Day 2.
It had been an entire day since Quentin Beck was sealed by the higher ups known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Tony didn't get a wink of sleep from the excitement, and his appearance would surely prove it. He stayed up all night locked tightly in his lab trying to figure out how to get the beloved fishbowl back from Fury's clutches. He had nothing. Not only that, but he didn't even know where the item was, for all he knew the director could have chucked it into the ocean to never be found again.
His hair was a mess, his eye bags were heavier than usual, and it took him multiple tries to walk someplace without bumping into a wall. Tony Stark was a professional sleep avoider, he was used to the deprivation, but even champions have their weaknesses. What was slowing Stark down was the fact that he hadn't been pulling all-nighters as much as he used to. With Quentin by his side at night to reassure him that visions and night terrors are just traps by anxiety, Tony had been sleeping. Now with the man gone, he wasn't only not there to comfort the genius, but he just also wasn't here and the worry of his safety is what kept Tony's eyes open.
He ignored his A.I.'s constant warnings and concerns, and he hadn't told the kid what happened, either. As of right now, only he and Dexter knew what was going on. F.R.I.D.A.Y. tried to talk sense into the man, explain how knowing what you're doing and being able to operate would make finding and unsealing Beck easier. But Tony refused. He wouldn't get a second of sleep until his beloved husband was out of that stupid cube.
Quentin's adopted children, on the other hand, were starting to notice his absence. At least some of them. Lucien kept his attention on reading and journaling with the present Q had given him for Christmas. Jesse was in therapy twice a week due to some, concerning conversations. Jason, Chris and Cricket were all preoccupied with some things as well. That left two children who noticed the lack of father. Andrew and Harry.
Andrew noticed it first. Unlike Harry, the teenager didn't really have anybody else to hang out with other than Jesse, but as mentioned, the other teenager had been busy. Osborn had his boyfriend Peter, friend Gwen and two altars that would keep him company, Threat and... well, one alter.
While Harry was hanging out with Peter, Andrew was sitting on his bed, thinking. Last night he had a nightmare about his old friend Steve, and usually when he woke up from things like that, Quentin was by his bed at the snap of a finger. Not this time... when he had woken up from the fright, empty. No Quentin, just the rest of the kids that he had rescued.
Detmer was quiet, observant, the kind of kid in school who you would gossip around thinking they weren't listening until they used that information against you. Surely somebody other than Harry had to notice the man's absence. He couldn't go back to bed after that. Mostly cause of the bad dream, but also the noise coming from the direction of Tony's lab made it nearly impossible. Something was fishy.
He tried asking the others, but it seemed like he was alone on this. Fine, he'd take this observation to the other person in charge, Tony Stark. Maybe that's where he was, busy with his husband. He'd rather walk in on something than receive bad news, so, to the lab, he went. The remaining five stayed in the room as if things were normal. Hopefully they're right and he's wrong.
Harry expressed the concern to Peter, who always took Osborn's feelings very seriously, no matter how stupid they sounded. He could see how Hare was starting to become on edge, and he couldn't blame him, he'd do the same thing about his beloved boyfriend. "Have you tried texting or maybe calling him?" The spider asked.
"No," Harry admitted, "I didn't want to distract him in case he was doing something important. Besides, I don't really want Threat to know..."
"I don't blame you," Peter shivered. He thought for a moment before coming up with a pretty decent idea, "You could try asking the rich guy!"
"Stark?"
"Uh- yes? I think so."
"I guess that might work," Harry pondered before smiling, "Yeah, after all he's married to Quentin, I'm sure he's either with him or knows where he is."
"Exactly!" Peter nodded while giving his love a quiet kiss on the cheek. Perhaps for good luck. Harry thanked the hero before making his short journey to the lab. In the meantime, Peter could hang with Gwen, he did owe her some of his time.
