Memory Lane
It's 4:00 AM and Tony Stark is sitting alone, drinking too much Scotch, looking over police reports. Yes, Tony Stark is doing detective work. Pepper had just left a few minutes prior, but Tony was left alone to do Fury's dirty work. This wasn't what Tony had in mind when he told Pepper he wanted to "stay up all night long".
Not at all.
No matter how much he begged or bribed director Fury, he made him look into it because apparently, it was very serious and not a joke. Fury ever used the words 'National Security'.
What has Tony stumped is why Fury thought he'd be the best person to track down the mystery hit-man. Even if he has billions of dollars and state of the art technology at his disposal Fury could have easily man-handled him into letting SHIELD use his tech. Putting those thoughts to the back of his mind, Tony continued to look over the information in the police reports while pulling up more information on a holographic display.
The unsub has been a mercenary for a few years, but lately, he has been assassinating more high profile people, which is causing panic in the crime world. The merc leaves no evidence for even the best of detectives or shield agents to find. His targets might all be rich socialites connected to the Kingpin of crime, but Fury says he's too unpredictable, that he's a threat, and has to be apprehended.
But to top it off, this guy is also a hacker. Apparently, he's hacked the shield databases for his employers multiple times for a generous chunk of cash. He's basically the worst type of criminal. He's a genius and highly skilled in combat, might even have powers.
But the worst part is there isn't any information on the unsub. He hasn't been seen, it's like the guy is a ghost. Not even his employers know who he is. All we know is his MO, he shoots them in the heart and brain, not allowing any chance of the target's survival. He never misses his shot, so the second bullet is always unnecessary.
He has to be trained, there's no way someone could get that good without training. The only question is, who trained him? In order know that, they need to watch him fight and it seems like the Hit-Man really tries his best to stay in the shadows.
"Sir, I seem to have acquired a grainy video, from a drug store's surveillance camera, of a man who may be who we are looking for," alerted Jarvis.
"Strange, this guy usually doesn't leave behind any evidence," Tony pondered aloud.
"The mask man shot all of the cameras except for one. It seems this camera was in a darker location and he was in a hurry. It appears luck was in your favor tonight sir," explained Jarvis.
"You're now my favorite robot, sorry Dum-E. Roll it, Jay," Tony ordered as he sat down his drink and looked up at the screen.
In the grainy video, a man wearing a darkly colored skin tight spandex like suit crept against the wall in the shadows of the night. His suit had a symbol on the front but the video didn't provide enough detail to identify it. He pulled out two guns from the Hollister around his waist then ran into a building in an unnatural speed. The video cut off when he clung to a wall.
Tony stared at the screen with wide eyes. Those powers were too similar to Peter's and it made his heartache.
Peter, the bright-eyed boy-genius who he thought of as a son. The kid who would stop by just to talk after school, telling him all about his day or talking his ear off about totally unnecessary suit upgrades that Peter thought were cool. The kid who could brighten everyone's day in a 20-mile radius with his heart of gold and radiant smile. What he'd do to see him again. Suddenly, Tony found himself clutching his glass, gulping down the remainder of his drink.
Tony grabbed another bottle of Scotch and told Jarvis to pull up some videos of himself and Peter in the lab. He needed to hear his voice again, no matter how painful it is to watch.
"Sir, I don't recommend that course of action. In prior incidents, you become very intoxicated and required Mrs. Potts to clean you up, which if you remember she did not appreciate," responded Jarvis with the slightest indication of worry evident in his robotic voice.
"Just play the damn videos Jarvis," ordered Tony clutching his glass tighter.
Peter walked into the lab with a tiny black puppy in his arms and mumbled nervously, "Hey Mr.Stark."
"What's up kid?" Tony asked not looking up from his current project.
"Well, you see what had happened was... I was patrolling the city, everything was going well, but I was tired and wanted food. I decided to change out of my suit cause it's really awkward when I eat food in restaurants, they always make fun of me saying I'm too short to be Spider-Man and I usually get mad and stick to the ceiling or something. Anyways, so I'm in the alleyway taking off my suit and I get it off and I'm just in my boxers when I hear a whimper so I walk over and I see a DOG trapped in a box! And it was so cute Mr.Stark I couldn't just leave it alone in a box. So long story short, I saw a dog and I brought it here cause I know Aunt May would kick me out if I ever brought a dog home," rambled Peter not even taking a break to breathe.
"Let me get this straight. You rescued a dog and thought it was the best idea to bring it here?" questioned Tony with a raised eyebrow.
"Look at her eyes Mr. Stark. She's so cute we can't leave her alone in the dangerous streets of New York," Pleaded Peter with his big brown adorable puppy dog eyes that rivaled the actual puppy's eyes.
Tony looked back and forth from the dog and Peter, both giving puppy dog eyes.
Tony sighed, "Okay fine you can keep her."
Peter's eyes widened comically," Oh my gosh, really?!? Thank you so much D- I mean Mr.Stark!"
Peter ran over to Tony and gave him a hug, the puppy still in his arms made a happy sounding bark.
Tony sighed again," You better take care of her."
Peter laughed when the puppy started eating his shirt then looked up at Tony with a big smile and said," I promise I will Mr.Stark."
Tony laughed, "Actually you can keep her if you stop calling me Mr. Stark. You know it makes me feel old."
The video ended and Tony found himself wiping tears from his eyes. Peter had almost called him dad and he never had the chance to tell him how much he cared. Tony rested his head against the cool surface of the marble countertop.
Pepper walked into the room and frowned when she saw Peter's image on the holographic screen. It had been years since Peter went missing and Tony was still devastated by it as if it was yesterday. She knew their relationship, she could tell he thought of him as a son and Peter thought of Tony as a father. Pepper wasn't as close to Peter as Tony, but she still adored the kid. He was a mini version of Tony, but he was polite and had a childlike innocence that made her enjoy spending the time she spent with him.
Pepper walked over to Tony and gently shook his shoulder. Tony groaned then looked up at Pepper with teary-eyes.
Pepper eyed the empty bottle of Scotch, "What happened Tony?"
"Well I was doing Fury's detective work about that crazily skilled merc when Jarvis found a video," Tony responded as he pulled up the video.
Pepper watched the short clip with a gasp. It seemed like the man had Peter's powers.
"As you can see, the video brought me down memory lane," Tony commented numbly.
"That's not Peter, but we will find him," replied Pepper as she put her arms around Tony.
Tony smiled the embrace but couldn't help but wonder about the merc.
Is this why Fury assigned me to locate the mercenary?