Chapter Text
"-ark? Mr. Stark?"
Tony Stark's eyes shot opened with a low inhale of breath. He blinked rapidly, finding that his head was absolutely pounding as soon as he opened his eyes, which were of course having trouble focusing now.
He went to rub his eyes and realized he couldn't. He tried once, twice, jerking in surprise against whatever was holding him there.
That voice was still in the background, saying his name. It took a minute through the blinding pain in his head for him to be able to really focus on what it was saying.
"-not pull your bonds, Mr. Stark. Try to relax... It's gonna be alright. I'm sure your head probably hurts, but thrashing around isn't going to help that."
Tony blinked once more and managed to clear his eyesight. Where the hell was he? What had happened?
A quick glance around revealed no answers. The room was around them was brightly lit, at least - bad for his head, but good for his ability to see and make plans. Too bad he didn't see anything useful. Sterile tables and various bits of scientific equipment. The only other thing…
His eyes alighted on the kid right across from him. He was probably no more than sixteen, if even that; he could have passed for a ten year old in the right setting. His hair was a mop of light brown curls on his head, but it looked messy, like it hadn't been brushed in days. He was also the one prattling on.
"Kid." Tony managed to say the one word, then had to stop and swallow. His throat was dry as sandpaper. He tried again, studying the teen in front of him. "What's going on?"
His head snapped up when he spoke, and Tony met the boy's eyes, seeing the relief there that he was finally awake and talking. Clearly, though he'd been talking to him, he probably had been for a while and Tony hadn't been responding, so he hadn't expected one now. "Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?"
"Just peachy," he responded sarcastically. "Do you know anything about what's going on here?" He knew he was probably being a bit abrasive, but he needed to know, and he didn't deal well with kids or small talk on a good day.
The kid shook his head, looking down. "Not really. It's been a few hours since you arrived, though. You were drugged and if I had to guess you have a concussion, Mr. Stark, so you were out for a while."
"A concussion?" Tony frowned. Perhaps he had taken a nasty bump on the head at some point before ending up here; it would certainly explain his splitting headache. "Great. Any idea how long we've actually been here?"
He just shook his head again. Tony leaned back, studying him. Who was he? Why were they here, and here together? He'd been kidnapped a few times now, but this was the first time he'd had a kid for company. There had to be a reason, but if his brain normally knew it, it was lost right now.
His eyes suddenly landed on the bonds above the kid's head. His wrists were bound together, above him, just as Tony's were. But where Tony's were rope, somebody had wrapped chains around the teen's wrists.
He seemed to realize what Tony was looking at and looked down, his expression a bit sheepish. "Yeah, I broke mine the first time, so I got upgraded a little."
His brows drew together, surprise and confusion getting the best of him for a moment. "You...broke the rope?"
He flushed a little and nodded. "And...bent the bar. That's why I'm suspended and you're not."
Tony glanced up and down and suddenly realized the kid was right. His feet were bound together but low enough his toes skimmed the floor. The kid, on the other hand, had a good foot between him and the floor, and his ankles were bound separately by chains to the bars around him. Holy shit. He had to have an insane amount of strength, which he would never have guessed from this scrawny boy in front of him.
"Who are you, kid?"
Before the boy could answer, a door opened from somewhere out of his line of sight. He tried to crane his neck to see, but there was no physical way to do it. There was a quiet chuckle at his efforts.
"Who is he?" The voice was cold but amused. "The boy knew who you were the minute he opened his eyes, Stark."
A figure in a white lab jacket stepped into his line of sight, stopping directly between him and the kid and looking between them. He had dark, closed cropped hair, and dark eyes that made Tony's stomach clench when he caught sight of. There was no humanity in those eyes. This guy had snapped.
The man looked away from Tony, back to the kid hanging across from him. "How's that make you feel, kid? Your hero hasn't an inkling who hangs across from him. It's a shame you didn't just go when you broke out the first time." He looked back at Tony. "He would have gotten away, you know. I didn't calculate for that amazing metabolism he's got going on that made him wake up so fast, or the strength that seems to run to his very bones. Instead he tried to get you out too."
