"Hydra used me... as a weapon." Peter began hesitantly. "They controlled me with a series of trigger words," he glanced at his uncle, only continuing when he gave him a reassuring smile that said, go on, it's okay , "like-like they did with uncle Bucky. And when I wasn't on missions or training… They either locked me in my cell or forced me to help their scientists. Usually building weapons."
The team stood guard in a semicircle around the bed, quietly listening to the vigilante's story. No one took their gaze off the teen but kept a wary eye on the pale grey walls.
Tony's grip on his husband's hand tightened when Peter said my cell . Not just any random cell; Peter had gotten so used to being thrown into a literal prison that he began to see it as his. Those nazi fucks kept his son, his baby, locked away in some cell and had ingrained in him that he'd deserved nothing less than to be treated as a feral beast.
Steve echoed his husband's feelings, biting his lower lip to keep from screaming.
"One day, the head scientist, Dr. Dyatolv," he spat the name out as if it were poison, "he gave me these blueprints. I refused to comply… at first. Eventually, upon realizing I could sabotage whatever they were doing, I built the machine."
"This machine, what was hydras purpose for building it?" Strange asked.
"They wanted to access other dimensions. Why, I don't really know." Peter thought for a minute. "Maybe they were searching for resources." He shrugged. "Either way, those things came out of the portal immediately. It was like they were waiting."
Bucky tensed, he moved his hands behind his back so no one could see his fisted hands. The only person to pick up on the ex-assassin's discomfort was Steve, who could discern his friend's emotions and behaviors anytime. He rested on firm hand on his friend's flesh arm, playing off the comfort as casually as possible.
"By the time the machine had self-destructed there were nearly ten of those… of those…"
"Parasitus." Strange offered. "That's what my fellow sorcerers and I call them."
"Huh," Peter looked down at his hands, subconsciously tapping his fingers on the blanket, "Parasite. That makes sense." He flashed the doctor a weak smile which was eagerly returned. The cloak of levitation floated over and rested itself across the teen's lap in an attempt to comfort Peter - it did.
"Okay, so there were ten Parasites in the main room off of the experiment site. The room was built of cement and steel in case of explosions or any other mishaps. Dozens of soldiers were immediately sent in." His small body shuddered causing Natasha's and Tony's grips to tighten on him. "It didn't take long for the Parasites to kill them all."
Tony brushed his fingers through his son's curls, offering physical affection as a form of comfort. "You don't have to continue Pete."
"I do though." Peter's gaze landed on Tony. There was so much emotion and hurt settled in those hazel orbs. His eyes took on a glassy haze as he retold his past horrors. "I was sent in then; to fight. Even though I was unfamiliar with those Parasites it didn't take me long to figure out how to kill them. Using knives I killed two. But the big one-"
Strange visibly perked up at the mention of a big one. Everyone else tensed when Peter pulled the collar of his too-big shirt down. Long dark scars marred his sickly pale skin. They ran diagonally from his left collar bone to his right side just below his ribs. There were other ones too; other scars. Whether they were from torture, missions or brutal hydra training they didn't know.
"The big one was a deep green color, with horns and a thin whip like tail. And it had a normal mouth; you know, with a jaw. It's mouth didn't open up like a flower. Not like the others."
"That was the queen." Strange informed. "She controls the others. Via vibrations that emanate from her horns."
"Makes sense." The teen pursed his lips, thinking back on the creature's appearance and how they interacted with each other. "The two I managed to kill seemed like they were protecting her. It was pure luck I was even able to get a hit on her." He tapped his temple beside his left eye. "I put a knife through her eye… and in turn she did this." He gestured to his scars. "They disappeared after that. Melted right into the walls. I was relocated not a day later."
"You- you said these things… these parasitus followed you." Tony mumbled. "Why?"
"Because," Strange looked at the billionaire, "he injured the queen and killed two of her workers. Subsequently, pissing her off." He sighed heavily. "She has your sent Peter, that's how they managed to track you. It took a while but…"
"They still found me nonetheless." Peter sighed, his exhaustion evident. "Sorry- I'm sorry I brought them here."
"Hey now, that is not your fault." Steve clarified. "Nothing pertaining to your past with hydra is your fault." He curled a finger under Peter's chin and gently pushed upwards so Peter would look at him. "None of us blame you. Okay?"
It was obvious that Peter didn't believe him, but he didn't bother arguing further. There were more pressing matters to attend to.
"Is there a way you can stop them from phasing in and out of their dimension?" Peter asked the doctor. "If we can keep them in our dimension then they won't be able to get away. We can kill them."
All eyes went to the Sorcerer supreme who stood and straightened his robes. "I can; no problem. The trick is going to be luring them all into one room."
"I can do that." Peter chirped easily.
