Well, here is the final chapter of part 1, but absolutely not the end. Check out the notes at the bottom for a preview of things to come in part 2 beginning next week!

Even though there is SO MUCH more for me to post yet, this story has still carried me a long way. Your comments have made it clear that this has seen you through struggles and losses, giving you some warmth. In the same way, this story was what I needed to get through the dark time of 2020, and it has filled my heart in the tough days lately to share it with you, read your reactions, and anticipate what you'll think of my next twist in the road. So thank you, all, for making me feel very much connected and not alone these days.

The song for this chapter is "Redemption" by Redlight King, also one of the themes from Iron Man 3. It seemed appropriate to circle back to where this story first veered off the original canon. Especially since tonight you get the first really meaningful saplings that grew from the seeds I planted at the very start.

It's gonna be a ride. Enjoy!


Chapter 18: Awake at Dark


On Saturday, April fifth, Tony got two worrying phone calls. He was in Queens, but Peter was spending the day catching up with Ned for once, so Tony had the chance to take time down in the lab below the workshop tinkering with the next couple of Iron Man suits.

Before lunch, he took a call from Steve Rogers.

"Hey Cap. How's DC?"

"Tony." Steve's voice sounded wrong. "What do you know about the inner workings at SHIELD?"

"Not a lot," Tony admitted. "Fury calls the shots and has his fingers in a lot of pies for a guy who is probably supposed to delegate more. Why?"

"I just saw something there. Something called Project Insight. Heard of it?"

"No, but maybe JARVIS has. I'll send him digging. What's got your old-fashioned knickers in a twist?"

"Tony, they're using your repulsor tech. But these things...I don't like what they're doing with them."

That brought Tony up short. "Wait. I gave Fury my tech months ago, but it was for new helicarriers. Are you saying that's not what they installed them on?"

"I mean, technically they are on helicarriers. But the problem is what they're for. Tony, they want to launch these things with a satellite connection that would let them kill terrorists from the sky before their threats are carried out."

Tony swallowed hard. "Preemptive strike."

"Exactly."

A pit started to grow in Tony's gut. "Rogers, that doesn't sound like SHIELD. I mean, they are spies and all, but…"

"Yeah."

Tony thought about the discussion he'd just had with Pepper a few days before, about the reasons he was scrapping the Ultron project for good. What would happen if somebody took that same idea, but with less control than Tony would have had, and turned it loose in the sky?

"What do you need?" Tony asked.

"Right now, I don't know." Steve sounded frustrated and Tony didn't blame him. "Nat and I are going to look into some things out here. But just...be ready. I have a feeling things could go sideways at any time."

"You need backup, you know who to call," Tony said. "I mean it, Cap. SHIELD has good tech, and they got some of it from me. If my work is being used for weapons again, I will do whatever I have to in order to shut it down."

"Thanks, Tony." Steve's voice held a shade of relief. "But for now, I think it's better if you stay clear. I've got a hunch that not everybody is being honest around here, and I don't want to call you in until I know who to trust."

Tony drew in a breath. Let it out slowly. "Nat's good?"

"She's fine."

"Barton?"

"He's been on assignment for weeks. We can't even get in touch with him."

Mentally, Tony reviewed the others. Thor had been on and off the Earth a lot lately, but there was no pinning him down. Bruce was still in the Tower, but this was exactly the kind of fight Tony knew he wouldn't want to join. Unless the world was in danger, Bruce and the Hulk were safer away from situations with too many sides and too many unknowns. And Rhodey would have their backs in a second if Tony asked, but that meant bringing the US Air Force into a SHIELD thing, and there were quicker ways to cause potentially national and international disasters, but not many.

"Steve," Tony said. "You can trust me."

"I know that. That's...that's why I called. And I won't forget it. But, for right now, the best thing you can do is keep your head down and do what everybody expects you to do. If...if something is really wrong, you might be our ace in the hole."

"In the meantime," Tony said, "I've still got a few backdoors into SHIELD's databases. I'll see if I can dig up anything useful."

