO of his company, Pepper Potts."

The woman on the screen paused then, eyes narrow, and then went on almost excitedly. "I have just received word that the kidnappers have a message for Tony Stark." The screen went blue, and white text appeared in quotation marks, an obviously disguised, almost cartoonishly deep voice speaking then.

"Tony Stark. Give us Loki and we'll return your son." Then a click as the people who'd taken his kid hung up the phone.

Rhodey closed out of the window as the news went back to the reporter, and Tony felt his blood rushing in his ears. They'd take Peter to get to Loki. For the second time his kid was in danger because of these people...that was two times too many.

"These are the humans you protect?" Loki asked suddenly, speaking obviously to Thor. "The ones who would kidnap a child to get to me?" His voice was full of venom, hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"No," Thor answered simply. "I will not be protecting these humans."

"We're on our way, Tony," Natasha told him again, moving closer to the phone screen.

"We all are." Thor put in, face deadly serious. Behind him, Loki stood at the ready. They were going to pair up with Loki. Tony thought back to how the Asgardian had been in New York and almost smiled. They wanted Loki? They'd get Loki.

It was chaos when Tony, Bruce, Steve, and Rhodey approached the school, hurrying from the jet that they'd left in the school parking lot which was so full of reporter's vans that they almost hadn't been able to find a spot, garnering plenty of looks but no orders to move. Then again, Tony didn't think that anyone was brave enough to try and order the Avengers to move their jet. That thought took him aback. He glanced over at Steve, the man's icy blue eyes darting around, mind already working. They had to talk to the police...see if they had any leads. And Tony wanted to check on Peter's friends, too. Thor, Natasha, and Loki were all on their way…it would take them forty minutes tops to arrive, so they didn't have a lot of time.

It had been barely a half hour flight in the jet, but to Tony, that half-hour had seemed to stretch on for days.

Ambulances sat parked on the corner, and police cars were lined up on a side road, a stretcher being wheeled out from a set of double doors that probably let to a cafeteria or gym. Reporters had swarmed the place, which, considering Peter's voicemail, Tony wasn't surprised about really. Furious, yes, but not surprised. Pepper was already trying to figure out who they were going to sue. And man, oh man...were they going to sue. Leaking the name and location of a minor to the press may not have been a federal crime, but oh boy was Tony going to retaliate like it had been.

Peter was going to fine. They'd all been held hostage once or twice...hell, Tony's entire origin story was being held hostage. They wouldn't hurt Peter because they wanted him for a trade.

They really weren't going to like that trade.

All heads turned in their direction, jaws dropping, as the four men approached the school. The handful of police officers standing around stopped what they were doing while the reporters began whispering to one another in frantic, hushed tones, grabbing their cameras and pointing them at the group. The officers seemed to take a minute, trading glances before one man finally stepped forward, holding out a hand that Tony took, not wanting to waste time with formalities but also not wanting to alienate the people who were there to help. "Tony Stark." He introduced himself unnecessarily.

"Of course. Mr. Stark...I'm Detective Brooks."

Tony nodded. "We need everything you have on these guys." He told him simply. "Security footage, witness statements...license plate numbers. Everything. Have they called?"

"Come with me. Please." Brooks urged, eyes darting over to the reporters huddled on the school's front lawn. Hands tight in fists at his sides, Tony did, he and the others following Brooks past the reporters who started calling out questions immediately.

"Tony! Is Peter Parker your son?"

"Why did you take Peter in?"

"Did this have anything to do with Loki?"

"Are you going to adopt Peter?"

"Are you protecting Loki at the expense of your family?"

Tony did stop at that question, ignoring how Steve nearly bumped into him, yanking his sunglasses off his face.

