Author's Note: Hello, hello, my readers, welcome back to The Many Adventures of Iron Dad and Spider Son! This one, we're diving into a PATROL GONE WRONG! In short, Peter gets into a bit of a pickle while he's on patrol, and…a certain mentor of his comes to his rescue. You'll also get to see Rhodey in this! I hope you all enjoy it! BUT…before we get to that, REVIEW REPLIES!
Sillysammijo: Lol, I'm so glad you liked it! Trust me, I know the feeling! I hope you like the angst in this one!
Wandamarie: You're welcome and thank you! Hope you like what's next!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Patrol Gone Wrong (March 2017)
This was one of those nights where Peter was once again grateful for the heater Tony had planted into his suit because even though it was early March, winter wasn't completely done yet. As he swung through Queens, the heater kept him warm no problem. It was better than the nights when he just had his onesie…before he even met his mentor. As much as he was grateful for all the amazing upgrades and gadgets, he was grateful for the time he got to spend with Tony over the past few months. Like May said to him, hopefully, things between him and the billionaire would continue to go up from there, and he couldn't wait to see what the future held for him and his mentor.
He smiled to himself as he crouched on a building in Queens overlooking his borough with Karen scanning the area for any criminal activity. Aside from a robbery, a lost kid, and a carjacking, it was quite a quiet night in terms of patrolling, and he was beginning to wonder if he could end patrol earlier tonight. Maybe he could swing over to Stark Tower to see Tony and to maybe get some more work done on the nanotech project. May had actually told him that was something he could do before going home so long as he checked with Tony first.
"What do you think, Karen?" Peter finally asked under his mask. "Early night tonight?"
"Actually, Peter, I'm detecting activity," the AI spoke up.
"Oh, really?" he asked. "Where?"
"About 10 blocks from here," Karen replied. "I'm detecting a robbery. A family is being robbed at gunpoint."
"Okay, give me the coordinates," Peter said as he began to swing from building to building, "and send an alert to the police."
"You got it," Karen replied. "Good luck, Peter."
(line break)
"Hey, leave them alone!" Peter shouted at the top of his lungs as soon as he saw a man dressed in black with a mask pointing the gun at a man, a woman, and a little boy demanding for them to hand their money over.
The criminal and the victims looked up at Spider-Man as he swung toward them, and Peter took the chance to kick the gun out of the thief's hand as he landed in between the gunman and the family and to fire one of his webs at the gun sticking it to the pavement. "You got some explaining to do," Spider-Man said as he crossed his arms glaring under his mask and making sure the family stayed behind him.
However, instead of answering, the man turned around and ran the other way.
"Dang it," Peter said. He then turned to the family. "Stay here, okay? The cops will be here soon! I'm going to go after him!" He didn't wait for either of them to respond as he activated his webs to swing after the criminal.
Said criminal refused to give up and continued to run through the streets of Queens with Spider-Man hot on his tail. Just as he refused to stop running, Peter refused to stop swinging. The teen refused to let this criminal get away. He couldn't allow what happened to Ben happen to someone else. He barely noticed that he was following the criminal in the outskirts of Queens…an area that was less populated…less taken care of. However, he did notice that…the criminal was heading toward….an old building…an abandoned warehouse.
"Karen, is anyone in this building right now?" Peter asked as he continued to give chase.
"I'm not detecting any heat signatures," Karen replied, "but be careful. This is a very faulty building."
"Okay," Peter said to himself. The teen vigilante saw the criminal run into the warehouse, and Peter landed on a windowsill that allowed him to look inside the building, and he was able to see the criminal making his way out the opposite side. It would've taken him too long to go around, so he had to go through it. Peter looked up at the beams in the ceiling. He couldn't quite make out the condition they were in, and with the criminal getting away, he shot one of his webs at the beam and swung off the ledge in hopes to make it to the other side. However…whether it was Peter putting too much of his strength into the swing or the building's weakened state or both, nobody would ever know for sure because the next thing Peter knew…he heard a BOOM above him. Quickly after that, he fell as he felt the web above him lose the tension and slacken as he felt a huge weight come over him forcing him to the ground. Then…everything went black.
