I still down own them; I'm just going traumatize them a little in this chapter.

A/N: Thank you all for the kind reviews. I have to apologize to my guest reviewer (Batman111893) - You may not like where this is going next. But you all don't need to worry! This is before Infinity War, so Thanos is still going to cause more damage than me! Bonus points to anyway who catches the subtle nod to Deadpool.

Chapter 13: Crumbling to Pieces

Spring break was finally approaching, and Tony was so excited to see the kid. He was eager to help him celebrate his 16th birthday. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Peter was so young. Tony continued to be impressed by the way Peter was growing and learning as Spider-Man. The kid was capable of amazing things, and he used his power only to help people. He could've done more for himself with his abilities, but Peter's mind was always on others and looking out for their needs above his own. Peter was supposed to be learning from Tony, but Tony was the one who was learning from Peter. The relationship between Peter and May was incredible; it was proof that family doesn't end with blood. It was a good thing, too, because the only people in Tony's life that could be considered family were not blood relatives. Not that Tony didn't want blood relatives, and that was probably why had dreams about starting a family with Pepper. They were getting older, and Tony didn't want to waste anymore time. He supposed he would just need to find the right time to talk to Pepper about it. In the meantime, he would try to practice fatherly skills with the Spider-Kid.

The only issue Tony had currently was the gift that he agreed to help May get for Peter's birthday. The gift was not Tony's style, like at all! He recalled the conversation that he had with May:

"Tony, it's very important to me that we stay practical. You offered to help, and I really do appreciate that. However, that does not mean you get to tell me which car to buy!" May argued. "Don't forget… Peter and I will be sharing this car for a while. Having two cars isn't practical for us right now. When Peter is ready to go to college, then we can talk about an upgrade. For now, he and I will share the new Toyota Prius. It will replace my old car, and we can use it to drive here so that Happy doesn't have to pick us up all the time! It has great gas mileage, and the size is perfect for navigating through the city!" May tried very hard to make Tony understand her point of view.

"But a Prius?" Tony whined. "We can't get the kid a nice Audi? They have models with good gas mileage, too, you know!"

"Tony we can't have some fancy car sitting outside of our apartment in Queens. It will draw too much attention, and it will probably be stolen after the first night we have it home!" May exclaimed.

"Not if I put in the security system," Tony said seriously.

May just blinked at him. "Ok…" she sighed, "How about a compromise? I will get the nicest and newest model with all the bells and whistles, then I'll bring it here where you can add whatever you want! A nice stark-installed security system would be nice. A new Prius could still attract a lot of attention in our neighborhood!"

Tony hesitated and looked doubtful. "You're sure about this? You think the kid will like it?"

"Absolutely!" May said, "He is excited to get a chance to drive the car I have now. He thinks he can bring that up here, but it hardly survived that one trip! He'll be happy to have a new Prius, Tony, I promise."

Tony sighed again, "Fine!" he agreed, "Get the kid the Prius, but bring it right here as soon as you have it! I'm going to have to get to work on that thing right away."

"Deal," May agreed. They even shook hands on it.

Tony smiled at the memory. He supposed that May was right about getting something more practical. He offered to help them afford two vehicles, but May didn't see that as a necessity. She explained that she had no problem using public transportation if Peter was using the car.

It didn't matter. Tony already decided he would buy the kid a nice Audi as a graduation present someday, he just didn't tell May.

The current plan was for May to visit her friend Marie that lived near Albany the day before Peter's spring break began. Marie's husband had a car dealership, so he was helping May with the details. She would drive up and exchange cars there. Then, she would drive the new car to the compound, join Peter, and let Tony do his thing with the car. It would be great. May had already told Peter about visiting her friend, and Peter was happy that his aunt felt comfortable going away.

As far as getting the kid upstate, they planned to have Happy pick up the kid at the apartment when he was done with school.

The plan was set and perfectly flawless. What could possibly go wrong?

After getting the information that he needed for Toomes, Ross and his men began keeping an eye on Midtown Tech. His men watched Peter Parker come and go every day, and they studied his patterns. The kid was careful. He would leave with a couple friends, and one would always stand watch somewhere as Parker changed into his Spider-Man gear. It also appeared that his friends would retrieve his belongings and return them later. Ross figured that Stark must have warned him to be more careful.

