Spidersonangst prompted: One cold winter morning in the city of New York lead to absolute catastrophe. A blizzard passed through last night, and Peter went out to help people get out of their homes and hasnt been seen since! The morning news reported that the web slinger has been gone, and once tony gets word he gets to looking, only to find that his tracker was not working. (Please include minimal frost bite!)
I played around a little bit with the prompt but it's the same premise. This came out a little fluffier than was intended but I hope that you still enjoy it! :D 3
There was something peaceful about watching tufts of snow fall from the night sky. Whether it was the big fluffy kind of snow that reminded Peter of childhood mornings, nose pressed against the glass of his bedroom window, waiting for them to call for a snow day or the small rapid flakes like now, coming down fast, swirling and dancing in the wind. There was something magical about it blanketing the city in a sea of white. It was so easy to get lost in the haze.
It could also be dangerous.
The weatherman had been calling for snow for a week now, each day the numbers getting higher as the Nor'easter became a bonafide blizzard warning. Schools were cancelled, grocery stores filled with people stocking up on milk and bread like it was the apocalypse, and an army of snow plows and salt trucks were assembled and ready to go. The Governor of New York already called for a state of emergency in preparation for what was going to be one of the worst blizzards in decades.
Ordinarily, 17 year old Peter Parker wouldn't have spent his snow days much differently than 7 year old Peter Parker with his nose pushed against the glass, waiting to go outside and play. He'd make snow angels, and snow forts or have snowball fights with Ned, before finally ending the day red nosed and snug under a blanket drinking cocoa and watching movies with Aunt May.
Now things were different and Peter had new responsibilities. He was Spiderman. As much as he wanted to do all of those things again, he knew that he had a responsibility to help the people who couldn't help themselves, and that included during times of inclement weather. He wasn't the only one who shared the sentiment.
Stark Industries had already begun donating reactor technology to hospitals and shelters as backups should their own generators fail. That was in addition to other critical resources that were either donated directly or monetarily. Stark Industries was leading by example and Peter found he could do no less, his mentor further inspiring his actions.
So, using the credit card that he'd never used before, Peter began to prepare. Tony had given it to him to use for whatever he needed or wanted.
"Technically, you're my intern and I think the whole working for the experience kind of gig is bullshit. Let no one say that Stark Industries doesn't take care of all their employees," Tony had said with a smile and a nudge before quickly changing the subject and pretending it wasn't his little way of continuing to take care of Peter and May. He knew May would never take money from him directly, they really had everything that they needed, but money was something Tony had in abundance and if he thought it could make their lives easier in any way, he was happy to give.
Peter had never actually used it before, resolving to only use it in case of an emergency, and I mean what constitutes as a bigger emergency than a blizzard? Using the money to continue to help the citizens of his burough felt like the better decision and he could already imagine Tony's exasperated but proud face when he tells him what he did. In preparation Peter purchased blankets, hand warmers, hats, gloves, coats, and even plastic sleds so that when the storm passed kids could play.
He even talked Aunt May and Ned into helping him fight through the crowds to buy everything and haul it around Queens as they donated to various shelters and Red Cross sites. Though it was sometimes stressful trying to navigate around Queen's in May's cramped Volvo, it felt good to laugh and share this with her and Ned. It felt even better to be able to make a difference as plain old Peter Parker as well. He knew that this wouldn't be the last time that he did this, he only wished he would have done it earlier.
Whatever supplies they didn't end up donating Peter carefully packed into his backpack, mostly hand warmers and scarves and the like, but it would be more than enough for what he needed them for.
That evening as the blizzard finally started to hit, Spiderman set out on his mission, backpack tightened against him. He set out on his normal patrol route
He made sure to check in Mr. Merritt, a homeless man who stayed around Delmar's first. Peter Parker always bought him a sandwich when he saw him about but Spiderman was more concerned with where he'd be spending the night during the blizzard. The snow that was coming down was fluffy and thick for now, but it'd grow worse as the evening wore on.
