Chapter Text
If Tony had a nickel for everytime he woke up kidnapped, he would have two nickels.
Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
Although, being kidnapped by HYDRA was a new one…
Tony had awoken with a splitting pain in the back of his skull, somewhere he didn't recognize. He looked down noticing his suit and tie, his blazer and white undershirt were crumpled, his tie loose and the collar popped.
The night was flooding back to him like a wave rolling back to the shore as he stared around the dingy room.
Like a bullet to the chest, he remembered everything.
The Avengers gala.
Everything was coming together; the lack of service, Happy, the strange man conveniently running into him- all of it was planned. And Peter-
Peter.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
That thought was enough to spur Tony into action, jumping to his feet and pacing the room, searching for any clues or possible escapes. The only thing he found was the small cement room with a metal door, a single cot, a small TV in the corner, an even smaller metal door off to the side, and a dim, flickering light. There was a small video camera in the corner; red light blinking and all.
You know what they say, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.
Kidnapped by a bunch of goons at a party.
Ego: bruised. Severely.
“As honored as I am to be a part of your little villain-wannabe-act,” Tony yelled to one of the cameras, “I’ve seen much better, and I gotta say, I’m not impressed.”
Tony hoped to elicit a response, but the only response he got was the taunting, red, blinking light. He stared it down for a moment like he was challenging the device.
He quickly gave up, his head still pounding from the drugs running in his system.
Tony dazedly checked his wrist, knowing full well that his watch was taken off, but he didn't want to risk an escape by not checking.
Pulling up his sleeve with his teeth, he was met with the tan line where the accessory usually sat accompanied by regular steel handcuffs.
Figures.
Tony slumped back down onto the floor, his legs heavy as lead, allowing his tired eyes to slip closed.
—-
Time quickly blurred together, he couldn’t tell if it had been 1 hour or 10 before the metal door was pushed open, bringing him back from a cloudy state of mind.
Before he could even process what was happening, his brain fog slowing him down, a small figure was being thrown into the room, his hands cuffed in front of him. The figure was yelling curses at the guards who seemed less than phased.
Tony blinked away the bleariness, forcing himself to walk over to the other side of the room.
That's when he saw the familiar mop of hair in his dazed state.
"Peter?"
"Im okay, Mr. Stark!" Peter replied from the ground, wiggling into a sitting position. The boy was still in his attire from the Gala. A dark gray suit and red tie, as well as some nice dress shoes. Tony had gotten that suit tailored for him specifically, even though Peter didn't want to accept it.
“How the hell did you get here, kid? No- Why the hell are you here in the first place?" Tony was now at Peter's side, hands hovering over the boy, unsure about what to do.
“Well, it’s not like they asked me for permission before they kidnapped me,” Peter replied, looking around the dingy cell. His nose scrunched in disgust at the pungent musty mildew smell. "I don't know how I got here. Turns out these guys aren't much talkers- uh- Where are we anyway?"
Tony opened his mouth to respond about HYDRA but Peter cut him off, rambling still.
"-one moment I swear I was puking up my intestines- super disgusting by the way, never having lemonade again- and the next second someone is handcuffing me and dragging me down a hallway. I've got to say, I think I missed a few chapters-"
If Tony had access to his hands he would facepalm. Unfortunately they were still bound in front of him so he settled for an eye roll. This kid couldn't even be serious while they were being held hostage by psychopaths.
"That's probably because you were drugged out of your mind by Nazis, kid." Tony sighed, sitting down next to Peter on the cold floor, not missing the giant bruise on his face under his eye. "You alright? How did you get that?"
Peter furrowed his brows in confusion, then brought his hands up to feel under his eye with a small wince. "Oh, yeah, that. Apparently kidnappers don't like when you call them a shit for brains. Nailed me right in the face with his gun." Peter reenacted, raising his fists and swinging.
Tony sighed again trying not to have heart palpitations over the whole situation. The last thing he needed to do as an adult in the situation was panic.
"Okay, we are really going to have to work on your mouthing off to people who could kill you. Right now, just keep your mouth closed if they address you."
"But what if-"
"Nuh-uh,"
"But-"
"Zip."
Peter sighed in defeat, an exaggerated pout on his face.
