Zugzwang. If you know this chess term...you know you're in for a treat this chapter.

Apologies for being a day late, I lost my sense of time and forgot that it was Saturday lol, but here we are as promised! And I know I'm really behind on responding to comments, Pharmacology is taking over my existence haha

TW / there are fight scenes incoming! So be prepared and cautious of typical fight injuries such as bleeding, bruising, etc..

Have fun and stay safe ❤️️ 💛💚💙💜

Zugzwang

Peter swings as fast as his enhanced arms will carry him, yanking the web with all his strength before flinging out and repeating the breakneck process. He subconsciously swallows, an anxious tick that accompanies his tremor-ridden hands. Normally he would stay calm, even thrive off of the quick-paced events, but now his friends are in the middle of it. His best friends, who are supposed to be safely hidden behind their computer screens, are up close and personal with a fight he should be fighting right now.

"Why is he looking for me?!" he questions, his voice shaking along with his hands. "Peter Parker hasn't had anything to do with this! All he's done is-" is take pictures for the Daily Bugle, he finishes in his head, finally realizing what's happening. They're credited to me. My name has been in every newspaper since this all started. "Oh my god," he mutters as everything clicks into place.

"Peter?!" MJ gets his attention again, ducking her head to a minor explosion as Iron Man is thrown into a car across the street. Peter's ears pick up on it and his heart picks up speed.

"Are you okay?! What's going on?! Karen, ETA!" he fires off the questions. Pushing his muscles even farther, he watches his map highlight itself before Karen speaks.

"Two minutes or less," she briskly informs, her voice as tense as the situation. Not fast enough, Peter internally berates.

"Yeah! Tony got thrown into a car! But he's okay, he's in the suit!" MJ adds so that Peter doesn't worry more than she already knows he is.

"Shit, okay I'm almost there! Stay away from the fight! Get somewhere safe, do you understand?! I'll find Ned when I get there!" Peter orders out of pure fear of her getting hit in the crossfire.

"I'm as safe as I can be!" MJ counters. "I'm not leaving Ned!" Her resolute stubbornness is a valuable attribute, just maybe not so much in this instance. Peter lets out a jittery huff.

"Just stay away from the fight," he reiterates in a firm voice but doesn't argue. When a column of smoke forms beside the Tower in the distance, he starts to panic, despite MJ's explanation. Regardless, he keeps his breathing stable in an attempt to slow his heart rate. He has to go into this fight focussed. "Pinpoint where MJ is and tap me into Mr. Stark's comms," he directs Karen, who simultaneously completes both of his tasks. MJ's form is highlighted behind an SUV and connects his audio to Tony's suit.

"-wanted an appointment then you should've called beforehand. Sorry, but I don't make exceptions, even for fans," Tony's calm, if not annoyed, bantering comes through. In that moment, Peter swings into the fray and sizes up the scene in a fraction of a second. Scorpion has Tony pinned to the crumpled, ablaze car with his repulsors facing away from them. Peter wastes no time in rocketing himself towards the villain and using his element of surprise to successfully kick him off.

"Hey, Mr. Stark!" Peter greets, using his bravado to hide his worry.

"Kid?!" Tony shouts in surprise as the teen exercises his super strength to hoist him up. The armor is scratched up, but it's no worse for wear.

"MJ called," Peter gets right down to explaining as he eyes where Scorpion is already getting up from his tumble. "You distract him while I get them safe, okay? I'll be back to help!" Tony's hands latch around his shoulders before he can swing off, forcing the kid to face him, and puts as much desperation into his voice as possible.

"You have to be careful, you hear me? He's looking for-"

"I know," Peter cuts him off so he doesn't have to say it. "I know," he repeats in assurance. Tony nods curtly and lets him go before turning his attention back to their mutual enemy. "I'm on the comms!" Peter reminds before using his webs to pull him towards the SUV faster. He slides over the hood and lands next to MJ, who's shielding herself behind one of the wheels.

"Spider-Man!" she whispers in relief, immediately dropping the tire iron in her grasp and throwing her arms around Peter's neck. Peter tightly holds her in return, to keep her safe if nothing else.

"Looks like you're armed and dangerous," he laughs breathlessly. MJ pulls away and picks her makeshift weapon up again.

"You're damn right," she confirms with a look that could kill. "Just wish I could've got more than one hit in." That sure sounds like something MJ would do.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt or anything, right?" Peter asks, quickly looking her over. Besides the black smudges across her hands and soaked shoes from the snow, she looks okay. MJ confirms his assumptions by nodding. "You hit him, huh?" He chuckles as he makes small talk to lift the tension as well as scan the nearby area.

