Chapter Three: Hospitals and Suspicion
Happy drove as fast as was legally permitted, and then a little faster. He had to find the kids before something terrible happened.
Eventually, after a lot longer than Happy would've liked, he got to the destination of the tracker. It was an alley in the most shady part of Queens.
Uneasy, hoping that the tracker was wrong, he called, "Ben? Penny?" As he ventured into the dimly lit alley.
There was no response.
His anxiety grew, bad things happened to kids down an alleyway. Especially kids with really rich parents.
"Kid?" He called, louder this time.
He walked a little further in the alley and saw something that nearly gave him a heart attack.
There sat, unconscious in a pool of blood, Ben Jones-Parker. Happy's heart leapt into his throat, "KID!" He screamed, running to the boy.
"Oh god, oh god, oh Jesus, Kid!" He rambled, kneeling at his side, checking for a pulse.
Ben opened his eyes, "Happy?" He croaked.
Relief flooded through him, at least the kid was still alive, but he was far from okay. He needed a hospital and fast.
He picked up his phone and dialed 9-1-1.
"911, What's your emergency?"
"I'm in an alley, there's a kid, he's been stabbed!"
"Where are you, sir?"
"Queens,"
"Okay sir. We'll come as quick as we can. In the meantime, try to keep the kid awake and stop the bleeding,"
Happy hung up the phone, and quickly pulled out the first aid kit he always kept in his glove compartment. He'd had a feeling that he'd end up needing it, so he brought it with him.
He was glad he trusted his instincts.
Grabbing out the bandages, he began to patch up the kid's shoulder. It was deeper than he first assumed it was.
Once he managed to get the kid in a more stable condition, he took a look around the alley. When he did, he saw Penny laying a short distance away.
He tried not to panic at the sight of his injured great niece. She wasn't bleeding, simply unconscious. She would be fine. They would both be fine.
As Happy sat there, trying to keep calm as he waited for the ambulance, he began to think.
"Jesus Christ, I'm getting too old for this," He said to no one in particular.
He never imagined that getting a job at Stark Industries would mean that he had to clean up Tony Stark's messes. He certainly didn't expect that the job would entail cleaning up after the Mini Stark. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that he would have to clean up after the Mini Stark's kids. God, if things kept going this way, Happy would be taking care of Peter's idiot grandchildren.
Bad enough that Tony and Peter were self sacrificing idiots, but both of his kids inherited the trait.
He didn't know what happened, but he could make a pretty good assumption. The kids ignored curfew, stayed out late, then while trying to hail a taxi, they stumbled on a mugging. And, with them being Peter's kids, they tried to stop it.
He shuddered at the thought of what could've happened, what almost happened. Their family had already lost way too many people. Happy didn't want Ben and Penny to be the next casualties. For Peter's sake, because the boy has already been through enough trauma for one lifetime, and for himself, because he loved those kids more than life itself. He knew how losing a child could affect a parent. He'd seen Tony first hand after the Snap. The man was a mess of guilt, trauma, and nightmares. He didn't want Peter to suffer through that.
He would have to have a very serious talk with both of them once they were healthy.
He jumped at his ring tone, it filled the silent alley with its simple tune. He read the caller ID, Peter. He cursed, Peter was easily the most panicked one in this whole scenario, he was worried about his reaction to the news of what happened to his kids. Especially after what happened to his uncle Ben, his wife, May Parker-Hogan, told him the whole story. Poor Peter.
Cautiously, he answered the phone, "Hello,"
"Happy! Where are you? What happened? Are my babies okay?" He asked, voice shaking.
He wasn't sure how he should deliver this news, he didn't want Peter to pass out, "I've got some good news and some bad news," He said, deciding his approach.
"What's the good news?" Peter asked warily.
"The good news is that Ben and Penny are going to be fine. I found them, they're alive," Happy said.
He heard Peter's sigh, "Oh, thank god," He said.
"Wait. What's the bad news?" He asked, the wary tone coming back.
Happy felt a pang in his chest, right now, the kid could be Tony Stark's son. That tone, the barely concealed panic, the anger in his voice, all of that was Tony.
"Happy? What happened?" He asked, tone rising slightly.
Happy swallowed the lump in his throat and continued, "Peter, I found them in an alley. Ben was bleeding out and Penny was unconscious. I think they tried to stop a mugging. I'm taking them to a hospital right now."
The line went quiet.