“Okay but Mr. Stark, you ever see that really old movie-“
"Don't finish that, Mr. Parker-"
"...Indiana Jones-"
"Oh my God."
Tony opened his mouth to let out a long protest when Peter suddenly stiffened, his head craned towards the double doors beyond their cell.
"Mr. Stark…" The boy trailed off, getting to his feet and making his way over to the bars, pressing his forehead up against it.
The doors swung open, smashing into the concrete walls causing Tony to flinch and Peter to jump back from the bars in surprise at the loud noise.
In walked the man Tony recognized from the Gala. He was tall and broad, a horrible mustache on his face.
He was now in a Hydra agent uniform opposed to a suit, his hands positioned at his side professionally.
He opened his mouth to let out a remark, but felt it die in his throat at the sight.
“Get up Stark. He wants to see you.” the ugly mustache man ordered.
“Super ominous. Tell your freak boss I have better things to do than listen to his inevitable shitty monologue.”
The man moved slightly to the side, as if to show Peter and Tony the guards standing by like an odd threat.
Tony sighed, standing up and allowing two of the agents to seize him by the arms, holding him in position while the others unlocked the cell, grabbing Peter as well.
He watched the kid glower at them like an angry puppy, if it wasn't for the terrifying situation he would have laughed. He was about as scary as a baby bunny.
One elbowed Peter in the side at his small protests.
"Hey, Mr. Criminal, I heard it's super rude to drug people!" Peter yelled, yanking at his cuffs.
"Don't get too excited, you're only here because you were a liability," The mustache man grunted, not sparing Peter a glance.
"Do you mean that? Me? A liability-" Peter was abruptly cut off by another elbow to the stomach from an agent, leaving him coughing and trying to catch his breath. "Whatever. It’s your problem if I vomit all over your shoes. They might even look better!"
The two guards holding Peter exchanged a confused look, one whispering to the other, "You couldn't have drugged a less annoying ребенок?"
"заставить замолчать." The other hisses.
"The kid is like twelve. He looks like he still eats McDonald's Happy Meals."
"First of all, Rude," Peter scoffed, "Second of all, I'm not twelve, thanks. Third of all, you are never too old to enjoy a cheeseburger, fries, and apple slices that taste oddly like chemicals."
The guards glared at him like he was a piece of shit on the bottom of their shoes, a vein seconds away from bursting, but they held their grip on him.
Peter smiled to himself, through the irritation caused by the blood from his nose trickling down his lips and chin
content he was getting under their skin.
Tony however was not impressed, making sure to shoot him a threatening look that made Peter instantly squeeze his lips shut and give him a sheepish look in response.
"Not that this isn't flattering and all," Tony finally spoke up, clearing his throat," but can we fit the whole villain speech in before the Avengers get here? I would hate to miss it,"
The room went silent, the guards stationed in a trained position as if they were waiting, holding their guns at the ready when Peter's hearing picked up several heavy footsteps down the hall.
Just as predicted, the double doors were pushed open again, a man in front followed by three or more soldiers carrying weapons, their fingers trained on the trigger.
Peter stared at the man in front of him, noticing Tony's gaze darken.
"Pierce." Tony said shortly.
"Stark," He replied back with a sinister smile," so glad you could join us,"
"I needed a vacation," Tony clicked his tongue," God, you guys just never stay dead do you?"
"You didn't really think Miss Romanoff could take me down, did you?"
Tony didn't respond to that, narrowing his eyes.
"What do you want? Why did you drag me and my intern all the way to a glorified dungeon?"
"An intern is he now?" Pierce asked, his eyes now on Peter. Peter gave him the meanest glare he could manage in return, which seemed to only amuse the older man. "Not some secret son you have been hiding?"
Peter let out a choked laugh at that but shut up once he was on the receiving end of a glare from Tony.
"An intern. He has no business here, let him leave."
"Ah, yes, I can't do that. Your little intern will remain here with you until I- well," He looked back over at Peter, a smile laced with venom graced his lips, holding malice. "Get what I need from you."
That caused Tony to tug at his restraints harder, fighting back the panic that was clearly bubbling to the surface. Peter could hear the man's heart beat faster in his chest even ten feet away.
"What do you want?"
