A/N: Same Disclaimer. You know the drill... the good characters belong to Marvel.
Trigger warning for Violence.
Chapter 6: ...Or Maybe You Do
Back inside the van, Tony was doing his best to keep his composure. Listening to Peter as he tried to hold himself together while delivering the demands was bad enough. Watching the brutal actions of his captors afterwards was even worse. He had seen Peter glance towards the spider drone, knowing the kid wanted... no NEEDED his help.
Tony was just getting ready to tell Jenkins that he'd seen enough. He was going to suit up and stop this once and for all. No one was going to stop him...
BUT... then he saw Peter's bag in the hands of the bank robbers.
"Shit!" Tony cursed quietly.
Jenkins heard and turned to him, "Should I be worried about what they're going to find?"
"Maybe..." Tony said, not ready to reveal too much. "I gave the kid a check to deposit it in his savings account this morning." Jenkins eyed him a moment, seeming surprised. "You seem surprised... I know... sending the kid with the check was a bit antiquated, but he insisted on doing it the old-fashioned way!" Tony watched the screen, "...And there it is... still in the front of his bag. I guess he never got the chance to finish his deposit." Tony shook his head, watching as McMann began to pull the check from the envelope.
Jenkins watched, too. "That wasn't what surprised me, Stark. I was surprised that you gave your intern money for his savings."
"The kid's a genius... bright future ahead of him..." Tony added before stopping to listen to what was happening inside.
"Are you shitting me?!" McMann exclaimed upon seeing the check. "Do you know what this is?" He asked his buddies while holding up the check slightly.
"No, you idiot! Why don't you tell us!" Grey sounded annoyed with the man.
"Baby Boy have a lot of money?" Hanes asked, eyeing up Peter on the floor.
"Stop calling me that!" Peter growled.
The retort made Tony smirk, "That a boy, Pete. Stay strong for me, kid." He said this quietly and mostly to himself, but the others could hear him. A couple nodded their heads as if to agree with his words of encouragement for Peter, even if the kid couldn't hear them.
"This is a $75,000 check!" McMann told the others.
"So... Petey does have a lot of money!" Hanes cooed, switching nicknames.
"No kidding..." Grey said, looking down at Peter. "You were holding out on us, Pete," he added.
"Oh no... that's not even the best part!" McMann told the others. "Guess who made out the check?"
"Tell me." Grey commanded, clearly wanting the other man to get to the point.
Tony put his head in his hands and groaned, "Here we go..."
"It looks to me like this check is signed by none other than Tony Stark!" McMann proclaimed. "Made out to Peter Parker... on a Stark Industries check!"
Hanes let out a whistle in amazement.
Grey stepped over Peter and grabbed the check from the other man, "Let me see that!" He studied it for a moment. "Holy SHIT!"
Peter looked uncomfortable, like he wanted to squirm away or disappear into the wall.
Grey kept hold of the check and knelt down in front of Peter. He held of the check in front of Peter's face, "Do you have something you want to tell me?" He looked back at the check, "Peter Parker, Huh? Maybe you can enlighten me as to how you know a fucking BILLIONAIRE!?"
Peter flinched as the man yelled out the final word. "I... uh... I started an internship with him a while ago. I'm just an intern! That's it!"
Grey stood back up, still staring down at Peter. Hanes hadn't fixed the bandage on Peter's shoulder yet, and apparently Grey saw this as something to use to his advantage. The man lifted his foot and set it on top of the wound.
"Don't do it!" Tony growled at the screen. "Don't..."
Peter groaned slightly as Grey put a little pressure on the shoulder. "Why don't I believe you?" he said, pushing his foot down a little harder on the wound.
Sweat was pouring down Peter's face. He was biting his lip, trying not to give them the satisfaction of screaming again. "It's the truth!" Peter spat out.
Grey lifted the pressure for a moment. "You want me to believe that TONY STARK gave his INTERN $75,000?! No way! He probably has full time employees that don't even make that much in a year!"
"Nope." Tony said, as if to answer the man in the video. "They make more."
Officer Hassler coughed, "You know... I'm pretty good with technology..."
Jenkins shot him a look, "Now is not the time, Hassler. Not the time..."