It cut out for so long that Happy could almost count the seconds, One, Two, Three, Four.
Then, after a long pause, Peter spoke again, "What?" He asked, voice shaking.
Distantly, Happy heard sirens. Finally!
"Peter, I have to go. The kids are going to be fine, okay? You can meet us at the hospital," He said.
"Happy! Wait-" Peter began.
Happy hung up, he had to get these kids to safety.
The ambulance pulled up, and first responders began running out of the back. Before Happy could blink, the kids were being piled onto stretchers and carried into the ambulance.
A first responder ran up to him, "Sir, are you the parent or guardian of these children?" She asked.
"No, I'm their uncle-" He began.
"Get in," She ordered.
She reminded him slightly of Natasha. Which equally saddened and terrified him.
He followed her into the ambulance.
The ride was a blur of people rushing around, shouting things at each other, and him trying to stay out of the way.
After a few minutes, they arrived. The kids were quickly carted into emergency, and Happy was led to the waiting room. There he waited for the rest of the family.
They arrived quickly.
Peter was the first one in the door, practically sprinting to Happy. And since the kid's maximum speed clocked in at 200 mph, it was pretty fast.
"Slow down, Peter," Happy said.
"Slow down? Slow down!? I need to see my kids, where are they?!" He demanded.
The look on his face, the tone of his voice, it was so Tony! He vaguely heard the resemblance over the phone, but it was solidified in person. If he didn't know better, he would've guessed that he was Peter's biological father.
The resemblance was as striking as it was unnerving. And Happy again had to fight to control the wave of emotions that struck him.
"They're being treated right now. They said it would be a while until we can see them," He said, wearily.
"But I have to-" Peter began, gesturing wildly, red faced as he shouted.
At that moment, MJ came up behind him. She placed her hand on his shoulder, "Peter. There's nothing we can do. We just have to wait," She said.
MJ sounded calm, but there was a whirlwind of emotion behind her eyes. Happy could tell that she was trying to keep it together for Peter.
At MJ's words, Peter finally calmed down. He slumped into the seat next to Happy's, pure devastation on his face.
He frowned, that was the look that Peter had when he was blaming himself for something.
He started to say something, but MJ beat him to it, sitting down next to him.
"Hey. This was in no way, no how, your fault," She said, "Penny and Ben made the choice to break curfew. They will deal with the punishment," She said, steely eyed and determined.
"They tried to stop a mugging, MJ! Sound familiar? Like father, like child. They got it from me," He said miserably.
Happy, despite the grave situation, almost burst out laughing, I get that he's similar to you, Tony, but come on! This is too much! He even inherited the Stark guilt complex. He thought.
"Kid, you can't blame your children's recklessness on genetics. So stop it with your ridiculous guilt complex," He said.
"They could've been killed! I couldn't live with myself if- if-" He broke off, shaking.
Happy continued, "Peter, how would you feel if Tony beat himself up this badly after every time you got injured? You're just going to have to hammer it into their heads not to bite off more than they can chew, punish them, and teach them a lesson," He said.
"Tony…" Peter began, "Is this how he acted every time I got injured?"
"I'm not gonna lie, he was pretty bad," He said.
"Jeez. Now I feel really bad about the Ferry Incident," The boy said.
Happy almost chuckled, the kid was using sarcasm to try to cope with his anxiety. Another Tony trait.
He opened his mouth to bring it up to the kid, but at that moment, the rest of their family came running.
Morgan, Pepper, Ned, and May came rushing through the door. Happy, knowing Peter's fragile state, quickly intercepted them and explained.
He gave his wife, May, a quick kiss on the cheek and led everyone to the chairs where Peter and MJ were sitting.
They sat on the chairs, silently waiting for news. They sat there for several hours, talking in hushed tones. Peter was restlessly pacing back and forth. They mainly just silently waited.
Then, finally, a doctor showed up, "Ben and Penny are stable. You may see them now."
Their whole family broke into a symphony of sighs, sobs, and shouts of joy. Their babies were safe, and they were determined to keep it that way.
A/N: Thank you for all of the support! I'm genuinely surprised that this many people like my story. Like I said, I don't have a specific update schedule. I just post new chapters when I finish them. All of this support is really helping me stay on top of things with this story, Wink, Wink. Anyway, all jokes aside, thank you for reading, following, and reviewing. It truly means a lot that so many people are giving a new author like me the time of day. Until next chapter, Ciao!