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 all for the reviews, follows, and favorites, they mean a lot to me! I'm glad you're all enjoying this crazy ride as much as I am :-) I would have had this one up a little sooner, but I had to restructure some of this one as well as the next one to a place where I thought it would make more sense. I guess it could be considered a bit more of a transition chapter with our characters as they try to come to terms with all that's happened. With that said, here we go! :-)
Chapter 8– A Place to Start
Pepper's hands trembled slightly as she stared down at where they were resting in her lap where she was sitting on the couch of the dimly lit, empty, spacious room at the top of the Avengers Tower, her breath coming light and quick. She hardly noticed as a couple more tears leaked from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks before dripping onto her slender fingers that refused to stay still. She'd believed that coming here, to a room large enough for her to be able to breathe where she could see the usually calming sight of the bright lights of New York against the dark sky stretched out before her, would help to calm her down.
But not that night. That night, the spectacular view held no comfort for her. In fact, it was only making the nightmare she couldn't seem to shake even worse. For while the city still shone brightly, the evidence of the devastation after an army from outer space had charged through also still remained.
Then, she heard hesitant footsteps approaching, the light sound mingling with her quiet gasps. But she didn't raise her gaze. She couldn't bring herself to meet the eyes of whoever had discovered her like this.
"Hey," a soft, familiar voice murmured as the man walked around the couch so he could get a better look at her. "What's going on, Pep?"
But Pepper still didn't look up. Instead, she closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. No, he wasn't here, he couldn't be here... She'd seen what had happened to him herself... She couldn't breathe...
Though the tightness in her chest seemed to ease a little when a warm hand wrapped around hers and held on securely. "Come on, honey, look at me," that voice she loved persisted gently.
A moment passed before Pepper slowly raised her gaze to meet the hazel one looking back at her intently from where he was sitting on the floor in front of her. "T-Tony...?"
"Yeah, Pep." The billionaire gave her a small smile, though she could tell by his paler face and the dark, heavy bags under his eyes that he was exhausted himself. He hadn't been sleeping much since the battle with the alien army, preferring to instead waste away the nightly hours in his lab tinkering with something or other. And clearly, that's where he'd been now, judging by the black tank top and dark sweatpants he was wearing, the towel draped over his toned shoulder, and the sweat that lightly touched his face.
"What's going on, honey?" Tony continued quietly, patiently. "JARVIS alerted me that you were awake."
That blasted AI. Pepper shook her head slightly as she chuckled, but she tightened her hold on his hand ever so sightly. "It's nothing, really," she said, knowing that this was going to sound pretty stupid once she said it out loud. "It was just a nightmare, that's all. But..."
Tony arched an eyebrow when her sentence trailed off. "But...?"
Pepper took a deep breath, unable to stop a couple more tears that rose to her eyes and spilled over. "It was just... you didn't come back," she whispered. "You didn't make it back from... from wherever you went... And it just felt so real, and... when I woke up, you weren't there, so..." She lowered her gaze again as she closed her eyes, despising how weak her voice sounded. It had just been a dream, after all...
Tony worried his bottom lip between his teeth. That had been the very reason he hadn't been sleeping himself. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the swirling wormhole above him, could hear the sounds of the Chitauri around him while the bomb weighed heavily in his hands, could feel his breath leave his body as he entered the cold, empty vastness of space while his heart struggled to beat just one more time before it gave up...
He forced himself out of his own dark thoughts as he let out another sigh, running his thumb over his CEO and recently official girlfriend's hand. She needed him to be strong now. "Pep? Look at me."
Another moment dragged on before she slowly raised her gaze to meet his again, and his brow furrowed when he saw the tears that she was refusing to let fall. He then pointed to the circle of warm blue light glowing on his chest through the fabric of his tank top with his free hand.
"See this?" he asked. "That means I'm here. As long as you see this, you know I'm alive."
Pepper gazed at that comforting, familiar glow before she slowly, almost hesitantly, reached out and lightly brushed her fingertips over the Arc reactor before bringing them to rest at its center. Her tears slowly stopped before a weak smile appeared on her face.
Encouraged, the billionaire returned the look. "As long as you see this, honey, you know that I'll always find a way to come back to you," he finished, his tone full of quiet conviction.
Pepper met his gaze once again, and her smile broadened. Tony's did the same. That was the look he liked to see from her.
But then, he blinked in surprise when she suddenly slid to the floor next to him, pulling her hand from his before wrapping her arms around him securely. "Whoa, careful there," he said, lightly setting a hand on her back. "I'm all sweaty and gross from working in the lab, Pep."
"It's not the first time I've hugged you when you've been all sweaty and gross, Tony," Pepper replied softly with a chuckle as she rested her head on his shoulder.