"Across the bastard's face," MJ affirms with a slight smirk. Peter smiles beneath his mask and nods in approval; the thought of her whacking Scorpion in the face is priceless.

"We didn't get to ride that roller coaster, how about a swing?" he offers, already picking her up despite not getting a response yet.

"Actually, I'm not so sure this is the same-" Her reply is cut off by a gasp as Peter pulls them into the air and away from the ensuing battle. She hides her yell of surprise in Peter's shoulder, her stomach doing flips, but all Peter is focusing on is finding a place to hide her until it's safe.

"Karen, what do you got for me?" While he asks, he manages to get them around the backside of the Tower. It should be enough cover for the time being. At least, he hopes so. It's the best he can do.

"Roller coasters are a yes, swinging is a hard no," MJ gasps out and tries to find her footing again. Peter takes the camera and backpack off and passes them to his friend for safe-keeping.

"Ned is fifty meters from your current position behind a moving truck." Along with her words, Karen outlines the truck in an electric hue and Peter leaps back into action.

"Be careful!" MJ calls after him, then tightens her grip on the tire iron. It's difficult for Peter to swing through without being noticed, especially with a bright red and blue suit, so when he gets out into the open he prints to the truck instead.

"Mr. Stark? How's it going?" His question isn't void of that lurking, inevitable nervousness. It's one thing to fight a villain—that he can handle—but it's another to fight a villain when his friends are at risk.

"It's going," Tony responds through clenched teeth as he initiates his back thrusters to push against the mechanized tail trying to beat him into the concrete. "How 'bout you? Having fun?" he asks nonchalantly. However, Peter doesn't have it in him to quip like usual. Not with his heart beating in his throat.

"I'm almost to Ned, then I'll be over to help," he promises in a strained voice. He can hear the screams induced by anger and frustration, but they're tuned out in favor for concentrating on Ned. The tightness in his chest lessens ever so slightly as Ned comes into view, snow topping his shoulders and peppering his hair. What matters is that he's safe. Peter discretely slides in next to him, the snow crunching beneath his feet, and grabs his friend's sleeve. "Ned! Are you okay?!" He momentarily rests his head on Ned's shoulder to catch his breath and calm his nerves. He can't go into the fight unfocused. They're both okay. They're okay, they're okay, they're okay.

"Yeah! Holy shit, dude! We were just waiting for you and Tony came outside to keep us company because we didn't wanna go up without you and it was almost time so we knew you were coming and then Scorpion came screaming for Peter Parker and suddenly there was screaming and the Iron Man suit was around Tony and-"

"Okay!" Peter cuts Ned's panicked rambling short. He lifts his head and looks around for the best path to get Ned out of harm's way. "We can talk about it later. Right now I have to get you to MJ so you're both-" His Spidey Sense pushes his words down and forces him to react. On instinct, he tents his body over Ned to protect him as a horrendous screeching greats on his ears. He looks up with widened lenses to see the manic features of Scorpion peering through the mangled mess of metal that made up the truck mere seconds prior. The villain's eyes are even more striking than before; the pupils are expansively dilated leaving little room for the dark iris and the sclera is a jaundice-esque yellow. Yet nothing can tear Peter's gaze away from Scorpion's devilish, psychotic grin with prominent fangs that definitely weren't there before.

"I'm gonna rip you to shreds, pest!" Scorpion spouts in a snarl, spit flying from his mouth. Peter knows Ned is frozen in fear, so he doesn't attempt to talk to his friend, he instead fires a far Web Grenade to act as padding as he uses his webs to fling Ned out of danger. Either way, it doesn't seem to matter because Scorpion doesn't follow Ned with his eyes. He doesn't even try to. His sole focus is on the red-and-blue-clad hero.

"Get to MJ!" Peter shouts the order just as Scorpion pounces, surging forward with his claws extended. The teen is quick to drop to the ground to avoid them, recalling just how fast Scorpion is, and then juts his feet up to thrust a kick into the villain's abdomen. He sends Scorpion flying and follows through with his kick to end up standing. Unfortunately, Scorpion also recovers just as fast, using his already unfurled claws to slow his momentum by digging them into the sidewalk. "'Pest?' What kind of insult is that?" Peter calls over to him while he lowers his stance and makes sure his web-shooters are topped off. That's when Tony catches up, firing his repulsor beams as he flies over. Surprisingly, the searing beam refracts off Scorpion's armor and towards Peter and the truck. Peter's Spidey Sense instantaneously erupts and he leaps out of the way just in time for the beam of energy to explode the truck, jettisoning him even further. The heat from the exploding merely caresses his back and doesn't do any real damage.

