The Mission
“Please! Mr Stark, come on!” Peter whined, pulling on the end of Tony’s sleeve as the man continued to walk ahead of him.
Tony glanced down at where Peter’s hand was. He finally stopped walking, making the kid’s eyes widen in delight. “Nope, it’s still a no. You can lower that grin, because my opinion on this situation is NOT changing. I’m not going and therefore, you’re not either.”
“But Mr Stark!” Peter pouted, glancing around to see if anybody was around them. When he was in the clear, he continued to pester the older man. “Mr Rogers said that I’m ready!”
“Mr Rogers doesn’t have a say in this matter,” Tony said, crossing his arms.
Steve was going to get some choice words later that day. Nobody interfered with Peter, but Tony. The kid was his responsibility... nobody else’s (when he was Spiderman, or at the tower. May had the other responsibilities).
“Look, kid,” Tony sighed, watching how Peter’s bottom lip quivered (he knew it was fake and he wasn’t falling for it).
Tony took Peter’s arm and pulled him, gently, up to the lab. He sat him up on one of the desks and gave his hair a quick ruffle, before sitting down on the chair in front of the table.
“Do you know what happens when people find little spider’s where they’re not supposed to be?” Tony said. Before waiting for a response, he gave Peter a frown. “They get squashed.”
“Mr Stark..,” Peter said, with a small giggle that he hoped Tony wouldn’t hear (he heard it).
“No, this is where I speak. Peter, I quite prefer it when you’re alive. I’d actually like to keep it that way and letting you out on a, frankly dangerous, mission would not help with that. Got it?” Tony said, sighing. “I’m just trying to take care of you.”
“I know,” Peter pouted. “But... I’ve been training a lot with everyone and I finally think it is time I go out for a REAL Avengers mission! I haven’t been on one since you found out who I was.. Mr Barnes and Mr Rogers said they’d look out for me..”
“Yeah, after they’ve finished looking out for each other,” Tony mumbled.
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” Tony sighed, running a hand over his face. “Pete, you’re not their first priority. They wouldn’t look after you like I would... Why don’t you want to go watch Hamilton or something like every other teenager, rather than a mission where you could get shot at? Honestly, you’re giving me grey hairs here kid.”
Peter huffed, jumping up from the desk. “Fine,” He said, in a strop. “I know why you don’t want me going. It’s because you don’t trust me.” Walking out of the lab, Peter glanced behind his shoulder to see if Tony was watching.
“Try and guilt trip me all you want, Mr Parker. My answer will still stay the same.”
Peter sighed, “Come on!” He snapped, his voice slightly too loud. “I want to help out!”
“You don’t have to risk your own life to do so,” Tony replied, keeping calm. He couldn’t risk letting his emotions out, he didn’t want to traumatise the kid. He wasn’t Howard. “Please, Peter. This mission is far too dangerous for you to go on, without someone who will have your back.”
“Then why don’t you come with me?!”
“Because I’m not needed,” Tony explained, with a straight face. “Frankly, neither are you. Capsicle and Barnes have got it covered. So, just to clarify to your little, developing, brain... the answer is still a big ol’ no.”
Peter looked down at his feet, thinking about it for a second. “You don’t own me, I can choose wether or not I go on a mission or not! Mr Fury asked me personally and Mr Rogers, like I said before, agreed with his decision! So, I’m going!”
“Jesus, Peter,” Tony shook his head, “That’s because they don’t care about you like I do!”
Peter froze, a flicker of confusion falling over his face. “And how much do you really care? I mean, I know you’ve said before... b-but, do you actually? Because y-you’re not letting me do this and-,”
“Peter,” Tony groaned, standing up. He took one of the kid’s hands into his, the other moving to his jaw to make him look at him. “Please, please, please, just listen to me. I can’t-,” Tony winced, closing his eyes. “I can’t let you get hurt, kid. I don’t know what I’d do.”
Peter stared at Tony’s face. The man looked incredibly stressed, looking like he was moments away from crying out of frustration. Giving up, Peter finally admitted defeat.
“Fine, Mr Stark. I won’t go.”
Tony’s eyes opened, to the sight of a pouting teenager. He let go of his hands, taking him into a hug instead. “Thanks, kid,” He said, with a deep breath. “It would help me sleep at night.”
“Yeah...,” Peter mumbled, hugging back (without the same enthusiasm as he’d usually have).
“And I really need my beauty sleep recently,” Tony smiled, pulling away from the hug.
Peter gave him a small smile. “Yeah, you do.”
