Chapter Sixteen: A Long Road North

The ramp began to open, and Peter breathed deep, ready to be hounded by reporters the second it did. But no one was waiting to shove a camera in his face, only the cold wind. "I thought there'd be reporters out here," He said aloud as they started toward the main building.

"Don't sound so disappointed," Natasha teased, holding the door open for the teen. "We have a press room, and reporters are not permitted anywhere else on the grounds," She explained, and Peter figured that it made sense. They wouldn't want reporters running the grounds unsupervised. Despite that, Peter couldn't help but notice how she was trying to hide her limp.

Natasha opened the door, and they stepped out of the cold into the building when she stopped them. "Hey..." Her voice was low, and Peter couldn't help but think it sounded anxious. "I know you're about to reveal to the whole world that you're Spider-Man, and I've accepted that but," Natasha hadn't quite accepted it, but there was no sense arguing against it. "Do we plan on telling the world that you're my son?" She tried her best to make it sound like something they were doing together.

Peter frowned a little. He hadn't exactly put much thought into that, but Natasha clearly had. "Do you not want me to?" He asked, taking a small, involuntary step backward.

Natasha immediately realized her mistake. "No, no, no! Of COURSE, I do!" She placed her hands on her boy's shoulders, keeping him in place. "It's just-" She sighed a little. "I have a lot of enemies, baby... They don't have to be your enemies too." She had worried about it from the start of her search for him, and it was on her mind now more than ever. After all, what better way for someone to hurt her than to go after Peter? She could see in Peter's eyes that he understood that.

"They won't be your enemies or my enemies; they'll be OUR enemies," Peter said with a smile. He wasn't sure what the future held for them, but whatever happened, he wanted them to face it together. Peter moved forward to embrace her, but a door opened at the end of the room, drawing their attention. The Vision entered the room, closing the door quietly behind himself.

"Pardon my intrusion," The synthezoid apologized, his long even steps carrying him quickly to the pair. "Ms. Potts wishes-"

"You're Vision!" Peter blurted out, extending his hand to shake. Of all the beings he'd wished to meet, Vision had been near the top of his list. A fascinating mix of technology, humanity, and a strange glowing rock made him one of the most powerful beings in the world, if not the universe. Plus, meeting the synthezoid was a welcome distraction.

Vision smiled a little, taken back but amused by the boy's childlike excitement. "He is a child," He reminded himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Parker." Peter visibly brightened at Vision for knowing him by his real name rather than as Spider-Man. Their hands gripped, and he was impressed by the spiderling's grip strength. "I must say I was pleased to hear that Ms. Romanoff had decided to find you after our last talk," Peter turned toward Natasha, his confusion evident on his pale face.

The Widow shrugged one shoulder. "Vision was the one who encouraged me to look for you," Natasha admitted, giving Vision a small but grateful smile. Natasha wasn't sure she would have searched for Peter when she did without their late-night conversation. Or if she would have searched for him at all. It had seemed unobtainable for so long, but Vision had planted the idea in her head.

Peter felt compelled to thank the synthezoid, but before he could, Vision returned to why he was there. "I apologize, but Ms. Potts wishes to prep you before the press conference begins," He said, gesturing for them to head into the next room.

"There we are! I was worried we would run late, but you're just in time!" Pepper greeted them hastily, embracing Peter quickly and then moving to the rest of her work. Natasha only half listened as Pepper explained what questions to answer and which not to. Only her duties as his mother kept her listening at all; Pepper was an expert at this, and Natasha trusted her completely. "We have a suit waiting for you in your room, and it'll go under the Iron Spider suit, but don't worry, it won't wrinkle," Pepper's phone rang, allowing Peter a chance to breathe after being bombarded with everything in such a short amount of time.

His eyes slid off Pepper and to his Mom, who gave him a small, reassuring smile. "You got this!" She mouthed.

"Okay," Pepper jumped back in without missing a beat. "One last thing before I let you two go get changed," Her demeanor changed, her shoulders tightening and her eyes flicking to Natasha as if she wasn't sure how she'd react. "For security reasons, we aren't sure revealing to the whole world that you're Natasha's son is such a good idea." This time, Peter and Pepper looked down at Natasha, who looked down at her hands.

"No!" He snapped immediately. It wasn't just the word but the bite in his voice that drew a shocked look from Pepper. "No, I-" Peter paused, looking to Natasha before again before continuing. "I want them to know," Natasha bit down on her lower lip to stop the smile from seizing her face. The rational part of her, the spy part, knew it wasn't the best idea. But the Mom part of her, the part that was the proudest to call herself Peter's Mom, wanted the world to know he was hers.