Tony shrugged in acknowledgement as he wrapped both of his arms around her and held her close. "Fair point," he muttered against her hair.
They stayed that way in silence for neither knew how long, Pepper content just to stay in the strong arms she knew so well as she listened to Tony's quiet breaths in her ear and his sturdy chest lightly rose and fell in a slow, even rhythm beneath her. The Arc reactor glowed strongly against her own chest.
"I love you," she suddenly murmured, her eyes drooping closed.
The billionaire's breath hitched slightly then, and Pepper's eyes shot back open. Those were three words she'd never uttered to him before, even though it was something she'd felt for him for quite some time, and she wasn't sure how they'd managed to slip out now. She began to push herself off him, but his arms tightened around her, keeping her in place. She then relaxed against his shoulder again as he carefully pulled her closer so she was settled in his lap, and his lips pressed lightly against the top of her head in silent response as she nestled against him.
It was the steady rhythm of Tony's heart that ultimately lulled her to sleep as he stayed awake to watch over her, keeping her nightmares at bay.
Pepper stared, wide-eyed, at her phone screen as she watched the news coverage of how the building Tony and Peter had been at down by the harbor was finally beginning to implode on itself. She hardly took in what the reporters were saying about how a few of the firefighters had been injured, though thankfully not too severely, and how the entire structure was now much more unstable. And while she was relieved there hadn't been any serious or life-threatening injuries, the implications of what this could mean were evident.
"You and Happy are okay?" she was finally able to ask as she closed out of the video.
Rhodey nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, we're fine, Pepper," he answered quietly before he shook his head once. "I'm sorry we really couldn't get much of a chance to look around. Anything that could have been there..."
"I... I understand," the CEO told him with a brief nod, attempting a small smile. She was well aware that they could have just lost any possible leads on what could have happened to Tony. "I know you guys did what you could. And I'm relieved that neither of you were hurt. That's the important thing."
The colonel chuckled a little. "Yeah, there is that," he muttered before he met her gaze. "We did get the opportunity to search the area for any sign of him, but we didn't see any indiction that he was around there..."
That's what she had been afraid of. Ever since Peter had told her about how they'd been exposed to a hallucinogenic gas before the explosion hit, Pepper's mind had gone through all the possibilities that could have befallen Tony while under its influence by the harbor. None of them settled well with her.
"So... we still don't know where he is," she whispered, mainly to herself as her mind traveled back to the memory from a few years before that had randomly come back to her shortly before her two friends had returned.
"... honey, you know that I'll always find a way to come back to you."
The billionaire's words echoed in her mind, and she took a deep breath in attempt to steady herself. He may not have had that Arc reactor that he'd made that promise to her with anymore, and even though they weren't what they used to be, she was still holding him to his word.
Rhodey's stern features softened with regret. "No... not yet," he admitted. He reached out and set a secure hand on her arm. "But we're not going to give up looking. If he got off that building, he couldn't have gotten too far. Someone's bound to see him, or he'll find a way to contact us as soon as he can."
If.
It was such a small word, only two letters and one syllable, but it weighed heavily over them both. Because even though they refused to give voice to it, the possibility that Tony hadn't made it off the building was a very real one.
"And if whoever bombed the building... took Tony?" It was a question she hadn't wanted to ask, as it was one that was bringing her back to a place she really didn't want to go.
"We'll figure that out, too," Rhodey assured her. Though he was also painfully aware that any clue to the attacker's identity was likely lost now. "In my experiences with this sort of thing, the kidnappers normally don't stay silent for too, too long. If that's the case, we're bound to hear something sooner or later, especially because they'd have someone of Tony's status. They'll want something out of this situation."
Pepper then glanced over at Peter– looking much more like himself in a pair of jeans, a "Midtown School of Science and Technology" t-shirt, and a pair of tattered old tennis shoes as he packed up his backpack– and sighed. "Maybe once all the gas completely wears off, he'll remember a little more..."
Rhodey nodded. "We can hope," he agreed quietly as he followed her gaze to where the fifteen-year-old was quietly talking to the head of security in subdued tones. "Happy told me he's going to keep a closer eye on the kid. We don't know yet what whoever did this was after. Or who. So until we know for sure that they're not coming back for Peter..."
"Good idea," Pepper muttered. "The Tower's open to him whenever he needs it." She then paused, fidgeting a bit with her ponytail. "And then there's the guys that Peter was dealing with, the ones Tony told me he was doing whatever he could to help with... That's what he was doing when that accident happened at the ferry."
"The weapons dealers and the guy with wings?" The colonel mulled this over. "I'll have to talk to him more about that when his head's a bit clearer... Any chance there's a connection to what happened at the building since it happened right after?"
Pepper shrugged. "It's possible... but I can't say for sure," she told him. "I can't imagine those arms dealers would be too thrilled that Tony showed up to help Peter, not to mention got the FBI involved..."
