Spencer barely remembered arriving at the Compound. His breakdown had left him so exhausted, he barely even registered it when Tony picked him up or when they were moving. There was a brief moment where he stirred when he was being laid out on a bed and Tony's arms were moving away from him. Spencer might've made some sort of pathetic sound, he wasn't entirely sure.

The next second Tony was stroking a hand through his hair and shushing him, and something else was right there, something warm and familiar and almost as safe as Tony was. That presence climbed right into the bed with him and Spencer happily curled into it. He rested his head against a familiar heartbeat and let that and the emotions that were around him soothe him slowly back down.

He woke in almost the same position sometime later. There was still that heartbeat right in front of him, but this time he was at least coherent enough to recognize it as Peter. For a brief moment Spencer wanted to wake up enough to ask what Peter was doing in bed with him, cuddling him, but really, that thought seemed so unimportant right then in the face of Spencer's exhaustion. His body was sore, his mind aching as it tried to heal his mental walls. But the room was dark, just a hint of light nearby, Peter's emotions were a nice, low buzz that told Spencer he was asleep and not hurt, and nearby he could feel Tony's presence as well, coming from somewhere behind him. The man was awake, yet relaxed, and unharmed.

The little family that Spencer had built for himself was okay. The two most important ones were right here, and he had no doubt that the others were fine. If they weren't, there was no way Tony would be so relaxed. If his emotions were this calm, it meant that Spencer could be calm, too.

Somehow Tony must've sensed that Spencer was awake because Tony's hand was suddenly right there, petting at Spencer's hair in a manner that was more soothing than it should be, and the man was murmuring "You're all right, kid. Everyone's okay. Just go back to sleep."

There was no point in arguing that. Spencer was safe, comfortable, and surrounded by people he trusted. Snuggling back in against Peter, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

The next time that Spencer woke, Peter and Tony were both gone, but a woman was there who Spencer didn't recognize. She was sitting in a chair near his bed, holding a paperback book and looking completely content and engrossed in what she was doing. She was a smaller, slender woman, with dark hair, and lines near her eyes that came when someone spent much of their life smiling.

He watched her for a long moment, wondering who she was. He didn't recognize her from around the Compound. Before he could think about what to do, or come up with any ideas on who she might be, the woman looked up. She startled at the sight of him awake, and then her whole face lit up with a bright, warm smile, and her emotions were equally warm as they poured off of her. "Well now, look who finally woke up!" Folding her book down into her lap, the woman ran her eyes over him. "How're you feeling, sweetie? You need me to call Bruce in here for you?"

Spencer licked dry lips and reached down to push against the bed, wincing a little as he shifted himself up into a better position. "No, thank you. How long was I asleep?"

The raspy sound to his voice had her wincing. In an instant she was up and moving across the room to the sink. Spencer watched as she grabbed a paper cup and filled it; he took note as she did that the room they were in looked a lot like the medical room Peter had stayed in when Spencer first came here.

She was back by his bedside a moment later, holding the cup out to him. "Here, honey. Take this. I can't imagine your throat feels all that great." She watched him as he gratefully took the cup – his throat felt like sandpaper, and his mouth was dry and sticky – and she waited until he started to sip at it before answering his previous question. "You've been asleep for about eight hours. Peter left a little while ago, though he promised he'd be back later, and Clint dragged Tony out about a half an hour ago so he could get a shower and something to eat. I offered to sit with you for a while." The smile she wore softened into something gentler; something that reminded Spencer of his mom when he was sick. As if to further cement that image, the woman reached out and smoothed at the blankets near his legs, adjusting them in a move that looked instinctive, even as she looked up at him and introduced herself. "I'm Laura, Clint's wife, by the way. We haven't met yet, but I've heard plenty about you."

That… that didn't sound reassuring at all.

Laura must've seen something on Spencer's face. She chuckled and reached out to pat at his shoulder. "Don't worry, honey. Clint likes you. He might not be the best at showing it, but he does. He's only had nice things to say about you."

