Life can be frightening
The elevator doors opened and Peter looked up curiously at it.
“It’s just Bruce, Pete” Tony said reassuring Peter as he got up to go greet Bruce.
Tony walked over to the elevator and saw Bruce standing there with a bag, Tony assumed was his doctor bag.
“Hey Bruce, thanks for coming so last minute” Tony said as he grabbed Bruce’s shoulder and led him into the living room where Peter was.
“It’s no problem, Tony” Bruce said then he walked into the living room and looked around.
Bruce’s eyes landed on Peter and Peter looked up at him and waved. Bruce had wide eyes as he looked at Peter.
He stared at him for a few seconds before turning to Tony.
“Is he- is he yours?” Bruce asked sounding like he was out of breath.
Tony shook his head “no,” Tony paused as he looked at Peter then back at Bruce “this is Peter. He got de-aged. I don’t know what happened or how to fix it”
Bruce’s eyes went even more wide as he looked at Peter then back at Tony then back at Peter again.
Bruce dropped his bag on the floor as he walked over to Peter and kneeled down in front of him.
“Uh, hi Peter” Bruce said awkwardly as he looked at Peter up and down.
Peter put his plate on the side of him with only a few bites of pancakes left as he looked up at Bruce.
Peter turned to Tony.
“I don’t know what happened,” Tony said walking over to Peter and sitting on the couch next to him “he just showed up like this last night”
“I didn’t even know that this was possible” Bruce said more to himself than to Tony and Tony mentally swore.
“Let’s take him down to my lab and I’ll run some tests” Bruce said as he stood up and grabbed his bag.
Tony started walking away but then he heard a little whine and he turned back and saw Peter reaching out for him.
Tony walked back and picked Peter up then set him on his feet.
He walked over to Bruce and then turned around and saw Peter running trying to keep up.
“You should just carry him, we’ll get there a lot faster” Bruce said and the elevator doors opened.
Tony looked down at Peter. He doesn’t even remember the last time he’s held a baby before. He’s held one once at a baby shower Pepper made him go to but that’s about it.
Peter finally got over to them and he was about to walk into the elevator then Tony reached down and picked Peter up. He placed Peter awkwardly on his hip and he walked into the elevator.
He looked over at Peter and Peter was looking at him with a confused look that looked really funny on a baby. Tony looked at him. He was holding Peter really awkwardly. He had one hand under Peters butt and the other hand was holding his back.
Tony and Peter just stared at each other then the elevator got to Bruce’s lab.
Tony was about to put Peter down but decided against it.
“You can lie him down here” Bruce said pointing to a silver table.
Tony let go of Peter and placed him on his feet on the table.
“Lie down kid” Tony said and Peter shook his head.
“Cold” Peter said and Tony touched it. It definitely was cold, especially for Peter.
Tony looked around the room then saw a dark blue blanket lying on one of the chairs so he picked it up and lied it down. Peter stepped onto the blanket then sat down.
“I’m just gonna check him over to determine how old he is and if his insides are good” Bruce said as he came over with a stethoscope.
“Peter, can you lie down for me” Bruce said and Peter looked up at Tony before he lied down.
“I’m gonna lift your shirt so I can check your heartbeat” Bruce said and Peters eyes went wide.
“Uh, he’s not wearing anything under that” Tony said but Bruce looked like he didn’t care.
“I don’t care Tony, plus there’s nothing to see” Bruce said and made a move to life Peters top.
Peter tried to move away but Tony stopped him “Peter, it’s okay. He’s gonna help you”
Peter stopped moving so Bruce lifted Peters top up to his chin making Peter completely naked lying there.
Bruce placed the stethoscope on Peters chest and Peter flinched at the coolness.
Peter felt really uncomfortable lying there naked in front of Tony and Bruce but he couldn’t do anything about it so he just lied there.
After Bruce checked his heart he moved Peters shirt back down and Peter was thankful for the coverage.
Bruce grabbed Peters arms and lifted him up so that he was sitting up.
“I’m gonna check your reflexes now, Peter” Bruce said as he dragged Peter to the edge of the table so his legs dangled off.
Bruce quickly did that then he did some other tests on Peter. He shined a flashlight in his eyes and checked his ears.
“Is he Okay?” Tony asked concerned from the other side of the table.
“He’s fine, I can’t see anything wrong with him. He looks like a perfectly healthy baby but the only thing is that he’s supposed to be a kid not a baby” Bruce sounded frustrated.
“How old is he?” Tony asked.
Bruce looked at Peter then turned around to grab something.
