Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Ok kid, calm down" Tony chuckles. "We'll get to work on it Monday."

Happy is currently driving Peter home with Tony sitting in the back with Peter. They've been talking about a new invention ever since they got into the car.

"I just can't wait to start Mr. Stark!" Peter exclaims when his whole demeanor changes.

Peters smile drops and his head snaps towards his window. He stops talking, an eerie silence filling the air.

"What's the matter underoos?" Tony questions.

"I don't know. My spidey senses started acting up" Peter answers.

"We're almost to your apartment. Should I take a turn?" Happy wonders.

"No one's following us" Peter shakes his head.

"Kid you need to give us a little more than that" Tony tells him, worry crawling up into his features.

"There's ambulances outside my apartment. Happy, step on it" Peter demands.

Happy steps on the gas, the car now speeding through traffic.

"Kid" Tony states.

"I don't know. It's trying to tell me somethi...May's home" Peter whispers. "What if something happened to her?! There's ambulances and cops!"

"I'm sure May is fine. We're almost there, alright? Just take deep breaths. May is alright" Tony assures.

"Ok...ok. Just...why are there ambulances and police outside of my apartment?" Peter asks, afraid to hear the answer.

"I don't know but we'll find out. I'm sure it's nothing" Tony reassures.

It takes them a minute before finally reaching the block. Happy tries to get close to the commotion but can't with so much people out on the streets and sidewalks. Happy stops the car and the three of them piles out. 

They start walking towards the front when Peter spots his neighbor Cheryl. Cheryl has tears in her eyes and looks at Peter with a horrified and sorrow expression.

"Cheryl, what's going on?" Peter asks the older woman.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. Someone broke into your apartment and May...she didn't make it sweetie" Cheryl apologizes.

Peters heart skips a beat. He feels like he isn't breathing at all. Tears quickly forms in his eyes. He steps away from Cheryl and quickly dashes towards the police.

"Peter!" Tony shouts after him.

"Woah! No one is allowed beyond this point kid" a cop informs Peter, stopping him.

"Let me go!" Peter shouts.

"It's his aunt, let him go!" Happy states as him and Tony gets closer to Peter and the cop.

The cop quickly lets Peter go and Peter rushes towards the EMTS who are wheeling a stretcher with a body bag on top.

"No...." Peter whispers to himself, tears leaking out from his eyes.

"I'm sorry Peter" the EMT named Robin tells him. He was one of Mays friends. "She didn't feel a thing."

"How could you know that?" Peter asks. "Where did she get..."

"Her heart...it was a kill shot. I don't think the robber expected anyone to be home" Robin sighs.

Peter let's out a choked sob when he feels a familiar pair of arms pulling him into a hug. He doesn't fight Tony on the hug but he leaves his eyes on May.

"Robin..." Peter states quietly.

"Yeah?" Robin wonders.

"Today was the day she turned down that extra shift...right?" Peter asks.

Robin stays silent for a moment as the other EMTS roll the stretcher with May in the body bag away. Robin steps aside and looks down.

"I'm sorry Peter" Robin apologizes. "If you need anything, you have my number."

Robin walks away, hopping into the ambulance. Peters knees locks but Tony catches him, pulling him back into the hug. Peter immediately starts sobbing into Tony but the man can care less.

Peter feels overwhelmed. His spidey senses are going haywire and he feels like a million eyes are on him. His heart is racing and his eyes are stinging from crying.

"Mr. Stark, can we go?" Peter whispers.

"Of course bud" Tony agrees.

He releases one of his arms but leaves the other on Peters shoulders, holding him protectively. Peter spots Cheryl in the crowd before looking away. She was friends with May too.

"Happy! Come on!" Tony shouts to the security guard.

"Wait! Mr. Stark! What do you think you're doing?!" a police officer questions, running over to him from the opposite direction of where Happy was. 

Him and Happy both reach Tony and Peter at the same time. Happy was immediately about to restrain the officer until Tony waved him off.

"What do you think you're doing questioning me officer?" Tony wonders.

"We need to take Mr. Parker to a shelter for kids. We had an officer do background checks and Mr. Parker has no other living family" the officer explains.

"That won't be necessary. His aunt and I had joint custody. Now, he'll be coming with me and you won't be bothering him. Let's go Hogan" Tony explains before walking away with Peter.

Peters eyes are wide. He hadn't known about this. Before he knew it, he was in the back of the car with Tony besides him and Happy was driving away.

Peter stares emotionless out of the window as the apartment gets further and further away.

"We'll get your stuff another day" Tony assures him.

And that's when the dam had broke again. Peter begins crying and Tony pulls him into a hug. 

"This is all my fault" Peter cries.

"No it's not. There was nothing you could do to prevent this" Tony argues.

"She didn't take that shift because she wanted to be home when I got home" Peter explains.

"I'm sorry kiddo" Tony apologizes.

Peter let's out another sob. He feels horrible. His thoughts are beginning to spin when he comes to the sudden realization.

"We didn't even ask if they caught the robber" Peter realizes.

"They did. He's in custody and he's going away for a long  time" Happy assures from the drivers seat.

"Do you know his name?" Peter wonders.

"Uhh Dennis Carradine" Happy answers.

"WHAT?!" Peter shouts, almost jumping out of his seat.

"Wait a minute...isn't that guy who-" Tony begins to say.

"Yes" Peter cuts off. "Happy stop the car!"

"No, don't stop the car! You are not going out there!" Tony protests.

"Somebody hired him. This isn't a coincidence. I need to find out who it is" Peter tells him. "Happy, stop the car or else I'm jumping out."

"If this guy got hired by a psycho, I don't need you going out there to find them!" Tony argues.

"He killed my uncle for trying to stop him and he got put away. He knew what he did was wrong, he admitted it. He wouldn't have done it again or else he got hired. He now killed my aunt. I need to find the guy who hired him Tony. I-I can't just ignore this. I know someone hired him" Peter exclaims. 

"Then I'm going with you" Tony declares.

"No" Peter shuts down.

"We don't even know if you're right. He could've changed his mind. He could've went psycho in jail!" Tony reasons.

 "Happy stop this car right now" Peter demands.

"Peter, you're acting on emotions right now. I know things are hard and doesn't make sense but you need to focus. That man is a psycho. He didn't get hired by anyone. He's probably been stalking you and your aunt because he knows it was your uncle that he murdered and he realized he liked murdering innocents. You're running a wild goose chase" Tony explains.

"I know I'm right and I'm finding out who hired him one way or another" Peter states before opening the car door.

Happy slams on the breaks and Peter rushes to get out, grabbing his backpack. Tony was rushing to get out of the car but as soon as he opened his car door and turned around, Peter was gone. 

"Shit" Tony curses. Tony gets back in the car, shutting his door before Peters. "Happy, step on it. We got a kid to catch."

"Tony...why don't we give him some space?" Happy suggests.

"What? Why? He's upset!" Tony reminds him.

"Exactly, he just needs to cool off. He'll come to his senses and realize that guy is just a psycho. He just found out his aunt was murdered...you need to give him space" Happy tells him.

"Fine" Tony sighs. "Let's pick up some McDonalds for the kid and go home."

Chapter Text

Peter is on a rooftop, laying down on the edge. His backpack is on the roof as well, zippered close. He's holding a notepad and a pen.

He's been swinging for hours and hasn't found anything. He tried asking Karen but she can't find anything either.

Peter let's out an annoyed groan and swings himself up into a sitting position before getting up. He starts pacing on the rooftop before finally throwing his notebook and pen on top of his backpack.

"Am I wrong Karen?" Peter questions.

"I think you are emotionally and mentally stressed out" Karen answers.

"Karen! I'm being serious!" Peter practically shouts.

"So am I. I'm sorry about Aunt May and I know you want answers but you're not going to get what you want. I'm positive Dennis Carradine isn't working for anyone" Karen apologizes.

Peter let's out a sigh and sits back down at the edge of the rooftop. 

"I never thought he was going to come back" Peter exclaims in a small voice. "I thought I put him away forever. How was his sentence already up? It's only been two years."

"It seems like someone bailed him out but I'm not sure who" Karen informs.

This gets Peter up onto his feet.

"What?!" Peter screams.

"Somebody paid a lot of money and bailed Dennis Carradine out. Hand payed. I've tried looking at surveillance feeds, banks, but I couldn't find anything" Karen explains.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Peter questions.

"I was still searching" Karen claims.

"Do you think someone's after me? Is that why they sent Dennis to k-ki.....Aunt May?" Peter stutters, the scene too fresh in his mind. 

Aunt May didn't deserve to die. Neither did Uncle Ben but Peter had to accept it for May. But now May's gone and he needs to find out what exactly happened.

"I'm not sure what their goal would be Peter. You told me what Dennis told you when you were fourteen" Karen recalls.

"Yeah...he got scared and shot my uncle. He didn't think anyone would try and stop him. He needed the money for his family. He regretted it" Peter mutters.

"So either that changed and he became a psycho or you're right and somebody hired him or forced him because he's already connected with you. They could either want you or Spider-Man" Karen suggests.

"Am I putting Ned, Mj and Mr. Stark in danger?" Peter wonders after a moment of silence.

Karen is silent. Peter feels his heart freeze. Before he asked again, Karen speaks up.

"I'm not sure" Karen replies.

🕷

"Pete, we need to talk" Tony sighs as he knocks on Peters door the next day. It's Saturday morning but Friday told Tony he was awake.

After the rooftop, Peter spent the remainder of the day trying to do his own search but came up with nothing. As soon as he came back to the tower, he fell asleep. He made sure Friday didn't let anyone in. He knows he's being selfish but he just needed to be alone.

Tony knew this. He had Friday keep tabs with Karen. He doesn't know what happened while Peter was out but he knew he was safe. That's what really mattered. Tony wished he chased after Peter but Happy was right, he needed space.

So, Tony is surprised when he hears the door unlock. He gently opens the door to see Peter on his bed. Friday must've opened the door.

"Hey Roo" Tony greets.

"I'm sorry about yesterday" Peter apologizes.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. You needed space" Tony assures him.

"I...I don't know what to do...she's-she's gone" Peter whispers at the end.

"Can I-" Tony begins to ask only for Peter to shift over.

Tony takes the invitation and sits down next to Peter on his bed. Peter leans against Tony as Tony wraps an arm around him. Tears makes its way down Peters face.

"I'll help you through it. Hell if you don't want my help, you got Pep, Happy, Rhodey and the whole team of Avengers to help" Tony lists.

"Thank you" Peter thanks.

"I'm here if you need me, seriously" Tony reassures.

Peter let's out a choked cry making Tony feel his heart clench. He hates seeing Peter upset and he hates that bastard that took May away from Peter.

A few minutes passes by when Peter slowly stops crying. Tony realizes Peter had fallen asleep but he doesn't leave Peter. He doesn't even move. He doesn't want to wake him up but he also doesn't want to leave Peters side.

He's going to help Peter through this. Just like how Rhodey helped him during his...ok maybe not the best example but he's going to help Peter through this unlike his own parents. He's not going to become his father. Peter doesn't need that. He's going to try to be the best support system Peter could have.

🕷

"I'm going to kill that bastard" Nat says darkly.

"Don't we all?" Clint questions.

"We aren't going to kill anyone. Peter wouldn't want that" Steve reminds the team.

"He's in jail and that's the best we can do right now" Pepper assures the group even through her own burning rage.

"That isn't enough" Bucky disagrees.

"That kid lost his whole family, two of them from that psycho. Jail isn't enough for what he has coming" Wanda swears.

"I agree but young Peter would hate us all if we murder him" Thor points out.

"The best thing we can do right now is be there for him and if he wants to talk, let him talk" Bruce reminds the group. 

"Wait...Peter was fourteen when his uncle died, right?" Sam asks Pepper.

"Yeah, why?" Pepper questions.

"When people lose somebody close, we tend to pick up coping mechanisms" Sam begins saying.

"Are you saying Peter is going down a rabbit hole?" Clint asks.

"I'm just saying, we should be on the look out" Sam claims.

"And we shouldn't assume anything from anyone" Steve argues.

"No, Sam's got a good point. I'm not saying the kid will do anything like that but we should still be aware" Bucky agrees.

"First time you two agreed on something and it was about the kid, it's sweet you two care" Clint jokes. "On a serious note, let's not assume the worst and not let Peter or even Tony know about this discussion."

"Why not Tony and Peter?" Rhodey questions as he walks into the room.

"They think if Peter had some bad coping mechanisms when his uncle died, he could do it again and we should all be on the lookout. They don't want Tony and obviously Peter knowing about this discussion" Pepper fills him in.

"Oh...well Happy and I took a trip down to the police station and he filled me in about yesterday in the car. We were speaking with Dennis but he only wanted to talk with Peter" Rhodey informs everyone.

"Wait what?! We can't let him do that!" Bruce denies.

"Why does he only want to talk with Peter?" Nat wonders.

"He won't tell me but I think this is entirely up to Peter. If he was on about something yesterday..." Rhodey sighs. "I mean you guys have seen Tony on about an idea in the lab. Those two are the same when it comes to things like this. I think this is up to Peter and he should know."

"I agree" Thor immediately agrees. "It should be his decision."

"It's dangerous" Steve jumps in.

"But if he really did do it on his own, Peter won't get the closure he needs" Clint argues.

"Or this could affect him worse" Sam sides with Steve.

"He should have his own decision" Bucky states.

"Exactly and it won't help if we keep this a secret from him when he deserves to know. He needs to know Happy and Rhodey went and that Dennis will only talk with him" Nat explains.

"Dennis told Peter that he didn't mean to kill anyone that night. Tony said that's whats stuck in Peters head right now. I think Peter needs to make up his own decision and whether to accept the possible closure or not" Pepper recalls.

"We should have Tony tell him this. Where is he?" Rhodey wonders.

"He went to get Peter for lunch, he already skipped breakfast" Pepper sighs.

"He's been gone for awhile. Fri, what's taking them so long?" Clint asks.

"Mini boss has fallen asleep" Friday answers.

"Guess we'll have to wait till later then" Nat concludes.

"Did Peter get any sleep?" Rhodey questions.

"Mini boss had slept a total of two hours" Friday responds.

"What was he doing?" Sam wonders.

"I'm not sure. He had put on the sensory overload protocol which involved all monitors shutting off" Friday explains.

"See!" Sam practically shouts.

"Don't jump to conclusions Sam, he might've just had a sensory overload" Steve tells him.

"And we're jumping to the worst conclusions. Peter won't do that to himself" Rhodey disagrees.

"When people grieve, they do whatever they want. I've seen a lot in my field" Sam recalls.

"Why don't we just watch a movie until Peter wakes up?" Pepper suggests.

Everyone agrees but nobody can pay attention to the movie they're watching. They know Peter is a good kid but Sam's right, people deal with their emotions in their own ways. Hell, they can all agree that they've had their fair share of bad coping mechanisms. 

🕷

Peter is in his room eating a plateful of food. He's by himself at the moment because Rhodey needed to talk with Tony. He doesn't know about what but he honestly doesn't really care.

When Peter got home last night, he passed out on his bed only to wake up two hours later. He turned Friday off with the sensory overload protocol and started to pace around his room.

He needed to think.

Did Dennis really change in prison?

Was he lying to Peter when he meant he never wanted to kill anybody that day?

Sure Peter still blamed him for his uncles death but he also knew Dennis didn't want to or meant to kill Ben. He didn't know anybody would try and stop him.

That doesn't make his actions justified.

He keeps pacing.

He won't ever know if Dennis was actually working for somebody or not.

And if he doesn't know, then how would he know who actually wanted to kill May?

Yes Dennis pulled the trigger, yes he broke into their home, but if he was paid...then who's really after them? After him?

He needs information.

He needs to find out what happened that day and the days leading up.

How can he ever be at peace if-

"Underoos?" Tony's voice fills the air.

Peter turns to see Tony waving his hands in front of his face. He hadn't realized Tony opened the door and walked over to his bed.

"Sorry" Peter mumbles.

There's a few moments of silence. Tony lets out a sigh and pulls up a chair to sit on besides Peters bed.

"What do you need to tell me?" Peter questions.

"Nothing right now, why don't you-" Tony looks down at Peters plate to see that he barely ate besides a few pieces.

It's been twenty minutes since Peter had the food in front of him and...fuck. He did the same when Jarvis and his parents died. He barely ate a goddam thing. Rhodey had to force him to eat.

"Uhh why don't you finish eating. This can wait, it's not important" Tony waves off.

"I'm not really hungry" Peter shrugs.

"Pete...you haven't ate since yesterday and I know that crazy metabolism of yours must be hungry" Tony calls him out.

"Can you just tell me what you have to tell me?" Peter snaps before looking away. "Sorry."

"Tell me what's up kiddo" Tony gently prompts him.

"I...I couldn't find anything yesterday" Peter sighs.

"Is that all?" Tony wonders, knowing there's more but Peter nods his head. "I might have something that would help."

Peter looks up at Tony.

"Which is?" Peter prompts.

"Rhodey and Happy went to the police station and...this is completely up to you" Tony begins with.

"What did he say?" Peter wonders.

"He's only willing to speak with you Pete" Tony tells him.

"When can we go?" Peter asks.

"You want to go?" Tony questions.

"Yeah, I need to speak with him too" Peter shrugs.

"Oh...well then I guess we can uhhh go after you're done eating" Tony suggests.

"I'm done, let's go now" Peter nods as he tries to quickly get up.

"Roo...please eat a bit more than that. Then we can go" Tony compromises.

"Fine" Peter relents.

He sits back down and picks up a piece of bacon.

"I'm..." Tony stops himself. He knows the apologies means nothing. God, he hated when people said those words to him. "I'm here if you ever need to talk kid."

"I know" Peter whispers.

"I'll be in the comms when you're done" Tony assures before getting up and leaving.

Once he's gone, Peter looks down at his food and takes another bite. He doesn't want to resort to what he did when uncle Ben died and it wasn't just eating problems.

What Tony and the avengers doesn't know, it won't kill them.

Chapter Text

Peter makes his way out of his room, carrying his backpack and plate. He reaches the comms to be greeted by Pepper and the avengers. He greets them back and puts his plate in the sink before walking over to Tony.

"Rhodey's going to come, that alright?" Tony asks.

"Is it Happys day off?" Peter questions.

"Nah, he's just busy downstairs. Sorry we got stuck with this old fellow" Tony apologizes, pointing to Rhodey.

"Excuse me? I'm like the youngest guy in the room compared to Steve and Bucky" Rhodey scoffs.

"You're comparing yourself to fossils" Peter calls him out.

"I take offense to that you pipsqueak!" Bucky shouts.

"Хороший маленький паук/Good one baby spider" Nat smiles.

"For the record, we aren't fossils" Steve informs.

"Peter! You're making the prehistoric fossils cry!" Clint gasps.

"I see tears!" Sam laughs.

"Alright, why don't you three head out? Rhodey, keep an eye on these two" Pepper suggests.

"Especially on Mr. Stark" Peter adds.

"Heard that" Tony gasps. "And I completely disagree."

"You just made three old men cry today Pete, think Pep is right and that's our que to leave" Rhodey suggests just as the elevator opens up.

"I'm not old. I'm younger than you" Tony scoffs.

"Воспользуйтесь преимуществом, они позволят вам купить немного мороженого! (Take advantage, they'll let you get some ice cream!)" Nat calls to Peter before the elevator doors closes.

"What did she say?" Tony wonders.

"Your bet is as good as mine" Peter lies.

"Stinky liar" Tony gasps.

🕷

"You ready to go in kid?" Tony asks Peter once Rhodey pulls up to the police station.

Peter nods his head and gets out of the car with Rhodey and Tony following after him.

"Wait Peter" Rhodey calls out, making Peter stop in his tracks. "I just wanted you to know that a police officer is probably going to be in the room with you two because you are a minor."

"That's fine" Peter responds before continuing his walk into the station.

Tony and Rhodey quickly follow Peter, sharing a quick glance. Once they enter the station, Peter makes it quick to the female cop at the front desk.

"Can I see Officer Gomez?" Peter asks.

"I'll take it from here, sorry officer. I was here yesterday and the sheriff said that Mr. Parker can speak with Mr. Carradine" Rhodey chimes in.

"Oh yes, sorry. The sheriff is out right now but he did leave a message. An officer will be accompanying Mr. Parker and he said the meeting can last...oh this must be a mistake" the officer trails off as she reads the note the sheriff left for her.

"It's not a mistake. Sheriff Holme lets me in for however long it takes. Can Officer Gomez accompany me?" Peter wonders.

"I'm sorry meetings are usually five to fifteen minutes so that will be the proce-" the cop begins to explain.

"Peter!" an officer shouts as he comes around the corner.

"Hey Officer Gomez!" Peter waves.

"What is going on right now?" Tony whispers to Rhodey.

"He's your kid, you're suppose to know" Rhodey whispers back.

"Hey! Long time no see! I already talked with the big man and he said I can accompany you to a meeting of however long as long as things go smoothly" Officer Gomez explains.

"Tell him I said thanks! How's Carlos?" Peter asks.

"He just turned twenty three! It's crazy! The time really flies by, I'll tell you that. I'm so sorry about what happened with May" Officer Gomez apologizes.

"Well that's what I'm here for" Peter replies.

"You came to the right place and at the right time. Tomorrow Dennis is being transferred to prison. Oh, I need a guardian signature for your safety and liability, all that" Officer Gomez reminds himself as he shows the paper on the clipboard he's holding.

"I'll sign it" Tony assures while Rhodey grabs the clipboard and pen for him. "Thanks."

Tony ignores the confused look on the cops face as he hands back the clipboard.

"I got a Stark internship" Peter informs.

"Congratulations, good for you Pete! But that doesn't explain...this" Officer Gomez says.

"I worked with Mr. Stark a lot and Pepper and May got close. She wanted Mr. Stark on my guardian list incase..." Peter trials off.

"Well why don't we start the meeting? Dennis has been eager to talk with you. He won't tell any of the cops anything" Officer Gomez suggests.

"Guess we're going to find out then" Peter shrugs.

"Ok, wait, I'm sorry but what the hell is happening? How do you two know each other? What is going on?" Tony questions.

"Uncle Ben was a cop and Officer Gomez and him were friends, same with the sheriff and another officer" Peter adds at the end.

"That explains...a lot. So you knew you could get your way around the police station and never thought to tell us?" Rhodey wonders.

"Didn't think I had to" Peter shrugs.

"God if I were you, I'd be doing all the illegal shit" Tony jokes.

"And Tony is a bad influence, you ignore him on that" Rhodey glares at Tony.

"I already knew Mr. Stark was a bad influence but thanks for the reminder Rhodey! Can we see Dennis now? I have lots of questions" Peter asks Gomez.

"Of course, let's go" Officer Gomez nods before leading Peter away.

"Does Carlos have a boyfriend yet?" Peter wonders while they make their way over to the interrogation room.

"Yeah, his name is Miguel. He's such a respectful and polite young man. Any girlfriends?" Officer Gomez asks making Peter blush.

"No" Peter denies.

"But you do like someone" Officer Gomez teases.

"Stop using your cop skills on me" Peter scoffs.

"You're an easy person to read off of. Here we are but before we go in, if it gets too much we can leave at any time. If-" Officer Gomez beings to explain.

"I know, I know. I remember the rules" Peter sighs.

"Hey, we don't have to do this" Officer Gomez assures.

"I'm doing this. I know something isn't right about this whole thing and he's the only one who could possibly tell me" Peter argues.

"Ok then, boys first" Officer Gomez nods as he opens the door.

"Pretty sure it was old guys first, but ok" Peter retorts before walking into the room.

Peter steps into the slightly cold, tiled room. He spots the two hidden cameras in the room and begins to walk to Dennis Carradine.

Dennis is handcuffed to the table and sitting on a chair. Across from him, Peter sits down on the opposite chair. Officer Gomez shuts the door with his hand on his gun and blocking the door, just incase.

Dennis has a receding hairline and sideburns. His hair is white and he has a beard growing. His brown eyes are staring at Peter, his mouth not saying a word yet. His eyes go from tense to relaxed when looking at Peter to sorrow.

He's sporting an orange jail uniform. His hands are relaxed on the table with the handcuffs. Peter looks at him before looking down. He lets out a slow and steady breath before looking back up.

Nobody says anything at first. They're both waiting on one another to speak.

So much to say but the words don't get out until...

"I'll tell you everything" Dennis promises.

Chapter Text

"I'll tell you everything. I promise" Dennis promises.

"Do you still regret killing Ben Parker?" Peter asks.

"I always had and I regret killing your aunt as well" Dennis tells him.

Tears spring up in Peters eyes but he doesn't let any fall.

"How dare you say that when you tracked us down and broke into our home?!" Peter raises his voice.

"She made me" Dennis states.

"Who?" Peter seethes.

"I don't know her na-" Dennis begins to say.

"Bullshit" Peter interrupts.

"I know what you have Peter. Listen to my heart beat" Dennis instructs.

"Wh-what?" Peter falters.

"You have something Peter? You have something on you?" Officer Gomez questions.

"No, he's making shit up. I don't know what he's talking about" Peter shakes his head.

"She knows everything about you. She's coming for you" Dennis explains.

"Who?" Peter asks again in a more demanding voice as he zeroes in on Dennis's heart beat.

"I don't know her name" Dennis repeats himself.

True.

"What does she look like?" Peter wonders.

"You don't know her but he knows you Peter, very well" Dennis responds.

True.

Peter becomes a human lie detector, focusing his hearing on Dennis's heart beat every time he says something.

"What does she look like?" Peter wonders.

"She always wore a hood with a black hat underneath. I'd sometimes see her brown hair sticking out. She wears black sunglasses, never saw her eyes and a black mask. She's Hispanic" Dennis recalls.

True.

"How does she know about...it?" Peter asks.

"I don't know. I overheard her talking about you and your...friend" Dennis shrugs.

True.

"Why'd you kill my aunt?" Peter questions.

"She kidnapped my family, had a gun pointed at their heads" Dennis claims.

True.

"Wait, you didn't tell us that" Officer Gomez chimes in.

"Its too late for them. She's got them. They're...gone" Dennis trails off.

True.

"How do you know that? You've seen them? Where's the location?" Officer Gomez questions.

"I know they're gone because she said if I get caught or if I don't kill her, they're dead. This woman means business, you don't mess with her. Whatever she says, she means it" Dennis explains.

True.

"Who else works for her?" Peter wonders.

"I don't know" Dennis sighs.

True.

"You said you eavesdropped on her before, where were you?" Officer Gomez asks.

"There were other people with us but they were covered, I was too. I don't know if they were like me or if they were her personal goons. We always met up at this warehouse but you'd be pretty stupid if you think she'd be there when she doesn't make us meet up. Now that I'm caught, she definitely changed locations" Dennis explains.

True.

"What's the location?" Peter demands.

"On fifty-eighth street in the Bronx" Dennis answers.

True.

"Send first units to fifty-eight street in the Bronx. We got a possible location for the head leader of case 102" Officer Gomez speaks into his radio. "Come on Pete."

"No, I still have questions" Peter argues.

"I'm going to have to go on scene" Officer Gomez tells him.

"Go ahead, I got this" Peter allows.

"I can't leave you alone, it's protocol and a liability issue" Officer Gomez reminds him.

"You have cameras" Peter points out.

"Peter" Officer Gomez states.

"You're going to take forever at the location, I can't just wait. I need more answers" Peter protests.

"You know what, Officer Hicins still works here. I'll go grab him but you need to come with me since I can't leave you alone" Officer Gomez reminds.

"Ok, fine, fine" Peter repeats as he gets up from the chair. 

"Officer Gomez" Dennis shouts.

"Yeah?" Officer Gomez responds.

"She's a smart one, tell your officers to be careful" Dennis informs.

True.

Peter feels himself shiver. Officer Gomez nods his head and ushers him out before closing the door. 

"I'll get you back to Mr. Stark and Colonel Rhodes while I go grab Officer Hicins" Officer Gomez explains while he begins to lead Peter back to the lobby.

"Can I come?" Peter wonders.

"No" Officer Gomez shuts down.

"You know I'm a good detective though" Peter reminds him of the time Uncle Ben let him onto a crime scene during bring your kid to work day. It was a fun day.

"It's too dangerous" Officer Gomez tells him.

"I can help" Peter argues.

"Pete, whatever you want to help him with I'm sure it's too dangerous" Tony steps in.

"He's right" Officer Gomez nods.

"I helped you catch a murderer one time! You guys missed the evidence! I can help, I'm serious" Peter complains.

"Oh my god, what?" Rhodey questions.

"I need to get to the scene, I'll go grab Officer Hicins. You are forbidden to going onto that property Peter. If the officers or I catch you on there, they're bringing you to the station. It'll be trespassing" Officer Gomez threatens before walking away.

"You know that's never stopped me!" Peter calls back.

"What the hell is happening?" Tony asks.

"I'll tell you later, long story" Peter shrugs.

"How many secrets do you have?" Rhodey questions just as Officer Hicins and Officer Gomez arrives back.

"I mean it Peter" Officer Gomez warns before leaving the station.

"Geez, what's his problem? Am I right Officer Hicins?" Peter wonders.

"You can be a pain in the ass sometimes, you know that?" Officer Hicins sighs.

"I get told that too many times. Let's go see Dennis" Peter smiles before leading the way.

"This kid, good luck with him. He's a lot" Officer Hicins tells Tony and Rhodey before following after Peter. "Wait up Pete! You can't go in without me!"

"I feel like we had met a whole new person" Rhodey tells Tony.

"Tell me about it" Tony scoffs. "It's like he had another life before this."

🕷

"How long have you been watching me and May?" Peter asks.

"A while, you didn't know though because it's only been through security feeds. She didn't want to set off...your instincts" Dennis explains.

True.

"You told me you'd never kill another person again" Peter recalls two years ago.

"I told you, she threatened to kill my family. I would do everything in my power to protect them" Dennis states.

True.

"But you knew they were going to die anyways" Peter points out.

"I thought I was going to get away after it and then my family would've been safe. I only got caught because I froze. I hated myself but it's what I had to do but it didn't even matter, they're gone because of her" Dennis explains.

True.

"Why'd you freeze?" Peter wonders.

"I told you, I never wanted to kill someone else again. This time, I don't have an excuse of me not expecting to, didn't realize what was happening, caught up in the moment kind of thing. This time, it was intended even though I didn't want to. I could apologize a million times for your aunt and uncle but I know it won't ever matter because they aren't coming back. Just like I can't apologize to myself, make up excuses on why I had to this time but it won't ever make me feel better" Dennis exclaims.

True.

"You're right, I'm still going to hate you no matter what but I am sorry for you wife and kids" Peter apologizes. "Why'd you get out of prison early?"

"She has her ways. I don't know what ways but I do know I didn't have a bail" Dennis informs.

Lie.

"You know something" Peter calls him out.

"I have theories" Dennis corrects.

True.

"What theories?" Peter wonders.

"Don't trust the cops" Dennis warns.

"You think somebody's corrupted?" Officer Hicins realizes.

"How else could she get me out so easily?" Dennis questions.

"Does she have...abilities?" Peter asks.

"Not that I know of" Dennis shakes his head.

True.

"Do you know if she's going to attack everyone else I know?" Peter questions.

"What? This lady is targeting you?" Officer Hicins assumes from that.

"This seems like a warning. For what, I do know and I don't know if she'll go after anyone else. I don't know her plans" Dennis informs.

True.

Peter feels a chill run up his spine.

"We'll have to send officers to everyone your close to houses" Officer Hiccin realizes.

"No, I...they can live with me for now" Peter assures.

"They'll be more saf-" Officer Hicins begins to say.

"They'll be more safer with me and the people I live with. I'm living with those people I was just with" Peter recalls.

"Be on your toes Parker and watch out for yourself. Keep yourself safe. Listen to your instincts" Dennis warns.

Chapter Text

"Peter!" Officer Hicins shouts as Peter runs out of the door and down the hall. "Stop running!"

"Woah! What is going on?" Tony asks as he quickly catches Peter from running.

"We need to go" Peter tells him.

"Did he say something?" Rhodey wonders.

"No but..." Peter stops talking.

He freezes in his spot.

His breath hitches.

His hair stands up.

Somebody's watching.

"Get Dennis locked up, now!" Peter demands.

"Go lock Dennis Carradine up" Officer Hicin instructs nearby officers who runs off towards the interrogation room.

"What's going on? You see something?" Tony asks.

"Officer Gomez" Peter realizes before shoving Tony off of him and breaking out into a sprint.

Rhodey tries to grab him but Peter's too fast. He runs out the door making Tony and Rhodey look at Officer Hicins.

"Officer Gomez and other officers went to fifty-eigth street in the Bronx. Come with me, I'll get us there faster" Officer Hicins quickly explains before rushing outside towards his cop car.

Rhodey and Tony go with him as he quickly starts the car up. He steps on the gas and turns on the sirens. This would've been cool if it wasn't so terrifying.

🕷

Peter knows it'll be faster to swing but the thought of somebody watching him and seeing him change into his Spider-Man suit doesn't allow him too. 

He's fast. He knows he is. The spider increased his speed by a ton. He found this out by accident. He ran two miles in five seconds. He was running at 1,440 mph which blows his mind but now he's doing it again. 

He doesn't know how long he's been running or really, how fast he's been running but he made it to the Bronx. He's rounding the corner when he sees it.

"GOMEZ, WATCH OUT!!" Peter screams.

Officer Gomez turns around just as a gun goes off. Peter tackles the K9 dog down as a bullet rips past them.

Officer Gomez and the other officers rose their guns up into the air from where the gun had went off. Peter looks at the K9 and luckily, the dog isn't harmed. 

The dog was a warning.

No more shots follows but Officer Gomez instructs Peter to stay down cause he was currently blocked by the police car.

"They're gone. It was a warning shot" Peter tells him as he gets up.

"Sweep the area!" The sheriff shouts from where he's standing.

The K9 licks Peters face before following after some of the cops who are sweeping the area.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Officer Gomez questions just as car doors slams shut.

They both turn around to see Officer Hicins, Tony and Rhodey all racing towards them.

"Whats going on?" Officer Hicins asks.

"Warning shot at the K9, he's unharmed" Peter answers.

"We need to get out of here, come on kid" Tony tells him.

"What's in the building?" Peter asks Officer Gomez, ignoring Tony.

"It's an active crime scene, you cannot go in and I cannot discuss" Officer Gomez shuts down.

"It's Dennis's family isn't it?" Peter guesses.

"How di-" Officer Gomez begins to say.

"You guys kicked the doors down" Peter points.

"Jesus kid, don't look" Tony states, pulling Peter away.

"I need to go inside" Peter argues.

"This is not up for debate. It's an active crime scene. You all need to leave, it's dangerous" Officer Gomez instructs.

"Come on, he killed my aunt because someone forced him too. Don't you think I should be involved? Dennis said this lady was after me!" Peter recalls.

"Wait what?" Tony questions, fear crawling up his spine. 

Tony worries for Peter, he really does. Knowing that this villain is after Peter scares the hell out of him. He doesn't care if his kid is Spider-Man, he's still going to worry. Peter is a kid after all.

"You got your questions answered Peter, go home" Officer Gomez tells him.

"That's a shame, I don't have a home. Guess I get to stay around here a bit more longer" Peter snaps back.

"What is the hold up? Parker, get outta here. We don't need your help this time" the sheriff claims as he walks towards the group.

"I'm sorry sheriff. Peter was-" Officer Gomez begins to say.

"You need my help. This woman is after me. Don't you remember sheriff, when you were just a regular officer? I helped you catch that murderer when I was nine! I can help! You know I'm going to do it anyways" Peter protests.

"He's got you there" Rhodey holds in his laughter. Not that this should be funny to him but it is pretty funny to see Peter talk back to police.

"It's a liability issue and child endangerment. Your uncle only got away with it beca-" The sheriff tries to explain.

"Because it was bring your kid to work day and he was driving me home when he got called on duty and then I snuck out of the car" Peter cuts him off. "But see? Can't stop me from helping."

"You're as stubborn as I can remember" the sheriff sighs.

"So..."Peter trials off.

"You can stay but Officer Gomez will be babysitting you. Officer Hicins, you will come with me. Mr. Stark and Colonel Rhodes, since you're an avenger and you're in the military, you two may stay. Please do not get in our ways. I don't care what you two adults do but Peter, you listen to Officer Gomez" the sheriff instructs.

"Aye aye sheriff!" Peter salutes.

"Let's go Hicins" the sheriff says while he walks away.

"See ya later Pete" Officer Hicins waves.

"Bye!" Peter responds. "Can I have a taser?"

"No" Officer Gomez denies.

"At least I didn't ask for a deadlier weapon" Peter shrugs. "Don't worry Mr. Stark and Rhodey, you two can go home. I'll be back later?"

"Not a chance kiddo, a criminal is after you and you want us to leave you in the hands of cops?" Tony scoffs.

"We're not all that bad" Officer Gomez points out.

"Lets not fight about this because the child you both are suppose to be looking after is running towards the warehouse" Rhodey chimes in.

Both men's eyes goes wide and runs after Peter but Peter beats them into the warehouse. The three men chase him in there but he was already walking up the stairs.

"Don't worry guys! I'm ok!" Peter assures.

"This kid will be the death of everyone" Tony sighs. "Pete, wait up!"

Chapter Text

"How'd it go?" Nat asks as Tony, Peter and Rhodey exits out of the elevator later that day.

"Awful we didn't find anything at the location besides Dennis's now dead family but Dennis did give me some information" Peter answers.

"Which you still have to tell us" Rhodey reminds him.

"Yeah, whatever" Peter nods as he walks away and towards his room.

"What happened?" Pepper asks, getting concerned.

"We  don't really know what Dennis told him but he gave out a location and we all went with the cops. His wife and kids were found murdered in the warehouse. Peter also said this woman is after him" Tony explains.

"He also knows two police officers and the sheriff. That kid has a bunch of secrets. Like did you know he helped catch a murderer at nine years old?" Rhodey questions.

"How?" Wanda wonders.

"His uncle was a cop" Tony shrugs.

"Should one of us go talk with him?" Steve wonders.

"I think you guys should give him space. Seems like a lot happened and he needs to process" Clint replies.

"Do you guys know why this lady is after Peter?" Bucky asks.

"No idea" Rhodey answers.

"Nat should ask him tomorrow" Sam suggests.

"Not that I won't but why me? He tells Tony more stuff" Nat points out.

"He trusts you and he may not want to tell Tony because he'll worry too much" Sam figures.

"Boss, Peter had left in his suit" Friday informs.

"If he gets into trouble, just let me know. Have a suit on standby" Tony instructs.

"You're not more worried?" Bruce wonders.

"I am but he doesn't want me to go after him" Tony argues.

"But what if he goes back to that ware of a house?" Thor asks.

"Shit, I forgot. Fri, make sure he doesn't go back to the warehouse" Tony tells her.

"I'll make sure Karen won't let him" Friday responds.

🕷

Peter is swinging around the city, the breeze hitting his mask. He's been getting texts and calls from Ned and Mj but have been ignoring them both. He can't talk right now. He can't talk about any of this.

The more people who know what's going on, the worst it might become. Which is why he can't let the avengers know. But what if they can help?

So many thoughts are swirling around Peters brain that he doesn't know what to think. 

Peter stops swinging and lands on a rooftop. His feels tears start to sting at his eyes. He rips his mask off and looks out at the city lights.

The tears slowly starts to make its way down Peters face but he can care less at the moment. He misses May. It's his fault that she's gone. Dennis said this lady is after him so she decided to take it out on May.

It isn't fair.

The tears comes down faster and it starts to drizzle. He doesn't put the mask back on though.

He needs to breathe.

He needs to be able to let go of his emotions he's been keeping bottled up all day.

Why must life hate him?

He can't even blame his Parker luck, he can only blame himself.

It's not the official Parker family bad luck, it's the official Peter bad luck.

It's only him that has bad luck and makes it everyone else's burden.

The tears keeps pouring and the rain starts to pick up.

It's only been a day since May died and he feels like he can't go further.

He's not saying he wants to die but maybe this villain should just kill him. Then nobody else will get hurt because of him.

He doesn't do good for this city. He puts the city through loss and pain.

He first got his uncle Ben killed and now his Aunt May.

He's got other people killed because he wasn't fast enough or because he wasn't there.

Tony already told him that he can't save everyone and it's not his fault but it still feels like it's his fault.

But this time, it's different.

Mays death is his fault.

Just like how Bens death was his fault.

This lady wants Peter and it seems like she's going to do whatever it takes to get to him.

Thunder crackles in the sky, making Peter flinch and snap out of his thoughts.

He puts his mask back on and lets out a deep, slow breath.

"Peter, Ned is calling. Do you want me to-" Karen starts to say.

"Decline" Peter interrupts.

"Call declined" Karen informs.

Peters thoughts carries him back into his brain. 

Dennis said to trust his sixth sense. 

But what does that mean?

"Peter the weather is going to get worse. I would suggest going back to the tower" Karen tells him.

"Not now Kare" Peter dismisses as lightening lights up the sky.

Peter lays down on the edge of the rooftop, thinking over everything that Dennis had told him. 

Who could this lady be?

How does she know Peter's Spider-Man?

His thoughts consume him once again.

Too many questions but none are being answered.

Thunder rumbles in the sky and the lightening crackles, lighting up the sky over and over again. The rain plummets down, getting him wet but Karen had turned on the heat warmers in the suit.

Peter is facing the endless sky.

He wonders if his family is watching over him.

That thought makes his heart sink.

He's the reason they're dead.

He's the reason that they're disappointed in him.

He needs to find this lady and fast.

He can't let anymore people get hurt...but how?

Dennis doesn't know who this woman is and Peter obviously doesn't either.

Nothing was there on the crime scene besides Dennis's family and...

Wait...

The warning shot.

Maybe the lady who is after Peter was there and that was her who fired off the gun?

But that could've also been a goon.

Maybe he can go to the station tomorrow and see if they caught the lady or not.

He didn't hear anything about it but he was also paying more attention to finding clues.

Peter gets up from the roof and begins to swing back to the tower.

He's got a plan for tomorrow and hopefully it gives him something.

He doesn't care what it is as long as it gets him somewhere.

Before Peter knew it, he made it back to his room in the tower.

He didn't realize but he's been gone for two hours.

It felt like he didn't spend a lot of time out there but he did.

Peter grabs fresh clothes and goes into his bathroom to take a shower.

Tomorrow is going to be another long and exhausting day.

Chapter Text

"Peter, you are not an officer. I cannot give you information" the sheriff shuts him down.

As soon as it hit nine in the morning, Peter had rushed over to the police station. He tried to talk with Officer Gomez just for him to make Peter go talk with the sheriff in his office.

"Please Sheriff Holme. I just need to know if you caught the person who sent those warning shots" Peter pleads.

"I know you want more than that question answered" Sheriff Holme calls him out.

"I have the right. This is going on because this woman wants me!" Peter reminds him.

"I'm sorry Peter but I can't give you information and neither can any of the other officers" Sheriff Holme apologizes.

Peter looks down and starts to fidget with his hands. 

"You got the answers you were looking for from Mr. Carradine?" Sheriff Holme asks.

"Yeah but he doesn't know who this lady is or much about her" Peter answers.

"I know you're upset kid but what you can do is keep yourself safe and stay out of trouble" Sheriff Holme tells him.

"I'd be much safer if I knew that person who shot at the K9 was behind bars" Peter tries.

"I think you know the answer Pete" Sheriff Holme sighs.

That means no.

"Are you safe with the Iron Man?" Sheriff Holme wonders.

"Yeah, he's keeping me safe" Peter nods.

"That's good. I didn't get a chance to tell you this but we're done sweeping your apartment. Your in the clear to go there if you want to collect any belongings" Sheriff Holme informs.

"Thanks" Peter thanks.

"Officer Gomez can drive you" Sheriff Holme offers.

"No thanks, I'll be alright" Peter dismisses.

"You sure? It's been drizzling out" Sheriff Holme points out.

"I'm sure. Can you please call me if you have any leads though?" Peter asks.

"Peter..." Sheriff Holme sighs.

"Please" Peter pleads.

"I'll see what I can do" Sheriff Holme claims.

Peter grabs a paper and pen from the sheriffs desk and quickly writes his phone number down.

"I'll be waiting for a call" Peter tells him.

"No doubt you won't" Sheriff Holme responds. "I'll see you later kid."

"See you later sheriff. Tell Mrs. Holme and Piper I said hi" Peter salutes before leaving his office.

Peter walks down the hall of the station and passed the front desk. He pulls his hood back up and pushes past the doors, back outside. 

He walks back to his apartment. It's not too far from the station but it's definitely a walk. He doesn't feel like swinging though. He doesn't feel like a hero.

He feels his phone vibrating with texts so he pulls his phone out. He puts everything on do not disturb, turns off his location, his phone tracker, and powers his phone off before putting it back in his pocket.

He told Friday to tell everyone he'll be back later so it's not like the avengers don't know he hasn't been kidnapped from the tower.

He walks with his head down, not bothering to look up at the people of the city. He puts his earbuds in and silences the world out. 

🕷

"Can't you track him?" Clint asks.

"He turned off his tracker. Last location was outside the police station" Tony answers.

"I already called them and they said he left" Nat informs.

"Where could he be heading?" Bruce wonders.

"The warehouse" Sam realizes.

"Friday, check the cameras that points to the warehouse on fifty-eighth street in Bronx" Pepper tells the AI.

"Nobody besides officers have been at the crime scene. I had last spotted Peter a block down from the police station before entering an alleyway and disappearing. His suit isn't online and there are no Spider-Man reportings. My best guess is he's hiding from the cameras" Friday explains.

"Why?" Bucky questions.

"Well, you midguardians and your cameras are pretty creepy and weird. I do not blame the young spiderling" Thor answers.

"He was talking with Carradine yesterday, maybe he said something" Rhodey suggests.

"Or he's trying to hide because he doesn't want us to find him" Nat figures.

"You still going to talk with him when he comes back, right?" Steve asks.

"Yeah, maybe he'll tell me where he went" Nat shrugs.

"Could he have went to his friends houses?" Wanda suggests.

"He's been ignoring his friends since Friday" Pepper sighs.

"I don't think we need to be too concerned, I think he's just trying to process his grief" Sam exclaims.

"But this? This doesn't seem like him at all" Bruce points out.

"He's right. The kid would probably be beating himself up in his room, not doing whatever he's doing out there" Tony agrees.

"He knows something we don't and I think it's because of what Dennis told him. We need to know what he said" Clint theorizes.

"I don't like this. It's giving me bad feelings. I don't like where this might be heading" Wanda claims.

"Where could this be heading?" Thor wonders.

"I don't know...I just don't like it" Wanda sighs.

"We should leave some food in his room for when he gets back" Steve suggests.

