Fire and Rain
Tony felt bad.
The kid left with his tail between his legs, scared to death of his date.
Tony thought about calling off and on.
He stayed cooped in his labs his lab from the moment Peter was gone.
The time of day it took to talk to the kid was fun and he loved developing ways to improve the Spidey-Suit, but he still had to get substantial work done.
Eventually, however, he gave into his nerves and gave the kid a call.
To wish him luck and all that.
It rang only a few times.
Peter’s first words were muffled.
“Elmp!” However unintelligible those words were, Tony was smart enough to figure is couldn’t mean anything good.
”Emh da dan phone!”
Word, word, word... phone?
The hell is going on?
The mic on Peter’s end shuffles- creating a fit of disturbance on Tony’s.
The static audio comes clear but with an unsettling silence.
”Kid? Kid, are you okay?”
The beat of a pause gives him time to catch his breath.
Then Peter responds.
”Tony!”
Tony? When did the kid start calling me-
“Help!”
Never mind that now. Tony feels, for once in his life, a blessing.
He called right as Peter needed him.
“The smell! It- it’s gas! There’s a-“
BOOM!
Tony himself flinches at the sound
“Kid?”
The call was still on and he could hear his voice echo on the other side of wherever Peter was.
“Kid? Pete, come’on. Answer me.”
The phone disconnects.
Tony stands, now alert, tapping the new reactor in his chest.
A swarm of a nano-bots spread the length of his chest and around his back.
His helmet wraps around his head, FRIDAY greeting him instantly.
”Hello sir!”
”Track Peter’s phone!”
”Track Peter Parker’s phone?”
Peter’s picture pop on screen.
He’s smiling a big toothy grin, his eyes crazed.
Tony remembers the day.
They were taking a series of photos in front of the Stark Industries logo. For an attempt to get kids to stop bulling Peter, it was a fun afternoon.
Peter still says he hasn't used it against anyone.
Yet.
In the context of the picture, Peter’s holding a thumb up next to Tony’s amused figure.
”Peter’s phone appears to be offline.”
”What?!”
“Peter’s phone appears-“
”I know what you said! How?”
”The only way for a signal to be off my radar is if substantial damage has been done to the receiver.”
“Where was his last known location?”
FRIDAY takes too long a second.
Tony knows exactly what the other line sounded like.
An explosion.
If Peter had his phone... and a bomb went off... and the signal to his phone is gone...
No.
“Peter’s last satellite location undetected. I could link the satellite to your system by surveying his call history, but will take time.”
Time he doesn’t have.
”Damn! Do it anyway!”
Think, think, think, think, think.
There has to be a faster way.
He knows the kid was heading to his apartment, but how could he tell if he had even got there yet?
Gas!
He mentioned gas in the call at one point.
What gas?
I should’ve listened to the kid more-
His mind flips to their last conversation.
Date, Applebee’s, Spider-Man...
Car.
Bingo.
”Fri, track my Audi!”
Three dots bubble on the screen, bouncing fruitlessly.
“Location set on 20 Ingram Street. You have this address saved as Peter’s complex in Forest Hills.”
Shit.
That’s too far.
And it’s might already be too late.
If a bomb went off there... does that mean his aunt was in the blast too?
He doesn’t take another moment to worry about the possibility.
He takes off, blasting a whole in the ceiling of the compound.
Driving, he’d be over an hour away.
Flying?
Thirty minutes.
Tops.
Pepper’s heels click quickly against the tile.
She notices the hole in the roof before finishing imputing the code into the door.
”What’s goin’ on?” Rhodey says over the phone.
She rolls her eyes, peaking at the sky and seeing he fiancé fly across New York.
”Tony blew the roof... again.”
—-
MJ arrives via taxi.
Though illegal, she encouraged him to speed and take a few shortcuts through driveways.
Not super safe, but efficient.
All that matters is: it got the job done.
It only cost her all of the date-night-movie-money.
And the longest thirteen minute drive of her life.
Upon arrival, the sight, oddly enough, wasn’t as bad as it appeared on T.V.. Maybe because paramedics has arrived and firefighters were working on controlling the blaze.
But it was way too loud for her liking. She could hears gasps and cries mixed with multiple news reporters. How many stations were here?
The castors bombarding others with questions while parading around as if they own the place was way too distracting.
How are they going to get anything done?
People were filtering out of the building, some carrying others. Most of the survivors stayed huddled around three ambulances.
She was too far away to tell if Peter or his aunt were there.
She gave her surroundings a quick glance before jumping over the barricade.
She didn’t get too far before two men grabbed her arms. “Miss,” one began. His throat was scratchy, but she didn’t have the mind space to tell whether or not it was the smoke from fires or cigarettes.
”I’m going to need you to get back.”
No, no, no, no, no- “No, no, no, no! Please! My friend might be in there! I need to know if he’s okay.”
“Yes, we understand Miss. But for the time being, we need you out of the way and out of danger.”
Their grip tightened ever-so-slightly.
Until the classic red and gold colours flew over the sky.
