Chapter Text
“ls everyone okay?”
“No thanks to you.”
“Do you know I was the only one who believed in you? Everyone else said I was crazy to recruit a 14-year-old kid.”
“What if somebody had died tonight? Different story, right? Because that’s on you. And if you died… …I feel like that’s on me. - I don’t need that on my conscience…”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it.”
“I just wanted to be like you.”
“And I wanted you to be better. It’s not working out. I’m gonna need the suit back.”
“For how long?”
“Forever. - Yeah, that’s how it works.”
“No, no. Please.”
“Let’s have it.”
“Please, this is all I have. I’m nothing without this suit.”
“If you’re nothing without this suit, then you shouldn’t have it.”
-o0o-
“Boss, I’ve intercepted a few calls you should know about,” Friday said as Tony worked on a damaged repulsor which had begun to lose efficiency while he’d been welding that damn ferry.
“What is it?”
“May Parker, Boss. She’s back on the line currently trying to talk to an admin assistant in HR.”
“Jesus, he’s got his aunt to call – that sounds a bit desperate.”
“Mrs Parker is attempting to ascertain the whereabouts of her nephew.”
“I’m guessing he’s not told her he lost his cover-internship,” Tony muttered, grabbing a tool to pull out the faulty chip.
“Mrs Parker has not seen Peter since the evening of the ferry incident and is concerned about his safety.”
Tony dropped his tool immediately. “That was two days ago… Put her through.”
“-just want to know if he’s contacted you. And yes I’ve called the police but they say-“
“May, it’s Tony,” he interrupted as the line cut over to him.
“Oh, thank God. Do you know where he is? I’m tearing my hair out with worry.”
“He’s not been in contact – what happened?”
“He came home dejected. He’d done so well with his therapy that he’d been great for 6 months then he came home and he looked like he was back to square one,” May sobbed.
“I yelled at him, accused him of lying to be about sneaking out he told me he’d screwed up the internship. He went to his room and I went to check on him half an hour later and he’d gone and left his phone behind… I’ve tried the police but they’re not interested – I’d called them all hysterical on the day of that ferry disaster because I couldn’t reach him, so now they think I’m crying wolf.”
“Okay, May, calm down. We’ll find him… but what do you mean ‘his therapy’?”
“Oh… After Ben died Peter suffered quite serious depression. He didn’t handle Ben’s death well, especially the circumstances – Ben was killed in a burglary and Pete found the body.”
“I’m sorry, May. I didn’t know,” Tony said leaning on the bench and closing his eyes.
“Look could you call the police for me? Make them believe me?”
“Yes, and I’m gonna find him myself – okay? I promise I’ll find him.”
“Thank you, thank you. Please if you find anything out, please, please call me as soon as you can… The last words I said to him were ‘You smell like garbage’. I don’t know what I’ll do if anything happens to him.”
“I’ll keep you updated and I’ll have him home soon. I promise.”
After Tony disconnected the call he called out for Friday.
“Friday, can you locate Peter?”
“The locators were in his suit, Boss.” Tony looked over to the corner of the lab where he’d thrown Spider-Man suit in anger a couple of days ago.
“But he had locators in his web-caster’s too.”
“They were upgraded as part of his suit. Therefore Karen asked him to remove them when he handed over the suit.”
“Ah, shit.”
“Okay – Start scanning for him. Internet connected CCTV footage – prioritise locales around cheap hotels and hostels – the kid can’t have much money. Check social media, police reports – anything. Have Pepper contact the police and contact any of the still-friendly Avengers in the area and see if they’re up for a scouting party.”
Tony called for his suit and headed out to find his erstwhile protégé.
6 hours later it was dark and he was still circling the city. From time to time he’d pass one of his suits that was on a standard search pattern, just in case the Peter was out on the street. He was just about the give and leave it to the tech when a call came through.
“Tony, it’s Rhodey – I’ve got a lead. Some homeless guys have seen a kid matching Pete’s description under a bridge near the NYCT Jamaica Yard Facility.”
“I’m on it. Thanks, Rhodey.”
It took Tony a few sweeps of the area before he found a heat signature tucked under one of the lower bridges, huddled up against the wall and a bridge strut.
Tony landed and walked under with Friday lighting up the area for him. He noted the rubble and discarded rubbish, it looked like even the homeless had abandoned this location some time ago.
And there, fast asleep with his head on his back-pack and coat tight around him, was Peter.
Tony sighed a breath of relief as Friday confirmed his vitals were strong.
“Friday, call off the search,” Tony said
He retracted his helmet and knelt down on one knee in front of the boy.
He sniffed and sucked his teeth for a moment. Now he knew the kid was safe the fear had gone and left him with annoyance… No, no… Actually it was anger. Jesus, he was gonna give this kid a rocket.
“Hey, douchebag! Wake up, you’ve got half the Avengers and the NYPD out looking for your dumb ass.”
Peter’s eyes slowly cracked open and Tony just saw the moment his pupils constricted and the kid focused before he was leaping backwards, pushing the back pack between them as he hit the wall behind him in an effort to flee.
Tony stood and stared at the kid. He looked terrified and was clearly looking for the best way out from where Tony was hemming him in.
“You look like shit, Kid.” And he did. The teen’s clothes were covered in dark brown stains and his face was drawn and grey. His eyes looked bloodshot and wide.
The kid made a bolt to his left, stumbling on the rubble under the bridge. Tony side stepped and charged his repulsor in warning. He’d never hurt the kid, just scare him.
“You’re not going anywhere until I find out what’s going on,” Tony said.
