Disclaimer: I own nothing in the MCU or anything drawn from the comics. Unfortunately. Lol. All characters belong to the amazing people over at Marvel! I'm just playing with them for a little bit.
Summary: Homecoming AU. "I swear..." he gasped out between his sobs. "I... I didn't kill Mr. Stark." When the argument after the ferry incident goes horribly awry, Tony is missing and presumed dead, and Spider-Man is suspect number one. Peter believes his mentor is still alive out there, but he'll need help to find and save Tony from who truly wants him dead in time.
Author's Note: Hey, guys! Thank you for all the favorites, follows, and reviews for this story, it means a lot! In response to soup: Nope, no worries, you didn't sound rude at all! Thank you so much for your kind words! :-) I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter so much! As I'm glad that everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed did! With that said, here's chapter two! I hope you guys like it just as much!
Chapter 2– Where There's Smoke, There's Fire (Or, "Happy Hogan Really Hates Traffic Jams")
"Kid! What's wrong? Kid!"
Pepper hardly heard Happy behind her as she continued to stare at the thick, black smoke billowing toward the sky from the direction of New York Harbor with wide eyes and bated breath. His anxious tone while talking to who he'd mentioned was Peter only fueled the dread she'd been feeling all along. It filled her with a pang of cold fear she couldn't explain. Something was very wrong, she had no doubt about it.
Slowly, she raised a slightly trembling hand and placed it lightly on her chest. Over her heart. The dull pain she felt there throbbed beneath her fingertips in time with the thought that crossed her mind.
... Tony...
"Kid! Damn it..." Happy quickly ended the call before dialing back, bringing the phone back to his ear as he restlessly began to pace. "Come on, Peter, answer..."
Her heart pounded a little faster.
... Oh, God... Tony...
Finally, the head of security let out a frustrated breath as he slipped his phone back into the pocket of his suit jacket. "All right, Peps, I'm gonna head down to the harbor," he announced. "That's where you said they were, yes?"
At this, Pepper tore her gaze from all that smoke and turned away from the window. "Y-yeah," she said, her voice faltering slightly. She paused and cleared her throat, lowering her hand before continuing. "I'm coming with you."
Happy gave her a sad look of understanding. "I can't let you do that, Peps," he replied with a shake of his head. The action took a little more effort than he was used to under the weight of her dismayed gaze. "The kid's hurt, and I don't know what happened... I can't take a chance and put you in harm's way like that, not when I don't know what I'm walking into. Tony would have you fire me and then kill me himself if I did that. Literally, too..."
Pepper walked away from the windows over to her friend, leaning against the back of one of the couches for support. She squarely met his gaze, putting every ounce of determination she could muster behind the look. She couldn't stay behind, she just couldn't... She was much too restless, for starters, and she knew she'd go crazy if she were forced to stay behind in the Tower just waiting for any news. How could he expect her to do that when...?
"Hap, please," she murmured. "I can't just sit here. Tony... Tony's out there, too..." Her voice rose a little. "I have to do something. I have to make sure he's okay."
However, Happy once again shook his head. "Sorry, I can't allow it," he told her, his voice firm. He reached out, grasping her arms securely yet gently. "Listen, Peps. We don't know what happened. All I know is it's gotta be something serious since Peter didn't sound too good, and he's a hell of a lot tougher than he looks. The kid can take a beating. What good would it do Tony if you showed up and got hurt, huh?"
Pepper looked back at him, struggling to try to come up with some sort of rebuttal but failing miserably. Her thoughts were just too scrambled.
A small, somber smile returned to Happy's face. "Look, I know you're worried about him, and you have every right to be," he continued, his tone softer now. "But you and I, we know better than pretty much everyone just how tough Tony is. Right? I'm sure he's fine. Hell, for all we know, he could already be taking the kid to the hospital, and we have nothing to worry about. And then he could show up here at any minute. And if you didn't stay here, then who'd be here for him when he did? Huh? And at least that way, I'd be the only stupid one running around like a chicken with his head cut off."
As much as she wanted to believe it to be true, a nagging part of her just wouldn't allow Pepper to accept this possibility. Something was wrong, something was very wrong, she could feel it in her gut. And honestly, she couldn't tell if he even believed what he was saying or not. "Happy..."
