Tears
It has been a long time since I’ve written, and I’m sorry about that.
This is the big ultimate finale to one of my first fics. Thank you so much for all of the support. I wouldn’t have finished this if it weren’t for the comments, so really, thank you!
I hope y’all enjoy! (Also for once it’s a long chapter bahah)
Previously on A Normal Day: Three days after the avengers went to save Peter (and never came back) Tony’s door was knocked down. In stepped Nathanial Black holding a gun on Peter.
At the HYDRA base (3 days ago):
Peter, MJ, and the avengers sat in the dark room in the HYDRA base for almost an hour trying to thing of a plan on how to escape the base unharmed.
Each avenger suggested different ideas but each idea had major flaws.
In the end they had come up with nothing besides simply fighting their way out which was still risky.
Breaking into the base seemed to be a lot easier than escaping.
When they broke in, they had the element of surprise.
Unfortunately, Hydra was now aware of their presence, and the second they left the room everyone would know that Nathanial Black and his goon friend were no longer looking after them.
Plus, they now also had to protect a civilian (MJ) and Peter Parker who was in no way in condition to fight highly trained agents.
Lastly they didn’t have a person overlooking the situation and telling them where to go in the enormous base. They tried to contact Tony but all connection was lost.
Their only option was to fight there way out.
“Okay, does everyone remember their positions? I’ll go in front, followed by Natasha and then Peter and MJ and after the...”
Peter droned our the rest of Steve’s words as a wave of dread rippled through his body.
He was so scared to face the wrath of hydra. He was so scared that MJ was there, I mean come on she could get hurt! She doesn’t have powers!
Peter tried (and failed) to push the thoughts out of his head.
He was Spider-Man. He could do thi-
“PETER!” Cap yelled.
Peter looked up quickly.
“Uh-um y-yeah?” He asked quietly. His throat was raw from the collar that used to be around his neck.
Steve’s face softened as he let out a sigh.
“I said, what are your rules?” Steve asked gently.
Peter tried to swallow the lump in his throat as he pushed back his beautiful chocolate curls with a shaky hand.
“Um,
1. Stay t-together.
2. Stay in the middle, next-next to MJ.
3. Listen to Cap.
4. No self-sacrificing.
5. Don’t try to fight.” Peter finishes before letting out the breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding.
Steve nodded.
The team had told Peter that he must follow these rules no matter what. They were here to save Peter and they weren’t going to let him get hurt again.
MJ looked to Peter, her eyes wide and full of fear.
He quickly took her hand in his as he gave her a quick nod, saying that they would be okay.
The team lined up at the door with Cap in front and Peter and MJ in the middle.
“Let’s do this.” Cap said before swinging open the door.
—————-
The first thing Peter saw was the light. After sitting in a very dark room for hours, the normal brightness in the hallway hit him hard. What made it worse was his heightened senses which made the light blinding and painful.
He made a sort of whimper noise before scrunching his eyes shut.
Natasha heard the noise and quickly turned around to face Peter. Noticing his pain, she whispered, “hey, are you good?”
Peter quickly nodded before slowly blinking his eyes, the pain slightly more bearable.
Natasha turned back to face Cap.
As soon as Peter could see again, he looked all around the hallway.
It was more narrow than he thought it would be.
The hallway consisted of four concrete walls and a row of flickering lights placed every foot or so on the ceiling.
Peter looked up to Steve who was scanning the small hallway as well.
A moment later he signaled for the group to move forward.
The team walked quickly and as quietly as they could in a single file line. (Yes, it was really that small!)
Peter held his hand behind him and MJ clutched onto it desperately.
The team walked for a while before Cap stopped abruptly. Nat almost ran into him.
Peter look up to see that the hallway forked into two hallways, one going right and one going left, each hallway identical. It reminded Peter of one of those riddles. The ones where it puts you in a crazy situation and asks you to choose which door to go through.
Peter never thought he would be in one of those riddles.
“It’s the left one.” Peter said quietly.
“What?” Natasha asked turning to face Peter.
“Choose the left passage way.” Peter repeated.
He didn’t even know why he said it.
How would he know which hallway to go down?
“How do you know?” Natasha asked as she eyed Peter curiously.