"Okay, I-uh-" Pepper rubbed her forehead, slightly annoyed and very taken off guard. Peter had always been mild-mannered, and even Tony had complained about his unwillingness to speak up for himself. "We-" She pressed her eyes closed and took a steadying breath, thinking it over. "We can make that work... I mean, it can't possibly be any worse than when Tony announced to the world that he was Iron Man,"

The Secretary of Defense sat alone in his field office, rewatching the video of Spider-Man's fight with Batroc. The mercenary had been more than a match for Agent Romanoff, and Ross could tell he'd been enhanced with something, but he wasn't sure what. And still, the child had thrown him around like a ragdoll. He smirked a bit as he watched Batroc being smashed through a wall and them disappearing inside the building. "That boy is remarkable!" He thought to himself with a smile. "We'll put those skills to use, won't we, boy?" He rewound the video.

Spider-Man had been on Ross's radar for a while but had been a low-priority enhanced. He was just someone who occasionally popped up, but after seeing what he could do, he knew he could make use of him. "But what's your connection to Romanoff?" She was far too protective of him for him to be another member of the team. There was something else there.

A knock at the door drew his attention away, and Agent Jimmy Woo entered the room. "Sorry to interrupt, sir," Woo started. "Agent de Fontaine was wondering if you were going to make the trip up to the Avenger's Compound for the newest Avenger press conference," Ross shook his head and returned to the monitor. "May I ask why? I-I'm sure Agent de Fontaine is going to be curious." He clarified, but truthfully, he was the curious one.

"Because I already know who he is," He couldn't help his excited smirk. Stark and Romanoff were too set in their ways and too rebellious for him ever completely to control them. Peter Parker wasn't, and Ross believed he could exploit that. Blonsky without that flawed serum and obsession that had turned him into the Abomination. "Tell Valentina to leave them alone; I'll be up shortly to handle this one personally." He decided to arrive at the Compound at daybreak and catch them by surprise. If Romanoff wanted to get in his way again, he'd have her hauled off in handcuffs.

Tony breathed in, deep and slow, trying to slow his heart rate as their part of the press conference drew closer. "I'm sure I don't need to explain why this is a terrible, TERRIBLE idea, do I, Romanoff?" Tony said to Natasha as he came to stand beside her. They were both staring at Peter, who was standing motionless with his eyes glued to the door to the press room.

Natasha rolled her eyes, even if she couldn't disagree. "Wasn't my idea," Natasha defended with a shrug.

"Maybe not, but you didn't disagree either."

"Why should I? Am I supposed to want to hide my son from the world?" She snapped back, her head turning to glare at Tony. "Or maybe you think that Peter should be ashamed of me?" She scoffed at him.

"It's not that, and you KNOW IT!" Tony was so caught in his anxiety and the heat of the argument that he didn't notice his phone buzzing in his pocket.

Vision watched Tony and Natasha for a moment as they argued before turning his attention to the source of their anxiety. He briefly considered asking them to shelve the argument for Peter's sake, as Pepper or Colonel Rhodes may have done if she weren't in the other room but thought better of it. Instead, Vision went to Peter's side, staring at the same dark-colored wood door the teen was. Vision held his hands behind his back and considered what Peter thought and felt. "Mr. Parker?" Vision started, leaning over slightly.

"Just Peter." His eyes didn't leave the door. He tried very hard to focus on the muffled voices on the other side rather than his Mom and Tony's bickering.

Vision acknowledged with a slight nod of his head. "How-" He paused as he thought of what to say. It differed from his many conversations with Wanda, whom he knew very well. He hardly knew this boy at all and wasn't sure exactly what, if anything, he could do to put his mind at ease. "I was wondering if perhaps there was anything you wished to discuss before Ms. Potts comes back to get you?" Vision offered.

Peter opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted. "My son is old enough to make his own decisions, and believe it or not, you're not ALWAYS right!" Peter exhaled hard and turned his head away from the door, looking back at Tony and Natasha as their bickering paused.

Tony finally felt the phone's constant buzzing in his suit's pocket. It was an alert from Friday, and he knew it could only be one thing; she'd found something of interest on Hammer's phone. "To be continued..." He said to her, holding up a finger. "What do you got for me, Friday?" Tony asked.