"You know what I want."
"What do you want to play 21 questions? Charades? I don't know what you want, dipshit."
"The files."
Tony scoffed. "Super specific."
Pierce stepped closer, pointing a finger to Tony's chest, "The serum, Stark. You have the files on the original super soldier serum given to Steven Rogers. Where are they?"
Tony forced his face to remain stoic as to not give away their position and give them the upper hand.
"Doesn't really ring a bell, sorry. Can we go home now?"
"Shut it!"
Pierce backhanded him, blood from biting his cheek pooling behind his teeth. Tony grinned, spitting a clot of blood at Pierce's feet with an exaggerated SPAT.
"Can't help you. Don't have them. Also, fuck you."
"Howard Stark left you in possession of the files, I don't want to ask again."
"My answer is the same as it was about twenty seconds ago. Still don't have them." Tony shrugged, fighting back a sly smirk.
"Right," Pierce stood up straighter, gesturing to the men behind him to hold up their guns.
Tony fought back his racing heart.
"But you do know the serum. you can play dumb all you want, Stark, but you know how to make it."
"I hate to be the downer here- who am I kidding I love being the downer. This is my father's Magnum Opus, not mine. You missed him by about-" Tony pretends to glance down at a watch,"- thirty years. I don't have it hanging on my fridge like some sort of family cookie recipe."
"Don't mess with me, Stark."
"I love messing around and finding out as much as the next guy, but I am useless to you here."
Pierce pursed his lips, Tony smiled to himself at red beginning to spread across his cheeks.
"You have the files," Pierce stepped closer, his voice dangerously low," You know what's in them. Do I make myself clear?"
"Do you want to hear it in another language? I don't know what you are talking about, Sfigato."
Pierce continued to stare down at him with those beady little eyes that Tony wishes he could just pluck out right about now.
Tony challenged him, glaring back, unwilling to let this man shake him.
Pierce finally broke out of his staring trance after a long moment, straightening his suit.
"Fine. I really did want to do this the easy way," Pierce cleared his throat," You're a tough man to crack, Stark."
"Stark men are made of iron. Fitting isn't it?"
"Well, I hope the safety of your little intern will provide you with the proper…motivation."
Peter, who had been surprisingly quiet the past few minutes, snapped his head up to look at Tony. Tony set his jaw, refusing to look over at the teen.
"He has nothing to do with this. I told you, I can't help you."
"Let's see how far that mindset gets you, yeah?" Pierce leaned down, inches from Tony's face, a cruel grin stretched across his features. "Let's see how much pressure a Stark needs to break."
"Fuck you, asshole." Tony finished it off with a spit that narrowly missed Pierce's face.
The man didn't seem phased, his expression stoic.
"Still don't know where the files are?"
Tony managed a glance at Peter who looked significantly more pale than he did earlier.
He quickly looked away once Peter met his eyes.
Tony didn't say anything, afraid to dig himself a deeper hole.
"That's what I thought," Pierce turned his back on them, strutting out towards the door, the guards parting for him.
He turned over his shoulder briefly as he crossed the room's threshold, his voice dark,"I'll see you tomorrow, boys. It was nice to meet you Mr. Parker."
With that, the agents filed out one by one, their steps trained and in sync with the large metal door slamming shut and locking behind them leaving Peter and Tony by themselves.
(Or as by themselves as they possibly could be with two cameras and possibly agents stationed outside.)
Once Peter was sure that Pierce was out of earshot, listening for his fading footsteps down the hall, he finally spoke.
"Mr. Stark," Peter whispered, looking over his shoulder at the man. Once he got the genius' attention he continued, eyeing the cameras around them. "I don't think they know,"
Tony paused, still trying to process the words Pierce spoke to them, panic brewing in his stomach.
"What?"
"I don't think they know…about you know." Peter responded, hoping desperately Tony would understand what that meant, certain somebody was watching, so he couldn't just blurt it out.
Tony's eyes lit up with realization, another sinking feeling settling on his shoulders.
"And I'd like to keep it that way. No doing anything stupid." The last thing they needed was HYDRA knowing about Peter's little extracurricular activities.
"But Mr. Stark, I could break us out-"
"No, Peter. You can't- You can't risk the secret getting out to these people."
