Chapter 44 - Pain and Priorities
Peter had tried to rest, tried to sleep, but sleep didn't really want to come. The room was bright and empty. It was just him and his thoughts. That was never a good combination. It left him to overthink things and there was nobody more skilled at overthinking stuff than Peter Parker.
He tried to make some sense of the things that had happened to him, the kidnapping as well as getting rescued. He didn't remember all that much from how he had even gotten himself in that situation. Only that it was close by the Tower and that his senses had been flaring up. He had thought that it had just been his nerves and emotions messing with them, that he was just worried about how to apologize to Mr. Stark, but, well... he'd been wrong about that it seemed. They must have been there waiting, but why for him? Had they suspected that he was Spider-Man? Was his secret out there?
Had that been the reason why the Rogues had shown up? Did they know, too? Maybe they hadn't been there to help at all. Why would they ever help him? He wasn't even sure if he'd want their help. Not after what they had done to Mr. Stark.
Peter's stomach turned. He still hadn't apologized to Mr. Stark either and he hated himself for it. He had messed up so bad, on so many levels. The fact that Miss Potts was here, at the Compound... that couldn't be a coincidence either.
There was a little prickle at the back of his neck before it happened. Not as strong as his senses would usually react but strong enough that his eyes darted to the door as it was slowly pushed open. Peter swallowed hard as they stepped into the room. Mr. Stark had his mask in place, the one he'd put on during interviews. That face that Peter had rarely seen on him in real life but it was the taped cut on the man's face that Peter couldn't stop staring at. Miss Potts was right behind him, her features soft just like they had been when had woken up to this unlikely visitor.
Neither of them walked very far into the room. Mr. Stark just stood there at a considerable distance, arms crossed in front of him, silent. He didn't say anything and Peter's heart was racing along with his mind. Was he... waiting? Maybe he was waiting. Maybe this was... maybe this was were Peter was supposed to apologize.
His throat was dry. He was a little worried that he'd not even get any words out at all. "Mr. Stark, I... I'm so sorry, Sir. I'm so sorry. For... for everything. I didn't mean—I didn't want to—" Peter's eyes flicked to Miss Potts who was standing behind the man. Maybe Mr. Stark had told her about Peter's secret, but what if he didn't? How was he even supposed to apologize when he wasn't even sure if he should even speak of all those things he had done in front of her.
He turned his eyes away from them, couldn't even really look up at his mentor. It didn't even matter. There were no words that would ever make up for what Peter had done. The betrayal. The lies. It was all too much. Mr. Stark did step forward at that, close enough that one of his hands could clasp Peter's lower arm tightly. Even this was different. The man's hand was cold, his grip hesitant and nowhere as anchoring as it had been before. Things would never be as they were before and it was all Peter's fault.
"Just breathe." Mr. Stark's voice was low, almost whispered. "You need to calm down."
Peter swallowed hard. He felt like a little kid just lying there, he couldn't take it. He needed to get up, face the consequences of what he had done no matter how much it terrified him. He was still Spider-Man. He was still supposed to be, well... maybe not a superhero, but something. Something better than this, cowering in his bed. He struggled to push himself up but Mr. Stark put a hand on his chest and ended Peter's efforts without much strength. He just kept Peter right there on his back in the hospital-like bed, made him just lie there. Peter braced himself at the touch, was just waiting for the pain that the pressure on his chest should send through him. He pressed his eyes shut, but nothing came. It took him a moment to wrap his head around the fact that Mr. Stark was at all able to keep him in that bed and that the pain the man's hand on his chest should have caused never came. Was he... was he healed? How long had he been unconscious?
Peter's eyes blinked open in confusion and for the first time since what had happened between them, Peter could look his mentor in the eyes.
The man didn't even blink. He just looked at him. "You're okay. Helen took care of... of those wounds. It's all gone, alright? You're okay."
Peter couldn't help but lift the neckline of the light hospital gown they had put on him and squint underneath the fabric. There really was nothing there. None of the cuts the kidnappers had left on his chest when they had tried to get him to talk.
Mr. Stark blew out a deep breath. "You should have... god, why didn't you just tell them the code? It's just a phone."
