Bum bum bum! I'm back! For a while, at least. It make take me a few days to get back into an upload schedule, but I'm hoping to jump back into my Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday schedule while I'm home on Christmas break. I may only be able to do two of the three a week, but I'm gonna try. So. Yeah. I'm back!
And what a time to be back! It sucks that I dropped off at this point, but we're back, and this is the LAST CHAPTER OF PART ONE! Next chapter we start Part Two, and I'm super excited for all the whump and fluff that comes with! Make your predictions now, cause shit is gonna get real the next few chapters.
HUGE thanks to everyone who has been reading, subscribing, commenting, asking for updates, etc! I love you all 3000. I may disappear again when school starts up again, but never count me out! I'm not gone, just drowning in a double major! But for now, I'm here, and we're going to get back on track for a little while before I become sporadic again. So for now, enjoy!
The last few days went by quickly.
Tony tried to talk to Peter several times. Every time, the kid dodged his questions, or gave him half-assed answers, or redirected his attention somewhere else. Tony noticed every time, but there was little he could do. The only constant in their conversations was their avoidance of what was to come, and the fact that Peter continually insisted that they had to go through with it, and that he would be fine, with a tired half-smile that did nothing to hide the fact that he knew he was lying.
It made Tony want to pull his hair out, but his hands were tied. It was a bad situation or a worse situation, and he simply didn't have the time to come up with a better solution in the day and a half they had left than to go through with the switch and follow up to make sure the kid got home safe.
This whole scenario was a fiasco. Definitely high on the list of worst decisions he'd ever made. Goal achieved, yes, but at what cost?
He was about to find out.
Click.
Peter winced, both at the sound, and the discomfort associated with it. He had mostly recovered over the course of the three days - or had recovered enough, at least, for them to decide he was well enough off to do the switch. He was still tender, and powers or no, he wasn't sure how long it would take for the scars on his side to fade, if they ever did. Bruce assured him the pain in his side should fade after a while. He just needed to be careful, and not overexert himself for the next little bit.
Peter had agreed, even though he knew he wouldn't have much choice in what he'd be doing with himself for a while, if ever again. Hydra would have him back in their clutches, and he would have to deal with it. If he survived whatever they had planned - a second round of experimentations, most likely - then he'd likely still just be a test subject. If by some miracle they let him go again, life wouldn't just go on the same way. They'd use him against the Avengers at any chance they could, because he'd been in contact with them. He'd resist, of course, but that didn't always mean much. And on the off chance that that worked, his parents still knew what had happened, or at least they would shortly. Lord only knew what kind of new rules he'd have in place now. Being Spider-Man was likely not going to be feasible any longer, between them and the fact that once Hydra found out what his powers were, surely they'd put two and two together, and then-
"Sorry, Peter." Bruce's voice brought him back to the present, pulling out of the dark spiral of his thoughts. The doctor sounded guilty as he adjusted the handcuffs he'd clicked around the teen's wrists. "I know this has to hurt, and believe me when I say I warned against it, but-"
"But there could be spies for Hydra anywhere," Captain America completed. He offered Peter a small, sad smile. "Sorry, kid. The metal is real, too. We don't know how much they know, which is precisely why we have to keep up appearances."
"It's fine. Honestly. Just slightly uncomfortable," Peter assured, even though it was more than slightly uncomfortable and he was decidedly not fine. But if he gave any of them even the slightest hint of that, they'd never go through with the switch. They wouldn't get Wanda back, or someone would get hurt in the process of getting her back, and it would be his fault. And for what? It wasn't like he was worth much. He certainly couldn't make up for the loss of any of the Avengers in any respect. He was just a stupid kid.
They were only being nice to him because they felt guilty, he reminded himself. Tony's offer - one of likely salvation, but he didn't let himself consider that - was only because he felt guilty, for abducting him and especially for nearly killing him. But Peter didn't blame any of them. He was far less important in the grand scheme of things - and far more expendable.
They were still at the tower, for a minute. They were about to head out to the spot the switch was going to be - the same place, apparently, that Tony had made the drop off. Cap seemed to think that they had chosen that place specifically because it was so far out of the way there was little way for the Avengers to double cross them successfully. Tony thought it was more for spite, since it just so happened to be the same place that they had gotten their asses handed to them not that long before.