"Underoos! You okay?!" Tony demands fretfully, still trying to distract Scorpion with an Iron Man style lightshow.

"Yeah! I'm good!" Peter reassures and springs into the fight once again.

"The definition of 'pest' is 'an epidemic disease associated with high mortality; specifically: a plague,'" Karen supplies for him as he decides to test out his new webs' tensile strength. That wasn't exactly what he meant when he asked, but it brings new light to the word.

"Woah, he called me a plague?!" he questions, completely nonplussed by the information. Regardless of his bewilderment, he starts shooting webs and running along the sides of nearby cars and the Tower to wrap Scorpion from all sides. As he does this, Tony changes tactics and instead uses his repulsors to blind the villain as opposed to letting them ricochet again. "That's, like, way worse of an insult than I thought it would be. That's one of those words that you don't think is too bad until you actually see the definition. Not cool, man." Scorpion screams unintelligibly at Peter, veins popping starkly against his pallored face. He continues to pay no mind to or waste energy on Tony, his rage entirely aimed towards the young hero. By the time Peter's feet hit the ground, Scorpion is already struggling to get out of the webbing, a few of his razor-sharp claws sticking through.

"Nice one," Tony praises over the comms, floating just above the ground. Peter nods a thank you from his low stance, but doesn't take his eyes off Gargan who seems even more deranged than the last time they fought. A psychotic break, maybe?

"Thanks, I just hope they-" He's cut off by the sound of webs snapping apart followed by an infuriated, animalistic roar. "Last…" he finishes, much to his chagrin.

"We'll work on the durability later," Tony promises. No sense in worrying about it now, they have bigger things to worry about. Peter recognizes Scorpion's action of coiling his tail, so he rapidly webs himself to higher ground and out of the villain's path of destruction as Scorpion rockets himself into the air.

"Watch out! He can jump pretty far! And he's fast!" he relays, now running on the side of the concrete parking complex to avoid Scorpion's grasp.

"Got it!" Tony flies alongside the hyperfocused Gargan, afraid that launching missiles will inadvertently hit Peter, and throws a nanotechnology mallet punch backed by mini-repulsors. The power behind his fist rocks Scorpion, but it isn't enough to topple or come between his determination. Be that as it may, it is enough to fuel his anger and momentarily deter him enough to encapsulate Tony's fist in a deathly grip and hurl him into the parking complex.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter sputters, dread seizing his heart when Tony crashes through column after column of concrete.

"I'm turning into a monster! A monster! He needs to undo it!" Scorpion shrieks with reckless abandon. His delusional obsession forces him to become engrossed in Peter's every move again, but Peter's eyes are locked on the cloud of dust and pile of debris that Tony landed in.

"I can't help you with that if you keep going nuts! You gotta play nice!" he attempts to reason, despite knowing it won't do much good. Scorpion isn't screaming for Peter Parker anymore, so Peter figures that he was only looking in hopes it could lead to seeing Spider-Man. None of me can catch a break, he internally grumbles.

"You can't help!" Along with his screech, Scorpion tears out a chunk of concrete and uses his tail to whip it forward. Peter doesn't expect it to be so exceptionally fast, practically cutting through the air, and only manages to move enough for it to only catch his side. Still, the eruption of pain catches him by surprise and traps the air in his lungs. He barely has his wits about him to dodge the plasma blast that's thrown from the cybernetic tail.

"Look, man, I already know how those feel and don't want a repeat," he attempts to quip in between gasps of hardly-hidden pain.

"Peter, be careful," Karen stresses, concern bleeding into her voice. "That rock was thrown at almost forty meters per second. Inches over and it could've shattered a vertebra." Her warning causes Peter to nod whilst ducking beneath flying fists. Ninety miles an hour, huh? He notes. With the wind knocked out of him, forces him into close combat as he recovers his breath in place. They're caught in an exchange of blows, Scorpion doing most of the punching and Peter doing the ducking, but the kid does his best to try to find weak spots as he goes. Fast He's too fast. How is he so fast? Then, with dread, he remembers they found out that Scorpion has a precognitive sense just like his Spidey Sense. No wonder he can't land a hit. Not only that, but he also has to keep an eye on the infamous, blade-wielding appendage to avoid being impaled. Out of nowhere, Tony comes slingshotting out of the complex to tackle the villain out of reach and toward the ground.

"Got a plan, kid?" he nonchalantly prompts, hovering next to Peter. They keep their gazes pinned on Scorpion as he lands without breaking a sweat.

"Uh, kind of? Stuck between two. Both are bad," Peter answers honestly. He webs the broken slabs of concrete using Splitter Webs and starts lobbing them down, hoping to nail Scorpion's face a few times. Tony follows suit and begins to strategically fire missiles.

