"Мама паук"
Natasha was in the middle of a training session at the Avengers Tower when FRIDAY's voice suddenly came over the intercom.
"Pardon the interruption, but I thought you should know - I've lost contact with Peter Parker's AI, and his suit tracker indicates he is currently lying motionless in an alley off of 54th street."
Natasha froze, pulse racing. "What? Is he conscious?"
"Unknown," FRIDAY replied. "His vitals appear weak and his AI is not responding."
Natasha was already sprinting for the door. "Tell Tony and the others, now!"
This was bad. Peter was supposed to be on patrol tonight as Spiderman, but clearly something had gone very wrong. Fear coiled in Natasha's gut as she jumped on her motorcycle and tore out of the garage.
"Peter!" she shouted over the comms. "Peter, can you hear me?"
Only static answered her. Natasha wove recklessly through traffic, urging the bike faster. She had to find him. The kid was like family - if anything happened to him on her watch...
"Peter, please respond," Natasha tried again, unable to keep the desperation out of her voice. "Talk to me!"
After agonizing minutes of silence, finally a weak voice crackled over comms. "N'tasha...?"
Relief flooded through her. "Peter! Are you injured? What's your status?"
"...dunno," he mumbled. "Hurts..."
"Just hang on," Natasha said as calmly as she could, though her heart was pounding. "Keep talking to me, I'm tracking your location."
"Kay..." Peter trailed off, sounding dazed.
"Hey, stay with me," Natasha ordered sharply. "What happened tonight?"
"Was...chasin' some guys..." Peter slurred. "Robbin' a bodega...Took me...by surprise..." He broke off with a pained hiss.
"Take it easy," Natasha soothed. "Sounds like you ran into some nasty customers. But you're going to be just fine. I'm almost there."
Peter made a vague sound of acknowledgement. Natasha could hear his shallow, ragged breathing over the comms. She prayed he could hold on just a little longer.
"Peter, what's your favorite subject in school?" Natasha asked, trying to keep him talking.
"Um...science, I guess."
"You guess?" Natasha said with a lightness she didn't feel. "Tony told me you're some kind of physics whiz. I can barely spell physics."
That got a faint huff of laughter from Peter. "S'not that hard. I can...teach you..."
"Deal. We'll have our first lesson as soon as you're back on your feet. Sound good?"
"Yeah..." Peter trailed off again.
"Stay with me, Peter!" Natasha ordered. "Come on, what's something you're looking forward to this week?"
Silence. Natasha's heart clenched. "Peter!"
"Mm...here," he finally mumbled. "Just...really tired..."
Natasha blew through another red light, honking cars skidding to avoid her. "I know, just hang in there. I'm almost to you."
Finally she screeched to a stop outside an alley near 54th. Leaping off her bike, Natasha sprinted into the alley, eyes searching frantically. "Peter!"
She spotted a small crumpled form behind a dumpster and ran over. Peter lay motionless in his tattered Spiderman suit, a dark pool of blood beneath him. Natasha's heart seized. No.
Falling to her knees beside him, she quickly checked for a pulse, nearly sobbing in relief when she found it - faint and thready, but there. Peter's face was pale under the mask, lips tinged blue. Natasha carefully peeled the mask back and lightly tapped his cheek. "Peter. Can you hear me? Open your eyes."
Peter's eyes slowly fluttered half open, gaze bleary with pain. "N'tasha..." he breathed. "'m I...dreaming?"
Natasha let out a shaky laugh that was half sob. "No, not dreaming. I'm really here." As gently as she could, she gathered the broken boy into her arms. Peter whimpered, fresh blood blooming across his side. Natasha's heart twisted but she didn't dare stop. "I know it hurts. Just hang on. I've got you now."
She sprinted back to her bike, clutching Peter tightly to her chest. His head lolled limply against her shoulder. Natasha securing him in front of her on the bike before tearing back through the streets towards Avengers Tower.
"Stay with me, Peter," she pleaded, one arm wrapped firmly around his chest while she steered with the other. "We're almost home."
"M'sorry..." Peter mumbled, words slurring. "Didn' mean...to scare you..."
"Shh, just focus on staying awake," Natasha said soothingly. "You have nothing to apologize for."
Peter coughed weakly, fresh blood trickling from his mouth. He shifted slightly in Natasha's grip, as if trying to look up at her through the haze of pain. "You came...you saved me...'m lucky...." His voice was barely a whisper now. "Love you...'Мама паук'..."
Tears pricked Natasha's eyes at the nickname - Mother Spider. She pressed a fierce kiss to the boy's dark curls. "Love you too, little spider. Now hush, save your strength."
At last, the Tower came into view. Natasha careened into the garage and leapt off the bike with Peter gathered protectively against her. "FRIDAY, get Bruce and the medical team down here NOW!" she shouted. "And tell Tony and Clint to meet us in the medbay."
She sprinted for the elevator, cradling Peter close and murmuring reassurances as he drifted in and out of consciousness. As the elevator opened on the medbay floor, Tony, Clint and Bruce were already there looking frantic.
Tony blanched when he saw Peter's limp form. "Oh god, is he -"
"He's alive," Natasha said shortly. She moved past them into the medbay, gently laying Peter on a bed and stepping back to let Bruce and his team take over.
Tony gripped her shoulder hard. "What the hell happened?" Behind the panic in his eyes, there was rage - rage that someone had dared hurt his kid. Clint too was tense as a bowstring, watching the medical team work with sharp eyes.
In terse sentences, Natasha quickly recounted everything she knew about the night's events. The others listened intently, faces darkening.
"I should have been monitoring him more closely," Tony said angrily. "This is on me."
Natasha whirled on him. "No, it's on whoever did this to him. Our job now is making sure he recovers."
Tony's face softened slightly in gratitude. Together, the three Avenger's kept vigil as Bruce worked to stabilize the teenage hero. The minutes stretched by agonizingly, but finally Bruce straightened up.
"I think he's going to be okay," he said wearily. "Whoever did this did a number on him, but nothing life threatening. He'll be out of it for awhile though."
Collective sighs of relief went up around the room. Natasha closed her eyes, letting the fear of the last hours drain away. Peter was safe. Everything else could wait.
Exhaustion suddenly overtaking her, Natasha sank into a chair by Peter's bedside. The others joined her in silent camaraderie, the unspoken promise passing between them that they would keep watch together until the kid opened his eyes again.
Gently Natasha took Peter's limp hand in both of hers. "You're home now, little spider," she whispered. "We've got you."
She pressed a kiss to his forehead, feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath her fingers. Their family was whole again.