She was startled when the head of security suddenly pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, but she couldn't stop a thin line of tears from forming in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him tightly, almost desperately, too. While the gesture had made her feel safe and secure in the past whenever she'd worried about Tony's well-being while he was out on a mission, and more notably while he'd been in captivity in Afghanistan for those three months, it didn't quite ease her fear this time.
"I'll be back soon, I promise," Happy assured her quietly, patting her tense back for emphasis. "And I also promise to report to you with anything I find out, as soon as I find it out. But you've gotta do the same, okay? I won't leave you hanging, but you can't leave me hanging, either. Deal?"
Not knowing what else she could do, Pepper nodded. Her restlessness was still screaming at her to leave along with Happy, to go find out what had happened down at the ferry. But deep down, she also knew that if something had actually happened, there wasn't much she could do about it, and she'd only risk getting in the way. As much as she hated to admit it, it was probably better that she did stay behind...
But if she received any indication that Tony needed her to be there for any reason whatsoever, she also knew she'd be out the door in a heartbeat.
"Okay." Happy slowly released her, his smile broadening when he saw that Pepper was trying to give him a similar look, even though it didn't come close to reaching her eyes. "Hang in there, Peps. I'll be back as quickly as I can, and I'll keep you informed of whatever I find out."
"Be careful, Hap," Pepper said, though there wasn't much feeling in the words. She watched as Happy hurried across the room to the elevator and stepped inside, once again pulling out his phone and scrolling through his contacts as the doors slid closed.
Feeling as though her strength was being sapped from her, she walked around the couch before sinking into its cushions, shutting her eyes tightly for a moment as she rested her head on the back of it behind her. She let out a long breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, unable to rid her mind of the image of that thick, black smoke...
Until the look Tony had given her shortly before he had left steadily replaced it. That smile that seemed to be reserved just for her, the one that truly touched those hazel eyes she loved so much and made them glow with warmth.
But his sharp visage was gone as quickly as it had appeared, engulfed in that suffocating smoke.
Pepper gasped as her eyes snapped open, her racing heart causing her to sit up straight on the couch. She glanced down at her phone before her fingers seemed to move on their own accord, going into her contacts until they reached Tony's number and hit the green call icon. She gazed at the picture that popped up for a second. It was one of him that had always been one of her favorites, a candid shot that she had happened to capture on one of their many casual dinner dates when they had been together. He was leaning forward a bit with his chin resting in his palm, supported by his elbow on the table. He'd been looking out the window, his gaze faraway since he'd been deep in thought, yet there was a hint of a smile, and what could have been laughter, in his calm, content eyes as though the place his thoughts had taken him to at the time had been a pleasant one. Perhaps even one of his favorites.
To that day, she didn't know what Tony had been thinking about when she'd snuck the picture since she'd never asked, despite how undeniably curious she was. She felt like she'd be trespassing on something that solely belonged to him if she did, though, and plus, she wasn't even sure if he knew she'd taken the picture in order to preserve that serene, carefree expression. It was enough just to be able to see it on her phone's screen, as it wasn't a look she saw in him overly often.
Pepper quickly brought the phone to her ear, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she waited for the voice she wanted to hear more than any other at that moment. Her other hand clenched into a fist on her lap.
Instead of the familiar tone laced with sarcasm, however, all she heard was dead air space.
Her dread returning tenfold, Pepper ended the call and lowered the phone before she turned around on the couch to look back at the windows, able to see the smoke even though she couldn't from her vantage point since it was so imprinted on her memory.
... Tony...
All he got was dead air space.
Happy muttered curses under his breath as he lowered the phone and smacked the steering wheel once. The usual pain in the ass traffic was even worse than normal the closer he got to the harbor. He was almost at a complete standstill. And worse yet, he couldn't reach his former employer and best friend.
Something was most definitely wrong, he was beginning to feel it himself. Just like he'd seen that fear in Pepper's eyes before he'd left.
Continuing to grumble under his breath, Happy impatiently leaned against the horn in effort to get the cars in front of him to move, even though he knew it wouldn't do any good, though the sound got drowned out by all the other horns that were blaring around him as all commuters were forced to a complete halt while officers attempted to get everyone detoured in the most organized way possible a couple blocks ahead.
