Day 4.
Andrew and Harry were rightfully disappointed when the two superheroes returned with their hands empty yesterday. Worry quickly swept those emotions away once they noticed how awful the husband looked. The son having to drag his father figure in because he was too depressed to walk. His eyes red and puffy from crying, humongous tear stains down his cheeks, the soft, comfortable clothes he once wore drenched and the most heartbroken eyes you had ever seen. The rest of that day was spent comforting the man.
As of right now, they were making some type of progress as Tony was passed out on his desk. Not willingly, he had just tired himself out by crying all night. Andrew started to tear up as well when he took control of the searching once Stark's face hit the desk. So much information but so little about the crisis at hand. Harry himself wasn't tired, but his body was. Threat had really worn it out by sobbing. So weak in fact that Osborn was able to just politely drag the alter out of the control room without a fight.
Peter told his girlfriend about the situation and asked her to rent some books from the library. See if she could find anything about the Prison Realm in one of them. The spider had asked all the AIs to help. Edith was practically handed to Beck once he changed his ways, but obviously the other two still had access.
Edith was in charge of tracking Fury to make sure that the director didn't leave the country or something. Jarvis was looking through older information that he had in his database. Karen was replaying the recordings from that very first day, trying to see if there were any hidden details that they may have missed. And lastly Friday, her job was originally the information one, but now she was assigned to keep an eye on Tony's vitals, let anyone know if he was getting worse. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be getting better.
Peter only grew more and more frustrated when he kept failing. Andrew couldn't take it anymore as a few simple tears turned to a flood and his emotions got the best of him. Tables slammed into each other, waking the owner of the lab up. Shelves collapsed in seconds and windows started shattering. It was all so overstimulating.
The sounds of hearts breaking every passing moment. The constant beeping and AI's talking over each other. The sound of destruction from a meltdown. It was too much as tears of frustration appeared in the kid's eyes. They were doing everything they can, but for right now it wasn't working. And with that, Peter stopped the search.
It was too much. Peter broke. Even after all that man had done to him... Beck had done some good things as well. He didn't deserve such a fate, nor did the people who were affected by it. And he couldn't make it better. He was a failure.
Don't get him wrong, Tony was absolutely heartbroken over Quentin's capture, but there was more to him than just a lover. There was a father. When he had looked up from his tear soaked desk and noticed that his kid was losing it as well? He cleaned up his act faster than you can count to three. Instantly, the genius had the shorter genius wrapped tightly in a hug. They'd cry together.
Harry did his best to comfort Andrew, which wasn't easy, but he eventually began to calm down. Good, things were no longer breaking or zooming across the room. They also hugged tightly. Silent tears now falling down everybody's face as they mourned the person in peace.
He wasn't dead, far from it, but he was still gone, and so far out of reach.
Four days later, the other children were finally starting to realize that Andrew might not have been crazy after all. They all entered one by one. First was Chris, he had drawn the shorter stick anyway. The concern was high when he rested his hand on the gun in his holster. When Quentin had rescued him, he stole a gun from one of the guards at Ravencroft and held onto it ever since. It looked like a CAT 5 tornado had destroyed the place, but his guard quickly melted to the huddled up groups crying.
Some of the brothers had mixed feelings about Tony, but Chris was one of them that adored him, so of course he rushed over to make sure he was okay. He obviously firstly signaled to the rest of them that it was safe to enter. One by one, oldest to youngest, they entered. Cricket, Lucien, Jason and Jesse.
"What the fuck happened?!" Jesse shouted.
Once the mourning pairs noticed the company, they quickly disbanded. Peter returned to work while Andrew brought Jesse over to explain the situation. Tony went ahead and brought the rest of the group farther into the room to spill the news. As expected, nobody took it well. Harry was the only one to stay seated as he had to help Threat recover.
"What?!" Cricket screamed, "That can happen?! Just be packed away in a tiny cube like some merchandise?!"
"Afraid so." Tony sniffled.
"We're going to get him back... right?" Jason asked.
Tony didn't answer, which only caused the guests' faces to drop lower. When Stark noticed, he reassured them that he wouldn't stop till they did, it would just take some time. A lot of time. It helped a little bit.
"Is he at least okay?" Lucien whispered, which caused a few people to turn their heads to him. The young adult had a very hard time around grown men, and he had a good reason for it too, so the fact that he was concerned about Quentin really showed just how much the man meant to each one of them.
Tony paused before finally speaking, "I think so," He said, "According to Friday time doesn't move in there. If anything, he's most likely just really, really, bored."
Everyone had their questions, but the overall energy of the lab had everyone silent instead. MJ had come back from the library shortly after, but she had no success. Books like those wouldn't be in a regular one but probably some sorcerer one. She comforted their boyfriend, they knew exactly how to, overall, her and Peter had been dating for a while.
Tony had let their shared kids have the cape for now. All seven of them wrapped up in it with their long faces and teary eyes. Dexter cuddled with Tony, he knew he was a cat person, but even still they both cared deeply about the owner. Squid (Tony's cat) had even come over to sit on the inventor's lap, he despised Quentin, but Tony's happiness was much more important to the feline. Oh, Quentin, if only you knew what type of hold you had on the people around you.
"Do you guys remember how he'd play and sing a lullaby on his guitar for us if we couldn't sleep?" Andrew asked.
They replied in union. It would be a pretty hard thing to forget. Expressing to the father figure how they'd be having trouble snoozing, only for Quentin to smile warmly and grab his trusty guitar before walking back to the room. He played many different ones, but the one he would play most is Rock-a-Bye Baby. You'd think for such a horrific villain that he wouldn't have a voice of gold.
Now they weren't sure what they would do. Would they even be able to sleep? Most likely not. Even if they did, if they suffer from a bad dream, there is no way for them to fall back asleep without his caring song. Any one of them would give anything just to hear it one more time before reality returns this way.
"Or when he'd go out of his way to let us have his bed?" Lucien whispered.
"And also how he was always trying his best to cook things that we'd enjoy." Harry jumped in.
"You know, I always found him somewhat annoying, the way he'd pester me about going to my dumbass therapy sessions and what not... but I took that for granted now that he's gone." Jesse sniffled.
"He's not gone forever," Tony growled, "We will get him back."
"How?" Cricket asked.
Well, that was just it. He didn't know how. They tried waltzing in and taking him by force, and we all know how that attempt had gone. What else could they try? Fury would never leave himself alone with the Prison Realm on him, he has got to have at least ten bodyguards. Tony's silence was a big enough answer for the young adult. Nobody had a plan, and hope was weary.
No.
Stark looked around him. Everybody else was also counting on him to succeed, as he watched one of the twins rubbing their face with a corner of the man's cape. He glanced over at Dexter, who was whimpering at the place Quentin would sit at when he was in here working or hanging out. Peter was comforting MJ, who despite all the pain that Mysterio had put those two through... they could see an obvious change and Michelle would even hang out with him from time to time whether it be to gossip or watch scary movies.
The suffering was loud, almost infinite, but this is a day of weakness.
Tomorrow he will succeed.
He counts on it.