Author's Note: Hello, hello, my readers, welcome to my Whumptober fics for Iron Dad and Spider Son! My internet bestie Superherotiger convinced me to write a few oneshots for the prompts for the Whumptober event on Tumblr, and of course, I wanted to give it a shot. So I decided to pick a few prompts and write them centering around the father/son relationship between Tony and Peter! The first one is a combination of two prompts: Made to Watch and Water Inhalation. There is a bit of water boarding in it, so just a heads up for those who are not comfortable with that. I hope you all enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Never Take My Heart
No. 6-Made to Watch, No.14-Water Inhalation
Tony supposed that he should be used to being kidnapped by now. Look at his track record…he was kidnapped in Afghanistan…and the entire thing was orchestrated by Obadiah Stane. Then he was kidnapped alongside Peter by his old rival…Justin Hammer. The billionaire was beginning to wonder if being kidnapped was going to become an annual thing. Why wouldn't it? He was the son of Howard and Maria Stark, Iron Man, a billionaire, and the former CEO of Stark Industries. Who wouldn't jump at the chance?
With that, he slowly opened his eyes as he came to only to find that he was tied to a chair…in a dark room. However, it didn't take long for him to see that he wasn't alone. Peter was sitting right across from him in the exact same position…tied to a chair looking beaten up as he was slowly coming to as well. Tony felt his stomach drop as he saw that Peter was restrained to a chair not with ropes, but with metal restraints, which led Tony to one chilling observation…whoever did this knew that Peter was Spider-Man. That only made his heart pound even more.
"P-Peter?" Tony finally said. "Kid, can you hear me?"
He heard a groan in response as he watched Peter shift and slowly raise his head. Tony exhaled in relief as he smiled slightly. Peter was alive. He was restrained to a chair, but he was alive.
Peter slowly opened his eyes as he raised his head. Immediately, his face felt sore, and his head was pounding. As he looked up trying to figure out what happened or where he was, his eyes landed on…Tony, who was sitting in front of him tied up to a chair. "M-Mr. Stark?" he asked in a whisper.
"Yeah, I'm here, kid," Tony said never taking his eyes off Peter for a second. "Are you okay?"
"I think so," Peter said. Then he looked down when he noticed what was happening. He was restrained to a chair with metal cuffs—no doubt vibranium—on his wrists and ankles. Both he and Tony were restrained…in the middle of a dark room with a single light shining on them. "W-What happened to us? Where are we?"
Tony furrowed his eyebrows together as he thought back before he and Peter woke up, and it didn't take long to remember. He and Peter were working in the lab at the Tower…and everything seemed normal. Then…Peter's senses went off…but before anything could be done, they smelled something. Then…that was it. The next thing he knew…he and Peter were waking up tied to chairs. "I remember…" he said. "T-The lab…we smelled that gas. We were knocked out."
"Aw, shit," Peter said. "I thought we were done with being kidnapped."
Tony chuckled. "Believe me, kiddo," he said, "I thought so too." He then shook his head trying to focus on their situation at hand. "Okay, listen, I know this sucks, but we have to keep our wits about us. Same thing as it was with Hammer, okay? Let me do the talking, and don't try to be a hero. We don't know for sure if they know who you are."
"O-Okay, okay," Peter said nodding.
"Oh, don't worry, Tony," a voice suddenly said as he walked into the light. "We know exactly…who he is." Once he came into the light, Tony was able to see who their captor was, and his eyes widened.
"B-Beck…Quentin Beck?" Tony asked in astonishment and in horror. It had been a few years since that presentation at MIT…since he had this man fired from Stark Industries.
"In the flesh," Beck said with a smile that made Tony and Peter's skins crawl. "I've got to say, Stark, I'm surprised you remember me. I had a whole speech planned for you." Beck then chuckled. "Oh well…that just gives me more time to put my plan into action."
"Mr. Stark…who is this guy?" Peter suddenly asked trying to hide the fear and nervousness in his voice.