"Just be careful."

"You, too, old man. Watch your back. You can't expect Romanoff to haul you out of trouble every time."

Steve chuckled. "I'll be in touch."

After hanging up, Tony made himself move slowly. He didn't charge off in a rush — he locked down his lab completely, updated his security codes just in case, and had JARVIS do a full sweep of the area as well as the Tower. Then he suited up and launched out of his chute to return to the Tower. He told JARVIS to have Pepper and Bruce meet him in the penthouse.

Upon being filled in, they became just as worried about Steve's call as he was.

"What can we do?" Pepper wanted to know.

"Right now, not much. Just...do me a favor and stay close, okay? Steve has a bad feeling and that guy is, like, the definition of good situational intuition. If stuff starts going south, I want you here where I can keep an eye on you."

"And me?" Bruce asked.

"Same," Tony said. "If I end up heading to DC to back up Steve, I need to know you're here with Pepper." He met Bruce's eyes. "If something really bad is happening, if somebody inside SHIELD has an agenda apart from Fury, they might want more tech than I gave them. They might come here."

"If they do," Pepper said, "I...I can help." She held up a hand that glowed a soft orange, even if her face didn't look as determined as she was trying to sound.

"If..." Bruce began. Then he stopped. "I don't want to fight, Tony."

"And I'm going to do whatever I have to in order to make sure you won't have to," Tony assured him. "Just...stick to Pepper. And if she goes all lava hands or you want to turn green and kick butt, I trust you both to handle it. Maybe we're all getting worked up for nothing."

"You don't think so," Pepper said.

"Cap doesn't think so," Tony corrected. "And there are parts of SHIELD I've never been able to penetrate. This would be a heck of a time to find out what they're hiding."

"Whatever it is, Tony, I'm sure Steve and Nat can handle it," Pepper said.

"Yeah, I hope so."

A few hours later, that hope died.

An unknown number called Tony's personal cell while he was in the Tower's lab, readying a couple of surprises, just in case. "JARVIS, who…?"

"Sir, it is coming from a hospital in Washington, DC."

Tony hauled in a breath. "Put it through." When he heard the line connect, he said, "I hope this is somebody who knows this number for a good reason."

"Fury's dead."

"What?"

Steve's voice was low and he spoke fast. "I don't have much time. Fury's dead. He got shot by an assassin and only barely got me some info. I'm being tracked. I just wanted to warn you. Whatever's going on, it's a lot bigger than we thought."

"Say the word and I'll fly in," Tony said.

"No. Too many dark corners and secrets around here. I'll be in touch." A pause. "Fury said that SHIELD was compromised. Be very careful about who you choose to trust right now."

Bile churned in Tony's gut. "I hear you."

The line disconnected.

"JARVIS," Tony began, "reroute all personnel in this building. SHIELD has just been demoted to the lower, public levels. Call it something to do with proprietary SI stuff. If their security clearance wasn't signed by Happy himself, I don't want them within twenty floors of here."

"I'm on it, sir."

He started pacing. "Lock down our personal servers and info, too. Nothing comes in or goes out from our firewalls, not so much as an email, without my authorization. I don't need to give SHIELD or whoever we're dealing with any openings to get at you from inside."

"I will enact the highest levels of security and encryption upon myself and all systems I control."

"I want a suit ready to go at all times, J. And use your judgement. If you think I might need it in two minutes, launch it early. I'd rather you be wrong than too late."

"Understood, sir."

"Last, I need you to get a message to Rhodey. Untraceable. Tell him that we have a snipe hunt. And tell Happy to get up here when he can; I'll fill him in myself."

"Is there anything else I can do to be of assistance?"

"Unless you can think of something I missed." Tony ran his hands through his hair. "With Fury dead, there's a power vacuum at SHIELD. Best case, Maria Hill takes the reins. But if there's someone inside working a different angle, this could be their way to the top. And in a place like SHIELD, if there's a problem, it might go deep."

