Sleepy
“TAKE THAT!” Peter yelled out as he shot Ned with a paintball. The other teenager yelled out as the yellow paint splattered onto his black shirt. Flash laughed from the other side of the arena until a splat of paint hit his shirt from Cindy.
“This is supposed to be a fun game!” Mr Harrington yelled out from outside the arena and Peter just laughed as he ducked behind a barrier.
The Paintball Game had been decided by MJ as a morale booster as they had lost their most recent competition.
It was only a summer practice competition so they weren’t out of the running for anything but it had definitely knocked them down a little. The teacher had agreed pretty readily and Peter knew he just wanted a break as well. The team had been hard at work since the middle of July, and had spent the last month practicing at least twice a week. MJ really wanted them to win at nationals again.
Peter and Ned had immediately decided that they didn’t want to be on the same team so that they could be against one another and then the teams had been divided evenly after that. Peter had Flash on his team but they were doing a very good job of just ignoring one another.
Peter had been rushing around for the last hour in the hot August sun in the open arena, and he was definitely sweating pretty considerably. Wearing black certainly wasn’t helping that fact, but he didn’t want to stop and join MJ and Mr Harrington on the sides- he wanted to be in on the action.
As he ran across the arena away from Ned, he managed to hit Cindy and MJ called for a break. The group all headed out of the arena and into the air conditioned front room where there were water bottles for them.
Sweat was dripping down Peter’s neck as he opened the water bottle and gulped the water down. He downed one bottle and then opened another one to gulp that one down, the cool water quenching his thirst. When the second water bottle was empty, he looked over to see Ned and MJ both looking at him.
“What?”
“Your face is really red dude. Like really red.” Ned answered and Peter shrugged.
“It’s hot outside.” Peter replied.
“Well yeah but no one else’s face is as red as yours.” Ned explained. He leaned closer to Peter and whispered to him.
“Do your powers make you susceptible to heat like the cold?”
“No Ned.” Peter replied. He had been in the heat enough as Spiderman to have learned that he wasn’t as affected by the warmth as he was the cold, even if his Air Conditioning in the suit did get utilized a lot.
“Lets goooo! We’re winning!” Flash yelled out and Peter grabbed his paintball gun again, ignoring the looks that Ned and MJ shot him as he hurried back out into the arena.
The sun was really beating down as he stepped back outside and moved to hide under one of the structures. He had a mask on his face to protect his eyes, and he had to take it back off within moments because it had fogged up with the heat of his face. Peter swiped at it quickly to clear off the mask, before setting it back on his face and hearing the alarm go for another round.
Peter raced through the arena, moving quickly and using his spider powers when he could without being detected. His sense wasn’t working because these were his friends and classmates but he could still use his agility and gratefulness to dash around the arena without his usual tripping and clumsiness.
The game continued for another 45 minutes before Peter’s team were declared the winners. By this point, the sweat was pouring down Peter’s face and he had to keep removing the mask to swipe at his eyes, the salt burning them as it got into his eyes.
“Good job everyone. We’ll meet back at the school for regular practice on Thursday.” MJ announced before she let them all go, and Peter went for the locker where he had put his phone and his keys.
He pulled out his phone to text May to let her know that they were done so she could come and pick him up. He noticed that there was a missed call and a text from her, so he opened the text to see May telling him that she had gotten pulled into work for an emergency and that she couldn’t pick him up.
Peter set the phone down as he pulled his paint-covered shirt off to pull his own t-shirt back on. The owner was coming around for the dirty shirts and he threw it into the basket she had in her hands. He was still sweating profusely, even being in the air conditioned room.
“Is May on her way?” Ned asked Peter as he headed over and Peter shook his head.
“She got pulled into work.”
“Do you want a ride? My mom is on her way.” Ned asked and Peter shook his head again. He was meant to be at the Compound for that afternoon, and the Compound was way out of Neds’ way.
“I can just walk there.” Peter said. The Compound was only about 6 miles away from where they currently were in Upstate New York, and it wouldn’t take Peter very long. He knew there were a few areas that he would be able to run as they weren’t very populated. He didn’t have his suit or his shooters with him, but he wasn’t concerned.
“Are you sure? You’re sweating a lot, and it’s hot outside.” MJ asked, her face showing an uncharacteristic concern.
“It’s fine. It’s really not that far.”
