Chapter Text
Peter always had very telling emotions, especially to someone like Tony who could read them all like the back of his hand. From his happy rambling with his lit up brown eyes like everything in the world was his. To his shy sadness, keeping to himself and moving fingers. All the way to his shaky fear with nervous words and always subconsciously looking for protection.
Peter had never had a very normal life, but he tried his best to be a good person, taking after all his role models, getting good grades, being the friendly neighborhood Spiderman, and keeping his friends close. He always believed to the best of his abilities that because of all the good he did in the world, he would get good karma in return.
But unfortunately, not everything works out exactly how you planned it would be.
He had been working with Mr. Stark on a project when he had suggested that they should go out to get some food. Mr. Stark thought this was a fantastic idea, and so they went out to eat at a nice fancy restaurant even though Peter insisted they could just go get sandwiches or something in Queens. On the way back, it had been dark and gloomy outside. Peter had felt his spidey senses ringing in the back of his head, but he knew he'd be safe with Mr. Stark. Nothing could happen to him when he was with Iron Man.
Before he could understand what was happening, he was being grabbed from behind. A burlap sack was tugged over his head, blocking his vision. He tried to fight, he really did, but a sharp pain exploded at the back of his head, and he lost consciousness before he could get away.
*
His head was throbbing as he slowly woke up. The first thing he noticed was the darkness. It was like he was trapped in endless darkness. He couldn't even make out his own hands in the black of the unfamiliar room. His wrists were shackled behind the back of the chair he was strapped to and his ankles were cuffed to the chair legs. A gag was loosely hanging around his neck, and his curling hair was limp and damp with sweat.
"M...Mister. Stark?" he calls out, voice hoarse and shaky.
Tony was behind a sheet of one-way glass. He could see everything happening in the other room, but no matter how loud he yelled, Peter couldn't hear a word he was saying.
Tony hadn't been scared when he first awoke after being kidnapped. He's had his fair share of kidnappings, and he's still fine. They could do whatever they wanted to him. But the moment he saw Peter, scared and alone behind the one-way glass, fear struck through the heart he didn't even know he still had.
"Mister Stark?" the kid calls out again, obviously terrified. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face and he's breathing faster than his heart can beat. "Mr. Stark, I don't know if you're still sleeping or maybe you're not here, but... but, uh, I don't know what to do. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Mr. Stark. I don't know how to fix this. I'm sorry."
Tony wanted to tell the kid that it wasn't his fault and that he didn't expect him to fix anything, but he couldn't say anything that would get through the glass and comfort the small boy.
"Ah, you're awake," a booming voice shatters the silence. A door opens on Peter's side of the glass and the boy tries his best to keep his hands from shaking.
"Who are you? Where's Mr. Stark? What are you going to do to me? What do you want?" Peter demands, balling his hands into fists behind his back.
The man is tall, taller than either superhero, but not very intimidating. There's not a whole lot of muscle underneath his muscle shirt, and his skinny jean-clad legs just look pathetic. There's swirling black ink down his arms and he has floppy dark hair. The part that actually intimidates the poor boy strapped to his chair, is his dark vicious eyes and the sharp blade he flips between his hands.
The room is pretty barren. Just the chair, a big mirror on the opposite wall, a wall behind him, and a desk against the wall opposite the door.
"Spider-Man. Your precious Stark is fine. Unharmed. Unlike you'll be once we're done here. The rest you don't need to worry your pretty little head about. For now, I just want some answers, but not from you, boy," he snarls, shoving the knife under the boy's chin.
Peter's too scared of stuttering and showing just how scared he is to say a word to the man. He just throws the meanest glares he can muster and tries desperately to pull at his handcuffs.
The knife glints from the light pooling in from the hallway outside the room and Peter's trying his best to breathe through his panic. 'I could die. Right here. Right now. At only 15, I could die. I'm going to die. I'm never going to get to see May or Pepper or Mr. Stark or Ned or MJ ever again. I'm going to die.'
"Go for it. Do your worst," the small hero spits, deciding that if he's going to die, he's going to do it with dignity. He's not going to beg for his life.