"Deeper than the murder of the Director?"

"A lot deeper," Tony said. He thought about Ultron in the wrong hands and shivered.

-==OOO==-

Tony didn't sleep that night. He didn't spend it all in the lab, either; he gathered Pepper and Bruce and Happy in the penthouse and locked them in, just in case. Bruce was nervous, but stable enough especially with the hoard of scientific texts JARVIS loaded onto his tablet. Pepper distracted herself with work for SI, and Happy basically paced in front of the elevator every time he got wound up.

Tony ended up checking in on the Iron Patriot locator beacon, making sure Rhodey was still where Tony's backdoors into the Air Force's systems thought he should be. Rhodey hadn't answered his message yet, but he was also on a pretty important mission not far from North Korea, so Tony could understand the radio silence.

He also checked Peter's phone and watch, just in case, and May's phone. They were both safe and sound in Queens as if nothing were amiss in the dead of night. Tony had never been so glad to have kept them out of his sphere wherever possible.

Sunday morning, Bruce volunteered to make brunch. Tony offered to help, but Pepper only had to say the word "omelet" and he backed down at once remembering the horrible thing he'd cooked on a plane once. Bruce was a decent cook, and Pepper knew her way around the finer points of scrambled eggs, so they made do.

"Sir," JARVIS interrupted as they were eating, "something new out of SHIELD."

"What is it?" Tony demanded, appetite gone.

"Alexander Pierce who is acting Director of SHIELD has issued a warrant for the arrest of Captain Steve Rogers."

"What?" Tony pushed to his feet. "On what grounds?"

"Treason."

"There is no way Steve Rogers is a traitor," Pepper said.

Bruce nodded, eyes dark. "Which means Pierce has to be."

"And if Pierce is a problem, this goes a lot deeper than we realized. JARVIS, where's Rogers now?"

"He has just escaped SHIELD custody. My last visual of him suggests he is with Agent Romanoff. They are operating under the strictest security with no phones available to either of them."

"That's a good move," Happy put in. "If we can't track them, neither can SHIELD."

Tony closed his hands into fists. On the one hand, he hated leaving the two of them on their own with no backup. But, on the other, this was exactly why he needed to keep laying low at the Tower. If SHIELD realized Tony was aware of what had happened — and wasn't siding with Pierce — he would become a target. If he was going to be any help to Rogers now, it could only come from out of nowhere.

Tony might not be a spy, but he had run a successful business for a long time, and tactics are tactics. A surprise attack was always better than one the enemy saw coming.

A few hours later, JARVIS had another worrying announcement. "Sir, I have just tracked a SHIELD missile launched on US soil."

Tony jumped out of his slump at the workbench. "Aimed where?"

"An abandoned army base in New Jersey."

Tony's brain made a logical leap.

"Hypothetically speaking, if you estimated the time from the last sighting you had of Steve to now, would he have time to reach that army base and poke around?"

"Yes, sir. Assuming Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff took a route to avoid detection, the timeline is distressingly similar to what you have described."

"Aw, Steve," Tony breathed. "What was in New Jersey that you didn't want to risk even letting me know about? JARVIS, I need everything you can get on that location, on what's there, who used it, anything you can dig out of SHIELD's files. I'm five steps behind and now somebody dropped a missile on my watch."

"Do you intend to investigate it yourself?" JARVIS asked.

Tony let out an aggressive sigh. "No. Not because I don't want to, but because this is a shell game we can't lose. Steve and Nat went in there without telling me, which means anything I do will tell SHIELD more than we can afford."

He stalked back to his desk. "Oh, and JARVIS, if SHIELD mobilizes any other forces...missiles, or strike teams, or anything else...give me a heads up, will you?"

"Of course, sir."

Night fell, and the tension in the penthouse only grew. Bruce and Pepper had left briefly during the day, but only to go to other levels in the Tower, and never without Happy as escort. If Bruce was bothered, he didn't say anything about it, and Pepper was used to having Happy watch over her. Only after JARVIS double-checked all security feeds to ensure that everyone in the Avengers diner was behaving normally and nothing weird had happened there did Tony and Happy agree that they could order a meal from them.