"Yeah and Fri, tell us when he get back" Tony tells her.

"Will do boss" Friday assures.

🕷

Peter slowly shuts the door behind him and lets out a sigh. He faces his apartment and throws his bag onto the floor.

He can barley make it a few steps when a huge wave of overwhelming emotions hits him. He leans against the front door and slides down until he's sitting on the ground and lets out tears.

"This is all my fault" Peter whispers in the abyss. "I'm so sorry."

Minutes passes by until Peter manages to stop crying. He wipes his tears away and stares out into the apartment before getting up. He goes into his bedroom and pulls his attic down.

He grabs empty and full boxes from the attic, setting them up in his room. He knows he's going to have to start packing.

He knows he can't bring everything to his room at the tower yet. He can only really care two boxes without it being suspicious. He already knows what he'll pack for now though.

One box of his belongings and then the other box filled with Mays and the rest of his families belongings.

Peter let's out a slow and steady breath. He already knows this is going to take awhile especially when he gets to Mays room. He doesn't know how he can step foot in there but if he can step into the apartment, he can step into Mays room.

🕷

He was wrong.

He was so, so wrong.

As soon as he opened Mays door, he started bawling. He's now sitting on the floor, back against the wall, sobbing. His spidey senses tingling with a slight buzz but Peter knows it's nothing. It's just his overwhelming emotions...right?

Peter looks back up into Mays room only for the tears to keep flooding. He gets up and shuts Mays door, leaning his head against it. His hand drops from the handle and he goes back into his room.

He packs some belongings that he has in his room with tears still pouring down his face. He packs a photo of him, May and Ben, a photo of him with his parents, Bens watch, Mays favorite book she forgot in his room and some other things that he had. 

He knows he'll have to face Mays room again but that's for another day. He feels too broken right now. 

Peter keeps adding more things until he leaves his room with the boxes and goes into the living room. He grabs some belongings in the living room and fills it in the box.

Once Peter finishes, he tapes the box lids down and sets them a top of one another. He lets out a deep breath and wipes a loose tear away.

He's glad somebody cleaned up the floor that most likely had blood on it. That thought sends a shiver up his spine.

Peter looks at the apartment one last time before picking up the boxes and leaving. He shuts the door and makes sure he locks it. He's about to turn around when a familiar voice speaks up.

"Oh Peter, how have you been holding up?" Cheryl asks as he turns around to face her.

"Umm ok" Peter replies.

"Where have you been staying? Are you safe there?" Cheryl wonders.

"Yeah, I've been staying at a friends" Peter lies.

"That's good. The police let you back in?" Cheryl figures, gesturing to the boxes.

"Uhh yeah" Peter nods.

"Good, that's good. Do you want some cookies?" Cheryl asks.

"No thank you, I have to get going" Peter denies.

"Maybe next time. You're always welcomed to stop by" Cheryl assures.

"Thank you, I'll see you soon" Peter thanks.

"Bye Peter" Cheryl waves before heading into her apartment.

Peter walks past and goes towards the stairs. He gives a nod to the man at the front desk who waves him goodbye. 

Once he gets outside, he realizes it stopped drizzling. He begins his trek back to the tower.

Chapter Text

"Boss, Peter is in his room" Friday announces to Tony who is in his lab.

"Thanks Fri, you think I should go up?" Tony asks.

"It seems like he's making his way down here" Friday informs.

Tony stops what he's doing for a moment, a bit startled that Peter is coming down instead but quickly gets back to work to not make Peter suspicious.

Not even a few seconds passes by when the elevator dings and Peter exits out.

"Oh hey kid, what have you been up to?" Tony wonders.

"Not much. What are you working on?" Peter asks.

"Fixing Nats widow bites. She said they were malfunctioning. Can you believe that? My tech malfunctioning?" Tony questions making Peter crack a small smile. "Anyways, you hungry? I haven't ate lunch yet and you know, it's a bit past lunch time...Pep is going to kill me."

"Sure, I guess" Peter nods.

"Great, you wanna head upstairs or stay down here. I still got food in the cabinets" Tony suggests.

"Can we stay down here?" Peter wonders.

"Course kiddo" Tony nods before heading over to the cabinets. He gets a few chip bags and granola bars out before tossing a few to Peter.

God, Tony hopes he eats the granola bars for his metabolism and not just the chips. He knows he skipped out on breakfast.

"Sit on the couch. We can watch a movie if you want" Tony invites.

"Star Wars?" Peter suggests.

"How can I say no?" Tony smiles.

"Fri, please put on Empire Strikes Back" Peter instructs only for Friday to do so.

Tony sits down next to Peter with his own bags of chips and a blanket in hand. He throws the blanket on Peter before ruffling his hair.

"Heyyy" Peter whines.

"Shush, you're missing the movie" Tony jokes.

Peter jokingly rolls his eyes before starting to eat a granola bar. They're only about twenty minutes into the movie when Peter suspiciously turns his head to Tony.

"How come you aren't asking me where I've been and why I didn't tell anyone?" Peter questions.

Tony looks away from the movie to Peter. He knew Peter would probably ask questions but he kinda got lost in his own worrying thoughts, he forgot.

"I wanted to give you space" Tony tells him.

"You aren't concerned?" Peter asks.

"I am but you would tell me if something's up, right?" Tony wonders.

Peter stays silent before nodding his head. From his conversation with the avengers, they all know he's hiding something but if he won't tell Tony, maybe he'll tell someone else. It hurts Tony that Peter might not trust him with this but he'll still be there for the kid.

"I'm sorry about yesterday and today" Peter apologizes.

"You were being brave, that's what you were doing" Tony claims.

"I'm being reckless" Peter sighs.

"How?" Tony questions.

"I don't know but I feel like I am" Peter shrugs.

"I don't think you are" Tony assures.

"You're reckless, that doesn't help" Peter smirks.

"Monster" Tony gasps. "But true. Guess I'm not the right man to be questioning who's reckless or who's not but I do know I'm more reckless than you are."

"I have no doubt in that" Peter laughs.

Tony smiles at seeing his kid laugh. He's glad he can lift Peters spirits somehow. Peter then stops laughing and his face turns serious.

"I want to tell you but I don't think I can. I need to figure this out on my own" Peter exclaims.

"That's ok, you can tell me or anybody else when you are ready" Tony assures. Peter stays quiet for a moment, thinking. "Hey, whatever it is everyone here will be willing to help."

Peter leans his head on Tony.

"Thanks" Peter mumbles.

Tony smiles and ruffles Peters hair.

🕷

"Friday, is Peter back yet?" Pepper wonders.

"Peter got back three hours ago. Him and boss are asleep in the lab" Friday informs.

"Should we wake them? Dinner's ready" Wanda asks.

"Wait, Peter may not want to eat with us. If he's been having trouble, he wouldn't want us all staring at him" Nat points out.

"I'll bring down their food" Clint offers.

"Don't startle them" Steve reminds him.

Clint waves a hand and sticks out his tongue before grabbing the two plates and going into the elevator.

"Man child" Nat rolls her eyes.

The elevator dings and Clint exits out seeing Peter and Tony still asleep.

"WAKEY WAKEY!! EGGS AND BACEYY!!" Clint shouts making Peter and Tony startle awake. "Oops but here's dinner!"

"Jesus Christ Clint" Tony grumbles.

"What? Don't want food? It seems like you need some with your pissed off attitude" Clint jokes.

"Thanks Clint" Peter thanks.

"Aww my favorite person! See Tony, not that hard" Clint compares.

"Whatever birdbrain" Tony rolls his eyes.

"I take that name as a compliment!" Clint claims while he turns around to head back to the elevator.

"Wonder why you would" Tony sarcastically says before Clint goes into the elevator and leaves.

"Clint's right, you are a grouch" Peter smirks.

"Legolas has bird seeds up in his brain, you don't listen to what that idiot says" Tony rolls his eyes.

"Whatever you say Mr. Stark" Peter responds. "Now what movie?"

🕷

It's late at night but not too late that everyone's asleep. Peter is writing things down in one of his notebooks when he hears a knock.

"Come in" Peter invites.

Nat opens the door and closes it behind her.

"Эй, малыш-паук (Hey baby spider)" Nat greets.

"Привет, мама паук. Как дела? (Hey mama spider. What's up?)" Peter asks.

"Просто проверяю. Чем ты занимался сегодня? (Just checking in. What have you been doing today?)" Nat wonders.

"Не так много вам? (Not much, you?)" Peter asks back.

"То же самое. Ребята мне надоели, а Пеппер и Ванда уже пошли спать. Почему ты не в постели? Завтра понедельник, ты знаешь это? (Same here. The guys are boring me and Pepper and Wanda already went to bed. Why aren't you in bed? Tomorrow is Monday, you know that?)" Nat reminds him.

"Я знаю (I know)" Peter responds.

"Я не собираюсь тебя заставлять, но я здесь, если ты хочешь поговорить (I'm not going to make you but I'm here if you want to talk)" Nat assures.

"Спасибо (Thanks)" Peter thanks.

"Отдохни, малыш-паук (Get some rest baby spider)" Nat tells him.

"Ночная мама-паук (Night mama spider)" Peter replies before Nat leaves his room.

Peter looks down in his notebook before closing it. He grabs his mask from his night stand and puts it on.

"Hey Karen" Peter greets.

"Hello Peter. Are you going out for a patrol?" Karen wonders.

"No but I need help" Peter tells her.

"I'll be happy to assist" Karen assures.

"Officer Gomez said Dennis Carradine is supposed to be transferred to prison today, is that true?" Peter wonders.

"That was true but according to my databases they had to switch the transfer to tomorrow at eight" Karen explains.

"Great" Peter replies.

"Why is that great Peter?" Karen wonders.

"Wait...do you know why they didn't already transfer him?" Peter questions, ignoring Karen.

"I'm not sure why" Karen claims.

"Can you transfer the camera feeds from fifty-eighth street in the Bronx onto my phone? From uhhh yesterday when I went there with the cops?" Peter wonders.

"Of course" Karen assures.

Peter grabs his phone and unlocks it to see the data processing. It only takes a few seconds until the data is complete.

"Thanks Karen" Peter thanks.

"My pleasure. Do you need my assistance for anything else?" Karen asks.

"I don't know...give me a few moments" Peter tells her.

Peter skims through the cameras feed until he sees the cops arriving outside the warehouse. A couple of minutes goes by when he sees himself running into one of the cameras view.

Peter pays close attention when the warning shot occurs. He pauses the video but can't see anyone anywhere who could've shot that.

"Karen, can you scan in the cameras somebody shooting a gun at the K9?" Peter wonders.

"Of course, scanning" Karen responds. During that time, Peter tries to look for a possible suspect but comes across nothing. "I have looked through a bunch of different camera feeds and haven't found anyone shooting at the K9."

"Do you think they were invisible?" Peter questions.

"That or well hidden. I do not detect any unordinary heat signatures. I also do not see any drones or other technology that sent off a warning shot" Karen supplies.

"Is the police station closed right now?" Peter wonders.

"Peter, I suggest going to bed. I don't think you should be at the station right now. It's getting late" Karen tells him.

"I was just wondering" Peter claims.

"Peter, please go to bed" Karen repeats, not falling for it.

"Ok, ok, I will" Peter assures.

"Thank you" Karen thanks. "Goodnight Peter."

"Night Kare" Peter replies before pulling off his mask. 

Peter puts his mask back on his night stand and opens up his notebook.

"I wish I could listen to you Karen" Peter mutters with a sigh.

He begins writing things down, looking on and off his phone and drawing out sketches. His mind is clouded with thoughts.

"Peter, I suggest you go to bed. It's one in the morning" Friday informs making Peter flinch. 

"Geez Fri, you scared me" Peter tells her.

"Sorry but you've been up for awhile and have school in a few hours" Friday reminds him.

"I'll go to bed" Peter assures.

"Do you want me to alert someone?" Friday suggests, not in a threatening way but in a way to help Peter go to sleep.

"No thanks. Getting tired anyways" Peter slightly lies. He puts his notebook in his drawer and charges his phone. "See, going to bed. Night Fri."

"Goodnight Peter. Sleep well" Friday wishes as she turns his lights off for him.

Peter turns in his bed, facing the door. He sees the dim light in the hall on and stares at it. His eyes start to droop close. Peter tries to blink the sleep away but slowly starts to fail. He sees footsteps outside his door but it's too late, his eyes fall shut and he's asleep.

Chapter Text

"Peter!" Ned shouts as he runs up to Peter and throws him in a hug. "I'm so sorry dude. I've been trying to contact you all week, where have you been staying? I've been so worried!"

Ned pulls Peter out of the hug and looks him up and down.

"I'm-" Peter begins to say.

"Sup loser, sorry about Friday. You know Ned came to my house pounding on my door because he thought you were bleeding to death" Mj informs.

"What?" Peter questions.

"People thought they saw you bleeding on Saturday!" Ned recalls.

"I wasn't bleeding and I wasn't even patrolling" Peter dismisses.

"You're alright then?" Mj wonders.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Peter assures.

"How have you actually been dude? Where have you been?" Ned questions.

"I'm fine, seriously guys and I've been staying with Mr. Stark" Peter informs.

"What? Oh my god! Mr. Stark is letting you stay with him?!" Ned gasps.

"May apparently asked him to sign to be my second guardian and to be a contact for the school" Peter claims.

"Has he been giving you any trouble?" Mj asks.

"No, he's been nice" Peter assures.

"I'm sorry for asking but do you know who did it and if the police caught them?" Ned wonders.

"Oh ummm I-yeah" Peter nods.

"Who?" Ned questions.

"Y-you remember Dennis Carradine?" Peter asks.

"Holy shit" Ned curses, grabbing onto Peters arm. "No way. He's out?!"

"Not anymore. It's a...long story" Peter tells him.

"Who's Dennis Carradine?" Mj questions.

"He killed my uncle" Peter answers.

"Shit, I'm sorry" Mj apologizes.

"No worries" Peter brushes off. "I'm sorry for ignoring you guys all week."

"We get it, it's been busy" Mj assures.

Ringggggg.

"Ugh, I do not want to go to English right now" Ned complains.

"I heard we have an English project" Mj recalls.

"Oh great" Ned whines.

"What? We haven't even done anything" Peter tries to remember.

"It's for the new lesson" Mj explains.

"Great" Peter grimaces.

"Want to be apart of our group Mj?" Ned asks.

"I'm not doing all of the work" Mj lays down the rule.

"You won't" Ned assures.

"I guess" Mj sighs just as the enter the classroom.

🕷

Peter is currently finishing up his math work that will soon be homework if he doesn't finish it on time. This is sadly one of the only classes Mj or Ned isn't in.

Everyone's doing their own work while talking with their friends. Miss. Smith has her earbuds in and typing away on her computer.

"Yo penis!" Flash greets as he walks up to Peters desk.

"What now Flash?" Peter asks.

"You know your aunt only died to get away from you, right? I mean nobody loves you. Your whole family had to get themselves killed to escape your pathetic ass" Flash bullies.

Peter ignores him. He knows if he talks, his voice will crack. He gathers his belongings and quickly puts them in his bag.

"I'm talking to you Penis" Flash reminds him of his presence.

"Really? Thought you were trying to talk to your imaginary friends" Peter retorts.

Dammit.

"What did-" Flash starts to say.

"Flash, please sit down. The bell is about to ring so I just want to tell you all that if you didn't finish the classwork, it is now homework. Please have it done" Miss. Smith informs right before the bell rings.

Peter quickly grabs his bag and exits the classroom to avoid Flash. He hears Flash behind a couple of students but he manages to escape as he had just entered the cafeteria. He sees Mj and Ned already there and sits down next to Ned, across from Mj.

"Hey, do we have decathlon practice today?" Peter wonders.

"Yes and you're not skipping" Mj tells him.

"What if it's an emergency?" Peter questions.

"Somehow I don't believe you aren't patrolling after school and that you have other plans" Mj calls him out.

"Woahhh, she just read your mind!" Ned gasps.

"It can wait till after" Mj assures him, ignoring Ned.

"What time do you think it'll end?" Peter asks.

"Six, we're starting at 3:30 today because Mr. Harrington has to run somewhere real quick to grab something for us" Mj explains.

"Wait, practice is starting later?" Peter questions. "I got to go do something real quick too before practice."

"You better not be late Parker" Mj warns.

"I won't, promise" Peter promises.

"What are you doing?" Ned wonders.

"Something for...Mr. Stark" Peter lies.

Mj gives him a suspicious look, making him look away.

"Is he sending you off to a secret mission?" Ned whispers.

"What? No" Peter shuts down.

"Aww I could've been your guy in the chair for it" Ned claims.

"You're always my guy in the chair" Peter reminds him.

"But this would've been a real mission" Ned protests.

"You've helped me with the Vulture, that's a real mission and the drug ring" Peter points out.

"True...that was so cool" Ned smiles.

"Nerds" Mj sighs.

🕷

"Yo penis! Where you going?" Flash hollers as Peter runs down the stairs of the school.

"Mj is sending me to pick something up for decathlon. Better go so I don't be late to practice" Peter slightly lies while his spidey sense comes to life.

"What are you hiding Parker?" Flash asks, grabbing his backpack.

"Nothing" Peter states.

"I'm going to find out what you're hiding" Flash threatens.

"Flash, let me go. Mj really needs this for practice today" Peter tells him.

Peters spidey senses spikes up. His eyes goes wide just as Flash punches him in his eye. He stumbles before Flash shoves him to the ground.

"I know Jones doesn't need anything to be picked up for practice, Mr. Harrington does and that's why practice is starting later" Flash calls him out.

"Flash, Mj forgot something. That's all it is" Peter rolls his eyes despite one of them hurting now.

"Yo Flash! Come on man! We'll be late!" Chad shouts.

Flash looks down at Peter for the last time before walking over to Chad and his car. Peter gets up from the ground and walks away from the school. As he walks away, his spidey senses stops.

He lets out a deep breath before running off to the station. He really needs to get there quick before they don't allow him to talk with Dennis since today he's being departed to prison. He also can't be late for decathlon but now he might be a few minutes late.

Peter gets to the station at rocket speed. He sees Sheriff Holme talking with the cop at the front desk and rushes towards him.

"Excuse me, Sheriff Holme?" Peter asks.

"Don't you have school Peter?" Sheriff Holme questions.

"No, school ended. I was wondering if I can talk with Dennis Carradine before he leaves tonight" Peter wonders.

"How did you know that?" Sheriff Holme calls him out.

"I have my ways Sheriff" Peter winks.

"What happened to your eye?" Sheriff Holme realizes.

"What eye?" Peter plays dumb.

"Did somebody punch you? I need to know who. You got a school bully? God, I hate those" Sheriff Holme exclaims.

"I'll let you know if I can talk with Dennis" Peter bargains.

"Too smart Parker, you're too smart. Alright, fine. You have ten minutes with him. Officer Gomez will supervise, you hear that Gomez?! Now I can't do much about a school bully but if he bullies you off of the premises, I can bring him in to get a talking" Sheriff Holme offers.

"No thank you. Come on Officer Gomez, we got work to do!" Peter hollers to Gomez who was still staring at them with a donut in his hand.

"Wait up for me Peter!" Officer Gomez shouts as he runs over to Peter, quickly finishing his donut. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to ask Dennis something. Sheriff Holme said I have ten minutes. How was the donut?" Peter asks.

"It was-what happened to your eye?" Officer Gomez questions.

"Geez, everyone is questioning me about this. It's not a big deal, just a weak lil punch, you know? I'm fine" Peter brushes off.

"It isn't from where you're living, right?" Officer Gomez assumes.

"Definitely not, everyone I live with is nice. I'm sure Sheriff Holme will tell you, it's just a school bully but again, nothing to worry about. Now, can you please open the door. I can't be late for decathlon practice" Peter explains.

Officer Gomez looks from Peters eye to the door and quickly unlocks it. 

"You're lucky he's already in here. An officer was just questioning him to get some last minute answers" Officer Gomez informs before opening the door.

"I'm not answering anything!" Dennis claims.

"Really? Not even for me?" Peter questions, walking in.

"What are you doing back here Parker?" Dennis wonders.

"Ten minutes" Officer Gomez states while Peter sits down at the chair.

"Yesterday either her or one of her goons sent a warning shot at the K9 outside the location you told us. I looked at the surveillance feeds and heat signatures but couldn't find anyone" Peter explains. "Know anything about that?"

"You got into surveillance cameras?!" Officer Gomez practically shouts but the two ignore him.

"I told you, she wants you. She knows everything about you, don't underestimate her. I told you I don't know if she has powers but I do know she's very skilled" Dennis recalls.

"Even if she's very skilled, how can she bypass a heat signature scan?" Peter questions.

"I don't know" Dennis shrugs.

"Do you think she'd still be following me through cameras?" Peter wonders.

"Don't know" Dennis repeats.

"Is there anything you can tell me?" Peter asks.

"I've told you everything I know" Dennis informs.

"There has to be something, please Dennis. I won't be able to ask you anymore after today" Peter pleads.

"I'm sorry Peter" Dennis apologizes.

"She knows where I'll be before I get there" Peter realizes after a few moments of silence.

"What?" Dennis questions.

"Yesterday, I knew something was wrong at the warehouse. Either her or a goon was there but they sent that warning shot for me to see. You were supposed to be transferred yesterday but it mysteriously got moved to today because this lady knew I was going to come back. My senses would go off at not random times but when other things are happening so I think it's going off because of that but it's also going off because she's watching me. I'm playing her game and she's watching it flow" Peter realizes.

"You're Spider-Man" Officer Gomez whispers.

Peter turns to look at him while Dennis turns his head towards him. 

"No" Peter denies.

"Carradine knows you are. This lady is going after you because of your powers. Your things are your senses. She's-" Officer Gomez places the pieces together.

"You can't tell anyone. Dennis only knows because of this lady! Dennis, you need to tell me. Do you think she's a Hydra agent?" Peter asks.

A timer goes off, making all three of them jump. Officer Gomez quickly shuts his phone off before looking back at Peter and Dennis.

"Times up" Officer Gomez informs.

"I've never seen an octopus symbol on her" Dennis answers.

"Wait, do you know who he could've possibly be trained from? Or like an organization?" Peter questions.

"I don't know, I'm sorry but I hope you catch her soon. Be careful out there Peter" Dennis tells him.

Peter nods his head and gets up.

"Thank you for telling me what you know and I'm sorry about your family" Peter claims before leaving with Officer Gomez.

"I'll drive you to wherever you need to be, we need to talk" Officer Gomez declares.

"Fine by me, I have decathlon practice at Midtown high school" Peter informs.

They walk down the hall until they reach the front desk. Officer Gomez tells the cop there to put Dennis back into his cell and before him and Peter knew it, they were in the cop car.

Officer Gomez was in the drivers seat while Peter was in the passenger seat. He pulls out of the station and they begin their drive.

"Can you put the sirens on?" Peter wonders.

"You're Spider-Man" Officer Gomez says, more to himself than to Peter.

"I'm kind of surprised you didn't get it sooner with how Dennis was talking with me almost in code" Peter informs him.

"It's true? That you have a danger sense?" Officer Gomez questions.

"Yeah, I call it my spidey sense" Peter nods.

"How did it happen?" Officer Gomez wonders.

"Got bit by a radioactive spider on a trip to a science place that I won't give you the name of. No, Mr. Stark didn't create it or conduct an experiment on me. He's been helping me with this whole hero thing" Peter explains.

"So this lady is after you for your powers?" Officer Gomez asks.

"Seems like it" Peter shrugs.

"Wait...Spider-Man showed up two years ago. You were fourteen?!" Officer Gomez shouts making Peter nod. "Why did you...what? Huh?! You like just went out there in pjs?! And at fourteen?!"

"You're a cop, you should understand" Peter tells him.

"Did she know?" Officer Gomez wonders.

"Yeah, she already yelled at Mr. Stark and me for keeping it a secret from her. I have two friends helping me out as well. The suit is filled with protocols from Mr. Stark and the suit before wasn't pjs" Peter corrects.

"It definitely wasn't a suit" Officer Gomez retorts.

"I was a broke fourteen year old, still technically broke" Peter reminds him.

"Why did you decide to go out there though? You were fourteen. I mean I wanted to start being a cop at a young age but I understood I had to wait until I got trained" Officer Gomez exclaims.

Peter looks away from Officer Gomez and towards the window in front of him.

"The night Uncle Ben died was because of me. Dennis robbed the store I was at and he ran. I didn't stop him but Uncle Ben tried. If I stopped him, maybe Ben wouldn't have been shot at. I had those powers and didn't use them. When he was dying...he told me that with great power comes with great responsibility. That's why I started patrolling. I knew I could help people and prevent others from losing their loved ones" Peter explains.

"That's not your fault and it shouldn't have to be put all on you. I know you give cops bad rep but we're seriously not bad" Officer Gomez informs.

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" Peter asks.

"Course not. You have the avengers to look after you, you have your friends, and now you got me. You also got this maniac on the hunt for you so I'd be crazy to tell anyone. Your secret will always be safe with me, promise" Officer Gomez promises.

"Thanks" Peter thanks.

"If you're ever in trouble, just call me. I know I may not be as cool as the avengers but I can get there fast and with a swat team if you need" Officer Gomez assures.

"Can we put the police sirens on now?" Peter wonders.

"Don't you have crazed hearing?" Officer Gomez asks.

"We're five minutes away from the school and it's been awhile since I've been in a cop car with the sirens on" Peter recalls. "It's also called enhanced hearing or heightened senses since it's not just my hearing that changed."

Officer Gomez smiles and turns on the sirens. Peter flinches but quickly regains his composure.

"This is still so cool" Peter tells him.

"Heightened senses, that's cool" Officer Gomez corrects. "I'm glad you don't use your powers to hurt others but if I were you, I'd at least punch your bully to get him to back off."

"I can't, sometimes I can't control my strength which is why I use my webs. I've broken too many alarm clocks. In all seriousness, I can accidentally kill someone if I'm not careful enough. I also couldn't punch him before so why should I punch him now?" Peter asks.

"You're a good kid Peter. Keep doing what you're doing out there but be careful, seriously" Officer Gomez tells him.

The five minutes passes by quickly. Officer Gomez turns the sirens off just as they roll up to the school.

"I got one question. Are those webs coming out of you?" Officer Gomez asks.

"Gross, no. I make them myself and then I made these web shooters to put the web cartridges in. Those are where I put the webs I make and then I have a trigger on my web shooters to release the webs" Peter rambles.

"You're smart but stay in school" Officer Gomez states.

"That was already the plan, thanks Officer Gomez!" Peter thanks while getting out of the car.

"No problem kid. I'll call you if I get leads" Officer Gomez claims before driving away.

Peter looks back at the cop car with a smile on his face. Before the car gets too far, Officer Gomez puts the sirens back onto his car. Peter smiles wider and then turns to head inside.

He walks down the halls until he finally makes it to the decathlon room. He opens the doors to see...

"Practice started?" Peter questions.

"It's 3:50. Where have you been?" Mj questions.

"I can tell you where he's been! He just got dropped off by a police officer! Look! Mason was outside and got a photo!" Flash calls him out as he holds up his phone with the photo for all to see.

"Are you ok? Why did the police drop you off Peter?" Mr. Harrington asks, concerned about his student.

"Is this about you know who?" Ned wonders.

"The officer's just an old friend. He saw me walking and asked if I wanted a ride and I said sure" Peter slightly lies.

"What happened to your eye?" Betty asks.

Peter gives a quick look over to Flash before looking over to Mj.

"I'm sorry for being late, I thought I'd get here on time" Peter apologizes.

"Flash punched you in the eye?!" Abe realizes.

"God, you don't leave Peter alone for two seconds. Is that why police asked you to get into their car? Because they found you with a bruised eye on the side of the road?!" Cindy questions.

"No-" Peter starts to say.

"How are you still late to practice? Did Flash like punch you so hard you passed out?" Charles assumes.

"I didn't punch Peter!" Flash claims.

"We all know you bully him" Sally calls him out.

"Can everyone shut it?!" Mj practically shouts. "Everyone sit down and let's continue practice."

Everyone quickly goes to sit down, even Mr. Harrington. Before warnings, Mj starts shouting out questions making everyone on their toes.

Chapter Text

"So what happened to your eye and why were you late?" Mj asks Peter after walking over to him and Ned.

Decathlon practice ended awhile ago and the three of them are the only ones left outside the school, all waiting for their rides except for Peter.

"Flash punched me and I went to the police station" Peter answers.

"Why'd you go to the police station?" Ned wonders.

"I had some things I wanted to clear up" Peter responds.

"Is Hogan picking you up?" Mj questions.

"No, I have something to do" Peter claims.

"Are you going out?" Ned asks.

"No" Peter denies.

"Well if you change your mind, I'll be happy to be your guy in the chair" Ned offers.

"Thanks, I'll call you if I do" Peter thanks.

"My ride's here, see you two losers tomorrow" Mj notices her mom pulling up.

The boys say their goodbyes while Mj gets into the car and her mom drives off. Once they're gone, Ned turns to Peter.

"Are you really doing alright?" Ned asks.

"I'm getting there" Peter nods.

"There's more than just Carradine...isn't there?" Ned wonders. Peter let's out a sigh. "You can tell me, you know I won't tell anyone."

"I can't Ned, I need to figure this out on my own and I don't want to put you in danger" Peter informs.

"I'm your guy in the chair, that's what best friends are for!" Ned claims.

"I'm sorry Ned, I can't lose you too" Peter admits.

"What?" Ned questions. He feels like he just got hit in the heart. He looks over at Peter with wide eyes.

"I'll explain everything one day, but not today" Peter tells him as he gets up.

"I can-" Ned starts to say.

"Your mom's down the street. I'm sorry Ned" Peter apologizes before walking away.

"Peter wait!" Ned shouts.

He tries to run but Peter's already gone. A car honks making him jump. He turns around to see that his mom arrived and gets into the car.

"Hey honey, how was school?" Mrs. Leeds asks.

"Good" Ned responds as he pulls out his phone.

"Are you texting Peter?" Mrs. Leeds assumes.

"No, our other friend Mj" Ned replies.

👿Scary Jones😈

Ned

MJ

MJ

MJJJJ

MICHELLEEE

MICHELLEEE

MJJJ

ANDWERRRR

👿Scary Jones😈

What

Ned

Smth is up with peter

He basically confirmed it's smth more than Dennis Carradine

He doesnt wanna put us in danger & lose us 2

Smth is going on

👿Scary Jones😈

Ik smth was up

I doubt any of the avengers know

Ned

Not even mr stark?

👿Scary Jones😈

Doubt it

We can follow him?

Ned

U r gonna blame it on me if we get caught aren't u?

😈Scary Jones👿

It'll only be ur fault if we get caught

Ned

What abt his peter tingle?

👿Scary Jones 😈

It doesn't work with ppl he trusts

U literally scared him last week bc it didn't work on u

Tell ur mom to drop u off at Delmars

We'll follow him from there

"Mom, can you drop me off at Delmars?" Ned asks.

"Sure, meeting up with Mj?" Mrs. Leeds assumes.

"And Peter" Ned nods.

🕷

"You can do this Peter. It's not that hard" Peter mutters to himself.

He's currently walking on the rooftop of an apartment building directly across from his apartment building.

"You need to start clearing out the apartment before they clear everything out" Peter claims.

He keeps pacing. He's fidgeting with his web shooters that are laying on his wrists.

"She'll want you to grab the rest of our belongings" Peter psychs himself up. "You did it before, you can do it better now."

One foot in front of the other, he keeps walking on the rooftop. He doesn't know how long he's been hyping himself up but it feels like a lifetime.

He wants go in, he really does but he feels like he can't.

It felt like everything had collapsed on him all over again like he was back in the warehouse and he couldn't breathe.

"You can do it Peter. Stop being so afraid. You're Spider-Man" Peter whispers.

He reaches the back of the apartment and climbs down the building without anyone noticing. He breathes in and out.

"Maybe I should take Mr. Stark up on that offer next time...no. I can do this. It shouldn't be that hard. You've done it before with Ben's old things" Peter exclaims as he hears a garbage fall behind him.

He lets out a scream and turns around giving himself whiplash.

🕷

"He's still there?" Ned asks.

"Just walking up and down" Mj nods just as they see the apartment building Peter is at.

They can't see him from the streets but they know he's on the rooftop. 

"Wait, look! He's moving down!" Ned points out.

Mj and Ned quickly look at each other before running across the street. They make it across the street and slow down once they reach the apartment building. They slowly go into the alleyway, spotting Peter when Ned walks into a garbage can.

The garbage can falls with a thud and Peter let's out a scream. He quickly turns around just to see Mj and Ned.

"Told you it'd be your fault if we got caught" Mj tells him.

"Wh-what are you guys doing here?" Peter stutters.

"What have you been doing up on that rooftop for thirty minutes?" Mj remarks.

"Thinking" Peter answers.

"Peter, you're across the street from your apartment. What's going on man?" Ned asks.

"I..." Peter let's out a sigh. "It's going to sound stupid."

"It's not" Ned shuts down.

"You can tell us" Mj assures.

"I was just going to grab some things from my apartment" Peter admits.

"We can help" Ned offers.

Peter stays quiet for a moment before nodding his head.

"Want to cross the street then?" Mj asks.

"Yeah, let's go. Thanks guys" Peter thanks while they go cross the street.

🕷

"So how many boxes are we bringing to the tower?" Mj wonders.

"You guys don't have to carry it all back to the tower" Peter dismisses.

"Why not?" Ned questions.

"Because it'll be heavy and like it's a really far walk. I got it" Peter assures.

"Happy isn't going to pick you up?" Mj questions.

"Nobody knows I'm here" Peter tells her like it's obvious.

"Wait, nobody knows you've been coming here and packing things up? Why not? I'm sure they all would've helped or like Mr. Stark would've just helped or something" Ned rambles.

"How many times did you come here by yourself?" Mj asks.

"This is my second time and I'm not telling anyone because they don't need to worry about it. It's just packing some stuff up" Peter shrugs.

"Peter, you were on the rooftop across the street waiting to be ready before coming in here" Mj calls him out.

"How long were you guys spying on me?" Peter questions.

"Where should we start?" Ned asks, cutting through the beginning of an argument.

"You guys can start in the living room and I'll grab more boxes" Peter answers before walking away and into his room.

Peter hears Ned begin to whisper to Mj but he tunes them out. He goes into his room and pulls down the attic. His spidey senses spikes to life but he knows it's nothing. His spidey senses are just acting on his own emotions. Peter climbs up the ladder only to let out a terrified scream.

He falls off the ladder with a thud, landing on his back. Mj and Ned quickly rush into his room, right to his side.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Ned asks.

"Why'd you scream?" Mj wonders.

Peters spidey senses are on edge. He feels his breaths begin to shake but he quickly controls it as his tears begin to fall. Mj gets up from her crouched position and walks towards the ladder.

"Don't!" Peter shouts after her making her turn around. "Don't."

"What did you see?" Mj questions.

Peter can't think about it. The horrific image engraved into his brain. He quickly gets up, shoves his way from Mj and Ned and races towards the bathroom.

As he flies the bathroom door open along with the toilet bowl, he throws up. It only lasts for a split second before he's flushing the toilet.

"Peter..." Ned trails off, not sure what to say.

Him and Mj still don't know what he saw up in the attic.

Peter sits down, his back against the wall and starts to cry. Ned sits down next to him while Mj gets him a wet towel. Ned takes it from her since Peter wouldn't and hands it to Peter.

Mj waits until Peter is wiping his face through his tears to try and leave the bathroom.

"Mj please" Peters voice cracks. "You can't see it. You can't."

"What can't I see Peter?" Mj wonders.

Silence. Peter looks from the wet towel to meet Mjs eyes. Ned and Mjs hearts are beating fast, waiting for an answer.

"May" Peter whispers.

It was dead silent once again. Mj and Ned turn away from Peter to look at each other with horrified eyes.

"You saw May in the attic?" Mj clarifies.

"I..." Peter chokes on a sob. "Her head."

"I think I'm going to throw up now" Ned mutters.

"Her head" Mj repeats, frozen in fear.

"Her hair is hung by...something and her head is just...floating on the wall" Peter explains just above a whisper.

"I'm calling the cops" Mj states.

"Wait!" Peter shouts before she can do anything.

"My phone is on the kitchen counter. Call Officer Gomez, tell him to come alone and...call Mr. Stark. Don't tell them anything yet" Peter instructs.

Mj nods her head and races out of the bathroom to make the calls.

"Did you see May after...you know?" Ned questions after a moment.

"Just the body bag" Peter shakes his head.

"And you know that's..." Ned trials off as Peter nods his head. "Holy shit. What the fuck. What the fuck Peter. Who's doing this? I-is this person still here?!"

"Ned please" Peter pleads making Ned stop. "You got to listen man, don't say anything to anyone. I'll tell them."

"I don't even know what's going on. Are you going to tell me?" Ned wonders.

"I'm so sorry" Peter cries. "I'm keeping secrets, I brought you guys here and this...this happened and I brought you guys here."

Peter continues to cry when sudden realization hits him.

"It's another warning" Peter whispers.

"What?" Ned questions.

Peter races up and runs out of the bathroom. He sees Mj turn to him with his phone up against her ear. He rushes past her and back into his room just to turn and scream. 

As soon as he had turned to his room, Mays head dangled from the attic and stared at him.

Peter rushes to the sink and throws up, again.

"Fuck. Shit! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Peter screams.

Without looking, Peter shoots a web at his door and slams it close. He shoots another web at his doorknob so nobody can go in or escape.

He sits down on the floor with his knees pressed against his chest.

"Peter, it's going to be ok. Tony and Officer Gomez are both on their way" Mj assures.

"Was she in there?" Ned questions.

Peters sixth sense is going haywire. He hears footsteps, the feet shaking the floor.

"GET OUT!!" Peter yells.

"Who are you yelling at?!" Ned asks.

The front door bursts open to reveal Tony in his suit. Mj points to Peters room only for Tony to rush over there.

"NO! DON'T OPEN IT!!" Peter shouts, getting up from the floor.

Tony quickly rips the webs off with his gauntlet and opens the door right before Peter reaches him. Peering into the room is nothing but the ladder coming down from the attic, a messy bed, and Peters belongings.

"I saw her. I saw her. I saw her" Peter repeats, crying his eyes out.

Another pair of footsteps comes into the apartment making Peter flinch and look up.

"What's going on?" Officer Gomez asks as he puts away his gun.

Peter let's out a choked cry and allows Tony to pull him into a hug.

"In the attic" Mj tells the cop.

Officer Gomez moves pasts everyone and raises his gun up to the attic.

"Whoever's up there better have your hands raised in-" Officer Gomez begins to warns.

"It's gone. She's gone and she's making me go fucking insane! She's watching me and she saw I brought you guys here and that's another warning! Another thing I fucked up!" Peter cries.

"Kid, what are you talking about?" Tony asks, getting really worried.

"SHE WAS HERE!" Peter shouts, getting fed up. "She hung her head on the wall and I ran out. I came back and as soon as I came into the view, her head fell from the attic and dangled! I close the door and you guys opened it and she's gone! She was in here! I missed my chance to catch her because she's too busy fucking around with me!" 

"The windows locked" Officer Gomez notes once he quickly made his way to the window.

"Locks from the inside but this lady's good. She's skilled and Dennis wasn't joking about her. She wants something from me and in the meantime she's going to be doing these awful tricks" Peter realizes through his downpour of tears.

"Did you guys see her?" Tony asks Ned and Mj who both shake their heads no.

"I didn't let them go into the attic" Peter states.

"Wait...if she was just here and you think she's the one who changed Dennis's schedule...we gotta go" Officer Gomez realizes with wide eyes.

"What? Isn't he moving at eight? That's like in forty minutes" Peter recalls.

"I have a bad feeling about this" Officer Gomez tells him.

"He said don't trust anyone on the inside...we gotta go!" Peter catches on.

Everyone rushes out of Peters apartment, Peter quickly locking the door behind him. They all run down the stairs until they are all slammed shut into the police car. Officer Gomez turns on the sirens and pushes the gas hard.

"What the hell is going on?" Tony asks.

"Talk later" Peter tells him.

"Are we not still sure she's not in the attic or this lady who is apparently after you?!" Tony questions.

"Fuck! We forgot to check!" Peter exclaims. Officer Gomez slams on the brakes, making everyone jolt forward. "We don't have time! She's gone from the apartment! Step on it!" 

Officer Gomez steps on the gas and drives through the traffic.

"You're saying she left the head, aren't you?" Ned questions with a terrified and sick look.

"I don't know" Peter sighs.

"This is Officer Gomez. I need someo-" Officer Gomez begins to alert everyone.

"Don't! Are you crazy?! She can be listening in!" Peter informs him, shutting the radio off after reaching over to the front from the back.

"Can you drive any faster?" Mj wonders.

"I'm going as fast as I can. We're two minutes away" Officer Gomez responds.

"Awfully long two minutes" Mj snaps back.

"Ok who is this lady after Peter because that's all you've been saying since you met with Carradine but still won't tell me" Tony asks, getting annoyed that he isn't getting answers.

"Mr. Stark, I'll explain later" Peter answers.

"I'm getting scared" Ned admits.

"You'll be fine" Peter assures.

"Are we saying that there are undercover cops working for this lady who wants Peter?" Mj catches on.

"Maybe" Peter answers.

"We're here!" Officer Gomez shouts, slamming the breaks and turning off the sirens.

Everyone quickly rushes out of the car and into the police station. All of the cops in there turns to them with wide eyes. 

Officer Hicins and Sheriff Holme steps towards them, making everyone stop.

"Peter, are you ok?" Officer Hicins asks.

"No time for questions. We're going to Dennis Carradine's cell now!" Peter demands before making a run for it.

Officer Hicins and Sheriff Holme shouts in protest but after seeing Officer Gomez running after, they join in the runnnig.

Peter flies open the basement door and runs all the way until he reaches Dennis Carradine's cell with everyone quickly behind him. Everybody stops dead, letting out ear piercing screams.

Chapter Text

In front of them are metal bars which is the only thing separating them from the massacre of Dennis's cell.

Dennis is hanging by the neck with rope. Blood seeping out of his neck and eyes. Behind him written on the wall is... STOP LOOKING FOR ME in his blood.

Ned throws up. Tony grabs Peter and covers his eyes. Sheriff Holme steps in front of them, trying to block their views but poorly does so. 

"Take them out of here!" Sheriff Holme demands from his two officers as he raises his radio. "I need detectives, officers, and EMTS down to Dennis Carradine's cell now."

Tony, Peter, Mj, and Ned all get ushered away from Officer Gomez and Officer Hicins. They make it up the stairs just in time for officers to come running down the stairs towards the cell.

"Hicins, we're going in the debriefing room. I got it from here" Officer Gomez informs.

"I'm coming with then" Officer Hicins declares.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into. It's best if you don't" Officer Gomez tells him.

"We owe it to Ben to protect his nephew. I know he's connected to all of this so I'm coming" Officer Hicins exclaims making Gomez nod his head.

"What?" Peter questions looking at both officers.

"Let's go to the debriefing room" Officer Gomez states before leading the way with Hicins.

It doesn't take long for them to reach the debriefing room. Everyone sits in their own spinning chairs. Tony and the cops hold in their tears for the teens. They've all seen awful things through their jobs but nothing could've prepared them to see...that.

"It was his plan all along. Dennis said he'd get killed if he messed up or got caught and he did but whoever this is wanted me to talk with him up until now" Peter realizes.

"Kid, you're going to have to explain everything" Tony tells him.

"I can't" Peters voice cracks.

"Why?" Officer Hicins wonders.

"I'm going to put you all in danger" Peter states.

"It seems like we're already in danger if this is happening around us. I know you want to protect everyone but you're going to have to tell them" Officer Gomez claims.

"Wait, you know?" Tony questions.

"I was in the interrogation room when he was questioning Dennis" Officer Gomez responds.

"Why is this happening?" Mj asks.

"And please tell us everything and the truth" Ned pleads.

"I can't" Peter whispers.

"Why? Peter, you need to understand. We're all in this now and we're going to help you" Officer Hicins assures him.

"Because I don't know if she's still here or not listening in. My...emotions still haven't calmed down and I know there are cameras and mics" Peter explains.

"The tower" Tony announces. "We'll go to the tower."

"I'm not telling the rest of the avengers. The less they know the better and I know you think they can help but they can't. Not with this" Peter lays out.

"They won't know then" Tony nods.

"We have to tell Sheriff Holme's we're leaving. You guys meet us at your tower" Officer Gomez plans.

"I'll stay with you guys" Peter offers.

"You aren't staying here. There's a mad lady on the loose!" Tony shuts down.

"Mr. Stark, there's more about this that you don't know. I'll meet you at the tower" Peter argues.

Tony relents. He knows Peter's right. There's clearly more that he doesn't know.

"Fine but don't take too long. If anything happens, call me" Tony instructs.

"Will do" Peter assures.

"Come on Ted, Lj" Tony waves over as he stands up.

"Not my name Pony" Mj snaps back but she gets up and follows him and Ned out there anyways.

"Meet me at the car, I'll go tell the sheriff" Officer Gomez suggests.

"Yep, come on kid" Officer Hicins nods.

They all split up, Hicins and Peter going out the back entrance while Gomez goes back downstairs to the cells. Once they make it to the car, Peter sits in the back so Gomez can sit up front with Hicins.

"Peter, are you safe at the tower?" Officer Hicins wonders.

"Yes I'm safe there" Peter assures. He's getting tired of people asking that.

"Is Tony controlling?" Officer Hicins asks making Peter look at him weirdly.

"No, why would you say that? He's just worried and wants what's best for me. I trust him and he's been really good to me. He's helped me a lot" Peter answers.

"That's good, I just wanted to make sure. The media isn't too fond of him and I wanted to see if everything was alright" Officer Hicins explains.

"Well everything is alright at the tower and with everyone there" Peter assures.

"I know this must be scary for you and you're being really brave. We'll catch this guy and make sure he doesn't ever bother you again" Hicins plans.

"Thanks" Peter thanks right as Officer Gomez opens the car door.

"We're in the clear" Gomez exclaims. Officer Hicins starts to drive off, they're now on the road. "Peter, did you tell him yet or are you waiting for the tower?"

"Tell me what?" Officer Hicins questions.

"I'll tell you at the tower" Peter informs.

"So how have you been doing in school?" Officer Gomez asks.

"Good" Peter nods.

"What school are you attending?" Officer Hicins wonders.

"Midtown High of Science and Technology" Peter answers.

"That's a really smart school. You in any clubs?" Officer Hicins asks.

"The Academic Decathlon team. I was in robotics and some others but then I got the Stark Internship" Peter explains.

"You got it before or after..." Officer Gomez trails off.

"I can tell you guys how I met Mr. Stark another time. It'll make more sense later Officer Hicins" Peter assures.