"I've found an unlisted number on Justin Hammer's cell phone that he made calls to repeatedly. I believe it to be the burner phone he used to contact Georges Batroc." Friday said, and Tony turned to Natasha, and she knew without words what the call was about.

Natasha came to stand next to him, leaning in to hear what she was saying. Neither of them wanted to alert Peter to what they were discussing. "You have a location?" Tony asked the obvious first question.

"Somewhere near the Canadian border," Tony let out a deflated sigh. "Perhaps if you called it, I could get an exact location, assuming he answers." Tony looked to Natasha and then to Peter, who didn't appear to be listening.

Tony started to back away from Peter, hoping the teen would be too distracted to notice what he was doing. "Do it." He said in a quiet voice.

"Got it, boss. Try to keep him on the line for at least 30 seconds for me to have a chance at this." Friday said just before the line began to ring.

Georges had slipped across the border and was walking up the snow-covered road when a buzzing inside his jacket stopped him. He didn't recognize the number but knew who it was. He knew he should crush the thing, but doesn't. Justin had assured him it was untraceable, but if anyone could find a way to track him, it was Tony Stark. Against his better judgment, he answered but said nothing. "Batroc...?" Tony began. "I know you're there," He continued when Batroc remained silent.

"Yes..."

"My life is going to change... FOREVER..." Peter realized his life had already changed forever, but this was different. The whole WORLD was going to know who he was, and if he was honest with himself, it scared him. "And I guess I'm just not sure if it will be better or worse." He admitted with a sigh and glanced back to the other two again. "I guess it's the same for them," Peter knew that was the cause of their argument, but it dawned on him that they weren't fighting anymore.

Peter had just started toward them when he heard the name. "Georges, this your only chance to come in alive," Everything Tony said after that was lost in his rage. His pace quickened as he took long, even strides toward them.

"Is that him!?" Tony and Natasha's eyes snapped up to Peter just as he reached them.

"Peter, wait-" Natasha tried to intervene, and Tony simultaneously took a step back, but it was no use. Only Vision could've stopped Peter as he snatched the phone from Tony, but he chose not to. "Peter...!" She scolded, but it was brushed aside.

"Georges Batroc!" The teen practically yelled as he put the phone up to his ear.

"That voice..." He recognized it instantly, and he stopped in his tracks. "Ah, Spider-Boy... What can I do for-"

"Shut up!" Natasha and Tony exchanged looks. "You kill 70 innocent people and think you get to just run away?" Peter asked as he paced back and forth, unsure what to do with all the pent-up aggression. He unconsciously gripped the phone tighter, and the sapphire screen cracked slightly.

He smirked to himself as he started walking again. "That's exactly what I think, actually," He said, sounding nonchalant and making Peter even angrier. That was the point, after all. "I've done it before," He knew he would only get away for so long and that the Avengers would eventually hunt him down, but he wasn't about to be intimidated by a child hundreds of miles away.

"You won't get away this time; I'm going-"

"I will," Georges interrupted.

Peter cackled a humorless laugh. "Oh my GOD, I can't wait to get my fucking hands on you!" Pepper came in from the press room, which drew only Natasha's attention. The older woman said nothing but tapped her watch.

"Pete?" Natasha grabbed Peter lightly by the arm, hoping to get his attention away from Batroc, away from his anger. He turned to face her, and she held out her hand. "It's time. Give me the phone," She ordered softly.

Peter's eyes focused on the bruises on his Mom's face for a moment before he said one last thing. "I am going to do to you exactly what you planned to do to my Mom," He dropped the phone onto Natasha's outstretched palm and walked away hastily.

The meaning of that didn't hit Batroc immediately, and it made him pause as he thought it over. "His Mom? What does-" His eyebrows shot up with realization, and he couldn't help but grin a little. "I guess the boy's anger makes sense now," He thought. Batroc heard a small sigh on the other end of the phone, and he figured it must be Natasha. "Romanoff?" He said.

Natasha watched Peter disappear into the press room, where she was sure something would go wrong. "What...?" She brought the phone up to her ear and rubbed at her eyes.

"Tell that boy no hard feelings, huh?" He said before ending the call, and he threw the phone out into the trees.

Natasha's hand dropped from her ear, and she stared blankly out the window for a long time. The sun was setting, and it had begun to snow lightly, and she thought about Batroc, probably trekking through weather that would only worsen the farther north he went. "Maybe I'll get lucky, and he'll just freeze to death out there..." Natasha turned and headed toward the press conference.