But nowhere else. Right now, Tony was seeing bad guys in every pizza delivery person and line cook.

They put in a triple order and basically had the diner send up all possible food so that they had enough in case of...well. Tony wasn't entirely sure what.

"A siege?" Bruce asked.

"At this point, I wouldn't rule it out."

Nobody had much interest in the food, though, and Bruce ended up having to find creative ways to store the leftovers in the penthouse kitchen while Happy decided to go check in with his security teams downstairs. Pepper, tired of sitting around stressed, opted to shut herself in a bedroom for some quiet. Tony found himself at a window in his almost-never-used home office, looking out over the city.

He loved the night view of New York, the lights, the stillness, the motion. Cars raced below, windows blinked as lights turned on and off, aircraft circled overhead. And yet, up here and behind glass, it was as silent as watching the stars in the sky. Except every one of those lights was a person. A mom singing her kids to sleep. A spouse getting home after a long day. A third-shift worker clocking in. A friend visiting someone they hadn't seen in a while. A family meal. An argument. An ambitious person working extra hours in the fight for a promotion. A night with a movie and only a loyal cat for company.

In the dark, any one of those lights could be a child, like Peter, or a single parent like May.

"JARVIS," Tony said, "status check on Peter and May?"

"Missus Parker is working a shift tonight, so she is already at the hospital. Mister Parker is in his room."

"And how's my building? No new problems?"

"No, sir." A pause. Then, "Update from SHIELD, sir."

Tony turned away. "What is it?"

"Apparently a team was sent to the site in New Jersey. They have just reported back that a bunker was destroyed, which I have confirmed by satellite imagery. However, the STRIKE team sent to the location reports no sign of Captain Rogers's remains. They believe he is still at large."

Tony breathed a sigh of relief.

"I knew it would take more than a missile to get Captain America."

"There is something else, sir," JARVIS said, and if Tony didn't know better, he'd say the AI was feeling apprehensive. "The report concludes with 'recommend activation of Her Majesty's Robert the Bruce.' And the acknowledgement from the Triskelion has confirmed it. I cannot read the order itself through its encryption, but it was sent over multiple channels just a few moments ago."

Tony frowned. "Okay, that's some interesting gibberish. JARVIS, run every codebreaking analysis you can on that phrase. If it's a cypher, we need to crack it immediately."

"Analyzing all possible meanings of the phrase at this time."

Something about it bothered Tony, though. It was wiggling in the back of his mind like a loose wire.

"My history's a little fuzzy, J," Tony said. "What 'her majesty' are they talking about if they mean the literal Robbie the Bruce? Elizabeth 1.0?"

"No, sir. Robert the Bruce was a king of Scotland who successfully fought against Edward the Second for Scottish independence."

"So probably not a reference to actual royalty, then." He started pacing — as he'd spent a lot of the last day doing, actually. "You keep working on that phrase as a code. I'm just…"

Something about it was wrong, and it was causing his chest to feel tight.

"Was there anything unusual about how Robert the Bruce fought? Or how he succeeded?"

"He was considered to be one of the greatest guerrilla fighters of all time, battling uneven odds using a variety of creative tactics. Besides significant destruction throughout his campaign which made various strongholds and locations worthless to English forces, legend has it that he would take English knights and nobles' hostage and ransom them to their families to pay for his war rather than taxing the people of Scotland or putting a drain on Scottish resources. It is said that he treated his hostages well enough that many refused to fight against him afterwards."

"Smart guy."

And then Tony's heart stopped.

Thoughts crashed in at the speed of panic.

Somebody's gunning for Cap, and he's onto something big. They already tried to eliminate him twice. They'll try again.

They have to assume he'd reach out for help. And the only one he can get to is me because Nat is with him, Barton is out of reach, Thor's off-world, and Banner is here.

They're willing to drop a missile on him to stop him.

