He knew him

He knew this kid.

He was painfully, horrifyingly familiar.

It was Tony Stark, the one who had given him the very suit he used to break into the tower. But… He didn't look like Tony Stark at all. He looked like he was just some kid. What had Hydra done to him?

For several seconds all Peter could do was stare at the terrified form of Tony in front of him while he tried to understand the situation. No matter what he did, he just couldn't seem to wrap his head around it.

"Mister Stark…" He whispered again, and reached out towards the man.

When Tony flinched and whimpered in response, Peter quickly pulled back. "I'm sorry, please don't freak out," He said, and then let out a frantic noise. "I mean you can do whatever you want, I don't judge but I'm kind of freaking out here too and I'm not sure if both of us freaking out is a good idea and-"

"Peter, you are rambling, and your heart rate is rising," Karen's voice mentioned.

He stopped his chatter right away, nodding. "Right, right, sorry," The teen said, taking a few deep breaths. "Okay, I'm calming down. I'm calm..."

But Tony was not, and Karen's voice seemed to only freak him out further. He let out a pained groan, grabbed his hair, and tugged on it roughly.

"Whoa, Whoa, what's wrong?" Peter worriedly asked, still not making any movements in the tense situation.

The young man in front of him shook his head. "I know you… I know you…" He whispered, his voice shaky.

Peter's eyes widened, and stood up straighter. "You do?" He asked excitedly, but quickly faltered as Tony's shuddering grew even more.

"I'm not supposed to!" Tony replied through gritted teeth. "I shouldn't remember, I'm not allowed…"

"What?" Peter asked in confusion, his head tilted to the side. "Why wouldn't you be allowed to?"

Tony's hands stopped tugging, and instead simply rested on his head. "Handler took those memories…" He whispered,"If Handler took them, I shouldn't have them."

Peter only felt even more confused now. "Handler?" He asked,"Who's your handler? What are you talking about?"

Friday finally decided to speak up. "If I may interject, Peter, Boss was put through intense brainwashing similar to James Barnes. He's only recently started to remember things and recover, but HYDRA attacked the compound and killed the scientist who Tony views as his Handler. He has since been taking steps back in recovery."

The teenager felt his throat dry up, his heart twisted in pain for what his mentor was going through. "Let me guess, that's the short version of what happened?" He asked nervously, afraid of the answer.

"Unfortunately," Friday sadly replied.

"Can you send me the documents about it?" Peter asked,"If I'm going to help Mister Stark I need to understand the situation fully."

"The Avengers would not approve," Friday pointed out.

Peter instantly gained an angry frown. "I don't care what the Avengers approve of or not. This is their fault anyways, and they didn't keep their promise to me. Give me the files Friday... Please..."

"Already done, Peter," The AI replied,"There was no need to convince me when I was already planning to give them to you. I believe it is in the best interest for my creator."

He sighed in relief. "Thank you, Friday," He quietly said, and then turned his attention back towards Tony.

The genius still had his head in his hands, and shuddered with obvious fear. It tore Peter apart to see the man he looked up to in such a state, and he was determined to help somehow. There has to be a way. He thought to himself. If the roles were reversed, I'm sure Mr. Stark would know what to do.

He bit his lip in thought, and then figured that he might as well go for it. He moved a little closer to Tony and gently said,"Hey don't worry, It's okay if you're not allowed. Um… How about I remember for you then? That way you won't get in trouble!" It sounded stupid in Peter's head, but it was the best thing he could come up with.

Tony stared at him suspiciously for several long, painful seconds before he nodded the slightest bit. "M'kay…" He quietly responded, still seeming unsure about the whole situation.

Peter brighetend happily at the agreement, and quickly sat down. "Okay so… It all started when I came home from school, and you were just sitting there chatting with my aunt! Imagine how freaked out I was, I was so shocked! And apparently you were there about some grant that I'd never heard of that you approved!"

The brainwashed genius listened intently, slowly moving to sit down as well as the teenager continued.

"So then we went to my room and you locked the door, and it turns out the whole grant thing was fake and you knew about me being Spider-Man! You even found my secret spot for my suit and everything! You called it a onesie, which was kinda rude… But then you gave me an upgrade! A brand new suit, and I went to fight against the Rogue Avengers with you! Pretty cool, huh?"

Tony's blank face had slowly turned into a frown as he reached the end of the story. He shook his head. "It's not…" He weakly said.

Peter's enthusiastic tone stopped at that. "What? Why isn't it cool?" He questioned in return.

"It was dangerous… You could have gotten killed because of me… I shouldn't have dragged you into it…" Tony replied, self-hatred burning in his eyes.

