Spider-man stood over the prone figure of Daredevil, his feet literally straddling the man to keep his own body between the vigilante and Russian mobsters.
No one had guns anymore, but the men didn't dwell on the loss, instead they grabbed pipes, bricks and broken glass, anything that could inflict pain.
Spider-man had joined this fight late, he had only heard the commotion by chance when he was out on patrol. But when he saw Daredevil go down with a gunshot wound to his stomach the young hero jumped in without a second thought.
His suit was in tatters in a few spots where a knife had been sliced through, and his mask was coated in blood down one side from a savage blow to the head. But he was still standing, and his mentor, his friend needed him to finish this.
Their shot-caller stood back, casually puffing on a cheap cigar.
"Kill them both," he finally declared.
The five men came in a single wave and Spider-man had to make the decision to either keep the fight there or draw the men away from Daredevil, so he would not get hurt in the middle of the commotion.
Spider-man blasted a web to an over head beam and shot himself upwards, his knee catching one man under the chin with a sickening crunch. Their attention stayed on him, since he was the only threat moving right then.
Once his feet touched the beam, he reversed his trajectory and bodily slammed into another one of the men. As they crumbled to the floor Spider-man rolled back and catapulted him into his buddies.
He whipped his body from his back to his feet in one motion while getting a couple of webs off, pinning the downed trio to the floor.
One of the remaining men caught him across the face with a hard hook, then a solid elbow to his nose, effectively breaking it and filling his mask with blood.
This was life or death, so the pain did not exist. The teen used his strength and speed to leap over the next assault and kicked the man across the face.
Sirens could be heard getting closer.
A big guy grabbed Spider-man from behind in a rib crushing bear hug but was literally thrown away like a rag doll.
The sirens couldn't be ignored any more. The nervous boss called for his men and bolted before he even knew if anyone heard him.
Two men turned and ran for the door. Spider-man didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for shooting them in the backs with a couple webs.
Satisfied they were clear of any imminent threat the teen skidded to a stop by Daredevil. He was breathing, which in turn allowed Spider-man to take a staggered breath, but he was bleeding, a lot.
Medical care was limited but Spider-man knew where he had to get the man to help quickly. He sealed the wound with a few layers of webbing to try and slow the bleeding.
"Sorry about this," Spider-man muttered as he was forced to heave Daredevil across his shoulders in a fireman's carry.
The NYPD SWAT team stormed the building moments later.
Spider-man and Daredevil got to the roof before the dramatic entrance.
"Alright, I can do this! Just gonna strap you in Dare. Wouldn't want to drop you!" Spider-man told his unconscious friend before using a bit more webbing to tie him to his shoulders.
The journey across the city was slow and cumbersome but finally Spider-man landed at his destination. He hadn't the strength to climb the man up the side of Stark tower, so they used the front entrance.
"FRIDAY!" Spider-man screamed as they busted in on a startled security guard. "FRIDAY, I need you to get Mr. Stark! And we need passage to the med bay! Override Alpha657896!"
"Understood Spider-man! Please make your way to the gold elevator! Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner will meet you there."
Spider-man stumbled into the elevator and laid Daredevil carefully down.
"Keep breathing Matt! Oh god, please, keep breathing!" The teen chanted carefully removing the excess web he used to help carry the bigger male.
He kept pressure on the wound and kept talking because he didn't know what else to do.
The elevator door opened.
"MR. STARK! MR. STARK! TONY, PLEASE, HELP ME!" Spider-man screamed. His panic getting the better of him now that he was so close. It was Bruce Banner that got there first, followed quickly but a pale Tony Stark.
Bruce went to work quickly checking his vitals.
"He needs to go to med bay now! Tony get a stretcher, so we can get him on the bed. And call in Dr. Cho and her entire team. We need to get that bullet out."
"FRIDAY," Tony said.
"On it boss," the AI replied.
A stretcher was brought over and Peter helped them lift the man onto it, then he helped carry him to Med bay and got him on a bed.
Dr. Banner got to work quickly removing clothing. He reached for the mask but hesitated.
Spider-man winced then stammered.
"Do what you have to do Dr. Banner, just don't let him die!"
Bruce removed it quickly and replaced it was a clean cloth, so his face was still hidden.
Spider-man was clenching the side of the bed hard enough he was starting to leave indents in the metal.
"Tony," Dr. Banner said softly before nodding to the kid.
"Yeah, yeah, on it," Tony jumped in quickly seeing the problem. "Kid? Kid? You with us? Pete?"
