A/N: First of all, thank you SO MUCH for 100 follows. Seriously, it means the world to me. :) I also appreciate all the views, favorites, and sweet reviews. You guys are awesome!

Also have a very Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it) or an amazing holidays (if you celebrate something else)! I am so excited to read all the Christmas one-shots that I hope will be posted. I would like to write one myself, but I'm not very good at writing things that aren't… angsty and low-key depressing.

There probably won't be another chapter terribly soon (it being the new year and all), but the next couple chapters are going to get intense. Prepare yourselves. :) Anyway, hope you enjoy and be sure to leave any comments/suggestions in the reviews below! (Also no warnings today, nothing gory this time around)

Friday, October 11

3:16pm

Peter landed softly in his room at the Tower and changed out of his suit. He laid it carefully on the bed and tried to resist the urge to climb in and sleep for 8 years.

FRIDAY's voice filled the silence. "Hello, Mr. Parker. I have alerted the boss to your arrival. May I assist you with anything today?"

"No thanks, FRI," he said tiredly, remorsefully walking away from the plush covers.

"You seem to be low on energy. I can tell Mr. Stark that you are resting, if you would like."

"No, really, it's fine. I'll be ok." Peter left and headed down to the lab.

Tony was standing and studying the newest model of his suit when he heard someone enter. He automatically assumed it was his favorite (and only) intern.

"You know kid, I was thinking of-" he stopped when he saw Peter. "Woah." The kid looked tired. Actually, he looked exhausted. His hair was mussed, and there were dark circles under his brown eyes. Not only that, but Peter seemed jumpy and nervous, like a pin dropping could scare him

He gave Tony a "what?" look and shoved his hands in his ratty jean pockets.

"Are you ok, Peter?"

He frowned. "I mean… I'm a little tired, but yeah. Why?"

"Come on, kid. You look…" Tony struggled for the right words. "Hungry," He decided. "How about some Pad Thai?"

Peter's stomach grumbled on cue. He looked down. "S-sure. That sounds alright."

"No, even better," Mr. Stark said as they made their way to the penthouse. "Larb."

The kid nodded, but didn't say anything. He seemed lost in thought. Tony couldn't blame him, he was thinking, too. They fell into a comfortable silence.

Tony wondered what the heck went wrong. He had seen Peter two days ago, and he was fine! Maybe even better than usual… but now. Something had to have happened, or else Peter wouldn't be so… timid. It was almost unsettling to see the normally excited teen flinch at every loud noise. Now, he was looking around frantically like someone was gonna jump out and fight him.

They sat down at the counter, and Tony slid Peter a glass of water, then turned and grabbed some leftovers from their dinner the other day. When he shut the fridge, Peter started at the noise, spilling water onto his lap. The man sighed and set the tupperware down.

"Pete. What's wrong? And don't tell me nothing, because it obviously isn't nothing." He indicated the puddle.

Peter looked down, ashamed. "Sorry I spilled it… I'll clean it up." He began to rise, but Tony put up a hand.

"I've got it, kid. Don't avoid the question."

Peter's mind scrambled for an excuse that Mr. Stark would buy. He couldn't keep blaming this stuff on his patrolling… that would only last for so long.

Not able to think of anything else, he settled with, "Didn't get much sleep last night."

Even though Peter could tell he didn't really believe him, Tony didn't push it. He just nodded and passed the kid a plate of larb, sticking his own dish of noodles in the microwave. He walked around the kitchen island to wipe up the spilled water.

Peter smiled at his food. "You know, I first had this at May's. She invited me over one time to help her move some furniture, and Angela was gone for the weekend, so she wanted me to stay for dinner. 'Thai food: one of the finer things in life,' she said." He laughed. "She dared me to order the item on the menu with the weirdest name… and the rest is history."

Tony chuckled along with him. "I'm more of a noodle guy myself, but I respect the backstory."

The microwave beeped, interrupting their laughs, and Peter jumped so hard that Tony was surprised he didn't go crashing through the ceiling. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his muscles were tense.

"Jeez, bud. You're so jumpy," Tony eyed him as he got his food from the small appliance.

"Weird dreams," Peter said distractedly. "Hey, uh. I'll be right back… I left my phone in my room." He stood up to leave but a flash of silver caught Tony's attention.

"Wait, wait, wait. What's that?"

Peter pulled his jacket sleeve down, covering the object. "What's what?"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "That thing on your wrist. It looks like tech."