As per Hydra's demands, Peter was going to fly over with Tony, and Cap and everyone else would stay in the Quinjet, waiting in the wings to be backup if something were to go wrong. Peter doubted anything would. Hydra wanted him back, and if that meant giving up Wanda to get him, they'd do it. That wasn't to say that they might not come back for her again later, but apparently somebody had decided he was valuable enough to give her up and risk the inconvenience of having to abduct her again if they decided later they wanted her back as well.
They all loaded in the jet. Even the newly recovered Avengers were coming, though they were supposed to stay out of direct combat if at all possible. Nat had gotten rid of her sling, and if Clint was still wearing any of his braces or bandages, it was hidden under his combat gear. Peter was sure neither of them were really completely healed, nor were they probably actually cleared to be there, but who was going to try to make either of them stay behind? Not even Cap or Tony dared to contest them.
The ride there was tense. Conversations were in low whispers, if not completely silent. As all things do when you're dreading them, the plane ride seemed to go incredibly quick. Peter stayed close to Tony, as much because he was bound up as because he was the least awkward one of the Avengers for him to be around. The elder hero's imposing presence at his shoulder calmed him, even if he was the one who had caused all this to begin with. At this point, he trusted Tony more than he trusted his own parents. He didn't know what that meant for his future, nor was it something he really wanted to examine, but it was true.
The Quinjet stopped.
It was deathly quiet for a moment. He could feel the weight of it, the intensity behind all the stares on him. Everyone knew what came next, and no one wanted to break this moment and force him into it.
Peter sat up. "I think it's time." He was careful to keep his voice light but strong. If he showed any fear or hesitation at this point…
Tony sighed heavily. "Yeah, it is. But, Peter…"
"I know, Mr. Stark." He couldn't look at him and keep up the facade he knew he needed to, so he didn't look at him. He studied the bonds on his hands instead. "I know. No one wants to, and no one is going to make me. But I need to."
"But you don't have to. You don't want to, and we don't want you to."
"But I need to," Peter repeated, quietly but firmly.
Tony looked away, clearly pained. Captain America sighed, and Peter couldn't look at him, either, as he spoke. "The kid has made his choice, Tony. We need to honor it."
"He's a kid. He shouldn't be allowed to make a choice like this."
"Well, there's no one objective or actually responsible for him to do it for him, and we both know he's thought this through more than any of us probably have, Tony. If you won't do it, I will."
Cap went to stand, but Tony was between them instantly. "I don't think so." He turned back to Peter with a sigh, still looking pained. He tilted Peter's chin up gently, forcing him to meet his eyes. "You're sure, kid?"
Peter had to swallow hard against the emotion rising in his chest, to make himself pretend that the sincerity and pain in the elder hero's eyes doesn't feel like it's burning him. "I'm sure, Mr. Stark."
"Fine." The faceplate snapped into place, and then Tony's hand touched his arm, giving him a light tug to get him on his feet and within arms reach. "Okay. Keep on the comms. I don't anticipate this going too sour, but be on alert anyway."
"We've got your back, Tony," Cap said simply. He looked over at Peter and gave him a tiny salute. "See you later, Peter."
Peter barely had time to nod, and then Tony's arms were around him and they were free-falling out the door of the Quinjet.
Wait, not free-falling, he reminded himself. He could feel the distinct hum of Tony's repulsors, keeping them from actually free-falling towards certain doom. They were flying.
The feeling might have been more exhilarating if it weren't for the dread coiled in his stomach.
All too soon, they touched down at the mouth of the ruined cave. The signs of the collapse that had severely injured most of the Avengers were still there - dust and rubble floating and scattered about as if it happened hours instead of days ago.
Tony set him on his feet, grabbing him by one of his bound arms and tugging him along. Peter followed him silently, knowing the harshness of the action was just for show. Even if it did hurt his still-tender wounds a little bit.
He still half-expected Tony to say something, anything, to try to convince him not to go through with it. But whether because they're already on the ground or because he was afraid of listening ears or because of something else entirely, it didn't come. Instead, all he got was a quiet warning and a tug on the arm. "Come on. Just keep your head down and whatever they say or do, don't say anything."
Peter just nodded and let himself be pulled along. He doesn't have anything to say, and there's no time for him to even if he had. They barely made it a few steps into the cave when at least a dozen Hydra agents materialized around them, surrounding them.
Tony stopped abruptly, pulling Peter to a stop with him. Peter glanced at him, but there was no way to tell what he was thinking with the faceplate on. "I brought the kid," he called, his voice sounding echoey and metallic from the suit. "Where is she?"
The kid . They were back to that. It made sense, of course - sounding too familiar with him was dangerous - but it still stung. And that was ridiculous, but it was still true.