"Alright then...anyone you're dating?" Officer Hicins wonders.

"No, Mj and Ned are just my friends" Peter responds.

"You're totally crushing on Mj" Officer Gomez teases as Peters face goes red.

"No I'm not!" Peter denies.

"I think she's got a crush on you too" Officer Hicins claims making Peters face turn even redder.

"You should ask her out" Officer Gomez suggests.

"Oh my god. We are not talking about this" Peter argues.

"Why else would you want to get into a car with us?" Officer Hicins laughs.

Silence fills the air making the two adults worry.

"What did you guys mean by you owe it to Ben?" Peter asks.

"Well you remember, we were good friends with him" Officer Hicins reminds him.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean you owe him" Peter points out.

"Your uncle helped us and the sheriff a lot. He's the one who got Holme to become the sheriff and get recognization. He was older than all of us and saw potential. He helped me with Carlos one time and he helped Hicins with Kelly before. Your uncle was a good man who had a good heart. We were never really able to return the favor besides helping you out those few times but he helped us more than just that. We see potential in you Peter, you're a good kid and we want to help" Officer Gomez explains.

"And you're very smart and good hearted. If I were you, I would've wanted to kill Carradine and whoever else that's after you but you aren't letting that happen. You helped us track down that murderer even though we all tried to get you back into the car, you found the clues. Your uncle was like a brother to us and the sheriff. No matter what career you end up as, we know it'll be somewhere where you're doing good" Officer Hicins finishes off.

Peter stays silent for a moment. He looks between the two men in the front seats.

"Ben really liked you guys, he trusted you. He knew what kind of good people you guys are. Thank you for helping me with this" Peter finally says after a moment of silence.

"I'm glad we can help you out with this" Officer Gomez smiles.

"And if anyone gives you trouble at school, let us know" Officer Hicins assures.

"You told him?" Peter questions making Gomez and Hicins chuckle.

"Us and Holme are still friends, we tell each other almost everything! He thought you got mugged on the way to the station" Hicins explains.

"Well now I feel bad you guys are keeping this a secret from Sheriff Holme" Peter mutters.

"Don't be, cases are confidential all the time and he's currently dealing with another case" Gomez assures.

"What case?" Peter wonders.

"Confidential" Officer Hicins responds.

"I'm basically an officer at this point" Peter protests.

"You're like an honorable annoying officer" Officer Gomez argues.

"Rude" Peter gasps.

"You got a Stark Internship and you're thinking of becoming an officer?" Officer Hicins questions.

"No, I already got a cooler job than that" Peter waves off.

"Cooler job? Wow" Officer Gomez scoffs.

"Let me guess, is it what you're going to tell me at the tower?" Officer Hicins assumes.

"Yeah" Peter nods.

"If you're a secret agent at that new Shield I will not be surprised" Officer Hicins laughs.

"Something like that" Peter shrugs making Hicins confused. "Anyways, how old is Kelly now?"

"Twenty-two, she's a year younger than Carlos. They're still friends thankfully" Officer Hicins responds.

"Is she dating anyone?" Peter wonders.

"She's got a crush on her coworker and get this, he asked me if he can ask her out. He told me all about his date plan and I couldn't be more happier she met this guy. He's nice, a gentleman and got no criminal background, all a father can ask for when it comes to his kid" Officer Hicins shares.

"That's sweet. Did the date happen yet?" Peter wonders.

"Tomorrow" Officer Hicin replies as they pull up outside of the tower. "Alright, we're here."

"Yeah, just follow me" Peter nods while they all get out of the car.

Peter takes them around the building and puts a code in once a secret papal was revealed. A garage door starts to open up and they walk inside the garage.

"This is the garage, we'll be going in the elevator" Peter informs while the garage door closes behind them. Peter presses the elevator button and the elevator dings open.

"Hello mini boss, Officer Gomez, and Officer Hicins. Boss, Mj, and Ned are waiting in a meeting room. The room is soundproofed so no Avenger can over here including Capiscle and Buckaroo" Friday explains.

"Hey Fri" Peter greets, just as the elevator doors open.

They step out and walk into a door which contains Tony, Mj, and Ned.

"Who was that voice in the elevator?" Officer Gomez wonders.

"Friday, an AI" Peter answers as he sits down in a seat. "So, Officer Gomez already knows so I'll tell Officer Hicins this. I'm Spider-Man and we think that's why this lady is after me."

"You're...oh my god you're Spider-Man" Officer Hicin whisper shouts, surprised.

"It's why I was able to know when Dennis was telling the truth or not and it's why he was speaking in code" Peter recalls.

"You turned into a lie detector?! That's so cool dude!" Ned practically shouts.

"I know right! I didn't even believe DareDevil that I could do that until he taught me!" Peter claims.

"Wait, you're friends with DareDevil?" Tony questions.

"So anyways, we don't know who this woman is. Dennis said everyone there was dressed up so nobody could find out your identity. He overhead the leader tell someone about my powers and identity" Peter ignores Tony.

"Wait, how do we know Dennis wasn't working with her willingly?" Mj asks.

"He got threatened with his family, he didn't have much of a choice. He doesn't know if the other people there were her goons or in the same position as him. He doesn't know if this lady has powers but he knows she is very skillful" Peter replies.

"That's how she vanished after the warning shot with our K9" Gomez recalls.

"With powers or being skilled, we don't exactly know. My AI and I looked over the security feeds but couldn't find her or any heat signatures. We don't even know if it was her who was there or one of her goons" Peter gives out the options.

"But why...you know on Friday and uhh earlier today" Ned hesitates to say.

"They're basically like the warning shot with the K9. Friday was him telling me that she's watching me. Saturday with the K9 was warning me about getting too close and stop searching. My apartment was probably like the same message and we all saw the message with Dennis. The thing is, she's the one who had Dennis get out of jail and moved his prison date to today" Peter suggests.

"But from what Dennis told us...well you, he thinks there's a undercover cop" Officer Gomez reminds Peter.

"Yeah, I had my AI try to help and she said if it was dealt with money, it was hand cash. All of that could be avoided though if there is an undercover cop who works with this lady" Peter nods. "Dennis knew he didn't have a bail and it couldn't have been a bail anyways and his sentence wasn't up. This was bribery or like Dennis theorized, a corrupted officer."

"Is there any theories of which officer?" Tony wonders.

"No, I don't even know if it's one or multiple" Peter sighs.

"So we don't let anyone else know about this. We keep them out of the loop. Nobody should know about any of this besides us six" Mj concludes.

"How did they track you down though?" Officer Hicins questions. "Doesn't Spider-Man, you, have a danger sense?"

"She tracked me through security feeds. Lately I've been kind of dodging them to not show my tracks. My senses goes off at random times sometimes but it doesn't stay for long. I don't know if she's trying to follow me or there's something else going on" Peter shrugs.

"I don't like this. This woman could be highly trained and have powers. If she's been following you around-" Tony begins to say.

"I don't think she's following me around. It's like she knows where I'll be before I go there like at the warehouse. She knew I was going there and that's why she was there. Right when I came onto the security feed, she shot the warning shot at the dog" Peter interrupts.

"You told us you didn't want to put us in danger, do you think he's after us or just you?" Ned asks.

"I don't know. You guys should stay here if that's alright with you Mr. Stark" Peter suggests.

"You guys can get your own floor" Tony nods.

"Awesome!" Ned gasps, grabbing onto Mjs arm.

"This isn't your first time here" Mj rolls her eyes, slapping his hand off of her.

"Ok back to the stalking part, you think she's planning ahead and you're falling into her traps?" Tony summaries making Peter nod. "Then let's just outsmart her. Come on, the lady can't be that smart. Villains always mess up one way or another, if it's sooner or later, they mess up."

"But what if she doesn't mess up? We don't know if she was trained or if she trained herself or if she's just got powers" Peter tells him.

"What if there's somebody more in power out there. Like the Avengers for example. Steve is the leader but Fury tells you guys the missions. It doesn't have to be somebody else but I'm just saying there could be someone with more power as their official leader, this person at the warehouse may or may not be the actual leader" Mj suggests.

"That's not a bad theory" Officer Gomez hums.

"The leader probably won't leave their lair, this lady who claims to be the leader can be just another goon" Friday voices her opinion, making the two officers jump in surprise.

"Seven us knows" Officer Hicins corrects from earlier.

"I am a very trusty and reliable source" Friday assures.

"No shit, I made you" Tony scoffs.

"Back on track, we need to figure out who these people are and what they want from me specifically. Yeah they could want my powers but why? Do they want me too or just my powers? Also if Mj is right, then who actually is this leader?" Peter questions.

Everyone goes silent, not liking any of these theories. It's not because the theories are impossible, it's because the theories are possible.

It's what makes it scarier.

They don't know what kind of battle they're up against.

They don't know who they're up against.

Chapter Text

Peter feels awful.

He got Tony, Mj, Ned, Gomez, and Hicins swept into his mess.

He got May into his mess.

Tears are pouring down his cheeks.

It's the middle of the night but he couldn't go to bed after having a disturbing nightmare. He's in his bathroom and turned Friday off.

When Ben died, he resorted to cutting and starving himself without May knowing. Of course she didn't know though, she didn't know about his spider powers.

He promised himself he wasn't ever going to resort to it again but he just can't help it. He's already been starving himself when nobody looks. And now...now he's got a small knife in his hand and his sleeve rolled up.

He looks down at his wrist with more tears pouring down his face.

He hadn't done anything yet but the thoughts consuming him that he should try to overtakes his mind.

To be fair, he always breaks his promises when it comes to this.

This had first started when his parents died. He had starved himself and Ben and May had to take him to a therapist. The therapist didn't help though because Peter never listened. He hated going to the therapist so they stopped. May and Ben managed to help him and he stopped.

Then he started starving again when Skip appeared in his life and turned it into a living nightmare. Thing is, it wasn't just starving himself. Peter resorted to cutting himself and he liked the pain. It helped him escape from the disturbing memories now rooted into his brain. Ben helped him out of it and promised to not tell May that he had fallen into bad coping mechanisms. Ben only promised to not tell her if Peter stopped and so, he did.

Then Ben died and he started cutting and starving himself again. May never found out about either of those. He needs to eat more than the normal human and he heals quickly. He doesn't blame her, never has.

Nobody know about his bad coping mechanisms, not even Ned. Nobody had knew since Ben and he's making it stay like that.

He looks down at his wrists and notices blood seeping out of his wound. He hadn't even noticed he did that. He sees his healing factor kick in and stitch up his skin. He lets out a sigh.

"I'm so fucking useless. I kill everyone. God, I've killed my whole family" Peter croaks out.

Tears rapidly pour down his face before he makes a second cut under the first. He bites his lip and drops his knife.

He knows he shouldn't be doing this.

Before Peter gets another urge, he rinses the blood off his knife and throws his knife into a draw. He pulls his sleeve down and turns off his bathroom light, heading onto his bed.

He looks down at his wrists to see the cuts perfectly healed like nothing had happened. It made him cry even more.

🕷

Peter barely got any sleep last night. He kept getting plagued with bad thoughts and had enough. He cut himself three more times but they healed quickly soon after.

He's now done getting ready for school on this Tuesday morning and skipped out on breakfast. To avoid the avengers, he's already waiting for Mj and Ned in the car with Happy. He's sitting in the passengers seat while Happy's in the drivers seat.

"You're early today" Happy calls him out.

"Got up a little early" Peter shrugs.

"You can skip school if you want" Happy suggests.

"No, it's ok" Peter shuts down.

"Should I expect you when I pick up your friends?" Happy wonders only for Peter to shake his head no.

It's weird not seeing Peter so talkative. Happy knows something is wrong but he doesn't know exactly what.

It's not long later that Mj and Ned are greeting the two as they enter the car. Happy drives off and the car ride is awkwardly silent. Ned tries to start up a Lego conversation with Peter but Peter was not fully there like he was thinking of something.

They finally pull up to the school. Mj and Ned quickly says thanks before getting out. Peter was about to get out of the car but Happy holds onto his arm, motioning for him to stay put.

Once the two teens fully get of the car, shuts the door, and walks away then Happy begins to talk.

"Do you want to go back to the tower?" Happy offers only for Peter to shake his head. "Will you call me or Tony if you want to head back?"

"I'll be ok" Peter assures.

"Call us if you want to leave" Happy states.

"Thanks Happy" Peter thanks. "Can I leave now? Class is going to start soon."

"Yeah...cya later kid" Happy nods.

"Bye Happy" Peter replies before getting out of the car.

Happy waits a moment before driving off after Peter shuts the car door. Once Peter makes it inside the building does Happy finally drive away.

Peters spidey senses buzzes to life right before he gets slammed into the lockers by Flash. His friends immediately starts to laugh but Peter could care less.

He gets up just for Flash to pin him against the lockers.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Flash asks in a low tone.

Peter doesn't say anything just as the bell rings. Flash stares at Peter before dropping him and walks away with his so called friends.

Peter than walks his way to engineering class to be greeted by Ned.

"Was everything ok with Happy?" Ned asks.

"Yeah" Peter nods.

🕷

Peter hasn't been himself all day and Mj and Ned quickly realized. During lunch, Peter wasn't that talkative and during class, he wasn't present at all. He got detention because of their English teacher.

Detention doesn't last that long. He's staying from when school ends till three o'clock. Then he has to go to decathlon practice only twenty minutes late.

He splits away from Mj and Ned without really saying goodbye and heads to detention. He sees Coach Wilson and a few other students before sitting down. Coach Wilson than stands up, looking over each student.

"Since everyone is here, I'll remind you all of the rules. No phones, no doing homework, no sleeping, no talking, and no leaving. You will sit here until three o'clock. If I catch any of you breaking the rules, that's another day of detention" Coach Wilson explains before sitting down.

Peter rolls his eyes and looks at who else is in the room. Two of Flashs friends and three people he doesn't know.

Everyone's kind of just staring off into space. There's really not much to do. It's not like they can do anything anyways with Coach Wilson glancing up from his computer every now and then.

Peters spidey senses starts to come alive but it's a low hum. He looks around but doesn't see anything out of the ordinary. 

He starts to theorize that it's from his lack of sleep or...somebody's watching him. He looks around but each student is still staring forward and out into space.

He looks towards the window to see nobody there. It's not like anyone can be there anyways since they're on the second floor. He looks towards the door but it's shut and the shade for the small window on the door is pulled down.

He starts to get a bit antsy and does another look around to see nothing has changed. Detention had only started. How is he going to survive another whatever time it is until three?

🕷

"Where's Peter?" Mr. Harrington asks after each decathlon member had arrived.

"Detention, English teacher" Mj explains.

"Oh she loves handing out detentions" Mr. Harrington claims.

"Is everything alright with Peter? He's been acting weird all day" Betty recalls.

"His aunt just died to get away from him. He finally realized the truth" Flash spats.

"Fuck's wrong with you dude?" Abe questions.

"That's not what happened!" Ned argues.

"Alright, let's start practice. Michelle" Mr. Harrington prompts.

"Right, I'll be calling on your name randomly and you have to answer the question even if it's not your strong subject" Mj explains.

🕷

"I'm coming for you" a voice whispers into Peters ear.

Peter whips his head around but sees nobody standing or even sitting next to him.

"You'll help me make the world better" the voice whispers again this time in his opposite ear.

Peter whips his head in the opposite direction but again, nobody's there.

Coach Wilson blows his whistle, making Peter jump in his seat.

"Detentions over. Get out of here, all of you" Coach Wilson instructs.

Everybody quickly gets up from their seats, grabbing their bags. They leave the room quickly all accept for Peter and Coach Wilson.

Peter looks around but he can't find out where the whisper had came from. 

"Parker, times up" Coach Wilson states.

"R-right, sorry" Peter apologizes before quickly leaving.

Once he had left, he started to walk down to decathlon practice. He feels like the hallways stretch on and on. A shiver runs up Peters spine making him turn around to see nothing.

He feels somebody tap on his shoulder making him let out a scream.

"Sorry! Sorry! It's just me! Betty!" Betty apologizes.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing? Shouldn't you be in the decathlon room?" Peter stammers.

"I was just in the bathroom and saw you" Betty claims. "Is everything alright?"

Peter looks behind him before turning back to Betty and nodding.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Peter nods.

"Are you coming to practice?" Betty wonders.

"Yeah, I wasn't planning on skipping" Peter assures.

"Nobody will be mad if you do" Betty admits. Peter ignores her and starts to walk with Betty besides him. "Mj is being pretty brutal at practice."

"She just wants to make sure we win this competition next week" Peter replies.

"Yeah...hey I have an idea that might help with the team" Betty tells him.

"What is it?" Peter wonders.

"I'll let you know at the end of practice. I already told Mj I have an announcement, just wanted to give a heads up" Betty explains.

Peter nods his head just as they reach the decathlon room. They both enter and go to their own seats. Mj keeps shouting questions making sure nobody gets off topic.

But now it's the end of practice and Mj can't get anyone to not ask Peter anything. Luckily for him, Betty has an announcement.

"Everyone shut up! Betty wants to say something but before she does, the competition is officially next week on Tuesday" Mj announces making everyone go silent. Mr. Harrington had already left so it's just the kids now.

"Thank you Mj" Betty thanks with a smile. "I was thinking since Mj wants us to have a practice on Saturday, we can do it at my house and you guys can sleep over after! My house is pretty big and it'll be great for team bonding!"

Everyone immediately breaks out into chaos. Cindy and Sally had already agreed and now same with Charles and Abe.

"What about you guys?" Betty asks Flash, Ned, and Peter.

"We'll be there!" Ned assures her.

"Great!" Betty responds.

"No way, sleepovers are for losers" Flash scoffs.

"Whatever you say Flash, miss out on team bonding" Betty shrugs.

"But you have to come to the practice" Mj adds.

"Yeah, whatever" Flash rolls his eyes.

"Uhh Mj, Ned, Happy's waiting for us outside" Peter tells them.

🕷

Peter's sitting on a rooftop with his sketchbook out and a pen. He's been drawing and writing down everything about this case so far.

"Karen, any possible suspects?" Peter wonders even though he knows it's a false hope.

"No one that you or me had been able to pinpoint" Karen informs.

"What if we can't find them?" Peter asks.

"We'll find them" Karen assures.

"I heard these whispers and they sounded like it was coming from right next to me but nobody was there! This person has been a foot away from me when I was at my apartment and a couple feet away at the warehouse. This person has been so close to me yet I haven't gotten anything about them!" Peter explains.

"They're very skillful. They must have had this planned for quite some time now" Karen responds.

"I've been Spider-Man for two years now. Do you really think they've been watching me for two years?" Peter questions.

"Not necessarily" Karen denies.

"I don't know what to do Kare. This person is messing with me and I can't stop it. What if they...what if something else bad happens because of me?" Peter practically whispers.

"May and Dennis's deaths are not your fault" Karen shuts down.

"You don't know that Kare! They want me so they killed my aunt! They then killed Dennis as a warning!" Peter shouts.

"I think you need to take a day off from this case" Karen suggests.

"Are you trying to bench me?" Peter questions.

"I want you to be safe and take care of yourself. I know you're starving yourself and Friday said you haven't really gotten any sleep. You also keep turning her off. Are you hurting yourself again Peter?" Karen asks.

Again.

Karen knows because Peter had told her one night. It was after the Vulture incident and he didn't want to do it again so he talked with her. She vowed to never tell Friday, Mr. Stark, or anyone else.

"No I'm not" Peter lies.

"Your heart rate spiked" Karen calls him out.

"Karen! I'm fine! I'm not hurting myself and I'm still eating" Peter protests.

"You aren't eating enough, you barely eat" Karen informs.

"Karen please" Peter sighs.

"Take tomorrow off in patrolling and this case. If you do that, I won't tell anyone" Karen assures.

"Promise?" Peter asks.

"I promise" Karen assures.

"Thanks Kare" Peter thanks.

"I'm here if you want to talk" Karen claims.

Chapter Text

Peters been in his room for an hour now. He had got home and just stayed in there. Ned asked if he wanted to come on his and Mj's floor but Peter lied and said he was doing something.

He knows Karen is right and he should talk to somebody about what he's doing to himself but he can't. He doesn't want to bring it up, he doesn't want anyone to know, and he doesn't want to be helped. He just wants to find this person.

Peter has his homework pulled out but he didn't start any of it. 

"Do you need any help with your homework?" Friday asks, snapping Peter away from his thoughts.

"No" Peter sighs.

"Is everything alright? You keep turning me off at night" Friday recalls.

"Everything's fine Fri, just sensory overloads" Peter lies.

"Dinner is almost ready. Boss lady made pasta" Friday informs.

"Ok, thanks Fri" Peter thanks.

He looks down at his math homework and fills out the first question. He starts the second question when he gets an alert on his phone.

Guy in the Chair🧑🏾‍💻

U coming to dinner?

Mj & I will be there

Peter doesn't answer and flips his phone upside down. He gets up and changes into his suit before swinging out the window.

"Hello Peter, I had heard dinner will be ready in two minutes" Karen informs.

"I know" Peter answers as he shoots out a web.

"Please do not skip dinner Peter" Karen pleads.

"You said tomorrow I should have a break so today I'm going out again" Peter recalls.

"And take care of yourself" Karen adds.

"I just need to think" Peter claims.

"About?" Karen prompts.

"This person has to be watching me outside of security cameras. I've been avoiding them as Peter Parker. My senses goes off and nobody's there" Peter explains.

"Maybe it's not just the same person every time. Dennis said there was multiple people" Karen recalls.

"Yeah but it still doesn't help me track them down" Peter argues.

"You need to tune in with your senses more. You're powers are very strong and had gotten stronger since you first got bit" Karen tells him.

"I thought I was in tune with my senses" Peter points out.

"You need to focus on your senses when they happen. You have to be able to pinpoint the danger and from where. You've done it before plenty of times but these people are more skilled. You need to really be in sync with your powers" Karen explains.

"So focus more on them" Peter summarizes.

"Yes, tune everything else out besides your senses. You need to hear the smallest movement" Karen agrees.

"You're kind of like Master Splinter" Peter compares.

"I'm not a rat" Karen disagrees.

"Ok but I'm a human with radioactive spider powers. The turtles have radioactive bloodstreams from the radioactive chemicals" Peter points out. "That makes you Master Splinter especially with what you just said. He helps them all the time to fight crime."

"I guess in your case then I am Master Splinter" Karen agrees.

"Do you think you can convince Friday to tell everyone I didn't just leave and have been out? I don't want them to know" Peter asks.

"Only this one time. You should talk to someone about this" Karen settles.

"I know, you said" Peter sighs when he spots a robber running away with a bag of cash.

He quickly swoops down making the robber jump and try to run in the opposite direction.

"Next time don't steal if you don't want to get caught" Peter tells him right as a web shoots out to hold him in place.

The police are quick to catch up to them and before they say anything, Peter swings away.

"When's your decathlon competition?" Karen wonders.

"Tuesday against Maryland, they're coming here" Peter informs.

"Is the team doing anything besides practice?" Karen questions.

"After practice on Saturday Betty said we can all sleep over" Peter answers.

"Are you?" Karen asks.

"I don't think I should with this person after me" Peter shuts down.

"It'll help you" Karen states.

"I don't want to put the team in danger too" Peter argues.

"You're not going to. You should go to the sleepover with your team and have fun. You need to relax before the competition. This will help" Karen protests.

"I'll think about it" Peter claims. "Do you think Officer Gomez and Hicins found anything?"

"I'm not sure. Do you want me to call Officer Gomez?" Karen suggests.

"Sure" Peter nods only for the phone to ring.

"Hey Peter, what's up?" Officer Gomez greets.

"I was wondering if you found anything" Peter claims.

"Sorry kid, nothing yet. I'm guessing you didn't either?" Officer Gomez assumes.

"Nothing new" Peter shuts down.

"What is that in the background?" Officer Gomez questions.

"I'm on patrol" Peter answers.

"Oh yeah, some officers said you webbed up a robber" Officer Gomez recalls.

"Yep! Your guys need to run faster, can't have criminals out run them" Peter jokes.

"Haha. Alright well Officer Hicins and I have been looking into this case. If neither of us have got anything yet, there's still time for us to get something" Officer Gomez assures.

"What do you mean time?" Peter questions.

"Depending on how much evidence we gather, the longer we can keep the case open. It's not up to us when we close the case. Since we have evidence of this all linking together and somebody is after you, the case stays open. If we don't get new information and it's been too long, the case will come to a close. We got some time though before that's deemed necessary" Officer Gomez explains.

"What? That can't happen!" Peter shouts.

"I know. That's why we're trying to stretch out what we found to try and find new information. We have a month and if we don't get new information, the case may close. I doubt that'll happen though because I have a feeling they'll be new evidence soon. They don't seem to wait long until they strike again" Officer Gomez recalls the previous warnings.

"So you're saying somebody else is going to die?" Peter questions.

"Not exactly. We don't know their plan so we can't say that for sure" Officer Gomez shuts down.

"I thought police investigations can go on up to years!" Peter exclaims.

"Like I mentioned, that depends if we get new evidence and information. I wouldn't worry about it Peter, they seem to know what they're doing and they have a plan. Keep your eyes peeled" Officer Gomez instructs.

"Do you have any theories of what will happen next?" Peter wonders.

"No, do you?" Officer Gomez questions.

"No" Peter sighs.

"We'll catch this person soon. If you're ever feeling unsafe, call me" Officer Gomez assures.

"Thanks Officer Gomez" Peter thanks.

"Take care Peter" Officer Gomez says before hanging up.

"Incoming call from Mr. Stark" Karen announces.

"What?! Decline!" Peter panics just for the call to accept. "Heyyy Mr. Stark!"

"Hey underoos. Heard you're out patrolling?" Tony asks.

"Yeah I've been out for awhile. I just webbed up a robber" Peter answers.

"Why don't you start heading back? Fri said you still got homework and Pep made some pasta. We can do it in the lab. I still haven't ate yet" Tony invites.

"Yeah sure! I'll be there in a few!" Peter agrees before hanging up. "Karen?! What do I do?"

"What do you mean?" Karen wonders.

"Karen" Peter repeats her name.

"Eat the pasta" Karen tells him.

"It's not just that, what if he asks me for seconds? I can eat only a bowl. You know what I've been doing" Peter sighs.

"Tell him" Karen suggests.

"No, I got this" Peter mutters as he switches his direction and swings back to the tower.

🕷

"Need any help with your homework?" Tony asks.

Peter has his bowl of pasta next to him while he's doing his homework. He had finished math and now he's on science. He ate a few bites of pasta but he's mainly been focusing on his work.

"No thanks, it's pretty easy" Peter shrugs.

"Is that all you have?" Tony wonders.

"I just finished math, this is science, and I also have Italian" Peter admits.

"Sono fantastico in italiano (I'm awesome in Italian)" Tony smiles.

"Lo so (I know)" Peter chuckles.

"Dopo potremo lavorare su quell'amico bot per Dum-E e U (After we can work on that bot friend for Dum-E and U)" Tony suggests.

"Sì, scommetto che non vedevano l'ora di incontrare il loro nuovo amico (Yeah, I bet they've been dying to meet their new friend)" Peter claims.

"Sì, un altro bot fastidioso da aggiungere alla raccolta (Yep, another annoying bot to add to the collection)" Tony agrees only for Dum-E to knock over his coffee onto the floor. "Dum-E!"

"He didn't like what you said" Peter chuckles.

"Dum-E clean that up" Tony instructs only for Dum-E to ignore him. "I'm serious Dum-E, I'm not cleaning up your mess."

"Boop boop beep boop beep beep boop" Dum-E mocks making Tony gasp and Peter burst out laughing. 

"That's it, time out!" Tony demands just for Dum-E to roll over by Peter. "He's not going to protect you Dum-E, you're just going to get him in-"

Before Tony can finish his sentence, Peter shoots a web over his mouth.

"Don't worry Dum-E, you aren't in trouble. Good job" Peter high fives.

Tony rips the webbing off his face with his gauntlet and throws a ball at Peter only for him to catch it.

"You better run kid" Tony warns. Peter smiles and gets up from his desk. He jumps onto the ceiling just for Tony to shout, "Cheater!"

"Sore loser" Peter retorts.

"I thought you were suppose to be helping him do his homework" Pepper announces her presence.

"He started!" Peter and Tony both say in union, pointing to one another.

"I'm sure Peter didn't start it" Pepper laughs.

"You choose his side over mine? Wow!" Tony gasps. "Dum-E actually started it."

"Only because you called him and U annoying bots" Peter argues.

"Peter, get down from the ceiling. We're having a movie night upstairs. Do you guys want to come? Mj and Ned was also invited" Pepper invites.

"We'll be up in a few" Tony waves off making Pepper roll her eyes.

"Just let Friday know. We're making popcorn" Pepper claims before leaving.

"So kid, want to go?" Tony asks.

"I still got homework" Peter reminds him.

"Dum-E will do it and put it in your bag for tomorrow" Tony suggests.

"I uhhh" Peter begins to say just for Dum-E to grab Peters homework. "Yeah I guess."

"Beep!" Dum-E says.

"Thanks Dum-E" Peter thanks.

"Beep! Boop!" Dum-E responds before he starts writing with the pencils on the paper.

"Do your teachers check if it's right?" Tony asks as they make their way over to the elevators.

"No, they just call on us" Peter claims.

"Good" Tony replies.

Chapter Text

"Are you going out after school?" Ned asks Peter during lunch.

Today's Wednesday and the day has been uneventful. Flash hasn't really picked on Peter as much today but Peter hadn't gotten a ton of sleep last night. He at least got more than he did the other day.

"No, I need to make more webs" Peter slightly lies.

"Has Officer Gomez or Officer Hicins called you?" Mj wonders, peeking up from her book.

"I called Officer Gomez yesterday but he doesn't have new information" Peter answers.

"I doubt they'll be much help" Mj admits.

"They might" Peter argues.

"God I can't believe it's Wednesday already. This week has been too slow" Ned complains. "I blame decathlon."

"Why?" Peter questions.

"Because Mj makes our practices so long it's like we never go home" Ned answers.

"Competition is Tuesday and Maryland has a good tech school" Mj rolls her eyes.

"Yeah but we're also a good team" Ned reminds her.

"How about we don't worry about decathlon till later?" Peter suggests. 

"Yeah, I heard we have a pacer test in gym" Mj announces.

"What?!" Peter and Ned shrieks.

"Have fun dying" Mj smirks.

"There's no way Coach Wilson will let you use your excuse for this" Ned protests.

"He gave up with me forever ago" Mj claims.

"So unfair" Ned sighs.

"Would you rather be bleeding out of your dick?" Mj questions.

"Ewww I'm trying to eat" Ned fake vomits.

"Please don't ever say that again" Peter pleads.

"Than I think it's fair he gave up with me because of my excuse" Mj shrugs.

"Yeah, every single day" Ned eyes her.

"I wrote him a doctors slip saying I have a medical problem" Mj explains.

"How did you get him a doctors note without going to the principal?" Peter questions.

"Oh I went to the principal too. Dr. Cho wrote one for me" Mj answers.

"Do you think Dr. Cho will write me one?" Ned asks.

"Not for your non existent period" Mj retorts.

"Aw" Ned complains. "Peter, what medical thing can I make up?"

"I don't know. I don't even get out of gym when I'm injured" Peter shrugs.

"He's the last person you should be asking" Mj states.

"Gym's going to be hell" Ned sighs.

🕷

Peter and Ned both got out on the fifth speed test as did some others. Mj smirks at them as she draws in her crisis sketchbook.

As soon as Ned and Peter walks over to her, she flips her sketchbook around with a smile on her face.

"You're evil" Ned spats before chugging his water.

"I heard if Lucas makes the highest score out of everyone in this class, Coach Wilson will run the pacer test" Peter brings up.

"Oh I heard that too. Who knows if he'll beat Mike though" Mj shrugs.

"He better! Coach Wilson better run if we have to!" Ned claims.

"It's a wrestler against a football player. Why didn't just Mike make the bet?" Peter questions, not really having hope for Lucas.

"Maybe he secretly runs on his own time" Mj suggests.

"Yeah...I mean the wrestling coach has them run but they don't run as much as Coach Wilson makes his players do" Peter nods.

Ned starts to talk but Peter tunes him out as his spidey senses buzzes to life. He starts to look around when he realizes it's not something in the gym.

"I'm going to the bathroom" Peter announces before walking away.

Coach Wilson doesn't notice him leaving, too involved with looking at the students still doing the pacer test. Peter turns right in the hallway, his spidey senses getting louder.

He reaches a door and god he wished he had his web shooters. He hears a persons breath on the other side. His spider senses spiking high when he gets pulled back from his shirt.

He lets out a yelp and loses his grip on the floor, sending him falling backwards. Peter looks up to see Flash and rolls his eyes. He quickly gets up from the floor just for Flash to push him in the door.

"The fuck are you doing you weirdo?" Flash questions.

"You're following me, I can ask you the same question" Peter answers.

He doesn't have time for this. He quickly turns the classroom door handle and opens the door. His spidey senses spikes, he moves out of the way from Flashs fist just to see an empty classroom.

Peter looks over to the windows to see they're all closed. He turns around to look at Flash. His spidey senses are still on edge and it's not just because of Flash.

"What are you looking for penis?" Flash wonders.

Peter ignores him. He hears two heart beats. Flash and somebody who's standing near them.

"Nothing, I uhh we should go back to gym before Coach Wilson gets mad" Peter tells him.

"Like hell am I listening to you freak" Flash spats.

Peter tries to pinpoint the heart beat but Flash keeps getting in the way with his annoying talking.

"Will you shut up for a second?!" Peter shouts when he realizes, the heart beat is coming from above.

Peter looks up and sees a vent opening in the ceiling. As soon as he looks up though, the second heart beat is gone.

"Are you on drugs or some shit?" Flash questions. "What the hell are you staring at?!"

"Peter?" Mj announces her and Neds presence.

"Somebody was up there" Peter informs them.

"What? How the fuck do you know somebody's up there? What kind of freak show are you playing?" Flash asks, getting really annoyed.

"Are they still there?" Ned asks only for Peter to shake his head.

"I..." Peter trials off reminding himself of Flashs presence. "Class is almost over, we should go."

"Yeah, I don't like being in here" Ned agrees.

"No one's leaving until you tell me what's going on!" Flash protests shutting the door.

Flash slams the door shut just as the vent in the ceiling fall down. Everyone screams, turning to the now fallen vent.

Peter starts to slowly walk over to it with Ned trying to follow but Peter puts his arm out to stop him. He looks up in the vent duck above to see nothing.

"We should go" Peter tells everyone.

"There is no way that vent just fell onto the floor" Flash protests.

"Probably an animal or something" Mj shrugs before shoving Flash and opening the door.

She walks out of the room with Ned following after her. Peter looks back at the vent now on the floor before following too. Flash is the last one out, shutting the door.

"Want to explain what that was Penis?" Flash asks.

"Like Mj said, an animal or it wasn't screwed on right or something" Peter shrugs.

They make it to the gym quickly, none of the teens really saying much. They see Coach Wilson throw his clipboard down and make it move to line up with Lucas.

Flash immediately walks away from them to his friends while the trio walks towards where Mj left her bag.

"On your marks...get ready...set....GO!!" Mike screams.

Lucas and Coach Wilson takes off. It's close when they both make it to the other side of the gym but on the way back, Lucas started pulling through. Lucas quickly beats Coach Wilson awarding himself with his friends all cheering and Coach Wilson making up excuses.

The bell rings and everyone still had to change. Luckily it was last period.

🕷

"So what happened earlier?" Ned asks Peter as they're walking with Mj to decathlon practice.

"I don't know. My senses started going off and it led me to that classroom. I heard breathing on the other side of the door when Flash came. I opened the door and soon I heard another heart beat and realized it was coming from the vents. You guys came and you saw the rest. It was gone before you made yourselves known" Peter explains.

"That's so freaking scary dude" Ned responds.

"So this person was already gone before the vent fell?" Mj questions only for Peter to nod his head. "Maybe they unscrewed it and wanted to mess with you."

"Yeah, another warning of some sort" Peter sighs.

"But what would it be a warning about? What if Mj's right and they're just trying to scare you" Ned points out.

"I'm going to head to the-" Peter begins to say when he remembers what Karen had told him. He knows she's right and he needs to take a break and collect his thoughts. 

"You're going to head..." Mj prompts.

"Nowhere, just the lab" Peter sighs.

"Can we end decathlon early?" Ned wonders just for Mj to death glare him.

Chapter Text

"How was your day?" Tony asks as he continues to work on his prototype.

"Alright" Peter shrugs while he makes his web fluid.

"Are you patrolling later?" Tony wonders.

"No, I have a lot of homework" Peter lies. "Don't you have a meeting tomorrow?"

"Not like I'm going" Tony waves off.

"Pepper will be mad at you" Peter smiles.

"When is she not mad at me? I'll make it up to her and bring her food" Tony suggests.

"Not strawberries" Peter reminds him.

"Yea-wait...how do you know about that?" Tony questions making Peter laugh.

"I won't tattle" Peter snickers.

"Faithful to them, not faithful to me. I see how it is" Tony gasps.

"You're the one who got Pepper strawberries. I mean what boss messes that up? You even have an AI to ask" Peter questions.

"Now you're just being mean. I'll provoke your lab privileges" Tony jokingly threats.

"Friday will let me override you on that" Peter protests.

"No she won't. I'm her boss, her creator" Tony emphasis.

"If you do not have a solid reason to ban Peter from the lab, he is allowed in" Friday chimes in.

"Thanks Fri!" Peter thanks.

"I see how unwanted I am" Tony rolls his eyes.

"Very unwanted" Peter hums in agreement.

"Child" Tony spats.

"Toddler" Peter retorts.

"I'm older, I act more mature than you" Tony reasons.

"Old" Peter snaps back.

"Walked right into that one" Tony mutters while Peter let's out a small laugh. "Wait a minute...Happy or Rhodey told you that!"

"Happy, Rhodey, Pepper, Nat...you got a lot of people to question" Peter lists.

"They're all traitors" Tony claims.

"You don't even know who told me or what if I found out myself?" Peter theorizes.

"Nope, somebody told you and I will find out who" Tony states.

"Have fun" Peter smirks.

"Evil" Tony name calls.

"Hey can you help me with my science homework?" Peter wonders.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?" Tony asks.

"I'm not evil if you're willing to help me with my homework" Peter tells him.

"Wow, you just played me. You used my good heart and ripped it away" Tony informs him.

"I thought Tony Stark didn't have a heart" Peter jokes.

"Not anymore I don't" Tony concludes.

"What a shame" Peter sighs.

🕷

It's after dinner time. Mj and Ned had dinner with the avengers while Peter and Tony were downstairs in the lab. They're now back up on their floor, worried about their friend.

"He's barely been eating ever since May" Ned brings up.

"Yeah, I've seen" Mj nods.

"I don't know if he's ever done this with his parents or his uncle. I mean he had his spider powers when his uncle passed so he probably did" Ned theorizes.

"We shouldn't assume what he's done in the past. We should worry about what he's doing now" Mj tells him.

"How are we going to help him?" Ned wonders.

"I don't know. It seems like the avengers have theories about it and that's why they're letting Peter and Tony eat in the lab. Maybe Tony knows" Mj shrugs.

"We should ask if they know" Ned suggests.

"Why?" Mj questions.

"To see if he's getting help" Ned claims.

"I overheard the avengers talking when I forgot my phone down there" Mj sighs.

"What were they saying?" Ned wonders.

"Sam brought up bad coping mechanisms and Clint mentioned they had that conversation already. They think Peter might've had them when his parents or uncle died and now are having it again. Pepper said they shouldn't be discussing this when they don't know anything and Friday hasn't reported anything. Nat said they should be on the lookout but nobody knows anything besides him not eating in front of them" Mj explains.

"He can die if he doesn't eat the proper amount. He has a spider metabolism. Mj I'm scared for him" Ned admits.

"Me too but we'll help him. We've seen him eat a little during lunch so that must be a good sign of something" Mj suggests.

"What about those two times he didn't eat anything? I even offered some of my food and he never turned my food down until then" Ned recalls.

"We'll figure something out to help him" Mj assures.

"Maybe Karen knows and told him to take a break from patrolling today and that's why he isn't patrolling" Ned theorizes.

"Could be" Mj nods in agreement. "You know what's weird?"

"What?" Ned questions.

"These people keep showing up but Peter hasn't seen any of them not even once. He knows they're there and it's like they want him to see them until the last second and they're gone. It's like they were never there" Mj explains.

"Maybe they can turn invisible or teleport. That would be pretty cool" Ned smiles.

"Not cool if we're the ones up against them" Mj argues.

"Still pretty cool" Ned protests. "We should invite Peter up here. Fri, what's Peter doing?"

"Mini boss is currently asleep in boss's lab" Friday answers.

"Has he been getting sleep lately?" Mj wonders noticing how tired he's been.

"He goes to bed for not long and then wakes up to turn me off with his sensory overload protocol" Friday explains.

"You don't find that suspicious?" Mj questions.

"What do you mean?" Friday wonders.

"Do you detect him having a sensory overload before he turns you off?" Mj clarifies.

"I detect a high blood pressure and a panic attack sometimes but he manages to calm himself down sometimes with or without my assistance. He then turns me off and doesn't turn me back on until he's leaving for school" Friday tells her.

"See! I'm worried about him! Why is he even turning you off Friday?" Ned questions.

"Like I mentioned, he uses his sensory overload protocol. The 'Everything Is Too Much Protocol' which turns me off along with other sounds to not make his sensory overload worse" Friday informs.

"But you don't detect a sensory overload before he shuts you off" Mj points out.

"No I do not. Are you suggesting Peter harms himself?" Friday calls her out.

"I don't know what I'm thinking but I want Peter to be ok" Mj answers.

"The other Avengers have been asking me similar questions. If you have any concerns, maybe you two should ask them. I have told you all I know" Friday suggests.

"What about him eating?" Ned asks realizing Friday didn't answer any questions about Peter eating.

"Peter ate some dinner. He hasn't been eating a lot for his metabolism but been eating enough for a normal human" Friday assures. "I highly suggest talking with the avengers about your concerns as they have the same."

"You're right Fri, we should. What are they doing now?" Mj asks.

"They're all in the comms" Friday answers.

🕷

"Hey guys, what's up?" Nat asks as the two teenagers exit the elevator and onto the comms floor.

"We're worried about Peter" Ned claims.

"We were talking to Friday and she told us what you guys have been thinking. Friday just told us that he's only been eating enough for a regular metabolism and not his. We've been noticing it too at school" Mj explains.

This gets everyone to stop what they're doing and make their way over to the teens to usher them onto the couch.

"We've noticed his eating habits too which is why him and Tony have been eating in the lab. We thought it'd be better if we weren't all around to watch him eat" Pepper tells them.

"Do you think he's been doing anything else other than that?" Sam asks just to get nudged by Bucky. "Or if he's done anything in the past." Bucky nudges him again.

"He never told us anything about this. When his uncle died he had his powers and whenever I was with him, he'd eat how he normally used to eat" Ned shrugs. "I don't know about anything else."

"What if he told Karen?" Clint theorizes.

"We shouldn't go snooping around Karen" Steve sighs.

"Even if we did, why shall Karen break her trust with the young spiderling?" Thor questions.

"If she really cares about his well being, she should've alerted Friday" Bruce points out.

"Let's not go blaming Karen. We don't know what she knows" Wanda chimes in.

"You do realize she has access to Peters vitals and everything else going on with him?" Rhodey questions. "I'm not saying we should snoop around Karen but she probably knows way more than any of us."

"So what should we do?" Bucky wonders making everyone go silent.

"We just have to continue looking out for him, let him eat in the lab, and know we're here for him" Steve shrugs.

"He's been getting up late in the night" Nat recalls.

"Yeah, Friday said he doesn't get much sleep before waking up and then turning her off with his sensory overload protocol. She said she doesn't detect one before he turns it off. Sometimes she detects panic attacks but that's it" Ned tells everyone.

"Why would he be turning off Friday when he doesn't have a sensory overload? She'd only get someone if it's serious or if Peter asks" Pepper questions.

"Warriors go through a battle amongst themselves. Suppose Peter is fighting a battle in himself and that's why he's not looking out for himself" Thor explains.

"Do you guys know if Peter is still down in the lab?" Clint wonders.

"Yeah, Friday said he was asleep down there" Mj nods.

"Friday, did Peter eat his dinner?" Sam asks.

"Peter ate a little more than half of his bowl. That still isn't enough for his metabolism" Friday answers.

"He didn't go out on patrol today. We were thinking Karen made him take the day off if she knows" Mj remembers.

"That's good. He needs a day to himself" Bruce hums right as Wanda snaps her head towards Mj and Ned.

"What happened at school?" Wanda calls them out.

"That's so cool" Ned mutters only for Mj to roll her eyes.

"Nothing happened" Mj lies.

"If you guys are hiding something, we need to know. Did Peter do something at school?" Nat asks.

"Peter didn't do anything at school" Mj shuts down.

"'It's Out Of My Control' Protocol is activated. Mini boss webbed boss to the wall and is having a panic attack. He webbed boss's mouth" Friday announces.

Chapter Text

"Boss, mini boss is experiencing a nightmare" Friday announces.

Tony looks up from his work to look at Peter lying on the couch. He quickly sees Peters chest moving up and down rapidly. He runs over to Peter but doesn't touch him.

"Hey Underoos, Peter. You're in the tower. It's me Tony, Mr. Stark. You're ok Roo, you just need to wake up. It's just a nightmare" Tony assures him. "Wake up Pete, it's just a nightmare. You're in the lab of the tower. It's-"

Tony gets cut off when a web had stuck itself onto Tony's mouth. Not even a split second goes by until he's webbed onto the wall. He looks at the couch to see Peter again.

"Activating 'It's Out Of My Control' Protocol" Friday snickers making Tony roll his eyes.

As Tony waits for the avengers, Dum-E tries to rip the webbing off but fails. He can hear Peter struggling for breath and whispering things he cannot hear but he has no way in helping him. His heart aches to help his kid but he physically can't.

The avengers comes down the elevator in quick speed. Steve and Bucky quickly go to help Tony while everyone rushes to Peter. Dum-E rolls in front of them putting his claw out to push them back.

Too many people.

"Jesus Christ, you all can't come down here. You'll make it worse" Tony says as soon as Steve rips the webbing off his mouth.

"Where is he?" Ned asks.

"Like Dum-E said, too many people. You all need to leave and I'll worry about him" Tony says as he ushers everyone back into the elevator. "Hurry up, we don't got all day."

Before everyone was even in the elevator, Tony took off to go behind the couch to see Peter. The doors dings shut and Tony lets out a relieved breath that they're all gone. He only needed help with the webbing because Dum-E was too stupid to get the web dissolver.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry" Peter stutters.

