Chapter 7
In the two and a half years that Peter had been Spiderman, he'd imagined Aunt May's reaction a hundred times over. In his imagination, she'd screamed at him. She'd ordered him to stop. And in his best fantasies, she smiled, hugged him, and told him she was proud.
She did none of those things when Peter flipped upside down and stuck to the ceiling. Instead, Aunt May cried.
Her eyes welled up, and tears began falling.
“Aunt May.” Peter said, worried.
“No. I'm fine.” She said, sniffling and wiping her face. “Um. Last year. When you had the flu for two weeks.”
“Yeah?” Peter asked.
“Was that a lie?”
“Yes.” He admitted.
“What really happened?”
Peter breathed out. “Rhino fractured my rib cage.” He admitted.
“Okay. And two months later, you said you got mono. What was that?”
“Doc Ock bruised my spine.”
“And six months ago. You were out of school for a month because you had a, and I quote, ‘depressive episode due to bullying’. I nearly tore that school to shreds but you convinced me not to. What was that?”
Peter stayed silent.
“What was it Peter?” May's voice remained calm, but her tone was indicative of the very opposite.
“I got shot… by one of Vulture's men.” He said quietly.
“Where?”
Peter pointed to a spot on his chest. Three inches from his heart.
May rested her hand on the area, tears welling up again. “My baby.” She whispered. “Oh, you almost died. You almost died and I was just going to work.”
“It wasn't that bad. I healed up quickly.”
“Not that bad?” She asked, disbelieving. “How do you heal so quickly? How did you stick to the ceiling just then? Why are you so strong?”
Peter explained the whole thing to her. The field trip, the spider bite, Uncle Ben and what he did after his death. They were there for hours.
“That wasn't your fault honey.” She said quietly.
“Yeah.” Peter responded, not wanting to rehash that right now.
He told her about what he'd been up to these past weeks. With Daredevil and the Punisher. She had some words about that one.
“Is there any point in me telling you to stop?”
“No.”
May nodded. “Then promise me something.”
Peter looked at her.
“Promise me that when you're hurt, you'll tell me. When you're scared, you'll tell me. When you're going out to- to- to Spiderman, you'll tell me. And if you ever want to stop, tell me.”
“I promise.” Peter said, feeling the sun hit his face.
He hadn't even noticed it rise.
“Okay.” May said, kissing his face. “Go get some sleep, you've been so all night.”
“It's Monday. I have school.”
“I'll call you out. Go on.”
Peter nodded and went upstairs with a smile.
He got into the hot shower, happy with the outcome of the night. It would be nice, having Aunt May know his secret. He wouldn't have to lie to her, that's good. He wouldn't be constantly worried that she's gonna find out.
Yeah. This is a good thing.
Peter stepped out of the shower, drying himself off and pulling on his sleep pants.
The sound of broken glass had him focusing his hearing downstairs. Then a shout. Then Aunt May screamed.
Peter bolted downstairs, only reaching the bottom just in time to see Aunt May being held by two armed men wearing black. They both bore the lion paw insignia on their forearms.
Nemean.
Peter took a step forward to fight them, but a flash of light blinded him as it teleported the three of them away.
The teenager tried focusing his hearing as far as it could go. Nothing.
They were gone.
Aunt May was gone.
_________
Peter swung through New York like a bullet. Headed straight for Hell's Kitchen.
“Matt!” He yelled.
“What is it?” The man asked from his office, startled by the sudden call.
“You and Frank. Get to Avengers Tower. Now!”
“On it. I'll get him.”
Peter silently thanked him for not asking questions. Swinging up and down as he made his way to the tower.
He heard a scream. A young girl. She was being dragged off into an alley by a man, about twice her size and weight.
Peter exhaled sharply and headed towards it.
He took the man down without any preamble. Knocking him out and webbing him to the wall.
He left without a word.
By the time he swung into the top floor of the Avengers Tower, everyone was already there. Spiderman began pacing back and forth as all eyes fell on him.
“Spiderman, why are we here?” Steve asked.
The other didn't answer, his heavy breathing audible throughout the room.
“Spidey?” Tony asked.
Peter reached up and ripped his mask off. Breath heavy and ragged, he kept pacing.
“Peter?” He heard Bruce say.
“Peter? What the f-” Tony exclaimed.
Peter kept pacing. Kept bordering on hyperventilation.
Matt removed his cowl.
“Murdock?!” Tony said, shock evident.
Matt approached Peter gently. “Peter, what is it?”
“They have her!” He yelled.
“Who?” Frank asked.
“Aunt May! Nemean, HYDRA, they took Aunt May!” Peter cried, his face wet with tears.
“Okay. Shit. Okay.” Clint said, rubbing a hand down his face.
“What the hell is happening?!” Tony yelled, stopping everyone in their tracks.
Peter tried to clear his throat to speak, but kept choking. Frank laid a hand on his shoulder, squeezing in a comforting manner.
