Hello all! Thank you for the support most of you showed for the last chapter. I am updating early again as I wanted to get this message out there.
PLEASE READ: I know some of you aren't happy with the direction this story is taking and the choices Peter is making, but I want you to remember this is a series. Yes, Peter is choosing to protect Morgan and rely on the Avengers to stop him if he becomes a threat, but that's a choice borne out of desperation, love and a lack of confidence in his ability to harness the Stones. This isn't about recreating reality or visiting Aunt May and Uncle Ben—it's the life of a four-year-old girl.
That said, Peter will reach that point in time. In Story II there is a lot of hurt/comfort that deals with the aftermath of Peter's experiences on The Raft, but it ends positively with Peter finally truly accepting and embracing the power he holds. That takes us into Story III which I am currently working on in which Peter is the BAMF you are waiting for. Please, have patience. If you can't have patience, wait until the series is complete and read all the stories in one go. We will get to that place, I promise, but we're not racing there.
Thank you x
Chapter Thirty
Day Two
Peter shuddered in his restraints as Thuri stood over him, staring down as he repeated the words. "Ukulangazelela… Amandla seRoss… Isixhobo seRoss… Do you comply?"
Peter wanted to shake his head, to say no, but he couldn't. Any resistance on his part put Morgan at risk.
"Do you comply?" Thuri said again.
"Yes," Peter whimpered. "I comply."
"Liar," Thuri replied. "Let's continue. "Thobela seRoss… Isigcawu… Amatye seRoss… Khusela Ross…"
The words seemed to reach deep into Peter, touching a place within him, and he was scared. He didn't know what was happening, what Thuri was doing, but he knew it would lead to him being a weapon. At least the Stones weren't there anymore. He would be the only threat, and that wasn't that big—not compared to the Avengers.
If this ended the way he thought it might—probably would—they would be able to stop him. The idea that his friends, some of them family, would come for him was awful, but it was for the best, he knew. As long as Morgan was safe, nothing else mattered.
Thuri lifted a bucket of water and poured it over him again, and he braced himself for the pain. He didn't have to wait long. A moment later, the rubber wedge was between his teeth and electrical current was surging over him.
Tony tapped his tablet once more. "Okay, Friday, you got it?" he asked.
"Yes, Boss. I have full integration with the base's systems. Would you like to test lockdown protocols?"
"Too late for that," he muttered. If he could have locked down, he could have stopped Peter taking off. He'd missed his chance, so he had to use Friday to find him. "Move the search protocol onto this holo. I want to see you work."
"Yes, Boss."
The hologram in front of him began to flash past views of surveillance cameras all over the country for a glimpse of Peter.
He pulled over a stool and sank down onto it, staring at the hologram, willing Friday to lock onto Peter's face.
"Tony?"
He spun around, shadowed eyes widening with surprise when he saw Rhodey coming in with two mugs in his hands.
"Tell me that's coffee," he said.
Rhodey nodded and held it out. "I figured you could use it. Bruce suggested cocoa, but I don't see you sleeping any time soon."
Tony huffed a laugh. "That's for damn sure." He checked his watch. "He's been gone thirty-six hours now. I doubt he's slept much."
Rhodey leaned his hip against the table and sipped his own coffee, looking thoughtful. "He might be sleeping," he said. "We don't know."
"Exactly. We don't know. He could be anywhere, doing anything. What we do know is that when he took off, he was scared and heard at least one thing that freaked him out. If he stayed long enough to hear everything Strange said, he'll be losing his mind." He closed his eyes and drew a shaky breath. "I just need…"
Rhodey squeezed his shoulder. "I know, Tone. I need him back, too. But I do think he'll be okay. He's smart and strong, and he knows the risk Ross poses. He'll come back."
Tony started up at him with pleading in his eyes. "When?"
Rhodey shrugged. "I don't know, but I hope soon. If he just wraps his mind around what he found out, gets to grips with it, he'll come home to us."
"Home," Tony sighed. "I hate that this is his home now, a damn SHIELD base."
"No," Rhodey said. "This is just where we live. His home is with us, wherever we are, and he knows it."
Tony nodded, feeling a burning behind his eyes. That was true, they were home together, but did Peter know that? Could Tony have stopped him going if he'd told him how much he cared sooner? Would Peter have trusted him to see him through what was happening?
He didn't know, and so he blamed himself.
