Whumptober Prompt Stories

“Really? Jesus, do any bad guys stay in jail these days?” Tony sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes at the grade A douchebag standing before him. The man smiled and raised his arms out in a flashy gesture, motioning up and down at himself and keeping the self-satisfied smirk on his face.

“Anthony, long time no see.” The mechanic grit his teeth at the purposeful use of his full name, trying not to draw attention to how much it actually irked him. “You know, it may have been unrealistic, but I almost hoped you’d take the time to come see me in prison.” From the look on his face, he was being sarcastic, and Tony fixed him with an irritated frown. “Seems to me like you were busy with a few other… important things while I was in there,” something on his face made out that he was satisfied. He was wearing a custom-fit suit, the usual drab greyness of the material gave a weak contrast to his always untrustworthy brown eyes. He must have cleaned up a bit after either escaping or being let out of prison, Tony didn’t know which, he also didn’t care.

Justin Hammer.

“Yeah, I was pretty busy, probably a lot busier than you were all cooped up in that fancy cell of yours.” Justin laughed dryly, his eyes dragging across the single cuff that attached Tony to the wall of the moving van. He noted how the man was staying a few steps further away then the max length of the chain if he were to lash out. “I’m not going to attack you yet, I’m too genuinely interested in whatever stupid thing you have planned this time.” Hammer narrowed his eyes.

“I can assure you it’s not stupid, Stark. I’ve taken the time to actually plot this thing out, taking each and every necessary...” He paused for a moment and tapped his chin, as if thinking, “shall we call it – motivator?” When he smirked this time, his face translated something darker than before.

“Mm, yeah. I can feel myself quaking right now. You’re aware I’m part of the Avengers, right?” He wasn’t hesitant to say that anymore, after the Accords and Siberia, things had been… tough, to say the least. Everybody was okay now, they had sucked it up and acted like grown-ups, talking out the issues and moving back to how they had been before the entire mess. With the Accords scrapped, they all stayed at the Tower together, of course they each practically had their own floors. “I’m pretty sure they’re all on their way as we speak, I was on dishes tonight so… yeah, kidnapping or not, they’ll be getting me out of here, so I can get that done.” He jangled the single chain pointedly, raising an eyebrow as Justin showed absolutely no signs of worry over his mild threat. “Oh, I forgot, you probably didn’t get the news station in prison, guessing you don’t know the Avengers, huh?”

“I’m perfectly aware,” the man said slyly, leaning forward slightly as the van slowed. “I also kept track of some other minor heroes, employees, friends, interns, lovers, really Anthony, anyone you could be close to at all.” The vehicle came to a stop and he heard the rustling of feet on concrete from outside the doors. “Pretty easy too, if I may say so. It was harder to keep tabs on regulars, but a couple public figures were much easier to watch.” Hammer stepped backward as the van’s door slid open and a couple men took his place, holding a second pair of cuffs which would assumingly be used to keep him from struggling too much. “I’m rather eager to see how much you really care for who exactly I decided to go for, but it was quite a win-win situation on my side. You get some tugs on the heartstrings, I get someone to test my new tech on.”

“I’m glad you still think I even have a heart to tug at, Justin, considering how little I care for your shit.” He didn’t get a reply, just the feeling of more metal being secured around his wrists while he was roughly pulled to his feet and escorted from the van. “So, who’d ya go for?” He asked casually, ignoring the feeling of worry that had started to pinch at him, small voices whispering someone he could care about was going to get hurt because of him.

“Well, you know me, I’m one for dramatic flair, so how boring would it be if I just told you?” At least he knew how much of a theatrical asshole he was.

“Oh lord, just get to it would you? God, I forgot how annoying you were.” He was shoved forward and turned to face the road, away from the small building they were going to be taking him too shortly. “Grand entrance, oh I’m soooo exited,” he groaned unenthusiastically as he noted the second van driving toward them over the dirty country road. Tony wondered how far out from the city they were, why Justin felt the need to keep him somewhere so secluded and far from any other people.

“Here we go!” Hammer said excitedly, bouncing on his heels as the vehicle pulled up and the drivers stepped out, opening the doors to allow far more men then he had needed to pile out. “Needed some more security, aggressive little bugger, isn’t he?” He didn’t answer, choosing instead to focus on who the men were about to pull from the van. Whoever it was must have been fighting back, because he could hear the grunts that Justin’s men were making as they forced someone to their feet. When they were finally thrown from the van and into the sunlight, it took Tony all of three second until his heart was dropping into his stomach.

There was a black sack covering his face, but nothing hid what he was wearing, and the bright fabric was all too familiar to the man that made it.

“Ow, ow, you guys suck. Get off me!” There were two men on each of his sides, holding him up so his feet dragged across the ground while what looked to be enforced shackles connected his ankles and wrists together. “Wow, you’re all assholes,” he grumbled while Tony tried to keep himself from displaying too much horror when he realised who it was. From the red feet, blue legs, emblem on his chest and dangerously young voice, the boy was unmistakably Peter Parker.

For a brief moment, Tony tried to deny it, reasoning that it was probably some drunk guy in a well-constructed replica of Peter’s suit under that sack, but he was so familiar with the teen by now that he couldn’t convince himself.

