Garlic and Boring Businessmen
The longer Pepper Potts sat in that boardroom with some stuffy old men talking about the effect of Stark Industries on lower-level manufacturers, the more she wanted to rip her own ears off. It wasn't that she didn't care about the small business owners, but these men were so condescending, and she knew that they didn't give two shits about any lower-level manufacturers. They just wanted an excuse to bring down Stark profits.
When one of the old businessmen had finished his obnoxious ramble, Pepper took the chance and excused herself, stating "lady problems" as an excuse. In all actuality, she was going to get Advil for the massive headache she could feel coming on, but they didn't need to know that. They fell for it, stuttering and flustering (Internally, she laughed at their inability to handle references to menstruation). Her husband, on the other hand, gave her a knowing smirk as he sat in his chair with his feet up, looking almost jealous of her escape. He looked about two blinks from asleep, and Pepper couldn't blame him. Tony had been dragged here against his will, because for some reason they had insisted it was adamant that he be there. He was also annoyed because more time in this meeting meant less time in his lab, and less time with Peter.
Ever since Thanos' defeat, the Avengers Compound had been reduced to rubble. Thankfully, Stark Industries was able to buy back the Tower and relocate the Avengers there until the Compound was restored. On the downside, it was quite clear that bringing everyone back after five years had consequences. One of those consequences was the eviction of families from their old houses. New families moved in during the "Blip" (Pepper thought that was a ridiculous name), leaving the old families homeless. One such family to lose their apartment was the Parkers.
May and Peter Parker were two bright and sweet people. Pepper knew before the Snap that Peter was special to Tony, but she never realized how much until he lost him. Carol brought him and Nebula back to Earth, and Tony was broken, physically and mentally. He broke in her arms, saying it was all his fault that Peter was dead, and that he failed him.
Eventually, he mostly moved on. They married, had Morgan, and tried to live a normal family life. But, every so often, Pepper would peak into the kitchen of their lake house and see Tony looking at the picture of Peter and him that they kept. There would always be a look in his eyes of fondness and nostalgia, covered by a deep sadness and grief. That's why when Tony came to her and told her that he figured out time travel, figured out how to bring them- Peter- back, she knew he had to. She knew he wouldn't be able to rest if he didn't.
The Battle at the Compound had been one of the most terrifying days of her life. Not only because she was fighting swarms of alien creatures, that was frightening enough, but there had been time there when she thought that she lost the love of her life. Her heart had cracked in two, only mending after Bruce Banner, Helen Cho, and Princess Shuri of Wakanda told her that they could save him. They didn't manage to save his arm, and his face was badly burned, but he was alive, and that's all that mattered to Pepper.
After he recovered, Pepper was able to truly see for the first time the bond between Peter and Tony. The two joked around, worked together, fought together, and seemed just like father and son. It brought a smile to her face. So when Tony found out that the Parkers lost their apartment, he immediately opened their doors to them. Pepper had no qualms. The few times she had met May Parker, they had clicked. She was a fierce and strong woman, and had clearly raised Peter well. The two bonded over tea and stories of Tony and Peter over the years.
Peter himself was like a leech. In the best way possible though. When Pepper first really met him, she could almost feel him latch onto her heart. He was kind, intelligent, caring, thoughtful, utterly chaotic, and wormed his way into her heart easily. Plus, Morgan absolutely adored Peter, calling him her "big spider brother." In time, she felt her maternal instincts rise for Peter just like they do for Morgan. Which is why, opening the door to the penthouse and walking into the kitchen, the sight that met her made her scream.
Peter lay on his side, facing Pepper. His eyes were closed, his mouth slightly open, blood dripping from both it and his nose onto the floor. His head lay in the small pool of blood, and his lips were ever so slightly blue.
Pepper ran to Peter's side, kneeling next to him. She reached out and felt for a pulse. It was there, but not as strong as it should be. She breathed harshly, mind racing. As she was about to call for FRIDAY, a figure barged into the room.
"Pepper, are you okay? I heard a scream." The initial reaction to a random figure charging in out of nowhere faded as she looked into the face of Steve Rogers. She could see the Captain taking in the situation, and saw his eyes blow wide.
"Oh my god, Peter!" he exclaimed, joining Pepper beside Peter. He cursed, bringing his hands under Peter, gently scooping him up and turning to her. "We have to get him to the medbay, now."