Peter found himself regretting the decision to walk about 2 miles in. He took two water bottles with him for the walk, but those were gone within the first mile. He pulled his phone out to see the temperature and noticed that it showed as 110 degrees with the heat index, but he was in a deserted field.
Peter stumbled along another mile before pulling his phone out again, with the intention to call someone. He knew Tony wasn’t planning on getting to The Compound for a few hours, but he could maybe come and get Peter a little earlier. His shirt was completely soaked with sweat, the red color a much deeper color. He was grateful that he was wearing shorts, but even those were soaked with sweat.
He had managed to run for about a half mile before realizing that he wasn’t going to be able to keep that up.
He took a look at his phone and his world suddenly completely swam and he stumbled. He managed to keep his feet underneath him but it was a tough battle. The dizziness was followed by a strong cramp through his stomach and he doubled over.
He glanced down at his phone to unlock it, just to see it shut itself off for overheating. Peter knew he was in trouble. He tried to stand up and take another step and the cramp shot through his stomach again. He doubled over, groaning as he did so. There was absolutely no one around and Peter knew that he was going to have to walk.
He managed to make it another mile before the nausea hit and he was doubled over and throwing up. He knew he was getting closer to the Compound but he didn’t think that he could go that much further. His face felt salty and sore, and he knew it had to be burned, the salt painful as it dripped down. The cramps had migrated to include his leg muscles as well as in his stomach, and he was extremely dizzy and tired.
He straightened up from throwing up and his head absolutely swam. He couldn’t see straight and his legs gave out beneath him, his head smacking the grass as he fell, barely missing where he had just thrown up. The darkness was enroaching on his vision as he lay on the ground and he didn’t think he would be able to fight it, he was just so tired and his whole body hurt.
As his vision completely went, along with his consciousness, he thought he heard a loud sound, just before it all went black.
-
Tony landed on the grass just in time to see Peter’s eyes close. He yelled out his name as he released the suit, but there was no response from the teenager. Tony rushed over to him and shook his shoulder, but the teenager’s eyes remained closed.
Peter’s face was red and when Tony touched his cheek, there was heat radiating from it. He tried shaking Peter’s shoulder again and got no response. Peter’s arms were also red, and it looked like they were about as burned as his face.
“Fri?” He asked the AI as he tried to fan his hands around Peter’s face to get some air to him.
“Peter is suffering from heat exhaustion, bordering on heatstroke. I recommend getting him inside somewhere cool and getting fluids in him.” Friday answered.
Tony nodded as he re-engaged the suit around him, letting go of Peter’s shoulder for just a moment. When the suit was re-engaged, he leaned over and picked the teenager up, holding him against his chest.
He took off from the ground and headed the short distance to the Compound, the slight breeze ruffling the teenagers’ hair but doing nothing to make him open his eyes.
Tony landed on the landing pad moments later, but kept the suit engaged so he could continue to carry Peter. Bruce was already in the medbay waiting, having been at the Compound already when Tony got the call that Peter was in distress. It had been an incredibly quick flight up to the Compound after the teenager hadn’t answered his phone and Ned hadn’t known exactly where he was, and Tony had panicked.
Now as the teenager lay limp in his arms, he realized that he had had good reason to panic. He had AC in the Spiderman suit, but not in Peter’s everyday clothes and if the teenager was going to continue to pull stupid acts like this, he would outfit all of his clothes despite Peter’s protests. He wasn’t going to have something like this happen again, not if he could help it. Peter found enough new ways to scare Tony on a weekly basis, this would not happen again.
He reached the medbay to see Bruce standing there waiting for them. He took one look at Peter, and instructed Tony to lie him down on one of the beds. Tony followed his instructions, carefully laying Peter down on the closest bed, as gently as he could. The teenager still didn’t move or even make a sound and Tony looked up at Bruce. The other man quickly put a needle in Peter’s limp hand, and attached an IV to it. He handed Tony the bag of fluid and he hung it up on the closest pole. Tony watched as Bruce pinched Peter’s skin and then got a stethoscope on his chest before turning away and touching things on his pad.
“Well?” Tony asked. He had grabbed Peter’s hand after the IV was in, and with two of his fingers on Peter’s pulse point, even he could feel that the heartbeat was more rapid than usual. The inside of the teenagers’ hand was clammy, a stark contrast to the burned skin on the other side.