Curling his hands around the cup of water, Spencer took another sip, not quite sure what to say. He wanted to ask Laura why she was in here; he didn't know her, what made her come sit at his bedside? It was like he was dying or anything. There'd been no real serious physical risk here. Sure, he could still feel the bruises all along his back, plus some on his ribs that were loudly protesting how he'd been curled up, and good God did his leg ache at the moment, but none of that was serious.

Unless she wasn't in here because of any of that. Spencer tried to hide his grimace behind his cup. The idea that she might be in here because they were worried about him, after the way he completely broke down yesterday, it made his stomach twist a little. Any attempt he'd made at not coming off as weak in front of these people had been entirely blown out the window. Apparently he'd made such an impression, they didn't want to leave him alone even just for a little bit. Way to go, idiot. Good job on coming off as mature and capable and not a child.

Spencer turned his face down, staring at the water in his cup, unaware of just how much of his emotions were still bleeding through to those around him. His shields felt so much better, but being in the hospital had done more than just knock them down. Between his own pain and the pain of others, it'd shattered them, and that wasn't something that healed easily. While he was mostly keeping Laura's emotions back, he wasn't keeping his own in all that well, and having her close to him only made it more difficult.

When the teen looked up, he found that Laura had furrowed her brows, and she looked like she wanted to say something to him. What, he wasn't quite sure, and he never found out. The door opened in that moment and Bruce came in.

Almost instantly Spencer perked up. If Bruce were here, there was every chance Spencer could get himself checked out and at least back to his own room, where there wouldn't be anyone just watching him sleep. "Dr. Banner!"

The enthusiasm in his voice was hard to hide and it made both the adults chuckle. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were happy to see me, Spencer." Bruce teased him. Still, he looked happy as he walked up to Spencer's bedside, taking Laura's place as she stepped back a little.

Spencer flushed a little, yet he smiled at the same time. "I'm always pleased by your company, Dr. Banner."

"Nice save." Bruce's voice was layered with an easy teasing. It was in his emotions, too, warm and bright for Spencer to feel. "I know that look, though. Tony gets the same look when he's in here. I'm not clearing you to leave until I get a chance to look you over again. You gave us one hell of a scare, Dr. Reid. Your powers are helping you heal a whole lot faster than the average person, but most of your energy seems to have gone into other things and you're not showing as rapid healing as you normally might."

That was something that Spencer had already figured out. Extrapolating from his previous rate of healing, most of these injuries should've been gone already. Then again, judging by what he felt on the inside, it kind of made sense that they weren't. "My energy levels feel quite a bit lower than usual." Tilting his head, Spencer closed his eyes and focused inwards, not paying any real attention to the two that were watching him. He wasn't sure he could explain what he was doing. His electrical powers, they were a part of him, a part of his very being, and seeing their 'levels' took just a bit of thought and focus. "I think… I think after the amount I used in the field, and then what I poured into the shield for the bomb… I, I tried to supplement a little from the energy around me, but most of it was internal."

"You used up your internal reserves." Realization lit Bruce's face. "Of course. You're not 'plugged in' to anything, so to speak. All the electricity you create comes from you. That's a finite resource. You're like a car that's on E – your body isn't healing because there is no excess energy in you with which to even try healing."

That was as good an explanation as anything. This was the lowest that Spencer had felt since arriving here. What little electricity he felt inside – something that he'd barely registered was a constant for him, buzzing away inside his body – was almost gone. Just a faint hum along his nerves.

Followed quickly on the heels of that realization was a strong wave of worry and disapproval. Bruce's eyebrows drew down and he fixed Spencer with a firm look. "That was extremely foolish. Do you realize what this means for you? There's no telling what would happen to your body if you drained your energy down completely. It's highly likely it would've killed you, Spencer."

Spencer lifted his hands and spread them out in a 'what can you do' sort of gesture. "And if I hadn't, it's highly likely countless more would've died from that blast." To him, that said it all.