“Cheeky shit,” Tony laughed. “Do you want to help me fix up this car I just brought in? Thought it could be our new project.”
“Actually Mr Stark, uh, I gotta go home. I’ve got... homework,” Peter mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets. “So, um, I’ll see you later?”
Tony frowned, watching the kid run away from the lab. He put down the screwdriver he was holding, biting his lip. He wasn’t the bad guy here, right? He had to be the responsible adult, that’s what the one in charge did. He might not be used to it, but he was a changing man.
That didn’t make the pain of Peter walking out easier to deal with. He looked down at the picture of Peter’s homecoming on his desk with a scowl. Suddenly, a weird pain bubbled in his stomach. One he hadn’t felt before. The feeling of his/the kid walking away, it hurt more than he could ever imagine.
Peter sat in his bedroom, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He didn’t have homework, he just wanted to be annoyed at Tony in peace. He was totally ready for a mission, in his own opinion, and he was looking forward to go. But, of course, Tony Stark had a different idea.
He sat on his bed with a scowl. Tony had no right to dictate what he did as Spider-man, he wasn’t Peter’s father. Steve asked for him personally, due to how good he was in training, and now he had to tell him that Mr Stark said no. It was humiliating, really.
He was so annoyed, he decided to FaceTime Ned to complain about his problems.
“Sounds to me like he’s just trying to make sure you’re okay, Pete,” Ned shrugged, grabbing a piece of lego and putting it somewhere off camera. Putting a carrot in his mouth, he raised an eyebrow at his best friend’s face. “It’s Tony Stark, man, you should probably listen to him.”
“But, Ned!” Peter groaned, flopping back on his bunk bed. “He’s not listening to ME! Steve asked me to go, so why is he not getting that? Surely I’m good enough if Captain America wants me to tag along?”
“Man, superhero problems,” Ned said, his eyes wide with curiosity (and a little bit of envy). “As your guy in the chair, I’d say just to wait for the next one.. Or you get Tony to come down to one of your training thingys and see if he changes his mind.”
Peter tilted his head. Yeah, that was an awesome idea. If Tony saw how much he had advanced, he’d let him go. He had to. If he didn’t, he’d be unprepared for any random missions in the future. What if Peter went to the tower and, suddenly, a whole load of aliens invaded? It could happen, it happened before. If Tony didn’t let him go on this mission, he’d be totally unprepared.
“Yeah, thanks Ned! That’s exactly what I’ve got to do!”
When their FaceTime ended, Peter sent a text to Steve to talk about their next training session.
P- ‘Hi Mr Rogers! I was just wondering, what time is our training session tomorrow?”
Steve looked down at his phone, the notification pinging down (distracting him from the game he was playing). He glanced over at Bucky, who helped him train Peter, who was asleep on his bed. The man would likely wake up early, so Steve replied to Peter to be over at the tower early in the morning (he ignored the whole ‘training’ thing, he just insinuated that the kid was actually talking about their mission they had planned).
When Peter jumped into the tower, already in his Spider suit, Steve was already waiting for him in front a car (which was going to take them to the jet, which was parked a few miles away).
“Hey,” Steve grinned, putting a friendly arm around the boy’s shoulders. “Bucky and I are very excited for you to come along today.”
“Yeah! I’m always excited for these sessions!” Peter grinned, a confused face falling on his face when he looked over at the truck (he was more confused when Bucky was just sitting there in the open back).
“Kid, we’re not doing a training session. Remember? It’s a mission today. I know Tony wasn’t happy for you to come, but I did say to him that we’d make sure to keep an eye out for you,” Steve said, opening the part of the truck where Bucky was sat. “Jump in, we’re off to the jet now.”
Peter looked back at the tower and imagined the conversation he had with Tony the night before. He thought of how angry he’d be if he found out Peter went, but he then thought of how cool it would be to fight with Captain America and the Winter Soldier. Making a quick mental pros and cons list, he decided that he should just go for it.
He jumped into the truck, sitting in between the two super soldiers. He felt so small and unexperienced. Maybe Tony was right. The fear in his stomach bubbled and his hands began to shake. He couldn’t back out now, Steve was far too excited to have him on the team. He couldn’t let the man down, but then... he didn’t want to let Tony down either. His mind was at a battle with itself.
Looking up at the jet, he gulped. Shit, he thought. His legs moved on their own, walking in. He listened to Nick Fury’s brief, about what they’d be doing today, and tried to act like he was excited.
“Peter?” Steve asked, walking up to him when their briefing was over.