Day Seven
"Repeat after me, Peter. Amandla seRoss… Isixhobo seRoss…"
Peter's cracked and dry lips stung as he obeyed. "Amandla seRoss… Isixhobo seRoss…"
"The power belongs to Ross, doesn't it?"
Peter nodded, tears burning his eyes. "Yes."
"You are Ross's weapon, aren't you?"
A tear slipped down Peter's face. "Yes."
Thuri bent over him, brown eyes staring into Peter's rainbow ones, bloodshot and shadowed from lack of sleep and misery. "I don't believe you."
"I'm telling the truth," Peter said, his voice breaking on a sob. "I am."
Thuri shook his head. "You are not. Do you know how I can tell? Because you are crying. When you are ready, you will not feel emotion."
Peter sucked in a breath. He didn't know what they wanted him to do when he was ready, but he knew what they were doing to him now—brainwashing him. They wanted him under their control, under Ross's control, to be his weapon.
He could feel it working, too. The words, though he didn't know what they meant—he was guessing two were weapon and power—were seeping into him, making him feel something in his mind, a pressure that he used to feel with the Stones.
He missed the Stones. He wished they were talking to him still, as he thought they could help him hang on. They were gone, though, which was safer, and he was alone and scared.
All he could do was cling to Morgan. They showed her the videos of her often. He'd lost track of how long had passed since he gave himself up to them, but they'd shown him her many times since he'd arrived. He saw her playing, smiling and laughing, and he fixed her face in his mind and willed himself to be strong for her. When he had thoughts of resisting, when he was terrified and in pain, he reminded himself that this was for her. If he let them do what they wanted to him, she would be safe.
Thuri picked up the bucket and said, "Huh, we're out. I'll just refill this so we can get back to work."
Peter turned his head and watched as he walked out of the heavy metal door, clanging it closed behind him, and his heart began to race.
As bad as the words were, as much as it scared him that he was losing himself, the pain was what made him feel weak. When he was hurting, it was harder to resist the urge to fight back.
Rhodey sat on the armchair, his eyes falling on his sleeping friend. Tony had crashed on the couch sometime in the night, chin resting on his chest, Friday displaying her search on his phone's hologram. When Rhodey found him in the morning, he had laid him down and covered him in a blanket, miraculously not waking him in the process.
He was worried about his friend, more worried about Tony that he was Peter even. He had to believe Peter was taking care of himself, eating and resting wherever he was. Tony wasn't doing either of those things. He slept when his body gave out; he ate when Rhodey put food in front of him and stood over him until he ate it.
Rhodey wished Pepper was here to help, but the only way to get her here would bring Morgan, too, and he didn't want her to see her father like this.
"Sam said lunch is ready," Steve said from the doorway. "You going to wake him?"
"Yeah," Rhodey sighed. "He's had at least a few hours, and god knows he needs to eat more."
He got to his feet and crossed to the couch. With a tentative hand, he patted Tony's shoulder and said, "Tone, you need to wake up. You've got to eat."
When Tony didn't stir, he shook him a little, and Tony's eyes flew open. His hand grabbed Rhodey's wrist and held it away, his eyes wide and darting as he called, "Peter!"
"No, it's just me," Rhodey said apologetically. "We've not heard from Pete yet."
Tony released Rhodey's wrist and turned his face into the couch cushions and groaned. "Friday? Anything?" he said.
"Nothing new, Boss," she replied.
Tony pushed himself upright and raked a hand over his face, his pale skin stretching and then sagging with weariness.
Rhodey stepped back and said, "Come eat."
Tony nodded, pushed himself to his feet, and followed Rhodey into the kitchen where Sam and Barnes were dishing up bowls of chili, and Steve was placing a basket of bread onto the table.
Tony sank down onto a chair and received the bowl Barnes placed in front of him with a grunt then picked up his fork. He began to eat in silence, shoveling the food down and swallowing as if he was in a race, not even seeming to notice that people were giving him side glances.
Steve looked at Rhodey and raised an eyebrow. Rhodey nodded.
"Uh, Tone, you might want to slow down. There's plenty more."
Tony stopped with the fork halfway to his mouth and frowned. "Huh?"
"You don't need to be watching the program all the time," Sam said. "Friday will tell you the second she finds something."
"I know," Tony grunted.
"Then why do you spend all day and night staring at it?"
Tony's eyes narrowed, and he stared at Sam for a moment and then said, "Because I want to be the one that sees his face first, not Ross."