It looked like Bruce wanted to find some sort of protest, only he knew it wasn't worth the effort, and Laura was watching Spencer with something in her emotions that was a bit amused and just a little bit sad. "Oh, you fit right in here, don't you?" she asked him.

Was that supposed to have a meaning he wasn't getting? Unsure, Spencer settled for shrugging one shoulder. Right away he wished that he hadn't. The pull against his back was enough to remind him of the very same bruises they'd just been talking about.

Bruce distracted him before he could wonder more about Laura's words, or try and think of anything else to say. "I'd like to keep you here at least through the rest of the day. You should eat two full meals, plus a snack at some point, and get some more rest. We can reevaluate by the end of the day to see where you stand."

There was no moving Bruce on it. A meal was brought in to him by Laura, who also stuck around to make sure that he ate as much of it as possible. Later, Spencer would be a bit embarrassed to admit that he fell asleep about halfway through it. The same process was repeated a few hours later. Laura was gone, but Bruce was still there, another tray of food ready to go. That time they managed to get the whole meal in him before he started to drift again. "This is getting frustrating," Spencer murmured as he felt his body sink down into the bed.

Eyes closed, he listened to Bruce chuckle. A hand hesitantly touched his forehead before smoothing his hair back from his face. "Listen to your body, it knows what it needs."

"Mmm." It wasn't like he had any choice. Full, comfortable, and safe, with people around that he trusted and the security of FRIDAY buzzing all around him, there wasn't any way Spencer could've fought sleep even if he tried.

Thankfully, he didn't sleep anywhere near as long that time. Only a few hours had passed by the time he woke up again. When he drew up out of sleep, he knew that the food and the rest had helped some. His energy levels were stronger than they had been; he could not only sense FRIDAY above him, he could feel her reaching for him and he reached back easily, not even straining to do so. He laid there with his eyes closed and smiled as FRIDAY's energy curled around his own. Hey, FRIDAY.

Hey, Little Doc. Warmth pulsed along FRIDAY's energy. Spencer would've dared anyone to feel this and then try and tell him that the AI didn't have feelings. There was affection and relief in her energy that was clear for him to feel as it echoed over to his. I'm glad to see you're feeling better. Boss has been worried about you.

I didn't mean to worry you guys.

Something flicked right in the middle of Spencer's forehead and he jerked backwards even as he flung his eyes open. He found Tony at his bedside, staring down at him with a raised eyebrow and a chiding look on his face. Spencer didn't even get a chance to voice the 'what the hell' that sat on his lips. "I could see the glow in your eyes through your eyelids," Tony told him. "Quit it. You're not supposed to be using your powers right now, Dr. Banner's orders."

Oh, right. Spencer relaxed himself a little once more. As he did, he took a look inside, trying to assess just how he was doing. Which… okay, wow. It looked like his touch with FRIDAY had done more than just let him communicate with her. There was a noticeable difference between when he'd first started to wake up and now. Spencer tilted his head and looked up towards the ceiling. "FRIDAY… did you give me some of your energy?"

"Your power levels were low. I assumed you needed to recharge, like Dum-E or U. You felt like they do when they need to go to their recharging bases." There was something hesitant in FRIDAY's voice. "Was I wrong?"

Tony and Spencer stared at one another in open surprise. The idea of, of recharging, it hadn't ever occurred to Spencer. Tony either, from the looks of it. But it made a strange sort of sense. Spencer's energy had been low; it wasn't hard to see how FRIDAY would associate that with the bots and their need to recharge. More than that, it had worked.

"Are you telling me," Tony said slowly, a hint of a smile starting to curl the edges of his mouth. "That all we've had to do this whole time… was plug you in?"

As Spencer watched Tony's grin grow, he couldn't help but sigh, even as a ghost of a smile touched his own lips. "I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?"

"Oh, hell no."

Rolling his eyes, Spencer shifted his weight and pressed a hand against the bed, pleased to find that he didn't ache as much as he pushed himself a bit more upright. He was ready to draw the blankets back and test out his legs, see just how well he could walk, when Tony's hand at the blankets stopped him. "Woah, woah there, kid. Let's not rush and jump right out of bed. At least let me call Brucie in here to take a look at you, first."