A loud chorus of no, hell no, no way and over my dead body rang out simultaneously. None of the other avengers - who were not just a team, but a family - wanted Peter to go through any more pain than he'd already been through.
"We cannot allow you to endanger yourself." Thor stated, his grip subconsciously tightening on mjolnir. "As your uncle, I can not allow you to-"
Tony jolted upright and cut Thor off. "We are not using you as bait!" He loved Peter dearly but the kid's hero complex was a huge stressor. "I'm your father, biologically speaking," he glared at the teen, "and I-we," he waved his hand towards Steve, "are not going to let you get yourself killed!"
"I'm with your parents and uncle Thor on this." Natasha squeezed her nephew's frail hand. "I think the rest of the family would agree." Another chorus of yes, and no shit followed.
"As much as I don't like it," Strange cut in, voice hard and solemn. "I'm going to have to side with the spiderling on this." He held up his hands for silence when the other heroes erupted into angry shouts and explicatives. "Peter is the target here. The queen wants him and it would be stupid not to use that to our advantage."
"Peter is a boy, not a piece of meat!" Clint glared.
"I know… I know. This isn't what I want either." Strange sighed heavily. "But I promise you," he looked to everyone in the room and let his gaze linger on the teen, "I promise to keep you safe."
"It won't work if I'm not there." Peter agreed. "I can draw the queen out. She won't risk herself or her workers if she knows she's not gonna get anything worthwhile. She doesn't have a history with any of you." He looked at his teammates before sparing a glance at his dad. "We have a score to settle. Nothing is going to change that."
No one said anything. They didn't know what to say.
On one hand, giving Peter up as bait was an absolutely atrocious thought. Yet the teen made a good point in regards to making sure the trap actually worked. The queen was clearly intelligent and definitely held a grudge. And her anger revolved completely around Peter. But when it came down to it, it was ultimately Steve and Tony who would decide if Peter should be allowed to put himself in danger.
"If you really feel that you need to do this, then I'll support you." Steve said, to everyone's surprise. The captain loved nothing more than his husband and son. But the man was also tactile and experienced in war.
"What!" Tony stalked over to his husband so they were standing nose to nose. His wings bristled, giving him a more intimidating appearance. "I did not hear you say that just now!"
Steve held his hands up in surrender and backed away from the bed slightly. "I'm just saying that he cou-"
"You're talking bullshit that's what." His voice steadily rose until he was yelling. "How could you even entertain the idea of intentionally putting our son in danger? How? You're supposed to be the one with common sense!"
"I am not okay with this Tony!" Steve yelled right back. "Putting our son in danger is the last thing I want to do! I-" He cut himself off when he realized how loud he was being. "I trust Peter, and I trust our team." He took his husband's hands in his larger ones. "And I know you do too."
"We'll be there every step of the way, Tony." Came Natasha's soft reassurance, her hand resting in between the billionaire's shoulder blades. "Besides, Peter's basically a mini ninja." She smiled. "When push comes to shove, he can definitely handle himself."
Tony's glare deepened and he opened his mouth, presumably to argue, but snapped it shut at the last minute. His shoulders sagged marginally before slumping completely.
"You- are you sure about this?" The billionaire sat on the edge of the bed and rested his hand on Peter's knobby knees.
"Yes dad." Peter responded, somewhat exasperatedly. "I started this… so it's only right I help finish it."
With a heavy sigh Tony caved. "Okay. Let's do this."
The plan was simple. Peter would draw out the parasitus and once they had all emerged Strange would cast a sealant spell over the tower to make sure the creatures couldn't phase back into their dimension. Then, the rest of the team would attack.
Thor and Valkyrie cleared out the largest conference room while Clint and Bucky gathered more weapons.
Peter couldn't help but smile when his uncles returned with their arms full of guns, knives and other high tech weapons. He couldn't say they weren't prepared.
"Бэби паук." (Baby spider.) Natasha approached her nephew right before the plan was set to begin. She knelt down where Peter was sitting and held out her hand. "I have something for you."
"Oh my gosh." Peter carefully took the deadly object. The push dagger was black in color and was approximately seven inches long. It was an easily concealable weapon the spy always carried with her. "But this one's your favorite. Isn't it?"
"All the more reason you should have it." She smiled lovingly at the boy she considered her son. "This was the very first weapon I ever used." She ran her fingers down the handle, feeling the grooves and imperfections. "While there's good and bad memories tied to this… it served me well. Now it is yours."
"I- I don't know what to say." He looked up at his aunt gratefully, his eyes shining with love and adoration. "Thank you."
Natasha blinked the tears away and embraced the teen. "I love you Бэби." (Baby.) "We'll all be just outside the door." She nodded towards the glass wall that divided the hall and the conference room.
"Ya ready Pete?" Tony asked as he helped the teen stand on shaky legs. The mechanic's heart was thudding heavily in his chest. He had to fight to keep his voice level and stop his hands from shaking.
