A/N- I'm back to the world of writing! Please read the following notes so you understand what's going on!
This story will be set after Infinity War, except Quill would have kept his cool, they beat Thanos, and my mental trauma is cured! No snap, no deaths, we're all good. So basically, they beat Thanos and life carried on... Far From Home happens, and you're good to go! The next chapter is going to explain everything on how Peter got where he is, and I'm hoping to get that out soon. I haven't decided if this will become a series yet, but I'm leaning towards a no. Just a chapter book to put Peter through it. Please leave questions in the comments if I left anything out, and enjoy! Prompts always welcome : )
Also, I'm kinda stealing something from Criminal Minds, nothing big but just a small idea to help Tony. No spoilers though. The plot is still my idea and everything... so yeah. Happy reading!
If you have not yet read my authors note, please, please, please do so. This will layout the story for you and hopefully avoid any questions.
The boy sat in his chair, glazed eyes staring at the concrete wall in front of him, right foot tapping to some foreign beat that he didn't know. Didn't remember. There was a difference between those words. Know and remember. He knew that there was a difference. One of the few things he knew. Or remembered? It doesn't matter. There was a difference.
A bright light blinded the boy, distracting him from his thoughts as a tray was perched on a ledge in front of the door and the room went dark again. The boy lowered himself onto the floor, slowly scooting away from his chair and towards his light.
The light was gone, yes. Well, the one that he could see. He knew that the thing that slid open twice a day and served him two sandwiches and a juice box was called a door. But he didn't like that word. He didn't like doors. They had stopped opening for him a long time ago. Doors made him feel sad, and empty, and alone.
But the boy liked the light. It was so different from the dark he was used to. When he first arrived in his home with his chair, every time he saw the light, he thought dad was coming to save him. Though he didn't really know who dad was. Day by day, as the door kept opening and he was served his food, he forgot why the light was important. Or who dad was. Or anything that wasn't in his home.
He forgot. But that was okay.
He didn't need to remember. He already knew.
He knew that he would wake up in his corner to light. The light that made him feel warm even though he couldn't remember why. He would eat every last crumb that was served to him, and peel open the juice box to make sure he didn't miss a drop.
And then he stood and moved to his chair. He sat back against the wooden bars and stared at the wall in front of him until light was back. And then he would eat his sandwiches again. And he would peel open his juice box. And then he would return his tray to the ledge and fall asleep until light was back.
The light never failed to make him feel warm. The door never failed to make him feel cold. So, he named the door light, and watched in awe as it slid open and served him his food.
And that was what he knew.
He knew corner, he knew light, he knew warm, he knew food, he knew chair, and he knew dad. Those were his words that he knew. And they all made him feel warm.
Corner, light, warm, food, chair, dad.
Corner, light, warm, food, chair, dad.
Corner, light, warm, food, chair, dad.
He liked his words, and he thought about them a lot. He ran them through his head as he stared at his wall. And as he ate. And as he fell asleep.
The boy had been sitting in his chair for ages. He was waiting for light. Light was supposed to come before he lays down. He was supposed to get food and light and then lay down in his corner. But light wasn't on time today. He waited for so long be he couldn't find light. So, he decided to lay down in his corner and wait for light to come to him.
Tony was sure he was about to cry. Or pass out. Or both.
It had been their first hit on Peter in 5 months. His boy had been missing for 13 months. And they had given up on the eighth. Their first hit in 5 months and it was a dead end.
Tony never went back to the lab after Peter had gone missing. He couldn't do it without ending up sobbing over the boy's desk where his notes on new web fluid formulas were collecting dust.
He had been done. If he needed to do a retouch on one of his suits after a battle, he would head to Bruces lab and get it done, leaving as soon as possible.
He felt empty every time he stepped into a lab because he wasn't met with the bright and shining smile of his favorite kid. He was done with his work.
Instead, he stayed close to people, making sure to spend as much time as possible with them. He would stick by Pepper's side when she was home, or talk with Rhodey for hours about anything going on in the world, or sit in the common room where it was likely he would cross paths with somebody and wouldn't have to feel so terribly alone.
But he never went back into the lab.
Until one night, 12 months and 30 days after Peter had disappeared, Tony woke up in a cold sweat, panting and flipping the lights on to be met with an empty bed. Pepper was on a business trip, something that she had picked up again from her old schedule when Peter hadn't been missing.
So, Tony saw his wife every couple of weeks, and she only stayed home for a few days at a time before she was off again.
He had nightmares basically anytime he slept, and then he would most likely go sit in the common room with the tv playing as he waited for anyone else to wake up.