"I'm fine, Tony." He wasn't lying, either. His body felt so much better. "I promise you, aside from my leg, I feel mostly healed."

"Yeah, well, that cut on your leg was already healing, so Bruce didn't have to stitch it, but he thinks it went pretty deep. You'll probably be feeling it for a while."

That was obvious as Spencer finished sitting himself up. Tony's hands braced him as Spencer sat himself up and carefully swung his legs off the side of the bed. For the first time, Spencer took note of the fact that he was dressed in pajama pants and a plain t-shirt. He hadn't even realized it before.

Tony used a foot to pull out a pair of slippers that had apparently been underneath the bed. Gratefully, Spencer stepped down into them, much preferring the slippers than walking around with bare feet.

Standing on his leg was easier than he'd thought it would be. It hurt, sure, but it wasn't that bad. He'd definitely had worse. After shifting his weight around a bit to test it, he finally smiled a little, relaxing. That relaxation faded as he finally looked up and focused on Tony once more.

In that brief moment where Spencer hadn't been paying attention, Tony had relaxed a little, letting out some things that Spencer hadn't been clear headed enough to notice before. He tried to jerk his walls back up when Spencer turned his attention back to him - tucking things away and pulling on the masks that he was known for - but it was too late.

He'd been so focused one everything else, he hadn't been paying all that much attention to the deeper layers of Tony's emotions. One thing he'd learned in his time around the man was that Tony felt things in layers. Some of it was up front, right there and easy for Spencer to pick up on, but there were undercurrents of emotions that Spencer had a feeling Tony didn't even like admitting to himself. Right now there was a layer of worry running underneath everything.

Now that Spencer had noticed it, he couldn't ignore it. His eyebrows furrowed as he tilted his head so that he could look up at the other man. "Tony?"

Something flashed across Tony's features briefly. Spencer watched as a myriad of emotions crossed his face before finally settling on resignation. "We need to talk, kiddo."

The seriousness in his voice had Spencer fighting to swallow down a sudden lump of nerves in his throat. Those words never preceded anything good. "Okay."

"Come on. Let's head back to my room first. I'll order us up something to eat and we can sit somewhere a bit more comfortable than this."

With Tony's help, Spencer got down from the bed, wincing only a little as his weight was put on his leg. He watched Tony carefully as they made their way over to the door. Now that he'd noticed, he couldn't stop from seeing all the little things that showed Tony's worry, all the signs that pointed to trouble. There was something going on. Something big. And Spencer wasn't sure he wanted to find out what it was.

It took them just a little longer than normal to make their way to Tony's floor. While most of Spencer's injuries were gone, the one on his leg was still present enough to be a pain as he walked. HE didn't say anything, though. He barely even paid it any mind except to wince now and again when he made himself move a little too fast. Most of his focus was on Tony and whatever it was that he wanted to talk about.

Was he going to kick Spencer out? After the trouble he'd caused with this whole bomb and being out in the field with them, plus the way he'd latched on to Tony afterwards and clung to him like a kid, had Tony decided that Spencer was just too much to have around? Was he going to tell Spencer that, sorry, it was time to go with the government and hope that they could help him?

The idea of that made Spencer feel like he was going to be sick. He didn't want to leave... these people here, they'd come to mean more to him than he'd expected. They'd been nice to him. Friendly. Hell, they'd managed to do the one thing that not even Derek had been able to do - they'd gotten him to lean on them, to accept their help. What was he going to do if they took that away from him? Spencer had a feeling a part of him would break away and be left behind here with them. Sometimes, when he worried about things late at night while the house was asleep, he worried about how much of himself he was going to leave behind if he ever went back home.

By the time they made it to Tony's room, it was taking a lot for Spencer not to actively panic.

