I'll be honest: I'm not remotely sure where this came from. The idea literally sprang to life in my mind a few days ago and so it was written.

This ficlet deals with Skip Westcott, but that's it. What he did to Peter is not specifically mentioned or described; this story is about the people around Peter and what lengths they are willing to go to in order to protect him. But it's also about justice, vengeance, and how sometimes, you have to get creative in order to achieve those goals. Therefore, this story should be safe to everyone to read, but it is about Skip Westcott and his comeuppance.

As ever, please read and review; I don't think I've ever seen this idea before (if I have, I don't remember where or when, and I apologize for forgetting you), so I'm desperately curious to see what you think. And again, I'd like to express my deepest appreciation to all the people who are reading, commenting, giving kudos, and bookmarking this series; you are the reason I keep writing and I appreciate you beyond words (yes, I do see and appreciate the irony).

So . . . on with the story!

Karma (the Bitch with Standards)

When it came to karma, Tony Stark freely admitted he could go either way, but he tended to lean on the 'doesn't happen' side.

After all, he'd certainly never been lucky enough to see the people who hurt him get their comeuppance, unless it was at his hands — which wasn't, technically speaking, 'karma'.

It didn't occur him until he was into his forties that the reason people were so unsure about karma was because, quite simply, he wasn't unique and that very few people got to see it in action. In hindsight, this made sense. How could it be fun for the universe to let the person who'd been wronged see their tormentor receive their just deserts?

Still, every so often, the universe either got bored or lost a bet, and that lucky person got to see karma in all of her full, blazing glory.

For Tony Stark, today was that day.

It had started more than seven months prior, when Loki showed up on Earth, battered, bruised, and eyes burning with green fire instead of empty blue fervor, with frantic tales of the same incoming invasion Tony had been warning everyone about for four years. Naturally, there was a great deal of panic and hysteria, but after the UN calmed down and got over itself and actually listened to what both Tony and Loki had to say, information confirmed by Stephen Strange's truth spell (which, really? Where was that during every political election ever?) and backed up by Thor's testimony of abduction, mind-control, schemes hidden within plans, and betrayal at the highest levels, Loki had been welcomed as a member of the Defenders — after being threatened with all manner of bodily harm and/or death, starting and ending with Peter, who had designated himself as Tony Stark's personal guard — and he took no chances with his father's health and safety (often to the amusement of their teammates, especially since Tony mostly-willingly allowed it even as he grumbled and groused about overprotective Spiderlings. Since as he was equally as protective of said Spiderling, with just as much bitching and moaning, their fellow Defenders seldom lacked for entertainment).

Loki, to his credit, did Peter the honor of taking him seriously, and therefore made no effort to lie about or downplay his prior attempts to harm Tony, when they had been on opposite sides, and was also honest about when and how his subsequent admiration for the man had developed. Peter had heard the alien out, considered his words for quite a while, and finally accepted his explanation and apology before threatening him with a nebulous fate that nonetheless managed to be ominous — before webbing him to the floor and his mouth shut and then leaving without a word. Once Loki got over the shock and outrage of the boy's actions, he'd been greatly amused and even more impressed at Peter's loyalty to his father, along with his willingness to act on it.

The true beginning of their bond happened a few weeks later, when Peter saved Loki during a minor scuffle, involving rogue sorcerers, an actual fucking magic hat, and a rabbit of truly massive size (apparently, it had been hit by an enlarging spell by mistake; after one moment of disgusted realization, none of the team had even tried to ask). Loki had turned in time to see Peter web away his would-be attacker and, disgruntled at being rescued by a child, informed him that he'd been in no danger and would easily have handled it.

Peter's response?

"I know, but you would have had to break your 'I'm The Mage, bitches' pose you were in, and that just would have been wrong."

Everyone but Loki had stared at Spiderman with varying degrees of trepidation (or, in James Rhodes' case, outright horror; he knew exactly what was about to happen, may God help them all). Loki just looked delighted.

Three days later, Peter and Loki were inseparable, and by the end of the week, Ned, Harley, Nebula, and Wade had joined them and formed a group that was positively alarming to the adults in the room, as adorable as they could all be when they chose.