Peter was stood close to a window, staring out at the ground as it became smaller and smaller. He stared, looking for the tower, and closed his eyes to try and stop himself from freaking out. When Steve approached him, putting a hand on his upper arm, he couldn’t get himself to take his gaze away from the floor.
“Peter? What’s up, son?” Steve said, looking back at Bucky (who had his long hair up in a bun, staring at himself in the reflection of a wall. He wasn’t quite the man Steve remembered from the 40’s, but he was getting there. Steve couldn’t be more proud).
“It’s nothing,” Peter mumbled, taking a deep breath. “Just worried, I guess? I haven’t been on a big mission like this in a while... you know?”
“You’ll be fine. You’re a great solider, Peter. We’re all very proud of you.”
Peter offered Steve a small smile, waiting for him to leave. He took a seat and stared at Tony’s contact on his phone. Before he could pocket his phone again, Tony had started to call him. Peter panicked, stepping in an empty room (hoping that he wouldn’t hear the background noise).
“Hello Peter,” Tony said, his voice small. He must know something was up, Peter realised.
“Uh, hi! Hi, Mr Stark! Hello, um- what’s up? What’s crack-a-lacking?” Peter replied, his nerves making him ramble.
“Um, okay?” Tony said, “So, crazy things happening over here. Can you guess what? You know what, I’ll just tell you. I had this awesome day planned out for us two today as a surprise! I gave May a quick call to let her know I was on my way... Can you imagine my surprise when she told me that you were at the tower already?”
“I-I can explain,” Peter said, terrified.
“Go on then.”
“I-I was- I’m - training? Steve has taken me out for a run, so, um, yes. A run. We’ll be back in about two hours?” Peter lied, although it was something he was terrible at doing (especially to the people he was closest with).
“Now, Pete, you’ve got to give me more credit than that. Did you forget that people call me the smartest person in the world? Or, that I am?” Tony said, in a tone of voice that Peter had never been the recipient of. “Would you tell me the actual truth now?”
Peter panicked. Instead of replying, he made some nonsensical words into the phone before hanging up. He hoped that it would pass as interference. In his head, he knew it wouldn’t.
He’d face Tony’s wrath after the mission. Surely, once he returned, he could just show Tony that he was wrong. He’d have the upper ground, as the success would prove him right. He turned his phone off, so Tony couldn’t track it, and put it in the suit’s pocket.
“Spider-man?” Somebody called. “It’s time!”
Peter ran over to where a lot of S.H.I.E.L.D agents were gathered. Steve and Bucky had parachutes attached to them. Before Peter could realise what was happening, somebody was attaching one to him. He started to freak out. Last time, Tony helped him through the air when they jumped out. Peter looked at Steve, giving him a terrified glance. However, the man just grinned and put his thumbs up before jumping out of the open hatch.
“W-Wait!” Peter panicked, looking over at Bucky. “I-I’m not, I-I can’t-,”
Bucky took Peter’s hand, jumping out. Peter screamed, falling through the air at a speed he didn’t know was possible. He stared as the ground got closer, sick building up in his gut. He couldn’t do this. Oh, he was so stupid. Tony was right.
Bucky had to pull his parachute lead, as Peter was far too terrified to think straight. When it worked, Peter took a deep breath and stared out at the view as he drifted down.
When he landed, the parachute fell over his slim build. He poked his head out of the fabric, staring at the building in front of him. Steve told him it was a hydra base. Peter didn’t know much about hydra. All he knew was: they were an evil group of people who brainwashed Mr Barnes. Which confused Peter... why did they bring Bucky along? For revenge, maybe? Peter, for one, thought it was far too dangerous.
“Wasn’t that fun, Pete?” Steve chuckled, looking nothing like a man who had just jumped from 12,000ft.
Peter grabbed Bucky’s hand, which the man offered, and stood up. “Yeah,” He said, with a deep breath. “So, so, fun.”
Peter groaned as they walked through the forest, not walking into the building immediately. Peter climbed up the tallest tree, acting as lookout for anyone walking in the area (anyone who had a hydra outfit on). He looked down, for a second, to see Bucky and Steve fighting some agents. He freaked out, not knowing what to do. For now, he was just glad that he was high up.
Peter flinched when some gunshots went off (he didn’t even know where they came from).
The gunshots triggered a memory in him. Suddenly, he was back in Queens. His mind replayed the worst night of his life.
He was in a corner shop, grabbing a bunch of comfort food. He had just had the worst argument with his Uncle Ben. Running off, he needed some time away. His plan was to go over to Ned’s house. However, he didn’t know that his Uncle was walking right behind him.
