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 reviews, follows, and favorites, they mean a lot to me! :-) I'm still just so thrilled that you guys are enjoying this story as much as I am writing it! Just a couple quick things before we start. As evidenced by the ending of the last chapter, we have another character coming into play here. I just wanna make a quick disclaimer that as this is an AU, it's not necessarily compliant with the direction the MCU is headed in terms of said character, lol. He's back a little early, and an explanation for what he's doing back early will be covered as we continue. So, just a little head's up there! Also, you guys asked for it, so we'll have a little more of what happened to Tony in this chapter (there will be quite a bit more with him in the next chapter, I promise you that!). With all that said, I hope you enjoy! :-)

Chapter 6– The Nomad

Pepper stared wide-eyed at the small flip phone, its tiny screen lighting up as it continued to ring. For a moment, she just stood in place, uncertain of what to do. There really weren't too many people who would be calling that number... But she wasn't sure if that made her want to answer it more or to just let it go.

After all that had happened... could she even talk to him?

Granted, she'd had a lot of time to sit and reflect on what had happened between Tony and the man he had once considered one of his most trusted friends when it came to what had truly happened to Howard and Maria Stark. She had been angry to hear about it, sure, at least to a degree. After all, this man had known the truth about that night, had kept it from the billionaire, and had fought against him to a point where Tony had had to spend a little time in a Siberian hospital for his injuries. If he had only told him the truth from the start, if only Tony had known the fault of the accident hadn't rested with Howard to save him from so much misplaced resentment, maybe things wouldn't have gotten nearly so out of hand.

But at the same time, she also understood, to a degree. It hadn't been his intention to harm Tony, she could tell from his letter that he regretted keeping the truth a secret. That he regretted how he had been attempting to spare himself the pain of losing Tony if he had told him to begin with, but also knowing that it would have been the better route to prevent how damaging the fallout had become since it had resulted in the same outcome.

But still, something told her that, as hard as it was to see now, things would once again be okay between these two men who, despite themselves, had formed a close friendship. She knew Tony could understand why the other man had done what he had, but it was just going to take some more time for him to come to terms with all that had happened and figure out how to move forward.

Though at this point, that sort of time was something they didn't have.

Stark Presumed Dead.

The headline that was so burned into her memory flashed before her eyes again. That was the last thing she needed to determine her course of action.

She hurried over to the table as quietly as possible so she wouldn't wake the slumbering teenager and managed to grab the phone and flip it open just before it rang for the final time. Her breath quickening, she stared down at where it was resting in her palm, and for a brief moment, she wondered if she had truly made the right decision. But there wasn't time to question that now, and so with a slightly trembling hand, she slowly brought the small device up to her ear. She took a deep breath to steady herself before speaking.

"He-hello?"

A moment passed before she heard the man's quiet, almost uncertain response. "... Pepper?"

A rush of emotion crashed over the CEO then, taking the breath out of her as she nearly dropped the phone. A thin line of tears formed in her eyes, and she worried her bottom lip between her teeth to keep them from spilling over. Knowing who was going to be on the other end was one thing; actually hearing the man's voice was another all together. She wasn't sure which feeling to focus on first, as she could hardly even determine what each of them were– anger, regret, sorrow, frustration, a little guilt... relief.

Blinking furiously, Pepper gripped the device a bit tighter as she closed her eyes and managed to murmur, "St-Steve..."

"Are you all right?" His gentle concern was clear. It was a sound that almost made her lose her resolve– almost. She hadn't met the Super Soldier too many times, but she'd liked him on the occasions she had. He'd always been a polite gentleman to her. And with as genuine as his tone was now, she knew the sentiment went both ways. "I... I happened to catch the news report about Tony..."

Pepper knew she was anything but all right, but she wasn't sure how she could sum up everything she was feeling into a few words. "I-I'm okay," she insisted instead as she cleared her throat, forcing the rest of her tears back. "I'm okay. We saw it, too..."

There was a moment of silence before Steve Rogers spoke again. "Are you at the compound, then?" he wondered, and she was inwardly grateful that he hadn't asked further about the news report yet. "That's where this phone was sent. Honestly, I'm a little surprised that Tony didn't just get rid of it when he realized it was from me. But I thought I'd give it a shot now, just in case I could reach somebody..."