"Tony-"
"I said no. We aren't having this discussion. We need to wait it out. There's no way Happy didn't notice us going missing at the party, okay?"
Peter opened his mouth to argue again but instead nodded curtly.
Tony was not sure how well he would be able to keep that promise. He knew Peter could break the restraints as if they were made of tissue paper, but he didn't want fifty guards showing up, their guns trained on the kid.
But they needed to get out somehow.
He just hoped it didn't come to that.
—-
The room was slightly tense after the disagreement
Both of them faced their respective walls, sitting on the cot shoulder to shoulder.
Peter had tried to make conversation a few times, but Tony was too far in his head to even try to hold the conversation.
After what felt like eons of heavy silence, Peter finally spoke again.
"M-mr. Stark?"
Tony flinched, surprised by Peter's voice through the fast and loud thoughts racing in his head.
"Hmm?"
"Do you um- you know…the files?" Peter asked innocently, causing Tony to tense further. He thought for a long moment, fidgeting with his restraints, avoiding Peter's puppy dog eyes that looked at him with trust and hope.
"I- uh-" Tony took a deep breath," Yeah, kid I do."
Peter's eyes widened a bit, but he didn't look surprised, nodding silently.
Peter vaguely remembered the day that Tony had forgotten about their lab time last month. He had walked in on Tony and Steve having a heated discussion with sushed voices, the former pointing at files pulled up on the holotable. Before Peter could turn around or make himself known, FRIDAY had done that for him.
"Boss, Mr. Parker has just entered the lab," her voice made Peter jump out of his skin, freezing like he had been caught red-handed.
Tony and Steve both quickly whipped around to face him, Tony making a gesture for the open files to close.
"Kid? What are you-" Peter saw the moment realization dawned on his face, "Oh shit, it's lab day."
Steve leaned over, whispering something to Tony, then headed out the door behind Peter but not before acknowledging him.
"Queens." The man said with a small smile. Peter gave a timid and awkward wave in return, feeling embarrassed about having walked in on a private discussion.
"Sorry about that, Pete. Steve and I were just talking. Come sit." He gestured to Peter's usual seat.
Finally unsticking his feet from the floor, he cautiously walked over and sat down next to the man.
"You know, Mr. Stark, if we need to reschedule-"
Tony waved him off, grabbing tools from the table and tossing them to Peter. "Nonsense. It wasn't important stuff anyway."
"W-what was it? The Accords-?"
"Something like that," Tony muttered. Peter bit his lip and looked down at the tools in front of him. The dismissal of the conversation was clear, so he decided to drop it.
That night had flowed like normally for the two, but Peter couldn't help but notice how his mentor seemed to have a jaded edge to him. It was like something was bothering him. He found him staring at the back wall for long moments, clearly lost in thought. His eyes were even twitchy. That didn't happen unless Tony was extremely stressed out, Peter had come to learn.
Despite that, Peter had completely forgotten about that incident, chalking it up to an argument about Ross or something else.
Sitting here handcuffed clearly proved otherwise.
He knew that Tony had the files the second Pierce accused him of it. He just didn't know why he had them.
"This is exactly why I didn't want you to know," Tony muttered, his face was neutral but Peter knew him well enough to notice that he was panicking,"I didn't think you would be at risk if you didn't know- this is a disaster." The 'you're in trouble because of me' was left unsaid, still on the tip of the man's tongue but he bit it back knowing Peter would dispute his claims. Even if Tony was right.
Peter forced a smile on, "Mr. Stark, it's okay. The team will realize we are gone, and we will be out of here in no time."
Tony looked at him, an unreadable emotion flashed across his face, he then quickly hid it and forced a smile as well.
"You're right, kid, we will be fine, alright?"
Tony wasn't sure who he was trying to convince.
—--
The room had no windows. Tony didn't know if it was ten in the morning or ten at night.
Peter didn't either.
Both of them were startled out of their tired state by the doors flying open again, Pierce marching through them.
"Stark."
"Aw. Did you miss me?" Tony replied with a mocking smirk.
Pierce didn't acknowledge his retort, gesturing for the guards to step in. They stood next to him, guns in hand, eyes on the two of them.