Peter slowly opened his eyes only to see nothing but dust and rubble around him, and his heart dropped as he began to gasp for air in panic. Thankfully, his arms were free, so he quickly ripped off his mask and continued to gasp as he looked around. He was stuck under the rubble…again in some part of Queens…alone. However, he remembered what his mentor told him the last time he had a panic attack, and he attempted to steady himself as best as he could.
"Okay, okay, come on, Spider-Man, come on, Spider-Man," he said to himself. He planted his hands on the ground and grunted as he tried to push himself up…but nothing worked. He quickly tried again as tears came to his eyes, but he was met with the same outcome. He let out a scream of frustration and even fear as the memories from the last time this happened flashed through his head.
"I'm sorry, Peter," Toomes said with a smirk.
"What are you talking about? That thing hasn't even touched me yet."
"True. Then again, wasn't really trying."
The building collapsed on top of him, and he found himself stuck.
"Oh god, okay, ready?" He struggled to get up but failed. "Hello! Hello! Please! Hey, hey, please! I'm down here! I'm down here! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I can't move! I can't…"
Peter screamed again in frustration as the tears streamed down his cheeks. He had tried again to get up but failed yet again. His heart pounded as the weight of the rubble continued to crush him. He was stuck under the rubble of an old warehouse, and he looked around sniffling as best as he could. There was no one around, and it was dark!
"Hello! Hello! Please…" he shouted through his sobs. "Please, help me! Please, somebody, help! I'm stuck! I'm down here! Please! Please! Please…PLEASE! I'M STUCK! I'M STUCK! SOMEONE, HELP ME!"
"I'm sorry, Peter."
"Wasn't trying to."
Peter sobbed at the memory of his first enemy. "Stop it! Stop it!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "Please, if anyone's out there, please help me! I don't want to be stuck again! Please!"
His calls were once again met with silence as he put his head down and sobbed yet again. He was stuck in the rubble yet again…and there was no one to help him. What was he going to do? What could he do? He couldn't call for help. How could anyone help him if he couldn't do it himself? He was helpless just as he had been when he fought the Vulture on Homecoming night just months ago.
He barely heard Karen talking, but he took his mask off. He wouldn't be able to respond, and he didn't want to put his mask back on. What he didn't know was that Karen was calling for help to a certain billionaire.
"Your junior lab partner coming tonight?" Rhodey asked as he watched his best friend work on his braces from his chair.
"Nah, that's tomorrow," Tony said with a smile. "You can stick around until then if you want to see him so badly."
"As a matter of fact, I do," Rhodey replied. "I want to see the kid who dared refer to Empire Strikes Back as 'really old.'"
Tony couldn't help but laugh at Rhodey's comment. Normally, he would've gone to the Compound to work on it, but this time, Rhodey insisted on him and Vision coming to Stark Tower for a change. It was obvious that they wanted to see Tony's intern in person, and Tony didn't mind one bit. He and Peter had been getting along and closer over the past few months, and he loved every minute of it. He was about to respond to Rhodey's comment when…
"Boss, I'm picking up an alert from Peter's AI, Karen," FRIDAY announced. "Peter appears to be in distress."
Tony's blood ran cold hearing that Peter must've been in distress. He looked at Rhodey, who looked back at him with the same widened eyes. "Put him through, FRI," he said trying to steady his voice as he grabbed his phone, "now."
"Yes, boss," FRIDAY replied.
His intern was supposed to be patrolling. What could've caused him to be distressed? The billionaire and the colonel held their breaths as they listened to it ring a few times before someone—probably Karen—finally answered. "Pete?" Tony asked still trying to keep his voice steady. "Peter, are you there? Can you hear me?"
He could hear heavy breathing on the other line, and it made his heart pound.
"Pete, buddy, answer me!" Tony said a little louder.
Peter jolted at the sound of a voice…a familiar but distant voice. He looked around the remains of the building for any signs of any people, but there was no one around. His eyes then rested on his mask that was on the floor in front of him.
"Pete, buddy, answer me!"
Was that…who Peter thought it was? He almost didn't want to grab it almost thinking that it was going to be in his head, but he was too curious and desperate. So, he grabbed the mask and put it on.
"M-Mr. Stark, i-is that you?" he asked sniffling.
