Chapter 7
“Do you think something’s wrong, why is it taking so long?” Ned asked after a few minutes of them sitting quietly in the waiting room.
Tony who was resting his elbows on his knees turned to look at Ned and saw the worry on his face. Even though he was just as nervous about Peter, he wanted to make Ned feel better. He sat up and leaned against the back of the chair crossing his arms. “It’s always a waiting game, kid. The scans are what take the longest. I’m sure he’ll be fine. This is just a bump on the head compared to what he’s been through.” And it was, literally. He couldn’t help it but his mind was bringing up all these memories of how hurt Peter’s been or practically dying and he knew he was about to spiral so had to stop.
Ned shook his head in disbelief and was on the cusp of shouting. “Mr. Stark! That doesn’t help! I don’t know how you can do this over and over again! I can’t stand the waiting!”
“It’s not easy kid and it never gets any easier. Why do you think I have all these gray hairs?” Tony said pointing to his head and trying to make Ned smile. It seemed to work a little bit because he saw the corner of his mouth turn up. “I’m not worried so you shouldn’t be,” Tony assured him but he was lying through his teeth to appease Ned.
It wasn’t the concussion or cut on his head that was worrying him so much, it was the fact that Peter was in an altered state and he needed to know why and what from. He got a lot of answers tonight but there were still so many unanswered questions.
Finally, after another half hour of waiting, Dr. Cho came into the waiting room and Tony and Ned stood up at the same time to greet her. “So? How is he? How bad is it?” Tony asked hurriedly.
Helen gave him a reassuring smile. “He’ll be just fine, Tony. He has a severe concussion but after running head scans we found no skull fractures or brain swelling so we’re in the clear. Head wounds tend to bleed a lot so it looked worse than it was and he only needed six stitches. We have him on light pain killers for the night so he could rest.” She paused while Tony and Ned both sighed with relief. “However, there are a couple things I need to talk to you privately about, Tony.” She said looking between them both again.
Tony nodded and knew she didn’t want to discuss something in front of Ned. He put a hand on his shoulder, “Ned, I’m sure you’re beat. Now that you know Pete’s ok, how about you go up to the penthouse and try to get some rest and you can see him tomorrow morning. Just hop on the elevator and Friday will bring you up and then Happy can show you to Peter’s room.”
“Are you sure he’ll be ok?” Ned asked Dr. Cho nervously.
Helen gave him another reassuring smile and nodded, but Tony saw through it. There was something definitely up. “I’m sure, Ned.”
Tony wrapped his arm around Ned’s shoulder and gave him a side hug. “Thanks for understanding but there are some things she needs to speak with me about. You know, patient confidentiality and all that stuff.” He said rolling his eyes.
“No, I get it, it’s fine. I’m just worried. If um, if anything changes can you let me know?” Ned asked.
“Of course I will. Try to get some sleep. You did great tonight, Ned. Thanks for everything,” Tony said and with that Ned left the room to go up to the penthouse.
Tony followed Helen to Peter’s room with a pit in his stomach. He was anxious to hear what she had to say that she couldn’t say in front of Ned. When he walked in, Peter was sleeping in the usual hospital gown with butterfly stitches on his forehead. He looked so much better now that he was cleaned up. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and held Peter’s hand tight. “So, what did you need to talk about, you’re sort of scaring me.”
Helen had a concerned look on her face which was unusual for her, not that she’s not emotional, she just doesn’t show it often so it was freaking him out. “Sorry, but I didn’t know how much his friend knew about his conditions and what I have to go over is very sensitive. I know Bruce usually handles these types of things when it comes to Peter but he’s not here so...”
Tony furrowed his eyebrows. “What types of things? Now you’re really freaking me out! How hurt is he?” he asked.
Helen raised her hand to try to calm Tony down. “Physically he’ll be ok. Like I said, no brain damage or swelling and some stitches but that’s not what I have to discuss with you. I ran the blood tests like you asked and we found drugs in his system. Rohypnol to be exact, roofies.”
Tony stood up and shouted, “Roofies? Are you telling me my kid was drugged?” He said waving his hand towards Peter. He was losing his mind! He sat back down and held Peter’s hand tighter.