"The Tower in the city, actually," Pepper corrected. "I've, uh, been helping Tony to pack everything up to bring to the new facility. He actually brings the phone with him to where he'll be spending more time. He's been doing a lot of thinking about... everything, but he hasn't talked about it much. Not even to me."

"I wouldn't expect him to," Steve replied, and she thought she could almost detect a hint of a smile in his voice underneath the regret that was there. "But I'm glad to hear that he's at the compound most of the time, anyway. And that you're around, too. He needs that. People."

Despite herself, Pepper couldn't stop the small smile that appeared on her face. "He needed a friend, so I thought I could be one for him," she told him. "I'm glad he went back there, too. I think it's been better for him to have people around rather than being on his own."

A few minutes of silence passed, and the CEO's gaze traveled to the large windows as she looked out at the bright lights of the city far below. The tightness in her chest that had been there since she'd answered the call began to ease.

Then, Steve sighed. "I'm sorry for asking this, but... what happened? Is Tony...?"

"I... I'm honestly not sure," Pepper answered as she let out a long breath of her own. "Not entirely. All I can say for sure is I really don't think the news is accurate here. This wasn't Spider-Man's doing. But I really don't know what happened... One of our trusted friends found the kid, and he's actually here at the Tower with me. But not Tony..."

"I was honestly surprised to see he was even being blamed," Steve muttered almost thoughtfully. "We didn't really get along overly well when we met, granted, but he's a good kid. Lot of heart. Reminds me of myself a little when I was his age in terms of wanting to prove myself... But he was loyal to Tony, no doubt about it. He wouldn't just do what this person is saying he did. If anything, Tony likely... well, I know he wouldn't want to admit it, but if it came down to it, he more than likely told the kid to leave him and escape to safety."

Pepper let out a long, shuddering breath as she briefly closed her eyes. Yes, she knew that well about the billionaire. He may have walked around with an aloof, almost uncaring front most of the time, but when it came down to it, he would put the lives of others before his own, especially if that person was someone he cared about. It was something she had always seen in him, even before he saw it in himself. And Peter was someone he cared very much about, she knew that well.

Yes, that very well may be what had happened...

Seeming to sense her distress, Steve quietly cleared his throat. "Was there any sort of report of a third party up on the roof with them?" he asked, attempting to offer a bit of a distraction.

"Oh, um, no, I don't think the guy said anything about there being anyone else," Pepper answered, forcing herself to get a grip. "From what I remember, he said that Spider-Man was up there, Tony joined him, they seemed to get into some sort of heated argument, and then Spider-Man left, leaving Tony behind as the... the explosion hit..."

"So that initial theory of a gas leak or equipment failure isn't seeming very likely," the Super Soldier mused, mainly to himself, before he continued. "But again, something about that account doesn't sit well with me. Even if they did argue, Spider-Man leaving Tony behind to die just... well, it's rather extreme. It just... doesn't fit."

"No, it doesn't," Pepper agreed, realizing they were starting to go in circles since there really wasn't much else to go on. "Happy... that friend of ours... went to the scene to check it out. He told me it seems like Pe... Spider-Man may have gotten at least somewhat caught in the explosion, too. He took him to the emergency room to get checked out, but he seems to be okay. Just really shaken, like something else happened when they were up there... Something's scaring him. And Happy seems to have found out something from him that's making him concerned for Spider-Man's safety, too, since he thinks it's best that we keep him in our sights. But I don't know what it is yet, I didn't want to push him into talking..."

Steve was silent for a moment as he mulled this over. "Yeah, that sounds like there's a very real possibility that this was some sort of ambush of some kind..." he said. "So, either the man couldn't see that someone else may have been there, or..."

Pepper blinked when his sentence trailed off. "Or?" she prompted.

But he didn't provide an answer, instead wondering, "And when your friend... Happy... went to check out the scene, he didn't see anything that gave any indication of... where Tony might be?"

Steve was being careful with his wording, that was obvious. Much like her, he didn't want to give voice to the worst case scenario. Pepper's hand rested lightly over her chest as that slight pain returned. "No..." she murmured. "And we can't reach him, his personal phone is disconnected. Happy's going back now to check out the scene again, but so far... nothing." She paused, taking a deep breath. "I'm... I'm worried about him, Steve... It's not the first time he's been in a similar situation, but he... he normally finds some way to reach me, to let me know he's okay... But not this time... I haven't heard... anything..."

