Peter wasted no time scuttling through the ventilation system. The quicker he crawled, the further he got away from them. Plus, the faster he got out of the internment camp. Or whatever place they locked him in.

Which from what he could tell, was massive. The ventilation system was a maze of multiple air ducts and shafts. Peter's internal compass spun wildly, pointing in every direction that he couldn't even tell if he was upside-down or heading south instead of north. Where the hell was he?

He needed to find another grate. Check his location and find a better escape route than simply guess and hope.

As he crawled, he noted that his tracking bracelet hadn't gone off. No shocks, pinched or a drop of drowsiness. No one realized his stealth, giving him the better chance to escape. He wonder how long that would last.

He turned up into an air shaft, climbing further up until he came across another air duct where a gentle breeze prickled his skin. Peter turned and followed the stream of air. It led him through another round of tunnels before he came across a new grate. He stopped and listened.

There were no voices. No sounds of movement either. Only quiet.

Peter took the grilles of the grate and did the same as he did to the vent in the locker room. It came off, the nails wobbling after being ripped right out the wall. Peter poked his head out from the vent. Quick scan, he found it was entirely empty. No furniture. No person. An open, empty room with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Peter's eyes widened. Windows!

He checked in the direction of the door. He heard nothing and his spidey-sense wasn't going haywire. He wiggled out of the ventilation and dropped to the floor with no sound. If not trapped against his will, Peter would be amazed at what graced before him.

The setting sun dipped behind the horizon, cascading a prim bombardment of colors throughout the sky with alacrity. Receding blue and orange bled underneath the assaulting black night, dripping down onto the canopy of trees of the vast forest. The colors glazed a beautiful shine over the nearby lake, enticing Peter to go swimming.

Peter gaped at the scene. He's never seen so much nature. As a city boy, nature was a rat scurrying down the subway tracks. He gazed a little longer at the view before he turned back to his mission. He knew better to let himself be distracted too long.

He inspected the window, checking for its thickness. It was surprisingly thick. Super thick. How many inches was the glass?

It came clear to Peter he couldn't punch his way out of it. The other option was the door. He crossed the room, but found the door had no handle or knob. It was a sliding door with a panel attached to the wall. It looked powered down. He attempted to turn it on, but nothing made the screen come to life. It remained dark and desolated.

Peter sighed. Of course, an empty room would be sealed off.

Back to the ventilation shaft. At least, he got a better idea where he was and which direction he needed to go.

As he winded himself up to jump, a disembodied voice startled him back to the floor.

"Hello, Mr. Parker."

Peter whipped around, eyes scanning for another person and finding only empty space. He was alone. No one was with him. Did he imagined the voice?

He went to climb the wall, but the voice returned. "You are small for a human."

Peter spun in circles, but there was no one in the room with him. What was happening? Did they drug him? How did he not know it? Did they affect his spidey-sense? Because that would not be good for him.

"You look confused."

Peter freaked out. "Where are you?" he half-shouted, panicking that he was going mad. "Are you… is there a web-cam in here?"

"No," The voice said and suddenly, something came right through the window like a ghost. A red ghost.

Peter stumbled in fright at the sudden appearance of what looked like a muscular anatomy mannequin with an exquisite, god-like cape and a jeweled forehead. Was it an alien?

The alien drifted to the floor. "I am Vision."

Peter immediately backed into the wall. "W-What are you?"

"I am Vision," repeated the alien.

"Vision? Of what? Are you an alien?" Peter questioned. "Did you come down from that portal in New York?"

The alien—Vision—tilted his head. "I am an android," he answered, "placed into a synthetic vibranium body."

Peter's eyes widened a second time. An android! An actual, living android! "Oh my god!" he geeked, removing himself from the wall. He gaped at the thing, studying it closely. "Like… you're a living embodiment of the Internet."

Vision's jewel glowed. "I am more than that."

"But, you know, like, everything, don't you?"

Vision paused. "More or less."