The teenager quickly shook his head. "No way, Mister Stark! In fact, I'm glad you did! Your new suit is awesome!" He said happily,"In fact, if I didn't have it, I'm pretty sure I would have gotten in big trouble a few times… Okay, well, a lot of times. I'm still a little mad about that block you had on some settings. The name was mean…"

Tony's eyes widened in recognition. "The- The Training Wheels Protocol…"

Peter gasped and leaned forward eagerly. "Yes! Yes that was its name! Do... You remember it?" He asked hopefully.

The genius frowned as he nodded and whispered,"I-I remember that but… I shouldn't…"

Peter sighed, and shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, sometimes you have to break the rules to do the right thing," He said,"I broke through the Training Wheels Protocol to help stop a criminal, and it saved my life a lot of times. You didn't listen to General Ross when he said Mr. Barnes was a bad guy, and helped him to try and stop Zemo."

Tony whimpered again, grabbing at the sides of his hand. "I don't… I don't understand…" He whispered quietly,"I don't know what to do…"

"About what?" Peter questioned.

"Handler… He turned me into Asset. I was an assassin and a soldier, I followed orders, that's what I was supposed to do. I was supposed to listen to Handler. But when he died… He told me that I was Tony Stark, and that I shouldn't follow Hydra's orders... " He explained,"I promised I would but… But it's so hard…"

When he listened to Tony's words, Peter felt himself gain a clearer picture of the inner battle in Tony's head. It wasn't two sides of him fighting for control, it was more like four. Asset, Tony, Old Orders, and New Orders. Peter could only imagine how difficult it must be for Tony to gain a clear thought.

In truth, Peter had no idea how to help with a monumental struggle such as that. He knew something like that was probably very hard to fix, and would take lots of time. But perhaps he could at least try to make Tony feel better while he worked those things out.

"Um… Friday, are the game consoles that Mister Rhodey let me borrow still here?" He asked.

The AI replied,"Yes they are, Peter. They are actually on this very floor in the living room. According to my data, they haven't been touched since you last played it."

Peter grinned. "So my Super Mario Galaxy game is still in there! Awesome!" He said happily, and pushed himself to his feet. He turned to Tony and asked,"Wanna come and relax for a bit? We can play video games for a while."

"Video games?" Tony echoed, and gave a nervous frown. "I don't know if I'm allowed to…"

The teenager replied,"Well, did someone say that you aren't allowed to play video games? Any orders old or new say that say you can't?"

Tony thought about it for a few moments before he slowly shook his head. "N-no.." He admitted aloud.

Peter grinned. "Then there's no reason not to!" He said happily,"Plus the game is a lot easier if you have a player two! So, wanna play?"

The brainwashed genius bit his lip, thinking hard once more before he finally nodded. "Okay…" He said, and pushed himself to his feet and followed after Peter.

Once he got the Wii booted up, Peter handed Tony a remote and explained the game to him. Then, they began to play the game together. It was Peter who talked and came up with strategies to the game and Tony followed what he said and quietly listened.

They managed to play for an hour before disaster struck… All of Peter's Pikmin got eaten by a Red Bulborb, and he couldn't call them back in time.

"Damn it!" Peter exclaimed, leaning back with a sigh. "Sorry, Mister Stark. The motion sensing on the wii isn't the best. Sometimes that means Pikmin die when I should have been able to save them. The console and wii remotes are old too, so that doesn't help."

Tony stared at the Wii remote in Peter's hand as he spoke, and then turned to look at the sensor bar of the wii nearby. Then, as he looked down at the remote in his own hand, he quietly declared,"I can fix it…"

"What?" Peter asked curiously.

"I can fix it," Tony said again, and grabbed the remote from Peter's hand as well. He got up and unplugged the sensor bar, dragging it with him to the closet nearby. He opened it up and pulled out one of the many spare tool cases hidden around Avengers Tower.

Peter watched it all in awe, unable to move from his seat on the couch. But as he observed, a thought occurred to him. "Hey Friday? Did you tell him where that tool case was?" He asked curiously.

The happiness in Friday's voice was easy to hear as she replied,"I didn't, Mister Parker."

In response to that, all Peter could do was smile.

Bruce hadn't been able to sleep that night. The events that had occurred just hours ago were still fresh in his mind, and seeing Tony's meltdown had cut him deep. He had seen Tony in some of his most vulnerable moments, they were very close friends after all… But, he had never seen Tony like this.

It made him sad and frustrated. He wanted so badly to understand what happened to Tony, but he couldn't, nobody could. Sure, Bucky could to an extent, but there were still differences in how Hydra had tormented them.

Hydra had already caused a major dent in Tony's recovery with the murder of Muller, a person Tony was connected to. Muller's death was obviously affecting Tony greatly, and Bruce wasn't quite sure what route they could take without harming Tony even more.

This left Bruce with a mind overwhelmed with fears, concerns, and copious amounts of questions. For once, The Other Guy was strangely quiet, which only added to how he was feeling. Before he knew it, it was five in the morning and he still was staring at the ceiling.