"I know, Pepper." While Steve's voice was gentle and trying to be reassuring, his concern for the billionaire was also palpable. "Look, a couple of us aren't overly far from Manhattan. We've sorta been wandering around ever since... well, since everything happened. It's probably best if I don't say the specific location, but it wouldn't take too, too long for us to get to that ferry port. I could take a look around, see what I find. And if I find out anything about Tony's... whereabouts, I'll get back to you."

"Steve, there's no way I could ask you to do that." Pepper once again looked out the window in the direction of where the thick black smoke, hardly visible against the night sky, was still billowing into the heavens. He was a wanted man, after all. "Not with... all that's going on."

Surprisingly, the Super Soldier chuckled. "Don't worry about us," he assured her. "We'll be fine, believe me. If there's anything I can do to help find Tony, I'd rather be doing that than sitting this one out while he's out there somewhere possibly in some sort of trouble. I'm just doing what I know is the right thing. Do you have anyone besides your friend checking up on this?"

"Rhodey is," Pepper told him. "He's actually out there with Happy now. I'm not sure when they'll get to the harbor because they had to stop in Queens first, but..."

"Then let us take a look. Keep the phone close to you, and you'll hear from me with anything we find." Steve briefly paused. "If, for some reason, we'd need to touch base in person..."

"The Tower." Pepper didn't hesitate. "We're just finishing with packing up everything to move to the new facility. Tony hasn't finalized the sale of this building yet, and this is much safer than the compound. Except for Rhodey and Spider-Man, but that should be okay..."

Steve chuckled again. "Should be. Unless you've got any plans to turn me in."

Even though the comment was made lightly in jest, Pepper's gaze faltered as she glanced back at Peter. "Of course not," she said quietly. "I just... Thank you so much for being willing to help find out what happened to Tony, Steve... With the police starting to look into this Spider-Man angle, even though I swear it's completely the wrong direction, it'd be good to have as many people as possible I know that can be trusted looking for the truth."

"Someone has to," Steve agreed, his tone no longer containing the light humor it had before. "And... I know at one time, Tony would have done the same for me."

He still would.

No matter how much she wanted to, no matter how strongly she believed them, Pepper couldn't bring herself to say the words out loud. Not yet.

Steve seemed to recognize the reason behind her silence since he quickly changed the subject. "I'd better let you go," he said. "And don't worry. I'll let you know anything we figure out."

Pepper smiled as she laughed a little herself. "Thank you," she replied. "I've gotta say, that Captain America name really suits you, you know."

There was a long pause, and the CEO wondered what she had said to cause it. "It's not what I go by anymore, Pepper," he finally muttered. "I gave that up two months ago when I let go of my shield."

Her brow furrowed, remembering how Tony had told her Steve had dropped his shield at his feet when the billionaire had claimed his father had made the vibranium weapon so it didn't belong to his former friend, but before she could question further, the call was ended. Pepper quickly flipped the phone closed and slipped it into her back pocket, wanting to keep it on her person if at all possible. She couldn't deny that she felt a little better knowing that Steve was on her side to help find Tony, no matter what he was calling himself now since to her he was just Steve. And a friend. Hopefully he could help to bring the billionaire home.

"Who... who were you talking to...?"

The groggy voice startled her, and Pepper quickly turned around to see that Peter had woken up and was blinking sleepily as he looked around the bright, spacious room. She gave him a small smile. "Um, no one, really," she muttered, hoping she sounded casual enough. Though she could tell almost immediately that the web-slinger wasn't sure if he believed her, and she couldn't ignore the bit of dread at the possibility that he may have overheard some of her conversation with the Super Soldier. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better, I think," Peter said as he slowly sat up, keeping the blanket wrapped tightly around his shoulders. "Not so lightheaded anymore. Feeling a little stronger."

Pepper's smile broadened. "I can certainly say you're not as pale as you were when you first came here," she replied. "So you're looking a little better, too."

Peter returned the look, though it didn't reach his eyes. "That's good." Then, he glanced around him curiously. "Oh, uh... would it be possible to have some more water? Please? Sorry, my throat's still pretty dry..."

"Oh, of course!" Relieved he wasn't going to ask any more questions about the phone call– had it even been real? It almost didn't feel like it had been– Pepper grabbed the empty glass from where she had set it aside and walked over to the nearest mini-bar. "Happy and Rhodey should be back sometime soon with your things, but I'm not sure if you even want to think about homework or anything right now."

