Hey, thanks so much for all the support on this rewrite whether you're a returning reader or new it means so much to me. Hope you enjoy.

-EmptyFridges

Tony watched as Peter shifted from foot to foot waiting for his response, he knew he would have to say yes and let him go on patrol but he wasn't particularly happy about it. What if his illness came back all of a sudden while he was out? What if he wasn't actually one hundred percent – sure Bruce had said he was fine, so had F.R.I.D.A.Y. and Pepper, but what if they were wrong?

Peter sighed softly, he was losing hope, Tony had promised he could go out on patrol today if he felt fine, and he was totally fine! He had been back at school the day before with no issue and he had done some sparring last night with Nat, Tony was being ridiculous. The man had asked Bruce to check his temperature three times! Three times! Rhodey and Pepper were no help, both just watched in amusement as Tony mothered him. He had completed all his homework, eaten all his dinner including the second and third portions Pepper had served him, he had even tidied his room, Tony had no grounds to stop him going out as Spiderman and surely the man knew it.

Tony sighed deeply, "fine. You can go out…" he had to pause for Peter's whoop at his words. "but you have to be home by midnight, on the dot. Other than that usual rules apply underoos, got it?" He smiled as the boy nodded his head frantically eager to change and go out. "Off you go then Pete" the words had hardly left his mouth before Peter was running back towards his bedroom to change and grab his webshooters.

Peter wasted no time in changing into his suit and running up to the roof of the tower. Leaving from the roof was always exhilarating, the view was stunning and he loved the adrenaline rush of the slight freefall before he shot a web towards the next building. He wasn't allowed to leave from the roof every time, after all, Tony didn't want the general public to know Spiderman lived with him in case Peter was discovered to be living there and a connection was made. Him living at the tower wasn't necessarily a secret, after all, Ned and MJ both knew as did many Stark Industries employees, Tony and Pepper were just reluctant to let the masses know in case it put Peter in danger. So, the odd time he did leave from the roof he loved it.

He swung his way towards Queens only deviating from his course to break up a small scuffle outside a bar. Within twenty minutes he had reached Queens and was breathing heavily. It was the fastest he had ever managed to reach it from the tower and he couldn't help but be proud of the accomplishment. He lay down on the roof of an apartment building to catch his breath and chat with Karen for a little while. After about ten minutes his breathing had evened out so he leapt up and began to swing aimlessly around Queens looking for trouble…if Tony ever asked he was looking for people to help, he would never look for trouble.

"Karen, have you got anything for me?"

"Small-scale burglary two blocks east. No 'call me dammit' weapons"

Peter rolled his eyes at that, one time he didn't call Tony when faced with someone with alien tech and he wouldn't drop it. He'd been grounded after that particular incident and wasn't looking for a repeat anytime soon.

As he approached the scene he could see three men dressed in black with their faces covered loading items into the back of a truck, the classic bad guy look as he liked to call it. Swinging down so he landed on top of the truck they all stared at him in shock. "Ever heard you shouldn't take what doesn't belong to you?" he asked sarcastically. He leapt into action immediately webbing the feet of the first man to the street he was standing on before winding it around his legs so he had no chance of moving before the police arrived. Looking up he could see the other two were trying to get away, he webbed the hand of one to the door of the truck preventing him from escaping with their ill-gotten gains. The third appeared to have given up entirely on their crime and was simply trying to run away, but no ordinary man would be able to outpace Peter especially with his webs. Throwing an arm out he effortlessly caught the man's left leg in a web and pulled him back as the man swore colourfully at him. "Hey, hey, hey watch the language man…not cool". He made quick work of the man leaving him webbed to the side of their truck as he asked Karen to call the police and report the location of the criminals.

He webbed away before the police arrived, he was always slightly anxious they might try and question him or something so he tried to make himself scarce before they arrived. "Good work Spiderman". He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face, he knew Karen was just an AI and not a real person but he still appreciated the sentiment from her. It was nice to feel appreciated.

The next two hours or so passed in a similar manner as he continued patrolling Queens. He generally stayed within Queens itself for the majority of the evening only heading back towards Manhattan as he neared his curfew. He sighed softly to himself as he continued towards the tower he had half an hour until he had to be home and he was determined to make the most of it but it had been an extremely quiet night.