"No, I can't imagine they would." Rhodey worried his bottom lip between his teeth before giving her a small smile. "It's a direction, Pepper. A place to start. And that's a good thing. We're not stalled. Okay?" When he saw the CEO nod, still appearing shellshocked by everything that had happened over the past few hours, he let out a quiet breath as he reached out and wrapped a strong arm around her, pulling her close.
"We've got a start..."
Happy smiled as Peter slid his backpack up to rest on his shoulder. "Got everything, bud?" he asked. "Finish everything you need to get done for tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Peter answered with a bit of a nod. "Read Act Three, Scenes One and Two of Hamlet, read the next chapter for Chem, and did all the problems for the two sections we covered in Geometry. Wasn't too much tonight, thankfully. Didn't take too long."
"Well, good. Wouldn't wanna send you home without getting your homework done, it's getting kinda late," Happy muttered with a quick glance at his watch. It wasn't too late, but definitely getting on the later end for a school night. Plus, the kid needed some good sleep after what happened down at the harbor. "We want your aunt to be okay with you coming here, after all..."
The fifteen-year-old's eyes widened as he glanced over at Pepper and Rhodey before turning back to Happy. "Wait... you mean... I can come back?"
The head of security arched an eyebrow. "Well... yeah," he said as though this had been obvious for everyone involved. "Something's going on here, kid. And until we know for sure that you're not in any danger, we thought this would be a good place for you to be as often as possible. And you can help us figure out what happened to Tony. Sound good?"
Peter couldn't stop the broad grin from spreading across his face. Not only could he keep coming back to the place he'd ever only dreamed of being, but they actually wanted him to help them after what happened. He was a part of the team. "Yeah... yeah, that sounds... great, actually..."
"Plus, I suppose that would make me in charge of your 'Stark Internship' now," Pepper added as she and Rhodey approached them, giving the teen a small smile. "Just in case your aunt has any questions about that."
"Oh, yeah, wouldn't want to let that slide," Peter agreed with a nod. "Thanks, Pepper. For everything."
"Of course, Peter. Anytime." Her smile broadening slightly, the CEO reached out and wrapped her arms around the teen, lightly patting his shoulder as he hugged her back. "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow," he muttered, beaming as they parted. He still couldn't believe he'd actually said those words.
Rhodey then stepped forward and shook Peter's hand. "Looking forward to working more with you, kid," he said, and though there was a smile on his face, there was also clear hesitance there.
Peter took a deep breath as he nodded, recognizing the look. He still had quite a bit to prove, that much he knew. "Same with you, sir," he replied. Then, he looked up when Happy set a hand on his shoulder and gave him a nod, and with a last wave at the others, he followed the head of security into the elevator, getting one last look at the spacious room before the doors slid closed.
His fingertips were already getting raw and starting to bleed a little as he continued to pull at the metallic casings that were securely clamped around both of his forearms. He'd felt that possibly with a little leverage, he could apply enough pressure to the weaker points on the mechanisms to get them to come loose. But said weak points were harder to find than he thought, and the casings were much too tight against his skin.
Finally, Tony let out a sigh of defeat as he leaned back against the wall behind him, muttering a couple choice words under his breath as he wearily closed his eyes. He wished he had something on him that could be used to help jimmy these things open, but he couldn't even find the spot on them to work from. He hated feeling so weak and useless– attributing it to having somehow survived being shot, an explosion, and his mind still not as clear as he would like it to be due to the stupid hallucinogenic gas– but he had to hand it to his captors, they were thorough. Even though he hadn't really seen anything like these casings before, he had a good enough guess what they were for– to block any signals that could reach his suits back home, therefore leaving him at a great disadvantage.
He slowly opened his eyes and cast his hazel gaze around the small and dimly lit what he guessed to be a basement of some sort, assuming that the space was also designed to block any sort of signal from getting through. They'd been prepared for him, which meant that they'd been planning his capture for quite some time, as they'd had time to get things ready for his arrival. Which also meant that it most likely wasn't anyone who Peter had been hunting down, as other than getting the FBI involved, he himself really had nothing to do with the guy with wings and the weapons dealers. No, this sort of preparation went further and took more time.
And clearly, these guys knew something about his past. The billionaire knew that it wouldn't be too difficult to look up information on what had happened to him while in Afghanistan, so he wasn't overly surprised that he had woken up to a space representing that horrible time in his life. And that one of his captors had taken on the persona of Bucky Barnes didn't mean too much, either. It wasn't exactly a secret that the Avengers had had a falling out and were all separated, the unraveling of himself and Steve Rogers at the center of it all due to the messy matter of the Winter Soldier...