He swore he could hear a sigh of relief. "Yeah, kid, it's me," Tony replied.
"Oh my god," Peter said shakily, "I-I can't believe it! M-Mr. Stark…Mr. Stark, I-I need your help! I-I'm stuck, and…and I can't move!"
"W-What do you mean you're stuck and can't move?" Tony asked clearly trying to remain calm for Peter's sake. "What happened?"
"I-I was chasing this criminal…he…he was robbing a family," he said, "and I chased him to this old warehouse. I-I must've webbed to a weakened beam or something because the building collapsed. N-Now, I can't move! I'm stuck! Please, Mr. Stark, help me!"
"FRIDAY, give me Peter's location now!" Tony said quickly. There was a pause before Tony spoke up again. "Okay, kid, I'm on my way now! I'll be there as soon as I can! You got to hang in there for me, okay?"
"Okay, p-please…please, hurry, Mr. Stark. I-I'm scared," Peter said in between sniffles.
"Don't be, kid," he said. "I promise you; I'll be there as soon as I can, okay? Stay on the comms with me, okay?"
"Okay," Peter said.
Tony turned to Rhodey as he ran for the suit. "I got to go," he said. "You can wait here. I'll be back soon."
"Hell, no, I'm going with you," Rhodey said determination.
Tony smiled as he grabbed Rhodey's braces and helped him put them on. As soon as that was taken of, Tony and Rhodey grabbed their suits and took off from the tower with Tony in the lead with the coordinates from Peter's AI via FRIDAY. The billionaire's heart pounded as he stayed on the comms with Peter sniffling and breathing heavily, and he hated the idea of his intern stuck under rubble of a collapsed building. It didn't sound like he was uninjured, but he would know for sure once he would get Peter out…once he and Rhodey would get Peter out.
"Hang in there, kid," Tony said. "Rhodes and I are almost there."
"Okay," Peter replied, "I-I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I didn't mean for this to happen again."
"Again?" Tony thought to himself.
"Hey, no sorry, kid," Tony said. "It's okay. You did nothing wrong. Even superheroes need help sometimes, okay?"
Peter sniffled again making Tony's heart break even more. "Okay," he said shakily.
"I need you to do a big favor for us, kid," Tony replied remaining calm. "It's a dark, so I'm going to need you to power up your Spider-signal—you know—the red hologram so that we can see where you are. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, I can," Peter said nodding even though Tony couldn't see him. He extended his right arm as best as he could and activitated the hologram in his webshooters allowing to project on a nearby piece of rubble. "Okay, I did it."
"Great job, kid," Tony replied with a small smile. "According to FRIDAY, we're not too far out. Keep sitting tight."
"Okay," Peter replied with more tears in his eyes.
It was about 10 minutes later when Tony scanned the ground below him and Rhodey. They were within reach of the collapsed building. FRIDAY was able to pick up on one heat signature nearby, and Tony and Rhodey knew it had to be Peter. Thankfully, the red hologram would help them figure out just how far beneath the rubble Peter was.
"Tony, I got him! I see him!" Rhodey suddenly said. "At your 12:00."
Tony followed Rhodey's direction, and sure enough, there was a red beam of light projecting onto the rubble. It was Peter, but when he saw the light, he couldn't believe the damage. The building had completely collapsed, but Tony decided not to focus on that at the moment. He needed to save Peter! Peter needed him!
"Let's go!" Tony said as he flew down toward his intern with Rhodey behind him.
It felt like an eternity as Peter waited for his mentor and his mentor's best friend to arrive to help. He kept his projection going hoping that Tony would find him quickly.
After about 10 minutes, the teen perked when he heard very familiar repulsors flying toward him from above. He looked up only to see two suits coming toward him, and when he looked up, relief washed over him.
"Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark, I see you!" he shouted through his mask. "I see you!"
"We see you too, kid!" Tony said with a smile on his face. "Keep that light going! We're going to get you out of there!"
"Okay," Peter said shakily with a smile.
Not even a minute later, Tony and Rhodey landed not too far from where Peter was, and Tony wasted no time in retracting his face mask and running over to the kid where he was stuck.
"Peter!" Tony shouted as he ran over and knelt down in front of the teen. "Kid, are you okay?!" He then stopped when he saw the rubble. "Actually…no…don't answer that."