They need my tech. They're using my tech for something.

I'm more useful to them alive than dead.

They can't get to me here, and they know what I can do with a suit.

How do you stop me from helping Cap?

How do you get me to build a Jericho missile?

With a hostage.

"Her Majesty means Queens!" Tony yelled, starting to run. "Robert the Bruce took hostages to pay for his war. JARVIS, they're going after Peter and May!"

Bruce appeared in the hallway. "Tony?"

"No time!" Tony skidded past him towards the landing. "JARVIS, suit now!"

"It is already on the way, sir."

"Call Happy. Get him to May's hospital with as many people as he trusts with his life. I'll call her. But she's in a public place, so she's got a chance. Peter's home alone, though."

"Peter?" Bruce asked.

"Tony, what's going on?" Pepper called, rushing towards him.

"SHIELD is going to try to grab Peter and May to get at me." He charged through the door to the landing pad as the Mark 47 arrived and opened.

"Oh my gosh, are you sure?" Pepper asked, eyes wide.

"Sir, several of the newer tenants in the Queens apartment building are exiting their rooms wearing body armor and carrying weaponry. They appear to be heading for the stairwell."

"Stop them!" Tony shouted, all but throwing himself into his armor. "Slow them down by any means necessary!"

"I cannot. I do not have as many functions inside the apartment building as the Tower."

"ETA?" Tony hit the sky and cared not one bit about who could see him in flight. "Maximum speed."

"Forty seconds."

Suddenly a helicopter appeared in the air and Tony had to swerve to avoid it. He felt the familiar impact of bullets on his flank.

"Sir, it appears SHIELD forces have no intention of allowing you to interfere in their activities."

"I'm not letting them anywhere near my kid!" He spun in the air and came up, repulsors ready to fire. But the helicopter either dodged the blast or absorbed it somehow. "How fast can we take them down?"

"I believe you will need a few minutes, particularly if you intend to ensure that a disabled helicopter does not plummet to the streets below to cause injury."

"Too long!" Tony swore vehemently and let out a vicious blast. His heart was going to break. These bastards, whoever they were, they were coming for Peter. And he was stuck here fighting in the sky while his kid was alone.

He could hardly see straight between his rage and fear.

"Sir, I have an idea."

-==OOO==-

May's phone had been ringing for the last minute straight, which she thought was odd because it should have gone to voicemail by now. So, after finishing her check of the last patient, she ducked into the stairwell.

"Hello?"

"Missus Parker," came JARVIS's voice. "I do not mean to alarm you, but we have an emergency. I need you to listen very carefully."

"Oh my god. What's wrong?"

"Hostile forces appear to be interested in detaining yourself and Mister Parker. Sir is already en route to Mister Parker now, but they will likely send individuals to arrest or abduct you. You must not allow them to do so."

"Who...what?" She felt her heart pounding and had to relax her grip on the phone to keep her hand from shaking.

"Sir has sent his former bodyguard and the head of SI security, Happy Hogan, to your location. He will arrive shortly. You have met him previously, but in case there is any confusion, he will introduce himself to you as a 'cheeseburger delivery man.' Go with him. He will protect you."

"What about Peter?"

"Sir will protect Peter, Missus Parker. He is in a suit now and will bring the boy back to the Tower where you will both be safe."

May was trembling. "JARVIS, why would someone want to abduct me and Peter?"

"Sir will explain when you reach the Tower. Now, please relocate to a place in the hospital which has a great deal of traffic. The more people who can see you, the safer you may be. But do not trust anyone until Mister Hogan arrives."

"I...I…"

"You may remain on the phone with me if it will help you," JARVIS said. "I have accessed the hospital's security system and can see you now. I will guide you."

"Is Peter okay?"

"He is afraid, but he is being very brave. Sir will reach him in time, Missus Parker. Please trust in that."

"Oh, JARVIS, if I didn't trust Tony, I wouldn't be able to trust you either. But I trust you both. So, okay." She forced herself to take a slow, deep breath. "Tell me where to go."