"I... the phone... it had access... direct access to your—" Heat was rising up to Peter's face. Embarrassment as he would have to talk about the deceit that was nobody's fault but his own. Then he shot a quick look at Miss Potts. He couldn't talk about that. Not right there. "I... I couldn't... with... the phone it had... it had everything. They would have had access to every—everything. They... they did because—" His voice breath caught in his throat. "Because I did... I did tell them. I'm so sorry, Sir. It was so dumb, I didn't... I just... I should have never put it there."
Mr. Stark cupped his face, his hand still cold, still so different than before. "Just breathe. Just... just calm down. It's over now." The slow circles he was rubbing across Peter's temple felt somewhat familiar nonetheless, were soothing. Just for his nerves that were on edge. His senses. His senses were fine, he didn't even feel much of anything. No overwhelming tingling, no voices from the hallway.
Peter's eyes shot open. He hadn't even realized that he had closed them.
"I... I can't feel..." Panic was flooding his veins. His senses. His senses should be screaming but... but there was nothing. What had they done? Had he lost his powers? "I... I can't—"
"Helen gave you a sedative. It numbs your senses, that's all." Mr. Stark was studying his face, his gaze intense like he was seeing him for the first time. "It was a lot stronger at first, but it's wearing off now. Then you'll feel that bump on your head."
The bump on his head? Peter's hand flew up to investigate, but again Mr. Stark caught his arm and pulled it back down. He didn't even need any strength to overpower Peter.
"Don't. Just leave it alone. The swelling needs to go down."
His head should be throbbing. He should be feeling something but his body was eerily compliant. They had taken away his senses and he was helpless without them.
"You... you drugged me."
For a moment Mr. Stark looked like he was going to deny it, but then he nodded. "Yes."
"I..." Peter's eyes stung. Was this... Were they trying to keep him pliant? Did Mr. Stark think he went looking for trouble again? For those criminals? For the Rogues? "I didn't know. I didn't know they would be there, Sir. Please, I swear, I didn't go looking for them..."
Mr. Stark shook his head. "It's okay."
"...I didn't even know. I didn't know that the Rouges were going to show up either, please..."
"Just take a breath. You're not in trouble. Not... you're not in trouble."
"...I promise. Don't... don't tell them. Don't let them take me, please, I—"
"Stop. Just..." Mr. Stark pulled him up into a sitting position and slung his arms tightly around him. "It's okay, I believe you. I know what happened. It's not your fault. I know what those assholes did but they are gone, alright?"
"I'm sorry, please... please don't take them away."
"I... I'm not. I'm not taking anything... Kid, I'm not taking anything away. You're alright." Mr. Stark's hand was on the base of his neck, holding him close against him. "It's just for the pain. It's just a side effect."
Peter couldn't help the panic that overwhelmed him. He couldn't shut it down. His limbs were numb. His head should be throbbing with all these questions and emotions. He wasn't in control of anything, not his body, not even his own life. Every turn he took just lead him deeper down that rabbit hole, had him trapped. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't even feel Mr. Stark's pulse as he held Peter's pressed against him. He should be able to listen to the man's pulse from across the room but everything just seemed dull and uncooperative.
He wanted to run and cling closer to the man at the same time, but none of it seemed like the right thing to do. Mr. Stark was still talking but he couldn't even really hear him. The drugs. The panic. Something had put a veil between him and the world around him.
The door to the room flew open and Doctor Cho stepped closer to the bed. Lights were blinding his eyes and he had to look away, tried to curl around his middle or Mr. Stark, around something to shield himself. His arms were clinging to Mr. Stark now, desperate not to let go as someone tried to pull him away. He looked up and sure enough, Doctor Cho had prepared another one of their drug cocktails. More drugs. More needles. He couldn't.
"Just wait... Helen, just wait!" Mr. Stark wiggled one of Peter's hands between them, pressed it right over his heart. "Kid, you're having a panic attack. You know the drill. We've... we've been here. We got this. Just focus. Focus on my pulse. Just the one thing."