Sam nodded, and an awkward silence fell over the room.
Tony went back to his meal, and Sam watched him for a moment and then shrugged and began to eat his own meal.
"He will come back," Barnes stated.
Tony huffed a laugh. "Because you know him so well?"
"No, because I know what it is to be scared of yourself and to hide."
Steve stared at him a moment, eyes sad.
"How long did it take you to come back?" Tony asked.
Barnes averted his eyes. "A while."
"No," Tony said. "It took two years, and you didn't come back; you were captured. If Peter is captured…" He broke off with a wince. "This is not the same thing." He tossed his fork down onto the table and shoved away his bowl. "It's not the same damn thing at all!"
Day Thirteen
"Look at the child, Peter," Thuri commanded. "Look at her."
Peter obeyed, fixing his eyes on the image of Morgan skipping alongside her mother down the aisle of a grocery store. Pepper was pushing a cart, and Morgan was running her fingers along the lines of pasta sauce jars. Peter could only see her from behind, but he knew she would be smiling, perhaps chattering to her mother. She would be happy.
She would be alive.
Peter had to make sure she stayed alive.
"Do you see what you have to do to protect her?" Thuri asked.
"Yes," Peter rasped through a dry throat.
They didn't feed him here, and the only water he got was the stuff he caught in his mouth when they doused him. However long he'd been here, it had been long enough for hunger to become the norm and for him to not even feel the gnawing pain in his stomach anymore. At times, he woke from a session in his cell, and sometimes he slept, but he was always tired, weak. The fact they weren't taking care of human needs made him think they knew about his endless life somehow, or at least they'd guessed. The only ones that knew for sure were the Avengers, and they wouldn't have told anyone. Or perhaps this was just another facet in his treatment here, keeping him weak. They didn't need to. He wouldn't fight back no matter what.
"You have to comply for her," Thuri said. "It's the only way to keep her safe."
"I know," Peter said. "I will."
"You will in time. You need to become before you can begin."
He upended the bucket over Peter's again, and he gulped down air and water as he tried to relieve his parched throat even while he prepared himself for the pain that would follow.
Thuri dropped the empty bucket onto the ground, jammed the rubber wedge into Peter's mouth, and then moved to the ECT machine controls. As he turned the dial and the shocks rolled over Peter, he began to recite the words, "Amatye… Ukulangazelela… Khusela Ross…""
Even through the pain, Peter felt the words reach him, creating that strange numbness that he both relished and feared. He fixed Morgan's face in his mind, knowing this was for her.
The surge cut off, and he was left gasping around the rubber wedge with muscles that felt like they'd been shredded by the power that had ripped through them. He tried to breathe, to calm himself, but then the current started again, and the words returned.
"Thobela seRoss… Isigcawu…"
Tony was staring at Friday's display on the hologram as she skimmed through the images from surveillance cameras, his mind not truly focused on what he was doing but unable to look away. This was what he could do, it was how he could help, and he couldn't make himself stop.
"Call coming through from Mrs. Stark, Boss," Friday announced.
Tony squeezed his eyes closed with a groan and then said, "Okay, put her through."
He pasted on a smile to greet his wife as the video feed began and felt a slight lightening in his chest as he saw her face and easy smile.
"Hey, Pep," he said.
"Hey," she replied. "How's everything going with you…" She stopped and leaned towards the camera. "Tony, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Tony said, waving a hand. "Just a little tired. We've had a lot going on."
She pursed her lips. "Why are you lying to me? What's happened? Are you okay?"
Tony sagged and rubbed a hand over his face. "No, Pep, I'm not okay, but I'm safe."
"Then what's happened?" she asked. "Is it Peter?"
Horrifyingly, Tony felt a lump form in his throat. He nodded and whispered, "Yes."
"What's wrong with him?" she asked, worry etching lines into her forehead.
"He's…. gone," Tony said. "He took off a couple weeks ago. He heard something that freaked him out, and apart from a call in which he said he was okay the day he left, he's not been in touch, and Friday can't find him."
Pepper's eyebrows lifted. "Well, she won't, will she?"
Tony's mouth dropped open, and he had to make an effort to hinge it again to speak. "What?"
Pepper looked puzzled, "Tony, you won't find him if he doesn't want to be found. He hid the whole base you're on, put it behind some kind of portal—you said it's outside reality."