"I kinda do, actually. Some normalcy would be great..." The teen chuckled a little as he watched her add some more ice to his glass, though his brow furrowed when her fingers trembled so badly that she accidentally dropped quite a few cubes on the counter and muttered some curses under her breath as she scrambled to pick them up. The more time he spent around this woman, the more he felt that his initial sense was right in terms of her not just being the CEO of Stark Industries.

"Can I... can I ask you something, Ms. Potts?"

"Sure, Peter." Pepper attempted another smile as she carefully poured some water into the glass. Though even to him, it was obvious that she was fighting to keep her hands steady. "But please, just call me Pepper. No need for you to be so formal. What is it?"

"How... how long have you known Mr. Stark, exactly?"

Pepper paused as she finished pouring, glancing over at him with a look he could only describe as "deer caught in the headlights". So many emotions flitted across her face before she just looked conflicted as she slowly set down the pitcher. "A long time," she finally settled on answering. "I, um, started by working as Tony's personal assistant for quite some time, even before he became Iron Man. After that happened, the... pressure of that job was just too much, and he basically appointed me CEO of his company. Surprisingly, that's been a lot less stressful..."

The web-slinger remembered how Happy had told him that same thing. It hadn't been what he wanted to know. "So, you and Mr. Stark know each other well, then?" he pressed quietly.

A sad look passed over Pepper's pretty features, and that was all Peter needed to know. The guilt he'd been feeling before returned with a vengeance.

"Yes, you can say that," she murmured, her gaze faraway. "You can't know someone that long without getting to know them."

"So... are you two...?"

"Friends," Pepper interrupted promptly with a somber smile. "Good friends. Friends who have made some... mistakes and drifted apart when they shouldn't have, so now they're trying to figure out how to get that friendship back."

Peter watched as she walked around the bar and came back toward the couch with his water glass, not able to meet her gaze. It didn't matter what she said, there was no way she and Tony could have been just friends. With the wistful way she had talked about their friendship, the way her voice had almost lingered on his name a little too long, the way a certain fondness had appeared on her face, and just how worried she'd been since she'd heard about what had possibly happened, he could clearly see that she loved the billionaire. And though Tony had never mentioned her in the time he had known him, he had to wonder if he loved her, too. Despite how he'd hit on Aunt May, of course.

He was brought out of his thoughts when the CEO held the glass out to him. "Here you are," she said pleasantly, her smile returning.

"Th-thank you, Ms. Po... Pepper." Peter returned the look as he accepted it and took a few grateful sips. "Sorry, it's just that my throat's still... well, you know. From the gas and all..."

Concern crossed Pepper's face. "Gas?" she repeated quietly. "What gas?"

Peter paused with the glass halfway up to his mouth for another sip, his eyes widening. "Hap... Happy didn't tell you?" he wondered, his voice cracking a bit.

"No..." Pepper eyed the empty space on the couch next to him. "May I?"

"Oh, y-yeah... Yeah, of course. Please."

The CEO carefully made her way past him before sitting down next to the teen, looking at him carefully. "So, what is this about gas? Did... was that something that happened when you and Tony were down at the ferry, or..."

Peter slowly shook his head, lowering his gaze down to his glass. "No, it... it happened on the roof," he told her, swirling the ice around a bit. "It's one of the things I remembered first..."

"What sort of gas?"

"Happy told me the doctor said it was a hallucinogenic gas," Peter explained, and he heard Pepper's breath catch in her chest. "I don't know... Like, okay. Mr. Stark and I were arguing, he wanted my suit back, which I totally understand. And then we heard something. I don't know what it was, exactly, but then this... little metal ball came rolling over by us. I'm not sure why, but Mr. Stark was really freaked out by it for some reason. And that's when the gas came out of it... And... and I thought I saw..."

Pepper's eyebrows knit together in concern. "Saw what?" she wondered. But when she saw the sorrow appear on the web-slinger's face, she gave him a smile full of understanding. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Peter, it's okay."

But the teen quickly shook his head. "N-no, that's not it, I..." He sighed and closed his eyes, passing a stressed hand over his face. A moment passed before his body started to relax a bit when her hand landed on his back. "Can... can we keep this between us...?"

Though she was surprised, Pepper nodded as she rubbed his back a little. He must have really needed to get this off his chest, and she was glad that she could help with that. "I won't say a word," she promised.