This made Beck turn to Peter with a shocked look on his face, and Tony immediately tensed glaring at their captor silently daring him to try to hurt Peter.
"Why, Peter," Beck began with a raised eyebrow, "I'm shocked. You don't know who I am?"
Peter watched as Beck came extremely close to him…to the point where he was practically towering over him. His heart began to pound as he felt that tingling sensation all over his body. He wanted to web Beck up, grab Tony, and make a run for it, but he couldn't. He could only shake his head. He had no idea who this man was. All he knew was that there was something…very…very off about him. "No…" he said quietly.
Beck stared at Peter for a few more seconds before bursting out laughing as he watched Peter shift uncomfortably in his seat. "Wow!" he said. "Tony never told you about me?" He then turned to Tony. "You never told him about me, Tony?"
"No, he didn't," Peter replied before Tony could. "He's never mentioned you."
Beck continued to laugh and shook his head. "Well," he said with a cool smirk, "let me tell you about me, Peter. You see, I used to work with your buddy, Stark. I designed the illusion tech…the very same tech that Tony named…"he closed his eyes, "BARF…and showed off at MIT all those years ago."
Peter widened his brown eyes as he remembered the BARF technology. Tony told him that it was to help people deal with traumatic memories and that he presented it at his alma mater back in 2016…the very same day Ross started the whole debacle about the Accords…not long before they first met, but that was it. He never said anything more about it, and Peter never felt the need to do more digging. "O-Oh…" he managed to say.
"Yeah…the…BARF—God, I hate that name—technology," Beck continued, "it was my life's work. I dedicated my whole career to perfecting it…to making it what it has the potential to be. I wanted to use it to show Tony…to show everyone what I'm capable of… We could've used it to make a huge profit off superhero fights, but…a certain…boozy…manchild…" he snuck a glance at Tony, "just wanted to use it…as a tool…for therapy."
"Beck, it was never meant to be—" Tony tried to say.
"LET ME FINISH, TONY!" Beck screamed making both Tony and Peter jump in fright. After a moment of silence, Beck began to laugh. "I'm…so sorry. Guess I…still get pissed off every once in a while. Anyway, Peter, I tried to convince your buddy that it wasn't being used to its full potential, but then…he fired me." He then turned to Tony again glaring daggers into him. "He said…I was too unstable, and then…he stole my life's work. He took…my project…MY PROJECT from me…and claimed it as his own!"
"W-Well, M-Mr. Beck," Peter began shakily, "technically…you worked for Stark Industries, so…technically…Mr. Stark—"
"SHUT UP!" Beck suddenly turned around and punched Peter in the face.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Tony shouted in horror struggling in his restraints…trying in vain to get to his kid…to protect his kid.
"YOU DON'T LISTEN!" Beck shouted as he grabbed Peter's shirt forcing the boy to look at him. "NOBODY LISTENS!"
"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HIM!" Tony screamed.
Peter could only stare at his and Tony's captor in fear. Beck might not have realized, but the teenager could easily see that Tony was right to fire the man. He truly was too unstable. If one said anything he didn't like, an outburst wasn't too far behind.
After a moment of silence, Beck finally took a deep breath and calmed down chuckling, which only made Tony and Peter even more nervous. "There I go again," he said nonchalantly. "You really should know better than to piss me off, Peter."
"Beck, let Peter go," Tony said firmly glaring at his former employee. "He's got nothing to do with this. He wasn't even around when that went down."
"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, Tony," Beck said with a sly grin. "You see, he has everything to do with this. If I want the one thing that matters most to me…I need to go after the one thing that matters most to you. Besides…I can't have ol' Spider-Man gathering the Avengers on me, now, can I?"
Both Peter and Tony widened their eyes as they realized that their assumptions were right. Beck knew that Peter was important to Tony, but what was even more horrifying to Tony was that Beck planned on using Peter as a bargaining chip…and that there was almost nothing he could do.
"So, let's get down to business, Stark," Beck said walking over to Tony. "Give me back the BARF technology. Let me have full access to it, and I'll let you and little Petey go free."