He only had his powers for a month, or so. He wasn’t sure if he’d do anything with them, but they were cool. He could feel is bad things were happening. He didn’t even need his glasses and asthma wasn’t a problem for him anymore. Life was, presumably, getting better for him.
The sense of danger was playing on his mind, as soon as the man in the ski-mask walked into the shop. He cowered underneath a shelf, as the man pressed a gun to the shop owner’s head. He listened to the heartbeat’s of the two men... but then, suddenly, he started to hear the heartbeat of one more person. When he looked up, the gun was now pointed at his Uncle Ben.
Peter felt like it all happened in slow motion. He jumped up, planning to take the gun away from the man. However, all he did was startle everyone in the room. Then, the barrel of the gun was at his own face.
Peter knew it was going to happen, he could feel it. He was going to get shot. Letting it happen, Peter just stood still. But when the gun went off, he felt nothing. When he looked down, Ben’s body was leant over his feet.
“Ben?!” Peter called out, falling to his knees. “Oh, no! N-no! No, you’ve got be kidding me. No, Ben. Please, Ben. P-Please, please!” He cried out, shaking his shoulders. He kept Ben’s head up, trying to make sure he was breathing. His hands fell from the man’s shoulders, to the gunshot wound. His Uncle’s blood fell over his hands. “No! Help me! Please, it’s my Uncle! Please!”
When Ben finally got to the hospital, he was declared dead. Peter spent hours crying over the empty hospital bed, as the staff took him away. He cried so much he was sick in the bathroom later that evening. Watching May’s face as she got the news, knowing he could’ve done something, made it even worse (if that was even possible).
When he woke up, after the flashback, Peter was strapped to a bed with a bruise on his side. He must’ve fell from the tree, he realised.
Was he in hospital? The MedBay? When the door opened, he expected to see Tony. What he saw instead, was the eyes of a scientist. A Hydra scientist.
“Shit-,” Peter said, trying to get out of the restraints.
Moments before...
Tony had been freaking out for a whole hour. When Peter hung up from him, he had been mad. So mad. But, now, he was just terrified. He tracked Peter’s phone, which didn’t work. When he tracked the suit, he was getting some interferences from the signal. Where the hell was he?
When he got a call from Steve, his eyes flashed red.
“Steve?! Where is he? Is he with you?”
Steve was silent. “Uh, he’s not.”
Tony stopped pacing. Maybe the kid was lying for a completely different reason. Hopefully it was for normal teenager reasons, like seeing a girlfriend or something. He was already typing MJ’s father’s phone number in his phone, when Steve started speaking again.
“He was,” Steve said, clearly petrified himself. “Now he’s not. He’s been taken, Tony. Shit, I’m so sorry. It’s Hydra.”
“You took him on the mission?!” Tony shouted, “I swear to god- Steve. You’re damn lucky that I’m not there right now. How the fuck did you lose him?”
“Language, Tony. He was on look out and then he was just- gone. I don’t now, I-,”
“Don’t tell me to watch my damn language when you’ve lost my kid, Steve. If you don’t find him..,” Tony’s voice broke, dropping his phone on the floor in a panic. He transferred to the call, by FRIDAY, to the lab’s speakers. “I can’t believe you went against my orders, to take a MINOR to a hydra base! I told him, I-I told him it was too dangerous. But, no! ‘Captain America’ will keep me safe. Now he could be dead, because he trusted you. Give me your co-ordinates. I’m on my way.”
Steve texted Tony where they were, not knowing what to say to the rant. The call was transferred, yet again, into the helmet. Tony needed all the updates he could get.
“We’re going into the base now, Stark,” Bucky said into Steve’s phone, making sure Tony could hear it. “I know my way around, they have the same layouts. We can find him.”
“You better. I swear, you better. If you don’t, so help me,” Tony said, using all the power he could in the suit to speed up. “If I have to see my child dead, then I will never, ever, forgive you both.”
Peter’s crying could be heard in the whole base. This meant Steve and Bucky could hear it, which also meant Tony was tuned in too. His heart couldn’t handle the sound, it was far too much. He sounded like he was in so much pain, like he was close to death and Tony was not going to let that happen.
“Please- stop!” Peter cried out, as the man pressed a knife to his hip. He wasn’t sure what he was planning to do. The man stepped back for a second, as Peter managed to get a cuff free. But as he did, the man pressed a button on a remote. An electric shock flushed throughout his whole body. Tears pricked at his eyes, his body going limp.
