A/N: Hey everyone! A few things: I started another story! It's called Somewhere in Queens (I know, I like to write about Peter Parker, I get it), and if you want to check it out, go ahead! I'm still going to continue this story, so uploads will be farther apart. I want to keep at least two chapters per story in a month, but I'm aiming for three or four chapters per story.

Anyways, I hope you like the chapter, and make sure to leave any comments/suggestions in the reviews below!

Warnings: Mild mentions of guns.

Tuesday, October 15

12:01am

"Anything?" Rhodey, who had just arrived, asked from behind the red-head. They had called him shortly before May arrived at the tower, informing him of the situation. At this point, they wanted as much help as they could get.

Nat frowned. "Not yet. We'll get those skunks… we just have to be patient."

She adjusted the headphone to her other ear, tapping a pen on the laptop. She jumped a little when Peter started to talk.

"Bucky," she called over to him. "Come listen to this."

He shifted from his chair and approached silently.

The kid was grunting with effort now. "Sit back, Parker. You're not the driver anymore," he said. Then, "We're the same. We're the same. I'm not killing anything, and neither are you, because we are the same person." Nat and Bucky shared a look. "Not anymore," he stated. There was a gunshot. The only noise now was the soft crackle of the recording device.

"Was he..." she started, removing the headphones.

"Talking to himself?" Bucky finished. Empathy painted his strong features. "That isn't a good sign… we don't have much time."

"Don't worry about that. I think I have something," Tony said, walking into the room. He spoke quietly; May, MJ, and Ned were all asleep on the couch. MJ's curly brown hair was spilled into May's lap, and her feet were curled up to her chest. It didn't look very comfortable.

Tony held up a fist triumphantly. "No one can erase what they've done online. And lucky for us, Raylen has a trail. We just have to find it."

"Alright. Nat can dig up some dirt, and I'll keep listening here. You," Rhodey nodded at May. "Get some sleep. You look terrible."

"Thanks," Tony said dryly. "But I can't just… fall asleep. Knowing that I- that he-"

"Tones. It's ok. The best thing you can do is not look like crap when we go rescue the kid. You got me?"

He sighed in resignation. "Fine… but the second you hear something-"

"Don't worry, we'll tell you," said Nat. She was already typing furiously on the holo-computer.

Now that he thought about it, Tony did feel like he could collapse at any moment. It couldn't hurt to take a quick nap. Nat and Rhodey would handle it.

He made his way over to the couch opposite the napping trio. Tony was asleep the second his head hit the pillow, exhaustion not allowing the guilt to creep in.

"Mr. Stark," Peter protested. "You can't just-"

"Actually, I can, kid. I'm Iron Man." Tony smiled from behind the face plate. "And I am going to fly to Queens and get take-out for us. From your favorite Thai place. That's final."

"At least let me-"

"Ah! No! I'm doing it! There's nothing you can do to stop me!" Tony blasted off. "I'll be back in a few-"

"Mr. Stark, wait! The-"

THUNK.

Tony's metal head whacked against Dum-E, and he fell onto his back. The little robot beeped loudly, waving its arm up and down in distress,. Peter ran over and knelt next to his mentor, trying to keep a straight face.

"Are you ok? Mr. Stark?"

Tony removed the helmet and rested his head on the floor. "That. Was so embarrassing."

The kid started laughing so hard that tears formed in his eyes. "I think you mean that was hilarious!"

"Alright, I get it!" He climbed to his feet, but Peter was still shaking with laughter.

"Oh man! When you," he gasped in between chuckles. "I will never get that image out of head!"

"Okay, okay!" Tony huffed playfully.

The teen sat up with a sudden realization. "FRIDAY?" He called. "Please tell me you have security footage of that."

"Yes, Mr. Parker. Would you like me to replay it for you?"

He shouted "Yes!" at the same time Tony said, "Absolutely not!"

A blue hologram image came onto the screen, displaying the past five minutes. And with that, Peter was gone, lost in shouts of laughter.

Peter was gone.

He was gone.

"Peter!" Tony shot up from the couch, his hand stretched out in front of him. His two friends stared at him, alerted by his outburst. MJ stirred, but did not wake up. Bucky looked up from behind the computer, his dark eyebrows set it concern. Concern? Why does he care? Rhodey came over and pulled his friend up.