"Mr. Stark…no!" Peter said before Tony could even answer. "Don't do it!"
Tony looked at Peter…and then back at Beck glaring at him. How dare he use Peter against him. He wished more than ever that he could take Beck down and get Peter as far away from wherever they were as possible. "And…if I don't?" he asked trying to hide his nervousness. He almost wished he didn't, but…he did anyway.
"I'm glad you asked," Beck replied. "Well, I suppose normally bad guys would just tell you, but I think you need a visual aide. You see…if you choose not to do what I want…then…Peter…your kid over there gets…a special little present." He then turned to look behind him. "William, bring it out."
"You got it, boss," another voice said.
Not even a second later, another man, who Tony recognized as William Ginter Riva…the very same man who worked for Obadiah Stane…came out with a large tank…of water. At that moment…Tony immediately felt all the air leave him. His left arm went numb, and his heart pounded. He couldn't breathe… He couldn't think…
"I see you know what this is," Beck said bending down next to Tony. "William over here told me all about Afghanistan, but…I'm willing to bet…you haven't given little Peter the full story." He paused for a moment. "Bring the kid over."
That snapped Tony out of his panic as he looked at Beck and then at Peter, who was suddenly yanked out of the chair by William and another member—Gutes, cuffed by his wrists, and then brought to the tank.
"N-No….NO!" Tony shouted. "NO! NO! PLEASE! LEAVE PETER ALONE! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" He struggled with all his might to free himself from the ropes…but it was no use. He couldn't break free. "LET HIM GO, BECK! LET HIM GO! You son of a bitch, you didn't even let me give you my answer yet!"
"I'm sorry, Tony," Beck said nonchalantly, "but you didn't let me decide what my tech could be used for. We can discuss your answer after you know what it feels like to have no choice."
"Mr. Stark, don't listen to him," Peter said as William and Gutes dragged him to the tank and forced him to kneel in front of it…where Tony could see. "Don't do anything he says! I'll be fine!"
"No, no, I'll do it, Beck!" Tony said not bothering to listen to Peter's pleas. "Please, I'll do it…I'll give you the tech!"
"Hmm…I-I don't know, Tony," Beck said crossing his arms. "Kind of feels like you're lying to me." He then turned to his crew. "Do it!"
Before either Tony or Peter could react, Peter was suddenly grabbed by the hair and pushed down face first into the water.
"NO! NO!" Tony screamed at the top of his lungs as he watched Peter jerk and thrash under William and Gutes' grip. "NO! PLEASE LET HIM GO! PETER! PETER!"
"Let him come up," Beck ordered calmly.
Suddenly, Peter was pulled back up as he coughed and hacked up water. He was soaking wet and shivering, but Tony didn't care. All he cared about was that Peter was okay.
"Now, put him under again," Beck said before either Tony or Peter could say anything.
William and Gutes did as they were told and pushed Peter back under again.
"WAIT! NO! NO! STOP!" Tony screamed again. "PLEASE! PLEASE LET PETER GO! PLEASE!"
His screams fell on deaf ears as the men continued to hold Peter down despite how hard he was jerking and thrashing around in the water. Tony felt his heart pound as he watched Peter trying with all his might to come back up for air. He also couldn't help but notice that they were holding Peter under the water a little longer than the first time.
"PLEASE, BECK!" Tony screamed again as tears streamed down his face. "I'LL DO IT! I PROMISE, I SWEAR ON MY PARENTS' GRAVES! I'LL DO IT!"
"Hmm…" Beck said casually stroking his chin as if two of his lackies weren't water boarding a teenager…Tony's intern. "You really mean that?"
"YES!" Tony shouted despite the pain forming in his throat. "PLEASE…PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU! LET MY KID GO! I'LL GIVE YOU THE TECH!"
"Uhh…boss…we've got a problem," William said before Beck could even answer.