Another electric shock. And another. Then, another. He couldn’t count how many times the man shocked him. He came in and out of consciousness.
He could hear gunshots, explosives and screaming through the hallways. Damn, this was really, really, intense.
Before anything else could happen, the door crashed open. Steve threw his shield at the scientist, making sure he was passed out. Peter cried out, trying to get the other cuff off.
Bucky rushed over, ripping the cuffs off the teenagers hands. He got rid of the disc, the reason for the electric shock, off his neck. When Peter was finally free, he stumbled off the chair. When he looked up, the Iron Man suit flew into the room.
“Peter,” Tony called out, the faceplate flying up. Steve winced, realising Tony’s eyes were a bright red (he must’ve been crying).
“Pete,” Tony let out a sob, stepping out of the suit. As the kid fell into his arms, Tony hugged him tight to his chest.
“Mr-,” Peter mumbled, “Mr Stark, s-so sorry.”
“We’ll talk about it once you’ve gotten better, buddy,” Tony said, cradling Peter to his chest as tight as he could. “I-I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“S-Should’ve listened, should’ve listened to you. You’re right, Mr Stark. Always right,” Peter rambled, his whole body in pain. “H-Hurts.”
“No, kiddo,” Tony whispered. “Not your fault, okay?”
Tony let the kid go for just a second, to get back into the suit. He picked the kid up with metallic arms, making sure he was safe. “You two can find your own way back,” He said, before turning around and flying Peter out of the base, to get him back to a hospital as soon as he could.
Tony freaked out when the boy’s eyes closed as they flew. He put more power into the thrusters, for the second time that day, to get him to the medbay. Cho, and the other doctor’s on call, were already back at the tower waiting for their arrival.
It didn’t take long for Peter to heal. Luckily, not much damage had been done. Tony sat on the chair beside the boy’s bed, after Cho made sure everything thing was okay. He had been put under, for precaution, so he wasn’t up and awake to say much for Tony (for now).
Peter was laid down on the soft sheets, his eyes tightly closed. He felt his hand in another’s, making him feel safe. When he finally woke up, Tony was staring at him with a worried frown.
“Peter, hey. Hey, buddy. Look at me,” Tony said, a soft voice for Peter to focus on. “I’m here.”
Peter coughed, looking down at his arm that had a cut all the way down it. He whimpered, feeling it sting.
“How are you feeling, kiddo?”
Peter let a tear fall. “O-okay, Mr Stark. I’m so sorry.”
“I know you are, Pete. I am mad at you, you know. But, for now, I’m just happy that you’re okay. When I said that I didn’t know what I’d do without you, I didn’t want you to test that,” Tony sighed, planting a few kisses against the boy’s knuckles. “I’m also very mad at those two soldiers. I can’t believe they lost you! How the fuc- flip did they lose a whole person? They were probably too busy giving each other loving glares to focus on you.”
“Mr Stark... you do know that you can swear in front of me, right? I’m not exactly sheltered, May and Ben used to do it all the time,” Peter let out a little chuckle. “I fell out of a tree. I heard gunshots and freaked out... I guess I wasn’t really ready.”
“No, you weren’t,” Tony agreed. “I had plans to teach you myself, kid. I would’ve made sure that we thought of everything that might endanger you, and then we’d find the solutions. I wasn’t keeping you away from missions forever, I knew you were excited for them. I just didn’t want you on this one.”
Peter looked to his feet. “Y-Yeah,” He nodded. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. He didn’t want to cry, again. He did that too much recently, in his opinion. “I-I just wanted to show you that I could be strong!”
“I know you’re strong, kiddo. You’re so, so, damn strong. Everyday of your life, Peter, you show me that you’re the best kid alive. I’m proud of you for just living, baby. You’re my kid, you know that... right? I love you. I love you so damn much.” Tony said, leaning over to give Peter a kiss on the forehead.
Peter let out a cry, leaning into Tony’s touch. “I love you too, dad.”
Tony’s heartbeat went crazy at the word. He knew that Peter could hear that, which just made him insecure. He couldn’t help the wide smile on his face, as soon as he heard the word slip out of Peter’s mouth.
Peter’s face flushed a deep red. “I-I’m so sorry, I-,”
“No, it’s okay,” Tony smiled, “You can call me that, if you want. I mean, only if you want. Dad’s okay. Mr Stark’s okay. Tony’s okay. Whatever you want, Pete.”
“Really?” Peter said, softly. “You really wouldn’t mind?”
“Why would I?” Tony said, holding his kid close to his chest. “Because it’s all I’ve ever wanted.”