“Can you open your mouth, Peter” Bruce said and Peter opened his mouth.
Bruce shined a light in Peters mouth and poked around then he removed it looking up at Tony.
“I’d say he’s just over two years old. Probably twenty- six mouths” Bruce said looking back at Peter.
A baby. Tony thought, Peter was a baby. He was a two year old baby.
“I don’t know how to fix this, Tony. I’m sorry” Bruce sounded genuinely sorry as he washed his hands in the sink.
Peter listened to what Bruce said and his heart started beating really fast. He didn’t want to be stuck like this. He wanted to be a kid again.
Peter felt tears run down his face and Tony looked down at him sadly.
Tony picked Peter up and held him on his hip again. Peter brought his hands up in closed fists to rub at his face.
“I wan’ be big” Peter said as more tears fell down his cheeks.
“I know you do kid, I know” Tony said as he rubbed Peters back.
“I’m sorry Tony” Bruce said looking really sad.
“It’s okay big guy,” Tony gave Bruce a smile “you tried”
“You should ask Doctor Cho to take a look at him” Bruce said and Tony nodded.
He walked out of the lab and into the elevator. He made a mental reminder to call Cho. Tony loved her. She was a very intelligent person and a great doctor.
If there was any hope in getting Peter back to normal, it was Doctor Cho.
.
.
.
After Tony and Peter left the lab, Tony walked to his bedroom and placed Peter on the bed.
Tony sat on the bed next to Peter and pulled out his phone so he could make a call.
Peter watched Tony curiously as he sat on the bed with his chubby legs in front of him.
Tony called Cho and while he was waiting for her to pick up he was looking at Peters legs. They had little chubby roles on then and he felt the need to squeeze it.
Cho answered on the third ring.
“Stark,” Cho said into the phone.
“Doctor Cho, I need your help with something” Tony said hoping she wasn’t too busy so she could help him.
“What do you need my help with?”
“Uh, I just need you to run some tests on somebody” Tony said not wanting to tell too much over the phone.
“Who is it?” Cho asked sounding suspicious.
“I don’t want to tell you over the phone”
Cho paused to think for a few seconds before speaking again “Alright then, I can be over at Stark tower in one hour since I am not too busy today”
“Thank you” Tony hung up the phone then turned to Peter.
“Wha’ is it?” Peter asked and Tony still couldn’t get used to Peters tiny voice.
“Doctor Cho is gonna be here in an hour to look at you”
Peter seemed to shrink in his spot and then he looked up at Tony scared.
“But- But wha’ if she can’t turn me back?” Peter asked as he sat up a little bit more and moved closer to Tony.
Tony thought about the same thing but he didn’t want to scare Peter.
“She will. She’ll figure out something and help you” Tony hoped it was true.
“Let’s go into the living room” Tony picked Peter up and held him against his hip as he walked out of his bedroom and into the living room.
He put Peter on the ground and he walked into the kitchen to make himself a coffee.
Peter stood there on the ground not really knowing what to do.
He walked over to the tv and turned it on with the remote.
Tony came back over and sat down on the couch.
He sat there on his phone while Peter stood and watched tv.
After about ten minutes Tonys phone rang.
It was aunt May.
Tonys heart was beating really fast as he picked it up.
“Hey May” Tony said and Peter turned around looking happy.
“Hey Tony. What time is Peter gonna be coming back at because I was gonna go out with my friends later” May said.
“Uh,” Tony looked at Peter as he watched with wide eyes. Tony didn’t get Peter fixed yet so he couldn’t send Peter back “you go out with your friends, May. I’ll keep Peter another night-“
Tony watched as Peter stood there while he was talking then Peter looked down between his legs and Tony realized that Peter was peeing.
“Oh no, I’ve gotta go May, Peter just peed” Tony said not even realizing he shouldn’t have said that.
“What? Did Peter have an accident-“ May said but Tony hung up on her.
“It’s okay, Pete” Tony said as he walked over to Peter and picked him up by the underarms and held him at a distance as he walked to the bathroom.
This was the third accident Peters had in the last day.
He sat Peter on the ground then he lifted his shirt over his head. He threw the shirt on the ground then stood up to turn the shower on.
“I’m sowwy” Peter said and he started crying.
Tony noticed that Peters speech was getting worse and that was a bit concerning.
“Don’t be sorry kid” Tony turned the shower on then he grabbed Peters hand.
Peter grabbed his hand as he walked over to the shower still crying.
Tony lifted the shower handle off and he cleaned Peter off by just letting the water rinse Peters legs then he shut the shower off.