Tony briefly held his breath, not allowing his mind to go any further down that path. He couldn't think about how Cap had completely broken his trust with his role in the truth about what had happened to his parents that night all those years ago, how he had seemed to give up on their friendship until an olive branch was received in the form of a note of apology and a disposable phone, how he himself had tried in his own way to start mending the shattered pieces between them by repairing and improving the Super Soldier's shield in a sort of olive branch of his own...
It took a moment due to how sluggish his brain was functioning, but the painful memories from Siberia finally subsided, both Bucky and Steve's faces fading from thought. Tony once again started to look around him, attempting to get himself back on track in determining just what sort of situation he was now in. There wasn't anything too personal these guys had thrown at him yet, nothing that the general public didn't know or could find out. As he'd told his captor, it would take more than a cheap Winter Soldier knock-off to make him crack, but he was still a bit wary of what else in his not-so-perfect life could be dug up by this merry band of cosplayers. He had no shortage of enemies who would love to get him into this sort of position and use whatever dirt they felt they had on him against him.
But... who was this doctor his not-Bucky captor had referenced? Tony racked his brain, but he didn't think he'd ticked off anyone in the medical profession or any similar fields, though he couldn't say for sure. Wouldn't surprise him if he had at some point– skipped an appointment or something else of that nature. In either case, he'd bet that whoever this doctor was was the real one running the show, not the guy masquerading as the Winter Soldier. Pretty typical kidnapping situation, he thought. The one in charge hardly ever got their hands dirty and usually didn't show up until much later. Though what did concern him a little bit more than any of that was what was said about a role he was supposed to play. He had no idea what that meant, but he sure as hell wasn't going to...
Tony's thoughts trailed off as his gaze rested on the large, red flag mounted on the wall across the room from him. The familiar symbol of the Ten Rings that was already burned into his brain glared back at him again now, almost mocking him. It burned so brightly, both in his mind and in his eyes that he doubted he'd be able to get rid of the image for as long as he lived.
Which, he realized, may have only been up until he outlived his usefulness here.
... Oh, how he'd love to just tear that flag down...
But even though he knew he wasn't back in that cave in Afghanistan, it was starting to almost feel like it... The darkness was starting to press in around him, the floor and wall were hard beneath him, all his muscles were tight and painful, his chest was on fire as he fought to catch his breath, his heart struggled for its next beat...
No... he couldn't be going back to that place... not right now... not again...
The billionaire forced himself to take slower, deeper breaths, but that overhanging feeling of dread refused to lift off of him. He knew he somehow just had to focus on his objectives. Pepper... her smiling face was still not far from the forefront of his mind, reminding him of what he had to find a way back to. Peter... his brow furrowed, remembering what his costumed captor had said about not knowing where the "other pieces" were. He couldn't have been there with them, he couldn't believe that... but if he was, he knew he had to get a hold of himself and keep his mind as clear as possible to figure out how to get the teen, as well as himself, to safety...
But that was easier said than done as the walls seemed to tilt and shift a little, almost appearing more rock-like in shape and color. Tony closed his eyes tightly, attempting to force the images of Afghanistan out of his mind. I'm not there, he thought, willing himself to believe the words. I'm not there... He had to focus... just focus...
A quiet noise reached his ears then, and he cautiously opened his eyes and glanced upward at the vent above his head that he hadn't noticed before. A thin, light mist was seeping through it into the room, and his heart dropped.
No... not more of this gas...
Coughing a couple times, Tony raised an arm to cover his mouth and nose, but he knew it wouldn't do much good since he didn't know how long it'd been filtering into the small space. It had likely already settled into his lungs, into his mind...
And as he lowered his gaze, he jumped slightly when he realized he was no longer alone in the room. Another man was slumped against the adjacent wall, not appearing threatening in the least... Another prisoner, perhaps? Was he not the only one this doctor wanted for whatever twisted plan he had in store for him?
No... it's the gas...
Tony shook his head in attempt to clear it, but the vision didn't fade. Though he knew it had to be another trick of his mind, there was no way this could be real. Because he knew this man very well, which is also why he knew it was impossible for him to be sitting in the same room with him now. His gaze swept over his slender frame, his slightly tattered suit, his narrow face, his short and graying beard, his wire-rimmed glasses, and his mostly bald head. There was no mistaking him.
He was once again sitting in the same prison as Ho Yinsen.
Author's Note: All right, that's it for this one! There was going to be another section after this one, but I realized that it would fit better in the next one, and this seemed to be a good better cut-off point. So, Peter's officially part of the "Operation: Find Tony" team along with Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey, and Tony is having some pretty serious PTSD moments... Next chapter will be much more Peter-centric as his head continues to clear after dealing with the hallucinogenic himself and tries to figure out more about what could have happened while up on that rooftop. We'll also find out what happened to Steve and Co. Thanks for reading! As always, feedback is appreciated. Until next time, guys!