Tony Stark was stuck in a ditch, and he was desperate to find a way out.

Inside of his lab was a creature. A creature. The little fucking mermaid. He had acted nonchalant in front of the kid when they had first seen her out on the ocean, but that was before he realized all of the complications that followed her. She was a political nightmare. Once he said a word to any person in government, she would be pulled apart at the seams. She would be pricked and pried at until the poor thing went mad and then thrown back into the ocean.

His ears were hot and his heart was racing as he stalked out of the room. He didn't want to lash out on Peter any more than he already had, but the situation was so complicated it made his brain hurt, and it felt impossible to think clearly when he was with them. The thing could put a human into a trance just by opening her mouth. How were they supposed to know her intentions? Why hadn't she tricked them into drowning already?
He liked to think he vaguely knew the answer to that question. Peter had some sort of connection with her, and she reciprocated. They mirrored each other's looks of longing like two lonely teenagers - or what appeared to be teenagers - looking at each other across the middle school gym at a shitty dance. This dance was just about as shitty as it got. Tony had gotten two hours of sleep, was preventing two mutant kids from falling in love, and for all he knew Peter was asphyxiating as he rode the elevator to his bedroom.

For the millionth time that afternoon, he strayed from the idea that she was an evil being. The way she spoke about her own species was detached and disoriented. It reminded him of how he spoke about his father: there was no sense of belonging.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. is Peter still alive?" he just wanted to ease his anxiety.

Peter Parker is alive and in good health in your lab.

"Good."

He exited the elevator and entered his room, where his bed had never looked so welcoming. Tony wasn't particularly good at sleeping, but two nights in a row he had gotten less sleep than any normal human being got in one night. When he reached the edge, he crumpled into it, closing his eyes.

All he could see were the silver eyes of their mermaid. Their rare beauty was unmatched but simultaneously off-putting. Nagging at the back of his brain like a rock in his shoe was the reminder that he needed to tell someone about his murderous species of siren that was plaguing the Atlantic ocean.

He opened his eyes again, an idea flickering inside his brain.

"Call Rhodey."

Calling James Rhodes.

It was a shot in the dark. Rhodey was a busy man, but when he had time for Tony he made it. The fact that it had taken this long to call his best friend was proof of how tired he actually was. The screen perched on a wardrobe across from his bed rang for about 30 seconds, and he was almost certain that he wouldn't pick up.

Call to James Rhodes connected.

A pleasant surprise.

"Now what could you want from me now, Stark!" there was a hint of playfulness in Rhodey's voice.

"Rhodes, I'm only calling to say hello!"

"With those bags under your eyes? Definitely not the case. Lay it on me, Tony, I'm all ears."
Tony sighed, knowing that there was no way he was ready for this, "I...know why the ships have gone missing."

He lifted his eyes to see Rhodey's face fall.

"You - what?"

Slight nausea had settled into his stomach, which his exhaustion probably contributed to. He wanted to explain further, but had trouble getting the words out. The actuality of the lives that had been lost was starting to sink in. Tony was the first to have confirmation that 64 people were dead. 64 families were about to have their hope obliterated.

"Peter and I...we got lucky. We found the cause of the disappearances."

"Tony."

His friend sounded hesitant. Almost as if he didn't want to hear what Tony had to say. He knew he had to pick his words carefully; the mermaid was so tangible that it never crossed his mind that he would need to do a bit of convincing before anyone believed him. After pondering all the possibilities, he finally gave into deciding it would be best just to show rather than tell.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., show the live feed going into my lab."

The camera switched from Tony's face to a clear image of the lab. The creature was leaning over the side of the tank, bent halfway, staring inquisitively into the kid's eyes. Their faces were barely inches apart, and the image struck a chord in Tony's stomach, his heart rate picking up,

Still, it didn't look like the kid was in any immediate danger, so he let them be.

"Tony what is that," the words were phrased less like a question and more like a demand.

"She calls herself a siren. You know. Like from the Greek myths. She even speaks Greek as well," he looked at his friend who obviously had his teeth clenched. The distressed look was not foreign. Just about every decision Tony made resulted in that look.

"Was it- was it just her? Are there more?"
"There's an entire species. She claims to be half human..." Tony wanted to continue, but it was such a long story, and he probably wouldn't have done it justice, anyhow.

"What do you think we should do?" Rhodey looked just as mystified as Tony.

"She said…" Tony inhaled, "She said that they have their coordinates memorized. That any human vessel to touch the water past the coordinates are killed without question."

"Could we technically consider this an invasive species?"
"No. They've been there for centuries. Since fucking ancient Greece. Technically we're the invasive species. Is there…" Tony sighed. What he was about to request was typical: it sounded easy in his head, but he had no clue if Rhodey would help him out.

"What is it. What's the idea."
"I just want to change the trade routes, and nothing else. I'll measure the coordinates myself. I don't want to give the reason. I don't want to cause mass mayhem because mermaids exist."

They were in the ditch, and Tony could tell Rhodey didn't know what to do, either. He hadn't even heard her story from the source. Hearing her talk about it, or however it was she communicated, had brought Tony to pity the poor thing, and it wasn't a result of her trancing capabilities. She sounded dispirited as she described her own culture. If she could change it, she would. Or for her sake, he hoped that was how she felt.

"They're already working on new trade routes…" Rhodey sighed, "If you can find the coordinates...I can try and lure away from that direction. No guarantees. We'll be lucky if that works."

Tony felt some tension in his shoulders release. He knew he could always count on his best friend, but with this, he hadn't been sure.

"Tony...you do realize that you are robbing the families of the truth."

There was another chord played on his heart. He had thought about that the most. These people were holding on to the thought that their loved ones might still be alive, and he held the truth. He had the power to destroy their worlds. Rubbing his eyes, he deflated, lying on the ground.

"I've ruined so many lives, Rhodes."

A few months ago, Rhodey would have argued, but Tony had made the comment so many times that there was no point anymore. He was close to burning out; helping people always seemed to come with a cost. For now, he wanted to protect those that he cared about the most, and that included Peter. His mentoring relationship with the kid was starting to grow into something more, and while he usually pushed away that type of connection, this kid made him want to embrace it. He saw a lot of himself in Peter, and if he could steer him in the right direction he would.

"Get me those coordinates and I'll write a proposal for the trade route change. You're lucky you got an inside source in the government," Rhodey chuckled quietly, waved at the screen, and ended the call.

Tony requested to be shown the security feed from the lab again, zooming in on the kid and his creature. He turned the volume up, noticing that Peter was speaking. He was repeating his name and pointing to himself, probably with the desire to have her learn it. It was this ambition that had brought Tony to invite Peter on this mission. Peter liked science, sure, but the curiosity that drove him was what made him good at it.

Much to Tony's surprise, he heard the creature speak. She said his name, in a broken and shaky voice. It was the voice of someone who had never spoken aloud before. Apparently, the technique she used for singing could not be carried over to spoken word.

She trusted Peter, and that was good. They would be able to rehabilitate her and hopefully find out more about this unknown species. Once they had established a mutual understanding of each other, maybe then they could reveal to the world that she existed.

He shut his eyes, listening to the duo say Peter's name back and forth, Peter laughing gleefully. As Tony finally drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but smile at the thought of them. Two kids making a big impact on his life. It was the first positive force he had received after months of destruction.

With the idea of resting peacefully at the forefront of his thoughts, Tony let it take him into a dreamless sleep, hoping that he would wake up just as relaxed.