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Chapter Text

12 years ago 

„Do you know what you did? You stupid idiot took the wrong kid! 

You took Stark’s kid and everyone knows he won’t pay any ransom. 

He is the merchant of death, for heavens sake! 

And he knows a lot of very dangerous people. 

People who take care of his problems. 

So you better take care of this kid as quickly and quietly as possible. 

Or be the problem.“

Chapter Text

It was quiet in the cave. 

That surprised Tony the most.  

It was quiet and a little bit chilly and that’s though it was summer in Afghanistan. He had a hole next to his heart and this strange thing in his chest that kept him alive. He just knew the whole thing had got to be infected with every germ known to mankind so he should feel warm, right? Warm and sick and dying, not lying there and waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

The man next to him, Yinsen, was quiet too but Tony got the feeling that this was natural for the guy. He had this very calm and quiet aura. Something Tony didn’t had and didn’t really understand. If you have nothing to say, alright, be quiet, but if you are a smart person and you have nothing to say? There must be something wrong with you. At least in Tony’s opinion and everyone who could build out of scraps what Yinsen had built to save Tonys life had to be very smart. So why was he so damn quiet? Why was the whole cave so quiet?

„You won’t like it when it’s loud again“, Yinsen had said when Tony complained about it. „Loud means the men are back and they want something from you. Something you will not give them so they will hurt you. They’ll hurt you really bad and then you will give them everything and you will pray for silence.“

Tony didn’t think so. There was nothing these men could do to him that could hurt him. He was sure of that. 

A few hours later the men were gone again. Tony was lying on his back, trying to breath and everything was loud around him. His pulse was pounding in his ears. The cave seemed to grind around him and Yinsen was talking, talking as if his life depended on it. Talking and talking and Tony was in so much pain and he really wished it would be quiet again. 

But he hadn’t given the men what they wanted. 

He would have been very proud of himself if not everything would hurt so damn much. 

„You are a very brave man, Mr. Stark.“ Yinsen was clearly impressed by him. 

„That’s a first“, Tony said. Nobody had called him brave before. Stupid, smart, handsome, strange, funny, diabolical sure, but never brave. 

Yinsen looked at him, watched him trying to catch his breath after the torture and he shook his head. 

„I wouldn’t expected this of you“, he said. 

„People underestimate me all the time.“

„No. I don’t think so. I think you just show them not the real you. They see what you want them to see.“

Tony shrugged. His chest hurt. His shoulders were sore and even his feet felt like he had ran over broken glass without shoes, raw and bloody. He didn’t know why. He hadn’t taken a step in days.

„I think the men were surprised by you too.“

Another shrug. 

Tony didn’t give a fuck about the men who took his humvee out, killed lots of good men and put him in this cave. Not to mention the hole in his chest and that car battery that kept him alive. 

„But they won’t be surprised forever, Mr. Stark. You have to know that.“

„Then I have to think of something else to keep them on their toes.“

Yinsen looked at him regretfully. He shook his head a little. But then he patted one of Tony’s shoulders, stood up and walked away. 

Tony could hear that he was limping but the other man hadn’t told him if this was something the men did to him or if it was something older. He hadn’t told him anything at all, only that they were in this cave and that they were prisoner and that he didn’t know how they could escape. 

That was one of the first things they talked about when Tony came to himself again, found the thing in his chest and a strange man beside him. 

Yinsen had been captured too but when they heard of the great Tony Stark they wanted to get the bigger fish and Yinsen was just the guy who couldn’t get away. 

A few moments later Yinsen was back again. He had something in his hands. Some kind of bread and a mug with something that didn’t look edible at all. After putting a spoon in it, he tried to give it Tony, who shook his head. 

„Oh, no! Thank you! I’m good. I just had a very large meal last year. That will hold me for quite a while.“

Yinsen shook his head again. 

„You need your strength. You have to eat something, Mr. Stark. Or you won’t survive.“

„Nope. I’m good.“ Even thinking of this… soup… made Tonys stomach crawl inside him. The smell was awful. 

„I’m wondering“, Yinsen said after a few minutes. „Why aren’t you afraid? Don’t you have someone to live for, Mr. Stark? Someone who desperately wants you back? A man like you can’t be alone, right? There has to be someone who needs you to come back and be alive.“

Torture isn’t just men who press your head under water, Tony realizes in that moment. It isn’t the feeling of something strange and mechanical in his chest. It isn’t even the rotten smell of a soup that nobody should ever have to eat. 