Tony's heart is jumping every couple notes like it's rewritten the rhythm to a different genre.
He wants to scream at the man to leave Peter alone, that whatever beef he has with Tony to leave Peter out of it. The kid didn't do anything to deserve to be in this position, but Tony could do nothing to save his intern.
He almost wants to hate Peter for being heroic. He's just a kid. He shouldn't be in a situation like this one, and yet here he is, being the stupid selfless person he is. But Tony could see straight through the act. He could see the panic and fear behind Peter's soft brown eyes, and that made self-loathing flood through his tied up body. He should've kept him safe. He should've done something to save the kid from being in this situation.
The man in the other room grins as though he's been granted the best gift he could get.
The blood is pouring before Tony even realizes the knife has moved from under his chin. Peter lets out a small cry of sudden pain, more out of surprise than anything, but it delivers satisfaction to the sadist.
Tony rips at his handcuffs desperately, unable to make any noise thanks to the rational part of his brain telling him it's useless. The cold metal digs into his wrists and tears prick his eyes.
The stranger makes a second, third, and fourth deep cut into Peter's right arm before taking a small step back to admire his bloody work.
"You're a disgrace, Peter. An absolute disgrace to heroes and to the world. I did everyone a favor by taking you away," he sneers, wiping his blade on the hem of his shirt.
The boy looks up with glassy eyes and lets out the softest whimper. "Please don't hurt Mr. Stark. He doesn't have healing like I do."
Tony's heart sinks. The boy cares too much about him. He never should've let Peter get so attached to him. He shouldn't have even taken the kid to Germany let alone given him a better suit and more opportunities to end up in a bad situation like this one. He should've pushed him away because everyone around him ends up getting hurt at one point.
"Please," Peter mumbles, "Just let us go. Leave us alone. Please. I don't know what we ever did to you, but we can make up for it. You don't have to do this."
"It isn't we, kid, it was all me. I'm so sorry," Tony says, knowing the kid would never hear him. It's all his fault. How could he get Peter wrapped up in this mess?
*
The man had left Peter alone after a few more wounds to his now aching arm, but Peter almost wished he'd come back. The isolation, the darkness, the unknown around him scared him more than the man did. The man could hurt him all he wanted to, but it scared him more to be all alone in the cramped room with only his thoughts.
He knew he'd start panicking if he let his mind wander to the worst case scenarios and possibilities of what could happen in this place.
Aunt May won't even be worried, he's disappeared like this for days at a time during the summer, busy with Mr. Stark and the internship. Happy and Pepper won't be worried either. Mr. Stark has tendencies to just sort of disappear if he wants to, and he spends unhealthy amounts of time in his lab anyways, they wouldn't really think of his absence.
He's going to be stuck here for a long time, probably until he inevitably dies unless Mr. Stark can save him. Unless Iron Man can save him.
His lungs were starting to struggle with his quickened breaths, heart thumping irrationally in his chest. The man shouldn't be back for at least a couple of hours. He was safe for the time being, but the darkness stretching out before him felt like anything could be hidden in the corners. He felt like he was being watched.
The walls started closing in on him, causing his breathing to speed up even more. It was like when he was trapped under that building... All by himself. Scared and alone and in the darkness without his suit or anything to save him, but himself. But this time he didn't even have himself. He was trapped in this chair and there was nothing he could do except suffer.
Tony wanted to smash the glass. That's the first thing he would do when he figured out how to get these bonds off of him. He'd smash the glass and wrap the poor kid in a hug.
He listened as Peter started hyperventilating to himself. Is he hurt? Is he asleep? Is he scared?
Suddenly, Peter's voice rings out quietly against the still silence.
"M-Mister. Stark? I know you probably can't hear me, and I know I'll sound pathetic to whoever is watching me... But, uh, I'm scared, Mr. Stark," he says, voice shaking and barely above a whisper. "You always come when FRIDAY or Karen tells you my breathing's too fast or that my heart rate is too high. I don't even know if you were taken too. But, uh, I'm really scared, Mister. Stark."
The kid chokes back a quiet sob, letting his head drop so his chin is resting against his chest.