The older man, he found out, had been a Vietnam veteran that lost everything after being sucked into a pyramid scheme and just never recovered. He was always upbeat though, despite his current lot in life and was always quick with a joke or a smile. Peter had tried to help him before but he was distrustful of the local shelters with a level of paranoia that Peter knew was probably attributed to other issues keeping the man down.
"Spiderman! What brings you to my humble abode?" the older man called out from where he huddled beneath a worn blanket.
"There's a storm shelter being set up a couple blocks away at the old PS 118, I wanted to make sure you got there safely, sir. This storm is going to get nasty real quick, it's too dangerous to be out here."
The man seemed to consider Peter's words and look to the sky at the snow falling. It was already sticking to the roads and sidewalks despite the salt trucks efforts and he definitely wouldn't be equipped to wait it out like he normally could.
"Okay, Spidey. Just this once!"
Peter figured that there were some perks to being a superhero. He thought he'd have to fight tooth and nail but the man seemed to instinctively hold a level of trust. Or he just knew he didn't want to freeze in the cold.
Peter helped others find shelter along his route and those that wouldn't accept the help he provided hand warmers and hats and gloves to try and protect them against the elements. He helped at least half a dozen motorists get their cars unstuck as they commuted home and gave out the rest of the handwarmers to people who had no choice but to use public transportation to get home and had to wait for buses. He even took quick pictures with a few of the people he helped.
Over the last couple of years Spiderman had become an increasingly recognized public figure around the city and especially exploded after an account called Spidey's#1Fan started posting candids of Spiderman and tweeting about the good that he did for the community, sharing and retweeting anytime Spiderman was spotted. The fact that it was run by Flash who still liked to call him Penis Parker and shove him into lockers as he walked by was the blessed irony of the situation
It wasn't long until his latest deeds were being discussed and Peter felt his heart swell with pride as he viewed the feed in the HUD of his mask. This was what being a hero was really about.
By the time Peter finished drinking his cup of hot cocoa with Alma Peterson, an elderly widow who he helped get home, the blizzard was in full swing. He watched from the top of the roof of the old apartment complex as the thick cloud of snow came down, heavy winds blowing it sideways almost. Even with Karen and night vision activated his visibility was practically nothing.
"This is insane," he murmured to himself, trying to think of his options. He didn't want to call it quits just yet but the HUD showed that it was already after midnight and he knew that Aunt May would be worried if stayed out too late in these conditions. "Okay, Karen, looks like we'll have to call it for now and get up bright and early tomorrow to finish."
"Okay, Peter. Sounds like a plan. Shall I set an alarm for 6am?"
Peter blanched. "Okay when I said bright and early I may have been a little ambitious."
"11am?" she countered knowingly and Peter felt himself smirk. Karen like Friday was a learning AI, and it always made him happy when traces of her knowledge of his personality came out.
"That sounds more like it. Take us home, Karen!"
The HUD lit up with a bright pathway to follow as well as highlighting the best places for him to use his web to swing and he leapt from the building without another thought.
"Hey, how about some music for the trip home?"
"Sure, Peter. Would you like me to play from one of your preferred playlists, 'Lookout, Here Comes the Spiderman?'"
"I'm not sure that has the mood I'm going for," he laughed. That playlist was more for fighting crime. He had heard the title of the playlist once when he was waiting in the subway and he was so amazed that someone had practically created him his own theme song. It was catchy and he always found himself humming it when he was on patrol.
Tonight was different though and he glanced around at all the christmas light displays that he was whizzing past and grinned. "How about something festive?"
"Any preference?"
"Your choice!"
Suddenly, the extra festive, extra LOUD, version of Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" blared from all around him and he yelped.
"Karen, we have really gotta talk about your taste in-"
Peter cut himself off as the web he shot missed it's intended destination and he suddenly felt himself falling. He tried to send up another web to correct himself but he was falling too fast, caught by surprise that he had miscalculated so much before his head impacted on the corner of what looked like a dumpster before his body collapsed to the ground and everything went black.