Tony wasn't getting any better, as he had slammed his face into his keyboard at least seventeen times in the last twenty minutes. He tried to get a hold of Strange, see if he knew anything about the item or any idea on how the releasing process worked but alas, voice mail. He must be busy fighting off some world ending threat, which is important and all, but currently there was a threat latched onto Tony's world, and he wanted that world back. He was a wreck. Dry tear stains clear on his face, along with the scattered paperwork and holographic info that surrounded him.
The Avenger chugged another cup of coffee before continuing. He hadn't heard the doors opening, but he noticed the shadow leaking in from behind him. 'Shit' He thought to himself. Two of Beck's kids were here. Harry and Andrew. 'What brings them here?'
"Hey um," Andrew stuttered, moving his camera around the playboy, "Do you know where Quentin is?"
Shit.
"You're looking for him too?" Harry asked.
"Yes! Nobody else seems to notice his strange lack of visits!"
Double shit.
"You're looking for Quentin?" Tony questioned. The two boys nodded. "Oh, he's uh- shopping." He lied.
"Shopping?" Andrew asked.
"Yup."
"When is he-"
"Hang on a minute," Harry interrupted, "Why isn't he answering his phone then?"
The two sons turned to stare at their second father figure. Shit, they were asking too many questions and Tony was in no state to lie as good as he could have. Perhaps maybe he should've slept. "Oh- um... it's on silent." He lied again.
Osborn and Detmer turned to look at each other and nodded. It was very obvious that Tony knew something and wasn't spilling. So they'd have to make him talk. They'd just have to prepare for whatever news he reveals. It couldn't be good... even if they didn't know the man that well, they knew the obvious signs of stress. With another glance at each other to confirm, Andrew put the genius in air jail by floating him.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! None of that now, put me down!" Tony ordered.
"After you tell us what's really going on." Harry replied sternly.
Fuck.
'Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Tony sighed. These kids were stubborn, just like their father. Well, fathers, he was stubborn too. Dammit, he should have cleaned up first. When he sees Quentin again, he's going to use this to prove that he can't act to save his life. "Fine, but you're going to have to put me down first."
The panic in the poor children's eyes as Tony kept talking. Andrew was horrified with what he was hearing, while Harry was just more so concerned. He was really hoping Threat was too busy cosplaying as the fishbowl to hear what happened to said fishbowl. Stark continued, explaining all he knew. He was a child magnet, so with Quentin's absence, he'd have to take on the role of taking Beck's little gremlins under his wing as well.
"SH.I.E.L.D.?" Andrew asked, "Isn't that the place Quentin turned himself in to make sure I didn't get sent there instead?"
"Afraid so." Tony confirmed.
"I wish they would have just turned him to stone again... that sounds way easier than this bullshit." Harry frowned.
"Turned to what!?" Detmer shouted.
"Don't worry about it, I'll tell you later." The Osborn turned to face the other rich person in the room. Tony's sleep deprivation already pretty much told him the answer, but for the sake of it he'd ask anyway, "And you have a plan to get him back, right?"
"Well..." Tony paused. "Not... right now?"
If Iron Man had known the chaos that those words would have unleashed... he would've lied or just not answered at all. Harry was yelling, asking a zillion questions, while Andrew panicked and started floating random things from around the room. At one point, the couch in the back was hovering. Well, at least it was only these two who noticed. Scratch that, it was three.
Harry tried to keep Threat back. He bribed him with scooby snacks, promised to play a game later, watch a movie or let him spend a whole day with Peter, but nothing had stopped his pushing. He heard everything, and the first thing their body did when he got control? Sobbed. It reminded Tony of when he had to babysit the kid after Quentin turned himself in... and it wasn't fun.
"We're going to get the fishbowl back-" Tony tried to tell the alter, but the sounds of crying drowned out any attempt the man had. Quentin meant the world to Threat, after all, he was the one who somewhat rescued him from a very different life. Well, if Tony wasn't awake, he sure was now. Andy did his best to help, reassure him that Quentin wasn't gone forever and that they'd do everything to get him back. In the meantime, a small but considering idea came to the hero.