Torture can also be a memory. 

A memory of a small child with big brown eyes, so trusting, so sweet. Of a smile wide as his round face and of giggles. It’s the memory of the feeling of a small body in his arms and just being happy. 

„That’s the one“, said Yinsen who has looked at Tony for quite a while. „You remember, right? There is someone who needs you to stay alive and come back. I can see it in your eyes.“

„No.“ Tony’s voice sounded strange even in his own ears. He tried to change his position so he didn’t have to look at Yinsen anymore. But everything hurt so damn much that he could only shift so little and Yinsen was still there. „I’m exhausted. I think I’ll have to take a little nap before our friends are back again.“ He shut his eyes and prayed for silence. 

Yinsen was all about silence. The whole time he kept doing things, helping Tony, explaining where they are and what had happened and he was very quiet at the same time. So maybe he could be that Yinsen again. Hopefully. 

But hope was nothing in this cave.

„For me“, Yinsen started talking. „It’s my family. My wife. I have two daughters. I will not stay here forever. I’ll do everything in my power to be with them again. Everything, Mr. Stark. You hear me?“

Tony said nothing. He just wished the men were coming back. The battery in his chest made a little sound. It wouldn’t work forever and Tony was suddenly very glad about it. 

„My wife. She is the best thing that ever happened to me. She is beautiful and smart and kind. I’m very lucky that she even wanted to look at me not alone marry me. And our daughters! They are like her mother. So warm and friendly. They laugh all the time and they are smart too. I don’t know what I did to get so lucky with my family.“

It hurt like hell. 

„Damnit!“ Tony looked to Yinsen. „When I start eating this… will you stop?“ He waved angrily at the mug with the soup. „Will you just be quiet again? Please!“ He tried to take the soup but Yinsen wouldn’t let him. Instead he looked at him surprised. Again. 

„Why?“ Yinsen asked „Why are you like this? Don’t you want to go home? To your loved ones?“

„There is nobody!“ Tony shouted angrily and in the next moment he felt empty again. He was exhausted and his body felt all the pain and he just wanted to close his eyes and never wake up again. 

„But…I don’t understand.“ Yinsen was clearly confused. „You looked like you remembered someone. Only a few moments ago. I could see it. There has to be someone who is missing you. Maybe you fought before you went on this trip but whatever has happened there is someone for you.“

Tony shook his head and for some reason it felt easy to talk right now. He hadn’t talked to Rhodey or Pepper about it for months. He just couldn’t and he wouldn’t. Talking about it meant remembering, meant hurting again. He felt the pain all the time but talking about it made everything worse. But not with Yinsen, he thought.

„I had a woman. Like you. Smart, funny, beautiful. The best kind of woman a man can have. Silly and with a wicked sense of humor. She was perfect and she took up with me. I too never knew why she loved me.“

Yinsen smiled encouraging. 

„And we had a baby. A sweet wonderful baby boy. Together our family was everything for me. Like you I couldn’t imagine how I got to be so lucky with them.“

„So you have someone. Someone who wants you to stay alive and come back. We have…“

Tony shook his head and he could see that Yinsen already knew the next part. He may not have known much of Tony Stark but he knew lots of feelings and he could see that something wasn’t right with Tony’s story. 

„Alisa died eight months after the birth of our only child. It was a rare form of cancer. She said it was bad luck when they discovered it. Bad luck and a few weeks later she was dead.“

„But your son…“

„Alessandro got taken five years ago. He was two years old and I never heard of him again.“

Usually when Tony talked about his son and the night he got stolen people around him would be quiet. They would looked at him with empathy in their eyes and sometimes they were curious how he would deal with it but the one thing that ever happened was that they stopped talking about it and changed the subject. 

Tony hated it with a fierce passion. 

He wanted to talk about it. He wanted to hear everyone’s opinion about the men who took his only child so maybe there could be something new, something nobody hadn’t thought of before and maybe it could help them to finally find him. 

But the people who wanted to know about his kid wouldn’t talk about it as soon as they knew about the kidnapping. 

Yinsen wasn’t like other people.

„He got taken? You never got him back?“

Tony shook his head. He still remembered the last moments with his son. He had put him to bed, had kissed him on his little head and wished him sweet dreams and then he had left the room. The nanny for the day was already home and he had only a little nanny cam. It was okay. Nobody else was in the house and the little boy was sleepy. So Tony went to his lab and worked quite a while. When he took a break he made himself something to drink and went to look after Sandro. 