He came to a moment later, his head pounding but at least the music had been cut off and only the sounds of Karen desperately calling out for him to respond filling his ears.
"Peter! I'm detecting a contusion and possible concussion from your fall. Shall I contact Mr. Stark?" Worry filled her tone and it took a minute for the implication to sink through his head.
"No! No. Absolutely do not call Mr. Stark. This is embarrassing enough as it is," he moaned and gingerly tried to sit up but he felt dizzy and heavy and collapsed back against the snow. "Just-just give me a minute. Let me catch my breath and we'll get moving again."
"I really think that you should contact Mr -"
"Please don't Karen, I'm fine. I'm just gonna see what the damage is." Peter yanked the mask off of his head before the AI could protest any further and laid it beside him.
The cold air and snowflakes actually felt good upon his face, pink and warm from where the heater in his suit had been going the entire night. He reached a hand behind his head to feel the tender wound, pulling away with a hiss just as quickly. Bright red blood covered his glove. That was definitely not good but he couldn't find it in himself to do much more than flop his arm back into the puffy snow and gaze hypnotized as more fell from the sky all around him.
Everything else around him began to fade out leaving only the sound of the wind whipping around him and that light delicate noise of the snow hitting the ground. Suddenly it didn't seem so beautiful and magical anymore. The quiet was disconcerting and eerie and he felt his body shiver.
Maybe he should call Mr. Stark. His head still hadn't stopped spinning and he felt like if he moved he would end up vomiting all over himself.
The wind picked up in the little alleyway and brought with it a ferocious bite that dried his nose out and chilled him to the bone. The cold was making him weak and sluggish, or maybe that was the concussion? He couldn't lay out in these temperatures for long.
"Hey, Karen," he patted around his body for the mask unsuccessfully. "Maybe... maybe call Mr. Stark. He's going to be so mad at me," Peter groaned hoping that the AI could hear him. Otherwise he had a feeling that he was going to be a popsicle come morning.
A weak laugh escaped his lips as he thought maybe this is what Captain America felt like when he was a Capsicle. He just hoped they would defrost him a lot faster than they did Cap.
Tony had only been asleep for about an hour when he woke to Friday's hushed but urgent tone. It wasn't often that he actually got to bed at a decent hour of the night, let alone fall asleep almost immediately, but Pepper could be extremely persuasive when she put her mind to it.
"Boss. BOSS. You are needed immediately!" The AI nearly hissed and it was the frantic tone that finally pulled him from the deep sleep, feeling his body go into high alert as he sat up quickly in the bed and fumbled around for his phone.
"Wha-what is it, Fri? Need to assemble?" he asked and pushed a button on his phone, flinching as the light tried to blind him as he checked the time. 1:36am.
"Tony?," Pepper muttered beside him as she began to stir.
"Sorry, Pep, somethin's up." He turned the screen back off and leaned across her warm body, placing a gentle kiss to her temple and climbing out of the bed. He grabbed his earpiece from the nightstand and fumbled his way to his closet. "Fri, you there?"
"Yes, Boss."
"Okay, hit me. What's happening? Aliens? No, don't tell me, Doom bots? That man has a knack for being the most inconvenient villain of all time," Tony muttered, pulling on some joggers and a worn sweatshirt.
"No, Boss it's Peter."
Tony felt his heart stutter and all remnants of sleep or tiredness melting away.
"Pete? What happened? Fri, give me his vitals."
"I can't do that. Contact with Karen and the suit was lost an hour ago. Vitals at the time were all in normal range." For what it was worth, the AI seemed apologetic but the fear began to get to him.
"What do you mean lost? Why am I just now being told?" he snapped and then felt guilty for getting angry with Friday. He ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "No, forget it, we'll worry about that later. Do we have any idea where his last known location was?"
