The Night of Tragedy
Peter was wandering aimlessly through the mall. Pepper insisted they go shopping, claiming all his clothes looked like they were bought from an army surplus store. They were, but she didn’t need to know that.
Peter was waiting in the car while Pepper ring up some jeans for him. He’d never wore clothes that fit him perfectly. He’d always wore whatever he could get his hands on.
The drive kept staring at him through the rear view mirror. Peter nervously fiddled with the sleeves of his jacket.
“Good to see you alive, kid,” the driver spoke up suddenly.
Peter jumped. “Oh, thanks, man,” Peter muttered.
The driver wasn’t done talking. “You had me worried there when we picked you up from the train station. I thought for sure you’d overdosed.”
Peter froze. “What do you mean?”
The driver stared at him curiously. “Me and your dad went to pick you up from the train station when you wrestled your way off.”
Peter was confused. “I thought I didn’t see you again after I fell on the train.”
The driver shook his head. “No, a conducted recognized you and called up your dad. We went to pick you up. Your dad was fuming. I saw the car leave the house later when we came back. I thought you overdosed and your dad was taking you to the hospital.”
Peter was frozen. Harley Stark got off the train and went back home? Then how did he disappear? “Are you sure you picked me up from the train station?”
The driver snorted. “We drove two hours at three in the morning. I know we got you.”
“And then To - Dad took me to the hospital?”
“Yeah. I mean either that or you stole the car when you ran away. Why don’t you remember?”
Peter floundered for a moment. “Oh, I was just really out of it that night.”
The driver laughed. “That you were, Harls.”
Peter slouched a little when Pepper came into the car. “Ready to go?” She asked him.
Peter nodded. “Yup. Ready.”
oOo
Tony was anxiously pacing in the lab. Morgan sat next to him, biting her nail. “I don’t want to do it,” she said suddenly. “He’s not like Harley, or how we thought a crook would be like.”
Tony bit his lip. “I don’t want to, either. But we have to.”
Morgan pursed her lips and nodded. She liked the guy fine, but she knew what had to be done.
To protect her family.
oOo
Peter was checking his nails when he heard something hit his window. He started. When Peter went to see what was hitting the window, he sighed in relief. “Harry,” he hissed. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Checking what’s up with you,” Harry grunted as he climbed into the house. “It’s been radio silence for days.”
“Sorry man,” Peter sighed. “It’s been weird.”
“Has the family bought your cover?”
“Yeah, it’s worked out well.” Peter frowned. “Too well.”
Harry frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“How did Harley Stark disappear again?”
“Oh, my guy told me he and his friend Edward or something got into a fight when he was high, and Edward pushed him onto a train, and he was knocked out and driven into the sunset.” Harry shrugged. “They thought he just wandered out.”
“Right,” Peter mumbled. “That’s what the internet said, too.”
“So why are you asking? I already told you this.”
“The driver told me that he and Stark went to pick Harley at the train station when Harley managed to claw his way off.”
“What?” Harry whispered. “Harley came back home?”
“Apparently,” Peter muttered. “And then apparently the dad drove him to the hospital after he OD’d.”
“Or the kid took the car and ran away,” Harry exclaimed, exasperated. “Jesus, Peter, you’re making this way more complicated than it needs to be.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too,” Peter muttered. “So I tried to look at the security footage of that day, and it’s deleted.”
“Why is that a problem?” Harry questioned.
“I can see any other scene in Harley’s life, except for that one scene. Isn’t that a little weird?”
Harry was going to respond, but froze when he heard a thud in the house. “What was that?”
“Someone’s coming up,” Peter hissed. “Go, go!” He shoved Harry towards the window.
“Okay, I’m going,” Harry grumbled. “Just call me every so often so I know you’re alive?”
“Yeah, just go!” Peter hissed. “Love ya, man!”
Harry snorted and jumped out. Peter jumped into the bed and turned over, praying that whoever was out in the hallways would just go to bed. To his shock, Peter heard the lock on the door being picked. “What the hell,” Peter muttered, trying to remain still.
The click of the lock giving was deafening in Peter’s ears. Terror sealed his throat, keeping him from screaming for help. Peter took a deep breath and tried to stop the panic from flooding him.
Peter whirled and met eyes with an unfamiliar man. “Uh, who are you?”
Instead of answering, the man took out a knife and charged at Peter. Peter yelped and jumped out of the way, narrowly missing a knife to his throat.
Peter jumped on the guy’s back. He tried to lock his legs around him, but the guy pushed him off and threw him to the ground. Before Peter could get back up, the man had landed a solid kick to Peter’s stomach, knocking all the air out of him. Before Peter could react, the man had started punching him repeatedly.
Before Peter gave into the darkness, he saw a pair of dress shoes approaching his limp body.
oOo
Peter had woken up in the hospital, the annoying sound of a heart monitor in his ear. He blearily opened his eyes to reveal a doctor staring at a clipboard.
Peter shuddered. He hated doctors. This one had curly black hair and kind eyes. He was wearing half moon spectacles and a button down shirt and slacks.
The doctor glanced at Peter as he shifted. Peter winced when he moved his head. “Mr. Stark, can you hear me?”
Peter was confused for a second, before he remembered that he was, Harley Stark. “Uh yeah, that’s me. Harley Stark.”
“You’ve mellowed out,” the doctor muttered. “In case you don’t remember, I’m Dr. Bruce Banner, and I was your doctor until you ran away.”
“This hospital’s in the building?” Peter mumbled through swollen lips.
“Yep,” Dr. Banner answered, gazing at Peter curiously. “You should know that, considering all the time you spent here after your drug escapades.”
“Well, I was pretty doped up,” Peter mumbled. “What happened to me?”
“Someone broke into the house and tried to kill you,” Dr. Banner said. “You’re lucky your Dad ran in when he did.”
“Assassination attempts,” Peter mumbled. “Damn.”
“I’d also like to perform a physical on you before you go,” Dr. Banner added. “The last time I saw you was the night you disappeared, and I’d like to update my records.”
Peter felt all the air leave his lungs. “What?”
“I said I’d like to update your physical records,” Dr. Banner repeated.
“No, you were the doctor who saw me the day before I disappeared?”
Bruce looked at Peter curiously. “Of course I was. I remember telling your Dad he needed to do something about you before you went off into the deep end.” Bruce smiled sadly. “I guess you ran off before he could do anything.”
“Yeah, yeah, I crushed everyone’s hopes and dreams, let’s move on,” Peter said, deep in thought.
“I actually think it was good for you,” Bruce murmured, looking perplexed. “According to this, you’ve been clean for years.”
Peter panicked. “Yes, yay me, I haven’t done drugs in a while!” Peter snatched the clipboard out of Bruce’s hands. “You should go. I need to, uh, pee.”
Bruce wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Alright, let me know if you need me. I’ll come by in a couple hours to replace your painkillers.” He walked out and silently closed the door behind him.
Peter landed limply in his bed. What was happening? If Harley was treated in the house, where was the car taking him?
As Peter tried to contemplate what was happening, he was unaware of three people watching him through the security cameras. All wondering what to do now that their initial plan has failed.