Sam Wilson sighed trying to maintain the appearance of being utterly board when in fact he was anything but. He was in a small room, one widow so far up that without his wings taken from him and probably being poked and prodded, there was no way of getting to it. He didn’t really want to make a scene unsure of who was watching because…this had kinda come as a shock.
He had no idea who had kidnapped him in the first place.
It was never usually him that was kidnapped-that was more of a Steve and Tony thing. This was actually the first time.
In terms of kidnapping, this was almost depressingly boring and stereotypical, hell Sam had been more scared when the Air Force had given them all a demonstration of how they should act when faced with capture.
The door opened and Sam straightened nearly a decade and a half with the Avengers and the Military kicking in without question. In terms of kidnapping this seemed to be the most regular dressed kidnaper Sam had ever seen. He was dressed in a perfectly immaculate suit with perfectly polished shoes. Hell the whole outfit looked like it cost more than most families could make in a year.
Sam really loathed people like that. Having seen enough people struggle as his time as an Avenger, at least Tony regularly distributed his wealth among the worst of the communities affected by the Avenger Conflicts. He highly doubted that this person or whoever he worked for did going of the smug expression on his face.
“Well hello Falcon or should I say Samuel Thomas Wilson, former United States Paratrooper, now a member of the Avengers and husband to Lieutenant Colonel James Rupert Rhodes and one of the adopted fathers of one Miles Morales.” He said of all this in a cool and collected tone reading from a file with all the tension of unsettling the man in front of him.
Sam bristled feeling like someone had ran an electrical wire under his skin. Whoever this was had just called him out on James and Miles and he didn’t like it. Especially because ever since hitting his teenage years Miles had started to go back to Morales because it kept the press of his backs.
The man smirked as if knowing exactly what he was doing and the effect it was having on him. And didn’t that piss him off. The only basic thing that kept him in his seat was that Miles would be back from school now, would realise that he was missing (he’d put up quite a struggle thank you very much) and would ring Steve who would not only launch a rescue mission complete with his vengeful husband Bucky but would ring Tony who would get James back into the States from wherever his SHIELD mission was so Miles wouldn’t be alone.
That thought churned his stomach more than he cared to admit. He hated the idea of Miles walking in to his home…the place where he was supposed to be safe and seeing the wreckage that was the place.
The man laughed as if he known what was fliting through Sam’s mind and found it amusing. “You think that War Machine is going to come for you?” he asked his tone mocking. “War Machine isn’t why I brought you here Mr Wilson, I brought you here because of Spider-Man and my brother who he recently helped imprison Donald Roxxin”
Sam blinked “What…Spiderman?” he shouted feeling completely irritated “You’re here boring me to death, because Peter sent your brother who if I remember right was head of a company with several secure links to HYDRA to prison?”
The man hissed under his breathe coming closer before Sam realised something “Hey Peter Parker hasn’t been Spiderman since he formally retired three years ago…your brother was only arrested last year…SHIELD has Peter under surveillance…there’s no way that he’s done anything in that suit…” then a thought struck him.
“There’s another Spiderman isn’t there?” that would be Peter’s plan wouldn’t it? After the Civil War and the death of Gwen Stacey Peter had given up the Spiderman mantle claiming he deserved a normal life to which the Avengers couldn’t help but agree. But If Peter had given the web slinger and the suit to someone else…but the red and blue suit had become famous since the War…Ah but what if someone had changed the suit?
Now it all made sense.
Nick Fury and Phil Coulson were going to have a field day with this.
Wait a minute…
“You kidnapped me because you wanted to bait the new Spiderman?” he all but yelled, at the man’s silence he gaped some more “Seriously? Iron Man…maybe…Captain America or War Machine or the Winter Soldier…perfectly acceptable but for someone that SHIELD doesn’t even know about? Seriously?” he would have thrown his hands in the air however they were still chained to the desk in front of him.
“I cannot believe your making me miss hanging out with my kid for this crap”
The man smiled his bland face twisting into something horrible. “Oh you mean Miles…well…let’s call him down here shall we and see what he has to say” he fished Sam’s phone from where it been taken earlier flipping through the contacts until he found Miles.
“Miles” he sang after the first ring. “I just wanted to let you know that Daddy is gonna be home late tonight…he’s having a meeting…at the Roxxin office” letting out a truly unhinged laugh the man hung up the phone letting it drop to the floor kicking it to the side.
And yeah that was not ok. You can pick on Sam, you could pick on his husband (he didn’t like it and most people didn’t last long afterwards but you could do it)…but you did not pick on Miles.
And that was it. That was all it took to really piss The Falcon off. Pick on his family and you die.
Life would be a lot simpler if these idiots got that memo.