The thought of Tony Stark made his blood boil. The man was infuriating! He acted as if he was superior to Ross! "I'll show him who is in charge!" Ross thought to himself as he read the reports of Parker's recent activity. They would need to make their move very carefully if things were going to work out the way Ross wanted.

More recently, Ross's people were able to obtain Parker's phone records. He could tell that Parker and Stark tried to keep the communication professional, like something an intern might communicate to his boss. There were also some long breaks between phone communication, and Ross figured that they probably had a secondary form of communication.

As Ross studied the text messages and call transcripts, however, he could read between the lines. Stark cared about this kid. Add in Stark's persistence with not telling Ross the truth about Spider-Man, and it was clear—Tony cared about Parker a lot. This was something that Ross could use. He could kill two birds with one stone, as long as everything went according to plan.

It wasn't long before he learned that Parker would be going upstate while his school was closed for break. They had also seen a text between Peter and Happy Hogan indicating that the latter planned to pick him up at his apartment in Queens.

Ross called Wade into the room. He finally knew exactly how they would set their plan in motion, but he would need Wade's help.

On the last day of school before break, Peter could hardly contain his excitement. Aunt May had left to go see her friend, but she was going to be meeting him upstate the next day. Happy was going to pick him up at the apartment so that he could grab the things he had packed.

Spring break was going to be a blast. He was so excited to spend his 16th birthday at the Avengers compound. Everyone closest to Peter Parker/Spider-Man would be there: Aunt May, MJ, Ned, Tony, Pepper, Vision, Happy, and even Colonel Rhodes was planning to be there. Most of the details of that party were a surprise, but Peter was really just excited to have those closest to him be there to celebrate. That evening, Aunt May was going to drive Peter, MJ, and Ned back to Queens. His friends were going to sleep over and help him set-up for a bigger party with some other kids from school. Ned's mom offered to host, and they were doing a Star Wars themed costume party. Mr. Stark even helped set up some kind of virtual reality space experience for him and his friends. It was going to be great!

The only problem was that, in all the excitement, Peter had forgotten to charge his phone. He didn't have a way to charge it at school, so he figured he could just charge it on the way.

Peter was in his last class of the day when there was a knock on the door. His Spanish teacher opened it to find the school secretary with a message.

"I have a pick-up notice for one of your students," she informed the teacher and then was on her way.

The teacher looked at the note before saying, "Mr. Parker, this seems to be for you."

Peter took the message. It was a form indicating that he was to be picked up at school. The message line read, "Mr. Hogan delayed. Your ride for your internship will be picking you up after school. Black Sedan."

At first, Peter wondered why they didn't just call him, but then he remembered that his phone was dead. It was too bad. He would have liked to text Happy and make sure he was ok. Peter was a little worried about being able to get the stuff he packed, but he supposed he could have the driver stop by the apartment on the way.

All in all, he wasn't too worried. It wouldn't be the first time that someone else needed to give him a ride. He decided he would plug his phone into the car to charge and check with Happy on the way to the apartment to get his stuff.

As the bell rang signaling the end of the day, Peter and his classmates gave a small cheer. They were all ready to begin their break. Peter bid farewell to Ned before taking a little more time with MJ. They found a quiet spot where they could have a little privacy and shared a sweet kiss before parting ways. Saying goodbye to his best friends wasn't easy, but he knew he would get to see them again.

Exiting the school, Peter recognized the standard black sedan that was a signature for Stark Industries. He noticed that there was one guy at the driver's seat and a second was waiting for him by the back door to open it for him. The man wore a suit typical of Mr. Stark's security detail and he greeted Peter with a warm smile as he approached.

"Good Afternoon, Mr. Parker," the man said, "My name is Wilson. Mr. Hogan sends his apologies for being delayed, but I promise we'll take good care of you."

"Cool. Thanks, Wilson." Peter stated as he got into the car. Wilson followed him into the back and sat down to Peter's left. It reminded him of the time when Happy had driven him and Mr. Stark back to Queens after the incident in Germany.

"That's Wade in the driver's seat," Wilson stated. Peter noticed that Wilson seemed to be in a much better mood than Wade. He figured the driver wasn't too happy about chauffeuring a teenager upstate.