Eventually, he decided to just give up. He sighed and got to his feet, changed into something presentable, and headed towards the living room. He figured he should make some breakfast for him and Tony… Even if Tony wasn't going to eat it, he could still try.

But when he opened his door, he was greeted to a voice he wasn't expecting. It stopped him in his tracks, and he had to listen again to make sure he had actually heard what he thought.

Then, he heard it again. A teenager's voice as it exclaimed,"Oh my god this is so cool! I could play anywhere?"

Peter? What is he doing here? Bruce wondered as he managed to walk again, and turned the corner into the large living room. He was greeted by an… Interesting sight.

The teenage superhero was crouched on the ceiling with a wii remote in hand, and used it to play Pikmin on the television. Tony stood nearby with his own wii remote clutched weakly in his hand as he stared up at Peter curiously.

Bruce let out a small amused chuckle at the sight, and was about to back away and let the two continue. But it was too late, Tony had managed to catch him in the act. He whipped around, his body instantly became tense, and he backed further away from the hallway.

Peter noticed soon after Tony, and saw the change in his mentor's demeanor. He dropped from the ceiling, stood in front of Tony, and said,"Good morning, Doctor Banner! Sorry about barging in but I hadn't heard anything and I was worried, and I ran into Tony and we've been hanging out since!"

Bruce could tell there was more to it than that, but he was more focused on how Tony acted than what Peter was trying to hide. The genius had hidden further behind Peter, an obvious shudder ran through him.

He decided it was best to act like he hadn't seen it for now, and replied,"Is that so? Well, it sounds like you have been busy. Would you two like some breakfast?"

Peter brighetend excitedly at the idea. "Yes please! That sounds awesome!" He said happily, and turned to the genius. "What do you think, Mister Stark?"

Tony's eyes never left Bruce's form. He seemed confused, and suspicious of the doctor. With concern, Bruce gently asked,"Are you alright, Tony?"

"You're not… Mad at me?" Tony asked him, his whole body shook with fear, his words small, and quiet.

Bruce gave him a confused glance. "Why would I be?" He questioned.

Tony's frown grew bigger. "I yelled at you last night… I was…" He paused, and lowered his eyes to the floor. "Disobedient. I should be punished."

Bruce kept his expression neutral, and quickly thought of his options. He knew how dangerous of a mental state Tony was in, and what words could do. The doctor was on a thin line, he needed to be careful.

He gave a soft sigh, and shook his head. "You were not disobedient, Tony," He replied,"You were scared and upset, and you let out those emotions. I'm glad you yelled at us actually, bottling in emotions is never a good idea."

Tony's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he stared at the floor. He didn't seem to know how to respond to what Bruce had said.

The doctor decided to probe a little further, and see if he could make a little progress. "Next time you start to feel like that, though, I would appreciate if you were open with us," He suggested,"That way we can help you more, okay?"

"Yes sir," Tony quickly answered, his eyes still on the floor.

Bruce sighed and shook his head. "Not sir, Tony. I'm Bruce, remember?" He reminded the genius, and then turned to Peter. "You too, call me Bruce. Doctor Banner makes me feel older than I am."

"Okay Doctor Banner," Peter said, and then cringed. "Oops, sorry sir- AH! I mean Bruce! Sorry sir- Ugh…"

The doctor chuckled at the teen's awkward demeanor. "You'll get used to calling me Bruce eventually," He said, and then motioned to the kitchen. "Now let's go have some breakfast."

Tony hesitated as Bruce headed to the kitchen, and only followed after he saw Peter do a happy fist pump, and hurry after the doctor.

Prep for breakfast would take a while, enough time for a few others to wake up. So before he started, he sent out a mass message to the rest of the Avengers and Fury to inform them of the new development. After which, he set some fruit on the table for the two and said,"To munch on while you wait."

"Thank you doct- Erm… I mean Bruce," Peter quickly fixed, and grabbed an apple.

Tony didn't grab anything at first, instead he only stared… Particularly at the small bowl of blueberries. He reached out, picked the bowl up, and stared at its contents quietly.

After almost a full minute of him staring, Bruce started to grow a little nervous. "Tony…?" He asked worriedly.

The genius looked up at him, and then back down at the bowl once more. He got up from his seat and walked over to the doctor. When he was about an arms length from Bruce, he slowly held out the bowl to Bruce.

The doctor's mind instantly flashed back to that memorable day on the Helicarrier, where Tony did something very similar. It brought back the familiar memories of Tony's companionship that he had missed for so, so long.

Bruce smiled, reached out, and took a handful of blueberries as he softly whispered,"Thank you, Tony."

Tony gave him a tiny smile back. The action was small, and would most likely be seen by others as just simple politeness… But that wasn't how Bruce saw it. The simple action Tony had done was enough for Bruce to hope that maybe… Just maybe, his best friend was starting to remember him.