Prompt: Apocalypse AU
Peter kept his head down taking one step after the other, and felt sweat run down his back. His legs were starting to ache after miles and miles of walking, and he was grateful for his suit that protected his eyes from the harsh sunlight. On his back, head resting on his shoulder, four-year-old Morgan sat in a makeshift sling of cloth held together with his webbing. He'd done his best to make it comfortable for her, and had allowed her to walk for a long time until she'd tired herself out, asking, finally, to be held. On her face were a pair of her father's sunglasses, and he'd draped a blanket over her despite the heat, hoping to keep her from a sunburn.
They'd been safe when the bombs had gone off. Mr. Stark didn't know that...not with every cell tower along with nearly every other structure destroyed. But they had been safe, the two of them at the Compound upstate, along with the rest of the staff. Mr. Stark had left them there for the weekend, flying Georgia to talk about the virus...about the thing that turned normal people into ravenous, bloodthirsty monsters. He'd been studying it and trying to find a cure, or at least a vaccine, since it had first appeared in Canada months ago, but then, all at once, it had seemed to explode.
Peter didn't know where May was...didn't know where any of the Avengers were. He didn't know if Mr. Stark and Pepper were safe. All he knew was that he'd been sitting in the living room with Morgan when an alarm had gone off, and Friday had instructed him to get to the panic room underground. So he had, grabbing her out of bed and racing down to Mr. Stark's lab, then through a thick metal door, a crying Morgan clutching his shirt and screaming as the world had started to shake.
And then, the door shut firmly behind them, Peter had held her, the two of them in the corner, a blanket wrapped around them. The room had shaken, and the sounds of explosions had filled the air, but he'd just held her, praying that May was safe. That the staff had found their own panic room. That the Avengers were okay and that Mr. Stark was okay...that everything was going to be okay.
When the shaking and explosions had stopped, Peter had waited hours to open the door. Morgan had long since fallen asleep before he had pushed it open, staring at the wreckage of the Compound in stunned, helpless silence. It was gone. The whole thing...twisted metal and broken glass had littered the ground and he'd thought of the staff. The people who had worked there. Or for Shield. There had been at least fifteen other people there. And then he'd caught sight of a body and had turned away, bile rising in his throat.
Glancing back at Morgan, he had felt his resolve strengthen. He had to get her to her father. That had been his only goal. So he'd gotten to work as quickly as he could. He'd found his suit in his backpack, and a blanket to make a sling for her. Next, he'd picked her up, trying not to wake her, and had gone in search of a vehicle.
Mr. Stark's Audi had gotten them all the way to Maryland, driving on ruined, deserted roads as best he could with Morgan alternating between sleeping and crying in the back. Then he'd switched to a pickup truck that had been abandoned, keys in the ignition, blood splattered on the doors. That had gotten them to Virginia, with frequent stops along the way for him to find abandoned gas stations and get them food. He hadn't seen any of the people infected with the virus up close yet, and he did his best to stay in the car as much as possible, parking in out of the way spots to get as much sleep as he could.
Morgan had gone quiet after the second day in the car, apparently understanding that this was bad. That things were strange and scary and that Peter was doing the best he could. He did find her a couple of picture books at one convenience store, along with some juice that he filled his backpack with, trying not to feel guilty about stealing...trying not to think of May or the Avengers or Mr. Stark or the fact that he might be making the wrong choice. What if Mr. Stark had wanted them to stay in New York? What if he couldn't find them?
But Peter knew vaguely where Mr. Stark and Pepper had been...he knew that they'd been in Atlanta talking with people from the CDC and that he could get them to Atlanta. Maybe Mr. Stark was still there. Maybe.
The pickup truck ran out of gas on an abandoned highway in a city called Lawrenceville which, according to a map he'd been using from a gas station, left him about 40 miles from Atlanta. Never mind that he had no idea where in Atlanta Mr. Stark was, or if they were even still there. He had to find them. Had to get their daughter back to them. And then...and then he could worry about himself.
Morgan slept on his back, and he wasn't surprised. After days in a vehicle, they'd been walking for almost six hours along the highway. She'd given up after one, falling fast asleep in minutes. He hoped she was okay. Hoped she wasn't dehydrated. Hoped she wasn't malnourished. Hoped he was taking care of her okay. He knew how to babysit. How to look after Morgan for a few hours or even a day or two. But this was different. He'd been trying to find food for her...had gone hungry more than once to make sure she had enough. Had chatted with her as much as he could while trying to focus on driving and finding his way to Georgia, where he'd never been.
What if he'd let Tony down?
He brought an arm up, patting Morgan on the back. She was okay, he reminded himself. Morgan was fine and he was going to get her to her father. To their father.
He spotted the man an hour later. His legs hurt so much and he felt weak with hunger. In his determination to get to Atlanta, he had, more than once, skipped meals, something Mr. Stark always scolded him for, but it didn't seem all that important now. Not when he had only one priority...get Morgan to safety. He'd been thinking about climbing the side of a building and finding a roof to sleep on for the night when he spotted the man...and when the man spotted him.
One look told Peter that this guy was infected. Even through his exhaustion and sluggish brain, he knew that much. He went still, not even daring to breathe as the man stared at him, mouth covered in blood, open sores exposed on his arms and bare torso. This wasn't a person, Peter reminded himself. Mr. Stark had showed him how the virus worked. Had explained it in painstaking detail just in case Peter came into contact with one of them. "They're already dead, Pete. No brain function associated with actual human life. All they want to do is eat and kill."
