Chapter 2
"Tony you need to rest."
"I don't fucking need to rest, Natasha!"
"I think-"
"No I don't fucking care what you think i need because what I really need, right now, is to find them!"
His voice came out raspy due to all the exhaustion he subjected himself to the past month.
He tried to sound angry but the guilt and sadness leaking from his voice was unavoidable.
36 days, 12 hours and 20 minutes.
That's how long they've been gone.
Peter and Morgan.
His kids.
They're gone.
No traces, nothing left behind, just gone.
The lab was a mess. But not a bigger one than Tony.
He had dark bags under his eyes, seeming like his eyes would drop out of his sockets any moment now due to lack of sleep, his hair was messed up and he definitely looked like he could use a shower.
He was all over the place, driving himself crazy.
And this started the day they went missing. It's been bad ever since.
He was in a meeting, a very important one as Pepper had mentioned that day.
And it had been a good day, a happy one.
Morgan was giggling. Peter was happy , Tony was happy, Pepper was happy, everyone else was happy, Fuck! Everything was great!
Just one call turned the tables.
Just one call made him turn his back on the meeting that could have proved profitable to their company and had him on his heels in a second, running out like he has never before.
He still couldn't get that unfateful day out of his mind.
He remembered every second of it.
Why did things like these had to happen to him? Why did everyone whom he ever came to care for dearly had to be ripped away from him?
The great 'TonyStark'. Only cares about himself, everyone used to say.
And why not? Because everyone who he ever cares for is taken from him, snatched away from him.
Small price to pay for love right!? Huh.
He missed them. Dammit everyone did.
They were the energy sources of the compound, the light of their lives.
Since the day they went missing everyone put their everything into trying to find them but whoever had taken them had done it so smoothly that there were no traces, no mistakes, no clues.
Slowly and gradually everyone's cries turned into sobs behind closed doors which slowly turned into dead silence.
So they stopped talking about it. Just, worked. Like machines.
Because their hearts had been taken away.
It was bad. Quiet, all over the compound.
Tony was worse.
Worse than anyone. Sitting in his lab all day and night.
He wouldn't sleep, he wouldn't eat properly, he wouldn't rest, he wouldn't talk.
Tony and Pepper fell apart.
Tony fell apart in the lab, Pepper made a mess of herself in her room, all alone.
May was difficult to handle. Happy had called her in to stay at the compound to keep her company.
Pepper and May became a shoulder to cry on for each other. The Avengers had each other.
But Tony was alone.
It was like he set up a wall, isolating himself, punishing himself, blaming himself.
He blamed himself.
He blamed himself for letting them go.
He blamed himself for being irresponsible and a bad parent.
Everyone knew it wasn't his fault, but Tony was never the one to listen.
Pepper tried to talk Tony into taking some rest, but he wouldn't.
While everyone had cried their hearts out at the news of them missing, Tony never once cried, which was dangerous.
Which probably meant he was falling apart from the inside.
Destroying himself, rotting inside slowly.
"Tony."
Natasha said softly. Her eyes were wet with moisture as she gazed upon the ruined remains of a used to be man.
"We're gonna find them, We are, just.. look at yourself. Do you think this is how they would want to see you when we find them?-"
When. Not if.
"-Sleep deprived, crazy driven over the edge of insomnia, you look like you're one step away from losing your shit."
"Well in case you've not noticed I've already lost my shit!"
He spoke, enunciating the last word of the sentence as he got up from the chair he was previously sitting on, not caring about the paperworks which were sitting on his lap previously now falling to the floor beneath him as he paced forward towards Natasha slowly.
"Because somewhere out there, my kids, they're- they're stuck, probably hurt and- and I'm just useless. No videos, no demands, it's nothing. They're just. Gone. Its been a month Nat an-and Morgan, she-she's just 5 and.."
His voice was near to cracking at the end and Natasha herself felt her heart break.
"Tony. You know Peter's never gonna let anything happen to her no matter what."
"Exactly!"
Tony snapped and turned around to sit down, burying his face in his hands.
She could see tears rolling down his face silently, coming from underneath the hands covering his face.
She couldn't deny what he was saying.
She knew Peter would never let anyone even touch Morgan.
And that's what made it scarier.
"Tony . We're going to find them."
He wiped at his face with back of his hand and spoke tiredly, almost defeatedly.
"When? I just-I can't! What if they're-"
He closed his eyes forcing a tear out of his eyes.
He inhaled a deeply and she could hear the way his breath shuddered.
