We'll find a way to make it work
Tony helped me into the passenger seat of his car, carefully clicking the seatbelt into place. The engine hummed as he began driving back to the tower. My eyes were tired and my head was full of fog again. I blinked slowly and turned to my mentor, tears threatening to spill from my eyes.
“T-Tony…” I whispered, my voice scratchy and hoarse.
“Are you doing okay over there Roos?” He asked, glancing over at me.
My head fell and my vision blanked out. I felt him stick a hand in front of my face and yell my name before the world went quiet.
*
“—er. Peter, come on, wake up.” Tony’s voice cut in, pulling me awake. “Pete, bud, open those eyes for me.” He said again. I blinked slowly and took in my surroundings. We were still in the car, but it looked like we were no longer on the road.
“Wha—where are we?” I asked quietly.
“We’re just in the parking lot of the tower, Bruce is coming down to help me take you to the medbay. You passed out again.” He answered, running a hand through my sweaty hair.
“Oh.”
“How are you feeling?” Tony questioned. He saw Bruce come out and moved to my side of the car.
“Dizzy, confused, a little nauseous.” I answered as they both came to my side.
“Ready?” Bruce asked, preparing to transfer me into a wheelchair.
“Is this necessary?” I cringed at how desperate and whiny my voice sounded.
“Kid,” Tony sighed, looking nervous. “You passed out twice and we can’t have that happen again, it could be dangerous. Would you rather I get Steve to carry you?” Tony asked knowingly. I shook my head furiously and he smiled. “That’s what I thought.”
*
Bruce frowned at the monitor. “Huh.”
Tony immediately perked up. “Huh? What does *‘huh’* mean? You’re a doctor, you don’t get to say *‘huh’.* That’s my line.”
Bruce ignored the sarcasm, his brows knitting tighter as he double-checked Peter’s chart. “His vitals are all completely normal. Temperature, heart rate, blood pressure—everything’s right where it should be.”
Tony blinked. “Okay… so why’d he pass out, two times, in under an hour?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Bruce said, glancing over at me with concern. “Pete, how long has this been going on? Have you been sick recently? Any headaches, trouble breathing, chest pain?”
I shook my head slowly, still dizzy. “Only this week. Headaches only started earlier today. Mostly just tired lately. Like… way more than usual. But I thought it was just school. Or training.”
“Wait, why didn’t you say anything? This has been going on all week?” Tony asked in shock.
“Not now Tony.” Bruce muttered, turning back to me.Tony glanced between me and Bruce, clearly not satisfied.
“You sure this isn’t like, I don’t know, early signs of the flu or something?”
Bruce shook his head. “Not with these numbers. It’s not adding up. When a kid passes out like this—especially with no fever or infection—we need to look at other things. Neurological, cardiovascular, even some rarer disorders.”
“Wait,” I said, my voice barely audible. “You think something’s wrong with me?”
Tony was at my side in a flash, his hand back on my shoulder. “No one said that. We just don’t know what we’re dealing with yet, and that means we figure it out. We run tests. We get answers. No jumping to conclusions.”
Bruce nodded in agreement. “I’m going to run a few more labs. Maybe even schedule an EEG and a tilt table test, just to be safe.”
“A tilting what?” I asked nervously, eyes wide.
Tony smirked, trying to lighten the mood. “Basically, they strap you to a board and tilt you like a rotisserie chicken to see how your body reacts. It's super fun. I recommend asking for a souvenir photo.”
I gave a weak laugh, but my mind was racing. Something was wrong. I knew it—my body knew it. I just hadn’t had the words for it before. Maybe now, finally, they’d find out what was happening.
“Hey, take a breath, we’re going to figure this out.” Tony said, patting my back. I nodded, knowing he was right, but it still didn’t mean I wasn’t scared.
The tests continued all weekend: blood work, tilt tables, brain scans, so many things. Bruce was now hooking me up in preparation for an EEG. The plan was for me to wear these wires for a day so it could see what exactly was happening when I fainted.
“Done?” I asked as Bruce backed away and nodded.
“Looking good,” Tony joked, sitting beside my bed.
“Just continue with your day as normal. If you feel faint, don’t fight it.” Bruce instructed and sent us back to the main level. Tony followed me to the couch where I took out my phone. I hadn’t looked at it in days. I felt bad for not having messaged Ned.
Are you okay??