"I... I can't... I can't feel it. I... everything's numb, I can't—"
"Look at me then." Mr. Stark cupped his face with both his hands. Just focus on me, everything else doesn't matter, alright?" The man looked right at him, eyebrows knitted closely together. "You're safe. Nobody here is going to hurt you. You just need to breathe, buddy. Please, just breathe."
Peter tried to nod, tried to mimic the deep inhales and exhales Mr. Stark was demonstrating for him to follow.
It took a bit. A minute or two. He couldn't quite say but his pulse slowly went down. As oxygen flooded back into his system he found some of his senses were returning to him as well. He was still numb. It was still so very different from how Mr. Stark's skin should feel under his hands as he was clinging to him. The pressure along his hairline and his temples as Mr. Stark's thumbs carefully rubbed circles onto them.
"You back with me, kid?"
Peter nodded and bit the inside of his cheeks. His eyes flickered to Doctor Cho hovering close behind Mr. Stark, then Miss Potts who was studying him from the back of the room. Peter could feel the chill on his face now, where his tears had fallen. Embarrassed, he tried to pull away.
"Just stay with me, kid. Just look at me." Mr. Stark still held onto him, had his eyes still firmly on him, as Peter's found his face again. "You're safe. I got you. I promised I would come and get you and that you'd be safe. You remember? The video call?"
Peter swallowed hard. A lot of the details of what had happened over the last, well... days... probably... A lot of that was foggy in his memory. He frowned, tried to think back, to remember. Between these men and Mr. Stark and Steve Rogers and even his dad, it was a blur and most of that didn't seem real. Some of it couldn't even be real and so much of what had happened to him was mixed up in pain and fear.
"Hey, it's alright. You don't..." Mr. Stark sighed, then turned to the two women waiting behind him. "Helen. Maybe... maybe a short summary for the kid would be appreciated I think."
"Of course." She nodded and stepped next to Mr. Stark. "Hi, Peter. My name is Helen. You might have seen me before at the Compound, during one of your internship days."
Peter shot a quick glance at Mr. Stark and echoed the man's short nod. His arm was still around Peter's shoulders, still holding him.
Doctor Cho talked him through everything they had done since Mr. Stark had brought him to the compound. How they had flushed out the drugs he had been shot up with, the cradle that healed those wounds on his chest and the deep cut on his face. They left some of the minor cuts that would quickly heal off on their own.
"The procedure still sucks a lot of energy out of the body so you'll need some time to recover from that and we're going to monitor your concussion as well. Just take the time you need. We can keep giving you small doses of the sedative you're on right now. I know it might be weird at first to get used to limited sensor input but it's the only pain management we can offer right now and when it wears off, you'll really feel your head. I will come and check on you though."
Peter swallowed hard and then gave a few more short nods. "Thank... thank you, Ma'am."
The Doctor's lips curled into a bit of a smile. "That's quite alright, dear." She nodded at Mr. Stark. "I'll leave you to it then. See me about that thing on your head, Tony. Natasha said something about a bullet graze as well?"
Peter's eyes shot over at the man as his heart seemed to skip several beats.
"Tony, you got shot?" Miss Potts stepped closer to them and looked him up and down as if she would be able to find out where, even through his clothes.
"I'm fine... it's nothing."
"They—they shot you." Peter's voice hitched. "I... I knew it. Oh... oh god, I'm so—"
Mr. Stark pulled him a little closer again. "Alright. Calm down, buddy. I'm fine. Seriously, Pep, I—" He grunted in pain. "Urgh, stop. Yes, you found it. Ow!"
Peter pulled away a bit but Mr. Stark wasn't looking at him, he shot a glance up at Miss Potts who seemed to have petted him down, her arm still resting on Mr. Starks left arm. Doctor Cho just gave an awkward wave and left the room.
"It's just a graze. I'm fine."
She didn't say anything but her eyes were enough of a scolding.
Mr. Stark didn't seem to be fazed though, he just sighed and turned his attention back to Peter. "You just get some rest, alright?
He felt himself nod, new tears stinging in his eyes yet again. "I'm sorry. I'm really—"
"Don't. You... you don't have to apologize for anything right now. I'll... I'll go and take care of this and you just have to rest and get better, buddy."