The men watched in horror at what came next.
McMann came over, lifting his foot. "You're going to have to go harder on him if you want the little bastard to be honest!" With that the large man firmly brought his foot down on Peter's right shoulder.
At first, Peter tried to hold in the scream, biting his lip so hard that blood could be seen. But the pain was too much... he yelled, "ARGH! NO! STOP! OKAY...I"LL TELL YOU!"
McMann lifted his foot.
"What the hell are you doing, Peter?" Tony asked aloud. The others looked at him, clearly confused. "Um... it's just... he told them the truth!"
Tony lifted his thumb towards his phone. If necessary, he would cut the audio or even the whole video feed. He wasn't going to let the kid reveal his Spider-Man identity to the NYPD... at least not like this.
"It's fake! I forged it!" Peter cried out, lying to the men.
Tony shook his head, "I'm not sure that's going to work, kid." The lie was risky, and Tony wasn't sure he could handle watching these guys hurt his kid any more... at least not without doing something.
Hanes laughed, "If that's forged, we should bring him along to work with us! It looks pretty good from where I'm standing." The man eyed Peter hungrily.
The people in the van watching the video feed didn't miss the way Hanes looked at Peter. Everyone frowned, not at all liking the thought of Peter spending any more time with these men... especially in a situation where Hanes might be able to take advantage of the kid.
"You want me to believe that you pulled one over on Iron Man?" Grey asked, kneeling down in front of Peter again. "You want me to believe that a kid like you would think that he could get away with that? You thought Stark wouldn't notice if $75,000 went missing?"
Peter gulped, "$75,000 isn't much to a billionaire, you know? It's... um... not really any strain on his bank account."
Tony let out a small, short laugh to himself. He knew Peter was repeating the very same line that Tony used that morning to make Peter feel better about the amount on the check.
Grey eyed Peter carefully, seeming to think. "Maybe... just maybe you are telling the truth. It's a little far fetched to think the bank would fall for that, though. After all, Tony Stark doesn't seem like the type to write out big checks to dumb kids." Grey shook his head, "No... something is still off."
The sweat continued to pour off of Peter, and his breathing was quick and shallow. It was obvious that he was nervous... and in a great deal of pain.
Grey looked over at the bag, nodding his head at it. "Hey..." he looked at McMann, "...what else is in that bag?"
Peter was on the floor shaking his head back and forth. "No... don't! I'm telling you... uh... I'm just a dumb kid. Forging a $75,000 check seemed like a good idea at the time... that's it!"
"Oh really?" McMann teased, reaching for the bag again. "Now I know I need to see what's inside. What's the big deal kid?"
Jenkins turned his head to look at Tony, surprised to see anxiety on the other man's face. There was clearly more to worry about than just a check. There was something else to connect this kid to Tony. He turned back to the screen to see what it was.
"Let's see what we find..." the man opened the zipper into the main compartment of Peter's bag. Peter squirmed, clearly upset. "We have some notebooks... and... wait a minute..." The man was looking into the bag, his eyebrows shooting up towards his hairline. He stared down at Peter in amazement. "No! No way... this can't be real! No fucking way!" McMann was pulling something from the bottom of bag and...
... there was a blank screen in the van.
"What the hell happened?" Jenkins barked, looking back at Tony. He was more than a little suspicious about losing the video.
"Well, shit!" Tony said, not sounding nearly as worried as he should. "The damn thing was a prototype anyway! Still a few bugs to work out... which is ironic, really!"
They all looked at the man, unsure if he was actually serious with that excuse.
"Something could be jamming the signal or causing interference," Tony offered. "Say... uh... Hassler? Was that your name? There's a job at Stark Industries waiting for you if you can get that back up and running."
Officer Hassler didn't waste time, nor did the other officers in the van. The timing may have been suspicious, but no one was willing to miss out on a chance to work with Tony Stark, especially if there was a shot at a $75,000 check like the kid had.
Jenkins ignored his officers. He watched as Tony went to leave the van. "Just where are you going?" He asked.