“How’s that for a big reveal, eh? You like?” He swallowed, choosing to once again neglect Justin’s question. “It’s rude to look away, so I’d suggest answering me,” the man threatened lowly, not able to keep the satisfied look of his face as he watched Tony squirm as he recognised Spider-Man’s get up.

“Uhhhh, not sure what big reveal you’re talking about man, the sack’s still on my head, so if you take that off I could probably ans –” Peter began before Hammer cut him off sharply.

“Not speaking to you, so shut up,” he kept his eyes firmly locked on Tony, waiting for him to give away some sort of clue that choosing Spider-Man hadn’t been such a bad idea.

“Rude,” Peter muttered unhappily, not yet realising what kind of situation he was in.

“Fuck you, you made a shitty choice. I don’t care about anything.” He tried to keep the fear off his face while he spoke, hoping that Justin wouldn’t catch on to how much he actually cared about the kid, who had just recognised his voice.

“M – Mister Stark?” He asked hesitantly, biting his lip from under the sack.

“See? We aren’t close, he still calls me Mister Stark, you’re an idiot Hammer, let him go and stop being an asshole.” He knew Peter could be easily offended by his charade of not caring, but he would rather pretend like he had no heart, so the boy wasn’t hurt.

“I don’t know why, but I find that hard to believe, Anthony. Move them inside, don’t let that one bleed out or anything.” Tony immediately snapped his head up to look for any injuries on Peter. What the hell did Justin mean ‘bleed out,’ had the teen been hurt? When he noticed the darker staining of red splotched across the suit, he felt sicker then when the men had shoved Peter from the van.

Below his ribcage, far to the side and above his hip was the hilt of a knife, the surrounding fabric was soaked crimson and tiny drops of blood fell from the wound, landing among the dirt while Tony looked on in horror.

“You fucking stabbed him? Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you, he needs medical attention!” The minimal number of times Peter had dealt with a knife wound from his patrols had worried Tony greatly, but thankfully Karen had notified him each and every time, so he was able to sort the kid out in the Med Bay before he could slink off home and sleep away the worst of the injury. But somehow, this felt very different, it could’ve been the fact that the blade was still lodged inside of the boy, or perhaps the way he was trying to simultaneously trying to not act like he cared, whilst also trying to get Peter some sort of medical care.

“Sounds an awful lot like you care, maybe I’ll let you patch him up later if you stop insulting me.” Peter’s chest was rising and falling quickly, although his breaths didn’t seem uneven, the panic was evident as the two were led inside and down multiple flights of stairs.

They were forced into a room which Tony would describe as a dusty basement, but he was too busy watching the men chaining Peter to the wall while Justin ripped off the sack. “You know, the whole secret identity thing always irritated me, especially when you’re just some guy in spandex running around Queens, not making much of a difference.” He had started to peel the Spider-Man mask upwards, despite how much the boy was trying to wriggle away from him, the chains didn’t have any give and he was already pressed up against the wall, so he couldn’t jerk his head away. Tony worried at the inside of his cheek when the mask was thrown aside, and Justin went oddly silent for a moment, his body blocking the line of sight to Peter. “Amazing,” he breathed softly, reaching an arm out to brush a lock of sweaty hair off the teens face, marvelling in how young he was. “How old is he Stark, fifteen?”

“I’m almost seventeen so in your face, jerk.” Tony could practically hear the scowl in Peter’s voice, and it was only confirmed when Justin moved aside to tilt the boy’s face towards where he was chained opposite to him.

“A sixteen-year-old protégé, huh? I bet there’s a real father-son dynamic there, what do you say Anthony?” He mimicked the glare Peter had, wrinkling his nose in distaste as Hammer attempted to pick apart the relationship they had. “Wonder where exactly you scooped him up from. Well, enjoy the time you have to chat it out, I’m getting some of the tech finished while you get situated.” Justin dropped his hand from Peter’s chin and the boy glowered angrily, jerking his head away from the man as he stood and hovered at the door for a moment. “Unlike other products, I’ve really put some considerable time and effort into the ones I’m making for you to observe in action,” he smiled at Tony and shut the door behind him, the metal clanging and making Peter wince slightly as he heard the multiple locks sliding into place.

The two sat in silence for a few more minutes, Tony refused to meet Peter’s gaze and the boy tried to listen to Justin’s footsteps until they moved too far for him to hear. The mechanic knew the quiet wouldn’t last much time, considering how much the teen chained opposite him liked to chatter his ear off when they worked in the lab together. He took note of the low-grade surveillance camera which moved its frame across the room every few seconds, making sure to keep that in the back of his mind.

“Mister Stark, I – I’m really sorry. I did fight, but there were too many and when one of them had the knife I couldn’t get out of the way in time and it just sorta… happened.” Peter seemed to be more worried about how angry Tony might be, rather than the knife that was still lodged inside of him, which made the mechanic grind his teeth and shake the restraints, testing their strength. He took a moment to pause, carefully surveying Peter’s wound and trying to keep the concerned expression off his face.

The blade was fully lodged inside him, the only actual part of the knife that Tony could make out was the hilt. Luckily, from the positioning of the wound, it looked like the only damage was skin and soft tissue, nothing major or vital. Part of the hilt was bloody, and it he silently hoped that Peter hadn’t tried to pull the blade out himself, especially considering he was the one that taught the boy to always leave knives where they were so that he didn’t go into shock from blood loss.