Crap, Peter thought. I'm really screwed. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about today. Angela's words rang through his head. "It's our little secret, right?" What would she do if she found out that someone else knew? What if she did something to Pepper… or Tony? Or MJ? He couldn't risk it.

"It's, um. J-just a bracelet." A bracelet that monitors my every breath. A bracelet that feels like it's getting tighter and tighter-

Mr. Stark nodded slowly. "All right. Hurry back and finish eating."

"Ok," he said, then ran off down the hall.

"FRIDAY," Tony said quietly when Peter was gone. "Scan the kid for any unrecognizable tech."

She was quiet for a moment. "Nothing detected, boss. Although I would recommend that Mr. Parker eat something. He appears fatigued."

If the "bracelet" wasn't tech… then what was it? Why did Peter hide it from him? Or… maybe it was just a bracelet. Maybe he was worrying too much. Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. Yeah, that was it… he was overthinking.

Peter came back into the kitchen, interrupting his thoughts. He was bent over his phone, eyebrows furrowed.

"What is it, kid?" Tony asked, pushing Peter's plate of food toward him.

He pushed it back. "I, uh. I'm not hungry anymore. And it's nothing."

"Oh no you don't," Stark said. "You're eating. That's final."

"But-"

"FRIDAY says you need to eat, so eat."

Peter huffed, but picked up his fork and started to eat.

"Did you actually just pout? Is that what that was?"

The kid laughed, even with his mouth still half-full. "No, it wasn't."

"Oh, it totally was. That was a pout. I can't believe this! You just pouted at me." Tony threw his hands up, waving his fork around.

"I did not! I'm sixteen, I don't pout," Pete tried to sound defensive, but he was laughing too much.

"You're doing it again," he accused playfully. "Now, less pouting and more eating."

Monday, October 14

7:00am

Peter almost made it out the door. He almost made it down the rickety metal steps, and he almost went to school that day. He remembered when school sucked… back before his dad died. He would give anything for school to suck worse than home… anything. Peter supposed that if he texted Ned and MJ, they would come and get him. But he knew it would never work.

"Peter," Angela said from behind him, right before the door closed. "You didn't forget, right?"

Just as he was about to respond, another voice said, "Peter! It's good to see you! You've been like a ghost recently."

May was in the hall, scrubs on and purse in hand. She smiled and went over to him.

"Gosh, you look like a ghost, too. You're so skinny!" She patted his face. "Come over sometime, we can fix that with larb in a heartbeat." May winked.

Angela opened the door all the way and looked the other woman up and down. She narrowed her eyes, coming and standing behind Peter.

"Mrs. Miriam," she said curtly. "How nice to see you."

May forced a smile. "And you as well. Off to work?"

"Yes. Peter here," Angela clamped a hand on his shoulder. "Is coming with me to look around the lab today. What about you?" She indicated the scrubs.

"Actually, I just got back from a grave shift. Hey, uh, you keep in touch, alright? Maybe we can do dinner sometime?"

"Sounds lovely," she replied, words clipped. "Take care."

May gripped her purse tightly. "You too. Goodbye, Peter." She nodded at Angela. "Mrs. Parker."

Angela steered him away and down the stairs. She leaned in and whispered, "No more speaking to that woman. She's a bad influence."

"But May's amazing! She-"

Her hand grew vice like on his shoulder. "A. Bad. Influence. That's final." Her words came out as growl.

May watched them go with contempt. Angela's sleek black hair swished back and forth, and her heels clicked almost ominously. She watched the woman lean in and tell Peter something. He started to protest, but was silenced by her. He nodded in defeat.

She grunted. That's no way to treat a child, she thought. That woman ought to be stopped. Something nagged at her, though. There was such a strange energy surrounding their interaction. Peter looked like he was leaving for school. It didn't seem like he wanted to go. May pulled her phone from her pocket and rang Mr. Stark. She was wondering if he knew anything about this.

"Tony here," he answered.

"Hi, Mr. Stark? It's May. May Miriam."

"May? Good to hear from you. What can I do you for?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's… It's about-" she stopped and looked around, making sure that they were gone. Lowering her voice, she finished, "It's about Peter."

"What? Is something wrong?"

May went into her apartment and locked the door. "Not anything more than usual… I think. I just wanted to ask you if you knew he was going with Angela to work."

She heard a muffled crash and cursing. "Sorry, May. It's just my robot. No, I did not know that… did she tell you why?"