"Tony..." Miss Potts had stepped closer but Mr. Stark just shook his head again.
His eyes were still on Peter, he still hadn't let go of him either. Still sat there with him. "All you need to do right now is let your body rest."
"But... but Sir, what—" Heat rose to Peter's face mostly because this hadn't occurred to him before. He couldn't just stay at the Compound. "What about May? I... I have to get home. She's... she's going to—"
The pressure of Mr. Stark's hand on his arm intensified and Peter just about managed not to flinch. "I'll take care of all that. You... you can just—"
"But, Sir, she'll be so worried if—"
"Kid, you can't even sit up straight on your own." Mr. Stark loosened his hold of him and to Peter's horror, his body did start to slowly tilt back until he was on his back, his own arms still holding on to Mr. Stark. "The cradle is no magic, you heard Helen. It takes a lot of energy."
Peter's eyes burned and he looked away. He hated being this weak, this helpless.
"I can... I can get Helen back. She can give you something if you want. So you can sleep and don't have to think."
The man's voice was quieter again, clearly wanting him to choose the drugs but Peter just shook his head. He didn't want to be put under. He needed to keep some control over his body.
"Alright then, we'll leave you to rest."
Mr. Stark gave his arm a parting squeeze then got off the bed and hurried for the door without another look at either him or Miss Potts.
"Tony!" She stood there for another moment halfway between the bed and the door. "I'm really sorry, he's..." She bit her lip then smiled at Peter. "I guess someone has to make sure he gets that thing looked at."
Peter couldn't help but smile at that.
She quickly came closer and squeezed his hand. "You just tell FRIDAY, okay? If you need anything?"
"Yeah..." His cheeks were heating up. "Yeah, okay."
"FRI, you will let us know right away if... if Peter needs something."
"Of course, Ma'am."
Miss Potts gave his hand another quick squeeze and flew out the door. As the door fell shut, Peter's eyes wandered up to the ceiling.
"Hi FRIDAY."
"Welcome back, Peter."
He bit his lip. It was worth a shot. "So, what did I miss?"
#
"Tony!"
He heard her, of course he did. She caught up quickly and in those heels that was a true accomplishment. He had rushed down the corridor, turned three corners before he came to a halt. He couldn't risk the kid overhearing. Pepper was right behind him, almost bumped into him where he had stopped just behind the third corner. He turned, faced her.
"I can't tell him, Pepper. I... I can't." He roughly rubbed a hand across his face and cursed as he accidentally pressed his hand on that gash in his face. "I don't know how. I don't even know how any of this happened. I can't just dump this on him. Plus... plus the results... they're not 100% conclusive. Maybe... maybe it's the mutation from the spider bite and maybe... Maybe, I'm just wrong. What if I'm just wrong?"
She shook her head, eyes wide. "You said you ran the test 15 times."
"I did."
"And?"
"And?" He shrugged, not really meeting her eyes. "What if I made the same mistake 15 times? I'm not a forensic science technician or have a... a background in cellular biology or molecular biology or even biochemistry or—"
"Tony!" She reached for him but Tony took a step back just before her hands were on him. "Just... just stop. You think I believe that you messed up a test that what... a hundred or a thousand labs all across the country can run?"
"Labs with highly educated, specially trained—"
She blew out a deep breath. "FRIDAY, did Tony follow all the correct instructions when he ran those tests?"
"Yes, Ma'am. Mr. Stark's execution of the provided instructions was flawless."
She gave him a look but wasn't done shooting holes in his excuses. "So, it's Aiden. We can be sure, that the boy is Aiden Stark."
"Yes, Ma'am. The DNA results are a close enough match that in addition to the recorded fingerprints we can say with certainty that Peter Parker and Aiden Elliot Stark are either the same person."
Tony turned away from her, his heart throbbed in his ears but he felt Pepper step up behind him. She hesitated for a moment and Tony braced himself for another lecture but instead, Pepper looped her arms around his torso and nestled against his back. He bit his lip trying to braze for the pain but her arms interlocked underneath his rib cage, nowhere near that bullet bruise on his chest.