The bed had been empty, the window open and no clues were left behind. 

„I’m sorry“, Yinsen said and Tony could hear that the man was truly sorry. „I didn’t know that. I haven’t even heard of you having a son.“

„We wanted to keep it a secret. We wanted him to have a normal life. Friends, school, going out on dates.“ Tony smiled when he remembered the long talks about their life and how they wanted to keep Sandro out of the headlight. „We wanted him to grow up outside of the Stark fame.“

„But someone knew and stole him?“

„Someone knew and stole him.“ So easy. So damn easy. He had been living in a high secure home at that time and they took his child nevertheless. As if the security system was a joke. Which it was but Tony had discovered it too late to save his kid. It was one of the reasons he put JARVIS in every one of his homes. He had nothing important someone could steal from him anymore but he still wanted to feel safe where he slept. 

A few moments Yinsen stayed quiet. Tony could still smell the soup and heard the buzzing sound in his chest. It was not very loud but he heard and felt it. He wondered if dying would be quick. He only had to get this thing out of his chest and then the shrapnel would take care of everything. But that wouldn’t be fair to Yinsen. Yinsen who had tried to save his life. He wouldn’t deserve to be left alone in the cave. He deserved to be with his wife and daughters. 

„You found him then? Later, I mean.“ Yinsen looked sad as if he remembered something similar. Tony wondered shortly about it. Yinsen had said he had two daughters, but maybe he also had a son once or someone equally important to him. 

Tony shook his head.

„I don’t understand. You said he got taken.“

„When he was two years old.“

„And…“

„That was five years ago and I haven’t heard a single word about it.“

„You paid the ransom?“

„There was never a demand. Nothing. Just a missing kid. Some people even thought I was the one who did it. Who killed his own kid and buried him somewhere in the desert.“

„That’s awful!“ Quiet words but spoken with so much passion behind it that Tony knew Yinsen wasn’t one of the people who thought he could kill his own son. Not even as an accident. „I’m sorry. Really sorry for your loss.“

„Thank you.“ 

Tony eyed the soup. It was green and watery and every so often a dark spot come up. It looked like nothing he had ever seen before. 

„But…“

This time it was Tony who got a surprise. 

„If you haven’t heard of him again. If there wasn’t a body found. Why are you so sure that he isn’t around anymore?“

„I’m not.“ Rhodey would hate everything of this talk, Tony thought. Rhodey had loved Sandro like his own child and had searched and cried like Tony had for days and weeks. But you can’t only fight as long as you have hope and Rhodey had lost his hope after nearly a year. Now he hated it when something came up and reminded Tony of his son. As if he ever could forget him. 

„I don’t understand.“

„There wasn’t ever a ransom demand. Nobody ever tried to get anything from me. Nobody even saw something. 

At that time I had connections. People all around the world. Not every one of them was… you could say… a good guy? But they worked for money and I have money. So I got word around that I looked for this child. I put his picture out there and there were more eyes looking for Sandro than for every other missing child. Everywhere. Around the world. So many people were looking, searching. Nothing.“

„There can’t be nothing.“ Yinsen shook his head. „I can’t believe it. You said he was stolen out of his bedroom. That had to be with intention. That wasn’t an accident.“

Tony looked at Yinsen as if he was asking the man to tell him something he hadn’t thought of in the last five years. 

„But why didn’t they demand a ransom? That made no sense. Or was it her family? Your wife’s? Did they take him?“

„Alisa had no family left. We were her family.“

Yinsen started to make circles with the spoon in the soup and the awful smell was suddenly everywhere. 

„But why take a child and just vanish with it? If you found no body it has to mean he is still alive, right?“

Tony felt metal under his fingers. One of his hands laid suddenly on his chest and he felt the metal and the buzzing electric underneath his finger tips. It would be so easy to just end it.

But that’s not how Stark men lived  - or died. 

He nodded.

„So you still have someone who needs you. Who needs you to be alive and find them.“

And with such few words Yinsen gave Tony more reason to live than every other person in the world before. 

Tony looked at the other man, saw his kindness and trust in Tony in his eyes and then he saw the drawing of a bomb on the ground near him. These men who captured and tortured him wanted him to build this weapon. 

Maybe he should do it. 

Chapter Text

„I really don’t think this is a good idea, Ben“, Peter whispered. He threw another uneasy look at their surroundings. 