"Let's hear it. You know him best," he urges. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't starting to worry. With how populated the area is and how insane Gargan is, it's not a good combination.

"Well, the way I see it, we have two options. One we," Peter grunts as he hurls a piece of concrete particularly hard and fires a Web Grenade directly afterwards, "piss him off. A lot." The chunk smashes into Scorpion's face, shattering his orange face shield, and then is stuck in place by the subsequent Web Grenade.

"And that helps us how…?" Tony prods, not too keen on aggravating the psycho even further.

"He makes mistakes when he's angry; his fighting becomes sloppy, his moves are more predictable, he doesn't think things through. But it makes him more of a loose cannon." As Peter explains, Scorpion shreds the webbing with even less effort than last time and slings acid up at them, already halfway up to them. Peter flips out of the acid's range, landing before he shoots a series of Stun Webs in rapid succession. If anything, the pelting webs only serve to piss Scorpion off more. "He could get people hurt," he adds realistically. Scorpion leaps the rest of the way, but both heroes are able to avoid his attack; Tony easily redirects his repulsors while Peter jumps out into the air only to use a web to pull himself back onto the complex.

"Okay, I getcha," Tony recognizes, his words accompanied by the firing of his Energy Displacer Canons. They do slightly better than his repulsors did, this time doing more than rebounding off Scorpion's plated armor or only leaving behind scorch marks. Each blast forces him back a few paces, successfully giving them some more time. "And Plan B?" Peter chuckles, ducking beneath a swipe of Scorpion's tail and shooting a Taser Web.

"For once, I actually have one of those." The Taser Web doesn't do much, but he uses the attached web to yank the villain off the side of the complex and tries to swing him into the nearby building. Before he can get that far, Scorpion cuts through the webbing and utilizes his tail to pull himself back into Peter's space. He juts out his hand and grasps Peter's neck prior to slamming him into the ground. Peter's throat is immediately clamped shut, making it impossible for him to gasp due to the harsh impact. In that split second, he starts to panic, trying to push the traumatic images out of his mind. Thankfully, Tony doesn't hesitate to slam into Scorpion with thrusters at full power, catapulting them both further into the shambles of the complex. Peter sucks in a breath as soon as he's able to and scrambles to his feet, but freezes in place.

The sight of the crumbling parking complex with multiple support beams obliterated causes his chest to tighten and Spidey Sense to blare louder and more intensely than it has in a year. His hands tremble and his throat goes dry. It's as if an invisible, perhaps mental, barrier keeps him from sprinting back into the fight.

"Peter, you're safe," Karen reassures as soon as his heart rate spikes. Her soothing voice effectively pulls him out of the momentary shock. He nods shakily, ignores the feeling of impending doom, and runs in to help Tony.

"You there, kid?!" Tony's voice comes through Peter's suit before the teenager can even see him.

"I'm okay!" Peter replies, albeit with a jittery voice. His danger-predicting senses only amplify the farther he goes in, but he ignores them for the sake of helping Tony. "Plan B is try to talk him down!" He uses his webs to slingshot himself forward with his fist pulled back and nails Scorpion in the face now that his face shield is shattered.

"Are you insane?!" Tony demands incredulously at the sheer idea of trying to reason with Scorpion. As Scorpion recoils, Peter leaps off the villain's chest like it's a platform and lands on the ceiling before Tony lets a series of Repulsor Canons loose. One of them is a direct hit to the face, finally causing Scorpion to sustain damage. The beam of energy sears his cheek and tips him onto his back. Regardless, he makes use of his tail and forearms to protect himself from the blasts in the compromising position.

"Not as insane as he is!" Peter counters, then eyes his belovèd segway in the corner of the lot. Awe, I'm gonna regret this… Before Scorpion can properly recover from the blasts, he webs the segway and slams it square in the villain's face. So far it's the only vulnerable part of him that Peter can use to his advantage. The segway breaks apart on impact and fragments outwards, but, more importantly, it makes Scorpion stumble back a few steps. Tony takes advantage of the opening and forms a blade out of the nanotech, seeing as the repulsors and canons aren't doing squat. "If we can convince him his suit is just a suit, it might calm him down!" Peter tries to make his case. As he does so, Tony swipes and stabs at Scorpion's armor to search for a weak spot, but all it seems to do is tick the man off more. "He thinks the mutation is making him become a Scorpion! And you won't be able to hit him hard enough to do anything! He has a Scorpion Sense thingy, remember?!"

"You can't just reason with him!" Tony refutes through clenched teeth from fighting.