He landed less than graceful, but she supposed it didn’t matter.
“Stark!”
He turned. She couldn’t tell if there was any recognition. She imagined not.
On the off chance that Peter told The Tony Stark about her, she yells, “Fourth Floor!”
Ironman nods, quickly gesturing to the officers. “Let her go.” They do so.
His faceplate lifts for barley a moment.
“I’ll find them. The kid’s tough.”
He took off right as she began to ask what that meant.
The group of ‘survivors’ was over and underwhelming.
No Peter. No May.
But (and she counted 14) people covered in cinders and blankets. One kid was alone, shaking on the back of an ambulance.
She did recognize one person, however. “Mrs. Moon!”
A teary, middle-aged women perked up at her name. “Michelle? What are you doing here?”
“I’m looking for someone. Have you seen Peter or May Parker?”
She sighs and slowly shakes her head.
“How did this happen?”
”Some kind of pipe explosion. This place smelled horrible for the past few days. But someone, or I thought someone, fixed it today.”
”Do- do you know if Peter was home? Or May.”
”I’m sorry, sweetie. There was a bit of ruckus outside my room before it happened, but other than that, I don’t know who was and wasn’t home.”
”Okay,” her shallow breathing made it almost too difficult to stand. Mrs. Moon held her steady. “Michelle, are you-“
”I’m okay. I’m okay. I just need to-“ she stumbles onto the ground. “Was, uh, was Cindy...? Is she okay?”
She smiled lightly, “She’s at Betty’s house, thank goodness.”
”Oh,” so she got to live. “Thank God.”
MJ verges on losing all composure that she’s subconsciously tried to maintain.
Ned calls.
After excusing herself from Mrs. Moon, she answered.
“MJ? Have you seen the news? Is Peter there? Oh, please tell me he is. I’m interrupting your date, aren’t I? That’s why he isn’t answering his phone. Your on your date?”
”He wasn't there.”
”W-what? No.”
”You heard me. Pete- he never showed up. He-“ Deep breaths, MJ. “He wasn’t there.”
“Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Has he called you? Maybe he’s-“
”He’s not here either. I came as soon as I could, Tony’s looking too, but... I don’t think he-“
”Hey, MJ, listen. If anyone can survive a blast, it’s Peter Parker. It takes a lot more than that to kill him.”
Don't say ‘kill’. Kill means dead.
The philosophy starts to bug her.
“Why does everyone keep saying that? What makes him different from anyone else... w-who-“
She did not sign up for this.
Ned pauses.
“Please, trust me. They’re gonna be-“
“He’s Spider-Man, isn’t he?”
Ned didn’t speak after that. And he didn’t need too. MJ knew. In the back of her mind, she always did. But the goofy exterior and failure to tie a shoe nearly convinced her otherwise.
“MJ, I- I can’t-“
”I know, Ned. Don’t worry. I’m not leaving here without them.”
”Michelle...”
“Listen Ned, if he is who I think he is, then there’s no way that-“
She didn’t get the change to finish.
The ceiling. The entire goddamn roof. Three levels worth of land - people’s homes - collapse in on itself.
Few screams erupted both in and outside the building. MJ stayed quiet and dropped her phone with Ned still on the line.
A suit of armour blasted through the wall with two people clinging to his sides.
Could it be-?
But the two who land with him aren’t the ones she hoped for.
It’s a bitch to be disappointed in someone else’s survival because they’re not who you wanted.
That’s it. The fire was practically out.
No one else was coming out of that building.
She leans on the apparent Audi parked on the curb.
Weird.
Her wishes she could cry her eyes out. But her stony expression masks the tears relentlessly pooling down her face.
“Michelle?”
It’s a wonder that Tony Stark knew her name, but she could take a few guesses as to how he came about that information.
She didn’t need to look at him to know he was crying.
And he didn’t need to see her.
She stood on the same level as Tony, something she’s sure few other people have the pleasure of doing.
But she didn’t give a damn.
They stared at the car. Tony’s car, because May could never afford a car like this.
He unlocked the door and picked the flower from the console.
He held it tightly, fingers shaking ever-so-slightly. Dahlia, good choice.
By the color of her dress, Tony knew it would've looked perfect.
Must’ve been May’s idea.
He feels pressured to keep his emotions in check. For Michelle. For the media. But the kid is dead.
They’d understand this one slip-up, right?
She didn’t do anything.
How did he...?
Oh!
Oh.
She took it by the stem.
She wanted to kill it.
To throw it in the flames and watch it burn along with him.
But she couldn’t.
He bought it for her.
Burning it is burning him and his intentions.
An ugly pain soared in her heart as she watched the flames reflect in the shimmering petals.
Not a day in her life did Michelle care about Tony Stark.
Hell, she disagreed with most of the statements he made.
But they did have one fact in common.
They both loved the same boy.
She wasn’t so sure originally.
But when Tony Stark hugged her tightly, it didn’t matter. She’s aware if his inconsistent track record of liking physical affection.
She had to move her arm quickly, though.
She didn’t want to crush his flower.