-==OOO==-

Peter was rereading an old favorite book when a voice came out of nowhere from the living room.

"Mister Parker? Can you hear me?"

"Um." Peter got to his feet. "Is someone there?"

"Mister Parker, I am afraid I do not have time to explain anything. I need you to put on your shoes and coat and retreat to the roof of the building at once."

"Wait, who are you?" Peter looked around for the source of the voice with the British accent. "What's going on?"

Another voice sounded. "Peter!"

"Mister Carbonell?" Peter was even more confused.

"Do as he says, buddy." Mister Carbonell sounded really upset. "And hurry! I'll be right there!"

"Mister Parker. Quickly. You must move now."

Peter gulped but dashed for his shoes and jammed them on his feet. He already had his phone in his pocket, so he only had to pull his coat off the hook by the entryway. As he opened the door, he could hear what sounded like a lot of stomping.

"To the roof," the voice repeated from behind him. "The door is unlocked for you."

Peter crossed the hallway and had just reached the door when several people burst onto his floor dressed like bad guys in movies complete with weapons and masks on their faces.

"There he is!" one yelled, pointing at him.

Peter gave a tiny cry of fright and ran through the door. It was slow to close, however, and even as he started up the stairs, he could hear the door behind him bang open. He stumbled up the stairs as fast as his feet could take him. At the door to the roof, he swung through it and slammed it shut behind him, praying it would lock.

Heart pounding, Peter looked around helplessly. The roof was empty and dark and quiet, and he felt like he was in every scary movie he'd ever seen.

Beside him, a weight hit the door hard enough to rattle it in its frame.

Peter gasped and backed away.

I need to hide.

He knew the roof pretty well from hanging out up here to watch fireworks a few times with Mister Carbonell. There wasn't much stuff around, but the building's air circulation units might provide a place he could duck without backing into a corner.

The door rattled again, harder, and Peter fled. He found a dark spot shadowed from every direction and crouched in it, staying balanced on his feet just in case he had to run again. Then he put both his hands on his chest and willed his breathing to slow down. He couldn't have an asthma attack now.

BOOM!

Peter flinched at the sudden explosion, followed by the clang of the door hitting the roof, and he knew that whoever was chasing him had blown it open somehow.

Peter moved one hand to cover his own mouth in the hope of hiding the harsh sounds of his breathing.

"Find him!" shouted a cold voice. "Quickly!"

Peter tried to count how many people he heard stomping around, but their footsteps all blended together. He could see one out of the corner of his eye to his left, and he tucked himself tighter against the scant cover.

He never saw movement to the right until a gloved hand seized him by the jacket and hauled him out onto the roof. "Here he is!"

"Let me go!" Peter shouted.

The man pulled his wrists behind him and tied them with something that felt sharp against Peter's skin.

"Shut up."

Peter struggled in the grip that held him, twisting and kicking. "Help! Somebody, help!"

The man who held him pulled Peter's face close to his mask and snarled. "One more word and I'll cut out your tongue."

Peter shut his mouth, but glared at the mask's eyeholes.

"Oh, a fighter, huh?" Another of the men was watching him. "Good. Maybe he will prove to be worthy of the cause instead of just a hostage."

Peter's elbows were grabbed by the two men and they began to lead him back towards the door.

Peter shut his eyes and tried to remember what heroes did when they were in trouble. He knew that arguing with your captors could get you hurt, but that didn't mean he couldn't fight back, right?

And he thought about Aunt May and Mister Carbonell and Ned and his friends at school — and courage burned in his chest.

I would rather fight and get hurt than not try my hardest.

So he let the two men lead him for a few steps.

And then he slammed his foot down on the feet of the one on his left with all his weight. As soon as that one stumbled, he turned and headbutted the other in the stomach and took off across the roof.

"Get back here, you little brat!"

Peter couldn't free his hands, but he could run. So he ran. "Help!" he yelled as loudly as he could. "Help! Call the police! Help!"

