Wow!
Just wow! Thank you all for the overwhelming support. We hit 100 reviews! There are still going to be a lot of gaps to fill in with what's happened to Peter so just hang in there and like Tony, you'll eventually get the truth.
He hurt. His knee, his side, both arms felt like fire. His head was spinning and Peter honestly had no idea how he'd ended up in this position but he did feel the impact of something hitting him in the gut and he curled instinctively while trying to gasp for air that had been forced from his lungs.
He heard voices, shouting and shuffling near him. Eyes opened to see the blurry image of legs around him, that's right, he was on the ground. He tasted copper, right. He'd been punched, hard. Why was it so hard to breathe? It felt like he was sucking in glass with each breath.
It was impossible for Peter to make out what was being said. He didn't pick up on the jeering and shouts as the other teens egged Greg on, the older teen drawing his leg back for another kick as John made it to the group, trying to haul the older boy back, "Enough! That's enough!" Peter didn't hear the sounds of jet engines as Clint Barton literally thread the needle with parking the Quinjet in the middle of the suburban road. Didn't hear the gasps or exclamations as everyone watched dumbfounded as the iconic figure of Tony Stark came running off, nano tech glowing in his chest with none other than Captain America moving after him.
"Pete!" The billionaire's gaze zeroed in on the downed teen who was struggling to get himself up off the ground.
"Mr…Mr Stark?" His voice was rough and broken. Emotional dam breaking as his resolve crumbled.
As Tony skidded over to his side the group instinctively backed away, murmurs still running through the gaggle of teens as Steve stopped just short, trying to take in as much as he could see. "Kid? Hey Kid…Stay with me." His voice was soft, so soft when Steve could easily see the rage within the other. Steve hadn't expected this, foster care was no picnic but the boy looked terrible. Thinner than Steve remembered, clearly on the losing end of a fight he should have been able to easily win, his arms and hands were also blotchy red while his face was ashen, stained with flecks of blood from the presumed fight they'd stumbled upon.
"I…" He coughed, hard. "I sent it back…" Tears were free failing, he couldn't help it, he was weak, too weak for Tony to really be here.
"I know…I know kiddo just stop okay? Okay just…you gotta calm down Pete. Steve…Steve help me." Tony was decently strong and Peter seemed like he wouldn't be that hard to carry but Tony was all about using his resources and having the super soldier carry Peter would be a far easier and smoother transition. Steve didn't need to be told twice, kneeling to scoop up the teen as gently as he could, still flinching when Peter cried out in protest. Standing he wasted little time heading back towards the Quinjet with Tony on his heels.
Some might think John would stand up, say that they weren't authorized to take the teen. Those people lived in a fantasy world. While John would surely report this to the appropriate authorities there was no way in hell any regular person had the sheer balls it would take to tell Iron man and Captain America they couldn't do something.
The only parting comment was from Toby, "Holy Shit…Tony Stark did come get him…"
The moment Tony walked on he ordered Barton into the sky. "Tony." Steve gave, still cradling the teen against his chest, "I don't think he's breathing." There was shock on the other's face but Tony pushed through and moved to pull a white box with a red cross out of one of the storage containers. It was luggage sized and when he activated it, it unfolded into a container of sorts.
"Get him in." Steve shifted instantly to set the teen down, he'd never seen the box but clearly Tony had thought about medical needs they had on missions and invented something to help. The second Pete was laid within and his hands were out of the way the transparent cover slid shut. "Friday." He ordered, not needing to say more.
"Diagnostics running." A heartbeat or two later and the AI announced, "Mr. Parker is experiencing an acute allergic reaction. Administering epinephrine now to counteract anaphylactic shock." There was a hiss from the box as it did what Friday indicated, and a little display of vitals showed both men a readout as his breathing became somewhat more steady.
"Guys. I got you a line open to Bruce." Clint shouted from the cockpit. He didn't know what all was happening but only a quick glance had showed him the kid was in rough shape. All the archer could do was push the engines to their breaking point to decrease the travel time.
Tony's eyes were glued to Peter's form, as if he'd blink and the kid would be gone. "How did they let this happen? How did I let this happen?"
"Tony? What's going on. Friday sent orders to ready a medical team and I've got vitals. Who got hurt?" And clearly, how did they get hurt. Nat had explained they were going after Spiderman, a kid, but the information they had from Ned didn't point to the level of injury and damage he was seeing from Friday's scans.
"He shouldn't be this bad…" It didn't make sense to him.
Steve saw that Tony wasn't going to be giving a lot of useful information, so he spoke up. "Teenager, about fifteen…sixteen. Looks like he was in a fight with another teen right before we got there. Red rash on his hands and arms. Likely some hidden damage, he screamed when I moved him. Pale and thin."
"Definitely a fight. Friday's scans are showing two cracked ribs, right knee and arm also have some blunt force trauma…" It was odd, the damage seemed to be localized to his right side which was possible but seemed unlikely for a fight. "Rash coincides with an acute allergic attack- whatever it was he must have just been exposed." The 'he's lucky you got there when you did' rested in the air.