“That’s what we have to find out when he wakes up. People with that drug in their system usually don’t take it knowingly so my assumption is that he was drugged intentionally. I can’t see why Peter would take it on his own free will since the main side effect is memory loss, which brings me to the sensitive part.” She brought up a chair and sat next to the bed which again, wasn’t like her. “With what was in his system, I would guess it could have caused an overdose if he didn’t have enhancements. His body is burning through most of it and it’s wearing off so it’s likely he will remember what happened.” She paused and looked him directly in the eyes to make sure he was still with her. “Tony, we both know the main reason for giving someone roofies or why it’s called the date rape drug. You said his friend found him in a shed…”
Tony’s stomach immediately started twisting into painful knots again, damn ulcer! Was she about to tell him his kid was… no… no way. He looked at her stunned, unable to form words but he mumbled out, “What are you implying?” He didn’t want to ask.
“This isn’t easy for me to talk about Tony, but I have to when it comes to this type of drug, especially in a minor. It’s my legal obligation to…”
And Tony cut her off. “Please tell me he wasn’t…” he said barely audible choking back tears.
She put a hand on his arm, the same one that was holding Peter’s hand, again not like her and it wasn’t helping him calm down. “Not that I’m aware of. I’m going to warn you, this will be hard to hear. When we changed him into his gown, we had to check for any signs of sexual assault.”
Tony was getting nauseous at the thought. “Can you please not use those words when referring to my son!” he yelled not meaning to.
“Sorry Tony, I said it was going to be hard to hear but the good news is that we didn’t find any indication of a struggle such as torn clothing, missing buttons or unzipped pants,” and she took a moment to take a deep breath, “and we didn’t find any trace of semen or blood in his underwear which are the usual signs of assault. But I must ask you something, do you want a rape kit preformed? It’s the law that I ask because he’s a minor,” Helen said letting out a long breath. He knew it was most likely just as hard for her to say as it was for him to hear.
“No, absolutely not! I’m not putting him through that trauma when you saw no evidence of – that!” Tony yelled. He was literally going out of his god damn mind! He knew what was involved in rape kits and they were extremely invasive and he wouldn’t do that to Peter, not when there was no evidence.
Helen stood up and nodded. “Ok, then, that’s totally fine. I’m so sorry but I had to ask.”
Tony just sat there holding onto Peter’s hand and let the tears fall. Even hearing that there was a possibility – of that – almost made him throw up. Nobody hurts his kid like that and lives, nobody.
She got up and walked over to Peter’s other side and picked up his arm and sighed. “There’s more we have to discuss, Tony,” she said as she ran a hand down Peter’s arm, avoiding the IV. He looked over at what appeared to be many multiple cuts in a neat straight line on his inner arm. They both didn’t say it out loud because it was obvious what they were.
Fuck, his kid was cutting again and his heart sank. He put a hand up to his mouth and tried to hold in a sob. On top of his son being drugged for God knows why, now he finds out he’s been self-harming again when he thought that was in the past. Peter was doing so good, or he thought he was. He blamed himself immediately. How did he not see he was getting this bad again? How did he miss the signs?
“I don’t, I don’t understand how he got away with it, Friday is programmed to detect blood, any amount of blood. Friday, did Peter hack you to remove that protocol?” He shouted angrily into the air.
“No Boss. He has not removed or tried to remove any of my protocols.” She answered sounding sure of herself.
“Then how come I wasn’t notified when he was hurting himself? These cuts are deep enough to cause bleeding and scars!” As soon as he said that out loud, it dawned on him that it was another indication that his healing wasn’t working as it should be because these should be gone by now.
“I have not detected any blood in Peter’s room or bathroom.” She told him and he couldn’t understand.
Helen spoke up. “Tony, he’s probably not doing it at home. He could be doing it at school or anywhere else because he knows Friday will notify you. What’s worrying is that there are faded scars that look like they should have been healed by now so it tells me his healing isn’t quite working as well as it should be. And…there are more scars on his stomach and thighs as well, the usual hiding spots with self-harmers and also some bruising on his torso that looks new.”