Peter shrugged. He didn’t really know. It was more so a feeling. His gut told him that they should go left. Or maybe it was his Spidey sense. Who knows.
Natasha chuckled.
“Left it is.” Said Cap.
So the team continued on for a while. Every so often Peter would tell the team which hallway to go down.
It was going surprisingly well, they hadn’t seen anyone in the halls. No one had attacked them. They hadn’t been spotted.
(Well, I think I spoke to soon. Or maybe I jinxed them. Oops.)
“stop!” Peter spoke suddenly, as he instantly stopped walking.
His grip on MJ’s hand tightened.
“Stop.” He repeated, louder than before.
Every member of the team turned and looked at him.
“Pete, what do you mean, stop?” Natasha asked quietly as she looked at the young boy.
Peter’s eyes darted all around the hallway.
His breath picked up a noticeable amount.
Natasha was scared that he might start hyperventilating.
She placed her hand on his chin and tilted up his face so he would look at her.
“Hey, hey, hey Peter! Peter relax! What’s wrong!” She said, her voice full of concern for the boy.
His chocolate eyes looked at hers.
“We h-have to stop. T-turn around! Now!” Peter said shakily. His voice breaking.
His breathing became even faster. His head began pounding and the hallways slightly blurred.
Every person in the hallway looked at him with great concern.
Natasha was really worried.
“Why Pete?” She asked quietly as she looked at the shaken boy.
“I-it’s my spidey sense. I can feel them coming. I can feel danger, so so much danger. It h-h-hurts Nat. It hurts so bad. We h-have to get out of here. N-Now.” Peter mumbled almost incoherently.
The moment the last word fell out of his mouth Peter’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. His quick breathing slowed to almost a stop.
MJ couldn’t stop the scream from leaving her mouth as Peter crumpled to the ground and his hand slipped from hers.
Natasha barely caught the boy before his forehead could collide with the unforgiving concrete.
She instantly laid him on the ground and pressed an ear to his chest.
“Natasha! Please tell me he’s alright!” Steve yelled.
Natasha looked up to the rest of the team.
For a moment she had forgotten that they were all there, for her sole focus had been in Peter and seeing if he was okay.
Natasha nodded.
“He’s still breathing. I think he just fainted.” She added.
“Probably from the pain.” Steve said solemnly.
MJ looked at Steve wide eyed and afraid.
“What happened Captain America? What was Peter talking about? Will he be alright? Please tell me he’ll be okay I need him to be oka-“ MJ chattered nervously before she was interrupted.
“He’s going to be just fine Michelle.”
Steve said as quickly went over to pick Peter up. He slid his strong arms under Peter’s limp body and held the boy close to his chest before looking up at the rest of the team.
“If what Peter said was true, Hydra is coming. They will be here any minute. We have to hurry-“
Just then a loud alarm blared through the hallway.
“Speak of the devil.” Natasha muttered under her breath.
Not a moment later highly trained assassins flooded the hallways from both directions. Natasha took on the front while Clint handled the back. Steve had moved closer to the center, still holding an injured Peter Parker in his arms.
“Come on, buddy. Wake up for me.” Steve said to the boy as he gently shook him.
Peter groaned and rolled in Steve’s arms before popping his eyes open.
“Steve?” He asked softly, his doe eyes looking at Steve carefully.
Steve nodded in agreement.
“Hey, buddy fainted. Can you stand up? I have to fight okay?” Steve said quickly.
It was in that moment that Peter acknowledged the world around him.
The sound of guns and shouting and alarms flooded his ears and he instantly wished he could go back to sleep.
Damn his enhanced senses. The loud sounds were dialed to 100.
Peter looked to his right and left. On either side he was people in all black.
He watched as Natasha easily knocked out a masked Hydra member.
MJ stood in the middle of the avengers next to Peter.
Peter had never seen her look that afraid. A single tear ran down each of her cheeks as she stared at the action.
Peter couldn’t blame her for being scared because, hell he was terrified! Obviously he had been in fights before as Spider-Man, but it had never been anything like this.
Peter slid out of Steve’s grasp and gave him a reassuring nod.
Steve gave him a quick smile before turning to help Natasha.
Peter turned to face MJ, sliding his hand into hers as he did so.
