The Tragedy
The New York Times | @nytimes
A mysterious tweet is blowing everyone’s minds! Here’severything we know about it!
Kates | @ohhellyesplease
God, Peter, get back to us, sweetie #findspidey
- Jamie | @ohheavensnoplease
@ohhellyesplease I had a breakdown. I never have breakdowns outside of science. #findspidey
Official Avengers | @avengers
We are doing everything in our power to find Peter. He’s our family and we will never give up on finding him. You better watch out, @hydra
- Iron Dad | @tonystank
@avengers @hydra You took my son from me. You will pay for this.
- May | @mayparker
@avengers @hydra I may not have any superpowers, but I will murder you for this
-- GITC | @nedleeds
@mayparker @hydra A normal angry May is to be feared, I have never seen her this angry. You better watch out.
#IRONFAM | @ducksgood
@hydra you fuckers. you can’t just take people. let alone Spider-Man, who, if I recall correctly, is under the protection of the @avengers. just three of them took you down last time. now you’ll have to deal with the full force.
- Spider-Fan | @idonteffinknow
@ducksgood they did have Maria Hill on their side and several other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents
-- #IRONFAM | @ducksgood
@idonteffinknow who says they don’t have that now and even if they don’t, they have more people: all of the #ironfam is there too
Flashing spidey-fan | @fethompson
I hope the @avengers find @mightbespidey soon!
- Abraham | @brownieabe
@fethompson Me too! (I also like hwo you still havrn’t changed your user even now Spidey’s identity is out in the open)
-- Sally | @sallyavril
@brownieabe @fethompson Yes! @yeeterparkour! COME BACK! We need you for AcaDec!
Peter woke up in a dark room, laying on a bed. He let his eyes get used to the dark for a couple of minutes before he sat up and saw everything. He had no idea where he was. It seemed like he was in a cell, so Peter deduced that he had been taken. Shit.
The last thing he remembered was thinking he should’ve waited for the cars. At least he wasn’t wrong about that part.
He knew his dad and all of his family were out there looking for him. He knew they were worried sick. Even though it sucked that he was taken, it was nice to know that people cared so much about him. Peter hoped they came soon.
He looked down. He was still wearing his suit, though they had taken his mask. He couldn’t connect to Karen, but the tracker was still in there. He was happy they let the suit on and hadn’t changed him. That would be terrible.
Looking around though, Peter doubted the signal of the tracker could get through. The walls were thick concrete, probably lined with lead or something.
Besides a door, there was a mirror, probably a one-way window. In the middle of the cell was a table with two chairs and along the wall opposite the door, a bed. In one of the corners was another door, without a lock. There was probably a bathroom. It all looked very much like a prison.
Peter didn’t actually know what happened outside the fact that he was taken. In thought, he started analysing what happened. It was Wanda’s birthday and she had gone to take a nap. He took MJ out for a walk when Tony texted him that Spider-Man was needed. He went to the river and fought Hydra with the Avengers. He then went home, but about halfway over, he was hit by something and lost consciousness. An unknown amount of time later, he woke up in a dark cell in an unknown location with his suit still on, but no access to Karen or the suit.
He tried to fire his web-shooters, but they didn’t react. He checked the fluid levels, but the holders were empty. That meant his kidnappers had it, like Karen. Shit.
All of a sudden, the light flickered on. Peter blinked his eyes a couple of times to get used to the sudden brightness. The door flew open to reveal a man, presumably a scientist of some sort, alongside two guards with rifles. The scientist held a set of clothes.
“Hello, Peter. So nice to finally meet you,” the scientist said. “I’ve been looking at your work for years and I’m so glad that you’re finally here. I imagine the suit is not the most comfortable thing to have on when you’re not out as Spider-Man. Here is a set of clothes you can wear while you’re in our residence. We’ll try to make it as comfortable as possible for you here. Over there is a bathroom.” He pointed to the door in the corner. “You can change there now if you want to. Take the suit back with you.”
Peter stood up and stumbled over to the door. When he opened it, there was, indeed, a bathroom. Complete with a separate shower and all. Why they would offer such luxury to a prisoner was a mystery to Peter. He quickly changed into the clothes he was given. Simple jeans and a sweater that looked a lot like what he would wear at home. For how long had they been spying on him?
He went back to the cell where the scientist was still waiting for him. He threw the suit on the table and sat down on one of the chairs. The scientist sat down too.
“So, you might be wondering a couple off things, like where you are, why you are here and who I am. Am I right?” the scientist said.
Peter nodded in response.