She took a pause to make sure Tony was still listening since it’s been a lot to hear. “He’s also lost five pounds but his blood work came back and he’s not malnourished, not yet anyways so we have to keep a close eye on him to make sure he eats properly. I could also tell from the dark circles under his eyes that he’s not sleeping either so those two combined would explain why he’s not healing as fast. But it’s not critical yet so once he gets back on track with his eating and sleeping habits he’ll be back to normal. I think that’s why his head wound took a while to stop bleeding tonight, too.”
Tony just held onto Peter’s hand even tighter and cried while he listened to her. He cried for his son being in so much emotional pain again and not seeing how bad it got. No, strike that, he did see which makes him feel even worse! He was almost angry with Peter for saying he was ‘fine’ every time he was asked when he clearly wasn’t when the #1 rule was to ask for help if he felt like he was in trouble. Peter was really good at hiding shit, he knew that for a fact, even under a watchful eye and he can’t believe how many times his kid does shit that he doesn’t know about.
He knew Peter was stressed and wished he pried harder and sooner but he was trying to give Peter the chance to help himself and use the tools he learned in therapy. He had no idea how bad it was until Ned told him everything and now having Helen confirm it all. Fuck Flash.
Tony wiped the tears from his face but kept his eyes on Peter, bent over and kissed his cheek since his forehead was bandaged. He barely had any energy left and felt burnt out. “Is there anything else?” he asked Helen and almost laughed at himself for asking because what else could there possibly be?
Helen came back over and put a hand on his arm. “No, that’s everything. I can’t imagine how hard this was for a parent to hear Tony and I’m sorry about everything but he’ll be ok. I want to keep him overnight for observation since he has a concussion and want to make sure he doesn’t have any adverse side effects of the drugs he was given since we still don’t know much about his DNA. Most likely we can discharge him tomorrow morning if he’s stable throughout the night. I’ll give you some privacy. Again, Tony, I’m so sorry about all of this,” she said sincerely.
Tony finally looked up at her and she looked sad. He gave her a weak smile and nodded. “Thanks Helen.” And with that she left the room and closed the door to leave him with his son.
~~~~~~~~~~~~xXx~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony ended up sitting in a chair right up against Peter’s bed holding his hand and rubbing his knuckles with his thumb. He still had tears streaming down his face and didn’t have the energy to wipe them away. There was just so much to process in that short amount of time. He found out Peter was being bullied and threatened by Flash, that he wasn’t eating lunch but giving it that dirtbag in front of his friends while humiliating him. He knows what a sensitive kid his son is and that right there alone could be detrimental to his mental health. He found out he’s most likely doing all of that bastard’s homework on top of his own which explains why he spends so many hours a day on it – in classes he’s not even in! His son was drugged – had to be because there’s no way Peter would take something like that and roofie himself – unless he was forced to which got his blood boiling again. What the hell did that fucking kid have over Peter? He didn’t know but he had to find out.
“Friday, check the security cameras at the house Peter was at tonight and scan for any and all footage with Peter in it.”
“On it, Boss. Give me a moment,” she answered back.
He was deep in thought and spiraling fast until the door to Peter’s room swung open scaring him half to death. He turned to look to see who it was and to his surprise and relief it was Pepper. He was so glad to see her because he really needed her right now. He stood up right away but still held onto Peter’s hand not wanting to let go.
“Hon, what a sight for sore eyes but what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in New Jersey this weekend.”
She came walking over to him fast and stopped right in front of him with her hands on her hip with a scowl on her face and he knew she was mad. “What do you expect, Tony! Our son is hurt and, in the hospital, and you expected me to just sit in my hotel room and go to a convention this weekend like nothing happened?” she said seething through her teeth and trying to keep her voice low at the same time.
He was taken aback on her tone since she literally just walked in but couldn’t blame her. “Pep, God no, I’m sorry. I haven’t been thinking straight since the phone call from Ned.” He finally peeled his hand away from Peter’s to take Pepper’s and pull her over to the bed so she could sit with her son.