“What the hell is your plan here?” he asked carefully but the man held his hand up tilting his head to the side as if waiting for something.
He didn’t have to wait very long, a man in a black suit with the red piping different but very much the same as the Spiderman suit was swinging through the upstairs window. He jumped down somewhat shielding Sam from the Man who had now pulled out a gun.
“Don’t fucking touch him” said a voice…a voice so painfully recognizable that it took Sam a second to respond past the white noise in his head and the roaring in his ears. The black suited Spiderman paused before pulling his mask down turning to look at Sam with those wide brown eyes that Sam had fallen in love with a long time ago.
Sam stared at his son for a long time before his mouth could finally form words.
“You are so beyond grounded you’ll be lucky to see your own Graduation.”
Miles at least had the decency to look ashamed of himself.
Then the full implications of what was happening finally hit Sam full on in the chest. Because it didn’t matter what was happening to him. All that mattered was that there was a man holding a gun pointing at his child’s head. And yeah…that was just unacceptable.
It was like a switch had been turned. He had finally managed to find the chink in the handcuffs breaking free of them easily the way they’d taught him in the Special Forces. He reached out pushed Miles aside and kicked the man so hard in the chest that he went flying into the wall gun falling out of his hand and clattering to the floor.
“Web him” Sam said his tone cold and careful the same tone he remembered using when Miles was small. It was the same tone he had used for things like “Eat your vegetables now Miles” and stuff like “Get off the phone and do your homework Miles” and “Don’t play with Dad and Daddy’s weaponry Miles”
Miles perhaps realising how much trouble he was in immediately webbed the man using the exact shooters Sam remembered Peter using during the War and had used on Sam personally more than once during training.
Sam dragged Miles backwards and out of the room Miles tripping up over the suit as they hurried along. The second room they could find was bigger sticking his head in through the door. The room was empty but there on the table was Sam’s wings.
He grabbed his wings propelling Miles out of the hallway and into the night. He adjusted his wings, tightened his grip on Miles’s arm and propelled them both into the sky.
“I could just get home with my webs” Miles shouted over the rush of air but Sam gritted his teeth determined not to answer until he was back in his apartment at Stark Tower and could ring James and get him down here.
“JARVIS” he shouted ignoring Miles look of confusion morphing into a slow horror when he realised what was coming next.
“Call Colonel Rhodes and make sure he is on the first flight back, I don’t care what President Ellis or Nick Fury or Phil Coulson want him for he gets back. Tell him it’s a family emergency”
The apartment was still a mess, glass shattering all over the floor but Miles had managed to right the couch and the table and the photo. The photo of the three of them on the first day of Miles’s High School.
He turned around to see the fifteen year old blinking at him owlishly from the corner like he used to do when he was little and was convinced one wrong move would have him shipped back to the orphanage.
“When did Peter…” he gestured and Miles shrugged “Three months ago” he confessed looking down “He wanted to leave and he left the web shooters so I went to give them to him and then he said I could keep them…I don’t know what he saw in me but…it was quite easy to use them…he’s been teaching me via Skype how to manage the rest of the stuff…I’ve gotten pretty good at swinging between the buildings”
Sam paused sinking into the nearest chair feeling suddenly weak-kneed and light headed. The very image of Miles swinging between the buildings of New York made him feel quite sick.
“How did you know…How the hell did you keep this of SHIELD’s radar?” he asked looking stunned. Miles shrugged “Nobody was looking…and then I read that Roxxin companies was polluting the water and getting people sick and I couldn’t not do anything…so I knocked him out arrested him and sent his files to the NYPD they did the rest”
Sam snorted unable to stop himself. That did seem like something back in the day that he would do. Before the Avengers…
“How’d you swing the costume?” he asked standing and reaching for the back cupboard and slamming it open reaching for the bottle hidden at the back of the scotch Rhodey had been saving for a special occasion. If there was ever a time for the ‘Emergency Scotch’ then Sam was convinced he’d found it.
Miles shrugged looking far too unrepentant for someone in the amount of trouble he was currently in.
“When you live at the Avengers HQ nobody really blinks when the spandex order comes through”
Sam spat a mouthful of sixty-dollar scotch across the room. “Spandex!” he shouted spluttering “Spandex, you’ve been running around swinging from buildings in Spandex?” Miles flinched at his tone but nodded. Sam took a big gulp of scotch.
“JARVIS get my husband back NOW!” he shouted taking another gulp “Colonel Rhodes is on his way back Mr Wilson as we speak” the infuriatingly calm voice of the AI coming through.
Spandex. Of all the stupid things…swinging around the city in nothing but Spandex he might have been naked for all the use that damn uniform was doing…he was going to have to ask Tony for help as soon as he could get him on the phone.