Peter paused and looked at him, his eyes empty. Then down at the repulsor.
“Have you been doing drugs?” Tony asked incredulously, taking in the darkened bags under the teen’s eyes.
Peter laughed as though Tony has asked him something funny.
“I tried. Turns out Spider-Man went and busted most of the dealers in this part of town. Too hard to get a hold of in recent months,” Peter held his palms at the irony.
“I’ll see ya, Mister Stark,” Peter said and tried to walk away.
“What? You not scared of me blasting you with this repulsor?” Tony asked.
“Not really,” Peter said and kept walking.
“You think I won’t do it?” Tony asked but Peter didn’t stop.
Tony targeted a clump of concrete in Peter’s path and blasted it, covering Peter with concrete dust. When the dust cleared Peter was looking at him with an eerie calmness.
“It’s not that I don’t think you will, it’s just I don’t care if you do. Go home, Mister Stark,” Peter said and carried on walking.
Tony dropped his hand shock and jogged up to block Peter’s path again.
“What’s going on with you, Pete?” Tony asked, reaching out for Peter’s shoulder. Peter dodged the contact and looked away. This close he could see more detail, the kid’s hollowed cheeks and his breath caught when he looked again at the large brown stains on the kid’s clothes. It looked like dried blood. No. NO!
“You’ve not felt like doing anything stupid have you?” Tony .
The strangely amused twist of Peter’s mouth was back.
“Stupid? No not stupid. I’ve tried to get rid of the problem, but thanks to that spider bite I’ve not figured out the best way to do that yet.”
“What do you mean?”
Peter tried to move around him again, but Tony kept blocking him. Peter sighed and looked at him.
“I heal too quickly to finish the job, okay?” Peter said, showing his wrists, long, deep pink scars running up from each wrist up along each forearm. “I pass out from blood loss then wake up because my spider-abilities have cursed me with fast clotting, healing and super-fast blood replenishment. All those times kids have pulled the legs off spiders and watched them limp away, that’s what’s been going on – go figure.”
“Jesus Peter.”
“Same goes for airway constriction and blood oxygen levels, I guess,” Peter said.
Tony’s eyes flicked to Peters neck to see the abrasions on his throat just peeking out over his shirt collar. Peter cast an unconscious glance upwards and Tony followed to see the two types of cord and a thick rope hanging from the bridge struts.
“Alcohol poisoning and pill over-dosing doesn’t work either – and let me tell you, projectile-vomit spider-bile is revolting,” Peter said with a self-depreciating laugh. “Who knew I had that skill, huh?”
Tony stared at the boy in shock.
“Was kinda working up to the next one – I considered a subway splat,” making an impact gesture with his fist and palm. “But I always heard that it fucks up the drivers so…” He trailed off for a moment and when Tony just stared at him in disbelief he kept talking.
“Starvation seems a bit slow, so I was gonna try water, but there’s not any round here and that time you pulled me from the river… it didn’t feel like it was the best way to go. I’m kinda running out of ideas. But spiders can die like that can’t they? – When you wash them down the sink?”
Tony lurched forward, grabbing the boy around the shoulders and held him tightly. Peter immediately started pushing him away. Even though clearly weakened, the kid was much stronger than him, even with the suit.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please don’t run,” Tony begged, clinging on as hard as he could.
Peter fought for a few more seconds then sagged a little before he heard it. A sob.
“Come back with me. Please,” Tony begged into Peter’s filthy hair. “We can make this better. I promise.”
Peter started pushing again. “I can’t go home.”
“Come home with me, then!” Tony said, fighting to keep hold. “Stay with me.”
Peter succeeded in pushing Tony off him and he staggered back.
“It’s okay, Tony – It’s really better this way.”
“No… NO! Come back with me!”
“And do what? Be your intern?” Peter said with a laugh.
“How about my friend?”
“We’ve never had a friendship!” Peter scoffed.
“I realise that… stupidly… belatedly… And I made a really shit father-figure… so how about you give me a try at being your friend?”
Peter shook his head. “Give me one good reason?”
“I could give you a hundred and you wouldn’t believe me right now, so how about this one - It’s early March and your closest water is probably the East River. That water is going to be close to freezing and that’s gonna feel like being stabbed a thousand times, inside and out… A warm bed in Stark Tower is gotta be better that that, right?” Peter stared at him, mulling over his words.
Tony let the suit open and stepped out and held out his hand.
“Come on, give me a chance.”
Peter glanced away as a tear fell down his cheek but he nodded minutely and that was all Tony needed to wrap the boy in a hug.
Peter seemed to sag into his hold as he wept and Tony held him, stroking his hair for a good five minutes before the tears turned into hiccups.
“Come on, let’s get you back to the Tower. We can wait for a car or I can have you back in 5 minutes if I fly you. You good to fly?”
Peter pulled back and nodded.
“You need the back pack?”
Peter shook his head. “I pawned everything of value in it to buy the pills and the alcohol, and it got pretty bloody.”
Tony nodded and gave Peter one quick last hug, to ground himself more than Peter, then stepped back into his suit. As soon as it closed around him he stepped back to Peter.
“Come stand on my feet and wrap your arms around my neck, I’ll take it easy, promise you won’t fall,” Tony realised the irony of that statement as soon as he said it, but ignored it, wrapping an arm around the kid’s slim waist and pulling him into position.
Tony fired up the repulsors and he could tell Peter’s bright mind was momentarily distracted by the feel of the launch and the brightness of the controlled blast below them. He held on tightly to Peter’s waist, locking his suits arm in a way Peter wouldn’t be able to wriggle free from easily and took to the sky towards his Tower.