Once she sat on the bed and took Peter’s hand in hers, she just stared at him for a minute and then the tears came, looking over at Tony. “Sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to snap. I’m just exhausted and scared. So, how is he? Will he be ok? What did Helen say?” she asked while she pushed Peter’s bangs carefully away from the bandage on his forehead.
With everything that has happened, he honestly couldn’t remember the last thing he told her so he started from the beginning when Ned called to when Helen left the room and everything in between. He saw her going through the same emotions as he had when things unfolded as he told her everything.
By the end, Tony was crying again along with Pepper as she got up and he embraced her with a warm hug. He didn’t know exactly how much he needed her until she walked in and was so thankful she was here so he wasn’t alone in this. He kissed her cheek and she pulled up a chair to sit next to her husband while they held hands and Tony held onto Peter’s with his other one.
“So, how do we go about this? Do we start questioning him right away once he’s up? Do we give him space – which obviously didn’t work out the first time…or have any other brilliant ideas?” She asked him with no tone to her voice, only worry and sorrow.
Tony shook his head. “I have no idea hon. I haven’t even thought about that part yet.” Suddenly, Friday announced she had the footage he requested. “Send it on over Fri, thanks.” He took out his phone and tapped on the screen so the hologram appeared showing a dark grainy video.
Pepper was looking at it confused, “So what are we looking at here, honey?” she asked.
“I had asked Friday to send me the security footage with Peter in it from the party he was at tonight. I thought with a house that size they’d have a better security system,” he said sighing as he stared at the screen. “Fri, can you enhance the video, it’s too grainy and dark. Lighten it up around 35% and focus in on Pete.” As the video became a bit clearer, he could see Peter walking from the back door into the yard following Flash. There was also no audio which he was angry about. He needed to hear what they were saying.
“Well, that’s a little better, at least I can make out their faces now,” Pepper said once the video picture was sharpened. “What are they doing way in the back in the dark over there?” she asked out loud to herself as she watched the screen.
They sat and concentrated on the video hoping what happened to their son was on there. He saw two other kids join them and the four boys were barely in the shot since the camera didn’t pan out that far but having Friday zoom in and lighten it up helped tremendously.
They could tell by Peter’s body language he was nervous or on edge and it only progressed as he walked out into the dark with Flash and met up with his friends. They watched as they talked to Peter and could tell just by the way the other kids were acting that were drunk and thankfully Peter didn’t seem like he was. He walked straight, stiff but straight and no fumbling like the other boys.
After a few minutes they saw Peter get angry like he was yelling at them for something they said and turned to leave, then he stopped dead and turned back while the other boys were laughing at him. They watched as a beer bottle was balanced on his head and started throwing things at him.
“Pause!” Pepper almost yelled but knew Peter was sleeping. She had tears streaming down her face when Tony looked over at her. “What the hell do you think is going on? Why would he let them do that to him? I can’t believe he’d just stand there like that!”
Tony squeezed her hand. “I don’t know but we’re going to find out. Ned said Flash had something over Peter and that’s the only reasonable explanation I have so far as to why he’d let him or anyone do that to him. I’m at a loss, hon. You ok to keep watching?”
Pepper nodded. “God, it’s making me think of those horrible kidnapping videos we had to watch when Peter was taken. Keep going, I need to see the rest,” she said sniffling.
“You heard her Fri.” he said as the video started up again.
They sat and held onto each other as they watched every minute go by get worse and worse and becoming more violent towards Peter. They saw him get punched in the stomach a couple times as he dodged something one of the kids threw at him which they couldn’t make out. He figured that’s where the bruising on his torso was from that Helen mentioned earlier.
“Friday, rewind it back, pause and enhance the object that was just thrown at Peter,” Tony demanded. Whatever is was it was a lot bigger than the other things they were throwing. When the image stopped and was zoomed in on, they both gasped. “Shit, that’s a fucking baseball that kid just winged at his head full speed!” Since Peter dodged it, he knew that couldn’t have been what caused his head injury. “Keep playing.” He said as the anger only grew.