Tony reached for the van door, "I should fill May in on what's happening. Then I'm going to check with my guy outside... see if we can't get something else in there." Tony turned and starting opening the door, "... or someone in there." He had hoped Jenkins missed that statement.
He hadn't. "Hold on..."
Both men stopped and stared outside.
Tony slowly stepped out as Jenkins began to follow.
"Can I help you? My name is Captain Jenkins. I'm the one in charge here," he explained.
The FBI agents stared, clearly recognizing Tony Stark as the man to first exit the mobile command center.
Agent Samuels, clearly the agent in charge, spoke first, "We're hear to relieve you, Captain. We've been after the men inside for some time now." He looked back and forth between Tony and Jenkins, "Although... I'll have some questions for you."
May began to sob... perhaps a little too hysterical. "Oh why?! My boy! My boy! What about my boy? These men are wanted by the FBI and they have my boy!"
Tony was suspicious. He knew May well enough to know that this outburst was out of character for her. He looked at Rhodes as he stepped over, supposedly to offer comfort.
"This is very hard for her. Peter... that's the kid being held hostage inside," Rhodes clarified for the agents, "...he's the only family she has left."
Rhodes looked at Tony and Jenkins, "Captain, perhaps we can offer her some privacy. Is there somewhere we can take her to have a moment? Maybe we can help her to settle a bit? Offer her reassurance?"
Now Tony understood. They were trying to get away from the agents... to the privacy of Jenkins' car.
The other man also seemed to pick up on this, "Of course. Mrs. Parker, you're welcome to take a moment in my car. This way... I'll unlock it for you." He looked at the agents, "My men are inside. You can tell them that you'll be taking charge. Mr. Stark helped us to get video inside, but we lost the feed. They're trying to get it back, so maybe you'll have some suggestions? I'll be back... right after I help Mrs. Parker to my car."
Samuels didn't look thrilled, but he agreed to meet with the captain once he was finished and ushered his team over to get started.
As the group made their way over to his car, Jenkins said quietly to Tony, "You owe me for this... preferably in the form of an explanation."
"Yeah, yeah..." Tony responded. "Let's get inside the car first."
The truth was that Tony and Rhodes were still very much aware of what was going on inside. He had only cut off the video to the A/V in the van. The sunglasses that he and Rhodes were wearing still showed the images inside perfectly.
Happy agreed to wait outside the car with Ned as May, Tony, Rhodes, and Captain Jenkins slid inside the vehicle.
Once the doors were closed, Jenkins even went as far as to lock them before turning back to Tony, "Cut the Bullshit! Why did you cut the feed?"
Tony shrugged, "I only cut your feed." He tapped on his glasses, "Rhodes and I can still see what's happening."
"And just what else is happening?" May cut in. "Did they find... you know...?"
"They did," Tony confirmed.
"Shit!" May said.
"What? What did they find? This isn't about the damn check, is it? Jenkins asked, growing frustrated.
"What's happening now? Is he okay?" May asked, not bothering to answer the captain just yet.
Rhodes answered, "Uh... yeah... those guys seem to be checking... you know... they're checking it out."
"SOMEBODY BETTER TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!" Jenkins burst out.
The others blinked at him, surprised by the outburst.
Tony sighed, "May... I think this one should be up to you. Think we can trust Captain Jenkins?"
May looked thoughtful for a moment, studying the man in the driver's seat. "Can we trust you, Captain Jenkins? If we tell you something, can you promise not to tell the other officers or the FBI?"
Jenkins shook his head in exasperation, "It depends on what it is, mam! I have a sworn duty to protect the people of this city! While that includes your boy in there, I can't keep the secret if it puts anyone else at risk!"
May nodded, "Okay... I get that. But... can you at least promise to keep what I'm about to tell you inside this car... at least until we tell you otherwise?"
Jenkins studied the others.
"Oh damn..." Tony said. "Now they have the kid's phone, scrolling through the contacts most likely." He looked at Jenkins. "We need you to decide. I could be getting a phone call shortly, so if you would rather not know, then you need to tell us now so that we can kick you out of the car!"
"It's my car!" The man responded sharply. Jenkins shook his head, trying to think. "God help me, but... I trust you. If it weren't for you, I would have lost my son years ago during that invasion. If he had died, I wouldn't even have my grandson!"
