Chapter 1

His senses went off and he felt the tingling run up and down his spine suddenly as his eyes flew open trying to find the source. He looked to his left where his bedside table was and stared at the alarm clock, the LED display showing 2:45am. Frowning to himself, the tingling getting stronger when his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by his phone buzzing. Reaching over, he noted an unknown number calling him.

"H-hello?" he asked cautiously,

"Is this Mr Parker?" a professional voice questioned on the other end.

"Peter speaking…"

"Mr Parker, my name is Dr Brody. There's been an accident involving Miss May Parker. Can you come down to Queen's Medical Centre as soon as possible?" The man's voice circled through Peter's head as he responded a quick yes and hung up the phone. He threw himself out of bed and got dressed in a hurry, panic racing through his thoughts as he grabbed his web shooters and left the apartment. Racing over, he arrived much quicker than anticipated and he pushed the front door to the hospital open forcefully before making his way to the front desk.

"My Aunt, I h-had a p-phone call, where is she?" he spoke fast, watching the receptionist as she eyed him warily. "Name?" she asked, "May, May Parker" Peter responded, heart beating loudly in his ears. "Relation?" the receptionist asked, "nephew, would you- can you just tell me where she is… please" he asked, terror filling him. "Room 241" the nurse responded, gesturing down a corridor. Peter ran off, shouting his thanks over his shoulder as he made his way through the corridors, reading the signs. Coming to a stop in front of a Doctor, he asked if the man could give him directions. "Mr Parker?" the Doctor asked him, when Peter nodded his head quickly, the Doctor beckoned for him to follow and he introduced himself as Dr Brody. He led Peter down another corridor and into a waiting room before leading Peter into a nearby office and offering Peter a drink of tea, coffee or water which was swiftly declined.

The Doctor sat opposite Peter and eyed him thoughtfully, with a sigh he made eye contact and spoke evenly: "Mr Parker, I know this will be distressing. Your Aunt was involved in an accident at approximately 2am this morning. We did everything we could but unfortunately, we were not able to save her". Peter's mind went blank, and his body slumped, the breath he didn't realise he had been holding exhaled suddenly as he fought to understand what Dr Brody had told him. "N-no, t-th-that's n-not right" Peter replied, frowning. Dr Brody looked at him with sympathy before confirming that it was and offering to take Peter to see his aunt, Peter stumbled to his feet and tried to make them work, before he was led to the room his Aunt laid in. The Doctor held the door open as Peter made his way inside, breath stilling as he took in the scene before him. Aunt May was led in a bed, looking like she was asleep but somewhere deep down he knew she wasn't, his enhanced hearing couldn't hear her breathing and she remained unnaturally still. Making his way forward, he slumped into a chair watching her and tears flooded his vision, causing everything to blur. "M-May? A-A-Aunt May? It's Peter… Come on Aunt May, please – we can go home now. I'm here… I-I- Please don't leave me…" his voice faded to silence as his mind caught up with him and cautiously, he reached his hand out hoping she'd wake up and flinching back when he felt her icy wrist in his gentle grasp.

A knock stirred his muddled thoughts as Dr Brody opened the door and asked Peter to join him in the office when he was ready, standing and following the man, he sat down as Dr Brody introduced Peter to the woman stood behind him as Amanda. Looking from one to the other, he questioned why she was there.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Peter – can I call you Peter?" Amanda asked him without pause. nodding, Peter continued to watch her uncertainly. Clearing her throat, Amanda began explaining about Peter being a minor and needing somewhere safe to stay. When Peter tried protesting, she gave him a smile which didn't reach her eyes and said she was sorry, that this was the way it was. Peter's mind raced suddenly as he connected the dots – foster care, the system, she was talking about the system. Shaking his head at her, he begged to make a phone call, just one phone call. Amanda sighed, thinking for a moment before consenting and Peter stalked away from her as he pulled his phone from his back pocket. Scrolling through his contacts, his thumb hovered uncertainly above the name his mind had picked out before he took a breath and called.

Happy's soft snores were punctuated by the phone vibrating next to him, keeping his eyes closed, he fumbled around until he felt the phone in his grasp. Pulling it to his ear, he mumbled a quick "hello" before being met with silence. Pausing to frown at his phone screen, he noted Peter's name and the time before asking, "Pete? What-why are you calling so late?" His body filled with confusion as he realised the kid had never called him this late before.