She immediately took her eyes off the fight and turned to Peter.
“Oh, Parker.” She said, her lip trembling.
She instantly embraced the boy in a tight hug. She never wanted to let go of him again.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” She said after a moment.
Peter didn’t mention to MJ that ow, the tight hug hurt his bruised body, but instead he smiled. A real, genuine smile.
Then he said something that MJ had never expected the curly haired boy to say.
“I love you MJ. So much.” He said, still in her tight embrace.
MJ couldn’t help but feel the butterflies that flew around in her stomach.
“I love you too, loser.” She said as she slowly pulled away from the hug.
Their eyes locked onto each other as they stood in complete oblivious of the chaos around them.
That was until Steve went down.
Peter had seen it happen out of the corner of his eye.
Steve was shot twice in the shoulder. It wasn’t deadly (well it was if it wasn’t treated very quickly) but it was certainly enough to take the super soldier down.
Peter yelped and instantly went to Natasha’s side, leaving MJ in the middle.
Natasha was a badass, with more skill than most of them, but Peter knew she couldn’t defeat all of these men, not all on her own.
In a split decision Peter broke the second and fifth of Cap’s rules, which was: stay in the middle and don’t try to fight.
The second Natasha felt Peter’s presence beside her she instantly hissed at him to move back.
Peter didn’t listen.
Instead, he lunged at a man who had to be a foot taller than him.
Using the skills Natasha her self had taught him back at the compound Peter took the man down.
A second later Peter was fighting someone else.
This person was different from the others.
He was wearing the normal black garb as the other soldiers but around his neck was a clock.
It was almost like a time turner from Harry Potter.
The clock ticked loudly.
Peter felt something was off with the man. Frankly, he creeped Peter out.
Before Peter could react, the man grabbed a fist full of his shirt with his left hand.
In the other hand he held the clock.
In an instant the world stopped.
Everything was silent. Peter looked around and found everyone standing like statues. Not moving, not blinking. Nothing.
Even the clock, the constant reminder of the continuation of time, had stopped ticking. The lights stopped flickering.
The man with the clock turned to face Peter.
“What the hell just happened?” Peter asked the man, still in shock of how everything had just stopped.
The man laughed.
“I’m surprised you don’t recognize this device.” The man said with a laugh.
“After all, it is Stark’s design.” The man added.
Peter was very lost.
The man clearly saw his confusion.
“This is what I call, a time stopper. I’m sure you can figure out what it does.”
“It s-stops time.” Peter said slowly before shaking his head.
“But that’s not possible!” Peter exclaimed after a moment.
The man laughed again.
“Oh but it is. I have just stopped time. Why you may ask?”
The man paused.
Peter was still trying to comprehend the concept of actually stopping time when the man continued.
“I stopped time because I have a deal for you.” The man said.
“I will let all of your friends go if you stay here, with me.”
This time Peter laughed.
“There is no way that I am staying here!” He said instantly.
The man sighed.
“I thought you might say that. If you don’t agree to this, I will kill all of your friends right now.”
Peter didn’t hesitate before swinging back his fist.
A split second before his fist collided with the man’s face, Peter couldn’t move his arm. It was suspended in the air an inch away from the man’s face.
“Na ah ah!” The man said tauntingly as he waved the clock in front of Peter.
“You seemed to forget that I can trap you in time as well!”
Peter saw red. He tried to move his body but he couldn’t. All he could move was his head. He was stuck in time just like his friends.
The man walked around the corridor as he slid a revolver out from under his black coat.
“Hmm.. who should I shoot first?” He said carefully.
“P-please! No!” Peter said, his heart broken.
The man waved the gun at Natasha.
Peter thought back to them training at the compound together. Them laughing and having fun. All of their memories.
Natasha meant so much to Peter.
The man passed by Steve, who was now sitting on the floor clutching his injured shoulder. Peter thought of all of the things they had done together. All of the fun they had had. All of their training.
Peter knew Steve needed medical help and he needed it fast.
The man finally brought the gun to MJ. A tear was suspended halfway down her cheek.
Peter thought of weekends at Ned’s house. He thought of decathlon meetings. He thought of all of their inside jokes. Lastly he thought about how the last thing they had said to each other was, “I love you.”