"Yeah dad." Tony let Peter lean most of his weight on him - which Peter was grateful for - as they walked into the cleared out conference room. The room was very spacious; and without the table and chairs there was plenty of room to fight while still being able to contain the aliens.
When Tony didn't let go of Peter's hand he cleared his throat and said, "dad, everything's gonna be fine."
He pulled the smaller boy against his chest and placed a kiss on Peter's forehead. "Your pops and I are gonna be right outside that door, okay. Nothing is gonna happen to you. We'll take out these bastards and-"
"Dad," he pulled away and gave his dad what he hoped was a confident smile, "I know you and the rest of the team will protect me. I've never doubted that."
"I- good." He ruffled his son's curly locks once more before leaving the room and locking the door behind him.
It took longer to grab the queen's attention than Peter thought it would. He was sitting criss cross applesauce for almost two hours before there were any indications the queen was near.
His spider sense tingled; sending a harsh shiver down his spine. Bright red blood dripped from both his nostrils before he could wipe it away and it spattered onto the tiled floor. His enhanced senses picked up on the faint smell of sulfur which was getting stronger by the second. Rising to his feet, he forced himself to stand still as the room began to fill with deep, guttural growls.
Focusing on his family member's heartbeats was the only way he could tune out the chatter of the approaching monsters. He'd been hardened by his life at hydra; the things he'd seen and done. The horrors he faced had scarred him mentally and physically.
But when the menacing form of the queen loomed over him… all of the unwanted memories came flooding back. More blood seeped from his nose and he fell to his knees. He lost consciousness just as a repulsor blast slammed into the queen.
"The spell will hold." Strange shouted over the cacophony of weapons, yelling and screeching. "Aim for the eyes and throat."
"Little hard to do when their mouths open up like that freak alien from The Thing." Clint yelled back. He cursed when yet another arrow caught on the opening mouth instead of the eye, bouncing off the rows of teeth. "These fuckers are so messed up!"
Tony parried another creature's attack as he stepped away from the dead parasite behind him. "Just keep them away from Peter!" He blasted one of the aliens that was about to attack Sam from behind, giving him the opportunity to gauge out its eyes before it could regain its footing.
Both Steve and Bucky were blocking the young vigilante from any oncoming attacks. The creatures' hides were thick and they were fast, being able to run on all fours and walk on their strangely humanoid hind legs.
Thor's lightning would've done wonders, but since they were all in closer quarters he didn't want to risk hitting any of his teammates. So he stuck to just throwing his hammer. Sam was also inhibited; he couldn't fly indoors.
Tony and Strange were the best equipped to deal with these particular aliens. The heat and force of the iron man suits repulsor blasts were strong enough to pierce the alien's skin. Strange could just use his portals to cut off the creatures' arms and legs.
While the avengers were winning, the remaining parasitus were closing in. The elusive queen had her bright yellow eyes locked onto Peter.
"Nat, Buck," Steve turned to his friends, "take Peter away from here."
"On it." Bucky effortlessly scooped his nephew up bridal style and took off; Natasha - gun up and ready - was right on his heels.
The two ex-assassins charged down the empty hallway towards the opposite end of the floor. Their intention was to get Peter as far away as possible until the fight ended.
Not a minute passed before Steve was calling through the coms. "Nat! Nat do you copy?" He sounded frantic, very unlike himself.
She pressed her fingers to the com in her ear. "I copy."
"The queens headed your way! She managed to escape."
"What?" Natasha stopped in her tracks, one hand firmly latched onto Bucky's flesh arm. "I thought the spell would-"
"The spell kept them from phasing between dimensions. She just barreled through the glass. Nothing we did hurt her." Natasha could hear him panting even through the coms. "All the workers are dead. We're headed your way now. Try to find cover."
Natasha relayed the information to Bucky who cursed under his breath in Russian. They both began looking for a suitable place to hunker down. It was unlikely that they would be able to stay hidden. They just hoped their team would reach them in time.
Thundering footsteps shot down any hope of their teammates reaching them first. They had to find a hideout immediately.
"In there," Natasha pointed towards one of the nearby offices. Quickly, and as quietly as possible, the two heroes tucked themselves behind the large wooden desk in the back of the room; the door locked behind them.
Peter was running. He didn't know where he was going but he recognized where he was. He was in the tower on one of the lower conference floors. Everything was dark, bleached of all light and color. It was cold and he could feel a strong wind blowing despite being indoors.
But he easily identified the deep growling and heavy breathing that was steadily gaining on him.
He turned one corner, then another and another until he reached the last office room at the end of the hallway. A dead end. Breathing heavily, his chest constricting and his heart thumping wildly, he turned around.
The queen was standing there, her dark shadowy form towering above his own. Her long, bright white teeth protruded from her jaws. Cracks were forming in the tile where her claws met the ground.