Tony grabbed Peters hand again and helped him out of the shower.
He turned around and got a towel then put it around Peter.
Peter grabbed the edge of the towel and followed Tony into his bedroom while he tried not to trip on the towel. Tony went into the closet to get another shirt for Peter.
Tony placed the shirt on the bed then bent down to pick Peter up.
Peter stood on he bed but then he lost his balance and fell.
Tony went to pick him up but the phone rang.
It was May.
Tony was about to ignore it and let it ring but he knew he had to pick it up otherwise May would be calling back again. Tony took a deep breath and answered the phone.
“Hey May-“
“What happened to Peter?” May cut Tony off sounding really worried for her nephew.
“Uh, nothing happened” Tony said then touched his face with his hand nervously.
Peter watched curiously at Tony on the phone with his aunt.
“You said Peter peed himself. Did he have an accident?” May sounded annoyed but also concerned.
Technically Peter did have an accident but if Tony told May that then May would think it would be her fifteen year old nephew wetting his pants and not her two year old nephew.
“Oh, no he didn’t”
May sighed “then why did you say Peter just peed himself?”
Tony paused not really knowing how to respond “Uh, it was just a joke, Peter didn’t actually pee himself, he’s fine, dry as ever”
“Alright, you boys are weird. I’m gonna go out with my friends tonight then I’ll pick Peter up tomorrow at noon” May didn’t sound convinced but she knew that nothing was seriously wrong with Peter like he was dying or else Tony would tell her so she let it go.
“Alright, bye May” Tony hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed.
“That was close huh, Pete” Tony smiled as Peter gave a little nod then he grabbed the towel from around Peters shoulders and tossed it to the side then he pulled the top over Peters head.
Just then FRIDAY spoke up.
“Boss, Helen Cho is arriving in the elevator” FRIDAY said and Tony picked Peter up and placed him on his hip still awkwardly holding him.
“Let’s go meet Cho” Tony knew that Peter never met Cho before but he’s heard about her through Tony so she isn’t really anyone new.
Tony walked out of his bedroom holding Peter and he walked over to the elevator where Cho was.
She was looking around the room then she saw Tony walk in and her eyes landed straight on Peter. She looked confused.
“This is Peter, Peter, this is Doctor Cho” Tony introduced them and Peter just looked at Cho but her eyes widened.
Tony has told her about Peter before and has shown her pictures so this must be really surprising for her to see the boy Tony was talking about this whole time is actually a baby.
“This is Peter?” Cho asked.
“Yeah, that’s why I need your help. He’s supposed to be a fifteen year old kid” Tony said annoyed as he lifted Peter up higher on his hip.
“How did this happen?”
“I don’t know. He just showed up yesterday like this”
Cho nodded as she walked over to the couch and placed her bag on the ground.
“I want to check him over,” Cho got out some equipment then turned back to Tony “lie him here”
Tony placed Peter on the couch and Peter just sat there in his oversized shirt with his legs and feet hidden under it.
“Lie down for me Peter” Cho said and Peter lied down.
Helen checked Peters eyes and his ears and Tony sat down by Peters feet to watch.
Helen then grabbed something out of her bag then she turned to Peter and lifted his shirt up. Helen didn’t seem to care at all that Peter was naked as she checked his heart.
Tony looked at Peters face as he stared at the ceiling then he turned to Cho and grabbed the stethoscope and began playing with it.
Helen smiled at Peter then she turned to Tony to talk to him.
“I can’t find anything out of the ordinary,” she turned to Peter and pulled down his shirt “he seems normal and healthy”
Tony shook his head sadly looking at Peter who was looking at him. Peter lifted his legs up and grabbed his feet which exposed Peters whole backside so Tony reached over and covered him with the shirt.
“I can try running more tests but that will take weeks since I don’t know what I’m looking for” Cho said trying to make Tony feel better.
“Just do whatever you can” Cho stood up and started putting stuff in her bag.
Tony picked Peter up and put him on his feet.
“Thanks for coming” Tony shook hands with Helen then he walked her to the elevator doors.
Peter followed them as he watched Tony.
Helen turned to wave bye to Peter but then Peter bent down and looked between his legs.
Tony looked over at Peter and realized that the kid just wet himself again.
“He just peed himself” Cho turned to Tony sounding really sorry for Peter.
Tony nodded already knowing what he had to do.
“Until we can figure this out you should get him some baby products. Such as diapers and creams and baby clothes” Helen said then left.
Tony watched her leave. He never thought of Peter needing any of that stuff but now that he thought about it, he was stupid to not think Peter needed it sooner.