When they walked off the elevator and into the living room of Tony's suite, Spencer was surprised to find that they weren't alone in there. Some of his worry was pushed back just a little as he took in Jim's presence, plus a woman that Spencer hadn't met before. The woman was pretty, with a white suit trimmed in gold, and long red hair. She was smiling at Spencer in a way that was oddly reminiscent of how JJ looked at him sometimes. That gentle, slightly fond look.

A hand settled on Spencer's shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. He realized that he'd stopped walking when he'd noticed the other two. Tony's touch brought him back and worked to ground him a little. "Spencer, I'd like you to meet Pepper, the woman who runs my life."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Pepper said, folding her hands in front of her. She didn't move forward or try to reach a hand out towards him.

Spencer cast a curious look up at Tony, who smiled at him reassuringly. Huh. He must've said something to her - warned her, maybe, that Spencer wasn't fond of being touched, or of having people all that close to him. Oddly touched by that, Spencer turned back to her and smiled, albeit a little shyly. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, ma'am."

"Oh, please, just call me Pepper."

With Tony's hand still on his shoulder Spencer was guided forward and towards the couch where Jim was already sitting. Once Tony had made sure that Spencer was comfortably seated on the corner of the couch, his sore leg resting comfortably, he moved to take the loveseat right next to Pepper. Much to Spencer's gratitude, Tony didn't waste any time once he was comfortable before he fixed his stare right on Spencer and got straight to the point. "I'm not gonna lecture you for what happened back there, Spencer. As much as I don't like what happened – and we're going to talk about it later, I promise you that – I can't really fault you on it. There wasn't any other choice you felt you could make at the time, and, hell, I probably would've done the same thing if I were you. But, it's brought up some problems we need to deal with. Namely, with the media."

Realization had Spencer's eyes widening briefly. Oh. This wasn't about kicking him out of here or anything like that. This was about his identity. It all seemed to click into place in Spencer's brain. Like he'd had all the pieces before and they were just now snapping perfectly into place to form a clear picture for him. And just like that, he could easily see what it was they were here to talk about.

Not only had Spencer actively fought with the Avengers – covered under a mask, true – he'd been found by civilians and taken to a hospital, where he'd been stripped out of his suit and his identity uncovered. The hospital staff knew who he was. Or, at least, they'd seen the boy under the mask. Spencer imagined at least one of them likely didn't have a problem going to the media with the news that the Avengers were letting a teenaged boy fight with them.

"I'm so sorry." Spencer looked up, paying a lot more attention now that he knew he wasn't about to be kicked out of here. Though, really, this option might not be any better. What if the government knew who he was now and were coming after Tony for violating the Accords? What if they wanted to take Spencer away? He clenched his hands together in his lap and tried not to start twisting his fingers and showing how nervous he was. Somehow he managed to keep his voice at least a little steady. "I assume my identity isn't a secret anymore."

"Only sort of." Tony said, wiggling his hand in a 'so-so' gesture. "The hospital didn't exactly keep quiet about who you were, or about my presence there. If I'd have thought about it, I would've sent Rhodey in after you, or Clint. But! We can't change what's already happened. Best we can do is keep going forward. That's why I've got Pep here with us. She's the best at figuring these kinds of things out."

Keep going forward. If only it were that simple. Now that Spencer was thinking about it, it wasn't hard for him to see what lay ahead of them; he knew this wasn't going to be easy. The public was going to know now that there was a teenaged kid with powers that was fighting with the Avengers – one who'd been taken from the hospital by Tony Stark himself – and there were going to be questions. Not just from reports but from bigger and more important people. People who would demand answers from Tony and who could potentially cause a whole lot of trouble for him if he didn't give the right answers. This was… it was a mess. Spencer stared down at his hands and tried not to feel guilty. He should've let Tony shuffle him off to Xavier's back at the start of all this. Hell, he never should've involved the man to begin with.

"Spencer," Pepper's voice broke into his thoughts, pulling his gaze up towards her. He found her smiling gently at him. "It's okay. We're not completely helpless here. Tony knew this was a possibility and he brought me a few contingency plans early on. We've got options."

