Chapter 31
"Underoos!" Peter's hair on the back of his neck bristled when he heard his father's voice. With a pounding heart and adrenaline rushing to his blood, he jumped off the roof, shot a web, and picked up Steve's shield, then falling gracefully beside his father.
"Peter?" Steve breathed in disbelief, not hiding the admiration in his eyes when he first saw little Stark in his Spider-Man suit.
"Yeah, it's me," Peter replied, a smile on his face that the Captain couldn't see. "I still like you, Steve, but you're against my dad and I can't leave him alone."
"This has nothing to do with you. It's dangerous and—"
"Stop playing responsible daddy, Rogers," Tony growled, stepping into their conversation impatiently. Steve winced. "If you don't give up, I'll have to hurt you." Even though I still care about you, he added in his head. He hoped it would work out and Captain would give up. But he knew very well that he did not have such a thing in his character. He always fought to the end.
"Pepper knows about this?" Steve had to ask.
"That's none of your business," Tony snapped, knowing he was slowly approaching the fight, and he began to swear in his mind that he had brought Peter here with him. What did he think? They might hurt him. His only son... Nothing can happen to him. And Pepper can't find out about this at any cost. "You've been a complete idiot. Dragging in Clint. 'Rescuing' Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave, a safe place. I'm trying to keep..." He shook his head and sighed in disappointment. "I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart. Why can't you understand that?"
"You did that when you signed."
"Alright, we're done. You're gonna turn Barnes over, you're gonna come with us. NOW! Because it's us! Or a squad of J-SOC guys with no compunction about being impolite. Come on, Steve. I am begging you," Tony exhaled and Peter froze. On the way here, his dad didn't explain much to him. He told him that the team was not far from falling apart and that Steve was doing stupid things. But as it seemed so far, it was much more serious than he thought. Peter didn't want to fight, not Steve, because he really liked him. But he didn't seem to have a choice in the end. He has to save himself and help Tony.
The flying arrow suddenly freed Steve from Peter's web. "Alright, Lang." Something - or rather someone - suddenly knocked Peter to the ground. He screamed in pain.
"Peter!"
"It's okay! I am fine!" he shouted at his father and quickly got up to his feet.
"Whoa. What--what the hell was that?" Rhodey said incomprehensibly. Some stranger Peter had never seen in his life took the shield and handed it back to Steve.
"Oh great," Tony growled. "Alright, there's two on the parking deck. One of them's Maximoff, I'm gonna grab her. Rhodey, you want to take Cap?"
"Got two in the terminal, Wilson and Barnes."
"What should I do?" Peter asked.
"What we discussed. Keep your distance. Web 'em up. Be careful," Tony replied, flying away.
"Okay, copy that!" Peter exclaimed enthusiastically, firing a web on the opposite building, where Sam and Barnes were reported by Rhodey. Natasha was now fighting the stranger and kicking him in the crotch. "Wow, great job, Aunt Nat!" he shouted at her, and she looked up. But suddenly she fell to the ground. "Nat!" Peter wondered if he should change direction and go to help her, but she made it of her own, and she was on her feet again. Aunt Nat always did everything.
"Be careful!" she shouted at him.
Peter really climbed like a spider through the glass windows and saw Wilson and Barnes running away. He jumped inside and shot the web to the ceiling so he could stay in the air.
"What the hell is that?"
"Everyone's got a gimmick now," Sam answered to brow hair man.
"I'm sorry, Sam, but you don't have to fight my dad!" he shouted at him, then kicked him to the ground so he could deal with Barnes, who was apparently the man Tony wanted to take away. "You have a metal arm?" Peter said admiringly as he stopped Barnes's attack. "That is awesome, dude!" But then the flying Sam grabbed him, so they fought together in the air. "Hey, hey, can't this be taken as a kidnapping?!"
"Go complain to Dad and Mom, she'll wipe your nose. You have nothing to do here!" Wilson snapped. Peter quickly shot his webs at the pillar supporting the roof and wrapped himself around him.
"Don't get my parents involved!"
"Your father got us involved in all this, so put our own house in order first," Wilson advised dryly, firing at him. Peter quickly dodged him, trying to hit Barnes, who was hiding behind a pillar. Suddenly, Sam grabbed him again and wanted to throw him to the ground, but Peter was faster. In a moment, the Falcon was strapped to the railing by Peter's webs. "Wow, I've never seen you fly. Those wings are really cool! Hey!" he shouted at Barnes, who was running against him, trying to hit him. It only took a few seconds for Sam and Bucky to lie on the ground all webbed.