They put together that if Peter dropped the bottle off his head that’s when he got punched. They both sat back watching in disbelief. What could possibly be that bad that would make Peter let them do this to him? Tony noticed he took a punch and stood his ground and was proud of him but his heart was breaking for his kid.
Then it happened so fast. One second Peter was standing and the next he was on the ground out cold! They gasped and watched as the kids looked panicked and started kicking him while he was knocked out. “What the actual fuck! Friday, what did he get hit with? Was it another baseball?” Tony exclaimed.
“I am unsure at the moment. I will rewind and zoom in on the object.” She said and when it came into view it was still grainy as hell but it wasn’t round like a baseball. “According to my analysis, I’m 99.9% sure that is a rock, Boss.”
Pepper put a hand to her mouth to hold in a sob as she just watched her son get knocked out by a fucking rock being thrown at him and covered in blood! They could tell Peter didn’t see it coming which worried them because he was Spider-man and should have sensed it, but then he remembered that Helen said his healing wasn’t as fast as it should be so maybe his senses were off, too.
Pieces were slowly coming into place. Now they know how he got the blow to the head but there were still huge missing pieces left. Friday continued the footage and they watched as the boys crowded around Peter talking about something and by Flash’s body language, he could tell he was freaking out. They saw one of the kids get a cup and bring it back over and drop something in it.
“Shit, Pep, this has to be it, when they drugged him! That kid just put something in that cup!” Tony said seeing red as they watched them pour the cup’s contents into an unconscious Peter’s mouth. “That fucking son of a bitch!” he yelled. His blood was boiling! He wanted them all dead, kids or not! Nobody fucks with his son! He held onto Pepper’s hand tighter as they watched him being thrown into the shed in the back yard like a piece of garbage. The only positive thing about what he just witnessed is that he now knows for a fact that he wasn’t sexually assaulted. God, just thinking about that made him want to vomit again but relief ran through him for a small win.
They didn’t need to watch anymore. He assumed this is where Ned found him and brought him out to the street. “Friday, is there any footage of what was going on inside the house?” Tony questioned.
“No Boss, the cameras were disabled and only the outside ones were left on,” she answered.
“Yea, figures. Probably because whoever was throwing this party didn’t want to get caught and was dumb enough to leave the other ones on,” he mumbled to himself.
Tony stood up and wiped the tears from his face and ran a hand through his hair while pacing back and forth. He had so much pent-up anxiety and anger that’s all he wanted to do was kill those kids! But he obviously knew he couldn’t so he’d have to be smart about it. He just watched his son get physically assaulted and drugged and he had the evidence. Then the idea hit him.
“Friday, grab screen shots of everything incriminating and make sure they come out as clear as possible. Make copies of this video and send to my personal server.” Tony paused for a few seconds to gather his thoughts. “Then get facial recognition on those two boys. I already know Eugene Thompson. I’m assuming you could find all their information in Peter’s school directory if they go there, if not keep looking. Get a background check on all three of them, see where I’m going with this?” he asked her.
“Yes Boss, I’m on it,” she answered.
Pepper stood up too and started pacing along with Tony and he knew that look she had. She was thinking of everything that needs to get done. She was the mother of all dragons right now and she was fierce. She wiped her eyes and stopped in front of Peter to take his hand again. Then she took her phone out. She turned to Tony, “We need to get someone down there now and collect evidence and arrest them. I’m calling the cops and our lawyers. I’m pressing charges. They are going down. Kids or not, I don’t give a fuck.” She excused herself and walked out the door with the phone in her ear already talking and demanding in her CEO voice.
He let her go and didn’t stop her knowing she had it handled. She thought of things he couldn’t right now and collecting evidence was smart. They needed to get that cup with the drug residue and fingerprints along with the bloody rock. Assault and drugging his kid was a serious offense and they’ll do it the right way, legally, bringing all those son of bitches down and apprehending them is the first step. Nobody hurts his kid and gets away with it.
He sat next to Peter on the bed and just stared at him, looking at him differently knowing exactly what happened to him. He let the tears spill again and kissed the top of his head carefully, to not do disturb his head wound.
“Jesus, Pete. What the hell is going on with you? Why would you let them do that to you?” he asked himself over and over again.