They were right in front of one of the most famous buildings in New York City. Ok, not really in front of it but even standing next to a mostly forgotten (hopefully!) side entrance to the Avengers Tower was making him nervous. 

It was dark. From where he stood he could see lights from the surrounding buildings, the street lamps and cars driving by but they were standing in the shadow of a dead lamp and the very high building. 

Usually he wouldn’t be nervous but this was the Avengers Tower or the Stark Tower as some New Yorker still called it and he didn’t like the whole plan. 

„Pete…“ Ben hushed him with a quick motion of his hand. „It’s alright. I promise.“ Ben sounded confident and for a few moments that was all it took to calm Peters nerves. 

His uncle was one of the few people Peter trusted with his whole heart. He was a retired police officer and though they had some very bad times over the last few years he was always there for Peter and May. Everything he did he only did for their little family. 

Even the bad things he did were only for them. 

Peter had to respect that and he was very glad when Ben asked him for help because Peter was dying to help his family. That was before he knew what the plan was.

So now they were standing next to the side entrance, together with Curtis, Joe and Hank. They weren’t friends or colleagues but this night they were partners and that was kind of the whole reason Peter kept looking around. 

He was anxious. 

His whole body was shivering and trembling and he was really really sure that this could only end badly for them. 

Ben and the others waited for their sixth men. 

Peter rolled his eyes as he remembered how proud he was when Ben told him they needed him as a fifth man. He was just 14 years old and Ben often called him child or kid in front of the other men but tonight was the night were he could join them. He had been so proud and now all he was was scared and nervous. He wanted to be everywhere else but not there. 

„But Ben…“ he tried again in a small voice. 

Ben moved but it was Curtis who spoke.

„Shut him up, Cop, or I’ll do it. If he is so scared he won’t be any big help after all.“ 

Curtis was the one Peter hated the most of the group. Big and bulky he was known to throw a mean punch and even kids and woman weren’t safe with him. 

„Quiet, Peter!“ Ben’s voice sounded harsh. Peter hadn’t heard his uncle talk to him in that voice before. „I mean it!“ Ben moved around and stood suddenly next to Curtis. His voice next was even quieter then before but everyone around him could hear him. „If you try to hurt my kid, Curtis, I’ll end you. I swear. You won’t even see me coming. It won’t be quick and it won’t be nice but I’ll end you. Count on it.“ 

For a moment Peter was surprised then he saw how every one of the men they were with changed their posture. Ben took a risk saying things like that right in front of the others. A big risk that could end badly. 

„Ben, it’s okay. I’ll be quiet. I’ll…“

„Shut up, Kid!“

This time Ben sounded really angry. So angry that Peter just nodded while he still watched the other men being cautious. 

„Are we clear?“ Ben asked Curtis who hasn’t said a word but now he looked really angry. Oh, so very angry. Ben and Curtis weren’t friends before but now? Ben had made a big mistake and only because Peter couldn’t shut his mouth. 

Curtis was second in line right after the big Boss. Some even saw him already as boss. Messing with him was never a good idea and provoking him? Was straight up crazy. 

But Ben stood his ground and eyed Curtis angrily. 

Curtis looked as if he wanted to start a fight, right now. As if it wasn’t important that they had a job to do and as if it wasn’t important were they were. 

They all got saved by a sound of an opening door. A small yellow stripe of light felt through the door gap from the building within on the street and everyone spun around. 

Leo’s face appeared in the space between door and frame. 

„You coming?“ He whispered and everyone nodded. 

Silently they slipped through the door and then they were inside. Leo closed the door again and for some moment everyone was just standing there, waiting for something to happen. They were deathly quiet. Not even their breathing made sounds.  

Peter didn’t know what he thought what could happen but when it stayed quiet he was kind of disappointed. 

This was the Avengers Tower. 

Starks baby. 

No security was some kind of a bummer right now. 

„Everything good?“ Leo asked and looked irritated. He wasn’t the brightest of the group but he still got the job in the Avengers tower so he could be proud of himself.  

„Yes, everything good.“ Curtis nodded but Peter saw him throwing a dark look at Ben. „The kid good nervous but now everything is as it should be.“

Now Leo looked to Peter and Peter really tried to look calm and maybe even chill but he still felt off. So he tried to move a little bit and took a look around as if could nothing bothering him. 