Despite himself, a small smile passed over Peter's face before it disappeared again with a sigh. "Okay, I... I saw my... my Uncle Ben," he told her. "That's when I should have realized that something was weird because he... well, he died about eight, nine months ago now... so..."

Pepper frowned as she rubbed his back again. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said quietly.

Peter nodded, a thin line of tears forming in his eyes. It was an image that was going to haunt him every time he closed his eyes, at least it already had since he saw it. He took a few more sips of water to force the tears back so he could continue. "It's okay... We've been managing..." He cleared his throat, stubbornly rubbing at his damp eyes. "Uh... Mr. Stark saw something, too. But I'm not sure what it was. It, uh, it freaked him out, whatever it was..."

Pepper worried her bottom lip between her teeth, that small twinge of pain returning to her chest once again as she looked away. That was the part that concerned her the most. There was no shortage of options for what Tony could have seen up on that rooftop that would cause him to have that reaction. One of fear, anger, self-loathing... hatred. If he were still wandering around down by the harbor somewhere, possibly hurt and dealing with the effects of a hallucinogenic gas...

Her heart skipped a beat. She quickly glanced at her own phone with a new sense of urgency to see if there was any news from Happy or Rhodey yet, hoping with everything she had in her that there was something. Anything.

Nothing. Her feeling of dread returned, shaking her to her very core.

"Is... is that all you remember?" she finally managed to ask, her slightly wavering voice full of hesitance. "Or is that all until after the explosion?"

"That... that's it for now..." Peter looked over at her, regret plain in his youthful features. "I... I'm really sorry..."

Pepper could almost physically feel her heart break as she carefully wrapped her arm around the teen and allowed him to lean against her side, his head resting heavily on her shoulder. "It's okay," she murmured, rubbing his arm reassuringly even though it was something she wasn't feeling herself. "It'll be all right, I promise. We'll figure this out." She paused and glanced out the large windows at the still night air.

"Somehow..."

The dim light caught the metallic surface of his left arm, and Arsen couldn't help but smile when he saw it.

When the doctor had approached him and the others about the new task that needed to be done, they'd all agreed that it would be a worthwhile, as well as fun, undertaking. Their leader had attempted to aid another who'd had the same goal in taking down the Avengers through the information that he had been able to provide to him for his mission, though the other man, while succeeding in beginning to break the super team apart, had ultimately failed to completely destroy Stark, Rogers, and the others. Or rather, had failed in having them destroy themselves.

Which had left the door wide open for them to finish what was started.

After all, it was the perfect time. Stark was weak now. His hands were tied with the restrictions the Sokovia Accords had set in place for him. He had been betrayed by someone he had once believed was a trusted friend, and he was crushed by the heavy truth about Howard and Maria Stark's deaths. The Avengers themselves were broken apart with nothing to unify them. And from observation, it appeared as though this Spider kid was occupying a lot of his attention, therefore providing an ample distraction.

The time to utterly decimate the Avengers was finally dawning. And it would begin with Stark.

Though Arsen couldn't deny that he would do anything the doctor asked of him without question, as long as it wasn't a suicide mission, he had to also begrudgingly admit that he hadn't been fond of the idea of wearing the metallic casing with the red star painted on the shoulder around the entirety of his left arm and hand. And at first, it was exactly what he was afraid it would be– awkward, heavy, and constantly in the way. But it was required for the role his leader needed him to play, and so he had done so without question or complaint.

Though as he continued to adjust to the addition, he had to admit that he was starting to actually enjoy wearing it. He felt stronger with it, his hand sturdier. It had enabled him to get Stark off the building just before it had exploded a bit easier, as well as tending to the more serious injuries he had sustained when they hadn't been able to escape the terrible force completely.

And speaking of their captive...

Arsen glanced down at the still unconscious Tony he held in his metal arm against his side, smirking as he allowed his legs to drag along the steps they were now making themselves down until he reached the door to the basement room where the billionaire would be spending quite a bit of time. It had taken a bit longer to tend to Stark's more life-threatening injuries than he had expected due to having to perform such precise tasks with the metallic hand, but he had been fortunate that the hallucinogenic gas the doctor was famous for rendered a person so physically weak as well, for the other man hadn't stirred once during the procedure. He'd removed the still intact bullet out of their captive's side and stitched up the wound, closed up another good-sized gash on the back of his head, and set a couple cracked ribs that had been dangerously close to snapping. The other injuries he'd left since there was no immediate threat to Stark's life. He would survive.