As with most teams numbering more than two people, there were personality clashes (Jessica Jones), instant friendships (Deadpool, and dear God the combination of that maniac and Loki was terrifying), and the lukewarm 'I'll watch your back but your taste in music is atrocious, so we aren't meeting up for drinks anytime soon' acquaintance (Iron Fist, but the man liked Fatboy Slim. Tony was entirely on Loki's side there).

Except for one Peter Benjamin Parker.

How he managed it, Tony could not begin to fathom, but Peter had somehow become the beating heart of this new team — except for him. Tony Stark was immune, naturally. It wasn't like he thought of the boy as a son or anything, and he naturally found himself both wary and grateful when Loki literally adopted the kid as a brother — one he genuinely liked, unlike Thor. Things in that relationship were getting better, sure, but it would never be an easy bond, and Peter was so very easy to love (Loki changed his last name to 'Peter's Brother', for heaven's sake. Thankfully for Tony, Peter kept his name of Parker, though adding Stark was a strong possibility in the near future).

It was unsurprising, then, that after Peter came to truly trust his new group of siblings, he began to show some deeper vulnerability. Then everything changed one night as The Loco Seis (thank you, Carol, for the Spanish, because that made sense) were having a movie night. They started out bingeing all three Back to the Future movies before playing some bizarre version of Spin the Bottle for Netflix and landing on a mini-series called Defending Jacob, he had a panic attack during the second episode for what, at first, seemed to be no reason. And after Tony had calmed him down and brought him back to the present, Peter naturally denied knowing why the attack had happened, or why it was so brutal.

But Loki was the Liesmith, so he saw immediately that Peter knew exactly what had set him off and why . . . and he shocked everyone in the building when he displayed an astonishing amount of tact and gentleness while coaxing the truth out of his little brother.

Which was how the most powerful man on earth, who was also Peter's father, two of the most dangerous aliens also on earth, one certifiably insane — and insanely protective — mercenary, and another of Peter's adopted brothers found out about Steven 'Skip' Westcott.

Loki actually had to weave a sleep spell around the entire group to keep them from raging off right that second to kill the child rapist, but he refused to allow the man to get off so easily.

Not when there was another, much more satisfying, method of vengeance available.

It would, however, require Stark's approval and assistance, which, given his own paternal experiences, gave Loki a few minutes of pause. But only a few minutes; he'd seen for himself just how protective Tony Stark was of his sons, after all. And the man had a truly diabolical appreciation for the punishment fitting the crime — which was why the entire team of Rogues was serving community service on construction sites in Leipzig or Bucharest . . . by way of cleaning and maintaining port-a-potties. After eight years of that (one year for each million dollars of damage they'd done), they would be placed in specially-built prisons in various third-world countries, where they would all serve life sentences. Except for the witch; she had already been sentenced to death and executed.

Once the sentences that he had personally recommended were approved and announced, Stark's cold, vindicated satisfaction would stay with Loki Pétrsbróðir for the rest of his life. Given the choice between angering Thanos and upsetting Tony Stark, Loki would take his chances with Thanos any day of the week.

So he had to have Stark's approval. But Peter didn't need to hear his plan, and frankly, neither did the others; they were simply too volatile to allow them to assist. This would require a very delicate touch and the kind of discipline that Loki and Stark had learned while being mentally and physically being tortured. So he made sure that his little brother was well and truly asleep, tossed another blanket over his shoulders, and carefully moved Stark to his private office before asking the Lady FRIDAY to soundproof the room. Once they were as secure as Loki could make them on such short notice, he woke Peter's father, then waited patiently for the man to finish ranting and venting his feelings about the scum-sucking, worthless piece of filth who had dared harm his child. It took a while, though it was extremely educational.

"Why are we here?" Stark abruptly demanded, startling Loki out of his silent contemplation of using some of the anatomically-impossible positions Stark had mentioned on his own enemies, and he blinked, caught completely off-guard for the first time in centuries. Still, he was Loki of — well, several places and cultures — and he recovered immediately.

"I know how to enact vengeance for Peter, but it will require your compliance and assistance . . . and your silence."

That startled the other man into a dropped jaw as he visibly processed Loki's words, followed by a silent but lethal promise of pain coming to his face as he slowly straightened in his chair.

"Why my silence?" he asked, his voice so neutral that Loki visibly cringed. It was easy to forget, sometimes, how very dangerous Tony Stark could be when the people he cared about were threatened. Which was precisely why Loki needed him to carry out his plan, and the reminder helped him regain his composure.