"Ohh…what sort of problem…?" Beck turned around and stopped when he saw. He then hissed as he turned back to Tony. "Sorry, Tony…I-I…uhh…guess we did a little too much…"
"W-What…?" Tony asked as he felt his heart drop to his stomach. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"
Beck stepped out of the way, and what Tony saw horrified him and shook him to his core. Peter's head was still in the tank, but…he wasn't…moving. No thrashing and jerking around. He was completely still, and Tony felt his blood run cold.
"N-No…No…NO!" Tony shouted. "PETER! PETER!"
William and Gutes picked Peter's limp body up out of the tank and practically threw him to the ground…like he was nothing, and…Peter didn't get up. He didn't cough. He didn't speak, and his eyes were closed. He wasn't moving.
"PETER!" Tony called out desperately. "PETER! WAKE UP! PETER! PETER!" He then looked at Beck. "PLEASE! LET ME GO! I NEED TO HELP HIM! HE NEEDS CPR! I need to make sure he's okay! PLEASE!" He struggled in his ropes throwing his body around. He had to get to Peter. He had to get to his kid. "PETER! I'M COMING! I'M COMING! PLEASE! HOLD ON! HOLD ON, KID!"
"Jeez…will you just shut up, Stark?" Beck said as he walked behind Tony and untied him. "Alright, alright, we'll let you see him. Don't expect much."
As soon as Tony felt the ropes loosen around his arms, he wasted no time in scrambling out of the chair and onto the floor crawling to Peter's lifeless body. He picked Peter up and turned him around so that he was lying on his back, and Tony could see just how pale his skin was and how blue his lips were. Thankfully, he remembered the survival skills Rhodey instilled in him. He put his ear to Peter's mouth, and his heart continued to pound. Peter wasn't breathing.
"No…no…kid, don't do this to me," Tony said frantically as he placed his fingers on Peter's neck. No pulse. "No, no, Peter, you can't do this! Stay with me! I'm not letting you do this to me!" He wasted no time in placing his hands on Peter's chest and starting chest compressions. "Come on, kiddo! Come on, buddy! You can't leave me now. You can't! YOU CAN'T Please…please stay with me! Please come back to me! PLEASE!"
There was no response from Peter.
Tony wasted no time in giving him two rescue breaths. He refused to give up. He would not give up on his kid…his amazing kid. He resumed chest compressions on his kid's chest. The billionaire didn't even bother to care about the fact that Beck and his crew were watching the whole thing. All he cared about was Peter. "Come on, Peter…" he said as tears came to his eyes. "Come on, buddy…please…please…"
No response came again. No signs of life came from the teen…He was completely still.
"PLEASE!" Tony shouted at the top of his lungs as he broke down into sobs. His arms dropped burning from the forceful motions on Peter's chest. "KID! PETE! PETER! PLEASE! OH GOD! DON'T LEAVE ME! NOT LIKE THIS!"
No response came yet again.
"NOOO!" Tony sobbed as he picked Peter up cradling his still body rocking back and forth. "NO! NO! PETER!" This couldn't be happening. Peter was there moments ago. He was talking to him. How could he just be gone…just like that? "Kid…p-please…don't…don't leave me… This…this can't be how our story ends… It can't be…" He continued to sob uncontrollably as he held Peter refusing to let go for even a second. "P-Peter…" He couldn't even bring himself to care about Beck at the moment. All he could focus on was that his kid…was gone…dead…forever. Never again would he see Peter for lab days…over the weekends…hear him laugh…see him smile. All of that was gone, and he hated it. He wished…prayed that it was all a horrible nightmare and that he would wake up and see Peter, but it wasn't a nightmare…or even an illusion. It was real…all too real.
Suddenly, Tony felt something shift in his arms, and he couldn't help but open his eyes. When he did, he widened his eyes at the sight. Peter's body…was fading…to dust. He watched as his body faded to dust…only to be replaced with a…limp mannequin… Tony screamed as he jumped back dropping the mannequin. Then he heard laughing, and he looked back up at Beck, who turned out to be the one laughing hysterically…at him.