"No way, that was cool. Next time just do it to someone else. Can you follow my breathing?" Tony asks. Peter starts sobbing once Tony had spoken. Tears are pouring down his face even faster. "You're alright, you're safe Roo."

"It's a-all my fa-fault. I put ev-everyone i-in d-d-danger" Peter cries.

"No, none of that's your fault kid" Tony assures.

"I-I'm going to get y-you k-killed!" Peter realizes before pushing Tony away and standing up.

"No you're not. Pete, you aren't thinking. You aren't going to get me killed. Nobody can kill Iron Man" Tony tells him.

"I-I-I should've not gotten close! Ev-everything I touch dies! Jameson was right! Spider-Man just kills!" Peter realizes.

"Jameson is a jackass kid. He lies! Everything he's said about you is a lie! None of it is true and I know you know that!" Tony states.

"I can't let you die. I'm so sorry Mr. Stark" Peter cries.

Peter tries to run out of the lab but Dum-E blocks him just in time for Tony to catch up. He quickly grabs Peter into a hug as Peter sobs.

"I'm going to get you killed. I kill everyone" Peter whispers.

"You've never killed anyone in your life and you never will. You can't be blaming yourselves for something that's out of your control. They wouldn't want you to blame yourself" Tony claims.

"I mess up everything" Peter admits.

"You don't mess up everything" Tony argues.

"You've noticed, I know you have and that's why we've been eating dinner down here" Peter calls him out.

"I noticed because I care. I just want to help you" Tony assures.

"I-I...what else do you know?" Peter asks making Tony's heart drop.

"What else is there?" Tony questions.

"Did Karen tell you?" Peter wonders.

"I noticed you not eating anything because I care Peter. I care about your well being and I don't want you to go down the same hole I went down when Jarvis and my parents died" Tony exclaims. "Jesus kid, I care about you. No one needs to tell me anything. No one told me anything. I know because I care, I noticed."

Peter goes silent, looking down at the ground. Tony looks at him confused before his eyes goes wide before going back to normal.

"What else do you do Pete?" Tony gently asks.

"Nothing" Peter lies.

"Peter, you've been digging your nails into your skin that I can see your blood" Tony calls him out. "Do you do that often?"

"I didn't notice, no" Peter shakes his head.

"Pete, please tell me what else is going on" Tony pleads.

"Nothing" Peter repeats.

Tony doesn't say anything. He doesn't want to pressure Peter but he doesn't want Peter to deal with this alone. He knows Peter is hiding something but he doesn't know exactly what.

When he was going through it, he just drank and had parties. Peter doesn't do that though. He doesn't even think Peter could get drunk.

"I'm sorry" Peter apologizes after a moment of silence.

"Don't apologize kid. Do you want to watch a movie? Work on something?" Tony lists.

"I'll just go to my room" Peter shuts down.

"Kid...I want to give you that space but right now, I would rather if you're with someone. You can ditch me for your friends or avengers, you name it and I won't mind" Tony assures. Peter goes silent, turning his gaze to the floor. "It's not that I don't trust you Pete but I don't want you to be alone right now. I know what it's like going through something like this. I was constantly pushing everyone away and was alone and it didn't do any good for me. I don't want the same for you."

"I'll stay with you" Peter answers.

"Anything in particular you want to do?" Tony wonders.

"Star Wars?" Peter suggests.

"You got it, Fri you heard the request" Tony instructs.

Tony and Peter both sit down on the couch. Peter is sitting close to Tony allowing Tony to give him his blanket. Peter feels a bit anxious so he unconsciously plays with the edge of the blanket. A few minutes into the movie, Peter let's out a sigh.

"Something happened at school today" Peter tells him.

"What happened?" Tony asks.

"It was during gym which was last period. My senses were going off so I told Mj and Ned I'll be right back. I left the gym and started walking. I walked to a classroom door and I knew somebody was in there. I opened the door and nobody was there. I heard somebody's heart beat in the vent before they just...disappeared. Then the vent cover fell and I left" Peter shortly explains cutting out a few details.

"You didn't see anyone? Didn't even hear them crawl away?" Tony questions.

"No" Peter answers.

"Maybe they could teleport" Tony theorizes. "Nothing else happened? They just left? Didn't do anything?"

"Nothing else happened" Peter assures.

"Did you tell your officer friends? Does Lj and Ted know?" Tony wonders.

"No and yes" Peter responds. "I was going to tell them tomorrow."

"Was this the first time something happened in school like this? That they should showed up?" Tony asks.

"No...I was going to decathlon after detention and I heard whispers. Then Betty tapped me on my shoulder and we went to practice" Peter sighs.

"But you didn't see them...they could also be invisible" Tony suggests.

"I don't know" Peter shrugs.

"Do you feel safe at school?" Tony asks.

"I guess, I mean nothing else happened" Peter claims.

"I'm not saying I'll put you out of school but if you want to for now, it's always an option" Tony assures.

"I want to stay in school" Peter declares.

"You can tell me anything Peter" Tony assures after a few minutes of silence.

"I know" Peter nods as he's playing with the edges of his sleeves.

Tony doesn't push him but he knows Peter is hiding something. He isn't sure what it is but he knows something is up.

He holds his kid closer and they continue to watch the movie.

Chapter Text

"Yo penis!" Flash hollers before shoving Peter into the lockers.

"What do you want Flash?" Peter questions.

"What do I want?! You made me look stupid in class! You weren't even paying attention!" Flash recalls last period where Peter got the answer right and Flash got it wrong.

"Nobody told you to raise your hand if you didn't know the answer" Peter snaps back which gets him another shove into the locker.

It's Thursday afternoon and Peters been on edge even though his spidey senses didn't go off once. He was heading to his next class late because his last teacher held him back.

They only had one more period left, then an AcaDec meeting and then Flash had to go and ruin it.

"Look Flash, I got to go to class. We can talk later" Peter lies before he tries to get away.

Flash grabs his wrist and Peter lets out a pained gasp. He pulls back, grabbing his arm and walks away.

"We aren't done here Parker!" Flash calls out.

Peter ignores him and heads into his classroom and sits down after giving his teacher a note. Ned gives him a concerned look but Peter waves him off.

🕷

Peter already texted Officer Hicins and Gomez, he's planning on meeting them at a local coffee shop after practice. It was the only time they had their break so Peter automatically accepted.

He just needs practice to end before going.

"I know we have practice tomorrow but I still want to remind you all ahead of time that I'm hosting our sleepover and practice at my house on Saturday. Tomorrow I'll text you the address and time" Betty announces.

"And you all better be there or else you're sitting" Mj threatens.

"One more thing before you all go, tomorrows practice will have to be a little shorter. I have somewhere to be at five so come here on time" Mr. Harrington informs.

"And if you won't be here on time, practice will be longer on Saturday" Mj adds making everyone groan.

"That's not fair. It's Parker who is always late" Flash blames.

"He wasn't late today, you were" Mj reminds him.

"One time" Flash corrects her.

"Ok, how about you kids start heading home. It's getting late and I'm sure you're all hungry for dinner" Mr. Harrington suggests making all the kids agree.

Peter grabs his bag and starts to head out with Mj and Ned quickly following.

"Update us?" Mj asks.

"Yeah, I'll see if they got anything" Peter nods.

"Call us if you need to. We'll be at the tower" Ned reminds him.

"Will do, see you two later" Peter claims before walking in the opposite way.

The coffee shop isn't too far from the school. The officers picked that place because of it not being too far and Peter knows that even though they didn't say it. 

He makes it to the coffee shop and spots the two officers. They both smile at him and he sits down. They offer him a cup of coffee and a chocolate donut.

"Thanks" Peter thanks, taking the offering.

"So what do you need to tell us?" Officer Hicins wonders.

"Just an update. Yesterday at school, my senses were going off in last period. I had gym so I just left the class cause my senses were going off when I neared the door and I knew somebody was in there. I heard their heart beat but when I opened the door, nobody was there. Mj and Ned found me and then the vent cover fell off but we still didn't see anybody and I couldn't hear them" Peter explains.

"Like a ghost" Officer Hicins humors.

"Or a well trained spy or they have powers" Peter claims. "Do you guys have any updates?"

"None right now. Everyone at the station has been acting normal and the security feeds were all down when Dennis got murdered" Officer Gomez explains as Peter nods his head along.

"Nothing on the crime scene you couldn't take into testing? Finger prints, DNA, anything?" Peter questions.

"No, whoever this is really covered their tracks" Officer Hicins replies.

"What's going on with school?" Officer Gomes asks.

"Not much, I have a AcaDec competition on Tuesday but nothing else going on" Peter answers.

"Are we allowed to go?" Officer Gomez wonders.

"It's open to whoever so if you want, you can go. They're usually a bunch of officers there anyways. It's at Midtown High on Tuesday at four" Peter informs.

"Maybe we can see if we can work there, keep an eye out" Officer Hicins suggests.

"Yeah I guess" Peter nods.

"Are you doing alright?" Officer Gomez questions.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine" Peter assures.

The bell to the store chimes signaling someone entering. Peter sees Betty entering and gives her a small smile when she wave.

"School friend?" Officer Hicins assumes.

"She's on the AcaDec team" Peter corrects.

"Well we gotta head back on duty. We'll update if something happens. Stay safe kid" Officer Gomez tells him.

"Yeah, call us if you're in trouble" Officer Hicins assures.

"Thanks, I'll see you guys later" Peter smiles as the two officers get up and leave.

Betty makes her way over to Peter, greeting him.

"Mind if I sit?" Betty wonders.

"Sure" Peter replies, gesturing to the empty booth. "So...you and Ned?"

"What? He told you?" Betty blushes.

"You two are dating?" Peter questions.

"No...we've been texting" Betty corrects.

"Well he didn't tell me anything. He smiles at his phone and then looks in your direction" Peter offers.

"Oh..." Betty trails off.

"Do you like him?" Peter wonders.

"Are you going to tell him?" Betty sighs.

"Its pretty obvious that you both like each other" Peter claims.

"So he does like me?" Betty questions.

"He never told me but it seems obvious. If you like him I can try and make him man up" Peter offers.

"Thanks" Betty thanks. "So...what were you talking with those officers about?"

"They're old friends" Peter responds.

"I'm sorry if I scared you in the hallway that day after detention" Betty apologizes.

"I wasn't paying attention" Peter shrugs.

"You've seemed...off...is everything ok?" Betty wonders.

"Yeah" Peter nods. "What made you think of a sleepover?"

"Parents are out of town and the whole team has been stressed about this competition. I'd thought it'd be a fun team bonding thing. I don't know if Flash is sleeping over yet but I kind of hope he doesn't but who knows, maybe he'll be nicer" Betty hopes.

"I guess we'll find out" Peter replies.

"How are you and Mj?" Betty wonders making Peter almost spit out of his coffee he was drinking.

"We are not dating" Peter denies.

"Aww, I had a bet going on" Betty pouts.

"Mj doesn't like me like that" Peter shuts down.

"But you like her like that?" Betty catches.

"I can't date right now" Peter claims.

"Because of what's been going on?" Betty wonders. Peter stays silent making Betty take that as a yes. "You don't have to tell me, I know we aren't close. I do know that Mj likes you though."

"And how would you know?" Peter questions.

"A girl knows when another girl has a crush on someone even if she hides it well" Betty claims.

"You should come over to my place. Mj and Ned are staying and I'm sure Ned will love if you'd come for dinner" Peter invites.

"Oh no, I really shouldn't" Betty protests.

"Nobody would mind and we have way more food than a normal household so there's more than enough" Peter claims.

"I-what do you mean by that?" Betty questions.

"You'll see if you come" Peter bargains.

"If it's not a hassle or anything..." Betty trails off.

"It's not, I'll let Mj know" Peter assures, sending a text off to Mj. "We should go now, dinner will be ready soon."

"Ok" Betty nods while she gets up.

They both leave the coffee shop and Peter leads the way.

"I know how to get their quicker so just follow me" Peter insists.

"Who do you even live with?" Betty wonders.

"Do you believe me when I say I'm Mr. Starks personal intern?" Peter questions.

"Of course I do, I'd be stupid to not believe you" Betty claims.

"I live with him" Peter claims.

"That's...wow that's so cool. Mj and Ned sleep over a lot?" Betty assumes.

"I just started living there cause of...and they've only been sleeping over because of...something. It's hard to explain" Peter explains.

"That's alright, I don't need an explanation" Betty assures.

Chapter Text

"Wow this is so cool" Betty claims as the elevator goes up.

"Fri, are we going up to Mj and Neds floor?" Peter wonders.

"They're both currently with the Avengers. Dinner is being served" Friday answers.

"Is Mr. Stark in the lab?" Peter asks.

"He has your food down there already" Friday assures.

"Thanks" Peter thanks just as the elevator opens.

The two of them steps out and everyone turns to them.

"You all look so weird, don't stare like that. This is Betty, she's on our decathlon team" Peter introduces.

"Betty, come sit over by us" Mj calls over making Betty go over to her and Ned.

Peter slips away back into the elevator and heads to the lab. When the elevator opens, he sees Tony throwing a ball at Dum-E.

"You do play with him!" Peter gasps.

"Because somebody was late and he was getting reckless" Tony protests.

"You could just have U throw him a ball, he loves playing" Peter claims.

"U told me no! That liar!" Tony gasps.

Peter jumps in his seat, he sees his plate of food but he doesn't dig in.

"Did the cops have anything?" Tony wonders.

"No, nobody's acting suspicious so they don't know who the undercover cop is" Peter answers.

"They'll figure it out soon. The person just needs to slip up and they'll know who it is" Tony assures. "So, you invited Betty over?"

"She was at the coffee place and I invited her over because her and Ned have a crush on each other" Peter explains.

"So you're willing to set your friend up but won't ask Lj out?" Tony questions.

"Mr. Stark" Peter whines.

"Fine, I'll stop" Tony rolls his eyes. "Anything good happen at school?"

"No" Peter denies. "Is it alright if I go out for awhile?"

"Can you do that after you eat?" Tony wonders.

"I just ate at the coffee place, I'm not really that hungry" Peter slightly lies because he barely ate the donut before throwing it out.

"I guess just don't come back too late" Tony figures.

"I won't, I'll cya later" Peter claims.

🕷

"So Betty, you're hosting a sleepover on Saturday?" Nat asks.

"I uhh yeah I am" Betty nods not expecting the Black Widow to know about it.

"Nat, don't scare her. I think that's a great team bonding experience" Clint smiles.

"Thanks" Betty thanks.

"You two suck at not trying to scare people" Mj points out.

"Everyone at school is afraid of you" Ned calls her out.

"Отличная работа, никто не встанет у вас на пути (Great job, nobody will stand in your way)" Nat claims.

"I already have that covered" Mj smirks.

"You know Russian?" Ned questions.

"Nat taught me" Mj informs.

"Russian is a powerful language, a complex one to learn and understand" Thor chimes in. "I still don't understand the midguardian language of Russian."

"That's ok Thor, neither does Tony when he thinks he does" Bruce assures.

"How's AcaDec for you kids?" Sam wonders.

"Good!" Ned responds.

"Mj is just tearing us apart at practice per usual" Betty adds.

"Don't tire them too out Mj, they need to be rested for the competition" Pepper jokes.

"They have Sunday to rest, they'll be fine" Mj assures.

"I'll be dead for the comp. All my knowledge will go out the door with your practices" Ned argues.

"It better not or else you're sitting" Mj warns.

"Oh snap!" Clint laughs. "Any drama happening in school?"

"When did you care about kid drama?" Bucky questions.

"Why don't we not get into the kids businesses?" Steve suggests.

"It's teen drama, it's going to be all crushes and skipping school. What's the real drama happening?" Rhodey asks.

"Since when did honeybear want to know about kid drama?" Tony questions coming out of the elevator.

"Where's Peter?" Pepper asks.

"He went out" Tony answers.

"He just got here, did he even eat his dinner? Where is he going?" Pepper questions.

"I don't know Pep, he said he's going out" Tony shrugs.

"Oh my god" Pepper rolls her eyes.

"Tony you can't be serious. Is he out helping or out doing something else?" Sam wonders.

"I don't think he left in those clothes" Tony answers.

"Tony!" Sam shouts.

"What's happening?" Betty whispers to Ned.

"I'm not entirely sure" Ned whispers back.

"Tony doesn't know, we never told him" Rhodey reminds Sam.

"Told me what?" Tony questions.

"Why are we assuming the worse? I think you all are over exaggerating right now. He could just be finding answers. I would be curious too if somebody was out to get me" Thor claims.

"Why do you care Wilson?" Tony asks.

"Because I found something in his room earlier!" Sam shouts.

"Why did you go into his room?!" Tony yells. "That's his privacy Wilson! Nobody's going in your room snooping around!"

"Sam, what are you not telling us?" Nat questions.

"Is this about your theories?" Clint recalls.

"Theories? You have theories on my kid and didn't even tell me? Why do you have assumptions on my kid?!" Tony questions.

"Guys stop it" Pepper cuts in.

"Wilson, what the fuck were you doing in my kids room snooping around? Don't tell me this is your therapist side bullshit excuse" Tony warns.

"I found a notebook from when his uncle passed away" Sam calmly says.

"Why don't you kids take your plates and eat on Mj and Neds floor?" Pepper suggests.

"You went through my room and looked through my notebook?" Peters voice cracks making everyone turn their head towards Peter.

🕷

After Peter had left the lab, he dropped off his school bag in his room. He grabbed his other bag when he realized he left something in the comms room yesterday. Friday quickly took him there only to be greeted by yelling.

"Because I found something in his room earlier!" Sam shouts.

Peter feels his heart skip a beat. Sam went into his room? 

"Why did you go into his room?!" Tony yells. "That's his privacy Wilson! Nobody's going in your room snooping around!"

"Sam, what are you not telling us?" Nat questions.

Peter feels his breath still because what did Sam find?!

"Is this about your theories?" Clint recalls.

Peter's confused. He doesn't know what theories Clint is talking about.

"Theories? You have theories on my kid and didn't even tell me? Why do you have assumptions on my kid?!" Tony questions.

"Guys stop it" Pepper cuts in.

"Wilson, what the fuck were you doing in my kids room snooping around? Don't tell me this is your therapist side bullshit excuse" Tony warns.

"I found a notebook from when his uncle passed away" Sam calmly says.

Peter feels tears build up in his eyes. That notebook was only meant for him. He wrote in that notebook only for himself to go back to.

"Why don't you kids take your plates and eat on Mj and Neds floor?" Pepper suggests.

"You went through my room and looked through my notebook?" Peters voice cracks making everyone turn their head towards Peter.

Everyone becomes silent. 

"Who told you to go through my room and open up my notebook?!" Peter practically shouts.

"I wanted to help" Sam claims.

"You don't have the right to help me!" Peter screams. "You went through my room Sam! You looked through my notebook that was only meant for me to have! Some ex therapist you are."

"Hey, that isn't fair Peter. I am worried about you and wanted to help" Sam argues.

"Nobody fucking snoops around another persons room and expects the other person to be like oh thanks for the help! What the fuck is wrong with you?! How much of it did you fucking read?!" Peter shouts shocking everyone.

Nobody heard Peter curse like that, especially at someone.

"You need help" Sam protests.

"That was years ago Sam, drop it. I'm not doing any of it again, nothing is going on besides you snooping in my room!" Peter exclaims.

"I'm sorry, it wasn't right of me" Sam apologizes.

"Sorry doesn't cut it when you were about to yap it to the whole room. I don't want any of you to follow me, just...leave me alone" Peter states before getting in the elevator and the doors shut behind.

Peter feels like crying. Sam knows his secrets. The tears makes its way down Peters face. The elevator opens to the garage and Peter leaves the tower. It's starting to drizzle but he doesn't care.

🕷

"What the fuck is wrong with you Wilson" Tony curses as soon as Peter leaves.

"He's lying. You know it Tony, you know something" Sam calls him out.

"What I know is none of your business" Tony spats. "Now I gotta go find my kid because if you."

"Tony, I think you should give him a breather" Rhodey stops him.

"He's upset Rhodes! Like hell I'll leave him alone!" Tony claims.

"He shouldn't be left alone" Sam agrees.

"Why? Because you know so much about him now that you went through his room?" Tony questions.

"He needs to be watched Tony" Sam argues.

"What the hell does that mean?!" Tony shouts.

"I think you know what I mean Tony" Sam points out.

"You want my kid on suicide watch?" Tony realizes.

"You've seen it. He barely eats and with what was in that notebook-" Sam begins to say.

"Something that you shouldn't have gone through" Tony glares.

"You saw him after that nightmare" Sam lists another example.

"Everyone reacts badly after that. I used to be a mess, still am" Tony claims.

"Tony" Sam levels.

"Screw you Wilson. Stay away from my kid and don't go through his belongings" Tony warns before getting into his suit and flying out just as the window opens.

The atmosphere was left tense and silent after that. Nobody knew what to say.

"Kids...you can bring your plates up to your floor" Pepper instructs.

The three teens don't put up a fight. Mj and Ned would've but Betty was there so they didn't. They got in the elevator leaving the adults to talk.

"I can't believe you went through his room" Rhodey states.

"I know you guys won't like this but I think we should go through his room again" Sam suggests.

"You can't be serious" Bucky argues.

"He used to cut himself, he can be doing it again. The signs are there!" Sam protests.

"That is very wrong of you to go through his room and broke his boundaries" Thor lays it out on him.

"You shouldn't have done that. It should've been on his own terms" Bruce tells him.

"You're getting your head too wrapped up trying to act like a therapist would. You're not his therapist and you broke his trust" Nat points out.

"And you just announced to a girl he's not even close with about his problems!" Pepper adds.

"And putting him on suicide watch isn't up to you and you shouldn't go announcing it. You have your theories but you don't know everything" Clint explains.

"Sam, I think Tony is right and you should lay off of Peter" Steve settles.

Chapter Text

"Peter's been hurting himself?" Betty asks as soon as the three kids make it up to the other floor with their plates of food.

"You shouldn't have heard any of that" Mj states.

"I can't believe Sam went through his room" Ned sighs.

"I won't tell anyone about this, I promise" Betty promises.

"You better not" Mj warns.

"Friday, where's Peter? Did Mr. Stark find him?" Ned wonders.

"Mini boss turned off all trackers and is hiding from the cameras. I do not know where he is" Friday informs.

"I think I should leave...Peter wouldn't want me to know anything else about this" Betty claims.

"Ned will show you out" Mj nods.

🕷

Peter managed to make a run to his apartment. He slams the door shut and locks himself in the bathroom. Officer Gomez told him that he already swept the apartment and there was nothing so he should be safe.

Honestly, that's the least of his problems right now. Tears are rolling down his face and the urges to cut is strong. He just wants to feel anything but this. This sadness, this emptiness, everything.

Peter rummages through his bag and gets out his knife. He looks at the knife as more tears spill. He can't believe Sam went into his room. He feels like his privacy was violated. 

Peter slashes the knife across his wrist.

That notebook was only for him. He thought writing out what he was feeling after Bens death would've helped him get away from self harming and process his grief but then Sam took that and told everyone.

Another slash.

Everybody knows. They're all going to treat him differently and look at him weirdly. Even Betty heard and he's not even close with her! What if she tells someone and then the whole school will know!

Another slash.

Some Parker luck.

A fourth slash.

He never even thought about writing his pain and feelings down in a notebook until Ben died, not even when Skip happened. He had Ben for that. He didn't need to write it down in a notebook how he was hurting himself when Ben already knew and was there for him. 

A fifth slash.

He would've told May but he didn't want to burden her especially because he's the reason Ben died. Everything is always his fault. He's a murderer, a freak, a mutant.

A sixth slash.

Peter looks down at his arms. Blood is pouring out of each new cut on his arms but he doesn't care. Peter grabs a towel and drops the knife on it before grabbing another towel and press it against his arms.

He knows his powers are already working on healing it but he doesn't want to get blood on the floor. His aunt Mays floor.

"I wish you were still here May" Peter silently whispers.

He lets out a sniffle while more tears pours down his face. He looks at his knife before looking away. He can't go back down this road...but he already has.

🕷

Tony's been looking everywhere for Peter but can't find him anywhere. Friday can't catch him on any cameras and there are no spider heat signatures.

"Boss, what if he's at his apartment?" Friday suggests.

"Shit! I didn't even think of that!" Tony curses as he changes directions.

He's in Queens already so the apartment won't take long to get to. Panic floods over him.

Sam wants to put his kid on suicide watch because of something Peter wrote down in a notebook like two years ago.

What was Sam even thinking?!

He snooped around his kids room and then blabbed his secrets out to everyone!

That's the thing though...Tony saw Peter dig his nails into his palms after that nightmare. That's a form of self harm, he gave himself pain to stop thinking about the nightmare. He gave himself pain to think of something else.

"Friday, do you know if Peter self harms?" Tony asks hesitantly.

"I can only make assumptions like you. Peter turns me off at night after waking up from a nightmare and doesn't turn me back on until he's leaving for school. He hasn't been eating the proper amount but you already knew that. I cannot detect if he self harms especially with his healing. From what Sam found, he could be self harming again or he could not be" Friday explains.

Tony feels like he has the answer. He sees the apartment in sight and lands in the alleyway. He takes the suit off and walks into the apartment, ignoring the guy at the front desk. He takes two steps at a time before making it to Peters apartment.

He tries to open the door only to find it unlock.

"Fri, who's in the apartment?" Tony whispers, not opening the door.

"I detect Peters heat signature in the bathroom" Friday informs.

Tony swings open the door and locks it once he shuts it. He walks over to the bathroom and knocks on the door.

"Hey underoos, it's me" Tony states, cringing in on himself. He doesn't expect Peter to respond but maybe at least open the door. "I uhhhh...I'm here if you want to talk."

Tony feels himself internally cringing at that too. He's not good with emotions but he's been doing better. He's been doing better for Peter so he doesn't turn out like Howard.

"Fri, is he awake?" Tony whispers.

"According to the heat signature, I see him breathing. I cannot detect anything else because there are no cameras" Friday claims.

"We'll work on that next time. Pete, if you're awake can you make a sound or knock on the door? I just want to make sure you're ok" Tony suggests.

Six seconds passes by where Tony feels himself holding his breath until he hears a knock coming from inside.

"Good, good. Do you mind if you open the door?" Tony wonders only to hear nothing on the other side. "You don't have to."

Silence comes from the other end so Tony takes that as a no. He sits down in front of the bathroom door, leaning against the door.

"Sam shouldn't have done that. I didn't know he went into your room until he said something. He shouldn't have went through your belongings. I won't believe anything he tells me unless you tell me what's true or not" Tony claims. "I just want to look out for you, that's all kid. I don't think anything less of you or think of you differently. I've had my own share of what grief can do and I'm sorry I couldn't help sooner. I want you to be safe, I want you to have your privacy, and I'm sorry that was taken away from you."

Tony tries to listen in to the other side of the door but he doesn't have enhanced hearing so he can't hear anything. Maybe Peter isn't moving and is sitting still.

"If you want me to leave, I can leave" Tony assures.

More silence comes from the other side of the door. Tony signals to Friday to do a heat signature and as a matter of fact, Peter is still in there and breathing. The only way he can say he's not asleep is because he knocked on the door moments before.

Tony stands up. He isn't sure if he should take that as a sign to leave or not. He paces a few steps before sitting down against the wall besides the door incase Peter wants to come out.

"What Sam did was wrong. I'll make sure Friday keeps him and everyone else out of your room. I want to help you kid, if it's the grief or with school or your not so secret crush with Lj...I just want to help" Tony admits.

More silence follows and Tony becomes worried. Friday would be able to detect if someone passed out with or without having access to the room they're in. If  Friday isn't saying anything about that, then Peter should be awake...hopefully.

"I'll always be here for you kid. I don't want you to go through this alone and I'm sorry if I wasn't there for you and helpful in the ways you needed me to be" Tony apologizes.

Silence passes once again when Tony hears the lock to the bathroom unlock. He doesn't look up, not wanting to scare the kid back into the bathroom when Peter sits down next to him and leans against him.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark" Peter apologizes.

🕷

When Tony had made it to his front door, Peter had heard him. He heard Tony whispering to Friday if anybody was in the apartment which made Peters heart skip a beat.

What made his heart stop was Fridays response. Tony knows Peter's in here and he doesn't know what to do.

He looks down at his two now bleeding arms. He couldn't help himself and gave himself some new cuts.

He quickly wipes the blood off the knife, stuffing it into his bag. He curses at his healing factor being slow but internally blames it on him for not eating and sleeping.

Peter is quiet getting on his feet when he hears Tony.

"Hey underoos, it's me. I uhhhh...I'm here if you want to talk" Tony states.

Peter feels himself freezing up before quickly getting the medical bandages May had in the cabinets.

"Fri, is he awake?" Tony whispers but Peter hears him loud and clear.

Peter hides the bandages on the other side of him and crosses his arms.

"According to the heat signature, I see him breathing. I cannot detect anything else because there are no cameras" Friday claims.

Peter let's out a calm, silent and relieved breath. He unwraps his arms and grabs the bandages.

"We'll work on that next time. Pete, if you're awake can you make a sound or knock on the door? I just want to make sure you're ok" Tony suggests.

Peter feels himself halting. He debates if he should knock or not but he doesn't want to worry Tony. He knocks once on the wall, wondering if Tony even heard that.

"Good, good. Do you mind if you open the door?" Tony wonders only to hear nothing on the other side. "You don't have to."

That means Tony did hear his knock. Peter starts wrapping his arms, he doesn't want Tony to see blood slipping out from under his sleeves.

"Sam shouldn't have done that. I didn't know he went into your room until he said something. He shouldn't have went through your belongings. I won't believe anything he tells me unless you tell me what's true or not" Tony claims. "I just want to look out for you, that's all kid. I don't think anything less of you or think of you differently. I've had my own share of what grief can do and I'm sorry I couldn't help sooner. I want you to be safe, I want you to have your privacy, and I'm sorry that was taken away from you."

Peter feels himself still. He feels awful for making Tony think this is somewhat his fault. Tony has been nice to him and took him in. He's been there for Peter and Peter is making it seem like he hasn't.

A tear slips past Peters eye making him quickly wipe it away. He's still mad at Sam for looking around his room, what if he left his knife out or something? In the end it doesn't matter because Sam still found his notebook.

"If you want me to leave, I can leave" Tony assures.

Peter puts the bandages away and sits back down. He contemplates on opening the door or not. He doesn't blame Tony for one second.

"What Sam did was wrong. I'll make sure Friday keeps him and everyone else out of your room. I want to help you kid, if it's the grief or with school or your not so secret crush with Lj...I just want to help" Tony admits.

Peter looks at the door wondering if he should open it. Tony had told Peter that he doesn't want to turn out like his father and here Peter is making Tony think he turned out like his father. Peter feels a pang of guilt. 

"I'll always be here for you kid. I don't want you to go through this alone and I'm sorry if I wasn't there for you and helpful in the ways you needed me to be" Tony apologizes.

Peter gets up from the floor and puts his hand on the lock. He lets out shaky breath before unlocking the door and opening it. He sees Tony sitting besides the door on the floor and quickly sits down besides him, leaning his head on him.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark" Peter apologizes.

"No kid, I'm sorry. I wasn't there-" Tony starts to say.

"You've been there for me" Peter interrupts allowing the silence to consume them.

Tony wraps his arms around Peter, giving him a hug. Neither of them say anything, not ruining the peaceful silence between them.

Chapter Text

It's Friday morning. Mj and Ned had made it to school and saw no signs of Peter. They tried to ask Friday where he was but she told them he's safe with Tony which isn't totally helpful.

They see Betty before going the opposite way to class. Mj had to drag Ned just for him to not run up to her.

"Wait guys!" Betty practically shouts, running towards them.

"What?" Mj questions.

"Is Peter ok? Did you guys find him?" Betty wonders.

"We don't know, Friday said he's safe with Mr. Stark but never told us anything else" Ned admits. They both know Betty won't tell anyone but Mj still shoves Ned in the ribs for saying that. "Ow!"

The bell rings signaling class is going to start in a few minutes.

"I'll see you guys later" Betty informs before walking away.

"Lovebird" Mj mutters.

"Hey!" Ned whines. "You knew she was coming over yesterday, didn't you?"

"Peter texted me, she was at the coffee shop when he was talking with the officers. He invited her over because he knows you have a crush on her" Mj smirks making Neds face turns bright red.

"You guys are so annoying, you teamed up on me!" Ned complains.

"It's not like we set you up on a date" Mj scoffs.

"You don't even know if she likes me back" Ned argues.

"I know everything about everyone" Mj claims before walking into class in front of Ned.

Ned quickly catches up and sits in front of her in class.

"Oh yeah? What's her favorite color, animal, place to eat, wh-" Ned starts to list.

"Yellow, elephant and Alice's Tea Cup" Mj cuts in.

"I..." Ned trails off not knowing what to say. "Do you think I even know her that well?"

"I'm very observant unlike you" Mj reminds him.

"That's not true" Ned protests.

"If you didn't find out by hiding in Peters room, you wouldn't have known" Mj theorizes.

"I would too!" Ned gasps just as the bell rings.

Mj sees Peter hurrying into class so she signals to Ned. Ned turns around just as Peter sits down next to him.

"Can you tell Mj I'm more observant than her?" Ned wonders.

"Ned, Mj is more observant" Peter tells him.

"Ha!" Mj snickers right before their teacher interrupts all of their conversations.

🕷

The day hasn't been too bad so far. They've had some pretty easy classes and now they're at lunch.

"I'm sorry about running out yesterday" Peter apologizes out of nowhere.

"That is none of your fault. You had every right to dude!" Ned protests.

"He shouldn't have done that and you have your right to privacy" Mj claims.

"Just know we're here for you dude, you can tell us anything" Ned assures.

"Did I ruin things with you and Betty?" Peter winces.

"Why do you both assume we're dating?" Ned questions.

"Cause it's obvious you both love each other" Mj points out.

"Yeah, it's why I invited her over" Peter nods.

"You two are setting me up aren't you?" Ned realizes.

"That depends if you man up" Mj compromises.

"You can always offer to help her out tomorrow before we all go over there" Peter suggests.

"I am not doing that! You guys can just be feeding into my delusions" Ned claims.

"Why would your best friend lie to you?" Peter questions making Ned turn to Mj.

"Oh no, I have every right to lie to you" Mj states making Ned look back at Peter.

"Well I have no right to lie to you about this" Peter assures.

"Fine! I'll ask her if she needs help after practice or something" Ned sighs.

"Don't sound too bummed" Mj scoffs.

"I'm not!" Ned argues.

🕷

Practice had only started an hour ago. They were almost done since Mr. Harrington has to be somewhere when Peters phone starts to ring. Mj levels him with a glare making him repeatedly yell out apologizes, fumbling with his phone.

"Sorry! I got to take this!" Peter apologies rushing up from his seat and answering the phone while also grabbing his backpack.

"Come on, Parker's allowed to take phone calls now?" Flash questions.

Peter ignores him and hurries down the stairs of the stage just to freeze.

"What?" Peter questions into the phone. 

Ned immediately gets up and hurries by Peter, trying to listen in.

"No, I'm ok. Where was this? That wasn't me" Peter responds with before hurrying out of the doors.

"Seriously? He can leave too?" Flash questions.

"Ned, get back over here and sit down" Mj rolls her eyes.

"But Peter-" Ned tries to say.

"Will be back after the call, now come back" Mj warns.

Ned let's out a sigh and makes his way to his seat and sits down. As soon as he sits down, Mj's throwing out the next question despite her own curiosity and worries about Peters phone call.

🕷

When Peter had answered the phone during decathlon practice, he hadn't expected to hear what Officer Gomez just asked him.

"Please tell me teleporting or invisibility isn't apart of being a spider" Officer Gomez had pleaded.

"What?" Peter questions just as Ned runs up to him from the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you ok? Officer Hicins and I just saw you in the middle of the road and we almost hit you! You were in your suit all bloody!" Officer Gomez explains.

"No, I'm ok. Where was this? That wasn't me" Peter responds with before hurrying out of the doors.

"On eighth, are you still at school?" Officer Gomez wonders.

"Yeah, I had decathlon" Peter nods even though they couldn't see the nod.

"Come to eighth street and wear your suit so nobody suspects anything" Officer Gomez instructs.

"On my way" Peter assures before hanging up.

Peter slips into an alleyway and changes into his suit. He webs up his backpack after sending a quick to Ned and Mj to pick up his backpack and swings off to eighth street. 

When he arrives, he sees the cop car parked next to the sidewalk and swings down. He turns around when he hears a door opening from a shop to see Officer Gomez and Hicins.

"What were you talking about over the phone?" Peter questions.

"You were in the middle of this street, right there" Officer Hicins points. "I had to swerve out of the way to not hit you but when we looked, you weren't there. You look ok but before you were bleeding and your suit was destroyed."

"So whoever's after us is keep playing these games with us. First it was at my apartment and now it happened to you two in the middle of the street"  Peter realizes.

He's glad the streets are practically empty right now so no one can listen in.

"Let's get in the car and we'll talk more" Officer Gomez suggests.

The three of them gets into the cop car and Officer Hicins drives off.

"What if this person can shape shift?" Peter wonders as he takes off his mask.

"That wouldn't be totally out of the ordinary with so many super powered people" Officer Hicins nods.

"I don't think it was projections either or else we would've seen them. It'd be hard not to" Officer Gomez thinks of.

"But they wouldn't have been able to shape shift into my aunt" Peter counter points. "Officer Gomez, did you see me or was it just Officer Hicins?"

"I didn't see you. I was looking down at my phone to see if anything was picking up on the police radar" Officer Gomez admits.

"So Officer Hicins, was I like glitchy or anything?" Peter wonders.

"You looked like your regular self except all hurt" Officer Hicins answers.

"I don't know what this could mean" Peter sighs while he puts his mask back on. "Karen, look into the surveillance cameras before Officer Gomez called me and see if you see me in the middle of the street."

"Why are you doing this in front of cops? That is very illegal" Officer Gomez reminds him.

"It's for good causes" Peter waves off.

Karen displays the footage in front of him inside the mask. He sees Officer Hicins driving the car and then swerving out of nowhere.

"I do not see anybody that could've made Officer Hicins swerve" Karen points out.

"Thanks Kare, you tried" Peter thanks before ripping the mask back off. "Nothing shows up on the cameras besides you swerving."

"Great, none of the officers better see that" Officer Hicins grumbles.

"Hey Peter" Officer Gomez states.

"Yeah?" Peter responds.

"Put your damn seatbelt on kid" Officer Gomez instructs.

"I stick, it's alright" Peter assures.

"Seatbelts are for safety purposes, I don't care if you can stick to the seat or not" Officer Gomez protests.

"Alright, I'll put it on" Peter relents.

He grabs for the seat belt but the seat belt won't pull down. Officer Gomez watches from being turned in his seat while Officer Hicins watches from the mirror.

"Easy on the seatbelt there, it's not a bad guy" Officer Hicins warns just as Peter rips the seat belt out of the holster.

Everybody is quiet for what seems like a lifetime. Peter feels panic rising up.

"Sorry!" Peter squeaks out.

"Just stick to the seat" Officer Gomez gives up.

"I'll pay for a new one, I promise" Peter promises.

"Don't worry about it, just try to not do it again" Officer Gomez waves off.

The car turns into an awkward silence. Peter puts the seatbelt on the seat and doesn't touch it again.

"I ummm has anything else happen besides that? None for me" Peter asks.

"Just that. Are you sure it didn't show up on the cameras?" Officer Hicins questions.

"I didn't see anything and my AI didn't detect anything. She showed me the footage" Peter informs.

"God I wish I wasn't looking at my phone so I was able to see it too. Maybe that would've helped somewhat" Officer Gomez wishes.

"It was there and then it was gone. I told you what you missed. Even if you saw it, it wouldn't have done much anyways. We don't know how that happened and why it's not showing up on the cameras" Officer Hicins points out.

"I think I'm going to patrol. Maybe I'll spot something. I'll update you guys" Peter claims.

"Wait, let us pull over first!" Officer Gomez frantically tells him.

"See you guys later!" Peter waves as he opens his door and shuts it from behind.

Peter shoots out a web and swings up into the sky. To be fair, he only did it because they got stuck behind a red light. He would've let them pull over otherwise.

Chapter Text

Peter bursts awake in the middle of the night. It's Saturday morning but the sun isn't out yet. Peter feels tears rolling down his cheeks that he quickly wipes away. He feels a light headache. He looks at the blinding clock to see it's four in the morning.

"Fri, turn on the 'Everything Is Too Much' protocol" Peter instructs. Peter waits a few seconds but the protocol hasn't turned on yet. "Friday?"

"I am not allowed to do as request mini boss. I have been instructed not to turn on the protocol unless I see you having a sensory overload or the symptoms arising. I am also not able to override the protocol even if I see the symptoms though, it seems like my codes are messed up" Friday explains.

"By who?" Peter questions.

"Sam Wilson" Friday supplies.

"You're going to listen to Sam over me?!" Peter questions.

"He had added a protocol than overrides the sensory overload protocol. I had not been able to turn it off because I wasn't able to inform boss yet" Friday explains.

"He can't code! How did he do it?!" Peter practically shouts.

"I am not sure" Friday answers.

"Fri, ignore Sam's protocol. Override it or something!" Peter instructs. "I can literally feel one coming on!"

"I am not allowed to. It's in my code of lines that I listen to the protocol. I'm sorry mini boss" Friday apologizes.

Peter feels like it's getting harder to breath. He climbs out of bed before dropping on the floor, coughing up nothing.

"Alerting boss" Friday announces.

"NO!" Peter yells. "I-I'm fi-fine!"

Peter runs over to his bathroom and throws up into the toilet. He feels his ears ringing and stomping in the halls.

He hears his bedroom door get swung open and a shout but he couldn't make out what was being said.

He hears the bathroom door locking and someone rubbing his back. Peter is quick to flush the toilet and sit back just to be handed a towel. He wipes his mouth and looks up to see Tony, luckily the lights are still off.

"Is everything ok? We heard the ruckus" Nat knocks making the knocks feel like it's echoing in Peters head.

"Everything's fine Natasha, tell everyone to go to back to bed" Tony states.

"I need...protocol" Peter whispers.

"Fri turn-" Tony begins to say.

"Sam messed with Friday" Peter rats him out. "God everything's too loud. Why are they still outside? They're too loud."

Tony looks at him worriedly and angry. Not angry at Peter but angry at Sam. Tony gets up to see nobody outside of Peters bathroom but spots then out in the hall with the bedroom door slightly open.

"Nat, get in there with Peter" Tony instructs.

Nat doesn't need to be told twice so she rushes back into Peters bedroom leaving everyone else confused. He would've sent someone else but he knows Nat cares about Peter. He also knows she wouldn't hack into Friday and he needs Pepper and Rhodey to listen to this.

"Wilson, you better turn off whatever protocol you added right fucking now" Tony demands.

"Tony, that protocol is only there so Peter can't hide him self harming" Sam argues.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you added a protocol onto Friday?!" Rhodey questions.

"You hacked into Friday?! Sam! You have no authorization to add new codes!" Pepper almost screams.

"I'm looking out for Peter because it seems like none of you are!" Sam defends.

"Sam, we are all worried about Peter but changing Friday was out of line" Bruce interrupts.

"What protocol did you change? Why is he crying?" Clint questions.

"He won't let Peter turn on his sensory overload protocol when he's having one! Turn off your fucking protocol!" Tony demands again.

"The protocol should've been turned off as soon as she recognizes his symptoms" Sam claims.

"You messed with my AI and changed her codes! You can't hack for shit Wilson! Whoever you hired messed with her! Override the protocol now! He's crying in there Wilson!" Tony shouts.

"Fri, turn off the 'Peters Protection' Protocol, override Wilson99" Sam instructs.

"Protocol off. I want these new codes out of me as soon as possible" Friday states.

"We are not done yet Wilson but I gotta go back to my kid who you made cry and have to deal with a sensory overload without his protocol. Fri, turn on the kids sensory overload protocol" Tony tells her before entering Peters room.

"If you were on Asgard, you would've been thrown into our Asgardian jail for a crime like that" Thor comments.

"What is wrong with you?" Bucky questions.

"Let's not fight about this right now. We'll discuss in the morning" Steve cuts in giving Sam a disappointed look.

"Not the morning, when Peter leaves for his sleepover we'll discuss. We aren't discussing with him here" Pepper jumps in.

"Agreed. You better think of a solid reason for what you just pulled" Rhodey agrees with Pepper just as Nat walks out of Peters room.

Nat gives Sam a cold, hard stare before she walks into her bedroom and shuts the door. Nat didn't even have to say anything and still scared Sam. He won't admit it though.

🕷

"Shhh it's ok ребенок-паук (baby spider)" Nat quietly whispers as she enters Peters bathroom and sits down besides him.

She pulls him into a side hug letting him cry into her shoulder.

"It hurts" Peter cries.

"Tony's making Sam turn off the protocol" Nat assures.

"Why does he think he's helping? He's not helping and I don't need his help" Peter claims.

"He won't help ever again, I promise you that" Nat promises.

"Don't kill him" Peter tells her.

"I won't" Nat replies.

"And don't let Tony kick him out. He's just worried I guess but I don't want his help. His help hasn't been helping" Peter informs as tears keep pouring down his face.

"His help was him intruding on your privacy and messing everything all up. I'll make sure Tony doesn't kick him out but that doesn't mean I won't scare him" Nat warns.

Peter tries to let out a small laugh but it turns out to just be more tears and a dry cough. Nat rubs his back trying to not be loud to hurt his ears as she whispers things to him.

"Out of ten how bad is it?" Nat whispers.

"Fifteen" Peter answers.

Nat doesn't reply. She doesn't want Peter to have to listen to her voice and everything else he's hearing at the same time.

It only takes less than two seconds before Peter sits up and throws up into the toilet. Nat rubs his back when the door opens to reveal Tony. Nat gets up and leaves the bathroom, quietly shutting the door.

"It's ok kid, I turned the protocol on" Tony assures.

Peter leans back against the wall so Tony flushes the toilet. He sees Peter wiping his mouth with a towel with tears still going down his face.

Once Tony sits on the ground, Peter leans on him. Tony inspects the ear that's not hidden and doesn't see any blood which he's thankful for.

Minutes passes by. Tony doesn't know how long it's been but Peters cries comes to an end. Tony takes a quick peak and sees that Peter had fell asleep.

Tony feels relief rush over him. He's glad the kid was able to go back to sleep even if it was because he was crying himself to sleep. He's so mad at Sam but he'll deal with that later.

He picks Peter up gently and carries him into his bed. He puts Peter down and lays the blankets a top of him. He looks at Peters peaceful state before leaving the room, silently shutting the door.