"Bruce be ready. He's enhanced but…I'm not sure the extent. He's got strength for sure. Tony. Tony what do you know?"
Tony blinked, he'd zoned out of the conversation and Steve had to repeat before he could answer, "Kid got bit, by a radioactive spider. Speed, strength, healing…your typical super soldier powers." Not to mention a few more specific to Peter but they weren't important at the moment, "He shouldn't be this bad." Why wasn't he healing? He'd been healed from Germany's bumps and bruises before he'd returned home.
"Ned said Peter told him he lost his powers." Nat cut into the line, that seemed to make sense. Tony had so many questions that needed answering but the only one that mattered was whether or not the kid would be okay. "I got a call out to Strange." She'd met the man in Norway where they'd all worked to set up the new home for Asgardian refugees. The rest of the ride was spent with Tony sitting next to the medical unit, staring at the steady but weak vital signs and wishing Peter would just open his eyes.
When they arrived Bruce and Strange were waiting with a team. Strange had made sure to mention that he was a neurosurgeon, not a GP but that didn't stop him from assisting. The medical unit was loaded up- safer to move Pete inside while he was still in it, given it was designed to handle just about any life threatening situation and keep whoever was inside stable for as long as possible.
Wilson had stayed out of the way but like the others, had seen the teen as he was carted by. "Shit dude…" The kid didn't look good at all, this was the same kid that had given him and Barnes a run for their money? Tony parked himself outside of the room they'd taken Peter to, Steve staying with him just to be a voice of reason. He knew Tony well enough to know there was a possibility the other would do something stupid. Something really, really, stupid.
Nat made her way over as well, sharing a look with Steve but saying nothing until Tony piped up, "Where's the kid? The other kid?"
"Happy took him home, his parents weren't aware he'd crossed the city to get here. I figured it would be best to have him out of the way." Even if they were friends there was nothing Ned could do for Peter now. Tony glanced over and his look asked the important question, Nat was a master interrogator even if her particular skillset wasn't exactly put to use with Ned- she still got every detail possible. "He let me know that May Parker passed away, struck by a motorcycle. I pulled the records, neck snap, it was instant." Tony flinched as she continued, "Peter was sent to temporary housing until after the funeral when he was moved to a group home upstate. Ned hadn't spoken with Pete recently, but Peter had been feeling bad when they last talked and sent Ned a cryptic email that he believes indicated Peter had lost his, and I quote, 'his you know what' abilities." She paused for a beat before making sure Tony knew, "I already filled Bruce and Stephen in, they know they're dealing with a super." Which was a risk in and of itself, no two were the same and what worked on a regular person may or may not even work on an enhanced individual.
Tony shook his head, still grasping at the concept of how it had come to this. "I should have been there. I should have known…I had…I had everything in place. His AI should have…Everything was programmed to let me know if something happened. If he was in the news, if he got hurt, if he was taking on someone or something out of his league…" He paced, scrubbing at his face as he tried to fathom how he could not have known. He hadn't planned for this, for the null. He missed it. He assumed, logically, that if Peter got in trouble he would be in the suit, or because of the suit. Because of being Spiderman. Peter Parker had been the one in distress and none of his protocols planned for that.
Guilt morphed quickly to anger. "Friday. Get me everything you know about that house. Who runs it, who was in it. Everything."
"On it boss." Steve knew that wouldn't end well but Tony wasn't in the state of mind to listen to him at the moment so he stayed silent, sharing a look with Nat. If it came down to it, they'd need to subdue the other. Justified or not, Tony leveling a group home wasn't going to work well in their favor. For the rest of the hour Tony paced, restless, while Steve kept watch and Nat filtered in and out, bringing coffee at one point.
Tony's attention snapped to the door a second before it opened and the two doctors stepped out. "He's stable, but very weak." Strange started, the doctor in him coming out. "We're working with a lot of unknowns and that makes this all extremely risky."
"How about we start with how anyone could let him get this bad?" The anger remained in Tony's voice.
"He probably wasn't." Strange replied evenly, emotionally detached from the situation, he had to be given his previous line of work. "The allergic reaction was likely a catalyst that exacerbated everything else."
Bruce offered a helpful translation. "He was probably doing better, maybe looked sick but nothing hospital worthy. He had bugs in his system, but everything was still running until this last wrench was tossed in, basically a cascading system failure."
Banner paused, letting it sink in before continuing. "What we do know are puzzle pieces. He suffered an acute allergic reaction. We're talking airborne peanut allergy level. Whatever it was he was likely exposed to it minutes before you arrived, it hit him hard and fast. He has blunt force trauma along the right side of his body which doesn't match what we'd usually see in a fight so I'm guessing he took some sort of fall or hit and the fight may have just aggravated it."