"But if I can just- uh oh…" Peter says despondently, eying the now totaled segway. Tony's heart all but stalls and he delivers a particularly rough blow to Scorpion's suit.

"What's wrong?!"

"I think the segway's…broken." Peter's shoulders droop in disappointment. Seeing it as a lost cause, he starts slinging the broken pieces at Scorpion with his webs to aid Tony by disorienting the raging man.

"Oh thank god," Tony says breathlessly, not even trying to hide the fact that he's relieved.

"Don't sound so happy about it," Peter pouts, both at Tony's elation and that he's run out of debris to throw.

"I'll make it up to you, kid. With something less anxiety inducing for me." He just takes Tony's word for it and assesses the situation while his mentor has Scorpion on his toes. Not all the upgrades are implemented yet. I'm not ready. I didn't prep enough for this. All we know is that Gargan's mental health is deteriorating and his temper is increasing. We need to get out of here, we're at a disadvantage in tight spaces. He decidedly focuses his efforts on pinning the tail down as much as possible, regardless of how strong it might be. It won't matter how strong it is if Scorpion's too distracted to utilize it. "I'm not feeling great about this so-called plan!" Tony voices his skeptical concerns.

"You got any better ideas?!" he challenges as he grips the metal tail with all his might. In an effort to immobilize it, he clings to it and rapidly starts shooting web after web to keep it in one place. The tail whips him back and forth, but gradually slows the more its movement is impeded and the more Scorpion is zeroed in on Tony.

"I'll kill him if he doesn't fix me! I'll kill him! I'll end his worthless life!" Scorpion finally yells something comprehensible in between the screeches. He takes a commanding, scarily fast step forward and grips Tony's extended blade…then breaks it off the suit entirely. Tony staggers back from the force and Scorpion's tail suddenly frees itself before flinging Peter off. Peter is momentarily disoriented, but rights himself midair and lands horizontally on a column. Taking advantage of the momentum, he springs from his position and clings to Scorpion's back.

"You have to listen to me," he begins calmly, hoping that it will make Scorpion calm by osmosis.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Tony questions, obviously confounded by Peter's tactics. With Peter on his back, Scorpion lets out shrill screams and his tail attempts to skewer the pesky hero from behind. Fortunately, due to his attuned senses, each stab misses him and creates long gashes in the villain's previously impenetrable armor instead.

"Following Plan B," he says under his breath to avoid Scorpion's hearing. "Ever see The Incredibles?" His inquiry only confuses Tony more, but the kid has a plan. If his armor is too tough, then maybe he can destroy it himself, Peter mentally calculates. Just like how Mr. Incredible destroyed Syndrome's Omnidroids.

"Get off! Get off, you worthless, good-for-nothing-" He doesn't let Scorpion spiral more and interjects smoothly.

"You're okay," he says with as much composure as the circumstances will allow. Don't call him Scorpion, he tells himself. It'll just reinforce the mental correlation. "You're not a scorpion. We can do our best to help you, but you have to calm down." You can't reason with someone in the middle of a psychotic break, the logical part of his mind corrects. He dodges the lightning-fast jabs from the cybernetically controlled tail and attributes it to Gargan's pure frustration. The hits carve splits into the armor, but still not enough to deter him. If the villain is hyperfocused on Peter, then having said hero on his back would steal his full attention. That leaves Tony off his radar, so he prepares by deploying his Energy Displacer Sentries around the two. If anything goes wrong, he'll be able to react, but he also wants to give Peter a chance.

"Look at me! Look at me! I'll never be the same!" Gargan isn't listening to reason, not that he did in the first place, but Peter isn't giving up. He hardens his voice and doesn't back down.

"Mac, you're wearing a suit," he presses, using his first name.

"You're, you're lying! You're all liars! Liars!" Gargan struggles even harder, spinning and shaking in an effort to get Peter off. Peter is forced to lean his body to the side as the sharpened blade once again darts down at him. The blade tinks off the armor, leaving behind a puncture and a divot.

"Look! It's hitting your armor, right? Your tail? And you don't feel it! That's 'cause it's not a part of you! It's just a suit!" Peter uses his fingertips to stay adhered to the surface of the metal, but Gargan abruptly slows his struggling. The teen takes a shaky breath while he can, then softens his voice. "It's just a suit," he repeats, "you're still you. And we can work on getting you help. Mr. Stark is one of the smartest people out there and has a lot of connections. We can help." Please let this work, please let this work, please let this work. Gargan's shoulders begin to shudder, causing Peter to look up at Tony for what to do. Is he…crying? "It's gonna be o-" The shuddering becomes a chuckle. Gargan isn't crying, he's laughing.