"That's lit," Peter uttered in awe. "So—what… I mean, how do you live? Do you eat? Can you eat? Wait—do you have to do updates or anything like that? Shoot—did I offend you? I didn't mean to offend you. I just… I have so many questions."

The android stretched its synthetic lips across his face. "Mr. Stark said you are a child."

Peter's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not a child!"

That response puzzled the android. "Are you a dwarf then?"

"What? No!" Peter huffed. "I'm fifteen!"

"Is that not a child?"

"I'm a teenager!"

"A child then," Vision concluded, drawing uncomfortably close to Peter. Did the android not care about personal space? "I've never seen a child before. Not up close and never talked to one."

"Erm… yeah, this is what a, um, teenager is," Peter didn't honestly know how to reply to that, but then offered, "I've never talked to an android before."

Vision stepped forward, almost flawless like floating over the floor rather than walking. He peered at Peter, a curious light behind those fake eyes.

"The magic," Vision started.

"Huh?"

Vision floated even closer. "The magic, the wonder, the mystery and the innocence of a child's heart," he recited, "are the seeds of creativity that will heal the world."

Peter slowly nodded, unsure what it all meant. "…okay."

"Must be a lot of pressure on your shoulders to be that for the world."

"Err… sure?" Peter offered, still perplexed by the android's words.

Vision titled his head the other way, its eerie, grey-slate eyes scrutinizing him. The intensity of the android's inspection made Peter cringed away. Why was it looking at him like that?

"Why are you—"

"Do you know why I was created?" Vision interrupted.

Peter shook his head.

"Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner created me to protect humanity," answered the android. "A vision of hope, if you will."

That explained the odd name. "Okay," said Peter. "That's… kind of cool."

The android let out a soft chuckle. "I think I now have a better understanding."

"Of what?" Peter was curious what an android, who literally had the Internet as its brain, learned from him.

"Why everyone wants to keep you safe."

Peter was taken back by the comment. Was Vision unaware he nearly died an hour ago? "What?" he had to laugh a bit, although it wasn't a real laugh. "That's, um… bit of a stretch."

Vision stopped moving, planting his feet on the floor in front of Peter. "Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future," it said. "If this world continues in its current direction, it's not me who will save humanity."

Peter waited for Vision to keep talking, but the android said nothing else. Then, the realization of the silence settled right into Peter's gut. Oh. Oh, no, no, no, no, no…

"What?" he uttered in disbelief. Was that why they were holding him hostage? Keeping him away from his aunt? Did they want to mold him into some kind of weapon?

Peter shook his head, chills running down his spine. Warning. Warning. Warning. He needed to leave. Now.

"Yeah, I, um," Peter said, backing away from the android. "I gotta go—"

Vision glanced up to the open vent. "Do children often climb through the vents? Is that how they get from one room to the next?"

Peter stared, wondering if this android was in need of an update. "Um… for now, it is," he said. "Listen—I really have to go. Need to live my life. See family. Friends. That sort of thing."

Peter backed up to the wall again, right underneath the vent. "It was nice to meet you and everything, but you know… gotta go. And, erm, I would appreciate it if you don't mention any of this at all. To anybody," he said. "Be a secret between us. Okay? Thanks."

He wound himself up for the leap.

"Mr. Stark predicted you would escape through the ventilation system."

That got Peter to freeze. "W-what?"

Vision moved his synthetic arms behind him. "Tony Stark made a bet with Colonel Rhodes that you would use the vents to try to escape," he clarified. "Although, he predicted it would happen earlier."

Dread and defeat chomped at Peter's confidence. He looked back to the doors, expecting the door to blast open and Stormtroopers to swarm into the room.

Peter looked back to Vision and gulped. "He knows I'm here."

To his surprise, Vision shook his head. "Stark is not at the compound," he said. "He is in New York."

"New York?"

"He had business to attend to."

Peter glanced to the windows, the sun all melted and gone. Replaced by complete darkness Peter never seen before in his life. In the city, lights dazzled the horizon even after the sun was long gone. Lights were always there to guide him home.

