Peter sat at the table, in the same spot he had the first time he came here while Spiderman. The table was still split down the middle. Team Iron Man on one side and Team America on the other. Bruce took up his spot at the end, opposite of Peter. The assortment of food had long been passed around and everyone settled into eating. Glances were passed around as tension seemed to mount. For the most part Peter kept his head down and refused to eat. It wasn't for the lack of appetite but rather the lump in his throat and the pounding of his heart.

The organ thumped loudly in his chest as his spidey senses tingle every other second. Balling his hands into a fist he begged them to stop shaking. The tingling stopped but the prickly feeling exploded near his shoulder, causing him to move away and look up in alarm. The room seemed to freeze as his eyes fell on the hand that was reaching for him. Following the arm up to the owner, his eyes fell on Tony.

The man withdrew his hand and sat back. After a moment of silence, the man pointed to the boys plate that sat empty. "Are you going to eat something?"

Peter's gaze moved to the plate but he himself remained silent. Seeing that he wasn't going to answer, the billionaire tried again. "When's the last time you ate?"

Nothing.

"Are you hungry?"

Nothing.

"Did you eat before you came?"

Nothing.

"Are you allergic to something in the spaghetti?"

Nothing.

"Are you going to answer me?"

Nothing.

"Do you still have soap in your ears?"

Nothing.

"Believe it or not kid, I can talk all day."

Nothing.

Tony opened his mouth to say something but Pepper laid a hand on the man's arm. A clear message to leave it alone. Tony frowned but nodded nonetheless. Everyone went back to eat in silence.

Boss, Director Fury is requesting access to the compound.

Peter jumped a mile high as the voice rang out over the entire room. Silently he cursed himself for forgetting that they had the AI Friday installed throughout the compound. His eyes travelled to the ceiling. "That's my AI Friday. She's a beauty." Tony announced proudly as he waved a hand around. "She's installed throughout the compound. So no funny business." Swallowing, Peter nodded to show that he heard.

Boss, Director Fury is rather insistent.

"Of course he is. Tell him we are sitting down for dinner and to come back later."

"You locked Fury out of the compound?" Rhodes asked, looking at his friend through narrowed eyes.

"Nooooo. I locked the compound down for any visitors or did you forget how Burt and Ernie here allowed for two Hydra agents to enter our home."

Peter looked up at that but before anyone could say anything, Friday spoke up again.

Boss, Director Fury has asked me to inform you that if you do not allow him access then he will burn the building down.

"Tell him we have sprinklers for such cases."

"Tony, do you really think antagonizing the man is the best solution?" Steve asked in a clam tone.

"Probably not but we can certainly try," the man snickered, earning him a slap on the arm from Pepper. The woman stood and looked around the table.

"I will take Peter to another room and we will finish our meal there." With that she walked around to the child and motioned for him to follow. As he started to leave a voice stopped him. Turning back, he saw Scott holding out his plate that was now piled high with food.

"In case you get hungry." Peter stared at the plate for a moment before he took it. The smell of the food sent his stomach grumbling. Scott smiled as if he just won a grand prize before turning back to the table.

Pepper led him to his room but just as they sat down to eat her phone rang. "Give me a moment, I need to take this." With that she left the room. Alone, Peter left his food untouched as he quirked his ear to the living room where voices drifted through.


Bruce stared around the table after Peter and Pepper disappeared from view. Everyone stared at each other for a moment before the doctor decided to speak. "Okay, do we tell him that we have Peter? Or better yet that we have Hydra agents locked up here?"

Natasha opened her mouth to speak but Friday took that moment to speak up.

Director Fury is banging on the door, sir. He says let him in.

Tony released a sigh before telling the AI to let him in. Turning to the table, the man shook his head. "Let's play it by ear."

Moments later, Fury stormed through the door. His one good eye roamed around the room before settling on the team at the table. Tony gave him a surprised look. "Director Fury-cat! What a surprise. We weren't expecting company. I'm afraid you caught us at a bad time, we just sat down for a meal. Perhaps you can come back later? I'm afraid milk and tuna are not on the menu this evening."

Fury glared at the man as he walked further into the room. "Is there a reason the compound is locked down?"

"Yes, we tend to have a few interruptions when we want to sit down as a team."

Fury shook his head once before turning to Steve. "Captain, if I can have a moment of your time please?"

Steve nodded and made a move to leave the table but Tony's voice stopped him. "It's rude to leave the table without asking to be excused. That's what Pepper says anyway."

Bruce looked at the man as he looked at the captain. A hidden and unspoken message shined through the brown irises. The way he emphasized Peppers name seemed to be a clue. Realization dawned on the doctor moments later. They know Pepper left the room with Peter but they don't know where they went. Tony doesn't want to risk the chance of them running into the other two.

"Captain?" Fury beckoned.

"Tony's right," Steve said catching on to what Tony was trying to say. Fury raised an eyebrow as the war captain spoke. "May I be excused?"

"I say no," Tony responded immediately.

Not understanding what the billionaire was up to, the other avengers decided to just go with it.

"Yeah it's a no for me too," Clint announced.

"Same here," Sam and Rhodes said at the same time.

"I'm saying no," Scott voiced.

"No," Bruce replied simply.

All eyes went to Natasha who wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I also say no. The man hasn't even cleaned his plate."

Fury glared at the table as Steve sat back down. Walking forward, Fury came to a stop at the table. "I need an update on your mission."

"It's still a work in progress," Steve explained, giving nothing more and nothing less. Fury gave him a long and hard look causing the man to stiffen.

"What about Spidermans cooperation? Has that proven any leads?"

"A few, but they turned out to be dead ends." Bruce noticed the blond man was choosing his words carefully.

"So he doesn't know the location of Peter Parker?"

Steve opened his mouth but it was like Tony took pity on the man and decided to intervene. "He's a little reluctant to help us at the moment."

Fury settled his gaze on the man. "Why is that?"

"Well you see," Tony said as he stuffed a piece of garlic bread into his mouth. "While he was leading us to a lead, we were attacked by Hydra agents. So naturally, he thinks we are trying to kill him or the kid."

Fury seemed to freeze at the mention of Hydra agents. He looked around the room as if to see if this was a joke but all he got in return were serious expressions. A string of curse words flew out of the man's mouth as a hand ran across his bald head. Everyone exchanged glances.

"While he was here we filled him in on everything that we know and he seemed to think that we didn't have the full story," Bucky added. Fury looked up at that.

"That damn file," Fury spat.

All eyes fell on Bucky when the file was mentioned. The former Hydra agent gave everyone a look that suggested he wanted to yell, 'Told you so.'

"What file might this be?" Natasha asked as she dropped her fork. Fury shook his head before uttering the words he had been since the moment they were assigned the case.

"That's a need to know."

Steve stood from the table and set a look of disapproval on the man. "If you want my team and I to continue on this mission, then we do need to know. You have us walking around blind, looking for a fifteen year old boy. Our only lead in finding him is now no longer helping us. Now we have Hydra agents coming out of nowhere. Obviously there is more to the story and we need to know what it is. Now."

Fury studied the captain for a moment before shaking his head. "Just find the boy." He turned to leave but a voice filled the room stopping him.

"No."