Peter opens up his eyes and sees that Tony had left. He hears his footsteps walking into his own room and his bedroom door shutting.

Peter gets up and goes back to his bathroom. He doesn't want to sneak this around Tony's back again but everything still hurts.

His sensory overload barely calmed down, it's now only at a thirteen instead of a fifteen. Peter opens his draw and grabs his knife sitting back down on the floor.

Yesterday, Peter told Tony at his apartment. Tony then made Peter go to Bruce and get himself checked out just incase. It was either Bruce or Cho so Peter picked Bruce. It's not that Peter doesn't trust Cho but she already deals with his other injuries, he's also pretty sure she's not at the tower and doesn't want her to come all this way.

It's why he was almost late to school. Sure his wounds were healed but Bruce wanted to wrap them incase they reopened or Peter felt the urges that maybe the bandages will help.

It doesn't.

Peter unwraps the bandages and digs the knife into his skin. He lets out a calm and relaxed breath.

He sees that the other slashes had fully healed surprisingly but cuts new ones nonetheless. He just needs to do this. This helps him in a way even though Peter knows it's bad. 

He made a promise to himself that he wouldn't self harm or starve himself but he had broken that promise. He secretly only made that promise because of Ben, he wanted Ben to know he'd take care of May but he failed at that.

She's dead because of him.

Another cut.

He promised he'd tell Tony if he gets the urge to cut but instead, he decided to fake sleep. He broke that promise too.

Another cut.

Peter doesn't know what to do. He's at a loss. He knows he has that sleepover at Betty's later...maybe he shouldn't go? 

Peter gives himself another cut before closing his eyes and letting out a frustrating breath.

Stupid Parker luck.

Stupid him.

Fuck this villain.

Fuck whatever the hell is going on.

What the fuck is even happening anymore?

What does this villain even want?

Why him?

Chapter Text

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" Tony asks Peter.

They're both in the lab, Peter filling up his web cartridges while Tony is fixing his hand from his Iron Man suit that Dum-E dropped when the hand was taken apart.

"Yeah" Peter nods. Tony gives him a side eye making Peter roll his eyes. "Alright, I'll leave."

"Didn't Ted already leave?" Tony questions.

"Yeah, he was helping Betty" Peter nods as he gathers his belongings.

"Mini boss, Mj had told you to get your ass in the garage or else her and Happy are leaving without you" Friday informs him.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" Peter repeats making Tony laugh. "What?"

"Nothing" Tony says as he's stifling a laugh. "Just that Mj is bossing you around to hurry the hell up like what Pepper has to do to me."

"Mr. Stark" Peter whines. "We're not dating!"

"Yet, now go before she gets more mad. We also don't want a grumpy Happy" Tony warns him.

"See you tomorrow Mr. Stark" Peter emphasis the last part.

"And stop calling me Mr. Stark! Call me if you need anything!" Tony shouts before Peter leaves.

🕷

"Took you long enough" Mj states as Peter gets into Happys car.

"I had to get my bag. Hey Happy" Peter greets. Happy puts the divider up making Peter let out a gasp. "I thought we were past the divider!"

"We were until you took too long" Happy grumbles.

"Next time I'll be on time" Peter promises.

"You say that all the time" Happy reminds him.

"Next time he's late, make him walk" Mj suggests.

"Good idea but Tony will kill me before I get back to the tower" Happy amuses the idea.

"I thought you couldn't hear us with the divider up" Peter comments making Happy go silent. "Wow, I see how it is Happy."

🕷

When Mj and Peter had finally arrived at Betty, they realized they were the last ones there.

"Hey guys! Welcome!" Betty greets.

"Blame Peter, he took forever" Mj blames.

"Hey!" Peter practically shouts. "Why is everyone gaining up on me today?"

"Because you're always late and get away with it" Flash retorts and great, he's here not a surprise though since he's apart of the team.

"Oh man, Happy is in a big mood today. Was he pissed at you for being late?" Ned wonders.

"He's always grumpy" Peter shrugs.

"Shut it losers. We're starting practice" Mj announces making everyone groan.

"We can't like chill for a few?" Abe questions.

"You did, you had earlier today and before I got here" Mj reminds him.

"That wasn't enough time" Cindy agrees with Abe.

"I didn't think we were being serious when we said practice on Saturday" Sally admits.

"Saturday is meant for a day to relax" Charles protests.

"When am I not being serious? We have our competition on Tuesday, you want to get your asses handed by Maryland?" Mj points out.

"Alright, we'll practice. Can't see this won't be fun though" Abe sighs.

"How about we have it short?" Betty suggests just for Mj to stare at her.

"We had a short practice yesterday" Mj recalls.

Before anyone has a chance to settle anywhere or move to a different location or even get the bell out, Mj fires off the first question which resulted in Abe making a random animal noise in replace of the bell. That's how the weird animal noises had started but at least they were answering the questions right.

🕷

Everyone is in the comms room, literally everyone. Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, Bruce, Thor Nat, Clint, Sam, Steve, and Bucky. Tony is fuming with visible rage but it doesn't make Sam that guilty.

"We don't want any fights starting so-" Steve starts to say.

"He hacked into Friday!" Tony cuts in.

"Let him finish Tony" Pepper instructs even though she's also really mad about last night or early morning actually.

"So try and not punch one another? We all want what's best for Peter so let's calmly talk about this as adults" Steve finishes.

"Or they can battle. We do it all the-" Thor begins to explain.

"Not now Thor" Bruce cuts him off.

"I'll start first. What the fuck Wilson?" Tony curses, getting everyone back on track.

"I shouldn't have went in Peters room but you gotta listen Tony, he's starving and cutting himself. We need to put him on suicide watch before he attempts to actually end his life" Sam reasons.

Happy is all caught up with everything. Why wouldn't he be? He cares about Peter whether he admits or not. Friday keeps him updated and he was furious when he had heard all about this.

"Why were you even in his room?" Happy questions.

"I was trying to find if he had anything he would conflict on himself" Sam admits.

"You invaded his privacy" Nat states.

"I know and I had no right but he needs help" Sam protests.

"Don't you think we all know that?! We've all seen it! He lost his aunt! His last living family member! Of course he won't be ok afterwards" Clint practically shouts.

Clint would never think of ever invading his kids room. If he thought any of them would ever hurt themselves, they would talk it out. That's the last thing kids need when they're dealing with mental health.

"Just because of what you see, doesn't mean you should go snoop around his room. That could've put him down another spiral Sam! He also may not even feel comfortable talking with you, have you ever thought of that?!" Pepper points out.

"How do you even know if he's been cutting? You can only assume" Wanda questions.

"The signs are all there" Sam claims.

"That doesn't give you a fucking right to hack into Friday, mess with her codes, so when Peter needed the protocol HE COULDN'T HAVE IT!! IT ALSO DOESN'T GIVE YOU A RIGHT TO GO THROUGH HIS ROOM!!" Tony shouts.

"Tony and Bruce...you two know something" Bucky realizes.

"Stop using your spy brain on me" Tony spats.

"I don't know anything. I just know we shouldn't have be having this conversation because his room should've never been snooped around and his secrets shouldn't have been exposed at the dinner table in front of his friends and Friday shouldn't have been messed with" Bruce lists.

"You even hacked into my AI! You know I had to fix her all morning because of you!" Tony states. 

Tony managed to finish Friday before Peter came down into his lab. He didn't want Peter to see him working on her because of last night so he worked on her as soon as he woke up again at seven. Peter luckily slept in till eleven.

"I hacked into your AI, I didn't hire anyone" Sam admits.

"I've seen you try and hack Wilson" Tony spats.

"I found one of Neds coding books and looked through it" Sam explains.

"You found it or did you steal that too?" Happy questions.

"He doesn't leave his belongings down here" Rhodey points out.

"You went through his room too?" Steve realizes.

"No! It was lying on the kitchen table! Look, I didn't mean to mess with Fridays codes I just wanted her to be more alert and not get fooled by Peter hiding what he's doing!" Sam exclaims.

"No instead you fuck her up and my kid was crying and throwing up because he couldn't turn on his sensory overload protocol which was made so he could have some sort of safety and comfort when his senses got too much for him to handle!" Tony screams. 

"I think the man of falcons has good intentions but made them poorly" Thor voices.

"It doesn't matter!" Tony lays out.

"HE'S HURTING HIMSELF TONY!! DON'T YOU REALIZE THAT?! HE CAN KILL HIMSELF!!" Sam screams.

"DON'T YOU THINK I ALREADY KNEW THAT?! I'M NOT DENSE, I SEE IT TOO BUT AT LEAST I DON'T DO STUPID SHIT ABOUT IT!!" Tony yells.

"Then you see my point, we need to put him on suicide watch" Sam tells him in a calmer voice to stop the screaming.

"He's being helped. Don't you fucking start" Tony warns.

"Wait, he's being helped? By who?" Pepper wonders.

"You don't trust me to not help him?" Tony questions.

"Tony" Pepper replies back.

"Bruce" Nat chimes in sharing a knowing look at Bucky who had also realized it earlier.

"To be fair, Peter didn't tell me...or didn't want to" Bruce points out.

"What happened?" Clint asks.

"Unlike someone, I won't be spilling the kids secrets" Tony claims.

"Tony, you have to tell us so we can help him" Steve reasons.

"Maybe he doesn't want everyone else to know. Have you ever thought of that?" Tony snaps because that part is true.

Peter had asked Tony and Bruce to not tell everyone else that it's true, he does cut. Peter hopes that everyone thinks he stopped because Sam pointed out he did all of that when his uncle died. He doesn't want them to think he started it all up again so Bruce and Tony didn't tell him about the teams theories.

"As long as you two know exactly what's going on and he goes to you, I think we should all accept that" Nat explains.

"You guys do realize when he turns off his protocol, Friday isn't on. That gives him free range to do whatever" Sam points out.

"That's my problem to figure out. You aren't touching her" Tony warns.

"I won't" Sam assures.

"Did you put his notebook back in his room?" Happy asks.

"Right where I found it" Sam nods.

Chapter Text

By the time Mj was done quizzing them, everyone was tired and hungry. Betty had ordered pizza and it quickly got there.

Now the teens are all eating pizza and have a movie playing on that not everyone is paying attention to.

"We should play truth or dare" Cindy suggests.

"No way, never have I ever" Sally argues.

"What about two truths and a lie?" Charles wonders.

"That's all lame. We should do beer pong" Flash shuts down.

"Or two truths and a drink" Abe suggests.

"I don't have alcohol in my house" Betty denies.

"Board games?" Ned wonders.

"I can pick up alcohol" Flash claims.

"Dude, no. My parents will kill me" Betty shuts down.

"Uno? Cindy brings up.

"Wait, I liked your previous game. Truth or dare" Charles claims.

"Is that all right with everyone?" Betty asks just for no one to disagree. "Cindy since you suggested it, you go first."

"Mj, truth or dare?" Cindy asks.

"Dare" Mj responds.

"Throw a hard boiling egg at someone" Cindy dares.

"Easy, let me get one real quick" Mj nods before walking away into Betty's kitchen.

"Who do you think she's going to throw the egg at?" Betty questions.

"Peter, she might still be mad at you for making her wait with Happy" Ned whispers.

"She'll throw the egg at Flash" Peter waves him off.

"Oh that's a better guess" Ned gasps.

"What are you two freaks laughing at?" Flash questions just in time for Mj to get back.

"We have to wait a few minutes for it to get hard" Mj informs the group.

"Aww man" Cindy sighs. "Well, now it's your turn."

"Ned, truth or dare" Mj smirks.

"Truth" Ned wimps out.

"Wimp" Mj mutters.

"I don't trust you" Ned claims.

"Fair. Is your crush in this room?" Mj smirks.

"I hate you. Yes" Ned admits. "Peter, truth or dare."

"Truth" Peter replies.

"What's the weirdest dream you've had?" Ned wonders.

"That's a weird question to ask. Uhh Karen came alive and she looked just like Karen from SpongeBob and I turned around to see Mr.......this guy as Mr. Krabs" Peter trails off.

"Who's Karen?" Charles wonders.

"This Lego figurine" Peter lies. "Charles, truth or dare?"

"Dare" Charles replies.

"I dare you to do your best impression of a famous celebrity or character" Peter dares.

"Oh I got one! Hate, hate, hate. Hate, hate, hate. Double hate. LOATHE ENTIRELY!!" Charles mocks the Grinch

"That was so good!" Sally compliments.

"Way better than your Gru impression" Abe chuckles.

"I'm still working on that one" Charles claims.

"Can we hear that one?" Betty wonders.

"Sure, it's not that great right now but tonight we are going to steal the moon!" Charles plans.

"The Grinch one is better" Flash informs.

"I know, I'm still working on Gru" Charles recalls what he had just said.

"The Gru one was still pretty good" Cindy assures.

"How do you do that?" Ned questions.

"Lots of practice and watching videos" Charles responds.

"Peter, we should do Star Wars impressions!" Ned suggests. "We can totally get Clint to shit his pants!"

"He'll never see it coming!" Peter chuckles.

"Good, you know he pranked me yesterday? He jumped out from around the corner and Mj got it on her phone!" Ned explains.

"And it's now your profile pic" Mj smirks just as her timer goes off. 

"Yes! Time for Mj to throw her egg!" Betty smiles.

Mj gets up and quickly grabs the egg from the kitchen. Betty makes everyone stand up and move to the kitchen since it's hardware floor and be easier to clean up. She forces everyone to stand in a line with their backs turn to Mj so Mj doesn't throw a face shot. Mj said she wouldn't but everyone knew she could be lying.

Mj secretly sets up her phone, hidden from everyone's view and clicks record. She waits for a few seconds letting everyone freak out before throwing the hard boiled egg at Flashs back.

"OWW!!" Flash shouts, quickly turning around.

The egg breaks as it hits the floor but everyone's too busy laughing to really notice. Mj sneakily grabs her phone and stops recording, sliding it back into her pocket.

"Why the hell did you hit me?!" Flash questions.

"Betty said anyone and I chose you" Mj reminds him. "Don't be a crybaby about it."

"I'm not a crybaby!" Flash spats.

"Seem like one to me" Mj retorts.

"Why don't we go back to the game?" Sally suggests.

Some people start walking away just as Flash slips on the egg. He lets out a shout and hits his back on the ground making everyone burst into laughter again.

"Dude! That's double karma!" Abe laughs.

"Great! Now my sock is all gross!" Flash grumbles.

"You're telling me you didn't bring another pair of socks?" Betty questions.

"No I did! I just didn't plan on Parker moving the egg when I wasn't looking" Flash explains.

"That wasn't Peters fault!" Ned protests.

"Now how was Peter able to move the egg when you weren't looking when it hit your back and fell in front of you?" Mj wonders.

"Flash, just take off your sock and then change them. I don't want you walking around my parents house with eggs" Betty instructs. Flash grumbles under his breath and takes off his sock. He walks away leaving everyone else in the kitchen. "You guys can go back in the tv room, let me just wipe the remaining egg off."

"I'll help, I threw the egg" Mj assists.

"Thanks Mj, now everyone get out of here" Betty practically demands.

Everyone else leaves the kitchen, letting the girls clean up the egg.

"We should build a fort" Cindy suggests.

"Oh my god yes! This room is big enough too!" Sally agrees.

"A fort?" Abe questions.

"That sounds like fun!" Ned agrees.

"As long as the tv is apart of the fort then I'm cool with it" Abe negotiates.

"Fort it is then! Peter, you in?" Charles asks.

"Yeah" Peter nods.

"Sally, come with me to get blankets. You guys can start with the outline of the fort" Cindy suggests just as Flash comes back.

"What are you guys doing?" Flash wonders.

"Building a fort" Charles answers.

"That's lame" Flash scoffs.

"You think everything's lame and we're including the tv" Abe informs.

"Where did Cindy and Sally go?" Betty questions as her and Mj enters the tv room.

"Grabbing blankets for our fort" Ned explains.

"I'll go help them. I moved the blankets" Betty claims before heading upstairs, chasing after the other two girls.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm putting on Home Alone. That totally matches with these vibes" Abe explains while he grabs the remote to turn on the movie.

"All we need are the two robbers and we'll be set for it" Mj hums as she grabs her sketchbook out to start sketching.

"Who are you drawing?" Peter wonders.

"Flash getting hit with an egg" Mj answers making Flash roll his eyes.

"How do you even remember what my face looks like?" Flash questions.

"Easy, a stupid one" Mj retorts.

"We're back with the blankets!" Sally shouts as she comes down the stairs with Betty and Cindy, all with a bunch of blankets and pillows in their hands.

"And we got pillows!" Cindy adds.

"Mj, put your sketchbook away. You're helping us" Betty tells her.

Mj rolls her eyes but puts away her sketchbook. They were going to build the coolest and massive fort anyone has seen.

Chapter Text

"Tony" Pepper greets.

"Jesus Christ Pep! Getting lessons from Romanoff?" Tony jumps in his seat in the lab.

He's working on Friday. He's been working on her for almost an hour now. He's not going to take away Peters protocol but he is changing a few things. Friday won't be on because of his senses but the heat signature and medical scans will be on. 

The medical scans is really to just detect if Peter is actively bleeding or hurt. The heat signature is to show if he's in his room or bathroom and if he's breathing. Like Friday has always done though, it automatically turns off when he actually uses the bathroom or changes. There's no essential camera so it wouldn't actually see him but it's for precautions and to not go overboard.

"Friday let me in and you were obviously not paying attention" Pepper informs. "Want to tell me what you're doing?"

"When Peter turns on his protocol, I'm going to leave a medical scan and a heat signature on that he won't be able to hear. This is to just see if he's actively bleeding or hurt and where he is. It automatically turns off if he's using the bathroom or changes and there are no cameras" Tony briefly explains.

"That's still spying...but it's for a good cause. I'm worried about him too" Pepper sighs.

"He was so scared telling me Pep" Tony mutters.

"You were being smart for taking him to Bruce. I doubt his healing factor is working that well with what he's doing" Pepper points out.

"It's a bit slow, yeah" Tony nods.

"At least he can't go out tonight and he didn't go out earlier" Pepper figures.

"I want to kick Wilson out but I know I can't because of the avengers" Tony claims.

"And because he wants to help but did it in the wrong way" Pepper adds.

"He went through his room!" Tony almost shouts.

"Tony, Peter trusts you. He's the only one who actually told you. Just be there for him, I know you are but we don't want him to feel alone or more alone than he does right now" Pepper tells him.

"I'll be there for him" Tony promises.

🕷

The fort didn't turn out too great on the first attempt but in the second attempt, it had turned out as the best fort to exist. 

The fort is big and has a ton of pillows and some of Betty's squish mellows to use as pillows. The blankets are overhead allowing them to kneel. The blankets are either held together by the couch or the chairs and the tv. It had only took them a little over an hour so Home Alone is almost done.

Betty and Sally had made cookies during their hard work so when they finally finished, the cookies were done. They can now sit back, eat their cookies, and finish the Home Alone movie.

It's not long before everyone accidentally falls asleep. The screen showing the credits to Home Alone before asking if they're still watching. Each teen is sound asleep, the bright light doing nothing to wake them up.

Maybe it's because of school that they're that tired or maybe it's Mj firing off a thousand questions or maybe it's really just their hard work at the fort. It could be all of them.

Peter twitches in his sleep before his eyes open. He blinks back the brightness of the tv before reaching for the remote and shutting the tv off. He spots Flash sleeping on the couch, Abe on one of the chairs, Charles in another. Peter, Mj, Ned, Betty, Sally, and Cindy are all on the floor but spread out so they're not touching anyone or has to smell each others feet.

Peter gets up and silently leaves the fort. They were smart for building two exits so he was close to one of them.

He lets out a deep and shaky breath when he makes it out of the fort lucky that he didn't wake anyone up. Out of nowhere, his spidey senses tingles.

Peter tilts his head trying to think where it's coming from when he realizes it's coming from outside. Peter makes his way over to the front door, quietly unlocking and opening it. He shuts the door, greeting the chilly early morning or late night, he doesn't know what time it is except that it's still dark outside.

Peter looks around, his spidey senses humming low but warning him of something. It doesn't seem like it's warning him of danger though so Peter guesses he could take that as a good sign. Peter walks closer to the street, crossing Betty's front lawn when a car suddenly goes off.

Peter jumps, his heart rate picking up a little. He calms down after seeing the car and after a few moments, the alarm of the car stops.

In...and out.

He takes another deep breath in and out. His spidey senses are still tingling but not enough to pinpoint where it's exactly coming from and how dangerous it could be.

Peter then let's out a frustrated sigh. His sixth sense hasn't really been working well because he hasn't been getting enough food and sleep. That's just great.

A door opening cuts Peter from his thoughts. He whips around to see Mj exiting Betty's house.

"What are you doing out here?" Peter questions.

"I can ask you the same thing" Mj retorts before giving in. "I noticed you were gone and wondered where you went. I saw the door unlocked."

"Oh..." Peter trails off.

"You didn't wake me up, don't worry" Mj assures.

"I think you should go inside" Peter suggests.

"That was kind of rude" Mj tells him.

"Wh-no I-I didn't mean it like that. It's just-" Peter stammers.

"I'm kidding" Mj interrupts.

"I don't think we should be out here right now" Peter whispers.

"Is your tingle going off?" Mj questions.

"Kind of, I don't really know. I can feel it but it won't pinpoint anything or like tell me anything" Peter shrugs.

"If you woke up from a dream, it could've just been that" Mj suggests.

"I guess" Peter replies.

"You know what's kind of weird?" Mj asks but doesn't wait for Peter to respond. "Betty's house is across from another house. This street is basically filled with houses but then we got that one apartment complex building two houses down. Usually it's one or the other."

"Yeah, that is weird" Peter nods.

"Wanna go up there, Spider-Man?" Mj teases.

Peter let's out a small laugh and agrees to go up to the roof. He's mentioned before to Mj and Ned how he sometimes feels at peace up there because his senses calms down to focus on the little details when it's not all too much. It's also a great view. At first it panicked Ned, and some hidden panic from Mj, but he reminded them that he is sticky.

Once Mj and Peter had made it to the roof, they had sat on the ledge. All of the city lights are on and the moon is shining in the sky. Peter feels a bit more relaxed than he was a few minutes ago, this definitely helped. His spidey senses also dulled a bit.

"I sent you the video of Ned getting scared by Clint and I also sent you and him the video of me throwing the egg at Flash" Mj tells him after a few moments of silence.

"You got a video of Flash?" Peter giggles.

"Duh" Mj smirks making Peter laugh more. "He totally thought I was going to throw the egg at you."

"Yeah...you missed him slipping though, didn't you?" Peter calls her out.

"Stopped it way too soon, if only" Mj sighs.

"I'm sure you'll be able to capture it in your crisis book" Peter assures.

"I already drew it during Home Alone" Mj claims.

"So that's what you were doing!" Peter gasps. "I thought you were drawing...I actually didn't even know."

"Guess your tingle can't tell you everything" Mj jokes.

"Stop saying tingle, you said that like ten times just this night!" Peter complains.

"I'll think about it" Mj responds.

Silence consumes the teens but neither of them mind. Peter's just glad his sixth sense is barely going off. It still concerns him but it's probably just going off since he's nervous or whatever.

"We should probably head back before they start waking up" Mj points out after a few more minutes of calm silence.

"Yeah" Peter nods noting that the sun is slowly starting to rise.

"Sleepovers are kinda lame" Mj states instead of getting up. 

"You came to mine and Neds last three sleepovers" Peter calls her out.

"And those are all lame" Mj claims.

"Not so lame if you come" Peter argues.

"So I can draw you two in a crisis" Mj responds.

"Sure" Peter replies.

"Has your Peter tingle been going off randomly?" Mj asks referring to only a couple or so minutes ago. In reality, they left Betty's twenty minutes ago.

"Sometimes but most of the time I ignore it since it doesn't lead me anywhere or tell me anything" Peter shrugs. "Has Ned said anything to you?"

"About what exactly?" Mj questions.

Peter let's out a sigh and stays quiet. He feels kind of guilty for never telling Ned when this had all started. He wants to know what Ned thinks because they've been friends for years but he also doesn't want that kind of confrontation from keeping this all a secret from Ned.

"What book have you been reading?" Peter asks instead, switching the topic.

"It's called With Vision of Reds: Broken Bonds by Trisha Wolfe, first part of the series. I'm almost done with it and so far it's been like a dark romance with a ton of twists kind of novel. It's a psychological thriller" Mj answers.

"Can you tell me more about it?" Peter wonders not wanting to get lost in his own head.

So, Mj starts talking about the book. Peter adds in his own thoughts to the characters and plot and even though Peter never read the book, they had an interesting discussion.

"No way!" Peter gasps.

"I know right! I mean Sadie's balancing between two intersecting worlds!" Mj responds before going on a rant.

Chapter Text

All the teens are up by now and ate their Sunday morning breakfast. They've been trying to come up with something to do but it ends with a bunch of disagreements to do something else.

They argued about going to the mall, somewhere to eat even though they just ate, and many other places. They finally landed to just going to the park in Queens. Betty lives close by it anyways so it's not a far walk.

They've all been talking to their main friends on the way there. It's a nice day out so many people are out. When they got to the park, they all talked as a group opposed to just with their close friends.

Kids are playing tag, some kids are trying to get close to the geese, adults are talking, teens are making Tik Tok videos of them dancing or doing the latest trend, everyone's doing something.

"Oh my god, did you guys hear about the new Hunger Games movie coming out? I literally cannot wait!" Cindy tells Sally and Betty who are near her.

"Yeah but I'm missing the old cast" Sally claims.

"Me too but I can't wait to see Lucy! I heard Rachel Ziegler is going to play her though, maybe she'll redeem herself after what she said about Snow White" Betty explains.

"Of course she's going to redeem herself. She has to in order to get more jobs. Lucy's also a beloved character so her playing Lucy will get her the popularity she needs" Sally tells Betty.

"You guys know Rachel was in Shazam? She did a good job with that" Abe cuts in.

"The second Shazam movie wasn't that good" Cindy shrugs.

"Wasn't that good?! That movie was amazing!" Flash exclaims.

"The movie didn't do that well, it's one of the lowest grossing tomato ratings" Charles points out.

"Those lie" Flash rolls his eyes.

"It's people rating the movie, it can't lie" Ned chimes in.

"When is Hunger Games even coming out?" Betty asks.

"Like sometime next month" Cindy answers.

"Is Jennifer Lawrence in it?" Abe questions.

"No, the movie is set before that" Sally denies.

"Dammit, she's hot" Abe pouts.

"Really Abe?" Cindy questions.

"Hey! Everyone else thought that too! You're the one who had a crush on Josh Hutcherson!" Abe calls her out.

"And so did thousands of other people. Have you seen him in FNAF too?" Cindy recalls.

"Elizabeth Lail was so hot in that" Flash claims.

"God we need more movies out, there's like nothing coming out anymore" Sally states.

"It's all baby crap" Flash nods.

"Not all of it are baby movies. Barbie and Oppenheimer was both really good" Betty explains.

"And don't even say it's because Margot Robbie is hot" Cindy interrupts. 

"Men don't mature until they're forty-three years old" Mj informs Cindy not looking up from her drawing.

"Great, all of these boys are going to continue being immature" Cindy rolls her eyes.

"And people wonder why women aren't going into relationships" Sally recalls.

"Hey! Peter and I are very mature! Right Peter?" Ned questions.

"We're more mature than some older guys we know" Peter nods.

"Right, like building legos is very mature" Flash rolls his eyes.

"I don't think any of you are mature" Mj states.

Everyone starts to argue who's the most mature person and who's the least and all things like that. They started involving the teachers and other students until they found out who the least and most mature person in each grade and faculty was.

Unsurprisingly, it was all the girls who was the most mature in each grade level. For the faculty, they obviously chose Principal Morita as the most mature because unlike everyone else, they had never seen him show the slightest bit of immaturity.

The teens all burst out laughing about something Abe had said. Times been slipping past everyone but nobody noticed. They've all been having fun and actually getting along.

Nothing ever lasts though.

Peter flinches but it seems like Mj is the only one who notices. Peter hears a loud ringing noise and it's hurting his ears. He looks around but doesn't see anything. His spidey senses are on edge but not warning him of what. 

His spidey senses feels like it had felt last night and every other time something is there but his spidey senses are barely picking up on it.

The ringing noise gets louder and louder. Peter hears his heart beat pick up, he feels it thumping rapidly. 

Until it all stops.

Peter looks around again but still, nothing.

"That was just a test trail" he hears somebody whisper.

A chill runs up Peters spine.

It's the same voice from the hallway after detention.

"Peter, you ok?" Ned asks.

At this point, everyone's now looking at Peter. They all know something is wrong with him but only Mj and Ned know what exactly is happening.

"I need to go. I uhhh my ride is here. I'll see you guys tomorrow" Peter splatters out before rushing up. He gets as far as he can from everyone.

"Ok, where are you?" Peter whispers.

He looks at nearby buildings, the streets, everywhere but he doesn't see anybody looking at him specifically.

Peter's about to break into a sprint to see if anyone would follow after him when an orange sparkly circle forms underneath him, making him fall.

Peter lets out a scream until he hits something hard. He looks down to see it's the concrete of a rooftop building. 

He's quick on his toes, getting up. He realizes he's nearby the police station in Queens. 

"Dr. Strange?" Peter calls out. "Are you there sir?"

Peter tries to listen in for Dr. Strange but doesn't hear anything except for the cars below him. Peter quickly ducks behind the air conductor and takes out his mask to talk with Karen. He's so glad he brought his backpack to their little walk. He stays behind the air conductor, not wanting anyone to see him in his mask.

"Hey Karen, is Dr. Strange here?" Peter wonders.

"I do not detect him or any heat signatures on this building" Karen notifies.

"But his portal opened under my feet and I landed here on this rooftop" Peter explains.

"I do not detect any sources of that kind or any other powerful devices that could do that. Would you like me to contact Dr. Strange?" Karen asks.

"No, no thanks Kare...it's uhh just weird" Peter claims before taking the mask off. 

He quickly climbs down the apartment and into the alleyway before exiting. He tries to zero in on his senses but still can't pinpoint anyone. He knows that wasn't Dr. Strange but then who was it? How did they do that?

Peter enters the police station and sees Sheriff Holme.

"Hey Sheriff Holme! Is Officer Gomez and Hicins here?" Peter wonders.

"They're out but should be back in a bit. You can wait here for them. How have you been?" Officer Holme asks.

"Good, you?" Peter asks back.

"Yeah, good. I have to go to my office to do something but you can wait around here for them" Officer Holme assures.

"Thanks, I'll see you later" Peter thanks before Officer Holme walks away.

Peter sits down and pulls out his phone to see texts from Mj, Ned and Tony. He opens up Tony's text to see him just asking how Peter is doing but instead of answering, Peter turns his phone off.

His feet are vibrating against the ground. He hears his heart beat and then tunes everything out. Peter closes his eyes and focuses just on his breaths.

"Peter?" a voice says making Peter jump. "Woah sorry kid."

"Sorry, sorry" Peter apologizes looking up at Officer Gomez and Hicins. "I umm sorry."

"No need to apologize. Something happened?" Officer Hicins asks.

"Something like that" Peter shrugs.

"Why don't we head to my car? My personal car, not the cop car, it's in the lot" Officer Gomez suggests.

Peter nods and gets up, following the two officers to Officers Gomez's car. Once inside, Peter feels uneasy again. He doesn't know why but he feels his anxiety rising. His spidey senses are a little hum but nothing more.

"I umm you know what? Can you guys actually just drive me to the tower? Todays been a bit...crazy" Peter asks.

"Yeah, of course" Officer Gomez nods as he starts to back his car up in order to take Peter to the tower.

"Are you sure everything's alright?" Officer Hicin makes sure.

"Yep" Peter lies.

Peter wants to tell them but he isn't so sure of what happened himself. How can someone be able to do what Dr. Strange does? He knows Dr. Strange went through this training and has this ring thing to create portals so how does this person have that? What if he dissociated and just ended up there, imagining everything else? It won't be the first time it happened.

That's a story for another time though...

Peter looks out the window. Whatever he's up against has a lot of resources and is highly trained. They're sneaky, trained, might have powers, and probably other things that haven't crossed Peters mind or haven't witnessed yet.

Peter just needs to get back to the tower and try and figure this all out.

Chapter Text

"Hey kid, when did you get here?" Tony asks.

"A few minutes ago" Peter lies as he enters the lab and plumps himself onto his chair.

It's a lie and Peter knows it. He tried to figure out what's going on upstairs in his room just to end up cutting. He won't tell Tony that though because he promised he'd come to Tony next time and he didn't...again.

"What are you working on?" Peter wonders.

"Friday and I'm....done" Tony claims. "Hey Fri, everything good? Received my new updates?"

"Yes, everything is running smoothly and I see your new changes and updates" Friday confirms.

"What updates?" Peter questions.

"New protocols for the interns downstairs. They know not to bother her unless for an emergency but some of them have gotten lazy and are missing due dates. Pepper doesn't want to fire them but she will if they don't pick up the slack so now Friday reminds everyone when they have exactly twenty-four hours left to finish up their project" Tony slightly lies.

In truth, he had already done that hours ago. He was just making sure Friday got his new changes to the sensory overload protocol and made sure everything was going to run smoothly. In order to do all that, Friday was already on the protocol while Peter came home.

It's why Peter was able to cut without Tony knowing. The protocol was already activated and Tony didn't confirm the new changes. Peter doesn't know that though. All he knows is that he probably forgot to turn the protocol off.

"Is Mj and Ned here?" Peter wonders.

"You didn't come back with them?" Tony questions.

"I kind of left early" Peter shrugs.

"I don't know, Fri?" Tony asks.

"Neither of them are in the building but Happy just left to pick them up" Friday answers.

"So, how did the sleepover go? Did that bully show?" Tony wonders.

"Yeah but he wasn't doing anything so it was fine" Peter claims.

"Still don't like him" Tony states.

"It's fine Mr. Stark" Peter assures.

"Want to help finish that bot friend for Dum-E and U?" Tony suggests.

"Yes!" Peter eagerly nods, getting up from his chair.

🕷

Not much happened the rest of the day, it's now the middle of night. He for some reason doesn't end up telling Tony or anyone that he got swept into a portal that didn't belong to Dr. Strange.

The thought has been gnawing him away though. He's now up just thinking about the strangeness of it all. 

"Friday, where has Dr. Strange been today?" Peter asks.

"Dr. Strange has been on a mission for a few days, I don't know when he'll be back" Friday answers. "You have school in the morning, you should get some sleep."

Peter nods his head but doesn't say anything. He grabs one of his notebooks he has in his backpack and adds onto his list of these villains.

Despite Peter not wanting to think about it...Aunt May was their first victim. Then it was Dennis Carradine. He doesn't know when they'll take another life or what their motive is. Dennis said these people are smart and secretive.

There has been no activity in that warehouse. There's only been two cops ever patrolling that area anymore. It'll be soon that they'll stop patrolling there and leave it up to the caution tape and security cameras.

Whoever is doing this probably has a bunch of people who have powers and skills. They have somebody who might be invisible or can teleport and they definitely have someone who has the same ring as Dr. Strange.

They've been after him for probably months it seems. Tracking him, following him, gathering every single detail about him.

Peter shuts the notebook closed and lets out a slow breath. He can't delve into this right now. He looks towards his bathroom before looking away.

He feels alone despite everyone being there for him and helping him. He wants May back. He misses her. This is all his fault. Everything is all his fault.

"Fri, turn on 'Everything Is Too Much' protocol please" Peter pleads.

He hears Friday turning off and curls up on himself. A few tears escapes his eyes but he wipes them away.

He's so tired.

He hates waking up to have an anxiety induced day. He hates having to worry about every little thing he does, worried about somebody watching him.

He's tired of his sixth sense randomly going off. All it does is cause him worry and annoy him when it's just nothing.

He's exhausted.

Everything hurts. His chest feels restricted at times. He can't breathe properly. 

Peter feels like he's just waiting for something to happen rather then actually going out there and stopping this damn villain!

He doesn't even know who this villain is but this person knows everything about him.

It's driving him crazy.

Peter gets up and makes his way to the bathroom only to stop in the threshold.

"I'm always here for you kid. If you ever feel like doing it or just need somebody, my door is always open. I don't care if I'm asleep or I'm working on stupid tech or I'm in a meeting, you have Friday come and get me"

Peter let's out a shaky breath. He feels his own legs shaking. He's now leaning his hand on his bathroom door in order to not fall over.

He's not alone anymore.

Tony knows and he can help him.

It's not pathetic...but why does he feel pathetic?

He pushes the door fully open now and grabs out his knife. He looks down at it and feels shame rush through his veins.

Peter drops the knife after what feels like minutes staring at it. He looks up at the mirror to see a ghost of himself.

He looks tired just as he feels tired.

He looks away before anymore thoughts comes into his mind.

'Why is everything so frustrating?' Peter thinks.

He walks out of his bathroom and makes his way down to the lab. He doesn't expect Tony to be there but Dum-E is like a puppy when it comes to things so maybe Dum-E will want to play fetch or Peter can work on something.

He exists out of the elevator only to let a surprise yelp escape him to see Tony. Tony immediately looks up from his work to see Peter.

"Oh hey kid" Tony greets.

"What are you doing here? I mean I'm not saying you can't be in here. It's your lab! But like I didn't..I didn't expect you to be in here" Peter rambles.

"Wasn't tired" Tony answers. The left I know what you're doing down here and I want to help goes left unspoken. Tony doesn't want to push him and Peter knows that.

Peter hides his shaky hands behind his back. His breathing is fine but his anxiety and panic is still there. 

He wants to cut, his hand is shaking to cut.

Peter feels sick with himself.

"Do you want to help me with this suit?" Tony asks gesturing to the Iron Man suit.

But then the damn breaks.

Tears rush out of Peters eyes and Tony is quick to get out of his seat and lead him to the couch. Tony sees Peters hands digging into himself for pain.

Tony gently grabs Peters hand throwing a stress ball into it. He luckily was smart enough to grab the one on his desk for Peter to have.

"It's ok, you didn't do it right?" Tony asks only for Peter to confirm with a shake of his head. "See? You're strong. You can get through this Pete, it's ok."

Peter leans into Tony, squeezing the stress ball to avoid digging his nails into the palm of his hands.

"I'm sorry" Peter whispers.

"I'm glad you managed to pull through it kid and I'm glad I can help even if you didn't expect me down here" Tony claims.

Chapter Text

Peter ended up going to school. He fell asleep in the lab on the couch with Tony. Friday wasn't going to wake them up so luckily Peter managed to wake himself up and also accidentally waking up Tony.

Peter rushed out of the lab quickly getting ready to meet Mj and Ned at Happys car. He was the last one in and Happy pulled away.

"You better not be late to our last decathlon practice" Mj warns.

"I won't" Peter assures making her give him a glare. "Promise."

🕷

Schools been fine so far. Flash has been giving him looks but nothing else. Ned and Peter were walking to lunch together when a bunch of Flash and his friends stopped them.

"What the fuck Parker" Flash curses.

"What?" Peter questions.

"He didn't do anything to you Flash" Ned tells him.

"There's no way" Flash states.

Peter looks at him confused.

Flash narrows his eyes at him. One of his friends opens a nearby empty classrooms door but doesn't enter.

"What do you want Flash? Can we just go to lunch?" Ned questions.

Another friend of Flashs grabs Ned making him shout. 

"Hey! Let him go!" Peter shouts as well.

Flash shoves Peter into the classroom quickly turning and locking the door. Peter scrambles until he's standing up right, staring at Flash.

"What was that for?! Let us out Flash, open the door" Peter demands.

"No I need you to shut the hell up Parker and tell me what the fuck I was just sent" Flash accuses.

"What are you talking about? I didn't send you anything" Peter claims.

"Drop the charade Parker. I didn't show my friends and they're not listening in. They dragged Ned back to the lunch room, your dweeb friend is fine. They're not letting him or Michelle come around here though so you're not getting out of here until you fucking explain to me" Flash lays it all out.

"Maybe I can explain if you show me what you're talking about" Peter suggests.

Flash rolls his eyes and grabs out his phone. He quickly unlocks it before shoving the phone into Peters hand.

Peter grabs the phone to find it open to a locked Youtube account which means only people who have the link or is logged in can have access to the account.

Peter then looks at the account and his eyes goes wide. The username is Spidermansecrets and there's a ton of videos of him and of Peter Parker.

He scrolls looking at each title name.

Peter Parker and Tony Stark!

Irondad and spideyson!

Peter Parker with friends!

Peter Parker panic attacks!

Peter Parker self harm?!

He feels his eyes burn but he doesn't let tears fall out.

Peter Parker and his AcaDec squad!

Peter Parker gets bullied!

Spidey and the police!

Peter Parker getting scared at his own apartment!

Peter Parker gets a treat visiting Dennis Carradine!

The videos goes on and on and on until the first ever post.

Peter Parker and the death of May Parker

Peter shoves the phone back into Flashs hands, his own hands trembling.

"H-how did you get all of that?" Peters voice shakes.

"A random number texted me...are you actually Spider-Man?" Flash asks only for Peter to ignore him. "What the fuck."

"Don't tell anyone. I-how...holy shit" Peter mumbles, starting to pace.

The tears are slowly escaping his eyes. It's getting harder for him to breathe.

The lunch bell rings causing Peter to shout and flinch before going back to pacing.

"They're watching me...oh my god they could be watching me right now" Peter mutters.

"Peter" Flash calls out making Peter look up at him. This is like the first time Flash had called Peter by his actual name and he sounded...sincere. "Just breathe. I don't need you passing out on me."

It's then that Peter realizes he isn't breathing right. He takes in a few deep breaths trying to stop himself from shaking.

"You can't tell anyone about this" Peter tells him.

"I promise I won't. I'm sorry for being a dick to you" Flash apologizes.

"And don't tell Mj and Ned about this YouTube account thing" Peter adds.

"Don't they know you're spidey?" Flash questions.

"They don't need to worry about this too, ok? We have a competition tomorrow, this should be the least of their worries" Peter explains. "Did you watch those videos?"

"Only one to actually see if it's real" Flash claims.

"I need to get out of here" Peter realizes.

"I'll come with" Flash insists.

"No! No, you...you're staying here. I'm not letting you get involved in this" Peter shuts down.

"What are you planning to do? You don't seem like you know who this guy is" Flash protests which makes Peter stop in his tracks.

"I need your phone back" Peter demands.

"Why?" Flash questions.

Peter doesn't answer. He shrugs his backpack off before ripping it open. He pulls out his computer and turns it on. 

"Flash, phone" Peter repeats.

Flash nods and gives Peter his phone with the account still pulled up. Peter connects Flashs phone to his computer and starts to hack into the YouTube account. He's so glad Tony and Ned taught him a few things.

"What are you doing?" Flash wonders.

"Hacking into the YouTube account" Peter answers.

"You know how to hack?" Flash questions.

"Ned and Mr. Stark taught me a few things. I can't ask my AI or else she'll rat me out. No one can know about this right now Flash. This is..." Peter let's out a sigh. "This is bigger than us."

🕷

"Mj!" Ned shouts running towards their usual lunch table.

"What?" Mj questions.

"Flash locked him and Peter in a room and Flashs friends won't let me pass! I don't know what's going on" Ned explains.

Mj quickly gets up with Ned quickly following after her. She sees two of Flashs friends at the entrance to the cafeteria and saw them staring her down.

"What the hell is Flash doing with Peter?" Mj questions when it was clear they wouldn't let her and Ned pass through.

"Fuck should we know. Probably putting that nerd in his place" Jacob shrugs.

"If you don't get out of our way, I will punch you in the face" Mj warns.

"Michelle!" A nearby guidance counselor gasps, great. "You do not go threatening other students!"

"Flash locked Peter in a room and is bullying him in there. His goons won't let Ned and I through" Mj explains.

"Hey! We aren't goons!" Brent denies.

"Ok, I want you four to come with me" the counselor states.

"Miss. Bel, Mj isn't lying! Flash is bullying Peter!" Ned argues.

"I don't want to hear it right now. You four are coming with me and we'll talk" the counselor claims leaving no room for argument.

As the five of them walks towards the guidance office, Mj tries to sneak away but Miss. Bel catches her and doesn't take her sight off of her. Mj tries to protest but Miss. Bel shuts her right up, not wanting to hear it.

"Some fucking school this is" Mj mutters under her breath.

🕷

"Dammit! Nothing is popping up! I can't find an IP address, an email, who's under this account, nothing!" Peter lists, annoyed.

"It shouldn't be that surprising. This person has been posting videos of you for weeks and you and the avengers never found out" Flash recalls.

"God I need to speak with Dennis" Peter realizes.

"Then call him" Flash suggests.

"He's dead, they killed him. Dennis Carradine, he probably would've known something" Peter sighs.

"Don't you have like a danger sense?" Flash questions.

"Yeah..." Peter trails off, not wanting to explain. Luckily Flash gets the memo. 

Peter then gives Flash his phone back, putting his computer away. It's no use, he won't be able to find this villain.

"Come on, this guy has been out for you for weeks and you don't know anything about them. They've been watching you even in the avengers tower. That means they're great hackers, they might have powers and are good at what they do. You've never fought them before but they know everything about you. What if this villain is actually someone you know?" Flash suggests.

Peter looks up and he realizes that's not a bad guess.

"We're thinking this leader is a woman from other information we know. Also none of the avengers know this except for Mr. Stark. Him or anyone else wouldn't go rogue" Peter claims.

"The interns?" Flash suggests.

"Holy shit Flash, you might be right! I know a ton of the interns and one of the head directors doesn't really like me that much...but I can't just out right say he's apart of this. Just cause he doesn't like me doesn't mean he's apart of this" Peter exclaims.

"But it makes sense if he's the only one who doesn't like you and has access in the tower and is smart enough to hack into the cameras" Flash reasons. "What's his name?"

"Daniel Grayson. He's the head director for one of the engineering labs" Peter recalls.

"We can set up a trap with him" Flash suggests.

"I...I don't know. We're just going off assumptions. Not everyone there has to like me" Peter claims.

"No shit but who else hates you there?" Flash asks.

"He's the only one who acted like he hates me so I don't know who else" Peter shrugs.

"So he's the best lead we've got" Flash confirms.

"We should be focused on this competition tomorrow you know" Peter reminds him.

"Then we'll do it after" Flash states.

Peter nods, no words escaping him. He doesn't know what to think about all of this. It's the only thing he's been thinking of for weeks and now he just...doesn't know what to feel.

He's not even sure if he feels safe at the tower anymore.

Chapter Text

"Dude! Oh my god Mj and I tried to get to you but the counselor found Mj threatening to punch Jacob so we all got sent to the guidance office!" Ned explains as soon as he sees Peter enter the AcaDec room for their practice. "Then we went back to that classroom and didn't see you so we went to class only for you to not be in there!"