A surge of jealously and anger rose up his throat. Mr. Stark was in New York. Probably kicking back in his high tower in Midtown, enjoying himself while Peter was stuck in the middle of the woods, away from his aunt to be turned into some kind of soldier for Stark.

"Right," Peter grunted, lips pressed firm in determination. He, too, had business to take care of.

Peter jumped, snatching onto the wall next to the vent opening. As he stretched his hand out toward the vent, Vision's face popped up in front of him, blocking his entrance into the shaft.

The surprise appearance shocked Peter into letting go of his grip. He dropped, landing hard on his back. Groaning from the prick of pain, he looked to see Vision levitating back down to the floor, taking a knee beside him.

"Are you all right, little one?"

No, Peter thought. Nothing was all right.

When Peter didn't speak or move, Vision's hand extended in an offering of assistance. Peter didn't take it. He scuttled backwards, kicking away from the android. Vision pulled his hand back and watched Peter scoot further away from him.

"You do not need to be afraid of me," Vision said. "I will not harm you."

"People keep telling me that," Peter said, quickly rising to his feet and backing up. "I don't believe them and I don't believe you."

Vision looked at him in confusion like his words didn't compute. "Your belief is unfounded," he said. "My protocols prevent me issuing a lie. What I state is true."

Peter blinked. It shouldn't surprise him that the android could not tell a lie. As a member of his school's robotics team, Peter should have trusted the android's word. However, he couldn't. Too much happened for him to trust anyone or anything in the building.

He backed away from the android until he reached the wall with the door. He reached his hand back to the panel, fingers scratching at the device for any possible way to turn it on and get out of the room.

"The door will not open," Vision said.

Peter stopped fidgeting with the panel. "Why not?" he asked. "Did you program it to not open?"

Vision shook his head. "Mr. Stark sealed the room months ago," he said. "It hasn't been used since its last occupant."

Peter was perplexed. "Who was here last?"

"Captain Rogers."

Peter's eyes bulged. He stopped fiddling with panel and his eyes reexamined the room. Although nothing changed, it felt like everything did. He wasn't standing in an empty room. He was standing in an abandoned room. A room that once belonged to Captain America.

Vision noted his wonderment. "Yes, Captain Rogers used to reside in this room," he said. "After his betrayal, Mr. Stark had everything removed and destroyed. Nothing remained and Mr. Stark proceeded to seal it up for good. Since then, it's been empty. No one comes in or out."

"Until me," Peter returned.

"Until you," Vision acknowledged with a smile.

Peter sighed as he looked to the door and then back to the vent. "I guess the vent is my only way out of this room then?" he muttered to himself before regarding Vision. "Are you going to stop me?"

"Stop you?"

"From leaving," Peter said. "Did Mr. Stark program you to prevent me from leaving?"

Vision took a moment to answer. "Mr. Stark gave me no protocols concerning you, specifically."

That was a relief to Peter. "Do you know the way out of this place then?"

"Yes."

Another relief. Already, Peter's chest felt lighter. "Great! Can you lead me to it? Does this place have like a, um, car? Is there a garage of some sort?"

He didn't have a driver's license and the last time he practiced driving, he nearly crashed his aunt's car into a postal box. But, he was confident enough to drive it out of this hellhole.

Vision nodded. "Yes."

"Cool, cool, cool," Peter's brain surged with happiness. "So, um… can you unlock this door and take me to the garage?"

Vision drew up to the boy. "Why do you need to go to the garage?"

"To get a car to drive out of here," Peter explained. "Mr. Stark is holding me against my will—"

"Mr. Stark saved you."

Suddenly, Peter's chest tightened. The tension constricting against his ribcage. "No he didn't!" he retorted. "Mr. Stark kidnapped me and now, he won't let me go. I have to get out of here. Go back to my aunt."

Vision's eyes looked quizzical once again. "You are mistaken, young one," it said. "You are not supposed to even be here, but Mr. Stark insisted. He spared you."