It was in that moment that Peter decided to break Steve’s fourth rule (and arguably the most important rule): no self sacrificing.
“I’ll do it.” Peter said softly as he looked up at the retched man.
“I’ll take the deal.” He said before looking around at his team. At his friends. At his family.
It suddenly hit Peter that he might never see them again after this.
The thought shook Peter to his core.
He didn’t even get to say goodbye.
The evil man sneered at Peter before muttering a quick, “I thought so.”
The man took out a small ball from his pocket, the smoke bomb.
As soon as he released the ball from his hands, time started again. The noises flooded Peter’s senses again.
Just like in the cafeteria, the hallway flooded with thick black smoke.
Peter felt the man with the clock grab him and take him away.
Peter let himself be taken.
He had to, to protect everyone he loved.
One constant and sad thought kept repeating in his mind as he was dragged away from everyone he’s ever loved.
“I never even got to say goodbye.”
———————
Natasha coughed as the smoke filled her throat.
She could vaguely hear MJ muttering something beside her.
“th-this is w-w-what happened in the ca-cafeteria w-w-when Peter was t-taken oh my god.”
Next she heard Steve calling out names from beside her. He sounded tired.
“Bruce!”
“I’m okay.”
“Clint”
“I’m good!”
“Nat”
“I’m fine!” She quickly replied.
She prayed that the others were.
“Are you okay Cap?” She added, noticing the exhaustion in his voice. She had seen him go down but she had had to keep fighting.
“I’m okay Nat.” Steve said softly before continuing calling names.
“Pete!”
For a moment there was silence.
“Peter!!” Steve repeated, this time with a sense of urgency.
Still no reply.
Natasha wanted to through up. What happened to Peter? Where was he? She still couldn’t see two inches in front of her. So instead she sunk to the floor, hoping to god that he’d be there safe and sound.
All at once the smoke began to clear. Natasha’s vision returned.
The first thing she noticed was that every Hydra agent was gone, which was strange.
She only thought about that for a millisecond before turning her full attention back to Peter.
“Peter?” Natasha called as she looked frantically around the room.
Peter Parker was no where to be seen.
“He was supposed to be in the middle where the hell is he?!?” Steve yelled.
Natasha’s eyes watered as she slowly stood up.
“Peter s-saw you go down.” Natasha said quietly.
“H-he ran to me and tried to help me fight and I told him to go back b-but he wouldn’t listen!” Natasha continued.
Each word hit Steve hard.
To him it sounded like Peter, hurt and bloodied and bruised and beaten Peter fucking Parker, had gone in to fight because he wasn’t there.
To Steve it sounded like it was his fault that Peter was in the line of action.
“I don’t know what happened after.” Natasha finished before covering her eyes.
Just then Michelle stepped out from where she was standing.
“The smoke. Hydra threw a smoke bomb. It’s exactly what they did at my school. And just like last time, Peter Parker was taken by a Hydra member during the chaos.” MJ said.
Steve couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
He went to the Hydra base to save Peter Parker. He didn’t care what it would take, he didn’t mind dying in the process if it meant that Peter would get out of there safe and sound.
And he had failed.
They were back at square one.
Peter was gone.
Not to mention, he had also gotten himself shot in the process. But that was the least of Steve’s concerns right now.
Steve stood up from where he was sitting in the hallway.
“What should we do Nat. Should we go this way?” Steve pointed to one side of the hallway.
“I mean we have to find him, obviously, I mean should we go this way or shou-“
Natasha cut him off with a harsh tone.
“Steve.” She stated.
“I think we have to leave the base and come back to get Peter.”
Steve scoffed.
“Yeah, sure Nat. Very funny.”
Natasha looked him fiercely in the eye.
“I’m serious Steve. We have to get out of here.”
Steve shook his head, not believing what he was hearing.
“This can’t be real.” He said in disbelief.
“Look at the facts Cap. We have to get Michelle out of here, I mean come on we can’t risk someone else being taken.”
“Fine Nat. I’ll just go find him mysel-“
Natasha interrupted him again.
“No you will not. What happened to, “we have to stay together, no matter what!” Not to mention, but you were shot. Twice! You need immediate medical attention.”
Steve felt sick.