Pepper nodded, not trusting herself to speak in leu of the tightness she could feel in her throat. She followed the Captain, telling FRIDAY to let Dr. Cho or whoever was down there that they were on their way. She pulled out her phone as soon as she stepped into the elevator, trembling as the doors closed.
If there was one thing Tony hated, it was meetings. Sure, they were important, but they were boring as all hell. These old men acting like they were all-knowing and morally superior when Tony had seen pretty much all of them drunk wearing their ties as headbands. Whatever, he just prayed to whatever God may be out there (not Thor though, Lebowski was too far in space right now) to save him from this meeting.
His prayers were answered, but not in a good way. Immediately, his phone began buzzing. Tony grabbed it and looked. Pepper had texted him.
From: Pep <3
Tony you need to get down to the medbay right now
Its Peter
Tony's heart stopped. The lack of punctuation in Pepper's text told him how serious it was. Oh dear god, not his kid. What happened this time? Horrible images flashed in mind- gunshots through the kid's forehead, limbs missing, dull, lifeless eyes, hands fading to dust right in front of him-
"Stark? Are you listening?" Tony snapped back to the present. All eyes in the room were on him, but his chest was constricting.
"I need to leave. Family emergency, sorry," He sprung up and all but sprinted down to the medbay. He did not care about the incredulous and somewhat offended looks he had gotten from the men in the meeting. All he cared about was getting to his kid.
Bursting through the doors to the medbay, Steve and Pepper found Dr. Helen Cho waiting for them. She sprung into action, taking in Peter's state and grilling them.
"What happened?" she asked.
Steve stuttered, "I h-have no idea," he looked terrified. All of the Avengers loved Peter, he was like their nephew.
"I came into the kitchen to get Advil but instead I found him laying in blood," she explained, shaking. Helen nodded.
"Well, his lips are blue, suggesting oxygen deprivation. We need to get him breathing, now," she stated.
"Like, CPR?" Steve asked, uncertain. Helen vigorously shook her head.
"No," she said firmly, "We don't know what caused this. It seems like poison, and If it was, we don’t want anyone else being exposed."
At the mention of poison, Pepper's heart skipped two beats. Dear God. Not wasting anymore time, Helen lead Steve in to lay Peter down on the hospital bed. The doctor began hooking Peter up to all sorts of machines.
At that moment, the doors swung open and Tony rushed in.
"Kid," he croaked, horrified. Helen turned to him.
"Stark," she barked. "I need you and Dr. Banner," she jerked her head to the side, and Pepper saw the nuclear physicist standing worried. She blinked. She hadn't even heard him come in. "to check security footage from the penthouse. Check for symptoms and clues. There is likely be more than just a bloody nose and hemoptysis."
Bruce nodded, and it took Tony a moment to snap out of his horrified stupor and nod as well. He looked like he wanted to protest and remain by Peter's side, but he also wanted to help. So, the two sprinted off. Pepper knew Tony had slipped into Dad Mode, protective and unyielding.
"I'm going to try to stabilize him and get a toxicology examination. Steve, you and Pepper need to stay here, but Pepper, contact his aunt." Pepper nodded, grabbing her phone. Steve nodded as well, but asked,
"Why do you need us to stay here?" Helen answered smoothly while still working on getting Peter stable.
"From the breathing troubles, it seems that if he was poisoned, it was from inhaling it. I want to make sure neither of you inhaled it as well." Pepper and Steve blanked. Helen kept working.
Tony skidded to a stop in his lab, Bruce close behind him. "FRIDAY," he called. "I need all security footage from the penthouse living area, where they found Peter."
"From how far back, Boss?" the AI answered.
"Just today, after I left for the meeting. Thanks, baby girl," The blue screen in front of them illuminated with the video.
The two scientists watched as Peter entered the penthouse, kicking off his shoes. He stared, confused at the empty room before FRIDAY's voice answered him. Tony heard him giggle at his message, and despite himself, let his lips quirk slightly at the sound. Peter disappeared, and the camera switched to the hallway outside his room, before switching back to the kitchen as Peter dropped his bag off and headed for the fridge.
"Jeez, who was in here and why does it smell like garlic?" Peter scrunched his nose cutely at the smell. Tony perked up.