But not tonight. The man could barely even remember what the dream was about, which was unusual. He normally couldn't get the pictures out of his head for hours after he saw someone he loved being hurt. But right now, he had a nagging feeling that he needed to get to the lab.
He needed to go, go, get to the lab and save Peter. Because something was different. He didn't know what, or why, but when did he ever lately?
So, the man jumped from his bed, sprined down the hall and to his lab. Friday opened the doors for him immediately, and he stopped in the doorway as the lights flicked on, holograms appearing left and right like he had never left.
"Fri... shut down all of the holograms. I want the baby monitor footage that Karen caught from the night Peter was taken up at my desk," He panted out while he caught his breath.
"Boss, might I remind you that this footage has been looked over multiple times by every Avenger, I am not sure that-"
"I don't care if it has been looked over a thousand times. I want to see it," He snapped, interrupting her before she could finish.
"I'm not sure it would be in the best interest of your mental health. Shall I inform the team that you have information on Pe-" Tony cut her off again before she said the name.
"Friday, I don't know if I even have anything, don't wake anyone up. I just need to look and make sure there is nothing we missed. I'll head back to bed if there's nothing, okay? Just let me look."
The man waited in silence for a few moments, and just as he expected another argument from his AI, a hologram flickered to life before him. He had every detail of the video memorized, and he watched the same video he had seen a hundred times over play once again.
After everything that had happened blew over, May had been moved to one of the safest apartment complexes in the city, Peter secretly following behind her. Since no guests ever came to the Parker apartment, Peter's Spider-Man mask had been laid out on the counter, able to catch some of the footage from the boy's capture.
May had been cooking dinner for the two of them as shown in the bottom left of the screen. The mask was just high enough that you could see the entire kitchen and living area of the apartment, as well as half way down the front door. The woman was scooping the pasta she made into two bowls for her and Peter, when three consecutive knocks sounded on the door.
She slowly walked towards the door and looked through the peep hole, where she saw a man wearing one of the security guard coats that guarded the building. Thinking that he was a resident of the tower, she opened the door to greet him with a smile.
Tony dropped his eyes from the screen at this part, the sound of a knife being used on May Parker enough to make him throw up. After about ten seconds, he looked up to see the man walking out of the frame and down the hall to the bedrooms, leaving a lifeless aunt on the floor of the living room.
You could slightly hear a struggle coming from one of the rooms, and then Peter was being pulled out of his room, barely even moving because of the drugs he had been given. When the man had pulled Peter over May's form, the boy had begun screaming and struggling, barely getting anywhere before he was knocked out cold by his abductor.
When the team had arrived at the scene, they had been able to figure out the man that took Peter had taken down every security guard in the building, stole one of said security guard's jackets, which had let him successfully get into the Parker's apartment with no forced entry. He had then injected xylazine into the boy's system so he had no struggle taking him away.
They had scoured everything in the apartment and on the video, but the man's face had been hidden by a ski mask which was put back on his face when he entered the apartment, so there had been no way to get facial recognition on the man.
Tony instructed Friday to rewind the video, and watched it through twice more.
"Think outside of the box, Stark. Outside of the box," He quietly mumbled to himself as he watched the video for a fourth time.
He stared at the door, not looking at May the moment it started. And that's when he noticed the doorknob. It was barely visible on the camera, most of it cut out of frame, but you could still tell if it moved at all.
And it did.
Before the knocking, the door handle twisted 1, 2, 3 times. After the door wouldn't open, there was silence for a few seconds, and then the knocking.
"Pause the video," Tony said before starting to talk quietly to himself. "You twist it once to see if it's unlocked, maybe twice to check, but three times isn't reasonable."
He sat in silence for a few moments before speaking again. "So, plan b is to knock. 1, 2, 3, you got her attention." His head shot up as an idea struck him. "Resume it, Fri."
The man walked in, driving the knife directly into May's stomach and covering his face before she dropped, then kneeled next to her and stabbed her twice more in the abdomen.
"1, 2, 3."
Tony kept his eyes on the screen as the man walked out of view, and then back in with Peter in his arms. Once the boy started struggling, he was punched twice in the head which knocked him out, but the abductors fist slammed into the kids head yet again.
"1, 2, 3." Tony mumbled, mind searching for any connection in the pattern. "Friday, is there any type of OCD that has any significance with the number three?"
"Not necessarily to do with the number three, but there is a symptom of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder called Compulsive Counting." The AI replied.
"Which is?"
"Compulsive counting is a common symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder. People with counting compulsions may count because they feel that certain numbers have a special significance, and therefore specific actions must be performed a certain number of times, in this case three."
"So, it's possible for... his abductor to have this disorder?" Tony asked, a glimmer of hope sparking in his chest.