This wasn't going to work, the head of security of Stark Industries thought to himself. Not when he had a potentially injured teen to find, as well as to figure out what the hell had happened to his boss' ex-boyfriend. As was his job.
Nope, this wasn't going to work at all.
"I'm so going to demand a raise..."
Happy glanced in the rearview mirror, flipping on his turn signal as his hands tightened around the wheel. He waited patiently, at least as patiently as he could, for a few minutes until he spotted his slim window of opportunity. And, with the knowledge that lives could be on the line if he didn't move while he had the chance, he took it.
Taking a deep breath, he turned the wheel as far as he could to the right and pushed down hard on the gas, swerving into the next lane over in a move that probably broke quite a few traffic laws and ended up cutting off a very impatient driver who had been trying to take that very spot. Happy allowed himself a small smile as horns blared around him, simply turning up the seventies rock radio station to drown them out. He drummed his fingers on the wheel in time to the beat as he eyed his next destination– the road up ahead running perpendicular to the one he was on that wasn't being used as the detour that he was frankly surprised only a couple other people were using as an escape route from this traffic jam from hell. He inched forward as the line before him did, and finally deciding that he was close enough, he once again swerved the wheel as far as it'd go to the right and floored it. More horns blared as he managed to turn onto the street all right, but he cursed heatedly when he jumped the curb more than he'd intended. Thankfully, his car sounded okay, and the police were too busy directing traffic and blocking off the direct path to the harbor to take much notice of his potentially reckless driving.
And at least now he was moving. Not very fast since he was still in typical New York City traffic, but anything was better than the complete standstill he had just gotten out of. Considering he was faced with a possible emergency and had some sort of crisis on his hands, that was the best he could ask for now.
Unfortunately, it appeared as though he wouldn't be able to get much closer to the harbor itself than he already was, as the police had done a fine job of setting up a perimeter. Happy didn't blame them, of course, as it was the best thing to do to keep everyone safe. Now that he was closer, he'd been very concerned to see that the top of the building that overlooked the Staten Island Ferry port was engulfed in flames, causing the thick black smoke that seemed to cover this entire area of the city. Firefighters were already working hard to combat it, but even he knew that it was going to take a long time to contain, and ultimately extinguish, it. And counting clean up efforts and searching for the cause of the inferno and looking for anyone who'd been potentially caught in the crosshairs, it'd be days before things were much more under control. All the roadblocks just happened to make this job that he had to do more inconvenient, that was all.
But as his gaze flitted up to the crackling flames again, he couldn't deny how his stomach churned. Yes, something was most definitely wrong here.
Finally deciding that zigzagging through the streets to find the closest spot possible to the harbor was a total waste of time when he could instead actually be looking for those he had come to find, Happy parked in front of a gelato store and quickly fed the meter. Then, taking a deep breath as he rolled up the sleeves of his suit jacket, he began to jog down the congested sidewalk.
As he went, the head of security pulled out his phone and once again tried to call Tony's personal number, hoping against hope that there would be a different outcome this time. His dread rose when he was only met with the same result as before– nothing but dead air space.
"C'mon... damn it, Tony..." he murmured before he then tried to call Peter yet again in hopes of getting a hold of him. But just like last time, the phone rang and rang, and the web-slinger didn't answer.
The crowd of people continued to thicken the closer he got to the harbor, and Happy had to push his way through to the front of where people were allowed to be in proximity to the building. At this distance, the crackling of the flames was loud, the sirens and anxious chatter even louder, and he could feel some of the heat from the fire. He anxiously scanned the crowd of civilians, of officers, of emergency personnel, but he didn't see any sign of Tony or Peter.
The only silver lining of that was he didn't see either the kid or the billionaire in the back of an ambulance or being tended to by paramedics somewhere. But as much as a relief as that was, that only opened the door to the far more terrifying question of where they could have possibly been.
Using his suit jacket to fan himself off a little as he tried to catch his breath and ignore the dirty looks being sent his way by the people he had so unceremoniously shoved aside, Happy turned his attention to the nearest officer patrolling the area. "Excuse me, sir?" When the uniformed man came closer, he continued as he pointed to the flaming building. "Any idea what happened here?"