Despite the other man's mood, Peter sent him a pleasant greeting, "Hey, man! Thanks for driving, Wade. I'm excited to get going!" Then he added, "We are going to stop at the apartment, right? I was supposed to be able to grab my things."

Wilson answered for him as they pulled away from the curb, "Oh! Absolutely… it was just closer for us to pick you up here. Isn't that right, Wade?"

"Mmm Hmm," the other man grunted from the driver's seat.

"Ok, great… yeah… thanks." Peter said. For some reason, Peter was starting to feel off about this situation. He wondered if maybe his enhanced senses were trying to tell him something. "Umm… do you mind if I use this port to charge my phone? It died earlier, and I didn't get a chance to charge it. I'd like to make sure Happy is ok."

"Please do!" Wilson said cheerfully. "As a matter of fact, I'll give you a hand."

Peter thought that Wilson was perhaps a little too friendly but figured maybe he was just trying really hard to impress Mr. Stark. Peter opened his backpack and retrieved his phone and car charger. He handed Wilson the charger, and he plugged it into the port behind the center consol. "Here," he said handing Wilson the phone. "I'm just going to close my bag… thanks."

"My pleasure," Wilson said.

To Peter's horror, instead of connecting the phone to the charger, Wilson opened up the window and quickly threw the phone out as the car continued to move.

"What the hell, man!" Peter protested. "Why would you do that?" Now he was really getting worried. He also belatedly noticed that they had missed the turn to go to the apartment. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Spider-Man," Wade spoke from the front, "but I'm afraid you won't be going to see Mr. Stark today. By the order of Secretary Thaddeus Ross, you are to be taken to a secure facility where you will be detained for an undetermined amount of time."

"Wait, what?!" Peter couldn't believe this. He should have known this wasn't right. This wasn't happening. "You have the wrong guy! I'm just a high school kid." He tried.

"Really?" Wilson asked from next to him. Peter noticed he was now pointing some kind of weapon at him. Oddly, the man kept up his friendly demeanor. "Come on, kid. You think that we didn't do our homework on you? We were nice enough not to make a big scene and arrest you in front of your friends." Wilson motioned towards his backpack. "You need to give me your bag, Parker. I'm going to need to deactivate the tracker that is no doubt in that suit of yours."

Peter clutched his bag and gave the man a defiant look.

"I would cooperate, kid," Wade spoke up again. "That taser in his hands is extra powerful. It won't feel so good if he has to use that on you."

"You need to cooperate with us, Parker," Wilson was talking again, "Make it easier on yourself."

Peter was starting to find it hard to breath. This was insane! Were they taking him to that prison Tony talked about? He didn't want to go to prison! This wasn't supposed to happen. He started to weigh his options, and he thought about ripping off the car door and making a run for it with his enhanced abil…

He didn't get to finish that thought. Wilson informed him that his time was up as he pushed the taser into Peter's side.

The jolt of electricity set every nerve in his body on fire, and Peter immediately let go of his bag. As it fell to the floor, Wilson removed the taser. It had all happened within a few seconds, but Peter was already fighting to stay conscious and catch his breath.

"You should have just given it to me, kid," Wilson explained as he picked up Peter's bag.

In no time, Wilson was pulling his Spider-Man suit from his backpack. "We have the wrong guy, huh?" he teased.

Peter was clutching his side and staring at the man next to him. "This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real," he told himself.

"I know I have the right guy, anyone else would be unconscious or dead already," He looked at Peter a moment before using the taser once again.

"STO…" was all Peter could get out. The pain was intense. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even scream as his body spasmed from the electricity. Again, Wilson hadn't used it very long. He clearly just wanted to make sure that Peter was incapacitated.

It worked.

Peter still fought to stay conscious, but the sweat was pouring down his face and his breathing was shallow and fast. He slumped down in the seat, holding his side. He tried putting as much distance between himself and the other man as possible. Peter's head was pounding, but he was able to see what Wilson was doing. The man took out a laptop and another smaller device. The smaller device was used to detect the tracker and anything else that could be used to let Tony know where he was.

Before long, Wilson was ripping something from the suit, hacking in, and deactivating the various protocols. The man was good. He even managed to deactivate KAREN.

Wilson threw the suit to the floor before directing his attention back to Peter.

"Still awake?" he asked, clearly impressed.