Peter's cheeks burned. "Spared me from what?" he demanded. "From freedom?"

"From something far worse," Vision replied. "You are aware of the Accords, right?"

"I know about—"

"Spider-man did not signed the Accords," Vision continued on. "Spider-man performed unsanctioned vigilantism. A violation of the Accords that 117 countries agreed and signed onto law."

Peter bit the inside of his check, attempting to not shout and give away his position. "I didn't know I had to sign them!" he argued. "I thought it was for Avengers only!"

"Still a law, young one."

"So is kidnapping a child!" Peter fired back. "That's a felony!"

"The Accords overrule such laws as it deals with enhanced individuals. Not only that, the Accords are international laws and part of the US Homeland Security division," Vision returned with no venom at all. Again, like he was only stating simple, reasonable facts. "Mr. Stark followed protocol and the law to a certain degree. If he went by the book, you would be locked away for good."

"Aren't I already?" He challenged the android. It may not be the typical bars and basic furnishing, but Peter knew Mr. Stark's alternative was not better.

Vision didn't seem to think so. "You have far more freedom than you think, little one."

Peter huffed, crossing his arms. "What do you know about freedom," he said. "You don't even have free will."

"Free will?"

Peter wasn't interested in diving into that philosophical mess. "If you won't help me, that's fine," he said, resorting to his first tactic of escape. "I'll get out on my own."

Peter walked passed the android and headed up for the vent. Before he could leap for the opening, a red beam of light shot out and hit the ceiling right next to the vent. Peter staggered, gluing himself to the floor as he watched the vent spark and smolder.

He whipped around and saw Vision. The man's jeweled forehead glowed bright.

"Did you just shoot a laser at me?" Peter flabbergasted in an accusatory tone. "I thought you said you can't hurt me?"

"I am sorry," said Vision, remorseful. "I prefer to avoid the use of violence, but I must follow my main protocols."

"Which is what again?" Peter asked as he originally thought his main protocol was to save humanity. Yet, it didn't stop the android from shooting a beam of hot light at him.

"I must protect humanity at all costs," Vision said. "That includes keeping the future safe. I am sorry, Peter Parker, but I cannot let you risk it."

Peter stared angrily at the android. What did he know about life or the future? It's not written in stone yet! "You might know everything, but you can't predict the future," he argued. "And I am not interested in Mr. Stark's future."

Peter lunged for the smoky vent again, but Vision blocked his path, forcing him to leap off to the side, near the windows.

Vision turned to him. "You should be concerned, little one," he said. "The ways of the world is not as optimistic as you might think."

Only adults ever saw the gloom of the world, Peter thought as he once again tried to make another escape attempt. Vision was there again, shooting a beam of light right by his foot. Did the android not care that it almost took off his foot?

Peter backed up against the wall, coming to a dreaded conclusion that it will all end. Vision probably already alerted the others and the door would open to a mass wave of armed guards, ready to drag him back to the pit.

Vision floated back down, its eyes scanning him. "You should eat. Your glucose levels are not—"

Peter shook his head. "I don't care."

"Starving to death is not a pleasant process," Vision said. "We should get you home—"

"This isn't my home!"

Vision stopped. "Is it not?"

"No!" Peter scoffed at the mere suggestion the place was his home. He would never call this place home. "My home is Queens. Queens, New York!"

Vision paused, his eyes glowing in the now dark room. "I am sorry you feel unwelcomed here," he said. "It was not our intentions to make you feel miserable."

Peter was unable to withhold a snort. "And yet, you don't care too much that it happened," he muttered, pressing close to the glass.

The glass! Peter felt the chill of the window touching his skin. He remembered how thick it was, how he would be unable to break it with a single punch. He glanced back to the jeweled forehead of Vision. An idea sprouted in his mind.

Peter inched more to the center of the windows. "I'm not staying here."