A laugh bubbled up Tony's throat and escaped him with a judder. The sound reached his ears and then fed back into his hysteria. He began to roar with laughter, incredulous at his stupidity, at all of theirs. The Avengers, Earth's defenders, had completely overlooked the fact the kid they were all worried about was capable of removing himself from reality altogether.
"Tony!" she said, her voice raised and concerned.
Tony waved a hand and shook his head, wiping at his streaming eyes. He couldn't talk to reassure her as he couldn't stop the laughter.
Rhodey's voice came from behind him, and then a heavy hand settled on his rocking shoulder. "You okay, Tone?" When Tony failed to answer, he addressed Pepper. "What's going on, Pepper?"
"He's been looking for Peter," Pepper said, her surprise clear even though Tony couldn't see her face through his tear-filled eyes.
"Yeah, we all have," Rhodey said.
"But you won't find him," Pepper stated. "He can use the Stones to hide."
Rhodey's fingers tightened on Tony's shoulder, and he whispered, "Damn…"
Tony sucked in a heaving breath and said, "We don't have a chance in…" he hiccoughed a laugh, "hell."
"No," Rhodey agreed. "We really don't."
"Is everything okay?" Steve asked behind them.
Tony turned and saw them all coming in, faces bearing similar looks of surprise and concern. "Nothing's okay," he rasped. "We're never going to find him."
They all looked blank, and Rhodey explained. "Peter's got the Stones. He's got Reality. We've been looking for him with tech, CCTV, but he's not going to be seen if he doesn't want to be. Hell, he could be in a cabin a mile away, living on C-rations and chopping his own wood for fires, and we won't have a clue."
Barnes muttered a curse, and Steve looked thoroughly dumbstruck. "I didn't even think."
"None of you did, apparently," Pepper said, her eyes moving to Rhodey. "Why didn't you even tell me any of this?"
Rhodey shrugged. "I figured Tony did."
"And I didn't want you to worry," Tony said, calming now. "I didn't want Morgan to know."
Pepper narrowed her eyes. "Do you really think I would have told her?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Look at you, Tony, you're a mess. Go shower, eat something, and then sleep. I'll tell Morgan you're coming home tomorrow."
"No, Pep, I've got to…"
"To what?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow. "You're not making any difference there, but you can here. You've got two kids, one of which has gone off on his own for his own sake, and the other is missing her daddy and wanting to see her brother. I can't deliver on the brother, but I can deliver on you. Sleep, eat, clean up, and then come home in the morning when you look remotely human."
Her tone brooked no argument, and yet it didn't anger Tony. It was actually a relief to have someone else take control. This whole thing was out of his hands, he saw that now, and not even Friday was going to be able to help him find Peter. Going home, seeing Pepper and Morgan, was the one useful thing he could do for his family.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said, giving her a small smile.
"You will," she said, the words sounding like a command. "I'll tell Morgan." Her eyes moved to Rhodey. "Feed him and knock him out if you need to. Make sure he sleeps."
Rhodey gave her a small nod. "I will."
She waved and ended the call, and Tony ran his hands over his face. "I'm not going to find him," he sighed.
"No," Steve agreed. "But at least now we know he's safe."
"Yeah," Bruce said. "Shame none of us were smart enough to work that out two weeks ago."
"So, what do we do?" Wanda asked.
Tony pushed himself to his feet and stretched out his back, stiff from hours of sitting. "We wait until he's ready to come back to us, I guess."
That wasn't going to be easy, but Tony felt a lot better now he remembered Peter could hide himself better than anyone. Sure, he couldn't find him, but neither could Ross.
That was the part that mattered most of all. That Peter was safe.
Day Twenty
Peter blinked up at the ceiling lazily, making no effort to place himself in where he was or what was happening. It didn't seem important. He wasn't in pain anymore; he didn't feel much of anything at all. It wasn't a bad way to be. He had a lingering memory of pain and fear, of a driving need to get something right, but that was gone now.
He just drifted.
There were footsteps, and he turned slowly to see the man that sometimes hurt him coming into the room with a man he didn't recognize. He had heavily-greying hair and a dark mustache. He wore a navy suit and black tie with a red stripe. He held himself tall and proud, and there was a certain quirk of excitement in his eyes.
He came to a stop beside the table Peter was strapped to and looked down at him.
"Are you sure, Thuri?" he asked.
The man that hurt Peter, Thuri apparently, said, "I cannot be sure until we release him, and even then we need to drive the message in deeper, but I think he's compliant now. You can test it." He looked at Peter. "This is President Ross. Do you know what that means?"
