Peter's senses were dialed up to eleven, meaning he could easily hear everything within the tower. But his focus was locked onto one heartbeat. The heartbeat that so often grounded him during anxiety attacks and helped lull him to sleep after a nightmare. He jolted when he heard an all to familiar growl. And it was getting closer to his dad.
"Peter?" Bruce jumped back when Peter did, eyes wide with concern. "What's wro-"
"Stay here." Peter yelled as he sprinted towards the wall lined with floor to ceiling windows. "Friday, window!" The A.I responded by sliding one of the glass panes up into the ceiling, leaving a large enough hole for Peter's nimble body to jump through.
"No! Peter don't!" Bruce pleaded, reaching out towards his nephew. But his pleas were ignored.
With the grace of a weathered gymnast, Peter jumped out the window and completed two perfect front flips before extending his wings. Catching a down draft, he dived. Tucking his wings close to his body he let himself fall at a fast pace. Only spreading his wings and pulling upwards once he was outside what he knew to be the third floor. He glided around the side of the building until he found the right spot, his dad's heartbeat thumping loudly in his ears. He pumped his wings and hovered about twenty feet from the tower.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Come on Peter." Bracing himself for impact, he flew straight into the window. "Come on Spider-Man!"
Grenade proof glass was no match for Spider-Man and he went crashing through, landing in a silent crouch on the smooth tile floor.
Tony's fearful expression greeted him. "Oh no! Bud… you shouldn't be here." The billionaire fired another shot at the alien, knocking it over. But besides it's charred skin, it seemed unaffected by the blasts and got right back up again. "I called a suit. It'll be here any minute. Just gotta keep this creep busy."
Peter ran up the wall to avoid the knocked over equipment and debris caused by the scuffle and dropped down beside his dad. "I'll web it up," he tapped his wrist bracelets together to activate his web shooters, "while you shoot it's eyes."
"No!" Tony didn't mean to yell, but his emotions were getting the best of him. Seeing Peter, who was clearly weak and exhausted, gearing up to fight this monster made his paternal instincts go haywire. "The suit will-"
"We need to take this thing down now before it escapes!" Peter yelled right back. "This thing will kill anyone in its path. It's our job to make sure that doesn't happen."
He wanted to argue, to grab his kid and fly back out that broken window, but he knew Peter was right. "Fine. Just stay high and out of reach."
With a determined, "will do" Peter jumped into action.
Using his adhesive abilities, he ran along the ceiling before flipping down in front of the creature, shooting webs at its legs and feet. He jumped, flipped and crawled around the alien, all while securing its body with layers of webbing.
Once the alien was pinned against the wall he yelled, "shoot now!"
Tony didn't need any more prompting and blasted two shots off. Each blast hitting an eye which appeared to be on the creatures shoulders. Green blood began gushing from the wounds. It released a loud cry of defeat before going limp.
Three suits powered by Friday arrived seconds later. Flying in through the previously broken window to surround the dead body and father son duo.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Tony asked when his son dropped down beside him, examining the teen for any injuries.
"Dad, 'm fine." Peter whined, playfully pushing his dad's hands away. "Are you okay?"
"So long as you are." He tugged Peter against his side. "You know, you're so tiny that I sometimes forget how much of a deadly ninja you are." Tony mumbled into Peter's curls. No matter how protective he was of his son, he couldn't deny how strong and capable he was. And he could never deny how proud he was. "You really kicked ass."
Peter chuckled. "Thanks. You too."
The elevator nearby opened with a quiet ding and multiple armed avengers rushed out; weapons drawn and a battle cry on their lips.
Steve was the first one to turn the corner and immediately pulled ran over to his husband and son, using his shield to cover them. "Are you two okay?" He asked frantically.
"We're fine babe. Jus-
"Look out you alien mother fucker!" Clint rushed around the corner with his bow drawn. "I'm gonna light you up!"
Steve waved his hand to get the archer's attention when he saw the dead creature suspended in webs. "It's dead. Stand down."
The engines hum of Sam's wingsuit drowned out Steve's command as he dove into the building much like Peter had earlier - if a little less gracefully. He was shortly followed by the other super soldier.
"I'm a Brooklyn bitch!" Bucky shouted as he crashed through the wall beside the other two men. He cocked his machine gun menacingly.
"Guys!" Steve roared loudly, gaining everyone's attention. "Tony and Peter are fine. Stand down."
The heroes obeyed and lowered their weapons, but their eyes never left the webbed up creature. It was no secret that the avengers would die for each other. Especially for Peter.
"What is that thing?" Clint looked at the body with disgust.
"Something from another dimension." Peter answered quietly, discreetly wiping the blood from his upper lip.
The archer groaned. "God damnit."
"I'm from the forties, I'm not good at dealing with the multiverse and aliens and crap." Bucky threw his hands up in exasperation. "Five times was enough."
"Dealing with science fiction is a part of our lives frosty, what're you gonna do?" Tony gripped his husband's hand. "Except there ain't nothing fictional about it. Where's Brucie?"
"I told him to head to his lab so he could monitor the cameras. He was panicking and that was all I could do to get him to calm down." Steve said.
"How 'bout you take Pete back upstairs." Sam nodded to the teen whose eyes were drooping; all of the adrenaline leaving him. "We'll take care of this thing."
Tony nodded, his one wing curled around his son's tiny body. "The suits will help you. Take it to lab four in the R&D labs. Got that Fri?"
"Yes boss."
He looked to Steve. "I'm gonna take Pete to the lounge area just down the hall. I want him near us."
