A/N: SORRY! I LOST INSPIRATION. HERE YOU GO.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing! I make no profit off of this. This is solely for my enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of others! ;)
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"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a second."
Tony glared down at the palm pressed against his chest then turned his gazed toward the man standing in front of him.
Rhodey retracted his palm, raising his other in a sign of placation. "All I'm saying is, don't you think we should be smart about this? Magnus probably knows you're coming after him after what he sent you." Rhodey jerked his thumb towards the door behind him. "We don't know what's behind that door."
FRIDAY had locked onto an address from the router the email had been sent from. Directions had led them to an old laundromat that appeared to have closed many years ago. There were bars and wooden boards covering up the windows, preventing the two men from seeing inside. The walls were made of concrete too thick for FRIDAY to get a read on what was inside.
"We need to be careful," Rhodes expressed, not backing down from Tony's glare.
Tony's eyes flicked past the colonel's head momentarily to assess the barrier between him and Peter's kidnapper.
"He took Peter," Tony all but growled, eyes locking back onto his friend's. "I'm not wasting time on tact."
He stepped backward, into the waiting armor of the Mark 46. Locks and bolts quickly sealed the suit around him, the HUD coming to life in seconds. Tony brushed past Rhodey, raised a gauntleted fist, and drove it though the door.
Splinters of wood went flying as the entire structure was blown off its frame. A faint tinkling sound was heard as the hinges fell to the dust covered floor following the door's demise.
Tony quickly raised his hands, palms glowing and held out before him, ready to attack whoever swung first.
But the room was empty.
There were rows of rusty washers and plastic hampers that had seen better days. Dust clung to the floor was that was sticky from leftover spilled detergent. FRIDAY switched the display to night-vision mode as the only light entering the building was through the destroyed entryway in which Tony stood.
"Open it." The suit retracted and the man inside stepped out, a false calm stealing over his face. A dull thunk sounded as the faceplate on Rhodey's suit slid up.
"He's not here," Tony said flatly.
"Tones–"
"He's not here!" Tony suddenly shouted, spinning around sharply and driving his fist into the wall. He clenched his teeth together as his bones cried out from striking solid concrete. He flattened both palms against the wall and inhaled deeply.
"Tony."
Something in Rhodey's voice made Tony turn around, eyes searching out the man's face. Rhodey's gaze was fixed on a pointed in the back left corner, eyebrows drawn together in confusion at whatever he was looking at.
Tony followed his gaze and caught sight of a flashing green light that he hadn't noticed before. "FRIDAY, give me hand."
He stuck left hand into the gauntlet of the armor and felt it detach from the suit and surround his wrist. Rhodey's faceplate slid back into place as the two men slowly advanced on the far corner, eyes and ears alert for anything that might be a trap.
As they drew nearer to the green light, they saw that the light appeared to be attached to a router of some sort propped on top of a chair. Tony lowered his hand and the bright light of the gauntlet whined as it powered down.
Tony seized the black box and lifted it to eye level. "This is probably where the signal came from," he mumbled to himself. He went to put it down when a small white square of folded paper caught his eye.
It must've been underneath the router for him not to notice it right away. He deftly unfolded the sheet, heart beating a little faster than it should.
Inside, written in the most obnoxious neon green ink to ever grace the planet, was a note.
"Missed me! Just like that State Farm commercial: you gotta be quicker than that. P.S. How's Peter? ;)"
Nauseating dread ran like acid in Tony's veins as his lungs quit drawing breath for a second.
"What does it say?" Rhodey asked from behind him.
Tony blinked rapidly, his fingers crushing the note. "We have to get back to the Compound."
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Tony threw open the door to the third floor from the staircase and barreled out into the hallway. Red emergency lights flooded the hall. Unconscious forms lay bleeding on the floor and slouched against the walls.
Tony's heart beat kicked up another notch. He turned wide eyes on his friend behind him.
Rhodey waved him on. "Go. I'll check on these people."
It was all the prompting Tony needed. He flew down the hall towards Peter's room, jumping over strewn limbs and ignoring the high-pitched wailing from upset monitors. He skidded to a halt in front of room 316 and shoved the door open.
The sight inside made his heart feel like it stopped altogether.
The hospital bed had been tipped onto its side, blankets scattered across the floor. The IV pole had been tipped over, although there was now a strange bend in the middle of it, as if it had struck something with incredible force and become misshapen. The tube that had been channelling fluids into Peter's arm was slowing forming a puddle of saline on the floor.
The vitals monitor was wailing in the corner, but that was the least of Tony's concern.
His first concern was that Peter was missing.
His second concern was the prone woman lying unmoving on the ground.
"May!" Tony dropped to his knees beside her, sweeping her hair out of her face and placing two fingers against her neck. It was unnecessary, however, because at that moment May moaned and slowly blinked open her eyes.
"Are you alright?" Tony asked, slotting a hand under one of her armpits and helping her sit up.
"Peter," she breathed dazedly, one hand reaching to the back of her head. "He took Peter!" She said, becoming more aware as she turned alarmed eyes on the man kneeling next to her.
"Who was it?" But Tony already knew the answer.
May raised a trembling hand to her mouth, intending to press her fingers against her lips. She was surprised to find her fist wrapped around something.
"What…" She sniffed as she unfurled her fingers, finding a crumbled piece of paper nestled in her palm. She quickly pulled back the edges and scanned the message inside.
"What does it say?" Tony asked, repeating Rhodey's words from earlier.
May looked up with haunted eyes, fingers trembling around the paper.
"It says, "Turn on the news." "
Tony shot to his feet and snatched the remote off the table and powered on the tv. He keyed in the digits for the news station as May got to her feet beside him.
The screen went black for a second as it switched channels. The image that popped onto the screen made them both catch their breath.
"We apologize for the interruption to your current program."
It was Peter.
He was sat in the chair normally reserved for newscasters, still dressed in the sweats he had had on that morning. There were chains encircling his chest and wrists. A trail of blood was dripping down his left brow and streaking down his cheek. His skin was practically transparent as he sat shaking in front of the camera.
He looked downright terrified.
"My name is Peter Parker, I am an intern at Stark Industries. Please listen carefully, I have an urgent message for Tony Stark."
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Thanks for reading! New chapter to follow soon!