A huge arm wrapped around his neck and pulled him to a halt. A gloved hand clapped over his mouth.

"We warned you to stay quiet. Now you're going to learn what happens when you resist Hydra."

Peter braced himself for something to hurt.

But one of the others on the roof pointed into the dark sky. "Incoming!"

And Peter thought maybe he had been knocked unconscious. That would explain the dreaming.

Because Iron Man dropped onto the roof, repulsors lit, arc reactor shining, suit gleaming.

The man holding him tightened his grip.

Iron Man did not even turn away, but three tiny pinpricks of light emerged from his suit and flew unerringly at the other three masked people on the roof. They struck and the men fell.

"I can snap his neck like a twig," the man holding Peter said. "If you take another step or resist in any way, he will die. You should comply, Stark. That is the only possible outcome."

Peter realized he was hearing another sound. A helicopter, maybe.

"You're going to let the kid go, and maybe I won't rip your spine out of your skin," Iron Man said, and he sounded different in real life than Peter remembered.

"Our backup team is almost here," the man said. "We will not leave without our hostage to ensure your good behavior."

"You're wrong," Iron Man said. "You're not leaving at all." Then, "Peter, shut your eyes."

Peter did so, too stunned to think about how Iron Man knew his name.

He heard the helicopter getting closer, and a sound he couldn't interpret, and then the man holding him started to tighten his grip on Peter's throat.

Peter choked just once, keeping his eyes tightly closed, and then the grip vanished.

He started to lose his balance, only to be caught in metallic arms.

"You're okay. You're okay. I got you, kid."

Peter opened his eyes to see Iron Man's helmet. "M-Mister Stark?"

"That's right. We gotta get out of here before we have any more visitors. I'm going to carry you. Hang on."

Iron Man reached around behind Peter and snapped whatever was binding his wrists together. Then he rose slowly and pulled Peter to his chest. Peter wrapped his arms around Iron Man's neck. A moment later, the repulsors on the armor's boots fired and Iron Man shot into the sky.

It would have been wonderful, exhilarating, a dream come true — except Peter was terrified, and, also, flying without a suit was very, very cold. He began to shiver almost at once.

"Crap," Iron Man said as he angled towards Manhattan. "I know it sucks, but I'll get you warm as soon as I can. J, let them know we're coming."

Peter was pretty sure that last wasn't meant for him.

"Are you hurt?"

"Uh, me?"

"Of course you! Did they hurt you?"

"I don't think so," Peter said. It was hard to tell, and he was having trouble getting a full breath as the wind whipped by. "They said I would be a hostage. I'm not sure what that means, but I...just, thank you, Mister Stark."

"Oh kid."

The Manhattan skyline was much closer now, and Iron Man banked towards the top of Avengers Tower.

A thought tore across Peter's mind. "Mister Stark! What if they hurt my Aunt May?"

"May is fine," Iron Man said. "I've got my best man picking her up himself. He'll bring her back to the Tower, too. I've got you both. You'll be okay."

In spite of the cold and wind, Peter blinked. Iron Man sounds really different. Or, maybe not different. But...I feel like I've heard…

They reached the Tower, and Iron Man landed easily, walking straight in while still in the armor and carrying Peter.

Peter blinked in the sudden bright lights of the huge apartment after the dark of the roof and the flight over.

"Tony! Peter!"

A woman Peter recognized as Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries, rushed towards them with a thick blanket in her arms.

"Are you okay?"

"Um, hi." Peter felt awkward. "I'm okay."

"Check his wrists, Pep," Iron Man said as he set Peter on the floor. Peter's knees wobbled, but he didn't tip over — even if he did lean a bit on Iron Man who was quick to brace an arm around his shoulders.

Peter looked at his hands and pushed his sleeves up, revealing shallow red cuts where he had pulled the hardest against his bonds. He shivered again, not from pain, but from everything else.

"Is he okay?" That was another voice Peter identified as Bruce Banner when the man himself appeared at the other end of the room. "Need me to check on him?"