"I'm better now that you guys are here," Peter said with a little smile as he took his mask, "but I'll be even better when I'm out of here." He sniffled a little more.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, it's okay," Tony said placing a hand on Peter's shoulder to comfort him. "I promise, it's all okay now. Rhodes and I are going to get you out of here, okay?"
"Okay," Peter said shakily. He then looked up and saw War Machine—Tony's best friend—Colonel James Rhodes standing there, and he couldn't help but smile a little seeing Rhodey in person for the first time since the battle against the Rogues in Germany.
"Nice to see you again, kid," Rhodey said as he retracted his face mask.
"You too, Col. Rhodes," Peter said before turning back to Tony as he placed a hand over Tony's as if to ground himself. Tony was here. Rhodey and Tony were both here. He was going to get out from this rubble.
"Alright, kid, I'm going to need you to use your strength to push up the rubble," Tony said. "Rhodey and I will help you as best as we can, and then as soon as you can, you move out from under the rubble."
"I-I…M-Mr. Stark, I already tried that," Peter replied. "I-I couldn't get it to move, and…and you and Col. Rhodes…how…how can you…?"
"Kid, I carried a nuke into the wormhole," Tony said with a small smirk. "Don't worry about us, okay? We'll be fine. Come on, let's give it another go."
"I'll try," Peter said nodding.
"Atta boy, kid," Tony said with a warm smile. He then stood up so that he and Rhodey were on either side of Peter. "Okay, Rhodey, as soon as he lifts up the rubble, we'll hold it up long enough for him to slide out."
Rhodey nodded before he and Tony braced themselves against the rubble. "Okay, Peter whenever you're ready," he said.
Peter nodded and braced his hands on the ground. He took a deep breath and nodded again. "Okay, okay, I'm ready," he said. Then he pushed on his hands grunting trying to push himself up, and…nothing was happening. The rubble wasn't moving. Peter screamed and plopped back down. "I can't do it! Mr. Stark, I can't do it! I'm sorry, I can't!"
Tony quickly got back down on his knees next to Peter placing a hand on his back. "Yes, you can, kid," he said staying calm for the teen.
"No, I can't, I can't," Peter said with tears in his eyes.
"Yes, you can, you can," Tony said firmly. "You're Peter Parker, you're Spider-Man, the greatest kid I've ever known. You can do this, and we're going to help you. I promise, we're with you every step of the way. I'm with you every step of the way. You got this. I want to hear you say it. Say that you got this."
Peter took a deep breath. "I-I got this," he said shakily not even bothering to question why his mentor was asking this of him.
"Say it again," Tony said.
"I got this," Peter said again with a little more confidence.
"Again," Tony said.
"I got this," Peter said more firmly.
"Atta boy, that's what I want to hear," Tony replied with a smile before he stood up again and resumed his position against the rubble. "Okay, on three, you two."
"One…" Peter said as he braced his hands on the ground again.
"Two…" Tony added.
"Three…" Rhodey finished.
Peter grunted as he pushed himself up again on his hands, and the rubble slowly moved up.
Rhodey and Tony held onto the rubble pulling it up as Peter pushed up.
"Come on, kid," Tony said grunting. "You got this! You got this!"
"I got this, Mr. Stark! I got this!" Peter said as he continued to move the rubble. "I got this!"
The rubble continued to move up as Rhodey and Tony made sure to keep their grips on it so that Peter would be able to move away as soon as he had an opening.
"Come on, kid!" Tony said again as he himself tried to help push it up. "Come on, kid, you can do it! Almost there! You can do it!"
"I can do it! I can do it!" Peter said again as he continued to push himself up onto at least his hands and knees.
"That's it, Pete!" Tony said excitedly. "Rhodes, hold it until he's out!"
"Got it! Got it!" Rhodey said as he grabbed onto the rubble holding it as best as he could.
"Go, Peter, go! GO!" Tony shouted as he held the rubble.
Peter didn't waste a single second as he crawled out on his hands and knees away from the rubble.
"He's out, Tones!" Rhodey shouted before he and Tony dropped the rubble.