„Ok. So. Just so you know. Everything is clear.“ Leo was proud of himself and it showed. „I made sure the other guards are where we wanted them to be. You can go right up and if you aren’t stupid nobody should notice you are even there.“

„Good work, Leo.“ Curtis nodded. 

Hank gave him a thumbs up and Joe started to grin. 

„I wouldn’t have thought breaking into Stark Tower would be so easy. Man must have really left it.“

Peter felt as if everything in him wanted to shake and he had to press his teeth together to not say another word. 

Breaking into Stark Tower couldn’t be easy. Even if Iron Man himself had left the whole planet. 

No, Peter just knew that something would go very wrong but Ben didn’t want to hear him say it again and so he couldn’t do anything about it. 

„So that means this will be an even easier job than expected“, Curtis was clearly happy about it. He nodded. „Okay, let’s start. As soon as we have everything we can leave and little Pete here can get home to get his diapers changed…“

„Curtis.“ Ben looked still angry. 

„What? I’m just saying.“ Curtis faked a friendly smile then he clapped his hands together. „Everyone knows where they should be? Okay. Let’s go!“

And everyone except Peter and Ben were on their ways. 

Leo would lead Curtis through another door to the stairway down to the garage where they would try to get into the basement.

Hank and Joe would use the same stairway to get into the second floor for the things they wanted to steal there and Ben and Peter would move to another stairway to get on the fourth floor. They knew which room they should break in and after that finding the merch would be easy. It sounded really easy when Peter heard about the plan but that was when he didn’t know it was the freaking Stark Tower they were breaking in. 

A few seconds later Ben and him were on the stairs up. 

„It’s too easy, Uncle Ben“, Peter tried again to reasoning with him. „This is the Stark Tower. The safest building in the world.“ They could still turn around and leave and he wanted desperately to do so. 

At first Peter thought his Uncle hadn’t heard him but after a few more steps Ben stopped and turned around. 

„I know, Peter. I know.“ He looked regretful. 

„Then why are we here?“

„We have to. You know, May isn’t right at the moment and she needs help. Help I can’t provide. I work so much but it’s still not enough money and…“

„I can help too! I can work for Mr. Delmar. He is always looking for help. I can…“

„It wouldn’t be enough, Pete. It wouldn’t be, and the big boss he offered me money if I do this one job.“

„That was nearly a year ago!“ 

They were still in the staircase between two floors but Peter was so angry that he forgot to whisper. Ben made another shushing motion and Peter pressed his lips together. 

„I know but she still isn’t any better and we need the money. You know that.“

Peter knew that. He also knew that May wasn’t sick as Ben everyone told but an addict. Since she had been in an accident two years ago she took medicine for the chronic pain and after Ben lost his job as police officer they couldn’t afford the good stuff. From that moment on everything went downhill. 

„I still can help. This here is…“ Peter looked around the staircase. It was a simple one. Because it was in the Stark Tower which belonged to one of the greatest mechanics alive he doesn’t think the staircase would be often used but it was clean and spacious. „It’s dangerous. Who would be dumb enough to think it wouldn’t be protected?“

„Leo told us. When Stark left the building to live upstate he sold the first ten floors to companies in the city and after that they reduce the security. So it isn’t as dangerous as you think.“

Peter shook his head. He as everybody else had heard of the big fight between the Avengers in Germany. He didn’t know why they had fought or who had won but in the end Stark moved out of the city and for a short time the Avengers had moved back into to the Tower just to leave it as quickly as they came and now nobody except for a few firms should be here? He couldn’t believe it. Besides that he’d heard that Stark was back in the city again. Where would the guy live if not in his own building?

„Come on, Peter. Let’s hurry up. As soon as we have the data we can leave and everything will be alright. Okay?“ Ben put one of his big hands on Peters shoulder and squeezed it shortly. 

Peter nodded but he still wasn’t convinced. 

They climbed the stairs again. When they got to the fourth floor they stopped next to the door for the floor. It was locked. Which was the first surprise. 

„Shouldn’t it be open?“ Peter asked and took a look around. The staircase was still empty and the light, so damn bright, was burning in his eyes. He could hear his own heart beating. 

Ben tried again to open the door again. 

„It should be.“

„Maybe the security isn’t so down as Leo thought?“

Peter could see that Ben wasn’t happy with this but his uncle didn’t say anything. Instead he grabbed in his Jacket and took out a…

„Is that a lock pick set?“ Peter couldn’t believe it. This was his uncle. The man who worked as a police officer for nearly 20 years. That couldn’t be right! „Ben, why do you have…?“

„Quiet!“ 

Ben made quick work with the lock. Way too quick for a first timer. 