Stealing himself, Peter stood tall. There was an unusual weight in his back jeans pocket. He gasped, pulling out the familiar push dagger and unsheathed it.
"Okay you bitch." Peter growled. "Let's get this over with." With a battle cry that would have rivaled Thor's, he charged the queen.
When Peter jolted awake, he realized that the room he was currently laying in was painfully similar to the one in his dream. Ignoring the dizziness that hit him he jumped to his feet when he heard a pained cry. "Tasha!"
Natasha was standing in front of an unconscious Bucky, dagger in hand. Blood was dripping down her left temple and from the claw marks on her shoulder. She was panting heavily and appeared to be favoring her left leg. The queen - in all her menacing glory - was peering down at her.
"Hey!" Peter called without a second thought. "I'm over here."
The queen's gaze went right to Peter. And despite the terrifying situation, he was glad his aunt and uncle were no longer in danger - at least not directly.
Any interest the queen had in the older heroes fell to the wayside as she charged the teen. The queens talons were curved like an eagles, so they scratched and pulled up pieces of flooring as she moved. Her teeth were barred and an ear shattering roar left her throat.
Peter jumped out of the way at the last minute, forcing the queen to collide with the wall. He jumped up onto the ceiling and pulled the push dagger from his pocket. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Natasha dragging Bucky away from the fight. "Stay back." He warned when his aunt started running back towards him.
"I can't let you-" she was cut off by another roar.
The queen pulled herself out of the plaster and wood, chips of paint and plaster dust coated her scales. Peter was about to make a joke about the queen's appearance but stopped when a cold shiver ran down his spine. Using his spider sense, he was able to dodge and evade the oncoming threats. He just needed to last long enough for his family or some of the iron legion to show up.
But his strength was depleting fast due to malnutrition and lack of sleep. His fears were confirmed when the queen's tail slammed into his side, knocking him to the floor.
A large, clawed foot pressed itself down on Peter's chest. He cried out when the claws pierced his skin. Hot, smelly breath hit his neck and face as the queen examined him. Her face was mere inches from his own and he couldn't help the pained groan that escaped him when her claws dug deeper.
She reared her head back, mouth open widen as she went for the final blow. But it never came. Instead, the crushing weight was removed from Peter's chest as the queen stumbled back. Blast after blast slamming into her from the ten iron man suits lined up at the front of the room. Tony in the middle while the rest of the team stood back, waiting to grab Peter once it was clear.
The queen lay motionless, green sulfuric blood oozing from her many wounds. Tony didn't wait a second before striding into the room, his mind set on one thing and one thing only. Getting his son.
"I've got ya kiddo." He mumbled quietly after lifting his face plate. Kneeling down he hurriedly placed his hand over the oozing wounds on his son's thin chest. "Don't worry bud we-"
"Watch out!" Steve's screamed, just as a hulking clawed hand swung at the two Starks.
Using the last of his strength, Peter shoved his dad to the floor, darted forward and dodged the queens strike. With one last cry of anger and pain, he drove the push dagger straight into the queens remaining eye. He twisted the blade harshly before ripping it back out and collapsing.
The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was his parents concerned faces.
"I've cast a sealant spell on the tower to ensure that all tears in our dimension are closed." Strange said as he approached the two husbands. "Nothing from another universe, planet or dimension will be bothering you anytime soon."
"Thank you Stephen." Steve gripped the sorcerer's hand in a firm handshake. "Truly, we can't thank you enough."
"No need to thank me." He shrugged off the praise with a slight smile. "It's my job to protect this planet; much like all other versions of myself throughout the multiverse."
The billionaire crossed his arms. "Still, job or not, we appreciate your help."
Strange grinned. "I was happy to help. Now, I must be going."
"Take care Stephen." Steve waved politely. He and Tony were beyond relieved that - despite some minor injuries or easily mendable wounds - his entire team was alright.
"Stop by any time." Tony smirked. "Don't be a stranger. Ha! Ya get it?"
"Very funny Stark." He rolled his eyes and stepped through the portal he'd just created. "Should've become a comedian."
Steve bumped his husband's shoulder once the sorcerer vanished on the other side of the portal. "You are such a smart ass."
"Gasp!" With his usual dramatic flare, Tony pretended to be offended by the friendly jab. "How could my dear early husband say such a thing to his own husband? I'm shocked, I'm hurt, I'm-"
"Proving my point." Steve smirked cheekily. He wrapped his arm around his husband's waist and began leading him towards the medical wing. "Peter's back on an IV, Buck has a grade three concussion and Natasha needed a dozen stitches. None of them are happy about being confined to medical for a week. They're awake and causing havoc for Dr. Cho."
Tony laughed. "Did you expect anything else?"
"No," Steve shook his head, a genuine smile on his lips, "no I did not."