With barely a plan structured in his mind, Peter enacted it. He jumped, pretending to reach for the vent at an angle he knew Vision would strike. He only hoped Vision aimed correctly and that his laser could burn right through the thick glass.

The red beam shot right on target. Peter dropped and it zapped right into the glass. Peter felt a gush of wind rush into the room. Without a second thought, Peter leapt to his feet and sprinted full blast at the cracked window.

So many things could go wrong. Without his web-shooters, he was certain the fall to the bottom would end painfully. If it got him out, then Peter would deal with pain.

He heard Vision shout to him, but Peter already plowed right into the broken glass. At impact, the glass shattered, cutting and scraping his exposed skin. He covered his face, but he tasted specks of glass on his lips as he began his free-fell. The ground rushed to him. Again, as if instinct, Peter tried to shoot off a web. All he got was bleeding cuts. He had no safety net again. Nothing would break his fall.

He prepared for the crash-landing. He wasn't too far from the ground to begin with. After all, he had far too many dumpster dives from failed web fluid to know he could walk off this brunt landing. He saw the individual grass stems from the lawn, picking up the lightening bugs flaring up and he kept going. Face plants on the grass was far better option than a face plant on cement. Peter knew from personal experience.

His spidey-sense inflamed his mind, telling him of the upcoming danger in case his eyes failed him. Peter winced and shut his eyes nonetheless as the grass came close to his face. He didn't need to see it. He got the picture.

A gush of rapid air came flying out of nowhere and knocked into him. Peter coughed from the hard impact and his spider-sense pounded in his head as if he truly did land on the grass. When he cracked his eyes open, he saw the grass drawing further and further away, becoming a mass of green below as he was sung into the dark, glittering sky.

Peter yanked his head up and saw Vision. The android caught him and flown up away from the ground. Away from his chance of escaping.

Peter wrestled in the man's hold, trying to throw himself off, but Vision, like Mr. Reynolds and Simon, resisted against his attempts. "Let me go!" he screamed. "You're hurting me!"

He thought that would work. If he told the overprotective android that he was hurting him, maybe it would let him go. Peter was wrong. Instead, Vision shifted his hold, making Peter feel far more comfortable than in the previous hold.

That was unfortunate.

Vision flew around the building, giving Peter a better look at the internment camp. It was massive. Far bigger than he imagined. Was that… an outdoor pool? Tennis courts? Basketball courts? Wait… even a dock with boats and jet skis? What was this place exactly?

Vision slowed and came to a landing pad. He still had Peter in his arms as he walked back into the building. Much to Peter's dismay, Simon was there. He stood in the middle of the room, casual, as he waited for their approach.

Peter's spider-sense triggered him into a drastic reaction. He flopped and kicked his arms and legs, doing everything he can to shove Vision off him. To fall to the floor and attempt another jump, but then a prick on his wrist drew his attention away from his fight.

It came from the identification bracelet. It… it…

Oh no. Peter's muscles went slipshod and all of his commands were ignored. Like his body wasn't connected to his mind. They drugged him. They finally drugged him after teasing him with so many possibilities to escape.

With Peter nothing but a sack of bones and muscles, Vision handed him off to Simon. "Do not be too hard on him," Vision requested of Simon.

Simon roughly took Peter. "It is not my decision," he answered. "It is Mr. Reynold's decision. He is in charge of the boy."

Without further ado, Simon whisked Peter away, back into the building. Peter pouted as his head lulled back and over Simon's arms. He rolled his eyes back, spotting the android in the corner of his vision. The android watched them, face expressionless. The android didn't say a word.

Peter wanted to scowl at the android. Never in his life did he ever believe he would hate a living artificial intelligence. Another disappointment.

Simon paused for a moment, pivoting a bit to look back at the android. "Before I forget, Mr. Stark wants you to remind Rhodes that he owes him two hundred dollars."

And with that one last comment, Simon re-entered the awaiting elevator as it ordered it take them back to the lower levels. Once again, Peter watched the world close before him, no longer in reach as he was sucked back down into the depths of hell.