Peter couldn’t believe his eyes. 

The door went open and Ben shoved Peter inside. Then he closed the door carefully. Peter couldn’t see what he did next but he knew it had to be something so they could leave through the door again. 

At first the floor was dark and only a small light above the door was burning but soon the light in the ceiling got brighter. Peter knew Stark was big in green energy and saving energy and this was kind of nice. He wouldn’t have any problems with walking around on a darkened floor but a little light was also nice. 

While Ben looked for the room they needed Peter got sidetracked and looked around. 

They were on some kind of lab floor. He could see through transparent doors expensive equipment and test tubes. He was always curious about these things, which had gotten him in enough trouble already, so he went slower and slower to look in each room. 

„Peter!“ Ben was already way ahead of him and waved with his hands. „Come here! I need you!“

Quickly he caught up with his uncle to see that he found the right room but unfortunately it was also locked. 

Peter saw that his uncle tried to pick the lock already but had no luck. 

„It’s electronic“, Peter said and looked around. He found some kind of dashboard right next to the door and started working on it. 

„Can you open it?“ Ben knew that Peter loved playing with everything electric and he was really good at it. He even build his own PC when he was younger. This door shouldn’t be a problem. 

Apart from being an electric door in the Stark Tower. 

Peter swore silently. He couldn’t open it because he could see that there was some kind of failsafe. Something like a security line for the security line. Which made no sense but it was still there and he just knew that opening the lock this way would lead to lots of trouble. 

„Peter?“

„I can’t…“ Peter looked around again. There was no safe way for him to open the electric lock of the door but what if they didn’t need the door to get into the lab? 

He left the dashboard and went to the wall opposite the door and above it he saw an air vent. He remembered hearing of the Avenger Hawkeye who loved to spy on people in these vents. He also heard that Stark, after getting to know Hawkeye, made most of these vents small enough so only the cleaning robots could move through it but not the adult man. It was a funny story when Peter heard it but maybe it was more than that. And Peter was way smaller than the adult avenger. 

The vent was way too high for him to get there without help. He could jump that high but his uncle didn’t know that so that would be a problem. 

„What are you doing?“ Ben came to stand next to him. „We need to get in the room like right now. I don’t want to be here any longer than absolutely necessary.“

„I’m working on it.“ Peter pointed to the vent. „Can you help me up?“

Ben looked at him as if he was crazy. 

„The vent? What..?“

„We can’t go through the door because the lock is very safe. So we need to find another way and this could work.“

Ben looked to the vent again, then he stepped back to the lab door with the clear glass in it and looked in the room. Another air vent was nearly in the middle of the room, right above a big table. But it was still very high. 

„You can’t climb…“

„I can if you help me. Please?“

Ben couldn’t believe it but it was their only chance and so he stood under the vent, put his hands as a ladder and let Peter climbed over him like he was still a little kid. 

Peter had not problems to open the vent and with some kind of his extra strength he got in it. 

It was a small space, dark and full of dust and dead spiders. 

Which wasn’t really promising. 

„Everything alright there?“

„Yes, just peachy.“ Peter tried to ignore the dead spiders and started to crawl. Soon he saw the light coming through the small vent and when he opened it he was in the right lab room. He felt his uncle watching him when he jumped on the table and then he started to search. 

Their job was to steal a hard drive with data on it. As soon as he found the right one he took it. In the next moment he was on the table again and a few seconds later he was crawling back to his uncle who was waiting for him. 

„That was good thinking, Peter“, his uncle smiled proudly when Peter gave him the hard drive. 

„Thank you. Can we leave now?“ Crawling around in a small place with lots of dead spiders had given him the creeps and Peter really wanted to leave the tower right fucking now. 

His uncle nodded. 

„Yes, we can. You did…“

They turned around to go back to the staircase when they heard a loud voice: „Freeze!“ And then they saw two security men coming around the corner right at the end of the floor. 

„Peter, run!“ His uncle showed him forward and Peter started running. He heard the men behind him, shouting something and his uncle was running too. 

They couldn’t reach the entrance they used to get onto this floor but the could run another aisle and get an advantage.  They were quicker as the security guards and maybe there was another door or some room in which they could hide. 

„Freeze!“

Peter heard another guard coming down their way. 

