Black ooze trailed from Peter's eyes. The boy was sporting a snarl as his fists clenched. Tony could've sworn his eyes flashed black each time the alarm blared. On the other side of the lab, Tony stood with his repulsor raised toward the kid, his kid. Only one thought raced through his mind. How had they come to this?
The lab was quiet, the usual chatter that filed throughout the room had been replaced with a deep, focused silence. Three men were hunched over a table in the far corner of the room, watching what looked to be an unnamed life-form.
"What exactly is that?" Said Bruce, taking pictures of the thing, "And where did you get it?"
The youngest in the middle scratched the back of his neck, "I kind of...stole it," Bruce's tapping stopped abruptly as he gave the boy a death glare, "You stole it? Peter, that's a-"
"Oh please! He got it from Oscorp, it's fine. Live a little Brucie," Tony had a small grin on his face as he wrapped an arm around Peter. The scientist just sighed and returned his eyes to the organism.
"I know it sounds wrong, but I knew Oscorp was going to find some way to use it for evil. You know, like with the spiders. And I didn't want that! So I thought the next best place to bring it to was here," Peter said as he tapped the organism with a pencil, "But what is it? A parasite?" The boy just shrugged as he was questioned by Bruce.
"I grabbed some notes as well, it says that it's a symbiote and to keep it away from open wounds, mouth, ears, nose belly button- Wait can it even get into you through that?" Peter rambled on about various ways that the symbiote could get into a human as Bruce cleared off the surrounding desks.
"So should we do some tests, see what it is?" Tony asked, leaning against the newly cleared desk, "Is that even safe?" Bruce asked.
"Well.." Peter flipped through the notes again, "It should be, as long as we keep it away from-" Tony held up a hand, "Any orifice, we know." Peter nodded, smiling. The three slip on safety equipment. Truthfully, Bruce would've felt safer in a hazmat suit, but gloves, a mask, and goggles would have to do.
Tony unscrewed the top of the jar, before quickly flipping the jar over in the petri dish so the entity was still trapped.
"Ready?" Tony asked. Both Peter and Bruce nodded. Tony lifted the jar, and immediately the entity jumped to the nearest person. Which just so happened to be Peter. The boy yelled as he grabbed at the form. It crawled up his arm until it reached his neck. Tony could immediately tell it was heading for his mouth.
"Shit!" Tony yelled, scrambling to help his kid. Bruce grabbed the abandoned jar as Tony trapped the entity in his hands. Carefully, the two men put the thing back in its jar. It was pissed, slamming itself against the walls of its glass prison. Toward Peter…strangely. Peter stared at the entity, entranced.
"Jeez. Kid, you okay?" Tony asked, waving a hand in front of Peter when he didn't get an answer. The boy nodded, swallowing what he assumed was saliva down his throat.
"That…That was enough excitement for one night." Tony said, grabbing the jar and stuffing it in his desk drawer, "We'll deal with this another day. I need sleep." Peter bid Tony and Bruce goodnight. He stayed behind a few moments later, watching the drawer. He shook himself out of his stare a few moments later, he was tired. He just needed some sleep.
Tick
Tick
Tick
The sound was driving Peter crazy. He'd been lying awake in his room for what felt like hours. The boy had given up on sleep a while ago. The only thing he could think about was that entity. It felt like venom against his skin, but it didn't hurt. He felt right, powerful even when it was on him. It was like they were meant to be one. He wanted to touch it again, and it was driving him mad. Almost as much as this damned clock. Peter's fist struck the clock, relieved as it finally went silent.
His foot twitched, he wanted- No. He needed to touch the venom again. It was in that dark drawer. Trapped. He needed to help it, that's what he did, right? Peter stood, assuming himself he was helping. He silently made his way to the lab, keeping the lights off as he walked to Tony's desk. His hand reached toward the drawer, but something didn't feel right…Tony and Bruce wanted to find out what it was. They were just trying to help…
They were going to hurt it! Hurt us! Help it! Save us Peter!
"Okay," Peter whispered to himself, grabbing the jar that held the venom. He unscrewed the cap, and reached in. The entity attached itself to him, and he felt right again. He watched as it wrapped around his arm, encasing it in blackness. It trailed upward, toward his torso and neck. He panicked. Only for a moment though, because as soon as the venom reached his face, he felt calm, as if he could let go.
So he let go.
"Pete! Get up, I'm making waffles. Well, warming them up," Tony said through Peter's door before walking toward the kitchen. He dropped a few eggo waffles into the toaster before turning to his beloved coffee maker. "Love of my life," He murmured, voice still groggy with sleep. He didn't bother to turn around when he heard the door opening down the hall. He knew it was his kid by the sound of his Iron-Man slippers (a gift from yours truly) sliding against the floors. He and Peter had fallen into some sort of routine, Peter would sit at the island, while Tony stood behind it, sipping a coffee while Peter rambled on about school or some dream he had the night before.
Though this morning, Peter hadn't sat at the island. Instead, he walked right behind Tony, his breathing heavy, to the point where it concerned Tony.
"Did you just run a marathon kid?" He asked, turning around. Tony almost did a double take. Peter's pupils were blown and dark. And his skin was ashen, almost gray.
"Peter? Are you okay?" He asked, reaching out to set a hand on Peter's forehead. The boy jerked away abruptly, causing Tony to flinch, "Kid? Do you need me to call Bruce-?"
