Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. The support you're showing me and this story means the world. You drive me to sit down and write every day.

I have a little series news. I planned for With Great Power to be a solo story, but I soon realized the world was too big and the opportunities to good to waste on one piece. It became a plan for four stories, but… that's changed again. I had an plot idea for Story IV that I thought would work, but I'm now seeing it would be too confusing to just place in current timeline of S4 as it's too different and separate to the main plot. That means that now the story will be a Five Part Series. I'm not sure if that classes as good news to you or bad, but it's what's happening.

Chapter Six

Steve was eating breakfast, listening to the conversation rolling over with everyone when Friday spoke up.

"Colonel Rhodes, Boss is asking if you can feed and sit with Peter," she announced.

Rhodey's head snapped up from the bowl of oatmeal he'd been prodding, and a surprised smile lifted his lips. "He wants me to take care of Pete?"

"Yes," she replied.

Rhodey took a swig of his coffee, grabbed Peter's feed from the fridge, and hurried out of the room, leaving them looking after him.

"Okay, anyone got a clue what that's about?" Bruce asked.

"No," Wanda said, brow furrowed. "Tony has been particular about Peter since the… incident."

"Maybe he's gotten over it," Sam said, a small frown on his brow. "God knows it was time."

There were murmurs of agreement.

They had all been surprised to see the rift develop between the two old friends after Peter's breakdown and Rhodey's injury. It wasn't that Tony was harsh with him or that they'd even had crossed words—not in front of any of them at least; Tony just asked Steve or Bucky to do anything for Peter that he didn't do himself most of the time. Steve knew it had been getting Rhodey down, and he was glad there seemed to be a softening now.

He also wondered why Tony was leaving Peter's feed to someone else when he was there to do it himself.

A few minutes passed with little conversation as they all ate the breakfast Sam and Bucky had prepared. Steve was working on his second plate of scrambled eggs when Tony came into the room and went straight to the counter to pour himself a coffee. His eyes were alive with some indefinable emotion, possibly excitement, but they were circled by shadows. Without a word, he drank the first mug, interspersing sips with quick breaths to cool it, and then filled it again and came to sit at the head of the table.

"You look exhausted. Did Queens have a bad night?" Steve asked.

Tony's lips quirked up, and he said, "Not really, not once he finally fell asleep anyway, but I had trouble settling after…" He took a deep breath and said, "I spoke to the Mind Stone last night."

Steve sputtered and choked on the coffee he'd been drinking. Bucky slapped him on the back with his prosthetic hand in an attempt to help him clear it, which actually made him rock forward into the table. The coffee sloshed out of the mug.

He held up a hand, said, "I'm good, Buck," in a raspy voice, and reached for a napkin to clean up the mess.

"You spoke to one of the Infinity Stones?" Bruce said, his incredulity clear in his tone.

Tony nodded. "Yeah. It's crazy, I know, and I don't think I'd believe any of you if you said it to me, but it happened, and I am sure it was real. There's no way my brain could come up with a dream like that." He sipped his coffee, then leaned forwards and said. "I fell asleep with Pete last night, and I saw Mind. He looked like Vision, like Pete says he does to him, and he told me some stuff."

"That's crazy," Sam said. "Like completely and utterly nuts.

Tony nodded. "It sounds it, I know, but it's not; I'm not crazy. It happened. Mind said he was able to talk to me because the circumstances were right for once. I was 'reaching' for Peter, whatever that means, and Peter was reaching for me."

Steve's head snapped up from the soggy napkins he was balling up. "Peter was reaching for you? So he's aware?"

"Not the way you mean, no; he's still shut down." He sighed. "Okay, here's what Mind said—Peter's aware of us, he can hear, see, smell, and feel, but it's not the same for him as it is for us. It's…" He snapped his fingers. "It's all in his head. Everything around him becomes a thought. I can hold his hand, but he won't actually feel my hand, but he will have the connection and sense of comfort. At least that's what I think he meant. But Peter is aware." He leaned back and beamed.

Steve found his own smile growing. None of them had been sure Peter was at least even peripherally with them anymore. But this, if what Tony had dreamed was real, meant there were ways they could help him, even if only a little.

As if he was tracking Steve's thoughts, Tony said, "He likes it, being with us. Mind says he's focused on sensory input of what's happening to and around him. I figure it's because he's got nothing else. But he likes to be touched, and he likes hearing our voices." He beamed at Bucky. "He does like the light on the water."

Bucky slapped his hand on the table. "I knew it! Yes! So, he is connecting to us."

Tony nodded eagerly. "He is! I was holding him when he fell asleep; in fact, he went off pretty much when I had him settled on me. I was talking, touching him, and that made him reach for me."