His voice coming now as softly as ever
"It's been a month. What if they're-".
"They're not." Natasha exclaimed, the thought of what he meant was enough to drive daggers into her chest.
"We would have found the bodies Tony. Who ever did this, it was clear it's a revenge thing. They want you to suffer. So In case they were dead which they're definitely not, they would have made sure you found the bodies."
She tried to sound strong and defiant but her own voice betrayed her.
Tony bowed his glare down at the floor and turned around to get buried into his work again.
"Please leave. I don't need anyone right now."
"But-" She stopped when she saw Pepper coming in.
She tapped her on the shoulder lightly, giving her a weak smile and left.
It was evening, nearly 6:00 pm. Pepper had finally been successfull in convincing Tony to rest.
It was 4:30 am when Steve barged into their room waking Tony up. Pepper would have been angry but she knew she was ever gonna be grateful for waking him up that moment
"We need to go."
The hopeful look in his eyes said everything, so without uttering a word, they left.
The calm and peaceful aura of the white sterile walls and hallways were interrupted by the entrance doors being thrashed open wildly followed by the Avengers barging in to the hospital.
"Mo- Morgan stark?"
"Right here, follow me."
Tony and the others including Pepoer rushed towards the room behind the nurse.
He could hear her voice, his baby's voice from a distance.
She was crying and screaming.
It broke his heart to pieces.
He looked at Pepper who had the same look on her face. Scared, worried, near to crying.
The screams got louder as they got nearer.
They wasted no time and rushed inside the room.
Morgan was sitting on the bed, screaming and crying out uncontrollably, thrashing around as a nurse tried to calm her down.
He screamed her name the moment he saw her and ran towards her.
"Daddy!" she sobbed and crashed into his arms.
He hugged her tightly, her sobs and wails driving daggers into his heart, kissing her ever so often on her head as he held on to her tightly and cried.
The others were standing at the doorway watching the scene unfold and Pepper stood just behind him, keeping one hand on his shoulder and other on her mouth as she tried to keep in her uncontrollable sobs.
He cradled Morgan's face in his hands and checked for injuries, face wet with tears and embraced her again tightly crying harder.
She was here. His baby was here and she was okay.
"Daddy!" She sobbed uncontrollably.
Tony tried to calm her down but she just kept crying, sniffling and sobbing uncontrollably, trying to form sentences but failing horribly ending up with muttering only two words
"Petey".
Sob.
"Sleep".
Sob.
"Baby? What about Petey." Tony asked, eyes growing wide.
Morgan tried to tell him, but she couldn't, and again she just ended up choking out just the same two words in between her sobs.
The sight broke Tony's heart. And everyone else's.
"Mr. Stark."
A strong voice made him turn around to find a doctor standing behind him.
He wiped his tears and answered.
"Yes."
"I need to talk to you, can you please step outside for a moment."
He hesitated but then turned to kiss Morgan on her forehead and gave her gently to Pepper as he followed behind the doctor, gently closing the door behind him, rest of the Avengers standing just a few inches behind the pair.
"What's- what's wrong? Is she okay? Please tell me she's fin-"
"She's fine. She's fine besides a few scratches and bruises here and there. But they'll be fine soon. It's not the physical injuries I'm worried about. It seems like she's in some sort of shock."
Tony's eyebrows scrunched together.
"Ever since we found her, she's been crying, she wasn't letting anyone touch her, she didn't speak, she just kept crying. We tried asking her about her family or parents but she wouldn't say anything besides two words."
"What two words?"
"Petey and sleep."
Oh yeah. Peter.
"Did- did you - was anyone else brought in with her? A boy?" Tony asked, his eyes wide open and pleading, and his heart yearning to hear a confirmation.
The hope that took birth inside him died soon after when the doctor shook his head sadly.
"There was no one else. Just her."
Tony nodded his head softly and sniffed, trying not to break down.
"How did you find her then?" His voice was quieter now, because his hope had died.
He looked at the Avengers and he could see them breaking too.
"Someone brought her in claiming she's your daughter, he said that he found her lying on the street passed out. She didn't wake up until he brought her into the hospital and she's been crying and thrashing ever since."
Tony looked inside the room from the small opening in the door, watching as Pepper held a crying and sobbing Morgan while a nurse tended to her.
"Don't worry about her."
The doctor said noticing Tony's actions.
"She needs rest. The nurse is going to give her some sedatives to help with that. Maybe she'll be able to talk better then."