"Oh my god!" Beck said in between laughs. "We really had you going there for a bit. That was just rich!"
"W-What…?" Tony said shakily looking at Beck and then back at the mannequin…as realization struck him in the face. It was an illusion! It wasn't real! It was like the BARF technology, but Beck was able to replicate it…to fake Peter's death. But something still didn't add up. Was Peter not really there the whole time? Was he still alive? Where was he? How long was Tony talking to a mannequin? "B-But…"
"Looked real, huh?" Beck said smugly. "I told you, Tony. My tech has so much more potential than you think. For someone who built an iron suit in a cave, you don't think very big, do you?"
"B-But then…w-where's Peter…the real Peter?" Tony asked still too much in shock to realize who he was talking to.
"Oh, don't worry," Beck said nonchalantly. "He's here. We just switched him with the mannequin when you were distracted, and my tech took care of the rest." He then turned to the darkness. "Oh, Peter?"
As if on cue, two more of Beck's crew members emerged from the darkness…with a certain brown-haired teenager in between them, and Tony's eyes widened when he saw that he was soaking wet and…had duct tape on his mouth preventing him from speaking. Was it so that he couldn't reveal the truth—if it was even there—to him?
The teenager said something to him, but it was muffled because of the tape on his mouth. Even though Tony was sitting down, he felt as though he was going to pass out. Was this real? Or was it another illusion? Was this really Peter in the flesh?
Before Tony could say or do anything, Beck walked over to the teenager and pulled the duct tape off causing him to flinch in pain.
"See? I told you," Beck said to Tony. "Peter's fine."
Tony however couldn't bring himself to believe it…not yet.
"It's me, Mr. Stark," the teen said with a smile.
"Okay…if…if you're Peter…" Tony began cautiously, "tell me something only you would know."
The teenager nodded. He paused clearly trying to think of something that was only witnessed by Peter and Tony. Then…something came to him. "R-Remember that one time you were driving me back to the city?" he said. "We…we were training for Thanos at the compound for the weekend, and we were listening to AC/DC… 'Back in Black' came on. I asked who the band was. I asked if it was Led Zeppelin because I love Led Zeppelin."
Tony remembered that like it was yesterday. That was definitely something only Peter would know, but there was one detail he needed to know for sure. "What did I say?"
He smiled almost as if he was remembering it himself. "You…you said that…that we were going to listen to every…single AC/DC song known to man…" he said, "until they're stuck in my head."
Tony exhaled happily and shakily as he quickly stood up. "P-Peter…" he said. "It…it really is you."
"It's me, Mr. Stark," Peter said sounding like he was near tears himself. "I'm alive."
They wasted no time in running to each other. For right now, it didn't matter where they were or who they were with. All that mattered was that they were together again. Tony gathered his kid into his arms. "Oh my god…kid…" he said before placing kisses on Peter's temple. "It's really you. It's…it's really you." He couldn't believe it as he felt Peter's chest rising and falling against his. He could feel Peter's heart beating. "You're okay. You're alive."
"It's me, Mr. Stark," Peter said as tears came to his eyes and as he buried his face into Tony's shoulder. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry. I tried to warn you. They switched me, and I tried to call out to you. I couldn't get you to hear me. I'm sorry."
"Not your fault, kiddo," Tony said rocking Peter back and forth. "Not your fault. I'm just glad you're in my arms again…alive." He thanked whatever deity out there that Peter was alive. Now, all they had to focus on was getting away from Beck. Tony glared over Peter's shoulder at Beck as the maniac approached them.
However, before either of them could say or do anything…there was an explosion in a wall nearby, and light flooded in, and both Tony and Peter could clearly see that it was Rhodey, Pepper, and the rest of the Avengers. They were getting rescued. They were going home!
Author's Note: Annnnnnnnd that's all for now, boys and girls! I hope you all enjoyed it! I loved writing Beck in this one! He really is a fun character to work with! Up next is STRANDED! So I hope you come back to check that out! In the meantime, don't forget to read and review! Thanks again, guys!