"I have already sent the coordinates to the suit boss."
"Perfect. Let's go bring the kid home."
Tony had never been a fan of the snow. He was a New York native true enough but there was a reason that he had moved out to California and ran Stark Industries from the Malibu location and part of that was he hated the harsh east coast winters with a passion. He could understand the beauty and the fascination with snow when it was like this but then the white fluff would turn slushy and gray, all beauty completely removed as it just became this dirty mountain, piled three feet high on every corner, that he would have to avoid every time he stepped outside.
Not to mention he just wasn't built for cold temperatures in general. He was a small guy, however begrudgingly he would admit that to himself and the cold had a knack for just seeping into his bones and making them ache. He wasn't sure how much of that had always been a thing and how much was residual pains left over from the arc reactor days. Those days had been the worst, he could just sit up in bed and know how cold it was outside by the ache of his chest and how much more difficult it was to breathe. His surgery had helped most of that, the little bit of Extremis doing what it could but the ache was almost like a phantom pain that he could never really shake.
He could feel that aching now despite the fact that he was fully covered in his newest Iron Man suit with the heat cranked up to the point he was practically sweating. The fact that his kid was possibly lost or hurt somewhere out in all this didn't help matters either.
The snow had continued falling heavily, the wind hissing as he sped through the air, all matter of scenarios going through his mind.
The kid had been out helping people. He knew as much from the popular twitter threads that Friday had sifted through to help narrow down what he had been doing and who may have had their sights on him. Nothing sinister stood out. Happy motorists, children in a shelter, some tired looking city employees all shared the stories and candids of the kid helping out wherever he good.
Just a friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
Who was now missing.
Friday hadn't been able to reestablish a link with Karen or the suit, interference with the weather possibly playing a part, or at least that's what Tony told himself. The alternative would be that someone with malicious intent had done something to disable it and damn it that's why Tony didn't want to think about it.
He inhaled deeply and then exhaled after ten seconds, calming the panic that was clawing its way through his body. Panicking now would help no one.
"Approaching coordinates now, Boss." Friday spoke and highlighted the location for Tony to see.
Tony slowed as he approached the location, looking around the surrounding area for anything weird or out of place. They weren't too far off from May's apartment. There was a good chance that Peter might have been heading home.
"Friday, if I were a Spiderkid, what would be the quickest route to swing home?"
The AI didn't respond but a desired route from Peter's last coordinates lit up the screen and Tony slowly moved his way over the path.
"Highlight heat signatures." The tactic wouldn't have been very practical on a normal day but at nearly two in the morning during a snowstorm, he didn't expect too much activity from the citizens of Queens.
There were a couple of false calls because apparently no matter what was going on outside there was always someone crazy enough to run around in the elements, but then he got a faint hit in an alleyway not far from Peter's last known location.
The area was dimly lit and the figure highlighted was losing heat. He thought he might have stumbled upon a homeless person but then he caught a flash of red and blue and matted brown curls in the snow.
"Kid?!" Tony called as he landed in the snow beside the faint heat signature and began brushing away the surrounding snow.
And there he was, so still and so quiet, two things that Peter Parker never seemed to be. The only reassuring thing was that he knew Peter was alive, his breaths coming in soft puffs in the air. The helmet and gauntlets retracted from Tony as he began to gather the boy in his arms. He only stopped when he noticed spots of red in the snow beneath his head and the pieces finally all came together.
"Pete, can you hear me? I need you to wake up, it's Tony." He shook the boys in his arms and sighed in relief as he moaned and stirred.
"Mister...S-stark...wha's happenin'?" he muttered, eyes cracking open in confusion.
"I think you hit your head kid. I'm not sure exactly what happened. Where's your mask? Did someone do this to you?"
Peter tried to think but all he felt was the pounding in his head. "I don' think so. I think I fell. Took off the mask to check my head."
"Why didn't you call me?"
Peter shrugged against him. "Didn't wanna bother you."