The cell was being opened and Peter was being grabbed under the arms by two of the agents without any warning.
Peter struggled for a moment to throw the agents off, saying a few choice words, but ultimately knew it would be helpless to try and break free.
"Let me go, assholes," Peter grunted, but didn't do much more to resist them.
"What are you doing with him?" Tony was standing now, rushing to Peter, but was stopped by a few agents sidestepping him.
"I told you your little intern would be the proper motivation for you to finally come clean about the serum."
"I told you-"
"I'm tired of this dance, Stark. I know you have the files, I know you know what's in them," Pierce stepped closer to Tony so they were only a foot apart," You're going to make me an exact replica of the serum if you want him to get out of here alive."
Tony was silent for a long moment, he could hear his heart beating in his chest, looking at Peter with a sorry look in his eyes.
"I destroyed them. They're gone. I can't help you."
Pierce smiled at that, shaking his head slowly.
"That's what I thought. However, you do know what's in them. You're going to make me the serum, Stark, or you will be getting your intern mailed to you in a body bag."
Peter shot Tony a glance, shaking his head with a desperate look in his eyes he mouthed, 'Don't do it.'
"Go to hell," Tony grumbled, trying not to choke on his words.
Pierce backed up, standing next to Peter with square shoulders and an unwavering expression.
"Have it your way." Pierce shrugged," "Take him to the room."
The guards took Peter's weight, (Which wasn't much. Peter was strong but small and teenage-boy-like in stature) dragging him away from the cell, two behind him with their guns aimed at his head. Peter shouted protests and flippant insults, but went willingly.
"Leave him alone! He has nothing to do with this!"
"You have only yourself to blame for this, Stark." Pierce turned on his heel, the cell door closing behind him and locking.
Tony was left alone in the dark cell, anticipating the worst.
—-
"You could have just asked me to stand," Peter grunted, allowing himself to be picked up under the arms and thrown onto a table. "This is degrading."
The slap was expected, his senses warning him of it, but he held his place and allowed the back of Pierce's hand to collide with his cheek, his head snapping to the side.
Peter pursed his lips, shutting up, feeling the distinct taste of iron fill his mouth.
One of the Guards took his blazer, cutting it off in one swift motion, while another removed his white dress shirt leaving him shirtless on the cold metal table.
Peter suppressed a shiver at the cold air, already missing his shirt.
"Get the camera ready," Pierce gestured to one of the agents, strapping Peter's arms and ankles to the table a metal contraption was fastened around his biceps making it impossible for Peter to wiggle at all.
"Open your mouth," Mr. Mustache was holding a leather looking belt, attempting to put it over Peter's mouth who turned his face into his shoulder.
"Why? Want a-" The second slap was actually surprising, causing Peter to flinch in surprise. Without warning, someone was grabbing his hair forcing him to look up at the guard, the leather belt forced into his mouth and fastened behind his head so he wasn't able to fully close his mouth or maneuver his head.
Worst part is the leather tasted like shit.
Pierce came into view, leaning over Peter with an entirely neutral expression, looking him over.
"He's ready. Turn the camera on now."
Two agents rolled a tripod over to the end of the table Peter was positioned at. He could see from there that there was a small screen just behind it showing footage of Tony's cell.
The man was screaming at the camera and hitting the bars like a lunatic, but there wasn't any sound.
"We can't hear you right now, Stark. So scream for your intern until you can't anymore, it's fruitless." Pierce said towards the camera.
Tony slouched down on the cot, his head in his hands looking entirely defeated.
Peter wished his mouth wasn't being forced into an odd position because he would have said anything to reassure the man.
"Here's how it's going to go," Pierce was standing in front of the camera now," this charade only goes on for as long as you let it. The second you give up the serum and agree to make it, I release him."
"Don't do it, Mr. Stark!" Peter cried through the leather in his mouth, although it came out muffled and probably incoherent. He hoped Tony got the message anyway.
"So," Pierce continued, ignoring Peter's outburst," I'm going to ask you one more time. Are you ready to make the serum?"
One of the agents unmuted the screen, and they all waited with bated breaths to see what Tony would say as he stalked towards the camera, grasping the cell bars in his fist.
"Go. To. Hell."