For now.

And besides, now the real fun could begin.

Arsen pushed open the door to the sealed, tucked away room with his free hand, seeing that his cohorts were already hard at work setting up the space. A couple guys were working together to hang a large, red flag with a very familiar black symbol on the wall beside the door while the blond, clean-shaven man– now without his pit bull– was finishing assembling what appeared to be a car battery. Things were moving along rather nicely.

Depositing their captive none-too-gently on the floor along the far wall, Arsen set to work himself. He immediately removed the watch from Stark's wrist that controlled the portable gauntlet– they couldn't afford to take any chances with it, even though it was smashed– before clamping metallic casings the doctor had given him that would neutralize any frequencies around both of his limp forearms. Even though the room itself was designed to be a dead zone to block any transmissions, they still didn't want to take any chances that an Iron Man suit could be called. Any oversights would cost them dearly.

Then, he glanced up when the blond man approached, lugging the car battery along with him. "This is all ready to go," he informed him, setting the heavier object down before reaching into the bag at his side. "As is this."

Arsen watched curiously as the other man pulled out some wires to attach to the battery before he pulled out a smaller, spherical, metallic object and held it out to him. Grinning, he pushed some strands of his chin-length brown hair behind his ear before reaching out and taking the proffered object. He quickly looked it over before he found the small switch, and his eyes gleamed as it emitted a soft blue light.

"Well done, Bao," Arsen murmured before glancing down at Tony beside them. His grin broadened as he watched the billionaire twitch slightly before going still once more. "Seems as though we're ready to get things started."

He twirled the glowing object between his fingers.

"Let the games begin."

A slender woman with short blonde hair made her way down the dark, bustling sidewalk, her sharp eyes scanning every curious or frantic face she passed as her ears picked up on the various phone calls being made, the sirens still echoing loudly in the night, and the crackling of the flames far above her. Beside her, his hand in hers with their fingers intertwined, was a tall, well-built man with a full beard and a New York Yankees baseball cap on his head to shield his eyes. The dark jeans, black t-shirt, and black jacket that'd seen better days he wore was a decent look for him, she couldn't help but think with amusement. More than she could say for the pre-ripped jeans, striped blouse, floral-print headband, jean jacket, and black heels she was wearing, but he'd assured her it didn't look half bad. At least it did the job it was supposed to do.

And at least they were at ease enough around each other to keep up appearances as they moved around from place to place. It helped that this also hadn't been the first time they'd been on the run together, and that being undercover was something she was both comfortable and familiar with. For the most part, no one really gave them a second glance, except for the occasional man who made his thoughts way too clear with wandering eyes. Though normally she or her companion could shut that down quickly enough to a point where it didn't concern her. Not that she was concerned for her well-being, she could handle herself fine without breaking one of her newly– annoyingly– manicured nails, but rather what could happen if someone were to get too good of a look at them.

But at the same time, she couldn't help but let out a quiet breath of laughter as she allowed her gaze to pass over their disguises once again. The frilly, preppy rich girl and the strong, brooding mountain man– what a pair they must have made. Fortunately, they were in Manhattan where no one really cared.

Hearing her, the bearded man glanced over at her curiously. "What?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," she answered lightly as she looked ahead of them again. "Just wondering how we've managed to fool so many people with these ridiculous outfits of ours."

The man chuckled. "Hey, I'm not questioning it," he muttered. "As long as they keep working. That's the important thing."

She just squeezed his hand lightly in return, a gesture he reciprocated.

"Okay, Bonnie and Clyde, let's see how close you guys can get to that building fire, shall we?" a somewhat irritated voice came through the earpiece they each wore in their left ear. "That's what we're here for, remember?"

The man rolled his eyes while the woman just shook her head. "You know you could have come with us," the former replied with a smile.

"Nah, y'all know how I hate being the third wheel. Besides, I'm not far in case I need to get you two out of trouble. And I get the best seat in the house. Bird's-eye view, baby!"

Almost on cue, both the man and woman glanced up in time to see what by all appearances could be a normal drone in the darkness as it zipped over their heads toward the flames that were still blazing with force at the top of the building overlooking the harbor. The almost bird-shaped silver and red device that their friend had even affectionately named had come in handy many times for them already, and they were hopeful that its cameras could help them pick up some things here at the scene that they couldn't otherwise find.