Tony wanted to tell the kid that he was absolutely never a bother and he always felt a swell of happiness when Peter would call him for help, whether that be for a Calculus exam or to provide back up as Iron Man, but that would have to wait.
"Well, thank god the heater still functions with the mask off or you'd be a spideysicle."
Peter laughed weakly at that as his own thoughts from before he passed out began to come back to him. "It's okay. It doesn't even feel very cold to me. Kinda numb."
That definitely caught Tony's attention and now that he looked at Peter, parts of the kids face that should probably be red after being out in this weather had begun to lessen into a paleness and Tony began to worry that he may have the early onset of frostbite beginning to crop up.
"Okay, we have to get you to tower medical like yesterday. Friday, alert medical that we're on the way, possible concussion and frostbite."
Peter groaned. "What about Aunt May?"
"I'll call Aunt May. Let's find your mask and get you the hell out of here," Tony said and dug into the snow, easily finding the frozen headgear. "You okay to sit up?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Peter mustered and gently lifted his body up. "See, totally-" the rest of what he tried to say was caught off as the nausea that he had been keeping at bay finally came out in a spectacular display of his upchuck reflexes.
The next time Peter came to his entire face felt like the pins and needles that you get when he'd sleep wrong at night except it definitely wasn't abating as quickly as it normally would and it felt like his entire face was throbbing.
Early sunlight was streaming through the window so he had been asleep for awhile at least. He turned his head groggily to surprisingly see Tony sitting by his side, reading glasses that he swore up and down he didn't really need perched on his nose as he worked on his tablet. He must have spied Peter's movement because he lifted his head and immediately set the tablet aside.
"Hey, Jack Frost, how're you feeling?"
"Tingly," Peter mumbled groggily.
"Yeah, I'll bet. A little bit longer out in that blizzard and you would have been a frozen Spider. There's indications of early onset of frostbite on your nose, lips and ears specifically. I'm sure with your healing factor you'll recover pretty quickly but it could have been a whole lot worse. Same goes for that bump on the head."
Tony wasn't saying it out loud but he understood the subtext. He had scared the man. He was worried about Peter's wellbeing. He didn't seem mad like Peter for some reason thought he was going to be. It was weird getting used to this weird relationship of theirs and sometimes Peter just simply miscalculated the older man's reactions.
"Aunt May?"
"She's grabbing a coffee. Don't think you've escaped her lecture either."
Peter laughed. "I could never be so lucky. I'm sorry I didn't call you."
Tony's eyes grew softer and he finally discarded his glasses onto the bedside table.
"You know I have your back, whatever you need kid. Just don't be afraid to reach out. I know, real rich coming from me, the king of pushing everyone away, but I'm partly responsible for you now. You've gotta keep me in the loop from now on."
"I guess I'm just still not used to someone else watching out for me like that. I have Aunt May but she doesn't understand the superhero stuff very much. I just… Thank you," Peter said with a smile and gripped Tony's hand in his. "I just really didn't want to tell you what had happened."
"Why not?"
"It's sorta embarrassing. You'll laugh."
Tony's eyebrow quirked at that. "No, I won't."
"Yes, you will."
"Try me."
Peter sighed exaggeratedly, mentally trying to calculate how long it would be until someone else did something dumber than he did. Maybe by spring he'd be able to live this down.
"It all started with that extra festive version of Mariah Carey's christmas song…"
As Tony began laughing at Peter's over exaggerated performance he mentally amended the timeline of living this down to maybe the summer. Next winter if Tony made good on his threat to pull the footage from the baby monitor.
May joined them not long after that, offering up a hot chocolate to Peter and a refill of coffee for Tony. After taking a great big drink Tony immediately regaled her with even further exaggerated detail and actions of Peter's misadventure and all Peter could do was roll his eyes halfheartedly and try to hide the blush from his tingling cheeks. He supposed that there were worse ways to spend a snowy day.