"It's a good thing, honey. You found him." She pulled him closer, her voice just a low whisper. "I know this isn't over yet... All of this is impossible but Addy is safe, he's home. It's what we always wanted."
Tony tried to swallow the lump in his throat. His hands came up and clasped one of the arms she had slung around him. Her breath was warm on his skin as she sighed and kept talking.
"It's what we've been waiting for... for so long."
"I... I know that, Pep."
Her chin came to rest on Tony's shoulder and he let his head dip to the side, resting it against hers.
"I know you're scared, honey. I'd be worried if you weren't confused and upset and... and just feeling it all."
They stood there in the corridor for a moment, Pepper's arms wrapped around him and he couldn't help but lean into the embrace. Having Pepper there, having someone to share the burden of the decisions he would have to make was everything. After years of fighting since he had become Iron Man, maybe this would be what could pull them back together. Maybe he did want to give this one more shot.
Tony bit his lip. "I need to know more before... before I can tell him." It might have felt like he was just trying to avoid telling the boy and he sure didn't even know where to begin, but when he did... when Tony did tell him he'd need to know more about what had happened than he did so far. "He'll... he'll have questions. You think... you think I'm confused? The kid... the kid will be—"
"Alright. We can do that." Pepper nodded against him, her hold of him still tight. "We'll get some answers while he's still recovering, while he gets his strength back."
"Right."
"Right after you had Helen look at your arm and your face."
"Oh please." He dropped her hand and wiggled out of Pepper's arms. "You think my face is a priority right now?"
"We are not even discussing this. You will go and have her fix up those wounds."
"Natasha already did that last night."
"Funny as I'm looking at it right now and it's still right there on your face!"
Tony narrowed his eyes at her. "If you even think for a second that I would do anything but look into May fucking Parker right now then—"
"Tony, please. I'll... I'll get Natasha. We'll get started and then in what 30 minutes, something like that... you'll just join us."
"No!" He had to pull himself together to keep the shudder from rolling down his back. "I don't want her close to my son, Pep. I don't... I don't need her. I can solve this on my own. I have FRIDAY and—"
"So you trust her with your face but not with Addy."
"I trust nobody with Addy!" He couldn't even control how harsh that had come out.
She blinked a couple of times, then took a step back, her eyes still on him.
"Pep..."
"No, of course you don't."
"Pepper, come one..." He stepped closer but she held up her hand effectively stopping him in his tracks.
"Of course you don't. It's... that's completely reasonable. I just... I—"
Two more steps and he was right in front, one hand on the small of her back pulled her against him, the other reached for the back of her neck and brought her face so close, her forehead almost rested against his. "I didn't mean you, Pep. I trust you with my life. Of course, I trust you with Addy."
She sniffed out a short humorless breath. "I'm the one who lost him in the first place."
"That's not true, Pep. I'll not have this discussion again, alright?"
She looked down at the floor instead of looking him in the eye.
"Let's go then. Let's get that damn spy and we'll figure out what really happened."
At that, Pepper did look up. "What about your face. You really should just let—"
"When we know more about the witch, okay? I'll..." He closed his eyes and blew out a slow breath. "I promise... when we know more about May Parker."
They stared at each other for another moment, then gave a sharp nod and followed him towards the common room. The walk from the medical wing up to the second floor was short. Too short. Not nearly long enough for Tony to get his thoughts in order. There were too many unknown variables to this. Too much, that he could only roughly speculate about. And his emotions certainly didn't help him keep a clear head.
Natasha was waiting, standing there like she had been expecting them to show up any minute. She gave a short nod in Pepper's direction, then turned her eyes on Tony.
"How's the boy?"
Tony took a deep breath, hoping to steady his voice. "He's awake. He's healing. Helen... Helen said he should be okay."
Her eyes seemed to x-ray him, not in the hidden spy-style fashion. No, the obvious one that she used to make it clear beyond a doubt that she was waiting for him to tell her more.