"Karen, you got anything yet?" he was expecting a negative response just as he had received the last several times so let out a small cheer at her response. "A large group of suspicious looking men are gathered four blocks west. Several knives. No 'call me dammit weapons'"

He jumped into action immediately pausing on a rooftop which would give him a good view of the people below. He could see straight away what Karen had been speaking about, there was a group of maybe ten men dressed head to toe in black standing together some of whom appeared to be arguing. He remained on the rooftop for several seconds as he took a good look at the scene quickly spotting several of the men had knives and knowing he would have to get a hold of those quickly. Peter leapt into action straight away snatching two of the knives within seconds and webbing them to the wall of the building he had been on top of mere moments ago, he had learnt the hard way to stick them somewhere rather than just toss them away. Taking on ten fully grown men was difficult he had to admit but he had managed before and as he was removing the knives quickly and efficiently he felt more confident. He realised pretty quickly that these men were one group and simply disagreeing with each other, they were, unfortunately, able to settle their differences enough to fight Peter with some efficiency. Suddenly Karen started almost shouting in his ear and he noticed at the same moment some of the men tense as they looked into the shadows. "Call me dammit weapons present Peter"

Swearing softly Peter ordered her to call Tony, he did not want another punishment after all and spun on the spot to face the new threat. A man was emerging from the shadows dressed in dark clothes with his face covered but that was not the main issue. The gun in his hand was not like one Peter had ever seen, not even like one he might see on the TV. Alien Tech. It had to be. "Leave us, I will handle him, keep looking for buyers, we have a lot of stock" the man commanded to the others who wasted no time leaving the scene.

Peter swallowed nervously, he knew Tony would be on his way and he wasn't that far from the tower so he would probably only be a couple of minutes. He just had to keep the man distracted.

Tony was in his workshop when F.R.I.D.A.Y. cut off his music, he looked up from his work angrily about to demand an explanation when his AI spoke. "Alert from Spiderman. Alien tech situation, help required." He swore loudly leaping over the table towards the door as he activated his nanotech armour at the same time. Tony was on the roof in moments and wasted no time leaping off it, just as his kid had earlier that evening. He flew as fast as he could towards Peter's location unsure what exactly he would find, the Alien tech that ended up on the street was unpredictable sometimes they were like ray guns other times they were just flares. He was really hoping for the latter this time.

Peter let out a breath as he heard Tony's repulsers in the distance quickly coming closer to them. The man was fast, he didn't appear to be enhanced but he was clearly a career criminal of some kind as no matter how hard he tried Peter could not get the weapon from him. They seemed to be evenly matched as neither gained much ground on the other.

Tony's heart was in his throat when he laid eyes on Peter but he was also proud of the boy. He had known he was in trouble and called him immediately, the boy also seemed to be holding his own. He landed behind the man with a thud causing him to turn slightly to face the suit. Tony watched with satisfaction as his face paled as soon as he registered who was in front of him.

Peter seized the brief moment and grabbed the gun with a web pulling it from the man's slackened grip. The small thrill of excitement quickly vanished however as he pulled the gun towards him. He couldn't say how it happened, it could have been his webs reacting with it or maybe the man managed to pull the trigger but he heard a bang then indescribable pain in his shoulder.

As soon as he heard the bang Tony shot the man in front of him not caring if he killed him or not as he rushed towards his son in all but blood. Peter had fallen to the ground in shock but still appeared to be conscious. He slid his arms under the teen and gathered him into his arms immediately heading back towards the tower calling Bruce to the medbay at the same time.

Peter was barely clinging onto consciousness when he arrived at the tower in agony. His whole body felt strange, lethargic but his shoulder felt like it was on fire.

Bruce jumped into doctor mode as soon as Peter was placed on the bed. He appeared physically okay apart from his shoulder which had…was that a dart? Sticking out of it. He took a closer look and gasped, he had seen those before.

Tony watched as realisation crossed Bruce's face and the man began to work with even more urgency. Which just made himself even more stressed, he wanted to question the man but that would distract him from Peter so he held back. Within minutes he had removed the dart from the boy's shoulder and was dressing it. As soon as the dart was out he appeared much more relaxed however as if all the tension swept from his body, it was a stark contrast to how he had looked when he recognised the dart…so was Peter okay now? He let the man finish his work before looking to him for an explanation, which he provided immediately.

"I saw those darts in Sakaar they are a punishment for criminals, they are used to de-age offenders to serve longer sentences before they die or keep them alive for a lifetime of suffering."