“Can you say something? Please?” Peter looked to where Tony was still very obviously checking over the knife, and his face dropped as he began to bite his lower lip. “I – I think I’m gonna have to take it out Mister Stark… I know you always said to leave it but… M’ kinda already starting to heal around it, so I don’t really want it to be stuck there for much longer.” He looked up incredulously at the teen and mimicked the way he was gnawing at his bottom lip.

“You could start to bleed more, wait until I can… Jesus, I don’t know – lemme try to get you a med kit or something.” His voice almost wobbled with the intentional effort he was putting into keeping it emotionless and impartial. “It’s okay, I’m not mad – I just…” He trailed off and nudged his head upwards slightly, motioning inconspicuously for Peter to look up at the security camera and hoping that he would catch on to the whole ‘not caring’ act.

“O – okay, um… it’s not deep, the blade’s pretty small,” he shuffled a little and Tony didn’t miss the way he winced lightly and sucked in a small breath as the knife shifted along with him. “Can I – uh, is… shit,” he waited until the camera was facing away from him before mouthing silently ‘is Steve coming?’

“Yeah kid, just – try to stay still, okay?” Peter nodded and blew out another puff of air while he let his head drop back against the wall. His hair was damp with sweat and beginning to furl around the edges, so Tony assumed Justin’s men cornered him during his patrol after school. “You good?” He whispered after another period of quiet.

“Mhm, just a little – ah, a little sore is all… M’ good though.” His hazel eyes gleamed while he tilted his head to the side and his face asked the question silently ‘what about you?’

“I’m fine, stop worrying so much,” Peter looked unconvinced and his eyes trailed up and down, searching for any unseen injuries on his mentor. “It’s a headache and nothing else, just relax for now.” He hesitated briefly, continuing to check for any indication that Tony was actually hurt and hiding it well, before he slumped again and resorted to just keeping his breathing steady and watching the camera sweep across the room methodically.

It must have been at least half an hour before Peter picked his head up again, quirking it to the side and appearing to listen intently. He could pick up the slight tapping of expensive sounding shoes coming back their way.

“Mister Stark,” he said quietly, nodding his head towards the door in warning.

“Let me do the talking, just don’t draw attention to yourself, for once. Please just let me take charge here, okay kiddo.” Peter huffed but didn’t argue, just continued to track the rapidly shortening distance of the person. He narrowed his eyes as the tell-tale click of the locks announced Justin’s entrance, along with the bang of the door being pushed open.

“Not staying, need some measurements is all. If you don’t squirm, then I’ll give you this to play around with.” He directed all his words to Peter, motioning at the measuring tape in one of his hands and the small medical kit in his other. He surged straight past Tony, dropping the kit a few feet away from Peter and out of his reach while he lifted the tape out, frowning when the teen instinctively leaned away from it. “Don’t move, it’s just tape, not gonna hurt… yet.” Tony gritted his teeth at the insinuation of Hammer’s words.

Peter’s mouth opened as if to speak, but his eyes darted over to where Tony was shaking his head and it snapped back shut again. They both figured that letting Justin measure whatever he needed for the med kit was a good trade, and the mechanic especially worried now that he noticed the few splatters of blood on the ground beside Peter. “There you go, keep still,” the man wrapped the tape around Peter’s forehead, then all the way around his head starting at his nose and finally directly over his eyes. “Good, very good,” he muttered to himself, ignoring the way the boy wrinkled his face at the praise. “I’ll be back soon, patch yourself up and I’m taking this, so you aren’t tempted to try anything with it.” His fingers tapped at the handle of the knife and Peter winced.

“Don’t touch it, he won’t do anything with it, just leave it alone Hammer.” Tony lowered his voice angrily as the only thing that Justin did in response was shoot him a smirk and dance his fingers along the hilt and grin as Peter’s face twisted in discomfort. “Back off,” he growled sharply as Peter’s lip began to quiver almost imperceptibly.

“Don’t think you’re in the position to tell me what to do, Stark.” Justin bared his overly white teeth as he flashed a grin and wrapped his hand around the handle, making Peter suck in a very shaky breath. “You should just be grateful I found a kit lying around for your kid to use,” he jerked his arm backward and pulled the knife along with it, chuckling darkly at the look on Tony’s face when Peter gasped and made a small shout of sudden pain. The blade was coated red and it dripped as Justin carried it back out the door with him, kicking the box against Peter’s feet on his way out.

Tony could hear the teen’s heavy breaths from across the room, and he watched as shaky fingers pressed against the bloody cut and he knocked his head back against the wall and bit his upper lip to keep himself quiet.

“Hey, hey, take it slow okay? Yeah put pressure on it, just like that.” He took his own breath and tried to stay calm when Peter’s hands shook against his side and more drops of blood slid down his suit and collected in a small pool on the floor next to his hip. “Keep breathing and press the emblem, get the suit off your torso and pull some of that gauze out to hold against it,” the boy followed his instructions and gingerly peeled his suit away from his chest and left it hanging over his hips, so he could press the gauze firmly against the wound. He groaned quietly and arched his back as his hands trembled, looking up to the ceiling while his features scrunched in pain. “Hey, you’re doing good, don’t think about the pain, just focus on me, alright?”

“I th – think it’s stopped bleeding now,” Peter said unsteadily after several minutes of keeping pressure over the cut.