Tony tore his eyes from the psychopath to look at the kid again. He wouldn't meet his eyes, and instantly he knew it was true. Shit. Now he was only here because of him, even if they'd had no connection before. But what was he saying about the strength and the metabolism? And he acted like he should know who he was. Should he? He could swear he'd never met him before in his life, but then, that seemed to happen a lot with important people.
The man just clucked at him. "Both of New York's favorite heroes in a room together, and they don't even recognize each other. How sad."
"I did try to swing below the radar," the boy said quietly, still avoiding Tony's gaze.
Swing. It clicked then. Holy shit. "It's you?" Tony blurted, unable to help himself. "You're him. The Spider …ling… that guy."
He just nodded once. The man in the lab coat laughed maniacally. "About time. Oh, and he doesn't even know your hero name, kid. That's pretty rich, isn't it? They always say to never meet your heroes, don't they?"
Watching the kid flinch made his temper start to rise. At both this goon and himself. "Listen, why don't you just come out with whatever it is you want? A name would be nice, too," he added, as an afterthought.
The man just shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "As much as I'm sure you'd love to know my real name, Stark, you can just call me Doc. That's what I am - a doctor. And as for what I want…" he shrugged. "You, I just wanted out of my way for what's to come. The kid…" He glanced over at the chained teen. "I also wanted him out of my way, but I also wanted some information from him, too. He turned out to be pretty unpredictable, though, so I'm not surprised you hadn't discovered him before now." He looked back at him. "That's bad news for both of us now, though, because I'll have to keep you on a tighter rein than I was hoping to. But I can make it work."
Tony didn't like the sound of that. Any of it, in fact. He didn't know what was to come, but if he felt the need to abduct the heroes for it to happen, it certainly wasn't good. And this hint of "wanting information" gave him a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.
The kid didn't look surprised by this, though, although he did look a little like he was going to be sick. It took a moment for Tony to fully understand the implications of what he was saying, and when he did suddenly felt the urge to be sick too. Oh no. This wasn't just about real information. He wasn't talking about torture… at least not of the normal variety.
He didn't really intend to experiment on him, did he? He'd asked him what was going on earlier, and the kid had told him he didn't know anything, but the look on his face said he'd known this already. So either this was a common issue for him, which seemed unlikely considering how reclusive he was, or he'd already talked to this guy and knew this was coming.
"You can't really intend to experiment on a kid."
Doc turned to him again, looking surprised. "Age, Mr. Stark, is just a number, as you should surely have realized by now. At any rate, I would do research on anyone with these kinds of abilities if I had the opportunity. Age is a nonfactor."
"Over my dead body it is," he almost growled, the words leaving his mouth without even considering them.
Doc simply raised an eyebrow. "I'd intended to let you live for your friends to come find - however many of them are left - once they've finished picking up the pieces of the city, but that could also certainly be arranged."
"No!"
They both looked at the kid again, surprised to realize that had just come out of him when he'd been so quiet this whole time. He wouldn't look up, and the sinking feeling in Tony's gut returned as he spoke again. "We talked about this. You said if I cooperate you won't hurt him. I do as you ask, and he walks. That's it, or I won't."
Tony stared at him, hardly believing what he was hearing. This kid had already tried to get him out and bargained for his life while he'd hung around in these chains, unconscious. He felt a rush of something in his chest - something like shame, maybe, and a bit of determination. Wasn't he the older hero here? Shouldn't he be protecting him? He didn't even know this kid's name, hadn't been quick enough to even put the pieces together about his identity, and this was what he got in return. This was ridiculous.
The Doc has turned back to the kid and wasn't paying any attention to Tony anymore. "I haven't done anything yet, have I?" He said nothing. Doc just shrugged, turning around again. "Well, much as I'd like to stay and chat, I do have business to attend to. I'll be back later tonight." He looked between them again. "Behave yourselves, why don't you. I'd hate to have to hurt someone already." He turned to leave, clapping Tony on the shoulder as he walked past. "Maybe talk to the kid, hm? He is the reason you're still alive. And try to figure out his name, yeah?" Then he winked at him and kept walking.
