I Messed Up. Really Really Bad...
Peter had no time to stop and think. Gwen was already almost through the doors. He ran to catch up with her. “What are we doing here?” He whispered as they walked towards the elevator clearly marked ‘employee use only’
“We can’t work at the tower. I need help from a friend.”
Peter pretended not to notice how ominous that sounded.
The two got into the elevator and Gwen scanned a card. He noticed it had a picture of her on it. It was an employee card. They ascended to one of the top floors. They were in a long white hallway. Very different feel than Avengers tower. Avengers tower was warmer and less hospital-looking. This place was sleek white and cold. It made Peter feel weird.
Gwen led him to a lab and shut the door behind them. He looked around. There was a padded table like they have at doctor’s offices, a desk, and a really high tech computer, and in the center of the room sat a man. He was sitting on a dentist-ish chair.
“Peter, this is Mr. Osborne. He’s the owner of oscorp,” Gwen explained.
“It’s great to meet you, Peter,” He said, rising from the chair and shaking Peter’s slightly shaky hand.
“You too,” Peter said weakly. He felt very in over his head. The last time he was in Oscorp he got bitten by a spider.
“I can’t imagine how nervous you are Pete. But don’t think of it as saving every mutant in the world. Think of it as a checkup at the doctor's, okay? Just have a seat on the table and we’ll get started.”
Peter nodded. Mr. Osborne’s words didn’t help ease his conscience. In fact, it made him more nervous. Still, he sat onto the padded table and waited for it to begin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a while of being poked and prodded, Peter finally got a moment to rest and think. Gwen sat on a stool across from him.
“What are they calling it?” He asked. Gwen looked up confused. “The virus. What’s it called?
Gwen sighed. “Hydra called it the Legacy Virus. Grim I know.”
Peter chewed his lip.
“Like I said… You’re immune.”
“You’re not enhanced are you?” Peter asked after a few minutes of silence.
Gwen shook her head.
“You don’t know any enhanced?”
She hesitated and shrugged. It wasn’t really an answer to his question. But, he didn’t press any further.
“So then why do this? Why try so hard to fix this?” He knew it was a dumb question. But, it was worth a shot.
“Well aside from not wanting 15 million people to die…” She laughed but there was no humor in it. “Can I show you something?”
Peter nodded. She led him out of the lab, down the hallway, and into another lab. But, the inside didn’t look like a lab. It was filled with colorful toys and blankets and couches. There were children there. They looked happy. They were playing and laughing and running around. But, Peter noticed one kid was disappearing and reappearing in random places. One kid was throwing pillows at another without her hands. That’s when it hit him. All the kids there were enhanced.
“If that virus is released without a cure these kids will all die…” She said gravely. “It’s funny to think we all assume the enhanced are all adults.”
“What are they doing here?” Peter asked.
“They had nowhere else to go. They were living on the streets. Mr. Osborne thought it would be safe here for them. Then legacy virus happened… And now we aren’t so sure,” She stared at the ground.
Gwen was right though. Peter never thought about how many kids would die from the disease. It made his stomach twist to think of what would happen if they couldn’t make the cure on time.
Peter sighed. Gwen turned and began talking to a group of the kids. They seemed to know her already. He decided he didn’t want to be there anymore. He carefully slipped out and into the hallway. Too bad his sense of direction was shit though. Instead of returning to the lab as planned, he accidentally walked away from it. It wasn’t his fault the hallways were so repetitive.
He didn’t notice he was headed the wrong way until he heard a scream. He instantly stopped and listened. There was another scream. They sounded like kids. He slowly approached the closest door and listened. He heard it again. He tried to open the door but of course, it was key card only. He looked up and saw a very conveniently placed air duct. He grinned and climbed in. It was only a matter of seconds before he was lying on his stomach staring into the room from above.
All he could see was the shiny teal floor. After a few moments, a kid walked beneath. He was wearing a hospital gown. He disappeared for a moment before reappearing a few feet away. It was the same kid from the other room. A nurse looking woman ran up to him. But, she couldn’t catch him. She groaned annoyed and pulled out a remote. Once the boy reappeared, she pressed a button. Peter heard a high pitched sound. Like his ears were ringing. The boy froze in place before falling to the ground and thrashing about wildly.
Peter thought he was going to puke.
The nurse motioned to a couple other nurses. They put him onto a hospital bed and dragged him away. Peter opened the vent and dropped the ground silently. He followed the sound of the squeaking wheels all the way to an operating room. He stood in the observation room and watched. They had the boy restrained. There was a steady beeping noise from the heart monitor. It was fast but steady.
One of the doctors picked up a needle and slowly injected the yellow contents into the child’s chest. The kid screamed and tried to teleport away. But something about the way he was restrained made that impossible. So, he just flickered. He was there and then he wasn’t over and over. The beeping of the heart monitor got faster and faster. Peter covered his mouth to stay quiet. After a few seconds of thrashing, the beeping stopped suddenly and was replaced with a long steady tone.
Peter decided he really had to leave. He ran out of the observation room and back into the hallway. His sneakers squeaked against the floor as he ran. He found an open lab and slammed the door shut. He pulled his phone out and dialed Mr. Stark. He made a huge mistake. He needed to get out.
The phone rang a few times. “Hey, kid aren’t you at school?” He said. Peter practically cried.
“Mr. Stark! I messed up. Really really bad-”
“Give me the phone Peter,” A voice behind him demanded. Peter froze. The sound of a gun cocking made him raise his hands. The phone was snatched from his hand and thrown across the room. Peter heard it shatter. “Now turn around slowly.”
Peter turned slowly. Mr. Osborne was holding a gun trained on his chest.
“I can’t let you leave now Pete. You’re the only one who can help us.”
Peter took a deep breath and prepared to run. But, the moment he moved a muscle, the gun fired. It wasn’t a bullet though. It was something stuck in his neck. He reached and tried to pull it off. But, it wouldn’t budge. It was a small circular contraption that instantly dug itself into his neck. He heard that high pitched ringing sound and instantly froze. His body erupted into pain. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe.
The room spun as his eyelids got heavier and heavier. He didn’t even remember hitting the floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony and Bruce were taking a break for the first time in hours. Mostly for coffee but also to regroup and discuss. They were throwing theories out and thinking of new plans. Tony had to put the conversation on pause when his phone rang. He was confused to see Peter was calling. He was supposed to be in second period.
He raised the phone to his ear and spoke. “Hey, kid aren’t you at school?” There was panting on the other side of the line.
“Mr. Stark! I messed up. Really really bad-” Peter wheezed. He was out of breath for some reason.
“What’s going on?” Tony asked quickly.
“Give me the phone Peter,” an unknown voice said slowly.
“Who is that?” There was no response. Tony’s heart began beating faster and faster. “Peter where are you?”
And then… The call ended. Tony lowered the phone to his lap and thought. His mind was racing a mile a minute.
“Tony, what happened?” Bruce asked.
“I don’t know. Peter’s in trouble though…”
“How do you know?” The two rose from their chairs and began trying to track the kid’s phone. Tony had a suspicion that it wouldn’t work though.
“He didn’t sound right. He was scared.” His eyes searched the screen for any sign of the kid. Nothing. “Fri, find him.”