"A suit, huh? A damn suit?!" The chuckle quickly devolves into insane, maniacal laughter. "If this is just a suit and I'm already stronger than both of you put together, I'd be a lot more scared." Before Peter has the chance to register it, his Spidey Sense amplifies its presence as Gargan vigorously seizes him by the head and throws him off at a startling speed.

"Kid!" Tony's panicked shout and the firing of his canons reach Peter's ears, then he smacks against the concrete floor. He tumbles over and over, stunning his senses as he skids across the ground. The world around him blurs in motion and he vainly covers his head so his arms take the brunt of the damage. However, as soon as he does so, the concrete isn't underneath him anymore. A gasp escapes him, unsure of what's going on, and then he's falling. Webs! Shoot shoot shoot shoot. He fumbles to hit his web-shooters with hands shaking from adrenaline.

"Peter," Karen warns in very evident concern and activates the parachute to be safe.

"I'm, I'm-" Peter stutters out, the parachute slowing his descent minutely. Hands all of a sudden hook underneath his arms and he immediately knows who it is.

"I gotcha," Tony assures, just as breathless as Peter is.

"Thanks-" They're harshly sideswiped and sent careening towards the ground. Tony can't correct with his repulsors fast enough and asphalt explodes around him when he collides with the street below. Luckily the suit takes the brunt of the damage, only leaving him slightly tousled, but Peter is another story. The first thing Peter hits is a series of temporary, overhead power lines. He clings to them when he starts to fall again, swaying along with them. His eyes instantly search for Tony and land on the crater where his mentor is, thankfully, getting back up. There isn't time to celebrate because Gargan is precipitously on top of him again, swiping and successfully tearing through the wires.

Peter sees the electricity before he feels it. The blue current of energy reflects in his lenses and there isn't enough time to do anything, especially when Gargan tightly wraps his hand around the hero's left wrist. Then the electricity hits. It's a brief but searing pain that makes every single muscle in his body lock up against his will. His breathing is halted and it feels like his heart is all but beating out of his chest. It doesn't last long, but the full-body agony is jarring to say the least. His muscles suddenly go slack, if not spasming, and he doesn't even register being thrown until he's hitting the ground for a second time. He goes down like a ragdoll, but he's finally able to suck in a vital breath of air and coughs violently. The scene in front of him spins and tilts unnaturally. Yet it isn't as distressing as the erratic beating of his heart.

"How does it feel?" Gargan's deep, patronizing voice asks as if the circumstances bear no real weight. "To be the one shocked this time," he clarifies with a dark chuckle.

"Get away from him!" He expects it to be Tony's voice, but it's MJ's. No no no don't! It's not safe! Go back! Hide! Go! he screams in his head, but only manages to groan aloud. He pushes up to his hands and knees, only to see sparks out of the corner of his eye. I can survive that, they can't. They could get hurt. Hurt. Pain. No. Melted snow conducts electricity because the ions are mobile-

"Stay back!" he screams, trying to portray the weight of the situation and shredding his voice in the process. MJ freezes at his tone of voice, Ned not far behind. They've never heard him sound like that and…and it scares them. Now that he's up, Tony fires beam after beam of energy to get Gargan's focus away from the kid.

"Hey! Bastard!" Tony yells, switching to his powerful Unibeam straight from his chest repulsor. Reality blurs in and out of focus for Peter, but he tries to get up nonetheless. His muscles aren't cooperating, nothing is, yet he's able to get to his unsteady feet.

"Are you alright?" As Karen speaks, she scans Peter to make sure he isn't hurt. "You're showing signs of arrhythmia. You need to take a few deep breaths and cough for me." Peter does as he's told and, for some reason, it feels like there's less pressure in his chest. When he tries to shoot a web from his left wrist, nothing happens. He vaguely feels something bumpy and uneven beneath his fingers and slowly looks down to see his web-shooter completely crumpled. It's broken. Useless. He shakes his head and concentrates his detached mind on his other, working web-shooter. His thoughts are disjointed and clouded. Regardless, he looks up with unfocused eyes and sees Tony hitting Gargan with absolutely everything he has. Missiles, lasers, energy beams, battering rams, everything.

"I don't have time for you!" he hears Gargan scream at the top of his lungs. I have to help Tony. We can't beat him alone. It's the only coherent thought he can carry out. He does his best to shake away the stupor and extends his right hand to shoot a singular web. All he needs to do is help somehow.

"Sit this one out, Spidey," Tony orders, his tone leaving no room for argument. He and the villain are now in a battle of fistacuffs, relying mainly on their brute force to get them through it.