The kid visibly relaxed slightly when the guy was out of the room, letting his head slump down and taking a few breaths. Tony watched him, wanting to say something but not even knowing where to start.
But he had to start somewhere, and ignoring the kid wasn't right, even if it would do them any good, which it clearly wouldn't. "What's your name, kid?" he asked quietly.
"Spider-Man."
"No. Your real name."
He seemed to debate for a minute, then sighed a little. "Peter."
"Peter. Good. I'm Tony." He already knew that, but he still felt the need to say it. He needed to talk to the kid, get him to trust him. If they had any shot of getting out here in one piece, they would have to work together.
"I know who you are, Mr. Stark."
"Clearly you did. Did you really bargain for my life while I was unconscious? Because listen, nice thought and all, but that's not cool. Especially not at that price." He studied him. He'd closed off as soon as the Doc had come in.
Peter took another breath, seeming to have the same thought. He could see him trying to relax enough to open up again. "I… I had to. One of us had to get out of here, and after what happened in the beginning… he would have hurt you."
Oh. So he'd essentially black mailed the kid into making the deal for his life. He sighed. "You can't really think he would let me go, kid."
Peter shrugged. "I think it's a possibility. He seems to think he'll hurt you more by seeing what you couldn't stop than killing you, but he's not opposed to it if… if I don't behave."
Well then. He inhaled a sharp breath, knowing inwardly that the Doc would probably be right, especially if anything happened to the handful of people in the world that he actually cared about. He made a conscious effort to shake the thoughts, knowing the kid was watching him. "I… still. You can't let him experiment on you just to keep him from hurting me. I'm a big boy too, you know."
Peter looked away, and he could see a muscle in his jaw jumping as he clenched it. "Look, he was going to do what he wanted to me either way. If I cooperate, it's less painful for both of us. Fighting would just make it worse."
Tony studied him closely. There was something about the way he said it that was so… resigned. Like he'd already given up on himself. Suddenly he realized what the ultimatum he'd been given was, and he had to close his eyes against the sudden resurgence of the headache.
"You'll die either way." He looked back at him, to see Peter flinch and look away. "Right? That's what he told you. You can't save yourself, but you can save me."
Peter closed his eyes, looking down. "Mr. Stark, I…"
"No. Look at me, Peter." He didn't move. "Look at me, kid, come on." Slowly, he lifted his head, meeting his eyes. Tony saw the pain and resolve there and had to steady himself before he could continue. He'd already been the unwilling survivor due to someone else's sacrifice once. It wasn't happening again, especially not to a kid. "You're going to be alright, kid. I promise you. We are both going to get out of here."
Peter nodded and looked away again, not looking at all convinced but not arguing. Tony just sighed heavily, dropping his head for a moment. This… this was going to be hard.
In normal circumstances - if it were just him - he would hardly be worried at all. He could take some pain or torture just fine, if that was what was needed to buy time. And if he was just buying time for himself… even with the threat of whatever this guy was doing, he wouldn't be worried. Surely they knew he was missing by now, and nobody was perfect enough to leave no trail. The other Avengers would surely follow it and find him eventually. And even if they didn't… well, he'd escaped death plenty of times. He'd figure something out.
But having the kid in the mix made it a whole new deal. Now he wasn't buying time for just himself. In fact, of what the kid said was true, he didn't need to buy himself time at all. But he also couldn't stand by and watch him get picked to pieces, either. And that was exactly what would happen if he didn't do something.
Tony closed his eyes. He needed time to think, and he needed a plan. Preferably one solid enough he was sure he could keep his promise to the kid. He could worry about how to communicate it to him later; having some course of action was all that mattered right now.
And so Tony closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift into a calm place of thought. He was not going to allow this maniac to tear this kid to pieces in front of him while whatever horrors he had up his sleeve played out in New York. Not on his watch. One way or another, he was going to get them both out of here.