Peter smiled, wanting to laugh at the furious expression on Pierce's face.
"Have it your way." Pierce muted the video again, spinning on his heel and getting out of the agent's way so they were effectively surrounding Peter.
There was a flurry of hands, then a distinct feeling of ice cold water being thrown over him.
He nearly gasped at how shocking it was, trying to remain as still as possible.
Mr. Mustache Man, who Peter had just now decided to refer to as Larry, was grinning at him, holding a large metal rod in his hand.
"Do you know what happens when water touches electricity?" He asked.
Peter scoffed, wanting to respond,"Well the water acts as a conductor for the electricity, and allows it to travel." But he couldn't because of the belt, so it was a stupid question in the first place. Instead of responding he defiantly rolled his eyes, but Larry wasn't very offended by it because he smiled back at him.
"Why don't we find out, huh?"
The cold rod was placed against his soaked chest, it made a small whirring sound before lighting up and white hot pain was surging through him.
His entire body twitched from the current, fighting back a scream, Peter jerked when it reached his hands.
His entire body felt like it was on fire, his muscles spasming with pain.
A second jolt was felt, this time by his neck. Peter couldn't help but throw his head back this time and scream at the pain even though it was muffled by the belt.
—--
Peter was thrown back into the cell, his arms haphazardly put through the sleeves, but the rest was not buttoned up.
He was still trying to get the tremor in his body under control after however long he was in that room.
He couldn't lie, he was freezing and his entire body was burning with the power of a million suns.
After the first hour things had started to blend together, but he managed to somehow stay conscious the entire ordeal.
It was a miracle really.
He had the disgusting taste of blood filling his mouth from where he had managed to bite his tongue, and his wrists were sore from the restraints, but that was the least of his problems right now.
He leaned over and spit some of the blood onto the cell floor, cringing at how much came out.
Tony immediately noticed the hundreds of circular red and purple injuries littered on his chest and stomach going as far up as under his chin.
One on the left side of his collarbone was a deep red, appearing to be blistering from the skin burning.
Before Tony could even say anything about the shape he was in, Peter beat him to it, "M'kay Mr. Stark."
He flopped down onto the cot, Tony noticing a wince as he did so.
Okay? Those aren't the words he would use to describe the shape he was in, but he held back the retort in favor of not exploding with worry.
Rhodey called this his helicopter parent mode. (No matter how many times he tried to deny that he wasn't a helicopter parent if he wasn't a parent. Rhodey would just give him a look and move on.)
"Kid…" Tony knelt in front of him examining the injuries. He was shivering, skin slightly damp, and his wet hair was dripping water down his pale face.
"I'm okay. I heal fast," Peter shrugged, observing Tony's facial expression, going to button up his shirt. Tony grabbed his hand, stopping him.
"That doesn't look good, bud." his hand hovered over a few of the burns, unsure what to do. It wasn't like HYDRA was handing out medical supplies or anything.
"It doesn't even hurt, I'm fine," Peter raised his voice slightly.
Tony dropped his hands allowing Peter to button up his shirt, mildly surprised at the tone of his voice.
There was a small shake to his body. His hands were shaking as he tried to put the buttons through the shirt, but he didn't look like he was in awful condition.
He was alive.
Breathing.
That didn't really make Tony feel any better about watching him get electrocuted for a good three hours though.
Without thinking, Tony shrugged his blazer off, putting it around Peter's shoulders, but not before attempting to dry his hair a little bit with the piece of fabric.
"Tony-"
Tony held a hand up stopping the boy,"No arguing. You don't thermoregulate and you're soaked."
Peter sighed but didn't fight him, too tired to argue.
He wrapped the man's slightly too large blazer around him tighter, leaning his head against the wall. He looked at Tony from the corner of his eye, a black ring beginning to form around it.
"You didn't make it, right?" He asked, his voice barely audible.
Tony scooted closer to him, pushing Peter's wet bangs out of his face.
"No, kid. I didn't."
Peter gave a small smile, nodding.
"Good." He allowed his eyes to close leaning into the wall.
Tony relaxed as well, grateful that the kid was next to him where he could see him.
"Get some rest, okay? I'll figure something out, kid."
But Peter was asleep before he could hear what Tony had said.