“That’s good, really good kid. Take the gauze away and use some of that water in the kit to clean it,” he watched while Peter did just that, his hands still trembling slightly as the water began to wash away majority of the blood. Once the area seemed clean enough he craned his neck and looked at the contents of the kit more carefully, “put some of that antiseptic cream on there and wrap it up with the dressing.”

“Okay it – it doesn’t hurt that bad now, I’m just… I feel tired,” Peter’s eyes were half lidded, but he stayed alert enough to keep them open while he leant further against the wall and managed a weak smile.

“Don’t go to sleep yet, try to relax though kid. I’m sorry you’re going through this shit with me,” he frowned at the camera and hoped that wherever Justin was, he could see it.

“Not your fault Mister Stark,” the teen murmured tiredly. They both kept still and quiet for what must have been another half hour, Peter had begun to blink lethargically, and he kept a lazy eye on both the camera and Tony while he kept himself awake. “I can hear him walking,” he whispered, his shoulders tensing while he draped a protective arm over his side and sat up straighter.

“Okay, just stay quiet like last time,” the mechanic tugged at the chains once more before settling into the same tense position as Peter.

“There are more of them…” the teen said dejectedly, propping himself up further as if he would be able to defend himself. The locks clicked before Tony could respond, then Justin and four men were walking into the room, one of them dragging an enforced chair behind him.

“Ah, I see you’ve cleaned yourself up a bit Peter,” the boy’s eyes widened noticeably at the use of his name and Justin picked up on it quickly. “Yeah, I did my research on you before I even thought about how much better it’d be to use Spider-Man,” he leaned down to eye-level and scoffed. “Something about being Stark’s intern seemed curious, but those senses that Spidey has were so much more intriguing, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a play around with that.” Justin stood, gesturing at the men and the chair, continuing to talk while they did their job. “Imagine my surprise when you were like two rolled as one, a genius intern and a vigilante protégé.” As the men detached Peter’s chains from the wall and shoved him down into the chair, Hammer spun around to face Tony, eyes glinting in what looked like excitement. “You make it too easy for me,” he sneered and circled Peter’s chair.

“Stop it, leave him alone,” Tony warned, baring his teeth when Justin slowed and came to rest his chin atop Peter’s head, watching the guards strapping him to the chair while he leaned away from everyone and tried to not disturb the wound. “Back off Hammer,” he hissed aggressively as the man twirled a finger idly around a strand of Peter’s hair and smiled conceitedly at how much he was getting to Tony.

“Admit it, you care about him and you don’t want me to do anything to him,” the teen squirmed under the restraints and arched his back to try and pull away from where Justin was leaning against him.

“I’d care regardless of who it was, I don’t want to sit here and watch you hurt an innocent teenager to get to me, you’re sadistic,” he spat angrily. Justin only hummed disinterestedly and swung some thing in his hands which Tony was only just noticing.

“Yes, but this hurts you more,” the man tapped his foot on the floor before slamming it down harshly, stomping loudly and looking pleased when Peter flinched at the sound. “Heed those senses Anthony, so precise, so stimulating, perfectly enticing for someone like me. You understand, being a man of science and all,” he reached a finger down to tap at Peter’s chin and gain his attention. “Like the looks?” He dangled the object in his hand above the boy’s face but continued to watch Tony carefully.

The thing he held looked at first to be some sort of sleeping mask, but the light caught the surface and gleamed in a way that only metal would. When it turned in Justin’s hand, Tony could see the small forceps and circular lenses that were on the inside of the mask. There was a bulky strap that looped around the sides of the gadget and created a circle, presumably measured to fit Peter’s head. It was silver and black, it reflected the light in such a clean way that Tony recognised it to be newly built and most likely tailored to Peter’s measurements.

“What is that?” Justin only smiled wider as he twined his fingers through Peter’s curls and stared ahead at Tony provokingly, hovering the device closer and closer towards the teen’s face. “Keep it away from him, you’ve got me, you don’t need anything else.” He hooked whatever the tool was over his arm and clasped his fingers together, resting them over Peter’s head and resting his chin overtop of them teasingly.

“The thing is, you ruined my public image, you got my weapons contract suspended and I wound up in Seagate Prison. You tore down Hammer industries and I’m thinking…” Justin paused to still his fingers in Peter’s hair, gripping the strands tightly, using the force to tug his head up brutally and expose his neck so his eyes were meeting Tony’s. “It’s only fair if I get to tear down the little relationships you’ve made while I was busy doing time for no good reason.”

“You hired a terrorist to build an army of robots which attacked the Stark Expo and almost killed harmless kids running around in plastic Iron Man masks. The time you spent was pretty well deserved, Hammer.” Peter grimaced as his hair was pulled roughly, but he kept his eyes open, facing Tony with an unrelenting trust that the mechanic never thought he deserved.

“M – Mister Stark?” His voice cracked from the odd angle and Justin looked down at him, a threateningly pleasant smile on his face.

“That’s it Stark, tell the kid how much he’s going to suffer because of you,” his fingers tightened, and Peter yelped as he felt his eye’s beginning to tear up.

“He saved me as a kid at that Expo, a – and he’ll do it again, now.” The unwavering faith the teen had in Tony made him feel borderline assured in his ability to protect, but as he watched Justin yanking the boy’s neck back and hushing him firmly, the guilt grew in the pit of his stomach.