Strange nodded, watching as Tony stood there, silent, not a comment or a retort. He'd never see the other like this, granted they hadn't known each other long but the snarky bastard he'd come to know was nowhere in sight. "The biggest issue is the toxic build up in his body at a cellular level." Tony's expressed wanted to question, but he still remained silent. "We're dealing with not knowing how his mutation handles things, so any of this could be right or wrong. With a normal human I'd have to say that he's been exposed to something that…" Strange considered, grasping for the best way to explain, "Something that isn't deadly in low doses, the body can filter it out, but prolonged exposure can cause a build up, liver and kidneys unable to filter out the toxin as quickly as it's being introduced. Right now, that's our focus. I'd like to start him on dialysis to see if we can give his organs some rest- there's the potential his liver or kidneys could go into shock and shut down but as they are, they're too damaged to continue filtering out the toxin on their own."
Damned if they did and damned if they didn't.
Strange paused for a moment. This was why he never bothered with bedside manner, it was difficult to see the haunted looks on the faces of loved ones. "Dialysis could give him a fighting chance but…his body is extremely weak. There is the possibility that he can't tolerate it and we could be dealing with septic shock."
"And if we do nothing?" Tony questioned, speaking up with an even voice.
Strange shook his head as Bruce answered, "Tony…it doesn't look good."
The billionaire sucked in a breath of air. "Do it. Do it. Do anything that's going to give him better odds. If I need to synthesize organs overnight I will. Losing him is not an option." And his voice was final on that. Tony would go to heaven and back to save the kid- because if Pete died he was definitely going upstairs, not down. And screw whatever deity existed Tony was not going to give the kid up, he'd faced down gods before and won.
"Nat." He snapped, gaze shifting over to her, "I want you to take a team and I want you to rip that place apart brick by brick. I want to know everything. Everything." What had hurt Peter and how could he protect him in the future.
Steve didn't bother mentioning Wakanda, while they might be able to offer additional medical support, the Avengers had their own medical tricks up their sleeve and besides, he wasn't sure Pete would survive the prolonged trip, or even a short trip through Strange's portal. "Take Lang." He instructed, knowing she'd take a forensic team as well, whatever was needed to scrub the house and figure out what had happened. Natasha nodded, patting Tony's shoulder as she passed by before heading out to complete her mission. It was already getting late and while she knew Tony wanted it done now, nothing would be gained by ambushing the house at night. Instead she'd schedule a team to leave predawn knowing Tony would be far too distracted with the kid to realize when they started said mission. "Can we see him?" Steve wondered, of course by 'we' he really meant Tony and the second Bruce nodded the billionaire was moving into the room.
Fingers curled and his stomach sank at the sight of the kid, laying there, so fragile, so…so small in the medical bed. His clothing was gone, apparently replaced by medical scrubs and covered by thick white sheets for warmth. His arms were out, resting above the fabric and the red rash seemed to have faded away leaving him pale all over. He stood at the bedside, hand gripping the railing impossibly tight. Steve and Bruce watched, the two of them knowing how precarious a situation it was. Tony made foolish decisions when his emotions got the better of him. "Tony-" Steve started.
"I should have been there, none of this would have happened if I would have been there." This was his fault.
"Tony if you were never in his life his Aunt still would have died and he still would have been shipped up state, only in that case there really wouldn't be anyone to come get him. Nothing changes that. You weren't there for him, you're right, but you're here now. If you keep letting this guilt eat at you then you're never going to be the support he needs. You can't change what happened but you need to decide what's going to happen from here on out."
Steve was right, and his words struck home. Tony would be there for the kid even if it killed him. He'd been so stupid, thinking the best thing was to be hands off. Kid wanted to keep his identity a secret, so they couldn't really be seen together when Iron Man and Spiderman had already been spotted together on more than one occasion. He'd set up protocols to let him know if Spiderman was in danger but he'd never assumed something like this would happen to the nerdy kid behind the mask.
"Should he be waking up?" Tony wondered, watching Peter's features closely as if looking for any sign the kid was improving.
"No." Strange answered as he moved around the bed to begin attaching the necessary equipment. Normal dialysis required ports into an artery but only the best was used here, advanced technology that required only a bandaid like object to be placed on Peter's chest, near the nape of his neck. Nanotech would hone in on the artery and painlessly attach to it, from there Strange could hook up the machine lines where blood would be diverted to and from after the toxins were removed. "Dialysis can be an uncomfortable process and his body needs all the rest he can get, we administered a mild sedative to help him sleep through it." The Doctor spoke without looking at Tony, instead focusing on his patient, making sure his blood pressure didn't drop. Bruce did much of the same, the two working in tandem. Both kept their eyes on Peter's vitals and both noticed the shift. "Pressors." Was all Strange needed to say.
"On it." Bruce answered, already with a bottle in hand, measuring out the dosage before injecting it into one of the IV lines after they notice his blood pressure dropping.
Tony could only watch, helpless. His mind, money and might could do nothing to help. If anyone caught Tony reaching out, wrapping fingers around the teen's pale hand with a gentle squeeze, they didn't comment.
So there we have it. Tony has Peter but he's not out of the woods yet.
Drop me a line and let me know what you think!