Steve nodded. "I agree. Buck, will you stay with him?"
"Course I will." He nodded. "I'll see ya up there."
"What the hell is this thing?" Tony murmured to himself as he examined the mysterious creature that was splayed out on the metal work bench.
After only twenty-four hours Tony and Bruce had an entire notebook filled with scientific data, drawings and theories. But they were still unable to figure out exactly what the creature was or how it managed to travel through walls. The scientists grew more frustrated with every passing minute.
Neither Tony nor Steve had slept since the attack. Both terrified for their son whose health had taken a turn for the worst.
Not long after their skirmish with the alien, Peter collapsed. Bucky caught him before he could hit the floor. Sam made him some soup in an attempt to get Peter to eat - he drank half of the bowl to everyone's relief. He fell asleep right after, his body not having the energy to stay awake.
Steve patrolled the entire tower; twenty times, looking for anything that might be out of place. And when he wasn't searching for the cause of his son's pain he was pacing back and forth in front of the couch Peter was passed out on. The team was on high alert, never leaving their youngest teammate's side.
Natasha and Rhodey were on their way back from their mission in Japan and would be arriving in the morning. Everyone was eager for their return but feared what Natasha's reaction would be upon seeing her nephew so compromised. Peter meant more to her than life itself.
Bruce, ever the voice of reason, tried to keep everyone calm. The billionaire in particular. "We've been at this for over a day Tony. We need to call Stephen again." Bruce pushed gently.
The billionaire threw his hands up and yelled, "I already called him, five times! Five times Bruce! Wong said he was in some other dimension doing who knows what. I just," his voice dropped back to a normal level, "I don't know what to do."
The scientist put his hand on Tony's shoulder. "I called Thor. He and Valkyrie will be here sometime tomorrow morning. They'll definitely be able to help." He paused before continuing. "I want to move Peter to the medical wing, get him on an IV. So long as you and Steve are okay with that."
"That's fine." He nodded. "Peter needs the nutrients and a decent bed to sleep on. So long as you and the others keep an eye on him."
"Of course Ton-"
They were interrupted when Peter came barreling in. He collided with Tony's sturdy form and began sobbing into the man's shoulder.
"Bud. What's wrong?" Tony asked, very alarmed because Peter rarely cried like this. Only the darkest nightmares that dredged up his worst memories from hydra caused him this much misery. He didn't know where the kid's strength was coming from, because just an hour ago he couldn't even stand up.
Clint rushed in seconds later, shortly followed by his other teammates. They'd been sitting with their nephew, trying to keep him distracted from all the craziness that was going on, when the teen bolted. And Peter was fast.
Peter mumbled something unintelligible before delving back into a frantic sobbing mess. He had a vice-like grip on his dad's arm, keeping himself pressed up against the billionaire. But he kept his wings - which were shaking with how much the boy was trembling - tucked, folded tightly against his back.
Tony looked frantically to Steve who could only shake his head, clearly just as confused as everyone else. Both parents then turned to the archer who only shrugged, worry etched into his face.
"You gotta talk to us kiddo." Tony pressed, running his hand up and down Peter's back and his wing in an attempt to calm him. "Please ju-" he quickly retracted his hand when Peter flinched back, hard.
The teen stumbled back as if he'd been struck. He fell into a submissive stance; curling in on himself with his arms wrapped around his too skinny torso. The small distressed whimpers that continued to leave him pulled at everyone's heartstrings. But only when Peter showed what was in his closed fist, did Tony fully understand what was wrong.
The billionaire almost threw up when he saw the pale, nearly translucent feathers in the teen's small hand. There weren't many, maybe four or five, but the amount didn't matter. It was the significance of losing the feathers to begin with.
When Peter was held captive with hydra, one of the punishments he would receive if he disobeyed was, what Peter called, feather extractions. He was beaten, starved and tortured, but getting his feathers plucked was by far the most painful. Especially since the feathers themselves were fragile and delicate to begin with.
It took a good four months for Peter's wings to fully heal so they were no longer tender to the touch and he could fly without experiencing any pain. Another two months passed before he felt comfortable enough to open up and regale his horrific past.
Hearing his son talk about the horrors of hydra made Tony's insides twist into knots. Which is exactly how he felt now.
"They we-were just starting to-to get color." Peter said sullenly, his eyes tailing the feathers longingly as they floated to the floor. He looked up at his father's wings and couldn't help but feel self conscious; and a little jealous.
Tony's wings were so beautiful. They were like two sides of a coin. The underside was an iridescent black that fading to violet along the tips of his primaries. But the backs of his wings were a deep crimson that faded to maroon which melted into violet towards the tips of his feathers.
"I know this is upsetting but I promise they'll grow ba- woah!" Tony startled when Peter's legs gave out and he gripped the teen even tighter. Gently, he lowered the skinny body to the floor. His alarm grew as Peter's shallow breathing began to slow. "Hey! Hey... look at me bud." Tony's rough, calloused hands cupped Peter's chin.
"Like y-yours." Peter murmured, his eyelids drooping to half mast. "Why can't they be like yours?"
Steve knelt down next to his husband and son - who was quickly losing consciousness - and tried to calm them both down while forcing back tears. "He's malnourished Tony." He looked into his husband's glistening eyes. "His body's shutting down to conserve energy, he's not in immediate danger." He brushed his hand across Peter's curly bangs. "We're gonna fix this… okay. We'll keep you safe. I promise."
Peter managed to nod once before succumbing to the darkness of sleep.