Tony choked at his words rushing over to the teen on the bed and running his fingers through his hair as if he would disappear. "So Peter? Will he be okay? How much younger will he be? Will he have to redo years of his life?"

Bruce looked over at his friend's panicked state and smiled. "There is a cure, I can ask Thor to go and retrieve it, it may take him a week or so to collect it though. But Peter will be fine, the drug works relatively quickly his body will change soon, I will give him a sedative to keep him out, it's a painful procedure otherwise, I cannot say how much younger he will be though, it could be a few years it could be ten. There's no way to know."

"But he will be fine? Will he remember us?"

"Yes physically he will be fine, maybe a little pain from his bones shrinking down but some painkillers will sort that out. He will remember you and everything about his life but he won't act like he does now, he will have the memories he has as a fifteen-year-old but the attitude and temperament of his physical age."

Tony digested his friend's words as the worry enveloping him receded somewhat at the news Peter would be okay. One thought suddenly took over his mind replacing the remaining worry with panic.

"What if he's a baby? Nappies? Crying? Bruce what do I do?"

Bruce just laughed at the man, "Tony he's your son, you'll be fine. We both know you'll do anything for him and you have Pepper."

ʘ-ʘ-ʘ-ʘ-ʘ-ʘ

Tony was exhausted. It was now seven in the morning and he had hardly had any sleep, he phoned Pepper immediately after Bruce sedated Peter to explain the situation to her. She had been in Boston on business for a few days but cancelled the rest of her meetings citing a family emergency and was due back in an hour or so. She had of course been much more proactive than himself and had already organised for toys, clothes and other items to be delivered to the tower sometime that day.

Of course, after Pepper he had to make the much harder call to May to explain her nephew was going to spend the next week or so de-aged because of some alien tech Tony had been unable to protect him from. She had wanted to come home initially but it wasn't a feasible solution as she would lose any chance for a promotion, so she made him promise to let Peter call her at some point that day.

He looked down at the child still asleep in the hospital bed, Bruce assured him the sedatives had worn off and the boy would wake up soon. It had been a bizarre experience watching Peter de-age in front of his eyes. It had only taken about four hours in total but it was amongst the strangest four hours of Tony's life, and he had been to Space. Watching someone go from a teenager to a toddler was bizarre, his face had grown rounder and obviously he had shrunk as time wore on.

Bruce had looked over Peter and said he was about three years old which to Tony's relief meant Peter was likely potty trained. He looked so cute in his sleep, he tended to gel his hair as a teenager to tame the curls but as a toddler he had a full head of them and Tony was in love. In fact he was certain this was the cutest boy he had ever seen. He had changed him into one of his own t-shirts once he had finished shrinking knowing there would be nothing in the penthouse that would fit until Pepper's order arrived.

He couldn't take his eyes off the boy who looked so tiny and innocent so noticed immediately when he began to stir. He watched as Peter blinked sleepily several times before looking around the room, the confusion and slight fear he was feeling was clear to see on his young face. The whimpers which escaped him broke Tony's heart.

"Hey Peter, you're okay. You got hurt you're in the medbay, do you remember?"

"Funny gun"

Tony smiles at the childish answer, "yes Pete well done, the funny gun made you small again." He had read the parenting books he had picked up months before cover to cover and he couldn't be more thankful now. He remembered reading that it was important to praise young children and he intended to do his absolute best for this boy. He would never forgive himself if he somehow scarred Peter during his time as a child.

Peter nodded distractedly as he looked around the room. "Aunt May?"

"She's away Peter, but you can call her in a little while" He saw the child's lip begin to quiver and tears pool in the corner of his eyes. "Shhh don't cry underoos, it's okay, I'm here, Tony's here" He said soothingly, he had no experience with kids and he really didn't want his first interaction with small Peter to end in tears.

He moved to sit next to the child on the bed who quickly burrowed into his side seeking comfort. Tony simply lifted the toddler and swung his legs onto the bed as he deposited the boy on his lap and held him close.

Peter was confused, he had woken up in a slightly familiar place but wasn't able to actually name where he was. He had just wanted May, when he woke up she always made things better, her hugs made him feel safe, hearing she wasn't there was devastating. He would have started crying if the man sitting at the side of his bed hadn't spoken so quickly. Tony…Tony…he knew that name. "Daddy?"

Tony looked down at the boy in his arms in shock. He opened his mouth to say something but couldn't get his words out, did Peter know who he was?