Tony groaned in relief as he released the rubble, and as soon as he looked at Rhodey to make sure he was okay, he practically leapt toward Peter, who was still on his hands and knees, and got down on his knees next to Peter putting his hands on the teen's back and arm. "There we go," he said. "You're okay, kid. You're okay. You're alright. You did a great job, bud."
Peter was breathing heavily as tears of relief flowed down his cheeks. He looked up at Tony and smiled very faintly as he leaned his head on his mentor's shoulder. "Thank you, Mr. Stark," he said.
Tony couldn't help but smile as he pulled Peter closer to his side. "You're welcome, kid," he said. "You know I'm always here if you need anything—big or small."
"Yeah, I do," Peter said.
Tony couldn't help but look up at his best friend, who only smiled at him.
"We should get him back, Tones," Rhodey finally said. "Make sure he doesn't have any injuries."
The billionaire nodded and turned to his intern. "Okay, bud," he said, "let's head back to the tower, okay? We got to make sure you're okay."
"W-What about May?" Peter asked as Tony helped him up and picked him up bridal style.
"Don't worry, bud," Tony replied. "I'll call her on our way there. It's all good."
"Okay," Peter said as he put his mask back on.
As soon as Peter, Tony, and Rhodey returned to the Tower, Tony and Rhodey brought Peter down to the Med Bay on the lower level of the building. After FRIDAY and the doctors scanned Peter, they saw that he didn't have any serious injuries. There were only a few cuts and bruises on his back and chest. Thankfully, the teen's enhancement protected him from any more severe injuries, and of course, Tony spoke to May and told her what happened. She was already on her way to the tower to see Peter.
"That was his aunt?" Rhodey asked as he stepped into the waiting room.
"Yeah, she's on her way," Tony replied putting his phone in his pocket. "Thanks again for helping tonight. I know once he calms down, Peter's going to be thrilled you helped save him."
"Anytime," Rhodey replied, "and anything for your junior lab partner."
Tony smiled. He was going to respond when Peter's apology echoed for the millionth time that night.
"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I didn't mean for this to happen again."
"You okay, man?" Rhodey asked jolting Tony out of his thoughts.
"Uh…y-yeah, it's just…something that Peter said tonight when we were on our way to get to him," Tony replied. He leaned on the door frame and crossed his arms. "He said that…he didn't mean for this to happen again. I-I don't know what he meant by that."
"Has something like that happened before?" Rhodey asked.
"That's just it, honey bear," Tony said. "It hasn't. I mean he comes here if he gets hurt on patrol or if there's a malfunction, but it was never because a building collapsed on him. It couldn't have been before we met because why would he apologize for something that happened before that? And I looked at his suit. There was no record of a building collapse on the Baby Monitor Footage. I mean there was record of the whole thing with the ferry, but then after that—" He stopped when he realized that after the ferry incident…after he took the suit away from Peter…Peter confronted Adrian Toomes in his car…and saved his plane on Coney Island. He did it without his suit, and when Tony thought about it, he realized that he might not have known all the details regarding that night. Peter got a panic attack from a guy calling him "Pedro," and he was clearly spooked when he was trapped under the rubble and apologized for something that happened again.
"Tones?" Rhodey asked getting his attention.
Tony slightly jumped as he looked up at Rhodey again. "I think I know what this is about," he said. "Do me a favor and keep an eye out for May Parker. FRIDAY will let you know when she's here."
"Yeah, absolutely, good luck," Rhodey replied.
"Thanks, I'll need it," Tony said before heading back into the Med Bay, where Peter was being checked out.
Peter smiled at the nurse so she cleaned up the cuts on his face and arms. He thanked her as she walked out leaving him alone in the room after telling him that Tony, Rhodey, and the nurses were outside if he needed anything. Peter didn't have the heart to explain that he didn't have any clothes other than his suit. He figured that he probably could ask Tony for some clothes. Tony did mention that May was coming, so hopefully, May thought to bring some as well. He slid his suit back on seeing the dust from the rubble, and he couldn't help but think back to what was probably not too long ago…being trapped in the rubble…again…just like what happened on the night of Homecoming. He breathed shakily hating that he had to relive that, and it was all because he screwed up. He thought about how childish he sounded to Tony when Karen called him for help.