"…ere… y.u…tak..n…me?" Peter asked, hating how weak his voice sounded.

"That's for us to know," Wade said from the front.

"…and for you to NOT find out," Wilson added, "Nighty night little spider!" With that Wilson pressed the taser to the Peter once again. This time he didn't take it away until he knew that Peter was truly out.

The last thought Peter had was, "May is gonna be pissed!"

"He's out!" Wilson called to Wade.

"Good. I'm going to give him a call," the driver answered. Ringing could be heard throughout the car as the call went out on the car's Bluetooth.

Ross's voice was heard picking up on the other end, "Yes?" he answered.

"We have Spider-Man, boss," Wade informed me. "We're on our way to meet you now."

"Very good!" Ross sounded thrilled, "I'll meet you at the airstrip!"

"We'll be there in about 30 minutes or so, boss," Wade confirmed.

"Excellent, make sure he remains subdued. Don't underestimate that kid! I can't lose him now!" Ross insisted.

"Don't worry, sir," Wilson called from the back seat. "We got the spider in our web now, and he's not going anywhere."

Wade ended the call. Wilson kept the taser in his hand, ready to use it again if necessary. He looked at the kid, however, and figured that wouldn't be necessary. It seemed he would be out for some time.

Happy was confused. It was almost 3:30; the kid should have been back to the apartment by now. He was also getting worried because the calls kept going to voicemail. Either the kid's phone was dead, or something was very wrong.

Happy was about to call Tony when he had another idea.

He groaned and hit another number in his contacts list.

The phone only rang once before an excited voice picked up on the other end, "Mr. Happy?" Ned answered with enthusiasm.

Happy rolled his eyes, "Yeah, kid, this is Happy Hogan…"

Ned cut him off. "Mr. Happy! It's so cool you actually called! I didn't think you'd even keep my number when I gave it to you after Christmas! What's going on? Do I get to come upstate early? I guess you aren't delayed anymore! I'd love to get a ride if…"

"Hold on!" Happy interrupted. "Delayed? What? Is Peter still with you?"

For the first time, Ned was silent on the other end of the phone. "Uh…no," Ned's voice was confused and held some worry. "He got a message at school. Someone called the office and said you were delayed. Someone else picked him up and…"

"What the HELL?" Happy yelled into the phone. "Why would he go with someone else? Shit! I gotta call Tony, kid. Let me… maybe I'll call you back!"

Without listening for another response from Peter's friend, Happy ended the call and quickly rang Tony's number.

"This cannot be good!" Happy thought.

"Hey, Hap!" Tony answered cheerfully. "You and the kid on your way?"

Tony was back at the compound setting up some more things for Peter's party the following Thursday. There were some things he wanted to finish before Peter arrived. He was also expecting to hear from May soon. He wanted to make sure that she didn't have any problem with the car or the money he sent to help her pay for it.

"Tony…" Happy's voice sounded very worried through the phone, and that immediately made Tony feel worried.

"Happy?" Tony asked, "Are you and Pete alright?"

"I'm fine… I was here at the apartment waiting for the kid. He was late, and I called his friend… that Ned kid," Happy explained. "Tony, someone called the school and told Peter that he was being picked up there… that I was delayed or some BULLSHIT like that!"

Tony listened to his trusted head of security on the phone as he quickly filled him in. Tony wasn't sure he was following, or he hoped that he was misunderstanding what Happy was saying.

"What are you saying?" he asked. He needed clarification. He had to know for sure. He needed to know that he was understanding exactly what was going on.

And why in the hell was his chest feeling so tight all of a sudden?

"He's gone, Tony. Someone else has Peter," Happy explained, his voice filled with regret. "I'm sorry," he added.

Tony couldn't breathe. The room was spinning. "Someone else has Peter." That's what Happy said. "Oh God…" Tony said aloud. He turned his attention back to the phone, "Get back here as soon as you can. I'll call you if I find anything." Tony didn't even wait to hear Happy's response. He ended the call and immediately tried to track down his favorite kid.

Tony had a bad feeling about who that "someone else" was with Peter, and he desperately hoped that he was wrong.

The black sedan pulled into the private airstrip where Ross was waiting not far from a large military-looking helicopter.

The car came to stop, and Ross approached, a spring in his step.

Wade and Wilson exited the car. Wilson left his door open for Ross to look inside as he approached.