"Because Peter is simply too soft-hearted to approve of this, even though it will help him while also punishing his attacker. And I will not allow this . . . rifjlkrfs . . . to remain free of consequences. Nor will I permit him to continue to commit such despicable acts. I can do both, but it will require this . . . person . . . to be here, with Peter, for a period of no more than thirty minutes. They will both be unconscious," he placated Stark, raising a hand as the man surged out of his chair, rage blazing in his eyes at the thought of putting his son on the same continent as his rapist. When that didn't work, he was forced to use a tiny bit of seiðr to keep the man in place until he calmed down enough to think clearly.

It took less time than he'd expected, but like too much of the world, Loki had the bad habit of forgetting that Tony Stark was a literal genius, in every sense of the word. Maybe four minutes later, Tony had processed his instinctive anger at Loki's proposal, remembered that the alien prince had claimed Peter as his brother, and would, in fact, do just about anything to keep him safe and happy.

"Explain," he demanded curtly, almost shocking Loki into another dimension when he casually broke free of the stillness spell he'd cast and sitting back down, looking imperiously up at Loki and silently ordering his submission.

Again to his shock, Loki obeyed.

And when he was done talking, Tony Stark was ready to draw up a third set of adoption papers, the idea was so perfectly Machiavellian. But more importantly, it would help purge Peter of at least one of the horrors he couldn't escape in his nightmares. There wasn't a way to completely rid him of the memories, unfortunately; the violation had occurred so long ago that it was too ingrained in his mind. But Loki's solution would dull both his memories and their related emotions so that, to Peter, it would be as though sixty years had passed, rather than seven. The sensations would never be fresh or clear again, but rather blurred and indistinct, and were unlikely to keep haunting him.

"He should still speak to a mind healer," Loki advised at the end of his explanation, strongly relieved when Stark merely nodded in agreement. "But it won't be debilitating or traumatizing the way it is now. How long will it take you to find the rifjlkrfs?"

Tony gave him a grim smile and called, "FRIDAY?"

"He's in New Jersey, Boss," the AI replied, projecting the information on the computer on the desk. "Here's his address, work schedule, and criminal records. I took the liberty of unsealing them for you."

"That's my girl," Stark praised her before studying the data. Something clearly disturbed him about it, because his mouth twisted in displeasure, and he turned to look at Loki. "Can you tell if the parents knew about their son's . . . about what he was doing?" he asked, his voice cold with angry suspicion. Loki took no offense, as it was clear the emotion wasn't directed at him, and nodded.

"Of course," he replied. "I just need to be in the same room. It matters not who asks, so long as I can see and hear them."

Dark satisfaction flared in Stark's eyes and he set his jaw. "Good. Then let's go pick the fuckers up."

The last thing Loki wanted to do was get in the way of that paternal rage, but he knew he needed to. Why he had expected Peter's father to wait was anyone's guess, as the man had exactly no patience when it came to meting out justice (well, justice that he had control over), but there needed to be a few precautions taken and set up.

"Not yet," he said carefully, holding up both hands in a placating gesture when Stark started to get up again, eyes burning even darker with fury. "We need to get everyone but young Ned far away from here, or it will never succeed. I must have a tranquil environment for this to be successful, and Leeds isn't just the person Peter trusts the most; he was also clearly aware of the situation, meaning he's the best option for ensuring Peter remains calm while I work. And he'll be a familiar, soothing presence after, just in case it's necessary."

That made Tony stop, clearly frustrated and unhappy, but he didn't argue the logic. His grumbling acceptance of the situation was somewhat amusing, but Loki kept that to himself. Stark was clearly still walking the razer's edge of sanity at the knowledge of the violation his son had suffered, and though Loki had mitigated that to a small degree, he had no illusions it would last. At some point in the near future, Stark would don one of his suits and find a condemned building or three to destroy.

Of course, Loki would be doing the same, but he would be alone as well. Despite the trust and even affection that had grown between the two men, they were still solitary creatures, a habit developed from necessity, and their unrestrained anger was simply too dangerous for other people to be near.

But Peter was worth anything, and the people who loved him would make sure that even God didn't have mercy on the soul of the man who had hurt him so badly.