“Back away from him.” He snarled fiercely, the chains rattling as he pulled them taught, feeling more satisfied when the grin fell off Justin’s face and he dropped Peter’s head and stalked towards him.

“You know what? I don’t care about messing up your little mentee, I have nothing against him. All I care about is making you suffer like how I did,” the man prodded a finger against Tony’s chest and waved a hand in Peter’s direction.

“If you even touch him –” he began.

“Oh, I don’t need to touch him, my tech does all the work for me. Just like your stupid suits do for you.” Justin stood again, backing up closer to Peter and signalling two of his men to join him. “Like I said, I spent time on this. You aren’t stopping me, no matter how much faith the kid puts in you.” The men must have known what Hammer wanted, because when they stepped forward and held Peter’s head in place, they were holding him still in a specific way, so the device could fit over his face easily.

“M – Mister Stark!” Peter was jerking his body and trying to dislodge the men holding his head in place, but when he saw Justin lowering the mask towards him he began to thrash wildly to the point where Tony worried his knife wound may start bleeding again. “No! No! Get away – please! Get off me, Mister Stark, help! Get them a – away!” His voice was rising in panic and no matter how hard he was struggling under the restraints, his head stayed in place while the gadget was moved closer to his face. “N – no!” He whimpered as the first parts of the metal frame touched his skin and Tony could see his body shiver in response.

“Hey, Pete, hey buddy I know it’s scary, I know. Keep your eyes closed for me, just keep them shut, I’m working on it, I swear!” He tugged at his own bonds and barely took the time to wince as they wrenched his shoulders and wrists while he pulled. “Justin stop! Okay, just leave him alone!” The man didn’t even look up from where he was dangling the object onto Peter’s face, but he did pause for a moment and bend down, digging his fingers over the gauze that was wrapped over where the knife had protruded from. “Stop it!” Tony yelled as Peter lurched and gasped as the wound began to sluggishly bleed once again.

“Keep your eyes open or I’ll force the knife back in there, kay?” The boy’s chin quivered at Justin’s threat and he sniffled, Tony wasn’t sure if he had opened his eyes or not. The mask continued to lower, and soon enough Peter was crying out as the circular lenses were touching his eyes. “There you go, let the forceps hold them open while I adjust the band,” Justin laid a placating hand on the top of the teen’s head while he tugged the band to the tightest setting and made sure it held the mask against Peter’s eyes.

“Get it off him, your issue is with me, not him. Take the mask off.” Tony couldn’t meet Peter’s eyes with the gadget covering them, but he could imagine the terrified haze that would cloud over them and the way they would widen in fear of what was to come. He didn’t get to see that look often and he was glad that Peter was never in situations where his fright was so evident like it clearly was now.

“M – M – Mister Stark? Mister Stark! Please, I – I can’t – I can’t close my eyes, please, please help! It’s hurting – it hurts, it hurts…” His chest was moving rapidly with terror and his cries were bordering on hysterical. His mouth was opened in a grimace and his entire jaw was shivering as pained noises escaped. “Stop! Stop, please – please… it hurts, I can’t – I can’t see anything –”

“Shh, Peter, you aren’t supposed to see anything yet. Let the device moisten your eyes and I’ll turn it on, so Stark can watch the show.” Tony gave a furious shout and heaved with his restraints, trying desperately to kick out at Justin. “No, you can stay there Anthony, leave the boy to deal with the mask and you focus on how this is all your fault.”

“N – No!” Peter yelled, “it’s not his fault, he’s a hero!” Justin looked at them both distastefully and pressed something on the side of the device, waving the rest of the men out of the room as Peter wailed in reaction to whatever the button had done.

“What did you press? What’s it doing to him?” Peter was gripping the arms of the chair with a white-knuckled grip and he shook his head weakly as if testing to see whether the mask would dislodge.

“Relax, I turned it on, he’s looking at a white screen right now. I haven’t started up the visuals yet.” Tony didn’t fully understand the extent of Peter’s senses, but he knew they got overloaded frequently and the boy would often get migraines on bad days. When he had first spent time with the teen on a day where everything was too much, he spent all of that night setting up a ‘Lights Out Protocol.’ Any time after that, when he recognised the kid wincing under harsh lights or wearing his mask at unnecessary times in the tower, he’d call sensory overload and F.R.I.D.A.Y would lower all the lighting and as much noise as possible in the rooms Peter frequented. “I’m glad it fits you, I made sure to design it, so you couldn’t blink or close your eyes against the lighting. I didn’t want your cornea to dry out so it’s just dripping some moisture every few seconds to stop that.” Peter shuddered, and Tony saw his flexing his wrists and legs against the restraints, trying to get out of them.

“I – I can’t, it’s hurting… stop it – please stop it.” Peter’s face was flicking between scrunching and trembling, Tony was starting to see where the moisture was beginning to run down his cheeks, he hoped that’s what those were, because Peter crying wasn’t something he wanted to see.

“Hammer stop, you’re hurting him, and he doesn’t deserve this,” he pulled more at the chains and yearned to be closer to the teen, so he could give him some sort of comfort.