Peter scanned the faces around them as best as he could, his stomach sinking with every unfamiliar face. It's no surprise, but the confirmation of exactly what he was afraid of made him glad he had only taken a few bites of his breakfast this morning.
His parents were nowhere to be seen. The only two people who might have been able to make a case for his life, if they even had enough power to do so, couldn't even be bothered to show up to the exchange.
The world dimmed for a second as he came to terms with the realization that he was right. He was going back to Hydra, and this time, he was almost certainly a dead man.
A strangled cry snapped him back to reality. Some of the agents parted, and a girl with long red hair was shoved forward between them. Wanda, he knew, from both what they've told him and the glimpse of the video Tony had showed him in his workshop. Oh, how long ago that seemed.
It seemed even longer based on the way she looked. If she'd looked bad in the video, that was nothing compared to the way she looked now. If the Hydra agents hadn't been prodding her forward like cattle, there was no way she would have been walking. She stumbled and limped heavily with every step, dried and new blood alike making the wounds all over her body indistinguishable. Her pretty red hair was streaked with blood, and what he could see of her face around the blindfold looked like she'd taken a fresh beating right before coming out. Peter had a feeling that the only reason she wasn't pale as a ghost was because of the redness from that happening not too long ago.
Tony's grip tightened on his arm as he swore lowly. Tension was clearly pooled in every muscle of his body, even through the suit. The Hydra agents shifted restlessly, as if they could sense it and were readying their weapons for the inevitable double cross.
"Mr. Stark," Peter pleaded quietly. Even he didn't know what he was pleading for, exactly, but he just couldn't help it. He could hear the muttering of the other Avengers talking in Tony's ear. What they were trying to say was lost on him this time, though. They must have been being careful, wary of Hydra possibly listening in.
There's a few minutes of tense silence as they all studied each other. Then Tony let out a little growl, shoving Peter forward so suddenly that he stumbled and fell to his knees a few feet away. "Here. Take him."
The agents facing them exchanged a few looks, and then one of them nodded. Another grabbed Wanda's arm, hauling the blindfolded woman forward into the center of the cave.
Cold metal nudged him in the back. "Get up, kid," Tony ordered.
Peter carefully got to his feet, walking toward the Hydra agent stalking toward him. Was the coldness all part of the facade? he wondered. Or had the kindness been the real facade, only for as long as they needed him to serve his purpose? He didn't know. But then, did it really matter anymore, anyway?
He was barely within arm's reach of the Hydra agent before the man reached out to grab him, his grip like steel and somehow so much colder than that of the suit. He shoved Wanda forward again, throwing her down at Tony's feet. "You have what you came for now," the man said, his accent thick and rough. "Now go."
Peter glanced back over his shoulder toward the elder hero. He hadn't moved from the exact same spot he'd stopped in when all the agents had appeared. As Peter watched, he knelt to carefully scoop up Wanda's broken form, then rose slowly. Peter could swear his eyes were on him the whole time, despite not being able to see them through the helmet.
"Fine," Tony said. "I suppose I will." He paused, and Peter was sure, again, that Tony was looking directly at him in that split second. "I'd say goodbye, but I'm sure we'll meet again, so… enjoy the freedom while it lasts."
Enjoy the freedom, Peter thought. Yeah right. If only.
The suit inclined its head toward him, then, without another word, lifted off the ground and blasted out of the cave, flying right over the Hydra agents surrounding them with Wanda cradled in his arms.
The agent holding him twisted his arm almost immediately. Peter grunted in pain, but doesn't resist, letting himself be forced to his knees again.
It's only fitting, he thought, that his last glimpse of the outside world was a sliver of sun and a shadow of his hero flying away from him. It was hard to be upset with that, all things considered.
He'd always known it would end this way, one way or another. Even if it wasn't Hydra, he'd known when he decided to put on the suit that he would likely die at the hands of some unnamed villain. He'd just hoped it would be while doing something good, not being torn apart as an unwilling test subject.
Oh well. He should have known he never really would be able to escape Hydra. This was what he got for that foolish hope.
Still, he watched the suit fly until the dot was so small and far away that even his enhanced eyesight couldn't track it, and he could have sworn he heard the low hum of the Quinjet's engine fade away.
Or maybe it was just the sound of the real world dying in his ears as the Hydra agent stabbed him in the neck and he succumbed to the blackness eating at the edges of his vision. The last thing he sees is the fading light in the mouth of the cave, and then he knows no more.
End of Part 1.