Peter???
Where did you go?
And many more messages like this from Ned.
They don’t really know what’s wrong, that’s what they’re working to figure out now.
Ned responded almost immediately.
Oh wow, how are you feeling?
I’m alright, still fainting though.
I moved to the messages from MJ
Hey loser, still sick?
Don’t really know what’s wrong, still passing out
That sucks, feel better nerd, let me know if you need anything
Aw, you care
Don’t make me take it back Parker.
I laughed and put my phone away. Tony looked at me skeptically. “What’s so interesting on your phone there kid?”
“Oh nothing, just responding to some of my friends.”
“Oh..is one of those friends MJ?” Tony asked, making my cheeks flush bright red. He knows about my crush and he thinks it’s funny to embarrass me, clearly.
Tony grinned like a cat catching a mouse. “It was MJ, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I muttered, sinking further into the couch and trying to hide my face.
“Please,” He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “It’s obvious. Whenever I bring her up your ears turn bright red. It’s a sign, Peter’s in love,” Tony teased in a sing-song voice. I smiled sheepishly and shrugged. He smirked. “C’mon, tell me what she said. Did she call you cute, ask you on a date? She seems like the type to make the first move.”
“No, can we not talk about this. Please Mr. Stark.” I begged and he chuckled. But he didn’t push it any further.
“Alright, I’ll lay off. For now at least…But just let it be known, if she breaks your heart I will sic Happy on her.” I peaked out from the blanket and looked at him.
“You would?”
“Yeah, fully dressed in a suit, scary silence. They’d have a staredown. Works all the time.” I laughed at that last part, thinking of MJ and Happy because they’d totally be the two people to do that.
The laughing sent me into a coughing fit, dizziness taking over my body again. My smile faded quickly and Tony moved next to me right away. He rubbed my back in silence for a few minutes until I stopped.
“You okay?” His joking demeanor was quickly replaced with seriousness.
“Just came on fast, I wasn't expecting it.” I admitted, feeling embarrassed.
“Feeling any better or are you going to pass out?” He asked, trying to assess the severity of the situation.
“M’going…” I mumbled, unable to fight the dizziness anymore. I gasped, trying to get another breath in. It felt as if the air had left my chest and there was a squeezing feeling in my head. My heart raced loud and fast. Darkness crept into the edges of my sight like marker bleeding into a separate sheet of paper. I hear my name being called, one or twice maybe, then nothing.
*
“Roos?” A voice crept in. My arms felt as heavy as led, and it took too much energy for me to open my eyes. My body was distant, like it wasn’t fully mine yet. I groaned and blinked slowly, regaining my bearings.
“Come on Pete, open those brown bambi eyes for me.” Tony begged, brushing a hand through my sweaty curls.
“Mr St’rk?” I slurred, taking in my surroundings. We were still in the living room. I was now laid horizontally across the couch, my head in Tony’s lap. A sharp pulse was sent through my head, reminding me how disoriented I felt. I shifted and felt a tug, reminding me of the wires I was hooked up to.
“I’m right here kid,” Tony answered, still running his fingers through the mop on top of my head.
Tony’s fingers stilled for a moment, brushing aside one of my curls so I could see his face. “You scared me there, buddy.” He murmured, looking down at me.
I tried to lift my head, but the room tilted again. “Don’t… move,” Tony warned, steadying me with one arm. “You’re still wired up, and I don’t want you pulling anything out.”
“EEG?” I croaked, blinking against the harsh overhead light. “How long…?”
“Couple minutes,” Tony replied, gently repositioning the way I laid limply against his warm body. “Bruce is going to review the data in an hour or so.” He paused and thought for a second. “You know, I was hoping we’d find something, anything, solid to work with. But hey—no news is good news, right?”
I let out a humorless laugh. “I’d rather have a diagnosis than people think I’m faking something.”
He gave me an awkward smile. “I get it. But we’ll keep looking. For now though, you’re stuck with me. No patrolling, no late nights. You need time to rest and recover. At least for this weekend while we try to figure out what’s wrong.”
A dull ache settled behind my eyes as I tried to focus on his face. “I… feel like a baby.”
Tony shook his head, squeezing my shoulder. “You’ve been through more in a few days than most people do in a lifetime. Passing out at least 3 times, running tests all day—if that makes you a baby, I’ll happily carry a diaper bag.” He winked, making my lips twitch.