Peter stood a few feet back from the podium while Tony answered questions. He was wearing Tony's new Iron Spider suit and trying hard to stay still. Natasha leaned into his shoulder a little. "New suit looks good," She whispered to him, trying to break some of the tension. "Looks like it'll keep you safe," She thought.

"It smells like a new car," Natasha laughed a little and opened her mouth to say something encouraging.

"Now, without further ado, I give the world the newest member of the Avengers: Spider-Man." Tony stepped back and waved for him to take his place.

He took a few deep breaths. "Here goes nothing," A few terribly long and awkward moments passed when Peter reached the podium.
"Hello, everyone, I uh-" Peter realized he wasn't sure how to remove the suit to reveal himself to the world. "Uh, Mr. Stark, how do I-" Tony pressed a button on his watch, and the nano-tech suit basically vanished.
There was a moment of stunned silence in the room. Everyone had known he was young based on the short, shaky video they'd seen. But no one was prepared for just how young he was. "My name's Peter Parker, and I-" He looked up from his flashcards and at the dozens of reporters. "And I just want to get this over with." He thought. "And let's just get to the questions."

"Way to stick to the game plan, kid..." Tony said, earning him a quick elbow from Pepper.

"Like you're one to talk," Pepper whispered, and Natasha couldn't help but laugh.

Peter pointed at a man in the front row. "How did you become acquainted with Tony Stark?" A shockingly easy question, but for a reason Peter couldn't explain, he didn't want to answer it.

"Long story," He pointed to the next before he could ask a follow-up question.

A young blonde-haired woman stood in the middle of the crowd. "Where are you from?" She asked. "There was speculation that you came from Hydra like-"

"Queens," He moved on again.

Most of the questions were simple enough, and Peter felt almost relaxed, if not a little evasive, with his answers. "One final question," Pepper announced.

"You and Ms. Romanoff were photographed together several times at the event," He paused as if waiting for Peter to object. "And it seemed to be Georges Batroc's attack on Ms. Romanoff that made you willing to reveal your powers." Peter furrowed his brow, confused as to where the reporter was going with that. Natasha, however, knew exactly where the man was going to take it. "Are the two of you involved? Romantically?"

"WHAT!?" He glanced back to Natasha, but she only shrugged and shook her head. She was accustomed to rumors about her love life, but still, she cringed at the accusation. "Ew, no!" It was the last question Peter had expected.

"Well, why else would a young man be spending so much time with Natasha Romanoff?" Peter rolled his eyes so hard he looked straight up to the ceiling. "If the relationship isn't romantic, then what-"

"Because she's my MOM!" There was a brief moment of stunned silence before the room erupted into a frenzy of reporters yelling over each other. "Thank you all for your time," Peter said and left the room, followed by Natasha, who rested her hand on his back as they walked.

Peter stopped and dragged his hand down his face. "That could've gone better," It wasn't how Peter had wanted to tell the world, but the deed was done. At least people wouldn't assume something else about them. Peter cringed again at the question. "I can't believe he asked me that..." Peter rubbed his eyes and suddenly realized how tired he was.

"Forget about that idiot," She waved it off, trying to keep it light. "It could've gone worse, too," Natasha said, thinking of the many press conferences she'd had to deal with over the years. Peter was quiet for a long time, his eyes fixed on the ground. "What're ya thinking, Pete?" She asked.

He laughed at the question. His mind was a mess; it would probably be easier for him to say what he wasn't thinking. He wanted to ask about Batroc and when they'd be going after him. But honestly, he wasn't sure if even she knew, and even if she did, he doubted she'd tell him. "I'm thinking that I'm exhausted," Peter said.

"How about I make us some dinner, and then you get into bed?" Natasha offered.

"I'm not hungry," He was actually, but he knew he wouldn't be able to. "I'm just gonna go lay down," Natasha kept her mild disappointment to herself. "Thank you, though," He added quickly.

Natasha watched him as he headed off toward his room. It would be the first time since the attack she wouldn't be beside him while he slept. "Hey, Pete?" He stopped and turned back to her. "I-" Natasha paused; there was an 'I love you' on the tip of her tongue. "If you need me, just... I won't be far away." She offered her support and hoped he'd be willing to accept it on his.

It was late, nearly midnight when Natasha limped into the kitchen while talking on the phone. "If I knew a better tracker, I'd be on the phone with them right now," She stopped when she saw Peter leaning over the counter. He was laying his forehead on the granite and tapping his foot. "I gotta go; I'll call you tomorrow," Natasha quickly ended the call.