Eight days later, everything was in place, though getting the other three members of their group out of town took a great deal of finagling, and ultimately, a hefty bribe from Stark in the form the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy and their attendance to some sort of demented amusement park devoted to something called 'cartoon characters' (and great Norn, keeping that a secret from Peter and Ned took more planning than most battles). Loki and Rhodes had accompanied Stark to the residence of the rifjlkrfs, where it took them less than five minutes to confirm the son's guilt and the parents' complicity. That knowledge resulted in another burst of rage, but this time, it was Stark joining forces with Loki to keep Rhodes from using his repulsors to turn all three of them into quadruple amputees, and Tony finally had to force his best friend to the ground and physically sit on his chest to calm him down enough to listen to the highly-edited but still informative explanation of what Loki was going to do.

The grin that split the colonel's lips would give Loki nightmares for the next week.

Shaking off the sensation for the time being, Loki calmly transported the group two at a time back to the Compound, where Peter was in a mage-induced deep sleep on the living room couch and Ned was nervously pacing the kitchen. He stopped short as the group began to shimmer into place in front of him, but Loki was again surprised by the depths of emotion that humans were capable of.

Because when Ned Leeds, second only to Peter in his gentle nature, saw Skip Westcott, his soul was filled with so much hatred that his aura turned black. Loki rather thought that, had the boy been alone, he would have killed Westcott with his bare hands and never lost a moment of sleep.

Everyone sympathized, but held firm despite their matching desire to end the little bastard's life. Loki's punishment was going to be much more satisfying — and better for Peter in every respect.

It took two minutes to get all three Westcotts suitably restrained and laid out flat on cots summoned for the purpose, as they had to be close enough for Loki to be able to touch both them and Peter. They had no clue who had taken them, or why, though all three were wide awake and terrified, with Rhodes taking a vicious glee in gagging and blindfolding them; Tony hadn't trusted his control enough to do it himself, and Loki found himself admiring both the man's self-awareness and his discipline.

Then, once Ned had settled himself on the floor at Peter's head and taken his hand, Loki placed one hand gently on Peter's forehead and reluctantly curved his other hand over the crossed wrists of the rapist and his enablers to build the mental bridge, closed his eyes to center himself, and took a deep, cleansing breath.

And began.

It took only Skip Westcott's name to bring the memories to the forefront of Peter's dreaming mind. And it only took a single, very carefully applied use of seiðr to share not just Peter's memories of Skip's brutal assaults, but also to transfer everything he had felt and experienced.

Everything.

Every. Last. Second.

Then all four members of Peter's family watched with vicious satisfaction as Steven Westcott and his parents were all forced to experience every crime he had perpetuated on nine-year-old Peter Parker, from their victim's perspective . . . and went completely, totally crazy. The entire family screamed and thrashed and cried and suffered every single second of every single thing Westcott had forced Peter to suffer, while his parents knew and did nothing.

Actively participating in the act of forcing the three perpetrators having no choice but to endure the pain, the degradation, the misplaced shame, the fear, that Peter had lived with in unceasing agony for almost half his life, and then relishing their torment, would likely have horrified anyone else.

These men weren't anyone else. They were Peter's father, two of his brothers, and his devoted military uncle exacting justice for one of their own. They couldn't go back and undo it, and they couldn't take it away . . . but they could ease his pain. They could exact a fitting punishment on the perpetrators, and take fully-justified vengeance on them.

So they did.

When it was over, when Peter's memories had finally ended and a drained Loki let the sleep spell fade before carefully casting a second one, this one done at Stark's demand, to ensure none of them could ever forget, all three Westcotts crashed in pathetic heaps to the floor in their attempts to escape their new living nightmares. Their wrists and ankles were bloody from fighting the restraints and the father had nearly chewed through the gag. All four watchers had dark, grimly satisfied expressions as they observed the writhing, groaning, pitiful forms.

When a whimpering Westcott finally went still, tears streaming down his face, Tony pulled himself free from Rhodes' grip and walked over to him, looking at him in silence for a very, very long time before he dropped to one knee and grabbed the man's chin, yanking the blindfold down and forcing him to meet Tony's icy gaze.