"I can help," Peter argues anyways. Now that his head is clearer, he can formulate a Plan C. He lands on the side of the building closest to their fight and switches out his empty web canisters. "I'll hit him with Web Grenades and you go for his head. It's the only weak spot we've got. Your blasts hurt him most when they hit his head." Contrary to his quick words, Tony isn't as keen to throw him back into the fray.

"This isn't a discussion. Go to-" Tony is blind-sided by the tail that slams into his helmet. The collision would've sent him flying if it weren't for Gargan grasping at his armor and digging his claws into the chestplate. Peter instantly jumps into action and shoots web after web to both keep his distance as well as limit his mobility. It doesn't work out that way. He knows that he's just trying the same type of thing, but what else does he have? What else is there? He just wasn't ready. Gargan yanks on one of the webs, pulling him within range, and then punches him back out of it.

"Hairline fracture detected on the zygomatic process of the temporal bone," Karen informs, her tone bordering on hysterical, as Peter lands. Peter holds a hand to his throbbing cheek and realizes one of his lenses shattered in the process, but forces himself to shake it off. But it's the least of his worries when Gargan tears Tony's chestplate the rest of the way off and rips away his mask, holding him up by the throat. His suit loses power all at once without the arc reactor in Tony's chest connected to the rest of it, becoming nothing but dead weight. The nanotech starts reforming the suit, but it isn't faster than Gargan's poised tail.

Flashes of Peter's nightmare are sent to the forefront of his mind. He surges forward, pushing his body's limits to reach his mentor in time. Outright sprinting will be faster than his webs, but he still doesn't know if it'll be enough. If he'll be enough. He has to be. He can't let what happened in his dream become real. He can't let Tony die for him. This time he'll make it. He has to.

The tail speeds forward, blurring due to the acceleration. It all feels like slow motion with only the three of them moving at all. The nanotech and Peter are both fighting to beat the tail's velocity. Peter can tell the nanotech won't. It's up to him. His heart pounds. His legs throb. His vision blurs. But it's enough. He makes it.

He makes it with only enough time to force himself between Tony and the blade.

A spike of fear courses through him as the blade pierces his back, causing his stomach to churn. He stares at Tony's exposed face and the world stands still. Tony looks on in horror, afraid that if he looks anywhere but Peter's face, it'll be too real. Peter is just as frozen. His body can't comprehend the pain beyond the shock.

"Thanks for," Gargan starts from behind and leans closer, "putting it all into perspective." The agony sets in when the tail's blade is violently ripped from his back. His chest spasms with a need for air but the excruciating pain keeps him from doing anything but staring. A part of him screams he's in shock when the tremors take over his hands and his face pales. Tony recovers faster, but not by much, and dispatches every weapon he doesn't have to personally operate. But Gargan's job is done. His mission is accomplished. The hero won't last much longer. So he leaps away, bounding from building to building and allowing the weapons to chase him off.

Peter's legs give out as a searing hot sensation rushes through his veins, overwhelming his body in an instant. It feels like lava is coursing through him instead of blood. Tony catches him before he has the chance to fall, still unable to form words, and gently lowers him to the ground. They don't break eye contact once.

"Call the medics! An ambulance! Someone!" Tony screams at the top of his lungs back at Ned and MJ or anyone who will listen at this point. Peter is finally able to breathe after what feels like ages, but his breaths come out in harsh gasps accompanied by pain-ridden moans. Sweat beads up on his forehead and he has that feeling where you don't know if you're going to throw up or pass out. His hands clench around Tony's suit as a wave of burning pain seizes him, denting the metal beneath his fingers. "Hey, kid. It's okay. You're going to be okay, you hear me? You're gonna be fine. Just, just keep your eyes on me," Tony says softly, his voice already trembling. Peter gives him a quivering nod as he keeps himself from sobbing.

"Mr. Stark, oh god I'm, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I- I didn't-" He tries to formulate a coherent thought, but all he can focus on is the overwhelming pain. His heart rate is picking up and heat washes over him. It's like his skin is boiling from the inside out.

"Don't say sorry, bud. I'm right here. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you," Tony responds resolutely. "Someone help!" he screams over his shoulder. "Okay, okay I'm going to take off the suit to get a better look, alright? I'll leave the mask, don't worry." Peter can hear the words, he just can't…understand them all that well. He fights what he assumes are his eyes rolling back, but everything's spinning. It's hard to tell. What he does notice is the suit loosening and Tony looming over him. His mentor has a look of fear and anguish that he's never seen before. I did something wrong. I was wrong. But it was the right thing to do. That doesn't make any sense. Mr. Stark's gonna be mad. He told me not to put myself in danger. Take care of myself. Put myself first. I did the opposite. I put him first. I did this to myself. He's mad. He's mad he's mad he's mad he's mad-

"Ple…" The words don't form correctly on his lips and a tear flows out of the corner of his visible eye, but he tries again. "Please don't be upset. Not…not your…fault," he chokes out, followed quickly by a soft cry. He winces as the fabric is lifted from his wound and can't help the whimper that escapes him. He hates showing weakness.