"FRIDAY, pause please." The screen halted. Bruce looked confused.
"Tony, wha-"
"It didn't smell like garlic before I left," Tony said. Bruce's eyes widened. "That could be important," he un-paused it. They watched as the teen grabbed leftovers, popped them in the microwave, and played on his phone. The tension in the room was almost tangible.
Suddenly, they heard Peter curse and saw his hand start to fan himself, sweating. Bruce raised an eyebrow at that. "I thought you got the A/C fixed after Barton destroyed it."
Tony's eyes narrowed. "I did." He made another mental note. The video continued.
Peter got his food, and sat down, but he just seemed to stare at his food. A disgusted look crosses his face. "What is that face for? It isn't just because of the smell, is it?" Tony wondered. Bruce shook his head.
"No, he almost looks nauseous," Another mental note. Peter stood up and swayed. He said something, but the scientists didn't hear it. Their eyes widened considerably. This was it. Their minds raced as they added dizziness to the growing list of symptoms. They watched in horror as Peter's nose began to bleed, and as his coughs grew harsher and harsher. Tony wanted to look away from his kid coughing up blood and falling to the floor, but he couldn't. He needed to see to find out what happened. Peter alternated between gasps and coughs, blood splattering the ground, before his eyes rolled back and he fell to the floor.
Then it was silent.
The scientists shared a similar, alarmed look before running back to the medbay. Tony's mind raced. His kid was poisoned. Shit, his kid never got sick anymore, it had to be poison. He called to the ceiling:
"FRIDAY, tell Helen to look for toxins that also cause dizziness, nausea, sweating, and that smell like garlic."
"Garlic…" Helen's eyebrows furrowed. She had finally gotten Peter stable, breathing with a ventilator. The only poison she could think of that fit the symptoms and smelled like garlic was…
"Parathion." She realized. Grabbing a syringe, she went to draw blood. Steve looked confused.
"Para-what?" he voiced, bewildered.
"Parathion," Helen repeated, "More commonly known as Folidol. It's an organophosphate insecticide. Exposure via inhalation can cause sweating, dizziness, nausea, bloody noses, hemoptysis, and pulmonary edema."
Steve nodded, not missing the dark humor in Spider-Man being poisoned by an insecticide. Well, spiders weren't exactly insects, but still. Helen kept talking.
"But, it also doesn't seem to fit."
Pepper spoke up, having gotten off the phone with May. "How?"
"Parathion usually is not concentrated enough in an gaseous form to cause such severe poisoning. Also, parathion doesn't dissipate for 48 hours, so theoretically the penthouse should still be contaminated, but both of you were exposed to the chemical and so far neither of you have shown symptoms."
"But, maybe because of his enhanced metabolism, it affected him quicker?" Steve suggested. He had no idea. He was an artist and a soldier, not a doctor.
But Helen shook her head, "No, if that were the case, Steve, you would also have developed symptoms by now because of your enhanced metabolism. Besides, Peter's metabolism would have meant he should burn through it quicker, but it doesn't seem like he is." She held up the syringe with the blood sample.
Pepper was still confused. "So, are you saying it isn't this parathion-thing?"
"We'll see. There are so many discrepancies, but I don't know what else it could be." She began running the sample, testing for traces of parathion. "Let’s just hope it is."
Bewildered, Steve stared at the doctor. "Why would you hope it is?"
She gave him a look. "At least then we know how to treat it."
Tony and Bruce then came back in to the medbay. Immediately, Pepper went to hug her husband. He relaxed his tense shoulders in the presence of his wife, but only slightly. He looked straight at Helen, who stood over a machine.
"Verdict, Doc?" He prompted, tone completely void of any humor.
"I think it could be parathion," she started. Bruce cut her off.
"Parathion? Like the insecticide?" he received a single nod in return.
"But, this test should tell for sure. I am testing both Pepper and Steve, as they may have been exposed as well." Tony closed his eyes and tried not to think about both Peter and Pepper laying in hospital beds, unable to breathe on their own. He immediately turned on his heels, breaking free of Pepper's arms.
"Tony, where are you going?" Steve shouted after him.
Tony growled. "To find the son of a bitch who did this to my son and make him pay." The medbay doors slammed shut behind him.