"I could kill you right now and you'd welcome it," he breathed, eyes darkening when the little worm actually looked hopeful at the prospect. "But I'm not anywhere near that merciful. No. No, you get to the live the rest of your life with this, knowing and feeling exactly what you forced my son to suffer. It will never fade, you'll never forget, and you will never so much as entertain the thought of death as a release. We've already ensured that you don't get the choice of anything but living. You're going to spend the rest of your life in prison, remembering every single fucking day with perfect clarity the crimes you committed and knowing how much you deserve everything else that's coming to you."

He stopped and wrinkled his nose in disgust when Westcott pissed himself, pushing to his feet and turning to the man's parents, who had also been freed from the blindfolds and were staring at him with horrified understanding mixed with a frantic, hopeful plea that Tony took great, great pleasure in crushing.

"You, too," he informed them coldly. "You knew exactly what your son was and not only did you never try to stop him, you fucking enabled him! And don't snivel that you didn't know. The Liesmith himself verified your guilt, and so did you. Because if you hadn't been guilty," he explained with frightening relish at their desperate faces, "the memory transfer wouldn't have affected you. We tied the spell to direct guilt, to ensure we didn't punish an innocent person."

All three of them broke down in hysterical sobs, which Rhodes and Loki observed with contemptuous satisfaction. Truly, they were pathetic, but their punishment had clearly been effective. Whatever time remained of their lives would be spent in well-deserved misery (and if Rhodes was planning to ask Loki to at least consider doing the same thing for Tony and the Rogues . . . duh. Of course he was. Loki? He would gladly agree). Tony, however, was done with them. He'd said his piece and since he couldn't kill them, he saw no reason to give them any more of his attention. He had someone much more important to take care of.

In a snub that would have sparked a massive scandal in Regency England, he turned his back on them in a clear 'cut direct', extinguishing their last faint hope of last-second mercy, and went to the couch where Peter was still peacefully sleeping under the effect of Loki's dreaming spell, and stroked a tender hand through his hair before giving Ned a tiny smile. The kid returned it and then carefully got to his feet, watching closely as Tony gathered Peter in his arms to take him to his room so he could sleep off the spell and any lingering effects.

He was surprised when Ned didn't follow him, but a quick glance back showed him why: his son's best friend was making his slow, purposeful way to the Westcotts. Despite the fury literally radiating from the normally placid young man, Tony was still shocked when he stalked over to Westcott's parents, looked at them both for a very long minute, and then calmly, deliberately, spit directly into each one's face. Rhodes and Loki were just as stunned, but no one made the slightest move to stop him when he went to Westcott . . . and when he kicked the bastard in the groin as hard as he could, all any of them could do was gape in disbelief — except Westcott, who screamed. It was highly satisfying.

Then Rhodes grinned with proud approval and clapped Ned on the shoulder; he didn't speak, but his sentiment was clear and Ned simply nodded in return before he made a beeline for Tony and Peter. Taking his cue from the kid, Tony also said nothing; he just started walking to Peter's room, with Ned a silent shadow. Tony got his son into bed and tucked in, kissed his forehead, and watched with so many emotions he didn't have a clue what he was really feeling as Ned climbed on top of the covers and settled himself at Peter's side, wrapping himself around his best friend and clearly using his body as a shield to keep any harm from coming to Peter while he was there.

Unable to speak, Tony squeezed Ned's shoulder once, making sure he saw the gratitude and appreciation that would remain unspoken for now, and then he simply let them be. As badly as he wanted to be with his son, Tony understood that Ned was who Peter would need when he woke up — and Ned had more than earned the right. Without him, Peter wouldn't have survived the first time, and for that alone, Tony would give Ned the world.

For what he had done to help Peter, Ned gave Tony his unconditional loyalty.

(before the year was out, including the bots and AIs, Tony had eight children that his fiancée loved just as deeply. He was the luckiest man on the face of the earth and he knew it)

Peter remembered nothing of the night's events . . . but he woke almost completely healed from that trauma. Loki's spell worked exactly as intended, and he never suffered a panic attack or nightmare or even serious anxiety from Skip Westcott again. No one ever told him what had been done on his behalf, and in a rare display of restraint, Peter never asked. It was the first time he allowed himself to trust that someone had only his best interests at heart, and that trust was proven in spades.

And karma?

She smiled, knowing that she'd made the right decision in allowing all the parties involved to see her in action.

After all, karma might be a bitch, but she was a bitch with standards.

And no one hurt Peter Parker and got away with it.

Not even karma.

~~~
fin