Hushed voices came from the doorway. Tiny footsteps came inside the room and there was Morgan, clutching that same stuffed bear from last Christmas. Pepper followed shortly, coming up behind Morgan’s tiny frame.
Morgan’s eyes grew wide when she saw me on the couch. She stared at the wires for a moment before speaking up, “Petey?” she whispered. “Mommy said you were feeling icky, are you better now?”
“Hey, pumpkin,” I managed, reaching for her hand. My grip was weak, but she didn’t seem to mind. Tony moved, making room for her to slide onto the couch beside me.
Tony exhaled and glanced over to Pepper, who I assumed knew what was going on by now. Morgan hadn’t seen me since breakfast yesterday morning. Being locked in the medbay all day, I hadn’t seen much of anyone.
“I’m alright.” I whispered to her, voice small. I could see the gentle rise and fall of Morgan’s chest beside me. Partnered with Tony’s reassuring presence, this all felt oddly comforting. I was glad to have the people in here with me, making this all seem less scary.
“Friday,” Tony said, looking up to the ceiling speaker, “keep an eye on them, will you?” A faint beep confirmed the A.I. was on it. Tony and Pepper stepped out of the room and left Morgan and I alone.
I closed my eyes and breathed carefully, the dizziness and aches of my muscles were still in effect. Morgan’s hand was warm in mine, the light weight grounding me on earth and keeping me out of my head.
“Are you awake?” Morgan whisper-shouted, making me laugh softly.
“Yeah, I’m awake.”
“Are you going to die?” She looked nervous as she asked, eyes full of that childlike curiosity.
“Wow, straight to the point I see.” I choked down a laugh, knowing she was serious.
“You didn’t answer,” Morgan huffed, crossing her arms.
“No, I'm not dying. Just having a difficult few days…but your dad and Mr. Banner are trying to figure it out.”
“If Mr. Banner is helping, I'm sure you’ll be fixed soon. He’s real smart. But…you can’t die though. You still owe me a tea party.” She announced with a toothy grin.
“I pinky promised, so I guess I have to stick around.”
“That’s right, pinky promises can’t be broken.” I nodded tiredly in agreement.
“Also, if you die, no one will be able to beat me in Mario Kart. I’m five.” She looked at me, wide-eyed and worried about her Mario Kart score.
“Of course.” She smiled and leaned up against me gently.
“I don’t want you to be sick anymore…” Morgan looked towards me sadly, tugging on my heartstrings.
“Me neither. But it’ll be okay kiddo, I’ve got the best team to help me.” I responded, squeezing her hand lightly.
“Am I on your team?”
“Definitely, you can be my super awesome sidekick.” Morgan nodded at that excitedly.
“I’ll be Unicorn Girl. I can save the world with magic sparkles and big hugs.”
“Sounds like you’ll be even more powerful than me.” I teased and she nodded.
“Duh.” At that I reached down and tickled her, making her giggle and squirm on the couch.
“Morgan, let’s go get you a snack, huh?” Pepper said, walking back in with Tony. Morgan smiled and ran off to the kitchen with Pepper.
“Bye Petey!” She called and I waved, giving a warm smile.
I repositioned myself on the couch so I was sitting up further. Tony came back and sat beside me once again. “Ready to go talk to Bruce, see what’s going on in that head of yours?” He asked gently, patting my shoulder. I nodded carefully and he helped me to stand.
“Well, the EEG shows non-specific, abnormal slowing. This basically means your brain activity is slower in some spots which is causing you to faint. There’s no obvious cause which means there’s no specific diagnoses we can give other than a simple fainting disorder.” Bruce concluded for Tony and I as we sat in the medbay. These were the results we’d been waiting for, hoping to find solid answers, but all we have is another mystery.
“Is there anything we can do to stop the fainting?” Tony inquired, looking at Bruce hopefully.
“Sadly, there’s nothing we can do to stop it. It may be permanent even. But there are ways to reduce how often he faints.” I cringed at the mention of permanency. “We want to try to increase his salt intake, with supplements maybe. Keep him hydrated, get rest and food properly, and try to stay away from possible triggers like heat or stress.”
“You mean I might be like this forever?” I asked, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. “How will I continue being Spider-Man?” Tony squeezed my hand gently, looking at me with sad eyes.
“We’ll find a way to make it work.”