Bucky remained in Peter's room long after everyone else left. His eyes raked every inch, taking in every detail. The way the room remained untouched from what he could see. The only thing that seemed to have a presence of tampering was one lonely spot on the bed, the bathroom, and the dresser. The bed, Bucky noticed, hadn't been slept in. His eyes traveled to the floor, but the voice of his childhood friend interrupted him.

"Bucky, did you hear me?"

"The kid slept on the floor," the man said.

Steve walked into the room and stood next to the other man. "What?"

"Peter, he slept on the floor."

"How do you figure that?"

"Look at the bed, it hasn't been slept in."

Steve eyed the object before shaking his head. "He could have made it-"

"Yeah, but name one teenager who makes their bed without being told."

"Me."

"You don't count. Besides, I don't think Peter is organized."

"How do you know?"

"Look at the nightstand. There are bits of food still there. Plus, there was a spoon under the bed."

"Where is it now?" Steve asked as he looked under the bed.

"Bruce took it to get DNA off it, but that's not the point. The point is, the kid doesn't seem like the neat kind that would forget all of that and make his bed. He never slept in it. He sat on it, there, but sleeping, no."

"Somethings not right," he continued after a moment. "Peter went through great lengths to try and make sure that there was no trace of him."

"He's hiding something," Steve announced as he caught on to what his friend was saying. Both of their eyes traveled to the bathroom where the smell of bleach was all but faint now.

"Are we sure someone took him?" Bucky asked as he eyed the dresser. "I mean, if he went through great lengths to avoid anything traceable, what's to say he didn't mess with Friday."

"It would be impossible for two people to go through the vents without one of us hearing something," Steve voiced as he looked to the dresser as well.

"It's possible that Peter messed with Friday, and left on his own."

"Hey Bert and Ernie, Romanoff wants a team meeting."

Both men turned to see Tony staring at them with a raised eyebrow. He gestured towards the hallway before turning and walking away, leaving the men to follow.


"I told you," Tony announced smugly as he looked towards Rhodes.

"Yes Tony, you mentioned that multiple times already. We get it, you're not the father."

"Could she be lying?" Bucky asked, earning him a glare from the man of Iron.

"Why is it so hard for you to believe that the boy is not mine. I've said it, hell even the woman said it. At this point it's a done deal. I am not Peter's father."

Bucky opened his mouth but Natasha beat him to it. "She seemed pretty confused when I mentioned we were testing Tony."

"Ha," the billionaire announced as he smiled smugly. "So that leaves the two old men."

All eyes fell on Steve and Bucky as they looked at each other. "How long until we, you know, know who the father is?" Bucky asked as he licked his lips.

"Not long, I suspect."

"In the meantime, we need to discuss Peter."

"What about Peter?" A voice asked from behind.

All heads turned to see Pepper standing in the doorway with her bags in hand. She eyed all of them individually before her eyes rested on her fiance. Stepping further into the room, she set the bags on the ground before her eyes traveled around the room. "Where is Peter?"

"Uh…" Tony started but quickly trailed off. His eyes turned to the rest of the team. Natasha rolled her eyes in annoyance before looking at the other woman.

"Someone managed to shut Friday down and take Peter."

Pepper's eyebrows dropped low over her eyes as she searched the woman's face. "How?"

Natasha opened her mouth to respond but Bucky beat her to it. "I don't think they did."

All eyes fell on him. "Steve and I looked around the room. It was barely touched. The bed wasn't slept in. The only thing that seemed to be disturbed to great lengths was the bathroom with the bleach."

Steve nodded as he chimed in. "Peter went through great lengths to keep us from getting his DNA. We think he's hiding something."

"The dresser was under the vent in his room," Bucky added. "Plus, it would be impossible for two people to get through the vents without anyone hearing them."

"The vent in the Friday's control room was disturbed. Peter could have climbed through the vent and turned off Friday himself." Steve concluded.

"Are you saying a fifteen year old-"

"It makes sense," Rhodes voiced from his spot on the sofa.

"I, honestly, don't know why we didn't figure it out sooner." Steve said more to himself than anyone else.

Pepper ran a hand across her face before releasing a sigh. "Do we know where he would go?"

"No."

"Great. You know, I'm too tired to deal with all of this. I'm going to bed. Anthony Stark, find that child, now." Without another word Pepper picked up her bags and started towards her room.

"Why am I the only one getting fussed at. They lost him too."

"Yes, but I'm not marrying them." With that she left the room. On her way out she nearly bumped into Bruce who was walking into the room.

"Sorry," the doctor said as she continued on her way. Without a second glance, Bruce walked over to the rest of the team.

"Were you able to get any DNA off the spoon?" Sam asked as he eyed the man. Bruce nodded although he didn't appear to be happy. "Then why the long face?"

"I was only able to get enough for one sample, which is good but with Friday still rebooting herself, it could take a while before we have the results."

"Well, I hope you didn't put me into that category," Tony said proudly.

Bruce gave him a look. "Yes, I did Tony."

"Well you wasted your time. The kid's not mine."

"Tony-"

Natasha cut Bruce off by catching him up to speed. Bruce looked to Tony who had his usual Tony Stark smile on his face. "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"A little."

"Well can you gloat later? We have a fifteen year old to find," Bucky announced. Everyone nodded, before they all collectively started towards the door.

"You guys lose something?" a voice asked, stopping all of them in their tracks. All eyes traveled towards the ceiling where a young boy dressed in his red, black and blue suit sat comfortably.


Peter started down at them from behind the eyes of his mask as he sat perched on the ceiling. Releasing a chuckle he watched as they all whipped around and stared up at him when he announced his presence.