The night of Homecoming occasionally crept into his nightmares, but reliving it was the last thing he wanted. He jumped when he heard a knock on the door, and he looked up only to see that it was his mentor. The teen smiled at Tony.
"Hey, Mr. Stark," he said.
"Hey, kid," Tony replied as he walked in, "you doing okay?"
"Yeah, just some cuts and bruises. I'd change, but I don't have any clothes."
"Don't worry," Tony said as he sat down on the bed next to Peter. "I got you covered. May is bringing you some as we speak. You're good."
"Awesome, thank you so much."
"You're welcome," Tony replied with a smile. "Uhh…so listen, I…I wanted to…talk to you about something." He noticed Peter's eyes widening. "You're not in trouble. I just wanted to talk about something that…you said when Rhodey and I were coming to get you."
"Oh…okay, what is it?" Peter asked.
Tony took a deep breath as he leaned his elbow on his knees. "Uh…well…when we were on our way to get to you," he began, "you were talking to me over the comms. You…you said that you were sorry and that you didn't mean for this to happen…again."
Peter's breath hitched. He tried to say something, but he stopped. Instead, he sighed and leaned his elbows on his knees.
"So…call me stupid, kid," Tony said after a moment, "but…if something happens again…that means it's happened before. And…if that's the case…ever since…November, there's never been an instance when you were stuck in a collapsed building, and you wouldn't apologize for something that happened before we met. Not only that…but…you had a panic attack when someone called you something that Toomes called you…when he figured out who you were and threatened you. And…" he took a deep breath, "on that same night, you stopped him by crashing the plane in Coney Island. And…you did all that with your onesie…which doesn't have all those protocols, so…I have to ask…was there something else that happened that night, kid? Something that you didn't tell me?"
Peter closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. He took a deep breath, "Umm…y-yeah…something…something did happen…" he said. However, he stopped…not sure how to proceed.
"You can tell me, kid," Tony said softly. "You can tell me anything—big or small."
The teenaged vigilante took another deep breath. "Uhh…okay, s-something did happen," he said after a moment. "It…It was after the whole thing in the car with Toomes. I…I got out of the car and went to go meet up with Liz, and…I couldn't bring myself to just ignore what he was doing, so…I apologized to Liz…after she kissed me and grabbed my onesie. I…I went after him. I got outside, and Toomes' buddy—Shocker—tried to stop me, but Ned actually helped me out."
"Your best friend, Ned?"
"Yeah, him. I…uh…told him to call Happy, and I went after Toomes. I…found him in this warehouse," Peter explained. "He said he admired my…grit and that he got why Liz liked me. I asked him how he could do this to her…to Liz, but he said that he was doing it for her. Then he goes into this…monologue on how you got to the top by doing whatever you wanted and how guys like him and me pick up the pieces, clean up after you, and how you don't care—which I know isn't true, by the way."
Tony sighed feeling pride swell in his chest hearing how Peter didn't listen to Toomes about how he did whatever he wanted.
"But…it was just a distraction," Peter said after a moment. "He took something out of his pocket, and his wing suit came out of nowhere. I ducked and dodged it, but then he said…" The teen breathed shakily, "he said that he was sorry. I asked him what he was talking about because the thing didn't even touch me, and then he said he wasn't trying to. Next thing I knew…the pillars were chopped down, and the building came down on top of me…and Toomes made a run for it."
"He…He brought a building down on top of you…" Tony began, "and…left you there?"
Peter looked at him with tears forming in his eyes and nodded.
Tony breathed shakily as he stared at his intern with shock as his jaw dropped. He wasn't sure why he was shocked. Then again, this was Toomes…the same man, who threatened Peter…a teenager with a gun in a car. Not only that, but there was still one thing he wasn't sure about. This time, Peter had the means to call him for help, but…he didn't even talk to Peter until a few days after the plane went down and heard that Spider-Man defeated the Vulture from Happy. "How…how did—how did you…how did you get out?" he asked shakily.
"I…I tried screaming for help," Peter replied, "but…no one could hear me. And then I remembered what you told me after the whole thing with the ferry…how if I'm nothing without the suit, then I shouldn't have it. So…I realized that I didn't need the suit, and…I lifted the rubble myself and got out. Then…I went after him and your plane."