The young officer looked him up and down skeptically, possibly looking for a badge of some kind that would label him as another man in law enforcement or possibly even a journalist who had arrived to the scene a little bit late. Happy inwardly sighed, knowing that his Stark Industries security badge wasn't going to serve him well here, which meant that the answer he was going to get was going to be wrapped in red tape. Not necessarily the most helpful thing in the world when he was on a job of this magnitude.
"Not entirely sure," the other man finally said as he glanced back up at the flames and smoke above them. "It's an old building, it could be a range of things that caused it."
"You mean like a gas leak? Faulty wiring? Some sort of mechanical failure?" Happy pressed. As much as he'd love for that to be the case, something in the back of his mind, something that he couldn't quite pinpoint, was nagging at him that that wasn't the right avenue. It had been something else...
"Quite possibly."
"You don't think it could have been... I don't know... anything more... sinister?"
The officer arched an eyebrow as he turned back to the head of security. "Sinister?" he repeated.
Happy held his hands up in a placating gesture. "No, I wasn't suggesting that it was something like that, necessarily," he protested. "Just a possibility. I don't want it to be intentional. But you never know..."
A moment passed before the officer glanced back up at the flaming building. "Not sure why someone would want to ruin this building, honestly," he replied thoughtfully. "It really has no significance..."
There it was. That dread that had been persisting since he'd left the Avengers Tower came back with a vengeance. "You don't think that anyone was... you know... up there, do you?" he asked. If Peter and Tony had been anywhere around when the blast, either accidental or otherwise, had gone off... That wouldn't have been good at all.
The officer shook his head slightly. "I seriously hope not," he muttered. "With the way the fire's going, it's going to be quite some time before we can get it under control to a point where the building can be searched. If anyone's up there..."
The sentence didn't have to be finished for Happy to know exactly what the officer was implying. He swallowed nervously as he turned his gaze up to the billowing smoke himself. His stomach was in knots. Something about this definitely wasn't settling well with him at all.
C'mon, Tony... Kid... Where are you guys?
"Though in all honesty, we really didn't have any witnesses to what happened here," the officer continued, looking past the head of security in the direction of the ferry port. "The action was over there."
Happy tore his gaze away from the crackling flames, the man's voice breaking into the thoughts he was having of a hundred worst case scenarios for his former employer and the teen, and looked back at him curiously. "How so?" he wondered.
The officer leaned a little closer to him. "I don't know exactly why since I just got here a little bit ago myself, but both that Spider-Man guy and Iron Man were spotted down by the ferry," he told him, and Happy couldn't help but be somewhat amused by the hints of excitement he heard under the surface as he spoke. Oh, if only this young guy knew who he was in relation to both heroes. He'd probably get quite a bit more information, but it seemed like he really didn't know more than what he was telling him. "Not entirely sure how, but I guess the ferry was, like, split in half, but Iron Man pretty much repaired it and got everyone off safely. Not sure where Spider-Man went after he tried to do the same."
So, from what it sounded like to him, Peter had gotten involved in something that was way over his head, and Tony had come in and cleaned up the mess. Happy wasn't overly surprised by that turn of events– after all, Peter was still pretty new to this whole thing and was very overeager to impress the older Avenger. And Tony, while still a hothead at times, had matured quite a bit over the years he'd known him and had been doing this superhero stuff a whole heck of a lot longer. The only bad thing about it was, it sounded like innocent people could have died due to the kid's folly if the billionaire hadn't shown up and intervened when he had.
And that made him wonder if whatever had happened on the ferry had anything to do with the destruction of the building. At least he had a bit more of a timeline to work with now, as well as more people he could speak with to figure out more details. He had a place to start, anyway.
Though he was still left with the unsettling question of where either Tony or Peter were now...
The officer was then called away by another, and Happy waved after him as he hurried off. He then turned and began to push his way back through the crowd, earning more angry looks as he made his way in the direction of the ferry port. He looked around carefully for any indication of anyone familiar and kept his phone clutched tightly in his hand as he went, and once he broke out of the crowd of curious onlookers, he quickly tried to call Tony one more time. His heart sunk, as the result was exactly the same.