"I'm sorry. I'm going to try to be brave, Mister. Stark, but I don't know if I can. I'm really scared... and I, um, I don't want to die," he whimpers, holding back tears.
"I know, kid. I know. I'm not going to let that happen. I swear to you, I will not let you die. I will find a way to save you. I swear. I'll get you out of here alive if it's the last thing I do. I promise, kid. You're doing really good. I'm so proud of you. I won't let anything bad happen to you again," Tony says, wishing with everything in him that he wasn't giving empty promises to the kid that couldn't even hear him.
The boy is silent for a few moments before he lets out a shaky breath. "You can do this. You're spiderman. C'mon, Spider-Man. You can do this. You're okay. Come on, Peter. Come on, Spider-Man. You can do this," he breathes, squeezing his eyes shut.
'He shouldn't have to go through that. How could you let someone put a kid through this? How could someone put a kid through all of this? What's even going to happen to him? I'm so stupid. I hate myself for not stopping this. For just watching him go through this by himself. It's only been a couple hours and everything already feels hopeless.'
*
Peter is exhausted and drained when the door finally opens again revealing the same man from before.
There are deep circles under his eyes already from the sleepless night, body struggling to heal the wounds on his arm without an energy boost, but after talking himself up last night, he couldn't sleep. He could only stare into the darkness and pray that someone would save him. He felt like a coward for saying all those words aloud and panicking as he did at the darkness, but the stranger doesn't seem to have heard his small break down.
"I have some fun planned for you today, spidey. I hope you don't mind losing your voice today. Thought after yesterday, I should show you what real pain feels like," the man says, eyes glinting mischievously.
"What do you want from me? Why are you doing this?" Peter asks, feeling smaller than he ever had before.
"Because Tony Stark ruined my life and now I'll ruin his."
A sense of sadness washes over the boy as he lets loose some thoughts that have been looming over him for weeks now. "Mr. Stark doesn't actually care. I'm just his intern. I just work with him. You can hurt me all you want, but it's not going to hurt him like you think it will. I don't mean that much to him."
The man turned to the mirror, confusing the boy who stared at him through it.
"Time to have some fun, I think."
It hurt Tony to think that Peter didn't believe he cared about him. That kid meant more to Tony than even he knew. Being in such a scary situation with the kid sort of brought that to life inside him, the desire to save the kid and protect him. Even if he hadn't really given it much thought before, Peter was one of the only people in his life that he truly cared about alongside Pepper and Rhodey.
The man was walking around Peter like he was trying to find the best way to hurt him though he said that he already had plans, he was just stalling. He smirked at Tony through the mirror though he couldn't actually see Tony on the other side.
The man suddenly whipped out a long needle from the inside of his jacket with a grin. With no desire to make Tony or Peter wait any longer, he pushed the needle into Peter's arm with a grin and pumped the liquid into the boy's veins.
There are a few seconds of tense silence where Tony's leaning as close to the glass as he can get in desperation to save the kid, but unable to. Stuck where he can't be seen or heard.
The man walks out of the room, turning a light on as he goes so Peter can see everything around him.
The small hero looks up with glassy eyes and Tony's scared he's in pain, but his voice comes out a soft squeak against the stale silence.
"May?" he questions, looking almost right at Tony, but totally oblivious to the other side of the mirror.
Peter watches as his Aunt takes a step towards him with crying eyes.
"It's your fault, Peter. I died because you couldn't save me. Ben died because you couldn't save him. Your parents died because you couldn't save them. And now the famous Tony Stark is going to die because you can't save him. You're selfish and were always a nightmare to deal with at home. Your friends only pretended to care about you because they were scared of Flash and scared of you. Tony only pretends to care so he can use your powers for his own good. I only pretended because if I didn't care, you'd be sent away and other people would have to deal with you. Nobody cares about you, Peter," Aunt May says, glaring at him. He didn't even realize tears were falling down his face until he heard one hit the ground.
May shapes into Ben. A little fuzzy from his fading memories, but still his uncle.