They sprinted in another corridor, found a staircase they hadn’t known would be there and started running down the stairs. Behind them their follower were still there. 

„We must hide somewhere“, Ben said. He sounded out of breath. Peter knew that Ben wasn’t young any more. He tried to take care of his body but running around like this mustn’t been easy for him. 

On the next floor Ben stopped Peter and opened the door. He took a look around and then they were running again. Ben tried to open every door and when one wasn’t locked he pushed Peter inside. Both men hide away behind another lab table for a few breathless minutes. 

They could hear the guards running around. One even opened the door to their room but he didn’t came inside. 

Peter looked to Ben who was listening carefully. He was breathing hard. Then Ben nodded.

„I think it’s clear. They left the floor.“

Peter hasn’t heard something and his hearing was better than Ben’s so he believed him. 

They were both still cautious when they left the room. With nearly no sound they went to the staircase again and just when the started their way down, they could hear a small sound. Like a weapon unlocked. 

Peter spun around. He was right behind his uncle and so he was the first to see the guard with his gun, aimed at them.

„I said: Freeze, dumpass!“ The guard sounded angry. 

And Peter did just that. 

He froze. 

He looked at the gun that was aiming straight at him. Though he wasn’t even the first time in such position but for some reason he felt that this would be it. 

This would be the moment he got shot. 

„Peter, run!“ 

Suddenly Ben was jumping right in front of him. 

A shot was fired and then Ben was falling backwards. Peter tried to catch him but everything happened so fast. They were falling down the stairs to the next stop and then Ben was lying in Peters arm. And there was blood. So much blood. 

„Ben!“  

Way too much blood. 

He pressed his hands on Ben’s chest but he couldn’t stop the bleeding.

„Ben, no!“

Peter heard the guard coming to them and nothing more. 

„I said freeze you stupid asshole!“

Peter wanted to say something but all he could think was that Ben got shot. Ben got shot and now he had to save him. Save him. Save him. Sa…

Another shot was fired. 

Peter winced and tried to duck but this time it wasn’t the guard shooting. 

The guard fell the stairs down and landed right next to them. His eyes were wide open. His face a look of surprise. 

Peter looked at Ben again, who was still laying there. The gun fell out of his hand while he smiled at Peter. 

„Ben, what…“

A mechanical sound filled the staircase, loud and from above but quickly coming near. 

Peter ignored it. He felt Ben’s blood in his hands. He could hear the heartbeat of his uncle, getting slower and uneven. He heard him breathing much louder as usual. 

„Ben, please…“ 

„Are you hurt? Did he get you?“

Peter shook his head. He felt tears in his eyes and that was just not right. Ben would be okay. He couldn’t die here. That wasn’t possible. That…

„Ben, please, don’t leave me!“ 

Ben smiled a little. He looked at Peter and just smiled gently. 

Peter saw Ben’s hand going lax and he couldn’t hear anything else except for this strange sound that got louder and louder and he wanted to scream that this other person should be quiet because he needed to hear Ben’s heart and… 

„It’s okay, Petey.“ Ben’s voice sounded rough. „It’s okay. Don’t be… Take care of May for me, can you do that? Petey?“

„You can do that yourself! Please! You…“

The loud sound was suddenly quiet and he felt tears running from his eyes. He had still his hands on Ben’s chest and that’s why he could feel the heartbeat slowing down. He could hear it and feel it and he couldn’t do a damn thing against it. 

„No. No. No!“ Trying to stop the bleeding didn’t work and so he tried to shake Ben. Ben couldn’t die here. He just couldn’t. 

But then everything was quiet.

No heart, not breathing. 

„Ben!“ Peter heard himself pleading but it was for nothing. „Ben!“

A few moments he was just sitting there, holding his uncle and hoping that something would change. He couldn’t be dead. The words got stuck in his head. Again and again he said them to himself and then suddenly he raised his eyes. 

Iron Man was standing on the stairs above him. Just where the guard had stood before he… 

Peter felt tears on his face. 

Iron Man was standing there in front of him. Just like he had said to Ben right before they left the car to break into the Tower. All the other men kept telling them that Iron Man or Tony Stark wasn’t even in the city anymore. He sold most of the Tower and had left everything of his city life behind to enjoy living somewhere else.  That didn’t sound like something someone like Tony Stark would do but he was only a 14 year old boy and nobody wanted to hear his opinion. 