“I can’t tell you where you are, but I can tell you that your dear family will have a hard time finding you. You are here because we wanted you to be, simple as that. I am Doctor Smith and I will be your primary contact during your stay here. I am in service of Hydra, I’m sure you’ve heard of us. I’m also quite sure you think we didn’t exist anymore after your dear uncle Steve Rogers ‘ended’ us together with S.H.I.E.L.D. and later all Avengers in Sokovia, but as the old saying goes; cut one head off, two more will grow back. I’m sure you are well-versed in Greek mythology. It’s the same there, just a bit more literal,” the scientist told Peter. “You’ll get your food soon. Do you have any other questions?”
“Yes, um, what day is it and can I get some paper and a pen of some kind?” Peter hesitated before asking anything. He wasn’t sure he could, but the man had told him they were going to make as comfortable as they could while he was imprisoned there.
“It is November 16. I should get you a clock, remind me,” the last part was aimed at the guards standing left of the scientist. He turned back to Peter. “Of course, you can have that. I’ll get you a notebook and a couple of pens. Will that be all?” Doctor Smith said.
Peter nodded. No matter how ‘nice’ Doctor Smith sounded, Peter promised to himself that he wouldn’t trust him. He was with Hydra, after all, and he seemed to have earned his respect from the guards. The man made Peter anxious and stressed because even though he had shown nothing but kindness, he was familiar with Hydra’s ways and was sure they were going to end up hurting him.
Ten minutes later, a different guard came in. He was carrying the promised notebook and pen and also had a clock with him. He put the clock on a hook in the wall. Peter saw that it was currently 3 am, but since he just woke up from 11 hours of sleep, he had no need to fall asleep again.
He did, however, sit down on the bed. He had the notebook in his lap and started drawing a calendar starting November 15, the day he was taken and Wanda’s birthday, going through all the way to December, hoping that he would be saved by then. He really, really wanted to spend the holidays with his new family.
He ripped the page out and marked the days he’d been imprisoned: 15 and 16 November. He put the calendar on the table. He let his head fall back onto the wall and sighed. What was he supposed to do in here?
Tony had been working on getting Karen back up for a while and when he finally did get her up, he first got May, MJ, Harley, Nat, Alicia and Pepper before he spoke to her. There was no specific reason for that outside the fact that they had all been waiting eagerly for Karen to return.
“Hi, Karen, how are you doing?” Tony said.
“Good afternoon, Mr Stark, I am as well as an AI could be.”
“You have been offline for some time. I would advise you to connect to FRIDAY for a full update,” Tony said.
“I am updating my information,” Karen said. MJ looked at Harley and Alicia nervously, anxious to see how Karen would react to recent events. “I see Peter has been taken.” Karen sounded broken. It was obvious she missed him. “I have an audio recording from when Peter was abducted. Unfortunately, my camera was broken. Would you like to hear it?”
“Yes, of course,” Pepper said impatiently.
“Right away, Mrs Stark.”
The track starts with a loud crashing sound, probably from the impact of Peter falling.
“We got him?” a rough voice says.
“Yes, he’s out. It doesn’t seem like he’s seriously injured,” a second voice replies.
“Good. Let’s go!” This is followed by what is probably Peter being dragged over the concrete. A door slams and engines roar. “Go, go, go! The Avengers will probably be here soon. We only have a small head start,” the first voice continues.
“We going back to base?” the second voice says.
“No! You got your instructions earlier! We’re going to the Canada base! Jesus fucking Christ!” the first voice shouts.
The recording then suddenly starts to glitch and after a couple of seconds, it stops.
“We know they have a Canada base, at least,” Harley said.
“Maybe it’s in the leak?” Alicia said.
“Maybe, but I don’t think so. Hydra did a full reboot after that. Though, I think Karen might be able to check?” Nat said.
“Of course I can, Mrs Romanoff. I’m starting right away. I will be done in approximately fifteen minutes,” Karen said.
“Thanks, Karen. FRIDAY, can you do something else for me?” Tony turned to the ceiling.
“You know I can, boss.”
“Can you check every car that pulled away from the crime scene within five minutes of Peter’s fall and cross-reference them with every car that crossed the border with Canada?”
“I’m on it, boss. I will be done in approximately 20 minutes,” FRIDAY said.
“Fifteen until Karen’s done. Time for a team meeting?” May suggested.
“FRIDAY?” Pepper said.
“JOCASTA will take my place until I’m finished,” FRIDAY announced.
“JOCASTA?” MJ said.
“She’s a backup AI that I made. She is less evolved as FRI, but she does just fine. She helps in situations like this when FRIDAY needs her capacity somewhere else,” Tony said.