This was supposed to be some nerdy club competition. Peter was supposed to be safe here. Instead, these people had broadcast his location and practically invited those men here. He turned to the reporters, feeling just a hint of satisfaction when everyone stopped. Of course, not all of them had been shouting questions. Several of them had just been standing in the back, wide-eyed and huddled together. He'd grown up with reporters and knew several by name. Lots of them were nice people, and he certainly gave the best interviews to the ones he liked. But he hated reporters like these...the ones that screamed terrible questions to get reactions. What kind of things had they yelled at Peter? It would be best if he never found out.

So he turned to the ones in front, sunglasses in hand, Iron Man gauntlet watch at the ready. "It would be in your best interests to get out of here before I figure out your names." He told them simply, then followed the officer into the school, relishing the silence.

They'd barely made it inside the school before he heard the crying. Sobbing. Children...just children here for a school competition. Some sat in the hallway with what must have been their parents, some clinging for dear life while others stared straight ahead, tears running down their cheeks. Others huddled in groups, hugging one another. The ones from out of town, he supposed. But he didn't see any of the Midtown kids. He didn't know the whole decathlon team, but he knew that they all wore those ugly yellow jackets and those were hard to miss.

Steve shook his head at the scene, wiping a hand over his face and staring down at the floor while Bruce crossed his arms, jaw tight. Rhodey stayed right by Tony's side, eyes on the officer. The small group made their way through the hall, finally stopping outside of a door marked 'library, that the detective led them through.

"Mr. Stark." The detective began, all of them standing beside a bookshelf full of books on science. Somewhere in Tony's brain, that sparked something. A joke, maybe. Or a pang of irony. Maybe sadness. Focus, he told himself furiously, feeling the seams of his control pulling apart like a suit jacket two sizes too small. The library was almost empty as far as Tony could tell, apart from the tables set up around the room, covered in textbooks, backpacks, and what looked like homework packets. He spotted Peter's backpack right away and had to fight the urge to grab it. "The gunmen were here for Peter."

"We already saw the news," Tony told him, waving a hand. He was more than ready to move forward. To get his kid. On the other side of the library out of the corner of his eye, he finally glimpsed them, his thoughts bouncing around like a green rubber ball he'd had as a kid...the one he'd dropped from the balcony one day to see how high it would bounce. Apparently, when he got anxious, his mind dealt only in oddly specific similes.

The kids wore those ugly yellow jackets. Mustard yellow. he only caught a glimpse of them, and an idiotic hope shot straight through his heart, one that he immediately crushed. Peter wasn't here. He already knew that. Those were the other kids on the Decathlon team from Midtown...they were in a room off the side of the library, the door mostly shut. He'd just caught a glimpse. But they were there. In those ugly jackets. Peter's friends...plus that Flash kid.

"We're still trying to get witness statements from the kids, but from what we gathered, the men demanded that Peter come with him, and he came forward immediately."

Of course he had. Because Peter was brave and Peter was a superhero but Peter was also Tony's kid and a fifteen-year-old child and this wasn't fair, his mind cried like a petulant toddler. Not fair. Peter was too young and too good and Tony loved him and why did this keep happening?

"Have they been in contact with you?" Steve demanded. "We saw the message on the news but have they given you a location?" Tony's mind, still whirling from being pulled from the first good sleep he'd gotten in weeks and still sluggish and almost in shock, snapped to attention. Location. Did Peter have his phone? He started to pull his own out as the officer spoke.

"Yes. They've been in contact with the police department and have been given my contact information. We've assured them that any and all demands will be met as long as the boy remains unharmed." Well, Tony certainly planned on meeting their demands. He'd gladly let Loki take care of this for him. He supposed that was a benefit to being on the Asgardian's good side.

"Mr. Stark!" The Avengers and Brooks all turned toward Ned who was hurrying over toward them, eyes red-rimmed and huge. "Mr. Stark!" Behind him, Tony saw a door propped open that led to the small room off the side of the library that may have been an office and a couple of kids in those hideous yellow jackets. Maybe if he donated some money he could get them to pick a better color...focus. Squeezing his hand in a fist, he tried to make it stop shaking. They were going to get Peter back. They had to. He had to keep moving forward. Keep focusing. Take step after step until his kid was safe again.