Miles watched him his eyes wide and sad and Sam wanted to throw something. “I need to talk to your Dad” he said finally “I…Miles I don’t know what to do” it was frightening how he was so unsure about what he was doing because if Miles had kept this from him for nearly three months then…what kind of parent didn’t know what his kid was doing especially if it was as dangerous as what Miles was doing.
He needed James…now…
“Go order yourself a pizza” he breathing heavily “Your father I on his way back and were going to eat and then talk…but go change out of that thing before he does. His heart doesn’t need the strain”
He watched Miles leave walking slowly, before he reached for the phone suddenly vibrating.
He would never admit it to anyone but he nearly broke when he saw who was on the other end of it.
James had been in the plane room packing up when his phone had gone off. The armour was in the SHIELD plane bulk but now that the mission was completed he could have an hour or two before he hit US airspace and more importantly till he could see Sam and Miles again.
One of the worst things about going in the field was the lack of communication with his family. It was an ache that never went away until tonight where he would crawl into bed with Sam and Miles next door and everything would be alright in the world.
He was now seriously beginning to sympathise with his fellow members of service who had families. The separation was the hardest part.
He flipped open the phone seeing the pop up of the AI’s name.
“JARVIS” he said into the phone frowning “What’s the problem”
“Mr Wilson has instructed me to tell you there is a family emergency and that you are needed home as soon as you are able to get off the SHIELD plane…he also instructed me to call you as soon as you are able”
James blinked something sinking into the pit of his stomach. A family emergency only meant one thing.
Miles.
Something was wrong with Miles.
He reached for the phone tapping in Sam’s number before he could stop himself. The phone rang only once.
“How far away are you?” Sam’s voice said harsh and yet controlled all at the same time and James blinked looking at the clock on the wall “An hour maybe more” he said carefully “Sam what happened? Is it Miles?”
“I’m thinking we need a minimum age for Avengers…I’m also thinking we find out wherever Peter Parker is and string him up to the highest building we can find. And then I wanna send Miles off to Boarding School”
“What happened?” James asked carefully again his heart jackhammering against his chest “Is it Miles? Is he alright?”
Sam laughed harshly “He…He’s fine, I might kill him before the night is out but he’s fine…I need you home, I need you home right now”
He took a deep breath “I’ll be there as fast as I can”
Rhodey was rather pleased at the speed at which he got home and onto his floor at the Stark Tower. He hadn’t even had to use the armour.
“JARVIS” he shouted dropping his bag to the floor “How bad?”
“Master Miles is in his bedroom ordering pizza and has been grounded till the end of time and your husband is in the living room with the Emergency Scotch”
James took a second to realise the gravity of what had happened. “Oh shit” he said finally.
“Indeed Sir” came the reply.
Sam was sprawled over the counter reading articles over what looked like the Roxxin mess. James suddenly felt crunching over the floor and looked down to see glass on the carpet.
“What happened?” he asked looking around stepping closer and gently nudging Sam “Sam what happened?”
“Three months” Sam muttered “Three months, so let’s assume that there was a month were he was figuring out how to use this shit and then there was the Roxxin crises but the media is slow on the best of days so let’s assume that he’s been doing this longer…” he looked down at the papers all detailing Spiderman.
“Wait” James said as the information began trickling down into his veins. “There’s a new Spiderman? Peter really did give the job to someone else? Huh who?”
Sam smirked once “Guess” he said without humour.
There was a sinking feeling as he stared at the information in front of him, the information that was pointing to one obvious conclusion.
“Sam are you saying our son…Miles…is the new Spiderman?”
Sam laughed but it didn’t seem like a laugh “Yeah that’s exactly what I’m saying”
The first thing that hit him was the pride quickly overtaken by the dread. This wasn’t something that either one of them had wanted. Wasn’t something that any parent would want? And then there was the realisation that no matter what they could do Miles would still go out and save the world anyway…that was how they had raised him.
“He’s gonna have to do some training…he’s gonna have to go public…he’s gonna have to join the Avengers…it’s the only way in hell that were going to be able to keep him safe” he groaned and looking at the expression on his husband’s face it looked like Sam had reached the same conclusion he had.
“Dad?” came a voice from the corner and he looked up to see Miles dithering on the doorstep “Pizza arrived” he said holding up a box.
“Get over here” Rhodey said holding out his arms and Miles dropped the box on the nearest surface and all but ran across the room burying his face in James’s chest muttering ‘I’m sorry’ over and over again.
Less than a second later Sam joined the embrace the three of them locked in the centre of the room. There would be time to scream and shout and cry later but for now he just wanted to stand their holding his son and husband upright both him and Sam wondering how to best move past the darkness of this day into the sunlight and the new world that awaited the three of them.