"Sorry, I was dealing with something uhhh outside" Peter lies.

"Oh, was it a robbery?" Ned whispers.

"Something like that" Peter nods.

"Everyone shut up!" Mj yells breaking up everyone's conversations. "Our competition is tomorrow so we need to be prepared. Practice will be a bit long and will only get longer and longer the more we waste time so I suggest shutting up and getting in your seats."

"Also reminder to wear your decathlon uniforms to school! We'll be meeting in here and the other school will be practicing in an empty classroom. When it's time, we'll go to the auditorium. Family and friends are allowed to watch" Mr. Harrington informs everyone before Mj starts killing them all with questions.

🕷

Peter's out patrolling, getting his mind off of things. He's conflicted with everything going on right now. Flash now knows, these villains for some reason have a YouTube account. Luckily the YouTube account is locked so only them and the people they send it out to can see but...are they trying to expose him to the whole world or are they just trying to scare him?

Peters spidey sense takes control and he's dodging an oncoming punch. Right, he was stopping an assault. Peter webs up the attacker and swings away just as he hears the cops pull up to a stop.

He looks at the cops to see one of them being Gomez. He gives him a salute once he got spotted before letting out a web.

Mj really killed everyone during practice. Practice ended at six thirty so it's late now, like 8:37 late.

He barley ate his dinner once again but at least he didn't cut himself today or last night. 

Peter shoots out a web, quickly changing his direction. He almost became a pancake at a building.

"Are you alright Peter?" Karen asks getting concerned.

"Yeah" Peter confirms.

"I won't tell Friday or Tony" Karen offers.

"I'm ok Kare, thanks" Peter turns down.

"Flash Thompson is calling. Do you want me to accept or decline?" Karen wonders.

"Decline" Peter replies.

"He is calling again" Karen informs.

"Decline" Peter repeats.

"Do you want me to block him? He is calling again" Karen suggests.

"No, just accept" Peter rolls his eyes. "What Flash?"

"A new video just got posted of you patrolling" Flash explains.

"What does he mean by a new video?" Karen wonders.

"Nothing Karen" Peter claims as he continues to swing. He would stop swinging and land on a rooftop or something but that'd be suspicious. "Where was I?"

"It was you saluting to a cop and then swinging" Flash informs.

"Karen scan for anybody that seems suspicious or hiding" Peter instructs.

"On it" Karen assures.

"For some reason I'm not sensing them" Peter mutters annoyed but in the back of his head, he knows why his senses aren't working well. He really needs to start eating better and getting more sleep...he just can't.

"I mean it's fine, right? Like they're just watching me and not attacking. I just have to act like I don't notice them" Peter figures.

"I don't know...they'll follow you back" Flash claims.

"Would you like me to alert someone about this threat?" Karen wonders.

"No Kare, it's alright nothing is going on. Have you got anyone?" Peter asks.

"Not that I can see and I also looked through security cameras but still haven't pinpointed anyone" Karen explains.

"It's alright Kare, they're sneaky" Peter sighs.

"Why are you brushing this off? You should like call an avenger or something! These people are dangerous!" Flash practically shouts.

"You don't think I don't know that Flash?! I can't let them know that I know that I know about this. I have to act stupid so I can find out what their next move is" Peter tells him.

"I don't like this Parker, something is really off about these people" Flash points out.

"Did you watch the rest of the videos or something? I didn't tell you everything about this" Peter questions.

"...just some" Flash hesitantly answers.

"I told you not to watch them at all!" Peter shouts.

"Look I'm sorry dude but I know you weren't going to tell me about all of this and I wanted to try and figure it out to help" Flash explains.

"You can't know! That's why! This wasn't even suppose to happen! You were never suppose to find out and these videos...I mean they shouldn't even have been recorded! You only want to help because I'm Spider-Man. If you didn't get sent that, you would still be bullying me and hating me" Peter calls him out making Flash go silent. Peter let's out a sigh. "I'm sorry Fl-"

"No you're right, I'm sorry. I'm getting all up in your business when I shouldn't. Just for the record though, I never hated you. I know I acted like it but...you're a good and smart guy. People care about you and will do anything for you...just remember that" Flash interrupts.

"Peter, there is a bank robbery seven blocks down" Karen cuts in.

"On that, hang up the call" Peter instructs.

Karen hangs up the call as Peter switches directions. He knows Flash heard Karen so it's not like he randomly hung up on him. He still feels bad though, not about hanging up but for just going off. Flash didn't deserve that. He knows he's only trying to help but nobody else can know.

Now an extra person knows about this and he doesn't know what will happen. Now he had put Flash in danger. Everyone around him is in danger because of him.

Peter feels his heart drop at that though but quickly regains some strength back. He's got a robber to web up.

🕷

Peter stumbles his his room, getting up from his bed. His heart is racing and his breaths are short. At some point he managed to instruct Friday to turn on his protocol.

He goes into his bathroom, rummaging through his draws. He grabs his knife and doesn't hesitate to cut.

A relieved breath escapes him. His heart rate slows down a little. He slices his wrist a second time, a relief flood washes through him. 

A knock at his bedroom door cuts away from his thoughts. He hears Tony whispering his name and his eyes go wide. He quickly pulls his sleeves down and throws his knife in one of his draws. He gets up, shutting his bathroom door and opens up his bedroom door.

"H-hey Mr. Stark" Peter stutters.

"Hey Underoos. Everything ok?" Tony asks.

"Yeah, why?" Peter lies.

For a brief second he sees hurt flash across Tony's face that Peter thinks he imagined it.

"Why don't we watch a movie in the comms? It'll help ease out your stress about this competition" Tony recalls.

"Sure" Peter nods, tugging down on his sleeves. "Let me just use the bathroom real quick. You can meet me."

Tony nods his head while Peter walks over to his bathroom. He opens his door and shuts it. He lifts up his sleeves to reveal the blood and the open cuts. He quickly grabs some gauze and wraps it around his wrists before changing into a new hoodie. He then sneaks out into the comms to see Tony pulling up Disney+.

"What movie?" Tony asks.

"Cars two" Peter answers as he plops down besides Tony.

Everything goes unspoken. The movie is the only sounds filling their ears. Peter's leaning on Tony with a blanket wrapped around him due to Tony giving him one. It only takes about twenty minutes into the movie before Peter falls asleep.

Chapter Text

Today's the big day.

The Academic Decathlon competition.

Everyone's nerves are through the roof.

They took their final practice seriously.

Mr. Harrington was quizzing them with Mjs flashcards as they're all ringing the bell, shouting out their answers. The other school is occupying an empty classroom doing the same thing.

When it was time, Mr. Harrington gave them wishes of good luck and ushered them to the auditorium. They saw the other school entering the stage and they were quick to follow after.

At first, Peter gets blinded by the sudden light before his eyes readjust. He looks out to the audience to see Officer Gomez and Officer Hicins standing at the way back of the room in their uniforms.

He then quickly spots all of the Avengers, Happy, Pepper, and Rhodey despite telling everyone that they didn't have to come. He tried to lie and say it was later in the day then it being at four but Mj told them the correct information.

It's not that he's mad that they showed up. He likes their support but it's the risk of people finding out that the avengers are at Midtown. Their sunglasses and hats aren't a great disguise especially because they're all well known.

Peter moves his gaze around the room to see Mjs dad and Neds parents and sister. He sees a couple students he knows and some other parents.

"Alright folks! Today Midtown High is hosting the Academic Decathlon competition! Winner rises to their next competition and continuing if they win to compete for first place which comes with a surprise! We are glad to welcome Maryland Tech and wish both teams good luck!" Mr. Harrington explains which makes the audience abrupt into a room full of clappers.

Mr. Harrington takes a seat and the three judges explain the rules to the two teams. Once they were done with that, they started the competition.

"Who discover radium and polonium?" the first judge asks.

Ding!

"Marie Curie" Flash answers.

"Correct! What's the main gas that makes up the Earths atmosphere?" the third judge asks.

Ding!

Maryland beats Midtown to the buzzer.

"Nitrogen!" A boy answers.

"Correct! How many configurations does a Rubik's Cube have?" the second judge wonders.

Ding!

"43 quintillion" Peter responds.

"Correct! What event was art apart of?" The first judge asks.

Ding!

"The Olympic event" Mj replies.

"Correct! Who wrote the Great Gatsby and what is it about?" The second job questions.

Ding!

"The Great Gatsby novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about the American dream" a girl explains.

"Correct!" The third judge shouts before asking the next question.

Peter gets pulled away from the judges voice. His sixth sense comes alive making him still. 

Ding!

Peter flinches.

"Correct!" the first job shouts.

Peter tunes it all out. He feels a hand on his left leg, probably Ned who noticed. His spidey senses hums. His hair stands on edge.

Ding!

He tunes everything out. He looks around the audience, his eyes reaching Tony's who is staring back at him.

He knows.

Peter looks away. His senses begin to whisper danger and run.

He can't leave though. He's in a middle of a competition and can't get disqualified. His sixth sense pricks at him harder, pulling him away from his thoughts.

Not safe.

Run.

Run.

Hide.

Peter gets up. His chair falls backwards. Everyone's attention turns to him.

"Too late" a voice whispers.

The lights goes out and everyone screams. The only light they have are the lights coming from the windows leaving a glistening trail.

"EVERYONE STAY IN YOUR SEATS!! CALLING MORE OFFICERS NOW!!" Officer Gomes shouts over the chaos, realizing what's going on.

Peter hears Tony getting his suit on. He hears everyone freaking out. He hears the pounding of footsteps. He hears glass breaking. 

Peter pushes Mj and Ned to the floor, trying to block them as the glass shatters above them. 

Too much is happening at once.

"Kids come on!" Mr. Harrington shouts at the AcaDec team.

The glass stops and Peter gets up. He sees a bunch of women dressed in black in the room. He hears fighting. He hears screaming. He hears chaos.

His spidey sense screams at him.

Peter moves to his right just in time to dodge an attack only to get held in a chokehold.

"PETER!!" Ned screams.

Peter elbows the woman in the stomach before flipping them forward. She lands on her back only to quickly get up.

"Get out of here!" Peter shouts just as his senses buzzes again.

Peter ducks down to avoid what looks like a syringe in the air. He kicks the woman behind when he notices the other one getting up. 

Just as they try to get up, Mj jumps on them and punches them straight in the face. Peter shoots a web at the woman holding the stranger thankful there isn't that much light in the room. He then webs the other woman to the ground before they can fight back against Mj.

Mj gives him a face but he ignores her. He turns around to see six women charging at him, literally. He starts to fight them off easily but they're fast.

 They're too fast.

Peter gets thrown into the wall, he hears somebody shout and doesn't know if that was him or somebody else.

He falls onto the ground, boots taking up his vision. Somebody presses their foot onto his back and before he can fight, he feels something prick in his neck.

"TONYYYY!!" Peter screams before everything goes black.

Tony looks up from his fight, quickly making a woman go unconscious with a blast. The avengers have been fighting and also ushering people out so they don't get hurt so majority of the audience is out.

"Kid?!" Tony shouts only to see a woman standing over his unconscious kid with a smirk on her face. Tony quickly shoots a blast at her but she disappears with Peter.

"Fri, trace her and Peter now!" Tony demands.

"All trackers are offline" Friday immediately informs.

"Tony what's wrong?" Steve asks pulling Tony out of his frantic state.

"This woman just teleported her and Peter away! His trackers are offline. I'm going out and finding him" Tony states before trying to rush out of the auditorium.

"Tony wait!" Nat yells as she shoots widow bites at a couple of women.

"What?" Tony questions.

"I think I know who took him" Nat tells him.

Chapter Text

Load up on guns

"The Red Room is your home!"

and bring your friends

"These girls were trash. They are thrown out into the street. I recycle the trash"

It's fun to lose

"WORK HARDER!!"

and to pretend

"Stop with the dolls"

She's overboard and self-assured

"I'm ready"

Oh no

Bang.

I know a dirty word

"Shut up"

Hello

"CAN ANYONE HERE ME?!"

Hello

"LET ME GO!"

Hello

"STOP!"

How low

"Remove her ovaries"

Hello

"LET HER GO!!"

Hello

"YELENA?!"

Hello

"NATASHA!!"

How low

"Kill them all"

With the lights out

"GO TO BED!!"

it's less dangerous

"Nobody's coming. He's asleep"

Here we are now

"You girls are never leaving"

entertain us

"One...two...three, and twirl!"

I feel stupid

"AGAIN!!"

and contagious

"We're murderous diseases"

Here we are now

"I'm going to escape and this will be all over. I'll kill him"

entertain us

"Twirl and jump!"

I'm worse at what I do best

"WRONG!! AGAIN!!!"

And for this gift

"We're feeding you, gave you a roof, clothes, you should feel lucky"

I feel blessed

"I gave you girls a home"

Our little group

"This is the new and improved Red Room!"

has always been

"Most of these girls are from the old one and most are new"

And always will

"We're a family"

Until the end

"Dreykov didn't know how to succeed in this but I do"

Hello

"None of you will escape"

Hello

"Dreykov was weak"

Hello

"Everything will be a safe sail from here"

How low

"My name is..."

Hello

"Elvira Adrik"

Hello

"And this will be..."

Hello

"the best group of widows ever created"

How low

"She ripped our freedom away. Most of us girls here got our freedom taken away again!"

With the lights out

"I'm scared"

it's less dangerous

"Nobody's coming. She's asleep"

Here we are now

"Girls under eleven here, twelve to eighteen here, everyone else over here"

entertain us

"And point your toes to the ground! Like Madam had taught us, balance is key!"

I feel stupid

"How did we get caught again? I thought we were finally safe."

and contagious

"I'm glad most of the widows stayed true and turned into instructors. Good job ladies!"

Here we are now

"The Red Room is your forever home!"

entertain us

"Look at this news! Those of you who made it to this mission, excellent job!"

A mulatto

"We accept all kinds of women here just no men! The only guy being accepted is one that will help us achieve our goals. He's the mission you all better succeed in"

an albino

"Move swiftly like this creature!"

A mosquito

"Don't let anyone swat you away! Bite them if you have to!"

my libido

"Only once you will be going through this. Years ago we partnered up with Hydra and the men and us ladies did it"

And I forget just why I taste

"The guys blood got into my mouth"

Oh yeah

"Come on ladies!"

It makes me smile

"Shoot him at kill point!"

I found it hard

"Just when we thought we were free, we're trapped here again"

it's hard to find

"We don't even know where this location is. She injects us when moving us to the mission and back here"

Oh well

"We'll figure something out"

whatever

"She's better than what Dreykov ever was Yelena"

never mind

"Natasha killed Dreykov and now she rose to his stance"

Hello

"You set of girls are going on this mission I've been talking about for months now"

Hello

"You'll be going after a local New York City vigilante"

Hello

"Peter Benjamin Parker, code name Spider-Man"

How low

"I've had people outside of this help me and now I need my fellow Widows help"

Hello

"He'll be the greatest and only male asset the Red Room has ever had"

Hello

"He's a smart kid and powerful. His spider powers is something no one's seen before. He's stronger than Captain America"

How low

"He's sixteen and attending Midtown Highschool of Science and Technology in Queens"

With the lights out

"I've got him!"

it's less dangerous

"Everybody get out of there! We have him!"

Here we are now

"Nobody saw you girls coming"

entertain us

"Not even those pesky avengers" 

I feel stupid

"Natasha"

and contagious

"Yelena come on!"

Here we are now

"Parker are you up yet?"

entertain us

"I'll try and protect you Parker"

A denial

"Just like how Natasha tried to protect me"

A denial

"They're going to come save you"

A denial

"Yelena!"

A denial

"Still asleep"

A denial

"You'll be one of his trainers"

A denial

"You're one of the best Widows, I trust you"

A denial

"You make him the best"

A denial

"You'll save us all Peter"

Chapter Text

Elvira Adrik always thought she'd become a teacher or join the military or become a singer. She had so many passions when she was younger and it was all taken in just one day.

Elvira had a loving mother and father. She was an only child but always dreamed of having a sister. She thought she'd be the best big sister out there.

She wanted to know what was more out there in the world. She had got her wish.

It was an ordinary Tuesday afternoon. She was drawing a picture when she heard the front door burst open. Her mother screamed and her father shouted. Gunshots had fired off.

She looked up from her drawing and stared at her cracked bedroom door. She knew her mom and dad was dead. She was only six.

Elvira always had such a strong imagination.

She heard loud footsteps stomping around the house, making its way up the stairs. She quickly saw somebody stand outside her door, their black outfit appearing in the crack.

The door creaks open and she grabs her scissors, holding them out in a defensive motion.

"She's in here" the woman had stated.

She couldn't really see the girls face since she was wearing a mask. She was able to see the girls blue eyes and blond braided hair. Then a larger, wider man had walked into her room. He had white hair and brown eyes with black glasses.

He knelt in front of Elvira with a soft smile.

"Everything's going to be ok. I'm going to take you and you'll be the best thing that's happened in this world" he had said to her.

She remembers that day vividly. 

"My name is Dreykov. I like your picture" Dreykov introduces. "What's your name?"

"Elvira" Elvira answers before looking down at her picture. "I drew the Devil making God bow down for him."

"It's a lovely picture. I've heard you've always wanted a sister, yes?" Dreykov asks making her nod her head. "I'll go take you to your new sisters."

Dreykov gets up and stretches out his hand. Elvira drops her scissors and holds onto his hand. That was the last day she was in her home.

But it was the day that she finally knew what she wanted.

She became a Widow, training in the Red Room. She trained effortlessly for years. She put in the work, she became stronger, and she became more of an asset.

She didn't want to be an asset though, she knew she could be something better.

Elvira did everything Dreykov told her to. She trained, she ate, she worked out, she danced, she passed her tests, everything.

She knew every girl in the Red Room including Natasha Romanoff who had escaped. She scoffs. It's all her fault everything went to the ground after she escaped.

"Было жалко ей уходить (It was pathetic of her to leave)" Elvira tells the girls she was roomed with.

"Да, теперь у Дрейкова больше охраны (Yeah, now Dreykov has more security)" Anastasia rolls her eyes.

"Ребята, вы не думаете, что ей повезло, что она смогла сбежать? Теперь она сможет увидеть мир, и ей не придется здесь застревать. (Don't you guys think she's lucky she can escape though? Now she gets to see the world and doesn't have to be stuck here)" Drusilla exclaims.

"То, что мы здесь, спасло нас. Мир жесток (Being here saved us. The world is cruel)" Elvira states.

"Нам удалили матку. Нас забрали из домов. Чем это место лучше? (We got our uterus taken away. We got taken from our homes. How is this place any better?)" Drusilla questions.

"Мы делаем добро для мира, убиваем плохих людей (We're doing good for the world, killing the bad people)" Elvira answers.

"Он убил так много из нас (He killed so many of us)" Isabella argues.

"Эти девочки не были достаточно сильны, чтобы выбраться в этот мир. Они бы умерли там (Those girls weren't strong enough to make it out into the real world. They would've died out there)" Elvira spats.

"Можем ли мы просто пойти спать? Я устал, и у нас тренировка утром (Can we just go to bed? I'm tired and we have training in the morning)" Anastasia asks.

Elvira let's out a sigh and gets into her bed. The girls says goodnight to one another and Isabella turns off the light.

It wasn't long after Natasha Romanoff escaped that Dreykov was killed and the Red Room was no more.

Elvira doesn't understand. The Red Room did so good for them, for all of the girls. They made them strong. They have the super soldier serum running through their veins. Dreykov gave them a chance.

They would've died out there if it wasn't for him. The world is a cruel place for girls. There are a lot of predators hunting down girls.

Elvira looks at her computer screen.

She has a whole plan made out.

She's going to start fresh and the Red Room won't just be for girls, it'll be for boys too. One boy in particular. She'll be unstoppable.

She'll be better than Dreykov.

Imagine an army of enhanced spiders all over the world?

She's been planning this ever since Spider-Man made an appearance. At first she thought she'd just kidnap the Avengers as a whole but this is better.

Spider-Man is stronger than all of them combined. She knows his powers are more capable of what he shows. 

So, she got to work.

She found one of the girls from the Red Room who easily joined her. She too had missed what the Red Room had gave them.

An opportunity.

A chance.

She then hired a man who had hired goons for himself to help with her plan. These men would work outside the Red Room though to help her plan with capturing Peter. She had thought the more the merrier and she was right.

She found Peter Benjamin Parker's background and found out Dennis Carradine had killed  his uncle. She smirked to herself and told the man who is in charge of his goons to get Dennis Carradine.

She had a plan and nobody was going to ruin it.

Elvira got back to working with the Red Room. She immediately sent out a few trustworthy and strong girls over there to get some powers but there is one girl who doesn't need to go there. That woman she had taken went to where Dr. Strange learned how to make his stupid portals.

That girl, Aurora, will be the sorcerer of the widows.

Back to the girls who were sent under Hydras scientists, they obtained powers.

Anastasia will be able to teleport, Valeria will be able to turn invisible, and Daniela will be able to create illusions using just her mind

Chapter Text

Elvira sent out her best Widows.

Ying Khan

Tana Mogarati

Charlotte Harrison

Camila Garcia

Ivy Rossi

Isabella Caputo

Daniela Barbieri

Valeria Aguilar

Anastasia Kuznetsov

Alla Petrov

Aanya Patil

And lastly...

Yelena Belova.

These twelve girls are going to retrieve Peter Parker and bring him to her. She knows he'll be the best there is. He'll be the first and last male to ever work for the Red Room. They'll be unstoppable.

Elvira has been planning this for years. She's been one with the Red Room ever since Dreykov had found her and took her in. Now that he's gone, she'll make the Red Room better.

A very small percentage but still some girls were ready to easily help her. The others...well she had to take them. It was hard but she got them. 

Yelena is the trickiest out of all of them. She tried to escape as soon as she got here but Elvira didn't let her. Ever since, she's been on her best behavior. Elvira knows Yelena is going to try and pull something but if she does, she's got a tracker and a piece of metal in her to zap her if she does try and escape. Every girl has those two requirements and Peter will be no exception.

She's had this planned out for a year. She got some stupid males willingly to help her after she threatened them. They were wrapped around her fingers and now they're all dead. 

The widows are better than those men. She only needed them to track Peter and keep an eye on him while the women were training.

They're ready now and she can finally get her last asset.

🕷

It was like music to her ears.

Elvira is watching everything unfold through Midtown's security cameras.

She's been watching through the cameras since the competition started. She saw Peters sixth sense work and how he took down two of her ladies. He didn't even look like he was using his full strength.

Those two ladies may be weaker than she thinks. They all have the super solider serum coursing through their veins thanks to Dreykov so maybe they weren't trying hard enough. They'll be dealt with when they come back.

She won't kill them but they'll be put in an immense training. If they fail their next mission, then she'll have to kill them.

Only some of her girls have extra, special powers. Anastasia can teleport, Valeria can turn invisible, and Daniela can play illusions in peoples minds. Hydra gave those three their powers making them very useful for this opportunity.

She also has a sorcerer who trained with Dr. Strange. She's not on the mission though, she was sent for another mission. Her only use is her super strength and the ring she has to make the portals.

Elvira watches as Anastasia grabs Peter before teleporting him away. He screams for Stark allowing a smile form on her face. 

This is going to be fun.

🕷

"Very successful ladies, excellent job" Elvira congratulations an hour after the  girls had gotten back.

When the girls had gotten back, they were sent to their rooms. Peter on the other hand went through a little minor surgery to get a tracker and piece of metal in him. Then Elvira told the scientists to put Peter with Yelena and told Yelena in brief that she'll be one of his trainers.

Now, she has all twelve girls in front of her while a scientist doses Peter one more time. It's not time for him to wake up.

"There was some disappointments but the two who messed up will be going through some excessive training. Other then that, I mean it girls. Nice work. Take the rest of the day off. Now, I want to speak to Yelena in private" Elvira explains before sending the eleven girls off.

Once they were gone, Yelena steps forward.

"Yes miss?" Yelena wonders.

"As I mentioned briefly you will be one of Peters trainers. You'll be teaching him how to fight. He mainly uses his webs but that boy is stronger than Captain America. For the rest of the day, I want you to watch videos of him and learn his skills to help him improve. He'll also be sharing a room with you because you're old roommate had to go. I will not accept any tricks from you, got it?" Elvira asks.

"Got it miss" Yelena nods.

"Good. Now off you go. Peter should be up by the time you get back but we'll deal with him tomorrow. You will lay out the rules for him" Elvira adds. "Off you go now. Nice work today Yelena."

"Thank you miss" Yelena thanks before walking away with an eye roll.

"And Yelena!" Elvira shouts but Yelena doesn't turn around when she stops. "Don't waste my time. I'll get another trainer for him to pick up fighting skills if I have to."

"I won't miss" Yelena assures.

"Good, off you go now" Elvira smiles.

Yelena walks out of Elvira's office and takes a turn to head to the computer room. 

🕷

Yelena got captured by Elvira Adrik only two months ago. 

She finally got her freedom back only a year ago when Natasha realized she didn't actually kill Dreykov or his daughter. Yelena managed to escape, she sent Natasha a little gift and her, Natasha, Melina and Alexei took down the Red Room once and for all.

Despite her and Natasha going separate ways, the two kept in touch. Every Friday they'd call each other. Yelena would tell her about how she found more Widows and helped them while Nat told her about the avengers.

At first, Yelena didn't know the identity of Spider-Man. Natasha always referred to him as spider baby or Starks kid. It didn't take long...no actually, once Nat hung up, Yelena did her research and found out Spider-Man is Peter Parker.

She didn't tell Nat she knew though because she thought it'd be funny Nat dancing over his name. They only met up in person once, four months prior to Yelena getting kidnapped again and Nat had overgrown her blond hair which is now back to red.

Not that Yelena will admit to Nat, but she likes their weekly calls catching up. It brings on a new interest and excitement. They'd both have funny stories to tell and new exciting things they've seen.

That's how Yelena knows Nat knows she's gone missing. Yelena has been radio silent and missed their weekly calls more than once. She knows Nat caught on but she also knows she doesn't know there is a new leader to the Red Room and it's back up and running...for the third time.

People really got to step up their games. Stop rebranding the same thing over and over again. It's getting very old. First Hydra and now the Red Room.

"I mean come on, seriously guys" Yelena whispers.

Villains aren't clever anymore. They honestly never were but they've gotten even more stupid if humanly possible.

Yelena tried to escape the first week she was captured but that failed and now she's got a metal piece in her head that zaps her if she tries. It's not painful zaps that'll kill you but it sends a course of electricity in the body to leave you getting shocked.

It's like your own personal taser.

Yelena scoffs at that while she clicks a new video of Spider-Man to watch.

Now Yelena knows she doesn't have a soft spot...ok maybe she kind of does but she won't ever show it unless your name is Fanny and you're a dog.

She hasn't even met Peter until he was unconscious in their now shared room. She just knows how scary the Red Room could be and how your life could easily be flipped upside down. The former widows who share rooms with the new widows tries to help them out the best they can. Yelena tried that to with the last widow but she sadly didn't listen and got herself killed.

She won't let that happen to Peter. He has a family to get back to which includes her sister. She won't fail Natasha cause she didn't fail her.

Chapter Text

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN HE GOT CAPTURED BY WIDOWS?!" Tony screams.

The Avengers had all made it back to the tower where Nat had just dropped the bomb shell on them.

"She means the Red Room has been up and running again by a new leader. Dreykov is dead and his daughter has a life of her own now" Clint explains.

"My sister got captured around two months ago by them" Nat adds.

"You have a sister?" Steve questions.

"And Clint and I have been trying to find her but we couldn't. We tried to find a pattern on this leader capturing new widows but there was no pattern to be found" Nat continues to explain.

"How do you know it's not Dreykov's daughter?" Pepper wonders.

"We found her" Nat claims.

"But the Red Room is just for women" Rhodey recalls.

"Seems like this new leader took an interest on Spider-Man" Clint nods.

"I'm still stuck on the part where you have a sister" Sam states.

"Well when a man and a woman-" Thor begins.

"NO! I do not need to hear the bees and birds talk Thor, thank you" Sam shouts.

"We were both adopted by these two people who used to work for the Red Room. The end. Anyways, we have to find out where this new Red Room is located. They took former and new Widows" Nat informs.

"If the Red Room is back and running there's no doubt there's a Hydra organization somewhere" Bucky adds.

"And even if there isn't, there would be Hydra agents working at the Red Room as scientists and doctors" Nat nods sharing a look with Bucky.

"How do you know those were widows who took him? It was pretty hard to see in there" Bruce asks.

"They had the Red Room symbol on their suits" Nat claims.

"What about those men of police?" Thor questions.

"They had to go fill out a police report" Happy answers. 

"No Thor's onto something" Tony practically shouts, jumping out of his seat. "Somebody is undercover as a police officer and that somebody could be a widow. We have to go there and find out who's missing."

"How do you know this?" Wanda asks.

"Long story" Tony waves off.

"Good thing we just found out which police officer was corrupted" Mj announces making everyone except Nat jump.

"Jesus Christ little Romanoff" Tony mutters.

"And we brought someone with us!" Ned claims just as Officer Gomez walks out from around the corner.

"Ok someone explain to me what the hell is going on. My patience is at zero and you two are claiming you know who this corrupted officer is so explain" Tony snaps.

"Hicins and I were driving back to the station. I was talking about what just happened and he was being really weird about it. I was getting bad vibes so I tried to reach for the steering wheel and we swerved the car. The car hit a building but the both of us didn't die. We got out and started to fight. He saw Michelle and Ned watching us so he took out his gun and tried to aim it at them, you guys need to be more sneaky, and when I shoved them around the corner, he was gone. I saw him running through the crowds but it was already too late, he disappeared" Officer Gomez explains.

"Then we went to the police station to find out no one has seen Zepher Zali so we are assuming she's a Widow and Hicins is a Hydra agent" Mj adds.

"Great work but he's right, you two need to be more sneaky" Nat claims.

"Blame Ned" Mj blames.

"Hey! I didn't mean to knock that can over!" Ned whines.

"Ok so Zali is the one who killed Carradine cause Hicins was with us when it happened" Tony recalls.

"How much stuff do you know about this? Why didn't you tell any of us?" Rhodey wonders.

"That's for later honey bear" Tony waves.

"They're both long gone. I should've put a tracker on him or something" Officer Gomez sighs.

"You did your best. Friday, can you do some digging on those two and look through security cameras?" Steve asks only for Friday to do so.

"What would they want with Spider-Man?" Sam questions.

"He's stronger than the super soldier serum" Bucky answers.

"With the right amount of training he can beat some widows" Nat adds.

"So that's what they're going to do? Just train him?" Bruce questions.

"It's how to kill or be killed. We need to get him out of there" Nat deadpans making everyone go silent. "The Red Room wouldn't be in this state most likely. We already tried Russia and couldn't find anything. They can be underground, in the air or just your average training building."

"What if you didn't try harder to look?" Tony snaps only for Nat to stare at him. "Ok so we still have other countries to look at."

"Yeah and we need to narrow them down" Clint points out.

"We can't just fly country to country" Rhodey adds.

"If we find a widow or Hydra agent lurking around, I can try and manipulate them into telling us" Wanda suggests.

"Yeah but we don't know where those people are" Bucky shuts down.

"They could be on a different planet" Thor suggests.

"They're definitely not on another planet" Bruce informs.

"I think they're in Russia" Mj states.

"Nat and I looked and-" Clint begins to say.

"You said. You two were gone for a week on a disclosed mission. This person rebuilt the Red Room and I looked up a majority of girls taken from this year to see that it was mainly Russian girls. There are girls scattered around the world who was taken but again, mainly in Russia. Peter always knew somebody was there but he never saw anyone, what if they have powers like teleportation. We saw the girl who had Peter teleport. Their base could be invisible" Mj explains.

"And they want Spider-Man. What if this person is trying to rebuild the Red Room with not just women who can fight but women who also have powers" Nat realizes.

"Exactly and if they're working with Hydra, they can easily get the girls there to obtain powers" Mj adds.

"Then we leave to Russia" Tony concludes. 

"These are just theories and guesses we're coming up with. We have to be more rational" Steve cuts in.

"No! We're going to Russia and find everything we can. Friday can locate invisible things. We're going to find my kid and bring him back here before they do anything" Tony protests.

"We have to do something before we leave" Nat informs.

"What?" Wanda wonders.

"The Red Room was able to control the widows, mess with their minds. We can't assume whether or not these girls are mind controlled. Yelena has all the antidotes in her apartment so Clint and I will get them. I don't know how much she has in her apartment because the last time I was talking to her, she was out on a mission to help some widows but it'll be better than nothing" Nat claims.

"Tony and I can make up a quick batch once you grab those antidotes" Bruce figures.

"Yeah so at the very least, we'll leave tomorrow" Nat nods.

Chapter Text

Peters eyelids flicker open. He's met by a dim lit room allowing his senses to adjust. His spidey senses are at a low hum.

"You're awake" a woman's voice greets him. Peter let's out a small shout, quickly sitting upright. "Relax Peter Parker, I'm not going to hurt you. You know my sister Natasha, right?"

"I uhh" Peter trails off.

"I'm Yelena Belova, Natasha's sister. I'm not the bad guy here but in front of certain people, I got to act like it...sorta" Yelena introduces.

"Where am I?" Peer asks.

"The Red Room" Yelena answers.

"I-isn't that place just for girls? And-and I thought Nat destroyed it" Peter recalls.

"Well a former widow decided Dreykovs plan was great and he was just bad at his job. Her name is Elvira Adrik and she captured former and new widows. Four of which can teleport, turn invisible, play illusions in people's minds, and the last is a wizard like Dr. Stephen Strange" Yelena  begins to explain.

"Oh that makes so much sense. I've been having these strange occurrences" Peter interrupts.

"That's their doing thanks to Hydra scientists who gave them their powers even though we all already have the super solider serum running through us" Yelena nods.

"Wait does that mean Nat has powers?! Oh I knew it!" Peter gasps.

"Yes she has the super soldier serum, keep up Parker" Yelena tells him.

"Sorry" Peter apologizes.

"Don't ever say sorry here. I'm going to help you train to fight. She wants Spider-Man at the front of this charade she's pulling. If I see her or somebody who for some awful reason likes her plan, I'll have to go hard on you so that's for future warning. You'll have other trainers too and they will not be going easy on you. The rest of the trainers have always loved the Red Room in their fucked up mind" Yelena explains.

"You said Hydra works here..." Peter trails off.

"Throughout years they've been in partnership with the Red Room" Yelena nods.

"Does that mean you know Bucky?" Peter asks.

"I know of him. Natasha had more work with him years before" Yelena recalls.

"Woah cause like I always sensed some tension and understanding between them but they like barley talk with each other. I mean Bucky mainly sticks with Sam and Steve" Peter rambles.

"Focus Peter. I don't know how much time I have before Adrik comes here or sends someone to come here. The Red Room has a strict routine that you go through everyday. You will be put through a bunch of trails. You cannot escape or try to escape Parker" Yelena warns.

"Why? Don't you want to get out of here?" Peter questions.

"There's a tracker and a metal implant in you. You try to escape, the metal implant will send a shock through your body from your brain. Too much will kill you. It's why they put the metal in your head to warn you. She has this device that controls it. If the device is close to you, that's how she activates it" Yelena explains.

"Then how are we suppose to escape when the avengers get here with these in us?" Peter wonders.

"We'll destroy the remote and I'll go on her computer and deactivate all of the trackers" Yelena plans.

"Is...is there anything else I should know?" Peter hesitantly asks.

"You'll be going through ballerina, training, and you might have to show off your powers to some scientists. Do you know Natasha can't get pregnant?" Yelena wonders.

"No" Peter shakes his head.

"None of the widows can including myself" Yelena claims.

"I'm sorry" Peter apologizes.

"I said no apologies in here Peter. Look, you're a male. You're the first male here so I don't know if they'll put you through any kind of surgery. You're not trans are you?" Yelena questions.

"No" Peter denies.

"Then yeah, I doubt they'll put you through any type of surgery unless it's one that regards your powers. Now there are some rules I got to tell you" Yelena states.

"What kind of rules?" Peter wonders.

"Don't look anybody in the eye but don't put your head down. You'll eat when you're suppose to eat and sleep when the lights go off. You cannot wander around, there are cameras everywhere. The bedrooms are the only areas where the cameras don't have mics" Yelena tells him.

"Then you're not going to be able to go easy on me in the training room" Peter recalls.

"When you mess up, I'll throw you towards a wall where there's a blind spot. I will act like I hurt you and when I signal to you, you walk back to your position. It'll make more sense when this actually happens. Speaking of training, there's a group training which you'll be attending. It just shows off some movements with no instructor, you just follow everyone else's leads and don't mess that up. You're getting this so far?" Yelena asks only for Peter to nod.

"Natasha told me you're a very polite kid so be polite. You can't have that Spider-Man snark in here. If they tell you to kill someone, you do it" Yelena states.

"Wait what?" Peter questions horrified.

"Parker, where else do you think Natasha learned how to kill someone? She said you're smart, use that brain of yours" Yelena rolls her eyes.

"I-I know but...I can't kill someone!" Peter stammers.

"You have to in here to survive. They don't care if you like or not. Your punishment will be a lot worse than the guy who's getting shot. You aim right and they're dead without any pain. That instructor will show no mercy. I've talked with other girls and they told me she would shoot them in the leg or arm. If they get a graze, they're lucky" Yelena warns.

"I can't hold a g-gun Miss. Belova. I just..." Peter takes a deep breath in order to control your tears.

"I know. When Natasha mentioned Starks kid and Spider-Man, I did my research" Yelena cuts in. "They don't care though. They have girls from the ages of five and up training here showing no remorse."

"We'll get out of here. They'll find us" Peter assures Yelena and himself. "I'm sure they already know where to look."

"Russia" Yelena nods.

"Wait we're in Russia?!" Peter screams.

"Keep your voice down and yes. Natasha was here with Barton but Elvira hid the base good. I've never seen the outside of the base so I do not know" Yelena shrugs.

"But you were on that mission to kidnap me" Peter recalls seeing her.

"They drug us" Yelena claims.

"That's smart...and bad" Peter adds after realizing what he said.

"I don't know how long it'll take them to find us kid" Yelena informs.

"I'm not a kid" Peter argues.

"And I'm not a widow" Yelena retorts. "Look, we'll get out of here but it may just take awhile."

Peter nods his head but doesn't say anything. The room goes quiet. Yelena won't lie, she's not great with kids so screw her, she doesn't know what else to do.

"Where uhhh where has this Elvira leader been targeting? Like any specific areas?" Peter wonders.

"Everywhere but so far she mainly has kidnapped Russian girls since we are in Russia. The avengers will protect Michelle Jones" Yelena assures making Peter looks up at her. "I'm a spy, remember?"

"Right and Nat mentioned brief names so you googled me like a creep" Peter nods.

"You make it sound bad" Yelena scoffs.

"You googled a minor" Peter states.

"Stop that!" Yelena gasps.

"Creep" Peter jokes.

"You spend too much time with Tony Stark" Yelena rolls her eyes.

Peters smirk quickly fades as his spidey senses comes to life. He hears footsteps approaching the door making him stiffen.

He hears the door unlock before it swings open. He looks towards the door to see a woman with short black hair and a widow suit on.

"Miss. Adrik wants to speak with Peter" the woman informs.

"Thank you Sharol, I'll take him" Yelena thanks as she gets up. Sharol gives a quick nod before walking away. "Get up."

Peter quickly gets up and Yelena grabs his arm lightly. They walk out of the room before Yelena starts to guide him towards the leader.

"Remember the rules. Don't mess them up" Yelena whispers so quietly only he can hear her.

Peter gives her a quick nod of his head not daring to say anything. As they walk the halls, Peter assess everything. He sees a bunch of widows peering into rooms large enough to be a training room, he sees a bunch of doors similar to the one he just exited and the walls are all the same. 

It doesn't take long until they arrive outside a door. Yelena knocks on the door making Peters senses scream at him making him scared.

Chapter Text

"You may come in!" a voice shouts through the other side of the door.

Yelena opens the door, shoving Peter inside. She doesn't let go.

"Morning Miss. Adrik. I informed Peter about the rules as you wished and last night I watched all those videos" Yelena greets.

"Excellent job Yelena. Peter, I'm glad to see that you're finally awake to start the day. You missed breakfast though, what a shame" Elvira smiles.

Peter hadn't realized he didn't eat for hours, technically he hasn't ate since yesterday. He can now feel the hunger being more prominent.

"Well that's ok! Lunch is in a few hours at eleven. Peters schedule for today will be dance, lunch, group training, dinner, training with you and then he'll be sent to the scientists. I want you to walk him to each course, he'll be joining you throughout the day" Elvira lists.

"Yes miss" Yelena nods.

"Peter you're sixteen, correct? You girls had to endorse it at age sixteen. I'll have to set that up for you Peter" Elvira states. Peters about to say something but Yelena nudges him. "Well off you go you two. You don't want to be late for ballet. His clothes are in the other side of the wardrobe in your shared room."

"Thank you miss" Yelena thanks before shoving Peter out of the room.

Peter doesn't say anything until they get to their room.

"What is she talking about?" Peter asks. "Endorse what?"

"I'll tell you later. Your uniform is in those draws, I'll use the bathroom first and then you can go after me" Yelena declares before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door.

Peter stands there for a moment conflicted before sighing and grabbing his clothes out of his side of the wardrobe. He finds an all black long sleeve shirt and black sweats. Once Yelena was done, he went in there.

"You can't ask questions" Yelena tells him as soon as he walks out of the bathroom. Peter nods his head not saying a word. "I'm serious Parker."

"I know" Peter responds.

"We should go before we're late. You can't be late to anything around here" Yelena informs before grabbing Peters arm and shoving him out of the room once again.

🕷

Thank god Yelena had one of her apartments in the city because Nat and Clint were able to grab the dosages easily. There were surprisingly a lot. Yelena had secret stashes of them all over. 

When they made it back to the tower, it was already late so they decided to get some rest before the mission tomorrow.

Now it's Wednesday morning. Everyone was ready and the Quinjet was already loaded. Nat, Tony, Clint, Rhodey, Sam, Steve, Bucky, Bruce, Thor, and Wanda had all boarded. Pepper, Happy, Mj, and Ned were obviously staying behind but they were still going to help from the tower.

Pepper already called Dr. Cho into the tower since she was at another facility. They had just sent a jet to pick her up and when she arrives, she'll be going to the medbay. They don't know what Peter and Yelenas conditions will be. As for the other Widows, Fury is sending Shield doctors and jets at a disclosed location in Russia. When the avengers find them, they will be sent there to be checked out for injuries and be flown home or to relatives.

The avengers are all on their toes, ready to land in Russia as soon as they left. Tony has been pacing around the jet while Nats been throwing daggers at a target in one of the jet rooms. Everyone's trying to be cool and collected but it's not working out.

There are still no words from Hicins and Zepher Zali, not like there would be any words anyways. Officer Gomez asked everyone at the station if they saw where either of them went or know where they're heading to but nobody knew, not even Sheriff Holme.

Speaking of Sheriff Holme, he's now beating himself up for not knowing that two of his officers were undercover agents.

That was an interesting conversation.

"Hicins? Really? That man was our best friend! He owed it to Ben to protect Peter and now he just went out and kidnapped him?!" Sheriff Holme shouts.

"He didn't technically be the one to grab Peter but yes, he works for the woman who kidnapped Peter" Gomez corrects.

"What's this woman's name? Any location?" Holme questions.

"None so far, the avengers think they're in Russia" Gomez shrugs.

"Russia?!" Holme shouts.

"Did you not listen to me? Peter got kidnapped by the Red Room which is organized in Russia. Some Hydra agents are working there including Hicins. We don't really know why they kidnapped him besides him knowing the avengers. That's our best bet" Gomez slightly lies.

"Gomez, don't lie to me. I know you know why they took him" Holme calls him out.

"I don't sheriff" Gomez denies.

"I'm not stupid Gomez. I recognized his voice immediately. I've seen that kid grow and always knew he had something in him" Holme states.

"What are you saying sheriff?" Gomez questions.

"He's Spider-Man and I know you know" Holme calls him out making Gomez go quiet. "You don't have to tell the avengers I know, I've been keeping my mouth shut. Do whatever is easier. I can't send officers to Russia but I can make them patrol around the city doing his job."

Gomez nods.

"So why did they take him? Are they using him for his powers?" Holme wonders.

"We didn't really figure out that part. The Red Room was always known for kidnapping girls and Peter is a boy so we do think it's majority because of his powers. We're assuming they want him on their team and...turn him into somebody like the Winter Solider" Gomez sighs.

"Jesus Christ" Holme grumbles.

"Before the Red Room was officially destroyed, the girls there were all controlled. If they're being controlled again...Peter would be included. He's a strong kid, we're guessing he would be useful to them" Gomez explains.

"If he shows up here and starts murdering people, we're going to have to reprimand him" Holme warns.

"I know that but he wouldn't intentionally go on a murdering spree, you know that" Gomez points out.

"We'd have to throw him into a cell until somebody could get him out of the mind control" Holme declares.

"The avengers will be taking him" Gomez informs.

"As long as he's not out on the streets" Holme replies.

"How long have you known?" Gomez wonders.

"When he first approached me as his second self. I mean the last time we saw him was fourteen, he comes all swinging in the city and I run into him only a few months later he's he's fifteen, recognized his voice" Holme explains.

"Wait you've known this whole time?! I just knew about this like a few weeks ago!" Gomez claims.

"I am a year older than you" Holme points out making Gomez roll his eyes. "Next time things like this happens, don't keep it a secret from me. It would've been better to know there were undercover agents at my station."

"That was my bad" Gomez owns up.

"Hell yeah it was" Holme agrees.

Chapter Text

"Lady boss, there is commotion in the lobby regarding a Eugene Thompson who is claiming to have information about Peter" Friday announces.

"Let him up" Mj jumps up.

"Isn't he Peters bully?" Happy questions.

"Lady boss, should I let him up?" Friday asks.

"Yeah, thank you Fri" Pepper thanks.

"Have you gone insane? Why are we letting him up?" Ned asks.

"He wouldn't believe in Peters internship unless he knew something. He's been acting off" Mj points out.

"But is this a really good idea?" Ned questions.

"We're about to find out" Mj shrugs.

The elevator doors open and Flash walks out with wide eyes before immediately putting his hands up.

Everyone turns to look at Happy who has his gun trained on him.

"Happy, put the gun away" Pepper rolls her eyes.

"We don't know what he's here for. I've seen him throw Peter around" Happy claims.

"I knew you cared about Peter! Friday, put that video feed into the 'Happy Cares' folder" Ned instructs.