"Shh… the baby's sleeping," Wilson joked.

Ross glanced inside to see an unconscious Peter Parker slumped in the back seat. The kid looked pale and a little clammy, but otherwise was unharmed. Ross smiled.

"The intern… huh…" Ross scoffed and shook his head, looking between the other two men. "He doesn't look like an enhanced individual to me."

"Trust us, boss," Wade said. "The kid doesn't look like much, but Wilson had to use a lot of juice from that taser to put him out. A normal man would be dead right now."

"No doubt," Ross commented. "Get him out of there," he ordered.

Wilson reached into the backseat and pulled Peter out, none too gently. Poor Peter's head connected with the roof of the car on the way out, causing him to stir.

Wade and Wilson each grabbed an arm and held Peter in front of Ross, who noticed Peter trying to regain consciousness. Slowly, the young man peeled his eyes open and set unfocused eyes on Ross.

"I don't know if you can understand me right now, son," Ross teased and lowered his head so that his face was inches away from Peter's own. "…but there's been a change of plans. We've arranged some other accommodations for you."

Peter's eyes regained some focus. To the men's surprise, Peter tried to fight the men holding him with a decent amount of strength. "Argh…" Peter groaned as he tried to summon any strength he could.

Ross motioned to another man near the chopper. "Bring the restraints!" He called.

The man quickly brought over thick cuffs that looked nothing like normal prison restraints. He also brought a collar over. Ross picked up the collar first.

"This will keep you in line," Ross stated as he approached. He noticed that Wilson and Wade were beginning to strain against the kid, so he placed the collar around Peter's neck quickly.

Peter yelped as it snapped into place. It wasn't overly tight, but it was definitely uncomfortable. As Peter regained focus, he noticed that the collar wasn't impacting his strength. He was about to give a fierce tug to pull himself free when he suddenly felt a strange pulse coming from the device on his neck. The pain he felt from it wasn't much different from the taser. Peter crashed down to his knees and reached his hands towards his neck, breathing heavily. "What the hell was that?!" Peter thought.

Ross knelt down in front of Peter, holding a remote in his hands. "Tsk, tsk, tsk," Ross scolded. "You'll need to be more careful, Mr. Parker. Or do you prefer Spider-Man?"

Peter lifted his eyes and gave him as fierce of a look as he could muster. In this moment, he wanted to be as bold as his Spider-Man persona. He would not let Ross see his fear. (Even though he was undoubtedly afraid).

Ross ignored the look and continued, "That device on your neck… it's not so different from the one we needed to use on Maximoff when she was in custody. This remote…" he held out the remote for Peter to see, "…can be used to activate that collar. If you thought the first pulse was painful, you'll want to cooperate. The next one will be worse."

Peter gulped.

"Place the cuffs on him. You can keep his hands in the front," Ross instructed. The man who had originally brought the restraints had returned to the helicopter, which was now roaring to life. "Wade, you'll come with me," Ross motioned towards a smaller helicopter a little further away. "Wilson, you stay with our guest here." Ross gave Wilson the remote. "Make sure he stays comfortable."

Wilson smiled and took the remote.

Peter now had his hands in the cuffs. Wilson came around behind him and pulled him up.

Peter resisted the urge to groan at the pain in his knees. He was terrified, but if he didn't have his physical strength then he would muster up any mental strength that was left to glare at Ross with hatred.

"Nothing to say?" Ross asked Peter.

Oh, Peter had something to say alright. "F**K YOU!" Peter yelled. (He was a little glad Aunt May wasn't there to hear him).

Ross didn't respond, he merely gave Wilson a look over Peter's shoulder.

Before Peter could register what was about to happen, an intense pulse shuddered through his body. Peter fell to the ground with a loud groan of pain and was once again unconscious. Wade stepped forward with a phone and snapped a picture of Peter on the ground before helping Wilson drag him to the waiting helicopter.

Ross watched with a satisfied smile as Peter was placed securely on board.

Wade returned to Ross's side, and the two stood and watched as the helicopter lifted into the air.

"I thought the picture might help us prove our point," Wade smirked. "If not, we can always get Wilson to give us a live show."

The smile on Ross's face grew wider. "Come, Wade. Let's go give Stark a visit."