Tony let out another shaky breath as he ran a hand through his hair. "Oh my god," he said.
"Yeah," Peter said simply, "so when I was stuck this time…I got…I got so scared that…I forgot that I could call you for help this time. It was like Toomes did it to me again, and I was reliving it."
"Like when Osborn…?" Tony trailed off.
"Yeah," Peter replied, "I felt so helpless. I-I know I-I should've been able to get myself out again, but I…I couldn't. 'I-I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I—"
"No, no, absolutely not," Tony said firmly, "you're not apologizing for this either, Peter…not for the panic attack…and sure as hell…not for this. I was the one who fucked up."
"Mr. Stark, we talked about this," Peter retorted. "It's not your fault."
"Yeah, but that was before I found out this guy—the same guy who threatened you with a gun—also decided to drop a whole building on you and leave you there," Tony retorted, "and this was all after I left you without a suit and…a way to call me for help. You were alone…and in danger because of me. Something could've happened to you that night, and I wouldn't have known it." Tony sighed as he ran a hand through his hair at the thought of Peter stuck in the rubble…completely alone, scared, and maybe even injured…because he took away the means he could've used to call for help and to prevent this trauma his intern had at this point… It made his heart sink to his stomach.
"You were there tonight," Peter said after a moment of silence. "You were there at the gala, Mr. Stark, and both times you saved me. I deserved to have my suit taken away. I realize that, and you couldn't have possibly known all that was going to happen. You may be Iron Man, but you can't predict the future."
"I still should've left you with some means to contact me at least," Tony said. "I could've helped you…like tonight, and it scares me that you were in this situation without me knowing." The billionaire sighed as he ran his hand through his hair yet again. "I-I'm…I really am sorry this happened, Pete. I'm sorry this caused your panic attack and…you to relive all that tonight, and I know we can't dwell on the past, like your uncle said, I know."
Peter looked at his mentor and could sense that there was more coming. "But…" he said urging Tony to continue.
"But…that doesn't mean I won't try to do better going forward," Tony said looking directly at his intern. "I promise you, Peter, what happened on Homecoming night will never happen again…never."
Peter stared in Tony's brown eyes reading just how serious he was. It was the same look Ben had given him once before.
"You will never be alone, Pete. I promise, I will always be there for you…no matter what…"
The teen sighed as he looked at his hands on his legs. "I…I appreciate that, Mr. Stark, I do," he said before looking at him again, "but…you can't be by my side…every second of every day. You have more things to worry about than sticking to me like glue. It's physically impossible…and quite frankly a little weird."
Tony couldn't help but chuckle. "Okay, that's a valid point," he said "How about if I tweaked that and promised to always be there when you need me? That you can always turn to me or call me when you need help?"
"Big or small things?" Peter asked.
"Big or small things," Tony replied.
Peter smiled and nodded. "That's…a lot better," he said. "Thanks, Mr. Stark."
Tony wasted no time in wrapping an arm around Peter's shoulders pulling him close to his side. "You're welcome, kid," he said.
Peter continued to smile as he wrapped his arm around Tony as well returning the gesture…with his mentor's newfound promise echoing in his mind.
After a long weekend of making sure Peter was okay and talking to May, Monday came in the blink of an eye. Peter came for their scheduled Lab Day on Friday, and all was well. However, Tony still wanted to keep his promise to always be there for Peter, and so that Monday morning, after texting Peter that morning, Tony got in his Audi and drove…to Rikers. Like he told Peter, he couldn't go back in time and change what happened, but he could do better going forward…starting with the man who gave Peter all this trauma to begin with. If he wasn't so dead set on seeing Toomes, he would have laughed seeing the shocked looks on the security guards' faces as they watched Tony Stark walk in and ask to see one of their prisoners…Adrian Toomes privately.
The guards agreed with no questions asked, and once he was signed in and got a visitor pass, the billionaire followed him down a long hallway to a small room…possibly one of their offices—which Tony was fine with as that would mean no one would listen in. He made sure with FRIDAY's help that there were no listening devices, microphones, or cameras in the room. Good, they could talk privately.