“Okay.” Matt said, stepping forward. “Peter is Spiderman. Yes he's fifteen, no he doesn't care. I am Daredevil. Yes I'm blind, I can still do it, more on that later. HYDRA has sent Nemean operatives to abduct Peter’s aunt. All caught up?” Everyone nodded. “Good. Peter, tell us everything that happened.”
Peter inhaled deeply. “I was home, in my room, when I heard Aunt May screaming. When I got downstairs there were two guys with the lion paw tattoos holding her. I went to fight them, but they had some kind of teleporter. I couldn't find them.”
There was silence for a minute before Pepper stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the boy. Peter hugged her back briefly, but tight, before stepping back and hardening his expression.
The room seemed to harden with him as they watched this teenaged boy turn into something else entirely.
“They didn't hurt me.” Peter said, his voice grave. “I was right in front of them and they didn't hurt me.”
“Why do you think that is?” Natasha asked.
“I don't know. But-” Peter was cut off by his phone ringing. He pulled the cell out of the invisible lining of his suit, looking at the screen in confusion.
“Unsaved number.” He told the group.
“Speaker.” Matt said.
Peter answered the call and put it on speaker. “Who is this?” He said.
“Peter?” l A shaky voice crackled through the phone.
“Aunt May?” He asked, shocked.
“It's me, baby.” She said, but wasn't able to say anything else as another voice came through.
“Peter Parker.” A male, british voice chimed.
“Who is this?”
“My name is not important, what is important is you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You. Or more accurately your technology. Your mind. I'm sure you're acquainted with my associate. Justin Hammer.”
Peter’s grip on the phone tightened. “You work with him?” He asked, trying to sound more frightened than pissed off.
“Ha! He works for us.” The man said. “Or he did, at least. You see he promised something that he couldn't deliver. He took our money, then failed. The organisation I represent does not take kindly to failure.”
“What organisation?” Peter asked, maintaining the illusion that he's just a smart high school student.
“Don't worry about that. All will be revealed when you arrive.”
“Arrive where?”
“At our headquarters. You see, Hammer failed, but not before assuring us that you would succeed. And from what I've seen, he wasn't exaggerating.” The man said. “A car will be at your home at 6:00 am tomorrow morning. Use the meantime to get your ducks in a row. Make sure nobody will come looking for you or your aunt. When you arrive, you will take over Hammer's work. You will succeed or you and auntie May die. Do I make myself clear?” His voice was cold, calculating, and terrifying.
“Crystal.” Peter agreed.
“Lose this phone.”
The line went dead.
The room was pindrop silent as Peter handed the phone to Pepper and walked over to the seating area and sat down. He gripped the coffee table to steady himself, gritting his teeth and trying to ignore every sound that his enhanced senses picked up.
“Peter.” Someone, Bruce, said.
The boy's resolve snapped. He gripped the coffee table so hard that the wood cracked, then launched it at the bulletproof window with such force that the table broke into pieces and splintered.
He heard Pepper and Wanda scream, looking at the large hole his outburst left in the glass.
Peter breathed in. Then out. Then in again. Then out. And then he left.
The Avengers looked at the hole in the bulletproof glass, then at the splintered coffee table under it.
Steve walked over to Bucky. “You guys have some explaining to do.”
_________
Peter paced the floor of the lab, trying hard to calm himself down and not march off to hunt Hammer down. He had rid himself of his suit and was now in a black tee and sweatpants.
A soft pattering of footsteps had the boy turning around, coming face to face with Bruce Banner and Tony Stark.
“Sorry about your coffee table. And the window.” Was all he could think to say.
“Eh, that's alright. You were upset.” Tony said, waving a hand.
“No. It isn't.” Peter said. “Me being as strong as I am means that I have to know better. I don't get to be upset. If I lose control-”
“Someone could die.” Bruce finished off for him.
Peter nodded solemnly. “What do I do?” He asked after a long moment.
Tony and Bruce looked at each other.
“That's why we're here. Everyone is waiting for you so we can make a plan for tomorrow” Bruce said.
“Tomorrow?” Peter questioned.
“Well, Matt already told us that there's nothing we can do to stop you from going.” Tony said. “So, come upstairs. We’ll figure out how to get you and your hot aunt out of there alive.”
“Tony.” Bruce sighed.
“Dude.” Peter said. “Timing.”
“Yeah. Sorry.” He said, not sounding sorry at all. “Let's go.”
_________
When Peter walked back in, he wordlessly took a position by Frank, Matt and Steve.
“What have you got so far?” The boy asked.
“Not much.” Steve answered. “We still have no idea where the Nemean base is.
“What kinda name is ‘Nemean’?” Sam asked.
“It's from Greek Mythology.” Vision answered. “Like the Hydra serpent, the Nemean lion was one of the twelve trials of Heracles. The lion was immortal, its claws could slice through steel and diamond, and it was completely impervious to any weapon forged by man. So, to defeat it, Heracles jumped on its back and used his strength to turn the lion's claws on itself. That's why its one of the most famous. A beast so strong, the only weapon that could match it was itself.”
“HYDRA loves a good mythology reference.” Bucky muttered.
“Yeah, they do.” Steve agreed. “We can't let Peter walk in there without any kind of plan or way out.”