"What's wrong, man?"

"It's… it's nothing, just a nightmare. Did you guys find anything?"

"I'm… almost… there," Nat whispered, tapping even faster. Her face was scrunched in concentration.

"Wait, I'm getting something," Bucky said, touching his headphones.

Tuesday, October 15

1:03am

Sinoper stood very still as the woman, Sydnie, dresses a cut on his arm. She glanced up into his face.

"Do you remember me?" She whispered, very quietly.

His eyes narrowed. "No."

"We talked," Sydnie continued, almost inaudibly, and tried to look like she wasn't talking. There were cameras everywhere… she could get into a lot of trouble for this. "I told you about my brother. You… you forgave me. You said it was ok, when it wasn't. Remember that?"

He put a hand to his head, grunting. "No, Parker," he growled. "Not… now…"

She patted his arm. "Is that you? The real you?"

Peter nodded very slowly. "I-Im sorry. It's… hard to keep… to keep it out." Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"What's your name," she inquired, still very softly. "They only told me Sinoper."

"Peter," he muttered back, jaw clenched. "Parker. A-and… you?"

Parker, she thought. That's Angela's last name… are they related? How could she do this to him?

"Sydnie Marckle." She was quiet for a moment. "Listen, I can help you. There's a bug on your back, just under the armor. Someone put it there; they could be listening. Do you know anyone that would have placed it on you?"

"I… maybe… Natasha," Peter said, eyes shut tightly.

Sydnie paused and then turned to a camera in the corner of the room. She gestured to the kid and said, "I think the subject may have injuries to the back. Permission to proceed?"

"Granted," a grumpy voice responded.

She moved behind him, blocking the camera lens with her head. Sydnie leaned down and looked into the tiny black device.

"Natasha," she breathed. "My name is Sydnie Marckle. Peter's here with me, but we don't have much time." She busied her hands with cleaning his fake wounds. "Mark Raylen is controlling him with illegal HYDRA techniques, along with Angela Parker."

"Sydnie," Peter grunted. "He-he's coming… back…"

"Hurry," she said more urgently. "He can't hold out much longer. I'll be waiting for you-"

"Doctor," Sinoper said coolly. "It doesn't hurt there."

"Well then." Sydnie stepped back and gave a forced smile. "I guess you no longer need me."

"I guess you no longer need me." The female voice, Sydnie as they heard, was quiet. Tony could only hear breathing. If it was his own or Peter's, he couldn't tell.

Tuesday, October 15

12:03am

MJ rested her head on May's lap, enjoying the few seconds of comfort. Tony and his friends were talking, but they faded into the background. She was surprised to feel nothing. Or rather, she didn't know what to feel. Her brain craved something normal… something that wasn't like this. She wanted it to go back to the way it was before. MJ felt a stab of guilt. No she didn't. That was selfish. Because he wasn't happy before.

Somehow, she drifted into a fitful sleep.

MJ was on her back, staring up into a brilliant blue sky. Am I on a cloud? She looked down, and sure enough, soft tufts of white cradled her. She couldn't help but remembering that clouds weren't actually like this. In fact, they were probably wet. Ignoring the science part of her brain, she turned her mind to Peter.

"What am I going to do?" She wondered out loud, speaking her thoughts to no one but the empty air.

"May I offer some advice?" A female voice said. Normally, MJ would have been startled, but she felt an overwhelming sense of nothing. She sat up to find a beautiful woman sitting cross-legged in front of her. She had long, wavy brown hair and a smile that was kind and knowing. A faint smell of strawberries drifted through the air, delighting MJ's senses.

"Who are you? You look really familiar. Have we met?"

The woman laughed. It was a sound that sparkled around them, making MJ want to laugh as well. "No, we haven't met. My name is Mary Parker… I'm Peter's mom."

Again, the nothingness stopped her from being too alarmed. "Is this… real?"

"Technically, yes. Although, the clouds are a bit much."

It was MJ's turn to chuckle. She folded her legs underneath her and gazed into Mary's eyes. They were the exact same color as Peter's. Her hair was wavy like his, too. They looked so alike. MJ did not realize she was crying until it happened.

Quickly, the older woman moved beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry. It's going to be ok. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow. But some day."