"You couldn't save me! How could you just let me die?! How could you?!" he screams, making Peter flinch and let out a quiet whimper.
'It's not real. It's not real. It's not real.'
But it feels real to him.
Ben morphs into Mr. Stark, and Peter tugs at his restraints. Maybe he's here to save him?
"Mr. Stark, I'm sorry. Please. I'm so sorry. I should've saved them. I should've. I'm not a hero," he says, wanting nothing more than for his mentor to encase him in a hug.
"Damn right you're not a hero! You couldn't even save Iron Man. You don't care about anyone but yourself! I'm glad you got taken. I'm glad I won't have to deal with your presence anymore as my intern! You should beg him to kill you! You shouldn't even be a superhero. You were always just a fluke. A mistake. And I couldn't have you terrorizing the rest of the world so I had to take you in. I never cared about you. I never even liked you. I hated you! You're not a hero!" he screams back at him.
Peter whimpers again, wanting the screaming to stop, wanting to die. Maybe they're all right. Maybe he shouldn't be here. Maybe he is just an awful person. He's done more bad than good in the world, hasn't he? And how could the Tony Stark be lying to him? Why would he do that?
A sudden fiery pain fills his veins, he cries out in pain, starting to shake with his twisted sobs. The slow tears start rushing down his face like a faucet turned to max, and he screams in agony at the fire alighting his arms and legs.
Tony rips desperately at his chains hearing the boy screaming and sobbing in the room. So close, but so so far away.
Peter's back arches as he tries to get rid of the pain that's now drowning him from whatever the hell was in that serum.
"Stop it! Why are you doing this?! Peter's just a kid! He's only 15! Leave him alone! Do whatever you want to me, but leave him alone!" Tony yells, wanting to hurt whoever would do this to the poor kid. And for once, getting Peter's age right.
The door on his side of the room opens and reveals the other man, who's grinning sadistically, as though Peter's pain makes him happy.
"It's going to last for a little while longer. And even then... It's going to be a long time before he recovers from this one, Stark. I can't believe you would just sit and watch a kid get hurt like this and do nothing to stop him. You must really hate yourself right now," the man drawls, kicking the back of Tony's chair.
Peter's screams make it hard to concentrate on whatever the man is saying, but he knows he needs to do something to make sure this doesn't happen again.
"Please," he mumbles, heart skipping every couple beats. "Please. I'll do anything if you leave the kid alone. I'll do absolutely anything if you just stop this, if you let Peter go. He's just a kid. Please."
Peter's screams get louder, and his sobs are choking him, but not a word is said. He just screams endlessly with more breath than Tony thought he'd be able to conjure.
"Is The Tony Stark begging? I guess the kid really was wrong. You do care, don't you?" he says, white teeth glimmering as he watches Peter arch his back again, squeezing his hands into desperate fists.
"I do care. I do. You need to stop this. Please. He's hurting himself," Tony begs, a sick feeling in his stomach making him want to throw up all over the ruthless man. Peter strains to get away from the pain that's inside of him, all his muscles taut and the wounds in his arms ripping open again.
"You want to make a deal?"
"Yes. I'll do anything. Please. Just stop this," Tony pleads, tearing his eyes away from the blood starting to drip to the floor around Peter's chair to look up at the man.
He doesn't say anything in return, just seems to ponder the thoughts and then stalking out of the room. Tony has no idea what he's agreed to, but as long as Peter gets out of this alive, what does it really matter. Tony would die for the kid.
Peter's screams finally die out into a panting whimper, soft sobs escaping him as he cries. Tony would do anything to just give that kid a hug. Tony would kill every last person on earth if it meant he could give him a hug. He would give up everything he's ever worked for to comfort the kid.
"Mister. Stark?" Peter whispers, shaking from head to toe as he cries. "I'm-I'm sorry. I can't.. I can't keep doing this.... I'm scared. I'm sorry. I-I don't know what to do. I'm sorry. Please, Mr. Stark. Please. I can't do this. I'm sorry."
"Please just sleep, kid," Tony mumbles, wishing the boy could hear him. Wanting him to be okay.