“We need plans. The layout. So we can enter the base unnoticed.” Frank said.
“Exactly.” Sam said. “You military?”
“Marines.” Frank answered.
“Para-rescue.” Sam responded.
“Only one problem.” Wanda said. “The only person in this building who knows any of that is Hammer. And I still don't know if I can extract his memories without killing him.”
“Can you make him think about specific events or places?” Peter asked.
“Yes.” Wanda confirmed.
“That's no good if we can't see the layout in front of us.” Tony said. “No offense Murdock.”
“None taken.” Matt said with a chuckle.
“FRIDAY, can you have someone bring up a BARRY nuero-link from R&D. And a case of bots.” Peter asked.
“Certainly.” The AI responded.
“I think I am catching your drift, young man.” Tony said.
“Where's Hammer?”
_________
Tony's panic room was more like a panic apartment. Spacious and comfortable rooms hidden away within the walls of Avengers Tower. So Hammer wasn't living in overtly poor conditions. He got fed, he got wagered, and with everything he did, that's the best he could hope for.
So when the door to the panic room opened and the Punisher came in to get him, he started to panic and thrash around. Frank punched him lightly in the mouth to calm him down, before dragging him out to where the rest were.
They had chosen to set this up on the training floor. Plenty of space with crash mats scattered around, just in case.
“What is this?” Hammer demanded. “Stark! What are you doing?”
“Shut up.” Peter said, voice seething with rage.
“Oh. Peter, what's up buddy?” Hammer said, calm as anything.
“I said shut up. Sit him down.” The boy pointed to the metal chair in the middle of the room.
“Does anyone want to tell me what's going on?” Justin yelled as Frank and Bucky duct taped him to the chair.
“My Aunt May has been abducted. It was Nemean. Or HYDRA. How does that work again?” Peter asked.
Hammer's face went pale as Peter spoke.
“We know everything.” Matt said.”Nemean. The Yakuza, the Triads. Human trafficking and experiments.”
“Listen. You don't understand, I had to.” Hammer tried to justify.
“I don't care about your fucking explanation.” Peter seethed, leaning over the man. “You have one chance. Tell us everything about your involvement with this.”
“Or what? You can't kill me.” Hammer sneered.
“I can.” Frank said.
“So can I.” Buck chimed.
“Me too.” Natasha threatened.
“But we wouldn't let them.” Tony said. “No, instead, we'll just turn you over to the police. You remember what happened last time you were in police custody. Don't you?”
Thor gripped hard on Hammer's upper arm, where bruises from the attack on the police station were.
“You wouldn't.” Hammer whispered.
Peter crouched down to meet his eyes. “She's all I have left.” The boy said. “My parents are dead. My uncle is dead. May Parker is the only family I have left in the whole universe. If I have to kill you with my own two hands to ensure her safety, then that's what I'll do.”
Matt listened to the boy's heart rate as he spoke. It remained perfectly steady and even.
“I can't.” Hammer whispered, horrified.
Peter stood up abruptly. “Alright. We gave him a chance, he didn't take it. Let's do this.” He said quickly.
“Do what?” Hammer asked. “What are you doing? Stark? Pepper!”
Ignoring his cries, Peter placed the nuero-link onto his head and switched it on. Bruce placed the bots onto the floor in front of Hammer while Wanda took her position behind him.
“Alright Wanda, you know how to do this. You've done it before.” Steve said.
Wanda nodded and positioned her hands on either side of the man's head, palms facing his temples. The red light of her powers flowed from her palms to Hammer's temples, connecting the two and sending Hammer into a silent trance.
“Think about the HYDRA base.” Bucky said, his voice piercing through the man's weakened mental state.
The bots on the ground began to take form and Hammer's memories came forward. They showed a lake, and then Hammer boarded a speedboat with two other men. They sped across the lake, stopping in the middle of it. The bots showed the three men getting off of the speedboat and onto another vessel, this one with an airtight hatch on top of it. The vessel submerged and the scene changed to underwater. The vessel went further and further down until it eventually reached an underwater structure.
“That's the base.” Clint said.
“Okay, we need to know where this is.” Tony said.
“Where is the water?” Bucky asked.
The bots changed form again. As the scene now showed a landscape.
“Oneida Lake.” Natasha said.
“Are there any other entrances?” Bucky asked.
The scene changed again to show an underwater tunnel which led straight to a hatch in the side of the base.
“Perfect.” Bruce said. “Although, given that the base is in a pressurised underwater container, maybe I'll sit this one out.”
“Alright. You can run point from back here.” Peter said. “I'm gonna be in there with them so I can't have any type of communication device on me. If they think something is off they'll kill May. You guys are gonna have to handle all of that.” The boy looked nervous.
“We will.” Matt said.
“We're gonna do everything we can, Peter.” Clint promised.
Peter nodded.
“Okay. I'm gonna drive him home. Peter, you need to do what they said, make sure nobody's gonna question it if you disappear for a few days.” Pepper said.
Peter nodded. “Let's go.”
__________