With that, the two men made their way towards the smaller helicopter, where a few more men where waiting to take them to the compound. Ross wanted to see the look on Stark's face in person, especially when he realized that he was helpless to save the kid.

Tony had quickly made his way down to the command center. He was frantically trying to trace Peter or find some sign of where he was.

Before long, Pepper stepped out of the elevator.

"Tony," she began, her face full of concern. "Happy called me and told me what was going on. He's making his way back now. I came to see how you're doing. Did you find anything?"

She noticed that Tony looked pale. The wrinkles in his forehead revealed his intense concentration and worry as he worked.

"Nothing! There's nothing here, Pep!" Tony yelled.

"I called Rhodes," she said. "He's coming as soon as he can."

"How can there be nothing?" Tony asked frantically, ignoring the bit about Rhodes. Pepper was still pretty sure that he heard her. "I put everything in his suit. I should at least be able to find that, but nothing! No phone. No KAREN. NO PETER!"

"Tony…" Pepper tried.

"I called the school!" Tony continued, "The message they gave Peter was about a black sedan. I tried getting into the traffic cameras outside the school!" Tony looked up at Pepper. "You know what I found? NOTHING! The cameras outside the school were apparently experiencing some technical glitch around the time the school let out!"

"No!" Pepper commented.

"There's nothing to go on here! I expanded out to the closest cameras around the school. Do you know how many black sedans are driving around the city?" Tony asked, his voice strained, "Too many! I have FRIDAY trying to freeze frames of black sedans that might fit the time frame. We're trying scan for any face recognition, but there is NOTHING. What the hell am I supposed to do? That kid was my responsibility!"

"Oh, Tony…" Pepper said.

Tony voice cracked, "I lost him!"

Pepper tried to offer him comfort. "We'll figure this out. He didn't just disappear."

Tony looked at her. His face turned angry, but it wasn't meant to be directed at her.

"Oh, I know he didn't disappear! This has ROSS written all over it! Somehow he found out… he had to… that's the only thing that makes sense…" his face turned to one of horror. "He'd take him to THE RAFT, Pepper. Indefinitely. No trial. I need to try to get to Peter before that happens, Pepper. There's no way Ross would let me get anywhere near that thing once Peter's on board."

"Tony…" Pepper said seriously, "We need to call May. She needs to know what's going on!"

Tony paused, a strange look fell across his face. It held a mix of fear, guilt, anger, and sadness. "Not yet," he finally said. "We need to know for sure. Pete wouldn't want us to worry her until there's something more definitive to tell."

"Ok…" Pepper reluctantly agreed. "But we need to let her know as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the harder it's going to be for her. He's the only one she has left." Pepper said the last part barely above a whisper.

FRIDAY's voice filled the room, "Sir… there's a helicopter approaching the compound," she said.

"Rhodes?" Tony asked, confirming that he had heard Pepper earlier.

"No, sir," FRIDAY informed. "It appears Secretary Ross is on board."

"What the hell?" Tony looked at Pepper.

"Do you think he has Peter with him?" She asked hopefully.

"Doubtful. That son-of-a-bitch probably came to gloat." Tony said as he walked towards the elevator. He intended to be there when Ross landed on the helipad. He looked at Pepper and activated a gauntlet on his hand. "I'll kill him before he gets the chance."

"Tony, wait!" Pepper called, "I'm coming with you! You're not facing that man alone!"

Tony didn't protest, and Pepper was glad. She would need to stop him from killing Ross before they could even get any answers.

As the helicopter landed, Ross wasn't surprised to see Tony storming in his direction, Pepper Potts close behind. The helicopter powered down and Ross and Wade stepped out with two other men.

Pepper had grabbed a hold of Tony and held him back in order to let the others step forward, further away from the helicopter that was still shutting down.

"Stark!" Ross greeted, "You didn't need meet me out here. I was coming to you."

Tony raised his hand and let the gauntlet roar to life. "You have some explaining to do, Ross!" Tony threated.

Wade stepped in front of Ross, reaching for a gun at his side.

"Gentlemen!" Ross scolded. "Let's be civilized, shall we?"

"Tony…" Pepper got Tony's attention and nodded towards the other armed men. Instead of trying to reason with Tony about being outnumbered, she tried a different approach. "…We need information. We need to know what he knows."