The others were quiet, letting that information sink in.
"The point is... if you believe that this is an important secret to keep, then... I'll keep it. I trust you," Jenkins said.
"I need you to swear," May said. "This is the biggest secret in Peter's life, captain." May leveled him with a serious stare, "I need you to swear on your son's life that you will keep this secret unless we tell you otherwise."
Jenkins studied the expression on May's face. He knew this was important. He supposed if his own son had an important secret that he might do the same thing. "I swear to you, Mrs. Parker. Whatever you tell me will stay with me."
May nodded her head, seeming to believe him. "Okay then... that boy in there," she pointed towards the bank, "...is training with Tony to become an Avenger. Peter is... well... he's Spider-Man! And those men inside have just found his Spider-Man suit."
Jenkins blinked at May in disbelief. He turned to look back at Tony and Rhodes before looking back at May. "I'm sorry... WHAT?! You're telling me that a 16-year old kid is the Spider-Man? THE SPIDER-MAN?"
The others nodded in confirmation.
"Spider-Man is a high school kid?" Jenkins took a moment to let that sink in. He stared back at the bank, "... and Spider-Man is being held hostage by some criminals wanted by the FBI? And we're supposed to keep that information from getting out to all of the people outside?!"
Again, the others nodded in confirmation.
The captain scrubbed his hands over his face, "Shit! I should've gotten out of the car!"
Tony's phone suddenly rang, Peter's name and picture showing on the screen.
"How about you get out now and distract the FBI for us while I take this call?" Tony asked. Upon seeing Jenkins' doubtful face, he added, "We'll keep you informed, captain. But we need your help with those FBI agents out there."
Jenkins nodded, "Okay... you got it." With that, he unlocked and exited his car.
Before the door had even closed, Tony hit the button to answer his phone. He knew he would need to act as though he didn't know what was happening inside. He couldn't let these men know that he could see them. Tony put his finger to his lips, indicating for May and Rhodes to stay quiet.
With the phone on speaker, he said, "Peter? Is that you? Kid, are you alright in there? What the hell is happening?"
Peter couldn't believe any of this. How had this day gone so horribly wrong?
He could have died when Curly pulled his mask out from the bottom of the bag, with the whole suit soon to follow.
"No! No way... this can't be real! No fucking way!" Curly had said, pulling the items from the bag.
"What the hell?" Larry said, stepping forward to take a closer look.
Moe was shaking his head in disbelief, "Just who are you, Petey?"
Peter was shaking, chills taking him over. He really didn't feel good, and this most recent discovery wasn't helping. "Perhaps it would be better if they just killed me?" He thought to himself, hating the idea of any more criminals learning his secret. Toomes was bad enough! Now he had to deal with these assholes!
He realized the men were staring at him, expecting an answer. Peter wasn't in the mood and just said the first thing he could think of, "Would you believe it's my Halloween costume?" He asked.
"About as much as I believe you managed for forge a check for Stark Industries," Larry answered in an annoyed tone.
Peter scrunched his brows together, "So... is that a yes or a no?" He knew it was a no, but being a smart ass was a bit of a default setting for Peter.
"NO!" Curly answered for his friend. "We do not believe that this fancy suit is a cheap Halloween costume!"
Larry was shaking his head, examining the suit and holding it in his hands out in front of himself to get a better look. "You know what I think, Pete?"
He put the suit down and walked over to Peter, "I think you do know Tony Stark, but not as just an average intern."
Peter swallowed nervously. He didn't like the glint of excitement in the other man's eyes, like Peter was the fly caught in their web.
Moe grabbed the suit and the mask, caressing the mask a little and staring at Peter in wonder.
Curly had gone a step further and discovered Peter's web-shooters, as well as his cell phone.
"Jackpot!" He called, playing with the web-shooters and accidentally setting it off and nearly webbing Moe in the face.
Peter wished that he hadn't missed.
Larry let out a laugh of amusement, "Nope... not an average intern at all. I think..." he knelt down closer to Peter, pulling out his gun and waving in front of Peter's face. "I think... you know Tony Stark because you are Spider-Man! You're like... you know... the baby Avenger!"