"Pete," He peaked his eyes out but didn't respond. "What are you doing?" She asked with a soft laugh.

"Coffee," Peter said. Sleep had found him quickly, but it was restless, and after another nightmare, he couldn't fall back asleep. The teen was tired, and he was tired of being tired while not being able to sleep.

She glanced at the time. "Little late for coffee, isn't it?" Natasha kept her tone light.

"Not like I'm sleeping anyway. Who were you on the phone with?" He changed the subject quickly.

"It's complicated." They said in unison. Peter laughed and shook his head.

Natasha sighed a little; she knew he was sick of that answer, and she couldn't blame him. "Be patient with me, baby," She wanted to say. The kitchen was silent until the coffee maker beeped. Peter quickly began to pour the steaming coffee into the biggest mug he could find. "Peter?" He stopped pouring. "How about some hot chocolate instead?" That sounded nice, actually, and he agreed.

Fifteen minutes later, Natasha set a steaming cup of hot chocolate in front of him, complete with a generous amount of whipped cream. Peter had only ever had powdered hot chocolate, so watching Natasha make it from scratch had been almost mesmerizing. Peter took a drink. "Holy shit...!" He couldn't help but laugh.

Natasha resisted the 'language!' that nearly slipped out. "Pretty good, huh?" He nodded and took another sip.

"You used to do this with Laura, I'm guessing?" He could tell this was familiar to her, so he assumed it was something she would have picked up from her.

She shook her head. "Tony, actually. This is his recipe," His Mom smiled a little, her eyes focused on her cup; he could see her replaying it in her head. Peter leaned forward, and Natasha knew he wanted to hear about it. "Neither of us slept much, and one night out of the blue, Tony asked me if I wanted a cup of hot cocoa," She held up her mug and chuckled a bit at the memory. It had seemed childish... and yet she'd accepted. "After that, it became some sort of a tradition," Back before the accords, when things between them had been simpler.

The pair sat and talked; while they did, Natasha could feel her eyelids growing heavy. She wasn't sure if the hot chocolate was working for Peter, but it was certainly working for her. "Okay, I'm gonna go to bed," She finally said. "Please try to get some sleep," Peter gave her a wry smile in return, and Natasha decided not to push it any further.

"Night, Mom," Peter said just before she left. "I love you," The words went unsaid.

Natasha smiled at him. "Goodnight, Peter. Please try to get some sleep," Peter gave her a wry smile in return, and Natasha decided not to push it any further.
Peter sat in the kitchen for a while longer, but eventually, boredom got the better of him, and he decided to go see if Tony was in his lab.

He was descending the steps when he heard Tony say. "He's heading north," Peter stopped. "Seems to be avoiding any major towns, too," The teen crept down a few more steps.

"To what end?" Peter peered around the corner and saw them looking at a map of Canada. There were a half dozen lines, all in different colors from a single red dot that Peter knew was Batroc's last know location. One line stood out from the rest, leading to a port city on the western bank of the Saint Lawrence River.

"Probably looking for a way back to Europe and get as far away from us as he can," Peter frantically typed a few notes into his phone before slipping unnoticed back up the stairs and to his room. He knew if Batroc managed to get back to Europe, he'd be almost impossible for him to find, and he wasn't about to let vengeance slip through his fingers.

Within twenty minutes, Peter was out the window and swinging through the forest as fast as he could until he reached the highway. The traffic on the road was sparse, and Peter swung alongside it until he could finally catch the trailer of a passing semi. By then, he was already four miles down the road.

A few hours late, just as the sun began to rise above the horizon, Natasha stirred from her sleep. There was a strange feeling of unease in her stomach and a single thing on her mind. "Peter..." Without fully understanding why, Natasha rose from her bed and hobbled down the halls to her son's room. "Pete?" She knocked lightly on the door. No answer and her anxiety grew. "You're being ridiculous, Romanoff. He's probably just sleeping." She tried to reason with herself, but still, she couldn't shake the feeling. And if there was one thing Natasha had learned over the years, it was to trust her gut. Natasha quietly opened the door. "Peter?" Her voice was soft but anxious, and when she got no response, she opened the door completely.

There was a moment when all Natasha could do was draw in quick, panicked breaths. "Oh God..."

Author's note: Well, here's chapter 16! I intended for it to be longer (The press conference and the hot chocolate were originally longer as well as starting more of Peter's journey north) but it would've ended up being like 10,000 words which would've just felt like too much. And expect a few character appearances soon! But I hope everyone enjoyed it. Please read and review!