"What?" Happy questions.

"Peter and Tony made a folder about how you secretly care about him" Mj smirks.

"Happy, gun down" Pepper reminds him.

Happy puts his gun back in its holster still keeping his eyes trained on Flash.

"What are you doing here?" Mj asks.

"I uhhh I have something that might help you find Peter" Flash claims.

"Well why don't we move into the kitchen area over there and away from the elevator" Pepper suggests before leading everyone towards the kitchen.

Happy stands behind the group, burning his gaze onto Flashs head. Once they make it to the kitchen, everyone sits down on a stool.

"Explain" Mj demands.

"On Monday I got sent this account called Spidermansecrets so I watched some of the videos and...you should just see them for yourself" Flash explains as he grabs out his phone to pull it up. "The account is on private so only the owner and the people with the link has access to the account."

Flash hands them the phone and Mj immediately grabs it. Everyone crowds around her as she scrolls through each video. Their faces grew with horror and concern until Mj finally reached the end of the page.

No new videos have been posted since yesterday. The last video is Peters kidnapping at Midtown.

"I know he's Spider-Man. I didn't tell anyone and I didn't share anyone that link. I told Peter on Monday once I got sent the link" Flash quickly explains.

"Does that mean they're going to post Peter at the location?" Ned questions.

"Doubt that, they won't be that stupid" Mj points out.

"But then why would the Red Room out of all places post these kinds of videos? They've been stalking him for weeks when they usually just go into the kidnapping part" Ned recalls.

"Holy shit! The Red Room?! As in the place where the Black Widow grew up in?!" Flash shouts just for everyone to stare at him like he's dumb. "I'll take that as a yes."

"They've been toying around. They wanted to watch him to really see him out in action as Spider-Man. They wanted to see his state as Peter through physical and mental capabilities" Happy figures.

"Who knows, they probably do have these kinds of videos of the other widows. Why didn't Friday say anything about this?" Pepper asks.

"I have never seen that account or heard of it. It would've went through my threats protocol but it never did. I also scanned to see if there were anymore accounts like that but I couldn't find anything. If they do have videos of the other missing girls, it went through the same process to stay hidden and private. I have tried to hack through the channel but couldn't and the number is a dead end as well" Friday explains.

"Why did you get sent this link and no one else?" Ned questions.

"I don't know" Flash shrugs.

"Well they do have videos of Peter getting bullied so they could've assumed you would've shared this to the entire world by now" Mj claims.

"So they've been watching me too?" Flash questions.

"Possibly" Mj shrugs.

🕷

"Питер! (Spider!) Excellent job! You're very balanced" the ballet instructor Katerina smiles.

"Thank you" Peter thanks.

"You're all dismissed!" Katerina shouts making everyone gather their belongings and leave the dance room.

Once Yelena and Peter make it back to their rooms, they took turns changing into a different black outfit.

"We have lunch in fifteen minutes and then training with me. Then we have dinner and then group training. After group training, you will go to the scientists that Adrik is making you go to" Yelena instructs making Peter nod his head. "How much Russian do you know?"

"Enough to get me around I guess, Nat taught me" Peter shrugs.

"If someone speaks to you in Russian, you respond in Russian" Yelena informs. "Have you taken ballet before? I didn't see that in my research."

"No, the spider bite allows me to balance more easily" Peter answers.

"That's not good, they're going to test you on that. Katerina is going to report to the scientists about what you've done today and because it's not in any databases, they're going to test you in that" Yelena explains.

"Are you going to have to report to them about me?" Peter wonders.

"Yes but I won't tell them any secret information not on google" Yelena assures.

"Thanks" Peter thanks. "Do you think my friends are in danger?"

"No, they got rid of your aunt because that's what they do. The Red Room kills your family to make you an orphan so nobody comes to find you" Yelena tells him.

"But Mr. Stark adopted me, are they going to kill him too?" Peter wonders.

"I'm not sure since they haven't killed him already. They like to see people suffer, maybe they're watching him suffer" Yelena theorizes.

"How did you and Nat become sisters?" Peter asks wanting to kill time with something and because he's genuinely curious.

"We were both taken by a couple who worked with the Red Room. We stayed with them before Dreykov took off with us. They're good people now, the couple. I doubt they know I'm missing though since I don't talk to them nearly as much as Natasha. We were sort of like a family so that makes Natasha my sister" Yelena explains.

"Who's older?" Peter wonders.

"Her" Yelena answers.

"Do you live with anyone?" Peter questions.

"I have a dog, Fanny" Yelena nods.

"That's cute, I've always wanted a dog" Peter claims.

"Maybe you can help Natasha dog sit for me" Yelena suggests.

"Sure! I'd love that!" Peter smiles.

"What kind of dog do you want?" Yelena wonders.

"A golden retriever" Peter answers.

"Oh well she's an American Akita. Is that ok with you?" Yelena jokes.

"Definitely" Peter chuckles.

Chapter Text

Pepper had called Tony and everyone was informed about the information Flash had given them. They're currently on their way to Russia.

"How the hell did these people hide this from Friday?!" Tony shouts.

"Because they have the skill set to do so" Nat answers.

"We're going to need a plan" Steve states.

"We don't even know where in Russia they are" Bucky reminds him.

"They could also be in the air or in the grounds" Nat informs.

"But we can't get caught flying around in Russia" Sam points out.

"The jet can turn invisible so we can use that" Rhodey suggests.

"They might be able to detect it" Wanda shuts down.

"I can have Heimdall look in the sky. I will have to go to Asgard and I will inform him what's going on. Then I'll come back down to help with the search. He'll be able to talk to me once he finds young Peter" Thor explains.

"Great, get out of the jet and go do that" Tony insists.

"Wait let me open the jet first!" Clint shouts.

"I thought he has to actively look at something" Bruce recalls.

"He'll look in mother Russia and at each possible location. If he sees something odd, he'll pinpoint it and really look into it" Thor explains.

"Ok opening the back! Everyone hang on so you don't fly off!" Clint warns before opening the back.

"I'll see you all in a bit!" Thor waves before flying off the jet.

Clint quickly closes the back once Thor leaves and everyone stops hanging on to something.

"Fri, are you hacking into that YouTube account?" Tony asks.

"I already did and I can't find an address" Friday informs.

🕷

Since there was a clock in their room, they were able to know when to leave for lunch. Yelena and Peter made their way to the lunch room with Yelena holding onto Peters arm.

Once they made it, they got their food and sat down at their own table. Before they left, Yelena warned Peter that they're being monitored so don't say anything out of pocket and don't start a fight.  She also warned him if they're late to lunch, they don't get any.

Lunch was pretty quiet for the most part. No one really talks during the meal and nothing out of place occurred.

It's now time for Peter to train with Yelena. Yelena had told him work on his punches and kicks before Yelena has Peter standing across from her.

"Rely on your senses. They're there to guide you" Yelena states as she throws a punch.

Peter easily dodges but doesn't attack her.

"You tune out the white noise and focus on your opponent" Yelena continues. "I see how often you get distracted."

"But if I only focus on my opponent, somebody else could attack me from behind" Peter points out.

"That's where your senses comes in, use them to your advantage" Yelena explains making Peter nod. "You ready to spar?"

"Yeah" Peter nods.

"You rely too much on your webs. You need to trick your opponent, use moves. You pull your punches on me but don't pull your punches on your enemy" Yelena explains as her and Peter start to go in a circle. 

Without warning, Yelena starts to attack Peter. Peter zeroes in on her, relying on his senses for her upcoming moves. He lasts twenty seconds before going down, Yelena smirking at him.

"Wasn't bad. You need more training without your webs. You're smart so act smart on the battle field. Don't make mistakes and if you do, you come back stronger. Again" Yelena instructs.

The two goes back in a circle and this time, Peter makes the first move. He throws a punch allowing Yelena to side step just for him to kick her in the legs. Yelena falls but quickly regains her composure and gets up.

The fight had begun and this time, Peter lasted a whole minute.

"Good work. It seems like you've been listening to me. Now, we'll go back to our room and after dinner is group training. Let's go" Yelena informs before they exit.

🕷

"Clint, speed up the jet" Tony instructs.

"It's on full blast. We have two hours left" Clint informs.

"The jet usually goes a lot faster than this, we would've been there by now. Do you think these people messed with the jet without anyone knowing?" Tony questions.

"They could do anything without anyone knowing" Nat chimes in from the passenger seat.

"Ok why don't we get you out of the cockpit and sit down. I'm sure the jet is fine" Rhodey assures.

"No I think he's right. The jet seems a bit slower" Wanda agrees.

"See!" Tony shouts.

"Friday is anything wrong with the jet?" Steve asks.

"Not that I can detect" Friday answers.

"Maybe it's just in all of our heads" Bruce suggests.

"So you noticed it too" Tony calls him out making Bruce sigh.

"Yeah" Bruce nods.

"What if somebody hacked into Friday?" Sam theorizes.

"Friday's unhackable" Tony shuts down.

"You know come to think about it, she has been off" Bucky claims.

"Oh god, here we go" Rhodey sighs.

"She's been off since...Peter moved in" Wanda realizes.

"And on that YouTube channel this person has access to her cameras" Nat shouts from the cockpit.

"Holy shit, she's hacked" Tony curses.

"I call out that it's the worker that hates Peter!" Clint yells.

Everyone looks at Clint weird before making their way to the cockpit.

"What worker?" Rhodey wonders.

"Daniel Grayson, he's the head director of the engineering lab" Clint recalls.

"We can't trust Friday anymore with information. We'll have to call Pepper but Friday or whoever is still probably listening in and watching us" Steve claims.

"We can't shut her off without shutting the jet off" Tony shakes his head.

"So they know we're coming" Sam states.

"And they know Heimdall could find them" Bruce adds.

🕷

Pepper, Happy, Mj, Ned, Flash, and Officer Gomez have been working all day. They barely even stopped to eat lunch and now it's dinner time.

Peppers phone goes off with a text message, making everyone immediately stop what they're doing and look at her.

She looks down at her phone showing no expression.

"Who is it?" Happy asks.

"My friend from California came down to visit and is helping with the search. She's in high power over there and we need to meet her" Pepper lies.

"Leave like right now?" Mj questions.

"Yes, we need to meet her. She said it has to do with Peter, she didn't explain much over text" Pepper explains.

"Then let's go!" Ned smiles.

Despite protests, Pepper ended up driving. She stopped at a local coffee shop but instead of going in, she started walking down the street. She instructed everyone to leave their phones in the coffee shop with a worker she knows. Nobody dared to argue with her because of the eerie situation happening.

They continue to walk and walk until they reach an apartment. They all fit into the elevator and head up until they reach a door and enter.

"This is mine and Tony's safe house sort of thing without Friday and security cameras. This whole building doesn't have any of it and the streets outside. It's completely secluded because of other celebrities and known people in this area" Pepper explains.

"What's going on?" Officer Gomez asks.

"Fridays hacked and they think it might be Daniel Grayson who is head of the engineering lab. Clint said he never liked Peter and he's been out sick since Friday. That YouTube channel has access to Friday so they think it might be him that's a secret Hydra agent" Pepper informs.

"His background check was all clear" Happy recalls.

"What if that's not even his real name?" Ned suggests.

"It doesn't matter right now if it's his real name or not. He's now a suspect. We can't go back to the tower with this organization watching our every move. They know the teams heading to Russia now and they can't turn her off without shutting down the jet" Pepper points out.

"What about a Shield jet?" Mj questions.

"That could work. I'll text Tony. They'll still know we're after them but at least they won't know their exact location" Pepper nods, texting Tony. "There's another thing though, Thor went off to Heimdall."

"Oh my god! The god who can see everything?! The all seeing eyes?!" Flash questions.

"Yeah, now they know he's going to try and pinpoint their exact location" Pepper nods.

"What can we do?" Officer Gomez asks.

"We can't do anything. We can't even message Thor. They're going to have to wait until he comes back to Earth" Pepper explains.

Chapter Text

"Heimdall?" Thor calls out only to see Heimdalls bloody sword keeping the Bifrost open. "Where are you buddy?"

Thor walks around to spot Heimdall lying on his back while holding pressure to his bleeding stomach.

"Heimdall!" Thor shouts, running over to him. "Talk to me, can you hear me?"

"They came" Heimdall whispers.

"The Red Room?" Thor questions.

"They know" Heimdall confirms.

"Ok, ok, let me get you to the medic center. I'm going to pick you up and you're going to continue putting pressure on that small scratch, alright? You're going to be ok" Thor assures. 

He gently picks up Heimdall and rushes him to the medic center. When they finally arrived, he was rushed into a room.

"How long until I can talk to him?" Thor asks a doctor.

"I don't know his condition. Once a doctor leaves his room you can ask but you cannot go in there right now" the doctor informs.

"I'll be waiting right here" Thor states as he's standing in front of the desk.

"The waiting section is right over there Thor, please wait there" the doctor points.

"Very well then" Thor nods before going to sit on one of the chairs.

🕷

When Peter and Yelena entered the training room a bit after dinner, several other girls were already there.

They join them standing in a line straight across the room in rows. Two minutes passes by before everyone starts the training.

Nobody says anything. Everyone does the same thing in a fluid motion like they're mindless zombies. Yelena knows they aren't brainwashed or being controlled though, they're just being watched.

She sees Peter quickly getting into the same routine as the rest of the girls including herself. She knows the routine by heart. 

As they all swipe a fake leg off the ground and come back up, she notices Peter finding the camera in the room. Once she catches him, his focus immediately goes back to only the training.

He's a fast learner. Yelena hopes he won't be fast to break.

🕷

"They feed off of fear" Yelena states in the quietness of her and Peters room. Peter looks up at her but Yelena looks away. "The leaders, the scientists."

"What are they going to do to me?" Peter asks his fearful, dreaded question.

"Like I've mentioned, they want to know more about your powers" Yelena starts with. "They'll make you do your thing and dissect you. They'll probably put you through some trails with your powers."

"Is...is that what they did to you with your powers?" Peter hesitatingly asks.

"All of the widows have the same enhanced powers except for the few who have been watching you and took you. What they do with them is what they will do to you and I do not know the extent of it besides what I just told you" Yelena explains.

"What are you going to do while I'm there?" Peter wonders.

"I have to talk with Elvira Adrik" Yelena claims.

"To talk about me?" Peter guesses.

"To talk about you" Yelena repeats with a nod.

"Will you tell me what she says? All of it?" Peter adds at the end.

"Yes I swear by that, I do not break my promises Peter" Yelena promises.

🕷

The time has come and Peter was dragged by Yelena to go to the scientists. She shoved him in the room and left.

He faces the three scientists there as his spidey senses screams at him. Despite his fear, he shows them a blank face like Yelena had told him too.

The scientists stares at him and he looks down at their chests, not in their eyes. His senses screams at him louder and he side steps to the right before he even registered what was going on.

He hears a bang from where he just was and a thud hitting the ground. He looks over and sees a brick. They threw a brick at him.

"Очаровательный (Fascinating)" the bald scientist mutters.

Peter looks away from the brick towards the three scientists but still not looking them in the eye.

"Садиться (Sit down)" the tall scientist orders. Peter thinks he'll name him Slender Man as he's so god damn tall, man what did that guy eat to get so tall?

Peter sits down as ordered and gets pushed to lay down on the dentist looking chair. The third scientist he'll name Scar cause of the scar over his eye starts to strap him down. Baldie grabs a clipboard and shows it off to Slender Man.

Come to think of it, Slender Man is such a long name to say. Peter thinks he'll shorten it down to Slendie.

Slendie grabs a large needle and shoves it into Peters arm. He tries to hold back a scream but a small whimper escapes him. Slendie's smile grows wide.

🕷

"Мисс Адрик (Miss. Adrik)" Yelena greets.

"Ты отвел Паркера к ученым? (You took Parker to the scientists?)" Elvira questions.

"Да Мисс (Yes miss)" Yelena nods.

"Хорошо, завтра он будет проходить дисциплинарную и огневую подготовку. Его не будет с тобой в течение дня, кроме тех случаев, когда придет время поесть и поспать. (Good, tomorrow he will be going through displine and weaponary training. He won't be with you throughout the day besides when it's time to eat and sleep)" Elvira explains.

"Обычно новички делают все это на обычных занятиях. Я не понимаю (Usually the new recruits do all of that in the regular sessions. I don't understand)" Yelena recalls.

"Ну, ты же должен знать, что Мстители приедут в Россию и вернут его, верно? (Well you must know that the Avengers are coming to Russia and getting him back, right?)" Elvira questions.

"Нет, правда? Я думал, их не волнует, что ты похитил сына Человека-Паука и Старка. (No really? I thought they wouldn't have cared that you kidnapped Spider-Man and Starks son)" Yelena snarks only to get slapped.

She doesn't care though. She likes getting under Elvira's skin.

"He's going on a mission after tomorrow. The Avengers will be close to finding him and I don't want them here when they do" Elvira informs.

"He's not ready for a mission" Yelena argues.

"That's why he'll be spending all day getting disciplined and trained with weaponry" Elvira claims.

"Am I going with him?" Yelena questions really hoping it's a yes.

"No" Elvira denies making Yelenas heart falter. "A trusted Hydra agent will be going with him. It'll be like Natasha and James."

"You're sending a Hydra agent who will rape him?!" Yelena couldn't help but scream.

"He has to go through it eventually and the Hydra agent will make sure he's doing what he's suppose to be doing for the mission. Do not scream at me Belova" Elvira warns.

"What Hydra agent?" Yelena asks, demanding to know.

"That's none of your concern. He won't be in your hands after tomorrow" Elvira assures.

"He's a kid" Yelena states.

"You were six and we have younger girls right now, he's much older than some" Elvira shrugs like it's nothing.

"You really are evil. You're not becoming better than Dreykov, you're just like him" Yelena spats.

"That's where you're wrong Yelena, I'm much better than him. I'm running this place better than he ever was able to. With Peter on our side and with these new powers these women are getting, we'll be unstoppable to the avengers and anyone else who comes our way" Elvira explains.

"He's not ready for a mission, he just got here. Even when he goes through disciplinary and training tomorrow, he still won't be on your side. Haven't you seen? Spider-Man doesn't kill people, Peter Parker doesn't kill" Yelena tells her.

"He will just like you and all the other girls. Why do you care so much about him? Widows aren't allowed to care, it's a weakness" Elvira reminds her. "I'll make sure he'll break tomorrow. He'll already be breaking with what those scientists have in mind."

"You're a monster" Yelena states.

"I'm a mastermind" Elvira corrects. "Now leave before you get disciplined for how you've been acting."

"When do you think the avengers will get here? What's your plan?" Yelena ignores her.

"Soon, they're switching jets thinking we won't be able to detect the other one just cause we're in Starks AI. When they get here looking for Peter, he won't be here and that's all that matters" Elvira explains.

"You're going to flee" Yelena calls her out.

"Honey, what did you expect? I'm not going to be caught by them. When they catch you and the other widows, you'll all be dead if you try to leave. Don't forget what we implanted in all your heads" Elvira smirks.

Yelena steps closer to Elvira and Elvira surprisingly doesn't hit her. A plan is forming in Yelenas head. She stares at Elvira in the eyes and turns away and leaves.

She knows what she's going to do to help Peter and she knows how her and the rest of the widows will get out of here when the avengers arrive.

Chapter Text

Yelena hears footsteps outside her door. She gets up and turns to face it as it opens. A bald scientist shoves Peter in, Yelena quickly catching him. The scientists shuts the door and leaves.

"You're ok" Yelena mutters to Peter helping him sit down.

Yelena takes sight of him bleeding and injured everywhere. His body spasms and tears leaks down his eyes. He doesn't make a sound.

"You can talk, it's ok" Yelena assures.

"Yelena please help, everything hurts. They...please" Peter pleads not sure what to do.

Yelena can see that they already bandaged some areas of Peters body, probably the worst parts. He's not bleeding anywhere she can see.

"Are you bleeding anywhere I can't see?" Yelena wonders.

"No they bandaged me up. My healing probably took care of it though or is taking care of it" Peter claims.

"The spasms will go away. It seemed like that was a final spasm" Yelena tells him.

"Yeah, I don't feel the electricity anymore" Peter nods.

"Then you're going to be alright" Yelena assures. "I don't see anything broken, is there anything broken?"

"No, no, they didn't break anything" Peter confirms.

"That's good, they usually don't" Yelena mutters. "How's your eyesight.

"Fine, it's not blurry anymore" Peter informs.

"Blurry from what?" Yelena asks.

"They messed with my senses" Peter admits.

"You're calming down, see? You're alright" Yelena points out.

"I'm sorry" Peter apologizes.

"No apologizes in here" Yelena reminds him.

She gets up and tosses him a water bottle that he catches in ease. He takes a couple sips before setting it aside.

"What did Elvira want?" Peter asks.

"It's not pretty" Yelena admits.

"You promised" Peter recalls.

"And I'm still keeping my promise" Yelena retorts. "I'll tell you what's happening tomorrow. Then tomorrow, I'll tell you about what's coming next. I have to ask Elvira more questions."

"It's not good, is it?" Peter questions.

"The only time I'll see you tomorrow besides waking up is when we eat" Yelena begins with.

"What? Why? I-I thought you were like my boss basically in this thing" Peter stammers.

"Here, it's not called a boss and I am not taking up any sort of those titles. You will be going through disciplinary and weaponry tomorrow. In order to get through with it, just listen to them. You have to do what they say" Yelena explains.

"But I told you I'm not killing anyone" Peter recalls.

"And I told you they don't care. They aren't treating you like a kid here, they're treating you like a solider, a weapon. Peter Parker, they don't care what you have to say so keep your mouth shut and listen. Tomorrow will not be fun if you don't do what you are told" Yelena warns.

"The avengers are close aren't they?" Peter guesses.

"Yes, they're changing jets and aren't in Russia yet. They'll be here soon. Elvira has control of Friday and they realized that she is. They think switching jets will do something but it won't. They'll be here soon, Natasha will guide them" Yelena claims.

"But..." Peter trails off knowing there's more.

"But you won't be here" Yelena drops the bomb.

"What?! What do you mean?! I-where are they going to take me? They already smuggled me to Russia!" Peter panics.

"Stop yelling. I will tell you more tomorrow when I know more" Yelena assures.

Peter stops talking making Yelena feel bad. She was never rushed into a mission right away, she gained experience before Dreykov sent her off. That's what he always did but Elvira has other plans and she doesn't want the avengers getting Peter back.

"I'm sorry you're stuck in this position" Yelena apologizes after a moment.

"You said no apologies" Peter humors.

"Shut up" Yelena rolls her eyes.

"I'm sorry too" Peter apologizes.

"Natasha always talked so highly of you. The avengers know you have greater strength, it's just annoying Elvira realized. I'm not surprised though, I saw all your videos on YouTube and knew Elvira was right" Yelena tells him.

"Right about me being the key to take over the world?" Peter questions.

"Right about how strong you actually are, you've never released your full strength before. She will make you do that soon. Every girl here has the super soldiers serum coursing through our veins but only a few has additional powers like the girls you've seen. It's all from Hydra though, Elvira could never" Yelena explains.

"Has the Red Room and Hydra always been partners?" Peter wonders.

"For many years, yes" Yelena nods.

"I thought Hydra was gone after the avengers helped Bucky and stopped the undercover agents at Shield. They've just been hiding here this whole time" Peter realizes.

"The Red Room will be stopped once and for all. I've got a plan and no, you will not hear this plan yet. You'll hear it tomorrow when I get more information and finalize the plan" Yelena answers his upcoming question.

"Maybe you can come to the tower, Nat would love for you to visit" Peter invites.

"I have my own apartment in the city and I've been doing my own mission. I've been helping widows have their normal lives and after this I plan on continuing to do that" Yelena informs.

"Then the next time you're in the city you can stop by" Peter suggests.

"I'll think about it" Yelena responds just as the lights go out and they're surrounded in darkness. "Time for bed."

Yelena gets onto her own bed and lays down on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She knows Peter hasn't moved from his seated position on his own bed.

"Yelena?" Peter whispers.

"Yes?" Yelena replies.

"Thank you for being nice and helping me out since I got here" Peter thanks.

"Go to bed spider baby" Yelena scoffs.

"Nat did not have to tell you about that" Peter whines.

"She didn't have to" Yelena smirks.

🕷

"I can't believe we wasted hours for this damn jet. It's already night!" Tony exclaims as he's pacing back and forth on the Shield jet.

"We'll take turns controlling the jet so we can get there sooner" Steve assures.

"I call first dibs" Nat announces.

"Me too" Clint immediately chimes in.

"What? If Rogers is punishing me to sleep then you're going to bed too Romanoff" Tony argues.

"Yeah Nat, you're going to bed too" Steve states.

"No" Nat denies before moving past everyone and kicking Sam out of the pilot seat.

"She just threatened to kill me!" Sam shouts as he runs out of the front of the jet.

Clint doesn't say anything as he pushes past Sam and joins Nat. He kicks her out of the pilot seat so she can sit in the copilot seat.

"Tony, let's go to bed" Rhodey suggests.

"I am not going to sleep until we find my kid" Tony protests.

"You won't be able to find him if you pass out from exhaustion" Rhodey argues back.

🕷

Meanwhile with Nat and Clint, they wait until they hear everyone navigate towards the bedroom with bunk beds when Clint strikes up a conversation.

"How are you?" Clint asks.

"I'm not the one whose kid got taken away" Nat responds. Clint doesn't say anything waiting for Nat to give him an honest answer. "I thought we destroyed the Red Room once and for all."

"Have you told Melina and Alexei?" Clint wonders.

"I sent them both texts. They said they'd help but I told them no" Nat claims.

"Why?" Clint questions.

"It doesn't matter, they didn't listen. They're close to finding the base" Nat informs.

"How close?" Clint asks.

"We should be able to go tomorrow, the day after is the latest" Nat shrugs. 

"They'll both be ok" Clint assures.

"If only we knew who this new leader is" Nat sighs.

"It has to be one of the widows, right? Who else would do this? Who else knows the ins and outs and how this all works?" Clint theorizes.

"I don't remember any girl ever liking it there" Nat responds. "It wouldn't matter anyways, I escaped and that girl could've been newly taken so I would have never met her."

"It's not your fault, you thought everyone escaped" Clint assures.

"No, I was being a coward that I tricked myself into thinking that" Nat argues.

"If you were a coward you wouldn't have taken down Dreykov and his daughter with me or go back there again when you found out they were alive" Clint reasons.

"Shit" Nat curses under her breath.

"What?" Clint asks.

"Hydra is probably with the Red Room" Nat realizes.

"How? They're gone" Clint recalls.

"Ok and we thought the Red Room was gone too. These organizations are never just gone Clint. Bucky..." Nat trails off.

"What about Bucky?" Clint questions.

That's the thing about Nat and her secrets. She told Clint everything about the Red Room...well almost everything. She never told him about her and Bucky and she knows Bucky never told Steve either.

Chapter Text

"Just remember what I said and you'll be fine" Yelena reminds Peter during breakfast. 

"I know you're lying...but thanks anyways" Peter calls her out.

"I am a very good liar, don't insult me like that" Yelena gasps.

"I learned with super hearing you can hear someone's heart beat which means you get turned into a lie detector test" Peter informs her.

"You sneaky bastard" Yelena responds.

"What will you be doing?" Peter wonders.

"What I had to do yesterday. It's the same everyday here unless you go on a mission or prepare for one" Yelena explains.

"Well it won't be the same for long" Peter reminds her because the avengers are coming but that goes left unsaid.

"It won't be the same for long" Yelena repeats because it won't be. The avengers are coming and Peter will be gone. She needs her plan to work. Today is the only day she can finalize it.

🕷

Nat never told Clint anything else. She didn't say anything further so Clint dropped it knowing not to push. Steve and Bucky were the next people to switch out with them so then they were able to get some sleep.

Now it's the morning and Wanda and Bruce are both sitting at the front of the jet. Everyone else is either pacing or sitting down.

"Баки, мне нужно поговорить с тобой наедине (Bucky, I need to speak to you privately)" Nat claims as she gets up.

She goes into the bedroom, hearing Bucky following after her and her confused teammates questioning one another. Bucky shuts the door behind him and gives her a knowing look.

"Питер совершеннолетний... не так ли? (Peter's of age...isn't he?)" Bucky sighs making Nat falter.

"Что? (What?)" Nat questions but she knows what Bucky is talking about. She doesn't need the clarification she just...how did she forget the Red Room makes you do that? She was so focused about everything else that it completely slipped her damn mind. "Ему нет восемнадцати, и это не всегда происходит сразу после восемнадцати. Ты знаешь что (He's not eighteen and it doesn't always happen right off eighteen. You know that.)"

"А что насчет той девушки? Ей было пятнадцать (What about that one girl? She was fifteen)" Bucky reminds her.

"Будем надеяться, что этого не произойдет, это новый лидер. Я просто хотел напомнить тебе, что мы можем столкнуться с агентами Гидры. (Let's just hope it doesn't happen, this is a new leader. I just wanted to remind you we might run into Hydra agents)" Nat informs.

"Я знаю (I know)" Bucky nods. "Есть идеи, кем может быть этот новый лидер? (Have any idea on who this new leader may be?)"

"Клинт сказал, что это может быть кто-то, кому по какой-то ужасной причине здесь понравилось, но я не знаю, помню, кому-то там когда-нибудь нравилось. (Clint said it might be someone who for some god awful reason liked it there but I don't remember anyone ever liking it there)" Nat explains.

"Ты не сказал Клинту (You haven't told Clint)" Bucky states almost accusingly but Nat knows he doesn't mean it like that."

"И ты не сказал Стиву (And you haven't told Steve)" Nat responds.

"Зачем мне? (Why would I?)" Bucky questions.

"Точно мои рассуждения (Exactly my reason)" Nat replies.

🕷

"My name is Miss. Abramov" Miss. Abramov introduces.

Peter is standing still with his eyes down to her chest and not at her face. He's wearing an all black outfit and so is she. Her brown braids are resting a little bit past her shoulders while her cold gaze is staring him down.

"I'll be guiding you through disciplinary and weaponry training today" Miss. Abramov claims. "I see you're already off to a good start."

Peter doesn't say anything. He knows he's not allowed. His hands are at his sides unmoving, his feet side by side.

"Take this gun" Miss. Abramov orders.

She sticks out her hand holding the gun and Peter just stares. He feels his eyes going wide, his heart already beating faster.

He hears Miss. Abramov about to speak making him quickly take the gun. The gun is cold against his hands and light. He knows it's not loaded...not yet at least.

Peters spidey senses warns him before Miss. Abramov smacks him across the face. He still doesn't look up.

"You don't hesitate next time" Miss. Abramov warns.

"Yes miss" Peter responds still staring at the gun.

He feels it hard to look away, the deadly weapon is in his hands. It's not even loaded and he feels himself panicking. He always hated guns but hated them more after what happened to Ben and now May.

"Load the gun. The bullets are on that table" Miss. Abramov instructs.

Peter looks over to where she's pointing at a table at the side of the room. He sees the bullets on the table and looks back to the gun. He would lie and say he doesn't know how to load it but it'd just get him in more trouble.

Peter starts loading the gun, regretting each bullet he puts in the gun. He saw Ben do it a few times when he was with him on duty. He's seen other officers as well when he's out being Spider-Man and they ran out of bullets. He doesn't even know why he's being anxious. She'll probably make him shoot at a dummie...or at least that's what he hopes for.

He turns back around, still not looking at Miss. Abramov's face. It's like the mood had shifted though.

"Good" Miss. Abramov smiles.

The door swings open making Peter flinch. He hears two new heart beats and one of the people is screaming.

"PLEASE!!" a young girl shouts. "I'LL DO BETTER!!"

Peter looks up and at the young girl. She looks around his age and feels his heart stop. The man who was holding her places her on the floor and orders her to stay, she complies. Peter sees the octopus symbol on the man's shirt before looking away.

"I'll do better. I won't make anymore mistakes, I promise" the young girl pleads.

"Shoot her" Miss. Abramov orders.

The girl is full on sobbing trying to keep it together but failing miserably. Peter keeps his eyes trained on the girl, not daring to lift up the gun.

"Shoot her Паркер (Parker)" Miss. Abramov repeats.

Peter drops the gun keeping in mind he had the safety on and runs towards the girl. He quickly sees her handcuffs and breaks them off of her before a gunshot rings in the air.

Both him and the girl flinches hard. Peter hears the ringing in his ears looking up to see that Miss. Abramov had shot the ceiling and rubble had fallen.

"I'm not shooting her" Peter declares.

"No, no. She's going to hurt you too, just shoot me. She'll do it anyways. It'll be worse for you, just shoot me" the girl tells him.

"You heard her Parker, shoot her" Miss. Abramov tells him, holding the gun back out.

"No" Peter shuts down. 

A shot rings out and Peter pulls the girl towards him. She just missed the bullet that had almost killed her, right in the shoulder.

"I'll make her death more painful if you don't shoot her" Miss. Abramov threatens.

"I-I don't know how to shoot a gun!" Peter stutters.

"Don't lie to me Parker, if you can shoot webs then you can shoot a gun. I know your uncle taught you" Miss. Abramov calls him out making him freeze.

"Just aim for the head and it'll be painless, I'll be gone before I know it. She'll make it worse for the both of us, please" the girl whispers to him.

"You call yourself the good person but then you pull this shit! She doesn't deserve it, any of this!" Peter argues.

"Neither did anyone here including you but you're here anyways. Now come get the gun or else it'll be a lot worse. You should listen to her Parker, she's been here longer and knows better. She keeps messing up so this is her punishment" Miss. Abramov explains.

"Her punishment?! This is straight up murder!" Peter shouts.

"Don't talk back to me!" Miss. Abramov yells.

"Do what she says god dammit! This is how you can save me Spider-Man, this is how you'll save me! Please, Spider-Man. It'll be a lot worse for the both of us if you don't do this" the girl claims.

"I..." Peter trails off, tears in his eyes.

"Please just do this. You're wasting time. She'll shoot me somewhere not important so I can slowly bleed out as the scientists poke and prod me. Just shoot me" the girl demands.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry" Peter apologizes getting up.

He knows the girl is right, there's no way out of this. At least if he shoots her, her death will be painless. 

"Grab the gun" Miss. Abramov smiles, holding it out.

Peter takes the gun and looks at the crying girl. He sees the Hydra agent still in the room but now by the door.

Tears are rolling down Peters cheeks. He doesn't want to kill her. She knows who he is. Maybe she perhaps looked up to him. Maybe she thought he was going to save her.

Spider-Man saves people. Peter Parker murders them.

Peter goes still at that thought before quickly shaking it away. He knows the girl is right. They're going to not let the girl die peacefully if he doesn't kill her. He's never killed anyone and never thought he would but now he has too.

Peter points the gun at the girl making sure it's aimed at her head. He wants her death to be painless. He has his finger on the trigger and the girl closes her eyes with tears still pouring down her cheeks.

Peter doesn't deserve his own tears. He shouldn't be crying when he's complying. 

"I'm sorry" Peter whispers right as he shoots.

A loud bang echos throughout the room. Peter drops the gun as his hands fly up to his ringing ears. He hears the girl hitting the ground, the thud echoing.

He couldn't help look at the girls now bleeding head. Her eyes are closed thank god but her body is unmoving.

A cry rips out of Peters throat as much as he tries to hold it in. He turns away from the girl and throws up on the ground. He knows he'll get punished but he doesn't care.

He just murdered an innocent girl.

Peter throws up again even though there isn't much to throw up. They don't let anyone grab huge servings despite them all having huge metabolisms.

"ENOUGH!!" Miss. Abramov yells making Peter turn to her and quickly wipe his falling tears. "You don't say sorry to your victims and you do not hesitate. Let's try this again! Bring out another!"

Peter feels his heart stop. He should've known that was going to happen but he can't do it again. He just wants to go home.

Chapter Text

"Shouldn't you be at lunch?" Elvira questions Yelena after she had entered her office.

Yeah, Peter didn't show up to lunch which really worried Yelena but she can't do much about it.

"I finished my lunch and wanted to ask you something" Yelena answers.

"If this is about Peter-" Elvira begins to say.

"Sorry to interrupt Miss but I think I should know what Peters mission is and what's going to happen so I can better prepare him tomorrow. He's only been here for two days now so I want this mission to go right" Yelena explains.

"You know I can't disclose much information" Elvira reminds her. "But he will be going on a mission to take down some people with a fellow Hydra agent. That's all you need to know."

"That was extremely helpful" Yelena mutters making Elvira glare at her. "I'll make sure he's prepared. What type of environment will he be in?"

"He'll be in the city. The Hydra agent he's going to be with won't let the avengers find him. He's sneaky, you must know that from watching his videos. He'll be a good spy and he's already good with the gun" Elvira explains.

"Well he does have good aim from his web shooters" Yelena comments.

"That he does but his uncle also taught him how to shoot a gun once" Elvira hums. "Anyways, I think it's time for you to leave. You have training in a few minutes."

"Will he be leaving in the morning after breakfast?" Yelena questions.

"Yes so make sure he's ready by then" Elvira nods annoyed at Yelena for ignoring her.

"What's he going after? Girls to grab or something else?" Yelena asks. "You mentioned spying."

"That's for future missions and you know he's not grabbing anyone when that's easier with teleportation. He's going to kill just like every other Widow has" Elvira claims.

"He'll be good for us" Yelena states.

"He will" Elvira nods.

Yelena walks closer to Elvira since she's sitting on her chair at her desk. Elvira eyes her but doesn't say anything.

"I noticed Clara missing" Yelena points out.

"She had to go. She was slipping up and making many mistakes. She had her warning" Elvira reasons.

"Yeah, sounds reasonable" Yelena sarcastically replies.

"What do you want Yelena, I don't have all day and neither do you. I won't give you an excuse if you're late to training" Elvira demands.

"I have a plan for us for when the avengers attack. They're going to come weapons blazing and destroy everything that you managed to fix but we're going to make sure the avengers never see us coming. Sure they're breaking into our facility but they won't know what's going to get them" Yelena explains before telling Elvira the plan. 

"How about you talk with all the widows after training to discuss your plan. I think that's an excellent plan and the avengers definitely won't see us coming" Elvira nods.

"Can you inform them all over the loud speaker since not all of them is in my training room?" Yelena wonders.

"Of course. What room will you be meeting in?" Elvira questions.

"Tana's room, she has the largest and can accommodate all of us" Yelena responds.

Tana Mogarati was Elvira's best friend growing up which made Elvira easily trust her. Yelena is friends with Tana though, not that Elvira knows that. Tana doesn't agree with Elvira but still pretends to be her friend. It's why she has the biggest room and she was on the mission to grab Peter, not saying she's not a good fighter but that Elvira trusts her a lot. It's also perfect since the bedrooms don't have cameras or mics.

"I'll make that announcement towards the end of training" Elvira assures.

🕷

Peter had killed ten people. Holy shit, he had killed ten people.

Peter feels like throwing up. One of them was a Widow and the rest were random civilians. He feels like throwing up.

Peter swallows down the bile. After throwing up again after the third person, he got beat. Every time he hesitates, he got beat. Every time he said sorry, he got beat. By the sixth person, he stopped hesitating and saying sorry and crying.

It wasn't even Miss. Abramov beating him. Sure she beat him some but it was mainly the Hydra agent that was bringing people in and dragging the dead out.

Peter gets off the ground after Miss. Abramov had tased him some and the door opens. The Hydra agent throws a screaming and crying civilian to the ground and Peter was forced to shoot him.

He falls backwards, his eyes open and staring right at him. Peter keeps his tears at bay and takes a deep and shaky breath out. Eleven. He looks away and puts the gun on the table. Miss. Abramov said that was the last person as long as he didn't mess up, which he didn't.

"Excellent job Parker, you've gotten better. Since training is happening right now, you will be sent out to train with Miss. Zee, she will be going through training and disciplinary. Agent Garo will lead you to her" Miss. Abramov explains before the Hydra agent grabs Peter to bring him to his next doom.

🕷

They get there pretty quickly. The Hydra agent shoves Peter towards Miss. Zee and stands by the door to block him in.

"Ah, Peter! I hope your training and disciplinary went well with Miss. Abramov. I'm Miss. Zee" Miss. Zee smiles widely at Peter as he looks anywhere but her face.

"It's nice to meet you Miss. Zee" Peter responds.

"Get in your stance and we'll begin" Miss. Zee instructs. Peter gets into his fighting stance that Yelena advised him to use in front of these people. "Excellent. Now go over to that punching bag over there and throw a couple punches."

Miss. Zee made Peter go through a round of punches and kicks to the punching bag. If he slowed down, he'd get hit. His fists started bleeding a little but Miss. Zee didn't care so Peter didn't point it out. It's not like he'll be cleaning his blood anyways.

She then made him run on the treadmill which was extremely tiring after what he had done today. He usually could go miles but today he was getting tired during two, so of course he got beat for that as well.

After, she made him do moves on a mannequin. If he messed up, he'd get beat. It's a repeated process that never stops. 

🕷

Training finally finished and now every single widow is in Tanas room. Elvira pushed dinner just a few minutes back so Yelena can go over the plan.

"Why'd you call us in your room Tana?" Hazel asks.

"I didn't, Yelena did"  Tana corrects.

"I need you to make sure you are on board first. Who here loves the Red Room?" Yelena asks being straightforward.

Nobody raises their hands as expected. The only people who loves the Red Room are the Widows who got upgraded to become directors.

"Good. The avengers are coming tomorrow and they'll be looking for Peter Parker but he will not be here. Elvira is sending him off to a mission in city which is why none of us have seen him all day. I told Elvira a different plan which is how the avengers will never see us coming but instead, it'll be her who doesn't see us coming. We will not be fighting the avengers. When they come you tell them that you're on Natasha Romanoffs side" Yelena explains.

"And that'll just make them stop fighting us?" Vanessa questions.

"You answer all the questions they have. I'll be in Elvira's office and you will take them there. We'll be wearing comms" Yelena claims as she grabs out a bagful of comms from one of her pockets.

She throws the bag onto Tana's bed and everyone starts to pass the bag along, grabbing a comm.

"Do not let Elvira or anybody outside of this room catch the comm or our plan. I'll know who to find if they find out" Yelena threatens.

"What's happening with Peter?" Ying wonders.

"He'll be sent on a mission tomorrow. I will give him his plan when I see him later. You don't need to know his part of the plan since it doesn't concern any of you anyways" Yelena assures.

"How do you even know the avengers are coming tomorrow? I know Elvira's been tracking them but they just got to Russia without having any idea where we are" Aanya asks.

"Alexei and Melina will find our location and tell Natasha" Yelena responds.

"What about the metal we have in our heads? We'll die if we try to leave" Paulina reminds her.

"I might've stolen the device" Yelena claims as she pulls out the device, showing everyone.

All of the girls gasps, some of them even jump up if they were sitting.

"So turn it off!" Mel shouts.

"Are you stupid? She'll know I have it. When the avengers attack, I'll turn it off" Yelena reasons.

"Elvira most likely knows you took it" Olivia states.

"She has two. I rewired the other one so it doesn't work. This one makes sure that it stays off permanently and then I'll have Bruce Banner and Tony Stark take a look at it so their doctors don't kill us when they remove the metal from our heads" Yelena explains.

"There won't be enough room in Starks house for all of us and he wouldn't want us there anyways" Lin points out.

"Do I have to explain everything?" Yelena complains. "There are avengers doctors and Shield doctors, all do the same things with the same experience level. They'll come to you or they'll be like hey come on over this day and I'll take the metal out! That's a later problem that's easy to solve."

"You didn't really explain a whole plan out to us Yelena" Yamara states.

"That's the plan you need to know of. I'll deal with Elvira. If you see any of the higher ups, you take them out. Kill them or leave them unconscious, don't let any of them escape" Yelena instructs.

"You can't go after Elvira alone" Lara argues.

"What? Think I can't handle my own Lara Devani?" Yelena questions.

"No! I just...never mind" Lara gives up making Yelena smirk.

"Ok that is enough time, we don't need to get punished for this meeting taking any longer. Elvira will be suspicious. Don't cross me and you'll be all good tomorrow" Yelena tells everyone before leaving the room.

Chapter Text

What has been the whole day, Peter finally gets shoved into his and Yelena's room after five minutes passed the supposed bed time. Yelena catches him before he takes a tumble and makes him sit down on his bed.

"I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow" Peter silently states. "But I assumed you knew."

"I got more information out of Elvira today. You'll be heading to the city with a Hydra agent who will keep watch of you and I have a plan" Yelena starts with.

"That I sneak out and go to the tower?" Peter assumes.

"Don't be an idiot, none of the avengers are at the tower. Pepper, Happy, and your friends are going to be though. They were at a safe house but Tony told them to get back to the tower to not be suspicious" Yelena explains.

"Oh...well what's your plan?" Peter questions.

"The avengers are coming here tomorrow but you'll already be in the city. When you're there, I need you to be strong no matter what" Yelena states.

"What do you mean? What's going to happen?" Peter wonders.

"I assume you already know your mission?" Yelena asks making Peter nod his head. Before he was thrown in here, he got told the plan and had to recite it back. "Here's a piece of paper."

Peter grabs the paper and sees ingredients on there. He looks up at Yelena confused.

"When the Hydra agent is asleep or out of the house, you make that. It'll knock her right out. She has powers and I don't know how strong her powers are exactly. No matter what, that drink will knock her right out" Yelena assures.

"How will she even drink it? She'll know somethings wrong if I just give her a drink" Peter points out.

"Make her breakfast. She'll make you try everything out first but your healing factor will take care of it, she doesn't have one. Now I have a more faster and efficient way in order for you to escape but that all depends on you Peter" Yelena declares.

"What's the other way?" Peter asks.

"You shoot her dead" Yelena deadpans.

"I-I don't want to kill anyone else" Peter whispers.

"If you choose the second option, you can kill her before she does anything to you" Yelena reasons making Peter shudder. "After she's dead or knocked cold, you leave the building and run to the tower. The widows here and I will take care of everything else."

"What about the avengers? You said they aren't at the tower" Peter recalls.

"They're in Russia and will be breaking into here tomorrow when you're gone. My adopted parents don't have an exact location on us yet but they will tomorrow when you're gone. They'll then tell Natasha. Elvira wants them to come here which is why this is all playing out how it is. What Elvira doesn't know is my own plan. Here" Yelena explains while she hands Peter a little square box thing.

"A tracker?" Peter questions.

"So I can know exactly where you are. You have to stay away from security cameras incase this goes to shit" Yelena claims.

"How will I know if I'm safe? What if she gets up and comes after me?" Peter asks.

"Use your danger sense. Your powers are more capable and stronger than you think. You will rely on that" Yelena assures.

"You're like Master Shifu or even Yoda" Peter compares.