"Good luck to you both!" the voice concluded.

"Thanks," the blonde woman said flatly before turning to the man with her. "Ready?"

"Let's go."

The pair moved forward until they reached a still good-sized crowd that was gathered as close as they could be to the burning building. A quick survey of the onlookers told the woman a couple key things:

Quite a large percentage of the people there had gathered in support of, or to memorialize, Tony judging by all the red and gold Iron Man merchandise she was immediately able to spot. Some were in tears, others enraged. Hastily written signs some were carrying bore things like "I -heart- Tony Stark" and "Justice for Iron Man!" and even some threw blame such as "We hate Spider-Man!" and "Down with the Spider!" They were even starting to chant, both a mantra of support for their hero and one of hate for who may have taken him away. Children were among them, wearing classic Iron Man masks.

There was another somewhat large percentage of the group that had gathered in support of the web-slinger. More hastily made signs protested the young hero's innocence with sayings such as "Hero not killer" and "We love our Spider!" while others said some rather unfavorable things about Tony. Chants of their own went up to combat those from the larger group.

The small percentage that was left was genuinely there just to try to find out what the hell had happened.

Police officers were both barricading the way to the building to keep people back at a safe distance as well as milling about the crowd in effort to keep things from escalating. Tempers were high, and it wouldn't take much for that tension to be pushed to violence.

Reporters were still standing by and seemingly working overtime to cover both the incident itself and the increasingly rowdy crowds that had gathered.

It was a volatile situation, at best.

"Well, we have our work cut out for us," she muttered before she couldn't stop a tiny smirk. "Luckily Stark isn't here. He doesn't need that adoring crowd to boost his ego any further."

The man nodded, a gleam appearing in his eye. He was about to reply before he paused when something a woman in the pro-Tony crowd yelled out. "First it was that traitor Captain America turning against him by standing by that murderer Winter Soldier! And now it's Spider-Man trying to get rid of the competition when he was the reason those people on the ferry almost died in the first place!" Cheers went up around her while protests arose from the pro-Spider-Man group.

The woman felt the man beside her tense before she leaned closer to him, tightening her hold on his hand as she did so. "Don't listen to them," she murmured, setting her free hand on his shoulder. "You know the truth. They don't know the whole story."

He appeared a little hesitant for a brief moment before his gaze hardened. "Let's just get to work," he said, his tone betraying no emotion.

Satisfied, the woman moved away from him again before she began scanning for a weak point in the perimeter. "There." She gave a brief jerk of her head to the right, past the smaller Spider-Man group, where there were only a few officers gathered as they watched the onlookers with a mix of apprehension, annoyance, and being ready for anything.

"All right, you know what to do," the man told her.

"Of course." The woman released his hand long enough to run her thin fingers through her short blond locks, to adjust the cloth headband, and to shift her jean jacket. She then reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a gold ring with a small, simple diamond in its center– the finishing touch of their personas to be used only when needed– and slipped it on the fourth finger of her left hand. Beside her, the man dug a simple gold band out of the pocket of his tattered black jacket and did the same.

She glanced over at him with a hint of a smirk. "Do I look okay?" she wondered.

The man looked up, his gaze passing over the light layer of foundation, dark green eyeshadow, bold mascara, and deep red lipstick she'd applied before they arrived. He shrugged. "You clean up nice," he offered.

She reached out and lightly punched him in the arm as though insulted, a small smile on her face as she took his hand and threaded her fingers through his again. She straightened her shoulders. "Let's do this."

A beat passed before they both ran forward at a respectable, worried pace toward where the few officers were gathered. It was getting much too simple to sprint in these skinny heels, she realized with amusement as the designer purse she may or may not have picked up in a legal manner swung wildly on her arm.

"Officers!" the woman called out, making sure her voice broke for effect as she frantically waved her free hand to get their attention. "Officers!"

All four uniformed men turned to watch as this couple approached them, their near full attention on this clearly distressed woman who appeared to be near tears when she stopped in front of them, seemingly out of breath. They spared a glance at the man a step behind her, who appeared worried himself even though they couldn't see much of his eyes since he kept his gaze lowered beneath the brim of his baseball cap. They looked at him a little warily before turning back to the woman who was basically commanding the attention. In the bright light from the fire blazing above them, they could see the pure terror on her pretty face.

"What's the problem, ma'am?"