“I promised him, Nat. I promised Tony I’d bring Peter back. I promised him he’d have his kid back. His little boy.”
Natasha looked at him with sad eyes.
Steve bit his lip as tears rolled down his face.
Deep down he knew Natasha was right. They needed to get MJ out. He needed to go to a doctor.
Natasha saw Steve crying and hugged him, careful to avoid his injured shoulder.
“We’ll get him back. I promise.” She told him softly.
At that Steve looked up to Natasha.
His voice was like ice.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep Romanov.” He said.
Natasha took a deep breath.
Slowly the avengers began making their way out of the compound.
The man with the clock had kept up his end of the bargain, for no soldiers attacked them on their way out.
To Steve, each step felt like he was betraying Peter.
He leaned heavily into Natasha as they left the horrible building.
————————-
The man with the clock took Peter to a room in the building, different from the room he was in before.
In the three days he was in there, nothing much happened.
Peter was expecting torture or lab experiments but none came.
In those days Peter felt horribly lonely. He missed his family. He missed MJ.
Most of all he missed Mr. Stark.
He hadn’t seen the man he called Dad in days.
Just the thought of Tony made his heart break.
On the third day, the man took Peter out of the room. Before they left, Peter’s spidey senses peaked and the man had hit Peter in the side of his head, hard.
It was hard enough to knock Peter out.
Peter was then blindfolded.
While Peter was unconscious, the man strapped him in a helicopter.
The two flew to the Avengers Tower.
Peter woke up as they landed. Although he was awake, he was very weak due to the blow to the head and the lack of food over the past few days.
The man dragged Peter inside what he assumed was a building (he was still blindfolded).
Soon they stopped and the man violently ripped the blindfold off of Peter’s face.
Peter instantly recognized the room.
He was at the avengers compound.
The man kicked down the door to what Peter recognized as Tony’s room.
There, sitting inside, was Tony Stark.
Peter wanted to cry.
He missed Tony so so SO bad. He hadn’t stopped thinking of him.
His eyes locked onto Tony’s and Tony looked back at him.
It was the best feeling in the world.
Peter zoned back into the conversation when he heard a gun cock and felt the familiar cold metal pressed against his temple.
“I want the Iron Man Suit.” The man with the clock said.
Tony replied without a second thought.
“Done.”
Tony called the suit and gave it to the man. The man looked like a child who had just been given candy.
As soon as he got the suit, he put it on, dropping Peter harshly to the floor as he flew away.
Tony ran to his son and scooped him into his arms in one motion.
Tony cradled his baby in his arms in disbelief.
He couldn’t believe Peter was alive. And, after all of that, all the man had wanted was his suit?
Tony ran his hair through Peter’s gorgeous curls.
The two sat, crying as they comforted each other.
Ten minutes later, Steve walked in the room.
—————-
The avengers made it out of the facility and tried to get back to the compound as quick as they could.
The problem was that first they had to stop as a hospital to fix up Steve’s shoulder.
And they had to sleep.
And eat.
Then they had to get transportation.
All in all it took three whole days to get back to the avengers building.
And every moment of the trip Steve spent thinking about what he would say to Tony.
How he could tell his best friend that he had just abandoned his son.
When they finally arrived at the building, Steve was the first to go in, followed by Natasha.
Steve immediately went up to Tony’s room.
From the hallway he could see that the door had been broken down.
“What the hell?” He asked.
Steve ran down the hall frantically, praying that Tony was okay. Praying that Hydra hadn’t came an taken him as well.
What Steve saw when he entered the room was not what he could’ve ever possibly expected to see.
Tony and Peter sat cuddled together. Crying.
Natasha entered the room a second later.
“Peter!” She gasped. She instantly ran to him.
“H-how did you get here!” Steve exclaimed as he quickly went to Peter as well.
So, Peter told them. He told them of the three days at the Hydra compound. He told them about every single detail.
Well, all except the clock man. Peter didn’t need the team to feel any guilt based on his decision.
Steve told Peter what they had done as well.
Tony, Peter, Steve, and Natasha cried together for what felt like hours.
But for the first time in forever, they weren’t tears of sadness. They weren’t tears of pain.
They were tears of joy and happiness. Happiness that they all definitely deserved.