Spider-man jumped at the sound of his name. Tony reached out and pulled the mask off in order to see the kid's face. He was not prepared for the caked-on blood, bruises and tears.
"FRIDAY, get Steve down here, now!" Tony ordered. Emotions were not his strong suit and he had no idea how to help a traumatized teenager. He put his hands on the kid's shoulders and gently urged him away from the room. "Come on Pete, let Bruce work. We need to get you cleaned up too, ok?"
Peter couldn't take his eyes off the ugly wound in Matt's stomach, Tony's urges to leave went unnoticed.
Finally, his attention was torn away from the scene when stronger hands grabbed his upper arm and neck and his face was pulled into a broad chest. Peter collapsed into the hug as if he suddenly remembered that there were other things in the world besides the grotesque, bloody hole.
The adrenaline started to wear off and Peter could do nothing to stop his body from shaking all over and he couldn't remember when he had started crying.
Steve practically carried him into another room then helped him sit on one of the medical beds. The Captain moved away just enough to get a look at his injuries but the teen squeezed his forearm in earnest, fearing the man was going to leave him.
"Tony, get one of the doctors not currently tending to Daredevil in here. Peter has cuts that need stitches, some other injuries I can't tell, and he is in shock." Steve stated clearly, and with authority.
Tony didn't argue, he left to find someone without so much as a snarky remark.
"Is he, is he, is he …?" Peter stumbled over his words. "Is he going to make it? I didn't get there in time! I should have done more!"
"Easy there Pete, easy. It looks like you did everything you could. And you got him here! That was not easy, I am sure." Steve took the teens hand and placed it on his own chest. "Peter, I need you to feel this ok? Feel the heart beat, breathe with me, ok?"
It was an exercise that Matt and Steve did with him often when he was going into overload. Peter looked into the older Avengers eyes and did as he asked. There weren't many people he would trust in this situation, but Steve Rogers was on the short list, so he didn't question him or fight him on it.
Hours passed, and Steve did not move from Peter's side, and Peter stayed at Matt's.
The doctors had tried to give the teen a sedative so that he could rest but his healing factor just burned through it in minutes.
The doctors had successfully removed the bullet from Matt's stomach and had stitched him up. With IV's of medicine and blood hooked up to him, they could confidently say he was past the worst of it. What they couldn't know though was when he would wake up.
It was morning when Peter's own body finally failed him. He curled into Steve's side, and within moments he was lightly snoring.
Tony quietly walked in and held out a coffee cup to Steve. The man took it with a grim nod.
"That was pretty touch and go there for awhile," Tony commented. "Bruce said if he had of lost any more blood, he would not have made it."
"Quick thinking on the kid's part to use his webbing," Steve agreed.
"Do you want to take him up to a proper bed?"
Steve shook his head.
"I don't think he wants to leave Daredevil, let's let him sleep for a bit then reassess. Did you phone his aunt?"
Tony nodded. He had fed the woman a huge story on a Stark industry retreat for the interns. Team building and all that liberal jazz. She was hesitant but finally agreed when Tony convinced her a kid like Peter could stand some more socializing and it wouldn't hurt his 4.0 GPA.
When Peter woke up his mind was clearer but when he saw Matt was still laying still on the bed, he felt an anger swell inside him like he had never known. Matt did not deserve this.
Tony and Steve stuck close by, but Peter couldn't bring himself to leave the man he viewed as more then just a mentor. His frustration and anger built with every hour Matt Murdock did not wake up.
It was well into the next day when finally, Tony stepped in.
"Kid, you are going to wear a trench into my floor with all the pacing. Go grab a shower and get out of the tower for a bit. Go for a walk, get something to eat! We will call as soon as he is awake." Peter sighed. The billionaire rested a hand on his shoulder. "He is in good hands."
"Alright," Peter mumbled. He didn't have the energy to argue with the man.
The teen got a quick, shower then dressed in some clothes that Tony had lent him. The brand name sweater and jeans fit him surprising well. Peter didn't think too much about it though. Instead his mind was running though the possibility of locating the greasy, mob boss that had ordered his friends would-be execution.
Peter slid his web shooters on but left his torn suit in his room. It had to be repaired anyway, but the teen wasn't sure he wanted Tony to be able to track him.
The teen stopped to peek in on Matt for just a moment before he left the building. It physically hurt to see the man laying there, bruised and broken.
Several hours later Peter found himself sitting on a cold roof, opposite a run-down biker bar. He had several people tell him this was where one, Franko Scerri, often frequented. Peter had not known the name of the man he was looking for when he started, but after mentioning a few of the details about him and his crew people were quick to point him in the right direction.