"It's okay, Peter," Miss Potts said. "You're safe now."

"Sir," a voice overhead spoke. "Mister Parker may be going into shock."

Everything else was a muddle in Peter's head, but that specific voice stuck out. He looked up. "You're the one who talked to me in my apartment. You told me to run."

"I did indeed, Mister Parker. I am gratified you listened."

"But…"

Mister Carbonell talked to me, too. And said he was coming.

Peter took two steps forward, enough for Miss Potts to wrap him up in the warm blanket she was holding. But when she tried to tug on his shoulders, Peter resisted. Instead, he turned around.

"Mister Stark?" Peter asked.

He was scared, so scared. He'd been attacked and threatened, he'd run for his life, and nothing made sense. He was alone, and suddenly something much bigger was coming together inside his thoughts, something altogether far scarier than anything he'd faced tonight.

"Peter, this isn't...what I wanted." Iron Man sounded sad.

Peter shook his head. "I'm...it's not...you can't…" It's not possible.

"Peter," Miss Potts said softly. "You should sit down."

"How do you know my name?" Peter demanded without ever looking away from Iron Man. "How did you know I was in trouble? Why did that voice talk to me? Why do you sound like…?"

Iron Man held still.

Peter felt the blanket slip from his shoulders and pool on the floor. He grabbed onto his hair with both hands and tugged it hard.

"This isn't...it doesn't...it can't make sense!"

Miss Potts's voice was low and steady from behind him, though all she said was, "Tony."

"Peter." Iron Man's voice pulled hard at something in Peter's chest and he felt his throat tighten. "I'm not...I…"

And Peter found himself asking, begging, "Please?"

The Iron Man armor opened.

Mario Carbonell stepped out.

No. He was never...he was always…

"It's me, kid," he said, hands out placatingly. "It's always been me. And I...god, figlio, I tried to tell you. I nearly did at the science thing, but…" His dark eyes were clouded with emotion. "Peter, I…"

"Is this real?" Peter whispered. His heart was pounding and he felt cold and dizzy, but the only thing that mattered was the man in front of him and the truth that suddenly made so much painful sense.

"Peter Benjamin Parker," Tony Stark said, "it's real. It was all real. It's still real. And I'm sorry it happened like this, I'm sorry I didn't get to tell you myself. But tonight...I had to protect you. I came as fast as I could. I…"

"You saved me." Peter was feeling too many things to understand all of them, but that one was clear. "You saved me again."

"I will always save you," Tony Stark promised just as he had after the Halloween dance. "Always."

And Peter started to laugh. It was hysterical, and he thought he might be crying at the same time, but he couldn't help it.

He threw himself forward into the familiar arms of the man he had known, and not known at all.

"Underoos?"

Peter laughed harder knowing that Tony Stark could sound just as confused as Mister Carbonell.

"You can't call me that until you introduce yourself for real," Peter said, burying his face in the soft shirt that smelled right.

And the arms that came up to hold him tight were warm and familiar and with them came a bubble of joy — and uncertainty, and about a million questions — that filled Peter up.

"Hello, Peter Parker," Tony Stark said. "It's nice to meet you officially."

Peter leaned back to look up into his face.

And Tony Stark was smiling. "I am Iron Man."


End of Part 1


Next time, in Part 2 of The Meaning of Inevitable…

Tony's secret identity has been revealed to Peter, which means Tony can finally go all-out on spoiling Peter as himself (and he fully intends to do so!). Even the other Avengers are getting in on the fun, and for the first time in his life, Peter finds himself surrounded by the huge extended family he never knew he needed so badly.

There's still plenty of work to be done on the hero front, though; scattered HYDRA cells are stirring up trouble across the globe and the reunited Avengers are determined to root out each and every one. Things are going well…until disaster strikes Stark Tower and threatens to tear Tony's fledgling family apart. Now time is running out for Peter and only one person can save him — but can Tony really entrust his kid's life to anyone, let alone an enemy?