“Hello, boss,” a British voice said. “I am calling all Avengers to the dining room immediately.”
“Thanks, Jo.”
The group walked together to the dining room, where the biggest table was. It was one of the only spaces in the private area that could house everyone.
Everyone came out of the elevator at the same time, except for Vision, who was already in the penthouse and had just walked through the walls. Thankfully he learned not to go through the ceilings and floors anymore, as it left people very disturbed and confused. He knew this from personal experience.
“So,” Tony said when everyone found a place. “An update seems fit right now, as we have rebooted Karen from Peter’s suit. She went offline ten minutes after Peter was taken. She recorded the first couple of minutes before the microphone went offline through unknown factors. What we got from the recording was that he was taken by an idiot and a moron and that he was taken to Canada. Karen is currently scanning the leaks from the DC fiasco and FRIDAY is scanning the borders and checking if any car that passed the border was around the crime scene. She needs all her capacity for this and that’s why you just heard Jo, full name JOCASTA, calling you. Any questions?”
“Are we sure they actually went to Canada?” Steve said.
“I was expecting that question. I am not actually sure they went to Canada. It could be a cover-up. That’s why I have my two other AIs on surveillance duty. VERONICA and EDITH are scanning from space, using SI satellites and street cameras to track every car from the crime scene. I am putting all I have on this one,” Tony said.
“Can I take over, Tony?” Steve said. Tony stepped aside.
“We’ve all been working hard on tracking Peter today. It has been 22 hours since Peter was taken. What I just wanted is to know how everything is going now. Harley; how are we with the IP address?”
“We managed to track it to a home in DC. After some digging, we found out that someone called Melissa Smith lives there with her 8-year-old son. They are untraceable online and we couldn’t find a father or anything,” Harley said.
“Good. Nat and Clint, can you two team up and check their place out?”
“Of course, cap,” Natasha said while Clint nodded.
“May, how have you been doing with the tippers?”
“Good, but there was not a lot of useful stuff in there, especially with Karen’s tape. We do have confirmation that they took off to the east, but that could be a disguise. It is also confirmed that Peter was dragged to the black van we saw earlier. There has been one person who claims they saw Spider-Man being carried into a dark blue van, but we have yet to confirm that lead. All in all, there are about 20 S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with a new assignment,” May said.
“How many anonymous tips?”
“Like 1000, mostly people who want to talk to the Avengers or pranks,” Alicia said.
“Damn-“ Steve started.
“LAngUaGe,” the whole room echoed. Even with the tension around of Peter’s kidnapping, almost everyone smiled.
“- that’s a lot of anonymous tips. Sam, do you have anything new?”
“Well, we tracked that van, and damn, that shit’s hard to do,” Sam said.
“You’ve been doing that manually? You could’ve used FRIDAY. She’s on it now. Even now, you could use Jocasta. She’s able enough to do that,” Tony said.
“As you said, FRI’s on it. No more things for us to do.”
“Yes, there is. Make us sandwiches. We’re all hungry,” Pepper said. “Make me extra.”
“Sir, Karen is done with scanning the leaks,” Jocasta announced.
“I’m coming!” Tony said with his mouth full of bread. He stood up and hurried to the lab. Harley and Pepper followed him, and soon MJ and May were there as well. “What do you have, Karen?”
“There’s no mention of a base in Canada, however, there is an airport with connections to Hydra near Ottawa. It’s a 7-hour drive, so they would’ve arrived at 10 pm last night. I don’t have the resources to get into the security of the airport since it’s a private airport. Only FRIDAY and Vision have this capacity. Do you want me to call Vision?”
“Go ahead,” Tony said.
Just a couple of seconds later, Vision phased through the wall. “What am I needed for?”
“Peter was probably taken to Canada, where there’s an airport near Ottawa. Can you get into the security? It’s a private airport. Karen has the details, but she doesn’t have the resources you do.”
“Hang on, let me connect to Karen.” Vision was silent for a second. “I’m working on it, I’ll need just a minute.”
MJ, May, Pepper and Tony waited in silence.
Peter was surprised by how kind he was treated. He got decent food (better than May’s, at least) and almost everything he asked for. What he didn’t get was any electric device or really anything he could use to contact anyone or escape. They did give him all kinds of books, artistic things (Peter was, contrary to popular belief, actually quite good at drawing), and even a radio with a bunch of CDs. The radio was built into the wall with an alarm system connected to it if the wall was broken. Only the CD outlet, audio, and play/pause were usable.
In short, Peter had no reason to be bored. He could read books all day long, he could draw anything he wanted, but all he truly wanted to do, was to hug his family. Was that too much to ask for?