"Inside…" Tony said simply.

They all made their way into the building, and Tony led them into the nearest room that was empty. He and Pepper stood side-by-side and turned towards Ross and his men.

Ross spoke first. "You have a lot of nerve telling me that I'm the one who has some explaining to do," he told Tony.

"What?!" Tony asked, clearly in no mood to beat around the bush.

"It's the damnest thing, Stark." Ross began, "I finally was able to find someone to give me the identity of Spider-Man, and it turns out to be the same kid working as your intern. Coincidence?" Ross asked, "I think not!"

"Who told it is was Peter?" Tony demanded. "He's just a kid! You have the wrong man!" he tried. He knew it probably wouldn't work, though.

Ross shook his head and laughed. He ignored the demand to know who told him Peter's identity. "He is a kid, but he is definitely the right man… if the suit and enhanced abilities are any indication."

Pepper had to hold Tony in place. "We need to know more," she whispered as he fought to attack Ross.

"You would have been proud, Tony," Ross added. "The kid put up one hell of a fight, which was amazing considering the high intensity taser that was used to subdue him in the first place!"

Tony was beyond angry. "So… you want to arrest someone? Arrest me!" he yelled.

"And take you to him?" Ross teased. "No… I don't think I'll do that, Stark."

"Where is he now?" Tony asked, "I need to know he's ok."

"I imagine he's still in transit," Ross said. He gave a sinister smile to Tony before adding, "he should arrive at the RAFT shortly."

"NO!" Tony cried as he raised his gauntlet at Ross again.

This time Wade stepped forward, his phone with the picture of Peter out in front of him. "I wouldn't!" he warned.

Tony froze at the sight of Peter in the picture. He heard Pepper stifle a gasp behind him.

"What the HELL did you do?" he demanded of Ross. He saw that Peter looked unconscious, and there was a collar around his neck similar to one Wanda was forced to wear when she was detained on the RAFT.

"That device around his neck gives off a debilitating pulse," Ross explained. "Too much could probably prove fatal for Mr. Parker," Ross teased.

"You try attacking Ross again, and I send word to put Spider-Man in a world of pain," Wade threatened.

Tony and Pepper were speechless. How could they be so cruel to a kid? Especially Peter… he was so innocent.

"He doesn't deserve this," Tony said aloud. "He doesn't belong there, Ross." Tony was begging now. He couldn't let this happen. "Please… this is my fault! I pulled him into this. I needed his help with Rogers! He wanted to impress me when he went after Toomes! Can't you see? The kid wants to do the right thing. Just… give him the chance to sign," Tony continued. "He only hesitated to sign because he wanted to stay a kid, keep his privacy. He wasn't ready for the attention, Ross! Please!" Tony's voice was a loud, desperate whisper. "Please, Thaddeus. Let. Him. Go. Let him come home."

Ross studied Tony carefully before taking a step in his direction and asking, "You want him back?"

Tony didn't answer. Ross knew the answer. The answer was written all over Tony's face.

"You care about him that much, Stark?" Ross was even closer now.

"I'd do anything for that kid. You can lock me away if you want." Tony confirmed.

"Anything?" Ross asked again.

"Yes!" Tony's voice was louder now. Pepper held onto his arm tightly, her face full of concern.

"Ok…" Ross said. "Tell me how to reach Steve Rogers and the others."

"Well SHIT!" Tony thought. "That might be the one thing I can't do."

"I…" Tony began. "Ross… I… it's not that easy!"

"Why not?" Ross demanded.

"It's… I need some time… time to think… I…" he looked back up at Ross. The bastard was smiling as if he'd already won.

"You have 24 hours, Stark." Ross said. "I'll be back by this time tomorrow. For Peter's sake," Ross emphasized, "I would make your decision quickly."

"You hurt him anymore and I swear…"

"I'll be in touch!" Ross interrupted as he turned to exit the room with his men.

"We'll send you more pictures!" Wade added with a nasty wink.

Tony clenched his jaw shut, and Pepper remained silent by his side. They slowly followed Ross and his men back out towards the helipad.

They watched helplessly as Ross left them to stand there, no closer to getting Peter back.

"Oh god…" Tony said as he watched the helicopter pull away.

Pepper looked at him, seeing the fear on his face.

"…I have to call May," he said.