"How could you leave him?" MJ said as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. "He needs you…"

Mary sighed. "I know. I shouldn't have left that night… I should have taken Peter and Richard and gotten out of Queens… but… Our family doesn't run from things. And besides, if we left, he wouldn't have met you." She tilted the teen's head to face her. "I can't be there for him anymore. But you can." She offered a gentle smile.

"I don't know how. What if I screw it up? What if we lose him…"

Mary looked up. "I never meant to leave, Michelle. MJ. I didn't even… I didn't even have the chance to save him. I failed as a mother. But you," she looked bittersweet. "You can be there. I know that if you are with him…" she took MJ's hands in her own. "Peter will be just fine."

They sat in silence for a few seconds before the curly haired teen's curiosity got the better of her. "Can I… ask you something?"

"Of course."

"How- how did you die?"

"It's actually a long story," Mary responded, laughing without humour. "I think it started with Angela. We were best friends since childhood… but when she came back from Afghanistan…" she gazed at her lap, lost in thought. "Everything was different. It's my fault for not noticing, but I suppose I can't change that now.

"When I discovered a formula that could enhance the abilities of a human, that's when I knew I had lost her. I lost her to our work, but something was more important than that. I had Peter. He was my life, MJ. My Inspiration." Mary smiled fondly. "I felt with all my heart: I have to protect him. So I pulled from the experiments, and burned my research. The night they caught me is the last night I saw him."

For the first time in their conversation, tears shone in her lovely brown eyes. MJ squeezed her hand. "They tried to get it from me for a couple of weeks… but I didn't tell them. I couldn't. How could let them create a world that was more dangerous when I had a child! One night, I spat in his face, and that's the last thing I remember from life. I'm pretty sure he shot me."

"Was Angela there?" MJ asked softly.

Mary nodded. "She was. Right behind Raylen."

The sun in this strange world was beginning to set, and bright reds streaked across the sky.

"We don't have much time. Is there anything else?"

The sunset had turned their faces pink. "Yeah… What do I say to him? When I get there?"

MJ felt that she was drifting slowly downwards, through the cloud. Mary didn't seem to be affected by the same force. She beamed sadly as their fingers slipped apart.

"You'll know. I promise." Right before MJ dropped away, Mary said, "I'm glad we met. Peter's told me all about you."

She awoke to Tony's voice. "We have something. Oh, my-"

"What? What do we have?" MJ demanded, suddenly very awake. The group appeared startled by her.

"You, uh. You're up," the mechanic stated.

Both her and Nat shot him an Oh really? look.

"Are we going to go get Peter?" May questioned groggily, rubbing her eyes. She shook Ned, and he groaned.

"LIsten, Mr. Stark," MJ said, marching over to him. "I just had a dream… and it was important. I need to be with you when you get him. So listen, if you don't tell me what's going on right now, I'll go to RayTech myself." The fire in her eyes was lit.

He put his hands up. "I wasn't going to keep anything from you." She glared at him. "Well, you were asleep, and I didn't want to wake you!" Tony defended. That earned another stink eye. "Ok, I'm sorry! But can we please focus?"

MJ nodded. "What happened?"

"Peter has some help from the inside," Nat said. "She just told us that Mark and Angela were performing HYDRA techniques."

Bucky added, "This is it. We can save him."

Tuesday, October 15

1:46am

Sinoper ran his fingers across his back, searching. He could have sworn that redhead… Bingo. He ripped the device from off of his shoulders and smashed it in between his fingers.

"They know," he stated. "They're coming for us."

A/N: Ahahaha the next couple chapters are going to be intense! I'm so excited!

REVIEWS:

skydancer121: Thank you! And it was a coincidence lol, although your review kind of sparked my "I need to post" fire.

DarylDixon'sLover: Thanks! :D

Thebookworm33: You're too kind! I appreciate your support ;)

holyghostofsteve: Wow, I'm impressed you noticed! I did change it because I hated the other one, but I could never figure out how to fix it. That is, until now.

xSapphirexRosesxFanx: Yes! Hehehe I guess we'll have to see :)

Belbelanne: That was kind of my goal! I really wanted Bucky to be a part of Peter's rescue/recovery! I also really wanted to write him in because I LOVE Bucky. :D

vampgirliegirl: I will!

wolfimus prime: YES! :D

See you all next time,

-katilange