Peter answered a couple quick texts from Tony, assuring him he was fine just that he wasn't sure he could come back just yet and see Matt still laying there.
His patience paid off and the teen finally caught sight of the man he was looking for.
For several blocks Peter just followed him from the roof tops. He just couldn't understand how that man could act so normal, after potentially killing someone. If just didn't make sense to Peter.
His anger burned in his chest and he wanted nothing better then to go down there and dole out exactly what the man had coming. The only thing that stopped him was the fact he couldn't honestly tell himself he would stop.
The thought of the man dying wasn't the disturbing part of the realization, it was the potential he would have to stand there, and tell Matt, when he woke up, what he did.
He could picture the pained expression on the man's face, the sadness in his voice. Maybe he wouldn't even talk to him again, knowing he had crossed that line.
Peter scowled at the man but ultimately sighed and turned to head back to the tower. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Captain America standing there watching him. A small, knowing smile on his face.
"I am proud of you," Steve said.
Peter let his shoulders drop and approached the man.
"I thought about it. I really did." Peter admitted sadly.
"We all have. It is what comes after that thought that defines the man." He hugged Peter to his side and rested his chin on top of his head. "Don't worry though, everyone faces judgment eventually."
"When Matt is better, we are going to come back here and take out his supplies." Peter promised.
"Until then would you sleep better if we sent the FBI a little note?" Steve asked.
"Yes." Peter answered immediately. "At least slow him down till we can finish the clean up."
Steve nodded and ruffled Peter's hair.
"That is what we will do then," He guided the teen towards the fire escape, "Come on, let's get back. You need a good night's sleep, and hopefully tomorrow Matt will wake up."
Peter froze and stared up at the big man quickly.
"Don't worry, his identity is safe with us. Tony wouldn't let any of the doctors even peek, and he trusts them with his life!" Steve smiled. "His own curiosity though, was too much."
Peter shook his head with a tired laugh.
"Matt's totally gonna make him sign more papers!"
Down on the street, Steve handed the boy a helmet and started up his motorcycle.
Peter had never been on one before, and it was a nice distraction from the unpleasant feeling in his chest.
Back at the tower Peter joined Tony in the med bay.
"How is he doing?" Peter asked.
"He is one tough son of a bi …" Tony started.
"Language!" Steve snapped glancing at the kid in the room, and in turn making the billionaire chuckle.
"He is going to be fine Pete. All his vitals have stabilized, and I have some pretty amazing tech that knits up all those cuts like that!" He snapped his fingers. "Look he barely has a scar!"
Sure enough, Matt's stomach had a tender looking pink circle but otherwise was in tact.
Peter had wanted to sit with the man, but Steve insisted he go to bed.
The next morning Peter woke up and was greeted by the smell of breakfast. Steve and his friend Bucky were standing the communal kitchen, talking quietly to each other when Peter arrived.
Steve put a big plate of pancakes down and pointedly looked at the teen.
"I get it," Peter laughed sitting down, "Food then I can go to the med bay."
"That's right kiddo, don't think I missed the fact you didn't eat anything yesterday!"
Bucky pulled a face and looked from Steve to Peter. The Captain ignored the look and instead took a sip of his coffee.
The food made Peter feel like a million bucks. It gave his healing factor the fuel it needed to speed up his recovery. He would have liked to say it tasted good but honestly, he inhaled it so fast he didn't have time to taste.
"Ok, clean plate. May I go now?" Peter asked politely.
"Yeah go ahead. I'll meet you down there in a bit," Steve smiled. Peter jumped up and practically bolted from the room, but not before he heard Bucky question Steve.
"What the hell Steve, you adopt a stray when I was out?"
The day got even better when Peter busted through the med bay doors only to see Matt sitting up talking with Tony.
"There he is!" Tony smirked, "Have a little sleep in did you kiddo?"
"Steve made me eat breakfast before he let me come down," Peter mumbled as red flushed through his cheeks.
"Good!" Matt snapped, "With your metabolism you shouldn't be skipping meals. Especially when you're hurt!"
Peter turned an even darker red.
"Out of curiosity, can you hear the blood rushing to the kids face? Or do you just assume?" Tony asked with a chuckle. Matt joined him.
Having heard enough Peter walked forward and threw his arms around the man's neck to the surprise of the older vigilante.
"Glad you feel well enough to be scolding me," Peter muttered into Matt's neck. Matthew Murdock could not hold back a smile and put an arm around the youth's shoulders.
"Thanks to you, I am fine Peter." Matt said sincerely.