"Why would she tell me that? Tony, that woman looks at me like I'm the spit in her coffee." May tossed her keys and bag onto the counter.

"I'll look into it. Thanks, May." The call clicked off.

"Goodbye to you too," she said, rolling her eyes again. "I swear that man has no sense of-"

"Hello. May, right?"

May nearly jumped out of her skin. She yelped and scrambled behind the counter. A woman with shocking red hair was sitting on a chair in the living room, twirling something in her fingers. A knife. Was that a knife?

"Stay back! I-I'll call the cops!" May held up her phone, already dialing 911.

"Calm down!" The lady set her knife down and showed her hands. "I'm just here to talk. My name is Natasha. Tony asked me to help with… uh. With the kid." She quirked her head towards the wall where Peter's apartment was.

"Wait. Natasha as in… Black Widow?" May lowered her device.

"You can call me Nat," she said, smiling.

"But you're a-"

"Criminal? Technically, yes." There was a touch of bitterness to her tone, but it was almost unnoticeable.

"I was going to say a hero! I don't know if you remember this, but during 2012? When the aliens attacked? You saved my husband, Ben. He was here watching the apartment while I was on a vacation with my family… He wouldn't stop talking about it for weeks. 'A real Avenger, May, I swear!'" She chuckled fondly. "I was so mad when they said you had… that you were..." May groaned. "It's not a fair situation."

Nat was shocked. Flattered, even. It was nice to know she had done some good for once. That someone remembered her sacrifices. After the mistakes she and the team had made since New York… it was nice to hear.

"I'm glad. Where's your husband now?"

May looked at a framed photo on the wall, and her face showed an expression of bittersweetness. "He died… about a year and a half ago. Gun shot."

Natasha's heart was heavy. She approached May and grabbed her shoulders gently. "I'm so sorry," she said, her voice nearly inaudible. In the past year and a half, May had heard those words a million times. From neighbors, friends, family… This was the second time she knew that someone really meant it. When she looked at Nat's face, it was the face of someone who understood. Gratitude swelled up in her chest.

"Thank you," she managed. "So uh. What did you need to talk to me about?"

Nat pulled away, becoming serious again. "Tony… he asked me to help… connect the dots on Peter's mom and dad. They were murdered, but there's more to the story." She explained everything to May, including the suspicions of abuse.

At the end, the other woman nodded grimly. "If I ever get my hands on that woman I'll-" she exhaled. "I wish I could do more for Peter."

"Maybe you can. I have some questions."

"I'll answer what I can."

Monday, October 14

9:00am

"You don't have to sneak up on me every time we meet, you know," Tony called behind him, not looking up. He rolled his chair around to face her.

"Did you know about it?" She ignored his first statement, choosing instead to get to the basics. Nat didn't have much time to hang around… not during the day.

"About him going to the lab? No… no I didn't. I had FRI check up on some things… and," he sighed. "Pete was there friday, too. Why does she want him there?"

"Why do you think? She has to be experimenting! Angela knows that he's Spider-Man, we know that she purposely tested her project on him, on a child, so who's to say she isn't testing him now?" Nat was angry, Tony could tell. But so was he.

"We don't know that!" He yelled in desperation.

Natasha backed down a little. "Yes," she said softly. "Yes we do. I know it's hard to accept… but you have to. I'm… I'm sorry."

Tony's mind was racing with endless possibilities. If Peter was there, what were they doing to him? Was he in pain, or scared? He didn't want to let himself think about it. Ignorance is bliss, right? But Peter… Peter needed him. He couldn't stay ignorant if his kid was hurting. He couldn't.

"Peter… he- he's like a kid to me, Nat," Tony said weakly, dropping his head in his hands. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Get. Up. Get up and fight for him. He needs you. Right now. Come on, Tony. We need a plan."

"You're right," he said, anger replacing fear and doubt. "Tell me everything you know."

A/N: Hehehe. Thanks for reading! I love you all, and have an amazing new year!

REVIEWS:

Belbelanne: Very true! And haha, we'll see what happens to Angela soon…

vampgirliegirl: Eeeek. Yes, she kinda is. (whoops)

My Hero XIII: Oh my heck, you are so sweet! Thank you! And I completely agree with you, lol. Angela and Mark suck!

xSapphirexRosesxFanx: That's actually a really cool idea. I did actually plan for it to be undetectable, but it's not invisible (hence, Tony sees it). Your input is always the best, though! Thanks for reviewing!

See you next time!

-katilange