"We're gonna fix it. I won't let anything happen to you. Not again," Tony continues trying to reassure them both. The blade went straight through the kid's back and out his abdomen. He rubs a hand down his face, stalling it over his mouth. "This is going to sting, but it'll be over fast, I promise. Ready?" Peter nods once again, but it's slower. His eyes are more distant, his face is void of color, and his whole body is trembling. He distantly registers a stinging sensation on his stomach, then he's rolled onto his side and feels the same thing on his back. With the entry and exit wounds sealed up with his suit's tissue repair spray, Tony carefully lies Peter on his back again. "Hey, hey, eyes here." He snaps his fingers to try to get Peter's attention back. Peter hadn't realized where his eyes were, to be honest. He's not sure where he's seeing much of anything. It's all fuzzy. The light hurts his head and strains his eyes.

"Hm?" he hums tiredly, until a sudden jolt of pain makes his eyes go wide. He cries out, his eyes squeezed shut, and curls in on himself. His panting quickens as he clutches his middle.

"Kid?! It's okay, it's okay." Tony grasps one of Peter's hands and holds it tight. He can't lose the kid. He can't. It's not an option. Before he knows it, tears are gathering in his eyes and soaking into his mask. "You'll be just fine. You're doing great. You're so strong and I'm proud of you. Have I told you that recently? I'm so proud of you. You're the best kid out there." His throat aches, but Peter is the one who finally sobs.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark," Peter repeats through heart wrenching weeps. "I, I don't know if I can…do this. You gotta, you gotta tell, tell May-" He hiccups between gasps and cries out as the pain escalates. Tony can't stand it anymore; he gingerly pulls Peter close and holds him in his arms in hopes of providing comfort.

"You can tell her when you see her. You aren't going anywhere." Peter clutches onto him for dear life and bawls his heart out. The pain is unfathomably excruciating, he's never experienced anything like it. Nothing compares to the pain. He's on fire but he can't suppress the shivers. He can't get enough air. He feels like he's dying. He distantly wonders if that would be better or worse. The thought of relief is too tempting, but he wouldn't want his family to go through that. He knows what it's like to grieve for years and years and years. They don't deserve that, but he can't think straight. Logic melts from his mind, leaving behind a jumbled mess of thoughts and memories. When he feels the frigid air and snow on his bare skin, his mind floats to a specific memory.

"Don't…don't take the…suit," he pleads as his mind wanders, eyes half-lidded. Tony tightens his hold.

"I'm not going to- Christ, I thought we moved past this." He closes his eyes and tucks Peter's head underneath his chin in a desperate attempt to shield him from the world. Peter can't feel the gesture. The only thing he can register now is the pain. His strength is completely diminished. He has nothing left. His body goes numb and his mind shatters.

It's then that Stark Industries' medical personnel burst out of the Tower's main entrance with a gurney, medical equipment, and plenty of hands to use them.

"Sir, you have to give us room to work," one of them orders firmly, trying to get to the young hero. "We can't help him if you don't let him go," she persists. That seems to snap Tony out of his overprotective manner of not letting a soul near Peter, and he lowers him to the ground again.

"Mr. Star…" Peter tries to protest when he no longer feels sheltered, but he doesn't have the energy. Bright lights and a swirl of movement envelop him. His body doesn't have the energy to shake, only to keep his heart pumping. It's beating fast. Too fast. It pushes the air out of his lungs. Hands swarm him and he lets himself be pushed around.

He can't move.

His eyes are closed.

He's not sure if he's breathing.

He's not sure if he's feeling.

He's not sure of anything.

In that moment, Tony hears the rapid, high pitched tone from the heart monitor.

"He's going into V-Tach!" a medic shouts, applying adhesive AED pads to Peter's chest. Tony doesn't breathe. It can't be. This can't be happening. This isn't how it's supposed to turn out. He isn't supposed to lose the kid. He just can't. He stares at the monitor in horror, unwilling to move.

Peter is going into cardiac arrest.

oops. oh no. what are we gonna do. this is a disaster. what's tony gonna do?

sorry for the cliffhanger but am i REALLY sorry? 😏

Thank you for reading! ❤️️ 💛💚💙💜

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