And now Iron Man was standing there and Peter wanted to scream that he had been right all along. Breaking into the safest building of New York wasn’t the best idea and it was… 

„Stay down, Kid.“ Iron Mans voice sounded strange through the mic. 

For a moment Peter didn’t get what the other man could mean than he felt something cold between his fingers. Ben’s gun. 

Surprised he let it fall. 

Whatever happened to him now he wouldn’t ever use a gun. That was something that he couldn’t do. 

The gun fell down and Peter looked up again. 

„That’s good. A good choice. Now…“ 

Peter didn’t know what Iron Man wanted to say next because he could hear steps coming from above them. Men running down the stairs. More guards. 

They would take him, he realized. He was a minor and he would still go to jail because they caught him while breaking into the Tower. He would go to jail for a very long time. And nobody would be there to take care of May. 

From the corner of his eyes he saw the dead guard next to him. He had the gun in his hand and he knew suddenly that everyone would think he killed the man. 

He would go to jail and never come back out again. 

May would be alone. 

His heart started to race. 

He was small for his age, and he could run. He could climb. The guards were still one or two floors above them and he heard nothing from the other way. And Iron Man was way to big and way to immobile in the small staircase.

„Don’t…“ Iron Man seemed to know what Peter was thinking. „Kid, you can’t get out of here. There are guards on every floor. It will be better for you if you just…“

Peter didn’t hear what Iron Man had to say next. With caution he put Ben down and stood up. He felt Ben’s blood at his fingers and without thinking he wiped it off at his jeans. He cast one last look at his uncle then he spun around and run down the stairs. 

Behind him he could hear Iron Man swearing than the sound of his repulsers and the guards running. 

But Peter was quicker and he knew exactly where to go. 

He jumped the last step, opened the door and was on the next floor. His hope was, that the layout on this floor would be similar the one above and there it was, the air vent he was looking for. 

He needed not even one minute and then he was in the small shaft. It seemed smaller as the other one and it was also cleaner. No dead spiders which he felt was some kind of good omen. 

Peter didn’t know which way he should crawl but he started as soon as he heard the guards running underneath him. He even could hear Iron Mans voice somewhere. 

As quick as possible he crawled, around one corner than the next. He got the feeling he was hours on the way which he knew couldn’t be but it still felt forever and then suddenly just when he started to get frustrated he felt air on his face. Clean and cool. 

That was some kind of air conditioning, he thought. He couldn’t remember on which floor he would be, still the fourth? Maybe fifth? It wasn’t important to him. Fresh and cool air could mean an open window or a door to a balcony.

It could be a trap but he would risk it. 

He couldn’t be caught tonight. He just couldn’t. 

Then suddenly he was at the end of the vent and he felt a small grid in front of him. Not big enough for an adult male but he could make it fit. He could make him fit through it… if he could open it. 

He tried feeling for screws but when he found them he couldn’t move them. He tried it again and again and then suddenly he heard a noise in the vent. Someone else was there. They had found him. 

He spun around and kicked the grid. It was loud and a man called out that he could hear him. The noise of his pursuer got louder. 

Peter kicked again. 

The grid fell.

Peter spun around again and shove himself to the small opening. The air was cold. It was windy and when he looked outside he found himself above the street, maybe on the fifth floor. Way too high to jump.

But not to high for climbing. 

Smiling to himself he left the vent. His fingers found their way to small nooks and crannies and then he was out of the building, hanging on the side of the tower. 

He knew he still wasn’t safe. 

They couldn’t follow him but Iron Man could fly and as soon as he would hear about his little stunt he would be there, so Peter had to be quick. Hopefully Stark didn’t want to damage his own building and needed to look for a big enough door to leave it. 

Peter made his way on the side of the building downwards when he saw the perfect place to jump. 

He jumped when he arrived where he wanted to be. He had his webshooters already on and aimed for a point, then he would be gone. 

In the dark not even Iron Man could follow a spider. 

But he couldn’t shoot his web. 

He felt falling. He felt the cold air and the wind and then suddenly he heard something else. His spider sense started to tingle, loud and urgent. Not Iron Man and his repulsers but something. He tried to be quicker, to be safe and in the next moment it was like waking up from a dream. In his dream he was flying and falling and in reality something like a suit was there, surrounding him, catching him.

„NO!!!!“ Peter shouted and then it was dark. 

He felt metal under his fingers. His face was pressed against metal and metal was all around him. 

He was in a suit.

Iron Man got him nevertheless.