There Is One Promise That Is Given
I'm so sorry I'm not.
I'm so sorry I'm not.
I'm so sorry I'm not.
I'm so sorry I'm not.
I'm so sorry I'm not.
It echoed in Tony's head like the beat of a drum, and as they all walked towards the lab (belonging to his now dead murdered mentor), he couldn't help but see their procession as some sort of fucked-up parade of horrors. Benjamin (also known as Spider-Man, apparently, because nothing in Tony's life could ever be easy) was in the lead, his Converse leaving a trail of bloody footprints. Tony was holding Morgan who was sniffling quietly, eyes shut tight. Rhodey walked behind them, tapping his finger rhythmically on his leg braces, the only outward sign of his own anxiety. Happy brought up the rear, eyes drawn tightly as he looked into every room they passed, most likely creating a mental map of possible escapes. Tony could feel tension radiating from every adult. He had been in impossible situations before, but this felt like higher stakes than most. And as someone who fought aliens and saved the world and invented time travel and survived capture and torture and his own suicidal tendencies, that was saying something.
Maybe it was because he had already lost his soulmate. Maybe it was because Morgan was involved. Maybe it was the casual way Osborn had shot Albert. Maybe it was the way he did it without seeming concerned about consequences. As if he knew that they'd all be dead at the end of this anyway, so revealing his plan or face or brutality didn't matter. Maybe it was because the boy in front of him seemed so, so familiar still, and even knowing he was Spider-Man hadn't alleviated the strange aching. If anything, it made it worse.
Because it wasn't like Spider-Man had been part of the family, or anything. But he thought they had been on good terms. And even though Tony couldn't remember all the circumstances surrounding that night, he had a hard time believing Spider-Man would ever think Tony would be angry at him because of Pepper. Tony owed his life--Morgan's life--to Spider-Man's heroics, and he would never forget that. Tony looked for him for months. He held a memorial. He talked about him to the media. He sued that three J-named asshole for slander. He set up a foundation in his Spider-Man's name. There's no way that Benjamin could have missed all this in the news. To disappear, move to California, pretend not to know Tony--nothing added up. Tony was missing something. Tony hated missing things. (It kind of pissed him off, to be honest, but the last thing this situation needed was a Tony Stark branded temper tantrum. He could yell at the kid later. After they got out of this mess.)
Osborn met them at the door, arms crossed and smirking. "Hope you enjoyed the rest of your breakfast, gentlemen." Benjamin lazily flipped his middle finger at him and sat down on a stool next to one of the computers. "Really, son. Have some manners. There's a child here." He nodded his head at Morgan, as Tony growled under his breath.
"Okay, here's how it's going to go. I know Albert has all of your notes and work here. He indicated you were close to completing the device and it would be ready for trial soon. We're going to speed that up a little bit. I've included everything I need you to do here," he waved at a packet of paper on the table in front of him, "and I expect you to be finished in 48-hours." Tony flipped through the pages quickly, scoffing.
"You've got to be kidding me, Norman. Benji and Albert spent six months on this, and have only just figured out how to safely isolate and separate the mutated genes. We can finish the work they started, but to do what you're asking here would take another six months. It's not simply reverse engineering. There's a big difference between ridding someone of cancer or an unwanted mutation vs. giving someone a mutation in a controlled way. You're asking for a machine that makes mutants or enhanced at your whim? In 2 days?"
"Where there's a will, there's a way, Anthony. And I very much believe you'll have plenty of will." Norman patted Morgan on the head as he turned to go. "I am not a barbarian. This house is open to you. I've prepared bedrooms. You will have meals catered. You are welcome to use the pool, my dear. Don't say I didn't give you anything. But understand this." His voice lowered as he stepped closer to Tony. "I will get what I want. If you want to leave here alive, if you want your daughter to enjoy her Christmas from somewhere other than a cemetery, you will be very cooperative." He perked up and clapped his hands, "And on that note, I'll leave you to it. Don't waste time trying to figure out an escape. It would be an insult to all our intelligence." He walked out.
For a moment, the room was quiet. Tony heard Benjamin sigh, before getting up and walking over to the mini-bar by the sofa in the corner. Before they could stop him, he poured himself a glass of scotch and tossed it back. "Salud." His voice sounded scratchy and exhausted. Rhodey rolled his eyes and Happy glared at him. Tony looked down as Morgan pulled on his arm.
"Dad, I'm scared."
'I'm scared, Daddy.'
'It's ok, Morgan, you're ok.'
'Mom is....mom isn't...mom...'
'It's ok, Morgan. It'll be fine, darling. We'll be fine. Where's your brother?'
Tony paused for a second, thrown back into that strange memory. He shook himself and smiled at her. "It'll be fine, Momo. I promise."
"Tony—" Rhodey's hand found his shoulder.
"Not now, platypus." Tony clapped. "Ok, bug. Why don't you go sit over there for a bit while the grown-ups talk? It looks like they have a TV. We won't be too long. Spider-Man!" Tony watched Benjamin flinch slightly as he waved him over.
"I would be lying if I said I didn't have any questions for you." Tony heard Happy snort and Rhodey mutter we all do under his breath. "But we are under the wire here. You," Tony looked into Benjamin's eyes, "will tell us everything when we are safe. Right now, Honey Bear and I need to know all about your research with Dr. P and we need to come up with a plan. Hap," Happy looked up, "You are with Morgan. Priority one. You know what that means. It looks like our phones won't work here, because of course. We're going to have to play this one smart."
"Edwards is about 30 miles from here, Tones. If we could figure out a way to get in touch with the base commander there, they could get to us in about 15 min."
"There's no way Osborn wouldn't have thought of that, Jim. He's got a signal blocker, at least 20 guys with machine guns, and a head as large as his ass. He's pretty confident there's no escape."
"Exactly. And if there's one thing I know, it's over-confident asses." "Hey." "Just saying, we can figure this out."
"Kid, get your head in the game. What are you thinking over there, underoos?" Tony watched as Benjamin walked over to Morgan. He leaned over and whispered something to her.
"Yes, yes, yes, Fitz! Oh please, that sounds like fun!!" She bounced over to them.
"What's going on, piccolina?"
"Fitz and I are going to play a game!" Tony and Rhodey shared a look as Happy tensed. "What game, honey?"
Benjamin had Morgan's bracelet in his hand. Without looking up, he unclasped it and started tapping it on the chair next to them.
"Spider-Man and Spy Girl."