Only dead air space.
Happy was about to try calling Peter one more time when his phone vibrated, signaling an incoming call. He almost laughed aloud in relief when he saw the name flashing on the screen, and he immediately answered it and brought the phone to his ear.
"Peter!" he practically yelled as he finally broke away from the last bit of the crowd gathering to check out the burning building, his gaze scanning the port. "I'm at the harbor, kid. Tell me where you are. I'll come find you!"
"H-hey, Happy..." While still weak, the head of security was happy to hear that the teen sounded at least a bit stronger. That was encouraging. "You're at... the harbor? See that... that building on fire?"
This time, Happy had to resist the urge to roll his eyes or make some sort of snappy comeback. Now wasn't the time for that. "Can't miss it, kid," he deadpanned. "I'm on my way toward the ferry port now. Is that where you are? You were spotted there."
"Uhhh, no... Closer to the building, actually," Peter told him. "See the... the crates kinda by the water? I landed there... after the building exploded... Or so Karen tells me. I don't remember that myself, but... but I trust her, y'know...?"
Karen? He couldn't say for sure who that was, but his best guess was the kid had named the AI that came along with his suit. But more importantly, that feeling of dread returned as Happy looked around until he spotted the crates the web-slinger must have been referencing. It sounded like Peter was closer to the building than he'd have liked him to be when the fire broke out.
Which meant Tony...
"Okay, kid, I see 'em. Just sit tight, I'll be there in a second." Keeping the phone at his ear, he began to jog toward where Peter was guiding him. He winced when some muscles in his lower back complained.
"Yup, I'm definitely demanding a raise when this is all said and done..." he muttered under his breath.
When he got closer to where the cases were mostly neatly stacked, he heard the teen chuckling quietly in his ear. "I don't think... I've seen you run this much before... Happy..."
Oh, how he would have loved to make a snappy comeback this time. But, considering the circumstances, the head of security thought better of it and bit his tongue. "I'm assuming if you can see me, I'm getting warmer," he said instead.
He slowed his pace as he scanned the crates, looking for any sign of life, until he spotted a red gloved hand in the air behind a light blue one not far off to his right waving at him. Sighing, Happy ended the call and slipped his phone back in the pocket of his suit jacket as he hurried over, not entirely sure what sort of sight he'd be greeted with when he got there but bracing for the worst.
Considering that he had been pretty close to the explosion that had gone off, Spider-Man wasn't looking nearly as bad as he would have thought. He was sitting up, at least, slumped back against the light blue crate. His posture was definitely defeated, and he seemed to be having a little difficulty catching his breath.
"Y-you hung up on me..." Peter muttered as he looked up at the older man. "... Rude."
Despite himself, Happy cracked a smile. "And you've been spending too much time around Tony," he countered. He then quickly took his phone back out before slipping it into the pocket of his dark slacks before digging around in one of the interior pockets, pausing when his fingers brushed against the cool, silver band that the billionaire had more or less told him to hang onto since he hadn't been able to stand looking at it for a while after he'd bought it. With a quiet sigh, he pulled that out and dropped it in with his phone before he slipped his jacket off and dropped to a knee next to the teen, draping it securely around his slightly trembling shoulders.
"At least I found you," the head of security continued, his tone more sober now. "What happened, kid? After the ferry? You and Tony put it back together, yeah?"
"Um... yeah, but it was really Mr. Stark who... who fixed it..." Peter explained, pulling the large suit coat a bit closer around him. For some reason, it felt good to be sheltered. It was warm and comforting. "I, uh... I went up on that building that's on fire right now, and... and M-Mr. Stark found me. We... we argued a bit, he... he wasn't wearing his suit, and... He said he wanted mine back... And then I woke up down here. Karen said I... I barely got away from the explosion..." He paused with a sigh, shaking his masked head a bit. "I'm... I'm sorry, Happy... I... I swear I don't... I don't remember what happened in between... I-it's like... it's like there's this... hole in m-my memory right now..."