Peter looked up at the man confused. Why isn't daddy answering? He turned in the man's arms to face him and looked into his eyes. "I-on Man? Daddy."

Tony let out a choked laugh at Peter's words. "Yes Petey-Pie. Iron Man's here. Daddy's here, no need to worry. Daddy's here." Those words seemed to be enough for the toddler as he immediately threw his tiny arms around Tony's neck and hugged him close. Tony let out a wet laugh as the boy cuddled into him.

The scene Bruce walked in on two minutes later was one he never would have expected to see a year ago but having seen teenage Peter and Tony's relationship he was unsurprised. Tony was sitting on the hospital bed his chin resting on Peter's head as tears ran down his cheeks. When the two made eye contact Tony whispered "He called me Daddy, he knows who I am, and he called me Daddy."

Bruce grinned, he had seen it coming for a while and was thrilled for the man. "It was about time. I need to do a few checks, it will only take a few minutes then Peter should be free to go."

As soon as the words left Bruce's mouth Tony felt the boy in his arms tense then start to tremble. "Sshh Peter it will only take a few minutes okay. Daddy's here I'll hold your hand the whole time." The boy was still shaking though and he knew it was probably poor parenting but he didn't want to argue with a toddler so decided bribery was the way to go. "If you're good for Bruce you can have blueberry pancakes for breakfast Pete, doesn't that sound good?" Blueberry pancakes were one of Peter's favourite foods Tony knew, it was also one of the few things he could actually make for the boy so whenever Pepper was away he made them for breakfast and Peter always demolished them.

At the words blueberry pancakes Peter sat up in Tony's arms. "Pwomise?"

"I promise Pete"

With that declaration Peter climbed from the man's lap and shuffled to sit on the edge of the bed facing Bruce.

Bruce rolled his eyes at Tony, Peter really did have the man wrapped around his little finger. He let a smile appear on his face as he looked at the child sitting on the edge of the bed swinging his legs nervously. "This won't take too long okay Peter, no need to worry." He started by testing the toddlers reflexes and checking if Peter had any pain remaining from his rapid de-aging. He checked his ears and chuckled along with Tony and the boy himself as he checked his heartbeat causing the boy to almost squawk as the cold medal touched his chest. Within ten minutes or so he only had one test left and knew it would probably cause tears, with a glance at Tony he knew the man was aware what was to come.

Tony put his hands under his child's armpits and pulled him back onto his lap hugging him close knowing the needle Bruce was about to use to take blood would probably cause tears. As he expected as soon as Peter laid eyes on the syringe in Bruce's hand he shrunk into Tony's chest and tears came to his eyes.

"Hey Petey, this is the last thing, you'll get pancakes afterwards remember" Tony murmured to the child bouncing him slightly to try and calm him. Knowing the boy would get worked up if the blood wasn't taken soon he decided distracting him was probably his best option. "Peter you know I am Iron Man yes? Can you tell me about the avengers?" He knew Peter's answer would probably mention the Rogues, a subject which was still sore for him but he knew big Peter idolised the Avengers so it was likely three year old Peter was the same.

Peter launched into his answer "there's Daddy, Captain 'Merica, Hawkeyes, Black Widow, Thow, Hulk an there's Waw Machine! Hulk and Bruce same, Nat big spider. Unca Rhodey waw machine!"

While listening to Peter babble on Bruce readied his syringe and inserted it into Peter's elbow as Tony cupped the boy's head preventing him from turning to look at what Bruce was doing. Seconds later Bruce had the blood he needed and removed the syringe placing it in the labs fridge out of Peter's view, Peter who was still talking about the Avengers. "All done Pete, well done you!" He told the boy a smile on his face.

Peter looked up at Bruce in shock, eyes wide unable to believe he had taken blood without him even noticing! He looked from Bruce to his arm which now had a plaster on it several times, when he took a second look at the plaster he looked up at his daddy. "Spida-man!" he shouted turning back to Tony jumping slightly in excitement.

Tony peered down at the cute child in his arms and ruffled his hair. "That's right Peter Pan. Spiderman. You were such a brave boy for Bruce and you know what brave boys get?" he asked with a grin.

"Blueberry pancakes!" the child cheered practically leaping off the bed and running towards the elevator causing both men to jump to their feet and run after him. Peter had barely been awake an hour and already they were running to keep up, Tony had the feeling the next week was going to be exhausting.