Peter's breathing gets even faster as he cries, sobs getting caught in his throat. And before he knows it, he's passed out.
*
Tony didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he woke up again, getting confused by the endless darkness surrounding him. He can't see Peter anymore. Hopefully the kid's okay...
"Hello?" Peter's soft voice rings out. He sounds closer than Tony had heard him in a long while.
"Peter?" he questions, desperately hoping his suspicions were right.
His whole body sags when Peter lights up. "Mister. Stark! Oh thank god you're alright. I was worried they had done something to you. Do you know how long it's been? Do you know what's going on? Are we going to make it out of here?"
The sad roughness of Peter's voice from all the screaming yesterday, made Tony's heart sink, but at least they could talk. At least he could talk to his poor kid.
"Pete... I don't know. I wish I could tell you, but I have no idea. I think it's been 2 days. I saw what they were doing to you, kid. I'm sorry I couldn't help you. The mirror was one-way glass... I'm sorry I couldn't help you, kid," he confessed, wishing he could see Peter's face.
"It's okay, Mr. Stark, really. I'm okay. Just... What are we going to do? Will somebody notice you're missing? Are we going to get out of here alive?" the small boy says. There's a deep pain still gnawing at his insides, but not strong enough to really bother him. His wrists are bloody, he can feel the slick blood on his fingers from where the handcuffs dug into him, and there's blood on the floor under his bare feet from where his arms had bled.
"I'm going to get you out of here, kid. I swear. We just have to hope Pepper gets worried enough to try to find us. It's going to be okay, Pete," Tony says, wishing his words weren't empty promises filled with pointless wishes.
"Okay. I'm just happy you're here," Peter murmurs, leaving empty silence again to match the darkness.
"Is there something you want to say, kid?" Tony questions after a few moments of silence.
The younger hero felt nervous to ask about yesterday but knew he couldn't just hold it inside while stuck in the same room as the other.
"Um, I know it was a hallucination yesterday, but, uh, you were there... and you said some things. I just- I don't know. Do you hate me? Do you just think of me as an annoying intern? Am I really a hero? I don't think I've done very much good, and I have done a lot worse... I just- Have you just been pretending so you could have me for my powers?" His voice is so small and if there had been any background noise, Tony wouldn't have heard the words.
He almost wishes he hadn't heard the words that sent cracks through his stupid walls.
"I do care, kid. You're more of a hero than I ever was. I'm really proud of you, kid, and this is just making me more proud of you," Tony sighs, hating himself for looking so weak, but also knowing that the kid needs him to be weak right now. "I wish you didn't have to be in a situation like this one, but I'm proud of you for handling it so well."
"Thank you, Mr. Stark," Peter says, feeling a small smile creep onto his face. He knows he'll have to talk to May once he gets out of here, but it makes him feel better knowing that The Iron Man is proud of him.
"I've told you, kid. It's Tony. Not Mr. Stark. That makes me sound so old," he says.
The kid's laugh gets cut off very quickly when the door slams open again.
The first thing Tony notices is just how much blood there is on the floor. Peter had ripped open the wounds on his arms and tugged so hard on his cuffs that there's still blood dripping to the floor, staining the white cement red.
"Aw, how precious. Iron Man and Spider-Man reunited once again, but not safe. Don't mistake this for being safe. You are so so far from being safe," the man sneered, watching as the two flinched away.
Everything in Peter was trying to give into the flight reaction. He wanted to hide behind Tony no matter how childish it might seem. He wanted to run as far away from this place as he possibly could and never ever look back. He wanted to cry and be back at the Stark Tower so Pepper could give him a nice warm hug and Tony could offer him a snack before he had to go out for patrol. He wished more than anything that he had stayed home to do homework than having decided to go see Tony and work on his suit.
Tony wanted to do the opposite. He wanted to fight. He wanted to rip the man limb by limb until he was just a bloody pile on the floor. He wanted to inject that man with twice as much serum as Peter had gotten until he simply died of pain. He wanted to cause that man the same amount of pain that he had caused Peter.
But they were both stuck in their seats, no escape, nobody coming for them, nothing to do but endure whatever the man had planned for them.