“Be quiet, I’m starting it up now, and this isn’t about whether he deserves it or not, this is about seeing if my tech works like it’s supposed to.” He was leaning over and fiddling with something on the side of the mask, before plugging in a small stick into a slot and uploading information to the screens.

“What is it supposed to do when it works?” Justin paused as he looked directly at Tony with a sly expression.

“Hurt you,” he said clearly, tapping a second button and stepping back as Peter began to writhe around in the chair. He watched with interest, tilting his head and observing how the teen whined and struggled uselessly.

----

“Hurt you,” Justin claimed boldly while Peter was forced to stare at a blank screen. He heard something click from outside the mask and then the white light began to strobe aggressively, and patterns of wild colours were flashing into his eyes. The sudden change caught him off guard and he jerked backward, as if he could move away from the assault on his senses, but the device followed. With the forceps holding his eyes and the makeshift contact lenses displaying the feverish visuals, he couldn’t look away, there was absolutely no way to escape the pain that was beginning to build behind his eyes.

Another whine was torn from his throat as the white strobe lighting began to flash different colours, he was overloaded immediately. The lights, colours and patterns were flashing too quickly for him to make anything out, but they didn’t seem to be real images, all digitally created and closely resembling optical illusions. After a few minutes the sensation in his skull was more than painful, it was severe, and he didn’t understand how much more the displays could intensify but somehow, they did.

The colours came in rapid succession and the strobing increased in speed while the patterns grew more and more complex and in motion. A strangled cry fell from his mouth and the tears pooling at the bottom of his eyes began to fall, he felt them rolling down his cheeks and dripping onto his legs.

“Please, please, please! I – it’s too – it’s too much, it hurts… I – I can’t – I can’t, Mister S – Stark, please!” He arched his back away from the chair and tried to rip his arms away from the restraints, so he could pull the horrible thing away from his eyes, but they were strapped down too tightly and the most he could do was recoil and thrash around violently. Not much time passed before his whines and cries had grown to screams as the pain in his head became agonising. “Ah! Pl – please, please!” A particularly vicious scream was torn from his throat and it broke at the end on a sob.

“Peter I’m here! I’m here kiddo, please don’t hurt yourself.” He didn’t know if his struggling was hurting him, all he could feel was the fiery affliction that continued to grow behind his eyes. He choked on more sobs and began to howl in agony as it all seemed to crash together before his eyes and he was bawling. Hot tears streamed down his face and he could barely make out Tony’s cries of attempted comfort and how he screamed for Justin to turn it off.

He didn’t know how much time was passing, or had passed, all he knew was the pain and the screen that continued to attack his sight and chip away at his will. Peter didn’t know if his vision was blurring or if the patterns were growing to that effect, but a numbness was spreading through his body and it tingled beneath his skin. Something flooded in his mouth and it tasted like steel amongst the sensation of something crawling from his stomach up his throat. His eyes rolled back into his skull, so the whites were showing, and his jaw clamped shut, his teeth grinding together as he lost control and the numb tingling overtook his entire body. The onslaught of rapid-fire colour switches were beginning to blur together as he felt himself fading.

The last thing he remembers hearing, was his own quiet mewl of terror as the screen seemed to consume every part of him.

----

“Peter? Peter! Pete, come on talk to me! What’s happening? What the hell is that thing doing to him!” Tony wrenched against his own restraints as Peter fell silent and his jaw appeared to lock up. For a few seconds his entire body clenched, and he went completely rigid, not even fighting against the straps holding him to the chair. Then, the boy began small, jerking movements as he convulsed and seized violently. “Stop, stop the mask – turn it off! Turn it off!” Justin didn’t move from where he stood, just continued to observe and admire his own tech.

Small sounds started to come from where Peter’s teeth were clenched shut, it sounded as if he were choking and Tony felt his own eyes burning as he watched the congested gasping noises escape. “Shit, shit, Justin please – please turn it off, he – he’s having a seizure! He can’t stay in the chair, please get the restraints off him, he’s going to choke on his own saliva. Fuck! Please, let me help him, he needs help!” He was trying to run forward so forcefully that he could feel the metal digging into his own hands, but he wouldn’t stop because he was watching Peter have a seizure and nobody was helping.

“It’s working then,” the man murmured to himself. Justin looked torn between being proud of himself and feeling a twinge of worry that the kid could die if it was serious enough. Tony looked up at him with wet eyes while continuing to struggle against his bonds.

“Please, please, he’s bleeding again, let me help him!” His tugging only relented slightly when he looked back over to Peter and saw the frothy, red tinged saliva and grime beginning to foam around his pale lips. “I have to help him! Please!” He threw himself forward with even more force than before and Justin rolled his eyes but ambled forward and began to unlock his cuffs slowly. “Shit, he – he’s seizing, I have to – ah!” He cried out as the cuffs were released and he fell forward to his knees, skinning his palms on the floor but picking himself up immediately and sprinting forward.

“God, this is pitiful,” Justin muttered to himself as he walked outside the room, locking the door behind him and rolling his eyes.

“Peter!” Tony yelled, urgently reaching for the mask and loosening the strap so he could try and ease it from the boy’s head without hurting his eyes more. The forceps keeping his lids open unlocked along with the band and as he threw the offending device aside he managed to catch the whites of Peter’s eyes before they slid shut and his lashes were rested against his cheeks while he continued to jerk around. “I’m here, I’m here kiddo, I don’t know if you can even hear me but I’m here now.” He undid the restraints and rested the teen against his body before he gently laid him on his side against the floor to keep his airway clear. He cupped the teen’s head in his hands to stop it from hitting the ground and stayed crouched beside him.