"Who and what? Is that Star Wars? Are you really comparing me to Star Wars?" Yelena questions.

"Master Shifu is Po's master in Kung Fu Panda and yeah, Yoda is from Star Wars. He's the-" Peter rambles.

"Ok, let's not get off topic Peter Parker. You'll be getting drugged when going to the city so don't bother trying to fight it. Don't even fight at all, it'll get you into trouble" Yelena reconsiders her phrasing.

"I know what to do Yelena, you've told me enough times already. You're going to start repeating yourself" Peter jokes just for Yelena to give him a glare. "Sorry."

"I'm not just telling you this so you can easily escape. I'm telling you this because if they capture you again, they can't kill you. You'll be going through the worst pain you've ever experienced in your life. They won't let you pass out or be on drugs. If you pass out, they'll start again. They do all of this so there is no repeat. I won't be able to help if you get caught and things over here don't work out" Yelena deadpans.

"Has..." Peter trails off.

"Not to me but to others with Dreykov. Nobody tried escaping again here. Every girl here was conditioned young. Those who aren't, they began their conditioning from day one and so have you. Those who tried to escape with Elvira as the leader, they won't talk about it besides saying it's bad. We can only speculate it's the same treatment as before" Yelena explains.

"Wait so Nat-" Peter starts to say.

"She knew the consequences if she were to get caught, luckily she didn't" Yelena interrupts. "We should head to bed, we've stayed up long enough and we don't want Elvira or anyone else finding out we're up."

Yelena moves on her bed, moving the blankets. When she turns to Peter, she sees he's still sitting in the same position.

"You're hiding an injury aren't you?" Yelena questions.

"No" Peter lies.

"Where?" Yelena demands, moving towards him. Peter tries to fight her away but she lifts up his shirt to reveal bruises and a large wound. "You were shot?!"

"I'm fine! It'll be healed in the morning!" Peter assures.

Yelena walks away, going to their bathroom and coming out with a first aid kit. She throws it on his bed and opens it up.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me or that they didn't take you to a doctor! They know you have a mission tomorrow so they knew not to do anything like this!" Yelena quietly shouts.

"It was bigger earlier, my healing factors been working on it. It's just not that fast cause of the food they give us and cause I barely ate today but I just need to wrap it and it'll be fine for tomorrow. I can do it" Peter insists, trying to grab the first aid kit.

Yelena smacks his hand away and grabs out a needle and thread.

"You need stitches dumbass. You'll bleed the whole night. They're dissolvable so don't worry" Yelena claims. "And no, I'll be stitching you up so hold your shirt up."

Peter rolls his eyes but holds his shirt up so she can stitch him.

"Don't let them know about this tomorrow. It wouldn't matter anyways cause Elvira will still make you go but just don't" Yelena informs.

"I won't" Peter assures.

"When did they shoot you?" Yelena asks.

"Uhhh when I kept hesitating and not...right away" Peter trails off, skipping over those dreaded words.

Yelena understands though so she doesn't bother him with it anymore. Once she stitched him up and was done, they both headed to bed nervous about tomorrow.

Chapter Text

What has been the whole day, Peter finally gets shoved into his and Yelena's room after five minutes passed the supposed bed time. Yelena catches him before he takes a tumble and makes him sit down on his bed.

"I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow" Peter silently states. "But I assumed you knew."

"I got more information out of Elvira today. You'll be heading to the city with a Hydra agent who will keep watch of you and I have a plan" Yelena starts with.

"That I sneak out and go to the tower?" Peter assumes.

"Don't be an idiot, none of the avengers are at the tower. Pepper, Happy, and your friends are going to be though. They were at a safe house but Tony told them to get back to the tower to not be suspicious" Yelena explains.

"Oh...well what's your plan?" Peter questions.

"The avengers are coming here tomorrow but you'll already be in the city. When you're there, I need you to be strong no matter what" Yelena states.

"What do you mean? What's going to happen?" Peter wonders.

"I assume you already know your mission?" Yelena asks making Peter nod his head. Before he was thrown in here, he got told the plan and had to recite it back. "Here's a piece of paper."

Peter grabs the paper and sees ingredients on there. He looks up at Yelena confused.

"When the Hydra agent is asleep or out of the house, you make that. It'll knock her right out. She has powers and I don't know how strong her powers are exactly. No matter what, that drink will knock her right out" Yelena assures.

"How will she even drink it? She'll know somethings wrong if I just give her a drink" Peter points out.

"Make her breakfast. She'll make you try everything out first but your healing factor will take care of it, she doesn't have one. Now I have a more faster and efficient way in order for you to escape but that all depends on you Peter" Yelena declares.

"What's the other way?" Peter asks.

"You shoot her dead" Yelena deadpans.

"I-I don't want to kill anyone else" Peter whispers.

"If you choose the second option, you can kill her before she does anything to you" Yelena reasons making Peter shudder. "After she's dead or knocked cold, you leave the building and run to the tower. The widows here and I will take care of everything else."

"What about the avengers? You said they aren't at the tower" Peter recalls.

"They're in Russia and will be breaking into here tomorrow when you're gone. My adopted parents don't have an exact location on us yet but they will tomorrow when you're gone. They'll then tell Natasha. Elvira wants them to come here which is why this is all playing out how it is. What Elvira doesn't know is my own plan. Here" Yelena explains while she hands Peter a little square box thing.

"A tracker?" Peter questions.

"So I can know exactly where you are. You have to stay away from security cameras incase this goes to shit" Yelena claims.

"How will I know if I'm safe? What if she gets up and comes after me?" Peter asks.

"Use your danger sense. Your powers are more capable and stronger than you think. You will rely on that" Yelena assures.

"You're like Master Shifu or even Yoda" Peter compares.

"Who and what? Is that Star Wars? Are you really comparing me to Star Wars?" Yelena questions.

"Master Shifu is Po's master in Kung Fu Panda and yeah, Yoda is from Star Wars. He's the-" Peter rambles.

"Ok, let's not get off topic Peter Parker. You'll be getting drugged when going to the city so don't bother trying to fight it. Don't even fight at all, it'll get you into trouble" Yelena reconsiders her phrasing.

"I know what to do Yelena, you've told me enough times already. You're going to start repeating yourself" Peter jokes just for Yelena to give him a glare. "Sorry."

"I'm not just telling you this so you can easily escape. I'm telling you this because if they capture you again, they can't kill you. You'll be going through the worst pain you've ever experienced in your life. They won't let you pass out or be on drugs. If you pass out, they'll start again. They do all of this so there is no repeat. I won't be able to help if you get caught and things over here don't work out" Yelena deadpans.

"Has..." Peter trails off.

"Not to me but to others with Dreykov. Nobody tried escaping again here. Every girl here was conditioned young. Those who aren't, they began their conditioning from day one and so have you. Those who tried to escape with Elvira as the leader, they won't talk about it besides saying it's bad. We can only speculate it's the same treatment as before" Yelena explains.

"Wait so Nat-" Peter starts to say.

"She knew the consequences if she were to get caught, luckily she didn't" Yelena interrupts. "We should head to bed, we've stayed up long enough and we don't want Elvira or anyone else finding out we're up."

Yelena moves on her bed, moving the blankets. When she turns to Peter, she sees he's still sitting in the same position.

"You're hiding an injury aren't you?" Yelena questions.

"No" Peter lies.

"Where?" Yelena demands, moving towards him. Peter tries to fight her away but she lifts up his shirt to reveal bruises and a large wound. "You were shot?!"

"I'm fine! It'll be healed in the morning!" Peter assures.

Yelena walks away, going to their bathroom and coming out with a first aid kit. She throws it on his bed and opens it up.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me or that they didn't take you to a doctor! They know you have a mission tomorrow so they knew not to do anything like this!" Yelena quietly shouts.

"It was bigger earlier, my healing factors been working on it. It's just not that fast cause of the food they give us and cause I barely ate today but I just need to wrap it and it'll be fine for tomorrow. I can do it" Peter insists, trying to grab the first aid kit.

Yelena smacks his hand away and grabs out a needle and thread.

"You need stitches dumbass. You'll bleed the whole night. They're dissolvable so don't worry" Yelena claims. "And no, I'll be stitching you up so hold your shirt up."

Peter rolls his eyes but holds his shirt up so she can stitch him.

"Don't let them know about this tomorrow. It wouldn't matter anyways cause Elvira will still make you go but just don't" Yelena informs.

"I won't" Peter assures.

"When did they shoot you?" Yelena asks.

"Uhhh when I kept hesitating and not...right away" Peter trails off, skipping over those dreaded words.

Yelena understands though so she doesn't bother him with it anymore. Once she stitched him up and was done, they both headed to bed nervous about tomorrow.

"I remember" Peter nods.

"She might have it and she'll press it if you don't either knock her out or kill her right away. You'll grab the remote, turn it off, and then take it to the avengers tower" Yelena instructs.

"To see how it works?" Peter questions.

"We know how it works. Bruce Banner, Tony Stark and the doctors needs to figure out how to take it out of all of us without killing us" Yelena corrects him.

"Right" Peter nods.

"I have one with me right now, I stole it from Elvira since she has two. So far I don't think she realized but I need you to have one on you incase something happens to this one vice versa" Yelena claims.

"I'll make sure nothing happens to it, don't worry" Peter assures.

"Oh I'm not worried. I've seen your videos" Yelena recalls.

"How many times are you going to bring it up? It's kind of creepy" Peter points out.

"It's not creepy if it's on the internet Peter Parker" Yelena argues when she notices the time. "We have to go back to the room. You'll do your business and then I have to take you to Elvira."

Peter nods his head and gets up from the chair he was sitting on. Yelena grabs Peters arm lightly and takes him back to their room.

After Peter does his business in the bathroom and changed his clothes, Yelena was walking him to Elvira's office.

Knock.

Knock.

"Come in!" Elvira shouts through the doors. Yelena opens the door and shoves Peter inside. "Took your time. Peter, Agent Kel will be with you during the mission."

Peter looks besides Elvira to see a woman with black long hair and purple streaks. She's wearing all black with the Hydra symbol and some weapons on her.

On Elvira's other side is former Officer Hicins who Peter hasn't seen since he arrived.

"Officer Hicins?" Peter questions.

"What have we said about speaking out of terms Parker?" Elvira questions.

"Sorry" Peter apologizes.

"Agent Hicins will not be going with you, it's just you and Agent Kel. He's just here to make sure you cooperate with Agent Kel going onto the jet. There's a doctor waiting outside of the jet too. I suggest you go now, we shouldn't stall any longer" Elvira explains.

Agent Hicins grabs Peter by his arm and drags him out of the room with Agent Kel leading. He gives Yelena one last look before the doors swings close.

"What about all that 'oh I owe Ben' bullshit?" Peter whispers. "He trusted you and so did Officer Gomez, Sheriff Holme, and May, and I. Uncle Ben talked about how you were a good friend, let's just say he wouldn't be your friend anymore if he were still here."

Slap!

"Shut up and keep walking" Agent Hicins growls.

"Getting under your skin or are you just that heartless and cold?" Peter asks. "All this time you weren't actually helping m-"

Punch!

"Shut up before you get it worse" Agent Hicins threatens.

"Is he bothering you? I can make him go to sleep a little bit early" Agent Kel suggests.

"No, we're almost to the jet" Agent Hicins waves off.

Peter decides to not say anything else. He shouldn't be making this worse for him than it actually is but Peter never thought Hicins was apart of Hydra. It's still a bit shocking and to be fair, Peter has been having a lot on his mind about this whole mission and what he was forced to do only the day before.

Once they made it to the jet, Peter sees the doctor before getting shoved in. Hicins forces him onto a seat before the doctor throws a needle into his arm, literally.

Peters vision starts to blur as his hearing starts to get muffled. Before he knew it, he passed out.

🕷

Yelena knows there's not much time before the avengers get here. In an hour into Peters flight, Melina and Alexei will get their location and send it to Nat. When the avengers get here, Peter should be in the city.

The jet they took is faster than most jets. Yelena could try to explain it but she can care less about how jets work. All Yelena can focus about is the time.

When Peter arrives at the city, his drug should be wearing off. That's when Peter should be going with the plan or a few minutes later depending what decision he chooses.

Yelena hopes Peter just shoots Agent Kel but she knows Peter would never think of killing someone as long as he's in control.

The thing is, Yelena doesn't know if Peter will be able to escape if he doesn't kill her. Sure, the drink he'll make will make her pass out but she doesn't know for how long.

Don't get her wrong, she has faith in Peter but there are so many complications and what if this agent does something to Peter and he's too afraid to shoot her? What if he can't do anything about it when she does something.

That thought sends shivers all throughout her body. She knows that feeling. Every girl here knows that feeling.

Yelena goes to her dance class with all the other girls filing in. This will hopefully be the last dance class ever.

🕷

The avengers are in Russia. When they arrived, they went to the old location where the first Red Room was only to find what they had expected, nothing.

Thor came back down to Earth and told them about Heimdalls condition. The medics said he'll be alright but needs to rest. Nobody knows how the widows were able to get up to Asgard, it sends a chill throughout all of them.

They then went to some old Hydra bases but again, nothing. They still have hope. They're early on in their search in Russia but the thing is, the country is huge.

They knew where to start which was old bases but now they have to think smarter. Sure the avengers are smart and there are two geniuses on board but whoever is this new leader has planned this.

They're currently in Moscow, Russia. This city is rated for its most crime so why not start there? They have to find something...right?

Nat feels her phone vibrating in her pocket so she pulls it out to see Melina calling her. She gives Clint a look before answering it.

"When did we start picking up phone calls when there are more important matters?" Tony questions.

Clint shushes Tony and before a fight starts, Nat holds up her hand for them to zip it. The avengers split up and somehow the two spies got stuck with Tony instead of him getting stuck with Rhodey. It's probably because Steve can't trust him to fly his suit at his capability at the moment, Nat doesn't blame him.

"Melina?" Nat speaks into the phone.

"Мы нашли локацию «Красные комнаты» (We found the Red Rooms location)" Melina tells her right away.

"Где? (Where?)" Nat asks.

"Kyzyl, Tuva" Melina supplies. 

"Конечно, город, который буквально означает красный и малиновый. (Of course, the city that literally means red and crismon)" Nat interrupts annoyed she hadn't thought of that.

"Вы близко к центральной России? (Are you close to central Russia?)" Melina questions.

"Мы в Москве, так что на самолете семь часов. Самолет сможет развивать высокую скорость. Мы будем там через три часа, я бы сказал (We're in Moscow so by plane, seven hours. The jet will be able to go up to a high speed. We'll be there in three hours I would say)" Nat informs signaling to Clint to tell everyone to meet on the jet immediately.

"Хорошо, вы найдете здание в Кызыл-Хая. Бизнес называется «Бойцовский клуб Додзё», но это фальшивый бизнес. Объект находится прямо под (Alright, you'll find the building at Kyzyl-Khaya. The business is called Dojo's Fight Club but it's fake running. The facility is just underneath)" Melina explains.

"Мы поедем, спасибо. Я попрошу Елену позвонить тебе? (We'll be on our way, thank you. I'll have Yelena call you?)" Nat assumes.

"Да, удачи, Наташа. (Yes, good luck Natasha)" Melina wishes before hanging up.

"Let's go" Nat instructs before the three of them rush to the jet. Surprisingly, Tony hadn't said anything.

She spoke too soon though. As soon as they got into the jet and Nat and Clint slipped into the pilot seats, Tony came to bug them.

"Kyzyl, capital of Tuva and still in Russia. Where exactly?" Tony notices.

"Kyzyl-Khaya. The facility is under a fight club that's not actually running, it's pretend. We'll be there in three hours from max speed, usually it'd be a seven hour flight. So yes Tony, we are going as fast as we can" Nat supplies.

"You three should head to the back. Bruce and I got the flying from here, you should create a plan" Sam chimes in out of nowhere.

"We got-" Nat begins to say.

"Thanks guys, let's go Nat" Clint thanks.

Chapter Text

"Come on Natasha, where are you?" Yelena murmurs under her breath in her room.

It was time for lunch, Yelena had just exited her room. She sees some other girls do the same, all of them heading to the cafeteria room. 

It's been past three hours. She knows Peter is most likely in the city by now or at least close. That jet they used is crazy fast but she knows the avengers most likely have a crazy fast jet to so where the fuck are they?

It's not like there's traffic in the sky. Maybe she's wrong and even with a fast jet it'll still take awhile. She needs them here already.

Yelena looks around the cafeteria. Some girls give her a look probably wondering where the hell are these so called heroes so she just gives them a look back telling them to wait.

She knows they're going to show up any minute now...hopefully.

🕷

Peters eyes flutter open. He still feels drugged up. His eyesight is blurry so he blinks several times until his vision is alright again. He's looking up at the ceiling so he turns his head, a wave of dizziness washing over him.

He sees Agent Kel smiling creepily at him from the door. He tries to get up from the bed but he feels like he can't move. His body feels too heavy.

"The drugs will wear off soon" Agent Kel states.

Peter doesn't say anything. He knows he's suppose to but he's too tired.

"What time is it?" Peter wonders.

"Getting close to lunch. You should go back to bed, it'll help the drugs wear off" Agent Kel instructs before leaving the room.

She had the decency to close the door but Peter feels his spidey senses spike up. He looks around but doesn't see anything that he should worry about. Due to his super hearing, he knows Agent Kel and him are the only ones in this house.

Peter closes his eyes and let his mind get swept away by darkness.

🕷

"Why are we taking so long to arrive?!" Tony shouts.

"Tones, we're almost there" Rhodey assures. "Just breathe."

"We don't even know if he's hurt!" Tony argues.

"He's alive" Nat cuts in. "They want him alive."

"Bruce and Sam said we only have ten minutes until we get there" Wanda informs.

"Ten minutes too long" Tony retorts. 

"We'll get there around eleven" Steve assures.

"All the girls will be at lunch" Nat realizes. "Most likely if the schedule is the same. If they are, it'll be easy to get them un-mind controlled if they are. We open these viles, throw them in the room, and it'll do it's work."

"And if they aren't mind controlled and we throw it in there, they'll most likely attack us" Clint figures. "Unless you know, they think we aren't bad people"

"Yeah, we should get ready for an attack but don't kill any of them" Nat warns.

"I will do no harm to any of them. I will call no lightning and won't use Mjolnir to kill" Thor nods.

"How about we go over the plan one more time now that we know there's a chance the girls are all eating their lunches?" Steve suggests making everyone agree.

🕷

"Yelena, I heard Elvira say they're getting here in ten minutes" Celi informs her.

"Just on time and thank god lunch just started. Natasha should figure out lunch is still the same so if she does, they'll know all the widows are together. She thinks we're mind controlled so don't be alarmed by the old vile getting sprayed in here. Tell the girls that. I'll be dealing with Elvira" Yelena explains before getting up and leaving.

Nine minutes and fifty seconds as soon as Yelena exited the cafeteria. She started counting down.

Nine minutes and thirty seconds. She's in the weaponry room, grabbing some weapons. 

Nine minutes and she swipes some needles filled with liquid from the scientists room.

Eight minutes and thirty seconds she's outside Elvira's room.

"The avengers are going to be here soon so we need to leave now" Elvira tells who she's assuming is some of the agents.

Eight minutes and twenty-two seconds.

"I'll go make sure the jet is ready" one of the agents tells Elvira.

Yelena sneaks around the corner just as the door swings open. Yelena silently runs towards the woman, jumping on her and wrapping her legs around her.

She strangles the woman until the woman grabs Yelenas leg. Before she can pull her off, Yelena shoves a needle into the woman's neck.

The woman's grip loosens. Yelena slides off of her and catches her before she hits the ground. Yelena drags her into a random nearby closet and heads back to the door Elvira is in.

Seven minutes and three seconds.

Yelena can hear only one other person with Elvira. Everyone else is probably by the jet or getting ready to leave.

"Meet me at the jet. I have to deal with something real quick" Elvira tells the final person.

"Yes miss. I'll tell everyone to wrap it up" the woman replies.

Six minutes and forty-eight seconds.

The woman leaves the room. Yelena grabs her from behind and sticks a different needle in her neck. The woman slumps down and like before, Yelena throws her in the closet.

She's back at Elvira's door to listen at six minutes and twelve seconds. She hears commotion from Elvira, opening and closing draws. 

The time is ticking. Yelena knows she's going to leave the room soon. There are five minutes and thirty-one seconds until the avengers should get here.

But instead, Yelena waits. She'll stall her when she hears Elvira start to leave.

Four minutes and fifty-nine seconds was Yelenas cue to knock on Elvira's door. She heard her about to leave and once she had knocked, she knew Elvira froze.

"Come in" Elvira announces through the door. Yelena enters to see Elvira carrying a bag. "Yes Yelena?"

Four minutes and forty-one seconds.

"I wanted to ask you about my next mission" Yelena lies.

"You don't have a mission" Elvira dismisses.

"Exactly, I want one" Yelena claims.

"Well I don't have a mission ready for you yet but when I do, you'll be the first to know. Ever so persistent Yelena?" Elvira questions.

"Yes, I just want to put my hard work into something and turn the world into a better place" Yelena nods.

"I need to go check up on something. We'll talk later Yelena" Elvira states.

Three minutes.

"Actually, I have an idea on what to do with Peter. He is going to be our main weapon, correct?" Yelena asks.

"Yes, I already have plans for him. What do you have in mind?" Elvira wonders.

"He'll be the better version of the Winter Solider. He should be how he was, a ghost and a mask. Nobody knew who he was only what people called him. It'll make everybody fearful again. We'll take that fear and use it against them. It's what you've already been doing since Dreykov died, right Elvira?" Yelena explains, getting under her skin. 

 She sees Elvira turn mad at that and she couldn't help smirk.

Three minutes and fourteen seconds.

Slap!

"You're weak. That had no force to it" Yelena tells her. "Maybe you should be the one getting trained."

"YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS OF ME YELENA!! I don't know where this attitude is coming from but you are going to get your punishment!" Elvira shouts.

"Awwww did I hit a nerve?" Yelena mocks.

Two minutes and fifty-six seconds.

Yelena hears the click of the all too familiar remote before she can stop it. Electricity runs through Yelenas body making her knees buckle. Yelena falls to the floor, holding back a scream until Elvira turns it off.

Two minutes and thirty-one seconds.

"Do not ever step out of line again, do you hear me Yelena?" Elvira asks in a threatening voice.

"Yes miss" Yelena responds.

"Get up" Elvira instructs.

Yelena gets up. She sees the remote still in Elvira's hand. She luckily hadn't realized her second one is missing. The lady only has two remotes while her agents all have one. It's why she told Peter when he gets the remote to make sure not to crush it. She doesn't know if she can not crush the remote that is in the bitches hands.

"I'm sorry, I do not know why I did that" Yelena fake apologizes.

"You're skipping..." Elvira trails off realizing that Yelena knows. "You asshole!"

"Oops, you've caught me!" Yelena exclaims just as she takes out her gun and hits Elvira with an electricity dart.

Elvira yelp in pain and before she can press the remote, Yelena kicks it out of her hands. Elvira rips the dart out of her and quickly stands up.

One minute and twenty seconds.

"Aww am I making you late to something?" Yelena asks.

Chapter Text

"Yelena told us to stay in the cafeteria while she deals with Elvira" Celi reminds Tana.

Tana, Hazel, Savannah, Iris, Anastasia, Valeria, Daniela, Kendra, Edina, Lori, and Celi are all making their way to the jet in the garage. They know all the agents are leaving or getting ready to leave so they're going to try and stop them before the avengers get there.

"Yelena is dealing with Elvira, we have to deal with the rest of them. We can't risk them leaving and for this to all start up again" Tana explains, stressing the last word.

"You're right. This needs to be stopped once and for all" Iris agrees.

They make it to outside of the garage door. In the garage is many vehicles and the roof to it even opens. The girls can hear thirty people in there. 

"We all need to have each others sixes. If you see a remote, destroy it. Don't let any of them escape" Tana instructs.

"What do we do if we see the avengers?" Iris asks.

"They'll recognize we're helping them since we're fighting the enemy. We have eight minutes before they get here" Tana informs.

"Then let's get this fight started" Kendra states.

🕷

Peter feels dazed. He feels somebody a top of him. He feels his whole body freezing.

"Stay still" 

Skip.

Peter feels his heart beating fast. He feels somebody on him.

Peter rips his eyes open to see Agent Kel on top of him. His shirt is off. He feels panicked. Peter tried to move but his movements are too slow.

She drugged him again.

He's finally able to move his legs and kicks her off of him. She lets out a shout as Peter scrabbles up on the bed before falling off. 

"What the fuck?!" Agent Kel curses.

"Don't touch me!" Peter yells.

He tries to get up but he's too slow. Agent Kel runs over to him, drags him up, and slams him into the wall.

"Every widow goes through this. You're going to go back on the bed and either go with it or stay still" Agent Kel warns. 

Peter looks away from her and finds his shirt on the ground. He shoves her off and runs sideways towards it, damn the drugs. He quickly puts it on before Agent Kel pushes him onto the floor.

"Stop struggling! No widow has ever struggled doing this! They know the consequences of not listening. Do you want me to do worse to you?! I will carve a knife into every inch of your body Parker" Agent Kel threatens.

Agent Kel stands over Peter so Peter kicks her legs out. He quickly gets up and runs out of the room. He hears Agent Kel getting up so he runs over to the bag with weapons in it. He grabs out the gun and aims it at Agent Kel.

"Drop it Parker" Agent Kel demands, grabbing the remote out of her own pocket.

Dammit, how could he forget that?

"You turn it on, I'll shoot you" Peter warns.

"That threat goes both ways" Agent Kel tells him. "But we all know you're too much of a baby to actually shoot."

"I'll do it" Peter states.

"Do it. You remember you're drugged up Parker? Your aim won't even be good. You're just being a baby, every widow complies with it or else they get another added punishment" Agent Kel tells him.

Peter feels his eyelids getting heavy. The drugs are still in him, still effective. He won't have much time before he passes out again.

"Why don't we go back to the bedroom and start this over?" Agent Kel suggests.

"Fuck you" Peter curses just as he fires the gun.

A loud ringing noise is the only thing Peter can hear. He sees the bullet hitting the agent right at her forehead.

It's a kill shot.

She falls down, her eyes unmoving. Her breathing had stopped and Peter threw up.

He drops the gun, throwing up his contents until he sees nothing more. The darkness welcomes him back in.

🕷

The avengers split up. Nat with Clint, Tony with Rhodey, Thor with Wanda, Steve with Bucky and Sam. Bruce is staying in the jet unless they need the big guy but it's unlikely. 

Nat and Clint are trying to find the leader, Tony and Rhodey are trying to find Peter, Thor and Wanda are making sure nobody escapes, and Sam, Bucky, and Steve are looking for the room the girls are supposedly eating in.

Nat and Clint turn a corner when they hear commotion coming from a room. They both look at each other before running towards the door and stopping just right outside.

"You and the other widows may be getting out but Peter will forever be with me. He'll help us make another Red Room" a woman's voice says through the door.

Nat pushes the door open, her widow bites out. She sees Yelena and another woman, Yelena a top of her. Clint holds his bow out but doesn't shoot an arrow.

"Ah Natasha" the woman greets, throwing Yelena off of her.

"Elvira Adrik, she was a girl here and decided Dreykov was right but was stupid about how to go about it. Elvira is just as stupid" Yelena explains.

"Where's Peter?" Clint asks.

"On a mission" Elvira answers.

"He's in the city, I told him what to do to leave. He'll be running back to the tower" Yelena assures.

Elvira makes a swift motion, grabbing the gun from her bag and aiming it at Nat. She has the remote aiming at Yelena.

"Either of you three try anything, I'll press the trigger and the button" Elvira warns.

"Такая сука (Such a bitch)" Yelena curses before taking her own gun out and shooting Elvira in the chest, right by her heart.

Elvira shoots the gun at Nat but poorly misses as she falls to the ground. Yelena stands over her, pressing on the wound. With her other hand, she tosses Elvira's gun and grabs the broken remote.

"You broke the remote during our fight, how sad" Yelena mocks. "I hope you rot in hell Elvira."

Yelena shoots Elvira in between her eyes, her blood splatters on Yelenas clothes but she doesn't care. She gets up looking at Nat and Clint and smiles.

"You're ten seconds late" Yelena tells them.

"You knew we were coming?" Clint questions.

"Of course I did. Tell ur friends that the widows are on your side, not mind controlled. They're in the cafeteria. Some think I don't know but they snuck into the garage to make sure none of the agents leave. Let's go" Yelena explains, pushing past the two of them.

"Yelena" Nat calls after.

"What?" Yelena asks, turning around. 

"I'm sorry it took so long" Nat apologizes.

"We'll talk later" Yelena brushes her off. "We got more important things right now."

🕷

Steve, Bucky, and Sam all burst into a room where they heard people talking only for a ton of women to turn and look at them.

Sam throws the vile on the ground, a red mist filling the air. All of the women stare at them, none of them reacting to the vile.

"I don't think the vile is working" Sam points out the obvious.

"That's cause we're not mind controlled. We're here to help and escape, we're on Natasha Romanoffs side" Libby informs them.

"Where's Peter?" Steve asks.

"He's on a mission in the city. Yelena told us she told him what to do to escape" Libby explains.

"Is this all of you?" Bucky wonders.

"No, some of us went to stop the other agents from leaving in the garage and Yelena is fighting the leader, Elvira Adrik" Libby claims.

"Can you lead us there?" Steve asks. "We'll help you leave. You won't ever have to come back here."

Chapter Text

Peters eyelids flutter open for what feels like a million times that day. He gets up from the ground and looks over at Agent Kel, swallowing the bile that's trying to leave. He grabs the remote from her to see it in pieces.

He gets up and quickly leaves. He leaves through the back door, already running off. Peter ducks through alleyways, avoiding each camera. He knows his gunshot wound still hasn't healed, Yelena did good with the stitches, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt as he runs.

As he's running, he's realizing he's getting more and more familiar with the surroundings. He must be in Queens if he wasn't already.

Peter continues going in alleyways, climbing up the walls when no one is looking and dropping into the next. He goes in and out of them, always avoiding the cameras.

He hears cops in the distance and shouting. Peter turns his head confused, running as close as he can but staying hidden in the alleyways.

Peter spots a crowd outside of a jewelry store and a broken window. He immediately knows it was a robbery. He sees a cop pulling the robber out of the store, no weapon to be found. A couple of cops follow after them when he spots Officer Gomez.

Peter felt like he could cry on the spot. He knew he needed to get his attention without anyone else noticing.

Peter looks on the ground and picks up a small rock he found. Officer Gomez's back is turned so when Peter threw the rock, it hit him right in the back.

Officer Gomez immediately turns around and Peter ducks behind the dumpster before he can spot him. He waits a few seconds before he hears Officer Gomez turning around. 

Peter picks up another pebble and throws it at Gomez's back again. He ducks behind the dumpster and this time, he hears Officer Gomez walking towards him.

Peter quickly and quietly backs up to be as far into the alleyway as he can. He can't let anyone else see him.

"Whoever is in here, come out with your hands up" Officer Gomez demands.

Peter rolls his eyes and raises his hands, coming out of his hiding spot. He sees Officer Gomez with his gun drawn out, aiming right at him. As soon as Officer Gomez sees him, he lowers the gun.

"Peter?!" Officer Gomez shouts.

"Shhh! Not so loud" Peter shushes.

"How are you even here? The avengers said you were in Russia!" Officer Gomez recalls. Peter ignores him and throws him into a hug. Officer Gomez immediately hugs him back. "Are you hurt?"

"No, no, I'm ok" Peter assures as tears start to escape his eyes. "You were looking for me?"

"Of course I was! I mean I couldn't do much help since I can't leave the city but I've been at the tower helping and patrolling around here" Officer Gomez explains.

"Officer Hicins" Peter realizes, letting go of the hug and quickly wiping his tears. "He's-"

"I know kid, Officer Holme fired him but technically he left before he can even be fired. He left the day you were taken, we were driving back to the station" Officer Gomez informs. "Does anybody know you're here? Have you called Tony? You should come with me, I'll drive you home."

"Nobody can know where I am right now. It's not safe yet. I need a computer an-and-" Peter stutters.

"Is somebody chasing after you?" Officer Gomez interrupts.

"No...I...I killed her. I killed people" Peter cries. "I killed them. I killed this you-young girl an-and others. I'm a murd-"

"No you're not, ok? You did it for your safety. I know you'd never kill anyone, alright? I know you had a valid reason" Officer Gomez assures.

"A valid reason still means going to jail but I'm en-enhanced, I'll be sent to the raft" Peter realizes.

"We'll talk this all over later, you're going to be alright. I have a computer in my car. I can pull the car up over here, ok? You just need to stay put" Officer Gomes instructs.

"Can you pull it into the alley? I can't let the cameras see me" Peter asks.

"Of course, just give me a moment" Officer Gomez nods before walking over to his car.

Peter let's out a breath, compressing his tears. He puts his hands in his pockets to stop them from shaking.

Officer Gomez doesn't take too long before he pulls the cop car into the alleyway. Peter slides into the passengers seat, grabbing the computer Officer Gomez handed him.

"Can I drive to the tower? Is it safe?" Officer Gomez asks.

"Yeah, I just need to disable Friday on the way there" Peter nods, opening the computer.

"Oh yeah, the avengers found out Friday got hacked into but they never disabled her. Tony was going to but they didn't want them knowing that we know where you were so they switched jets with Shield" Gomez explains.

"It didn't matter, they knew anyways" Peter sighs.

"I'm glad you're back and safe kid" Officer Gomez claims.

"Yeah" Peter nods already starting to hack into Friday.

🕷

"Have you heard word yet?" Ned asks Pepper and Happy.

"No" Happy dismisses.

"The last we heard is that they knew where he is. I'm sure they're there fighting right now" Pepper assures.

"Can any of them even take care of him if he's hurt?" Flash questions.

"Yes, they all know things to keep him from dying but I doubt he's dying. That place wants him alive" Pepper explains.

"Peter is stronger than Steve. He lifted a building off himself" Ned points out.

"Dude!" Mj shouts, hitting Ned.

"Ow!" Ned yells.

"What?!" Pepper, Happy, and Flash screams.

"It's nothing. He told us Tony knows and May knew too and he doesn't want anyone else to know" Ned tries to save himself. 

"I highly doubt Tony knows" Pepper breaks the news.

"And he didn't tell May anything or else she would've screamed at me and Tony" Happy adds.

"Don't tell him you know and if you do, blame Ned" Mj suggests.

"When did that happen? I never saw that on the news" Flash asks.

"Vulture incident" Ned answers making Mj give him an evil glare. "I meant...I umm..I don't know."

"There's no buildings at the beach that were knocked down" Happy recalls.

"He chased Toomes to a warehouse and Toomes knocked out the support beams. Peter got himself out and went after the plane" Mj explains. This time, Ned gives her a look. "You already spilled and its not like you were gonna lie. They were just going to keep asking questions if you ignored them."

Ding!

Everyone shares confused glances at each other because they weren't expecting anyone. Officer Gomez said he'll stop by for dinner since they invited him but it's nowhere near dinner time. They all turn to the elevator doors leaving them shocked.

Chapter Text

"PETER?!" Ned shouts, running over to Peter. Peter flinches but quickly regains himself before Ned throws him into a hug. "Holy shit! How are you here? The avengers aren't back yet!"

"Long story" Peter sorta lies. "I umm I hacked into Friday and disabled her for the time being. Nat's sister is going to get Friday off of their computers."

"Are you hurt anywhere? We should take you to the medbay" Pepper suggests. "Cho has everything all set up.

"I'm not hurt, I'm ok" Peter assures as he's not looking directly at her.

"We should still take you down to Cho just incase" Pepper claims.

Peter feels his heart spike up and takes a step back. He knows Pepper won't hit him or anything like that. He was just scared of getting forced to go. Forced to endure the torture of medical tools. No...it's Cho, she wouldn't do that. Peter trusts her.

"I'm ok, really" Peter insists.

Pepper looks back at Happy at lost on what to do. She knows Peter has to go to medbay and is most likely hiding an injury.

"Why don't I order some food? You hungry?" Happy asks.

"I guess" Peter shrugs.

"How about you go change and wash up? By the time you're done the food will be here" Pepper suggests.

Peter nods his head before walking away to his room. Once he shuts his door, everyone turns to Officer Gomez.

"Where did you find him?" Mj wonders.

"He found me. There was a burglary at a jewelry store and he threw some rocks at me to get my attention" Officer Gomez explains.

"Do you know if he's hurt? Now that I've realized he's Spider-Man, I can remember the times he's hidden a limp and other injuries" Flash recalls.

"I don't know. He told me he's fine but I don't buy it" Officer Gomez sighs.

"I'll text Tony and tell him Peter's here. In the meantime, we'll have Peter eat. Hopefully after he'll be willing to go to Cho. I don't want to force him to go" Pepper explains.

🕷

Peter does as he's told. He takes a shower and puts some fresh clothes in the bathroom for when he's done. He was mindful about the stitches still closing the gunshot wound. Hopefully his healing factor will kick in soon. He already noticed it closed up a little bit but barely anything. It's probably busy working on his pretty sure cracked rib.

Peter started scrubbing his body. He wanted to get rid of the woman's touch. He doesn't even know how long she was doing that until he woke up.

Peter feels like throwing up but he holds it back. He's done enough of that for today.

"It'll be our little secret."

Peter feels a shiver through the hot water and scrubs harder. 

🕷

"He's been in there for awhile" Flash points out.

"Give him some time, he just got back" Mj rolls her eyes.

"I'm worried about him" Ned claims.

"He'll be alright, we'll all help him get through this. He probably just needs some time to realize he's not there anymore" Pepper assures.

"Gomez you know something, don't you?" Happy questions.

"Peter doesn't want me to tell you, it's not anything like injuries. He told me where he was and I called up Fury. He sent some agents and that's all I can say to you guys. I don't want to cross Peters boundaries" Gomez explains.

"Do you think he'll tell any of us?" Pepper asks.

"Tony, Nat, her sister, somebody" Gomez nods. "He doesn't tell people things, I'm sure you're all aware of that. He had this...incident a few years back and never told his aunt and uncle. They had to find out themselves. He wouldn't tell me anything besides the one thing he did tell me which is what Fury is taking care of. I hope he tells somebody and doesn't hold it to himself. What Nat said about the Red Room...who knows what they could've done to the first boy they had."

Chills went around the room. Tears stung at some of their eyes. They're going to help Peter no matter what even if he doesn't tell them.

Flash owes it to Peter after years of bullying, years of torment. He feels awful and he knows nothing will make up for that. He just hopes Peter can bounce back like what he always seems to do.

🕷

Peter's sitting in the corner of his room, on the ceiling. He's done with his shower but hasn't left his room. He takes some deep breaths in and out.

Knock.

Knock.

Peter looks towards the door. He hears a heart beat on the other side and murmurs, "Come in."

Pepper opens the door and leaves the door cracked behinds her. She's not surprised to see Peter on the ceiling, it's not the first time.

"Food is here" Pepper informs. Peter nods his head but doesn't get down from the ceiling. "Everyone should here get a bit past dinner. They're making sure the girls there are going to the medbay at the new Shield but Yelena will be coming here with them. Friday is also back up, she's all good."

"Ok" Peter responds.

"Are you ok Peter?" Pepper asks.

"Yeah" Peter nods.

"I'm sorry that I was trying to make you go to Cho, I just want to make sure you aren't hiding any injuries and she should do a check up just incase. I'm sorry if I overstepped" Pepper apologizes.

"You didn't, I just don't want to go. Please don't let me go" Peter pleads, looking down at his hands.

"I won't make you but I also don't want you to bleed out, ok?" Pepper claims.

"I'm not bleeding, I promise" Peter promises.

"Why don't you come down? We don't want the food to get cold" Pepper suggests.

Peter jumps down from the ceiling and hugs Pepper.

"I'm sorry" Peter apologizes. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"There's nothing wrong with you Peter, don't apologize" Pepper assures feeling like her heart broke into a million pieces. 

Chapter Text

As they were eating, they decided to put on a movie. They're all sitting on the couches. Peter is sitting between Mj and Ned, Flash besides Ned. Pepper and Happy are sitting on the other couch.

Peter barely ate but nobody forced him to eat more. They didn't know how much he was getting fed and didn't want him to overdo it and throw up.

They still wanted to take him to Cho but they know they shouldn't drag him. He's not currently bleeding and Friday hasn't said anything so maybe he could hold off until Tony and the rest get back. 

It's weird for them to see. Sure Peter argues about seeing Cho sometimes but he always ends up going. They don't know how to help him because they definitely wouldn't be dragging him to Cho unless Friday reports an emergency.

🕷

It's been a couple hours. They watched a few movies. Peter was tense at first but slowly calmed down. They're now watching How To Train Your Dragon, the first one.

Peter was breathing fine until he wasn't. He feels a sharp pain in his side, right where the stitches are. He quickly grabs ahold of his side, alarming Mj.

"You ok?" Mj asks skeptically.

"Yeah, just be right back" Peter claims before getting up and rushing to his room.

Peter locks his door and lifts up his shirt to see one of his stitches popped open. Blood started to leak through the wound.

Peter rushes to his bathroom and grabs out his first aid kit. He has to deal with this before Friday alerts anyone.

Problem is, he's going to have to take out the stitches to put new ones in...shit.

"Uhh Friday? I got this from here, no need to alert anyone" Peter tries.

"I suggest going to the medbay. You are not capable of doing your own stitches at the moment. I alerted Dr. Cho and Boss Lady" Friday calls him out.

"NO! I-I'm fine Friday! I got it!" Peter assures.

"You also have a cracked rib and I detect something strange in your head. I told Dr. Cho you need a scan" Friday informs.

"Fri please, stop alerting everyone" Peter pleads, his breath getting cut in his own throat.

Peter falls down onto the floor just as he hears his bedroom door open, he could've sworn he locked it. 

He sees Pepper and Happy come into his room and into his bathroom. Peter is up against his bathroom wall, far away from them.

"Please I'm fine, I don't need to go. I can do it myself" Peter pleads.

Pepper steps closer to him making him flinch. He feels a pang of guilt looking at Peppers shocked and sad face, he didn't mean to flinch. It just happened.

"I'm sorry" Peter apologizes.

"It's going to be ok. Dr. Cho will help you stitch your side right back up" Pepper assures.

"Nothing else will happen. She'll do her normal procedure she does with you" Happy adds.

"No please don't make me" Peter cries. 

His whole body feels like it's shaking. He's pressing on his slowly bleeding side being lucky only one of the stitches broke. 

"I'm sorry. I won't do anything again, I'll deal with this on my own. I know how to stitch myself up. I-please" Peter pleads.

"We won't let anything happen to you Peter" Pepper swears.

Peter starts shaking his head as he squeezes his eyes shut. 

"Peter, you're at the tower. You're in your room, in your bathroom" Happy claims.

"I can't" Peter cries in the abyss.

"You're safe Peter, nobody here is going to hurt or touch you" Pepper tells him.

"Peter breathe in and out, we don't want you to drive yourself into a panic attack" Happy instructs. "Deep breaths in and out."

"I don't w-want to do it anymore" Peter protests.

"You don't have to do anything Peter, just take deep breaths" Happy assures.

"Open your eyes Peter, you're not there" Pepper insists.

Peter opens his eyes back up but his eyes kind of just glaze over theirs. He tries to curl more into himself letting out a small gasp of pain.

"We're just trying to help Peter, none of us want to hurt you" Happy claims.

"Stop, stop, stop, stop! Please stop!" Peter shouts, squeezing his eyes back close.

Peters bedroom door swings open. Pepper and Happy turn towards it to see Nat, Yelena, and Tony all rushing in. Pepper and Happy leave the bathroom to make room for them despite the bathroom not being small, they just don't want to overcrowd him.

"Peter, it's me Yelena. Natasha and Stark are with me" Yelena announces herself to Peter.

"Дыши, паучок, тебя здесь нет. (Breathe baby spider, you're not there)" Nat tells him.

"Underoos? Can you hear us?" Tony asks.

"Please stop" Peter cries.

"He heard us before when we asked him to open his eyes. I think he's coming and going" Happy tries to explain.

"There's too many people in here" Yelena points out.

"We'll go, Tony you need to come with us" Nat nods, getting up. Nat, Pepper, and Happy are about leave to give Peter some space but Tony begrudgingly stays put. "Tony."

"I'm not going to leave my kid, not again" Tony shuts down.

"He's not in the right state, you're overcrowding him. You aren't going to help him by staying in here" Nat protests.

Tony hesitates but gets up understanding Nat is right. He gives one look at Peter murmuring he'll be alright and he'll be outside before leaving with the group.

"Peter, you did a good job today. You got to the tower and you made it back safe" Yelena assures once the four of them left Peters room.

"I don't care what you did to escape, I'm just glad you did. You can tell me what choice you did or not, just know my own past and present so I can't judge. You did what you did to survive" Yelena continues on.

Peter continues to cry but it's starting to slow down.

"You were being smart...I'll let that bullet wound slide for right this second" Yelena adds before finally letting him know about the Red Room state. "It's destroyed once and for all. I killed Elvira and the other girls made sure none of the agents and followers escaped. They're all getting locked up but who said they'll live? I'll personally have them killed."

Yelena means that. She soul heartily means that. She'll kill everyone there and she knows Nat, Bucky, Tony, and everyone else will agree with her.

"I killed her. I killed all of them" Peter whispers through tears, opening his eyes to look at her with horrified eyes.

"You didn't have a choice" Yelena states.

"I did before I escaped. I did when I was there. I did all this time" Peter protests, his voice wavering.

"No you didn't. They didn't allow you to not shoot them. You shot Kel because you knew the other choice was risky. Giving her a little poison in her drink? Who knows what other powers she could've been hiding. No, you did the right choice. This allowed you to escape and for you to get back safe" Yelena stands her ground.

"She broke the remote" Peter mutters sniffling. "I'm sorry."

"I have two remotes, it's fine. The avengers collected the other remotes off of everyone else" Yelena assures. "Stop pitying yourself. None of this was your fault, you did good."

Peter continues to cry and for the first time where they are truly safe with no eyes watching them save for Friday, Yelena slowly and gently hugs him. Peter sobs in her arms, hugging her back letting more tears pour down.

"You're safe Peter. I won't let anybody else hurt you, I promise. I'll even stick a cupcake in my eye for you, crossing my heart. You're safe" Yelena whispers referring to Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony. That show has always been her favorite. "You're safe here at home."

Safe felt like a foreign word to Peter. He knows he hasn't been gone for that long but it also felt like he's been gone for a lifetime due to all the torture and torment he went through.

Now Yelena is by his side and they aren't there anymore. He's finally back safe at home in the avengers tower and Yelena is with him. They finally escaped and they're safe.