Chapter Thirty
Happy had told him Scott was at the hospital. He had sounded confused on why his boss wanted to know, but Tony had not offered an explanation.
If someone ever asked Tony what happened between the Avengers HQ and the ride to the hospital, he wouldn't be able to tell them. He only had one thing on his mind and that was murder.
He wanted to wrap his hands around Scott's skinny throat until he stopped breathing. He wanted to beat him into a bloody pulp until his eyes stopped moving. He. Wanted. To. Kill. Him. Pepper had screamed at him to calm down and think things through all the way to the Avengers HQ parking lot, but he had ignored her, something he rarely did. All he had on his mind was how he was going to kill Scott and how painful it was going to be.
Perhaps he would even ask Natasha and Bucky for some tips. They were experts in torture.
Thanks to Friday he knew everything. Worse, he had seen everything. Seen all the bruises and cuts on Peter's face and body. Seen the mental anguish he had gone though. The pills he had started taking like candy and how absolutely miserable he was. Tony was surprised he had held on for this long.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. He was just so goddamn stupid. How could he had not known? Tony had seen Peter since the abuse started. He had been standing right in front of him. How could he had not notice?
Tony finally reached the hospital parking lot and withing a few minutes he was inside the waiting room of the ICU unit. His brown eyes dashed around looking for his victim. He finally found him. Scott and May were talking quietly while Happy stood awkwardly near them while sipping cold coffee.
Happy looked up and he had been about to greet Tony, but Tony didn't give him a chance because he lunged towards Scott. He heard May scream, but he didn't care. He had his hands wrapped around Scott's neck as he struggled to breath.
"You fucking bastard," he growled as he squeezed harder. Scott's face was turning purple. "When I'm done with you, you are going to be begging me to kill you."
He slammed his head against the wall so hard he swore he heard a cracking sound. Scott was digging his nails against Tony's arms in an attempt to push him away, but it was practically impossible. For one his adrenaline was keeping him focused on the task at hand, which was killing him and two, who was he fooling? Tony had dealt with Thanos, Scott was practically a bug.
May was screaming even louder, but Tony hardly heard was she was saying. He was too focused on Scott. His face was now slightly purple and there was blood around his forehead, nose, and mouth.
Tony felt himself being pulled back and he was suddenly staring at Bucky face to face. Bucky had an odd expression on his face. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Tony finally calmed down and he seemed to notice the expressions around him. A bloodied Scott. A crying May. And a bewildered Bucky, Steve, and Happy who were looking at Tony as if he belonged in an insane asylum. "He hurt Peter," he blurted out as if any of them knew what he was talking about. "I hacked into Friday on Peter's suit. I know everything. This man has been torturing Peter for months and making his life an absolute living hell. It's because of him that he's covered in bruises. He's been using Peter as his personal punching bag and I'm pretty sure he's the reason he in the hospital in the first place."
For a few minute there was nothing but stunned silence until May spoke up. Her lower lip was trembling as she looked at Scott. "Is this true? Are you the one that has been hurting Peter?" When Scott didn't say anything, May surprised everyone by slapping Scott across the face. "Tell me you bastard! Tell me! Are you the one hurting Peter?"
Scott only let out a groan in response which caused May to cry, but this time tears of frustration and anger.
"Uh, guys," Happy spoke up as he looked around and saw people giving them both disapproving and curious looks. "Maybe we should take this somewhere else. We don't want the cops involved."
Tony nodded, his heart finally seemed to stop beating and he was finally thinking straight instead like a mad men. "Hap, can you start on the paperwork to transfer Peter to the clinic at HQ? Rogers and Barnes, will you mind removing this piece of shit from my face?"
"I can't face him. You should go inside by yourself." May faced Tony with a pinched look on her face. It has been two hours since Tony had beaten Scott up, and him and May had been at the cafeteria quietly comparing stories. May had hardly stopped crying since. She was feeling incredibly guilty that she had not noticed how Scott had been treating Peter like a stress ball. "I'm so embarrassed that I didn't see what was happening to my own little boy, right in front of me."
"May," Tony gently pressed his hands on her shoulders. "Don't beat yourself up. Scott was very good at fooling everyone. We never suspected him for months. I'm sure Peter will not resent you."
May sniffed as she pressed her forehead against the wall. "I keep thinking back to my accident at the ice rink. I never told Peter because I thought I was being silly, but my accident was weird. I'm a good skater and that day I fell on my arm out of nowhere. Do you think Scott did something to my skates so I could break my arm and he could move in?"
Tony shrugged, in all honesty he didn't know, he doubted Scott would tell either of them the truth. Thankfully, Tony had two assassins at his disposal who could easily torture it out of him. "I don't have all the answers, May. Truthfully, I let my anger win back at the waiting room. I wasn't thinking clearly."
She threw him a reassuring look. "No one would blame you. Ok, let's go inside."
When they went inside Peter was sitting at the edge of the hospital bed in a white t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He looked up and said, "Hey, they told me they were going to transfer me to the clinic at the Avengers HQ. What's wrong with this hospital?"
"HQ has much better doctors," Tony said slowly. "Peter, we know about Scott and what he has been doing to you."
Peter paled. "How, did you-"
"He hacked into Friday," May said softly as she wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, Petey. I am so, so sorry. I had no idea he was hurting you."
Peter swallowed hard as he returned the hug, his eyes welling up with tears. "I just didn't want you to hate me. You were so happy with Scott that I didn't want to worry you."
"Oh, Petey."
"He won't hurt you anymore," Tony cleared his throat, forcing himself not to cry. "I'll make sure of it. You're safe, Peter. You're free."
-End of Chapter Thirty-
Thank you so much for your support! Broken Wings will end at Chapter Thirty-Five (5 more chapters to go!) and after it's finished, I will concentrate on finishing up The Heir. Thank you so much for your incredible support!