Peter sighed and closed his eyes after a new wave of dizziness. The teasing with the gun in his face wasn't helping any, either.
"Ha!" Moe laughed. "That's a good one! Baby Boy is the Baby Avenger!"
"And we have his cellphone!" Curly exclaimed. "What's your code, kid?"
Peter didn't answer at first and only opened his eyes after hearing the sound of Larry cocking his gun.
"You heard the man..." Larry insisted, aiming the gun at his face. "We already know Spider-Man isn't bulletproof. What. is. your. code?"
Peter swallowed, feeling utterly defeated, "0719."
Larry replaced the hammer on his gun, "See? Was that so hard?" He looked at Curly, "Check out the contacts! Look for Stark!"
Peter shook his head a little, hating every moment of this.
"Gentlemen, we thought that our job here today was ruined!" Larry said, a smile on his face. "But we have managed to capture ourselves a Baby Avenger! And I'm willing to bet that Tony Stark will pay a lot of money for us to give him back and keep that secret!"
Peter was trying to think of something. The thought of Tony being forced to comply with these jerks, set Peter's blood to boil and gave him a tiny burst of energy. "You're wrong!" Peter said, "I'm not an Avenger. I... uh... I turned them down! I prefer to work alone. That check? It... uh... was sort of like a severance pay!" The new lie rolled out of Peter's lips before he could stop it or really consider what he was saying.
Larry brought the gun down in his face again, "I really hope you're trying to lie to me again." He pressed the gun against Peter's forehead, "Because if Stark doesn't want you, we'll leave you with a brand new hole in your little Spider head!"
"Oops," Peter realized, "Probably should have seen that coming."
He knew that the little spider drone on the wall likely had video, but he couldn't be sure of audio. He had glanced over that way a few times, noticing that the little spider was up higher on the wall and closer to the ceiling. He figured that would make it harder for the men to see. Now, he hoped that Mr. Stark couldn't hear, simply because he was a little embarrassed that he wasn't coming up with better lies.
"Got Stark's number!" Curly said triumphantly, handing the phone to Larry.
"If anything..." Larry said, preparing to make the call. "I doubt you turned them down... looking at just how WEAK you are... I'm betting you didn't make the cut!"
Peter would be lying if he said those words didn't sting a little. He felt like a failure, and he was pretty sure this day would make him look bad. Why would the team want Spider-Man if he couldn't even stand up to a group of bank robbers?
The anger coursed through Peter's veins again. He wanted to show these assholes just what Spider-Man could do. He didn't even care if he would die trying.
Peter was breathing deeply, trying to get a feel for just how much strength he could summon up to break free and attack these jerks. Then, he heard him...
"Peter? Is that you? Kid, are you alright in there? What the hell is happening?"
Tony's voice filled the room.
Peter blinked in surprise. He hadn't even realized that Larry actually made the call.
"Well, Well, well... what do you know?" Larry said. "So nice to hear your voice, Tony Stark! Or do you prefer Iron Man?"
"Who are you? What have you done with Peter?" Tony's voice commanded, ignoring the question as to what Larry should call him.
Peter was sure Mr. Stark must see him, so he figured his mentor was likely putting on an act. Larry gave him an expectant look and returned the gun to Peter's head, making him realize he was meant to speak up, "I'm here, Mr. Stark."
Again, Peter hated how weak his own voice sounded. "I cannot be this weak," Peter thought. "Avengers aren't supposed to be this weak!"
"There? You hear? He's fine!" Larry said.
"What do you want?" Tony asked.
"Oh... I'm just curious," Larry said. "Just HOW MUCH is Spider-Man worth to you?"
Larry, Curly, and Moe smiled to one another.
And Peter became more determined than ever to find a way to wipe those smiles clean off their faces.
A/N: There you have it! The problems just keep piling up, and there are still plenty of unanswered questions. Keep reading to find out what happens next. Will Tony come up with a plan? Or will Peter only get himself into more trouble before help can arrive?
Remember:
To Tony and the others, the bad guys are Xander Hanes, Albert McMann, and Jackson Grey
They're still Larry, Curly, and Moe to Peter.