Eventually, the jerking and convulsions stopped, and Peter’s body seemed to become less rigid. He stayed unresponsive and Tony rolled him into the recovery position carefully and tore off his own jacket to lie it underneath his head like a pillow. “You’re okay, it’s over, it’s over,” he repeated softly, wiping the froth away from the corners of his lips with the edge of his sleeve and opening his mouth to check he hadn’t bitten his tongue too badly.

Peter regained consciousness slowly, he was dazed, confused and disorientated. When his eyes opened he whimpered and snapped them shut again, reaching out to clutch at Tony hand while more tears slipped down his face. “Hey, it’s okay, he’s gone, he’s gone now. I’m here Pete, you’re okay. The mask’s gone, you’re okay,” he continued the soft reassurances until the teen stopped trembling in fear and began to melt into as much physical comfort as he could. He was still sobbing when he reached up to bury his face away into Tony’s neck and press himself in deeper, so the mechanic could shade his eyes from the burning light.

He gingerly rested a hand over Peter’s eyes and tried to feel assured when the boy sighed and leant into the touch, but he was more worried about how warm his skin felt. When Tony hesitantly lifted the bloody gauze, he could see the redness that had begun to expand around the wound which looked as if it were beginning to swell slightly. “Pete, hey kiddo, you need to tell me how bad the knife wound hurts, okay?” He lifted two fingers and rested them against his forehead, biting his lip nervously when he felt the fever already beginning to rise.

“Feels hot, n’ hurts more than before…” Peter’s words were slurred, and he looks drained. Considering he hadn’t hit his head and Tony knew that the physical exertion of struggling for that long would be exhausting, he nestled the boy against his chest and shoulder. Now that they were in close proximity and he could turn to whisper in Peter’s ear, he mumbled that Steve was coming and everything would be okay until the teen’s tears had mostly stopped falling and he slumped in his sleep. While he rested, Tony changed the gauze of his wound and applied antibiotic cream in hopes of calming the infection, and in turn, the fever which only seemed to rise.

He shuffled backward until he held Peter against himself and leant against the furthest corner from the door. The mechanic didn’t sleep, he just kept a hand over the boy’s eyes and tried not to think about how Peter had begun to sweat and shiver in his sleep.

What must have been hours after Justin left the room and Peter had come down from the seizure, a red light leaked in under the door, flashing on and off in tune to the pounding of footsteps. He pulled the teen closer and pushed himself further into the corner using his body as a shield for the boy who couldn’t fight for himself.

“Tony!” He heard a familiar voice calling from somewhere in the building and he perked up, shifting so Peter was turned away, so he could yell without disturbing him.

“Steve? Rhodes? We’re here! Basement, we’re in the basement!” Despite his best efforts, Peter scrunched his face up and whined, turning over in Tony’s hold so he could press his face against his neck and puff small breaths through the intolerable fever.

There was more banging, the lights shut off and then the door locks were clicking again. The locks seemed unnecessary when Rhodey’s armour blew the door in and Steve’s shield emerged from behind the clearing smoke. “Thank fuck,” he sighed and used the wall to pull both himself and Peter up, ignoring the incoherent mumbling that the boy began to spew as he cradled him and staggered forward.

“Jesus Tones, what the hell happened?” Rhodey’s faceplate lifted and from the doorway the mechanic could make out the silhouettes of the rest of the team.

“Justin Hammer happened. Had his guys take the kid during patrol, stab wound on his side and…” he rubbed a hand over the side of his face as he handed Peter over to Steve who wasn’t shaky on his feet. “And some messed up mask thing that gave him a seizure,” Rhodey led him outside and Steve stayed close in front, so Tony could keep eyes on the teen that was still asleep.

----

The flight back to the Tower and the two days he spent in the Med Bay next to Peter weren’t the issue. The problem was how the kid refused to sleep.

“Peter, come on. You know exactly why I’m sending you to bed, you haven’t slept since we got back.” He put down the screwdriver he was holding and spun around in his chair till he faced the teen and fixed him with a serious look.

“M’ not tired, I can keep working on my suit for longer, stop worrying about me so much.” He fiddled with the eyes of the mask, adjusting the amount of light that the filters allowed. His headache had only recently begun to fade away, the lights in every room still dimmed drastically in every room he entered, and he silently thanked the A.I for noticing how much he had been massaging his temples in discomfort.

“Okay, you get that worry about you is basically my job kid, put down the suit and head to bed.” His voice wasn’t stern, but he was attempting to put emphasis on how badly the boy needed to rest. If the dark bags and lack of his usual enthusiasm was anything to go by, he was in desperate need of a day long nap.

“I’m good, alright? You don’t have to keep babying me,” Peter snapped, frowning down at his hands and squeezing them into fists as he took a long breath. Tony gave him a moment, raising his eyebrows when the unfamiliar aggression leaked from the normally carefree teen. “I’m sorry, I just – I’m not tired and you don’t need to ‘send me to bed’ like a kid. I can go to sleep on my own.”