"They..." Tony cleared his throat. "They were right. The assholes. You... you were right." He took a deep breath and ran both of his hands just lightly across his face in an attempt to shake that feeling of utter uselessness and crumbling self-worth. "I ran his DNA. He's... It's... The kid, he..."
He blew out another deep breath, closed his eyes to calm himself. Pepper's hand came to rest between his shoulder blades, slowly rubbing up and down between them.
"It's Aiden," Pepper said for him.
Tony let his chin fall onto his chest. How could he not have known?
Natasha just stood there, stoic as ever. "What do you need me to do?"
His eyes shot up to look at her. The white-blond bob still made her look so much unlike herself and still it was so clearly Natasha. He couldn't even really say if that was helpful in making him trust her more or not.
"I... I don't know. I..." Tony shook his head. He had no idea where to go from here. What to do, how to fix this. How would he ever be able to fix this?
Pepper's hand slowly clasped his. "Let's just... let's go through what we know." Her eyes were waiting for him when he looked up at her. "Look at everything FRIDAY found and we... we can take it from there."
"Yes." Natasha nodded along, her eyes still on Tony.
He swallowed hard, but they were right. He would need all the help that he could get. All of this was just such a mess. All he had were random pieces of a puzzle that kept on expanding. Every lead he had tried to follow over the night had just thrown up more questions than answers.
Their walk to the lab was quiet. The Compound itself was still pretty much deserted. The wing Tony's lab and private rooms were in certainly was. He had FRIDAY turn up the light, more of a daylight atmosphere not that he needed anything more than the adrenaline pumping through his veins to stay awake.
"FRIDAY. Recap the general intel we have, girl. Projection unlayered."
"Of course, Sir. Peter Parker, born on August 10th, 2001. Lives with May Parker, widowed, formerly married to Benjamin Parker. Both adopted Peter Benjamin Parker in November 2005. Medical records display two failed attempts at IFV. The Parker's were rejected by 3 adoption agencies before they signed with WAF America. They lived in New Hampshire, sold their house at the end of April of 2008 and then moved to Queens in the summer of the same year. Peter was enrolled in Queens Hills Explorers Elementary in 5th grade in 2011. May Parker has since worked at Avenue Hotels in Brooklyn. Benjamin Parker prior to his death was employed by different electrical vendors in Queens. He was shot on October 23rd last year. His death was ruled as a homicide but the shooter was never identified."
FRIDAY had projected the different pieces of information around them. Tony and Natasha stood, reading through the various sources while Pepper was sat on the couch, tablet in her lap taking notes herself.
Tony's arms were crossed as he stared at the lease the Parker's had signed in July 2008, the same apartment Peter had still been staying in with May Parker until now.
"Who moves a young boy like that from the suburbs into the city." Tony bit his lip. "Why would they do that?"
Pepper typed a couple of words into her text file. "I don't know, do you really need another reason to move from New Hampshire to the city other than the obvious?" She looked up as both Tony and Natasha turned to her, eyebrows raised. "Just speaking from experience."
Tony couldn't help but shake his head. "God, Potts, sometimes I forget what a snob you truly are."
She shot him a look. "Right, Mr. My-Skyscraper-has-72-stories."
"He's right, though." Natasha cleared her throat. "They had already moved across the state in early 2008, sold the house then moved from one suburb to another. It's fishy. They would have lost money on that. No way even in April of 2008 that the house still sold for a decent price."
Tony nodded along with her. "Plus, they had a small boy. Why would they trade a house with a backyard and a quiet neighborhood for a 2 bedroom apartment in a busy apartment building in Queens."
"Better job market." Pepper shrugged. "Maybe they were defaulting on their mortgage."
Tony dropped his arms and pointed at a different piece of information. "May Parker didn't work until October 2011. That's three years later."
Pepper's fingers were nervously tapping on her leg. "Better education for the kid?"
"They didn't enroll the boy in school until 2011 either. Unless there are records missing." Tony shook his head. "She must have homeschooled the kid."
"Which makes sense." Natasha shrugged. "Peter was supposedly 7 by the summer of 2008 when Aiden was only 5. Any somewhat competent teacher would have picked up on that no matter how smart the kid is."