"This is amazing," Sam said gleefully. "There is so much more we can try now. We can bring him into mealtimes. The sounds, the smells, it will show him where he is and what's happening."

"And that could help?" Steve asked him.

"Absolutely," Sam said enthusiastically. "He needs positive stimulation if that's all he's getting. This is more than just the games and apps we were showing him because he's not seeing them the way we thought. We've got to make it more about the other senses, too."

"Exactly," Tony said. "There was more, Mind was just about to tell me when I screwed it up. But he said…" He winced. "They—the Stones—think Peter was unaware that he'd live when he turned the gun on himself. I freaked out and said something that upset him, which made him withdraw. Mind was about to tell me what we have to do, though." He drummed his fingers on the table. "We've got to be ready if it happens again. I have no idea how we reach for him or if he'll do it at the same time, but we've got to be ready."

"We will," Bucky said. "We all will."

"Did Mind say anything else helpful?" Bruce asked.

Tony's face fell. "Yeah, he did. Well, not helpful, but it answers a question. What's happening right now, Peter being shut down, is something he's doing to himself intentionally. He's using the Stones to hide. That's why you only see the lights when you read him, Wanda."

"Why would he do that?" Bucky asked.

"He's scared," Tony said heavily. "He knows he's a risk with the programming. Mind said he broke it when he turned the gun on himself, but he doesn't know if that's the end."

"Do any of us?" Sam asked cautiously.

Tony glared daggers at him and then seemed to sag. "No, we don't."

"The words are in his mind now," Bucky said darkly. "Just like they were with me. He's not triggered now, he broke through, but the threat of them is still there. I won't use them, and we will all protect him from Ross, but I'm pretty sure that's not going to be enough for Peter, even if he knew it."

Tony shook his head and said, "No, it won't be enough, not for Pete."

"So, we've got to find a way to wipe them," Bruce said. "Even if we do connect with Mind again and he gives us the answers we need to get him out of himself, Peter is going to be terrified."

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah. I'm working on it. I've not been able to put much time into it here because he needs us so much, but when I go home, I'll be able to get to work on it when Morgan is sleeping."

"You also need sleep, Tony," Steve reminded him. "You look like hell."

Tony waved a hand. "Yeah, thanks, Cap. I am going home, though. I've got to spend some time with Morgan, more than coming and going for a day. Pepper says she's having a hard time; she doesn't understand why she can't see Peter again. I'll go home today, spend a couple days with them, and see what I can come up with for Pete at the same time."

"And you will sleep," Steve prompted.

Tony waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah, no problem."

Steve wasn't appeased, but he thought it might actually be easier for Tony to be away for a while again. He was going to worry about Peter, and he was sure as hell going to push himself too hard trying to find a fix. Still, he would be outside the situation, which would be easier. Without Peter's needs being there, within his reach to help, he could get more done."

Tony sighed. "Okay, I've told Rhodey the footnotes version, but you guys can fill him in on what's going on and what we've got to do."

"Of course," Steve said.

Tony drained his coffee, raked a hand through his hair, and then looked from Steve to Bucky. "Keep an eye on him for me. If anything happens, call me. I don't care what the time is, and I don't care how small you think it is."

"We will," Bucky said, his tone making it a promise.

Sam grinned. "Don't forget, Tony, you've got Friday to keep an eye on us. You can have minute by minute repays of what we're doing."

Tony got to his feet with a laugh. "Don't worry, I've not forgotten. In fact, I'm relying on it."

Bucky looked unusually solemn after his happiness before as he said, "You can trust us, Tony. We will take care of Peter. Relax and spend time with the rest of your family for a while."

Tony met his eyes and nodded. "I do trust you." He ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, I'm going to say goodbye to Pete and then head out."

They said their goodbyes as he strode out of the room, his shoulders straight and his stride hurried. Steve imagined he was eager to get to Peter, to reassure himself he was going to be okay, and then he would be able to see Pepper and Morgan. It had to be impossible for him to be torn between his two children. Steve wasn't sure how he'd be able to handle it himself.

Apart from Peter himself, Tony had the rawest deal here. Maybe it was worse for him than Peter, even. Peter was closed off, away from the fear and concern they were all feeling about him. Was he aware enough inside himself to be scared of the programming still, or was it just all the things around him that he felt now?

He wished he'd had a chance to speak to Mind himself, to ask his questions. Hopefully, though, he would soon if they could pull their plan off to connect with Peter again.

So… They've got a plan of action. The Stones will be making a return visit in the next chapter in a way that I am both nervous and excited about again. See you then;-)

Until next time…

Clowns or Midgets xxx