“He’s okay. It’s not heatstroke though he was definitely getting there. His core temperature is slightly elevated but not in any danger area. He’s just very dehydrated and his face and arms are burned.” Bruce explained and Tony sighed. He reached out his other hand and tousled the teenagers’ hair.
“Stick these under his feet. We need to elevate his legs a little, try to get the blood pumping.” Bruce handed Tony a stack of blankets, the man taking his hands from Peter to grab them. Bruce grabbed Peter’s ankles and held them up slightly so that Tony could move the blankets underneath.
“I’m going to get some wet cloths, we can try to cool him down that way.” Bruce said and Tony nodded. The other man walked out of the room and Tony started un-tieing Peter’s sneakers. He pulled the shoes off and let them drop to the floor before he went back to holding Peter’s hand.
“You’re welcome to wake up anytime here kid.” He told Peter but there was still no response from the teenager on the bed and Tony sighed again. He broke away from Peter for a moment to grab a chair so that he could sit down next to the bed and wait for Bruce.
The man walked back in a few minutes later with a bowl of water, some cloths and a small fan. He handed the bowl and the cloths to Tony who set them on the edge of the bed while Bruce plugged the fan in, and rearranged it so it was blowing gently onto Peter’s face. Tony soaked one of the cloths and started wiping around Peter’s face and neck, trying to wipe away the dried sweat and cool the teenager down. Bruce leaned over to grab one of the cloths and started doing the same to Peter’s arms.
The two were rewarded a few moments later by a moan from the bed and they both instantly stopped to look at Peter’s face. He scrunched up his face, only to groan again and open his eyes. Tony leaned over him so he could look him directly in the face and Peter’s eyes looked bleary and confused.
“Tony?” He asked as he blinked.
“In the flesh kid.” Tony replied. He couldn’t even explain how good it felt to see Peter’s eyes open. Even if Bruce said it wasn’t dangerous, Tony hated it every time the kid was unconscious and he couldn’t do anything but wait.
Peter shifted on the bed and went to pull himself up a little. Tony reached to help him but Peter collapsed back into the bed with a groan.
“Pete?” Tony asked. He put his hands out to assist if needed but Peter just shut his eyes again without saying anything.
“Peter?” Bruce asked after a moment of silence. “Can you tell me how you feel?”
Tony gave the kid a slight shake after there was no response and Peter slowly opened his eyes again.
“Peter?” Bruce asked again.
“My head hurts, a lot. And I’m tired and nauseous.” Peter replied, and then he shut his eyes again.
Tony grabbed his hand and started rubbing his thumb across the palm. Peter’s eyes opened briefly as he looked at Tony, down at his hand and then back up at Tony before shutting them again.
“Did you throw up?” Bruce asked.
“He did.” Tony cut in before Peter could say anything. “He was lying right next to it when I found him.”
“Peter, how many times did you throw up?” Bruce asked.
“Just once.” Peter groaned out and Bruce nodded.
“Okay. It looks like your temperature is coming back down and the burns are already starting to heal. You are not moving from this bed anytime soon though.” Bruce’s tone turned mildly threatening at the end and Tony smiled. The smile faded when Peter groaned on the bed again.
“I don’t want to. I’m so tired, and I hurt and I’m dizzy.”
“That’ll start to fade soon. You’re okay to rest though. We will just keep working on cooling you down.”
Peter nodded from the bed, and Tony felt him start to relax. His hand went limp in Tony’s pretty quickly as his breaths became deep and even as he fell asleep.
“Is he okay Bruce?” Tony asked.
He much preferred to see Peter willingly asleep rather than unwillingly unconscious but he hated seeing Peter in a hospital bed for any reason.
“He’s fine now. He’s completely out of danger and cooling down. I’m keeping the fan on him for now and keeping his legs elevated, but we don’t need the cloths anymore. I’ll come back in a little while to check on him again, but he’ll be fine.” Bruce gathered up the bowl and the cloths and headed out of the room. He turned around just as he hit the door.
“I’m assuming you’re staying?”
“Of course.” Tony answered. He settled himself back into his chair and pulled out his phone with his freehand, using the hand to start scrolling through emails. Bruce nodded as he left, and then it was just Tony and Peter.
Tony glanced over at the teenager on the bed, his breaths deep as he slept and took a sigh of relief.
“You have to stop doing these things to me Pete.” He said.