"Ha-Happy? Is that you? I'm sorry- I di-didn't know who else to call. Can you pick me up... please"

Peter's desperation seeped through the phone, filling Happy with dread as he took stock of the unusual request. "What's going on Peter, are you hurt?"

"N-no, A-aunt May, she's… she…P-p-please c-come get me, I-I don't k-kn-know what to do, they want to t-t-take me away" Peter's desperation grew more pronounced, and Happy found himself asking where Peter was. Pausing for a few seconds, Happy threw himself out of bed and rushed to get dressed. "Sit tight, Pete. Don't move, I will be there" hanging up, Happy called his boss informing him they had a problem before leaving his apartment.

Peter sat in the waiting room, eyes closed while Dr Brody and the Amanda lady watched him from afar, discussing him. Suddenly the doors were thrown open and shouting could be heard from beyond the room: "Sir, you can't just – "

"Call my Lawyers, talk to them but get the hell out of my face" a voice called back suddenly, sounding irritated; Peter opened his eyes as a presence came to a stop in front of him.

Standing in front of him, hair slightly ruffled was Tony Stark. "Kid… Talk to me" Tony's voice called out to him, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder as he guided the teenager up and led him into a side room nearby.

"Mis-Mister Stark, I – sorry, I – May… she's… she's…" Peter struggled to communicate, his thoughts sluggish and his mind refusing to accept the reality.

"Okay, stay here Pete" Tony cast an eye down at his ward, frowning at how pale he seemed before turning on his heel and heading out to the waiting room where Dr Brody stood. Before Tony could demand answers however, the blonde lady who was stood next to the Doctor forced her way toward him and asked who he was and why he was here. Trying to hide his irritation, Tony looked at her before answering: "Tony Stark, Peter is my intern. What happened, where's his aunt?"

Dr Brody cleared his throat uneasily and cast an eye around the deserted waiting room before motioning for Tony to follow, leading him into a separate office he filled him in before explaining that Amanda was here to take Peter somewhere safe for the night and to work out what would be done after.

Frowning between Dr Brody and Amanda, Tony shook his head. "Nope, not happening, sorry. The kid comes with me". Amanda's eyebrows shot up dangerously close to her hairline, "With all due respect Mr Stark, you can't just waltz in here and take a kid – he's a minor, a minor who has no other guardians available. He will be placed into the system until we find something else".

"And with all due respect, Amanda. The kid will be coming with me, I get it's a little odd but if you don't like it, take it up with my Lawyers. That kid rang me and there will be papers drawn up and placed on your desk first thing tomorrow morning. I will have my assistant call them for you". Dr Brody interrupted Amanda before she could fire back a response, trying to seek an amicable solution, "may I ask, Mr Stark – what is the nature of your relationship to this boy?" Tony looked at him evenly, before responding to the question "Dr… Brody, is it? Peter is my intern, his Aunt and I have a very good relationship and his care is often entrusted to me while she is away at work – I am a close family friend. Peter has a good relationship, a strong relationship with me – he called me, I'm here. That's it". Nodding thoughtfully, Dr Brody tried to appease Amanda who now looked like she was going to spit feathers out her mouth. "Surely an exception given the timing and the circumstance can be made, Mandy? Peter did call him, and he came straight down no questions asked – they must have a personal relationship, look who the man is".

Amanda looked like she wanted to protest before sighing, looking at Tony warily she clarified that the appropriate papers would be required to be on her desk the following morning and when he agreed they would be, she took his contact information and warned him she would be in touch very soon. Tony let out an exasperated sigh before heading to retrieve Peter from the side room, nodding at both the Doctor and Amanda before steering him outside and into the car that was parked around the corner. Tony pushed Peter in gently before climbing in after him as Happy began the journey home. Peter stared out the window, barely registering Happy in the front seat as his mind refused to work and his thoughts circled around, jumbling. What am I going to do? He thought glumly. Jumping slightly at the sudden movement to his side, Peter looked down at the bottle of Powerade offered to him before forcing his eyes up to meet Tony's concerned ones. Taking the bottle and downing it with a muttered thanks, Peter lent his head back against the head rest and closed his eyes, as the car drove on through the night.