Happy attempted to keep his features impassive, but the more he heard from the web-slinger, and the questions that his words were raising, the more that lingering dread chipped away at him. "Don't force it, kid, it'll come back," he assured him, about to reach out in an abnormal gesture of consolation by setting his hand on his shoulder. But he refrained, not entirely sure if that would be the best idea since he didn't know if the kid had any injuries. "Are you hurt at all?"
Peter shook his head, taking a deep, steadying breath. "I mean... bumps, bruises, everything's sore, and the like. But... nothing serious."
"So, if I were to ask your suit's AI... Karen... for a diagnostics report..." Happy began, arching an eyebrow.
"Okay, okay." Peter sighed with clear frustration. "She told me I have a little head trauma but no concussion. And I guess some sort of... brainwave abnormality, or something... But really... nothing serious."
No concussion? He wasn't so certain about that since the kid was... a little off, to say the least. But, Tony's AIs were usually pretty spot on when it came to reading vitals and injuries, so if Karen wasn't detecting a concussion, the teen must have not had one. But there was this... brainwave abnormality thing to worry about...
A moment passed before Happy sighed. "Can you take your mask off, kid?" he asked quietly. "I don't think anyone's really gonna see us over here."
Slowly, almost reluctantly, the teen reached up and slowly pulled his mask off, and the head of security inwardly winced. Peter's face was a few shades too pale, a nasty bruise was blooming near his temple while another made its presence known on his cheek, and there were a couple spots of dried blood on his skin and matted in his hair. His pupils were somewhat dilated.
"What? Do I... look that bad?" Peter wondered innocently, reading the older man's eyes.
Happy forced himself to smile. "Actually, kid, considering what you've been through, you don't look half bad," he said. But then, his expression turned serious again. "But I think we will have to make a quick stop at the emergency room."
Peter's eyes widened. "No, Happy, really! I'm fine!" he protested. "I swear, it's okay. I have a really quick healing ability. These things won't take overly long to clear up. Really."
Despite himself, Happy couldn't help but feel slightly amused by the web-slinger's insistence. "That may be, but if anything, I'd like to get that head of yours looked at," he replied, gentle but not budging. "Don't wanna take any chances with that. Okay?"
Realizing he really didn't have an option at this point, nor did he really have the strength to argue, Peter nodded glumly.
"That a boy," Happy said, his smile returning as he started to push himself to his feet. "So let's get you up, and–!"
"Wait!"
The head of security looked back down at him curiously. "What's up, kid?"
A look of desperation, of fear, appeared on the teen's face. "What... what about Mr. Stark...?" he murmured. "We have to find him... Something could be wrong... Karen said she couldn't reach him, and... and I don't... don't know where he is... and neither does she... We have to find him, Happy..."
There was that dread again, that dread that had been right all along. It was bad enough that he couldn't reach his former boss. But if the AI couldn't contact or trace him...
However, Happy hid these feelings behind a determined look. "You let me handle that, kid," he told him, casting a brief glance up to the flaming building above them. "Don't worry, we'll find him."
I hope...
Peter didn't look overly convinced, but he accepted Happy's outstretched hand as he helped to pull him slowly, carefully, to his feet. The teen winced at all the movement, having to lean on the man a bit for some added support to keep from falling back over. He was relieved when the head of security carefully wound an arm around his back to keep him steady and standing, and he allowed his eyes to slide closed.
"So, our other pressing matter here is do you have some... y'know... clothes under the suit?" Happy wondered, attempting to quell his fear for his still missing best friend. "I don't think I can lead you past a huge group of reporters and already agitated civilians dressed like this. Nor can you walk into the ER with the suit."
The web-slinger noticeably hesitated as he glanced up at him. "Uh... no, no I don't..."
Happy cursed under his breath at yet another inconvenience as he began to look around them, wondering if there was a way out of this one. When he looked in the direction of the ferry port, a small smile appeared on his face.
"Don't worry, kid. We'll sort that out."
Author's Note: That's it for this one! Happy found Peter, but there's something up with everyone's favorite web-slinger. And Tony's still missing. What's going on with Peter, and where's everyone's favorite billionaire? We'll find out as we keep going! Thanks for all the support last time, guys, I hope you all like this update as well! If you'd like to, feedback's always appreciated! See you all next time! :-)