Peter felt a pressure in his mind, like a headache building, and his lips moved without his conscious instruction as he said, "I will comply."
Ross laughed loudly. "This is excellent. I thought it would take much longer."
"He didn't fight hard enough, sir," Thuri said. "The threat against the child was his defeat."
"Yes," Ross said. "Let's test that. Show him the child."
Thuri took a phone from his pocket and tapped on the screen. He held it to his ear and said, "Send feed," and then lowered it, and a hologram appeared.
It was a little girl playing outside a house surrounded by trees. Peter had seen this girl before, they'd shown him to her, but for a moment he couldn't connect her to a name. Then something in his mind screamed out as if in pain, not a voice but a knowledge, 'It's Morgan!' and he drew a quick breath. Morgan. He remembered Morgan.
"It's not enough," Thuri said. "He clearly still recognizes the child."
He moved a hand to the phone and appeared to be about to press a button when a man appeared in the camera's view, and Ross said, "Wait. Watch."
Peter watched the man as he approached the little girl his breaths coming quick with a panic he didn't understand. There was something about that man that made his heart feel like it was trying to break free from his chest, a powerful connection and need.
His mind cried out again with the answer. 'It's Tony'
Peter jerked in his restraints, pulling towards the picture as if he could reach him, though something inside told him not to, that it was dangerous to show it.
Almost as if he could feel Peter reaching for him, Tony's face snapped towards the camera, and, even at a distance, Peter could see his stress. He scooped Morgan into his arms and carried her into the house, his footsteps a little too fast to be excused as just eagerness, and Peter knew something was happening, something had worried him.
Ross and Thuri seemed just as absorbed in the video as Peter was, and their cries of alarm when the red and gold suit burst out of the house and flew toward the camera at speed were even louder than Peter's.
"End it," Ross shouted.
Thuri cut the feed and stared warily at Ross. "Will your operative keep his mouth shut?" he asked.
Ross shook his head. "I can't be sure. We have to assume they're coming." He pinched the bridge of his nose, and his eyes fell on Peter. "We don't have time to be gentle anymore. I want him wiped and ready for me now. No more breaks, no more rest, work on him until he is perfect." He looked down at Peter, and he spoke between gritted teeth. "You will comply."
Peter stared back at him, feeling hope for the first time since he'd gotten that call in his bedroom. Tony knew Morgan was in danger, she would be protected, and he would find out what was happening to Peter. He would come. Peter would be saved. He could fight back now.
He gritted his teeth and lifted his hands to rip himself free of the restraints, but he couldn't; he had none of his usual strength. He could barely do more than make the leather creak. He was helpless.
Ross sneered down at him and said, "No escaping, little spider. You are here, and you will comply." He jerked his head at Thuri and said, "Get to work. I have to return to Washington and to reinforce the ranks here." His eyes narrowed. "The Avengers will be coming, and when they do—" he pointed a finger at Peter—"I want him ready to comply!"
Thuri nodded and turned the dial that sent jolts of pain rocking through Peter and began to speak the words, with new urgency now that seemed to drive them into Peter with force.
" Ukulangazelela … Thobela… Isigcawu… Amatye… Khusela seRoss…"
So... Finally, right? Tony knows what's happening and a rescue will follow. Big question—is it too late for Peter? What do you think?
Ukulangazelela — Longing
Amandla seRoss — Power for Ross
Isixhobo seRoss— A weapon for Ross
Thobela — Obey
Isigcawu — Spider
Amatye — Stones
Khusela seRoss — Protect Ross
ANOTHER PLEASE READ: I have a question that I need answers to, and it's for your benefit, not mine. How many of you have an account on AO3? With the amount of nasty—and I do mean nasty—guest reviews I am getting for this story, I am considering not posting here anymore and sticking to AO3 alone. I started on FFnet and have always been blessed with lovely readers, but the nastiness I am getting is sapping my desire to write, and I'm sure at least some of you want to read the full series, not an incomplete mess with a frustrating open ending.
If enough of you have AO3, I will stop posting here for my own good and the sake of the story being completed. Even if you don't have an account, you could check the site on update days for new chapters. Like I said, I don't want to do this, but I don't want abuse either. I can delete the guest reviews, but that doesn't mean I don't read them and feel that hate.
Let me know.
Until next time…
Clowns or Midgets xxx