“I’m not treating you like a kid, I’m treating you like an incompetent adult who won’t rest. What’s it been Pete, you tell me, four days?” He let the firmness sink into his words and was surprised when the boy didn’t immediately shrink in on himself and apologise like always.

“Five. It’s been five days and I’m. Fine.” The mask dropped to the table, the eyes making a noise as they hit the bench and the stool scooted back loudly. “I can go to bed any time I want, I just don’t feel like it right now, okay?” His voice softened slightly before he continued, “I’m sorry this is worrying you so much, and whatever happened after I passed out in the basement must have been… unpleasant for you to see –”

“Understatement of the century,” Tony scoffed, not bothering to apologise for interrupting as Peter ploughed on like he hadn’t even spoken.

“But, you need to let me sort through this by myself, I’m not going to bother you with this stuff anymore Mister Stark.” He got up to leave but the mechanic caught his sleeve and swung around in his chair.

“What do you mean ‘sort through this’ and ‘this stuff,’ what aren’t you telling me?” Peter shook away the hand and shrugged, which was what really caught Tony’s attention because the kid normally sunk into any physical contact with ease. “Peter, sit back down and talk to me about this,” he said calmly.

“Look I’ll just go study or something, you can stay down here, I’m going, alright?” He shook his head and pulled the boy’s chair back out, pointing to it obviously.

“Nu uh, I’m not asking here. Sit. Talk.” He crossed his arms and leant back in the chair, ignoring the way Peter sighed as he slumped in his seat and glowered at the floor accusingly.

“I’m not tired,” he said plainly, still refusing to make eye contact.

“Try again,” he pressed, tapping Peter’s ankle with his foot and tilting his head when the boy finally looked up.

“Fine. God. I just – it still… ugh, why’re you making me do this?” He dragged his hand over his face and sighed again, peeking out from behind a finger to see if Tony would let up. “I can still see the stupid lights when I close my eyes, there. You happy? I’m going now, thanks for the pep talk Mister Stark, I’m glad we talked through insomnia together,” he grumbled sarcastically and stood again, not even bothering to push the stool in as he charged for the door.

“F.R.I,” Tony called deliberately. The handle of the door clicked just as Peter began to push down on it and he cursed quietly, spinning around and glaring at the mechanic.

“Why can’t you just let me sort out my own problems? You don’t have to waste your time on me!” He slammed an open palm against the handle hotly and dropped his gaze while his cheeks burnt in embarrassment. “You shouldn’t have to parent me all the time,” he whispered into his hands as Tony rose from his chair.

“Come on, F.R.I, boil the jug, we’re going to the kitchen.” He rested a hand on the small of Peter’s back and guided him to the elevator placidly. “You’re right, I don’t have to,” he looked forward and kept the hand on the teen when he steered the kid towards the bench in the kitchen and sat him down while he pulled two cups out and made coco. “I don’t have to… but I want to,” he slid a mug over to the boy and ushered him to the couches. “I never wanted to be a weird mentor, parent, hybrid thing, but now I’m taking charge and sorting you out, so you don’t turn into a mini-me.”

“Just… you don’t need to justify any of this, it’s fine. I know you feel guilty about the whole kidnapping thing, but don’t force yourself to baby me, I’m going back to Aunt May’s in a few days and I’m cool with the whole lab time once or twice a week, don’t feel obliged to take care of me.” He looked up from his coco when Tony huffed a laugh.

“You think I’m babying you because I feel like I have to after the kidnapping? Aw Pete,” he brushed a fallen curl aside from the boy’s face and let his own break into a fond expression. “I’m looking out for you because, well… you mean as much to me as Hammer thought you did. I want to make sure you’re okay, sure, but it’s been like this since homecoming kid, you’re like a ball of self-sacrificial energy and teenage angst. You can’t blame me for wanting to keep you safe.” Peter shut his mouth from where it had fallen open.

“I – I… you… since homecoming?” He gaped, swirling the coco around in his mug and taking a long swig as he collected himself. When he set the empty cup aside and turned back to face Tony, there was a small smile playing at his lips. He puffed his chest out and straightened imaginary glasses, trying to exude as much over confident business-owner-like energy as possible. “I bet there’s a real father-son dynamic there,” he mimicked Justin’s voice poorly, but it was enough to drag another laugh from Tony, who put his own cup down and exchanged it for the remote.

“Yeah, super funny kid,” he teased lightly, ruffling the boy’s curls distractedly as he switched the T.V on and turned the volume down to a comfortable white noise volume. “If I do this, can you see things behind your eyes?” He gently rested his free hand over Peter’s eyes like he did in the basement and paused to see if the teen would startle or not.

“No,” he said quietly, pitching forward so he leant against Tony’s chest almost horizontally. “It – it’s good, feels less… less like the screen’s gonna turn on again.” The mechanic kept his hand laid over his eyes and could feel when his eyelashes fluttered completely shut as he relaxed against his torso.

“Get some sleep, then maybe I’ll stop parenting you,” he whispered with a smile, running his unoccupied hand through the boy’s hair and scratching the nape of his neck as he stifled his own yawn.

It took nearly an entire eight minutes for Peter to fall completely asleep, and Tony followed only twelve minutes later, leaving both of their empty mugs for the next morning. Or as it turns out, the next afternoon, when they both woke with a blanket that somebody had draped over them some time during the night.