It wasn't long before the door opened again, and in walked two security guards…with Adrian Toomes himself. As soon as the weapons smuggler laid his eyes on Tony, his look of anger became confused as he tried to figure out if this was a mistake…or why Tony would want to see him.
"Leave us," Tony said once Toomes was seated and handcuffed to a chair.
The guards nodded and walked out of the room closing the door.
"Well, I'll be damned," Toomes said with a smirk. "Tony Stark…Iron Man…himself has graced me with his presence. You know, I thought I heard the guards talking about you…but…I thought they were kidding…or maybe I was hearing things."
Tony simply crossed his arms. "Well, it's true, bird boy," he said. "I'm here, and believe it or not, I want to talk to you. You and I have some unfinished business."
"Look, if it's about your plane," Toomes added, "I know it must be hard for you to understand, but I had to protect my family. I have to do what I can to make sure my daughter has a future."
Tony clenched his jaw but closed his eyes to keep his temper in check. He thought about Peter. He was here talking to this man for Peter. "So, you…steal a plane and smuggle weapons?" Tony asked. "That's how you protect her? That's…that's great. Good moral compass. I'm sure the Big Guy upstairs is just thrilled…"
"Hey, you don't understand, man," Toomes retorted. "We're not living in a cushy tower like you. We need to do whatever we can to keep our jobs and our houses so that we don't end up on the streets."
"Oh, and…does that also include—let's see—threatening a teenager with a gun when he's alone with you or dropping a whole building on him?" Tony retorted.
Toomes stared at Tony with widened eyes and then set his mouth into a thin line. "So…Pedro told you," he said in a low voice. "The pipsqueak blabbed."
"First of all, don't you…dare call him that," Tony retorted. "Second of all, he didn't tell me anything. I figured it out. He just confirmed it."
"Oh, so is that why you're here? Because little Petey needs his big bad buddy, Tony Stark to solve all his problems?"
"Peter doesn't know I'm here, and if he did, he would do whatever he could to stop me. Look, I could care less about the plane, but when you threaten the life of my intern and his loved ones and even try to kill him when he was trying to do the right thing, that's when I get pissed. So, let's get a few things straight here: if you so much as come anywhere near Peter, try to hurt a hair on his head, or leak his identity to the press, I will personally end you myself. Even if you have one of your buddies here in prison do it, I'll know it was you. Are we clear?"
Toomes glared right back at Tony. "Crystal," he said. "I won't go near little Peter or blab his identity. He saved my daughter's life anyway."
"And yet you didn't seem to care if you murdered the boy she liked?" Tony asked. "What did you think was going to happen, Toomes? If you got rid of Spider-Man, you would've gotten rid of Peter Parker. It wouldn't take long for her to put 2 and 2 together."
"I had to protect my job, Stark!" Toomes shouted. "You think I wanted to? He didn't give me a choice! We're not all like you. We don't get to do whatever we want to protect our loved ones. We have to break our backs and pick up your table scraps and clean up your messes."
"Hate to break it to you, but you got it all wrong, asshole," Tony said. "I didn't get by just doing whatever I wanted. I worked hard to get my company to where it is now because I wanted to make the world safer for the people I care about, and I still try to protect them and those who can't put on a suit or won't put on a suit for that matter. I try to do that by doing what's right…not what's easier. I made some mistakes, but I work hard to do better every time."
For once, Toomes stayed silent completely stunned by Tony's words, but Tony didn't want to look at him for a minute longer.
"Remember what I said about Peter," Tony said. He was just about to walk away when…
"Why do you care about him so much?" Toomes finally asked. "He's just some kid from Queens. Why do all you do for him?"
That question stunned Tony, but…he didn't have to take long to answer. "Because…he's better than the rest of us."
Author's Note: Annnnnnnnnnd that's all for now, boys and girls! I hope you enjoyed the angst and comfort in this one! Up next is a fluffier oneshot MOVIE NIGHT! It will take place a week or so after this and have lots of fluff! Also, before I forget, I was trying to see how many chapters this might end up being, and it looks like it will be about 49-50 CHAPTERS! It depends on how long another multi-part arc is going to be in this, but that's the number! So we're not halfway there yet, but we will be! Don't forget to leave a review! Thanks again, guys!