"The symptoms would align, boss."
Tony's eyes grew wide as everything started to click together. "And since this person used xylazine, he had to have known of Spider-Mans enhanced metabolism... which is only held in files in SHIELD. Friday, scan all of the Agents in SHIELD employment who fit the abductors profile, and see if they have this disorder."
The genius waited in tense silence for the AI to respond. "Negative, boss."
No, he was finally on to something after five months, he was going to figure it out. "What about someone that lost their job in the past 13 months?"
"...There is a match, boss. Mr. Jason Malik appears to have OCD and left his job with no warning approximately 13 months ago."
"Do you have his personal address?"
"Mr. Malik owns a warehouse in the Northern Parts of the state, sir. It was purchased 14 months ago from one Quinten Beck."
Tony leaned back in his chair as the wind was knocked out of him. "Fri... assemble the team. Now."
The team had been ready and boarding the Quinjet in minutes. Tony had started to brief them on what was going on, but was becoming more and more anxious that eventually Rhodey placed a hand on his shoulder and urged him to sit down.
Friday then informed every one of the situation, every person on full alert after hearing Peter's name. Steve had assigned everyone their jobs, reminding them not to get too distracted on the boy because there could be more guards around.
(Because they took Spider-Man and they are dangerous)
When the Quinjet landed in the middle of the woods 15 minutes later, everyone was racing to the warehouse half a mile away. On Steve's count, they burst into the building from all directions, startling the guards and taking them out with ease.
Room after room was cleared, and Tony was surprise he wasn't on his knees yet. He could barely see straight, the only thing going through his mind was, Peter, Peter, Peter.
Tony cleared one of the middle levels in record time, blasting the door to the last room on the level open to see none other than Jason Malik, spread on a couch with a toothy grin on his face.
"Mr. Stark, honestly I had given up on the idea you would come," the man chuckled lightly, his grin never faltering.
Iron Man crossed the room in three long strides, grabbed the man by the collar and slammed him up against the wall.
"Bottom level clear," he heard Sam say through the comms.
"Same with second," Natasha replied.
"Barnes and I don't see anyone on the top." Clint said.
"Stark, what's your status?" Steve asked.
"WHERE IS HE?" Tony shouted in the man's face.
Malik clicked his tongue three times and never broke contact with Tony's eyes. "My, my. Honestly Anthony, I couldn't have guessed you would ever show up. I think my little spider-pet has grown quite accustomed to his new life, yes?"
"HE'S A CHILD YOU BASTARD! WHERE THE HELL IS MY KID?"
"Now why would I ever-" A metal fist collided with the man's face, and he crumpled to the ground the second Tony let go of his shirt.
"Does anyone have Peter?" Tony asked desperately.
Silence.
"Does anyone have eyes on Peter?" Tony's voice grew more and more urgent.
"Tony, he's not here," Rhodey said quietly.
"What do you mean he's not here. He is. I'm going to-"
"Tony. We can go back to the Quinjet and find more information on Malik, but Friday confirmed there aren't any other heat signatures. We won't do Peter any good by searching through a ghost town."
Hearing the boy's name fall from Tony's best friends lips almost made him break.
Tony was sure he was about to cry. Or pass out. Or both.
It had been their first hit on Peter in 5 months. His boy had been missing for 13 months. And they had given up on the eighth. Their first hit in 5 months and it was a dead end.
'But we won't do Peter any good by searching through a ghost town.'
"Let's go." Tony whispered.
Everyone boarded the Quinjet without a word. The adrenaline they had felt after finding out they were bringing Peter home was wearing off, and they were all ready to collapse in their rooms and not speak for a week.
This was supposed to be it. Tony had done it. He had figured it out. And yet Peter wasn't in his arms. The bastard that took him had OCD. A fucking psychopath with OCD had taken his kid 13 months ago and they still didn't have him back.
Malik had admitted to abducting his child. They caught the guy but they didn't catch the kid. A former SHIELD agent, a mentally unstable pervert with OCD.
...SHIELD agent.
Those were always smart. They had to be. And he had been expecting The Avengers arrival.
Tony stood up abruptly, tapping the arc reactor on his chest twice so his suit would start forming around him.
"Tony-" Rhodey started.
"He's back there. I know he is."
And Tony was blasting out of the back of the jet before anyone could blink.
A/N- Ahhhhh, I hope this wasn't a bust. I think I have some good plans for this in the future... and I know there might have been some confusing parts in this chapter, but I'm going to explain everything in future ones! It supposed to be a bit confusing until you get the whole story. I stole the Compulsive Counting disorder idea from Criminal Minds, but the plot was still mine lol. Anyway, let me know what you think!