"Yeah." Tony said, barely above a whisper.
There was a long, silent pause between them as the doctor turned to leave but stopped.
"And Mr. Stark, I'm sorry I almost forgot, we found a piece of paper in her hands, it's probably not that important but I think you should know." He said as his hands disappeared inside his coat and came out with a small white folded chit which he handed to him, then turned and left.
Tony hastily opened the chit.
It was some sort of address.
He didn't realise all the other avengers had come right behind him until Steve spoke, snapping him out of his trance.
"Can it really be? Is it possible?"
"We'll find out." Tony said, with new found hope and determination in his eyes.
Peter expected the darkness to engulf him, to be surrounded in peace, to be devoid of any capability to feel any pain but instead, there he was, back in that rusty cell as heartbreaking wails and screams echoed, piercing through even the walls made of concrete but still not the horrible stone hearted men torturing him.
"Where the fuck is she!?"
A kick.
"Where is she?"
Another one.
"Speak bastard!"
Another one to his face.
Tears were rolling down Peter's face as punchs and kicks were thrown into him, into the wounds on his back, stomach, face and his whole body.
He stared up at the small lightbulb, flickering and fighting to give light , reminding him of his own self and his own fate.
The pain was too much. Just too much for any human to handle.
He was just a 16 year old enhanced kid.
Enhanced.
Screw you Superstrength.
"I- I can't tell you that."
Words leaked out of his mouth like air.
All it would take for him to get a break from the pain would just to blurt out the name Skip.
But even though that man raped him, again and again and again for a whole month, he still owed him for saving Morgan.
And besides, he was going to die anyway so what even was the point.
Maybe this way, he would die faster.
It hurt even to breathe, and he knew that he could just stop it all together if he'd just stop breathing, just stop inhaling, but it's easier said than done.
The boss had found out that Morgan was missing when he came in for another torture session with Peter, which was nearly 5-6 hours after Skip took her.
He was expecting that he would meet darkness before the ugly and cruel faces again but when has life ever been kind to him.
They came in and started beating him, torturing him but Peter didn't give in.
Nearly 30 minutes into the torture sessions they had finally given up the hope of Peter answering them.
Just 30 minutes. But for Peter it felt like hours.
Morgan was gone. And there was nothing they could really do about it.
So they stopped asking for her.
Focusing on just draining the life out of him and making it as painful for him as they could.
One of the men grabbed his hairs and forced him on his knees than kicked him so hard on his face that Peter was sure that what was left of his already broken nose was gone too.
He shifted painfully where he was on the floor, wailing in pain as tears rolled out his eyes, mixing with the dirt and dried blood caked on his face and the fresh blood now flowing freely from his nose and mouth.
Despite all the pain and hurt he never begged for them stop.
He knew that he wouldn't survive another day there without Morgan because all this time he was holding on just for her.
But he had sent her away meaning the only thread which he was hanging from was now gone, and now he was falling.
Mr. Stark had always scolded him for being a selfless idiot.
But it might not be that selfless in this situation, he thought.
Part of him wanted to die, wanted to not be saved, to be just gone.
If it would have been the first few days of the kidnapping, he would have grabbed every opportunity to be saved and be back with Mr. Stark and the others but now, when all his pride has been snatched away, all his will has been crushed and wanting no more than to just claw out all of the skin on his body, he felt it was better to die than to live with the horrible memories of his time there.
And this was the reason he hadn't left with Morgan.
He could have, heck he easily could have.
But he couldn't bear to look into Mr. Starks eyes, he couldn't bear anyone touching that filthy skin of his and being the reason of dirtying them too.
He was dirty. He was used and unwanted.
One of the men brought in the electric gun and tazed him with electricity again and again.
They laughed as Peter screamed out in pain as his body spazzmed due to the high volts of electricity flowing through his body.
They were playing with him. Laughing as he squirmed and screamed.
Peter closed his eyes and bit his lip, trying to stop himself from crying out loud.
He wondered whether Morgan was back with Mr. Stark, happy, safe and sound.
He imagined Morgan and Tony at home. Both happy, giggling and laughing happily.
The thought of not imagining himself with them brought more tears to his eyes.
He was snapped out of his thoughts as he felt something on his crotch.
He opened his eyes in shock and looked at the boss who was now standing above him with a creepy smirk on his face, one foot pressed lightly on his crotch.
He choked and bit back his cries.
"Is that why you've been crying bitch!? You want this don't you?"