Peter had still been reluctant, and Mr. Stark had been able to tell. He'd grabbed Peter by the shoulders then, looking deadly serious. "I need you to listen to me, Pete. If you run into one of those things and you can't get away, I want you to kill it. By any means necessary. I mean it, Peter. That is an order. If it's between you and one of those...things, I need you to pick yourself every time. Understand?"
So Peter had nodded, and Mr. Stark had brought a hand up to cup his cheek, eyes softening. "I don't think it's going to come to that though, kiddo. They're working on a vaccine. Everything's going to be okay."
He stared at the man now, praying that if he was just still enough, the man would go back to what he'd been doing, whatever the hell that was. He prayed that Morgan wouldn't wake up and that he could find a rooftop and…
Morgan's piercing scream deafened him, making him jerk in surprise, turning to find another one approaching at a sprint, and another on his left. Peter turned and ran, ignoring the pounding in his head and the heaviness of his body...the way his vision darkened a little at the corners, and how heavy Morgan had gotten. The little girl kept screaming and all of his oxygen was going towards keeping his body moving...he couldn't spare any to tell her to be quiet. He ran toward the closest building, crying out in pain when one of them grabbed his arm with superhuman strength, yanking hard, and sinking its teeth into his flesh through the suit, tearing and ripping. Peter's scream joined Morgan's then, and all he knew for a moment was the pain.
But they were closing around him. He didn't have time!
Peter aimed at the closest building and shot what must have been the last of his web fluid. It was enough to yank them both a few feet in the air, and he grabbed the building, pulling himself up and climbing as quickly as he could, ignoring the noises they made below him.
His knees buckled as soon as they reached the roof of the three story building, just barely catching himself on his hands before they, too, gave way, sending him sprawling on his face.
"Petey!" Morgan was crying on his back, struggling to get out of the sling, and she must have done it because the next thing he knew, she was shaking his shoulder.
"Mo…" he started, but his arm burned in pain from where it was pressed to the hot roof, and he couldn't hold back a sob. "Sorry...Mo…"
Tiny fingers slipped under his mask and pulled none too gently, getting his mask off and dropping it beside him. "Petey! Get up! Up!"
It had bitten him. He had the virus. He needed to get to another roof...but he couldn't leave Morgan. He needed to get up. Put her somewhere safe. But where was safe? Where could he put her that he couldn't get her when he finally succumbed to the virus? Tears filled his eyes, and another sob escaped, shaking his whole body. He'd never see Mr. Stark again. What if Morgan died up here? She was only four...how was she supposed to understand any of this?
But Peter couldn't do anything about any of it...couldn't force his body to move or make himself answer Morgan. Instead, he closed his eyes, the steady throbbing pain in his arm never letting up, until the world went black.
He didn't wake until the pain ratcheted up to 100, making him scream and thrash against the hands that held him. "It's okay...buddy...hey, you're okay."
"Tony? Is that…"
"Get Morgan out of here. I'll be right behind you! Radio Natasha. Tell her we found them."
The voices were so familiar, but Peter couldn't place them. All he knew was the pain in his arm until something was placed against his mouth. "Open up, Pete. Come on...it's water. You have to drink, buddy." He didn't know what that meant, but as soon as something wet dribbled onto his lips, he opened his mouth, swallowing reflexively and nearly choking. "There you go. You're okay...you're okay…"
"Da…?" Peter had never called Mr. Stark that. No aloud. But the word escaped anyway, and a cool hand brushed over his cheek.
"It's me, Pete...it's Tony. Mr. Stark. I'm right here."
"It...bit…"
"I know. I know, baby. But you're going to be okay. I'm going to get you back to the CDC and…"
"No...get Mo...not safe…"
"Morgan's safe. Thanks to you. She's with Pepper. They're on their way back. You did so good, Pete...so good. You saved her life. Got her almost all the way to me. Thank you." The hand brushed over his cheek again, and Peter gritted his teeth as another wave of pain ripped its way through his body. "I know it hurts. I had to clean out the wound. Just let me wrap it and…"
"Leave me."
Mr. Stark froze at the words, and Peter finally forced his eyes open, all too aware of the tears filling them that spilled over down his cheeks.
"You have to...I'm...infected."
Mr. Stark leaned down, his own eyes filled with tears, but he didn't acknowledge them. Not even when they ran down his face. "I will never leave you. Not ever. You're my kid and I love you and I will not abandon you. I'm going to get you back to the CDC and I am going to get you through this. Do you understand me?"
Peter clenched his teeth, trying to fight the sob, but he couldn't, not when Mr. Stark pulled him upright and held him in his metal-covered arms.
"I was so scared, Pete. They bombed New York...hell, the whole north east. I didn't know if you were safe...if Morgan was safe. I didn't know if you got to the panic room in time…" His voice broke, and he brought a hand up to run roughly through Peter's hair. "I love you so much, kiddo. So much." The man pressed a kiss to the side of his head, then pulled away just enough to brush a tear away. "Let me wrap your arm, and then we're going to get you somewhere safe. Okay?"
Peter nodded, feeling his eyes start to droop. But it was okay now. Everything was okay. Mr. Stark was there.