"What options?"

Spencer felt something tighten in his gut as he saw Tony cast a look over at Pepper and then Jim. When the engineer spoke, his voice was lower, just a bit gentler, and that bad feeling from before was back, worse than ever. "Would you guys give us a minute?"

It took everything Spencer had to keep himself in control as he watched the two get up to leave. Curling his hands tight in his lap, he forced himself to stay calm, to not panic. Everything in him was telling him that what was coming wasn't going to be good. God. What was going to happen? What kind of option was Tony going to present here? It had to be a bad one if he'd kicked out Jim and Pepper just to tell Spencer about it. Was he kicking him out of here? Sending him to Xavier's? Or was he going to try and convince him that going with the government was the smart plan?

The room went quiet once the door shut behind Jim. For a long moment the two just sat there. Tony shuffled a little, looking uncomfortable and feeling more than a little unhappy. Nervous, too, and was that… fear? Concern? Maybe both.

Tony's emotions didn't help to settle Spencer down any. If anything, they made it worse. A million different scenarios were racing through Spencer's head. He was so caught up in those fears, it threw him completely when Tony sighed and squared his shoulders before he looked at Spencer and told him "Stephen came by while you were sleeping. I… I asked him to let me talk to you."

The world went still. Spencer's thoughts froze like someone had hit a pause button in his brain. Then, in an instant, Tony's words sank in and Spencer knew. He knew what Tony was about to say to him. Yet he found that he couldn't move. Even as Tony began to speak, to carefully explain things to him, Spencer couldn't move.

"He finally finished researching the spell." Tony looked like this was the last thing he wanted to be saying, yet he didn't flinch away. He looked right at Spencer with a look of such sympathy on his face. He knew that Spencer knew. Still, he was giving him the facts and laying it all out for him. "The fact that your blood was put into the spell, it made it stronger – a lot stronger. He said that blood holds power, especially in magic. If he tried to open a portal to send you back, the chances were high that it'd either tear you apart, or that it could send you back there just like you are now, powers and all, which could seriously screw up your universe."

Spencer felt like he'd gone numb. He didn't recognize his own voice speaking; didn't even realize he was going to until he did. "So I'm trapped here."

Sorrow flashed through Tony's emotions and over his face. "I'm so sorry, Spencer."

There was no telling how long that numbness might've stayed with Spencer if Tony hadn't tried to move towards him. Something in that movement snapped Spencer from his stunned shock. In a flash he was shoving himself back, away from Tony's touch, away from Tony himself. His whole body was trembling and sparking – when the hell did that start happening? – and he knew his eyes were wide as he stared at the man across from him.

The urge to deny it all sprang to his lips. He wanted to shout out 'No!' Rage against even the idea that this was it, that he was trapped here. Spencer wanted to scream and shout and demand that Tony stop lying, stop acting like this. But he couldn't. Because he knew – he knew Tony wasn't lying to him. Tony wouldn't lie to him. Not about this.

Spencer swore he could feel his empathy trying to rage out of control this time. His emotions were a mixed up mess inside of him and his shields were doing their damndest to try and hold it in. Worse than that, his other powers were just as much of a mess, sparking and dancing over his skin in a way that spelled danger.

He had to get out of here. That thought was clearer than all the others. He had to get out of here.

He'd barely even made the choice before he found himself moving. One instant he was in the far corner of the couch and the next he was on his feet, stumbling as he tried to hurry, tried to run. There was someone calling out behind him in a voice that was so, so worried, but Spencer ignored it. He had to get out of here. Now. He had to go now.

The window in front of him opened, thank everything, and Spencer was launching out of it in an instant. His board was called up instinctively. When he landed, he let the familiar feel of it curl into him, fed some of his excess energy into making it.

With his board his ability to run was so much easier. Spencer had no idea where he was going to go, only that it wasn't here.

With a crackle of power that echoed loudly around them, Spencer fed energy into his board and shot off into the dark.