Peter flushed in humiliation as everyone laughed around him, hiding his face in the crook of his elbows as he shook his head continuously earning him more laughs and mockery being thrown at him.
"Dont lie bitch. We've heard everything you did with Skip."
The men laughed harder and Peter burned in humiliation.
"You're a slut aren't you. Pretty cute too!"
"I bet that's why Stark kept him around."
He choked out a small 'No' as his breath hitched and his sobs grew heavier and louder, Peter being unable to hold them back in anymore.
The men just laughed.
"I would have loved to take a turn with you slut but looks like you're times up."
He removed his foot from his crotch and placed it on his ankle.
Peter looked at him, eyes growing wide with panic, tears blurring his vision as his breathing shallowed.
The pressure on his ankle slowly increased upto a point where the pain got so intense and he screamed as he heard sound of a sickening crunch of bones.
The boss lifted his other leg up in air shifting all the pressure on Peter's ankle and Peter screamed harshly as he slapped the floor beneath him with his hand while the other one gripped the hip of his abused ankle tightly.
The boss finally removed the foot and Peter's screams turned into soft wails and whimpers, one of his hands still gripping his hip tightly.
If there was any God , he prayed to him for death.
His vision blurred as his chest heaved for breath.
The next thing he knew, the boss knelt down on top of him and moved his hands to curl around his throat.
He looked Peter in the eye, his features twisting into the most hideous smile ever and then, he squeezed.
His hand went up involuntarily to grip at his abusers chest to push him away in vain.
The last thing Peter heard was loud bangs and wild screams before he gave up to the darkness gladly.
Tony and the others didn't expected to be welcomed by heart piercing screams and wails when they arrived but there they were, in front of what seemed like an abandoned warehouse.
They heard the screams, everyone heard them and gosh, Tony could see everyone was near to breaking.
Because it was Peter's.
His kid's.
The hurt and shock was immediately replaced by intense rage.
They wasted no time and barged in followng the source of the screams and what Tony saw broke his heart and filled him with fire and rage all at once.
He watched as the figure over Peter had his hands around his kid's throat, squeezing tightly.
While the other avengers lept into action immediately, taking up the bad guys, Tony stood there in shock for a while and watched as Peter's hand fell to the ground, lifeless and his eyes closed.
"Noooo!!" He screamed in rage and charged, rising up his gauntlet towards the man and firing without any second thoughts.
The man ended up colliding with the wall and passing out, hopefully dead, while the other avengers took care of rest of the men.
He went over to Peter hurriedly as the iron mask disappeared revealing a tear stained and pained face behind it.
God he looked horrible.
He was still wearing the clothes he had on the day he was taken and it brought tears in his eyes.
The clothes were ripped in some places showing black and blue skin, blood seeping out of some cuts, blisters and burns covering his skin, God there was so much. He couldn't find an inch of his skin unharmed.
His eyes were closed. His face was a jumble of black and blue, full of bruises and cuts, covered in dirt and cacked blood. The only region where he could see a little clear skin were where the tear tracks cut their way through all the dirt and blood.
Peter had cried. His kid had cried. And of course because he was just a fucking 16 year old kid.
Rage built inside him towards the men that did this to him but not more than the shock and fear of losing him.
"Shit" he yelled in anger and fear in between his tears as he took Peter's face in his hands, shaking him and nudging his face, trying to wake him up.
He moved his fingers to his neck trying to search for a pulse and almost broke down in relief when he found one.
But it was very faint.
God he almost looked dead if it wasn't for the slight pulse on his neck.
He wasted no time and moved, hooking one of his arm under his knees and the other one under his back, picking him up gently, cradling him tightly to his chest as close as possible and took of towards the hospital, not caring whether the rest of the Avengers were behind him or not because all that mattered at that time was Peter.
Flying up towards the hospital he avoided looking at Peter because he knew he was going to break down if he did and that was not what he needed right now.
He thrashed inside the hospital with the broken teenager in his arms, screaming and yelling for help.
His face was wet with tears but he didn't care if anyone saw that the great Tony Stark cries.
Some nurses and staff hurried towards him with a gurney, laying Peter on it gently yet hurriedly and took him away.
He watched as they took his kid away from him, standing alone and broken in the hallway, still in shock, tears rolling down his face.
His knees gave out and he collapsed onto the floor, and for the first time in a month, he finally fully cried his hearts out, breaking down completely, ugly sobs and whines escaping his mouth and echoing through the hauntingly quiet hallway as Pepper and the others rushed towards him.