"Why then?" Pepper looked from Natasha to Tony and back again.
"Anonymity." The Widow didn't even hesitate. "That's why people move into busy apartment blocks where tenants change with the seasons. Where nobody asks any questions cause they know nothing about each other."
"Right." Pepper nodded. "So they were hiding something."
"Obviously, they were hiding something. They tried to pass my son off as an older boy they supposedly adopted." He paced back and forth. "I'll just get her. I'll put her in one of the basement cells right here and I'll leave her there till she tells me what—"
"Alright, let's just..." Pepper dropped the tablet on the couch and stepped up to him. "Let's just calm down for a moment."
"I'm done being calm. We're just widely speculating while she knows everything!"
Natasha cracked her neck, wildly ignoring his rage. "What do we know about this lady then?"
"You mean other than that she's an evil, manipulative—"
"Yes, Tony." Natasha silenced him with a glance. "Yes, other than that. Let's start with the obvious: does she have anything to do the kid's abilities?"
He cleared his throat, reluctantly shook his head. "No."
Pepper was still right next to him. "Maybe they experimented on him while they kept him at home. Gave him these... these abilities to use him?"
"No." Tony shook his head. "He got those a lot more recently."
Natasha still had her eyes on the displayed intel. "You already looked into this?"
"I... yeah. FRI?" He gestured at one of the AI cameras and FRIDAY pulled up the file on Oscorp, which really wasn't more than a few eye witness accounts and articles. "There is no definite evidence of Oscorp tampering with radioactivity or animals. They did end their internship program indefinitely at the end of September last year, just weeks after the school year had started without any notice or much of an explanation. And there was a fire that conveniently burned out two of the lab floors. The kid's school record does have him attend less than 3 weeks of that internship. He told me it was a spider at his internship that bit him. Time frame checks out."
"Hm." Natasha studied one document after the next. "Does May Parker know about his abilities?"
"No. He's... He said she'd freak out, didn't want to worry her." They had argued about this. More than once. "I told him he should. That she should hear it from him. I mean, I only found out because he got hurt and came to the Tower for help. He made a point of not wanting to tell anyone, and it did make sense. He's a kid. It's not just about the authorities. He's a freaking high schooler. If people knew, his teachers, classmates, no. That... that would have been impossible. So, he kept it quiet."
"Hm." Natasha just stood there, back straight, motionless, thinking. "Maybe he doesn't trust her."
Tony snorted out a laugh that came out more annoyed than amused. "He adores her."
She tried again. "Maybe it's how he overcompensated that he doesn't—"
"I'm telling you, Nat, he'd run headfirst into a burning building for her, spider-senses or not."
Whatever this was and Tony had no idea what to make of any of these things, Peter trusted this woman. Maybe there was a part of Tony left that did want to believe that his son at least hadn't been mistreated, neither obviously nor subtly emotionally. That the kid hadn't suffered for all these years.
Pepper's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Okay, maybe she just doesn't know. Maybe she has no idea this is happening. Any of this."
Tony's head was buried in his hands, rubbing his temples. Pepper was still right next to him. Her hand gave his back a few soothing rubs. "Maybe Addy was actually put in the system for some reason. It's as a good place as any to hide a stolen child."
"It's possible," Natasha nodded. "In our line of work we tend to think the worst of people."
Pepper went back to the couch and picked up the tablet. She pulled up the adoption papers from the school file Tony had hacked all these months ago, then looked up at Tony.
"Have you ever met her?"
"Yes." He gnawed at his lip before he added, "Once. I went to their apartment."
"So?"
He shrugged. "So?"
Natasha tilted her head at him. "You trying to be difficult about this, Tony?"
He turned his back and let out a frustrated groan. "I didn't notice anything weird, okay? I had no idea. I didn't—"
"Alright just..." Natasha didn't seem annoyed which annoyed him even more. "Just calm down. This is not your fault, alright. We're trying to figure this out together."
"She seemed perfectly normal. Attentive. Caring about the boy."
Somehow that was the worst part. That woman was hard to hate.
The widow cleared her throat. "I can just go and check her out."