"Spiderman," Rhodes announced.

"The one and only." He said with a smile. The dirty smell of his suit somehow calmed the nerves that were running rampid throughout his entire body.

"You're getting footprints on my ceiling," Tony gripped.

"It would appear so."

"Fancy seeing you here," Natasha said as she eyed him carefully.

"I know right. Small world and all that."

"You're getting footprints on my ceiling," Tony repeated as he glared at the human spider.

"You know, this would work a lot better if you just ask me to get down," Peter replied as he dropped to the ground. Raising to his feet, he tilted his head to the side. "Where are you guys headed?"

"Out to do Avengers business."

"Hmm...that's fine. So do you mind if I visit Peter?"

Peter watched as they all froze and quickly looked at each other. "He's sleeping," Sam lied. The boy nodded before a snort left his mouth.

"Something funny?"

"Yeah, you're a horrible liar. You see, I just left Peter and he was very much awake."

"You have Peter?" Steve voiced as he stepped forward.

"You know I still can't figure out how the hell you allow a fifteen year old to escape. Aren't you supposed to be Earth's best defenders or something along those lines?"

"How the hell did you manage to find him so quickly?" Natasha asked as she narrowed her eyes.

"If he needs help, he knows how to reach me."

"Did you come here to gloat?" Sam snapped causing Peter to stop smiling.

"No. I came for a reason."

"What is it?"

Peter stared at all of them before releasing a deep breath. He glanced down at the folder in his hands raising it up for them to see. "I'm needing to see a woman named Vanessa."

All eyes remained on him as he forced himself to stay still. The eyes of the Avengers attempted to burn through his mask as if they were trying to reach his soul. It was Rhodes who spoke first. "How do you know about her."

Swallowing what little spit was left in his mouth, Peter forced himself to chuckle. "You know, for you guys to be the big bad Avengers, you guys really are clueless to the obvious things. How you guys managed to survive in fights against aliens remains a mystery to me."

"Just answer the question, smart ass," Sam barked.

"Peter told me, Jesus. Are you happy now? He told me about how after you guys found him, he was attacked by her and then she was brought here. Now, I know you didn't let her go, so I would like to speak to her."

Some of them glanced at each other from the side, before Steve spoke up. "I can't allow that to happen."

Peter tilted his head to the side, as he narrowed his eyes. Crossing his arms over the spider on his chest, he pressed his lips in a hard line. "Funny thing is, I wasn't asking."

Eyebrows shot to the sky as the words escaped his mouth. "Don't you have school or something to get to?"

"Nah. I've got all the time in the world."

"Of course you do," Tony scoffed. "What do you want to speak to Vanessa about?"

"Well now, that's between me and her isn't it."

"Okay spider-ling, you can't just come in here and-"

"Start making demands? Right. Well here's the thing, Peter is not coming back here until I can confirm that it's safe. Speaking of safety, I do believe that I left Peter in the care of Scott Lang and Pepper Potts. I don't see them here. Which violates the terms of our agreement when I agreed to let you have Peter."

"Yes, well adult things happened. Something tells me you know nothing about that," Tony said as he stepped forward. Shaking his head, Peter stepped forward as well.

"I know more than you think." Silence filled the room as everyone stared at the red, black and blue child in front of them. "Now, I need to see Vanessa. So who is taking me to her?"

All eyes traveled to the former ice block. Steve stared at the eyes of Peter's mask. The man and the boy stared at each other for a while before Steve nodded. "Alright."

"You've got to be kidding me?" Tony objected.

Steve turned to him. "What's the problem?"

"Are we really going to allow the kid to go near her. Need I remind you that she's with Hydra?"

"She's locked up."

"Friday hasn't fully booted back up. We'd be running a risk sending the boy in there. He looks like he weighs less than a piece of ham. She could easily take him out."

"Since when do you worry about me?" Peter asked.

"I'm not spiderling, I'm worried about my fiancé who would throw a fit if something happened to you. Now hush, grown folks are talking. Just stay there and look adorable in your Halloween costume."

Peter huffed but it was Steve who responded. "She hasn't done anything yet and I don't think she will."

"Right because you know her so well. I forgot you two dated while she was horseback riding your friend."

Steve's face went blank as he stared at the billionaire, but Peter saw a tiny vein throbbing in the blond man's neck. Licking his lips, Steve stepped towards Tony causing everyone to move at once. Bucky laid his hand on his friend's shoulder while Sam stood to his full height. Rhodes stepped up and put a hand on Tony's chest pushing him back as Natasha stood to her full height but shook her head in what Peter could only translate as annoyance.

Bruce ran a hand through his hair. "Guys, now's not the time."

"It's called using common sense, Stark. If she was going to leave she would have done so already, but she stayed, and from what Natasha told us, she's more worried about seeing Peter than anything else. Once we get Peter back, she's not going to do anything to jeopardize that." Steve explained in a calm tone.

"Who says you're getting Peter back?" Peter spoke up from behind his mask.

Tony turned to him and pointed a finger at him. "Once again, grown ups talking. Hush." Turning back to his teammate, Tony raised an eyebrow. "Did I hit a nerve?"

"Tony, enough," Rhodes said as he pushed his friend back.

Keeping an eye one the former playboy, Steve spoke in a voice that commanded attention. "Nat, can you take Spiderman to Vanessa?"

Peters eyes moved to the black widow as he swallowed what little spit remained in his mouth. Natasha looked at him and lifted a finger and motioned him forward. Peter remained where he was as he mentally tried to force his feet to move.

"Let's go kid," Natasha called as she turned and started towards the door. Peter glanced around and saw everyone staring at him. Clearing his throat, he rushed after the older woman.