An officer attempted to stop the boy, reaching out for his arm. "Son, I need…"

"Let him through," Tony demanded. "Ned? You okay?" He asked, clasping a hand on the boy's shoulder as soon as he was close enough. The kid nodded. "Alright. Give me just a second." Then he turned back to the officer, hand still on Ned's shoulder, holding him tight. This was Peter's best friend. He would have been right there. For now, though, they needed to know what had happened. Assess the situation, then find his kid. Peter was Spiderman. He'd be okay for a few more minutes. "Give me the rundown, Detective Brooks. What happened?"

"The men entered the building from two side exits at 9:18 am according to the footage. They made their way through the building, shooting two security guards. Because of the media attention, the school contacted their security company and requested an extra security presence, but it was short notice so the extra help didn't arrive until after all of the children were checked in. There were students from three schools, all of them in the library at the time of the shooting. There were four security guards in total...two are dead, one wounded, and one...well, we just learned that one of them was working with the kidnappers. We're still attempting to speak to the company they work for. From what we've gathered from our witnesses, they reached the library, demanded Peter Parker come with them, and he did so immediately. We interviewed the kids from this school first, and according to them, they demanded Peter's phone, and then destroyed it." Tony swore under his breath. Of course, they wouldn't want him tracking the kid.

They'd taken him almost an hour ago.

"We have police all over the state looking for them but they left in several unmarked vans...we only got one license plate number."

"You're telling me that with that many reporters stationed out front, you only have license plate number?" Bruce demanded, stepping forward, looking just a little green.

Brooks shook his head. "The reporters were all by the entrance. Two vans through a back alley, and another through a back parking lot. They were very well prepared which leads me to believe someone leaked his identity and location before today. We haven't been able to get an accurate count yet, but according to the kids we've talked to, there were at least five armed men, probably more outside. They shot one guard in the leg he was told that 'they would be contacting Iron Man about his son shortly.'"

Apparently, Ned couldn't wait anymore, the boy practically bouncing on his heels to get Tony's attention. "Sir? They didn't destroy his phone!" He blurted, and Tony held up a hand to the officer.

"They didn't?" He asked. Ned shook his head.

"No! I was just telling the officers in there before I looked up and I saw you walking through the doors and I wanted to come tell you immediately but they said I had to stay! And I was like, that's Tony Stark and I have to tell him…"

"Ned." Tony broke in, fighting to make himself calm. It wasn't working. They'd taken his kid. And yeah, Peter was Spiderman but Peter was also certainly not bulletproof, as they'd all found out for certain not too long ago.

"Right! Sorry." The kid looked sheepish for a minute before plowing on. "They told Peter to hand over his phone but he said he gave it to me! So...so I gave them my phone and they destroyed that one. He still has his."

Just then, his phone pinged in his pocket, raid and high-pitched...an emergency alert. He'd programmed Peter's phone with Karen so that if the kid was in danger, he could have her send Tony Peter's location. Why the kid hadn't used that during the shooting, he wasn't sure. But there would be time to ask about that later. For the moment, he whipped out his phone, staring down at the screen and letting himself smiled just a little.

A set of coordinates appeared under his kid's name, the bright red message alert on his phone blinking as the device vibrated in his hand. He'd made it impossible to miss. "Atta boy, Pete. Gotcha."

The detective held up a hand then, and they all paused, "Detective Brooks." The man answered, touching a button so that the call would be on speaker. Then, the voice of the man that Tony fully planned on killing spoke.

"You the cop looking for Peter Parker?" Rhodey placed a firm hand on Tony's shoulder, squeezing and throwing him a concerned look. He was shaking. His hands, his arms...his whole body was shaking from the frantic energy. It didn't matter what the men on the phone said. He had Peter's location. He was going to wait for the Avengers, and then he was going to get his kid.

Thank you for reading!