Tony looked up at Natasha, entirely uncomfortable with that setup. "No. No, if anyone goes and questions her, that'd be me. I'll send a car to pick her up. I can just make something up, tell her it's something about the kid. She would come right away."
Natasha hadn't moved, eyes still on Tony. "But she'd know that you're the one asking."
"I don't care. I'll do it. It's my son. If anyone goes to investigate her—"
"Oh, don't be such a stubborn bull." Natasha didn't roll her eyes, but her tone said it all. "Honestly, she doesn't strike me as a criminal mastermind. Do you really think she orchestrated the kidnapping? In the middle of the day when the whole area was being watched by your people."
"I... I mean, still, she could know things You can't—"
"This is my thing, Tony. Nobody is better at getting people to admit to things they want to keep quiet than me. From what it looks like someone used this agency to make Aiden disappear. She's the cloak. She's not the puppeteer. I know this is an emotional situation for you but just take a second and think about what is happened here."
He back a testy retort and stared at the floor until Pepper spoke up.
"She's right."
"No, stop." His hands were balled into fists. "This is not a democratic decision. I am—"
Pepper stood up at that, not getting all that much closer but just making her presence known.
"Tony, she's a receptionist in a hotel who lives in a crappy apartment on what's barely conceivable as minimum wage. Even if she'd steal a kid, certainly not yours. Natasha is right. It's more likely this agency."
Natasha still hadn't moved but Tony could feel her eyes on his back. "I can get her to spill what she knows about them."
He turned to glare at the widow. "I want to be there."
"You can absolutely not be there."
"Then, no."
Natasha groaned. "Come on, Tony. You can—"
"What, trust you?" He scuffed at her as a cold wave of what could be anything from frustration to fear washed through his veins. "My memory might have a couple of gaps here and there about what happened in the last couple of months, but I do remember the part where you told me to watch my back quite distinctly."
The tension in the room rose. Pepper shot a glance at Natasha but then slowly closed the distance between herself and Tony. Her hand came to rest on his arm, lightly but explicitly to anchor him, to lend him support.
"Let's just take a breath, alright." She didn't pull him closer but kept him from striding off.
"I'm sorry, Tony." Her voice was sincere enough but she was still a spy. "I thought... I thought Steve had told you. I thought that's where all that tension came from. I didn't... I'm sorry. Just let me prove it to you."
Pepper's eyes were moving back and forth between them, but he couldn't get into that now. He'd tell her. Later. Right now... right now Aiden... Peter... right now, the kid was what was important.
Natasha blew out a deep breath. "How about I wear a wire?"
"And an earpiece." He couldn't just let her reign free. This was still about his son.
She pursed her lips. "Fine."
"FRI, anything you can give us on May Parker's schedule."
"She is currently at home but has a night shift that starts at 8 pm tonight."
Natasha had pulled out her phone, typing away. "I can do that. Anyone else on the shift with her?"
"An additional receptionist and an assistant behind the 24h bar, but their shifts end at midnight. She will be solely responsible for the area until 5 am."
She nodded along. "Plenty of time then."
He didn't like this. He didn't like any of this. "You have a plan?"
"Of course I have a plan. Can you have FRIDAY send me a memo of all the information she found on that agency?"
He just stood there for a moment, eyes still on Natasha. There was still a strong anchoring calmness from Pepper's hold on his wrist, but still, he waited. Waited for the Widow to look up at him, eyebrows raised at first but as she found him staring she dropped the mist of superiority she had been entertaining. Their eyes still locked, she bowed her head just enough for the gesture to sink in.
"FRI, you heard her."
"Yes, boss. It's done."
###
[author's note: Guys, thank you so much for reading.
Between my personal drama of preparing to move and the universe putting rocks in my way and the global drama of a threatening pandemic, my productivity is in a little pit, waiting to be jump-started.
I do hope all of you are taking all the precautions you can to keep yourself safe and I hope no schools or employers are still making you go out there to work right now. Keep your spirits high and with most of you most likely not in a high-risk group, do think of those who are and whether the decisions you make might add to the current danger before you decide to socialize. 3 ]