"And I'm still a child!" Peter chuckled, leaping out to inform his father that he had caught Wilson and Barnes. He found his team easily. Rhodey and Tony stood by the burning car, and Natasha slowly rose from the ground. "Aunt Nat! Are you okay?"
"Yes of course. But what about you?" she asked carefully, then looked back at Tony reproachfully. "You shouldn't have dragged him here! What were you thinking? He is a child! This is our fight!"
"Believe me, I'm not excited about it in retrospect," Tony muttered, looking at his son. "Are you okay? You're doing great."
"Not a scratch!" he boasted.
"So far. This is just the beginning. I planned to try it in a good way, but it looks like I'm going to have to change it. Let's go," Tony urged and flew up. Peter's cobweb wrapped around his leg, and he felt like a little boy who had a dream come true as he flew through the air.
"I caught Sam and that Barnes!"
"Maybe for a while. There they are," Tony said, and then he, Peter, Rhodey, and Nat touched the ground with their feet. Black Panther and Vision joined them. Team Iron Man and Team Captain America were now facing each other, and they all glared at each other.
"This is not gonna end well," Nat muttered as Rogers' team began to walk toward them. They imitated them.
"They're not stopping. Do they really want to take us down?” Peter asked. But seriously, where did such animosity between Tony and Steve come so quickly? What went wrong? He would have to ask Aunt Nat when it was all over.
Peter couldn't keep track of how the others were doing in the fight, because he had his hands full with Wanda. She threw at him everything that came to her hand; even a car. And he had something to do to avoid her.
"Hey! I thought we were friends! Are you really trying to crush me like a cockroach?" he shouted at her, trying to throw nets at her. But she tore them apart with one wave.
She grinned. "More like a spider." And then she tossed him away.
He would definitely injure his spine on impact and suffer a lot of minor injuries if he didn't catch on the wing of one of the planes. "Damn it," he said, for some relief, full of adrenaline. He didn't even realize he was shaking. This was really serious. Why don't they stop? Someone has to stop this, or they'll all mutilate and kill each other!
"Steve!" he shouted at his father's, now probably ex-best friend. Steve looked back at him. Neither of them wanted to attack the other. "Stop it!"
"You shouldn't have come here, Peter. You can't understand what's going on."
"Do you want to kill my dad?"
"No," he answered without thinking.
"Then end it and solve it reasonably!" he asked desperately.
"I'm sorry, but it probably won't work any other way," Steve told him, running away, and Peter couldn't follow him, even if he wanted to. He just caught a flying Rhodey who would otherwise crash into a plane.
"Are you ready, kid? We have to get the overgrown baby on his shoulders," Rhodey informed him.
"I'm always ready for anything!" Peter said firmly, and when Rhodey urged him not to take it easy on Lang, he began to wrap one web after another around his giant legs. Tony and Rhodey sent Scott to the ground, but as he fell, he struck Peter, who immediately fell very painfully to the ground. He growled in pain and tears welled up in his eyes.
"Peter!" Tony yelled, and he flew quickly after him. He took off his Iron Man mask and ran after him. He knelt in fright at the boy's motionless body. My God. What did he do? "Peter, for God's sake..."
"Dad..." Peter moaned and as he moved, a terrible pain was shooting into his ribs.
"Shh, I'm here. Do not move. Are you all right? I was afraid that..." He couldn't finish the sentence. He was probably injured, but at least the injury wasn't fatal. He gently removed his Spider-Man's mask and pulled him into his arms. He tried to be as careful as possible, but Peter still whimpered painfully. "You did a good job. You're done. Stay down."
"No, I'm good. I'm fine-"
"Stay down. Without protest," he said sternly. But despite the pain, Peter kept resisting. "Stay down or I'll call your mom!"
"You wouldn't do that. Then you'd be in trouble, too," he smiled exhausted.
"You're right. Just stay down. Please. You did great today, but you need to gather strength. I'll be back soon, and I'll send Aunt Nat for you in the meantime, okay? Don't even move," he ordered.
"All right, all right..." he resigned. "Dad? Stop it. It's ridiculous. Please, let's go home."
"I'm sorry, Peter. Really. But I have to stop them," Tony replied in a colorless voice, checking his son with the last glance and then flying away. He has to stop Rogers. He has to.