The woman swallowed hard before attempting to speak. "It's our son..." she managed to say between her gasps. "See, he's only nine... My husband and I, we let him go on the ferry a little earlier with his aunt and cousins, and... and that was when that awful attack happened... And in all the chaos, we... we haven't been able to find him... We've been looking all evening, but..."

Tears formed in her eyes as she spoke and a couple spilled over, smudging her immaculate make-up. She let go of the man's hand and dug around in her purse, pulling out a Kleenex to dab at her eyes for extra flair.

The bearded man took a couple slow steps back as the officers rushed forward to tend to his distraught "wife". If there was one thing that could usually be counted on, he thought, it was a man's desire to be the knight in shining armor for a damsel in distress. Unfortunately for them, this was one princess who didn't need saving. But to keep up appearances, she let them fawn over her and offer her words of comfort, no matter how much she may have resented it.

"Do you have any idea where your son may have wandered off to, ma'am?"

The woman let out another quiet sob as she set a hand on her chest, discreetly lowering her neckline just a smidge without it being too much. Yes, that was the other distraction that could usually be safely counted on.

"N-no... He... he loves Iron Man, so when we heard..."

"Don't worry, ma'am. We'll find him."

Feeling as though they were sufficiently distracted, the bearded man slipped away from where the officers had gathered around her and made his way past the barricade they had set up, moving out of the light from the fire as quickly as he could as he stuck to the shadows and hurried along the short stone pier that would bring him to the flaming building.

"That woman deserves an Oscar." The voice was somewhat impressed this time as it broke through the earpiece. "You do know what that is, right? It means acting job well done."

The man couldn't help but chuckle, fully aware that she could still hear them, too. "Yeah, well, she's been doing this sort of undercover thing longer than either of us have," he muttered, keeping a sharp eye out for any other emergency personnel or cops. "At least I'm close to the building. How about you? Anything from above?"

The first thing he heard was a sigh. "It's hard to tell," he replied. "With all the smoke and the flames not contained yet, not to mention trying to stay out of sight of the firefighters up there and out of the way of hoses... I'm not sure how much I'll get yet. But, I'm making sure to get every angle I can with different lenses. So, if there's something to get, I should be able to get it... Especially when I get a chance to enhance the footage later."

"That works for me. Maybe when things calm down a bit more and the blaze is more under control, we can come back and try again."

"Aye-aye, Cap'n!"

"Don't even start..."

"Sorry. Couldn't pass it up. You walked right into that one, man..."

Sighing with a brief shake of his head, the bearded man slowed to a stop as he craned his neck to look up at the fire that was still raging at the top of the building. It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago, Tony and the kid were both up there before everything literally exploded...

"Hey, man." The voice was heavy.

"Yeah?" He glanced around the area, trying to determine where Spider-Man could have gotten to since it seemed like he'd avoided most of the blast. A nearby spot packed with crates caught his eye.

"If there's one thing I can determine for sure from what I can see so far, it's that if anyone had been left up on that rooftop when it exploded... we're likely not gonna find much left behind, if you catch my drift..."

It was a possibility the bearded man had thought of already but had attempted to ignore. There had to be a way that Tony could have gotten off that building in time... Hadn't he had a suit, even if he hadn't been wearing it when the argument took place? Or there had to have been another escape route...

"See any way he could have gotten away?" he wondered, beginning to walk again as he looked for... he wasn't sure what. Clues to how the billionaire could have gotten to safety, any indication as to who could have done this, even the man in question himself... anything. "Possibly that wouldn't have been caught by the footage we saw on the news because of the angle?"

"Looking for it now."

"Good. Let me know when–!" His sentence abruptly ended when he felt something beneath his old tennis shoe, something that gave a metallic crack when he stepped on it. Curious, he bent down and picked up whatever it was, squinting a bit to try and see it in the minimal lighting outside of the blaze.

His fingers involuntarily and briefly trembled when he recognized the material, causing him to nearly drop his find.

It was half of a broken, dirtied golden faceplate of an Iron Man helmet.

Author's Note: So, there we go! Tony's not in the best of circumstances, and now Steve Rogers and Co. are getting involved in the effort to find him. I figured what better way to make this a bit more angsty than to bring in Steve? But how will the others react to knowing he's getting involved? We'll have to see as we keep going! Thanks again, guys! As always, feedback is always appreciated :-) Until next time!