"You… you'll be a problem..." Peter said, his voice almost robotic. It was as if he were speaking for the first time.
"Need to leave..you'll stop me…." Peter mumbled and Tony reached out to the boy again, earning himself a punch to the nose. The man fell against the tiled floor, hands outstretched. This wasn't Peter. He knew his kid…this wasn't. Peter suddenly gripped his head as if he were in pain before letting out a strangled yell.
"STOP!" Peter yelled, hitting himself, "STOP FIGHTING ME!" Tony took the chance and swiped the boy's feet from under him. Peter hit the floor with a sickening crack before going motionless. Tony quickly checked the boy's head before saying, "Friday, get anyone who's available."
Tony, Bruce, Steve and Natasha stood behind the one way glass. Peter was still unconscious, his head slumped against Tony's hoodie as he sat in the tower's interrogation room.
"So…What happened?" Steve asked, his arms crossed as he stared at the boy.
"I-I don't know. He just..attacked. He was talking about how I was going to hurt him and experiment. And then he just," Tony motioned to his nose, which was swollen and possibly fractured. But that was the least of Tony's concerns right now. Peter was always his top priority. Broken nose be damned.
"Do you think it could've been…" Bruce's voice trailed off. It was possible that whatever the thing was had gotten into Peter. But what did it want with him? Revenge?
Just then, the boy raised his head. His eyes were slightly unfocused as he took in his situation. He whimpered…fucking whimpered and Tony wanted to uncuff the boy right then and there.
"T-Tony?" The boy asked, setting his head back on the hoodie. Tony bit his lip. He felt terrible, "Let me talk to him." Natasha said, walking out of the room. Moments later, she appeared on the other side of the glass, where she pulled a chair next to Peter.
"Hey Peter…You remember what happened this morning?" She asked, her voice soft. It was a voice only reserved for Peter, she had a soft spot for him, hell, everyone did. The boy nodded, eyes squinted under the bright light of the room.
"Okay.. Can you tell me why? We're worried about you. Tony's worried." The boy bit his lip as he avoided Natasha's eyes.
"M-my wrists." The boy said. Nat turned her gaze to the cuffs. The skin was red, irritated and even cut in some places. Natasha glanced at the mirror, "Should I?" She mouthed, hearing a single tap against the glass.Yes.
Without further hesitation, Natasha opened the cuffs, helping Peter stand. The boy looked up toward Natasha, smiling. But it was wrong, twisted. And his eyes…Before she could think about it anymore she was shoved into the wall, hearing the brick crack behind her. Her vision swam and Peter crawled atop her, landing blows to her face, chest, anywhere that he could reach.
"Peter!" A voice yelled from the doorway. It was Tony. He had his arm outstretched, "Stop! And listen! They'll let you walk out of here, I won't. It's me. You only have to kill me." The boy was silent for a moment, considering the offer. Then stiffly, Peter stood and turned his attention to Tony.
"Shit," The man muttered, swiveling around before rushing out the door.
Tony had never run this fast. But an enhanced teenager on his heels did wonders for one's adrenaline. He ducked into the gymnasium, making sure Peter was inside before yelling, "Friday! Lock it down!" Instantly, the doors to the gym locked as a security gate fell in front of them. The room went dark, all for the red light flashing each time the room's alarm went off. Peter yelled at the noise, hands clutching at his ears as tears streamed down his face. Only it wasn't tears…It was some sort of ooze.
The realization hit Tony like a truck. This thing..whatever it was, it had a weakness. If it had a weakness, that meant he could get it out of Peter. Tony tapped his arc-reactor, letting his suit encase him, "Friday, soundproof the suit, then turn the alarms on. Constant, and as loud as you can." The ai murmured an affirmative "yes sir" and then Tony's world went silent. He watched as Peter dropped to his knees, his mouth opened in a scream.
After a few seconds, the parasite slithered out of Peter's ears and eyes, trying to escape the noise, and the boy fell motionless. Tony allowed the noise to continue for a few seconds more. It hurt him to do so, but he couldn't take any chances, not with his kid on the line.
"Alright! Stop! Override the lockdown Fri!" Tony tapped his arc-reactor and ran toward Peter. The boy was unconscious, with black ooze dried under his eyes and ears. The doors to the gym swung open, revealing Steve, Bruce and Natasha (who was now sporting a black eye).
Bruce rushed to the parasite, scooping it into a jar and tightening the lid. He then turned his attention to the boy cradled in Tony's arms, "He'll be alright, let's get him to the medbay."
I'm so sorry, read the notepad Peter held out to Natasha, and she wrote back It's okay, I'm just glad you're safe. Peter smiled, holding his arms out for a hug, which Natasha gratefully returned. Tony watched the scene from his chair at Peter's bedside. The boy had awoken hours earlier, confused and unable to hear. Bruce had said it was temporary, which calmed both the anxious teen and his twice as anxious not-father beside him.
Peter remembered everything, he said that it was as if he was himself, but had no control over his actions. Unfortunately, that meant he could feel the deafening alarms grow louder until it burst his eardrum. Tony felt guilty, but the boy reassured him that there was no other option, and drove the point in with a long hug. Tony wished that he could tell Peter in his own words how much he loved him and was grateful to have him back, but the written version would have to do for now.